World Order/Volume 8/Issue 3/Text

←Issue 2

World Order Volume 8 - Issue 3

Issue 4→

Return to PDF view Proofread once

[Page 71]

WORLD
ORDER

THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE

June, 1942

• The Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. . . . . . . . Shirley Warde   73

• Glorified Art Thou, O Lord . . . . . . . . . . Bahá’u’lláh   88

• The Mystery of Spiritual Obedience . . . . Dale S. Cole   89

• The New Patriotism, Editorial . . . . . . . . Alice S. Cox   94

• “The Spirit of Power Confirmeth Thee”, Letters . . Helen Griffing   96

• Songs, Poems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cora Ball Moten   104

• Bahá’í Lessons . . . . 105   • With Our Readers . . . .   107

FIFTEEN CENTS

[Page 72]

HUMANITY HAS EMERGED FROM ITS FORMER STATE OF LIMITATION AND PRELIMINARY TRAINING. MAN MUST NOW BECOME IMBUED WITH NEW VIRTUES AND POWERS, NEW MORAL STANDARDS, NEW CAPACITIEs. NEW BOUNTIES, PERFECT BESTOWALS, ARE AWAITING AND ALREADY DESCENDING UPON HIM. THE GIFTS AND BLESSINGS OF THE PERIOD OF YOUTH, ALTHOUGH TIMELY AND SUFFICIENT DURING THE ADOLESCENCE OF MANKIND, ARE NOW INCAPABLE OF MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF ITS MATURITY.
—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ.

---

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: Garreta Busey, 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.

Editorial Office
1109 WEST GIFT AVENUE, PEORIA, ILL.

Publication Office
110 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, ILL.

C. R. Wood, Business Manager

Printed in U.S.A.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: $1.50 per year, for United States, its territories and possessions; for Canada, Cuba, Mexico, Central and South America. Single copies, 15c. Foreign subscriptions, $1.75. Make checks and money orders payable to World Order Magazine, 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 1942 by Bahá’í Publishing Committee. Title registered at U. S. Patent Office.

JUNE, 1942, VOLUME VIII, NUMBER 3

[Page 73]

WORLD ORDER

THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE

VOLUME VIII   JUNE, 1942   NUMBER 3

---

The Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Shirley Warde

GREAT MEMORIAL OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ’S
HISTORIC MISSION IN AMERICA IN 1912

IN A PINE GROVE in West Englewood, New Jersey, the tall, stately trees still stand that looked down upon the majestic figure and radiant face of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. when He stood beneath their widespread arms on His memorable visit to America in 1912 and welcomed the friends of God to the first Unity Feast.

Many changes have come to West Englewood since that time. The house of Roy Wilhelm on the slope above the grove remembers the day, but the beautiful log cabin with its rock foundation and picturesque landscaping has been built since and is now the meeting place of the Teaneck Bahá’í Community. The building, too, which for so long was the headquarters of the National Spiritual Assembly, was not there in 1912. The surrounding country, which was then mostly woodland and sparsely settled, is now lined with charming homes and what was a tiny suburban community is now a thriving, busy town.

[Page 74] But the pine grove remains unchanged and the ground beneath the tall trees will forever be sacred, for Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, has said that this grove is to be the site of a beautiful structure which will stand as the only memorial of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s historic visit to America.

“This assembly has a name and a significance which will last forever,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said on that June day so long ago. “Hundreds of thousands of meetings shall be held to commemorate this occasion and the very words I speak to you today shall be repeated in them for ages to come.”

And that meeting is commemorated on the last Saturday of each June as He desired, bringing together all the Bahá’ís of the eastern communities as well as strangers and visitors from all parts of the world. And it has a name. It is called “The Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá”.

FEAST OF UNITY

How did it begin? It began in the heart of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in His desire to cement for all time the bonds of unity among the Bahá’ís of America, to create for them a symbol of that unity in a day set aside each year and dedicated to that consciousness of the Oneness of Humanity.

On June 20, 1912, speaking to the friends in New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá announced His intention: “I am about to leave the city for a few days rest in Montclair,” He said. “When I return it is my wish to give a large feast of unity. A place for it has not yet been found. It must be outdoors under the trees, in some location away from city noise; like a Persian garden. The food will be Persian food. When the place is arranged all will be informed and we will have a general meeting in which hearts will be bound together, spirits blended and a new foundation for unity established. All the friends will come. They will be my guests. They will be as parts and members of one body. The spirit of life manifest in that body will be [Page 75] one spirit. The foundation of that temple of unity will be one foundation. Each will be a stone in that foundation, solid and interdependent. Each will be as a leaf, blossom or fruit upon one tree. For the sake of fellowship and unity I desire this feast and spiritual gathering.”

Entrusting the arrangements to Mr. Howard MacNutt and giving him a hundred dollars to defray the expenses, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left for Montclair. That West Englewood should be the place selected seemed almost inevitable for the idea appears to have sprung into the minds of several of the friends almost simultaneously. And it was natural that it should, for the suburb was just across the Hudson River from New York, in beautiful country covered with pine and evergreens and, since 1908, Roy Wilhelm had been sending haywagons to the ferry landing each year to bring sixty or seventy of the friends to this spot for a picnic gathering.

Mr. MacNutt, consulting with Mr. Wilhelm, decided West Englewood would be the ideal location and so it came to pass that on June 29, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stood in the cleared pine grove and spoke to over three hundred of the friends from the New York area and visitors from other cities and then, with His own hands, served the delicious Persian feast He had prepared.

From half way across the world He had come—‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Servant of The Glory. After forty years imprisonment in the fortress of ‘Akká, Palestine, He had summoned strength to make that arduous journey to meet and greet and serve the friends of God in America, to plant the seeds of love in our hearts, to bless our government and prophesy that America was destined to lead the world towards the goal of Universal Peace and establish on her shores the foundations of a New World Order, decreed by God for this day of the “maturity of mankind”.

[Page 76] With what overwhelming love He tended the needs of His guests, moving among them with that powerful, dynamic stride that was so much a part of Him, pale ‘abá billowing behind Him, His white head topped by its eastern turban! ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Perfect Man, the Exemplar! This was He Who was appointed the Center of the Covenant by His Prophet father, Bahá’u’lláh. It was His father, Bahá’u’lláh, Who had announced that God had sent, in Him, His long-promised Manifestation to the earth in the temple of a Man, to gather all the peoples of the world together under the banner of the One True God in one common Faith, to proclaim the oneness of all the Prophets of the past, and the oneness of humanity and to establish a new type of civilization upon the face of the earth.

