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| VOL. 24 | MAY, 1933 | No. 2 |
ALFRED E. LUNT
HUSSEIN RABBANI
MARTHA L. ROOT
KEITH RANSOM-KEHLER
DR. ALI KULI KHAN
A. M. NABILI
LEADERS of religion, exponents of political theories, governors of human institutions, who at present are witnessing with perplexity and dismay the bankruptcy of their ideas, and the disintegration of their handiwork, would do well to turn their gaze to the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, and to meditate upon the World Order which, lying enshrined in His teachings, is slowly and imperceptibly rising amid the welter and chaos of present-day civilization. They need have no doubt or anxiety regarding the nature, the origin or validity of the institutions which the adherents of the Faith are building up throughout the world. For these lie embedded in the teachings themselves, unadulterated and unobscured by unwarrantable inferences, or unauthorized interpretations of His Word."
| VOL. 24 | MAY, 1933 | No. 2 |
The Bahá'i Temple, a Poem, Silvia Margolis | Frontispiece |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 35 |
The Bahá’i Faith and the Forms of Government, Hussein Rabbani | 38 |
Letters Home (Persia), Keith Ransom-Kehler | 42 |
Why Am I a Bahá’i, A. M. Nabili | 46 |
The True Sovereign, Alfred E. Lunt | 50 |
Russia’s Cultural Contribution to Bahá’ism, Martha L. Root | 57 |
1901-1933, Through the Vista of a Generation, Dr. Ali Kuli Khan | 60 |
Language Barriers, Reprint Science News Letter | 64 |
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.
--PHOTO--
- Ye poor and needy of all nations,
- Ye tried and taunted of the earth,—
- See’st not—your sufferance is accomplished?
- Another era comes to birth?
- Behold! above the ruthless carnage,
- Above its mute and moldering rage,
- God’s Temple rises into Beauty,
- And brings to bloom the Promised Age!
| VOL. 24 | MAY, 1933 | No. 2 |
and natural inclinations, and self-sacrifice in subordinating our own likings to the imperative requirements of the Cause of God, can insure our undivided loyalty to so sacred a principle [consultation]—a principle that will for all time safeguard our beloved Cause from the allurements and the trivialities of the world without, and of
the pitfalls of the self within-Shoghi Effendi.IN THE confusion which reigns throughout the world today, there is great need of leadership. “Where there is no vision the people perish.” It is in such universal crises as this that the true social structure of humanity and its mode of progress become apparent.
As in the moment of danger to a herd of wild animals all wait upon the action of some leader, some bolder, some more sagacious individual whose decisions the rest follow—so in the affairs of human kind the majority depend for guidance upon a gifted and relatively small minority.
The great majority of human beings are not capable, either by native genius or by training, of solving the major group problems of humanity; therefore the highest expression of wisdom and of action on their part is to choose shrewdly their leaders, and once having chosen and tested them, to uphold their hands.
But what has been the nature of these leaders, and in what way have they tended to exercise the powers of leadership inherent in them?
Leadership naturally gravitates to those who have great power of thought or action to offer to their fellowmen; unfortunately there is a
kind of leadership, all too prevalent in the past, which plays unjustly upon the weakness and credence of the masses, exploiting them for the sake of private gain and power. This kind of leadership has been always with us. It has produced world conquerors, world financiers, social leaders,—who dominate by the power of their personality over all of their fellows, whether for good or ill. It is because humanity has been the victim of such leadership that most of its ills have come about.
YET, tragic as it is true, humanity
cannot dispense with leadership. In
order to get anything accomplished
the masses must delegate, for good
or for bad, their broad basic power
to the narrow spearpoint thrust of
incisive personalities.
Since this is the psychology of human nature it is well to be aware of it, in order that we may learn to choose our leaders wisely and with more reference to righteousness, integrity and wisdom than to that specious dazzling charm of personality which too often commands the allegiance of men.
Humanity as a vast social mass has therefore the primary duty of choosing in broad terms its goals, and as its rulers men who seem
both capable and worthy of bringing to pass these goals. That is as far as the ability of the mass goes. Power thus delegated must then be applied from the top down by leaders of capacity and integrity.
What a vast responsibility rests upon these chosen leaders of humanity! They are the shepherds of the flock. Where they lead, all others follow. The highest wisdom and power of guidance is needed by these leaders, for if the blind lead the blind both shall fall in the ditch. And in addition to vision is needed also the ability to act decisively; for if leaders be characterized by inertia how helpless becomes that vast group of average humanity which waits in vain on leadership.
THE HIGHEST and most fruitful
types of leaders are those men who
have risen to greatness and to
position chiefly through the development
of powers in them so evident
to the masses that their emergence
to eminence has been through
the confident will of the masses
rather than through dominance
gained over the masses by means
of skill and force of personality
directed by selfish ambition. Such
ideal leaders were Washington,
Benjamin Franklin, Jefferson,—men
who were outstanding not only
in the colonies but throughout the
world for their qualities of wisdom,
of integrity, of devotion to command
good.
TRUE leaders, put in possession
of affairs, find their chief strength
to be the realization of their human
weakness. It is when they measure
most despairingly their human powers
against the infinite needs of the
time and in such weakness seek for divine power and guidance that they become most truly themselves, most worthy the authority of leadership and most capable of exercising it. It is when circumstances are most critical, most dangerous, most incomprehensible, that guidance is needed from a higher plane of intelligence than that of man. This guidance, sought by prayer or through intuition, brings to human affairs a clarity of judgment superior to even the greatest that human genius can afford.
When this seeking of divine guidance is absolutely followed by a ruler, we have a theocracy or government by Divine wisdom such as prevailed in the early period of Judaism,—a period characterized by simplicity; by righteousness; by equality of opportunity; by protection of the weak; by prevention of exploitation such as has been rarely known in the history of human government.
TO THIS great principle of divine
guidance on the part of leadership,
the New World Order of Bahá’u’lláh
adds another factor of great
importance—that of consultation.
Leadership is not to be restricted
to one person or to two or to three,
but to a larger group (yet not so
large as to be unwieldly) which
meet in consultation to decide all
affairs. Here a definite group guidance
is sought, to be added to the
combined knowledge, wisdom and
genius of the individuals who compose
the group. Human thirst for
dominance, for egoistic projection
of pet ideas, must be sublimated
into unselfish loyalty to the group
and to the larger public. Thus expression of the ego is to be sacrificed and all effort is raised to a spirit of pure search for guidance for the sake of service.
This new form of group action which we may call consultation is something quite different from previous forms of group action derived at through conference. Wherever groups in the past have conferred together in order to arrive at some important decision the usual result has been that the more dominant personalities have been able to thrust forward their opinions and ideas, thus gaining prevalence by means of their force of personality. Opinions thus gaining ground due to the superior forcefulness of those individuals supporting them might or might not be the wisest, most judicious, the most intuitively guided. Thus the conference has not been true group thinking, since the power of thought of the group has been disturbed and distorted by the projection of individual wills.
IN TRUE consultation, on the other
hand, it is expected that all effort
after wilfullness will be annihilated
on the altar of service and that the
thoughts of each and all will be expressed
and weighed according to
the best wisdom of the group.
Where there are strong differences
of opinion, these are gradually lessened
by discussion; by an earnest
seeking for unity of purpose and
decision; and if necessary by active
prayer of the group for such unity.
When a majority decision is reached,
it is usually made unanimous by
the group’s desire for expressing unity; or if there still remains a minority vote, that is quietly expressed only in the spirit of service and persistent guidance and not in a spirit of criticism.
Once a decision has been made and promulgated, no criticism or discussion of it should continue. What a waste of vital energy, what a subtle means of disunity lies in this carping criticism of a minority. Bahá’u’lláh has said there must be unity. If a committee of consultation has by some accident made a wrong decision, it must be supported by the most absolute unity and God will then guide into the right path and correct the error made; but if no unity is attained, there can be nothing but a confusion and lack of success.
Thus The Baha’i Movement presents to the world the most marvelous form of government—a government based upon the broadest of powers of franchise, and upon a selective process of leadership guided by qualifications of ability, wisdom, unselfishness and a spirit of devotion and service. The arrival at governmental decision by the process of consultation as above described, and the absolute unity of the governed and governors through a loyalty that is given to the leaders by those who have chosen them for their sacred office,—this and this kind of government alone can lift the world out of the evils into which it has fallen—evils due to exploitation on the part of its leaders whether in the field of politics, economics or of industry.
The author, a student at one of the large colleges in the Near East, has been contributing a series of articles or studies on certain phases of the Bahá’i Teachings, the object being, primarily, to present them as studies and to avoid personal comment. The article herein is a continuation of such observation. Mr. Rabbani does not attempt in any way to interfere in the domain of actual politics as this is a purely theoretical study and is to be so emphasized.
