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****************107, 108, 109 AND 110 OF THE BAHÁ'Í ERA 19501954 A.D.
Page 2The Sepulcher of the BTh on Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel.
Page 3Prepared under the supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States with the approval of Shoghi Effendi
VOLUME XII107, 108, 109 AND 110 OF THE BAHÁ'Í ERA APRIL 19501954 A.D.
~ BAHAI� Copyright 1956, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States.
Reprinted 1981N 0 T E: The spelling of the Oriental words and proper names used in this issue of THE BA1~X'f WORLD is according to the system of transliteration established at one of the
International Oriental Congresses.Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith this work is dedicated in the hope that it will assist his efforts to promote that spiritual unity underlying and anticipating the
"Most Great Peace"I. Aims and Purposes of the Bahá'í Faith 1
II.International Survey of Current Bahá'í Activities 19
III. Excerpts from the Bahá'í Sacred Writings:2. Words of the B~b 85 3. Words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá 98 IV. The Centenary Celebrations of the Birth of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh, 1953 115
1. The Guardian's Announcement and Messages1152.The African Intercontinental Teaching Conference held in Kampala, Uganda, February, 1953 121 3.The All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference held in Chicago, ago, U.S.A., April � May, 1953 133 4.The European Intercontinental Teaching Conference held in Stockholm, olm, Sweden, Juiy, 1953 167 5.The Asian Intercontinental Teaching Conference held in New Delhi, India, October, 1953 178 V. The Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Báb 18501950 189 1. Bahá'u'lláh's Tribute to the Báb 189 2. 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Tribute to the Báb 191 3.The Guardian's Message for the Centenary of the Martyrdom of the 191 4. The Station of the Báb 193 5. The Execution of the BTh 196 6.International Observance of the Centenary of the Martyrdom of the
Báb 2057.The Martyr Prophet of a World Faith, by William B. Sears 208 8. Pilgrimage to the Scenes of the Báb's Captivity and Martyrdom, by
Dhikru'llAh KhAdem 2179. A Century of World Crisis 18501950, by Dr. G. A. Borgese 226 10. Der 100. Jalirestag des Opfertodes des Bib, by Dr. Eugen Schmidt 230 VI. The Completion of the Construction of the Sepulcher of the B~b in the Holy
Land, 1953 235
1. Entombment of the BTh's Remains on Mt. Carmel 235 2. Announcements by the Guardian 238 3.An Account of the Preparatory Work in Italy, by Dr. Ugo R. Giachery 240 4.Reports on the Construction of the Arcade, by Ben D. Weeden 246
VII. The Inauguration of the World Bahá'í Crusade 19531963 253
1. Announcement by the Guardian 253
2.Ten-Year International Bahá'í Teaching and Consolidation Plan 19531963
1963 2563. Maps of the Ten-Year Plan Inside Front Cover
4. Chart of the Ten-Year Plan Inside Front Cover
5. Chart showing the Expansion of the Faith 275
PART TWOI. The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh 279
1. Present Day Administration of the Bahá'í Faith 279
viiThe Formation of an Organic Religious Community, by Horace
Holley 279A Procedure for the Conduct of a Local Spiritual Assembly 295
The Institution of the National Spiritual Assembly, by Horace
Halley 300A Procedure for the Conduct of the Annual Baha Convention 304
The NonPolitical Character of the Baha Faith 306
Concerning Membership in Non-B ah4'i Religious Organizations 313
Bahá'ís and Military Service 316Interpretation of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá 318 Excerpts from the Writings of Shoghi Effendi 321
Important Messages from Shoghi Effendi 19501954 337
The Process of International Consolidation 373Formation of the International Bahá'í Council 378
2.Documentation of the Bahá'í Administrative Order 391
Certificate of Declaration of Trust of the National Spiritual Assembly ly of the Bahá'ís of the United States 392 Declaration of Trust and ByLaws of the National Spiritual Assembly y of the Bahá'ís of the United States 393 Declaration of Trust and ByLaws of the National Spiritual Assembly y of the Bahá'ís of Persia 401 Declaration and ByLaws of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Ba1A'is of Germany and Austria 407 Declaration of Trust and ByLaws of the National Spiritual Assembly y of the Bahá'ís of 'hAq 416 Constitution of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
South America 423Certificate of Registration of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of South America 431Certificate of Registration of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Central America 433Certificate of Registration of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, P6kistTh and Burma, Delhi, India 439 Certificate of Registration of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, Pttkist~tn and Burma, Rangoon, Burma 440 Certificate of Registration of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, P~kisLin and Burma, Lahore, P6tist4n 441 Certificate of Incorporation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand 442 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Maywood, Illinois 445 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the BaJA'is of Houston, Texas 447 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Eliot, Maine 450 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Fresno, California 453 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of San Diego, California 459 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Sacramento, California 463 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Glendale, California 467 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Fort Wayne, Indiana 472
Page 9Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tucson, Arizona 475 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Ba1A'is of Oak Park, Illinois 476 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nashville, Tennessee 479 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Greenwich, Connecticut 483 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Reno, Nevada 485 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Grand Rapids, Michigan 488 Certilicate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Surat, India 490 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Jalna, Hyderabad (Decean), India 491 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kamarhati, India 492 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Mysore, India 493 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Singapore 494 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Montevideo, Uruguay 495 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Quito, Ecuador 496
Baha Marriage Certificate Adopted by the National Spiritual Assembly
bly of the Bahá'ís of the United States 497 Marriage Certificate issued by the State of Idaho 498 Marriage Certificate issued by the State of Michigan 499 Marriage Certificate issued by the State of New York 500 Marriage Certificate issued by the Territory of Hawaii 501 Marriage Certificate issued by the Territory of Alaska 502 Marriage Certificate issued by the State of New Mexico 503 Letter from the Board of Education of Prince George's County, Maryland, excusing Bahá'í Children from School Attendance on
Bahá'í Holy Days 504Letter from Superintendent of Schools, Wilmington, Delaware, excusing ing Bahá'í Children from School Attendance on Bahá'í Holy
Days 505Communications between the Government of Liberia and the Bahá'í Pioneers, authorizing the Teaching of the Faith in the Republic of Liberia, and exempting Goods consigned to the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Monrovia from Customs Fees 506 Certificate of Exemption from Registration granted to the Bahá'í Community of Kenya in connection with Emergency Laws regarding ing Public Meeting 508 Deed of Transfer of the Botton Property at Yerrinbool, N.S.W., Australia, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
Australia and New Zealand, for a Summer School 509
Certificate of Transfer of Title of the Hyde Dunn Bahá'í School Property in Auckland, New Zealand, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand 311 Certificate of Incorporation of the Bahá'í School in Green Acre, Eliot, Maine, under the name "Green Acre Bahá'í Institute," entitled led to hold property 512
Page 10The Spiritual Significance of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar 517
Passages Regarding the Temple in America, taken from God Passes
By 521Architecture of the Temple Interior, by Robert W. McLaughlin 528 Structural Features of the Interior of the Bahá'í House of Worship, by Edwin H. Eardley 529 Completing the Interior Ornamentation of the Bahá'í House of Worship, by Alfred P. Shaw, Architect532 Interior Ornamentation of the Bahá'í House of Worship, by Allen B.
McDaniel and Paul E. Haney 533Landscape Plan of the Bahá'í House of Worship by Hubert Dali 540
Bahá'í Temple of Light, by Harold Lejendecker 542
Unveiling the Model of the Temple to be constructed on Mount
Carmel, Address by Charles Mason Remey5474. Bahá'í Calendar, Festivals and Dates of Historic Significance 551
Foreword 551Bahá'í Feasts, Anniversaries and Days of Fasting 551
Bahá'í Holy Days on Which Work Should be Suspended 552
Additional Material Gleaned from Nabil's Narrative (Vol. II) Regarding
ng the Bahá'í Calendar 552Historical Data Gleaned from Nabil's Narrative (Vol. II) Regarding
Bahá'u'lláh 556Dates of Historic Significance During the First One Hundred and
Ten Years of the Bahá'í Faith 5595. Youth Activities Throughout the Bahá'í World 562
Around the World with BaWi'i Youth 562Report of International Bahá'í Youth Activity for the Year 19521953, 53, compiled by Dwight Allen 586
6. The Bahá'í Faith and the United Nations 597
Bahá'í Relationship with United Nations597United Nations Informed of the Bahá'í Concept of Worship 598
Prayer Card Issued with Compliments of United Nations Committee
of the Bahá'í International Community599 Report of Bahá'í Activities in relation to the United Nations 19471954,
54, by Mildred Mottahedeb 601II. Appreciations of the Bahá'í Faith 617
1. Dowager Queen Marie of Rumania 618
2. Prof. E. G. Brewne, M.A., M.B., Cambridge University 620 3. Dr. J. Estlin Carpenter, D.Litt., Manchester College, Oxford 622 4. Rev. T. K. Cheyne, fl.Litt., DIII., Oxford University 623 5. Prof. Arminius Vamb6ry, Hungarian Academy of Pesth 623
6. Sir Valentine Chirol 624
7. Harry Charles Lukach 625
8. Prof. Jowett, Oxford University 625 9. Alfred W. Martin, Society for Ethical Culture, New York 625 10. Prof. James Darmesteter, Scole des Hautes ttudes, Paris 626
11. Charles Baudouin 626
12. Dr. Henry II. Jessup, D.D 628 13. Right Hon. The Earl Curzon of Kedleston 629 14. Sir Francis Younghusband, K.C.S.J., K.C.J.E 630 15. The Christian Commonwealth, Anonymous 631 16. Rev. J. Tyssul Davis, B.A 631
Page 1117.Herbert Putnam, Congressional Library, Washington, D.C 632
18. Leo Tolstoy 632
19. Dr. Edmund Privat, University of Geneva 633 20. Dr. Auguste Forel, University of Zurich 634
21. General Renato Piola Caselli 634
22. Rev. Frederick W. Oakes 634 23. Renwick J. G. Millar, Editor of John O'Groat Journal, Scotland 634 24. Charles H. Prisk 635 25. Prof. Han Prasad Shastri, D.Litt 635
26. Shri Purohit Swami 636
27. Prof. Herbert A. Miller, Bryn Mawr College 636 28. Viscount Herbert Samuel, G.C.B., M.P 636 29. Rev. K. T. Chung 637 30. Prof. Dimitry Kazarov, University of Sofia, Bulgaria 638 31. Rev. Griffith I. Sparham 638
32. Ernest Renan 639
33. The Hon. Lilian Helen Montague, J.P., D.H.L 640 34. Prof. Norman Bentwich, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 640 35. Smile Schreiber, Publicist 641
36. Helen Keller 643
37. Dr. Rokuichiro Masujima, Doyen of Jurisprudence of Japan 643 38. Sir Flinders Petrie, Archaeologist 644
39.Former President Masaryk of Czechoslovakia 644
40. Archduchess Anton of Austria 644
41. Dr. Herbert Adams Gibbons 644 42. H.R.H. Princess Olga of Yugoslavia 644
43. Eugen Relgis 644
44. Arthur Henderson 645
45. Prof. Dr. V. Lesny 645
46.Princess Marie Antoinette de Brogue Aussenac 645
47.David Starr Jordan, Late President, Leland Stanford University 646 48. Prof. ]3ogdan Popovitch, University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia 646
49. Ex-Governor William Suizer of New York 646
50. Luther Burbank 646
51. Prof. Yone Noguchi 646 52. Prof. Raymond Frank Piper 646
53. Angela Morgan 646
54. Arthur Moore 646
55. Prof. Dr. Jan Rypka, Charles University, Praha, Czechoslovakia 647 56. A. L. M. Nicolas 647
57. President Eduard Bene~ of Czechoslovakia 647
58. Sir Ronald Storrs, K.C.M.G., C.B.E 647 59. Col. Raja Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh, Raja of Bajang (Nepal) 649 60.Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 650 61. Right Hon. M. R. Jayakar, Privy Councillor, London 651 62. Prof. Benoy Kumar Sarkar, M.A., Ph.D 651
63. Sarojinu Naidu 651
64. Jules Bois 651
65. The late Sir John Martin Harvey, D.Litt 652 66. Dr. Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury 653 67. Arnold I. Toynbee, Hon. D.Litt. Oxon 653 68. Sir A. Ramaswami Mudaliar, K.C.S.I 653 69. Dr. Rhagavan Das 654 70. S. Eitrem, University of Oslo, Norway 654 71. Dr. G. W. Carver 654 72. George N. Mayhew, Dean, School of Religion, Vanderbilt University 654 73. Kenneth Walker, F.R.C.S., F.I.C.S 655
Page 1274. Prof. Joseph Klausner, Jerusalem, Israel655 75. Prof. Francesco Gabrieli, University of Rome 655 76. Dr. G. A. Borgese, Professor of Italian Literature, University of Chicago cago 655 77. Prof. Raffaele Pettazzoni, Professor of the History of Religion, University ersity of Rome 656 78. Dr. Marshall Wingfield, D.D., Litt.D 656 79. Sir Alfred Zimmern, Switzerland 656
III. In MemoriamI. Bahá'í Directory 19531954 717
1. International Bahá'í Council 717
2. Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies 717
3. Countries opened to the Bahá'í Faith 719
Abyssinia 7194. Local Bahá'í Spiritual Assemblies, Groups, and Localities where Isolated d Bahá'ís Reside in the United States of America 19531954 721 5. Directory of Assemblies, Groups, and Isolated Bahá'ís in Administrative
Divisions in Persia 19531954 7446. Directory of Localities where Bahá'ís Reside under the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, PAkistAn and Burma 19531954 753 7. Directory of Localities where Bahá'ís Reside under the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of Central and
South America 19531954 7578. Directory of Localities in Australia and New Zealand where Baha'is
Reside 19531954 7639. Directory of Localities in the Dominion of Canada where Baha'is
Reside 19531954 76510. Directory of Localities in the British Isles where Bahá'ís Reside 19531954 767 11. Directory of Localities in Germany and Austria where Bahá'ís Reside 19531954 769 12. Directory of Localities in Egypt and the Sfidan where Baha Reside 19531954 772 13. Directory of Localities where Bahá'ís Reside under the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'Ir6q 19531954 773 14. Directory of Localities in Italy and Switzerland where Bahá'ís Reside 19531954 '774
II. Baha Bibliography 775
1. Bahá'u'lláh's BestKnown Writings 7753. Bahá'í Publications of the United States of America in print 777 a. Writings of Bahá'u'lláh 777 b. Writings of the BTh 777 c. Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá 777 d. Works Compiled from Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá 778 e.Works Compiled from Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb and 'Abdu'l-Bahá 779 f.Works Compiled from Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi 779 g. Writings of Shoghi Effendi 779 li. Writings on the Bahá'í Faith 780
1. Bahá'í Reprints 782j. Pamphlets 782 k. Phonograph Records 784
1.Outlines and Guides for Bahá'í Study Classes 784
m. Children's Courses 785 n. Bahá'í Literature in Foreign Languages 786 o. The Bahá'í World 786 p. Periodicals 788 3A. Baha Publications of the United States of America that are out of print 788 4. Bahá'í Publications of Great Britain in print 796 a. Writings of Bahá'u'lláh 796 b. Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá 796 c.Works Compiled from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb and 'Abdu'l-Bahá 796 d. Writings of Shoghi Effendi 796 e.Compilations from the Writings of Shoghi Effendi 796 f. Writings on the Bahá'í Faith 796 g. Bahá'í Literature in Pamphlet Form 797 h.Outlines and Guides for Baha Study Classes 797
1. Bahá'í Literature in Foreign Languages 7974A. Bahá'í Publications of Great Britain that are out of print 798 5. Bahá'í Publications of Burma, India, PAkistAn and Princely States in English (Publications in other languages spoken in India, Burma, Ceylon and P~jkistin listed elsewhere under name of language) 800
6. Bahá'í Publications in Albanian 801
7. Bahá'í Publications in Bulgarian 801
8. Bahá'í Publications in Croatian 801
9. Bahá'í Publications in Czech 802
10. Bahá'í Publications in Danish 802
Page 1815. Bahá'í Publications in German in print 807 15A. Bahá'í Publications in German that are out of print 808
16. Bahá'í Publications in Greek 81232. BaWt'i Publications in African Languages 827
Acholi 82733. Languages into which Bahá'í Literature is being translated 827 34. Bahá'í Literature for the Blind 828
35. Bahá'í Periodicals 83036. References to the Bahá'í Faith in Books and Pamphlets published under nonBahá'í Auspices 830 37. References to the Baha Faith in Magazines by non-Bahtt'i Authors 845 38.References to the Ba1A'i Faith by Bahá'ís in non-Bah~t'i Publications 852 39.References to the Bahá'í Faith in Encyclopedias and Reference Books 852 III. Transliteration of Oriental Words frequently used in Bahá'í Literature 855 Guide to Transliteration and Pronunciation of the Persian Alphabet 857 Notes on the Pronunciation of Persian Words857
IV.Definitions of Oriental Terms used in Bahá'í Literature 859
PART FOUR1. The Sufferings of Bahá'u'lláh and Their Significance, by George Townshend, M.A 865 2. The God Who Walks with Men, by Horace Holley 868 3. Educating for Progress, by Stanwood Cobb 872 4. The Prison City of 'Akka, by William Sears 877 5. A Century of Spiritual Revival, by Dr. W. Kenneth Christian 883 6.The Kingdom of God on Earth, by Marion Hofman 886 7.The Call of the Martyrs, by George Townshend 892 8. The Path to God, by Dorothy Baker 894 9.An Italian Scientist Extols the BTh, by Ugo Giachery 900 10.The Bahá'í Faith and World Government, by David Earl 904 11.The Birth of World Religion, by Reginald King 910 12.Teaching Among the American Indians, by Rex King 914 13. In the Presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, by Ella Quant 917 14. The Bahá'í Faith in Backward Africa, by Dunduzu Chisiza 921 15. Black Sunlight, by William and Marguerite Sears 925 16. The Bahá'í Faith, reprinted from India & Israel 932
II.Verse 935
III.Music 947
IV. Maps and Charts of Bahá'í Communities Around the World, 19501954:
Australia and New Zealand 989
The British Isles 990
Canada 991
Central America 992
Germany and Austria 993
India, P~kisfftn and Burma 994
South America 995
Map of Greenland Showing Localities where Bahá'í Literature has been sent 996
Page 20where Bahá'ís Reside Inside Back Cover Note: Maps and Chart of the Ten-Year Plan
(Part I, Section VII) Inside Front CoverThe Sepulcher of the Báb on Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel Frontispiece Corner room of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh beneath the floor of which His remains are buried 3 Entrance to the Holy Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh at Babji, Israel 3 Views of the garden surrounding the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh 4 Monumental path leading to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, Baha, Israel 5 View of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh from the air 6 Aerial view of the Uaram-i-Aqdas Panoramic view of newly developed garden of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Baha'i,
Israel 89View of the curved path in the Shrine Gardens at Bahá'í 11 View of the monumental path leading to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, showing the main entrance gate at the end 12 View of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, seen through the Collins gate 13 Main gate leading to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Baha'i, Israel, gift of Hand of the Cause, Mrs. Amelia Collins, and named after her 15 The new garden in front of the Mansion at Bahá'í Shrine of the Bib, Haifa, Israel. Twelve thousand gilded tiles cover the Dome in a fish scale pattern 18 Shrine of the BTh on Mt. Carmel. Beyond the Shrine can be seen the city of Haifa, the harbor, the bay of 'Akka, the hills of the Lebanon 21 Shrine of the Báb, as seen from the slopes of Mt. Carmel 23 Shrine of the Martyr Prophet of the Bahá'í Faith, completed October, 1953 27 Aerial view of the Shrine of the Báb, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel 33 Night view of the Sepulcher of the Báb on Mt. Carmel, showing terraces and gardens 34 Circular cluster of cypress trees, visited by Bahá'u'lláh, from which He indicated the present site of the Shrine of the Báb and stated that His remains must be brought from Persia and placed there 36 Manesmann pipes placed, prior to erection, within recently cast reinforced con crete work which constitutes support for the superstructure of the Báb's Shrine 39 Erection of the cement ceiling of the octagon of the Shrine 39 One of the completed pinnacles of the octagon, March, 1952 39 A corner of the B&b's Shrine with two pinnacles of the octagon completed and the wrought-iron gilded railing in position 43 Finishing the molds for beams of the great "star" foundation 46 The great star-shaped reinforced concrete foundation of the octagon 47 Octagon of the Shrine seen from the mountainside and showing one iron railing in place, March, 1952 73 Scaffolding around the drum and dome of the Bib's Shrine, June, 1953 73 First golden tiles laid on the dome of the BTh's Shrine. Beneath the tile on the right a piece of plaster from the prison room occupied by the Báb in Mtih-Kii was imbedded by the Guardian on the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of
Bahá'u'lláh's Mission 77Raising the bell of the lantern of the dome of the Báb's Shrine 80 The crown of the dome 81 The completed lantern on the dome of the Shrine of the Báb 84 xxi
Page 22The B~b was imprisoned while in Tabriz 1848 in this now crumbling prison room of the old brick Ark 87 The BTh's remains lie in state in His Holy Sepulcher on Mt. Carmel, 1953 87 View of the Shrine of the 13gb, in the heart of Carmel 94 Bahá'í properties on Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel 95 View of one of the paths in the gardens surrounding the resting place of the Greatest est Holy Leaf, Haifa, Israel 99 Hands of the Cause of God 108114 Bahá'ís attending First Intercontinental Bahá'í Teaching Conference, in Kampala, Uganda, Africa, February, 1953 facing 118 Hands of the Cause attending First Intercontinental Bahá'í Conference in Kampala, ala, Uganda, Africa, February 1218, 1953 120 Group of pioneers to Africa attending First Intercontinental Teaching Conference at Kampala, Uganda, February, 1953 123 African choir at Kampala Conference public meeting, singing "Lord, I want to be a Bahá'í with all my heart" 126 Leroy loas greeting African Bahá'ís on behalf of the Guardian, Kampala, Uganda, Africa, February, 1953 129 Bahá'í All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference, Chicago, Illinois, May 36, 1953 facing 134 Ri1~iyyih KjAnum presenting the Guardian's Message of Dedication of the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, May 2, 1953 142 Bahá'ís gathered in the House of Worship, Wilmette, at Dedication 145 Abdu'l-Bahá RtiWyyih Kh5num receiving the Bahá'ís at reception given in her honor at the All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference, Chicago, Illinois, May 4,1953 147 Bahá'ís attending the All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference who had met 'Abdu'l-Bahá 148 American Indian Bahá'ís at the All-America Intercontinental Conference, Chicago, ago, Illinois, May, 1953 160 Baha from thirty countries attending the Third Baha Intercontinental Teach ing Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, July 2 126, 1953 following 166 Unity Banquet commemorating the Jubilee Year, held during the Third Intercontinental ntal Conference in the Golden Room of the Town Hall, Stockholm, Sweden, July 25, 1953 preceding167 Hands of the Cause of God present at the Third Intercontinental Teaching Conference, nce, Stockholm, Sweden, July 2126, 1953 169
Volunteer pioneers for the Ten-Year Global Crusade, Third Bahá'í Intercontinental
tal Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, July, 1953 174
Participants at the Fourth Baha Intercontinental Teaching Conference, New
Delhi, India, October 615, 1953 facing182 The President of the Union of India, Dr. Shri Rajendra Prasad, with members of Baha delegation received in his official residence during Asian Intercontinental tal Conference, New Delhi 185 Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Vice-President of India, with members of Bahá'í delegation, New Delhi, October 5, 1953 185 Public reception held during Fourth Ba1A'i Intercontinental Teaching Conference, New Delhi, India, October, 1953 187 Sketch of the eight-pointed star foundation for the octagon of the Shrine of the Bib, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel 245 National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America, elected
April, 1953 281National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia, elected April, 1951 283 National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles, 1953 284 National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria for the Year 110 (19531954) 286
Page 23National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, 19531954 287
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand, Year
110 (19531954) 288 National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, P6kist4n and Burma, 19521953 1953 and 19531954 291 National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Egypt and Sfid~n, 19501951 292 National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'Iraq, 19531954 293 First National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central America, Mexico and the Antilles, elected April, 1951 301 First National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of South America, elected April, 1951 302
First Italo-Swiss Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly, 19531954 303
Forty-Third Annual Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States, Wilmette, Illinois, April 28 � May 1, 1951 facing306 Delegates to the Eighteenth Annual Convention of the Bahá'ís of Persia, at the Ija4ratu'1-Quds, Iihr~n, April 27 � May 3, 1951 310 Bahá'ís of the British Isles, Convention, Year 110, London 322 Bahá'ís attending National Convention of Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria, held in newly erected Ijaziratu'1-Quds, April, 1951 325 Australian and New Zealand Bahá'ís gathered at the Ua4ratu'1-Quds, Sydney, for
Jubilee Year Convention and First Pacific School, 1953 332
Canadian National Bahá'í Convention, Toronto, April 2930, 1953 338339 Delegates and friends at Twenty-Fourth Annual Bahá'í Convention and Jubilee week celebration, New Delhi, April 26 � May 2, 1953 342 Delegates to National Convention of Bahá'ís of Egypt and Shd6n, 1950, attended for first time by a delegate from the Sid6n347 Bahá'ís attending First National Baha Convention of South America, Lima, Peru,
April, 1951 352Reception, South American National Bahá'í Convention, Lima, Peru, 1953 355 Bahá'í delegates and visiting Bahá'ís attending First Bahá'í Convention of Central America, Mexico and the Antilles, Panama City, April 2224, 1951 359 Bahá'ís attending First Italo-Swiss Bahá'í Convention, Florence, Italy, April 2327, 1953 362 Bahá'í Temple. A Temple for man's worship of God516 View of the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, February, 1953 520 Interior of dome of the Baha House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois 531 Interior view of the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois 535 Interior ornamentation of Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, as seen from second gallery 537 Model of landscaping surrounding Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette 539 Design for landscaping surrounding Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, as made by Hubert E. Dali and approved by the Guardian 541 Assembly rig for checking large bay tracery models at Barley Studios 543 Progress view, December 29, 1950, illustrates finished walls of a bay alcove and ornamentation of column arches 544 Temple Interior construction � progress to April 17, 1950 545 Interior ornamentation of the dome being put in place, March 28, 1951 546 Model of Matriqu'1-AcThk4r designed for construction on Mt. Carmel, Israel, Charles Mason Remey, architect 548 National Ua4ratu'1-Quds, Tihrkn, Persia, Ri4lvAn, 1951 (view from the air) 554 Ua4iratu'1-Quds of Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, any, newly erected, April, 1951 555 Ija4ratu'kQuds of Bahá'ís of Kampala, Uganda, British East Africa, April, 1952 560 Haziratu'1.-Quds of Bahá'ís of Paris, France, 1953 560 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Maywood, Illinois, incorporated June 11, 1951 564
Page 24Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Fresno, California, incorporated February ary 20, 1953 564 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of San Diego, California, incorporated April 29, 1953 565 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Sacramento, California, incorporated April 9, 1954 565 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Glendale, California, incorporated April 29, 1954 567 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tucson, Arizona, incorporated January 21, 1954 567 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Oak Park, Illinois, incorporated February 16, 1954 568 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nashville, Tennessee, incorporated April 13, 1954 568 Spiritual Assembly of the I3aM'is of Greenwich, Connecticut, incorporated April 23, 1954 569 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Reno, Nevada, incorporated April 20, 1954 570 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Surat, India, incorporated March 24, 1951 571 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Jalna, Hyderabad (Deccan), India, incorporated ated 1951 571 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kamarhati, India, incorporated September 7, 1950 572 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Mysore, India, incorporated September 25, 1950 572 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Singapore, incorporated July 28, 1952 573 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Montevideo, Uruguay, incorporated 1952 574 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tripoli, Libya, formed April 21, 1954 575 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Gbteberg, Sweden, formed April 21, 1953 575 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Porto, Portugal, formed April, 1952 577 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of The Hague, Netherlands, 19521953 577 British Borneo's first Bahá'í Spiritual Assembly, in Kuching, Sarawak 578 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa 578 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Trivandrum, India, 19501951 580 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Anchorage Recording District, Alaska, organized April 21, 1951 580 First Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of ZUrich, Switzerland, elected April 21, 1950 581 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Basra, South 'IrAq, inaugurating the land offered ered by one of them for the future local $a4ratu'1-Quds 581 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Sheffield, England, 19501951 582 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Daidanaw, Burma, 19501951 582 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Rosarfo-Santiago, Isabela, Republic of the
Philippines 583Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Port Said, Egypt, with a woman as member for first time 584 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Alexandria, Egypt, with women elected members bers for first time, April 21, 1951 585 Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Cairo, Egypt, with women elected members for first time, April 21, 1951 585 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Berlin reestablished after World War II,
April 21, 1950 587First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Cienfuegos, Cuba, elected April 21, 1951 587 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Call&o, Peru, elected April 21, 1951 588 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Agra, India, 1950195 1 590
Page 25First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Ichalkaranji, India, 1950195 1 591 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kanpur, India, April 21, 1952 591 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Florence, Italy, elected April 21, 1951 592 Eight members of the first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tokyo, Japan, 19501951 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Naples, Italy, elected April 21, 1951 594 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Jakarta, Indonesia, elected April 21, 1954 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kampala, Uganda, British East Africa, formed April 21, 1952 595 First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Wolfhalden, Switzerland, elected April 21, 1950 596
Regional Conference of United Nations NonGovernmental Organizations, Yildiz
Palace, Istanbul, April 913, 1951 602Baha delegates to United Nations International Conference of Non-Governmen-tal
tal Organizations, Lake Success, New York, April, 1949 603 Bahá'í representatives and observers at United Nations NonGovernmental Organizations tions Regional Conference for the Middle East, Istanbul, Turkey, April 913, 1951 606 Representatives of Bahá'í International Community at Regional Conference of NonGovernmental Organizations of United Nations held in Managua, Nicaragua, agua, August 411, 1951 608
Baha delegates at Fourth United Nations International NonGovernmental Organizations
tions Conference, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, June 2628, 1950 611
Bahá'í delegation at Fifth Conference of International NonGovernmental Organ
izations on United Nations Information, New York City, October 610, 1952 612 Fourth World Congress for World Federal Government, Rome, Italy, April 29, 1951 613 Dr. David Earl, headquarters delegate of Bahá'í International Community, being presented to President Quirino of the Republic of the Philippines at reception, United Nations NonGovernmental Organizations Conference, Manila, October ber 24, 1952 614
NonGovernmental Organizations Conference on Technical Assistance, United
Nations Headquarters, New York, March 29, 1954614 Second Regional Conference of Bahá'ís of France, Lyon, April 1819, 1954 ..First Benelux Bahá'í Conference, Brussels, Belgium, April 1214, 1952 718 Teaching Conference of Bahá'ís of British Isles, Sheffield, England, January, 1953 722 Delegates in session at Fifth Bahá'í Congress, San Salvador, Central America,
April 2528, 1950 723First Regional Swiss-Italian Bahá'í Conference, Rome, March 2023, 1952 725 Second All-Swiss Bahá'í Conference, at ZUrich, November 1819, 1950 726 Friends attending Third All-Swiss Baha Conference, Bern, February 2324, 1952 731 Delegates and friends attending banquet of Fourth South American Bahá'í Congress, ess, Lima, Peru, May 1, 1950 735 First Bahá'í Teaching Conference of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, held in Bogota, October 1215, 1949 739 Group of Bahá'ís attending Fourth European Bahá'í Teaching Conference and Summer School, Scheveningen, Holland, August 31 � September 10, 1951 . 740 Bahá'í Summer Conference in Banif, Alberta, Canada, 1951 743 Group of Bahá'ís on steps of "Peace Palace," The Hague, after visiting Bahá'í
Book Display in Peace Palace Library, during Fourth European Teaching
Conference, 1951 746Delegates and friends attending Third European Bahá'í Teaching Conference and Summer School, Elsinore, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1950 750
Page 26Conference in session, Third European Teaching Conference, Elsinore, Copen hagen, Denmark, July 2427, 1950 750 Baha attending Fifth European Teaching Conference and Summer School, Luxembourg, urg, September, 1952 756 Fourth Swiss Bahá'í Teaching Conference, Basel, Switzerland, November 2223, 1952 758 Attendants at First French Teaching Conference, held in Lyon, France, May 23 and 24, 1953 759 International Baha School, Loncoche, Chile, February, 1953 761 Baha Summer Conference, Ontario, Canada, 1952762 Bahá'í Summer School, Esslingen, Germany, August 915, 1953 764 Twelfth Baha Summer School held in Pancligani (India), October, 19M 767 View of the service dedicated to the Ezeiza International Bahá'í School, Argentina, at opening of Convention School Session, 1952768 Bahá'í Summer School held August 18 � September 1, 1951, at Thwaite Hall, Cot-tingliam, iam, Yorkshire, England 770
Bahá'í Summer School at Hyderabad-Sind (P~kist6n), 19521953 772
Baha Group of Aden, Aden Protectorate, November 22, 1953 778 Baha Group in Hyogo-ken, Osaka, Japan 781 View of Bahá'í Guest House, Ija4ratu'1-Quds, Baghdad, 'IrAq 792 Mr. Noel Wuttunee of Calgary, Alberta, first Canadian Indian Baha'i, with his wife 793 His Worship the Mayor of Haifa, Mr. Aba Khoushy, being welcomed by members bers of the National Spiritual Assembly when he visited the Bahá'í Temple in Wilmette, Illinois 794 The first Bahá'ís in the British Cameroons, 1954795 Title page of Bahá'í pamphlet in ChiNyanja published by British Africa Committee, tee, "Do You Know in What Day You are Living?" 797 Baha of Helsinki, Finland, at Third Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, July, 1953 798 Dr. Sushula Nayyar, Health Minister, Delhi State, on her way to preside at Centenary nary Commemoration of Thhirih's martyrdom 800
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kalutara (Ceylon), 19531954 801
Some members of National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'Iraq carrying wreath to the royal cemetery to place it on the tomb of the Queen, who died
December 27, 1950 803"New Era" Bahá'í School, Pancligani, Bombay State (India), 1950 804 Bahá'í Group of Suva, Fiji Islands, 1950, with visiting member of National Spiritual itual Assembly, Australia and New Zealand 806 Fourth Bahá'í Women's Progressive Convention, held at Ija4ratu'I-Quds, TihrAn,
April 1316, 1950 808All Faiths Convention held April 30, 1953, in New Delhi, as part of Bahá'í Jubilee
Week Celebrations (April 26 � May 2) 810A Baha group in Addis Ababa on the occasion of visit of Mason Remey, President dent of International Bahá'í Council, Mrs. Mildred Mottahedeli and R. Yazdi, following their attendance at the Intercontinental Bahá'í Conference, Kampala, pala, Uganda, Africa 814 First four native African Bahá'ís of Kampala, Uganda, representing the Buganda, Batero and Teso tribes 815
Fifth National Bahá'í Youth Convention, Tihrdn (Bahá'í Year 107) 816
German, British and Persian Friends attending Bahá'í Youth Summer Week, Dils-berg, berg, Germany, August 1825, 1951 817 Bahá'í Youth of Germany at Bahá'í Youth Summer Week, Breuberg Castle, Neu-stadt-i-Odenwald, ald, July 30 � August 5, 1950, with Bahá'í visitors from England, France, Norway, Persia and the United States819
Bahá'í Youth Group of Colombo, Ceylon 820Bahá'í Youth Symposium, Poona, India 820 Bahá'í Youth Symposium, Rangoon, February 25, 1951823
The Bahá'í Youth of Daidanaw, Burma 824
Float representing "This Earth One Country" entered in annual parade, July 4, 1950, at Anchorage, Alaska, by Bahá'í Children's Workshop 833 Bahá'í group at Annual Convention of Bahá'ís of British Isles, April 29 � May 1, 1950, Bonnington Hotel, London 835 Among youth attending Green Acre Youth Camp, June, 1951, was a young man from Kenya, British East Africa, now student in an American University 836
Baha delegates to United Nations NonGovernmental Organizations Regional
Conference, held in Den Passar, Indonesia, July 29 � August 3, 1951 (photo graph taken on board SS. Plancius) 839 Braille Exhibit including Bahá'í books transcribed in Braille, arranged by Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Butte, Montana 841 Display of Bahá'í photographs and texts, Punta Arenas, Magallanes, Chile, 1952 844 Festival of Britain � Baha Exhibition, arranged by Spiritual Assembly of Bahá'ís of Manchester, September 915, 1951 847 First exhibition of Bahá'í books in Paris, end of 1949 848
View of section of Bahá'í Jubilee Exhibition at Park Lane House, London 850
Bahá'í Exhibit, Elmhurst, Illinois 853
Professor Michele Lessona 900
Title Page of Lessona's History of the BThi Movement, written in 1862 and published shed in 1881 in Turin, Italy 901 Map of Persia, made in 1845 903 Haifa and Haifa Bay at night, 1951 934
Page 28ID URING the past twenty-eight years the Baha community of East and West has learned to anticipate each successive volume of THE BAWk'i WORLD (the first number was entitled "Baha Year Book") as the best means by which the individual believer may keep abreast of the steady development of the Faith throughout the world. This work, in its illustrations as well as in its text, has recorded as completely as possible the progress of current Baha events and activities over an area now embracing more than two hundred and twenty countries. In addition, each volume has presented those "his-torical l facts and fundamental principles that constitute the distinguishing features of the Message of Bahá'u'lláh to this age."
The existence of so many evidences of a newly revealed Faith and Gospel for a humanity arrived at a turning point in its spiritual and social evolution has likewise a profound significance for the non-Bahá'í student and scholar who desires to investigate the world religion founded by the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. For in these pages the reader encounters both the revealed Word in its spiritual powers, and the response which that utterance has evoked during the first one hundred and ten years of the Bahá'í era. He will find what is unparalleled in religious history � the unbroken continuity of a divine Faith from the Manifestation onward through four generations of human experience, and will be able to apprehend what impregnable foundations the Baha World Order rests upon in the life and teachings of the BTh and Bahá'u'lláh, the life and interpretation n of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and (since the year 1921) in the development of an administrative order under the direction of the Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi.
It is the avowed faith of Bahá'ís that this Revelation has established upon earth the spiritual impulse and the definite principles necessary for social regeneration and the attainment of one true religion and social order throughout the world, In THE BAW&'f WORLD, therefore, those who seek a higher will and wisdom than man possesses may learn how, amid the trials and tribulations of a decadent society, a new age has begun to emerge from the world of the spirit to the realm of human action and belief.
Page 3019501952 UNITED STATES � appointed by the National Spiritual
Assembly:Mrs. Beatrice 0. Ashton, chairman, Evanston, Illinois.
Mr. Victor de Araujo, Chicago, Illinois. Miss Ruth E. Dasher, Evanston, Illinois. Mr. Gordon A. Fraser, East Lansing, Michigan.
Dr. Ugo R. Giachery, Rome, Italy. Mrs. Baha Faraju'lItth Gulick, Berkeley, California.
Mrs. Gertrude K. Henning, Winnetka, Ii-linois.Miss Gretta S. Lamprill, secretary, Sydney, N.S.W. Mrs. Dulcie Burns-Dive, Rozelle, N.S.W.
INTERNATIONAL BAHÁ'Í BUREAU:Mrs. Anne Lynch, 37 Quai Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland.
19521954 UNITED STATES � appointed Mr. Rafi Y. Mottahedeli, by the National Spiritual New York, New York.
Assembly: Miss Vera Olsen, New
Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, York, New York. Mrs. chairman, New York, New Florence Steinhauer, York. Hastings-on-Hudson, Mrs. 0. H. Blackwell, New York.
secretary, Forest Hills, Mrs. Rouhieli McComb, New York. Glen Cove, Long Island, Mrs. Mary Burnet, New New York.
Rochelle, New York.UPON the spiritual foundation established by Bahá'u'lláh during the forty year period of His Mission (18531892), there stands today an independent religion represented by aver two thousand local communities of believers. These communities geographically are spread throughout all five continents. In point of race, class, nationality and religious origin, the followers of Bahá'u'lláh exemplify well-nigh the whole diversity of the modern world.
They may be characterized as a true cross section of humanity, a microcosm which, for all its relative littleness, carries within it individual men and women typifying the macrocosm of mankind.
None of the historic causes of association served to create this worldwide spiritual community. Neither a common language, a common blood, a common civil government, a common tradition nor a mutual grievance acted upon Bahá'ís to supply a fixed center of interest or a goal of material advantage.
On the contrary, membership in the Baha community in the land of its birth even to this day has been a severe disability, and outside of Persia the motive animating believers has been in direct opposition to the most inveterate prejudices of their environment.
The Cause of Bahá'u'lláh has moved forward without the re-enforce-ment of wealth, social prestige or other means of public influence.
Every local Bahá'í community exists by the voluntary association of individuals who consciously overcome the fundamental sanc tions evolved throughout the centuries to justify the separations and antagonisms of human society. In America, this association means that white believers accept the spiritual equality of their Negro fellows.
In Europe, it means the reconciliation of Protestant and Catholic upon the basis of a new and larger faith. In the Orient, Christian, Jewish and Muhammadan believers must stand apart from the rigid exclusiveness into which each was born.
The central fact to be noted concerning the nature of the Bahá'í Faith is that it contains a power, fulfilled in the realm of conscience, which can reverse the principle momentum of modern civilization � the drive toward division and strife � and initiate its own momentum moving steadily in the direction of unity and accord. It is in this power, and not in any criterion upheld by the world, that the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has special significance.
The forms of traditional opposition vested in nationality, race, class and creed are not the only social chasms which the Faith has bridged. There are even more implacable, if less visible differences between types and temperaments, such as flow inevitably from the contact of rational and emotional individuals, of active and passive dispositions, undermining capacity for cooperation in every organized society, which attain mutual understanding and harmony in the Baha community. For personal congeniality, the selective principle elsewhere continually operative within the field of volun 1
Page 2tary action, is an instinct which Bahá'ís must sacrifice to serve the principle of the oneness of mankind.
A Bahá'í community, therefore, is a constant and active spiritual victory, an overcoming of tensions which elsewhere come to the point of strife.
No mere passive creed nor philosophic gospel which need never be put to the test in daily life has produced this world fellowship devoted to the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
The basis of self-sacrifice on which the Bahá'í community stands has created a religious society in which all human relations are transformed from social to spiritual problems.
This fact is the door through which one must pass to arrive at insight of what the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh means to this age.
The social problems of the age are predominantly political and economic.
They are problems because human society is divided into nations each of which claims to be an end and a law unto itself and into classes each of which has raised an economic theory to the level of a sovereign and exclusive principle.
Nationality has become a condition which overrides the fundamental humanity of all the peoples concerned, asserting the superiority of political considerations over ethical and moral needs. Similarly, economic groups uphold and promote social systems without regard to the quality of human relationships experienced in terms of religion.
Tensions and oppositions between the different groups are organized for dominance and not for reconciliation. Each step toward more complete partisan organization increases the original tension and augments the separation of human beings; as the separation widens, the element of sympathy and fellowship on the human level is eventually denied.
In the Bahá'í community the same tensions and instinctive antagonisms exist, but the human separation has been made impossible.
The same capacity for exclusive doctrines is present, but no doctrine representing one personality or one group can secure a hearing. All believers alike are subject to one spiritually supreme sovereignty in the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
Disaffected individuals may withdraw. The community remains. For the Bahá'í teachings are in themselves principles of life and they assert the supreme value of humanity without doctrines which correspond to any particular environment or condition.
Thusmembers of the Bahá'í community realize their tensions and oppositions as ethical or spiritual problems, to be faced and overcome in mutual consultation. Their faith has convinced them that the "truth" or '4right" of any possible situation is not derived from partisan victory but from the needs of the community as an organic whole.
A Baha community endures without disruption because only spiritual problems can be solved. When human relations are held to be political or social problems they are removed from the realm in which rational will has responsibility and influence. The ultimate result of this degradation of human relationships is the frenzy of desperate strife � the outbreak of inhuman war.
THE RENEWAL OF FAITH"Therefore the Lord of Mankind has caused His holy, divine Manifestations to come into the world.
He has revealed His heavenly books in order to establish spiritual brotherhood, and through the power oji the Holy Spirit has made it possible for perfect fraternity to be realized among mankind."
� 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ La stating that the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh is an independent religion, two essential facts are implied.
The first fact is that the Bahá'í Cause historically was not an offshoot of any prior social principle or community. The teachings of Bahá'u'lláh are no artificial synthesis assembled from the modern library of international truth, which might be duplicated from the same sources. Bahá'u'lláh created a reality in the world of the soul which never before existed and could not exist apart from Him.
The second fact is that the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh is a religion, standing in the line of true religions: Christianity, Muhammadanism, Judaism, and other prophetic Faiths. Its existencC, like that of early Christianity, marks the return of faith as a direct and personal experience of the will of God. Because the divine will itself has been revealed in terms of human reality, the followers of Bahá'u'lláh are confident that their personal limitations can be transformed by an inflow of spiritual reenforcement from the higher world. It is for the privilege of access to the source of reality that they forego reliance
Page 3AIMS AND PURPOSES OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 3
The corner room of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh beneath the floor of which His remains are buried.
Entrance to the Holy Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh at Baha, Israel.
Page 4Views of the garden surrounding the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, at Baha, Israel.
Page 5AIMS AND PURPOSES OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 5
The Monumental Path leading to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, Baha'i, Israel.
upon the darkened self within and the unbelieving society without.
The religious education of Bahá'ís revolutionizes their inherited attitude toward their own as well as other traditional religions.
To Baha'is, religion is the life and teachings of the prophet. By identifying religion with its founder, they exclude from its spiritual reality all those accretions of human definition, ceremony and ritualistic practice emanating from followers required from time to time to make compromise with an unbelieving world.
Furthermore, in limiting religion to the prophet they are able to perceive the oneness of God in the spiritual oneness of all the prophets. The Baha born into Christianity can wholeheartedly enter into fellowship with the Bahá'í born into Mubammadanism because both have come to understand that Christ and Mul~ammad reflected the light of the one God into the darkness of the world. If certain teachings of Christ differ from certain teachings of Moses or Muhammad, the Báb~t'is know that all prophetic teachings are divided into two parts: one, consisting of the essential and unalterable principles of love, peace, unity and cooperation, renewed as divine commands in every cycle; the other, consisting sisting of external practices (such as diet, marriage and similar ordinances) conforming to the requirements of one time and place.
This Bahá'í teaching leads to a profounder analysis of the process of history. The followers of Bahá'u'lláh derive mental integrity from the realization made so clear and vivid by 'Abdu'l-Bahá that true insight into history discloses the uninterrupted and irresistible working of a Providence not denied nor made vain by any measure of human ignorance and unfaith.
According to this insight, a cycle begins with the appearance of a prophet or manifestation of God, through whom the spirits of men are revivified and reborn. The rise of faith in God produces a religious community, whose power of enthusiasm and devotion releases the creative elements of a new and higher civilization.
This civilization comes to its fruitful autumn in culture and mental achievement, to give way eventually to a barren winter of atheism, when strife and discord bring the civilization to an end. Under the burden of immorality, dishonor and cruelty marking this phase of the cycle, humanity lies helpless until the spiritual leader, the prophet, once more returns in the power of the Holy
Spirit.The Main Gate and Monumental approach can be seen in the center; in the background are extensive olive orchards.
Page 7The large building in the center is the Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh where He passed away in 1892.
t1~Panoramic view of newly developed garden Such is the Bahá'í reading of the book of the past.
Its reading of the present interprets these world troubles, this general chaos and confusion, as the hour when the renewal of religion is no longer a racial experience, a rebirth of one limited area of human society, but the destined unification of humanity itself in one faith and one order.
It is by the parable of the vineyard that I3ahA'is of the Christian West behold their tradition and their present spiritual reality at last inseparably joined, their faith and their social outlook identified, their reverence for the power of God merged with intelligible grasp of their material environment.
A human society which has substituted creeds for religion and armies for truth, even as all ancient prophets foretold, must needs come to abandon its instruments of violence and undergo purification until conscious, humble faith can be reborn.
THE BASIS OF UNITY"The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee." � BAHÁ'Í LLAH Faith alone, no matter how wholehearted and sincere, affords no basis on which the organic unity of a religious fellowship can endure. The faith of the early Christians was complete, but its degree of inner conviction when projected outward upon the field of action soon disclosed a fatal lack of social principle. Whether the outer expression of love implied a democratic or an aristocratic order, a communal or individualistic society, raised fundamental questions after the crucifixion of the prophet which none had authority to solve.
The Bahá'í teaching has this vital distinction, that it extends from the realm of conscience and faith to the realm of social action. It confirms the substance of faith not merely as a source of individual development but as a definitely ordered relationship to the community. Those who inspect the Bahá'í Cause superficially may deny its claim to be a religion for the reason that it lacks most of the visible marks by which religions are recognized.
But in place of ritual or other formal worship it contains a social principle linking people to a community, the loyal observance of which makes spiritual faith coterminous with life itself. The Baha'is, having no professional clergy, forbidden ever to have a clergy, understand that religion, in this age, consists in an "attitude toward God reflected in life." They are therefore conscious of no division between religious and secular actions.
The inherent nature of the communityAIMS AND PURPOSES OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 9
of the Shrine of Bah~ u'llAh at Baha, Israel.created by Bahá'u'lláh has great significance at this time, when the relative values of democracy, of constitutional monarchy, of aristocracy and of communism are everywhere in dispute.
Of the Bahá'í community it may be declared definitely that its character does not reflect the communist theory. The rights of the individual are fully safeguarded and the fundamental distinctions of personal endowment natural among all people are fully preserved. Individual rights, however, are interpreted in the light of the supreme law of brotherhood and not made a sanction for selfishness, oppression and indifference.
On the other hand, the Bahá'í order is not a democracy in the sense that it proceeds from the complete sovereignty of the people, whose representatives are limited to carrying out the popular will. Sovereignty, in the Bahá'í community, is attributed to the Divine prophet, and the elected representatives of the believers in their administrative function look to the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh for their guidance, having faith that the application of His universal principles is the source of order throughout the community.
Every Bahá'í administrative body feels itself a trustee, and in this capacity stands above the plane of dissension and is free of that pressure exerted by factional groups.
The local community on April 21 of each year elects by universal adult suffrage an administrative body of nine members called the Spiritual Assembly.
This body, with reference to all Baha matters, has sole power of decision.
It represents the collective conscience of the community with respect to Bahá'í activities. Its capacity and power are supreme within certain definite limitations.
The various states and provinces unite, through delegates elected annually according to the principle of proportionate representation, in the formation of a
National Spiritual Assemblyfor their country or natural geographical area. This National Spiritual Assembly, likewise composed of nine members, administers all national Bahá'í affairs and may assume jurisdiction of any local matter felt to be of more than local importance. Spiritual Assemblies, local and national, combine an executive, a legislative and a judicial function, all within the limits set by the Bahá'í teachings.
They have no resemblance to religious bodies which can adopt articles of faith and regulate the processes of belief and worship.
They are primarily responsible for the maintenance of unity within the Bahá'í community and for the release of its collective power in service to the Cause.
Membership in the Bahá'í community is granted, on personal declaration of faith, to adults.
Page 10Assemblies have come into existence since the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921.
Each National SpiritualAssembly will, in future, constitute an electoral body in the formation of an International Spiritual Assembly, a consummation which will perfect the administrative order of the Faith and create, for the first time in history, an international tribunal representing a worldwide community united in a single Faith.
Bahá'ís maintain their contact with the source of inspiration and knowledge in the sacred writings of the Faith by continuous prayer, study and discussion.
No believer can ever have a finished, static faith any more than he can arrive at the end of his capacity for being. The community has but one meeting ordained in the teachings � the general meeting held every nineteen days given in the new calendar established by the BTh.
This Nineteen Day Feastis conducted simply and informally under a program divided into three parts.
The first part consists in reading of passages from writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the B~b and 'Abdu'l-Bahá � a devotional meeting. Next follows general discussion of Bahá'í activities � the business meeting of the local community. After the consultation, the community breaks bread together and enjoys fellowship.
The experience which Bahá'ís receive through participation in their spiritual world order is unique and cannot be paralleled in any other society. Their status of perfect equality as voting members of a constitutional body called upon to deal with matters which reflect, even though in miniature, the whole gamut of human problems and activities; their intense realization of kinship with believers representing so wide a diversity of races, classes and creeds; their assurance that this unity is based upon the highest spiritual sanction and contributes a necessary ethical quality to the world in this age � all these opportunities for deeper and broader experience confer a privilege that is felt to be the fulfillment of life.
THE SPIRIT OF THE NEW"1/ man is left in his natural state, he will become lower than the animal and continue to grow more ignorant and imperfect.
The savage tribes of Central Africa are evidence of this. Left in their natural condition, they have sunk to the lowest depths and degrees of barbarism, dimly groping in a world of mental and moral obscurity. God has purposed that the darkness of the world of nature shall be dispelled and the imperfect attributes of the natal self be effaced in the effulgent reflection of the Sun of Truth."
� 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ The complete text of the Bahá'í sacred writings has not yet been translated into English, but the present generation of believers has the supreme privilege of possessing the fundamental teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, together with the interpretation and lucid commentary of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and more recently the exposition made by Shoghi Effendi of the teachings concerning the worM order which Bahá'u'lláh came to establish. Of special significance to Bahá'ís of Europe and America is the fact that, unlike
Christianity, the Causeof Bahá'u'lláh rests upon the Prophet's own words and not upon a necessarily incomplete rendering of oral tradition. Furthermore, the commentary and explanation of the Bahá'í gospel made by 'Abdu'l-Bahá preserves the spiritual integrity and essential aim of the revealed text, without the inevitable alloy of human personality which historically served to corrupt the gospel of Jesus and Muhammad.
The Baha'i, moreover, has this distinctive advantage, that his approach to the teachings is personal and direct, without the veils interposed by any human intermediary.
The works which supply the Bahá'í teachings to English-reading believers are The Kitáb-i-Iqdn (Book of Certitude), in which Bahá'u'lláh revealed the oneness of the Prophets and the identical foundation of all true religions, the law of cycles according to which the Prophet returns at intervals of approximately one thousand years, and the nature of faith; Hidden Words, the essence of truths revealed by Prophets in the past; prayers to quicken the soul's life and draw individuals and groups nearer to God;
Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh(Tar~zAt, Tablet of the World, Ka~im&t, Tajailiy6t, BiThttrAt, Ish-rAq~it), which establish social and spiritual principles for the new era; Three
Tablets ol Bahá'u'lláh(Tablet of the Branch, Kitáb-i-'Ahd, Lawlt-i-Aqdas), the appointment of 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the Interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, the Testament of Bahá'u'lláh, and His message to the Christians; Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, addressed to
Page 11AIMS AND PURPOSES OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 11
A view of the curved path in the Shrine Gardens at Baha'i.
