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| VOL. 21 | JUNE, 1930 | NO. 3 |
| Page | |
Religious Unity, ’Abdu-l’Bahá | 66 |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 67 |
New Attitudes on Color, Leslie R. Hawthorn | 70 |
Ghazi Kemal Pasha, Martha L. Root | 75 |
The Universal Religion, Hooper Harris | 77 |
A Bahá'i Traveler in Palestine, Dr. Walter B. Guy | 82 |
Building the Temple at the 1930 Convention, Doris McKay | 84 |
The Glorious Youth, Lorrol Jackson | 87 |
Songs of the Spirit—Poems by Lorna B. Tasker, Sophronia Aoki, Willard P. Hatch, Janet Bolton, Shahnaz Waite, F. W. S. | 91 |
The Divine Traces in Persia, Dr. Lotfullah S. Hakim | 92 |
World Thought and Progress | 95 |
| Cover Design by VICTORIA BIDIKIAN | |
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 Magazine, 1112 Shoreham Bldg., 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.
HIS Holiness Bahá’u’lláh has said that if from each of the varying religious systems one intelligent member be selected, and these representatives come together seeking to investigate the reality of religion, they would establish an inter-religious body before which all disputes and difference of religious belief could be presented for investigation and discussion. These questions could then be weighed and settled from the standpoint of reality and all imitations discarded. In this way all religious sects and systems would become one.
Do not question the practicability of this and be not astonished. It has been effected and accomplished in Persia. In that country the various religionists have gathered together to investigate the reality and have united in the utmost fellowship and love. No traces of discord or differences remain; the utmost love, kindness and unity are apparent. They are unified and live together like a single family in harmony and accord. Discord and strife have passed away. Love and fellowship now prevail instead. Furthermore those souls who have obeyed Bahá’u’lláh and attained this condition of accord, fellowship and affiliation are Muhammadans, Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Nestorians, Shiites, Sunnites, and others. No discord exists among them. This is a proof of the possibility of universal unification among the religionists of the world through practical means. Imitations which have held men apart have been discarded and the reality of religion envelops them in its perfect unity.
| VOL. 21 | JUNE, 1930 | NO. 3 |
has its connection with every other part, according to a Divine system.”
HAVE THE EARTH and the human life upon it come to be what they are by a form of evolution which is purely an accidental configuration of matter, or have they followed a Design which the people of religion call the Will of God?
The Bahá’i teaching definitely supports the concept of a vast Design which not only has patterned life, but has also impelled it to evolve. “It hath been made evident and proved,” said ’Abdu’l’Bahá, “that interaction, cooperation and interrelation amongst beings are under the direction and will of a Motive Power which is the origin, the motive force and the pivot of all interactions in the universe.”
Scientists, on the other hand, successful in finding material causes for material things, have tended to conceive a chain of cause and effect which precludes a Divine purpose or will. Comte, French scientist and philosopher of a century ago, asserted the dogmatic position of science in the classic words, “We have now ushered God across the boundaries of the universe.” In other words, the scientist no longer felt any need of causes outside the phenomenal universe.
This materialism has continued to dominate scientific thought from Darwin till today. But now, for
the first time, the open-minded scientist is beginning to confess himself baffled before the ultimate mystery of matter—and its kaleidoscopic transformations. The solidity of the atom, firm ground and foundation for a materialistic concept of the universe, has already disappeared into thin air, and with it the cocksureness of the positivist. Leading physicists of today, such as Michelson and Eddington, see the possibility of explaining ultimate matter in terms of spirit.
And now comes a remarkable statement from the physicist Arthur H. Compton of the University of Chicago, Nobel Prize winner of 1927, to the effect that the world and mankind have not developed at random out of an atomic chaos. On the contrary, he believes there is evidence of a directive intelligence or purpose back of everything, with the creation of intelligent minds as its reasonable goal.
“The old-fashioned evolutionary viewpoint, “says Professor Compton in an interview to the New York Times, “was that the world as we know it developed as a result of chance, variations of all kinds occurring, some of which would be more suited to the conditions than others, and therefore surviving.
More recent thought has found this viewpoint increasingly difficult to defend.
“To the physicist it has become clear that the chances are infinitesimal that a universe filled with atoms having random properties would develop into a world with the infinite variety that we find about us.
“This strongly suggests that the evolutionary process is not a chance one but is directed toward some definite end. If we suggest that evolution is directed we imply that there is an intelligence directing it. It thus becomes reasonable to suppose that intelligent minds may be the end toward which such an intelligent evolution is proceeding.”
Not only does this modern-minded physicist believe in a Purpose underlying and impelling all existence, but he doubts if the human mind and soul, greatest and most important of all creations, becomes annihilated at the death of the body.
“If in the world scheme conscious life is the thing of primary importance, what is happening on our earth is thus of great cosmic significance, and the thoughts of man, which have come to control to so great an extent the development of life upon this planet, are perhaps the most important things.
“On this view, we might expect nature to preserve at all costs the living souls which it has evolved at such labor, which would mean the immortality of intelligent minds.”
The growth of man’s character, through the trials and tests of the years of earthly life, does all this come to naught at death? Such
an idea is unthinkable says this physicist.
“It takes a whole lifetime to build the character of a noble man. The adventures and discipline of youth, the struggles and failures and successes, the pains and pleasures of maturity, the lonliness and tranquility of age—these make up the fire through which he must pass to bring out the pure gold of his soul. Having been thus far perfected, what shall nature do with him? Annihilate him? What infinite waste!”
Thus we see that science is more and more tending in the direction of harmony with the deeper spiritual truths.
And in the world of economics we have such a leader as Roger Babson urging the teaching of the spiritual verities to all school children, for it is more important than any other knowledge. The existence of God and the soul, the use of prayer, and the immortality of the spirit—these are subjects which he would have the public schools inculcate.
Certainly the time to acquire the foundations of religion is in childhood. The present generation are managing to live without religion because they are still using spiritual momentum acquired from their parents. But what have they to hand on to their own children? Here is one of the greatest problems that face modern parents who have themselves lost faith in religion because of its entanglements with dogmas impossible of reconciliation with known truths of science.
Just at this time when devotion
to traditional religion is weakening—and this trend is almost as strong in Japan, China, India, and the Near East, as it is in America and Europe—humanity is presented with a solution which is marvelously satisfying to the most advanced thought, and which bridges the gulf between religious progressives and religious conservatives. The Bahá’i Movement, strongly practical in its humanitarian message and appeal, also harmonizes spiritual truth with the truth of science. From the old dogmas and traditions, man-made in an epoch
of humanity’s childhood, emerges once more religion pure and undefiled.
Such truth is no more hostile to science than is the universe itself. For truth cannot be disparate. There can be only one truth-whether it be approached from the viewpoint of the scientist or of the religionist. Religious dogma which opposes truth as revealed by science is pure imagination, the product of man’s emotions rather even than of his intellect—and certainly not truth as divinely revealed.
Bahá’u’lláh says the universe hath neither beginning nor ending. He has set aside the elaborate theories and exhaustive opinions of scientists and material philosophers by the simple statement “There is no beginning, no ending.” The theologians and religionists advance plausible proofs that the creation of the universe dates back six thousand years; the scientists bring forth indisputable facts and say “No! these evidences indicate ten, twenty, fifty thousand years ago,” etc., etc. There are endless discussions pro and con. Bahá’u’lláh sets aside these discussions by one word and statement. He says “The divine sovereignty hath no beginning and no ending.” By this announcement and its demonstration he has established a standard of agreement among those who reflect upon this question of divine sovereignty; brought reconciliation and peace in this war of opinion and discussion.
Briefly, there were many universal cycles preceding this one in which we are living. They were consummated, completed and their traces obliterated. The divine and creative purpose in them was the evolution of spiritual man, just as it is in this cycle. The circle of existence is the same circle; it returns. The tree of life has ever borne the same heavenly fruit.-Abdu’l-Bahá.
