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| VOL. 22 | MAY, 1931 | No. 2 |
THE BAHA'I TEMPLE
LEADERS of religion, exponents of political theories, governors of human institutions, who at present are witnessing with perplexity and dismay the bankruptcy of their ideas, and the disintegration of their handiwork, would do well to turn their gaze to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, and to meditate upon the World Order which, lying enshrined in His teachings, is slowly and imperceptibly rising amid the welter and chaos of present-day civilization. They need have no doubt or anxiety regarding the nature, the origin or validity of the institutions which the adherents of the Faith are building up throughout the world. For these lie embedded in the teachings themselves, unadulterated and unobscured by unwarrantable inferences, or unauthorized interpretations of His Word."
| VOL. 22 | MAY, 1931 | NO. 2 |
| Page | |
Science—A Great Universal Force, ’Abdu’l-Bahá | 61 |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 35 |
The Bahá’i Commonwealth, Emeric Sala | 39 |
Removing Barriers, Lidja Zamenhof | 44 |
Zamenhof: The Man, L. N. Newell | 45 |
The Champions of Reality, Dr. Charles S. Frink | 48 |
The Future Religion, Howard R. Hurlbut | 52 |
The Shrine, Clara Weir | 56 |
Reflecting the Light, Elwyn Surges | 58 |
The Coming of the Son of Man—A Poem, Walter H. Bowman | 59 |
The Unseen Army of Science, Martin L. Davey | 60 |
Negro—A Book Review, Coralie Franklin Cook | 62 |
STANWOOD COBB | Editor |
MARIAM HANEY | Associate Editor |
MARGARET B. MCDANIEL | Business Manager |
Great Britain, Mrs. Annie B. Romer; Persia, Mr. A. Samimi; Japan and China, Miss Agnes B. Alexander; Egypt, Mohamed Moustafa Effendi; International, Miss Martha L. Root.
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 The 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.
THE disease which afflicts the body politic is lack of love and absence of altruism. In the heart of men no real love is found, and the condition is such that unless their susceptibilities are quickened by some power there can be no healing, no agreement among mankind. Love and unity is the need of the body politic today. Without these there can be no progress or prosperity attained. Therefore the friends of God must cleave to that power which will create this love and unity in the hearts of the sons of men. Science cannot cure the illness of the body politic. Science cannot create unity and fellowship in human hearts. Neither can patriotism nor racial prejudice effect a cure. It can be accomplished only through the divine bounties and the spiritual bestowals which have descended from God in this day for that purpose.
| VOL. 22 | MAY, 1931 | NO. 2 |
apportionment in the comforts of life. * * * There must be a readjustment and legislation which shall equalize conditions until humanity may have composure and rest with the utmost
ease.“—’Abdu’l-Bahá.OF MANY CAUSES assigned for the economic crisis existing in this country, one emerges with considerable importance as the result of the recent returns from the income tax of last year. These returns show very decidedly that wealth is being rapidly and alarmingly concentrated in the hands of a few, and being correspondingly reduced from the pockets of the small income earners. For the first time we find actual economic evidence for the statement frequently made that “the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.”
In the last ten years there has been an enormous increase in the number of men with incomes of more than a million dollars per year. In 1930 there were fifteen times as many receiving such huge incomes as there were in 1920, and the total amount of their incomes was twenty times greater than the total amount of income of a similar class in 1920.
This great increase in the wealth of the wealthier classes might not be open to criticism if the general prosperity of the country were increasing in equal proportion. But what is alarming is the fact that a corresponding decrease has taken place in those classes receiving incomes
of less than three thousand dollars per year. Between 1920 and 1928 the total incomes of the people in the class of less than two thousand dollars per year dropped from four billion to one and one-half billion, and the total incomes of the next higher class—those receiving incomes of from two to three thousand per year dropped from six billion in 1920 to two billion in 1928. Where in 1920 six and one-half million men and women with small incomes had almost fifteen and a half billion dollars to spend, in 1929 the number of small income earners had been reduced to three million and they had only a little more than eight billion dollars.
These figures would seem to indicate the the rapid increase in the incomes of the wealthy was partly a transfer from the incomes of the lower classes. Certainly it shows that while the rich have grown richer, people of very moderate means have, in the last ten years, been losing ground to the extent of eight billion dollars of purchasing power.
WHAT does this mean? The loss of eight billion dollars of purchasing power on the part of the common
people is a tremendous blow to the free circulation of our economic system. Eight billion dollars less to spend per year for economic goods. This, indeed, might be one of the chief causes for the lack of consumption of manufactured goods, consequent shutting down of factries, and the resulting unemployment. The prosperity of a people depends very closely upon the free circulation of wealth and of money. Anything which impairs that circulation, impairs the health and the economic life of the nation.
But, it may be stated, this income being transferred to the wealthy classes can still be spent for goods. This is not, however, the fact. There is a decided limit to the amount of money which the very wealthy can spend for their actual needs, and a psychological limit to what most of them spend for their personal pleasure and gratification. Most of the income which they receive is reinvested during normal economic periods in stocks, the profits of which must come from further manufacture of goods. Now, as amount of wealth flowing into the coffers of the wealthy increases in undue proportion to the wealth of the general community and is constantly being reinvested, there must inevitably come about a surplus of manufactured goods, the tendency being to keep on manufacturing and to force sales continually in order to increase income and returns upon investment stock.
That is just what has happened in this country. Too many goods were being manufactured, but no one was willing to call a halt. Dividends had to be paid upon invested
capital, forced measures of salesmanship were invented, and the consumer’s dollar was being taken to the point even of the mortgaging of future incomes by means of installment selling. At last came the critical moment when the purchase of goods could not keep up with the rate of manufacture. Once that point of unfortunate balance was reached, the scales began to turn swiftly and inevitably in the opposite direction, toward a greater and greater difference between the ratio of production and the ratio of consumption. More and more factories had to shut down. Unemployment grew more general. The means of purchase on the part of the lower classes grew constantly less. And up to date nothing has been able to stem this economic rout.
WHAT may we infer from this?
It is evident that there should be a
wider distribution of wealth, otherwise
the accelerated growth of capitalism
would entail its own destruction.
There must be greater purchasing
power among the masses in
order to keep up the necessary circulation
of the economic life.
This most important issue is completely considered and met in the economic laws established by Bahá’u’lláh for the greater prosperity and economic stability of humanity. By means of a graduated income tax and by inheritance taxes a decided limit is placed upon personal fortunes. There will not be possible in the Bahá’i States those huge aggregations of wealth which begin to characterize the economic life of today. On the contrary, wealth will percolate down into the
masses; first, through the practice of a wider distribution of wealth in bequests; and, secondly, through labor receiving not only wages but also a definite share of the net profits of industry. Also from the public treasury financial aid will be given to all those who for adequate reasons have not received an income sufficient for their needs and the needs of their families.
This great change will come about not by force or revolution, but by voluntary acceptance on the part of the rich of this new economic structure. They will not only see the wisdom of it so clearly as to willingly acquiesce; but they will even joyfully accept the new role of cooperator with the State for the economic welfare of the whole, rather than their present role of individualistic profit-seeking limited only by vitality, ability and competitive skill.
ONE may easily conceive certain
decided changes which will take
place in the psychology and life of
the future under these new economic
laws. In the first place, since there
will be a limit to personal fortunes,
there will, doubtless, be a more
early retirement from commercial
life, making room for more individuals
to take part than at present in
the top level of the industrial and
commercial life of the country. That
retirement or economic renunciation
necessitated by the economic
structure will bring a happiness, a
contentment and a culture to the
life of the financier and industrialist
such as he cannot know today,
when the economic structure forces
him to expend every ounce of available
energy in the terrible competition of economic survival. At present there is far too little time and energy for the actual enjoyment of life, or for the enrichment of the personality in its cultural aspects. When this strain is taken off of the lives of our industrialists and commercialists they will know a peace such as they have never known before. At present, though there are thousands who would welcome such relief, they are powerless to effect as individuals any change in the relentless pace set by the mass-mind of today under the extreme system of individualism which prevails.
