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| VOL. 24 | APRIL, 1933 | No. 1 |
DALE S. COLE
MARTHA L. ROOT
KEITH RANSOM-KEHLER
RUTH J. MOFFETT
FLORENCE E. PINCHON
HIS Holiness Baha'u'llah the Sun of Truth has dawned from the horizon of the Orient, flooding all regions with the light and life which will never pass away. His teachings which embody the divine spirit of the age and are applicable to this period of maturity in the life of the human world are—
- The oneness of the world of humanity.
- The protection and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
- The foundation of all religion is one.
- Religion must be the cause of unity.
- Religion must accord with science and reason.
- Independent investigation of truth.
- Equality between men and women.
- The abandoning of all prejudices among mankind.
- Universal peace.
- Universal education.
- A universal language.
- Solution of the economic problem.
- An international tribunal.
Every one who truly seeks and justly reflects will admit that the teachings of the present day emanating from mere human sources and authority are the cause of difficulty and disagreement amongst mankind, the very destroyers of humanity whereas the teachings of Baha'u'llah are the very healing of the sick world, the remedy for every need and condition. In them may be found the realization of every desire and aspiration, the cause of the happiness of the world of humanity, the stimulus and illumination of mentality, the impulse for advancement and uplift, the basis of unity for all nations, the fountain-source of love amongst mankind, the center of agreement, the means of peace and harmony, the one bond which will unite the east and the west.
| VOL. 24 | APRIL, 1933 | No. 1 |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 3 |
Render Unto Caesar, Dale S. Cole | 6 |
Obedience, Dr. J. E. Esslemont in “Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era” | 9 |
Letters Home—Persia, Keith Ransom-Kehler | 10 |
Miracle, a Poem, Silvia Margolis | 13 |
Russia’s Cultural Contribution to Bahá’ísm, Martha L. Root | 14 |
Glimpses of the New World Order—Notes on a Visit to Haifa and ‘Akká, Mabel and Sylvia Paine | 18 |
A Great New Sermon in Stone, Ruth J. Moffett | 21 |
New Light, Margaret Dixon | 25 |
And Speaking Thus—They Passed, Florence E. Pinchon | 28 |
Following Martha Root, Coralie Franklin Cook | 31 |
STANWOOD COBB, MARIAM HANEY, BERTHA HYDE KIRKPATRICK | Editors |
MARGARET B. MCDANIEL | Business Manager |
| CONTRIBUTING EDITORS | |
| For the United States and Canada | For Foreign Countries |
| ALFRED E. LUNT MR. LEROY IOAS MRS. LOULIE MATHEWS MRS. MAY MAXWELL MRS. DORIS McKAY MISS SYLVIA PAYNE International MISS MARTHA L. ROOT |
MRS. ANNIE B. Romer, Great Britain |
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 Bahá'i Magazine, 1000 Chandler Bldg., Washington, D. C., U. S. A. Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1911, at the postoffice at Washington, D. C., under the Act of March 3, 1897. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103 Act of October 3, 1917, authorized September 1, 1922.
THE CORNER STONE
IT WOULD be idle, however, to contend that the war, with all the losses it involved, the passions it aroused and the grievances it left behind, has solely been responsible for the unprecedented confusion into which almost every section of the civilized world is plunged at present. Is it not a fact—and this is the central idea I desire to emphasize—that the fundamental cause of this world unrest is attributable, not so much to the consequences of what must sooner or later come to be regarded as a transitory dislocation in the affairs of a continually changing world, but rather to the failure of those into whose hands the immediate destinies of peoples and nations have been committed, to adjust their system of economic and political institutions to the imperative needs of a rapidly evolving age? Are not these intermittent crises that convulse present-day society due primarily to the lamentable inability of the world’s recognized leaders to read aright the signs of the times, to rid themselves once for all of their preconceived ideas and fettering creeds, and to reshape the machinery of their respective governments according to those standards that are implicit in Bahá’u’lláh’s supreme declaration of the Oneness of Mankind—the chief and distinguishing feature of the Faith He proclaimed? For the principle of the Oneness of Mankind, the cornerstone of Bahá’u’lláh’s world-embracing dominion, implies nothing more or less than the enforcement of His scheme for the unification of the world—the scheme to which we have already referred. “In every Dispensation,” writes ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “the light of Divine Guidance has been focussed upon one central theme . . . . In this wondrous Revelation, this glorious century, the foundation of the Faith of God and the distinguishing feature of His Law is the consciousness of the Oneness of Mankind.”
—Shoghi Effendi.
| VOL. 24 | APRIL, 1933 | No. 1 |
and bodily exertion; at the same time seeking to lift the burden of others, striving to be the source of comfort to souls and facilitating the means of living. This in itself is devotion to God.”
“BE NOT TROUBLED in poverty,” said Bahá’u’lláh, “nor confident in riches, for poverty is followed by riches and riches are followed by poverty, but to be poor in all save God is a wondrous gift.”
How much needed is such a vision in these days of economic loss and despair! The life of an individual and the life of a nation are both subject to this law of rhythm. Nothing is enduring. Continuous prosperity is no more guaranteed to the individual than continuous sunshine is to the fields and flowers. Above all, we need to realize that nothing can bulwark us against misfortune, not even a large bank account.
There is nothing more fallacious in giving one a sense of security against the universe than a huge fortune. So much security, so much ease of living does this bring the individual that there appears to be no need of considering any other power in the universe. The limitless wealth that flows from capital, more even than can be consumed in personal needs, seems a fortress as stalwart as the Rock of Gibraltar. And yet in recent times we have seen such financial fortresses crumble into ruins before the attack of new economic forces as unexpected
as they are irresistible in their destructive violence.
It is at such times as this that one feels the need of turning to a Higher Power. Now, if never before, we realize that “God is All-possessing.” That all existence flows through His Hands. That nothing is owned by man, nothing is guaranteed to man, nothing can be grasped and seized and permanently held by man.
THE ORIENT has never lost the
sense of close dependence upon
that Infinite Power which guides
the destinies not only of this planet
but of the universe. A feeling of
reverence and submission to this
Power deeply permeates the life of
Orientals, giving them patience in
misfortune and humility in periods
of success and prosperity.
The Bahá’i Movement will have the effect upon the Western world of turning it back again to that spiritual sense of life which at one time characterized Christianity. Piety in the best sense of the word—a realization of the power of God and submission to the will of God—will be restored as a wholesome cleansing agent to life. Without this feeling of submission to the Infinite, misfortune becomes a bitterness,
a rancor that gnaws the vitals and leads to insanity or suicide. But under the inspiration of true religion life can be lived nobly whether in poverty or wealth, whether in sickness or health, whether in misfortune or prosperity.
A striking example of how man can transcend circumstances by the power of the spirit is presented in the life of a Bahá’i whom I knew for years—a successful business man whose work had wide ramifications over the country, a man of personality and power. There came, however, a financial reverse. At the age of seventy he was left with nothing. On top of this came a paralytic stroke which left him an invalid utterly dependent both for support and care upon his friends. Yet in the one year that was left to him of life—a life of absolute poverty and comparative invalidism—all his friends witnessed in Mr. R—a transcendant quality of character, a nobility of soul, an added grandeur which called forth more respect and reverence for him even than had his prior successful life of financial power and humanitarian service. What but a deep spiritual sense could have so enabled this man to transcend events?
ANOTHER more brightening
thought to which we may turn from
the collapse of property and income
is the realization that true wealth
lies not in income or accumulated
property, but in the ability of the
individual to express himself
creatively. Those who have courage,
will power, initiative, trained
ability, and power of accomodating
themselves to circumstance,—such
carry with them their fortune. All
that has availed them to succeed in the past still resides with them. Their capacity to wrest a living from the universe is undiminished. With the application of ingenuity to the dilemma, some way can always be found of getting along, of existing until times are better and then again rising with the general tide of prosperity. For the comforting thought given by Bahá’u’lláh, is that just as wealth is followed by poverty, so is poverty followed by wealth.
Perhaps the most important lesson to be learned in this economic depression is that of frugality. Americans have been living in such a consciousness of prosperity for years that they have formed very extravagant habits. To be seen to practice economy and frugality has not seemed the commendable thing. On the contrary, lavish expenditure for high standards of living, fine clothes, and new accoutrements of the home,—these were what everyone was seeking to demonstrate. Extravagance was the rule of the day. Many were living beyond their income. It even seemed to appear that lavish expenditure was the road to universal prosperity, according to the doctrine newly evolved that the more the individual spent the greater the production and general prosperity that would ensue.