Beneath the big pine trees on the left, Bahá'u'lláh often sat. the son of a prominent Persian who had been a most ruthless oppressor of the believers, a Tablet which recapitulates many teachings Bahá'u'lláh had revealed in earlier works. The significant Tablets addressed to rulers of Europe and the Orient, as well as to the heads of American Republics, about the year 1870, summoning them to undertake measures for the establishment of Universal Peace have been, in selected excerpts, incorporated by Shoghi Effendi in his book, The Promised
Day Is Come.The largest and most authentic body of Bahá'u'lláh's Writings in the English language consists of the excerpts chosen and translated by Shoghi Effendi, and published under the title of Gleanings from the
Writings of Bahá'u'lláh.by Bahá'u'lláh, Shoghi Effendi has similarly given to the Bahá'í Community in recent years a wider selection and a superb rendering of devotional passages revealed by
Bahá'u'lláh.The published writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá are: Some Answered Questions, dealing with the lives of the Prophets, the interpretation of Bible prophecies, the nature of man, the true principle of evolution and other philosophic subjects; Mysterious Forces of Civilization, a work addressed to the people of Persia about fifty years ago to show them the way to sound progress and true civilization; Tablets of 'A bdu'l-Bahd, three volumes of excerpts from letters written to individual believers and Bahá'í communities, which illumine a vast range of subjects; Promulgation of Universal Peace, from stenographic records of the public addresses delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to audiences in Canada and the United States during the year 1912; The Wisdom ol 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a similar record of His addresses in Paris; 'Abdu'l-Bahá in London; and reprints of a number of individual Tablets, especially that sent to the Committee for a Durable Peace, The Hague, Holland, in 1919, and the Tablet addressed to the late Dr. Forel of Switzerland.
The Will and Testamentleft by 'Abdu'l-Bahá has special significance, in that it provided for the future development of Baha administrative institutions and the
Guardianship.The most comprehensive selection of the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá now available in the English language is Bahá'í World
Faith.View of the Monumental Path leading to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, showing the main entrance gate at the end.
book entitled Bahá'í Administration, consisting of the general letters written by Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of the Faith since the Master's death in 1921, which expkin the details of the administrative order of the Faith, and his letters on World Order, which make clear the social principles imbedded in Bahá'u'lláh's
Revelation.These latter letters were in 1938 published in a volume entitled The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, Here the Guardian defines the relation of the Faith to the current social crisis, and sums up the fundamental tenets of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a work which gives to each believer access to a clear insight on the significance of the present era, and the outcome of its international perturbations, incomparably more revealing and at the same time more assuring than the works of students and statesmen in our times.
After laying the basis of the administrative order, and explaining the relations between the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh and the current movement and events which transform the world, the Guardian has written books of more general Baha import,
In The Advent of Divineexpounded the significance of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í teaching plan for North America against a background of ethical and social regeneration required for Bahá'í service today.
The Promised Day Is Comeexamines the history of the Faith in its early days when the world repudiated the B6t and Bahá'u'lláh and inflicted supreme suffering upon them and their followers, and develops the thesis that war and revolution come as penalty for rejection of the
Manifestation of God.In 1944, the centenary year of the Faith, the Guardian produced in God Passes By the authentic historical survey of the evolution of the Faith from its origin.
The literature has also been enriched by Shoghi Effendi's translation of The Dawn-Breakers, Nabil's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation, a vivid eyewitness account of the episodes which re-suIted from the announcement of the Bib on May 23, 1844.
When it is borne in mind that the term "religious literature" has come to represent a wide diversity of subject matter, ranging from cosmic philosophy to the psychology of personal experience, from efforts to understand the universe plumbed by telescope and microscope to efforts to discipline the
Page 13AIMS AND PURPOSES OF THE BAUM! FAITH 13
u'll~h was first publicly mentioned on the American continent to the present hour when the first Matriqu'1-Adbk~r of the West has finally been dedicated to public worship on the occasion of the celebrations signalizing the termination of the first century since the birth of His Mission.
I can but, at this juncture, touch upon certain outstanding episodes which, viewed in their proper perspective, may well be regarded as landmarks in the rise and development of the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláhholding of the World Parliament of Religions of Chicago in September 1893; of the arrival of the first American Bahá'í pilgrims in the Holy Land in December 1898; of the inception of the Temple enterprise in June 1903; of the opening of the first American Baha
Convention in March 1909;of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í arrival in America in April 1912; of the laying by Him of the cornerstone of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in May 1912; of the unveiling of the Tablets of the Divine Plan in April 1919; of the birth and rise of the Bahá'í Administrative Order on the morrow of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í ascension; of the official inauguration of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Plan through the launching of the first Seven-Year Teaching enterprise in April 1937; of the completion of the exterior ornamentation of the Mashriqu'1-AcThk4r, on the eve of the Centenary Celebrations of the Founding of the Faith, in May 1944; of the inception of the second Seven-Year Plan in April 1946; of the formation of an independent
National Spiritual Assemblyin the Dominion of Canada in April 1948; of the establishment of the National Spiritual
Assemblies of Centraland South America in April 1951; and of the completion of the interior ornamentation of the Temple in October 1952.
So remarkable a development in the course of the past six decades, spanning the concluding phase of the Heroic, and the opening decade of the Formative, Age of the Faith, and encompassing the length and breadth of a continent, so greatly blessed, so richly endowed, has resulted in the extension of the ramifications of a nascent
Administrative Orderto every State of the American Union, to every Province of the Dominion of Canada, and to every Republic of Central and South America; in the construction, the ornamentation, and the dedication to public worship of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Western World; in the erection of no less than four pillars destined with others to sustain the weight of the final and crowning unit of the Administrative Structure of the Faith; in the establishment of over ninety centers in the Dominion of Canada, of over an hundred centers in Latin America, and of over twelve hundred centers in the Great Republic of the West, covering a range that stretches from the Arctic Circle in the North to the extremity of Chile in the South; in the founding of local and national endowments estimated at over three million dollars; in the incorporation of no less than four national, and of more than fifty local, Bahá'í Spiritual Assemblies; in the recognition by eighteen States of the American Union of the
Bahá'í Marriage Certificate;in the establishment of two national administrative headquarters, one in the Dominion of Canada and the other in the heart of the North American continent; in the framing of national Bahá'í constitutions; in the inauguration of summer schools; and in a notable progress in the translation, the printing and the dissemination of Baha literature.
The hour has now struck for the National Bahá'í Communities dwelling within the confines of the Western Hemisphere � the first region in the Western World to be warmed and illuminated by the rays of God's infant Faith shining from its World Center in the Holy Land � to arise and, in thanksgiving for the manifold blessings continually showered upon them from on high during the past six decades and for the inestimable bounties of God's unfailing protection and sustaining grace vouchsafed His Cause ever since its inception more than a century ago, and in anticipation of the Most Great Jubilee which will commemorate the hundredth anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's formal assumption of His Prophetic Office, launch, determinedly and unitedly, the third and last stage of an enterprise inaugurated sixteen years ago, the termination of which will mark the closing of the initial epoch in the evolution of 'Abdu'l-Bahá alA's Divine Plan. Standing on the threshold of a ten-year long, world-embracing spiritual crusade these Communities are now called upon, by virtue of the weighty pronouncement recorded in the Most Holy Book, and in direct consequence of the revelation of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, to play a preponderating role in the systematic propagation of the Faith, in the course of the coming decade, which will, God willing, culminate in the spiritual conquest of the entire planet.
It is incumbent upon the members of the American Bahá'í Community, the chief executors of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan, the members of the Canadian Bahá'í Community acting as their allies, and the members of the Latin American Baha Communities in their capacity as associates in the execution of this Plan, to brace themselves and initiate, in addition to the responsibilities they have assumed, and will assume, in other continents of the globe, an intercon
Page 140tinental campaign designed to carry a stage further the glorious work already inaugurated throughout the Western Hemisphere.
The task, at once arduous, thrilling and challenging, which now confronts these four Bahá'í Communities involves: First, the formation, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, and in collaboration with the two existing National Assemblies in Latin America, of one
National Spiritual Assemblyas well as the establishment of a National Spiritual Assembly in Alaska under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America. Second, the establishment of the first Dependency of the Mas1ariqu'I-AcThk~r in Wilmette. Third, the purchase of land for the future construction of two Mashriqu'l-Adhkar's one in Toronto, Ontario; one in Panama City, Panama, situated respectively in North and in Central America. Fourth, the opening of the following twenty-seven virgin territories and islands:
Anticosti Island, BaranofIsland, Cape Breton Island, Franklin, Grand Manan Island, Keewatin, Labrador,
Magdalen Islands, Miquelonand Yukon, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada; Aleutian Islands,
Falkiand Islands, Key Westand Kodiak Island assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America; Bahama Islands,
British Honduras, Dutchof the Bahá'ís of Central America; British Guiana, Chulo6 Island, Dutch Guiana,
French Guiana, GalapagosIsland, Leeward Islands, and Windward Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of South America.Fifth, the translation and publication of Bahá'í literature in the following ten languages, to be undertaken by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America: Aguaruna, Arawak, Blackfoot, Cherokee, Iroquois, Lengua, Mataco, Maya, Mexican and Yahgan. Sixth, the consolidation of Greenland, Mackenzie and Newfoundland, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada; of Alaska, the Hawaii Islands and Puerto Rico allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of Amer ica; of Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central America; and of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peril, Uruguay and Venezuela, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South America. Seventh, the incorporation of the twenty-one above mentioned National Spiritual Assemblies. Eighth, the establishment by these same National Spiritual Assemblies of national Bahá'í endowments. Ninth, the establishment of a National Iaratu'1-Quds in the capital city of each of the aforementioned Republics, as well as one in Anchorage, Alaska.
Tenth, the formation of two National Baha Publishing Trusts, one in Wil-mette, Illinois, and the other in Rio de Ia-neiro, Brazil. Eleventh, the formation of an Israel Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, authorized to hold, on behalf of its parent institution, property dedicated to the holy Shrines at the World Center of the Faith in the State of Israel. Twelfth, the appointment during RiQ-vAn 1954, by the Hands of the Cause in the United States and Canada, of an auxiliary Board of nine members who will, in conjunction with the four National Spiritual Assemblies participating in the American campaign, assist, through periodic and systematic visits to Bahá'í centers, in the efficient and prompt execution of the Plans formulated for the prosecution of the teaching campaign in the American Continent.
Mindful of the magnificent services rendered during over half a century by the chief executors of
'Abdu'l-Bahá'í DivinePlan, within a territory that posterity will regard as the cradle of the embryonic
World Order of Bahá'u'lláhand the stronghold of its nascent institutions, and confident that this vast and historic assemblage, over which the national elected representatives of this privileged Community are presiding, will prove to be the harbinger of still greater victories, I have been impelled to transmit, through my special representative, who will participate on my behalf in the proceedings of this Conference and act as my deputy at the official dedication of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar a reproduction of the Portrait of Bahá'u'lláh Himself, made in the prime of His life, whilst an exile in Baghclid, as a token of my
Page 141admiration for this Community's unflagging and hercukan labors, and as a benediction and inspiration for those who, whether officially or unofficially, are participating in the proceedings of a Conference that will go down in history as the most momentous gathering held since the close of the Heroic Age of the Faith and will be regarded as the most potent agency in paving the way for the launching of one of the most brilliant phases of the grandest crusade ever undertaken by the followers of Bahá'u'lláh since the inception of His Faith more than a hundred years ago.
� SITIOGHION BEHALF of the Guardian of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, I have the great honor of dedicating this first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Western World to public worship.
"Initiated fifty years ago, its foundation stone laid by 'Abdu'1-Eah6, the son of the Founder of the Faith, raised by contributions from its followers all over the world, reared in the vicinity of the first Bahá'í center established in the West, this House of Worship, now opening wide its doors to peoples of all creeds, of all races, of all nations and of all classes, is dedicated to the three fundamental verities animating and underlying the Bahá'í Faith � the Unity of God, the Unity of His Prophets, the Unity of
Mankind.'�1 greet and welcome you on behalf of the Guardian of our Faith within these walls, and invite you to share with us the words recorded in the Sacred Scriptures which we believe to be repositories of the eternal and fundamental truths revealed by God in various ages, for the guidance and salvation of all mankind.
"May I now request you all to rise while I read on behalf of the Guardian of the Faith these words of prayer written by the Author of the Bahá'í Revelation: "'0 God, Who art the Author of all Manifestations, the Source of all Sources, the FountainHead of all Revelations, and the WellSpring of all Lights! I testify that by Thy Name the heaven of understanding hath been adorned, and the ocean of utterance hath surged, and the dispensations of Thy providence have been promulgated unto the followers of all religions Lauded and glorified art
Thou, 0 Lord my God!Thou art He Who from everlasting hath been clothed with majesty, with authority and power, and will continue unto everlasting to be arrayed with honor, with strength and glory. The learned, one and all, stand aghast before the signs and tokens of Thy handiwork, while the wise find themselves, without exception, impotent to unravel the mystery of Them Who are the Manifestations of Thy might and power.
Every man of insight bath confessed his powerlessness to scale the heights of Thy knowledge, and every man of learning hath acknowledged his failure to fathom the nature of Thine Essence.
"'Having barred the way that leadeth unto Thee, Thou hast, by virtue of Thine authority and through the potency of Thy will, called into being Them Who are the
Manifestations of ThySelf, and hast entrusted Them with Thy message unto Thy people, and caused Them to become the DaySprings of Thine inspiration, the Exponents of Thy Revelation, the Treasuries of Thy knowledge and the Repositories of Thy Faith, that all men may, through Them, turn their faces towards Thee, and may draw nigh unto the kingdom of Thy Revelation and the heaven of Thy grace.
"'I beseech Thee, therefore, by Thyself and by Them, to send down, from the right
Page 142Riiljiyyih Kjiinum presenting the Guardian's Message of Dedication of the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, May 2, 1953.
hand of the throne of Whose hand is the source Thy grace, upon all that of all gifts, that they dwell on earth, that may all arise to serve which shall wash them Thy Cause, and may detach from the stain of their themselves entirely from trespasses against Thee, all except Thee. Thou and cause them to become whollyart the Almighty, the devoted to Thy Self, All-Glorious, the Unrestrained.'" 0 Thou in
Page 143THE second and, in the Guardian's words, "without doubt, the most distinguished of the four Intercontinental
Teaching Conferencescommemorating the Centenary of the inception of the
Mission of Bahá'u'lláh"was held in Chicago and Wilmette, Illinois, May 3 through 6, 1953.
As the Guardian stated in one of his messages to the Conference, this occasion marked the launching of the "epochal, global, spiritual decade-long crusade." This crusade represents the "third and last stage of an enterprise inaugurated sixteen years ago, the termination of which will mark the closing of the initial epoch in the evolution of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í
Divine Plan."The Inter-America Conference, convened by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, embracing the United States, Canada, Central and South America, was endowed by our beloved Guardian with great and special blessings. The sacrifice of the Guardian, already overburdened with work, in sending to the Conference as his personal representative
'Ama-tu'1-Bah4 Ri1~iyyihKMnum, gave to the deliberations of the Conference and to the next ten years their basic clue.
The presence of all five Hands of the Cause from Persia, ever ready with inspiring stories of heroic deeds, brought a unique blessing to this Conference of the West. Sacrifice � love � deeds, these must needs be our equipment for the coming ten years, already begun.
The Conference was especially blessed with two tremendously pregnant messages from Shoghi Effendi, read by Ril$yyih KhAnum, one at the opening session and the other the following day.
The unveiling by Charles Mason Remey, president of the Bahá'í International Council and Hand of the Cause, of the model of his design for the Mashriqu'1-Ad�k~r on Mount Carmel was also an event of this Conference by the special request of the Guardian. That the Conference itself was convened during Rhjvan period, the midpoint of the Holy Year, was again due to the loving plans of our Guardian.
In all, twelve Hands of the Cause were present. Besides the three members of the
Bahá'í InternationalCouncil and the five Hands of the Cause from Persia, there were Mr. MasA Ban6.ni of Africa,
Mr. FredThe Conference was held in the Medinah Temple in Chicago, a large building which comfortably accommodated the sessions and activities attended by two thousand three hundred and forty-four registered Bahá'ís from thirty-three different countries of the world, including two hundred and thirtyfive who came from countries other than the United States. A total of some twenty-five hundred Bahá'ís had attended the Bahá'í Consecration Service held at the House of Worship on May 1.
One of the important services rendered by the Jubilee Committee was the provision of a duplicate set of attractive, leather-bound Guest Books for the registration of Bahá'ís attending all or any of the Jubilee events conducted in Medinah Temple. One of these volumes has been sent to the Guardian, and the other is preserved permanently in the National Archives.
A second set of duplicate volumes was maintained at the Temple for registration of believers unable to attend the sessions held in Chicago.
From the moment, on Sunday morning, May 3, that the Inter-America Conference was opened with prayers read in English and Spanish and chanted in Persian, and the chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, Paul Haney, spoke its cordial welcome to all present, saying, "This is a unique and historic event," one felt caught up in a transcending spiritual current
Page 144which presaged indeed a new phase in the evolution of the Faith, the like of which had never before been experienced in the world.
The roll call of visitors from the various countries included Bahá'ís from Persia, Turkey, Australia, Japan, Denmark, British East Africa, Sweden, Finland, France, the provinces of Canada, as well as the Northwest Territories, ten of the fourteen countries and islands of Central America opened to the Faith, nine of the ten republics of South America, and forty-seven States of the United States, plus
Alaska and Hawaii. Racesrepresented included the Negro, North American Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian and Caucasian, Persian and Turkish.
The high note of the opening session came when the love of the Guardian was brought to the Conference by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Riil.iiyyih KjAnum and she read his opening message [see page 133].
At the morning session of the second day, the Guardian's second message was read by R6l2iyyih Kh4num. In this message the Guardian gives a monumental survey of the progress of the Faith to date, which, however, must be regarded as a "prelude" to the period now inaugurated.
The beloved Guardian, in his love and mercy, as ever holds before us the promise of the glorious future, while outlining to us the challenging tasks of the present.
Then RflWyyih Kj~num spoke to the Conference on "The Character and Purpose of the World Crusade." [See page 1511 Following this stirring session four pioneer tables � one for each of the four "allied" and "associated" National Spiritual Assemblies � were set up. During the luncheon period these tables were crowded with Bahá'ís volunteering to pioneer, leaving their names and addresses with the respective National Spiritual Assembly representative.
At the opening of the afternoon session the co-chairman of the Conference, Mrs. Dorothy Baker, called all those, and others who wished to pioneer, to the platform to give their names over the microphone.
Most of them also spoke a few words and stated where they would like to go. An eventual total of one hundred and fifty Bahá'ís of various countries signified their wish to pioneer.
Included were two anonymous offers to serve in leper colonies.
To implement the consultation on pioneering under the topic "The Art of Opening ing New Territories" during the afternoon session, Mr. Mtis6 Ban~ni, Hand of the Cause from Africa, gave an absorbing account of how it is done in
Africa.Mr. BanAni first conveyed the greetings sent by the Baha from all centers of Africa. He stated that there were three reaSons for the great success of the teaching work in Uganda: (1) The bounties and confirmations of Bahá'u'lláh. (2) The complete unity of the pioneers. (3) The exemplary way in which 'Au Nakbjavanf, one of the pioneers, conducted himself, with absolute freedom from prejudice. "He went and lived with the Africans in the heart of the jungle," Mr. BanThi said, "and this was a new experience for the Africans, because at no time previously had any white man acted toward these Africans as he did. In the past the Africans had heard many promises and many beautiful words from white men, but in actions they had always seen the opposite. When they saw that words and deeds were one in the person of 'All Nakj~jav~ni they immediately warmed up to the Faith and have received the Message of the Faith very eagerly and in exultation.~~ Mr. Ban~ni also emphasized how important it is for the Bahá'í pioneers to make the authorities in the country understand that Bahá'ís have no connection with politics. He told a story of how cooperation with the police on the part of the Bahá'í pioneer, in letting them know he was making a trip to a region of the jungle, vitiated the attempts of a white person to make trouble. Now one of the tribal villages visited has a spiritual assembly.
Many of that tribe and others came to the Kampalain all, invited as guests of the Guardian. The fact that they returned "hale and hearty and much happier" after contact with the Bahá'ís resulted in fifty more coming into the Faith after the Conference.
Consultation on opening new territories was continued on Tuesday morning. The National Spiritual Assembly representatives from Canada, Central America, South America (the "allied" and "associated" Assemblies) and the United States each spoke of the opportunities presented in their virgin areas, and gave short descriptions of the territories assigned to each by the Guardian. All those who had had experience in pioneering anywhere were then asked to give their suggestions for opening new territories.
The role of Bahá'í Youth in pioneeringBahá'ís gathered in the House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, on the occasion of its Dedication.
in the World Crusade was presented in the afternoon session. Following the opening devotions, Mrs. Amelia Collins spoke briefly and read the following words spoken by the Guardian, as they offer the "key for all of us today": The magnetic power is the action of the believers.
If they arise and show the right spirit it will act as a magnet and attract this power which is accumulated ready to aid every believer who will arise to serve.
The chairman of the National Bahá'í Youth Committee, Dwight Allen, emphasized the role of Youth as part of the Bahá'í Community in the Ten-Year Crusade � in consultation and in pioneering. He then opened the discussion to all "Youth." Practical points were brought out concerning the need for Youth to orient their education toward work useful in pioneering and to plan their lives and marriage to that end; and concerning opportunities for jobs in international organizations. The problem of Bahá'í Youth in military service was clan fled, and a recommendation was made to the National Spiritual Assembly that teach-big committees be asked to make a special point of contacting foreign students in our universities.
Mr. 'Ali-Akbar Furdtan, Hand of the Cause and secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of 'Persia, who has written textbooks for Bahá'í children in Persia and for teachers training the Youth, spoke about the pioneering preparation given to Bahá'í Youth in Persia. First, he said, it was made sure that every Baha, young or old, was convinced that this particular phase of the Divine Plan could be achieved. Then, they were assured of the promise of Divine help. Mr. Fur6tan gave the Guardian's three guarantees for the fulfillment of the Ten-Year Crusade as recently written to the Bahá'ís of Persia: (1) To arise with love, (2) to persevere after one has arisen, and (3) the occurrence of certain events in the world which will in some way assist the ful
Page 146Mr. Furtitan explained that the Youth are taught that pioneering has two aspects, the personal (that of prayer and study) and the administrative which involves cooperation with their Assemblies and Committees.
At this session there was also consultation concerning the work among the Indians and the Eskimos. Members of the Indian Teaching
Committees of Centraland of South America reported activities initiated to reach the Indians.
The efforts of Bahá'ís in Greenland and Alaska to reach the Eskimos were reported. Teaching in schools, nursing and study of anthropology were mentioned as valuable ways of making these contacts. Mr. Eli Powlas, a full-blooded Oneida Indian now a Baha'i, was one who spoke. He was asked by Rtibiyyih Kb~num to translate a Bahá'í pamphlet into his language for Shoghi Effendi. "This would make the Guardian happy," she said. Of course he eagerly agreed to do it. Riikifyyih KMnum urged us to study the methods of the Guardian, to try to see things with farseeing vision and make use, in our teaching, of developments on the periphery of the Faith, as evidenced in his pamphlet In formation
Statistical and Comparative, 18441952and his Appreciations of the Bahá'í Faith, which we should use to give people an idea of the extent of the Faith and the quality of those who speak favorably of it. Monday evening was the time set aside for the Guardian's representative,
'Amatu'I-Bali R6tiiyyihKMnum, to speak to the Bahá'ís from her heart. She spoke to the heart of every Baha'i, about many things, all helpful. She spoke chiefly of that which "you want most to hear about � Shoghi Effendi."
And she told how when she first went to serve with the Guardian she had a mental image of the Cause of God as a ship, the Captain of the ship was Shoghi Effendi and the Bahá'ís were all on deck and she was one of them. After a time the image needed revising � the Guardian was the ship, the sea was the Cause of God and the Bahá'ís were traveling on the ship.
"Time went by and that image was no longer large enough.
Finally I came to the conclusion that the ocean was the Guardian and the Cause of God was the ship and the Cause of God often gets a rough ride and the ocean is tossed by the winds of God."
She said: "There is nothing diffuse about Shoghi Effendi.
He is like the point of flame that comes out of a blowtorch. Intensity of concentration and action."
Rti1~iyyih Kh6num told of the way in which the Guardian, in two and onehalf months, had converted twelve thousand square meters (almost three acres) of land, all sand, around Baha and the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh, into beautiful gardens. She said he concentrated sixteen hours a day on getting this work done. "Otherwise it could have taken two years. Everything he does, he does that way.
And we must learn to work the way Shoghi Effendi does, because only in that way will we get the work accomplished."
She gave instances of the great integrity of the Guardian. "Shoghi Effendi is like the law.
He has the most tremendous courage where principle is concerned."
And she told of his returning thirty-four thousand pounds sterling donated at one time during the Guardian's absence from Haifa by a man "with whom Shoghi Effendi was displeased.
He considered that the man's spirit was not right, that his motives were not pure, and Shoghi Effendi could not accept money from him. He said, 'How can I take his money and not reinstate him in my good graces? And he can't buy me.'" Ri-hiyyih KMnum added: "You see, it is these things that set the standard of Bahá'ís in the world. When our integrity is as shining and as clear cut as Shoghi Effendi's, we will not have much trouble bringing people into the Faith."
Riiljiyyih KFnum spoke of the absolute necessity for us to learn to think in terms of principle and not in terms of personality.
"It seems to be a terrible disease that we all have, of constantly thinking of everything in terms of personality. We never seem to get to terms of principle. You see, the Guardian doesn't care anything about personality.
It doesn't exist as far as he is concerned. He cares oniy for principle. There are no exceptions to his rule. It doesn't matter who you are or what you have done, how much you have given, how prominent you are, anything to do with you that you might feel entitles you to some special consideration.
It is only principle."Now the Bahá'ís should learn to look at things that way. They have simply got to stop thinking in terms of personality.
They have got to start thinking in terms of prinAmatu'1-I3alA Rtiljiyyih Kh4num receiving the Bahá'ís at reception given in her honor at the All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference, Chicago, Illinois, May 4, 1953.
ciple. The principle is your Spiritual Assemblies composed of nine people.
They have been elected by you. They are supposed to fulfill certain functions specified in our teachings which are quite clear.
Whether they do it very well or very poorly or you think Mrs. Jones is a person who actually started the whole thing and you are sure it is Mr. Smith who doesn't like you, or whatever the thing is that is going on in your mind, you have got to learn, always, that it is principle that is the thing to follow.
We are never, never going to get this administrative order swinging until we forget all individuals, however much they get into our hair, and devote ourselves to the application of the principles involved.
You will be astonished what you can do if you ever get over the question of personalities.
�Don't look at each other so much as an individual.
Look at each other as all Baha'is, all belonging to Bahá'u'lláh and all belonging to Shoghi Effendi. And when you see those things, think of that love in your heart for Shoghi Effendi, and say, 'All right, I love you.'" Following her stirring talk, RtilAyyih Khinum graciously answered about fifty questions written out by Bahá'ís and sent to the platform at her invitation.
The reception for Rhltiyyih Kh~inum which followed gave the friends the opportunity to shake hands with her and speak a few words individually with her.
The evening of Tuesday, May 5, was devoted to the World Center, with the unveiling by Charles Mason Remey of his model for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar to be erected on Mt. Carmel, a talk by Mr. Furfitan on the institutions of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, and the viewing of color moving pictures of the Shrines and gardens in Haifa and Baha, sent by the beloved Guardian to be shown at the Conference.
As Mr. Remey unveiled the model the friends saw the exquisitely beautiful design for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Holy Land, with the landscaping of its surrounding terrace.
Five drawings were ako displayed, of various elevations, cross section and interior design. Acquisition of land for its erection is one of the objectives in the development of the World Center during this
Crusade.Mr. Furtitan's talk on the World Order was a very comprehensive review tracing the development of the Administration, the importance of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the functions of the two great "pillars" of interpretation and legislation later, after he had also visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá On this visit he had with him two of his sons; one of them, Rtil2u'lWh, a very gifted child, was only eight years old.
One day the Greatest Holy Leaf, 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í sister, asked the boy what he did in
Persia. HeBahá'ís attending the All-America Intercontinental Teaching Conference
who had met 'Abdu'l-Bahá.which support the Administrative Order, and, finally, the steps outlined by the Guardian in his second communication to the Conference through which the development of the Faith would progress.
At the last morning session of the Conference four of the Persian Hands of the Cause had been asked to speak on the "Significance of the Year Nine" � General Shu'4'u'IlAh 'Al6Pi, Valiyu'lhh Varq6~,
TarA-zu'11th SamandariGeneral 'AIA'i read from passages in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and told that the exact site of the dungeon of the Siy&h-ChM is known but that large buildings have since been built over this property.
Mr. Varq4 had been asked to tell about his father and brother who attained to martyrdom. He told the moving story of his grandfather's making the trip to Baha on foot from Persia only to become ill and die just before he reached his goal. He was buried by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in a grave made with His own hands.
Mr. Varqa's father attained the presence of Bahá'u'lláh several times and asked for martyrdom for himself and one of his sons. lie was a physician and traveled about Persia to promulgate the Faith. His wish was granted many years replied, "I was teaching."
So the Greatest Holy LeafHe said he spoke only to those who had "percep-tion."
The Greatest Holy Leafthen asked him to tell her whether two boys who were present (sons of Bahá'u'lláh) could understand what he had to say. Rii1~u'11Th went to the boys, looked attentively into their faces, and returned to Bahá'í Kh4num saying, "It is no use; they would not understand." Both of these brothers of 'Abdu'l-Bahá became Covenant-breakers.
Mr. Varq4 himself had accompanied 'Abdu'l-Bahá on His visit to the United States.
Mr. Samandari, the oldest Hand of the Cause among the five Persians, is descended from one of the pupils of S�ayk� Abmad, first of the two forerunners of the BTh. At the age of fifteen, Mr. Samandari attained the presence of Bahá'u'lláh. He recalled his impression of the great humility and the grandeur and majesty of Bahá'u'lláh, and told many reminiscences of that memorable visit.
Then, inevitably, came the closing session of the Conference, a Conference which the Guardian stated in his opening message "will go down in history as the most mo
Page 149mentous gathering held since the close of the Heroic Age of the Faith, and will be regarded as the most potent agency in paving the way for the launching of one of the most brilliant phases of the grandest crusade ever undertaken by the followers of Bahá'u'lláh since the inception of His Faith more than one hundred years ago."
At this session the Guardian's own chosen representative, Rtil~iyyih Kb6num, called upon us to "Mount Your SteedsV* When Rdliiyyih KMnum finished, just before the reading of the closing prayer Mrs. Amelia Collins spoke briefly: "Now I have witnessed in this audience day after day your great joy, your inspiration, your longing to serve, the pledges you have made, and all of this I feel is the result of our Guardian's sacrifice. Let us just cherish this thought all through the next ten years, that our Guardian is sacrificing for us daily, and with great joy. To see the Guardian smile just once is enough to cause you to wish to lay down your life, really and truly it is. But that is not it. We are to make our Guardian happy, and this it is really our privilege to do."
Mrs. Collins then concluded the Conference with reading 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Tablet of
Visitation.These were the words of Quddlis as be led the Ribis at the siege of Tabarsi.
See The Dawn-Breakers, page 365.THE impressive public events of the All-American Jubilee celebrations, which included four public meetings and the dedication of the House of Worship, received widespread notice in the press and attracted much public attention and interest. Each of the four meetings, with their distinguished guest participants and outstanding Ba1A'i speakers, drew large audiences, estimated to have varied from fifteen hundred to twenty-five hundred.
The first meeting was held Wednesday evening, April 29, the opening day of Jubilee week, at Medinah Temple in Chicago. Mr. Matthew Bullock was chairman and the two speakers on the theme of "Religion for Humanity" were Dr. Paul Ilutchinson and Mrs. Dorothy Baker.
Dr. Hutchinson is widely known and respected as an outstanding analyst of present day problems and spokesman for the lay Protestant Church world. lie is editor of the Christian Century, generally considered to be the most influential Protestant periodical.
Dr. Hutchinson's subject was "Points of Light in the Dark World." He began his remarks by offering his congratulations on the completion of the House of Worship, which he described as a symbol of mankind's oneness in this vital quest for spiritual satisfaction which will be achieved when all are gathered as brothers in one common household of faith under one God.
In a forceful manner, Dr. Jiutchinson then presented his analysis of the hopeful factors � points of light � in the general darkness of the present age. He outlined five such points of light which exist in the thinking of common men everywhere, and which therefore offer promise for the future.
These are: the faith of common men in the reality of progress, the belief in the reality and authority of moral values, the belief in the reality of human oneness, common man's increasing awareness of the necessity for world government, and his deep belief in the spiritual basis for all life.
Mrs. Baker spoke on the "Mission of the Prophets" with eloquence and persuasiveness.
She identified the Prophets as the founders of civilization and described their twofold mission as individual and social, "to glorify the individual and to safeguard and unify the race." Then she traced the development of this twofold mission in the stories of Moses, Jesus and Mul2ammacl, showing that religion has given repeated proofs that it is the source of human progress and redemption.
Bahá'u'lláh was proclaimed as the fountainhead of light and
Page 150salvation for this chaotic hour. Mrs. Baker concluded by outlining the movement of the Faith toward the achievement of the eternal plan of God � the "Kingdom indivisible, whose watchword is the oneness of the human race � all rivers flow to the ocean; all missions are fulfilled in this mission.,, On the eve of the dedication of the Tem-pie, Friday, May 1, a public nieeting was held in the New Trier High School, Winnetka, a suburb north of Chicago in the vicinity of the House of Worship. Bahá'ís came from their special service of consecration held at the Temple in the afternoon to join with guests � for the most part residents of the northern suburbs who have watched the Temple during the long years of its building as they have flowed past on the highway that borders the Temple grounds � in a happy prelude to the great event of the next day, the public dedication.
On this evening the story of their beloved House of Worship was publicly unfolded.
Mr. Paul Haney, the chairman, presented several messages of greeting and congratulations on the dedication of the House of Worship from wellknown people.
The history, architecture and purpose of the Temple were discussed by Bahá'ís whose close association with the work has familiarized them with its every detail.
Mr. Alien McDaniel, a former member of the National Spiritual Assembly, for many years supervising engineer of the building and more recently on the Technical Committee, gave the history of the project from its beginning, through the purchase of the land, the choice of a plan and the completion of the con struction. Mr. Robert McLaughlin, Director of the School of Architecture of Princeton University and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, who has served for some years on the Technical Committee, described the unusual architectural elements of the building, pointing to the unique fitness of the plan to the Bahá'í conception of unity and manner of worship. He stressed the timeless quality of the architectural design for it has stood apart and aloof from the changing fashions of the last thirty years. Regarding it as an example of early Baha architecture, Mr. McLaughlin speculated on the wonders of world architecture that will develop as the world becomes spiritually and physically united.
Mr. Haney then introduced the third member of the Technical Committee, Mr. Edwin Eardley, and the Landscape Architect, Mr. Hubert Dali. The chairman presented Mr. William Alexander, the President of the Village of Wilmette, to whom he expressed the appreciation of the Bahá'ís for the friendly attitude and cooperation extended by the village authorities during the years of the Temple's building. Mr. Alexander, in the name of the Village of Wil-mette, offered greetings and congratulations and stated that the village feels privileged to have this world famous structure in its community and has sincere regard for the lofty ideals which it represents.
Mr. Horace ilolley then gave a penetrating and profound definition of the purpose of the Ba1A'i
House of Worship.The meeting was closed with the reading of an editorial from the Chicago Daily News on the dedication of the Temple, praising the ideals for which it stands.
Rfiltiyyih KiAnum, the Guardian's representative to the All-American Intercontinental Conference, and Dr. Charles Wesley were speakers on the theme "One God and One People," Sunday, May 3, at Medinah Temple in Chicago. There was much excitement over the participation of Rfi1~iyyih KMnum in a public program and the large audience rose as she came on the huge stage with Dr. Wesley, guest speaker, and Mr. 'All Yazdi, Chairman.
Dr. Charles II. Wesley, president of Central State College at Wilberforce, Ohio, author, historian and educator, chose as his topic "The Significance of Oneness � Principle or Expediency?" He stated that the principle of oneness is recognized and advocated by the great religions and by most world thinkers, but practice departs from theory.
In application to life in the modern world, the principle of oneness has faced obstacles which Dr. Wesley listed as selfish nationalism, self-serving industrialism, and selfcontained racism. In the movement toward world unity and the oneness of mankind, he questioned whether it would be reached by principle or expediency, the latter being thus far the most influential argument.
Permanent and enduring change will come only through the translation of democratic and religious ideals into practical activities.
What is needed, he asserted, "is a consistent application of principle by people
Page 151of principle with a consistent and intelligent plan of action. Resistance may be great, but the cause is greater."
RChiyyih liThinurn had chosen to speak on "A WorM Crusade." She spoke at first directly to the comments of Dr. Wesley, and stressed the essential importance of the principle of oneness to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. She then announced that the Bahá'ís are undertaking a specific program to diffuse the teachings of one God, one people, and one religion to all parts of the planet.
She presented the broad outlines of the ten-year Crusade to reach practically all peoples and remote corners of the world, closing with the invitation to all to join this vast spiritual crusade, or if not, to wish us well.
Certainly Ri1~iyyih Kh4numherself impressed the large gathering more than any words that were spoken.
Everyone was touched by the spirit which flowed through her, by her dignity, simplicity and candor, and even more by those indefinable qualities of a selfless Baha'i.
Each knew that he had spent a moment with a rare soul.
The fourth public meeting on the theme of "The Human Goal" was held the closing evening of Jubilee week, Wednesday, May 6, at Meclinah Temple.
Mr. Norman Cousins and Dr. W. Kenneth Christian shared the platform and Mr. H. Borrah Kavelin was chairman.
Mr. Norman Cousins, wellknown writer and lecturer, is editor of The Saturday Review, America's oldest literary magazine, and president of the United
World Federalists. Hismost recent book Who Speaks for Man? was currently receiving widespread notice.
Mr. Cousins' subject was "A New Moral Order."His friendly manner and informal style immediately won his audience, when he said he was scared because he was "in the presence of people who live out the things I have been talking about."
He referred to his inclusion of quotations from the Faith in his latest book because it stresses "integration as opposed to corn-partmentalization of mankind," and it talks of the "unity of the whole man: economical man, political man and social man."
He stated that the crisis of modern man is one of human destiny, one of unity versus fragmentation and disintegration. He spoke of the compartmentalization of life as the disease of our age, and of the limitations of education, whether religious or academic, to prepare men for the modem crisis. He recounted vividly his experiences and impressions at Los Alamos, viewing the electronic brain, visiting a horribly scarred victim of the atom bomb at Hiroshima, Japan; seeing the refugees in Korea; arid being at a cemetery for American soldiers in Korea. His analyses of the fundamental ills of this age sprang from his critical examination of the deep meanings of these events in the total question of human destiny. He asked, could the deformed figure of the atom bomb victim and the pitiful plight of the refugee be the face of tomorrow's man? Man needs faith and "a rule of law in a responsible world government." The question, he continued, is what kind of qualities, human and spiritual, will be brought to bear on the creation of world order?
Men have created war and destruction, and they can now create a moral and just peace.
Dr. W. Kenneth Christian spoke on "Reli-gion for a World Society." He reviewed some of the basic tenets of the Bahá'í Faith, stressing the progressive revelations of God's Will and the oneness of mankind. "Disunity is the disease of our civilization," he asserted, and "we cannot have an endur-big and peaceful world society without the spiritual foundation of a world faith." "If a world government were set up and ready to start tomorrow, what ethics would knit together the actions of the people?"
he asked. "What would supply the world loyalty to support a world government?"
He declared that only a "world religion can meet the basic needs to support and firmly knit together the billions of people on this planet." "The Bahá'í Faith provides a standard of morality and human rights above convenience and political pressure. Bahá'u'lláh stands as the conscience of humanity in this age."
He calls men to "Unity of faith as rightful equals in the Kingdom of God."
lit is interesting to the Bahá'í to note the unanimity of basic ideas among our three eminent guest speakers. Though differing markedly in approach each stressed that the essence of the problem of this age and the urgent need for the world of tomorrow is the oneness of mankind and world government, demonstrating so clearly that the humanitarian and spiritual principles enunciated decades ago by Bahá'u'lláh are now viewed by a world conscious of their source
Page 152as fundamental verities of our time. Though each man analyzed the crisis of society today, none could provide the answers as to the source of the power to realize these aims, nor could they define the character of the goal of human destiny, or tell by what means it could be achieved.
The Ba1A'i speakers, on the other hand, were able not only to describe the disease of society, but could and did deal quite fully with the healing remedy of the world religion, given men in this era by Bahá'u'lláh.
(6)1, there was a simple consecration service at the Temple for Bahá'ís alone; a private dedication and a commemoration of the Master's coming to this spot by the Lake in 1912 and with His own hands placing the Temple cornerstone. This afternoon the Bahá'ís swarmed all over the Temple walks and steps, but upstairs in the vast auditorium everything was quiet.
High up in the tip of the Dome against a white background the golden Greatest Name was written.
The Hands of the Cause were seated directly before the reading stand. Microphones were placed in front of it, and behind at either side were huge bouquets of yellow, pink and white flowers, stretched out like wings. The sun had come out but it was not too bright. In the second gallery above us there were great buglike mechanisms, startlingly black against the white; these were the "juniors," the lights which unseen technicians working up in the air were focusing on the lectern.
The people were absolutely silent. The Dome, its white rays dropping away, poured down a lacy rain of grace. Light filtered through the closed Temple drapes.
Madame Samihib Ban~ni, wife of the Africa Hand of the Cause, now rose and chanted a haunting
Persian prayer. Then HarlanOber read the passage beginning "They apprehended Us" from the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf.
It tells of I3aM'u'116h's imprisonment in the slums of Tihr6.n. The contrast between the Black Pit and this Edifice and this Jubilee took sudden shape: that darkness and stench, this light and fragrance; those murderers and thieves, these massed disciples from around the world; those sweating walls, that slime, three flights down into the earth, that hollowed-out hole; this great mother-of-pearl bubble of a Temple that can hardly stay on the ground and seems to float above it. If people want a miracle, this is it. Elsie Austin of the National Spiritual Assembly was reading the words which the Master spoke as He laid the Temple cornerstone in the fields here, forty-one years ago. Her delicate bronze profile shone out against the wing of flowers to her right.
Jinflb-i-Varq& whose father and small brother both died for the Cause and who was present here in 1912, now chanted the Arabic
Visitation Tablet (Prayersand Meditations, p. 310) just as it is chanted in Baha and at the Shrine of the Bib. When the words came to: "Waft, then, unto me, 0 my God and my Beloved, from the right hand of Thy mercy and Thy loving kindness, the holy breaths of Thy favors, that they may draw me away from myself and from the world unto the courts of Thy nearness and Thy presence" � I remembered being told that when the Master was here, He would sometimes chant or repeat these lines and then Lua Getsinger would weep, and she would say, "He is pleading so to go, to die and then we shall be left alone."
On Saturday afternoon, May 2, I had hurried upstairs with the Press, to the first gallery which looms high above the audience level. A capacity crowd of eleven hundred people waited below us. The silence was absolute.
Members of the Press were collecting wooden chairs on which to stand so they could peer over the high parapet into the crowd below; their comings and goings had to be utterly silent because of the acoustical properties of the Dome; any noise would have dissipated the great spiritual
Page 153atmosphere that was accumulating from the time and the place, the unseen presences and the actual presence of the Guardian's consort, of the other Hands of the Cause � six of whom were here from the far side of the earth � and of the multitudes of Bahá'ís who had come, in some cases with the greatest sacrifice, to witness this hour.
Across dizzy space from us was the silent black-robed choir.
The dedication was about to take place.spoke: "On this historic occasion. Shoghi Effendi Rab-bani, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, has sent his wife, 'Abdu'l-Bahá Riilgyyih Kh6.num, as his personal representative to present a message of dedication from him as world leader of the Baha Faith." And then we heard Rfihiyyih KlAnurn, in her grave and youthful voice, giving full value to each of the beautiful English words of the message from our beloved Guardian dedicating this first Mashriqu'I-Adbkir of the Western World to public worship.
They say it was the first time in history that a woman figured so prominently in the dedication of a Temple of an independent Faith.
There was a pause. Then another voice began, a man's voice, Borrah Kavelin's, reading from the nineteenth Psalm: "Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."
As Margot Worley, Chairmanof the National Assembly of South America, read from the words of Jesus, I thought again how the references to Him in our teaching are apt to be tender and full of pathos, like imminent spring not yet come on, or a recurring song, mournful and delicate, as if the world would never get over the Crucifixion, while time lasts.
Matthew Bullock read from the Qur'an, as Louis Gregory had read from it under this same Dome, at the Centenary in 1944. After a delay of thirteen hundred years, Isl6m is being befittingly proclaimed in the West: "0 our Lord!
Punish us not if we forget, or fall into sin. 0 our
Lord!lay not on us that for which we have not strength; but blot out our sins and forgive us, and have pity on us!"
The Guardian had said to use the Psalms ('Abdu'l-Bahá loved the Psalms) and to use the words of Jesus, and to quote from the Qur'$~ passages on the unity of God and His Prophets which would appeal to the Western world; he had sent on the exact Persian and Arabic readings which were to be chanted, together with translations where these had been made; he had chosen Jin4b-i-Furtitan and JinTh-i-KlAdem to chant the selections, and had directed the Hands of the Cause of God to choose who should chant the final commune, and they had chosen JinTh-i-Samandari.
Just then someone parted the great off-white drapes, and I saw below us a blinding flash of bright green tree tops over against the darker green of the grass.
The service was given, all except for 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í words of dedication, three times to accommodate the many more than capacity crowds which came. Horace Holley opened the second one, reading, as we all stood, the commune which R6liiyyih KlPnum had read before. I sat in the first row, off center, and watched the light coming through the sixty red roses massed at either side of the reading stand, the Persian rug glowing beneath it, and the shadow of the roses thrown by the lights against one of the pillars.
It was brighter than day from the lights, except when they were dimmed as the choir sang. Again I listened to words read or chanted in three languages, to the Hands of the Cause Furtitan Kh~dem and Saman-. dan, to Albert Windust, Selma Solomon, and David Bond.
The end came when Ji-nAb-i-Samandari, tiny under the looming white reaches of the Dome, with that austere dignity which is his special characteristic, finished his Persian chant, put on his glasses again, and took up the book which had been open but not referred to, on the reading stand before him.
Like all other Bahá'í pilgrims, I had, during successive visits to the Holy Land, seen the
Portraits of Bahá'u'lláh.The one that remained in memory through the years was the photograph made in Adrianople, where He was exiled from December 12, 1863 to August 12, 1868. It has the direct, probing glance that all who saw Him describe. It is not the face of youth, but of the Ancient of Days.
As Rtitiiyyih I�hAnum described the sacred gift which the Guardian had sent us in her care � the colored, photographically reproduced
Portrait of Bahá'u'lláh"in the bloom of manhood" � a new and different Being began to take shape; a youthful Personage, still in His thirties, perhaps, or early
Page 154forties, since the Portrait was done in J3agh-did; One Whom painters forever wanted to paint and poets to write about. The Master tells how even hostile poets had eulogized Him, one of them writing: "He charms men, He drugs them; He is a hypnotizer! Beware!
Beware!" (Promulgationci Uni-versa! Peace, p. 431). We know too that others maintained He bewitched His guests by dropping a magic phulter in their tea (Dawn-Breakers, p. 113). Not yet, in this Portrait, the Manifestation Whom the world had forsaken (Gleanings, p. 261), the freshness of Whose countenance had faded (Promised Day Is Come, P. 7), the One Who cried with such a bitter cry that every mother in her bereavement was bewildered at Him and forgot her own anguish (Prayers and Meditations, p. 271).
'Ama-tu'1-Bah& spoke of the strong and youthful beauty He had once and of the redness of His lips. She told us this Portrait � which has never before been out of the hands of the Master or the Guardian � was made by a Christian artist who had seen Him at the public baths.
We went remembering what the Báb had said: "Look not upon Him with any eye except His own. For whosoever looketh upon Him with His eye, will recognize Him; otherwise he will be veiled from Him" (Epistle to the Son 0/the Wolf, p. 153).
That Sunday afternoon, May 3, a great crowd of us massed for hours on the Temple steps. It was cold and windy and we herded together for comfort.
Some maintained that they waited five hours; I waited about three.
Finally we worked our way clear up the Temple steps and reached the great glass doors.
Here, one by one, we passed through, to find R6l~iyyih KhAnum on our left, anointing each one with attar of rose. The use of this attar, enjoined by Bahá'u'lláh, was familiar to the early American Bahá'ís because of its use by the Master, but some of the newer Bahá'ís had not heard of the custom until Mrs. Amelia Collins had anointed us on the Guardian's behalf at the Convention in 1952.
We sat in fragrant silence, about sixteen hundred of us at a given time, and since every detail had been carefully planned, we had only to follow the ushers' directions and were soon passing quietly, single file, toward the tables where two Portraits were placed. It was a white ethereal and muffled scene; a verse from the Qur'an described it: "And low shall be their voices before the God of Mercy, nor shalt thou hear aught but the light footfall" (Surih 20:107).
We drew near to the Portraits and there was hardly a moment to look, first on the grave countenance of the BTh, the One "Who had never taken His eyes away from the face of God" (Gleanings, p. 221) � and then on the young and joyous Bahá'u'lláh. He seemed to be greeting each one of us. It was really jubilee.
(7)Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch;* and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord; Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne.
Zechariali 6:12, 13.IT IS impossible to report upon a prayer or a meditation.
They exist in a realm of * "The )3ranch" is a title of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
values independent of words. To convey the exaltation that animated Bahá'ís on this never-to-be-repeated occasion is equally beyond the power of expression.
To each worshiper, the moment was a personal one, associated with the heart and spirit.
Therefore, these pages will try to share the joy and rapture that filled one heart only.
These pages will recall the wonderful river of memories that flowed ceaselessly throughout the Dedication, the stream of thoughts that made every barren period of the past become liv-
Page 155ing and fertile, that banished all sorrow, healed all suffering; and led the wayfarer at last to the sea of understanding, to this harbor of the love of God, to safety inside this Ark of His
Covenant.Across the aisle could be seen the glowing and triumphant faces of those apostles of Bahá'u'lláh who had stood upon this same plot of ground with 'Abdu'l-Bahá on that cold, windy May day forty-one years ago. They had watched their beloved Master dedicate this spot, then an empty, open field, to the welfare of all humanity. The real Tem-pie, he had told them, was the Word of God; for to it all humanity must turn. Then he looked up, smiled, and assured them that "in the unseen world, the Temple is already built."
On that day of Dedication you could look into the tranquil, confident eyes of those followers of Bahá'u'lláh who had helped to draft the immortal cablegram to the Holy Land back in 1909, a message which had brought solace to the heavy-laden heart of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. In a Tablet written later to His followers He told the story of its coming and announced the triumphant event that synchronized with it. "The most joyful tidings is this, that the holy, the luminous body of the Báb after having for sixty years been transferred from place to place, has, through the mercy of the AbW~ Beauty, been ceremoniously deposited, on the day of Naw-Rtiz, within the sacred casket in the exalted
Shrine on Mount Carmel.strange coincidence, on that same day of Naw-Reiz, a cablegram was received from Chicago, announcing that the believers in each of the American centers had elected a delegate and sent to that city and defi nitely decided on the site and construction of the Matriqu'1-AdNir"
[House of Worship].Every moment inside that dome of exquisite beauty and majesty, on the day of its dedication, was enriched by memories of the love and sacrifice that had raised this jewel of God.
Its inception, the architect of the Temple has himself testified, was not from man, for, as musicians, artists, poets receive their inspiration from another realm, so the Tern-pie's architect, through all his years of labor, was ever conscious that Bahá'u'lláh was the creator of this building to be erected to His glory.
When gazing upon a model of this House of Worship, a famous professor of architecture had said, "This is a new creation which will revolutionize architecture in the world, and it is the most beautiful I have ever seen."
The model had now become reality. The dream had become clothed in flesh.
Here, on this day of dedication, were gathered together people of all races, religions and nations.
The words had been fulfilled: "And they that are afar off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me unto you," for "Mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people," and "all nations shall flow unto it." From a lofty gallery, the unseen choir filled the Temple with the music and words "Who can comprehend Thee?" Through the mind flowed the wonderful creative words of Bahá'u'lláh: "Lauded and glorified art Thou, 0 Lord, my God!
How can I make mention of Thee, assured as I am that no tongue, however deep its wisdom, can befittingly magnify Thy name, nor can the bird of the human heart, however great its krnging, ever hope to ascend unto the heaven of Thy majesty and knowledge."
"Know thou of a certainty," Bahá'u'lláh proclaims further, "that the Unseen can in no wise incarnate His essence and reveal it unto men. He Who is everlastingly hidden from the eyes of men can never be known except through His Manifestation [the
Prophet], and His Manifestationcan adduce no greater proof of the truth of His Mission than the proof of His own person."
The music soared up to the dome of the Temple and departed. Then were heard the first spoken words, delivered by Rtiyyih Khinum, the representative of the Guardian of the Bahá'í
Faith."On behalf of the Guardian of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, I have the great honor of dedicating this first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Western World to public worship." [For the entire message of Dedication, see page 141.]
As the address of Dedication ended, a quiet settled over the assembled throng. Through the doorway to the East could be seen the blue waters of Lake Michigan rushing toward the Temple in great white waves, bowing and prostrating Themselves upon the
Page 156sand. Through the doors to the South were visible the throngs of people streaming toward the Temple. The clouds, which had threatened to shut out the sun, parted and down through the glass dome came the flooding sunlight as the first of the Holy Books was opened.
From the scriptures of all Faiths, the one religion of God was to be recognized as one sheltering tree, of which Moses was the seed, Jesus the trunk, Muhammad the branches, the BTh the leaves, and Bahá'u'lláh the fruit. "The word is one, though the speakers are many.~~ From the Faith of Moses came the all encompassing praise of one God: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. The law of the Lord is perfect. The statutes of the Lord are right. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, 0 Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
The statutes of the Lord are right! What untold blessings Moses has conferred upon mankind.
The ten commandments for which He was the channel from God are the basis of the structure of law in the western world.