ALTHOUGH in the Bahá'i view all authority, irrespective of the various forms through which it is expressed, comes ultimately from God, provided that it is exercised with justice and equity, yet it is an indubitable fact that under present circumstances there are some types of governments which are more suitable to the conditions of our age. As a matter of fact, Bahá’u’lláh Himself has emphasized this fundamental truth that every institution, whether political or otherwise, has to be changed and adapted to the changing needs and circumstances of the time. Social evolution is a fact and, if not taken into consideration by those who are the responsible heads of society, will lead to disastrous consequences.
Indeed, the whole of Bahá’i philosophy is based on the fact of evolution. Truth itself is gradually revealed to mankind. This is why God has sent His Messengers from time to time to administer to the spiritual needs of men at a particular time or epoch. “Know thou,” proclaims Bahá’u’lláh, “that in every age and dispensation all divine ordinances are changed and transformed according to the requirements of the time except the law of love, which, like unto a fountain, flows always and is never
1 Cf. “Bahá’í Magazine”—October 1931, p. 266. 2 Ibid, p. 266.
overtaken by change."1 And in this connection Shoghi Effendi describes as “The fundamental verity underlying the Bahá’i Faith—that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that divine revelation is not final but progressive.”2
It is, therefore, evident that since social evolution is an important factor in the life of peoples and nations, our political institutions should be modified in accordance with the requirements of the age. In such wise, many conflicts and wars will be prevented and humanity will be less subject to strong upheavals as in the past.
HAVING grasped this fundamental
fact, namely,—the inevitability
and the necessity of social
evolution—we should not then
wonder that Bahá’u’lláh has laid
such an emphasis on the role which
the hitherto subjected and passive
people must needs play in the future
life of the nation. For the age
in which He appeared was one
which had already witnessed a tremendous
development along democratic
lines. In most countries of
Europe people had ceased to bear
the yoke of absolutism and were
championing their political rights.
The individual was no more considered
as a blind subject but was
eager to control and direct within certain limits the affairs of his nation. The era of absolutism and tyranny had thus passed away and the dawn of a brighter day had appeared. And although Bahá’u’lláh had been living for so many years in an environment totally different from that which prevailed in Europe at that time, yet He recognized the necessity of the political transformation which the Occident was going through. He wanted people to throw off the bondages in which they were wrapped and vindicate their rights.
Bahá’u’lláh, therefore, in emphasizing the value of representative institutions was acting in full accordance with the spirit of the age in which He was living, and as in the field of religion He saw the necessity of a change in outlook, so also in the field of politics He advised all rulers to allow their subjects to play an active part in the organization and administration of their country. In His Tablet to Queen Victoria, Bahá’u’lláh reveals the following: “And we have heard that thou hast entrusted the reins of deliberation into the hands of the Commonwealth. Thou hast done well, for thereby the bases of the edifices of all affairs are made firm, and the hearts of those who are under thy shadow (protection,) both high and low, become tranquil. But it behooveth them to be as trustees amongst the servants of God, and to regard themselves as guardians over whosoever is in all the earth.”1
And in another passage He confirms and explains the same view:
1 “Bahá’i Scriptures,” p. 112. 2 Ibid, p. 140. 3 Bahá’u’lláh—“Epistle to the Son of the Wolf”—p. 115.
“At present that form of government followed by the British nation seems good; for that nation is illuminated both with the light of kingdom and consultation.“2
These few words demonstrate in an unmistakable language the form of government which Bahá’u’lláh favored. He wanted the rulers to come into a closer contact with their people, and to ask their advice and help. For Bahá’u’lláh has strongly emphasized the necessity of consultation and deliberation. In the “Tablet of the World” He says: “Hold fast to the rope of consultation, and decide upon and execute that which is conducive to the people’s security, affluence, welfare and tranquility; for if matters be arranged otherwise, it will lead to discord and tumult.”
Bahá’u’lláh favored representative institutions so much that He wished His own country not to be deprived of their manifold advantages. In addressing His native city of Tihrán He says: “Soon thy condition shall be changed, for thou wilt be governed by an assembly.”3
AND YET, however advantageous
representative institutions may
seem to be, Bahá’u’lláh was fully
alive to their imperfections. Taken
alone by itself a popular assembly
is inadequate and too unstable. It
is easily led by the mob and so can
produce disastrous results. In
every government a permanent
head is of major importance, for it
acts as a symbol of unity and order
and serves to check the extravagances
of the parliament. This is
why Bahá’u’lláh had a special admiration
for the British governmental
system because it combined kingship with representative government. In one of His important Tablets He says: “Although a republican form of government profits all the people of the world, yet the majesty of kingship is one of the signs of God. We do not wish the countries of the world to be deprived thereof. If statesmen combine the two into one form, their reward will be great before God?”
Not only does Bahá’u’lláh recommend kingship but He gives it a special position. He considers a just king as being entitled to complete obedience on the part of his people. He, in fact, establishes the Divine Right of Kingship. For though a ruler may violate the rights of his subjects and is consequently to be dethroned, yet his position has a divine character.
Bahá’u’lláh, unlike the former champions of the Divine Right theory, does not give the king an authority which is inherently and necessarily superior to that of any other ruler. He clearly distinguishes between king and kingship. The latter is a manifestation of the Divine power, whereas the former may be an usurper, a tyrant. The two, therefore, are not identical. They may coincide. And in such a case the king, being worthy of the position he enjoys, is actually ruling by a divine authority. Concerning this very delicate point, ‘Abdul-Bahá was once asked as to whether a hereditary monarch could be dethroned in case he proved to be unworthy of his position, and he replied in the affirmative, thus confirming the view that a king is not inherently entitled to
1 “Bahá’i Scriptures, p. 144.
rule over his subjects by divine authority. The distinction between the Divine Right of the King and the Divine Right of Kingship is, therefore, of a vital importance, for otherwise it may lead to some results which history has abundantly proved to be dangerous and to which every enlightened person cannot but strongly object.
THE BAHA’I ideal of a good government
is, therefore, a parliamentary
monarchy, which attempts
at a happy combination of the monarchical
and the democratic elements
in government. Unlike a
government of a republican type it
blends together the two forces of
permanence and change, and thus
gives authority a dignity without
which it would lose its strength and
power over the minds of the people.
For respect towards the possessors
of authority is essential for
the maintenance of order and security
in every nation. When the
head of the state lacks such an important
element he can no more exercise
the influence which he is expected
to have in times of emergency.
He will be void of any prestige
and becomes a mere figurehead.
It should not be forgotten, however, that the king, though influential, cannot interfere in a direct way in the legislation of the country. His function being executive he should not encroach upon the rights of parliament and assume the legislative power which belongs to the assembly. In such a way governmental despotism will be averted and the legislative and the executive powers instead of clashing
will learn to cooperate for the promotion of the general welfare and happiness. Not that Bahá’u’lláh had a blind faith in democratic government at the exclusion of any other forms. It is true that He emphasized parliamentary government but at the same time He provided for some sort of a council which would represent the aristocracy of intellect, or the “intelligentisa” of the country.
Indeed, the Bahá’i scheme of governmental organization attempts at a combination of all the good elements that are to be found in the different governments. It is at once monarchical, aristocratic and democratic. It emphasizes the necessity of synthesizing as far as it is feasible the fundamental features of all governmental forms. This is why, as we have already seen, it has combined monarchy with representative institutions. It now remains for us to mention the element of aristocracy which is of no less significance than the other two.
TO BEGIN with, it should be made
clear that what is here meant by
aristocracy is not a nobility of
wealth or of birth. Social parasites,
who live in idleness have no
place in the Bahá’i social scheme.
They are entitled to no rights and
should, therefore, vanish. But an
aristocracy of intellect, composed
of highly-educated persons cannot
but deserve our respect. Society
is greatly indebted to their efforts,
if these are spent in a profitable
way. This is the reason why
Bahá’u’lláh has given them such a
1 Bahá’i Scriptures, p. 140. 2 Bahá’i Scriptures, p. 148. 3 J. E. Esslemont—“Baha’u’lláh and the New Era” p. 124.
high position, and there is no doubt that in the future they should be given some share in the administration of the country.
“The rightly guided men of learning, who engage in enlightening the people and are protected and preserved from the temptations of inordinate desire—such men are accounted of the stars of the heaven of knowledge, before God, the object of all the world. To respect them is obligatory. They are the flowing fountains, the shining stars, the fruits of the blessed tree, the signs of the divine power, and the seas of the eternal wisdom. Blessed is he who adheres to them.”1
And in another passage He adds the following: “But this oppressed one hath loved and loves the philosophers, that is, those whose philosophy has not been mere words, but who have produced lasting results and fruits in the world. To respect these blessed souls is incumbent on all. Blessed are those who practice! Blessed are those who know! Blessed are those who render justice in affairs, and hold fast to the rope of My sound equity.”2
‘Abdul-Bahá Himself was once asked as to whether it is beneficial to have a hereditary nobility in a country or not, and He gave the following answers: “One who serves his country well should be rewarded by fitting honors, but no one should be able to claim that he must be honored because his father was, for example, a great general. A person who does not serve the nation
will have no distinction conferred upon him. He may be respected because of his father’s services but, so far as offices are concerned, he will have no preference.”
