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BAHA1
MAGAnNE
JUNE, 1947
A Religious World Community - Horace Holley
If — With All Thy Heart - Gene W. Crist
Symbols of America, Poem - Stanwood Cobb
No Flags, No Drums, Editorial - William Kenneth Christian
Color Blind, Book Review - Robert K. Christian
For the Advancement of Her Race - Gertrude Schurgast
Wings Take Flight, Poem - Ida Elaine James
Guidance, Compilation - Ella L. Rowland
With Our Readers
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 W orld Order, combining The Bahá’í Magazine and World Unity, which had been founded October, 1927. The present number represents Volume XXXVIII Of the continuous Bahá’í publication.
WORLD ORDER is published monthly in Wilmette, 111., 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.
Publication Office 110 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, 11.1..
C. R. Wood, Business Manager L Printed~-in U.‘S.A.
Editorial Office
Mrs. Gertrude K. Henning, Secretary 69 ABBOTSFORD ROAD, WINNETKA, ILL.
JUNE, 1947, VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 3 ‘, .
SUBSCRIPTIONS: $2.00 per year, for United States, its' territories and possessions; for Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Central and South America. Single copies, 200. Foreign subscriptions, $2.25. 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, 111.. under the Act of March 3, 1879. Content copyrighted 1947 by Bahá’í Publishing Committee. Title registered at U. S. Patent Office.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS SHOULD BE REPORTED ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE
A PRIL, 1945. Forty-six nations represented at United Nations Conference, San Francisco. Can peace be attained through a new combination of war-making powers? Continents desolated. Peoples starving. League of Nations abandoned. Has a new era begun or an old tragedy reincarnated in a different form? To Bahá’ís, peace is a divine creation, the expression of the oneness of humanity through social order. The Bahá’í Peace Program is one of the vital themes set forth
in World Order Magazine.
Phony by Acme
WORLD ORDER
THE spirit of man, like all other
living things, grows according to its nature, from season to season, through the influence of the returning sun.
THE sun of the human spirit is the Word of God, revealed in every age by the
‘Founders of the great religions. Moses, Jesus,
Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha, were the Media tors through which this sun shone in past ages. Owing to them, great civilizations arose.
TODAY is another springtime, when in fulfillment of the ancient promises, the spirituél sun has again risen to guide mankind in his hour of darkness, to shed the light of truth upon the difficult problems of the age, and to evoke in human hearts that faith and radiant love which are the first requirements for reconstruction.
\ THE Word of God is revealed today by Bahá’u’lláh. The world religion which He founded is called the Bahá’í Faith, and its purpose is none other than the creation of a world civilization. It offers to mankind a rebirth of spiritual life, together with laws and principles adequate to embody that new spirit in a universal, all embracing World Order.
Excerpts from The Renewal of Civilization By DAVID HOFMAN
[Page 75]
WOBLD 0BDEB
The Bahá’í Magazine
VOLUME XIII
J UNE, 1947
NUMBER 3
A Religious World Community
HORACE HOLLEY
IN ACCEPTING the message of Bahá’u’lláh, every Bahá’í has opened his mind and heart to the dominion of certain fundamental truths. These truths he recognizes as divine in origin, beyond human capacity to produce. In the realm of spirit he attests that these truths are revealed evidences of a higher reality than man. They are to the soul what natural law is to physical body of animal or plant. Therefore the believer today, as in the Dispensation of Christ or Moses, enters into the faith as a status of relationship to God and not of satisfaction to his own limited human and personal will or awareness. His faith exists as his participation in a heavenly world. It is the essence of his responsibility and not a temporary compromise effected between his conscience or reason and the meaning of truth, society, virtue, or life.
The Bahá’í accepts a quality of existence, a level of being
75
which has been created above the control of his own active power. Because on that plane the truth exists that mankind is one, part of his acceptance of the message of Bahá’u’lláh is capacity to see that truth as existing, as a heavenly reality to be confirmed on earth. Because likewise on that higher level the inmost being of Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Hail), and Bahá’u’lláh is one being, part of the believer’s acceptance of the Bahá’í message is capacity to realize the eternal continuance of that oneness, so that thereafter never will he again think of those holy and majestic Prophets according to the separateness of their bodies, their countries and their times.
The Bahá’í, moreover, recognizes that the realm of truth is inexhaustible, the creator of truth God Himself. Hence the Bahá’í can identify truth as the eternal flow of life itself in a channel that deepens and broadens as
76 WORLD ORDER
man’s capacity for truth enlarges from age to age. For him, that definition of truth which regards truth as tiny fragments of experience, to be taken up and laid down, as a shopper handling gems on a counter, to buy, if one gem happens to please or seems becomingt—such a definition measures man’s own knowledge, or interest, or loyalty, but truth is a living unity which no man can condition. It is the sun in the heavens of spiritual reality, While self-will denies its dominion because self—will is the shadow of a cloud.
There are times for the revelation of a larger area of the indivisible truth to mankind. The Manifestation of God signalizes the times and He is the revelation. When He appears on earth He moves and speaks with the power of all truth, known and unknown, revealed in the past, revealed in Him, or to be revealed in the future. That realm of heavenly reality is brought again in its power and universality to knock at the closed door of human experience, a divine guest Whose entrance will bless the household eternally, or a divine punishment when debarred and forbidden and condemned.
Bahá’u’lláh reveals that area of divine truth which underlies all human association. He en larges man’s capacity to receive truth in the realm of experience where all men have condemned themselves to social chaos by ignorance of truth and readiness to substitute the implacable will of races, classes, nations and creeds for the pure spiritual radiance beneficiently shining for all. Spiritual reality today has become the principle of human unity, the law for the nations, the devotion to mankind on which the future civilization can alone repose. As long as men cling to truth as definition, past experience, aspects of self—will, so long must this dire period of chaos continue when the separate fragments of humanity employ life not to unite but to struggle and destroy.
In the world of time, Bahá’u’lláh has created capacity for unison and world civilization. His Dispensation is historically new and unique. In the spiritual world it is nothing else than the
.ancient and timeless reality of
Moses, Jesus and Muhammad disclosed to the race in a stage of added growth and development so that men can take a larger measure of that which always existed.
Like the man of faith in former ages, the Bahá’í has been given sacred truths to cherish in his heart as lamps for darkness
[Page 77]
RELIGIOUS WORLD COMMUNITY 77
and medicines for healing, convictions of immortality and evidences of divine love. But in addition to these gifts, the Bahá’í has that bestowal which only the Promised One of all ages could bring: nearness to a process of creation which opens a door of entrance into a world of purified and regenerated human relations. The final element in his recognition of the message of Bahá’u’lláh is that Bahá’u’lláh came to found a civilization of unity, progress and peace.
“O Children of Men! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times how ye were created. Since We have created you all from the same substance it is incumbent on you to he even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the sea of wondrous glory.”
Thus He describes the law of survival revealed for the world today, mystical only in that He
addressed these particular words to our deepest inner understanding. Their import is not confined to any subjective realm. The motive and the realization He invokes has become the whole truth of sociology in this era.
Or, as we find its expression in another passage: “All men have been created to carry forward an eveir-advancinar civilization.” And the truth reappears in still another form: “How vast is the tabernacle Of the Cause of God! It hath overshadowed all the peoples and kindreds of the earth, and} will, erelong, gather together
the whole of mankind behind its shelter.”
The encompassing reach of the Cause of God in each cycle means the particular aspect of experience for which men are. held responsible. Not until our day could there be the creation of the principle of moral cause and efl’ect in terms of mankind
itself, in terms of the unifiable world.
The mission of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, following Bahá’u’lláh’s ascension in 1892, was to raise up a community of believers through whom collectively He might demonstrate the operation of the law of unity. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s mission became fulfilled histor ically in the experience of the Bahá’ís of North America. In
78 WORLD ORDER
them He developed, the administrative order, the organic society, which exemplifies the pattern of justice and order Bahá’u’lláh had creatively ordained. By His wisdom, His tenderness, His justice and His complete consecration to Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá conveyed to this body of Bahá’ís a sense of partnership in the process of divine creation: that it is for men to re-create, as civilization, a human and earthly replica of the heavenly order existing in the divine will.
