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WORLD ORDER
SEPTEMBER, 1945
BUILDING A UNITED WORLD—Margaret Kunz Ruhe
COSTA RICA, THE BEAUTIFUL—Gayle Woolson
WORLD UNDERTAKINGS, Editorial—Horace Holley
PROGRESS TOWARD AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE—Arthur Dahl
THE WORLD WITHOUT NATIONS, Book Review
—Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick
EARLY GROWTH OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH—Mariam Haney
WITH OUR READERS
THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE
World Order was founded March 21, 1910 as Bahá’í News, the first organ of the American Bahá’ís. In March, 1911, its title was changed to Star of the West. Beginning November, 1922 the magazine appeared under the name of The Bahá’í Magazine. The issue of April, 1935 carried the present title of World Order, combining The Bahá’í Magazine and World Unity, which had been founded October, 1927. The present number represents Volume XXXVI of the continuous Bahá’í publication.
WORLD ORDER is published monthly in Wilmette, Ill., by the Publishing
Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United
States and Canada. EDITORS: Garreta Busey, Gertrude K. Henning, Horace
Holley, Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick.
Editorial Office
Mrs. Gertrude K. Henning, Secretary
69 ABBOTSFORD ROAD, WINNETKA, ILL.
Publication Office
110 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, ILL.
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Foreign subscriptions, $1.75. Make checks and money orders payable to World
Order Magazine, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. Entered as second class
matter April 1, 1940, at the post office at Wilmette, Ill., under the Act of March
3, 1879. Contents copyrighted 1945 by Bahá’í Publishing Committee. Title
registered at U. S. Patent Office.
ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE
WORLD ORDER
The Bahá’í Magazine
VOLUME XI SEPTEMBER, 1945 NUMBER 6
Building a United World
MARGARET KUNZ RUHE
WE ARE living today in an
era of tremendous change,
of swiftly altering events, and
we know and sense that out of
all the chaos, confusion, and collapse
of our present world some
kind of a rebirth is taking shape.
There is a stirring of new life
deep in the currents of human
affairs, and we are longing and
praying, now that the war is over,
that the days which lie ahead will
bring a just peace.
What can we do about the future? What can we do now to build towards a lasting, enduring peace? Our ideas are muddled and foggy. We have perhaps a vague longing to be somehow effective in building a new and better world, but what to do? Where to look for guidance? Most people are bewildered, and consequently are taking the fatalistic attitude that what is going to be is going to be anyway, so why do anything? There is great danger in this “take it easy” attitude. It has always been the American belief that things will somehow turn out “O. K.” So we drift along trying to overlook the seriousness of the situation facing us, vainly hoping that the good old days will return.
In order to find out what we can do, let us examine our poor shattered world, which like the proverbial Humpty Dumpty, has fallen to pieces to the point where we wonder if it can ever be put together again. Our world appears to be afflicted with severe maladies and disorders of every kind.
First, we witness a world where political anarchy is the most striking feature. Nationalism and chauvinism have become so strong that each nation thinks only of itself. After World War I, treaties, charters, covenants, pacts, and contracts were enacted among the various nations, but they all proved ineffective in the end.
In the area of economic relations
the same is true. Each
country has considered only its
own needs. Self-sufficiency is the
[Page 162]
goal, and high tariff walls have
been constructed around each
country so that the natural flow
of goods has been stifled. The
result is international bankruptcy
and war.
Another striking feature of our day is that we live in a time of tremendous scientific advancement. Materially, we have comforts, conveniences, pleasures, and luxuries which kings and queens of old dared not dream of. But as a result we have come to worship material things and we measure success entirely in terms of material and economic progress. As long as our standard of living was going up, as long as there were more radios, telephones, bathtubs, washing machines, movies, etc., we have felt somehow that humanity was in a state of progress. But economic progress is good only as long as it is a means to a higher social order. Furthermore, the means of science have been used to devise methods for killing and destruction.
We live in a day of great advances in learning and in research of all kinds—chemical, medical, biological, sociological, psychological, etc., etc. Never before have we had so many books, libraries, teachers, professors, colleges, schools, lecturers, academies, degrees, and college graduates. Knowledge and its dissemination have not been neglected, but rather advanced in brilliant and unparalled fashion, and yet our civilization has rotted and decayed, because we have educated only the mind and not the human heart. Today the education of the human heart is the crying need.
Morally and religiously our world has declined. Civilization has disintegrated from within because of the breakdown of moral standards and the loosening of the hold of religion on the peoples of the world. This is being recognized today by many leading thinkers and writers. It is striking as you study books on world affairs to find that many students of current events are waking up to the fact that the doom of our world is caused by the fact that we are living in a moral vacuum. Edward Hallet Carr in his recent book Conditions of Peace says: “The essential nature of the crisis through which we are living is neither political, military, economic, but moral. A new faith in a new moral purpose is required to reanimate our political and economic system.” Other writers have reached the same conclusion: that our civilization has approached bankruptcy because of the breakdown of the inner moral and religious strongholds.
[Page 163]
Finally, we find that in the
area of social relationships there
is disharmony and hatred because
of deep-seated prejudices
of every kind. In every country
of the world people are hating
each other, and killing each other
because of prejudices of class,
religion, color, education, nationality,
creed, race, etc. In
India the caste system is an old-time
tradition with a class of
untouchables. In the Near East
we find Christians, Muḥammedans
and Jews at each others
throats. Europe is torn up with a
thousand prejudices of nationality,
race, and religion. In our
own country we find insults, injustices,
humiliations, and discriminations
heaped on Mexicans,
Jews, Orientals, Negroes,
and American Indians. What the
world needs more than anything
else is the abandonment of prejudices.
How can this be done?
Prejudices lie deep in our emotions, and therefore they can be wiped out only by a reconditioning of our emotional selves. The negative emotions of hatred, suspicion, fear, and distrust must be transformed into the positive emotions of cooperation, mutual trust, brotherhood, love, understanding, and fellowship. There is needed a universal recognition of the oneness of mankind, of brotherhood, and the underlying, basic unity of all peoples. Bahá’u’lláh, the greatest teacher of humanity of our day and the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, says: “The tabernacle of unity has been raised; the earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens. Regard ye not one another as strangers.—Ye are all the leaves of one tree and the drops of one sea. Let not a man glory in this that he loves his country. Let him rather glory in this that he loves his kind.” Bahá’u’lláh’s central teaching is that we are approaching the day of the unification of the entire human race. Now is the time when all prejudices must be wiped out and a consciousness of unity be born, or the human race faces certain extinction. All the different elements of society must be fused into one organic whole. The time has come for the blending and harmonizing of all peoples. This is the sine qua non of humanity’s survival. Without universal acceptance of the oneness of mankind, the human race is doomed.
Physically and even intellectually
we are achieving a degree
of unity, but in the realm of the
emotions we are widely separated.
Our emotional growth
has not kept pace with our material
and intellectual growth.
This emotional transformation
can be brought about only
through a spiritual rebirth.
[Page 164]
Men’s hearts and spirits must
again be kindled by the fire of
the love of God. We are living
in an age of spiritual anemia.
Herbert Agar points out that
there exists a “spiritual thinness”
in modern peoples. We
are lost in a sea of materialism,
and thus have allowed ourselves
to become spiritually undernourished.
And yet it remains
true now as always that “man
does not live by bread alone,”
and so we sense that the basic
need of our age is the rebirth of
spiritual values and of God-consciousness
in the hearts and
minds of men.
The concept of unity which Bahá’u’lláh has sounded as the key-note for this day pertains not only to relations between individuals, but to the relations between nations and peoples of all backgrounds. This is a message of unity which goes beyond the traditional brotherhood concept; its implications are deeper. It declares that today unity must be established between all groups, religions, cultures, classes, nations, and sects in the world. It envisions a world federation with an international code of law, a world communications system, a world metropolis, a world language, a world script, a world system of currency and weights and measures, a free press, a unified economic scheme —unity but not uniformity. There will always be differences among the people, but at the same time there will evolve a unity of spirit and a willingness to be world-minded and to give up narrow national concepts for broader international concepts. Something will be added to the culture of each country. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, says: “The call today is for a wider loyalty, a larger aspiration than any that has animated the human race. There must be a subordination of national impulses and interests to the imperative claims of a unified world. The watchword is unity in diversity.”
What can we as individuals do to aid in building a new, a unified world?
