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WORLD
ORDER
THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE
September, 1943
• The Bahá’í Principle of Civilization . . . Horace Holley 181
• In the King’s Name, Editorial . . . . . . . . Garreta Busey 197
• Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá . . . . . ‘Abdu’l-Bahá 199
• Virtuoso, Poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reginald King 201
• Dr. Carver’s Tribute . . . . . . . . . . . . Louis G. Gregory 202
• For an Enduring Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olga Finke 206
• Wider Horizons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helen Bishop 208
• The Bahá’í Feast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ella C. Quant 212
• With Our Readers . . . 215
FIFTEEN CENTS
GOD’S PURPOSE IS NONE OTHER THAN TO USHER IN, IN WAYS HE ALONE CAN BRING ABOUT, AND THE FULL SIGNIFICANCE OF WHICH HE ALONE CAN FATHOM, THE GREAT, THE GOLDEN AGE OF A LONG-DIVIDED, A LONG-AFFLICTED HUMANITY. ITS PRESENT STATE, INDEED EVEN ITS IMMEDIATE FUTURE, IS DARK, DISTRESSINGLY DARK. ITS DISTANT FUTURE, HOWEVER, IS RADIANT, GLORIOUSLY RADIANT—SO RADIANT THAT NO EYE CAN VISUALIZE IT.
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, Alice Simmons Cox, Horace Holley, Bertha Hyde Kirkpatrick.
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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 1943 by Bahá’í Publishing Committee. Title registered at U. S. Patent Office.
SEPTEMBER, 1943, VOLUME IX, NUMBER 6
WORLD ORDER
THE BAHÁ’Í MAGAZINE
VOLUME IX SEPTEMBER, 1943 NUMBER 6
The Bahá’í Priaciple of
Civilization
Horace Holley
THE SOLIDARITY OF THE HUMAN RACE
1. A SPIRITUAL ORGANISM HAS BEEN CREATED
FOR FIFTY YEARS the North American continent has been the scene of an unprecedented spiritual development. The mysterious and resurgent power of faith, acting upon a small and inconspicuous community of believers, has germinated, nurtured and brought to flower a new quality of soul and a new order of human relations.
The visible manifestation of this power lies in the capacity
for union with which the community of believers has become
charged—a capacity which, flowing outward to others, will
make of them, if they can respond, members of one body,
elements of one spirit. This power entered the hearts of a
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few persons in one city fifty years ago, making an intimate
group of those who had been strangers one to another. Multiplied
in energy by the unity of the group, the capacity
acquired force to produce similar groups in other cities.
Eventually by association of many unities it created one organic
community sustaining the many local groups.
A spiritual organism has been created by slow but steady evolution throughout the course of years which now reveals a continental solidarity and a world impetus and dimension. To fulfill their passion for unity, members have gone forth from North America to many lands, seed-bearers intent upon sharing this mysterious devotion with all races and peoples. In Europe, in the Near and Far East, in Australia and New Zealand, in Africa, in Central and South America, the community of American believers has projected itself, shared itself, renewed itself and sacrificed itself until that same capacity for union could work through new souls and build new communities like itself.
The union created embraces persons of the most diverse racial, social and sectarian origin. All human beings can receive the faith into their souls who are able to realize when acted upon by its creative spirit that they are parts of a oneness which becomes for them a revealed and divine order of social existence. The world of disunity and strife in which they perforce had been parts of chaos has by their valid experience undergone destruction. They realize that a supreme Victory has been won in the world of reality which now surges through them like a renewal of flame within the blood. A new world has been created, a world of God which He wills to share with man.
Let no one fail to perceive the significance of this potent
spiritual consummation because in its early stage it has been
visibly identified with so few persons and these unimpressive
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and unimportant. The germination of life in one tiny seed
reflects the energy of the entire universe. In comparison,
mountains of granite and oceans of salt brine are things lower
in the scale of cosmic values. For here at last, in this age of
consuming strife and bitter discord, a principle has been revealed
which in its operation is so simple in essence, so universal
in possibility, so tender and healing in its method, that any
human being touched by it and immersed within it can assert
its saving grace against all the powers of evil by which mankind
is now assailed. What the Bahá’í community of North
America, followers of Bahá’u’lláh, have realized in experience
and demonstrated in action is the fact that God has given our
age the principle of true civilization—a truth and a spirit which
are creative of eternal union among human beings: no less
than the divine truth and spirit required to unify the entire
world.
2. THE SOURCE OF UNION
Nothing can stay this power, this grace, this capacity with which true faith in God has become charged. It is neither a minority movement which can be suppressed, nor a philosophy which can be laid away, nor an argument which can be countered, nor a theology which can be banned. The passion for unity which the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh quickens within human souls brings with it the overwhelming conviction that they have been reborn into a higher world where unity is the life, the truth and the law. Outside His Faith, the nations and peoples have no such capacity nor can they produce it by themselves, nor can they seize it and make it operate for any save divine and universal ends.
The appearance of this grace in an American community
does not mean that the capacity for union originated here, or
is a form of Americanism, or an attitude which certain Americans
evolved within themselves or distilled from their tradition.
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This sacred and creative energy, this renewer of human
existence, this guardian of the destiny of mankind, came to the
world in the Person of the Manifestation of God. From
Him many known and unknown spiritual influences have gone
forth to bless humanity. Each blessing has been the impulse
of a spirit universal and placeless in itself but requiring some
human agency to incorporate and convey its mysterious grace
to men. Since America has been the meeting-place of the
races and peoples, and is itself neither a race nor a nation but
a union of races and nations, no other land could exemplify and
serve the principle of the oneness of mankind. Hence America,
because of destiny and not merit, has been the scene of the
consummation of love and justice in the evolution of humanity.
Here in this new continent of the West, farthest removed
from superstition and decadence, the hand of Providence has
established the Balance that equilibrium may be attained in
the next era of man’s life—the Balance between man’s inner
and outer life, between body and soul, between hostile nations
and embittered races, between classes distorted by poverty and
war, between passive and aggressive sects and creeds, between
religion and civilization.
The source and origin of this recreative power lies in far-distant, unfamiliar, medieval Persia one hundred years ago. There, in Islám, as in Christian Europe and America, spiritual schools existed for cherishing the hope that in this age the promised One might appear. The longing for a Person endowed with the mission to connect humanity with God kindled fire in many souls who felt that the world had sunk to its lowest state, incapable of salvation save through its Creator’s mercy.
3. THAT HOLY DAWN
To these humble servants of the altar of the heart the Báb
revealed Himself in 1844, then twenty-five years of age. The
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Báb, His title meaning “door” or “gate”, exemplified a radiance,
a beauty of being and of person, a power of spirit, a
penetration of love which became the adoration of a mighty
host. In that darkened, ignorant, tyrannical land the Báb
arose as with the light of a dawning Sun. So powerful was
He in quickening the human spirit, in establishing the standard
of reality dividing the people into believers and non-believers,
that within the span of six years His earthly destiny was fulfilled.
