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[Page 161]

WORLD ORDER

AUGUST 1936

NUMBER 5 VOLUME 2

THE WORLD IN MOTION

EDITORIAL

FEW persons capable of surveying the international situation as a whole can avoid using the word “chaotic” to describe a condition which has become well-nigh indescribable. Certainly that type of order which has ever been felt the antithesis of chaos has become weakened and its foundation assaulted to such a degree as to threaten the destruction of the most enduring landmarks of history. For those of limited outlook, the perturbations in family life seem not less disturbing than the clash of nations followed so fearfully by others of wider horizon and more general knowledge. Whether our interests are anchored locally or dependent upon international movements, the trend toward further disintegration is even more appalling than the degree of disintegration already achieved. Nothing visible appears powerful enough to stay the swift currents upon which conflict is borne to all regions and all departments of human existence. The flood that awes the peasant, the drought that destroys the farmer, the moves of statesmen that confound the hopes of the mass of people, and the economic revolution burning like a fire that consumes all it touches—these conditions, local or international whether they appear, in their unprecedented totality evoke depths of human feeling, and instigate mass movements, precipitating social forces so complex that no channel of existing thought or custom can possibly guide or control their impact upon civilization.

The one clue that may be seized upon as justification of hope is the fact that this chaotic perturbation is wholly composed of movement. Though the movement is divided into ten thousand opposed and conflicting local movements; though the world commotion represents the meeting of bitterly antagonistic and mutually exclusive aims, passions and policies, nevertheless this day of chaotic character is, supremely, the day [Page 162] of movement in the soul, mind, heart and social nature of mankind. Nothing is immune from the seemingly blind impulse and necessity to move, and moving, to undergo change. The influences which make for immediate hatred or fear, the influences responding now to the impelling power of ambition, all, whatever their defined purpose or their chosen instruments, fall beneath the dominion of the world movement as a whole, and take new impulse from its force even while contributing their momentum to its immeasurable energy.

Could we but for an instant rise in spirit above this world tempest; could we view it as from an astronomic impersonality for a single fleeting second, it might well be that this crucial fact of a world in motion would emerge as the most fatefully hopeful experience in human history. Stripped of its outer, personally perturbing meaning, severed from its association with past hopes and bygone beliefs, desires and habitual conceptions of life, the world in motion could appear as nothing less than a humanity able, at last, because of the very intensity of its pain, and through the very virtue of a movement none can check or guide by human power, to realize its oneness in the will of God, and destroy forever those limiting habits, views and exclusive institutions which for ages have divided mankind into warring nations, races and creeds.

Our reaction to the world crisis has prevented even effort to rise above the battle and seek a universal perspective and outlook. We have been trained to respond to change in only one of two limited ways: either to resist change as something perilous to ourselves and our own society; or to turn it into benefit for ourselves and our own civilization. We have fled from the flood, or stayed to discover whether the receding waters would reveal valuable booty.

But the world movement makes such limited reaction wholly abortive. The world movement penetrates through institutions, no matter how historically powerful, and acts upon all individuals. It creates new and unprecedented conditions for nations and creeds as well as for families and individuals. The policy and plan of yesterday has no application to the condition of today. Napoleons are dwarfed by this blind revolution raging throughout the continents; and hordes upon the march but encounter greater hordes.

The view that the world movement as a whole creates a basis for hope utterly irreconcilable with any or all its constituent factors is the challenge of the universal meaning of existence as against the claims of the partisan truths formulated during the incomplete and immature times of old. It rests upon the irrefutable logic that the whole cannot be defined by its parts; and renews the reality of faith, that values are established for men by their Creator. A world in motion is a world in which souls can he renewed, minds revitalized, and the foundations of human society laid more deeply and firmly in eternal truth.

H. H.

[Page 163]

THE WONDER OF IT!

By C. P. L.

THERE were seven wonders in the ancient world. There is one in this.

The nations find themselves entangled together in a network of vital difficulties from which they seek escape in vain. The more they struggle to get free, the more closely it enfolds them. They cannot cut their way out. The tangle must be undone, knot by knot,—or they themselves will be undone. Their happiness, their prosperity, their very civilization is at stake. But no deliverance comes. No solution, no relief is found. Statecraft is baffled. Learning and science avail nothing. The voice of religion growing feebler and feebler is drowned in the babel of passion; and the nations in horror feel themselves carried downward on a cataract of destruction which they once would not and now cannot control.

At the same time, full in the general view, boldly confronting every observer, stands a body of spiritual teaching filled in every word with enthusiasm and energy, proclaiming this colossal emergency as the most glorious opportunity ever offered by Almighty God to man, and setting forth in some detail a wide and carefully co-ordinated scheme through which we may allay our troubles and in due course establish an intercontinental culture on a basis of security and peace. And—wonder of wonders! —the public of the western world (in spite of the admitted proof of its own inability to unravel its problems) not only refuses to put any of these counsels and ideas to the test of an experiment (however tentative) but refuses even to listen to one word of these teachings, or to allow itself to be informed that these teachings exist upon the planet at all. And though all men now are being compelled to acknowledge that the policies hitherto pursued in the west give no promise of achieving on this side of eternity either economic world unity or administrative world unity or religious world unity, or even the continuance of such a degree of social order as we have had to be content with in past centuries; but that on the contrary these highly desirable [Page 164] objectives are assuredly one and all receding further and further from our reach; yet men continue and continue to pursue these ineffective policies, turning from one old device to another old device and from one old counsellor to another old counsellor but never seeking that one new Counsellor whose warm compassion and keen foresight long ago proved and solved these problems and has for years (seeking neither reward nor thanks) proffered freely that solution to mankind.

Every possible road to safety has been tried save that one road which Bahá’u’lláh blazed and in which He leads the way. None can say that Bahá’u’lláh’s emphasis on the divine ordering of this crisis or on its unprecedented possibilities is unexpected or untimely. The peoples of the west are assuredly not unprepared to hear the cardinal and tremendous affirmation round which the whole system of this teaching revolves.

“The Dawn of God is breaking. A new world-age is at hand,” cried the Báb.

“The day of days is here,” cried Bahá’u’lláh. “God again has visited His people.”

For one hundred years and more the same thought has echoed continuously in the mind of Christendom, changing its key, its accent, but growing in volume and in intensity. Last century from its beginning to its end was lit up with a distinctive consciousness of divine visitation. Some immeasurable world-change, some indefinable transition,—was felt to be impending. At first this sentiment took a spiritual form. For fifty years and more the religious life of Christendom was suffered with Advent- expectation, people in both Europe and in America looking eagerly for the personal return of the Saviour promised so long.

As the century wore to a close this Advent-hope grew wider and took a yet stronger hold on the minds of the Christian public. It assumed now a less evangelical and a more humanistic form. It became a sense of some New Dawn, the appearance of some New Era, the opening of a new chapter in the history of progress and civilization. Men ceased to gaze now at the skies for the descent of a divine deliverer but were taught by poets, philosophers and reformers to look around them on the earth for the emergence of a newly gifted race and a new social order. And through the successive disillusions of contemporary times this one strong hope endures to the present in spite of the gathering storms and darkness that now obscure man’s path.

Men of vision at the close of the last century delighted to paint in radiant colors the glory of the coming time. Mr. Symonds, for instance, in lines still widely known and quoted.

These things shall be! a loftier race

Than e’er the world has known shall rise

With flame of freedom in their souls

And light of knowledge in their eyes.

Nation with nation, land with land,

Unharmed shall live as comrades free;

[Page 165]

In every heart and brain shall throb

The pulse of one fraternity.

New arts shall bloom of loftier mould

And mightier music thrill the skies;

And every life shall be a song

When all the earth is paradise.

Mr. Edward Carpenter in many a vigorous poem develops more fully the same thought, and shows how much of the ancient wrong of the world is now doomed to perish and how much of what so long has been but a beautiful dream is to come true in very fact now.

For example—

“Out of the wreck of cities and civilizations

I saw a new life arise.

Slowly out of the ruins of the past—like a young fern frond uncurling out of its own brown litter—

Out of the litter of a decaying society, out of the confused mass of broken down creeds, customs, ideals—

Out of the cant of commerce—buying cheap and selling dear—the crocodile sympathy of nation with nation,

The smug merchant posing as a benefactor of his kind, the parasite parsons and scientists;

The despair and unbelief possessing all society—rich and poor, educated and ignorant, the money lender, the wage-slave, the artist and the washerwoman alike;

All feeling the terrible pressure and tension of the modern problem;

Out of the litter and muck of a decaying world,

Lo! even so

I saw a new life arise.”

Since the war, this consciousness of an enforced transition has become yet more widely expressed and finds utterance in prose as frequently as in verse. Dr. J. C. Carlisle writes— “There are chapters in the Book of Life. It would seem that a cycle is now completing, a dispensation ending, a new chapter about to begin. We may be at the door of an era which shall be even greater than a Renaissance. The division between the material and the spiritual has become so thin that who can tell whether the human intelligence or the Divine Spirit may not break through so that a new revelation would result, and the spiritual life receive a quickening not unlike that which marked the Incarnation when an inflow of divine power came into the world and God was manifest in the flesh.”

NOT religion only but science too is aware that in some way the boundaries of consciousness are widening. Sir Oliver Lodge writes:—

“In this revolutionary age. . .Humanity is stretching its powers to the uttermost, and is I believe unconsciously preparing the way for a perception of spiritual truth which has not yet fully dawned on the scientific horizon but of which I catch the glimmerings that precede dawn. . . I believe that the old will be supplemented and improved rather than destroyed and discarded. The True [Page 166] will remain. Science comes not to destroy but to fulfill. . . By faith we strive, we hope, and up to our measure we achieve. Through faith, though at times we suffer, we cling to a larger hope. . . Already we can begin to make preparation for the ultimate unknown Destiny of man.”