What a remarkable transformation has taken place in the consciousness of the American people! Just the opposite state of mind now exists. People refrain from buying anything unless they are in absolute need of it. They wear their old clothes, use their old automobile, content themselves with existing equipment, practice economy
in every way possible. And because everybody is doing it no one feels ashamed. Thus frugality, which was a disgrace at the hey-day of our prosperity, now appears a virtue and is being practiced from necessity by every class in every section of the country.
What is the virtue of frugality? It is this—that it tends to counteract the incessant and insatiable striving for the accumulation of material things and enjoyments. Once the individual starts on the road of accumulation of mere things, there is no end to the strain and effort to enrich himself and better his standard of living. This striving has a certain definite advantage in the way of progress, both of the individual and of society. On the other hand, when carried to excess it has one deep-seated fault which is the greatest weakness in the structure of American civilization. That fault is the incessant strain of unnatural and excessive effort. There is a limit to the strength of every individual; but greed for prosperity knows no limits and puts a pressure upon the individual which tends to force him beyond his powers.
The only thing that can put a stop to this incessant and agonizing striving after wealth is the habit of economy, of strict frugality, and of contentment with simple living.
The psychology of contentment, of simplicity, of moderation of desire lies at the heart of every great religion. It was definitely the basis of Buddhism. It was implied throughout the teachings of Christ and by example in His own life and in the lives of His apostles. It runs through all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and was demonstrated in their lives.
IT IS NOT our personal vicissitudes, however, that should most concern us at this time of universal disaster. What should most occupy our thoughts, our intelligence, our will power is the need of a solution for all humanity; the need of an organization for the world such as will prevent this needless suffering in the future. If we care only for our own private fortunes our efforts will have but ephemeral consequences; but if we concern ourselves with the destiny of humanity all that we achieve during our lifetime will go on producing beneficent effects for decades, for centuries perhaps.
The very nature of the misfortunes which engulf people today of every class and of every race call forth all that is generous in human nature. Now is the time, if never before, to practice humanitarianism on a universal scale. Now is the time not only to devote ourselves to private charity but to exert ourselves to the utmost for the building up of noble institutions which shall insure prosperity and happiness to the human race in future epochs.
It is indeed an inspiration to find at hand such a universal Cause as the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, promising as it does an infinite variety of benefits to humanity: economic stability, political tranquility, the realization of brotherhood and world unity, and the growth of a great universal civilization which shall confer its blessings uniformly upon all mankind. Effort put into the spread of this marvelous Movement is a spiritual capital well invested, an endowment the income from which will bless future ages.
“The Law of God is a Collective Center which unites various peoples, nativities, tongues and opinions. All find shelter in its protection and become attracted by it . . . the Manifestation of God and the Law of God accomplish unity.”
MAN is subject to several kinds of law. There are the great laws of the physical universe; gravity, the flow of time, the behavior of the ether.
There are those which have to do with human institutions—such as the law of supply and demand, and of diminishing returns.
Then there are the intricate codes imposed by man himself to regulate his conduct with reference to his fellows in society.
There are the moral laws written and unwritten, which say that this is right and that is wrong. These are sanctions arrived at from experience.
The fifth class of laws are those God-given regulations for the guidance of mankind.
We live under the dominion of natural law without protest because it is natural to do so and we can not escape the operation of these laws even though we try.
However much we may seek to manipulate at times the economic laws, we recognize their sovereignty and the benefits of trying to live in accordance with them instead of against them.
The third and fourth classes of laws, those imposed upon man by himself are theoretically based upon the idea that those things which are the best for the greatest number are just and equitable. Human relationships are so numerous and varied that the body of
the law has become a very extensive library indeed.
IT IS NOT surprising that we have
good laws and bad; that some meet
general approval and some do not
and that individuals may feel rebellious
against some of them. But,
in general, we obey our laws, not
necessarily because we want to, but
either because we realize that it is
best to do so or through fear of
punishment.
Few there be who obey our laws from a sense of duty to mankind’s best interests. We may dimly realize that general obedience to laws serves these best interests—but it is not a dominant idea.
Humanity, as a unit, a whole, is not very real to us. It is a big conception and our lives, today, have to do mostly with little things. We do not think often in general terms, rather how will this or that affect me and mine—not how will it affect everyone, nationally and internationally.
Running through all consideration of law and the question of obedience is the psychological phenomenon that restraint breeds a tendency to disobedience in human beings. Tell a lad he cannot do a thing and that thing becomes so desirable that he may think nothing of disobeying an admonition. There is an element of thrill and relish in disobedience. Tell a nation they cannot have intoxicating
beverages and resentment is aroused even though such prohibition was approved as a beneficial wartime measure.
There is one immutable law which cannot be disobeyed—this is the law of change. Human institutions crumble and human laws become outgrown and obsolete. This condition has existed at various times in the past and marked the decline of peoples and nations. Civilizations rise and fall and from the debris of the old springs a new era of human progress. Destruction precedes reconstruction. The acorn gives up its identity that the oak may grow into a mighty tree.
HUMANITY has gone through successive
cycles tending always to
material advancement until a high
degree of achievement in this
sphere has been attained.
But it is not enough. It is being realized, as never before, that something very essential is lacking in the scheme of life which we have been following.
This essential is obedience to God’s Law for this enlightened age. With the realization that this obedience is fundamental to further progress, a new conception comes into our consciousness.
Obedience is a tremendous privilege, not a mere act of voluntary or involuntary compliance and submission. It is not resignation to a stronger force, rather is it aligning one’s efforts with this force. It is not the loss of liberty of action, rather is it contributing to an action which is greater, more far reaching and more widespread. It is not the surrendering of one’s
prerogatives, rather is it sharing in tremendously greater ones.
There is a great and profound difference between obeying because we have to, or obeying because we will benefit, and obeying because we feel that it is a privilege to merge our small individual increment of influence to that great integrated force potential in the collective, universal obedience to God’s Divine Law.
There are many unwritten laws which are strong and binding because they are generally accepted as good and are upheld by the power of concerted thought, feeling and action. We do not appraise correctly this latent force. Should everyone, or a majority, or even a very large number obey God’s Law there would result mighty and beneficent events in this troubled arena of human activity.
If we obey because we feel it a privilege to do so there cannot be the slightest resentment. There can be no resentment in our hearts because there will be nothing to resent. Our will will be non-existent, merged in that of God. Where there is only one will operative there can be no counter-currents, no whirlpools or eddies of confusion and misunderstanding.
IT MUST be appreciated that
God’s Law applies not only to you
and me and to our nation, but it
guides all peoples and all nations
and consequently is universal.
Perhaps we may not understand it, may not be able to grasp the great significances. Perhaps some details of its operation may not be clear, veiled for the present in the
immensity of its possibilities. But these quite human limitations detract not one whit from its effectiveness.
God’s Law deals with humanity and the world as a whole. We are not accustomed to such magnitudes and they may stagger us. But we are not responsible for its justification—that can safely be left in God’s hands. We are only responsible for our own obedience, and even that is not really a responsibility but a great bounty and privilege, a privilege which is a boon, not a deterrent; a privilege which is a reward not a punishment; a privilege which is positive, not negative; a privilege which is a help and not a handicap; a privilege which is dynamic and not static; a privilege which is spiritual and not material.
The Divine Law will temper and shape human laws so that we can without confusion “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.”
OBEDIENCE to God’s Law is the
greatest privilege ever offered
* Baha’u’llah in the “Tablet of Ahmad.”
mankind. It is not mandatory: “Who so desires let him turn away from this counsel, but who so desires let him choose the path to his Lord.”*
This conception of obedience as being a privilege is one of the distinguishing features of the Bahá’i Revelation. If we obey because we feel it is a privilege to do so, not because it is expedient, not because it is convenient, not because it is pleasant, not because of hope of reward or fear of punishment—but because we are appreciative of the privilege, then we become instruments through which the Law of God may become operative in its fullness, with unimaginable benefit to mankind.
When we obey unreservedly and joyously the Law of God we “charge the things we fashion” with a breath of the spiritual dynamic, which is the only power of sufficient potency to make effective the principle of the Oneness of Mankind—that foundation upon which the glorious future of humanity will be erected in accordance with the Law of God for this day as given to us by Bahá’u’lláh.
“The Manifestation of God is a perfect example of real obedience . . . . We must look to God for all we desire, all we attain. The Will of God must outwork its purposes in us. Our human will must be laid down in sacrifice and love. A pupil must submit entirely to the will of the teacher. This is true sacrifice, true obedience. When you really love God you will be willing to sacrifice everything and submit yourself entirely to His will.”
