World Order/Volume 6/Issue 4/Text

From Bahaiworks

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WORLD ORDER

THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE

July, 1940


• The Human Soul in This World of Chaos . . . Alice Simmons Cox   113

• The Fortified City . . . . . . . William Kenneth Christian   122

• With the Waters of Detachment . . . . . . . . Bahá’u’lláh   127

• Bahá’í Answers to World Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   131

Has Mankind Been Forewarned? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   131
Will Good Emerge From This Ordeal? . . . . . . . . . .   131
Can Mankind Achieve Unity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   133

• What ls Secure? . . . . . . . . . . . . Gertrude D. Schurgast   134

• Learning to Know and Love God . . . . . . . . Bahá’u’lláh   140

• Toward the Christian Revolution, Book Review . . . Garreta Busey   146

• Bahá’í Lessons . . . . . .   148

• With Our Readers . . .   150


FIFTEEN CENTS




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That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician . . . Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead —BAHÁ’U’LLÁH




CHANGE OF ADDRESS SHOULD BE REPORTED ONE MONTH IN ADVANCE

WORLD ORDER is published monthly in Wilmette, Ill., by the Publishing Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States and Canada. EDITORS: Stanwood Cobb, Alice Simmons Cox, Horace Holley, Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Marcia Steward Atwater, Hasan M. Balyusi, Dale S. Cole, Geneveive L. Coy, Shirin Fozdar, Marzieh Gail, Inez Greeven, Annamarie Honnold, G. A. Shook.

Editorial and Publication Office

536 SHERIDAN ROAD, WILMETTE, ILL.

C. R. Wood, Business Manager

Printed in U.S.A.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: $1.50 per year, for United States, its territories and possessions; for Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Central and South America. Single copies, 15c. Foreign subscriptions, $1.75. Make checks and money orders payable to World Order Magazine, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Illinois, or 135 East 50th Street, New York, N. Y. Entered as second class matter April 1, 1940, at the post office at Wilmette, Ill., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Contents copyrighted 1940 by Baha’i Publishing Committee. Title registered at U. S. Patent Office.

JULY 1940, VOLUME VI, NUMBER 4




[Page 113]

WORLD ORDER

THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE

VOLUME VI JULY, 1940 NUMBER 4


The Human Soul in This World of Chaos

Alice Simmons Cox

THE CAUSE OF TURMOIL IS THAT MAN HAS FORGOTTEN GOD

TO MEN WHO LOOK with understanding mind upon the tides of uncontrolled forces of destruction which are shaking the foundations of society, there comes the profound conviction that out of this chaos rises a challenge for the building of the world of tomorrow.

At last it is being proved in the greatest suffering of the centuries that the old order is “lamentably defective.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, page 32) The plans of statesmen and economists have failed to meet the needs of a world struggling with new problems of international scope; traditional religion has been impotent to avert impending conflicts because it has not provided the necessary unifying power nor bestowed the creative and energizing spirit of love essential for the regeneration [Page 114] of human souls. Science,—presenting the most marvelous evidence of the perceptive power of man that history has known, with its potential capacity to give abundant material life and educational opportunity,—now becomes an instrument of ruin.

What, then, is the challenging cry that rises from the agony of our world? What is the requirement and the merit of this day? What discovery concerning the laws of progress in human civilization is man about to make, provoked by a desperate and basic hunger for the essentials of existence, and impelled subconsciously, and consciously, by his inner soul to find sustenance and growth for the finer self, the spiritual man?

Warning men of coming disaster more than fifty years ago, Baha’u’llah testified that the cause of the increasing disruption of society is humanity’s negligence of its own spiritual development. This is the result of turning from faith in God to focusing human energies on the material aspects of life.

“The vitality of men’s belief in God,” He revealed, “is dying out in every land; nothing short of His wholesome remedy can restore it. The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human society: what else but the Elixir of His potent Revelation can cleanse and revive it?” (Gleanings, page 200)

Leaders of thought, seeing the gravity of the situation, make stirring pleas for humanity’s salvation: “Why, in the name of reason and sweet mercy,” a much-read author writes, “had this iniquity come to pass. . . . Across my mind flashed the endless explanations advanced by human ingenuity. The talk of economic stress, of boom and slump, of unemployment and unrest. Of the rise and fall of nations, the need for colonies, the survival of the fittest, the whole bag of tricks. How fatuous, how futile! . . . For it was clear, acutely clear. [Page 115] There was only one reason. One basic explanation. Man had forgotten God.” (A. J. Cronin in Reader’s Digest, April, 1939, page 3)

MAN IS UNKNOWN TO HIMSELF

Men are not born with the much-needed awareness of God. Not endowed from infancy with consciousness of his Creator, man is likewise not innately conscious of his own capacities and worth. Such consciousness can come only as a result of education and experience in a whole-hearted effort, first—to see the ordained and virtuous goal of human life, and then— to attain its station of being, which should be the approximation of divinity itself.

May not the cry of peoples be the first signs of an awakening of latent capacities, the first upsurge of dormant powers, the first world-wide searchings for spiritual understanding and the victory it could bring? Is there hope for a new order in the multiplying evidences of conviction that man has a spiritual birthright to claim? May all of this not be why Broadway was profoundly stirred by last winter’s first war drama, “There Shall be No Night” (Rev. 22:5), wherein Alfred Lunt is made to exclaim to a few soldiers: “Listen! . . . one may say easily and dramatically it is the death rattle of civilization. But I choose to believe differently. I believe it is the long-deferred death rattle of the primordial beast. We are conquering beastiality . . . with the power of the light that is in our minds.” (Life, May 13, 1940, page 50)

There is such hope. There is more than hope. There is growing a new consciousness that human brotherhood must be established upon the truth of the spiritual worth and oneness of mankind. For Bahá’ís there is even assurance that in the rising administrative order of Baha’u’llah, born in this [Page 116] travail of the ages, a New Order has already begun on earth.

BIRTH OF A HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS

Let us turn to the Bahá’í teachings for clear word concerning the latent capacities of man and his birth into spiritual consciousness which now rends the earth with pain.

“The whole earth is now in a state of pregnancy,” Bahá’u’lláh revealed toward the end of the last century. “The onrushing winds of the grace of God have passed over all things. Every creature hath been endowed with all the potentialities it can carry. . . . The time is approaching when every creature will have cast its burden.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, page 169)

Of man in particular He proclaimed: “The potentialities inherent in the station of man, the full measure of his destiny on earth, the innate excellence of his reality, must all be manifested in this Promised Day of God.” (Gleanings, p. 340)

‘Abdu’l-Bahá testified: “This twentieth century is the dawn or beginning of spiritual illumination and it is evident that day by day it will advance. . . . Among the results of the manifestation of spiritual forces will be that the human world will adapt itself to a new social form, the justice of God will become manifest throughout human affairs and human equality will be universally established.” (Promulgation of Universal Peace, pages 127-8)

“O ye beloved ones!” exclaims ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. “It is the moment of the ecstasy of the soul and consciousness . . .” (Tablets, III, page 573)

NATURE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT

The soul of man, according to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, is a cosmic energy, an emanation from the Life [Page 117] Source of the Universe, and is endowed with a spiritual motion that is distinct and higher than that found in the lower kingdoms of existence. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá designates it as the human spirit to distinguish it from the mineral, vegetable and animal spirit of each lower kingdom. It is a breath of that divine spirit “which animates and pervades all things” and which is “manifest throughout creation in different degrees or kingdoms.” (Promulgation, page 55) Each individual soul, or human entity, comes into being through this creative spirit which encircles the body at the beginning of the amalgamation of the elements at conception, and “the power of the spirit begins then to appear in the body gradually.” (Tablets, I, page 157)

As the human spirit, or rational soul, is not an elemental composition but a unit of created spiritual life, it is not subject to death at the time of the disintegration of the body. Through the bounty of the Creator it is possessed of immortality. How uplifting is this conception of continuity of life! How pregnant with hope and courage for the soul, how stimulating to the acquirement of heavenly virtues and to the strengthening of the human will!

