| ←Issue 5 | Star of the West Volume 23 - Issue 6 |
Issue 7→ |
 Proofread onceReturn to PDF view
|
We are working hard to have proofread and nicely formatted text for you to read. Here is our progress on this section:
|
| VOL. 23 | SEPTEMBER, 1932 | No. 6 |
THE BAHA'I TEMPLE
HOW pathetic indeed are the efforts of those leaders of human institutions who, in utter disregard of the spirit of the age, are striving to adjust national processes, suited to the ancient days of self-contained nations, to an age which must either achieve the unity of the world, as adumbrated by Bahá'u'lláh, or perish.
At so critical an hour in the history of civilization it behooves the leaders of all the nations of the world, great and small, whether in the East or in the West, whether victors or vanquished, to give heed to the clarion call of Bahá'u'lláh and, thoroughly imbued with a sense of world solidarity, the sine qua non of loyalty to His Cause, arise manfully to carry out in its entirety the one remedial scheme He, the Divine Physician, has prescribed for an ailing humanity. Let them discard, once for all, every preconceived idea, every national prejudice, and give heed to the sublime counsel of 'Abdu'l-Baha, the authorized Expounder of His teachings.
You can best serve your country, was 'Abdu'l-Bahá's rejoinder to a high official in the service of the federal government of the United States of America,—who had questioned Him as to the best manner in which he could promote the interests of his government and people,—if you strive in your capacity as a citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application of the principle of federalism underlying the government of your own country to the relationships now existing between the peoples and nations of the world."
| VOL. 23 | SEPTEMBER, 1932 | NO. 6 |
| `Abdu'l-Bahá | ||
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 167 | ||
The First Bahá’i Hall in India | 170 | ||
Criers of the Dawn, Doris McKay | 172 | ||
The Successive Manifestations, Annie B. Romer | 176 | ||
White Roses of Persia, Martha L. Root | 179 | ||
Mental Health and the New World Order, Genevieve L. Coy | 182 | ||
A Memorandum on World Peace, Wallace R. Farrington | 184 | ||
The Coming World Order, Kenneth Christian | 186 | ||
Progress in Persia | 188 | ||
Experiences in the Air, C. A. Wragg | 192 | ||
The Bahá’i Summer School at Louhelen Ranch, Orcella Rexford | 194 | ||
STANWOOD COBB, MARIAM HANEY, BERTHA HYDE KIRKPATRICK | Editors |
MARGARET B. MCDANIEL | Business Manager |
For the United States and Canada
|
For Foreign Countries
MRS. ANNIE B. Romer, Great Britain MR. A. SAMIMI, Persia MISS AGNES B. ALEXANDER, Japan and China MOHAMED MUSTAFA EFFENDI, Egypt |
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.
LET there be no misgivings as to the animating purpose of the world-wide Law of Bahá'u'lláh. Far from aiming at the subversion of the existing foundations of society, it seeks to broaden its basis, to remould its institutions in a manner consonant with the needs of an ever-changing world. It can conflict with no legitimate allegiances, nor can it undermine essential loyalties. Its purpose is neither to stifle the flame of a sane and intelligent patriotism in men’s hearts, nor to abolish the system of national autonomy so essential if the evils of excessive centralization are to be avoided. It does not ignore, nor does it attempt to suppress, the diversity of ethnioal origins, of climate, of history, of language and tradition, of thought and habit, that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world. It calls for a wider loyalty, for a larger aspiration than any that has animated the human race. It insists upon the subordination of national impulses and interests to the imperative claims of a unified world. It repudiates excessive centralization on one hand, and disclaims all attempts at uniformity on the other.
The call of Bahá’u’lláh is primarily directed against all forms of provincialism, all insularities and prejudices. If long-cherished ideals and time-honored institutions, if certain social assumptions and religious formulae have ceased to promote the welfare of the generality of mankind, if they no longer minister to the needs of a continually evolving humanity, let them be swept away and relegated to the limbo of obsolescent and forgotten doctrines. Why should these, in a world subject to the immutable law of change and decay, be exempt from the deterioration that must needs overtake every human institution? For legal standards, political and economic theories are solely designed to safeguard the interests of humanity as a whole, and not humanity to be crucified for the preservation of the integrity of any particular law or doctrine.”
| VOL. 23 | SEPTEMBER, 1932 | NO. 6 |
part among the children of men, success and prosperity are impossible . . . . If he comes under the shadow of the True Educator and is rightly trained, he becomes the essence of essences, the light of lights, the spirit of spirits; he becomes the center of the divine appearances, the source of spiritual qualities, the rising place of heavenly lights, and the receptacle of divine inspirations.”
MANY ARE skeptical regarding the establishment of universal peace; of an effective league of nations; of perfect harmony between capital and labor. They base their skepticism on general grounds of human nature. “War will always be,” they say, “as long as human nature remains what it is.”
Unquestionably true, but human nature can be changed. In fact, human nature is being changed every century, and has been changed gradually throughout all centuries and milleniums of recorded history. Indeed as we believe from natural evidences of evolution, human nature has gradually, during great unrecorded stages of the past, made enormous changes from the time when man knew not how to use his hands to grasp and project weapons; knew not the use of fire, nor any other of the even elemental inventions and discoveries which started him on the path of civilization.
Man has risen constantly from lower to higher planes of living; from animal grossness and brutality to a more sensitive refinement of feeling and thought. There is no reason to suppose that this progress
is going to stop miraculously, and that human nature is now going to remain static for all time.
YES, human nature is changing,
and will doubtless continue to
change. But there needs to be an
immense and spiritual force exerted
if human nature is to change
with sufficient speed and directness
to overcome the imminent
danger of cataclysm which the
world today faces.
Religion has always been the chief motivation of progress toward more humanitarian institutions. If one investigates the sources of the great reform movements of the nineteenth century—the movement for free public education, the movement for the abolition of slavery, the movement for more humane treatment of the criminals and insane—one will find that the source of all these movements was deep religious conviction, a desire for service strong enough to cause the sacrifice of self for the good of society.
Religion possesses the power of changing human nature and has illustrated the ability in an infinite number of ways. Human nature can be changed, and we trust human
nature will be changed in directions that will ultimately assure universal peace and a universal civilization founded upon the brotherhood of man.
Bahá’u’lláh, over fifty years ago, enunciated certain great principles for organized living upon this planet which, if carried out, would revolutionize human affairs and bring about a much more perfect society. But this ideal organization of human society depends for its achievement upon the perfectioning and spiritualizing of human nature. Noble institutions cannot be firmly established in an ignoble humanity, nor can ideal patterns for human living become effective in a society that is without ideals.
A righteous people and an equitable civilization. You cannot have one without the other.
The primary aim of the Bahá’i movement, therefore, is the perfecting of human character. It seeks to elevate and ennoble man’s motives and deeds. And it has within it a mysterious power which effects marvelous transformations in human nature, enabling man to characterize himself with spiritual attributes.
THE ULTIMATE universal aim of
the Bahá’i movement—that of establishing
a more perfect civilization
upon our planet, uniting mankind
under its unifying and progressive
force—this ideal appeals
with tremendous power to all
whose spiritual conscience has been
awakened. Those who accept the
new world order of Bahá’u’lláh desire
to devote themselves heart
and soul to the carrying out of
these noble institutions. Thus Bahá’is, the world over—of various races, creeds, cultural backgrounds, personal convictions and tastes—are working with absolute unity and concord for bringing to pass the world state of Bahá’u’lláh.
Because they accept this new world order of Bahá’u’lláh as a revelation of Truth for today, Bahá’is do not discuss or quibble regarding the principles which He has established. The human tendency to pick ideas to pieces, to advocate changes, to digress—in fact, all that egoistic tendency in man which projects him into argumentativeness, separativeness, aggressive individualism—all this is either eliminated or effectively subordinated in the Bahá’i movement by the reverence and loyalty of its adherents toward Bahá’u’lláh and His Revelation.
BUT IN REALITY, there is nothing
in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh that
can reasonably cause questioning
or disagreement. The principles
enunciated by Him are so lofty, so
simple and clear in their outline,
so evidently adapted to the crying
needs of humanity today, that they
win the acceptance of even the most
critical minds. In fact, the nobility
of these ideals, the loftiness of
the cultural edifices which
Bahá’u’lláh projects, has been the
cause of attracting to the Bahá’i
movement many people who had
been deniers of revealed religion,
yet finding themselves powerfully
attracted to the teachings of
Bahá’u’lláh have gradually come to
accept His cause as definite revelation.
Did not this same thing take
place in the early centuries of Christianity? How many a Roman citizen—cultural, intellectual, man of the world, skeptical as to religion became attracted to the faith of the Nazarene because of the power of its human institutions, because of its strong evidence of a reforming, vitalizing force in the lives of its adherents.
And so today, the Bahá’i movement is marvelously attracting the allegiance of men and women who have a humanitarian vision for the world, whether or not they are in the state of giving immediate allegience to claims of Revelation. Later this allegiance comes, through witnessing evidences of a perfected life as manifested in Bahá’is through the all compelling attractiveness of the world program as enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh, and through the convincing spiritual power that is perceived to underlie all of Bahá’u’lláh’s deeds and utterances.
