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WORLD ORDER
THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE
July, 1941
• The Bahá’í Faith Offers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
• These Prophets and Chosen Ones . . . . . . . Bahá’u’lláh 122
• Religion for Our Time . . . William Kenneth Christian 123
• From a Panama Diary, V . Louise Caswell and Cora H. Oliver 136
• The Báb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grace Griffith Harris 140
• Tests and Afflictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Compilation 145
• Bahá’í Lessons . . . . . 151 • With Our Readers . . 153
FIFTEEN CENTS
THAT WHICH THE LORD HATH ORDAINED AS THE SOVEREIGN REMEDY AND MIGHTIEST INSTRUMENTS 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 Bahá’ís 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, Genevieve L. Coy, Mae Dyer, Shirin Fozdar, Marzieh Gail, Inez Greeven, Annamarie Honnold, G. A. Shook.
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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, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois. Entered as second class matter April 1, 1940, at the post office at Wilmette, Ill., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Contents copyrighted 1941 by Bahá’í Publishing Committee. Title registered at U. S. Patent Office.
JULY 1941, VOLUME VII, NUMBER 4
THE Bahá’í Faith offers to mankind the great glad-tidings that the glorious age of world peace and unparalleled human advancement which has long been prophesied by all scriptures is now at hand. In its position as a new Revelation from God it asserts that mankind, after centuries of evolutionary development under the guidance of successive Prophets, has arrived at the age of maturity. The present world-wide ordeal of suffering, it declares, is a purifying, transition experience, from which nations will arise to create together a fairer civilization than the world has yet known. This they will do in recognition of the divine law of human oneness and in obedience to the concept of human brotherhood. World turmoil and agony is a signal of the death of an old era that has lost its spiritual power, and the birth of a Golden Age animated by the teachings of a new Prophet of God.
Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Who Himself lived in this world from 1817 to 1892, like the Prophets of all the past, gives to men a body of spiritual, humanitarian and social teachings designed to meet the needs of the new humanity. In essence His precepts and counsels are the same as the teachings of previous Prophets, arising as they do from the same Source of Divine Revelation. Like these preceding Prophets, including Moses, Jesus, Buddha and Muḥammad, each of Whom founded a brilliant civilization through the creative impulse breathed into human souls and the gift of a divine message brought to earth, Bahá’u’lláh, also as a Divine Educator, brings to mankind now struggling on the threshold of a world society, the Love and the Guidance it seeks. In His Spirit men will find unfailing power for the unfoldment of latent potentialities—spiritual, mental and physical—and in His Word divine direction for the establishment of an enduring commonwealth of nations which will give to all peoples, nations and classes the encouraging and assisting environment necessary for the growth and expression of sacred human capacities.
THESE PROPHETS and chosen Ones of God are the recipients and revealers of all the unchangeable attributes and names of God. They are the mirrors that truly and faithfully reflect the light of God. Whatsoever is applicable to them is in reality applicable to God, Himself, Who is both the Visible and the Invisible. The knowledge of Him, Who is the Origin of all things, and attainment unto Him, are impossible save through knowledge of, and attainment unto, these luminous Beings who proceed from the Sun of Truth. By attaining, therefore, to the presence of these Holy Luminaries, the “Presence of God” Himself is attained. From their knowledge, the knowledge of God is revealed, and from the light of their countenance, the splendor of God is made manifest. . . .
Whosoever, and in whatever Dispensation, hath recognized and attained unto the presence of these glorious, these resplendent and most excellent Luminaries, hath verily attained unto the “Presence of God” Himself, and entered the city of eternal and immortal life. . . . Once in about a thousand years shall this City be renewed and re-adorned.
WORLD ORDER
THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE
VOLUME VII JULY, 1941 NUMBER 4
Religion for Our Time
William Kenneth Christian
- WITH THE DYNAMIC BAHÁ’Í PRINCIPLES
- RELIGION REGAINS POWER TO GUIDE THE WORLD
THE FAILURE of religion to play a great directing part in world affairs in the last century is a puzzle to many sincere people. We witness, on the one hand, a series of the most turbulent and swift changes in all human history, and, on the other, an increased inability to apply moral principles to the solution of resultant problems. We have seen the amazing spectacle of the major reforms of the last century turning outside the old religious communities for sympathy and active support. Not one of the old religious communities has arisen, in unity, to exert all its prestige and power to the solution of the major problem of our time—the disease of disunity and conflict.
Many reasons have been offered to account for this. Some
people have attempted to uproot religion as an outgrown
superstition. Some have justified the organized disunity of
sectarianism on the grounds that people differ in their tastes.
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Many have preached a religion of man, making man not an
equal of the Prophet of God but superior—a partner of God
Himself. Some have advocated muddled forms of mysticism.
And still others have advanced a liberalism which would place
Jesus and the penny-a-line-poet in the same class.
These debilitating movements have, of course, sapped much of the vitality from religion. They have spread great confusion and done nothing to aid the establishment of clear spiritual standards. In fact, these new movements have not been new at all but only a continuation of the disintegrating process of sectarianism.
The real reason why religion has become so puny a voice in human affairs is that it has been out of step with the age. Thousands of sincere religious leaders have attempted to translate general principles of Jewish and Christian teachings into a plan of action suited to the modern world. And their failure is written large in the absence of spiritual validity among the world’s leaders. The best that can be offered is the “slogan solution”—“We must cut back through the centuries to the teachings of Jesus.” And to a world that has lived from one harrowing crisis to another, that is no solution at all.
Are we then to be offered the alternative of despair?
Not at all! There is hope; there is a way; there is a solution. For almost a century now, a small but rapidly-increasing group of people have been advocating principles and ideas of human welfare that are spiritually dynamic and highly practical. The Bahá’í teachings meet the issues of the age head on and provide a clear-cut answer. The world community of Bahá’ís was brought into being by the prophetic Voice and Pen of Bahá’u’lláh, Who speaks to us in our time with the same authority and power by which of old Moses, Jesus, and Muḥammad spoke.
A MESSAGE FOR THIS TIME
And, as a result, there is a body of people scattered throughout the world who constitute a religious community with unity, purpose, and a message applicable to our time. “Let there be no mistake. The principle of the Oneness of Mankind— the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve —is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope. Its appeal is not merely to be identified with a reawakening of the spirit of brotherhood and good-will among men, nor does it aim solely at the fostering of harmonious cooperation among individual peoples and nations. Its implications are deeper, its claims greater than any which the Prophets of old were allowed to advance. Its message . . . concerns itself primarily with the nature of those essential relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members of one human family. It does not constitute merely the enunciation of an ideal, but stands inseparably associated with an institution adequate to embody its truth, demonstrate its validity, and perpetuate its influence.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 43-3)
When the Bahá’í presents in some detail the answer to the confusing riddles of our time found in the revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, he must needs emphasize two things. First, there are the great and eternally valid spiritual truths and principles which Bahá’u’lláh has renewed. Second, there are the many definite teachings which are new both to religious and secular thought.