Condemned for heresy, denounced as rebel, the Báb
was imprisoned and executed in the city of Tabríz. It was a
time of profound spiritual experience. Thousands of His
followers advanced to martyrdom for His sake and in tribute
to the pure religion He revealed for the world. The attitude
of the true worshipper has been described by Bahá’u’lláh in
these words of promise: “Great is his blessedness whosoever
hath set himself towards Thee, and entered Thy presence, and
caught the accents of Thy voice . . . that the ecstasies of Thy
revelation may fill the souls of all the dwellers of Thine
earth.”
Every testimony reveals the splendor of that holy Dawn,
when men of sincerity and truth attained the purpose of their
being in becoming filled with a new spirit and a new life. They
had full assurance that this was no personal and no local
experience, but a new enlightenment and impetus for the
regeneration of the world. In the Báb they touched the mystery
of the oneness of God, and in His spiritual being they
felt the presence of all the Prophets through whom God has
manifested in the past. The Báb restored the power of
providence to human affairs. Against Him sped the arrows
of bitterest ecclesiastical and civil rancor. The Báb was the
chosen Victim by whose sacrifice the human spirit could be
given life and a new direction established for the course of
man’s spiritual and social evolution. These words, addressed
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by the Báb to His nearest disciples, express the beauty of His
teaching: “Such must be the purity of your character and the
degree of your renunciation, that the people of the earth may
through you recognize and be drawn closer to the Heavenly
Father who is the Source of purity and grace.”
Concerning His mission and the import of His teachings, the Báb declared that He prepared the way for the coming of Bahá’u’lláh, the Glory of God, the promised One in whom the prophetic hopes of the peoples would be fulfilled.
In such pure sacrifice was opened the door of divine guidance, and the mission of the Báb initiated the release of forces and powers which since, with increasing intensity, have acted upon mankind.
4. THE LAW IS REVEALED
Nineteen years after the Declaration of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh’s mission became known to the Báb’s followers, and all save a few persons thereafter centered their faith in Him.
Through Bahá’u’lláh the ecstasy of spiritual renewal acquired substance in knowledge of spiritual truth and law. The Dawn of holiness became the risen Sun of a new Dispensation for mankind. Bahá’u’lláh suffered exile and imprisonment throughout forty years as the dominant powers of Islám tried in every way to extirpate this new Faith. What they accomplished was to establish Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Akká, at the foot of Mount Carmel, where His spirit soared in majesty above the restless skirmishing of the sects who were exploiting the Holy Land in the name of their separate religions.
Bahá’u’lláh gave forth in writing a body of teachings for
the new era. He provided for the needs of a united humanity
and an ordered world civilization. He declared that all the
Prophets had revealed one continuous, evolving and divine
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Faith, each as the Manifestation of God for one cycle and one
stage in man’s development. He stated that the law of the
present cycle revolves around the principle of the oneness of
mankind, which requires one social order and one universal
Faith. Bahá’u’lláh interpreted the Holy Books of the past.
He identified the Báb and Himself with the essence of reality
in Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muḥammad. He called upon
the rulers to establish peace. He exalted the nature of man’s
soul and greatly amplified the body of spiritual knowledge
concerning man and His destiny on earth and in the other
worlds of God. Majesty and power, serene, glorious, heavenly,
characterized this Person and this Message which is His
blessed gift to mankind.
Bahá’u’lláh laid deep and strong the foundations of His Faith. His ordinances make it impossible for any clerical order to arise in this Dispensation and claim special authority, privilege or power. For the direction of affairs and the administration of activities He instituted elective bodies with defined duties and functions. He moreover appointed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to be the Interpreter of His Revelation and the Center of His Covenant with mankind. In these provisions Bahá’u’lláh established a Faith which is no mere influence left for humanity to reflect to a lesser or greater degree according to its own volition. His Faith is a social organism imbued with a divine spirit, endowed with law and knowledge, provided with necessary institutions and agencies, and inspired by a sustaining power of guidance conveyed through His appointed representative, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
“Darkness hath encompassed every land, O my God,” Bahá’u’lláh cried in prayer, “and caused most of Thy servants to tremble. I beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to raise in every city a new creation that shall turn towards Thee.”
5. BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S COVENANT
Having revealed His truth and law, Bahá’u’lláh returned to His heavenly abode. In ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the spirit of obedience to Bahá’u’lláh and passionate zeal for serving His Faith became a torrent of spiritual energy. Though ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself was restrained physically under the terms of His imprisonment for seven long years after Bahá’u’lláh ascended, nevertheless His irresistible will to serve found human instruments through which to some degree it might influence the whole world. In one single year a sequence of events had been set up which produced public reference to Bahá’u’lláh in the Parliament of Religions conducted by the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, and the formation of the first Bahá’í group in the West in 1894.
From 1894 until His own ascension in 1921, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
maintained constant, direct and intimate spiritual communion,
interrupted only by the tragic period of the first world war,
with the American Bahá’í community. His was the love that
nourished its infancy, trained its childhood, guided its youth
and educated its development from stage to stage of a collective
experience unlike any which had ever before existed on
earth. A great and decisive part of His time and strength
was expended in establishing that community on a basis of
integrity and truth. He poured forth the rich treasures of
soul, mind and heart for the sake of the part which these believers
were destined to accomplish for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
He imbued them with something of His devotion,
His passion and His zeal. Their unity He cemented with the
bonds of the love of God. Within them collectively He deposited
as His sacred trust the capacity for union which can
dissolve all prejudice and consume all opposition. He lived
for nine months among them, and His sacrifice of strength
was as the offering of His flesh and blood that they might become
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strong. To bring their latent unity to flower He gave the
American Bahá’ís the sacred collective undertaking of constructing
the first Bahá’í House of Worship in the western
world. To deepen their spirit He gave them a teaching mission
embracing mankind.
“The continent of America”, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote many years ago, “is in the eyes of the one true God the land wherein the splendors of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide and the free assemble.” Again: “May this American democracy be the first nation to establish the foundation of international agreement. May it be the first nation to proclaim the unity of mankind.”
His vision of the ultimate unfoldment of world civilization under the impetus of the Holy Spirit reflected through the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh concentrated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s effort on the most important task of this age: the development of capacity within souls to obey divine law and thereby rid the world of that degrading curse, that corrosive poison—acceptance of the struggle for existence as the underlying condition of man’s social experience. That acceptance lay upon the nations like a doom. To transform this most grievous and perverted error into truth was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s destiny, His mission, His glory to the end of time.