BAHA’U’LLAH fulfilled one of the
primary requirements of a Prophet—that
is, absolute severance from
the world, renunciation of wealth
and position, and in His case even
of liberty. How else can spiritual
teachings be convincing? Should
they come from the mouth of one
who lives at ease in the midst of
Wealth and luxury, surrounded by
all the good things of the world,
people might well question the sincerity
of purpose, therefore the
measure of truth, in such utterances.
Religion makes a universal appeal because it proceeds from a source as universal as life itself. And we find in Bahá’u’lláh a universality
covering every plane of existence. Born to a noble family, of high official position and considerable wealth, in line for a high governmental career, Bahá’u’lláh sacrificed all when He set forth to promulgate His spiritual truths.
“Bahá’u’lláh was a prisoner twenty-five years. During all this time He was subjected to the indignities and revilement of the people. He was persecuted, mocked and put in chains. In Persia His properties were pillaged and His possessions confiscated. First, banishment from Persia to Baghdad; then to Constantinople; then to Adrianople; finally from Roumelia to the prison fortress of ‘Akká.
“During His lifetime He was intensely active. His energy was unlimited. Scarcely one night was passed in restful sleep. He bore these ordeals, suffered these calamities and difficulties in order that a manifestation of selflessness and service might become apparent in the world of humanity; that the ‘Most Great Peace’ should become a reality; that human souls might appear as the angels of heaven; that heavenly miracles would be wrought among men; that human faith should be strengthened and perfected; that the precious, priceless bestowal of God-the human mind—might be developed to its fullest capacity in the temple of the body; and man become the reflection and likeness of God, even so it hath been revealed in the Bible "We shall create man in our own image.’
“Briefly: Bahá’u’lláh bore all these ordeals and calamities in order that our hearts might become enkindled and radiant, our spirits
be glorified, our faults become virtues, our ignorance transformed into knowledge; in order that we might attain the real fruits of humanity and acquire heavenly graces; although pilgrims upon earth we should travel the road of the heavenly kingdom; although needy and poor we might receive the treasures of life eternal. For this has He borne these difficulties and sorrows.”*
HOW FAR removed is the Bahá’i
ideal for spiritual development of
the individual from a narrow religious
bigotry or an ecclesiastical
pattern for mere personal salvation!
It is Society that the Bahá’is
* Addresses of ‘Abdu’l’Bahá, p. 25.
seek to save. They dedicate their lives to service. They strive to spiritualize their natures, not so much for the sake of eternal blessedness as for the sake of doing the job that is vitally needed on earth today—the huge task of transforming human institutions into more noble patterns.
This ideal appeals powerfully to lofty souls. Here is something which stirs all that is generous and noble in human nature and calls forth these hidden energies in the depths of our being which can be realized only by the power of lofty ideals and which, strengthened by divine force, can become powerfully effective in the building of nobler institutions.
THROUGH the thoughtfulness of Mr. Isfandiar Bakhtiari we are able to reproduce a picture of the new Bahá’i Hall recently completed at Karachi, India, and give a brief account of its dedication held March twenty-first, the Bahá’i New Year’s Day. This Hazirat-ul-Quds, as it is called, stands in a charming garden where “in response to the invitation of the Bahá’i friends of Karachi a representative group gathered at six P. M.” A prayer chanted in Persian opened the dedication service and was followed by a reading from the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by the mayor of Karachi “who is taking a keen interest in the Bahá’i Movement.” Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler, one of the revered international Bahá’i teachers from the
United States gave the principle address. Then the company proceeded to the main entrance of the Hall, Mrs. Ransom-Kehler chanted a prayer, removed the bouquet of flowers which was fastened to the door-knob and turning the key said, “To the glory of God, and the brotherhood of man I declare this building open for public worship, calling upon Bahá’u’lláh richly to bless all those who enter.” So saying, she entered the building followed by the large group of friends.
After inspecting the Hall and expressing appreciation the guests returned to the tea tables in the garden where delicious refreshments were served. “Then a vote of thanks was given to the Karachi Spiritual Assembly, to the Haziratul-Quds Committee, to the Bahá’i
--PHOTO--
Community, to His Honor, the Mayor of Karachi, and to the visitor from distant shores who proved by her presence the cementing and unifying power of the Bahá’i Faith. With the chanting of another prayer this happy service was terminated.”
Bahá’is all over the world share with the Karachi friends the joy and satisfaction in the completion of this Hall, and Western Bahá’is will be particularly happy to learn that a distinguished Bahá’i teacher and lecturer from the United States had the great privilege of participating in this historic event.
Indeed, we may truly say, “What hath God wrought?” Very wonderful spiritual history is continually in the making, demonstrating the efficacy of the Bahá’i Teachings in which many statements similar to
the following are to be found:
“The souls who followed Bahá’u’lláh from every nation have become as one family, living in agreement and accord, willing to sacrifice life for each other. The Muhammadan will give his life for the Christian, the Christian for the Jew, and all of them for the Zoroastrian. They live together in love, fellowship and unity. . . . If you should attend a meeting in the East you could not distinguish between Christian and Mussulman; you would not know which was Jew, Zoroastrian or Buddhist, so completely have they become fraternized and their religious differences been leveled. . . . What God-inspired progress! Ere long you shall witness that the rays of the Sun of Bahá’u’lláh have illumined the Orient and the Occident.”
This heart-appealing story, as set forth by the gifted author of this article, is based on “Nabil's Narrative” which has been recently published under the title, “The Dawn-Breakers”. This book, translated by Shoghi Effendi, constitutes an authentic history of the early days of the Bahá’i Cause.*
OUR forefathers, held close like the infants they were, to the heart of Nature, heard the rhythmic beating of that heart in cycles great and small. The span of time between flaming dawns and starry nights, between the cold of winter and the heat of summer, between florid birth and pallid death and the yearly rise and fall and rigidity of rivers, proclaimed to untutored ears: I go but I come again. Night went; day went; youth and age went; summer and winter went, and something returned always to take the place of that which had gone.
We, who are born to the edifice built by time, see the great Days and Nights of those people who are borne along with the great periods of time called Ages. For those too, nights come, days follow, winters come and springs follow, death comes and Resurrection follows.
There was such a night in Persia. It had been hundreds of years in duration, a night of darkened minds, of dreams of atavistic strivings for supremacy, of delusion and distorted fancy. For in the middle of the last century the great land of Persia, once a powerful and illustrious nation, was in a state of moral and religious decadence. Here were despotism, injustice, cruelty, complacency and conceit, formalism, fanaticism, inefficiency, stagnation—behind all there was
* Bahá’i Publishing Committee, P. O. Box 348, Grand Central Station, New York City.
the dread of those who fear to fall from high places. The church was Islám; the state was Islám. These throttled each other with the stranglehold of fear. Over the confusion was spread a splendid, ostentatious mantle of crimson spun with gold. Here were winter, night and death.
HE “who causeth the mornings to break forth” had decreed a dawn for that night. For over a quarter of a century a light had been burning in the soul of Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá’i, causing it to twinkle in the darkness like the Morning Star it was. From his island home beyond the Persian Gulf, Shaykh Ahmad’s heart had been wrung with anguish because he saw Islám broken with sects, its holy name degraded with strife and corruption. Then had dawned the conviction that he, by reason of the illumination which had been conferred upon him, had a sublime calling; he must leave home and kindred and call to the followers of Muhammad to prepare the way for Him Who alone could awaken the people from their troubled slumbers. He had left all behind him and journeying through the cities of Iráq had won honor and renown—had become known as a great religious light. At last he entered into Persia the possessor of a
secret. He made allusions to this secret knowledge but guarded its full import until the time when the veils might be finally removed. What he felt was the intimation of Dawn and a yearning took possession of his entire being which impelled him in the direction of the city of Shíráz. In this city, where his heart had found its abiding place, he said to the people: “Among you there will be a number who will live to behold the Glory of a Day which the Prophets of old have yearned to witness.”
In Yazd, which city Shaykh Ahmad next visited, Siyyid Kázim came, a young man of twenty-two, noted for his learning, his piety, his humility, drawn thither by a dream. How joyfully Shaykh Ahmad greeted him who was to share his mission. He left his disciples with the young man, first in Yazd, at a later time in Karbilá, where he said in parting, “ . . . . verily I say the hour is drawing nigh, the hour I have besought God to spare me from witnessing, for the earthquake of the last hour will be tremendous.” Shaykh Ahmad died at the age of eighty-three while Siyyid Kázim, his chosen successor, awaited the appearance of a Youth around Whose advent his very life revolved.
IT WAS dawn and Shaykh Hasan-i-Zunvzí, disciple of Siyyid Kázim, found himself walking with his master through the streets of Karbilá. The Siyyid explained the reason for his early summons: “A highly esteemed and distinguished Person has arrived. I feel it incumbent on us both to visit Him.”
At the door of a house a Youth was waiting for them. Upon His head was the green turban of a descendant of Muhammad. Hasan saw Him embrace Siyyid Kázim, saw his erudite master speechless and bowed before the loving-kindness of the Youth Who so greeted him. They entered an upper chamber of the house, fragrant with choice perfume and bedecked with flowers. Their Host gave them to drink from a silver cup while quoting these words from the Qur’án: “A drink of a pure beverage shall their Lord give them.” These were His only words. Soon after Hasan was again upon the street marveling at the strange meeting which he had witnessed.