Bahá’u’lláh has renewed the loyalty of man to divine will.
To countless faithful attendants of religious institutions this
creative principle has become a half-forgotten memory. Loyalty
to divine will, as enunciated in the teachings of a Prophet or
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Manifestation of God, has been the greatest creative principle
in social history. The Jews who followed the leadership of
Moses found their moral and social life renewed and vitalized.
The early Christians rose above the crass idolatry of their age
and became so strong a social force that paganism beat itself
to death in its efforts to wipe out Christianity. The early
believers in Islám outgrew the crudities and barbarity of their
ignorant desert existence and developed a civilization that put
Europe to shame. The men and women of these different
ages possessed one great thing in common: they listened to
and obeyed the message of God as it was given to each of them
by One who “spoke with authority.”
Bahá’u’lláh set forth in His voluminous writings ample proof of His divine mission for the heart and mind of modern man. The human realization that God has again spoken to man not only awakens a burning and eager desire to live in accord with divine will. This recognition of God’s will for our age also renews faith in God. And what a clear standard of faith this is! “Amity and rectitude of conduct, rather than dissension and mischief, are the marks of true faith.” (Gleanings, p. 205) “Faith in God, and the knowledge of Him, cannot be fully attained except . . . by practicing all that He hath commanded.” (Bahá’u’lláh, quoted in New Era, p. 99) “The principle of faith is to lessen words and to increase deeds. He whose words exceed his acts, know verily, that his non-being is better than his being, his death better than his life.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Idem p. 107) The test of faith is no longer a rigid following of religious forms or an impassioned justification of human desire. The Bahá’í must enter the arena of action and service, in obedience to the way of life promulgated by Bahá’u’lláh.
And the moral standard upheld by Bahá’u’lláh is that same
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great way of life advocated by all God’s Messengers, but, alas,
found too seldom in our world of individual standards. “The
companions of God are, in this day, the lump that must leaven
the peoples of the world. They must show forth such trustworthiness,
such truthfulness and perseverance, such deeds and
character that all mankind may profit by their example.” “If
the whole earth were converted into silver and gold, no man
who can be said to have truly ascended into the heaven of faith
and certitude would deign to regard it, much less to seize and
keep it.” (Bahá’u’lláh, in The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 19)
“Beautify your tongues, O people, with truthfulness, and adorn
your souls with the ornament of honesty. Beware, O people,
that ye deal not treacherously with anyone. Be ye the trustees
of God amongst His creatures, and the emblems of His generosity
amidst His people.” (Bahá’u’lláh, Idem p. 21)
RELIGION RENEWED
We find that Bahá’u’lláh has renewed the eternal foundations of religion itself. He has again called men away from themselves and unto God. He bids us stop admiring our own shadows and turn, humbly and completely, to the Sun of Truth itself.
This renewal of religion would suffice to place Bahá’u’lláh
as the spiritual Leader of our time. But the mass of
Bahá’u’lláh’s writings go far beyond this. They delineate
clearly the needs of our age and point definitely to the methods
for creating the fairest civilization men have ever known. “In
a hundred volumes, the repositories of priceless precepts,
mighty laws, unique principles, impassioned exhortations,
reiterated warnings, amazing prophecies, sublime invocations,
and weighty commentaries, the Bearer of such a Message has
proclaimed, as no Prophet before Him has done, the Mission
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with which God has entrusted Him. To emperors, kings,
princes and potentates, to rulers, governments, clergy and
peoples, whether of the East or of the West, whether Christian,
Jew, Muslim, or Zoroastrian, He addressed, for well-nigh
fifty years, and in the most tragic circumstances, these
priceless pearls of knowledge and wisdom that lay hid within
the ocean of His matchless utterance.” (Shoghi Effendi, in
The Promised Day Is Come)
It is in the new teachings in the revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, in those things not found in the scriptures of the past, that we find our present-day pattern of action. Here we find reason, fact, and hope to offset the world’s confusion. Here we find a goal—“the goal of a new World Order, Divine in origin, all-embracing in scope, equitable in principle, challenging in its features . . .” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 34)
THREE PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF
Bahá’u’lláh sets forth three challenging principles of belief and attitude. First, men must learn to investigate truth independently. A man must approach the Manifestation of God and through his study and experience realize the validity of His claims and His teachings. An individual accepts Bahá’u’lláh through study and experience and not by inheritance. This throws out the theory of original sin and the threat of hell fire. Bahá’u’lláh has forbidden a professional clergy and placed the responsibility for spiritual health and growth squarely upon each individual.
Second, the oneness of mankind is “the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve.” In the light of this great spiritual fact must men live, and to its translation into complete social justice must they be dedicated.
Third, the oneness of religion is the key to spiritual unity,
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to a sense of brotherhood stronger than any propaganda could
fashion. Bahá’u’lláh taught that there is but one religion.
It has been revealed progressively in every age through a
Manifestation. Thus, Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha,
Christ, Muḥammad, and Bahá’u’lláh have been the vehicles
of God’s grace and wisdom unto men. Each has given the
measure of truth renewing religion in His time, capable of advancing
civilization to new heights, and limited only by the
capacity of the people whom He taught.
Here, then, is the answer to the world’s religious differences. Here is a call to unity that rises above the vain proselytizing of competing creeds. Here is affirmation of the validity of all the world’s revealed religions. Here is no exclusive salvation, but a recognition that our one God has always guided humankind. Understanding of the world’s religious history can only come through recognition of progressive revelation.
There are ten outstanding principles of social relationship found in the Bahá’í teachings.
TEN SOCIAL PRINCIPLES
First, a universal auxiliary language must be either chosen or fashioned. People must be given the practical means for understanding their fellows. And this must be on a world scale. Nothing less will do.
Second, universal standards of education and a basic curriculum must be adopted and enforced. The nations of the world can never evolve a condition fit to be called “peace” until certain educational basics are the same. The Most Great Peace envisioned by Bahá’u’lláh must be built, built upon practical and firm foundations. Education is the inalienable right of every human being.
Third, each individual must be trained for a trade or profession
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and practise it as an act of worship. “The basest of men
are they that yield no fruit on earth, and they verily are accounted
among the dead, nay better are the dead in the sight of
God than those idle and worthless souls.” (Hidden Words,
Per. 81) “The best of men are they that earn their livelihood
by a profession and expend on themselves and on their kindred
for the love of God, the Lord of all worlds.” (Idem. Per. 82)
Bahá’u’lláh commands men to rise above the enervating and
circumscribing idea that work is a curse laid upon the human
soul. Instead, men are called upon to express their worship and
seek nobility in and through work and responsibility.