First of all, we must rid ourselves
of the idea that we can
take it easy because what is going
to be is going to be. This is
a fatalistic attitude for which
there is no room today. Second,
we must empty ourselves of all
our prejudices. This is not easy.
We all have prejudices. They are
hidden deep within us and we
may not even be aware of them.
Constant self-scrutiny and re-examination
are needed to keep
ourselves free from these germs
of prejudice which are highly
contagious and to be caught from
almost anyone all the time. The
[Page 165]
doors of our minds and souls
must be flung wide open to allow
old ideas to pass out and new
ideas to enter.
High seriousness is required. This is not at all typical of us as a people. We tend to laugh our way out of all serious situations, and overlook or ignore the sore spots in our civilization and in our selves.
We must independently investigate truth for this day. Bahá’u’lláh has brought us a great message of hope and light, and it is our first obligation to study and meditate upon his Teachings.
It is our duty to constantly and unceasingly talk to others in order to spread our ideas of unity. It is our responsibility to counteract every negative thought with a positive thought. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá advised us to change every thought of war into a stronger thought for peace.
The standard of God must again be hoisted. It is God’s plan for this day that humanity shall be united. We are entering the stage of maturity for all mankind. Let us do our part here and now to build a united world. Bahá’u’lláh has said, “That one is indeed a man who dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s promise keeps our courage and faith high. He assured us that “this is a new cycle of human power. All the horizons of the world are luminous, and the world will become indeed as a garden and a paradise. It is the hour of unity of the sons of men and of the drawing together of all races and all classes.”
The mission of the prophets, the revelation of the holy books, the manifestations of the heavenly teachers and the purpose of divine philosophy all center in the training of the human realities so that they may become clear and pure as mirrors and reflect the light and love of the Sun of Reality. Therefore I hope that whether you be in the east or the west you will strive with heart and soul in order that day by day the world of humanity may become glorified, more spiritual, more sanctified; and that the splendor of the Sun of Reality may be revealed fully in human hearts as in a mirror. This is worthy of the world of mankind. This is the true evolution and progress of humanity. This is the supreme bestowal.
Costa Rica, the Beautiful
GAYLE WOOLSON
WHEN I first read the fortifying,
faith-imbuing statement
of Bahá’u’lláh: “They that
have forsaken their country for
the purpose of teaching Our
Cause—these shall the faithful
Spirit strengthen through its
power. A company of Our chosen
angels shall go forth with them,
as bidden by Him Who is the
Almighty, the All-Wise. How
great the blessedness that awaiteth
him that hath attended the
honor of serving the Almighty!
By My Life! No act, however
great, can compare with it, except
such deeds as have been
ordained by God, the All-Powerful,
the Most Mighty. Such a
service is indeed the prince of
all goodly deeds, and the ornament
of every goodly act,” I felt
reinforced with an assurance
that I would never hesitate or be
afraid to go to any foreign
country in the service of the Holy
Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. It was,
then, in response to the Guardian’s
appeal for pioneers for
Latin America in his message
to the 1939 Convention that I
was privileged to go to the
beautiful land of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica, the heart of the Americas, with its friendly, warm-hearted people of world renowned hospitality, its rich picturesque scenery and delightful climate, is a jewel among Latin American countries unsurpassed in its beauty and charm. The name of this tiny Central American republic lying between Nicaragua and Panama means “Rich Shore” which bears eloquent testimony to the country’s wealth of blessings.
It was on March 23, 1940, that Mrs. Amalia Ford, the other pioneer, and I boarded the United Fruit Company steamship, the S. S. Ulua, at New Orleans, and headed for Costa Rica where we were to carry God’s new Message which Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed to the world to cure the ills that exist in society by establishing the Divine Teachings He revealed for the unification and spiritual regeneration of humanity.
On our way, the boat made a
day’s stop at Havana, Cuba,
where we were met at the dock
by Philip and June Marangella,
the first pioneers of that country.
We spent a wonderful and
eventful day with these devoted
pioneers who have lent such
valuable services to the establishment
of the Bahá’í Faith in
Havana. We spent a memorable
[Page 167]
afternoon in their apartment that
day where we were gathered with
the first Bahá’í of Cuba, Sr.
Perfecto Perez, and held a memorial
meeting for Mrs. May
Maxwell, the great international
Bahá’í teacher, who had recently
laid down her life in the path
of God in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
After thirty-eight years of
consecrated, selfless service to
the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, “her
earthly life, so rich, eventful, incomparably
blessed” was “worthily
ended”. She who had won the
“priceless honor (of a) martyr’s
crown” and who has been titled
the “Mother of the Latin races”
is a shining example and great
source of inspiration to all
Bahá’í teachers.
We landed at Puerto Limon, the Atlantic port of Costa Rica, on March 29th, after an extremely pleasant week’s journey. Landing on Costa Rican shores was like entering into a new world. A thrilling new world it was, indeed, for I found myself, all at once, amidst Spanish speaking people, with different customs, temperaments and way of being. Not knowing Spanish at the time made this world especially new to me; Mrs. Ford, though, was well-versed in the language. We were immediately impressed with the friendly, cordial attitude of the people making us feel welcome the instant we set foot on their soil.
A most picturesque and fascinating trip was the hundred-mile journey inland from the port to our final destination—San José, the capital city. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful rail trips in the world. Along the coast are the usual palm-fringed bays, inlets and rivers and the typical beautiful vistas of the tropics, while the interior is high up in the mountains. An ever-changing panorama of large banana, cacao and coffee plantations, sugar cane, cocoanut palms, tropical fruit and flower trees, orchid plants, valleys, rivers and streams, native huts with their friendly peasant owners waving at the passengers is disclosed as the train winds its way up the mountains until the lofty peaks of the Cordilleras, backbone of Central America, appear majestically on the horizon.
No less exhilarating than the
magnificent scenery is the invigorating
change that takes place
in the atmosphere, introducing a
spring-like tang in the air as one
leaves the warmer coastal region
and is carried to the bracing altitude
of the interior. The view
throughout this section of the
journey may aptly be described
as breath-taking. The whole valley
of the Reventazon River may
be seen with one sweep of the
[Page 168]
eye with the rushing river itself
appearing as a tiny, narrow ribbon
of white foam a thousand or
more feet below the train. The
charm and delights of Costa Rica
grew hour by hour, and a highlight
was experienced as the
train, approaching San José,
made a steep, winding climb into
the heart of the mountains. The
heights were seen above where
San José is embedded, and as we
went higher and higher, it was as
though we were ascending to
some mysterious, unknown kingdom
high up in the heavens. A
heart-gripping emotion was
sensed as we reached the capital,
the new recipient of the light of
Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings for world
unity, universal love and spiritual
brotherhood, an emotion both
of gratitude for the privilege of
being a bearer of this glorious
message to this virgin territory,
and of awareness of the great responsibility
which such a mission
implied.
San José is a beautiful, modern city, bordered on all sides with inspiring mountains. In addition to the numerous attractive parks, one sees an abundance of trees and flowers, occasionally an entire tree covered with red, yellow or lavender flowers adorning its setting. It has approximately 80,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom are of almost pure Spanish descent. The altitude of the city is about 4,000 feet above sea level which gives it an ideal spring-like climate the year around with an average sea level temperature of 70 degrees, somewhat cooler at night. Every morning is a bright spring morning in San José. There is no autumn or cold winter. The trees, shrubs and grass are green, and the flowers bloom throughout the year. It has two seasons, the dry season from November to April and the rainy season during the remaining months when its rains in the afternoons, sometimes until evening, but the mornings are generally lovely and sunny. San José has been becoming more and more a summer resort.
In Costa Rica one finds a
peaceful, peace-loving, hospitable
people, rich and poor alike,
and a tranquil atmosphere with
none of the hustle and bustle of
the large cities of North America.
Life moves along in a leisurely
sort of way, and the visitor eventually
comes to realize that,
after all, a little more of the
“mañana” spirit helps to make
life more enjoyable. The beautiful
innate qualities of the Latin
Americans make them splendid
Bahá’ís. They are a people of
exquisite human feelings. They
are kind, courteous, loving,
friendly and tactful. They are
extremely careful not to hurt
anyone’s feelings, a trait which
[Page 169]
is a natural inclination of their
sensitive natures. They have
great spiritual and intellectual
capacity, possess a keen sense of
humor and are poets by nature,
as among them the ability to
compose poetry seems almost
universally prevalent. Because of
these characteristics and the
growing trend toward liberalism,
the Bahá’í Teachings have
found great receptivity in Latin
America.
