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[Page 159]

WORLD ORDER

VIEWING THE WORLD AS AN ORGANISM

AUGUST 1937

UNITY • • • BANJAMIN SCHREIBMAN

MAN IN SEARCH OF TRUTH • • ALICE SIMMONS COX

CITIZENS OF THE WORLD • • MARION HOLLEY

PRECEPT AND PRACTICE • • DALE S. COLE

I WILL COME AGAIN • • • ELLA C. QUANT

[Page 160]

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

AUGUST 1937 VOLUME 3 • NUMBER 5

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY • EDITORIAL ............................................... 161

UNITY • BENJAMIN SCHREIBMAN ............................................................. 163

CITIZENS OF THE WORLD • MARION HOLLEY ....................................... 167

THE NEW CREATION, II • ALICE SIMMONS COX ................................... 171

I WILL COME AGAIN • ELLA C. QUANT ................................................. 178

THE YEARS OF MY LIFE • MARY S. HAMMOND, HARRY E. FORD .... 185

PRECEPT AND PRACTICE • DALE S. COLE ................................................. 189

IN THE SHADOW OF TOMORROW • Book Review • HELEN CAMPBELL 194

THE UNITY OF CHRISTENDOM • SHOGHI EFFENDI ............................. 197

SIGNS OF THE TIMES • BERTHA HYDE KIRKPATRICK .............................198

Change of address should be reported one month in advance.

WORLD ORDER is published monthly in New York, N. Y., by the Publishing Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. EDITORS: Stanwood Cobb and Horace Holley. BUSINESS MANAGER: C. R. Wood. PUBLICATION OFFICE: 135 East 50th Street, New York, N. Y. EDITORIAL OFFICE: 119 Waverly Place, New York, N. Y.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: $2.00 per year, $1.75 to Public Libraries. Rate to addresses outside the United States, $2.25, foreign Library rate, $2.00. Single copies, 20 cents. Checks and money orders should be made payable to World Order Magazine, 135 East 50th Street, New York, N. Y. Entered as second class matter, May 1, 1935, at the post office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Contents copyrighted 1937 by BAHÁ’Í PUBLISHING COMMITTEE.

August 1937, Volume 3, Number 5.

[Page 161]

WORLD ORDER

AUGUST, 1937, VOLUME THREE, NUMBER FIVE

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY

EDITORIAL

THIS age is new and unprecedented not so much because for the first time the entire world can be apprehended as a unit—significant though that fact be in the unfoldment of history—as because the existence of humanity has become independent of nature. That is, the rise of technical industry has made the individual, the family and the local group dependent upon their relationship to society rather than to the soil. We are caught up into an entirely new world—the world of human relations —and from that world we must seek the means and the fulfilment of our earthly life.

Public opinion and psychological values have assumed the commanding place so long occupied by climate and weather as the vital factors in daily existence. Throughout modern civilization, the fall or rise of the barometer of human emotion determines the fate of millions of persons day by day.

The political devise of the universal franchise and the ballot have supplied to public opinion an immediate and well-nigh irresistible instrumentality for social action. The revolutions resulting from the ballot cast by an unsettled or manipulated opinion are far more overwhelming than any armed uprising of the past. With no political values higher than shifting opinion, the civilized world has been thrown into a maelstrom of change. The landmarks of the past have been swept away.

[Page 162] Without realizing the spiritual nature of this new age, many have intuitively appreciated the limitless possibilities offered to those who best learn the art of manipulating the movements of public opinion. The man of conscience, the patient researcher, the man devoted to fundamental truth—these servants of real human values are left behind in the clamor of the artful ambitious who learns just enough about human nature to be able to betray his fellows and himself. For philosophies we have substituted platforms; for creative labor, the turn of a phrase; for self-examination, abandonment to the hysteria of the mob; for social responsibility, the secret cherishing of a personal grudge or a Napoleonic dream.

The fact that public opinion has become the instrument of human destiny; the fact that it is intensely mobile and responsive to new hopes; the fact that civilization and the existence of the race itself has become dependent upon motives of emotion and ways of thought—this historic condition has come upon us unsuspecting and unprepared for its overwhelming challenge. The past has overtaken us; day by day we pay penalty for every prejudice, every injustice, every ignorance of man’s aeons of experience. Given the reins of civilization, we drive blindly because we see darkly, as through an unclean glass.

How long will this newly-established social aristocracy, this false priesthood of social corruption preaching war, class hate, spoliation and race antagonism hold the world in sway? How long must the mass of human beings continue their dire servitude to those half-truths whose consequences are bitterer than outright lie? How long must humanity kneel under the sword, not knowing when the fatal stroke of war will fall?

No respite can there be for any people so long as they seek truth as the mere reflection of minds and hearts no purer than themselves. There can be no cessation of this constant strife, this interminable guerilla warfare of class, nation and race, until we seek truth from that Source whence truth has always come. Why do we remain in servitude to half-truth? Because it promises advantage, rewards partisanship, turns over the silver pennies that are the price of betrayal. Truth is the substance of justice, and justice deals equitably with all—with our enemies no less evenly than with our friends. When we will accept nothing less than justice, the way to truth will be revealed. The glass through which we see darkly is not the craft of the dishonest manipulator of public opinion: it is the hope within ourselves that by successful injustice our own advantage will be secured.

Let that hope be extinguished by dire frustration; let the course of catastrophe run through to its end of devastation; then will the darkened glass be broken, and the eye of the soul will be purified to behold the Word of God. For though the world today is as Rome in its downfall, the faith of the early Christians rebuilt the Roman world. The faith of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh takes up their mission at the point that unfaith laid it down.

H. H.

[Page 163]

UNITY

BENJAMIN SCHREIBMAN

IN one of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s addresses, He explains the “Unity of Mankind.” He said that unity is necessary to existence and in the material world all things owe their actual life to Unity. The elements which compose matter are held together by the law of attraction. If this law should cease for one moment to operate, these elements would not hold together, but would fall apart and cease to exist. This law applies not only to our bodies but also to our thoughts. It becomes clear that attraction, harmony, unity and love are the cause of life, whereas repulsion, discord and hatred bring death or non-existence.

We can see that in order to have perfect unity among men, we must think and believe alike on really fundamental matters. Now let us look a little deeper into the subject of matter and thought.

Science has found that all matter, when reduced to its smallest unit, reveals electrons. These electrons are charges of force. When these charges of force or electrons are massed together the result is what we call matter. These masses of electrons vary in density or bulk. That is why we are able to produce different types of material things.

Every material object is not only of a different density but of different design as well. Thus, some atoms have a number of electrons arranged like cubes and some as triangles of various shapes. These electrons have a pull or an attraction for each other. This is the beginning of material cohesion or unity. It is now clear why some material objects bend or break or stretch. In steel the mass of force is not only very dense but will bend or stretch rather than break, whereas in wood the arrangement and density of electrons are so constructed they will give way more easily. Now we can understand that matter really does exist, not as we see it visually, but as a force or a varying density of forces. For example, when a tree commences to decay, it is because in that part of the tree the original force of electrons is losing its pull or attraction and is taking different form of mass not intended for a tree. We call it decay. The same principle applies to our own bodies. They are masses of force and when unity ceases to exist in parts the result is decay or sickness.

Now that we have defined matter as a force we shall call it “material force.” But what is thought? Thought is also a force, but a far greater force than material force. In fact, material [Page 164] force gives way or surrenders at command of thought force. This is known as the influence of mind over matter.

BY this time we have a glimpse of the Oneness of Mankind —since matter is force, and thought is force. But thought force is a free agent. It is capable of many attributes. It can be a strong force or a weak one, lofty or low, good or bad, positive or negative, slow or fast, static or dynamic, and even capable of being indifferent.

A force possessing so many attributes tends to neutralize and weaken itself and as soon as it loses a certain proportion of its charge it loses also its command over the lesser or material force, with the possibility of the material force acquiring command over the thought force.

We must remember that the material force has few attributes. Therefore, it is capable of great unity and its greatest attribute is cohesion or attraction. But fortunately the thought force has one great attribute and that is flexibility and thought can be changed from one attribute to another.

By now we should see why there is little unity among men. As every individual has a charge of thought force possessing many attributes and is still capable of change, men clash amongst themselves and so the entire unit of thought force in man is in danger because it is divided against itself.

We have seen that the thought force is capable of dominating the material force because of its greater capacity and flexibility. But another and greater force can control thought force. And so we have the divine force of the Manifestations controlling our thought forces by strengthening their good attributes, thereby bringing more unity to mankind. A thought is a free agent in every individual. We can not force any individual to think in a certain direction except by teaching and example. When the time comes that most of our thought forces will tend in the same direction peace will reign on this earth.

For the analogy of complete unity, let us turn to the simple iron magnet and see why a magnetized piece of iron can attain complete unity. We are all acquainted with the small horse-shoe type of magnet. Before it is magnetized it is merely a piece of steel shaped like a horse-shoe with no power of attraction. If we could look into and through the metal, we would see millions and millions of iron molecules. Each individual molecule has a charge of force. This charge of force gives the molecule a polarity; that is, it creates in every molecule a north and south pole. As there are millions of molecules, each with its own charge of force and as these molecules are packed together tightly in the iron magnet, their individual charges of force tend to oppose each other in such way that they neutralize each other’s charge of force, causing complete non-unity. Thus the molecules would appear similar to millions of fish swimming around in a river, each taking a different course which would result in their getting in each other’s way and not getting anywhere. But if the river had a strong current forcing all fish to swim in one direction unity would result. So it is in the would-be [Page 165] magnet when magnetized by a strong magnetic current, all of the individual molecules turn in the same direction. That is, all north poles turn in same direction and likewise the south poles.

