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| VOL. 20 | SEPTEMBER, 1929 | No. 6 |
| Page | |
Communication With the Other World, ’Abdu'l-Bahá | 174 |
Is Disarmament Possible? ’Abdu’l-Bahá | 166 |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 163 |
Bahá’u’lláh, A Poem, Charles Steele Davidson | 165 |
Above the Mists, Florence E. Pinchon | 168 |
The Bahá’i Temple—Its Purpose and Need, Corinne True | 176 |
The Bahá’í Movement in German Universities, Martha L. Root | 178 |
Educational Equilibrium, Professor N. F. Ward | 184 |
Speaking of Talking, Marzieh K. Nabil | 187 |
Sonnet, Marzieh K. Nabil | 189 |
World Thought and Progress | 190 |
later co-operation of Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi; preserved, fostered and by them turned over to the National Spiritual Assembly, with all valuable
assets, as a gift of love to the Cause of God.STANWOOD COBB | Editor |
MARIAM HANEY | Associate Editor |
MARGARET B. MCDANIEL | Business Manager |
Subscriptions: $3.00 per year; 25 cents a copy. Two copies to same name and address, $5.00 per year. Please send change of address by the middle of the month and be sure to send OLD as well as NEW address. Kindly send all communications and make postoffice orders and checks payable to Baha'i News Service, 706 Otis Building, Washington, D. C., U. S. A. Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1911, at the postoffice at Washington, D. C., under the Act of March 3, 1897. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103 Act of October 3, 1917, authorized September 1, 1922.
--PHOTO--
Professor Joseph Horovitz, Professor of Semitic languages and Islamic civilization, Frankfurt-Am—University. (See page 178)
| VOL. 20 | SEPTEMBER, 1929 | NO. 6 |
by the Light of His Guidance, who becomes a believer in God and His signs and is kindled with the fire of the love of God, sacrifices the imperfections of nature for the sake of divine
perfections.—’Abdu’l-Bahá.THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN—what is it? A celestial society into which spiritual souls enter after death? The perfect divinely patterned civilization yet to be established on this earth? Or is it an individual state of being, a goal to be attained in the course of one’s spiritual evolution?
Perhaps it is all of these. Certainly one does not have to wait until death to enter it. Nor can one enter it until a certain point in spiritual evolution has been reached. And when all members of any given society have reached this necessary stage in spiritual evolution—to the point of expressing the spiritual qualities and divine attributes in their daily living—then that society is a tiny replica and a living part of that cosmic, universal Organism called the Kingdom of Heaven.
One cannot be born into the Kingdom of Heaven by the process of physical birth, nor can one be naturalized into citizenship in it by the mere acceptance of any given Manifestation or body of religious truth.
Admittance to this celestial Kingdom is gained only by migrating from self, by leaving behind one those egoistic qualities—all the perversities, envies, basenesses of the
primitive man buried deep in our psychism—and advancing to the plane of severance from self, of divine love and compassion for all.
Just as one is born into the physical world after a due process of physical gestation, growth and development preceding parturition, so one can be born into the spiritual world only after a due process of spiritual growth.
This spiritual coming of age marks such a significant transition from man carnal to man spiritual that it has been called the “second birth.” One must literally be “born of the Spirit,” in order to breathe successfully the life-giving air of the Kingdom and partake of its Sustenance.
MOTIVES OF CONSECRATION, of service,
of mutual love and harmony,—must
necessarily prevail in all
citizens of the Kingdom.
It stands to reason—as immutable as mathematical law-that celestial societies can contain amidst their membership no individuals with egoistic qualities; else by very definition they could not be celestially-patterened societies and integral parts of the Kingdom.
For where egoism and selfishness
enter in, disharmony enters in; and where disharmony enters in, the very basic foundations of the King- dom of Heaven dissolve and vanish.
So for its own protection the Kingdom of Heaven cannot nourish in its midst any unpurified souls. Other kingdoms there are, other realms of existence, where the struggles from selfishness to selflessness take place. That struggle cannot and does not take place within the Kingdom!
Perhaps this is the meaning of the phrase, “Many are called but few are chosen.” Many indeed are the souls who follow in the train of a Manifestation, but those who attain to citizenship in the Celestial Kingdom, how relatively few!
Many souls there are who are sensitive enough to feel the higher vibrations emanating from a Manifestation, and who crave to bask in the warmth of that Divine Smile which vibrates a love and joy never known in human associations.
But if one is content to passively bask in the light and warmth of these Emanations, can one be said
to have attained that to which one is called, the true station of Man as imbued with the divine attributes?
Christ did not call fishermen from the Sea of Galilee to follow Him in a holiday excursion throughout Palestine. Rather, He called them to a life of consecration and service—to make them fishers of men.
So it is with every Manifestation. They open Their arms to all. They shed the divine beneficence of Their Love and Glory upon all who will accept. But the purpose of this emanation is that those who follow may themselves become ablaze with the fire of that Love which is charactertistic of the Kingdom.
It is a matter of individual growth. We must ourselves become kindled, radiant, radio-active. Through the intellect or heart or both we become aware of the Call of the Kingdom. But only through heroic struggles of the soul do we attain.
Glory be upon them that follow Glory—until they themselves become inbued with Glory.
“Nay, rather, the beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful must manifest such attributes and ethical conduct as to embody and personify the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. They must promulgate the Law of the Kingdom with deeds and not words. Thus may they become the quintessence of being, the signs of the Kingdom of God, standards of the Supreme Concourse. May ye be salutary water for the thirsty, an evidence of guidance for the seeker, protection and support for the helpless, a shelter and home for the wanderers, the treasury of the Kingdom for the poor, the source of hope and happiness for the disappointed, the remedy of the heart and soul for the ailing. May ye manifest the utmost of kindness to the human race; to weep with him who mourneth and to laugh with him who rejoiceth; sympathizing with the helpless; in commune with the wanderer; a friend to a friend and foe.”-’Abdu’l-Bahá.
- O Master of the earth and air!
- With all retreats, Thou cans’t not hide
- From those who love Thee, they must there abide
- Where’er Thou art, tho that be everywhere.
- Great Spirit of the vast expanse!
- Thy worlds are one broad road for men;
- To those who seek and seek and seek again
- There is no failure and no chance.
- I see Thee where tall mountains lift
- Their heads of granite capped with snow,
- Or where pure rivers in the valley flow
- That moving sea-ward seem to drift.
- I hear Thee in the song of birds;
- I see Thee where the grasses sway;
- Where fields with golden grain are gay,
- And in the lowing, happy herds.
- There where rapt August heaves a sigh;
- Where stern December calls and thrills;
- Where tears with smiles sweet April fills,
- And June with roses charms the eye.
- In all the seasons, all the years
- Thy love awaits the one who sees,
- And even in the wind-swept trees
- There’s music for the one who hears.
- I see Thee in the living soul
- Of every erring brother man,
- And one by one Thy power can
- Add love’s sweet leaven to the whole.
- Where sunsets sink and stars arise
- I see the promise of the dawn,
- The day when darkness shall be gone
- And light shall shine from all men’s eyes!
- When war, that leaves us stark and dumb,
- The crime and scourge of mortal men,
- Shall go, and not come back again,
- Shall go—because the King has come!
All the peoples of the world are beginning to feel an opposition to the burden of heavy armaments and of militarism. The idea of the limitation of armaments has been broached, and, in fact, treated to a certain extent by International Conferences. It is plain, however, that the logical development of the idea of the limitation of armaments is toward the practical abolition of armaments, provided that all nations move simultaneously in this direction. It would be extremely unwise for any one nation to reduce its armaments to the vanishing point unless every other nation were doing the same thing.
Recently and perhaps of immeasurable significance is the close cooperation between the Prime Minister of England and the President of the United States in the matter of the reduction of naval armaments. The New York Times editorially comments on the enthusiasm with which this changed outlook for reduction of armaments has been received and states that, “the world is not mistaken in regard to the abolition of competitive naval building as full of immense and benign promise. It signifies a new mental attitude among all the nations; and it is the national mind which makes national policies. What Mr. Hoover and Mr. MacDonald have done is to approach their task in a businesslike way. They have agreed that if war is to be given up it is not good business to act as if all the time we had to be desperately getting ready for it.”
The following statement of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, given in answer to inquiry by a prominent European concerning peace and war, makes very clear the way in which disarmament must safely come about.