Our first opening in getting our Bahá’í work started in San José was made through the Chamber of Commerce where we inquired about groups interested in liberal thought. We were informed that Señorita Esther Mezerville, a former director of the Girls’ College and a member of the Theosophical Society was the one to see. The kind gentleman giving us this information even telephoned her and made an appointment for us to see her. She was a charming, gracious lady of dignified bearing who listened to the Message with interest. She took us to visit Professor Roberto Brenes Mesen, well-known Costa Rican educator, writer and poet, and his wife. In the course of our conversation, we were delighted to learn that he had spoken in the Temple some years ago when he lived in Evanston and taught at Northwestern University. Miss Mezerville also contacted the president of the Theosophical Society in our behalf, who invited us to their hall where Mrs. Ford presented the Message. We found the Theosophists receptive to the Teachings and to be our true friends and collaborators.
Things moved fast for us and within a month after our arrival, a weekly Bahá’í study class was established. The few attendants we had were from the Theosophical Society and other contacts that were made. At that time we were living in a pension (boarding house) and the landlady gave us permission to use her dining room for our class. A funny incident occurred after our first meeting when the landlady had a sudden change of heart, and as the friends began to arrive for the second meeting, she firmly informed us that under no condition could we have our meeting there. We felt we had the right to use our own bedroom so we invited the friends in there but the lady would not allow us to use any of her chairs. With the use of the edge of the bed, some of our suit cases and the one lonely chair we had in the bedroom for seats, we happily carried on our meeting. Through the efforts of one of the friends, a small apartment was soon found for us where our meetings were conducted with freedom and regularity.
[Page 170]
Rapid progress was made with
the marvelous cooperation of the
friends. One would bring a relative,
another a friend to the
meetings and they would take
active part by speaking and presenting
papers they had written
on the Teachings. They showed
wonderful ability to express
themselves both in speech and
in writing. After the reading of
passages from the Bahá’í Writings,
most interesting discussions
would follow. Almost invariably,
someone would bring, of
his own volition, a commentary
he was inspired to write on some
principle or aspect of the Cause.
We were fortunate in getting fine
publicity early in the course of
our work as one of the new believers
was the owner and editor
of the magazine, “Alma Tica”,
(meaning Costa Rican Soul), in
which a section was devoted to
the Bahá’í Teachings in each edition.
Since the war, however,
this publication has been temporarily
discontinued.
The group grew to the extent that the following year, 1941, when the time arrived for the formation of the Spiritual Assembly, there were twelve Costa Rican Bahá’ís to take part in the election. In a letter from Shoghi Effendi to the Spiritual Assembly of San José, written December 17, 1941, by the Guardian’s secretary, he said: “Your Assembly will go down in history as the first Bahá’í Assembly in Central America, a great distinction and blessing, and the Guardian feels that if you continue to progress so rapidly you will soon be in a position to spread the Cause, through representatives of your Community, in other neighboring lands. This would be of great value to the work of teaching these divine laws and truths, as then the Latin Americans would be hearing it from the lips of their own people, in their own language, which, of course, would be very effective.”
The progress continued and in the following year on April 21, 1942, a Spiritual Assembly was formed in Puntarenas, a sea port on the Pacific side, in the province of that same name, another one of the seven provinces of Costa Rica. It was very interesting how this came about. Our one prized Bahá’í family of San José was visited by a son living in Puntarenas who was, as yet, unaware of the Teachings.
Upon being told of the Cause
and reading some of the literature,
he became aflame with
ardor and devotion, finding, at
last, that for which his soul was
thirsting. He took Bahá’í books
and pamphlets back with him
when he returned to Puntarenas
and in his place of work, the
custom house, during spare moments,
[Page 171]
he would gather a few of
his intimate friends, also employed
in the Custom House or
at the pier, and read the Teachings
to them. He became the first
Bahá’í of Puntarenas, and seven
of the men were interested. They
expressed a desire to form a
study class. It was just at this
time that the chairman of the
San José Assembly was transferred
to Puntarenas in his work,
enabling him to help the new
group with their meetings. As
Puntarenas is only a four hour
train ride from San José, I was
able to visit them once a month.
These men all became Bahá’ís
and with the transfer of the San
José Bahá’í making nine, the
Spiritual Assembly was formed.
In June of that same year, the legal registration of the San José Spiritual Assembly with the Costa Rican Government was completed. According to Costa Rican law, the San José Spiritual Assembly is considered the mother Assembly in the country and any other Bahá’í Assembly formed in Costa Rica becomes automatically incorporated under this registration.
In the second letter from the Guardian, through his secretary, to the Spiritual Assembly of San José, dated July 26, 1942, he said: “The progress which the Bahá’ís of Costa Rica have made during the past year is little short of astounding, and shows the deep receptivity the people of that country have to the New Message of God which Bahá’u’lláh has proclaimed to the world. You must all indeed be both proud and grateful that you live in a land so tolerant of progress, and which enables you to establish the blessed institutions ordained by our Faith.
“The establishment of the new Spiritual Assembly of Puntarenas is a great step forward, and the legal registration of the Cause and approval of the government marks a milestone in the progress of the Cause not only in Costa Rica but in Latin America.
“The more the Guardian receives news from the Central and South American Republics, the more firmly he becomes convinced of the great capacity possessed by the peoples of Latin America. They are proving themselves to be both deeply spiritual and intellectual, and he cherishes great hopes for their future development and their contributions to this glorious Faith of ours.
“How wonderful that in less than a hundred years the message that originated in the heart of Persia should have spread to the heart of Central America, and kindled such love and devotion and hope as now burns in the hearts of the new believers in that distant continent!
[Page 172]
“The Guardian hopes that you
will not only succeed in establishing
further centers in your own
native land, but that the activities
of the Costa Rican Bahá’ís will
spread to neighboring countries
and aid in the establishment of
the Faith there.”
The Message has also penetrated into other provinces of Costa Rica. The Theosophical group of the province of Alajuela invited the Bahá’ís of San José to present the Teachings at one of their gatherings. A group of thirteen Bahá’ís and friends made the trip and an interesting meeting was held. Much receptivity and enthusiasm was shown by the new listeners. We left books and pamphlets to be circulated among them. The ground of human hearts is so fertile now that wherever a teacher would go and remain a while, a group would be easily established. There does not seem to be enough teachers to supply the demand of the spiritually hungry souls that are craving Divine Light.
Our first Bahá’í of Puntarenas
had an experience that resulted
in the Message being taken into
the Costa Rican province of Cartago.
One day when he was at
the pier in his city, he noticed
that a man was watching him
very intently. For several days,
whenever he saw that man, the
man’s eyes seemed to be fixed
upon him. He inquired from
among his friends who the man
was and one said he thought he
was a detective. This made our
Bahá’í quite indignant; why
should he be watched by a detective,
he was not guilty of any
offense! One day the man passed
the Bahá’ís home and the two of
them exchanged glances and an
“adios”, the customary greeting.
A few days later the man passed
the house again. Our Bahá’í was
in the parlor of his home which
is built close to the sidewalk.
The window and door were
opened so the man stopped and
casually started a conversation.
Some Bahá’í books on a table in
the room caught his attention.
“What kind of books are those?”
he asked. Our Bahá’í, thinking
that the man was checking up on
him and perhaps suspected him
of having some kind of literature
which he should not have, proudly
answered that it was religious
literature. “May I see one of
those books?” he requested. The
Bahá’í handed him one, and in
his inner perturbation did not
even notice which book it was.
The man calmly and observingly
turned the pages. He then asked
if he could buy the book. The
Bahá’í answered that he could
borrow it and then if he felt he
wanted it, he could have it. The
man thanked him and took the
book. It was Bahá’u’lláh and the
[Page 173]
New Era. The Bahá’í found out
later that the man was not a
detective but a guard at the pier
and one whose soul thirsted for
Divine Truth and he knew that
our Bahá’í had possession of
some new religious teaching.
