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NOVEMBER, 1947
i ' BAHA’I Th9. Bahá’í House of Worship ¥MAGAZINE I. A Gift to the World
Gertrude W'. Robinson
II. To Know and Worship God
Horace Holley
World Religion
Charles S. Kru’g
New Lights in Architecture, Editorial
Flora Hones
Perilous Peace Floyd H. Munson
Shaykh Ahmad
Alice Bacon
Highlights of the Newer Testament,
A Compilation Marion C. Lippilt
With Our Readers
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WORLD ORDER is published monthly in Wilmette, 11]., by the
Publishing Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of
the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Garreta Busey,
Editor; Eleanor S. Hutchens, Mabel H. Paine, Flora Hottes,
Associate Editors. '
Publication Office 110 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, ILL. C. R. Wood, Business Manager Printed in U.S.A.
' Editorial Office Miss Garreta Busey, Editor
503 WEST ELM STREET, URBANA, ILL.
NOVEMBER, 1947, VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 8
SUBSCRIPTIONS: $2.00 per year, for United States, its territories and possessions; for Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Central and South America. Single copies, 20c. Foreign subscriptions, $2.25. Make checks and money orders payable: to World Order Magazine, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. Entered as second ciass 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 REPORETED ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE
77 7—?
E y
WORLD 0BDEII
The Bahá’í Magazine
VOLUME XIII
The Bahá’í
NOVEMBER, 1947
NUMBER 8
House of Worship
I. A Gift to the World
GERTRUDE W. ROBINSON
N THE shores of Lake Mich igan, in Wilmette, just north » of Chicago, stands the first Bahá’í Temple to be erected in America. Airmen look down on it from the skies and see it as a nine-pointed star. Sailors far out on the lake observe it as a gleaming beacon. People in Wilmette see it as a building of startling loveliness. It rises to its dome in symmetrical beauty, 3 thing of strength and solidity, yet graceful in form and luminous in its texture.
Who built this unusual Temple in the heart of America? It was built by Bahá’ís, prompted by their deep-rooted love for their Faith and its Founder, Bahá’u’lláh, the great Prophet who was born in train over a century ago. A small sum from a lowly follower in Egypt, a somewhat larger one from a newlyawakened soul in South Amer ica, a generous contribution from some Canadian believer, or a simple offering from an adherent in Europe: from all over the world come gifts to aid in its construction.
The Bahá’í Temple stands before the world as a symbol of the things of the spirit. Carved over its entrances we find a fundamental guide for living in these words of Bahá’u’lláh:
“The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens.”
“The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me.”
“My love is My stronghold; he that entereth therein is safe and secure.”
“Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner.”
“Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent.”
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“I have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?”
“Make mention of Me on My earth that in My heaven I may remember thee.’-’
“0 rich ones on earth! The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust.”
“The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory.”
For these teachings a practical outlet is planned; for the Bahá’í believes that worship is only real when it is carried out in service. While the Temple itself will be devoted to prayer and worship, around it in time to come will be erected accessory buildings, such as a school for orphan children, a hospital and dispensary for the poor, a home for the incapacitated, a college for higher scientific education, and a hospice. When these are built, the doors will be open to people of all nations and religions, of all colors and races, Without discrimination.
This Temple symbolizes the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. The circular base is built over nine great caissons that go down to bedrock for their stability. Above the steps surrounding the foundation the main story rises in nine symmetrical sides. Each side is an entrance arch, beauti WORLD ORDER
fully designed and leading into the House of Worship. The gallery, the clerestory and the dome rise in perfect balance from this main story, reaching a climax in the meeting of the nine ribs above the summit of the dome.
The walls of the Temple are made up for the most part of patterned windows, admitting light freely by day and sending forth illumination by night. Small wonder that this has been called the Temple of Light! Even the outer covering of the building is an open design of lacy pattern, molded from cement and white quartz, durable and firm, yet delicate in the tracery of ifs‘ lines. These lines include in their designs the symbols of all past religions, uniting them under
the nine-pointed star symbolizing the Bahá’í Faith.
In the number nine one finds an interesting symbology. It is the number of completion, the highest single digit. Nine great revealed religions have been known to the human race in the course of recorded history. Eight of these have prophesied the coming of a Great Teacher “in the fullness of time,” a Prophet who would lead all mankind in the ways of unity and peace. The ninth religion, bringing to fulfillment those of the past, is the‘ Bahá’í Faith.
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A GIFT TO THE WORLD
The aspiring soul of mankind is symbolized in the upward thrust of the ribs of the Temple’s dome. These aspirations find expression in the principles of the Bahá’í Faith, briefly summarized as follows:
Recognition of the unity of God and His Prophets, An unfettered search after
truth,
Elimination of all forms of superstition and prejudice,
Religion’s chief purposeto promote concord and harmony,
Cooperation of science and religion,
Religion—the sole basis for a peaceful and progressive society,
Equal opportunity, rights and privileges for men and women,
Compulsory education, Abolition of extremes of poverty and wealth, Recognition of work performed in the spirit of
service as worship,
Adoption of an auxiliary international language,
Creation of a world federal government.
The universal teachings of Bahá’u’lláh have so inspired His followers that a new view of life
has been born within them; a consciousness of the oneness of mankind, of the oneness of God, of the oneness of religion, of the oneness of all the Prophets that have appeared. The Temple is the Bahá’ís’ gift to the world, and followers of all religions are welcome therein.
To this Temple in Wilmette come visitors from every section of the United States and from all corners of the globe. They come by the thousands: the intelligent and cultured, the rich and the poor, the black and the white, high government officials and humble laborers. Each, according to his capacity, takes from the Temple a new measure of understanding. The aching, misunderstood heart may find a human unity it has never before experienced. The troubled mind may find an answer to the everrecurring question, “What is the purpose of life?”
In turn, these visitors go back to the six continents of the globe and spread the knowledge of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Thus this Temple, the symbol of unity, is calling to the world that religion is born again, a living dynamic power.
So, on the shore of Lake Michigan, stands a House of God, lifting its dome high into the blue sky. Light seems to permeate its
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very substance and here, too, is light for the souls of men and
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women, truth for all who wish to know the way of God.
II. To Know and Worship God
The Bahá’í Temple As Embodiment of the Principle of World Faith HORACE HOLLEY
OR more than forty years the
Bahá’ís of North America, with the encouragement and financial support of fellow-religionists in many other lands, have been engaged in the construction of a House of Worship. The vision seized upon the first small Bahá’í community, and the sanction and blessing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were besought and graciously bestowed before those early believers felt they had the power or right to assume a task so weighty and a mission so exalted.
The story of their ardent labors, and the gradual development of the structure, has been recounted many times. The adoption of a design for the interior ornamentation now provides occasion not for one more recapitulation of the history of the project, nor presentation of its unusual engineering and technical elements, but for a tentative exploration of some of the profound meanings which the Temple yields as we study its architectural form and ponder its aim and function.
The basic architectural form incorporated in the building is the perfect circle, the orb or horizon, and the division of its circumference into nine equal chords. The circle appears in the foundation on which the structure stands, manifest in the series of ascending steps leading to the circular platform on the level of the main floor, and again in the circular horizontal section produced by the intersection of the hemispherical dome with the vertical wall of the clerestory. Another circle is cut by the meeting of the clerestorey and the horizontal plane of the top of the gallery unit.
The nine chords which intersect the perfect circle are traced in the nonagon form of the main storey. These chords are produced again by the horizontal plane of the gallery or second storey, but here the circle is swung one-eighteenth of its orbit beyond the nine intersecting points of the first storey, so that the two nonagons mark circles in revolution and not circles forever at rest. The nonagon
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TO KNOW AND WORSHIP GOD
formed by the nine dome-rihs matches the chords formed by the gallery.
