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| VOL. 24 | SEPTEMBER, 1933 | No. 6 |
THE BAHA'I TEMPLE
"This vast endeavor is unparalleled in modern times in its world-wide range, its spontaneity, its heroic and holy character."
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 | SEPTEMBER, 1933 | No. 6 |
The Divine Physician, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá | 162 |
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, Shoghi Effendi, | 174 |
Editorial, Stanwood Cobb | 163 |
The Second Century of Progress, Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick | 166 |
A World At Peace—Bahá’i Administration as Presented to a Group of Free-Thinkers, Part 2, Election of Administrative Bodies, Keith Ransom-Kehler | 170 |
The Spell of the Temple, Allen B. McDaniel | 175 |
One Hundred Years of Scientific Thinking, Glenn A. Shook | 181 |
A Century of Progress in Education, Genevieve L. Coy, Ph. D. | 185 |
Awakening to Reality, Louis G. Gregory | 189 |
The Century of Progress Exposition, A Few Impressions, Sylvia Paine | 191 |
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 LEROY IOAS LOULIE MATHEWS MAY MAXWELL DORIS McKAY SYLVIA PAYNE International MARTHA L. ROOT |
ANNIE B. ROMER Great Britain Persia Japan and China Egypt |
Subscriptions: $3.00 per year; 25 cents a copy. Two copies to same name and address, $5.00 per year. Please send change of address by the middle of the month and be sure to send OLD as well as NEW address. Kindly send all communications and make postoffice orders and checks payable to The 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.
WHEN Christ appeared with those marvelous breaths of the Holy Spirit, the children of Israel said, “we are quite independent of Him; we can do without Him and follow Moses; we have a Book and in it are found the teachings of God, what need, therefore, have we of this man?”
It is possible for a man to hold to a book of medicine and say, “I have no need of a doctor; I will act according to the book; in it every disease is named, all symptoms are explained, the diagnosis of each ailment is completely written out and a prescription for each malady is furnished; therefore why do I need a doctor?” This is sheer ignorance. A physician is needed to prescribe. Through his skill the principles of the book are correctly and effectively applied until the patient is restored to health.
Christ was a Heavenly Physician. He brought spiritual health and healing into the world.
Baha’u’llah is likewise a Divine Physician. He has revealed prescriptions for removing disease from the body politic and has remedied human conditions by spiritual power.
| VOL. 24 | SEPTEMBER, 1933 | No. 6 |
The foundations of human society are changing and strengthening. Today sciences of the past are useless. . . . Ethical precedents and principles cannot be applied to the needs of the modern world. . . . All conditions and requisites of the past unfitted and inadequate for the present time, are undergoing radical reform. It is evident therefore that counterfeit and spurious religious teaching, antiquated forms of belief and ancestral imitations which are at variance with the foundations of Divine Reality must also pass away and be reformed.”
THERE HAS been a great change in religious thought, as in all other departments of human thought, during the last one hundred years. Not all of this change is in the form of progress for religion, though it may be all regarded as part of the universal evolutionary progress of humanity.
THE MOST marked change which
has come upon Christianity is due
to the comparative study of religion.
This analysis of religion
from the scientific point of view,
taking into account origins, developments,
adaptations and results, and
including in its sweep all the great
religions of the world, has started
a transformation in the traditional
Christian theology which is revolutionizing
the attitude of educated,
intelligent Christians toward other
religions.
This comparative study of religions has occurred almost wholly within the last one hundred years. In fact, the comparative, scientific attitude toward all forms of human expression and progress is relatively new. It was not until the middle of the Eighteenth Century that leaders of thought began to seek to evaluate civilization and to think
of it in terms of progress. It seems strange, that humanity should have existed during all this previous period in the unconscious, uncritical stage of preadolescence, so to speak.
The Greek philosophers, it is true did a considerable amount of such comparative thinking, but it did not then become a habit of the race. It was not until the French savants of the Encyclopedist group challenged contemporaneous human society to measure itself that Occidental nations began to form the habit of thinking in terms of progress, looking back to appreciate past achievements, looking critically at the present stage of civilization, and looking forward to envision possible improvements in the human race.
When the doctrine of evolution began to dominate human thought about the middle of the Nineteenth Century, it introduced or accelerated the comparative study of every expression of human thought or energy. In the present epoch it is so customary to think of progress in every line in terms of evolution, that without such an approach to existing things adequate understanding of life and of civilization seems inconceivable.
THE EFFECT of the doctrine of comparative study and of the doctrine of evolution upon religion, especially upon theology, has been enormous.
The previous Christian theology had been very naive, to say the least:—that the world was made by fiat instantaneously and perfect; that the Christian religion was similarly made and was similarly perfect, not only in essence but in expression; that the Christian religion was the only Truth given by God to man; and that, in consequence of this last assumption, all religions outside the Judaic dispensations were either pure chicanery and deceit or else the invention of the devil.
What was the effect upon this Christian theology of the comparative study of religion? Its first effect was to stimulate a sincere admiration for the best in other religions. Voltaire, Lessing, Goethe, and many other great leaders of thought, began to admire, and to openly express admiration for, what seemed fundamentally good in other religions. Carlyle, Olympian hurler of thunderous words, in his “Heroes and Hero Worship” came forth with a dissertation on Muhammad that presented Him as a great leader of Truth. This attitude of tolerance—of more than tolerance even, of appreciation-has been growing until it is now the typical attitude of all highly educated thoughtful people who take interest in things religious.
As a corollary to appreciation of other religions, of belief in their sincerity, authenticity and effectiveness, there has come about a momentous change in advanced Christian theology. No longer do progressive
leaders of Christian thought claim that Christ and the Hebrew prophets brought the only Spiritual Truth which has come to earth. Other teachers in other climes were also channels for God’s grace and power.
Is it true, then, that Christ was the Only-Begotten Son of God? Belief in the Trinity itself is tottering. In fact, the whole scheme of traditional Christian theology is being shattered to bits by the inroads of modern scientific thought.
THE FIRST steps toward a progressive
Christian theology were
made over a hundred years ago by
the Unitarians and Universalists.
In their beginnings these movements
were deemed so heretical as
to be dangerous to society. My
grandfather, leader in the Universalist
movement, was discharged
from his first teaching position by
the school board because his religion
would cause him to be “a
harmful influence to youth.”
Another relative told me that when
she was a little girl her parents
compelled her to avert her face
when passing the Universalist
church of her town because it was
“the abode of the devil.”
It was a Unitarian who wrote the first important book treating on the world’s religions from the point of view of sincere appreciation. Since James Freeman Clarke’s “Ten Great Religions of the World,” many books have been published on the world’s different religious systems, some appreciative, some critical in tone, but all tolerant. We no longer call Buddhism the invention of the devil because many of its teachings, ceremonies and pictographs so closely resemble those
of the medieval Christian church. We no longer accuse Muhammed of being a charlatan, realizing as Carlyle did that no charlatan can create and retain the allegiance of hundreds of millions of people; and because, too, we find much to admire sincerely in the individual and organized expression of Islam.
BUT NOW let us look upon the result
of this progress of religious
liberalism in so far as it concerns
the depth and warmth of spiritual
life. Here the results have been the
opposite of progress—a corresponding
falling away in faith, in
earnestness, in sincerity of expression
of the religious life, in exact
proportion to the gains in religious
tolerance and liberalism.
This concomitant weakening of the religious life was inevitable. It has always occurred when great religious systems have met in rival claims before a tolerant audience. Such a situation is bound to produce the attitude of latitudinarianism and eclecticism. “Man is the measure of all things,” said the Greek sophists. “I shall choose from the rival claims of existing religions that which suits me best,” said the cultured Roman citizen of the period of the Empire. “I will believe what I like best to believe,” declares the cultured citizen of the Twentieth Century.
This liberalism is good in so far as it involves a sincere search for Truth, but harmful if it eventuates in the denial of all authority in religion. For if we remove the factor of Authority and Revelation from religion, we really have no religion left, we have only philosophy.
And so we perceive today,-that liberal people tend to be philosophic
in their breadth of thought, but not religious in the essential meaning of the word. They lack reverence, the habit of obedience to God, the effective use of prayer. While they have gained in breadth, they have lost in depth. While they have grown in tolerance they have waned in zeal. And exactly the same transition is occurring in Islam, in Buddhism, in Judaism, in Confucianism, wherever contacted by Western scientific thought.