Every day for some days later, the Bahá’í noticed that the man spent all his spare moments at the pier in reading the book. After finishing it, the man asked for another, then another, having read in all, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Some Answered Questions. The man later told the Bahá’í that he was moving to the province of Cartago and that he wanted to take the books with him. Some time later he wrote asking for more literature and for pamphlets to give to his friends. He was referred to me as it was more convenient to send literature from San José. His letter to me was very beautiful and unique in his inspired expressions of devotion for the Cause. Here is a part of his letter translated into English: “It was on the 20th of July of this year (1943) that, by coincidence, this Sacred, Unique and Unparalleled depository of Teachings, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, came into my hands. I consider this date memorable, glorious as today I have nothing comparable; and for me it is an inexhaustible fountain of light, guidance, hope, certitude and assurance. My ultimate, one and only resolution is the upholding of this Holy Cause.” In a letter which he wrote to our Bahá’ís of Puntarenas, he said: “For twenty-six years I have dedicated my time to searching and meditating on religious matter and never in my life have teachings like the Bahá’í Teachings come into my possession. I am astonished, extremely satisfied and also always interested, but it is an interest which is well defined and without possibility of retrogression. In the reading, study and meditation of the Bahá’í Teachings, I feel great joy and ecstasy; it is something supernatural indeed. I feel the breath of the Holy Spirit in all my acts and occupations. It is in truth something supernatural that moves me. I am, I can say, a new creature, glory and thanks be to God.”
A very successful method used
by the San José group to build up
the meetings and make them
better known was to occasionally
invite some outstanding person of
the city to be our speaker. We
had such fine men as Professor
Roberto Brenes Mesen, former
professor of Northwestern University
and distinguished writer
and poet; Mr. Joaquin Garcia
Monje, owner and editor of the
widely circulated literary magazine,
[Page 174]
“Repertorio Americano”,
who has been very cooperative
and generous in giving space for
Bahá’í articles and who is an Ex-Minister
of Public Education in
Costa Rica and a former director
of the Public Library, and has
had the distinction of being invited
by the League of Nations
to visit Geneva; Professor Jose
B. Acuna, one of Costa Rica’s
outstanding educators and psychologists,
who is now teaching
at the Winona Teachers’ College
in Minnesota; and Mr. Benjamin
Odio, lawyer, who also gave us
his invaluable and generous assistance
in obtaining the legal
registration of the Spiritual Assembly.
We deeply cherish the
friendship of these kind friends
and shall forever be grateful for
their valuable help.
Visits from other pioneers are always very effective and helpful in the development of a group. It is hard to express how a pioneer thirsts for visits from fellow-pioneers while in those virgin and distant lands, especially when the Community is just a new one, and what a great joy, rare treat and fortification it is to see them, to talk with them, to derive the blessings of their association and assistance. If only more would come! Pioneers who visited us in Costa Rica, in the order in which they came, were: Gerard Sluter, Mathew Kaszab, Cora Oliver, Louise Caswell, Johnny Eichenauer and Virginia Orbison. Gerard Sluter visited San José while on his way to Colombia from Guatemala, Mathew Kaszab came from Nicaragua, Cora Oliver and Louise Caswell from Panama, Johnny Eichenauer from Salvador after also having visited Honduras and Nicaragua, and Virginia Orbison visited us on her way to Chile from the United States. Each has left his special contribution to the growth and strengthening of the Costa Rican Bahá’í Community.
The San José Community is proud that two of its members have done pioneer work, Dr. David Escalante who cooperated with Mrs. Dorothy Baker in Venezuela and Sr. Gerardo Vega who has assisted with the work in Panama.
It is such a great thrill and
source of immeasurable joy to
witness, through the wondrous
ways of God, the birth, establishment
and growth of a Bahá’í
Community in a virgin land.
Throughout every moment of activity,
as one door of opportunity
opens after another in the promotion
of the Holy Cause of
Bahá’u’lláh, the pioneer is always
vividly aware of the miraculous
and mysterious workings
of His Divine Spirit, aware of his
own utter nothingness and of how
[Page 175]
he does nothing, that he is merely
an instrument, a key in the
Hands of the Great Door-Opener
and that it is His Spirit and
Power that do the work.
The interesting experiences, joys and blessings of pioneering are indeed abundant, and once a taste of pioneer service is had, it is like something that gets into one’s blood and it does not seem possible to be content without it; and what is given and sacrificed, be it of oneself or any other contribution, is as nothing in comparison to what is received in return, in both the spiritual and material sense of the word. It makes us realize that a mystery of sacrifice is that there is no sacrifice, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us.
Of my many experiences, the following is one I shall always cherish. One day in June, 1942, a Chinese family moved into an apartment adjoining mine. The next day, as I heard one of my new neighbors walking in the corridor towards my front door, I, too, went toward the door to meet him. My wide front door which gave entrance directly into the parlor was open, and there in the doorway stood a dignified Chinese gentleman; he was looking at the Greatest Name which was hanging on the wall facing the entrance. “You are a Bahá’í!” were his first words as he shook my hand. “I am Mr. Z. T. Ing, the Chinese Consul of Nicaragua. This is the third time I have seen this Bahá’í symbol,” continued the gentle, soft-toned visitor. “The first time was in China when I met a very friendly Bahá’í teacher (regrettably, he could not remember her name), then once in the United States, and now here.” He then went back to his apartment and brought his wife, a sweet, gracious lady who was dressed in a charming Chinese garb, and in introducing us, he said: “Mama, she is a Bahá’í.” They expressed an excellent opinion of the Bahá’ís. A few days later, after Mr. Ing had finished reading the Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, he said that the Bahá’í Teachings would find great receptivity in China as that is the way the Chinese think.
He had brought his family
from Managua, Nicaragua, to
San José to enjoy more comfortable
climate but his work called
him back there. He would make
occasional visits to San José and
on one of these visits, when he
was attending a Bahá’í meeting,
he made a beautiful statement
about the Cause which thrilled
and inspired us. He said “I have
faith in the Bahá’í Religion because
it is the essence of all religions
and the basis of it is that
it accepts all races on an equal
basis. It is something which
[Page 176]
meets with the needs of these
times and it satisfies within. I
firmly believe it will replace all
the existing religions of the world
and it will be the one Universal
Religion for all.”
During the stay of the family in San José, we became very good friends and they were so kind, so hospitable and loving that I felt a part of them. They even gave me lessons in eating with chopsticks though I always ended up resorting to the fork if I wanted any nourishment.
The way some of the believers are attracted to the Cause is often reminiscent of The Dawn-Breakers and shows how many are long before prepared in the spirit to receive the Divine Message. One believer of San José had a dream seven years before she learned of the Cause in which she was sitting at the foot of a tree when a venerable figure of Oriental appearance, with a white beard and wearing a beautiful white turban approached her and handed her a tray on which were some exquisite fruit and a crystal pitcher of water. He spoke to her in her ear and as he did so she beheld a magnificent temple. It was seven years later when her husband who was attending the Bahá’í meetings brought home the Spanish version of the Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and as she opened it and saw the picture of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the frontispiece, she recognized Him as the venerable figure in her dream.
The pioneer, besides enjoying the many happy experiences which flower his path, is faced with difficulties as well. One of these that came my way was experienced when I received a cable from home notifying me of the grave illness of my mother and later of her passing. My family wanted me to come home but I did not feel I could leave my post. The situation was difficult because of very young brothers and sisters at home. It was my sister Dahela who took over our mother’s place with the family responsibilities, and though young herself, she valiantly shouldered her task. This enabled me to remain in Costa Rica and since then I have always rightfully referred to her as the “pioneer at home” as had it not been for her, I would not have been enabled to remain in the pioneer field. It was soon after this that Mrs. Ford returned to the United States after a year and a half of devoted service.
My adventure in learning
Spanish began upon my arrival
in Costa Rica. In fact, there is
no better school for acquiring a
foreign language than to be in
the country where it is spoken.
At first I attended the girls’ college known as the “Colegio Superior
[Page 177]
de Senoritas” and although
I did not receive instruction
in Spanish there, I went to
be among the students to hear the
language spoken by them and the
teachers and to practice by means
of conversation with the girls. It
was a most delightful experience.
Outside of school, I had a private
Spanish teacher from whom
I received two lessons a week.
The following year I attended
the newly inaugurated University
of Costa Rica. I made a special
study of the verbs and concentrated
much effort on learning the
various conjugations. In my
conception, once the verbs are
grasped, the rest in Spanish
comes easily. It is a beautiful,
rich language and a key for unlocking
the treasures of the Latin
American soul.
The Costa Ricans love the English language and many of them speak it. They are especially eager to study it with some one from North America so as to hear the American accent. It was shortly after I arrived that I found myself with several students. The number of students grew as time went on and eventually I was also able to give Spanish lessons to a few English-speaking students. This work was continued until I was employed as secretary and translator at the Pan-American Highway Office which was set up in San José.