Fourth, religion and science must be recognized as copartners, necessary, harmonious, and complementary means of ascertaining truth. Religion has its valid and necessary operation in the field of individual and social values. It rescues man from materialism and provides the essential motivation to his conduct. Science rescues man from superstition and gives him the tools for the development and expansion of his life activities.
Fifth, the primary function of religion is to create unity. Should religion fail in this, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states that it is better to have none.
Sixth, the equality of men and women must be established throughout the world. This means more than equal rights in law. It means that the psychological superiority of one sex is unjust and a detriment to the social welfare. “This is peculiar to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, for all other religions have placed man above women.” (Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 450)
Seventh, those prejudices—social, religious, political, and
racial—which have grown up as historic accidents and are largely
perpetuated by the organized disunity of our age, must be
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recognized as unwelcome evidence of social disease. All the
resources of education and government must be utilized to
eradicate the prejudices that blind individuals and groups to
human worth wherever it may be found.
Eighth, the solution of the economic problem lies in the application of spiritual principles. A healthy world economics presupposes the uniting of peoples in common effort toward a common goal. Only through unity will the people of different economic conditions cooperate willingly. Only through a spiritual power can that unity be created.
Ninth, the attainment of universal peace must be recognized as the primary object of our age. To this realization all man’s energies must be turned. Movement toward it is the spirit of our age. Bahá’u’lláh declared that in this age peace will be established. But the Most Great Peace associated with His Name is more than adolescent idealism and sweet vagaries. “A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and exercising unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably vast resources, blending and embodying the ideals of both the East and the West, liberated from the curse of war and its miseries, and bent on the exploitation of all the available sources of energy on the surface of the planet, a system in which Force is made the servant of Justice, whose life is sustained by its universal recognition of one God and by its allegiance to one common Revelation— such is the goal towards which humanity, impelled by the unifying forces of life, is moving.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 204)
Tenth, Bahá’u’lláh created the institutions by which these
great principles will find definite expression. He wrote in the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas: “The Lord hath ordained that in every city a
House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counselors
to the number of Bahá (nine), and should it exceed this number
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it does not matter. It behooveth them to be trusted ones of
the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians
appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent
upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for
the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they
regard their own interests and to choose that which is meet and
seemly.” (Bahá’í Administration, p. 21)
He provided not only for local Houses of Justices, but for an International or Universal House of Justice. And He conferred a unique power upon this Universal House. “It is incumbent upon the Trustees of the House of Justice, to take counsel together regarding those things which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book (Bahá’u’lláh’s writings), and to enforce that which is agreeable to them.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 23) Moreover, when conditions change, the House of Justice can abrogate its own laws. This provision for flexibility means “that whatever is deemed necessary to incorporate into it (the machinery of the Cause) in order to keep it in the forefront of all progressive movements, can, according to the provisions made by Bahá’u’lláh, be safely embodied therein.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 22)
And now let us turn to that which completes this divine Pattern. Let us see how Bahá’u’lláh deliberately bridged the gap between theory (the great outpouring of truth and wisdom in His writings) and practice (their application in the world of affairs). This gap Bahá’u’lláh bridged by His unique Covenant.
BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S COVENANT
A covenant between men is the pledging of a man’s word,
his sacred honor, through continuity in time. Every Manifestation
of God has made some type of spiritual pledge to those who
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believed in Him. Bahá’u’lláh created the institution of Exemplar
and Interpreter and appointed His eldest son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
to this unique position. He designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the Center
of His Covenant.
“As to the most great characteristic of the revelation of Bahá’u’lláh—a specific teaching not given by any of the prophets of the past—it is the ordination and appointment of the Center of the Covenant. By this appointment and provision He has safeguarded and protected the religion of God against differences and schisms, making it impossible for anyone to create a new sect or faction of belief. To insure unity and agreement He has entered into a Covenant with all the people of the world including the interpreter and explainer of His teachings so that no one may interpret or explain the religion of God according to his own view or opinion and thus create a sect founded upon his individual understanding of the divine words. The Book of the Covenant or Testament of Bahá’u’lláh is the means of preventing such a possibility, for whosoever shall speak from the authority of himself alone shall be degraded. Be ye informed and cognizant of this.” (Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 451)
During His lifetime ‘Abdu’l-Bahá began the formation of
an Administrative Order. He urged the believers to form local
Spiritual Assemblies for the conduct of their affairs, these Assemblies
to follow as much as possible the pattern set by
Bahá’u’lláh for the local Houses of Justice of the future.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in His position as the Center of the Covenant,
initiated an Administration which is the laboratory for the development
of a New World Order. In His Will and Testament,
He created the institution of the Guardianship and appointed
Shoghi Effendi the First Guardian of the Faith. The
Guardian is the basis of unity through continuity in time by
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‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s designation of him as the sole Interpreter of the
writings and the chairman of the Universal House of Justice.
This act of the Center of the Covenant solves the problem of unity and leaves the believers throughout the world with twin institutions of a universal stature—the Universal House of Justice and the Guardianship. “. . . the Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter of the Word and . . . the Universal House of Justice has been invested with the function of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the teachings. The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá’u’lláh has not expressly revealed.” (World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 150)
“We should also bear in mind that the distinguishing character of the Bahá’í Revelation does not solely consist in the completeness and unquestionable validity of the Dispensation which the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have established. Its excellence lies also in the fact that those elements which in past Dispensations have, without the least authority from their Founders, been a source of corruption and of incalculable harm to the Faith of God, have been strictly excluded by the clear text of Bahá’u’lláh’s writings. Those unwarranted practices, in connection with the sacrament of baptism, of communion, of confession of sins, of asceticism, of priestly domination, of elaborate ceremonies, of holy war and of polygamy, have one and all been rigidly suppressed by the Pen of Bahá’u’lláh; whilst the rigidity and rigor of certain observances, such as fasting, which are necessary to the devotional life of the individual, have been considerably abated.” (Idem. p. 22)
DIVINE ORDINANCES
The ordinances of Bahá’u’lláh and other specific teachings are also unique. Space will permit only the mentioning of them —the institution of the Hands of the Cause (international teachers under the direction of the Guardian); the institution of the Local and National Funds; obedience to governments and non-participation in political controversy; the abolition of asceticism and holy war; the command to associate with all religionists and men of good-will; monogamy; the necessity of marriage; the prohibition of gambling; the use of a daily obligatory prayer; consultation as a social technique; the construction of a Temple and accessory educational, scientific, and humanitarian buildings in each city, town, and village.
In considering these new teachings, we must not overlook certain characteristics of the writings themselves. Bahá’u’lláh’s ministry was spent in almost constant exile and imprisonment. His Revelation is written, documented; we possess the texts. He repudiated the authority of oral tradition. As a result, we have an authenticity not found in past scriptures.