ABDU’L-BAHÁ’S MESSAGE

Standing there beneath the fragrant pines, smiling joyously and radiating the spirit of infinite Love, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke to the friends:

“This is a delightful gathering; you have come here with sincere intentions and the purpose of all present is the attainment of the virtues of God. The motive is attraction to the divine kingdom. Since the desire of all is unity and agreement it is certain that this meeting will be productive of great results. It will be the cause of attracting a new bounty for we are turning to the kingdom of Abhá seeking the infinite bestowals of the Lord. This is a new Day and this hour is a new Hour in which we have come together. Surely the Sun of Reality with its full effulgence will illumine us and the darkness of disagreements will disappear. The utmost love and unity will result, the favors of God will encompass us, the pathway of the kingdom will be made easy. Like candles these souls will become ignited and made radiant through the [Page 77] lights of supreme guidance. Such gatherings as this have no equal or likeness in the world of mankind where people are drawn together by physical motives or in furtherance of material interests, for this meeting is a prototype of that inner and complete spiritual association in the eternal World of being.

“True Bahá’í meetings are the mirrors of the kingdom wherein images of the Supreme Concourse are reflected. In them the lights of the most great guidance are visible. They voice the summons of the heavenly kingdom and echo the call of the angelic hosts to every listening ear. The efficacy of such meetings as these is permanent throughout the ages. This assembly has a name and significance which will last forever. Hundreds of thousands of meetings shall be held to commemorate this occasion and the very Words I speak to you today shall be repeated in them for ages to come. Therefore be ye rejoiced for ye are sheltered beneath the providence of God. Be happy and joyous because the bestowals of God are intended for you and the life of the Holy Spirit is breathing upon you.

“Rejoice, for the heavenly table is prepared for you.

“Rejoice, for the angels of heaven are your assistants and helpers.

“Rejoice, for the glance of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá’u’lláh is directed upon you.

“Rejoice, for Bahá’u’lláh is your protector.

“Rejoice, for the glory everlasting is destined for you.

“Rejoice, for the life eternal is awaiting you.

“How many blessed souls have longed for this radiant century their utmost hopes and desires centered upon the happiness and joy of one such day as this. Many the nights they passed sleepless and lamenting until the very morn in longing anticipation of this age, yearning to realize even an hour of this time. God has favored you in this century and [Page 78] has specialized you for the realization of its blessings. Therefore you must praise and thank God with heart and soul in appreciation of this great opportunity and the attainment of this infinite bestowal, that such doors have been opened before your faces, such abundance is pouring down from the cloud of mercy and that these refreshing breezes from the paradise of Abhá are resuscitating you. You must become of one heart, one spirit and one susceptibility. May you become as the waves of one sea, stars of the same heaven, fruits adorning the same tree, roses of one garden; in order that through you the oneness of humanity may establish its temple in the world of mankind, for you are the ones who are called to uplift the cause of unity among the nations of the earth.

“First, you must become united and agreed among yourselves. You must be exceedingly kind and loving toward each other, willing to forfeit life in the path of another’s happiness. You must be ready to sacrifice your possessions in another’s behalf. The rich among you must show compassion toward the poor, and the well-to-do must look after those in distress. In Persia the friends offer their lives for each other, striving to assist and advance the interests and welfare of all the rest. They live in a perfect state of unity and agreement. Like the Persian friends you must be perfectly agreed and united to the extent and limit of sacrificing life. Your utmost desire must be to confer happiness upon each other. Each must be the servant of the others, thoughtful of their comfort and welfare. In the path of God one must forget himself entirely. He must not consider his own pleasure but seek the pleasure of others. He must not desire glory nor gifts of bounty for himself but seek those gifts and blessings for his brothers and sisters. It is my hope that you may become like this; that you may attain to the supreme bestowal and be imbued with such spiritual qualities as to forget yourselves [Page 79] entirely and with heart and soul offer yourselves as sacrifices for the Blessed Perfection. You should have neither will nor desire of your own but seek everything for the beloved of God and live together in complete love and fellowship. May the favors of Bahá’u’lláh surround you from all directions. This is the greatest bestowal and supreme bounty. These are the infinite favors of God.”

THE BREAD OF LIFE

Each year these words are repeated, burning indelibly into the hearts of the four hundred or more friends who annually gather to commemorate that first Feast when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was host. Now there are eloquent speakers who proclaim the great Message, that Divine Guidance has once more been sent down to a crumbling civilization; there is usually a fine orchestra to blend its harmonies with the song of the wind in the pines; a supper is served or the friends bring picnic lunches and enjoy them together around the long tables set beneath the trees. There is much now to make this gathering impressive and important, but the echo of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s voice is ever in our ears, His spirit seems to rest upon us and His great love to surround us as we stand each June upon the ground His blessed feet have trod.

“The Annual Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá”, He himself named this meeting. Souvenir: a memento; a keepsake. What an inestimably precious gift He left us—if we can but understand what He meant it to be.

A keepsake of what? Surely we cannot suppose that He Who so clearly and insistently designated His station in: “I am ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and no more. . . . I am the Servant at the Threshold of the Blessed Perfection. . . . My highest destination is servitude at the Holy Threshold”, should have set aside this day in memory of His earthly personality. We [Page 80] must realize rather that it was this very station of servitude, which He declared was His “Paradise”, His “Glorious Crown”, the “zenith of hope”, which He desired to glorify and continually bring to our remembrance.

That day, as always, He served the believers with His own hands, although not one of them had suffered the hardships, the deprivations, the persecutions that had been heaped upon that frail driven body during those forty years of imprisonment. He exemplified in a material act the spiritual mission which was His—to serve unto all humanity the great Feast prepared for them in this day by God, the Almighty.

One recalls the words of Jesus to His disciples: “I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.” “For the bread of God is He that cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”

Once again the all-bountiful Father has sent down the bread from heaven to feed a sickened world that is famished for the Word of God. The Prophetic Voice of Bahá’u’lláh is heard announcing to the peoples of the earth: “The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the Purpose of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men.” “Render thanks unto God, inasmuch as ye have attained unto your heart’s desire, and been united to Him Who is the Promise of all nations.” “. . . this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One.” “This is the Day whereon the true servants of God partake of the life-giving waters of reunion, the Day whereon those who are nigh unto Him are able to drink of the soft-flowing river of immortality, and they who believe in His unity the wine of His Presence, [Page 81] through their recognition of Him Who is the Highest and Last End of all, in Whom the Tongue of Majesty and Glory voiceth the call: ‘The Kingdom is Mine. I, Myself, am, of My own right, its Ruler.’”

