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BAHAi
MAGAUNE
JANUARY, 1949
Business and Human Relations Richard Howell Nolen
Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Andrew Carnegie
The Highest Law Helen T. Inder‘ied
Children of the Sun
Mario Roderiguez C.
Design for Living
Marguerite True
A New Race of Men, Editorial
Gertrude K. Henning
The Challenge, A Story Karl Schueck
What Modern Man Must Know About Religion
A Compilation
With Our Readers
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. Editor: Garreta Busey. Managing Editor: Eleanor S. Hutchens. Associate Editors: Victor de Araujo,
Elsa Blakely, Robert Durr, Pearle Easterbrook, Gertrude Henning, Flora Emily Hottes, Mabel H. Paine.
Publication Office 110 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, ILL. C. R. Wood, Business Manager Printed in U.S.A.
Editorial Office Mrs. Eleanor S. Hutchens, 307 SOUTH PRAIRIE, CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS
JANUARY,‘1949, VOLUME XIV, NUMBER 10
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 Maguzine, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. Entered as second class mattexfi April l, 1940, at the post office at Wilmette, 111.. under the Act of March 3, 1879. Content copyrighted 1949 by
Bahá’í Publishing Committee. Title Registered at US. Patent Office.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS SHOULD BE REPORTED ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE
IN THIS century of ours, the
time of the maturity of mankind, a new conception of life is needed, one that will take into consideration all the range of diversity in the world and that will be able to unify the peoples of the earth. The Bahá’í conception of unity in diversity is a basic, real\ istic approach to the problem of world peace. It is the modern idea of unity that stresses not independence but interdependenca For has not Bahá’u’lláh taught
us: “Of one tree fife all ye the fruit and of one bough the leaves”?
It is a widespread conviction that only by securing understanding and love among the peoples of the earth shall we attain a lasting peace. But only the Bahá’í teachings can bring to our times a spiritual power that is capable of transmuting the conception of unity in diversity from idea into action.
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‘VflBLD [HIDE]!
The Bahá’í Magazine
VOLUME XIV
J ANUARY, 1949
NUMBER 10
Business and Human Relations
RICHARD HOWELL NOLEN
- USINESS today seems to be not so much a problem of finance, production, 01' facilities as it is a problem of human relations. This new comlition is due to the fact that the basis of Civilization has gradually changed during the past century from a competitive jungle environment of material limitation to a mop erative interdependent world with unlimited resources of power and production.
In nian’s past environment of nature, competition was the law of survival. Ideals for a perfect society were compromised under the overwhelming social pressure of ignorance, prejudice, and tradition. Like ten dogs fighting for one bone, individuals and groups were competing,r with each other for possession of the limited supply of goods that could be produced only hy manpower 01‘ horsepower.
Today, science has given us a totally new world. Creative chemistry, inventions, and new
machinery for production—plus the energy from gasoline, steam, electricity, and atomic powerhave now released man from the burden of a purely animal existence. Man no longer lives on the competitive plane of nature, but on the cooperative plane of human relations.
Whereas On the purely physical plane our problem was how to produce enough material necessities for survival, on the plane of human relations our problem is how to share with everybody the abundant good we can now produce. In today’s new age of science, cooperation is the law of survival!
Man’s increased understanding of Moral Law, together with the advancement of Science, has made this new age of Peace and Plenty both possible and practieahie. Survival and progress today depend upon our knowing and obeying the central Law of Human Relations—the law of balance, or equality of giving
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and receiving in every transaction.
We have, in the past, scientifically investigated the truths of chemistry, mechanics, metallurgy, electricity, and other physical sciences. These discoveries will have made possible an abundant life for all mankind only as We now impartially investigate and courageously practice the laws which govern human relations.
In the economic world, the expression of this principle of equal giving for all receiving goes beyond merely exchanging a fair day’s work for a fair wage ——or vice-versa.
The observance of this perfect Law means that each employee shall give a plus of himself in creative thinking and disciplined efficiency. It means that each worker shall voluntarily cooper ate in everything for the good of the whole.
On the part of management, obedience to this Law requires treating stockholders and employees as equals both in their necessity to production and in their right to share in the profits they create. Profit sharing is not only a specific justice that fulfills the law of balance in human relations; it is also the most practical evidence a business can give
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to show that it values human well-heing above money.
To see this picture more clearly, we might visualize each individual business as a bird. The left wing would be Labor, and the right wing would be Capital. Each wing is important and must cooperate with the other wing in order that the bird may fly with its intended efficiency. The body of the bird would he Management, whose function is to chart the course of flight, and to keep the two opposite wings united in achieving their common purpose. The function of Management is to be impartial, maintaining stability and effective coordination in the economic body of business as a whole.
A business internally united is better able to compete with other businesses, under the present world economic system. If in addition to this normal external competition, a business has to face the disruptive internal competition of Labor against Capital, that business Will either fail completely or else operate at far below its possible efficiency.
If the Labor wing folds up by
striking or otherwise refusing to
cooperate, the whole economic
bird goes into a tailspin. Likewise, if Capital draws in its wing
by refusing to invest money in
enterprise or to share the result
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BUSINESS
ing profit with its necessary counterpart, Labor—then the economic bird again loses peace and stability.
Yes, any business can produce more and better goods and services for people when it is internally united in a truly co-operative spirit, of which profit sharing is one of the main evidences.
But What about the customer . . . Where does he come in? Does this Law of Human Relations also apply to him? The answer to this is yes, decidedly! The members of a business must fulfill this law of equal interchange or justice With each other—and they must also fulfill the law in all transactions with their customers.
A. business cannot exist unless first of all there are some customers, and unless there is a needed product or service which that business is able to give.
The existence of customers depends primarily upon their ability to purchase the products of business. Profit sharing gradually expands the market so that more people can buy the goods and services we produce. Profit shared with the worker helps to keep business healthy and permanent, for the workers are the market! The relation of profit sharing to markets is thus clearly
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within the operation of the Law of Human Relations.
The economic body of mankind is a single, interdependent one—-—and the extensive circulation of money determines the robust health, permanent balance, and steady growth of our material civilization. To share the profit with all employees, and to patronize those businesses which do likewise, is to help support the very foundations of universal democracy and prosperity.
The Law of Human Relations in business not only includes profit sharing in order to create more customers; but, also includes a definite program of , product development and improvement so that the Company’s ability to he of more service to the Consumer constantly in‘ creases. 1
The Company will he in a most sound position when it gives the Customer constantly more value in product and service than it receives from him in terms of money. Such a policy guarantees that one shall receive a bonus of Goodwill in addition to the money that accompanies every sale. It is the possession of Goodwill that enables a company to operate on a sound and permanent basis.
Goodwill is earned by cheerfully giving more value for the same price, or the same value for
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a lower price. More value is made possible mainly by re‘ search and invention; lower price is made possible mainly by increased employee cooperation and efficiency.
The experience of most companies Which now practice it, seems to lend definite proof that maximum employee efficiency is best achieved under the conditions of balance created by a genuine 50-50 profit sharing policy that has its origin in the good spirit of love and unity.
The thorough application of these principles should result in a greater volume of production and sales, which in itself leads to still further reductions in price.
I have expressed the opinion that a profit sharing plan in its ideal application would mean sharing at least 50 per cent of the profits with employees. However, while profit sharing is definitely a law of the new economics for this age of human unity and cooperation, the application of this law is flexible.
The details of a profit sharing plan will probably vary according to individual circumstances. Type and age of business, and other conditions, will undoubtedly affect the details of such a plan.
The important thing is that Management have the spirit of
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sharing which seeks practical expression in deeds of generosity and justice. A youngr or seasonal business may have difficulty in sharing its profits at all, while an old established business with steady sales and gradual growth might desire to share even more than half of the profits with its loyal employees.