Mr. Arnold Bennett in his “The Religious Interregnum” goes farther. He anticipates that this extension of consciousness will seek expression first of all in the rise of a new religion, on the advent of which he offers some remarkable suggestions.

“A new channel of communication with the infinite and the everlasting,” he writes, “is clearly the need of the age: that is to say, a new religion . . . . Whence, from whom, in what for, will the next religion arrive? We cannot even surmise. We can only wait for it, quiescent. . . . Three possibilities may however be cautiously suggested concerning it. The first is that on its appearance it will not be identified. More, its identity as the new religion will be violently denied. It will be laughed at, scorned. Its propagandists will be subjected to various ignominies. . . . The second probability is that it will incorporate itself in some of the forms of the religion it is to supplant. . . . The third probability is that it will be based on such a creed as a majority of the best minds can sincerely subscribe to. . . . The wise will prepare for the event less by speculation than by striving to rid themselves of the prejudices which impair judgment . . . Every new religion has first appeared as a magnificent and startling surprise.”

We might lengthen the list of witnesses and with little search give countless quotations quite as apposite as the above; for the reality of the New Age has now become in the secular not less than in the religious realm a commonplace of experience. But though its presence is felt and acknowledged by all men, no man yet has offered a solution of its fundamental problems. No man—save one. One there is and apparently no other who while bearing witness like the rest to the New Age has after a thorough analysis formulated a plan for mastering its difficulties and making a full use of its opportunities. But the road which leads to the ideas and ideals of Bahá’u’lláh is the last road which men in their searchings for security seem willing to set a foot upon. Other avenues they travel, going up and down and to and fro, retracing again and again their steps, and ever moving though never arriving at their goal; this avenue alone they leave untrodden.

It is not as though the Bahá’í movement had been without a spokesman or a sponsor or had secured no publicity. It was first promulgated in the Middle East in a manner as dramatic as could well be imagined and at a cost which proved the disinterestedness of its leaders and their followers.

Its name and fame in those days— in the 40’s and 50’s of the last century —spread far and wide, and it was the subject of several volumes and many articles in western languages. Dr. Jowett of Balliol College according to a well substantiated report stated that the movement might prove to be the greatest light [Page 167] which had shone in the world since the days of Christ. It was some forty years old when a distinguished scientist of Canada in several successive works called the attention of the British public to the extraordinary saintliness and heroism of its Herald, and to the transcendent personal power of its Founder whom he had been privileged to meet.

THE appointed Messenger and Apostle of the Movement, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Knighted by King George as Sir Abbas Effendi for his distinguished humanitarian services in Syria) came twice to the West to proclaim the Glad Tidings. He visited England and the continent and spent a great part of 1912 in a tour of the United States. Through his character, his personal charm and the story of his life he won the respect of all and the love of not a few; and his words breathed comfort, hope, inspiration and happiness into many a tired heart and perplexed mind.

The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh which he presented if in their breath, their spirituality, their substance, they were new, daring, challenging, offered an intelligible and complete explanation of the world-impasse and mapped in clear outline the one and only way of approach by which, he said, the problems of the day would be met and mastered. Oxford University, through the pen of one of its most famous scholars, Nivess, paid to him a tribute of admiration and affection. Professor Cheyne entertained in his home ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, published some three years later a learned and appreciative study of his Message and he wrote of him, —“No one as far as my observation goes has lived the prophet life like ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”

YET the public and its leaders pay not the slightest heed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá or to any suggestion that he transmitted. They formulate their own plans, discuss their own ideas, pursue their own pleasures and designs; and though out of all their united wisdom nothing follows but disappointment and disillusion and growing anarchy and deepening danger, yet they refuse to turn aside to examine it from Bahá’u’lláh, they cannot obtain some idea or plan that might aid them in their emergency.

It is not as though the signs of the times were not such as to give pause to everyone learned and unlearned, thinking and thoughtless. It is not as though history were not rich in warnings that great spiritual movements may at their inception escape the notice of their contemporaries, or if noticed may be lightly dismissed as worthless or even worse than worthless. It is not as though our own civilization itself were without instances that testify how greatly needed in times of intellectual turmoil such as ours are independence, courage, and discrimination. We all know that the greatest moral achievement of the Greeks was that they produced Socrates, and their darkest crime was that having produced him, they failed to recognize his greatness. They condemned and put to death as a heretic, their greatest philosopher and saint because forsooth his doctrine was subversive of sound morals and of established [Page 168] religious views. We find in our Bible this same blindness making again and again, its shameful appearance, not only among the froward and the ungodly but strange to say—more particularly among those who frequent the courts of the temple and say many prayers. One opens the Old Testament and reads how the chosen people in the happy days of Jereboam pursued their religious activities with keen assiduity, how they thronged God’s altars, brought Him sacrifices every morning and tithes every third day, adding to these observances other offerings in lavish abundance. One reads how crowds of worshippers paid their devotions at the great religious centers at Gilgal, Dan and Beersheba, and how the nation’s homage to its Lord came to a focus in the brilliant services offered to Jehovah at the royal sanctuary of Bethel but all this generosity and parade did not indicate that these devotees knew true religion from false; or would be ready to listen to an authentic messenger sent to them by the God of their fathers. When Amos in God’s name denounced the worthlessness of all these prayers and singings and pecuniary contributions, priests and people were genuinely shocked at what they thought the insanity of his utterances. They spurned him as a ranter and a fanatic, and driving him away in indignation, returned to those poor trivial delusions from which he had tried so vainly to awaken them.

If the Northern Kingdom acted in this manner, the Southern Kingdom followed their example and bettered it. Jeremiah is esteemed as an even greater prophet than Amos. The people to whom he was sent honored Jehovah with an almost frenzied devotion and prodigally lavished time and money on His ritual. The divines of the day sincerely believed themselves upholders of the one, true faith. Yet history records that the book of Jeremiah’s prophecies was officially burned in public and the prophet himself was branded by high and low as an enemy of his church, his country and his God.

THE New Testament bears witness to the same unreceptiveness. Even the splendor of a transcendent illumination may not be sufficient to ensure recognition at its first appearance. When one greater than any prophet of Palestine or of Greece came among men, He was not suffered to teach so long as was Jeremiah, and He was brought to a martyr’s death by His contemporaries more speedily even than Socrates. On the Scribes and Pharisees and on those whom they misled abides the stigma of that awful obscurantism. But they were followed in their error by others. The Gentiles for more than two hundred years showed the same blindness to the light of Christ as the Hebrews had done. Until the year 313 A.D. Christianity was scorned, persecuted or legally proscribed. It was not until 324 A.D. that the interdiction was finally removed and the Gospel of Christ accepted as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Even at that date the proclamation of the Christian Emperor was far in advance of the popular opinion of his day; and his [Page 169] enlightenment was shared by perhaps not more than five out of every hundred of his subjects. The slowness of the ancient world (with all its open-mindedness, its intelligence, its culture) to give serious hearing to the Word of the Founders of Christianity has been ever since a cause of comment among the thoughtful. Fifty generations have bewailed it with one voice and have received it with unabated wonder.

The historian Lecky was not a professor of the Christian Faith, nor was he given to the use of unmeasured language; yet he expressed himself on this phenomenon in the following terms:

“There is no fact in the history of the human mind more remarkable than the complete unconsciousness of the importance and destinies of Christianity, manifested by the pagan writers before the accession of Constantine. So large an amount of attention has been bestowed on the ten or twelve allusions to it they furnish, that we are sometimes apt to forget how few and meagre those allusions are and how utterly impossible it is to construct from them with any degree of certainty a history of the early church. Plutarch and the elder Pliny, who probably surpass all other writers of their time in the range of their illustrations, and Seneca, who was certainly the most illustrious moralist of his age, never even mention it. Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius have each adverted to it with a passing and contemptuous censure. Tacitus describes in detail the persecution by Nero, but treats the suffering religion merely as ‘an execrable superstition,’ while Suetonius, employing the same expression, reckons the persecution among the acts of the tyrant that were either laudable or indifferent.”

And again on page 338 he continues—

“That the greatest religious change in the history of mankind should have taken place under the eyes of a brilliant galaxy of philosophers and historians who were profoundly conscious of the decomposition around them, that all of these writers should have utterly failed to predict the issue of the movement they were observing and that, during the space of those centuries, they should have treated as simply contemptible an agency which all men must now admit to have been, for good or evil, the most powerful moral lever that has ever been applied to the affairs of men, are facts well worthy of meditation in every period of religious transition.”

ALL this—and much, too much more like it—every schoolboy has learned in his lesson books. Yet from history men take no warning. “Men learn nothing from history, except that men learn nothing from history.” Unsatisfied with old limitations, old illusions, they restlessly seek relief (as did the cultured world in the time of Christ) in astrology, necromancy, occultism, magic, and every form of superstition. Intellectuals declare, some of them, that we have outgrown religion, others that if a new religion is really to appear it will be developed by degrees as the outcome of man’s own effort and will [Page 170] take shape through the gradual permeation of society by knowledge and disciplined thought. Meantime anarchy spreads, misery increases, perplexity and terror deepen into a worldwide despair. In the midst of portents such as have ever signified the opening of a New Era (though now shown forth on a far vaster scale than ever in the past),—in the midst of failures that with trumpet-tongue declare the hopeless inadequacy of mundane wisdom, men having learned nothing from the tragic experience of their forefathers turn as of old a blind eye and a deaf ear to one whose advent is glorified by the same divine credentials as the Prophets of the past and who offers them in plain language a sufficient explanation of the present-world emergency and a general solution of the problems it presents.