NOW HERE is the resultant problem—the
greatest religious problem
of the day. How are modern religionists
to retain the broad universal
attitude which is characteristic
of the age, and yet at the same time
preserve that deep inner Fire without
which no religion is worthy of
the name?
May we suggest that the evolutionary development of religious tolerance and eclecticism during the past hundred years has been but a preparation for a new and universal World Religion? It has been the clearing away of the debris of the past–the fabric of human thought built over and concealing the great foundations of undying Truth brought by the Prophets. It has been a preparation for a new Construction—an Edifice under whose roof all mankind may join in unison, in praise and prayer to God.
Such an Edifice exists in the New World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. And its outward symbol is already taking form on the shore of Lake Michigan—the new Bahá’i Temple the architecture of which is inspiring to all lovers of the beautiful, as its spiritual exercises are inspiring to all lovers of the Spiritual.
“There is one God; mankind is one‘; the foundations of religion are one. . . . Men have always been taught and led by the Prophets of God. The Prophets of God are the Mediators of God. All the Prophets and Messengers have come from one Holy Spirit and bear the message of God fitted to the age in which they appear. The one light is in them and they are one with each other.”—‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
MY friend and I spent many days studying the exhibits of the Century of Progress Exposition going from building to building, from exhibit to exhibit,—truly marvelous exhibits arranged with the modern mastery of art and skill to appeal to the eye,—the last word in visual education.
Finally we came to the Hall of Religion. Here too we studied thoughtfully the plan and exhibits, listened to a talk, then sat down to meditate. Questions arose. What connection has this building and what it stands for with all the rest? I recalled a certain talk by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, found the place and reread it. “From every standpoint,” He says, “the world of humanity is undergoing a re-formation. The laws of former governments and civilizations are in process of revision, scientific ideas and theories are developing and advancing to meet a new range of phenomena, inventions and discovery are penetrating hitherto unknown fields revealing new wonders and hidden secrets of the material universe; industries have vastly wider scope and production; everywhere the world of mankind is in the throes of evolutionary activity indicating the passing of the old conditions and the advent of the new age of re-formation.”*
What greater illustration of a part of these words could there be than this Century of Progress Exposition?
* Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 434.
Here they are—the inventions and discoveries “revealing new wonders and hidden secrets of the material universe,” all gathered together in these vast buildings so that he who runs may read. And then we asked ourselves if there was some meaning to all these wonders that was not so easy to read, an inner significance which those who planned this enterprise and the great masses of observers had not penetrated. We thought too of conditions in European and Asiatic countries, of China, India, Russia, Germany and how truly they bear witness to the words “The laws of former governments and civilizations are in the process of revision.” Surely there is a connection between the seeming decay and disintegration of governments, the stagnation of business and industry in our own country as well as countries all over the world and the great progress in science and invention shown here in Chicago’s great World Fair. What is the meaning of the words “everywhere the world of mankind is in the throes of evolutionary activity indicating the passing of the old conditions and the advent of the new age of reformation?”
FARTHER on in this talk already referred to, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, “This is the cycle of maturity and reformation in religion as well.”
Perhaps if we understood better the true significance of religion we would understand better the seeming contradiction between great scientific advancement and the chaos and confusion in the world, perhaps we would better understand the “advent of the new age of re-formation.” We recall the words of Bahá’u’lláh, “Religion is the greatest instrument for the order of the world and the tranquility of all existent beings.”* Can it be the fading of religion that is the cause of so much disorganization and at the same time a re-formation and renewing of religion that is giving birth to new scientific discoveries and inventions? This is the explanation that the Bahá’i teachings give and the only one that adequately explains such seeming contradictions in scientific advance and governmental, industrial, and economic retrogradation. The old age is dying at the same time that a new one is being born. We find evidences of both. And the Bahá’i teachings assure us that the basis of the new age is religion, a powerful influx of new spiritual life.
WHAT DO we find in the Hall of
Religion suggesting re-formation
in religion? What that we would
not have found in such an exhibit a
century ago? Adorning the walls
of the octagonal rotunda are murals
representing some of the great religions
of the world. These lead us
to reflect upon the universality of
religious desire and aspiration and
suggest that God has sent many
Holy Messengers to the world. The
exhibits of the many sects and
denominations seem to emphasize
the divisive elements in Christianity,
* Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 49.
but here is a large exhibit made by the cooperation of some six or eight Christian denominations who have forgotten their differences in creed in working for a common end. Religious welfare organizations both Jewish and Gentile tell “the services which religion has recorded in the past century, and the continuing service which the next century may be expected to open to religious bodies.” Exhibits of hospital and mission work in various fields show the great growth in the socialized efforts to obey Christ’s injunction, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ye have done it unto me.” An exhibit showing the development of church architecture attracts and interests us. This is international and in spirit seems to reach out in an aspiration for unity. A “Chapel of Meditation” invites people of all and every faith to take time for quiet communion or meditation. Yet what thrilling and overwhelming events have taken place in the world of religion in the past century of which this exposition takes little account.
What could be added to these interesting exhibits in the Hall of Religion to give people an opportunity to get a glimpse of and grasp this great Truth, that the dying of an old religious era explains the chaos and degeneration, and the coming of a new Messenger of God, giving birth to a new or renewed religion explains the awakening in science, art, inventions and other fruits of the human mind. Institutions, creeds, forms of government die slowly. Individual minds react more quickly to spiritual forces, often unaware though they be of the
Source. When enough souls are awakened to cooperate, new governments and new social orders are formed.
SO THESE two Bahá’is, after
meditating in the chapel of the Hall
of Religion, planned together several
exhibits which they would like
to add to those already in place.
By pageant or picture would be represented
the life and teachings of
the radiant youth, the Messenger of
God, the Báb, Who declared His
mission in 1844, a little less than a
century ago; Who stated that that
mission was to usher in a new age
and to prepare the way for One
greater than He. Could justice be
done to that brief, eventful life, so
full of dramatic as well as spiritual
interest, in a series of pictures? No,
but the facts must be made known
to the world. Already a powerful
drama1 has been written setting out
this brief life, tragic yet victorious.
Similarly would be depicted the life and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh Who came as foretold by the Báb, Who radiated the spirit of life, Who changed men’s lives so that they were filled with spiritual life; Whose life, like that of the Báb, followed the path of sacrifice, and Who taught people by His precepts and His life how to bring in the new age, the age of peace and justice. Even the outward events of the long life of this Messenger of God, the exiles, the imprisonments, the years of privation, the endurance, the boundless love and signs of infinite power cause men to give heed.
His claims were stupendous. He claimed that the words which He uttered were the words of God,
1 See Bahá’i Magazine, Vol. 24, p. 14. 2 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 282.
powerful, creative. By His life and teachings He has shown us how to use all these material bounties, these marvelous inventions so as to bring necessities and comforts to all. “Bahá’u’lláh has announced that no matter how far the world of humanity may advance in material civilization, it is nevertheless in need of spiritual virtues and the bounties of God. The spirit of man is not illumined and quickened through material sources. It is not resuscitated by investigating phenomena of the world of matter. The spirit of man is in need of the protection of the Holy Spirit. Just as he advances by progressive stages from the mere physical world of being into the intellectual realm, so must he develop upward in moral attributes and spiritual graces. In the process of this attainment he is ever in need of the bestowals of the Holy Spirit. Material development may be likened to the glass whereas divine virtues and spiritual susceptibilities are the light within the glass.”2
THAT MEN may understand the
teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and so
learn how rightly to use God’s
bounteous material bestowals, the
basic principles which He taught
must be visualized. The as yet
little understood principles of the
Oneness of Mankind and the Oneness
of all Religions must be pictured
and the principles which grow
out of these and are the crying
needs of the world today: Universal
peace; the establishment of a Universal
League of Nations, of international
arbitration and an International
Parliament; the adoption
of an international auxiliary language
taught in all the schools of the world; compulsory education all over the world—especially for girls who will be the mothers and first educators of the next generation; equal opportunities of development and equal rights and privileges for both sexes; work for all, no idle rich and no idle poor; work in the spirit of service is worship; abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty; care of the needy. All these should be depicted with such skill and art as to bring home to each thoughtful observer that they are the outgrowth of an awakened consciousness of the oneness of mankind and the oneness of religion, and that they form the firm foundation on which the new age must be built.