This was the bread that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá broke with the friends at that memorable Feast—the Message of the Word made flesh. The only wine He served was the wine of the love of God and our fellow man; and the call He raised was for the unity of the human race. “The elect of humanity are those who live together in love and unity. They are preferred before God because the divine attributes are already manifest in them.”

“This assembly has a name and a significance which will last forever,” He said. It may remain for future generations to fathom the full significance of that “Souvenir”. Standing, as we do, removed by so comparatively few years from the spell of that Presence and that Voice, it is little wonder that the deeper meaning of His gift, His “keepsake”, is perhaps overshadowed. But by asking us to commemorate that Feast it is as if He sought, by repetition of time and place, to drive into our hearts a comprehension of its real import.

HIS EMBRACING LOVE

During His travels through our country ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke of many things in many places. But in the grove at West Englewood He spoke only of the unity of the friends, of the love they must express to one another and to all humanity, making it the focal point of all other activities in the Cause. It was to exemplify this love that He came from the distant east, a love that is the foundation of universal peace and the bedrock upon which the New World Order must stand.

In His very first words He gave us the keynote of His visit. On April 11, 1912, the day of His arrival, He came [Page 82] directly from the boat, like a lover speeding to his beloved, to the home where the friends were gathered to meet Him. “Welcome! Welcome!” He greeted them. He was immediately the Host and the home they entered, His heart. “After arriving today, although weary with travel, I had the utmost longing to see you and could not resist this meeting. Now that I have met you all my weariness has vanished, for your meeting is the cause of spiritual happiness.

“I was in Egypt and was not feeling well; but I wished to come to you in America. My friends said, ‘This is a long journey; the sea is wide; you should remain here.’ But the more they advised and insisted, the greater became my longing to take this trip and now I have come to America to meet the friends of God. This long voyage will prove how great is my love for you. There were many troubles and vicissitudes but in the thought of meeting you, all these things vanished and were forgotten.”

“I have perfect love for you,” He told the friends at another meeting, “therefore I have traveled this long distance to meet and greet you. I hope that these gatherings may be productive of great results and there is no greater result than the love of God. There is no greater result than bonds of service in the divine kingdom and attainment to the good pleasure of the Lord.”

He was the Exemplar. He came to us to let us see this great love in action. Again and again He reiterated His exhortation: “Strive to attain a station of absolute love one toward another. By the absence of love, enmity increases. By the exercise of love, love strengthens and enmities dwindle away.

“Consider me—in years of my advanced age, burdened with physical infirmities—crossing the wide ocean to look upon your faces.”

[Page 83] How great, how very great the love He bore us! How He gave unto us to the last ounce of His strength: “Today I have been speaking from dawn until now, yet because of love, fellowship and desire to be with you, I have come here to speak again briefly.”

And it was not alone the Bahá’ís He enveloped in His all-embracing heart. He gathered the poor about Him in the Bowery Mission in New York, pressing into each worn hand as it clasped His the means to feed the body while from the heavenly table He gave them the food for the spirit. Possessing such inner power that no person could remain seated in His presence, that congregations rose instinctively in a body whenever He entered a church, although often previously instructed by their pastors that they need not, yet He stood among these poor derelict souls in all His great simplicity and lifted the burden of loneliness from their weary hearts. “Tonight I am very happy for I have come here to meet my friends. I consider you my relatives, my companions; and I am your comrade.” Could one ever again feel alone who had been enveloped in the love of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá? Or be outcast after hearing Him declare: “. . . although in the material realm you are poor, yet in the Kingdom of God you are precious. . . The poor are very dear to God.”

His love knew no bounds, it reached far beyond the barriers of any man-made differences. For He saw no differences. He saw in all men only the children of God. His radiant face glowed even more brightly when He stood before an audience of mixed races. “Today I am exceedingly glad that both white and colored people have gathered here and I hope the time will come when they shall live together in the utmost peace, unity and friendship. . . . May both develop towards the highest degree of equality and altruism. May you be drawn together in friendship and may extraordinary development [Page 84] make brotherhood a reality and truth. I pray in your behalf that there shall be no name other than that of humanity among you.”

Such was His overwhelming love for us. Such was the example He set, bequeathing to all generations to come, by His own great life, an enduring portrait of the Perfect Man.

TO ESTABLISH LOVE

But was this the sum total of His Mission—to let us see, inestimable though the privilege might be, the attributes of God manifested fully in the daily living of this supreme Man among men?

We have His admonitions ringing in our ears, His exhortations forever before our eyes in the recorded pages of the words He came to America to say. He was the Exemplar. He was the Perfect Man. But His purpose was to set our feet on the glorious path of love. Over and over He stated the goal and again and again made clear the way:

“I desire to make manifest among the friends in America a new light that they may become a new people, that a new foundation may be established and complete harmony be realized; for the foundation of Bahá’u’lláh is love. . . . You must have infinite love for each other, each preferring the other before himself. The people must be so attracted to you that they will exclaim, ‘What happiness exists among you!’”

How urgently He spurred us towards the realization of that love which is to be the leaven of the world, the healing medicine for a civilization sick unto death, the channel through which the heavenly bounties may flow to all mankind. “Be in perfect unity”—it was the keynote of every meeting with the friends—“Never become angry with one another. . . . Love the creatures for the sake of God and not for themselves. You will never become angry or impatient if you love them for the sake of God.”

[Page 85] How high His hopes for us! How repeatedly He set them forth! “The Bahá’ís must be distinguished from others of humanity. . . . For you I desire spiritual distinction . . . for unity and accord . . . for love toward every human being.”

“It is my wish that they may be assisted to become servants of the heavenly kingdom, captives in the service of the will of God. . . . For service in love for mankind is unity with God. He who serves has already entered the kingdom and is seated at the right hand of his Lord.”

Love should ask no reward for it breeds within itself its own glorious compensation. Yet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spurred us with a promise that in this Day of God’s greatest bounty obedience to His commands should not go unrewarded. “If you attain to such a capacity of love and unity”, He told us, “the Blessed Perfection will shower infinite graces of the spiritual kingdom upon you, guide, protect and preserve you under the shadow of His Word, increase your happiness in this world and uphold you through all difficulties.” If trials and tribulations beset us, if the daily path is strewn with obstacles, where can we look for their source but in our own hearts? And what can we blame save disobedience of His expressed commands?

In His very last moments with us, as He stood on board the ship that was to carry Him forever from our sight He gave us a warning, that was at the same time a plea—a last reiteration of that which He had come those many miles to say. “These are my final words of exhortation,” He told the sorrowful friends who gathered about Him in that almost unbearable moment of farewell. “Your eyes have been illumined, your ears are attentive, your hearts knowing . . . the best way to thank God is to love one another. Beware lest ye offend any heart, lest ye speak against any one in his absence, lest ye estrange yourselves from the servants of God. . . . . You have no excuse to bring before God if you fail to live [Page 86] according to His command, for you are informed of that which constitutes the good pleasure of God.” And His parting gift was the promise that He would pray God continually to strengthen and assist us.

