World Order/Volume 6/Issue 7/Text

[Page 229]

WORLD ORDER

THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE

VOLUME VI OCTOBER, 1940 NUMBER 7

Dawn Over Mount Hira

Marzieh Gail

THE REVELATION OF MUHAMMAD
HAS AN EXQUISITE GEMLIKE BEAUTY
WHEN SYMPATHETICALLY VIEWED

BY THE noon-day brightness, and by the night when it darkeneth! Thy Lord hath not forsaken Thee, neither hath He been displeased. And surely the future shall be better for Thee than the past. Did He not find Thee an orphan and give Thee a home? And found Thee erring and guided Thee, and found Thee needy and enriched Thee?” . . . For some days before this, the voice had been silent; now again the comforting spirit enfolded Muhammad, under the stars on Mount Hira. He remembered how the voice had broken through His thoughts, before, and terrified Him. He had heard on the mountain the word: “Read!”—and had answered: “I do not know how to read.” “Read!” “What shall I read?” “Read: In the name of Thy Lord who created, Created man from clots of blood:—Read! by Thy most beneficent Lord, who hath taught the use of the pen; Hath taught man that which [Page 230] He knoweth not . . . ” He remembered His struggle against the voice; how He had gone from the mountain, thinking Himself possessed. And Khadíjih had believed in Him, and Varaqa, a man old and blind, and versed in the Scripture, had cried, “Holy, holy, verily this is the Voice that came to Moses. Tell Him—bid Him be of brave heart.” Then for some time the voice had been silent, and now it had come to Him again. And Muhammad looked down over Mecca, and He thought of His city, and He began to preach against the things men loved.

“Not a blade of grass to rest the eye . . . no hunting . . . instead, only merchants, that most contemptible of all professions . . . ” wrote a Negro poet, of Mecca. No trees, gardens, orchards. Only a few spiny bushes. And the black flagstones around the Ka‘bih had to be sprinkled to cool them for the barefoot processions, and the wells were irregular and brackish. Caravans came, with jewels and spices, with skins and metals, and the whole town turned out to meet them; caravans of two or three thousand camels, of several hundred men. And men speculated, winning a fortune in a day, and lending it out for usury, and hoarding, and counting it over; and Muhammad said to them: “The emulous desire of multiplying riches employeth you, until ye visit the graves . . . Hereafter shall ye know your folly . . . Again, hereafter shall ye know your folly.” Then He bade them give alms, telling them: “What good ye have sent before for your souls, ye shall find it with God.” The wealthy merchants lived in the central part of Mecca; they swelled with pride, but Muhammad urged them to walk not proudly in the earth, because all men are brothers. The common people lived farther off from the Ka‘bih, in the slanting streets, and the rabble beyond them; and away from the town were the desert Arabs, in their goat-skin tents. There [Page 231] was wine and gambling, and Muhammad forbade them; there were singing girls, and He was chaste. There were brawls and blood feuds and feastings, women playing upon lutes, to welcome such things as the birth of a boy, the coming to light of a poet, or the foaling of a mare. Over this reigned a vague Being, a supreme Alláh, and his three daughters; yet Muhammad said: “He begetteth not, neither is He begotten.” And closer to earth, a crowd of idols, who lived in and about the Ka‘bih, with their leader, a bearded old man of cornelian, with one hand made of gold; and his name was Hubal. And Muhammad laughed at the Ka‘bih gods: “Is this wondrous world, the sun and moon, the drops of rain, the ships that move across the waters—are these the work of your stone and wooden gods?” Then He spoke of the true God, saying: “The seven heavens praise Him, and the earth, and all who are therein; neither is there anything which doth not celebrate His praise, but ye understand not.” Here too, set in the Ka‘bih, was the Black Stone, men said it was the only thing from Paradise to be found on earth, and that it had once been white, till it was blackened by human sins. There were other gods to worship in Arabia, and stars and planets, but the Ka‘bih drew all men from near and far on pilgrimage.

Muhammad’s kinsmen were chieftains in Mecca, and they lived by the things which He now arose to destroy. He summoned them together, told them of His mission, and they laughed Him to scorn. “May you be cursed for the rest of your life,” cried Abú Lahab, “why gather us together for trifles like this?” And when He walked abroad, the wife of Abú Lahab strewed thorns before Him to wound His feet.

And Muhammad preached to the tribes, when they flocked to Mecca and the neighboring fairs, during the pilgrimage seasons, then His uncle, Abú Lahab, would follow, and shout: [Page 232] “He is an impostor who seeketh to draw you from the faith of your fathers . . . ”; and the tribesmen would laugh at Him, saying: “Thine own people and kindred know Thee best: then wherefore do they not believe?” One day as He prayed at the Ka‘bih, men turned upon Him, and mocked Him, saying: “It is you who pretend that our fathers were in the wrong! It is you who call our gods impotent!” “Yes, it is I who say that.” And they struck Him, and would have put Him to death. And once He went back to His dwelling without having met that day “a single man, a single woman, a single child, a single slave, who did not insult Him on His way, calling Him madman and liar . . . ”

And as men do in every age, the Meccans called for signs and wonders, bidding Him turn their hills to gold, or bring them a well of pure water, or prophesy the coming price of goods. “Cannot your God disclose which merchandise will rise in price?” He answered, saying, “The miracle that I bring you is the Qur’án, a Book revealed to an illiterate man, a Book no other man can equal.” Then He taught them of the life after death; and one, who owed money to a Muslim, said that he would repay him in the next world. Then He warned them of the terrors of the “Last Day,” and said strange things about the coming of “The Hour”: “Whosoever can find a refuge, let him hide . . . On that day humble herders of camels will sprawl about in palaces; people will be set to work building houses of extraordinary height . . . The Hour will come upon us so quickly that two men having unfolded some goods, shall not have time to conclude their bargain or fold up the goods again . . . ” And they reviled Him, saying, “Know this, O Muhammad, we shall never cease to stop Thee from preaching till either Thou or we shall perish.”

To kill Him, member of a ruling clan, would have meant [Page 233] a civil war, so they put to death His followers, the weak and poor, or tortured them. Among them was Balál, the African slave, who lay many days in the Meccan sun, stretched out with a rock on his breast, they told him to forsake Muhammad or die, and leaned down to hear him whisper: “There is only one God—one.” He lived, and was the first muezzin. Of him Bahá’u’lláh has written: “Consider how Balál, the Ethiopian, unlettered though he was, ascended into the heaven of faith and certitude.” And Muhammad sorrowed over the wrong that was done His disciples, and He cried out: “I fly for refuge unto the Lord of the Daybreak, that He may deliver Me from the mischief of those things which He hath created . . . I fly for refuge unto the Lord of men, the King of men, the God of men . . . ”

And He sent His followers into Ethiopia, to the pious Christian king. The Negus questioned them, and bade them speak, and they answered: “O King, we adored idols, we lived in unchastity, we ate dead bodies, we spoke abominations . . . when God raised up among us a Man . . . and He called us to the unity of God, to fly vices and to shun evil.” And the Negus traced a line on the ground with his stick, and he said: “Truly, between your faith and ours there is not more than this little stroke.”