Then let a great chart show a shining Sun of Truth sending forth rays of truth and power which flood the earth with light and knowledge and are received in the mirrors of men’s hearts and minds and are reflected to others of mankind. Some minds catch the rays which are reflected as scientific discoveries, others those which produce art, and many others those which produce all forms of learning, knowledge, wisdom, justice and divine virtues. On this chart would be printed these words of Bahá’u’lláh:
“Its light (i. e. the light of the Sun of Truth) when cast on the mirrors
of the wise gives expression of wisdom, when reflected from the minds of artists, produces manifestations of new and beautiful arts; when it shines through the minds of students, it reveals and unfolds mysteries.”
WOULD SUCH a series of exhibits
help people to unify this Century of
Progress Exposition, help people to
understand that all truth comes
from the great Sun of Truth and is
at source one; that there is a great
unity and not a conflict between true
science and true religion since all
is truth and truth is one; that the
world needs a divine inspiration in
order rightly to use the bounteous
gifts of material progress developed
in the last century and so marvelously
set out in this Exposition;
that “no matter how far the world
of humanity may advance in material
civilization, it is nevertheless
in need of spiritual virtues and the
bounties of God.”
We look around again. These dreamed-of exhibits are not here. But is not mankind nearly ready to measure up to the standards Bahá’u’lláh has established? Surely at the end of the next century those principles will be accepted, the “new age of re-formation” will be well established, and this Century of Progress Exposition will be looked back upon as just a beginning of progress.
“To accomplish this great and needful unity in the reality, His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh appeared in the Orient and renewed the foundations of the divine teachings. His Revelation of the Word embodies completely the teachings of all the prophets expressed in principles and precepts applicable to the needs and conditions of the modern world; amplified and adapted to present day questions and critical human problems.”—‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
“In the election of the members of the Spiritual Assembly no political tactics shall enter. They [the Bahá’is] must be free from self, nor anxious to further their own personal ambitions. . . . As soon as political plans are introduced in the Cause, the spirit is killed. . . . This Cause is pure spirituality.”—‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
EVERY Bahá’i of the age of twenty-one and over has the voting privilege, men and women alike: they vote for those who are to administer the affairs of the Cause locally and they vote for delegates who elect their national administrative body.
The manner of voting is unique. There are no parties, no candidates, no nominations. Canvassing and electioneering are strictly forbidden. On the first day of the Festival of Ridván each year the Bahá’is gather for their elections. Presumably in towns where there are large numbers there will be several polling places.
To be eligible for the administrative body, called in Bahá’i terminology an “Assembly”, the first requirement is honesty of purpose; this is a matter of character–integrity, frankness, truthfulness, reliability. Then, in whatever order, comes loyalty to Bahá’u’lláh, His provisions and teachings; this means faith, spirituality, humility, self-effacement. Equally indispensable are knowledge and enlightenment, while experience in affairs completes the first essentials.
At a designated hour the groups gather. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the oldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, appointed by Him to interpret His Words and administer
* Part ot this article, published in the August number stressed the importance of religion as the foundation of civilization. ** Bahá’i Administration, p. 10.
His Cause, promises that when the Bahá’is so gather, united in heart and purpose, and turn in prayer toward the glorious Kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit will guide and direct them in their choice of an Assembly.
Those who do not believe that there is such a thing as a Holy Spirit or a Kingdom of God must clearly recognize, from historical and sociological evidence, the astonishing influence which these ideas have always exerted over those who do accept them. It is not my purpose here to discuss metaphysical questions, but to exhibit a scheme wherein men may administer without conflict, strife or alienation.
At present the Assembly consists of nine members but as the Cause grows its numbers must necessarily increase for it conducts local legislation—(the National Assembly, national; and the International House of Justice, international law-making, except as provided in the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh**)—as well as exercising the executive and judicial functions. It will probably require in future very large numbers to carry through all of these requirements in the great centers of population.
The elections have now been accomplished
without contest, majorities or minorities. The nine names with the largest number of votes are declared elected—a plurality process. For if the Holy Spirit be governing and directing the elections, as every Bahá’i heartily believes, to ballot several times for a majority of votes would clearly disturb the first guidance; not that the Holy Spirit could not continue to guide through any number of ballots, but it would entail unnecessary delay and complication, and Would lose the spontaneity of the first choice.
In advance of the election not only have no names been mentioned, no preferences asserted, for this would not represent the spiritual guidance promised at a definite moment under definite circumstances; but since no one is nominated previously there can be no platform, no campaign promises, no control by this or that interest.
Delegates meeting in an annual convention elect in a similar manner the nine members of the national administrative body, while the members of these secondary groups elect in turn the International House of Justice.
IN SCIENCE and in philosophy we have “emergents,” elements which suddenly appearing change the whole trend of past conditions. Man, homo sapiens, is an example on the one hand; inductive reasoning, on the other. Bahá’u’lláh has released an emergent comparable to these in His government by consultation. For the first time in human history man is equipped with a method whereby he can rise above the strife and antagonism of party conflicts.
According to the requirements of consultation no personal prestige is sought, there can be no effort to uphold this opinion at the expense of that, no desire to suppress that man or measure, because these Assemblies are seeking neither individual aggrandizement nor the approval of constituencies but—odd, simple and startling as it may sound—are disinterestedly seeking to find the Truth.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá outlines the mechanism of Bahá’i Administration, through these consultative bodies, in the following words:
“In this day, assemblies of consultation are of the greatest importance and a vital necessity. Obedience unto them is essential and obligatory. The members thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be attained when every member expresseth with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his argument. Should any one oppose, he must on no account feel hurt for not until matters are fully discussed can the right way be revealed. The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions. If after discussion, a decision be carried unanimously, well and good; but if, the Lord forbid, differences of opinion should arise, a majority of voices must prevail.”
“The first condition is absolute love and harmony amongst the members of the assembly. They must be wholly free from estrangement and must manifest in themselves the Unity of God, for they are the waves of one sea, the drops of one river, the stars of one
heaven, the rays of one sun, the trees of one orchard, the flowers of one garden. Should harmony of thought and absolute unity be non-existent, that gathering shall be dispersed and that assembly be brought to naught.
“The second condition:-They must when coming together turn their faces to the Kingdom on High and ask aid from the Realm of Glory. They must then proceed with the utmost devotion, courtesy, dignity, care and moderation to express their views. They must in every matter search out the truth and not insist upon their own opinion, for stubbornness and persistence in one’s views will lead ultimately to discord and wrangling and the truth will remain hidden.
“The honored members must with all freedom express their own thoughts, and it is in no wise permissible for one to belittle the thought of another, nay, he must with moderation set forth the truth, and should differences of opinion arise a majority of voices must prevail, and all must obey and submit to the majority. It is again not permitted that any one of the honored members object to or censure, whether in or out of the meeting, any decision arrived at previously, though that decision be not right, for such criticism would prevent any decision from being enforced. In short, whatsoever thing is arranged in harmony and with love and purity of motive, its result is light, and should the least trace of estrangement prevail the result shall be darkness upon darkness. . . . If this be so regarded, that assembly shall be of God, but otherwise it shall lead to coolness and
alienation that proceed from the Evil One. Discussions must all be confined to spiritual matters that pertain to the training of souls, the instruction of children, the relief of the poor, the help of the feeble throughout all classes in the world, kindness to all peoples, the diffusion of the fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Holy Word. Should they endeavor to fulfill these conditions the Grace of the Holy Spirit shall be vouchsafed unto them, and that assembly shall become the center of the Divine blessings, the hosts of Divine confirmation shall come to their aid, and they shall day by day receive a new effusion of Spirit.”
Thus we see why there can be no platform, no prearranged program, no pledges, no campaigns, no nominations, no constituencies. Any or all of these imply the curtailing of absolute freedom in the expression of opinion, and the guidance, not of God, but of human whims, desires and passions.
BUT THE PRACTICAL man at once
inquires, “Where are these beings
to be found, who have freed themselves
from opinionation, bias and
a desire for domination? We read
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s requirements but is
it possible that one such person can
be found in the Bahá’i or any other
community at the present time, far
less nine?”