If the wealthy will gain in happiness through the economic laws of Bahá’u’lláh, unquestionably the masses will gain tremendously in ease and certainty of living, and in the means of more cultural enjoyment of life. With shorter hours for labor, and with the growing tendency to locate factory units outside of the large urban centers, the prophecy of Micah may literally come true, that every man shall sit under his own fig tree. In other words, the workman may own his little home and plot of ground, and have ample time to devote to a vegetable garden and other means of improving his family life. This tendency we see already starting, and undoubtedly it will grow rapidly under the new economic laws.
LET it be understood that there is
intended here no disparagement of
the rich as such, and no criticism of
those whose abilities have enabled
them to win a successful economic
position. Such men not only are
contributing immensely to the world
through their economic ingenuity, skill, and efforts, but are also adding to such contributions gifts of a humane nature dedicated to the amelioration of human living in many different ways. Of such ’Abdu’l-Bahá says, “Yea, verily, wealth and riches are worthy of praise if they be justly partitioned amongst the nation, but if some few be possessed of great riches, and many be reduced to poverty, then is the rich man’s gold deprived of all its worth. But if great wealth be employed in the propagation of science, in the establishment of schools and colleges, in the nurture of arts, and in the education of orphans and the care of the needy—in brief, for the public benefit, then shall its possessor be accounted great, both in the sight of God and man.”
There will always be a freedom for expression of the varying abilities of humankind, implying the possibility of some winning to higher financial stations than others; but for the sake of the general welfare a limit is to be set to the amount of wealth that can be accumulated by any one individual. We still would have a capitalistic
group, but modified so as to avoid the faults which are at present so endangering our economic life. Today the very richness of the intake of the capitalist is like the over-rich diet which is ruinous to the body, building up toxins that lead to fatal diseases.
THE REVELATION of Bahá’u’lláh,
establishing by divine laws a new
civilization, eliminate all economic
ills, renders perfect health to the
economic body of humanity, and in
the course of time will bring such a
transformation to human living as
the mind at present can hardly conceive
of.
Those are right who say that the spiritual life cannot duly be considered so long as the physical necessities are wanting. This is not the time to preach to the world populace abnegation, resignation and acceptance of misery for the sake of heavenly rewards. The ideal religion is one which establishes just and prosperous conditions for all upon this planetary stage of our existence, at the same time that it calls upon all to lift their hearts to God in love, in adoration, and in faith.
“The citizens of a country are like the various members and organs of the body. So long as the brain and the nervous system are coordinate in their functions there will be no jar in the constitution. But when they fall out of harmony great disturbances become manifest In like manner when the government represents ideals of progress and justice, the people will advance and progress in their activities. Ideal cooperation will bind together the hearts and strike at the root of poverty, for preventable poverty is a source of all misery and evil. The rulers must be filled with mercy and solicitude for the condition of the unfortunates.”
One of the marked results of the Bahá’i Movement will be a new impetus and inspiration in all the arts and which we already see taking place. This article from the pen of a young man who a few years ago became attracted to the Bahá’i Teachings, we consider a striking example of a new kind of writing expressive of this marvelous new movement for humanity. It is all the more interesting as the work of youth. We are always glad to open our pages to the expressions of inspired youth in this great age.
THE world is in unrest. The competitive spirit of rivalry predominates in the lives of individuals, groups and nations. Suspicion, hatred and mistrust separate one country from another. Another war seems inevitable.
And we, who live in this world of conflict, are, in spite of our religions and culture, our skilled leaders and most accomplished statesmen, helpless when facing the problems of the world. There is, however, a way out, and we must find it, or perish.
There is one thing we have to be clear about before we can attempt to go further. In the course of social evolution, from the prehistoric times on, conditions and needs brought about certain customs, beliefs and rules. In the course of centuries the conditions changed, and the needs which once existed disappeared, while the old customs, beliefs and rules remained.
This is the situation of today. We are living under new conditions. Our needs are changed. We will not progress until we realize that our old customs, beliefs and rules must be replaced by new ones.
The world in which we are living cannot be disassociated from international rivalry, national pride or class hatred. Poverty and unemployment are its component parts.
Inequity is its foundation. Strikes, revolutions and wars are expressions of its underlying code.
And the world we are moving towards is the Commonwealth of Nations, governed by a Parliament of Men, the Guardian of the Most Great Peace. In that world there will be an abundance of all the elementary needs of life, with plenty of leisure for culture and refinement.
WE KNOW the world we are living in and we know our goal. To reach it, we need three things—a mechanism, a propelling power and a highway.
The mechanism are the people. Humanity is destined to reach its goal.
The propelling power is the law of growth, the law of progress, revitalized by the appearance of Bahá’u’lláh on the horizon of the world’s history.
And all we want to know now is the highway, on which we can travel towards our goal—the Commonwealth of Nations and the Most Great Peace.
Should we study all the books of the world we will find but two roads conceived by men for the attainment of our goal.
The first is as old as men. It has been trodden by Buddha and Moses, by Christ and Muhammad, and by all the other Prophets of old with millions of their followers.
Their aim is to change the individual, and thus to bring about the necessary reform in society.
Even today, if you go to any church or synagogue, or mosque of any denomination, in any village, city or country, in any part of the world, whether you listen to a rabbi, minister or mullah, you will hear them preach individual salvation. They will summon you to love your neighbor as yourself and to return evil with good. They offer eternal happiness in the life hereafter, but fail to give us any practical solution for the salvation of our social organization as a whole.
The second road is more new. Its aim is to change first our environment, that is, our institutions, and then to bring about eventually a change in the individual.
This road is monopolized by all the radical movements of today, such as Communism, Socialism and similar organizations which come to mind.
IT IS beyond doubt that the first method was of inestimable benefit to mankind. Religion is the very foundation of our present civilization. Our actual code of morals is derived from it. It was the consolation to the suffering millions. It raised the moral standard of the individual.
It failed, however, to be effective in our relations as groups or nations. It is because of the influence of religion that we do not kill each other as individuals. We are, however,
killing each other as organized units, despite our individual religious convictions.
The average man does not steal. We are honest in our dealings as individuals with our fellow beings. Those few who are not, are considered outcasts of society and are jailed.
If we, however, exploit, as an organized group or nation, a weaker unit, our action is beyond the influence of religion, and, therefore, honorable.
The second road leads toward social democracy and a cooperative commonwealth of nations, to be achieved through collective ownership of the means of production.
It is admitted that Socialism, using this term in the vaguest sense of the word, spread with a greater effectiveness and rapidity than any other movement in the history of the world. We cannot overlook its increasing influence and the radical changes it might force upon human society.
However promising their program and how lofty their ideals, we cannot fail to recognize the inadequacy of their philosophy in satisfying our highest aspirations, or in meeting our miscellaneous problems with which we are confronted in this new day.
Assuming that their ideals—a social-democratic co-operative-commonwealth—will be realized; that there will be an abundance of all the elementary needs of life; equal opportunity, without any discrimination, for all; an equitable distribution of the products of labor, and plenty of leisure for education and culture, man will be still craving for
something higher, and will not be composed unless and until he can find other as yet unattained ideals for the realization of which he can strive with unswerving dedication.
This is why we are compelled to discard both the first, as well as the second road as inadequate in our journey toward the Commonwealth of Nations.
HUMANITY is seeking for a road that combines the elements of both, individual regeneration and social righteousness. Any system lacking these two elements is doomed to failure. Our existing religious system fails to regenerate our social order, and our socialistic movements fail to regenerate the individual.
This explains the helplessness of our most sagacious statesmen and the fallacy of the most skillfully prepared political schemes—however genuine and disinterested in scope-when facing such problems as unemployment, disarmament and international arbitration. While we cannot deny the desire of each human being for peace, universal education and material prosperity, we lack the agency to transform this desire, potentially latent in every inhabitant of this globe, into actuality. We need an instrument that can transform individual desire and individual faith into positive cooperative action.
Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’i Cause, directs our attention to this instrument in the following words:
“Bahá’u’lláh and His Son, ’Abdu’l-Bahá, have, unlike the Dispensations of the past, clearly and
specifically laid down a set of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness and justice upon the earth.”
The uniqueness of Bahá’u’lláh’s method culminates in the complete amalgamation of the hitherto isolated human endeavors, namely-individual regeneration and social justice.
The impression of the following quotations from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ’Abdu’l-Bahà serve as an indication of the “regenerated individual” in the Commonwealth of the future:
“O Son of Man! Thou desirest gold, and I desire thy freedom therefrom. Thou hast recognized the wealth of thyself therein, and I have recognized thy wealth in thy sanctity therefrom. By my life. This is my knowledge and that is thine imagining. How can my way agree with thine?”