Behold—and wonder!

---

FULFILMENT

By E. T. HALL

He, whom the world had exiled and reviled,

To Haifa came—and distant Hermon smiled

And Akka gleamed and Carmel proudly glanced

O’er sunlit waves that rose and fell and danced.

“This is the One,” the sea-wind broke in song.

“Who comes to reign, to triumph over Wrong;

This is the Day wherein the Heavens are thrilled

And earth shall find all prophecies fulfilled.

Bring forth your flowers, Jezreel, to brightly greet

The Lord of Love who treads with lowly feet

The sacred dust of your immortal land

And uttereth Peace by God’s Supreme Command.

This is Bahá, the Glory of the Lord,

Whose golden heart with Heavenly gifts is stored!”

“O blessed Day,” a land-breeze gently sighed,

“The Light hath dawned for which the martyrs died!”—

And through the world an ethereal tremor ran

Which even now is slowly changing Man.

[Page 171]

THE HOLY MUHAMMADAN EMPIRE IN TRANSITION

By PAUL SIMPSON MCELROY

I

NEW irreligious forces are now rising that bid well to command man’s supreme allegiance. Men are coming to worship the gods of communism, materialism, and nationalism instead of God, or Yahweh, or Allah.

How these forces are affecting Christianity, we who live in the western hemisphere are more or less aware, but their effect upon the Holy Muhammadan Empire is less familiar, though none the less significant. With a world growing increasingly interdependent, the shifting emphasis of another great religious body becomes the more notable because of its reaction upon Christianity, especially when that other religion comprises one-ninth of the population of the world, as does Islam.

Much can be gained by a study of the tremendous changes that are stealthily creeping into the hitherto settled Muhummadan world; forces that upset such long-established and firmly implanted beliefs as are found in the Orient are also capable of undermining cardinal religious tenets of the western world. In this case, to be forewarned may not insure being forearmed, for these insidious forces penetrate the strongest of defenses. To observe the onset of drastic changes upon a great religion, like Islam, is to witness one of the greatest reformations in our day.

II.

In order to appreciate the significance of these changes one should have in mind the prominent position Islam has held in the world during the last millenium. Indeed, one cannot appreciate the chaotic state of Islam today without an understanding of the unique aspects of its background.

Islam was one of those great waves of thought that have sometimes swept across the world embracing whole humanities.

The idea—that there was one God and that Muhammad was the prophet of God—emanated from the mind of a desert nomad and first took root in the isolated community of barren Arabia, an area that had been sadly neglected by Christian evangels. Conditions during the seventh century [Page 172] hardly seemed propitious for a religious revival, for, by the time Christianity had encircled the Mediterranean and had proved through bitter controversy its superiority over oriental mystery cults and Greek paganism it had also proved its adaptability by establishing itself in varied lands. In spite of the fact that Christianity was by far the strongest religion at that time and in spite of the fact that Arabia was sparsely settled and unorganized, the teachings of the new prophet spread with phenomenal rapidity.

Even within the life of its founder, a solid mass of the Near East was bending the knee to Allah. The zealous influence of that compact group of Muslims spread, almost unchecked, for a century until it dominated the entire Near East, even extending its sway from Spain to Persia. It was not until the Battle of Tours under Charles Martel in 732 that the European inundation of Islam was stopped.

Although Tours marked the turning point of Islam and decisively checked the spread of Islam through Europe it, in reality, was only the turning point in direction, for there was already too much vitality in the movement to be thus suppressed. Islam had to overflow;—if it could not flow into Europe it would flow in other directions. The Battle of Tours did not check the spread of Islam, it simply changed the direction.

Since that time converts have been made less rapidly but none the less steadily, so that now after 1300 years it is hard for one to comprehend the magnitude of Islamic influence. A round-the-world traveler first becomes conscious of its impact upon civilization as he enters the straits of Gibraltar and visits parts of northern Africa, for that habitable border between the Sahara and the Mediterranean is now solidly Muhammadan. Egypt alone boasts some 14,000,000 Muslims, and as one journeys through the predominately Muhammadan countries of Palestine, Syria, and Turkey with their teeming millions one becomes more impressed with the extent of their domain. But that is not all, if one could visit Russia he would find some fourteen millions up there. Then, over in India one encounters the largest single block of them, 70,000,000; and even distant China has its 12,000,000. And indeed, our own country is not exempted from their influence for some thousand of Muhammadans now reside in the United States. All told there are some 200,000,000 Muhammadans throughout the world, roughly one-ninth of the whole population.

Islam should also be credited with spreading the monotheistic conception of God in places throughout the world that Christianity could never reach. And it should be remembered that Islam and Christianity have more in common than monotheism. Christianity and Islam recognize common antecedents in their faith in the Hebrew prophets—Moses, Abraham, Isaiah, Jesus. Just as Christians might regard Jesus as the last and greatest of the prophets, so the Muslims regard Muhammad as a still later prophet of God and therefore [Page 173] endowed with later and more desirable revelations from God.

Islam has to its credit the oldest university in the world. And although in matters of religious education Islam may not be regarded as progressive, it is nevertheless a pioneer in regard to the matter of religious educational institutions. It is largely due to Arab culture, sponsored by Islam, that European culture was kept alive during the dark and middle ages. Without Islam, western culture would undoubtedly have been wiped off the earth.

Some of the finest architecture in the world are the mosques of Moorish design. What Greece gave to the world by way of symmetry and balance, the Arabs gave to the world by way of graceful curves and arches. The arabic numerals. so indispensable in our mathematics today, were probably invented by Islamic people and in matters of astronomy they were among the leaders in those dark ages of European culture.

Theologically, there are elements of great strength in Islam and elements that are not contradictory to Christian tenets. It is on these grounds that Christianity and Islam should meet more often. As Professor R. E. Hume points out, in “The World’s Living Religions,” both religions believe in one supreme deity, as opposed to idolatry; and they have confidence in a sovereign world ruler. God is merciful and compassionate. All adherents of Islam and Christianity advocate utter devotion to the will of God. These two great religions stress a life of prayer and an unescapable judgment day. They are world-wide in outlook and have a strong missionary aggressiveness.

One should not forget that Islam is a world-wide religious empire, transcending race and political boundaries.

III.

Before one can appreciate the extent and importance of the outside influences on Islam one needs to understand something of the mental attitude of many of its people. The following may serve to illustrate the type of mind and thinking that is extant among the uneducated with which Islam must deal in this transitional period.

The French, Arabic, and English newspapers of Cairo all carried the news, yet millions of the illiterate inhabitants of Egypt never knew that there was to be a total eclipse of the moon that night.

Several from the staff of the American University at Cairo broke away from the street-lighted city to view the phenomenon from a native village on the outskirts of Old Cairo. One sensed a rare tranquillity as one wandered about this village which was much more conducive to our purpose than the illuminated metropolis. The simple villagers, unaware of the approaching spectacle, were squatting about as only orientals can squat and the old men were contentedly smoking their pipes.

The pale uneven village skyline silhouetted against the bare and distant horizon, the shades of eventide slowly giving way to the enchanting hue of the rising moon, the serenity of the Nile, the romanticism of the [Page 174] drooping palm branches gently waving to and fro as if fanning the shining Lady of the Moon which they so gracefully framed, the mystery associated with the marvel which would soon appear over the hills of the vast Arabian desert where learned men of old had gazed upon equally spectacular sights, the superstition that prevailed—all bewitched one.

As the shaded disc slowly crept across the moon the robed sheikhs continued to sit around idly puffing away at their naguilas, quite oblivious to the miracle that was taking place.

We were curious to hear what explanations these eastern people might have so we asked a rather intelligent looking native if he thought the eclipse to be a warning sign of the end of the world, but he was certain that the moon was just partially hidden behind a huge mountain and that it would soon rise above it and appear normal again. We were told that if we looked carefully we could see for ourselves.

In exchange for his views, we proffered our explanations and he appealed to an omniscient sheikh (not the movie type) who immediately came over to enlighten us about this darkening object. To him it was clearly nothing but a cloud covering part of the moon; even when we told him that it was an eclipse he marveiled not, but simply said, “God is able to do great things—Praise be to Allah. God’s reason for covering the moon is simply to remind the people of His omnipotence.”

Still another revered sheikh maintained that the shaded part was the hand of God—rather an imaginative interpretation to say the least.

It was not long before it became perceptahly darker, and tom-toms and wailings and shrieks could be heard from all directions. Our “learned” sheikh told us that the frightened and more ignorant infidels made those hideous sounds to drive away the evil spirits; but when questioned as to why the wise believers made a similar disturbance he rejoined that that was to let God know that they were mindful of the power of His might manifested in the eclipse.

We, who live in an age of reason, demand a scientific explanation for causes but these simple folk have a stubborn faith which makes them cling steadfastly to their original ideas. After such an experience one realizes more fully what great strength lies in their ignorance and what a stupendous task it is to convert these honest doubters to new views and ideas.

It should be clearly stated that this is no reflection on Islam whatsoever, but merely an illustration that characterizes the thinking of a large mass of uneducated that happen to be found in Muhammadan lands. In making adjustments, Islam must contend with this simple, unquestioning faith.

IV.

As a matter of fact, the very rise of Islam is a sad indictment against Christianity.

At the time Islam was born, Christianity was the most powerful religion of the civilized world and as an [Page 175] established religion it could and should have conquered the lands Islam rose to do. It is a reproach to Christianity that it lacked the vitality and missionary zeal so essential to its health and growth.

