World Unity/Volume 13/Issue 5/Text

[Page 256]

WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

Volume XIII, February, 1934

World Unity is World Faith ..... Editorial

Art and Its Relation to Life. .... Rose Noller

World Advance ...... . . . « Oscar Newfang

The Root of Economic Distress . . . . Edgar L. G. Prochnik World Citizenship .... .. ees Carl A. Ross

The World of Reality... ..... Ruhi Afndn

Book Notes

Notes on the Current Issue

Advertisement

257-268 269-278 279-285 286-291 292-299 300-313 314-317 318-319 320 �[Page 257]WORLD UNITY IS WORLD FAITH EDITORIAL Iv. Living Faith and Dying Creed

ESPITE its serious mistakes in the realm of ultimate inter- pretation of values, modern science has made possible one notable advance of at least indirectly a spiritual nature: it has created within the human mind a firm sense of the existence of universal law. The modern man inhabits a world whose processes he is increasingly convinced are understandable and trustworthy, capable of rational perception, and even wheve not yet known, impossible to be held subject to mere chance and caprice. FB this bebeenitial prin, th# modem saad aol eee Gc aed cones cians ad ee forces and powers whose unknown processes contin- ually suggested a variety of conflicting aims and wills, contact with which compelled him to develop elaborate rituals in the nature of a fearful if cunning defense. The modern man, moreover, has won an entirely new sense of courage and integrity not only from his” capacity to understand nature rationally but also from his proven ® power of making mechanical instruments and appliances to those with which by nature he was endowed. ia uae. possesses a superior eye; in the radio a superior ear; in the electronic tabe-a toutls elindtely sabes sécsltive than that sf ty haba hoe Bet the hour of trinmph and Se eee gle with nature has by some mysterious | Ee anit tanaitihion in bie sclaions oh Gaunt oak GOT man. Time surely never witnessed a spectacle more dramatic and more momentous than this tragic contrast between man as scientist and as citizen, between man as mechanic and man as the orphan of life, a lost and bewildered soul.

237 �[Page 258]258 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

What wonder that many sensitive and fragile personalities endeavor, in such a terrible hour, to abandon and repudiate all that so much bitter effort has secured, preferring the passive peace of some irrational and unworldly faith to the active struggle required in order to extend the powers of reason from the scientific to the social domain. By quitting the battlefield, they think to win for themselves some secret treaty, the terms of which will enable them to continue their existence untroubled, even though the continu- ance be as the dreamless sleep of a child.

For the more heroic, the meaning of life in this age has come to be the supreme obligation, inevitable (and therefore glorious) because it has been imposed by an historic sequence of events aris- ing from humanity itself, of going forward to the peak of another mountain of achievement, far higher than material science, from which the race can rise above its social ignorance and confusion even as in previous ages man has achieved victory over other prob- lems which at the time appeared as desperate as the modern strug- gle for world peace.

In surveying this supreme obligation in the light of our ra- tional powers, the formidable antagonism of social institutions cul- minating in the armed national states is clearly no superhuman situation but an antagonism emanating directly from the human will. If we envisage war or economic disaster as overwhelming earthquakes, as all-destroying hurricanes, the symbol cannot be made to transfer responsibility from man to the nature, to the unt- verse, from which actual earthquakes and hurricanes proceed. The antagonistic institutions, large and small, are nothing more than groups of people willingly captive to a competitive ideal.

What devastates society is the diversity and conflict of loyal- ties; in other words the fatal lack of one loyalty embracing man- kind. Conscious effort for the attainment of world order must begin here, in an intense and constant realization of the disparity between the organic unity of the external universe and the disunity of the subjective world.

Measured by the diversity of loyalties, human society would appear to be constituted of members of unrelated species no less �[Page 259]LIVING FAITH AND DYING CREED 2§9

essentially committed to strife than the beasts of the jungle or the insects of the swamp. Because the world of nature contains dif- ferent species which pursue and are pursued, it would appear as though humanity had taken its lesson of life from a lower order, a kingdom of existence bereft of reason, in which nature has im- planted the seeds of incessant physical struggle.

But the instinct of self-preservation dominating the animal is adjusted to the attainment of its own goal, while the diverse loyal- ties of mankind are impossible of realization. Their effect is to undermine the very foundation of human life. Not to instinct but to spiritual ignorance must be attributed that condition of society in which men’s highest loyalties arrive at destruction and death, a self-betrayal rather than a fulfillment of self.

Every loyalty is composed of two elements: an external ob- ject which can be rationally grasped and perceived, and a subjec- tive motive which is elusive because identified with the object or goal to be achieved. For this reason, rational comparison of con- flicting loyalties is impossible, because the rational power has be- come adapted to values external to man and is helpless in dealing with the origin and character of motives. The motive is prior to the object, and the motive employs reason as its instrument and justification. Human reason is a searchlight which throws a bril- liant light upon scenes outside and beyond the realm of motive, but behind the searchlight all is blackest darkness. We therefore insist upon an unvarying and ever reliable mathematics but tolerate ex- treme variety and unreliability in religion. We have become ra- tional in relation to all that is below man, but remain pre-rational in relation to all that pertains to the human heart itself.

This chasm in the continuity of rational reality is excused on the assumption that the rational power is inherently limited, can only deal with a restricted area of values, and that consequently, when the profoundest human motives are at issue, reason must give way to faith. This assumption means nothing less than that the searchlight of the rational power can not, for some reason not ex- plained, be turned in any direction save that external to human nature. It means also that man in himself is not an organic unity �[Page 260]260 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

but is a dual being, split by the artificial distinction between reason and faith and compelled eternally to act under two irreconcilable laws. The distinction is not removed but rather further compli- cated by the claim that faith is a “higher” reason, a power having authority to annul, at any time, what ordinary reason holds to be useful, true or necessary. For such a claim establishes more than duality at the heart of human life—it compels a strife between “mind” and “heart” at crucial moments of destiny which constitutes the ultimate source of conflict in society as a whole.

To recapitulate: the civilization in which the very existence of humanity is enmeshed has become the prey of nationalistic, class, racial and also ecclesiastical loyalties. These irreconcilable loyal- ties have, in our own generation, precipitated an international war and an international economic collapse which have not only re- leased the greatest amount of death and suffering recorded in hu- man history but have impaired the whole structure of civilization. Furthermore, these loyalties, despite the bitterest experience, re- main essentially unreconciled and are today more highly armed for destruction than in 1914. This is the objective picture of human life today. When we examine these loyalties we find them resting upon motives and flowing from impulses which defy control, rooted as they are in the subjective world of the heart which re- mains irrational, while rationalizing its wishes and its aims. In this world, blind faith and not reason sits upon the throne. But the demands of that faith no longer correspond to the clear needs of human life. Faith has identified itself not with life but with death. The power of reason, which perceives the crisis, at present can not deal with motives, but on the contrary is the instrument and tool by which irrational faith forges its own destruction. Every organ- ized loyalty has rationalized itself into a self-contained philosophy beyond the reach of successful attack from without and beyond the reach of suspicion on the part of those remaining within. Society has become a chaos because man is divided against himself. He has become powerful in all realms where he has applied reason; he has become a helpless victim in the realm where he has re nounced reason in favor of blind faith. The influence which has �[Page 261]LIVING FAITH AND DYING CREED 261

made man willing to sacrifice reason for faith, which has convinced him that his deepest motives and highest loyalties are subject to laws outside or beyond reason, is organized religion—the church.

The next step, therefore, for those who sincerely desire to se1 ve the rational ideal of world order, lies in a re-examination of the claim sponsored by the churches of every creed and inculcated into the tender and responsive minds of children, that reason has no concern with the deepest motives of life but is an alien power which must remain outside the holy of holies until given the lesser task of justifying the motives adopted, in some mysterious and ir- rational way, by faith and also the task of enabling faith to achieve its aim.

The picture of the subjective world corresponding to the in- sane condition of modern civilization is that man’s religion has remained primitive and pre-rational while man’s knowledge and capacity for action have miraculously multiplied. The ghost of the savage behind the altar commands the soul of the statesman who instigates war and of the economist who turns industry into a daily and life-long social combat.

The claim that reason can not deal with the substance of faith is a wholly artificial claim. It rests upon an assumption of human duality directly projecting the conception of warring, antagonistic gods marking the age of the savage. If God is one, and God is the creator of humanity, then the human spirit is one in essence and can achieve an organic unity far beyond this present stage character- ized by the assumed irreconcilability of reason and faith. Since progress and achievement have followed upon every determined effort of man to control the forces of life and respond to the ra- tional order of the universe, how can we entertain the impossible and wholly unauthorized claim that the door to the reality of hu- man nature is to reason forever barred? One-half civilized, one- half primitive savage—this condition of humanity is in itself the most challenging proof that progress, far from being finished and complete, ofters today the possibility of advance in the spiritual tealm comparable to that already achieved in the field of material science. �[Page 262]2.62 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

‘Abdu’l-Baha is a world personage in this age with an import- ance to humanity far transcending that of people now exerting su- preme social influence, for the reason that ‘Abdu’l-Bahé carried the power of reason across the chasm which for us still yawns between intelligence and faith. In him there existed a consciousness ful- filled and organically united, blending perfectly the power of un- derstanding with the quality of faith. His faith had no irrational element, and his reason illumined the dark recesses where faith is born and its quality determined. Against the whole momentum of an age glorifying the savage in its religion, he stool rocklike, im- movable in the conviction that these very social disasters are evi- dence that the time to attain spiritual knowledge has dawned. In place of the traditional conception of man as being forever divided against himseif, he established a reality which reason can accept and faith, true faith, must recognize and extol as the highest priv- ilege of existence. Perceiving that spiritual ignorance has run its course in the organization of armed national states, he spoke with assurance of man’s future attainment of world unity and world order to follow this brief period during which the irritional, savage outlook is being finally discredited and left behind.

“God's greatest gift to man is that of intellect, or understand- ing. Understanding is the power by which man acquires his know]- edge of the several kingdoms of creation, and of various stages of existence, as well as of much that is invisible. Possessing this gift he is, in himself, the sum of earlier creations; he is able to get into touch with those kingdoms, and by this gift he frequently, through his scientific knowledge, can reach out with prophetic vision. In- tellect is, in truth, the most precious gift bestowed upon man by the divine bounty. Man alone, among created beings, has this won- derful power.

“All creation, preceding man, is bound by the stern law of nature. The great sun, the multitudes of stars, the oceans and seas, the mountains, the rivers, the trees, and all animals, great or small —none are able to evade obedience to nature’s law.

‘Man alone has freedom, and by his understanding or intel- lect has been able to gain control of and adapt some of those nat- �[Page 263]LIVING FAITH AND DYING CREED 263

ural laws to his own needs. . .

“God gave this power to man that it might be used for the advancement of civilization, for the good of humanity, to increase love and concord and peace. But man prefers to use this gift to destroy instead ot to build, ror injustice and oppression, for hatred and discord and devastation, for the destruction of his fellow- creatures, whom Christ has commanded that he should love as himself. . .

“Consider the aim of creation: is it possible that all is created to evolve and develop through countless ages with this small goal in view—a few years of a man’s life on earth? Is it not unthink- able that this should be the final aim of existence?

“The mineral evolves until it is absorbed in the life of the plant, the plant progresses until it finally loses its life in that of the animal the animal, in its turn, forming part of the food of man, is absorbed into human life. Thus, man is shown to be the sum of all creation, the superior of all created beings, the goal to ~vhich countless ages of existence have progressed. . .

“When we speak of the soul we mean the motive power of this physical body which lives under its entire control in accord- ance with its dictates. If the soul identifies itself with the material world it remains dark, for in the natural world there is corruption, agpression, struggles for existence, greed, darkness, transgression and vice. If the soul remains in this station and moves along these paths it will be the recipient of this darkness; but if it becomes the recipient of the graces of the world of mind, its darkness will be transformed into light, its tyranny into justice, its ignorance into wisdom, its aggression into loving kindness, until it reach the apex. Man will become free from egotism; he will be released from the material world. . .

“There is, however, a faculty in man which unfolds to his vision the secrets of existence. It gives him a power whereby he may investigate the reality of every object. It leads man on and on to the luminous station of divine sublimity and frees him from the fetters of self, causing him to ascend to the pure heaven of sanctity. This is the power of the mind, for the soul is not, of itself, capable �[Page 264]264 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

of unrolling the mysteries of phenomena; but the mind can accom- plish this and therefore it is a power superior to the soul.

“There is still another power which is differentiated from that of the soul and mind. This third power is the spirit which is an emanation from the divine Sestower; it is the effulgence.of the Sun of Reality, the radiation of the celestial world, the spirit of faith, the spirit Ch .t refers to when he says: “Those that are born of the flesh are flesh, and those that are born of the spirit are spirit.’ ...

“If a man reflects he will understand the spiritual significance of the law of progress; how all things move from the inferior to the superior degree. . .

“The greatest power in the realm and range of human exist- ence is spirit—the divine breath which animates and pervades all things. It is manifested throughout creation in different degrees or kingdoms.