Of course there is not a super-abundance of such people in the world. If there were we would have no need for Bahá’u’lláh and His Message. But ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that the nucleus of a new humanity is forming (which is evident in innumerable social attitudes) wherein
are these two elements: the fundamental verity of cooperation, unity, harmony and accord seeking, as it has sought from the beginning of the human experiment, to assert itself; and the earnest desire of men to extend to these attributes asylum and hospitality. These conditions can create an untried and unknown synthesis of progress, assurance and protection in the world.
SIGHT and light have climbed the
ladder of biological and physical
experience side by side. That first
tiny faintly sensitive pigment spot
upon which the hosts of radiance
were beating for ages in their
search for reception and recognition,
finally became the exquisitely
developed function of sight in the
human eye. So at last Bahá’u’lláh
has presented to Unity and Truth,
the twin builders of whatever success
or security has been attained
historically, that minute organ
whereby, through the development
of Bahá’i consultation, they may
pervade and quicken our consciousness
as through the eye light pervades
the whole personality.
By truth I mean the pragmatic function of achieving the greatest
good for the greatest number in the full significance of the word “great;” by unity, the harmonious action of innumerably different groups, classes, nations, individuals in voluntary allegiance to a common method of seeking an exalted goal. It is now a mere platitude to say that unity does not involve uniformity and that Truth is not a rigid, static datum, but a process whose rich content yields more abundantly to those who serve its exacting requirements.
Even admitting that Truth is a Platonic Idea; that it has an aloof and independent existence; so far as we human beings are concerned Truth is only so much of a new conception or ideal as may be incorporated into the bulk of existing experience or annexed to the criteria of judgment or offered as a practical test and standard of action. The growth of science has been solely commensurate with the growth of Inductive Reasoning, for example. The degree to which science has brought release and enlightenment to mankind is the degree by which we test the truth of inductive reasoning.
“Not until we live ourselves the life of a true Bahá’i can we hope to demonstrate the creative and transforming potency of the Faith we profess. Nothing but the abundance of our actions, nothing but the purity of our lives and the integrity of our characters, can in the last resort establish our claim that the Bahá’i spirit is in this day the sole agency that can translate a long-cherished ideal into an enduring achievement.
HOWEVER inspiring the conception of Bahá’i worship, as witnessed in the central Edifice of this exalted Temple, it cannot be regarded as the sole, nor even the essential, factor in the part which the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, as designed by Bahá’u’lláh, is destined to play in the organic life of the Bahá’i community. Divorced from the social, humanitarian, educational and scientific pursuits centering around the Dependencies of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, Bahá’i worship, however exalted in its conception, however passionate in fervor, can never hope to achieve beyond the meagre and often transitory results produced by the contemplations of the ascetic or the communion of the passive worshipper. It cannot afford lasting satisfaction and benefit to the worshipper himself, much less to humanity in general, unless and until translated and transfused into that dynamic and disinterested service to the cause of humanity which it is the supreme privilege of the Dependencies of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár to facilitate and promote. Nor will the exertions, no matter how disinterested and strenuous, of those who within the precincts of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár will be engaged in administering the affairs of the future Bahá’i Commonwealth, fructify and prosper unless they are brought into close and daily communion with those spiritual agencies centering in and radiating from the central Shrine of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.
Nothing short of direct and constant interaction between the spiritual forces emanating from this House of Worship centering in the heart of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, and the energies consciously displayed by those who administer its affairs in their service to humanity can possibly provide the necessary agency capable of removing the ills that have so long and so grievously afflicted humanity. For it is assuredly upon the consciousness of the efficacy of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, reinforced on one hand by spiritual communion with His Spirit, and on the other by the intelligent application and the faithful execution of the principles and laws He revealed, that the salvation of a world in travail must ultimately depend. And of all the institutions that stand associated with His Holy Name, surely none save the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár can most adequately provide the essentials of Bahá’i worship and service, both so vital to the regeneration of the world. Therein lies the secret of the loftiness. of the potency, of the unique position of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár as one of the outstanding institutions conceived by Bahá’u’lláh.
“And finally who can be so bold as to deny that the completion of the superstructure of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár*—the crowning glory of America’s past and present achievements—has forged that mystic chain which is to link, more firmly than ever, the hearts of its champion-builders with Him Who is the Source and Center of their Faith and the Object of their truest adoration?”—Shoghi Effendi.
ONE hot afternoon in August, 1921, two men entered the office of the Earley Studio in Washington. They arrived unannounced and presented to John J. Earley, the head of the studio, the photograph of a model of a beautiful building. One of these gentlemen, a man of rather distinguished appearance, introduced himself as Louis Bourgeois, the architect of the building shown in the photograph. He stated that he had been sent to the studio by an engineer, a mutual friend.
Mr. Bourgeois explained that the model was the accepted design for a universal Temple, which the followers of Bahá’u’lláh all over the world were going to erect on a sightly location on the shore of Lake Michigan about fifteen miles north of Chicago. Soon it became evident that the design was the dream of this architect’s life, a vision that had come to him. At that moment he was seeking a material with which to build this unique and beautiful structure and someone with the sympathetic understanding, ability and experience to put this design into material form. The architect left the photograph of the Temple with the studio and thus began an eleven-year study by Mr. Earley and his assistants of one of the most remarkable building projects in all history.
Meanwhile, the Temple Trustees,
* The Dawning Place of God’s Praise.
the national organization in charge of the building of the Temple, started construction work with the sinking of nine great concrete caissons to a depth of 136 feet to bed rock, and the erection of a circular foundation containing a domed hall which has been used for meetings since its completion.
Nine years passed and funds became available for the building of the superstructure of the Temple. During this period an almost continuous investigation was carried on to solve the problem of what materials to use in building a structure, the design of which seemed to be a “lacey envelope enshrining an idea, the idea of light, a shelter of cobweb interposed between earth and sky, struck through and through with Light—light which shall partly consume the forms and make of it a thing faery.”
MR. BOURGEOIS and the Temple
Trustees had originally planned on
erecting the Temple in sections,
story by story, as funds became
available. And so in 1930, when
$400,000 was on hand for the resumption
of the building work, it
was decided to build the first
story complete and cover it with a
temporary roof, until further funds
made it possible to build the first
gallery story, and so on until the
dome was finished. But a careful
analysis indicated the desirability
--PHOTO--
DETAIL OF OUTER SURFACE OF CONCRETE CAST
--PHOTO--
MODEL OF DOME WITH PLASTER MODELS OF PANEL AND RIB
crowning institution in every Baha’i community. An edifice that will in time become God's universal House of Worship.”
--PHOTO--
Chicago Aerial Survey Co.
AN AEROPLANE VIEW OF THE TEMPLE AND BEAUTIFUL SITE AT WILMETTE ON THE SHORE OF LAKE MICHIGAN
--PHOTO--
CARVING MODEL OF A SECTION OF THE DOME ORNAMENTATION
--PHOTO--
THE TEMPLE AS IT WILL LOOK WHEN COMPLETED
of constructing the entire superstructure framework for an amount well within the available resources. This plan was adopted and carried out within a year’s time. So efficiently and economically was this done that it was possible to install the entire plumbing system and part of the heating and lighting systems thus affording a completely enclosed and usable building.
Just before the building of the superstructure of the Temple began in September, 1930, the architect, Mr. Bourgeois, died in his studio home on the Temple property. But he had completed his design including full sized drawings of all of the exterior ornamentation, great drawings of remarkable beauty and accuracy, and details for the dome reaching a length of 109 feet. With these detailed data and with the results of years of consultation with the architect, we believe that we know the problem and have a clear conception of his vision,—a Temple of Light with a great pierced dome having ribs extending toward the heavens like great arms lifted in supplication,—a gleaming white building through which the sunlight would stream to illumine all within, and through which by night the temple light would shine out to enlighten a darkened world. The vision of the architect penetrated the sky, where he saw not only the stars and constellations, but their orbits, circles, ovals and vesicas of endless variety weaving in and out like a great celestial fabric. This is the theme of the dome ornamentation, the courses of the firmament. But to give life to this fabric, tendrils, leaves and flower forms were added. Interwoven in this fabric are the symbols of the great religious
movements of the past and present, the swastika used in many ancient faiths, the six-pointed star of Moses, the cross of Christianity, the star and crescent of Muhammadanism, and the nine-pointed star of the universal religious faith of the followers of Bahá’ulláh (Glory of God).