In His writings is a whole literature of prayers and meditations, covering the entire scope of human feelings and aspiration. There is a beauty in the style of the writings comparable only to a few specimens of our greatest literature. There is a clarity in the definition of terms and the explanation of spiritual subjects which resolves problems over which men have haggled and quarreled for centuries. There is such stimulus to spiritual growth and understanding as to constitute more than a man can fully assimilate in three score years and ten.
From a Panama Diary
Louise Caswell and Cora H. Oliver
V
Sr. Herrero told me that the Costa Ricans are a simple, rather primitive people and do not care for the mechanized life of the Americans. Srta. Flora Herrero told me that the ports of Limon and Puntarenas are not so wild as Acapulco where we stopped on the 24th. She agreed with me that she had never seen such a wild crowd of people. Sr. Herrero expressed my feelings by the Spanish phrase: “Se me cayo el alma en los pies”—“my soul fell into my feet.”
A Mr. Roth from Chicago shouted across the bar to me that he wanted to talk to me about what I was interested in. He couldn’t say it so I gave him his cue: Bahá’í. He said he had seen the Temple and admired it very much. He asked me what Bahá’í meant. When I explained he said: “Well, light couldn’t hurt anybody.”
Los Angeles, May 28-29. After a good rest, I went with my hosts, Keva and Harry Munson, to the Bahá’í Center at 1:30 a.m. and met the friends who were assembling to commemorate the passing of Bahá’u’lláh. I spoke to them of Panama, showed them pictures, and in spite of the hour, they seemed much interested. At three o’clock we went into the large hall which was decorated with lighted candles and white stock and gladioli. About fifty of the Bahá’ís were present, including one who is a Peruvian Indian; it was a privilege for me to read the dawn prayer on such a night, in such a gathering.
We saved some of the flowers and later took them to the
grave of Thornton Chase, the first American Bahá’í; on his
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gravestone is carved the Greatest Name and this inscription
from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: “This is the illumined resting-place of
Thornton Chase who is shining in the horizon of eternal life
ever like a star.”
Notes on pioneering, Berkeley, June 1940, by L.C. We are told in our sacred writings that the greatest of all gifts is the gift of teaching and that when we cease telling of the Faith the bounties cease. The teacher must first teach himself and then others, because his words will have no effect if he does not live what he teaches.
At this time the Bahá’í pioneer lives what other groups are preaching. While this or that society publishes magazines and holds conferences the Bahá’í travels and lives in the Central and South American countries and makes friends with the people. Bahá’u’lláh has told us: “This is the day in which to speak. . . . Every body calleth aloud for a soul. Heavenly souls must needs quicken, with the breath of the Word of God, the dead bodies with a fresh spirit. . . . Center your energies in the propagation of the Faith of God. Whoso is worthy of so high a calling, let him arise and promote it. Whoso is unable, it is his duty to appoint one who will, in his stead, proclaim this Revelation.” (The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 69-70) The highest duty and privilege of this life is to teach the Faith.
Cora Oliver and I have not the capacity to appreciate our
great bounty in pioneering in Panama. We can only say that
the Faithful Spirit has accompanied us. The world seems to
be just beginning when the pioneer realizes that his life is
not one of time, place, surroundings and attachments to individuals
—but a life constantly and lovingly flowing out from
God and never ceasing. Thus he learns to welcome change
of surroundings and circumstances for the sake of God. For
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the Faithful Spirit is his companion, and the promise is fulfilled.
If you want to live life to the fullest be a pioneer. Time is short. Do not let this Inter-America campaign be just a hope with you. Make it a reality, or you will have missed the great bounty. All cannot have the supreme privilege of leaving their home for a foreign land; these can send a deputy, or they can pioneer at home. In our cities we have residents of many Latin American countries and the Guardian has urged us to sow seeds in their hearts which might, in future, “yield the most unexpected results.”
The settlement of at least one pioneer in each country by no means implies that the campaign has been completed. The Guardian wrote to Cora as to “one of the vanguard of that army of pioneers which will follow.” The long paragraphs he has written to me on the importance of learning Spanish and teaching it in all three Summer Schools to train future pioneers is ample proof of this fact. Waves of pioneers will be needed for the awakening of Latin America. Did not ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tell the early pilgrims that they were the waves who would spread and overflow the world?
Every time we read the Guardian’s message about Panama
we discover in it a new meaning. He writes in The Advent
of Divine Justice (p. 59-60): “Faithful to the provisions of
the Charter laid down by the pen of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, I feel it
my duty to draw the special attention of those to whom it
has been entrusted to the urgent needs of, and the special
position enjoyed by, the Republic of Panama, both in view
of its relative proximity to the heart and center of the Faith
in North America, and of its geographical position as the link
between two continents. ‘All the above countries,’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
referring to the Latin States in one of the Tablets
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of the Divine Plan, has written, ‘have importance, but especially
the Republic of Panama, wherein the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans come together. . . . It is a center for travel and
passage from America to other continents of the world, and
in the future it will gain most great importance.’ . . . So privileged
a position surely demands the special and prompt attention
of the American Bahá’í community . . . No efforts should
be spared, and no sacrifice be deemed too great, to establish
even though it be a very small group in a Republic occupying,
both spiritually and geographically, so strategic a position—a
group which, in view of the potency with which the words
of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have already endowed it, cannot but draw
to itself, as soon as it is formed, the outpouring grace of the
Abhá Kingdom, and evolve with such marvelous swiftness
as to excite the wonder and the admiration of even those who
have already witnessed such stirring evidences of the force
and power of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Preference, no doubt,
should be given by all would-be pioneers, as well as by the
members of the Inter-America Committee, to the spiritual
needs of this privileged Republic. . . . Obstacles, however
formidable, should be surmounted, the resources of the Bahá’í
treasury should be liberally expended on its behalf, and the
ablest and most precious exertions should be consecrated to
the cause of its awakening . . .”
The Guardian has asked all pioneers to keep in close touch with him. Only future generations will appreciate our privilege of personal communication with the first Guardian. At times it seems that he is all we have. And in turning to him we are close to the Faithful Spirit. The pioneer leaves behind everything that separated him from God and in return, he meets Him face to face.
Concluded
The Báb
Grace Griffith Harris
LOOKING back into the past to the earliest Manifestations of God, They appear to us in the symbolism of the sacred writings as old and beautiful pictures, rich in story and mellowed in coloring. The Christ perhaps stands out more clearly in our memory, for in acceptance of Him we may have denied or closed our hearts to those other Manifestations whom God has sent into the world on that same divine mission, as teachers to humanity.