“In the mineral kingdom it manifests itself by the power of cohesion. In the vegetable kingdom it is the spirit augmentative or power of growth, the animus of life and development in plants, trees and organisms of the floral world. In this degiee of its mani- festation, spirit is unconscious of the powers which qualify the kingdom of the animal. The distinctive virtue or “plus” of the animai is sense perception; it sees, hears, smells, tastes and feels but in turn is incapable of the conscious ideation or reflection which characterize and differentiate the human kingdom. The ani- mal neither exercises nor apprehends this distinctive human power and gift. From the visible it can not draw conclusions regarding the invisible whereas the human mind from visible and known premises attains knowledge of the unknown and invisible. . . . Like- wise the human spirit has its limitations. It can not comprehend the phenomena of the kingdom transcending the human station, for it is a captive of powers and life forces which have their opera- tion upon its own plane of existence and it cannot go beyond that boundary. ..

“The mission of the Prophets, the revelation of the holy books, the manifestation of the heavenly teachers and the purpose of di- �[Page 265]LIVING FAITH AND DYING CREED 265

vine philosophy all center in the training of the human realities so that they may become clear and pure as mirrors and reflect the light and love of the Sun of Reality. .. This is the true evolution and progress of humanity.”

In this teaching, if we apprehend it correctly, the law of pro- gress is revealed as the action of a higher form of life upon a lower. An element in the mineral kingdom remains in the limitations of that kingdom until it is gathered up and assimilated by the veget- able kingdom, which in turn rises not by its own power but through action of the animal kingdom. Elements in the vegetable kindom die in that kingdom to be reborn in the animal kingdom, and sim- ilarly elements in the realm of the animal, when assimilated by man, die to be reborn as it were on a higher plane.

But how is man to rise above himself? For man there is no higher kingdom of physical existence to extend this principle of development by actual assimilation of the physical type. Of the four degrees of existence in the world of nature, man himself is the apex; wherefore the elements of man’s physical being can go no higher, but through his physical death are restored to the lower planes. In this closed circle of physical existence the elements eter- nally rise and fall, establishing the rhythmic cycle of the world of nature.

In his primitive, savage state, man sought however to extend this cycle from the physical to the conscious realm. He believed that he could acquire the qualities of another man by eating his flesh. This conception, prolonged during nameless ages, assumed an elaborate ritual and formed the basis of his religious beliefs. Little by little the bloody sacrifice became refined; instead of eating the flesh he laid it upon the altar of his tribal god. Eventually the stark savage belief persisted only as a symbol; it became sufficient to sacrif-e an animal in place of a human being. By Old Testa- ment times even this more innocent murder was condemned by prophetic leaders. The sacrifice was preferably wholly symbolic, by gifts, by flowers and fruit.

Behind this evolution of belief and religious practice we may feel the burden of a bitter, prolonged struggle for unJerstanding �[Page 266]266 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

of the spiritual law of evolution: the conception that qualities are obtained by partaking of substance had the apparent sanction of nature itself.

Even today the struggle has not been won. For even today the blind faith is widespread that man draws near God and par- takes of divine qualities in mass or communion—by partaking of a physical substance, a consecrated bread and wine.

What wonder, when religion in its most sacred teachings has not left behind the primitive savage who sought to evolve and pro- gress by eating the flesh of his fallen foe—what wonder that man- kind has no capacity to arise above loyalties essentially blind, sel- fish and partisan, loyalties that are tribal in essence, loyalties that can devastate the entire civilized world? For the mirror of rational intelligence, endowed with power to reflect whatever realities it faces, has been given no realm of spiritual truth to substitute for the visible realm of nature—the lower world of insect and of beast.

But ‘Abdu’l-Baha has illumined that lost world of spiritual truth. He has freed the power of reason and intelligence from its servitude to biological fact and disclosed an illimitable universe still to be explored.

The central principle of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s teaching is that the Prophets, human though they are in all that pertains to the body, constitute an order of existence higher than man, a kingdom which acts upon man, purifying his motives and releasing his innate powers, assimilating man and raising him to a plane of conscious- ness transcending his former nature as truly as the animal trans- cends the senseless tree. By the spirit that flows through the Prophet, animating his words, man in turning sincerely to that source of reality is saved from the dominance of instincts and mo- tives emanating from the world of nature which is lower in de gree because it lacks the quality of mind.

The relation of man to Prophet is not that of flesh sacrificed to a jealous tribal god, not that of slave to a Monarch enthroned upon mysterious magical powers; it is the relation of child to par- ent, of student to educator, and the true essence of religion con- sists in attaining knowledge of and rendering devotion to the laws �[Page 267]LIVING FAITH AND DYING CREED 2.67

and principles of evolution in the kingdom of spirit. The faithful student of spiritual truth is, in consciousness, assimilated by and into that truth, no less actually than the mineral element which the living root absorbs.

As exemplified by ‘Abdu’l-Bah4, religion is clearly a value not merely conforming to reason but the realm which offers reason and understanding its supreme opportunity. The substance of spiritual truth constitutes the real world in which intelligence can function freely and become completely fulfilled. The actual rela- tion of reason to faith arises from consideration of the fact that it is by faith that man has capacity to recognize the Prophet—it is the quality of faith which makes it possible to turn the searchlight of intelligence toward the source of reality; but the knowledge thereby obtained remains a function of the rational mind. Faith, then, is an expression of will and not of intelligence. ‘Abdu’l-Baha has forever freed man from superstition and imagination. He has interpreted the reality of man in the light of the reality of re- ligion. That religion in its purity conforms to reason is his funda- mental claim.

From this higher level of perception one can turn back to the condition of divided and antagonistic loyalties which underlies the sinister turmoil of this period, and apprehend it as evidence of the decay of the inherited religions. The God-given intelligence of humanity is functioning in the darkness of unfaith, and hence the devotion to falsified religions, the hysteria of economic and polit- ical movements, the soul-consuming strife of race and class.

In the rise of psychological sciences which explore the “un- conscious” and “subconscious” fields in man, we have a valiant, if misdirected, struggle to extend the powers of rational intelligence to contiol human motives and beliefs. In reality, man has no mys- terious “subconscious” self, but rather, in his natural condition, draws upon the instincts and impulses of the animal world. It is the physical organism, directly receptive to and penetrated by the same forces acting upon the animal kingdom, which psychologists actually explore. It is possible to plumb the depths of nature in man’s being, but human reality—the direction of man’s true prog- �[Page 268]268 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

ress—lies not backward in that dark abyss but forward toward “rebirth” into the spiritual kingdom.

This age, in its confused struggle of ideals, has but given ra- tional form to the blind feelings of man’s physical, therefore animal organism. Our society vainly endeavors, in its most turbulent mass movements, to find outlet for fears, rages and frustrated hopes which in the animal are temporary and harmless, but in a society possess- ing scientific means of destruction can lead to nothing else than universal conflict. A rational faith—a knowledge of how these motives can be transmuted into forces of cooperation—alone stands between us and this catastrophe. The basis of world order, in short, is a humanity whose mind is not acted upon from the lower kingdoms but is illumined by the light of God.

Until men become imbued with true, rational faith, the su- preme goal of world order and peace will never be achieved. For universal peace is a reality only on the plane of spiritual truth. Civilization bereft of any source of reality and guidance is a dead body, prey to the maggots and the worms. Through the power of the Holy Spirit alone can we leave this death behind.

“The Holy Spirit is the light from the Sun of Truth bringing, by its infinite power, life and illumination to all mankind, flooding all souls with divine radiance, conveying the blessings of God's mercy to the whole world. The earth, without the medium of the warmth and light of the rays of the sun, could receive no benefits from the sun. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is the very cause of the life of man; without the Holy Spirit he would have no intellect, he would be unable to acquire his scientific knowledge by which his great influence over the rest of creation is gained. .. The Holy Spirit it is, which, through the mediation of the Prophets of God, teaches spiritual virtues to man and enables him to acquire eternal

life.” H.H. �[Page 269]ART AND ITS RELATION TO LIFE by RosE NOLLeER

practicality; in fact as a means whereby we may escape the

obsession of the practical life. Interpreted in a negative sense

this is true. But it is likewise true, it is a means of glorifying life. Ugliness and strain spring from our inability to make proper syntheses of the chaos of facts with which we are surrounded. Beauty flashes upon us when we see those same facts arranged in orderly wholes. And it is the whole purpose of all the arts, if they are more than the result of mere following of formula employed by the mediocre, to make such interpretations. In fact, it ‘ this same art spirit, to which many of our finest thinkers in all fields of life refer in differing terms, which is forcing its way through our misconceptions, our misinterpretations, our disarray of facts, in an attempt to bring order out of chaos, and equilibrium out of rest- lessness. This equilibrium can oniy come from a weighing of values, determining where we have under-estimated and where over-estimated these values. And often it is necessary to bring about a gradual reversal of them in order to restore balance.

I know a “philosopher” who said, when he was a young boy, he studied art. He withdrew in time all idea of making a career of it; but he said he received from the study a sense of design, meaning and balance which he never lost and which pervaded his whole life.

It is for its tremendous import and relation to living that no one should consider his life complete without some creative pur- suit, to purge himself from the flood of foreign ideas with which he is all but drowned and to which he may learn to give orderly

shape, if he will but choose to do so. Then for the first time will 269

Te: sphere of art is usually looked upon as separate from �[Page 270]2790 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

he stand on sound, dry land,—an individual who can see meaning and beauty in life.

While the superstition is gradually being dissolved, it is still a common belief that only certain favored persons have creative ability. No logical argument can be presented to support this be- lief, except the ubiquitous evidence which has resulted from the general acceptance of it. We have confused uniformity with thought; we have confused personality with individuality. Science every day convinces us life is governed by laws with which we must cooperate; the mind and the spirit has its own laws. And although the evidence may contradict it because misinterpreted, we are created equal (not identical). We are equally supported by a law universal in its applicability, with power to give shape to our destiny; to a destiny which is a union of both the doctrines of pre- destination and freewill, since the destiny has only one end, to satisfy the individual will. This will be without conflict when these laws are fully understood. A conflict could 10 more arise than the multitudinous diversity of color could conflict with light. It has been my own experience as well as my constant observation that this ability exists potentially within everyone and the indi- vidual derives strength in proportion to his becoming conscious of these potentialities through use.

Then, too, our educational system, while it is gradually im- proving and allows the individual greater freedom, does not, save for those gifted individuals in it who have vision, comprehend the creative mind and its purpose. It gives the individual a rich fund of knowledge, to be sure, but is no proper guide for building mean- ing out of this unrelated mass of knowledge. As A. Clutton Brock* remarks succinctly:

“But since reality and the self are something which we have to achieve, something which exists in an eternal pattern, but with which we have to identify ourselves, it follows that science, the knowledge of the past, the whole activity which concerns itself with knowing and observing, does not deserve the dangerous pre- eminence which it has gained over us ***,”

• art and the Escape from Banality.

�[Page 271]ART AND ITS RELATION TO LIFE 271

The technique with which the artist works, in whatever me- dium, whether sound, language, paint, stone or marble, must grow out of him. This is why every great creator has evolved new forms which are at first misunderstood, because they have varied from tradition (in form not in spirit) but which are later accepted as they become understood. If art and its living meaning were really understood and clearly taught in our schools, instead of end- less analysis of form, you would have genuine and lasting appre- cation which would take practical shape in timely recognition of new art and artists. Much which is recognized as modern art is blatant and sensational with not a spark of the great art spirit which is always an indication of immortality. And this confusion arises out of a misconception of what technique is.

Hadow in ‘Studies of Modern Music” illustrates this con- fusion of another period, quoting from the musical magazine, Quarterly Review and Magazine: The critic states there are “few marks of study” in Beethoven’s work. In all his composi‘ions “there is not one example of a fugue regularly conducted” and “no composer of established faine has yet existed who has not distinguished himself by the production of fugues or canons.” Fur- ther, it is a pity that the composer should so often “have mistaken noise for grandeur, extravagance for originality. * * * Compared with Haydn and even with Mozart” he is deficient in grace and clearness and that while “some of his compositions will never be forgotten” his larger works ‘‘will be talked of by professors and suffered to lie at peace in their shelves.”

This is what Beethoven himself had to say:

“From the heart they came and to the heart they will go. I do not fear for my works, no evil can befall them; and whosoever shall understand them, he shall be freed from all the misery that burdens mankind.”

The same difference between artisan and artist exists as truly now as it ever did, the former using an imitative process, a formula, and the latter whose material is built under the urgent need of ex- pression of immortal spirit, always reveals true individuality: the mountainous rigour of Beethoven: the mysticism of Franck; the �[Page 272]272 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

vigor and demoniac fascination of Berlioz; or the deep, thoughtful, philosophic current of Brahms. Max Schoen,* as does every thor- ough thinker, supports this:

“Genius never acquires a set technique. * * * There is no rep- etition of technique in Shakespeare, Goethe or Beethoven. Each work stands on its own feet and is a law unte itself. Its technique is its own, evolved by the necessity of its own being. No precon- ceived formula is recognizable in it. Each bears the stamp of cre- ative rapture, of the conquest of a new world of experience, of an adventure and discovery in self-realization.”