Not only that but during the declining years of Roman power the colonies were taxed excessively and corruption had so crept in that Christian principles were not practised. Was it any wonder that Christian colonists under Roman rule regarded this new monotheistic religion favorably? Muhammadanism was coming “up and out of” the East as the combination of a new religion opposed to Christianity and as a new political power opposed to Rome. Surely, argued many Roman colonists, these Arabs profess one God as we do and their rule can be no more intolerable than that of Rome. We will support them rather than Rome. And so they did!

Had Rome practised Christianity, Islam could never have arisen!

Christianity was not a spiritual force in that age. Nominally, Christianity was in the world and there were many ardent and pious followers of the religion in that day, but the fact remains that Christianity was not a force. The proof? Islam!

Christianity yielded passively for nearly a century to the advance of Islam; it brought no significant forces against the wide spread of Islam during its formative years. Christianity, rather, was overcome by Islam in many places. That Christianity itself was powerless to resist the advance of Islam spiritually and had to resort to secular military power is a reproach to Christianity. The spread of Islam is not so much a credit to Islam as a discredit to Christianity.

(To be concluded)

---

“Every discerning observer will recognize that in the Dispensation of the Qur’an both the Book and the Cause of Jesus were confirmed. Muhammad, Himself, declared: ‘I am Jesus.’ He recognized the truth of the signs, prophecies, and the words of Jesus, and testifies that they were all of God.”

—Bahá’u’lláh

[Page 176]

[Page 177]

PRESIDENT EDUARD BENEŠ

By MARTHA L. ROOT

PRESIDENT Dr. Eduard Beneš of Czechoslovakia, who in December, 1935, succeeded President T. G. Masaryk, incorporates the spirit of the young Republic in its concentration on liberty, democracy and culture in the new world order. I had the honor and the privilege of receiving an audience with him at Hradčany Castle in Prague, on April 22, 1936. Passing through those great reception halls in that centuries- old castle where kings have held sway, I observed everything minutely, but when I came into the presence of this young President in his audience room, I saw only him,— for he is the living embodiment of a man with a mission, and that mission is peace. He may he building greater than he knows! Certainly it was thrilling, when one remembers how Bahá’u’lláh more than sixty years ago urged the rulers of the world to study His spiritual plan for the good of the world and the happiness of the nations, to find today in Czechoslovakia a Ruler of this Republic who has the insight to see the significance of the Bahá’í Peace Plan.

Also of extreme significance to readers is the historical fact that the Letters written by Bahá’u’lláh from His prison in ‘Akká to the kings and rulers of Europe—one of whom was the monarch whose realm included this same Czechoslovakia—in 1869 and 1870, not only declared that Universal Peace was the first obligation of governments in this new age, but predicted the overthrow of every government resisting this ideal— a prediction that has been literally fulfilled.

“President Beneš, what do you think of the Bahá’í peace Teaching?” I asked him that morning, and he replied: “It is as you know: I have followed it with deep interest ever since my trip to London to the First Races Congress in July, 1911, when I heard for the first time of the Bahá’í Movement. I followed it during the war and after the war. The Bahá’í Teaching is one of the spiritual forces now absolutely necessary to put the spirit first in this battle against material forces.”

He has studied carefully a number of the Works of Bahá’u’lláh and [Page 178] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. He said concerning peace: “Peace is in danger today because the spirit is lacking; in these chaotic times since the Great War, the fight is terrifically keen between the spiritual and the material forces. Many people are convinced that the material forces are dominating and will dominate, but I have always believed that the spirit will finally win. It is always so, Jesus said fear not those who can kill the body but those who are able to destroy both the soul and the body.”

“The Bahá’í Teaching,” the President again affirmed, “is one of the great instruments for the final victory of the spirit and of humanity.” It is a great impulse when true rulers like President Beneš, President Masaryk and others begin to turn to the Bahá’í Teachings to safeguard the interests and promote the well-being of the whole human race.

The President spoke next of his own country and its aims for peace. One felt that Czechoslovakia is solid and sound physically and morally. He said: “We do not ask anything of anyone, we are not a provocation to any one, and we attack no one. Ed entrust our affairs to the League of Nations in Geneva and to the World Court at The Hague. Our conscience is clear, we do not fear international judgment. If we are right, it is well; if we are wrong we shall make the corrections, that is the spirit of this country and its government.”

He spoke fervently about universal peace. His own words were: “Peace is the work of men, exactly as war is the work of men. I am of the opinion that governing people are always responsible for the wars. The responsible people in certain numbers can make the wars, or they can establish peace.”

Such is the President of this little nation in the midmost heart of Europe, the country which is the balance, the counterpoise, to the entire European equilibrium. He is an optimist, he told me: “I do my best, I have a good conscience. I do all I can, in such a case one cannot be a pessimist.” He is a constructive pacifist, some even call him a militant pacifist in his march of ideas and tremendous efforts to establish good-will among the nations. To me he seemed neither proud, nor humble, but unconscious of his personal self he devotes his very being to his aim—and that aim is to help make a world of peace. He is most appreciative. He is most courteous: though he is such a busy man, he does not hurry, he makes each visitor feel he has time to speak. The nine men who came out from his audience chamber just before I entered it, looked so very happy and in their eyes glowed the bright fire of the spirit.

He is the wisely-chosen President of an energetic nation that dwells, in its geographical position, at the very crossroads of Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern Europe. Through the Bahá’í Teachings this Republic of Czechoslovakia can become a center of the cultural currents which a new divine civilization is creating. The nations that arise to the peace ideals of this new universal cycle are those that will go forward.

[Page 179]

THE UNFOLDMENT OF WORLD CIVILIZATION

By SHOGHI EFFENDI

II

ONLY those who are willing to associate the Revelation proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh with the consummation of so stupendous an evolution in the collective life of the whole human race can grasp the significance of the words which He, while alluding to the glories of this promised Day and to the duration of the Bahá’í Era, has deemed fit to utter. “This is the King of Days,” He exclaims, “the Day that hath seen the coming of the Best-Beloved, Him Who, through all eternity, hath been acclaimed the Desire of the World.” “The Scriptures of past Dispensations,” He further asserts, “celebrate the great jubilee that must needs greet this most great Day of God. Well is it with him that hath lived to see this Day and hath recognized its station.” “It is evident,” He, in another passage explains, “that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is divinely-ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God’s appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished from those that have preceded it. The designation ‘Seal of the Prophets’ fully revealeth its high station. The Prophetic Cycle hath verily ended. The Eternal Truth is now come. He hath lifted up the ensign of power, and is now shedding upon the world the unclouded splendor of His Revelation.” “In this most mighty Revelation,” He, in categorical language, declares, “all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest, their final consummation. That which hath been made manifest in this pre-eminent, this most exalted Revelation, standeth unparalleled in the annals of the past, nor will future ages witness its like.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s authentic pronouncements should, likewise, be recalled as confirming, in no less emphatic manner, the unexampled vastness of the Bahá’í Dispensation. “Centuries,” He affirms in one of His Tablets, “nay, countless ages, must pass away ere the Day-Star of Truth shineth again in its mid-summer [Page 180] splendor, or appeareth once more in the radiance of its vernal glory . . . The mere contemplation of the Dispensation inaugurated by the Blessed Beauty would have sufficed to overwhelm the saints of bygone ages— saints who longed to partake, for one moment, of its great glory.” “Concerning the Manifestations that will come down in the future ‘in the shadows of the clouds,’” He, in a still more definite language, affirms, “know, verily, that in so far as their relation to the Source of their inspiration is concerned, they are under the shadow of the Ancient Beauty. In their relation, however, to the age in which they appear, each and every one of them ‘doeth whatsoever He willeth.’” “This holy Dispensation,” He, alluding to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, explains, “is illumined with the light of the Sun of Truth shining from its most exalted station, and in the plenitude of its resplendency, its heat and glory.”

DEARLY-BELOVED friends: Though the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh has been delivered, the World Order which such a Revelation must needs beget is as yet unborn. Though the Heroic Age of His Faith is passed, the creative energies which that Age has released have not as yet crystallized into that world society which, in the fullness of time, is to mirror forth the brightness of His glory. Though the framework of His Administrative Order has been erected, and the Formative Period of the Bahá’í Era has begun, yet the promised Kingdom into which the seed of His institutions must ripen remains as yet uninaugurated. Though His Voice has been raised, and the ensigns of His Faith have been lifted up in no less than forty countries of both the East and the West, yet the wholeness of the human race is as yet unrecognized, its unity unproclaimed, and the standard of its Most Great Peace unhoisted.

“The heights,” Bahá’u’lláh Himself testifies, “which, through the most gracious favor of God, mortal man can attain in this Day are as yet unrevealed to his sight. The world of being hath never had, nor doth it yet possess, the capacity for such a revelation. The day, however, is approaching when the potentialities of so great a favor will, by virtue of His behest, be manifested unto men.”

For the revelation of so great a favor a period of intense turmoil and wide-spread suffering would seem to be indispensable. Resplendent as has been the Age that has witnessed the inception of the Mission with which Bahá’u’lláh has been entrusted, the interval which must elapse ere that Age yields its choicest fruit must, it is becoming increasingly apparent, be overshadowed by such moral and social gloom as can alone prepare an unrepentant humanity for the prize she is destined to inherit.