Now the charge force in each molecule is added to that of the surrounding molecules instead of opposing them. As there are millions of molecules in a magnet, their additive or collective force becomes so strong that the force emanates from one pole through the air gap into the other pole, thereby creating a circle of force current. The circle or the completion of that circle through the air is a complete proof of Unity of force. Only then is the magnet ready for attraction. Now, why does a magnet attract another piece of steel or iron? The reason is this: the air gap in the u-shaped magnet offers a certain amount of resistance to the force that emanates from one pole to the other. That force would rather travel in the substance of iron, as iron is an easy path and its natural one. Therefore, when a piece of iron comes into contact with poles of a magnet, it is pulled in by the force in the air gap which uses the piece of iron as a new and easy path. This type of magnet retains its magnetism for some time, but will finally lose its strength.

The magnetic circle will break and slowly the molecules will turn to their original position, with their own forces starting to oppose each other, causing the magnet to lose its united strength or complete unity. All that remains is a tiny bit of residual magnetism. Now the magnet, if magnetized from another strong magnetic source, will regain its former strength of attraction.

The magnet is thus described to show the analogy to human beings. We resemble the non-magnetized molecules; our thought forces colliding with each other’s. The earth acts as the entire magnet and really is a huge one.

During the early stages of mankind, we, like opposing molecules, were in complete opposition. Then, with the coming of the Manifestations of God, the thought forces of mankind became more additive, bringing about more unity with each manifestation.

Like the iron magnet, which would become weak in time, the people of this world also weaken in time and are ready for another charge or Manifestation.

Each Manifestation furnishes the necessary charge for more unity.

BUT so far, man has never reached the stage of the iron magnet, where every molecule was in unison, to create that external force across the air gap. We differ so much in thought force that the tendency is to neutralize each other to the stage of destruction. Unless we allow the greater force of the Prophet to turn or magnetize our individual thought forces His way, which is unity, or all in one way, we shall never reach the next stage of human development. Let us guess what would happen if we turned our forces in one way to God, so that they combine into one great force, like the iron magnet. Our force would be so strong it would [Page 166] emanate from this earth across an unknown gap and back to the earth, thereby completing a circle which stands for unity. Crossing this gap would be proof to God of that unity and that we were ready to attract a force to us not now conceived.

By that time mankind will have reached a higher stage of perfection. Our consciousness will be developed to such a state of conception that we will see things in a multi-dimensional way.

We shall be super-men. It will be man’s endeavor to keep that magnet charged all the time and never allow it to weaken, as that unknown gap must always be filled with force for a complete unity circle.

It is fitting to close with Bahá’u’lláh’s prayer for Unity:—“O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants, and reveal to them Thy great purpose. May they follow Thy Commandments, and abide in Thy law. Help them, O God, in their endeavor and grant them strength to serve Thee. O God, leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by the light of Thy knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy love. Verily thou art their Helper and their Lord!”

---

ONLY when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker’s heart, and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being. . . . Then will the manifold favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new car, a new heart, and a new mind.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

[Page 167]

CITIZENS OF THE WORLD

MARION HOLLEY

“The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”

—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

IT has been said that “citizenship is life in the State,” and for the purposes of this paper we shall think of citizenship in these terms. The definition has the advantage of being dynamic, alive, of showing citizenship to be a function and a relationship, rather than a set of duties which can be listed and theoretically understood. It is, to be precise, the functioning of the individual in his State, in that all-inclusive social grouping or community which is his nation. Thus, all of his activities which are born from or reach out to affect his brother nationals, are but expressions of his citizenship. It may be seen that a citizen, by this definition, can be tested in only one way, namely, by his vitality. If he functions, then he is a citizen; if he is not an operating unit of the State, then he is not a citizen except potentially.

We must recognize, however, that further refinements in definition are necessary, since action cannot be an end in itself. We must judge a citizen not only by his activity, but by its value. Does he serve the State, does he advance its interests, are his activities effective and well-directed? To know this we must know what his State is, especially what is the content of its ideology and the essence of its ambitions. And finally, we must know whether we approve of his State. For in the last analysis, it is quite possible to have a national community which is intensely vital, in which everyone contributes with efficiency and devotion to common goals, in which every man is a citizen and an active agent, and the sense of citizenship abounds like blood in the body to unify and consolidate the national members into a strong, conscious, forward-pushing State; yet this State may be a social menace and a destructive power. Because modern States so often offend in just this way, it is essential that we realize the complexity of the term “citizenship” and that we determine to study it always from various points of reference, both from within the nation and from without.

Every national leader knows that his State depends upon its citizens. It can go only so far as they can take it. This is true in every sense: Napoleon and his French Empire marched over Europe on the feet of French soldiers until they fell back in defeat, [Page 168] and the Empire was pruned of its power; the excellence of German music grew out of the genius of German composers and when for some reason this genius waned, music was no longer the special distinction of Germany; America has become famous for technical skill and inventiveness but she can retain this superiority only if her scientists and technicians continue to produce original inventions. Recognizing these facts, governors are chiefly interested in the education, usually by propaganda, of the governed and the more avid for national supremacy a State is, the more carefully does it study the uses to which its man-power may be aroused. Unfortunately, in an excess of zeal leaders sometimes forget that short-sighted statesmen and policies make short-lived States.

TODAY we are witnessing an unprecedented demonstration of nationalistic fervor. Nationalism is acute self-consciousness within a nation; it leads to a kind of exhibitionism or ego-display. States in the grip of this emotion feel themselves self-sufficient; they are determined to prove their prowess to the world, to act independently, to learn from and consult no one. Such a condition, in nations of long history, betrays a delayed adolescence. For with groups as with individuals, adulthood is proven and tested only by their social relationships, socialized behavior being the mark of true self-control.

However we estimate this reversion to nationalism, it is a fact that never before have States been so determined to manipulate their citizens and to shape them into usable units of action. One leader stated the matter as briefly as possible: “All within the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State.” The theory is at the back of the minds of many governmental authorities. For young people this is a fact of paramount importance since youth is the object of the most strenuous effort and the victim of the subtlest propaganda. So urgently do their leaders desire unquestioning support and obedience, that they have dropped all pretense to rational method or independence of thought. “In the struggle for control it is apparently easier to gain power, pass laws, make agreements, and assume the right to dominate youth than it is to organize a sound, constructive, effective system of education which will develop a new type of citizenship and loyalty to the nation. . . .”

These are negative aspects of the modern State. In discipline, seriousness of intent, willingness to submerge personal benefit to social goals, and in a new quality of dynamic activity, national programs are eliciting character traits which have been all but rotted out in the post-war years. These youth who are fast becoming the responsible members of their nations, by the practise of such traits are gaining a vigor and conscious power which are supremely hopeful. The key to the future is locked within them; the possible is defined in them; all the virtue and achievement which men may win in the world in these next years are hidden in the contemporary generation of young people. The question is, What are they going to do, what do they want for their [Page 169] countries, what objects will they strive for?

NO one can answer this except young people themselves, and even they cannot answer it truthfully not fully except by a tremendous effort toward intellectual honesty, by an effort to strip themselves of every inherited creed and every group pressure, by persistence in listening to their own minds and hearts and holding to what they find. It is already quite evident what the older generation wants; the nations created according to their standards exist all around us. What we do not yet know is what the world would be like if we, who are young, could dictate its form.

An interview appeared in the Japan Advertiser for October 26, 1935, in which Soichi Saito, General Secretary of the National Y.M.C.A. of Japan, reported a meeting of the World’s Student Christian Federation at Chamcoria, Bulgaria, in the same year. “The real problem of nationalism,” he stated, “which the students revealed in private talks included problems of race, religious liberty, language liberty and minorities. In these issues, all of the students showed a common spirit, and in spite of the wave of nationalism now worldwide in its scope, they yearned for internationalism, security and peace.”

The comment reveals what is perhaps the primary challenge confronting youthful citizens. Essentially it is a problem of balance. Strict loyalty to one’s own people must now admit and include a new loyalty to the peoples of the world. Neither can be sacrificed to the other; neither can grow in health without the other. “This handful of dust, the earth, is one home; let it be in unity.” Thus did Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, epitomize the paramount social fact.

That it is a fact anyone can prove for himself; it is the awakening to this fundamental and unchallengeable reality which is the cause of all motion in modern political life. Yet it is not enough to know that our world is fast becoming a physical whole, that by rapid means of transportation, by radio and other forms of communication, every nation is intermingling with every other. It is not enough to realize that economic problems are truly international in scope, that the issue of war and peace will continue to agitate our minds until some form of international law is made irrevocably operative. It is not enough to initiate study groups for the appreciation of the arts and sciences of other races. It is far from sufficient to call international conferences, to join the League of Nations, to participate in the World Court, and to set out in fine phraseology treaty after treaty to guarantee peace and mutual security. These activities, which in a hundred years or less, have sprung to life and actually altered the entire nature of existence, are sure demonstrations of social direction. But the basic step remains to be taken. Because it involves a major shift in the emotional attachments of every human individual, because it means a wide extension of loyalties and hopes and the sense of brotherliness, because it is the farthest step anyone [Page 170] can take without falling off the plan, we have naturally postponed it and will find it most difficult to risk. Yet it is a simple change essentially and young people are already accomplishing it, some of them unconsciously. What they are doing is to become genuine citizens of the world.

BAHÁ’Í youth, because of the very nature of their Faith, are consciously choosing the practise of world citizenship. The message of Bahá’u’lláh to this chaotic age reveals that the achievement of an all-embracing World Order, based on the essential oneness of humanity, will mark the end of our acutest social ills and the beginning of an historic period of mature and fruitful living. Such a World Order must be based upon a new faithfulness to God and to one’s fellow men, upon a deeper persuasion that the ideals of Christ, of the Buddha, of Muhammad, Moses, and of Bahá’u’lláh can and should be made active in society.