The eternal fountain of the Faith of Moses continued to pour out its words: The earth is the Lord's, and the Juliness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He hat/i founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. This is the generation of them that seek Him, that seek Thy face. Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. As the reading of the Psalm ended, the echo rang through the silence: "Who is this King of glory?" And the heart answered: "Who has brought together from all racial, religious, and national backgrounds these lovers of God?
Bahá'u'lláh, whose very name means 'The"To Israel He was the incarnation of the 'Everlasting
Father,' 'The Lordof Hosts' come down 'with ten thousands of saints'; to
Christendom, Christreturned 'in the glory of the Father'; to ShPah Isliim, the return of the Imam ilusayn; to Sunni Ishm, the descent of the 'Spirit of God' [Jesus Christ];
to the Zoroastrians, the promised SliTh-Bahr4m; to the Hindus, the reincarnation of Krishna; to the Buddhists, the fifth Buddha."
This was the King of Glory, and this His Temple, God's Temple, the House of Worship for all His prophets and people.
�The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your head, 0 ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory.
Psalm 24.What moments of satisfaction these words stirred in the mind.
Those delicious hours when the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith were heard for the first time. Those exciting hours of research and study, unveiling proof after proof of the vitality and the great need of
Psalm 19. Bahá'u'lláh'suniversal truth. Those equally exciting mental expeditions deep into the holy scriptures of the past confirming the conditions of the coming of the great Promised ised One to the mountain of God in Israel; those prophecies which disclosed the enforced forced journeys of Bahá'u'lláh, His exile to BaghdAd, His banishment to Constantinople, Adrianople, and to the prison of 'Akka across the bay from Mt. Carmel in Israel.
Bahá'u'lláh, the shepherd of the one fold of God, was to spend no less than a third of His allotted span of life here in the "valley of Achor" which in the book of Isaiah had been singled out as a "door of hope" for "my herds to lie down in." This was the land promised by God to Abraham; sanctified by the Revelation of Moses; honored by the Psalm 24. lives and labors of the Hebrew patriarchs, judges, kings, and prophets; revered as the cradle of Christianity; and as the place where Zoroaster, according to 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Bahá'ís testimony, "held converse with some of the prophets of Israel." This was the land associated by IslAm with the apostles' night-journey journey through the seven heavens to the throne of the Almighty.
"His enemies intended that His imprisonment ment should completely destroy and annihilate hilate the blessed Cause," says 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
Page 157"but this prison became the means of its development. From this prison His light was shed abroad; His fame conquered the world, and the proclamation of His glory reached the East and the West.
� His light at first had been a star, now it became a mighty sun." Then the second Holy Book was opened: And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Matthew 5:2, 3, 6, 7.These were the words of Christ. Words alive with a new richness and power because of the fresh measure of love and devotion which Bahá'u'lláh had instilled in the hearts of His followers for Jesus of Nazareth.
"Know thou," says Bahá'u'lláh of His Holiness Christ, "that when the Son of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with a great weeping.
By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent, His all-per-vasive, and resplendent Spirit.
"We testify that when He came into the world, He shed the splendor of His glory upon all created things. Through Him the leper recovered from the leprosy of perversity and ignorance. Through Him, the unchaste and wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty God, the eyes of the blind were opened, and the soul of the sinner sanctified."
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am come not to destroy, but to fulfill.
Matthew 5:8, 9, 16, 17.From the Mount of Olives, Jesus had poured out His teachings into those hearts that were athirst for the words of God.
They were not His teachings, not His words, but the words and counsels of an infinite, unknowable
God. How plainly Christhad tried to tell mankind this: "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak."
These words of the Sermon on the Mount were the "bread of life" which comes down from Heaven in the time of each Prophet. They are the food with which each Prophet nourishes mankind. This "bread of life" is in the Old Testament in the generous and loving "holiness code" of Leviticus, a model of charity, hospitality, kindness and unity. It came again in the Sermon on the Mount. It is once more in this day in the book of the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh.
Judge not, that ye be uzot judged.For with what judgment ye pie/ge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and tile prophets.
Matthew 7:1, 2, 7, 12.With the reading of the words of the "golden rule" from the New Testament, eyes met across the sunhighted interim of the Temple.
The teacher smiled, the student responded, and in that moment, memory recalled the happy evening of the great discovery that the "golden rule" was to be found in all the Holy Books, It was like the theme of a symphony; it repeated, growing ever stronger. The words were one because God is one, His prophets one, and His creatures inhabitants of one home, the earth. The messages of the Books cry out that God is not in competition with Himself.
There is no exclusive salvation for the Jew, the Buddhist, the Christian, the Muslim, the Baha'i. Christ did not come to the Christians; He came to the world.
Bahá'u'lláh did not come to the Baha'is; He came to all humanity.
Page 158man was his brother's keeper; in the New Testament he was his brother's brother; in this day of the great Covenant with all Faiths, it is written: "Blessed is he who prefers his brother before himself, such a one is of the followers of
Bahá'u'lláh."What heart can fail to be stirred and made richer by the belief in this oneness of Almighty God, and this unity of His messengers, who are the lights stationed at intervals along one road of life � when the light of one age and its prophet begins to fade back into time and another appears to banish darkness. They are the strata of earth along the river bank that mark the history of man. For a time, each was the topmost layer from which grew the fruits, grains and vegetables to nourish man. Each layer later became the foundation for the next, the new that was to grow upon it. In yet another way, the "word" of each Messenger is like unto the air which men breathe in every part of the earth and in every age. It never fails to give life to each creature, in each age, in each part of the earth.
It is the "word" that was with God and "became flesh and dwelt amongst man" in the form of Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus,
Muhammad, the BábHere, today, in this House of God, united as 'leaves of one tree and the drops of one ocean," the followers of Bahá'u'lláh linked their hopes and energies with those of their fellowmen and cried out together the joy that is in their hearts: "This is the Day in which God's most excellent favors have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things.
It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and lovingkindness."
The page of the Book of Jesus was turned, and His words were read for all to hear: I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
The Spirit of Truthhas come! The light of splendor has been shed upon the earth, but as in the days of its previous appearance in Jerusalem, only an eye that sees with the sight of the true seeker can recognize Him. Raise thy voice in thanks within this House of God, that thou hast heard His voice for "many are called, but few are chosen."
"Call thou to remembrance Him who was the Spiritwarns humanity, "Who, when He came, the most learned of His age pronounced judgment against Him in His own country, whilst he who was oniy a fisherman believed in Him. Take heed, then, ye men of understanding heart!
Consider those who opposed the Son [Jesus],when He came unto them with sovereignty and power. How many the Pharisees who were waiting to behold Him, and were lamenting over their separation from Him! And yet, when the fragrance of His coming was wafted over them, and His beauty was unveiled, they turned aside from Him and disputed with Him. None save a very few, who were destitute of any power among men, turned toward His face.
How our hearts had wept, when, as children, we had heard how His own people had refused to accept Jesus. They called him a false prophet. "Nay, but He deceiveth the people," they said.
The Messiah, they insisted, was to come from an unknown place, to sit upon the throne of David, to rule with a sword, and to promulgate the law of Moses. "This poverty-stricken upstart," they said of Jesus, "fulfills none of these conditions.
He is a false prophet!"Alas! Had they not blindly insisted on a material fulfillment of these prophecies, they would have seen that although Jesus' body caine from the womb of His mother, Mary, His spirit came from God, "the unknown place," that the throne upon which He sat was in the kingdom He established in the hearts of the people. His sword was His tongue and teachings with which He conquered the world.
Today wherever the Bible is read throughout the world, there we find the Old Testament of Moses linked with the New Testament of Christ. Jesus brought the Word and Book of Moses to people who would never have heard of Moses if Christ had not appeared.
"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers John 16:12,disbelief. "I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; and some of them ye shall kill or crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city."
How accurately these words of Christ were to be fulfilled not oniy in His own life, but again in the day of His return. The herald of the Bahá'í Faith had been "scourged in the synagogue" and "killed." He was lashed with the bastinado in the prayer house in Tabriz. Later, in this same city, He was suspended before a mocking and disbelieving multitude as Christ had been suspended; finally, His breast was made a target for a volley of musket balls.
Bahá'u'lláh, the Founderof the Faith, shared each step of persecution with His Herald, the Bib. He was held captive in Tihr4n, Amul, and again "in the
Black Pit" of Tihr6n.He was exiled from His native city, Tihr~n, to BaghdAd, 'Iraq, to be persecuted "from city to city" as Jesus had foretold. He was banished from Baghdad to Constantinople, to Adrianople, and finally to 'Akka in Syria, across the bay from Mt. Carmel.
"0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"
What a tragedy, that all through history the liberals of one age become the orthodox of the next.
They accept the symbolical interpretation of the prophecies that validate their own prophet and call down shame upon those who insist that the prophecies must be fulfilled to the letter.
Then, having won their goal and captured the citadel, they turn the same well-directed cannon of orthodoxy upon those who come after them. No wonder His Holiness Christ censored them saying, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?"
For years the Jews had searched the scriptures which testified to the coming of the Messiah, but still they denied Christ. The followers of Jesus sighed sorrowfully at the perversity of the Jews, yet, holding the Book of Christ in their hands � a Book laden with testimony of the coming of Bahá'u'lláh � they have repeated the sin of the "generation of vipers." They have denied the Messenger of God.
Every prophet seems false to the age in which He appears. He calls men from their sensual desires and pleasures and they fight against responding to His summons. They ask for a great sign so they can be certain of His truth before they give up their physical comforts and satisfactions. They wish to be hypnotized into belief by miracles and wonders so that they need not exert any personal effort.
Bahá'u'lláh recognized this insincerity and challenged it. While in exile in Bagh-did, He was asked, as an evidence of die truth of His Mission, for a miracle that would satisfy completely all concerned. Bahá'u'lláh told them that the Cause of God was not a theatrical display to be presented upon demand. "Although you have no right to ask this," He said, "for God should test His creatures, and they should not test God, still I allow and accept this request the 'ulam6s (clergy) must assemble, and with one accord, choose one miracle, and write that, after the performance of this miracle, they will no longer entertain doubts about Me, and that all will acknowledge and confess the Truth of My Cause. Let them seal this paper, and bring it to Me. This must be the accepted criterion: if the miracle is performed, no doubt will remain for them; and if not, We shall be convicted of imposture.~~ This clear, challenging, courageous reply, unexampled in the annals of any religion was addressed to the most illustrious of the clergy in the heart of their stronghold.
They did not accept the challenge. "What if He should perform the miracle?"
they asked themselves.of Truth, has come to fulfill the prophecies of the past. He is the Father in the parable of the vineyard, who has seized the vineyard (this earth) from those who destroyed His servants (the prophets) and slew
His son (Jesus). DaM'-u'11~h(the Father) has come into the vineyard to give it out to those who will render to Him the fruits of love and service. He has come!
The Spirit of Truth, the Father, the Lord of Hosts, the Glory of God!
What tongue can voice its thanks?American Indian Bahá'ís at the All-America Intercontinental
Conference, Chicago, Illinois, May, 1953.the wellbeing and tranquillity of the children of men," the Spirit of Truth has commanded. "Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply the dissensions that divide it may, through the power of the Most Great Name, be blotted out from its face, and all mankind become the upholders of one Order, and the inhabitants of one City. Illumine and hallow your hearts; let them not be profaned by the thorns of hate or the thistles of malice.
Ye dwell in one world, and have been created through the operation of one Will. Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love."
The tidings have been given, the song sung, and the great bell tolled.
But as in the days of Jesus the ears are stopped up with the clay of desire.
Then the third Holy Book was opened, and a voice spoke, calling us back to our presence beneath the sheltering dome of this house of prayer.
These words were the words of the prophet of Is1~m, words read with joy and reverence.
They were lifted to heaven with a devotion and respect long denied in the West to this glorious Messenger of the light of truth.
Moreover, to Moses gave we "the Book," and we raised up apostles alter him; and to Jesus, son of Mary, gave we clear proofs of his mission, and strengthened him by the Holy Spirit. So oft then as an apostle cometlz to you with that which your souls desire not, swell ye with pride, and treat some as impostors, and slay others?
Qur'an 2:81.There is a generation of vipers born to strike at the representative of God in whatever age He appears. God does not send a Messenger to enfotee His edicts. He sends the Laws and the Life. If we are athirst, we shall drink and be revived. If we are not, we will turn aside and wither away. The choice is ours; the channel of God's grace, the Prophet, offers us the cup. Perhaps none of the Messengers of God have been more maligned in the West than Muijammad, but
Page 161through the agency of Bahá'u'lláh, who connects and unifies all the links in God's chain of educators, Mul ammad has come into His rightful place in the hearts and minds of all the people of the earth.
Here in the Bahá'í Faith we had been brought to a true understanding of IsUrn. Here is the only place in the Western world where the Prophet of Arabia has received an unprejudiced hearing as one of God's Messengers.
The truth and beauty of His teachings have been acknowledged as God-given. His words, "Let there be no compulsion in religion" witness to the tolerance of Muhammad.
Love for His teachings and His life was created in our hearts by the Baha World Faith which spontaneously engenders a depth of devotion for all the Messengers of God � unmatched by the most zealous of those who support any one Faith exclusively. Bahá'ís have come to see Muijammad through new eyes; Mul2ammad of stately and commanding presence. He was described affectionately by one who knew him intimately as having "depth and feeling in His dark black eyes and the winning expres sion gained the confidence and love even of strangers." Another admirer declared, "He was the most generous of men. It was as though the sunlight beamed in His countenance. ~ The Prophet of Iskim not only united the warring tribes of Arabia in a common faith in one God, but also by introducing the concept of the nation as a unit in the organization of society, He made a major contribution to civilization. He recognized the rights of the individual, abolished privilege of birth, banished the concept of superiority of skin color, gave protection to the nonbeliever, and advanced man's social consciousness to a height so advanced that Europe could not boast of accomplishing the same until many centuries after His coming. Human solidarity as well as spiritual oneness were basic principles in Islttm.
Small wonder that His words are recognized as God-inspired.
Now in the western world, His words were being voiced under the dome of the Bahá'í
Temple:We believe in God, and that which hath been sent to us, and that which bath been sent down to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes: and that which bath been given to Moses and to Jesus, and that which was given to the prophets from their Lord. No difference do we make between any of them: and to God are we resigned.
Qur'an 2:130.The invisible choir, raising its voice to the sunbathed dome, began the words "Have ye not heard?" The lips of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh silently repeated the words, those words they had been crying out to all mankind in every corner of the planet, "Have you not heard? lie has come! The new Jerusalem has descended!"
"All nations and kindreds will become a single nation the hostility of races and peoples, and differences among nations, will be eliminated. All men will have one common Faith, will be blended into one race, and become a single people.
All will dwell in one common f a-therland, which is the planet itself."
Then the Books of the Bábi'i World Faith were opened, and the words of a prayer of the Báb, the Herald of the Faith, were chanted in the original tongue.
Is there any Remover ci difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding.
The heart felt impelled to cry out in triumph when it thought of the words spoken by this Holy Youth that night so long ago in Sbir~z, Iran. It happened just two hours and eleven minutes after the sun had set on the twenty-second of May in 1844. This was the hour of the birth of the Bahá'í Faith. "This night, this very hour," the BTh had said, "will, in the days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all festivals."
The BTh, the Herald, had ushered in this new Day of God. Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder, had established it upon an enduring foundation.
The words first spoken to but one soul on that historic night had echoed and reechoed down through the years until now its message had been planted and was bearing fruit in almost every nation of the world.
No Messenger was ever foretold with such accuracy and power, as the coming of Bahá'u'lláh was foretold by the Báb. Lest the hour of Bahá'u'lláh's appearance be mistaken, the Báb wrote this clear prophecy, "Ere nine will have elapsed from the inception of this Cause, the realities of the created things will not be made manifest. All
Page 162that thou hast as yet seen is but the stage from the moist germ until We clothed it with flesh. Be patient, until thou beholdest a new creation."
In the year Nine (1269 of the calendar of Is1~m and 1853 of the Christian calendar) Bahá'u'lláh Was imprisoned in the Black Pit in Tihr4n. He later described his experience there in these words: "I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from
One Who is Almighty and All-Knowing.And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and heaven.
Then a song of oneness was heard as the words of Bahá'u'lláh, the unifier of mankind, wafted upward in His holy house of prayer.
That the divers comm unions of the earth, and the manilold systems of religious belief, should never be allowed to foster the feelings of animosity among men, is, in this Day, of the essence of the Faith ci
God and His Religion. Theseprinciples and laws, these firmly-estab-lished and mighty systems, have proceeded from one Source, and are rays of one Light. That they differ one from another is to be attributed to the varying requirements of the ages in which they were promulgated.
The Books of all Faiths were closed, and the moment sealed, forever, in the memory. The promises of all the Holy Books were fulfilled and the day of the "one fold and one shepherd" had come at last. The choir joyously sang out: From the sweet-scented streams of Thine eternity give me to drink, 0 my God, and of the /ruits ci the tree of Thy being enable me to taste, 0 my Hope. Within the meadows ci Thy nearness, before Thy presence, make me able to roam, 0 my Beloved.
To the melodies of the dove of Thy oneness stifler me to hearken, 0 Resplendent One. To the heaven oj Thy lovingkindness lift me up, 0 my Quickener.
The public dedication of the Bahá'í House of Worship was completed. As we passed through one of the nine archways of the Temple, we could read the words of Bahá'u'lláh, graven upon the stone above our heads: "The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens."
The steps outside were thronged with those who were waiting to enter. Baha and their friends were still arriving on foot, by bus, by car, from every direction.
The ceremony of Dedication would have to be repeated until all had shared in this occasion.
'Abdu'l-Bahá had said that this Temple would be one of the greatest of teachers. "When that Divine Edifice is completed, a most wonderful and thrilling motion will appear in the world of existence.
From that point of light the spirit of teaching, spreading the Cause of God and promoting the teachings of God, will permeate to all parts of the world." Out of this Mother Temple of the West, thousands of Temples would be born, He had promised. "It marks," he furthermore had written, "the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth."
The world has long awaited such a house of prayer.
It is not dedicated to the East or the West, to the light or dark skin, to the rich or the poor, but to all humanity. It was established by Bahá'u'lláh in His great Book of Laws for this new age. This Temple is a symbol of the spirit of service which gives life to the Bahá'í World Community in its relation both to the Faith of God and to mankind in general.
In the future, within the walls of these Houses of Worship throughout the world, the representatives of Baha local and national communities will gather daily at the hour of dawn to derive the necessary inspiration enabling them to discharge their administrative responsibilities as the elected and chosen trustees of the World Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
This House of Worship is the first fruit of a slowly maturing Administrative Order which will be guided by the words found above the Temple entrances: "The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me."
"0 rich ones on earth!The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust." "The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory."
Oniy a future age will fully comprehend this great gift of Bahá'u'lláh to society. This House of Worship is the nucleus of a great social evolution which will establish the Kingdom of God when the "Will" of God will be "done on earth as it is in Heaven." A temple will be the heart of a community center in each city. Around it will be built a hospital, a hospice, an orphanage, a col
Page 163These educational, humanitarian, and scientific institutions will complete the dedication of the in. dividual to God. To the Bahá'í there is no rigid division between the spiritual and practical parts of life.
Services in the Temple will not be elaborate.There will be no ritual or set forms. Bahá'ís have no professional clergy to preside. Services are for prayer, meditation, and the reading of writings from the sacred scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and other great Faiths of the world.
This House of Worshipdoes not belong to the Bahá'ís alone; it belongs to humanity.
It is a gift from the Baha'is; a house of prayer with doors thrown wide open to men and women of all races and religions.
Inside its doors there is no infidel or pagan; all are children of one God.
All may turn their hearts to Him and know that they are brothers.
"Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God bath been made, and His praise glorified."
(8)MANY years ago our beloved Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, told us that certain material objects, certain materlid constructions have a spiritual mission in the world, have a spiritual effect in the world, and before the Baha
Temple, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkarwas built here in Wilmette, he told us that when that Temple was built, it would have a great spiritual effect in the world, that it would be a symbol manifesting forth to all of the world the spiritual ideals and the services to the world of humanity of the friends of the Bahá'í
Faith.As we study into the history of the religions of the past, we see that each religion has developed a civilization in the world and has developed also a style of architecture which has found its full and perfect development in the temples of the epoch.
Way back in the very dawn of religious history, when the Prophet Abraham came out from his homeland and took his band of followers to the Land of Promise, the Holy Land, one of His first activities was building a temple to the Lord, and that temple was a very sim-pie place of worship, the altar which he built on the mountain top for the sacrifices that He instituted as the ritual for the people of His day. It was probably a very, very simple affair, built, laid up, of rough stones gath ered from the top of the mountain. But it was the center; that simple altar on the mountain top, that place of worship, was the center of the civilization of that day. In those days, the people lived pastoral lives in the valleys below, but on certain occasions they went up onto the mountain top for their spiritual worship, for their sacrifices.
Later on, centuries later, when Moses, the Prophet of God, led the children of Israel out of Egypt, out of the land of bondage to the land of promise, one of the first institutions that He instituted was the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was a portable temple of worship. I suppose the Tabernacle described in the Old Testament was probably covered with skins of animals, but it had certain elements of worship in it. There was the inner Holy of Holies, there Was the court around that, and finally the outer court, and during the long forty years that the children of Israel were in the wilderness, when they struck their camp, their first duty was to set up this Tabernacle, so the Tabernacle during those years was the center of their religious life in the wilderness.
Later on, when the Jewish civilization developed in Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon, the Temple in Jerusalem, was the center of their religious life and their cultural
Page 164life, and it was built very much on the plan, the rudimentary plan, of the tabernacle in the wilderness. There was the inner Holy of Holies and then the inner court and the outer court.
At that time, people flowed from all nations to Jerusalem in order to partake of the learning and the culture that developed around the civilization there, the center of which was the Temple.
Centuries later, when the Christian Church was established, little by little, these churches, places of worship, were the cultural centers of Christianity. First, the style developed out of the Roman style in the City of Rome. Later on it developed into the Romanesque style in the West, into the Byzantine style of the Eastern Church, and after some thirteen or fourteen centuries, we have the flowering out of the magnificent cathedrals and churches of Europe.
This style of architecture, the Gothic style, developed in its greatest fragrance and development and beauty around in the central part of France; the Cathedrals of Lyon, of Chartres, of Amiens, Rheims, and Notre Dame of Paris are the outstanding temples of the Christian epoch.
When Mubammad gave Histeaching off in the deserts of Arabia, one of the first developments of architecture was the Mosques that were built in and about the city of Cairo, and this Islamic culture went westward into Northern Africa and up into Spain. It went East into Persia and then down into India and the Mosques of these countries were the spiritual centers of education and culture in that magnificent civilization which Islim gave to the world.
And so it was with the other religions in the far East. The place of worship has been the cultural center and the point for the development of architecture and all of the a]-lied arts.
Now, in the Bahá'í Faith, which is the new religion of the present day and present age, in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, we have exhortations that we should build in this epoch, temples for worship, and He has given us a general plan for these temples. There shall be a temple proper, a circular building, built on the plan of a nine-sided polygon, which is to be the sanctuary for worship and prayer and meditation, and this central temple is to be surrounded by various institutions for the physical benefit of mankind, schools and hospitals and all the institutions that go to make up the activities of a great world civilization.
The first one of these Bahá'í temples was built many years ago over in that country east of the Caspian Sea, sometimes spoken of as TransCaspian.
There, in the City of 'hbqTh~d, our friends of the Orient built the first Bahá'í Temple. It was my privilege tovisit it back some forty-five years ago. We have heard very little about our friends there in the last few years. The present Russian Government has confiscated our Temple and the Bahá'í community there in 'Ish-qTh6A has been scattered and dispersed, but now, only in the last few days, we have dedicated and completed the TempLe here in Wilmette with which you are all so familiar.
A number of years ago, when I was still a student of architecture, I first heard of the Bahá'í Faith, and one of my first recollections was that when the time came for me to create my thesis in architecture, I would like very much, indeed, to take as my subject a typical Babtt'i Temple. That was way back a little over fifty years ago and, following that, I spent a good deal of time in making different studies for Baha Temples, and some of you may recall that when the design was chosen for the Temple here in Wil-mette, a number of us architects offered drawings.
Some of my drawings were offered at that time.But shortly after that, the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá alA, revealed a Tablet to me and told me that my mission in the future would be to design the Temple to be built on Mt. Carmel in the Holy
Land.As we all know, the Holy Land is the Holy Land of all the religions of the world. The Jewish religion, the Christian religion, it is the Holy Land for IslAm, and now in these days, it is the Holy Land for all the world in the Ba1A'i Faith.
Our spiritual background is there and also ouris there, and it was the plan in the mind of the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, that there should be a Bahá'í Temple built upon Mt.
Carmel.During these years, I have made a number of studies and along about five years ago, our beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, wrote to me and told me that it was time to begin to think of the design, the completed design for that Temple.
At that time, in the latter part of 1947 and the early days of 1948, I made a complete set of drawings for the Temple and later on I took those drawings over to our
Page 165Guardian and he made a number of suggestions that really created within my mind an entirely unique and different design from any of those studies that I had made before, and that is the design that we are going to show you this evening. These designs were made during the past two or three years that I have been spending in Haifa and they were made under the direction of our Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, and I must say that the architecture, the architectural motifs, are really his rather than mine. He gave me a great many criticisms, a great many suggestions, and after a period of time, of working and making drawings and submitting them to him and restudying them, etc., a design was made that he approved of, and it was his idea that a model should be made of this design and that it should be unveiled here in this Conference, and 1 left Haifa a little over three months ago, and I went to Italy, and there in the City of Florence, I engaged a wood carver to make this model, carved of wood.
I had had some rather bad experience with some of the models that I had made of plaster. It didn't hold up in transportation, but this model of wood has transported very well and it is assembled and we are going to show it to you now.
This ensemble of models will give you an idea of the architecture.
It speaks for itself. It shows the Temple proper which will be erected upon Mt. Carmel in the L{oiy Land, surrounded by terraces and gardens, with fountains and avenues leading up to it. It speaks for itself.
(9)THE Dedication of the Temple brought many messages of greeting from public leaders. Following are excerpts from some of the greetings received.
From the Ambassador of Israel in the United States came the message: "On occasion of dedication of Bahá'í House of Worship I wish to convey to you sincere greetings and congratulations of State of Israel. Israel people and government, harboring iii their country the Bahá'í spiritual Center, have always cherished cordial, friendly relations with Guardian of that Center and all Baha'is. Ideals of peace and brotherliness underlying Bahá'í Faith are dear and sacred to Israel, ancient and revived alike.
Wish you every success."of Lebanon in the United States, came: "The devotion to the highest spiritual realities is the greatest thing in the world. I believe without the judgment and guidance of God all is of no avail. May you therefore he quickened in your endeavors to search for, know and worship
Him."of the Supreme Court wrote: "The Bahá'í House of Worship at Wilmette, Illinois, is a structure of great beauty, as millions who have seen it know. But perhaps not so many realize its symbolic significance. It teaches the essential unity of mankind under one God, irrespective of the various sects and creeds that give expression to the various faiths. There is a basic wholeness among people the world around.
There are spiritual ties that unite them in the brotherhood of man. The important thing is recognition of the essential unity of mankind under one God. That is a force which cuts across politics, trade routes, racial groupings the world around. It can be made a powerful moral force in the practical affairs of the world if there is a dedication to the cause � the kind of dedication that went into the long and difficult task of constructing the Bahá'í House of Worship at Wilmette."
Mrs. Ruth Bryan Rhode, former United States Ambassador to Denmark sent this message: "On the occasion of the dedication of the Bahá'í House of Worship, I join in spirit with the Assembly whose aspiration is the unification of mankind.
May the beauty of the edifice and its symbolism carry inspiration in wider and wider circles around our troubled earth."
Dr. Paul R. Anderson, President of the Pennsylvania College for Women, wrote: "I am delighted to learn of the dedication of
Page 166the Baha House of Worship at Wilmette. In times like these it stands as a great monument of liberalism and internationalism.
"I have never met more serious believers in the cause of humanity than Baha'is. Such loyalty to the highest ideals is what we need to bring us closer to the goal of a peaceful, friendly world."
Dr. Marcus Bach, of the State University of low a, sent the following tribute: "The Bahá'í emphasis on the unity of religions is the richest adornment of our contemporary faith.
"While the dedication of your House of Worship symbolizes this fact in ceremonial, it remains for true followers of the Glory of God to instill its principle in the hearts of men.
"The words of Bahá'u'lláh, which have become a challenge and a working formula for our time, have long been my text, 'The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens.'
"These words, strengthened by my recent visit with the Guardian, are now further intensified by the rising influence demonstrated in the Intercontinental
Centenary Conferences."It is my earnest hope that men of every belief and race may catch the spirit and power inherent in the Bahá'í cause and that this day of dedication will hasten the dawn of concord and direct the eyes of nations toward the light of brotherhood and peace.~~ Among the clergymen sending greetings was Dr. David Rhys Williams, of the
First Unitarian Churchof Rochester, New York, who wired that the members of his congregation "extend fraternal greetings and best wishes for an inspiring centennial celebration of the Baha Revelation and join you in affirming the oneness of all religions as you dedicate your beautiful Temple as a symbol of this oneness."
Dr. Karl M. Chworowsky, minister of the FirstCounty, Conn., wrote: "The writer who for these past several years has enjoyed the high privilege and profound inspiration of active fellowship with the Bahá'ís of New York, desires to join with your many friends and well-wishers in congratulating the Baha of the United States on this occasion of the dedication of your beautiful House of Worship.
The richest blessings of the Eternal One be and abide with you Rabbi Abha Hillel Silver, of Cleveland, wrote: "May I be permitted to send you my felicitations on this occasion and to express the hope that your newly-dedicated House of Worship will be a source of inspiration and spiritual guidance to many people in our country."
From Syracuse University, the Department of Philosophy, Dr. Raymond Frank Piper, sent this message: "The
Baha House of Worshipis a unique and magnificent achievement in the history of the world's religions and cultures because it embodies, in incomparable, compelling, and unforgettable beauty, the glorious ideal of the enlightened and creative unity of reli-glans, and also because it is a sun-clear, enduring symbol which invites all religionists, and others too, to work together in loving sympathy for the sake of multiplying those precious fruits of goodwill, wisdom, peace, and joy of which mankind now stands in profound and painful need."
A long letter came from Dr. Sbao Chang Lee, Head of the Department of
Foreign Studies at MichiganState College. With the ktter came a large Chinese card with the twelve Baha principles beautifully lettered in Chinese by Dr. Lee. In his letter, Dr. Lee said in part: "I for one deeply appreciate the efforts that you and other members of the Assembly have made and are making to achieve an integrated community of truth-loving and peace-loving peoples. At this critical point in world history, you bring to mankind the spiritual and practical values which Bahá'u'lláh has emphasized, and which the world greatly needs."
Dr. Kirtley F. Mather,at Harvard University, wrote: "You and your associates are greatly to be congratulated upon the completion of this lovely edifice, but even more because of the effective work you are doing to unite the people of many lands and creeds in a spiritual unity that cannot help but bear rich fruits in coming years."
From The Hoover Instituteand Library, Stanford University, the Chairman, Dr. H. H. Fisher, wrote: "Please accept my sincere good wishes. I am sure that believers in human brotherhood and workers for understanding among the peoples of the earth will be happy to know, as I am, of the dedication of this House of Worship to these great causes."
From the Sage School of"All I can say is that this seems to me a notable occasion in the history and progress of religion in the United States, and that I hope the Temple will increasingly help to bring about a spirit of union and of hope among adherents of all religious creeds."
From Dr. Harry A. Overstreet came the following: "Your effort to make a new feeling come alive in us � that of ongoing revelation � is to me most impressive.
This is the feeling all of us, I think, must somehow manage to make intimately part of ourselves.
This must be our worship of the One God that liveth."
Mr. Thurgood Marshall, Director and Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, wired: "We are happy to extend greetings and best wishes on the occasion of the dedication of the Bahá'í House of Worship.
You affirmatively offer full religious fellowship to all without distinctions based upon race and color and are thereby attempting to put into practice one of the highest ideals of religious and democratic teachings.
Our organization is dedicated to the same end although through use of different tools. We are, therefore, fellow-soldiers trying to build a society in which there will be no place for distinctions and differences based upon race, color, class or religion."
Mr. Roy Wilkins, Administrator for the NAACP, wrote: "I am happy to send greeting to the members of the Bahá'í faith and their friends upon the occasion of the dedication of your Temple to the brotherhood of man. Our poor world is in great need of the deep faith and sincere and unostentatious practices of the Baha'is."
Greetings were also received from: Dr. Dwight I. Bradley; Dr.
Albert Guerard; Dr.THE Hands of the Cause, the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies, the pioneers, the resident believers and visitors attending the European
Intercontinental TeachingWell-beloved friends: With a glad and grateful heart I welcome the convocation, in the capital-city of Sweden, of the third of a series of Intercontinental
Teaching Conferencesassociated with the worldwide festivities commemorating the centenary of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh and destined to exert a profound and lasting influence on the immediate fortunes of His Faith in all continents of the globe.
I look back, with feelings of wonder, thankfulness and joy, upon the chain of memorable circumstances which, a little over a century ago, accompanied the introduction of the Faith into, and marked the inception of its nascent institutions within, a continent which, in the course of the last two thousand years, has exercised on the destiny of the human race a pervasive influence unequaled by that of any other continent of the globe.
I feel impelled, on this historic occasion, when the members of the American, the British, the German and the newly formed Italo-Swiss National Spiritual Assemblies, as well as representatives of the Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom, of Eire, of Germany, of Austria, of the Scandinavian and Benelux
Page 170countries, of the Iberian Peninsula, of Italy, of Switzerland, of France, and of Finland are assembled, to pay a warm tribute to the valiant labors of the early British and French Bahá'í pioneers, who at the very dawn of the Faith in Europe, strove with such diligence, consecration and resolution, to fan into flame that holy Fire which the hand of the appointed Center of BaIA'u'-liTh's Covenant had kindled in the northwest extremity of that continent on the morrow of His Father's ascension.
I recall the slow eastward spread of that infant Light which led to the gradual emergence of the German and Austrian Bab6A Communities, during the darkest period of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í incarceration in the prison-fortress of 'Akka. I am reminded of His subsequent epochmaking visit, soon after His providential release from His forty-year confinement in the Most Great Prison, to these newly-fledged struggling Communities, of His patient seed-sowing destined to yield at a later age its first fruits, and constituting a landmark of the utmost significance in the rise and establishment of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in that continent.
I, moreover, call to mind, on this occasion, the successive episodes which, on the morrow of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í ascension, in the course of the initial Epoch of the Formative Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation, signalized the emergence of those administrative institutions, both local and national, which proclaimed the germination of those potent seeds which had lain dormant for more than a decade in these newly-opened European territories, and which culminated in the construction of the framework of the
Administrative Orderof the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh and the erection of the first two pillars destined to sustain in that continent the weight of the final unit of that Order.
Nor can I fail to acclaim, as a further milestone in the irresistible evolution of that Faith, the launching, following the creation of the administrative agencies designed to provide the effectual instruments for its propagation, of the Six-Year Plan of the British Baha Community followed successively by the European Teaching Campaign, inaugurated in accordance with the provisions of the second Seven-Year Plan of the American Bahá'í Community, the Five-Year Plan conceived by the German and Austrian Bahá'í Communities and the Two-Year Plan later initiated by the British Bahá'í
Corn-munitymunity � Plans which, within less than a decade, succeeded in laying the structural basis of the Administrative Order of the Faith in Wales, in Scotland, in Northern Ireland and in Eire, in multiplying and consolidating Bahá'í institutions throughout the British Isles, in broadening and strengthening the foundations of that same Order in Germany and Austria, in erecting the National Administrative Headquarters of the Faith in the city of Frankfurt, in establishing Spiritual Assemblies in the capital cities of no less than ten sovereign states in Europe, in reenforcing the administrative foundations of that Faith in those territories, in providing the means for the convocation of five European, and a series of regional, Teaching Conferences, and above all, in the convocation of the historic Convention in Florence culminating in the emergence of the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Baha of Italy and Switzerland, the third in a series of institutions destined to play their part in the eventual establishment of the Supreme Legislative Body of the Administrative Order of the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh.The hour is now ripe for these Conimun-ities whether new or old, local or national, already functioning on the Northern, the Western and the Southern fringes of that continent, as well as those situated in its very heart, to initiate befittingly and prosecute energetically the European Campaign of a global Crusade which will not only contribute, to an unprecedented degree, to the broadening and the consolidation of the foundations of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh on the continent of Europe, but will also diffuse its light over the neighboring islands, and will, God willing, carry its radiance to the Eastern territories of that continent, and beyond them as far as the heart of Asia.
The privileged prosecutors of so revolutionizing, so gigantic, so sacred and beneficent a campaign, are, on the morrow of its launching, and,at such a crucial hour in the destinies of the European continent, summoned to undertake: First, the formation, under the aegis of the
National Spiritual Assemblyin each one of the Scandinavian and Benelux Countries, and those of the Iberian Peninsula, and one in Finland, as well as the establishment, in collaboration with the Paris Spiritual
AssemHands of the Cause of God present at the Third Intercontinental Teaching Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, July 2126, 1953.
bly, of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of France, the establishment, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria, of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Austria, and the establishment, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, and in association with the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland, of independent National Spiritual Assemblies in Italy and
Switzerland.Second, the construction of the first Masbriqu'1-Adjjk~r of Europe in the city of Frankfurt, the heart of Germany, which occupies such a central position in the continent of Europe.
Third, the purchase of land for the future construction of two Mashriqu'l-Adhkar's, one in the North in the city of Stockholm, and one in the South in the city of Rome, the seat and stronghold of the most powerful church in Christendom.
Fourth, the opening of the following thirty virgin territories and islands: Albania, Crete, Estonia, Finno-Karelia, Frisian Islands, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Rumania, White Russia, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria; Channel Islands, Cyprus,
Faroe Islands, HebridesIslands, Malta, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles; Andorra, Azores,
Balearic Islands, LofotenIslands, Spitzbergen, Ukraine, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Balls of the United States of America; Liechtenstein, Monaco, Rhodes, San Marino, Sardinia, Sicily, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Italy and
Switzerland.Fifth, the translation and publication of Bahá'í literature in the following ten languages to be undertaken by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America, through its
European Teaching Committee:tese, Romani, Romansch, Yiddish, Ziryen. Sixth, the consolidation of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America; of Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Russian S.F.S., Yugoslavia, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria; of Bire allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles; of Iceland allocated to the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of Canada; and of Corsica allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland.
Seventh, the incorporation of the thirteen abovementioned
National Spiritual Assemblies.Ninth, the establishment of a national Ija4ratu'1-Quds in the capital city of each of the countries where National Spiritual Assemblies are to be established, as well as one in London and one in Paris.
Tenth, the formation of a National B~ih~'i Publishing Trust in Frankfurt, Germany.
Eleventh, the formation of Israel Branches of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles and of Germany and Austria, authorized to hold, on behalf of their parent institutions, property dedicated to the holy Shrines at the World Center of the Faith in the State of Israel.
Twelfth, the conversion to the Faith of representatives of the Basque and Gypsy races.
Thirteenth, the appointment, during RigivAn 1954, by the Hands of the Cause in Europe, of an auxiliary Board of nine members who will, in conjunction with the four National
Spiritual Assembliesparticipating in the European campaign, assist, through periodic and systematic visits to Bahá'í centers, in the efficient and prompt execution of the Plans formulated for the prosecution of the teaching campaign in the European continent.
A continent, occupying such a central and strategic position on the entire planet; so rich and eventful in its history, so diversified in its culture; from whose soil sprang both the Hellenic and Roman civilizations; the mainspring of a civilization to some of whose features Bahá'u'lláh Himself paid tribute; on whose southern shores Christendom first established its home; along whose eastern marches the mighty forces of the Cross and the Crescent so frequently clashed; on whose southwestern extremity a fast evolving Islamic culture yielded its fairest fruit; in whose heart the light of the Reformation shone so brightly, shedding its rays as far as the outlying regions of the globe; the wellspring of American culture; whose northern and western fringes were first warmed and illuminated, less than a century ago, by the dawning light of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh; in whose heart a Community, so rich in promise, was subsequently established; whose soil was later sanctified by the twice-repeated visit of the appointed
Center of His Covenant;which witnessed, in consequence of the rise and establishment of the Administrative Order of His Faith, the erection of two of the foremost pillars of the future Universal House of Justice; which, in recent years, sustained the dynamic impact of a series of national Plans preparatory to the launching of a world spiritual crusade � such a continent has at last at this critical hour � this great turning-point in its fortunes � entered upon what may well be regarded as the opening phase of a great spiritual revival that bids fair to eclipse any period in its spiritual history.
May the elected representatives of the National Bahá'í Communities entrusted with the conduct of this momentous undertaking launched on the soil of this continent, aided by the Hands of the Cause and their auxiliary Board, reinforced by the local communities, the groups and isolated believers sharing in this massive and collective enterprise, and supported by the subsidiary agencies to be appointed for its efficient prosecution, be graciously assisted by the Lord of Hosts to contribute, in the years immediately ahead, through their concerted efforts and collective achievements, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá'í activity, to thc success of this glorious Crusade, and lend a tremendous impetus to the conversion, the reconciliation and the ultimate unification of the divers and conflicting peoples, races, and classes dwelling within the borders of a travailing, a sorely-agitated, and spiritually-famished continent.
May all the privileged participators, enlisting under the banner of Bahá'u'lláh for the promotion of so preeminent and meritorious a Cause, be they from the Eastern or Western Hemisphere, of either sex, white or colored, young or old, neophyte or veteran, whether serving in their capacity as expounders of the teachings, or administrators, of His Faith, as settlers or itinerant teachers, distinguish themselves by such deeds of heroism as will rival, nay outshine, the feats accomplished nineteen hundred years ago, by that little band of God-intoxicated disci-pies who, fearlessly preaching the Gospel of a newly-arisen Messiah, contributed so decisively to the illumination, the regeneration and the advancement of the entire European continent.
(2)Bahá'í Teaching Conference, held in Stockholm, Sweden, from July 2126, 1953, can be described in one word,
Action! In this Jubileecelebration of Bahá'u'lláh's Mission "the spirit of the Year Nine was revived" and the European campaign was launched.
Visualize, for a moment, the large auditorium of the Medhorgarhus [Citizens Hall], its stage decorated with pink gladiolas, yellow roses and carnations; Ugo Giachery, the special representative of the Guardian at the speaker's table with Edna True, Chairman of the European
Teaching Committee, MarionHofman, Co-Chairman for the Conference, Honor Kempton and Anne Lynch, secretaries.
The Conference was convened by Edna True on Wednesday morning, July 22, and the message of the Guardian was read by Ugo Giachery, outlining the thirteen goals of "so revolutionizing, so gigantic, so sacred and beneficent a campaign."
Honor Kemp-ton read messages and greetings from the International Bahá'í Council, many of the National Spiritual
Assemblies, the European TeachingCommittee and countless local Assemblies and individuals.
The Chairman then presented each of the fourteen Hands of the Cause who were present:
Amelia Collins, Vice-PresidentVarq4, Shu'i'u'llAh 'A1A'i, Tara?-u'lltih Samandari,
'Ali-Akbar Fur6tan, GeorgeGiachery. On this occasion Mrs. Baker remarked, "I begin to understand why Europe has been considered the pulse of the world. If we regenerate its pulse, the world may be conquered!"
Then, as the believers answered the roll call, three hundred and seventy-seven from thirty countries responded: One hundred and ten from the ten goal countries,1 seventy-six from Germany, sixty-six from Ir~n, forty-two from England, and forty-eight from other lands!
On the afternoon of this first day of the Conference, following the reading of the prayer, "The Remover of Difficulties," the story of the meeting of Mulli Ijusayn with the Báb, and the chanting of the Tablet of Alimad by a descendent of the Báb, the sacred gift of our beloved Guardian � the blessed portrait of His
Holiness the BTh� was unveiled. Profound reverence touched each heart as the friends gazed on the portrait of the Blessed BTh, creating a sense of dedication and consecration which was to burst into a flame of action! It was a holy moment, a moment in eternity.
The public meeting, held that night in the Concerthus, brought an audience of almost seven hundred to hear Mrs. Gerd Strand of Oslo, Norway, and Professor Zeine N. Zeine of Beirut,
Lebanon. Hans Odemyrof Stockholm presented the speakers after giving a brief r6sum6 of the principles of the Faith. Mrs. Strand, who spoke in
Swedish on "The SpiritualRegeneration of the Individual Man," pictured the "winter darkness of 1 Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, France,
Finland.doubt and restlessness" with the Bahá'í Revelation "coming as a sunrise from the east, carrying the hope and promise of spring in its bosom."
She reviewed the effects of education and religion on the character of man and closed her talk with a quotation from Bahá'u'lláh giving the Bahá'í standards of conduct. Professor Zeine, speaking of "The Reconstruction of Human Society," explained that the reason "we are living in & time of confusion, perplexity and insecurity is that most people have lost their sense of values and their sense of direction, admitting no authority higher than their own, rejecting spiritual authority."
He logically unfolded his subject, showing that "only God can save humanity from itself" and ended with the thought that "human society cannot be reconstructed on any solid, lasting foundation unless we turn to God again."
The session Thursday morning opened with the reading of the cable to be sent to the Guardian: "Three hundred and seventy-seven believers (from) thirty countries humbly thank (the) beloved Guardian (for the) sacred, blessed bounty (of his) priceless gift (and) join (in) heartfelt loving greetings. (Our) hearts (are) joyously, solemnly united (and) uplifted (by) your message (sent) through (your) honored representative (and by) greetings from fourteen revered, beloved Hands (of the) Cause. (The) vision (of) Europe's great destiny (and this) immense Crusade calls us (to) rededication (and a) greater loyalty. (We are) entreating your prayers. Devoted love,
Third IntercontinentalCampaign of the World-Embrac-ing Crusade," Dr. Giachery summarized the Guardian's cable for us and made an impassioned appeal for us not to consider our limitations and human frailties but to arise, one and all, to shoulder our responsibilities.
He listed the three immediate goals as follows: 1. To get our pioneers to the virgin territories as soon as possible.
2. To start translations.3. To purchase land for future Masliri-qu'I-AdliMrs in Rome and Stockholm and the construction of the Mashriqu'1-Adbk~r in
Frankfurt.The response began immediately with Horace Holley's announcement that the Bahá'ís of America, through their National Spiritual Assembly, were making what might be called a token contribution of $250.
"Undoubtedly, the first payment," he added. This was followed by an offer of $5,000 each for Stockholm and Frankfurt, another of $1,000 for each, and then came offers in kroner, pesetas, marks, lire, francs, so that in a few moments a total of $8,567 each was reached. But this was not all, for the floodgates had opened and Baha'is, young and old, gave cameras, wedding rings, Bahá'í rings, diamonds, watches, necklaces, earrings. One young man offered to sell his motorcycle and walk. Two brothers offered to work for two months on the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Frankfurt. Many laid on the altar of sacrifice the last piece of jewelry belonging to the family, heirlooms, precious and historic gifts associated with the Holy family and the early believers, objects which could never be replaced. Some of the gifts were given in memory of departed mothers, sisters, brothers, pioneers Dagmar
Dole and Johanna Schubartli;in memory of the chairman of the Persian National Assembly and of Louis
Gregory, first Negro Handof the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. Numerous gifts were given for the Stockholm Mashriqu'l-Adhkar photographs and paintings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Persian rugs carrying the symbol of the Greatest Name, embroidered cloths, a silver picture frame, a vase, precious soil from the home of the BTh in I~f~h~n and other offerings from the friends.
In the afternoon a glimpse of the First and Second
International Conferencesand Beatrice Asliton made their reports. Mr. Ban4ni told many interesting incidents in connection with the preparations for the Kampala Conference and explained how seemingly insurmountable obstacles had been miraculously overcome, many at the very last moment. General 'A1~'i compared the gathering to an experimental farm, wherein God was trying out new seeds which were destined to bring in a bumper crop.
He confessed that, before the Conference, he had had misgivings as to the firmness of the African believers so recently converted to the Faith. Much to his joy he found that "each of these African believers is deep in the Faith and that their knowledge is superior to that of many of the people who have been in the Faith for years.~~
Page 175was vividly described by Horace Holley, who spoke of the structural beauty of the edifice and of its interior ornamentation and read the statement made at the dedication in behalf of the Guardian by R61~iyyih KjAnum.
Then Mrs. Mottahedeh covered the high points of the Second
Intercontinental TeachingThe afternoon ses-Sian closed with a showing of slides and films taken by believers at the First and Second Intercontinental Conferences and the Temple Dedication. These were explained by Beatrice
Ashton.Two evenings of the Conference were devoted to the early history of the Faith, with George Townshend and Dhikru'11~h Kh& dem speaking Thursday evening on "The Sufferings of
Bahá'u'lláh and TheirSignificance." Mr. Townshend explained that "the pains, the griefs, the sorrows, the sufferings, the rejections, the betrayals, the frustrations which were the common lot of all the High Prophets reached their culmination in Him" and, he significantly added, "Not He Himself alone but the Cause of God was in prison." Again, he said: "Wrongs done to the founder of a religion have two inevitable effects: one is that of retribution against the wrong done � the severity of which we may judge from the two thousand year exile of the Jewish people; the other is that of reward to the High Prophet through the release of fresh powers of life that otherwise would have lain latent, enabling Him to pour forth Divine energies which in their boundlessness will utterly overwhelm the forces of evil and empower Him to say, 'Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.'" Mr. Townshend closed with these words, "Love is a priceless thing, only to be won at the cost of death Those heroic souls who are rapt in the love of the Lord, they are the true lovers."
Mr. Kh~tdem traced the life of Bahá'u'lláh in His imprisonments and banishment. He told of His great sufferings and loneliness, pointing out that, "When we look back a hundred years ago, Bahá'u'lláh was alone, but now His lovers all around the world in twenty-five hundred localities in one hundred and twenty-nine countries speak of Him in ninety different languages!"
He then enumerated many of the achievements of the Faith, ending with the establishment of the Italo-Swiss National Spiritual Assembly, another pillar of the Universal House of Justice. "By 1963 we shall have a Universal House of Justice, no doubt, and in Baghdtid witness to that great day of Daniel. He could not live to see that day but he said, 'Blessed are they who will see that day.'
Daniel, whose grave is in 'Irttq, will, in each one of us, see his prophecy fulfilled
Friday morning Ugo Giacheryread the paragraph of the Guardian's cable setting forth Europe's part in the Global Crusade, listing the territories in which we must have pioneers before the end of the Jubilee year, just a little over two months from now! He made a moving appeal saying, "We are young and strong and able to go; we all have our businesses, our family connections and things that are important to do, but when we realize that we can do without them and that by pioneering we can accomplish something that will last for all eternity!
"I am hoping that before the day is over we shall be able to cable the Guardian that every place is filled. The Guardian will inscribe the name of every pioneer on a special scroll, the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, and this will remain forever in the inmost tomb of Bahá'u'lláh in Baha" Dr. Giachery then announced that another message from the Guardian had been received and read it to the assembled believers.
This cable from the beloved Guardian set ablaze the true spirit of sacrifice and devoted souls responded to the call; singly, in families, in couples, offering to go wherever needed.
Sixty-three volunteered, in all: twenty-seven from the Persian ranks, eleven from England, four from Germany, fifteen from the ten goal countries with five offers from American pioneers now serving under the European Teaching Committee and one from America.
On Friday afternoon, the friends had the joy of seeing moving pictures of the Holy places of the Faith in Israel.
The beauty of the gardens, as well as the tremendous achievements at the World Center, is just one more miracle to add to the wondrous testimonies to the power of Bahá'u'lláh in our day!
Friday evening, HoraceHolley, in his presentation of "The Birth and Development of the Institutions of the Faith," traced the power and authority of Bahá'u'lláh perpetuated in Bahá'í institutions.
"Now what we have here is indeed a divine creation.
It is humanity being raised toward God andVolunteer pioneers for the Ten-Year Global Crusade, Third Bahá'í Intercontinental Teaching Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, July 2126, 1953.
Page 177the divine grace of God descending to humanity Therefore, in our daily lives when we have troubles and difficulties of an administrative nature, let us not be too impatient or too easily discouraged because we are in the process of making possible the formation of that spiritual body of the Universal House of Justice. There is the basis of the world's peace. There is the order and security of the world.
There is the nobility and enlightenment of the human race If by the purity of our motives, by the depths of our self-sacrifice, we could hasten by one year or one month the establishment of that body, the whole human race would bless us for that great gift."
Mr. Holley concluded with this thought: "'Abdu'l-Bahá told us to see God in every human face, and we shoffid also see God in our institutions. When we do this, we can with more patience and insight join in this great new order of justice and peace."
Mr. Tara?u'114li Samandarispoke of "The Stirring Episodes of the Early Days of the Faith." He said: "When there is a Divine Beloved, He needs lovers A farmer needs, first of all, soil in which to plant The Manifestations require the heart in which to plant their love In the days of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, there were lovers who went through the fire of martyrdom." Mr. Samandari pointed out that today "Pioneering is the equivalent of martyrdom and suffering.
They will reap the same fruits as the early believers for their sacrifice."
He told of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í prophecy that kings would one day carry flowers to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and visit the Holy Places of the Bahá'í world.
One time, in the presence of Bahá'u'lláh as He chanted the Tabkt to the Sultan,
Mr. Samandarf said: "Hewas seen in two states at the same time; that of the majesty and might of kingship, and one of modesty and meekness; the two could be seen, side by side." In conclusion, he related a story of the last days of the Blessed Perfection. He had summoned all the believers to come to His bedside and chanted verses from the Book of Aqdas referring to His passing. Seeing the believers overcome with grief, He counseled them, "The most important attribute in the life of the believers should be love and unity."
In beginning his presentation of "The Dawn-Breakers," Mr. 'A1I-Akbar Furtitan said that the Guardian had instructed the believers to study the history of the Faith and compare it with the early days of past religions.
Mr. Fur6tan showed that the disciples of other religions had not fully recognized the true and exalted station of their own prophets and gave examples of disobedience to the expressed wishes and commands of Moses, Christ and Muhammad. As contrast, he cited the many examples of absolute obedience in the I3ahA'i Faith.
One, taken from the record of the last days of the earthly life of the 1kb, tells that when the Báb called for a volunteer to take His life (not wishing, as He said, to die by the hand of an unbeliever) a youth sprang to his feet, ready to obey His command and later explained that his obedience was to His Cause, not to His person; to His Word, not to His personality.