Into such a period we are now steadily and irresistibly moving. Amidst the shadows which are increasingly gathering about us we can faintly discern the glimmerings of Bahá’u’lláh’s unearthly sovereignty appearing fitfully on the horizon of history. To us, the “generation of the half-light,” living at a time which may be designated as the period of the incubation of the World Commonwealth [Page 181] envisioned by Bahá’u’lláh, has been assigned a task whose high privilege we can never sufficiently appreciate, and the arduousness of which we can as yet but dimly recognize. We may well believe, we who are called upon to experience the operation of the dark forces destined to unloose a flood of agonizing afflictions, that the darkest hour that must precede the dawn of the Golden Age of our Faith has not yet struck. Deep as is the gloom that already encircles the world, the afflictive ordeals which that world is to suffer are still in preparation, nor can their blackness be as yet imagined. We stand on the threshold of an age whose convulsions proclaim alike the death- pangs of the old order and the birth- pangs of the new. Through the generating influence of the Faith announced by Bahá’u’lláh this New World Order may be said to have been conceived. We can, at the present moment, experience its stirrings in the womb of a travailing age—an age waiting for the appointed hour at which it can cast its burden and yield its fairest fruit.

“The whole earth,” writes Bahá’u’lláh, “is now in a state of pregnancy. The day is approaching when it will have yielded its noblest fruits, when from it will have sprung forth the loftiest trees, the most enchanting blossoms, the most heavenly blessings. Immeasurably exalted is the breeze that wafteth from the garment of thy Lord, the Glorified! For lo, it hath breathed its fragrance and made all things new! Well is it with them that comprehend.” “The on-rushing winds of the grace of God,” He, in the Súratu’l-Haykal, proclaims, “have passed over all things. Every creature hath been endowed with all the potentialities it can carry. And yet the peoples of the world have denied this grace! Every tree hath been endowed with the choicest fruits, every ocean enriched with the most luminous gems. Man, himself, hath been invested with the gifts of understanding and knowledge. The whole creation hath been made the recipient of the revelation of the All-Merciful, and the earth the repository of things inscrutable to all except God, the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. The time is approaching when every created thing will have cast its burden. Glorified be God Who hath vouchsafed this grace that encompasseth all things, whether seen or unseen!”

“The Call of God,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written, “when raised, breathed a new life into the body of mankind, and infused a new spirit into the whole creation. It is for this reason that the world hath been moved to its depths, and the hearts and consciences of men been quickened. Erelong the evidences of this regeneration will be revealed, and the fast asleep will be awakened.”

As we view the world around us, we are compelled to observe the manifold evidences of that universal fermentation which, in every continent of the globe and in every department of human life, be it religious, social, economic or political, is purging and reshaping humanity in anticipation of the Day when the wholeness of the human race will [Page 182] have been recognized and its unity established. A two-fold process, however, can be distinguished, each tending, in its own way and with an accelerated momentum, to bring to a climax the forces that are transforming the face of our planet. The first is essentially an integrating process, while the second is fundamentally disruptive. The former, as it steadily evolves, unfolds a System which may well serve as a pattern for that world polity towards which a strangely- disordered world is continually advancing; while the latter, as its disintegrating influence deepens, tends to tear down, with increasing violence, the antiquated barriers that seek to block humanity’s progress towards its destined goal. The constructive process stands associated with the nascent Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, and is the harbinger of the New World Order that Faith must erelong establish. The destructive forces that characterize the other should be identified with a civilization that has refused to answer to the expectation of new age, and is consequently falling into chaos and decline.

A titanic, a spiritual struggle, unparalleled in its magnitude yet unspeakably glorious in its ultimate consequences, is being waged as a result of these opposing tendencies, in this age of transition through which the organized community of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh and mankind as a whole are passing.

The Spirit that has incarnated itself in the institutions of a rising Faith has, in the course of its onward march for the redemption of the world, encountered and is now battling with such forces as are, in most instances, the very negation of that Spirit, and whose continued existence must inevitably hinder it from achieving its purpose. The hollow and outworn institutions, the obsolescent doctrines and beliefs, the effete and discredited traditions which these forces represent, it should be observed, have, in certain instances, been undermined by virtue of their senility, the loss of their cohesive power, and their own inherent corruption. A few have been swept away by the onrushing forces which the Bahá’í Faith has, at the hour of its birth, so mysteriously released. Others, as a direct result of a vain and feeble resistance to its rise in the initial stages of its development, have died out and been utterly discredited. Still others, fearful of the pervasive influence of the institutions in which that same Spirit had, at a later stage, been embodied, had mobilized their forces and launched their attack, destined to sustain, in their turn, after a brief and illusory success, an ignominious defeat.

IT is not my purpose to call to mind, much less to attempt a detailed analysis of, the spiritual struggles that have ensued, or to note the victories that have redounded to the glory of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh since the day of its foundation. My chief concern is not with the happenings that have distinguished the First, the Apostolic Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation, but rather with the outstanding events that are transpiring in, and the tendencies which characterize, the formative period of its [Page 183] development, this Age of Transition, whose tribulations are the precursors of that Era of blissful felicity which is to incarnate God’s ultimate purpose for all mankind . . . The dissolution of the German Empire, the humiliating defeat inflicted upon its ruler, the successor and lineal descendant of the Prussian King and Emperor to whom Bahá’u’lláh had addressed His solemn and historic warning, together with the extinction of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the remnant of the once-great Holy Roman Empire, were both precipitated by a war whose outbreak signalized the opening of the Age of Frustration destined to precede the establishment of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. Both of these momentous events may be viewed as the earliest occurrences of that turbulent Age, into the outer fringes of whose darkest phase we are now beginning to enter.

To the Conqueror of Napoleon III, the Author of our Faith had, on the morrow of the King’s victory, addressed, in His Most Holy Book, this clear and ominous warning: “O King of Berlin! . . . Take heed lest pride debar thee from recognizing the Dayspring of Divine Revelation, lest earthly desires shut thee out, as by a veil, from the Lord of the Throne above and of the earth below. Thus counselleth thee the Pen of the Most High. He, verily, is the Most Gracious, the All-Bountiful. Do thou remember the one whose power transcendeth thy power (Napoleon III), and whose station excelled thy station. Where is he? Whither are gone the things he possessed? Take warning, and be not of them that are fast asleep. He it is who cast the Tablet of God behind him, when We made know unto him what the hosts of tyranny had caused Us to suffer. Wherefore, disgrace assailed him from all sides, and he went down to dust in great loss. Think deeply, O King, concerning him, and concerning them who, like unto thee, have conquered cities and ruled over men. The All-Merciful brought them down from their palaces to their graves. Be warned, be of them who reflect.”

“O banks of the Rhine!” Bahá’u’lláh, in another passage of that same Book, prophesies, “We have seen you covered with gore, inasmuch as the swords of retribution were drawn against you; and so you shall have another turn. And We hear the lamentations of Berlin, though she be today in conspicuous glory.”

(To be continued)

[Page 184]

SOUTH AMERICA

A Bahá’í Journey

By L. A. AND E. R. MATHEWS

SOUTH AMERICA can no more be described as a whole than can the continent of Europe. Its vast area comprises variety in language and custom, while its history stretches back into a dim past, from whose shadow archeologists have rescued broken fragments that show mummies embalmed after the manner of Egypt, skulls that have been trepanned, geometrical ornaments, vases of classic design as well as delicately wrought profiles in silver and gold. Alas! that no Rosetta Stone has been found to enable us to read the characters on the arches and columns that lie prone on the sites of the ancient temples.

Each country of South America has written its own separate history. The West Coast, however, may be said to possess a common denominator— trade, because of the depots of fruit, oil, metal, fertilizers and grain. The Humboldt current, an icy stream of water, flowing up from the Antarctic region encounters the Japan current, chilling the waters of the Pacific and killing thousands of fish upon which the Guana birds feed. Whenever the current wanders off into deep waters the shores become lush and tropical.

The most interesting city of the West Coast is Lima in Peru. Here in the year 1538 Pizarro made himself master, not alone of what he surveyed, but, like Midas, of gold and silver. Having captured the last of the Incas, Pizarro promised him his life if he would fill a lofty chamber with gold, but when this request was complied with Pizarro put him to death with crafty haste. The Conquistador then turned his attention to founding a city that he named for Saint Rosa. Lima today breathes the spirit of Pizarro. From the palace to the Inquisitional Hall his steps may be retraced, and upon reaching the Cathedral one sees him proudly riding a spirited horse, sword in hand. This fine statue is the work of the late Charles Rumsey. Inside the church on the right Pizarro’s body has been preserved and is visible through a glass casket, awesome and [Page 185] hideous, but the proud treasure of the city of Lima.

As we had journeyed to South America with a definite Bahá’í program, that of forming groups for the study of the Faith, as well as to find individuals of capacity, who could comprehend Bahá’u’lláh’s program for a future civilization, we gathered facts about the countries through which we were to travel. Thus we learned that while outwardly the Spanish conquest maintained, commerce was slowly drifting into alien hands. Canadians, hardy and thrifty, were here. Americans also, their heads crammed with schemes for accelerating trade. Germans by the thousand, driven from the Fatherland by the great war. Italians out of sympathy with present day government. These pioneers were moulding the environment to suit their needs, while each brought his traditions, his culture.

The “Santa Lucia” landed us at Valparaiso and from there the train carried us to the Capitol of Chile, Santiago. The city is set in a bowl enclosed on all sides by the towering Andes. Each hour of light throws a mantle of color over the mountains and at sunset the shadows turn from pink to blue and taper into a soft purple that diffuses its imperial color over the whole city. The streets of the Capitol are narrow and shabby, here and there a richly ornamented building bespeaks a spurt of ambition.