“By a general agreement all the governments of the world must disarm simultaneously. It will not do if one lays down its arms and the other refuses to do so. The nations of the world must concur with each other concerning this supremely important subject, thus they may abandon together the deadly weapons of human slaughter
“When we speak of Universal Peace, we mean that all the governments must change their fleets of battleships and dreadnaughts to a mighty fleet of merchant marine, plying the oceans of the world, uniting the distant shores and interweaving the commercial, intellectual and moral forces of mankind. But should England alone transform the character of her warships, she would be at the mercy of her enemies and would remain powerless and defenseless. The British Isles would unquestionably be threatened by a powerful, invading well-disciplined host. Hence, aside from any national prowess, the English people would be pushed into this weltering whirlpool of military and naval expenditures, and would be struggling to keep their heads above the seething water all around them, which, unless calmed down, would drown all of them, irrespective of any nationality.
“No, the question of disarmament must be put into practice by all the nations and not only by one or two. Consequently the advocates of peace must strive day and night so that the individuals of every country may become peace-loving, public opinion may gain a strong and permanent footing, and day by day the army of international peace be increased, complete disarmament be realized and the flag of universal conciliation be waving on the summit of the mountains of the earth. . . .
“Once the Parliament of Man is established and its constituent parts organized, the governments of the world having entered into a covenant of eternal friendship will have no need of keeping large standing armies and navies. A few battalions to preserve internal order, and an international police to keep the highways of the seas clear, are all that will be necessary. Then these huge sums will be diverted to other more useful channels, pauperism will disappear, knowledge will increase, the victories of peace will be sung by poets and bards, knowledge will improve the conditions . . . thus will the world of humanity become a mirror reflecting the virtues and attributes of the Kingdom of God.”
“His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh appeared in a country which was the center of prejudice. In that country were many different communities, religions, sects and denominations. All the animosities of past centuries existed among them. They were ready to kill each other. They considered the killing of others who did not agree with them in religious belief, an act of worship. His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh established such unity and agreement between these various communities that the greatest love and amity are now witnessed among them . . . through the power of heaven He has brought the east and the west together. Ere long we shall know that they have been cemented by the power of God. The oneness of the kingdom of humanity will supplant the banner of conquest and all communities of the earth will gather under its protection.
When the people of the future are asked “To which nationality do you belong?” the answer will be “To the nationality of humanity. I am living under the shadow of Bahá’u’lláh. I belong to the army of the ‘Most Great Peace’” . . . for all of them will be citizens of a universal nationality; the one family, the one country, the one world of humanity; and then these wars, hatreds and strifes will pass away.
“The body of the human world is sick. Its remedy and healing will be the oneness of the kingdom of humanity. Its life is the “Most Great Peace.” Its illumination and quickening is love. Its happiness is the attainment of spiritual perfections. It is my wish and hope that in the bounties and favors of Bahá’u’lláh we may find a new life, acquire a new power and attain to a wonderful and supreme source of energy so that the “Most Great Peace” of divine intention shall be established upon the foundations of the unity of the world of men with God.”
IN these great days the region of the possible has become bewilderingly enlarged. Upon the unchartered seas of the human mind brilliant souls are adventuring as never before. They are straining to view the invisible, touch the intangible, know the unknowable, daring to peep over the edge o’ Beyond and greet the Unseen with a cheer!
Through one of the many avenues opening into the invisible, those engaged in scientific psychic research are busily trying to pierce a way. The war brought a wave of interest in all such matters, and particularly in a class of phenomena now popularly associated with the great Spiritualist Movement. And it is concerning a certain leader, and one might truly say, a “moving spirit” of a branch of this Society that the following experiences are briefly related.
Madame Esmé, dark-haired and of striking appearance, was a woman in whom mediumistic and psychic powers were highly developed. Besides being clairvoyant and clairaudient, she was a color sensitive, and could, under certain conditions, perceive color vibrations in auras. These she would try to paint and classify for the purposes of delineating character and diagnosing disease. However, married early in life to a medical doctor who possessed none of these gifts, her husband’s scientific attitude towards all psychic phenomena had considerably influenced her
own, and assisted her in keeping her critical and discriminating faculties more awake than is usually the case with those who become absorbed in these fascinating subjective and supernormal states.
Her first contact with the Bahá’í Message came with a glimpse of ’Abdu’l-Bahá during His visit to Paris in 1911. Yet, at the time, she had been chiefly interested in the beautiful picture He presented, in the tones of His soft Persian, in those lovely radiations in which, to her astral sight, He stood haloed. And that was, apparently, all. But God’s Word does not return unto Him void—even though there pass between the “many days.” The soil in which the spiritual seed had fallen, though choked with the weeds of futile imaginations, phantasies, and self-deceptions, had the capacity to retain the living seed enfolded within the garden of the heart as a sweet and fragrant memory.
Then the winds of adversity began to blow. Madame Esme’s only son was killed in the war. Her husband became estranged. Even her psychic powers suffered a certain eclipse. The loss of her son caused her, as it has done so many others, to seek the assurances that the Spiritualists offer by the belief that they can, when they so desire, communicate with the souls of their beloved dead, and receive direct answers to their eager and anxious questionings.
It was at this point that there
came into the hands of Madame Esmé a copy of “Hidden Words.”* Although it contained much she did not understand, the power and beauty of these “pearls of wisdom” greatly impressed her. Memory stirred. The figure of One, as she had seen Him so long ago, clothed in light, rose before her. She sought an interview with the sender of the little book.
“’Abdu’l-Bahá has passed over has He not?” she enquired.
“Yes,” replied the friend, “in November of 1921.”
“Do you ever get communications from Him?”
“Of course,” came the smiling reply.
“Indeed! Through what medium?“ Madame eagerly demanded.
“Oh, no medium is necessary,” explained her friend, “for ’Abdu’l-Bahá has ‘spiritual speech and heavenly conversations,’ and through the bounty of God, He addresses in spirit and in vision those who address Him. But naturally this can only be known to those from whose eyes the material veils (which may be both astral and mental) have been lifted; those who have, so to speak, ‘tuned-in’ to the spiritual broadcasting stations of the Supreme Concourse.
“When we have purified our thoughts and become, at any rate, to some extent, free from selfish desires, these messages can come to us without intermission. They are flashed to our minds and imprinted upon our hearts, as sure intuitions, joyous inspirations, feelings of comfort and encouragement, sometimes even in a wonderful dream or vision. For ’Abdu’l-Bahá,
* A book of exhortations by Bahá’u’lláh.
not only when He delivered His Father’s great Message on earth, but now that He has ascended, still speaks to us through the tongue of the spirit, and continues to help us to understand the manifold meanings of the sacred writings, and the deep mysteries of the New Kingdom.”
“But,” observed the Medium in evident disappointment, “have you no materializations, clairvoyant descriptions, automatic writings or trumpet voices?”
“We do not deny the reality of supernormal psychic faculties,” replied the Bahá’i. “Bahá’u’lláh teaches that the worlds of the living and so-called dead are one. That all men whether, according to our way of speaking, they are ‘alive’ or ‘dead’ are parts of one organism, and that both worlds are intimately dependent one on the other.
“We believe, as you do, in the survival of personality, the persistence after death of the higher attributes of man, in a time of re-union with those whom we truly love; and that communion one with the other, far from being impossible or unnatural, is constant and inevitable. But such intercourse is spiritual and not phenomenal.”
“Not phenomenal!“ exclaimed Madame Esmé in dismay. “But what about my materializations?”
’Abdu’l-Bahá has explained that “the spirits of those that have passed on are freed from sense life, and do not use physical means. That which appears to be phenomenal intercourse has other explanations.“
“What then is the force used in automatic writing?” she questioned.
“This power,” replied the friend,
“is neither heavenly nor spiritual; neither is it an influence from disembodied spirits. It is of the human mind, and is the result of magnetism within the self of the one doing the writing.”
“I think I begin to see what you mean,” returned Madame thoughtfully. “I do not really understand these faculties I am using. And perhaps, in the light of the radio, of radium and relativity, it is unwise to hold very definite conclusions, for any explanation is likely to fall short of the Truth.”
HERE MADAME ESME glanced at the clock, and invited her guest to remain for a meeting which was just about to be held in her drawing-room that afternoon.
“Don’t you think” asked one of the members as they took their places, “that we Spiritualists are doing a great work in helping to convince people of the reality of an after-life, and so giving them Faith?”
“Everything that rends asunder fleshly veils, and helps man to realize his eternal part is good,” replied the Bahá’i, “but doesn’t Faith consist in believing in that of which we can have no material proof? Isn’t it rather a case of ‘blessed are they who not having seen, yet believe?’”
What a strange meeting then took place!
They sat in a circle in semi-darkness, and after a hymn had been sung and soft music played, one of the company began to give descriptions of unhappy souls—“darken’d and cast out, solitary shadows wailing on the margin of non-entity”—who, still bound to earth by reason
of their sins, came to confess their woes and ask the assistance of the Circle for their release.