It is to this fine conception that every young Bahá’í—whether resident in America, Iran, India, Japan, France, England, China, or any other of the forty countries in which this Cause is established—is pledged to dedicate his life. In these early days of the World Order, the practice of world citizenship, of “Life in the State,” is naturally limited. The government, laws, and institutions which shall characterize this State yet remain to be projected across the horizon of human history. But the extension of a concept of World Order, together with those spiritual principles and loyalties upon which it will feed, is a primary opportunity of citizenship which may be grasped by all. What is most important, it is a form of citizenship which may be won without relinquishing the old. This is possible on a completely rational basis; indeed, it is the only rationality with which one may meet the problems of modern living. For if it is established that the life of one’s own nation depends on international sanity and health—and no student now denies it—then patriotism consists not in a rush of nationalistic fever, but in the sensible advancement of the welfare of the world. This includes and insures one’s own.

Thus young Bahá’ís do not forget any of the debt they owe to their country. They do not lose any of the love with which their native tradition holds them. They do not become sterilized by sacrificing the vigorous practise of their normal obligations and habits. But they do become selective and acutely conscious of the value of every action which their State expects or asks of them. In the light of world citizenship, certain things are possible and certain other ones are not. Bahá’í youth, who are solemnly instructed by their Faith to be obedient to the laws of just government, must bring a great courage and keen perception to the fulfillment of their dual function as national and world citizens. The reward for such vigilance, however, is a vital assurance that the job is an indispensable one, that they are undertaking a pioneer enterprise, and that their efforts cannot but be fruitful, since they are in behalf of a decent and happy future for every man.

An article expressing the viewpoint of youth.

[Page 171]

THE NEW CREATION

ALICE SIMMONS COX

II. MAN IN SEARCH OF TRUTH

“My road calls me, lures me

West, east, south and north;

Most roads lead me homewards,

My road leads me forth

“To add more miles to the tally

Of grey miles left behind,

In the quest of that one beauty

God put me here to find.”

—JOHN MASEFIELD, Roadways.

THE promise which the development of modern science held out to all who have sought in recent years to discover and educate the latent potentialities in the human race has in the testing of today proved to be less substantial than it once seemed. More than a mirage—it is, however, no longer considered a panacea even by the most thoughtful physicists. A knowledge of protons, electrons, atoms, and molecules as they react in the laboratory or in the reaches of stellar space does not fully answer the query of man: “How am I made, and by what laws should I live?”

Neither do the concepts of physiology fully reveal the mystery that is man, although they go much further than physiochemistry to explain the physical nature of his being. Concepts such as osmotic tension, electric charge, chromosome, heredity, reflex and instinct belong to levels lower than man, Dr. Alexis Carrel points out in a thorough discussion in his Man, the Unknown. They do relate to man, but are not inclusive of all reactions in human life. “To them,” he states, “we must join the psychological concepts characteristic of man, such as intelligence, moral sense, esthetic sense, and social sense.”

Speaking on the same subject, J. S. Haldane of Oxford concludes, “Physical science is only an abstract branch of knowledge, applying to artificially limited aspects of our experience. . . . We can accept the physically interpreted [Page 172] world as a partial representation of reality, sufficient for certain practical purposes, but quite insufficient in other respects.”

The moral educators of humanity have placed marked emphasis on the necessity of knowing ethical and spiritual laws whereby people must be taught to live. The search for truth has been the theme of all inspired literary production for many centuries, reaching a high tide in the Christian world in the Middle Ages in Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and later a brilliance in English writing based on the Arthurian legends. Eastern peoples have had their Tennysons and Longfellows and Poes to sing of Sir Galahad or Excelsior.

Faith in “the enduring quest for illuminating truths” has been questioned by all stoical and epicurean philosophies. They find values in life either in dissipation of the talents of body and mind or in a tragic courage that has no spiritual hope. Both are without assurance of ultimate triumph for any great reality in the human soul, either on this earth or in a future life.

Henry Van Dyke was dramatizing this attitude of unbelief when he wrote the following words in “The Other Wise Man”: “The stars,” said Tigranes, “are the thoughts of the Eternal. They are numberless. But the thoughts of man can be counted like the years of his life. The wisdom of the Magi is the greatest of all wisdom on earth, because it knows its own ignorance. And that is the secret of power. We keep men always looking and waiting for a new sunrise. But we ourselves know that the darkness is equal to the light, and that the conflict between them can never be ended.”

“That does not satisfy me,” answered Artaban, “For if the waiting must be endless . . . then it would not be wisdom to look and wait. We should become like those new teachers of the Greeks, who say there is no truth.”

If men are “like flies, caught among the impalpable and smoky threads of cobwebs,” struggling with their own nature and their environment, “giving here a start and there a pitiful, small jerking, long sustained and falling into stillness,” it were better to lose no time in the search for truth and its hoped-for chalice of freedom. It were better to agree with John Galsworthy that “life for those who still have vital instinct in them is good enough in itself even if it lead to nothing, and we humans have only ourselves to blame if we, alone among animals, so live that we lose the love of life for itself. As for the parts we play, courage and kindness seem to me the only virtues.”

TO the materialistic investigator the poetry, art and philosophy of man are not scientific and because of this cannot be used as proof of any truth. They appear, to such minds, as the products of intellect and emotion, colored always by desire. That they might be the result of inspiration and in such case perhaps nearer to the realm of reality than scientific research can ever go is untenable from the viewpoint of physical research.

It is for this reason that a number of modern thinkers make the following [Page 173] conclusion: “While it is true that science cannot decide questions of value, that is because they cannot be intellectually decided at all, and lie outside the realm of truth and falsehood. Whatever knowledge is attainable, must be obtained by scientific methods; and what science cannot discover, mankind cannot know.” “When we assert that this or that has ‘value’ we are giving expression to our emotions. Ethics is an attempt to give universal, and not merely personal, importance to certain of our desires.”

Even Professor Haldane, who believes that all attempts to understand the nature of man on the basis of mathematics, physics or biology break up the unity of the individual, segregating certain manifestations of the human being for study, points to a great limitation which he believes bars the way to man’s knowledge of himself. Essentially this barrier is this, he asserts: that “the universe is a universe of experience,” and as such can be known only through the personality of the observer. Just as an abnormality in the structure of the eye may distort vision, so differences in the minds and sensory structure of men are determiners of the picture of the universe which they see and try to interpret through composite experience. “Psychological interpretation is always imperfect in detail, and we fill up the imperfections by means of physical and biological interpretation. We cannot do more than this.”

The method of mathematics is believed by Bertrand Russell to bring the investigator nearer to cosmic knowledge than any other that is available, “but the knowledge that it brings is only probable,” he concludes.

Sir James Jeans, who depends upon mathematics as his modus operandi for understanding the nature of physical creation, declares: “Today there is a wide measure of agreement, which on the physical side of science approaches almost to unanimity, that the stream of knowledge is heading toward a non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. . . .

“We discover the universe shows evidences of a designing or controlling power that has something in common with our own individual minds—not, as far as we have discovered, emotion, morality, or aesthetic appreciation, but the tendency to think in the way which, for want of a better word, we describe as mathematical. And while much in it may be hostile to the material appendages of life, much is also akin to the fundamental activities of life; we are not so much strangers or intruders in the universe as we first thought. Those inert atoms in the primeval slime which began to foreshadow the attributes of life were putting themselves more, and not less, in accord with the fundamental nature of the universe. So at least we are tempted to conjecture today.”

Believing that the science of man “will be the task of the future,” Dr. Carrel dares to go beyond the province of the recognized research scientist to speak of intuition and creative imagination as powers that men possess in addition to observation and [Page 174] comprehension. (We quote from him again for two reasons: His recent book has been widely read, and, more than any other book by a modern thinker in the scientific field it indicates that science and religion are in this century nearing the point of agreement which Bahá’u’lláh foretold would be their destiny because truth appears one when rightly perceived). Through intuition some men learn of things ignored by other men, Dr. Carrel believes. “They perceive relations between seemingly isolated phenomena, they unconsciously feel the presence of the unknown treasures. . . . They know without analysis, without reasoning, what is important for them to know. A true leader of men does not need psychological tests, or reference cards, when choosing his subordinates. . . . A great scientist instinctively takes the path leading to a discovery.”

One of the aspects of intuition resembles “a very rapid deduction from an instantaneous observation,” he continues. Another, “intuition takes place quite independently of observation and reasoning.”

Even this method of investigation of truth is liable to error, Dr. Carrel finds. In this respect it is no more infallible than the mechanistic methods because it is employed by men themselves. “But the great man, or the simple, whose heart is pure can be led by it to the summits of mental and spiritual life.” They have added it to the material microscopes and telescopes of search.

This phenomena of consciousness has been referred to by Harry Overstreet in less detail but in likewise sympathetic terms: “These men do not reason their way to conclusions although reason, the search for truth, apparently played a part in preparation for their final insight. In every case (he speaks of Richard Bucke’s illustrative cases) they experienced what, for want of a better term, we may call ‘illumination.’”

It is perhaps true then that the great souls of the ages “to whom God whispers in the ear,” have used a way of finding truth which is available to all men through an education that develops the inherent capacities of the individual. Inspiration may not be a treasure reserved for poets and artists and musicians, or for scientists who would do the great things of earth, but for the simple craftsmen and laborers who also desire to do their tasks of service extremely well.

It may be that the birthright of all humanity includes that station of unfoldment in which

“. . . almost suspended we are laid asleep

In body, and become a living soul:

While with an eye made quick by the power

Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,

We see into the life of things.”

—WORDSWORTH, Tintern Abbey.

Investigation in this higher reach of human reality can blaze a way for unbelievable progress in the new day that is at hand. Dr. Carrel has summed up this situation of search in a remarkable passage: “Of course, operational concepts are the only foundation upon which science can be solidly built. But creative imagination alone is capable of inspiring conjectures [Page 175] and dreams pregnant with the worlds of the future. We must continue asking questions, which, from the point of view of sound, scientific criticism are meaningless. And even if we tried to prevent our mind from pursuing the impossible and unknowable, such an effort would be vain. Curiosity is a necessity of our nature, a blind impulse that obeys no rule. . . . Curiosity impels us to discover the universe.”