The function of the surrounding steps is to provide equal facility for access from any external point. The monumental structure in its external architectural mass has no specialized direction. Its circular steps include all directions simultaneously. The function of the main storey is to supply nine formal entrances to the interior. The function of the gallery unit is to form the ornamental framework for nine immense window systems. The clerestorey also provides illumination but its function is to provide the basis from which spring the spherical dome and its nine arching ribs.
The points of the first two nonagons are marked by pylons and turrets which, with the dome ribs, orient the structure upward.
The greatest visible horizontal dimension is that of the platform on which the building stands. The gallery storey is set back from the edge of the main storey; and the clerestorey is also set back from the line of the gallery unit. The diameter of the platform at the top of the steps is one hundred fifty-two feet, while that of the foundation beneath the platform is two hundred two feet. From first floor
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level to the pinnacle of the dome the measure is one hundred sixty-one feet. The building stands on nine caissons which go down to bedrock one hundred twenty-four feet below the earth.
Steps and platform, entrance level, gallery level, clerestorey and dome are combined as five elements in an architectural form which creates a new aesthetic mode. Whether viewed in terms of vertical section, horizontal section or silhouette, the building utters a call to spiritual devotion which employs a language of the heart not speaking in a dialect descended from the Gothic, nor the Byzantine, nor the Roman, Greek or Hindu tongues. The language is new, and the heart must re-enter the school of love to attain its meaning.
The builder’s dimensions do not define the aesthetic masses and lines of the architectural form. The structure of the Bahá’í House of Worship is not large nor is it small. It is monumental, recreating itself anew in the mind of every beholder. The structure has the repose of a monument, but in this repose is fluidity of motion, and the energy of mass resisting as well as supporting mass.
A sense of unity and universality emanates from the com
258 WORLD ORDER
pleted circles. The nonagons which intersect other circles represent, in the Bahá’í conception, the meanings of perfection and fulfilment. It is as though an endless orbit of eternity contains a succession of points of ascent.
These cosmic meanings wrought into the Temple structure have connection through the unique scheme of ornamentation with the organic life-force of nature and With man’s oyn sense of spiritual destiny. In the different units of decoration can be discerned the planetary orbits, the entwining of leaves and HOWers, and the revered traditional and conventionalized symbols of revealed religions: the cross, the star of David, the new nine-pointed star of this dispen sation, the ancient swastika and others.
The Temple typifies man on his different but interrelated levels of experience and responsibility: man in the universe, man‘ on earth, man in society, and man made conscious of the Kingdom of God. Its structure thus sets forth, among other Bahá’í principles, the harmony of science and religion, the basic unity of all divine revelation, and the spiritual evolution of mankind through clan, tribe, race and nation to the goal of knowledge and
peace attained through the union and order of the world.
It is only in its external structure that the Bahá’í House of Worship fulfills the nature of a great monument which, living in the outer world of the eye, can because of its spiritual characteristics penetrate to the world of mind and heart. The beholder’s consciousness, having drunk the cup of aesthetic experience, feels a consummation on reading the words of Bahá’u’lláh carved over the entrance ways; as for example, “The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory.”
The Temple becomes more than a monument when we realize that the mystery of the structure, its essential aim, lies in the interior of this brilliant shell and is not held by its outer sur-' faces, superb architecture though they be. The function of this shell is to enclose a meetingplace for the souls of men, a place where men may meet and mingle as spiritual beings, a place where men may have association with the Spirit of God.
Between the structure as monument and the structure as a place for the mention of the Greatest Name of God, it is essential to note a distinction, a distinction like that between architecture and music or between
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'I‘O KNOW AND WORSHIP GOD
scientific understanding and the fire of faith.
To examine the design chosen for the interior, and appreciate its architectural and artistic qualities in relation to their spiritual function, it is helpful to give preliminary thought to a statement about the House of Worship made by the Guardian of the Faith as long ago as 1929. This statement was written in order to correct a misapprehension of the nature of the House of Worship which the architect had incorporated in his design. The interior, as the architect conceived it, was to symbolize the universality of the Faith of Baha ’u’lláh by including, around the central hall or auditorium, a series of nine chapels each of which would be used for worship by a different denomination. The recognition of these diverse modes of worship, in this early conception of the Bahá’í religion, would constitute a new and impressive example of toleration and support the principle of unity inherent in the new teachings. The Guardian declared: “It should be borne in mind that the central edifice of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, round which in the full‘wevs of time shall cluster such institutions of social service as shall afford relief to the suffering, sustenance
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to the poor, solace to the bereaved, and education to the ignorant, should be regarded, apart from these Dependencies, as a House solemnly designed and entirely dedicated to the worship of God in accordance with the few yet definitely prescribed principles established by Bahá’u’lláh . . . It should not be inferred, however, from this general statement that the interior of the central Edifice itself will be converted into a conglomeration of religious services conducted along lines associated with the traditional procedure obtaining in churches, mosques, synagogues, and other temples of worship. Its various avenues of approach, all converging towards the central Hall beneath its dome, will not serve as admittance to those sectarian adherents of rigid formulae and manmade creeds, each bent, according to his way to observe his rites, recite his prayers, perform his ablutions and display the particular symbols of his faith, within separately defined sections of Bahá’u’lláh’s Universal House of Worship . . . The central House of Bahá’í worship, enshrined within the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, will gather within its chastened walls, in a serenely spiritual atmosphere, only those who, discarding forever the trap
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pings of elaborate and ostentatious ceremony, are willing worshipers of the one true God, as manifested in this age in the Person of Bahá’u’lláh.”
This decisive criterion makes it clear that the Temple represents a victory of faith and truth over the errors and imitations which have gradually overlaid the blessed reality revealed in the past. Spiritually it stands on a level infinitely higher than is attained by the mind and conscience of men today when shut out from the experience of a living faith.
The interior design as now modified therefore creates one unified space: the domed auditorium (the Central Hall) into which open nine arched alcoves or bays.
At present we have an artist’s rendering of two interior views, one of the domed auditorium, the other of one of the nine alcoves. The architectural form of the Temple interior has for its principal elements the great circular auditorium overarched hy the hemisphere of the dome at a height of more than one hundred fifty feet from the floor; nine groups of columns, some supporting the first gallery encircling the auditorium at a height of thirty-six feet, others continuing to support the base of the
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dome, one hundred feet from floor level. The nine arched alcoves occupy the area under the ceiling of the gallery. Systems of columns provide entrances between adjoining alcoves extending from the outside doors to the auditorium and to the alcoves on either side of the entrances. A second and smaller gallery overlooks the auditorium eightyone feet above the floor.
To this architectural form will be added the exquisite beauty of an ornamental scheme conceived in the same spirit as the ornamentation applied to the exterior of the building, but rendered with more grace, delicacy and charm. The interior ornamentation will furthermore be enhanced by the harmony of color. Each surface, whether of wall, column, arch, ceiling or perforated dome, will pay its tribute in line and color to this enclosed amphitheatre of the drama of Divine Revelation. The upwardness given to the exterior of the structure is here in its interior intensified and made the supreme climax of the artist’s conception, for the eye finds the focal point of attention as well as meaning in the illumined symbol of the Greatest Name of God which will appear at the top of the dome.
Though the circular steps out
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side are oriented to the whole
encircling horizon of humankind, the interior has its direction indicated in that the seats in
the central auditorium will all
face that one of the nine alcoves
or bays which stands on the side
of the structure facing ‘Akká,
the new point of holiness conferred by Bahá’u’lláh. In the
other eight alcoves the seats will
face the center of the auditorium
itself.