DEVOTION to God involves implicit obedience to His revealed commands even when the reason for these commands is not understood. The sailor implicitly obeys his captain’s orders even when he does not know the reason for them, but his acceptance of authority is not blind. He knows full well that the captain has served a thorough probation, and given ample proofs of competence as a navigator. Were it not so, he would be foolish indeed to serve under him. So the Bahá’i must implicitly obey the Captain of his Salvation, but he will be foolish indeed if he has not first ascertained that this Captain has given ample proofs of trustworthiness. Having received such proofs, however, to refuse obedience would be even greater folly, for only by intelligent and open-eyed obedience to the wise master can we reap the benefits of his wisdom, and acquire this wisdom for ourselves. Be the captain never so wise, if none of the crew obey him how shall the ship reach its port or the sailors learn the art of navigation? Christ clearly pointed out that obedience is the path of knowledge. He said:
“My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me. If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”—St. John 7:16, 17.
So Bahá’u’lláh says:
“Faith in God, and the knowledge of Him, cannot be fully attained except . . . . by practicing all that He hath commanded and all that is revealed in the Book from the Pen of Glory.”—Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh.
Implicit obedience is not a popular virtue in these democratic days, and indeed entire submission to the will of any mere man would be disastrous. But the Unity of Humanity can be attained only by complete harmony of each and all with the Divine Will. Unless that Will be clearly revealed, and men abandon all other leaders and obey the Divine Messenger, then conflict and strife will go on, and men will continue to oppose each other, to devote a large part of their energy to frustrating the efforts of their brother men instead of working harmoniously together for the Glory of God and the common good.
In her world travels in behalf of The Bahá’i Movement the author takes time to write to friends impressions derived from her varied experiences. These “Letters Home” we have been privileged to present to the readers of the Bahá’i Magazine at different times during the past year. The first “letter” appeared in the January, 1932 number, and described the author’s visit to Nikko and other places in Japan. The April number gave some of her impressions of China; the December issue contained an interesting description of her contacts with the Maoris of New Zealand; and the January number her observations while traveling through India. Last month appeared the first installment in a new series on her fascinating material and spiritual experiences in Persia. Herein she describes certain historic points and principles “which are essential to a full understanding of the spirit animating the followers of the Báb.”
IN AN hour I must be on the platform and I am not even dressed, but I have an irresistible urge to start this promised letter to you; for once I have started a thing I writhe until it is finished; and the stories of Persia within me are struggling to be told.
If ever I undertook to write anything formal on Persia I would be nonplussed as to whether I should call it “White Rooms,” “Dream Gardens,” or “Mud Fences.” For this country is one astounding and fascinating contradiction. The ugliest thing on earth, a mud fence, encloses the most beautiful, a Persian garden; the (to us) shocking dislocation of taste, a white room, houses the matchless design of a Persian carpet; in an old ramshackle, tumble-down bazar one finds the lovliest things—inlay and lacquer from Shiráz, brass or silver from Isfáhán, silk and prints from Yazd, the turquoise tiles and pottery of Hamadán, embroideries and rich brocades—all divinely beautiful.
God has conferred upon Persia an unquenchable spirit; to whatever
1 God’s Messengers: the Founders of new religions; the Revelators of new sacred commands and books. 2 The Báb declared His mission May 23, 1844. 3 After years of arduous effort the mutilated remains of the Bab intermingled with those of Muhammad Aliy-i-Zunuzi who was martyred with Him, were finally removed to Mount Carmel. Baha’u’llah lies buried on the plains of Akka where He died a titular prisoner.
depths she may descend she carries with her a mysterious redemptive power. Within the brief confines of history she has given to the world three Manifestations1 of God: Zarathrustra, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. In less than a hundred years after the coming of the Promised One2 profound, yes, fundamental changes, are wiping away the obvious evidences of her fanaticism, her cruelty, her ignorance and her degradation, and are preparing her not slowly, but with magical rapidity, for an era of enlightenment, urbanity and fluent self-expression.
To the Bahá’i the most venerated spots are not those where the two Manifestations of our Faith lie buried3 but Shiráz in Persia, and Baghdád in Iráq where their respective missions were revealed. Surely no other place than Shiráz on Persian soil is more sacred to us than the Shrine at Sheik Tabarsi where first “The Dawn-Breakers” of our Revelation gave “the last full measure of devotion,” entrusted to history her most lustrous and heroic page, and “rapt in holy
--PHOTO--
Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler and her personal escort in front of the Shrine of Sheik Tabarsi. Left to right: Rahmat’u’llah Khan Alai, Keith, Najmiyyih Khanum, Mirza Vahid.
ecstacy, writ with their life-blood upon the tablet of the world the verses of God’s Divine Unity.”
Tihrán, the birthplace of Bahá’u’lláh, is indeed a Holy City, and Nur, His family seat, but we are told to reverence Baghdád especially in His commemoration.
The names of those exalted beings who happily wooed death and were wedded to the Station of self-sacrifice in the Pathway of God have left the overwhelming evidence of their sanctity and devotion forever enshrined within the humble little memorial at Sheik Tabarsi.
AS WE were quitting Khurásán I
recalled how Mulla Husayn and his
small but valiant band of followers,
encamped under the “Black Standards,”
awaited Divine Guidance
and then went down the rocky defiles
into Mázindarán—their Karbilá.
It seems a thousand pities that
only the special student of history or comparative religion should know those events and episodes in the great religions of the world that, through the centuries, have made their adherents ready to die for them.
Certainly one of the outstanding events of secular as well as of religious history was the martyrdom of the younger son of Fatimah (the only daughter and the only child of Muhammad) the Imam Husayn.
All sects of Muhammadans agree that the Prophet informally appointed His cousin and son-in-law Ali, together with His lineal descendants, to succeed Him. But since the words of the Prophet were oral and traditional, since they were not written, a group of His followers after His death feeling that Muhammad has been too much swayed by His affection for His family, and fearing their influence, at once swept aside His command and elected those democratically—the
Caliphs—who were to act as defenders and custodians of His Faith.
Ali, finally, after three predecessors had been chosen, was elected Caliph. His tempestuous career ended with his murder, his older son Hasan, according to the explicit utterance of Muhammad, succeeding him as the second Imam. Ali was the first Imam and the fourth Caliph.
Hasan was poisoned by order of Mu’aviyih, leader of the opposing party, and when some years later his younger brother who had now returned to Arabia was summoned to send his allegiance to the newly elected Caliph, an office not provided for by Muhammad, he quite deliberately and with the sublime intent of giving his life in obedience to his Grandfather’s behest set out to Mesopotamia with seventy-two of his followers there to offer up his soul for the great principle of the Imamate.
For Imam means Guardian and the Imamate alone could have protected the Cause of Muhammad from schism, sectarianism and strife. If, in the Qur’án, Muhammad had written this succession as an indubitable part of His Teaching; if His followers were constrained to recognize one authorized person to whom they must give allegiance there could, of course, never be any division, any disunity, for division or challenge of the explicit written word of the Founder would at once put them outside His Faith; so there could be no split within it.
The sincere follower of every religion must see that the weakness of His Faith lies in this fact: that
it has no authoritative interpreter, none to whom the faithful can turn as representing the authentic successor of its Founder.
THE statement of Jesus concerning
Peter is subject to half a dozen
interpretations including the
charge of interpolation in the
Gospel, and the great majority of
Christians reject His statement as
establishing any unchallengeable
succession or as conferring the
right of interpreting His words.
Nobody, whom all alike will accept,
can tell us what He really meant.
We have in Christendom three
hundred and fifty-two sects, each
insisting that Jesus meant a different
thing. And to whatever degree
these sects may protest
against succession and interpretation,
each has arrogated to itself
the letter, excluding any who dare
question its interpretation, and
hands down through succeeding
generations its own decision and
decree concerning the Teaching of
our Lord. So that every sect is
practicing interpretation and succession
however much it may deny
it.
If Jesus, Muhammad, or the Founder of any other religion, had written an unassailable document in which He specifically named an individual, together with his successors, and said to His followers, “What these say I meant, you must accept as what I did mean; to reject him or them is to repudiate me;” we see, with perfect clarity, that the rivalries, misunderstandings and bloodshed promoted in the name of religion would have been absolutely impossible.
It was to defend this great principle
of an Interpreter, a Guardian, a Rallying Centre which would obviate schism, that the Imam Husayn became a voluntary martyr.