THROUGH the mists of early morning when the minds of men are awakening to this truth of man’s harmonious physical and spiritual creation, the explanations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá cut through with the clarity of sunshine. Dispelled are the misunderstandings and doubts for those souls who have come to believe in the Wisdom of Bahá’u’lláh, whose Divine Light ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reflects, interprets. There are only four criterions or avenues of search for knowledge, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains. They are observation through the sense organs, reason, tradition, and inspiration. The first two have been the mainstays of scientific research, the third the present impulse of modern religion and a contributing factor in all educational inheritance; and the fourth, the light that has guided intellects in all endeavor that has been called great.

“What is inspiration?” asks ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. “It is the influx of the human heart. But what are satanic promptings which afflict mankind? They are the influx of the heart also. How shall we differentiate between them? . . . Briefly, the point is that in the human material world of phenomena these four are the only existing criterions or avenues of knowledge, and all of them are faulty and unreliable. What then remains? How shall we attain the reality of knowledge?”

There are those who maintain that such reality cannot be found, that when man has exhausted these fallible resources in his endeavor to find truth concerning himself and the universe he must be heroically content with his findings as the best he can do. True, it is the accepted belief by most thinkers of this decade that life appears creative and progressive, manifesting in ever fuller degree the qualities of mind and approaching a finer integration. (The present world situation does, of course, to them, present a threat to all the human progress so far made.) It is a matter of differing opinion, however, whether God is objective, Transcendent and Supreme, “working outside space and time, which are part of His creation,” guiding in some way the process of evolution, or the inherent vitality of the universe, “in infinite degree, the everlasting creative life that moves toward wholeness” and with its rise attains higher consciousness. By some minds an endeavor is made to picture God as both objective and subjective, the process of creative life, Its Creator and its Ultimate Goal. There is no certainty that any one belief is correct, no assurance even to the mind that tentatively holds that belief when the mind is honest. Even religion, which in various times has tended to accept the last named viewpoint if it appeared the revealed [Page 176] Word of a Prophet, appears today in the same situation of divided opinion because the liberating influence of science has caused it to overthrow traditional beliefs and with them to cast aside any reliance on Divine aid that is claimed as Revelation. It can find no way of substantiating with human reason many of the once-honored fundamentals of faith.

Whether for good or ill it is true that a growingly marked characteristic of modern religions and of psychological thought is surrender to an extreme stoicism which fools the heart for the present moment with its picture of man untiringly searching for Truth in a world that will not reveal it to him. No discovery can he make and call it certain. God “within” and God “without” men can never know. They may study the shadows on the inside wall of Plato’s symbolic cave forever and a day, finding a degree of joy in so doing, but the true meaning of the life passing by on the outside, the ultimate laws of creation, they cannot discern. Science, by its nature; mind in its human sphere; the heart as it lives in men not spiritually developed—these capacities must always look at the shadows. There seems, likewise, no other way to truth. Unless—man turn again to a belief in Divine Revelation and accept as final authority the Words of a Prophet of God.

“How shall we attain the reality of knowledge? By the breaths and promptings of the Holy Spirit which is light and knowledge itself,” answers ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. “Through it the human mind is quickened and fortified into true conclusions and perfect knowledge.”

Then, the powers of the human intellect, including imagination, thought, comprehension and memory, the very distinguishing features of man, are not suspended, but unified, purely motivated and illumined by infallible knowledge and Divine love. The whole reality of man becomes a mirror reflecting the beauty of Divine Truth.

The Holy Spirit is released for this illumination of mankind through the medium of Divine Revelation, Bahá’u’lláh teaches, thus renewing the message of the universally great Prophets of all the past. The recorded words of Jesus may be forgotten, misinterpreted or considered incorrectly reported but we have the record that he taught: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father except by me.” In the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s message this is a challenge to thought.

Recognition of the Prophet, or Manifestation of God, who is the avenue or door of all Revelation, is the final objective of all search in the age in which He is the designated moral and spiritual Educator, Bahá’u’lláh counsels. The first duty laid upon men of this era, as in previous religious dispensations in the path of evolution, is the search for this goal.

Undeniably, there is produced a measure of happiness in the very action of participating in that struggle of human consciousness which we call the search for truth. If this were not so man would not in the early stages of growth have the courage to seek any greater good. Whether man’s soul would ultimately grow [Page 177] weary of unrequited search when that search had reached the realm of intellectual operation is not really the most important question involved in this discussion. Science has built its hypotheses and its discoveries, sometimes on the faith and again on the knowledge of experience that laws of the universe can be clearly enough unveiled for practical use. Viewed in the larger sense, however, science, guided by finite human intelligence and motivated often by dreams of personal conquest, is a process of search through a labyrinth of many blind alleys and requires many long detours. If the human mind could find no way of encompassing all factors in a given problem, if there were no higher way of evolution, men would learn to submit to “the inconvenience of suspense” and be in that attitude, happy and at peace. In fact, if it were the only way, the joy found in the process of trial and error and its imperfect results would be sublime for it would arise from the fulfilment of inherent human capacity.

It is because the very act of search, essential as it is to attainment and to earthly living, is not in itself the expression of man’s greatest powers that it does not satisfy the mind that is entirely honest with itself. Patience is the steed, writes Bahá’u’lláh, upon which the traveler moves toward the ultimate goal. If accomplishment requires experience, training and search through one hundred thousand years still must the soul push confidently on. There is, ahead, in Divine Revelation, a destined goal. There are halfway houses and encouraging signposts of relative truth and achievement along the way. But in the final destination is the only real rapture and freedom, the only true knowledge and the only dynamic peace the human soul can know.

BAHÁ’U’LLÁH does not coercively summon man to believe His teaching that perfect knowledge is obtainable, but invites and counsels him to use his superior gift of intellect, the same instrument that uncovers the glories of science, to examine the claims of Prophethood which He makes and the proof which He provides. Then and only then can the soul be certain it has not been misled by emotional desires.

“Arguments are a guide to the path,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá interprets, “and by this the heart will be turned unto the Sun, then the eyes will be opened and will recognize the Sun through the Sun itself. Then one will be in no need of arguments, for the Sun is altogether independent, and absolute independence is in need of nothing, and proofs are one of the things.”

If this type of development is possible for man, if this is truth concerning his nature, then Bahá’u’lláh asks only that men follow the law of search—to seek until they find a new light. The search need not be long today for He has spoken in many ways, appealing to the capacity of every human soul to recognize His Beauty when it turns attention to Him.

[Page 178]

“I WILL COME AGAIN”

ELLA C. QUANT

I HAVE met many people whose love for Jesus and His Word was apparently sincere; yet these same people, when questioned concerning the Promise “I will come again” spoken by Jesus to His disciples, answer as though all is like a fast-fading star in their consciousness.

The Promise of the “Second Coming” is the central theme running through Old Testament prophecy, and all Biblical promise of happiness revolves around It.

Why, then, this uncertainty, this lethargy in the minds of Christians?

Did Jesus forecast this condition in His utterance: “When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on earth?”

After giving much thought and study to the subject, I have reached the following conclusion: The intellect is unable to accept literal interpretation of portions of Bible prophecy bearing on the subject of the “Second Coming;” consequently, the Christian of today has lost that most vital part of his religion—faith in the Promise of Jesus concerning His Return.

That it was vital to the disciples is proven. After talking amongst themselves of this matter, which plainly had stirred deeply their consciousness, they asked Jesus: “Tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of Thy Coming?” As late as the fourth century, faith in the definite fulfillment of this Promise “I will come again” was witnessed to by the Nicene Council.

The prophecies of our Bible point to two distinct periods: one concerns the downfall and scattering of the Jews, the other period is at their gathering together again.

The downfall and scattering was accomplished in the seventh century A.D. when Islam invaded Jerusalem and drove the Jews from all Syria. (The Roman Emperor Titus in 70 A.D. conquered Jerusalem, but the daily sacrifice spoken of by Daniel continued to be observed secretly throughout Palestine—or Syria—for several centuries.)

As the former time, or scattering of the Jews, meant degradation, the latter time of the gathering together was to be a time of glory, of blessing, and fulfillment of those promises of peace for which every soul consciously or unconsciously yearns.

Let us first consider, How will He come.

QUOTING from the Acts of the Apostles 1:11, “This same Jesus [Page 179] which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”

Some have understood this “in like manner” to mean that the “Second Coming” will be in the clouds above us. Does it not seem, however, that a deeper, a spiritual meaning is intended? We come to realize this even more clearly when we ponder the Words of Jesus Himself, found in St. Luke 12:39—“If the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come. . .” (silently); also St. Luke 17:20—“The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation” (without pomp or display).

In the search for truth one must free one’s heart and mind from the tales of the past.

Nineteen hundred years ago the Son of God walked this earth, but only a few recognized the Light of Life that He brought. He made it clear that the body (physical condition) is the “cloud” when He said, “For John the Baptist came neither eating bread not drinking wine. . . . The Son of Man is come eating and drinking, and ye say, ‘Behold a gluttonous man, a friend of publicans and sinners.’”

God fits the Message to humanity’s capacity to receive, as the teacher uses words and illustrations that are not beyond the mind of the pupil to understand.

Jesus came to earth (to the body) according to nature’s law, that man might have a living example to look to for guidance. Many have been the Chosen Ones of God since the world began, for Micah tells us that “His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

“Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? (spiritual condition). This same Jesus shall so come as ye have seen Him go.” The Spirit left the Body—will come again to the Body.

The same thought is found in other religions. In the Muhammadan faith the twelfth Imam according to tradition vanished from sight, and was somewhere concealed behind the veil, to appear at the Last Day.

The Muhammadan scriptural prophecies as to the time and appearance of the Great Day of the Lord agree with those of our Bible, and are now fulfilled. So are the prophecies concerning the “Return” as found in all the World Religions.

It takes the eye of the Spirit to see the “Christ.” Coming in the material clouds, who would dare deny? As we seek, let us keep in mind His Words, “My sheep shall hear My Voice.” Those with spiritual longing and aspiration shall hear and understand.