Mr. Furfitan closed his remarks by quoting a saying of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: "A small piece of cotton can prevent the ear from hearing sweet melodies. A very thin veil can cover the eyes and make it impossible for them to see. A very small headache can cause our mind to stop functioning a small drop of mortal poison can kill the person who takes it. The veils of selfishness are like the piece of cotton, the thin veil, the small headache and the drop, but those heroic souls, the Dawn-Breakers, did not let any veils come in between them and their true responsibility."
At the opening of the session Saturday morning a letter from King Gustav Adolph of Sweden was read in which he acknowledged receipt of the Jubilee booklet.
Dr. Grossmann then called attention to four maps of Europe on which were designated the goals of each of the four National Spiritual
Assemblies and Localin the European campaign and endeavored to orient, geographically, the needs of the Crusade. He brought out many interesting historical facts with regard to these countries and enumerated the languages into which Bahá'í literature is to be translated during the next ten years.
At this point a letter written by R6ljiyyih KhAnum at the request of the Guardian was read by Dr. Giachery: "The friends in Stockholm must realize that the most important institutions to support at this time are the London Ija ratu'1-Quds and the funds for the Temple land in
Stockholm and Frankfurt.The back of some of the hardest work in the plan will then be broken.
Page 178The Guardian wishes that the friends should do their utmost to fill the remaining virgin territories and after returning home they should urge the Bahá'ís generally to do the same.
The Hands of the Cause in their travels should do likewise
John Ferraby, Secretaryof the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles, was asked to report on the efforts made thus far in England to secure a site for their Ua4ra-tu'1-Quds.
"Nearly the whole of the center of London is owned by a few landowners," he said, "and the few properties available command a very high price indeed. There is only one property offered which seems in any way suitable. If we cannot find a cheaper place, the Guardian has told us we may purchase it. For a lease they are asking five thousand pounds sterling, but for the land thirteen thousand pounds sterling, making a total of eighteen thousand pounds in all. The Guardian has cabled two thousand pounds toward the cost."
Again the Conference was moved to action and excitement mounted as contributions were offered. Soon it was announced that the
London Ua4ratu'1-Qudswas assured a very substantial amount by this Conference.
Consultation on the Guardian's cable continued and many points were clarified, among them the meaning of "incorporation~, and "national endowments," set forth by Horace Holley.
"The legal incorporation of a national or local assembly," he said, "is very important from several points of view. In the first place, it produces recognition and enhances the prestige of the Faith and in the second place, it brings to the Bahá'í community the advantage of legal protection in the case of lawsuits, litigation, etc. Finally, it creates of the institution of the Spiritual Assembly a legal person, a corporate body which is free from the personalities of the nine members. This legal person has perpetuity of existence." In considering endowments, he added, "In the future the Local Spiritual Assembly and, of course, the National Spiritual Assembly will build schools, libraries and other Bahá'í institutions.
As these institutions come into existence they are held legally by the aggregate body and not by the nine members of the Spiritual Assembly.
The nine members of the Spiritual Assembly are the trustees of these properties." He drew attention to the lesson taught the American believers by 'Abdu'l-Bahá when He told them to build the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar.
"Little by little the friends began to contribute their funds to build the Temple.
After a while we had sufficient funds to begin construction and by the time the Temple was completed $2,600,000 had been spent!
Because the Bahá'ís concentrated on carrying out the Master's wish, they produced a building that is the glory of America. The
Master told Mrs. Corinne Truewho was the first and, for many years, the financial secretary, that they must make a beginning and then all things would come and, therefore, no matter how small or how weak your community is, realize that it is the seed from which will come the fruitful trees!"
At the beginning of the afternoon session, Amelia Collins, at the request of our Guardian, showed the latest photographs of developments in the work on the Shrine of the B~b and explained how, on the day of the Feast of RiK1v~n, the Guardian had sealed a bit of the plaster from the ceiling of the prison room of the Báb at MAh-Kii behind one of the golden tiles in the Dome of the Shrine.
Discussing "Opening upTrue outlined some salient considerations and shared experiences of the European Teaching Committee in the work in Europe. Dorothy Ferraby, of England, reviewed the work of the British Africa Committee in its collaboration with other National
Spiritual AssembliesDorothy Baker followed with practical suggestions for opening new territories and phcing pioneers, using Spitzbergen as a concrete exam-pie. Honor Kempton spoke on spiritual prerequisites and practical preparation for pioneers, suggesting
The Advent of Divine Justiceand The Challenging Requirements of the Present Hour as excellent textbooks for this study.
Many pioneers in the European field shared their experiences for the remainder of the afternoon.
The night of the Unity Banquet arrived. A full moon watched its reflection in the waters surrounding Stockholm's Town Hall. Inside, the magnificent Gokien Room, dazzling in its splendor, was filled with joyous "God-intoxicated souls" gathered to commemorate the great Jubilee of the Year Nine. In this perfect setting all were enchanted, as the Guardian's special representative, the President and the
Vice-Presiof the Cause, seven members from National Spiritual Assemblies, delegates from each of the goal countries, and visitors from other lands were presented.
Heartwarming greetings in many languages heightened the spirit of love and unity in the hearts until all were "as one soul in many bodies." Each believer, leaving this golden scene, carried with him a precious little packet of petals from the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, brought from the Holy Land for this occasion. As it had opened, the Unity Banquet closed with chanting by Persian believers.
The Jubilee had indeed been befittingly commemorated.
Summarizing the Conferencedays have been days of faith, obedience, detachment, love, heroism, and sacrifice!"
As examples she pointed out that even before the Guardian's request that the friends establish Funds to purchase Temple sites, $27,000 had been donated; that, in response to the appeal of the Guardian for the participants to "swell the roll of honor through enlisting promptly under the unfurled banner of the advancing Hosts of Bahá'u'lláh," one out of seven arose and enlisted under that banner. A third achievement she likened to the Holiest Temple of the Bahá'í World. "As that building of steel and concrete rose m Wilmette, a symbol of the transcendence of the Cause it brought joy to the believ ers around the world even so does the arising of the European Ba1A'i community reinforce all of us." At the close of the morning session, Edna True expressed the appreciation of the
European Teaching Committeefor the assistance given by all who contributed to the success of the
Stockholm Conference.special representative to the Stockholm Conference, commented on the maturity which the European community had reached, lauded the
European Teaching Committeeand the pioneers for their work and addressed special thanks to the Persian friends who contributed so generously to the achievement of the European goals.
Closing the ConferenceHolley announced that the representatives of the National Spiritual Assemblies had held several sessions during the Conference and had appointed a special committee to accept all pioneer offers and achieve settlement of the goal areas as quickly as possible. He read the following cable, sent to the Guardian by the Hands of the Cause and representatives of the
National Spiritual Assemblies:Isles, Germany, Italo-Swiss, Jr&n, 'Idq, present (at) Stockholm, consulting (on the) rapid settlement (of) pioneer territories, impressed (by the) spiritual fervor (and) capacity (of the) Third Conference, pledge (and) humbly beseech prayers.
Devoted love."Dorothy Baker reported that of the European goals assigned to the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the United States, the Azores, Balearic Islands, Lofoten Islands, and Spitz-bergen had been filled, leaving one virgin territory to be assigned � Andorra.
As she spoke, a believer immediately offered to pioneer in that country.
Dr. Eugen Schmidt announced that pioneers under the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria had been assigned to Greece,
Frisian Islands and Crete.Dr. Ugo Giachery announced for the Italo-Swiss National Spiritual Assembly that assignments have been made for Monaco, Sicily, Rhodes, and Sardinia.
This left Liechtensteinand San Marino but, again, believers immediately rose to volunteer for these posts.
Mr. Ferraby, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles, announced assignments to Cyprus, Malta, and the
Shetland Islands. Pioneerswere available to fill other posts, he said, but funds were lacking.
A Persian believer at once assured the necessary amount to send pioneers to the Channel, Hebrides and Orkney Islands, while a Bahá'í from Sweden offered to settle in the
Faroc Islands.Thus, pioneers were assigned to all the territories to be opened to the Faith in Europe! For those territories where, for the present, admittance to the countries cannot be secured, the pioneers are preparing themselves by thrift and study for the moment when they shall take their posts. The others either are en route or planning their imminent departures to positions for the waging of the World Crusade.
With these miracles of action the Conference drew to its close. In his farewell remarks Mr KhAdem drew attention to other tangible miracles: the presence at the Con
Page 180ference, as Baha'is, of a descendent of N~siri'd-Din ShAh, a descendent of the ImAm Jum'ih whose father's uncle was the Son of the Wolf, and the former head of the Sbay1~j4 School of I~fAh&n, at whose declaration as a believer it was said, "the backbone of the Shaylibis is broken." The Third
Intercontinental Bahaclosed with the reading, in English and in the original Persian, of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í prayer for the unity of East and West.
5. THE ASIAN INTERCONTINENTALTHE Hands of the Cause, the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies, the pioneers, the resident believers and visitors attending the Asian Intercontinental Teaching Conference in New Delhi,
India.Well-beloved friends: With high hopes and a joyful heart I acclaim the convocation, in the leading city of the Indian subcontinent, of the fourth and last of the
Intercontinental TeachingConferences of a memorable Holy Year commemorating the centenary of the birth of the prophetic
Mission of Bahá'u'lláh.On this historic occasion, when the members of the
National Spiritual Assembliesof the Bahá'ís of the United States of America, of the Dominion of Canada, of Central and South America, of Persia, of the Indian subcontinent and of Burma, of 'Iraq and of Australasia, as well as representatives of the sovereign states and dependencies of the Asiatic continent, of the Republics of North, Central and South America, and of Australia,
New Zealand and Tasmaniaare assembled, and are to deliberate on the needs and requirements of the recently launched triple Campaign embracing the Asiatic mainland, the Australian continent and the islands of the Pacific Ocean � a campaign which may well be regarded as the most extensive, the most arduous and the most momentous of all the campaigns of a worldgirdling Crusade, and which, in its scope, is unparalleled in the history of the Faith in the entire Eastern Hemisphere � my thoughts, on such an occasion, go back to the early dawn of our Faith, to those unforgettable scenes of matchless heroism, of dark tragedy, of imperishable glory which heralded its birth, and accompanied the spread, of its infant Light in the heart of the Asiatic continent.
I vividly recall the meteoric rise of the Faith of the Bib in the provinces of Persia and the stirring episodes associated with His cruel incarceration in the mountain-fast-nesses of AdhirlAyj5n, with the revelation of the laws of His Dispensation, with the proclamation of the independence of His Faith, with the peerless heroism of His disciples, with the fiendish cruelty of His foes � the Chief Magistrate, the civil authorities, the ecclesiastical dignitaries and the masses of the people, of His native land � with the humiliation, the spoliation, the dispersal, the eventual massacre of a vast number of His followers, and, above all, with His own execution in the City of Tabriz.
With a throb of wonder I call to mind the early and sudden fruition of I-us Dispensation in the capital city of that land, and the dramatic circumstances attending the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation culminating in His precipitate banishment to 'Jr~q.
I am reminded, moreover, of the initial spread of the light of this Revelation, in consequence of the banishment of Bahá'u'lláh, to the adjoining territories of 'Ir&q,
Page 181and, as far as the western fringes of that continent, to Turkey and the neighboring territories of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and, at a later stage, to the Indian sub-con-tinent and China, situated on the southern and eastern extremities of that continent as well as to the Caucasus and
Russian TurkistAn.Nor can I fail to remember the series of alternating crises and victories each constituting a landmark in the evolution of the Faith � which it has experienced in some of these territories, associated with the distressful withdrawal of its Author to the mountains of Sulim6niyyih; with the glorious Declaration of His Mission in BaghdAd; with His second and third banishments to Constantinople and Adrianople; with the grievous rebellion of His half-brother; with the proclamation of His own Mission; with His fourth banishment to the desolate and far-off penal colony of 'Akka in Syria; with the revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, His Most Holy Book; with His ascension in the Holy Land; with the establishment of His Covenant and the inauguration of the Ministry of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, His son and the Exemplar and authorized Interpreter of His teachings.
These opening stages in the evolution of His Faith in the Asiatic continent were followed, while the first and Apostolic
Age of His Dispensationwas drawing to a close, by the opening of the Islands situated in the Pacific Ocean, Japan in the north, and the Australian continent in the South. To these memorable chapters of Asian Bahá'í history another was soon added, on the morrow of the ascension of the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, and during the initial epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith, distinguished by the rise of the Administrative Order and the erection of its pillars in the cradle of that Faith, in 'Idtq, in India, PAkistAn and Burma and in the Antipodes. This memorable episode in its development in that vast continent was succeeded by the initiation, during the second epoch of that same Age, of a series of Plans in those same territories in support of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan and as a prelude to the opening of the recently launched world-embracing Spiritual
Crusade.The hour has now struck for this continent, on whose soil, more than a century ago, so much sacred blood was shed, in whose very heart deeds of such tragic heroism ism were performed, and in many of whose territories such brilliant victories have been won, to contribute, in association with its sister continents, to the progress and ultimate triumph of this global Crusade, in a manner befitting its unrivaled position in the entire Baha world.
The various Baha Communitiesdwelling within the borders of this continent and those situated to the south of its shores in the Antipodes, which include the oldest and most venerable among all the communities of the Bahá'í world, and whose members in their aggregate constitute the overwhelming majority of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh, are called upon, in close association with four other Bahá'í communities in the Western Hemisphere, to undertake in the course of the coming decade: First, the construction of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Bahá'u'lláh's native land, in the City of Tihr4n, surnamed by Bahá'u'lláh "Mother of the World."
Second, the purchase of land for the future construction of three Mashriqu'l-Adhkar's, one in the City of Baghdad, enshrining the "Most Great House," the third holiest city of the Bahá'í world, one in New Delhi, the leading city of the Indian subcontinent, and the third in Sydney, the oldest and foremost Bahá'í Center in the Antipodes.
Third, the formation of no less than eleven National Spiritual Assemblies, one each in PMcist~n, Burma and Ceylon, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, P4kist4n and Burma; one in Turkey and one in AfglAni-stAn, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia; one in Japan, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America; one in New Zealand, under the aegis of the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand, as well as four regional National Spiritual Assemblies, one in the Arabian Peninsula, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia; one in SouthEast Asia, under the aegis of the
National Spiritual Assemblythird in the South Pacific, under the aegis of the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of the United States of America; and a fourth in the Near East, under the
Page 182aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'IrAq.
Fourth, the opening of the following forty-one virgin territories and islands: Andaman Islands, Bliutan, Daman, Din, Goa, Karikal, Mah6, Mariana Islands, Nico-bar Islands, Pondicherry, Sikkim, assigned to the
National Spiritual AssemblyNew Guinea, Hainan Island, Kazakhstan, Macao Island, Sakhalin Island, Tibet, Tonga Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of
America; Brunei, ChagosArchipelago, Kirgizia, Mongolia, Solomon Islands, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia; Admiralty Islands, Cocos Island, Loyalty Islands, Mentawai Islands, New Hebrides Islands,
Portuguese Timor, SocietyIslands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assemhly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand; Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Marshall Islands, Tuainotu Archipelago, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central America;
I4adhramaut, Kuria-MuriaIslands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'IrAq;
Marquesas Islands, SamoaIslands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada; Cook Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South America.
Fifth, the translation and publication of Bahá'í literature in the following forty languages, to be undertaken by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of India, P~kist~n and Burma, in association with the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
Australia and New Zealand:Abor Mirza, Aneityum, Annamese, Baha'i, Bentuni, Binandere, Cheremiss, Chungchia, Georgian, Houailou, Javanese, Kado, Kaili, Kopu, Kusaje, Lepeha, Lifu, Manchu, Manipuri, Manus Island, Marquesas, Men-tawai, Mongolian, Mordoff, Mwala, Na-ilsi, Nicobarese, Niue, Ossete, Ostiak, Pali, Panjabi, Paslito, Perm, Petats, Samoan, ThO, Tibetan, Tongan, Vogul.
Sixth, the consolidation of Aden Protectorate AdhirlAyj6n, Afghttnistan, Abs4, Armenia, Babrayn Island, Georgia, Jjij~z, Saudi-Arabia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Yemen, allocated to the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of Persia; of Bahá'u'lláh, Borneo, Burma, Ceylon, IndoChina, Indonesia, Malaya, Nepal, P&kist4n, Sara-wak, Siam, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, PAkistan and Burma; of China, Formosa, Japan, Korea,
Manchuria, PhilippineIslands, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America; of Jordan, Koweit, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Trucial Sheiks, 'UmmAn, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'Irttq; of Bismarck Archipelago, Fiji, New Caledonia, Australian New Guinea, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Balls of Australia and New Zealand; of Hong Kong, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of British
Isles.Seventh, the incorporation of the eleven abovementioned National Spiritual Assemblies, as well as those of Persia and 'IrAq.
Eighth, the establishment by these abovementioned eleven National Spiritual Assemblies of national Bahá'í endowments.
Ninth, the establishment of a national Ija4ratu'1-Quds.
in the capital cities of each of the countries where National Spiritual Assemblies are to be established, as well as one in Suva, one in Jakarta, one in Bahrayn and one in Beirut.
Tenth, the establishment of a national Bahá'í Court in the capital cities of Persia, of 'IrAq, of P~kistTh and of AfglAnist6n � the leading Muslim centers in The Asiatic continent.
Eleventh, the establishment of two national Bahá'í Publishing Trusts, one in Tihr~n and one in New
Delhi.Twelfth, the formation of Israel branches of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of Persia, of 'Ir6g, and of Australia, authorized to hold on behalf of their parent institutions property dedicated to the holy Shrines at the World Center of the Faith in the State of Israel.
Thirteenth, the appointment, during Rh$-xAn 1954, by the Hands of the Cause in Asia and in Australia of an auxiliary Board of nine members who will, in conjunction wit the eight National Spiritual Assemblies participating in the Asiatic and Australian campaigns, assist, through periodic and systematic visits to Bahá'í centers, in the efficient and prompt execution of the Plans formulated for the prosecution of the teaching campaigns in the continent of Asia and in the Antipodes.
The Asiatic continent, the cradle of theprincipal religions of mankind; the home of so many of the oldest and mightiest civilizations s which have flourished on this planet; the crossways of so many kindreds and races; the battleground of so many peoples and nations; above whose horizons, in modern n times, the suns of two independent Revelations s � the promise and consummation of a six thousand year old religious Cycle � have successively arisen; where the Authors of both of these Revelations suffered banishment t and died; within whose confines the Center of a divinely-appointed Covenant was born, endured a forty-year incarceration n and passed away; on whose Western extremity the Qiblih of the Bahá'í world has been definitely established; in whose heart the city proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh as the "Mother of the World" is enshrined; within whose borders another City regarded as the "Cynosure of an adoring world" and the scene of the greatest and most glorious Revelation n the world has witnessed is embosomed; ; on whose soil so many saints, heroes and martyrs, associated with both of these Revelations, have lived, struggled and died � such a continent, so privileged among its sister continents and yet so long and so sadly tormented, now stands at the hour of the launching of a world-encompassing Crusade, sade, on the threshold of an era that may well recall in its glory and ultimate repercussions, sions, the great periods of spiritual revival which, from the dawn of recorded history have, at various stages in the revelation of God's purpose for mankind, illuminated the path of the human race.
May this Crusade, launched simultaneously ously on the Asiatic mainland, its neighboring ing islands and the Antipodes, under the direction of eight National Spiritual Assemblies, blies, and through the operation of eight systematic Teaching Plans, and the concerted certed efforts of Bahá'í communities in both the East and the West, provide, as it unfolds, an effective antidote to the baneful forces of atheism, nationalism, secularism and materialism that are tearing at the vitals of this turbulent continent, and may it reenact those scenes of spiritual heroism which, more than any of the secular revolutions which have agitated its face, have left their everlasting imprint on the fortunes of the peoples and nations dwelling within its borders.
Haifa, IsraelTeaching Conference under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of India, P6ki-st4n and Burma convened the first international Bahá'í gathering ever to be held in the East. This great event took place in New Delhi, the picturesque metropolis of India, from October 715, 1953. West had come East at the behest of the Guardian. The attendance registered four hundred and eighty-nine, coming from thirty-one countries.
The President of the Indian Republic, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, declared that it was the first gathering of its kind in the East.
The delegates assembled beneath the colorful canopy erected on the grounds of the Constitution Club � undoubtedly the most varied congregation of Bahá'ís yet assembled sembled anywhere in the world. Here were seen the many races and peoples of India, PAkistAn and Burma, Ceylon, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, Persia, 'IrAq, Egypt, Africa, Turkey, Europe, Canada, United
States, Central and SouthAmerica, unified in spirit and purpose within the Guardian's consummate application of the Divine Plan of 'Abdu'l-Bahá for the redemption and unification of humanity at the time of impending peril.
Surmounting the difficulties of language, the Conference exemplified that world unity which already exists among Baha'is. Its sessions concentrated the forces of the Bahá'í world upon those goals of the Ten-Year Plan which are to establish firmly the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh throughout the lands of the
Page 184Far East and the islands of the South Pacific Ocean.
After devotions conducted in English, Persian, Hindustani and Burmese, the Conference was opened by the Chairman of the Indian National Spiritual Assembly, Mr. 'Abbas 'AU Butt, with a gracious address of welcome: "On behalf of the Bahá'ís of India, P6ki-stan and Burma, I welcome the representative of the beloved Guardian, the Hands of the Cause, the representatives of the National Spiritual Assemblies, and the friends who have come to participate in this great Conference."
Chairman Butt concluded his address with the following survey of the Faith in India,
Burma and P~ikistTh.Committee and have published Bahá'í literature in all the languages of India and P~kist6n and the principal languages of Burma, Ceylon and Indonesia, reaching a total of twenty-six languages.
"We hold trust properties valued at more than one million rupees in the three countries of India,
Ptikist~n and Burma.We have a school in Panchgani where we have recently purchased an extensive piece of land."
All arrangements for the sessions, which were varied, dramatic and altogether appealing, were made by the Indian National Spiritual Assembly. They displayed remarkable initiative and resourcefulness in making the Conference an occasion for outstanding public events and contacts.
As at the previous Intercontinental Conferences, the agenda included public meetings � one held on the grounds of the Constitution Club and one in New Delhi
Town Hall. The Guardian'srepresentative, Charles Mason Remey, Hand of the Cause and President of the International Council, presided at the first. The theme was "Universal Peace � A Need and Exigency of the Time," and the speakers were Horace Holley, Dorothy Baker and Dr. Ugo Giachery, Hands of the Cause, and Stanley Bolton, Sr. Mrs. Baker presided at the Town Hall meeting which was based on the theme "Towards a World Federation," the speakers being H. C. Featherstone,
John Robarts, Mildred MottahedebThis Conference, however, surpassed the previous Conferences in that it provided a public reception and tea in the garden of the Imperial Hotel.
The scene was picturesque and charming � the spacious lawn and ter race filled with tea tables under the soft light of late afternoon. There were about one thousand guests, including high officials of the Indian government, representatives from embassies and consulates, and men from the press.
In addition, the National Spiritual Assembly arranged to present delegations of Bahá'ís to the three leaders of the Indian government � Dr.
Rajendra Prasad, President;� each on a separate occasion and in his own office or reception room.
The evening before the Conference, a reception was held at the Hotel Imperial for the representatives of the local and foreign press. Reporters from over thirty newspapers and news agencies had the opportunity to meet Mr. Remey, the Guardian s representative, a number of other Hands of the Cause, and delegates from many countries. Mrs.
Mildred Mottahedeh, InternationalObserver for the Bahá'ís at the United Nations, served as chairman and made a statement on the purpose of the New Delhi Conference.
This was followed by Mrs. Dorothy Baker's outline of the history of the Cause and plans for expansion during the ten-year World Crusade.
One evening was devoted to a program of Indian dancing and music given by professional entertainers.
On another occasion, an organized sightseeing tour, making use of a fleet of ten forty-seat buses, enabled the delegates to visit historical and other famous spots. Looking upon the remnants of a glorious past, the visiting Bahá'ís felt the inherent capacity of the Indian people to build a new civilization, as part of the great world civilization of the future.
To return to the Conference proper: following the address of welcome, the Guardian s message to the Conference was presented by Mason Remey.
Of the thirteen goals set forth by Shoghi Effendi in this communication, the Conference made immediate effort to fulfill the fourth goal, "the opening of.
forty-one virgin territories and islands"; and the second goal, "the purchase of land for the future construction of three Mashriqu'l-Adhkar's, one in the city of Baghd6d, enshrining the 'Most Great House,'the third holiest city of the Bahá'í world, one in New Delhi, the leading city of the Indian subcontinent, and the third in Sydney, the old
Page 185The achievement of these goals was handsomely supported by the Conference: Forty-five thousand dollars was contributed toward the purchase of the three tracts of land; seventy-four pioneers offered their services, were interviewed by a special committee and twenty-five of them were able to depart almost immediately to their posts; almost ten thousand dollars was contributed to a fund for pioneer budgets and all applications from pioneers not assigned definite posts at this time were referred to the National Spiritual Assemblies concerned.
It was reported that theAssembly had chosen the site for the future House of Worship, nine acres overlooking
New Delhi."Such a Continent," the Guardian wrote, "so privileged among its sister continents and yet so long and so sadly tormented, now stands at the hour of the launching of a world-encompassing Crusade, on the threshold of an era that may well recall in its glory and ultimate repercussions, the great periods of spiritual revival which, from the dawn of recorded history have, at various stages in the revelation of God's purpose for mankind, illuminated the path of the human race.
"May this Crusade, launched simultaneously on the Asiatic mainland, its neighboring islands and the Antipodes, under the direction of eight National Spiritual Assemblies, and through the operation of eight systematic Teaching Plans and the concerted efforts of Bahá'í communities in both the East and the West, provide, as it unfolds, an effective antidote to the baneful forces of atheism, nationalism, secularism and materialism that are tearing at the vitals of this turbulent continent, and may it reenact those scenes of spiritual heroism which, more than any of the secular revolutions which have agitated its face, have left their everlasting imprint on the fortunes of the peoples and nations dwelling within its borders."
The Guardian likewise described to the Conference the teaching campaign upon which it was to deliberate, "a campaign which may well be regarded as the most extensive, the most arduous and the most momentous of all the campaigns of a worldgirdling Crusade."
The spirit of consecration and deepened understanding engendered by the Guardian's Message was heightened by the privilege of viewing the Portrait of the Báb, the Martyr Prophet of the Faith. One by one, kneeling before it in awe and reverence, rising to behold the likeness of the divine Herald, anointed by the Guardian's representative with attar of rose, the followers of the Cause of God besought the purity essential to service in His Kingdom.
During the afternoon of the first day of the Conference, another message from the Guardian, a cablegram, was presented. It bore a triple announcement: the completion of the Shrine of the Báb; the arrival of nineteen additional pioneers at their posts; and preliminary steps taken toward the acquisition of an extensive area preparatory to purchase of the site for the future House of Worship on Mt. Carmel, through the munificent donation by Mrs. Amelia Collins, Hand of the Cause.
The Guardian urged that this triple bounty called for concerted exertion on the part of the assembled believers to carry out a triple responsibility.
First, redoubled consecration to the task of sending-pioneers, eers, particularly into the Pacific area; second, increased self-sacrifice in order to purchase land for future Temples in Asia; third, earnest consultation by representatives of the Persian and 'Iraqi
National Spiritual Assembliesand the assembled Hands of the Cause on thorough investigation of ways and means to insure the purchase of Holy Places, particularly the site of the Siy4h-Ch6i as well as identification and transfer to Bahá'í cemeteries of the bodies of relatives of the B~b and Bahá'u'lláh. The Guardian also expressed his ardent hope that the New Delhi Conference would contribute in unprecedented degree to the ultimate attainment of the goals of the World Crusade.
The Conference agenda as prepared and printed by the Indian National Assembly was set aside at this point because of the Guardian's cable and instead, the purchase of three Temple sites, the sending of pioneers and the purchase of Holy Places in Irt*n and 'Irtq took priority and became the focus of attention.
Mr. Horace Holley emphasized the need for action and closed his talk by stating that a world poised for suicide could never be healed unless we spread the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.Dr. Ugo Giachery and other speakers reiterated the call for action.
Page 186To give inspiration and help to delegates already thinking of offering their services as pioneers, those who had taken this step in earlier years spoke of their experiences. These talks were interspersed with a steady flow of volunteering pioneers who came to the platform and were presented to the assemblage. A moving statement was made by 'Ali-Akbar Furiitan, Hand of the Cause, quoting from 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the spiritual significance of pioneering, and likening events today to the early days of Christianity.
The first of the early pioneers to speak was Mrs. Clara Dunn, Hand of the Cause, and spiritual mother of Australia and New Zealand, who said: "Dear friends, this is the most wonderful occasion of my life. My late husband, John Henry Hyde Dunn, and I responded to the Divine Plan. I want to tell those who have answered the call of the Guardian to stand and go. It will be the greatest joy and pleasure of your lives even if the tests come. We need them to prove us. Bahá'u'lláh paid the price, set the pace, and the Master ['Abdu'1-Bah6i]
gave us the path to follow. We have nothing to fear. If we have faith we can conquer the whole world. The Supreme Concourse is waiting to help us. 2'
Then Miss Agnes Alexandertold the friends that she was in Geneva, Switzerland, when World War I broke out and found herself without luggage and unable to cash her checks. On August 22, 1914, she received a letter from 'Abdu'l-Bahá telling her to go to
Japan."Of course," she said, "I had no desire but to follow the Master's wish." She explained how miraculously she was enabled to do so.
After 'Abdu'l-Bahá'ípassing, Shoghi Effendi wrote a beautiful letter to the friends in Japan in which he stated: "As attendant and secretary of 'Abdu'l-Bahá for well nigh two years after the termination of the Great War, I recall so vividly the radiant joy that transfigured His face whenever I opened before Him your supplications as well as those of
Miss Agnes Alexander.What promises He gave us all regarding the future of the Cause in that land at the close of almost every supplication I read to Him. Let me state straightaway, the most emphatic, the most inspiring of them all. These are His very words that still keep ringing in my ears: 'Japan will turn ablaze!
Japan is endowed with the most remarkable capacity for the spread of the
Cause of GodEast Africa] was then asked to speak: "I was in Tihrtin when the call of the Guardian came for pioneers for Africa, and finally I decided to go with Mr.
'Au Nakh-javtni. Overcomingmany difficulties, both of us got our visas. I settled in Kampala where 'All joined me and after some months we had two believers. We lived in a hotel and the teaching work was done while walking in the street; the morning prayers were held in the parks.
Then the Guardian permitted both Mrs. Ban~nf and me to make the pilgrimage to Haifa. He gave us many instructions and on the last day, he appointed me Hand of the Cause for Africa. While we were away, 'All had been living and teaching in the villages and when we returned, little by little the number of believers grew.
"We heard from the Guardian that the majority of believers attending the Kampala Conference would be Africans or native believers, but when the time came for the Conference, they thought they would have to stay at home to help with the harvest. Moreover, their friends had told them that the white people would gather them in and sell them as slaves.
'All and another Bahá'í went to them and said, ''All is not inviting you; BanThf is not inviting you; but you will all be guests of the Guardian.'
So many of them decided to come and thus, we had a majority of Africans at the Conference � out of two hundred and thirty people, one hundred and forty were natives.
They went back to their villages extremely happy and their suspicious relatives were surprised to see them."
Mrs. Gloria Faizi spoke of the experiences of herself and her husband,
Abu'1-Qasim Faizi:The people belong to the Sunni sect of Isl4m and whenever you openly speak about the Faith, you are advised to keep quiet if you wish to stay in Arabia. After the Guardian asked the Persians to volunteer for Arabia many wanted to go, but only two families out of forty were able to get there.
"We at Batirayn are in a position to see all the pioneers who are on the way to
Page 187The President of the Union of India, Dr. Shri Rajendra Prasad, with some members of the Baha delegation whom he received in his official residence during the Asian Intercontinental Teaching Conference held in New Delhi, October, 1953.
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Vice-President of India, with some members of the Bahá'í delegation, New Delhi, October 5, 1953.
Page 188Arabia. We see young men who have finished their studies in colleges and have obtained their degrees, leaving their education behind to take jobs as carpenters, tailors, barbers. After completing their studies, they take a short course in some manual work so that they can earn a livelihood. A large family lives in oniy one room in the winter and during the summer months of intense heat and moisture, they live on the roof of the house, which is merely a covering of palm branches and leaves. They have no water in the house, nor electricity. Their food consists of bread, rice, dates and tea, and in the winter a few vegetables.
But do not think they are less happy than people in other parts of the world.
Mr. Artemus Lamb of SouthAmerica felt that his experiences would be helpful to Occidentals: "Many believe that everything will open up right away; often there comes a rude awakening." He told how he left for South America with everything he thought would be needed.
Arriving in Mexico, he went ashore sightseeing, leaving all belongings on board the ship. Returning later to continue the next stage of the voyage, he noticed people running toward the waterfront and when he reached the wharf, there was his ship being towed out to sea in flames.
Thus he found himself in Mexico without clothes, money, or any documents for identification � indeed anything that connected him with the past. At the moment, this seemed a sign of God and he felt he should turn back.
But later in a hotel room, he began to pray and then came the realization that he must be detached from all else save God.
So he prepared his mind to go anywhere in Latin America. With the help of the Consul, he was able to go to Chile and in one-third of the time expected, arrived in the most southerly town of South America.
Mr. Jamshid Fozd~r, from Sarawak, Borneo, said that they had had their difficulties in Sarawak � difficulties in finding employment, housing and establishing themselves. Their activities came under suspicion, but they finally won the confidence of the authorities and were able to secure publicity for the Faith.
When he and Mrs. Fozdir left Sarawak, there was an assembly and fourteen members in the community.
Recently, he had heard of further enrollments.Mr. C. P. M. Anver Cadir of Thailand related that after twenty fruitless days of pioneering effort, he attended a moving picture show and saw 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í picture and a view of the Temple in Wilmette.
This gave him an opportunity to hand out literature to those leaving the theater and resulted in his being questioned by the Police Department, but eventually they approved his literature.
Mrs. Shirin Fozd6r described the results of her pioneering in Singapore and the prestige accorded her as a Bahá'í by civil authorities there. Dr. H. M. Munji of India dwelt on the difficulties a Bahá'í faces in teaching the
Cause to Hindus.Other pioneers who shared their experiences were Saced Nahvi, Pondicherry, India; Mr. 'Ilmi, P6kistTh; Mr. Mawlavi, Aden; Mrs. Salisa Kirmani, Karikal, India; Mr. Alvin Blum, New Zealand, on technique of pioneering; Dr. Lukmani, on teaching in India and Ceylon; and Mrs. Bahá'í N~diri who presented greetings from a Bahá'í pioneering in Zanzibar.
In the Guardian's first cablegram announcing the completion of the Shrine of the BTh, he requested that the Conference should hold a befitting memorial gathering to pay tribute to Hand of the Cause Sutherland Maxwell, the "immortal architect of the arcade of the superstmcture of the Shrine."
He further suggested that acknowledgement should be made on the same occasion to the "unflagging labors and vigilance of Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery in negotiating contracts, inspecting and dispatching all the materials required for the construction of the edifice," and also to the ''assiduous and constant care of Hand of the Cause Leroy Toas in supervising the construction of both the drum and the dome." Two doors of the Shrine had recently been given the names of Sutherland Maxwell and Ugo Giachery. The cable announced that a door of the octagon would be associated henceforth with the name of Leroy Joas. The memorial gathering held in accordance with the Guardian's wishes was most impressive.
Eulogies of SutherlandMaxwell were given by John Robarts, Ugo Giachery and Mason Remey. Mrs. Mildred Mottahe-deli paid tribute to Ugo Giachery and Mrs. Dorothy Baker to
Leroy Toas.Another undertaking urged by the Guardian in his first cablegram was that the Hands of the Cause, together with representatives of Ir5nian and 'Ir4qi National Spiritual Assemblies, should consult on ways and means
Page 189to acquire Holy Places of the Faith, particularly the Siytth-Ch6tl where, during His imprisonment in that foul dungeon, Bahá'u'lláh received the first intimations of His mission. It was announced later that the consultation had been held as the Guardian which he felt were of the greatest concern to the Guardian. First, the Guardian wanted more cooperation and spiritual oneness among the Bahá'ís in India coming into the Faith from different backgrounds, Hindu, Muslim and Persian. Bahá'í love should be Public reception held during the Fourth Bahá'í intercontinental Teaching Conference, New Delhi, India, October, 1953.
requested, and that Mr.City had offered to purchase the site of the Siy6~h-ChM.
This generous and courageous offer was received with great joy and word was promptly sent to the
Guardian.A second cablegram was received from the Guardian directed to the Hands of the Cause who were present at the Conference. It called upon them to disperse at the close of the Conference to teach for one or two months in Asia, Africa and Australia, in order to establish close contact with the respective National Assemblies, and assist the local assemblies to attain the goals of the Ten-Year Plan. This message laid out the itinerary of all the Hands, and the Guardian contributed three thousand pounds for the expense of the undertaking.
The evening of the third day of the Conference was given over to the Guardian's representative, Mason Remey. It was designed to bring to the delegates a more vivid realization of the Guardian as a person in lieu of his actual presence.
Mr. Remey emphasized three matters very strong among them.
In America the white and colored should be united in the same way. Second, he hoped that the friends in India would give greater emphasis now and in the future to teaching the
Hindu people. In Indiawhere there is a preponderance of Hindus as compared with the Muslims, the same proportion should be the goal: twice as many Hindus as Muslims in the Bahá'í community. Third, the Guardian was now concentrating on the Pacific islands and the surrounding countries.
Expansion of the Faith had been planned in stages and in the following order:
Latin America, the Ten GoalNow the time had come to spread the Faith in the islands of the Pacific and the countries nearby.
With this new advance, the new emphasis on reaching American Indians and Eskimos, together with consolidating the gains already won, the Bahá'ís would be busy indeed during the ten-year
World Crusade.When Mr. Remey was called upon to deliver a last word during the closing hours of the Conference, he reiterated these same
Page 190three points. At that time, Mr. Butt, Chairman of the National Spiritual
Assembly for India, Pakist~nand Burma asked Mr. Re-mey to let the Guardian know that enrollments were coming in from the Hindu peo-pie and that the National Assembly was taking action to carry out still further the Guardian's desire for the Hindus.
During the evening with the Guardian's representative, Mrs. Dorothy Baker upon being asked to give her impressions of the Guardian said: "The Guardian is a new creation. You can never fully understand his station nor describe your meeting with him. In some strange way your existence becomes changed.
You can never let go that first look when he greets you. Then the moment at table when he talks about the Faith and the teachings. It is so clear, so simple.
I left Haifa with this impression of the Guardian � the courtier and the court; the lover and the beloved; the king and the vassal of God."
It would be impossible to include in this account of the New Delhi Conference everything that deserves description. Much that added richness must be omitted and oniy brief reference can be accorded to other weighty occurrences.
Jin4b-i-fldil, who made two visits to America, sent once by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and once by the Guardian, was called upon to address the Conference. He spoke chiefly of the history of the Faith which the Guardian had asked him to write. It is to comprise nine volumes. Before coming to the Conference he had sent the completed eighth volume in manuscript form to the Guardian.
The five Hands of the'A16~'i and Dhikru'lIAh Kh6dem, all graced the Conference with their presence and were often heard as they chanted prayers and contributed to the consultations. Mr. Samandari's stories of his youthful contacts with Bahá'u'lláh were greatly appreciated.
The Conference was grieved by information from Basra
PIriqi that a Bahá'íhad recently been martyred there � the first Bahá'í to be confirmed from the ancient John the Baptist community. A eulogy of him was delivered by Kamil 'Abbas. One session was devoted to a memorial gathering in honor of Mr. Fatlj-i-A'zam, a Persian martyr. Mr. Furfitan chanted a prayer for a still more recent Bahá'í martyr of Persia. At the very first session, Siegfried Schopflocher, Hand of the Cause, who had recently passed on, was eulogized and a prayer was chanted for him.
At the request of theof India, P6idst~n and Burma, the office of Conference Chairman was assumed in daily rotation by representatives of the participating Assemblies.
The final sessions, however, devoted to the Bahá'í community of India, and the concluding hours of the Conference were conducted by our hosts in the persons of Mr. 'Abbas 'All Butt, Chairman, and Mr. A. RahnAn, Secretary.
The Vice-Chairman of theAssembly spoke on the Bahá'í School at Panchgani, which the Guardian has said will become a University. At present there are eighty-three children living there and attending classes in Bahá'í and academic subjects. Seventy-five thousand rupees [about sixteen thousand dollars] are needed now for a new school building, and additional sums for equipment, laboratory and general repairs to the existing pknt. Contributions were made for this purpose.
Mrs. Mildred Mottahedehoutlined Bahá'í activities in relation to the United
Nations. Particularlyin Istanbul was conducted in the palace of the Sulttin who persecuted Bahá'u'lláh.
The commission for interviewing pioneers headed by Alvin Blum did magnificent work; Habib Sabet very capably handled the appeal for funds; and Abu'1 Qasim Faizi's translation work was essential to the success of the Conference.
This historic gathering closed with a celebration of the Nineteen Day Feast, which signalized likewise the end of Holy Year.
Page 191HO UGH young and tender of age, and though the Cause He revealed was contrary to the desire of all the peoples of earth, both high and low, rich and poor, exalted and abased, king and subject, yet He arose and steadfastly proclaimed it. All have known and heard this.
He was afraid of no one; He was regardless of consequences.
Could such a thing be made manifest except through the power of a divine Revelation, and the potency of God's invincible Will? By the righteousness of God! Were any one to entertain so great a Revelation in his heart, the thought of such a declaration would alone confound him! Were the hearts of all men to be crowded into his heart, he would still hesitate to venture upon so awful an enterprise.
He could achieve it only by the permission of God, oniy if the channel of his heart were to be linked with the Source of divine grace, and his soul be assured of the unfailing sustenance of the Almighty. To what, We Wonder, do they ascribe so great a daring? Do they accuse Him of folly as they accused the Prophets of old? Or do they maintain that His motive was none other than leadership and the acquisition of earthly riches?
Gracious God! In His Book, which He hath entitled "Qayy6mu'1-Asmt" � the first, the greatest and mightiest of all books � He prophesied His own martyrdom. In it is this passage: "0 thou Remnant of God! I have sacrificed myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake; and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love. Sufficient Witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the Protector, the Ancient of Days!"
Likewise, in His interpretation of the letter "H&" He craved martyrdom, saying:
"Methinks I heard a Voicecalling in my inmost being: 'Do thou sacrifice the thing which Thou lovest most in the path of God, even as Uusayn, peace be upon him, hath offered up his life for My sake?' And were I not regardful of this inevitable mystery, k~ Him, Who hath my being between His hands even if all the kings of the earth were to be leagued together they would be powerless to take from me a single letter, how much less can these servants who are worthy of no attention, and who verily are of the outcast That all may know the degree of My patience, My resignation, and self-sacrifice in the path of God."
Could the Revealer of such utterance be regarded as walking any way but the way of God, and as having yearned for aught else except His good-pleasure?
In this very verse there lieth concealed a breath of detachment, which if it were to be breathed full upon the world, all beings would re-flounce their lives, and sacrifice their souls. Reflect upon the villainous behavior of this generation, and witness their astounding ingratitude. Observe how they have closed their eyes to all this glory, and are abjectly pursuing those foul carcasses from whose bellies ascendeth the cry of the swallowed substance of the faithful. And yet, what unseemly calumnies they have hurled against 189
Page 192Thus do We recount unto thee that which the hands of the infidels have wrought, they who, in the Day of Resurrection, have turned their face away from the divine Presence, whom God hath tormented with the fire of their own misbelief, and for whom He hath prepared in the world to come a chastisement which shall devour both their bodies and souls. For these have said: "God is powerless, and His hand of mercy is fettered."
Steadfastness in the Faith is a sure testimony, and a glorious evidence of the truth. Even as the "Seal of the Prophets" hath said: "Two verses have made Me old." Both these verses are indicative of constancy in the Cause of God. Even as He saith: "Be thou steadfast as thou hast been bidden."
And now consider how this Sadrili of the Ridvan of God hath, in the prime of youth, risen to proclaim the Cause of God. Behold what steadfastness that Beauty of God hath revealed.
The whole world rose to hinder Him, yet it utterly failed. The more severe the persecution they inflicted on that Sadrih of Blessedness, the more His fervor increased, and the brighter burned the flame of His love. All this is evident, and none dis-puteth its truth. Finally, He surrendered His soul, and winged His flight unto the realms above.
And among the evidences of the truth of His manifestation were the ascendancy, the transcendent power, and supremacy which He, the Revealer of being and Manifestation of the Adored, hath, unaided and alone, revealed throughout the world. No sooner had that eternal Beauty revealed Himself in Shir~z, in the year sixty, and rent asunder the veil of concealment, than the signs of the ascendancy, the might, the sovereignty, and power, emanating from that Essence of Essences and Sea of Seas, were manifest in every land.
So much so, that from every city there appeared the signs, the evidences, the tokens, the testimonies of that divine Luminary.
How many were those pure and kindly hearts which faithfully reflected the light of that eternal Sun, and how manifold the emanations of knowledge from that Ocean of divine wisdom which encompassed all beings!
In every city, all the divines and dignitaries rose to hinder and repress them, and girded up the loins of malice, of envy, and tyranny for their suppression. How great the number of those holy souls, those essences of justice, who, accused of tyranny, were put to death! And how many embodiments of purity, who showed forth naught but true knowledge and stainless deeds, suffered an agonizing death! Notwithstanding all this, each of these holy beings, up to his last moment, breathed the Name of God, and soared in the realm of submission and resignation. Such was the potency and transmuting influence which He exercised over them, that they ceased to cherish any desire but His will, and wedded their soul to His remembrance.
Reflect: Who in this world is able to manifest such transcendent power, such pervading influence?
All these stainless hearts and sanctified souls have, with absolute resignation, responded to the summons of His decree.
Instead of complaining, they rendered thanks unto God, and amidst the darkness of their anguish they revealed naught but radiant acquiescence to His will. It is evident how relentless was the hate, and how bitter the malice and enmity entertained by all the peoples of the earth towards these companions.
The persecution and pain they inflicted on these holy and spiritual beings were regarded by them as means unto salvation, prosperity, and everlasting success. Hath the world, since the days of Adam, witnessed such tumult, such violent commotion?
Notwithstanding all the torture they suffered, and manifold the afflictions they endured, they became the object of universal opprobrium and execration. Methinks, patience was revealed only by virtue of their fortitude, and faithfulness itself was begotten only by their deeds.
Do thou ponder these momentous happenings in thy heart, so that thou mayest apprehend the greatness of this Revelation, and perceive its stupendous glory.
(pp. 230236)CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE BAR 191
2. 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ'Í TRIBUTE TO THE BabFOR the B~b,1 � may my soul be His sacrifice! � at a youthful age, that is to say when He had reached the twenty-fifth year of His blessed life, He stood forth to proclaim His Cause. It was universally admitted by the Shiites that He had never studied in any school, and had not acquired knowledge from any teacher; all the people of SThr~iz bear witness to this. Nevertheless, He suddenly appeared before the people, endowed with the most complete erudition.
Although He was but a merchant, He confounded all the 'Ulama2 of Persia.
All alone, in a way which is beyond imagination, He upheld the Cause against the Persians, who are renowned for their religious fanaticism. This illustrious soiM arose with such power that He shook the supports of the religion, of the morals, the conditions, the habits, and the customs of Persia, and instituted new rules, new laws, and a new religion. Though the great personages of the State, nearly all the clergy, and the public men, arose to destroy 1 The Báb is here designated by His title Uazrati 'A1~,
His Supreme Highness;but for the convenience of the reader we shall continue to designate Him by the name under which He is known throughout Europe, i.e., the Bib.
2 Doctors of the religion of Isl5m.and annihilate him, He alone withstood them, and moved the whole of
Persia.Many 'Ulam& and public men, as well as other people, joyfully sacrificed their lives in His Cause, and hastened to the plain of martyrdom.
The government, the nation, the doctors of divinity, and the great personages, desired to extinguish His light, but they could not do so. At last His moon arose, His star shone forth, His foundations became firmly established, and His dawning-place became brilliant. He imparted divine education to an unenlightened multitude and produced marvelous results on the thoughts, morals, customs, and conditions of the Persians. He announced the glad tidings of the manifestation of the Sun of Baha to His followers, and prepared them to believe.
The appearance of such wonderful signs and great results, the effects produced upon the minds of the people, and upon the prevailing ideas; the establishment of the foundations of progress, and the organization of the principles of success and prosperity by a young merchant, constitute the greatest proof that He was a perfect educator.
A just person will never hesitate to believe this.
(pp. 303])MOVED share (with) assembled representatives (of)
American Bahá'í Communitygathered beneath (the) dome (of the) Most Holy House (of) Worship (in the) Bahá'í world, feelings (of) profound emotion evoked (by this) historic occasion (of the) worldwide commemoration (of the) First Centenary (of the) Martyrdom (of the) Blessed Bib,
Prophet (and) Herald(of the) Faith (of) Bahá'u'lláh, Founder (of the) Dispensation marking (the) culmination (of the) six thousand year old Adamic Cycle, Inaugurator (of the) five thousand century
Bahá'í Cycle.Poignantly call (to) mind (the) circumstances attending (the) last act consummating (the) tragic ministry (of the) Master-Hero (of the) most sublime drama (in the) religious annals (of) mankind, signalizing (the) most dramatic event (of the) most turbulent period (of the) Heroic Age (of the) Bahá'í Dispensation, destined (to) be recognized (by) posterity (as the) most precious, momentous sacrifice (in the)
Page 194Recall (the) peerless tributes paid (to) His memory by (the) Founder (of the) Faith, acclaiming
Him Monarch (of) God'sPoint round Whom (the) realities (of) all (the) Prophets circle in adoration. Profoundly stirred (by the) memory (of the) agonies He suffered, (the) glad-tidings He announced, (the) warnings He uttered, (the) forces He set (in) motion, (the) adversaries He converted, (the) disciples He raised up, (the) conflagrations He precipitated, (the) legacy He left (of) faith (and) courage, (the) love
He inspired. Acknowledgewith bowed head, joyous, thankful heart (the) successive, marvelous evidence (of) His triumphant power (in the) course (of the) hundred years elapsed since (the) last crowning act (of) His meteoric
Ministry.(The) creative energies released (at the) hour (of the) birth (of) His Revelation, endowing mankind (with the) potentialities (of the) attainment (of) maturity (are) deranging, during (the) present transitional age, (the) equilibrium (of the) entire planet (as the) inevitable prelude (to the) consummation (in) world unity (of the) coming (of) age (of the) human race. (The) portentous (but) unheeded warnings addressed (to) kings, princes, ecciesiastics (are) responsible (for the) successive overthrow (of) fourteen monarchies (of) East (and) West, (the) collapse (of the) institution (of the) Caliphate, (the) virtual extinction (of the) Pope's temporal sovereignty, (the) progressive decline (in the) fortunes (of the) ecclesiastical hierarchies (of the) Is1~mic, Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, (and) Hindu Faiths.
(The) Order eulogized (and) announced (in) His writings, whose laws Bahá'u'lláh subsequently revealed (in the) Most Holy Book, whose features 'Abdu'l-Bahá delineated (in His) Testament, (is) now passing through (its) embryonic stage through (the) emergence (of the) initial institutions (of the) world administrative order (in the) five continents (of the) globe. (The) clarion call sounded (in the) Qayy4mu'I-Asm~', summoning (the) peoples (of the) West (to) forsake (their) homes (and) proclaim His message, (was) nobly answered (by the) communities (of the) western hemisphere headed (by the) valorous, stalwart American believers, (the) chosen vanguard (of the) all-conquering, irresistibly-march-ing ing army (of the) Faith (in the) Western world.
(The) embryonic Faith, maturing three years after His martyrdom, traversing (the) period (of) infancy (in the) course (of the) Heroic Age (of the) Faith (is) now steadily progressing towards maturity (in the) present Formative Age, destined (to) attain full stature (in the)
Golden Age (of the) Bahá'í Dispensation.(of) infinite preciousness, holding within itself incalculable potentialities representing (the) culmination (of the) centuries-old process (of the) evolution (of) humanity through (the) energies released by (the) series (of) progressive Revelations starting with Adam (and) concluded (by the) Revelation (of the) Seal (of the) Prophets, marked by (the) successive appearance (of the) branches, leaves, buds, blossoms (and) plucked, after six brief years (by the) hand (of) destiny, ground (in the) mill (of) martyrdom (and) oppression (but) yielding (the) oil whose first flickering light cast (upon the) somber, subterranean walls (of the) SivAh-Ch6i (of) TihrAn, whose fire gathered brilliance (in) Baghd&d (and) shone (in) full resplendency (in) its crystal globe (in) Acirianople, whose rays warmed (and) illuminated (the) fringes (of the) American, European, Australian continents through (the) tender mm-isterings (of the) Center (of the) Covenant, whose radiance is now overspreading (the) surface (of the) globe during (the) present Formative Age, whose full splendor (is) destined (in the) course (of) future mu-leniums (to) suffuse (the) entire planet.
Already the crushing (of) this God-imbued kernel upon (the) anvil (of) adversity (has) ignited (the) first sparks (of the) Holy Fire Latent within it through (the) emergence (of the) firmly-knit world-encompassing community constituting no less (than) twenty-five hundred centers established throughout a hundred countries representing over thirty races (and) extending as far north as (the) Arctic Circle (and) as far south (as the) Straits (of) Magallanes, equipped (with) literature translated (into) sixty languages (and) possessing endowments nearing ten million dollars, enriched through (the) erection (of) two Houses (of) Worship (in the) heart (of the) Asiatic (and) North American continents. (the) stately mausoleum reared (in) its World Center, consolidated through
Page 195CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE BAR 193
(the) incorporation (of) over (a) hundred (of) its national (and) local Assemblies (and) reinforced through (the) proclamation (of) its independence (in the) East, its recognition (in the) West, eulogized by royalty, buttressed (by) nine pillars sustaining (the) future structure (of) its supreme administrative council, energized through (the) simultaneous prosecution (of) specific plans conducted (under the) aegis (of) its national councils designed (to) enlarge (the) limits (and) extend (the) ramifications (and) consolidate (the) foundations (of) its divinely-appointed administrative order (over the) surface (of the) entire planet.