Then the Meccans gathered to plot against Muhammad: “Would you say He is a sorcerer?” “No, He hath not the emphatic tone, the jerky language.” “A madman then?” “He hath not the bearing.” “A poet inspired by a jinn?” “He doth not speak in classic verse.” “A magician?” “He doth not perform wonders.” And since great converts had now been made, they bargained with the Prophet, offering gold and honors in exchange for silence, saying, “We shall make Thee our chieftain and our king.” He answered them, “I am only a man [Page 234] like you. It is revealed to Me that your God is one God: go straight then to Him, and implore His pardon. . . . Do ye indeed disbelieve in Him? . . . Do ye assign Him peers? The Lord of the worlds is He!” So they shut Muhammad and His people out of Mecca into the mountains, and forbade that any buy or sell with him. And after three years were passed and Muhammad and His disciples had hungered and suffered, the ban was lifted. Then the black days came, when the Prophet lost the two whom He loved dearest, His chief defender and His wife. “When I was poor she enriched Me. When all the world abandoned Me, she comforted Me.” They had lived together over a score of years, and contrary to the way of His times He had married no other. And yet He taught and none listened, and He put His agony into the words of the Prophet Noah: “My cry only maketh them flee me the more.”

He spoke with the tribes, who came into Mecca for trade and to circle around the Ka‘bih. And once He went to the beautiful mountain town of Ta’if, where the fruit trees grow, and the people stoned Him, shouting, “If God had wanted to send a Prophet, could He not have chosen a better one than Thee?” But later in vision He journeyed by night to where the Lote-Tree flowers beside God’s invisible throne; and He found thousands of choirs of angels, bowed down and motionless, in utter quiet, and then He felt Himself in the light of His Lord. He beheld God with His soul’s eyes, and He saw what the tongue cannot express.

Now at last the men of Yathrib asked of Him to come and rule among them, so that He sent His disciples ahead, out of Mecca. And the Meccans gathered around His house in the dark to kill Him, but when the dawn showed white, they saw that He had gone. And Yathrib became Medina, which means [Page 235] “The City of the Prophet.”

Muhammad never first withdrew His hand out of another man’s palm, nor turned away before the other had turned. He visited the sick, He followed any bier He met, He accepted the invitation of a slave to dinner. His food was dates and water, or barley bread; the people of His house “did not eat their fill of barley bread, two days successively, as long as He lived.” He mended His own clothing and sandals, and milked the goats, and wiped sweat from His horse with His sleeve. He gave alms when He had anything to give. Once a woman brought Him a cloak, which He needed sorely, but they came and asked for it to make a shroud, and He gave it up, “for He could refuse nothing.” He loved perfumes, and dyed His fingernails with henna, and was immaculate. Men said He was more modest than a virgin behind her curtain. Those who came near to Him loved Him. His countenance shone “with a majestic radiance at the same time impressive and gentle.” A follower said of Him: “I never saw anything more beautiful than Lord Muhammad; you might say the sun was moving in His face.”

Medina was an oasis, rich in palm groves, an agricultural center, not a place of trade like Mecca. (Its malarial fever was notorious, its water tainted so that even the camels sickened of it.) And now the Prophet became a temporal as well as a spiritual Lord. And Arabia rose against Him, to kill belief in the one true God, so that Muhammad prayed: “O Lord, forget not Thy promise of help. O Lord, if this little band were to perish, there will be none to offer Thee pure worship.” He who had never wielded a weapon, who wept at the sight of pain, whose heart was so tender that His enemies called Him womanish, had now to drive back Arabia by force of arms. Mecca and her idols marched against Islám, and her women too [Page 236] came singing to battle, their skirts tucked up, the bangles flashing on their legs, and they tore and mangled the Muslim dead. But at last Hubal, the old man of red agate, lost to the Prophet of God, and “Arabia that had never before obeyed one prince, submitted to Him . . . His word created one nation out of hundreds of warring tribes.”

At Medina, Muhammad built a mosque of brick and earth, and He preached in it, leaning against a tree. One day they asked, “What is the greatest vice of man?” He answered, “You must not ask Me about vice, but about virtue,” and He repeated this three times, after which He said, “Know ye! The worst of men is a bad learned man, and a good learned man is the best.” Again He said, “If the unbeliever knew of the extent of the Lord’s mercy, even He would not despair of Paradise.” And at other times: “Death is a bridge that uniteth friend with friend . . . Misfortune is always with the Muslim and his wife, either in their persons or their property or children, either death or sickness; until they die, when there is no fault in them . . . Act, as regards this world, as if you were going to live forever, and as regards the other world, as if you were going to die tomorrow . . . You will not enter Paradise until you have faith; and you will not complete your faith till you love one another . . . Trust in God, but tie your camel . . . ” One day as He walked with His disciples He said, “The Garden (Paradise) is nearer to you than the thongs of your sandals; and the Fire likewise.” They came to a woman suckling her child, and He said, “Do you think this woman will cast her own child into the fire? Verily God is more compassionate to His creatures than this woman to her child.” Once on a journey, when His companions were praying with loud voices, Muhammad told them: “Be easy on yourselves . . . Verily you do not call to One deaf or absent, but verily to One who heareth [Page 237] and seeth . . . and He to whom you pray is nearer to you than the neck of your camel.” He said these things and many others, and He talked to His disciples of kindness to the Jews and Christians and other “People of the Book”; of the rights of women; of gentleness to animals, of the Last Day; and of the life beyond this.

Now the Prophet, clothed as a pilgrim and wearing a black turban, rode into Mecca. He circled the Ka‘bih, and entered, and He wiped away the frescoes from the walls—the pictures of Abraham and Ishmael, and the female angels; and He struck Hubal from his place, and tore down a wooden dove that hung from the roof. Then He prayed in the Ka‘bih to His Lord; and leaving He touched with His stick each of the three hundred and sixty stones surrounding the holy place, and said: “Truth is come and error is gone.” He drank from the well of Zemzem out of a goblet that men have kept, and He prayed at Khadíjih’s tomb. Then He sent His disciples abroad to break every idol and to teach Islám.

One day while Abú Bakr sat in the mosque at Medina, Muhammad suddenly appeared before him; and Abú Bakr said, “Ah, Thou for whom I would sacrifice father and mother, white hairs are hastening upon Thee!” And the Prophet raised up His beard with His hand and gazed at it; and Abú Bakr’s eyes filled with tears . . . Long years now Muhammad had suffered and struggled, been hunted and stoned, been wounded in battle, and He carried as well the mark of the poisoned feast they had spread Him at Khaybar. And Muhammad wrote to the rulers of the earth, proclaiming His mission. Many replied with gifts: silk and honey; a white mule; from the Negus a pair of black boots, which He wore several times while praying. But Khusraw, the Íránian emperor, seeing Muhammad’s name ahead of his own on the [Page 238] missive, tore it to shreds; “God will tear up Khusraw’s kingdom in the same way,” said Muhammad. And He had men pitch a tent of red leather, and here He received the deputations who flocked from all over the land to pledge Him allegiance.

Then for the last time Muhammad stood on the hills over Mecca, and His voice rang out and the multitude listened: “I do not know whether I shall ever see you again as today . . . but I have made it possible for you to continue on the straight Path . . . This day and month shall be held sacred . . . ye shall have to give account for your actions before your Lord . . . Ye have rights over your wives and your wives have rights over you . . . Feed your slaves with such food as ye eat yourselves, and clothe them with the stuff ye wear . . . All Muslims are brothers—nothing which belongeth to another is lawful unto his brother.” Then He cried, “O Lord, have I fulfilled My mission?” And the multitude answered, “Yea, verily Thou hast!” And the prophet concluded, “O Lord, I beseech Thee, bear Thou witness to it!”