WHERE will He come?

In Isaiah we read, “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light.”

Prophecy is never clearly understood until it is fulfilled. With the Light now shining upon the world of mankind our Bible (and all the Bibles of the world) has become a new Book—a Book of understandable utterances.

Hosea tells us, “And I will give her her vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for a Door of hope.” “Sharon shall be a fold of flocks and the valley of Achor a place for the [Page 180] herds to lie down in, for My people that have sought Me.” (Flocks are people.)

Where are these places? In the East. They center about Akka and Haifa in Palestine. The material sun rises in the East—so the Spiritual Sun of Truth.

One writer tells us: “Within the walls of the city (Akka) abides One upon Whom the thoughts of the world are centering; some consciously, others unconsciously. A preparation is going on in all hearts. The vibrations from this Great Center are quickening and vitalizing all intellectual forces and spiritual powers.”

Another says that should Christ come to earth in our day, we in the hurry and bustle of our western civilization, would fail to note His Advent.

But perhaps the dreadful worldwide calamities of unemployment and general unrest (“men’s hearts failing them for fear”) have brought us time to think, have drawn our hearts and minds toward God.

WHEN will He come?

As we noted at the beginning of this discussion, the prophecies of our Bible are divided into two classes. Two distinct periods are therein referred to. The first period is the time of the downfall and scattering of the chosen people, the Jews. The second period is the time of their gathering together again.

Plato said: “The visible things are but a blotted copy, a shadow of Eternal Ideas.”

Each religion has its Sun (the Manifested Light, Saviour, Teacher, Lawgiver) that arises in spiritual glory and awakens mankind to new life, as in Spring. Some hear and understand the Word spoken by the Messenger. The Cause grows (as in summertime), but after a time the season of autumn follows, when men’s thoughts become more worldly; then hidebound ecclesiastical formulae holding sway over the hearts, true spirituality is lost. It is the winter of the soul; but this dread condition, wherein the thoughts of mankind are swayed by materiality and are far from God, is always followed by the coming of another Spring in greater glory and life-giving power.

The storm and stress of the Spring —the rain and wind—all are necessary to rid the earth of accumulated debris of the winter just past.

So it is in the realm of minds and hearts.

The prophecies of the Bible point with no uncertain finger to what the poet calls that “far-off divine event.” Jesus Himself reiterates the prophetic utterances of the Old Testament concerning His Second Coming when asked by His disciples for a sign.

Many documents which throw light on Biblical history are being unearthed today. This is more than coincidence.

The “Seals” have been broken, for according to Biblical chronology we have reached the “time of the end.” The “Book” that was to be “closed up” until the “time of the end” is open that “he who runs may read,” and the Truth is so plain that “a wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein.”

[Page 181] Mankind is being fitted to enter into more spiritual conditions. The upheavals all over the world today, the great unrest are as the storms and stress of the Springtime—clearing the way for the Glorious Era of Universal Peace promised.

According to our Bible chronology, the year 1844 is one in which the hearts of the children of God shall be made glad. In the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel is set forth a prophecy, and Jesus refers His disciples to this prophecy of Daniel when asked by them, “When shall these things be?”

Since that momentous year (1844) the material world about us has become new. So it is in the world of heart and spirit—for the First Trumpet was sounded on May 23, 1844.

ON that date a young man arose in Persia Who declared Himself to be the Báb, meaning “door” or “gate,” through which a divine Message would come to mankind. He called the people to prepare themselves through purity of life and worship to meet One Who was still behind the Veil, but Whose Advent would occur in nineteen years and Whose Glory and Power would encompass all the universe.

This Day Star arose in the East, but the Light shone even unto the West.

On that Day, May 23, 1844, in the western world a sect known as the Millerites, dressed in white, ascended the hilltops to meet their Lord. They had previously disposed of all their earthly possessions. These people became the jest of the community—for,

although their sincere study of Biblical prophecy and chronology had revealed to them the Time, they failed to take account of the Words of Jesus, “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My Voice, and there shall be one fold and One Shepherd.”

The “Call” of the last Day is to all peoples—a universal Trumpet Call to the peoples of the world.

Isaiah makes this clear. “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven-fold, as the light of seven days in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.” Clearly this does not refer to the light of the physical sun, but to the Sun of Truth that through the seven great world Religions has guided the people in the past and in this Day “guides unto all truth.”

“The Sun of Truth is the Word of God, upon which depends the training of the people of the country of thought. It is the Spirit of Reality and the Water of Life. All things owe their existence to it. . . .

The prophecies of every religion, the world over, concerning the “time of the end,” find fulfillment in the Message and the Messenger that came on May 23, 1844.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says: “These things are recorded in the Taurat or Old Testament, in the Gospel, in the Qur’án, in the Zend Avesta, in the Books of Buddha, and in the Book of Confucius. In brief, all the Holy Books contain these Glad Tidings. In all of them it is announced that [Page 182] after the world is surrounded by darkness, radiance shall appear. For just as the night, when it becomes excessively dark, precedes the dawn of a new day, so likewise when the darkness of religious apathy and heedlessness overtakes the world, when human souls become negligent of God—when materialistic ideas overshadow idealism and spirituality —when nations become submerged in the world of matter and forget God— at such a time as this shall the Divine Sun shine forth and the Radiant Morn appear.”

“WHEN religion goes down irreligion prevails, I take My Birth to establish It again.”

“When He the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all Truth.”

The foundation of all spiritual truth is a realization of Oneness. “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”

“Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but One—that is God.”

In the days of old, nation being separated from nation, a universal Message could not be given to mankind; so, God in His Love and Mercy sent first to one nation, then to another, a Messenger with a Message according to man’s capacity to receive of spiritual truth.

God is the Saviour. Each Messenger came to draw the people nearer to knowledge of the One True God.

Later, the followers of the various Messengers misunderstood Their real Mission, Corning eventually to believe that their own particular religious forms made the only sure way to peace and heaven. In this way the name of the Messenger alone remained —the Spirit of His Teaching was lost.

“Every prophet predicted the coming of a successor, and every successor acknowledged the Truth of the predecessor. Moses prophesied the coming of Christ. Christ acknowledged Moses. His Highness Christ foretold the appearance of Muhammad, and Muhammad accepted Christ and Moses. When all these divine prophets were united with each other, why should we disagree? We are the followers of these holy Souls. . . God is kind to everyone, why should we oppress each other?”

How many wars have been fought in the name of religion!

“The foundation of Divine Religion is Love, Affinity and Concord.” Were each to investigate the religion of others, it would become clear that names and forms alone (according to exigency of the times) are different; and that the Spirit is identical in all the Prophets.

EACH Prophet left to His followers the precious promise to come again, and establish the Day of peace wherein there shall be “One Lord and His Name One.”

Jesus tells us in the Parable of the wicked husbandmen that the Lord of the vineyard will come at the last, and conditions shall be changed. This is the work of Today—this is the Mission of Bahá’u’lláh, Who as a Divine Physician brings spiritual laws suitable to a New World Order. [Page 183] (Bahá’u’lláh means the “Glory of God.”)

In Isaiah we read, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The attributes of this child, set forth by his names, cover so wonderfully the sore needs of the world today. The Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh recognize these needs; not of the spirit of man only, but the needs of the body politic as well. The economic program found in the Bahá’í Teachings embraces all—rich or poor, high or low degree; and in the days to come, as mankind learns to follow these Teachings, all will abide in peace.

There is a power that works through all the kingdoms of earth and in Heaven. It is Love. Divine Love. God in His infinite Love and Mercy establishes the Bond of the Spirit— sends a Message through a Chosen One, even as the rays of the material sun transmit to the earth heat and light. Without this heat and light no life could exist on the earth.

Thus does this Chosen One bring life and light to guide the soul of man on its way to the realization of the Oneness of God. The Message increases in spiritual intensity as man’s capacity to receive increases.

As we read the history of former times we realize that each group of peoples has been more or less influenced by some great spiritual Personage, whose teaching was impregnated with the promise of a future state of peace and happiness for humanity.

Centuries before the advent of Jesus, when Buddha was questioned by a friend, He said, “I am going to establish the kingdom of righteousness.”

Again, in the teachings of Zoroaster the two principles of right and wrong are involved in a long struggle—but right will prevail ultimately—and the coming of a Messiah is promised.

As man’s capacity to receive spiritual food increases, we find God sending the Prophet with a Book—that all may read.

I have spoken of Muhammadan prophecy being fulfilled in this Day. A proof of the universal shining of the Sun of Truth in this day, illumining hearts (though unconscious of the Source of this Illumination) is the acknowledgment by many western people of Muhammad’s prophetic Mission. His Word united the wandering tribes of the Arabian desert and made of them a nation that led the other nations of the world in sciences and arts.

Before Muhammad came these tribes were so debased that they buried their daughters alive—a man might take a hundred wives—Muhammad limited them to four wives and the station of children was protected.

The Muhammadans have a prophecy that runs: “Verily in the year 60 His Cause shall be revealed and His Name shall be noised abroad.” Also, “In the year Ghars the earth shall be illumined by His Light.” (All Arabic letters have numerical value. The numerical value of the word “Ghars" is 1260. 1260 A.H. corresponds to the year 1844 of the Christian calendar.)

[Page 184] Just as many Israelitish prophets arose between the time of Moses and that of Jesus Christ, so God favored the Muhammadan people with twelve Imams, or holy men, who taught the people. In a tradition ascribed to the Imam Ali, Commander of the Faithful, it is recorded: “In Ghars the Tree of Divine Guidance shall be planted.”

There can be no proselyting in true religion. One does not give up one “truth” for another “truth,” but as the soul develops spiritually, the inner eye becomes keener and more accustomed to the glorious panorama that spreads before it. Thus the spiritually illumined Muhammadan sees Jesus as the Son of God and acknowledges His Mission. Muhammad, in the Qur’án glorifies the Name of Jesus but it is only through Bahá’u’lláh’s teaching of the Oneness of God and of His Prophets that a former Muhammadan acknowledges both Jesus and Muhammad.