The ninth alcove will not be part of the auditorium. There facilities for readers will be arranged. Thus in this House of Worship there will be no pulpit for sermons nor altar for ritual conducted by clergyman or priest. Bahá’í worship consists of readings, by several persons Who may be differently chosen at each meeting, taken from the utterances revealed by the Manifestations of Godz—from the words of Moses, of Jesus, of Muhammad, of the Báb, and of Bahá’u’lláh. For Bahá’ís join in adoration of the revealers of all faiths, revering them as those successive Spokesmen of the Infinite, Unknowable God who have, by their divinely conferred authority, appeared on earth age after age to revive the souls of men, restore the true Faith, and guide humanity onward through different stages in its
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TO KNOW AND WORSHIP GOD 261
spiritual and social evolution. Since these unique Beings are one Person, one Spirit, and he Who denies any one has denied all, the Bahá’í mode of worship is not human tolerance restored in a different form, but understanding of the oneness of God.
The Bahá’í House of Worship is not one more religious edifice of denominational character. It has been built according to a new and higher pattern of worship, wherein persons of all races, nations and creeds may enter the unifying Spirit which emanates from the Word of God. Bahá’í worship includes no sermon, no physical drama, no man-conceived prayer, invocation or conventionalized response. The Manifestation of God, He alone, has utterance in this holy place. Because Baha ’u’llah has revealed the myster-_
ious Identity of that higher being who manifests God through the person of the prophet from age to age, the essence of divine worship today is adoration of God in His Glory which encompasses all mankind today, yesterday and forever. “I bear witness,” is His assurance to the world in its hour of hitterest agony: “I bear witness that he who hath known Thee hath known Cod, and he who hath attained unto Thy presence hath
262 WORLD ORDER
attained unto the presence of honored with meeting Thee, and God. Great, therefore, is the hath attained the good pleasure blessedness of him who hath be- of Thy Will, and circled around lieved in Thee, and in Thv signs, Thee, and stood before Thy
and hath humbled himself before throne.” Thy sovereignty, and hath been
BE A SHINING LIGHT
Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him With a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver Of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them that walk in daikness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity and uprightnezs distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew t0 the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the dladem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.
Bahá’u’lláh
THE RENEWAL OF FAITH
The vitality of men’s belief in God is dying out in every land; nothing short of His wholesome medicine can ever restore it. The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the Vitals of human society; what else but the Elixir of His potent Revelation can cleanse and revive it?
-Bahá’u’lláh.
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World Religion
CHARLES S. KRUG
“ ORLD religion? You are
an optimist. It’s a lovely dream, of course, but hopelessly Utopian. You must think the millenium is here.”
That or some equally pessimistic variation of this general viewpoint is what the Bahá’í hears when he attempts to set forth the basic teaching of the oneness of religion. And yet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has said: “The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of mankind and the fundamental oneness of religion.”
But how can we bring the religions together? Surely as we look about us there is little evidence to encourage us in our undertaking. True, there are some efforts toward so-called InterFaith Councils or Federated Church associations. But they can hardly be considered more than kind gestures. Don’t these very “federated” churches still maintain missionaries to convert the “heathen Moor”?
And again Bahá’u’lláh guides us unerringly to the Truth. Independent investigation is our basic principle. Let us apply it.
Search the Old Testament. Search it from the First Book of Moses to Chapter 4, Verse 6 of
the Book of Malachi. Not a
single instance can you find where we are commanded to worship Moses. It is to God that we are told to turn. It is God Whom we are to worship.
Now let us search the New Testament. Again we fail to find any command to worship anyone but God. J esus left no doubt. We were to turn to God. Of Himself, Jesus assured us, He could do nothing; the power was from the Father. Again it is God Whom we are to worship, obey, serve.
How many Gods are there? Is the God Whom Moses commanded His followers to worship and obey different from the God Whom Jesus commanded His followers to worship and obey? Since there is but one God how can there be more than one religion?
We have referred to missionaries travelling forth to convert the “heathen Moor” to Christianity. These sincere souls do not acquaint themselves with the teachings of Muhammad. It is too bad that they do not know of His clear and unequivocal statements concerning the station of Jesus and of Moses. J ust as Jesus upheld and promulgated the teachings of Moses, so Muham 263
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rm _,
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mad upheld and promulgated the teachings of both Moses and Jesus. (See Chapter 3 of the Qur’án as translated by George Sale.) And- just as Moses and Jesus had done before Him, so Muhammad commanded His followers to turn to God. Once again it is God Whom we are to worship, obey, serve. And it is the same God.
Despite this crystal clear fact, inescapable to any sincere seeker who will read the teachings of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, we still continue to speak of and study “Comparative Religions” —when the simple fact is that we should speak of Progressive Religion.
How we came into such confused thinking is not important. How can we untangle our confusion? Possibly if we review our mental wanderings we can reorient ourselves.
As finite creatures, creations of the Infinite, we are incapable of knowing, comprehending, encompassing the Infinite—God. We can know and recognize His attributes, and it is these lifegiving, soul-sustaining attributes that suggest a helpful symbol to represent God in our finite and limited minds. Let us then adopt the sun as a symbol for God. Just as physical existence is unthinkable without the life WORLD ORDER
giving rays of the sun, so is spir: itual existence impossible with out the soul-sustaining Word of God.
The eastern horizon is brightening with its promise of the rising Sun (God). Before the East Window we behold a harmonious group of devout souls, united in their recognition of the Sun as the source of all good. The Sun rises, all are gathered before the East Window, their faces turned in adoration to the Sun.
The Sun mounts into the skies and s00n is seen to shine through the South Window. Then a truly amazing phenomenon is beheld. The same devout souls who were harmoniously united in their recognition of the Sun (God) as the source of all good when it shone through the East Window now rush to the South Window and not only seek to draw down the blind, but actually attack those gathered there with faces turned to the Sun.
The cause of this strange conduct? Someone had labelled the East Window “Moses” and the South Window “Jesus.” The devout had become confused. Forgetting that it is the Sun, that it is God, that is the source of all good, they had begun to worship
the “Window” through which it shone.
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By this time the Sun was shining through the West Window. Someone had labelled that “Muhammad” and the “South Window” worshippers rushed forth to fight the wars of the Crusades to exterminate the “heathen Moors.” One Sun progressively shining through successive “Windows” and yet we have three hostile groups each insisting on worshipping the “Window” through which they first beheld the Sun. The same situation applies to the other great divinely revealed religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, etc.
Into this confused and discordant situation the Bahá’í steps with outstretched arms and a warm-hearted welcome to all his brother worshippers, with the news that the Sun has again risen and that “all the horizons are luminous.” Gladly he joins his
Jewish brother in turning to God as He shines through the “Win dow” labelled Moses. Gladly he joins his Christian brother in
turning to God as He shines
through the “Window” labelled Jesus. Gladly he joins his Muhammadan brother in turning to God as He shines through the “Window” labelled Muhammad. To all of them he brings the joy 265
ous news that once again the Sun is shining—this time through the twin “Windows", labelled the Bab and Bahá’u’lláh (the Glory of God), and this time shining in its zenith of splendor.
As Shoghi Effendi, first Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, has stated: “The Bahá’í Revelation, claiming as it does to be the culmination of a prophetic cycle and the fulfillment of the promise of all ages, does not attempt, under any circumstances, to invalidate those first and everlasting principles that animate and underlie the Religions that have preceded it. The Cod-given authority, vested in each one of them, it admits and establishes as its firmest and ultimate basis.”
A scant 455 years ago it was worth your life to question the flatness of the world. To even suggest that the world might be round was to invite not only ridicule but even cruel persecution. Wasn’t the world just as round in 1492 as it is today? It is we who have lost our “flat-world” concept. Today we know that the world is round. There is but one religion. Let us make sure that we lose our “flat-world” concept of comparative, conflicting religions.
