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STAR OF THE WEST
"We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; that all nations shall become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men shall be strengthened; that diversity of religion shall cease and differences of race be annulled. So it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come."—BAHA'O'LLAH.
Vol. VII Sharaf 1, 72 (December 31, 1916) No. 16
The Divine Art of Living
A COMPILATION BY MRS. MARY M. RABB
EDITORIAL
TOO often we think of religion as a set of creeds and beliefs, as merely a beautiful philosophy, subject-matter for intellectual speculation. And true religion, of course, is a philosophy divinely luminous in its completeness. Yet the philosophy is but a light which points the way to a radiant life. To see the light on the path is of value only when we walk in the path and, climbing its shining steps by acts of will and deeds of love, ascend into the Kingdom.
In his tablets, those glorious outpourings of the essence of the Bahai revelation, Abdul-Baha always speaks of love, of unity, of life abounding. He mentions philosophy only when he is questioned.
The Bahai Movement will sweep through America when it is presented by its followers and teachers as a way of life. And we are effective teachers of spiritual truth only when our own hearts are pure flames of love and our words fall as a consuming and holy fire. But how may we attain to this life which is so pure and radiant that its love shall burn away the darkness and sin which envelope our world? How may we win this exalted station of the true teacher?
With this issue of the STAR OF THE WEST we print the opening chapter of a wonderful compilation by Mrs. Mary M. Rabb of Portland, Oregon, on this the most important topic known to the human soul. Successive chapters of this compilation on "The Divine Art of Living" will appear throughout the year presenting the steps on the path to the exalted station to which every soul is called. Here is the way "to live the life" which "the people of reality" today are seeking. Here is the path revealed by those who are themselves the way, the truth and the life.
CHAPTER ONE
"Welcome to the Kingdom of God"
GRACE and welcome unto you. I wish you not the temporal strength of the passing body, but the eternal strength of the immortal soul. Some (persons) can be compared unto prepared lamps, only waiting the Spirit's breath to illumine them; while others are still unprepared. There is some wood that is inflamed at once; there is a damp, wet wood that has to be warmed before the flame can penetrate the heart. Again there is wood as hard as stone and verily, in vain the heat and flame caress it. Some earth must be tilled before the seed can be planted. Some plants absorb water in the earth and others remain dry. Open your hearts that they may be filled; open your souls that the divine light may shine therein. Strive, strive to receive the Spirit of Truth. Truth awaits your call.
Some (persons) with serious ills go
from celebrated doctor to celebrated doctor, but they all fail to cure for the power is with the Divine. So it is with your soul. Your heart is pure and the Spirit can enter therein. Cut yourself from the world. Pray in the Greatest Name, then the breeze of truth, the flood of light will enter your searching soul. There is nothing else to be sought on earth or in the universe.
Yes, remain here. Your room will have no worldly comforts, but will be filled with the love of God. During a terrible storm Christ wandered on the mountain seeking shelter; a den of wild beasts was all he found and that was the beloved Son of God. All the world was his, but no worldly riches.
The Spirit will come to you with increased force, for your being must become as a temple in which the truth of God can dwell.
Welcome to the Kingdom of God. Even if every moment you thanked God a thousand times for the grace of being born in this, the most marvelous century and for the great favor of being allowed to reach the Promised Land, even that would not be sufficient thanks.
Your faith comes like rain; the first drops are far between, but soon it will pour in torrents. Your faith is also like a seed that will bear its fruit. In a tree we judge of its life and vigor by the way it grows; so it is with man. The knowledge of God rises in the heart like the sun; it mounts, mounts, always casting an immortal light.
You must be reborn by the Spirit. A child in the matrix has eyes and ears but only learns their use when it is born. A man cannot comprehend the Spirit before he has put aside earthly things.
All the centuries are the bringing forth of the twentieth. The deepest wish of many great men was to live in the latter day. . . . In past times people esteemed themselves blessed to live in the same time as one of the saints. How much greater is your privilege! To the people then a candle was given, while to you the sun.
The Spirit resembles a rivulet when the earth fills the soul. Put away the terrestrial and the mighty torrent of living water will rush through your freed body.
(Words of Abdul-Baha to Miss. . . . . . October 19-14, 1900, on the occasion of her visit to Acca.)
Although the life of the creature is called life, in reality, compared to the life of the children (of the Kingdom) it is not life; on the contrary it is death.
For instance, a mineral substance contains life, but this life compared to the life of the vegetable is death; in like manner the life of the vegetable compared to the life of an animal is death; in like manner the life of human beings compared to the life of the children of the Kingdom is death. As his majesty Christ said: "Let the dead bury their dead, because he who is born of the flesh is flesh and he who is born of the spirit is spirit."
Therefore, it is evident that life (in its true sense) is the life of the spirit and that life is the love of God, divine inspiration, spiritual joys and glad tidings of God. Seek, O servant of God, this life until day and night you remain in limitless joy.
(An early Tablet.)
The life of man will at last end in this world. We must all take out of this life some fruit. The tree of one's existence must bear some fruit. If a tree has no fruit you must cut it down and burn it; it would be useless for other purposes.
Question: "Abdul-Baha, what is the fruit of the human tree?"
"It is the love of God; it is the love of humankind; it is to wish good for all the people of the earth; it is service to humanity; it is truthfulness and honesty; it is virtues and good morals; it is devotion
to God; it is the education of souls; such are the fruits of the human tree. Otherwise it is only wood—nothing else."
