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WORLD ORDER
MARCH, 1947
THE COMING OF THE BELOVED — Marzieh Gail
INSTITUTIONS FOR PEACE — Dorothy Baker
MY PRAYER, Poem — Minnietta Taylor Kennedy
RELIGION IN ACTION, Editorial — Eleanor S. Hutchens
DIVINE SPRINGTIME, Compilation — Miriam Bugbee
THE DAY IS NOW, Poem — Dorothy Helm
THE MIRACLE IN YOUR LIFE — Marian Crist Lippitt
A CALL TO ACTION — Sarah Martin Pereira
WITH OUR READERS
INDEX
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 XXXVII 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: Eleanor S. Hutchens, William Kenneth Christian,
Gertrude K. Henning, Horace Holley, Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick.
Editorial Office
Mrs. Gertrude K. Henning, Secretary
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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. Content copyrighted 1947 by Bahá’í Publishing Committee. Title
registered at U. S. Patent Office.
ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE
WORLD ORDER
The Bahá’í Magazine
VOLUME XII MARCH, 1947 NUMBER 12
The Coming of the Beloved
MARZIEH GAIL
THERE is a poem by Vachel
Lindsay called “The Chinese
Nightingale.” It has a refrain
that says “spring came on
forever.” That is a lovely line—
spring came on forever. It expresses
the season—its lack of
finality and its recurrence.
Emerson says something like it in his famous address to the senior class of the Harvard Divinity School, which he gave in 1838. He speaks of “the never-broken silence with which the old bounty goes forward. . . .”
Spring comes on and the old bounty goes forward. Men seem to have forgotten this. They have lost , hope—they are milling around in the shadow of the atomic bomb and they have forgotten the bounty and the yearly rebirth of hope.
About 2,000 years ago this Easter day Mary Magdalen had bought spices to anoint the body of Jesus the Christ. She went to the sepulchre in the garden and found it empty. The linen that had wrapped Him lay in the tomb, and the cloth that had bound His head—but His body was gone—and all these 2,000 years we have not known where it was laid to rest.
The Bahá’í Faith teaches that the resurrection is a symbolic, not a literal truth: “The resurrections of the Divine Manifestations are not of the body.” The Bible tells us that Jesus said He came from heaven—although all knew He was born of Mary. Obviously, “heaven” has a spiritual significance. Just so, His “disappearance under the earth for three days has an inner signification, and is not an outward fact.” “In the same way, His resurrection . . . is also symbolical; it is a spiritual and divine fact, and not material. . . .” “Beside these explanations, it has been established . . . by science that the visible heaven is a limitless area, void and empty, where innumerable stars and planets revolve.”
The meaning, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
says, is that at His crucifixion
His cause was like a lifeless
[Page 354]
body; the believers were troubled
and agitated; then after three
days they became steadfast, began
to arise and serve—and the
reality of Christ became resplendent.
“. . . science and the
intelligence affirm it.”
That dawn in the garden was the beginning of hope. From then on the theme of the disciples was not death, but life. And now, our theme is no longer death, but life. We have seen enough death.
This is the day when, to borrow a phrase from Thomas Mann, the Beloved has returned. The life of the spirit has been re-introduced into human affairs. The Prophet of God has came again. He is called in Bahá’í terminology “the supreme embodiment of all that is lovable.”
The Persian writer Sa‘íd compares the coming of the Beloved to the sunrise. He says: “I remember one night that my beloved entered the door and I leapt up so quick that my sleeve caught the lamp and put it out. He sat down and began to abide me, saying, Why did you quench the lamp when you saw me? I said, ‘Because I thought the sun had risen’.”
People often ask for the Bahá’í teachings on what is heaven. Bahá’u’lláh says: “O Son of Being! Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion with Me. Enter therein and tarry not.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s favorite Christian hymn was “Nearer my God, to Thee.” He tells us that nearness is likeness—it is to be characterized with the characteristics of God, and we find them in the Divine Manifestations. World peace must be founded on these facts.
Today is the Bahá’í Festival of Riḍván. Riḍván may be translated as “the paradise of the good pleasure of God.” On this day in 1863 Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed His mission—in a garden of Baghdád, called by Bahá’ís the garden of Riḍván.
Baghdád is a city of brown rivers and domes and palm trees. The garden of Riḍván is a hospital now. It is shadowy and cool, and all day long there you hear doves—thousands of doves.
Bahá’u’lláh was a nobleman,
exiled from Persia—and shortly
prior to His Declaration He began
to give forth—reveal—remarkable
teachings. His companions
knew that some great thing
was about to happen. The historian
says that “Many a night
would [His amanuensis] gather
them together in His room, light
numerous camphorated candles,
and chant aloud to them the newly
revealed odes and tablets in
his possession. Wholly oblivious
of this . . . world, completely immersed
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in the realms of the spirit,
forgetful of the necessity for
food, sleep or drink, they would
suddenly discover that night had
become day, and that the sun was
approaching its zenith.”
This process of revelation is the gift only of the Prophet of God. It is different in kind from poetic inspiration and from academic and other types of thinking. It is the great contribution of the Bahá’í Faith to present-day problems—the supplementing of human thought with the thought of a Prophet of God. The writings of Bahá’u’lláh are available and you can study them and evaluate what this means.
And so this Easter coincides with another scene in another garden—also in the East, for all religions come from the East— but this time the garden was in Baghdád. It was during the season of roses. Visitors came to Bahá’u’lláh from all over Baghdád to say good-by to Him—for He was about to be exiled again. And early in the mornings, the gardeners would pick the roses and pile them in the center of Bahá’u’lláh’s tent—and He would give them to various of His followers to take to His Arab and Persian friends in the city. This custom is still followed in Haifa; I have seen the Guardian of the Faith give flowers or handfuls of petals from the holy shrines on Mount Carmel, to the friends.
This “Most Great Festival” took place during the twelve days prior to Bahá’u’lláh’s being exiled out of Baghdád. During those nights the moon was growing toward the full, and the nightingales were so loud that as He walked up and down the flower-bordered paths in the moonlight, only those followers who were near Him could distinctly hear His voice.
There is a remarkable Tablet
about the Festival of Riḍván—it
is in the Gleanings. In it the
Prophet or Manifestation of God
is referred to as the Pen—because
He is moved by the Holy
Spirit (if this terminology is too
theological for you, say He is
moved by the tremendous power
which stirs the Prophet of God),
and writes as He is irresistibly
moved to write. It is in part a
colloquy between the Spirit and
Bahá’u’lláh. It begins: “The Divine
Springtime is come, O Most
Exalted Pen, for the Festival of
the All-Merciful is fast approaching.
Bestir thyself, and
magnify, before the entire creation,
the name of God, and celebrate
His praise, in such wise
that all created things may be regenerated
and made new . . .
This is the Day whereon naught
can be seen except the Splendors
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of the Light that shine from the
face of Thy Lord, the Gracious,
the Most Bountiful . . .” And later
the Pen halts, and this colloquy
occurs:
“We have heard the voice of thy pleading, O Pen, and excuse thy silence. What is it that hath so sorely bewildered thee?” And the Pen answers—“The inebriation of Thy presence, O Well-Beloved of all worlds, hath seized and possessed me.”
The mystics would understand this: St. Theresa and John of the Cross and Rúmí and ‘Attár. This love is something that the mystics understand. It was St. Theresa who wrote: “Let mine eyes see Thee, sweet Jesus of Nazareth, Let mine eyes see Thee, and then see death.”
A week or so ago in the Saturday Review of Literature Elmer Davis brought out a now famous article called “No World, if Necessary.” It is a discussion of the book One World or None, described as a report to the public on the full meaning of the atomic bomb. This book is a collection of articles on the bomb and its implications, by American atomic scientists.
Elmer Davis emphasizes that the scientists state the problem but offer no solution—and he ends, “Has it occurred to them that if their one world turned out to be totalitarian and obscurationist [I looked up this word and it apparently means ‘striving to prevent enlightenment’] we might better have no world at all?”
Davis sees the need for a world language—which is one of the principles of our Faith. He also wants a world armed force, as the Bahá’ís do—this would be the most advanced army the world has ever known, serving the entire planet somewhat as a fire department puts out fires in a town. Davis says, I think very acutely, that the thirteen original states which federated had a common background as to institutions, traditions and thought.