“Bahá’i’s consider that bestowing good upon one another is the greatest means of help to both.”
“I hope you will be just in your relations with each other, that you will never harm your fellows, that you will respect the rights of all men, and above all, consider the rights of others before your own.”
We will deal now with a feature of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh which is new in the history of the world.
“Should we look back upon the
past,” writes Shoghi Effendi (grandson of ’Abdu’l-Bahá), “were we to search out the Gospel and the Qu’ran, we will readily recognize that neither the Christian nor the Islamic Dispensations can offer a parallel either on the system of Divine Economy so thoroughly established by Bahá’u’lláh, or to the safeguards which He has provided for its preservation and advancement.”
Freedom, however democratic in its origin, is impossible without conformity to laws. No community could exist without laws. In the Bahá’i teachings we will find, however, an admonition that laws decreed by any government must conform to the divine law.
To our question as to which laws are divine, ‘Abdul’l-Bahá answers: “The Laws of God are not impositions of will, or of power, or of pleasure, but the resolutions of truth, reason and justice.”
In other words, we will have no oligarchy, no plutocracy.
IN THE World Commonwealth of the future, all laws, whether municipal, provincial, national or international, will be based on resolutions of truth, reason and justice. But how, we might ask, will the generations to come find legislators with such qualifications?
Bahá’u’lláh knows human nature, our weaknesses and limitations. He provides us, therefore, with a new and unique means of legislation.
We cannot go on without referring to a recent appeal of Shoghi Effendi that we should “disregard the prevailing notions and the fleeting fashions of the day, and realize
as never before that the exploded theories and the tottering institutions of present-day civilization must needs appear in sharp contrast with those God-given institutions which are destined to arise upon their ruin.”
One of the most essential contributions of Bahá’u’lláh and upon which the foundation of the new civilization will be established, is the principle of consultation. It is the fulfillment of individual consciousness in this age.
Its working is simple. Communities, nations, and federations of countries elect, in a democratic way directly, or by proportional representation indirectly, a council of nine, re-elected every year. The most outstanding characteristic of this group is its objective attitude. Some people call it a prayerful attitude.
The members of these assemblies meet without any preconceived ideas. They do not represent any group interests. They do not belong to any party. (We will do without political parties in the future.) They have no personal interests in the matters under discussion. They have no ambition for fame or glory. They are not remunerated for their services. Their only concern are the interests of the people, and their only passion is for love of mankind. They are deeply religious by nature. To them service is worship. They serve men in order to please God.
Such men and women, who combine a nobility of character with mature experience and expert knowledge in the discharge of their duties, cannot fail in their attempt to reach resolutions based on truth, reason and justice.
And quoting Shoghi Effendi again: “As the Bahá’i Faith permeates the masses of the peoples of the east and west, and its truth is embraced by the majority of the peoples of a number of the sovereign states of the world, will the Universal House of Justice attain the plenitude of its power and exercise as the supreme organ of the Bahá’í Commonwealth, all the rights, the duties, and responsibilities incumbent upon the world’s future super-state.’
WE ARE, therefore, justified in foreseeing in the not too far distant future a situation when there will be economic justice upon the earth; when the loftiest aims of our present-day idealists will be attained; abolition of poverty will be assured, with ample provision for the aged and sick; when such terms as illiteracy, unemployment or war will be
obsolete, and when the dream of the poet the “Parliament of Man and the Federation of the World” will be a reality.
Who, we venture to ask, with any sense of responsibility for the age in which he is living, and love for the welfare of the human race, could remain indifferent to the following challenge pronounced by the Guardian of the Bahá’i Cause?
“Leaders of religion, exponents of political theories, governors of human institutions, who at present are witnessing with perplexity and dismay the bankruptcy of their ideas and the disintegration of their handiwork, would do well to turn their gaze to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, and to meditate upon the World Order, which, lying enshrined in His teachings, is slowly and imperceptibly rising amid the welter and chaos of present-day civilization.“
Bahá’u’lláh is the Divine Physician who diagnoses the world’s malady; for the whole planet is ill and needs the power of a great specialist.
Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings are the health of the world. They represent the spirit of this age, the light of this age, the well-being of this age, the soul of this cycle. The world will be at rest when they are put into practice for they are Reality.
Praise be to God, the doors of divine knowledge are flung wide, the infinite light is shining, and to such as believe and obey the divine mysteries are revealed.
An address given in Esperanto at the Bahá’i Library in London and translated by Miss Evelyn Baxter. Miss Zamenhof, well known as the daughter of the creator of Esperanto, has recently completed to translation into this universal auxiliary language of “Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era,” by Dr. J. E. Esslemont.
I COME to you from a distant land not very well known to you. Only a journey of two days from here; it is, however, foreign to you.
How large our earth was once; how small it is now! Once it seemed the center of the universe, now we know it is but dust. Once it took years to travel round it, now, in the days of steam, electricity and radio, it has ceased to be an unpassable space; it is becoming more and more the territory of one mankind; the whole earth has become the fatherland of all, the home of one human family.
May that family be happy! An old proverb says that man is the forger of his fate. Whether mankind will be happy will depend on itself.
Mankind at times resembles a band of children who have wandered into a forest, not heeding the warnings of their elders. There, having lost their way before nightfall, they curse and weep and grind their teeth, and, blaming one another, begin to fight. And at that moment, when, perhaps, from afar shine the eyes of wolves or enticing will-o’-the-wisps on the marshes, suddenly is heard the father’s voice showing the way home. Children would immediately run home. And mankind? If it obeys the Voice it also will be saved from the forest at night; otherwise it will become the victim of the wolves.
In these last days mankind has entered a forest where thorns wound the body and the feet sink in a bog. It is not the first time it has turned aside from the path. Many times has the Father saved it from danger. But now the people have entered such a wilderness that they have lost the hope that the Father will find them there, that His voice will reach them; they even doubt whether they have a Father.
But the Father loves His children and does not leave them to perish helpless.
The Father’s voice calling to mankind is the teachings of the prophets. The voice, calling through the dense forest in these last days of despair, is Bahá’u’lláh. His teachings lead again to tranquility, peace and safety.
He reminds us that we are children of one Father, members of one family, dwellers in one home; that we must make this home a sanctuary of peace, not a battlefield.
I remarked at the beginning that I come from a country not known to you. Can the country of any nation be other than a room in the home of the family of mankind? However, room is sometimes separated from room by a high step. What is this step which presents a barrier between peoples? Not mountains, for already tunnels pierce them; not distance, for steam and electricity conquer it. This dividing step is the feeling of foreign-ness; and one of the chief sources of this feeling
is diversity of language. We have taken the hatchet and are chopping away this step—let nothing separate us!
Some of you, perhaps, attended the Twenty-third Congress of Esperanto, the International language, which ended a few days ago at Oxford. Did you not feel, looking at that mass of different nationalities, that something great and
holy was happening there? That the peoples, who, according to the Bible legend, were scattered at the Tower of Babel have come back to their fatherland, to their home? If you felt this and understood, do not stand on one side. Together with us, take the hatchet and help us to chop away the barriers, so that no longer shall anything stand between the children of mankind.
This article, reprinted from, “International Language,” gives an excellent picture of the man who created Esperanto. The author calls him a genius. It would seem clear, however, that his success was due not only to genius, but to divine guidance, which flowed to him because of his utter sincerity, devotion and self-sacrifice in the spread of the great ideal of an international auxiliary language.
ZAMENHOF was an indefatigable worker. All his life, except during the days of his last illness, he had to struggle to keep his family, and for an oculist amongst poor people, the struggle was a bitter one. From Esperanto he made no profit, except royalties on the sale of his works, which certainly did not make good the losses caused by the inevitable neglect of his practice. Lack of money made difficult even traveling to the international congresses; the childlike excitement discernible in his letters on his journey to the Sixth Universal Congress in Washington shows how great was the event in his life, and how great were the efforts which it cost. In spite of money worries, ill-health, bitter opposition and mockery, he fought on and worked unceasingly, and in none of his work is there any sign of discouragement (except, perhaps,
in the poems Ho ’mia kor’ and Mia penso) or bitterness.