(Kinney-Beebe-Thompson Notes of the words of Abdul-Baha, June-July 1909.)
The heart must of necessity be spiritual. A tree must be fruitful; it may be very tall, very verdant, but yield no fruits. The fruits of the tree of the human life are the love of God, magnetic, spiritual susceptibilities, heavenly illumination, the knowledge of God, praiseworthy attributes, good morals and conduct. A person whose tree of life produces such fruits is a Bahai; otherwise he is of the earth earthy, self-occupied, and following the dictates of his own desires, and is man only by name. As his holiness Christ says: "Ye shall know the tree by its fruits."
(Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, June 1, 1914.)
If the fruit of the existence of man is not servitude at the threshold of the Almighty I declare by the living, self-subsistent God that life is death, existence is non-existence, non-being is better than being, pleasure is pain, joy is sorrow, immortality is mortality. In this court we must be humble and meek, active and progressive, wide-awake and thoughtful, true and sincere, noble and good, straightforward and zealous. This is the outcome of life! This is the result of ceaseless endeavor! This is the prize to be won! This is the illumination of the world of humanity! This is the eternal life! This is the sublimity of human nature. This is the heavenly glory! This is the radiant crown of the Kingdom of Abha!
(Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, June 18, 1914.)
The world is mortal. In one instant it will pass away; but the principle of ease and tranquillity is the soul which is in the eternal world. Real life is the life of the spirit, while the body has to die when its light has come to an end. Therefore, of what importance is it?
(Extract from Tablet to Mrs. Dealey, revealed July 14, 1911.)
Know thou, verily, God hath preferred the insight to the sight; because the sight sees the material things, while the insight apprehends the spiritual. The former witnesses the earthly world, while the latter sees the world of the Kingdom. The former's judgment is temporary, while the latter's vision is everlasting. . . .
(Tablets of Abdul-Baha; Vol. 3, p. 604.)
I hope . . . certain souls may arise who may prove radiant lamps to the world of humanity and a merciful spirit to the phenomenal body; that they may be the cause of the purification of souls and the means of the sanctification of hearts;—that they may know this mortal world as fleeting shadow and call the rest and repose, the pleasure and blessing, the wealth and sovereignty of the earth the waves of the sea of imagination; that they may arise in such wise to live by the divine teachings and exhortations of (Baha'o'llah) as to sparkle like the morning star from the horizon of holiness.
(Extract from Tablet to a Seattle, Wash., believer; translated at Haifa, August 18, 1909.)
It was my aim that after thy return to . . . thou shouldst hoist the ensign of the great guidance, that like the morning star thou shouldst glisten with the light of the great bestowal and that thou shouldst shout so as to awaken them that are asleep and set aglow all who are in lethargy. This is work!
Otherwise the foundation of man is entirely shaky and without immortality. The numbered days of life will come to an end, the bright days will at last become cloudy and at the last breath man,
with limitless regrets, will hasten to the other world.
It is my aim that thou mayst advance to such an extent in the perfections in the realm of man, in the divine manifestations and the susceptibilities of the conscience as to become an angel of heaven and a manifestation of the favors of the Merciful.
(Extract from Tablet to an American believer; translated July 17, 1910.)
O my servants! The Ancient Beauty* commands: Hasten to the shadow of immortality, nearness and mercy from the shadow of desire, remoteness and heedlessness. Be ye resigned like unto the earth, so that the fragrant, sacred, multicolored myrtles of my knowledge may grow in the soil of existence. Be ye ablaze like unto fire, so that ye may consume thick veils and quicken and immortalize the cold and veiled bodies through the heat of divine love. Be ye pure like unto air so that ye may enter the sacred abode of my friendship.
O servants! If ye be informed of the wonders of my generosity and grace which I have deposited in yourselves ye will certainly be cut from all directions and seeking to know your own selves, which is identical with knowing myself, will find yourselves independent of all save me and will see the ocean of my providence and the deeps of my beneficence in yourselves, with your outward and inward eye, as manifest and clear as the sun shining from the name of Abha.✝ Do not waste this most wonderful, most holy station, through the promptings of fancy and desire and through the falsehoods of superstition and blindness. Ye are like unto a bird which, with all joy and fragrance soars with the utmost security in the cheerful air of the Praised One. Then in the (imaginary) hope of grains it inclines toward the mud and water of the earth and, with all eagerness, besmears itself with dust and mire. Then, when it attempts to reascend it
*✝ Names for God
finds itself unable and a captive, forasmuch as wings besmeared with water and clay are not capable of flight. At that time that bird of the exalted heaven finds itself a dweller in the mortal earth!
Now, O servants, do not besmear your wings with the mire of heedlessness and imagination and the earth of animosity and rancor so that ye be deprived and prevented from soaring in the sacred heaven of knowledge.
O servants! If ye are possessed of sight, enter the city of seeing. If ye are the people of hearing, step into the land of hearing. And if ye are the possessors of hearts, choose an abode in the fortress of the assured ones so that in these dark days ye may not be veiled from witnessing the lights of the beauty of Abha. . . .
O servants! Inscribe the exhortations of the Spirit with the pen of resignation and the ink of submission and assurance upon the tablet of your heart and turn in every instant lest ye may neglect a single letter thereof, and advance toward the True One with all exertion, turning away from all else save him. For this is the root of the leaf of command grown upon the divine tree. . . . This world is a show without reality and is a non-existence adorned in the form of existence. Do not attach your hearts thereto. Do not sever yourselves from your Creator and be not of those who are heedless.