At his home in Lansing, I was recently discussing the application of moral law to economies with William Kenneth Christian, a teacher of Written and spoken English at Michigan State College. He very clearly stated a practical approach to this subject with these words: “The basic problem of economics is one of spirit, purpose, and attitudenot of legislation, which would mean confiscation. Voluntary sharing demonstrates the spirit of Love, and brings individual possessions into the larger area of mankind’s total well-being.”
Voluntary profit sharing contributes greater stability to the free enterprise system by helping to unite capital and labor in the spirit of goodwill and cooperation. It also tends to stabilize and gradually improve the standard of living by constantly channeling more buying power into the hands of those who constitute the largest market for goods and services.
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we need new conceptions of economics for this new age. Economics and human relations can no longer be separated, for economics is the science of applying moral law to the everyday process of making a living.
No business, however large or small, is immune to the operation of moral law in the conduct of its affairs. Any business—and that includes large corporations —must show that it can match each employee’s soul with a soul of its own. Each business must demonstrate that it has a heart and a spirit—a reason for existence bigger than its mere physical self.
Nor is labor immune from the inexorable workings of universal moral law. Absenteeism, slowdowns, and strikes can and must be replaced with whoIe-hearted cooperation and radiant goodwill. There must be mutual respect for the rights of both capital and labor.
That human relations cannot be left out of economics is apparent when we consider that every employee has a heart and spirit as well as a mind and body to contribute to his work. For a wage, you may command the services of an employee’s mind and body for a certain time, to a certain degree . . . but you have not necessarily enlisted his heart
and spirit in your service until you are doing everything possible to demonstrate democracy and justice in your relations with him.
As a further benefit, profit sharing helps to insure that social organization will continue to be based upon the natural variations of ability between different individuals. “The boss” is necessary in organized business, and he should be rewarded according to his greater ability and responsibility. It is justice to encourage and reward the initiative of the talented.
Profit sharing in the right spirit also helps to reduce extreme wealth and extreme poverty . . . both of which generally indicate conditions of unbalance between giving and taking.
Voluntary profit sharing succeeds wherever it is applied, because it obeys the Law of Human Relations which provides irresistibly and unfailingly that we shall receive according to our giving—that we shall reap whatever we sow in that balance of action and reaction upon which the universe is founded.
Business in this new age is discovering the eternal practicality of Love. When we love each other and our customers, we
perfectly fulfill the Law of Hu man Relations, which is the law
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of balance in all transactions. Love is the One unchanging fulcrum of power, the center of balance in every human activity. Love is the supreme law of life. When we obey that Law in terms of human relations, we attain the self-mastery which gives us environment-mastery.
Editor’s note: Mr. Nolen’s emphasis on the spiritual quality which must underlie successful business relationships is of great
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the Bahá’í teaching that the economic problem is a spiritual one. Bahá’u’lláh did not set forth a strictly formulated economic system. Rather, He laid down certain principles, according to which problems will be solved by consultation on the part of spiritually mature men and women. C ertain steps in the solution, however, He did indicate, one of them, profit-sharing. ‘Abdu’lBahti said: “For instance, the owners 0/ properties, mines and factories should share their incomes with their employees and give a fairly certain percentage of their products to their workingmen in order that the employees may receive, besides their wages, some of the general income of the factory so that the employee may strive with his
interest to Bahá’ís, for it is in accord with soul in the work.”
THE HEART IS A MAGNET
God is Universal Consciousness, unlimited, infinite, unknowable, incomprehensible to our finite minds. The Infinite cannot be included in the finite, but is reflected from every atom in the universe. Each kingdom reflects Cod according to its degree of receptivity, whether mineral, vegetable, animal or human; but the heart of man is the greatest reflector of all. If you split an atom, in the heart of it you will find a sun. “Dost thou think thy body a small thing, while within thee is enfolded the universe?” said Bahá’u’lláh.
Science has proved that God is not a man in the sky, for there is no place which can be located as Heaven. An ant with long horns tipped with olfactory nerves would think that God was a very large ant, with long horns, just as man thinks God is a great, perfect man. We have so pictured God as a large man with eyes and ears, who could speak and, perhaps, eat. As there is no physical Heaven, therefore there is no place for such a God to live in. Science has released us from this superstition.
But the universe is full of the spirit, the attributes of God, and the heart is a mighty magnet. True prayer is thinking of, reaching out to God, lifting up our hearts, freeing them from self and material things; and after we have freed the heart it acts as a magnet to attract these qualities, these attributes. It becomes attuned to these vibrations, as a wireless receiver becomes attuned to certain wave lengths in the air. The prayers of B‘ahé’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá help to put the heart in tune.
—JINAB-1-FADIL
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Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Andrew Carnegie
HE Is GOD!
To Mr. Carnegie, New York. O thou honorable Personage:
I perused your book, ‘Cospel of Wealth.” Indeed I found therein true opinions for the welfare of humanity. To be brief: In the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, benevolence (is enjoined) and this is greater than equality. Equality is attained through force, but benevolence is a voluntary act (or is a matter of choice) .
Man’s perfection is achieved through good deeds done voluntarily, not by good deeds done through compulsion, and benevolence is a good deed performed voluntarily.
That means that the rich should be benevolent towards the poorthat is, give to the poor, but by their own free will and desirez—not that the poor should compel the rich to do so.
For compulsion breeds discord, and disrupts the order in human affairs. For benevolence, which is voluntary benefaction, engenders peacefulness in the world of humanity, and it brings illumination to the realm of man, and leads to the glory of mankind.
As in the course of our travels throughout American cities we wit. nessed the tokens of your Honor’s benevolence, in certain universities and institutions for the promotion of knowledge, hence, I pray in your behalf that you may ever be the recipient of heavenly bounties and blessings, and become the cause of benevolent deeds, both in the East and West; and that you may become like unto a shining light in the heavenly Kingdom and attain everlasting life and glory, and like unto a scintillating star, you may gleam forth upon the Eternal Horizon. I hope you will accept my high regards.
Mr. Andrew Carnegie New York City.
This tablet, authentic, but unsigned, was translated by Mirza Ali-Kuli Khan.
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The Highest Law
HELEN T. INDERLIED
UR safety lies basically in the field of “human rela tions,” we are told on every hand today, and “we have to learn to live together or there is no safety anywhere.” In 1940 a noted analyst said, “At last We have caught up with the Prophets.”
Every one of these Prophets, these divine Experts on Human Relations, gave us the rule for living happily together. Humanity has admired the rule and even called it “golden.” Most people know this rule by heart, and many a child can repeat it verbatim: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them.” Through the ages, some individuals have endeavored to follow this rule, but it has never really been tried out on a very large scale. Now it must encompass the globe, if indeed we are to live!
What does it require to make this rule work? What is its motivating power, its absolute prerequisite, without which it will not work at all? It is love. The Golden Rule will no more work without love than an airplane will take off without a motor.
Every great spiritual Teacher
makes love the nucleus of his message.
In China before the advent of Buddhism, Mo Ti wrote as follows: “The mutual attacks of state on state; the mutual usurpation of family on family; the mutual robberies of man on man; the want of kindness On the part of the sovereign and of loyalty on the part of the minister; the want of tenderness and filial duty between father and son,—these, and such as these are the things injurious to the empire. All this has arisen from want of mutual love. If but that one Virtue could he made universal, the princes loving one another, would have no battlefields; the chiefs of families would attempt no robberies; rulers and ministers would be gracious and loyal; brothers would be harmonious and easily reconciled. Men in general loving one another, the strong would not make prey of the weak; the many would not plunder the few, the rich would not insult the poor, the noble would not he insolent to the mean; and- the deceitful would not impose on the simple.”