One looks for the motive which enabled him to persist and conquer. As we have seen, it was not love of money. Nor was it ambition or love of power, for when, in 1889, it was proposed that the American Philosophical Society should call an international conference of scientists to elect an auxiliary language, he offered to hand the matter over to them entirely and “to retire from the scene”; and, as we know, at a later date (as soon as it was practicable), he gave up all rights in his invention and all official positions. He wished for none of these. His aim was to give humanity peace and ease from the suffering caused by dissension and war, and he saw that a neutral means of communication would be one of the most important factors in achieving that aim. He was an idealist through and through, and he strove for his ideals
with a passionate tenacity which sprang from the simplicity of his character. That simplicity gave him the strength to inspire his followers with his own ideals; to that fact it is due that Esperanto survived the early years. At times he showed even a touch of naivety, as, for instance, when he proposed to collect the names and addresses of ten million people who would promise to learn Esperanto, before asking any one to begin to study.
But he was shrewd, too. He expected no miracles, and foresaw opposition from the first. In his first textbook he answered in advance almost all the objections which can be raised against an “artificial” language. He realized that to make headway, the new language must be stable, and that to be stable, its basis must remain unchanged until the language is universally accepted. Hence, the principle of the inviolability of the fundamental grammar of Esperanto, which has caused so much controversy. It is safe to say that Esperanto would have gone the way of a hundred ephemeral projects, dying stillborn, if it had not been protected by this “dogma.” When the famous Delegation was convened in 1907 for the purpose of choosing an international language, he pointed out from the first that it lacked the necessary authority, and that its choice, whatever it might be, would be ineffective; and the Delegation was indeed a fiasco.
He had a vein of wise disillusionment, as is shown by the following paragraph which appeared in La Esperantisto in 1891:
We must not forget that the world has always remained absolutely
deaf even to the wisest of moral sermons, but remember that it flies to that which appears to have achieved success. For ourselves we may realize that our task is still very difficult and perhaps for a long time to come will demand an iron patience; but to the public we must always show a cheerful face. We must not lie, as the Volapukists did, inventing great and important facts, taken from the air; but also we must not forget that mankind, for whose good we are working, is a sick, obstinate child, who will take no medicine unless we take pains to sweeten it.
We have no record of unkindness or injustice of any kind, but the following letter shows that he could be tart, when occasion justified it:
Your letter is signed: “One of the warmest friends of the language Esperanto”! I do in fact remember that from time to time you send me letters asking after the progress of the affair; but you have never written to say what you yourself are doing for our cause. The “warm friend of our affair” is not he who is always asking questions, but he who works for it and spreads it. Instead of asking me every month what has been done, you should ask yourself, “What have I done for our affair during the past month?”
I quote these texts to show that Zamenhof’s character had its due proportions of salt. We may guess that many letters like the above were required.
With all his simplicity, perhaps because of his simplicity, he showed in his leadership of the Esperanto movement a sagacity and statesmanship which amounted to genius. I need not dilate on the innumerable
pitfalls besetting the inventor of an instrument used by all sorts of men, in all parts of the world. It is sufficient to refer the student to the speeches and articles in this book, in which he points out that Esperanto must have a democratic government; that the language must evolve slowly and naturally in use, and not by sudden changes; that it must be tied to no religious or political theory (not even to Zamenhof’s own dearest cause, pacificism and internationalism allied with the noblest sort of patriotism). His sane guidance was the determining factor in the constant and orderly progress of the movement, and his good influence is still felt today.
I have used the word genius. This is the only word which is adequate when we are considering his creative work on Esperanto. When he compiled the language, research work on the elements necessary in an artificial language was hardly begun; he must be considered as the pioneer and greatest master of the subject. Familiarity with the result of his labors does not breed contempt; on the contrary, it is the common experience of those who have studied Esperanto deeply, that their admiration and wonder grow with increasing knowledge. That is the proof that he worked well; and those who have followed in his steps have never equalled him. The supperiority of Esperanto results partly from that ten years’ constant testing which it had before appearing in public; but it results too from the fact that its author was a genius.
“Genius” here includes the term “artist.” It is curious that nowhere in his articles and letters do we find any mention of selection of
--PHOTO--
Dr. Ludovik Zamenhof, creator of Esperanto, a universal auxiliary language.
words, or arrangement of grammar, from the artistic point of view; he never touches on aesthetics. It is possible that he never presented this side of the question even to himself. But the beauty of sound and association in Esperanto could have been imported only by one very sensitive to beauty; he was undoubtedly a great, unconscious artist—the language itself is proof of this.
Above all we receive an impression of a modest, lovable man; one who was sincere in all things, an enthusiast who never thrust his views on others; a determined worker who never wavered from his aim. His personality calls forth a deep respect, and even from those who never knew him in the flesh, an affection which explains the enthusiasm and sacrifices of those who had the privilege of working with him.
There is an ever-growing tendency toward unity and understanding between science and religion. How this unity can be attained is told as by the author; and those leaders of science and religion who are honestly working to bring about this unity he classes as “Champions of Reality.“
IT must be apparent to those who have followed the trend of current literature, that the gap which has existed for so long between religionists and scientists is gradually closing up.
Prior to the advent of this scientific age, dogmatic religionists have systematically and with various motives succeeded in cultivating the weeds of superstition in their own minds and in the souls of their followers. But any attempt today to perpetuate the imitations and superstitions of the dark ages in this “Age of Light,” becomes increasingly difficult as human understanding broadens and develops.
Scientists, as a whole, are naturally reluctant about associating an admittedly incomprehensible and insensible God with matter and its phenomena. Except for those who have faithfully studied and accepted the illuminating, all-inclusive teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, the problem of adjustment seems to remain unsolved as if pendently waiting for some belated superhuman power to perform the nuptials of science and religion.
The idea that science is of the head and religion is of the heart is not new to many. That religion must conform to science and reason there can be no doubt in the minds of those who have realized the import of the authoritative utterances of Bahá’u’lláh, Who says:
“If religion does not agree with the postulates of science nor accord with the regulations of reason it is a bundle of superstitions; a phantasm of the brain. Science and religion are realities, and if that religion to which we adhere be a reality it must needs conform to the fundamental reality of all things.”
Science can be as wrongly dogmatic as religion. But, fortunately, there are many eminent scientists who have avoided the pitfalls of dogmatism. They have not all allowed their intellects, as it were, to paralyze the intuitional susceptibilities of their hearts. A noble expression of this type is found in one of the recent statements of Dr. W. R. Whitney—“A world figure in science”:
“The will of God, the law which we discover, but cannot understand or explain—that alone is final.”
If the final results of scientific research should lead to the general conviction that the beginning and the end of all creation, with its countless phenomena, is because of the “will of God,” would it not be the greatest possible achievement towards the fulfillment of the Lord’s Prayer?
IN REALITY, science and religion have always been affinities—a temperamental balancing, so to speak, of the extremes of extroversion and introversion. Heretofore, the antipathetic
guardians of science and religion would not sanction such an affiliation. The arrogant religionists looked upon their ward as being too heavenly to associate with an earthling whom the scientists were determined should, at least, possess some exact knowledge of the correlative forces of its physical existence.
Essentially, religion must be the same today as always. But man, through his ignorance and selfishness, has covered Reality with the accumulated trappings and traditions of the ages until its perfect figure has become a fantasy and an object of ridicule in the sight of those who are heedless and unwise. It has been the peculiar office of science to help destroy these tinseled draperies and subtle forgeries, one or more at a time. Who can say that such an exposure is not another manifestation of the “will of God?”
The exactions and perplexities constantly confronting the scientific researcher seem to prevent him, with a few individual exceptions perhaps, from becoming dogmatic over that which, at best, has to do with proximate causes.
Science, we are informed, “Is knowledge reduced to law and embodied in system.” Such being the case, it is not difficult to imagine why the work of the physicist will always be confined within the limits of sense and matter. Should he discover ways and means to materialize, measure and weigh the properties of conscious mind, would he not still be the physicist? On the other hand, should the physicist attempt to develop the alleged occult phase of psychometry by which
he might further study and record the unconscious states, qualities and powers of the human soul, would he not then become a metaphysician also?