As he neared Kufih, the great Islamic stronghold where his father had been martyred, he was informed that an army of twenty thousand was marching out against him. He deflected his course to the then small settlement of Karbilá, and there his little band was practically annihilated and he became the great redemptive figure of Shi’a Islám.
Three times before Shimr, his murderer, dispatched him, he cried to those assembled, “Is there any who will assist me?” extending to them their last opportunity for submission and obedience to the request and desire of Muhammad.
On several occasions Mulla Husayn referred to Sheik Tabarsi as Karbilá. Those who cast in their lot with him had no illusions as to the outcome of their enterprise. They, too, deliberately sacrificed their lives to prove to a negligent and vicious world the Reality of that One in Whose Pathway suffering was a joy and death a triumph.
IT IS a long time since, at the beginning
of my letter, I mentioned
the Báb’ul-Báb’s1 descent into
Mázindarán; but an understanding
of the historic points and principles
1 “The Gate of the Gate,” title given by the Bab to Mulla Husayn-i-Bushruyi.
to which I have been referring are essential to a full understanding of of the Báb. the spirit animating the followers
For many years in those strange hallucinations that come with encroaching sleep, in reveries, and in dreams, I have seen, not a score of times but a hundred times or more those now familiar mountain passes that wind down into Mázindarán. Once when we were driving in California I remember telling you that I had seen that road before, although it was the first time I had traversed it. But it was not until I traveled from Amiriyyih to Shahid (Ali Abad) that a profound inner delight and agitation coupled with scene after scene of my well-remembered fantasy assured me that this was the place of my visions. Suddenly we shot between high stone cliffs that the sun would only penetrate for half an hour at noonday, and the mysterious sense of unreality that seized me brought back the thought of heavy lids and drowsiness; and then a stabbing joy of recollection. To see luxuriant verdure again-Mázindarán is sub-tropical after the starved, stark mountains of Khurásán—added to my sense of unreality. Being, as you have often said, a realist, I am not in the least addicted to this sort of thing, which made it all the stranger.
- When I had been engrossed
- With silver things and gold,
- I had a Winter-Soul—
- Altho’ I was not old!
- But now that I have died
- And risen for a Truth,
- I have a Summer-Soul—
- Altho’ I have no youth!
The author, well known as a Bahd’i traveling teacher and lecturer, here relates the story of the Russian poet who gave to the world three celebrated writings about the Baha’i Teachings. Miss Root has succeeded in giving us a marvelous bit of history and a story of surpassing interest. The second part will follow next month.
MRS. ISABEL GRINEVSKY, a Russian poet in Leningrad, gave a great impetus to the Bahá’i Movement and to world art in her three celebrated writings, the two dramas, “Báb” and “Bahá’u’lláh”, and a narrative called “A Journey in the Countries of the Sun”. The last named is an account of her visit to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1911 when He was in Ramleh, Egypt. While the last is in prose it has verses introduced so that we might almost say that the three form a trilogy in poetic form presenting the new universal religion of the oneness of mankind proclaimed by those three heavenly personages, the Báb the Forerunner, Bahá’u’lláh the Revealer of the Word and ‘Abdu’l Bahá the Center of the Covenant of the Bahá’i Movement.
From the point of view of art the dramas rank high. Russian critics affirm that these works have proclaimed their author a poet of the first order. One of her countrymen, Mr. Wesselitzky, President of the Foreign Press Association of London, said that he read the drama “Báb” on a railway train when he was returning to England from Russia in August, 1905. His own words were: “I was at once attracted by the rare combination of philosophical thought with a great power of expression, beauty,
imagery, and harmony of verse. I keenly felt the delight of reading a new, great poem and discovering a new first-rate poet. I should have felt so on broad, general grounds from whatever country the poet came! However, my joy was intensified by the fact that the poem had been written in my own language and that the author was a country-woman of mine.”
This article purports to give a little history of these works, for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself praised these dramas. (I do not know that He saw the narrative.) When He held the manuscript of the drama “Bahá’u’lláh” in His hands, He blessed it and prophesied to the author that these two dramas would be played in Tihrán!
The drama “Báb” was published in May, 1903, and was played in one of the principal theatres in St. Petersburg in January, 1904. It was this drama that first brought to Count Leo Tolstoy a knowledge of the Bahá’i teachings. He read the book and at once wrote to Mrs. Grinevsky his appreciation of her great drama and his sympathy with the Bahá’i Movement; the letter was printed in the Russian press and the poet has his letter in her possession now.
I HAVE before me as I write a
clipping from the “Herold” of
January, 1904: “The play Báb appeared in May of last year, 1903, the most inconvenient time for the appearance of a book. Nevertheless the pens of the critics began to move in the journals and magazines in order to compose hymn-songs of praise to the author. Moreover an enlightened Persian society sent her an inspired letter of thanks; and above all, Mrs. Isabel Grinevsky had the spiritual satisfaction that among those who eulogized her drama was the lion of contemporary Russian literature, Leo Tolstoy. The impression was such that it made us think that amidst the statists representing the Persian throngs were real Persians; it seemed as if the scene exhaled the perfume of the roses of Shiraz!”
Mr. Wesselitsky, whom I mentioned earlier in this story, gave a lecture in London in 1907 about this drama and his speech was afterwards published in pamphlets in English and French.* I quote two paragraphs: “Amidst the sorrows of disastrous war and those dreadful inner troubles, that book “Báb” was my only happy impression, and it remains since a permanent source of joy and comfort as a manifest proof of the vitality of Russia and its creative genius.
“The romantic side of this drama, too, is quite original. The plot is not based on adultery as in French drama and not on seduction as in ‘Faust’, but on renouncement and self-sacrifice. The romantic side of the Báb is closely allied with the metaphysical-ethical side. The
* Pamphlets in French and English, London, 1907, at the Press of “Chronicle”—29 Besborough Street, London. S. W.
drama has so much of the latter that every act may seem to be a sermon and the drama itself a suite of sermons. Yet all that preaching is relieved by genuine enthusiasm, eloquence of the heart and real passion. The conflict in the soul of the hero is not between passion and reason, but between two passions—human love and love divine—the latter being stronger and more ardent than the former. It is that manifestation of the power of the higher aims in the heart of man which is the chief feature of this book and the secret of its irresistible charm.”
CELEBRATING the decade of the
first performance of “Báb” in
January, 1914, Mrs. Grinevsky gave
a great conference on the drama in
one of the most beautiful concert
halls of Leningrad. The “St.
Petersburg Informations Paper”
gives the event a long review
praising the author and her reading
of selections from the poem and
her address. One paragraph particularly
I remember: “As a characteristic
of the frame of mind of
the poetess during the creation of
her poem, the following words of
her own may serve as an illustration:
‘A well known professor told
me that the name of my poem,
“Báb” does not sound well to the
ears of Russians. I answered that
the names of the people who
preached the ideals of love, paying
for those ideals with their lives,
must sound well to all those who
have ears to hear. All noble ideals
are so few in these days that it
would be worth while to renew the performance of “Báb” in order to awaken the remembrance of these ideals. We, the people of the West, rise too late, we do not know the East where the sun shines!’”
The play was presented again in the Folk Theater in Leningrad in April, 1917, after the Russian Revolution. People came even from Moscow and Turkestan to see it. Diplomats from foreign countries were in the audience; the ambassador from China was one. A second edition of the drama had been published in 1916, and these books were sold at the entrance of the theater; many spectators sat with the open books in their hands during this performance. It is a long drama in five acts, equal in the number of verses to “Don Carlos” of Schiller and “Cromwell” of Victor Hugo.
WHEN I wrote asking Mrs.
Grinevsky about these dramas she
sent me several letters. I should
state that she has written many
works along different lines of
thought and lectured on many subjects
in Russia, and had often
spoken in conferences on these two
dramas, “Báb” and “Bahá’u’lláh.”
She was a member of the
former Philosophic Society of the
University, an active member of the
former Oriental Society, and is a
member of the present Bibliological
Society and several literary societies
and unions. She said that before
she wrote her poem “Báb”,
the Russian public generally had not
heard much about the Bahá’i Movement.
She herself knew about it only
from reading. The critics thought
she had traveled much in Persia, she was so well informed about the life there, but as a matter of fact she had not been in Irán. She had heard that some Bahá’i believers from Persia had been driven out of their land into Turkey and India, and that some had come to Turkestan and were residing in the cities of Táshkand, Ishqabád and Mary and in the city of Báku in the Caucasus.