Truly I say, the world is like unto a mirage which has the shadow of water. Those who are athirst make abundant efforts in its search but when reaching it remain deprived and portionless. Or, it is like unto the image of a loved one which is destitute of life and soul; when the lover reaches it he finds it of no worth and value and finds no gain save great pain and despondency. . . .
(Words of Baha'o'llah, in a Tablet called Tablet of Ahmad.)
O Son of Dust! All things in the heavens and in the earth have I ordained
for thee except the hearts which I have appointed as a place for the descent of the manifestation of my beauty and glory; . . .
(Hidden Words, Persian, verse 27.)
Asked, "What is true greatness in man?" Abdul-Baha answered:
"His spiritual attributes. No one can destroy his spiritual qualities; they are from God."
(Ten Days in the Light of Acca; p. 13.)
The station of man is great if he hold to truth and rectitude and keep firm and steadfast in the command.
A real man is seen before the Merciful One like unto the heaven; his sight and hearing are the sun and moon and his luminous and shining qualities are the stars; his station is the highest station and his traces are the educators of the world.
(Kitab-el-Ahd; Baha'o'llah's Words.)
In the beginning of his life man was in the matrix world. In the world of the matrix he obtained capacity and preparation for this world. The forces and powers necessary for this world he attained there. In this world he needed eyes; he received them, potentially, in the other. He needed ears; therefore he obtained them in the world of the matrix. All the powers he needed in this world he attained potentially in the world of the matrix. In the world of the matrix therefore he was prepared for this world; so that when he came to this world he found that all the necessary forces were ready—all his needs for material sustenance were provided.
Therefore in this world also he must prepare himself and get ready for the life hereafter. That of which he is in need in the world of the Kingdom he must obtain here. Just as he prepared himself by acquiring the forces necessary in this world in the world of the matrix, so likewise it is necessary that all that is needful in the Kingdom, all the forces of the Kingdom—must be acquired in this world.
What is he in need of in the Kingdom after he is transferred from this world to the other world? That world is a world of sanctity; therefore it is necessary that he acquire sanctity in this world. In that world there is need of radiance; therefore radiance must be acquired in this world. In that world there is need of spirituality. In this world he must acquire spirituality. In that world faith and assurance, the knowledge of God, the love of God, are needed. These he must acquire in this world so that after he ascends from this mortal to that immortal world he shall find that all that is needful in that life eternal is ready for him.
It is self-evident that that world is a world of lights; therefore there is need of illumination. That world is a world of love; hence love of God is needed. That world is a world of perfections; virtues of perfection must be acquired. That world is a world of the breaths of the Holy Spirit and in this world must they be acquired. That world is a world of the life eternal. In this world must he acquire it. But how can he? By what means can he acquire these things? How is he to obtain these merciful powers?
First, through the knowledge of God. Second,—through the love of God. Third,—through faith. Fourth,—through philanthropic deeds. Fifth,—through self-sacrifice. Sixth,—through severance from this world. Seventh.—through sanctity and holiness. Unless he obtain these forces, unless he attain to these requirements, surely he will be deprived of the life eternal. But if he attains the knowledge of God, becomes ignited through the fire of the love of God, witnesses the great and mighty signs, becomes the cause of love among mankind and lives in the utmost sanctity and holiness, surely he shall attain to second birth, will
be baptized with the Holy Spirit and witness the life eternal.
(Star of the West; Vol. 5, No. 11, p. 11.)
Praise be to God that his holiness Baha'o'llah, has spread before us the heavenly table upon which one finds every kind of food. There is the food of faith and assurance; the sustenance of divine virtues; the bread of the love of God; the meat of the glad-tidings of the kingdom of Abha; the victuals of severance and detachment; the viands of enkindlement and attraction; the nutriment of sanctity and holiness; the dish of attraction with the fragrances of God; the sustenance of the breaths of the Holy Spirit; the food of eternal life; the nourishment of teaching the cause of God and promulgating the religion of God. In short, one finds on this divine table all kinds of spiritual food which constitutes the real Supper of the Lord.
(Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, October 17, 1914.)
The world and its objects are transitory. Phenomena undergo change and transformation but God and his servants remain unalterable and not subject to transmutation. We must attach our hearts to Him if we desire to be eternally happy.
(Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, April 9, 1914.)
A material man lets himself be worried and harrassed by little things but a spiritual man is always calm and serene under all circumstances.
(Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, July 10, 1914.)
If a person is confirmed in the accomplishment of the services of the Kingdom, his worldly conditions are of secondary importance. The greatest bestowal that it is possible for a soul to attain in this world is this: that he may spend his life, his forces, his possessions, his body, his heart and his spirit in the path of the service of the Blessed (Glory of God) and that towards the last of his life he may drink the cup of martyrdom. This is indeed the most blessed state, the loftiest pinnacle of perfection!
Is there a greater or more harrowing regret in the world than to spend one's physical energies in the awful road of lust, sinful passions, inordinate desires and the frivolities of the age! No! I declare by God! O how pitiful to watch the last flicker of hope dying out of such a life! Because when the last curtain falls on such a dissipated life he finds to his utter remorse his nerves racked, his resources drained, his fortune wrecked, his hopes unfulfilled, his opportunities lost, his visions unaccomplished, his energies wasted and the light of his spirit extinguished! What were the results of these deeds? What was the sum total of these thoughts? What was the outcome of this sowing of wild oats? Where is the man with his youthful ambitions? In what heap of mud and water did he throw the brilliant gems of his ideals? What has he done with his God-given intelligence? He has indeed lived a fruitless life, surrounded himself with the suggestions of passions and the gratification of selfish appetites. His life is brought to a tragic close, enveloped with regrets, remorse! Verily this is the most evident loss!