In His Tablet called “Epistle to the Son of the Wolf” Bahá’u’lláh determining the repositories of authority, says: “The possessors of command are primarily the Imams (may God bless them). These are the manifestations of power, the sources of order, the depositories of knowledge, and the dawning places of the divine cause. They are secondarily, the king and rulers, or at least those who illumine the horizons of the world with the light of justice. I hope that H. M. the Shah will disclose this light which will envelop all the sects of the nations. Everyone should pray for his guidance in this Day.”1
And again He says: “But as for
1 Bahá’u’lláh, “Epistle to the Son of the Wolf,” p. 70. 2 Ibid—p. 13.
the Ulama who truly are equipped with knowledge and intelligence, these stand as heads to the world’s body, and as eyes to the nations. The guidance of men has been, and always will be entrusted to such sanctified beings.“2
What could all these words signify if not the vital role which the men of science and learning, who constitute the “intelligentsia” of a country, must needs play in its administration and welfare? They should cooperate with the king and parliament in the settlement of all the questions relative to the organization of the nation. In this manner, through a happy combination of these three above-mentioned factors—namely, the aristoccratic, the democratic and the monarchic,—the government will assume a more universal character and its actions will be directed in a just and equitable way.
This is the third installment of “Letters Home” from Persia describing the author’s visits among the Bahá’is of Persia and her pilgrimage to historic Bahá’i sites in that land which gave the Movement its birth.
THERE is only one appropriate title for a sojourn among the Bahá’is of Mázindarán and that is, “Visiting Heaven.” That such human beings should be alive in this world is inconceivable—until you have seen them. Their radiance, their self-effacement, their perfection of service, their spiritual beauty, their changeless joy, makes those of us who wear the drab garb of this life and its fevered affairs ragged beggars greedy for
crumbs that fall from their celestial banquet.
Here is the perfection of consultation: no one pleased unless all are pleased; no desire for domination; no disregard for even the humblest and his ideas; a resultant energy and happiness in trivial tasks; the beauty of cooperation in great ones.
This soil has been abundantly watered with the sanctified blood of God’s saints and from it has sprung up in supernal abundance
--PHOTO--
Mrs. Ransom-Kehler and the Sari Spiritual Assembly received by a delegation of Bahà‘is from the village of Mafruzac, who had encamped several miles from their village, by the roadside, in order to greet her.
the seeds of love, of truth, of eternal loyalty and devotion, which they planted here and died to perfect.
My first objective was Sári, where Quddus1 was confined when Bahá’u’lláh bade Mulla Husayn send for him.
Several farsangs out on the road the Spiritual Assembly came to meet and to convoy me; never again to leave me until they had, ten days later, delivered me safely to the Spiritual Assembly of Bárfarush, or Babul as it is now called.
We were housed conveniently and with great comfort in the Haziratul-Quds2 and one member of the Spiritual Assembly was in constant attendance upon us.
It seems as if I had been very premature in introducing my references to Sheik Tabarsi for I have a world of things to tell you before that memorable pilgrimage begins. I think that I shall find myself obliged to finish this letter before recounting that unique and piercing experience for many things contributed to its ineffacable effect that I must first write about.
1 A disciple of the Báb; commander of Fort Sherk Tabarsi. 2 Bahá’i headquarters in each city.
THE ACCOUNT of my adventures centres in those delightful friends who accompanied me on my journey through Khurásán, Mázindarán, Gilán and Qazvin.
Mr. Vahid (nephew of Mirza Yahyi-Darabili, the hero of Nayriz) a man of great erudition and sound accomplishments was my interpreter; Rahmat’u’llah Khan Alai, the official representative of the National Spiritual Assembly was my major domo, efficient, energetic and tireless in my service; and Naymiyyih Khanum, his charming young wife, graduate nurse of the American Hospital in Tabriz was detailed to safeguard my health–still in a precarious state from my prolonged illness. She is the epitome of Bahá’i love and kindness. In the length and breadth of Persia I could have found no group of traveling companions more superlatively attentive or more congenial.
In the course of our visit we made an overnight trip—by the newly finished section of the Caspian-Tihrán railroad—to the adjacent
town of Bandar-Ajaz, (I don't know its official name).
An Oriental railroad station deserves a letter all by itself; Europe offers a faint prototype, but in America we have nothing like it. The constant surging of crowds to and fro for hours before the train is scheduled to leave (this one runs every other day); the bazar of effects that every one carries with him; the excitement and curiosity; the light-housekeeping that goes on generally, even in the most public places, the theatrical rush for tickets, the pandemonium as the train approaches, the sprawl and clutter and suffocation in the “hard” class, as the Russians say (there are only second and third, no first) the finality of good-byes, as friends and relatives launch those near and dear to them on this rather terrifying exploit—railroads are of very recent construction in Persia;—the pomposity of even the lowest officials are a great contrast to the sophisticated and orderly bustle of the American depot.
Do you recall that amusing story in Lord Curzon’s “Persia” of the queue on the first opening of an Oriental railroad who, when the ticket agent quoted their fares, invariably offered him half the sum with the hope that a leisurely haggle might enable them to travel at a bargain?
In Sári, above the only waiting room was written, “Third Class, Men.” When asked where the Second Class Women’s waiting Room was, we were informed that this was the only waiting-room, which must serve for all alike. Can you bear it?
1 Beloved friends: a word used by the Bahá’is when referring to each other.
A large delegation accompanied us, and here at Bandar-Ajaz I looked upon water again for the first time in many months, when I sighted the Caspian Sea.
As the train pulled slowly in we saw people hurrying along to meet it: “the Ahbab1 coming to see you,” said Alai. And surely enough as we drew into the station all the Bahá’is of the community, with smiling radiant faces were waving me a welcome. Once more the glad salutation “Alláh-u-Abhá” arose from all sides as men, women and children pressed about me to emphasize their pleasure; once more I was wreathed in flowers; once more I felt the warmth and joy of this Bahá’i greeting, that they have given me wherever I have gone.
Making an aisle for me, I was led through the crowd and with the President of the Spiritual Assembly started toward his hotel, where we were to stop. The friends fell in behind, too large and exultant a group for the sidewalks, so down through the streets we tramped a joyous, eager band. Suddenly as we walked I felt a great thrill and throb of happiness and gratitude: the sound of those quick and buoyant feet; the sight of those glad and lovely faces; the sense of peace and security that they reflected; the unity of purpose; the expression of good will; the bounty of loving-kindness that flowed through this corps of peace, made me exclaim spontaneously, “This is like the marching of the army of the Lord of Hosts which is making ready, under His Supreme Command, to vanquish enmity, fear and oppression from men’s hearts.”
The telegraph-master wired the Governor of Asterabad, under whose jurisdiction is Bandar-Ajaz, that a mob was marching through the streets. He at once telephoned the Kalantar1 to inquire the reason. His Honor, who had already been apprised, responded that it was merely the peaceful Bahá’is greeting a Bahá’i from the West.
The next morning he came to call on me, shortly before my departure, saying that a visitor from the West was most welcome, a Bahá’i teacher was most welcome, but to find the two combined in one person demanded a special welcome. The Friends in this community must have broken down Muslim prejudice for wherever I went, the Muslims greeted me with great respect.
In Sári there was the usual round of lectures, interviews with officials and dignitaries, teas, dinners, meetings, until those dream days were at last over and we started upon new adventures.
The village of Mafruzac about two farsangs2 from Sári, is an old Bahá’i center dating from the days of the Báb. Its most hallowed memory is that of its glorious martyr, Mulla Ali Jan. The present Hazirat-ul-Quds was his former home. When he began to enclose his garden with a wall—the ordinary Persian procedure—he was reported to the government as building another fort like that of Sheik Tabarsi. The authorities, hysterically nervous as a result of their recent experience, condemned him to death.
His last request to the excutioner was that he sever first his jugular vein, a request which was
1 Mayor. 2 Six miles.
granted. Forming with his hands a chalice, Mulla Ali Jan caught the sacred wine of his heart, and elevating it aloft, exclaimed, “Let my blood attest to the Truth of this Revelation;” ere the executioner finished his grim and ghastly work.
I was profoundly moved by the spirit of this dear village. “Oh God!” I cried in my inmost heart, “here am I a poor, broken old woman with nothing to offer, no art, no achievement, a feeble vision, an inarticulate voice, no prestige, no authority with which to press Thy Word. But Thou canst, Oh God, through Thine all-enfolding and compassionate love elevate the most trivial and unworthy of Thy lovers to that exalted station where their very fraility bears witness to Thy Power and Truth. So purify the restless tides of my heart, that kissing to bless every thrust from life, they may at last attest the Truth of Thy Revelation.”
We only stayed in this hallowed place long enough for luncheon. One of the beloved friends of Sári, the wife of the venerable Haji, had come a day in advance and sat up nearly all night to prepare appropriate food for me!