The very air of the room grew thick and oppressive!
“O God, prayed one in that circle, let Thy divine and purifying breeze blow through this assembly and quicken all souls on either side the Veil who are spiritually dead.”
Then a curious thing happened. A sudden draught lifted the curtains, the forces began to fail, the shades melted away, the writings ceased. Someone complained of “unfavourable conditions.“ However, before the gathering broke up, their leader announced that her ‘Guide” had just “come through” and requested some prayers. Would the Bahá’i visitor offer one?
“I cannot pray for the earth-bound” said the friend gently, for we are told that there are none. Evil, you see, is not a positive thing; it is the lack or lesser degree of good. When souls that are not good die, they are spiritually dead, they go entirely away from this plane, and so cannot obsess or influence anyone.
“Those who have failed to develop, in this embryo world, any of those spiritual faculties which we need to possess in order to enter into the life beyond, are, in the next sphere, in the state as of a mineral compared with those who have striven to live unselfishly in the love of God. Yet as souls are never annihilated, but are in a state of endless evolution, our prayers can indeed bring light to those in darkness and uplift and strengthen those we love upon their upward way. For in prayer a mingling of condition takes place, whether we are
aware of it or not. It is not wise to seek for intercourse in order to gratify our curiosity, or even in order to obtain something for ourselves. The real communications are likely to come incidentally or in dreams, when the soul is lightly tethered to the body. But since the effect of earnest prayer is greater in the spiritual realms than here, it is our privilege and duty to seek to aid the departed thus.”
So the curtains were thrown back, and the setting sun poured its glory into the room, as the beautiful Bahá’i prayers for the Dead were read.
Thus it came to pass that a remarkable transformation took place and the enthusiastic circle for the release of the “earth-bound” suffered a sea-change, into a friendly tea and gathering for the discussion of the radiant truths of the New Revelation. Though, of course, some of the members lost interest since there was no longer anything to excite or satisfy curiosity.
ONE AFTERNOON the question was
raised:—”Since Bahá’u’lláh taught
the hidden aspects of all things, and
that there is a constant intercommunication
between the seen and the
unseen, why do not Bahá’is endeavor
to develop their psychic faculties?”
Then someone read ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s answer:—
“To tamper with psychic forces while in this world interferes with the condition of the soul in the world to come. These forces are, of course, real, but are not destined to be in activity on this plane.” And ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s explanation of this phenomena is already being confirmed
by scientific investigation.
To put it very simply and briefly—a certain white fluidic matter in the brain and around the nerve centres, such as the solar plexus, is, by psychic practices of development intensified. Increased sensitiveness is produced. Astral sight and hearing and other phenomena follow. This abnormal condition of the brain and nervous system, long continued, affects the health and the mind of those who pursue these methods of approach to the Unseen. This fluidic or sensitized nervous system, is possessed by materializing mediums. At seances this fine form of matter is drawn upon, strengthened by those present, imprinted by their mind images, and astonishing apparitions make their appearance. The powers used are, therefore, not spiritual ones, and are, at our present stage both of knowledge and understanding dangerous to our soul’s highest interests.
It is wisest to let all such faculties unfold themselves naturally, as our souls become attuned to the higher vibrations of the spiritual life.
“The whole purpose of this matrix-life.” said ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “is the coming forth into the world of Reality, where all these forces will be active, as they belong to that world.”
“But what is Reality?“ demanded one of those present.
“Reality,” said the Bahá’i, “is pure spirit. It occupies no space, and assumes no form. Psychic mediums usually speak of the world of thought or of phantasy, and not of that of Reality. You remember the advice of Dionysius: ‘Quaint
sounds and smells and lights, all is less than spirit-knowing, work not with these.’
“There are, of course, signs and experiences which accompany every stage in the soul’s upward journey, but none of them rests in psychic phenomena, nor on the astral plane, nor in trance. Astral and mental images proclaim only the lower levels of consciousness, and often become embodied in such a way that simple-minded people believe that they have a reality. But ‘these conceptions surge like the waves of the sea of imagination and pass away like idle dreams.’ We know them for what they are, because they bear no fruit in our lives.
“The soul that is earnestly seeking God by means of meditation must press beyond all image-making into those ‘pure spaces clothed with living beams,’ where real spiritual understanding and divine union await it. For as Bergson observes: ‘Behind the mental state lies a vast region of perceptions and correspondence which elude the image-making powers of the surface consciousness. The more transcendant the perception, the less of it will the image contrive to represent.’ It will be a state of profound feeling and pure knowing.”
“But the difficulty is,” declared Madame Esmé, “to distinguish between those promptings and ideas that are spiritual and therefore helpful, and those that are vain imaginations.“
“Don’t you think,” suggested her friend, “that this is a matter, as with everything else, of experience, self-discipline, and sincere striving for the purification of heart and mind?”
’Abdu’l-Bahá said:
“Man’s power of thought consists of two kinds, one kind is true, when it agrees with a determined truth. Such conceptions find realization in the exterior world, such are accurate opinions, correct theories, and scientific discoveries and inventions. The other kind is made up of vain thoughts—from such there is no fruit.”
“And dreams”—questioned another—‘does ’Abdu’l-Bahá give any guidance concerning these?”
“Ah!” said the Bahá’i, “the life of the soul in the land of Dreams is a subject so full of mystery and fascination, you would do well to study the subject scientifically, side by side with the clear and beautiful teachings of ’Abdu’l-Bahá.
“There are, of course, such a great variety of dreams. There are those which arise mainly from physical causes, and those which are chiefly composed of our thoughts dressed up and dramatized for us on the inner planes. The marvelous and plastic subconscious can be made to obey the dictates of the will, and yield up the results of its ceaseless labors during our hours of sleep—the ‘Brownies’ as R. L. Stevenson used to call its workings.
“Other dreams there are which are truly messages from spiritual realms, and from loved ones—telepathic communications—a few of which are flashed over into the waking consciousness.
“Many Bahá’ís can tell of lovely visions they have caught of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, just before they entered into the new spiritual consciousness of the Abha Revelation. The symbols in which these dreams come to us sometimes need to be interpreted,
since they come colored, more or less, by the impurities of the mirrors through which they are reflected.
“Then there are the visions such as have come to selfless souls, to saints and seers all through the ages. These are indeed spiritual discoveries and ‘are as a divine key wherewith to unlock the door of facts in the outer world.’
“In this great Day it is becoming more possible for the human mind, according to the purity of the heart, to reflect a clear vision of Realities. ‘This meeting,’ said ’Abdu’l-Bahá ‘is of divine ordination and is a glad-tidings unto the world of mankind.’
“We are also told of a test to apply to these experiences. ‘Whenever thou beholdest that the heart is rejoiced, the eye and the insight are illumined . . . and the spirit is soaring heavenward with joy, know of a certainty that the tablet (spiritual communication) hath reached thee.’
“And again, ‘When thou desirest and yearnest for meeting in the world of vision, at the time when thou art in perfect fragrance and spirituality, wash thy hands and face, clothe thyself in clean robes, turn toward the court of the Peerless One, offer prayer to Him, and lay thy head upon thy pillow. When sleep cometh, the doors of revelation shall be opened and all thy desires shall become revealed.’”
TIME PASSED. Then one day, the Bahá’i, who had been traveling, received a summons to the bedside of Madame Esmé, in a nursing home. Concerning this visit the friend afterwards wrote:—
“I scarcely knew the once handsome face it was so pale and drawn. She smiled at my grieved surprise. “I’m certainly an earth-bound body now,” she greeted me, “but, thank God, my soul will not be.” She mentioned a dread disease. “There can be no recovery,” she said, “but after the first shock I found myself quite resigned, and when there is no pain, even happy. For I am learning how ‘to distill sugar and honey from the bitter poison of suffering’ and to grow my feeble wings for flight into the new Kingdom.”
After a moment she observed: “Reality—it is like a shining highway after the misleading by-paths I pursued so long—too long for my health, as I see so plainly now. But the mists are clearing, soon I shall know—the Truth. Will you please say our ‘garden of happiness’ prayer?” Softly I repeated the prayer for the departed which had become so precious to us both, with its closing and ascending note of joy and glorious fulfilment:—
. . “ Cause them to enter the garden of happiness, cleanse them with the most pure water, and grant them to behold Thy Splendors on the Loftiest Mount.”
“My heart is united with thee even though my body is in a distant land, for verily neither long distance nor immense remoteness can prevent the union between hearts, because the clear hearts are in reality assembled in union in the Kingdom of God, while bodies are dispersed in the east and west of the earth. This dispersion cannot stop the affinity and cannot veil the eye of the soul from seeing in all directions.”