The Bahá’í administrative order has been described by the Guardian of the Faith as the pattern of the world order to be gradually attained as the Faith spreads throughout all countries. Its authority is Bahá’u’lláh, its sources the teachings He revealed in writing, with the interpretation and amplification made by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The first conveyance of authority by Bahá’u’lláh was to His eldest son. By this conveyance the integrity of the teachings was safeguarded, and the power of action implicit in all true faith directed into channels of unity for the development of the Cause in its universal aspects. No prior Dispensation has ever raised up an instrument like ‘Abdu’l-Bahá through whom the spirit and purpose of the Founder could con tinue to flow out in its wholeness and purity until His purpose had been achieved. The faith of the Bahá’í thus remains untainted by those elements of self-will which in previous ages have translated revealed truth into creeds, rites and institutions of human origin and limited aim. Those who enter the Bahá’í community subdue themselves and their personal interests to its sovereign standard, for they are unable to alter the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh and exploit its teachings or its community for their own advantage.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s life exemplified the working of the one spirit and the one truth sustaining the body of believers throughout the world. He was the light connecting the sun of truth with the earth, the radiance enabling all Bahá’ís to realize that truth penetrates human aflairs, illumines human problems, transcends conventional barriers, changes the climate of life from cold to warm. He infused Himself so completely into the hearts of the Bahá’ís that they associated the administrative institutions of the Faith with His trusted and cherished methods of service, so that the contact between their society and their religion has remained continuous and unimpared.
The second conveyance of authority made by Bahá’u’lláh was
[Page 79]
RELIGIOUS WORLD COMMUNITY 79
to the institution He termed “House of Justice”:—-—“The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Bahá (i.e., nine) . . . It behooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly. . . . Those souls who arise to serve the Cause sincerely to please God will be inspired by the divine, invisible inspirations. It is incumbent upon all (i.e., all believers) to obey. . . . Administrative affairs are all in charge of the House of Justice; but acts of worship must be observed according as they are revealed in the Book”
The House of Justice is limited in its legislative capacity to matters not covered by the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh Himself: “It is incumbent upon the Trustees of the House of Justice to take counsel together regarding such laws as have not been expressly revealed in the Book.” A high aim is defined for this cen tral administrative organ of the Faiths :—“The men of the House of Justice must, night and day, gaze toward that which hath been revealed from the horizon of the Supreme Pen for the training of the servants, for the upbuilding of countries, for the preservation of human honor.”
In creating this institution for His community, Bahá’u’lláh made it clear that His Dispensation rests upon continuity of divine purpose, and associates human beings directly with the operation of His law. The House of Justice, an elective body, transforms society into an organism reflecting spiritual life. By the just direction of affairs this Faith replaces the institution of the professional clergy developed in all previous Dispensations.
By 1921, when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
laid down His earthly mission,
the American Bahá’í community
had been extended to scores of
cities and acquired power to undertake tasks of considerable
magnitude, but the administrative order remained incomplete.
His Will and Testament inaugurated a new era in the Faith, a
further conveyance of authority
and a clear exposition of the nature of the elective institutions
which the Bahá’ís were called
upon to form. In Shoghi Effendi,
His grandson, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá[Page 80]
established the function of Guardianship with sole power to interpret the teachings and with authority to carry out the provisions of the Will. The Guardianship connects the spiritual
and social realms of the Faith in
that, in addition to the office of
interpreter, he is constituted the
presiding officer of the international House of Justice when
elected; and the Guardianship
is made to descend from generation to generation through the
male line.
From the Will these excerpts are cited:
“After the passing of this wronged one, it is incumbent upon . . . the loved ones of the ‘Abhá Beauty (i.e., Bahá’u’lláh) to turn unto Shoghi Effendithe youthful branch branched from the two hallowed Lote Trees (i.e., descended from both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh) . . . as he is the sign of God, the chosen branch, the guardian of the Cause of God . . . unto whom . . . His loved ones must turn. He is the expounder of the words of God and after him will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants.
“The sacred and youthful branch, the guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice, to be universally elected and es tablished, are both under the care and protection of the ‘Abhá Beauty . . . Whatsoever they decide is of God. . . . The mighty stronghold shall remain impregnable and safe through obedience to him who is the guardian of the Cause of God. . . . No doubt every vainglorious one that purposeth dissension and discord will not openly declare his evil purposes, nay rather, even as impure gold would he seize upon divers measures and various pretexts that he may separate the gathering of the people of Bahá.”
“Wherefore, O my loving friends! Consort with all the peoples, kindreds and religions of the world with the utmost truthfulness, uprightness, faithfulness, kindliness, good-will and friendliness; that all the world of being may be filled with the holy ecstasy of the grace of Baha. . . .”
“O ye beloved of the Lord!
Strive with all your heart to
shield the Cause of God from the
onslaught of the insincere, for
souls such as these cause the
straight to become crooked and
all benevolent efforts to produce
contrary results. . . . To none is
given the right to put forth his
own opinion or express his particular convictions. All must seek
guidance and turn unto the [Page 81]
Center
of the Cause and the House
of Justice.”
In each country where Bahá’ís exist, they participate in the world unity of their Faith through the office of the Guardian at this time, and they maintain local and national Bahá’í institutions for conducting their own activities.
In each local civil community, whether city, township or county, the Bahá’ís annually elect nine members to their local Spiritual Assembly. In America the Bahá’ís of each State or Canadian Province, (a direction of the Guardian having efiect for the first time in connection with the Convention of 1944, the one hundredth year of the Faith) join in the election of delegates by proportionate representation and these delegates, to the full number of one hun‘ dred and seventy-one, constitute the Annual Convention which elects the members of the National Spiritual Assembly. These national bodies, in turn, will join in the election of an international Assembly, or House of Justice, when the world Bahá’í community is sufficiently developed.
The inter-relationship of all
these administrative bodies provides the world spirit of the Faith
with the agencies required for the
maintenance of a constitutional
society balancing the rights of
the individual with the paramount
principle of unity preserving the
whole structure of the Cause. The
Bahá’í as an individual accepts
guidance for his conduct and
doctrinal beliefs, for not otherwise can he contribute his share
to the general unity which is
God’s supreme blessing to the
world today. This general unity
is the believer’s moral environment, his social universe, his
psychic health and his goal of effort transcending any personal
aim. In the Bahá’í order, the individual is the musical note, but
the teachings revealed by Bahá’u’lláh are the symphony in
which the note finds its real fulfillment; the person attains value
by recognizing that truth transcends his capacity and includes
him in a relationship which
‘Abdu’l-Bahá said endowed the
part with the quality of the
whole. To receive, we give. In
comparison to this divine creation, the traditional claims of individual conscience, of personal
judgment, of private freedom,
seem nothing more than empty
assertions advanced in opposition to the divine will. It cannot
be sufficiently emphasized that
the Bahá’í’s relationship to this
new spiritual society is an expression of faith, and faith alone
raises personality out of the pit[Page 82]
of self-will and moral isolation
into which so much of the world
has fallen.
There can be no organic society, in fact, without social truth and social law embracing the individual members and evoking a loyalty both voluntary and complete. The political and economic groups which the individual enters with reservations are not true societies but temporary combinations of restless personalities, met in a truce which can not endure. Bahá’u’lláh has for ever solved the artificial dilemma which confuses and betrays the ardent upholder of individual freedom by His categorical statement that human freedom consists in obedience to God’s law. The freedom revolving around self-will He declares “must, in the end, lead to sedition, whose flames none can quench. . . . Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal . . . True liberty consists in man’s submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it.”
The Guardian, applying the terms of the Will and Testament to an evolving order, has given the present generation of Bahá’ís a thorough understanding of Bahá’í institutions and administrative principles. Rising to its vastly increased responsibility resulting from the loss of the beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Bahá’í community itself has intensified its effort until in America alone the number of believers has been more than doubled since 1921. It has been their destiny to perfect the local and national Bahá’í institutions as models for the' believers in other lands. Within the scope of a single lifetime, the American Bahá’í community has developed from a small local group to a national unit of a world society, passing through the successive stages by which a civilization achieves its pristine pattern and severs itself from the anarchy and confusion of the past.