And again:

“Much of what has been said and written about genius and inspiration, both in praise and disparagement, is part truth and part falsehood, just because it is praise or disparagement. What is needed is understanding.” |

I was asked to criticize a poem by one with this misconception of the meaning of technique. The poem had real poetic feeling, but was artificial in structure and I told him the poem was reminis- cent of Milton; it was not the result of his own fresh, living use of words. He admitted a preference for Milton and the likelihood that he was influenced by him.

In another instance, a poem was given to one, more than usually intelligent and cultivated, a graduate not of one but of two of our famous colleges, for criticism. The basis for criticism which he showed was the same as is devastating in the field of criticism, that of comparison. The poem was deficient in that it lacked the particular technique of Keats... .. We have yet to learn that sys- tems are evolved for our use, not as our instructors and lawgivers. We have yet to find the system which can teach simplicity. All nature stresses flexibility, variety and individuality, the utter im- possibility of a single duplication. (And even types never lack freshness and spontaneity). We do not criticize apples because they are not pomegranates. Yet this is exactly what happens to every forward-looking new idea which life of necessity must evolve, because of the general lack of understanding of the multi-

• Art and Beauty.

�[Page 273]AKT AND ITS RELATION TO LIFE 273

form in relation to that which is basic and uniform. The basis of criticism should not be form, but the motive force which enters into it, for the form which takes place is that motive force em- bodied. Only this basic motive force is in all life uniform. In its manifested aspect it is always differentiated, and it is from this differentiated aspect that the unwary try to make living formula and always fail. This motive force is unique, yet identical, in all great art forms, differences relating only to degrees, or a particular quality of the same basic spirit which assume corresponding form, as ethereality in music and density in architecture or sculpture, the other arts building in the degrees between these extremes.

If the creative mind were really understood as being the po- tential consciousness to which each thing and each person is as related as light is to differentiated color, this fallacy, a fallacy everywhere pervading, could no longer exist. It is the tyranny of such formula which ridicules a Walt Whitman or an Emily Dick- inson, until they are dead, and then this same tyranny formulates the symbols of their expression into an accepted technique, a new formula for the writing of poetry. It is this mistaken concept of technique which produces all that is mortal, and the strong spirit of the great which makes them and their work immortal. I cannot emphasize sufficiently that the difference lies in the motive force, the art spirit, or the lack of it. The form came into being because of its inspiring spirit, out of which the form was built. The imi- tator does the opposite. Therefore, his product leaves us unmoved. It is a corpse, and no number of furbelows will breathe life into that which never had life.

Because the spirit which pervades art is unique, unique because of the significance of its motive force, it cannot be separated from living. It is an intensification of it, a fulfillment of living; not craftsmanship laborious and artificial, but craftsmanship inevitably, a living craftsmanship, in which the idea and the resultant form are unconflicting. It is not a pleasure, the satisfaction of which exists only in its pursuit, but a direct, complete satisfaction received both in the pursuit and the end, the end which is a culmination, not a disappointment. It builds gradually a real freedom, a free- �[Page 274]2.74 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

dom which Surette has said is “disciplined by beauty;” that beauty which consciously perceives that this universe is indeed a universe. It builds a freedom which no longer is subject to the experience of perfect moments in living, accidentally, but consciously directs their reoccurrence. Art’s specific end lies in comprehending per- fectly and consciously the essential, permanent values, to sustain which lesser values are related, but only related, not causative. All controversy which arises does so from confusion and la~’ of order- ly sense of these values.

Ouspensky says in Tertium Organum:

"The world is one, only the ways of knowing it _—_ different; and with imperfect methods of knowledge it is impos..ole to pene- trate into that which is accessible to perfect methods only.”

In other words, the study of art makes necessary the accumula- tion of such knowledge as will make clear the reality of that which is to the practical-minded person shadow and the shadow of that which to him seems reality, as philosophers and poets have always pointed out. It develops an attitude toward living which gives us true perspective, seeing life at such distance as induces true in- terpretation,—an interpretation in which the individual merges with the whole; the self becoming the Self. This perspective is, in differing degrees experienced, accidentally as a rule, by everyone, in, for instance, our ability to laugh at ourselves after some dis- tressing incident is past. But in the study of an art, this attitude toward living becomes more and more habitual, a means whereby the individual consciously brings into living a state of equilibrium, an equilibrium which can pervade the whole of our present prob- lems and life only as each individual becomes fully conscious of the universe in which he lives, to which he can give conscious design. Dreamers have often said that in some far-off Utopia all would be artists. The dream is more than a dream. It is a prophecy; one which may begin to take place now. Let any individual test it, standing on his own feet and working entirely from his own center. Let him learn to build his vague ideas into some preferred form, not necessarily at all as a vocation; as an illuminating recreation and avocation, no matter with what crudity the investiture of �[Page 275]ART AND ITS RELATION TO LIFE 275

the first attempts. He will gradually create for himself and for all who touch him a “new heaven and a new earth.” As A. Clutton Brock says again:

“In all things if we cannot say what we think or feel, we come to think and feel what we say. Nothing in our minds fully exists without expression of some kind; and if the expression by failure, thwarts the impulse, then the impulse itself deteriorates into the failure.”

It has been said that talent is revealed as inhibitions are removed. That this is true I have observed repeatedly. Psychology is every- where endeavoring to free the mind. With the necessity of social reconstruction is equally the necessity of psychical reconstruction. But it is the art spirit which intelligently and normally uses the freed mind for its destined end—that the will of all may be appre- ciated in its power and be objectified in terms of complete satis- faction, which is always beauty.

I do not mean, necessarily, that the art spirit is limited to the traditional arts. The creative mind may be brought into any field of living. But art and some specific expression seems in many cases the best disciplinary method by which we can learn how to bring it into living; because, once the principles of art are understood, one may, by analogy, work out the same principles in anything he chooses. It equips him with an attitude toward living which is infinitely flexible and adaptable, because all personal problems will be understood in relation to universal ones, and the resultant individual is free from the limits of his petty personality. Kahlil Gibran indicates this in his Sand and Foam:

“When you reach the heart of life, you will find yourself not higher than the felon, and not lower than the prophet.”

In addition to the self-satisfaction which we derive from ex- pression through some form of art, it is a direct and satisfactory way of achieving cooperation and coordination of our forces and abilities which may subsequently be made applicable in living. In art both intuition and intellect or reason act in unison or co-opera- tively. The conflicts of the reason and the emotions become recon- ciled. Intuition is no more a feminine prerogative than reason and �[Page 276]276 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

intellect are masculine. The only difference, as has repeatedly been pointed out, is a predominance of native qualities in each. A wo- man naturally approaches all spiritual questions positively while a man does so negatively. In contrast to this, a man approaches all physical questions positively, while a woman does so negatively, if both, of course, are genuine and true to themselves. In propor- tion to development, there is an increasing tendency to bipolarity, with contrast molded to predominance only of positive or negative qualities. And the mental discipline and coordination so achieved through art, I have observed, directly and indirectly, attracts equal physical adjustments, which through misuse of creative force and lack of inner balance would have been impossible. Psychology is constantly attempting to teach that mental attitudes and images become in course of time objectified. Is it not vastly important then to train the mind to create images of beauty, to prevent misuse and perversion?—this same misuse which is fundamental in our present chaos, for it is common experience, even if unanalyzed, that until the individual is himself coordinated, he can give no control and unified shape to objective experience.

I discredit the supposition that humanity willfully misuses its powers. This is not said without having faced the bitterest facts. But it is in the absence of definite direction that it succumbs to misuse, as Clutton Brock has so aptly pointed out. Life forces do not stand still and unless normally directed by the will, must force themselves abnormal and destructive channels of expression. There is something in beauty that burns out our conflicts of good and evil and develops an attitude toward living which is beyond good and evil.

Art becomes a means, also, of establishing sound habits. Self- expression which is aesthetically correct is also the expression which is produced with the greatest spontaneity. I have for many years been a student, among other forms of art, of the art of sing- ing. The correct tone is the one in which all muscular interference has been trained out and becomes objectified with perfect freedom. This spontaneity may have been long in developing. It is the product of understanding, an understanding which is the result �[Page 277]ART AND ITS RELATION TO LIFE 2.77

of a normal, natural growth.

We have heard repeatedly that the lot of the genius and cre- ative worker has been bitter. The hardship, it should be clearly understood, arises not from the work itself, which is inevitably self-chosen, but from the general misunderstanding and ignorance of living values and their vitality and necessity in life. With gen- eral understanding and appreciation of what constitutes genius and its operation by living law, the genius would no longer be a mystery, but would be understood as the source within each indi- vidual which could be given full and natural expression. The genius should be the normal type because he is most natural, nat- ural in the sense of his comprehension, in a great degree at least, of his nature in its totality, an understanding which is equal to universality. The recorded incongruities with which we are fa- miliar result from inevitable failure of understanding and adjust- ment to artificiality and lifeless conventions. But so long as genius and talent are considered personal endowments, separate from any government by principles and laws, so long will misuse of our powers take place.

It is necessary for no one to be mediocre. If he has no talent, he may develop talent. If he has talent, he may develop this talent toward genius. (If there is genius, let us appreciate it in time). Mediocrity is but undeveloped individuality. Genius raises or- dinary capacity to superlative capacity. We call a man great be- cause he expresses qualities common to all in an uncommon degree.

Naturally, those who now appreciate and enjoy art would bring into their own creations a richer quality than those to whom culture has been denied, although culture, misconstrued, may in- terfere with the simplicity necessary for genuine expression. This is illustrated by our negro spirituals and folk songs. So, whether, with or without the advantages or disadvantages of culture, no person is deprived of that law which operates in beauty. Years have nothing to do with the application of laws. It will be more difficult because of the accumulation of false habits; but it is never too late to make a fresh adaptation. And if self-expression through art is at first a recreation and avocation, it may lead at some future �[Page 278]278 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

time to fulfillment of destiny,—a self-chosen goal, for it is the business of life to emulate art.

It should no longer be thought that art is impractical. Its im- practicality consists only of its lack of general understanding and appreciation. Practicality alone is impractical. Art brings us home to the essentials to which we really desire to give form, could we but believe it possible, and frees us from considering sensory values as primary instead of derived. It develops a point of view, that dis- tance, from which opposition and conflict are resolved into beauty.

It should no longer be considered that beauty is a by-product; it is a super-product. And if it is a super-product, it has transcended the by-product and includes it, as intuition is the synthesis within analysis, and is confirmed by it. �[Page 279]WORLD ADVANCE

A Monthly International Review by OscaR NEWFANG

Author of ‘The Road to World Peace,” etc.

PUTTING TEETH INTO THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

peace whenever they are ready to pay the price. Until they

are ready to pay the price, there will be wars and rumors

of wars, and the peoples of the earth will continue to be heavily burdened by war preparations, murderous wars and the aftermath of war-caused depressions. What is that price? It is the abandonment of international anarchy and the establishment of orderly government in the relations of nations to one another. As long as the nations of the world are unwilling to give up any part of their so-called sovereignty, their right to do exactly as they please without any control whatever, there will be collisions of national policies, international friction and wars.

T= nations of the world can have permanent and universal

Anarchy Among Nations and World Peace Cannot Co-exist

If the universal history of the human race has taught any les- son at all, it has proved that anarchy and peace cannot co-exist. There is no record in history of any people, however low in the scale of civilization, that has been able to maintain peace within its borders without government. Peace has been possible only by restricting the anarchy or sovereignty of the individual members of the community, their right to do exactly as they pleased without any control, and by establishing justice through laws and com- pelling compliance with those laws.

The never-ending warfare between the petty tribes of antiquity could not be abolished until the anarchy and sovereignty of the

279 �[Page 280]280 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

tribes was restricted, they were united into small nations in which law and order was enforced, and the separate tribes were compelled to submit their controversies to the general authority for peaceful decision. A similar broadening of the field of government was necessary in order to abolish the constant wars among the small city republics, such as those of Italy, small principalities such as those of Germany, and small kingdoms such as those of the British Isles.

The logical conclusion from this universal lesson of history is inescapable: If war is to be abolished among the present nations of the world, the field of government must be broadened to cover the whole world, and the nations must agree to abandon the state of anarchy in which they now live, to restrict their sovereignty, and to unite in a world organization to establish justice and maintain world peace.

The Weakness of the League of Nations

At the close of the World War the nations clearly perceived this indispensable condition of permanent peace, and they at- tempted to meet it by the establishment of the League of Nations. But they were unwilling to pay the price of peace. They refused to place any restrictions whatever upon their absolute sovereignty or right to do as they pleased, and as a consequence the League of Nations has been impotent to keep the peace of the world. The principle of unrestricted sovereignty necessitated the rule of unan- imity in making decisions, and this paralyzed the action of the League from the start. It is utterly futile to expect effective inter- national regulation in a society of fifty or more nations, when a single negative vote can block all action.

The unwillingness of the nations to restrict their sovereignty was further responsible for the slow, cumbrous and futile ma- chinery of arbitration, conciliation and recommendation. In case of a serious dispute between nations arbitration is refused, concilia- tion is evaded, and recommendations are ignored by the aggressor.

The imposition of the sanctions of the League has proved un- workable. The application of force against an organized state is �[Page 281]WORLD ADVANCB 281

itself war: that is the very definition of war.