On the long way home, He stopped the caravan, and taking the hand of ‘Alí, husband of his dearest child, He said: “Whoever hath Me as his Master hath ‘Alí as his master . . . God be a friend to his friends and a foe to his foes.” Then He told them of two treasures He was leaving them: “The greatest is the Book of God . . . The other is the line of My descendants.”

And He went one midnight to the graves of His old companions who lay at Medina, and He prayed for them. The last time He entered the mosque, He was supported by two of His kinsmen, and after the service, He said: “If I have wronged any one of you, here I am to answer for it, if I owe aught to anyone, all I possess belongs to you.” A man in the crowd claimed three dirhems which Muhammad had once [Page 239] bidden him give to a beggar. The Prophet paid him, saying, “Better to blush in this world than the next.”

As Muhammad lay dying, He called for writing materials to appoint His successor again; but ‘Umar said, “Pain is deluding God’s Messenger; we have God’s book, which is enough.” And they wrangled at His bedside, whether to bring the materials or no. And the Prophet sent them from Him. He Was praying in a whisper, when He ascended.

Bahá’u’lláh says of Him: “How abundant the thorns and briars which they have strewn over His path! The . . . divines of that age . . . pronounced Him a lunatic and an impostor. Such sore accusations they brought against Him that in recounting them God forbiddeth the ink to flow, our pen to move, or the page to bear them . . . For this reason did Muhammad cry out: ‘No Prophet of God hath suffered such harm as I have suffered.’”

Bibliography: (I) Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Iqán; Qur’án, Sale and Rodwell translations; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions. (II) ‘Abdu’lláh Al-Ma’mún As-Suhravárdi, The Sayings of Muhammad. London, 1905. Siyyid Amír’Alí, The Spirit of Islám. London, 1891. T. W. Arnold, The Preaching of Islám. New York, 1913. Émile Dermenghem, Life of Mahomet. London, 1930. Encyclopaedia of Islám; S. Lane-Poole, Speeches and Table-Talks of the Prophet Muhammad. London, 1882. R. A. Nicholson, Literary History of the Arabs. Cambridge University, 1930.



Other Prophets, similarly, have been subject to poverty and afflictions, to hunger, and to the ills and chances of this world. As these holy Persons were subject to such needs and wants, the peoples Were, consequently, lost in the wilds of misgivings and doubts, and were afflicted with bewilderment and perplexity.

—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH


[Page 240]

The Divine Art of Living

A Compilation

CHAPTER SEVEN

HEALING AND HEALTH

Different Kinds of Healing

THERE are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means. The first is by the use of remedies, of medicines, the second consists in praying to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be used and practiced.

Illness caused by physical accident should be treated with medical remedies; those which are due to spiritual causes disappear through spiritual means. Thus an illness caused by affliction, fear, nervous impressions, will be healed by spiritual rather than by physical treatment. Hence, both kinds of remedies should be considered. Moreover they are not contradictory, and thou shouldst accept the physical remedies as coming from the mercy and favor of God, who hath revealed and made manifest medical science so that His servants may profit from this kind of treatment also. Thou shouldst give equal attention to spiritual treatments, for they produce marvelous effects. (Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 587)

Should ye be attacked by illness or disease, consult skillful physicians. (Bahá’u’lláh, cited in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p. 131)

Do not neglect medical treatment when it is necessary, but leave it off when health has been restored. Treat disease through [Page 241] diet, by preference, refraining from the use of drugs, and if you find what is required in a single herb, do not resort to a compounded medicament. . . . Abstain from drugs when the health is good, but administer them when necessary. (Idem)

It is . . . evident that it is possible to cure by foods, aliments, fragrant fruits, and vegetables, and by various waters hot and cold in temperature. (Some Answered Questions, p. 298)

(Healing may result) from the entire concentration of the mind of a strong person upon a sick person, when the latter expects with all his concentrated faith that a cure will be effected from the spiritual power of the strong person, to such an extent that there will be a cordial connection between the strong person and the invalid. . . . From the effect of these mental impressions an excitement of the nerves is produced, and this impression and this excitement of the nerves will become the cause of the recovery of the sick person. . . . In the same way the sudden realization of a chief desire will give such joy that the nerves will be excited by it, and this excitement may produce health. . . . But all this has effect only to a certain extent, and that not always. For if some one is afflicted with a very violent disease, or is wounded, these means will not remove the disease nor close and heal the wound. That is to say, these means have no power in severe maladies, unless the constitution helps, because a strong constitution often overcomes disease. (Idem, pp. 294, 295)

Joy gives us wings. In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener. . . . But when sadness visits us our strength leaves us. (Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 100)

All true healing comes from God. There are two causes for sickness, one is material, the other spiritual. If the sickness is of the body, a material remedy is needed, if of the soul, a spiritual remedy.

[Page 242] If the heavenly benediction be upon us while we are being healed then only can we be made whole, for medicine is but the outward and visible means through which we obtain heavenly healing. Unless the spirit be healed, the cure of the body is worth nothing. All is in the hands of God, and without Him there can be no health in us. (Idem, p. 15)

HEALING AS AN ANSWER TO PRAYER

Without the help of God man is even as the beasts that perish, but God has bestowed such wonderful power upon him that he might ever look upward, and receive, among other gifts, healing from His Divine Bounty. (Idem, p. 16)

He who is filled with the love of Bahá, and who forgets all things, the Holy Spirit will be heard from his lips and the spirit of life will fill his heart, the lights of the sign will shine forth from his face, words will issue from his mouth in strands of pearls, and all sickness and disease will be healed by the laying on of the hands. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Star of the West, Vol. viii, p. 233)

O thou pure and spiritual one!

Turn thou toward God with thy heart beating with His love, devoted to His praise, gazing toward His Kingdom and seeking help from His Holy Spirit in a state of ecstasy, rapture, love, yearning, joy and fragrance. God will assist thee, through a Spirit from His Presence, to heal sickness and diseases. (Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 628, 629)

You have asked concerning approval of Christian Science treatment and healing. Spirit has influence; prayer has spiritual effect. Therefore we pray, “O God! heal this sick one!” Perchance God will answer. Does it matter who prays? God will answer the prayer of every servant if that prayer is urgent. His mercy is vast, illimitable. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of [Page 243] Universal Peace, pp. 241, 242)

In God must be our trust. There is no God but Him, the Healer, the Knower, the Helper. . . . Nothing in earth or heaven is outside the grasp of God.

O physician! In treating the sick, first mention the name of God, the Possessor of the Day of Judgment, and then use what God hath destined for the healing of His creatures. By My Life! The physician who has drunk from the Wine of My Love, his visit is healing, and his breath is mercy and hope. Cling to him for the welfare of the constitution. He is confirmed by God in his treatment.

This knowledge (of the healing art) is the most important of all the sciences, for it is the greatest means from God, the Life-giver to the dust, for preserving the bodies of all people, and He has put it in the forefront of all sciences and wisdoms. For this is the day when you must arise for My Victory.

Say: “Thy name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succor in both this world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All—Wise.” (Bahá’u’lláh, cited in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, pp. 137, 138)

MEANS OF PRESERVING HEALTH

Be the essence of cleanliness among mankind . . . under all circumstances conform yourselves to refined manners . . . let no trace of uncleanliness appear on your clothes. . . . Immerse yourselves in pure water. . . . Verily We have desired to see in you the manifestations of Paradise on earth, so that there may be diffused from you that whereat the hearts of the favored ones shall rejoice. (Bahá’u’lláh, cited in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p. 127)

[Page 244] Cleanliness and sanctity in all conditions are characteristics of pure beings and necessities of free souls. . . . External cleanliness, although it is but a physical thing, hath a great influence upon spirituality. . . . O friends of God! Experience hath shown how much the renouncing of tobacco, wine and opium, giveth health, strength and intellectual enjoyments, penetration of judgment and physical vigor. . . .