“Still, I thought”, she says, “these believers in the Báb now called Bahá’is had mingled with other nations, and perhaps had ceased to exist as a religious entity. The description of Professor Edward G. Browne seemed to me a fairy tale. How astonished I was when, after my drama ‘Báb’ made its appearance in 1903, I received one day a letter with the following address: ‘To the Author of the book “Báb”, Mrs. Isabel Grinevsky in St. Petersburg.’ Neither street nor number of the house was marked, yet thanks to the careful postal authorities, that letter though unregistered, reached me safely.”
Both the handwriting and signature proved unknown but she relates: “That letter was from Ali-Akber Mamedhanly from Báku who wrote that he was a believer in the Báb, that he had read in the News of Báku about my poem, the account of which had interested him greatly and that he would like to get the book. He asked that if he found any mistakes against the Teachings of the Báb, could he perhaps point them out? It was like a star falling from heaven at my feet! As if I had found a precious stone where I
had not expected to find one.”
The book was mailed to him at once and she explained to that Bahá’i that she had had to deviate just a little from a few of the historical facts for the sake of a dramatic whole. She added: “I wrote for a public all unprepared to hear moral, religious and philosophical ideas from the stage; it was accustomed to lighter plays, not a theme about God, of religion, especially about the conception of a new religion or rather, I would say religion renewed!”
The Bahá’i from Báku politely replied to Mrs. Grinevsky’s letter as follows: “The impression which I received in reading your drama was such that I could not see any mistakes of any kind, even though I read it many times. We read it in the Bahá’i Assembly (meeting) and the believers send you sincerest thanks. They feel sure that the literary world will
soon unite in a general soleminzing of your creative powers.”
She said that he also wrote beautifully about the Bahá’i life in Caucasus stating among other points: “We live here cherishing the tenets for which our grandfathers, fathers and brothers shed their blood maintaining the chief principles: pardon, patience and love to mankind.” Mrs. Grinevsky said that these letters were written in Russian and showed that the Bahá’is were very enlightened in literature and science. She also added: “It was such a joy to me to find that there are in the world people so congenial to me in feeling and in vision. I loved with my soul those spiritual people who, just like the people in my drama, were holding those principles of pardon, patience and love to all mankind, holding them not as a dead dogma but as a living truth!”
“Unity is love. It cannot be established without love. Therefore, try as far as possible to be filled with love . . . . Love draws us in friendship to the people of every race and religion. He is a Bahá’i, . . . . from whom we breathe the fragrance of this love again. The highest love is independent of any personal advantages which we may draw from the love of the friend. If you love truly, your love for your friend will continue even if he treats you ill.”
“We cannot conceive a star without light, a tree without fruit. If we claim to be followers of Light, we must diffuse the Light through our actions. The name will not be sufficient. . . . The Bahá'i must see that his words and deeds reflect the Glory of God.”
In the first installment of these “Diary Notes” of a visit to Haifa and ‘Akká, published last month, the authors total of their arrival at Haifa and of their meeting with Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’i Cause; with Bahiyyih Khanum, the sister of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and other members of His family, and of their conversations with them concerning Him. The present installment definitely concerns a visit to ‘Akká’ the old Prison Quarters where Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and seventy followers were incarcerated with unspeakable hardships and sufferings.
SATURDAY, November fourteenth. Today at luncheon the subject of the divinity of Christ came up. This phrase, Shoghi Effendi pointed out, is ambiguous. If it means God incarnate it is unscientific. A truer word is Manifestation. This word implies the true Trinity, which consists of God, Whom we may compare to the Sun; the Prophet,–as Christ, Moses, Muhammad, Bahá’u’lláh—who is like a perfect mirror catching the sun’s rays and reflecting even its disc; and the Holy Spirit, which may be compared to the sun’s rays connecting sun and mirror.
In the afternoon at tea with the ladies the talk was about bringing
up children. One of the ladies counselled, “Don’t force them to take a certain course, however praiseworthy and desirable, but take the stones out of that path, make it as easy for them as you can.” She told how her children were taught to pray. She didn’t tell them to pray, but they saw and heard her pray. One day when she was praying her little boy asked what she was doing. She told him she was talking to God, asking Him to help them to be good. After a day or two he said he would like to talk with God.
She said she thought what was needed, even more than people to talk and write about the Bahá’i teachings was people to live them. “How sad ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was,” she added, “when He heard of one who professed to be a Bahá’i yet did not live in the right way. She told of a Persian Bahá’i who spoke rudely to his wife. His little son noticed this and one day remarked to him, “You can’t be a Bahá’i, or you wouldn’t speak in that way.”
Another story she told was of a young Bahá’i in Persia to whom the cashier in a bank gave by mistake fifty pounds too much. As soon as the young man discovered the mistake he returned the money. The bank official was so much impressed that he asked the young man what his religion was.
No one who witnessed the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá could doubt that the Bahá’i faith is first of all the noble living of life. Still, the memory of His teachings, reinforced by His life of loving service, remains in Haifa. The other day this conversation was overheard in a Haifa shop. A woman came in to make a purchase and asked the storekeeper how he was getting along.
“Just well enough,” he replied, “to keep soul and body together. But I am contented. Life is short and happiness is not dependent on having many material things. Abbas Effendi* used to tell us so and make us realize it.” ,“Yes,” answered the woman, “it seems to me Abbas Effendi is still living with us. His body passed away but His life and influence still go on among us.”
A Christian came to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s house shortly after His passing. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s life, he said, impressed him more profoundly than did the life of Christ. He told his bishop this and the bishop reproved him for not being more loyal to Christ. He replied that it was simply that Christ’s life was further removed and so did not touch him so closely. The quality of life he believed was the same.
One of the ladies described the evening when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá returned to Haifa after His long journey through Europe and America in 1912. When the ship anchored almost everyone in Haifa was down at the water’s edge to greet Him, although people had been requested not to come because He was so very tired. Some went aboard the ship,
* The name by which ‘Abdu’l-Baha was known in Palestine.
lifted Him in their arms and carried Him to the small boat for landing.
FRIDAY, November thirteenth.
Today at luncheon the subject of institutions
was discussed. Any idea
or movement, Shoghi Effendi said,
needs an institution. For instance
educational ideas must be carried
out in schools, social and political
movements find expression in institutions.
Inherently an institution
is a necessary and a good thing.
The trouble creeps in when institutions,
with the lapse of time, become
corrupt. Then they need to
be renewed.
In the same way any movement needs a creed. A creed is not a bad thing. What is bad is when men add non-essentials to a creed.
The supposed quotation from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that the Bahá’i Cause is not an organization should read, “You cannot limit the Bahá’i Cause to an organization.” The Bahá’i Cause must be organized just as everything must be. Institutions are necessary. All institutions now are decadent, but without institutions we should have nothing but anarchy. Bahá’is regard institutions not as ends, but as means.
MONDAY, November sixteenth.
Late this morning we drove in an
automobile the nine miles drive
around the edge of the Bay of
‘Akká to the vicinity of ‘Akká.
‘Akká, the ancient fortress and prison city is a scence of some of the greatest tests as well as triumphs of the little group of leaders of the Bahá’i Cause in its early days. Here
seventy Bahá’is, exiles from their native land, were sent by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in the hopes that this greatest prison would prove to be the end of the leaders and the religious faith which they were spreading. Vermin-infested, filthy in the extreme, it was a place where the worst criminals were sent to languish and die. Strangely enough the little band of Bahá’is after living herded together in an unspeakably filthy room in the prison for two years, suffering from malaria, as well as insufficient food and water, were given more liberties. Instead of being forgotten, the Cause for which they were sacrificing their freedom spread.
The road lay along the sandy beach by the sea. The day was clear and it was an especially impressive experience to ride on the sand with the sparkling blue sea on the left, past Arab fishermen drawing their nets, travelers on donkeys and camels as well as in motor cars. The white buildings of the ancient city of ‘Akká gleamed out as our journey’s goal. ‘Akká was Napoleon’s goal when he came with his army from Egypt. He hoped to make it the gateway to conquering the Near East, but found it instead
an insurmountable obstacle which turned him back.
We had left Mount Carmel, where the Jewish prophets and Jesus walked, and ahead of us in the far distance we could see the snowcapped mountains of Lebanon. Soon we arrived at the gates of the city of ‘Akká. At one time there were three walls around the city and the gates were closed at sundown. Although now the entrance to the city is open at all times, we noticed as we went in the “needle’s eye” a small opening in the wall beside the main gate about five feet high. Late travelers could enter through this opening and their camels, too, if unloaded, could get in by a process of kneeling and squirming through. The streets of ‘Akká are narrow and dirty, paved with worn stones and filled with men and women, mostly in Oriental garb, and children playing and fighting or going to the bakery with enormous flat trays filled with loaves of bread of a tannish hue, looking something like our pancakes. The children’s clothes, the streets and bread all shade into a light greyish tan hue and perhaps it is just as well not to be too germ-conscious.