While in Costa Rica, I met people from various Latin American countries, and it was interesting to note how those from different countries spoke Spanish with different inflections, each having a typical melody peculiar to his country. One can recognize those from other countries by the “song” in their speech. When I visited Guatemala after learning Spanish in Costa Rica, I was amused when Guatemalans would say to me, “You come from Costa Rica, don’t you?” They could tell, they said, because I spoke with the Costa Rican song. The people from Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico, for example, have a very marked inflection.
It was a jubilant occasion when
the delegate of Costa Rica to the
Centenary Convention was informed
by the National Spiritual
Assembly that he would be enabled
to go to the United States
to attend that momentous event.
He brought the letter to me to
translate it for him and we could
hardly believe it to be really
true; we had not considered that
such a great undertaking could
be realized, making it possible
for the Latin American delegates
to attend that glorious celebration
within the walls of our majestic
[Page 178]
Temple. As we read this
wonderful news, we were so overtaken
by emotion and excitement,
we did not know whether we were
going to laugh or cry. Profound
joy and gratitude filled our
hearts. All the Latin American
delegates must have felt that
same emotion when they learned
that an experience that occurs
once in a lifetime was to be
theirs. Only the power of Bahá’u’lláh
could accomplish such a
great achievement, to bring together
in love and unity representatives
of these various Latin
American countries with all those
that would be gathered in North
America, breaking down the barriers
of distance, language and
lack of means and demonstrating
that spiritual brotherhood which
is the salvation of all nations.
This undertaking had a great
effect not only on the Bahá’ís
of Latin America but also on the
other Latin Americans who
learned of it, making them realize
more deeply the scope and
power of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
After four years in the wonderful country of Costa Rica, the time had come for my departure. It had been like going through four years of school, a school of life, to better enable me to serve the Cause of God. The evening before I left, a happy close to my stay was occasioned by the one who was the first to open the doors to the Message in that country, Miss Esther Mezerville, a former director of the Girls’ College and an outstanding member of the Theosophical Society not only in Costa Rica but in all of Latin America. She told me that she was going to speak of the Bahá’í Faith at their meeting that evening and so I attended. After the kind words of the president who spoke of the important work of the Bahá’í Faith in Costa Rica, Miss Mezerville spoke of world unity as the sign and need of the times and said that in their endeavor to seek their ideal of world brotherhood, they must be alert to movements working toward unity in the world today. She then put emphasis on the great work of the Bahá’í Faith in fostering unity among all religions and races, and stated, “I am now reading Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era,” as she drew the book out of her purse, “and I am convinced that the Bahá’í Faith is the future religion of the world.” She recommended the investigation of the Teachings to her fellow members. Her beautiful words and the spirit and conviction with which she spoke them shall ever be engraved on my heart.
It was on April 18, 1944, that
I left Costa Rica to spend three
weeks in Guatemala City and
[Page 179]
then return to the United States.
There were mixed emotions within
me on that lovely bright morning
as friends, both Bahá’ís and
non-Bahá’ís, gathered to see me
off at the airport and showered
me with gifts, bouquets and corsages.
The feeling of sadness on
leaving these dearly-beloved
friends was mingled with that
of joy at visiting another Latin-American
Bahá’í Community and
then attending the Centenary Convention
and seeing my family
and friends at home again. As I
boarded the Pan-American airship,
I waved to the friends with
a feeling of comfort in knowing
that the Costa Rican Bahá’ís
would staunchly carry on their
vital task.
On the way to Guatemala, the plane made a short stop at Nicaragua, Honduras and Salvador, and at each of these countries it was thrilling to have a brief visit with Bahá’í friends who were waiting for me at the airport.
Every moment of my visit to Guatemala City with our wonderful pioneer, Mrs. Florence Keemer, and the Guatemalan Bahá’ís was so filled with activity and glorious experiences that it, in itself, is a long story. Here is a beautiful, picturesque and colorful city; it is modern and sparkles with cleanliness. The streets of Guatemala are said to be the cleanest in the world. This beauty was glorified by its lovable people, equally as warm-hearted, hospitable and gracious as those of Costa Rica. Mrs. Keemer’s radiant love and charm had won her many friends among whom there was an amazing receptivity to the Divine Teachings, and her excellent work was exemplified by the outstanding Bahá’í group I was privileged to know and work with for that short period.
There are indeed priceless treasures in store for anyone who arises to serve the Cause. “The Almighty will no doubt grant you the help of His grace, will invest you with the tokens of His might, and will endue your souls with the sustaining power of His holy Spirit.”
“All must participate, however humble their origin, however limited their experience, however restricted their means, however deficient their education, however pressing their cares, however unfavorable the environment in which they live.”
“The field is indeed so immense, the period so critical, the Cause so great, the workers so few, the time so short, the privilege so priceless, that no follower of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, worthy to bear His name, can afford a moment’s hesitation.”
Editorial
World Undertakings
The resistless march of humanity
toward unity, impelled
by the operation of new
forces disclosing the intervention
of the providential order,
has arrived at a crucial stage.
In His division of the process of
unification into seven different
aspects or degrees, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
placed first the element of unity
in the political realm, and followed
this by the second unity,
“unity of thought in world
undertakings”.
Without doubt it is the experience of participation in world undertakings which will confirm the peoples and nations in their determination to achieve world order, and at the same time prepare them to make proper use of its latent facilities.
It is assuredly not without spiritual significance that the attainment of a charter of unified political action coincides with conditions of desperate need prevalent in every part of the world. From medical supplies and care to food and housing, from the development of elementary social institutions to the provision of financial credit, from the exchange of production equipment and raw material to the restoration of uprooted peoples to their lands and homes, the entire earth passes through a time of deepest crisis when nothing short of worldwide planning, worldwide organization and worldwide action can bring the dawn of a valid and permanent hope.
To the fundamental argument
arising from the destructiveness
of war as impetus to lasting
peace, we have today the no less
potent influence of the tragic
needs felt by the surviving nations,
exceeding the capacity of
any nation or race to solve by
its own unaided efforts and facilities.
Indeed, while the nature of
the tragic need varies from
country to country, the essential
fact of need is uniform, and this
stark truth lays upon humanity
a sacred obligation, a providential
necessity, which none can
escape. From this point of view
the distinction between rich nations
and poor nations, between
powerful nations and impotent
nations, is nothing else than illusion.
Destiny itself has so arranged
affairs that those parts of
earth which have surplus food
cannot partake of even part of
it very long unless they attain
[Page 181]
social and economic equilibrium
within their own peoples, which
depends on suitable intercourse
and cooperation with all other
peoples. The greater the industrial
establishment which one nation
has developed, the greater
is its stake in the stability and
wealth of nations which in this
respect have lagged behind. If
impoverishment is allowed to remain
anywhere, its breeding of
disease or revolution will threaten
the survival of all others. If
the mountainous accumulation of
government bonds and notes—
the sign of wealth from the
legalistic point of view—cannot
gradually be replaced by an
equivalent amount of investments
in wealth-producing enterprise,
the rise of industrialism
will have eventuated not in the
progress of the individual but
in the creation of a confiscatory
state.
Fortunately, at this crucial stage, the need for action outruns the world’s capacity to deal with all these needs in terms of traditional economics, social philosophy or political doctrine. We cannot reduce human desperation to the level of the habits and customs of the past. What appears to be happening is that mankind is trying to match its desperation with its facilities, heal the patient with the remedies and equipment on hand, share food with the starving, and resettle the homeless exile, in an instinctive realization that nothing done in unity is done against the truth, that the enlargement of the area of unity of action will prepare us for the new and greater truths to come. Success in world undertakings now will carry the world beyond many disastrous conflicts over empty doctrine and discredit many artificial claims which seek to tax the future for a long-dead past.
In this day . . . means of communication have multiplied, . . . All the members of the human family, whether peoples or governments, cities or villages have become increasingly interdependent. For none is self-sufficiency any longer possible, inasmuch as political ties unite all peoples and nations, and the bonds of trade and industry, of agriculture and education, are being strengthened every day. Hence the unity of all mankind can in this day be achieved.
Take ye (rulers of the earth) counsel together, and let your concern be
only for that which profiteth mankind and bettereth the condition thereof.