A similar Teacher arose in
India, the great Buddha—“the
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THE HIGHEST LAW
Awakened One.” His theme song was also love. He declared that the universe was on the side of love, saying that “not by hatred does hatred cease, but only by refusing,r to hate; this is the nature of things.” He raised the meaning of love to its highest degree when He wrote, “Love all mankind as a mother loves her only child.” A little band of disciples caught His spirit and followed Him. Groups formed here and there and tried to live according to his rule of love. Finally King Asoka, ruler of a1] India, embraced the sane and compassionate teachings of the Buddha. As a result, he stopped war entirely in his vast empire. Sciences and arts flourished and a new civilization was horn.
Buddha has well been called, “the Light of Asia.”
And then came Jesus, the Christ, always known as a mighty crusader for love. He told his followers: “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you,” and “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples. if ve have love one to another.” Asked “Who is my neighbor?”—Jesus replied with the Parable of the Good Samaritan, clearly teaching that everyone is our neighbor of whatever race, class, or creed
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—which truth we would do well to heed today.
The Christian disciple, John, wrote on the absolute necessity of love. He said, “He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light and there is none occasion of stum' blng in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because
that darkness hath blinded his
9’ eyes.
St. Paul, also, imbued with “the mind of Jesus,” wrote one of the most powerful tributes to the necessity of love ever penned, in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians.
The teachings of Jesus “built a better world” wherever they went, and established the great Christian civilization. But now many centuries have passed and love seems again definitely to be waning in the hearts of men.
But we on this planet are not left comfortless. In the suffering and chaos of these modern times, God has again shown His love for the world as in the time of Jesus. Again He has sent :1 Herald of love to mankind to announce and prepare the way for another great Teacher, another divinely inspired Expert on
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Human Relations—this time One to guide the whole world. The message that He brings is of vital importance to all. It is that the existing order is definitely passing away and that a New World Order bringing peace on earth is at hand. In the words of the Messenger Himself, Bahá’u’lláh, “Soon will the presentday order he rolled up and a new one spread out in its stead.” This time, we are told, love will stay and fulfill the prophecy in Revelation that the Tabernacle of God Will he with men, “and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.”
In the old order it is said, “men learned to be world soldiers,” but now in the new Order “men must learn to be world citizens.” The Golden Rule must apply between race and race, nation and nation7 as well as between man and man. “Adolescent boys cease fighting each other when they reach manhood,” Emeric Sala has pointed out, “as it is not seemly for grown men to settle an argument with their fists,” and so that entity called humanity must grow up. War, in this dispensation, is forbidden. The time has come for Peace. Bahá’u’lláh, the great Messenger today, calls us all to love. He writes: “Know ye not why We [God] created you all from the
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same dust? That no one should exalt himself over another. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance7 it is incumbent on you to be 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.” And He steps up the Golden Rule when He says, “Blessed is the man who prefers his brother to himself.
Such a man is of the people of Baha.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of Bahá’u’lláh, was a sublime exemplar of love in action on earth. He wrote this eloquent gem on love: “All the Prophets were sent, all the Books were revealed that the law of love might be promoted. Let us have love and more love that melts all opposition, that sweeps away all barriers, that conquers all foes; a love that aboundeth in charity, large heartedness, tolerance and noble striving; a love that triumphs over all obstacles; a boundless, an irresistible, a sweeping love, a world of love, a universe of love. Hast thou love? Then all the stars will singr thy praise.” For love is the highest law in the universe.
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Children of the Sun
MARIO RODERIGUEZ C.
LTHOUGH the origin of
, Peruvian man is lost in the past, the scientific study of an infinite number of archeological objects and monuments found in different parts of Peru reveals to us that the chronological horizon of information concerning the first great civilizations developing in old Peru extends as far back as 800 to 1200 B.C.
Making use of these archeological remains as a means of throwing light upon the 01d Peruvian cultures, we find that the activities carried on by these primitive peoples were pr0< foundly related to the cult or worship of certain deities—gods of terrible symbolism, awe-inspiring personages, animals, fruits, or other objects which were deified. However, it is interesting to point out that notwithstanding this aspect of polytheism, there existed in the minds of these people the idea of a Supreme God, whom they usually represented as manifesting some attribute of the sun. This is attested by the ancient megalithic ruins of temples and palaces erected for the worship of the sun: cyclopean structures which astound modern man because of their magnificence and
their architectural and aesthetic vigor, a principal feature of which was the frequent presentation of the sun as divinity.
Logically enough, it was among such a people that, with the passage of time, there appeared a race whose genius for organization gradually absorbed the neighboring peoples. This was the race of the “Quichuas,” the head of whose theocraticmilitary government was the Inca, under whose leadership a remarkable social order was founded. The Quichuas established themselves in Cuzco7 in the fertile valleys of the Andes, 3,355 metres (about 11,554 ft.) above sea-level, and there, with the goal of unity in mind, they constructed a net-work of highways throughout the empire they had created. Complete discipline and obedienCe to the Inca characterized these people, who lived for four centuries completely dominated by the power of their rulers.
There is no source of information about the beginning of the Incan era except in myth, and so modern investigators must respect the writings left by the “Chroniclers of the Conquest,” who arrived in Peru in 1532,
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and who gathered the legends from the lips of the old “Amantas” or sages of the Incan empire. From these myths emerges an imposing personage known by the name of Manco-Capac, who, unlike any other founder of civilization in the history of the world, appears in the company of his wife, and proclaims to the people that his Father, the Sun, has sent him to lift them out of darkness and to guide them in their life on earth. The majestic figure of Manco-Capac, his eloquence and his dazzling raiment, had an overpowering effect on the primitive Chieftains Of Cuzco, who believed in his divine origin and submitted to his authority, thus beginning an epoch of unification and surprising progress.
It is at this point that the Spanish historians cannot conceal their astonishment. Who was this Manco-Capac? “He must have been an apostle who passed through this part of the world in his mission of teaching,” said the common people. Who knows? What is very evident is, that under his standard, the greatest of the civilizations of this region, or perhaps of all America, was built up — a civilization whose unity was the secret of its splendor and grandeur.
The Incas attributed their suc WORLD ORDER
cess to their tolerance and to the peaceful relations maintained with their neighbors. They did not destroy the peoples they conquered; On the contrary, they absorbed, or rather, incorporated them into their great economic and social organization; they respected their customs, language, and religious beliefs. On the other hand, they gave wide publicity to the Incan culture which they themselves represented, constructed a great temple to the Sun, and taught the laws and moral precepts of the Incas, such as: “Do not kill; do not rob; do not lie; do not be lazy.” In this way they accomplished the integration into the whole nation, of the various new tribes who naturally accepted in full the ampler spiritual and social concepts which the Incas had brought them.
If the Incas of that time were able to realize the undertaking of “unification” through an attitude of goodwill toward their neighbors, under the banner of “one religion,” modern man is surely no less able to bring such a wonderful enterprise to pass. Without doubt the modes of modern life with its complex problems are different from those which existed in former times, but it is also true that many of those problems were
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CHILDREN OF THE SUN
current then and were solved. Today they again appear in the form of excessive sovereignty, prejudices of race, religion, etc., and in spite of the enormous advances in science, humanity does not recognize these problems, because a sordid materialism has drawn man far away from a spiritual understanding with his kind. If the Incas, as we have seen, had Manco-Capac as a Guide who led them to success, we of this present time have the most radiant light of all history, brought to us by Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet of this Day, in Whom all the spiritual laws of the former Prophets are confirmed, and Whose vibrant message of unity must be obeyed by all humanity if it wishes to survive as a civilization to achieve universal peace.
In His Tablet to Ra’is, Bahá’u’lláh says, “Today this servant has come to give life to the world and to unite all those who inhabit the face of the earth. That which God wishes will come about, and you will see the world as the paradise of Abhá (the Most Glorious).” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also tells us: “Religion must unite all the hearts and be the cause of the disappearance of all wars and disputes from the face of the earth; it must be the cause of spirituality and bring
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light and life to all souls. If religion becomes the cause of division and hate, it would be better to have none, and to abandon such a religion would be an act truly religious.”