ABDU’L-BAHÁ in His writings and when in this country had much to say concerning the oneness of the world of humanity, and the relationships of peoples of different color to one another. On various occasions he referred to the color problem in the United States, where, unfortunately, it presents itself from time to time in acute forms. To one who is at all acquainted with this great problem and with ’Abdu’l-Bahá’s remedy, it is refreshing to read in “Pacificism in the Modern World,”* edited by Devere Allen, a chapter by the editor, entitled “The New White Man.” In it he depicts the beginnings of a New Age in which he already sees changes of attitude towards the darker skinned citizens of the world on the part of some of the more progressive white men.
To truly appreciate his point of view one needs to read the chapter itself, for it exposes to view some of the real reasons for the attitudes of the white race towards the peoples of darker color, and likewise shows the readjustments that sooner or later are bound to come. Briefly, the new white man is the person who has acquired the fundamental idea of the brotherhood of man and practices that ideal.
“The new Negro, the new Chinese, the new oppressed and submerged colored peoples everywhere, are reaching out for higher and
* Published by Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., Garden City, New York.
higher achievements and more abundant opportunities for self-realization. The world around, almost, new is the word which describes the stirring of thought among those sections of mankind which have hitherto been looked down on by believers in Anglo-Saxon superiority.”
Such statements naturally raise the question as to whether there is any possibility of a new white man. Allen evidently thinks there is.
“The new white man will soon become articulate. . . .
“The new white man will have to burst the bonds of ignorance.” Allen, after enlarging this statement by saying that the new white man will become aware of the accomplishments in many lines of not only the Negro, but peoples of other pigmentation, too, adds: “He will know so many Negroes personally, if he has the good fortune to deserve their friendship, that the experience of association alone will render him immune from the foolish phrases of traditionalism.”
“The new white man will burst the bonds of superstition.” Allen explains that if the colored people are superstitious the white are also. Their superstitions pertain to the darker skinned folk, and are usually very unrelated to scientific fact. Allen hastens to say, however: “Yet it is questionable how far we shall get ahead by appeals to science and by too learned discussions. This is one field of human contact where unspoiled fraternization
of children belonging to different races is a guide fully as reliable as laboratory studies or dissertations in anthropology.”
“The new white man will burst the bonds of economic dependency. . . . In the ranks of organized white labor, which for the most part refuses to admit the colored worker, will some day yet be heard the voice of the new white man, crying out the sound principle of all-inclusive labor solidarity.”
Elsewhere Allen says regarding the solution of the race problem, “Is there, indeed, any way at all short of complete justice, complete equality, complete freedom for friendship?
“Almost uniformly the great saints and prophets have pointed toward a unity of the races transcending any immediate hope we may dare entertain for our present caste-ridden society.”
To the new white man, however, he gives the vision, when he says: “Looking down the far aisles of coming centuries he can hardly fail to see increasing interracial oneness.”
Such thoughts are stimulating, and when we turn to the words of ’Abdu’l-Bahá we find “One of the important questions which affect the unity and solidarity of humankind is the fellowship and equality of the white and colored races. Between these two races certain points of agreement and points of distinction exist which warrant mutual consideration. The points of contact are many; for in the material or physical plane of being both are constituted alike and exist under the same law of growth and bodily development. Furthermore,
both live and move in the plane of the senses and are endowed with human intelligence. There are many other mutual qualifications. In this country, the United States of America, patriotism is common to both races; all have equal rights of citizenship, speak one language, receive the blessings of the same civilization and follow the precepts of the same religion. In fact, numerous points of partnership and agreement exist between the two races; whereas the one point of distinction is that of color. Shall this, the least of all distinctions, be allowed to separate you as races and individuals? In physical bodies, in the law of growth, sense endowment, intelligence, patriotism, language, citizenship, civilization and religion you are one and the same. A single point of distinction exists—that of racial color. God is not pleased with, neither should any reasonable or intelligent man be willing to recognize inequality in the races because of this distinction.”
In discussing the present attitude of the white man and his dominance of the race situation Allen makes the following interesting statement concerning the white American: “Despite the legend of the Civil War, he has allowed himself to be sold by his desire for dominance into a spiritual slavery. . . . It is because thus far we whites have not had our spiritual renaissance that we pay any heed to oracles who but bolster up our prejudices. . . .”
’Abdu’l-Bahá tells us, “There is need of a superior power to overcome human prejudices; a power which nothing in the world of mankind can withstand and which will
overshadow the effect of all other forces at work in human conditions. That irresistible power is the love of God.”
The new white man will have tlle love of God. So undoubtedly will the new man of the future, whatever his color. Although, perhaps, in this country it will be the white man who will have to change his attitudes more than any others; it is also true that the New Age will see a greater feeling of unity on the part of those whose color is different from our own. History shows that subjugated races when opportunity is given them usually exhibit an attitude of superiority, presumably in retaliation for the wrongs they suffered. Such an attitude, without the love of God, is rather natural. To avoid repetition of such events it would seem as though those now exhibiting the attitude of race superiority should be the first to take advantage of the new standards for this Age and hasten the development of the new white man.
Allen makes this startling statement: “. . . For the avoidance of interracial conflict on a titanic scale in the remaining years of the Twentieth Century the white man, because of his long dominance, is chiefly responsible.
“Only the coming of the new
white man can prevent catastrophe. Nothing affects the situation very much unless the new Negro, the new peoples of the new East, the new white man, can begin now to live a new life more adventurous by far than war and exploitation.”
To those who have read the words of Bahá’u’lláh and ’Abdul-Bahá and have caught the spirit of the Age which is upon us, and who, with Their help, are conscious of the tremendous forces now at work throughout the world, and who can see the far-reaching changes going on in all phases of human life, it is stimulating as well as enlightening to come across such a book as “Pacifism in the Modern World,” and to read therein such a chapter as “The New White Man.” Such statements as are quoted above, and coming from such an authority, should awaken us more fully to the problems around us and before us, and cause us to devote all our efforts towards the fulfillment of those ileals which are fundamental in the Bahá’i cause, and which were proclaimed many, many years ago by Bahá’u’lláh. The most important of all the principles is The Oneness of Mankind, for until this oneness is understood and accepted peace is impossible of accomplishment.
“Originally mankind was one family, united and compact; later on the members of this happy family were divided and subdivided through ignorance and prejudices. Now the time has come again for their final unification.“—’Abdu’l-Bahá.
“What is the spirit of this age, what is its focal point? It is the establishment of Universal Peace, the establishment of the knowledge that humanity is one family. . . . This is the day in which war and contention shall be forgotten. This is the day in which nations and governments will enter into an eternal bond of amity and conciliation. This century is the fulfillment of the promised century.”-’Abdu’l-Bahá.
THE PEACE MOVEMENT no longer depends on a few so-called intellectuals. It has arrived at a point where it not only challenges some of the brainiest statesmen in the world, but where great parties dare to endorse it.
Twenty-five or thirty years ago, people regarded it as based on pure idealism, as righteous in theory, but hopeless in practice.
Now they realize that it was shaped by the necessities of modern civilization, that the twentieth century world could not afford to ignore it, and that instead of being a romantic dream, it was rooted in the fundamental needs of hard-headed progress.
Nations are beginning to understand that they cannot live by the law of the jungle, that world-wide trade and intercourse calls for world-wide order and that they must recognize the common interests if they would enjoy the common benefits of civilized life.
In this respect, humanity is merely applying on a grand scale those ideas which it has found
necessary to apply on a small scale since the dawn of consciousness.
Time was when each family lived unto itself and looked to its own strength for protection, and time was when each tribe claimed the right to make war at its pleasure.
Unrestrained sovereignty, as we call it, has bowed to the laws of relativity and compromise.
In the beginning it was exercised by the individual; later by the family; still later by the clan, and then by the nation.
Each step upward has led to its subordination.
Right now there are only fifty-five governments who pretend to enjoy it, and the vast majority of those have yielded to the extent of joining the League of Nations, entering the World Court or subscribing to the Kellogg pact.
Humanity has not been following a poet’s fancy in this expansion of ideas, but has found virtue in what was profitable, in what paid, in what was indispensable to the growth of intelligence.—M. E. Tracey in the Washington News.