But, on the other hand, how glorious is the life of a person when toward the last days of his earthly existence he is able to contemplate with great satisfaction that, praise be to God, through the assistance of the Almighty, he has been fortunate and given his belongings, his life, his spirit, his body and all his faculties in the path of the love of God, accepting all manner of persecutions, revilings and afflictions with serenity of
consciousness and standing firm in the Cause till his very last breath. . . .
(Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, February 20, 1914.)
While we were living in Bagdad one of the most honorable men in Persia came there. He called on Baha'o'llah and as he used to come and see us often I became attached to him. I grew to love him very much and as he was not a believer I spoke to him about the Cause. I used to tell him:
"My friend, The aim of this life is not the acquirement of wealth, honor and glory, not the display of the animal attributes such as eating, sleeping and chasing worldly pleasure! Such aimless and insipid pursuits do not befit man who is endowed with divine effulgence and radiant longings. The object of this life is the attainment of the spirit, the manifestation of the fear of God, the attainment of the knowledge of God, the acquisition of the love of God, the attaining the good pleasure of the Lord of mankind. If man characterizes himself with these God-like attributes he will become freed from all ties of this mortal world, the light of God will shine in his heart, he will hear the voice of the heavenly angels, he will be surrounded by the confirmations of the Holy Spirit, he will become an irradiating center of the perfect names and qualities of the Merciful and a light through which the darkness of the world of humanity is dispelled!"
(Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, February 19, 1914.)
When a man is thirsty he drinks water. When he is hungry he eats food. But if a man be not thirsty, water gives him no pleasure and if his hunger be already satisfied, food is distasteful to him.
This is not so with spiritual enjoyments. Spiritual enjoyments bring always joy. The love of God brings endless happiness. These are joys in themselves and not alleviations. The life of animals is more simple than that of man. Animals have all their needs supplied for them. All the grasses of the meadows are free to them. The birds build their nests in the branching trees and the palaces of kings are not so beautiful. If earthly needs are all then the animals are better supplied than man. But man has another food, the heavenly manna of the knowledge of God. All the divine prophets and Manifestations appeared in the world that this heavenly manna might be given to man. This is the food which fosters spiritual growth and strength and causes pure illumination in the souls of men. They become filled with the breaths of the Holy Spirit. They increase in the knowledge of God and in those virtues which belong to the world of humanity. They attain to the very image and likeness of God.
What greater joy is there than this? When they invoke God's favor at the divine threshold their minds become open, they enter into spiritual pleasures and make discoveries. By this they enjoy ecstacies of the Spirit and see the world illumined. They are filled with insight. They become fully attuned to the bounties of God and see them face to face, acquiring in themselves the virtues of the Manifestations.* Thus it is that man shall attain to the utmost hopes of the holy ones and the saints.
If man could not attain to this illumination and these bounties the mineral world would be better than he for it is not deficient in anything. When man is deprived of the illumination of God he feels a lack and a shortcoming on his part.
* i. e. great, world prophets. "Manifestation" when spelled with a capital "M" signifies in these pages a divinely perfect master who manifests the attributes of God as a pure polished mirror reflects the sun.
(Continued on page 161)
STAR OF THE WEST
PUBLISHED NINETEEN TIMES A YEAR
By the BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, 515 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1911, at the post office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Terms: $1.50 per year; 10 cents per copy
Make Money Orders payable to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U. S. A.
To personal checks please add sufficient to cover the bank exchange.
Address all communications to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, Ill., U.S.A.
TABLET FROM ABDUL-BAHA.
HE IS GOD!
O thou Star of the West!
Be thou happy! Be thou happy! Shouldst thou continue to remain firm and eternal, ere long, thou shalt become the Star of the East and shalt spread in every country and clime. Thou art the first paper of the Bahais which is organized in the country of America. Although for the present thy subscribers are limited, thy form is small and thy voice weak, yet shouldst thou stand unshakable, become the object of the attention of the friends and the center of the generosity of the leaders of the faith who are firm in the Covenant, in the future thy subscribers will become hosts after hosts like unto the waves of the sea; thy volume will increase, thy arena will become vast and spacious and thy voice and fame will be raised and become world-wide—and at last thou shalt become the first paper of the world of humanity. Yet all these depend upon firmness, firmness, firmness!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
Vol. VII
No. 16
--PHOTO-- (with Persian text and "La Unua Festo de Esperanto En Persujo (Teheran.)") Esperanto class in Teheran, Persia
To the STAR OF THE WEST:
I am loaning you the photograph of the Esperanto class in Teheran, Persia, for reproduction. It was sent me by Miss Stewart. She writes concerning it:
"No. 1 is Bahman Mirza. a prince; No. 2, Mohammed Yazdi, a bright boy who has just gone to Kazvin to teach school there; No. 3 is Manichair Khan. These three have given Esperanto its start here. No. 4, sitting in a chair, is a Jew, whose name is Solem. He was in Paris at the same time that Abdul-Baha was there. He is the teacher of the Esperanto class."
In the center sits Dr. Susan I. Moody to the left, and Miss Elizabeth H. Stewart to the right.
Isabella D. Brittingham.
The Teaching Campaign
"Forward! Forward! my beloved soldiers"
(Extract from letter by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab.)