Three days later Hasan saw the Youth seat Himself in the midst of the disciples of Siyyid Kázim. He sat near the threshold and listened to the discourse. The sunshine fell in a little pool in His lap. When the Siyyid beheld Him he fell silent until a disciple begged him to resume his unfinished lesson. Siyyid Kázim answered, “What more can I say? Lo the Truth is more manifest than the ray of light that has fallen in that lap.”
“Why is it”, persisted the importunate one, “that you neither reveal His name nor identify His person?”
Again, Hasan watched the Youth at the Shrine of the Imám Husayn, ere His departure for Shíráz. He saw Him wrapt in His devotions, tears pouring from His eyes, angelic words of adoration pouring from His lips. He saw the pilgrims turn and gaze at Him and unseal the fountains of their tears. He felt his own heart captured and
aflame with the contagion of that ardor. He was not to forget the haunting and unearthly beauty of that unknown Youth of Shiraz.
IN THE LAND of Persia the stillness and the darkness deepened. A few felt the stirring of a celestial breeze; a few were listening intently, their eyes strained toward the horizon. One of these was Mullá Husayn, disciple of a departed master, for Siyyid Kázim had passed from this life. With the approach of Dawn the Morning Star had waned. In January of the year 1844 (the “year 60” of Muhammadan tradition,) Mullá Husayn returned to Karbilá from a mission on which Siyyid Kázim had sent him. He was a dynamic figure of faith among the bereaved and bewildered disciples of that great leader. Siyyid Kázim had frequently in the days past alluded to the “secret” and the “mystery” of which Shaykh Ahmad had spoken, and to the time when it should be made manifest. Ere his parting he admonished them: “Scatter far and wide, and detach yourselves from all earthly things, and humbly and prayerfully beseech your Lord to sustain and guide you. Never relax in your determination to seek Him Who is concealed behind the veils of glory. Persevere till the time when He, who is your true Guide and Master, will graciously aid you and enable you to recognize Him . . . .” Mullá Husayn recalled them to the spirit and the letter of these instructions. He exhorted them to a quest like that for the Grail, the success of which, was incumbent upon prayer, renunciation, purity.
Leaving behind him this appeal, Mullá Husayn proceeded on his journey, but not before, as a preface to his holy adventure, he had fortified himself with forty days of retirement, fasting and vigil. When his spiritual preparations were complete, he and his two intimate companions rode out in the direction of Bushir, on the Persian Gulf. Here, for the first time did the traveler feel an inner registration of approaching nearness to his Beloved for Whose meeting he yearned. As if drawn by a spiritual magnet he hastened to Shíráz. As Shaykh Ahmad, years before, had been called away from the cities of Iráq to this Persian city, so now did Mullá Husayn respond to that same appealing force. At length the three companions stood before the gate of the city. There Mullá Husayn tarried for a while, sending his brother and nephew into the city ahead of him.
Deep in thought he walked beside the city wall. From above the wall tall cypress trees cast shadows on the sand. He saw the pools of the shadows transfused with purple and blue. Irradiated dust glinted in the slanting rays of the late afternoon sun. Then was Mullá Husayn, traveler in the Path of God, aroused from his reverie by the sudden appearance of a radiant Youth Who came to him through the gold and the purple, with welcoming words and a tender embrace. Not understanding but compliant to the will of this Youth, Mullá Husayn went with Him to His home, becoming more and more astonished at the beauty, grace and authority of his unknown Host. Intuitions and feelings deep in the
consciousness of Mullá Husayn began to unfurl their signals. “Might not my visit to this house,” he asked himself, “enable me to draw nearer to the Object of my quest? Might it not hasten the termination of a period of intense longing, of strenuous search, of increasing anxiety, which such a quest involves?” A premonition of joy thrilled him.
Later Mullá Husayn was to look back upon a night of wonder and of awe. He Was to behold the Hand of the Almighty as a shaper of Destiny; he was to feel himself caught up in that destiny. That night interpreters of prophecy were on the hilltops waiting—in the morning they laid away their ascension robes thinking He had not come. Only one man’s ears heard the sounding of that Trump. That man was Mullá Husayn who, all unwittingly, had kept his appointment with the Beloved of the Worlds.
With what passion he had prayed in the Youth’s presence: “I have striven with all my soul, O my God, and until now have failed to find Thy promised Messenger. I testify that Thy Word faileth not, and that Thy promise is sure.”
For Mullá Husayn’s comprehension was temporarily to desert Him after the manner of a universe of doubters, who, when they behold One who cries, “Lo! I am He”, stray off into byways bewildered by the splendor of the Light. He related to his Host the conditions of his quest, and heard these words, too, too marvelous to accept: “Behold all these signs are manifest in Me!” Trembling at his temerity, he sought proofs with
his intellect—remembered the plan he had with which to test the Promised One. Suddenly he found himself in the midst of a rain of melodious words. He saw and heard Revelation! Words, pouring from the lips of that radiant Countenance; words, streaming with incredible rapidity from the racing pen. Features, limbs, movements, intonations, proclaimed, beyond all doubts and arguments, Himself to be that Word. The Divine Reality, abstract, impersonal, hidden behind a hundred thousand barriers of light, had again taken residence in a human temple.
THE NIGHT was in our reckoning
the twenty-third of May, 1844. It
was two hours and eleven minutes
after sunset. “This night,” He
declared, “this very hour, will in
the days to come, be celebrated as
one of the greatest and most significant
of all festivals. Render
thanks to God for having graciously
assisted you to attain to your
hearts desire, and for having
quaffed from the sealed wine of
His utterance . . . ”
In an attempt to describe his experience, Mulla Husayn was later to say, “All the delights, all the ineffable glories, which the Almighty has recorded in His Book as the priceless possessions of the people of Paradise—these I seemed to be experiencing that night.” On the third hour after sunset, food was brought to him which seemed to him like “the fruits of Paradise”. Throughout the rest of the night, he was in a timeless world, as he listened in ecstacy to the peerless utterance that poured in
an unstinted flood of jewels, of music, of light. He was aroused only when the muadhdhin sounded the call for morning prayer.
Before Mullá Husayn took his tremulous departure these words were addressed to him: “O thou who art the first to believe in Me! Verily I say, I am the Báb, the Gate of God, and thou art the Babu’l-Báb, the gate of that Gate.” As he left that door, which symbolized the Door which had been opened “to
all in the heavens and in the earth” gladness and strength animated his limbs, exultation expanded his bosom. He has said, “I seemed to be the Voice of Gabriel personified, calling unto all mankind: ‘Awake, for, lo! the morning Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is made manifest. The portal of His Grace is open wide; enter therein, O peoples of the world! For He who is your promised One is come!’”
SPLIT an atom and you will find a universe”, said Bahá’u’lláh, Prophet of the new age, writing nearly three-quarters of a century ago and anticipating by nearly that time the discoveries of science in the field of atomic physics.
The Bahá’i teachings—always in line with science, in fact blazing the way for the savants of science to follow—state clearly that the physical development of man has been evolutionary.
This teaching, it may be said, is not out of harmony with that of any of the revealed religions. God is the Creator. He createth in whatsoever way He willeth, and if He has chosen to bring man up through the evolutionary stages, as has been the case with the animal, He is none the less the creative impulse and the method of the creation is of secondary importance.
The important thing is to find in
God the origin, the beginning, of all things, the source of all creation, the essence of existence, the Father of all, the inspirer of all true religions, the guidance of creation and its highest known product, mankind, down through the ages.
As the physical development of mankind has been evolutionary, so has his spiritual development.
Back in the darkness of primeval man’s existence his vision must necessarily have been limited by his physical surroundings. He saw as far as his physical eye could see, and no further. Within him, however, as God had purposed, were the potentialities of a larger vision; of higher things. These had not yet been revealed to him. And in his primitive state it was not possible for him to perceive much of spiritual things.
It was God’s great purpose, however, for him to develop, and the method of that development is for the first time in the world’s spiritual
history made clear by the revelations of the Teacher for this enlightened age, Bahá’u’lláh, the most recent of the series of Manifestations through whom the Essence of Creation has spoken to His creatures.
OUT of the murk of prehistoric
antiquity, then, we are shown by
this revelation, when man’s physical
and mental development had
progressed sufficiently for him to
begin to learn his lesson, came at
length the first gleam of light for
the soul which was his real animating
and moving force.
Man’s spiritual eye at this stage must have been exceedingly dim. It could not bear too strong a light. But light it must have, in God’s scheme for man’s spiritual development.
And light, in fact, it did receive, but a reflected light, not the direct, overpowering beam from the Sun of Existence, which must have blinded it. In His wise providence the Creator provided a medium through which such Truth as man was fitted to receive might be imparted to the struggling creature which was to grow into the mentally developed and spiritually matured product which we can but feel is the state of mankind today, imperfect though it still is in so many ways.
From the Sun of Existence, then, was thrown off an orb, which gave to mankind his first inkling of the higher life that he was capable of living and destined to live. Through what personality this light was projected we shall never know. Its identity has been lost in the mists
of antiquity. And it is not particularly important that we should know.
Without doubt, however, this first reflected Source of light was followed by others, as man developed in spiritual consciousness and became fitted to receive more and more of the divine revelation.