One must realize this to grasp the essence of His teaching:
His assurance that in no region of human action and no realm
of human experience has the struggle for existence any sanction
or validity from God. Neither in the nature of man, nor
in the conflict of races, nor in the clash of nations, nor in the
rancor of creeds did ‘Abdu’l-Bahá admit the operation of any
divine law reducing mankind to the level of the beast. Where
He encountered inveterate prejudice and crystallized hate in
which the struggle for existence had apparently become entrenched
[Page 190]
for ever, such a lamentable condition, He explained,
was not part of the divine creative will for man, but man’s
self-inflicted punishment for repudiation of God—the darkness
that supervenes when doors are closed against the Light,
the terror that surrounds him when he leaves his home and
lives in the jungle with the serpent and the tiger.
6. CHARTER OF WORLD ORDER
The exquisite passion which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá poured forth upon the humblest believer lives on for us in His written word. “O ye friends of God! The world is like the body of man— it hath become sick, feeble and infirm. Its eye is devoid of sight, its ear hath become destitute of hearing and its faculties of sense are entirely dissolved. The friends of God must become as wise physicians, and care for and heal this sick person, in accord with the divine teachings. . . .
“The first remedy is to guide the people, so that they may turn unto God, hearken unto the divine commandments and go forth with a hearing ear and seeing eye. After this swift and certain remedy hath been applied, then according to the divine teachings they ought to be trained in the conduct, morals and deeds of the Kingdom of Abhá. The hearts should be purified and cleansed from every trace of hatred and rancor and enabled to engage in truthfulness, conciliation, uprightness and love toward the world of humanity, so that the East and the West may embrace each other like unto two lovers, enmity and animosity may vanish from the human world and the universal peace be established.
“O ye friends of God! Be kind to all peoples and nations,
have love for all of them, exert yourselves to purify the hearts
as much as you can, and bestow abundant effort in rejoicing
the souls . . . Consider love and union as a delectable paradise,
and count annoyance and hostility as the torment of hell-fire
. . . Supplicate and beseech with your heart and search for
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divine assistance and favor, in order that you may make this
world the paradise of Abhá and this terrestrial globe the arena
of the supreme Kingdom.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá perfected the art of intercourse between souls. He developed the faculty of kindness and consultation among the Bahá’ís as the foundation of existence in the new age. In the Will and Testament which He left as His final blessing and guidance for the Bahá’í community the believers of the world have been given the charter of their evolving Faith. By that momentous document ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed the continuity of divine guidance for human affairs throughout this cycle in the succession of the station of Guardianship from generation to generation. To this station He attributed the sole power and authority to interpret the Bahá’í Sacred Writings, and this station He joined to the Universal House of Justice instituted by Bahá’u’lláh by making each successive Guardian its chairman for life.
The Bahá’í Dispensation combines and coordinates what in the world has become hopelessly separate and divided: divine truth and social authority; spiritual law and legislation; devotion to God and justice to man; the rights of the individual and the paramount responsibility of the social body.
“In this sacred Dispensation,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left as His direction to His loved ones, “conflict and contention are in no wise permitted. Every aggressor deprives himself of God’s grace. It is incumbent upon every one to show the utmost love, rectitude of conduct, straightforwardness and sincere kindliness unto all the peoples and kindreds of the world, be they friends or strangers. So intense must be the spirit of love and loving kindness, that the stranger may find himself a friend, the enemy a true brother, no difference whatsoever existing between them. For universality is of God and all limitations earthly.”
7. STRUGGLE FOR SPIRITUAL REGENERATION
Divine, indeed, is that creative spirit which can gather together ordinary persons and transmute them into an expression of union when the whole world expresses contention and discord. No human agency can manufacture this spirit nor imitate its miraculous effect. Political and economic charters of world unity will not inaugurate the era of righteousness and peace save as they stem from a charter founded in the heavenly world of truth. Until the souls of men flow together ardently; until the spirits dissolve and the personalities are inwardly fused, no human organization can be more than temporary truce in the interminable struggle for group supremacy and individual distinction which man’s life has become. As long as he is deprived of faith, man will remain victim to the struggle for existence which God created as the law of nature in the sub-human world. But when he becomes imbued with faith, man is freed from the burden of the beast. He need no longer creep and crawl through jungle darkness to his prey. Faith is light from which darkness flees. It is love which will not contain hate. It is wings of impassioned devotion by which human consciousness can ascend into the luminous heaven of spiritual law—the true realm of mankind.
In nature, let us note, the struggle for existence opposes one
life to another. In humanity the struggle has become an evil
illusion which joins thousands and millions together in compact
and conspiracy for the substitution of violence for love,
and destruction for cooperative undertakings aimed at increased
welfare for man. This illusion is man’s downfall, his
penalty, his bitter expiation; for the evil illusion can confederate
only those who have inwardly denied the authority of God.
Once the trend toward conflict has become organized by sect,
class, race or nation, the descent into darkness grows swifter
and swifter, until the area of destruction can encompass the
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entire world. The Manifestation of God is sent to break this
iron chain of action and reaction by which mankind becomes
linked to disaster, and He establishes a more compelling and
positive trend toward knowledge, love, unity and cooperation.
The world today is in direst need of that spiritual power, that
capacity for union, which can be invoked only through the
name of Bahá’u’lláh. His creation has been perfected. His
agency for union exists. His truth and His law will prevail.
The first Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi, has declared: “That the Cause associated with the name of Bahá’u’lláh feeds itself upon those hidden springs of celestial strength which no force of human personality, whatever its glamor, can replace; that its reliance is solely upon that mystic Source with which no worldly advantage, be it wealth, fame, or learning can compare; that it propagates itself by ways mysterious and utterly at variance with the standards accepted by the generality of mankind, will, if not already apparent, become increasingly manifest as it forges ahead toward fresh conquests in its struggle for the spiritual regeneration of mankind.”
8. A WORLD CIVILIZATION UNFOLDS
Those who cling to the superstition that the triumph of religion depends upon their ability to establish one past Prophet and one system of human belief in a condition of predominance over other religions of the past, never find it possible to arise above the principle of struggle and competition, even in spiritual matters related to the will of God. Their limited conception of spiritual power condemns them to waste their energy in resisting what they deem evil, so that only a fraction of the available force can be employed in concentrating upon the exaltation of the true and the good.
The Bahá’í, however, can direct all his capacity into constructive
channels of thought and action, for his acceptance of
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Bahá’u’lláh is not merely a belief in one Manifestation of God
but a belief in the continuity and progressiveness of religion
through all the successive Manifestations. He has come to
worship the Sun of Truth in its heaven of divine authority
and power, the Sun that in one rising is Moses, in one rising
Jesus, in one rising Muḥammad, yet is ever and always the
same Sun. The Bahá’í attains moral and mental integrity in
his universal Faith embracing past, present and future in the
conception of the oneness of God, for he escapes the necessity
of associating a holy and divine Authority with expressions of
religion which have become meaningless and impotent. The
victory of the spirit in Bahá’u’lláh he realizes is the same
victory for which Moses led His people to the promised land
and for which Jesus suffered martyrdom on the cross.