In Shoghi Effendi’s letters addressed to this Bahá’í community, we have the statement of the form of the administrative order, its function and purpose, its scope and activity, as well as its significance, Which unites the thoughts and inspires the actions of all believers today.
From these letters are selected a number of passages presenting fundamental aspects of the world order initiated by Bahá’u’lláh.
1. On its nature and scope:
“I cannot refrain from appealing to them who stand identified
with the Faith to disregard the
prevailing notions and the [Page 83]
fleeting
fashions of the day, and to
realize as never before that the
exploded theories and the tottering institutions of present-day
civilization must needs appear in
sharp contrast with those Godgiven institutions which are destined to arise upon their ruin.
“For Bahá’u’lláh . . . has not only imbued mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit. He has not merely enunciated certain universal principles, or propounded a particular philosophy, however potent, sound and universal these may be. In addition to these He, as well as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after Him, have, unlike the Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness and justice upon the earth. . . .”
2. On its local and national institutions: “A perusal of some of the words of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on the duties and functions of the Spiritual Assemblies in every land (later to be designated as the local Houses of Justice), emphatically reveals the sacredness of their nature, the wide scope of their activity, and the grave responsibility which rests upon them.
“In the Most Holy Book is revealed:—‘The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counselors to the number of Bahá, and should it exceed this number it does not matter. It behooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly. Thus hath the Lord your God commanded you. Beware lest ye put away that which is clearly revealed in His Tablet. Fear God, O ye that perceive.’
“Furthermore, ‘Abdu’l - Bahá
reveals the following:——‘It is incumbent upon every one not to
take any step without consulting
the Spiritual Assembly, and they
must assuredly obey with heart
and soul its bidding and be submissive unto it, that things may
be properly ordered and well arranged. Otherwise every person[Page 84]
will act independently and after
his own judgment, will follow his
own desire, and do harm to the
Cause’.”
“Regarding the establishment of ‘National Assemblies,’ it is of vital importance that in every country, where the conditions are favorable and the number of the friends has grown and reached a considerable size, such as America, Great Britain and Germany, that a ‘National Spiritual Assembly’ be immediately established, representative of the friends throughout that country.”
“Its immediate purpose is to stimulate, unify and coordinate by frequent personal consultations, the manifold activities of the friends as well as the local Assemblies; and by keeping in close and constant touch with the Holy Land, initiate measures, and direct in general the affairs of the Cause in that country.
“It serves also another purpose, no less essential than the first, as in the course of time it shall evolve into the National House of Justice (referred to in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will as the “secondary House of Justice”), which according to the explicit text of the Testament will have, in conjunction with the other National Assemblies throughout the Bahá’í world, to elect directly the members of the International
House of Justice, that Supreme Council that will guide, organize and unify the aflairs of the Movement throughout the world.”
“With these Assemblies, local as well as national, harmoniously, vigorously, and efficiently functioning throughout the Bahá’í world, the only means for the establishment of the Supreme House of Justice will have been secured. And when this Supreme Body will have been properly established, it will have to consider afresh the whole situation, and lay down the principles which shall direct, so long as it deems advisable, the affairs of the Cause. . . .
“Hitherto the National Convention has been prima rily called
together for the consideration of
the various circumstances attending the election of the National
Spiritual Assembly. I feel, however, that in view of the expansion and the growing importance
of the administrative sphere of
the Cause, the general sentiments
and tendencies prevailing among
the friends, and the signs of increasing interdependence amog
the National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world, the
assembled accredited representatives of the American believers
should exercise not only the vital
and responsible right of electing
the National Assembly, but[Page 85]
should also fulfill the functions
of an enlightened, consultative
and cooperative body that will
enrich the experience, enhance
the prestige, support the authority, and assist the deliberations
of the National Spiritual Assembly. It is my firm conviction that
it is the bounden duty, in the interest of the Cause we all love
and serve, Of the members of the
incoming National Assembly,
once elected by the delegates at
Convention time, to seek and
have the utmost regard, individually as well as collectively, for
the advice, the considered opinion and the true sentiments of the
assembled delegates. Banishing
every vestige of secrecy, of undue
reticence, of dictatorial aloofness, from their midst, they
should radiantly and abundantly
gates, by whom they are elected,
unfold t0 the eyes of the delegates their plans, their hopes, and
their cares. They should familiarize the delegates with the various
matters that will have to be considered in the current year, and
calmly and conscientiously study
and weigh the opinions and judgments of the delegates. The newly elected National Assembly,
during the few days When the
Convention is in session and after
the dispersal of the delegates,
should seek ways and means to
cultivate understanding, facili
tate and maintain the exchange
of views, deepen confidence, and
vindicate by every tangible evidence their one desire to serve
and advance the common weal.
Not infrequently, nay oftentimes,
the most lowly, untutored and inexperienced among the friends
will, by the sheer inspiring force
of selfless and ardent devotion,
contribute a distinct and memorable share to a highly involved
discussion in any given Assembly. Great must be the regard
paid by those whom the delegates
call upon to serve in high posi:
tion to this alI-important though
inconspicuous manifestation of
the revealing power of sincere
and earnest devotion.”
“Nothing short of the all-encompassing, all-pervading power of His Guidance and Love can enable this newly-enfolded order to gather strength and flourish amid the storm and stress of a turbulent age, and in the fulness of time vindicate its high claim to be universally recognized as the one Haven Of abiding felicity and peace.”
3. On its international institutions: “It should be stated, at the very outset, in clear and unambiguous language, that these twin institutions of the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh should be
regarded as divine in origin, [Page 86]
essential
in their functions and
complementary in their aim and
purpose. Their common, their
fundamental object is to insure
the continuity of that divinelyappointed authority which flows
from the Source of our Faith, to
safeguard the unity of its followers and to maintain the integrity
and flexibility of its teachings.
Acting in conjunction with each
other these two inseparable institutions administer its affairs, coordinate its activities, promote its
interests, execute its laws and defend its subsidiary institutions.
Severally, each operates within a
clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction; each is equipped with its
own attendant institutions—instruments designed for the eiiectiVe discharge of its particular
responsibilities and duties. Each
exercises, within the limitations
imposed upon it, its powers, its
authority, its rights and prerogatives. These are neither contradictory, nor detract in the slightest degree from the position
which each of these institutions
occupies. Far from being incompatible or mutually destructive,
they supplement each other’s authority and functions. and are
permanently and fundamentally
united in their aims.
“Divorced from the institu tion of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. ‘ln all the Divine Dispensations,’ He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, ‘the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.’ Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperilled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered.
“Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice this same System of the Will of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.”
“Let no one, while this System
is still in its infancy, misconceive
its character, belittle its significance or misrepresent its purpose. The bedrock on which this
Administrative Order is founded
is God’s immutable Purpose for
mankind in this day. The Source
from which it derives its inspira
tion is no less than Bahá’u’lláh
Himself. Its shield and defender[Page 87]
are the embattled hosts of the
Abhá Kingdom. Its seed is the
blood of no less than twenty
thousand martyrs who have offered‘up their lives that it may
be born and flourish. The axis
round which its institutions revolve are the authentic provisions
of the Will and Testament of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Its guiding principles are the truths which He
Who is the unerring Interpreter
of the teachings of our Faith has
so clearly enunciated in His public addresses throughout the
West. The laws that govern its
operation and limit its functions
are those which have been ex
pressly ordained in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.”
Over fifty years have passed since the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh was first brought to North America. Three generations of believers have worked and sacrificed and prayed in order to produce a body of Bahá’ís large enough to demonstrate the principles here summarized in a few pages for the present-day student of these teachings. What ‘Abdu’l-Bahá employed as unifying element for the American community during a period before more than rudimentary local administrative bodies could be established was the construction of the House of Worship, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, in Wilmette. He in fact referred to the House of Worship as the “inception of the Kingdom.” Around its construction devotedly gathered the American friends. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá approved their action in setting up a religious corporation to hold title to the property and provide a basis for c01 lective action. In surveying those days from 1904 to 1921, one realizes how, in every stage of progress, the believers rushed forward in devotion before they could perceive the full results of action or comprehend the full unfoldment of their beloved Master’s intention. In their hearts they knew that unity is the keynote of their Faith, and they were assured that the new power of unity would augment until it encompassed the whole of mankind. But as to the nature of world order, the foundation of universal peace, the principles of the future economy, while the clear picture eluded them, they went forward with enthusiasm to the Light.