It is precisely the function of the Bahá’í Faith to supply humanity with this common background. The Bahá’ís all have it, in the seventy-eight countries where the Faith has penetrated. To me it is miraculous that already a Persian peasant in a mountain village and a San Francisco matron walking down Post Street for instance, should have one and the same goal.
When I saw the representatives
of the different nations together
at the first United Nations
Conference, they were many people,
and they stayed many. Next
week, when I hope to attend the
Bahá’í Convention here, I shall
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see many different people who
have become one.
How the unification of the human race has already been accomplished by Bahá’u’lláh is something for you to investigate. The world plan of Bahá’u’lláh is set forth in two short pages, in a wonderful statement by the Guardian of the Faith—called A Pattern for Future Society. There is nothing vague about the Bahá’í world of tomorrow. Although only the future can develop the infinitely varied and complex picture, we know the general outlines as Bahá’u’lláh taught them to us in the second half of the 19th century.
The oneness of religions will be a vital factor in this world unification. Because it is not generally known in America that to be a Muslim you have to believe in both the Old Testament Prophets and Jesus, Whom the Muslims call The Spirit of God—Rúḥu’lláh —I shall quote this statement of the Muḥammadan belief from Qur’án II: 130: “Say ye: We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down to us, and that which hath been sent down to Abraham and Ismael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes: and that which hath been given to Moses and to Jesus, and that which was given to the prophets from their Lord. No difference do we make between any of them: and to God are we resigned.” And to show the harmony between Jew and Muslim, there is this, from Qur’án 16: 121, 124: “Verily, Abraham was a leader in religion. . . . We have moreover revealed to Thee that Thou follow the religion of Abraham, the sound in faith.” Whenever people work to separate faiths, to revive old hatreds and further antagonisms, we should work to demonstrate their oneness.
The Bahá’í civilization is based on the fact that once again a Manifestation of God has appeared among men. It is through approaching Bahá’u’lláh that we have all become unified—however diversified we were before.
Our loyalty is to something beyond the horizons of this world —it is to something not ourselves that makes for righteousness, as Matthew Arnold says.
The fanatical Persians who opposed Bahá’u’lláh thought He attracted people through magic or through a substance which He mixed with the tea He served to His guests. But we whose eyes have never seen Him, for He died an Exile and Prisoner near ‘Akká in 1892—know that the magic was not in the tea.
In His Tablet to the Pope Pius
IX, Bahá’u’lláh says: “The
[Page 358]
Word which the Son concealed
is made manifest. It hath been
sent down in the form of a human
temple in this day. Blessed
be the Lord Who is the Father!
He, verily, is come unto the nations
in His most great majesty
. . . My body longeth for the cross,
and Mine head waiteth the thrust
of the spear, in the path of the
All-Merciful, that the world may
be purged from its transgressions.”
It is very difficult to tell about the Bahá’í Faith; the teachings are so rich, so vast. Bahá’u’lláh wrote a hundred volumes—and there are also the writings of the Báb, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi. It is hard to tell anything adequate of all this. It is like the Persian story of the holy man or mystic who was sitting under a tree, lost in meditation. His disciples sat around him, and when he returned to himself, they asked: Out of that garden whence you have come, what gift did you bring us? He said: “I had in mind when I should come to the rose-tree, to hold out my skirt and fill it with flowers as a gift to the friends. But when I reached there, the scent of the roses so ravished my senses that my robe fell away from my hands.”
Inasmuch as human interpretations and blind imitations differ widely, religious strife and disagreement have risen among mankind, the light of true religion has been extinguished and the unity of the world of humanity destroyed. The Prophets of God voiced the spirit of unity and agreement. They have been the founders of divine reality. Therefore if the nations of the world forsake imitations and investigate the reality underlying the revealed Word of God they will agree and become reconciled. For reality is one and not multiple.
The nations and religions are steeped in blind and bigoted imitations. A man is a Jew because his father was a Jew. The Muḥammadan follows implicitly the footsteps of his ancestors in belief and observance. The Buddhist is true to his heredity as a Buddhist. That is to say they profess religious belief blindly and without investigation, making unity and agreement impossible. It is evident therefore that this condition will not be remedied without a reformation in the world of religion.
Institutions for Peace
DOROTHY BAKER
Address delivered at Bahá’í meeting held in Hall of Nations, Washington Hotel, Washington, D. C., December 5, 1945.
I FEEL it an unspeakably great
honor to be in the Nation’s
capital and to have the pleasure
of adding my few words to such
a great subject, because we stand
in the Nation’s nerve center here
and I am aware that that nerve
center was ordained by God to
accomplish magnificent things
for the world in this time.
I am aware, too, that I stand in a city that was visited in 1912 by the greatest teacher that the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh has ever known or will ever know, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the noble and illustrious son of Bahá’u’lláh Himself.
He was on one occasion invited to visit the home of Mr. Alexander Graham Bell, and at that function, attended by perhaps three hundred of the most illustrious of Washington, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá found himself seated between Mr. Bell and his charming wife, who labored under the great drawback and hindrance of inability to hear. Mr. Bell explained to the Master teacher of the World Faith that his lovely wife had been in this deprived condition for many years and yet had maintained that same radiant spirit, and he confessed that it had been his original purpose not to find an instrument by which the world might hear, but rather an instrument by which his loved one might hear.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in His gracious way, remarked that so had the searching alchemists found modern medicine and so had the explorers searching for the rich Indies discovered America, and then He said, “My calamity is my providence. Outwardly it is fire and vengance; inwardly it is light and mercy.”
I have thought of that during the great war. The world, passing through a veritable crucible of torture, will yet find in that great school of experience that lesson that is the true peace, and America, in sharing that cup of suffering, find her true leadership.
What is the peace we are seeking?
Here we find a man who
would like to have a peace that is
kind to an enemy, though perhaps
unrealistic in solving the
problem of aggression. There we
find one who is interested in a
harsh peace destined to thwart
the best interests of the human
race and to be an irritant for an
[Page 360]
other war. Again we have the
man who is interested in a peace
that is good for his special type
of business, and again one who is
interested in a peace that will
make of his nation a world
power. But I am going to ask you
to look at the question of peace
in the light of a growing civilization,
as envisaged by Bahá’u’lláh.
Mr. H. G. Wells once wisely remarked that you could no more build the unity of the world out of unorganized aspiration than you oould make an engine out of steam. Now there are two types of world institutions that must grow and flourish together for peace; one is political, the other religious.
During His days in Washington ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said to one of America’s great leaders, “You can best serve your country if you strive in your capacity as a citizen of the world to assist in the eventual application of the principle of federalism underlying the government of your own country to the relationships now existing between the peoples and nations of the world.” The first institution for peace, then, must be an actual federation of the nations.
I often think back to a little incident that amused me very much. At one time the National Assembly of the Bahá’í friends of North America gathered in Toronto to speak on a program for peace, and to their consternation they discovered great headlines announcing on that very day England’s declaration of a state of war. But the King Edward Hotel filled its ballroom. The people had come to hear the story of the program for peace according to Bahá’u’lláh.
After the program there was
much scurrying to and fro in the
hotel, for long tables had been
arranged in the foyer for the
mobilization of troops. Among
the scurrying ones were the
young men who ran the elevators.
They were charming young
people, much attracted by the
majors and colonels who were
seated at the tables. About the
third morning I found myself
alone in the elevators with one
of the young men. He stopped
the elevator between the fourth
and fifth floors and turned to me,
saying, “My friends will take
care of the calls, and they wish
me to ask you some questions
about the Bahá’í Peace Program.
We are very much interested in
the program and as we do not yet
understand the war or what is to
come after it, we felt that the
Bahá’ís could help us. First, my
friends wish to know whether
[Page 361]
you would advise us to mobilize.”
“That lies between you and God and the Canadian Government,” I replied, “but you must know the directions in which you are moving. If you wish to move forward you must move toward a federated world.”
“We have been reading about this,” he said, “but please tell me why you think it will work.”
“Why does Quebec never march against Ontario?”
“The Government at Ottawa would not permit it,” he replied, concluding, “Of course, the same protection exists between the states and in Australia and South Africa.”