The Bahá’í can recognize the distinction between religion
as descent of the spirit from God, and religion as men’s collective
effort to translate that spirit into the needs of soul, mind
and body. Man’s salvation consists in the very fact that every
civilization at last comes to decadence and extinction, for this
perishing of the material body of civilization enables the soul
of faith to build a new and better world. The divine power
reflected from Jesus could never be expressed through the
crude instrumentality of the Roman Empire which resisted
Him because it resisted the spirit in all life. Therefore His
power had both to destroy the old and guide humanity in its
effort to create the new. But His guidance made it clear to the
pure in heart that eventually the Kingdom itself must be established
on earth—the Kingdom based upon divine justice,
sustained by divine grace, its gates open to the people of unity
from among all the races and nations of earth; the Kingdom
forever displacing the secular tribes, cities and nations whose
struggle for existence has given over the world to consuming
war. The promise of this Kingdom has been deposited as a
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sacred trust in the heart of every race, but the divine civilization
foretold by the Prophets of the past must emanate from
a universal relationship to God and His law. It can never be
the predominance of one sect or the result of alliance between
any ecclesiastical and civil powers.
“Gather them . . . together around this Divine Law,” was Bahá’u’lláh’s prayer, “the covenant of which Thou hast established with all Thy Prophets and Thy Messengers.”
The final aspect of the Bahá’í Faith to consider is that it marks that culminating point in the historical movement of religion when the power of the spirit, the scope of the revealed truth, and the desperate needs of mankind, interacting, produce the basis of a world order and close the door to the exclusive, the separate, the competitive societies of the past. Herein lies the core of the new spiritual experience distinguishing the Bahá’í: that his faith is a world ethics, his creed a loyalty to mankind, his worship an action invoking the divine power to unite humanity in one body and one soul.
Already have the Bahá’ís, emerging from the social chrysalis
of class and creed, traced the pattern of world order and
constituted the nucleus of the future harmonious race. The
Bahá’í community today constitutes the first world federation
in human history. Every follower of Bahá’u’lláh forms part
of a perfectly ordered society administered by local, national
and international institutions elective in character, defined by
constitutions reflecting the principles and teachings of the Faith,
limited to the realm of social action, and revolving around one
spiritual center in the Guardianship which connects the worlds
of humanity and the worlds of divine inspiration. The path
of its future development is clearly laid. The weakness of its
present infancy as an organism will not blind the intelligent
student to the fact that a working model of world unity has
been constructed out of revealed truth and the ardor of countless
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hearts to whom world civilization is not the means to
personal advantage or group ambition but the way of love
and peace which can be discerned the more clearly because all
other paths are darkened by the smoke of World conflagration.
The future of mankind will be assured not by the pride of
human power expressed through institutions committed to the
maintenance of past limitations, but by the humility which
prefers to contribute its share to the evolution of a plan divinely
revealed and sanctified by the sacrifice of the Prophet of God.
“The exploded theories and the tottering institutions of present-day civilization,” the Guardian has written, “must needs appear in sharp contrast with those God-given institutions which are destined to arise upon their ruin. . . .
“For Bahá’u’lláh . . . has not only imbued mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit. He has not merely enunciated certain universal principles, or propounded a particular philosophy, however potent, sound and universal these may be. In addition to these He, as well as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after Him, have, unlike the Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness upon the earth. . . . That the forces of a world catastrophe can alone precipitate such a new phase of human thought is, alas, becoming increasingly apparent.”
God’s supreme blessings destined for men are locked within the principle of unity. To attain them the people of unity must combine and agree on the fundamental truths of soul and the principles of society. This union and agreement is of the essence of religion, and apart from Bahá’u’lláh there is no foundation on which universal peace can rest.
In the King’s Name
MOST OF US are yet a long way from understanding the potency of
the implement Bahá’u’lláh has put into our hands. Too many of
us, thinking in the old way, according to reason conditioned only by
natural law, regard the Cause of God as an excellent idea which, if
we by dint of arduous labor succeed in making it prevail, will bring
about a better world. The many promises which Bahá’u’lláh has
poured forth affirming the power He has entrusted to us we but dimly
understand and only half believe. We are inclined to step them down
to the measure of what we take to be our own capacity, never realizing
how great potentially we are: “Should any man,” says Bahá’u’lláh,
“in this Day arise and, with absolute detachment from all that is in
the heavens and all that is on the earth, set his affections on Him Who
is the Day Spring of God’s holy Revelation, he will, verily, be empowered
to subdue all created things, through the potency of one of
the Names of the Lord, his God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”
This we are apt to think of as a promise to somebody else—some holy great one, better able than we are to achieve such severance— forgetting that the Faith itself enables us to attain to more than we suppose. And so we go along, in our miserable, small way, enduring the hardships of these times of trial, and never tasting the joy and the power which is the reward of the martyr.
“Release yourselves, O nightingales of God,” cries Bahá’u’lláh, “from the thorns and brambles of wretchedness and misery, and wing your flight to the rose-garden of unfading splendor. O My friends that dwell upon the dust! Haste forth unto your celestial habitation. Announce unto yourselves the joyful tidings: ‘He Who is the Best-Beloved is come!’ . . . Let all eyes rejoice, and let every ear be gladdened, for now is the time to gaze on His beauty, now is the fit time to hearken to His voice.”
Burdened as we are with drudgery, in the world, and even in
the Cause, how can we spread our wings to soar? The way is so
easy and so difficult! We have only to read the words of Bahá’u’lláh
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and believe them—not merely at the moment of reading, but at every
moment of the day. Of one of His Tablets alone, the Tablet to
Aḥmad, He tells us that “God hath ordained for the one who chants
it the reward of a hundred martyrs and a service in both worlds,”
that if one in affliction or grief should read it “with absolute sincerity,
God will dispel his sadness, solve his difficulties and remove his afflictions.”
It is reward which is emphasized here, not suffering.
Happiness and power, not frustration, are the signs of the bearer of the Name of God in this Day. When we are weak and miserable, we have forgotten our faith. Only in happiness can we stand in the presence of God. “Thou seest, O my God, how my tears prevent me from remembering Thee and from extolling Thy virtues.” And God has said: “O Son of Man! Rejoice in the gladness of thine heart, that thou mayest be worthy to meet Me and to mirror forth My beauty.”
Bahá’u’lláh frequently refers to God as the King, thereby presenting to our minds a symbol useful as well as beautiful in its imagery. We have only to remember the ideal courts of chivalry and to recall how the most menial service to the king ennobled the servant. Honor and power rewarded the endurance of squalid hardship on the field of battle, the plodding patience of the counting house, dull hours in the counsel chamber. And he who acted in the name of the king drew on all the resources of the kingdom.