There may have been scores, there may have been hundreds, of these prehistoric teachers, these inspirational spotlights which flooded the humanity of their day with so much of the dynamic force of the Divine essence as it was successively fitted, from age to age, to receive.
WE COME, at last, to the time
when man’s development had progressed
far enough for him to begin
to have traditions—to transmit,
at least by word of mouth, the impressions,
the occurrences, of his
generation, his age, down to his
successors. And finally, in the recorded
words of the earliest times
known to history, we strike a name.
The name is that of Adam, for so long the traditional father of the human race, but perhaps, in the light of what we now know, simply the earliest of God’s Manifestations of spiritual force to have been known by a name that has lived.
The Voice of God had spoken down through the ages, the light of the Eternal had been shed through who knows what mediums. But with the dawn of history, even though imperfectly recorded and so often savoring of mere tradition, that Voice began to speak, that light began to be imparted, through mediums whose identities
have happily been preserved to us in the Holy Books which many lands and many peoples have produced.
To the Hebrew Scriptures we owe the debt of preserving for us those wonderful names which to Jew and Christian, are a source of light and inspiration—the names of Abraham, of Moses—who can but be considered true Manifestations of the Creative Essence.
God was speaking to His creatures; teaching them the way of life here; leading them on to an appreciation of what their soul life really meant; guiding them, step by step, degree by degree, to comprehension of the cosmic scheme of existence and knowledge of the life hereafter.
And, contrary to what some of us were taught, at least inferentially and sometimes very positively in our earlier religious training, the Voice of the Creator thrust itself out in the direction of not merely one race or one people. The light from the Sun of Existence shone not alone upon Palestine, but upon India, upon China, upon Persia, upon all parts, indeed, of the then known and inhabited world.
Increasing knowledge of history, in fact, is showing that gleams of religious light must have been shed even in those parts of the globe which were unknown to the chroniclers of events in the habitable world of the East. God is no picker and chooser. He is the Father of all His beings and not neglectful of the development of any of His creatures.
WHAT IS veiling such multitudes
from the truth as revealed
by Bahá’u’lláh today is their persistence
in clinging to the “single
manifestation” idea—the idea of
an exclusive revelation, a revelation
through one channel alone, and
the tenacious holding to the belief
that the Voice of the Creator
stopped making itself heard two
thousand years ago.
The Voice has always been the Voice of God, ringing down the ages through His successive Manifestations. He rose to supreme power in the teachings of Jesus, in Whom the virtues and attributes of the Deity were reflected in perfection.
But as God had not begun speaking through Jesus—Jesus the man, the earth-dwelling individual and not the spirit which was manifested in Him, which is ever the same—so the Divine revelation did not stop with the completion by Jesus of His mission here.
Man has heard that Divine Voice calling all down through the course of his development—through Abraham, through Moses, to the people of Israel, in Persia through Zoroaster, in China through Lao Tse and his disciple Confucius; in India through the words of the ancient mystics and through Buddha; again in Palestine and throughout the world through Jesus; in Arabia through Muhammad, and now again from Persia, but with a universal message for mankind, the Gospel of the New Day and the fulfillment of all the prophecies, through Bahá’u’lláh.
This is the second installment in the series relating the story of the martyrdom of Vargha, the Persian Bahá’i. In the first part, published in the June number, the author gave a summary of Vargha’s family history including copies of the Tablets (letters) of Bahá’u’lláh addressed to them.
THE great visit in ‘Akká came to an end and the little group started for Tabriz. On the way they went by Mazraeh, near ‘Akká to visit the grave of Ali Muhammad Vargha’s father; for years before his father, Haji Mulla Mehdi, with the latter's two sons, one of whom was Ali, had started to visit Bahá’u’lláh in the great Prison in ‘Akká. They had walked the long distance from Persia, but the journey was too hard and Haji Mehdi had died here in Mazraeh so near to his heart’s destination, ‘Akká, which place he never reached. The others had gone on to see Bahá’u’lláh. So the reader will see that Ali Muhammad Vargha had had the great bounty to visit Bahá’u’lláh when he himself was still a boy. It is no wonder then that he had come again and brought his little sons. They prayed at the grave of Mr. Vargha’s father, and they remembered with thankfulness that Bahá’u’lláh Himself had come several times to that tomb in Mazraeh to pray for their beloved relative.
When they were home again in Tabriz matters did not go quite smoothly. Ali Muhammad’ wife’s mother was very much against the Bahá’i Cause. She instigated one of their servants, brought up in the home from childhood, to kill her son-in-law. Secretly, however, the servant was a Bahá’i, so he went and told his master to leave the house, because if he stayed the mother-in-law would certainly get
some one else to put her son-in-law to death. So Ali Muhammad Vargha left home and went to stay with a Bahá’i believer. His mother-in-law went to the Mulla and asked him to give an order that her son-in-law might be killed because he was a Bahá’i. The Mulla replied, “He has not confessed to me that he is a believer, I cannot condemn him. If you can prove to me that he is a Bahá’i, I could issue a death verdict against him.”
So the grandmother took little Ruhu’lláh with her to see this Mulla. Ruhu’lláh used to speak to everybody and he was a celebrated little teacher. His grandmother told him she was taking him to the home of a friend of his father and that their host was a Bahá’i. So When the child went in he held out his little hand and said: “Alláh’u’Abhá!” The Mulla was astonished at such a salutation, but the grandmother made a sign to him not to say anything. She asked Ruhu’lláh to pray some of his Bahá’i prayers which his father had taught him. The child at once prayed the daily prayer and then he prayed a long one, one of the most deep and beautiful prayers ever revealed by Bahá’u’lláh. After the little boy had finished the Mulla said: “Those prayers are wonderful, no father should be put to death who has trained a child like this one!” and he refused to issue a verdict for the death of Ali Muhammad Vargha.
Ruhu’lláh’s grandmother on his father’s side of the house was very different. Her husband had had a Bahá’i teacher come to speak with her (which he did without seeing her, for she sat behind a curtain to receive her lessons). When she heard about the Bahá’i Cause and that a Prophet had appeared she said, “We are not waiting for a Prophet; I have studied all the Books, and we are waiting for a Manifestion of God.” The teacher had used the word “Prophet” so as not to startle her, but to try to tell her gradually that the great World Teacher was here, but she was an apt pupil and more ready than he thought to receive the Truth. She at once became a believer.
ONE DAY in Tabriz, a group of distinguished
Bahá’is were speaking
together about who would be the
successor of Bahá’u’lláh. Ali Muhammad
Vargha said it would be
‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Another said it
would be the secretary and a third
held the opinion that it would be
Muhammad Ali, another son. Ali
Muhammad Vargha said; “Bahá’u’lláh
has stated that if there is
anything which we do not understand
we should write to Him,” so
he sent a petition asking this question.
Bahá’u’lláh at once wrote
back saying that it would be ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Azizollah Vargha has
this tablet.
Then Ali Muhammad Vargha wrote a second letter to Bahá’u’lláh asking that not only he but that one of his sons might be a martyr in the path of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Greatest Branch. Bahá’u’lláh replied to this petition and accepted their sacrifice, which means that they could become
martyrs. The family moved about from place to place because he was a Bahá’i teacher and traveled throughout Persia.
Once, when the times were very dangerous a lovely Bahá’i woman near Tihrán took Azizollah and Ruhu’lláh into her own home to try to protect them. This was when the Vargha family was living in Tihrán. The husband of the Bahá’i, who was not a believer, though he was a celebrated lawyer and a great statesman, objected to having the children in the house. He said: “You cannot do this, we too, shall be killed.”
His wife replied: “Let me ask you something. If a man has been a butcher for forty years and in a dark night some one gives him a dog to kill instead of a lamb, do you think he would make a mistake and kill the dog instead of the lamb?” Her husband said, “No.“ Then she answered: “Be assured you will not be murdered instead of a Bahá’i”. She kept the children for several weeks and during that time nothing happened to any of them.
Ali Muhammad Vargha took his two children, Azizollah Vargha, Who was thirteen years old, and Ruhu’lláh Vargha who was eleven, and went again to ’Akká in 1895 to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. (Bahá’u’lláh had passed on in 1892.) Valiollah Vargha the youngest child was left at home. There were many happy incidents during the days spent with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, but I wish to relate one which though not quite so pleasant at the moment, reveals ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s great character, the quickness of a father to obey and the wisdom of little Ruhu’lláh.