WITH THE architect gone, and
with the fruits of his years of devoted
service in hand, the Temple
Trustees turned to The Research
Service of Washington, D. C., an
organization of specialists in the
fields of engineering and construction,
men who had been associated
with some of the great works in
America and abroad, and requested
this concern to determine on the material
or materials and the methods
to be used in clothing the Temple
superstructure with “the lacey envelope”
that would complete the
building and materialize the dream
of Bourgeois.
And so nearly eleven years after the Earley Studio received its first call from the architect, two engineers called on Mr. John J. Earley and informed him that his studio had been selected, after two years of intensive investigation, to prepare the exterior ornamentation of the dome of the Temple of Light.
Fortunately the Earley Studio had available a plant at Rosslyn, Va., that was especially adapted to the construction of the dome ornamentation. This plant was assigned to the project and early in July, 1932, the preliminary work was started. This involved the layout and construction of a fullsized wooden model of one panel of the structural outer framework of the existing dome structure that would
finally support the concrete ornamentation. An analysis quickly indicated that it would be more efficient and economical in the end to make the dome ornamentation at this plant rather than on the Temple property, as originally contemplated by the architect.
The principal purpose of this model of the dome panel was to serve as a standard of measurement from which the dimensions of the various sections of the field and the ribs of the dome could be taken off later and used. Also this model was used for the purpose of studying the plaster of Paris casts of the dome ornamentation.
It was necessary to study the dome ornamentation, which is unique in having about one-third of its area perforated. If these perforations were too large they would destroy the architectural continuity. Were they too small they would not be apparent. All of the exterior surfaces of the ornamentation were carefully modelled and this modelling studied so as to secure the proper lights and shades and thus give character to the surface, especially when seen from a distance. It was necessary to study every ornamentation detail over a period of several months, so that it would fit into the design, as the brush strokes of the painter fit into and form a part of his masterpiece.
THE FIRST step in the preparation
of the ornamentation was the
modelling and carving of the original
clay model for each and every
section. The sculptor made a tracing
of the architect’s original full-sized
drawing for each surface and
then transferred this design on to
the clay surface. From this outline
he modelled and carved out the full-sized clay model. Plaster of Paris impressions were taken of the clay surfaces and from these the plaster of Paris model was prepared. These models were well reinforced with hemp and jute and rods. The rough plaster of Paris model was carefully carved to give the final surface texture and modelling. From each plaster cast or model a plaster of Paris mould was made and this represented the negative of the final cast section.
The unique feature in the casting of the concrete sections is the use of a mat or framework of high carbon steel rods which forms the reinforcement, serves to give high early strength to the casting for handling and subsequently makes of each section a structure which is designed to resist the highest possible pressures produced from wind, snow, ice, etc.
After the concrete casts are taken out of the moulds a group of skilled laborers scrape the mortar from the outer surfaces and thoroughly clean these surfaces down to the exposed aggregate. This leaves the entire outer surface of a white radiant quality. The vision of the architect involved a structure that would be indeed a Temple of Light. His design called for an outer surface that was radiantly white at the dome and graded to a light buff tone at the base of the building. The contractor and the engineer spent several months in a search through the eastern section of the United States to find just the right material for the aggregate of the concrete. After visiting many outcroppings of native stone and quarries it was decided to use two qualities of quartz—a pure
white opaque quartz from Kings Creek, S. C., and a crystalline quartz from Moneta, Va. This material is quarried and shipped in large pieces to the plant where it is passed through a jaw crusher and a series of rolls until it is of the required size for the coarser aggregate. The waste is then taken and again passed through the rolls and crushed finer for the sand. These aggregates are mixed with white cement and water to form the plastic concrete which is carefully poured and tamped in the moulds. The casting is allowed to set for from eighteen to twenty hours depending upon temperature and moisture conditions before it is removed from the mould.
The scraping and finishing of the outer surfaces of each cast requires a little less time than an average working day. After the cast has been scraped and cleaned, it is then removed to a large room where the air is kept moist. The concrete casts are allowed to remain in this moist chamber for a period of at least two weeks. They are then removed to the storage yard and subsequently loaded in freight cars and shipped to the Temple for erection on the dome.
Inserts are imbedded in the four corners of each concrete casting. These provide a means of bolting the ornamentation to the structural steel skeleton of the dome.
An interesting feature of the ornamentation is its division into the two hundred and seventy sections of the field of the dome and the one hundred and seventeen sections of the great ribs. These sections are separated by a space of a half inch to allow for deflection and temperature
changes in both the steel structure and concrete material of the ornamentation.
THIS ENTIRE project is unique in
the history of building construction.
It does not mean simply the building
of another church or temple.
Continuous study and investigation
extending over the past
decade has evolved the new idea of
constructing a framework and then
building and placing on this framework
the design which in itself is a
superimposed structure. Even to
the layman it is apparent that
this method of construction is simple,
direct and economical. It is believed
that it is the only practicable
method for a building of this unique
and ornamental nature. The estimates
of the engineers for the construction
of this Temple, in accordance
with the ordinary methods of
stone masonry and with the use of
white marble, would have involved
an expenditure of about ten times
what this building will cost. Even
a building laboriously carved out
of white marble and requiring a
long period of years for execution
would not have met the architect’s
requirements of a radiantly white
building of a permanent and enduring
material.
The development of the work of the ornamentation has developed a spirit among the workers which is known as “The Spell of the Temple.” Many delightful little stories of personal interest could be told of the workers who are largely craftsmen of long experience. The man who had the final carving of the plaster of Paris casts insisted on doing all of this work. Several of the workers, when learning that the Temple was being built by voluntary contributions made largely by poor people all over the world and on the basis of sacrifice, voluntarily suggested a reduction in their pay. Mr. Taylor, Mr. Earley’s associate, personally laid out and superintended every part of the work involved in the construction
of the wooden model of the dome panel, the casting shed and other parts of the job. The design and supervision of this work involved an endless amount of time and effort.
And thus the work goes on and on. The spirit of the project seems to involve devotion and selfless service.
The “Spell of the Temple” has inspired everyone connected with the work to heights of craftsmanship, to degrees of ingenuity and a sustained enthusiasm that recall the days of the cathedral builders of the Middle Ages.
“God has conferred upon and added to man a distinctive power, the faculty of intellectual investigation into the secrets of creation, the acquisition of higher knowledge, the greatest virtue of which is scientific enlightenment.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
ALTHOUGH we are too close to fully comprehend it, the last hundred years has wrought greater change in scientific thought than any thousand years in history. Contrary to popular opinion, this movement has not been confined to the West, the birthplace of modern science, but has touched every race, every nation, of the world. In the world of science “no man liveth unto himself”—his findings are the property of mankind. The academies of science of any one country gladly welcome the researches or the research workers, of any other country. Despite the drastic changes in man’s mode of living, due largely to the rapid advance of the sciences, we are told that this is only the beginning. Let us pass over the more obvious contributions such as the radio, the automobile, etc., that have expanded our material culture, and see what has actually taken place in the realm of scientific thought.
We have witnessed an unparalleled
activity in applied science, a correlation of irrelevant phenomena within the various sciences and a correlation of the sciences themselves, the rise and fall of a perfect system (in the physical sciences) upon which all future work was to have rested, and finally an heroic struggle of scientific men, to arrive at the truth—not to reconcile the old system to new facts.
This period, which includes the theory of evolution, the theory of relativity and the mechanistic theory of behavior, to mention only a few of the outstanding contributions, has produced a profound effect upon philosophy and religion. No scientific discovery ever affected the fundamental concepts of life like the evolution theory. To be sure, Galileo shook the foundations of the universe but he left Man, the highest form of creation, intact. No theory was ever more disturbing or disconcerting to science itself than the theory of relativity. No result of scientific investigation
ever robbed man of hope and aspiration, simultaneously driving him to an investigation of his own reality like the mechanistic theory of behavior. Unlike a political or religious upheaval here was a bloodless revolution—a revolution without hate. It is natural therefore that the Century of Progress should stress the results of physical science for it is the physical sciences that have done the most to unite the world.