We are the servants of the King of Kings. When we act in the Name of our Sovereign Lord, in accordance with His Will, we draw on that Power which is the Source of all power. We have but to lift each task to the level of His service in order to make it effective far beyond the limits of our comprehension and to clothe ourselves with such dignity and grace as can come only from the Lord of the Throne on high and of the earth below. —G. B.
Prayers Revealed by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
PRAYERS FOR CHILDREN
O GOD! Educate these children. These children are the young trees of Thy orchard, the flowers of Thy meadow, the roses of Thy garden. Let Thy rain fall upon them; let the Sun of Reality shine upon them with Thy love. Let Thy breeze refresh them in order that they may be trained, grow and develop and appear in the utmost beauty. Thou art the Giver! Thou art the Compassionate!
O UNEQUALLED LORD! For this helpless child be a protector, for this weak and sinful one be kind and forgiving.
O Creator! Although we are but useless grass, still we are of Thy garden; though we are but young trees, bare of leaves and blossoms, still we are of Thy orchard; therefore nourish this grass with the rain of Thy bounty; refresh and vivify these young, languishing trees with the breeze of Thy spiritual springtime.
Awaken us, enlighten us, sustain us, give us eternal life and accept us in Thy kingdom.
O GOD! Rear this little babe in the bosom of Thy love and give it milk from the breast of Providence. Cultivate this fresh plant in the rose garden of Thy love and nurture it by showers from the clouds of Providence. Make it a child of the Kingdom and lead it to the divine world. Thou art powerful and kind! Thou art the Giver, the Bestower, Whose blessings precede all else!
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O MY LORD! O MY LORD! I am a child of tender years.
Nourish me from the breast of Thy mercy, train me in the
bosom of Thy love, educate me in the school of Thy guidance
and develop me under the shadow of Thy bounty! Deliver
me from darkness, make me a brilliant light; free me from
unhappiness, make me a flower of the rose garden; suffer
me to become the servant of Thy threshold and confer upon
me the disposition and nature of the righteous ones; make
me a cause of bounty to the human world and crown my head
with the diadem of eternal life.
Verily Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful, the Seer, the Hearer!
PRAYERS FOR THE DEPARTED
O THOU FORGIVING LORD! Although certain souls finished the days of life in ignorance, were estranged and selfish, yet the ocean of Thy forgiveness is, verily, able to redeem and make free the sinners by one of its waves. Thou redeemest whomsoever Thou willest and deprivest whomsoever Thou willest not! Shouldst Thou treat justly, we all are sinners and deserve to be deprived; and shouldst Thou observe mercy, every sinner shall be made pure and every stranger shall become a friend. Therefore forgive and pardon and grant Thy mercy unto all. Thou art the Forgiver, the Light-Giver, and the Compassionate!
O MY GOD! Thou Forgiver of sins! Bestower of Gifts! Dispeller of afflictions!
Verily I beseech Thee to forgive the sins of such as have abandoned the physical garment and hastened to the spiritual world.
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O my Lord! Purify them from trespasses, dispel their
sorrows and change their darkness into light. Cause them to
enter the Garden of Happiness, cleanse them with the most
pure Water and grant them to behold Thy splendors on the
Loftiest Mount.
VIRTUOSO
(To BAHÁ’U’LLÁH)
Reginald King
- Myself is set atune
- To your thoughts, words, desires,
- As a harp, with strings aquiver,
- Trembles to vibrate
- Into a thousand notes of music.
- Life is a vast, high raftered room
- In which the harp stood silent
- Through the years, until
- You came and touched it—
- It responded, recognizing
- The Master Musician—
- Who understood.
Copyright by Reginald King.
Dr. Carver’s Tribute
Louis G. Gregory
THE LATE Prof. George W. Carver of Tuskegee Institute met,
from time to time over more than a score of years, active
Bahá’í workers to the number of seven. His interest from
the time of its awakening grew, both in the Faith and in its
advocates. Although the name and fame of this great scientist
are so well known both in this country and foreign lands
(Russia has used to great advantage one of his students in
agriculture) yet for the sake of the record, it may not be amiss
in connection with this theme to mention a few salient facts
of his career.
He was born a slave and had the handicaps of extreme poverty and a black skin in his early struggles for an education. Another obstacle was a frail body which so continued to the end of his approximately eighty years. Although surrounded by friends and visitors as his fame spread, yet his life was one of isolation. His one proposal of marriage rejected, he made his own way, took care of the cleaning of his own room, lest careless hands disturb his research and experiments. Then too, genius is, from the nature of things, isolated. Mountain peaks gaze into the stratosphere and have a vision denied valleys and plains.
He became commanding in the influence of service through
his inventions, discoveries of foods and other useful values,
stimulus to research, various accomplishments, help to business
and agriculture, teaching the youth and their elders, aid
to legislation, devotion to truth and simple living. He strove
constantly to serve all mankind. He arose at dawn and all
his days were busy. He was God-fearing, sought guidance
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from on High, and was ever prayerful and meditative. He
found daily inspiration in the Holy Scriptures, cultivated deepest
humility, and was grateful to his Maker for all the successes
that came to him. Exceptional honors were paid him
during life and at his passing. Men of the highest rank in
business and national life sought his friendship. A chorus of
praise that was nation-wide marked his passing. A unique
tribute was that of a great newspaper which presented a cartoon
of the world’s eminent scientists and humanitarians, including
such as Edison, Pasteur, Steinmetz, etc., welcoming
Dr. Carver to the scientific heaven. Southerners said that he
improved the South for both races.
An illustration of detachment from mere material values in his life of service to humanity, an investment of time, ability and strength given where most needed, is the well known story of his declining a salary of one hundred thousand dollars a year to leave his southern field and work in the Edison plant in New Jersey.
Professor Carver himself explained his attitude in this matter to two of his visiting Bahá’í friends at Tuskegee.
“When Mr. Edison made me that offer, he wrote, ‘At any rate you might at least come here and talk it over!’ I replied, “I can say no just as easily from Alabama as by going to New Jersey. I refuse to be commercialized!”
Although a deep student and arduous worker always, Dr.
Carver felt that his knowledge came by divine guidance and
inspiration. So what was so freely given him he wished freely
to pass on to others. The soil in and around Tuskegee Institute
was barren and unproductive when he went there. It
was due to his genius that the desert blossomed. But his greatest
field was that of human minds and hearts. Such jewels
he found and cultivated by his scientific knowledge, lovingkindness
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and spiritual guidance day by day. A science teacher,
he was exact. No partial reply suited him.