When the human spirit functions as the motive power and dictator of the physical body and concentrates its forces on the material side of creation it does not manifest its qualities of spirit, and then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks of it simply as the soul. (Divine Philosophy, pages 120-121) That quality which pre-eminently distinguishes the human spirit from lower degrees of expression in creation is the power of intelligence, that special virtue of conscious ideation, reflection, perception and cognition. In earliest infancy this is not manifest, but, innate in the soul from the beginning, it gradually grows in brilliance through education. It is an ideal power surpassing [Page 118] nature, a tireless energy able to investigate and discover the mysteries of phenomena. (Promulgation, page 55) This faculty is likewise spoken of as the mind. Viewing it from other standpoints it may be defined as the power of the human spirit, the perfection of the spirit, its essential quality, or the fruit of which spirit is the tree. (Some Answered Questions, page 244) “It is the supreme gift of God” innate in man. (Promulgation, page 345) It is a faculty so great that Bahá’u’lláh has termed it a Sign that God will reveal himself to man. (Gleanings, page 164)

So distinct is the human spirit from the body that this faculty of intelligence can operate without the instrumentality of the body. “In the world of thought,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “it sees without eyes, hears without ears and travels without the motion of foot. Without physical force it exercises every function. . . . In the world of dreams the body becomes absolutely passive but the spirit still functions actively, possessed of all susceptibilities. . . . At most it can be said that the body is a mere garment utilized by the spirit.” (Promulgation, page 253)

“The outcome of this intellectual endowment is science which is especially characteristic of man. . . . This endowment is the most praiseworthy power of man for through its employment and exercise, the betterment of the human race is accomplished, the development of the virtues of mankind is made possible and the spirit and mysteries of God become manifest.” (Idem, pages 27-28)

The power of the human spirit, the intellect, being finite in its nature, cannot by itself comprehend the infinite world of divine consciousness. But according to Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings it can become illumined with the light from this higher world through a celestial quality of the soul which has capacity [Page 119] to put man in touch with God. The reality of man may in this sense be thought of as an intermediary between the body or material world and the world of God. “This human reality,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains, “stands between the higher and the lower in man, between the world of the animal and the world of divinity. When the animal proclivity in man becomes predominant he sinks even lower than the brute. When the heavenly powers are triumphant in his nature he becomes the noblest and most superior being in the world of creation. . . . From this standpoint, his nature is threefold, animal, human and divine.” (Promulgation, page 461)

When the heart of man remains attached to things of the material world his intelligence cannot soar into the higher reaches of spiritual understanding and virtuous achievement. When desires are influenced by the lower nature, the mind plans with all its innate power “to work evil, to hurt and to destroy.” (Wisdom, page 89) We find today in outer civilization the expression of this subjugation of a divine capacity to the forces of the lesser worlds.

The celestial quality of the human reality which gives man’s intelligence potential capacity to attain consciousness of the higher spiritual realm, called the world of divinity, is concealed within the human spirit as the flame lies hidden within the unlighted candle, as the beauty of the flower lies within the seed.

LIGHTING THE CELESTIAL FLAME

The flame must be lighted; the doors of the mind must be opened to a greater spirit than that innate in man if the human spirit is to fulfill its destiny. Through the love of reality deposited in man’s intelligence, through the “outworking” human spirit (Promulgation, pages 47 and 35) man may seek [Page 120] and approach God, but until his aspirations are touched by the undying fire emanating from on high he cannot receive the gift of heavenly consciousness which it can bestow. When the intellect through the attributes of the reason is “fortified by the Holy Spirit he may penetrate and discover ideal realities and become informed of the mysteries of the world of significances,” declares ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. (Idem, page 297) “Men should hold in their souls the vision of celestial perfection, and there prepare a dwelling-place for the Inexhaustible Bounty of the divine Spirit.” (Wisdom, page 90)

When the aspirations become truly lofty, when in meditation, and in prayer, in work and in service, the motive of the heart of man’s reality is so pure as to love the divine will, then, declares ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “Man’s radiant intelligence makes him the crowning point of creation. . . . His humanity becomes so glorified that the virtues of the Celestial Assembly are manifested in him.” (Idem, pages 88-89) It is a purpose of every Prophet, or Manifestation of God, to awaken and to strengthen the celestial capacity of human souls, to light and to feed the flame.

THE MANIFESTATION IS THE GOAL

Incapable, as has been said, is the human spirit, unaided, unlighted, of receiving the bounties of the divine spirit. But never, even when illumined, regardless of how far it may advance in nearness to its Creator, can it enter the Court of the All-Glorious Essence. Divine quickening and guidance, of which it may partake, is, however, a radiance streaming from God’s Throne. Bahá’u’lláh has described this grace as an outpouring from the Ocean of divine Command, an outpouring which itself in its unending perfections, is “a fathomless sea which none shall ever sound.” (Seven Valleys, page 53) It is [Page 121] the Effulgence of all lordly names and attributes, the light, the love, the beauty and the power of the Spirit, divine and Holy. By endowment of intelligence, when exalted through the celestial capacity to worship and adore, man may discover and enter this realm of divine consciousness, mirror its glory with ever-increasing fulness, “partake of this imperishable favor,” “this incorruptible gift.” (Gleanings, pages 68 and 326)

Human spirits are as birds, says Bahá’u’lláh, which should soar “with the full force of mighty wings. . . through the immensity of the heavens” (Gleanings, page 362) where they may receive continuously the sustenance of divine love and knowledge. “This is the state of the divine decree and the preordained mystery. . . .” (Seven Valleys, page 53)

Necessary to such glorious attainment, in this cycle as in all cycles, is the aid of the Manifestation of God, Who as the Perfect Man has revealed in His Being and in His Book the Command and the Attributes. He it is Who thus gives to men in manner that they can understand a vision of their own celestial station. He sets their hearts aflame. He educates them in spiritual truths. He bestows the creative grace whereby their human spirits can rise, through new birth, into those ways of fulfillment which will show them to be created in the image and likeness of the supreme Manifestation of God. As the Polestar of life He guides to this Goal promised for the peoples of the world. “He who advanceth to this Face will appear in the condition for which he was created.” (Bahá’í Scriptures, par. 419) This is the real spiritualization of humanity which will crown the new age with virtue and with progress and invest it with unity, security, justice and that Most Great Peace planned by Bahá’u’lláh.