Progress Toward an International Language
ARTHUR DAHL
WITH His far-seeing wisdom,
Bahá’u’lláh realized that in
today’s integrated, cooperative
world, it was essential that peoples
of all nations and races
should be able to exchange ideas
freely and directly, both verbally
and in writing. Since it was out
of the question for everyone to
learn all the multitudinous languages
and dialects, the obvious
alternative, which He included
in His basic social teachings, was
the adoption of an auxiliary international
language, which each
person would learn in addition
to his native language. This auxiliary
language could either be
an existing language, or one especially
created for the purpose.
Sensible though this idea is, it has been very slow in reaching widespread acceptance and understanding. One reason has been the failure, until recently, to fully appreciate the necessity for international intercourse. A second reason has been the difficulty of selecting the auxiliary language. Each language group would like to see its own tongue selected, both to gain prestige, and to avoid learning a second language.
For a long while French was tacitly accepted as the common language in international society and diplomacy. In recent years, with the increasing predominance of the United States, English has been gaining acceptance in this capacity. To a large segment of the world, Spanish is dominant. Yet in the case of none of these tongues has there been a concerted movement to secure widespread acceptance as the international language.
To overcome the obstacle of
national pride, several efforts
have been made in the last sixty
years to develop an entirely new
language, with the necessary
qualifications for an auxiliary
language carefully incorporated.
Most well known to date has been
Esperanto, initiated in 1887 by
Dr. L. L. Zamenhof. This language
has many advantages. It
is euphonious, logical, and regular
in construction; the grammar
is easily grasped; every rule is
without exception; the spelling
is phonetic; and the dictionary
is small. It was favorably received
in many parts of the
world, and enjoyed a period of
intense promotion, climaxed in
the 1920’s when the League of
Nations published a favorable
memorandum on the teaching of
Esperanto in the schools of the
[Page 183]
world, and the International
Telegraphic Union Association
recognized it as a “clear language.”
Several Bahá’í books
have been translated into Esperanto.
A more recent candidate to receive widespread attention is Basic English, the creation of C. K. Ogden of Cambridge, and actively sponsored in this country by Dr. Ivor A. Richards of Harvard. This system consists of a vocabulary of 850 words: 400 general nouns, 150 adjectives, 100 “operators” (verbs, participles, pronouns, etc.), and 200 names of picturable things. There are subsidiary lists of words for the use of technicians and specialists in various fields. The words have been selected because of their cooperative utility, rather than their frequency of usage. The syntax of Basic is that of normal English. Its proponents claim that it is ideal both as a simple and easily learned auxiliary language, and as a rational introduction to unlimited English. Though the system was given a strong impetus when it was referred to by Prime Minister Churchill at Harvard, it remains to be seen what response will be forthcoming from the rest of the world to a proposal for an auxiliary language based on English.
But whereas progress toward a true auxiliary language has been slow, the war has brought about a veritable revolution in the teaching and dissemination of existing languages. The emergency need for thousands of service men who could speak not only the leading European languages, but also the intricate and little-known tongues of Malaya, the Far East, and the Pacific islands, gave an opportunity to a new system of teaching practice known as linguistic science, in which the United States has taken the lead through the pioneer efforts of anthropologist Franz Boas. The new system has passed with flying colors its test applications in short, intensive Army and Navy courses in selected American universities, and its proponents feel that it will make the learning of several languages common practice after the war.
The development of methods by which languages may be learned quickly and easily will do much to bring about greater understanding among the peoples of the world, and by demonstrating this through concrete experience the advantages of spoken intercourse between races should eventually lead to acceptance of the principle of an auxiliary language.
This is one in a series of articles which
will present signs of progress in world
affairs.
The World Without Nations
Book Review
BERTHA HYDE KIRKPATRICK
The thesis of this book[1] by Arthur
Freud is: “as long as we shall
have nations we shall have wars.”
Conversely the author holds that if
we can do away with nations we can
do away with war which is the greatest
curse to humanity today. The
author is especially concerned with
the map of Europe although he does
not ignore the rest of the world. By
specific examples he shows that “for
practical reasons the conceptions of
‘nation’, ‘race’, have lost any meaning;
they have become a farce, a
pretext, a menace to world’s peace.”
Americans, for the most part, have
all too little comprehension of the
problems of nationalities and national
bonudaries in Europe, especially
eastern Europe. One of the values
of this book is that the author,
who has lived and traveled in Europe,
by his illustrative examples of
boundary wars and disputes and actual
authentic stories of the intermingling
of nationalities and races,
makes it clear to the reader how
deep seated and long standing these
nation problems are and also that
whatever solution is worked out it
will not be satisfactory to everyone
concerned. This does not mean, however,
that there is no solution.
Mr. Freud speaks, he says, as a common man to common men in the interests, not of nations, but of humanity, and for the sake of humanity we must have a warless world. He believes this is possible. His book is written for the purpose of rousing common people to an understanding of the causes of war and to intelligent thinking in the direction of effective arrangements for peace. Such right thinking must precede right action.
It is in the smaller nations of Europe that many problems arise, the author holds. Economically they cannot be self-sufficient, politically they cannot defend themselves. Some of the smaller nations, however, especially those in western Europe, have much to contribute to the world in the way of cooperation and social security regulations.
Mr. Freud's solution to problems which arise, he believes, from overemphasis on material lines, is to group nations into blocs which would be federated into what he calls supra-states. He suggests that such federations might follow the model of the government of the United States. In Europe, for example, these states might be called the Northern Bloc, the Central Bloc, the Western Bloc, the Southern Bloc. These supra-states should not, he says, be named for any particular nation. Thus one source of jealousy and rivalry would be removed. The author gives many reasons why such an organization of countries is a step in the direction of final world federation.
Mr. Freud explains that the reason
for the formation of several states
into one bloc is primarily economic
and he would not have such an arrangement
interfere with culture and
language. On this point he writes,
“In advocating blocs of states, i.e.,
supra-national states, it should be
[Page 185]
made clear that it is not suggested
to force people to give up their nationality.
Nationality can, as much
as religion, be regarded as a private
affair that concerns an individual or
a group. If a large community wants
to be Czech and to adhere to certain
peculiarities connected with Czechism,
there can be no question of letting
people have their will. As long
as nationality remains a cultural affair,
no objection can be raised to
it.”
This book was published in 1943 and much water has gone under the bridge since then in the way of discussions and actual plans for world organization. There are tendencies towards regional alliance such as the Pan-American Union and certain groupings in Europe. In the past there have been proposals for the federation of Europe but they have so far borne no fruit. Mr. Freud’s plan is different. These Supra-states would be stronger than alliances but would not put all Europe into one federation. There are perhaps some trends in this direction at present, but it would seem that they would be more likely to develop after a world organization has been formed than as a step in that direction.
Whatever may be the steps in bringing about a federation of the world, Mr. Freud’s book, which shows up by abundant examples and historical evidence the folly and danger of cherishing national and racial prejudices, is valuable. Every effort to arouse people’s intelligence on these questions is worthy. Nationalism and racialism which Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, has classified as two of the three “chief idols in the desecrated temple of mankind” must be done away with if we are to have lasting peace. Some may question whether these idols can be destroyed by a regrouping of peoples or ignoring boundary lines. Must not the remedy for these and other maladies of the sick world go deep into the hearts of individuals?
Such books as this, the many articles and discussions about world organization together with the actual plans drawn up at Dumbarton Oaks, modified and adopted at San Francisco are indications that Bahá’u’lláh’s words, “It is not his to boast who loveth his country, but it is his who loveth the world,” have in truth “Lent a fresh impulse, and set a new direction to the birds of men’s hearts.”
- ↑ The World Without Nations, Arthur Freud. The Hobson Book Press, Cynthiana, Ky., 1943.
In former ages it has been said: “To love one’s native land is faith.” But the Tongue of grandeur hath said in the day of this Manifestation: “Glory is not his who loves his native land; but glory is his who love his kind.”
The people of the world in general must adhere to that which is revealed and hath appeared, so that they may attain to the real freedom.
It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.
Early Growth of the Bahá’í Faith
MARIAM HANEY
WHAT were the most important
teaching events of the
pioneer period of the Bahá’í
Cause in the United States and
Canada? The answer is that it
would be unwise to make even
a guess, for the whole period
from 1894 to 1911 inclusive, was
a continued miracle on miracle
because it was made possible not
because of human words and
works, but because of Divine intervention
and assistance. The believers
themselves were, for the
most part, not entirely conscious
that a mysterious power was the
dynamic back of all achievement.