In a continent consecrated to the pioneer, the early American Bahá’ís pioneered in the world of spirit, striving to participate in a work of supreme importance whose final result was the laying of a foundation on which human society might raise a house of justice and a mansion of peace.
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If — With All Thy Heart
GENE W. CRIST
N SPIRITUAL seeking there are two opposing influences. The first is the desire to find a satisfying faith or to broaden spiritual horizons. The second is the obstacles to accepting anything that is unfamiliar and new caused by conditioning, fears, orthodoxy, prejudices and loyalties.
This is a brief story of the conflict of these two influences, a very personal testimony.
My quest for Truth began at my mother’s knee where I had many questions answered, and where I learned the security, blessedness and efiicacy of prayer; where I learned, also, to love the Word of God. And thus began a life-long devotion to the Christ and service in God’s Cause. My faith led me to teaching very early; later to an intense interest in comparative religions; and finally into the study of philosophy and metaphysics.
The study of comparative religions began after I had spent some months in China and Japan, and saw, first-hand, the sickening inadequacy of the religions which have become intermingled with superstition, destructiVe practices and devil worshipuI
88
knew nothing of “Progressive Revelation” at that time.
To some who are familiar with this longer view of God's methofi of educating mankind spiritually, my lack of this vision may seem strange. Perhaps I should explain that in the Methodist Church in which I grew up, we were taught that there is but one Source of Revelation; namely the Old and New Testaments. More than this, we were taught that all other religions are pagan and heathen. We learned in the Missionary Society all about the debasing, degraded practices of the Brahmins; of the murderous invasions of the Muhammadans and their promises of a revolting heaven. And so for years, from this scanty knowledge, I “prejudged” all religions other that; Christian. When I studied philosophy at George Washington university with the professor of philosophy who was also a Baptist minister and tied to a narrow
orthodoxy, the prejudices in which I was steeped were greatly strengthened.
It was the summer after I had pursued with this professor my studies far into metaphysics, that we visited our daughter who is a radiant Bahá’í. Knowing of my
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WITH ALL THY HEART 89
interest in philosophy and relig-. ion, she said almost as soon as we arrived, “Mother, we have the true philosophy, and it has all the answers to your questions.”
Well, all that evening We talked about the Bahá’í Faith. I knew at once that I must investigate this; I must know if Bahá’u’lláh was a Manifestation of God and if His writings really contained the Revelation from God.
Just before I went to sleep, I said to my husband, “I have such a strange feeling. I feel as though I am a Jewish woman and have just been toldabout the Christ. I am thinking of how many of those Jewish women missed the glory of knowing the Christ because they turned away from Him. I would not like to be one of them.”
So the first thing in the morning I began to ask questions. Then I began to read. But nothing was clear; for around my mind and soul there were veils that obscured my spiritual vision.
When I read that Bahá’u’lláh was born a Muhammadan I was not sure that I cared to read any more; but an insatiable need led me on, so I did read and kept on reading—always interested, always doubting—but finding many answers to as many queries.
One day after some weeks, I returned home and attended the regular missionary society meeting of our church. I was not especially interested or attentive until I heard the chairman introducing the speaker as “a missionary from Persia.” I will not attempt to report on her talk but at the climax she stated, with great emphasis, “There are hundreds of millions of Muhammadans and they will never be reached by the Christian religion—they will never accept it.”
In that moment the truth of her startling statement burned away one of my veils of prejudice, for I realized that when a people need special Guidance, and are ready for it, God will raise a holy Soul from among them through whom He will give His Revelations.
I had been reading The Chosen H ighway which is a history written by an English woman, authenticating the story of the three figures of the Bahá’í Faith, the Bath (the Forerunner), Bahá’u’lláh (the Prophet Himself) and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (the latter’s son). I had selected'this book, because I wanted very much to have the testimony of those outside the Faith as to the things claimed and as to the lives of these holy men. I also read
Tdhirih the Pure, I rdn’s Greatest
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Woman, written by an American, which is an account of the life of one of the early martyrs of the Faith; and then also Some Answered Questions by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Before I had finished The Chosen H ighway I had developed an unshakable love for
‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This was a long step toward my goal.
One of the factors which led
me to seek the truth was an experience I had as a member of the Ofiicial Board of a Methodist Church. In the deliberations of that body I saw things which made me inexpressibly sad and which I could not conscientiously support. So I resigned from the Board, much against my pastor’s wishes. Furthermore, I was witnessing the inadequacy of the Christian churches. I was listening to the statements of Christian ministers, as their crusades failed and as their programs fell on indifferent ears. I was hearing them frankly state that they did not know what was happening in the aflairs of men or what solution could be found for the confusion in the world.
This was my personal predicament also as a teacher of a large class of mature women. I began to feel a terrified need for answers and for more enlighenment. My heart was searching for an authoritative voice.
But every time I tried to face the idea of leaving the church and becoming a Bahá’í I found myself almost smothered in Christian orthodoxy. The veils Were tight about me, paralyzing my efforts to grow.
Gradually, though, as I turned irresistibly every night to read the wonderful prayers and meditations of Bahá’u’lláh, the conviction came to me that any human being who could think such lofty thoughts and put into words such pure and inspiring prayers must be a holy soul—that surely he could not lie—and he must have been telling the truth when he described what happened to himself.
For many years I had been familiar with Christ’s words of promise and prophecy as recorded in the gospel of St. John: “And when he is come he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment . . . When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he Will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall bear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me.” I had been taught that this referred to the Holy Spirit. Also, embedded into my very soul was the statement that the one unfor givable sin was blasphemy
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WITH ALL THY HEART 91
against the Holy Spirit. So it almost terrified me to be confronted with the substitution of a human being for this “Spirit of truth,” the Holy Spirit.
So back to the Bible and also to the Bahá’í writings and prayers I went; and as a result of deep prayer for guidance and constant meditation I finally came to see that those statements could not possibly refer to the Holy Spirit without human form. Thus part of the veils were burned away by the Power of the Word. The next step was to be sure that Bahá’u’lláh was that Promised One.
I took Christ’s promise and prophecy statement by statement. And I found this:
“He will reprove the world.” Never have there been such amazing tablets to the rulers of the world and the ecclesiastical heads as those which came from the pen of Bahá’u’lláh in his prison cell.
“He will guide you into all truth.” Bahá’u’lláh brought the old truth restated and illuminated; but he also brought new and wonderful truths about this unknown New Era, unfolding a New World Order that answers every need of mankind today. Building solidly on the revealed Truth of the Word of God, he
does indeed guide us to “all
truth” and the spiritual vision which, alone, can save the world.
“He shall not speak of himself.” In that same prison to which he was condemned for life because of his claims, Bahá’u’lláh, face to face with God, wrote: “From my pen floweth only the summons which Thine own exalted pen hath voiced, and my tongue uttereth naught save what the Most Great Spirit hath itself proclaimed in the kingdom of Thine eternity. I am stirred by nothing else except the winds of Thy will, and breathe no word except the words which, by Thy leave and Thine inspiration, I am led to pronounce.”
“He will shew you things to come.” The prophecies made by Bahá’u’lláh, many of which have already been fulfilled, are indeed a “showing of things to come.” And when I realized that their fulfillment has been as a result, largely, of the divine release of scientific knowledge during the last century, then I became convinced that God was the Author of those prophecies.
“He shall glorify me.” There is no more glorious testimony in all literature, I believe, as to the station of Jesus Christ, than that written by Bahá’u’lláh: “Know thou that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the
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whole creation wept with a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ahlest hands have produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-pervasive, and resplendent Spirit.” I was assured by these words that Bahá’u’lláh could not be antiChrist.
I saw that the things I had feared and dreaded were without substance. I did not have to give up my loyalty to Jesus Christ in order to accept Bahá’u’lláh. I was simply to add another Testament to the Old and the New which I loved—a modern Testament, glorious and all-suflicing for this New Era. To me, part of Bahá’u’lláh’s message to the Pope clarified this whole matter: his statement that Christ came in the “station” of the Son, while God has sent the new Messenger in the station of the Father: “Guard thyself, lest darkness spread its veil over thee, and fold thee away from His light.