While at Stuttgart, Germany, Abdul-Baha was one day looking out of his hotel window, and, observing a regiment of soldiers passing by in great array, he said:
"They are ready to fight for their fatherland. How barbarous it seems to send men who do not even know each other to the battlefield in order to shoot each other down. The Bahai Grand Army consists of the invisible angels of the Supreme Concourse. Our swords are the words of love and life. Our armaments are the invisible armaments of Heaven. We are fighting against the forces of darkness. O my soldiers, my beloved soldiers! Forward! Forward! Have no fear of defeat; do not have failing hearts. Our supreme commander is Baha'o'llah. From the heights of glory he is directing this dramatic engagement. He commands us! Rush forward! Rush forward! Show the strength of your arms. Ye shall scatter the forces of ignorance. Your war confers life; their war brings death. Your war is the cause of the illumination of all mankind. Your war means victory upon victory. Their war is defeat upon defeat. Their war is the origin of destruction. There are no dangers before you. Push forward! Fire! Fire! Attack the enemy. Your efforts should be crowned with the diadem of eternal peace and brotherhood.
"His holiness the Christ was fighting even upon the cross and his triumphs have continued through ages and cycles."
News from the "soldiers" at the front
"ARISE! Shine for the Light has come". with unconquerable splendor to the American world. The hour has struck; the heavenly bell has rung. The most blessed year is at hand. A divine charter is spread before us in the form of five Tablets to the East, the West, the North, the South. This charter is given to us by the most glorious Servant of the world. Nothing more is needed. The time has arrived when the soldiers of light must go forth "and shine with such brilliancy as to illumine (the) entire continent."
Those who arise to serve are surrounded with the heavenly hosts of confirmation. At first this was a promise; now it is a verified reality. From all parts of the country come radiant glad tidings of the "majestic onward march of the Cause of God."
Mrs. Brittingham, Mr. Remey, Mr. Latimer, Mrs. Killius, Mr. Dunn, Mrs. Ralston, Mrs. Gillen and many others have entered the vast expanses of the Western States and are planting the pure seeds of the Kingdom in the prairie and the mountain regions of the untilled West. Mrs. Ford, Mr. William H. Randall, Mrs. Greenleaf, Dr. Bagdadi, Mrs. Brush, Mrs. Parmerton, Mrs. True and others
are proclaiming the new era and its glory in the states of the Central West. Mrs. Ford has spoken to large gatherings in Chicago, St. Paul, and Minneapolis. Mr. Randall has addressed splendid gatherings in St. Louis where hundreds were attracted and has started us thinking of Abdul-Baha's predictions for that city. To a believer in St. Louis, Abdul-Baha wrote a few years ago:
"Thy letter was received. Thou hast written that in these days the establishment of the meeting has become impossible in that city. Be thou not unhappy. A day shall come when innumerable meetings in the utmost grandeur shall be established in that city. The cause of God shall be raised and the breath of the Holy Spirit shall impart eternal life. Be thou not sad. This indifference is temporary. Ere long the fires of the love of God shall raise a flame in that city and the splendors of the sun of truth shall cast intense rays and the melody of the Kingdom shall be heard."
Mrs. May Maxwell and Mrs. Ober are on their way to the far Northeast to sow the seeds in the provinces of Canada. New centers have appeared over night as it were in Springfield, Massachusetts and in New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut. They were organized after inspiring peace meetings. Dr. Strong, Dr. Shook, Mrs. Finch and Mrs. Hannen have been doing great service in these cities.
The Bahais about Boston have trebled in numbers in the last six months. Group meetings are held throughout the suburbs.
Wonderful responses to the divine call have come also from the South. "Mother" Beecher has just gone into Virginia and Kentucky. For the past two months Rev. Mr. Tate and Mr. Louis Gregory have been scattering the heavenly seeds broadcast in the vast regions from the Atlantic Ocean to Texas. Mr. Tate has spoken to 15,000 and Mr. Gregory to 15,000 people this autumn. Mr. Gregory writes a friend from Tulsa, Oklahoma:
Tulsa, Oklahoma, Nov. 25, 1916.
Dear Bahai brother:
I do not now recall whether or not I told you a dream I had during the days of preparation for this journey. Abdul-Baha was standing before an audience in the attitude of teaching. By his direction I was serving as a waiter, passing to the people bread from a tray. When the wafers reached the people, they were transformed into tablets and upon them they were to indicate how many of them accepted the teachings and became Bahais. An overwhelming number of those who received the tablets thus signified by writing their acceptance. I awoke feeling very happy.
By the way the doors are opened to deliver the Message and the happiness manifested among those who give ear, this dream becomes a glorious reality.
I think I wrote you last from New Orleans. Since then the following points have been visited: Galveston, Prairie View, Austin, Waco, Corsicana, Dallas, Texas, and Langston, Oklahoma. At Langston, after hearing the Message, the school sang, "Arise! Shine for the Light has come and the Glory of the Lord is risen upon thee!" Several thousand have heard the glad tidings, in these centers, without a word of opposition. Truly great are the divine confirmations from the Kingdom of El-Abha! The might of the Covenant removes all obstacles!
Tonight there is an audience of five hundred in a Methodist church. The pastor has given the right of way. The Bahai address will take the place of the sermon.
Leave for Arkansas and Northern Mississippi tomorrow. Am very happy over the results.
Praise be to God and Bahai greeting to the friends! May you ever be supremely happy!
In His Name, I have the honor to be
Your servant,
Louis G. Gregory.