A HUNDRED years ago the atomic
theory was generally accepted but
the atom of that day was simply an
exceedingly small bit of matter having
the properties of an aggregation
large enough to be studied. As
investigations developed it was necessary
to attribute electrical properties
to the atom and at the end of
the period, as the result of the research
of Thompson, Rutherford
and Bohr, it was discovered that all
matter could be reduced to electric
charges. The only difference between
iron and hydrogen is the
number and arrangement of the, so-called,
electrons and protons. Not
only is all matter thus simplified but
no distinction need be drawn between
electricity and matter.
Prior to this period electricity and magnetism were considered separate and distinct and then it was shown that a charge in motion, i. e., an electric current, always produced a magnetic field and finally it was discovered that a moving magnetic field would produce a current. Magnetism and electricity were thus correlated, and this correlation is responsible for most of the principles utilized in our great electrical industries today.
During the middle of the Nineteenth
Century Maxwell demonstrated that light was an electromagnetic phenomenon and therefore it ceased to exist as an independent entity.
Rumford and Joule proved that heat was a form of energy and another scientific merger was completed, incidentally putting the old caloric theory out of business. As a result of this correlation the most important generalization of physics, namely the law of conservation of energy (which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed) was firmly established. Some time earlier the law of conservation of mass had been “proven” experimentally so that up to the present century no one doubted the validity of these two important laws. Near the end of this period, however, theoretical investigations seemed to indicate that when the sun radiates energy, i. e., heat, into space it loses mass and within the last few years a few scientists have been seriously considering the reverse process, namely—the change of radiation back into mass. Taken together these two laws will probably stand, but separately they may fall. And here we have the most remarkable of all correlations; ponderable matter the essence of all material things becomes energy the physical quantity of which has no material attributes.
THE RADICAL change that has
taken place in scientific thinking
during the last one hundred years
may be made clear by considering a
few theories in detail.
At the beginning of the last century, Young proved beyond doubt (i. e. in view of the experimental facts then at hand) that light was a
wave motion. But if light is a wave phenomenon and not a stream of material particles, as Newton supposed, there must be some kind of medium in which the waves travel. This seems reasonable and for nearly a century no one could escape the logic of a medium. The first medium that was created, ether, was an elastic solid but it turned out to be more of a liability than an asset for it constantly raised more questions than it solved. It had to be more elastic than steel in order to transmit the short waves of light and at the same time objects were known to move through it without being retarded. When Maxwell proposed his famous electromagnetic theory of light it was adopted at once as all these difficulties were eliminated. Indeed the theory was so complete and flawless that Hertz declared, near the end of the century, that it would hold for all time and then he proceeded to make a discovery that threw doubt upon the wave idea in any form. Planck and Einstein made similar observations and ever since physicists have been laboring to develop a satisfactory wave theory, that would include all the facts. This does not mean that Maxwell’s theory is obsolete but rather that it is inadequate. But to return to the ether—probably fifty per cent of the physicists today believe in an ether and fifty per cent do not and yet they both mean the same thing. As far as we know to date, light exhibits both the wave aspect and the particle aspect. We may imagine some kind of an ether for the waves but we are not much concerned about the reality of its existence.
A British physicist recently remarked—“We are getting quite
used to theories which are ‘right’ in the sense that they predict all sorts of unexpected things correctly, but which remain themselves unintelligible, or even self-contradictory, when one tries to ‘understand’ them”. People who have difficulty in accepting some of the tenets of religion because they seem unscientific might do well to get the modern view which takes into account our limitations.
The evolution theory furnishes another illustration of the fact that while a materialistic viewpoint seemed necessary and sufficient in the Nineteenth Century it is inadequate today. The theory was developed by Darwin at a time when the scientific world was materialistic, when explanations were reduced, as far as possible, to mechanical models. A thing was ‘explained’ when a model could be imagined that would duplicate the phenomenon. The pressure of a gas can be explained by assuming that a gas is composed of elastic spheres in rapid motion, for if a gas were an assemblage of rapidly moving elastic spheres, it would exert a pressure. This kind of explanation was so real to the scientists of the last century that they did not find it necessary to penetrate beyond the models. Of course the theory does not claim to explain the origin of life. At most it merely attempts to picture the successive changes in life from a simple to a complex organism. Its weakness lies in the assumption that Natural Selection is a kind of mechanism that works automatically. The paradox, as we now realize, is staggering. Life evolves unconsciously without a
guiding intelligence, like a machine in operation. But where will we find a machine that will operate by itself, producing other machines like itself, with variations in order that the new machine can function with the result that the final product will be more highly organized than the original machine? This must be true if the evolution theory is followed to its logical conclusion.
To the mass of people, even educated people, the theory explains life, it is an entity, a first cause. If society has evolved, evolution is a sufficient explanation. On the other hand evolution is one of the greatest aids to the understanding of life that science has discovered. If man did not evolve he must have been created spontaneously and all the evidence we have points to evolution. It is not necessary to leave out the guiding intelligence-on the contrary it is far more scientific to include it. The nature of this guiding principle we may leave to prophetic religions but it would be unscientific to exclude it.
MANY ILLUSTRATIONS of this nature
indicate that the scientific mind
has undergone a radical change;
perhaps it is developing like science.
The great triumphs of science in
the last century led many to believe
that its position was invulnerable.
Provision was made for additions,
to be sure, but the system, the way
of thinking and even the fundamental
concepts of force, energy,
mass, time, space, etc., were supposed
to be fixed, once and for all.
Its first great blunder and we hope
the last, was the dogmatization of
the Newtonian physics. Fortunately
the way of thinking has changed,
* We refer the reader to other articles in this magazine for the spiritual aspect of the Century of Progress.
and while we have more confusion about fundamental concepts we have no less real progress. Perhaps the child has come of age and is regarding the physical world with less assurance and more penetration. Today we realize that a thing can be real without being concrete, that sometimes we must have faith in things scientific that cannot be explained by mechanical models nor even by logic, and that science is as prone to anthropomorphism as religion when it defines force as something that pushes or pulls. We are concerned here primarily with scientific development during the last one hundred years, but the real significance of this sudden outburst of creative energy must lie beyond its intrinsic value.
After Newton explained the laws of the solar system men realized that the God of prophetic religion, the active living God of history could function in a universe controlled by dynamical laws. When evolution was established we had to admit that the same God could develop an organic world through natural laws. Finally when psychology threw some light on the operation of the mind it became evident, after some struggle, that God could manifest Himself to us through psychological laws. In each instance however no attempt is made to describe the nature of God—that is left to revealed religion.
The cause of this unparalleled activity in science, like the reality behind the physical laws, eludes scientific search but we cannot overlook the historical fact that this same period has also witnessed a universal spiritual awakening.*
“Education holds an important place in the new order of things. . . . Baha’u’lláh has announced that inasmuch as ignorance and lack of education are barriers of separation among mankind, all must receive training and instruction. Through this provision the lack of mutual understanding will be remedied and the unity of mankind furthered and advanced. Universal education is a universal law.”—‘Abdul-Bahá.
EDUCATION in America in the early 19th Century was based, to a large extent, on the idea that the school was an institution which should supplement the home, the shop, the church. What these institutions could not give the child, the school must provide. The home was expected to supply training in manners and morals, and simple vocational preparation. Work in stores, small factories, on boats, in stables, gave other types of experience in earning a livelihood. The church cared for the spiritual education of children and young people. Education of the body was a by-product of playing ball, climbing trees, and other free play activities in the out of doors. The duty of the school was to fill in certain gaps in the vocational, social and religious training of the child.
To read and write the English language, to solve simple problems with numbers, to know enough geography for purposes of commerce and travel—these were considered necessities which could be best acquired in the school. The more intelligent and well-to-do parents also wished their children to have other subjects of instruction which were felt to have cultural Value, and the study of literature, history and foreign languages was included in the curricula of higher schools. As the ideal of educating a child as a future citizen in a democracy was gradually developed, the study of
history, especially the history of the United States came to be considered an essential part of each child’s education in the elementary school. Later the study of physiology and hygiene was introduced, in order that the country might have citizens of sound body, as well as those who were informed concerning national ideals.
Such a conception of the purpose of formal education resulted, in practice, in the widely accepted conviction that the school should concern itself with the training of the minds of children and young people. “To learn” was to acquire skills and knowledges of the intellect. The child’s brain was given into the keeping of the school. His body, his emotions, his soul were sufficiently cared for elsewhere,—and the school was intruding on the sacred rights of home and church if it attempted to do more than educate the mind.