After thirteen years’ trial the League of Nations has fully demonstrated its weakness as an organization for the permanent maintenance of world peace. In the case of Japan, the war with China resulting in the seizure of the three Eastern Provinces and of Jehol has been carried on despite all of the League’s warnings, invitations and recommendations, which have resulted only in the Japanese notice of withdrawal from the League. In the Gran Chaco the war between Bolivia and Paraguay has been carried to a knock- out. The effectiveness of the League in restraining these warring member states has been absolutely nil. Now that Bolivic has been decisively defeated, it will be no credit to the League if the war is ended, whether with or without its good offices.

The prestige of the League has during the past year received a very serious blow. Not only has Japan given notice of her inten- tion to withdraw, but Germany has rebelled against the League’s policy of keeping her disarmed among a world of armed nations; and she, also, has signified her intention to leave the League. On top of these disasters comes the demand from Italy that the League must be speedily reorganized or she, too, will withdraw. Should these withdrawals take place, five of the seven great powers of the world will be outside the League, only France and Britain remain- ing in the League; and as Britain is rather lukewarm toward the institution, the League of Nations will be hardly more than the group of France and her allies. This is partly the result of the French violation of the spirit of the League in forming separate alliances outside of the general League union.

The League Faces the Alternative of Integration or Disintegration

The League of Nations has now reached the fork in the road. Two courses are before it. The Le2gue may follow the course of eliminating from its Covenant all coercive sanctions, in which event its history will follow the footsteps of the Holy Alliance toward obsolescence and oblivion. Or it may develop its structure from the present form of a cunfederation, or loose alliance of sov- �[Page 282]282 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

ereign governments, into that of an organic federation of peoples with adequate powers, legislative, judicial and executive, to regu- late the relations of nations with one another, to compel the sub- mission of all controversies tu the World Court, and to enforce the peaceful acceptance of the Court’s decisions. In this event it will follow the course which history has everywhere shown to be the successful method of maintaining permanent peace among states, while at the same time preserving for each state the largest possible measure of autonomy aiid individual culture consistent with the peace and prosperity of all.

In America the thirteen colonies had an experience with a League precisely parallel with that of the states members of the League of Nations. The first confederation of these thirteen states was a “Firm League of Friendship” modeled on the same lines on which the League of Nations is constructed. Each state, whether large or small, had one vote in the League. The League was de- pendent for financial support upon requisitions made of its mem- ber states. It could only recommend what forces each state should supply for the protection of the League. It could not prevent the member states from discriminating against the trade of citizens of other member states by levying tariffs against them and thus caus- ing friction, bad blood and danger of war. Ten years’ experience of the American states with this “Firm League of Friendship” proved its futility in the same way that the futility of the present structure of the League of Nations has been demonstrated. The large American states objected, as Italy is now objecting to the League, that an arrangement by which the small states had an equal voice in the League was unfair to them. The American League found, as the League of Nations has found, that the mem- ber states did not comply with the requisitions made upon them for the necessary funds to sustain the League. The American states fell greatly into arrears and ignored the pleas of the central Con- gress, just as the states members of the League have fallen greatly into arrears and at present ignore the pleas of the Assembly. The recommendations made to the American states in the “Firm League of Friendship” frequently were ignored just as the recommendation �[Page 283]WORLD ADVANCE 2.83

of the League of Nations have been ignored. The “Firm League of Friendship” was just as impotent to stop the tariff wars of its mem- ber states, which threatened in time to lead to war between them, as the League of Nations has proven itself impotent to prevent the constant increases of tariffs, preferences, quotas and embargoes of its member states against one another, which likewise threaten in due time to lead to warfare.

Historic Examples of Integration of States

How were these weaknesses in the structure of the American government corrected and these sources of friction and threatened warfare removed? While the small American states admitted that it was not just to the larger states that the voice of all states in the League should be equal, they at the same time contended that it was not safe for the small states to give each state representation in proportion to its population. The compromise between these apparently irreconcilable positions was a federation which gave the large states proportional representation in one chamber and the small states equal representation in a second chamber; and the plan has pr ed its capacity for keeping the peace among forty-eight states, and at the same time retaining the largest possible measure of autonomy for each state. In the American continent the federal structure has been in successful operation for over a century and a half and permanent peace is more firmly assured now than it ever was before.

The same analysis of the success of the federal structure in a league for peace and prosperity could be made in the case of the Australian continent; in the case of the German states until their further consolidation in recent months, in the case of the continen- tal reaches of the Canadian provinces, in the vast territories of the seven Soviet republics covering one sixth of the earth’s land sur- face, in the states of Brazil, in the United States of Mexico, in the Union of South Africa; and last, but not least, in the Swiss Federa- tion, in which the federal structure has proven capable of maintain- ing peace among German, French and Italian cantons, notwith- �[Page 284]284 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

standing the differences in language and culture and the age-long feuds and wars which history records between these nationalities.

A League Committee of First Class Statesmen to Form a Federal Structure

How can the League of Nations go about the development of its structure from the present loose alliance of s vereign govern- ments to that of an organic federation of the peoples of the world? Not only have the League authorities for their guidance the record of the method by which this development was successfully effected in America; but they may see before their own eyes at the present time the same method of development in operation in the vast sub- continent of India, comprising over six hundred separate sover- eignties and about one sixth of the population of the whole world. India is at this very time in process of federation. The preliminary studies and investigations have been embodied in a very able re- port by a committee headed by Sir John Simon, now British Foreign Secretary. The conflicting interests, like the many similar conflict- ing interests among the American states, are being patiently recon- ciled; and doubtless in due time that great sub-continent will be united in peace and prosperity under a form of federation which will regulate the peaceful relations of the Indian states with one another, and will at the same time preserve the largest possible autonomy to each individual state.

There is no reason why, with sufficient patience and perse- verance, the same thing cannot be done in the development of the League of Nations into a world federation which will be fully adequate to maintain world peace based upon justice. The imme- diate step to be taken would seem to be the same as that taken by the American Congress in calling the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 for the consideration of the necessary improvements in the American League of Friendship, or that taken in the case of India for the full exploration of the form which the Indian Federation should take and the method of reconciling the conflicting interests of that vast congeries of states. �[Page 285]WORLD ADVANCE 285

Italy has demanded the prompt reorganization of the League as a condition of her remaining in it. Why should not the League authorities designate a competent committee of the ablest statesmen of the member states, for the purpose of recommending what changes in the structure of the League are necessary in order to render it adequate for the preservation of world peace and the promotion of world prosperity? The League has reached a fateful point in its career. Either it must develop the necessary strength to accomplish the purposes for which it was established; or it must, like the Holy Alliance, gradually sink into a condition of deca- dence and dissolution.

The development of the League of Nations into a world fed- eration would in itself remove most of the causes of war. It would gtadually abolish the barriers to trade between the members of the federation, allowing all traders of every member state equal access to all the raw materials and to all the markets of the world. It would gradually remove the barriers to migration, thus equaliz- ing the pressures of population in the various parts of the world, and abolishing one of the most deep-seated causes of warfare. It would gradually do away with all restrictions on the movements of capital, thus equalizing investment demands throughout the world; it would stabilize price levels on a world-wide basis; it would make possible a world central bank carrying the world gold reserve as a basis for a world currency, and carrying accounts of all national central banks for the clearing of international balances and for seasonal credits to minimize the present disturbing inter- national gold shipments. To put it in a nutshell, a world federation would remove the economic causes of war, which are at the present day by far the greatest war causes. �[Page 286]THE ROOT OF ECONOMIC DISTRESS by Epcar L. G. PROCHNIK

Austrian Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in the United States

a complete upset of balance in the relation between supply

and demand. There are of course a number of major and

minor causes and agencies responsible for this general per- turbance and they have been more or less exhaustively discussed from various angles with a view to seeking and finding proper ways and means for their eradication, or, at least, for a gradual and partial elimination of their evil influence on the development of World economics. The solution of these manifold problems does not constitute an equal task in regard to time and exertion. Some of these issues are more, some less involved, some are almost inextricably entangled and their course towards solution represents a confusing network of national and international complications, and there are even some which baffle all human ingenuity.

Among the major causes of the depression, there is, however, one which so far has received least attention although its removal would be comparatively simple and would immediately react with beneficial effects on the general situation. The problem here re- ferred to is that of Unemployment. Many will say that unemploy- ment is not a cause but a result of this present economic crisis, and right they may be in claiming equal justification for this assertion with those who contend that unemployment is a cause and not a result of depression. In this particular case, as in many others, cause and effect are rotating in a circle.

There are two kinds of unemployment, the normal one which rises and falls wavelike with the regular fluctuations of business, and the abnormal one, which has nothing or little to do with ups and downs in the natural course of economic affairs but which is 286

T HE root of our present economic distress lies undoubtedly in �[Page 287]ROOT OF ECONOMIC DISTRESS 287

the cogent result of an ever progressing mechanization and rational- ization of our productive activities and which threatens to remain with us forever—unless drastic steps are taken to adapt our whole system to the new era predominated by the machine. This article solely deals. with this last mentioned problem.

Unemployment as a permanent institution undermines our whole social and economic structure. It destroys markets, lames business and discourages enterprise. Unemployment is the main cause of this widespread lack of confidence which like a malignant malady seems to have taken a firm grip on mankind as a whole. It lowers the nations’ standard of life and consequently impairs cultural development. It increases public burdens at the same time that it drains rich sources of revenues and it has above all a dis- astrous influence on public morale. Lasting and ever increasing unemployment would turn a country into a beehive with one por- tion of the population representing the drones and the other the working bees. A perpetuation of the present conditions would inevitably lead to a system, under which a large percentage of a country’s population would acquire an inalienable right to be sup- ported by others. There is hardly a problem of more vital import- ance, more in need of immediate solution than unemployment. This scourge on mankind must be abolished without further delay and at all cost.

But how is this going to be accomplished? Is there any one who can suggest a way to stamp out unemployment? Many steps have been considered and actually taken, as for instance public con- struction work, acceleration of planned building activities, speed- ing ameliorations on public highways, canals, tunnels, river-regula- tions, harbors, etc., and last but not least, rural settlements. All these measures are a drop in the bucket, they are palliatives only, but by no means constitute a real remedy. Besides they are a heavy burden on public expenditures. The sums required and the benefit reaped from them are in gross disproportion. Such measures could be useful only in an acute case of unemployment caused by a tem- porary and transitory slump in business, but they are fully inade- quate to cope with a condition created by a rapid transition from �[Page 288]288 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

an old into a new system of productive activities.

The way out of our present unemployment dilemma is not hard to find because there is only one exit. We surely can not stop progress in mechanization, we surely can not retard the fruits of man’s ingenuity, which will continue to achieve mastery over nat- ural forces and to invent mechanical slaves or robots to do the work for him. Our whole advance in civilization is based on this impulse in mankind to gain full control over the world in which it lives. It would be contrary to logical reasoning if man, after having created robots to do his work, would set up a fight for life and death against these robots, his own creation.

The only logical solution in face of this ever increasing tend- ency towards mechanization lies in an equal distribution of work among available hands, in other words, in a gradual reduction of working hours.

There is a widely spread etror that reduction of working hours is tantamount to a menace to business, because it must result in an increase of cost cf production and consequently of prices. This effect can not be denied. But after all, it is the consumer who ultimately carries these slightly increased costs. On the other hand, however, this same consumer is relieved of immeasurable increase in taxation, of the progressively heavy burden which ere long, the support of ever expanding unemployment will place on him and of the everlasting fear that his earnings may be reduced or fully stopped. When business is good and income secured the consumer does not naind a reasonable rise in the price of commodities. He surely prefers this rise to a slump in prices with no earnings. An empty pocket cannot buy even at low cost. Low prices, besides, are not a salvation, as our present experience shows, when even artificial means not much short of inflation are envisaged to arrest their downward move.

Abnormally expanded production during the war (with over- mechanization as its natural outcome) led, when peace was re- stored, to a scramble for foreign markets, generally termed dump- ing. Each country was eager to find outlets for its overgrown pro- duction. A sharp competition ensued necessitating a tendency to �[Page 289]ROOT OF ECONOMIC DISTRESS 289

wards a lowering of cost of production. This mad rush for foreign markets finally ended where it was bound to end, in the face of raised tariff-walls, import restrictions, quotas and other protective measures and, of course, above all in face of empty tills. But it did not stop soon enough to prevent its disastrous effect on home markets. The overabundance of supply thrown back on domestic demand found the latter alarmingly shrunk through increasing unemployment, caused by the before mentioned trend towards over- mechanization and overrationalization.

Every man out of work is a consumer lost. The appalling loss to business through unemployment may best be visualized in the following figures. If we place the amount of people out of work just for argument’s sake, at 10 million (the actual number is much higher) and the weekly earning at an average of 15 dollars, we come to the conclusion that business loses at an average 150 million dollars weekly or roughly 734 billion dollars annually from un- earned wages. We have to consider that not a cent earned by those who swell the ranks of unemployed would be hoarded, but that every penny would be thrown into circulation, spent even before earned. The actual loss to business is of course much higher.

Lately we are hearing bitter complaints all over the world about the “‘soak the rich” movement. This trend, falsely held to be the outgrowth of radical doctrine, is in fact merely the result of natural developmeust.