What was probably his first personal contact with a Bahá’í came when he was a visiting lecturer at Cornell University. There one of the professors was a Bahá’í and impressed him with the appreciation Bahá’ís had for him as indicated by an article about him and his work in their magazine, then called Star of the West. Another Bahá’í who met him, this time at Tuskegee, was a former professor of agriculture in the University of Texas. These twain had much in common and between them discourse was easy and frank. Another contact with him was a business man of the metropolis, whose cleverness, good humor and spirituality took strong hold upon an inquirer into the Faith. These two corresponded for a considerable time. Much teaching by life was given one so busy with many things. Another Bahá’í who visited Tuskegee and met Professor Carver was an Esperantist and one who emphasized, by act and illustration, the humanitarian aspects of the Teachings. Three other Bahá’ís as traveling teachers spent various periods at Tuskegee and did not lose so favorable an opportunity to contact its world famous wizard. After hearing in Tuskegee two Bahá’í lectures, Dr. Carver said, “It must be either this or something like it to set the world in order!”
Each of these friends in his or her own way, but animated
by one Spirit, conveyed to this rare soul the value of the Divine
Plan. Professor Carver on his part, was always found extremely
courteous, cooperative and hospitable, using his influence
to further their efforts. Although many letters went to
him, sometimes hundreds daily, and he could answer but a
few, letters from Bahá’ís were always answered. When advanced
years, failing health, high pressure of work and aspirations
yet unfulfilled, combined to force denial of himself to
visitors, yet still when the message reached him that a Bahá’í
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wanted to see him, he tottered out with beaming face, saying,
“I admire the Bahá’ís because they practice what they profess!”
About two years before his passing, a Bahá’í traveling teacher, probably the last, aside from the group at Tuskegee, who saw him, obtained from him this statement:
April 4, 1941
THE BAHÁ’í MOVEMENT
To me, this rapidly growing movement represents a group of people who thoroughly recognize the great truth as set forth in Hab-uk-kuk 2:14—‘For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.’
Again I like the Bahá’í Faith because it practices the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.
Very sincerely yours,
(Signed) GEORGE W. CARVER
It is conceivable that this expression of a great man, unfolding
a clear vision of reality, will eventually be regarded
as the crowning glory of a wonderful life. Its wide circulation
may move many to investigate the New Revelation. It
may be recalled how in the past years, the testimonies of such
men as Compte de Gobineau, Count Leo Tolstoy and Professor
Edward G. Browne have stimulated inquiry, resulting in
illumination and guidance. A trace and sign of the spiritual
influence of Professor Carver can already be illustrated by
what happened at a college of the Northwest when the professor
of religion, a most prolific writer on religious subjects,
was shown a copy of Professor Carver’s statement. He exclaimed
without hesitation:
“I agree to that. I believe the same!”
Today the Divine Law requires that each must know the Truth for himself. But that which stimulates inquiry and awakening has a most important bearing.
For an Enduring Peace
VIEWING a world war far more fierce than World War I, by what
line of thinking are we convinced, other than purely an acceptance
of faith in the prophecies of Bahá’u’lláh, that there will be an enduring
peace after this war is over? How can we persuade others, who
had hoped that World War I was going to be a war to end war, that
the post-war peace will not again prove to have been a temporary
cessation of hostilities?
Bahá’u’lláh has told us that national prejudice is one of the chief causes why wars have been fought all down the ages. Are nations overcoming their prejudices? In men’s hearts they have secretly harbored hatred for other nations. This hatred was general before war was declared, in almost every case. Without it, the possibilities of hostilities would not be likely. The prospects for an enduring peace would then rest upon the assumption that nations will no longer hate each other.
Let us suppose that a nation looks across its borderland and sees that another country possesses great wealth, while it is in a state of poverty. The poor nation resents this condition of affairs, not so much because it is jealous of the other nation’s prosperity, but because it believes an injustice has been done. It takes by force the things needed, if they cannot be obtained in a lawful manner. The law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest, is what actuates every national policy.
When war has been declared and the smouldering sparks of hatred in men’s hearts are fanned to a flame, propagandists heap coals upon these fires to keep them blazing. By featuring atrocity stories they use the press, the movies and the radio to arouse the indignation and anger of the common people, picturing the enemy as the devil incarnate, and their own country is glorified as it had never been in times of peace.
Bahá’u’lláh said, “Ye are all the leaves of one tree”; He did
not say, “Ye are the leaves of two trees, one divine, the other satanic”.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá stated that “God is equally compassionate and kind to
all the leaves, branches, and fruit of this tree. Therefore there is
no satanic tree whatsoever, ‘satan’ being a product of human minds
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and of instinctive human tendencies toward error. God alone is
Creator and all are creatures of His might. Therefore we must love
mankind as His creatures, realizing that all are growing upon the
tree of His mercy, servants of His omnipotent will and manifestations
of His good pleasure.”
Before the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh were broadcast, it was customary for a country to love none outside of its own boundary line. Our prejudices against other nations are breaking down, one by one. The tendency is toward alliance. The United Nations is a new term in our vocabulary. Take China, for example. In the last century, China was still considered a heathen nation. To associate with a Chinese person on an equal basis was unspeakable. Today we welcome a visit from the wife of the ruler of China with open arms, and give her the kind of reception befitting royalty.
There are only a few nations remaining, against whom we center the full force of our national prejudice. Because of our attitudes toward these nations, they seem to think that their problems cannot be solved except by war. We must become concerned about the internal problems of these nations in particular. If a nation with an increasing population has no extra land to expand, that ought to be our problem too. We ought to be able to help solve it. If another nation needs more markets to sell its manufactured goods, we ought to help find those markets for that other nation. If another nation is poor, and we have more gold than we need, we ought to offer this other nation assistance, because, if it becomes bankrupt, there will be repercussions on our own shores.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that love is a greater word than peace because peace is founded upon love. If then we want a peace that is enduring, how important it is that only God-fearing men who have love in their hearts for all of God’s children, be allowed to sit at the peace table to represent the nations, and direct world affairs.
Let us then hope that the post-war peace will be conducted by superior men. Who are the superior men? Let ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answer:— “The lovers of mankind, these are the superior men of whatever nation, creed or color they may be.”
—OLGA F INKE
This is the sixth in a symposium of discussions to be printed this
year under the general title of “The Evolution of Peace.”
Wider Horizons
Helen Bishop
THE LAND’S END of the New World includes a narrow passage
joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and bearing the name
of the Portugese navigator-hero whose discovery proved that
our earth is a globe. The Straits of Magellan divide no pleasant
land, but they are a formidable reminder of that man who
headed the expedition empowered by the King of Spain in
1519. Equipped at Seville with five ships the size of schooners
—ridiculously old-fashioned by our proud standards—manned
by a motley crew of 265 men whose mixed nationalities and
ambitions broke out in mutinies their commander had to put
down, then guided by the compass and blessed with the mariner’s
vision combined with an unsurpassed fortitude, Magellan
and the survivors of two crews arrived at the islands of the
west Pacific in the vicinity of Guam—thousands of miles nearer
that Asia for which Columbus undertook four voyages and
died in the belief that he had reached his goal.