Other News Notes
Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 30, 1916.
Indianapolis will get to be an important center if you Chicago people take it into your hand. I talked on the Cause to eighteen hundred people at the Short-ridge High School, and to hundreds at the church and other meetings, all of whom appreciate the great Message, and are hungry for further teaching and speakers. I dwelt at length upon the Mashrak-el-Azkar, and in time this will become a fruitful field. . . .
Ali Kuli Khan.
The Shirley Hotel, Denver, Colo.,
November 11, 1916.
I am having nightly meetings, with some new faces nearly always. Two leading Theosophists present last night were greatly attracted. Large advertised meeting for Sunday afternoon—subject, "Universal Peace." George (Latimer) and Mason (Remey) to arrive today, and we will all address the meeting.
Isabella D. Brittingham
Washington, D. C., Dec. 25, 1916.
To the STAR OF THE WEST:
A line to cheer those striving to spread the knowledge of God and His Covenant. During the recent journey through fourteen Southern states the hearts were found most receptive. The principles of unity and the Great Message were presented in churches, schools, colleges, Y. M. C. A., and social gatherings to a multitude of people. So slight was the opposition, even in the ranks of the clergy, as to be not worthy of mention. The souls of people were rejoiced, and their spirits exhilarated by the glad tidings. In one meeting, held at Memphis, Tenn., over fifty persons, all in sight save one, after hearing the message and proofs, arose and said the Greatest Name. Without exception, souls were found ready in cities where the message was given. The strongholds of orthodoxy were taken by the fire of divine love. Success was attained through divine confirmations.
The time has come to declare the message from the housetops. Yet with wisdom withal. The hearts are hungry for the heavenly manna. Let us forget human limitations in the pursuit of divine ideals. The call of God is, work, speak, write, start assemblies, use all proper means of bringing life to the dead body of humanity. The veils are disappearing. The following tablet* shows what Abdul-Baha expects of us:
O ye spiritual friends of Abdul-Baha!
How long are ye silent and speechless? Although ye are speaking, yet in this age the speech of the believers of God must be the soul entrancing melody of the Kingdom of Abha and the harmony of the Supreme Concourse!
Therefore Abdul-Baha is not satisfied with a meek voice and depressing lamentation! He seeks the passionate tumult and joyous clamor and he roars and cries at the top of his voice so that the realities of things may stir into movement and action and the Beloved of Bounty unveil her countenance in the world of creation!
Those friends must, like unto the stars in heaven, shine and gleam in the horizon of Truth with the Light of Guidance so that the realities of the existent beings and the spirit of humankind may find joy and happiness!
Upon ye be greeting and praise!
(Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS.
Louis G. Gregory.
*Translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Washington, D. C., May 27, 1910.
The Convention of the Mashrak-el-Azkar
Haifa, Syria, October 12, 1916.
Mr. Alfred Lunt, Boston, Mass.
My dear brother in the Cause:
The heavenly beacon of Truth is shining from the horizon of the Supreme Concourse, irradiating to all directions and dispelling the darkness of doubts and ignorance but the majority of mankind are held fast in the grim claws of a sound sleep. In these days of wars and battles many rays of hope and cheer have emanated from the sun of the Covenant. One of these shining rays has appeared in the form of a tablet in your name, the translation of which is the following:
To his honor, Mr. Alfred Lunt—Upon him be greeting and praise!
O thou my friend of the Kingdom!
Praise be to God, that the city of Boston is stirred into cheerfulness and the believers of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful in the utmost firmness and steadfastness in the Covenant and Testament are engaged in the diffusion of the fragrances of God, that the divine favors and bestowals are continually descending upon the assembly of that city, for they have attained to capacity, and capacity like unto a magnet attracts the heavenly graces unto men. Ever do I supplicate at the threshold of the Lord of Hosts and beg for the friends infinite confirmations. It is my hope that supplications toward the Kingdom of God may be answered.
According to what is heard the convention of Mashrak-el-Azkar was going to be held in Boston. The believers of Boston must consider this as one of the greatest divine bounties and strive with all their strength so that all the delegates coming to the convention from the different cities of America may become attracted, thankful and grateful and spend a few days with the utmost joy and happiness; thus the convention in a behooving manner may become assisted in the promotion of the teachings of God, the hearts may become like unto the clear mirrors, the rays of the Sun of Reality shine therein, the melody of thanksgiving and glorification to the Lord of Hosts may ascend to the Supreme Concourse, the sleepy ones become awakened and the dead ones alive. Convey to each and all the friends longing greeting on my behalf.
Upon thee be greeting and praise!
In the course of this year we have received fewer letters from the American friends although I suppose they have written to us regularly. It is our misfortune that we should not receive their messages of love and affection. Abdul-Baha's health has been more than well, especially after our trip to Tiberias. The medicinal value of the baths there has been known for more than 2000 years and people from all parts of the country go there with their nervous ailments to be cured. The weather also is very dry. Many of us slept in the open air under the glorious heaven studded with luminous stars. The cool western breeze wafting all night lulled the sleeper into sound and refreshing sleep. Only we are so very sorry that the gate of the sacred land is closed before the face of all the lovers of truth but we pray and hope that ere long the obstacles will be removed and free communications established.
Give, please, my love to all the believers,
Your faithful brother,
Ahmad.
Letter from England
Manchester, England,
December 22, 1916.