A nation is from an intellectual, political, social and economic standpoint built up in the shape of a pyramid or cone, resting on a broad base and tapering towards a sharp point. The more the broad parts at and near the base are eliminated from earning, con- suming and taxpaying capacity, the more the center of gravitation must shift towards the pinnacle, which means, that the public bur- dens will shift upward to ever narrowing stratas, causing uneven distribution. Such a development is of course pernicious to eco- nomic welfare as it has the tendency toward destroying working capital. A more equal distribution of these burdens could only be attained by including the broad base of the pyramid, which again could be accomplished only by an adequate supply of work. It �[Page 290]2.90 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

would be physically impossible to draw water from a dry well.

At present there is roughly speaking one-fourth of available workers out of job. Therefore a twenty-five per cent cut in work- ing hours, or a six hour day, would practically obliterate unempioy- ment. The more unemployment grows the harder it will be to restore balance. There need be no concern about the wage prob- lem in connection with this reduction of hours. This question will regulate itself. A man would simply have to receive a fair daily wage, regardless whether this day consists of eight or six hours, if living standards are to be maintained on a level favorable to economic development. If the cut in working-hours should result in a corresponding cut of daily earnings, its whole purpose would be defeated. Wage standards are governed by natural rules. Un- der favorable conditions daily earnings will be higher, in other times lower, but whatever their level may be, at a given time (tak- ing a day’s work into consideration) it should equally apply to a six hour day as to an eight hour day.

There is nothing alarming in this suggestion—neither does it involve an experiment with doubtful results. We must not forget, that once we used to have a ten hour day, and that the transition into an eight hour day took place at a period when wages had a soaring tendency and when a man actually received much higher wages for eight than for ten hours. Still business did not go on the rocks, to the contrary, it experienced its biggest boom.

Of course at the outset of this transition into a regime of reduced hours, industrial and other enterprises will need financial assistance to tide them over until returns come in, until the benefit of this change will be reaped. Then would arise a proper oppor- tunity for facilitating and expanding credit. Credits made avail- able at a time when consumption is improving because millions of

tential consumers are going back to work are an investment, while credit extended to producers with no markets in sight is a mere waste and is apt to create situations where it will become im- perative to burden the taxpayers with the losses, the taxpayers be- ing the very same people who were hit by these business reverses and are themselves in need of financial help. �[Page 291]ROOT OF ECONOMIC DISTRESS 291

International trade-relations are at the present moment para- lyzed, and for many reasons, the discussion of which would ex- ceed the compass of this article, are likely to remain so for quite a while. Until normal trade conditions are restored the various coun- tries of the world will have to depend chiefly on home markets in a more or less self sustaining way. Home markets, however, could not be profitable when the nation’s consuming power is rapidly wasting away.

Business depression and unemployment are moving in a vi- cious circle. The question arises whether this rotation shall be stopped at the demand first or at the supply. Shall we pursue a policy of stimulating supply until demand is forced to cram the surplus down, or shall we first raise demand and let supply adapt itself to requirements? Shall we improve conditions by sending more and more buyers into the markets or shall we continue to fill empty markets with goods and wait until the buyers show up? Shall we crank the stalled car at the side of consumption or the side of production? That is the question at issue.

At any rate public interest demands a start at unemployment because unemployment is one of the greatest menaces to internal peace, order and welfare and threatens to assume proportions which would render any further attempt at redemption hopeless. It seems foolish to bicker about the price, to speculate as to the extent of minor sacrifices or individual gains and losses when the whole is at stake. Unemployment in its present form is bound to apply the torch to our civilization. Its removal is imperative not only from a standpoint of mere salvation but also from a constructive point of view. Its removal furthermore would have a tremendous and immediate effect on restoring public morale and confidence and it would afford us a breathing spell, in which other measures requisite for a gradual return of the world’s economic conditions to normalcy could be worked out within the next score of years.

We have no choice in the means. There is only one way to stamp out unemployment immediately and radically and that is shortening of working hours. �[Page 292]WORLD CITIZENSHIP

by Car. A. Ross Lawyer

VI. AN HISTORICAL REMEDY FOR THE DEPRESSION (Continued)

ITHOUT Carrying this kind of argument farther in sup-

port of our theory that public credit is basic, let us

consider the present world wide tendency to econom-

ic nationalism. We have quoted one writer in the New York Times to the effect that our normal bank credits of 50 billions have shrunk to 32 billions. We are led to believe that a similar contraction of loans has occurred in other nations. As these credits bear interest we are going on the theory that this borrowed money is property belonging to the creditor. Whether this popular belief is sound or not, it seems that the loss of this credit is mourned by the public as a loss of property, particularly that part of it representing long term loans, reduced to the form of coupon bonds and held as “investments.” So soon as this cred- it wealth of our investing class began to contract our depression began and today our new recovery program relies largely on a restoration of this credit wealth. Our federal government is au- thorizing billions of public credit for this purpose and also urging all banks to extend private credits. It would be interesting to know more in detail about these bank credits, particularly how many bonds of foreign nations, municipalities and industrial con- cerns are included in this 32 billions and in the normal figure of 50 billions. Keeping these figures in mind, we would call atten- tion to another article recently appearing in the Atlantic Monthly, entitled, ‘This Economic Nationalism, Where is it Leading Us?” We quote a paragraph giving statistical estimates of credits from 292 �[Page 293]WORLD CITIZENSHIP 2.93

another point of view. Likely both estimates are approximately correct and can be harmonized.

“What would be the economic results? In the first place, we should have to write off, instead of writing down, the great bulk of our foreign loans, private as well as public. With a policy of anything like reciprocal trading, we can collect the greater part of them. With a policy of economic self-sufficiency, repudia- tion by the debtor is the only course open. Admitting that we have already, through political mismanagement of the same pro- tectionist sort that saddled the whole world with traffic, lost the bulk of our war loans,—something over ten billions—it seems little short of madness to throw after them over fifteen billions (some estimates are nearer twenty billions) of capital privately invested abroad. The total of our foreign lending is about equal to our national debt at its maximum.”

To correlate these statistics with our current credit banking, let us consider how these foreign loans arose. Ever since 1918 our exports, consisting largely of cotton, wheat, lard, automobiles and farm machinery, have continued to exceed our imports and we have loaned some foreign countries money to balance these ex- cesses of exports. In banking parlance, our bank loans to agricul- ture and industry to grubstake labor till the labor loan could be paid by labor purchasing these products, have taken a new course since we became a creditor nation. The favorable balance of for- eign trade has no longer been required to pay our debt to Europe, but has been loaned to some foreign country and the proceeds used to repay the labor grubstake loaned by our bankers. For a time this did not greatly reduce the purchasing power of the American public since the investors holding these foreign credits increased their spending so there was a market for both capital and consump- tive goods and the liquidating cycle could be completed and main- tained. Also we should remember that these foreign securities were property, as they represented the payment for the exports we produced and manufactured! Perhaps we should say they were conditional payment for the excess of our exports, because it now appcars likely that actual payment for these goods never would be �[Page 294]294 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

made, because the Brazilian milreis has sunk in value as has the Argentine pecos and other foreign coins, because the Buenos Aires 6’s at around 38, the Chile 6’s at around 8, the Greek 6’s at 20, the French 7’s are payable in four cent francs instead of 20 cent francs, the Italian 7’s in five cent lira instead of 20 cent lira, be- cause British consols are payable in a pound sterling the gold value of which is yet to be ascertained and the United States government bonds likewise are payable in a dollar the gold value of which, at this writing, is undetermined. In all in- stances these currency weaknesses and credit weaknesses are in- dicative of depression conditions, national at first but now world wide. Economic nationalism says that these foreign securities held by United States investors and aggregating an amount equal to our federal debt at its maximum, these securities representing the deferred payment for our excess of exports, never will be paid. It follows that the effect is substantially the same as though the pio- ducer or manufacturer had consumed his own goods after bor- rowing labor’s grubstake. What is the difference whether pay- ment is promptly refused or deferred payment is finally lost? The only difference seems to be that the loss in credit wealth falls not directly on the farmer producer and on the manufacturer or on their banker, but on their customers, the public, the consumer and investor consumer who are left holding the bag stuffed with these worthless securities. Moreover, we are not only short a large part of these 25 billions of foreign securities, but our national recovery program says it is necessary for Americans to sign on the dotted line again to create another new amount of credit wealth substantially equal to our loss. Our federal government is issu- ing this new credit as fast as it can and insisting that our banks likewise loan our deposits in this cause. But who knows what our taxes, local, federal and special, will be when commodity prices are raised to the 1926 level by such credit issues. It is to be hoped that aggregate taxes will be no higher than in 1926. Perhaps we shall find we have recovered from our depression when we have issued new credits to replace the whole of these lost 20 odd bil- �[Page 295]WORLD CITIZENSHIP 2.95

lions of foreign credit wealth or when we have boosted our di- minished volume of 32 billions of credit back to our normal 50 billions, whichever of these statistical estimates you choose to follow. However, who will be the owner of any such new credit wealth? It is something of a puzzle to determine what proportion will be owned by our government of the people and what will be owned by our people in their individual capacity, so to speak. But one thing is certain, the names on the debtor side of this cred- it transaction, the names on the dotted line for this 17 or 20 billions of credit will no longer be foreign names but the names of Amer- ican taxpayers, workmen, savings bank depositors, life insurance beneficiaries, and investors; whereas should we follow World Citizenship principles to the historical conclusion and inaugurate the three Hamiltonian reforms, we would resuscitate our holdings of foreign securities. Why should we follow economic nation- alism in this possible but hard way out of our depression, hard for Americans and nationals of other creditor nations, but many think easy for debtor nations who will be able to slough off these same billions of public and private debts? However, as we look at it, this course would be of very doubtful value to the debtor na- tions. What do such nations face to effect their recovery? Do they not also have to reestablish their credit wealth? Will not these debtor nations have to issue new loans in like large amounts to get back their prosperity? Will not they have to sign on the dotted line again? This will be a hardship, but it could be done; however, their real difficulty will then appear, for after they have defaulted, who will discount their new paper when the conditions causing the first default have not been corrected by economic nationalism ?

Retracing our steps, it seems clear that our depression was co- incident with a breakdown of public credit starting in uations now pioneer in industrial activity and spreading through our world financia! set-up of 60 competing currencies and systems. The need of international cooperation is apparent, but is thwarted by the feeling in every country that other nations are taking an un- fair advantage, whereby taxation at home will be mote severe to �[Page 296]2.96 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

pay the debts of foreigners. The public does not yet see that World Citizenship not only distributes the war tax burden equitably among all the people of the world, but actually reduces the bur- dens over one half and at the same time restores world wide pub- lic credit, if we are allowed to judge by the verdict of history. Again we find that this apprehension of tax injustice was a bug- bear that frightened many into opposition to the adoption of our constitution as pointed out by Hainilton in the Federalist.

“Although I am of opinion that there would be no real danger of the consequences which seem to be apprehended to the State governments from a power in the Union to control them in the levies of money, because I am persuaded that the sense of the people, the extreme hazard of provoking the resentments of the State governments, and a conviction of the utility and necessity of local administrations for local purposes, would be a complete barrier against the oppressive use of such a power; yet I am will- ing here to allow, in its full extent, the justness of the reasoning which requires that the individual States should possess an in- dependent and uncontrollable authority to raise their own rev- enues for the supply of their own wants. And making this con- cession, I affirm that (with the sole exception of duties on imports and exports) they would, under the plan of the convention, retain that authority in the most absolute and unqualified sense; and that an attempt on the part of the national government to abridge them in the exercise of it, would be a violent assumption of power, un- warranted by any article or clause of its Constitution.

“An entire consolidation of the States into one complete na- tional sovereignty would imply an entire subordination of the parts; and whatever powers might remain in them, would be al- together dependent on the general will. But as the plan of the convention aims only at a partial union or consolidation, the State governments would ¢learly retain all the rights of sovereignty which they before had, and which were not, by that act, exclusively delegated to the United States. This exclusive delegation, or rather this alienation, or State sovereignty, would only exist in three cases; where the Constitution in express terms granted an exclusive au- �[Page 297]WORLD CITIZENSHIP 297

thority to the Union; where it granted in one instance an author. ity to the Union, and in another prohibited the States from exer- cising the like authority; and where it granted an authority to the Union to which a similar authority in the States would be absolutely and totally contradictory and repugnant.”