Reduced to three ships, on the anniversary of the Eleven Thousand Virgins Magellan sighted and named the Cape Virgenes at the southern point of Argentina. The Cape is still on our maps. Eleven days later, the Feast of All Saints of the Christian calendar, he led into the gateway of the First Narrows of the Straits. The swell that moved beneath his hull increased the dangers that beset the cruise, nevertheless it heightened the certainty that his fixed intimations were right and a mighty ocean lay beyond the uncharted channel he was following.
Here he sent two ships ahead on reconaissance. Their
sailors viewed a boundless sea. We may assume that one look
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sufficed the crew of one ship, which deserted and went home
to Spain after the manner of “practical” men who hold to
their policy of “safety first”. Such do defeat themselves in
any new enterprise.
Undaunted thereby, Magellan pressed his remaining two ships forward. He had been strong enough to quell mutiny but was overcome with tears of gladness when he sighted the anticipated sea and beyond it the wider horizon of the East. As he viewed the broad and calm ocean he named his finding “El Pacifico”, not knowing it to be “The South Sea” discovered by Balboa off the coast of Panama seven years earlier.
In the grip of the favorable trade-wind (as if in the grip of the Spirit) Magellan sailed with that steady breeze across the Pacific for one hundred and ten days. Writes the Italian chronicler of the expedition, “Had not God and His Blessed Mother given us good weather we should all have died of hunger in that exceeding vast sea. I do not believe that any such voyage will ever be made again.”
Coping with famine and thirst—the men struck down by scurvy—and wasting away from nostalgia and dread of the unknown, they reached the Ladrone Islands. And here Magellan paid for his achievement by death at the hands of the natives. Nor was it the largest of his ships that carried on around the globe with a remnant of 18 from the original crew that had set out four years earlier.
Such exploits are past history now. For there are no new lands to conquer. Even if there were, more than fifty nations participating in the League at Geneva resolved that they would not henceforth recognize any territory seized by force.
The wider horizon opened to the vista of the nations
through the voyage unto this planet of the Holy Mariner,
Bahá’u’lláh, has prevailed in so far that a new world-consciousness
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and attendant Order is emerging. Bahá’u’lláh’s
divine commandments to the kings went unheeded by them;
nonetheless, albeit unconsciously, have they come into the foreground
of international planning.
The dominion once exercised by the King of Spain over the peoples of the New World has given way before the sway of that True King Who is Emperor over the hearts. All peoples are under His dominion: His time is now. His mandate unto us is spiritual and makes our sole remaining field of discovery the new world of decent human relationships. Any man or woman who has the same stuff as made explorers of new lands and colonizers of empires can meet no other challenge to-day than to enlist in the dearest of all enterprises —sailing on towards that wider horizon which leads into the World Community of the Most Great Name.
Upon the scroll of Revelation Bahá’u’lláh has testified that God is the Lord of history: the next social and spiritual Kingdom shall be His very own dominion over this planet.
“Thus God hath reaffirmed the law of the day of His Revelation, and inscribed it with the pen of power upon the mystic Tablet hidden beneath the veil of celestial glory. Wert thou to heed these words, wert thou to ponder their outward and inner meaning in thy heart, thou wouldst seize the significance of all the abstruse problems which, in this day, have become insuperable barriers between men and the knowledge of the Day of Judgment. Then wilt thou have no more questions to perplex thee. We fain would hope that, God willing, thou wilt not return, deprived and still athirst, from the shores of the ocean of divine mercy, nor come back destitute from the imperishable Sanctuary of thy heart’s desire. Let it now be seen what thy search and endeavours will achieve.
“To resume: Our purpose in setting forth these truths
hath been to demonstrate the sovereignty of Him Who is the
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King of kings. Be fair: Is this sovereignty which, through
the utterance of one Word, hath manifested such pervading
influence, ascendancy, and awful majesty, is this sovereignty
superior, or is the worldly dominion of these kings of the earth,
who, despite their solicitude for their subjects and their help
of the poor, are assured only of an outward and fleeting allegiance,
while in the hearts of men they inspire neither affection
nor respect? Hath not that sovereignty, through the potency
of one word, subdued, quickened, and revitalize the whole
world? What! Can the lowly dust compare with Him Who
is the Lord of Lords? What tongue dare utter the immensity
of difference that lieth between them? Nay, all comparison
falleth short in attaining the hallowed sanctuary of His
sovereignty. Were man to reflect, he would surely perceive
that even the servant of His threshold ruleth over all created
things! This hath already been witnessed, and will in future
be made manifest.” (Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 123)
Try with all your hearts to be willing channels for God’s Bounty. For I say unto you that He has chosen you to be His messengers of Love throughout the world, to be His bearers of Spiritual gifts to man, to be the means of spreading Unity and Concord on the earth. Thank God with all your hearts that such a privilege has been given unto you. For a life devoted to praise is not too long in which to thank God for such a favor.
The Bahá’í Feast
Ella C. Quant
“WHY is the Nineteen-Day Meeting called a Feast?” some
may ask.
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was in America, He desired to give a “feast of unity” and He said concerning it, that “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 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 a leaf, blossom or fruit upon one tree. For the sake of fellowship and unity I desire this feast and spiritual gathering.”
Some pilgrims attended the Feast while guests of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in ‘Akká. Some of His words they repeat:—This is the blessed supper of the Lord, for we have gathered under the shadow of the Blessed Perfection. . . . The Heavenly Books prophesy that they shall come from the East and from the West to sit down in the Kingdom of God.
In the Lord’s Supper of nineteen hundred years ago
Christ dispensed for His disciples “the living bread which came
from heaven.” In the Words of Bahá’u’lláh we have the
heavenly manna, again bestowed upon us, in such an overwhelming
abundance, answering every longing, fulfilling
every desire that man’s spirit in its upward striving can
express; and of this “feast of good things” we are privileged
to partake with joy in the first part of the Nineteen-Day Meeting,
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which, according to Shoghi Effendi is “entirely spiritual
in character . . . devoted to readings from Bahá’í Sacred Writings.”
(Bahá’í Procedure)
Of this Feast “inaugurated by the Báb and ratified by Bahá’u’lláh, in His Holy Book, the Aqdas,” it has been said: “Bahá’ís should regard this Feast as the very heart of their spiritual activity, their participation in the mystery of the Holy Utterance. . . .”
As all bounty of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh must and does become apparent in the lives and faces of the believers, so, “after participation in the mystery of the Holy Utterance,” the discussion part of the meeting, the consultation and business period, opens, in which is demonstrated the “steadfast unity” (of the believers) “one with another in a universality raised high above the limitations of race, class, nationality, sect, and personality, and their privilege of contributing to the Power of the Cause in the realm of collective action.”