--PHOTO--
Ghazi Kemal Pasha, President of Turkey (See opposite page)
TURKEY, the new Republic, under the powerful courage of the Ghazi Kemal Pasha, has contributed a mighty forward impulse to world understanding, to the union of East and West. Turkey, situated in both the Orient and the Occident, the onetime head of the Muslim world, is today watched by the eyes of millions of Muslims throughout the different continents. And Turkey has astonished even Europe and the rest of the western world by her most frank democratic attitude. She has gone a generous half-way to stretch out her hand of good will to western Christian countries. Let not Christian Europe, in its self-esteem walk by on the other side of the road,–it, too, has broken faith. and committed atrocities.
One knows that before there can be a New World Order, the crumbling old dogmas and fanaticisms, the prejudices and jealousies must be torn down, and efficient tools provided for building a new unity of humanity. This the great Ghazi Kemal Pasha has done. He has the reputation of plunging into all the hardest tasks that no one else would attempt and carrying them through to remarkable success. He is doing his part to make the world safe for peace; differently to be sure from Mr. Kellogg and his pact, but nevertheless very important.
Kemal Pasha has substituted the Latin character for the Arabic, so that now western literature will be easier for the millions of easterners
to learn, and in turn western nations can more quickly grasp the Turkish language and through it understand the religion, the philosophy, the culture of the Oriental. This must come about if the East and the West really are to understand each other. Man as man can never hold up his head in honor until the East and the West are real friends for until then he is the universe’s greatest failure.
The Ghazi has also separated the religion and the state in Turkey, which was a much harder task than it was for Europe to throw off a similar yoke a few centuries earlier. Now in the Orient, liberty of thinking and freedom in choosing one’s belief will be realized more and more for Turkey’s present tolerant far-seeing outlook undoubtedly will be studied and adopted by many other Asiatic countries.
MUHAMMAD NEVER taught the
wearing of the veil. Muhammad’s
own daughter, called “the Lady of
Paradise” spoke to large audiences
of Arabs with her face uncovered.
It is said that Zeyneb, the great and
very beautiful woman professor in
the University of Baghdad wore no
veil when she taught. It is the
Ghazi Kemal Pasha in this twentieth
century who has had the
superhuman courage to take the
veil off Turkish Islam and to do
away with polygamy in Turkey. In
this new republic of Turkey the
marriage law is the same as it is in
Switzerland and in the United States.
IF ANY ONE visits Turkey and sees how these Young Turks have suffered, been persecuted and exiled, how they have fought to hold the “homelands” of their once vast empire, and how necessary it is now to guard their spirit of nationalism in these first foundation years, one is not surprised that nationalism is cherished almost as their religion in this new Turkey.
If Turkey can be left to develop her rich resources, expand to the full her modern education, and if the world will give to Turkey courteous consideration and unquestioning trust, Turkey may stand a glorious
Republic, a model to the East and a glory to the West.
Now her great President (and he is the same man who as Commander of the Army blocked absolutely the Dardanelles to a warring world) has opened wide the mental dardanelles so that the East and the West may come and go, so that there may be Arabic-Latinized script, so there may be co-education, great freedom and progress for women in this eastern-westernized republic, and so there may be genuine free thinking and freedom for all religions.
So before leaving this table of thought, O reader, I lift my glass and pledge a toast to
Kemal Pasha, President of the Republic of Turkey.
“From every standpoint the world of humanity is undergoing a reformation. The laws of former governments and civilizations are in process of revision, scientific ideas and theories are developing and advancing to meet a new range of phenomena, invention and discovery are penetrating hitherto unknown fields revealing new wonders and hidden secrets of the material universe; industries have vastly wider scope and production; everywhere the world of mankind is in the throes of evolutionary activity indicating the passing of old conditions and advent of the new age of re-formation. Old trees yield no fruitage; old ideas and methods are obsolete and worthless now. Old standards of ethics, moral codes and methods of living in the past will not suffice for the present age of advancement and progress. . . .
“While this is true and apparent, it is likewise evident that the Lord of mankind has bestowed infinite bounties upon the world in this century of maturity and consummation. The ocean of divine mercy is surging, the vernal showers are descending, the Sun of Reality is shining gloriously. Heavenly teachings applicable to the advancement in human conditions have been revealed in this merciful age. This re-formation and renewal of the fundamental reality of religion constitute the true and outworking spirit of modernism, the unmistakable light of the world, the manifest effulgence of the Word of God, the divine remedy for all human ailment and the bounty of eternal life to all mankind.”—’Abdu’l-Bahá.
“In this century of illumination hearts are inclined toward amity and fellowship and minds are thoughtful upon the question of the unification of mankind. There is an emanation of the Universal Consciousness today which clearly indicates the dawn of a great unity.”-’Abdu’l-Bahá.
RELIGION which leads the way to God through Prophets can alone furnish the authority necessary to provide the laws and institutions in accordance with which the social, intellectual and spiritual evolution of mankind must proceed. For religion must be not only for that rare company of highly developed people whose souls aspire to God, must be not merely a more or less successful effort by individuals to find and know God, but it must be able to change laws and customs which stand in the way of progress and enlightenment, remove superstitions, furnish a conclusive proof and argument, and provide us with a sufficient sanction for government, so that the foundations of society may be made firm, and the world saved from sinking into gross materialism and perhaps from that back into barbarism, for history teaches us that barbarism may easily exist under all the outer forms of culture and civilization.
Just as life can only be known through its manifestations, so God Who is the Author and Creator of life, can only be known through His Manifestation, Who is “the life, the truth and the way.” The question whence we are, what we are, and what is our final goal and end, neither science nor philosophy has been able to answer. Such an answer as the soul will accept and
profit by, can be furnished by religion alone. But any answer which religion gives, to be satisfactory to the educated and intelligent, must be supported and attested by facts, confirmed by reason and justified by experience. Otherwise there is nothing to show that religion is anything more than more aspiration of the soul toward the Unknowable.
True religion, according to the Bahá’i teaching, is something more than soul aspiration, and rests upon something far more substantial than psychic phenomena or miracles, which in themselves are not sufficient to constitute any proper or satisfactory basis for real faith, True religion does not deny any of these things, but it does not depend upon them. It stands firmly on divine revelation, and affirms that the only real proof of God and soul and eternal life is a provable and demonstrable revelation of the spirit of God to men, and that such a divine revelation must come to man through Man used as the Mouthpiece of God.
While the Invisible Essence of God is unknowable and above “ascent or descent, heigth or depth, sign, description or definition,” so that we cannot say what He is or what He is not, yet the Revelation of God is knowable and provable. The Prophets of God are therefore His real and substantial proof, for
in Them His spirit becomes maifest.
The Spirit of God has been at work in humanity, which is its true temple, from the very beginning; and its Manifestations to men in the various cycles and epochs with signs and proofs which cannot be denied is to be clearly traced in the history of the human race. Through the different cycles this mighty and wonderful spirit in man has not been working aimlessly, but on the contrary, for the progressive development of man to an end and goal worthy of his creation. Carlyle has well said, “Man is a wonderful creature, mysteriously endowed, with such a life within him and such a world about him as defies successful analysis.”
Individuals may be insignificant, with only their few short years to live. But when we consider man as a race; view him in the light of the one great spirit in him which is continually driving him forward along the road of civilization and progress, and see his great accomplishments—how he has changed the face of the earth, subdued and conquered nature and harnessed the very elements to his use,—it is easy to understand that there must have been a great purpose in his creation. As the poet has so beautifully expressed it: “Towards one divine event, the whole creation moves.” We cannot more fitly describe that event than in the language of the Hebrew prophets as the Day of God, “when the knowledge of God would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea; when the great Deliverer would arise with healing on His wings; when God’s holy ones would reign on earth; when the Most Great Peace would become
manifest; and when there would be one Lord and His Name One.”