Exact science demands that the scientist, who would be successful, must possess the inherent qualities of truthfulness, otherwise, we could expect no more from him than a juggler’s performance. The invention of the electric light, for example—commonplace as it now seems—necessitated innumerable conjurings with the occult forces of nature before it could be presented to the world in the form of a dependable commodity which is as necessary to the convenience and enlightenment of the enemies of science as it is to the scientists themselves.
WHAT EINSTEIN calls the “cosmic religious sense” is, no doubt, deeply rooted in the soul of every true scientist. Paradoxical as it may seem, the “cosmic religious sense” or “creative urge” as others have designated it, may be as keen in the mind of the physicist who is working day and night to produce a gas that could be used for the destruction of his fellowmen, as it is in another who might be searching for knowledge of a way to produce cheap motive power from the air. The original purpose of the two scientists is the same, viz., to control the forces of nature. Should the efforts of both prove to be successful, the accomplishment in either case will have been legitimately within the field of science, while their motives, from a moralist’s
point of view, may be directly contrary.
There are many people who are inclined to look upon the scientist as one who, because of the exacting nature of his work, must be temperamentally cold and unemotional. This may appear to be true because of the scientist’s absolute refusal to take any unproven theory for granted. It is admitted that there may be certain scientists whose emotional natures have become more or less dormant; nevertheless, they must have imagination. Any theories which the scientist may develop in the abstract are so built with the distinct understanding that, until his theories are proven, he must regard them only as mental images or patterns until he has made them tangible and workable.
In the laboratory, the scientist is free to indulge his imaginative powers to the utmost. Here he may quietly theorize and dream to his heart’s content. Here the whole of creation becomes his mental playground, and yet the task is always before him to demonstrate the soundness of his theories and to reduce them to practical usefulness and, as the psychologist might say, “He must objectify his mental images before he will be recognized as a scientist.”
The great protagonists of the renewed religion of God for our time (the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ’Abdu’l-Bahá) teach us that “Man is the collective center of all phenomena.” Long before the time of Christ, Socrates seemed to realize this truth, hence his injunction, “Know thyself!” It is a large order and would be quite beyond our limited human powers to fulfill were we not
so fortunate as to have been born in the early morning of a New Day wherein we may expect a quickening of the soul’s powers in fulfillment of the prophecies of the great ones of the past.
SCIENCE is doing much to deepen our knowledge of the interdependence of our physical and mental functions. True psychology, or “The science of the human mind or soul,” is also adding much to our better understanding of the soul’s operations, powers and functions—but, let it be borne in mind that there is as marked a distinction between true and pseudo or false psychology as there is between the true scientist and the juggler.
The most important lesson one can learn from the study of true psychology, perhaps, is that his own soul is the intermediary between his visible world of effects and the invisible world of causes, or, to quote from the Bahá’i Scriptures:
“The soul hath two phases: the higher aspireth to the Kingdom of Abha, and the lights of the mind shine forth from that horizon unto its higher sphere; the other phase inclineth to the lower concourse of the material world and its lowest sphere is enveloped in the darkness of ignorance. But when light is poured upon this phase (the lower) and if this phase of the soul is capable of receiving it, then ‘truth hath come and falsehood vanisheth, for falsehood is of short duration’—otherwise, darkness will surround it from all directions and it will be deprived of association with the
Supreme Concourse and will remain in the lowest depths.”
After studying the foregoing statements, the consequent question would naturally be, “What is my personal responsibility in the matter of preparing my soul to receive the light?” Reading further in the Scriptures the answer is found in the following statements:
“The prophets also acknowledge this opinion, to-wit: That education hath a great effect upon the human race, but they declare that the minds and comprehensions are originally different. And this matter is self-evident; it cannot be refuted. We see that certain children of the same age, nativity and race, nay, from the same household, under the tutorship of one teacher, differ in their minds and comprehensions.”
“No matter how much the shell is polished, it can never become the radiant pearl. That is to say, training does not change the human substance, but it produceth a marvelous effect. By this effective power all that is registered, in latency, of virtues and capacities in the human reality will be revealed. It is for this reason that, in this
new cycle, education and training are recorded in the Book of God as obligatory and not voluntary.”
From the above it will be clearly understood that education is the means by which the mirror of the soul is polished and prepared to reflect the rays of light from on high.
Education, it must be remembered, is dynamic. It is ever progressive and it is incumbent upon all who would be prepared to receive the light to constantly readjust their minds to new discoveries of the law which Dr. Whitney so conclusively calls the “will of God” as it is manifested in all phases of our existence.
When the leaders of ancient, outworn religious creeds—with their innumerable sects—have learned to readjust their minds to the basic idea, namely, that religion must conform to science and reason, and the scientists will have agreed that the mysterious forces of nature cannot be accounted for except as manifestations of the “will of God,” may we not then speak of the millenium in the present tense and hail our modern religionists and scientists as the Champions of Reality?
“As we witness on all sides the growing restlessness of a restless age, we are filled with mixed feelings of fear and hope—fear, at the prospect of yet another deadly encounter, the inevitability of which is alas! becoming increasingly manifest; hope, in the serene assurance that whatever cataclysm may yet visit humanity, it cannot but hasten the approaching era of universal and lasting peace so emphatically proclaimed by the Pen of Bahá’u’lláh. . . . Let us take heart therefore, and labor with renewed vigor and deepened understanding to contribute our share to those forces which, whether or not cognizant of the regenerating Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in this age, are operating, each in its respective sphere and under His all-encompassing guidance, for the uplift and the salvation of humanity.”
The author, connected with the municipal government of San Francisco, has frequently written for the Bahá'i Magazine. He now contributes a series of articles describing the Bahà’i Movement as the fulfillment of prophecy, the solution of the world’s present needs, the perfect civilization that has been awaiting the enlightened efforts of mankind.
NOW, for more than twenty years, the Bahá’í Magazine has been engaged in making known the teachings of the Bahá’i Revelation, discovering to the world their effect upon the individual and the national life—in the individual instance, the inspiration to the great adventure in entire selflessness of striving to disseminate this new expression of the age-old Truth; and iii the wider fields of national optimism, the introduction of the principles voiced by Bahá’u’lláh as a corrective of existing evils between peoples of different races and nationalities.
The world has been witness to the continued effort of nations to incorporate the Bahá'i principles in their treaties and relationships, and yet, those responsible for this have remained in ignorance of their source. The principles referred to are Equality of the Races, Equality of the Sexes, Equality of Opportunity, Universal Education, a Universal Auxiliary Language, a transposition from merely national fealty to that of loyalty to the whole human race, an International Court of Justice, a League of Nations, an Adjustment of the Relations between Capital and Labor, in the establishment of an economical condition which shall eliminate poverty and proscribe the hoarding of wealth for the advantage of the few.
All of these were sent forth as
divine mandates more than sixty years ago, at a time when there was no consideration nor observation of them in any land, and they are functioning at best only lamely today for the reason of their non-association with divine motives through their attempted adaptation by purely political means.
Then, too, Bahá’u’lláh voiced other vital principles which peoples are not according recognition and which have been limited in their acceptance to those who have accepted as valid the Bahá’i Revelation—the Voice Divine. These are the singleness of purpose and of authorization of every great Revelator throughout the ages who has appeared in the establishment of a school of religion—a condition which compels the recognition, also, that there is only one religion, and that, the unassailable Word of God.
It may be seen that in giving acceptance to these, all religious prejudice will be wiped out and with the gradual wakening to realization of the universal brotherhood of man, accompanied by the assumption of the responsibilities which such a relationship compels, wars will cease to be and a spread of prosperity and augmented comfort be inevitable.
There are many remaining blind to the beauties of the revealed Truth who are curious over the mystical utterances contacted with in Holy Writ, and it is not unbelievable that
some of these, given explanation of that which hitherto has remained subject to surmise, might be attracted to an investigation of the source of that Truth which could make plain the concealed verities. It is to such that this thesis is offered as something over which to ponder and, according as it may appeal to reason, accept.
Nor infrequently comment has been made over the improbability of divine inspiration being associated with the Bible, which is filled with matter not appearing to be consistent with divine thought and also with allegorical presentments which constitute a cloud to conceal such meanings as may be attached thereto. They ask why so many crudities are injected into Holy Writ and also why God didn’t give truths in plain and understandable terms, and that is an entirely rational query to be put if one does not grasp the intent of the form.