MY first definite request to present the Bahá’í Cause was at the Y.W.C.A. The proposal met with an instant response. The staff made all arrangements and when the afternoon arrived the hall was crowded with notables; the heads of the Sweet Memorial hospital and clinic; the directors of the Valparaiso Y.M.C.A., the leaders of the literary societies as well as President of the college and ministers of various denominations. Mr. Mathews opened by reading a page from the Bahá’í Scriptures. When he finished, the chairman asked him to read it again. This request became the keynote of the occasion, lifting it beyond the ordinary meeting and when the talk “Widening Our Horizons” was finished, questions were asked from every part of the audience. It was already dark when we left the building, the whole afternoon had been filled with heavenly enthusiasm, so much so that we could scarcely credit the fact that we, the bearers of a new Message, had been so warmly received in this distant land.

Immediate results followed, for both the head and secretary of the Societé de Femina became students of the Bahá’í Teachings. This little literary circle of thirty students studied literature in both Spanish and English and it was therefore arranged that they should read “Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era” and “The Goal of the New World Order” in Spanish and English.

At length the time came when we bade farewell to our new found friends, happy in the thought that in the Capitol of Chile there would be a group studying the Cause. Study would augment capacity and in time an understanding of the principles [Page 186] of the New Civilization would draw these students to become part of the great program of Bahá’u’lláh.

In 1921 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote a Tablet to Chile and sent it to Martha Root. It is of the utmost importance, and passages are therefore quoted.

“You see how the world is attacking one another, how the countries are dyed with human blood. . . Heads have become like grain in a grinding mill. . . Prosperous countries have been ruined, cities devastated, villages demolished. Fathers have lost their sons, sons their fathers, mothers have wept blood for the loss of their children. . . The source of all this unhappiness is racial prejudice, national prejudice, religious prejudice and political prejudice. The source of these prejudice is ancient imitation. So long as blind imitation lasts, the human world will be in ruins and in peril.

“Now in such a glorious age, when the realities have appeared and secrets of being have been discovered, the morning of truth has shone, the world has been illuminated, is it permissible to wage these terrible wars, wars that throw the human world into ruins? No, not by the Lord!

“From the horizon of Persia His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh has shone like a sun upon the world and He has declared that the world was dark and that this darkness would continue with horrible results. From the prison of Akká He clearly addressed the Emperor of Germany saying that there Will come a great war and that Berlin will weep and lament. When the Sultan of Turkey wronged Bahá’u’lláh, He wrote him from the barracks of Akká that Constantinople would fall a victim to a great revolution, one extending even to the women and children so that they would (also) lament, with great cries. In brief, He addressed all the Kings and Presidents of Republics telling them what would happen and that which He wrote has come to pass. The Supreme Pen has written how to prevent war and His words have been scattered all over the world. First among these counsels is the independent search after truth, because imitation limits man. The second teaching is of the oneness of the world of humanity—all are the creation of a Creator; God, the kind Shepherd shows kindness to all, He does not differentiate. The clement Lord sees no differences between His Creatures. All are His servants and all receive His generosity. The third teaching is that religion is a strong fortress, but it must be the cause of love. . . If it causes hatred and enmity, it is unnecessary. For religion is like a cure; if the cure causes illness then it is better to dispense with it. Religious, racial, national and political prejudices are the destroyers of the world. These are the causes of bloodshed, prejudice is the ruin of the world of humanity. As long as they last, frightful wars will recur. The cure for these ills is universal peace.

“For the world to have universal peace a great world court must be set up by all the governments and nations. The problems of all nations and governments must be turned over to this court and whatever this court decides must he accepted and followed [Page 187] If a government or nation disobey, the whole world must rise to oppose that government or nation. . . Now it is clear that these teachings are the life of the world and its true spirit. As you are servants of the human world you must strive with heart and soul until humanity is rescued from darkness, from prejudice and from the world of nature. Strive to reach the light of the divine world. Praise be to God that you are informed of these teachings. Today, without Bahá’u’lláh’s instructions, the world will have no rest. Of itself the darkness will not disperse, these serious maladies will not be cured, instead conditions will become worse and more difficult day by day. The Balkans will not be tranquilized, they will seek means to inflame the fires of war again. New public movements will use their powers to achieve their own selfish ends. Therefore with bright hearts, divine souls, celestial strength and heavenly will, strive to he to the world of humanity God’s bounty and the cause of rest and tranquility to humanity.”

THERE are two ways of reaching the Argentine from Chile; the first is over the Andes, the route Martha Root had taken; the other skirting Chile and Patagonia. We determined upon the Southern route where no Bahá’í had yet been. From the south, winter was already enveloping the whole Antartic region, sending icy winds northward over Patagonia. We decided, however, to risk these hazards and go to the Argentine via the Chilean Lakes.

Orsono, the starting point for this region, lies a day and night journey from Santiago. In the town of Orsono there was but one motor available for reaching Lake Llanquihue, an old and rickety Buick—in this disqualified vehicle we began our journey, swaying over dirt roads furrowed by continuous rains. Here and there the ruts gave way to beds of lava, over which the machine would roll shaking and groaning. After four and a half weary hours we descried the welcome lights of Ensenada. It nestles beside a sheet of still water surrounded by great trees from whose pointed leaves heavy drops fell rhythmically. The tiny cabin that received us was as narrow as a box, its single window nailed against fresh air. Its furnishings consisted of a straw mattress laid on boards covered by turkey-red comforters that did duty for sheets, blankets and pillows. No palace, however, could have seemed more luxurious! Our inquisitional ride was soon forgotten in the company of the proprietor who was both cultured and charming, and expanded mightily on hearing Mr. Mathews’ fluent German.

In this remote land occurred a great spiritual experience. One of those meetings of the spirit that make social amenities pale by comparison. It happened that a German couple had come from Puerto Varas, Chile. Madame de Burmuihl spoke English. In whispers in the corner of the office we talked of the New World Order; as I unfolded the Divine Plan she seemed to read it with me as from an open book. Each statement of mine was rounded out and completed by this clear sighted woman. [Page 188] As I explained the simple form of our Administration and the station of the Guardian of the Cause, she repeated my words to her husband: “Listen, Gustave, we have a Guardian —one who holds the world together in this day—one who is preparing humanity for a new civilization.” Very thoughtfully he turned the idea over in his mind and then replied in a deep voice. “Yes, yes, I can understand that. It is as it should be—somewhere a spiritual leader must be making the plan that will guide us out of the wilderness and chaos of the present into a new and better path.” Madame de Burmuihl explained that they belonged to a large group of Germans who met and studied under the name of “Liberal Thought Society.” But no more literature from the society was permitted in Germany, so as winter approached they were without material for study. The Bahá’í Revelation formed the link in the chain and they embraced it eagerly and wholeheartedly. They felt sure that the study group would accept it as they did.

(To be continued)

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“The purpose underlying the revelation of every heavenly Book, nay of every divinely- revealed verse, is to endue all men with righteousness and understanding, so that peace and tranquillity may be firmly established amongst them. Whatsoever instilleth assurance into the hearts of men, whatsoever exalteth their station or promoteth their contentment, is acceptable in the sight of God.”

—Baha'u'llah

[Page 189]

SPIRITUAL PROOFS OF THE ORIGIN OF MAN

By ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ

THE proofs which we have adduced relative to the origin of the human species were logical proofs; now we will give the spiritual proofs, which are essential. For, as we have proved Divinity by logical arguments, and have also proved logically that man exists from his origin and foundation as man, and that his species has existed from all eternity, now we will establish spiritual proofs that human existence—that is, the species of man—is a necessary existence, and that without man the perfections of Divinity would not appear. But these are spiritual proofs, not logical proofs.

We have many times demonstrated and established that man is the noblest of beings, the sum of all perfections and that all beings and all existences are the centers from which the glory of God is reflected, that is to say, the signs of the Divinity of God are apparent in the realities of things and of creatures. Just as the terrestrial globe is the place where the rays of the sun are reflected—as its light, its heat, and its influence are apparent and visible in all the atoms of the earth—so, in the same way, the atoms of beings, in this infinite space, proclaim and prove one of the divine perfections. Nothing is deprived of this benefit; it is either a sign of the mercy of God or it is a sign of His power, His greatness, His justice, His lordship which imparts education; or it is a sign of the generosity of God, His vision, His hearing, His knowledge, His grace, and so on.

Without doubt each being is the center of the shining forth of the glory of God: that is to say, the perfections of God appear from it and are resplendent in it. It is like the sun, which is resplendent in the desert, upon the sea, in the trees, in the fruits and blossoms, and in all earthly things. The world, indeed each existing being, proclaims to us one of the names of God, but the reality of man is the collective reality, the general reality, and is the center where the glory of all the perfections of God shine forth. That is to say, for each name, each attribute, each perfection which we affirm of God, there exists [Page 190] a sign in man; if it were otherwise, man could not imagine these perfections, and could not understand them. So we say that God is the seer, and the eye is the sign of His vision; if this sight were not in man, how could we imagine the vision of God? for the blind, that is one born blind, cannot imagine sight; and the deaf, that is one deaf from birth, cannot imagine hearing; and the dead cannot realize life. Consequently the Divinity of God, which is the sum of all perfections, reflects itself in the reality of man; that is to say, the Essence of Oneness is the gathering of all perfections, and from this unity He casts a reflection upon the human reality. Man then is the perfect mirror facing the Sun of Truth, and is the center of radiation: the Sun of Truth shines in this mirror. The reflection of the divine perfections appears in the reality of man, so he is the representative of God, the messenger of God. If man did not exist, the universe would be without result for the object of existence is the appearance of the perfections of God.