Consider those who opposed the
Son (Jesus), when He came unto
them with sovereignty and power.
How many the Pharisees who
were waiting to behold Him, and
were lamenting their separation
from Him! And yet, when the
fragrance of His coming was
waited over them, and His beauty was unveiled, they turned
aside from Him and disputed
with Him. . . . None save a very
few, who were destitute of any
power amongst men, turned towards His face.” Bahá’u’lláh
then draws a parallel with the
monks who, today, in the name
of God, have “secluded themselves in their churches,” and
who, when God unveiled His
Messenger in this day, knew Him
not; and continues, “The Word
which the Son concealed is made
manifest.” (Remember, Jesus
said, “I have many things to tell
you but ye cannot hear them
now.”) Bahá’u’lláh goes on: “It
hath been sent down in the form
of the 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 . . This is the day
whereon the Rock (Peter) crieth
out and shouteth, and celebrateth the praise of its Lord, the
All-Possessing, the Most High,
saying: ‘Lo! The Father is come,
and that which ye were prom
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WITH ALL THY HEART 93
ised in the Kingdom is fulfilled!’”
Under the conviction of this truth I went to church the next Sunday. I took a place near the front and sat gazing at the lovely face of the Christ on the reredos. And suddenly there came to me, with thrilling assurance, the words: “Because of your loyalty ———because of your devotion to me—you are ready for this greater Truth.”
This was the answer for which I had longed, to enable me to take the final, tremendous step. I had been tortured, ever since I had been reminded of the passage in Revelations which says, about those who are first hot and then cold, “God spewed them out of His mouth.” I had felt
that I was one of those “rejected souls.” But now this assurance brought with it the confirmation of acceptance.
That night when I was reading in the Prayers and Meditations I came upon God’s message for me—the words stood out from the page and they electrified me: “Let my prayers be a fire that will burn away the veils that shut me out fromvThy Beauty and a light that will lead me unto Thy Presence.” At last I found myself in the glory of His Presence!
As I closed my eyes to sleep, I recalled what my mother used to say when I was a child: “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him—if thou seek with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”
The Revelation, of which Bahá’u’lláh is the source and center, abrogates
none of the religions that have preceded it, nor does it attempt, in the slightest degree, to distort their features or to belittle their value. It disclaims any intention of dwarfing any of the Prophets of the past, or of whittling down the eternal verity of their teachings. It can, in no wise, conflict with the spirit that animates their claims, nor does it seek to undermine the basis of any man’s allegiance to their cause. Its declared, its primary purpose is to enable every adherent of these Faiths to obtain a fuller understanding of the religion with which he stands identified. . . . Its teachings revolve around the fundamental principle that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is progressive, not final. ——SHOGHI EFFENDI
[Page 94]
SYMBOLS OF AMERICA
STANWOOD COBB
God saw that Europe would one day grow old That the fires of her genius would burn cold.
To take the torch of progress from her hands
He formed a people great in faith and lands Whose goings forth should be from East to WestWhose blood should drain from Earth its very best. And so God, when He divided waters from the land, Kept half-earth a secret. There He planned,
When Man had reached maturity, to found
A nation where the human race unbound
From shackles of dead custom could face free
The bounties of vast land, vast sky, vast sea
And create a culture vigorous, bold and true
In which no ancient wrong should mar a place so new.
The Quest for Gold
To that New Land, snatched from the Womb of Time, Came men adventure-led from every clime.
On many a coast they landed, but paused not Upon this brink when dazzling rumor brought Enticing tales of golden treasure wrought
By savage culture and stored heap on heap A mighty prize for those who dared o’er leap The perilous barriers of wild land and foe
To grasp quick wealth. This tempting glitter-show Of gold thus proved a bait that westward lured, For which a myriad hardships were endured.
The Quest for Religion
When waves of cleric persecution broke
The peace of England, a stern and stoic folk Ventured their way to bleak and rock-ribbed coast; And firm in exiled want made good their boast
To worship as they willed. And since those days
94
SYMBOLS OF AMERICA
When Pilgrim fathers grimly sought to praise God in their own peculiar way, this land Has proved a haven to many a weary band
Of pilgrims who worldly sacrifice would make To find a freedom for conviction’s sake.
The Quest for Democracy
And now report came back to Europe’s shore Of land immeasurable; enough and more To sate earth-hunger of a countless tide Who felt the essential urge of human pride To be at last Somebody. Not mere cogs
Of feudalism doomed to tend the hogs,
The sheep, the cattle of land-owning lord.
To vassal bumpkins Fate could now afford A land where meek obsequiousness to rank Soon died away; where titled glory sank Forever ’neath the western wave. Now man In dignity of self-hood rose to scan
Far horizons that knew no servile class. “All men are equal, or can be!” So pass The magic words from lip t0 lip. And lo, Indentured servants countless rise to go Across vast waters to an unknown strand;
Where, freedom earned, they own at last some landThemselves proprietors, conscious and elate
As free-hold citizens of a mighty state.
If lawless, then their contract’s term they breach And flee to frontiers safe from law’s far reach; Perils of wilds and aborigine
They gladly brave, more fully to be free.
So potent soon this freedom-germ has grown, That by its power an empire is o’erthrown:
A nation rises in the colonies’ place,
To democratize and free the human race.
95
Excerpt from Symbols of America, by Stanwood Cobb, The Avalon Press, Washington,
DC, 1946.
No Flags, No Drums
———€J£lorial
N APRIL of last year the Baha’ 15 of the United States and Canada undertook a great spiritual crusade. Part of this crusade concerns western Europe. The Bahá’ís of this hemisphere have pledged themselves to establish their Faith in ten of the countries of western Europe before 1953. To do this, they must start out, as many of their forebears did, as pioneers.
We are so far now from the great pioneering days of American history that the term “pioneer” is clouded with romance. We forget too easily that the push westward over this continent meant many grim struggles with the elements. It meant putting behind all accustomed safety and security. It frequently meant never seeing friends and family again. It meant toil and sweat, and constant adaptation to new conditions. Facing the unknown tests a man and woman to the full.
But the Bahá’í pioneers have already started to Europe. And more will follow in the months and years ahead. Why do they leave? Why leave the freedom of America for those shadowed
and blighted lands? Why do they
96
leave the accustomed way and cast their lot among people who have faced horror upon horror, people who have seen what happens to men and women when civilization’s thin veneer is gashed open?
They go because they are Bahá’ís. They go because Bahá’u’lláh said: “That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.” . “Center your energies in the propogation of the Faith of God. Whoso is worthy of so high a calling, let him arise and promote it. Whoso is unable, it is his duty to appoint him who will, in his stead, proclaim this Revelation . . .” “Vie ye with each other in the service of God and of His Cause. ”
. “Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified.”
They go because Bahá’u’lláh has reestablished the vitality of religion. They go to condemn no religion but to tell the people that
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NO FLAGS, N0 DRUMS 97
Christianity and Judaism have been at last fulfilled. They go to tell the people that division of religion and race and nation is part of the adolescent past. They go to tell the people that while lesser gods fail, the eternal and unknowable God of all men has not forgotten His people. Indeed, the God of all men has neither forgotten His people, nor have
the majestic promises of old been vain.
In the hearts of these Bahá’í pioneers is the knowledge that the God Who spoke through Moses and Jesus, has spoken again through Bahá’u’lláh. And upon those who believe in Him, Bahá’u’lláh has placed a mandate. The Bahá’í Faith is a religion which must find expression in service instead of sacrament. To the Bahá’í, there is no substitute for continuous effort to develop a finer character. There is no substitute for united feeling and action in dedication to God. There is no substitute for the principles of World Order which Bahá’u’lláh has revealed for the modern world. There is no suhstitute for the power of God to change the human heart. Bahá’u’lláh called men and women to a new standard of spiritual and social maturity. These things the Bahá’í pioneers know in their hearts.