However, a few of the outstanding
features of that time were:
1st. The teaching about the importance of the Covenant, which teaching safeguarded the religion so that the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh could not be divided into sects.
2nd. The whole-hearted obedience to the Center of the Covenant at every point in teaching and in all that this attitude means.
3rd. The full demonstration that “Faith is a wonder working power.” The faith manifested by the believers was sublime, and some day the world will realize how marvelous a thing it was, and what these people of faith were accomplishing in their midst; it was like the faith of the early Christians, they believed truly and deeply, it was “the normal accent of life” and they translated it into the world of action.
4th. The spread of the Bahá’í Message far and wide without any organization, no paid teachers, nor any official Bahá’í Fund.
5th. The dawn is this country of the greatest seed sowing of Truth in all religious history. The dawn-breakers of the Occident were at work in the springtime of the Kingdom of God on earth.
6th. Great emphasis at all times from the very beginning on the removal of prejudice of all kinds, the promulgation of universal peace, and the establishment of the principle of the oneness of mankind.
The Tree of Life in the garden
of the earthly world was beginning
to grow, evidences of its
vigor and strength were always
evident and encouraging, but the
pioneers understood, too, that
planting a seed today did not
mean the full grown tree tomorrow
for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá often reminded
them that, “A seed in the
[Page 187]
beginning is very small, but in
the end a great tree. . . . Consider
the days of Jesus when there
was only a small body of people,
and then observe the great tree
which grew from that seed and
what an abundant fruit is produced.
This is greater than that,
forasmuch as it is the calling of
the Lord of Hosts and the Voice
of the Trumpet of the Living God. . . .”
And all the time that the seeds of the Bahá’í Faith were germinating in the soil of human hearts, and the instructions and encouragement in Tablets from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were reaching His followers, He Himself was a Prisoner of the Turkish government —a prisoner in the fortified city of ‘Akká, Palestine, by the shores of the Mediterranean sea, having been for forty years imprisoned because of His religion and the spiritual teachings He was sending to all parts of the world. Indeed “the ways of God are past finding out.”
In 1908 the people of Turkey established a constitutional government through the coming into power of the Young Turks and their “Union and Progress Society.” All the political prisoners were immediately freed, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left the gloomy prison city for the freedom of the world. When asked later how He regarded His freedom, He replied: “Freedom is not a matter of place. It is a condition. I was thankful for the prison, and the lack of liberty was very pleasing to me for those days were passed in the path of service under the utmost difficulties and trials, bearing fruits and results. . . . I was happy all the time in prison. When one is released from the prison of self, that is indeed release, for that is the greater prison. When this release takes place, then one cannot be outwardly imprisoned. . . . Release comes by making of the will a Door through which the confirmations of the Spirit come.”
Why did ‘Abdu’l-Bahá suffer
indignities, privations and torture
all those long years in
prison? The answer is of course,
for the love of humanity, for the
promulgation of the Laws of this
New Day, “to make man conscious
of his eternal part . . .
that fleshly veils might be rent
asunder and reality become manifest.”
While in prison ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
never complained, but
created happiness in every heart
and served humanity in nearly
all parts of the world. This is
the miracle of all miracles—from
His prison spreading His teachings,
His followers increasing,
His Faith being advanced daily.
Only God knows the answer as
to how it was all accomplished.
Of this imprisonment ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
[Page 188]
has written many things,
but the scope of this article permits
of but a brief quotation:
“Two Kings arose against Bahá’u’lláh—the Sháh of Persia and the Sultan of Turkey. They imprisoned His Holiness in the Fortress of ‘Akká (Palestine) in order to extinguish His Light and exterminate His Cause. But Bahá’u’lláh while in prison wrote them letters of severe arraignment. He declared that imprisonment was no obstacle to Him. He said ‘This imprisonment will prove to be the means of the promotion of My Cause. This imprisonment will be the incentive for the spreading of My Teachings. No harm will come to Me because I have sacrificed My life, sacrificed My blood, sacrificed My possessions—all I have sacrificed —and for Me this imprisonment is no loss.’ And just as He declared, so it came to pass. In prison He hoisted His banner, and His Cause was spread throughout the world. . . . These two Kings could not do anything to withstand Bahá’u’lláh, but through Him God was able to destroy both sovereignties. I, too, was in prison. God removed the chains from My neck and placed them around the neck of ‘Abdu’l-Hamíd. It was done suddenly, not in a long time, in a moment as it were. . . . I was happy in imprisonment. I was in the utmost elation, because I was not a criminal. They had imprisoned Me in the Path of God.”
Some time after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had been “delivered from the shackles of a long and cruel incarceration,” He left Haifa suddenly and began a journey which included Egypt, France and England, and then a return to Egypt.
Many in the United States and Canada longed to see Him, to hear Him expound the Bahá’í Teachings, and the longing was constant and intense. However, it seemed that the actual realization of such hopes was unbelievable.
Number five in a series of notations on
Bahá’í activity in North America from
1893 to 1921.
So imperturbable was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s equanimity that, while rumors were being bruited about that He might be cast into the sea, or exiled to Fízán in Tripolitania, or hanged on the gallows, He, to the amazement of His friends and the amusement of His enemies, was to be seen planting trees and vines in the garden of His house, whose fruits when the storm had blown over, He would bid His faithful gardener, Ismá’íl Aqá, pluck and present to those same friends and enemies on the occasion of their visits to Him.
WITH OUR READERS
SOON after world war one Mrs. J.
Stannard was in Haifa and asked
‘Abdu’l-Bahá concerning the state of
the souls of all those young men who
had fallen so suddenly and tragically
during the war. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s reply
as reported by Mrs. Stannard and
printed in The Star of the West,
volume 10, page 336, will comfort
parents whose sons are a sacrifice in
this present war.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá is reported to have said in substance that God treats these people with His mercy, not with His justice, since God is against war. But as many did not will the war, but were obliged to go to the battle field by force of circumstances, therefore God has mercy for they suffered much and lost their lives. These deserve the forgiveness of God. As they suffered in the world and were afflicted by great calamities and their blood was shed and in reality they were treated unjustly and thus died unwillingly, therefore God will have mercy and forgive their shortcomings and will reward them. He will compensate them for loss. Is it just to be so afflicted and killed and suffer and have no reward? This is contrary to the Kingdom of God. We supplicate God that these murdered ones will become and stay alive in His Kingdom and be submerged in the sea of His mercy and be happy.
* * *
Special airmailing of World Order to John Eichenauer in Germany by a friend has brought this happy and newsy letter of thanks from John:
“Thanks very much for airmailing World Order magazine to me. The May number reached me on the 22nd of May and I gave it to Anna Kostlin the same day. . . . The June number arrived on June 15th.
“W———, a member of my company, has recently embraced the Faith, and it has brought me great happiness. He is a writer and booklover from B———. He has been studying for over a year and World Order magazine has been an influencing factor. He says meeting the Bahá’ís in Paris was the turning point. A couple of days ago he opened the battalion library and displayed copies of World Order and Bahá’í Convention News. For such a short time in the Faith he is really being ‘unrestrained as the wind’ in proclaiming the truths of Bahá’u’lláh. He is writing an account of our first Feast Day observance. . . .
“I recently made a tour of southern Germany and Austria and met Fred Mortensen of Chicago in Salzburg. We were together for an evening and covered outstanding events since we met in February in Saarebourg, France. One of the snaps taken near Brenner Pass is a good boost for World Order.” [The picture shows a group of three soldiers relaxing on the grass, one reading World Order magazine. Editor’s note.]
* * *
World Order magazine needs new
contributors as well as continued
contributions from our old and tried
ones. Following the instructions of
the Guardian and under the direction
of the NSA all Bahá’ís are making
a major effort to carry the Bahá’í
[Page 190]
Message to the leaders of thought
and to the masses. The editors hope
to make the magazine a more efficient
and attractive carrier of this message
than ever before. The articles,
poems, travel stories, dissertations
must come from you. We suggest
some of the types of material the
magazine can use:
- Articles on Bahá’í principles related to present world conditions.
- Bahá’í news from all lands written up in a universal way.
- Articles on the great world religions, accurate and reliable.
- Travel articles with Bahá’í news.
- Bahá’í history, fresh and authentic, and Bahá’í biographies.
- Signs of the times in current thought.
- Articles on Bahá’í literature which have not already appeared in recent issues.
- Articles by non-Bahá’ís of universal outlook.