SPIRITUAL discoveries are of two kinds: one kind is of the imagination, and is only the assertion of a few people; the other kind resembles inspiration, and this is real—such are the revelations of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, and of St. John, which are real.
Reflect that man’s power of thought consists of two kinds. One kind is true, when it agrees with a determined truth. Such conceptions find realization in the exterior world; such are accurate opinions, correct theories, scientific discoveries, and inventions.
The other kind of conceptions is made up of vain thoughts and useless ideas which yield neither fruit nor result, and which have no reality; no, they surge like the waves of the sea of imaginations, and they pass away like idle dreams.
In the same way, there are two sorts of spiritual discoveries. One is the Revelations of the Prophets, and the spiritual discoveries of the elect. The visions of the Prophets are not dreams; no, they are spirtual discoveries and have reality. They say, for example, ‘I saw a person in a certain form, and I said such a thing, and he gave such an answer.’ This vision is in the world of wakefulness, and not in that of sleep. Nay, it is a spiritual discovery which is expressed as if it were the appearance of a vision.
The other kind of spiritual discoveries is made up of pure imaginations; but these imaginations become embodied in such a way that many simple-hearted people believe
that they have a reality. That which proves it clearly is that from this controlling of spirits no result or fruit has ever been produced; no, they are but narratives and stories . . . .
Among spiritual souls there are spiritual understandings, discoveries, a communion which is purified from imagination and fancy, an association which is sanctified from time and place. So it is written in the Gospel that on Mount Tabor, Moses and Elias came to Christ, and it is evident that this was not a material meeting. It was a spiritual condition, which is expressed as a physical meeting.
The other sort of converse, presence, and communications of spirits, is but imagination and fancy which only appears to have reality.
The mind and the thought of man sometimes discover truths, and from this thought and discovery signs and results are produced. This thought has a foundation; but many things come to the mind of man which are like the waves of the sea of imaginations,—they have no fruit, and no result comes from them. In the same way man sees in the world of sleep a vision which becomes exactly realized; at another time he sees a dream which has absolutely no result.
What we mean is that this state, which we call the converse and communications of spirits, is of two kinds: one is simply imaginary, and the other is like the visions which are mentioned in the Holy Book, such as the revelations of St. John
and Isaiah, and the meeting of Christ with Moses and Elias. These are real, and produce wonderful effects in the minds and thoughts of men, and cause their hearts to be attracted. — (Answered Questions, p. 291.)
SPIRIT CANNOT BE perceived by the material senses of the physical body, excepting as it is expressed in outward signs and works. The human body is visible, the soul is invisible. It is the soul nevertheless that directs a man’s faculties, that governs his humanity.
The soul has two main faculties. (a) As outer circumstances are communicated to the soul by the eyes, ears, and brain of a man, so does the soul communicate its desires and purposes through the brain to the hands and tongue of the physical body, thereby expressing itself. The Spirit in the soul is the very essence of Life. (b) the second faculty of the soul expresses itself in the world of vision, where the soul, inhabited by the spirit, has its being and functions without the help of the material bodily senses. There, in the realm of vision, the soul sees without the help of the physical eye, hears without the aid of the physical ear, and travels without dependence upon physical motion. It is, therfore, clear that the spirit in the soul of man can function through the physical body by using the organs of the ordinary senses, and that it is able also to live and act without their aid in the world of vision. This proves without a doubt the superiority of the soul of man over his body, the superiority of Spirit over matter.—(The
Wisdom of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, Talks in Paris, p. 80.)
QUESTION: ARE THERE “earth-bound” souls who try to have and do have an influence over people, sometimes taking entire possession of their wills? ’Abdu’l-Bahá. answered: “There are no earth-bound souls. When the souls that are not good die they go entirely away from this earth and so cannot influence anyone. They are spiritually dead. Their thoughts can have influence only while they are alive on the earth. Caiaphas had great influence during his life, but as soon as he died his influence ceased. It was of this kind that Christ said, ‘Let the dead bury their dead.’ But the good souls are given eternal life and sometimes God permits their thoughts to reach the earth to help the people.”—(Daily Lessons at ’Akká, p. 41).
REGARDING THE MATERIALIZATION
of spirits through mediums: A person
finding himself in a state of
trance, or unconsciousness, is like
one who sleeps; whatever he feels
and sees he imagines to be matter
and of material things, but in reality
they are wholly immaterial. . . .
There is a wonderful power and strength which belongs to the human spirit, but it must receive confirmation from the Holy Spirit. The rest of which you hear is superstition. But if it is aided by the Bounty of the Holy Spirit, it will show great power, it will discover realities, and it will be informed of the mysteries. Direct all the attention to the Holy Spirit, and call the attention of every soul to it.
Then will you see wonderful signs. . . . Outside of the Bounty of the Holy Spirit all that thou hearest concerning mesmerism or trumpet communications from the dead are sheer imagination.—(Tablets to Mrs. Ella Goodall Cooper)
THE QUESTION WAS ASKED if it
were possible to establish communication
with the dead, and whether it
was wise or advisable to attend
seances, or to engage in table-turning,
spirit-rapping, etc.
’Abdu’l-Bahá said these rappings etc., were all material things, and of the body. What is needed is to rise above the material to the realms of the purely Spiritual. Table-turning and such like, were material, a natural result, and not spiritual.
But it was possible to communicate
with the dead through the condition of the character and the heart.—(The Wisdom of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, Talks in London, p. 68).
WHEN MAN’S SOUL is rarified and cleansed spiritual links are set up and from these bonds heartfelt sensations are produced. The human heart resembles a mirror. When this is purified hearts are attuned and reflect one another, and thus spiritual emotions spring up. This is like unto the world of dreams, when man is detached from tangible matter and experiences spiritual activities. What amazing laws operate and what remarkable discoveries are made and it may even be that detailed communications are registered.”-(Star of the West, Vol. 14., p. 210).
The following is part of an address delivered by Mrs. True in the Foundation Hall of the Temple which the Bahá’is are building at Wilmette, suburb of Chicago, Ill.
IS it a fact that the Bahá’is of America are simply adding one more to the number of houses of worship, commonly known as churches? Is it another sect or cult that is ingrafting itself on the American soil? If it is not just the above—after all is said and done—then what are we aiming to accomplish that is different, distinctive?
The Founder of the Bahá’i Religion-Bahá’u’lláh—teaches that the oneness of mankind is greater than equality. His two cardinal principles
are The Oneness of Humankind and The Oneness of the Religions God has given to man for his training. This is a teaching distinguishing Bahá’i Temples. The followers of Bahá’u’lláh are building this Temple.
In the term oneness is implied one common spirit vitalizing the whole, as for instance, the human body. All its organs and members are vitalized by one spirit, one ego; they are directly under its command; the will of that one spirit
vitalizing the whole body causes mutual cooperation and an interchange of susceptibilities and sensations. So sensitively organized is this body that if the tip of the little finger should contact with an electric battery, the entire body receives a shock. See the very close connection in the human body: fever in the lungs is detected by the flush of the cheeks, and the hidden diseases of the internal organs are detected by the appearance of the eyes, and other ailments are discovered by the beats of the pulse.
When the nations of the whole world can be aroused to the vital meaning of this “Oneness of Mankind,” recognizing the very close connection between them all; nay rather, becoming conscious that they are parts, vital organs of the one body politic—humankind, then they will cease to consider themselves separate and distinct, calling themselves the European nations, or the Asiatic nations, or the American nations. They will come to realize that what is for the good of the whole, necessarily upbuilds all the parts. World affairs will take on a new aspect, and the entire world will be reorganized to harmonize with Reality—namely that mankind is one, each nation being an integral part of this oneness or whole. Then we willfully realize that oppression
of one part or another reacts on our very own selves. We can discern clearly, therefore, how much more vital is the teaching of the oneness of mankind than that of the equality of mankind.
Such Centers as the Bahá’i Temple typifies, will be great focal centers for electrifying mankind with the knowledge and importance of conforming to this oneness. Bahá’u’lláh says, “Glory is not for him who loves his country, but rather glory is for him who loves his kind—humanity.”
Are such Teachings as the afore-mentioned taught in any of our institutions? Does this not prove that the Bahá’is are raising up in the midst of mankind institutions that will teach men to do away with war and all the destructive competitions.
When the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are more widely spread, understood and accepted—the principle of oneness being one of the most fundamental in this religion—the vision of mankind will be clarified through the Power of the Holy Spirit, and the great lesson will have been learned that injury to and oppression of our fellow human beings means injury to ourselves. And this will make for Universal Peace.