THE need for many religions, for many Prophets, has passed. Mankind’s life is such that one Voice can be heard round this globe of earth. And in the melody of that Voice each hears a familiar strain. The Justice taught by Moses is tempered by the Love of Jesus; the self-abnegation of the Buddha fortifies and strengthens the Resignation of Islam.

[Page 185]

THE YEARS OF MY LIFE

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I. MARY S. HAMMOND

As I survey the years of my life from twelve to sixteen, I find within this period an experience which marks the end of an era of my life and the beginning of a new one. My life dates as BC and AD from this experience. The experience which justifies this rather bold and definite division is the death of my youngest brother, Peter, when I was fourteen. This experience I would change in a moment were I given such power. When I was given this topic to write on there was one thing to which my mind moved and centered upon. Then as so many countless times before my heart and mind were stirred with the poignant desire to have him back again. To have his physical material self, his gay, little boy swagger, his “tough” football lingo, his marching, his red cheeks and dark mussed up hair, his sparkling deep mischievous eyes, his laughter, his long boyish, wonderful laughter and his deep enthusiastic song. In a moment all these cherished experiences colored my mind and I saw only Peter, Peter, in all his moods, in all his living vibrancy. I realized our particular and deep companionship which often seems broken by death. But because death is change and is not final this companionship has only been made deeper and stronger by the change. Such radiance as his is not quenched by death!

As I long for his return I realize I would not change the effect that this experience has had on my life. This experience has changed my life and will continue in its influence as I grow mentally and spiritually with new experiences. From the first dawn after his death when values in life stood out in clear, sharply defined outlines, to this moment; this experience has changed my ideas, outlook and ideals. “Life” has taken on a greater meaning and I have realized death as a beat of the great rhythm of life, not the finale of this rhythm.

Besides this, it has made me realize the personal insignificance of death; its meaning only in the great pattern of a plan. I realize this change to be in relation to the releasing of a bird from its cage; the attainment of a greater freedom, a new joy. Brought home to me also by this experience is the absolute impossibility and therefore stupidity in man’s attempt at conceiving the nature of the next world. For, as the mineral is unable to conceive [Page 186] of the sensations and conditions of the plant world, and likewise the plant is not able to conceive of the animal kingdom; neither is man able to conceive the nature of the spirit world.

You ask what an understanding of this sort gives to life and I say it sharpens the values of life that one may see the reality not superficiality. Thus life is seen in a white light free of illusions and half lights, truth is less crowded by untruth and wisdom is seen as a reality the essence of which is one. Ideals are shaped in this new clear light and are not forgotten; for a measure has been established whereby things are seen in a broad perspective of greater freedom.

Perhaps we cherish more and take less for granted the people of our environment. I believe if I thought more of Peter I would be less selfish and more loving not only with my family but with everyone. This thought may seem sentimental but it is not—for by unselfishness and kindness life swings at the tempo intended and by selfishness and discord it is marred by false harmonies and staccato rhythm.

This experience immediately calls from me quiet calm with which to meet life. It challenges me to meet situations with courage and I realize that the way I meet these situations is more important than the situations themselves.

Understanding of other people in tragedy is essential to life. And I have found tragedy and understand what tragedy is.

Death was rebirth to him. And so it has been “rebirth” to me.

This is my challenge unto future years, not to relive yesterday but live tomorrow fully, with yesterday’s experience.

II. HARRY E. FORD

You are twenty and have left us to live among strangers. You will establish yourself there and make new friendships and a new life. I wonder if I have done all that I should to prepare you for facing life alone. With us you have been allowed an independence that should have developed your character. But you always had an anchor in the home. Now the anchor must be in you. You adapt yourself easily to new situations, but your easy responsiveness sometimes carries you along too quickly and too far with the spirit of the moment and the crowd. That is youth, and I would not have you different. Having looked at life a little longer, I would like to help you build some reserves that should safeguard life. These are my thoughts and will not become yours until you have studied and lived them and built them into your consciousness.

You cannot actually face life until you have created within yourself an independent spirit. Independence will give you life and freedom from life. If we view for a moment the passing stream of life, we see many strange contradictions. The throng of humans file by. There are so few outstanding, independent spirits. The crowd parades by us. They wear the same hats and the same shoes; are varnished with the same popularly advertised cosmetic; smoke the brand [Page 187] of cigarette that has the most catchy slogan. They think the same thoughts ready made from Hollywood and the tabloid. They are seemingly merry, calling out as they pass, “This is life.” They actually believe they are independent. But if we tag at random an individual here and there, separate him from his companions and search beneath the mask, we will find evidences of fear and lostness. Caught without the stimulus of the group, he is as gray as the habitual diner-out without his cocktail. We release him. How quickly he melts into the mob. We can’t distinguish him from the rest. They scarcely noticed his absence or his return. What unrest hurries them on in such a head long rush? Is life so unsatisfactory that they must hurry through and away from it with as little contact with it as the insulation of the mass can give? Let me emphasize, my Dear, that this tumultuous throng has none of the marks of independent spirits. Independence gives peace and tranquility which is felt inwardly and noticed outwardly. You gain it by thinking your own thoughts, living happily with yourself, and forming the acquaintance, either personal or through their works, of people with vision.

Your education for life will have greater finish if you have known the pangs of hunger. You are a sleek, well fed animal. You have been able to choose this or that to eat. The abundance has even caused a disinclination for eating. There may never come a time when you actually want for food. Create a little famine for yourself sometime, when you are free from responsibilities. Take a single loaf of bread with you into the open. Go for hours without breaking fast until the time comes when the bread tastes sweet and you chew the crusts with relish. Drink from the spring and find it satisfying. Then you will know the value of food. You will never forget it. All your life there will be in your mouth the delicious taste of that plain, unbuttered bread.

You must know fatigue and develop the power to go on when your body would drop by the wayside. Learn to relax, to renew your reserves. Man has a mental energy that can carry him on when physical ability seems to fail. Quite true is the saying that one never knows his limits. But it is important to store up for a possible future drain.

Deep seated in and permeating all normal life is the powerful emotion that finds its expression in love, marriage, and family. There will be times in your association with men when this feeling will flood your whole being and you will need a will power, fortified with knowledge and a far-seeing pattern of life, to keep you from submitting to an immediate desire and weakening the structure of your future. It is not an emotion which need cause you shame or fear. Rather if you face it and control it, it will lead to great happiness. If you can meet this temptation and keep yourself clean for the future man and home, you will have attained a higher level from which you can look out on life with clear eyes because you have a great inner satisfaction.

You have not faced life until you have faced death. Death is natural [Page 188] and necessary in the scheme of nature. You need a philosophy that will take from this inescapable the abhorrence and fear that too often go with it. Some day you will sit beside the bed of one who has been dear to you. As you look at the wasted figure suffering in his last moments, you will think. Yesterday, his was a body strong and vigorous, full of the zest for living. We roamed the woods and fields together; we climbed that high hill and looked down on the world of nature and of man. He showed me how to build a fire and broil my meat. He taught me how to keep the fire of life clear and bright. For a little we had an important life together. That was yesterday. The real life-together died then. This is only the shell that once held a beautiful life. Why should I mourn today? I will breathe a little prayer that he may pass quickly and be removed from pain. His spirit is not dead, will never die. It will live in me, and through me in others. On some future day, our spirits freed from earthly soil may again commune. If tomorrow, when I sit quietly, memories of yesterday bring unforgettable pictures and a tear, it is not because I am mourning. I wear no black for that gay spirit. I am really very happy that I have known and been a part of that life. My tear is just a bit of loneliness. I shall go out presently to my task steadied by the calm that he has given me.

ENOUGH for now. Already I hear your questions as to how and when and why, and “don't you think this and that are important?” Philosophers have written many heavy volumes and have not arrived at an exact formula for a perfect life. I only know, Dear, that the knowledge and practice of these things have made life pleasant and meaningful, and have removed a good bit of fear from the lives of many fine people. When I see you, we will have much to talk about. While we await that pleasure, live honestly and happily with yourself and your new friends.

[Page 189]

PRECEPT AND PRACTICE

DALE S. COLE

“All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.”—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

FREQUENTLY profound definitions of complex conceptions spring from the freshness of a youthful mind, witness a ten year old’s expression that “civilization is living together peaceably.”

Living together effectively and in concord is a condition which must be won out of conflicting attitudes and objectives, the divergencies being accentuated by the intensity of effect which the impact of scientific progress has on every day life. Living together peaceably involves practicing the right precepts.

There has ever been disparity between man’s religious precepts and his daily practices, however well intentioned he may be. Now there is concern as to the lack of synchronization between the basic precepts of religion and the practices resulting from discovery and invention. With the achievements of technology weaving themselves into every minute of our lives, the problem of the right or wrong use of acquisitions of knowledge is a pressing one.

David Sarnoff, President of The Radio Corporation of America, realized this when he recently stated that “social science has lagged behind Science itself. We have done wonders with machines, but we have neglected to develop ourselves in the same degree. The gulf must be bridged. More science in both fields is needed.”

We are not so much concerned with having the preachers from the pulpits agree, theoretically, with the researchers in the laboratories, as we are in learning the right use of tools which have been intrusted to us.

Is it not a question of focusing the Light of Truth on affairs and conduct so that they will square not only with the precepts of religion but will also motivate the practices which of necessity must follow if the greatest good is to come to the greatest number?

In this sense, applied science and applied religion amalgamate. True religion, being the greatest force for good in the universe, includes the use of science, at least in a directive capacity, that the best objectives be attained. However worthy our precepts may be, they are ineffective unless exemplified in life—in practice.