And the pioneers going to Europe have a great experience in living to share. In the past nine years this Faith has spread into all the countries of Latin America. Wherever the word Bahá’í has found a place in the human heart and mind, a transformation has taken place. Prejudices are shattered, and men and women of various races come together in the spiritual democracy of the Bahá’í world community. The old divisions of religion seem useless and unimportant, and men and women enter and work together in the larger unity of faith created by Bahá’u’lláh. The unity which Bahá’ís possess is a divine foundation for society. Through this unity Bahá’ís are able to achieve great things in the service of God. . . . The pioneers do not take a theory nor a soothingsyrup philosophy; they are ready to share experience in living in a growing world community.
There are no flags for them when they depart, no drums. There will be no medals or citations. There may only be 3 monument in some graveyard distant from home, marking the place where they fell exhausted. This ——perhaps. But in the heart of God and man there will be a fragrance and a memory.
—W. K. C.
[Page 98]
COLOR BLIND
Book Review
ROBERTA K. CHRISTIAN
N Christmas afternoon I sat down
to read a book. As a Bahá’í,
“the race question” is important to me. However, I was still smarting from the experience of almost a year of living in the South and trying to cope with that question. And we had gone there with our unprejudice waving before us like a scarlet banner. My first thought after digesting the final, nourishing passage of Mrs. Halsey’s book was, “If only I had read this before going South!” And so I hasten to suggest it as essential reading for anyone who feels that just being ashamed of and sorry about the race problem in America is not enough. Particularly do I recommend it to anyone who ever hopes to live in peace anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line.
The book deals with something that was done about race relations, during the war, at a servicemen’s canteen where the author served, and where nondiscrimination an account of color was a basic policy. Her views; and conclusions are therefore substantiated by the most valuable tests—actual experiences, not only of her own, but of other people, both workers and guests.
Mrs. Halsey has penetrated ruthlessly and fearlessly into the literal depths of American people, both white and colored, and comes through on the other side, so that
one feels, seeing through her eyes, very much like Alice when she finally got through the looking glass. One wonders if one has ever really applied one’s mind to the problem of American Negroes before. (I use the plural term deliberately, because with my brain still scorched by the sheer intelligence of this book’s viewpoint, I believe I can never
again use the loose and inclusive term “The Negro”.)
If you are at all squeamish or delicate about the use of plain language, be warned that Margaret Halsey calls a spade a spade and is not above occasional glibness in her use of the vernacular. The book is not in any sense literary. The words that come to mind in regard to it are: sensible, intelligent, forthright, unequivocal, and, above all, unromantic.
So many books on this subject do one of two things: they simply state the case, as does Richard Wright’s Black Boy, or present rules and methods for the extreme and idealistic abolishing of the whole issue. Color Blind walks the tightrope between these two extremes without a hesitant moment nor the pausing for the regaining of lost balance. The progress from pole to pole is steady, secure and serene. One feels the author’s knowledge of her subject and it is a bulwark against the questions
Color Blind by Margaret Halsey, published by Simon and Schuster, New York, N. Y.,
1946.
98
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COLOR BLIND 99
which often arise when reading such a theme.
Perhaps my favorite statement is this:
“The assertion that nothing can be done about prejudice is suspicious in character, but it is certainly true that prejudice will always exist. So will sickness and disease, but that scarcely seems sufficient reason for telling our medical scientists to put on their hats, close up their laboratories, and give the spirochetes, bacilli and viruses a free hand. Nobody with any pretensions to realism expects to obliterate prejudice and expunge it from the surface of this planet . . . The task is not to do away with prejudice. From our present knowledge of human psychology, that is, at the moment, an impractical objective. The task is to narrow the field in which prejudice operates ——to create more and more places, zones and institutions where people may not bring it in with them. . .”
Mrs. Halsey, you see, practices what she preaches in one of her chapter titles: “Start With The Learner Where He Is.” She tells the reader that there is something to be done and then she tells what that
something is and exactly how to start doing it. The fact that, in the telling, she also spoons out a goodly dosage of somewhat unpleasant facts and figures about the attitudes, feelings, and false ideas held by people everywhere, on both sides of the line, pleases the consumer rather than annoys him when he has put down the book and discovers, by the taste in his mouth, that he has just been fooled by very fast and clever wordtossing into imbibing some real education.
It was a borrowed book. Now I shall have to buy a copy. This is another friendly warning. Buy your own copy of Color Blind in the beginning, for it will be a text book for the Bahá’í who is trying to teach “the abandonment of all prejudices” including race prejudice. It will make you see just what race prejudice is made of.
I can almost wish that I could have its text in my mind and have another opportunity to live in the South. I think I would not again sit and writhe in impotent rage against what seems an impenetrable wall. Just read it and you’ll see what I and this is the day of winnowing,
“A religion,” is yet another testimony, from the pen of the late Queen
Marie of Rumania, “which links all creeds . .
. a religion based upon the
inner spirit of God. . . . It teaches that all hatreds, intrigues, suspicions, evil words, all aggressive patriotism even, are outside the one essential law of God, and that special beliefs are but surface things whereas the heart that beats with’ Divine love knows no tribe nor race.”
—Excerpt from God Passes By by Saocm EFFENDI
For the Advancement of Her Race GERTRUDE SCHURGAST
MY best friend is a lady be longing to the colored race. She holds her head up proudly and looks into your eyes. Her brown, unwrinkled face is crowned by beautiful silvery hair. She is one of those rare persons who combines strength of character with kindness.
The other day I discovered a little picture on her mantle. It was a picture of a white woman in an old-fashioned, high-necked dress. Her hair, which was parted in the middle, was combed straight back and made her look rather severe. This was accentuated by her eyes, the most remarkable eyes I haye ever seen, piercing, fearless, betraying an indomitable character.
“Who is that?” I asked her in surprise.
“That was my mother,” she answered gently, and seeing my puzzled look, she added: “Her father was a white man, a slaveholder of Scotch-Irish stock. Her mother was a slave, mostly American-Indian blood. In those days slaves had to obey their masters. My grandfather must have loved his little white daughter who had inherited his looks and also his character. She was high-spirited and quick-tem pered. She was allowed to grow up together with the other children of his family. Nobody was to touch her. Whenever her stepmother demanded that she call her stepbrothers ‘Master’, she refused, saying, that they all had the same father!”
“Tell me more about her,” I
asked.
“From early childhood the idea of serfdom must have been unbearable to her,” she continued. “She and her mother spent hours and hours in their little cabin making candles, which she later sold. As soon as she had learned to sew, she began to make corsets for the town people. She had a large clientele and soon had saved up enough money to buy her mother’s and her own freedom. She married a Negro who was a member of the legislature in Alabama. My father,” continued my friend, “was sometimes hunted by the Ku Klux Klan, but they never hurt him, as they were afraid of ‘the little woman’. Although she was only five feet tall, she soon represented a power in that little town of Livingston, Alabama. Even today, when you ask the people there about Louisa Dotson, they will remember her. The
100
[Page 101]
ADVANCEMENT OF HER RACE
white farmers especially remember her, for she often went to them demanding that they give better treatment to the poor Negroes whom they employed as sharecroppers. Those landowners always managed to settle the account with these workers in such a way that, at the end of the summer, there were no earnings left, only debts. Louisa Dotson made it her business to change this condition. Throughout the years her sole purpose in life was to work for the advancement of her race. All her life she fought oppression and demonstrated to black and white alike, by her own conduct, the pride and dignity of human beings.”
“Was she still a young wom an at the time of the Emancipation?” I asked.
“Yes, by then the family had ~ saved up enough money to buy a home. It was only a four-room house and much too small for the large family—there were fourteen children—but they had an enormous back yard. That’s where my mother built a schoolhouse for Negro children. She, herself, acted as the teacher.”
“How did she manage with all those children? Were they all as dark as you?”
“No. Have you heard of Mendel’s law of heredity? Well, we
101
proved it. Some of us were white. (There is a brother I have never seen. He went to California and passed into the white race.) Some of us were dark, and some had the character traits of both races. But you asked me how she managed. That was not all my mother did. She by and by became well known as a dressmaker. All the prominent people in town used to get their clothes from her.