Therefore strive that the greatest cleanliness and sanctity, which is the greatest desire of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, should be resplendent among the Bahá’ís, and that the companions of God should surpass the rest of mankind in all conditions and perfections, that they may be physically and morally superior to others, that through cleanliness and purity, refinement and health, they may be the chief of wise men, and that by their affranchisement, their prudence and the control of their desires, they may be the princes of the pure, the free and the wise. (Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 581, 585)

The powers of the sympathetic nerve are neither entirely physical nor spiritual, but are between the two. The nerve is connected with both. Its phenomena shall be perfect when its spiritual and physical relations are normal.

When the material world and the divine world are well co-related, when the hearts become heavenly and the aspirations become pure and divine, perfect connection shall take place. Then shall this power produce a perfect manifestation. Physical and spiritual diseases will then receive absolute healing. (Idem, p. 309)

I hope thou wilt become as a rising light and obtain spiritual health, and spiritual health is conducive to physical health. (Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 305, 306)

Verily the most necessary thing is contentment under all circumstances, by this one is preserved from morbid conditions [Page 245] and from lassitude. Yield not to grief and sorrow: they cause the greatest misery. Jealousy consumeth the body and anger doth burn the liver: avoid these two as you would a lion. (Bahá’u’lláh, cited in Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p. 133)

SPIRITUAL HEALTH

I hope, as you have received physical health, you will receive your spiritual health. As the body will be cured of physical diseases, in the same way the spirit will be cured of all spiritual diseases. A cure of physical disease is very easy, but the cure of spiritual disease is very difficult. If one has fever and you give him medicine, the fever will vanish, but if the spirit is afflicted with the disease of ignorance, it is difficult to remove that disease. For example, if the spiritual health is afflicted with the love of the world, spiritual medicine must be given. These medicines are the advices and commands of God, which will have effect upon it. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Star of the West, Vol viii, p. 232)

I beseech God to ordain prosperity unto thee in this world, to confer favor upon thee in His supreme Kingdom, and to heal thee from the illness which has befallen thee for some hidden reason which no one knows save God. Verily, the will of God engages occasionally in some matter for which mankind is unable to find out the reason. The causes and reasons shall appear. Trust in God and confide in Him, and resign thyself to the will of God. Verily, thy God is affectionate, compassionate and merciful. He will look at thee with the glances of the eye of mercifulness, will guard thee with the eye of bounty, and will cause His mercy to descend upon thee. (Idem)

Now, if thou wishest to know the Divine remedy which will heal man from all sickness and will give him the health of the Divine Kingdom, know that it is the precepts and teachings [Page 246] of God. Guard them sacredly. (Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 587)

. . . For these thy prevailing diseases are not on account of sins, but they are to make thee detest this world and know that there is no rest and composure in this temporal life.

I beg of God that thou mayest find a cheerful life. . . . increase the longing . . . of the maidservants of the Merciful One and bring joy and happiness to the handmaidens of God; so that thou mayest diffuse the fragrances and chant the (revealed) verses. (Idem, pp. 185, 186)

If the health and well-being of the body be expended in the path of the Kingdom, this is very acceptable and praiseworthy; and if it is expended to the benefit of the human world in general—even though it be to their material benefit and be a means of doing good—that also is acceptable. But if the health and welfare of man be spent in sensual desires, in a life on the animal plane, . . . then disease is better than such health, nay, death itself is preferable to such a life. If thou art desirous of health, wish thou health for serving the Kingdom. I hope thou mayest attain a perfect insight, an inflexible resolution, a complete health and spiritual and physical strength in order that thou mayest drink from the fountain of eternal life and be assisted by the spirit of Divine confirmation. (Idem, p. 207)



This Bird of Heaven, now dwelling upon the dust, can, besides these melodies, utter a myriad songs, and is able, apart from these utterances, to unfold innumerable mysteries. . . . His is the world of creation, and His the Cause of God.—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.


[Page 247]

To South America in 1919

From Martha L. Root’s Diary

Edited by Helen Bishop

III

BUENOS AIRES, capital of Argentina, with more than a million and a half population, is the largest Spanish city in the world, the largest city in South America and the fourth largest in the western hemisphere. It was the scene of Martha’s pilgrimage for two weeks.

Dr. Valles, General Secretary of the Theosophical Societies of Argentina, and his family had not heard of the Bahá’í Faith, but this family and their friend, a lady from Alsace-Lorraine, became interested deeply. Mrs. H., who speaks English well, interpreted; and the Doctor arranged that Martha be introduced to the Spanish newspaper and magazine editors._

One paper, “La P. . . .” is one of the great world-newspapers and no other is housed so palatially. judged by its advertisement spaces it stands on a level with the first flight of London publications. Its advertising rates are so high that it can do things undreamed by our papers. Its building, in addition to the splendid plants, contains a concert hall, lecture rooms, reading rooms, baths, cafés, music rooms and apartments where visitors are entertained, besides a free dispensary for those who are too poor to pay for a physician and legal services are furnished free.

There are four hundred newspapers and magazines in Buenos Aires. None that Martha met failed to use an article [Page 248] sometime during the two weeks. The “H” had an article each day and sent reporters to each lecture.

Dr. and Mrs. Valles gave a dinner for Martha. Later, at a Theosophical meeting in their home, they read aloud the Bahá’í Principles in Spanish. Their hospitality was delightful and their love for this Bahá’í Cause so great that they not only did the big things but the little ones as well: beautiful books and flowers, candy, and clippings of the articles were sent to Martha’s pension. Letters of introduction given to other Theosophists is a story in itself.

When Martha called upon them to say “Adios,” Mrs. Valles said that the Doctor had been studying the Bahá’í booklet for two hours that morning. And he added that the three most important things in life were “to study, to love and to serve.”

There are three Women’s Suffrage parties in Buenos Aires. Martha met with them four times and spoke for a few minutes at three of these events. Madame Elvira de Dellepiane, President of the society called “Asociación por Derechos de la Mujer” gave a tea for Martha, and the organization gave a tea for her at one of their fashionable clubs. The Bahá’í Revelation was presented and addresses for literature taken. Reporters and photographers from the press were present at each suffrage event.

Unlike other cities of South America, Martha found that a few persons had heard of the Bahá’í Cause. An artist had heard of it from Miss Watson in Paris and afterwards Miss Juliet Thompson had sent her copies of many Tablets. Mrs. B. had heard the Name through this same artist, and later had met Mr. Pauli and Mr. and Mrs. MacNutt in New York. A Frenchman, who attended the lectures, had seen ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Paris. This Frenchman volunteered to translate Martha’s [Page 249] history of the Cause into Spanish for the Theosophical Magazine. He has five books on the Cause in French and is lending them to Dr. Valles. A schoolgirl had heard of the Cause while traveling in Switzerland. A young man said he had known Mr. Urbain Ledoux’ kindness at the Bowery Stepping-Stone.

The plan was to cross the Andes and come up the west coast to Panama. One American said in a newspaper article published the day before Martha set out: “If you would consider riding around the edge of the Woolworth Building— when it is covered with ice and snow—on a gentle mule a safe pastime, then have no fears regarding the inconvenience in crossing the Andes in winter.”