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The Fortified City

William Kenneth Christian

ON THE picturesque coast of eastern France, rising stalwartly from the tidal skirts of the Atlantic, is a great Gothic citadel called Mont St. Michel. Its slender spire is a familiar beacon visible for miles across the flat, green countryside. St. Michel is a huge rock jutting from the sea. At its base is a small town where tiny houses cramp together within the walls. The narrow, cobbled streets wind crookedly between the old houses. The summit of this rock is surmounted by a great fortress which in the past was of military and religious significance in the history of France. There is a large copying room where monks labored over their manuscripts. Open to visitors are some of the lightless cells where prisoners were kept in what might be called a medieval “concentration camp.”

Farther down the coast, in Brittany, is the fishing village of St. Malo. Here, within the walls, live several thousand people, much as they have lived for centuries. The ramparts surrounding the town are huge walls of stone. At certain places they are wide enough for two automobiles to pass. They were excellent fortifications in their day, and they represent great labor.

Walking along these ramparts and looking down into the small, stone houses crowded within the walls, I wondered if this might not be a key to the psychology of the middle ages and even to part of the thinking of the modern world.

Because men, then, wanted to govern by the divide-and-rule method, they set up these fortified towns at strategic spots. [Page 123] People lived in them for protection, were dependent on the rulers. The “burden of armaments” of that time is largely represented in the great work necessary to the building of such ramparts. (With some similarity to the little and infrequent economic return from a modern battleship.) The people had to have narrow streets and small houses. Space could not be spared for parks, lawns, gardens, wide, shaded streets—all those things which are the lungs of a healthful town or city.

Naturally people used to such conditions would think in small terms, would center the universe in their city. After all, was not this protection and security, huddling here within the high, stone walls of the battlements?

THE MEDIEVAL WAY PERSISTS

Although medieval days are no longer here, many practices and modes of thought remain. These things cramp the human race, distort their picture of the world, perpetuate social misery and war. Are not the Maginot Line and the Western Wall but counterparts of the medieval battlements of St. Malo and Mont St. Michel? Is not a battle fleet another “protective” barrier? And what is foreign policy but a device to keep groups of people competing so that governments will not need to change?

Do not men still rule by keeping people divided? ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that God made the earth but man marked out the boundaries. This is merely common sense. But boundaries and means of human division have been invested with an air of divine appointment. Largely because of this, European peoples are plunged in misery, and other continents have become infected with the same disease.

We can readily see that boundaries and ramparts were once a necessity to the many isolated units of a slowly growing, [Page 124] painfully expanding social world. We can also see that these formerly protective units are now the death-traps of humanity. Whole nations now wage war, neglecting the arts and culture so laboriously achieved. The ramparts now are political, military, and economic. As patron saints formerly watched over fortified cities, now national ecclesiastical systems prostitute their creeds for the advancement of one national group over another.

Systems devised by men for the advancement of their interests are now traitorously turned against them. The leaders of these systems know that national competition is no longer logical or tolerable. They know that victory can never result —only mutual suffering and defeat. Yet whole bodies of people face crucifixion to vainly perpetuate outmoded systems.

More incessantly each day grows the plea for world federation. Peculiarly enough we find no sympathy to federation even in ideal, much less in definite plan, from the leaders of those nations now plunged in the maelstrom of war. The warring leaders merely repeat the old formulas, cry continuously for a victory they know can never be attained.

The adherents of two definite ways of life are in conflict. Those who would have modern nations continue as enlarged patterns of the fortified city. Those who plead for a fundamental change in the social order which would enable all nations (even as our forty-eight states) to become federated.

THE ONLY BASIC PEACE

Bahá’ís are intensely interested in all the implications of these vast, inevitable changes now disrupting the life of all peoples. For over seventy years, the slowly increasing followers of Bahá’u’lláh have been urging a federated world, unified in all its major aspects, freed from the customs and [Page 125] the taboo that make men easy prey to the human wolves in their midst, dedicated to the development and enriching of all human life, guaranteeing true freedom and opportunity to all humanity.

Particularly at a time when hatred and bigotry, fanaticism and misunderstanding are battling for dominance in men’s hearts and thoughts, it is well to turn to that portion of the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh relative to the new spirit needed by men who would establish a new order when the present demolition is complete.

As men formerly slowly learned loyalty to a national government, so now must there be awakened and fostered a universal sense of loyalty to humanity. This spirit must be a sense of human solidarity greater and stronger than any existing institution could create. Surely it is obvious that the mere mechanism of world federation is not sufficient, in itself, to foster a world-embracing loyalty that will fuse Gentile and Jew, black and white, Christian and Moslem.

To gain such a victory over the human spirit requires an emotional and spiritual impetus. This impetus must create victory through unity, not through defeat. It must fuse the hearts of men together and destroy prejudice. The spirit of loyalty to humanity (too great and deep a feeling to be creedalized) can bring the only basic peace after this conflict and infuse life into the coming world federation.

The creation of such a deep and abiding spirit is one of the fundamental objectives of the Bahá’í Faith. “Therefore, today victory neither has been nor ever will be opposition to anyone, nor strife with any person; but rather what is well-pleasing is that the cities of men’s hearts, which are under the dominion of the hosts of selfishness and lust, should be subdued by the sword of the word of wisdom and exhortation. Everyone, [Page 126] then, who desires victory must first subdue the city of his own heart with the sword of spiritual truth and the Word, and must protect it from remembering aught beside God; afterwards, let him turn his efforts toward the citadel of the hearts of others. This is what is intended by victory. . . .” (Prayers, page 67.)

For almost a century the Bahá’í Faith has been winning such victories as this. Into every part of the world the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh have permeated. Wherever they have gone, age-old fortifications of prejudice have been demolished. A world-wide community bound by deep ties of feeling and common spiritual understanding, has been the result. Every type of prejudice that can be harbored in the human heart has been attacked. And the tide of spiritual victory has only begun.

While men fight for self-created illusions, fight to destroy, wound, and kill; in every continent, in every clime, thousands of Bahá’ís wage war against hatred, in all its obvious and subtle forms. When the great military conflict has subsided, and broken, wearied peoples seek a new spirit, those who have won the victory over human hearts will be able to supply humanity’s greatest need. Could any greater service be rendered mankind at this time than the Bahá’í program of unity?




The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH




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With the Waters of Detachment

Words of Bahá’u’lláh


Excerpt from Tablet Revealed to the Son of the Wolf


Translated by

SHOGHI EFFENDI




[Page 128]

WITH THE WATERS OF DETACHMENT

WORDS OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

NOW IS THE MOMENT in which to cleanse thyself with the waters of detachment that have flowed out from the Supreme Pen, and to ponder, wholly for the sake of God, those things which, time and again, have been sent down or manifested, and then to strive, as much as lieth in thee, to quench, through the power of wisdom and the force of thy utterance, the fire of enmity and hatred which smouldereth in the hearts of the peoples of the world. The Divine Messengers have been sent down, and their books were revealed, for the purpose of promoting the knowledge of God, and of furthering unity and fellowship amongst men. But now behold, how much they have made the Law of God a cause and pretext for perversity and hatred. How pitiful, how regrettable, that most men are cleaving fast to, and have busied themselves with, the things they possess, and are unaware of, and shut out as by a veil from, the things God possesseth!

Say: “O God, my God! Attire mine head with the crown of justice, and my temple with the ornament of equity. Thou, verily, art the Possessor of all gifts and bounties.”