A large group of Bahá’i children
were playing together when one little boy uttered a naughty word; Ruhu’lláh quickly slapped him on the mouth saying he deserved punishment. This child who had said the word was the son of a great martyr and since he had come to ‘Akká he had been very favored by the Holy Family and all the believers. The other children marched in a body with this little boy to tell Ruhu’lláh’s father and to complain about this matter. Ruhu’lláh, when he saw them going, ran into the court and up the prison stairs, through the open door into ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s room and sat down close beside Him. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was by the window writing Tablets. As soon as Ali Muhammad Vargha heard the children’s story he started out to find his son. Going into the court, he saw Ruhu’lláh sitting beside ‘Abdu’l-Bahá upstairs near the window. He motioned him to come down. Ruhu’lláh was vigorously nodding “no”, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá attracted by this motion said, “Why are you nodding out the window?” Then Ruhu’lláh related the whole story of how he had slapped the little boy on the mouth and said he knew if he went down to the court his father was going to punish him. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called the father to come upstairs and said very sternly: “No one must say anything to Ruhu’lláh about this matter!” Usually ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was very careful that children must obey their parents, but He repeated it a second time: “No one must say anything to Ruhu’lláh about this matter!” From that time on Ali Muhammad was very respectful to his little son Ruhu’lláh and he
* This E. E. meant ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas.
never again reproved him for anything. He was a good father and Ruhu’lláh was a good son; he never consciously did wrong.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá during this visit gave Ruhu’lláh the title “Mobaleq”—which means “a teacher of religion”, a Bahá’i teacher. When the family returned to Persia they went to live in Zanjan which is situated in the northern province of Azarbaiján. The father, Ali Muhammad Vargha, wrote to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from Zanján and Ruhu’lláh who was continuing diligently his study of Persian writing, sent two lines of copy for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to see what progress he had made. When the answer came to the father’s letter, there was a Tablet enclosed for Ruhu'lláh who at that time was eleven years old. The Tablet was in ‘Abdul-Bahá’s own handwriting and was as follows:
“He is the Most Glorious!”
“O thou who art nearer to the sucking age! The impression of the musk-like writing of that sign of the Love of God (Ruhu’lláh) was seen. Verily, in a short time thou hast improved greatly, and seeing this great progress is the cause of my joy and happiness. Certainly thou must try thy utmost that thy writing may become better day by day and in the world of writing it may become the glory and the bounty of the Supreme Pen!
“Always I must hear from thee, and thou must describe and explain about those whom thou dost teach (spiritually). Upon thee be Bahá! Signed: E. E.”*
When Ali Muhammad Vargha read this Tablet, with great reverence and solemnity he knelt with forehead to the floor and said: “This is the son who will give his life as promised by Bahá’u’lláh, because a pen of wood could not have such an effect,—the effect of the Supreme Pen would be the mighty pen of martyrdom.”
In the first and second installments of this very helpful series, published in the June and August numbers respectively, the author defined briefly and clearly what constitutes mental health, detailing certain attitudes which must be avoided by one seeking a fully integrated personality, and giving suggestions along lines of positive effort in this direction. The article which follows concludes this significant treatise.
THE two greatest positive factors in producing mental health as means for combating negative factors, have been already implied in the preceding installments, and will now be described in full.
1. The first of these is to be found in the individual’s life work. To find the kind of work to which a man can give his best self wholeheartedly is the surest foundation of an integrated personality. William Burnham has written a book called “The Normal Mind”, which is a clear and fine presentation of the point of view of mental hygiene. The essence of this book of several hundred pages is in the author’s presentation of the value of a man’s work. The essential conditions for happy living, writes Burnham, are three, “a task, a plan, freedom. 1. Perhaps all will agree that the first essential is a suitable task. 2. The second essential is a plan. A mere task without a plan is likely to be mere movement, unco-ordinated activity. A plan makes the action purposeful activity. If a child makes his own plan, that develops interest and initiative. 3. This suggests the third essential, freedom—freedom to take a task or leave it, freedom to form one’s own plan.” (p. 212) “The most important preventive of mental disorder is a suitable task; and the greatest thing for an individual,
the ordinary man, or man of talent, or even the genius, is some great task worth while as a life work.” (p. 226)
It is obvious that the educator has a great responsibility in helping young people find the life work in which each can best use his abilities. An intelligent and scientific effort in this direction has only just begun. The time when the majority of people can realize their best selves in their work lies in the future, for we have not yet squarely faced the social need of a new type of civilization in which it shall be possible for each person to do work he loves to do. Until such a new world order comes into being, we shall still be confronted with thousands of partially disintegrated personalities,–ineffectual and unhappy men who may have a task, but no freedom to plan.
If an individual, through force of circumstances, is unable to find work to which he can give himself, his only safeguard lies in his use of his leisure time. Under present conditions, the value of a creative avocation cannot be overestimated. Not long ago I was talking with an intelligent Negro who said that he was a truck-driver; then he added, “I sing in a choir in Harlem.” It was evident that he had found in his singing an outlet for desires and abilities which his day’s work
could not have satisfied. The value of creative leisure activity is not limited to the person who is doing work which does not interest him. Many people who are happy and effective in their daily work yet feel that many of their abilities are unused. A wise use of leisure will contribute to the growth of any personality. By “wise use” it is implied that the person spends his free time in some activity in which he makes constructive and whole-hearted use of abilities not employed in his daily work. A gifted doctor spends some of his leisure in wood-carving. An intelligent teacher, who has spent a busy day with little children, enjoys going into her kitchen at night and cooking an appetizing dinner for some friends. A clever seamstress spends some of her free time in raising Persian kittens. A great organist gives several hours a week to work with a club of boys in a church club-room. Who can doubt but that each of these people is finding mental health in these leisure activities as well as in his work?
2. THE SECOND positive essential
for mental health is that the individual
shall have a conscious ideal
of a social and spiritual life for
society. In fact, without this he
is handicapped in choosing his life
work; for this work, in order to be
truly integrating, must be such that
in it he realizes, not his most animal
qualities, but his best and most
human self. But he cannot choose
his “best” unless he has accepted
some ideal goal for mankind. The
purposes by which he is to guide
his life, he may describe as his philosophy or his religion. In order really to serve as an aid in the integrating of his personality his goals must be consciously and fully accepted as true for him; they must not be taken over uncritically from his parents or friends. They must be so much himself that they become the most dynamic guiding force in his life. The greater value of religion as against philosophy, for this purpose, lies in the fact that true religion commands the allegiance not only of the mind, but also of the heart.
IN THE BAHA’I way of life all the
essentials for mental health are
found. In accepting the Bahá’i
faith, each has realized that in it
he has discovered a movement in
which his own desires and abilities
can be most completely unified. He
has found the outline of a pattern
of living which he recognizes as
answering to his deepest needs.
He is compelled neither by fear,
nor by desire for profit or position.
He is a Bahá’i because in the new
world order of Bahá’u’lláh he finds
himself most completely “at
home”.
Bahá’is have “a task, a plan, freedom”. They have the task of building a new spiritual civilization, on the ruins of material civilization. They have a plan of spiritual organization, through which this task can be accomplished. Within the great task are enough small “jobs” for every single individual. There is work for every sincere person. Each has freedom to choose his own task in helping forward the great plan. For each there is
work in which he can most fully use his abilities. He knows himself part of a spiritual unity so great that he can give no place in his nature to disintegrating fears and self-centeredness.
How great the task to which Bahá’is the world over have pledged themselves may best be realized in the following words of Shoghi Effendi, “A world community in which all economic barriers will have been permanently demolished and the interdependence of Capital and Labor definitely recognized; in which the clamor of religious fanaticism and strife will have been forever stilled; in which the flame of racial animosity will have been finally extinguished; in which a single code of international law—the product of the considered
judgment of the world’s federated representatives—shall have as its sanction the instant and coercive intervention of the combined forces of the federated units; and finally a world community in which the fury of a capricious and militant nationalism will have been transmuted into an abiding consciousness of world citizenship—such indeed, appears, in its broadest outline, the Order anticipated by Bahá’u’lláh, an Order that shall come to be regarded as the fairest fruit of a slowly maturing age.”
The true Bahá’i attains mental health,—a fully integrated personality—as he becomes an active, efficient happy part of the great spiritual harmony of life, as he becomes increasingly at one with the Divine Unity.
“GENERALLY SPEAKING, we know that world peace will arrive when people of all nations can see and understand how utterly stupid is any other policy, how narrow and foolish are methods and programs that line us up to believe that one people, one nation, contain all the ability, all the intelligence, all the power in the world and that theirs is the God-given privilege and duty to swing the world into line or lick the world into line and kill off any that do not do as they are told.
“World peace today as I see it is theory. To bring it into general and universal practice calls for more intensive application of religious
faith than many have dared to imagine. It calls for more education than the most zealous educational bureaucrat has found possible. It requires more mental elasticity than has been shown, except in spasmodic spots. It demands more plain garden variety common sense than most of us honestly believe the human race is capable of exercising in our day and generation.
“EVERYONE AGREES that world
peace is the goal to be attained.
World peace challenges the best
minds of the world because it is regarded
as the achievement of the
impossible.
“Telling people to be peaceful does not get us far. They forever ask whether there is anything in it for them. They must be shown, they must be convinced that peace will make life easier, happier, better.
“Religion is a medium for peace only as it accomplishes conversion. Some religions make bloodshed and destruction of the enemy the bright particular pathway to heaven. Faith without the right kind of works is like the man at the target range who could not hit the target. Asked what was the matter, he said, “I don’t know. The bullets are leaving here all right.”
“Someone has to convince the followers of some religions that the faiths of their fathers do not hit the mark.
“IT HAS BEEN discovered that trade is more successful when no attempt is made to get the best of anybody else, and it has been discovered that it is most successful when it utilizes all the resources of science so that it may bring the utmost possible benefits to everybody.”
“Upon that discovery, there is something more than a hope for world peace. World peace has now become not only a practical possibility, but the logical outcome of successful business methods. True, there may be another world war before business generally will discover the principles upon which business success now depends; hence, work for world peace must principally consist of helping the world to grasp and to apply these truths.”