- Articles based on personal experience of spiritual influences.
- Poems.
- Brief news of unusual interest dealing with teaching incidents or public response either in this or other countries (to be used in this, “With Our Readers,” department). Also questions and suggestions for this department.
The aim of World Order magazine is to be a means of spiritual education, knowledge and stimulus to the believer, a source of study material to the group, a means of direct teaching to the individual teacher and to the community, and a concentration upon the creative Word in order to contribute to the inner life of meditation and prayer. The aim is first to reach and help the believer and through him the non-believer.
The annual report of Mrs. Wood, our business manager, shows that for the first time in its thirty years of publication this Bahá’í magazine has met manufacturing and overhead costs. This means an increased circulation and with your help the circulation can be further increased. Here then is a readymade audience of some twenty-seven hundred. While the majority of subscribers are Bahá’ís we can safely say that through them as many more non-Bahá’ís are reached. Where else can you find such an audience?
* * *
Letters such as the following from Mr. E. W. Handley, Librarian of the Hobart Bahá’í Assembly, Tasmania, Australia, are most welcome:
“The February issue to hand on March 20th. This is a comprehensive and good issue. Sometimes there is too much reiteration of the same history of the Cause in one issue. A brief reference when possible to the Cause in distant and little known countries outside America would illustrate its universal character. Perhaps short paragraphs, recording the adoption of Bahá’í principles by other bodies, would indicate to readers our real interest in current trends of thought.”
May we say that the reason the editors do not print more material from distant and little known countries outside of America is that the friends in these countries do not send it to us. We have repeatedly asked for short newsy letters to be used in this department and for longer well-written articles about Bahá’í life in other countries.
* * *
Here is a bit from a letter expressing
the joy and happiness which
comes to the Bahá’í pioneer: “I’m
[Page 191]
writing about pioneering since I have
been a pioneer . . . for over two
years. And my parents are pioneering
here too. Most people dream of
going to California to end their days,
but my parents (dad is 70 years old)
came from California after 24 years
there to pioneer in ———. And they
say that they have gained more from
their pioneering here than the sacrifice
they made in giving up their
beautiful home in the California sunshine.
I, too, feel that no sacrifice is
too great for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh
and the rewards are most glorious. I
wish that others could see it too.”
In a brief article entitled “We Are All Pioneers” which came with this letter the writer urges others to get their share of the rich experience of the pioneer. She says, in part:
“Today, in the second Bahá’í century, comes the clarion call that opens new vistas of limitless service. ‘We are all pioneers in a new and all-embracing task.’ . . . Young people, especially, have a glorious opportunity to go forth to fresh fields and bring new visions of achievement to other youth. And, too, it is among young people that one finds a breaking down of the barriers of prejudice and the willingness to try new methods, and to put new ideals into practice. Youth hasn’t yet found out that ‘it can’t be done’ and so achieves new goals. In the South, for instance, it is the youth that are breaking down the interracial barriers. As one young girl said to me recently, ‘The older ones are impossible, but I find that boys and girls of high school age are responsive to the idea that all people are human beings and should be treated as such.’”
Then the writer urges that older people are needed, too, for their more mature judgment and wisdom and adds: “When you make the sacrifice of leaving your home, when you pull up roots, pass up an easy, comfortable life and ‘step forth on the field of action,’ then you add something to the spirit of our Faith that is akin to the spirit of our earliest, most steadfast martyrs. And you gain a relationship with God that will bring you such joy as you have only dreamed of. Action is real living.”
* * *
An approach to the question of world peace which points out quite explicitly how Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings furnish the broad basis essential for lasting peace is “Building a United World,” by Margaret Ruhe, who has previously contributed to World Order. “After the War: One World” was printed in our January, 1944, issue, and a book review, “The Road We Are Traveling,” in July, 1943.
Mrs. Ruhe lives in Atlanta, Ga., where both she and her husband, Dr. David Ruhe, who also contributes to this magazine, are active in Bahá’í work. Their names are also among those who are able at times to travel and speak for the Bahá’í Faith.
“Costa Rica, the Beautiful,” by
Gayle Woolson is a first hand account
of how the Bahá’í Faith has
been established in one of the Latin-American
Republics in the last seven
or eight years. At last accounts
only one of the twenty Latin-American republics
was lacking a Bahá’í Spiritual
Assembly and pioneer work was
being done there. In volume VIII of
the Bahá’í World we read: “Nothing
in the history of the Faith in America
compares with the response which
has been made to the Guardian’s appeal
for settlement of pioneer teachers
in Latin-American countries.” In
[Page 192]
the impressive list of some twenty-odd
names which follows we find
Mrs. Woolson’s. Experiences of other
pioneers are just as full of interest
and such accounts help us to become
acquainted with each other. The
editors hope that other pioneers will
follow Mrs. Woolson’s example. We
understand that Mrs. Woolson will
soon take up her residence in Bogota,
Colombia.
The series by Mariam Haney showing the growth of our Faith in the early days in America and acquainting us with many of those who worked to promote the Faith, is continued this month under the title, “Early Growth of the Bahá’í Faith.” Many of those early laborers have passed on but Mrs. Haney is still active in Washington, D. C.
The great need for an auxiliary international language understood by everyone is emphasized at the San Francisco Conference where it was necessary to have a great corps of translators busy all the time. This need has been seen by some for fifty or more years. Arthur Dahl’s timely article tells us what progress is being made toward such a language which is essential in a true world society. We print this as one of our Formation of a World Society Series. Mr. Dahl is a frequent contributor to World Order. In January we printed his “Steps Towards Post-War Cooperation,” another in this series and in February his review of the book, The Predicament of Modern Man. Mr. Dahl is a graduate with a Master’s degree from Leland Stanford University and lives in Palo Alto with business in San Francisco.
Horace Holley contributes the editorial this month and Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick reviews the book The World Without Nations which proposes one way to do away with excessive nationalism and so with war.
Bahá’í Literature
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, selected and translated by
Shoghi Effendi. The Bahá’í teachings on the nature of religion, the soul,
the basis of civilization and the oneness of mankind. Bound in fabrikoid.
360 pages. $2.00.
The Kitáb-i-Íqán, translated by Shoghi Effendi. This work (The Book of Certitude) unifies and coordinates the revealed Religions of the past, demonstrating their oneness in fulfillment of the purposes of Revelation. Bound in cloth. 262 pages. $2.50.
Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, selected and translated by Shoghi Effendi. The supreme expression of devotion to God; a spiritual flame which enkindles the heart and illumines the mind. 348 pages. Bound in fabrikoid. $2.00.
Bahá’í Prayers, a selection of Prayers revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, each Prayer translated by Shoghi Effendi. 72 pages. Bound in fabrikoid, $0.75. Paper cover, $0.35.
Some Answered Questions. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's explanation of questions concerning the relation of man to God, the nature of the Manifestation, human capacities, fulfillment of prophecy, etc. Bound in cloth. 350 pages. $1.50.
The Promulgation of Universal Peace. In this collection of His American talks, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the basis for a firm understanding of the attitudes, principles and spiritual laws which enter into the establishment of true Peace. 492 pages. Bound in cloth. $2.50.
The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, by Shoghi Effendi. On the nature of the new social pattern revealed by Bahá’u’lláh for the attainment of divine justice in civilization. Bound in fabrikoid. 234 pages. $1.50.
God Passes By, by Shoghi Effendi. The authoritative documented historical survey of the Bahá’í Faith through the four periods of its first century. The Ministry of the Báb, the Ministry of Bahá’u’lláh, the Ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the Inception of the Formative Age (1921-1944). In these pages the world’s supreme spiritual drama unfolds. xxiii plus 412 pages. Bound in fabrikoid. $2.50
BAHÁ’Í PUBLISHING COMMITTEE
110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois
THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH
- Recognizes the unity of God and His Prophets,
- Upholds the principle of an unfettered search after truth,
- Condemns all forms of superstition and prejudice,
- Teaches that the fundamental purpose of religion is to promote concord and harmony, that it must go hand in hand with science, and that it constitutes the sole and ultimate basis of a peaceful, and ordered and progressive society. . . .
- Inculcates the principle of equal opportunity, rights and privileges for both sexes,
- Advocates compulsory education,
- Abolishes extremes of poverty and wealth,
- Exalts work performed in the spirit of service to the rank of worship,
- Recommends the adoption of an auxiliary international language,
- Provides the necessary agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and universal peace.