In answer to many questions about the Temple and its accessories, ’Abdu’l-Bahá replied:
“When these institutions, college, hospital, hospice and establishments for the incurable, university for the study of higher sciences and giving post-graduate courses, and other philanthropic buildings, are built, its doors will be opened to all the nations and religions. There will be absolutely no line of demarcation drawn. Its charities will be dispensed irrespective of color or race. Its gates will be flung wide open to mankind; prejudice toward none, love for all. The central building will be devoted to the purpose of prayer and worship. Thus far, for the first time religion will become harmonized with science, and science will be the handmaid of religion, both showering their material and spiritual gifts on all humanity. In this way the people will be lifted out of the quagmires of slothfulness and bigotry.”
Miss Root, journalist and world traveler in behalf of the Bahá’i Movement, gives us here an account of her remarkable experience among some of the leading universities of Germany, where she found great leaders of thought—especially in the Departments of Oriental Languages and Philosophy—deeply appreciative of the teachings and lives of Bahá’u’lláh and ’Abdu’l-Bahá. Probably in no other country in the world would such liberality of thought be found in the great traditional universities. The second and concluding article will appear in the October number of this magazine.
WHEN are great German scholars comparable to Count Gobineau, of France, Baron Rosen of Russia, and Professor Edward G. Browne of England—going into the Near East and Persia to bring back more truths of illuminating Bahá’i history, and who among these wonderful scholars of the German Republic will translate the works of Bahá-u’lláh and ’Abdu’l-Bahá from the Persian and Arabic languages directly into classic German? Some of them will surely do it, for no people in the world are greater seekers for truth than are the Germans. No nation is buying so many books on all religious modern thought today, as is this commonwealth. No people work more indefatigably, for to them no labor is too strenuous, no hours too long to devote to search and research, and what they discover and prove, they send forth to the farthest shore washed by the farthest sea.
The writer, in her travels to Northern lands, saw how the religious thought of Germany has influenced Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. How many statues of early disciples bear German names! Later when Martin Luther thundered his reformation, apostles of Luther took his teachings to Scandinavia and the fruits are the State churches in those strong
Northern countries, where this summer an International Congress of Lutheran churches is being held.
Therefore, to visit most of the universities of Germany and to lecture on “The Bahá’i Movement” in many of these leading institutions, and to speak with the Professors, some of whom make a profound study of Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings, was an extraordinary privilege.
Let the fliers explore the air and race over the seas, but to see a universal religion developing before our very eyes and in the same period when we can prove all statements, and when we see a few rulers, some great scholars and statesmen, and millions of other people stand in their places and do their part to usher in a new spiritual civilization, this is charting the spiritual seas for the next ten or twenty centuries.
The Bahá’i Movement, too, has great need for true and unprejudiced scholars who will study the Movement and give it a deep and scholarly presentation. Some of the Orientalists who know Persian and Arabic well and are versed in eastern religious movements and who have attained renown for their famed translations in kindred subjects, will find that the words of Bahá’u’lláh have a wonderful creative influence especially when they
are read in the original Persian and Arabic.
FAIR LEIPZIG UNIVERSITY, with its seven thousand students, has a Professor who is making a most careful study of the Bahá’i Teachings. He is Geheimer Hofrat Professor Dr. August Fischer, Professor of Oriental Philology, Director of the Semitic Institute of the University and President of the Leipzig Branch of the world-famous German Oriental Society. A number of distinguished Americans are members of this great Oriental Society, and students from the United States chose the Leipzig Oriental Seminary for their studies of Semitic and Islamic languages.
Professor Fischer has given lectures on the Bahá’i Teachings in Leipzig University. He is a deep thinker, a brilliant and eloquent speaker. When the writer lectured in this university in June, Professor Fischer gave an introduction outlining the history of the movement in a very friendly way. He told also of the first appearance of the Bahá’i Movement in Germany, and from the Hamburg Oriental revue, “Der Islam,” he read the following paragraphs from a Tablet of ’Abdu’l-Bahá to a German clergyman. Historically it will interest you:
“Your letter has arrived and I have read it. You ask about the creed of ’Abdu’l-Bahá. My creed is the unity of all human beings which means that the whole human race is God’s fold and God is the Good Shepherd. All people, whatsoever religion or creed they may have, belong to this fold. We oppose no religion whatever, but we call upon them all to join in the union of the human race. But all men must
drink of the well of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh so that war and struggles and quarrels and differences may cease. The whole human race is similar to birds of different colors and qualities, but they must unite and quench their thirst at this well and this well contains the Teachings of Hazreti Bahá’u’lláh. They are: (1) The search for truth. (2) The union of the human race. (3) Religion must create love and unity if it does not do so it is useless. (4) Religion must be in agreement with science. (5) Fanaticism in religion, in cult, in race and in nationalism destroys the whole construction of the human race. All men belong to the fold of God, are one race and the earth is one home. (6) Man must free himself from the belief in any authority and keep only to the principles of the religion of God. (7) The unity of language. One language must be chosen or a new one found to be the universal language, so that misunderstandings between religions, races and nations may cease. Furthermore, equal rights for men and women; furthermore, science and knowledge for every one; furthermore, cooperation of all religions and nations; furthermore, right and justice; furthermore, political unity and other principles. All men must drink of this well, then the flag of the unity of the human race can be hoisted.
The heavenly teachings of Hazreti Bahá’u’lláh belong to the world of ethics and attack no religion whatsoever. The Teachings are spiritual, heavenly, give freedom of conscience, they are light and save man from the dust of darkness, they are the breath of the Holy Spirit of everlasting life, of truth, and they
Dr. August Fischer of Leipzic University.
make the world bright.
Greetings and praise!
Haifa Dec. 6th 1919.”
Several Orientalists and theologians took part in the discussion which followed this lecture in Leipzic University. One young man present was writing his thesis, for his degree, on “The Progress of the Bahá’i Movement in Europe.”
Invited to the home of Professor Fischer, the writer saw his magazine “Islamic,” an important European review with excellent articles. He spoke of the German Oriental Society and it is an interesting coincidence that it was founded at almost the same time that the Báb declared His mission. Its library is now at Halle, and from there religious and cultural books in all Oriental languages are loaned and sent to Orientalists throughout the world. Mr. Hippolyte Dreyfus’
French translations of Bahá'u’llah’s works are much sought from this library and in all German universities they are well known.
FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN University has also a Professor who has studied deeply the history and Teachings of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. Professor Joseph Horovitz, Professor of Semitic languages and Islamic civilization, has not only studied the Cause, but three years ago, on his way to Jerusalem, he went by way of Haifa and called upon Shoghi Effendi. He asked the Guardian of the Bahá’i Cause this question: “If people wish to join the Bahá’i movement, are they expected to leave their own religion to unite with this?” He said he was very pleased with Shoghi Effendi’s clear statement that one could stay in his own church and still be a Bahá’i.
Perhaps before telling you, O readers, what Professor Horovitz has said about these Teachings in a little conversation we had the day before the lecture in the university in June, it would be well to say that he, in addition to being Professor of Semitic languages and Islamic civilization in Frankfurt University, and Director of the Oriental Seminary there, is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He organized the latter and has been there twice and may continue to go at intervals. He knows the East very well, too, for he was during eight years Professor of Arabic in the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh, United Provinces of India. It is the greatest educational institution of Muhammadans in India and has in the meantime been transformed into the
“Moslim University” of India.
He kindly loaned me a copy of the new edition of Professor Edward G. Browne’s book,” A Year Amongst the Persians,” which tells a good deal about the Bábis and Bahá’is. Professor Horovitz was a friend of Professor Browne. Then we spoke together about Bahá’u’lláh and he said: “Bahá’u’lláh’s plan for bringing religions together is excellent. But I see just one difficulty in the Bahá’i claims for European scholars. It is this question of Revealed Books. The Professor says many are not believers in any Revealed Book in the literal sense. Average people are more likely to believe in the “Book” if it came thousands of years ago, but if it comes now, this is something that it is hard for Europeans to assimilate.”
Continuing he said: “In Bahá’u’llah’s day, His followers claim he was a Revealer. Whatever high opinion one may have of His extraordinary Writings, one can hardly admit they are the Word of God.” Professor Horovitz then mentioned the German who wrote about the Bahá’i Movement in Wurttemberg, Dr. Hermann Roemer, whose book is “Die Babi Behá’i.” He says the latter gives the history principally from a missionary’s view, and Mr. Roemer has asserted one could not get around the fact that Bahá’is believe in this Revelation of Godhead as a cardinal point, Professor Horovitz said, “And this is the point where attacks would come. One could not attack the Teachings, they are very sound, very high.”