“Mass production, in a word, includes the whole world through
serving the whole world. It does not and cannot leave anybody out of its benefits. It destroys antagonisms on the part of consumers by making prices as low as possible, and on the part of workers by making wages as high as possible, and it undermines the whole incentive to war by making world exchange as profitable to everybody as it can possibly be. It is destructive only of the fears and hatreds and traditions which keep human beings from cooperating.
“We need ideals and spiritual urge to inspire us to drive on, and to give us confidence in the future. Somewhere along the line, and better at the beginning of the line, it is necessary for us to visualize every individual as a substantial factor in this beautiful picture. Each one well fed, well clothed, well housed and generally comfortable, comfortable in mind and body. . . .
“We all know that faith without work is of little avail, so the salesmen for peace must be resourceful in economic plans and educational programs as well as skilled in drawing fine word pictures and dramatizing a world at work as against a world at war.
“The opportunity for peace in this economic field is tremendous and beckons the best minds to new struggles for glorious victories that must certainly lead to a closer approach to a permanent stabilized world peace.
“Here in Hawaii our particular mission is to expand the traditional influence of this world center, as one of the few places where various races and nationalities feel at home.”
Excerpts from an Address.—Pan-Pacific Bulletin.
The following concise and enthusiastic statement of the Bahá'i Cause was submitted as an English theme by the author who is a college freshman. It seems worthy of a place in these pages as a contribution of our youth.
CIVILIZATION today faces a paradox the like of which there is no record. The past one hundred years are marked by an avalanche of inventions, discoveries, and accomplishments. We ride in autos, fly thru the air, travel under water, pick out of the atmosphere a voice coming from a city thousands of miles away. Progress in all lines of human invention has brought us great comfort and the promise of a more varied existence.
But events of the last few years have also brought the realization that our progress is being rapidly offset by the disintegration of institutions heretofore fundamental to society. Our economic system, praised as the zenith of human achievement in business relationships, is crashing about our heads. Seldom has a human institution failed so miserably to protect its adherents. The evils of our social system are easily discernible. Political corruption is rampant while justice seems to have lapsed into senility.
On one hand we are advancing rapidly, on the other failing ignominiously. Our highly vaunted civilization is tottering. And why? Why this disintegration, this economic and social decay? Our Reason cannot help conditions, for it has no power over the emotions of men. Present day Religion can offer no
solution. In short, humanity is stumped.
IT is in the face of this paradox that thoughtful men and women everywhere are making a serious study of those Teachings proclaimed over sixty years ago by Bahá’u’lláh, prince of the Persian House of Nur. This great Sage, now recognized by increasing numbers of people throughout the five continents as the World Teacher for the present era, has presented to us the outline of a World Order which alone contains the answers to our present difficulties.
When the student first approaches the Bahá’i teachings, he is immediately impressed with their clarity, irrefutable logic, applicability, and completeness. The Bahá’i teachings constitute a written revelation. This fact is of tremendous importance because it eliminates the garbling of thought in hearsay repetition and also constitutes an unquestionable basis of authority.
The logic of the Bahá'i writings is startling. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has set up a standard of proof. Each matter should be tested four ways by these questions:—is it in conformity with reason, is it in accordance with scriptural proofs, is it acceptable to the senses, and, finally, is it agreeable to the promptings of the heart? Each of these in itself is liable to error. Therefore a thing is not true unless it stand all
four tests. This is the standard by which truth is to be ascertained.
There are twelve Bahá’i principles, namely, religion the cause of unity, the abandonment of all prejudice, the independent investigation of truth, the agreement of religion and science, the solution of the economic question, the establishment of an International House of Justice, equality between the sexes, universal peace, universal education, a universal auxiliary language, the oneness of mankind, the fundamental oneness of all religions. The last two principles—oneness of humanity and the fundamental oneness of all religions-are basic in the Bahá’i Cause.
There is a completeness in the Bahá’i teachings which makes the acceptance of Bahá’u’lláh’s Plan for a World Order inevitable. Every phase of human activity is considered. While there is complete agreement with science, the Teachings are not cold-blooded and matter of fact. A vital, potent aliveness, coupled with deep spiritual insight, makes them a haven for all types and conditions of people.
AS ALL Movements of moment and
value have small beginnings, so the
Bahá’i Movement began quietly (as
far as the world at large is concerned)
in Persia in 1844 with the
announcement by a brilliant Youth,
called the Báb, that the advent of a
new Manifestation of God was at
hand. The Báb was publicly martyred;
and in 1863, the year prophesied
by Him, one of His followers,
Bahá’u’lláh, announced Himself as
the Promised Manifestation. These
early years are marked by horrible
persecution on the part of the Muhammadan
clergy and the Persian
government. More than twenty thousand Bahá’is were killed and tortured cruelly. Bahá’u’lláh was exiled to the penal colony at ‘Akká in the Holy Land.
With the passing of Bahá’u’lláh, in 1892, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, His eldest son, was appointed the Center of the Covenant in His (Bahá’u’lláh’s) will and Testament. According to this document ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Word is the same as Bahá’u’lláh’s. In 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited this country where He was well received by churches, social organizations, and progressive people.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed to the supreme world in 1921 and in His Will appointed His grandson, Shoghi Effendi, as the Guardian of the Bahá’i Cause. It is the function of Shoghi Effendi to preserve the purity of the Teachings and to be a center of unity for their promulgation. Shoghi Effendi, since his appointment, has been inaugurating among the Bahá’is of the world the Administration outlined by Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This Administration, now functioning in world-wide scope, is the beginning of the future organization of human society.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written, “Every great Cause in this world of existence findeth a visible expression through three means: first, intention; second, confirmation; third, action.” This last is the crying need of the world today for the Bahá’i Teachings supplies the intention. The sheer divineness of it all is the motivating power that confirms those who are working for its consummation, and the days of action are at hand as the world comes nearer and nearer to complete acceptance of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.
Bahá'is particularly, will be interested in the facts and findings in the following brief digest compiled from letters and reports sent to us by Mr. A. Samimi, Mr. A. M. Nabili and Zidrullah Khadem, members of the “Unity of the East and West Bahá’i Committee” and of the Youth Association of Tihrán, Persia).
THOSE who are watching for visible fruits of the Bahá’i Movement can do no better than to look to Persia, the land of its birth. Persia has a civilization back of her, but for centuries she has been stagnant, living on her past achievements. All her power, learning and wealth have been in the hands of a few, the government an absolute monarchy influenced always and often controlled by the most corrupt and fanatical religionists. While many of her beautiful arts and skills have been preserved, until recently she has had no part in the progress or use of modern science. Of His native land ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:
“In former times Persia was verily the heart of the world and shone among the nations like a lighted taper. Her glory and prosperity broke from the horizon of humanity like the true dawn disseminating the light of knowledge and illumining the nations of the East and West. * * * The Persians being distinguished among the nations of the earth as people of conquerors, and justly admired for their civilization and learning, their country became the glorious centre of all the sciences and arts, the mine of culture and a fount of virtues. * * * How is it that this excellent country now, by reason of our sloth, vanity and indifference, from the lack of knowledge and organization, from the poverty of the zeal and ambition of her people, has suffered the rays of her prosperity to be darkened and well-nigh extinguished?”
If the reader wishes an accurate picture of the miserable and degenerate conditions in Persia at the time of the birth of the Bahá’i Movement in the middle of the last century let him peruse Shoghi Effendi’s introduction to his recent translation of the Dawn-Breakers,
Nabil’s Narrative of the early history of the Cause.
But now all things are changing, Persia has a constitution, the present ruler, His Imperial Majesty Reza Shah is liberal in his policies, roads are being built, schools are increasing, many of the youth are being educated in modern science in the schools and universities of Europe and America. The Bahá’is, who are estimated to make up an amazing part of Persia’s population and who are all the time increasing, are no longer persecuted and can carry on their activities openly except possibly in certain remote and backward communities. In many cases we find Bahá’is highly respected and occupying high positions in the government and in other responsible places.
AN ACCOUNT recently received
from Mr. A. M. Nabili gives us a
closeup picture of what the Bahá’i
youth are doing in Tihrán and
makes us realize how fast the
Bahá’i Cause is growing there
under the new liberalism and what
it is meaning in the education of
young people. In the freer
atmosphere which His Majesty
Reza Shah is allowing in Persia we
are having an opportunity to see
the rapid spread of the Bahá’i
Teachings and the results of the
new life which these teachings are
pouring into the youth. Instead of
the religious fanaticism of the old
Persia we find religion becoming
the basis for social progress, intellectual
--PHOTO--
Managing Body of the Bahá’i Youth Association of Tihrán
attainments, physical development and health, high moral standards—in fact of everything which makes for the well-rounded man.
The Bahá’i youth of Tihrán are organized in a club known as “The Association of Bahá’i Youth”. Mr. Nabili says:
“This is a sort of a club but you shall find it a very unique kind of club for it has as its object the training of the young men on the Bahá’i lines of organization and preventing their being influenced by the general moral weaknesses.”
A careful study of this report shows how varied and far reaching are the activities of this “Club” and how much is involved in preventing “moral weaknesses”. The club is open to all Bahá’i youth from eighteen to forty in age, irrespective of color, nationality and former religious belief. Those applying for membership are introduced by two young men already members. The organization and
administration is along Bahá’i lines. A Managing Body of nine has charge of all affairs of the association. This Managing Body is chosen by the Bahá’i Spiritual Assembly from nineteen who are elected annually by vote of all the members of the club.