“You must also work to overcome race prejudice, religious prejudice, economic injustice, and class distinctions. A federated world inspired by a great revelation from God can alone achieve true unity.”
Bahá’u’lláh, before San Francisco, before Ṭihrán, before the League of Nations, before the first Hague Conference, in exile at the hands of the Turkish regime of His time, took His pen and wrote His now famous Tablets to‘the Kings, depicting such a peace, describing its spirit, and stating its form.
He envisioned the world as a commonwealth, a commonwealth of nations without right of secession.
Second, He recognized the common necessity of legislation, to be enacted by elected representatives of every nation, its laws sufficing to hold together the people, equalize and make more stable world trade, protect the interests of the individual, control the gross accumulation of wealth on the one hand and mass poverty on the other; in short, to tap the resources of the planet and regularize their distribution.
Third, there must be a court whose final and compulsory verdict in any and all disputes must be accepted by all nations.
Fourth, there must be a world executive backed by an international force—for we can no more suggest a world commonwealth without policing than we can consider the city of Washington without policing.
Fifth, a world capital will be
the nerve center of the planet. A
swift system of inter-communication,
moving outward from the
world capital will provide an unimpeded
propaganda for peace
and justice. A world calendar,
script, currency, and a common
language will be chosen, and a
freed press, no longer manipulated
by vested interests, public
or private, will educate the
[Page 362]
world in all matters of public interest.
Such a world commonwealth must stabilize and universalize true education. There should be no dark continent. Such a commonwealth must rid the earth of race prejudice and minority suppressions. Such a world commonwealth must be prepared to liberate religion from persecution. God direct it!
But now we are coming to a field that is a little more elusive; the field of religion. Can there be in this field, also, an institution for peace? The question naturally arises, what structure? Can it preserve the recognition of the universal Father, God, unite the basic truth of the ages, bring the very essence of peace, and never forget its true goals?
Religion is equipped and empowered to do all this. All of the powers of the earth, leagued against true religion, cannot deflect it from its goals. All of the powers of ancient Rome were impotent against the rising tide of Judaism and later, Christendom. Can religion again prove its power to withstand its opposers and build a world?
A young woman whose forbears were born in Persia returned to the land of her fathers and visited the palace of the former Sháh of Persia, whose reign had witnessed more than twenty thousand Bahá’í martyrdoms. She recalled the warning words of Bahá’u’lláh: “The generations that are gone before you, whither are they fled? And those ’round whom have circled the fairest and loveliest Of the land, where now are they?” She looked in wonder at the creaking hinges, vacant stairs and empty doors and windows of the palace, at the aged vines falling on the trellises, at the once beautiful blue tiled pool, cracked and strange in the heat of a glaring sun. Where was the beauty of the garden into which a once powerful monarch had poured his wealth? Gone, as if it had never been! A political enemy had ruthlessly uprooted that fleeting power. But the Faith he had persecuted, what of that? The Faith that he had persecuted had assumed the form of a world community that flowed like tributaries of pure water through seventy-eight countries, seventy-eight stateways, obedient to every Government that it touched, blessing the life of the people. The young Faith, strong and hardy, though obscure in numbers, had outlived its tormenters.
No, the very root and structure
of world religion must become
the institution for peace. Bahá’u’lláh
said, “That which the
[Page 363]
Lord hath ordained as the sovereign
remedy and mightiest instrument
for the healing of all
the world is the union of all its
peoples in one universal Cause,
one common Faith. This can in
no wise be achieved except
through the power of a skilled,
an all-powerful and inspired
Physician.”
Bahá’u’lláh gave to the world a Book of Laws, providing for marriage and divorce, a new system of taxation, inheritance, and treatment of criminals; denouncing those social and spiritual corrosions to which we have become all too accustomed; and enjoining upon men the fragrance of cleanliness, courtesy, justice and kindly living. In the Law is the healing and harmony of the whole world. Here is no idle philosophy, but a growing community living according to its God-inspired Laws. Surely this cannot be confused with the modern trend to unorganized aspirations, beginning and ending in words.
The Bahá’í World Community is a spiritual commonWealth with law and leadership. It too has its capital, its nerve center, its chief executive. After the passing of Bahá’u’lláh the leadership of the young community was entrusted to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the illustrious son of Bahá’u’lláh Himself, and he in turn gave it into the hands of the first Guardian, his own grandson, Shoghi Effendi. The spiritual leadership, established originally by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws, provides the right to interpret His truth and produces a more profound unity than any political structure the political world can conceive. Moreover, the spiritual genius of a prophet of God goes on in the generations that live after Him.
This commonwealth is self-governing, and completely free from party or factional domination. Democratic elections are held annually for the selection of Houses of Justice, or Assemblies. The Assemblies, from local to international Bahá’í life, have final power in the direction of community affairs. All races, classes, and religious backgrounds freely intermingle.
The World Community of
Bahá’u’lláh is an actual and organic
unity, a community which
in India can live above the untouchable
line, which in Germany
can live above the Jewish
question, which in England can
live above the class question,
which in the Holy Land can live
above the religious differences,
and which in this great America
can live above our racial differences.
Here is a spiritual commonwealth
[Page 364]
so democratic in its
influence, so God-guided in its
goals, that Alfred Martin wrote
this statement regarding it:
“Who shall say but that just as
the little company of the Mayflower
landing on Plymouth Rock
proved to be the small beginning
of a mighty nation, the ideal
germ of a democracy which if
true to its principle may yet overspread
the habitable globe, so the
little company of Bahá’ís exiled
from their Persian home may yet
prove to be the small beginning
of the world-wide movement, the
ideal germ of democracy in religion,
the universal church of
mankind.”
The voice of religion and the voice of world federation will unite, for they are expressions of one growing reality; they are the Will of God. The forces of life in the world religion are the forces of life in the new world state. As they come together somewhere in our distant future, with no liberties lost and with all rights preserved, then we will see through the eyes of Bahá’u’lláh, the reality of true civilization. Revealing a fore-glimpse, Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Faith, writes: “A world Federal system ruling the entire planet and exercising unchallengable authority over its unimaginably vast resources, blending and embodying the ideals of both East and West, liberated from the curse of war and its miseries—a system in which force is made the servant of justice and whose life is sustained by the universal recognition of one God and by its allegiance to one common revelation, this is the goal toward which humanity, impelled by the unifying forces of life, is moving.”
I close with a remnant of ancient Persian lore. There is in Persian poetry the dramatic figure of Majnun, a love whose heart burned with love for Lyla. The day came when the king was curious to see the famed beauty of the one so loved by Majnun. He sent for Lyla and looked upon her beauty with indifferent eyes, failing to see in her form and countenance the loveliness apparent to those more discerning. Majnun, reading in the eyes of the king his doubt and disappointment, sprang to his feet and cried, “Oh, King, if you would behold Lyla, see her through the eyes of Majnun!”
I beg of you to look with hope
upon a dawning civilization and
see it through the eyes of a great
Prophet, for if you look only
through a political glass, you see
a body open to accident every
day, and if you look only through
the eyes of the businessman, you
will see an economic structure
[Page 365]
that in a fortnight may fall. But
when you look through the eyes
of Bahá’u’lláh you will see growing
institutions dedicated to permanent
peace. Mankind has come
of age; his new civilization must
be scientific, universal, and soul-satisfying.
May the capital of this
great nation assist us all to arise
as never before to that leadership
of which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His
well-loved visit spoke when He
said: “America will lead all
nations spiritually.”
MY PRAYER
MINNIETTA TAYLOR KENNEDY
- Give unto this Thy servant Lord
- An understanding heart
- That I may see and comprehend, in
- Whole and not in part,
- The sorrows that lie hidden deep
- In every human heart.
- Give unto this Thy servant Lord
- That all embracing love
- That takes in king and carpenter and thief
- And God above.
- Give unto this Thy servant Lord
- That kind and healing grace
- That takes away all earthly sting
- Revealing to each mortal thing
- The glory of Thy face.
Editorial
Religion in Action
ONCE ‘Abdu’l-Bahá defined a
Bahá’í as “one endowed
with all the perfections of man
in activity.” We understand that
one of the chief functions of religion
is to draw us nearer to
God. We are coming to realize
that religion is the alchemy by
which coarse, harsh, selfish perlonality
is transmuted to fine,
noble character. We are perhaps
less often reminded that religion
involves activity. It cannot be
passive.