Justice and equity are twin Guardians that watch over men. From them are revealed such blessed and perspicuous words as are the cause of the well-being of the world and the protection of the nations.

These words have streamed from the pen of this Wronged One in one of His Tablets: “The purpose of the one true God, [Page 129] exalted be His glory, hath been to bring forth the Mystic Gems out of the mine of man—They Who are the Dawning-Places of His Cause and the Repositories of the pearls of His knowledge; for God Himself, glorified be He, is the Unseen, the One concealed and hidden from the eyes of men. Consider what the Merciful hath revealed in the Qur’án: ‘No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all vision, and He is the Subtile, the All-Informed!’”

That the divers communions of the earth, and the manifold systems of religious belief, should never be allowed to foster the feelings of animosity among men, is, in this Day, of the essence of the Faith of God and His Religion. These principles and laws, these firmly-established and mighty systems, have proceeded from one Source, and are the rays of one Light. That they differ one from another is to be attributed to the varying requirements of the ages in which they were promulgated.

Gird up the loins of your endeavor, O people of Bahá, that haply the tumult of religious dissension and strife that agitateth the peoples of the earth may be stilled, that every trace of it may be completely obliterated. For the love of God, and them that serve Him, arise to aid this sublime and momentous Revelation. Religious fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring fire, whose violence none can quench. The Hand of Divine power can, alone, deliver mankind from this desolating affliction. Consider the war that hath involved the two Nations, how both sides have renounced their possessions and their lives. How many the villages that were completely wiped out!

The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light are these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship, He Who is the [Page 130] Day-Star of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it can illumine the whole earth. The One true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words.

Exert yourselves that ye may attain this transcendent and most sublime station, the station that can insure the protection and security of all mankind. This goal excelleth every other goal, and this aspiration is the monarch of all aspirations. So long, however, as the thick clouds of oppression, which obscure the day-star of justice, remain undispelled, it would be difficult for the glory of this station to be unveiled to men’s eyes. . . .

Consort with all men, O people of Bahá, in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost kindliness and good-will. If it be accepted, if it fulfil its purpose, your object is attained. If any one should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with him. A kindly tongue is the lodestar of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding. . . .

Set thine heart towards Him Who is the Kaaba of God, the Help in peril, the Self-Subsisting, and raise thou thine hands with such firm conviction as shall cause the hands of all created things to be lifted up towards the heaven of the grace of God, the Lord of all worlds.




[Page 131]

BAHÁ’Í ANSWERS TO WORLD QUESTIONS

HAS MANKIND BEEN FOREWARNED?

THE DAY IS APPROACHING when its (civilization’s) flame will devour the cities, when the Tongue of Grandeur will proclaim: “The Kingdom is God’s, the Almighty, the All-Praised!” (Gleanings)

Say: O concourse of the heedless! I swear by God! The promised day is come, the day when tormenting trials will have surged above your heads, and beneath your feet, saying: “Taste ye what our hands have wrought.” (Gleanings)

O Ye Peoples of the World! Know verily that an unseen calamity is following you and that grievous retribution awaiteth you. Think not the deeds you have committed have been blotted from My sight. (Hidden Words)

Another war, fiercer than the last, will assuredly break out.

The ills from which the world now suffers will multiply; the gloom which envelops it will increase. The vanquished powers will continue to agitate. They will resort to every measure that may rekindle the flame of war. Movements, newly-born and world-wide in their range, will exert their utmost for the advancement of their designs. The Movement of the Left will acquire great importance. Its influence will spread. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, tablet written in 1920)

WILL GOOD EMERGE FROM THIS ORDEAL?

THE DAY IS APPROACHING when We will have rolled up the [Page 132] world and all that is therein, and spread out a New Order in its stead. (Gleanings, p. 313)

Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply the dissensions that divide it may, through the power of the Most Great Name, be blotted out from its face, and all mankind become the upholders of one Order, and the inhabitants of one City. . . . Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love. (Idem, p. 333)

A new life is, in this age stirring within all the peoples of the earth; and yet none hath discovered its cause or perceived its motive. (Idem, p. 196)

He who is your Lord, the All-Merciful, cherisheth in His heart the desire of beholding the entire human race as one soul and one body. Haste ye to win your share of God’s good grace and mercy in this Day that eclipseth all other created days. (Idem, p. 214)

This is the Day whereon the ocean of God’s mercy hath been manifested unto men, the Day in which the Day Star of His Lovingkindness hath shed its radiance upon them, the Day in which the clouds of His bountiful favor have overshadowed the whole of mankind. (Idem, p. 7)

Might not this process of steady deterioration which is insidiously invading so many departments of human activity and thought be regarded as a necessary accompaniment to the rise of this almighty Arm of Bahá’u’lláh? Might we not look upon the momentous happenings which, in the course of the last twenty years have so deeply agitated every continent of the earth, as ominous signs simultaneously proclaiming the agonies of a disintegrating civilization and the birthpangs of that World Order—that Ark of human salvation—that must [Page 133] needs rise upon its ruins? (Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 63)

CAN MANKIND ACHIEVE UNITY?

THE HEIGHTS WHICH, through the most gracious favor of God, mortal man can attain, in this Day, are as yet unrevealed to his sight. . . . The day, however, is approaching when the potentialities of so great a favor will, by virtue of His behest, be manifested unto men. (Gleanings, p. 214)

The Great Being saith: Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom. If any man were to mediate upon that which the Scriptures, sent down from the heaven of God’s holy Will, have revealed, he will readily recognize that their purpose is that all men should be regarded as one soul, so that . . . the light of Divine bounty, of grace, and mercy may envelop all mankind. (Idem, p. 260)

The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. This unity can never be achieved so long as the counsels which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed are suffered to pass unheeded. Through the power of the words He hath uttered the whole human race can be illuminated with the light of unity. (Idem, p. 286)

Of old it hath been revealed: “Love of one’s country is an element of the Faith of God.” The Tongue of Grandeur hath, however, in the day of His manifestation proclaimed: “It is not his to boast who loveth his country, but it is his who loveth the world.” Through the power released by these words He hath lent a fresh impulse, and set a new direction, to the birds of men’s hearts, and hath obliterated every trace of restriction and limitation from God’s holy Book. (Idem, pp. 95-96)




[Page 134]

What Is Secure?

Gertrude D. Schurgast

YOU ALL HAVE experienced some of those elated moments in your life when your spirit is quickened, your heart singing.

In such a mood I returned from a Bahá’í gathering. I had met friends who worked for the same great Cause, who shared my ideals and my hopes. Boarding a rather crowded bus I wished I could find someone with whom to share my happiness. But it did not look promising, for the only seat I found was next to a rather colorless woman in her forties with thick eye-lenses and greying hair on which a hat sat unbecomingly. She took no notice of her fellow-passengers and I wondered why she was staring so hard out of the window. Outside there seemed nothing worth any special attention. Then I noticed how her hands twitched nervously and how drawn her face was. She looked as if she had received a blow of some kind and was trying hard to compose herself.

Well, I could not very well say to a perfect stranger: “Cry on my shoulder, sister, I’d like to help you.” So I waited tactfully, hoping that an opening might present itself. And it did. When we neared a suburb where snow-covered trees stood out against the blue sky in dazzling beauty, the woman turned to me unexpectedly.