But to return to the Incas. Just when the decadence of this great empire was beginning, the Spanish conquerors arrived in Peru. Moral customs had deteriorated and civil war was marking the end of a cycle which had seen such a great evolution among the “Children of the Sun.” Things had come to such a pass that 180 Spaniards, some on foot and others on horseback, entered Cuzco with fire and sword, destroying and ransacking the city, and degrading to a state of slavery, misery, and superstition this nation which had had so brilliant a history. During three centuries of domination, the conquerors overran Peru with the sword in one hand and the Gospel in the other, so to speak. They suppressed whatever pagan belief still existed and imposed the Christian faith upon the people. But unfortunately they did so with the imposition of innumerable superstitions and corrupt forms of a dogmatic clergy, which, under the name of “The Holy Inquisition,” committed the gravest horrors.
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In 1821 the Peruvian people acquired their independence, and a new era commenced in their evolution as a nation. In this present time there is a broader outlook and an orientation toward a higher consciousness, especially in the youth, who, being adequately prepared, are receiving the Bahá’í Teachings with much interest because they know that humanity is passing through one of its periods of crisis and that the latent capacities of mankind are slowly coming to flower. Thus it is that a great number of Peruvian youths to whom Bahá’í Teachings are still completely unknown, may be considered potential Bahá’ís, for all that they lack is the opportunity to hear the Message of Bahá’u’lláh and to join the cause
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of the Bahá’í World Faith, leaving behind the superstitions which bind them to their old bcliefs, originally imposed upon them by fear and later by conservative and unremitting inculcation from parents to children.
I am not sorry that I broke through these barriers, and I lift up my voice over Americaa friendly and youthful voice
which thanks God in this, the first year (1947) in which I was “born” a Bahá’í.
“Help them in their endeavor, O God, and give them strength to serve Thee. Leave them not to themselves, O God, but guide their steps by the light of Thy knowledge and cheer their hearts by Thy love. Verily, Thou art their helper and their Lord.”
HEAVEN AND HELL
Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá regard the descriptions of Heaven and Hell given in some of the older religious writings as symbolic, like the Biblical story of the Creation, and not as literally true. According to them, Heaven is the state of perfection, and Hell that of imperfection; Heaven is harmony with God’s will and with our fellows) and Hell is the want of such harmony; Heaven is the condition of spiritual life, and Hell that of spiritual death. A man may be either in Heaven or in Hell while still in the body. The joys of Heaven are spiritual joys, and the pains of Hell consist in the deprivation of
those j oys.
—DR. J. E. ESSELMONT
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Design for Living
MARGUERITE TRUE
N THIS age, as in others,
many people of wisdon and conscience are seeking a pattern for right living. However, with the world in a state of confusion and unrest, this pattern does not seem very clear. Age-old truths and principles, which once served as a basis for human conduct, are either ignored or are so diluted by rationalization that they are meaningless. Little wonder that more and more people undergo mental collapse in an effort to make the practices of individuals and nations coincide with their beliefs. The double standard thus imposed is a difficult one by whivh to govern one’s life, and there is little wonder that conscientious people become exhausted in their efforts to live a moral life in an immoral world. On the one hand they recall the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” and on the other they know that armed conflict threatens to engulf them. “Thou shalt not steal” is zmolher part of their creed and yet the picture of graft, of bribery, of nations dividing and occupying conquered territories, does not seem to exemplify this eternal law.
Little wonder, then, that in the
fields of art and music, both of which reflect the age in which we live7 we note, such pictures as those which Salvador Dali paints of his impression of the confused mind, or such strange musical strains as those produced by Roy Harris in his interpretations of our times. I recall the look of amazement and horror of a cultured lady from the East, who, while visiting our land, had her first view of some very strenuous dancing — the jitter—bug. It is easy to see why she felt that America was becoming decadent ~~if this exhibition of nervous energy is a true expression of our state of being.
Many individuals shrug their shoulders at the state of aflairs and say, “If only we would follow the Golden Rule, we would have no prohlems.” This sounds simple enough, but its application seems very difficult. Although the Golden Rule appears in all the major religions, its application differs according to the national, political, racial, or economic background of the individuals of different religions. Even within one religion the individuals differ in their interpre tations of the Golden Rule. And how can we apply the Golden
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Rule when it comes to aggressor nations, the atomic bomb, and other international problems? It is easy to see that there is little agreement on these issues.
We readily investigate the latest scientific gadget which will make living simpler, yet we fail to seek for or investigate the plan which will make our lives harmonious and restore peace and order to the planet.
One author has said that the predicament of modern man is that we are 500 years behind the times spiritually. Another author and teacher states that we have come to one of the greatest turning points in human history that time when the rebirth of religion is the only solution to the ‘ ills of the time. How strange that man strives to be up-to-date in displaying the latest cars, styles of clothing, airplanes, etc., but when he comes to the spiritual, the motivating force for his life, he remains centuries behind the times, steeped in tradition, custom7 and out-moded patterns of worship!
What, then, are we to use as a basis for our design for living in this age? Let us look to the existing religions —— those systems built upon the inspired Words of the Messengers of God. As we examine these religions we see that each one is divided into
WORLD ORDER
many sects, some practicing a very rigid version of the Prophet’s Teachings, others using a more liberal interpretation. If we are to choose, for instance, one of these religions (for example Christianity, 15121111, or. Judaism) as our pattern for life ——which shall it be? If we choose one, how can we be assured that followers of the other religions will be willing to change their allegiance, and follow the religious teachings which were selected? After centuries of conflict, we find that adherents of each religion, rather than sacrifice the diflerences of belief, tend to cling to them more helligerently than ever, thus making it practically impossible to convert thousands of Jews to Christianity or millions of Christians to Islém in a short time. And since the advent of the atomic bomb, world peace is imperatiVe. Thus a world plan is an urgent necessity—not a matter that can be deliberated hundreds of
years from now.
While statesmen, l e a d e r s , authors, and lecturers are trying to agree on some plan for world unity, the Bahá’ís state that such a plan, divinely sent, has already been revealed to the world. Once again, in our hour of need, God in His great mercy, has sent a Messenger. This time He comes
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DESIGN FOR LIVING
under the name of Bahá’u’lláh (meaning Glory of God), to call men to the divine path and to translate once again the Golden Rule in terms of the needs of the time. No longer need we argue over the hidden meanings and interpretations of the Scriptures. The Voice Of divine authority has again spoken, clearing away meaningless debris of form and ritual and revealing the oneness of religion and Of the Prophets.
In 1863, Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed that the time had come for world unity and that He was sent to bring the law for its accomplishment. In the many verses that He revealed, we find the divine teachings concerning world peace, international unity,
3/13
a solution of the economic problem, a pattern for life among the various races, religions, and nations of the world, as well as a new standard for personal conduct.
Already, in over ninety countries Of the world, this new Plan is uniting the people of diverse racial, religious, economic, social, and educational hackgrounds. Already the spirit of a new age is raising a people to new heights of conduct, to new heroism and courage. For once again, amidst the ruins and chaos of a crumbling civilization. the early followers of the Prophet are laying the foundation for a future society—the de‘ sign for living in our age.
RELIGIOUS WARFARE
Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth; it should glve birth to spirituality and bring light and life to every soul. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division it would be better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act. For it is clear that the purpose of a remedy is to cure, but if the remedy only aggravates the complaint, it had better be left alone. Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity
is no religion.
—‘ABDU’L-BAH£
The Religion of God Is Renewed
_6o/itoria/
“VI‘HE face of the world hath altered. The way of God and the religion of God have ceased to be of any worth in the eyes of men. The Vitality of men’s belief in God is dying out .in every land. . . The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the Vitals of human society.” So wrote Bahá’u’lláh almost one hundred years ago at a time when the world was quite unaware that it was on the doorstep of Chaos and confusion.