“In every dispensation the command of friendship and the law of love have been revealed, but it has been circumscribed within the circle of the believing friends and not with contrary enemies. Praise be to God that in this wonderful cycle the laws of God are not confined within any limitations, neither must they be exercised toward a special community to the exclusion of another. He hath commanded all the friends to show love, friendship, amity and kindness to all the people of the world.”
The following conversation takes place within the Bahá’i Temple and its Foundation Hall at Wilmette, Illinois, on the shores of Lake Michigan‘.
The characters are members of a family group that have stopped to view the Temple and learn about its meaning.
A teacher of the Bahá’i Cause comes forward to meet the group.
Barbara: I do wish you would tell us something of the meaning of it all.
Teacher: It would be stimulating to follow the history of the growth and development of this lofty conception, which architects claim will far surpass even the Taj Mahal in beauty and ideals, when completed. The Taj is, you know, the lovely symbol of a beautiful earthly love. This Temple is the exquisitely beautiful symbol of a Divine Love. All mankind is embraced in that Divine Love in a spirit of unity and universality, such as the world has never known before. Man may come to a desire to know God by means of any one of the nine pathways represented by the nine doors to this temple. But they merge together in the worship of the one True God, under this great dome, symbolizing light, glory and splendor. The meeting of the ribs in the spire of light at the peak above your heads symbolizes the uniting of the arms of all the religious thought of the world in prayer.
* Shoghi Effendi, “The Goal of a New World Order. p. 12
This lofty conception thus put in concrete form cannot help but engage the attention of the responsible leaders of the people and nations of the world.
(They all stand under the magnificent dome gazing upward speechless.)
Robert: (breaking the silence). In the general trend of recent events with their dark and menacing outlook, a universal House of Worship such as this, with thousands like it, is surely needed in the world.
Teacher: Yes, I am sorry to say, the vast ever swelling army of unemployed, the increasing commercialism, the corruption of law, the weakening of the church, the stupendous and crazy race in armament building, the impoverishment and enslavement of peoples and nations who stand confused and helpless amid the increasingly threatening storms,—all force us to realize the truth of these words: “Little wonder if one of Europe’s preeminent thinkers, honored for his wisdom and restraint, should have been forced to make so bold an assertion, ‘The world is passing through the gravest crisis in the history of civilization.’ ‘We stand,’ writes another, ‘before either a world catastrophe, or perhaps before the dawn of a greater era of truth and wisdom.’ ‘It is in such times,’ he adds, ‘that religions have perished and are born.’“* In times such as these all mankind is forced
--PHOTO--
Bahá’i Temple at Wilmette, Illinois.
with humbleness of heart to seek a united spiritual refuge in the One True God. This great Universal Temple is a symbol of this.
Barbara: Do you mean that the completion of this Universal Temple can help, not only Chicago, but can really help the whole world?
Teacher: Yes, the call of Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God, Whom Christ said would come in the Glory of the Father, has given to mankind the principles of a Divine Program embodying in its essentials, God’s divinely-appointed plan for the unification of mankind in this age and in the clarifying words of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’i Cause,—“It is towards this goal—the goal of a new World Order Divine in origin, all-embracing in
scope, equitable in principle, challenging in its features–that a harassed humanity must strive.” He, Bahá’u’lláh, has quickened a declining people and a corrupt society into the glorious dawn of this Day of the most Great Peace.
(They stand in front of the lighted plaster model of the Temple.)
Mr. V.: This is extremely interesting, and very much needed in this distressed and rapidly changing world.
Teacher: This beautiful model was made by the skilled hand of the able architect, Mr. Louis Bourgeois, as the result remarkable inspiration. Professor Luigi Guoglino, noted architect of Italy, who recently came to make a brief survey of the model, remained three hours or more. For two hours he spoke not a word. His conclusion, when he reluctantly had to leave was—‘This is a new creation which will revolutionize architecture in the world, and it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Without doubt it will have a lasting page in history. It is a revelation from another world.’ ‘There is none of the austerity and solemnity which characterizes the religious architecture of the past. It has grandeur and supreme beauty but no severity. It seems to be vibrant with life, lifting the consciousness into the splendor of the dome, into which
the whole structure seems to ascend, symbolizing the uplifted aspirations and consciousness of mankind. It is a new architectural pattern as San Vitale was the mother church of Christian architecture. Perhaps it may also signify and symbolize a new power of the Holy Spirit which is now being profoundly felt by all humanity’.
Mr. V.: What is the key-note back of this marvelous new type of architecture, its unusually beautiful dome and its exquisite outer ornamentation, in which we see embodied most of the religious symbols of the world?
Teacher: That is easily answered, Mr. Vanderwolff. The principles of the knowledge of the Oneness of Mankind and the fundamental Oneness of Religion are the keynote of this Temple design and also the pivot around which the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve.
Mrs. V.: Just what do you mean by the Oneness of Mankind? Was not that taught by Christ?
Teacher: Yes, Jesus the Christ and all the other Prophets called men to love one another, but Bahá’u’lláh has given to the world the consciousness of the Oneness of Mankind, a deeper and a more far reaching consciousness than was ever given to the world before. His power is uniting individuals in all the relationships of life, all the nations, races, religions and classes into a beautiful symphonic whole.
Mrs. V.: That is a beautiful idea. I begin to understand that vast far-reaching and inclusive ideas are symbolized in this great Temple. I did not know it could be possible to have such a wonderful concept in the world today, where there seems
to be so much disagreement and division. Why, it is a beautiful sermon of universal truths moulded in stone. May I ask if I would be permitted to bring my whole club membership for a tour of the Temple, and would you be so kind as to tell them just what you have told us?
Teacher: Yes, Indeed. We shall be so happy to greet all of your friends and answer any questions they may wish to ask. We have conducted many tours of club women, university students as well as men’s clubs, even children’s groups, and explained to them this unusual architecture and the profound meanings that lie behind it.
Jimmie: Oh! Do you suppose I could bring my boy’s club here Saturday afternoon? I know all the fellows would like to come and have you tell them just what you have told us.
Teacher: Indeed, you may. It will be a pleasure to meet your boy friends. Shall we make it Saturday afternoon at 2 o’clock?
Jimmie: That will be great. I’ll tell them they’ll have the time of their lives (catching a shocked look from his mother)—I mean—
Mr. V.: May I ask one more question before time for your afternoon service?
Teacher: Certainly you may.
Mr. V.: Thank you. I understand from your explanation that this great Temple symbolizes something more than reawakening the spirit of goodwill and brotherhood among men, but I do not understand how far that spirit of unity will be expressed in the affairs of life. Will it not eventually bring a deadening uniformity?
Teacher: The principles of
--PHOTO--
An Interior Panel
A Window Panel to Right of Doorway
Bahá’u’lláh apply not only to the individual but to all the relationships of life, binding all mankind into one human family. This implies an organic change in the very structure of society. For instance, it means the demilitarization and the reconstruction of the civilized world; it will create a world effectively unified in its trade, commerce, industry, political machinery, language and educational standards, as well as in its expression of ethical, moral and spiritual values. Yes, it will allow for infinite diversity in its national and individual characteristics. Victor Hugo caught the spirit of this age shortly before his death when he
said: “Today we have the United States of America; tomorrow the United States of Europe; next day the United States of the Orient; and one day we shall have the United States of the world”. The world is rapidly moving toward that ideal, and in the principles of Bahá’u’lláh we find the great dynamic power that will ere long establish the Kingdom of God upon earth. However, as the Guardian of the Bahá’i Cause, Shoghi Effendi, has so clearly expressed it, “The principles of Bahá’u’lláh will civilize the world, but the knowledge of and belief in Bahá’u’lláh will regenerate mankind.”
Mr. V.: Thank you. I deeply appreciate, not only the great needs of the world today, but that such a mighty conception has been given to the world which is capable of bringing about the vast transformation of society. Have not all the poets sung and the Prophets proclaimed an age of unity and peace? I should like to direct my energy and thought in cooperation with this great constructive transforming force in the world.
Barbara: O father! You have the ability to help other leaders in industry and finance to become attracted to these great ideals and also to cooperate in establishing these principles more quickly in the world. Now we must study and know more of these great truths as
soon as possible. There is Robert over at the book table. It looks as though he has bought most of the books already.