THE ONE GREAT spirit, the Spirit
of Truth, has at different times in
the social and spiritual development
and progress of the human
race, manifested itself with signs
and with power and authority. It
is the will of God in humanity continually
striving to uplift man to a
higher level of divine knowledge, of
morality and of spirituality. Its
Manifestations men have known as
Zoroaster, Abraham, Moses, Buddha,
Christ, Muhammad.
Men cannot know the Essence of God, but those in whom His Primal Will becomes manifest, are known as the Prophets of God; and the great error of humanity has been the worship of Their personalities, instead of the Light which shines from Them, and is apparent in Them.
We should always try to see the Light and not merely the Lamp in which it is shining; for while the Light is always one, the Lamps may be, and have been, of different forms and colors. It is the Spirit which manifests through Them, and the instructions received from Them—the life and teachings—which are important; and Their human personalities, instead of being a help, may become a veil and a hindrance unless through the spiritual eye we continually look at Their Reality which is God.
Since the advancement of the human race is a progressive development, no Prophet has ever claimed His revelation to be final, but each has prophesied of another to come after Him. Each one has His year or cycle, with its spring, summer,
autumn, and winter. And in the gloomy clouds of the winter time of His revelation when “darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people,” the Light for the New Cycle appears and the New Dispensation is born.
Hence in the Bagavad Gita, it is written, “Whenever religion goes down and irreligion prevails, I am born among men to reestablish it again.” And so in the Gospels, it is prophesied that the Son of Man would come in the clouds and at a time when the people would have the forms of Godliness but would lack the power of the spirit. Buddha said that after Him another would come who would have thousands of followers where He had had hundreds. And in the Ambatha Sutta, the ancient Brahmin scriptures are referred to and summed up as prophesying the coming of “the Great Man who is to conquer the sea-girt earth without a rod and without a sword and sit enthroned.”
In each cycle the True One appears to bring men back to the one true God, He Who is the creator and sustainer of all life; and to free the human mind from soul-chilling superstitions and from customs inherited from ancestors which prevent enlightenment and progress.
However much we may boast of our enlightenment, in one way or another all of us allow the past to put chains and fetters on us. We need first of all to realize that we must be men, and to be men means that we must not be afraid to stand alone, face to face with the Truth, and to use the great faculties of reason and judgment wherewith God has endowed us in reaching our conclusions. To be free means
to stand masters of ourselves, within ourselves, cutting away from the tales of the past, working out our own problems, and freeing ourselves from customs and traditions which had their own reason for being, but which in this age stand in the way of progress.
A great lecturer has said the two great principles necessary to success are discipline and sacrifice. By discipline is meant self-discipline, for one who cannot govern himself is not fit for freedom. And by sacrifice is meant that the individual must be willing—for the good of his community, of his country, of the world–to surrender the petty interests of self and customs and prejudices which prevent unity and cooperation.
Discipline and sacrifice certainly may be found in the Bahá’i religion. Here we see a record of heroic devotion, of restraint of self, of obedience and of self-sacrifice. Countless Bahá’is have not only had to face the opposition of family and social ostracism, but they have been compelled to surrender in the way of God all that men hold dear, even life itself; and this they have done cheerfully, uncomplainingly and without resistance, suffering martyrdom by thousands.
ALL OF THE divine books teach
the same Truth, and it is beautiful
to note the similitude between the
Rig Veda, perhaps the most ancient
book in the world, and the Gospels,
as to the creation. In the Rig-Veda,
we read, “In the beginning
there arose the source of Golden
Light. He was the only born Lord
of all that is. He established the
earth and this sky.” In the Gospels
we read, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.” Thus from both the Rig-Veda and the Gospels we see that the creation is through this Word or Creative Will, Who is the source of Golden Light and the only born Lord of all that is.
But creation through Him is a spiritual creation or renewal of the Truth of God in the world of humanity, the coming of a manifestation of that Light which “lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”
The distinct claim of the Bahá’i revelation is that this is the Day of a New Creation, and that the Primal Will has again manifested Itself in the world in Bahá’u’lláh for the reestablishment of faith and the rebuilding of the fallen temple of God. And as the first dawning of the Truth was in that Paradisian country beyond the Himalayas—the home of the ancient Aryan race—so today He Who is called the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, has reappeared to man as the dawning of a New Day, in Iran or Persia, His original birthplace.
The Bahá’is claim that as in times past God spoke His creative Word in Buddha, in Moses, in Muhammad, and in Jesus Christ,—so today He is speaking It for the new dispensation in Bahá’u’lláh. The proof of this tremendous statement is found in the very record of the Bahá’i Cause, with its narrative of heroism, devotion, self-sacrifice and martyrdom. To this must be added the inspiration and divine powers
shown through the three great personalities—the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ’Abdu’l-Bahá—Who constitute the Bahá’i trinity of the Herald, the Revelator, and the Interpreter and Spreader of the cause, the Center of the Covenant, an actual and not a metaphysical trinity, and one which does not interfere with the onenes and singleness of God the Creator, being a trinity of Manifestations of one and the self-same Spirit.
’Abdu’l-Bahá was released from His long imprisonment, by the Young Turks Party in 1908, and thereafter He journeyed to Europe and the United States where for several months His proclamation of the Bahá’i Teachings was heard by thousands for He spoke in churches and synagogues and before Peace and Scientific Societies, as well as many other organizations. He proved to all those who were truth seekers how the Bahá’i Teachings meet the needs and requirements of the age and is becoming more and more essential to humanity as world problems constantly increase.
’Abdu’l-Bahá passed to the Supreme Kingdom November 28, 1921 at Haifa, Palestine. In His last Testament He appointed His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, as Guardian of the Bahá’i Cause, which means that the Teachings revealed by Bahá’u’lláh and ’Abdu’l-Bahá will be protected, that is, never become subject to human interpretation; and will insure the proper coordinating of the activities of the Cause and a true spiritual administration of its affairs.
IN CONCLUSION the fundamental teachings and the great principles
of the Bahá’i Faith may be summed up as follows:
That God, the One, the Impregnable, is in His Essence above ascent or descent, heigth or depth, sign, description or definition. He reveals Himself through a succession of Prophets Who are the Manifestations of His Names and attributes, of His commandments and Will in the world of creation. The inner truth and reality of the teachings of all of these Prophets is one, but the method of teaching and the outer commandments change in accordance with the requirements of the people of the age in which They appear. Just as we, individually, have our infancy, our youth and our maturity, so humanity has its infancy and youth and maturity.
Today the world is prepared for and needs a universal Manifestation of Truth suitable to the requirements of the intelligence of the age, and accordingly such a Manifestation has come. The purpose of His coming is to spiritually unite mankind and to show the oneness of all things in God,—not only the Oneness of God as a Name, but the oneness of man with God, and the oneness of man with man in true and
real brotherhood, and consequently the annulment of differences of race and religion; the oneness of true religion and science; of religion and social evolution, development and progress; the oneness in fact of all truth which cannot contradict itself and must proceed from one Source. Generally, to paraphrase the language of Bahá’u’lláh, the objects which are to be attained are: that all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease and differences of race be annulled; that fruitless strife and ruinous wars should pass away, and the Most Great Peace should come; that kings and rulers should spend their treasures on that which will conduce to the happiness of their subjects instead of on means for the destruction of the human race; that all men should become as one kindred and one family; and that a man should not glory in this, that he loves his country, but should rather glory in this, that he loves the whole world.
“THERE ARE some who believe that the divine bounties are subject to cessation. For example they think that the revelation of God, the effulgence of God and the bounties of God have ended. This is self-evidently a mistaken idea, for none of these is subject to termination. The reality of divinity is like unto the sun and revelation is like unto the rays thereof. If we should assert that the bounties of God are not ever-lasting we are forced to believe that divinity can come to an end whereas the reality of divinity enfolds all virtues and by reason of these bounties is perfect. . . . Hence revelation is progressive and continuous. It never ceases. It is necessary that the reality of divinity with all its perfections and attributes should become resplendent in the human world.”—’Abdu’l-Bahá.
JEERUSALEM is the Mecca of many hearts and minds, the city of holy memories and legends, the city of the Passion, the city of the Crusader’s hopes and ideals, the centre of Muslim victories and the shrine of Omar.