After the speeches of welcome and the replies, the hundreds of Bahá’is in the village assembled to bid me good-bye. I walked through the crowds clasping outstretched hands, embracing the elder women, patting the children. One adorable urchin, his beaming face shining like a brass kettle with soap and water, stood with his chubby hands pressed against his tubby stomach and extending at right angles from
his dear little body like ventral fins. “I cant shake your hand this way, darling,” I said. “He doesn’t want you to shake his hand,” explained Mr. Vahid, “he thinks you are just another teacher come to examine whether his hands and ears are clean. He is merely trying to make your inspection easier.”
At nightfall, accompanied by the Spiritual Assembly of Sári and
friends of Mafruzac, Bandar-Ajaz and other localities, we had reached Kafcha Kula, the nearest Bahá’i village to Sheik Tabarsi. And just as I predicted I shall have to leave you here for it is later than I am weary. So keep this in some convenient spot where you can piece together what I have to say about that historic spot; otherwise it will be fragmentary and incomplete.
The editors solicited articles on why various religionists in Persia are now Bahà’is, and the following is the first response to the request. We are pleased to have the author's interesting treatment of the subject. Mr. Nabili’s ancestors were Muhammadans.
THIS is the question every member of the Bahá’i Faith is faced with in whatever direction he turns.
Being a Bahá’i I read the question every day, every hour and every minute of my life on the forehead of every individual I meet, on the surface of every object my eyes fall upon, on every leaf of every tree I see and even in the heart of every atom of the very elements.
As often as the question is asked, so repeatedly and variously is it answered. The great Prophet Muhammad says, “The highway to God is as numerous as there are people on earth.” So is the answer to this question. For each of us sees from his angle and looks through his own window of thought.
The answer I would give is found in the lines written by that nightingale of God, that man of wonderfully clear vision, that famous Persian Bahá’i poet Mirza Na’im
in the following words,—
But ah, what a pity most of my readers are only those who are not privileged to know the language of roses and nightingales—the sweet Persian language. My reverie has taken me too far. I began these lines one decade before the end of the first Bahá’i century but was led by my thoughts far into the second.
When I began writing I was fully aware that to be understood I must write in English. But the subject being the Bahá’i religion and its supreme teachings, I naturally went so deep into the teachings and their perfection that I could not see how any human being possessing a sound reason could do otherwise than follow them. As one of these numerous teachings is the adoption of an international language I was about to quote from the late Mirza Na’im imagining I would be understood. But the change of script, the cold naked
truth, arouses me from my reverie and I am once more brought back into a world the dwellers wherein still need to be told, “Peace is better than war. Love is better than hatred. A universal language annihilates many a trouble and misunderstanding. Prejudice is the greatest enemy of a happy life. The human energy used for the destruction of the sons of men is better spent on educating them.”
Since I can not quote from Mirza Na’im I shall endeavor to base my answer to the question, “Why am I a Bahá’i,” on his lines.
THAT human beings can no
longer live in caves and pass a solitary
life needs no proofs. Hence
society. That society can not
peacefully and regularly exist
without laws needs still less proof.
Before proceeding further, answer must be given to many a reader who is sure to think we are grown up enough in our civil life to be able to make our own laws for society unaided by divine guidance. But, dear reader, let me warn you against this first and foremost stumbling block. You cannot see the danger at first sight but follow me for a little while and then I am sure you will agree with me.
We can make our own laws but shall we willingly follow the laws of our own creation? Shall we not, whenever our selfish interests dictate, overlook or change the laws thus made? Can such laws be our guardian in the secret as well as in the open? Unaided by divine wisdom can we make one set of laws that will guide human societies of various thought, of various temperaments, of various countries
and of various regions? And if not shall we not have to vary them in different countries? And if varied shall we not get into discord with one another? And last but not least, will any such code of man-made laws be perfect enough to supply all the needs of all humanity? A law strong enough to control human society as a whole must do all these things.
Justice is the foundation of all law. In this new age the world has become one unit. Our laws in order to be just must establish justice for all in the world of whatever race, class or nation. The time is past when one nation can disregard the interests of other nations and still maintain prosperity for its own citizens.
WHAT IS RELIGION? Contrary
to what modern civilization accepts,
as a Bahá’i I believe that
true religion embodies all that is
required to establish laws adequate
for the guidance of human
society. Bahá’u’lláh tells us,
“Religion is the greatest instrument
for the order of the world
and the tranquility of all existent
beings.” He has revealed the outer
laws that are needed to bring order
and tranquility in this new age and
shed abroad the inner light of
understanding which will make
men gladly cooperate in obeying
them.
When mankind becomes convinced and conscious that civil laws are based upon God’s laws and are not simply man-made, that in obeying them they are obeying God, will they not offer willing and joyful obedience? “The Cause of Bahá’u’lláh has no arbitrary commands—every positive teaching
and instruction emanating from its Spiritual Center carries a divine blessing which makes obedience not blind and meaningless but an act of devoted faith fulfilling our individuality.”*
Such laws as these would guard us both in the open and secret. Such a consciousness would be a policeman always with us even where nobody sees us and we see nobody for he would be the very faith we have in our hearts. This unseen but watchful and mighty policeman would prevent us from trespassing the rights of others even where we know for certain they cannot reach us and can by no means detect us in our actions.
True religion is beneficial for all sorts of societies in every part of the world. It rises high above the entire law of human creation being able to supply in perfection every need of human society and of the individual. In our present day, laws are innumerable in every part of the world and yet we see human maladies are increasingly prevalent. Religion truly practiced will annihilate the evils of human society through the two pillars of the human tent called reward and punishment or hope and fear.
True religion prevents rulers from oppressing the ruled, and the ruled from creating disorder. Religion prevents the learned from becoming a menace to humanity by using their scientific information for harmful inventions. Religion prevents judges from being unjust in courts of law. Religion prevents the rich from being so selfish that there are millions of poor so deprived that they must needs gather into mobs to obtain their daily needs. Religion does all this
* Bahá’i News, February, 1933. page 3.
and more but without using force or compulsion. It educates human beings to such an extent that they do what is right and refrain from what is wrong of their own accord.
This is religion; this is the law human society is in need of; this is the elixir called the Bahá’i Faith.
WHY OF ALL religions should the
Bahá’i Faith be the one to be
adopted by the world? Just as a
wise doctor prescribes nothing for
a patient suffering from a certain
disease but what is actually good
for the malady, so God the Almighty
sends to His people,
through His Messengers, the
remedy for the ailments they suffer
from at the time. The Messengers
of the past each gave the world
what the small and scanty human
society needed then, or, in some
cases, what the individual needed
and upon which society could be
founded by those coming long after
Him.
Of the great Prophets of whom we have some records available Moses had to teach human beings how best they could feed on flesh, and other knowledge that wandering tribes needed. Jesus taught that man must have a heart which felt for others. Muhammad gave the people whom He taught a little lesson in organization. But at those times the human world and so society was small; its wants were few; its ailments limited; relations between its various parts almost none; its standard of understanding and ability low and so less capable of harming its members. Therefore simple laws and religions were required.
AND NOW? Now it is different for humanity has reached the age of maturity; its sphere of rule has vastly enlarged; its innumerable inventions have brought its divided and separated parts into one arena; like a mature man its ability to do both good and evil has increased; like a mature man its mental and physical maladies have become aggravated. These numerous inventions which under a strong law capable of controlling the human beings of this age, would have developed a fine civilization, have unfortunately, developed bad habits and serious diseases in the body of humanity.
In the past there were few social and economic problems to be solved; no aircraft to threaten millions of people with bombshells; no colleges to teach multitudes of students various sciences which could
wrongly be used for the deterioration of the human race. In short all these problems which present themselves today did not exist in the past. Therefore the former religions and their great founders did not need to solve them. Today they exist and therefore there is the Bahá’i Religion to solve them.
So I am a Bahá’i because I am a member of human society; human society needs a code of law to guide it; no law is better able to perform this duty than religion; and the religion gifted with the ability to guide human society of the present age and to become a talisman for all ailments and defects of the soul and body of human individuals and societies is the Bahá’i religion. If you do not agree with me get the teachings and make a thorough study of them.
“WHAT ARE the fruits of the human world? They are the spiritual attributes which appear in man. If man is bereft of these attributes he is like a fruitless tree. One whose aspiration is lofty and who has developed self-reliance will not be content with a mere animal existence. He will seek the divine kingdom; he will long to be in heaven although he still walks the earth in his material body, and though his outer visage be physical, his face of inner reflection will become spiritual and heavenly. Until this station is attained by man, his life will be utterly devoid of real outcomes. The span of his existence will pass away in eating, drinking and sleeping, without eternal fruits, heavenly traces or illumination; without spiritual potency, life everlasting or the lofty attainments intended for him during his pilgrimage through the human world.”