Therefore it cannot be said there was a time when man was not. All that we can say is that this terrestrial globe at one time did not exist, and at its beginning man did not appear upon it. But from the beginning, which has no beginning, to the end which has no end, a perfect manifestation always exists. This man of whom we speak is not every man; we mean the perfect man. For the noblest part of the tree is the fruit, which is the reason of its existence; if the tree had no fruit, it would have no meaning. Therefore it cannot be imagined that the worlds of existence, whether the stars or this earth, were once inhabited by the donkey, cow, mouse and cat, and that they were without man! This supposition is false and meaningless. The word of God is clear as the sun. This is a spiritual proof, but one which we cannot at the beginning put forth for the benefit of the materialists; first we must speak of the logical proofs, afterwards the spiritual proofs.

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[Page 191]

MONEY OFFERINGS IN RELIGION

By MAMIE L. SETO

“MINE is benevolence and bounty; well is it with him that adorneth himself with My virtues.”

Man is made in the image and likeness of God; he is not like Him, however, until he shows forth the same qualities.

“Verily,” wrote Bahá’u’lláh, “man is not called man until he is imbued with the attributes of the Merciful.”

God is known as the most bountiful and distinguished for His generosity, therefore man must likewise be noted for these two great qualities.

In one of the prayers revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá we find the following words: “Cause him to be a sign of giving among the people.”

Man may develop himself in the image and likeness of his Creator by following the principles and precepts of religion as given by the Manifescation of God for the day and age in which He comes.

The command to give a portion of one’s substance or income for the promotion of the religion of God has been a part of the teachings of all the prophets, and has been renewed in this age by Bahá’u’lláh. Arising to fulfil this command is a great opportunity for the individual to train himself in giving and generosity and thus hasten the development of those spiritual qualities which the Creator wishes his children to possess.

The Manifestations of God have been concerned not only with the spiritual development of the individual; they have been equally interested in the matter of instructing him in his right relationship to his fellowmen, for upon this correct relationship depend their tranquility, progress and happiness. Good-will, love, service, justice, cooperation, have ever been the theme of Their teachings, and every command that has been given has been for the purpose of bringing about a realization of these ideals in the lives of men.

THEN, too, the heavenly Father wishes his children to love one another in a universal sense, and this love to be genuine must be expressed [Page 192] in deeds.

“O Son of Man! Wert thou to observe mercy thou wouldst not regard chine own interest, but the interest of mankind. Wert thou to observe justice, choose thou for others what thou choosest for thyself,” wrote Bahá’u’lláh in Words of Wisdom.

The fulfilling of the command to give a portion of our money would be an expression of universal love and our concern for the betterment of humanity. Such offering is always used for the promotion of the religion of God, and religion is the cause of the progress and happiness of the human race.

The command to give a portion of our material wealth for the good of our fellow-men is an ancient one and dates back to the time of Abram. We find recorded in the book of Genesis how Abram gave tithes to Melchizedeck. Jacob, too, set aside one-tenth of his substance for the cause of God. Moses and Muhammad also enjoined giving part of material substance for the support of the religion of God. Up co the present time, some denominations of Christianity faithfully observe tithing, and the Eskimos of one particular denomination give one fox- fur out of every ten for the support of their religion. In the dispensation of Moses, tithing, as it was then called, was most faithfully practised and dutifully observed. There are many references to the faithful observance of this command in the books of the Old Testament. In Leviticus 27:30 we read the following account: “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.”

In II Chronicles 31:5 we see how diligently this commandment was observed by the Hebrew people:

“And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.”

The close adherence to the plan of God keeps man in a blessed state, and when man lives contrary to the teachings of God suffering and deprivation result.

It is a great blessing to give, and growth toward a larger consciousness and a more abundant life ensues; for all growth, whether in the physical or spiritual realm, follows the law of expansion. “It is more blessed to give than to reccive.”

“Bahá’ís consider it more blessed and a greater privilege to bestow than to gain and receive. They believe that bestowing good upon one another is the greatest means of help to both.”

In the Qur’án there is much regarding the wisdom and blessing of offering contributions for support of the religion of God. Muhammad makes it very clear how one’s soul development is retarded by disobedience to the commands of the prophets.

“Verily this present life is only a play and a vain amusement; but if ye believe, and fear God, He will give you your rewards. He doth not require of you your whole substance; if He should require the whole of you, and earnestly press you, ye would become [Page 193] niggardly, and it would raise your hatred against His apostle. Behold, ye are those who are invited to expend part of your substance for the support of God’s true religion; and there are some of you who are niggardly. But whoever shall be niggardly shall be niggardly towards his own soul: for God wanteth nothing, but ye are needy: and if ye turn back, He will substitute another people in your stead, who shall not be like unto you.”

IN the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá there is the following regarding the privilege and blessing of money offerings:

“O friends of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá! The Lord as a sign of His infinite bounties, hath graciously favored His servants by providing for a fixed money offering (Huquq) to be dutifully presented unto Him, though He, the True One, and His servants have been at all times independent of all created things, and God verily is the All-Possessing, exalted above the need of any gift from His creatures. This fixed money offering, however, causeth the people to become firm and steadfase and draweth Divine increase upon them. It is to be offered through the Guardian of the Cause of God, that it may be expended for the diffusion of the fragrances of God and the exaltation of His word, for benevolent pursuits and for the common weal.”

It is evident from the above statement that the money is used for the progress of humanity, which is the vital concern of the Manifestations of God.

Since this is the world of man, it will be changed for the better only by man himself. If he be negligent in the matter, just so he delays the time of happier and brighter conditions.

The frequent and common objection offered by people as a reason for not contributing to the support of God’s religion is that as individuals they have scarcely enough for their own needs and those of their dependents. “If I had anything to give I would gladly give,” is a statement repeatedly heard. In all such instances people are thinking and speaking without taking into consideration the teachings of the Manifestations of God, and more particularly the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, who has fully revealed the purpose and plan of life for man in this dispensation, and likewise renewed the promises of God to all who follow and obey Him.

THE purpose of God in giving any command is for the spiritual development of the individual, and as the individual so the race.

“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.”

Therefore any command given by the Manifestations can be carried out if the individual will only attempt to do so. God is the All-Merciful and [Page 194] knows perfectly the capacity of His children, and would not give any command which they could not execute. For any follower of a prophet to say that he has to wait until he has more material wealth before he can keep the command to give is equivalent to saying that one’s spiritual growth is dependent upon one’s material wealth. Such a statement is contrary to science, reason and spiritual teachings.

Just as the child’s physical growth starts in infancy and not at maturity, so our spiritual growth starts at the present time under present limited conditions, whatever they may be.

Obedience to the commands of God takes us out of our limitations, enlarges our world, and enhances our happiness.

Giving, in its highest degree, entails sharing and sacrifice. When the heart is motivated by love and generosity, sharing is always possible.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, when in America in 1912, in instructing a truth-seeker as to how she could best give the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to the world, told her, among other things, to divide what she had. He did not tell her to wait until she had abundance.

The best known story of generosity in the New Testament is that of the widow’s mite, which is an outstanding account of sacrifice, showing that generosity is not dependent upon wealth.

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

“And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

“And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

“For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had even all her living.”

BAHÁ’U’LLÁH also renewed in this dispensation the promises of God to man, one being that He will assist all those who arise to serve Him. His assistance is not limited and means help in whatever department of life we need it.

That the generous will always be enriched has been taught by all the prophets. Herein is involved the law of sowing and reaping.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

As in the Beatitudes we read, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy,” so it follows the generous obtain bounty.

In Proverbs, 11:25, it is written: “The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”

In Luke, 6:38, we read the following regarding giving:

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

“Be fair to yourselves and to others,” wrote Bahá’u’lláh, “that the [Page 195] evidences of justice may be revealed, through your deeds, among Our faithful servants. Beware lest ye encroach upon the substance of your neighbor. Prove yourselves worthy of his trust and confidence in you, and withhold not from the poor the gifts which the grace of God hath bestowed upon you. He, verily, shall recompense the charitable, and doubly repay them for what they have bestowed. No God is there but Him. All creation and its empire are His. He bestoweth His gifts on whom He will, and from whom He will He withholdeth them. He is the Great Giver, the Most Generous, the Benevolent.”

By this generosity is meant giving to and for mankind. Are nor all of us generous with our own—our families, relatives, and the friends of our groups, clubs and societies?

In this cycle, which is universal in its nature, the cause of mankind is all important in the sight of God, as Bahá’u’lláh enjoins us:

“Boast not of love to your own people but of love to your fellow creatures. Glory not in loving your homes but in loving the whole world.”

The aim of the Bahá’í Cause is to establish real brotherhood, and not, as in the imperfect past, permit it to remain an unrealized ideal.

A word, however, must be written regarding giving for the sake of being enriched. To give for the sake of receiving in return would be acting from a selfish motive, whereas any act to be acceptable to God in this day must have a pure motive and be actuated by love.

“The time is come,” the Báb said in addressing the Letters of the Living, “when naught but the purest motive, supported by deeds of stainless purity, can ascend to the throne of the Most High and be acceptable unto Him.”

ALL good works should be inspired by love of God, and the love of God includes love for humanity.

“If you desire to love God,” wrote ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “love thy fellow men. In them you can see the image and likeness of God. If you are eager to serve God, serve mankind.”

The followers of Moses set a wonderful example of the way tithing should be regarded. Since it was a command, they were faithful in giving it first place in their lives, and this is the one and only way the commands of God should be treated.

In Proverbs, 3:9-10, we read: “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase.

“So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

“Every soul of the beloved ones must adore the other and withhold not his possession and life from them, and by all means he must endeavor to make that other joyous and happy. But that other (the recipient of such love) must also be disinterested and self-sacrificing. Thus may this Sunrise flood the horizons this melody gladden and make happy all the people, this divine remedy become the panacea for every disease, this Spirit of Reality become the cause of life for every soul.”