One candle sheds a little light, but with the eye of the Spirit we see the light of many candles merged into one glow, penetrating the darkness.
The third phase of the Nineteen-Day Meeting is unique
(in some respects) in the annals of religious observance.
Former religions have had a season of joyous gathering and
feasting—but in the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, besides the
four or five Intercalary Days, for entertaining and bestowing
upon others a share of the blessings showered upon us—the
believers are commanded to gather at least once in every
nineteen days, in oy and fragrance. We see in this command
the universality of the Bahá’í Teachings—touching every
aspect of life and answering every need of the individual.
The joy manifest in the social part of the Nineteen-Day Feast
is not the effervescent hilarity of the escapist—but the manifesting
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of a joyous assurance that only a Bahá’í has.
A friend who had read some of the Bahá’í Writings said to me that nowhere else, in any religious books, had she contacted so frequently the word “confirmation.” This I think may also be said of the words, “joy and fragrance.” How often these words were spoken by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the American friends. How many times He spoke of the believers as flowers in a garden—the Rose-garden of God; for, just as the rose sheds its sweetness, unconscious of itself, doing the Will of its Creator, so, we, as believers, by “feasting” on the Holy Utterances develop joy and fragrance that, by the bounty of God permeates every aspect—individual and collective— of our activities.
What a difference between so-called “good times” and the Bahá’í feasts of joy! Here the laughter wells up from the heart, here the smile is a happy one—for Bahá’ís know that there is a God, for He has again, in His Love, manifested Himself to mankind. Bahá’ís know that the Sun is shining, in spite of the dark clouds that would hide its radiance. Bahá’ís know that the springtime has again come, although the chill winds of the soul’s winter are still felt.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá once said that if all men combined to stop the coming of Spring—they could not do it.
In the Íqán (p. 121) we read—“Command—word and action—are in His Power.”
Let us then, gather in the Nineteen-Day Feasts, assured that every need of our existence will be supplied.
“Regular attendance at the Nineteen-Day Feast is incumbent upon every Bahá’í, illness or absence from the city being the only justification for absence. Believers are expected to arrange their personal affairs so as to enable them to observe the Bahá’í Calendar.”
WITH OUR READERS
World Order is still small in
size but it carries a great message
and such letters as the following
emphasize its true worth: “I
surely want to renew my subscription
to World Order, for I
look forward with such keen interest
to every number. . . . Being
somewhat isolated as I am, I find
the magazine seems like meeting
with friends. . . . Besides, I’m
able to share it with a few of
my group here, and that is real
joy. . . . every month brings
articles one would like to proclaim
from the housetops.”
Little by little, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s prophecy about the Bahá’í Magazine (then called Star of the West) is being fulfilled. This was His last message to the Star: “Do not look now at the small influence of the Star of the West. A day will come when this will be the greatest paper in the world. It will be spread in the East and in the West.”
* * *
In our leading article this month Horace Holley makes it clear that the civilization of the future ordained by Bahá’u’lláh is based on a new principle, never before understood. Our readers know Mr. Holley as secretary of our National Spiritual Assembly and member of the editorial staff of World Order magazine.
We are happy to print Louis Gregory’s account of his own experience in talking with Dr. George Washington Carver about the Bahá’í Faith. Mr. Gregory, our readers know, is a tried and firm believer of long standing, an indefatigable and inspiring teacher and a member of our National Spiritual Assembly. In July, 1942, we printed a contribution of his entitled “Bahá’í to Jew”.
The third and last installment of “Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá” is in this number of World Order. This compilation has been made by Mabel Hyde Paine of Urbana, Illinois, with the idea of gathering together some of the prayers revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which are especially suited for public gatherings and the individual seeker. Please refer to page 144 in our July issue for a fuller statement of the purpose of this compilation.
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“The Feast” by Ella C. Quant
will help us all to understand
better the meaning and as yet
unrealized possibilities of the
Bahá’í Feast. In sending in the
manuscript the author, who is
one of our early American believers,
living in Schenectady,
New York, writes, “This winter
being housed for some weeks I
have had such a strong urge to
write ‘The Feast’ that now I am
sending it to you.” In our recent
March issue we published “The
City of God” by the same author.
Helen Bishop, whose article, “Wider Horizons”, will, we believe, help us all to gain a fuller insight into the breadth and depth of Bahá’u’lláh’s world Message has spent some time in Haifa and in visiting and lecturing at Bahá’í centers in Europe. For some time she was resident director of the Bahá’í International Center at Geneva, Switzerland. Mrs. Bishop’s home is now in Pasadena, California.
We continue our symposium on “The Evolution of Peace” with a contribution from Olga Finke of Atlanta, Georgia. Miss Finke tells us that she has long been interested in the peace question and international affairs, that for a number of years she studied international affairs with the Ethical Culture Society of New York and also took a course of study at the League of Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. In our last April number we published Miss Finke’s article, “The Child in a Chaotic World” and in that number we told of Miss Finke’s training and experience with young children. Of that article the State Superintendent of Georgia Schools wrote to Miss Finke “You have made a timely, telling and significant contribution.”
Garreta Busey, also of Urbana, Illinois, writes this month’s editorial entitled “In the King’s Name”.
Reginald King, poet and lecturer, lives in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he broadcasts for WEEU. This poem is taken from one of his published volumes called Vistas. He tells us that he is one of our more recent Bahá’ís and is using his leisure time in spreading the Message in his region.
Next month we plan to begin printing compilations of references to Bahá’í readings suitable for commemoration services on Bahá’í Holy Days. We hope every assembly will plan to keep a file of these references.
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. 262 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
Words of Bahá’u’lláh
Inscribed Over the Nine Entrances of the House
of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois
- THE EARTH IS BUT ONE COUNTRY; AND MANKIND ITS CITIZENS.
- THE BEST BELOVED OF ALL THINGS IN MY SIGHT IS JUSTICE; TURN NOT AWAY THEREFROM IF THOU DESIREST ME.
- MY LOVE IS MY STRONGHOLD; HE THAT ENTERETH THEREIN IS SAFE AND SECURE.
- BREATHE NOT THE SINS OF OTHERS SO LONG AS THOU ART THYSELF A SINNER.
- THY HEART IS MY HOME; SANCTIFY IT FOR MY DESCENT.
- I HAVE MADE DEATH A MESSENGER OF JOY TO THEE; WHEREFORE DOST THOU GRIEVE?
- MAKE MENTION OF ME ON MY EARTH THAT IN MY HEAVEN I MAY REMEMBER THEE.
- O RICH ONES ON EARTH! THE POOR IN YOUR MIDST ARE MY TRUST; GUARD YE MY TRUST.
- THE SOURCE OF ALL LEARNING IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, EXALTED BE H1S GLORY.