One has only to refer to the latest of our dictionaries to discover lists of thousands of words which have become obsolete, and if this obtains in association with the limited period of which lexicographers treat, it must be rational to assume that back of that time there were in use unnumbered thousands of words of which we have no knowledge.
The Prophets were dealing with affairs and conditions which they visioned were to exist upon the earth thousands of years after their own time, and had they employed to record these events and conditions the idioms then in use it must have ensued in the passing of generations their record would have passed to the oblivion which we
have discussed in relation to words in general.
Therefore, having the wisdom to foresee this obsolescence, they set their determinations regarding the future in terminologies based on the eternal verities—those things which were and are and ever will be present in the world—the sun and moon and stars, water and air and light, rivers and streams and sea, clouds and earth and stone, man and woman and wife, and numbers of other objects time cannot destroy. That was one reason—preservation.
THERE was another reason. When these allegories and symbols were employed, it was also written that the Word was not for private interpretation, and that these secrets were to be sealed until “the time of the end”-a term which is itself an allegory and has been the cause of endless controversy, having been generally accepted to indicate that when certain prophesied conditions should obtain in the world, the world itself would be at an end–the Day of God, the Day of Judgment, the Resurrection. This “other reason” was that in the “time of the end,” when One should appear who would demonstrate the knowledge to make clear the meanings in the concealments of Holy Writ, this capacity would constitute one of the proofs of His divinity.
WHILE an intent of this thesis is to treat in the larger measure of applied prophecy, its purpose will be the better served if there shall be made clear the real meaning of some of the disguised and disputed passages. And this brings us to a consideration of the 36th verse of
the 30th chapter of Isaiah—a verse which before this era has never been given acceptable explanation. It reads:
“Moreover, the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people and healeth the stroke of their wound.”
The best that Bible commentators have been able to weave out of this has been that at some time in the experience of the race the illumination emanating from our present solar center will so vastly transcend that to which we have been accustomed that night itself will be dissipated, regarding which the main difficulty would seem to be the ability of man to endure it.
Wheresoever the term “the day” or “that day” is employed in prophecy, associated with some great event, it has reference to this day in which we are living, and to understandingly discuss this requires a harking back to the day of “beginning”—that is, the story as given to us in the opening chapter of the book of Genesis. Because a Manifestation of God brings spiritual illumination to mankind, he is likened to our phenomenal sun and is called a S-U-N. And, because the sun is inseparably associated with day, he is also called D-A-Y. And, as we determine a day to constitute the period between dawn and dark, so, too, the period during which the spiritual teachings presented by a Manifestation have the power to influence to spirituality the souls of men, is called His Day.
That one who follows immediately in the footsteps of the divine messenger to explain his Word and
spread the cause is styled moon, because he rises in a reflected glory, just as our satellite of the night reflects the light of the sun.
WHEN we approach Creation, we see it as something not related to the bringing into existence this earth of ours, nor of any sphere in the universe of worlds, nor, indeed of any substance whatsoever, because, if we shall accept God as perfect, we must conclude there never was a period in which everything was not, all being co-existent with God. Had there been at any time something lacking in the universe, necessary for God to create, it would imply an imperfect world and therefore an imperfection in the Creator, which is an entirely impossible assumption.
No, Creation, when applied to bodies like this earth of ours, does not mean the bringing into being of anything new, but, instead, an introduction into a field in which it had theretofore been strange, of something infinitely old. But, the term “Creation,” as employed in Genesis, does not mean even this—it means the creation of souls. That is, out of the darkness and ignorance, the glory of the Light brought recognition of the purposes of God.
Allegory and symbology saturate the entirety of the Scriptures with their incomparable utility for the preservation of the record of the intent. The “Garden of Eden” is the first of these allegories after that which we have discussed as Creation. As given to us almost daily in the press and in numerous periodicals, scientific investigation has determined that this earth of ours, to which some religionists persist in attaching a life period thus far of only six or seven thousand
years, must have endured through incommensurable billions of years, and this conclusion of science is directly in line with the declaration of Bahá’u’lláh that the present cycle in which we are and of which we are a part, is merely one of unnumbered thousands of similar cycles of like thousands of years duration which have obtained on this planet, during which people have risen from states of ignorance and deprivation to planes of the highest intellectual and spiritual attainment, then to retrogress or, by some seismic cataclysm to be almost completely wiped out, so that all knowledge of that which has gone before is lost to the succeeding remnants of the race.
Possibly, this can be more clearly grasped if we shall assume that the recession of the antarctic ice cap and the increase of the arctic cap shall in a not far distant future become of such magnitude that a tipping of the earth will bring about an almost complete submergence of areas now exposed, such submersion continuing sufficiently to be destructive of the major portion of all life. Thus, to have again the race—beginning in people of little or no attainments, were the islands of the southern seas to be lifted as continental areas, the populace would be dense in its ignorance, and the small understandings during the earlier generations be lost because of the absence of competent instruction and guidance.
Such a condition, therefore, may be pictured in the dawn of this cycle, when the people without understanding of right and wrong were in an edenic state—they could do no evil, because what they did was in the absence of knowledge. That
was their true “Garden of Eden,” and it continued until their state becoming hopeless of voluntary development along spiritual lines, out of their midst arose Adam as the first “Day” and brought them the Light, exposing for their guidance the divine principles in life’s true relatonships. It was in this dawning cognizance of their past error that their “Fall” was accomplished—not a fall from grace, but a fall from their edenic experience in being ignorant of sin.
The “Fall” was in reality a rise from a plane of ignorance to a station of understanding. The manner of their acceptance of this teaching by Adam is also indelibly inscribed in scriptural allegory, showing evil (personified in Cain) battling with and becoming victor over good (personified in his brother, Abel).
It exposes the conflict in the individual soul between the promptings toward evil and good—a condition which has shown no change from that time to this.
While religionists, as a rule, regard the Holy Books to have been revealed for a spiritual purpose, they have persisted in applying to material affairs what is to be found therein. They have done this with the creational story, as we have said, but inasmuch as the narrative related solely to matters of the spirit—the creation of souls—we can now understand Adam in this allegory as “the first Day.” His teaching endured as a means of guidance until human egotistic assumption and selfish striving plunged mankind into a night of ignorance, out of which came the dawn of the second day of creation, in the appearance of Noah.
(To be continued)
BY a happy coincidence I arrived at Haifa in time to participate in one of the most important celebrations of the year, namely, the observation of the Ascension of Baha’u’llah.*
We set out for Bahji just at night-fall, Zeah Khanum, the mother of Shoghi Effendi, Ruha Khanum, the second daughter of ’Abdu’l-Bahá, a Persian pilgrim, and I, occupied the same car.
Our route lay through the narrow streets of Haifa, and thence along the shore of the Mediterranean, the road running so close to the water that the tide washed over it in some places. There was an invigorating, salt-laden breeze. To the left we could still see the gentle breakers, and to the right, the billowing white sands, with, here and there, a cluster of palm trees, dimly silhouetted against the sky. Scarcely a word was spoken during that drive; it would have seemed irreverent to break the silence.
Arriving at the Shrine, we found a large gathering of men in the garden, one of whom was chanting a Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh. We took seats outside with the women, but after a time, repaired to the interior of the Shrine.
The outer chamber was brilliant, the large cut-glass chandeliers scintillating with myriads of candles, and on a table a number of candle-lighted lamps threw their radiance upon delicate rug and velvet drapery. The outer Shrine is two stories
* This date is observed May 28th of each year.
high, with no windows on the ground floor, but having several above on each of the four sides. Through these windows one could see the blue sky, and beneath them, electric lights, the only suggestion of Western atmosphere, brought into relief the color and waxen texture of tropical plants, which form a miniature garden in the center.
Dark clad forms reverently sat along the walls or moved silently toward an open door through which flooded a radiance not only seen, but felt.
The inner Shrine, while dimly lighted by lamp and candelabra, yet revealed the soft green velvet draperies, and Persian rugs, and exquisite urns filled with flowers which shed their fragrance as rare incense in honor of a King. There was no somberness here, but rather, a regenerating atmosphere, which, while bearing comfort to the weary heart, yet filled one with a heavy sense of loss and indefinable longing. One realized, here, the kinship of joy and sorrow. Those who had gazed upon the splendor of His personality, silently wept. What memories must have crowded in! What heavenly bounty had been theirs to behold the King of Kings, the unrequited hope of generations, but the fulfillment of their own.