Mrs. V.: Father, I have never known of your being so impressed with anything of this nature before. I, too, confess an eagerness to know more about these great truths for I long to do my bit in helping to bring about the unity and harmony
in the world that this beautiful Temple symbolizes.
Mr. V.: Yes. We must study. I am impressed as I have never been. 1 have never before found a satisfactory solution for the world’s problems and I hope that I may prove worthy to have a share in the honor of building this great Temple. It truly is a great new sermon in stone.
“We must not begin with words and end with words. We must act and teach mankind with the irresistible force of example. . . . One drop of deed is better than an ocean of words, and one ounce of action is more valuable than on ton of eloquent speeches.”
RECEIVING a letter of invitation to a farewell social to a Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Dunn, Melbourne, Australia, whose names had been often mentioned, but whose mission in our City was still unknown to me, a desire to know the nature of their message urged me to accept the invitation.
The small hall was beautifully decorated in purple and gold; from the centre to all sides were gold streamers, each bearing on it the name of some country to which the Bahá’i Message had been carried. At one end was a bower of green foliage, and amongst it in letters of gold hung the strange, mystical name, Bahá’u’lláh. It seemed as if one stood at the door of a new world, for here was a strange thrilling vibration that made the heart throb with expectancy.
In a short time there entered a
man of elderly, yet withal most youthful appearance, his face shining and illumined. A little later came a sweet-faced woman, gracious, and with a wonderful attracion which could not be defined. Something about them brought an inner conviction that they were possessors of that which was well worth seeking, and the vow was instantly registered to seek. Seeking in this case certainly meant finding, for these two dear disciples of Bahá’u’lláh were only too ready to heap hospitality and love on me and give generously of their time and knowledge, as well as Bahá’i Literature to be read and studied at home.
Happily their departure from Melbourne was postponed for a month, and during that time the first Melbourne Bahá’i Assembly was formed. That indeed was a
--PHOTO--
Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Dunn, pioneer teachers of the Bahá'i Cause in Australia
happy and memorable time when we gathered day after day, at the house of Alice Culbert, later dubbed the Bahá’i Nursery, and learned the history of the coming of the Promised One.
Since that time years have passed—years of patient devotion, and strenuous effort to awaken the heedless; and in the hearts of the Bahá’is there is always not only the fervent hope, but the strong conviction, that the field so long tilled and tended with such love will bear a plentiful harvest of souls, and that in the future Australians will be filled with the Light of Bahá’u’lláh.
THE PIONEERS of such a country
as this must needs be souls of dauntless
courage, and pure hearts. Today
we read the history of our
pioneers and explorers, in prose
and verse and think with wonder and admiration, of the feats of endurance and self-sacrifice that they performed.
We love their memories, inasmuch as to them we owe the founding of our splendid country, and the establishment of our great cities.
In the words of an Australian poetess,
- “Though her mountains sternly fronting,
- Bade them on their way turn back,
- And her deserts widely stretching,
- Offered them a pathless track.
- “Wild nor desert could not daunt them,
- Peril could not make them fear,
- On they pressed until the landscape
- Showed before them bright and clear.”
And if this can be said of those physical pioneers, how much more is there to tell of those who, with no support save God, left their home, the friends they loved, crossed the ocean, landing strangers in a strange land, without youth or money in order spiritually to pioneer a great continent and establish therein the Cause of God. In the years to come, when the standard of God is understood in our land, and in the cities Bahá’i Temples are raised to the name of Bahá’u’lláh; when He is known and worshipped throughout the length and breadth of Australia; when the principles He laid down are followed–then will appear in its true light the magnitude of their undertaking. Many a mountain of doubt and darkness they have overcome, many a desert of unbelief they have crossed, for dense mists of materiality envelop this land of the youngest of the nations, the Benjamin of the tribes of Israel.
Taken as a people, we are still crude and undeveloped, even as the country we live in. We are still in
the early youth of a nation and are mostly pleasure loving and indolent, in no way inclined towards spiritual matters. A noted sculptor on his return after 25 years absence from his native land, said, “Australia seems to me like a beautiful body whose soul is still unawakened.” It has taken colossal efforts of patience and love by this gallant couple1 to do even what has been done—establish centres in all the capital cities,—centers, which must be strengthened by many returned visits.
Mr. Dunn, has traveled incessantly from one end of Australia to another, striking the lonely furrow into the crude clay of the hearts he has met and sowing the seed wherever possible. Mrs. Dunn has remained in the cities striving, by faithfully living the life and lovingly serving all with tenderness, thoughtfulness, and kindly actions, by visiting the sick, comforting the forlorn, advising the perplexed to lead souls to the Cause. Both exemplify in their daily lives the admonitions of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who so inspired them on their contact
1 Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Dunn, formerly of San Francisco, Calif. 2 Baha‘u’llah, Hidden Words (Perian), v. 82.
with Him as to give them the desire and urge to serve Him by coming to Australia to spread His Message. Their lives will ever stand as a monument to the Power of the Living God to help those who arise to serve Him.
TODAY, as regards the Bahá’i
Cause, Australia is as a vast field,
plowed and sown by these faithful
servants, waiting the germination
of the seed and its growth into the
world of visibility. Where are the
reapers who will harvest the souls?
“I bear witness, O Friends, that the Favor is complete, the Argument fulfilled, the Proof manifest, and the evidence established. Let it now be seen what your endeavors in the path of detachment will re- veal.”2
“The call of God,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said, “hath proved the very life of the universe and the animating Spirit of mankind. Behold how it hath vivified the heart of man and stirred the consciousness of the world. Ere long its signs shall be made manifest and the fast asleep shall be awakened.”
“When a man turns his face to God he finds sunshine everywhere. All men are his brothers . . . . Radiate the light of the love of Goal to such an extent as to be able to remove entirely the gloom and darkness of hatred, bigotry and enmity from among humanity . . . . In so doing you will manifest that not in words only, but in deed and in truth you think of all men as your brothers.”
“Behold our progress and enlightenment! We are the people! We shall surely stand! And speaking thus—they passed.”*
SO WROTE an American poet during the last world war, in telling lines that expressed this common reluctance of the human mind to recognize the impermanence of its own creations. How few of us, indeed, seem gifted with that forward-looking imagination which could qualify us to become professors, or even humble members of the “Faculty of Foresight” suggested by a certain distinguished writer. It is so much easier to linger in thought among the records of the past, or believe that nothing could surpass the wonders of present achievement, than to exercise vision, and humbly recognize that the civilization of which we happen to form a part is destined to pass away, is, in fact, passing, even as we extol its so-called progress. Yet this is the lesson which is taught by all history, and which is essential to its true understanding. The gradual decline of a civilization is as much in the natural order of things as the fall of an autumn leaf, however little we may like the idea.
Let us, for instance, with the poet, picture the bold Assyrians sweeping in their chariots through the crowded marts of their fortified cities viewing the lofty towers and ponderous ramparts; watching, perhaps, the all-conquering legions of Sennacherib as they thunder by in their gleaming purple and gold;
* The American Poet, Marshall South.
while their hearts are swelling with pride and belief in their enduring strength and glory. How little they could have imagined the shifting sand-dunes of their ultimate destiny!
Nor could the priests and architects of Egypt’s massive pyramids and sculptured temples have ever dreamed that all their learning, vast monuments of power, and even the sacred tombs of their mighty dead would one day lie as empty shells–relics of interest only to the excavator or the tourist.
Would it have seemed possible to the patrician of the Roman Empire, when “mistress of the world,” or even to the philosophers of ancient Greece, that all their glories, and the gain of hard-wrought centuries would crumble, with their builders, into dust, while the wisdom of their brilliant thinkers, enshrined in a few classics, become “as a tale that is told”?
TO-DAY, maybe, we have, in this respect, grown a little wiser. Education, the discoveries of archaeology and scientific research, as well as the profound distresses of the times, have induced a certain measure of humility, and a clearer perspective of the procession of the ages and our allotted place in its changeful pageantry. And so, while still apt to extol our enlightenment and progress, we have begun
to seriously question wherein that “progress” truly lies, and to realize, however vaguely, that spiritual enlightenment must inform and direct material advancement, if we are not to suffer a passing that would be both premature and ignoble, into the darkness of oblivion.
Now, to many a thoughtful observer of the times it appears that over our present civilization the shadows lengthen, and as at the close of a day of storm and tempest the sun is beginning to set in fiery gleams. Yet again the Eastern horizon is crimson with the fires of hate and aggression; while in Europe the forces of disruption and unrest have received fresh impetus. As a keen student of international affairs recently declared: “Since intensified nationalism and preparations for war continue to grow side by side with those for disarmament and peace, sooner or later a final clash would seem to be inevitable.”