This then was the life-bearing kernel of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s mission in America—to establish love among the believers. This then was the “Souvenir” He left us—the memory of perfect love in action.

In action! Let those two small words sink deep into the innermost recesses of our being. For there is no passive quality in love. Its very essence is expression. On the lips it is no more than a dead thing, as a motivation for our every deed it is the vibrant source of all life.

As we gather each June in that pine grove in West Englewood where His beloved feet have trod can we doubt that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is still the Host? That His spirit is still in our midst crying: “Welcome! Welcome!”? Can we not hear His vibrant voice proclaiming, “Love has prepared a feast and bidden ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to let this entertainment be in his name.”?

Can there be any uncertainty within us that He, who knew every time a heart was hurt, whose very physical well being was affected by any dissension among the friends, whose consciousness, while still in the world, was so far above that known to men that He could read our innermost thoughts and probe the secret depths of our souls—can there be any doubt that He is still poignantly aware of us, aware of our least deviation from His commands, fully aware of whether or not we have achieved that unity and love for one another which He came to our country to establish?

And as we listen each year to the words He spoke at that first Unity Feast and our hearts turn to Him, overflowing with love for His ever present memory, can we not hear Him [Page 87] saying: “If you love one another, it is just the same as if you love Me. The closer you draw to one another the closer you draw to Me. I will go away from this world, but love always stays. Therefore you should love one another very much.” And His promise: “I am going away . . . but I leave my heart with you. My spirit will be here, I will not forget you.”

Is not this then why He asked us to gather each year in that sacred grove to commemorate the “Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá” —so that we might ever be reminded of His most urgent command and be strengthened to perform it: “Love one another!”? And cannot the importance of this annual event be dimly glimpsed by the significant fact that here, in preference to all the cities He entered, all the meetings He addressed, is to be reared the memorial of His momentous visit to America —in enduring memory of Him who was love in action. And does it not seem that the whole purpose of His arduous journey to our shores must lie enshrined in the celebration of the Souvenir and the yearly revitalizing of the spirit He poured upon us when He was in our midst? How inestimable then is the importance of the Souvenir of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá!

Many of us cannot attend this historic celebration. Distance and the affairs of our daily lives rob us of this great privilege. But all of us, every Bahá’í in America, can on that last Saturday of each June set aside that day as one in which to remember, to measure our obedience, and to join the beloved Exemplar in the feast that “love has prepared”.

[Page 88]

GLORIFIED art Thou, O Lord my God! Rain down, I beseech Thee, from the clouds of Thine overflowing grace, that which shall cleanse the hearts of Thy servants from whatever may prevent their beholding Thy face, or may prevent them from turning unto Thee, that they may all recognize Him Who is their Fashioner and Creator. Help them, then, O God, to reach forth, through the power of Thy sovereign might, towards such a station that they can readily distinguish every foul smell from the fragrance of the raiment of Him Who is the Bearer of Thy most lofty and exalted name, that they may turn with all their affections toward Thee, and may enjoy such intimate communion with Thee that if all that is in heaven and on earth were given them they would regard it as unworthy of their notice, and would refuse to cease from remembering Thee and from extolling Thy virtues.

Shield, I pray Thee, O my Beloved, my heart’s Desire, Thy servant who hath sought Thy face, from the darts of them that have denied Thee and from the shafts of such as have repudiated Thy Truth. Cause him, then, to be wholly devoted to Thee, to declare Thy name, and to fix his gaze upon the sanctuary of Thy Revelation. Thou art, in truth, He Who, at no time, hath turned away those who have set their hopes in Thee from the door of Thy mercy, nor prevented such as have sought Thee from attaining the court of Thy grace. No God is there but Thee, the Most Powerful, the All-Highest, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the All-Compelling, the Unconditioned.

—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

[Page 89]

The Mystery of
Spiritual Obedience

Dale S. Cole

UNITY of action is a well-known event in the physical world. Several small forces acting together, in the same direction or generally so, produce a resultant force which is greater than any one of them. If the small forces act in line in exactly the same direction, the resultant is the direct sum of their individual efforts. If they act angularly in the same general direction, the resultant is the sum of their components in that direction, a quantity not as large as the direct sum. This is a recognized fact of mechanics.

Likewise, individual men working together in groups with a common aim and cooperatively accomplish more, be the project what it may, than would individuals working independently and alone. This also is understandable and accepted. Cooperation, unity of action is the cause, the resultant force or accomplishment being the effect.

But when, in a Divine Revelation, certain accomplishments are promised as a result of specific acts in unison, the results promised being obviously out of all proportion in importance and effect to the relative and apparent insignificance of the act itself, a profound mystery enters the consideration.

Why should some quite simple act of a small group of people be endowed with tremendous possibilities? Many instances are found in the words of Bahá’u’lláh, the separate admonitions presaging, possibly, the action of individual forces, all converging or focusing into a single resultant which is to so affect existence ultimately as to reorganize it completely.

[Page 90] It is comprehensible, for instance, that when a number of people gather together and pray that the united supplication is stronger than that of a single person.

But it is not so clear why, should all of those in a community give, whether it be of means or service, the result promised is greater by far than that possible of achievement by individuals acting independently. According to instructions the amounts involved are not of the essential. Unity of action is. Every one is to participate regardless of what is given. Though worthwhile results may be accomplished even if all do not participate, the results attainable are, according to the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, much greater when individuals act in unity.

It is interesting to note in passing that such acts are not limited as to time. While regularity is desirable and involved in the meeting of material obligations, the time-rate of action is not defined rigidly. It is to be supposed however that unity of action should be continuous and that the contributing impulses to its resultant force be of regular periodicity.

But the question persists in the minds of students why should a simple act of obedience, apparently not very important in itself as to consequences, result in achieving or contribute to the accomplishment of some really great end? This may be one of the Divine mysteries which we are not yet capable of understanding, but there are some nuances of it which we can consider and possibly in so doing extend our vision and deepen our understanding.

Students often find that the mastering of one obscure point helps them to conquer another even yet more difficult, which may or may not be closely associated with the first. There is benefit in mental discipline as such.

Obedience to divine laws, ordinances or admonitions does have certain psychological effects on the individual. There is a [Page 91] very real satisfaction just in the act of “doing What is right”, of obeying and even in “being” and “doing good”. This may result in a sort of smug conceit or in inspiration to be of greater service.