(I) appeal (on) this solemn occasion, rendered doubly sacred through (the) approaching hundredth anniversary (of the) most devastating holocaust (in the) annals (of the) Faith, (at) this anxious hour (in the) fortunes (of this) travailing age, (to the) entire body (of the) American believers, (the) privileged occupants (and) stouthearted defenders (of the) foremost citadel (of the) Faith, (to) rededicate themselves (and) resolve, no matter how great (the) perils confronting (their) sister communities (on the) European, Asiatic, African (and) Australian continents, however somber (the) situation facing both (the) cradle (of the) Faith (and) its world center, however grievous (the) vicissitudes they themselves may eventually suffer, (to) hold aloft unflinchingly (the) torch (of the) Faith impregnated (with the) blood (of) innumerable martyrs (and) transmit it unimpaired so that it may add luster (to) future generations destined (to) labor after them.
Haifa, Israel July 4, 1950.That the Báb, the inaugurator of the B~bi Dispensation, is fully entitled to rank as one of the self-sufficient Manifestations of God, that He has been invested with sovereign power and authority, and exercises all the rights and prerogatives of independent Prophet-hood, is yet another fundamental verity which the Message of Bahá'u'lláh insistently proclaims and which its followers must uncompromisingly uphold. That He is not to be regarded merely as an inspired Precursor of the Bahá'í Revelation, that in His person, as He Himself bears witness in the Persian Baydn, the object of all the Prophets gone before Him has been fulfilled, is a truth which I feel it my duty to demonstrate and emphasize. We would assuredly be failing in our duty to the Faith we profess and would be violating one of its basic and sacred principles if in our words or by our conduct we hesitate to recognize the implications of this root principle of Bahá'í belief, or refuse to uphold unreservedly its integrity and demonstrate its truth. Indeed the chief motive actuating me to undertake the task of editing and translating Nabil's immortal Narrative has been to enable every follower of the Faith in the West to better understand and more readily grasp the tremendous implications of His exalted station and to more ardently admire and love Him.
There can be no doubt that the claim to the twofold station ordained for the ]Thb by the Almighty, a claim which lie Himself has so boldly advanced, which Bahá'u'lláh has repeatedly affirmed, and to which the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá has finally given the sanction of its testimony, constitutes the most distinctive feature of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
It is a further evidence of its uniqueness, a tremendous accession to the strength, to the mysterious power and authority with which this holy cycle has been invested. Indeed the greatness of the Báb consists primarily, not in His being the divinely-appointed Forerunner of so transcendent a Revelation, but rather in His having been invested with the powers inherent in the inaugurator of a separate re
Page 196ligious Dispensation, and in His wielding, to a degree unrivaled by the Messengers gone before Him, the scepter of independent Prophethood.
The short duration of His Dispensation, the restricted range within which His laws and ordinances have been made to operate, supply no criterion whatever wherewith to judge its Divine origin and to evaluate the potency of its message. "That so brief a span," Bahá'u'lláh Himself explains, "should have separated this most mighty and wondrous
Revelation from Mineown previous Manifestation, is a secret that no man can unravel and a mystery such as no mind can fathom. Its duration had been foreordained, and no man shall ever discover its reason unless and until he be informed of the contents of My Hidden Book." "Behold," Bahá'u'lláh further explains in the Kit~�b-i-]ladP, one of His works refuting the arguments of the people of the BayAn, "behold, how immediately upon the completion of the ninth year of this wondrous, this most holy and merciful Dispensation, the requisite number of pure, of wholly consecrated and sanctified souls had been most secretly consummated."
The marvelous happenings that have heralded the advent of the Founder of the Báb Dispensation, the dramatic circumstances of His own eventful life, the miraculous tragedy of His martyrdom, the magic of His influence exerted on the most eminent and powerful among His countrymen, to all of which every chapter of Nabil's stirring narrative testifies, should in themselves be regarded as sufficient evidence of the validity of His claim to so exalted a station among the Prophets.
However graphic the record which the eminent chronicler of His life has transmUted to posterity, so luminous a narrative must pale before the glowing tribute paid to the BTh by the pen of Bahá'u'lláh.
This tribute the BTh Himself has, by the clear assertion of His claim, abundantly supported, while the written testimonies of 'Abdu'l-Bahá have powerfully reinforced its character and elucidated its meaning.
Where else if not in the Kitáb-i-IqAn can the student of the BAN Dispensation seek to find those affirmations that unmistakably attest the power and spirit which no man, except he be a Manifestation of God, can manifest?
"Could such a thing," exclaims Bahá'u'lláh, "be made manifest except through the power of a Divine Revelation and the potency of God's invincible Will? By the righteousness of God!
Were any one to entertain so great a Revelation in his heart the thought of such a declaration would alone confound him!
Were the hearts of all men to be crowded into his heart, he would still hesitate to venture upon so awful an enterprise."
"No eye," He in another passage affirms, "bath beheld so great an outpouring of bounty, nor bath any ear heard of such a Revelation of loving-kind ness The Prophets 'endowed with con stancy,' whose loftiness and glory shine as the sun, were each honored with a Book which all have seen, and the verses of which have been duly ascertained. Whereas the verses which have rained from this Cloud of divine mercy have been so abundant that none hath yet been able to estimate their number How can they belittle this Revelation? Hath any age witnessed such momentous happenings?"
Commenting on the character and influence of those heroes and martyrs whom the spirit of the Báb had so magically transformed Bahá'u'lláh reveals the following: "If these companions be not the true strivers after God, who else could be called by this name? Ii these companions, with all their marvelous testimonies and wondrous works, be false, who then is worthy to claim for himself the truth? Has the world since the days of Adam witnessed such tumult, such violent commotion? Methinks, patience was revealed only by virtue of their fortitude, and faithfulness itself was begotten only by their deeds."
Wishing to stress the sublimity of the Báb's exalted station as compared with that of the Prophets of the past, Bahá'u'lláh in that same epistle asserts: "No understanding can grasp the nature of His Revelation, nor can any knowledge comprehend the full measure of His Faith." He then quotes, m confirmation of His argument, these prophetic words: "Knowledge is twenty and seven letters.
All that the Prophets have revealed are two letters thereof. No man thus far hath known more than these two letters. But when the Qd'im shall arise, He will cause the remaining twenty and five letters to be made manifest." "Behold," He adds, "how great and lofty is His station!
His rank excelleth that of all the Prophets and His Revelation transcendeth the corn prehension and understanding of all their chosen
Page 197CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 195
ones." "Of His Revelation," He further adds, "thesaints and chosen ones, have either not been informed, or, in pursuance of God's inscrutable decree, they have not disclosed."
Of all the tributes which Bahá'u'lláh's unerring pen has chosen to pay to the memory of the ~ His "Best-Beloved," the most memorable and touching is this brief, yet eloquent passage which so greatly enhances the value of the concluding passages of that same epistle.
"Amidst them all," He writes, referring to the afflictive trials and dangers besetting him in the city of Baghdad, "We stand life in hand wholly resigned to His Will, that perchance through God's loving kindness and grace, this revealed and mani-jest Letter (Bahá'u'lláh) may lay down His life as a sacrifice in the path of the Primal Point, the most exalted Word (the Bin). By Him, at Whose bidding the Spirit hath spoken, but for this yearning of Our soul, We would not, for one moment, have tarried any longer in this city."
Dearly-beloved friends!So resounding a praise, so bold an assertion issued by the pen of Bahá'u'lláh in so weighty a work, are fully reechoed in the language in which the Source of the BThf Revelation has chosen to clothe the claims He Himself has advanced. "I am the Mystic Fane," the B~b thus proclaims His station in the Qayytimu'1-Asm~' "Yvhich the Hand of Omnipotence hath reared. I am the Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit within its niche and caused to shine with deathless splendor. I am the Flame of that supernal Light that glowed upon Sinai in the gladsome Spot, and lay concealed in the midst of the Burning Bush."
"0 Qurratu'l-'Ayn!" He, addressing Himself in that same commentary, exclaims, "I recognize in Thee none other except the 'Great Announcement' � the Announcement voiced by the Concourse on high.
By this name, I bear witness, they that circle the Throne of Glory have ever known Thee." "With each and every Prophet, Whom We have sent down in the past," He further adds, "We have established a separate Covenant concerning the 'Remern-brance of God' and His Day. Manifest, in the realm of glory and through the power of truth, are the 'Remembrance of God' and His Day before the eyes of the angels that circle His mercy-seat."
"Should it be Our wish," He again affirms, "it is in Our power to compel, through the agency of but one letter of Our Revelation, the world and all that is therein to recognize, in less than the twinkling of an eye, the truth of Our Cause."
"I am the Primal Point," the B~~b thus addresses Mul:iammad Sh~1h from the prison-fortress of MTh-K~i, "from which have been generated all created things I am the Countenance of God Whose splendor can never be obscured, the light of God whose radiance can never fade All the keys of heaven God hath chosen to place on My right hand, and all the keys of hell on My left I am one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God. Whosoever hath recognized Me, bath known all that is true and right, and hath attained all that is good and seemly The substance wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay out of which others have been formed. He hath conferred upon Me that which the worldly-wise can never comprehend, nor the faithful discover."
"Should a tiny ant," the BTh, wishing to stress the limitless potentialities latent in His Dispensation, characteristically affirms, "desire in this day to be possessed of such power as to be able to unravel the abstrusest and mast bewildering passages of the Qur'an, its wish will no doubt be fulfilled, inasmuch as the mystery of eternal might vibrates within the innermost being of all created things." "If so helpless a creature," is 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í comment on so startling an affirmation, "can be endowed with so subtle a capacity, how much more efficacious must he the power released through the liberal eflusions of the grace of Bahá'u'lláh!"
To these authoritative assertions and solemn declarations made by Bahá'u'lláh and the B~b must be added 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í own incontrovertible testimony.
He, the appointed interpreter of the utterances of both Bahá'u'lláh and the BTh, corroborates, not by implication but in clear and categorical language, both in His Tablets and in His Testament, the truth of the statements to which I have already referred.
In a Tablet addressed to a Bahá'í in M6zindadjn, in which He unfolds the meaning of a misinterpreted statement attributed to Him regarding the rise of the Sun of Truth in this century, He sets forth, briefly but conclusively, what should remain for all time our true conception of the relationship between the two Manifestations associated with the Bahá'í
Dispensation. "Inmaking such a statement," He explains, "I had in mind no one else except the BeTh and Bahá'u'lláh, the character of whose Revelations it had been my purpose to elucidate. The Revelation of the Báb may be likened to the sun, its station corresponding to the first sign of the Zodiac � the sign Aries � which the sun enters at the Vernal Equinox. The station of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation, on the other hand, is represented by the sign Leo, the sun's midsummer and highest station.
By this is meant that this holy Dispensation is illumined with the light of the Sun of Truth shining from its most exalted station, and in the plenitude of its resplendency, its heat and glory."
"The Báb, the ExaltedOne," 'Abdu'l-Bahá. more specifically affirms in another Tablet, "is the Morn of Truth, the splendor of Whose light shineth throughout all regions. He is also the Harbinger of the Most Great Light, the Abhd Luminary.
The Blessed Beauty is the One promised by the sacred books of the past, the revelation of the Source of light that shone upon Mount Sinai, Whose fire glowed in the midst of the Burning Bush. We are, one and all, servants ol their threshold, and stand each as a lowly keeper at their door."
"Every proof and prophecy," is His still more emphatic warning, "every manner of evidence, whether based on reason or on the text of the scriptures and traditions, are to be regarded as centered in the persons of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb. In them is to be found their complete fulfillment."
And finally, in His Will and Testament, the repository of His last wishes and parting instructions, He in the following passage, specifically designed to set forth the guiding principles of Bahá'í belief, sets the seal of His testimony on the Báb's dual and exalted station: "The foundation of the belief of the people of Baha (may my life be o0ered up for them) is this: His holiness the exalted One (the BeTh) is the Manifestation of the unity and oneness of God and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh). His holiness, the Abhd Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh) (may my life be offered up as a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme Manifestation of God and the DaySpring of His most divine Essence."
"All others," He significantly adds, "are servants unto Him and do His bidding."
(pp. 12312 8)THE waves of dire tribulation that no-lently battered at the Faith, and eventually engulfed, in rapid succession, the ablest, the dearest and most trusted disciples of the Báb, plunged Him, as already observed, into unutterable sorrow.
For no less than six months the Prisoner of Chihriq, His chronicler has recorded, was unable to either write or dictate. Crushed with grief by the evil tidings that came so fast upon Him, of the endless trials that beset His ablest lieutenants, by the agonies suffered by the besieged and the shameless betrayal of the survivors, by the woeful afflictions endured by the captives and the abominable butchery of men, women and children, as well as the foul indignities heaped on their corpses, He, for nine days, His amanuensis has affirmed, re
* Chapter IV.fused to meet any of His friends, and was reluctant to touch the meat and drink that was offered Him. Tears rained continually from His eyes, and profuse expressions of anguish poured forth from His wounded heart, as He languished, for no less than five months, solitary and disconsolate, in His prison.
The pillars of His infant Faith had, for the most part, been hurled down at the first onset of the hurricane that had been loosed upon it. Quddds, immortalized by Him as Ismu'llThi'1-Akhir (the Last Name of God); on whom Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet of Kullu't-Ta'im later conferred the sublime appellation of Nuqtiy-i-UlsbrA (the Last Point); whom He elevated, in another Tablet, to a rank second to none except that of the Herald of His Revelation; whom He identifies, in still another Tablet, with one of the
Page 199CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 197
"Messengers charged with imposture" mentioned in the Qur'ttn; whom the Persian BayAn extolled as that fellow-pilgrim round whom mirrors to the number of eight V4-hids revolve; on whose "detachment and the sincerity of whose devotion to God's will God prideth Himself amidst the Concourse on high;" whom 'Abdu'l-Bahá designated as the "Moon of Guidance;" and whose appearance the Revelation of St. John the Divine anticipated as one of the two "Wit-nesses" into whom, ere the "second woe is past," the "spirit of life from God" must enter � such a man had, in the full bloom of his youth, suffered, in the Sabzih-Mayd~n of B~rfurash a death which even Jesus Christ, as attested by Bahá'u'lláh, had not faced in the hour of His greatest agony.
Mu11~ I~-sayn, the first Letter of the Living, surnamed the B4bu'1-B~b (the Gate of the Gate); designated as the "Primal Mirror;" on whom eulogies, prayers and visiting Tablets of a number equivalent to thrice the volume of the Qur'an had been lavished by the pen of the Báb; referred to in these eulogies as "beloved of My Heart;" the dust of whose grave, that same Pen had declared, was so potent as to cheer the sorrowful and heal the sick; whom "the creatures, raised in the beginning and in the end" of the BThI Dispensation, envy, and will continue to envy till the "Day of Judgment;" whom the Kitáb-i-Iqan acclaimed as the one but for whom "God would not have been established upon the seat of His mercy, nor ascended the throne of eternal glory;" to whom Siyyid K4im had paid such tribute that his disciples suspected that the recipient of such praise might well be the promised One Himself � such a one had likewise, in the prime of his manhood, died a martyr's death at Tabarsi. Vahid, pronounced in the Kitáb-i-Iq~in to be the "unique and peerless figure of his age," a man of immense erudition and the most preeminent figure to enlist under the banner of the new Faith, to whose "talents and saintliness," to whose "high attainments in the realm of science and philosophy" the Bib had testified in His DaU'il-i-Sab'ih (Seven Proofs), had already, under similar circumstances, been swept into the maelstrom of another upheaval, and was soon to quaff in his turn the cup drained by the heroic martyrs of M~zindar~n. Jjujj at, another champion of conspicuous audacity, of unsubduable will, of remarkable originality and vehement zeal, was being, swiftly and inevitably, drawn into the fiery furnace whose flames had already enveloped Zanjan and its environs. The BTh's maternal uncle, the only father He had known since His childhood, His shield and support and the trusted guardian of both His mother and His wife, had, moreover, been sundered from Him by the axe of the executioner in Tihr4n. No less than half of His chosen disciples, the Letters of the Living, had already preceded Him in the field of martyrdom.
TAhirih, though still alive, was courageously pursuing a course that was to lead her inevitably to her doom.
A fast ebbing life, so crowded with the accumulated anxieties, disappointments, treacheries and sorrows of a tragic ministry, now moved swiftly towards its climax. The most turbulent period of the Heroic Age of the new Dispensation was rapidly attaining its culmination.
The cup of bitter woes which the Herald of that Dispensation had tasted was now full to overflowing. Indeed, He Himself had already foreshadowed His own approaching death.
In the Kit6.b-i-Panj-Sha'n one of His last works, He had alluded to the fact that the sixth Naw-Rtiz after the declaration of His mission would be the last He was destined to celebrate on earth.
In His interpretation of the letter Wi, He had voiced His craving for martyrdom, while in the Qayyfimu'1-Asma' lie had actually prophesied the inevitability of such a consummation of His glorious career.
Forty days before His final departure from Chih-riq He had even collected all the documents in His possession, and placed them, together with His pen-case, His seals and His rings, in the hands of
Mulhi B&qir, a Letterof the Living, whom He instructed to entrust them to Mu11~ 'Abdu'1-Karim-i-Qazvini, surnamed Mirza Alimad, who was to deliver them to Bahá'u'lláh in Tihr~n.
While the convulsions of M~tzindar~n and Nayriz were pursuing their bloody course the Grand Vizir of NA~iri'd-Din Shdh anxiously pondering the significance of these dire happenings, and apprehensive of their repercussions on his countrymen, his government and his sovereign, was feverishly revolving in his mind that fateful decision which was not oniy destined to leave its indelible imprint on the fortunes of his country, but was to be fraught with such incalculable consequences for the destinies of the whole of mankind. The repressive incas
Page 200ures taken against the followers of the Báb, he was by now fully convinced, had but served to inflame their zeal, steel their resolution and confirm their loyalty to their persecuted Faith. The ETh's isolation and captivity had produced the opposite effect to that which the Amir-Niz~im had confidently anticipated.
Gravely perturbed, he bitterly condemned the disastrous leniency of his predecessor, IJAji Mirza Aq~si, which had brought matters to such a pass.
A more drastic and still more exemplary punishment, he felt, must now be administered to what he regarded as an abomination of heresy which was polluting the civil and ecclesiastical institutions of the realm.
Noth~ ing short, he believed, of the extinction of the life of Him Who was the fountainhead of so odious a doctrine and the driving force behind so dynamic a movement couki stem the tide that had wrought such havoc throughout the land.
The siege of Zanj6tn was still in progress when he, dispensing with an explicit order from his sovereign, and acting independently of his counsellors and fellow-ministers, dispatched his order to Prince Ijamzih Mirza, the lisbmatu'd-Dawlih, the governor of Mhirb~yj~n, instructing him to execute the Báb. Fearing lest the infliction of such condign punishment in the capital of the realm would set in motion forces he might be powerless to control, he ordered that his Captive be taken to Tabriz, and there be done to death. Confronted with a flat refusal by the indignant Prince to perform what he regarded as a flagitious crime, the Amir-Ni$m commissioned his own brother, Mirza Hasan Khftn, to execute his orders. The usual formalities designed to secure the necessary authorization from the leading mujtahids of Tabriz were hastily and easily completed.
Neither Mulh Mu1~am-mad-i-Mamiq6~ni, however, who had penned the Báb's death-warrant on the very day of His examination in Tabriz, nor H6Ji Mirza B&jir, nor Mulli Murtacj4-Quli, to whose houses their Victim was ignominiously led by the farr6.~h-b~shi, by order of the Grand Vizir, condescended to meet face to face their dreaded Opponent.
Immediately before and soon after this humiliating treatment meted out to the Báb two highly significant incidents occurred, incidents that cast an illuminating light on the mysterious circumstances surrounding the opening phase of His martyrdom.
dom. The farrAsh-bAshi had abruptly interrupted the last conversation which the Báb was confidentially having in one of the rooms of the barracks with
His amanuensis SiyyidIjusayn, and was drawing the latter aside, and severely rebuking him, when he was thus addressed by his Prisoner: "Not until I have said to him all those things that I wish to say can any earthly power silence Me. Though all the world be armed against Me, yet shall it be powerless to deter Me from fulfilling, to the last word, My inten-don."
To the Christian SdmKMn � the colonel of the Armenian regiment ordered to carry out the execution � who, seized with fear lest his act should provoke the wrath of God, had begged to be released from the duty imposed upon him, the BTh gave the following assurance: "Follow your instructions, and if your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you of your perplexity."
S~m KhAn accordingly set out to discharge his duty. A spike was driven into a pillar which separated two rooms of the barracks facing the square. Two ropes were fastened to it from which the BTh and one of his disciples, the youthful and devout Mirza Muhammad-'AII-i-Zurnizi, surnamed Anis, who had previously flung himself at the feet of his Master and implored that under no circumstances he be sent away from Him, were separately suspended.
The firing squad ranged itself in three files, each of two hundred and fifty men. Each file in turn opened fire until the whole detachment had discharged its bullets.
So dense was the smoke from the seven hundred and fifty rifles that the sky was darkened.
As soon as the smoke had cleared away the astounded multitude of about ten thousand souls, who had crowded onto the roof of the barracks, as well as the tops of the adjoining houses, beheld a scene which their eyes could scarcely believe.
The B~b had vanished from their sight! Only his companion remained, alive and unscathed, standing beside the wall on which they had been suspended.
The ropes by which they had been hung alone were severed.
"The Siyyid-i-B4b has gone from our sight!"cried out the bewildered spectators. A frenzied search immediately ensued. He was found, unhurt and unruffled, in the very room He had occupied the night before, engaged in completing His interrupted conversation with His amanuensis.
"1 havefinished My conversation with Siyyid Ijusayn" were the words with which the Prisoner, so providentially preserved, greeted the appearance of the farrAsh-bfishi "Now you may proceed to fulfill your intention."
Recalling the bold assertion his Prisoner had previously made, and shaken by so stunning a revelation, the farr4sh-bAsjhi quitted instantly the scene, and resigned his post.
8gm Kh~n likewise, remembering, with feelings of awe and wonder, the reassuring words addressed to him by the Bib, ordered his men to leave the barracks immediately, and swore, as he left the courtyard, never again, even at the cost of his life, to repeat that act. Aq~ Thn-i-Khamsih colonel of the bodyguard, volunteered to replace him. On the same wall and in the same manner the Báb and His companion were again suspended, while the new regiment formed in line and opened fire upon them. This time, however, their breasts were riddled with bullets, and their bodies completely dissected, with the exception of their faces which were but little marred. "0 wayward generation!" were the last words of the W�b to the gazing multitude, as the regiment prepared to fire its volley, "Had you believed in Me every one of you would have followed the example of this youth, who stood in rank above most of you, and would have willingly sacrificed himself in My path. The day will come when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall have ceased to be with you."
Nor was this all. The very moment the shots were fired a gale of exceptional via-lence arose and swept over the city. From noon till night a whirlwind of dust obscured the light of the sun, and blinded the eyes of the people.
In Shir4z an "earthquake," foreshadowed in no less weighty a Book than the Revelation of St. John, occurred in 1268 AlT, which threw the whole city into turmoil and wrought havoc amongst its people, a havoc that was greatly aggravated by the outbreak of cholera, by famine and other afflictions.
In that same year no less than two hundred and fifty of the firing squad, that had replaced S&m Kh6n's regiment, met their death, together with their officers, in a terrible earthquake, while the remaining five hundred suffered, three years later, as a punishment for their mutiny, the same fate as that which their hands had inflicted upon the Bib. To insure sure that none of them had survived, they were riddled with a second volley, after which their bodies, pierced with spears and lances, were exposed to the gaze of the people of Tabriz.
The prime instigator of the Báb's death, the implacable Amir-Ni4m, together with his brother, his chief accomplice, met their death within two years of that savage act.
On the evening of the very day of the Báb's execution, which fell on the ninth of July 1850 (28th of ShaiAn 1266 A.113, during the thirty-first year of His age and the seventh of His ministry, the mangled bodies were transferred from the courtyard of the barracks to the edge of the moat outside the gate of the city. Four companies, each consisting of ten sentinels, were ordered to keep watch in turn over them.
On the following morning the Russian Consul in Tabriz visited the spot, and ordered the artist who had accompanied him to make a drawing of the remains as they lay beside the moat. In the middle of the following night a follower of the Báb, Wji Sulaym6n KlAn succeeded, through the instrumentality of a certain IjAji Allih-YAr, in removing the bodies to the silk factory owned by one of the believers of Mi1~n, and laid them, the next day, in a specially made wooden casket, which he later transferred to a place of safety.
Meanwhile the mu11~s were boastfully proclaiming from the pulpits that, whereas the holy body of the Immaculate Im~m would be preserved from beasts of prey and from all creeping things, this man's body had been devoured by wild animals. No sooner had the news of the transfer of the remains of the Báb and of His fellow-sufferer been communicated to Bahá'u'lláh than lie ordered that same Sulaym5n KTh~n to bring them to Tihr4n, where they were taken to the Im~m-Thdih-t{asan, from whence they were removed to different places, until the time when, in pursuance of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í instructions, they were transferred to the Holy Land, and were permanently and ceremoniously laid to rest by Him in a specially erected mausoleum on the slopes of Mt. Carmel.
Thus ended a life which posterity will recognize as standing at the confluence of two universal prophetic cycles, the Adamic Cycle stretching back as far as the first dawnings of the world's recorded religious history and the Bahá'í Cycle destined to propel itself across the unborn reaches of
Page 202time for a period of no less than five thousand centuries. The apotheosis in which such a life attained its consummation marks, as already observed, the culmination of the most heroic phase of the Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation. It can, moreover, be regarded in no other light except as the most dramatic, the most tragic event transpiring within the entire range of the first Baha century.
Indeed it can be rightly acclaimed as unparalled in the annals of the lives of all the Founders of the world's existing religious systems.
So momentous an event could hardly fail to arouse widespread and keen interest even beyond the confines of the land in which it had occurred. "C'est un des plus magnifi-ques exemples de courage qu'il ait 6t6 donn6 h 1'humanit6 de contempler," is the testimony recorded by a Christian scholar and government official, who had lived in Persia and had familiarized himself with the life and teachings of the Báb, "et c'est aussi une admirable preuve de 1'amour que notre h& ros portait ~ ses concitoyens. II s'est sacrifi6 pour 1'humanit6: pour elle ii a donn6 son corps et son &me, pour elle ii a subi les privations, les affronts, les injures, Ia torture Ct Ic martyre. II a scell6 de son sang le pacte de la fraternit6 universelle, Ct comme J6sus ii a pay6 de sa vie 1'annonce du r~gne de la concorde, de 1'6quit6 et de 1'amour du pro-chain." "Un fait 6trange, unique dans les annales de 1'humanit6," is a further testimony from the pen of that same scholar commenting on the circumstances attending the BTh's martyrdom.
"A veritable miracle," is the pronouncement made by a noted French Orientalist.
"A true God-man," is the verdict of a famous British traveler and writer.
"The finest product of his country," is the tribute paid Him by a noted French publicist.
"That Jesus of the age a prophet, and more than a prophet," is the judament passed by a distinguished
English divine. "Themost important religious movement since the foundation of Christianity," is the possibility that was envisaged for the Faith the Báb had established by that far-famed Oxford scholar, the late Master of Balliol.
"Many persons from all parts of the world," is 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í written assertion, "set out for Persia and began to investigate wholeheartedly the matter." The Czar of Russia, a contemporary chronicler has written, had even, shortly before the Báb's martyrdom, instructed the Russian Consul in Tabriz to fully inquire into, and report the circumstances of so startling a Movement, a commission that could not be carried out in view of the Báb's execution.
In countries as remote as those of Western Europe an interest no less profound was kindled, and spread with great rapidity to literary, artistic, diplomatic and intellectual circles. "All Europe," attests the abovementioned French publicist, "was stirred to pity and indignation Among the litt6rateurs of my generation, in the Paris of 1890, the martyrdom of the Báb was still as fresh a topic as had been the first news of His death. We wrote poems about Him. Sarah Bernhardt entreated Catulle Mend~s for a play on the theme of this historic tragedy." A Russian poetess, member of the Philosophic,
Oriental and BibliologicalSocieties of St. Petersburg, published in 1903 a drama entitled "The flAb," which a year later was played in one of the principal theatres of that city, was subsequently given publicity in London, was translated into French in Paris, and into German by the poet Fiedler, was presented again, soon after the Russian Revolution, in the Folk Theatre in Leningrad, and succeeded in arousing the genuine sympathy and interest of the renowned Tolstoy, whose eulogy of the poem was later published in the Russian press.
It would indeed be no exaggeration to say that nowhere in the whole compass of the world's religious literature, except in the Gospels, do we find any record relating to the death of any of the religion-founders of the past comparable to the martyrdom suffered by the Prophet of Shir4z.
So strange, so inexplicable a phenomenon, attested by eyewitnesses, corroborated by men of recognized standing, and acknowledged by government as well as unofficial historians among the people who had sworn undying hostility to the BAN Faith, may be truly regarded as the most marvelous manifestation of the unique potentialities with which a Dispensation promised by all the Dispensations of the past had been endowed.
The passion of Jesus Christ, and indeed His whole public ministry, alone offer a parallel to the Mission and death of the BTh, a parallel which no student of comparative religion can fail to perceive or ignore. In the youthfulness and meekness of the Inaugurator of the BThi Dispensation; in the extreme brevity and turbulence of His public mm
Page 203CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 201
istry; in the dramatic swiftness with which that ministry moved towards its climax; in the apostolic order which He instituted, and the primacy which He conferred on one of its members; in the boldness of His dial-lenge to the time-honored conventions, rites and laws which had been woven into the fabric of the religion He Himself had been born into; in the rOle which an officially recognized and firmly entrenched religious hierarchy played as chief instigator of the outrages which He was made to suffer; in the indignities heaped upon Him; in the suddenness of His arrest; in the interrogation to which He was subjected; in the derision poured, and the scourging inflicted, upon Him; in the public affront He sustained; and, finally, in His ignominious suspension before the gaze of a hostile multitude � in all these we cannot fail to discern a remarkable similarity to the distinguishing features of the career of Jesus
Christ.It should be remembered, however, that apart from the miracle associated with the BTh's execution, He, unlike the Founder of the Christian religion, is not only to be regarded as the independent Author of a divinely revealed Dispensation, but must also be recognized as the Herald of a new Era and the Inaugurator of a great universal prophetic cycle. Nor should the important fact be overlooked that, whereas the chief adversaries of Jesus Christ, in His lifetime, were the Jewish rabbis and their associates, the forces arrayed against the BTh represented the combined civil and ecclesiastical powers of Persia, which, from the moment of His declaration to the hour of His death, persisted, unitedly and by every means at their disposal, in conspiring against the upholders and in vilifying the tenets of His Revelation.
The BTh, acclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh as the "Essence of Essences," the "Sea of Seas," the "Point round Whom the realities of the Prophets and Messengers revolve," "from Whom God bath caused to proceed the knowledge of all that was and shall be," Whose "rank excelleth that of all the Prophets," and Whose "Revelation transcended-i the comprehension and understanding of all their chosen ones," had delivered His Message and discharged His mission.
He Who was, in the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the "Morn of Truth" and "Harbinger of the Most Great Light," Whose advent at once signalized the termination of the
"PropheticCycle" and the inception of the "Cycle of Fulfillment," had simultaneously through His Revelation banished the shades of night that had descended upon His country, and proclaimed the impending rise of that Incomparable Orb Whose radiance was to envelop the whole of mankind. He, as affirmed by Himself, "the Primal Point from which have been generated all created things," "one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God," the "Mystic Fane," the "Great Announcement," the "Flame of that supernal Light that glowed upon
Sinai," the "Remembranceof God" concerning Whom "a separate Covenant bath been established with each and every Prophet" had, through His advent, at once fulfilled the promise of all ages and ushered in the consummation of all Revelations. He the "Q6'im" (He Who ariseth) promised to the Shfahs the "Milidi" (One Who is guided) awaited by the Sunnis, the "Return of John the Baptist" expected by the Christians, the "IJshidar-MAh" referred to in the Zoroastrian scriptures, the "Return of Elijah" anticipated by the Jews, Whose Revelation was to show forth "the signs and tokens of all the Prophets," Who was to "manifest the perfection of Moses, the radiance of Jesus and the patience of Job" had appeared, proclaimed His Cause, been mercilessly persecuted and died gloriously.
The "Second Woe," spoken of in the Apocalypse of St. John the Divine, had, at long last, appeared, and the first of the two "Messen-gets," Whose appearance had been prophesied in the Qur'an, had been sent down. The first "Trumpet-Blast," destined to smite the earth with extermination, announced in the latter Book, had finally been sounded.
"The Inevitable," "TheCatastrophe," "The Resurrection," "The Earthquake of the Last Hour," foretold by that same Book, had all come to pass. The "clear tokens" had been "sent down," and the "Spirit" had "breathed," and the "souls" had "waked up," and the "heaven" had been "cleft," and the "angels" had "ranged in order," and the "stars" had been "blotted out," and the "earth" had "cast forth her burden," and "Paradise" had been "brought near," and "hell" had been "made to blaze," and the "Book" had been "set," and the "Bridge" had been "laid out," and the "Balance" had been "set up," and the "mountains scattered in dust." The "cleansing of the Sanctuary," prophesied by Daniel and confirmed by
Page 204Jesus Christ in His reference to "the abomination of desolation," had been accomplished. The "day whose length shall be a thousand years," foretold by the Apostle of God in His Book, had terminated.
The "forty and two nwnths," during which the "Holy City," as predicted by St. John the Divine, would be trodden under foot, had elapsed. The "time of the end" had been ushered in, and the first of the "two Witnesses" into Whom, "after three days and a half the Spirit of Life from God" would enter, had arisen and had "ascended up to heaven in a cloud."
The "remaining twenty and five letters to be made manifest," according to Islamic tradition, out of the "twenty and seven letters" of which Knowledge has been declared to consist, had been revealed.
The "Man Child," mentioned in the Book of Revelation, destined to "rule all nations with a rod of iron," had released, through His coming, the creative energies which, reinforced by the effusions of a swiftly succeeding and infinitely mightier Revelation, were to instill into the entire human race the capacity to achieve its organic unification, attain maturity and thereby reach the final stage in its agelong evolution.
The clarion-call addressed to the "concourse of kings and of the sons of kings," marking the inception of a process which, accelerated by Bahá'u'lláh's subsequent warnings to the entire company of the monarchs of East and West, was to produce so widespread a revolution in the fortunes of royalty, had been raised in the Qay-yumii'1-Asm6P.
The "Order," whose foundation the Promised One was to establish in the KITAB-I-AQDAS, and the features of which the Center of the Covenant was to delineate in His Testament, and whose administrative framework the entire body of His followers are now erecting, had been categorically announced in the Persian Bay~n.
The laws which were designed, on the one hand, to abolish at a stroke the privileges and ceremonials, the ordinances and institutions of a superannuated Dispensation, and to bridge, on the other, the gap between an obsolete system and the institutions of a world-en-compassing Order destined to supersede it, had been clearly formulated and proclaimed. The Covenant which, despite the determined assaults launched against it, succeeded, unlike all previous Dispensations, in preserving the integrity of the Faith of its Author, and in paving the way for the advent of the One Who was to be its Center and Object, had been firmly and irrevocably established. The light which, throughout successive periods, was to propagate itself gradually from its cradle as far as Vancouver in the West and the China Sea in the East, and to diffuse its radiance as far as Iceland in the North and the Tasman Sea in the South, had broken.
The forces of darkness, at first confined to the concerted hostility of the civil and ecclesiastical powers of ShPah Persia, gathering momentum, at a later stage, through the avowed and persistent opposition of the Caliph of IsUm and the Sunni hierarchy in Turkey, and destined to culminate in the fierce antagonism of the sacerdotal orders associated with other and still more powerful religious systems, had launched their initial assault.
The nucleus of the divinely ordained, world-embracing Community � a Community whose infant strength had already plucked asunder the fetters of ShPah orthodoxy, and which was, with every expansion in the range of its fellowship, to seek and obtain a wider and still more significant recognition of its claims to be the world religion of the future, had been formed and was slowly crystallizing.
And, lastly, the seed, endowed by the Hand of Omnipotence with such vast potentialities, though rudely trampled under foot and seemingly perished from the face of the earth, had, through this very process, been vouchsafed the opportunity to germinate and remanifest itself, in the shape of a still more compelling Revelation � a Revelation destined to blossom forth, in a later period into the flourishing institutions of a worldwide administrative System, and to ripen, in the Golden Age as yet unborn, into mighty agencies functioning in consonance with the principles of a world-unifying, world-re-deeming Order.
Page 205CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 203
From THE DAWN-BREAKERSDEPRIVED of His turban and sash, the twin emblems of His noble lineage, the Báb, together with Siyyid Ijusayn, His amanuensis, was driven to yet another confinement which He well knew was but a step further on the way leading Him to the goal He had set Himself to attain. That day witnessed a tremendous commotion in the city of Tabriz.
The great convulsion associated in the ideas of its inhabitants with the Day of Judgment seemed at last to have come upon them. Never had that city experienced a turmoil so fierce and so mysterious as the one which seized its inhabitants on the day the 13Th was led to that place which was to be the scene of His martyrdom. As He approached the courtyard of the barracks, a youth suddenly leaped forward who, in his eagerness to overtake Him, had forced his way through the crowd, utterly ignoring the risks and perils which such an attempt might involve.
His face was haggard, his feet were bare, and his hair dishevelled. Breathless with excitement and exhausted with fatigue, he flung himself at the feet of the BTh and, seizing the hem of His garment, passionately implored Him: "Send me not from Thee, 0 Master.
Wherever Thou goest, suffer me to follow Thee." "Muhammad 'Alt" answered the BTh, "arise, and rest assured that you will be with Me. Tomorrow you shall witness what God has decreed." Two other companions, unable to contain themselves, rushed forward and assured Him of their unalterable ioy-alty. These, together with Mirza MuI~am-mad-'Aliy-i-Zunflzi, were seized and placed in the same cell in which the Báb and Siyyid ilusayn were confined.
I have heard Siyyid ilusayn bear witness to the following: "That night the face of the Báb was aglow with joy, a joy such as had never shone from His countenance.
Indifferent to the storm that raged about Him, He conversed with us with gaiety and cheerfulness.
The sorrows that had weighed so heavily upon Him seemed to have completely vanished. Their weight appeared to have dissolved in the consciousness of ap
* Pages 507517.proaching victory. 'Tomorrow,' He said to us, 'will be the day of My martyrdom. Would that one of you might now arise and, with his own hands, end My life.
I prefer to be slain by the hand of a friend rather than by that of the enemy.' Tears rained from our eyes as we heard Him express that wish. We shrank, however, at the thought of taking away with our own hands so precious a life. We refused, and remained silent.
Mirza Mu1~ammad-'A1i suddenly sprang to his feet and announced himself ready to obey whatever the BTh might desire. 'This same youth who has risen to comply with My wish,' the B~b declared, as soon as we had intervened and forced him to abandon the thought, 'will, together with Me, suffer martyrdom. Him will I choose to share with Me its crown.'" Early in the morning, Mirza Hasan KhAn ordered his farr6sh-bashf [chief attendant] to conduct the Báb into the presence of the leading mujtahids of the city and to obtain from them the authorization required for His execution.
As the BTh was leaving the barracks, Siyyid Ijusayn asked Him what he should do. "Confess not your faith," He advised him.
"Thereby you will be enabled, when the hour comes, to convey to those who are destined to hear you, the things of which you alone are aware."
He was engaged in a confidential conversation with him when the farr~sh-Msbi suddenly interrupted and, holding Siyyid Ijusayn by the hand, drew him aside and severely rebuked him. "Not until I have said to him all those things that I wish to say," the Báb warned the farr6sh-bdshi "can any earthly power silence Me. Though all the world be armed against Me, yet shall they be powerless to deter Me from fulfilling, to the last word, My intention."
The farr4sh-Mshi was amazed at such a bold assertion.
He made, however, no reply, and bade Siyyid Ijusayn arise and follow him.
The Báb was, in His turn brought before MullttNo sooner had he recognized Him than he seized the death-warrant he himself had previously
Page 206written and, handing it to his attendant, bade him deliver it to the farr~sh-b~shi. "No need," he cried, "to bring the Siyyid-i-BTh into my presence.
This death-warrant I penned the very day I met him at the gathering presided over by the Vali-'Ahd.
He surely is the same man whom I saw on that occasion, and has not, in the meantime, surrendered any of his claims."
From thence the 13Th was conducted to the house of Mirza B6qir, the son of Mirza A1~mad, to whom he had recently succeeded.
When they arrived, they found his attendant standing at the gate holding in his hand the Báb's death-warrant.
"No need to enter," he told them. "My master is already satisfied that his father was right in pro-flouncing the sentence of death. He can do no better than follow his example."
Mu11~ Murtad4-Quli, following in the footsteps of the other two mujtahids, had previously issued his own written testimony and refused to meet face to face his dreaded opponent.
No sooner had the farr~sh-b~shi secured the necessary documents than he delivered his Captive into the hands of SAm KMn, assuring him that he could proceed with his task now that he had obtained the sanction of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the realm.
S~tm KhAn was, in the meantime, finding himself increasingly affected by the behavior of his Captive and the treatment that had been meted out to Him. He was seized with great fear lest his action should bring upon him the wrath of God. "I profess the Christian Faith," he explained to the 13Th, "and entertain no ill will against you.
If your Cause be the Cause of Truth, enable me to free myself from the obligation to shed your blood." "Follow your instructions," the Báb replied, "and if your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you from your perplexity."
Stm Kh&n ordered his men to drive a nail into the pillar that lay between the door of the room that Siyyid ilusayn occupied and the entrance to the adjoining one, and to make fast two ropes to that nail, from which the Báb and His companion were to be separately suspended.
Mirza Muliam-mad-'Alibegged S~m KlAn to be placed in such a manner that his own body would shield that of the Báb. He was eventually suspended in such a position that his head reposed on the breast of his Master. As soon as they were fastened, a regiment of soldiers ranged itself in three files, each of two hundred and fifty men, each of which was ordered to open fire in its turn until the whole detachment had discharged the volleys of its bullets.
The smoke of the firing of the seven hundred and fifty rifles was such as to turn the light of the noonday sun into darkness. There had crowded onto the roof of the barracks, as well as the tops of the adjoining houses, about ten thousand people, all of whom were witnesses to that sad and moving scene.
As soon as the cloud of smoke had cleared away, an astounded multitude were looking upon a scene which their eyes could scarcely believe. There, standing before them alive and unhurt, was the companion of the
Bab, whilst He Himselfhad vanished uninjured from their sight. Though the cords with which they were suspended had been rent in pieces by the bullets, yet their bodies had miraculously escaped the volleys. Even the tunic which Mirza Muhammad-'Ali was wearing had, despite the thickness of the smoke, remained unsullied. "The Siyyid-i-B6b has gone from our sight!" rang out the voices of the bewildered multitude.
They set out in a frenized search for Him, and found Him, eventually, seated in the same room which He had occupied the night before, engaged in completing His interrupted conversation, with Siyyid Uusayn. An expression of unruffled calm was upon His face.
His body had emerged unscathed from the shower of bullets which the regiment had directed against Him. "I have finished My conversation with Siyyid tiusayn," the B6t told the farr~sh-b6shf.
"Now you may proceed to fulfil your intention."The man was too much shaken to resume what he had already attempted. Refusing to accomplish his duty, he, that same moment, left that scene and resigned his post. He related all that he had seen to his neighbor, Mirza Siyyid Muljsin, one of the notables of Tabriz, who, as soon as he heard the story, was converted to the Faith.
Mm KlAn was likewise stunned by the force of this tremendous revelation. He ordered his men to leave the barracks immediately, and refused ever again to associate himself and his regiment with any act that involved the least injury to the BTh.
HeCENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 205
swore, as he left that courtyard, never again to resume that task even though his refusal should entail the loss of his own life.
No sooner had 84m KhAn departed than Akd Thn Kh6n4-Kharnsih colonel of the bodyguard, known also by the names of Khamsih and N~iri, volunteered to carry out the order for execution. On the same wall and in the same manner, the Báb and His companion were again suspended, while the regiment formed in line to open fire upon them. Contrariwise to the previous occasion, when only the cord with which they were suspended had been shot to pieces, this time their bodies were shattered and were blended into one mass of mingled flesh and bone. "Had you believed in Me, 0 wayward generation," were the last words of the Báb to the gazing multitude as the regiment was preparing to fire the final volley, "every one of you would have followed the example of this youth, who stood in rank above most of you, and willingly would have sacrificed himself in My path. The day will come when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall have ceased to be with you."
The very moment the shots were fired, a gale of exceptional severity arose and swept over the whole city. A whirlwind of dust of incredible density obscured the light of the sun and blinded the eyes of the people. The entire city remained enveloped in that darkness from noon till night. Even so strange a phenomenon, following immediately in the wake of that still more astounding failure of S~m KMn's regiment to injure the BTh, was unable to move the hearts of the people of Tabriz, and to induce them to pause and reflect upon the significance of such momentous events. They witnessed the effect which so marvelous an occurrence had produced upon S~m KJAn; they beheld the consternation of the farr~tsh-1Ashi and saw him make his irrevocable decision; they could even examine that tunic which, despite the discharge of so many bullets, had remained whole and stainless; they could read in the face of the Báb, who had emerged unhurt from that storm, the expression of undisturbed serenity as He resumed His conversation with Syyid Wusayn; and yet none of them troubled himself to inquire as to the significance of these unwonted signs and wonders.
The martyrdom of the Báb took place at noon on Sunday, the twenty-eighth of SPa-'Mn, in the year 1266 A.H. [July 9, 1850], thirty-one lunar years, seven months, and twenty-seven days from the day of His birth in
Shifftz.l7HE worldwide character of the Bahá'í Faith has been demonstrated once more by the action of various National Spiritual Assemblies in preparing memorial and public programs for their respective communities.
This survey briefly outlines the information received to date from the national reports and does not attempt to cover all the local activities, interesting and important as they might be.
CANADAAssembly we learn that on June 1 a general letter was issued giving plans for a special Memorial Meeting and also a Public Meeting on the Centenary date, with list of readings and suggestions for the conduct of both meetings.
EGYPT AND SUDANAssembly has published a Memorial pamphlet in the Arabic language. On account of the conditions of dispute among the three religions recognized in the Muslim world, the pamphlet supplied "historical, logical and traditional proofs from the Qur'an, the Old and New Testaments," to support the Bahá'í Revelation. Its epilogue presented the Baha teachings and principles as set forth by the Guardian in the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, World Religion, followed by a selection from Hidden Words, and ended with
"How to Live a Bahafrom Words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá" The English translation of the title of this pamphlet is "Page of Light."
Cards of invitation to the Public Meeting in Cairo were sent to more than eighty eminent nonBahA'is, of whom (including the press) about forty attended.
The motion picture film of the Bahá'í Temple in Wil-mette was shown.
Press comments were very favorable.The Centenary was also observed by the Bahá'ís of Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia.
PERSIAprepared a special number of the Bahá'í News of Persia, giving the Centenary program for use throughout the local communities.
The world survey pamphlet prepared by the Guardian and published in the United States was translated into Persian and copies distributed throughout the provinces.
INIMA, PAKISTAN AND BURMAAssembly addressed a general letter to all local Assemblies appointing three Regional Committees, each serving for the BaM is in one of the three countries.
Nine items of advice and direction were given for the Commemoration and Public Meetings.
"The poor shall be fed as far as possible. This may be done through the Municipality," was one suggestion. A very attractive Centenary pamphlet was also published, of 64 pages and illustrations.
Its contents were listed as follows:to the Báb, The Báb and the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, The Báb's Address to the Letters of the Living, A Pattern for Future Society, Appreciations of the Baha
Faith."of the Martyrdom of the Báb, the Forerunner of Bahá'í Faith,
Public Lectures will Beon July 9, 1950 at 930 A.M. Prof. Abdul-Majid Khan,
Guest Speaker (For-merlyShri S. N. Chaturvedi (Publicity Officer, U.S. of Rajasthan) � A Century of Spiritual Revival (In
English)Two items have been received: a newspaper clipping reporting a talk by Suhayl 'AIA'i at a gathering of Auckland and Dev-onport Bahá'í communities held to commemorate the Centenary; and a pamphlet entitled "Martyrdom of the Bib, 18501950" published by the National
Spiritual Assembly. Itscontents include: Foreword, A Summary of the Bahá'í
Faith, The Martyrdomof the Báb. It contains 24 pages with two full-page illustrations.
CENTENARY OF THE MARTYRDOMprovided an ideal setting for the program carried out on Sunday, July 9, 1950, in commemoration of the Centenary. The
"Holiest House of Worshipin the Bahá'í World" bestowed its own special blessing upon the great gathering of some five hundred Bahá'ís convened in Foundation Hall at the hour of noon, to see the Portrait of the BTh which the Guardian made a most precious gift and trust to North America in 1944.
This meeting, drawn together spiritually by the sublime nature of the occasion, realized anew its grandeur when the Guardian's cablegram, shared with the "assembled representatives (of) American Bahá'í Community gathered beneath (the) dome (of the) most
Holy House (of) Worship(in the) Bahá'í World" his "feelings (of) profound emotion evoked (by this) historic occasion."' This reading followed a brief period of silence for individual use of the Daily Prayer.
Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet of Visitation (Prayers and Meditations, pp. 310313) intensified the emotions to the degree of awe and exalted reverence.
1 This cablegram is given in full on pages 191 to 193.
Page 209CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 207
Then, after the Portrait was placed on the rug-covered speakers' table, flanked by red roses, row by row the friends quietly filed before the Portrait to behold the features and likeness of the Martyr-Prophet whose mission inaugurated the world era in the life of mankind.
When the Bahá'ís in the last row had resumed their seats, the gathering departed from the Foundation Hall and entered by the outside steps the auditorium of the House of Worship.
Here, though the evidences of construction were so apparent, the interior ornamentation had been completed to a point where the beauty of the finished design impressed the hearts.
Indeed, an architectural sketch of the completed auditorium, in color, had been placed outside the Foundation Hall before noon, that the friends might better visualize what the auditorium will be when completed early in 1951.
In this remarkable theater, signifying both the majesty of the Faith and the sacrificial efforts of the believers, the second part of the Centenary program unfolded: Readings from the Bahá'í Sacred Writings concerning the
Station and Martyrdomof the BTh. Seven readers presented these selections:
Tablet of Ahmad; Prayersand Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 272276; Some Answered Questions, pp. 3031; Words of the Báb and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá from Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 353 6, p. 34; Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 291293; pp. 7475, 144146; Prayer revealed by the BTh, "Is There any Remover of
Difficulties"; PrayersThe spirit of worship sustained the gathering throughout these readings, evoking power to realize the meaning of these Holy Words and to reconsecrate oneself in service to so holy a Faith.
The readings form a gemlike compilation which any one may from time to time ponder for himself, renewing faith and steadfastness whenever the world seems too violent and chaotic to be overcome and transformed.
Public MeetingAt 3:30 P.M. the Bahá'ís reconvened in Foundation Hall for the public meeting. The estimated attendance of Bahá'ís and non-B ah~'is was about nine hundred.
Seldom has FoundationMiss Elsie Austin, presiding, graciously welcomed the visitors in the name of the Baha'is.
She stated the purpose of the Centenary, the significance of the Martyrdom of the Báb, and referred to the Centenary meetings being carried out in all parts of the world.
As Chairman Miss Austinthen presented the three speakers: Dr. G. A. Borgese, of the University of Chicago, member of the Committee to Frame a World Constitution, and director of the magazine
Common Cause; Mrs. DorothyBeecher Baker, longtime member of the National Spiritual Assembly, worker for unity, who has traveled widely and lectured throughout
North America, South Americaand Western Europe; Mr. William Kenneth Christian, member of the National Spiritual Assembly, on the faculty of Michigan State College, writer, former member of the editorial staff of World Order Magazine.
The Shrine and GardensAt 5:30 P.M., after the public meeting, the Bahá'ís gathered once more in
Temple Foundation Hall.This meeting, concluding the Centenary program, had been arranged in order to project the moving picture film which the Guardian had sent from Haifa as one more contribution to the Centenary celebration, which synchronized with the completion of the Arcade surrounding the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel.
The showing of the films was preceded by the reading of a letter written by
Mr. Ben Weeden from Haifadescribing the progress of construction work on the Shrine of the BTh.
(See Section VI, page 246.)The film, a composite of numerous selected views, created as a whole an intensely interesting picture of the Shrines and gardens at the Bahá'í
World Center � the Guardian'sown project carried out at the spiritual heart of the Faith.
It is not possible to reproduce these vivid photographic scenes in words. For the Bahá'ís present it was no less an experience than a psychic transportation to Haifa and 'Akka to see with their own eyes what has been done since the days of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to glorify the remains of Bahá'u'lláh, the BTh, the Master and members of the Holy Family, and prepare the way for the building of the international institutions of the Faith to be centered in that holy region. The power of the Guardianship, the vision, the super
Page 210human toil of the guardian, were realized as seldom before.
The final note was also sounded by Shoghi Effendi in the reading of his cablegram addressed to the Bahá'ís through all National Spiritual Assemblies, announcing the termination of the initial step of the construction of the "domed structure designed (to) embellish (and) preserve (the) Báb's sepulcher on Mt. Carmel."
"(The) hour (is) ripe," the message continued, "(to) undertake (the) preliminaries (for the) erection (of the) octagonal first unit (of the) superstructure.
"(I) appeal (to) entire body (of) believers (to) seize (ffiis) priceless opportunity (to) stimulate (the) unfoldment (of) this process through generous, sustained contributions (for the) furtherance (of an) enterprise transcending any national institution whether Ija4ra or MasPriqu'1-Adibk~r, reared (in the) past or (in) process (of) construction.
"The hour (is) propitious (to) repay part (of the) infinite debt (of) gratitude owed its martyrs, through hastening (the) conclusion (of the) holiest enterprise since (the) dawn (of the) Revelation 2 Thus this Centenary is not merely a recalling, no matter how reverently, of a great Event which took place one hundred years ago: it is an occasion on which the Bahá'ís are challenged to carry forward the work of an ever-living and Divine Faith.
Centenary PamphletsTwo pamphlets were published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States as part of the Centenary commemoration.
The first publication is the world survey compiled by the Guardian with data reporting the spread of the Faith from 1844 to 1950, entitled The
Bahá'í Faith � 18441950.The second publication is The Martyr Prophet of a World Faith by William B. Sears, telling the story of the B~b for a western public.
2 This cable, dated Haifa, July 7, 1950, appears in World Order Unfolds, page 12.
7. THE MARTYR PROPHET OFThe blistering July sun glared from the barrels of seven hundred and fifty rifles, awaiting the command to fire and to take His life.