“How beautiful this is,” she said, “but look,” she went on a little wistfully “not many people in this bus are seeing it.” It was true. Most of them had their eyes glued to the pages of some magazine or newspaper.

“So many things pass by us unnoticed, but you snatch at every bit of beauty when not much time is left . . .” she paused.

[Page 135] I must have looked startled. “Failing eyesight,” she explained, “I have been seeing a specialist. Retinal detachment was his verdict, meaning total blindness.” Her voice was toneless.

“I happen to know a little about that,” I said. “If you are careful, it may not come in years or not at all. You must avoid stooping and lifting things.”

“That’s what the doctor told me, too,” she said, “but how can I avoid it? I have housework to do and plenty of it. We have boarders, you see, and especially lately, when debts seemed to accumulate, I worked so hard. I rushed and rushed and never got it all done.” Speaking as if to herself she went on: “Struggle and worry and drudgery was the theme song of my life. I never even won a contest and the glamor I have dreamed of, it never came. And when I think of my husband now, he was sometimes impatient with me, even, while I did my best to help him. . . what will he do when I am a helpless, useless creature . . .”

I did not interrupt her, I let her unburden herself.

“Perhaps there is a wisdom in this that you do have to take it easier now, perhaps it will give you more time for other things. Doing your best does not mean being enslaved by your work. By being so worried and anxious have you not perhaps neglected the finer things in you? They are lying dormant in all of us but do we always develop them?”

“But you cannot turn them into dollars and cents,” she ventured.

“Even that you can do sometimes,” I answered. “You may be a potential writer or musician, or your love for children may earn you a job as an educator, but special talents or not, we should all try to live a fuller life. This is what we really are yearning for, not for the worthless glamor of a movie queen. [Page 136] . . . And money? Don’t you think that money is greatly overemphasized these days? Where is the security it promises to offer us? People bank on their money, and they bank on their efficiency, only to discover what a mess they have made of their lives. We have lost our humility, we have forgotten how small and helpless we really are. We have lost the ability to make contact with that great spiritual power that gives us real security —we may call it nature or Divine Essence or God. And yet, all we have to do is tune in on these ether-waves, turn to our Creator in prayer.”

“You mean,” she asked, “all we should do is to sit back in prayer and let things happen?”

“No, I don’t mean that. But haven’t you ever felt that great peace and tranquillity descend upon you after prayer? And where a road seemed barred before, a new way opens up before your eyes. Then is the time when we should go ahead and act, then we should summon all our energy and efficiency for the task before us and our efforts would be blessed.”

“But so many people seem to think prayer is outdated, old-fashioned,” she put in timidly.

“And religion altogether, but it isn’t. Religious cults become outdated, yes, but never true religion in its purest sense. Don’t you see,” I went on, “how the lack, the absence of pure religion has caused all these upheavals in the world? distrust, and hatred and greed and wars? A world order is breaking down right before our eyes. People look on bewildered. They cry for dictators or any other kind of leadership, not realizing as yet that no statesman, no human power can save humanity.

“And where is the divine power to save it,” she asked.

“Not as far as you may think it is. About 50 years ago, a scholar in oriental languages, Prof. Browne of Cambridge University, England, set out to visit in the prison city of Akka, [Page 137] Palestine, a Persian prisoner of whose saintliness and wisdom he had heard so much. Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God, they called him and he had claimed that God had sent him to restate true religion. On this new basis a new World Order would be erected; religious, political, and racial prejudices and hatreds would be abolished and the “Most Great Peace” would come. These were the prophetic words the English professor heard in amazement: “These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must cease, and all men be as one kindred and one family. . . . Let not a man glory in this that he loves his country, let him rather glory in this that he loves his kind.”

“And his teachings have spread and you are a follower of this prophet, this Bahá’u’lláh?” the lady asked.

I nodded. “We call ourselves Bahá’ís,” I said, “it means followers of Light. All over the world you’ll find us and each one of us is trying to do his or her little share to establish the New World Order.”

“And how are you going about to establish the New World Order?” she asked with interest.

“If you think we are trying to do it by force, I have to disappoint you,” I said. “We are not planning to overthrew any governments or causing any revolutions. Bahá’ís are told to obey their governments, even to the point that they will go to war if their country demands it. We don’t have to waste our time tearing down the old order, it is breaking down by itself. As some of last year’s leaves, still clinging to branches of trees, are swept away by spring winds, in the same way, worn out institutions are being swept away by world catastrophes which usher in the new age. And as new leaves are forming under the old ones, our new faith is growing slowly but steadily amidst chaos and destruction.

“Think, what a wonderful, what a tremendous thing this [Page 138] is! Like the early followers of Christ we are spreading the Glad Tidings. A new Manifestation of God has come. God will not let us perish, In His great bounty He has sent us another Divine Messenger who will save mankind, lead us into the Light out of darkness and despair. And all we have to do is to awaken, to open our eyes and see that a new age has dawned. The promise of two thousand years ago: ‘Thy will be done, Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven,’ will come true at last. It will come true in our age and we may live to have a glimpse of it. We may still live to see the beginnings of Universal Peace, of a true brotherhood of men.”

“Oh, to have such faith!” the lady sighed.

“It will come to you too,” I said, “when that great new love is generated in your heart. Your doubts will melt away like snow in the spring sun; when through the mouth of Bahá’u’lláh God speaks to us: ‘My claim on thee is great, it cannot be forgotten. My grace to thee is plenteous, it can not be veiled. My love has made in thee its home, it can not be concealed; My light is manifest in thee, it can not be obscured.’ This love alone gives us security and peace; but it also spurs us into action. We become dynamos of love generating new love. With this love in our hearts nothing can harm us, not even death. This love is more powerful than hatred, more powerful than all the money and power of the world combined, God Himself is on our side. As the servants of God we need no other weapon.”

The woman with the greying hair looked quite transformed. She looked younger, happier somehow. “How I wished I could belong to your army of love,” she said. “But I have no oratory nor any other talents. In what way could such a person serve?”

“To God the humblest person is just as precious as the [Page 139] greatest. You will find it in your own heart how you can serve Him. We can serve God best by serving our fellow-men. We can always find someone to whom we can give love or understanding. And we become true servants of God when we see the ‘face of the Beloved in every countenance.’”

“Did Bahá’u’lláh also give you a practical plan for bringing about this New World Order?”

“Yes, indeed, and the strange thing is how His ideas, proclaimed 60 years ago, for example, how to safeguard peace through an international police force, or the establishment of the United States of the World, are voiced today by leading authorities who have never heard of Bahá’u’lláh. Doesn’t that show you how the Cause of God is marching?”

“I have to hear more about it,” she said. “That turned out to be a wonderful bus ride. It seems to me I had a glimpse of reality and I am beginning to see light. Strange,” she added as she got up to leave the bus, “that one who is about to lose her sight should so gain in vision!”




O rulers of the earth! Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions. Beware lest ye disregard the counsel of the All-Knowing, the Faithful.

Be united, O kings of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice.