There is also a certain pleasure derived from “team play” as in music or athletics. There is enjoyment in being a cog in a successful machine. However, such effects are individualistic and limited although they extend to a group and build up its morale and “esprit de corps”.

Such effects, and there are probably many of them, have to do more with the instruments than the results and do not account for great achievements from relatively small initiating impulses and influences.

In the firing of a gun a small pressure of the finger on the trigger releases the firing-pin and the resultant explosion unleashes forces many times greater in magnitude than the finger-force exerted on the trigger.

In the field of electrical control it is common practice to use a device known as a “relay” which requires a very small amount of energy to operate it but which, by means of other switches and control apparatus, can set in motion forces of almost any desired magnitude. (The weak rays of light from a distant star can be employed to turn on the illumination of a great exposition.)

These are examples of the well-known “trigger-action” in the physical world whereby it is possible to achieve tremendous effects from a small initiating cause, a mere impulse, providing the system obeys the requisite rules and regulations. The advent of all kinds of electronic tubes has made possible astonishing and numerous applications of this trigger principle.

Doesn’t this widely-used phenomenon in the physical world suggest that some similar possibility may exist in the worlds of human experience?

[Page 92] Perhaps if people of some small group sincerely, wholeheartedly and harmoniously obey some apparently minor command (even one which may not be too clearly understood), the very act itself may be the “trigger” which sets in play forces concerning which we have no knowledge, whose potency conception is yet beyond the sphere of human comprehension.

One simple, kindly act on the part of an individual or group may set in motion a whole chain of beneficent events which cannot possibly be foreseen. This is emphatically so when such an act is in direct and voluntary obedience to the Will of God as voiced by the Manifestation for this time.

Great opportunities for personal, individual progress are involved. Success in a single instance is tremendously inspiring. It engenders faith, assurance and enthusiasm. Consequently the experience is cumulative and gathers irresistible momentum. One’s improvement accelerates with it and the group with which one associates is bound to benefit.

We do not have to account for, understand or know how spiritual forces operate. That they do exist and function is a matter of faith. Divine Revelation and human experience vouch for them. Our responsibility would seem to be to merely supply the small impulses required as “triggers” which release those forces existing perhaps in a potential condition and always ready to become effectively dynamic. These requisite, small impulses are defined in the instructions, admonitions, laws and ordinances of the Revelation.

There is justification for this attitude, for in the physical world energy is probably the most important constituent, yet no one knows exactly what it is. We have apparently a definite amount of it in the universe and it manifests in various forms. We can use it but we cannot “use it up”. We can change its manifestations from one form to another but we cannot create [Page 93] it. It is a great enigma but that does not prevent or deter us from using it. It is a life essential.

So, even though we do not understand spiritual forces or their operation we must take them into account. Different from the physical process, the matter is more one of allowing the “great unseen forces” to use us as instruments, rather than of trying to use them as we do energy. There is a profound and essential difference. These great forces can be trusted to work rightly once they are released into activity, for “rightness” is an inherent quality of them. They function to make the Divine Plan effective in every degree.

May not obedient unity of action on the part of individuals and groups be the “trigger” by which those great forces, so often referred to recently by the Guardian, may be released without any further delay?

---

O SON OF MAN!

Ponder and reflect. Is it thy wish to die upon thy bed, or to shed thy life-blood on the dust, a martyr in My path, and so become the manifestation of My command and the revealer of My light in the highest paradise? Judge thou aright, O servant!

—BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

[Page 94]

THE NEW PATRIOTISM

SWIFTLY, with the passing of world events, patriotism approaches the day when it will actually become that true love for one’s country which ideally it has aspired to be. For as the world arises from the night of its terrible agony to seek the light of universal brotherhood, so will the hearts of men find their patriotic emotions purified and fulfilled.

How can this be, we may well ask? What is the truth underlying ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s profound advice to the American official that he could best serve his country in his capacity as a citizen of the world by assisting in the promotion of the cause of world federation?

How can we harmonize the feeling of patriotism with that emotion of brotherhood Bahá’u’lláh has proclaimed as the ideal for the new Day when He says, “It is not his to boast who loveth his country, but it is his who loveth the world”?

Patriotism has never been static in character. It has changed as families grew into tribes, tribes united to form city-states and such states took on the artificial shape of great empires. Love of country, that ardent passion which we associate with the closely-knit modern nation, is a development of the last few hundred years. As such a development patriotism has not yet achieved its ideal, however, and once again it faces change as conditions call for a wider loyalty to a world federation of which nations shall be component parts.

We need but look about us at world distress to see how far our modern nations fall short of the ideal attainment. On the one hand, [Page 95] by permitting and even fostering inner division through race, class and religious prejudice they corrupt the true spirit of patriotism, which in essence must recognize that love of country—is love for the good of all its citizens. On the other hand, when through intrigue or war they endeavor to decrease or destroy the blessings of other nations, believing to enhance their own, they virtually deny the ideal of nationhood which they profess. Love of country as it functions today fails to meet the needs of a world that must respect the rights of all peoples, or see its civilization perish.

A time has arrived in social evolution when the union of nations in an all-inclusive federal loyalty is essential to the protection of national integrity and the insuring of continued progress. “The advantage of the part”, the Bahá’í Guardian explains, is now “best to be reached by the advantage of the whole.” Universal loyalty will come about through the law and love of Bahá’u’lláh’s Message of human oneness. Paradoxically, then, shall national patriotism itself be strengthened, though transformed. The new love of humanity burning in men’s breasts will reflect its light and its blessings of cooperation upon lesser loyalties within nations. Patriotism, thus assisted, and freed from division and aggression, can reach the plenitude of its powers, finding its true aspiration,—the integrity of the state, assured, and its ideal function,—advancement of all its people, for the first time attained. Having completed its original mission in the stimulation of nation-building, it will lose itself in love for mankind, and thus find its greater service to its own nation and to all nations of a world commonweal, still as love of country, but a love fulfilled and glorified. —A. S. C.

[Page 96]

“The Spirit of Power
Confirmeth Thee”

ONE AFTERNOON about five years ago, a young woman walked into the Bahá’í Center, where I happened to be reading alone. She came with a direct and purposeful inquiry: “I am looking for something to integrate my life,” she said. “I have heard of the Bahá’í religion and I want to know what it is all about.” While I tried to cover the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh in a few minutes’ time, she listened eagerly, unconvinced. “Are you sure your aren’t rationalizing?” she said.

In the days that followed, Helen Grifling came several times to the Center. She borrowed the Bahá’í books, not only from us, but from the public libraries as well, and she read them all—fascinated, but still skeptical. Then she went to California.