[Page 196]

ELEMENTS OF THE DIVINE PLAN

By G. A. SHOOK

IT is evident from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that in the new civilization, for which we are all striving, every ideal conceived by man will be utilized. Consequently we see in the Divine Program of Bahá’u’lláh many familiar principles that have existed in the past. But this is not all. Just as the most important thing about a living organism is life and growth, and not the peculiar arrangement of simple elements that give it form, so the most important thing about the Divine Plan is the divine Element that gives it life. Moreover, just as this subjective, intangible thing we call life manifests itself in some kind of organism so the Divine Spirit must manifest itself in a new social order.

The great philosophers and idealists of every age have desired world peace and human solidarity but they have not realized that the Oneness of Mankind is an essential, inevitable stage in human evolution. Men have argued that strife and conflict, between races and classes, are due to inherent differences that cannot be overcome, but ‘Abdu’l-Bahá dispels this illusion by revealing to us the real meaning of World Unity. He compares the world of humanity to the human body.

“Consider how numerous are these parts and members, but the oneness of the animating spirit of life unites them all in perfect combination. It establishes such a unity in the bodily organism that if any part is subjected to injury or becomes diseased all the other parts and functions, sympathetically respond and suffer owing to the perfect oneness existing.” And then He reminds us that the Divine or Holy Spirit which permeates the world at the appearance of the universal Manifestation is the animating principle of the composite life of the world of humanity. “Today the greatest need of the world is the animating, unifying presence of the Holy Spirit.”

We see from this that the Divine Plan provides for a Commonwealth of nations, a United States of the world. All the nations and races on earth can function harmoniously and sympathetically like the members of the body, if they adopt the Divine Plan, for the world is a living organism [Page 197] and the life of the world is the Divine Spirit.

The principle of federation, as in the government of the United States, can be applied now to the peoples and nations of the world.

WORLD Unity and World Solidarity depend upon some kind of federation. At first thought, uniting thirteen small colonies is child’s play compared to uniting the whole world but a little reflection will disclose that the reverse is true. Modern science has drawn the nations of the world together, closer together in fact than were the colonies a hundred and fifty years ago.

Down through the ages people have been bound together by a common culture, language or religion. In the United States we have a heterogenous culture but a common language while in China they have a more or less homogenous culture but a plurality of languages. A federation is possible wherever such a common bond exists but it is also possible where little or no organic unity obtains if the groups concerned have a common aim or purpose. We see illustrations of this in every social and economic crisis.

Now the common interest throughout the world at this moment is peace. All the nations are agreed to this. World Peace therefore is the logical starting point for World Federation. Today World Unity is imperative—it is not a question of unity or divergence but unity or disintegration. In time, of course, there must be unity along all lines. The most effective lasting bond is religion and without the spiritual bond no permanent result will obtain but undoubtedly World Peace will be the first step.

However we should not confuse unity with uniformity. Unlike the social reformers, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recognize the inherent differences in people. Therefore instead of an utopian state with equality they lay the foundation for “Unity in Diversity.” Inequality is not a defect in nature or social evolution but an essential element in our progress. We are all reconciled to the fact that childhood must be replaced by youth and youth by maturity and, what is equally true, that we cannot all exist as children or adults at the same time. Every intelligent person desires to advance but there must be a goal, there must be those from whom we can receive learning and inspiration.

Although we are assured that in time there will be perfect unity along all lines there is no promise that all persons will have the same capacity. No security is possible unless we as individuals recognize a superior class, for the rights of the majority can be obtained only through a high minded, capable minority. There must be rulers. Bahá’u’lláh says, “The one true God, exalted be His Glory, hath bestowed the government of the earth upon the kings. To none is given the right to act in any manner that would run counter to the considered views of them who are in authority.”

FINALLY we should be very clear upon another important point, [Page 198] namely, the World Unity that Bahá’u’lláh has brought to the world does not aim at “. . . the subversion of the existing foundations of society.”

World Unity is not an impractible dream; it is a part of our evolution. As the city state was replaced by the nation so must the nations unite to form a larger unit, not however to suppress the nation but to preserve it.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá reminds us that there are seven lines along which the world will be united and these He designates as the “Seven Lights of Unity.”

SEVEN LIGHTS OF UNITY

I. Unity in the Political Realm. World Peace implies much more than the cessation of military strife but that must be our concern. To begin with we cannot outlaw war without a universal agreement. The rulers of the world, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us, must agree upon a pact, a binding treaty and a covenant which shall make war impossible now and forever. Over sixty years ago Bahá’u’lláh indicated the procedure and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has expounded His plan. He reveals for us, not general principles like the golden rule, but clear specific directions which need little comment but much thoughtful study and consideration. Here are some of the important points;

1. This Most Great Covenant must be sound, inviolable and definite.

2. It must be proclaimed to all the world and it must obtain the sanction of the whole human race.

3. It must be regarded as sacred by all that dwell on earth.

4. Its stability and permanence must be secured by “All the forces of humanity.”

5. It must contain definite provisions as; The frontiers of each and every nation must be clearly fixed. The relations between governments must be definitely laid down. International agreements and obligations must be ascertained. The size of armaments must be limited to avoid suspicion. Finally, and here we cannot escape the seriousness of this covenant, if any nation violates one of its provisions the rest shall rise to subdue it.

In a civilized world war is not natural. There is no inherent desire for one nation to fight another. It can and must stop, not gradually but at once.

II. Unity of Thought in World Undertakings. Problems in capital and labor, communication, and natural resources as well as trade and tariffs must be solved ultimately by international agreements. This is necessary but not so important today as peace.

III. Unity of Freedom. Taking the world at large there are many classes that are not really free. That is, they do not have the opportunities that are common to other classes. Even in this country, the leading exponent of freedom, we still have industrial slavery. Those who impose slavery will be benefited as much as the enslaved classes. For the highest development of the race, freedom of thought and speech must also be universal.

IV. Unity in Religion. “The disease which affects the body politic is [Page 199] lack of love and absence of altruism. Science cannot cure the ills of the body politic. Science cannot create amity and fellowship in human hearts. Neither can patriotism nor racial allegiance effect a remedy.”

“That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith.”

Manifestly this cannot be accomplished by any extant religion nor by a federation of religions. The religions of the past have fulfilled their mission and we can honor them best by striving to establish the day for which they all labored and proclaimed, the day of the oneness of God and the unity of mankind. This is the cornerstone of the whole foundation.

V. Unity of Nations. Nations might live together in harmony at least for a time and still retain a feeling of aloofness that would prevent an ideal brotherhood. This unity will be established in this century, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá assures us, “. . . causing all the peoples of the world to regard themselves as citizens of one common fatherland.”

VI. Unity of Races. This is absolutely necessary for World Unity but perhaps the most difficult to obtain. Unlike the antagonism between nations, which may be induced, race prejudice lies much deeper. We cannot establish amity as we would establish peace but there are clear indications that it will come to pass.

VII. Unity of Language. This is one of the greatest aids towards unity. Already we see the results of a universal language. The valuable contributions of Esperanto to World Unity cannot be overestimated.

HOW does the Divine Plan of Bahá’u’lláh fit into existing conditions? This question will be clarified by the following points taken from the recent writings of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith.

1. It seeks to broaden the basis of society.

2. To remold its institutions so that they are equal to the needs of an ever changing world.

3. It conflicts with no legitimate allegiances, nor can it undermine essential loyalties.

4. Its aim is not to stifle a sane and intelligent patriotism,

5. Nor to abolish national autonomy, or independence, for the evils of excessive centralization must be avoided.

6. It does not ignore nor suppress the diversity of ethnical origins, of climate, history, language and traditions, thought and habit.

7. It strives for a wider loyalty, a larger aspiration.

8. It insists upon the subordination of national impulses and interests to the imperative claims of a unified world.

9. Finally it repudiates excessive centralization on the one hand, and disclaims all attempts at uniformity on the other.

Unquestionably this Divine Plan should command our careful consideration.

[Page 200]

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

By BERTHA HYDE KIRKPATRICK

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. . . . Let it simply be asked, where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.—George Washington, in his Farewell Address.

The Western man has long ago lost the center of spiritual unity which bound together the men of previous ages—a fairly stable and homogeneous religious outlook upon life. Now there exists no such bond of union; hence Western culture is falling to pieces.—Matthew Spinka in a review of Religion and the Modern State by Christopher Dawson.

Truly, I say, whatever lowers the lofty station of religion will increase heedlessness in the wicked, and finally result in anarchy—Words of Bahá’u’lláh.

The basic need of the world today is religion. . . . The English dictionary defines religion as the binding together of human beings to one another and to God. . . . Religion is an international need in this world which has become a neighborhood.—Dr. Mary E. Woolley, quoted in the Springfield Republican.

Nothing in my reading or thinking has ever convinced me that man’s impulse for War is biological. Ancient warfare had its concrete practical motives, and so has modern warfare. The tie between modern warfare and modern human nature, is the pocket nerve. The pocket nerve is not biological. —Fannie Hurst in The American Hebrew.

The world is an association of individuals, disparate, yet linked in solidarity. To take cognizance of this whole requires an effort more and more exacting. But the fate of our civilization depends upon its power to integrate new and conflicting values while remaining faithful to the affirmation of individuality. Spirit must be broadened.—Robert de Traz in The Spirit of Geneva.

We have found strong reasons for believing that in spite of his physical insignificance, man, as an intelligent person, may be of extraordinary importance in the cosmic scheme. If we were to use our own best judgment, what would we say is the most important thing about a noble man? Would we not place first the beauty of his character? It takes a whole lifetime to build the character of a noble man.—Dr. Arthur H. Compton in The Detroit News.