“I remember one day, a lady came to her for a dress fitting. She was very much upset. ‘Louisa’, she said, ‘this is Monday, and not a single wash woman has come to any of us ladies to collect the weekly wash. I wonder what’s the matter with them.’ My Mother was just kneeling in front of the lady to pin up her skirt. She slowly took a pin out of her mouth and remarked quietly: ‘I have told them to stay home’.”
“‘But why Louisa?” the lady asked.
“Louisa rose to her full height. As it happened, she reached only to the lady’s shoulder, but had she been a tall woman, she could not have been more impressive. With blazing eyes she asked her: “‘Would you do a family wash for 25c and furnish soap
and starch besides?’
102 WORLD ORDER
“Louisa, how much do you think, we should pay these women?’ the lady asked meekly.
“Without batting an eye my
mother said: $1.503 And that settled it.
“In spite of all her other duties and interests she took her job as mother very seriously. One day a neighbor came rushing in. I, the youngest, was sitting at her feet, playing with some buttons. ‘Oh Louisa,’ the woman exclaimed, ‘your daughter, Naomi, is at my house, crying. She went with my girl to pick a dress at the store and there was that lanky Joe, you know, the owner’s son. He made eyes at Naomi, put the dress into her hands and said: ‘You don’t have to pay for that dress, beautiful, but I’ll be over to see you tonight.”
“My mother, when she heard that, got up from her sewing, shoved her spectacles back to her forehead, and, without saying a word, grimly marched out of the room, out of the house. I was tagging behind her. She never noticed it. She walked straight up to the store where lanky Joe was slouching over the counter.
When he saw my mother, he tried to slink away. But she confronted him. ‘Joe,’ she said with a voice which I had never heard her use before, ‘If anything
would happen to my child, I would shoot you, but I don’t want to soil my hands with your dirty blood. Don’t ever let me see you again. By tomorrow morning you will have left town.’ The next day he was gone.”
“Was she strict with you too?” I asked.
My friend nodded. “I’ll never forget the day,” she said. “I was about tweIVe years old, when I came home from school and asked her: ‘Mamma, can I go to a party tonight? The kids are having a party’.
“She bent over her sewing and frowned. Then she said just ‘No’. I got mad then and told her she was old-fashioned, and was it because we were playing with some of the white boys? and then, feeling very grown up and important, I said: ‘Mother, you know, if I really wanted to, I' could have some fun, party or no party.’
“She slapped me then and said quietly: ‘This is for talking to your mother like that.’ Then she just looked at me, sad-like, and said: ‘You are my youngest child, I would have liked to keep you with me a little longer. But I must send you away. You are going to a boarding school. It’s run by a wonderful man, Booker T . Washington. You will study
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ADVANCEMENT OF HER RACE
there and become a teacher and amount to something.’
“This changed my whole life. Nothing much has become of my childhood friends, but I started on a career at the Tuskegee Institute. I stayed there for many years. Men like Dr. George Carver were my teachers and later on my friends. I was a teacher there too. I found my dear husband there, married at the Institute and had my children there. The older I grew, the more I realized, how wise she had been. I owe all my happiness to her.”
Just then the telephone rang.
103
“That’s probably that clubwoman I tried to interest for that inter-racial dinner,” my friend said as she took the receiver. The conversation was short. I heard
her say: “That’s perfectly all right. Good bye.”
“As I thought”, she said to me. “She excused herself, saying: ‘Our little eflons mean so little.”
I looked at the white woman’s picture again. Her eyes seemed to reach beyond the grave, as if they were saying: “Our little individual efforts, sister, that’s just what counts.”
WINGS TAKE FLIGHT IDA ELAINE JAMES
Each tower, each aspiring arch,
Disintegrates to dust. We halt the broken march Of life, because we must.
Our interest palls, and then We fear the interim.
But wings take flight again, And brush the barrier’s rim.
Guidance A Compilation from the Bahá’í Writings
ELLA L. ROWLAND
UFFER me not, O my Lord,
to be deprived of the knowledge of Thee in Thy days, and divest me not of the robe of Thy Guidance.
- >|< *
Thou art, verily, He Whose grace hath guided them aright. >I< >k >3:
Glory be to Thee, 0 King of
eternity, and the Maker of nations, and the Fashioner of every moldering bone! I pray Thee, by Thy Name through which Thou didst call all mankind unto the horizon of Thy majesty and glory, and didst guide Thy servants to the court of Thy grace and favors, to number me with such as have rid themselves from everything except Thyself, and have set themselves from everything. except Thyself, and have set themselves towards Thee, and have not been kept back by such misfortunes as were decreed by Thee, from turning in the direction of Thy gifts. >x< >1: >k
I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of all being and the Enlightener of all things visible and invisible, to grant that every
one of them may become an ensign of Thy guidance among Thy servants, and a revelation of the splendors of the Day-Star of Thy loving-kindness amidst Thy crea tures. >1: >l< >s<
These! The people of Bahá. Through them have been shed the splendors of the light of guidance.
- * *
The glory of Thy might heareth me witness! Whoso claimeth to have known Thee hath, by virtue of such a claim, testified to his own ignorance; and whoso believeth himself to have attained unto Thee, all the atoms of the earth would attest his powerlessness and proclaim his failure. Thou hast, however, by virtue of Thy mercy that hath surpassed the kingdoms of earth and heaven, deigned to accept from Thy servants the laud and honor they pay to Thine exalted Self, and hast hidden them celebrate Thy glory, that the ensigns of Thy guidance may be unfurled in Thy cities and the tokens of Thy mercy be spread abroad among Thy nations, and that each and all may be enabled to attain unto
104
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GUIDANCE
that which Thou has destined for them by Thy decree, and ordained unto them through Thine irrevocable will and purpose.
Thou art He, O my God, through Whose names the sick are healed and the ailing are restored, and the thirsty are given drink, and the sore-vexed are tranquilized, and the wayward are guided, and the abased are exalted, and the poor are enriched, and the ignorant are enlightened, and the gloomy are illumined, and the sorrowful are cheered, and the chilled are warmed, and the downtrodden are raised up.
>t< * >k We beg of Thee, 0 Providence,
to show Thy way unto all men, and to guide them aright. Thou art, verily, the All-Mighty, the Most Powerful, and All-Knowing, the All-Seeing.
- * *
Behold, how the divers people
105
and kindreds of the earth have been waiting for the coming of the Promised One. No sooner had He, Who is the Sun of Truth, been made manifest, than 10, all turned away from Him, except them whom God was pleased to guide.
- * *
So blind hath become the human heart that neither the disruption of the city, nor the reduction of the mountain in dust, nor even the cleaving Of the earth, can shake 0H its torpor. The allusions made in the Scriptures have been unfolded, and the signs recorded therein have been revealed, and the prophetic cry is continually being raised. And yet all, except such as God was pleased to guide, are bewildered in the drunkenness of their heedlessness!_
- >l< *
Beware that ye divest not yourselves Of the raiment of Divine Guidance.
The purpose of the one true God in manifesting Himself is to summon
all mankind to truthfulness and sincerity, to piety and trustworthiness, to resignation and submissiveness to the Will of God, to forebearance and kindliness, to uprightness and wisdom. His object is to array every man with the mantle of a saintly character, and to adorn him with the ornament of holy
and goodly deeds. —Bahá’u’lláh
WITH OUR READERS
THE possibility of uniting the
world in a community through the power of religion is still an idea foreign to most minds, even thoughtful ones. This is partly, at least, because religion as it is known is divisive rather than unifying; and partly because religion is not recognized as a social force by many, per haps most, religionists. Our leading article “A Religious World Com munity” sets out clearly the Bahá’í Plan for such a worldwide community which is already being built in many countries of the world. Horace Holley tells us this was specially written at the time of the Bahá’í Centenary and will appear in Volume X of the Bahá’í World which, we understand, is now on the press. Mr. Holley is Secretary of our Bahá’í National Assembly, one of the editors of World Order, and a frequent
contributor to our magazine.
The illustration on page one shows the signing of the United Nations Charter, an event which marks one step toward world unity, the aim of the Bahá’í Faith and “the goal toward which,” Shoghi Effendi says, “a harassed humanity is striving.” We are warned by him, too, that “Delays must inevitably arise, setbacks must he suffered.”
The selection on page two will reveal to those unfamiliar with the Bahá’í Faith something of the scope of this world religion.