The following letters give an account of her further education in the Bahá’í Faith. They are the record of a great experience, not “recollected in tranquillity”, but set down spontaneously, as it occurred. In outline it is typical of many similar experiences—attraction to the teachings, inability to believe, the glimpse of a pattern in our own lives, the vision of a community of men and women living under the Law of God, and finally, dedication to His Cause. In this record one can see clearly the hand of Divine Power, forming a Bahá’í teacher by making her undergo exactly those experiences which were needed to awaken and make firm her faith. Bahá’u’lláh Himself is there, discernible throughout. He overshadows all else in the drama, shaping its action, as indeed He shapes all the events of our lives, daily, if only we could see it so!

[Page 97] “The spirit of power confirmeth thee in His cause; why dost thou veil thyself? The light of His countenance doth lead thee; how canst thou go astray?”

Long Beach, Calif.

March 3, 1937.

Dear Miss Busey:

Shortly after my arrival here in Long Beach, I received a very cordial letter from your friend. As one will, I neglected a prompt answer, to find, when I did call, that she was in Arizona. I am disappointed, naturally. However, I was fortunate enough to get her new address, and shall write her, as I do want to know the Bahá’í community here.

Upon my return from the beach this afternoon, I found a copy of “World Order”. Naturally I must believe that it is your kindness and thoughtfulness that is responsible. . . .

So often I think of you as I take a Bahá’í booklet and spend long lazy hours on the beach. I read in the sun, the incessant and rhythmic surf gives me a sense of peace and unity, and I pray that daily my mirror becomes a wee bit brighter.

May I hope to hear from you from time to time?

Sincerely yours,

My dear:

I have been attending the Friday night meetings of the Los Angeles Assembly, and have met some charming and interesting people. . . . There’s a very nice girl who has taken me under her wing. After every meeting we go somewhere for ice cream, Virginia inviting different people each time, so I am becoming acquainted with the Los Angeles community. . . .

Seriously, comes a dawning consciousness of the truth of the Bahá’í Cause, with an increasing force that I must meet. [Page 98] It has satisfied my mind—you’ll acknowledge that I’ve been supercritical. I’ve accepted it, then, but with reservations. But it is surely beating me down, resist it though I do.

In talking with an aunt I learned of a second cousin who is married to a Persian. They are both Bahá’ís. And Martha Root tells in the current issue of “World Order” of Dr. Miller, under Whom I studied psychology at Oberlin. I have a sense that loose ends are being tied up, there is a glimpse of a pattern once in a while—integration. How fortunate to have met you, who opened the first door for me.

Sincerely yours,

Long Beach, Calif.

April 29, 1937

Dear Garreta:

I forget, in the informality of life here in California, to respect the formality of Illinois. . . . I remember only that you are a Bahá’í—and how fortunate for me that you happened to be at the Center the day I started a search for a religion.

But I wanted to tell you about Martha Root. She spoke at the meeting in Los Angeles, at the afternoon feast. Not being a Bahá’í, I didn’t go, and so missed her—for just as I was going in the door, she was leaving. She sailed the next day. But because I had expressed a desire to meet her, several of the Bahá’ís told me all they could. They were so thrilled and incoherent that I have a very strange impression of this person—one perhaps I may be able to laugh at, some day. But she must be a remarkable person. They say that physically she’s a little, dried-up, old-maidish person, very frail. But when she speaks, she radiates a powerful inner light.

Yes, I’m reading “Science and Health”. Also theosophy, and Durant, “On the Meaning of Life”. But mostly I’m [Page 99] reading “The Gleanings”, which Virginia gave me, and I love it. The strange names and French footnotes prove a sad trial in “The Dawn-Breakers”, however. . . .

Wholeheartedly,

Long Beach, Calif.

June 22, 1937.

Dear Garreta:

I loved your last letter—sounded just like a Bahá’í. They’re great people, aren’t they?

Last Thursday we drove over to San Bernardino to see one of the girls who is going to teach at Louhelen [Bahá’í school] also. I have asked her, of course, to give you my love. She is a fine person and is doing splendid work here— she’s young, dynamic, full of life and joy and good ideas.

Right now I’m happy, too, for Friday I start to Geyserville [Bahá’í school]. I’m more thrilled about this trip than any one I’ve ever taken.

Why is it, Garreta, that I can’t be a Bahá’í? There’s no argument about it rationally—my imagination is fired to such an extent that I can see the parade passing by and leaving me with the rest of the dead. I do wish you’d write magic words —write often! And please, remember me in your prayers? I’ve quit praying for anything except patience for myself, but I pray copiously for lots of people. . . .

With as near to Bahá’í love as I can,

Hoopa, California

July 14, 1937

Dear Garreta:

The first report of Louhelen reached me yesterday, and we are both so happy in the lovely experience you are having. It must not only be extremely interesting, but also stimulating; [Page 100] a memory upon which you may draw for strength and courage in the days to come.

Perhaps at this point I should explain that my pen is broken, we are on an Indian reservation, and besides, this is a red letter day in my life. For it is my birthday, both figuratively and literally.

There is little more to write, except that I am completely happy, and shall be even more so as I progress, and that I shall be eternally grateful to you for all you have done for me. My heart is too full at this time for further words. But I do want you to know that I love the Cause,

And you,

August 12, 1937.

Dear Garreta:

This is the third letter I’ve started to you. The first I spilled ink on. The second—well, I decided that I had so much to write that it would be far kinder to type the thing!

And the reason why I realized that I have a lot to write you is because of a simple question you asked—did I go to Geyserville? Yes, I did, and I’m going to try to tell you what Geyserville meant to me, though I lack words to adequately describe it. Sometime I hope that you will have an opportunity to meet the two women who drove up there with me. I listened to them talk on the way up, and marveled at them. They were both married, had families, the background and color that reflects in the lives of the average married woman. Yet both far transcended the commonplace and homely interests that is the lot of the average. They seemed to live at a much higher level of experience, of integration, than any one I had ever met with a comparable background. And this comparison not only interested me, it puzzled and intrigued me. I had known both you and Virginia to be very [Page 101] attractive persons, indeed. But my interest in both of you had been quite aside from the Bahá’í teachings. I’m trying to express a personal interest which I would have recognized anyway. But here was no such thing, yet I was tremendously attracted in spite of a deliberately objective attitude. I had tasted the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, knew them to be both great and powerful. Yet I was far from understanding. These women had gone far beyond me. They had felt and experienced powerful truths, had incorporated them into their lives, were reflecting (or so I felt) the true and ultimate destiny of the human soul in a manner which I would not have believed to be possible. They had ahold of something; it carried them beyond themselves.