Progress in education in the 19th Century therefore consisted chiefly in more and better development of the mental capacities of pupils and students. More courses in history, literature and languages were added to the curriculum. As modern scientific knowledge developed, more and more sciences were studied in higher schools. Physics, chemistry, botany, zoology came to be considered appropriate subjects for study. Along with the addition of fields of knowledge, emphasis
was placed on the development of better and better techniques of teaching. The problem of how the pupil would learn more in a shorter time became the object of careful study. Standardized tests were developed in order to determine just how much each pupil did learn under a given method of teaching. As a result of these emphases in education, the curriculum for the average child has been widened far beyond that of the early 19th Century. Better methods of teaching have helped make it possible for the pupil to assimilate this increased subject matter. The lengthening of the school year and the increase in the number of years of formal education have also assisted the school in its task of giving young people a more complete mental training.
The curriculum of schools in the latter half of the 19th Century was further complicated by certain concepts of the psychology taught in the colleges. “The mind” was considered to possess certain faculties, “the reason”, “the memory”, “the imagination”, etc. Certain subjects “trained the reason”, and the student thus acquired an ability to think logically which could be transferred to the problems of everyday vocational and social life. Courses were therefore included in the curriculum which had no apparent value in supplementing the life of home, community or business. Latin, Greek, algebra, geometry were taught primarily because of the belief that they gave mental training which would later be transmuted into the ability to think more clearly about the problems of everyday life.
One of the effects of this conception of training the faculties of the
mind was to fix more deeply in public opinion the idea of the school as an institution which concerned itself only with mental training. In the elementary schools and high schools, the text-book was the most important tool in education. The child was in school to learn, the contents of the book. Critical comparison of the contents of various texts was not encouraged—in fact, such a procedure simply did not present itself as a possibility to most teachers. The result of this in the minds of children was the development of an attitude of non-critical following of the leadership of any book or teacher speaking with the tone of authority. To be obedient, punctual, industrious, to follow the established authority, was the whole duty of pupils.
THE RESULT of an education such
as we have described has, of necessity,
forced the attitudes of our
adult citizenry into certain clear-cut
channels. Two of these are of especial
importance. (1) The average
citizen tends to be non-critical
of those in authority, whether in
business, politics or religion. He
prefers “to leave well enough
alone”, except in those cases where
the status quo deprives him of food,
shelter and clothing. Even then he
often lacks the initiative to attempt
to remedy the causes of the undesirable
situation. (2) The idea of
the school as a narrowly specialized
institution for training the mind
has strengthened a tendency found
in other aspects of society,—that
of conceiving of the home as something
separate from the state, of
the church as unrelated to business
life. This psychology of division
and separateness has increased in
society until our national life has become so chaotic that almost the only level on which we can achieve unified action is that of providing for the need of food. Within the individual this division of outlook tends either toward a disintegration of personality, in which the life is torn to pieces by the conflict of competing loyalties, or toward a completely one-sided existence in which all loyalties but one are suppressed in favor of the strongest urge. It is obvious that both of these tendencies impair the efficiency and happiness of the individual, and thus are a factor in retarding the development of a progressive society.
IN SPITE of the crystalization of the purpose of the school, as an institution for the training of the mind, other types of learning gradually crept into the curriculum during the later years of the 19th Century. As the population became more concentrated in cities, and children had fewer opportunities for free play in fields and woods, courses in physical training and athletics were provided to take the place of the out-of-door play of rural communities. When the home ceased to manufacture its own cloth, and much of its own food, the school study of the skills of cooking and sewing began to take the place of the domestic training of kitchen, garden and weaving room. Courses in music, drawing and painting, which could not be justified on the grounds of mental training, were introduced for a variety of reasons, and were considered educational luxuries. The fact that courses in home economics, music and art are still described as “fads and frills”
in newspaper reports, and that these subjects are among the first to be eliminated in an economy program indicates that they have never really been integrated into the public idea of the purpose of education.
It was not until the beginning of the 20th Century that thinking educators began to express an ideal of education that was in marked contrast to the prevailing practice. This change in outlook has had two sources. On the one hand sociologists and philosophers presented an ideal of a consciously evolving society, in which the varying aspects of human experience might find a unified and integrated expression. On the other hand, students of psychology and psychiatry began to extend their studies beyond the purely mental activities of the individual, and to emphasize the need of studying the physical constitution and emotional patterns and habits. An outgrowth of these studies is the mental hygiene movement, which stresses the fact that only through the balanced and integrated functioning of body, emotions and mind can a normal individual be developed.
THE PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION
movement has drawn its ideals and
purposes from both of the above
sources. The school as an institution
for mental training has failed
to develop truly happy and effective
individuals. It has too often produced
a person who is divided
against himself. The school must
therefore widen its function and do
its best to “educate the whole
child”. No one aspect of a human
being can be adequately developed
if other aspects are ignored. Thinking
parents and educators have
therefore banded together in many communities to provide for children an environment in which boys and girls can develop their potentialities of body, heart and spirit, as well as those of the mind. Books are not ignored, but they are not worshipped as the source of all value. In such schools, teachers are more concerned with the quality of the evolving human being than they are with the number of facts the pupil can quote. They desire to help a child to develop better interests and desires, and to guide him in planning and acting so that he can more effectively attain his goals.
From the social standpoint, progressive educators are not content with acceptance of the status quo. They believe that a society can be evolved which will not only give greater physical security but which will also foster emotional stability, higher standards of artistic appreciation, and the spiritual values, such as loving-kindness and true brotherhood. One major purpose of the progressive school thus becomes that of helping the child to become critical of the society in which he lives, and to plan ways of improving the present situation. A second major purpose concerns itself with the development of attitudes which are needed in a progressing society—cooperation, initiative, freedom from prejudice, etc. These attitudes are not thought of as “moral ideas” to be taught through courses in ethics, but as ways of responses which grow thru use in the situations which arise daily in the varied community life of the school.
In the actual carrying out of its ideal, progressive education has found that one of its greatest needs
is that of study courses for adults. Many parents regret the limited fields of their own schooling, and wish to supplement their own experience. It is common to hear visitors in a progressive school remark, “How I wish I could have had such and such work when I was in school!” Other adults who are dissatisfied with the present state of society need encouragement and guidance along lines of constructive criticism and planning. It is therefore becoming common for progressive schools to organize courses and round table discussions for parents.
The ideals of progressive education are spreading rapidly in some communities; in other districts they are anathema, especially to those who sincerely believe the “old times were better than the new”, and to those who have something to gain from the continuance of an uncritical, routinized majority. There are therefore groups who are convinced that the last thirty years have shown more real progress in education than the preceding seventy years of the century,—while others are equally certain that the changes introduced since 1900 have been definitely harmful.
The present writer is convinced that progress in education must follow the trail blazed by the progressive educational movement. Society must be reconstructed, and in order to do this children must have an education which will help them develop into well-balanced, effective, unprejudiced and cooperative individuals.
Changes in conditions of living have made a return to the individualistic and laissez faire ideals of the late 19th Century impossible. The home has ceased to be a center
of industry and a miniature community. The development of labor-saving machinery has entirely changed the pattern of industry and commerce. The church no longer serves as a dynamic agency for unifying the social and spiritual lives of the majority of our citizens. Nations are so closely linked in economic interdependence that isolated national existence has become impossible. The world must move forward with assurance and faith into a civilization which shall unify into one powerfully moving stream the conflicting tendencies of
our present life.
There exists today, fortunately, in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh a guide to a reconstruction of society which is in full accord with the needs of civilization today. In the Bahá’i Faith are discovered ways of developing characteristics of heart, mind and spirit which produce happy and effective living. Bahá’is conceive of progress in education in terms of the development of individuals who will work together for a new social order which will actually produce on this earth “the oneness of mankind.”
“In a short time the relationship between the colored and white people will still further improve, and by and by no difference will be felt between them. . . . The most urgent requisite of mankind is the declaration of the oneness of the world of humanity—this is the great principle of Bahá’u’lláh. That which will leaven the human world is a love that will insure the abandonment of pride, oppression and hatred. . . . In the sight of God color makes no difference at all. He looks at the hearts of men.”—‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
THE measure of progress from the beginning to the end of the century of progress would possibly be the contrast between midnight and sunrise. Those dismayed by the trials of today have but to consider past and present and so by comparison perceive the vast changes that have come.