“There can be no solution of life’s deeper problems, no increased happiness for the individual, through the development of greater scientific knowledge alone. More science only [Page 190] adds more confusion. Unless the sciences are integrated and subordinated to the homely facts of everyday living, they will destroy rather than liberate the minds which created them. This integration must come from without the sciences themselves, it is not inherent in them and it is not a subject for scientific proof. It must come from a faith, a belief in certain values of life, which is fundamental and which no logic can displace.”

THE problem can be considered in two aspects: those considerations which have to do with men in groups as states, nations and races, and those significances which have to do with us as individuals. These two phases are, of course, closely interrelated. A universal practice of any kind is but the integration of individual practices.

Ideal, universal aims are most praiseworthy but in visioning them are we not often lead into the position of overlooking our own individual and immediate responsibilities—of losing an appreciation of the tree in our valuation of the forest? A forest is made up of trees and each tree has its function. Can we expect to avert war and conflict on a large scale before we have learned to abolish war within ourselves?

It is stated in the Bahá’í Revelation that every good thing has been created for man, except the hearts of men. But man has been given a considerable degree of freedom of choice in the use of benefits conferred. It is one of the basic precepts of the Revelation that science and religion do agree, but it is not so generally realized that it is one of man’s very important responsibilities to see to it that the precepts of religion be exemplified in the practices of applied science, now—without further delay.

“Religion is the only unifying and ever-present force which can help to solve the inevitable moral and intellectual conflicts of parents, children and society at large. In a world of change and rebellion to authority, God is the only fixed point.”

To many it is comforting and inspiring to know that there is a religious teaching which is thoroughly consonant with science and that the farther science presses the more apparent and compelling this agreement becomes. This realization has led many from the foggy lowlands of confusion and aimlessness to the highlands of real vision and a well directed life.

Many thinkers have said, in one way or another, that our material advancement is progressing at a much faster pace than is our ability to use, rightly, the achievements gained. In other words, there is danger that science will govern humanity, rather than humanity master science. The fruits of scientific development are the stuff of industry, commerce and agriculture, more especially of industry. Industry may be thought of as the procedure of applying science to the needs of life. As such it embodies tremendous possibilities.

We are gravely concerned now with the attitudes growing out of the great material progress that has been made, and resulting human conduct. Human conduct is a matter of practices. What are we doing with the [Page 191] benefits that have been placed in our hands and what ought we to do with them?

Great divergencies have arisen. Science presents us with some miraculous finding. It does not presume to dictate what we are to do with it. That is considered beyond the jurisdiction of science. It is not considered one of its responsibilities.

Radio is, unquestionably, one of the marvels of all time. How is it evaluated today? As a money-maker, an instrument of war, or as regards its magnificent educational and conciliatory possibilities? Is it not the tendency for man to emphasize it as a profit-maker, an invaluable war tool, when morality is saying “here is the greatest means of establishing understanding through facile, instantaneous communication, and of spreading education—that has ever been known?”

RADIO emerged from the scientific laboratory—a miracle, but one reducible to everyday use. The discoverers and developers did not try to dictate its application. Industry rushed forward to do that, and with what result? A double edged tool, one which can be used for good or evil. One which can disseminate truth and goodness or one which can broadcast untruths or part truths and destructive propaganda. Herein lies a problem in practice, differing objectives, divergent attitudes and danger.

The mis-use of things is no part of any scientific program, as such. The dilemma arises out of the circumstance that science gives us things which can either be used profitably or destructively. Man has choice in the matter just as he can decide, for himself, whether or not to seek God. The potentiality for good or evil lies in almost every achievement of man. An important new drug may cure when properly used, or kill when mis-used.

Science has brought us an infinite number of machines, or the machine, if you will, which is the despair of social and economic idealists. It can tear at the vitals of society or man can ride it to victory, depending upon the practices inaugurated. It is a matter of control. Is the machine to govern or be governed?

Right practices are grounded in the conviction that that which is ultimately good and wise is that which brings the greatest good to the largest number. The physical sciences, those which are productive of the greatest changes, do not offer any social objective. Social science may, but perhaps what we most need is a new or different attitude, which incorporates social responsibility, and which provides both the method and technique of fulfilling it—a science of right-practice, the science of applying sciences as embodied in the precepts of the Word of God.

“The Word of God is the storehouse of all good, all power, and all wisdom. . . . When man is associated with that transcendent power emanating from the Word of God, the tree of his existence becomes so well rooted in the soil of assurance that it laughs at the violent hurricanes of skepticism which attempt its eradication.”

“Every word that proceedeth out [Page 192] of the mouth of God is endowed with such potency as can instill new life into every human frame, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth. . . . In the days to come, ye will, verily, behold things of which ye have never heard before. . . . every created thing will, according to its capacity and limitations, be invested with the power to unfold the knowledge of the most marvelous sciences, and will be empowered to manifest them in the course of time at the bidding of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Knowing.”

TREMENDOUS and all-embracing as such a result may be—the beginnings of the conquest can be made here and now. If you and I, as individuals, in our own ways, insignificant as they may appear to be, live rightly, these right-practices will spread to the group in which we move, whatever it may be, and thus will corrective forces begin to operate in ever widening circles. This is the responsibility of the moment, not of tomorrow or next year. It involves (1) a knowledge of what is right and wise, of what is just and best as set forth in the revealed Word of God; (2) the right intention of trying to put these principles into operation; and (3) a sustained and continuous effort. Thus will “the balance” be attained and the New World Order built.

We cannot, justly, blame science for our present entanglements and confusions, any more than we can condemn fire for possessing both beneficial and destructive qualities. Science brings certain elements and applications of truth from the unseen world into the realm of utility, of practice. It is our responsibility to govern the use of all inventions to the eternal benefit of man and the glory of God.

“The more we know the less we know: the less we know of the basic values of life, and of character, which are religious, often unreasonable, and in the last analysis, beyond reason. The mind, coupled to religion, is a stronger mind for it, a mind not so readily swayed by the passions that parade as reason under an enlarged vocabulary. But in deifying the mind we have abandoned God. . . . As Aldous Huxley has said it—‘Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make ye mad.’”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, once commenting on the vast progress man has made in finding out the laws of nature and in learning to apply or govern them, said that the next step was to understand the “more subtle realm of the spirit” and the basic fundamentality of spiritual law in the universe.

The spiritual concept of truth embraces scientific concepts. Science is but a part of knowledge, however large a part it may be. God’s knowledge is infinite, all-inclusive. It is through applying the admonitions given man in the Revealed Word, that scientific inventions, emerging from the hitherto unknown into the sphere of everyday life, can and must be directed into right practices.

It is not so much the extension of science into the field of religion, as this suggests two separate fields of influence, as it is in appreciating that the conduct of life must be governed [Page 193] by response to spiritual law which is the basic law that underlies all aspects of life, a law that does not segregate scientific practices from spiritual objectives but includes them, weaving them into the fabric of life. There is but one “field” of human endeavor, and that is spiritual progress exemplified by and engendered in the right use of all the benefits conferred on man, regardless of the labels that have been applied to them, regardless of how man may have departmentalized them, and regardless of how they may have been considered in the past.

AS individuals, perhaps we do not have much to do with formulating the policies which direct the use of radio, aircraft and other modern inventions. But we can have the right attitude and express it, and in so doing exert an accelerating, constructive influence.

But also, as individuals, we can actually use rightly those things which we have the power and opportunity to administer, such things as our time, spoken and written words, means, knowledge, contacts with others, understanding, faith and hope. And in so doing we perfect a technique which can easily spread among others and into the larger spheres of human activity, involving the new instruments which science forges.

Practice should be the extension of precept into life and living. Precept is the spiritual consciousness and practice the living of it. Precept is faith, faith is both confession and works, and works are the expression, the practice of faith and precept. “Faith without works is dead.” Precept governs practice when intent and conduct is in accord with the Word of God.

[Page 194]

IN THE SHADOW OF TOMORROW

BOOK REVIEW • HELEN CAMPBELL

“WE are living in a demented world. And we know it.” With these words Professor Jan Huizinga, of Leyden University, opens his book In the Shadow of Tomorrow. “Everywhere,” he continues, “there are doubts as to the solidity of our social structure, vague fears of the imminent future, a feeling that our civilization is on the way to ruin. They are not merely the shapeless anxieties which beset us in the small hours of the night when the flame of life burns low. They are considered expectations founded on observation and judgment of an overwhelming multitude of facts.”

The entire book, except for the introductory chapter and the two concluding chapters, is given to a survey of history during the last twenty centuries in order to see how the present crisis differs from former periods of disturbance and to find out, if possible, how far the present decay has progressed. In the course of this survey Professor Huizinga uses for comparison two periods of intensive cultural change—one, the time about 1500, when the earth and the planetary system were more fully discovered, “The church torn asunder, the power and range of the written word infinitely extended by the printing press, the means of warfare vastly augmented, credit and finance growing abundantly, Greek learning restored, the old architecture scorned, the arts unfolding in all their splendor;” the other, 1789-1815, “when the first state of Europe succumbed to the delusions of the ‘philosophers’ and the fury of the mob, but presently was resurrected by the deeds and fortune of a military genius, when liberty was acclaimed and the Church doctrines forsaken,” and when one scientific discovery followed another. In those crises, however, he finds the disturbance less convulsive and less wide-spread than it is today. Of greater importance, he feels, is the fact that in those times hope and faith were far more dominant than they are today. In the earlier periods of violent change, the author notes, men aimed to return to the older perfections, to apply ancient wisdom to the present problems. “Practically all conscious cultural striving of earlier periods,” he says, “has in one way or another been inspired with the principle of an exemplary past.” But today we no longer look to the past for guidance; we know that we must go forward. “We know it only too well; if we are to preserve culture we must continue to create it.”

In defining culture the author states that it requires three conditions: a [Page 195] balance of material and spiritual values; the pursuit of a common ideal, whether spiritual, social, economic or hygienic; and most important of all, control over nature, which includes control over human nature. While man has conquered physical nature, he has failed to conquer himself. Nor has man any common ideals, except desires for prosperity and power— ideals which divide rather than unite, ideals not touched by the spirit. Consequently, the world today has no balance in the economic system, in art, or in the realm of the intellect. Man, the author thinks, has cut off the means of gaining true culture.