The writer said to him, “What would you call it, this that Buddha received under the bo-tree? What would you name this that Moses received from the burning bush
and the Tablets of Stone, those commandments which to this day are standard? What did Muhammad receive when He heard the voice of the Angel Gabriel say, ‘Stop! Thou art the Prophet of the Lord!’ If one receives a Truth, a Word of God, what would we call it today?”
He replied: “Instead of saying it is inspired and the Word of God, intellectuals would give it as the result of Bahá’u’lláh’s thinking. In a noble sense, divine things come to one who is pure in his thinking.”
’Abdu’l-Bahá, son of Bahá’u’lláh, in speaking on this same point once explained, “The Bahá’is believe that the incarnation of the Word of God, meaning the changing of the nature of Divinity into humanity and the transformation of the Infinite into the finite, can never be. But they believe that the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh are Manifestations of a Universal Order in the world of humanity. It is clear that the eternal can never be transient, neither the transient eternal. Transformation of nature is impossible. Perfect Man, the Manifestation, is like a clear mirror in which the Sun of Reality is apparent and evident, reflected in its endless bounties.”
Granted that this source of the Báb’s and Bahá’u’lláh’s great Teachings are hard to be believed, then lay that question on the table for a moment. ’Abdu’l-Bahá said: When you speak, speak as I spoke in America, speak on the principles. Then people will begin to ask themselves, “was Bahá’u’lláh a Prophet?” This point was illustrated, for when the writer lectured in Halle University, a group of five eager students came to the platform later and inquired: “Was Bahá’u’lláh a scholar‘? Had he studied in many schools or was his knowledge
innate”? Do you really think he could have been a Prophet?”
Professor Horovitz, as well as some other great Orientalists, may not care for the old doctrines about Imams and special Manifestations of Godhead, but he has a very high opinion of the humanitarian teachings and the spirit of religious toleration in Bahá’u’lláh’s principles. His belief is that people who are living up to the highest ideals in their own religion, agree as to essentials found in all other religions. Differences lie only in the dogmas and rituals.
Personally he thinks there is a great deal to be said for people holding to the forms of worship and life in which they have been brought up. “There is something strengthening in this,” he says, “but they must never go so far as to say that others are not right. One religion may be as good as another if one holds to its spirit.”
“People who are really religious understand one another,” he thinks. A saint in one religion is often looked upon as a saint by people of other faiths. “How often,” said Professor Horovitz, “in the East does one see people bow in reverence at the tomb of a saint, even though the latter be not of their belief, for they have a feeling that God must be somewhere near where a holy man is laid to rest.”
Professor Horovitz spoke very highly of the Bahá’i Teachings and their effectiveness for twentieth century needs. Commenting upon Professor Browne’s book and Dr. Roemer’s account that a few Bahá’is have not “lived” these Teachings, the writer said that because this is a universal religion, every type of person comes into it, they evolve to higher spirituality.
No one is perfect in a day in any religion. Then Professor Horovitz gave the following as his opinion: “One cannot judge of the spirit of Bahá'ism or of any other religion by whether all people live up to it. That is not the test of religion. The tests are: what are the highest ideals accepted by the community? One can run down any religion or any nation by criticising what a few do, but one must consider the ideals. Those who try to keep these high ideals are good. In the east and in the west I have found people for whom I had great respect among the Jews, the Christians, the Hindus, the Muhammadans and the Bahá’is.”
If people could get away from Names and seek the essence of Truth, all World Teachers have taught the same, each according to the capacity of the people in His epoch. The terms, “Manifestation,” “Prophet,” “Revealed Word,” may be variously defined by different religionists and even by non-religionists, but let them stand the test, do they confer upon humanity a moral, spiritual education universal in scope? The sun by any name one may call it, pours forth its light and life and heat; if it doesn’t, then it is not a sun!
WHEN LECTURING in Hamburg University, in the Oriental Seminary, Professor Strohtmann, Professor of Islamic Cultures and Languages and present editor of “Der Islam”—and he is a very ardent Christian—said: ”The Bahá’i Movement is good, it teaches Christians how they ought to live the life of Christ.” That indeed was a very high compliment and it is what Bahá’u’lláh came to do. Bahá’u’lláh taught that it is the Christ
Spirit in all religions, therefore “one must consort with all religions with joy and fragrance.”
Dr. Hermann Grossmann of Hamburg and Wandsbek, a young man who was present at this lecture, heard of the Bahá’i Teachings seven years ago when he was studying in Leipzic University, and now he is Editor of three Bahá’i magazines: “La Nova Tago,” an Esperanto review; “Das Rosengartlen,” a German magazine for children; and another magazine for boys and girls.
ONE VERY FINE Professor in one splendid university had not heard much about the Bahá’i Teachings when the writer called upon him to ask about giving a lecture. He listened intently, but suddenly said: “Let me tell you something Miss Root, you are wasting your time in Germany. Europeans would never accept such a Teaching.”
He was so sincere, so noble! But later this Professor and his friends arranged a large lecture in their
university and they sat in the front row. Other conversations followed and the visit to that beautiful university and the wonderful spirit of this Professor and his colleagues stand out as one of the highest lights in true German culture and good will. It shows you too, O reader, how open-minded the German scholar is to investigate truth.
BERLIN UNIVERSITY with its twelve
thousand students is the largest university
in Germany and it is situated
just next to the Staatsbibliothek,
the second largest library in
the world. The British Museum is
first, but the Staatsbibliothek is second
in the library world. In all the
university lectures the writer had
an exhibition of Bahá’i books in different
languages. Professor G.
Weil and Dr. Gottschalk of the
Staatsbibliothek were interested in
this exhibit which they saw at the
lecture in Berlin University, on
February twenty-eight. They asked
the writer’s permission to take the
exhibit to the Staatsbibliothek for
--PHOTO--
The University of Berlin with an attendance of twelve thousand students.
--PHOTO--
Dr. Franz Babinger of The University of Berlin.
three days to look it over. They did this and afterwards ordered from different publishers a copy of each book in every language which they do not already possess. They have a fine collection of Persian and Arabic Bahá’i manuscripts, and it is their intention to make the collection of Bahá’i books as complete as possible. Professor Weil said that when he went to Palestine last spring he had sought ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s garden in Haifa and walked up and down in it for an hour enjoying its beauty and thinking of the progress of the Bahá’i Teachings.
Professor Dr. Mittwoch, Director of the Seminary for Oriental Languages, had arranged the Berlin University lecture. He presided and gave an excellent introduction. Professor Dr. Kampffmeyer, Professor of Arabic Language also
spoke most interestingly. Professor, Dr. Franz Babinger of this university is bringing out the third edition of “Vorlesungen uber den Islam” (“Lectures on Islam”) written by the late great Orientalist, Professor Goldziher of Budapest who personally knew ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and had written about the Bahá’i Movement in this book. Prof. Dr. Babinger is adding twenty pages to include recent Bahá’i history and is giving the lists of books in different languages.
A cousin of Prof. Dr. Babinger is Dr. Oscar Niedermayer, the explorer, who has written about Persia and Afghanistan. In one of his writings he tells about the meeting with ’Abdu’l-Bahá. The writer had hoped that Dr. von Niedermayer, who at that time was passing from Moscow to Munich, would stop over a day in Berlin and at this lecture say a few words about his visit with ’Abdu’l-Bahá, but he did not have the time.
Some professors in Berlin University have written about the Bahá’i Movement in books and in encyclopaedias. A number of Professors have lectured on the Bahá’i Teachings, and the Bahá’i Cause is well known there. ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s picture is hanging in one of the halls of Berlin University, the writer hears, and from other universities come letters saying: “We thank you for the photograph of ’Abdu’l-Bahá. We have framed it and put it in our seminary so that our members may enjoy it too.” Six universities have expressed the wish to use one of Bahá’u’lláh’s Arabic works for a textbook in seminar reading next year.
(To be continued)
The author, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, has for years been deeply interested in the work of University Cosmopolitan Clubs, and is now National Vice President of the sixth district, comprising California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.
FORMAL education today offers so many prizes which promise fame and renown, even though a few “hand bargains” must be included in the dealings with other men. Yet there comes a day when such fame passes with death.
How resplendent are the souls who live the life of service and of radiant acquiescence! They radiate the splendor of God-given qualities here, and in memory after passing.
That such a contrast exists may be traceable to methods and psychology of modern education, which seek to produce and prevent changes in human beings with little or no emphasis upon man’s conduct with his fellows except in a legal way. Thus man, through exercise of his free will, has neutralized the efforts of the true Educators-the Prophets—who have endeavored to bring man to the complete realization of his station.