Geyserville at last; an oasis in the human desert. Here were people from all walks of life (I’ve always disliked that choice phrase), all classes, all races, all creeds and all degrees of education and mental development met on a common basis, with a common purpose—the furtherance of the Cause of God. Sharp contrasts, hot heavy debates, curiously impersonal and yet with the deepest love and devotion—ah, it’s quite beyond my poor powers of description or analysis. I just know that it is, that it really works, and that it is a privilege to see this community which actually demonstrates Heaven on earth. Never had I felt or experienced the joy and love that abounds in Geyserville. To them it’s a commonplace. To an outsider it’s a miracle. Each retains his or her individuality, yet it is all so beautifully and harmoniously blended into a perfect whole that it catches one up and sweeps one way beyond any thought of self, and into the cosmic consciousness which is the true direction of human life. Jesus taught that life. So did Gautama. And Bahá’u’lláh has demonstrated the principle of organic unity of mankind as representing the consummation of the whole process of human evolution. So have all those [Page 102] men who achieved this apparently higher level of experience. At least in that respect they were not deluded!

We had gone up a few days early, so we rested and bathed ourselves in that marvelous atmosphere which is the direct contribution of John and Louise Bosch, those two saints on earth. I was in love with them the moment I met them, and with the place. Ah, it was heavenly.

Virginia came up a few days later, to stay only long enough to give a talk on the Qur’án. She had had no proper vacation for several years, and was going on up north to an Indian Reservation to visit some friends. By the time she was ready to leave, I was so thoroughly miserable to think that I wasn’t a Bahá’í, so bogged down with self-pity and such, that I begged her to take me with her. I felt that I could no longer bear to be shut out from the love of God—that endless quest which was so beyond me, that endless quest to unite myself with a reality which is immeasurably greater than self.

The ride through the northern part of the state was one of beauty. One felt the deep peace and quiet of the redwoods, one thrilled to the vastness of the ocean, delighted in the rocky canyons and streams and falls, lifted one’s eyes to the mountains and drank deep of the beauty so lavishly cast into this great state. Hoopa, in the Indian Reservation, is nestled deep in a beautiful valley. Of this lovely valley, its interesting people, and our gracious hosts, more anon.

One evening we were up on the top of a mountain. The Indian guide had caught a salmon and was preparing the supper in orthodox Hoopa style. The men had gone off to get wood. I was watching the glints of the setting sun on a snowclad mountain to the cast. I asked a little prayer that through the grace of Bahá’u’lláh I might come to life spiritually—and very suddenly, I did. In the face of powerful emotions one feels strongly the inadequacy of words. Now it is even more so. [Page 103] Mixed and mingled thoughts and sensations; an utter humbleness and humility, a strange exaltation which was far from ecstatic, a glimpse into Heaven—certainly a New World—a love and fear of God, a power, capacity and appetite for work, a deep realization that work in the Cause of God as the only true destiny for me, a—oh, there aren’t words. It was magnificent, it was awful. Reverence filled my very soul, hot tears flowed. Work, Work, work was all that I could think of. The manner or the individual didn’t seem to matter— but the time was limited.

Now I can read the Bahá’í books and get some of the meaning. Oh, I’m in love with life for the first time in years, too. And, very quietly, deep in myself, I know that all things are possible. To be sure, after a month of violent exaltation, I swung to the reverse—you warned me of that. But just as my joy was quiet and deep, so this reversal has been quiet (and very dull, if you ask me). I had flown perhaps a little high. But what did it matter—I had all heaven to fly in!

With love,

Los Angeles, Calif.

February 6, 1939

Dear Garreta:

Another Red Letter day has come, and I hasten to share it with you. My application for pioneer work has been accepted by the National Spiritual Assembly, and I shall leave very soon.

When I stop to consider that it was only two years ago that you planted that seed (so generously cultivated by the dear souls out here) it’s a miracle! . . .

I’m asking for your prayers, Garreta dear.

With love,

HELEN [GRIFFING]

[Page 104]

SONGS

CORA BALL MOTEN

I Smell a Wayside Flower—

A blue flower in the grass by yonder hedge,

Its fragrance tangled in my nostrils here,

Blue flower and I can never severed be,

The vapor of thy soul now lives in me;

God breathed as long ago at primal dawn,

The Holy One moved on the Virgin Sea

In rhythmic waves conceiving breath, soft, pregnant, warm.

I Feel the Wind and Rain—

A warm breeze flinging drops of silver rain

To melt in soft, moist kisses on my cheek

And touch deep nerves of sense to flameless fire,

That evermore shall tinge my heart’s desire;

The pentecostal fire made manifest

To thrill my secret heart with its cool touch

God’s benediction on my soul has lain

Its seal of brotherhood with wind and rain.

I See the Dawn—

High in the East the white dawn burns to rose

And I, upon the wayside, reverently

Make mystic union with the pulsing light

Transfusing me through sacrament of sight;

The Ancient Word of Power comes again

Reverberating through this grain of dust,

This I, this vibrant bit of sentient earth,

Forever one with That which gave it birth.

[Page 105]

BAHÁ’Í LESSONS

Man

I. His Creation.

A. Purpose.

1. To know and love God, Gl 65, 70, 77-78, 194, 330; noon obligatory prayer; Prayers and Meditations 228.

a. This capacity primary purpose, Gl 65.

2. To worship Him, noon obligatory prayer.

3. To carry civilization forward, Gl 215; BS ¶563.

4. Because of God’s love, Hidden Words (A)3, 4.

B. Nature conferred by God.

1. “Mirror of God”: reflects all the attributes, Gl 65, 177; Seven Valleys (Valley of Astonishment): “Ponder over the completeness of the creation of man.”

2. “Image of God”, Promulgation, 66-67; HW (A) 3.

II. His Station.

A. Acknowledgment of impotence to know God, P-M 89.

B. Ability to recognize Station of Revelator, P-M 228, Gl 96-97, 104-107.

C. “How lofty is the station”, Gl 206.

D. God’s creation perfected in him, Gl 143.

F. As a believer, Gl 6, 10, 108, 141, 159, 167, 190, 329, 330; P-M 54, 195.

1. Of unity—on earth in this Day, Gl 288-9.

2. After death, Gl 34-5.

III. His Faculties.

A. Heart, Gl 186, 205, 206, 212, 241, 304; P-M 228.

B. Physical senses.

1. Dependent on rational faculty, Gl 164, 194-195.

2. All members of body, P-M 164.

3. Cleansing, Íqán 3.

C. Finite nature of heart and mind, Gl 317-318.

D. Reality, Gl 65, 77-81, 140, 158, 164, 177, 185, 194, 259, 262, 326, 340.

E. Manifested in this Day, Gl 340.

[Page 106] IV. His Obligation.