The varied and far-reaching work of this very active organization is carried on by commissions of nine each appointed by the Managing Body. The name of some of these commissions will give an idea of the scope of the work of the association: The Library and reading Room Commission, The Education Commission, The Commission for Teaching the Cause, for Classes in Public Speaking, for Amateur Theatricals, the Sports Commission, the Social and Census Commissions. Other Commissions are Finance, Employment, Assistance, Commercial Institutions, Entertainment. This “Club” is indeed
only a “sort of Club!” It would seem to be a whole school and welfare organization combined. A few quotations from Mr. Nabili’s report will enable us to judge for ourselves whether Tihrán Bahá’is are alive to the needs of the age or not.
“Literature in the library is not limited to Bahá’i books but there are also other books by famous eastern and western writers on various subjects. The aims of this Commission are to get the youth acquainted with the Bahá’i literature, increase their general knowledge and do away with their need of applying to other sources for obtaining books and so save them from the possible danger of coming across useless or even harmful, but outwardly attractive, reading material.”
The Education Commission organizes classes for teaching English and other languages, arts and craft, music, etc., publishes a bulletin (hung on the wall) every Bahá’i month (19 days) called “The Message of the Youth” in which is given news of activities of the Association and articles on the Cause and other useful general subjects. The latest activity of this Commission is the establishment of a class for teaching music on modern lines.” This commission also arranges for dialogues on the lives of the Bahá’i martyrs and the great servants of the Cause. One of these was on the life of Varqá and his twelve year old son Ruhu’lláh*.
“A place has been appointed by the commission for Teaching the Cause, very centrally located, where once a Week a teacher re- ceives any seekers brought there by members of the association . . . . Among the general duties of the members is to bring at least one seeker of truth to this place in the year.” Public conferences on the
* The story of the life of Varqá and his son Ruhu’lláh is told by Miss Root in her article “White Roses of Persia”, The Bahá’i Magazine, June, 1932, p. 71.
various teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are arranged by this commission, leaflets and pamphlets printed and distributed.
One of the most valuable activities, Mr. Nabili says, is the training in public speaking. There are two classes. “A competition is arranged between the two classes every three months. On one such occasion when the subject was Spiritual love as manifested in Bahá'ism, “the hall was overcrowded and you could not judge the good results unless you had been present for they were so great that no words could express.”
A “Social and Census Commission” keeps a record of the members and is on the lookout for new members. It sponsors social gatherings for promoting acquaintance and friendship among the members.
Social occasions are provided for both by the Social Commission and Sports Commission. “Picnics, outdoor and indoor games, gymnastics, walks, matches with other teams and everything that helps the body and mind development and is not, like boxing, apt to create a desire for supremacy by force or immoral means” are arranged for and encouraged.
IN A LETTER dated June 19th from
Zidrullah Khadem, secretary of
“The Unity of the East and West
Committee” we learn about the
new hall or Hazirat-ul-Quds and
are impressed with the rapid
growth of the Cause in Tihrán. He
says:
“As you may know we are, since the last six months occupied building a hall, the Hazirat-ul-Quds, surrounded by nineteen rooms for general gatherings and sittings of various committees. The basements are finished and construction of the
body of the buildings has risen about two yards. The hall not being finished yet we had to commemorate the Ridvan in the open air. Meetings were held on the first and second day comprising thousands of friends and others. These gatherings are of great importance to friends in Persia who in the past could not even meet in groups of fifty. It is a great occasion to watch the faces of all present illuminated with radiance of love, hope and affection. What a great contrast it makes with the past to see the non-believers coming to our Bahá’i meetings in large numbers. The Hazirat-ul-Quds is situateed on one of the main streets outside the city and people seeing the friends proceeding in that direction some in public busses, some in taxis, others in private cars and still others in carriages, whisper to each other that Bahá’is are celebrating a religious festival, and to see what is going on they, too, proceed thither. They are admitted into the Bahá’i meeting place with the spirit of that universal brotherhood which Bahá’u’lláh wants to be prevalent amongst all the children of Adam, and which they do not yet know is what they have been massacring us for.”
WE CANNOT refrain from quoting
further from this letter in regard
to Bahá’i children who were gathered
together on the ninth day of
Ridvan:
“Joy felt by the friends knew no bounds when they heard small children recite some of their lessons while others, only big enough to be playing, discussed moral points, international questions and history of the Bahá’i Cause. The oldest of these students, about fourteen years of age, spoke for half an hour on the first law of the Book of Aqdas regarding knowledge of God through His Manifestations and how it should be accompanied by acting His commands else neither of the two is acceptable. The saying of Prophets of the past, reasserted in this Manifestation, that in this era the children seven years old are as wise as men of seventy of other times was indeed very evident on this occasion.”
And again we quote this item of interest: “This Ridvan, for the first time, the Bahá’i Schools declared a two day’s holiday, because it was a Bahá’i Feast, and got it and no questions were asked. We have every reason to feel encouraged. Our Bahá’i schools stand high with the Board of Education
and the Muhammadan Community. We have over one thousand children in both schools.”
WHAT IS the cause of the rapid
development among Persian youth,
this interest in education, this use
of western methods, this desire for
progress in every direction? All
their communications to us show
that they are endeavoring day and
night to carry out the instructions
of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Who have shown us how to adapt
the spiritual laws of God to the
needs of this age. Letters from
Shoghi Effendi and the words of
friends returned from visits to
Shoghi Effendi constantly add to
their inspiration. Large meetings
were recently held in Tihrán to
hear the messages brought by Mr.
Alai, recently returned (to Persia)
from Haifa. “The Guardian wishes
the friends in Persia,” says Mr.
Alai, “to show a new spirit of
energy and steadfastness in the
way of serving the Cause of
Bahá’u’lláh.**** We have to prove
to the world the truth and genuineness
of the Bahá’i principles by
deed and not by word only.”
In this we see the beginning of the fulfillment of the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
“Praise be to God! She (Persia) became the East of the Sun of Truth in this age. The Light of Eternity dawned, the Everlasting Glory unveiled her countenance and the Reality of Mercifulness became manifest. This is the prosperity of Persia. Undoubtedly she will progress day by day under the shade of the Blessed Tree until her illumination shall penetrate throughout the wide expanse of the earth.”
The author of this article describing a dramatic episode in the air, is an inventor in the field of aeronautics. He has had a varied career. He is an Australian, but has lived in this country several years. He heard of the Bahá’i teachings soon after coming here, and became a follower of this universal religion. Written as a letter, this material seems worthy of publication.
ASSOCIATED with a pilot of a company that uses several airplanes in its selling operations, I have had some interesting experiences. A recent flight to Boston was specially thrilling. There was very low visibility going up, so that air fields reported no callers in two days. We landed in rain at the Boston Airport after enjoying the glorious landscape around Providence—such a harmony of color, like a rare Persian carpet.
Coming back a strong head wind delayed us so that we had to decide, in the air, whether to land at an emergency field at dusk or push on with night settled down long before we could reach the home airport.
The pilot put it up to me, and I replied that it was all right with me either way, just to see what he would do. He asked if I had a box of matches. I had. There is no light on the instrument board, so we continued to strike matches periodically to see the meters throughout the length of Long Island.
What an eerie atmosphere it is in a cockpit suspended between earth and sky when the sun has gone behind a bank of threatening clouds, after the day has really closed its doors and windows, and there is a brief suggestive period just before the lights become visible below! It seems ominous, significant, a period of decision which makes contact with established solid
forms slip away, and one’s very life becomes dependent upon subtle invisible powers. The air feels suddenly—something more than just a little chillier, and the normal rythmic tone of the motor sounds different—perhaps it is like the chromatic descent in Tosti’s “Goodbye.”
Then in the distance ahead a long row of street lamps flash on, giving a new horizon, and the spell is broken; the spirit is once more a prisoner of earth, but what a changed world!
We have been plunging forward at one hundred miles an hour all the time towards the crowded districts around New York; lights have flashed on quickly in all directions–jewels in the crown of night–and as far as the eye can see, it has become a fairyland, a dark world transformed by the genius of Edison. Now he has gone to the finer world of Light that casts no shadow. No wonder he is universally mourned, or rather revered.
What a view it is! Its cost must be a staggering figure, but worth whatever it is, and all should see it for its effect on the soul. Directly below the scene is more distinct and prosaic. Houses and streets are etched in flooding light. Electric sparks sputtering from car lines look like comets amongst the stars.
One thinks of the myriads of people in homes and theatres, unconscious of our flight through the
larger space above them; and it is significant that from the height there is a tendency to feel detachment from the mass of life below. It seems so generalized. Spawn in the sea; fungus in a forest; humanity in cities; it seems all about the same from a great altitude. A foot can kick aside the fungus in its path with no compunction whatever.
That signifies what will happen in a war from the air, with attackers psychologically warped in the direction of destruction.
I felt the necessity for the definite act of will in holding the realization of the oneness of humanity and the obligations it imposes. How clearly it became a fact that man can progress scientifically far beyond his capacity to use his knowledge for safe and sane continuity. Without acceptance of a Universal Magnet in the compass of his motives to hold his other faculties on their proper course he will surely be lost.