After kneeling in silent reverence at the Threshold, each one, still facing the Shrine, entered an ante-chamber, to make room for the men. Shoghi Effendi entered first, and
knelt before the inner Shrine, after a few moments retreating to the outer chamber. The room was rapidly filled, as men, old and young, reverently approached the Shrine. Shoghi Effendi then chanted a Tablet, yet untranslated, which while literally incomprehensible to a Western pilgrim, yet conveyed its spiritual beauty, and broke the restraint of the sorrowing ones.
The chanting over, and homage offered at the Holy Threshold, the chamber was again emptied, and devotions were resumed in the garden. This rotation continued throughout the night.
The moon had now risen, lighting up tall cypress and brilliant flower, but a rich tenor voice in holy chant, recalled one’s attention to the devotion. One observed that in this Tablet the names of Bahà’u’lláh and of Abdu’l-Bahá were mentioned. I was told that it was the chanting of poems inspired by the noble lives of these Divine Messengers of God. One experienced deep regret at not being able to understand the words.
Again the believers entered the Shrine, until it was filled as before. At three o’clock, the hour of the Ascension of that Glorious One, Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Cause, again approached the Holy Shrine, and again chanted the sacred words which penetrated every heart and made it respond with gratitude, and renewed dedication
to the service of the Most Glorious.
When we retired from the Shrine, the first streaks of dawn had already appeared in the eastern sky, while a sacred silence broken only by the song of bird, seemed to permeate all nature.
It was four o’clock when we began our homeward journey. Daylight soon brightened the landscape, and what had been only dimly outlined at night-fall, now assumed shape and color; the dull green of olive tree, in contrast with the dark green of spreading cedar; the graceful movement of robed figures, each bearing a burden upon its head; the small flocks driven by Arab and dog; a camel, or a donkey, laden with produce, all combined to add picturesqueness to the scene.
In spite of the drowsiness that gradually settled upon one, the tranquility of the morning kindled the imagination, and one saw, again, the Master traveling over the same road, many times weary with the weight of burdens, too heavy for an ordinary mortal to bear, and yet with what hope He must have gazed upon that glorious scene—Mount Carmel in the distance, with the city of Haifa snuggled at its foot; the beautiful bay, one day to become a great harbor—and one suddenly realized that here lay the concrete fulfillment of His hopes and that this was ‘home.’
“Prayer and supplication are so effective that they inspire one’s heart for the whole day with high Meals and supreme sanctity and calmness. One’s heart mast be sensitive to the magic of prayer. He mast feet the effect of prayer.”
This brief but illuminating article came to us in answer to the editorial in the January number of The Bahá’i Magazine, in which we had made a request for correspondence on the ways of improving one’s spiritual life in the midst of pressing daily activities. We are glad to have this contribution, and hope that others who have any helpful message to contribute will feel encouraged to submit their ideas.
ARE there periods in our lives when we feel we have little time for reading and studying Bahá’i principles to perfect ourselves?
It is during these very periods that we may put into practice what we already know. And after all, it is only those principles that become active that are really our own.
We wish to acquire perfections. But do we see perfections in every person and in every thing that concerns us in our daily lives even in trivial affairs? We may think we do. But. checking up on ourselves, sometimes the results are surprising.
It is related that once as Christ and His disciples passed the corpse of a dog, all the disciples exclaimed on the deformity and dissolution of the animal; but Christ looked until He found the beautiful white teeth, then commented only on the perfection of the teeth, disregarding entirely all the defects. Christ looked at the praiseworthy qualities always.
As BAHA’Is, we find there are
scientific reasons why we must gaze
only at the divine and perfect attributes.
It is facing the sun instead
of the shadow; seeing the positive
qualities as real, the negative as unreal.
We have learned “that we
are as mirrors; that as physical objects receive the light of the material sun and reflect it to the degree in which they are able, so we likewise receive the light of the Sun of Reality and reflect it to a greater or lesser degree, according as we are able,” there being no ingress or egress of divinity.
To reflect, we must turn toward the Sun of Truth, as we are exhorted all thru the Scriptures. Upon first thought we naturally suppose we are turned toward the Sun of Reality—that certainly is our intention. But remembering that it has been said “that we are turned toward that which we love the most and that which we love the most occupies our thoughts to the greatest degree,”—on applying this test, we might discover something altogether different from what we supposed. It is so easy to be actually turned toward the shadow, without knowing it! In other words, we may be like the disciples, looking more often at the imperfections.
Could we improve and perfect ourselves more by any one method. than by adopting the practice of striving to see perfection everywhere, at all times? This practice is turning toward the Light, turning towards the Sun of Reality indeed. For was not Bahá’u’lláh the Blessed Perfection?
(“Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”-Jesus.)
- In the loveless cold of wintertime
- Far seems the warmth of Love’s June Day.
- The Son of Man would bring it near
- To souls possessing power to hear
- And will to walk Love’s Way.
(Suggested by the Song of Solomon.)
- Lo, the winter even now is passed,
- The time of soul-depressing dearth;
- The certain signs of Spring are clear;
- The time of singing birds is here,
- The flowers appear on earth.
- Though the little foxes spoil the vines
- Because of tender grapes they bear,
- They shall be taken soon, and God
- Shall feed His people with His Rod.
- And make His Garden fair.
- He will take away the bramble patch
- And bring a beauty before unknown!
- Earth shall become a garden spot,
- A joyous life the common lot,
- With Love upon the throne,
(“Prove me now, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”—Mal. 3:10.)
- In the day when the people perforce shall prove
- The God of Love who waits to bless,
- The windows of heaven shall be opened wide;
- All hungers shall be satisfied-
- All fed from Love’s largesse.
The following is part of an address delivered by Mr. Davey, president of the Davey Tree Expert Company of Kent, Ohio. Mr. Davey’s speech was delivered as part of the Davey Tree Surgery radio hour which commemorates the achievement of John Davey who fifty-one years ago, created the science of tree surgery.
THAT great force of men and women, who are engaged in the various branches of science, represent the most tremendous forward movements of our civilization, insofar as they are governed by human efforts and genius.
Nearly all the great work of science is hidden from public view. For the most part, it is performed quietly, patiently and persistently, without any spectacular manifestations and without any hope of public applause.
A peculiar attribute of the average scientific mind is the fact that it usually does not concern itself with monetary gain or commercial advancement. It is primarily self-repressive, and is devoted to the tedious grind of mastering known truth and searching for new. It is concerned with the results of its labors rather than personal reward.
It is for these reasons that I wish to speak in public appreciation of the unseen army of science, that has moved forward under cover of the laboratory and the study, almost unnoticed by the general public and without any clamor or popular demonstrations. The scientists of this and past generations have lifted mankind out of darkness, have advanced the common welfare, have provided new instruments of helpfulness and service, and have opened man’s eyes to the amazing facts concerning the world in which he lives and the universe of which it is a part.
EXCEPT among the most primitive peoples, science and its operations affect human life at almost every turn. Insofar as its scope reaches, it has lifted our civilization to the highest level that people have ever enjoyed. But the thing that is most impressive to me is the fact that science has so tremendously enlarged man’s vision. Its material contributions are so great that it is quite impossible to describe them within the scope of human language, but its contributions to man’s intellectual stature are to me the more profound. Science has unlocked so many of the secrets of nature! It has elevated our comprehension of things! It has given us so much greater understanding of life and the world in which we live and the universe of which we are a part, that it has been possible for civilized man to grow to a new and greater intellectual stature!
Some folks think that science is at war with religion, but I am one of those who believe that science has done more to confirm the infinite power of the Creator than anything that could have happened. It is an immeasurably greater God that we can see through the revelations of science. We can look up to our Creator in more devout worship and with more profound veneration, because science has opened our eyes and uncovered our minds to the infiniteness of the universe and the majestic plan of its divine creation.
THE virtues of humanity are many but science is the most noble of them all. The distinction which man enjoys above and beyond the station of the animal is due to this paramount virtue. It is a bestowal of God; it is not material, it is divine. Science is an effulgence of the Sun of Reality, the power of investigating and discovering the verities of the universe, the means by which man finds a pathway to God. All the powers and attributes of man are human and hereditary in origin, outcomes of nature’s processes, except the intellect, which is super-natural. Through intellectual and intelligent inquiry science is the discoverer of all things. It unites present and past, reveals the history of bygone nations and events, and confers upon man today the essence of all human knowledge and attainment throughout the ages. By intellectual processes and logical deductions of reason, this super-power in man can penetrate the mysteries of the future and anticipate its happenings.