He seemed so young to die, barely thirty, and He was handsome, gentle, confident. Could He possibly be guilty of the shocking crime of which He was accused?
Thousands of eager spectators lined the Public Square.
They crowded along the rooftops overlooking the scene of death. They wanted one last sight of Him for He was either good or evil, and they were not sure which.
It was high noon, July 9, 1850, in a parched corner of Persia, the barracks square c/the sundrenched city of
Tabriz.* Pamphlet issued by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Hahd'is of the United States, commemorating the Centenary of the Martyrdom of the B~.b, Tabdz, Persia, July 9, 1850-The The chain of events leading to this scene began in 1844.
It was in an age of religious fervor. Everywhere men were preaching the return of Christ. They urged the world to prepare for it. Wolff in Asia, Sir Edward Irving in England, Leonard H. Kelber in Germany, Mason in
Scotland, Davis in Southall agreed that their studies of the Scriptures clearly showed that the hour for Christ's return was at hand.
James Russell Lowell'spoem ''The Crisis~~ was written in that very hour of Advent enthusiasm: "Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide.
Some great cause, God's new Messiah The years between 1843 and 1847 were
Page 211CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 209
generally accepted as the time for the return of Christ. Careful study of the prophecies had simultaneously led Bible scholars and students in different parts of the world to these fateful years.
Did the years between 1843 and 1847 pass with no sign of the return of Christ? Or were these years comparable to those which followed the birth and enunciation of Christ's original message? Years which passed with no visible sign to the people of Palestine that the Promised One had come. The crucifixion of a trouble maker from Nazareth they had dismissed from their minds. Was the story to wait, as it had waited in the time of Jesus, for over one hundred years before it began to reach the consciousness of the people? Was the story of Calvary to be retold at an execution post in the public square of
Tabriz?And during 1844, in Persia, this story had its beginning.
It was the eve of May 23rd in Shii4z the "city of nightingales and blue tile fountains." ShirAz, in what was once the ancient province of Elam given by Daniel, the Prophet, as the place of vision in the latter days and mentioned in the book of Jeremiah: "And I will set my throne in Elam."
A young man declared that He was the one foretold in all the holy books of the past. He said He had come to usher in a new era, a new springtime in the hearts of men.
He was called "The 13Th" which means the door or the gate. His teaching was to be the gateway to a new age of unity: The world is one country and mankind its citizens; there is only one religion and all the prophets have taught it. As Jesus had spoken to Peter, the fisherman, the Báb spoke to a Persian student, Mull4 Ijusayn.
Mulli tiusayn's own words can best describe the depth of this experience: "I sat spellbound by His utterance, oblivious of time. This Revelation, so suddenly and impetuously thrust upon me, came as a thunderbolt which, for a time, seemed to have benumbed my faculties Excitement, joy, awe, and wonder stirred the depths of my soul. Predominant among these emotions was a sense of gladness and strength which seemed to have transfigured me."' 1 The quotations cited are taken from The Dawn-Breakers, Nabfl's Narrative of the Early Days of the "I sat enraptured by the magic of His voice and the sweeping force of His revelation. At last I reluctantly arose from my seat and begged to depart. He smilingly bade me be seated, and said: 'If you leave in such a state, whoever sees you will assuredly say: This poor youth has lost his min&'" At that moment the clock registered two hours and eleven minutes after sunset on the eve of May 23, 1844. The BTh declared to MuIU Ijusayn as he prepared to leave, "This night, this very hour will, in the days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant festivals."
One hundred years later, May 23, 1944, in over eight hundred Bahá'í communities of the world this hour was commemorated as the dawn of a new age, the beginning of the era of "one fold and one shepherd."
In one century from the evening of its birth, this World Faith heralded by the ETh had spread to all the major countries of the earth, embracing people from every walk of life, every religious conviction, every shade of skin-color.
The fame of the Báb soon spread beyond the circle of His disciples. It reached the authorities of both church and state.
They were alarmed by the enthusiasm with which the people accepted the Báb's message. The same wave of opposition and hatred that had surrounded Jesus, began to engulf the Báb.
The clergy at once initiated a combined attack upon Him. They gathered their wisest and most capable scholars and speakers to argue with and try to confuse the lThb. They arranged great public debates in ShuiAz and invited the governor, the clergy, the military chiefs, as well as the people, hoping to discredit the young Prophet of $hf4z.
He spoke such searching truths that day by day the crowds increased.
His purity of conduct at an age when passions are intense impressed the people who met Him.
He was possessed of extraordinary eloquence and daring.
Instead of benefiting the clergy, the debates they arranged elevated the B~b at their expense.
He exposed, unsparingly, their vices and corruption.
He proved their infidelity to their own doctrine.He shamed Bahá'í Revelation, translated from the original Persian and edited by Shoghi Effendi, flaM'f Publishing Committee, New York, 1932. The quotations are from the following pages of The Dawn-Breakers: 6265, 61, 173177, 239, 315316, 321322, 447, 450452, 502, 507, 509, 512517.
Page 212them in their lives. He defeated them with their own Holy Book in His hand.
Soon all of Persia was talking about the Báb.The SjjAh himself, moved to investigate the truth of the reports concerning the Báb, delegated Siyyid Ya1~y~y-i-D4rAbi, surnamed Vaitid, to go at once to Shir~z and investigate the matter in person.
Vaijid was chosen because he was called the "most learned and most influential" of all the ShAh's subjects.
Vahid had three interviews with the Báb. After the first, he said to a friend, "I have in His presence expatiated unduly upon my own learning. He was able in a few words to answer my questions Of these interviews, Va1~id said later, "As soon as I was ushered into His presence, a sense of fear, for which I could not account, suddenly seized me The BTh, beholding my plight, arose from His seat, advanced towards me, and, taking hold of my hand, seated me beside Him.
'Seek from me,' He said, 'whatever is your heart's desire. I will readily reveal it to you.
"Like a babe that can neither understand nor speak, I felt powerless to respond. The B~b smiled as He gazed at me and said: 'Were I to reveal for you [the answers to the questions you seek],
would you acknowledge that My words are born of the spirit of God?
Would you recognize that My utterance can in no way be associated with sorcery or magic?'
"How am I to describe this scene of inexpressible majesty? Verses streamed from His pen with a rapidity that was truly astounding.
The incredible swiftness of His writing, the soft and gentle murmur of His voice, and the stupendous force of His style, amazed and bewildered me."
VaI3id summed up his report on his investigation of the B~b by saying, "Such was the state of certitude to which I had attained that if all the powers of the earth were to be leagued against me they would be powerless to shake my confidence in the greatness of His Cause."
When word of this reached the ShAh, he told his Prime Minister that he had been informed Vahid had become a follower of the BTh. "If this be true, it behooves us to cease belittling the Cause of that Siyyid."
Still disturbed by Vatiid's response to the Báb's teaching the Sh4h issued an order summoning the BTh to the capital city of Tihrin. The SMh had received a letter from the B6t requesting such an audience.
The B~b said that He was confident of the justness of the King and so He wished to come to the capital and hold conferences with the priests of the empire in the presence of the ShTh, the civil authorities, and the people. The Báb offered to explain His Cause and His purpose. He said He would accept beforehand the judgment of the Shah and, in case of failure, was ready to sacrifice His head.
The BTh never reached Tihr~n. The Prime Minister, ~~JI Mirza AqAsi, feared the consequences of such an interview. He feared the influence the BTh might exert on both the sovereign and the capital city. He succeeded in persuading the Siith to transfer so dreaded a subject to M6.h-Kti, a prison castle in the Ad�irbAyj~n mountains to the north.
En route to Mih-K6, the BTh approached the gate of Tabriz. The news of His arrival stirred the hearts of the people and they set out to meet Him, eager to extend their web come to so beloved a Leader. The officials of the government refused to allow them to draw near and receive His blessing.
As the Báb walked along the streets of Tabriz, the cries of the multitude resounded on every side.
So loud was the clamor of welcome that a crier was ordered to warn the people of the danger to which they were exposing themselves. The cry went forth: "Whosoever shall make any attempt to approach the Siyyid-i-B6.b, or seek to meet him, all [that person'sl possessions shall forthwith be seized and he himself condemned to perpetual imprisonment!"
An undercurrent of excitement ran through the city during the Bib's stay. With saddened hearts and mixed feelings of helplessness and confusion, the people watched the beloved Prophet leave Tabriz for the castle of Mih-Kii. They whispered among themselves, as had the followers of Jesus when they watched Him being delivered in turn to Caiaphas and Pilate: If this is the Promised One, why is He subjected to the whims of the men of earth?
The Báb was given into the custody of 'All KhAn warden of the solid, four-towered stone castle which sat on the summit of a mountain on the frontier of Russia, Turkey, and
Persia.The Prime Minister was confident that few, if any, would venture to penetrate that
Page 213CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 211
wild region. The people of the area were already hostile to the Báb, and it was the Prime Minister's hope that this enforced seclusion among enemies would stifle the Faith at its birth and lead to its extinction.
He soon realized how grav&ly he had underrated the force of the Báb's influence. The hostility of the natives was subdued by the gentle manners of the Bib. Their hearts were softened by His love for them. Their pride was humbled by His modesty.
Their opposition to His teaching was mellowed by the wisdom of His words.
Even the warden, 'All KhTh, began to relax the severity of the Báb's imprisonment, in spite of the Prime Minister's repeated warning against falling under His spell.
Soon great numbers began to come from all quarters to visit the Báb at M~h-Kii. During this period, the BTh composed His Persian Baydn, the most comprehensive of all His writings. In it the Báb defined His mission as twofold: To call men to God, and to announce the coming of the Promise of all ages and all religions � a great world educator whose station was so exalted that in the words of the BTh, "A thousand perusals of the Baydn cannot equal the perusal of a single verse to be revealed by 'Him Whom God shall make manifest.' "2 The Prime Minister was informed of the affection which the once unfriendly people of MAli-Ku were showing toward the BTh. He was told of the flood of pilgrims to the castle.
Those who had been ordered to watch devdopments reported to the Prime Minister that the warden, 'All KhAn had been enchanted by the Báb and treated Him as his host rather than as his prisoner.
Both fear and rage impelled the Prime Minister to issue an instant order for the transfer of the Báb to the castle of Qhihriq, called the "grievous mountain."
The Báb said farewell to the people of MTh-Kti who, in the course of His nine months' captivity among them, had recognized to a remarkable degree the power of His personality and the greatness of His character.
The Báb was subjected to a closer and more rigorous confinement at Cjiihriq.
The Prime Minister left strict and explicit instructions to the keeper, Ya12y~ KMn that no one was to enter the presence of his prisoner.
He was 2 World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, page 100.warned to profit by the failure of 'All KhAn at M6.h-Kti. Yet, in spite of the open threat to his own safety, Ya~y~ Kji~n found himself powerless to obey. He soon felt the fascination of his prisoner and forgot the duty he was expected to perform, for the love of the Báb had claimed his entire being.
Even the Kurds who lived in Cbibriq, and whose fanaticism and hatred exceeded that of the inhabitants of M4h-K6, fell under the transforming influence of the BTh. The love which the BTh radiated was a living thing. As Saul of Tarsus had fallen victim to the enrapturing warmth of Jesus, in like manner whoever came in contact with the BTh was transported into a new world of joy and gladness.
As the crowds had flocked to Jesus on the Mount of Olives, so came the hungry, thirsty people of Persia to the Mountain of Giiihriq.
No sooner did this news reach the capital than the infuriated Prime Minister demanded that the BTh be transferred at once to Tabriz. He called an immediate conference of all the ecclesiastical dignitaries of Tabriz to seek the most effective means for bringing to an abrupt end the Báb's power over the people.
The news of the impending arrival of the BMJ caused such popular enthusiasm that the authorities decided to confine the B~b in a place outside the gate of the city.
The crowds besieged the entrance to the meeting place the next day, impatiently awaiting the time when they could catch a glimpse of His face. They pressed forward in such large numbers that a passage had to be forced for the Báb.
When the Báb entered the hail, a great stillness descended upon the people.
At last the stillness was broken by the president of the gathering. "Who do you claim to be," he asked the Báb, "and what is the message which you have brought?"
Pontius Pilate had asked Jesus, "Art thou a king then?" And Jesus replied, "Thou say-est that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.~~S So did the Báb reply to the Assembly. "I am, I am, I am the Promised One! I am the One whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at whose mention you 3john 18:37.
Page 214have risen, whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten. Verily I say, it is incumbent upon the peoples of both the East and the West to obey My word and pledge allegiance to My person."
Immediately after He had pronounced these words, a quiet fell over the hail; a feeling of awe seized those who were pres-cut; the pallor of their faces betrayed the agitation of their hearts.
The examination of the Báb continued to its prearranged end. Yet, once again the purpose of the authorities had been frustrated.
The meeting had served oniy to uplift Him in the eyes of the people.
The Báb was at length delivered to the head of the religious court of Tabriz to be whipped with the bastinado. As Jesus had fallen under the scourge for His claim to be a Redeemer of men, the Báb also was subjected to the same indignity.
Eleven times the head of the religious court applied the rod to the Bib's feet. He was struck across the face with one of the strokes intended for His feet.
Dr. McCormick, an English physician, treated Him and recalled their meeting in the following manner, "He was a very mild and delicate-looking man, rather small in stature and very fair for a Persian, with a melodious soft voice, which struck me much In fact his whole look and deportment went far to dispose one in his favour."
His persecutors had fondly hoped that by summoning the B~b to Tabriz they would be able through threats and intimidations to induce Him to abandon His mission. They had failed. As Jesus had said, "My teaching is not mine, but His that sent me," the Báb too made it clear that this message was something greater than Himself.
The gathering in Tabriz had enabled Him at last to set forth emphatically, in the presence of the authorities, the distinguishing features of His claim. It had also enabled Him to destroy, in brief and convincing language, the arguments of His enemies.
The news of this meeting spread rapidly throughout Persia. It awakened new zeal in the hearts of His followers. They redoubled their efforts to spread His teachings. It enkindled a corresponding reaction among His adversaries.
Persecutions, unprecedented in their violence, swept over the nation.
The ShAh succumbed to illness, and hisAqdsi was toppled from power. The successor to the throne was seventeen year old Ntsiri'd-Din Mirza, and the active direction of the affairs of the nation fell to a new
Prime Minister, MirzaTaqi Kh6tn. His rule was iron-hearted and his hatred for the BTh more implacable than that of
Ij6ji Mirza iqAsi. HeUnchained a combined assault of civil and ecclesiastical powers against the BTh and His Faith.
When word of the suffering of His followers reached the Báb, who had been returned to the castle of Cjiihriq, He was plunged in sorrow. There was yet an added blow to come to Him. His beloved uncle, by whom He had been reared in childhood, was arrested in Tihr~n to await execution.
It was this same uncle who had served the BTh with such devotion throughout His life, who became one of His first and most ardent disciples. It had been less than a year before his arrest in Tihr~n that the Báb's uncle had visited Him in His prison cell in Chihrfq.
He had gone from there to Tihr6n to teach the Faith of the BTh and had remained there until his arrest as one of fourteen prisoners.
The fourteen captives in Tihr4n were imprisoned in the home of one of the city officials. Every kind of ill treatment was m-flicted upon them to induce them to reveal the names and addresses of other believers. The Prime Minister issued a decree threatening with execution whoever among the fourteen was unwilling to recant his faith.
Seven were compelled to yield to the pressure and were released at once. The remaining seven became known as the "Seven
Martyrs of TihrTh." TheBTh's uncle, one of the leading merchants of S�ir6.z, was one of these seven.
His friends urged him to deny his faith and save his life. A number of the more affluent merchants offered to pay a ransom for him.
The Báb's uncle rejected their offer. Finally he was brought before the
Prime Minister."A number have interceded in your behalf," the Prime Minister told him.
"Emi-nent merchants of Shir& and Tihr6n are willing, nay eager, to pay your ransom A word of recantation from you is sufficient to set you free and ensure your return, with honors, to your native city."
The Báb's uncle boldly replied to theseCENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 213
words. "Your Excellency," he said, ".my repudiation of the truths enshrined in this Revelation would be tantamount to a rejection of all the Revelations that have preceded it. To refuse to acknowledge the Mission of the BTh would be to deny the Divine character of the Message which Mu1~ammad, Jesus, Moses, and all the Prophets of the past have revealed."
The Prime Minister could not hide his impatience as the BTh's uncle signed his own death-warrant with his lips.
The Báb's uncle continued: "God knows that whatever I have heard and read concerning the sayings and doings of those Messengers, I have been privileged to witness the same from this Youth, this beloved Kinsman of mine, from His earliest boyhood to this, the thirtieth year of His life I only request that you allow me to be the first to lay down my life in
[His] path." The PrimeMinister was stupefied by such an answer. Without uttering a word, he motioned that the Báb's uncle be taken out and beheaded.
The second to fall beneath the headsman s axe was
Mirza Qurb~n-'A1i. Hewas a close friend of many nobles. The mother of the Sh6h because of her friendship for Qur'an � 'Ali, said to the King, "He is no follower of the BTh, but has been falsely accused."
So they sent for him."You are a scholar, a man of learning," they said. "You do not belong to this misguided sect; a false charge has been preferred against you."
Qurbrin-'Ali replied, "I reckon myself one of the followers and servants of the Báb, though whether or no He hath accepted me as such, I know not."
They tried to persuade, holding out hopes of a salary and pension.
"This life and these drops of blood of mine," he said, "are of but small account; were the empire of the world mine, and bad I a thousand lives, I would freely cast them all at the feet of His friends."
QurMn-'Ali was taken to the Prime Minister."Since last night I have been besieged by all classes of State officials," the Prime Minister told him, "who have vigorously interceded in your behalf.
From what I learn of the position you occupy and the influence your words exercise, you are not much inferior to the Siyyid-i-B~b himself.
Had you claimed for yourself the position of leadership, ship, better would it have been than to declare your allegiance to one who is certainly inferior to you in knowledge."
"The knowledge which I have acquired," Qurb6n-'Ali answered, "has led me to bow down in allegiance before Him." QurlAn-'All boldly continued: "Ever since I attained the age of manhood, I have regarded justice and fairness as the ruling motives of my life. I have judged the Báb fairly" with my mind and with my heart.
I "have reached the conclusion that should this Youth, to whose transcendent power friend and foe alike testify, be false, every Prophet of God, from time immemorial down to the present day, should be denounced as the very embodiment of falsehood!"
Neither the sweetness of bribes, nor the threat of death had any effect.
"I am assured of the unquestioning devotion of over a thousand admirers," QurbAn-'All told the Prime Minister, "and yet I am powerless to change the heart of the least among them.
This Youth, however, has proved Himself capable of transmuting the souls of the most degraded among His fellow men. Upon a thousand like me He has, unaided and alone, exerted such influence that, without even attaining His presence, they have flung aside their own desires and have clung passionately to His will. Fully Conscious of the inadequacy of the sacrifice they have made, these yearn to lay down their lives for His sake The Prime Minister hesitated.
"I am loth, whether your words be of God or not, to pronounce the sentence of death against the possessor of so exalted a station."
"Why hesitate?" burst forth QurMn-'Ali. "[For this was I born.] This is the day on which I shall seal with my lifeblood my faith in His cause."
Seeing the Prime Minister'suncertainty, he added quickly, "Be not, therefore, reluctant, and rest assured that I shall never blame you for your act. The sooner you strike off my head, the greater will be my gratitude to you."
The Prime Minister paled."Take him away from this place!" he cried. "Take him away! Another moment, and [he] will have cast his spell over me!"
QurlAn-'Ali smiled gently."You are proof against that magic that can captivate only the pure in heart."
Infuriated, the PrimeMinister arose from his seat. His face was mottled and his whole frame shaking with anger as he shouted:
Page 216"Nothing but the edge of the sword can silence the voice of this deluded people!" He turned to the executioners. It is enough. "No need to bring any more members of this hateful sect before me. Words are powerless to overcome their unswerving obstinacy. Whomever you are able to induce to recant his faith, release him; as for the rest, strike off their heads. I will face no more of them!"
The news of the tragic fate which had befallen the seven martyrs of TihrAn brought immeasurable sorrow to the heart of the Báb. To His companions, the BTh explained that this event foreshadowed His own death soon to follow.
The Prime Minister decided to strike at the very head of the Faith. Remove the Báb, he felt, and once more the old order could be restored. He called his counsellors together and unfolded his plans.
"Nothing," he told them, "short of his lithe BTh's]
public execution can enable this distracted country to recover its tranquillity and peace.~~ He dispatched an order commanding that the Báb be brought to Tabriz a second time.
Forty days before the arrival of this summons, the Báb collected all the documents and writings in His possession. He placed them in a box, along with His pen-case and ring, and made arrangements for their disposal. 'Abdu'1-Karim, to whom they were eventually entrusted, informed his fellow-disciples that all he could reveal of the letter which had been given him concerning the contents of the box was that it was to be delivered into the hands of Bahá'u'lláh, one of the ETh's ablest defenders in Tihr~n.
At last the Báb was escorted to the city of Tabriz which was to be the scene of His martyrdom. Never had this city experienced a turmoil so fierce. As the Báb was being led through the courtyard to His cell in the city barracks, a youth leaped forward into His path. This eighteen year old boy had forced his way through the crowd ignoring the peril to his own life which such an attempt involved.
His face was haggard, his feet were bare, his hair dishevelled. He flung himself at the feet of the BTh and implored
Him:Reminiscent of the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross, the BTh answered him, saying, "Muljammad-'A1I, arise and rest assured sured that you will be with Me. Tomorrow you shall witness what God has decreed." That night the face of the Báb was aglow with joy, a joy such as had never shone from His countenance. Indifferent to the storm that raged about Him, He conversed with His companions with gaiety and cheerfulness.
The sorrows that had weighed so heavily upon Him seemed to have completely vanished.
The Báb saw the sun rise over the sands of His native Persia for the last time. He was engaged in a confidential conversation with one of His followers who served as His secretary when He was interrupted by a government official.
The chief attendant for the Prime Minister's brother had come to lead the Báb to the presence of the leading Doctors of Law in Tabriz to obtain from them the authorization for His execution.
The BTh rebuked the attendant for his interruption and held fast to His secretary's hand.
"Not until I have said to him all those things that I wish to say," the Báb warned the attendant, "can any earthly power silence Me. Though all the world be armed against Me, yet shall they be powerless to deter Me from fulfilling, to the last word, My intention."
The attendant was amazed at such boldness and effrontery in a mere prisoner. He insisted that the Bib accompany him. The barracks doors were opened and the Báb was brought into the courtyard, His conversation left unfinished.
To the people of Tabrfz, the Báb was no longer triumphant. The campaign of united opposition by church and state was having its effect. The BTh was now a humbled prisoner.
The crowd filled the streets and people climbed on each other's shoulders the better to see this man who was still so much talked about.
Just as Jesus had entered Jerusalem hailed on all sides and with palms strewn in His path only to be mocked and reviled in that same Jerusalem within the week, in like manner the glory that had attended the Báb's first visit to Tabriz was forgotten now.
This time the crowd, restless and excitable, flung insulting words at the BTh. They pursued Him as He was led through the streets. They broke through the guards and struck Him in the face. When some missile hurled from the crowd would reach
Page 217CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE BAR 215
its mark the guards and the crowd would burst into laughter.
As soon as the chief attendant secured the death warrant, he delivered the 13Th into the hands of Sdm KhAn who was in charge of the Armenian regiment which had been ordered to execute Him.
S~m KlAn had found himself increasingly affected by the behavior of his captive. He was seized with great fear lest his action should bring upon him the wrath of God. He approached the Báb and spoke to Him.
"I profess the Christian Faith," he explained, "and entertain no ill will against you. If your Cause be the Cause of Truth, enable me to free myself from the obligation to shed your blood."
"Follow your instructions," the BTh replied, "and if your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you from your perplexity."
S6m Kh~n ordered his men to drive a nail into the pillar that lay between the doors of the barracks. To the nail they made fast the ropes from which the 13Th and His companion, Muliammad-'Ali, were to be separately suspended.
The Báb remained silent, His pale handsome face framed by a black beard and small moustache.
His appearance and His refined manners, His white and delicate hands, His simple but neat garments, all seemed out of place in the midst of this scene of violence.
Mu1~ammad-'Mi begged S~m KMn to place him in such a manner that his body would shield that of the Báb. He was eventually suspended so that his head rested upon the breast of his Master.
About ten thousand people had crowded onto the roofs of the adjoining houses, all eager to witness the spectacle, yet all willing to change at the least sign from the Báb. As the crowd that had passed by on Golgotha, reviling Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Save thyself.
If thou be the Son of God, come down from the crass," so, too, did the people of Tabrfz mock the Báb and jeer at His impotence.
As soon as the Báb and His companion were fastened to the post, the regiment of soldiers ranged itself in three files. S~m KMn could delay the command no longer. He ordered his men to fire. In turn, each of the files opened fire upon them until the whole detachment had discharged its volley of bullets.
The smoke from the firing of the seven hundred and fifty oldstyle rifles was such as to turn the light of the noonday sun into darkness.
As soon as the cloud of smoke had cleared away, the crowd looked upon a scene which reason could scarcely accept. Standing before them, alive and unhurt, was the companion of the Báb, Muhammad-'A1I. The Báb Himself had vanished from their sight. The cords with which they had been suspended were torn into pieces by the bullets, yet their bodies had escaped the volleys.
The soldiers tried to quiet the crowd. The chief attendant began a frantic search for the Báb. He found Him seated in the same room which He had occupied the night before. The Báb was completing the conversation which had been interrupted that morning by the chief attendant.
"I have finished My conversation with My secretary," the BTh told the attendant. "Now you may proceed to fulfil your intention."
The attendant was too much shaken to resume.He remembered the words the Báb had spoken that morning: "Though all the world be armed against Me, yet shall they be powerless to deter Me from fulfilling, to the last word, My intention."
The attendant refused to continue. He left the scene and resigned his post.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard the soldiers, in order to quell the excitement of the crowd, showed the cords which had been severed by the bullets.
The seven hundred and fifty musket balls had shattered the ropes into fragments and freed the two, nothing more.
A. L. M. Nicolas, a European scholar, wrote of this episode, "It was a thing unique in the annals of the history of humanity. The volley severed their bonds and delivered them without a scratch."
M. C. Huart, a French writer, stated, "It was a real miracle..:' SAm KhAn was likewise stunned. He recalled the words the Báb had addressed to him: "If your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you from your perplexity."
He ordered his regiment to leave the barracks square immediately. He told the authorities that he would refuse ever again to associate himself and his regiment with any act that would involve the least injury to the Báb, even though his refusal should entail the loss of his own life.
After the departure of Sgm KMn thecolonel of the bodyguard volunteered to carry out the order for the execution.
A second time the Báb and His companion were lashed to the fatal post while the firing squad formed in line before them. As they prepared to fire the final volley, the BTh spoke His last words to the gazing multitude.
"Had you believed in Me, 0 wayward generation," He said, "every one of you would have followed the example of this youth, who stood in rank above most of you, and willingly would have sacrificed himself in My path. The day will come when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall have ceased to be with you."
The regiment discharged the volley. The BTh and His companion gave up their lives as the bullets shattered their bodies.
As Jesus had expired on the cross so that men might be called back to God, the BTh breathed his last against the barracks wall in the city of Tabrfz.
The martyrdom of the Báb took place at noon on Sunday, July 9, 1850, thirty years from the time of his birth in
Shir~z.There is but one parallel in all recorded history to the brief, turbulent ministry of the Báb. It is the passion of Jesus Christ. There is a remarkable similarity in the distinguishing features of their careers: the youthfulness and meekness; the dramatic swiftness with which their ministry moved toward its climax; the boldness with which they dial-lenged the time-honored conventions, laws, and rites of the religions into which they had been born; the r&Ie which the religious hierarchy played as chief instigator of the outrages they were made to suffer; the indignities heaped upon them; the suddenness of their arrest; the interrogations to which they were subjected; the scourgings inflicted upon them; the public affronts they sustained; and finally their ignominious suspension before the gaze of a hostile multitude.
Sir Francis Younghusbandin his book, The Gleam, said, "His life must be one of those events in the last hundred years which is really worth study."
Edward Granville Browne, the famous Cambridge scholar, wrote, "Who can fail to be attracted by the gentle spirit of the Báb His sorrowful and persecuted life; his purity of conduct, and youth; his courage and uncomplaining patience under misfortune but most of all his tragic death, all serve to enlist our sympathies an behalf of the young Prophet of $hir~iz."
At last the clergy and the state prided themselves on having crushed the life from the Cause they had battled so long.
The Báb was no more. His chief disciples had been destroyed, the mass of His followers throughout the land were being gradually cowed and exhausted.
Within three years, the Cause for which the Báb had given His life seemed on the verge of extinction.
The life of the ill-fated Youth of Shir~z appeared to be one of the saddest and most fruitless.
Yet this abyss of darkness and despair was the very hour for which the Báb had long been preparing
His followers. RepeatedlyHe had told them that He was but the humble forerunner of a Messenger of incomparable greatness yet to follow. In His book the Baydn, the Báb had written, "Of all the tributes I have paid to Him Who is to come after Me, the greatest is this, My written confession that no words of Mine can adequately describe Him, nor can any reference to Him in My book, the Baydn, do justice to His Cause."4 Amid the shadows that were gathering about the Faith of the BTh, the figure of Bahá'u'lláh alone remained as the hope of an unshepherded community; that same Bahá'u'lláh, to whom the Báb had sent the box containing His personal possessions and His writings.
The marks of clear vision, of courage and sagacity which Bahá'u'lláh had shown on more than one occasion ever since he rose to champion the Cause of the BTh, appeared to qualify him to revive the fortunes of an expiring
Faith.Yet even this hope seemed taken from the believers.
Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in the "black pit" in Tihr~n. He was stripped of his possessions and was exiled to Baghdil in 'Iriq.
The Sh6h and the Primethey were to believe their counsellors, they would never again hear of the Báb or His Faith.
It was swiftly receding into oblivion.Once again they had underestimated the character of this Faith and the source of its power. The Báb had promised His followers in His book, the Baydn, that the one 4 World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, page 100.
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"Whom God will make manifest" would appear nineteen years from the date of His own declaration.
In 1863 outside the city of Baghd6xl, nineteen years from that evening in Shir4z when the BTh had spoken to Mull4 Ijusayn, Bahá'u'lláh declared to the world that He was the One foretold by the BTh.
8. PILGRIMAGE TO Báb'sThe Cause for which the 13Th had given His life no longer seemed to border on the verge of obliteration. The dawn had now given way to daylight. The era promised to the earth since the beginning of time, the day of the "one fold and one shepherd" had been ushered in by His sacrifice.
THE SCENES OF THE ANDA HUNDRED years have now gone by since the meek and holy Bab, the Gate of God, was put to death at noon on July 9, 1850, and even to the present day the world and its peoples ("except for those into whose eyes God hath shed the radiance of His Face") are fast in a deathlike sleep, unconscious of a mighty Faith, a transcendent Dispensation, which made prophets and seers of past ages cry out and weep with longing for it. At this time the Bahá'ís of the world, from the northernmost point of the globe to the southernmost, and from Far East to Far West, following the example of Shoghi Effendi turned their hearts toward the Country of Sorrows, to commemorate at the Guardian's bidding the first Centenary of the BTh's martyrdom.
In recognition of this event the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia went on a nine days' pilgrimage into AdbirMyj~n. This is an account of their journey and what it meant to one of them.
JOURNEY TO TAHRiZIt is Thursday, the 6th of iuiy, 1950. It is the day of Istijlttl, the day of Qudrat, the month of Rabmat, of the year JavTh, of the sixth Vtbid of the first Kull-i-Shay'.
The group of travelers has set out as pilgrims, in a spirit of humility and penitence and great Jove, going to the place of the B&b's last agony.
They are traveling to that spot whose very name, some thousand years ago, set fire to the heart of Muhammad's descendent the Im&m Mul.iammad-B64r, so that he spoke these words of it: "Inevitable for us is AdhirMyj5n.
Nothing can equal it They are traveling to see the place with their physical eyes, but also to weep over the anguish of that Lord of men in the Country of Sorrows itself, where earth and air, mountains and lakes, streams, trees, and stones bear witness to the wrong that was done Him. They will pour out for Him as a libation something of the sorrow of their hearts.
The bus goes fast. Again it slows. It fulfills the promise as to the Day of the Lord and the coming of the Kingdom when, Scripture says, the earth will be rolled up. All along our talk is of the passion of the BTh. We pass through Zanj4n and remember how lightly llujjat and his companions tossed away their lives there.
Wherever the new road replaces the old, we turn like compass needles to the abandoned thoroughfare, because it was there that the Bib passed by.
At Miy~naj we see Him again � in that house with the upper room. One of the friends calls our attention to the fact that the Báb loved high places; that even when they were leading Him away to prison, wherever they would stop, in whatever town or village, and even if there were oniy one upper room in the place, it was there He chose to stay. His prisons, too, whether in Tabriz or M6h-Kii or Chihriq, were always in high places. In His
Tablet to Muijammad Sh4hrevealed at MTh-Kii, He speaks, however, of His abode as being still higher than the prison, for He says, "It is as if I were dwelling in the loftiest Paradise, delighting
Page 220Mys elf with the remembrance of God the Most Great."
As we talk of all this, mountains and deserts and pasture lands pass by us, and about midnight we come to Tabriz. Waiting for us here are the believers, They welcome us, and carrying out the efficient arrangements of the Tabriz Assembly, they guide us away singly or by two's, to the different houses where we are to stay.
Here are people who have never laid eyes on us before, approaching us with such pleasure. And afterward, when we went away, although we had been with them only a few days, they wept and so did we. It is this that is stirring all over the Bahá'í world today, because the love of God has transfigured human nature.
It is two days before the Commemoration, Early on the day itself, all are to gather at the $a4ratu'1-Quds, where a general meeting will be held; communes will be chanted, the Guardian's letter will be read, and then, one by one or two by two, the visitors, guided by local believers, are to circle around the Barracks Square where the Bib was offered up as a sacrifice, the holy place of which it is written: "The souls of the Prophets and Messengers do pace about it." The meetings arranged throughout Tabriz are brilliant, Absent friends are remembered and missed.
We feel that the hearts of alI believers throughout East and West are focused on this city, and this gives rise to emotions that are best communicated not in words but from heart to heart.
ThE COMMEMORATIONNow it is the eve of the Martyrdom. The Baha is are in their houses; they are gathered in small groups, or quite alone. They are communing with their Lord. I cannot tell how it is. We recall the aspect of that other night one hundred years ago: How Mirza Muhammad-'A1I surnamed Anis and Siyyid Ijusayn the amanuensis remained in the presence of the Báb; the conversation that took place that night between disciple and Beloved; all this came to mind again. To emulate the kind of obedience that Anis offered his Lord that night � this is the ultimate wish of every
Baha'i.In a commentary the Báb had referred to the circumstances of His approaching martyrdom in this wise: "Had I not been gazing upon this secret fact, I swear by Him in Whose hand is My soul, should all the kings of the earth be banded together they could not take from Me so much as a single letter of a word."
And again, in the Tablet to Muijammad Shah: "All the keys of heaven God hath chosen to place on My right hand, and all the keys of hell on My left ." It was His own unconditioned will to cast down His holy life in the pathway of the "Remnant of God" � He Whom the Splendor of God has named "My previous
Manifestation, the Precursorof My Beauty." Of Whom, again, He has said, "I am He, He is I; I am
His Beloved; He is MyCould we sleep on a night like this? Day finally breaks. The appointed time approaches. It is as if from all the streets and passageways of Tabriz souls are gathering for Judgment. Yes, it is the Resurrection Day, the rise of the Qa'im and the Qayy6m. The squares of Tabriz are black with crowds.
"Deliver us, most exaltedforgive us then our sin and hide away from us our evil deeds." (Qur'an 3:191.)
Some are hurrying, reverently, prayerfully, up to the "Ark," the Citadel where the Báb was imprisoned, to that high place which even today dominates the whole city and which, once seen, is impressed on the heart forever, They go here, that they may, prior to commemorating the hour of the Martyrdom, witness yet another stage in the long passion of the B~b. Some wait till a later hour to make this pilgrimage. These stay in the vicinity of the Báb's upper chamber, and bowing their foreheads to the earth in that exalted place, are repeating excerpts from His writings, such as the Commentary on the S6rih of Joseph.
Not one has a thought except for the Beloved; they are in another world now, and they cannot easily return from it. At the base of the terrifying "Ark," at the entrance to the courtyard, the Báb has once again demonstrated His power; for on a structure they have raised here in memory of the dead, we find inscribed this verse from the Qur'an: "Think not of those who are slain in the path of God as dead; nay, alive with their Lord, are they richly sustained."
(Sfirih 3:163.) It stands as a secret allusion to the Báb's agony and death.
The pilgrims, reading this holy verse, seek leave to enter here, and thus they pass into the prison with their hearts free from everything except
God.CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 219
in Tabriz. The program goes forward; it is well arranged and deeply moving.
Although the friends in other areas have been advised not to attend in large numbers, nevertheless some are here from other parts of Adhir-bAyjAn for this historic day, and the great auditorium of the Iaratu'1-Quds is jammed; those who cannot find seats stand in the doorways and in the embrasures of the windows. Prayers are chanted. Then we listen to the Báb's Tablet to Muhammad ShAh. Today the holy blood of the Báb is coursing through the world, it is flowering everywhere, and where is Muliammad ShTh?
We search, but find no trace of him. That foolish Minister of his has also sunk into his tomb, and that other Prime Minister, Taqi the Bloodshedder, the Brazen, who condemned the Lord of the world to death, has vanished in eternal night.
Iii the Turkish language, the Assembly secretary then speaks. He tells impressively of the spread of the Faith across the world, and of the building of the BTh's Shrine on Mt. Cannel. The account of the Martyrdom is read.
A strange spiritual atmosphere prevails; you would say a glimmer from the world beyond is hovering here.
With complete humility, the Visitation Tablet of the Báb is chanted.
lit is almost noon. The pilgrims, led by some of the local friends, have come in utter lowliness, imploring the help of God, to circumambulate that place which is worshiped by the people of Paradise.
Unobtrusively they pass around the Barracks Square.
They see the very spot where the Martyrdom took place. They visualize the Barracks as they were that day, and the roof tops black with people.
They see the Báb there, bound to Anis, and suspended from the ropes. They hear again the words that passed between the Báb and the farrAsh-IAshi; between the Bib and SAm Kh6n. Then Anis, making himself a living shield for the BTh. Then the first volley, by the will of the Báb, setting forth His proof to the stupefied people, taking no effect. Anis stands there before them in his immaculate white robe; not even the smoke from the seven hundred and fifty rifles has settled on it. The Báb concludes His interrupted conversation with His amanuensis.
Other soldiers are drawn up. The Báb utters His last words, and His blessed voice still seems to ring across the Barracks Square: "0 wayward generation!
Had you believed lieved in Me, every one of you would have followed the example of this youth, who stood in rank above most of you, and would have willingly sacrificed himself in My path. The day will come when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall have ceased to be with you. "1 In the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "The groaning of the Supreme Concourse is lifted up.
The people of Paradise wail and cry out, their eyes shedding tears, their hearts afire." At this moment we are conscious of the loving attention of the Guardian, the beloved Shoghi Effendi, who labors at all times to exalt the Báb, who spreads His utterances abroad, who is now devoting his nights and days to constructing the Shrine of the Martyr-Prophet on Mt. Carmel.
The circumambulation is complete. A feast is ready.
But it is as if our bodies had sustained a death wound, and the pain does not lessen During the remainder of our stay a great number of gatherings are held, each one generating a vivid, never-to-be-forgotten quality of the spirit.
VISIT TO URPMIYYIHThe following day we leave for SaysTh. Some of the friends have come out along the way to welcome us while others have repaired and leveled the road ahead. What is this joy, this feeling of exhilaration?
In the spacious auditorium � I think it measures nine by nineteen meters � of the new Ija4ra a morning and an afternoon meeting are held. The auditorium is packed, there is no room even to walk through, many are crowding the embrasures of the windows and the doorways, and others stand outside the building.
Prayers are being chanted.As the Assembly welcomes us in the accents of Adhirb~yj4n, we recall the wellknown verse, "When they speak Persian, Turks are life-bestowers."
Two of us, Varq4 and Furii-tan, reply with addresses in Turkish, telling of victories already won by the Faith, and victories to come. Labib, famed Bahá'í photographer, takes pictures. He has made photographs of all these places that relate to the Báb in Adhirb~yj~n, the way-stations on His journey, the historic sites Food is prepared for us. The next day we visit the holy sites at
1 Shoghi Effendi, GodUrdmiyyih. We are to meet the friends of this area on our return. The lake of Ur6-miyyih rises before us, and we recall the BTh's arrival at the city here, RiQA'iyyih. As one of the friends has said, it is not saddening to visit these holy places, because outwardly at least the Báb suffered no afflictions here.
He was the guest of Malik Q~sim Mirza, who received Him with ceremony and forbade that any disrespect be shown Him. The room of the Báb, in the upper story of the prince's house, is like His upper chamber in S�fr6z; it lifts the spirit.
The entrance door and wall of the public bath attended by the Bib have been preserved; they are just as they were then. Dumbly they address the pilgrim. The pool of the bath is empty now.
The people had carried away, to the last drop, the water used by the B~~b for His ablutions, to bless themselves with it and keep it as medicine for their ills.
We know that even an animal had a care for Him here.
The prince's unmanageable horse became quiet under His hand, and let Him mount � a strange thing to witness, and the memory of it will endure forever.2 At the same time, a warning to mankind; for how is it that man in his unawareness has sunk even below the animal and has shut himself away from grace?
We cannot forget the meeting with our friends of Rhj~'iyyih, in a house blessed by the B&b with His presence.
Here too the invisible hand of the Báb has been at work � across from the Bath we read the inscription: "God is the Light of the heavens and of the earth." (Qur'an 24:35.) This verse appears in delicate calligraphy on sky-blue tile, and serves as a guide post to "the Countenance of God Whose splendor can never be obscured, the light of God whose radiance can never fade" � words uttered by the Primal Point Himself concerning
His own Essence.It is morning. Our bus leaves for Tabriz. The driver has agreed to stop all along the way so that we can meet with local friends, and some of these have been alerted ahead of time. The first place where we stop is ShThp6r (Sa1m~s), and a meeting is held. The pioneers here are solidly established; 2 The Dawn-Breakers, pages 309310.
like their spiritual brothers and sisters across Persia, they have left their homes and it is their great joy to have taken part in the extensive teaching campaign; to have earned the approval of the beloved Guardian who wrote of the Plan: "It is a vital undertaking of the followers of the All-Merciful, conceived and established in the opening years of the second century of the Bahá'í Dispensation, and without peer or precedent throughout all the brilliant history of the first century of this wondrous Cause in that holy land"; and to have assisted in the Plan's successful completion by the Centenary of the
Martyrdom.They are rendering enviable services and their faces are nothing but light.
Unforgettably now, a woman believer chants; her voice rises, all lowliness and supplication, so that our hearts are drawn toward God. And out of that place, Sa1m~.s, which lies near Chihriq � and which the poet Wtfi~ has named "the abode of Salm6," greeting it six hundred years ago and calling down blessings upon it, saying, "Hail, a thousand times hail, to thee, 0 abode of SalmM How dear is the voice of thy camel-drivers, how sweet the jingling of thy bells !" � out of Sa1m~s, which lies between the "Open Mountain" (MAh-Kii) and the "Grievous Mountain" (Cjiihriq), our unspoken prayers ring out from one mountain to the other. Surely they are heard as well in the holy worlds of the Beloved.
Suddenly we decide to follow the road taken by Mull4 IJusayn when in Mashhad, he vowed to walk the whole distance that separated him from the Báb, and come to Him on the mountain of M6.h-Kii.
We long to visit the spot on the mountain where the Lord shone forth, as promised by God in the
Qur'~nic verse: "WhenIt so happened that the Guardian's message, sent by telegraph in commemoration of the Martyrdom and addressed to the long-afflicted Bahá'ís of Persia, was dated at this very day and hour.
The words of the Im~m who said, "I have known God by His disposal of man's resolves," were now demonstrated. Everyone felt a longing to go on pilgrimage to "the Open Mountain."
The plan to turn back to Tabriz was changed; we determined to remain in Khuy and prepare for the pilgrimage to MTh-Kit Some feel that although they are unable
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to walk the entire distance that separated MullA tlusayn from the Báb they will at least go on foot from Kbuy to M~h-K4, following in the footsteps of MuIIA $usayn's faithful attendant,
Qambar-'Ali. UnfortunatelyIt is now almost half past three in the afternoon, and the bus is leaving for M6t-K6. Some of the friends of Khuy are with us. We find ourselves looking up and down the road, searching for Mull6.
Ijusayn and Qambar-'Ali, and we think of those two holy souls; we consider their humility, their spiritual quality, their evanescence.
Mountains and valleys pass by. The goal nears.Over a wide area around MAh-Ka the plains are black; the world mourns at M6zh-K6; for mile on mile the land is studded with outcroppings of glistening black rock.
Like ebony planets, these rocks rise out of the land; they flood it like waves of an ebony sea.
Posted haphazardly at the mountain pass are other, monstrous shapes, terrifying rock formations that guard the entry. All nature is a prison here, on guard over the Beloved of mankind, over that Captive of Whom Bahá'u'lláh has written: "The purpose in creating the world and making it to flourish was His Manifestation."
We come to a river that boils and clamors through the rocks; it has cut its way through solid rock and is maybe fifteen feet deep. We remember how Nabil tells us that the night before Mu11~ Ijusayn and his servitor arrived � it was on the eve of the
Feast of the New Year � AllKjiAn, the frontier officer in charge of the castle of M~ih-Kii, had a dream.
He saw the Prophet Muhammad, followed by a companion, advancing to meet him from beside the bridge. In the dream, Mubammad was on His way to visit the cas-tie, to greet the Báb on the occasion of the New Year. ~A1i KMn awoke with a sense of exhilaration. He performed his ablutions and prayed, dressed himself in his best garments, sprinkled rosewater on his hands, and went out on foot to receive the Visitor.
He further instructed a servant to saddle and bridle his three best horses and bold them in readiness at the bridge. But when he met Mull6. Ijusayn there 'All KhAn was told: "I have vowed to accomplish the whole of my journey on foot, to visit an illustrious Personage who is being held prisoner on top of Masj~had is in the northeast corner of Persia; M~h-Kti in the extreme northwest corner.
the mountain. For this reason I will not ride."We strain our eyes, but we cannot see 'All KMn now, and his honored visitors. But the memory of this event has, even till our day, made the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Bahá'ís all across the world beat faster; and God alone in His wisdom knows how many billions of other hearts, throughout the length of the Bahá'í Cycle which in the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá is to last "at least five hundred thousand years," will turn their attention toward this place.
We are still in the defile.And then suddenly, around the bend, there is "the Open Mountain" and the town of M~h-Kti on its slopes.
You who may read this, believe me: I would swear by Him Who is the Lord of the mountain that in all the world there is no such terrifying sight as this. Those who have traveled to the ends of the earth will bear me out: There is no other mountain like this. It has no like, just as the anguish of the Báb had no like, so that the Blessed Beauty wrote in the Visitation Tablet: "I bear witness that the eye of creation hath never gazed upon one wronged like Thee."
If, as scientists believe, our globe of dust detached itself one way or another from the sun, and down through the endless ages came at last to be as we know it, it is certain that wind and cloud, sun, moon, and sky worked from the beginning that had no beginning to bring about this mountain of MTh-K6, in just this wise, to serve as the prison of the Báb. It is not a place that writers and painters can describe, this spot that was the destined setting against which the meekness of the Báb shone out. The reader must see the mountain for himself, and the prison house and the place where the Lord made Himself manifest, and he must then observe what the sight has done to his own heart, and meditate on these things through long, wakeful nights and at many a dawn, and then, if he can, let him write of it. We are speaking of this when, after a brief detour from the road in the frightening pass that leads through the mountain, we see on our right a view of "the Open Mountain" and on its slopes the town of Mih-Kfi. At this point the pass, lying between M&h-K6 and another high mountain that pushes into the sky across from it, widens out. And again we come face to face with the heights of M&h-Kii.
Then the pass narrows again asif it were the mouth of the Fathomless Pit. The mountain stretches like a bow, between the entrance and exit of the pass.
It rises, awesome, overpowering, into the sky. It rivab the moon's heights, and shuts the moon away.
At either end of the bow, nature has piled two massive towers, lifting out of the mountain, up and up into the Milky Way.
From a distance you would say these two are jailers, adding to the cruelty of the BTh's imprisonment. Or again, that they are minarets from which was raised the cry, "Hasten ye to salvation! Hasten ye to salvation! I bear witness that He Who is 'All before Nabil4 ('All-Muhammad, the Báb) is the Gate of the
Remnant of God!"The city of MTh-K6 lies within the curve of the bow, the opening of which is several hundred meters across; it clings to the steep slopes, an almost perpendicular street rises jaggedly from house to house, leading finally up to the mountain top. Panting and sweating we climb toward the summit. Not all of us, however. One or two of the band who set out from Khuy to make this pilgrimage cannot keep on; the road is too rough, too steep.
They cannot reach that last point of all, the prison of the BTh. They complete their pilgrimage by the roadside, and who knows, perhaps they show a special reverence in this.
As the Báb writes in the Tablet to Mu-l~ammad $tAh, the castle lies in the center of the mountain and there is no higher point. The slope ends abruptly at the castle and above it there is not a span of earth where anything could be built or find a foothold. Not jutting straight up in fortress-like walls, but inverted here in a wide arc, the mountain becomes a great parasol or cupda sheltering the prison place. Rain and snow cannot fall here; stars and moon cannot cast down their light; only the cruel cold, the scorching heat can enter here. For all day long in the heat of summer, the fortress and the mountain, like a concave mirror, gather in the heat, and all night long, while in other places people are restfully asleep, they radiate it back. And wintertimes the cold is so intense that the water which the BTh used for His ablutions froze on His face.
It is here that the Monarch of love was beset by the legions of tyranny, and the Dove of holiness prisoned by owls.
4 According to the abjad reckoning, "Nabfl" and "Muhanunad" are numerical equivalents, the letters of each word totaling 92.
The two towers which nature has planted on the slopes of the mountain seem from here more vigilant than ever, holding their Captive in full view.
A deep cleft runs crookedly from the summit all the way down the mountain and across from the prison, like a knotted black cord hanging; thousands of feet it swings down, a symbol of the anger of God. Perhaps it means that God desires to pull down the mountain, to crush out nature and man as well. Yet again, we believe that MTh-KP, the prison of His Holiness, should exist forever, that, as the ages unroll, the peoples of the earth may come at last to understmd some hint of the B fib's agony. So it is that the pull of the earth has not been able to draw down this curving roof-like peak, raised up "without pillars that can be seen" (Qur'an 31:9) and that castle and mountain stand in their place.
This is MAh-KflThe pilgrims, with two of the Bahá'ís who are pioneers at MTh-K6, reach only the base of the mountain at sunset.
They must climb the mountain before night shuts down, for at the summit is their long-desired goal.
At this time we bring to mind what Shayki Ijasan-i-ZunPzi said to the historian Nabil: That as the BTh dictated
His Teachings at MTh-Kttthe rhythmic flow of His chant could be heard by those who lived at the foot of the mountain, and mountain and valley reechoed His voice.
What a melody that must have been; how it must have shaken the spirit!
Our ears strain now in the effort to hear it again, or to catch the song of the Kingdom that reverberates from slope to slope.
After long twisting and turning up the mountain we draw near to the abode of the Well Beloved.
Here is another "oratory"5 at the base of the walls; from the heart of the mountain, gushing beneath the castle, a stream of pity and anguish jets out with a noise like sighs and sobs and plunges down the mountain, scattering over the surface of a massive rock. Here is clear delicate water, well-suited to this holy place, for our ablutions. The friends are very careful not to muddy it. We come to the castle steps. Step after step, our yearning mounts.
Here then is the prison of the Lord of the Age.Here is the 5 Musalld, "The Oratory," a favorite resort of the poet ~Idfi? near 5~frgz, watered by the stream of Run~Md.
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place where they brought as a captive the Sovereign and Possessor of the earth, of Whom it is written: "My Lord bath ordained that all which is and all which is not should belong to the Adored One that liveth forever."
Now we can make out His cell and that of His guards.
The sorrowing voice of the BTh, which could move a heart to its depths, seems to be ringing against the mountainside, and the sacred verses He addressed to Muijammad SliTh from this very place speak to our souls: "I swear by the Most Great Lord! Wert thou to be told in what place I dwell, the first person to have mercy on Me would be thyself. In the heart of a mountain is a fortress the inmates of which are confined to two guards and four dogs. Picture, then, My plight All of us, in complete humility, praying and supplicating God, visit the cells and rooms, We take up the dust of the holy place for a blessing.
We chant verses of theof Mine eyes! Verily Thou art the Great Announcement!" "0
Thou Remnant of God!I have sacrificed Myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake, and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love."
We call to mind His Manifestation and His longing to offer Himself up in death. The Visitation Tablet is chanted. As we stand there in the dark of the night, we remember that the Holy Being spent His nights on the mountain in total darkness; there was not even a candle for Him here.
Our hearts are heavy; grief bows us down. But suddenly we are comforted by the words of the Primal Point to His own Essence:
"Be patient, 0 Consolationof Mine eyes, for verily God hath vowed to establish Thy glory in every land, amongst all that dwell on earth." Our minds are now flooded with joy.
It is as if from one end of the sky to the other a blinding light shines down. We see that the BTh � Who in this place out of the very depths of His captivity and His anguish revealed unnumbered utterances � completely disregarded the prison, and continued to exercise that all-powerful, all-pervasive Will, against which no worldly might prevails.
In His Book, the Persian Baydn, written on this mountain top, from this dark and narrow cell, He alludes to His own glory; and with His promise of World Order bestows new life on all mankind, and relates the exaltation of His own eternal rank and station to the spreading awareness of this Order.
In the heart of this mountain the wrongs inflicted on Him Whom the world has wronged stand before us. But in the heart of another mountain, which seems now to rise face to face with this one and in sharp contrast with this, the sovereignty, dominion and might of the Lord are made manifest. The Guardian of Bahá'u'lláh's followers, the "primal branch" that hath grown out "from the Twin Holy Trees,'' watches us here, watches the two mountains. Here is Mth-K6; and there is the holy mountain where the Báb's body is laid to rest � named by Prophets thousands of years back in time the
Mountain of God (Mt.has related that mountain to His own Self. The Heavenly Father has chosen that spot to hold the dust of the Báb, and has set it apart as the center of His new World Order.