TO be sure, science has progressed, but we do not know where it will lead us. We are confused by the opposing views which it reveals and we cannot yet form judgments. We have reached an intellectual crisis— which appears to be a limit of thinking power, though as the writer points out, this is no reason for discouragement. In fact, this crisis is beneficial. It is the state of popular thinking which is full of danger. There has been a weakening of judgment, a decline of the critical spirit. To quote, “Our time, then, is faced by the discouraging fact that two highly vaunted achievements of civilization—universal education and modern publicity —instead of raising the level of culture, appear ultimately to produce certain symptoms of cultural devitalization and degeneration. The masses are fed with an hitherto undreamt-of quantity of knowledge of all sorts, but there is something wrong with its assimulation. Undigested knowledge hampers judgment and stands in the way of wisdom.”

According to Professor Huizinga there are other signs of decay: life has become too easy; moral standards have gone down; a belief in the theory that “the State can do no wrong;” the evidences of puerilism everywhere; the persistence of certain superstitions, such as the belief in the utility of war; the desire for originality in art which renders it susceptible to outside influences and gives rise to many “isms;” and finally, the indifference to truth due to the “growing worthlessness of the spoken and printed word consequent upon its greater distribution.”

Following this estimate of past and present conditions, Professor Huizinga devotes the last two chapters of his book to an evaluation of possibilities ahead. He is hopeful of the future, although he sees no solution of the difficulties. He wonders if the cultural evolution through which we are going is, perhaps, one of barbarization. But he concludes finally that what is required is a regeneration of the individual. For he thinks that “Neither the prevention of war by international action nor the restoration of order and prosperity is in itself sufficient to bring a purification of culture. A new culture can only grow up in the soil of a purged humanity. The bearers of a purified culture will have to be like those waking in an early dawn. They will have to remind themselves that man can will himself not to be an animal.” But will it be necessary, the author wonders, for us to go through greater trials before we become purified? Possibly a new order [Page 196] of things has already begun, a new internationalism which he would have us support and strengthen. We must retrieve the eternal truths which are above the stream of evolution and change.

THOSE of us who know the Bahá’í Faith agree with Professor Huizinga most heartily. We see with more certainty, perhaps, that the new world order has begun, that mankind will gather—though, as he suggests, only after passing through greater depths—into an international federation of states. And most surely we concur with him that “a conversion, a rebirth, a regeneration” of man is necessary.

While In the Shadow of Tomorrow contains nothing very new to thinking people, Professor Huizinga’s analysis is freshly and forcefully stated. He views the present chaos with hopeful eyes and although he does not propose a way out of the shadow, he does point the road to recovery between material and spiritual values. To the young people of today, with some of whom the author is associated in his university work, he leaves the ultimate solution, for he believes that they are not only fitted for the difficult task but they are equal to it.

No doubt some of the fine spirit of the writer and of others as clear-eyed as he, will help the now young generation to lead the way out of the shadow.

[Page 197]

THE UNITY OF CHRISTENDOM

NONE, I feel, will question the fact that the fundamental reason why the unity of the Church of Christ was irretrievably shattered, and its influence was in the course of time undermined, was that the Edifice which the Fathers of the Church reared after the passing of His First Apostle was an Edifice that rested in nowise upon the explicit directions of Christ Himself. The authority and features of their administration were wholly inferred, and indirectly derived, with more or less justification, from certain vague and fragmentary references which they found scattered amongst His utterances as recorded in the Gospel. Not one of the sacraments of the Church; not one of the rites and ceremonies which the Christian Fathers have elaborately devised and ostentatiously observed; not one of the elements, of the severe discipline they rigorously imposed upon the primitive Christians; none of these reposed on the direct authority of Christ, or emanated from His specific utterances. Not one of these did Christ conceive, none did He specifically invest with sufficient authority to either interpret His Word, or to add to what He had not specifically enjoined.

For this reason, in later generations, voices were raised in protest against the self-appointed Authority which arrogated to itself privileges and powers which did not emanate from the clear text of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and which constituted a grave departure from the spirit which that Gospel did inculcate. They argued with force and justification that the canons promulgated by the Councils of the Church were not divinely-appointed laws, but were merely human devices which did not even rest upon the actual utterances of Jesus. Their contention centered around the fact that the vague and inconclusive words, addressed by Christ to Peter, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church,” could never justify the extreme measures, the elaborate ceremonials, the fettering creeds and dogmas, with which His successors have gradually burdened and obscured His Faith. Had it been possible for the Church Fathers, whose unwarranted authority was thus fiercely assailed from every side, to refute the denunciations heaped upon them by quoting specific utterances of Christ regarding the future administration of His Church, or the nature of His Successors, they would surely have been capable of quenching the flame of controversy, and preserving the unity of Christendom.—SHOGHI EFFENDI.

[Page 198]

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Edited by BERTHA HYDE KIRKPATRICK

Childhood years determine life’s outlook. . . . These years are spent with the mother. If she is liberally educated, the world will have more meaning, interest and charm to her children. Life will take on dignity and order. If she is trivial and superstitious, because her better qualities are not trained, her children will have lifelong handicaps. . . . Women need college more than men.— ARTHUR E. MORGAN.

If the mother is educated then the children will be well taught. When the mother is wise, then will the children be led into the path of wisdom. . . . It is clear therefore that the future generation depends on the mothers of today. Is not this a vital responsibility for the woman? Does she not require every possible advantage to equip her for such a task?—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ.

Europe is approaching a crisis. . . . Either there will be a melting of hearts and a joining of hands between great nations . . . or there will be an explosion and a catastrophe, the course of which no imagination can measure and no human eye can see.—W1NSTON CHURCHILL.

The ills from which the world now suffers will multiply; the gloom which envelops it will deepen. The Balkans will remain discontented. Its restlessness will increase. The vanquished powers will continue to agitate. They will resort to every measure that may rekindle the flame of war.—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ, (written in 1920.)

The question of the manufacture of arms by the state or by private firms has been obscured by a certain amount of prejudice. . . . The prejudice is the expression of an honorable but perhaps mistaken ideal respecting the sanctity of life and the iniquity of war.—SIR HERBERT LAWRENCE, Chairman of Vickers, Ltd.

But war is made for the satisfaction of men’s ambition; for the sake of worldly gain to the few, terrible misery is brought to numberless homes, breaking the hearts of hundreds of men and women! . . .There is nothing so heart-breaking and terrible as an outburst of human savagery! —‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ.

As long as religion is used as a means to an end—even though a very worthy end—it eludes us. Using religion means trying to make God do what men want done. Being religious means subjecting man’s will to the will of God.—DR. GEORGIA HARKNESS, in The Christian Century.

[Page 199]

O Son of Spirit! Ask not of Me that which we desire not for thee, then be content with what we have ordained for thy sake, for this is that which profiteth thee, if therewith thou dost content thyself.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH, in Hidden Words.

I have faith in the usefulness of this prospective process of consultation. I believe that if and when crises . . should arise, the people of the American continent will demand of their governments that they find in consultation the means of avoiding or ending conflict.—CORDELL HULL, in Foreign Affairs, April, 1937.

In this day, assemblies of consultation are of the greatest importance and a vital necessity. . . . The members thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise.—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ.

And whenever the conflict has been tense and the outlook dark, Christians have returned to this hope of a second coming, which hope is one form of faith in Jesus as Lord and in His final and complete triumph.—H. G. WOOD, Woodebrooke Settlement, Birmingham, England.

Heard ye not the saying of Jesus, the Spirit of God, “I go away, and come again unto you?” Wherefore, then, did ye fail, when He did come again unto you in the clouds of heaven, to draw nigh unto Him . . .? -—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer.—ISAIAH.

. . . it is impossible to secure from Christians a voluntary sacrifice of rights on a large enough scale to build a new society.-REINHOLD NIEBUHR.

. . . let us be hopeful. The God who gave to the world formerly will do so now and in the future. God who breathed the breath of the Holy Spirit upon His servants will breathe it upon them now and hereafter.—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ.

The transition from one stage of civilization to another is always a painful and confused process and seldom pleasant to watch. An old civilization, self-contained and harmonious in its working, is destroyed; and then the internal balance, the peaceful security, . . . begin to disappear. —HANS KOHN, in Western Civilization in the Near East.

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. . . . —SHOGHI EFFENDI.

[Page 200]

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[Page 201]

EDITORIAL PURPOSE

• WORLD ORDER MAGAZINE seeks to mirror forth the principles revealed by Bahá’u’lláh for the renewal and unification of society. These principles it recognizes as the impetus and the goal of all the influences making for regeneration throughout the world. It feels itself a part of the new world community coming into being, the commonwealth of mind and spirit raised high above the conflicts, the passions, the prejudices and the violences marking the passing of the old order and the birth of the new. Its aim is to maintain a meeting-place consecrated to peace, where minds touched with the spirit of the age may gather for calm and dispassionate discussion of truth. The scope of its content is best defined in the following summary of the Bahá’í Faith:—

• “The Bahá’í Faith recognizes the unity of God and of His Prophets, upholds the principle of an unfettered search affer truth, condemns all forms of superstitions and prejudice, teaches that the fundamental purpose of religion is to promote concord and harmony, that it must go hand-in-hand with science, and that it constitutes the sole and ultimate basis of a peaceful, an ordered and progressive society. It inculcates the principle of equal opportunity, rights and privileges for both sexes, advocates compulsory education, abolishes extremes of wealth and poverty, exalts work performed in the spirit of service to the rank of worship, recommends the adoption of an auxiliary international language, and provides the necessary agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and universal peace.”

[Page 202]

TOWARDS THIS GOAL OF A NEW WORLD ORDER, DIVINE IN ORIGIN, ALL- EMBRACING IN SCOPE, HUMANITY MUST STRIVE

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