IT IS impossible for religion to be contrary to science, even though some intellects are too weak or too immature to understand Truth.
God made religion and science to be the measure, as it were, of our understanding. Take heed that you neglect not such a wonderful power. Weigh all things in this balance. To him who has the power of comprehension, religion is like an open book, but how can it be possible for a man, devoid of reason and intellectuality, to understand the divine realities of God?
Put all your beliefs into harmony with science; there can be no question, for Truth is one. When religion, shorn of its superstitions, traditions, and unintelligent dogmas, shows its conformity with science, then will there be a great unifying, cleansing force in the world, which will sweep before it all wars, disagreements, discords and struggles—then will mankind be united in the Power of the Love of God.
OF making many books” about the Negro, present-day literature seems to have “no end.” Much that is written is so unsound and misleading as to be of little or no value to one in quest of facts or reliable inferences concerning the habits, the conditions, the lives of this tenth part of our American population. It is, therefore, both refreshing and heartening to discover a book which in simple, straight-forward language sets forth, without fear or favor, the status of the American of color and his curiously complex but unavoidable relationship to the nation.
The book is “Negro-National Asset or Liability,” by John Louis Hill, a white man of southern birth and education.
For the past ten years Dr. Hill has traveled in the north and in the south. He has touched elbows with men and women of high social rank in his own racial group, studied colored folk on levee, in cottonfield, in alleys and byways, in home and church, and school, apparently with open mind and the will to judge righteously.
With courage and frankness the author defines “the three separate and distinct stages” through which he has progressed in reaching his present attitude on the race question.
No. 1. The Negroes were to be kept in their place. No longer slaves they were yet necessary as servants and common laborers and so must be tolerated. They were not looked upon as citizens, hardly as human beings.
No. 2. The author takes up residence in the north, finds colored people in the role of citizens, functioning in the higher walks of life, “men and women of clean morals, high ideals and lofty conceptions of life and duty.” He realizes that these people have been robbed of a fair chance and that the white race has been to blame for their treatment. But, note the author’s conclusion, that while this attitude was an improvement on the former it was by no means adequate.
No. 3. Arriving at No. 3 he has come to the enlightened understanding that “all people are the results of creative forces operating in their own peculiar times and climes under the inexorable law of cause and effect. God is the Author and Maker of all people, and His gifts are vouchsafed alike to all people, regardless of race, color, kindred, save as they may be affected by the forces of heredity and environment.” First contempt, then pity and finally understanding and a sense of human brotherhood.
It should be illuminating to the
American who is content to call himself Negro to read this white man’s dictum on the use of the word. “Never,” he says, “can he take his place as an upstanding citizen until he does as a man and not as a Negro.”
Many a colored person, too, who has striven with mind and soul to work in harmony With white people will thank God for the clarity of vision which has led a white man to say “most white people actually concerned about the welfare of the colored race are still in the second phase. They are really very kindly disposed to the Negro, many of them with a burning desire to help him. That attitude constantly holds the white individual “superior” to the colored one. He looks down upon him and talks down to him and regards himself as intensely humanitarian in that he is honestly endeavoring to uplift an inferior creature.”
A gullible public rating its concept of colored people upon sordid fiction and popular broadcastings would do well to ponder on this reflection. Such things “are only a portrayal of certain phases of Negro life so overdrawn that they do the colored people as a whole an almost irreparable injustice.”
Through the better work of science and philanthropy, whose twin genius approaches Negro life with a “sincere investigative attitude,” there will come such startling revelations that there will be no question that this man of darker hue is one of the most dependable assets to the nation. In the field of manual `
labor alone such statement might well go unchallenged.
With unerring judgment Dr. Hill touches upon the artistic temperament of the Negro “creative of and readily reacting to all forms of art.” With his inherited gifts and increasing and larger opportunities for self-expression, Dr. Hill regards it not improbable that within a few generations the very largest contribution to national art will be made by the American who carries Negro blood in his veins.
The author warns against measuring the Negro’s worth in any way except as an asset to the nation. He must not be judged as part of a “white man’s country,” nor by the standards of those who think money the one thing to be desired, rather by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
Dr. Hill must have looked back a number of years. He must have seen the freed-woman reaching out with motherly hands bringing together her scattered and often ill-assorted children, and with the help of a husband, housing them under one roof. He has witnessed, no doubt, her matchless ambition for those children, and the planting of courage in the minds of her sons and chastity in the minds of her daughters. He has seen this dark woman develop and grow until today she has come forth a woman among women.
So far, the Negro’s patriotism and his strong religious nature, the writer thinks, have been a great asset to the nation. The blind, who still insist on race proscription and injustice, may well consider the potential danger of the Soviet teachings,
which offer a way out and above social abuses.
For colored people themselves no finer note could be struck than this: “The last potential evil that might come out of the colored race, which would be destructive to themselves and possibly disastrous to future inter-racial amity, is the possibility of its turning anti-religious.”
Many more pages than are in this book might be written about this
book. We who hope, who strive and who with patience wait, may well say with Dr. Hill when he writes as poet and philosopher, “may it not, indeed, be possible that in the divine economy of the various racial and national strains converged in America, to eventually exhibit an ideal civilization—the Negro himself, with his suffering past and saving future, may be the one element to prevent dissolution.”
“To bring the white and the colored together is considered impossible and improbable, but the breaths of the Holy Spirit will accomplish this fact.
“The world of America must be very thankful for this realization; for this enmity and hatred which exist between the white and the colored races is very dangerous and there is no doubt that it will end in bloodshed unless the penetration of the Word of God, the breaths of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are diffused amongst them and love instead of hatred is established between the two races. They must destroy the foundation of enmity and rancor and lay the basis of love and affinity. The power of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh will cause the disappearance of this danger from America.”
THE PROMULGATION OF UNIVERSAL PEACE, being The Addresses of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in America, in two volumes. Price, each, $2.50.
BAHÁ’U’LLÁH AND THE NEW ERA, by Dr. J. E. Esslemont, a gifted scientific scholar of England. This is the most comprehensive summary and explanation of the Bahá’í Teachings as yet given in a single volume. Price, $1.00; paper cover, 50 cents.
THE WISDOM TALKS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ in Paris. This series of talks covers a wide range of subjects, and is perhaps the best single volume at a low price in which 'Abdu'l-Bahá explains in His own words the Bahá’í Teaching. Price, paper, 50 cents; cloth, $1.00.
BAHÁ'Í SCRIPTURES. This book, compiled by Horace Holley, is a remarkable compendium of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. It contains a vast amount of material and is indexed. This Paper Edition (only ¾-inch thick) Price, $2.50.
THE BAHÁ'Í WORLD, a Biennial International Record (formerly Bahá’í Year Book). Prepared under the auspices of the Bahá’í National Assembly of America with the approval of Shoghi Effendi. Price, cloth, $2.50.
All books may be secured from The Bahá’í Publishing Committee, Post office Box 348, Grand Central Station, New York City.
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Bound volumes Nos. 15 and 16, covering the years 1924 to 1925 and 1925 to 1926, contain many of the most valuable and instructive Bahá'í teachings compiled from the writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, on such subjects as Education, Peace, The Solution of the Economic Problem, Cooperation and Unity, Proof of the Existence of God, and others equally as important. They also contain articles on various phases of the Bahá'i Cause and its teachings contributed by Bahá'í writers and presented with clearness and accuracy, reports of conferences and conventions, Bahá'í News and Travel Notes and other interesting information. Volumes 17, 18 and 19 contain valuable material and information for students of religion, sociology, science, etc., both Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís.
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All of the bound volumes of earlier years are filled with such remarkable spiritual teachings of the New Age that they constitute a priceless library. Volumes 2, 3, 4 and 5 contain many sublime records of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's teachings, addresses and interviews in Europe and America. (Volumes 2 and 3 are now exhausted and Volume 4 cannot be supplied in a complete form as several numbers of this volume are exhausted.)
Volumes 7 and 8, which are, also, often bound together, contain the wonderful compilations on the Divine Art of Living and the New Covenant.
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