Surely Hamilton’s predictions were amply justified by our subsequent history in tax matters. It required remarkable fore- sight of the people of that day to follow Hamilton when we stop to realize how near each state was to economic independence. All the states were predominantly agricultural rather than industrial. Nearly every farm raised the wheat for its own use which was milled locally, likewise each farmer raised wool and flax and the women carded, spun, wove and fabricated nearly all the clothes they had, a local cobbler made shoes and boots from hides brought to him by the farmer which came from cattle raised on the farm and were tanned in a local tannery. Buildings were made from timber cut on the farm and sawed in mills on local streams, nails were made by the village blacksmith. Why should such inde- pendent people in New England join in a cooperative movement with like independent people in central and southern states whereby all would submit to taxes levied by a Congress in New York or Phil- adelphia? The difficulties of transportation forced each local com- munity to be largely independent, but 50 years before transportation made their cooperation efficient these 13 independent states joined in a cooperative movement as to their exterritorial affairs and joined in establishing a currency, a national bank and in a refunding of all their national debts into one federal debt to be liquidated by federal taxes. While it is only speculation, it might be useful to consider what would likely have been the fate of the 13 states had they chosen to stick to their self-contained economic nation- alism, instead of pioneering along this route we have labeled World Citizenship? Suppose they had said we do not want a joint currency and a federal bank to be run by our rich men in Wall Street, we will pay our own debts or not as we choose, and in any event we do not want any more tax collectors harrying our people to collect taxes that will be spent by some unknown Con- �[Page 298]2.98 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

gress. Let us brush aside all the military lications that might have scion and look to the fituse ecunsenic situation thet world have developed in the New England states, in the New York and Pennsylvania section and in the southern states. Of course coal and oil might not have been discovered in Pennsylvania, the cotton gin might not have been invented nor the steam engine and gas engine, but let us assume all these things did happen in historical sequence as we know them. Could New England have p without cotton, without coal, and without oil? Could New Eng- land and the New York section have developed without wheat and other farm products from the pioneer states of the west? Would the southern states have developed the manufacture of cotton fifty years earlier? However, had each state successfully overcome all these handicaps and maintained itself in economic isolation, how could our western states have developed without the eastern market for their agricultural products? Instead of being economically independent we now realize that they were rather dependent both economically and financially, that both the orig- inal states and the raw western prairies were greatly benefited by the three reforms inaugurated by Hamilton which were made pos- sible by our constitution and a joint taxation. We feel we have also established that these three reforms would have failed entirely if they had not restored public credit by lowering taxes relative to the prices of basic agricultural products and at the same time freed public credit from the domination of a narrow, shortsighted nationalism. This overcoming of nationalism was made possible by the constitutional aspects of the Union government whereby it functioned only in the federal field and left each state in undis- turbed control of its domestic affairs. . In applying this remedy of World Citizenship to the 60 na- tions of the world today, we have suggested, in earlier articles, some variations from the exact historical course charted by the United States and expect to suggest other divergencies that would seem desirable, but from our present point of view of credit and taxation we contend that World Citizenship would open the door to a rise in prices of basic commodities, by restoring credit condi- �[Page 299]WORLD CITIZENSHIP 299

tions, and, at the same time, a lowering of taxes from present levels, by reducing interest charges on the aggregate of the world’s public securities and by drastically reducing armaments. We con- tend it will be idle to restore the price level of any past prosperity period unless we also restore a tax level no higher than existed for that period; in short, that a “high” price level is of no benefit with- out a “low” tax level; that, since nothing can be “high” except as figured from some base, as to commodities and wages, the base to judge whether prices are “high” or not, is the tax level. We con- tend that our depression resulted from prices of commodities and wages that were low relative to taxes, which were high, this ratio spreading from weak nations to stronger ones. From this point of view recovery should come by reversing this ratio and a restora- tion of public credit is essential to reversing this ratio. It follows that, from this credit point of view, the basis for prosperity can be brought about by any one of several courses; first, by lowering taxes and raising prices at the same time; second, by leaving taxes at the present level and raising commodity prices; or third, by raising the prices of commodities and wages faster than taxes are raised. Aside from World Citizenship, we know of no “govern- ment planning” or of any projected “planned economy” that can be said to follow the first of these courses, namely, the lowering of world wide taxes coincident with the raising of world wide com- modity prices. Prosperity may come by following either of the other courses, or possibly by following still another course, but clearly the journey will be much harder. So much may be said for the credit point of view of World Citizenship.

(To be continued) �[Page 300]THE WORLD OF REALITY

by RuH!t AFNAN (Conclusion)

clear language the basic differences between mystic concep- tions and the teachings of Baha'u'llah, but in no way have I attempted to censure those heavenly souls. To depreciate the worth of such noble men as St. Francis and Jalaluddin Rumi, for example, means only our own blindness to the nobler and more altruistic aspects of life, and will reflect most unfavorably upon our sense of appreciation. They were men, inspired by God to render distinguished services to a society steeped in selfish pursuits and completely void of spirituality. Those among them who were also endowed with the gift of writing have left indelible traces in the history of literature, and have been a source of inspiration to all their readers. No poet is so repeatedly quoted in the writings of Baha’u’ll4h as Jalaluddin Rumi. His Masnawi was a constant companion of ‘Abdu’l-Baha during His very few moments of leisure. To the Bah4’is such interest proves beyond all doubt that those verses treasure great spiritual truths. No, even though some of the mystics made arrogant claims to divinity, the shining lights among them were persons whose life was a source of inspiration and therefore should command our deepest respect. Notwithstanding the paramount position some of the great mystics occupy in the spiritual life of the race, and even though they set aside certain ingrained customs of the people among whom they lived, they were human and therefore subject to the prevail- ing philosophies and social conceptions. In the days of St. Francis, for example, true spirituality meant other-worldliness with its dif- ferent aspects of poverty, mortification, and constant prayer and meditation, hence the practices he followed in his life and the

300

T= I have endeavored in the preceding pages to show in �[Page 301]THE WORLD OF REALITY 301

duties he prescribed for his disciples. Just as the criteria of our social life differ from age to age, the religious values society creates tor itself progress and are constantly modified. Man is born in the

of those values and naturally conforms to them. He may discard one set of values for another, but he can scarcely ever free himself completely. That absolute freedom belongs only to the Prophets of God who are our spiritual and moral creators. Humans may claim it but they can truly achieve it only to a limited extent.

Properly to judge such mystics, therefore, we should measure them in accordance to the standards of their own time and in re- lation to the religious and philosophic conceptions that pervaded the atmosphere they breathed. Viewed in that light the true mystics would stand above any reproach. Many of them were animated with the spirit of service and what some accomplished has left traces that are still to be marvelled at. If by chance they have erred in certain doctrines, the fault was not theirs. They were subject to the theories bequeathed to them by their forebears.

We should admit that some minds are more apt to be mystic and to be ravished with visions and similar experiences, but this does not forbid mystic philosophy’s being basically eclectic as Prof. Browne maintains in regard to Sufism (Literary History of Persia, Vol. I, p. 421). Both Christian mysticism and Sufism flourished in an atmosphere which was already laden with philosophic concep- tions useful in establishing the validity of their practices. It was therefore natural for them to make contact with this environment and be influenced by it.

“Let us train our attention upon some points of likeness be- tween Plotinus and St. Augustine. The latter’s teachings contain much platonism; and with this greatest of Latin Fathers, who did not read much Greek, Platonism was inextricably mingled with Neo-Platonism. It is possible to search the works of Augustine and discover this, that, or the other statement reflecting Plato or Plo- tinus. Yet their most interesting effect on Augustine will not be found in Platonic theorems consciously followed or adjured bj the latter. Platonism was ‘in the air,’ at least was in the air breathed �[Page 302]302 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

by St. Augustine He knew little of Plato’s writings. But Plato had lived; his thoughts had influenced many generations, and in

too had permeated the minds of many, itself loosened in the pro- cess. These views, these phases of thought and mood, were held or felt by many men, who may not have known their source. And Augustine was only part of all this, but in mind and temper was Platonically inclined.” (The Mediaeval Mind, by H. O. Taylor, vol. I, p. 55). Having inherited these Hellenic conceptions St. Augustine and the other Fathers of the Church bequeathed them to later generations and among them were the mystics. To quote Underhill, “The influence of Plotinus upon later Christian mysti- cism was enormous though indirect. During the patristic per- iod all that was best in the spirit of Neo-Platonism flowed into the veins of the Church. St. Augustine and Dionysius the Areo- pagite are amongst his spiritual children.” (Mysticism, p. 544-5).

We could similarly trace the origin of Sufi doctrines to ex- traneous sources. In his introduction to the “Mystics of Islam” R. A. Nicholson mentions Christianity, Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, and Bucdhism as schools of thought that had some influence in shaping Sufi conceptions.

Many of the doctrines which we have mentioned in the fore- going pages could, therefore, be really traced to these more an- cient sources. The dualistic conception of the objective world formed a basic recognized principle to which many of the Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle devoted much attention. The mystic interpretation of emanation as a form of progressive devolution of the Divine Reality was an essential element in the philosophy of Plotinus; similarly the corollaries of that doctrine, namely, the pre-existence of man in the Essence and the Divine nature of the Ground of the Soul. The principle that only like can know its like, which is the logical basis of many of the mystic practices, was the prevailing theory of knowledge. The ascetism which from an early date crept into Sufism and was often practised by the Christian mystics had a foreign origin. Even the idea of a �[Page 303]THE WORLD OF REALITY 303

path had an earlier history than Christian Mysticism. To use the words of H. O. Taylor: “In the third and fourth centuries the com- mon yearning of the Graeco-Roman world was for an approach to God; it was looking for the anagogic path, the way up from man and multiplicity to unity and God.” (The Medieval Mind, vol. I, p. 54).

Thus neither Christian Mysticism nor Sufism is the pure teach- ing of Jesus or Muhammad. In fact we can easily maintain that mysticism as a whole is a religious philosophy which has imposed itself upon the religions of the past, and to achieve that it has in- terpreted the Scriptures to fit its own philosophic conceptions. In certain cases where the writings of the founders of religion were scarce and the meaning vague, the task was not difficult. In other instances such as Islam, more talent had to be used to achieve that impossible reconciliation.

In most of the different religions there is a school of thought— and the mystics are generally among them—which considers the outward meaning of the Revealed Words as good only for the com- mon herd of men. The people of reality, they maintain, should penetrate beyond the outward form to the very core of the Scrip- tures and take only their esoteric meaning. In Islam these people were called Batainis (from ‘Batin’ which means inner). These discarded the literal interpretation of the Quran completely and claimed a knowledge of the inner significances, which naturally they considered to be the only valid one, meant by the Prophet Himself. Taking this mode of interpretation, the Sufis fall under this school of thought, for they too sought the esoteric meaning of the Holy Verses. Explaining this method of the Sufis, Nicholson says: “As he reads the Quran with studious meditation and rapt attention, lo, the hidden meanings—infinite, inexhaustible—of the Holy Word flash upon his inward eye. This is what the Sufis call ‘instinbat,’ a sort of intuitive deduction; the mysterious inflow of divinely revealed knowledge into the hearts made pure by repent- ance and filled with the thought of God, and the outflow of that knowledge upon the interpreting tongue. Naturally, the doctrines elicited by means of ‘istinbat’ do not agree very well either with �[Page 304]304 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

Muhammadan theology or with each other, but the discord is easily explained. Theologians, who interpret the letter, cannot be ex- to reach the same conclusions as mystics, who interpret the spirit; and if both classes differ amongst themselves, that is a mer- ciful dispensation of divine wisdom, since theological controversy serves to extinguish religious error, while the variety of mystical truth corresponds to the manifold degrees and modes of mystical experience.” (The Mystics of Islam, p. 23-4). With such a right of interpretation given to the individual, naturally the whole teach- ings of the Prophets could be set aside and their religion distorted. In the Book of Aqdas, Baha'u'llah safeguards His Faith by denouncing this method of the Batinis in clear and unmistakable language. He says: “And some of them claim the knowledge of the inner significance (batin), and the meaning of the inner sig- nificance. Say! O liar! By God! what you possess is merely the shells which We have left for you as they leave bones for dogs.” In another of His Tablets He says: “Know that he who takes the outward significance and sets aside the inward is ignorant; and he who takes the inward meaning and leaves the outward is erring; but he who takes the inward and superimposes upon it the outward significance, verily he is the accomplished, the wise.” In these words Bah4‘u’lléh repudiates the method followed by both the theologians who take the exoteric meaning, and the Batinis who follow the esoteric. How could we ignore either the spirit or the letter of the Revealed Words? Either when followed alone, will prevent us from attaining the truth. The only reasonable attitude is the one advocated by Bahd’u’llah, namely, to take them both into consideration.

With such philosophies in the air they breathed, such scanty teachings in their Scriptures bearing on those points and such a loose principle of interpretation with which they could make the Holy Utterances suit their purpose, it was easy for the mystics to err and unwittingly create a system of thought wholly alien to the orthodox and pure teachings of the Prophets. In the Tablet of Wisdom Baha'u'llah states clearly the way such misconceptions crept into philosophy and became a cardinal principle of its belief. �[Page 305]THE WORLD OF REALITY 305

“The basis and foundation of philosophy,” He says, “is irom the Prophets. The variety of belief we find in it is due to the difference of viewpoint and intelligence of the philosophers. We will men- tion to you wh.. occurred on a certain day when one of the Prophets was proclaiming among men what He was taught by God the All-Mighty; for thy Lord is the Inspirer, the Precious and the Exalted. And when the fountains of wisdom and learning started to flow from His utterances and all who were in His presence be- came enraptured and intoxicated with the wine of His knowledge He exclaimed ‘Now I am filled with the spirit.’ Some of the people attributed to these words the meaning of incarnation and entrance and corroborated it with other sayings, whereupon a school of thought followed them.”