At dawn I was awakened by the cry of the muzzien from the lofty minaret nearby, calling the people to prayer, that Allah was Allah, the only One; arise and pray. Soon the clashing, jarring tones of the numerous bells of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre proclaimed that it was Sunday morning, and from the many church towers, other bells added to the din.
A walk through the busy, noisy bazaars took me to the Jaffa Gate and the citadel, where I found the military band adding its music to the din of the many bells.
I followed behind the soldiers into the cool, restful spaces of Christ Church and listened to the military band playing the hymns and the responses of the service of the Church of England. But in spite of holy chant and sound of hell, I felt a sense of strife in this holy city.
What shall be said of Jerusalem on earth, the city of numberless sects, religions and creeds—people from all Eastern lands, in many garbs and costumes? Can peace come unto her borders, and love and amity reign in her homes?
The question of peace and brotherly love for today, to me seemed hopeless, yet if we despair, we no longer trust in the Divine Plan, no
longer have faith in the Divine Power and Love, which is mightier than man.
In years to come peace, love, and the beauty of holiness shall radiate from the hill of Zion; its problems, when solved, will point the way to the rest of a weary, war-torn world, for the solution of the woes of Jerusalem is the remedy for all mankind.
The Mount of Olives stands radiant on the side of the hill. Towards the east is the valley of the Dead Sea, beyond, the Mountains of Moab. The Mountains around the city are barren and dry, yet we know that some day peace and righteousness will reign in place of prejudice, poverty and pride, and people will come to worship God in this place with joy and the fragrance of holiness.
--PHOTO--
Jerusalem—Old City
Jerusalem, once seen, can never be forgotten: its narrow, winding streets, its many mosques and churches, its odorous, busy bazaars, its donkeys and camels, its clanging bells, its ecclesiastical priests, its guides and its beggars, its armed police and numerous sentries, its castellated walls, its citadel, its rock of Omar and Pool of Siloam, are impressed on every mind.
Its wondrous legends of the story of the lowly Nazarene, its Tower of David, the many gates, its subterranean places.—all bring memories of long ago.
Let us leave the future of this wondrous city in the hands of the Divine Architect, whose Word never becomes void, whose plans never fail, knowing that as in the past, the shame and agonies this city has repeatedly witnessed, will yet bring to full fruition a wondrous centre of peace and love, for Zion shall yet reign triumphant over her present darkness and despair.
CANA.-The sun was sinking toward the west as we rode into Cana of Galilee. It was the little village, never to be forgotten, whose inhabitants saw the first miracle of Jesus. It is the common type of village: the well of necessary life-giving water, the straight-limbed women carrying on their heads those clay immemorial water pots, whose shape probably remains the same as were in use two thousand years ago, the white stone houses with flat roofs, its walled streets with its gardens hidden away from view of the passing traveler.
Yet an aroma of sacred import lingers there. On that spot the lowly Nazarene had walked and talked; those memories of His life remain to hallow those stones and village streets so dusty and white in the blazing sun.
It matters little today as to the actuality of the miracle or legend. The juice of the grape, the wine that exhilarates and cheers, that makes glad the heart of man, is always for the East a symbol of the Divine influx we call today the Holy Spirit. It may have been wine which Jesus of long ago gave to the thirsty wedding guests, but to me it must have been those life-giving Words, those soul-stirring thoughts that dropped from His lips in strands of pearls, and the Divine love that radiated from His dynamic personality.
The wine of those days is spilt, the bottle burst into many fragments; in the Holy Land alone there exists on every hand a medley of Christian sects and creeds; but still the wine of the Love of God ever issues from the eternal fountain, and is always ready to bubble up in loving hearts and kindly deeds.
Somehow, somewhere, in many lands we shall find again, if we seek, the six water pots of clay that, whole, intact, and strong, still hold the wine of the Love of God, so that thirsty souls may seek and find, and having once tasted the life-giving potion, shall thirst no more; but have life and joy eternal bubbling up in their hearts to soothe and heal the souls of this sorrowful world.
“In this Cause consultation is of vital importance; but spiritual conference and not the mere voicing of personal views is intended. . . . Therefore true consultation is spiritual conference in the attitude and atmosphere of love. . . . Love and fellowship are the foundation.”
ONE enters by a straight path and a narrow door into the embryonic structure of the Bahá’i Temple at Wilmette. The grey concrete base rising from the lakeside site on Sheridan Drive has been the subject of inquiry from many passersby. Could those hurrying multitudes have entered the simple doorway and stepped into the Foundation Hall, in which for three years the Bahá’i Conventions have been held, the casual voice of curiosity would have taken on a deeper note in the hearts of the spiritually susceptible. For hidden within the enigmatic exterior there lies a vast circular room designed with such moving beauty that the newcomer can but stand, devoid of words, stirred by the response of his own heart to having found its abiding place.
At ten o’clock of the morning of April 25 the sun poured in golden splashes of light through the square panes of the skylight to irradiate the scene of the 1930 Convention. One who has lain in summer in the tall grasses of some hill and gazed into “the blue bowl of the sky” has been aware of the spaciousness in which God has set His creation. Something of that feeling has been captured in the structure of this room, with its high, domed ceiling accentuated in its appearance of height by panels converging toward the central skylight.
The sidewalls, paneled, too, are hung with glowing oriental rugs from the sacred shrines of Bahá’i history. The room had been transformed into a garden of spring flowers. Masses of tulips, daffodils, and spirea bloomed against a background of graceful palms. Light, color, form, fragrance, contributed to the spell of this convention setting. Delegates and friends sat in semi-circular rows, their bowed heads caught in a wide, inclusive nimbus by the rays of descending light. This twenty-second annual convention of the Bahá’is of the United States and Canada was felt by those present to mark the outpouring of a new and special bounty upon the friends of God. The searching sacrifice of years had found its fruition in the sum needed to resume the building of the Temple. The inspiring conception of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár—Dawning-place of the Mention of God—was no longer merely to exist in the lines of graceful drawings, nor in the intricate beauty of plaster models nor in the endless detail of architectural design. This was the point long heralded of its emergence in the world of actuality; and in the inmost hearts of those who sat in the hush of introductory prayer was to be found the sense of preparation for building, building the Temple of the Lord therein,
that the world might see the Plan of the Master Builder, Bahá’u’lláh, arising from its foundations with dignity and power.
From the hilltop the firmament is wide. The convention opened with the reading of a cabled greeting from Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Cause. Telegrams were read from absent friends whom distance had prevented from being present, including messages from London, Australia, South Africa, Geneva, Switzerland. The benign presence of ’Abdu’l-Bahá was felt as the chairman read the prayer for “whenever ye enter the council-chamber“—
“O God, my God! We are servants of thine that have turned with devotion to Thy Holy Face, that have detached ourselves from all beside Thee in this glorious day. We have gathered in this spiritual assambly, united in our views and thoughts, and with our purposes harmonized to exalt Thy Word amidst mankind. . . . Make us signs of Thy Divine Guidance . . . standards of Thy exalted Faith amongst men . . . resplendent stars shining upon all regions . . . Make our souls dependent upon the verses of Thy Divine Unity, our hearts cheered by the outpourings of Thy Grace, that we may unite even as the waves of one sea and become merged together as the rays of Thy effulgent Light; that our thoughts, our views, our feelings may become as one reality, manifesting the spirit of union throughout the world . . .”
IT IS ALWAYS of engrossing interest to listen throughout the business sessions of the Bahá’i
Convention and to convince oneself that through the growing Bahá’i activities, limited as they have been by the necessity for rigid economy, “a new spirit, a new light and a new motion” is becoming apparent in the world. Especially was this felt in the report of the Inter-racial Committee with the inspiring message of its accomplishment of glorious meetings for the bringing together of the white and colored races. It was borne in upon the attentive listeners that here is a channel through which the unseen forces flow with incredible swiftness–here waits the opportunity for the demonstration of the divine Word, that the eyes of the world may perceive and be convinced.