The trip by muleback over “the top of the world” was thrilling enough for the most sensational. To pray the Greatest Name among these minarets of God was to glimpse the glory of the Eternal and Unknowable.

The ancient trail led 10,400 feet above sea level. The people on muleback were infinitesimal specks clinging to mighty terraces that hold no other human appearances not members of cavalcade. As “ants in an endless and boundless forest” so they huddled on the edge of jagged peaks, frozen chasms, and stiffened mountain torrents.

Everybody felt small indeed and a feeling of camaraderie sprang up. Fortunately, the sun shone brightly and the acute cold was not as terrible as all had expected.

The Italian girl, an expert horsewoman, generously gave Martha the guide she had engaged to walk beside her mule. A detour through one dark tunnel took over an hour of stumbling,—slipping blackness in which the frightened mules shied and fell. As Martha’s mule plunged downward into the mouth of the tunnel, she prayed the “Ya Allah El [Page 250] Mustagas” for all. Over and over again in that black uncertainty, the clear and vibrant voice of the Italian girl would ring down the line of mules: “Mademoiselle, are you all right?”

Then and even now to write about it, tears of deepest tenderness spring at the thought of such a friend.

The New Yorker’s mule was not a good one, and he was so far behind Martha that she did not see him before she entered the tunnel. All started together, but it was not possible to keep together: one does not drive a mule, one leaves the sure-footed little carrier to choose his own path.

Out from the tunnel, when the procession came to precipitous downward slopes toward Chile, Martha could not even see that “one inch margin” promised by the man in his newspaper account. This was by far the most dangerous part of the journey, so it was with joy she saw the men getting off their mules and walking. She did the same for the mules would sometimes slip a yard in this perpendicular path. The mules were frightened too. Taking the guide’s hand, the descent was made together. The warm sun had melted the crisp snow just enough to grant a foothold. Every few minutes they stopped to breathe, for one’s breath is very short in this altitude.

The train journey ended in tropical gardens and orchards of divinely fragrant orange blossoms. The Italian girl, the New Yorker and Martha said they would remember the trip as one of the happiest. The custom inspector at Los Andes has a Bahá’í booklet in Spanish. So does the mule driver.

The New Yorker’s firm in Valparaiso treated Martha as a sister. Dr. Valles had given her a note of introduction to the President of the Theosophical Society in Valparaiso, who speaks both English and Esperanto. Instead of staying four days in Valparaiso, Martha stayed only four hours because of [Page 251] the Andes storm. As the train was delayed by storms Martha did not reach Santiago.

The trip up the west coast on a Chilean ship was interesting. Immensely. An engineer and his wife, who have been in Chile two years and speak Spanish, went ashore with Martha and interpreted.

In Iquique a soldier boy who spoke English took Martha to all four newspapers, but, as it was Columbus Day (and Sunday, too) only one was open. Martha gave the Message to a small group there. The editor used an article.

In Arica, the editorial writer of “El F” was a woman. She was much interested in the Bahá’í ideas about women. She said she would use an article and would be glad to use others later. As Martha left she said in English the one word: “Sister.”

Lima, Peru is the seat of the ancient Inca civilization. Dr. Valles had given Martha letters of introduction in nineteen cities and towns. Four were to his friends in Lima, which is his native city. As Lima is a half-hour’s ride from the port Callao, and the ship stopped there only four hours in the early morning, it was a problem of getting there, finding these men, and returning in time. On the electric pram Martha met two young men from the ship, who spoke English and Spanish. They took her to the leading hotel to inquire from the manager how to reach these people. He was an old man and wonderfully kind. He told Martha to write her message to each; and he would carry them with her letters of introduction, Bahá’í booklets and clippings.

The last day on this “H” ship, the passengers asked Martha to give a lecture on the Bahá’í Cause. A Mexican gentleman interpreted. There was a warmth of love and interest. Everybody seemed to be happy.

[Page 252] Martha spent one week in the Canal Zone. Arriving in Panama on October twenty-fifth, the first visit was to the “S and H” office, the oldest newspaper. One-half in English, one-half in Spanish. The editor was a young man who had heard of the Bahá’í Cause in California. He used a column and a half about the Cause and gave to it a prominent place in the paper.

Union Church in Balboa is composed of people of all denominations of Protestantism. They gave Martha twenty minutes during their evening service. The editor of their church journal said he would use a column about the Bahá’í Cause and bring in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s statement about the Canal Zone.

The Cause was explained to the editor of the “D” newspaper for the colored folk. He used a story. The Message was also given to the doctors of the Canal Zone port, to the British Minister, and to several of the United States Government officials. In a journalistic way, Martha met the heads of all the Government works.

Leaving Colon for Havana, a five-day trip, Martha went to the Captain to show her credentials, explain the Bahá’í Cause, and ask permission to give a talk. Nearly all came.

If anyone feels timid about asking opportunities to speak, let him remember that no day comes twice to any servant in the Cause. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said . . . “roar like a lion the Words of God” and “sing like a bird the Melodies of the Kingdom.”

“Therefore, know ye of a certainty that whosoever arises in this day to diffuse the Divine Fragrances, the cohorts of the Kingdom of God shall confirm him, and the bestowals and favors of the Blessed Perfection shall encircle him.” . . . “O how I long that it would be made possible for me to travel through these parts, even if necessary on foot and with utmost [Page 253] poverty and while passing through the cities, villages, mountains, deserts and oceans, cry at the top of my voice: ‘Ya Bahá El-Abhá!’ and promote the Divine Teachings. But now this is not feasible for Me, therefore, I live in great regret; perchance, God willing, ye may become assisted therein.” (From America’s Spiritual Mission)

“These churches which at present are seen on all the earth in the utmost of splendor are mere stone and clay. As the Word of God hath influence in stone and clay these have become cathedrals. My point in this explanation is illustration so that thou mayest appreciate the truth of how the Word of God maketh all being to be penetrated by its influence.

“Thou art really a herald of the Kingdom and a harbinger of the Covenant and makest self-sacrifice. Thou showest kindness to all nations; thou art sowing a seed that shall in the long run give rise to thousands of harvests; thou art planting a tree that shall, until eternity, put forth leaf, blossom, and fruit, and whose shadow shall day by day grow in magnitude.

“If some souls with perfect severance, devotion, firmness and steadfastness in the Covenant travel to South America, they shall become like unto Peter and Paul,—confirmed, because today the power of the Covenant is the arterial Pulse in the body of the universe.” (From the Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Martha Root concerning South America)

Concluded



Consider you what doors His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh has opened before you, and what a high and exalted station He has destined for you, and what bounties He has prepared for you! Should we become intoxicated with this cup, the sovereignty of this globe of earth will become lower in our estimation than the children’s plays.—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ.


[Page 254]

BAHÁ’Í ANSWERS TO WORLD QUESTIONS

CAN WE EXPECT A BETTER RACE OF MEN?

THE generality of mankind is still immature. (Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 12)

JUST now the soil of human hearts seems like black earth, but in the innermost substance of this dark soil there are thousands of fragrant flowers latent. We must endeavor to cultivate and awaken these latent potentialities, discover the secret treasure in this very mine and depository of God, bring forth these resplendent powers long hidden in human hearts.