“A man may be a Bahá’i in name only. If he is a Bahá’i in reality, his deeds and actions will be decisive proofs of it. What are the requirements? Love for mankind, sincerity toward all, reflecting the oneness of the world of humanity, philanthropy, becoming enkindled with the fire of the love of God, attainment to the knowledge of God and that which is conducive to human welfare.”
This article, of which the first installment is here published, deserves the most careful study of every reader. Herein is revealed the chief cause of the world’s troubles today, and the only way of escape from them. Let us realize the truth, that man is basically an animal, yet has capacity to become a spiritual being. Only such transmutation can save him and the civilization he has established.
“Verily,—those who have denied God and adhered unto nature as nature is, are indeed void of both science and wisdom, are they not of the erring?"—Bahá’u’lláh.
THE law of cause and effect, being divinely ordained as a basic law of creation, is inexorable and ever active. In these fateful years when the nations have fallen into evil times; when the wheel of suffering presses ever more heavily upon every soul; when a rude awakening has come upon a people (organized humanity) whose forgetfulness of God in years of seeming prosperity instilled selfish pride and isolation from their fellowmen to a degree unexampled in human history; there stand out again, in words as luminous and as final as those first written upon the wall of Belshazzar’s ancient temple—“Thou hast been weighed in the balance and found wanting.”
Such a sweeping judgment could owe its origin only to deepseated and prolonged disobedience to the divine law itself. And with equal force it may be said that for these present evidences of wide-spread collapse there must have existed an anterior cause. No student of human destiny in the mass could fail to analyze in a true spirit of research what lies behind this stupendous change that has suddenly afflicted not one country or race
alone but the whole world. This depression, or crisis, or panic, by whatever name it may be termed, exhibits symptoms radically different from those that have characterized the recorded depressions of other periods.
It is, in the first place, a universal calamity. Other depressions have resembled a local or functional disease of one part or member of the body of the race. But we are witnessing, today, something far more basic and deepseated. The infection has penetrated to every vital organ and function. The body of humanity, itself, is sick and infirm, as if its life-forces were withdrawn, and the confirmation of health and well-being secluded. And just as a man, seriously ill, yields up both will and confidence, so in the confusion of thought, the baffling nature of the disease, and the absence of physicians sufficiently skilled to diagnose the cause of this illness,—men of business, the so-called captains of industry, await day by day new disasters, impotent and incapable any longer of summoning the daring, the cocksureness upon which they have always relied to preserve and stabilize their affairs and the affairs of the people generally who, in blind faith, have always entrusted their investments to the care of these giants of the industrial realm.
The real truth is—what is going
on is the collapse of the pillars of the temple of the old order. The powerful stimulus of the “new wine” that has been unsealed in this day of renovation, is rending the old structure with a force stronger than dynamite. This new wine cannot be safely put into the old bottles. Its effect upon the people has already stirred within them a distaste for the unsound and selfish system so long in control of their destinies, even though they, themselves, are still largely unaware of the source of this new impetus. A penetrating light has illumined the secret recesses and exposed the deeds done in darkness. Every plotter against the true welfare of humanity, suddenly, to his dismay and astonishment, sees this searchlight of the divine assayer uncovering his hidden schemes to the eyes of the world. Small wonder at his astonishment at what he may deem to be his betrayal at the hands of those business and political elements, now powerless, that have so long sheltered such practices. In this manner, the bulwarks of a rejected system are crumbling.
When the waters cease to flow the soil becomes arid, parched and dead. When a people perversely turn aside from the Fountain of Living Water, and are full unto repletion with the bitter water distilled by Nature in her laboratories of insensate forces, the health-giving life stream becomes diverted and ceases to invigorate and renew the mental and spiritual tissues. In such a process, humanity becomes a mere distorted image of the real man whose lineaments have been so vividly described by Bahá’u’lláh when He said,—“The true man appeareth
before the Merciful One like unto the heavens; his sight and hearing are the sun and moon; his bright and shining qualities are the stars; his station is the highest one; his traces are the educators of existence.”
THAT MYSTIC and pregnant saying—“And
when they forgot God
He caused them to forget themselves,”
illumines the picture with
a profound wisdom, and is the keynote
of our subject. One of its clear
implications is that the reality of
man, his true self, is always in the
state of remembrance of God. So,
also, one who is conscious of Him,
forgetting and forsaking Him not, is
ever conscious of that Holy reality
within him, and is rightly guided.
But the state of a people who have
forgotten God, and turned to the
false sovereign, is identical with
that of one who is not himself but
is lost in the wilderness of aberration
and imagination. He has forgotten
himself. False perspectives,
misleading and fanciful conceptions
of life, an utter failure of guidance
characterizes him who has forgotten
that “Essence of Life,” his true
identity, placed within him by the
Hand of Power. What more terrible
penalty than to lose remembrance
and contact with that luminous
reality within can be imagined?
Surely, this can only be
the result of a deliberate and radical
departure from the sweeping
command of the Supreme Executive
Power of the universe. In short,
the quoted words themselves are
the best pronouncement and definition,
for they clearly state that this
departure, this sin, was no less than
forgetfulness of God. It is an arraignment
of the idolators who by forgetting Him have denied His Sovereignty, and have thus disobeyed the first and greatest commandment.
The burning issue, beside which every ordinary problem becomes trifling, is the struggle in the breast of man between the sovereignties of the nether and the divine worlds. The Sacred Books of every people bear witness to the divine mandate on this question. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” “I, the Lord thy God am a jealous God”. “O Son of Spirit! There is no rest for thee except if thou dost renounce thyself and turn unto Me.” “O Son of Light! Forget all else but Me and commune with My Spirit”. “Today is the Day wherein the Throne of the Lord calleth among the people unto all the dwellers of the earth and commandeth them to glorify and sanctify God”. “And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day”. “For the Day of God is He, Himself, who hath appeared with the truth”. “Beware of hesitating to accept this Beauty after the Ruler of Might, Power and Glory hath appeared”. “This Day is the Day of God and God alone is speaking in it, and none should be mentioned save Him”. “This is the Day in which the inhabitants of all the world shall enter under the shelter of the Word of God”.
THE coming of every major
Prophet and Manifestation of God
to the earth has been distinctly
marked by this clarion call to the
people to accept and be humble before
the True Sovereign of the nations.
With power and authority,
as well as with love and pleading, these Holy Ones have commanded the people to forsake the idols and return unto the true King. Invariably, the advent of a Prophet has been at a time of great spiritual darkness. Invariably, the people have been found cleaving to the glittering counterfeits of reality, whether to gold, to fame and exaltation, to worldly absorptions, or to the water and clay. All these counterfeits, reared up as idols though not acknowledged as such by the people, are and have been the mirages of Nature, cleverly fashioned to resemble the true allurement of the divine reality, itself. Regardless of outer and claimed beliefs, of sectarian adherence to the form of a religion, of pharasaical conformity to the external requirements of traditional observance,—at the heart of the people, speaking generally and not failing to note individual exceptions, has reposed the hidden love and quest of the soul for the things that Christ declared to be strong barriers to entrance into the Kingdom of God.
The things or objects we love best, for those we sacrifice the most. What sacrifices, what energies, what life-long pursuits have been laid at the feet of these idols that men have preferred to God, the Author of their being? In such a life, God is essentially forgotten however much He is mentioned with the tongue.
Read the powerful utterances of Bahá’u’lláh with insight, and a great underlying motive and purpose is revealed as the re-assertion of the Divine Sovereignty, that that Sovereignty has in this Age reentered the world with mighty
power, and will and must be reestablished in the consciousness of all men. Only the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit could accomplish this task which has baffled mankind for so many long ages. But the clear explanations of the Word of God regarding this supreme issue have been reserved for this day and hour and for the first time mankind as a whole is brought face to face with this eternal question. Victory in this matter could not have been achieved in former ages. Both capacity and destiny were lacking in the race only now entering into the dawn of its maturity. But the clear promise of the revealed Books of every prophetic cycle authoritatively pronounced this transcendent change to be certain and inevitable in the Day of Universal Manifestation, a day so startling to mankind as to be made synonymous with the “end of the world”, a day whose transformation would be of a magnitude so stupendous as to cause even the memory of the old order to become a misty tradition and confused dream.
IN SUCH a day our generation
came upon the earth. To the people
of faith the events of this period,
calamitous and inexorable as
they outwardly seem, are the expected
symptoms of a body racked
by disease into whose vitals a powerful,
alterative, healing elixir has
been poured. Stimulated at first
into restlessness and pain, the benumbed
tissues which have become
lethargic under the devastating
toxins of the poisons ignorantly
self-administered by the patient,
are beginning to quicken. This
elixir is none other than the Love
and Knowledge of the Creator, the true diagnostician and physician for the ills of humanity. His prescription for health and wellbeing have been His Commandments, the chief of which is His Right to universal acceptance of His Sovereignty. Upon this recognition depend the receptivity and worthiness of mankind with respect to the merciful bestowals that ever flow to loyal subjects. The Love and the Knowledge of God, the divine assurances, the heavenly stations ascribed to the people of sincerity, the knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom, the order and welfare of the social, political and economic life of the race, the immortal and eternal life, are the rewards of the firmness and loyalty of a people, not of their disobedience and rejection. The Covenant of God is bi-lateral and mutual; its benefits cannot flow except to those who, on their part, perform faithfully the promises taken from them in exchange. And of these promises the recognition of His Sovereignty precedes all else.