The business of the convention is not by any means confined to those intense, seven-hour sessions where one sits unconscious of self and the passing of time. The yearly event consists in the opportunity for representatives from the various Bahá’i centers throughout the country to meet and flow together in the exhilaration of expansive and universal love. What occurs during this unique experience is an augury and a promise of the attainment of that supreme unity which is in a special and mysterious way the Cause of God.
SATURDAY NIGHT, at the Feast of Ridván, three hundred people were fed beneath the dome of heaven. On their faces were happiness and exultation, they associated together “in joy and fragrance” and the perfumed ties of friendship were strengthened. A transformation had occurred. The band that
had yielded itself to the sanctified atmosphere of the Temple on the opening morning, had been hushed, reverent, but waiting as if for a release. The passing of the hours had brought with extraordinary power and sweetness the renewed sense of the corporate body of the Cause, animated by the beating of one Heart, pumping the stream of abundant life through the arteries of the Administration to the remotest cells. “Fellowship, fellowship! Love, love! Unity, unity!—so that the power of the Bahá’i Cause may appear and become manifest in the world of existence.”
So we came to the last day of the Convention. That Sunday afternoon, business having gone its systematic way, we met to partake of the piece de resistance of the spiritual feast—the session for the discussion of the Temple.
The greater part of the afternoon was devoted to listening to the plans rendered by expert structural engineers and architects, and also to a narrative by the inspired originator of the Temple design, Mr. Bourgeois. This was a story that led back into the past and which in the future will forever be part of the lore of the New Kingdom. It is no wonder that we all dreamed dreams backed by certainty and envisioned the glorious
structure which is to arise and proclaim to the world the Bahá’i challenge to the oneness of religion and the brotherhood of mankind.
It was the last evening and the next morning we were to separate in order to carry to our respective corners of the American continent the divine Fire that had set ablaze the hearts and minds. Once more we sat in the now familiar environment of the Foundation Hall, inhaled the fragrance of the flowers, looked into the shining faces of countless lovers. Raised on a platform in the center of the hall was displayed the exquisite silk rug, enormous in its proportions, a flower-garden in its design which had been the gift of the Guardian to the Temple which is to be. Exquisite and precious and sacred with the most holy associations, it was the jewel that night for which we were but the setting. People of many nationalities were present. Representatives of the various races were chosen—Negro, Indian, Jew, Scandinavian, German, Haiwaiian, Persian, Arab, French, and others—they stood beside the rug and laid reverent fingers upon it. We listened to music, to our heightened hearts almost unbearably beautiful; the Word of Bahá’u’lláh was read. We sat in prayer, and then—this great Convention came to an end in reverent silence more eloquent than any words.
Man possesses two kinds of susceptibilities: the natural emotions which are like dust upon the mirror, and spiritual susceptibilities which are merciful and heavenly characteristics.”-’Abdu’l-Bahá.
FAR to the north of the City of Light, amidst the Mountains of Intolerance, lay the Valley of Indifference. This valley was hemmed in on every side by high mountains so that the light of the sun reached it for only a few short hours each day.
To the north stretched the Mountains of Hatred and Envy, whose cruel ice-covered peaks bore no vegetation. To the south gleamed the Mountains of False Pride and Superstition; often alluring to the eye but full of treacherous cliffs, deep chasms and dangerous pitfalls for the unwary. To the west the almost impassable crags of Racial Superiority and Race Hatred loomed in forbidding grandeur. But in the East lay the beautiful Mountains of Hope.
A small stream meandered lazily through the valley; it was called the Brook of Knowledge; its source was in the Mountain of Religion far to the eastward of the Mountains of Hope and it lost itself in the marshes of Dogma and Creed at the foot of the western mountains. On rare occasions the shining pinnacles of the Mountain of Religion had been viewed from afar by some daring soul who had scaled a peak in the Mountains of Hope to obtain a broader vision: marvelous were the descriptions given by those who had glimpsed it, but few of the people of the Valley paid heed to the Adventurer and many scoffed at him as a dreamer of dreams.
Altho the Brook of Knowledge was small, as streams go, yet it
sufficed for the simple needs of the inhabitants of the valley. It provided water for the meager gardens, kept alive the cattle and supplied the simple household needs. But few gave thought from whence it came or for what purpose it had been sent into the Valley.
In the evening, when the days work was done, the villagers gathered in the market place or around the hearth stones content to review the gossip of the day. Then it was that the elders taught the children the lore of the valley; tradition handed down to them by some for- gotten race. Tradition told them that only in the valley was there safety—that the lofty mountains were the only barriers which saved them from complete destruction. Beyond these protecting peaks lived races of people waiting and eager to destroy them: there, also, were wild beasts horrible beyond description.
No youth was allowed to question the wisdom of what he was told, or to seek to know aught but what was handed down to him by tradition—for tradition was law, and for those who broke the law there was punishment; the leaders of the Village saw to that. The bones of those who had dared to defy tradition lay bleaching on the cliff near the opening through which the little stream entered the valley. Shunned by the “Good people” of the Village and driven from its shelter by the priests, they had perished ere they could find the way through the Mountains of Hope to the world beyond.
Hence, the weapon of the leaders was fear; for the one overwhelming desire of the people of the Valley was to live and all individual welfare must be sacrificed that the Village might continue to be. No individual could survive the dangers of the mountains alone, hence, the law must be obeyed that all might survive.
Vague stories were whispered at eventide, of some who had dared to question the ancient lore: the youth who had seen the gleam of light upon the Brook of Knowledge and had dared to seek its source. Stories were told of those who had gone forth from the valley, seeking wisdom but who had never returned, or returning, had been taken by the priests and publicly stoned before they could more than hint at the mysteries which lay beyond the mountains.
Tradition told of one Glorious Man, who, in bygone ages, had come down to them from beyond the mountains toward the rising sun and had attempted to lead them out of the valley to pleasant pastures and noble cities on the heights beyond; but tradition also told that He had been slain by the priests for teaching the people contrary to their law. Some there were who had followed the path He had laid down and had sought the heights, but they had returned to the valley no more and their names were forgotten by all save a few. So dwelt the People of Heedlessness in the Valley of Indifference.
Then, again, from the mountains toward the Rising Sun came a Noble Youth treading the pathway by the Stream of Knowledge toward the village of the People of Heedlessness. He paused, ere He passed the place, at the foot of the
cliffs, where lay the bones of those daring souls who sought the source of Knowledge, and He seemed to be in prayer. As He came near to the village, all marvelled at His beauty and when He spoke all were spellbound by the power of His words.
He told them that He had come from beyond the mountains, from the City of Light beyond the Mountain of Religion, whence flowed their trickling Stream of Knowledge. He told them of a Mighty King who had sent Him forth as a messenger to guide them out of the narrow valley to fertile fields and broad pastures where fear and want need never again dog their footsteps. He told them of other races of men, their brothers, servants also of the great King, who were waiting with eager welcome for those who were brave enough to rise up and follow Him. He bade them prepare for the time when the Great King himself should leave His dwelling in the City of Light and come forth to destroy the Mountains of Intolerance and establish in all the earth His reign of Love and Peace and Brotherhood. Far into the night the people listened with burning hearts to His words of wisdom and some there were who prepared to follow Him.
A little apart, unnoticed by the people, the priests and leaders of the Village shook their heads and whispered together. They had no thought of injustice, only of safeguarding the people of the Valley; but blinded by prejudice and superstition, they had not caught the vision of the fuller life which the words of the Youth had painted before the eyes of the pure of heart. They saw only one who dared to teach contrary to their traditions
and who must be brought to trial. Tradition was Law and Law must be obeyed.
When morning came the villagers were aghast to see this Noble Visitor led to the market place for trial and they followed in humble silence. Upon His persecutors the Youth turned His back and thus spoke to the people, “Harken, O People, and rejoce! All I have told you is true. I am the Messenger from the City of Light and I am come to lead you out of the Valley of Indifference into the land of Unity and Peace. Leave these mountains and prepare to meet the Great King when He shall come. When I am gone follow the trail which I have made plain and you will come at last to the Land of Unity, wherein dwell the people of every nation and race and tongue ruled by the Great King. There you will find better homes, abundant pastures, and marvelous cities where all men shall be your brothers and live with you in love and fellowship.” A cry of joy and thanksgiving rose from the people, but it was quickly turned into a cry of horror. “He speaks blasphemy,” cried the leaders, “he deserves death! He has dared to put laws to naught!”—and they led Him away to be slain.