New Lights in Architecture
—— gclibria/
NYONE who has traveled
even a little by airplane, must have been impressed by the vastness of the territory which is presented to the eye and the almost limitless spaces which appear to stretch to the very edge of the world. Tremendous height gives us a large and a far view which those who walk or ride the earth-ways can never approach. Just as this is true of physical sight, it also holds good for the mental and spiritual scope of those who move in higher levels of consciousness, especially of those who possess prophetic vision. A good many years ago, When no one had heard of the atomic bomb or jet-propelled aircraft, a great man came to the United States and traveled from coast to coast. He said, “This is a new cycle of human power. All the horizons of the world are luminous.” In those days in 1912 the nations weren’t thinking in terms of the United Nations and were living more or less complacently in a state of armed “peace” which He said was like an arsenal which only needed a match in the Balkans to set it ofi. Nevertheless, He, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, saw the lights of
unity already appearing on the horizons of the world, and He gave the promise that one by one they would shed their radiance abroad so that all might see.
For a long time I have felt that one of the most interesting things in life is to watch the “horizons” growing more and more luminous; to catch the gleam of those lights of unity on all the physical, mental and spiritual substance of our existence. Wherever you look or listen to day, if you are awake and
aware, you will perceive the glow or the sparkle of one or more of the lights, and it will be your privilege to feel the exhilaration of the discoverer in Darien glimpsing the sunlight on the pristine Pacific sea. I’ve even maintained that whatever work one enters nowadays, he will inevitably feel the pulsation of that radiance which is steadily mounting up from the horizons to the very zenith. Recently I began a new job in a library of Architecture and F ine Arts. My first assignment was the cataloging of photographs of new South American buildings, and scanning the pages of many magazines, I saw the old familiar
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NEW LIGHTS
“1i hts” be in to twinkle a ain _ g g. g In a new settmg!
Draw up your chair and look over my shoulder at some of these new buildings in sunny Brazil. It’s a great, vast, new, young country, larger than the U. S. There are various races there, and they live in harmony. Some authorities predict that there, rather than in the United States is the soil from which the future cosmic race will spring. Down there, ‘under the Line’, they are building big, new cities. Where a generation or so ago there were nothing but empty plains and valleys, there have arisen, Aladdin-like, the homes and work-shops of populations of 200,000 people. And they are not building according to the old outworn models, which expressed the thinking and motives of a defunct culture. These will be new cities, they say, where our people can live in light and freedom and happiness, away from the darkness and congestion and unhygienic conditions of the old, over-populated centers. They come from all _over Brazil and elsewhere. They no longer speak of being “Cariocas” (from Rio), or “Paulistas” ( from Sao Paulo), or “Bahistas” (from Bahia); they are Brazilians now, and so the new cityplanning projects like the one in
267
Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon) are exercising a great influence for unity in this vast virgin territory. The government is interested in fostering young talent; it sponsors architectural competitions, in which anyone may enter, regardless of race or nation, and the rewards are for merit. It is recounted that recently the winner of a first-prize in such a contest felt that the second-prize award was more deserving than his own. So he offered to share the honors, and the two contestants cooperated on the project, to the benefit of all concerned!
These new structures express in a remarkable way, a characteristically modern and Latin spirit, especially that of Brazil. They are usually white, open, adapted to the landscape and climate. Sometimes whole sides, even of high, semi-skyscrapers, are of glass; or on the sunny north exposure are equipped with louvers which, by simple hand-manipulation, provide light or shade as needed, allowing air and light, but not direct sunlight, to enter. The whole impression given by the new architecture is of freedom, air, lightness (even though most of the construction is of concrete) and light. And although some of the buildings have considerable
n;- :3«» r'" “
{268
height, one senses a closeness to nature, or the elements of nature. Architecture is the mother of the arts, say the Brazilian architects. We will express in visible form our dreams and hopes and convictions, and in time there will appear the more abstract arts like music and literature. Those who are in a position to know say that in Brazil is appearing a renaissance of architecture whose influence will be widespread, inspiring others to look for fresh and unjaded modes of expression.
The majority of the people of the world, as yet not cognizant of the advent or of the meaning of a divine Revelation, would probably assert that these (listinctive tendencies in architecture are the birth of something new. But the Bahá’ís explain that they are not a cause, but a result. In the architecture of the Bahá’í Temple of Light in Wilmette are expressed directly and with conscious purpose the principles of
WORLD ORDER
unity which are reflected unconsciously and indirectly in the best of modern building.
Under the Bahá’í concept of civilization, any true renaissance of the arts must stem from a veritable rebirth in the spirit of man which always takes place from the impact of a new universal revelation of truth. The new architecture horn in the friendly clime of the south; these structures whose “frozen music” sings of light and sun and air, of joy and beauty, of nature and man’s adaptation of nature; these voices of a new life-motivation, orientation and expression: all are notes of an everswelling diapason of light against an auroral sky. Let us build cities that will not only provide fit housing for the body of man, but also will express the true spirit of his humanity and offer a worthy environment for the expansion and cultivation of his soul.
F. H.
JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
The pcssessors of justice and equity occupy the highest station and loftiest rank: the lights of righteousness and piety radiate and shine from such souls. It is hoped that nations and countries may not be deprived of the
lights of these two orbs.
’
Bahá’u’lláh
§ 2 P,“ i. ,,‘
Bahá’í HOUSE OF WORSHIP Exterior Ornamentation and Steps Completed in 1943
'5 T 3.93: 63. A Her Co. ‘ ‘ V ch Sarvncegn nj-fiism Ire ' <
‘ BAHA’I’ HOUSE OF WORSHIP Unfinished Interior as Photographed at Completion of Superstructure in 1931
A’i HOUSE OF WORSHIP
BAH
Artist’s Renderin
gn. View of
g of Interior Desi
Domed Auditorium
g Rams” 1m,
"5. vaxuml.
BAH.“ HOUSE OF WORSHIP Artist's Rendering of Interior Design View of One of Nine Arched Alcoves Opening into Auditorium
[Page 273]
Perilous Peace
FLOYD H. MUNSON
TODAY we rejoice in Peace. After long years of bitter
warfare between nations peace has been declared, but it is evident to the discerning that so long as there is prejudice, racial, religious, and political, so long as we have social and economic barriers, so long as we refuse to acknowledge one sovereign God, the earth a one country and mankind as its citizens, —peace is only an illusion.
This is a perilous peace, for it is predicated upon the assumption that the coalition of nations which came into being for the prosecution of the war against a common enemy would, when victory was won, continue in time of peace. History has in the past shown that this fellowship and interdependence ceases when the common need disappears. Thus this unity in time of war is expediency, not a fellowship based upon moral duty and true regard for justice.
Today, since the discovery of atomic energy, it is being stated with recurrent insistence that civilization cannot survive another war. This is a stark and terrifying truth, but this fear alone is no prevention. Men will go on taking the risk when hat reds and selfishness rule the hearts. Intensive research is to be expected on the part of nations excluded from the secret, accompanied by fear and by corroding resentment and distrust of those who possess it. The issue is clear: either we have one world obeying the law of cooperation, based upon the welfare and service of humanity, the law of God in this new day, or we take the law of the jungle—the survival of the fittest—and go down in the chaos, the hell of lower natures. Divine education alone, Divine Power alone, can change men’s hearts, can replace tyranny, egoism and aggression with the qualities of mercy, justice and fellowship. Until this is done there is no peace.