As we think more deeply about the subject we see that the possession of the attributes of God, the perfections of men, implies activity. One cannot have the quality of compassion without wishing to feed the starving, to clothe the tattered, to find shelter for the homeless, and to comfort the grieved. Our great example, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, showed us to what extent our compassion should be expressed in action when He gave away His own cloaks, never keeping more than one for His own use. He gave to the poor in this country of the money that would have made the difference between His riding in comfort by Pullman instead of sleeping in the coaches in spite of His age and strenuous schedule.
One cannot possess justice without acting with justice in making each decision. Would a Bahá’í be just if he supported a union in an unfair demand upon management? Would he be just if he was instrumental in crushing the working man by depriving him of adequate pay for work well done, by forcing him to work long hours or under unsafe or unhealthful conditions? Justice requires that a man not align himself with any faction or class of society, but that he act according to that high standard of fairness which chooses “right” over “gain”, and “what is the best for all” over “what is the best for me”. A desire for justice would influence our choices in every department of life.
Many of our actions as well as
our feelings will be changed
when our hearts are filled with
love, for instance. Can we injure
our companions with unkind
words or destroy another’s reputation
by gossip if we are full of
love? Can we hold ourselves
aloof from our fellowman because
he speaks another language,
or has a dark skin (or a
[Page 367]
light one), or worships God differently?
Can we avoid working
wholeheartedly for full international
cooperation and lasting
world peace when we know that
the alternative is the death and
maiming of our brothers the
world over? Bahá’u’lláh not only
helps us to develop the love that
makes wars unthinkable to us,
but He gives us help in organizing
the nations of the world politically
and economically so that
war may not destroy the world.
Surely knowledge and wisdom would be considered among the perfections of man. Knowledge, when it is applied in science can help bind the nations together by means of the radio, the newspaper, the airline. It can shorten working hours and give men more time for spiritual development. It can increase the food yield from the world’s arable land and reduce starvation. It can bring us understanding of the history, goals, and motives of the nations of the world with which we must learn to cooperate. Wisdom is perhaps knowledge used with love, compassion, justice and prayer. Only the pure in heart, the selfless, can be wise. That, too, is part of becoming Bahá’í-like.
There are many other qualities which our lives must express if our religion becomes active. For each of them we could develop a similar discussion—mercy, forgiveness, industry, truthfulness, courtesy, faith—how the world needs actions reflecting all of these!
Because Bahá’u’lláh had all of the perfections, He was grieved by the problems that beset men. He gave us instructions showing us how we could first eliminate the prejudices and difficulties in our own hearts—and then how we could bring about the necessary changes in society to solve the problems.
America’s great problem is that of race. Bahá’u’lláh helps us to feel love for all members of the human family and to deal justly with everyone, carrying our crusade for justice into society as a whole.
We’ve already suggested that Bahá’u’lláh made very practical suggestions for the bringing about of permanent international peace and for the bringing about of industrial justice. The method of consultation which he gave to Bahá’ís, when practiced with complete unselfishness and desire for truth, is the machinery by which both domestic and international cooperation may be suceessful.
The “divorce problem”, the
“juvenile delinquency problem”,
and a great array of disorders
[Page 368]
which arise from today’s widespread
laxness of morality disappear
under the rigid character
discipline prescribed by Bahá’u’lláh.
It would seem that our whole social structure is built upon loftiness of individual character, and that problems arise from our own imperfections of personality. This month in the Bahá’í calendar is the month of Loftiness during which we observe the Fast and endeavor to purify ourselves of imperfections. By doing a single just act we become more just. By cheering a single lonely soul we become more loving. By such small beginnings our religion translates itself into action. —E. S. H.
Who, contemplating the helplessness, the fears and miseries of humanity in this day, can any longer question the necessity for a fresh revelation of the quickening power of God’s redemptive love and guidance? Who, witnessing on one hand the stupendous advance achieved in the realm of human knowledge, of power, of skill and inventiveness, and viewing on the other the unprecedented character of the sufferings that afflict, and the dangers that beset, present-day society, can be so blind as to doubt that the hour has at last struck for the advent of a new Revelation, for a restatement of the Divine Purpose, and for the consequent revival of those spiritual forces that have, at fixed intervals, rehabilitated the fortunes of human society? Does not the very operation of the world-unifying forces that are at work in this age necessitate that He Who is the Bearer of the Message of God in this day should not only reaffirm that self-same exalted standard of individual conduct inculcated by the Prophets gone before Him, but embody in His appeal, to all governments and peoples, the essentials of that social code, that Divine Economy, which must guide humanity’s concerted efforts in establishing that all-embracing federation which is to signalize the advent of the Kingdom of God on this earth?
Divine Springtime
A Compilation From the Bahá’í Writings
MIRIAM BUGBEE
THE world spiritual is like
unto the world phenomenal.
They are the exact counterpart
of each other. Whatever objects
appear in this world of existence
are the outer pictures of the
world of heaven. When we look
upon the phenomenal world we
perceive that it is divided into
four seasons; one is the season of
spring, another the season of
summer, another autumn and
then these three seasons are followed
by winter. When the season
of spring appears in the
arena of existence the whole
world is rejuvenated and finds
new life. The soul-quickening
bounty is everywhere; the cloud
of mercy showers down its rain
and the sun shines upon everything.
Day by day we perceive
that the signs of vegetation are
all about us. Wonderful flowers,
hyacinths and roses perfume the
nostrils. The trees are full of
leaves and blossoms, and the
blossoms are followed by fruit.
The spring and summer are followed
by autumn and winter. The
flowers wither and are no more;
the leaves turn gray and life has
gone. Then comes another springtime;
the former springtime is renewed;
again a new life stirs
within everything.
* * *
The appearances of the manifestations of God are the divine springtime. When His Holiness Christ appeared in this world it was like the vernal bounty; the outpouring descended; the effulgences of the Merciful encircled all things; the human world found new life. Even the physical world partook of it. The divine perfections were upraised; souls were trained in the school of heaven so that all grades of human eixstence received life and light. Then by degrees these fragrances of heaven were discontinued; the season of winter came upon the world; the beauties of spring vanished; the excellences and perfections passed away; the lights and quickening were no longer evident; the phenomenal world and its materialities conquered everything; the spiritualities of life were lost; the world of existence became like unto a lifeless body; there was no trace of the spring left.
* * *
His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh came
to renew the life of the world
[Page 370]
with this new and divine springtime
which has pitched its tent
in the countries of the Orient in
the utmost power and glory. It
has refreshed the world of the
Orient and there is no doubt that
if the world of the Occident
should abandon dogmas of the
past, turn away from empty imitations
and superstitions, investigate
the reality of the divine religions,
holding fast to the example
of His Holiness Jesus
Christ, acting in accordance with
the teachings of God and becoming
unified with the Orient,
an eternal happiness and felicity
would be attained.
* * *
In this century of the “latter times” Bahá’u’lláh has appeared and so resuscitated spirits that they have manifested powers more than human. Thousands of His followers have given their lives and while under the sword, shedding their blood, they have proclaimed “Ya-Bahá’u’l-Abhá!” Such resuscitation is impossible except through a heavenly potency, a power supernatural, the divine power of the Holy Spirit. Through a natural and mere human power this is impossible. Therefore the question arises, “How is this resuscitation to be accomplished?”
There are certain means for
this accomplishment by which
mankind is regenerated and
quickened with the new birth.
This is the “second birth” mentioned
in the heavenly books. Its
accomplishment is through the
baptism of the Holy Spirit. The
resuscitation or rebirth of the
spirit of man is through the
science of the love of God. It is
through the efficacy of the water
of life. This life and quickening
is the regeneration of the phenomenal
world. After the coming
of the spiritual springtime, the
falling of the vernal showers, the
shining of the Sun of Reality, the
blowing of the breezes of perfection,
all phenomena become imbued
with the life of a new creation
and are reformed in the
process of a new genesis. Reflect
upon the material springtime.