—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH




[Page 140]

The Divine Art of Living

A Compilation

CHAPTER FOUR

LEARNING TO KNOW AND LOVE GOD

Words of Bahá’u’lláh

Having created the world and all that liveth and moveth therein He, through the direct operation of His unconstrained and sovereign Will, chose to confer upon man the unique distinction and capacity to know Him and to love Him—a capacity that must needs be regarded as the generating impulse and the primary purpose underlying the whole of creation. (Gleanings, p. 65)

O Son of Man! I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life. (Hidden Words)

I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy Might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth.

There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. (Prayers and Meditations, p. 314)

GOD’S LOVE FOR US

What outpouring flood can compare with the stream of His all-embracing grace, and what blessing can excel the evidences [Page 141] of so great and pervasive a mercy? There can be no doubt whatever that if for one moment the tide of His mercy and grace were to be withheld from the world, it would completely perish. For this reason, from the beginning that hath no beginning the portals of Divine mercy have been flung open to the face of all created things, and the clouds of Truth will continue to the end that hath no end to rain on the soil of human capacity, reality and personality their favors and bounties. Such hath been God’s method continued from everlasting to everlasting. (Gleanings, p. 68)

O Moving Form of Dust! I desire communion with thee, but thou wouldst have no trust in Me. The sword of thy rebelliousness hath felled the tree of thy hope. At all times I am near unto thee, but thou art even far from Me. (Hidden Words)

O Bondslave of the World! Many a dawn hath the breeze of My lovingkindness wafted over thee and found thee upon the bed of negligence fast asleep; and bewailing then thy plight, it returned whence it came. (Idem)

Thou art, in truth, He Whose mercy hath encompassed all the worlds, and whose grace hath embraced all that dwell on earth and in heaven. Who is there that hath cried after Thee, and whose prayer hath remained unanswered? Where is he to be found who hath reached forth towards Thee, and whom Thou hast failed to approach? Who is he that can claim to have fixed his gaze upon Thee, and toward whom the eye of Thy lovingkindness hath not been directed? I bear witness that Thou hadst turned toward Thy servants ere they had turned toward Thee, and hadst remembered them ere they had remembered Thee. All grace is Thine, O Thou in Whose hand is the kingdom of Divine gifts and the source of every irrevocable decree. (Prayers and Meditations, p. 254)

[Page 142]

LEARNING TO KNOW GOD

Among the creatures there are some who know God and mention Him, and there are others who mention Him and know Him not. (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 37)

In the past they that were the daysprings and mines of wisdom in no wise ignored its ultimate Cause or denied its Fountain and Source. . . .

Remarkable and far-reaching as the intellectual and industrial accomplishments of the leaders of thought have been in modern times, yet to every discerning observer it is clear and manifest that they have derived the greatest part of their knowledge from the sages of the past. . . . These sages of old in their turn acquired their knowledge from the Prophets of God, for these verily were the Manifestations of Divine Wisdom and the Revealers of heavenly mysteries. (The Bahá’í World, vol. IV, p. 104)

. . . Sow the seeds of My Divine Wisdom in the pure soil of thy heart and water them with the water of certitude, that the hyacinths of My Knowledge and Wisdom may spring up verdantly in the sacred city of the heart. (Hidden Words)

Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. (Gleanings, p. 136)

Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is a direct evidence of the revelation within it of the attributes and names of God, inasmuch as within every atom are enshrined the signs that bear eloquent testimony to the revelation of that Most Great Light. . . . To a supreme degree is this true of man, who, among all created things, hath been invested with the robe of such gifts, and hath been singled out for the glory of such distinction. For in him are potentially [Page 143] revealed all the attributes and names of God to a degree that no other created being hath excelled or surpassed. . . . Even as He hath revealed: “He hath known God who hath known himself.” . . . Also it is written: “Behold, a light hath shown forth out of the morn of eternity, and lo, its waves have penetrated the inmost reality of all men.” Man, the noblest and most perfect of all created beings, excelleth them all in the intensity of this revelation, and is a fuller expression of its glory. And of all men, the most accomplished, the most distinguished, and the most excellent are the Manifestations of the Sun of Truth. (Idem, p. 177-179)

These Essences of Detachment, these resplendent Realities, are the channels of God’s all-pervasive grace. Led by the light of unfailing guidance, and invested with supreme sovereignty, they are commissioned to use the inspiration of their words, the effusions of their infallible grace and the sanctifying breeze of their Revelation for the cleansing of every longing heart and receptive spirit from the dross and dust of earthly cares and limitations. (Gleanings, p. 67)

LEARNING TO LOVE GOD

Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker’s heart, and the breeze of His lovingkindness is wafted upon His soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of darkness and error be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelope his being. (Idem, p. 267)

Among them (the holy utterances) is this saying: “Earth and heaven cannot contain Me; what alone can contain Me is the heart of him that believeth in Me, and is faithful to My Cause.” . . . It is the waywardness of the heart that removeth [Page 144] it far from God, and condemneth it to remoteness from Him. Those hearts, however, that are aware of His Presence, are close to Him, and are to be regarded as having drawn nigh unto His throne. (Idem, p. 186)

Let the flame of the love of God burn brightly within your radiant hearts. Feed it with the oil of Divine guidance, and protect it within the shelter of your constancy. Guard it within the globe of trust and detachment from all else but God. . . . (Idem, p. 325)

Send down upon me from the clouds of Thy mercy that which will purify me of all that is not of Thee, that I may be worthy to praise Thee and fit to love Thee. (Prayers and Meditations, p. 13)

Help me to guard the pearls of Thy love which by Thy decree, Thou hast enshrined within my heart. (Idem, p. 176)

To the heaven of Thy lovingkindness lift me up, O my Quickener, and unto the daystar of Thy guidance lead me, O Thou my Attractor! (Idem, p. 259)

Flood, then, their hearts with the wonders of Thy love. (Idem, p. 337)

WHAT THE LOVE OF GOD BRINGS TO US

The most important quality, in the education of man, is the love of God; blessed are they who possess it! (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 22)

Teach men the love of God. This quality is the general of the army of your Lord, while the privates are high standards and good deeds. It has conquered the citadels of hearts and souls through centuries and cycles, and in victory and triumph has erected its banner above all other banners. (Idem, p. 104)

O Son of Man! Love Me that I may love thee. If thou [Page 145] lovest Me not, My love can in nowise reach thee. Know this, O servant.

O Son of Being! My love is my stronghold; he that entereth therein shall be safe and secure, and he that turneth away shall surely stray and perish.

O Son of Utterance! Thou art My stronghold; enter therein that thou mayest abide in safety. My love is in thee, know it, that thou mayest find Me nigh unto thee. (Hidden Words)

O Befriended Stranger! The healer of all thy ills is thy remembrance of Me, forget it not. Make My love thy all-precious treasure and cherish it even as thine own sight and life. (Hidden Words)

Enable us, then, O my God, to live in remembrance of Thee and to die in love of Thee, and supply us with the gift of Thy presence in Thy worlds hereafter. (Prayers and Meditations, p. 145)

The day is approaching when the intervening clouds will have been completely dissipated, when the light of the words, “All honor belongeth unto God and unto them that love Him” will have appeared, as manifest as the sun, above the horizon of the Will of the Almighty. (Idem, p. 306)




O kings of the earth! We see you increasing every year your expenditures, and laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is wholly and grossly unjust. Fear the sighs and tears of this Wronged One, and lay not excessive burdens on your peoples. Do not rob them to rear palaces for yourselves; nay rather choose for them that which ye choose for yourselves. Thus we unfold to your eyes that which profiteth you, if ye but perceive. Your people are your treasures. Beware lest your rule violate the commandments of God, and ye deliver your wards to the hands of the robber.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH




[Page 146]

TOWARDS THE CHRISTIAN REVOLUTION

BOOK REVIEW

Garreta Busey

How is it possible to practice the teachings of Christ today, when so great a number of our fellow men are suffering through no fault of their own, when charity turns out to be only a temporary and humiliating substitute for justice, when nothing that any individual can do will remove the sense of insecurity and fear permeating the masses of humanity? Such questions forming in the minds of nine prominent Canadian clergymen, who feel a deep dissatisfaction with the program of the churches, have produced a book,[1] based on traditional religion and the Bible, but seeking in the movements of today a program for action. It is a series of twelve essays, which consider various aspects of the problem, from theology to economics and look towards a new society, the Kingdom of God on earth.