Just as modern education utilizes the teacher to bring knowledge of the facts of existence to growing humanity, so God, the Creator, through His Prophets sends instructions by which men may prosper and advance in the material and divine realms. The position of these Prophets as Mirrors of the Life-giving rays of God, the Spiritual Suns in every dispensation for the world of humanity—is testified to by men and events from the beginning of recorded history. They ministered to all forms of
existence—mineral, vegetable, animal and human, through laws which preserved order and brought man and the working of his mind to the apex of creation wherein he has been able to utilize all of these forms by expressing them in arts and crafts, comforts and sciences. These Chosen Ones of God have taught the education of humanity as quite essential to the success of the whole divine plan.
Formal education in colleges and universities as set up by man concerns itself with material and human education. Material education has to do with progress in the development of the body. Human education as administered by man deals with social sciences, applied sciences, knowledge of government, administration, research, invention, and discovery of physical laws.
That man’s education be complete requires a third and essential training namely, spiritual. The elements of spiritual education exist today only to a limited degree as separate educational entities in which the knowledge is particularized and somewhat removed from the actual necessities of life. However, it is the beginning that needs encouragement, for, as ’Abdu’l-Bahá says, “Divine Education is that of the Kingdom of God; it consists in acquiring divine perfections, and this is true education. For in this estate man becomes the center of divine appearances, the manifestation of
the words, ‘Let us make man in our image and after our likeness.’ This is the supreme goal of the world of humanity.”
The Bahá is, as followers of the Prophet Bahá’u’lláh, are taught to appreciate the significance of all the Prophets who truly educated mankind, each one of these Divine Messengers presenting His teaching in the form best adapted for the age and the people to whom He came. When everyone, unfettered by prejudice or intolerance, investigates the reality of these Prophets, their place in history as human, material, and Divine Educators, will become evident. The civilization of Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Christ, and Muhammad, are existent today although quite beclouded by man’s interprations and practices. Yet the Station of these Prophets who assumed the education of ages of men without man’s assistance, attained a greater permanency than the empires that failed to heed their simple teachings. “The Holy, Divine Manifestations are unique and peerless. They are the archetypes of celestial virtues in their own age and cycle. They stand on the summit of the Mount of Vision and they foreshadow the perfections of evolving humanity.”—(’Abdu’l-Bahá).
The reflection of the divine intelligence of these Prophets in the minds and souls and spirits of men like, for instance, the illuminati of ancient Persia, Solomon, Copernicus, Plato, Socrates, Paul, Harvey, Martin Luther, James Watt, Thomas Edison, and others, have transformed the darkness into light. These are evidences which have
baffled the minds of educators and scientists, but are revealed more specifically in this day by the Prophet Bahá’u’lláh.
In His “Words of Wisdom,” Bahá’u’lláh teaches that-
“The Sun of Truth is the Word of God, upon which depends the training of the people of the country of thought. It is the Spirit of Reality and the Water of Life. All things owe their existnce to it. Its manifestation is ever according to the capacity and coloring of the mirror through which it may reflect. For example: Its light, when cast on the mirrors of the wise, gives expression to wisdom; when reflected from the minds of artists, it produces manifestations of new and beautiful arts; when it shines through the minds of students, it reveals knowledge and unfolds mysteries.
“All things of the world arise through man and are manifest in him, through whom they find life and development; and man is dependent for his spiritual existence upon the Sun of the Word of God. The Word is the Fire of God, which, glowing in the hearts of people burns away all things that are not of God. The minds of the lovers are ever aflame with this fire. It is the essence of water, which has manifested itself in the form of fire. Outwardly it is the burning fire, while inwardly it is calm light. This is the water that gives life to all things.
“We beg of God that we may partake of this life-giving Water of Heaven and quaff from the spiritual chalice of rest, and thus be free from all that tends to withhold us from approaching His love.
Glory be upon the people of Glory.”
To arrive at and maintain our educational equilibrium we must, therefore heed the instructions of the Divine Prophets who are the first Educators. According to the teachings of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “The Prophets are sent to educate the innate quality in humanity. They
are like gardeners who sow the grain which afterwards springs up in a thousand forms of advancement. The Prophets are therefore the first Educators of the world, the head-masters of the world. . . . Divine education is the sum total of all development. It is the safeguard of humanity.”
The readers of The Bohá'i Magazine have enjoyed several previous articles from the pen of this brillimzt Persian-American University student.
SAKI writes of an old army man who told the same story so often that his friends secretly arranged a contest, and awarded a prize to the one who heard the story the greatest number of times.
Volubility, alas, is not limited to old army men. It is safe to assert that never in the history of the world have there been so many talkers. The very moving pictures are now articulate. People can no longer sleep through them, and are jerked into unpleasant consciousness by the rasping wheeze of the beautiful heroine. Even the sanctity of the home is invaded by the gigantic tones of the radio announcer. Pulpit and platform are flooded with rolling periods. Besides which we have always with us the people who have nothing to do, and are armed with an incredible store of experiences.
But into Bedlam comes the Bahá’i principle of never speaking an idle word, and this command must inevitably reduce the quantity of words spoken by at least two-thirds of their present volume. The
purpose of this paper is to inquire into the nature of an idle word, and while the reader may consider the paper itself as an adequate illustration of one, yet we must persist in what we feel to be our duty.
Among the most frequent of idle words is the platitude. Platitudes are almost invariably true, but they do not contribute to human progress or enjoyment, and represent a substitute for thought, of which they are mere lifeless imitations. Compare for instance “Beauty is as beauty does,” with “Let deeds, not words, be your adorning.” One annoys, the other inspires. The difference between creative thought and platitude seems to be rather in the manipulation of the material than in the choice of it—a Michael Angelo and a Latin Quarter tyro use the same clay.
Continual reiteration of a principle has appeared to some as a form of platitude, but as a matter of fact reiteration is one of the gentlest and most effective methods of instruction. Psychologists have long understood its value, and list
repetition among the chief factors in attracting attention. Advertising is based on the principle of reiteration. A rule in playwriting is to tell the audience what they are about to see, tell them they are seeing it, and tell them they have seen it. Philosophers say that the universe is the result of endless applications of a few cardinal principles. In other words, a reasonable amount of reiteration is welcome and necessary, however much we disregard its importance. There is a story that when Mirza Abu’l-Fadl* was lecturing on the Bahá’i Cause in this country, he was approached by a lady who complained that he always talked about the same thing. He asked what that thing was, and she replied that she did not know. Whereupon he said that perhaps she had now learned the value of repetition.
To return to idle words, a still more insidious form of these is the personal anecdote. Such anecdotes are permissible only if they are amusing or interestingly instructive. The fact that a thing is amusing often redeems it, because people consider themselves so close to tragedy that they need above all to be amused in order to preserve their mental perspective; a study of the Bahá’i teachings must inevitably emphasize the fact that Bahá’is should be interesting. Let us always remember, then, that the story of how we dyed our old straw hat may win us affectionate friends or implacable enemies, according to our method of telling it.
Entre nous, sub rosa, between ourselves, are also words which are
* A distinguished teacher who traveled and proclaimed the Bahá’i teachings in America in 1904 and 1905.
absent from the vocabulary of progressive human beings. Of all groups in the world, only the Baháis are fully aware of the dangers of secrecy, because all of our efforts are directed toward unity, and the secret is one of the most potent agents for disunion ever thought of. Imagine a group in which every two or three members are sharing a different secret which possibly concerns the others—it is obviously impossible that a fusion of souls be accomplished in such a gathering. Telling secrets is really a breach of spiritual etiquette—and after all there are very few people in the world who are wicked enough to be prefaced with an “entre nous.” Besides which, nothing is more generally known than a secret—the safest policy is not to have one. Worst of all, keeping somebody’s secret is a decided annoyance so that it is an infringement on personal liberty to say, “Now don’t breath this to a soul”—although of course if people insist on thrusting their secrets upon us, we are duty bound to keep them (the writer has often been happy to keep even such secrets as were imparted in the hope of further circulation). As a rule, too, the secret betrays immaturity—early scholars wrapt their discoveries in mystic symbols, while doctors talked Latin to admiring moribunds—but now that the world is growing up, the tendency is rather to err on the side of frankness. At all events, there is little room among us for any kind of secrecy, as Bahá’is do not confide in anyone, but in everyone, and ’Abdu’l-Bahá has said that we are to have no secrets, that we are to bear each other’s sorrows, and share each other’s joys.