We in America were unaware of the spiritual anemia with which the world was suffering. People of many countries were casting their eyes on America, where opportunity for freedom of worship and freedom of livelihood was open to them. Immigrants poured into our ports and industrial America grew big and strong.
America, unlike Europe and parts of Asia, has had no religious wars. This country has known only small disputes over religion during the colonization. So it is only natural that this land should now he the one selected for the great task of extending the promulgation of the Bahá’í Faith. We are sending pioneers to Central and South America,
and to Europe at the present time. It is amazing that so small a body of believers can assume so big a work.
But the Faith is not new in America. The first mention was made in 1893 at the Parliament of Religions at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. That was more than fifty years ago. The American Bahá’í Community has grown slowly in numbers, but soundly. Firm and resolute, it has worked, knowing that the pattern for a future society has been shaped for all the peoples of the world.
The Bahá’ís teach the Faith which promises to unify religions and to show that true religion has ever been the same. The religion of God is one; the divisions in religion have been made by man. The Mouthpieces of God have been many and all have taught the same eternal truths in varying degrees according to the needs of the times.
In this day, it is Bahá’u’lláh who has given us the Word of God. He has given us, in His divine writings, the remedy for the ungodliness from which the world now suffers. The Bahá’í can see the light of. religion 3]
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A NEW RACE
ready dawning upon the world’s darkened horizon. “Unity in the political realm” is laboriously proceeding; “unity of thought in world undertakings” is now quite apparent; “the unity of nations” is being established; and “the consciousness of the oneness of mankind” is growing amongst a ‘maturing humanity.
To the Bahá’ís Of the West, Shoghi Effendi wrote from Haifa, Palestine, in 1941: “Not ours . . . to attempt, at so critical a stage in the long and checkered history of mankind, to arrive at a precise and satisfactory understanding of the steps which must successively lead a bleeding humanity, wretchedly oblivious of its God, and careless of Bahá’u’lláh, from its Calvary to its ultimate resurrection. . .
“Ours rather the duty7 however confused the scene, however
345
dismal the present outlook, however circumscribed the resources we dispose of, to labor serenely, confidently and unremittingly to lend our share of assistance, in whichever way circumstances may enable us, to the operation of the forces which, as marshaled and directed by Bahá’u’lláh, are leading humanity out of the valley of misery and shame to the Ioftiest summits of power and glory.”
The claims of the Faith are great. They may sound Utopian to the man who does not investigate, but to the one who does so with an open and clear mind, they are in complete accord with true religion and scientific progress. The reconstruction of mankind is a gradual process that takes place in spite of a world that does not care.
——G.K.H.
The Bahá’í Faith recognizes the unity of God and His Prophets.
The Challenge
KARL SCHUECK
RIDICULOUSLY small ad vertisement arrested his eye as he scanned the paper. It was an invitation to a public meeting of the Bahá’í community. “Bahá’í? What does that mean?” he asked himself with a shrug as he prepared to leave the trolley at the next stop. An abbreviation for something, a club or fraternity, perhaps. He crossed the street to the near-by hotel where he was to meet X., an out-of-town visitor and friend he had not seen for a long time.
Seven-thirty, the appointed hour, had passed. X had assured him he would be there on time. He watched the people idling their time away in this long lobby. Lonely people, they were, waiting for something to happen, for somebody to come, and yet, so it seemed7 too proud to seek the company of those sharing their own lot. How well he knew this, though! Sometimes one felt one would die under the ice of loneliness. He took up his paper again to read the editorial. His hand stopped at the page with the advertisements. Again he read. The notice appeared larger to his eyes. It mentioned a speaker and his
subject World Peace, a Divine
Plan.
Ah, now he knew. A religious gathering. Bahá’í, whatever that was. One of the innumerable sects offering some wanton truth and netting handsome incomes to the smart ones. Why not? He read again. No admission, n0 collections, it said. There must he a hitch somewhere, for nobody gives things away for nothing. He knew this world and this time. People will gladly pay for whatever escape
there is, for whatever will melt the ice . . .
So, World Peace! He laughed silently. A lump of bitterness seemed to stick in his throat. Peace! What’s the matter with them? He turned to the frontpage of the paper to find his grimness confirmed by the thickIettered news of wars, threats, shootings, and hatred. Those sects. don’t want to know and face the facts, he thought, and keep singing Hallelujah! to drown out the cries of agony in this world. Do they offer a way out? With what? A Divine Plan. Ah, now it’s God again,
Cod . . . He rose abruptly flinging the
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[Page 347]
THE CHALLENGE
paper onto the nearest seat. Seven forty-five. They must have missed each other. Once more he strode through the hall. No, he had not come.
He walked into the street. The rain was an annoying drizzle. Everything was annoying: the lost evening, the idea of not knowing what to do, whether to see a show, to call up some friends for cards, to go to a barwsomething to take the loneliness away, the loneliness and the thoughts. A strange man passed. He wore an absurd high hatweand an old-fashioned redingote, and in his hand he carried a square suitcase on which was written in chalk: Jesus Saves!
He laughed. What publicity,
he thought. Another sect telling people not what is, but what they want to hear. Hundreds, thousands of sects, each of them making money with their truths. Suddenly he remembered the story that had impressed him so much in Sunday-school, the Nazarene chasing -the traders out of the Holy Temple. The few times he thought of religion, he remembered this first.
He was walking faster, almost determined on doing something he could not account for. Now he crossed the square notorious for the many idlers who used to
347
loaf and gather there to talk or to be talked to. The rain did not keep them away. He knew these men had no home. A knot of people listened to an elderly man with a shriveled, brighteyed face, weather-beaten like that of a hobo. He harangued the snickering listeners with raucous quotations from the Bible7 dire warnings of hell-fii‘e, driving at them his own gall and sour discontent.
Strange, they all keep talking about God, he mused, most of them flinging stones at Him and _ then wondering that the world keeps moving and their own pains increasing. One can’t help taking a stand one way or the other about God. For there is a mystic moment in everyone’s life when God makes Himself known. There is a soreness where the hammer breaks into the crust above the heart. Happened to him too, once, when the wife was dying. God, he cried, how can you be Justice or Love if you destroy what was our love? He remembered walking dazedly around and only resentfully and slowly realizing that not all had been love between them. No, sir, not everything. He had to learn. Why should he, though? He had to take care of things himself. No body was feeding him. God!
348
Who cured? The politicians, perhaps, who were gambling with mankind’s future? 0r those physicists improving the atomic bomb? What did that advertisement say: a Divine Plan? Good heavens! Had they, perhaps, discovered a power to stop those horrible bombs? Or was the bomb part of the Divine Plan? If only he knew whom he could challenge with that question! He would see to it that they did not get away with subterfuges and cheap, glorified phrases. Divine Plan! Was the last war part of it? Or the previous one and all the others? He would raise his voice. Somebody had to get on his feet and say: Stop! Stop it all. Do you earnestly believe, you fools, that Godaif He is—cares how you die and how much you suffer? Yes, I will say that.
He saw the luminous dial of a clock and its large hand completing the hour. He felt almor't gay, determined, even heroic in his suddenly assumed role as he hailed a taxi to he in time at that World Peace meeting.
Instead of old, stooped, sour and hopeless looking people, of the kind he had associated with sectarian gatherings, he noticed well-groomed, happy, even 1a
diant-looking people entering the high hall of the elub-house.
WORLD ORDER
There were bright flowers of the season in tall vases. The foyer was warm. There were many people, most of whom seemed to know each other7 for they shook hands, chatted amiahly, and walked about with unmistakable dignity and restraint.