As in a picture, we see the brilliant Star of Bethlehem, guiding the wise men to a lowly manger, to the new-born Babe. In another picture we see that babe grown into a youth, inspired and fearless, expounding divine truths to the learned men of the Temple. Again, we see Him in prayer in the lonely garden of Gethsemane. We seem almost to hear again that Sermon, as we see Him on the Mount. And so, through the series of memory pictures, He heals the sick and raises the dead, and at the end we see Him bearing His cross, symbol of those earthly burdens from which He returned amidst pain and persecution, prayer and pity, into the Kingdom of God from which He had descended.
These pictures have adorned the shrines of memory of devout
Christians for hundreds of years. Their flame of fervent
faith and their devotions have kept aglow the tapers that have
burned before them, and, in our memory, the image of these
masters and the lessons that they brought. But time is gradually
dulling and fading and a faltering faith is dimming them. In
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disillusionment and doubt many souls are turning away, some
to indifference and forgetfulness, others to searching and seeking,
believing in the fulfillment of His prophecies and His
promise that He would come again.
Still holding reverently to the past, we look upon these sacred memory pictures as we would look into a great picture gallery, still and dim and softly lighted. They are revered by us as are the old masters; their innate value will never grow dim, for they portray the life of God’s Manifestation in our world and the part which He has taken in our lives.
But suddenly something has arrested our attention; our thoughts have become disturbed; for the time we turn away from this past, for we are now aware of a tumult and unrest. Our hearts feel a spiritual vibration, an awakening! There is a tenseness and uneasiness in the lives of all those about us, and everywhere uncertainty! It might be likened to that suppressed excitement one feels in a large audience that awaits in a great amphitheatre for the curtain to rise!
And, in truth, that very thing has happened!
But we were not witness thereof; we were not of that audience watching from the world’s amphitheatre the horizon of the Far East from which all the Manifestations of God have come. But we are now feeling the reverberations from that divine and moving spectacle, the spiritual force of which is now stirring and regenerating the hearts of peoples in all parts of the world. It is doubtful if there has ever passed across the face of the earth, calling anew in the name of God, such a brilliant pageantry of pure spirit as the youthful Báb and His followers formed, heralded by prophecy and followed by thousands of martyrs!
This Divine Youth and His youthful followers were selfless
souls, immortal spirits. Their lives were with God; they
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came but to bring His message and to be His servants. They
eagerly accepted this service and lived their short lives to the
fullest in His name and met with joy and exaltation their martyrdom
and return to Him in death.
Exalted and illumined by the Divine Light that shone through them, they moved across the face of the land proclaiming the appearance of the greatest Manifestation of God, Bahá’u’lláh, and the greatest Day on earth for His people.
They called to the people to prepare for His coming, to throw aside their outworn creeds and dogmas, their ancient traditions and superstitions; to free their minds and hearts and to make ready.
Those who opposed the coming of this Revelation—those dark souls, the tyrannical rulers and heads of government and the fanatical religious leaders—were so filled with prejudice, hatred and injustice that no light, not even divine light, could penetrate their dead beings. They cast those long, deep shadows in which the foulest deeds, cruelest persecutions and the blackest crimes were committed. And so tragedy played its part throughout this mighty drama as it moved swiftly towards its close.
In these moving scenes we see the Báb always fervent in faith, in the deepest devotion and in constant prayer. He communed in spirit with Bahá’u’lláh and with His Disciples, and often when far removed from them He would appear in dreams and in visions, for guidance and for strength, even as Christ met together in that “upper room” with His Disciples.
No prison could hold His spirit. It penetrated the deepest
cells, and again, mingled also with those faithful souls without
its walls. No threat could stay His hand. Within a few hours
there would flow from His pen such great volumes of inspired
writings, commentaries, verses and scientific treatises as would
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astound the most learned scholars of His day. Some of them
proclaimed it “an achievement such as no mortal without the
help of God could hope to perform,” saying, “Neither the
cleaving of the moon nor the quickening of the pebbles of the
sea could compare with so mighty an act.” The innumerable
stories of the power of the divine Spirit that illuminated His
way and the every act of His life form the most gripping and
soul-stirring religious writings of our day. And the story of His
martyrdom confirms to the end our faith in that divine spirit.
On the eve of His execution a number of His disciples who were imprisoned with Him tell of the glow that illumined His countenance and the eagerness with which He looked forward to His crown of martyrdom. They begged that they might share that martyrdom with Him.
On the fateful day when He was about to bid them farewell and was giving them their last instructions, He was abruptly interrupted and rudely taken from their midst by the officers of the prison. He spoke, saying, “Not until I have said to them all the things I have to say, can any earthly power silence me. Though the world be armed against me, yet shall they be powerless to deter me from fulfilling to the last word My intentions.” And so it proved to be: not one bullet from the volley of that firing squad of seven hundred and fifty riflemen charged with His execution even touched His body, although the cords which suspended Him to the prison walls were rent to pieces!
This tragic and epochal scene was witnessed by ten thousand
people who climbed to the roofs and housetops surrounding
the prison walls. When the smoke cleared away the multitude
exclaimed in bewilderment, for they could no longer see
the Báb. He had walked quietly and serenely away! He had returned
to that room He had just left and was there completing
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the final instructions He was leaving to His faithful followers.
When this work was done he went again to the place of execution,
there to face a new firing squad, for the leader and the
men who comprised the first squad had fled in the greatest
fear and confusion.
Another regiment was called out “to complete the will of the Báb” and “as at the time of the Crucifixion of Christ, a strange phenomenon shook the city; a great storm arose, and that day witnessed the greatest commotion among the people, for an incredible density obscured the light of the sun, a darkness descended that lasted from noon until night.” “And yet, few hearts remained touched by the momentous happenings of that Day!”
And so the Báb has left us as before an open door, through which the Mighty One, Bahá’u’lláh, has come!
When the spiritual reverberations of these present momentous days have somewhat subsided, when the evil forces of opposition have abated, when the clouds of depression and war have lifted, we shall see as through the mists of the morning, into the New Day and know that the Sun will rise to its full splendor! The future stretches before us as a great scroll or unpainted canvas, as yet only faintly etched by the hand of the Master, but as potent with promise as the Message He brings!
What we see is to be a living, moving picture—a drama of life in which each and every one of us shall have his part. There will mingle the banners of all nations, with ever the banner of peace in ascendency.
The Divine Art of Living
A Compilation
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
TESTS AND AFFLICTIONS
CLEANSE Thou, O my God, the eyes of Thy servants, and so transport them by the sweetness of Thine utterances that calamities will be powerless to hinder them from turning unto Thee, and from directing their eyes towards the horizon of Thy Revelation. (Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 219)
O Son of Man! If adversity befall thee not in My path, how canst thou walk in the ways of them that are content with My pleasure? If trials afflict thee not in thy longing to meet Me, how wilt thou attain the light in thy love for My beauty? (Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words)
O Son of Man! My calamity is My providence, outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy. Hasten thereunto that thou mayest become an eternal light and an immortal spirit. This is My command unto thee, do thou observe it. (Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words)
Thou hast questioned concerning ordeals and difficulties and catastrophies: “Are these from God or the result of man’s evil deeds?”