Therefore, what is necessary? Is that sovereignty universally recognized and obeyed today,—and, if not, what sovereignty rules the people? We have previously commented on the fact that the masses of the people irrespective of class or origin have turned their faces to the idols emblematic of a false sovereign. This false sovereign is none other than the usurping power of Nature, whose qualities and characteristics, imitations of the real, instill attraction into the material images of life. Bahá’u’lláh in no unmeasured terms declares such worshippers to be of the “erring”.
‘Abdul-Bahá tells us that these erring adorers of Nature are enmeshed in the talons or claws of Nature. A moment’s reflection suffices to prove the unworthiness of this sovereign possessed only of blind instinct, lacking intelligence and reason, a congeries of elemental forces deposited by the Creator in the pit of the universe as the womb of life, a sign of wisdom and also a testing ground for the development of divine consciousness and the achievement of human destiny.
AND yet, because these elemental
forces are involuntary and in a certain
sense automatic in their operation,
they are deprived of the merciful
qualities. Ruthless and cruel
are they, when unrestrained. Sad
it is that a being like man, endowed
with the divine inheritance, with
potentialities from the Hand of God
so exalted above Nature as to be utterly
incomprehensible to her,
should bow the knee to that which
has neither sense nor feeling. Fire
has no sentiment and will destroy
not only a great city but human
life, itself. The tidal waves of
ocean as they roll over the homes
and fertile fields of man are impelled
by a cause that knows no
mercy. That instinctive hunger
that animates the animal world fails
to implant in the consciousness of
a great fish either knowledge or
concern that in one mouthful he
swallows perhaps a hundred thousand
smaller fry. The tiger, obeying
his natural instinct, has absolutely
no awareness of the anguish
of the man or beast into whom his
rending fangs are plunged. And,
astonishing as it is, many a victorious
general, on the embattled fields
of a war of aggression, misled by his imaginary patriotism and wholly dominated by the destructive, cruel principle of nature, is strangely unconscious that, by a single word of command, he has sealed the fate and consigned to death a hundred thousand men. While as a result the fatherland perchance obtains a few more square miles of territory, or, more likely, becomes involved in disputes as to indemnities ultimately resulting in misery for both victor and vanquished. For such inconsequential gains myriads are compelled to yield up life. Such are the mandates of sovereign Nature.
NATURE, in short, has no sense of
values as we know them. A library
of precious manuscripts is only fodder
for her fire. The premature
slaughter of those thousands of soldiers,
ordained by leaders bereft of
guidance, is heralded by the unthinking
as a triumph befitting exaltation
and commemoration. But
let us not suppose that the men of
war, possessed in common with all
other men of the capacity to know
God and to understand His law, are
excused in comparison with the
tiger who is deprived of that capacity.
In such a comparison we see
the vast gulf that lies between responsibility
and the lack of it. The
striking element in common, however,
is the utter subjection of both
to the dictates of the inferior sovereignty.
As a consequence, these
men although vested with reason
and spiritual susceptibilities place
themselves below the plane of the
animal who, responsible only to his
instincts has broken no law. For
this human bloodthirstiness this
violation of a higher, binding law, is it to be supposed that no retribution will follow?
“O Rebellious One! My forbearance hath emboldened you and My long-suffering made you negligent, in such wise that ye have spurred on the fiery charger of passion into perilous ways that lead unto destruction. Have ye thought Me negligent or unaware?”1
IN THIS indictment of the darker
aspect of Nature’s sovereignty
emphasis is laid solely upon those
natural elements that inter-penetrate
and mislead the minds. As
was explained in detail in the article
entitled “The Supreme Affliction”,2
the other side of the natural
duality, associated with the beneficent
law of composition, with the
fruitful bountiful provisions of aesthetic
beauty, food and comfort, the
growing crops, the sweet spring
breezes, the refreshing rains and
glorious sunlight,—constitutes an
outpouring of the constructive
forces of the universe that guarantees
existence, and is a sign of the
unchangeable, universal bestowal
of the Creator. With this aspect of
Nature we can have no quarrel. Its
service is, on the whole, to the
otherwise helpless physical structure
of the race, and has less to do
with our mental reactions. Even if
to the unthinking these unfailing
bounties tend to endear man to nature
to the extent of veiling him
to the menace of the forces of her
“left” or sinister side, no fault can
be traced to this merciful provision,
for it is, per se, the “sine qua non”
of life upon the earth.
THE REAL menace, however, which
1 Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words (Persian) verse 65. 2 The Bahá’i Magazine, July, 1932.
has imprisoned man in chains stronger than steel, and lulled him into a coma and a forgetfulness deeper than that set up by the most potent anaesthetic, is that serpentine phase of nature that pertains to the subtle, invisible emanations finding reception in the motivation of human conduct. For these have influence with the mind of man, and, hence, with the downward flight of the soul. Described by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in “Some Answered Questions” as one of the meanings of the serpent in the creational story of Genesis, and explained by Him to be “attachment” to the world, this interior, compelling natural power is, in fact, that hypnotic, miasmatic and counterfeit reality which has usurped, in the mind of man, the true sovereignty of the Merciful One. Concealing its real face in a mask of allurement, we have been unaware of its lineaments of horror and cruelty, its poverty of honor, worth or intelligence, its fiery, death-dealing lust, its fatherhood of lies and deceit, its instinctive unreasoning tyranny, or its evil suggestiveness. It is this sphinxlike countenance, traces of which we are led to believe men have attempted to enshrine in the grotesque, horrible idols common to certain nations lost in superstition, that exerts a paramount power over human destiny. This is because of the things we have in common with her, derived from the ancient inheritances. It is this benumbing and tyrannical power that, in the fulness of time, Bahá’u’lláh in the divine arena has challenged as the seducer and betrayer of mankind’s ordained destiny.
Have not the songs of the prophets illumined this historic page of humanity’s advancement with the glad tidings that in the Day of God this dragon should be cast into the pit? Granted that without the divine dynamic, lacking the penetrating power of the Word of God revealed to this generation, the people would be unable to achieve this victory and emerge from the prison of the self.
Admitting that the seeds of allegiance to natural sovereignty are implanted in the deep roots of our beings, nevertheless the revelation of knowledge from the Apex of Truth is the dispeller of superstition and ignorance. If the Divine Will has ordained this deliverance, as is clearly stated, nothing can withstand it. The regeneration of the human race is in large measure held back by ignorance of its hidden and latent powers. Largely, also, by the failure of the individual to investigate the reality and see with his own eyes. An understanding of the real produces invariably repudiation of and disgust for the counterfeit. The secrets of unity
and its irresistible power unloose the supreme forces of the Realm of Might to destroy the armies of the nether world. And today the light of unity is breaking over the horizon. “Ye are all the leaves of one tree, the drops of one sea”. Unity reinforced by the Divine Love, indeed synonymous with it, is laden with a mysterious power flowing from the Oneness of God and incorporated into the very core of creation. Informed and armed with this supreme weapon, humanity will find wings with which to rise above the water and clay and attain its true place in the boundless spaces of the Kingdom of God, the goal of its high destiny.
For Nature’s selfish isolation and discord, the True Sovereign grants union and brotherhood. For her cruelty and unreason He establishes love and heavenly knowledge. For her dark and treacherous suggestions, her hypocrises, her sanguinary wars, and her economic injustice, He bestows guidance, truth, order and that happiness that the exile feels when at last he has entered his real home.
“The exigencies of the world of nature are essential to it. One of the exigencies of the world of nature is war. Another of the exigencies of the world of nature is treachery. See how they are warring! Now the world of nature has no will power. Man acts according to the requirements of nature. In the world of nature there is treachery and deceit. Consider what the cat does with the mouse, and the for does with its prey. In the world of nature there is separation, there is the struggle for existence. These are the natural tendencies. This is irresistible.
“That which saves man from the world of nature is the Power of God. It is faith. It is the fear of God and it will make man an angel—it transforms him. It acts opposite to that of nature. It breaks the sovereignty of nature and without this (power) it is not possible.”
This is the concluding part of the author’s story of the Russian poet who gave to the world three celebrated writings about the Bahá’i Teachings. Herein we find reference to the poet's book on Bahá’u’lláh, her visit with ‘Abdu'l-Bahá in Ramleh, Egypt, and further comment on the remarkable reception her books have received.