He remembered the last time he had gone to such a socialtinted gathering. It was on the occasion of his official introduction t0 the club. It had been an awkward affair. Tired of his lonesomeness and desirous for congenial company he had applied for membership in a respectable club. Conscientiously he had filled out the blank with names of references and—what was particularly stressed—his income and personal property. After weeks he was notified of having been accepted. He was introduced to several of the club
members, had b o w e d and smiled, and realized s o 0 n enough that they all moved
about in cliques each differing from the other in income, position, a n d social capacities. There were no Negroes nor other dark colored or hook-nosed people among them. He had remained alone, in a meeting that was cold and stayed cold.
Now he looked around. Here
were Negroes. The white peo
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THE CHALLENGE
ple talked with them, not in the condescending and aloof manner in which one chats with a dark-skinned shoe-shine boy or a railway porter. If this was a church . . . No, it couldn’t be. There was an unwritten law in his quite liberal-minded hometown whereby Negroes had to meet at their own churches rather than among the white folks. There were dark-haired people that looked like Mexicans; over there several frail-looking lads that could be Filipinos. These girls here, neatly dressed in white, were Chinese. It looked, indeed, like a cross-section of mankind. What puzzled him was that none of the people here stressed or even indicated to which social class they belonged, for all were simply and neatly dressed and wore the same festive, radiant, and eager expression on their faces.
It seemed unlikely that such well-groomed p e o p l e , such prosperous looking men could have serious thoughts about God, unless they were bored, blasé, and found it fashionable to be seen here.
A model of white clay displayed on a table attracted his attention. As he stepped closer he saw the replica of what was named “Bahá’í Temple of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois.”
349
Not bad, he thought, but too Oriental for my taste. Ah, now he knew, these Bahá’í believers were an Oriental sect founded, most likely, by one of those roaming, dark-eyed pseudomystics from India thriving on the Western craving for the extraordinary, the great escape, and feeding the people with the hashish Of Nirvana and other self—disintegrations. He took another look. Strange, it was not all Oriental, for there were arches and many structural parts reminding one of the Gothic and other styles.
A woman approached him, one of those matrons, he thought, who love to match people. She asked if he was interested in any of the books displayed on the table. With a vague smile he obliged by picking up a volume. “Ye are all fruits of one tree, all leaves of one bough,” he road. He closed the book. They must be Communists, Tolstoians, and utopians. This will be fun listening to their solutions. The woman asked if he cared to have some brochures. He thanked her with unintended coldness.
What was he doing here, anyway? All right7 there were perhaps no cliques here as at
the Club, but they formed al
together too secretive a congre
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gation to . . . This was a nonsensical thought. Why should they have gone to the expense of inviting the public?
People moved from the foyer. A young woman with amazingly radiant eyes looked at him sweetly as if she knew him. He frowned, though her beauty fascinated him in some unexplainable way. It wasn’t beauty in the sense of loveliness of face and harmony of proportions. Her smile expressed real happiness such as he had hardly seen anywhere before. He _felt restless, taunted, embarrassed. She wore a dark-blue velvet dress, which barely emphasized her figure. But it was not what she wore, rather what she seemed to be, that held his attention. Now she approached him. It turned out that she was one of the ushers showing people to their seats
inside the hall.
“The meeting is about to begin,” she said softly. ‘Won’t you please join us?”
“Thanks,” he answered, “I’ll
wait . . . for someone!” he added, the lie getting caught in his throat. The woman nodded silently. He lighted a cigarette. He mustn’t give in to emotions, he decided. His mind had to be kept clear and logical if he was
going to challenge all . . . 1n cluding Cod .
WORLD ORDER
Then he went inside. Hardly anybody looked at him. The nearest empty seat he found was beside the velvet-gowned woman. Her gaze was directed at the platform, where a baritone
opened with a song. His voice was warm and Vibrant. There were more songs. Then a woman stepped to the platform. She began to speak ofiworld civilizations, their rise and their fall. She told of prophetic promises and spiritual outpourings, of peoples and divines misinterpreting or wantonly disregarding Godly messages because of their own greed, interests, and thirst for power. She spoke of civilizations resulting from Divine motivation and of Messengers handing down to men the great directives. Then she mentioned a strange name. Bahá’u’lláh, she said, and before he could relapse into his own thoughts, she explained His prophetic station in this new age. She spoke with great intensity, holding the listening crowd under the spell of her voice. There was more music. During a short interval ushers moved about to distribute cards.
“Wron’t you fill it out?” asked the young woman at his side. “If you like just put your name and address on it.”
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THE CHALLENGE
“What for?” he asked with restrained suspicion.
‘We would be glad to send you some reading material.”
Just to be polite he scribbled down his name and gave her the card.
“Frankly, I don’t think I am interested,” he said to demonstrate his unchangeable defiance.
The woman smiled. “It doesn’t matter,” she said calmly.
Her remark puzzled, even disquieted him. There was no time for conversation. A man, bespectacled, poised and calm, began to speak now. He swiftly outlined the general crisis of these times, speaking of scientific progress, which was forcing people to think in terms of neighborhood and of the earth as being just one country. He mentioned the painful lack of ethical foundation to support this progress; he enumerated the obstacles such as selfishness, prejudices, and intolerance; and he, too, spoke of this Persian, Bahá’u’lláh; of His son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; of a Covenant, a firmly established administrative order as the basis of the edifice of mankind, this high expression of God’s will. He mentioned a Guardian, discipline, love, selfeffacement, and the idea of work as worship. He did not attack
any religion; he assailed no sect or leader.
The meeting ended. He had not risen to challenge, though the desire for it was still there, stronger, even imperious now. Like a thorn which, unable to grow outside to protect the stem, grows inwardly instead.
“Did you enjoy it?” asked the young woman.
He looked at her beauty, enhanced now, so it seemed, by a new quality he had not noticed before. The thorn stabbed him and led to what he thought would be a congenial answer. He shrugged; his face distorted to a sour grimace.
“All right, I guess,” he said. “Except they didn’t say how they would stop the atomic bomb.”
“One mustn’t turn to one’s self to find answers, sir,” she remarked. “God Wills peace. There will be peace and no more bombs.”
He swallowed his rude answer. People thronged to the exit, their faces bright, confident, happy. They smiled at him as though wishing he would sit with them at their table of cheerful abundance.
“Everyone must seek the truth for himself,” said the young
woman, “I am sure you will find it.”
352
“Yeah?” he said. “I haven’t found it here. That much I know.”
“What makes you so sure?” she asked kindly.
“I don’t agree with your solution.”
“Do you know yourself so well that you were able to find out so soon?”
“I’m pretty sure of that,” he said curtly.
“It takes many rainfalls,” she suggested, “for some seeds to open.”
“What are you alluding to?”
“Oh, you will find out. I had hoped you would leave here as happy as . . .” She did not continue.
“Are you happy?” he asked quickly.
“Of course,” she said.
Then he left. He rushed away fearful lest this woman or anybody else might keep him back. He walked through the streets. The rain had ceased. Wind rustled through the trees. There was a fragrance of jasmine in the fresh air. He tried to forget.
He did not succeed, either that night or during the following days. The thought of the meeting followed him every where. His challenge had been disarmed. The word “Bahá’í”
seemed firmly rooted within. It meant nothing to him. Yet he
WORLD ORDER
felt he had to escape its coercion.
One day, the mail brought him an envelope containing pamphlets. He saw the word “Bahá’í, and flung them away. Later, in the evening, he picked them up. Then the phone rang. It was the woman to whom he had talked at the public meeting. Wouldn’t he come to one of the friends for a social “fireside” gathering.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m busy.”
Just the same, she gave him the address. Later he realized he had jotted it down on an important document he had to keep in his wallet.
That night he tried to challenge God. He gathered everything he could think of: misery, hunger, hate, despair, rottenness and corruption, all the destructions and destroying elements of his time. Why? he asked. Where is justice? Is this love? There is no God! Strange, the fiercer he hurled his accusations at the Nothingness, the louder he raised his denials of Divine Existence, the more something in him realized that He was. The stones he threw fell back on his heart and caused him pain.