When winter comes the trees are
leafless, the fields and meadows
withered, the flowers die away
into dust-heaps; in prairie, mountain
and garden no freshness lingers,
no beauty is visible, no verdure
can be seen. Everything is
clad in the robe of death. Wherever
you look around you will
find the expression of death and
decay. But when the spring
comes, the showers descend, the
sun floods the meadows and
plains with light; you will observe
creation clad in a new robe
of expression. The showers have
made the meadows green and
[Page 371]
verdant. The warm breezes have
caused the trees to put on their
garments of leaves. They have
blossomed and soon will produce
new, fresh and delightful fruits.
Everything appears endowed
with a newness of life; a new animus
and spirit is everywhere visible.
The spring has resuscitated
all phenomena and has adorned
the earth with beauty as it willeth.
Even so is the springtime spiritual when it comes. When the holy, divine manifestations or prophets appear in the world, a cycle of radiance, an age of mercy dawns. Everything is renewed. Minds, hearts and all human forces are re-formed, perfections are quickened, sciences, discoveries and investigations are stimulated afresh and everything appertaining to the virtues of the human world is revitalized. Consider this present century of radiance and compare it with the past centuries. What a vast difference exists between them! How minds have developed! How perceptions have deepened! How discoveries have increased! What great projects have been accomplished! How many realities have become manifest! How many mysteries of creation have been probed and penetrated. What is the cause of this? It is through the efficacy of the spiritual springtime in which we are living. Day by day the world attains a new bounty. In this radiant century neither the old customs nor the old sciences, crafts, laws and regulations have remained. The old political principles are undergoing change and a new body-politic is in process of formation. Nevertheless some whose thoughts are congealed and whose souls are bereft of the light of the Sun of Reality seek to arrest this development in the world of the minds of men. Is this possible?
* * *
Therefore we must strive with
life and heart that the material
and physical world may be reformed,
human perception become
keener, the merciful effulgence
manifest and the radiance
of reality shine. Then the star of
love shall appear and the world
of humanity become illumined.
The purpose is that the world of
existence is dependent for its
progress upon re-formation;
otherwise it will be as dead. Consider,
if a new springtime failed
to appear, what would be the effect
upon this globe, the earth?
Undoubtedly it would become
desolate and life extinct. The
earth has need for an annual
coming of Spring. It is necessary
that a new bounty should be
forthcoming. If it comes not, life
[Page 372]
would he effaced. In the same
way the world of spirit needs new
life, the world of mind necessitates
new animus and development,
the world of souls a new
bounty, the world of morality a
re-formation, the world of divine
effulgence ever new bestowals.
Were it not for this replenishment
the life of the world would
become effaced and extinguished.
. . . If no rain falls all
life organisms will perish. If
new light does not come the darkness
of death will envelop the
earth. If a new springtime does
not arrive life upon this globe
will be obliterated.
* * *
If these material tendencies are in such need of re-formation, how much greater the need in the world of human spirit, the world of human thought, perception, virtues and bounties! Is it possible that that need has remained stationary while the world has been advancing in every other condition and direction? It is impossible.
* * *
This is the springtime of manifestation. The vernal shower has descended from the cloud of divine mercy; the life-giving breeze of the Holy Spirit is waiting the perfume of blossoms. From field and meadow rises a fragrant breath of thanksgivng like pure incense ascending to the throne of God. The world has become a new world; souls are quickened, spirits renewed, refreshed. Truly it is a time for happiness.
THE DAY IS NOW
DOROTHY HELM
- The Day is now, and God hath said to me,
- “Go tell the peoples on this earth be free,
- Be courteous, be kind, be helpful too
- One with another!” He would have ye do
- Such things as will assist and not destroy
- By wrongful thought or act the pure alloy
- Of good, that lies within the hearts of men.
- The Way is lighted! He is come again!
The Miracle in Your Life
MARIAN CRIST LIPPITT
THERE is in the world today
certain knowledge that is the
most revolutionizing force ever to
be acquired in the history of mankind.
It is vital information which
every human being needs urgently,
that every one of us can
use to tremendous advantage.
Rich and poor, educated and uneducated,
statesman and beggar,
black, white, red and yellow, religionist
or atheist—each in his
own way can partake of this
knowledge and find his life enriched,
truly transformed, thereby.
It is as universal as the cry
of the human heart: how can I get
happiness out of life? And it is as
thrilling as the answer to that
eternal cry could be.
New discoveries are always thrilling. The discovery of what we call “atomic energy” in this age has shown mankind the revolutionizing power that newly discovered knowledge can bring to man. Converting matter into energy! Today we can only begin to fathom what it may mean to possess the secret of such infinite force.
Yet the knowledge referred to now is a key to a potency even greater than that of atomic energy. It is a power that can, and eventually will, change mankind’s abasement into glory; change humanity’s weakness into strength; change man’s personal powerlessness into might; change our individual, destructive fears into a constructive sense of calm; and change all harrowing doubts to a glorious certainty.
What would such a force mean to you?
Let us return for a moment to
the thought of atomic energy. Its
development has probably already
had a definite effect on
your life in bringing the war to a
sudden close. Nearly everyone in
the whole world knows that a new
explosive has been discovered.
But the ultimate outcome lies far
ahead in the future. You and I
may look forward to an automobile
or airplane which, by using
this energy, will operate for
months or even years at practically
no cost. We can imagine
mechanical devices that will automatically
remove dirt from the
air and so eliminate countless
man-hours—or, perhaps more
properly, woman-hours—of endless
cleaning. We may visualize
an air-conditioned world of comfortable,
even temperatures. We
can picture the earth as a place
[Page 374]
where travel and limitless communication
will be available to
all. We may dream of a life in
which all laborious drudgery will
be performed automatically by
machines, leaving man free to
develop his mind and spirit.
These are some of the visions prompted by the advent of such limitless power. And even then we probably have not even begun to plumb the possibilities inherent in applied atomic energy.
Nevertheless, we know that before our dreams may come true there must be a medium of transmission between this unfathomed power and man’s need of power. Science tells us that so terrific is the amount of energy put at man’s disposal through the breaking down of a single atom that the problem now looms almost insurmountable of “stepping down” the power to human terms and to units small enough to apply to practical uses.
Is this problem not parallel with the spiritual problem facing mankind today?
For nineteen hundred years ago Christ brought to the world the revolutionizing knowledge of a similar, though far greater, Power—the Power of the Holy Spirit. He did not merely tell about It—He put It to work in such hearts as were receptive to It. He indicated that this Power was great enough to bring God’s Kingdom “on earth as it is in Heaven”—or in other words, great enough to spiritualize the entire earthly kingdom.
That Power which He introduced into the world was more potent and far-reaching than that of the atomic bomb. It gradually created a new civilization; it eventually built the foundation for the greatest nation in the world, the most amazing amalgamation of divers human beings yet achieved on earth.
But here again the ultimate outcome lay far ahead in the future. So Christ taught men to dream ahead into that future and work for the glorious benefits later to be had through developing this immortal Power. We were to expect miraculous personal achievements that He said would surpass the miracles performed by Himself. He ennunciated God’s Promise of ultimate joys unimaginable: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
Yes, Christ introduced to mankind
a new power of a spiritual
nature; yet in spite of all of its
resultant transformations in the
life of mankind, what He gave
was, and could be, only a start.
He instructed man to look toward
[Page 375]
the future for the real fulfillment.
It was for a future coming
of God’s Kingdom on earth that
He taught men to pray. And He
stated clearly that His was only
an introductory Message, limited
because of His listeners’ immaturity:
“I have yet many things
to say unto you, but ye cannot
bear them now. Howbeit when
He, the Spirit of Truth is come,
He will guide you into all Truth.”
We who think we would have accepted
His Words had we lived
in His day, should listen intently
to such Truths, for only those living
today, can comprehend their
full import. It was for us that He
uttered those Words.
Christ brought to the world the transcendant Power of the Holy Spirit, and in the struggle of the subsequent ages It made Itself felt with the force and potency of an atomic bombshell bursting. But the establishment of that Power in its full potentialities on earth could only come after centuries of seeking to develop that Power; centuries of faithful praying and striving. God, long ago, promised, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; and even upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days I will pour out My Spirit.” He also foretold, through Isaiah, that at that time the potency of “A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.” That last statement has special significance to the followers of the Bahá’í World Faith today.