THE MOUNTAIN OF VICTORYNow that we speak of these things here at MAh-Kti in the BTh's prison, and Mt. Carmel rises suddenly before us, it is not inappropriate to turn our thoughts toward His everlasting resting place, so that we may note how the long cruelties, the prison, and at last the bullets � intended, in the words of the Almighty, to free mankind from the chains of self and passion � were changed into abiding glory. How Bahá'u'lláh, in the pathway of Whose love the Báb sought and found death, fulfilled the promises voiced by the Prophets of God back through the endless ages, when He named Mt. Carmel as the Shrine of the BTh.
flow at 1-us command the blessed hands of 'Abdu'l-Bahá reared the divine edifice; how redemption of the promises set down in the Tablet of Carmel6 was entrusted to the mighty arm of Shoghi Effendi, the wondrous, unique and priceless Guardian.
What is the best way to go on pilgrimage to the City that has come down from heaven, as the Shrine of the Rib is called in the Tablet of Carmel; the Shrine which, Bahá'u'lláh tells us, Mt. Zion circumambulates?
Shall we take the path that leads from the Pilgrims' House all the way to the Tomb � the house that after its builder is named Ja'far-Ab6d?
'Abdu'l-Bahá said that HMiz referred to this house when he wrote: 6 In Gleanings from the Writings of Rahd'u'lldh, pages 1417.
Page 226Or, as in the case of M~~h-K6, when we looked first at the mountain itself, shall we contemplate the Shrine from a distance and set these two mountains against each other and compare them each to each? I think this last is best.
We follow the Guardian over the flowering slopes of Haifa. They seem to glitter with colored gems and pearls, like a bride at her wedding, and we repeat to ourselves the lines, "From every branch within the blossoming grove, a thousand petals are cast before the king."
We observe the Guardian's gait, and we think that if men's eyes were seeing eyes, this in itself would be proof enough.
We have watched the sea in the sunset and now we are returning. We look upon Carmel, heart of the world, and at its center the BTh's Shrine, heart of Carmel. We see its terraces from far away, burning like lighted torches before the eyes of its builder. The Guardian smilingly contemplates all this. His voice, strong and clear, rings down the mountain; he is saying, "Terraces of light; light upon light."
His words echo back from the slopes and the sea.We think of the contrast between those long nights on MTh-Kit when the Báb was denied even a candle, and now, when the terraces of His Shrine are light upon light, the face of the building is a solid sheet of light, the whole mountain is to blaze with light. We remember two lines that were chanted by 'Abdu'l-Bahá: "Glad tidings, glad tidings!
Zion is dancing! Glad tidings, glad tidings!Instead of panting and struggling up the narrow twisted road at M6h-K4, stopping at times because we can climb no more, here we can rest on every terrace in the midst of gardens and trees, in lovely settings of mountainside and sea. Pools and fountains are to be built here that will reflect the sky and heaven. Each terrace is dedicated to one of the Letters of the Living, and we are received as it were by him. We forget our sorrows, as we take deep breaths of the delicate air.
No longer is the Báb a captive on M~th-K6. He rests in the divine gardens on the Mountain of God.
He lies across the Bay of Haifa from His Well-Beloved, HaM'-u'llAh, u'llAh, the Point of Adoration, Him Whom God made manifest.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who had cast aside His turban and wept and sobbed aloud as, with His own hands, He laid the flAb's body in the heart of Carmel, Himself rests now beside the Báb. The companion who died with the B~b has never been separated from Him. Near them are built the tombs of the Most Exalted Leaf, and of the brother, the mother, and consort of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
From the foot of the mountain all the way to the Shrine, the nine terraces rise in memory of nine Letters of the Living, and, in accord with the Guardian's design, from the Shrine to the summit of Mt. Carmel nine more shall complete the number.
The beloved Guardian, called by the Master "My Shoghi," was from his early childhood enamored of the BTh. He dreamed of the Báb, and he was named RabbAni in memory of the Báb's title Rabb-i-A'14.
It is he who, standing on the heights of the Shrine, drew the geometric designs of the terraces. He laid out the gardens, and established the International Bahá'í Endowments about the Shrine. He has placed here the International Archives, of whose treasures Bahá'u'lláh had promised, "Ere long souls will be raised up who will preserve every holy relic in the most perfect manner." The portrait of the Bib, drawn in Urfimiyyih and gazed upon by Bahá'u'lláh Himself, is here. Here too are His outer garments and His shirt, soaked in His blood. A copy of the portrait and locks of the IThb's hair have been sent as a historic gift to the
Bahá'í House of Worshipin the United States, which has been completed under the Guardianship of Shoghi Effendi; and the Guardian has promised a copy to Persia, cradle of the Faith, as soon as the first Persian Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is built.
The Guardian has added to the Shrine on Mt. Carmel three rooms built according to the same plan as those already constructed by the Master. He has extended the length, width and height of the Shrine, and is now protecting the Edifice like a pearl of great price within the shell of an arcade and crowning it with a balustrade set with panels, the central one to the north bearing a great green and gold mosaic of the Greatest Name.
It is the Guardian who has widely spread the works of the Báb. In
"The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh"CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE DAB 225
station of the Báb. By translating the narrative of Nabil he has published the days of the B~b across the earth. He has seen to it that in every area the Centenaries of the Báb's Declaration and of His Martyrdom were befittingly celebrated. Across over a hundred countries he has added thousands upon thousands of souls to the company of those who love the Báb, and he is looking for yet more countries to come.
At this time the Guardian is concentrating his labors on completion of the Edifice, importing marbles and granite and other priceless rock materials that had lain in the earth down endless ages until at last they should serve for the building of just such a Shrine � rock materials in jade and rose, that are symbols of the BTh's lineage and the way He died. Following the architect's design (you can see it in color, in the pages of that mirror of Bahá'í activities around the globe, The Bahá'í World) 7 the arcade and balustrade have been completed, and the Guardian is now working day and night to direct completion of the superstructure and rear the great golden dome. Then the light will pour out of this source of light and envelop all mankind, and the "peo-ple of Bah~" referred to in the Tablet of Carmel will be made manifest, and God will sail His ark upon His holy mountain, and the laws of God will be made known to all men, and the Tabernacle of the Lord of Hosts will be pitched on the heights of Carmel, and the divine World Order be unveiled; and there near the resting place of the Most Exalted Leaf (the sister of 'Abdu'l-Bahá) and the other blessed ones, and in the neighborhood of the Holy Shrine, the Universal House of Justice will be established, and the promise "Then shalt thou see the AbM paradise on earth" will be redeemed.
Let us go into the gardens around the Shrine-Tomb.
Let us walk there on the Mountain of God, and "unravel the mysteries of love from its windflowers," for "solaced are the eyes of them that enter and abide therein!" Let us see with our own eyes how "the rosegardens that grow around His Holy Tomb have become the pleasure-spot of all kinds and conditions of men," how the flower beds and fruit-bearing trees cluster so thick around the Shrine. Visitors, not Baha'is, will tell you these fresh and green
I Frontispiece, Volumeand delicate gardens have no equal anywhere else.
When the famed Orientalist A. L. M. Nicolas, who had longed to see the Báb's Shrine exalted, received as a gift from Shoghi Effendi a copy of its design, together with a copy of The Dawn-Breakers of Na-Ni, he was so moved that he kissed the bearer's hand. Strangers love this place, how much more do the friends.
Within the holy precincts we put on slippers and anoint ourselves with rose water poured out by the Guardian himself, this wonderful personage who has arisen "with the most perfect form, most great gift, most complete perfection." His handsome face is so phenomenally bright that the Master wrote, "His face shineth with a brightness whereby the horizons are illumined."
Within the Shrine his voice, resonant, haunting, lifts in the Visitation prayer: "The praise which hath dawned from Thy most august Self, and the glory which bath shone forth from Thy most effulgent Beauty, rest upon
TheeI wonder if I am awake or in a dream. "Bless Thou, 0 Lord my God, the Divine Late-Tree and its leaves, and its boughs, and its branches as long Thy most excellent titles will endure and Thy most august attributes will last." If we observe the Guardian when he places flower petals on the threshold of the Báb's sepulcher, we shall see as he strews the roses and violets there how intense are the stirrings of His love.
Today from the mountain of M~ih-K~i the anguished cry of the Báb is raised no more: "In this mountain I have remained alone, and have come to such a pass that none of those gone before Me have suffered what I have suffered, nor any transgressor endured what I have endured!" With these great victories, these new and mighty institutions, surely the sorrow of His heart is stilled at last, and out of the verses of the Baydn He is calling: "Well is it with him who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Bahá'u'lláh and rendereth thanks unto His Lord!"
Today the B6t is not alone on the mountain any more: "The people of the Supreme Horizon and the presences who dwell in the eternal paradise circle around His Shine." The love of the Bahá'ís around the globe, from Anchorage to Magallanes, from farthest East to farthest West, gathered within the shelter of the Branch of the Sinaitic
Page 228Tree, centers on this place and is offered up continuously to Him; while the Guardian labors by day and by night to bring to pass the prophecy of the Master when He said: "I see the ships of all the kings of the world berthed at the docks of Haifa.
I see the sovereigns disembark.Bareheaded and barefooted, and carrying on their shoulders vases studded with jewels, they advance toward the Shrine." And to fulfill these written words set down by the Pen of
Glory:"After that which is inevitable shall have came to pass, these very kings and presidents will follow in the footsteps of the champions of the Cause of God.
They will enter the field of service. They will fling in the dust the crowns of their perishable sovereignty and place on their heads the diadems of utter servitude, and in the front ranks of the pioneers they will labor with all their heart, with all their possessions, with all that God in His bounty hath bestowed upon them, to spread this Faith. And when their labors are completed they will hasten to this sacred place, and in complete humility, supplicating God, bowing down before Him, in utter lowliness, they will circle round the Holy Shrines, and lifting their voices will cry out to heaven, extolling and magnifying and glorifying the Lord, and they will unveil and establish before all the peoples of the earth the incalculable greatness of this almighty
Faith."In this unfaithful world, this house of grief, where all things die except the Face of the Beloved, where in a little while there will be no sign of us left, let us bequeath to those who will come after us an enduring proof of what we feel. So that they will remember us, who lived in the days of the first Guardian; so that they will tell one another, for five thousand centuries to come, how we loved the
Primal Point.9. A CENTURY OF WORLD CRISIS, 185O~195O* By G. A. BORGESE, PH.D.
Pro jessor of Italian Literature, The University of Chicago; Founder and Secretary
General of the Committee to Frame a World Constitution; Director of Common
CauseHE world crisis as it existed a few weeks ago was bland as compared with its present phase.'
I shall, however, cling to the topic of my brief talk, while apologizing if it is inherently difficult or practically impossible to * From stenographic notes of an address delivered at the Centenary Commemoration of the Martyrdom of the B6M held at the Baha House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, July 9, 1950.
In this talk Dr. Borgese outlines some of the elements of the crisis of western civilization in the last century.
He uses as an explanatory key the proposal that the cause of the crisis has been the fragmentation of the humanistic and cosmopolitan culture of eighteenth century Europe, a time in which educated people were in surprising agreement as to their social and educational ideals and in their scientific and artistic interpretations of the world. Using this fragmentation as a general theme, he traces its development in successive areas of human endeavor � in political, social and economic organization and in science, education and the arts. Finally, Dr. Borgese argues that the only way to end the crisis is to bring about a reunification of social and cultural ideals by a return to the true nature of religion. (Editors.)
1 The invasion of Korea occurred on June 25, 1950, two weeks before this address was delivered.
(Editors.)distinguish the scientific factors of the crisis from those related to education and culture, as it is also very difficult or sheerly impossible to separate sharply all these from the political and the social causes of the disorder.
Obviously the main political factor in the crisis of the last century has been the rise of the national states to absolute independent sovereignties with no superior authority acknowledged.
Hence ultimately the boundless helium omnium contra ornnes � the war of everybody against everybody.
There was still, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, a certain shadow if not reality of superior authority. There was striving for something that could connect the various national, local efforts. Napoleon tried it in a bad way in his wars of conquest � in a certain other way, perhaps not quite so bad as those we have seen since, he tried it. At the
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middle of the nineteenth century all his cosmopolitan schemes and other remainders of all-embracing authority had collapsed. Nations and nation-states emerged in their self-sufficient power.
Obviously, also, the main social factor has been, as everybody knows, the maturation of the industrial revolution. Here three consequences can be distinguished.
The first of these is the growth in the absolute power of management, a development which built the basic pattern for any totalitarianism, fascist or other. Then there is the depersonalization of capital, so that anybody can have shares in a factory manufacturing fertilizers or shares in an automotive industry, without knowing the least thing about either activity and without having any contact with planning and production.
And finally, a third factor as a consequence of the maturation of the industrial revolution: the sharp demarcation between the owner class and the working class, creating a division of classes deeper than has been known in the MiddLe Ages or in the early modern age.
Now when we speak of these factors, which are supposed to be well known to any cultivated and thoughtful mind, we must, however, incur the danger of speaking moralisticalLy, of sermonizing, as if the only perilous things that have happened were due to the ill will of a few men or states, and as if we were holier than they and we could have avoided them if we had been at the helm. No such boastful and ridiculous implication is included in my presentation. Anything that has happened must be looked at with a certain kind of reverence toward what was evidently inevitable or at least was not avoided.
True, the subject suggested to me, "A Century of World Crisis, 18501950," is connected with the event of the martyrdom of the BTh that Sunday � it was a Sunday, too, I have learned � July 9, 1850. However, the connection is not merely arbitrary or pious. As a matter of fact, things of an epochmaking nature did happen at the middle and around the culmination of the nineteenth century. The Revolutions of 1848, that upsurge of idealistic popular will, were suppressed.
No occasion for resistance was any more offered.The balance between the possible armaments of the armed people of the barricades and the armaments in the hands of the government reached a decisive level at that moment.
In the future a strong government would always hold a monopoly of arms. The derogatory conception of the popular revolutions, as they had been arising at that time, had two faces, two aspects. On the one hand there was the Communist Manifesto of Marx and Engels of 1848, establishing or contending that nothing like bourgeois revolutions can lead anywhere, that the reformation must be deeper and infinitely more radical, and that this reformation must also be against the assumption of the bourgeois revolution's ideas of liberty, justice and whatnot. On the other hand, the other aspect of the crisis at that moment is seen in the dominating behavior of the governments, whether extant or in the making, in so far as they conceived governance as power, or acquisition of power, as a matter of power, exercised from on high, not as a tumult from below.
If you take the examples of the two most recent national unities in Europe, that is, Italy and Germany, you see the phenomenon happening in both countries.
In Italy from the Mazzinian or great popular idealism we step over to the wise calculation of the man on horseback, Cavour; and the free bourgeois progressive Germany of Frankfurt disappears, vanishes, before the iron fist policy and success of Bismarck. These are some of the events that happened at the culmination of the nineteenth century.
There is another crisis in the fields to which I have referred, that is, in science, education and culture, which in a very similar way belongs in the same trend. One of the epochmaking events immediately after the culmination of the nineteenth century was the publication in 1859 of the basic book of Darwin, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or (the title continues) the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
There have been a number of occasions on which I have indicated that the real religion of our age is evolution, meaning by religion the complex of imaginations and beliefs, that is, the Weltanschauung, the cosmic conception of the whole. But I am glad to make it clear that evolution is nevertheless a religion which falls into two churches: There is evolutionism of the right and there is evolutionism of the left.
The evolutionism of the right is a popular interpretation of Darwin which had its heyday in the latter part of the nineteenth century and which
Page 230finally received its most glamor-like accent in Nietzsche's philosophy.
This church of the right is a church of discord, of struggle, the survival of the fittest. One can say it is the religion of Ens, discord, whereas the church of the left, evolutionism of progress, achieved through cooperation, through mutual aid, much rather than through conflict, should be called the church of Eros, the church of love. The evolutionary church of the right had a prevalence during the latter part of the nineteenth century and the beginning of ours.
In education the consequences both of the prevalence of the natural sciences and of the mechanical sciences and of the industrial revolution were necessarily specialization. The vocational skill was deepened and sharpened in the one direction of labor and production, while the universality of humanism went to pieces.
In another field, that of culture, we have, in 1857, the publication of Baudelaire's Fleurs du Ma! (the flowers of evil), a book of grandiose lyrical power which, however, has the effect of making amends to the prophetic, the moral, the ethical kind of poetry which was represented at that time, particularly by Victor Hugo in France, but you may also remember as part of its imitations Tennyson in England or Walt Whitman in the United States. Even at the risk of exposing the moralistic poetry to ridicule, of sapping the authority of the Good and establishing Beauty as the criterion, even as the Flower (La Fleur) on the root and stem of evil, the former poetry no longer has the approval of Baudelaire and those who fob low.
Most of the poetry since Baudelaire has stressed Beauty in the form of expression over the Good.
However, I cannot help returning to a crude but extremely significant book by Tolstoy, written around, very shortly before, the end of the nineteenth century, the title of which is What Is Art? It is crude because the taste of Tolstoy was, shall I say, fanatically colored � a direction of judgment that was taken by him in that he did not have any remorse or any restraint. Having established that music can be corruptive, he breaks his lances not oniy against Wagner's Siegfried but also against Beethoven's Kreut-zer Sonata, even against the Ninth Symphony with which he should have felt himself in complete agreement. And equally savage is he in scores of other particular judgments. But he is right when he speaks against what we have called the aesthetics of expressionism, saying that art or poetry or fiction is not expression alone, it is communication.
It is a communicated expression which has power over the minds and hearts of our fellow men. "Art," he wrote, "is not a pleasure, a solace or an amusement.
Art is a great matter.Art is an organ of human life, transmuting man's reasonable perception into feeling. The task of art is enormous. It is through the influence of the real art that the peaceful cooperation of man which is now plagued by external means should be obtained, by man's free and joyous activity. Art should cause violence to be set aside, and it is only art that can accomplish this."
Now if we consider what is our present attitude toward these main factors of the crisis through which we have lived and are living, we see that the first factor consisted of national policies and the industrial revolution mastered by the will to power, both of them to be considered together � military political power in the state, production and enlargement of production in industry. We have also had regimentation, a second factor in the fragmentation of humanism, that is, specialized and vocational skill.
The third factor is deviation of the arts and of culture in general, which have become an assemblage of facts, a deviation from a feeling of responsibility as communication to its feverish exultation in pure expressionism.
If we look at our attitudes toward these evils, the progress that has been achieved is that we have become cautious, we have become aware of them, and we realize that the higher and bloodier the crisis arises, the more tensely are we in quest of remedies, of rewards. There are remedies that have been proposed of the reactionary, of the retrograde kind, that is, to dig out some things from the past ancient medieval civilization or even from the monistic2 liberal civilization of the eighteenth century, and to build them anew and give them a new chance for life; that is the fertilization of fossils.
It cannot be successful.At least the second kind of remedy is more hopeful, and that is the creation of something new from the past with the clear vision that when we speak of politics and industrial revolution 2 Monistic, that is, the humanized world as composed of interrelated cultures which was destroyed (broken up into fragmentary concepts) in the nineteenth century.
(Editors.)CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 229
and science and technology and education and culture and liberty and the arts, we are simply naming and listing the boughs of one tree, the tree being religion, provided that the word religion is understood in its cosmic sense.
It is very curious that even at the acme of scientism, of positivism, it is Auguste Comte who already at the beginning of the latter part of the nineteenth century tried to transmute the belief in science into a mystical belief.
He created, together with a sublime woman friend of his, an unsuccessful and yet significant religion of science. But then, even more convincing, you see a personality like Gandhi arise from the tail end of Hinduism and extract from Hinduism what is of universal and permanent value, leaving the metaphors and imaginations and the myths to the delight of the cultivated mind or to the pleasure of the uncultivated, to the pleasure and comfort of the popular mind, but hallowing and cleansing the substance of the Hindu teaching as the age wants it to be understood. Nor is the experience of Tolstoy different, who, after all, performed the same operation in what concerned Christianity. He did not even want to know, right or wrong as he may have been, anything about the resurrection of Jesus, or about redemption through Christ's sacrificial death; all this was for him superstition or myth.
What he wanted was the Christian idea of the universality of man, and of brotherly love, to be extracted as the real, permanent, inextinguishable quintessence of the historical transformation of the Christian creed.
But the importance � I should not say but, I should say and � the real meaning and importance of your religion of the Bahá'í Faith is in this trend, that it is again a contribution through the very curvilinear ways, one might say providential, of Isl6m which had been separated for centuries from the culture of the human progressive family and which enters it again through a twig arising from that branch of the Is1~mic tree which had already given the fruits that everybody remembers in the late Middle Ages and in the Sufi poetry of that Persia where Tabriz, the place of the martyrdom of the Báb, is located. Nor could anybody forget that civilization owed to IslLm one of the most creative elements of progress in the late Middle Ages and in the eve of the Renaissance, that is, the principle of religious tolerance, or even more than tolerance, the idea that the Jew, the Christian and the Arabian all, after all, believe the same thing.
Then, in later times, it seemed as if the West had gone its own way; as if only the self-enclosed or impoverished elements of the Is1~mic tradition were at work in the Near and Middle East.
There is something dramatic and thrilling in the appearance of this solitary man, the Báb, who resumes the IsJ~mic tradition from its sources and who brings it to the necessary conclusion that there is one mankind, one world, and "mankind its citizens." And that there is only one religion and all the Prophets have taught that one.
So there is another spur, and it is another revelation of the concomitance of the good efforts all around the world; the fact that the Báb and His successors have been able to raise congregations in the United States is another evidence, if you are ready for the paradox, that the real Christianity or real Judaism is not quite dead in this country, so that an IslAmic prophecy could be accepted in so far as it found a terrain in traditions of the West which you did not want to dishonor or disown.
Now I have finished, with the desire only of adding one more expression of my thankfulness for having been singled out for this appearance. As a matter of fact the distance, physical, between Wilmette and the South Side of Chicago where the University is located, and a little house where are the offices of the Committee to Frame a World Constitution, in which is located the Common Cause of which I am the director � the distance between Wilmette and the South Side of Chicago is small. The distance between what you are doing and worshiping here and what we are doing and attempting there is nothing. It has been said in 1936 by Shoghi Effendi, and similar words have appeared in earlier Writings of the
Bahá'í"A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and exercising unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably vast resources, blending and embodying the ideals of both the East and the West, liberated from the curse of war and its miseries, and bent on the exploitation of all the available sources of energy on the surface of the planet, a system in which Force is made the servant of Justice, whose life is sustained by its universal recognition of one God and by its allegiance to one common Revelation � such
Page 232is the goal towards which humanity, impelled by the unifying forces of life, is moving."3 And we wrote in the Preamble of our preliminary draft of a World Constitution: "The people of the earth having agreed that the advancement of man in spiritual excellence and physical welfare is the common goal of mankind, that universal peace is the prerequisite for the pursuit of that goal, that justice in turn is the prerequisite of peace, and peace and justice stand or fall together, that iniquity and war inseparably spring from the competitive anarchy of the national states, that therefore the age of nations must end and the era of humanity begin."
That is what we wrote and write, because our work proceeds. It counts on your he1p~ and on your vicinity. This is a good occasion for me to invite all of you, or at least
From "Unfoldment of WorldCivilization," written in 1936, by Shoghi Effendi, published in World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 204.
those who can, to join physically or spiritually in what ways would be the best to further the
Fourth World Congressfor World Federal Union which we are calling to be assembled in Rome in 195 14 � a year of decision.
The spirit which leads us there is yours as it is ours. Nowhere has it been said better what unites us to you and you to us, as a symbolic meeting of what should be and shall be, the universal meeting of the human mind, than in the first two and most basic of the nine selected utterances of Bahá'u'lláh carved on the exterior of this House of Worship. The first repeats: "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens."5 The second: "The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice. Turn not away therefrom if thou desirest
Me."6for World Federal Government was held in Rome, Italy, April 29, 1951.
The Preliminary Draftof a World Constitution has been published by The University of Chicago Press, 1948.
5 Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, page 250.
6 Hidden Words (Arabic), verse 2.ZUR GEDENKFEIER AM 9.JULI 1950 TN KARLSRUHE, DEUTSCHLAND NACH ETNER ANSPRACHE VON DR. EUGEN SCHMIDT, STUTTGART Es SIND heute 100 Jahre, dass an jenem wildbewegten Sommertag, am 9. mu 1850 in
Tiibris in Aserbeidschan(Persien) em junger Perser, erst 31 jThrig, auf Geheiss ciner fanatischen, muhammadanischen Geistlielikeit und seiner Regierung von cinem Regiment Soldaten unter ungewbhnlichen Umstiinden erschossen wurde. Mit roher irdischer Gewalt wurde das Leben eines grossen Mensehen ausgel5scht, der seclis Jabre lang das Evangelium einer nenen religibsen Sendung verkiindete.
Obwohl der Hingerichtete � SeinName war 'All Muhammad � in seinem Lande eine m~ichtige geistige ]3ewegung ausl6ste, wurde jenem Ereignis wenig Beaclitung geschenkt, in einer Zeit, die in den grbsseren Bann neuer Erfindungen, nationaler Maclit-entfaltung und materiellen Reichtums gezogen war.
Heute, nach 100 Jahrenseit jenem denkwiirdigen Geschehen, finden sich in melir als 100 Liindern auf alien Kontinenten, in
Hunderten von Sliidtenund Dbrfern, viele Hunderttausende aller Rassen und Stiinde zu einer Gedenkfeier zusammen, die dem Martyrertod des genannten Persers gewidmet ist, dem Bab, das soviel besagt wie das Tor oder die Pforte zu einem neuen Gottgesandten, einer gbttlichen Manifestation.
DURCH OFFER ZUR WELTORDNUNGihrer Kulturen sind es nicht viele mensehuiche Opfertaten, die die Ge-schicke der Menschheit wesentlich bestimm-ten. Wohi kennen wir manche heldenmUtige Taten von Mensohen, die aus politischen oder sozialen
Grllnden den Einsatzihres persbnlichen Lebens nicht scheuten. Es sind uns auch menschliche Opfer urn des Glau-bens oder einer Idee willen bekannt.
Die erhabetnsten und erschiltterndenstenCENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 231
nisse von Seibstilberwindung und Opfer-gang sind uns aber in der fortschreitenden Entwicklung der Religion gegeben.
Es sind die unvergesslichen Beispiele bedingungsloser Unterwerfung ilberragender einzelner unter den When Gottes, die eine eritisende Kraft und zukunftsweisendes Licht in das Dunkel der Menschheitsent-wicklung hineintrugen. Das Leben, Wirken und Leiden der wenigen Grossen, der g6tflichen Boten, wiesen den Mensehen immer wieder durch jener opfervolle Bin-gabe den Weg zu deren hbchsten Bestim-mung, zur liebenden Hingabe an den Schdp-fer und die
Mitmenschen.noch darin gepriift wurde, dass er semen Uber alles geliebten Solin Gott auf dem Altar des Opfers darbringen solite, so steht uns der Opfertod Christi als das bezwingexndste Zeugnis des bedingungslosen Gehorsams ge-genilber Gott var Augen.
Das Geschehen von Golgotha, der Kreuzestod des Naza-reners, wurde fir das Abendland zu ejuem geschichtsbildenden Ereignis von nicht geahnter Kraft und Bedeutung, hat aber seit der Reformation mehr und melir an Em-fluss auf das Vdlkerleben verloren.
Die kulturschbpferische Mack der Sendung Muhammads, die im Mittelalter bis nach Spanien vordrang, verebbte in den letzten Jalirhunderten ebeuf ails in wachsendem Masse und verfiel ebenso wie das Christen-turn einer
Verweitlichung und Verfiachung.An die Stelle der aussbhnenden, verbin-denden Religion hat der aufgeklarte Mensch der Neuzeit die Vernunft, Systeme von Lebensanschauungen,
Phiosophien und Ideologiengesetzt, die die inneren, sittlichen Bindungen des einzelnen wie der Gemein-schaft bedrohuich lockerten und aushbhlten. Em Autor unserer Zeit gab kennzeichnen-derweise seinem Buch fiber den
Weg des 19. Jahrhunderts'Nun haben sich aber seit 1844 Dinge ereignet, die wir bis jetzt auf Geschichts-und Zeittafein nicht verzeichnet finden, die jedoch den Beginn cines neuen Zeitalters fUr die Menschheit bedeuten.
Der 13Th, von dem wir cingangs sprachen und Dessen Opfertod am heutigen Tag wir und viele mit uns in tiefster Ehrfurcht und Liebe geden-ken, kilndigte Mitte des letzten Jahrhunderts elne geistige Wiedergeburt der strauchein-1 Hermann
TJIlmann (Gin. Kaiserden Menschheit an, cine neuc Menschheit, die em grbsserer ails Er, eine gbttliche, Manifestation, zu elner befriedeten, geistigen Einheit herauffiihren werde.
Der Báb als das Tor zu elnem neuen, erleuchteten Zeitalter war mehr als cm Re-formator oder Mystiker auf muhammada-nisch-persischem Boden � Er war selbst cm Sprecher Gottes, em Herold g5ttlicher Nih-rung, der in wenigen gefahrvollen Jahren in bezwingender geistiger Macht die Rechte der Menschheit fiber die der Rasse, Kiasse und Nation erhob und unter Hinweis auf die grosse Offenbarung einen trennende Bekenntnisse iibergreifenden, universalen Glauben verkiindete. Er legte den Grund zu ciner mit Seinem Blut geweihten Weltreli-gion und maclite den Weg frei fur jenen, ,,den Gott offenbaren wird,"
Bahá'u'lláh � die HerrlichkeitGottes � Der, im Jahre 1863, Seine vom BTh vorausgesagte Sen-dung 5ffentlich verkiindigte.
Der denkwiirdige 9. Juli1850, an dem der Bib hingericlitet wurde, ist durch Augen-zeugenbericlite von Freunden und Feinden f hr die Nacliwelt festgehalten worden.
Unterdriickung, Verfolgungund Einker-kerung des neuen Propheten konnten niclit verhindern, Seine Anhdnger stiirker und mutiger anwachsen zu lassen, weshaib trotz Feblens einer Besfiltigung durch em Gericlit und oline Ietzte Rechtfertigungsm6glichkeit des BAIJ das von der geistlichen
Fiihrung gefdllte Todesurteilam 9. Juli 1850 in TTh-ris ausgefiihrt wurde. Dem Bruder des Grosswesirs, Mirza Stim KMn elnem Christen, wurde als Oberst eines armenischen Regiments der Befebi zur Hinrichtung des B~b gegeben. Dem Regimentskommandeur fiel das edle I3etragen seines Gefangenen so selir auf, dass er dem Bib erkflirte, keine b5se Absiclit gegen Ilin at hegen und dass er, erfijilt von Furcht, dass seine Tat den Zorn Gottes herbeifiihren wiirde, den Verur-teilten bat, iha von der ilim auferlegten Pflicht zu entbinden, wenn Seine Sadie die Sadie der Wahrheit sei. Der Báb gab dern Obersten darauf folgende Zusicherung: ,,IFolgen Sie iliren Anweisungen, und wenn Ihre Absicht aufrichtig ist, so ist der All-m~ichtige sicher imstande, Sie aus Threr Verlegenheit zu befrelen."
Noch cia bedeutungsvolles Vorkommnis ereignete sich vor der Hinrichtung des Bab. Der Farr~sh-B5shi, der die Durchfiihrung des
Befehies des Grosswesirsiibernahm, hatte schroff die letzte Unterhaltung unter
Page 234brochen, die der Báb vertraulich in einem der R~iume der Kaserne mit Seinem vertrau-ten
Gehilfen Siyyid Ijusaynfiihrte, und zog den letzteren beiseite und schalt ihn heftig aus, Ms er von seinem Gefangenen also angeredet wurde: ,,Nicht ehe Ich ibm alles gesagt habe, was Ich ihm sagen will, kann irgend elne irdische Macht Mich zum Schweigen bringen.
Mbge auch die ganze Welt gegen Mich in Waif en stehen, so soil es ihr doch nicht gelingen, Mich am Volibringen Meiner Absicht his zum letzten Won zu hindern."
Aus The Dawn-Breakers,2 entnehmen wir auch: ,,S~tm Kh~.n befahi semen Leuten, einen Nagel in den Pfeiler zwischen der Ttir zu dem von Siyyid
Ijusayn bewohnten Zim-merund dem Eingang zum Nebenraum einzuschlagen und zwei Seile an ihn zu hef-ten, von denen der Báb und Sein GefThrte gesondert herabhdngen soliten.
Mirza Mu-hammad-'A1i [der Gefiihrte des BTh] bat S4m Khin, so angebunden zu werden, dass sein K5rper an der Brust des Báb rulite Sobald sie angebunden waren, trat em Regiment Soldaten in circi Gliedern an, jedes zu 250 Mann, mit der Weisung, wechsel-weise zu feuern, bis die ganze
Abteilung ihre Salvenverschossen hiitte. Der Pulver-dampf der feuernden 750 Gewehre war geeignet, das Liclit des Mittags in Dunkel zu wandein.
Auf dem Dach der Kaserne sowohi als audi auf den angrenzenden T{Uu-sern hatten sich an zehntausend Menschen angesammelt, von denen jeder Zeuge dieses traurigen und erregenden Schauspiels war.
,,Sobald der Rauch sich verzogen hatte, starrte eine verbiflifte Menge auf em I3ild, das ilire Augen kaum zu fassen vermocliten: Da stand der GefThrte des BTh vor ihnen, lebend und unversehrt, wThrend
Er Selbst ohne SchadenObgleich die Kugein ihre Hiingestricke zerfetzt hatten, waren ihre Leiber wunder-barerweise den
Salven entgangen. Selbstdas Gewand Mirza Muliammad-'AII's war, trotz der Diebte des Rauches, ohne Flecken ge-blieben. ,Der Siyyid-i-B~b ist unseren Blicken entschwundenU, so tdnten die Stimmen der bestilrzten Menge.
Rasend fing sic an, Ilin zu suchen und fand Ihn schijesslich in dem Zimmer sitzend, in dem Er zuvor ilbernach-2
"Nabil's Narrative" (Newvollendend. Em Ausdruck ruhigsten Friedens war auf Seinem Antlitz. Sein Kdrper war dem Kugeihagel, den das Regiment auf Ihn gerichtet hatte, unbescha-digt entgangen. � ,Ich habe meine Unter-haltung mit Siyyid Fusayn beendet', sagte der Báb zum Farr~sh-B~shi.
,Nun mbgen sic ihre Absicht erfihilen.',,Der Mann war zu selir erschiittert, urn fortzufahren.
Er weigerte sich, seiner Auf-gabe nachzukommen, verliess augenblicklich den Schauplatz und legte semen Posten nie-der S~tm KMn war genau so befiiubt von der Wucht dieser gewaltigen Offenba-rung. Er befahi semen Leuten, die Kaserne sofort zu verlassen und verweigerte fUr sich und scm Regiment jede Handlung, die audi nur die kicinste Unbill fUr den B�b eintra-gen k5nnte.
Er schwor beim Verlassen des Hofes, nie wieder die Aufgabe zu iiberneh-men, selbst wenn seine Weigerung ihm den Tod einbringen soilte.
,,Kaum hatte S6m Khin sich entfernt, als sich Aq~ JTh KhAn-i-Khamsih, Oberst der Leibgarde, audi bekannt unter den Namen Khamsih und N~iri, freiwillig erbot, den Hinrichtungsbefehl zu vollstrecken. Der
Báb und Sein Gefdhrtewurden an der gleichen Mauer und in der gleichen Weise wieder hochgehThgt, und das Regiment trat in Li-nie an, urn auf sie zu feuern. Anders als vorher, da nur ihr Ringeseil in Stiicke ge-schossen war, wurden ilire Kbrper diesmal verletzt und zu einer einzigen Masse von Fleisch und Knochen vermengt.
,Hiittest du, o widerspenstigesgeglaubt', waren die letzten Worte des Báb an die gaflende Men ge, wdhrend dcli this Regiment anschickte, die let zte Salve abzujeuern, ,so wiirde jeder von euch dem Beispiel dieses JUng-lings, der im Rang hock ilber den meisten von euch stand, gefolgt sein und sich gem auf Meinem P/ad geoptert haben. Der Tag wird kommen, da dir MicA erkannt liaben werdet, an jenem Tag werde ich aufgehtirt liaben, in eurer Mine zu wet-len.'
,jm Augenblick, als die Schiisse fielen, erhob sich em Sturm von ungewbhnlicher Stiirke und fegte Uber die ganze Stadt hin. Em unglaublich dichter Wirbel von Staub verdunkelte die Sonne und blendete die Au-gen der Leute.
Die ganze Stadt blieb in das Dunkel gehihit von Mittag his Abend."
Page 235CENTENARY OF MARTYRDOM OF THE Báb 233
EIN JAURHUNDERT IM ZEICHENHeute, cm Jahrhundert, nachdem die Stimme des Báb durch seine Hinrichtung zum Schweigen gebracht wurde, mtissen wir erkennen, dass die ganze Menschheit ilir eigenes, selbstverschuldetes Mllrtyrertum erleidet, weil sie sich immer noch weigert, dem gbttlichen Ruf zu folgen und sich in einem umfassenden Glauben auszusdhnen und zu vereinigen. Gleiclisam wie em Meteor trat der Báb mit prophetischer Ver-heissung der unmittelbar bevorstehenden Heraufkunft cines Gottgesandten am Firmament auf und wurde durch semen Opfer-tod zum Wegbereiter und Lichtstrahl der erlbsenden Wahrheit, die der von Ihm Ver-heissene, Bahá'u'lláh, in der Niederlegung einer gerecliten Weltordnung im Zeichen der Einheit der Menschheit und der Reli-gionen bald nach dem erschiitternden Ereig-nis in TThris offenbarte.
Der berufene Erkhirerder Sendungen des Báb und Bahá'u'lláh's, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, legt die Beziehungen zwischen den beiden mit der Bahi'i-Sendung verbundenen Manifestatio-nen wie folgt dar:3 ,,Die Oflenbarung des Báb mag mit der Sonne verglichen werden, deren Stand dem ersten Tierkreiszeichen entspricht, dem Zeichen des Widders, in weiches die Sonne mit der Tag-und und Nachtgleiche des Friihlings eintritt.
Die Stufe der Of-JenbarungBahá'u'lláh's dagegen wird durch das Zeichen des Ltiwen dargesteilt, wenn die Sonne die Sommermitte und ihren hachsten Stand erreicht hat. Das bedeutet, dass diese heilige Oflenbarung erleuchtet ist yam Lichte der Sonne der Wahrhe it, die von ihrem erliabensten Punkte aus in tier Fiille ihres
Glanzes, direr Wdrmedes Aufbaus einer friedlichen und gerechten Weltordnung ilbersteigen menschliches Kbnnen und Ver-mbgen; sie erheischen walirlich eine gbttliche inspirierte L6sung, die nur aus dem Bereich der Religion kommen kann. Alle grossen Kulturen hatten ihren Aufstieg cinem re-Iigi5sen Impuls zu verdanken und zerfielen mit dem Niedergang ihrer gbttlichen Bin-dungen.
Hatte Goethe nicht recht, wenn er sagte: ,,Das eigentlich einzige und tiefste Thema der Welt-und und Menschheitsgeschi-8 Die Sendung Raha'u'llah's, S. 40.
chte, dem alle iibrigen untergeordnet sind, bleibt der Konflikt des Glaubens und Un-glaubens"?
Aus der Diagnose der tiefsten Ursachen der heutigen aligemeinen
Unsicherheit, des Misstrauensund des Glaubens-schwundes ergibt sich fUr den defer Schauen-den fast zwangsliiufig die Autwort, dass nur eine neue sittlich-religidse Fundamentierung der einzelmenschlichen, gesellschaftlichen und zwischenstaatlichen
Beziehungen und Bindungenoder Untergang heisst die alternative Lebensfrage der Menschheit.
Wir sind der gleichen Auffassung wie Toynbee, der sagt'. ,,Was der modernen Welt zutiefst not tut, 1st cine Neugeburt des Glaubens an das Uebernatiirliche."
Wahrer Glauben kann aber nur aus der Religion kommen und diese kann heute nur eine sol-che scm, die die ganze Menschheit ernenert und vereinigt.
Die Sicherung des Weltfriedensund elnes sozialen Ausgleichs ist ohne die Erriclitung ciner gerecliten Weltordnung nicht denkbar und diese wiederum kann nur dann von Be-stand scm, wenn sie gbttlichen Ursprungs ist.
In religionsgeschichtlicher Einmaligkeit hat nun Bahá'u'lláh schon vor mehr als 80 Jaliren trotz Verfolgung, Verbannung,
Em-kerkerung und Lebensbedrohung,,den Zir-kel der Einigkeit gefiihrt, Er hat einen Plan niedergelegt fur die Vereinigung aller VbIker, urn sie alle unter dem schuitzenden Zelt der Einigkeit zu sammein."
('Abdu'l-Bahá) Es ist zum Ereignis geworden: FUr die
Vblker der Welt Iiegtseit dem Erscheinen Bahá'u'lláh's cine g5ttlich geoffenbarte Welt-Charta in authentischdokumentarischer
Form bereit. Die Zukunftder Menschheit wird durch deren aligemeine Annahme und Verwirklichung bestimmt werden.
Die von Bahá'u'lláh niedergelegte Welt-ordnung und deren autoritative ErVAuterung durch Semen Mtesten Sohn 'Abdu'l-Bahá verbtirgen in ihrem Aufbau soziale Gerech-tigkeit, treuhiinderische, beratende und jibernationale
Zusammenarbeit irn Bewusst-seinvon der tragenden Idee der gei-stigen Einheit der Menschheit zielt die Welt-ordnung von Bahá'u'lláh auf die schiless
Page 236liche Bildung eines Weltgemeinwesens ab, da die nationalstaatliche
Entwicklung ihren Abschlussgefunden hat. Zu den wesentli-chen Bestandteilen der iiberstaatlichen V6I-kergemeinschaft werden folgende Vorausset-zungen zdffien: Ueberwindung aller imperia-listisehen
Maclit-und Herrschaftsanspriiche, Einfiihrungund Bildung elnes Internationalen Schiedsgerichtshofes nebst ciner Weltpolizei als Sicherheits-und VolJzugs-Weltorgan, aligemeine Abriistung, Kriegffihrung nur bei unbestrittener
Vertei-digungszwangslageim Ag-gressionsfalle, Abschaffung der aligemeinen Wehrpflicht ohne unbedingte Kriegsdienst-verweigerung, Lbsung der sozialen Fragen auf der Grundlage der Wiirdigung jeglicher mensehendienenden Arbeit und elner Be-grenzung von Armut und Reiclitum nach Grundsiitzen der Leistung und gerecliter Teilhaberschaft am Arbeitsertrag, Einheit von
Religion und Wissenschaftund Einheitsschrift, ciner Weltverfassung unter Einbeziehung der un-verletzlichen Menschenrechte und -Pflich-ten.
Shoghi Effendi schrieb dariiber:4 ,,Ein Weltbundsystem, das die ganze Erde beherrscht und eine unanfechtbare Befugnis Uber ihre unvorstelibar umfassenden Hilfs-quellen ausiibt, die Ideale sowohi des Ostens als auch des Westens verschmilzt und ver-k5rpert, von dem Fluch des Krieges und seines Elends befreit 1st und sich auf die Ausntitzung aller verfiigbaren Kraftquellen auf der Oberfluiche des Planeten richtet, cm System, in dem die Stiirke zur Dienerin der Gerechtigkeit gemacht ist, dessen Dasein durch seine allumfassende Anerkennung des elnen Gottes und durch semen Gehorsam gegen cine gemeinsame Offenbarung getra-gen wird � dies ist das Ziel, dem die Men4 4 Aus World Order of Rahd'u'tldh, by Shoghi Effendi, S. 204.
schheit durch die vereinenden LebenskrMte zustrebt."
Gott ge/it voriiber betitelteWenn wir heute des freiwilligen Opfer-todes des BTh gedenken, kbnnen wir uns der erlbsenden und verpffichtenden Maclit dieses erschtitternden Ereignisses nicht entzie-hen.
Christi Wort: ,,Nehme dein Kreuz auf dich und folge mit nach" hat durch den Opfergang des Báb und die von Bahá'u'lláh aus frejem Entscbluss auf sich genommene 40-jiihrige Freiheitsberaubung in unbe-schreiblicher, hartester und erniedrigender Gefiingnis-und d Kerkerhaft elne unvergleich-liche Steigerung erfaliren.
Die neue Welt-ordnungmuss von wiedergeborenen Men-schen getragen werden, von opferbereiten, glaubensstarken Menschen, deren liebende Taten sie zur Stufe des wahren Menschen erheben.
Die tiefste Bedeutung, die erldsende Kraft des Opfers erschuiesst sich den Mexnschen in dem Gesehehen der fortschreitenden Got-tesoffenbarung, in der unbedingten Hingabe der
Gottgesandten an GottfUr die Men-schen, in ilirer Wahrheitsoffenbarung.
Dem Glauben an den Eribser muss aber die sittliche
Tat der Selbsttiberwindungdes Mdrtyrertodes des Báb die hohe Berufung des Menschen unserer Zeit verge-genw~irtigen:5 ,,O Sohn des Menschenl Auf die Ta/el des Geistes sebreibe alles, was Wir dir verkiindet haben, mit der Tinte des Lichtes.
Wenn du dies nicht vermagst, so mache zu deiner Tinte das Wesen deines Herzens.
Bist du auch dazu nicht imstande, dann schreibe mit der roten Tin te, die cml km PP-ide zu Mir vergossen wurde. Wahrlich, dies ist Mir kost barer als alles andere, denn soiches Licht wdhret ewiglich."
5 Verborgene Worte (ArabiseheVVITHIN a few months of the historic decree which set Him free, in the very year that witnessed the downfall of SultAn 'Ab-du'1-Uamid, that same power from on high which had enabled 'Abdu'l-Bahá to preserve inviolate the rights divinely conferred on Him, to establish His Father's Faith in the North American continent, and to triumph over His royal oppressor, enabled Him to achieve one of the most signal acts of His ministry: the removal of the BTh's remains from their place of concealment in Tihr6n to Mt. Carmel. He Himself testified, on more than one occasion, that the safe transfer of these remains, the construction of a befitting mausoleum to receive them, and their final interment with His own hands in their permanent resting-place constituted one of the three principal objectives which, ever since the inception of His mission, He had conceived it His paramount duty to achieve.
This act indeed deserves to rank as one of the outstanding events in the first Bahá'í century.
As observed in a previous chapter the mangled bodies of the Báb and His fellow-martyr, Mirza Muiiammad-'Ali, were removed, in the middle of the second night
* From Chapter XVIII.285 following their execution, through the pious intervention of Wji Su1aym~n Kh~tn from the edge of the moat where they had been cast to a silk factory owned by one of the believers of MilAn, and were laid the next day in a wooden casket, and thence carried to a place of safety. Subsequently, according to Bahá'u'lláh's instructions, they were transported to Tffir~n and placed in the shrine of Im~m-Z4dih ijasan. They were later removed to the residence of H~iji Su-1aym~n KlAn himself in the Sar-Chashmili quarter of the city, and from his house were taken to the shrine of Im~m-ZAdih Ma'sim, where they remained concealed until the year 1284 A.H. (18671868), when a Tablet, revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople, directed MullA 'Ali-Akbar-i-Shahmfrz4di and JamAl-i-Burhjirdi to transfer them without delay to some other spot, an instruction which, in view of the subsequent reconstruction of that shrine, proved to have been providential.
Unable to find a suitable place in the suburb of'All-Akbar and his companion continued their search until, on the road leading to Cjiash-mih-'Ali, they came upon the abandoned and dilapidated Masjid-i-Mash4'u'lMh, where they deposited, within one of its
Page 238walls, after dark, their precious burden, having first re-wrapt the remains in a silken shroud brought by them for that purpose. Finding the next day to their consternation that the hiding-place had been discovered, they clandestinely carried the casket through the gate of the capital direct to the house of Mirza Ijasan-i-Vazir, a believer and son-in-law of IThji Mirza Siyyid 'Ally-i-TaP rishi, the Majdu'1-AshAf where it remained for no less than fourteen months.
The long-guarded secret of its whereabouts becoming known to the believers, they began to visit the house in such numbers that a communication had to be addressed by Mu11~ 'All-Akbar to Bahá'u'lláh, begging for guidance in the matter. HAJI ShAh Muhammad-i-MansMdi, surnamed Abdu'l-Bahá, was accordingly commissioned to receive the Trust from him, and bidden to exercise the utmost secrecy as to its disposal.
Assisted by another believer, U~ji SMh Muhammad buried the casket beneath the floor of the inner sanctuary of the shrine of Im~m-Z6dih Zayd, where it lay undetected until
Mirza Asadu'11Th-i-IsMMniwas informed of its exact location through a chart forwarded to him by Bahá'u'lláh.
Instructed by Bahá'u'lláhto conceal it elsewhere, he first removed the remains to his own house in TihrAn, after which they were deposited in several other localities such as the house of ljusayn-'Aliy-i-IsfAMni and that of Mu-0ammad-Karim-i-'AttAr, where they remained hidden until the year 1316 (1899) A.H., when, in pursuance of directions issued by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, this same Mirza Asadu'llah, together with a number of other believers, transported them by way of hf~-Mn, Kirm6nsh6h, Baghckid and Damascus, to Beirut and thence Ty sea to 'Akka, arriving at their destination on the 19th of the month of RamagUn 1316 A.H. (January 31, 1899), fifty lunar years after the Bib's execution in Tabriz.
In the same year that this precious Trust reached the shores of the Holy Land and was delivered into the hands of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, He, accompanied by Dr. Ibr6hfm Khayru'llah, whom He had already honored with the titles of "Bahá'ís
Peter," "The Second Columbus"and "Conqueror of America," drove to the recently purchased site which had been blessed and selected by Bahá'u'lláh on Mt. Carmel, and there laid, with His own hands, the foundation-stone of the edifice, the construction of which He, a few months later, was to commence. About that same time, the marble sarcophagus, designed to receive the body of the B~b, an offering of love from the Bahá'ís of Rangoon, had, at 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í suggestion, been completed and shipped to Haifa.
No need to dwell on the manifold problems and preoccupations which, for almost a decade, continued to beset 'Abdu'l-Bahá until the victorious hour when He was able to bring to a final consummation the historic task entrusted to Him by His Father. The risks and perils with which Bahá'u'lláh and later His Son had been confronted in their efforts to insure, during half a century, the protection of those remains were but a prelude to the grave dangers which, at a later period, the Center of the Covenant Himself had to face in the course of the construction of the edifice designed to receive them, and indeed until the hour of His final release from His incarceration.
The long-drawn out negotiations with the shrewd and calculating owner of the build-ing-site of the holy Edifice, who, under the influence of the Covenant-breakers, refused for a long time to sell; the exorbitant price at first demanded for the opening of a road leading to that site and indispensable to the work of construction; the interminable objections raised by officials, high and low, whose easily aroused suspicions had to be allayed by repeated explanations and assurances given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself; the dangerous situation created by the monstrous accusations brought by Mirza Mu-ljammad-'Ali and his associates regarding the character and purpose of that building; the delays and complications caused by 'Abdu'l-Bahá prolonged and enforced absence from Haifa, and His consequent inability to supervise in person the vast undertaking He had initiated � all these were among the principal obstacles which He, at so critical a period in His ministry, had to face and surmount ere He could execute in its entirety the Plan, the outline of which Bahá'u'lláh had communicated to Him on the occasion of one of His visits to Mt. Carmel.
"Every stone of that building, every stone of the road leading to it," He, many a time was heard to remark, "I have with infinite tears and at tremendous cost, raised and placed in position."
"One night," He, according to an eyewitness, once observed, "I was so hemmed in by My anxieties that I
Page 239COMPLETION OF SEPULCHER OF THE Báb 237
had no other recourse than to recite and repeat over and over again a prayer of the Báb which I had in My possession, the recital of which greatly calmed Me. The next morning the owner of the plot himself came to Me, apologized and begged Me to purchase his property."
Finally, in the very year His royal adversary lost his throne, and at the time of the opening of the first American Baha Convention, convened in Chicago for the purpose of creating a permanent national organization for the construction of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, 'Abdu'l-Bahá brought His undertaking to a successful conclusion, in spite of the incessant machinations of enemies both within and without. On the 28th of the month of $afar 1327 A.H., the day of the first Naw-Rfiz (1909) which He celebrated after His release from His confinement, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had the marble sarcophagus transported with great labor to the vault prepared for it, and in the evening, by the light of a single lamp, He laid within it, with His own hands � in the presence of believers from the East and from the West and in circumstances at once solemn and moving � the wooden casket containing the sacred remains of the B~b and His companion.
When all was finished, and the. earthly remains of the Martyr-Prophet of Shir~tz were, at long last, safely deposited for their everlasting rest in the bosom of God's holy mountain, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who had cast aside His turban, removed His shoes and thrown off His cloak, bent low over the still open sarcophagus, His silver hair waving about His head and His face transfigured and luminous, rested His forehead on the border of the wooden casket, and, sobbing aloud, wept with such a weeping that all those who were present wept with Him. That night He could not sleep, so overwhelmed was He with emotion.
"The most joyful tidings is this," He wrote later in a Tablet announcing to His followers the news of this glorious victory, "that the holy, the luminous body of the Báb after having for sixty years been transferred from place to place, by reason of the ascendancy of the enemy, and from fear of the malevolent, and having known neither rest nor tranquillity has, through the mercy of the AMid Beauty, been ceremoniously deposited, on the day of Nawruz, within the sacred casket, in the exalted
Shrine on Mt. CarmelBy a strange coincidence, on that same day of Nawruz, a cablegram was received from Chicago, announcing that the believers in each of the American centers had elected a delegate and sent to that city and definitely decided on the site and construction of the Mash-riqu'l-A djzkdr."
With the transference of the remains of the B4b-----Whose advent marks the return of the
Prophet Elijah � to Mt.Carmel, and their interment in that holy mountain, not far from the cave of that Prophet Himself, the Plan so gloriously envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh, in the evening of His life, had been at last executed, and the arduous labors associated with the early and tumultuous years of the ministry of the appointed Center of His Covenant crowned with immortal success.