This theory of incarnation and immanence which forms a basic doctrine of some schools of philosophy gradually found its way into mystic thought and became the pivot of their faith. But such a mistake regarding their belief cannot in any way reflect upon the purity of their purpose and the sincerity of their endeavor to fathom the mysteries of the spiritual life and become a source of guidance to humanity around them. Individually many of them were blameless, they were spiritual geniuses before whom we should bow in reverence, but they were human and therefore apt to be swayed by the prevailing conceptions and philosophies. It is those conceptions that we have tried to assail and not their indi- vidual lives or the wonderful record they have left on the pages of the history of the spiritual evolution of man.

In these days we find great interest in mystic teachings. The reaction against modern materialism seems to throw many spirit- ually-minded souls into an ecstatic admiration of the mystic life. In it they hope to find their highest calling, the source at which they can quench their thirst and the spiritual world in which they can obtain the counterpart of that material progress which modern civilization has so fully provided.

Their enthusiasm seems to be redoubled when they see that some of the mystic conceptions, unlike certain basic beliefs of the revealed religions, do not go counter to prevailing philosophic �[Page 306]306 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

thought. But what are these basic points upon which many puilos- ophers agree with mysticism? Both consider the appearance of a certain Prophet at a certain period in history as not a vital part of religion. They set aside the historical aspect of religion. The Prophet, to them, is not the founder of a religion and a creator of moral precepts to be necessarily followed by a wayfarer who seeks spiritual progress and a more abundant life. Jesus and Mu- hammad were mere exemplars. Their life was a mere example of high spiritual attainment. Should we follow their way and reach the same extent of severance we would also become perfect like Jesus and Muhammad and could rightly consider ourselves to have attained the Beloved and become divine.

Thus in considering the historical aspect of religion as un- important and the Prophets as mere human creatures, the mystics join hands with many philosophers. Not so with the followers of the revealed religions who regard the historical aspect indispens- able to their Faith. To these the coming of the Prophets is the period for social redemption. Jesus and Muhammad were not mere exemplars of the spiritual life but also its creators. They were superhuman, the only representatives of God upon the earth. The highest stage of development man can attain is to become their humble follower, abide by their law and, like a mirror, reflect their beauty and divine attributes.

This affinity between mysticism and modern thought, this dis- carding of the historical element of religion is the reason why those who are dissatisfied with our materialism revert to the writ- ings of the mystics and seek their spiritual guidance from them; this is why some of them go to the extent of considering mysticism the religion of the future.

But will the world accept mysticism as the religion of the future? The spiritually-minded feel a repulsion from modern civil- ization because of the existence of three classes of evil in the world: (1) the disruption of our moral standards and the anarchy that has ensued in our ethical life; (2) the baffling social and in- ternaticnal problems that darken our future and threaten our civil- ization; and (3) the lack of those factors necessary for our spiritual �[Page 307]THE WORLD OF REALITY 307

development.

Can mysticism, especially in its advanced forms, answer to these needs and overcome these threatening evils? It can secure its future only if it succeeds in bringing reform along these lines. But the fact is that in all of these mysticism fails to provide the neces- sary remedy. It fails to create for us a moral atmosphere suited to our requirements; it is completely bankrupt in producing solutions for the problems under which humanity is groaning; and the spirit- ual enhancement it advocates is far from being the kind we need.

In fact, as we have already seen, mysticism in its extreme form ignores the moral life. What it seeks is an existential union with the Godhead and not a moral conformity with the Prophets. The moral conformity helps the novice and is, therefore, essential for that stage of spiritual development, but once the novitiate is ended then the mystic is above moral precepts. He becomes divine, why therefore follow human ways? Thus mysticism in its extreme forms leans toward a state of moral anarchy rather than moral conform- ity. It tends to destroy the sanctity and absolute binding powers of our moral precepts rather than create for us a moral atmosphere in which we can develop and secure our spiritual life.

This is unlike the revealed religions whose primary object is to create that atmosphere and which consider conformity with the moral precepts of the Prophets an indispensable requirement for the spiritual development of man upon this earth. While mys- ticism therefore fails, revealed religions, and among them the Baha'i Faith, satisfy that crying need of society. What Baha’u’llah has done in His precepts is to create for us a moral standard suited to our present requirements and to make it absolutely binding upon every soul that seeks spiritual progress and a fuller and more abundant life.

But quietistic philosophies, when imposed upon religion, make it lay the emphasis not upon the life of man in this world and the duties he bears towards the society of which he is a member, but rather upon a freedom from earthly bonds and a renunciation of worldly desires and individual interests. According to mysticism, spirituality can be achieved not by developing our own individu- �[Page 308]308 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

ality in the right direction, but by killing that feeling of separate- ness, overcoming our individual needs, and considering ourselves as a mere ‘“‘speck of the cosmos.” Human needs, physical attrac- tions, beauties that seem to allure us, all are hindrances to the at- tainment of our goal. It is true that som: of the Christian mystics, after attaining the state of Unity, took an active part in bettering the world they lived in, but they were only the exceptions, and not full fledged in the theories of mysticism. Even these while follow- ing the path that led them to that goal, had to mortify their flesh and renounce all the beauties of life. St. Francis, who later in his life became so active in reforming the character of the people, had, during earlier stages while preparing himself, to give up his wealth, renounce the world, force himself to do the most menial acts, and go to the extent of embracing lepers, all to achieve that calm indifference towards this earthly life. Of all the desires that still lingered in the heart of St. Teresa, before she attained her stage of union, was the joy of meeting the members of her family once a week. Even that, she considered to be a bond holding her to the world, therefore she had to forsake it. The whole tendency of the mystic life is to cut man away from society and not to make him recognize himself a part of that organic whole, bound by the social requirements that express themselves in the form of moral precepts.

Mysticism similarly fails to present a solution for the baffling social and international problems that seem to threaten our very existence. How are the international problems to be solved? How are the excesses of poverty and wealth to be eliminated? How are wars to be replaced by arbitration? Should a super-state be advo- cated? Man cannot be divorced from his environment. In such an environment that breeds war, hatred, distrust, jealousy and desti- tution our spirit can never find an atmosphere in which it can pro- gress. A fortunate person with all his material needs well secured can give up the trammels of the world and in an environment all his own, seek an inward peace; but the mass of the people are not so favorably situated. World conditions are vital problems to them, they can find no other sanctuary than their slums, they are �[Page 309]THE WORLD OF REALITY 309

forced to go to war and slaughter their brethren, they are taught to hate their fellow-men that happen to reside across the frontier. How can they in such an environment obtain peace and help the development of their soul?

Mysticism, especially in its extreme forms, tends to be blind to these facts. Its attitude is to give up. hope in earthly life and seek instead spiritual poise. If outward life is hopelessly muddled, seek the inward. It applies a spiritual palliative rather than faces the real occasion. It is the philoscphy of a man who has lost hupe in ever bettering his earthly life rather than the attitude of a soul alive to the evils of the day and fully prepared to face them and conquer them.

This latter is in fact the attitude of Baha’u’llah. He knows the world problems, is conscious of their magnitude and fully provides for their solution. At least He sets forth the guiding principles that if applied in their entirety will make the world a better place to live in and a more suitable atmosphere in which to develop our spiritual life. The more the mystic discards the quietistic tenden- cies of his philosophy and becomes attuned with the reforming and socializing spirit of the Prophets, the more he will become a real force, active in the betterment of the group to which he belongs.

Moral conformity to the precepts of the Prophets and social reforms are not the sole elements of the spiritual life. These two only provide the outward atmosphere wherein the inner spirituality of man has to develop. Without morality no true religion can exist or serve a useful purpose, with morality alone only an ethical life is secured, but there is still nothing to account for spiritual progress. We have, therefore, to consider the purely spiritual ele- ment of religion as well and compare it with the mystic concep- tion if we desire to render our thesis complete.

In this phase of our life mysticism is natur /y rich in informa- tion and clear in the path it prescribes for the wayfarer. But is its conception true and the form of spirituality it advocates the type that will make it the religion of the future?

Stated briefly, mysticism seeks a certain form of psychological experience, a certain state of consciousness wherein man finds him- �[Page 310]310 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

self merged into the Sea of the Divine Essence. In persuance of this goal, during his novitiate, he seeks to renounce those elements that bar his way and encumber his course.

As we have considered in detail, Bah4’u’llah refutes the efficacy of the goal that the mystic seeks and also the stages of the path that leads to it. Man, He says, can neither attain a knowledge of, nor experience union with, the Divine Essence. What the mystic experiences is mere imagination, and the Beloved with whom he feels a spiritual marriage is nothing but a creation of his own mind and emotions. The stages of the path that lead to that goal are psychological forces used to produce that final experience and make it sound true.

Moveover, were such experiences to be true they would be the privilege of a few spiritual aristocrats. Not every soul that seeks can attain that goal. If redemption applies to such experiences then surely redeption is an exclusive and fortuitous affair relying upon. psychological factors and emotional powers. It can never apply to the mass of the people and secure a spiritualization of humanity as a whole. At best there will be only a few in every generation who will be saved and the rest will remain subject to the evil forces so rampant in the world. Should this be the spiritual life advocated it will surely fail to appeal to the mass of mankind and secure their allegiance.

In contrast to this mystic view of the spiritual life let us con- sider the Baha’i concepiion and the appeal it makes to the gen- erality of mankind.

The real and abiding part of man is his rational soul. This starts its existence upon this earth and begins a process of constant development—that is in case the environment within which it lives is favorable to such a development. This progress does not end with death. When he breathes his last man drops this material shell and assumes some other form which is beyond our compre- hension. He enters another world and then another, always pro- gressing, always acquiring more abundant life.

But how is this progress secured? Within that germ of the human soul God has deposited, in a potential form, infinite powers �[Page 311]THE WORLD OF REALITY | 311

and capacities, and man’s task is to cause these qualities to come to the field of actuality and thereby reflect fully the beauty of his Lord. An essential requirement for that is a proper social and moral environment; but there is also the need for an inner urge onward. The Prophets of God supply all these factors for they are the great and Divine educators. On the one hand They re- habilitate the world by creating a new social order and a set of moral precepts suited to the requirements of the age, and on the other They impart a new life to the rational soul, They quicken man.

Being perfect mirtors reflecting the light of God, the Prophets give color and beauty to our life when we turn our hearts towards Them. With Their tender touch They raise us from the dead and imbue us with the burning desire to seek Their ways and reflect Their Divine Attributes. The more we pray to these Prophets and make the spirit we thereby obtain shape our activities; the more we meditate upon Their life and make Their example direct our life; the more we purify our heart and make it reflect the attributes of God as manifested by Them; the more we will obtain that inner urge so essential for our onward march in this world and in the worlds to come—for in all the worlds Prophets appear to educate man and help him to bring forth to perfect actuality those potential powers inherent in him.

The Baha'i conception of the goal of our spiritual life, there- fore, is to bring into actuality those divine powers inherent in our soul, it is to attain an unlimited perfection, it is to secure an ever growing of our personality. To become the likeness of God by acquiring His attributes, ‘Abdu’l-Baha says “is the supreme goal of the world of humanity.” God has treasured in our soul pearls of ineffable beauty, it is our task to produce them, and with God’s grace, granted by His Prophets, we shall vindicate our calling if we only will to do it.

This goal is not imaginary, it is no mere psychological ex- perience. It is not the privilege of the few. The doors of this heaven are open to all. It is the salvation that all humanity can seek and attain. Through it a spiritualization of the whole race can be achieved without in the least impairing the social and in- �[Page 312]312 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

tellectual progress of man. In fact, the social, moral, intellectual and spiritual factors are so vitally connected that we cannot help one without enhancing the operation of the others. These factors are the environment in which our personality is to develop. They form the air it breathes, and the food it consumes. Let us have this form of spirituality permeate our life and we shall see how our civilization, even in its material aspect, will leap forward and achieve miracles.

According to the Baha’is, Baha’u’llah has come to the world with the true interpretation-of spirituality, and what He declares, He claims to be the pure teachings of all the Prophets of old, free from any man-made additions. Understand Him, they say, and you will understand the words of Jesus before their defilement at the hands of pagan philosophers; read Him and you will appre- ciate the true interpretation of the Quran. Being a Prophet of God He was in touch with the Absolute, the source of all truth, and therefore, could direct us to the true meaning of spirituality. What He demands is not a renunciation of the world, but a healthy life as an active member of society—a task to begin at the very start, and not after attaining the stage of Unity. For it is only by being active and healthy members of society that we can achieve spirit- uality. He asks us to enjoy the beauties of the world but not to be attached to them; to seek them but not to let them retard our moral and spiritual development. Salvation is not the life of re- nunciation but of healthy participation in our social duties. While living in this world we are meant to be human; and our highest form of humanity can be achieved while following the directions prescribed by the Prophets.