In all ages the Prophets of God have foretold the coming of an era of peace on earth—“on earth as it is in Heaven.” Followers of Jesus Christ were expressly enjoined to make the call to God for peace and for the establishment of His Kingdom. This injunction was not only a prayer but a prophecy. How, in the face of present desolation, can this be? Jesus was inspired by the Creator to proclaim the laws of relationship between
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274
men,—“Love one another,” he admonished. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Let me stress this important point. The mission of Jesus Christ was for the purpose of perfecting souls, to enable them to express divine qualities, His appeal'was to the individual, to the “I consciousness.” His statement, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s,” was clear proof that He (Jesus) brought no laws concerning actions of states or nations, that He brought only the laws governing actions of individual man, the law of love. Thus a duality was born; secular and religious power. In time of war secular and Christian religious authority diverge in principle. Religious teachers of our time are at a loss as to how they can reconcile these differences. Some preach pacifism with sincere belief that in doing so they are abiding by the laws enunciated by Christ, others conform to secular mandates because it is popular and expedient, again some agree because the Welfare of the nation and humanity is at stake and a higher law (justice) supercedes the precept of the Master Jesus, to “turn the other cheek.” Thus we have no Divine testimony from the founder of
WORLD ORDER
Christianity regarding the relationship of nations or groups, no inculcation of a world “we consciousness,” on an intemational scale.
However, we cannot say that the mission of Jesus was a failure, rather was it a part of the evolutionary process, a prescribed course in the school of preparation, as were the words of all the Divine Educators of mankind, those Holy Manifestations of God who appeared in different cycles down through the ages.
Abraham was sent to establish the family unit. In His Dispensation mankind thought in terms of family—the smallest expression of the “we consciousness”an integrated whole, as each member’s concern was for the welfare of the whole rather than for the salvation of self.
Moses, the “Voice of God,” the “Interlocutor”, established tribal consciousness which exists even to this day, bringing tribal laws to suit the needs of those primitive times,——1aws of worship, dietary laws that many still cling to today although Prophets have come since then bringing new laws and abrogating many which are no longer necessary.
The coming of each Prophet is a harbinger of general ad‘ vancement for the children of
[Page 275]
PERILOUS PEACE
God, a period of enlightenment, of prosperity and of spiritual unfoldment. The Prophet is the Seed-man of a new cycle, a beginning of a new world. With His announcement comes an outpouring of grace from the source of all bounty, all knowledge, all perfections, God. With this influx of spiritual attributes released by the Divine Mediator, the Fountainhead, the Holy Prophet, which, in the course of time, is out~pictured in the objective world, the scope of man’s knowledge expands with powers of reason finding a new borderline between the world of the known and the unknown, the infinite. This is a never-ending process of attainment, of approaching the unapproachable, finite man expanding in consciousness
by the grace of the out-pouring of Him who is the “Giver of all gifts.”
Muhammad came to establish nationhood and the wild Arabic tribes became united.
Baahdéd became the seat of
culture; sciences and arts flourished; a new civilization was born with the arising of this Sun of Truth, this “Messenger of God.” Here we have a broadening of the “we consciousness” with secular and religious authority unified, a reiteration of the one transcendant God, the
275
Semitic concept of God declared by every Prophet: that man, being His creation, is not a partner or a counselor, but that God, the Quintessence of Power, is alone, preeminent in the most Holy Spot, far above the comprehension of His creatures. Muhammad declared Himself to be the Seal of the Prophets and this significant disclosure revealed that the cycles of prophecy had ended.
Always, in these prophecies, there has been the light of promise to hearten man in his age-old struggle, always the promise of a divine heritage upon his maturity. This promise was the Great Day when the Lord God Himself would be manifest in all His glory. Prophets in all ages told of its coming,——~the judgment day, the time of fulfillment, the consummation of the ages, when a new spirit would be breathed into all creation. The age when all mankind would be educated, when wars and disputes, malignity and suffering would cease, when divine virtues would be manifest in all people and all would come together in perfect unity beneath the canopy of God’s sheltering grace.
This was to be the Day of the Father, when the blueprint of His purpose and invincible will would be revealed. Muhammad
[Page 276]
rngamssdy r.
, ,?§..._A‘r"*r
27.6 WORLD ORDER
told of the great dreadful day, the day of the “third woe”, woe for the sinners, woe for the ignorant, and uttered warnings for those who were heedless. He gave the place of the arising of this Sun of Reality, the exact number of lunar years when the Glory of God would be manifest in human form. Daniel and John told in veiled language the exact number of years before the Father would come and issue all the laws and teachings which are the spirit of the world of humanity and its eternal life. This would be the Day of Salvation, the Day of a New Order, when a new world would replace the old, when Man’s institutions would crumble and the great drama of the ages would move into the last cataclysmic act, an ominous day, one of social and economic upheavals, the time of movements to the left, when religions would die to be born again with such scope and power as never was witnessed in all of history.
This is the day of the bankruptcy of a material civilization, the day in which the appointed hour strikes, when there shall suddenly appear “that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake.” This is the Cosmic Day, when from empyrean
heights comes the mighty edict, “Behold! I make all things new.”
And on this Day, no ruler, however strong, no economist, however distinguished, can provide the support for the crumbling edifice of this despairing so‘ ciety. The guiding principles of the New World Order, the Divine Plan of the Supreme Architect in this greatest of days, has been revealed in clear, unequivocal language, and by His inflexible will alone will the cyclopean task of regeneration transpire.
As evidence of the uniqueness of this great cycle, as added
significance of the tremendous
power and authority with which
it is invested, the Herald or Precursor, who arose in Persia in
the year 1844, exercised the
rights and prerogatives of independent Prophethood. The Báb,
or Cate (as He was called) was
divinely appointed to the twofold station of inauguratirg a
separate religious dispensation
and at the same time preparing
the way for the coming of “Him
whom God would make manifest.” The meteor-like ascendancy and decline of His mission
supply n0 criterion in evaluating the potency of His message.
Nine climactic years, pregnant
with meaningful events, tumult
and stirring heroism, closing
with His dramatic martyrdom,
were the opening act of this awe
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PERILOUS PEACE
inspiring drama. At some other time in history the Glory and Power manifested by the Bib would have been world-shaking, yet in this Greatest of Days He was to be followed by the wondrous Revelator, the most shining Light, Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’u’lláh, central Sun of all the Suns, the eflulgence of Jesus, Sinaic glory of Moses, proffers on this matchless Day the chalice of living waters, “proclaiming to the sincere ones the glad tidings of the nearness of God, calling the believers in Divine Unity to the court of the Presence of the Generous One.” In words of unsurpassed beauty the Pen of Glory, Bahá’u’lláh, writes: “He that was hidden from the eyes of men is revealed, girded with sovereignty and power! This is the Paradise, the rustling of whose leaves proclaims: ‘O ye that inhabit the heavens and the earth! There hath appeared what hath never previously appeared. He Who, from everlasting, had concealed His Face from the sight of creation is now come! . . . Let His love be a storehouse of treasure for your souls, On the Day when naught else but Him shall profit you, the Day when
277
every pillar shall tremble, when the very skins of men shall creep, when all eyes shall stare up with terror. Say: O people! F ear ye God, and turn not away disdainfully from His Revelation. Fall prostrate on your faces before God, and celebrate His praise in the daytime and in the night season.”
How majestic, how vivifying the words of Bahá’u’lláh! His great knowledge, His life-giving spirit, His laws, are the healing medicine of the Divine Physician.
The principle of the Oneness of Mankind, the center around which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve, is no mere expression of emotionalism or pious hope. Its implications are far deeper, for He expresses the immutable will of God in this consummation of human evolution. His is a Divine Economy, a world-wide administrative order, a message bringing new hope and guidance to the hearts of men in these times of peril. The revelation of Bahá’u’lláh signalizes the emergence of a world community, the unity of the human race and the advent of the Most Great Peace.
[Page 278]
Shaykh Ahmad: Herald of the Dawn
ALICE BACON
E POSSESSED a certain di vine ruthlessness, and an amazing detachment from the things of this world. But then, Shaylfi1 Ahmad also possessed a knowledge that no one else On earth at that time could claim. He knew of God’s fast approaching Revelation.* There was no time to lose. He was destined to demonstrate that nothing short of a new and independent revelation from God could restore the purity of the decadent Islamic Faith. The Promised One was coming! The people must be prepared!