Among the thousand and one forms of idle word are the enthusiastically involved disputes which have always been a popular source of long-windedness. Theologians have interminably dissected the essence of the Trinity, while medieval schoolmen have quarrelled over just how many angels may dance on the point of a needle, and philosophers have discussed whether or not they were sitting on the chair they were sitting on. The other day a young psychologist, hearing that we believed in the existence of God, advised us that we were what is known as a “psychical monist,” and that we had best keep our opinions to ourself; had we told our informer that we in our turn would class him as a “psychopathic psychologist” an endless dispute would have ensued—instead of which we parted friends.
What, then, do Bahá’is talk about? Do they literally confine themselves to “Yea, Yea,” and “Nay, Nay?” Bahá’u’lláh has
said: “Oh Emigrants! the tongue I have designed for the mention of me . . .” He says again, “Make mention of Me on My earth, that in My heaven I may remember thee . . .” and again, “Magnify My cause, that I may make manifest unto thee the secret of My greatness and shine upon thee with everlasting light.”
We are undoubtedly most refreshed when speaking of matters pertaining to the Bahá’i Cause, such matters comprise the greater part of our existence, because the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are the mould around which our activities are formed. It is encouraging that so many of the commands of God may be obeyed by the simple process of controlling our speech—the mere negative act of not talking prevents us from falsehood, loquacity, slander, gossip, disputes, tediousness, and a hundred other sins. And it is evident that in proportion as we discard unnecessary conversation we are given to express much that is of lasting beauty.
- Silence is but a fuller kind of sound
- More eloquent, more stirred with meaning’s beat;
- The grass does speak in silence to the ground,
- In silence does the stream the song repeat.
- With gold of silence brow of saint is crowned,
- The lips of thought are sealed with silence meet;
- With quiet is the loved one haloed round,
- And pilgrims enter shrines with silent feet.
- In fruitful stillness love does come to birth
- And warmth and kindness out of quiet rise
- And prayer from silent mouth to heaven may soar.
- From silence comes the power to wield the earth
- To burn the world with flames of silent eyes—
- Like waves to thunder, and like lions to roar.
“I AM NO DREAMER, and I am not underestimating the importance of economic, political and social questions. I was in Parliament myself and never thought of talking there about religious questions. No self-respecting person will expound his most sacred convictions every little while at the slightest provocation, but every such person has such convictions and lives up to them. And I believe that there is something deeper than any material question, no matter how important that may be.
“Any national program in order to be effectual must express the fullness of modern cultural needs. It must be well rounded. It must consider the spiritual as well as the material side of human beings.
“Political independence alone is not sufficient. For independence will not preserve any nation. Morality and education are the ultimate salvation. For even political independence is only a means to attain the righteous living of a nation. When righteous living ceases in a country, when the people no longer live morally or decently, when they no longer have contentment of souls, that nation is bound to go under.
“Even universal suffrage cannot make a nation endure unless the people of that land are enlightened, educated and finally realize the preponderance of spirit over matter, of morality over immorality and of enlightened humanity over brute force.”—President Thomas G. Masaryk of Czechoslovakia in the New York Times.
“THAT WAS A very quiet affair twenty-five years ago in Berlin when at the inspiration of Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt the International Woman’s Suffrage Alliance was founded. At that time in Germany it was against the law to have any kind of a suffrage organization. In the free city of Hamburg, however, a suffrage society had been started and there were members of this society scattered through Germany. Seven countries in all were represented, and the Berlin members of the Hamburg society were the German representatives. Woman suffrage was already known in five states of the United States but it did not exist anywhere else in the world. And nowhere was it taken seriously except by that devoted little band of early suffragists who were laying the foundation of this great world movement.
“This year the Congress met again in Berlin and this time with representatives from forty-five countries and with suffrage for women won in three-quarters of the countries of the world . . . For Mrs. Catt, Mrs. F. Louis Slade presented the flags of all the nations, and of the scene at their acceptance, she says: “Young girls carrying the flags of the nations came toward us. They passed us, they rose above us bearing aloft their banners, a token that the youth of the world will carry forward the work that is but begun.” . . .
“There were women from every continent, and each voiced the same hope that the enfranchisement of
women was destined to bring this great gift to mankind—the end of war, the establishment of peace and good will among the nations.”—“Weekly News” published by the New York League of Women Voters.
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“READING FOR INTERRACIAL understanding must begin far back of books of travel and of information, back even to biography and of the works of literature which reflect the spirit of a people. We must begin with books about the world as a whole which will show us the place of mankind, including all races and groups in the universe; with books that tell the story of man’s life on earth as one story showing our common heritage in the past and our common hopes for the future.”—Mrs. Florence Brewer Boeckel, Educational Director, National Council for Prevention of War, in “Libraries.”
“PERU IS A LAND of generous feelings and hospitality. We are open to all the races of the world. We have in our customs the virtues of the Spanish nation as far as hospitality is concerned, and everyone who goes there with good will is received with open arms. Many Japanese are there, doing very well. Some went to Peru as peasants, and are now rich land owners, and they belong to the best classes of our society because we give more praise and honor to a self-made man than to a man who can only boast of his lineage of blood.”—Minister Keiichi Yamasaki in the Pan-Pacific fie Union Bulletin.
APPOINTMENT of Mrs. Chiang
Kai-Shek, wife of the Chinese President, as a member of the committee of the legislative Yuan of the Chinese government, is viewed by the Shanghai correspondent of the Daily Mail as a consequence of women’s growing demand for sex equality.
This demand, he said, had already produced radical changes in social and family customs and had placed women on an equal footing with men before the law. The appointment of Mrs. Chiang gave her powers equivalent to those of a cabinet minister. She is the first woman to hold such a post in China.
Mrs. Chiang is a graduate of Wellesley and a sister of T. V. Soong, minister of finance.—Washington, D. C. “Star.”
A NEW “INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY,” designed particularly for young Americans who wish to acquaint themselves with Scandinavian culture, is about to be set up in Denmark under the direction of Dr. Sven Knudson, well known educator and Boy Scout leader. The unique institution will be housed in the picturesque old Chateau Lerchenborg on the Island of Sjaelland, upon which the city of Copenhagen is located. Dr. Knudsen, who has in previous years helped in the exchange of American and Danish youngsters between private homes in the two countries, announces that 600 Americans of all ages will be enrolled in the first “semester” of the school.”—Washington Star.
SOUTHAMPTON, L. I.—Sept. 1.—Declaring that economics had displaced politics as the centre of gravity of human interest, Dr. Nicholas
Murray Butler, president of Columbia University and of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in an address at the Parrish Art Museum here tonight appealed for the “large-minded cooperation” of business on an international scale to buttress world peace.
The controlling motive of the life and thought of the world is no longer liberty but wealth, Dr. Butler said, suggesting that the war years of 1914 to 1918 marked the definite end of an era of some four centuries in which intellectual and political interests and the will of the individual to self-expression and freedom were dominant.
Calling for wise guidance of the now prevailing economic motive lest it be linked with extreme nationalism, he asked what possibly could be expected of a narrow nationalism built on an economic foundation, if narrow nationalism on a truly political foundation could do no better than it had done.
Dr. Butler launched a direct attack on the traiff legislation now being framed in Congress as an illustration of the danger ahead if new international relationships were not appreciated in considerations of economics. He warned that the peace and prosperity of the world would be “mightily advanced or gravely compromised” according as Congress acts wisely or unwisely on “this crucial question.”—New York Times.
EXCERPTS PUBLISHED IN THE “NEW YORK TIMES,” FROM ADDRESSES AT THE NINTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
OF PSYCHOLOGY WHICH OPENED AT YALE UNIVERSITY SEPT. 2, 1929.
“WHEN IN THE fullness of time there is a family of the nations, when each will give according to its ability and receive according to its needs, when war among them will be as absurd as it would now be for members of this congress to begin murdering one another, this will be due in no small measure to cooperation among scientific men of all nations in their common stock.”—Dr. J. McKeen Cattell, President of the Congress, formerly professor at the University of Pennsylvania and at Columbia.
“IN THE PAST two decades even nations have learned much of the terrible futility of unmitigated hostility and, also, let us hope, of the ultimate possibilities of friendly cooperation,” he said.
“What has thus been found true in the political sphere, can hardly fail to be found more true in the effort to push forward the frontiers of knowledge, an enterprise where the cultivation of common interests and curiosities need engender no fatal animosities, and where there exist abundant opportunities for the development of the most generous rivalries.”—Dr. James R. Angell, President of Yale.
A REPORT on earlier congresses was made by Professor Edward Claparede, of Switzerland, secretary of the international committee of the congress. He suggested the need for a universal language for scientists.