And if anything more were needed to deepen this impression, it would be the report of the Inter-parliamentary Union at Geneva, on the Character of Future Warfare, recently published in England in book form. Compiled by Sir Norman Angell and seventeen other experts, belonging to eight nations, its cool, scientific analysis of the chemical and mechanical inventions lying in wait for the victimization of humanity reads like some hideous fantasy of a nightmare. No wonder that another observer—Dr. John Hutton—commenting upon it, cries: “Does a
civilization that can conceive such things, or, aware of their menace, permit them to exist, deserve to survive?” But as he further remarks, the only hopeful way in which it is possible to regard the recent revival, all over the world, of militarism, is to recognize that it presages some ultimate struggle between the natural and the spiritual outlook of the nations concerned. Like the final convulsion of the man obsessed by evil spirits, of whom we read in the New Testament, the very violence of the attack which rent him indicated approaching deliverance by the Great Physician.
In proportion, therefore, as the spiritual powers, wrestling for the soul of our present civilization, increase in strength and vitality, so fear, suspicion, and greed arise hydra-headed in our midst.
But to those nations and great empires who deliberately turn aside from justice, doing despite to their higher intelligence and better natures, the Prophets of old, as faithful Watchmen, have ever uttered stern warnings. To show fear and vacillation when moral courage is required for the vindication of the right, or lethargic clinging to outworn ideas and methods when problems of human agony cry to heaven for bold solution and energetic reconstruction, to put monetary gain before human welfare, pride and prejudice before the security of peace, is to sin against the Light. “This is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than the Light because their deeds are evil.”
“LIGHT is come into the world.” It is just here that those who have been privileged to hear and to understand the Bahá’i Message may lift up their hearts and take courage, fully persuaded that the hour of redemption draws nigh. Indeed, one often wonders how thoughtful and sensitive minds can, without such an assurance, bear the mental and spiritual perplexities and the spectacle of universal suffering presented by these tragic years! But for those who have caught the vision, there lies a clear pathway of guidance through the gloom, a divine Direction revealed to a drifting world. Herein we can see, shining above the angry torrents of chaos, the rainbow of the renewed Covenant of God with men—heavenly love watching human madness, yet with unalterable mien! Already those who are aware, may discern the brightening colours of this Rainbow of Promise, and may trace, here and there, arising from out the crumbling institutions and systems of the present, the dim outlines of that new World Order promulgated by Bahá’u’lláh.
“We live in an age” writes Dr. Micklem of Oxford, “when that civilization is breaking up which has largely been the creation of Protestantism.” In expressing his conviction that to Christianity would still be given the work of reconstructing a better world, he exclaims: “God grant that we may have a Prophet to lead us into that new task!” “Before they call, I
will answer,” was the promise given through Isaiah. A promise which has already been fulfilled “exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think,” since the Spirit manifested through Christ, the Son, shines again—resurgent—in the Glory of the Father, the greatness of whose Revelation and its profound significance for the whole earth, only future centuries will be able to fully comprehend and bear witness.
To those of us who are anxiously watching the swift march of events to-day, it becomes increasingly evident that only through obedience, whether that obedience be conscious or not, to the spiritual laws taught by the wise Counsellor of Nations can the world achieve deliverance from its afflictions. Only so can we become “his people” who shall “surely stand” in the evil day; putting on the whole armour of God, having our feet shod with the preparation of this gospel of Universal Peace, and wearing, as a helmet, this supreme hope of Salvation. So, borne of our present trials, our present vision and courage, we may, in passing, bequeath to coming generations a more orderly and gracious heritage, a purified and nobler form of world civilization. For it is written that, in the long perspective of Time, all that past centuries have manifested is destined to appear but “as a drop of water in comparison with the ocean of this oncoming glorious age. Magnified is He, who hath crowned this century with the appearances of His Kingdom!”
THE hunger of the world for religious thought and teaching seems abundantly proven in the experiences of Miss Martha Root, world traveler and Bahá’i teacher.
A letter from her sent from Praha, Czechoslovakia, in the early part of the year, is so significant in its simple narration and so heartening in its glimpses of what men and women of other lands and other tongues are thinking and doing, that it seems altogether fitting to share its contents.
First of all Miss Root thanks her American friends for letters that have “meant more to me than I can express to you.” Then quite in her own individual manner she continues: “We know for we have experienced it that the oceans do not separate our hearts; our friendships are eternal through all the worlds of God. . . . Also, do you think as I do, how much you wish to read and study, but you read a little, pray a little, meditate a little, and most of the twenty-four hours submerge yourself in service? And in doing that the words of Christ come true, ‘He that loses his life shall save it.’ In service to others the soul does draw near to God, does hear the Divine Guidance, does dream dreams, does see visions.”
This letter is written just one year from the night when, on board the steamship Europa, our friend sailed away with Geneva and the Disarmament Conference as her
first objective. Here in Geneva she was busy at the Disarmament Conference until May first. Then she “took part in the National Czecho Slovak Esperanto Conference in Olomouc” speaking at the very opening. She had the good fortune to be present at the unveiling of the monument to Dr. Ludovik Zamenhof, creator of Esperanto, on the center of which she proudly writes, is engraved: ‘La Baha Movado, Haifa, Palestine’. Thus the Bahá’i Movement is given as one of nine international movements whose aim is universal brotherhood.
Early in May our friend went on to Praha—the name given by the Czechs to that interesting city We Americans call Prague. There she had the great good fortune to secure from “one of the best Czech translators,” a fine translation of Dr. J. E. Esslemont’s book, ‘Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era.”
All who have read this informing book will rejoice to know that this translation has been liberally distributed among the libraries, public and private, of Bohemia. Touching proofs of its reception have been sent the translator; for example, a peasant laborer writes, ‘This book is my treasure. I wish to learn all I can about the Bahá’i Teachings.’ In contrast a scholar and lecturer of distinction has written important articles about the Bahá’i Cause in leading Czech papers and magazines, and to Miss Root’s grateful surprise has
translated one of Bahá’u’lláh’s books, called “Hidden Words” into “beautiful and poetic Czech.” Commenting upon them he wrote: “The thoughts of Bahá’ulláh are so noble, they must be translated as perfectly as it can be done, for this will be literature for future generations.“
Throughout the summer months the subject of this sketch told of the Bahá’i Revelation wherever assembled willing listeners. At one time she holds forth in a parlor of a home where she is living, at another time the Message is given in a clubhouse. Everywhere she meets courteous and often eager listeners. Reporters come, people of high estate rub elbows with the lowly, and men of learning and wisdom enter with zest into the period of questions and answers following every talk. Leaders of other Movements are often present, and the Czech language and Esperanto are the media of communication.
After these group meetings invitations come to address larger groups and public lectures are given where contacts are made which mean an ever-widening circle of those who love to hear of the work and words of the Messengers of God who wrought so mightily from the “Prison Home” in ‘Akká, Palestine. “I wish I could go,“ writes Miss Root, “to fifty cities and towns in Czechoslovakia and
* ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 58.
speak in the English clubs and in their schools for word comes from different cities asking about the Baha’i Movement.”
And so, sometimes holding a tea, sometimes writing magazine articles, sometimes in a heart to heart talk with a single hungering soul, sometimes speaking to large audiences from platform or pulpit, Martha Root goes on her Sun-lit way. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me,” said Jesus of Nazareth.
“In the world of existence the greatest bestowals of God are His teachings. The other bounties of God are limited as regards their benefits and provision. . . . Therefore the teachings of God are the bestowals specialized for man. Although the divine teachings are truth and reality, yet with the passage of time thick clouds envelop and obscure them. These clouds are imitations and superstitions; they are not the fundamentals. Then the Sun of Truth—the Word of Truth—the Word of God—arises again, shines forth once more in the glory of its power and disperses the enveloping darkness. For a long time the divine precepts of the effulgent Word were obscured by clouds of superstition and error until His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh appeared upon the horizon of humanity . . . and revealed anew the foundations of the teachings of God?”*
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, 1000 Chandler Bldg., Washington, D. C.
The Herald of the South, G. P. O. Box 447 D, Adelaide, Australia.
Kawkab-i-Hind (Published in Urdu), Karol Bagh, Delhi, India.
La Nova Tago (Published in Esperanto), Friedrich Voglerstrasse 4, Weinheim, Baden, Germany.
Sonne der Wahrheit (Published in German), Stuttgart, Germany.
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.