Know thou that ordeals are of two kinds: One kind is to test the soul, and the other is punishment for actions. That which is for testing is educational and developmental and that which is the punishment of deeds is severe retribution.
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The father and the teacher sometimes humor the children
and sometimes discipline them. This discipline is for educational
purposes and is indeed to give them true happiness; it
is absolute kindness and true providence. Although in appearance
it is wrath, yet in reality it is kindness. Although outwardly
it is an ordeal, yet inwardly it is purifying water.
Verily, in both cases we must supplicate and implore and commune to the Divine threshold in order to be patient in ordeals. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, Star of the West, vol. 6, p. 235)
Tests are benefits from God, for which we should thank Him. Grief and sorrow do not come to us by chance, they are sent to us by the Divine mercy for our own perfecting.
While a man is happy he may forget his God; but when grief comes and sorrows overwhelm him, then will he remember his Father Who is in Heaven, and Who is able to deliver him from his humiliations.
Men who suffer not, attain no perfection. The plant most pruned by the gardeners is that one which, when the summer comes, will have the most beautiful blossoms and the most abundant fruit.
The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering . . . Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe; the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most. . . .
To attain eternal happiness one must suffer. He who has reached the state of self-sacrifice has true joy. Temporal joy will vanish. (Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 45, 166, 167)
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Thou hast written concerning the tests that have come
upon thee. To the sincere ones, tests are as a gift from God,
the Exalted, for a heroic person hasteneth, with the utmost
joy and gladness, to the tests of a violent battlefield, but the
coward is afraid and trembles and utters moaning and lamentation.
Likewise, an expert student prepares and memorizes
his lessons and exercises with the utmost effort, and in the day
of examination he appears with infinite joy before the master.
Likewise, the pure gold shines radiantly in the fire of test.
Consequently, it is made clear that for holy souls, trials are
as the gift of God, the Exalted; but for weak souls they are
an unexpected calamity. This test is just as thou hast written;
it removes the rust of egotism from the mirror of the heart
until the Sun of Truth may shine therein. For no veil is
greater than egotism and no matter how thin that covering
may be, yet it will finally veil man entirely and prevent him
from receiving a portion from the eternal bounty. (Tablets of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 722, 723)
TESTS DISTINGUISH THE SINCERE
Were it not for tests, genuine gold could not be distinguished from the counterfeit. Were it not for tests, the courageous could not be known from the coward. Were it not for tests, the people of faithfulness could not be known from the people of selfishness. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. 8, p. 239)
Anybody can be happy in the state of comfort, ease, health, success, pleasure and joy; but if one can be happy and contented in the time of trouble, hardship and disease, it is the proof of nobility.
The divine trials cause some souls to become entirely lifeless,
while they cause the holy souls to ascend to the highest
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degree of love and firmness. They cause progress and they
also cause retrogression. (Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 263,
324)
But for tribulations, how could the assured be distinguished from the doubters among Thy servants?
How many the leaves which the tempests of trials have caused to fall, and how many, too, are those which, clinging tenaciously to the tree of Thy Cause, have remained unshaken by the tests that have assailed them, O Thou Who art our Lord the Most Merciful! (Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers and Meditations, pp. 9, 77)
FRUITS OF TESTS
Thou must endure great tests so that the infinite Divine outpourings may encircle thee and that thou mayest be assisted in spreading the fragrances of God. Behold the apostles of His Highness Christ! They accepted all trials and persecutions and received all kinds of oppression and trouble until they became assisted by great bestowals and confirmed in the guidance of the people. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. 8, p. 240)
Do ye not look upon the beginning of affairs; attach your hearts to the ends and results. The present period is like unto the sowing time. Undoubtedly it is impregnated with perils and difficulties, but in the future many a harvest shall be gathered and benefits and results will become apparent. When one considers the issue and the end, inexhaustible joy and happiness will dawn.
Everything of importance in this world demands the close
attention of its seeker. The one in pursuit of anything must
undergo difficulties and hardships until the object in view is
attained. . . . This is the case of things pertaining to the world.
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How much higher is that which concerns the Supreme Concourse!
That Cause involves every favor, glory and eternal
bliss in the world of God. (Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, pp. 51,
265)
DIVINE ASSISTANCE
Be not grieved if affairs become difficult and troubles wax intense on all sides! Verily, thy Lord changeth hardship into facility, troubles into ease and afflictions into greatest composure. (Idem, p. 311)
Whosoever, O my Lord, is impatient in the tribulations befalling him in Thy path, hath not drunk of the cup of Thy love nor tasted of the sweetness of Thy remembrance.
Aware as I am, O my God, that Thou wilt send down upon Thy servants only what is good for them, I nevertheless beseech Thee, by Thy name which overshadoweth all things, to raise up, for their assistance and as a sign of Thy grace and as an evidence of Thy power, those who will keep them safe from all their adversaries.
Potent art Thou to do Thy pleasure. Thou art, verily, the Supreme Ruler, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. (Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers and Meditations, pp. 136, 23)
Be patient under all conditions, and place your whole trust and confidence in God.
Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity. (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings, pp. 296, 285)
Blessed are they who consider all in the world as nonexistent and nothing before the mention of the King of Preexistence; and who so adhere unto the Firm Handle of God that neither doubts nor evil suggestions, nor swords and cannon, can withhold or deprive them! Blessed are the steadfast; blessed are the firm! (Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 123)
HOW BAHÁ’U’LLÁH AND ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ MET AFFLICTIONS
I am not impatient of calamities in His way, nor of afflictions for His love and at His good pleasure—God hath made afflictions as a morning shower to His green pasture, and as a wick for His lamp whereby earth and heaven are illumined. (Bahá’u’lláh, Tablet to the Sháh)
Though my body be pained by the trials that befall me from Thee, though it be afflicted by the revelations of Thy Decree, yet my soul rejoiceth at having partaken of the waters of Thy Beauty, and at having attained the shores of the ocean of Thine eternity. Doth it become a lover to flee from his beloved, or to desert the object of his heart’s desire? Nay, we all believe in Thee, and eagerly hope to enter Thy presence. (Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers and Meditations, p. 96)
Ye have expressed words of solicitude and anxiety over the troubles and persecutions which have befallen this imprisoned one. Do not be at all sad, be ye not affected. . . . Persecutions and adversities are merciful gifts. . . . Through the appearance of tests, my heart is consoled, and through the experiencing of dire afflictions my soul is calmed. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. 8, p. 242)
O thou friend! Be not sorrowful because of my imprisonment and lament not over my difficulties; nay, rather, ask God to increase my hardship in His path, for therein lies a wisdom which none are able to comprehend save the near angels. (Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 333)
BAHÁ’Í LESSONS
Reincarnation
I. Reincarnation, a Theory of Return and Evolution
- 1. Endless return of souls to earth, SAQ 324; PUP 162.