To the STAR OF THE WEST;
Dear friends: I am enclosing a cheque for two pounds and five shillings which I want you to separate into two parts. One part, twelve shillings and six pence to go towards sending copies of the STAR OF THE WEST for two years to my sister, and one pound and seven shillings to go to the Mashrak-el-Azkar fund from the Manchester friends. The remainder to go to the STAR OF THE WEST to help against its expenses. I know you will do these two things for me, if at all possible. I know not where I shall be sent after New Year's day (January 1st), for I am a conscript and under military law, and the war is, perhaps, not nearly over. But I am a follower of Abdul-Baha and a true believer in God, and meet the future with resignation and peace of heart, for with all my faults and mistakes, I have come nearer and nearer the love of God and the radiance of Abdul-Baha. God be praised! I shall hope to be able to do good wherever I get to.
God bless you all.
Ever sincerely,
Edward Theodore Hall.
The Divine Art of Living—Chapter One
(Continued from page 155)
God created in us a divine holy spirit,—the human spirit with its intellectual powers which are above the powers of nature. By this he enjoys the ecstasies of the spirit and sees the world illumined. The tree and the stone have not this power; they have no mind or soul; therefore they are excused. We are not excused. This power gives man effectual control over nature. He is enabled to discover reality and bring invisible things into the courts of the visible. Thus he is enabled to render effective the will of God and give it material station. This is what is meant by his holiness Baha'o'llah when he said, "Verily we have created thee rich, why have ye made yourselves poor?" And Jesus Christ, when he said, "The Father is in me and I in you." It was this power which through Baha'o'llah said, "Noble have I created you, why do ye degrade yourselves?" This power distinguishes you above all other creatures, why do you devote it only to your material conditions? This is that which should be used for the acquisition and manifestation of the bounties of God, that ye may establish the kingdom of God among men and attain to happiness in both worlds, the visible and the invisible.
(Address given by Abdul-Baha, at Green Acre, August 20, 1912.)
Asked, "How could a man who does not know God feel it a punishment to be without that knowledge?" Abdul-Baha answered:
"No man can be happy without God, though he may not know why he is miserable."
(Extract from Notes of Aline Shane Devin, October, 1900.)
The soul of man must be happy, no matter where he is. One must attain to that condition of inward beatitude and peace, then outward circumstances will not alter his spiritual calmness and joyousness. No one can imagine a worse place than the barracks of Acca.* The
*The prison in Palestine to which Baha'o'llah and his family and some other Bahais were sent in 1868.
climate was bad, the water was no better. The surroundings were filthy and dirty, the treatment of the officials was unbearable and we were looked upon as the enemies of religion and corruptors of morals. The government had given an order that during our stay in Acca no one must talk with us and we must not talk with each other. Having arrived in Acca they found there were not enough rooms in the barracks to imprison us separately so they put us all in two rooms with no furniture at all. The court of the barrack had a most gloomy aspect. There were three or four fig trees over the branches of which several ominous owls screeched all night. Every one got sick and there were neither provisions nor medicine. At the entrance of the barrack there was an undertaker's room. It was a horrible room. Yet I lived there two years with the utmost happiness. Up to that period I had not had time to read the Koran from first to last but then I had ample time and used to read this holy book with fervor and enthusiasm. Going over the incidents and events of the lives of former prophets and finding how parallel they were with that of Baha'o'llah, I was consoled and encouraged. I would read for instance the following verse: "How thoughtless are the people! Whenever a prophet is sent to them they either ridicule him or persecute him." And then I would read this verse, "Verily, our host is victorious over them."
I was very happy all the time because I was a free man. Shut off in that room my spirit traveled throughout the immensity of space. At night I went on the roof and communed with the countless stars. What a divine feast! What a heavenly procession! What a spiritual freedom! What beatific bliss! What celestial sovereignty!
(Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, July 3, 1913.)
God has given man a heart and the heart must have some attachment. We have proved that nothing is completely worthy of our heart's devotion save reality, for all else is destined to perish. Therefore the heart is never at rest and never finds real joy and happiness until it attaches itself to the eternal. How foolish the bird that builds its nest in a tree that may perish when it could build its nest in an ever-verdant garden of paradise!
Man must attach himself to an infinite reality so that his glory, his joy and his progress may be infinite. Only the spirit is real; everything else is as shadow. All bodies are disintegrated in the end; only reality subsists. All physical perfections come to an end; but the divine virtues are infinite. How many kings have flourished in luxury and in a brief moment all has disappeared! Their glory and their honor are forgotten. Where are the sovereigns now? But those who have been servants of the divine beauty are never forgotten. The result of their works is everywhere visible. What king is there of two thousand years ago whose kingdom has lived in the hearts? But those disciples who were devoted to God, poor people who had neither fortune nor position, are today trees bearing fruit. Their banner is raised higher every day.
(Divine Philosophy; p. 107.)
The world needs more happiness and illumination. The star of happiness is in every heart; we must remove the clouds so that it may twinkle radiantly. Happiness is an internal condition. When it is once established man will ascend to the supreme heights of bliss. A truly happy man will not be subject to the shifting eventualities of time. Like unto an eternal king lie will sit upon the throne of fixed realities. He will be impervious to outward, changing circumstances and through his deeds and actions he will impart happiness to others.
A Bahai must be happy for the blessings of God are bestowed upon him.
(Diary of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, January 7, 1914.)
Know thou that there are two kinds of happiness—spiritual and material.