It was almost morning When, exhausted from th e absurd fight, he picked up from the floor the pamphlets he had sneered at. He started reading.
[Page 353]
THE CHALLENGE
Soon the sun was rising with fiery majesty, yet he did not think of sleep.
Later the phone rang. It was his friend X.
“Why didn’t you come to the hotel?” he asked. “I waited for you almost an hour.”
“You did?” he answered with sharp sarcasm in his voice. “I was there. I looked around. I didn’t see you.”
“That is strange,” said X. “I know you are telling the truth. But how could it have happened? Come on now7 was there somebody or something else that held your attention or dimmed your eyes?”
“No, not a thing. Why should there be?” he said. But now he knew he was not speaking the truth. Suddenly h e realized something unaccountable had intervened that evening, influencing him to go to the World Peace gathering. Something unaccountable? He laughed, while his friend arranged for another meeting.
“Where did you spend the evening?” asked X.
He wanted to say “at a show,” but he did not manage to. He told his friend the truth, expecting to hear him laugh.
“What?” exclaimed X. “Do
you mean to say you are a Bahá’í?”
353
“Of course not,” he answered, as if insulted. “Who do you think I am?”
“Wrould you be ashamed?”
“What are you talking about? I am a modern-minded person,” he said. “I don’t go in for such outlandish things.”
“Including God?”
“Can’t you talk of something else?” he shouted angrily into the mouthpiece.
“How can I? I am a Bahá’í myself.”
They met an hour later. Instead of the intended business talk, they discussed religion. He was stupified. Never had he heard X talk like this nor seen him so . . . well, so assured, so gay, so persuasive. There were no arguments, for X never insisted on his opinion. It made one feel pretty arrogant, though. He made concessions. Yes, there might be a God, he admitted. He would try to find Him . . . alone, without all those groups, or sects, or . . .
“How can you?” asked X. “The way to God is through His Prophet. Bahá’u’lláh is the prophet of this age. Is this too difficult to understand?” Then he told his friend the reasons, the human need, the new discipline, the idea of active brotherhood. At the end, X suggested
354
introducing him to a young Bahá’í lady.
“What, do you know her?” he added after he had mentioned her name and noticed his friend’s surprised look.
It was a long, oftentimes desperate struggle. Once he went to a “fireside” where he was encouraged to speak his opinion. He had his chance. He spoke of the atomic bomb; he let himself g0 completely. The unrufiled calm of the others made more apparent his own unhappiness, despair, and yearning for certitude. He avoided the meetings. Yet he could not help going back there. It was like having sampled a drink the strangeness and bitterness of which only gradually released its innate sweetness and invigorating power. It was useless throwing oneself at a wall of morbidity. Instead one had to watch out that such a wall did not collapse and bury one. The warmth of these gatherings, though, wa s something he could no longer miss. He was welcomed as if he belonged to them. 7
One day he called up the “velvet-gowned” lady. X had told him she came from a rich and politically prominent family. She had been very ill, had been given up by her physician. “Then the Greater Physician
WORLD ORDER
took over,” X had remarked. “She recovered. And now she serves.”
“It’s a bounty to be able to serve a purpose greater than that of the self. It sets the course, it gives certitude,” X had said.
Now she greeted him at the door.
“The rains have fallen,” she said.
He tried to protest. She smiled at him. She refused to speak of herself. This made it impossible for him to tell her of himself. She never argued, thus he dared not impose his ideas.
“Why did you tell me that evening,” he asked, “that it did not matter whether or not I was interested in that . . . the Cause?”
“Did that bother you?” she said.
“Frankly, yes.”
“You must find out yourself,” she replied. “And I think you have, in the meantime.”
“How do you know?” he asked, perplexed.
Again she smiled in her assured way.
“You saw the friends, didn’t you? You kept thinking, fighting, challenging, didn’t you? That was good. It was the spade-work.”
“Spade-work?”
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THE CHALLENGE
“No one can fashion anyone’s faith but the person himself,” she quoted. “Well, the soil was hard from the long winter of distrust, self-love, and bitterness, wasn’t it?”
‘I don’t know what you mean,” he countered, a trifle irritated.
“You were sick from it all.
It became a matter of life and death.”
“Life and death?”
“Spiritually speaking, of course. Aren’t there millions walking around pretending to be alive and that are really corpses? Something in you revolted against this poison Of doubts that would have killed you. Something in you wanted to live. This desire groped for something to break the choking crust. There is a time for everything. Whether you wanted to 01' not, you had to go to the meeting, read the paper, miss your
friend. Oh, he told me.” She
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laughed. “It’s nothing extraordinary. The ways to and in the Cause are mysterious,” she added wistfully. “Don’t forget, it is the Cause of God. Well, you read, didn’t you? You Visited the friends, you released your poison of defiance and bitterness by asking questions, by inquiring. Now you breathe, you live again. You really look different. It makes a person so
great, so different if he serves. 9,
“But . . objected.
. I don’t serve,” he
“You don’t know it yet, my brother.”
“Brother?” he repeated, bewildered and shaken.
“Aren’t you? My brother in the Cause?”
He looked at her, unable to speak. Her hand rested in his, and from it radiated waves that
entered his heart. No, he could not speak, but he nodded.
He nodded and smiled.
The Bahá’í Faith upholds the principle of an unfettered search after truth.
What Modern Man Must Know About Religion
A Compilation
(Continued)
THE UNITY OF THE PROPHETS
17. 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?
18. There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed.
19. The ordinances of God have been sent down from the heaven of His most august Revelation. All must diligently observe them. Man’s supreme distinction, his real advancement, his final victory, have always depended, and will continue to depend, upon them. Whoso keepeth the commandments of God shall attain everlasting felicity.
A twofold obligation resteth upon him who hath recognized
the Day Spring of the Unity of God, and acknowledged the truth of Him Who is the Manifestation of His oneness. The first is steadfastness in His love, such steadfastness that neither the clamor of the enemy nor the claims of the idle pretender can deter him from cleaving unto Him Who is the Eternal Truth, a steadfastness that taketh no account of them whatever. The second is strict observance of the laws He hath prescribed—laws which He hath always ordained, and will continue to ordain, unto men, and through which the truth may he distinguished and separated from falsehood.
20. The door of the knowl edge of the Ancient Being has ever been7 and will continue for ever to be, closed in the face of men. No man’s understanding shall ever gain access unto His holy court. As a token of His mercy, however, and as a proof of His loving-kindness, He has manifested unto men the DayStars of His divine guidance, the Symbols of His divine unity, and has 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 con 356
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MODERN MAN
nects this world with the realms above, and the standard of His truth unto every one in the kingdoms of earth and heaven. They are the Manifestations of God amidst men, the evidences of His li'uth7 and the signs of His glory.
21. That the divers communions of the earth, and the manifold systems of religious belief, should never be allowed to foster the feelings of animosity among men is, in this Day, of the essence of the Faith of God and His religion . . . Religious fanaticism and hatred are a worlddevouring fire, whose Violence none can quench. The hand of divine power can, alone, deliver mankind from this desolating affliction.
22. Religion is the outer expression of the divine reality. Therefore it must be living, Vitalized, moving and progressive. If it be without motion and nonprogressive it is without the divine life; it is dead. The divine institutes are continuously active and evolutionary; therefore the revelation of them must be progressive and continuous. All things are subject to re-formation. This is a century of life and renewal. Sciences and arts, industry and invention have been reformed. Law and ethics have been reconstituted, reor 357
ganized. The world of thought has been regenerated.