- means of reward or punishment
- no concept of other worlds
- transmigration and reincarnation
- 2. Return of souls until perfections attained, SAQ 325.
- matter acquires refinement
- spirit can manifest in purified matter
II. Fallacy of Theory of Reincarnation
- 1. Return not a fact, Tab III 549; SAQ 328-9; S of W 2:6:8.
- imagination and vanity, Tab III 642; SAQ 325
- no logical proofs, SAQ 325, 328
- “justice” argument void, Tab III 642-3
- ancient theory, Tab III 642
- scriptures misunderstood, SAQ 331; Tab 643
- return of qualities, Íqán 158; SAQ 331, 151-3; Tab 643
- chosen ones do not return for service, WOB 110-111
- God’s will and bounty greater than theory implies, P-M 137; Tab III 642-5; SAQ 329, 330; BS par 443, 254, 259, 266 (also, P-M 55, 252, 134, 31; Gl 86-87, 106)
- 2. Return could not cause progress, SAQ 327-9.
- no transforming power in act of return, SAQ 328
- transformation dependent on divine bounty, SAQ 328
- 3. Return to earth an impossibility, SAQ 325, 329-30.
- same spirit cannot appear in another body, SAQ 325-7
- due to law of correspondence, SAQ 325; PUP 7-8
- law of uniqueness of bodies, SAQ 326; PUP 279
- contrary to divine system of motion, SAQ 328-9
- human spirit incorporeal, SAQ 330, 277-8
- same spirit cannot appear in another body, SAQ 325-7
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III. Truth concerning Evolution of the Soul
- 1. Conditions in this world.
- origin of soul here, Tab I 157; PUP 85; SAQ 234-5
- original man in nature world, PUP 289; SAQ 272-4
- each soul unique, Gl 149, 188-9; SAQ 247; PUP 22
- relation of soul to body, Gl 153-5; SAQ 234-5, 263-6; 277-8.
- purpose of earth experience, HW (P) 29; SAQ 329, 233
- preparing for Kingdom, SAQ 278; PUP 221; Wisdom 165
- reason for tribulation, P-M 9, 218; Gl 129; HW (A) 48-51
- man to reach destiny on earth this Day, Gl 340
- 2. Changes wrought by death.
- disintegration of body, SAQ 262; PUP 83-84, 53-54
- atoms indestructible . . . dispersed, PUP 84-85, 301
- soul immortal, SAQ 164, 262, 173-4; PUP 254, 300-3
- vegetable, animal spirits . . . mortal, SAQ 163; PUP 296-7
- soul freed from body Gl 154-5; SAQ 264-6; PUP 460-1
- attainment revealed, Gl 161, 169-171; HW (A) 31; SAQ 329
- entrance into Kingdom, Gl 155-7; PUP 221-2; SAQ 280-2
- countless spiritual worlds, Gl 151-3; SAQ 261, 330-1
- 3. Perfections acquired through bounty of God (SAQ 328).
- capacity, a gift, Gl 65, 164, 194; PUP 319; SAQ 149
- material progress limited . . . transient, PUP 57; SAQ 252
- need bounty of Holy Spirit, SAQ 280-2; PUP 55-57, 296-7
- Spirit from World of Kingdom, SAQ 339; PUP 283, 298
- Prophet, Vehicle of Bounty . . . Educator, Gl 65-68, 183, 213, 156-7; SAQ 8-13, 185, 253, 272-4; PUP 167-9, 265, 288-290
- why good actions not enough, SAQ 275-6, 344-50
- effort essential in earth life to cleanse soul, Gl 81-82, 262, 326, 71; D-Br 586 (Cf SAQ 149, 252-3)
- progress after death through bounty alone, SAQ 278, 268-9, 149 (Cf SAQ 252)
- faith . . . a bounty, SAQ 149, 150, 165, 244, 260
- evolution in perfections, not state, SAQ 270, 274, 267
- how God rewards, SAQ 259-61; Tab 644-5
- return to God, Gl 161, 345; HW (A) 3-14, 21, 61, (P) 19
WITH OUR READERS
Our readers will notice that in this and the June issue we are using the first page for a brief statement concerning the Bahá’í Faith, and the second page for words of Bahá’u’lláh. Does this add to the value of the magazine as a teaching medium? We should like to hear from you.
* * *
These bits of personal experience from one of our Omaha friends will, we believe, be helpful to others; we shall try to follow the suggestion of printing prayers from time to time.
“Would it be possible to include some short prayers or portions of prayers in World Order? Here is my reason for suggesting it. Many orthodox people believe in prayer, and it is an approach for them that I think they accept more easily than some discussion. A student of mine last year was having some domestic difficulty and suffering great mental distress because of it. I typed off some short portions of Bahá’í prayers, telling her I knew they had great power and that tears and rebukes would not help her husband, that only through prayer could she gain the victory for herself and for him. I did not see her for some time. Recently she met me on the street and said, ‘Those prayers were wonderful,’ and reported a change in conditions, and wanted to come over again. I had used just such portions as these: ‘Send down then, O my God, that which will assure their hearts, and quiet their souls, and renew their spirits and refresh their bodies. Thou art, verily, their Lord and the Lord of the worlds.’ (P and M, p. 170) Or, ‘Send down, then, O my God, through Thy Most Great Name, upon Thy loved ones what will, under all conditions, draw them nearer unto Thee. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, Whose help is implored by all men.’
“Another orthodox friend recently
was ill and I read her the
healing prayer we use most. She
thought it was beautiful and later
in the evening I was able to present
a number of Bahá’í ideas,
which she accepts. . . . I think
that many of us before we were
Bahá’ís wished we could pray and
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did not know how. The Bahá’í
prayers are a bounty to such a
person. . . . I think that many
non-Bahá’ís who read the magazine
would welcome these pray
ers. . . .”
* * *
Bahá’ís are alert to seize opportunities to better understand our Latin American neighbors. Some time ago Miss Beatrice Irwin sent us an account of the Inter-America conference held last January at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. The material is still timely and we are sorry we have space for only brief selections:
Of the many new magazines on Latin America one speaker “singled out the Inter-America Quarterly and the Pan American.” “Twelve universities existed in South America before Harvard was founded. This was probably due to the fact that European countries imposed themselves on South America by cultural rather than by trade contacts.” “Mr. Orgolini, representing the Brazilian press, . . . criticized the inaccuracy of the motion picture research department in producing South American pictures, but he added that the cinema was the most universal means of creating fellowship between the Americas.” Commenting on the radio, Don Gilman, of Western Division of NBC, reported that the twelve shortwave stations in the U.S.A. had, since ten years, developed friendly intercourse between the Americas which had been of a news character, and practically free of commercial propaganda. Mr. Matson, of the Matson Line, commented on the extreme courtesy of Latin Americans and remarked that “‘we could never hope to high-pressure their friendship by the crude approach of obvious commercial objectives.” “The candid and friendly spirit in which criticism was offered and received made it evident that a sincere investigation of reality was the aim of all, and that a comprehensive spirit of consultation was creating the atmosphere and purpose embodied in these words —‘Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his country, let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind.’ And ‘Consort with all the peoples of the world with joy and fragrance’.”