For Bahá’ís have reason to believe that the long-promised day of fulfillment is at hand. We believe that “He the Spirit of Truth” is come, and that He is waiting now to lead us, through God’s recently recorded Revelation, into “all Truth”.
It appears that just as there must be a mechanical medium between atomic energy and man’s need of mechanistic power, so too there must be a medium, at once divine and human, between the Power of God and man’s need of inner power; a medium or intermediary instrument that will “step down” the infinite energy to actual ways of answering finite longings and individual soul needs. A spiritual mechanism had to be created to establish a positive connection between the unfathomable force of the Holy Spirit and our own outreaching for strength, faith, assurance and spiritual potency.
Such a spiritual mechanism
God has, in His mercy and fulfillment
[Page 376]
of His own promises, created
and given to man in the teachings
of Bahá’u’lláh. And the required
Intermediary between the
infinitude of God’s Power and
man’s finite, spiritual needs, is
God’s Revelator for the new age,
Founder of the Bahá’í World
Faith. This cataclysmic discovery
comes to those who have sincerely
investigated the new Revelation
with open minds and receptive
hearts.
And those who have made the discovery are impelled to dedicate their lives to transmitting the thrilling news of God’s majestic Gift to the world. Not as missionaries preaching a creed; not as religionists seeking to make converts; but merely as heralds, we Bahá’ís give out the call and offer the open Book, that each may make his own investigation and tests of this new Source of Power.
Is there a single individual today whose heart does not hold a need for such transforming Power—some feeling of abasement to be changed to a radiant glory; some weakness that he longs to convert into a strength; some inadequacy and powerlessness that successful living requires to be replaced by spiritual might? Surely every human being longs for his fears to be superseded by calm and assurance. Surely each one of us prays in his inmost being that certainty may sweep away his doubts.
Bahá’u’lláh brings us God’s promise that such miracles can be achieved, here on earth, irrespective of external conditions, regardless of our own impotence. His Message not only tells us what to do, but brings us the infinite Power wherewith to actually effect these transformations. Rich and poor, educated and uneducated, statesman and beggar, religionist and atheist— whoever and wherever you are, there is for you in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh exactly what is needed for the miracle in your life.
Bahá’u’lláh, speaking impersonally of Himself as a Messenger of God, issues the challenge with almost frightening simplicity —frightening when we think of how easily the glorious bounty offered may he missed by ignoring His Words which are made without compulsion and leave each heart free to make its own choice: “He hath but to deliver this clear message. Whosoever desireth, let him turn aside from this counsel; and whosoever desireth, let him choose the path to his Lord.”
A Call to Action
SARAH MARTIN PEREIRA
THE following prophetic words
of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá warn us of
the impending danger into which
race hatred may yet plunge our
country, unless we exert a “tremendous
effort” to avoid it. He
says: “This question of the union
of the white and the black is very
important, for if it is not realized,
erelong great difficulties
will arise, and harmful results
will follow.” “If this matter remaineth
without change, enmity
will be increased day by day,
and the final result will be hardship
and may end in bloodshed.”
The seriousness of the social corruption known as race prejudice need not cause us to despair, for a Divine Physician has already prescribed the antidote for the poisonous bigotry that besets the patient. Furthermore, the medicinal ingredients are provided and the remedy is at hand. We, the Bahá’ís of the United States, have only to administer it. To hesitate or delay is folly.
Love, sincerity, fraternity between men who are convinced of their equality, comprise the remedy for men’s individual frustration and hence for social unrest.
Those who are spiritually mature and who see things with the clear vision of the inner eye undimmed by selfishness, greed, or sectionalism, can not stand by idly and see injustice thrive. Shoghi Effendi referring to the colored and white Bahá’ís writes, “Let neither think that they can wait confidently for the solution of this problem until the initiative has been taken, and the favorable circumstances created by agencies that stand outside the orbit of their Faith. Let neither think that anything short of genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort, can succeed in blotting out the stain which this patent evil has left on the fair name of their common country.”
Bahá’u’lláh assures us that confirmations in the form of divine assistance will come to our aid when we set our feet steadfastly in His illumined path. He says: “This Day a door is open wider than both heaven and earth. The eye of the Mercy of Him Who is the Desire of the worlds is turned towards all men.”
It is the special privilege of
men who are fortunately aware
of the significance of this
[Page 378]
Day of God to so conduct themselves
that by their example and
their daily demonstration of the
workability of the noble principles
of the Bahá’í Faith, those
who yearn for a better way of living
may be attracted to those
whose hearts have been quickened
with the “fire of the love
of God.” All men may see God.
Let the Bahá’ís direct them to
the Light. Deeds are the standard!
The colored people must he encouraged to put aside their age-old distrust of the white man. Their suspicion of the sincerity of other men must be replaced by faith and a willingness to judge men by their actions. What greater proof of honesty can there be than for men to practice the principle of the oneness of mankind, because they believe in the divine wisdom of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of their religious Faith, and Whose holy mission it has been to proclaim the unity of mankind?
And the white people must walk steadfastly and consistently along the path of justice for all men. Such is the divine command by which the Bahá’ís are activated. The spiritual rewards are assured for men who contribute even one act daily toward the spirit of oneness.
“An act, however infinitesimal, is, when vieWed in the mirror of the knowledge of God, mightier than a mountain. Every drop proffered in His path is as the sea in that mirror.”
What formerly difficult task does not seem immeasureably facilitated, when we are convinced of the approval of our Creator!
The Bahá’ís are working consistently and bravely to secure the sustained cooperation and loving fraternity of all men. In the place of defamation and toleration, the Bahá’ís have substituted appreciation; and instead of division, association. May God speed their efforts so that the dangerous course, so greatly feared by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, may be deflected “and the materialization of the hopes He cherished for their joint contribution to the fulfillment of that country’s (United States of America) glorious destiny” may become a reality!
“For this is the Day which the one true God, Glorified be He, hath announced in all His Books unto His Prophets and His Messengers.”
WITH OUR READERS
“THE Coming of the Beloved”, by
Marzieh Gail, was first presented
as a talk on Easter Sunday,
1946, at the Bahá’í House of Worship,
Wilmette, Illinois. Mrs. Gail is
a student of ability both of the Bahá’í
writings and of secular subjects, having
degrees from California and
Stanford Universities. She has traveled
widely and for two years was
the only newspaper woman in Ṭihrán
where she conducted columns in Persian,
French and English. Her knowledge
of the Persian and Arabic languages
enables her to study the
Bahá’í writings in the original languages
and she has assisted her father,
Alí-Kuli Khán, in the translation
of certain Bahá’í scriptures. Mrs.
Gail is a member of the Bahá’í News
Committee, the Bahá’í World Committee,
the Visual Aids Committee,
the Public Relations Committee and
serves the Faith both as a writer and
speaker. In our August, 1946, issue
was her “Event in Hamadán”. Her
home is in San Francisco.
“Institutions for Peace” is also a
public talk, given by Dorothy Baker
before a large audience in Washington.
Mrs. Baker is well known both
to Bahá’ís and to friends of the
Bahá’í Faith for her unceasing service
to the Faith as a speaker, a
writer, a traveler and administrator.
She has traveled extensively in Latin
American countries in the interests
of the Bahá’í Faith. At present she is
chairman of the Bahá’í National Assembly
and of the Bahá’í Inter-America
Committee. Her home is in
Lima, Ohio.
March 21, the day of the spring
equinox, is celebrated throughout
the Bahá’í world as Naw-Rúz, New
Year’s Day. The excerpts from Bahá’í
writings entitled “Divine Springtime”
compiled by Miriam Bugbee,
therefore, seem well fitted for this
March issue of our Bahá’í magazine.
Mrs. Bugbee is an active teacher of
the Bahá’í Faith whose home is in
Phoenix, Arizona. This is her first
contribution to World Order.
“The Miracle in Your Life” comes
as a first contribution from Marion
Crist Lippitt, who lives in Charleston,
West Virginia, where she settled
a few years ago to help build up
that community to assembly status.