There was then great commotion in the village. None who had caught the vision of the fuller life, pictured in the glowing words of the Glorious Youth, could stand passively by and see Him slain by the leaders in their blindness. Many there were who willingly sacrificed their lives in His defense, but, alas, in vain! Again the Bringer of Light was slain by the People of Heedlessness in the Valley of Indifference; and again the people of
the village cowered in fear—their only passion, still, the desire to live.
According to the lore of the Valley the days following the martyrdom of the Glorious Youth were holy days and he who touched a dead body thereon was defiled. Hence, the body of the Youth was placed without the confines of the Village until the time of prayer was past. Then it was that one whose heart burned with the fire of a great love went forth and rescued the blessed remains and secretted them until they could be taken from the Valley and placed in a tomb befitting so noble a martyr.
As the days went by, a few left the village to find the trail of which the Youth had spoken, but they returned no more and the village folk settled again into the old "ways amid the shadow of the Mountains of Intolerance.
Years rolled by, then the little stream of knowledge ran dry and a great drouth came upon the valley. The gardens withered and died, the cattle perished in the fields and hunger stalked in the Valley of Indifference. Strange beasts crept down from the mountain caves and lothesome reptiles reared their venomous heads even at the hearth stones of many a cottage. The mountains reverberated with the roar of thunder as the lightening rent the craigs and split the mighty oaks in twain. It seemed as if the very elements were bent upon the destruction of the people of the Valley of Indifference.
The priests, however, were not dismayed,–“only wait, they said, “the stream will again fill its banks,—wait and obey the law!” “To leave the Valley is madness—destruction awaits you beyond the
protection of the mountains. Wait and obey the law.”
But the Stream of Knowledge flowed no more and despair gave birth to courage until the people, at last awakened to the danger, harkened no longer to those who would dissuade them but prepared to leave the valley. Then it was that they remembered the fiery words of the Glorious Youth and knew that their only hope of safety lay in following the trail He had blazed for them long years before. The opening to the trail was difficult to find, some thought it was up one valley, some were certain it was up another; so many fell by the wayside ere the true way was reached. But those who had courage and vision came at last to the opening amidst the craigs and, as they proceeded, found the way grow plainer with every step, until they emerged upon the plain and stood transfixed by the beauty which they beheld.
On every side, as far as the eye could see, stretched a beautiful country, flooded with sunshine, dotted with villages and cities and fair gardens. In the distance could be seen the Mountain of Religion whose eternal beauty bespoke the loving care of the Great King, whose first gift to the people of the earth is religion.
Not far away was a village and as they made their way thither, the inhabitants came forth to greet them with words of welcome, and lo, here were many who had been their neighbors in the Valley below.
As they gathered at eventide, around the fire, their talk was all of the Noble Youth who had perished that they might live more fully. “How can we atone for our blindness?” they asked. The one, on whose lips were words of wisdom, spake, “O, people, follow the
example of the Glorious Youth who was a messenger unto you and heed His words. Devote your lives to the service of mankind; live in peace and harmony with all men of whatsoever race or creed or color and purify your hearts that ye may know the great King when He shall come.” So the people of the Valley built for themselves a fair city to which they welcomed all who came unto them.
To all they told the story of the Glorious Youth, of His words of wisdom and of His martyrdom. To all they told of His promise regarding the coming of the Great King.
As their hearts filled with love they learned to use wisely the abundant streams of Knowledge which flowed from the Mountain of Religion and broad highways were started through the Mountains of Intolerance. As the understanding of the life and message of the Glorious Youth became more clear, a great longing grew among them to rescue the earthly body and build for it some fitting shrine, wherein it might rest forever amidst a garden of flowers tended by the loving hands of the faithful.
But none, save a few, knew the place where those blessed bones lay hidden, for many were the enemies who yet surrounded them, and these faithful few knew that, in the fullness of time, one would come to whom the Great King would entrust the building of a fitting shrine. To them was it given to keep the hiding place a secret until His coming.
So the people of the valley heeded the words of those who were wise among them, devoting their lives to the service of mankind and preparing their hearts that they might know the Great King when He should come.
- It is real! It is!
- Shout, shout, O cold, gray, heart
- And dull, complaining mind!
- The Cause is real!
- There is a fire that burns and does not die,
- There is a beauty that can never fade,
- There is a love—
- Arise, leap, let your dreams burn!
- Let all your life a dream
- Blaze up in splendor to the love of God
- Like flame into the sun!
- Ye shall be winged with fire
- And tipped with crimson,
- And all the dawns and sunsets of the world
- Shall pale before your joy.
- It is real! It is!
- O you, who moan and creep-
- Fly, love, laugh, worship, sing!
- And die as did the Viking king who sailed
- At sunset forth into an unknown sea,
- Riding a ship of flame
- To find his God!
- I toiled to make my structure tall;
- I wrought in hope, full earnestly,
- And that my watch-tower might not fall,
- My corner-stone was sympathy.
- I laid foundations deep and wide
- Of tolerance, broad-mindedness;
- The rule of reason was my guide,
- No stone was laid in carelessness.
- By day it stood against the sky,
- Severe in symmetry of line,
- But darkness hid it from the eye,
- As nought without a lamp divine.
- I knelt down in the silence there;
- I asked for faith, to know the right,
- And oh! He heard my sincere prayer:
- My watch-tower is a house of light.
- What mysteries these humans do contain,
- Who stand between the unseen and the seen,
- Thoughts invisible to proclaim by deed—
- Translations that the winged angels read,
- Through clouds of negligence, above the rain,
- Thy Perfect Law of greatest Good, between
- The tests doth shine, Truth’s Sun benign,
- That they, who steadfast are in love of Truth,
- May to Thy Will the humbled self resign,
- And trust Thy love in Wisdom’s Mighty Sign.
- Ten thousand Suns on clouds of glory came,
- Ten thousand Cycles in their orbits spun
- E'er the Eternal in Love's Greatest Name
- Could make earth’s warring gods and peoples one.
- The world is full of discord and strife,
- And war-clouds arise in the sky;
- There is greed, and nation gainst nation doth stand,
- While foes in the ambush oft lie;
- But Dawn is breaking—God rules from on high,
- And war shall forever-more cease,
- No matter how dark the hour may seem,
- Look not at it—but through it—to PEACE.
- There are hearts that are weary, broken and torn
- And injustice seems most to hold sway,
- The poor are down-trodden, the weak are oppressed
- While the struggle grows harder each day;
- But a New Era dawneth—with heart—hopes fulfilled
- There's a Light from the heavens above;
- No matter how dark the hour may seem,
- Look not at it—but through it—to LOVE.
- There are souls that are held by strong prison walls,
- Of fear—in a darksome place,
- While prejudice manacles heart and mind,
- Against class, religion and race;
- But Freedom is coming—and souls must awake.
- Else pass neath the chastening Rod;
- No matter how dark the evil may seem,
- Look not at it—but through it—to GOD.
- There is no death!
- ’Tis but an opening of the door;
- A crossing o'er the threshold into wondrous Light;
- An entering into joy and sense unspeakable;
- A welcoming by those we’ve loved before,
- An instant change to nobler more abundant Life!
- There is no death!
The following brief account of some of the gatherings attended by Miss Martha Root during her memorable visit in Persia, is compiled from letters of Dr. Lotfullah S. Hakim of Tihrán.
“Bahá’u’lláh has risen from the eastern horizon. Like the glory of the sun He has come into the world. He has reflected the reality of divine religion, dispelled the darkness of imitations, laid the foundation of new teachings and resuscitated the world. . . . Many people and sects in Persia have sought reality through the guidance and teaching of Bahá’u’lláh.