The premises of the book will be most interesting to Bahá’í readers, for the authors postulate a God Who is not merely “a projection of our subjective selves,” but God, “objectively real, a feature of the world which is inescapable and which, if we trust to it, never fails to minister to our highest blessedness and yield fresh supplies of moral and spiritual power.” God judges humanity and acts through the events of the world, through crisis and catastrophe, as well as through continuous growth. For man must learn that sin may be a social as well as an individual reality. Man himself is a social being. Professor John Line points out that the Christian teachings show the middle way between individualism and totalitarianism. “For with the one it exalts the individual, but it comprehends the need for unity, no less than the other. But whereas totalitarianism imposes unity or solidarity from above, Christianity creates among men a common spirit; and it is through this that it promises to preserve a true individualism while gathering men into a unified life.” The social and [Page 147] material environment of man is the expression of his spiritual life.

Professor R. B. Y. Scott brings the evidence of the Bible to support this thesis, using it as “a norm by which may be tested what men take for the guidance of the Spirit.” The good life, these set forth, is always the life of men in communities, under the Covenant of God. In such communities, “‘justice’ was the maintenance of the normal working of the covenant relationship. ‘Mercy’ was the sharing of its ‘blessing.’ Its ‘peace’ was not just the absence of strife but something positive, the harmonious well-being of the covenant of souls, which in turn depended on the rightness or ‘righteousness’ of the relationship.”

There follow chapters analyzing the economic and political difficulties of today, to show that no one can be a Christian in the full sense of the word under the present organization of society.

Up to this point, the Bahá’í reader will follow these essays with enthusiasm. They give evidence of the kind of thinking which leads directly from the teachings of Christ to the teaching of Bahá’u’lláh. But these writers, finding no Biblical blue-prints for the new society, have turned for guidance to a source which repudiates religion altogether. Desiring to find a practical way of obedience to the commands of Christ, they have tacked on to the prophetic tradition, the purely secular system of Karl Marx, believing that the interpenetration of religion and economics can achieve the Kingdom. Such a device might have been wise, even necessary, had not the prophetic tradition been continued in this day for the purpose of supplying the very need of which these authors are so strongly and sincerely conscious; had not God again renewed His Covenant in Bahá’u’lláh and, by a revelation of superb magnitude, supplied man with the knowledge and power necessary to bring in a new order of society and to establish the Most Great Peace throughout the world.




O ye leaders of religion! Who is the man amongst you that can rival Me in vision or insight? Where is he to be found that dareth to claim to be My equal in utterance or wisdom.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH




[Page 148]

BAHÁ’Í LESSONS

The Nature of Man

“Man must now become imbued with new virtues, and powers, new moral standards, new capacities.”—‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

I. Station of Man

Station is High, Three Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, 150; Hidden Words (A), 22, (P), 29.
Created in Image of God, H.W.(A), 3, 11, 12; Promulgation of Universal Peace, 256-7; Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, I, 91.
Endowed with Unique Capacity, H.W.(A), 3, 4; Gleanings, 65.
Man is God’s Mystery, Iqán, 100-102 (Gleanings, 177-8); Gleanings, 160; H.W.(A), 69.
Supreme Talisman, Gleanings, 259-60, 158-9, 322, 178-9 (Iqán 102-3).
Has Forgotten God, H.W.(P), 2, 62, 63; Promulgation, 181-2, 221-2; World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, 186-191.
Forgetful of Own Latent Capacities and Worth, H.W.(P), 71-75; Gleanings, 186; H.W.(A), 19, 21; Iqán, 101.

II. Station to Be Revealed This Day

Time of New Consciousness, Tablets III, 573; Promulgation, 223; Bahá’í Scriptures, Par. 672, 809.
Spiritual Cycle Begins, Promulgation, 127-8, 215.
Potentialities Manifested, Gleanings, 340; Promulgation, 374.
Divine Spirit Impregnates Earth, Gleanings, 324-5; Iqán, 60-61; Tablets III, 641; W.O.B., 107, 169.
Humanity’s Destiny Assured, Gleanings, 35, 42-3, 313, 206, 210-14; W.O.B., 163-5; 168-9, 202-6.
A Matchless Race Will Arise, Gleanings, 29-31; Advent of Divine Justice, 26, 67 (Gleanings, 39).
Evolution to This Station Requires Aid of Manifestation, Gleanings, 65-66; Iqán, 145-6; Some Answered Questions, III.

[Page 149]

He Reveals to Men Their True Station, Gleanings, 287, 4-5, 326; Iqán, 120; W.O.B., 61; Divine Philosophy, 111.
Man Has Capacity to Hearken to Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings, 79, 97, 143, 271, 316, 327-8.

III. Inherent Capacities of Human Spirit

Human Soul an Expression of Divine Spirit, Gleanings, 184; Promulgation, 35, 55; S.A.Q. LIV.
Human Spirit an Essence, Gleanings, 160, 165; Tablets I, 208; II, 316; Wisdom, 78.
Individualized at Conception, Tablets I, 157; S.A.Q. LII (234).
Its Essential Reality—the Understanding, Gleanings, 164-5, 194.
Its Power, Gleanings, 164; Reality of Man, 10; S.A.Q. LV.
First and Foremost of God’s Favors, Gleanings, 164, 194; Promulgation, 345; Reality, 10; Wisdom, 36.
Human Spirit Distinct from Body, Gleanings, 153-4; Promulgation, 253; S.A.Q. LXVI.
As Motive Power of Body, Realty, 16.
Can Strengthen Body, Promulgation, 258 (see Gleanings, 155).
Latent Capacities, Promulgation, 87, 290.
Unfoldment Through Education, Promulgation, 87, 290; S.A.Q. LII; Tablets I, 181; III, 578; 157, 166.

IV. Celestial Capacity Awakened

Love of Reality Is Essence of Human Capacity, H.W.(A), 4, 19-20; Promulgation, 46-7; S.A.Q. XLVIII (218-19); Reality, 16-17; 136-7.
Human Spirit Empowered to find Material and Divine Realities, Promulgation, 231-2, 253, 258.
Created to Receive Divine Spirit, Gleanings, 194; Tablets I, 63; Promulgation, 180-1; Wisdom, 51.
Created to Know and Love God, Gleanings 65, 70, 144, 49-50, 194 (Cf. Sign of God, 160, 164); Promulgation, 256-7.
Capacity to find Divine Realities Latent, Gleanings, 65-8 (Cf. 164-5); Promulgation, 51.
Need of Developing Capacity, Promulgation, 12, 144, 155, 190, 289.