It is evident therefore that man is in need of divine education and inspiration; that the spirit and bounties of God are essential to his development. That is to say the teachings of Christ and the prophets are necessary for his education and guidance. Why? Because they are the Divine Gardeners Who till the earth of human hearts and minds. They educate men, uproot the weeds, burn the thorns and remodel the waste places into gardens and orchards where fruitful trees grow. The wisdom and purpose of their training is that man must pass from degree to degree of progressive unfoldment until perfection is attained. . . . Without training and guidance the soul could never progress beyond the condition of its lower nature which is ignorant and defective. (Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 288, 289, 290)

The day is approaching when God will have, by an act of His Will, raised up a race of men the nature of which is [Page 255] inscrutable to all save God, the All-Powerful, the Self-Subsisting. (The Dispensation of BBahá’u’lláh, pp. 17, 18)

WHAT IS THE TRUE AIM OF CIVILIZATION?

ALTHOUGH material civilization is one of the means for the progress of the world of mankind, yet until it is combined with Divine civilization, the desired result, which is the felicity of mankind, will not be attained. . . . Consider! These battleships that reduce a city to ruins within the space of an hour are the result of material civilization; likewise the Krupp guns, the Mauser rifles, dynamite, submarines, torpedo boats, armed aircraft and bombing aeroplanes—all these weapons of war are the malignant fruits of material civilization. Had material civilization been combined With Divine civilization, these fiery weapons would never have been invented. Nay, rather human effort would have been wholly devoted to useful inventions and would have been concentrated on praiseworthy discoveries. Material civilization is like a lamp-glass. Divine civilization is the lamp itself and the glass without the light is dark. Material civilization is like the body. No matter how infinitely graceful, elegant and beautiful it may be, it is dead. Divine civilization is like the spirit, and the body gets its life from the spirit, otherwise it becomes a corpse. (Tablet to the Committee for Durable Peace, p. 18)

SHALL WE BE DISHEARTENED BY PRESENT CONDITIONS?

GRIEVE NOT at the things ye witness in this day. The day shall come whereon the tongues of the nations will proclaim: “The earth is God’s, the Almighty, the Single, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing!” (Advent of Divine Justice, p. 70)

The day will soon come when the light of Divine unity will have so permeated the East and the West that no man [Page 256] dare any longer ignore it. (Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 19)

Now in the world of being the Hand of Divine power hath firmly laid the foundations of this all-highest bounty and this wondrous gift. Whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this holy cycle shall gradually appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning of its growth and the dayspring of the revelation of its signs. Ere the close of this century and of this age, it shall be made clear and evident how wondrous was that springtime and how heavenly was that gift. (Idem)

WHAT QUALITIES ARE DEMANDED OF FAITH?

DANGERS, HOWEVER SINISTER, must, at no time, dim the radiance of their new-born faith. Strife and confusion, however bewildering, must never befog their vision. Tribulations, however afflictive, must never shatter their resolve. Denunciations, however clamorous, must never sap their loyalty. Upheavals, however cataclysmic, must never deflect their course. . . . Far from yielding in their resolve, far from growing oblivious of their task, they should at no time, however much buffeted by circumstances, forget that the synchronization of such world-shaking crises with the progressive unfoldment and fruition of their divinely appointed task is itself the work of Providence, the design of an inscrutible Wisdom, and the purpose of an all-compelling Will, a Will that directs and controls, in its own mysterious way, both the fortunes of the Faith and the destinies of men. (Advent of Divine Justice, p. 60)


[Page 257]

Work Is Worship

Doris McKay

All effort and exertion put forth by man in the fullness of his heart is worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to mankind.”

WHEN Bahá’u’lláh said in The Glad Tidings: “We have made this, your occupation, identical with the worship of God, the True One,” a creative statement was released into the universe of men’s souls. Far from our passive acceptance of it as a premise, as a mere philosophic point, those few words contain enough generative impulse to revolutionize our attitude toward life and therefore our life itself. When we let the words sink down into us and become ours our thoughts take the form of two questions: What is worship? what is the significance of work?

When He tells us to “draw nigh unto our Best-Beloved,” our first impulse is to retire to a place of meeting. Moses, Zoroaster and Muhammad talked with God upon a mountain— it is instinctive that our thoughts should soar to a hill-altitude where heaven seems near and the town is far below. It is one of the devices of religion that we make use of the subtle suggestion of those things which remind us of God. We seek the precincts of a holy shrine, the wonder of a dawn, the sanctuary of a quiet room. Lofty stained-glass windows, the devotional music of Bach, the sweeping expanse of water or of plain move us to a spontaneous prayer. Our hopes rise up to God and from beyond the zone of utter Mystery, and by what linking of intercession we cannot guess, a signal comes.

Suddenly upon hearing those words “Work is worship,” [Page 258] and their kindred phrase “Service is prayer,” We find ourselves standing instead of sitting. The sunlight of His nearness penetrates the dimness of the cloisters of our soul. We recall the story of Brother Lawrence who learned to practice the Presence of God in the teeming activity of the monastary kitchen of which he was in charge. Formerly he had resented the call of the practical or mundane (as it seemed to him) away from his devotions. Now, continually absorbed in that blessed Presence his awkwardness and inefiiciency disappeared, and it came to matter not to him whether he managed the affairs of the kitchen or knelt in adoration in the chapel. The ineffable wave-length of prayer now permeated his whole life and his work was, indeed, an act of worship before God. Note that the quality of his work was raised to perfection by the changed attitude of his mind. It was now God’s handiwork, and His sure Hand was upon it.

The experience of Brother Lawrence released him from the dual existence of one who lives two lives. In a flash of illumination he was taught that God is not worshiped by the heart alone, but by the very hands of man is He worshiped. And it is to this singleness of servitude that we are called by Bahá’u’lláh. We have been enjoined by Him to a perpetual remembrance of our Creator. “I implore Thee,” He would have us cry, “to enable me to drink deep of the living waters through which Thou hast vivified the souls of them that love Thee, that I may, at all times and under all conditions, turn my face wholly toward Thee.” Body, mind and spirit each gives its adoration: our whole being is transformed by love-driven energies and the divine grace blesses all that we do and are. “If thou lovest Me not” He said, “My love can in no wise reach thee.” This is the fulfilment and abundance of life that all men are restlessly seeking.

[Page 259] When we undertake to change even our way of thinking to fit the gospel of “Work Is Worship” we are challenged constantly, overwhelmingly. We all remember times when we have been in our “high place” when a telephone rang or a child cried—as if from a different compartment of being. The call was insistent and we came down to it. And where was He? Was He there, waiting for us to return to the Meeting-place, or did He come with us? Have there not been hours in our day when in our grim preoccupation with “duty,” or trance-like absorption in our occupation a veil, as impenetrable as an asbestos curtain, shut down between us and the remembrance of the Adored One? Are our moments of communion merely those of a pallid house plant set out on the steps for a little sunshine? There is no alternative: sincerity demands an habitual reaction. If necessary we must train this into our consciousness—put its seal upon us: Work is worship. Then do we make a new covenant. Our employers, whoever they are, in schools, stores, factories or offices, become unwitting deputies of the Master of all. Or, we who say we work for ourselves at professions, crafts or trades, at tending homes, or planting or reaping the harvest, how dare we longer assert our petty proprietorship of what we do? If so, we must enter into these activities in the spirit of competition, of drudgery, or of pride. And this is not the worship of the One True God.