NOW I shall speak of the tragedy-poem “Bahá’u’lláh.” Mrs. Grinevsky wrote me how she received the inspiration to write it. She said: “Among the many letters which I received from unknown people, all writing me about my play, ‘Bab’, was one from a gentleman who to my astonishment had a profound knowledge not only of the Báb but also of Bahá’u’lláh. Like the Báb, until 1903, Bahá’u’lláh was generally unknown even among the cultured classes, professors sometimes asking me who my hero was. Even one (Czarist) politician had once asked me, ‘What is Bahá’u’lláh?’ Not who, mind you, but what? So I was all the more impressed to hear from my Russian provincial correspondent the name of Bahá’u’lláh. He said in his note: ‘I was fascinated by the poem Báb like a youth though I am not a youth in years. I have passed two faculties of the university and have in my library all the available works which appear in the literature of the world.’”
“He counselled me”, Mrs. Grinevsky says, “to compose a tragedy about the life of Bahá’u’lláh. I myself had thought of it but had been so occupied I had never attempted it; now I determined to undertake this big work. I always remember with gratitude the memory of this Russian gentleman who was not a
Bahá’i but a man of great heart. He passed on before my work was published, and I never met him. His name was Nicolas Zazuline; he, as I knew, was president of the nobility in Kishinef and the author of several philosophical treatises.”
She continues: “When my work was finished and notices about it appeared in the press, a number of people who had assisted at the representations of my poem ‘Báb’, and had heard my conferences about that poem which I gave many times, asked me to prepare a lecture about my new composition. The first address about it was given in our summer capital Siestroretzk and afterwards I also lectured in the capital itself at the Society of Oratorical Arts’ Hall, in the year 1910.”
Mrs. Grinevsky explained that when her Bahá’i correspondent of Báku, Mirza Ali Akber Mamedhanly, read in the newspapers that the work was finished, (he had known from her that it was being written) he asked to have a copy sent to him. She mailed to him several excerpts from the poem. A few weeks later she was amazed to receive a telegram from him saying: “‘Abdu’l-Bahá permits us to visit Him in Egypt.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was at that time making a short stay in Egypt.
She writes in her letter to me: “That had been my secret, my innermost desire, to see with my own
eyes those people whom I had described, who, as my correspondent said, ‘love all mankind’. I had thought it absolutely impossible, and yet, unexpectedly, wonderfully, it had come to pass that I could go to see even the greatest of those people! I started from Russia with my manuscript of the poem Bahá’u’lláh in December, 1910, my aim being to see the surroundings of my dreams, of my fancy, about which my former respectful correspondent and present fellow-traveler in that journey to Egypt had spoken-to see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!”
SEVEN years had passed between
the appearance of the drama
“Báb” and the concluding of the
tragedy “Bahá’u’lláh” followed by
this memorable journey. Mrs.
Grinevsky spent two weeks in Ramleh,
Egypt, as the guest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
After she returned to Russia
she had several letters or tablets
from Him. In one of these
He speaks of an article which He
had just received about her poem
“Bahá’u’lláh”. From the Tablet
(or letter) addressed to Madame
Grinevsky and signed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
I quote:
“The article which was published in the Saint Petersbourg Journal about thy recent book (Bahá’u’lláh) was in the utmost eloquence and fluency. It was an indication of thy praiseworthy services. The publication of such articles is very useful. They are conducive to the promotion of the divine Call. Praise be to God that thou art assisted in the service of the world of humanity and art spreading the summons of the Kingdom of God. Day and night thou must praise God that thou art assisted to perform such a great service. Rest thou assured that that which is the utmost desire* of thy heart shall come to pass concerning this matter.
“This seed which thou has sowed shall grow. If the means are not available at present, unquestionably they will become
* In a footnote Mrs. Grinevsky adds that her utmost desire which she had expressed in Ramleh had been that her poems might be translated into European languages. The poem “Báb” has been translated into German and French, but the poem “Bahá’u’lláh is still untranslated.
realized. I pray in thy behalf that thou mayest become confirmed in the uninterrupted service of the Kingdom of God.”
The article which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá mentions in His tablet had been published in the French newspaper “Journal de Saint-Petersbourg” January, 1912. The headline was “Bahá’u’lláh”. I quote paragraphs from this review: “Bahá’u’lláh means the Glory of God—such is the title of the new tragedy with which Mrs. Isabel Grinevsky has enriched Russian dramatic literature. We must praise without restriction a work whose high, dramatic significance is combined with admirable form. The author of the drama ‘Báb’, that work of such strong thought, has never attained such a powerful conception as this poem.
“The mind of the reader, attracted by a rhythm of an unspeakably harmonious poetry, rises imperceptibly to summits where the most grave problems are discussed, problems over which thoughtful humanity bends with fear and despair, helpless to solve them. The characters are analyzed with great psychological insight.
“Bahá’u’lláh, the central figure, is depicted with the clearness and power of an antique high-relief. The complexity of that elect-nature is presented with the authority and truth of the great masters of the classical theater. What a lofty lesson, what eloquence sursum corda in that life of pure bounty, of selflessness in that wide desire to spread peace!
“How not to be moved, fascinated by the nobility of this Apostolic character?
“As in the ‘Báb’, the events touch the great religious movement which roused the country of Persia in the middle of the last century. The historical part is exact. Mrs. Grinevsky did not limit herself to the studies of documents, the great quantity of which we can hardly imagine; she knows the country very well. Her knowledge gives to the characters an intensive life and a warm coloring.
“The origin of a faith analyzed with the help of true science is carried forward with great art beginning with the first thought which moves the heart of the Apostle, who loves mankind as He loves His family and His own country.
“The author gives a vision, a revelation of all that is hidden of moving, precious depths in that supreme struggle. The liberating pain, the majesty of effort, the active bounty—all these elements of that struggle remain ordinarily unattainable for the crowd which cannot fathom under their austere dogmas, one of the beautiful forms of human unity.
“The love, the deep necessity which lives in each human heart passes throughout the tragedy as an undercurrent, the fountain-head of which, never drying, remains hidden to the exterior world.
“That beautiful and bold work points a return to the school of majesty and aesthetic morality, the aspiration to the eternal truth, which are the indelible character of permanent works. We foretell for this book a most merited success. Humanity, be it to its credit, is tired of the histories of the impure which spoil the taste and soil the mind. It cannot but receive with enthusiasm a work of which the
most civilized countries of Europe will be proud.”
MRS. GRINEVSKY, returning from
Ramleh in January, 1911, gave interviews
to the press at Odessa, the
Russian port of the Black Sea, and
as soon as she reached home she began
her book, “A Journey to the
Countries of the Sun”, which is an
account of her visit to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
This was interrupted because
in the summer of 1912 she was
called to Paris by the French translator
of “Báb”, Madame Halperin.
When she came again to Leningrad
she immediately began the publication
of the drama “Bahá’u’lláh” so
that it was not until 1914 that she
completed the manuscript of “A
Journey to the Countries of the
Sun”. It is interesting to note that
when she completed it, three Persians,
Assad-Ullah Namdor of Moscow,
Ali Akbar Kamalof of Táshkand
and an old Persian Bahá’i
friend whom she had met at Port
Said came to call upon her and she
read to them many parts from the
“Journey”, the central figure of
which is ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This book
of 550 pages has not yet been published
because at this time the
world war commenced; neither has
it yet been translated into other
languages.
May this great Russian poet, Mrs. Isabel Grinevsky, who has made such a cultural contribution to literature and to the Bahá’i Movement some day see all her works translated into European languages! The English reading world eagerly awaits them, I know, for many inquiries come from the United States asking where it is possible to get these books in Russian, in French, or in German!
Mirza Ali Kuli Khan, descendant of an ancient and noble family of Persia, and formerly for many years chief diplomatic representative of that country to the United States, is too well known to the Bahá’i world to need any introduction to our readers. We appreciate this interesting and valuable statement of his earlier work—combined with that of the renowned teacher, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl—in planting the seeds of the Bahá’i Cause in America.
IN 1901 I arrived in Washington, D. C., in company with the great Bahá'i teacher and philosopher, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl, the author of The Bahá’i Proofs and other works on the interpretation of propehtic lore. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the great Master Whom I served in the Prison City of ‘Akká, Palestine, for about fifteen months as amanuensis and interpreter, had sent me to this country to cooperate with, and act as interpreter and translator for, Mirza Abu’l-Fadl, besides carrying forward the translation of Bahá’i books, epistles and Tablets in the interest of the American seekers.
Previous to coming here, we had spent several months in Chicago in spreading the gladtidings of the new world religion revealed by Bahá’u’lláh.
In Washington a small group of men and women were drawn to our gatherings and meetings which were held for the public, besides the afternoon classes which Mirza Abu’l-Fadl conducted in our own living quarters.
I remember many a young mother and father with one or more infants, some in baby carriages and others holding the parent’s hand. I cannot forget how those young mothers and fathers came to us as seekers, and when I would translate
Mirza’s words concerning the new Revelation, in some instances I would be surprised that my words met with, what I then thought, seeming indifference. But, as facts proved later on, those young people had, in their own words, been awe-struck by the overpowering announcement of the new Revelation for the awakening of mankind. That meant that in them the Message had struck fire. The rebirth which followed has since found language in life-long careers of service in the Bahá’i Faith in which those young seekers attracted their families and friends as coworkers in a field which now, after a generation, has numberless devoted workers not only in Washington and the United States but around the world.