“If—With All Thy Heart” is the first contribution of Gene W. Crist to World Order and introduces her
to our readers better than anything we can say further. Mrs. Crist lives
in Washington, D. C.
This month’s editorial “No Flags, No Drums” is by Kenneth Christian, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, whose home is in Lansing, Michigan.
A most important book for Bahá’ís and all working for racial equality is Color Blind reviewed: by Roberta Christian. In July, 1942, we printed “The Invisible Man” by Mrs. Christian and in February, 1941, “Living the Life”. Mrs. Christian and her husband, Kenneth Christian, are well known among Bahá’ís as active workers for the Faith throughout the country. Their home is in Lansing, Michigan.
In connection with this book we should like to mention another val. uable publication on the subject of Race. The January issue of Survey Graphic is devoted to a portrayal of the evils of segregation. This was a special issue, entitled “Segregation,” of over one hundred pages of text and excellent illustrations showing conditions in the United States today. This special issue may be obtained from Survey Graphic, 112 East 19 Street, New York 3, N. Y. for 60
cents or two copies for one dollar.
The story entitled “For the Advancement of Her Race” by Gertrude Schurgast is, she tells us, the true story of the grandmother of one who is new active in the Bahá’í Faith. Mrs. Schurgast has the happy faculty of putting important truth in nar 106
[Page 107]
WITH OUR READERS
rative form and has previously contributed to World Order magazine, among other things: “The Rank-andFile Bahá’í”, “What Is Secure?”, a book review, “Salvation.” Her home is in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Instead of the brief selections for meditation we are printing a compilation on “Guidance” from Gleanings and Prayers and Meditations made by Elle L. Rowland. Mrs. Rowland speaks of the joy she found in making this compilation and of the happiness she has in corresponding ' with those “not yet sufficiently acquainted with the Bahá’í Faith.” Her
home is in Cone Madera, California.
. How many good things come from'
Cal ifornia 1
“Symbols of America” is Canto I of the book by that name by Stanwood Cobb published last December. In the prose prologue Mr. Cobb writes that the purpose of the poem “is to trace the influence and development of the three basic strands that have composed our ideology and practice from the first early days of exploration and colonization down to the fast moving screen of present day events. These three strands or motifs are: the quest for wealth, the quest for religious freedom, and the quest for democracy or equalitarianism.” In the Epode to the poem
Mother Earth pleads for peace and calls America the “Great Child of the , New Day.”
- ‘I’ *
Here are some comments on the system of transliteration used by Bahá’ís which came from Marzieh Gail some time ago but which are valuable and help us to understand that we are really misspelling when we leave out the apostrophes, dots
107
and accents in Bahá’í names. Mrs. Gail says: This system is a standardized letter-for-letter equivalent of the Persian and Arabic alphabet. For exaniple if you write ”Bahá’í” without the apostrophe, you leave out a whole letter of the original. Unless we have a standard system for writing Persian and Arabic words into Western tongues, each writer makes up his own, according to his own accent. The German writes “Schierien”, the Ehglishman “Shereen”, the Frenchman “Chirine”, when they all mean the same thing. The result is chaos. Try to look up the name “Muhammad” in a card catalogue or dietionary and you will see what we mean. And it’s no use going over to the Near East and asking the natives how to pronounce a given word, becaus'e ten natives will give you ten pronunciations: Cairo Arabic is different from that of Bailldad—Ṭihrán Persian doesn’t sound like what they speak in Késhén. An orderly system of transliteration is thus imperative.
Reading any modern. Bahá’í book,
the scholar can write the transliterated words back into the original
with no trouble; he knows at once
which of the two “h’s”~—which of the
four “z’s” he must use; whether a
vowel appears in the original or is
only understood, and so on. Remember that Persian and Arabic write
only the long vowels—the short. ones
are omitted; for inétance “Muhammed” is written “M-H-M-M-D”.
If a Persian is shown a list of a
hundred Persian towns, he is at a
loss how to pronounce them, because of this omission of short vowels. Correct transliteration immedi
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1‘08 ately identifies and places the word.
- * *
One of our readers sends this incident to illustrate the statement of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that “Knowledge and wisdom, purity and faithfulness and freedom of soul, have not been and are not judged by outward appear' ance and dress.” She writes: “I was once sitting in a little station in the country when I saw a man in rough clothes and with long black beard coming up the road to the station. His appearance frightened me, but when he came close enough ‘to pass the time of day’ and I could look into his eyes, all the fear left me. We talked about this and that until the train came along and I discovered the man was a right jolly old farmer. Upon inquiring later I found he was well trusted and liked.”
This same reader tells a personal experience which well illustrates ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s statement that one of the first things the Bahá’í Faith does for us is to make us understand our own religion better, that is, the religion which we have inherited. Her experience was in a better understanding of the real meanings of love. She says: “I feel that one can read deeper than the surface meanings of St. Paul’s message on love (referring to the 13th chapter of First Corinthians). The Greatest Thing in the World by Henry Drummond represented my father’s religion. He was a well balanced man, a scientific man with a heart full of understanding love. But until Bahá’u’lláh’s Message came into our home I did not understand. . . . I found three copies of Drummond’s The Greatest Thing in the World among some left over Christmas cards and
WORLD ORDER
small gifts. I read over again his words about love and found it meant so much more to me, that even my temper might be controlled nowthat at last I had put all the parts together. Herbert Spencer said: ‘It is a truth perpetually illustrated that accumulated facts lying around in disorder begin to assume some order if an hypothesis is thrown among them.’ .
“I do think if some of us knew better what love really is and how the four kinds must work together, that one little thing, backhiting, would disappear. ‘Abdu-l-Bahá says wonders could be accomplished if it were stopped.”
[The writer refers to the passage found on pages 97 and 98 of The Divine Art of' Living. There ‘Abdu’l-Bahá names and explains the four kinds of love: “(a) The love of God towards the identity of God. Christ said God is love. (b) The love of God for His children (for His servants). (c) The love of man for God and, (d) The love of man for man.”]
Correction. Marian Crist Lippitt tells us that this department incorrectly stated in our March number that she was a pioneer settler in Charleston.
She writes: “I was not one of the settlers who so nobly answered the call to rescue West Virginia from its state of darkness, but rather one of the individuals who was so rescued. My husband and I declared ourselves just before the establishment of the first assembly in 1943 after several months of intensive instruction by Virginia Camelon Foster, Mrs. Bolles and Mrs. Kunz.”
—THE EDITORS.
[Page 109]
Bahá’í Literature
Writings of Shoghi Effendi
Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith
Distributed by Bahá’í Publishing Committee 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois
BAHA’I ADMINISTRATION
This work deals with the development of Bahá’í local and national institutions in North, America during the years following the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It is an exposition of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in terms of the experience of the American Bahá’ís and the source of guidance and inspiration to believers entering a new stage in the evo lution of the Faith.
THE WORLD ORDER OF Bahá’u’lláh
Here the Bahá’ís learned, between 1929 and 1936, of the role to be played by the Bahá’í world community and its institutions during the collapse of the 01d order and the rise of a new civilization. Here also they found for the first time the pattern of future society and an insight into the whole meaning of the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh.
THE ADVENT OF DIVINE JUSTICE
Shoghi Effendi in December, 1938, set in motion the first stages of the world mission conferred by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá upon the North American, Bahá’í cammunity—the Bahá’í answer to the destruction which had overtaken society.
THE PROMISED DAY IS COME
The history of the modern world set forth in terms of the Revelation proclaimed by the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh and its rejection by the civil, religious and educational leaders of the day. War and revolution understood as evidences of a process of Divine chastisement inflicted upon the entire human race to purify it for the blessings of the Kingdom.
GOD PASSES BY
A summary of the first hundred years of Bahá’í history, presenting the expectancy of the Promised One, the mission of the Béh, the mission of Bahá’u’lláh, their work and action, the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the spread of the Faith t0 sixty-eight' countries and the rise of the adminis trative order. Spiritual history of the World Religion, made possible by ‘ 9
unique capacity of its first Guardian, presenting a union of Person with revealed Truth, and of truth with Event.
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THE BAHA’I 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. —-SHOGHI EFFENDI.