As to material happiness, it never exists; nay, it is but imagination, an image reflected in mirrors, a specter and shadow. Consider the nature of material happiness. It is something, which but slightly removes one's afflictions; yet the people imagine it to be joy, delight, exultation and blessing. All the material blessings, including food, drink, etc., tend only to allay thirst, hunger and fatigue. They bestow no delight on the mind nor pleasure on the soul; nay, they furnish only the bodily wants. So this kind of happiness has no real existence.
As to spiritual happiness, this is the true basis of the life of man because life is created for happiness, not for sorrow; for pleasure, not for grief. Happiness is life; sorrow is death. Spiritual happiness is life eternal. This is a light which is not followed by darkness. This is an honor which is not followed by shame. This is a life that is not followed by death. This is an existence that is not followed by annihilation. This great blessing and precious gift is obtained by man only through the guidance of God.
Spiritual happiness is light, while sorrow is darkness.
This happiness is glad-tidings, while sorrow is disappointment.
This happiness is the Kingdom while sorrow is the earthly world.
This happiness is life, while sorrow is non-existence.
This happiness is the fundamental basis from which man is created, worlds are originated, the contingent beings have existence and the world of God appears like unto the appearance of the sun at mid-day.
This happiness is but the love of God.
This happiness is but the eternal might the brilliant traces of which are shining forth unto the temples of unity.
Were it not for this happiness the world of existence would not have been created.
(Extract from an early Tablet to a Bahai in Paris.)
Thy letter was received, and its perusal imparted happiness impossible to describe. It was an indication of the loftiness of thy nature, the strength of thy effort and the purity of thy intentions. Abdui-Baha's happiness is caused by such matters. If the material luxuries of the whole earth were available to Abdul-Baha he would not think for one moment that there was such a thing as comfort and luxury in the world. But when a soul-perfuming fragrance is wafted from the rose-garden of the hearts of the friends to the nostrils of Abdul-Baha, such joy is realized that involuntarily I render thanksgiving unto the Blessed Perfection who has trained such servants.
(Extract from a Tablet to an American Bahai; translated December 29, 1912.)
O my brother, when a seeker intends to turn the step of search and journeying into the path of the knowledge of the King of Pre-existenee, he must first cleanse and purify the heart—which is the place of the appearance and emanation of the splendor of the hidden mysteries of divinity—and he must cleanse and refine his breast—which is the throne for the accession and establishment of the love of the eternal Beloved—from all gloomy dusts of acquired learnings and from the allusions of satanic appearances. He must likewise sanctify his heart from attachment to water and clay—that is, from all phantasmal forms and spectral images—in such manner that no trace of love or hatred may remain in the heart,
lest that love may cause him to incline toward a direction, without guide, or that hatred prevent him from turning in another direction, just as in this day most are bereft of the immortal Face and of the threshold of meanings because of these two tendencies and are grazing shepherdless in the deserts of error and oblivion. He should at all times trust in God and turn away from the creatures; be severed and detached from the world of dust and united with the Lord of Lords; not preferring his own self before any one but cleansing the tablet of his heart from pride and vain-glory; attaching the heart to patience and self-restraint; observing silence and avoiding useless speech; for the tongue is a smouldering fire and loquacity is a deadly poison. Material fire devours bodies, but the fire of the tongue consumes souls and minds. The effect of the former vanishes in an hour but the latter continues for a century.
He should consider backbiting as error and never step into that court, for backbiting extinguishes the brilliant light of the heart and numbs the life of the soul. He should be content with little and free from avarice; profiting by the companionship of the severed ones and regarding seclusion from haughty and worldly people as a benefit. At dawn he should be engaged in commemorations, seeking for that Beloved One with the utmost earnestness and power; consuming heedlessness with the fire of love and praise; passing over all else save God with the swiftness of lightning; bestowing a portion upon the destitute and not refusing benevolence and favor to the unfortunate. He should show kindness to the animals; how much more to mankind, (especially) to the people of the Beyan; refusing not his life for the Beloved and turning not away from the True One when approached by the creatures. He should not wish for others what he doth not wish for himself nor say that which he will not fulfill; keeping aloof from evildoers with all determination and asking the forgiveness of God in their behalf; condoning the sinners and despising them not for the end is not known. Many a sinner who is favored with the essence of faith at the time of death drinks the wine of immortality and hastens to the Supreme Concourse; while many a believing and obedient one is estranged at the time of the soul's departure and dwells in the lowest abyss of fire. In a word the traveler and seeker should consider all else save God mortal and account all but the Adored One as nothing.
These conditions form the attributes of the lofty ones and nature of the spiritual ones. This hath already been mentioned concerning the requirements of the striver and the conduct of travelers in the highways of positive knowledge. When these conditions are realized in a sincere seeker and an unrestrained traveler then the term "striver" becomes true concerning him. When he is confirmed in the performance of "those who strive in us," he will surely enjoy the glad tidings of "We will direct them into our ways."
When the lamp of search, effort, longing, fervor, love, rapture, attraction and devotion is enkindled in the heart and the breeze of love blows forth from the direction of Unity the darkness of error, doubt and uncertainty will be dispelled and the lights of knowledge and assurance will encompass all the pillars of existence. Then the ideal herald will dawn as the true morn from the divine city with spiritual glad tidings and awaken the heart, soul and spirit from the sleep of negligence with the trumpet of knowledge. Then the favors and confirmations of the eternal Holy Spirit will impart such a new life that one will find himself the possessor of a new eye, a new ear, a new heart and a new mind and will direct his attention to the clear, universal signs and to the hidden individual secrets.
(Book of Ighan, by Baha'o'llah; pp. 137-140.)