Sarah Martin Pereira sends “A
Call to Action” as her first contribution
to World Order. Dr. Pereira has
degrees from Western Reserve and
Ohio State Universities and from the
latter received her doctorate and she
has held several teaching positions
in French and Spanish. At present
she is teaching Spanish in Cleveland
College of Western Reserve and at
Fenn College, Cleveland. In both
these colleges she is the first negro
faculty member. Dr. Pereira tells us
that she is a second generation
Bahá’í. For two years she served on
the Green Acre Program Committee
and has taught at Green Acre Summer
School. She is chairman of the
[Page 380]
Cleveland Bahá’í Assembly and is
active in teaching the Faith in that
city.
Eleanor Hutchens’ editorial “Religion
in Action” supplements well
Dr. Pereira’s “Call to Action.” The
theme cannot be over emphasized.
The two poems appearing in this
issue are both by new contributors to
World Order. Dorothy Helm is a
member of the Local Spiritual Assembly
of Louisville, Kentucky. Minnietta
Taylor Kennedy’s home is in
Chestertown, Maryland.
The index for volume XII completes
this issue.
* * *
The April issue of World Order, beginning a new volume (XIII), will appear in a new cover with new material on the inside front cover and an interesting title page. Won’t you let us know whether or not you consider the change an improvement.
The magazine needs the help of all Bahá’ís and all can help in one way or another. We need more subscribers, more copies in libraries, more gift subscriptions, more copies passed on to interested friends. Some communities are successful in putting World Order on the newsstand. Above all we need more well-written and appealing articles, so that every Bahá’í will find the magazine indispensable for his own growth and in teaching others. The editors wish to constantly raise the standard of the content of the magazine. The Guardian asks us in all our teaching work to reach both the leaders and the masses. To do this we need many types of articles, but all should be well-written, straightforward, and should carry the spiritual potency of Bahá’u’lláh’s Message.
* * *
An interesting letter from the Bahá’í National Assembly of India suggests some things our readers in India would like to see in World Order: “The Publishing Committee reports the publicity of World Order in the libraries of India and Burma. In a recent letter from the Bahá’í Publishing Committee they state: ‘You will be glad to note that World Order is continually supplied to libraries of all universities of India, and they prize it so much that in case a copy is lost in transit, they write for it until they get it to complete that particular volume for their library. They get it bound in costly leather and list it in their Religious Section. World Order has also proved a good medium to prepare the public to receive teachers when they visit their places. I hope that you will impress upon the editorial board and the contributors to the magazine to write articles from the Hindu view of the religion. In fact at present there is no religious standard among the Hindus which we can look upon when writing for them, but if articles have reference to Geeta and Vedaas, they will make a good impression upon the Hindus, who are suspicious of the Divine Faith and consider it another way of gaining them to Semitic form of religion. This is, however, our humble suggestion and it is entirely left to the discretion of the editors of the magazine to act upon it or not.’”
[Page 381]
A year ago, in our March, 1946,
issue we printed a request from Miss
Phyllis Hall of Detroit for an abacus.
Miss Hall teaches slightly subnormal
children and wished the abacus to
help in teaching them to count. Now
with the help of Mr. Thomas Wood,
assistant business manager of World
Order we have the interesting sequel
to the request. This is his statement:
“A Bahá’í, Captain Henry Jarvis,
when located in Tokio, Japan, wrote
me that he had a slight recollection
of having read a paragraph in a back
number of World Order setting forth
that someone was in need of an
abacus and that he was shipping to
me a box containing nine. Eventually
the nine arrived and on looking
through several back numbers I
found the item stating that Phyllis
Hall had asked for one. With the
thought that only one had been
asked for and feeling that other
Bahá’ís might appreciate one in connection
with their teaching work, I
wrote Phyllis, explaining that nine
had been received and forwarded
one to her. Acknowledgement of its
receipt also brought a demand for
those received, as they were intended
for her, so the remainder of the nine
were mailed to her.”
We think this little incident is quite revealing both about the magazine and Bahá’ís.
* * *
Encouraged by the success of advertising Miss Hall’s request we are happy to print a note from our business manager, Clara Wood. She states: “One of our Bahá’í friends in Halifax, N. S. has just finished paying for as complete a set of Stars of the West and the Bahá’í Magazine as we could furnish. We found 314 issues for her from volumes 4 to 25. In acknowledging them she writes, ‘Am so happy to have them; they are wonderful and am sure we shall garner much spiritual nourishment from them.’”
Mrs. Wood thinks this may inspire others to buy these back numbers at ten cents each. These old issues are, of course, out of print and becoming more and more precious and more and more scarce.
* * *
A clipping from an Elsinore, California, paper has come to us which shows how Elsinore Bahá’ís use World Order to inform the public about the Bahá’í Faith. We quote from the Elsinore Leader-Press:
“An article entitled ‘Religion and the Church’, appearing in the December issue of the Bahá’í magazine World Order is a scholarly, informative, and sympathetic explanation of the founding of the Christian Church as a fulfillment of prophecies brought by Moses and His Successors; and of the basic reasons why its history has been full of schisms. The divine concept of religion is that of a progression of Revelations of God’s purpose that humanity should become and remain united through sincere love for Him. Each Manifestation, in turn, has adapted His teachings to the mental and spiritual capacities of the people living in His Day.” An address where Bahá’í information could be obtained was given. —THE EDITORS
INDEX
WORLD ORDER
Volume Twelve, April 1946 to March 1947
TITLES
Administration, Bahá’í, Book Review, by
Horace Holley, 340
Assignment to America, by Shoghi Effendi, 156
Báb, The Interment of the, by Moneer Zaine, 115
Bahá’í: Children and the Peace, by Amy Brady Dwelly 8; Faith in Germany, by Hermann Grossmann, 49; Spiritual Principles of, Administration, by Alma Sothman, 69; How the, Has Discovered True Faith, by Edna M. True, 161; Bahá’ís Stand Firm in Their Faith, Editorial, by Gertrude K. Henning, 178; The Rank-and-File, by Gertrude Schurgast, 213; A, Philosophy of Education, by John Stroessler, 225; Women and, Ideals, Editorial, by Bertha H. Kirkpatrick, 271
Bahá’u’lláh’s Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, by Marzieh Gail, 33
Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf, by Della C. Quinlan, 273
Black Metropolis, Book Review, by Eleanor S. Hutchens, 296
Blazing the Trail, by Stanwood Cobb, 238
Book Reviews: The Dawn-Breakers by Bahíyyih Randall Ford, 20; Bahá’u’lláh’s Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, by Marzieh Gail, 33; The Star of the West, by Elizabeth P. Hackley, 122; Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, by Bertha H. Kirkpatrick, 152; The Promised Day Is Come, by Mabel Hyde Paine, 243; Bahá’í Administration, by Horace Holley, 340; Black Metropolis, by Eleanor S. Hutchens, 296
Breakers of the Dawn, by Sally Sanor, 204