For a long time, shaylfii Ahmad, born in the town of Ahsé, had perceived the ignorance and fanaticism into which the Faith of Muhammad had fallen. His soul was shaken when he observed those who professed the Faith of Islam shattering its unity. Not reform, he thought, but only the coming of Him, long awaited, could regenerate such a perverse people.
For forty years $_llaylgh
‘The Islamic prophecies foretold the advent of two almost simultaneous Revelators, Who would usher in the great Day of Peace. The firSt of these, Bahá’í’s believe. was the Báb Who announced His Mission in 1844; the second was Bahá’u’lláh, Who first promulgated His Faith in 1863.
Ahmad lived a normal life with his family and kindred on the island of Bahrayn, to the south of the Persian Gulf. Then he dreamed a dream. His devoted disciple, Siyyid Káẓim, later wrote it down for us to read in Nabil’s Narrative. Bidden by God to unravel the mysteries of Islamic scripture, which foreshadowed the advent of the new Manifestation of God, he awoke radiating the light of divine contemplation. His soul so overflowed that he forgot to eat. His life with his family was ended. With the knowledge of God’s fast approaching Revelation raging in him, he “detached himself from all save God” and forthwith left his home and all
his earthly possessions, and set out for Najaf and Karbila.
With unerring vision he trav. eled to this seat of Muhammadan learning. To the western mind, the next few sentences of Nahil’s Narrative are astonishing. He tells us that Shaylsh Ahmad spent a “few years in acquiring familiarity with the prevailing thoughts and standards current among the learned men of Islam.” What patience he exhibited! But his inner secret shed an outer lustre that drew
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SHAYKH AHMAD
an ever increasing number of inquirers to him. What diligence he showed in spite of the divine sciences poured out upon him by God, in acquiring at the age of forty, the current thoughts of men, that he might be better able to teach them from their station and understanding! This was the beginning of his real career as the first “star of Divine Guidance” in this, our new age.
In Karbila he came to be recognized as one of the authorized expounders of the Islamic Holy Writ; was declared a Muitahid (a Muhammadan doctor of law) and soon obtained an ascendancy over the rest of his colleagues. He became famous. All honors were lavished upon him, but he despised the honors of the world, regarding his acquired knowledge as nothing compared to the inner secrets which God had divulged to him.
He emphatically asserted the inevitableness of the promised Dispensation. Later in the very year the Báb was born, Shaylg_h Ahmad lost his own son whose name was Sllaylfii ‘Ali. The Godinspired preparation for his future mission is shown in these words to his disciples who mourned his loss: “Grieve not, O my friends, for I have offered up my son, my own ‘Ali, as a sacrifice for the ‘Ali whose ad 279
vent we all await. To this end have I reared and prepared him.”
He was careful in choosing those to whom he told his whole secret. ‘Abdu’l Vahhab, a mod‘ est and illiterate man was one of his favored disciples, who 1ater retired from the society of men, but chose, in his turn, one intimate friend to whom he entrusted the knowledge given him by Shaylgh Ahmad. This was Haji Hasan who lived in Nayin. Haji Hasan once told Mirza Mahmfid: “Ere long will Persia be made the shrine round which will circle the peoples of the earth.” One morning, Mirzá Mahmfid found Haji Hasan fallen upon his face at the hour of daWn, devoutly exclaiming “God Is Most Great!” The youthful Mahmfid was still more astonished when Haii Hasan turned to him and with radiant countenance said: “That which I have been announcing to you is now revealed. At this very hour the light of the Promised One has broken and is shedding illumination upon the world. 0 Mahmfid, verily I say, you shall live to behold that Day of Days.” Later Mahmiid heard the call of the Bah in Shiréz ad was perplexed that the date did not cor respond with the day on which he had heard Hájí Hasan make
280
his prophecy. There was two years difference. Long after, when he was more than ninety years old, he met a believer who announced the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad, and who shared some of the Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh with him. He asked the date of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh; immediately remembered the words of Haji Hasan and fell prostrate on the ground exclaiming: “Glorified art Thou, O my God, for having enabled me to attain unto this promised Day. If now I he called to Thee, I die content and assured.” That very year Mahmfid yielded his radiant soul to God. Thus was the mystery with which Shayldi Ahmad fired the souls of his disciples with the promises he gave them; all of which were eventually fulfilled.
Reminiscent in its simplicity and spiritual savor of the stories of the shepherds at the birth of Christ is another account concerning Shaylfi1 Ahmad. “He became increasingly conscious that the birth of the Promised One was not far distant. From the direction of Nfir, he was able to perceive the first glimmerings that heralded the dawn of the promised Dispensation . . . In those days there was born a Child in an ancient and noble family of Nfir, whose father was
WORLD ORDER
Mirzá ‘Abbés, better known as Mirza Buzurg, a favored minister of the Crown. That Child was Bahá’u’lláh. At the hour of dawn . . the world, unaware of its significance, witnessed the birth of Him Who was destined to confer upon it such incalculable blessings. shaylgh Ahmad, who recognized in its full measure the meaning of this auspicious event, yearned to spend the remaining days of his life near this new-born King. But this was not to be. He felt compelled to submit to God’s irrevocable decree, and his yearning unsatisfied, turned his face away from the city of his Beloved, and proceeded to Kirmanshéh.
But that was later. Now, in Karbila, Shalgh Ahmad grew restless. Though he achieved his purpose, becoming renowned for his explanations concerning the Promised One, he felt a great yearning to get to Persia where he knew the Promised One would soon be born. His fame had spread so that in 1889 an article appeared in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society explaining his scientific views on the future life and the sciences and his explanations of the beliefs concerning the resurrection of the body and the NightAscent of the Prophet to Heaven.
He concealed his purpose
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SHAYKH AHMAD
from his friends in Karbilá. Ostensihly he went to visit the shrine of the Imam Ridé in Mashhad. He arrived at Shiréz by way of the Persian Gulf and lavished such praise upon the city that his hearers (only too familiar with its mediocrity) were astonished. “Wonder not,” he said, “for ere long the secret of my words will be made manifest to you. Among you there shall be a number who will live to behold the glory of a Day which the prophets of old have yearned to witness.”
He went to Yazd from Shíráz where he continued to disseminate “such truths as he felt urged to reveal.” The ‘Ulamás of Yazd received him with the greatest reverence. All came to see him. “It was well knOWn,” writes historian Nicolas, “that he was the most learned among the most learned.”
Meanwhile he was writing prolifically. Nicolas lists 96 volumes as the literary output of this writer. Some of the best known include commentaries on dreams, on the joys and pains of the future life, on resurrection and answers to Slifis on the knowledge of the soul. He acquired such fame that the ruler of Persia, Fath-‘Ali Shéh, addressed a written message to him from Tihran, calling upon him
to explain specific questions that the leading ‘Ulamás of his whole realm had been unable to unfold. He readily answered and the Shéh was so pleased that he extended him an invitation to visit his court.
It is astonishing that the imperial command of an absolute monarch like the Sháh was calmly refused. Shaykh Ahmad “ventured to hope” that the Shah would allow him to fulfill his vow to visit the shrine of the Imam Ridé in Mashhad. “Later on, God willing, it is my hope and purpose to avail myself of the honor which your Imperial Majesty has deigned to COnfer upon me.” The §héh wrote again, telling him that it was his duty, his, the King’s, to go out of his way to come to Yazd to see the illustrious and holy person whose feet were a blessing to the province upon whose soil they had trodden, but because of political reasons of high importance, he could not, at this moment leave the capital. Besides, he said, it was necessary in case of change of residence to bring a force of at least 10,000 men, and as the town of Yazd Was too small to support such a large population, the arrival of so many troops would most certainly cause a famine. “You would not wish such a calamity
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rwmm W
282
to occur, I am quite certain, and I think therefore that, although I am of very small importance compared to you, you will consent, nevertheless to come to me.” This message from King to subject is further elucidated by Nicolas: “The Shah felt his good will and respect for the Shaylfii grow increasingly from day to day. He felt obliged to obey him, and would have considered it an act of blasphemy to oppose him. At that time a succession of earthquakes occurred in Rayy, and many Were destroyed. The shéh had a dream in which it was revealed that if shaylfii Ahmad had not been there, the entire citv would have been destroyed. He awakened terrified and his faith in the shaylgh grew apace.”