The discoveries of physical science make our minds the associates of the stars, the minute toiling representatives of the animal kingdom, the chemists we call plants. We hear the humming of the continual whirling of the wheels of atomic industry. It is a working universe. To draw an analogy from Donald Culross Peattie’s latest book, “The Flowering Earth”: plant life sustains the living world by its manufacture [Page 260] of the green leaf pigment called chlorophyll, which is the one link between the sun and life. Might we say that the plant cooperates with its Lord, the Sun, in offering itself as a conduit for those energies on which life here depends? The plant in its work performs an act of worship. It lifts its leaves to the sun, and absorbs the life-giving rays. The stream of light stirs the molecular activity of the chlorophyll to a turmoil and photosynthesis results. The thrust of solar energy, light, must strike a target for its effect to be felt. Only then does the quality of heat become manifest. Molecular motion is heat. The intangible golden rays are thus injected into the living and concrete tissue.

So with the emanations of a Divine Energy from the Sun of Truth. Only while we fully turn do we receive the direct bounty—beyond that, a diffused light only. It has been the message of the great Illuminators of Mankind that we shall at all times be in that sunlight, ever with the life-infusing rays of the Holy Spirit accelerating us to creative action. The light from the divine Center finds its complement in the upward-lifting soul of man. The plant’s creative “worship” lifted to man’s inherent capacity would produce a race of super-men upon the earth. Forever would come an end to all niggardly and considered expenditure of talent, or mind, or body. Man would marvel at the wonder of this tool, his very being.

Work in the spirit of worship is painstaking effort, plus an unexpected flair of genius. It is light-hearted work, leaving the body free from the exhaustion that nervous tension brings. It is the dignified labor of one who serves a King. It strives for perfection rather than reward, although it accepts this reward as its just due. Above all, it has some worthy purpose in the world, else it could not have been chosen.


[Page 261]

SOUTH OF US

BOOK REVIEW

Garreta Busey

THIS is not a new book, but for us, who seek to understand our American neighbors, their real needs, their inner longings, its value is enhanced rather than diminished by the very fact that it has been read and liked over a period of years by the peoples it describes. Its facts are not superficial; therefore it has not become outmoded. Mr. Frank says: “the aim is not primarily to give facts or information: it is to create for the reader an image of the living organism about which the facts are recorded, to give him an experience of the truth which this collective living being represents.”* The book conveys an impression. It presents truth, as does a work of art. Its effect on the Bahá’í reader is one of intense excitement, for the whole book is the clear expression of a need (the need for the reconciliation of opposing forces) which Bahá’u’lláh came to fill.

South of Us is in two parts. Book One is a series of portraits of the peoples of Hispanic America. Book Two, called Prospect, contains a biting analysis of North American culture, points out how necessary and how dangerous we are to our neighbors, offers suggestions concerning the relationships between the two continents, as well as for the integration of the Hispanic American peoples themselves.

The body of the book begins with an illuminating description of the Inca civilization, complex, peaceful, humane, a civilization which was, however, already declining at the time of the Spanish conquest. To the Andean Indian, now as then, the individual person exists wholly in the communal life of the ayllu, or clan. The conquistador, gross, brutal, loving gold, but loving Christ as well, brought with him a contrasting attitude towards life. The salvation of the individual soul and the spread of the Roman cosmic order, the Kingdom of Christ as he saw it, were his moving impulses no less than the acquisition of gold. These two great races forever failed

* South of Us, by Waldo Frank. Garden City Pub. Co.


[Page 262] to understand each other, and the conflict which arose from their contact persists today, evident in the degradation of the Indian, the confusion in the soul of the mestizo, (the man of mixed race) and the political confusion of the whole land.

There follow similar treatments of the pampa, the Pacific coast, the Brazilian forest, and the lands around the Central sea (the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean). These peoples of Hispanic America are not alike, nor are any of them like us of the United States, whose culture, founded in the eighteenth century, is chiefly unreligious, based on power and the individual will. Each of the peoples of the American hemisphere confronts a different problem, but each can contribute to the others. The difference between North America and South America is greater than that between any of the other divisions. It will take a tremendous effort on the part of both to achieve sympathy and understanding, but the two continents are complementary and neither alone can reach wholeness of life.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá said of the East and the West: “In these days the East is in need of material progress and the West is in want of a spiritual ideal. It would be well for the West to turn to the East for illumination, and to give in exchange its scientific knowledge. There must be this interchange of gifts. The East and the West must unite to give to each other what is lacking. This union will bring about a true civilization, where the spiritual is expressed and carried out in the material.” This is strikingly paralleled by Waldo Frank’s statement about North and South America. “America Hispana, even more than the United States,” he says, “is a half-world. With striking symmetry it has what the North lacks and lacks what the North has made for itself. . . . The American continents present two faces of a single problem.” The United States has built up the material body; it lacks “a revelation of human fate, tragic and divine, by whose light the folk will know its present ways as false and tawdry.” In Hispanic America, on the other hand, a rigid order has become atrophied and the life of the spirit, so important to the people, has found no appropriate body. To both these needs, Bahá’u’lláh provides fulfillment: a new spiritual sustenance and the Order by which it is to be expressed in action.

There is another striking passage near the end of Mr. Frank’s [Page 263] work. A plan, he says, must accompany the personal regeneration necessary to any development. Man needs not only a renewal of the spirit, but also a form in which that spirit can begin at once to be expressed. “What is needed is an action which immediately brings body and spirit together in the direction of growth: an action that partakes at once of the regeneration of the person and of the ideal for the nation. America Hispana can emerge tomorrow as an organism of the Atlantic World, complete in its political and cultural functions, only if it begins today to produce men and groups who act this organic life. There must be men and women ready now to work upon themselves. From their heritage of race and tradition they must make concrete in their own lives the experience of the person as the focus for social and for universal action. In terms of every-day existence, they must project the organic world which is their national ideal—a world that can come true only insofar as they achieve reality in themselves. They will form groups. However they can, wherever they can, they will irradiate their deed into the life of family, factory, farm, city, and nation. They will meet fellows in other nations, and find the harmony between them. The programme of international union will energize their individual behavior; and will be nurtured by them. . . . This is America Hispana’s great good fortune: that its politics, to be practical, must partake of religion; that its religion, to be cogent, must take the field and perform an immediate task in politics and economics.”

What Mr. Frank has seen as the problem of South America is true of the whole world. Bahá’u’lláh envisaged the problem more than seventy years ago. And He has given us the means for its solution. It might have been possible for the Americas, in the slow course of evolution, by the gradual synthesis of racial heritage, by the federation of small groups of similar countries, by the slow sympathetic realization of the interdependence of the North and the South, to have achieved wholeness of life—it might have been possible, had not events in Europe become cataclysmic. Now a miraculous speed seems to be necessary, if we are to complete the process before it is too late. Fortunate for us that Bahá’u’lláh has given us new Power and the promise that unity in diversity will be realized, not only in the Americas but over the whole earth!


[Page 264]

BAHÁ’Í LESSONS

The Destiny of America

I. Nobility of American Civilization
Great Republic of the West, WOB 79.
United States (and Canada) highly advanced, Promulgation, 312.
Ideals praiseworthy, Prom 331-2.
Powers and capacities, Advent, 16-17, 72; Prom 464.
Spiritual susceptibilities, Prom 137, 296.
American democracy, just, equable, Prom 382.
Achievement of liberty, Prom 34, 384.
Federalism and maturity, Advent 76; Prom 390; WOB 37, 45, 165.
Standard-bearer of peace, Prom 33-34, 117-118 (Advent 72), 382.
Endeavors of President Wilson, Advent 74, 75; WOB 30.
II. This Difficult Era of Transition
Faults of the Nation, Advent 16, 17, 19, 24, 28, 34; WOB 181.
Danger in Race Relations, Advent 33.
Repudiation of Wilsonian ideal, Advent 75.
Soul of nation in travail, WOB 79.
In vortex of economic hurricane, WOB 31, 188-9.
Abortive experiments, WOB 189.
Restlessness, and fear of entanglements, WOB 189.
Most critical era ahead, WOB 189.
Surrounding storm, WOB 188-9; Advent 73-4, 75.
Only hope, Advent 74.
Bahá’í Spirit shaping destiny, Advent 73, 74, 76.
Trend of events encouraging, Advent 75.
World entanglements, obligations, Advent 74, 75, 76, 62.
Immediate future dark, Advent 76.
To world consciousness through world ordeal, Advent 76.
Requirement of purification, Advent 76.