A century ago, in human minds, a clear division and impassable boundary separated the races of mankind. This border was fixed by inherent, distinct, easily discernible traits, related to each race and absent in the others. Such a belief although but superstition and fancy was the foundation for many prejudices upon which the minds of youth and age were fed. The dominance of one race by another was accepted as the sine qua non of intelligence.
The scientist of that day proved it to his own satisfaction. The politician proclaimed it from the stump. The pious believed it as a tenet of faith and salvation. Institutions of culture were founded upon it. It was further buttressed by the organic law of the land, hundreds of state and federal statues, thousands of social customs and usages and ten thousand times ten thousands of human chattels whom it held in durance vile the world over. Human slavery in some form prevailed among all the nations. Here and there some poet or seer would raise a voice of protest, but this was soon lost in the general clamor prompted by gain. Heretics, if taken seriously, were regarded as the foes of God and man. The creeds of that day were
on a par with its social outlook and program. Today sees slavery overthrown, women emancipated, science diffused, quackery exposed, laws humanized, civil liberty advanced, creeds broadened, and a growing number of people turning to religion for the removal of human ills. Assuredly there is some strange power at work!
The dogma of racial inequality is now discredited by scientists east and west. But a short time ago it was regarded as the holy of holies of all racial adjustment. Such sweeping changes have meant discovery and evolution in education, revolution in government and growth and expansion in the more subtle realm of human hearts. A century ago and long afterward people commonly vaunted their prejudices. Today practically all intelligent people are ashamed of their prejudices. Those who would justify aversion to another group or race seek to put it upon other grounds. This fact alone is one of the signs of a mighty transformation in the psychology of the times.
CONDITIONS today are still remote from the ideal. That any considerable number of people should be evalued socially by color rather than capacity and that such a limitation should extend at times even to civil rights is a grotesque shadow from the old order. Idealists, like the valiant Saint George, combat this dragon today as they did those of former days. The modern and more effective weapon is teaching. It is both stimulating and encouraging to find how many people are now ready for the message of the equality of the races.
The late Theodore Roosevelt who in his high station held with inflexible courage to his way of extending social amenities to all races, was one day entertaining and being entertained by the Fisk University Jubilee singers in his home at Oyster Bay.
“Quite a number of whites”, he assured them, “are now ready to receive the colored people socially. But my advice to you is, do not run toward it. Walk!”
So great and good a friend, with his insight into human nature, probably meant by this advice to convey his belief that apparent
anxiety on the part of a minority group to claim rights justly theirs, would retard rather than speed the attainment. Perhaps the former president recalled his own futile effort to impress his belief in racial equality upon the people through his dinner with Booker Washington. Yet he did not fail entirely. It cannot be denied that his action influenced some people to greater breadth in social life.
Today the number of those who take a similar stand is greatly increased. Some frankly seek in their association with other races not only service but cultural growth. The mingling of all races upon a social plane is far from complete happiness if dictated on the part of some only by patronage and charity. The true plane of social intercourse is what each can give to the common weal. The talents of a people long arrested by limited opportunity, now gloriously blossoming forth, their literature, art, music, invention, social graces and spirituality, all of which increasingly shine with the new freedom, can enrich with many treasures the combined culture of the human race. Far greater radiance and charm are found in interracial gatherings than in those composed of but one race or class. Does not God smile upon them?
GLORIOUS and effective are those
instruments of service known as interracial
committees which function
north and south. They are like
dynamos in the machinery of social
progress. No wholesome endeavor
is unaffected by the spirit of the
New Age which makes all races
one.
Although much good has already been done, greater by far is the task ahead. Many are the ills which environ mankind. On one hand is the greatest menace; on the other
the greatest blessing. The great upheaval of world war threatens; yet the Heavens are telling us their secrets. The sole relief of a stricken world is the unity of all its peoples. This is the program acceptable to God in whom there abides security and peace. The majestic Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh with its simplicity, wisdom, love, effectiveness and power is the greatest marvel in this day of wonders. It is light to the eye, music to the ear, solace to the heart, life to the spirit
of man. Chief amongst the Bahá’i teachings is the oneness of mankind. In this all races merge, assisted by the heavenly power. It is a new spiritual teaching and a new scientific law, ideally adapted to the needs of the hour. Its activities are motivated solely by the spiritual might. This is the crowning wisdom of the century of light, lifting men above the plane of division and strife into the heaven of divine consciousness which alone is real. Men seek peace. Victory rests with God.
The author is a graduate student at the University of Illinois, and a well known member of the Bahá'i Youth Group.
IS the Chicago Fair really succeeding?” is the question most frequently asked of those who have visited Chicago in recent months. For people hardly can believe that any vast new undertaking could succeed in a year which so manifestly spells failure and economic ruin. Yet every visitor agrees, I think, that in attracting an average daily attendance of well over one hundred thousand people the Chicago Exposition is a most noteworthy success. Strange as it may seem, it is true that the Century of Progress Exposition held in a year of unprecedented economic stress has attracted larger crowds and from a far wider area than did the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia in the prosperous year of 1926. This success is due partly to the excellent advertising the Chicago Fair has had for several
years before 1933 and through extended use of radio during the months of the Fair.
But there is another more fundamental reason for the outstanding success of this Exposition. It is distinctly a product of the Twentieth Century, a Fair which is centered on facts of our life today, and hints of what civilization may bring us in the next fifty years, whereas previous Fairs have centered largely on facts of past centuries. The World’s Fair of 1893, the St. Louis Exposition of 1901, and even the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial were distinctly Nineteenth Century products which could not use to so large an extent the features of Twentieth Century civilization which recently have been perfected as a result of the great scientific and intellectual awakening of the past seventy-five years.
THE MUCH criticised Fair architecture is perhaps the best expression of this central note of the whole Exposition. Colorful, yes, to some eyes even garish, these rather pleasingly angular buildings are burdened with no heavy or superfluous ornamentations and give one the impression of size and completeness without the burden of minute details. The size of the Fair is typical of the present day spirit of expansion and of desire to excel all previous records.
A typically Twentieth Century Fair must almost necessarily stress the physical sciences rather than the arts. People are fascinated to learn how a car is assembled; what are the modern factory processes in making a shirt; and just how the organs of the human body function. Moving tableaux and dioramas supplement the diagram and lecturer in making facts and processes more graphic and interesting. There is a building also where the importance of the social sciences today is brought to the visitor’s attention. Here with the aid of maps, simple charts and graphic pictures social changes in the past hundred years are recorded and the lines of future progress indicated. The work of the League of Nations and other organizations for furthering international cooperation and world peace is shown. To the thoughtful person this is a hint of the more essential and fundamental aspect of the progress in human civilization during the past century. For instance it is noteworthy that social service has grown during the past centuries
* Tablet of Wisdom.
from the indiscriminate distribution of alms to the establishment of carefully organized institutions which not only give financial aid to the needy but try to help them to avoid such difficulties in the future.
ALTHOUGH there is a Hall of Religion
in which world activities of
Protestant organizations and of
Judaism are shown, the field of religion
is receiving rather less attention
than in the Chicago Fair of
1893 when the famous World Parliament
of Religions was held. This,
too, although a disappointment to
the more thoughtful and spiritually
inclined visitors is perhaps more
befitting a typically early Twentieth
Century Exposition held at the culmination
of a machine age. The
Century of Progress which this Exposition
represents is one of progress
in material ways. From the
Bahá’i writings, however, one
catches a fuller glimpse of the
spiritual Source of these unprecedented
scientific developments.
Bahá’u’lláh has said:
“The East, dazzled with the brilliancy of Western civilization, became so engrossed and occupied with its visible achievements as to fail to recognize its true Source and Origin. Remarkable and fascinating as the intellectual and industrial accomplishments of the leaders of thought have been in modern times, yet to every discerning observer it is clear and manifest that they have derived the greatest part of their knowledge from the sages of the past. . . . These sages of old in their turn acquired their knowledge from the Prophets of God, for these verily were the Manifestations of divine wisdom and the Revealers of heavenly mysteries.”*
May we not see, in the next fifty years an even greater development in a spiritual way to parallel our present material achievements?
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.