In view of this, shall blind imitations of ancestral forms and theological interpretations continue to guide and control the religious life and spiritual development of humanity today? Shall man gifted with the power of reason unthinkingly follow and adhere to dogma, creeds and hereditary beliefs which will not hear the analysis of reason in this century of eHulgent reality? Unquestionably this will not satisfy men of science, for when they find premise 0r conclusion contrary to present standards of proof and without real foundation, they reject that which has been formerly accepted as standard and correct and move forward from new foundations.
23. Alas! that humanity is completely submerged in imitations and unrealities notwithstanding the truth of divine 1‘eligion has ever remained the same. Superstitions have 0bscured the fundamental reality, the world is darkened and the light of religion is not apparent. This darkness is conducive to differences and dissensions; rites and dogmas are many and various; therefore discord has arisen among the religious systems whereas religion is for the unification of mankind. True re
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ligion is the source of love and agreement amongst men, the cause of the development of praiseworthy qualities; but the people are holding to the counterfeit and imitation, negligent Of the reality which unifies; so they are bereft and deprived of the radiance of religion. They follow superstitions inherited from their fathers and ancestors. To such an extent has this prevailed that they have taken away the heavenly light of divine truth and sit in the darkness of imitations and imaginations. That which was meant to be conducive to life has become the cause of death; that Which should have been an evidence of knowledge is now a proof of ignorance; that Which was a factor in the suhlimity of human nature has proved to be its degradation.
Therefore the realm of the re]igionist has gradually narrowed and darkened and the sphere of the materiaiist has widened and advanced; for the religionist has held to imitation and counterfeit, neglecting and discarding holiness and the sacred reality of religion. When the sun sets it is the time for bats to fly. They come forth because they are creatures of the night. When the lights of religion become darkened the materialists appear.
They are the bats of night. The
decline of religion is their time of activity; they seek the shadows when the world is darkened and clouds have spread over it.
24. Just as the thoughts and hypotheses of past ages are fruitless today, likewise dogmas and codes of human invention are obsolete and barren of product in religion. Nay, it is true that they are the cause of enmity and conducive to strife in the world of humanity; war and bloodshed proceed from them and the oneness of mankind finds no recognition in their observance. Therefore it is our duty in this radiant century to investigate the essentials of divine religion, seek the realities underlying the oneness of the world of humanity and discover the source of feiiowship and agreement which will unite mankind in the heavenly bond of love. This unity is the radiance of eternity, the divine spirituality, the efluigence of God and the bounty of the Kingdom.
References:
17. Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings, p. 200. 18. Ihid., p. 217.
19. Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í World Faith, 1). 135.
20. Ihid., p. 21. 21. Bahá’u’lláh, Cleanings, p. 287.
22. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith, [1. 224.
23. Ibid., p. 237. 24. Ibid., p. 229.
WITH OUR READERS
THE background of Richard How ell Nolen lends him authority to discuss the problem of “Business and Human Relations.” Mr. Nolen studied economics and business administration at Michigan State College, and has since earned his living as a retail store salesman, mechanical engineering draftsman, and advertising man. He is at present assistant advertising manager of the John Bean division of Food Machinery Corporation, at Lansing, Michigan. He writes us: “My acquaintance with the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith has convinced me of their wisdom and practicality. At the present time, I am especially interested in applying these spiritual principles in the field of economics. I shall welcome with warm appreciation letters from readers of W orld Order magazine on this problem.”
Mr. Nolen is 34., has a wife and.
three children—two girls and a boy. His principal hobby and relaxation is music, both as listener and as composer.
The Tablet from ‘Abdu’LBahá to Andrew Carnegie has been translated from the Persian by Mirza ‘Ali-Kuli Khan. Dr. Khan, who is a former
representative of the Persian Government in the United States, has translated into English many of the Bahá’í writings.
Helen T; Inderlied explains in her 'article how love is the “highest law” in the universe, how it is the moti vating power that is found in those experts on human relations—the Prophets of God. Mrs. Inderlied has for many years been‘active in Bahá’í work. She was one of the first Bahá’ís ———or as she herself puts it “a charter member”——of Binghamton, N. Y., where she now lives. She has taught the Bahá’í faith in Scranton, N.]., in Syracuse, in Greensboro, NC. For many years Mrs. lnderlied has been associated with the American Civic Association Movement, an organization formed by foreign born American citizens. She, is now on the Board of governors. She is also correspondent in her area for the wellknown World Citizenship Movement
led by Dr. M. Thomas Tchou.
Her most recent contribution to World Order was a review of the pamphlet “Struggle for a Bill of Rights.” A previous article “Are We Losing the Light” was printed back in 1938.
“Children of the Sun,” the first contribution of Mario Roderiguez (1., was originally written in Spanish. Mr. Roderiguez, who lives in Lima, Perfi, mentioned when he submitted the manuscript that one 'of his dearest wishes had always been to see a Latin-American work printed in World Order. It would be difficult for him to write in English, be explained, but perhaps he could have his article translated. Flora Hottes, one of our editors,,now;pioneering in Montevideo, Uruguay,.made good use of her knowledge of Spanish
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360 ‘ WORLD ORDER
from previous journeys to South America, and Mr. Roderiguez was granted his wish. We are certainly very happy to welcome him to World
Order.
Marguerite True tells us of a new ”Design for Living” that is being laid out in our age by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh. Mrs. True, who lives in Crosse Point, Michigan, has done a great deal of public relations work for the Bahá’í Faith. Quite recently we found her busy publicizing the winter session of the
Louhelen Bahá’í School, in Michi
gan.
Karl Schueck shows his versatility as a writer by contributing some thing new to the pages of W orld Order. Unlike his, previous contribution (“Bahá’u’lláh’s Message and The Germans,” January, 1948), “The Challenge” is not an article but a piece of fiction, the dramatized experience of a man in search of a faith and the' struggle that precedes his final acceptance.
This month we continue the compilation “What Modern Man Must Know About Religion” with the first section of Part III—The Unity of the Prophets. On account of the limited number of pages of our magazine, we are unable to print all of Part III in one issue. We shall continuethe selections next month.
The Bahá’í National Spiritual Assembly was represented at the Con ference of Religion for Moral and Spiritual Support of the United Nations held in New York last June. Raphael Pumpelly was delegate, and H. Borah Kavelin, alternate. The Conference was sponsored by the Church Peace Union together with 56 other national and international organizations. The delegates, nearly 600 in number, represented religious groups, women’s clubs, youth groups and lay organizations working for international friendship and world order. Four commissions (l—The United Nations and Its Task; 2The Spiritual and Moral Resources
of Mankind; 3—Religion and Human Rights; and 4—~A Practical Program of Action) presented reports of their findings and recommendations at four plenary sessions. The last commission recommended the acceptance of a body called the World Alliance for International Friendship through Religion, as the nucleus of the new world organization.
The Bahá’í delegates succeeded in bringing out one or two important points as to the need of attaining unity among the religions of the world before there can be any hope of true and full support toward the unity of the nations. Hilda Yen, a Bahá’í teacher, had an opportunity, as member of the panel on the Moral and Religious Resources of Mankind to state that in the Bahá’í Faith all the religions find a common basis for unity.
The concluding statement of the Conference (its “Declaration of Principles”) once more emphasized the central place of religion in in dividual life and in world life.
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 hate J. E. Fsslemont 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 3511:), Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l Bahá 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 Christianbaclo 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 contri bution 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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WORLD ORDER is the organ of
the Bahá’ís of the United States. It prints
each month articles of interest to all who are
looking for a new and better world.
The Bahá’í Faith is a world religion. It originated in Persia in 1844. Its Founder is Bahá’u’lláh; its Forerunner the Báb; its Interpreter and Exemplar ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of Bahá’u’lláh; its present Guardian is Sho ghi Effendi.
Its world headquarters are in Haifa, Palestine. It has now spread to ninety—one countries of the world. Its fundamental principles are the oneness of all revealed religions and the unity of mankind. Its goal is world peace and a new and divine civilization.