PROCLAIMING the reality of religion in word and deed in Persia today is a far cry from the days preceding the dawn of the new era in that land when the Báb as the Herald, and Bahá’u’lláh as the Law-giver, arose to revivify the souls of mankind. In those dark days in the land which gave Bahá’u’lláh
His birth, social as well as religious affairs were in a state of hopeless decadence. Only through the Word of a Prophet of God could the people of that or any other land emerge from the thickets of superstition, erroneous interpretation of their Scriptures, and the very depths of ordeals.
God alone has the Power to do whatsoever He willeth, and the greatest proof of the divine authority of Bahá’u’lláh is the effect of His Word in the hearts and lives of those who accept it.
IN THE FOLLOWING briefs of letters of Dr. Lotfullah, we can see how spiritual susceptibilities have been increased, how spiritual civilization is progressing, and how the oneness of humanity and peace is
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Central Square, Tihrán, Persia
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This illustration has been enlarged from a small kodak picture taken by Dr. Lotfullah. It shows only a section of the group of twenty-three hundred in attendance at the Bahá'i New Year Feast in Tihrán, Persia, March 21, 1930
being accomplished step by step. The blending of the different races, nationalities and religions has been made possible through the Word of God.
’Abdu’l-Bahá, while in America, said to a group of friends: “Today the Bahá’is of the East are longing with deep desire to see you face to face. Their highest hope and fondest wish is that the day may come when they will be gathered together in an assemblage with you. Consider well the Power that has accomplished this wonderful transformation.“
Dr. Lotfullah’s letters follow:
On March first, Miss Root, accompanied by the three Bakeroffs (young brothers of our Assembly) and myself, Visited the prison where Bahá’u’lláh was incarcerated,
and from there motored a few miles distant to the Bahá’i cemetery to visit the graves of the friends, among them the well known teachers, Hadji Amin and Mirza Bakeroff, the father of the young men who were with us. While there we attended the burial service of a dear old lady in the Cause, wife of Aga Husein Ali Nuri. Both wife and husband were of the very old believers. In their home the body of the Báb was hidden for three years. The husband is still alive. Miss Root spoke in detail about the “Life After Death,” and chanted prayers. It was a very touching scene at the grave, tears were in the eyes of many. I cannot express in words how effective was this visit.
We then visited the tombs of
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Another View of the Assembled Bahá'is at Their New Year’s Feast in Tihrán
March 21, 1930
all the friends, and at last those of Miss Lilian Kappes and Dr. Sarah Clock (the two American Bahá’i sisters who died while in service in Tihrán). We all stood silent in deep meditation for some time.
Later we motored to Vargayieh where the blessed bodies of the two well known martyrs, Varqá and Ruhu’lláh, are at rest in a nine-sided room in a big and lovely garden. There Miss Root chanted the Visiting Tablet for them, the English translation of which was hanging on the wall.
It was an historic never-to-be forgotten day for all of us, and ended happily in a visit to the home of Dr. Susan I. Moody.
“ON MARCH 21ST, the Feast of
the New Year as celebrated by
Bahá’is was attended by over
twenty-three hundred; about one hundred were non-Bahá’is, the remainder were all Bahá’is. It was the most unique conference and meeting of its kind ever held in Tihrán. Many spoke briefly, but there were two very dear guest speakers, Miss Root, and Dr. Youness Khan who had just returned from his long visit in Europe and in Haifa, Palestine. He gave a most interesting talk on his teaching tour and his varied experiences in the different cities, and conveyed a message of love and affection from Shoghi Effendi.
Later Miss Root rose and spoke, her face shining. We could see the light around her distinctly—even from far off. Her talk was on the greatness of the Bahá’i Cause and the importance of Persia. She spoke with such enthusiasm and
courage that every one was deeply affected. That wonderful soul, Mirza Valiyyu’lláh Khan Varqá son of the martyr, Varqá was an excellent interpreter, for with his keen spiritual perception and marvelous spirit he could convey the true meaning of her words with accuracy and fluency. All present, including Miss Root herself, were deeply affected by the overwhelming presence of the spirit.
WHILE SPEAKING at these wonderful meetings in Persia, Miss Root, though an American, might truly represent not only the American Bahá’is but the friends all over the world, for the followers of Bahá’u’lláh have attained that perfect
spiritual fraternity through His Revealed and Holy Word which makes the brotherhood of mankind a living and vital thing. They hold aloft the standard of the Oneness of God, the oneness of mankind, and the oneness of religion.
“In this radiant century, said ’Abdu’l-Bahá, “divine knowledge, merciful attributes and spiritual virtues will attain the highest degree of advancement. The traces have become manifest in Persia. . . . May spiritual brotherhood cause rebirth and regeneration, for its creative quickening emanates from the breaths of the Holy Spirit and is founded by the Power of God.”
ANGORA, Turkey, May 23 A.P.—Turkey is taking the United States as her model in her attempt to develop a prosperous nation.
These policies credited to America—peace on earth, time is money, honest business, no bargaining, women first—were ticked off one by one in an interview by Tevfik Ruchdi Bey, foreign minister, as the mottoes of the new Turkey.
The interview was on the basis of development in American-Turkish relations brought about by the going into effect of the treaty of commerce—the first between the two countries.
“It took only 30 minutes to elaborate the bases of that treaty,” said the foreign minister, “because to the United States and the new Turkey bargaining is distasteful, and they can’t afford to lose time thereby.
“Bargaining in international relations still unfortunately exists in some parts of the world, but the United States and Turkey want to do what is reciprocally just, and do it in the fastest way possible. America and Turkey are quick to comprehend new ideas because both, as nations, created something new.”
The foreign minister pointed out that American goods as well as ideas were gaining rapidly in Turkey.
“Automatically certain American goods are replacing other makes in our market, because we find greater utility in them and they are more to our taste. Hence American-Turkish commercial relations are becoming increasingly important.”
Asked what share America’s example had upon the Turkish government’s
recent extension of the franchise to women, the minister replied:
“A great deal. That example, as well as the proof our women have given of their ability, determined us to give them the vote before they wasted time in useless propaganda.
“The new Turkish government anticipates the desires of its people by handing them new rights and duties, meanwhile constantly preparing them to desire higher things. That is our way of making up time lost by centuries of ignorance and oppression under the sultans.”
As a final great bond between the American and Turkish Republics the minister called attention to their mutual strivings for peace. . . . Evening Star, Washington, D. C.
MEXICO has reduced its army from 175,000 men to 50,000 men. Its military budget has been cut from 200 million pesos to 70 million pesos, or only 35 million dollars in American money. The millions rescued from Mars are being used for public works, highways, dams, railroad extension, and education. There are 15,000 miles of highways under construction and 5,000 miles are in service for automobile traffic.
Even the 50,000 soldiers that remain are not all “soldiering.” Thirty-two thousand of them are at work as highway builders or on the other communicating systems and the dams. It is well also that a little of the money that is saved from former unproductive expenditures
is at the disposal of a Tourist Commission in order that Americans and others may learn the glories which Mexico has to show them in place of the over-advertised rebels and bandits of the era that is passing.
It is noteworthy as a sign of Mexican progress that this advanced country has no military attaches connected with its embassies abroad, but has substituted educational and labor attaches. It is taking the Kellogg Pact more seriously than some of its neighbors.—News Bulletin, Nat’l Council for Prevention of War.
LONDON, May 20 A. P.-In a performance that won enthusiastic applause from a large audience at the Savoy Theater, Paul Robeson, celebrated American colored actor and singer, last night appeared in the title part of Shakespeare’s “Othello.”
His work was hailed as a triumphant success by the critics of London’s morning newspapers.
The Morning Post said “There has been no Othello on our stage for 40 years to compare with him in dignity, simplicity and true passion.”
The Daily Telegraph adds “By reason of his race he is able to surmount the difficulties which English actors generally find in this part.”
The fact that in the play Othello is depicted as a Moor, and Mr. Robeson is colored contributed to strengthen the dignity and fidelity of what London’s playgoers agreed was a memorable performance.—Evening Star, Washington, D. C.