A. Obedience.

1. To God, Gl 87, 129, 130, 289, 290, 331.

2. To those in authority, Gl 207.

B. Knowledge and expression of true self, Gl 177-8, 326-7, 4-5, 262.

C. Proclaiming words of God, Gl 294, 295, 314, 330.

D. Prayer, Gl 265, 280; BS 869; Obligatory Prayers.

E. Work, Gl 202.

V. After Death.

A. Requirements of next world, BS 646 (or Prom 221).

B. Individuality, Gl 153.

C. Survival of soul and its state, Gl 155, 161.

D. Association of souls, Gl 169.

E. Mystery of death, Gl 345.

---

IN the human organism there is a center of intellection, a power of intellectual operation which is the discoverer of the realities of things. This power can unravel the mysteries of phenomena. It can comprehend that which is knowable; not alone the sensible. All the inventions are its products. For all of these have been the mysteries of nature. . . . That which discovers the realities of things is undoubtedly not of the elemental substances. . . . The collective reality in man . . . is the discoverer of things. . . . It is real, eternal and does not undergo changes and transformation. . . . This collective reality or spirit of man, being born out of the world of nature, possessing the attributes of God, will continue to live forever in the eternal realm.

—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ

[Page 107]

WITH OUR READERS

One of our Minnesota readers sends us this warm personal story of seeking and finding: “I wonder how many have at one time been spiritually hungry, spiritually bewildered, yes, even spiritually sick. Those who have had this experience will understand what it means to receive the Bahá’í message at such a time. I shall never forget how I went from one church to another trying to satisfy my soul, yet not finding what I wanted. The nearest to that which I wanted I found at a little Mission where everybody was welcome regardless of color or creed. There was an atmosphere of unity there which partly satisfied me as that was what I wanted,—unity above all things. I kept on going to the Mission services for some time, but still found I was not satisfied. Then one day I went to visit my dear friend who is at present in San José, Costa Rica, in the service of this great Bahá’í Cause and we began discussing religion. Although we had been friends as far back as her childhood she said: ‘Mrs. ________, I never knew that you had these ideas. Perhaps you would like to read one of my Bahá’í books.’ It was Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, and I started reading it as soon as I got home. It was the food I had been looking for and miraculously I was a firm believer by the time I had finished the book. Now I know that there is nothing that can satisfy as can the Bahá’í Faith. I know for I have investigated.”

* * *

A most interesting story about teaching children has come our way. We are particularly glad to record it because sometime ago a request came for experiences in teaching children. Our correspondent writes: “Mrs. J gets up early every morning and drives over ten miles to a small country school in a Lutheran community. It is a one-room school house heated by a stove and protected from too much wind by a circle of enormous trees. There are nine pupils and Mrs. J teaches them everything including ‘citizenship’. Each child has a note book into which he copies sentences about good citizenship. These sentences are often from [Page 108] the pen of Bahá’u’lláh or ‘Abdu’l-Bahá such as, ‘The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens.’ Disputes are settled by the consultation method and in many ways Mrs. J finds Bahá’í methods applicable to problems even though in a public school the Faith as such may not be taught. At noon Mrs. J says prayers, and with her the children say a prayer. This is by their own wish. One small boy asked if he might bring in the coal to earn a prayer book. Another girl wanted to take her note book home to show her family. So it proves to be not a severe handicap that the name of Bahá’u’lláh may not be mentioned for the principles of Bahá’u’lláh like the principles of Christ and all the great prophets are natural and understandable to any child.”

* * *

MRS. SHIRLEY WARDE is a new contributor to World Order. For many years she was active in Bahá’í affairs in Teaneck, New Jersey, near West Englewood where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave the feast which has been commemorated annually ever since. Her home is now in Burbank, California. The letters of Miss Helen Griffing to one who was her guide in searching and studying the Bahá’í writings are a personal record of the development of a sincere seeker. Miss Griffing has been pioneering in Reno, Nevada, for a few years.

Dale Cole, one of our contributing editors, returns to print this month with his pointed thoughts on “Spiritual Obedience”. Mr. Cole’s home is in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

The “Songs” which lend their fragrance and beauty this month to World Order were written by Mrs. Cora Ball Moten of Quincy, Illinois, a new friend of the Cause. Mrs. Moten found refuge and inspiration in the life of the spirit during a period of affliction, unveiling then the talent that has produced her verse. The unity of all life which her poems express finds for her another expression in the oneness of humanity taught by Bahá’u’lláh. She approaches the Faith from one of America’s minority groups.

Miss Zoe Meyer, Peoria, one of the members of the National Study Outline Committee, furnishes Bahá’í Lessons this month. As announced in the April issue we are returning to our plan of having a brief editorial article each month, and Mrs. Alice Simmons Cox writes this month on “The New Patriotism”. —THE EDITORS.

[Page 109]

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. Bound in fabrikoid. 360 pages. $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. 186 pages. $1.50.

The Kitáb-i-Íqán, translated by Shoghi Effendi. This work (The Book of Certitude) unifies and coordinates the revealed Religions of the past, demonstrating their oneness in fulfillment of the purposes 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. Bound in cloth. 350 pages. $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. 492 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. Bound in fabrikoid. 234 pages. $1.50.

BAHÁ’Í PUBLISHING COMMITTEE
110 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, ILLINOIS

[Page 110]

The Bahá’í Faith

RECOGNIZES THE UNITY OF GOD AND HIS PROPHETS,

UPHOLDS THE PRINCIPLE OF AN UNFETTERED SEARCH AFTER TRUTH,

CONDEMNS ALL FORMS OF SUPERSTITION AND PREJUDICE,

TEACHES THAT THE FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE OF RELIGION IS TO PROMOTE CONCORD AND HARMONY, THAT IT MUST GO HAND IN HAND WITH SCIENCE, AND THAT IT CONSTITUTES THE SOLE AND ULTIMATE BASIS OF A PEACEFUL, AN ORDERED AND PROGRESSIVE SOCIETY. . . .

INCULCATES THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES FOR BOTH SEXES,

ADVOCATES COMPULSORY EDUCATION,

ABOLISHES EXTREMES OF POVERTY AND WEALTH,

EXALTS WORK PERFORMED IN THE SPIRIT OF SERVICE TO THE RANK OF WORSHIP,

RECOMMENDS THE ADOPTION OF AN AUXILIARY INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE, . . .

PROVIDES THE NECESSARY AGENCIES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND SAFEGUARDING OF A PERMANENT AND UNIVERSAL PEACE.

—SHOGHI EFFENDI.