[Page 150]

WITH OUR READERS

Have you noticed that your editors profited by one of your suggestions and have improved the cover design of our magazine, beginning with the June number, by using heavier type for the title words? We like such constructive criticisms. Please send more even though we can’t promise to use all of them immediately.

We like, too, the enthusiastic comments that have been passed on to the editors from the subscription department. Eight new subscriptions emphasized the sincerity of the words, “I like the new magazine and think it will appeal to more people, also the idea of a teaching organ is excellent.”

We suspect that the reader who sends for a trial subscription speaks for many when she frankly says that in the past she has read the magazine very little “since the reading was so heavy.” “I rarely read it,” she says, “but believe I will start again now.”

By the way, we are receiving a few “human interest” articles or stories, but not many. Will you not share with others some helpful experience you have had in teaching or a personal experience that has made some phase of the Teachings more real to you? It does not need to be long or “deep.” Sometimes the concrete things move us more deeply than the “deep” ones.

And these words from another letter, sending five new subscriptions, remind us of something else: “Our Community has noted with interest and appreciation the new version of World Order, and we hasten to do our bit in this most important work.” And that something else is the idea of hastening “to do our bit.” This magazine, you know, carries no advertisements and is not self-supporting, but more subscriptions will make it so.

When speaking about subscribing to the magazine one believer remarked that she felt she should give all she could to the national Fund rather than to take the magazine. When we realize that by subscribing to the magazine we help to make it self-supporting and thus stop one drain on the national Fund, that question seems [Page 151] to be answered. And then we have the advantage of having the magazine, too. In the early days when the magazine was known as the Star of the West, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote in a Tablet to one of the believers: “The organ must be so promulgated in America and Persia that at least its necessary expenses may be provided.”

Many libraries, especially those connected with schools and universities, have been receiving the magazine through a gift that has ceased. Here is an opportunity for Assemblies and individuals to investigate as to whether a subscription has expired and whether a renewal would be acceptable. One believer in talking with a librarian found that the old copies of World Order were thrown away. The librarian was glad to give them to the believer who can use them to loan or give away in spreading the teachings.

A letter from South Africa renewing a 2-copy subscription reminds us that this magazine goes to many corners of the world and that we little know who may read it and how far-reaching its influence may be: “You will be interested to hear that often one of the copies is retained by the censor. I sincerely hope it will make him or her think accordingly.”

An important special feature this month consists in the excerpt we are privileged to use from Shoghi Effendi’s new translation of the Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh known as Tablet To the Son of the Wolf. The only English version of this text previously available is considered inaccurate. It was, incidentally, translated from a French text, itself a translation, and not from the original Persian and Arabic. Other excerpts from this Tablet will appear in World Order—their first publication prior to the publication of the complete text in book form.

The leading article is devoted to the vital theme of man’s spiritual reality, based in Alice Simmons Cox’s treatment on the principle that the cause of the world disturbance is that man has forgotten God. Mrs. Cox is well known to readers of World Order through her many previous contributions to the magazine in recent years. She is active in the Bahá’í community of Peoria, and beginning this month becomes a member of our editorial staff.

William Kenneth Christian’s is a familiar name to those who have been reading World Order for some years. In our June issue he contributed a valuable article [Page 152] on Bahá’í Education and now contributes “The Fortified City.” He is instructor in English in the State College of Agriculture at Morrisville. We are happy to print this month “What Is Secure,” a story by Gertrude Schurgast which we think our readers will agree is of deep human interest. Mrs. Schurgast tells us that she and her husband came into the Cause from agnosticism through the teaching of Mrs. Isabella Brittingham soon after coming to this country from Germany after the first World War. Mr. and Mrs. Schurgast are now serving the Cause in Cincinnati.

This issue also includes another installment of “Divine Art of Living” compiled by Mabel Paine of Urbana, Illinois and the department “Bahá’í Answers to World Questions” compiled by Bertha Kirkpatrick. Another contribution to our Book Review Department is made by Garreta Busey who is a teacher in the English Department of the University of Illinois. Our study outline this month is compiled by Alice Simmons Cox.

When you send in contributions for the magazine, if you are a new writer will you not tell us a little about yourself?

It is gratifying to note the possibilities of further development of the magazine, not merely in size but also in range of interest, indicated by manuscripts which the editors have been receiving in recent weeks. One of our permanent landmarks is the progress of the Inter-America activity. In this field we have pioneer teachers settled in a number of Central and South American countries, all in direct contact with the spiritual force Bahá’u’lláh has assured to those who serve the call to the oneness of mankind, and all undergoing intensely interesting experiences as they make valiant effort to promote the Faith in these new lands.

For our part, the editors hope that World Order is providing these co-workers with a stronger sense of kinship with the community they have left behind, and at the same time suggests to them a means of expressing some of those intimate experiences which convey to others a vivid realization of truth in action. We hope to begin very soon the publication of notes from these sources— notes on how the very basis of Universal Peace is being laid in the new world.

—THE EDITORS




[Page 153]

BAHÁ’Í LITERATURE

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, selected and translated by Shoghi Effendi. The Bahá’í teachings on the nature of religion, the soul, the basis of civilization and the oneness of mankind. $2.00.

Hidden Words, translated by Shoghi Effendi. The essential teachings of all the Prophets, revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in a series of brief passages providing the ideal material for meditation. In fabrikoid, $0.75. Paper covers, $0.50.

The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys. The mystic path of the soul revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, consummated in the discovery of the Friend. Translated by Ali-Kuli Khan, N. D. In fabrikoid, $0.75. Paper covers, $0.50.

Some Answered Questions. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s explanation of questions concerning the relation of man to God, the nature of the Manifestation, human capacities, fulfillment of prophecy, etc., $1.50.

The Reality of Man. Compiled from words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá dealing with mind, soul and spirit. $0.50.

The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, by Shoghi Effendi. On the nature of the new social pattern revealed by Bahá’u’lláh for the attainment of divine justice in civilization. $1.50.

Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, by J. E. Esslemont. The recommended introductory work on the Bahá’í Faith, presenting its history, teachings and answers to world questions. In fabrikoid, $0.75. Paper covers, $0.50.

The Promise of All Ages, by Christophil. “The evolution of religion to its culmination in World Faith. $1.50.

Security for a Failing World, by Stanwood Cobb. An exposition of the rise of a new world commonwealth imbued with the spirit of cooperation and peace. Paper covers, $0.75.

BAHÁ’Í PUBLISHING COMMITTEE, P. O. BOX 348,

GRAND CENTRAL ANNEX, NEW YORK

Western Division, Mrs. E. F. Smith,

940 Leavenworth St., San Francisco




[Page 154]

Address yourselves to the promotion of the well-being and tranquillity of the children of men. Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply the dissensions that divide it may, through the power of the Most Great Name, be blotted out from its face, and all mankind become the upholders of one Order, and the inhabitants of one City. Illumine and hallow your hearts; let them not be profaned by the thorns of hate or the thistles of malice. Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love.

—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

  1. Towards the Christian Revolution, Edited by R. B. Y. Scott and Gregory Vlastos. Willett, Clark and Co., 1936.