These are but instances of the fire of conviction which was set ablaze by the eternal Truth—a Truth which creates a world-wide conflagration before which all else save true love and service is consumed. For the story of these individuals is but one of many which could be told with equal effectiveness in depicting the slow but steady progress of a Cause which knows no obstacles and penetrates all barriers.
HOW WELL DO I remember working
with Mirza Abu’l-Fadl, that holy soul in his flowing Oriental raiment, walking with him on the streets of Washington while on the way to our weekly public meetings, or to our almost daily lessons.
In our walks Mirza Abu’l-Fadl related what he, in a prophetic vision, saw would come to pass, namely, that out of the seeds then sown amongst a few people of no apparent importance, in a worldly sense, would eventuate a harvest of noble and sincere men and women who would sacrifice all personal interests in their eager desire to contribute to the sum total of human happiness.
Today, thirty-two years after that time, I am again in Washington, and by invitation of the Bahá’i Committees of this city, I have the privilege of spreading the glorious message of Bahá’u’lláh in the nation’s capital. I hardly dreamt, however, that while in Washington this time, I would be rewarded, too, with the vision of those devoted hearts in which my combined services with Mirza Abu’l-Fadl had sown the seeds so many years ago.
What I have seen since returning East has been truly miraculous. When arriving in Chicago last November, I was first shown the glorious dome of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár—the Bahá’i Temple of Light—which, during my first visit to that city, had no existence but in the Words of the Manifestation.
The miraculous thing about the development of a bountiful harvest out of a few seeds scattered at random by seemingly aimless hands, is the total absence of any material and temporal means and instrumentalities
employed in all worldly pursuits. No man of wealth has contributed to the world-wide spread of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, and nothing but the Power of the Word of God which found language in the pure lives of thousands of martyrs and early believers in Persia has created a spiritual foundation which according to the greatest impartial thinkers of the Orient, Europe and America, has had no parallel since the Man of Nazareth challenged the hosts of darkness and iniquity.
The Glorious Bahá’i Temple in Wilmette—the House of Worship for every member of the human race—is the inspiration of every visitor, and has come into being through the sacrifices of Bahá’i workers and humble believers all over the world who have contributed their mite for the erection of this noble structure.
TO ONE uninformed of the real
purpose of Bahá’i institutions,
such a Temple and such gatherings
of scattered multitudes in various
parts of the world, known as Bahá’i
workers, is of no particular importance,
but to a student of world conditions
who considers the dire
calamities with which humanity is
in this day beset as due to the universal
departure from the path of
spiritual guidance,—the appearance
during the last eighty-five
years of a community clad in the
armor of a new spiritual conviction
which proclaims the efficacy of
spiritual Truth before a doubting
world and supports this proclamation
not only through the pure and
regenerated lives of its members
but by the blood of thousands of martyrs, is verily a unique world phenomenon which has far reaching results—for it embodies the principles of all the revealed religions besides possessing effectiveness and power which make those principles part and parcel of the life of every human being.
Thus to the man of vision this new phenomenon is—upon a more universal scale—the recurrence of the leavening process which, in the Words of Jesus, was destined to leaven the whole lump through a handful of disciples.
The world might consider such a claim as an exaggeration. But had the world seen what I saw, as a youth, in my long association with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and later during my many years of service,—witnessing the steady development of His noble spirit in the Bahá’i institutions everywhere—it would realize that marvelous as these achievements are, they are but the faint light of an early dawn as compared to the world-illuminating rays of the sun when reaching the meridian of its glory.
One word should suffice to support this forecast and that is that whereas all other world movements of every nature and type are centered upon the attainment of some personal aim and advantage, the Bahá’i community—under the guidance of its great Guardian—whether in the individual lives and pursuits of its adherents or in the collective efforts of its administration as expressed in its numerous local and national elective Assemblies—is the only world movement solely dedicated
* From the teachings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
to the common weal and happiness of mankind.
In other words, according to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, all men are God’s precious trust and are equally important in His eye; love for God and service to Him must find expression in love and service to man irrespective of race, religion or class; and “we must see the Face of God in every face, the beauty of God in every countenance.”*
During the last few months since my return to the Eastern Coast 1 have seen the application of these noble principles in many gatherings of the friends in the most important cities where successive contact both day and night has given me the privilege of seeing with my own eyes the steady increase, not only in numbers but in soul quality of many devoted men and women in the Bahá’i communities who are the spiritual descendants of the early seekers known to us a generation ago.
AMONG THEM the Bahá’i youth
are manifesting great seriousness
and a vision of the future, and with
these a reverence for the old believers
who have weathered many
tests in the years of storm and
stress experienced by every true
Bahá’i in his progress towards
spiritual maturity. For the Bahá’i
youth, far from being carried away
by the zeal and virile aggressiveness
which makes them so gloriously
successful in the field of service,
constantly bear in mind that the
older friends are verily the link between
the day of the Master ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
and that of the Guardian
Shoghi Effendi, and constitute the bridge which spans the Day of Mercy—the Day of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—and the Day of Justice, namely, the day of the Guardian who is to prepare the way for the universal application of justice tempered by grace. The Master used to say that that which in reality constitutes youth is not tender years but the capacity to adopt new Truths and apply them to life; and that which suggests old age is not length of years but lack of capacity to countenance new facts.
Under the guidance of the new Revelation the Bahá’i religion imparts a new spirit of faith and effects rebirth in young and old, and
thus eliminates the chasm between youth and age.
It is a source of blessing to the world today that in Bahá’i communities old and young, humble and mighty have merged all distinctive and divisive features in the united aim to secure human redemption and effect the realization of the reign of universal consciousness.
“Praise be to God! in this century of illumination,” said ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “hearts are inclined toward agreement and fellowship, and minds are thoughtful upon the question of the unification of mankind. There is an emanation of the universal consciousness today which clearly indicates the dawn of a great unity.”
"This Cause has become worldwide. In a short space of time it has permeated throughout all regions, for it has a magnetic power which attracts all intelligent men and women to this center. If a person become informed of the reality of this Cause he will believe in it for these teachings are the spirit of this age.
“The Bahá’i Movement imparts life. It is the cause of love and amity amongst mankind. It establishes communication between various nations and religions. It removes all antagonisms and when this Cause is fully spread . . ., warfare will be a thing of the past, universal peace will be realized, the oneness of the world of humanity will be recognized, and religion and science will work hand in hand.
“The Bahá’i Movement bestows upon man a new spirit, a new light, and a new motion. It enlarges the sphere of thought. It illumines the horizon of the intellect. It expands the arena of comprehension.
“This is the ultimate goal of human life. This is the fruit of existence. This is the brilliant pearl of cosmic consciousness. This is the shining star of spiritual destiny.”
IN THE BRIEF five years that have passed since the first commercial telephone circuit between Europe and North America was put in operation, great progress has been made toward the ideal of making it possible to talk from any telephone to any other telephone in the world.
The international telephone system is of importance to world understanding in the same sense that the postal system and the cable networks promote good will and commerce.
THERE ARE now thirty-seven intercontinental telephone circuits totaling
168,000 miles in length. All of them are radio circuits, all but one operating
on short waves. But plans have already been made to supplement the important
route between Europe and North America with a telephone cable.
Wire instead of wireless links between the continents promise to be important
in the future.
At present the following ocean-bound areas can communicate directly with each other; North America and Europe, North America and South America, Europe and South America, Europe and Eastern Asia, Europe and Australia and Java, North America and Hawaii, Eastern Asia and Java. The Americas communicate with Australia and Java by way of Europe. Proposed direct connections to be established in the near future include links between North America and Eastern Asia and between Europe and South Africa.
SOME OF the difficulties in intercontinental telephony are time differences
and language barriers. Considering an eight-hour business day, for any city
there is a third of the earth’s surface on which the time is so different from
that city that there is no overlap of the business day. Western United States
has time differences of more than eight hours with a large part of Europe, Asia
and Africa. Western Europe has few important centers in the world with
which it cannot communicate within the business day because the Pacific Ocean
conveniently swallows the third of the world which would be inarticulate during
European business hours. However, during the waking day there is an
overlap of any two world points.
OFTEN TELEPHONE operators at two distant world points cannot talk to each other directly, even if they are competent in several languages. The subscribers often have difficulty in conversing from distant localities because both may be using a language not their mother tongue. This causes the telephone engineers to strive to make standards of transmissions still higher in order that the difficulties of using unfamiliar languages may be minimized.
As world telephoning becomes more general, it may even be necessary to use some sort of neutral world language, like Esperanto, in the routine conversations between trans-continental operators. A relatively small vocabulary of several hundred words would probably suffice and this might be a powerful impetus to the adoption of an international auxiliary language.
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.