And yet the wills must all be free. There’s the rub. They must come to a state of completely free awareness of the necessity for the Magnet, and voluntary acknowledgment of it for direction. There is no substitute for experience, and many can only learn by going through the torture chamber of their own making. But I am wandering.
I started to write about getting home in the dark. It is a thrill to see the revolving beacon of the airport in the distance while there is nothing immediately below but packed house roofs to land on. But I have never had even the slightest fear in the air. In the tightest
corner I am just keenly interested in how it will turn out.
We reached the field and started the usual left turn in to make a landing, and at that moment, the field light was turned out! These are circumstances in which piloting skill really begins to show itself, in what is done and how, on the spur of the moment. My friend throttled the motor and continued steadily in the gliding turn.
It is certainly a queer sensation settling down in black darkness at the speed of a train. I felt a most delightful tingling sensation of expectancy—of what—it did not matter at all. It was the nth degree of speculation on the unknown, keyed up by its concentration into a second of time. As soon as I knew the pilot’s decision, I took the proper precautions, unlatched the door so that it could not be jammed, put on the belt, took the hold with my hands that would best protect my head, and quietly waited for the feel of the wheels on the ground if—
It touched and bounced. That gave the sense of touch on the control a basis for the necessary slight quick action. Another contact, and down went the tail for almost as good a landing as in broad daylight. The fellow in the hangar said he had been phoned by the boss to turn off the light as they did not expect any more in that night and he did not hear our motor. And that was all to that.
Up at five a. m. again for a take-off and over the mountains here.
“Bahá’u’lláh has drawn the circle of unity. He has made at design for the uniting of all people, and for the gathering of them all under the shelter of the tent of universal unity.”—‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
THE unexpected sometimes proves to be the most satisfying. So it was with our first visit to Louhelen Ranch, the Bahá’i Summer School near Flint, Michigan, at its second summer session. We had other plans, but at the eleventh hour a friend urged us to go, so like the pioneers of old, scarcely knowing whither we were bound we set out in our car, from Chicago, where I had been lecturing, to attend this gathering of Bahá’is.
We were instructed to take the road out of Flint to Davison, and then to make inquiries. We were all eagerness as we got on the proper route for we felt that every turn of the road might reveal the object of our quest. There is something exhilarating in the thought of meeting with the Bahá’i friends and we scanned each farm carefully lest we pass by. As we came round a curve in the highway we espied the name Louhelen Ranch on the barn and were at the end of a most pleasant journey through the lovely state of Michigan.
We drove up a winding driveway past a large white farm house around a circular drive in the center of which was a nine-sided building which housed the water-pump, showers and other conveniences.
Our host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Eggleston, who are developing their farm into a Bahá’i
Summer School, gave us a warm welcome and assigned us to a room in one of the new cabins which had been erected at the rear of the house. Here we were most comfortable. Besides the four cabins there was a large two-story dormitory called Pullman Lodge, which took care of an unbelievable number of people, as well as the large farm house tent, and the log cabin down in the woods overlooking a miniature lake formed by the dam,—a delightful spot!
But even so the facilities of the ranch were taxed to their capacity, many coming who were not expected. However everything seemed elastic enough to stretch and let them all in. We marveled many times at the manner in which they were all housed and fed, knowing the great difficulties which had to be surmounted. Yet everything went along smoothly and easily as far as we could observe. All were deeply appreciative of the difficulties of taking care of such a crowd, and each I am sure resolved to help the situation out next time by making reservations in advance.
These friends had verily “come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south” to study the reality of religion, to partake of spiritual food (the teachings of God), and to share this food with
others. There were representatives from California, and Maine, and one believer was there who had recently returned from a trip around the world. Several who had met in Florida last winter were reunited here again. Nearby states supplied their quota; and Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, D. C. and Canada were also represented. It was a veritable home coming.
--PHOTO--
A group of Bahá’i teachers at the Summer School. Left to right: Mr. Eggleston, Mrs. Eggleston, Miss Easterbrook, Mrs. Gift, Mr. Vail, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Orcella Rexford, Mrs. Greenleaf.
It was not however just the casual coming together of people who enjoy each other or who want a pleasant vacation in the country, but an earnest gathering of those interested in the realities of life, pioneers in a great spiritual movement which is to usher in a new era of civilization. Here we saw the spirit of sacrifice exemplified, the stretching of lean purse strings, the giving-up of long planned vacations in order to study together the best methods by which to disseminate our knowledge of how to heal the ailments of a sick world.
Of all the groups the most inspiring was the youth group, for young people made up nearly half of those present. Young college students as well as younger children were there-thoughtful, serious–attacking present day problems with the scientific knowledge at their command. Yet the lighter side of life was not neglected, for there were swimming and dancing parties at nearby lakes, horseback riding, the hikes in the
woods. Keenly alert, wholesome, radiant, these young people were ready to go home and start to “do something”, to turn the tide of affairs toward universal peace, universal education and the elimination of prejudice from every walk of life.
THE FIRST day was occupied with
the outline of the teaching program
for the coming year, closing with
a consultation of all regarding the
most successful methods of teaching.
During the week there were
classes in effective speaking; for
the study of Nabil’s Narrative, a marvelous book on the early days of the Bahá’i Cause; daily lectures on subjects of general interest which were open to the public; daily consultation periods; and in the evenings a camp-fire down in the woods where a small out-of-doors auditorium had been erected.
On the closing night of the conference the Youth presented us with an original play at last answering that old couplet of Burns, “O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us to see oursels as Others see us”. Each one of them “took off” one of the older ones present showing up some idiosyncracies. This furnished good-natured fun and hilarity for all who witnessed it.
The next day, Sunday, brought to a close a week of comradeship, in which we had drawn very close to one another. New friends had been discovered, our spirits were illumined and refreshed that we might go forth and apply our energies to solve the problems in which the world finds itself, the remedy for which has been supplied by Bahá’u’lláh Who has given us the solution to every one of these great problems and has promised us that when these are accepted and lived the “world will indeed become as a paradise and all men will live as brothers”. We had just a little taste of what it might mean here at Louhelen Ranch, where the spirit of unity and harmony prevailed for a whole week and all appeared
with radiant, happy faces, expressing the peace and joy within their hearts.
MAY WE share with you some of
the gleanings from a cherished
notebook, kept throughout the conference:—
“In youth we find the acceptance of challenge. As long as youth is present at this gathering, we need not fear for the future of this Cause.”
“Many think that Universal Peace is impractical, a chimera. Nothing can be regarded as unattainable. The day will come when its beauteous light will shine on all mankind.“
“In Shoghi Effendi’s Goal of a New World Order there is outlined a change in society such as the world has never seen.”
“Out of suffering comes the love of service.”
“Whatever our problems, we can turn to the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and find the answer.”
“In every age we gain the higher consciousness by turning the mirror of our souls toward the divine Revelator and thus we gain illumination.“
“Blessed is he who can recognize a Manifestation.”
“The study of the Bahá’i writings is a short cut to education. The books are never dull, nor obscure, but are vital, life-giving, and create the mind anew.”
Our readers will be glad to know that “Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era” by Dr. Dr. J. E. Esslemont, is now available in the Swedish language through the devotion of two faithful Bahá’i sisters: the translation was done by Mrs. Rudd-Palmgren, and the entire cost of printing this first edition was paid for by Mrs. Louise Erickson of Brooklyn, N. Y. whose generous and long devoted service to the Bahá’i Cause is well known. Price $1.50, Baha’i Publishing Committee, P. O. Box 348, Grand Central Station, New York City. The price in Sweden is five kroner.
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.
FIVE MONTHS' subscription to a new subscriber, $1.00; yearly subscription, $3.00. Two subscriptions to one address, $5.00. Three subscriptions to one address, $7.50. Ten new subscriptions to one address, $25.00 (in United States and Canada). If requested, the subscriber may receive one or more copies and have the remaining copies sent to other addresses.
Two subscriptions, one to come each month, and one to be sent in a volume bound in half-leather, at the end of the year, $5.75 of the two subscriptions; postage for bound volume additional.
Single copies, 25 cents each; ten copies to one address, $2.00. Address The Bahá'í Magazine, 1112 Shoreham Bldg., Washington, D. C.
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.
All volumes carry illustrations of great historical value.
Bound in half leather, each volume $3.50; if two volumes are bound together, for $6.00; postage additional.
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.
Volume 9 contains varied records from the Holy Land and 'Abdu'l-Bahá's words on the material, intellectual and spiritual education of children; and both volumes 9 and 10 filled with Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá written after the Great War.
Volumes 11 and 12 contain many Tablets and pictures and inspiring accounts of visits with 'Abdu'l-Bahá at Haifa, where members of all religions and races gathered in unity at the table of the Master. Volume 12 also gives the immortal narrative of His last days on earth and His ascension into the Kingdom.
Volume 13 contains priceless letters of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'i Cause, articles of universal interest and other valuable material.
Volume 14 contains letters of Shoghi Effendi, also his translations of the divine writings of Bahá'ulláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá as well as a brilliant series of articles and historical accounts.
Bound in half leather, single volumes $3.50; if two volumes are bound together, for $6.00. Postage additional.