Call to Action, A, by Sarah Martin Pereira, 377
Chaos, From, to Order, by Horace Holley, 97
Chasing a Hobgoblin, by Duart Brown, 329
Civilization, The New, by Beatrice Irwin, 23
Coming of the Beloved, The, by Marzieh Gail, 353
Conduct, Scientic Approach to Moral, by Jack B. Fatooh, 230
Dawn-Breakers, The, Book Review, by Bahíyyih Randall Ford, 20
Day: This Is the, of Fulfillment, Editorial, by Gertrude K. Henning, 18; The, of God, Words of Bahá’u’lláh, 27; The Promised, Is Come, Book Review, by Mabel Hyde Paine, 243
Ecuador, Pioneer Joumey—, by Virginia Orbison, 345
Experiences in the Armed Forces, by Alvin Blum, 110
Farmer, Sarah Jane, by Bahíyyih and Harry Ford, 105
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Book Review, by Bertha H. Kirkpatrick, 152
Greater Than Any Nation, by Horace Holley, 193
Guardian, The, Editorial, by William Kenneth Christian, 302
Guidance, We Long for Divine, by Shirley Warde, 235
Hamadán, Event in, by Munich Gail, 142
Heroism, Editorial, by Eleanor S. Hutchens, 207
Intolerance, Where, Begins, by Benjamin Kaufman, 140
Japan, The Resurrection of, Words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 65
Journey: My, to ‘Akká, 58; My, to Bombay, 88; Rangoon, 186; Mandalay, 216; by Sydney Sprague
Lady of Tapada, Lady of Lima, by Eve B. Nicklin, 209
Lawrence, Colonel: A Bahá’í Memory, by Mrs. Jane Stannard, 81
Light, by Floyd H. Munson, 86
Marriage, Successful, by Eleanor Sweney Hutchens, 12
Meditations, by Gladys Kline, 55
Men, The, of a New Dawn, Editorial, by William Kenneth Christian, 144
Miracle in Your Life, The, by Marian Crist Lippitt, 373
Only the Ramparts Fell, Editorial, by Horace Holley, 79
[Page 383]
Parable, The, of the Nine Springs, by
Duart Brown, 176
Peace: The Price of, by N. M. Firoozi, 309; World, through World Religion, by Helen Bishop, 321; Institutions for, by Dorothy Baker, 359
Peru, Pioneer Journey, by Virginia Orbison, 315
Poems: Requiem, by Duart Brown, 54; The Báb, by Frances Mitchell, 62; Assurance, by Mary Marlowe, 92; Heaven and Earth Have Sworn, by Silvia Margolis, 103; To S. J. Farmer on Her Birthday, by John Greenleaf Whittier, 104; ‘Akká, by Laura Romney Davis, 242; Double Rainbow, by Nell Griffith Wilson, 246; The City of Light, 280; Prayer, by L. Khai, 332; Song for a New Day, by Silvia Margolis, 337; My Prayer, by Minnietta Taylor Kennedy, 365; The Day Is Now, by Dorothy Helm, 372
Power, This Glory, This, Editorial, by Horace Holley, 240
Prejudice: The Anatomy of, by Duart Brown, 289; Racial and Group, by Joseph Lander, M.D., 292
Religion: Too, Evolves, by Louise A. Groger, 171; and the Church, by Mabel Hyde Paine, 257; in Action, by Eleanor S. Hutchens, 366
San Francisco, 1945, by Arthur Dahl, 129
South African Mission, Part One, 247; Part Two, 281; by Fannie Knobloch
Springtime, Divine, Compilation, by Miriam Bugbee, 369
Star of the West, The, Book Review, by Elizabeth P. Hackley, 122
Teach, Arise and, by Hazel McCurdy, 333
Turner, Robert, by Louis Gregory, 28
Two Facets of One Gem, by Maye Harvey Gift, 299
Unity: in Humility, Editorial, by Garreta Busey, 47; Racial, Editorial, by Gertrude K. Henning, 338
Utopia?, by Robert Reid, 304
Way, The, of Fulfilment, by Marion Holley Hofman, 200
What Happened in Tabríz, Editorial, by Bertha H. Kirkpatrick, 113
Wisdom, A Fresh Stream of, by Garreta Busey, 326
With Our Readers, by Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick, 30, 63, 93, 127, 157, 191, 222, 253, 287, 319, 350, 379
World, The, Beyond Victory, by William Kenneth Christian, 1
Youth and the Modern World: I. The Decline of Mechanism, 40; II. Mysticism and Its Implications, 73; III. Meditation and the Modern Mind, 116; IV. Elements of a World Commonwealth, 147; V. A Divine Administrative Order, 180; by G. A. Shook
AUTHORS
‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Resurrection of Japan, 65
Bahá’u’lláh: The Day of God, 27
Baker, Dorothy: Institutions for Peace, 359
Bishop, Helen: World Peace through World Religion, 321
Blum, Alvin: Experiences in the Armed Forces, 110
Brown, Duart: Requiem, Poem, 54; The Parable of the Nine Springs, 176; The Anatomy of Prejudice, 289; Chasing a Hobgoblin, 329
Bugbee, Miriam: Divine Springtime, Compilation, 369
Busey, Garreta: Unity in Humility, 47; A Fresh Stream of Wisdom, 326
Christian, William Kenneth: The World Beyond Victory, 1; The Men of a New Dawn, 144; The Guardian, 302
Cobb, Stanwood: Blazing the Trail, 238
Dahl, Arthur: San Francisco, 1945, 129
Davis, Laura Romney: ‘Akká, Poem, 242
Dwelly, Amy Brady: Bahá’í Children and the Peace, 8
Fatooh, Jack B.: Approach to Moral Conduct, 230
Firoozi, N.M.: The Price of Peace, 309
Ford, Bahíyyih Randall: The Dawn-Breakers, 20; Sarah Jane Farmer, 105
Ford, Harry: Sarah Jane Farmer, 105
Gail, Marzieh: Bahá’u’lláh’s Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, 33; Event in Hamadán, 142; The Coming of the Beloved, 353
Gift, Maye Harvey: Two Facets of One Gem, 299
Gregory, Louis: Robert Turner, 28
Groger, Louise A.: Religion, Too, Evolves, 171
[Page 384]
Grossmann, Hermann: Bahá’í Faith in
Germany, 49
Hackley, Elizabeth R: The Star of the West, 122
Helm, Dorothy: The Day Is Now, Poem, 372
Henning, Gertrude K.: This Is the Day of Fulfilment, 18; Bahá’ís Stand Firm in Their Faith, 178; Racial Unity, 338
Hofman, Marion Holley: The Way of Fulfilment, 200
Holley, Horace: Only the Ramparts Fell, 79; From Chaos to Order, 97; Greater Than Any Nation, 193; This Glory, This Power, 240; Bahá’í Administration, 340
Hutchens, Eleanor Sweney: Successful Marriage, 12; Heroism, 207; Black Metropolis, 296; Religion in Action, 366
Irwin, Beatrice: The New Civilization, 23
Kaufman, Benjamin: Where Intolerance Begins, 140
Kennedy, Minnietta Taylor: My Prayer, Poem, 365
Khai, L.: Prayer, Poem, 332
Kirkpatrick, Bertha Hyde: What Happened in Tabríz, 113; Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, 152: Women and Bahá’í Ideals, 271; With Our Readers, 30, 63, 93, 127, 157, 191, 222, 253, 287, 319, 350
Kline, Gladys: Meditations, 55
Knobloch, Fanny: South African Mission, Part One, 247; Part Two, 281
Lander, Joseph, M.D.: Racial and Group Prejudice, 292
Lippitt, Marian Crist: The Miracle in Your Life, 373
Margolis, Silvia: Heaven and Earth Have Sworn, Poem, 103, Song for a New Day, Poem, 337
Marlowe, Mary: Assurance, Poem, 92
McCurdy, Hazel: Arise and Teach, 333
Mitchell, Frances: The Báb, Poem, 62
Munson, Floyd H.: Light, 86
Nicklin, Eve B.: Lady of Tapada, Lady of Lima, 209
Orbison, Virginia: Pioneer Journey—Peru, 315; Pioneer Journey—Ecuador, 345
Paine, Mabel Hyde: The Promised Day Is Come, 243; Religion and the Church, 257
Pereira, Sarah Martin: A Call to Action, 377
Quinlan, Della C.: Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf, 273
Reid, Robert: Utopia?, 304
Sala, Emeric: New Hope for Minority Peoples, 266
Senor, Sally: Breakers of the Dawn, 204
Schurgast, Gertrude: The Rank-and-File Bahá’í, 213
Shook, G.A.: Youth and the Modern World: I. The Decline of Mechanism, 40; II. Mysticism a11d Its Implications, 73; III. Meditation and the Modern Mind, 116; IV. Elements of a World Commonwealth, 147; V. A Divine Administrative Order, 180
Sothman, Alma: Spiritual Principles of Bahá’í Administration, 69
Sprague, Sydney: My Journey to ‘Akká, 58; My Journey to Bombay, 88; Rangoon, 186; Mandalay, 216
Stannard, Mrs. Jane: Colonel Lawrence: A Bahá’í Memory, 81
Stroessler, John: A Bahá’í Philosophy of Education, 225
True, Edna M.: How the Bahá’í Has Discovered True Faith, 161
Warde, Shirley: We Long for Divine Guidance, 235
Whittier, John Greenleaf: To S. J. Farmer on Her Birthday, Poem, 104
Wilson, Nell Griffith: Double Rainbow, Poem, 246
Zaine, Moneer: The Interment of the Báb, 115
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, an 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.