* * *
The moving story of the Báb,
the Herald of Bahá’u’lláh, is told
once more in this number by the
sympathetic pen of Mrs. Grace
Griffith Harris, whose home is in
Berkeley, California. She is well
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known in the California region
for her outdoor theatre near Geyserville.
This article is especially
timely in this July number since
July ninth commemorates the
Martyrdom of the Báb and is a
sacred day to Bahá’ís.
The contribution of Mr. Kenneth Christian, “Religion for Our Time,” gives an approach to the Bahá’í Faith especially helpful to those who know little of the Teachings and stimulating to all. Mr. Christian is a frequent contributor to World Order. He lives in Morrisville, New York, where he teaches in a state school.
“From a Panama Diary,” by Mrs. Louise Caswell and Mrs. Cora Oliver, our pioneers in Panama, which has appeared in our last four issues concludes in this number. These personal experiences of Bahá’í pioneers are highly valued by readers and editors and we hope to print accounts written by other pioneers in the near future.
We are glad to answer questions of general interest in this column as far as we are able and have space. Recently this question came to us: “One of my early teachers gave me the impressions that Bahá’u’lláh came from the family of Abraham and his wife Keturah. Is this true?” Strangely enough about the same time that this question came there also came a brief annotation from another reader answering the question. We take the liberty of condensing this answer: To Abraham was given the promise, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 22:18) By his handmaid’s wife Hagar there was born to Abraham a son named Ishmael. Thirteen years later, his wife Sarah bore him a son whom he named Isaac. Later he took a wife named Keturah (Gen. 25:1). Down the line from Isaac came Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. Jesus left no posterity. From Ishmael, Abraham’s first son, came the line of which Muḥammad was born, Muḥammad’s descendants continued till we have the direct descendant of Him, the Báb. The Báb’s only child died in infancy. Bahá’u’lláh’s genealogy can be traced back to Abraham through one of Keturah’s sons. It is through Him and His seed that all the nations of the earth are to be blessed. The present Guardian and the promised Guardians are His direct descendants. Thus it is possible to take quite literally the promise of the “Everlasting Father” in Isaiah 9:6.
We believe these statements
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are correct. If anyone can give
exact references to verify them
we shall be grateful.
The chapter in “The Divine Art of Living” on “Tests and Trials” will help many to find an understanding answer to the constantly recurring question—Why so much suffering? Mrs. Mabel H. Paine, who is making this valuable compilation, lives in Urbana, Illinois.
We hope you will not overlook the study outline which this month is on Reincarnation. These outlines compiled by Mrs. Alice Simmons Cox, another of our editors, are worthy of permanent preservation. They are useful for group study, for individual study or for preparing a talk— even if you do not own all the books referred to.
Correction: The statement on page 84 of our May issue referring to Mrs. Marzieh Gail’s “Muslim paternal grandfather” should read “Muslim paternal grandmother” we are informed by Mirza Ali-Kuli Khan, Mrs. Gail’s father. Mr. Khan writes: “My father, in his youth, with a number of other young people, received and accepted the Message of the New Revelation from the Báb in our native city of Kashan (Irán). It was during the Báb’s residence in that city on His exile to the North. It was my mother who was a strict Muslim, but who became friendly to the Cause when I was serving ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at Akká in 1900, and sent to her a gracious and kindly message from the Master. The Master also revealed a special prayer in which He blessed the soul of my father who died several years before my brother and I, as youths, became active in the service of the Bahá’í Cause.” We appreciate this letter giving accurate information of the early days of the Cause.
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.
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, translated by Shoghi Effendi. Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh toward the end of His earthly mission, this text is a majestic and deeply-moving exposition of His fundamental principles and laws and of the sufferings endured by the Manifestation for the sake of mankind. Bound in cloth, $1.50.
Kitáb-i-Íqán, Translated by Shoghi Effendi. This work (Book of Certitude) unifies and coordinates the revealed Religions of the past, demonstrating their oneness in fulfillment of the purpose of Revelation. Bound in cloth. 198 pages. $2.50.
Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh, selected and translated by Shoghi Effendi. The supreme expression of devotion to God; a spiritual flame which enkindles the heart and illumines the mind. 348 pages. Bound in fabrikoid. $2.00.
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 Promulgation of Universal Peace. In this collection of His American talks, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid the basis for a firm understanding of the attitudes, principles and spiritual laws which enter into the establishment of true Peace. 467 pages. Bound in cloth. $2.50.
Bahá’í Prayers, a selection of Prayers revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, each Prayer translated by Shoghi Effendi. 72 pages. Bound in fabrikoid, $0.75. Paper cover, $0.35.
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’Í PUBLISHING COMMITTEE,
110 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, ILLINOIS
Bahá’í Social and Spiritual Principles
UNFETTERED SEARCH AFTER TRUTH AND THE ABANDONMENT OF ALL SUPERSTITION AND PREJUDICE.
THE ONENESS OF MANKIND: ALL ARE “LEAVES OF ONE TREE, FLOWERS OF ONE GARDEN.”
RELIGION MUST BE THE CAUSE OF LOVE AND HARMONY, ELSE IT IS NO RELIGION.
ALL RELIGIONS ARE ONE IN THEIR FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES.
RELIGION MUST GO HAND-IN-HAND WITH SCIENCE. FAITH AND REASON MUST BE IN FULL ACCORD.
UNIVERSAL PEACE: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FEDERATED INTERNATIONAL ORDER.
THE ADOPTION OF AN INTERNATIONAL SECONDARY LANGUAGE WHICH SHALL BE TAUGHT IN ALL THE SCHOOLS OF THE WORLD.
COMPULSORY EDUCATION AND USEFUL TRAINING.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES OF DEVELOPMENT; EQUAL RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES FOR BOTH SEXES.
WORK FOR ALL; NO IDLE RICH AND NO IDLE POOR. “WORK IN THE SPIRIT OF SERVICE IS WORSHIP.”
ABOLITION OF EXTREMES OF POVERTY AND WEALTH; CARE FOR THE NEEDY.
RECOGNITION OF THE UNITY OF GOD AND OBEDIENCE TO HIS COMMANDS AS REVEALED THROUGH HIS DIVINE MANIFESTATION.