As s_liaylil Ahmad prepared to leave Yazd, Siyyid Káẓim, the other “twin luminary of Divine Guidance” set out from his native province to visit him. With unerring vision Shaylfii Ahmad recognized this remarkable man. “How long and how eagerly I have waited for you to come and deliver me from the arrogance of this perverse people!” Siyyid Kazim, whose spiritual insight and remarkable intellectual powers were well known, who had committed to memory the whole of the Qur’án at the age of
WORLD ORDER
eleven years, soon attained to the station for which $_haylsh Ahmad knew he was fitted. He told his disciples to henceforth turn to Siyyid Káẓim. As usual, such marks of honor kindled envy in the hearts of other prominent disciples, but so compelling was Siyyid Káẓim’s dignity and knowledge that they were awed and compelled to submit. shaylfil Ahmad then left for Khurasén.
He felt so draWn to Nfir as the time of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh drew near that he could no longer remain in K_hurésén, so accompanied by Siyyid Kazim and a number of other
disciples he left for Ṭihrán. The Shah commanded all the officials
of Tihran to go out to meet him and extend a welcome on his behalf. All were royally entertained by the Shéh, who visited shaylgh Ahmad in person and declared him to be “the glory of his nation and an ornament to his people.”
The Shah’s eldest son, Privce Muhammad-‘Ali-Mirzá, governor of Kirménshéh had already begged permission of his Imperial Majesty to entertain shaylgh Ahmad, and the entire town was sent out to meet him at a long distance from the city.
Shaylfi1 Ahmad selected a few
receptive souls in Kirménshéh
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SHAYKH AHMAD
and devoted special attention to them. People thronged to his house to attend his lectures. Yet few were able to appreciate the significaHCe of them. Siyyid Káẓim alone understood his meaning, and Shaylgh Ahmad continued to prepare him to carry on his work.
Prince Muhammad-‘Ali Mirzá remained ardently devoted to Shaylfil Ahmad until his death, but when the shaylgh was freed from his urgent invitation to remain in Kirménshéh he once again transferred his residence to Karbilá.
There a host of ‘Ulamas and Mujtahids came to see him, but many were envious of his high reputation and tried to undermine his position. This proved fruitless, he was so highly regarded.
Before he left Karbilá he instructed Siyyid Káẓim to continue to seek those of receptive hearts. Siyyid Káẓim pleaded with S_l_iayk_h Ahmad to accompany him as far as Najaf, but the shaylgh, still energized with the fire of God’s promises which burned so brightly in his now aged human frame, refused. “You have no time to lose,” he warned Siyyid Káẓim. “The Hour is drawing nigh, the Hour I have besought God to spare me from witnessing, for
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the earthquake of the Last Hour will be tremendous. You should pray to God to be spared the overpowering trials of that Day, for neither of us is capable of withstanding its sweeping force. Others, of greater endurance and power have been destined to bear this stupendous weight.” He urged him to valiantly face the trials that would afflict him.
Siyyid Káẓim devoted himself to the work with such vigor that it inflamed the animosity of the ignorant. “For forty years,” they clamored, “we have suffered the pretentious teachings of Shaykh Ahmad to be spread. We can no longer tolerate similar pretensions on the part of his successor, who rejects the belief in the resurrection of the body, who repudiates the literal interpretation of the ‘Ascent’ (of Muhammad to Heaven) and who regards the signs of the coming Day as allegorical.” Finally Siyyid Kazim wrote to Shaylii Ahmad inquiring how long he was destined to submit to unrelenting fanaticism, and prayed to be enlightened regarding the time when the Promised One would be made manifest. shaylfil Ahmad replied: “Be assured of the grace of your God. Be not grieved at their doings. The mystery of this Cause must needs be made manifest, and the
“"7“"1
[Page 284]
secret of this Message must
needs be divulged. I can say no
more. Ask me not of things
which if revealed unto you,
might only pain you.”
The Báb Himself refers to this letter to Siyyid Kazim: “The words of s_llaylgh Ahmad are well known. They contain numerous allusions to the subject of the Manifestation. That which you have heard so often yourself from Siyyid Kazim, is not that an explanation? Did he not reiterate every minute: ‘You do not wish, then, that I should go away so that God may appear?’” Shaylgh Ahmad had said to some disciples on the way to Mecca: “Pray that you may not be present at the beginning of the Manifestation and of the Return, as there will be many civil wars. If any one of you should still be living at that time he shall see strange things between the years sixty and
WORLD ORDER
sixty-seven. And what strange thing can he more strange than the very Being of the Manifettation? You will be there and you will witness another event; that is to say, God in order to bring about the victory of the Manifestation, will raise up a Being who will speak his own thoughts without ever having been instructed by anyone.”
The letter to Siyyid Kazim from s_liaylfil Ahmad was his last one. “Eventually that shining light was summoned to shed its radiance upon the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Thither he journeyed, there he pursued with unstinted devotion his labors and there he was laid to rest beneath the shadow of the Prophet’s sepulchre.” This was in the cemetery Baqi in Medina.
Thus closed the first chapter
in the history of the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh.
THE HIGHEST VIRTUES
The virtues and attributes pertaining unto God are all evident and manifest, and have been mentioned and described in all the heavenly Books. Among them are trustworthiness, truthfulness, purity of heart while communing with God, forbearance, resignation to whatever the Almighty hath decreed, contentment with the things His Will hath provided, patience nay thankfulness in the midst of tribulation, and complete reliance, in all circumstances upon Him. These rank, according to the estimate of God, among the Highest and most laudable of all acts. All other acts are, and will ever remain, secondary and subordinate unto them. . .
~BAHA’U’LLKH.
[Page 285]
Highlights of the Newer Testament
A Compilation from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh MARION C. LIPPITT
Part I.
THIS DAY ERILY I say, this is the Day
in which mankind can . . . hear the Voice of the promised One . . . It behoveth every man to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of His Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and the tokens of His glory.
- * *
Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness.
- * :1:
The time fore-ordained unto the peoples of the earth is now come . . . Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which hath been revealed in the Books of God . . . , and let your ears be attentive unto His Word, that ye may, by His grace and metcy, drink your fill from the crystal waters of constancy, and become as steadfast and immovable as the mountain in His Cause.
- * *
Bcstir yourselves, O people,
in anticipation of the days of Divine justice, for the promised hour is now come. Beware lest ye fail to apprehend its import and be accounted among the erring.
The whole human race hath longed for this Day, that perchance it may fulfil that which well beseemeth its station, and is worthy of its destiny. Blessed is the man whom the affairs of the world have failed to deter from recognizing Him Who is the Lord of all things.
So blind hath become the human heart that neither the disruption of the city, nor the reduction of the mountain into dust, nor the cleaving of the earth can shake off its torpor . . . all, except such as God was pleased to guide, are bewildered in the drunkenness of their heedlessness!
- * *
Witness how the world is being afflicted with a fresh calamity every day. Its tribulation is continually deepening . . . The dust of sedition hath clouded the hearts of men, and blinded
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their eyes. Erelong, they will perceive the consequences of what their hands have wrought . . . Thus warneth you He Who is the All-Informed, as hidden by One Who is the Most Powerful, the Almighty.
- * >1:
O Son of Being! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, 0
servant!