[Page 265]

III. Unique Responsibilities and Blessings
West destined to reflect Light, WOB 74-75; Prom 20.
Call to spiritual sovereignty, B. Scriptures, 46; Prom 167.
Call to champion World Order, WOB 89; Advent 5, 9, 15-18.
Investment of spiritual primacy, WOB 76-78, 85-86, 87; Advent 6-7, 51-52, 72-73; Prom 414-415.
The Divine Plan, Advent 10-11, 60-61; WOB 87.
Preserved and sustained, Advent 6-9.
New endowment distinct from inheritance, Advent 13-16.
Guardian’s challenge, WOB 94.
One remaining citadel, Advent 5.
Staggering Bahá’í responsibility, Advent 17, 40.
Opportunities offered by God-born Force, Advent 39.
Privilege of proclaiming Advent of Kingdom, Advent 61-62.
A new spiritual race arising, Advent 13-14, 61, 71-72.
IV. A Glorious Future
For American continent, Advent 5.
Trust will not be betrayed, Advent 62-63.
Center of radiance, Prom 17; Advent 51-52; WOB 77-78.
Evidence of great achievements for U. S., Prom 100.
Will lead all nations spiritually, Advent 5, 72 (Prom 100), 61-2.
Corner-stone of peace, Advent 76.
Proclamation of maturity, unity, Advent 76.
Aid in establishing righteousness, Advent 76.
Victory dependent upon spiritual renaissance, Prom 17, 64, 295-6, 100, 136-7, 245; Advent 76-77, 13-14, 16-18.
Racial unity a sign of victory, Prom 54.
Assurance of renaissance, WOB 78-79.
Individual reward, Advent 13.
Fulfillment in world federation, Advent 72, 74, 76.
Blest in both East and West, Advent 77 (Prom 99-100).
ADDITIONAL READINGS
H. A. Overstreet, We Move in New Directions.
Chas. A. and Mary R. Beard, America in Midpassage.
James Truslow Adams, The March of Democracy.


[Page 266]

WITH OUR READERS

DO YOU ever wish when you read one of the beautiful letters from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that you knew the person who received it and knew just how the promises were fulfilled and the prayers answered? One of our readers sends us this story about the tablet on page 54 of volume I of the Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This is the tablet: “O Thou who art advancing unto the Kingdom of God! I ask God to make thee a helper to the maidservants of the Merciful, to walk in the path of salvation, to disperse the clouds of doubt from the horizon of the hearts, to make the Sun of Knowledge manifest unto souls and spirits and to confirm thee in a matter which will make thee to raise the banner of the Covenant in the world.”

“I want to tell you,” writes our correspondent, “of the selflessness of Laura Jones, the early believer who received the above tablet. It was during the last year of her life that she read it to me. With tears in her eyes she said, ‘I never understood my tablet.’ However it was she who gave the Message to a friend and her son and it was he, the son, who gave it to Martha Root. Thus it was that she was confirmed in a matter which made her to “raise the banner of the Covenant in the world.”

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Interesting stories of what some are doing to spread the usefulness of the magazine and increase the subscription list have come to us through the subscription mail. Two friends in California are renewing eighteen donated subscriptions and adding nine new ones, making twenty-seven in all. Four of them go to libraries.

Mrs. H. of San Diego in sending in three gift subscriptions, one to the public library, writes: “The S. D. Public Library up until just recently, I understand, used to receive World Order as a gift from someone in Switzerland. I just happened to inquire if they were still getting the magazine, when much to my surprise, they said—not any more. For several years I inquired each year, but was always told they were getting it. The last year [Page 267] or two I have not inquired until this month—so I am happy for the opportunity to serve in this way and expect to keep up the subscription, from year to year indefinitely.”

It is true as was stated in this column recently that quite a large gift, which had been received annually for a number of years and which made it possible to send gift subscriptions to many libraries, has been discontinued. Are you sure that the public library in your town is receiving World Order?

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From far-off Australia come two letters adding their word of approval of World Order in its new form. The secretary of the Melbourne Assembly writes: “The transformed magazine is certainly convenient for pocket or handbag, with no loss of vital interest.” And from New Town, Tasmania, Australia comes the word: “We all love the World Order in its new form and look forward to its arrival.” Two renewals and one new subscription were enclosed.

It occurs to the editors that a pleasant way to balance up these Australian subscriptions would be for more of us in the United States to subscribe to the Australian Bahá’í Magazine, The Herald of the South. It, too, is a good teaching medium and is published four times a year. Shoghi Effendi has asked us to subscribe to this and to other Bahá’í publications. The subscription fee of five shillings can be sent to Treasurer N.S.A., Box 447D, G.P.O., Adelaide, South Australia. There is a radiance and warmth in this little magazine which brings us closer to our Australian friends.

Getting back to the United States we find we have a zealous promoter of the magazine in one of our West Virginia pioneers. “World Order is so splendid a teaching medium,” he writes, “that we exert our wits in an effort to ascertain how fullest use of the magazine may be made in augmenting the local effort in Charleston as well as throughout this barren state. . . . Fitting into our own ‘set-up,’ we wonder whether you could send us four copies a month, in the event of our finding placement for them, and permit us to act as your representatives in their placement and monthly collection of unsold copies, we to pay for those unsold [Page 268] and to utilize them in local teaching work.”

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The leading article this month, Dawn Over Mount Hira, by Marzieh Gail, was crowded out of our September issue and we present it this month as a continuation of the number on Islám. To feel the Reality of the Prophet Muhammad is difficult for those reared in the Christian Faith on account of false teaching and our ignorance of facts and of the Qur’án. The contribution Dawn Over Mount Hira by Mrs. Marzieh Gail will, we believe, awaken a new consciousness of this Reality and a new love for the Prophet in the hearts of those who read it. Mrs. Gail is a frequent contributor to World Order. Her home is in San Francisco. This sketch is also in print in The Bahá’í World, volume VII. From Jamestown, New York, Doris McKay sends the article Work Is Worship. Mrs. McKay has also contributed frequently to the magazine and has served the Cause for many years in teaching. Several of our study outlines have been largely her work. We are printing this month the final installment of Martha Root’s Journey through South America. We appreciate the work which Mrs. Helen Bishop has done in making this journal available to us all. Miss Garreta Busey again furnishes us with an interesting book review. Miss Busey teaches in the University of Illinois. Our regular departments, The Divine Art of Living, Bahá’í Answers to World Questions and the Study Outline, complete the issue.

Since the name of the author and publisher was omitted in the book review published in the September issue, and a number of inquiries have been received, we list the book as follows:—Triumphant Pilgrimage, by Owen Rutter. J. B. Lippincott Co.

The tentative list of themes to be developed in leading articles during coming months includes: Prophecy, Civilization and Culture, Inter-America Relations, Youth, and Immortality. The editors will always welcome suggested subjects which readers feel should be featured.

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