Man has long desired to attain these truths and feel confident that his deeds in this world would prepare him for sharing the glories of the world to come. Mysticism and all the other forms of religious philosophies have been means created by man for the realization of that goal. Being all man-made they have their de- ficiencies. nm:

God has now sent us a Prophet with a store-house of Divine knowledge. His writings are a mine of infinite wealth. He gives

�[Page 313]THE WORLD OF REALITY 313

¢

life to all who seek it. All these stand within our humble reach, let us not lose the chance and fail to partake of this wealth of reve- lation. Baha’u'llah surely had in mind the mystics and philosophers when He revealed in the Hidden Words:

“O Son of Desire' The learned and the wise have for long yeats striven and failed to attain the presence of the All-Glorious; they have spent their lives in search of Him, yet did not behold the beauty of His countenance. Thou without the least effort didst attain the goal, and without search hast obtained the object of thy quest. Yet, notwithstanding, thou didst remain so wrapt in the veil of self, that thine eyes beheld not the beauty of the Beloved, nor did thy hand touch the hem of His robe. Ye that have eyes, behold and wonder.” �[Page 314]BOOK NOTES by

JosePH S. RouceKk Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State College

Germany: Twilight or New Dawn? Anonymous. New York: Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1933. Pp. 226. $2.00. This excellent, and indeed, brilliant, volume contradicts most of the expectations of the reader. Though the author remains anony- mous throughout, the work serves neither pro-German nor anti- German propaganda; though written by a German, as the pub- lishers claim, it clearly shows the aquaintance of the author with foreign attitudes to the German experiment; and it is as impartial as it could be. In fact many actions of the Nazis of today are un- derstandable—after reading this book. The reviewer, much against his emotional inclinations, is now able to understand somewhat the antagonism of the Nazis toward such pacifists as Einstein, or toward the Jews. The reader will immediately inquire: why? The question will be answered by reading this enjoyable and dispas- sionate volume—and the reading of it is fully worth while. In gen 1, the social forces leading the Nazis victory are presented, the ew Nazi measures analyzed, and Germany’s foreign policy 1s evaluated. The pictures of the Nazi leaders are especially well portrayed.

No Time Like The Present. By Storm Jameson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1933. Pp. 288. $2.35. Miss Storm Jameson has written a beautiful autobiography, which is honest, brave and mov- ing. She lets us see her life from her childhood days in Yorkshire, through her university days in London, to the present period of her career. The undertone of her pessimism, directed against war and all its revolting aspects, makes us thoroughly sympathetic to her passionate outcry against its heritage and the possibility of its de- stroying our future generations. How many women are courage 314 �[Page 315]BOOK NOTES 315

ous enough, as she is, to say (p. 258-259): “The most bloodthirsty people in the late War were non-combatants, whether in khaki or not. That was unpleasant but natural. The phrases they used— ‘sacrifice,’ ‘the last drop of blood,’ ‘ah, my boy, if I were only your age, —were faintly revolting. Yet—here I begin to be anxious, since the wound is not closed—the feeling of revulsion is less deep and less disturbing than another, than the horror started in me by the phrase, ‘I gave my son.’ I cannot help this. I do know what grief and what mental anguish have been concealed in the phrase, yet it sickens me. By what human right does a parent ‘give’ the innocent flesh of his son—to be torn, or his brains dashed out or his bowels and sexual organs to be pierced, by pieces of white-hot shell? Is this not precisely the act of parents who gave their chil- dren to be burned or their throats cut on stone altars? We call those savages, and congratulate ourselves on having progressed beyond such bloody-minded notions. The reasons we have, to be congratulated, are not clear.”

Russia U.S.S.R. A Complete Handbook. Edited by P. Malev- sky-Malevitch. William Farquhar Payson, New York, 1933. Pp. xv, 712. $10.00. There are many who follow with great interest the experiment of Russia; there are even more who “see red” when they hear of “Red Russia.” But both groups thereby acknowledge their interest in a state which has a great influence on international relations. This is attested by the floods of literature constantly printed on various aspects of Russian problems. Our opinion is that this is one of the best and most informative books on the sub- ject, if not for the tremendous amount of encyclopedic informa- tion crammed therein, then for its critical attitude on the Russian venture. This attitude is to be expected, for out of twenty contribu- tors, a number of them are Russians now living in exile. The sub- jects covered in detail are: history, physical survey, nationalities, the Jewish question, political structure, justice, social relations, armed fortes, foreign policy, the Communist or Third Interna- tional, Five Year Plan, industry, agriculture, transport, money, fi- nance, trade, cooperation, labor, religion, education, science, the arts, and the press. Professor Clarence A. Manning has contributed �[Page 316]316 WORLD UNITY MAGAZINE

a pertinent introduction as well as the chapter on the arts. There are excellent maps scattered throughout the volume. However, we consider a serious defect the lack of the index, bibliographies and citation of sources from which the statistical material has been de- rived. It would be interesting to know, for example, how far, if at all, the classic work of Masaryk on Russia had been utilized. Otherwise it is a fine book. Our hope is that the average reader will not be terrified by its large size. It is worth while to study it.

The Propaganda Menace. By Frederick L. Lumley. The Cen- tury Co., New York, 1933. Pp. ix, 454. $4.00. We agree thor- oughly with Professor Lumley of Ohio State University when he asserts that propaganda “makes the social order spooky, and thus makes society a vast, many-roomed, haunted house.” He then pro- ceeds to study the relation of propaganda to the past, its methods, its contents, its character in industry, politics, war, patriotism, race, education, religion; its result-aspect, the limitations imposed upon propaganda, and “some suggestions as to remedies.” Professor Lumley has courage and states facts with a vigor which will give propaganda-specialists acute and permanent pain. To cite one of the innumerable examples we note the excellent method used by our War Department to popularize military training in our high schools by having pretty girls elected in the Reserve Officers’ Train- ing Corps. Lumley cites Collins’ speech in the House of Repre- sentatives on January 4, 1929: “It is the old game of playing sex appeal on youngsters for the purpose of helping to popularize this activity of ‘playing at war.’” We learn that “during the war the French executed two war nurses under almost identical circum- stances of the German execution of Edith Cavell. But the French were Allies; hence Americans were not told.” We are extremely sorry that we cannot devote more space to this book of enduring value. We recommend it most heartily to everybody. The cuthor has a fine ability to condense information into a swift and readable narrative. .‘e also is a propagandist, although perhaps he would not admit it. May I prove my point by citing his conclusion: “And so we end with the tentative suggestion that probably man’s only lasting protection from propaganda is in learning to think straight.

�[Page 317]BOOK NOTES 317

His cure for this pest, and others too, is, like the Kingdom of Heaven—within him.”

Hitler's Reich. The First Phase. By Hamilton Fish Arm- strong. New York, The MacMillan Co., 1933. Pp. 73. $1.00 This little and exceedingly interesting volume is really the most up-to-date news on Germany with its necessary background. The author, the editor of ‘Foreign Affairs,” has visited Germany yearly, and now presents his impartial and reliable report to the American public. Like other works and numerous articles of the author, the work is swift and easy reading. It covers the psychological roots of Germany’s revolt against her post-war lot, the relation of the Nazis to the Jews, foreign policy of Hitler; it then compares Fascism and Hitlerism, weighs the likelihood of peace and war, and evaluates the weaknesses of the régime. It is a lean volume, in which, how- ever, every word has been carefully considezed.

Instead of Dictatorship. By Henry Hazlitt. John Day Pam- phlets. No. 31, 1933. 25¢. Mr. Hazlitt, a vigorous and thoughtful writer, is known to us from his articles ia our natior al magazines. Being an ardent adherent of the principles of democracy, though aware of its deficiencies, Mr. Hazlitt presents a plan of government which would do away with Congress and improve the defects of our governmental processes.

Humanity's Greatest Need. By Hugh McCurdy Woodward. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1932. Pp. xii, 326. $2.50. Dr. Woodward, Professor of Philosophy of Education in Bingham Young Uni- versity, points out the common elements in the major philosophies and religions on the assumption that ‘truth and unity will be more readily achieved if the various religious and culture groups engage first in finding out where they agree before they begin to fight over their differences.” His discussions include Krishna, of early Hin- duism, Lao-Tze, the inspiration of Taoism; Zoroaster, the prophet of the Parsi faith; Gotama Buddha, the founder of the first great missionary religion; Confucius, the master moralist of China; and Jesus, the inspiration of Christianity. Indeed, this is a scholarly book, with its excellent bibliographies, written with great inspira- tion which reflects in the easy-flowing style. �[Page 318]NOTES ON THE CURRENT ISSUE

Every one is prepared to give full sympathetic response to Mr. Prochnik’s plea that unemployment is the root of economic dis- tress, and until this condition has been removed the material basis of life in all countries can not be sound. The fact remains that no industrial nation, whatever its type of government or its economic system, has yet solved the problem of unemployment, which indi- cates if it does not prove that economic distress is itself a symptom and not the real disease afflicting the social world. As long as we confine our efforts to the maintenance of any particular economy, surrounded by walls of political exclusiveness, so long we fail to concentrate truly unified resources upon inherent social problems. The possibility of achievement arising from a unified aim and will can only as yet be dimly inferred from the constancy of failure re- sulting from international disunity and strife. In emphasizing the fact that unemployment steadily impairs the very structure of so- ciety, Mr. Prochnik points in the direction of that world unity which this magazine was founded to serve. We not only agree with this author’s claim that work must be given to every one—we assert that local recovery is an illusion until the entire economic order rests upon complete assurance of enduring peace.

A scholarly analysis of mysticism in its abstract historical doc- trines might appear to have no relation to such so-called “practical” problems as unemployment, disarmament, and world trade; but the conception that life consists of a number of compartments each neatly labelled “Religion” or “Politics” or “Economics” has for many years been thoroughly discredited by the actual progress of concrete events. Every social institution is nothing more than the projection of an idea or an intention, which in turn reflects some fundamental view of the nature of life. In clarifying the source of ultimate values, Ruhi Afnén has shown how intimately the so- called “mystical” process is bound up with every daily act and thought. Perhaps the vital matter of world recovery remains 318 �[Page 319]NOTES ON THE CURRENT ISSUE 31y

blocked by confusion and delay precisely because the generation controlling decisions will not face the fact that the compartments actually never existed, and that consequently religion is not what one holds as a creed but the motive by which one lives. Peace and true recovery await the existence of a social motive more powerful than the competition which is, despite the superficial existence of creedal belief, the chief religion and worship of modern man.

The connection between spiritual and material factors—the bridge between mysticism and social order—may well lie, as Miss Noller seems to imply, in the experience of creative act. “Art and Its Relation to Life” is a contribution the need of which World Unity has long felt. In satisfying our own need of this constituent element in the organic view of life which the magazine represents, we sincerely believe that the great majority of readers will also feel that Rose Noller has expressed truth on a plane the importance of which is not measured by the paintings, the sculpture, the archi- tecture and the music through which the artistic impulse is usually considered to be expressed, and by which, therefore, its meaning must be fulfilled.

Many efforts have been made in World Unity to present the principle of world federation as the social structure that must be achieved for the establishment of peace and economic stability. Oscar Newfang’s current contribution appears to be the most lucid and convincing brief exposition yet published. We feel that these pages should be reprinted and distributed far and wide, and World Unity will greatly welcome and appreciate special donations to make such distribution possible. How many millions of dollars have been spent in recent years on meetings, campaigns and pub- licity for disarmament and other essentially limited peace efforts, all without real result or lasting influence, because they sought aims incompatible with the existing social structure. That public spirited people will appreciate the urgent need of basic international or- ganization for the solution of basic international problems is our

profound hope. �[Page 320]THE WORLDWIDE ESPERANTO MOVEMENT

To promote the auxiliary language and the “internal idea” (harmony through mutual understanding), Esperantists are allied in a national. international organization. The Universala Esperanto-Asocio operates in English speaking countries of North America as the Esperanto Associa- tion of N. A. The movement is purely educational, hence neutral in political and religious controversies. Thus it unites persons of most varied, conditions and convictions.

CLASS I MEMBERSHIP - $1.50 a year Includes UEA-EANA membership card, services of delegates in all countries,

membership in EANA library, enonthly bulletin, “American Esperantist.” CLASS II MEMBERSHIP - $2.50 a year Includes above plus Jarlibro, list of delegates everywhere, “travel companion.”

CLASS III MEMBERSHIP - $4 a year Includes A and B and monthly all-Esperanto magazine, “Esperanto” from Geneva.

CLASS ITV MEMBERSHIP For supporters of the movement; sustaining memberships; fee on request.

ESPERANTO LITERATURE

lessons that give the student confidence and a thorough ledge of the fundamentals. New Second Edition contains ich Gon Eee, an hrases, ‘ a a a . . 36

Key To EspERANTO (Sussmuth) 5c ENGLISH-ESPERANTO DICTIONARY 2 Esperanto-English dictionary and the Handy booklet by Herbert Harris.

essence of the language. KENNGOTT’S POCKET DICTIONARY 25¢ EXPLANATION OF ESPERANTO 15c Bag of grammar, Esp. - Eng. and Dr. Wendell’s “Second Language fur p.- Esp. vocabularies, 80 page neat- All” tells why, what and how.

Any Esperanto book listed here 1s available at once. Any other can be secured for you. S bscriptions taken to all Esperanto magazines. “American Esperant $1 (12 issues) “Scienca Gazeto” $1 (6 issues)

Ss

ESPERANTO ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA 1340 New York Ave., N.W. - - WASHINGTON, D. C.

520 LLMs

a _ aie �