- >3: :1:
KNOWING GOD
Know thou of a certainty that the Unseen can in no wise incarnate His Essence and reveal it unto men. He is, and hath ever been immensely exalted beyond all that can be either recounted or perceived . . . He Who is everlastingly hidden from the eyes of men can never be known except through His Manifestation . . .
The door of the knowledge of the Ancient Being hath ever been, and will continue forever to be, closed in the face of men . . . As a token of His mercy, however, and as a proof of His
WORLD ORDER
loving-kindness, He hath manifested unto men the Day Stars of His divine guidance . . . and hath ordained the knowledge of these sanctified Beings to be identical With the knowledge of His own Self . . . Every one of them is the Way of God that connecteth this world with the realms above . . . They are the Manifestations of God amidst
men.
- * *
The Person of the Manifesta tion hath ever been the representative and mouthpiece of God.
The purpose of God in Great ing man hath been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his
Creator.
- 1: * =1:
0 son of man! Veiled . . . in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee . . . 0 son of the wondrous Vision! I have breathed within thee a breath of My own Spirit, that thou mayest be My lover. Why hast thou forsaken Me?
(To be continued)
WITH OUR READERS
OME of the letters that come into the World Order office are so interesting that we would like to share them with you. We only wish that we had room to print more of them.
A friend in Argentina congratulates the editors on the new format for the magazine and says, “It is a great improvement in appearance and interest, and also they have been turning out some wonderful articles. Although I get the numbers a little late, they are so welcome and so full of interest I always have to just stop whatever I’m doing and read them from cover to cover.” She says 'they hope to find time to translate some of the material for use in South America.
From Joseph Kuperberg in New York comes an unusual letter written him by a young man in Nigeria, West Africa, Thomas Beresford Macauley, who has fifteen men to study the Bahá’í Faith with him. Mr. Macauley evidently has heard of the Faith through correspondence with Mr. Kuperberg, and is studying with his friends from books
sent by the New York Bahá’ís.
Those who enjoyed the recent article on “The Nature of Divinity” by Duart Brown will be interested in the following explanation by the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, which was sent to us by Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick.
To an inquirer about the Bahai belief about God, Shoghi Effendi
wrote: “What is meant by a per sonal God, is a God who is conscious of His creation, Who has a mind, a will, a purpose, and not as many scientists and materialists believe, an unconscious and determined force operating in the universe. Such conception of the Divine Being, as the Supreme and everpresent Reality in the world, is not anthropomorphic, for it transcends all human limitations and forms, and does by no means attempt to define the Essence of Divinity which is obviously beyond human comprehension. To say that God is a personal Reality does not mean that He has physical form, or does in any way resemble a human bemg. To entertain such a belief would be sheer blasphemy.”
We welcome your manuscripts and letters like a long one sent by Mrs. Marion Lippitt, a Bahá’í teacher in Charleston, West Virginia. Mrs. Lippitt sent a compilation, “Highlights of the Newer Testament,” part of which we are using instead of “The Mature Man” this month. As well she sent a carefully worked out series of suggestions for articles for World Order. We are forced to abbreviate them somewhat for our columns, but hope they may suggest subject matter for some of our authors. She feels we should make more effort to reach the individual where his personal interests lie. Everyone is interested in understanding himself, and the Teachings abound in material for compilations of such subjects as: You are an evolving creature, You are an eter 287
288 WORLD ORDER
nal being, You are created in God’s image, Your relationship with God, Your relationship with the Word of God, etc.
.Mrs. Lippitt also suggests we offer self-improvement programs at the physical level, with articles on such things as health and sex with our spiritual angle added to scientific findings; at the mental level, with book reviews with the spiritual significance stressed and parallel excerpts from the Writings; at the spiritual level with suggested menu of reading for spiritual development. She would like to see outlines, charts, or articles that would help the reader see himself in God’s newly revealed plan.
Each individual has a desire to know God, and our magazine should help its readers to gain nearness to Him, Mrs. Lippitt continues. Beginning with Bible references we might challenge the reader to learn more of God. We might discuss such Biblical subjects as prophecies and Covenants giving additional enlightenment from Bahá’í sources. She also feels that readers would be interested in hearing the experiences of Bahá’ís who have had spiritual hunger satisfied, or in hearing the stories of the lives of great souls who loved Cod above all else. Perhaps another month we shall be able to give you more of Mrs. Lippitt’s suggestions.
- i H I
We ask pardon for two errors: Robert Montgomery Hooker author of “Nicaragua,” printed in Octo ber, is a Bahá’í; and A Traveler’s Narrative is not out of print.
The pictures of the drawings adopted by the National Spiritual Assembly for the interior ornamentation of the Temple will he of goat interest to those who have seen the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette. Since 1932, approximately 250,000 people from many nations and from all the continents have been guided through the building, and many have expressed a desire to see the completed Temple.
Gertrude Robinson, whose article, “A Gift to the World”, appears in this issue, lives in Circleville, Ohio. Some of her poems have appeared in the magazine. Horace Holley, the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, contributed the other article on the Temple.
Charles Krug’s “World Religion” came to us with this little note, “Uncomfortable conscience qualms bother me as I suddenly realize that some 5, 6, or even 7 years have slipped by since I last submitted an item for W orld Order. I’ll try to do better.” Other former contributors, please take notice. Mr. Krug is the chairman of the Regional Teaching Committee of New England.
Alice Bacon, whose Shaykh Ahmad article continues our Bahá’í heroes series, is the secretary of that same Regional Teaching Committee. Mrs. Bacon taught a very successful course on The DawnBreakcrs at Louhelen summer school several years ago.
F lora Hottes is contributing her first editorial this issue. It helps us to understand how the impulse which finds its direct expression in the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette reveals itself also in other parts of the world.
Bahá’í Literature
Books About the Faith Distributed by Bahá’í Publishing Committee 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Lllinois
Bahá’u’lláh AND THE NEW ERA
This work by the late J. E. Esslemont of Aberdeen, Scotland, has for more than twenty years been the most useful introductory book on the Bahá’í Revelation. Its successive chapters outline the history and teachings of the Faith, and show the significance of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l Baha in the New Era. Many translations have appeared in languages other than English.
THE PROMISE OF ALL AGES Dr. George Townshend of the Church of England has become known
as one of the most scholarly and appealing authors working on Bahá’í
material. This work has particular interest for seekers with Christian back ground. It develops the theme of Bahá’u’lláh as the “King of Glory” foretold by all the Prophets.
SECURITY FOR A FAILING WORLD
Prof. Stanwood Cobb, American educator, has successfully set himself to answer the question as to whether the intelligence of man is capable of creating a stable civilization—without a spiritual renaissance the present social order is doomed. It features the role of religion in the formation of civilization.
THIS EARTH ONE COUNTRY
The author, Emeric Sala of Montreal, is a business man with international experience. He approaches religion in terms of its new function as source of justice and describes clearly and forcefully the unique contribution being made by the Bahá’í Faith to the solution of the existing world problem.
THE RENEWAL OF CIVILIZATION
A new and -very useful introductory work of less than one hundred pages. The author, David Hofman of London, England, is concerned with the questions oppressing men today: what the future holds, what purpose there is in life, what value in striving, what good in civilization. His book of nine chapters will interest any person who has the courage to seek the true answer to the issues of our time.
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TRUTHS FOR A NEW DAY
promulgated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá throughout North America in 1912
T hese teachings were given by Bahá’u’lláh over seventy years ago and are to be
found in His published
writings of that time.
The oneness of mankind. Independent investigation of truth. The foundation of all religions is one. Religion must be the cause of unity.
Religion must be in accord with science and reason.
Equality between men and women. Prejudice of all kinds must be forgotten. Universal peace.
Universal education.
Spiritual solution of the economic problem. Universal language.
An international tribunal.