A focal center of Divine illumination and power, the very dust of which 'Abdu'l-Bahá averred had inspired Him, yielding in sacredness to no other shrine throughout the I3ah~'i world except the Sepulcher of the Author of the Bahá'í Revelation Himself, had been permanently established on that mountain, regarded from time immemorial as sacred. A structure, at once massive, sim-pie and imposing; nestling in the heart of Carmel, the "Vineyard of God"; flanked by the Cave of Elijah on the west, and by the hills of Galilee on the east; backed by the plain of Sharon, and facing the silver-city of 'Akka, and beyond it the Most Holy Tomb, the Heart and Qiblih of the Bahá'í world; overshadowing the colony of German Templars who, in anticipation of the ''coming of the Lord,'' had forsaken their homes and foregathered at the foot of that mountain, in the very year of
Bahá'u'lláh's Declarationin Baghdid (1863), the mausoleum of the Bib had now, with heroic effort and in impregnable strength been established as "the Spot round which the Concourse on high circle in adoration."
Events have already demonstrated through the extension of the Edifice itself, through the embellishment of its surroundings, through the acquisition of extensive endowments in its neighborhood, and through its proximity to the resting-places of the wife, the son and daughter of Bahá'u'lláh Himself, that it was destined to acquire with the passing of the years a measure of fame and glory commensurate with the high purpose that had prompted its founding.
Nor will it, as the years go by, and the institutions revolving
Page 240around the World Administrative Center of the future Bahá'í Commonwealth are gradually established, cease to manifest the latent potentialities with which that same immutable purpose has endowed it. Resistlessly will this Divine institution flourish and expand, however fierce the animosity which its future enemies may evince, until the full measure of its splendor will have been disclosed before the eyes of all mankind.
"Haste thee, 0 CarmeU"Bahá'u'lláh, significantly addressing that holy mountain, has written, "for lo, the light of the Coun tenance of God hath been lifted upon thee Rejoice, for God hath, in this Day, established upon thee His throne, hath made thee the dawning-place of His signs and the dayspring of the evidences of His Revelation. Well is it with him that circieth around thee, that proclaimeth the revelation of thy glory, and recounteth that which the bounty of the Lord thy God faith showered upon thee." "Call out to Zion, 0 Carmefl" He, furthermore, has revealed in that same Tablet, "and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing splendor is revealed.
Beware lest thou hesitate or halt. Hasten forth and circumambulate the City of God that bath descended from heaven, the celestial Kaaba round which have circled in adoration the favored of God, the pure in heart, and the company of the most exalted angels."
2. CONSTRUCTION OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE(a) I AM) happy (to) announce (the) completion of plans and specifications for (the) erection of (the) arcade surrounding the Báb's Sepulcher, constituting (the) first step in (the) process destined to culminate in (the) construction of the Dome anticipated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and marking (the) consummation of (an) enterprise initiated by Him fifty years ago according to instructions given Him by Bahá'u'lláh.
Announce (to the) friends (the) completion, (on the) eve (of) Naw-Rfiz, (of the) erection (of) parapet crowning (the) east-em fagade (of) Holy Shrine one year after placing (the) first threshold stones upon (the) foundation (of the) arcade. (The) beauty (and) majesty (of the) finely carved panels surmounting (the) soaring arches spanning (the) rosy monolith columns, emblazoned with emerald green and scarlet mosaic symbolizing (the) Báb's lineage and martyrdom, (is) strikingly revealed.
(The) original pearl-like structure raised by (the) hands (of the) Center (of the) Covenant, enshrining (the) remains (of the) Martyr Prophet (of the) Faith, acquiring, through construction (of the) shell designed (for) its embellishment (and) preservation, additional height by one-third, additional width by one-fifth, enhancing (the) massiveness (of the) edifice embosomed (in the) Mountain of God, heralding (the) erection (of the) lofty gilded dome that will eventually shine forth in solitary splendor from its heart.
(b) (On the) occasion (of the) fivefold historic celebration � (the) dedication (for) public worship (of the) holiest Mashriqu'l-Adhkar (of the) Baha world; (the) convocation (of the) Second Intercontinental Teaching Conference (of the) Holy
Year; (the) Anniversary(of the) Declaration (of) Bahá'u'lláh (in the) Garden of Ridvan; (the) holding (of the) Forty-Fifth American Bahá'í Convention, (and the) launching (of the) epochal, global spiritual Crusade, marking (the) climax (of the) festivities associated (with the) Centenary (of the) Birth (of) Bahá'u'lláh's Mission � announce (to) His followers (of) East (and) West (that the) final phase (of the) construction (of the) Báb's Sepulcher (has
Page 241COMPLETION OF SEPULCHER OF THE Báb 239
been) ushered in through (the) erection (of) scaffolding (for the) completion (of the) shuttering (of the) dome.
Forty-four gilded tiles out of (a) total (of) twelve thousand, designed (to) cover two hundred fifty square meter surface (of the) dome (were) placed (in) permanent position (on the) eve (of the) ninth day of the) Ninetieth Anniversary (of the)
Ris1v~n Festival. (Onthe) afternoon (of the) same day, during (the) course (of a) moving ceremony (in the) presence (of) pilgrims (and) resident believers (of) 'Akka (and) Haifa, (there was) placed reverently (a) fragment (of the) plaster ceiling (of the) Báb's prison cell (in the) Castle (of) MTh-Kfl, beneath (the) gilded Pies (of the) crowning unit (of the) majestic edifice.
Circumambulated (the) base (of the) dome, paid homage (to) His memory, recalled (His) afflictive imprisonment (and) offered prayers (on) behalf (of the) friends (of) East (and) West (on a) subsequent visit (to the) interior (of) His Shrine.
Preparatory steps are now being taken (for the) pouring (of) concrete (for the) construction (of the) ribs (of the) dome, as well as for (the) placing (of) ornamental stones surrounding its base.
(My) hopes (are) heightened (that the) termination (of the) five-year-long, three-quarter million dollar enterprise, undertaken (in the) heart (of) Carmel, (will) coincide (with the) termination (of the) worldwide celebrations commemorating (the) Centenary (of the) inception (of) llah4'u'lldh's Ministry.
(c) (On the) occasion (of the) conclusion (of the) Holy Year (I am) overjoyed (to share the) following triple announcement (with the) attendants (at the) fourth (and) final Intercontinental Teaching Conference, marking (the) termination (of) festivities associated (with the) Centenary (of the) Birth (of) Bahá'u'lláh's
Prophetic Mission.(The) five-year-old, three-quarter million dollar enterprise, constituting (the) final stage (of the) initial epoch (in the) evolution (of the) process initiated over sixty years ago (by the) Founder (of the) Faith, (in the) heart (of the) Mountain (of) God, (is) consummated.
(The) finishing touches (of the) installation (of) stained glass windows (in the) Drum (and) Octagon, (the) removal (of) scaffolding (from the) exterior (and) interior (of the) edifice, (the) interior calcimining (of the) Dome, Drum (and) Octagon, tuckpointing, cleaning (and) floodlighting (the) entire Structure (have been) completed, synchronizing (with the) closing weeks (of the) glorious twelvemonth (in the) annals (of the)
Holy Faith.(A) steadily swelling throng (of) visitors (from) far (and) near, (on) many days exceeding (a) thousand, (is) flocking (the) gates leading (to the) Inner Sanctuary (of this) majestic mausoleum; paying homage (to the) Queen of Carmel enthroned (on) God's Mountain, crowned (in) glowing gold, robed (in) shimmering white, girdled (in) emerald green, enchanting every eye from air, sea, plain (and) hill.
(I am) moved (to) request (the) attendants (at the) Conference (to) hold (a) befitting memorial gathering (to) pay tribute (to the) Hand (of the) Cause, Sutherland Maxwell, immortal architect (of the) Arcade (and) Superstructure (of the) Shrine. (I) feel, moreover, acknowledgement (should) be made (at the) same gathering (of the) unflagging labors (and) vigilance (of the) Hand (of the) Cause, Ugo Gia-chery, (in) negotiating contracts, inspecting (and) despatching all materials required (for the) construction (of the) Edifice, as well as (of the) assiduous, constant care (of the) Hand (of the) Cause, Leroy loas, (in) supervising (the) construction (of) both Drum (and) Dome.
To two doors (of the) Shrine recently named after (the) first two aforementioned Hands, (the) Octagon Door, now added, (will) henceforth (be) associated (with the) third Hand who contributed (to the) raising (of this) stately, sacred
Structure.By DR. UGO R. GIACHERY1 EI~ N April 29, 1948, at four o'clock in the afternoon, in a room of the Hotel
Savoja in Rome, Williamof the Bahá'í Faith, signed the first contract for the marble necessary to complete the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel.
As the signatures were being affixed to the document, the fine drizzle which had been falling for many hours ceased as by magic, and a ray of the warm spring sun lit up the room.
All those present looked at the skies through the open balcony and smiled cheerfully, while this correspondent reviewed rapidly in his mind the contrasting conditions prevailing on this joyous occasion and those during the tremendous hours which followed the noon of July 9, ninety-eight years before, when an obscuring gale swept the city of Tabriz at the time of the BTh's martyrdom.
On May S a second contract was signed in the same room, and a complex and ponderous machinery was set in motion. Architects, draftsmen, quarriers, stonedutters, sculptors, and artists began a momentous activity.
Many are familiar with the beautiful color plate giving the architect's design of the Shrine as it appears in Volume
IX of The Bahá'í WorldBut only a few have seen the countless accurate and detailed drawings of this unique building, a mighty work done by one man.
The Italian architects who have had the opportunity to examine these plans have expressed their admiration, with the highest words of praise, for the conception, the style, the elegance, and the exquisite intricacy of the decoration which characterizes the entire project.
So begins the befitting completion of the work envisioned by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, which He so dramatically described, "Every stone of that building, every stone of the road leading to it, I have with infinite tears and at tremendous cost, raised and placed in posi-tDr. Giachery was appointed by Shoghi Effendi as his personal representative for the work in Italy for the Shrine of the Bob. (Editors.)
tion."2 For around and above the original Edifice erected by 'Abdu'l-Bahá this beautiful new exterior is being placed, as by enchantment, within the matchless setting of magnificent gardens. The Persian gardens of Haifa are the finest in the East, and the constant loving supervision of the Guardian has embellished them to a degree almost impossible to visualize.
At ground level the design of the Shrine calls for a quadrate colonnade, with twenty-four columns and eight pilasters of Rose Granite of Baveno, each fifteen feet high and resting on bases of the same granite.
All tourists who have visited Italy know Lakeand Ver-bania on the shores of this romantic lake, stands Mt. Mottarone, famous for the unique view of
Lombardy's plains. Onthe north side of this mountain, lies the Cava del Camoscio, or Quarry of the Chamois, from which the rose granite for the columns, pilasters and bases has been quarried. Huge blocks have been hewn from the side of the mountain, thence lowered by cograil to the plains and transported by sturdy horsedrawn carts to the marble works in Gravellona. Scores of men have been at work on these blocks, week after week, producing by their accurate, painstaking labor the most perfect columns that glisten like minors in the sun. Every column has been packed as if it were precious glassware, in mammoth wooden boxes, for shipment to Haifa.
The columns and pilasters support beautifully carved capitals of rare design, embodying classic elements of ancient Greco-Roman architecture and the delicate filigree-like motifs of Persia. Twenty-eight carved arches sustain the faQade with sculptured panels and join the four monumental corners into a harmonious ensemble. The arches, panels, corners, and fa�ades have been made, piece by piece, of a marble-like
2 Cited in God Passeswas completed in 1908 and the B~b's remains were laid to rest therein on March 21,
1909. (See "Entombmentof the H~b's Remains on Mt. Carmel," page 235 this
Section.)COMPLETION OF SEPULCHER OF THE Báb 241
stone called Chiampo.This stone, which is quarried near Vicenza, fifty miles northwest of Venice, is hard, compact, of uniform texture, and the delicate tint of wheat straw at harvest time.
Car loads of large blocks of Chiampo have been carried from the quarry to Pietrasanta, on the Tyrrhenian sea.
Pietra-santa, just north of Pisa, is one of the foremost marble working centers of Italy, not far from Carrara. Here a large group of skilled artists, carvers, stonecutters, carpenters, and sculptors have been mobilized under the guidance of two able architects (one, a college professor) to transfer into stone the dreamlike conception of Mr. Maxwell.
This correspondent has had the special privilege of visiting the laboratory of Pietra-santa where over sixty men work daily with incredible facility to make the various pieces of the building which dovetail to perfection. It is a sight never to be forgotten: dozens of men at work in clouds of dust raised by their drills and chisels, deft fingers moving with care and skill, shaping the stone they have learned to love, humble artists contributing to the engraving of pages of splendor in the history of the Bahá'í Faith, unknown actors in the unfolding of the most glorious of all Plans as envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh.
In Pietrasanta, also, a large portion of the outdoor yard is ever covered with immense packing cases containing the completed pieces ready for shipment to
Haifa.It was on November 16, 1948, that the following memorable cablegram was sent from Rome to Shoghi Effendi in Haifa, and was despatched with deep emotion by this correspondent: "First shipment granite, stone holy Bib's Shrine left Leghorn Sunday November 14th Steamship Norte due Haifa twenty-third entrusting safety beloved Guardian's prayer assistance Blessed
Perfection ever-present Master'sThis message, the delivery of which was not guaranteed in war-tom Israel2 was to bring to the Guardian the much awaited news that the fruits of the first six months of intense activity and toil in four different parts of Italy were ripe and ready to be delivered. Since that day in April, when Wil-3 Israel was declared an independent Republic in May, 1948.
ham Sutherland Maxwell, the architect for the Shrine, had signed, on behalf of the Guardian, the first contract much had already been accomplished.
Seventy-two wooden cases, occupying 67 cubic meters and weighing 90 metric tons, were stowed safely in the holds of the SS. None, to be carried through a blockade of hostile naval vessels to its final destination in Haifa.
Those early months will remain in our memory as the most difficult of the entire period necessary to the procurement of material for the Shrine.
There was no mail service at this time between Italy and the nascent State of Israel; a few letters which had been posted had been returned to the sender. Shipping was erratic, and only a very few steamers dared to approach the shores of Israel as there was constant danger of confiscation of the cargo by hostile warships. To maintain correspondence with the International Bahá'í Center in Haifa was the most complex and difficult problem. Plans and architectural drawings had to be sent back and forth. Photographs of the work accomplished had to be submitted to Mr. Maxwell for his approval.
Cablegrams sent only at the sender's risk and without promise of delivery, if transmitted, were delayed by the censor for weeks at a time.
After much searching, a method was found by which the necessary and vital correspondence could be carried on: Once a week there passed through Rome a lone plane going from Prague to Haifa. By complying with a tedious and endless procedure of filling out forms, waiting in long queues and obtaining government permits, it became possible to entrust to the crew of the plane the packages of mail.
These were delivered with regularity but with much delay on account of the censorship. In looking back, it all seems a continuous chain of miracles!
The activity which originated in Rome with the signing of three contracts in less than three months included, in the begin-fling, the choice of the stone or marble to be used in the construction. Mr. Maxwell wanted very much to match a Palestinian stone with a similar Italian marble. To simplify the search Mr. Maxwell was taken to the Geological Office of Rome, a government institution where samples of stones of every geological era and description are available.
With the assistance of the director of the Office a stone was found which
Page 244matched the Palestinian stone in color, structure and geological formation.
It was a typical Italian marble used chiefly in the civil building trade.
When the contractor for the work on the Shrine, Messrs.
Guido M. Fabbricotti, Successors, of Carrara, was charged with locating the quarry and making a substantial purchase of this stone, it was found that all the approaches to the quarry had been blown up during the war and that to put the quarry back into operation would require many months of work and a considerable sum of money.
Taken aback but undaunted, we directed the search in other directions and after a second visit to the Geological Office another quarry was located, in Northern Italy at the little town of Chiampo, not far from Venice.
Signor Andrea Roccaf the energetic Italian architect who has been carrying out all the technical details of the work in Italy as envisaged by Mr. Maxwell, was dispatched immediately to this quarry to make a thorough survey of the material. The reports were good and heartening, and arrangements were made to quarry the needed quantity of large blocks of "Chiampo," to be sent by lorries, or trucks, to the Tyrrhenian side of the Italian peninsula where the stone would be cut and carved.
The reader should consider for a moment the arduous and intricate process of stone quarrying as applied to the requirements for the Shrine. A perfect stone was needed, without blemishes or even the most minute imperfection.
Tons upon tons of rock had to be removed first in order to reach the vein or stratum of the marble to be quarried. After that, a quantity about three times larger than needed was to be removed and shipped to the laboratory.
To illustrate this point, for example, in order to carve to perfection an ornate capital, weighing when finished about one ton, a block three times that weight was initially required � and there were thirty-two capitals to be carved!
After the signing of the third and fourth contracts, when much more "Chiampo" was needed, considerable difficulties were met with.
First, the quarry had to be closed on account of the frigid weather and much snow which made any work impossible.
4 The Academy of FineArts of Carrara bestowed upon Signor Rocca the honorary
Professorship in Architectureof that Academy, in recognition of his men-torious skill as an artist and an architect.
Then, when operation was resumed at the first signs of spring, the stratum uncovered was imperfect and criss-crosseci by flaws. Weeks of anxiety followed until another perfect stratum was struck and the much needed material started to flow again from Chiampo to Pietrasanta.
For the columns, the pilasters and their bases, which were made of Rose Baveno granite, the matter was not so complicated as the quarry yielded perfect blocks for all our needs. This part of the work was carried out in the little town of Gravellona near Lake
Maggiore.From the same district came also the green marble used in the panels of the balustrade and as background for the central panel of the Greatest Name.5
"Verde Ugo" is the name of this beautiful green marble chosen by Mr. Maxwell; it is named after the owner of the quarry, Count Ugo d'Ivrea of Gressoney,
Piedmont.After the first shipment had arrived safely in Haifa, we initiated a continuous flow of material from the Italian ports of Genoa, Leghorn and
Venice to Haifa. Obstaclesof every nature arose from time to time, from the most unexpected sources.
The most serious was created by the drought which prevailed in Italy during the winter and spring of 1949. All industrial electric power was curtailed to three working days per week. The workmen could not operate the pneumatic drills and chisels; the great cutting saws were idle, and the production of cut stone lagged behind the schedule which had been set. After this correspondent had prevailed on the contractors to purchase a diesel electric generator, the rain started again and things went back to normal.
During these crises one of the partners of the contracting firm became very ill and suddenly died. He was Colonel Alberto Bahá'í of Carrara, a fine and competent gentleman in whom Mr. Maxwell and this correspondent had placed a great deal of trust and responsibility. His death was a real loss, an irreparable loss to the firm and his family.
His last words addressed to his wife were an exhortation to complete the work of the Shrine in the best possible manner, as this was the greatest thing he had done in his life time. Fortunately, his two young Sons are carrying on, with competence and 5 fl-Ba1i~'u'1-Abh4, or Afl6h-u-AbhA, meaning
"Gad the All Glorious!"COMPLETION OF SEPULCHER OF THE Báb 243
interest, the work so well initiated by their father.
Great anxiety was also caused by the shipping situation. We would engage a steamer to take a cargo on a certain date from a certain port. The precious cargo of material for the Shrine would be brought to the wharf and there it would have to wait for days and days until the ship arrived. One time the steamer arrived on schedule but an earthquake sent the population of Leghorn fleeing to the countryside, and there was no one to load the ship! In another instance, when the steamer was unloading our cargo of stone in the port of Haifa, the captain became alarmed at a plane flying overhead and hastily took the ship out of the port, returning half of the cargo back to Italy. Another time a fire broke out on board the steamer Sacro Cuore, endangering all our shipment, but it remained miraculously undamaged. Still another time a full load of stone which had been transferred from the ship to a lighter in the port of Haifa went to the bottom of the sea, when a stiff wind arose and capsized the lighter. Again good fortune was on our side and a salvage company with the aid of a diver brought every case to the surface undamaged.
The testing of all the cut stone has been one of the most meticulous tasks and has been carried out with unfailing precision and accuracy. The reader should realize that the stone shipped was not merely cut; it was cut to a size prescribed by plans made by the architect, then carved, finished to a smooth surface, and placed with its neighboring stones in the actual part of the building erected in the marble works, in sections held together by plaster of Paris. Specialized workers then went over every single stone to eliminate any imperfection to the fraction of a line. The stones were then numbered, the temporary pan of the building dismantled, and every piece placed in a strong wooden box made especially for it, to be shipped to Haifa.
A detailed list would give the number of the case and the number of each stone contained in it, while a master key-plan indicated the location of each stone in the building.
A fascinating gigantic puzzle. An Italian journalist has stated that this appears to be the largest prefabricated building to move from the European continent to any point in the world, even larger than the
Rockefeller "Cloister"The Guardian's desire was to have the complete colonnade surrounding the original Shrine, built by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, erected and finished for the one hundredth anniversary of the Martyrdom of the BTh � July 9, 1950.
Time was racing by fast.New contracts were concluded for the parapet which crowns the colonnade. Samples of gold and green mosaics were submitted for approval. Their acceptance started a new activity, the completion of twenty-eight large panels carved and embellished with "blue-green" mosaic and "scarlet-red" blossoms.
The great central panel, the one which was to bear the Greatest Name, was completed with its huge star of green marble in one piece and with background rays filled in with gold mosaic.
The shipment of these panels presented a great problem. They were heavy, large in size and delicate to handle on account of the mosaic. After thorough consultation with the
Contractors and SignorRocca it was decided to ship the panels in double cases to be sure they would arrive in Haifa in excellent condition.
The Guardian approved this plan, and every panel reached its destination in the utmost state of perfection.
But the problem of moving such large cases was not a small one; again another link was added to the chain of miracles.
To ship all the columns, pilasters, capitals, star panels, arches of the arcade, walls of the arcade, monumental corners, cornices, small pilasters and panels of the parapet, we used seventeen different steamers over a period of nineteen months. Nearly eight hundred tons of finished material were shipped and safely delivered in Haifa, in 1,800 wooden cases. The largest piece shipped weighed over three tons, and the largest carved piece of "Chiampo" weighed over one ton. Altogether 4,587 finished pieces were transported from Italy to Mt. Carmel during this period.
Over 100 trucks were required, to carry the material from the laboratory to the wharves to be shipped, and more than 100 railroad cars and lorries were used to bring the stone blocks from the quarry to the laboratory.
On May 8, 1950, the last shipment left Leghorn on the S.S. Maria � the last 44 cases containing the precious cargo for the
Page 246Báb's Shrine. This steamer entered the harbor of Haifa on May 20, thus bringing to a close the nineteen months of intense labor on the Italian side of the Mediterranean Sea. On June 29, 1950, the last small stone was put in position at 3:30 P.M. in the Arcade of the Shrine on Mt. Carmel, in ample time for the commemoration of the Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Báb. The Guardian s foresight had won; the colonnade was completed and all the Bahá'í world rejoiced at the announcement.
The morning of the first of September, 1950, a cable from Shoghi Effendi was received, announcing the shipment by plane of the architectural drawings for the octagon section of the Shrine superstructure, to obtain an estimate of the cost and of the time required to complete this part of the construction.
On September 8 the drawings finally arrived. After a series of conferences and consultations with Architect Rocca and representatives of the firm of Messrs.
GuidoM. Fabbricotti, Successori, of Carrara, a new contract for the carved Chiampo necessary to erect the octagon was stipulated.
The contract was signed in Rome, at Via Liguria 38, on Saturday, October 21. Again a complex machinery was set in motion with a speed that, at the time, left both this correspondent and the contractors spellbound and breathless; immediately a representative of the contractor was dispatched to Chiampo to purchase all the blocks of marble required, before the closing of the quarry which, on account of the inclement weather, was scheduled the first week of November.
As soon as the work of cutting and carving the stone started, new technical problems of vital importance arose in Haifa which demanded skillful, rapid and accurate solution.
The reader should consider that the ensemble of the octagon, the drum and the dome � a mighty construction weighing over 1,000 tons � could not be laid on the roof of the original Shrine, this venerable Edifice erected by 'Abdu'l-Bahá being unable to hold such tremendous weight.
Prof. H. Neuman of Haifa Institute of Technology, the engineer for the project, devised a very ingenious system to support the entire superstructure by planning to sink eight mighty piers, of unusual dimensions, all the way through the original Shrine to reach the bedrock lying under its foundation.
It was a truly gigantic and delicate task to break through the masonry of the Shrine without damaging its structure or impairing in any manner the sacred entirety of the Holy Tombs. To carry out this bold plan, this correspondent was called upon to provide and ship at the earliest possible moment a large amount of structural steel, eight huge Manesmann pipes6 and 100,000 pounds of cement � all material it was impossible to secure in Israel.
On the other hand, Italy's reconstruction program made these materials extremely scarce in Italy and they were exportable oniy under special Government licenses. Twice the cement was obtained and twice, with great swiftness, its shipment was prevented by everchanging and unheralded Government regulations. After weeks of stubborn perseverance, and soliciting and pleading with Government agencies, the licenses were obtained and the material left the port of Leghorn on two ships, the S.S. Komemiut and the S.S. Frank is, on April 5 and 13, 1951, respectively.
Professor Neuman has personally described to this correspondent the fascinating and highly skilled work of casting the eight huge piers and the eight-pointed star on which the entire new structure � the octagon, the drum and the dome � will rest. The star consists of eight interlocked beams of reinforced concrete, each measuring one foot wide, six feet deep and forty-three feet long, each point of the star resting on one of the eight vertical piers.
The lower edge of the beams is a distance of about one foot from the roof of the original Shrine. On the upper part of the beams is laid a mighty concrete platform which constitutes the floor of the octagon and the foundation for the eight steel columns. As all the beams are interlocked (like two superimposed quadrangles), it was necessary to cast this enormous foundation in one day � something of a miracle, "epoch-making, unique in the history of engineering in the entire Middle East," said Professor Neuman, "as we had to cast 135 cubic meters of concrete in one single day."
During this search for the materials mentioned, another cablegram from Shoghi Effendi requested an estimate of the cost of the cylinder (or drum) and of the dome. Again new conferences and consultations took place, to agree on many important technical details and to discuss costs and labor.
Hollow steel columns 15 feet high and one foot wide, to support the drum and the dome.
Page 247COMPLETION OF SEPULCHER OF THE BAR 245
After several quotations were submitted to the Guardian, authority was received to stipulate a new contract at a favorable cost, and on Friday, March 24, the contract was signed at Via Liguria, in Rome.
During negotiations for this contract, additional requests were received from time to time from Shoghi Effendi which resulted in new con-The The task of cutting and carving the Chiampo stone for the octagon was proceeding with great alacrity.
It was a meticulous and vast undertaking to carve out of the stone eight fa~ades each measuring twenty-four by twenty-six feet, with intricate ornamental carvings and eight huge pinnacles to be placed at the summit of every corner.
REINFORCEDConstruction of Shrine of the BTh, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel.
Sketch of the eight-pointed star foundation for the Octagon: 1. Outline of original Edifice, built by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, roughly square in shape.
2. Eight reinforced concrete piers rising from bedrock to one foot above roof level of original Edifice.
3. Reinforced concrete eight-pointed star foundation, consisting of eight interlocked concrete beams one foot wide, six feet deep and forty-three feet long. The eight points of this star rest on the eight concrete piers; the entire star is raised one foot above the roof of the original Edifice.
4. Dotted line connecting points of the star foundation represents the fa9ade of the Octagon. Small circles at intersections of beams indicate position of the eight hollow steel columns (Manesmann pipes).
tracts for the beautiful hand-wrought iron railing for the octagon, iron window frames for the same structure and for the cylinder � a total of eighteen large windows, eight of medium size, sixteen small ones � and an oak door with wrought-iron grill. In addition to these items other contracts were drawn up for iamp posts to embellish the terraces outside the Shrine and for artistic wrought-iron gates for the completion of the terraces.
Over fifty highly skilled stone cutters and artist carvers accomplished this work, sometimes laboring until late at night in order to deliver the material in less than a year. Shipments were made from time to time. The first lot of Chiampo, 18 tons carefully packed in sealed wooden boxes, left the port of Leghorn on May 4, on the S.S. De Vii-hena. Another important shipment of 105 tons was made on August 2 on the S.S. Resi,
Page 248and was followed by other shipments of 54 tons on the same steamer on September 26, of 30 tons on the S.S.
Rapido on November12, and the balance on the S.S. De Vilhena on December 3.
About the middle of September an additional request was received, for structural steel, another 100,000 pounds of cement, a huge quantity of construction lumber, all to permit the erection of the cylinder and the dome.
By this time the Italian Government had made it almost impossible to purchase or to ship abroad any quantity of steel, even the smallest. Petitions to the proper authority, and verbal pleading seconded by written statements stressing the importance of completing the cylinder and the dome of the Shrine, which would extoll the skill of Italian artistry, brought the capitulation of the adamant Committee on Exports, and with the great rejoicing of this correspondent the export license for the steel, cement and lumber was granted. "This is an exceptional measure," stated the government official who signed the license, "as no such permit has been granted for months, even to larger corporations with worldwide trade."
By the middle of October storms of un precedented violence were lashing the north and the south of the Italian peninsula, bringing about the disastrous floods which devastated all the Polesine region in the north and a good part of Calabria in the south.
The Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic seas were stormy as they had never been in the memory of any living man. Right at that moment a large cargo of Chiampo stone, of steel and a good part of the lumber had been sent to the port of Leghorn for shipment. No steamer was then able to enter or leave any port. All shipping was paralyzed for a few weeks and our precious and most needed cargo lay idle at the wharf.
It was oniy on November 12 (Bahá'u'lláh's birthday) that the S.S. Rapido, after completing hasty loading operations, sailed from Leghorn with the weather still unsettled.
At the present date, January, 1952, the work is proceeding with great speed to complete the cylinder with its eighteen intricately carved windows, the eighteen great ribs of the dome, and the stone lantern which crown this superstructure of the Shrine, like outstretched arms and uplifted hands joined in a prayer to the Almighty.
4. REPORTS ON THE CONSTRUCTIONS HOGHI EFFENDI has asked me to write you about the progress of the building of the arcade about the Shrine of the Bib on Mt. Carmel from time to time, with the suggestion that it be printed in Bahá'í News for the information of the friends. This is a rather large task for so poor a servant to undertake, for truly the erection of this arcade will be an epic milestone in the annals of the Baha Faith, and will foreshadow the erection of the golden dome, some one hundred and twenty feet in height, and the completion of the enterprise conceived by Bahá'u'lláh sixty years ago.
Many of the friends will recall the circular group of cypress trees near the Shrine, under which Bahá'u'lláh sat when He indicated to 'Abdu'l-Bahá the spot upon which the Shrine of the Bib was to be erected, and where the Báb's earthly remains should be placed at rest. That was a memorable day and it is fitting that one of the Bahá'ís present at the time should now be residing at the Bahá'í Pilgrim House near the Shrine and acting as host to all visitors � Hussein Ek-bal. He is a fine and kindly, elderly gentleman, and it is a privilege to meet and know him.
All Bahá'ís know that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was able to bring the precious remains of the Bib to Mt. Carmel and to erect six of the nine rooms of the present Shrine building. Perhaps, something not so well known, is that one day in 1915, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was sitting on the terrace at the top of the steps of His home looking up to the building then on Mt. Carmel and remarked that as yet the Shrine of the Báb was "unbuilt" and that
Page 249COMPLETION OF SEPULCHER OF THE Báb 247
considerable sums of money would be needed, but God willing, they would be forthcoming.
How significant that word "un-built," and yet, how precious are the rooms built at His direction!
How indicative it was that He envisaged the beautiful structure which is to be raised about the precious kernel He had placed on Mt. Carmel. You may be sure no stone which was laid at His desire will ever be disturbed. This same will hold true of the three rooms added by Shoghi Effendi after the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and in accordance with His desire. The present nine-room structure will always remain the kernel of the Shrine and the present project will oniy be a beautiful and glorious shell to protect and preserve it. Even with this bit of background in mind, few will ever know the intense longing which has been in the heart of Shoghi Effendi, over a long period of years, to start the construction of the edifice he knew was so dear to the heart of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Then, suddenly, in the spring of this year, 1948, he felt that the end of his patient waiting had come, even though conditions in the world, and especially in Palestine, were far from propitious.
However, he well knew that every great step forward in our Ba1A'i Faith has been taken under severe difficulties, therefore, he did not hesitate to send Mr. William S. Maxwell to Italy with his exquisitely designed plans, to contract for the cutting and carving of the stone necessary to bring out the full richness and delicacy of the arcade he, Mr. Maxwell, has conceived. It might be mentioned that his designs and drawings have excited the admiration of many of the finest stonecutters in Italy.
This is justified and it is to be regretted that space does not allow the telling of the labor and devotion Mr. Maxwell has put into this work.
It is great, very great.The trip to Italy was most successful; with the very able assistance of Dr. Ugo R. Giachery, contracts were entered into with Guido M. Fabbricotti, Successors, of Carrara, Italy, for twenty-four columns and eight pilasters, with their bases, to be cut and polished from Rose Baveno granite, the capitals for these, together with the twenty-eight graceful arches, star panels and delicate, curved corner panels to be cut and carved of cream, Chiampo granite.
The search for a proper stone and the selection of Chiampo granite for this fine carved work is a tale in itself and could better be told by Ugo Giachery who rendered so great a service in all this work, and continues to act as Shoghi Effendi's appointed representative in Italy in the matter of stone for the Shrine of the Báb.
Very quickly after the return from Italy, on May 15, affairs in Palestine took on a swifter tempo.
The British Mandate had come to an end and the State of Israel came to birth.
This latter event forced a change in the construction plans for the Shrine.
The first intent was to use Palestinian stone for the thresholds, the corners, walls, and the cornices, but circumstances left the quarries of the needed stone in the hands of the Arabs. This looked like a serious obstacle and might cause a serious delay, hut Shoghi Effendi immediately communicated with Ugo Giachery and within a surprisingly short time Ugo was able to place a further contract with Guido M. Fabbricotti, Successors, for the cutting, in Chiampo granite, of all the stone needed to construct the arcade.
Everyone feels this has been a happy turn of events as this Chiampo granite is a very fine and beautiful stone. The placing of this latest contract means that all the stone of the arcade will be Italian and it is possible that when the time comes to add the balustrade and the tall dome the master stonecutters of Italy will have more work to do.
With the matter of the stonework decided, Shoghi Effendi took swift action toward preparing the site about the Shrine for the work to come.
This is a huge task in itself and is not without a little heartbreak for it means disturbing the beauty Shoghi Effendi has devoted so many years to create about the Shrine, to gladden the hearts of the pilgrims and visitors.
There were hundreds upon hundreds of finely laid tiles to be carefully removed and properly stored, many yards of well-cared-for hedging and trees to take up and replant, four huge, lead vases and their pedestals dismounted, the laying of the foundation and the taking of many, many cubic yards of stone from the high wall on the mountain side of the Shrine. The laying of the foundation has been completed and the cutting of the rock wall progressing swiftly under Shoghi Effendi's direction.
While work was progressing in Haifa much of the work in Italy was being finished and packed for shipment.
The excitement of the day Shoghi Effendi askedto arrange for the first shipment of stone was only equaled by the day we learned that the S. S. Norte had left Italy with some one hundred and twelve tons of columns, pilasters, bases, socles, and threshold stones, and would arrive in Haifa on November 28. Activities increased greatly here as there was much to be done to clear the shipment through customs, arrange transportation from the port and prepare a space near the Gardens where this precious cargo could be stored. And then came word from Ugo that an additional forty tons was being loaded on the S. S. Campidoglic and would arrive in Haifa on December 3. One hundred and fifty-two tons of cut, carved and polished stone on the high seas! Only a small part of the six hundred and fifty odd tons to come from Italy, but the flow of stone had started!
At last the 28th came and the slow and careful unloading got underway.
A good measure of the pieces were unloaded into lighters but the great columns and pilasters, weighing about three tons each, had to be taken from the S.S. Norte by one of the big shore cranes.
It was a grand sight to see those huge crates rise slowly out of the hold of the ship and be gently lowered onto the quay.
With the unloading completed, the work of clearing the shipment was quickly finished and the transportation to the storage space near the Gardens started.
Before this task was completed the S.S. Cam pidogilo arrived with forty additional tons, was cleared and in due time all stone transported to the storage space to await the day it can be placed in its position to form the arcade about the Shrine of the 13Th.
How everyone is looking forward to the day when the first stone will be laid on the foundation!
Then day by day this great and beautiful structure will take form. The polished rose granite bases will be put into position, the twenty-four polished, rose granite columns and eight pilasters will be stood proudly erect ready to receive their intricately carved Chiampo stone capitals, the beautifully designed curved corners will rise stone upon stone, the twenty-eight graceful arches will rest secure on the capitals, the delicately carved star panels inset and at last the cornices put into place. Thus will be completed the first step in the construction of the glorious rose and gold edifice which will forever guard and protect the Shrine of the B~b on Mt. Carmel.
While this letter is mostly a recital of Ia-bors bors both great and small, it is to be hoped that the friends who read it will not forget the importance and great purpose behind these strivings.
The structure 'Abdu'l-Bahá hoped one day, God willing, would be raised upon the side of Mt. Carmel is taking tangible form under the hands of our beloved Guardian.
Haifa, Dec. 28, 1948 With completion of the foundation toward the end of 1948, the enlarging of the site of the Shrine began. This meant cutting into the side of the mountain and the removal of many hundreds of yards of earth and rock. It was a difficult work and was not made easier by the very cold and rainy winter such as has not been experienced in Israel for many years. Yet, despite the adverse circumstances, under the direction of Shoghi Effendi, this work, including the necessary retaining wall, was completed within a period of time that amazed the engineers. It was truly a herculean task in itself and is the more remarkable if consideration is given to the fact that Shoghi Effendi also extended the terrace of the Garden upon which the Shrine is located, by a matter of some two hundred feet.
A truly large undertaking in itself due to the steepness of the mountain.
As this work neared completion a new drainage system for the Shrine was put in and the day the first of stones so carefully cut in Italy, was to be laid, drew close. On March 14, 1949, one week before the fortieth anniversary of the placing by 'Abdu'l-Bahá of the BTh's blessed remains in the sarcophagus presented by the Burmese Bahá'ís for this purpose � the first threshold stone weighing half a ton, was set in its exact place upon the foundation. The beautiful arcade for the Shrine of the BTh on Mt. Carmel, conceived by Mr. William S. Maxwell, was really taking form. Dreams were taking on reality.
The setting of the one hundred and forty threshold stones proceeded swiftly and the base stones for three of the corners were put in position.
At this point there was an interruption due to the long drought in Italy which cut the use of electric power to three days a week. This delayed the arrival of stone we needed to continue. How we would have liked to have sent some of our excess rain to Italy! Still, this interruption was not without its benefit, for it did give time to de
Page 251COMPLETION OF SEPULCHER OF THE Báb 249
vise a special gantry to be used to lift the huge Rose Baveno pilasters and columns into place, and other pieces of stone work ranging up to a ton or more.
With the arrival of the needed pieces of stone the work was resumed with renewed vigor and with lightened hearts.
It is progressing swiftly and in a most encouraging manner.
The three corners upon which work is being done have taken on a strength and promise of beauty difficult to picture, with the erection of the two great, square Rose Baveno pilasters with which each finely proportioned corner is bound. To see one of these solid pieces of granite some fifteen feet long rise into position is a sight never to be forgotten.
It is raised slowly and with infinite care until it is above its base and then, with much measuring, lowered into the position it will hold for ages.
Six of these fine monoliths have been put into position and the stone work of Chiampo granite forming these corners is over half way to the top of the pilasters. This includes some of the very fine carved work of the curved section of the corners.
Even in the present construction stage of these corners, they bring exclamations of delight from those who view them. Who can say how the first sight of the completed arcade will ravish the hearts of all who behold it?
Sitting within sight of the Shrine of the as this report is being written, makes it difficult to keep thoughts within due bounds of a true report. Knowing that on the morrow a start is to be made in preparation for raising twelve of the graceful Rose Baveno columns tends to distracting thoughts of the future. Aye, that future! Those twelve great columns, and the twelve to follow, each with its carved capital, the graceful arches, the walls with the inset star panels, then the balustrade and over all the great dome! That is what a Bahá'í would envisage if sitting here. That is what a Bahá'í would envisage upon seeing just one stone set in place and to be able to touch it. Further, a Bahá'í would sense something of the great import of what our beloved Guardian is creating on the side of Mt. Carmel for the future of the world.
How the Bahá'ís would strive and pray for the completion of the glorious covering for the Shrine of the B~b if they but knew something of this!
Our beloved Guardian has asked that a third report be made to the friends on the progress of the work at the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel. A goodly amount of progress has taken place since the last report, in fact, the arcade has been over half completed, but not without difficulties.
The continued drought in Italy still delayed stone shipments, as mentioned in the last report. This made the planning of construction progress difficult. Plans would be made for the arrival of a shipment and then it would be delayed. This was annoying but when a lighter load of sixty-one cases of stone sank in the harbor one stormy night we felt we had a real burden on our shoulders.
However, like all burdens and tests we found it not as severe as we thought and that it did add to our experience. It was not long before a diver had salvaged the cases from the bottom of the harbor and not a stone had been damaged. We had a further experience of a like nature when a case was dropped into the water when it slipped from the sling while unloading.
We also had the experience of a ship catching afire while she was unloading, and it was necessary to flood her to put out the fire. We were very worried about this as can be imagined, but we found that not a single one of our precious cases had been harmed in the slightest. With the vicissitudes many of our shipments have passed through it is miraculous that no damage was done to a single stone which would have called for a long delay in the work while it was being recut.
While these difficulties were heartrending, still the work on the arcade went steadily on. The three magnificent curved corners took on more height and grandeur. Twelve of the huge Rose Baveno granite columns were set upon their bases, each with its beautifully carved Chiampo granite capital.
A momentous occasion truly! Then followed the placing of the finely cut graceful arches, seven on the east side and seven on the north. This led to the building up of the walls to the height of the architrave, including the star panels and half star panels, those gems which relieve the austerity of the walls and balance the fine, ornate, curved corners. With the completion to the architrave of the beautiful corners at the southeast, northeast and northwest and the walls to the east and north, the summer came to a close and plans for the winter work were made.
One of the first steps in this work is already nearing completion, the excavation of the mountain on the west and south sides
Page 252of the Shrine. This has meant the removal of many, many hundreds of cubic yards of rock and earth and the building of a retaining wall which on the south side will reach a height of nearly ten meters. The earth and rock excavated will be used to extend the terrace upon which the Shrine stands, to the east or the right as you stand facing the sea and the city of 'Akka.
As soon as the wall is completed, work will start on the southwest curved corner, the setting of its two great pilasters and the placing of the twelve remaining columns with their capitals. Then the arches and the wall stones of the west and south sides. As this work progresses the concrete ceilings will be poured, and the stones of the architrave and cornices set in place. Then will come the momentous setting up of the parapet, which is to be such a fitting crown for this splendid and glorious arcade the labors of our beloved Guardian are bringing into being about our holy Shrine of the Báb on Mt.
Carmel.In midsummer, in anticipation of this last momentous part of the work, our
Guardian instructed Dr.Ugo R. Giachery, as his representative in Italy, to negotiate a fourth contract with Guido M. Fabbricotti, Successors, of Carrara, Italy, for the fabrication of this intricate stone work. On September 7, 1949, the contract was signed and calls for close to two hundred tons of fine carving and delicate mosaic work. Mr. W. S. Maxwell has created a masterpiece of beauty and design.
There will be thirty-two Chiampo stone posts with carved caps. There will be twenty-seven large panels carved in low relief with a background of variegated bluegreen opaque glass mosaic.
These panels will be in single slabs and weigh nearly a ton each. There will be a special central panel for the front fa~ade of the arcade, with a large star with radiating gold rays, and there will be the Greatest Name done in metal and gilded superimposed upon the green marble star. This panel will be complete with the intricately designed 'B's' to the right and the left of the circle of green marble enclosing the star and the golden rays. The 'B's' will be in low relief and the background mosaic.
The four curved corners will have beautifully designed ornamentation in which there will be a large oval of green marble and again the Greatest Name will be superimposed upon each oval. This is a very inadequate description, and while the lack of space might be pled, the real need is the abilities of a poet or a great artist to picture what is now being created in Italy.
The expressions of admiration made by the many many visitors to our beautiful Bahá'í Gardens on the work already done on the arcade, when they get a partial view of it from the unrestricted part of the Gardens, are heartwarming, and one wonders to what length they will go when the arcade is finished and open to the public. What will they feel and think when they see the delicate rose of the tall columns, the light cream of the impressive and strong corners and walls and last, but not least, the crown of glory, the parapet, with its green panels (the green emblematic of the Bib's lineage) and the gold of the Greatest Names and the rays to add the final touch of color and balance to it all? To this beautiful harmony of color will be added the superb carving, so exquisite in design, and the proportions which convey such a feeling of strength and ageless endurance.
Do you doubt but what it will leave a vision in their hearts that will last throughout a lifetime?
Please do not ask what it will mean to a Bahá'í making a pilgrimage to this holy spot. My prayer is that you all may have this privilege and bounty, God willing.
With the passing of an unusually severe winter (19491950), and one of many and diverse labors, despite the adverse weather, the construction plans for the winter were more than fulfilled and the completion of this glorious and sacred arcade enveloping the Shrine of the B~b is rapidly approaching.
At the beginning of the winter, construction on the west and south sides of the arcade began in earnest. The southwest curved corner with its huge rose granite pilasters rapidly took shape. Twelve great rose columns and their capitals were put in place. While this work was going on, the wall of the mountain on the south side of the Shrine was strengthened and the terrace upon which the Shrine of the 13Th stands was extended to the east.
This extension required the building of a high retaining wall and was a major engineering undertaking in itself, but under the guidance of our Guardian it went forward at amazing speed and is now a flourishing garden.
With these activities at their height the first shipment of the parapet stones arrived.
Page 253COMPLETION OF SEPULCHER OF THE Báb 251
Included in this shipment were the first of the twenty-seven mosaic panels which with their artistry and beauty of design conceived by Mr. Maxwell will so enhance the majesty of the glorious crown now being placed upon the towering walls of the arcade which is to protect the holy Shrine of the Báb for all posterity.
Our impatience to open one of these cases of panels knew no bounds. When, at last, one of the panels had been carefully exposed it is neadless to say our admiration also knew no bounds. The bowl of our expectations overflowed.
The craftsmanship of the Italian artisans in stone and mosaic work was beyond compare and Mr. Maxwell's design and plan had become a noble fruit. As Mr. Maxwell is extremely reticent in speaking of his work and is not given to a display of his emotions one will never know the extreme pleasure it must have been for him to stand before this beautiful creation and know that he had inspired it. With these wonderful panels on hand the workmen went forward with added zest to prepare for the setting of them. Soon the day came when the first panel on the east side of the arcade was brought carefully into place and raised into position. At the end of the second day the other six panels were placed with the small pillars standing between.
Not long after, the cover stones and the finials of the pillars were added thus completing the east side of the arcade.
Now the staging needed for all this construction could be removed and the full beauty of these labors stood revealed: The delicate rose of the huge columns and the pilasters, the graceful arches, the light cream of the wall stones and then the wondrous and glorious crown of glory, the balustrade with its panels of carved Chiampo granite with a background of light green, glass mosaic with a few flecks of red and a narrow green border of Ugo Vert granite, with subdued touch of color so masterfully added to bring out the full beauty, dignity and glory of this magnificent edifice. And how symbolic of the B~�b's martyrdom are those panels � those gems set in the crown of gloriousness, the balustrade!
The white Clii-ampo stone denoting the pure light of His Message, the green symbolical of His lineage and the red flecks the drops of blood of His Martyrdom.
As one stands before this beauty one's heart is near to bursting.
There is little more to be added to this report but you may all be assured that construction of the arcade about the Shrine of the Báb is nearing its conclusion. A great step forward will have been taken when the last stone has been laid. A breathtaking edifice of beauty will stand in a garden of great splendor, which our beloved Guardian has already created, for all the world to be drawn to in admiration, and all Bahá'ís in reverence and devotion.
Haifa, Israel May 30, 1950 At three-thirty o'clock in the afternoon on May 29, 1950, the last stone was placed in position in the huge corner panel at the southeast corner of the arcade about the Shrine of the BTh on Mt. Carmel.
It was only a small stone, being about a foot long and ten inches in width, triangular in shape, but how filled with import the setting of it was!
The placing of this small stone brought to a close the first stage in the construction of one of the most magnificent and important edifices in the world of today and the long long tomorrow of the future.
You know something of the extraordinary conditions existing at the World Center when our beloved
Guardian sent Mr. Maxwellto Italy to arrange for the nearly eight hundred tons of stone to be used in completing the arcade.
You know something of the many difficulties that have been encountered and overcome, that are so reminiscent of every great forward step taken in the advancement of our beloved Faith. An attempt has been made in reports to picture something of the splendor and beauty of the edifice conceived by Mr. Maxwell and brought into reality through storm and stress under the sure guidance of the Guardian, up to and including the large mosaic panels of the balustrade.
You must be anxious to know something of the great and tall corner panels and the jewel of splendor the magnificent central panel, a gem of great price set in the diadem of our arcade.
Those towers of massive strength, the concave curved corners are most fittingly crowned by curved panels rising nearly nine feet in height, and tapering to a point.
The central stone, weighing over a ton and a half, has a large oval of Ugo Vert marble set into it upon which is mounted the Greatest Name in the calligraphy used on Bahá'í ring stones, done with a special gold-fired bronze.
This green oval is wreathed in a simpie floral design. The upper portion of the panel tapers to a point with finely carved wings diminishing in size to make a fitting frame for the carving over the oval that adds so much to the strength, dignity and harmony of these four immense corner panels.
The dignity and majesty of these curved corner panels are enhanced by the simplicity of the square panels with their cover stones of quiet leaf-fluting which flank the curved sections. These square panels have their centers cut back in two steps taking away any feeling of weight, and this inset carving is so finely proportioned in size and depth that these panels become the perfect union between the beautiful mosaic panels of the sides and the imposing curved panels at each corner, The central panel, set in the balustrade of the north fagade which faces 'Akka and overlooks Mt. Carmel Avenue, is a true crown jewel. Its center is a great five-foot circle resting between two quarter panels each having carved upon them an exquisitely designed floral "B" with backgrounds of light green mosaic. The great circle has a huge nine pointed star of dark green marble set in it upon which is mounted the Greatest Name done in gold-fired bronze and in the Persian calligraphy so familiar to all Baha'is. From the nine-pointed star radiate carved rays of Chiampo stone having a background of bright gold mosaic; all being enclosed in a narrow band of dark green Ugo Vert marble.
The cover stones for this glorious panel are harmoniously carved to make a perfect setting for this truly inspiring masterpiece.
This central panel is truly a masterpiece, and perhaps something more, for as one views it there is a glow and radiance about the nine-pointed star that does not come from just the white stone and gold mosaic. There is a golden aura that is a sign and a promise of the Golden Age our beloved Faith is to bring to the world.
The real evidence of the greatness of this step initiated by, inspired by and which has been completed under the guidance of our beloved Guardian, now stands in all its majesty and glory in the Baha Gardens, also created by our Guardian, on the side of Mt. Carmel, the most holy mountain � the arcade about the Shrine of the BTh. It is the initial stage in the erection of the glorious edifice which is always to guard and protect the sacred building 'Abdu'l-Bahá caused to be reared under terrible adversity, on the spot designated by Bahá'u'lláh as the final resting place for the Sacred Remains of the Báb and within which He, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, placed those Sacred Remains with His own loving hands.
It is to be remembered that this inspiring edifice will ever stand as a shining light for all the world to glory in.
Page 255HAIL, (with) feelings (of) humble thankfulness (and) unbounded joy, opening (of the) Holy Year commemorating (the) centenary (of the) rise (of the) Orb (of) Bahá'u'lláh's most sublime Revelation marking (the) consummation (of the) six thousand year cycle ushered in (by) Adam, glo-rifled (by) all past prophets (and) sealed (with the) blood (of the) Author (of the) Báb Dispensation. Evoke (on this) auspicious occasion (the) glorious memory (and) acclaim (the) immortal exploits (of the) Dawn-Breakers (of the) Apostolic Age (of the) Baha Dispensation (in the) cradle (of the) Faith (and the) mighty feats (of the) champion builders (of) its rising World Order (in the) Western Hemisphere as well as (the) multitude (of) valorous achievements (of the) past (and) present generations (of) their brethren (in the) European, Asiatic,
African (and) Australiancontinents, whose combined accomplishments during (the) one hundred (and) nine years (of) its existence contributed (to the) survival (of) God's struggling Faith, (the) reinforcement (of) its infant strength, (the) safeguarding (of the) unity (of) its supporters, (the) preservation (of the) integrity (of) its teachings, (the) enrichment (of the) lives (of) its followers, (the) rise (of the) institutions (of) its administrative order, (the) fashioning (of the) agencies for (the) systematic diffusion (of) its light (and the) broadening (and the) consolidation (of) its foundations. Moved (to) express (the) confident hope as (the) centenary celebrations now commencing, attain (their) climax during (the) approaching Rijv~n period, (that the) plans formulated (by the) valiant members (of the) World 253 Bahá'í Community (in the) five continents, may each (and) all, through their victorious consummation, add distinct fresh luster (to the) worldwide festivities constituting (the) collective tribute paid (by the) followers (of the) Most Great Name (to the) memory (of the) august Founder (of) their Faith in honor (of the) centenary (of the) birth (of) His Mission (and the) eternal glory (of) His embryonic, majestically unfolding World Order.
Feel hour propitious (to) proclaim (to the) entire Baha world (the) projected launching (on the) occasion (of the) convocation (of the) approaching Intercontinental Conferences (on the) four continents (of the) globe (the) fate-laden, soul-stilTing, decade-long, world-embracing Spiritual Crusade involving (the) simultaneous initiation (of) twelve national Ten Year Plans (and the) concerted participation (of) all
National Spiritual Assemblies(of the) Bahá'í world aiming (at the) immediate extension (of) Bahá'u'lláh's spiritual dominion as well as (the) eventual establishment (of the) structure (of) His administrative order (in) all remaining Sovereign
States, Principal Dependenciescomprising Principalities, Sultanates, Emirates, Sbaykjjdoms, Protectorates,
Trust Territories, (and) CrownColonies scattered (over the) surface (of the) entire planet. (The) entire body (of the) avowed supporters (of) Bahá'u'lláh's all-conquering Faith (are) now summoned (to) achieve (in a) single decade feats eclipsing (in) totality (the) achievements which (in the) course (of the) eleven preceding decades illuminated (the) annals (of) Baha pioneering.
(The) fourfold objectives (of the) forthcoming Crusade, marking (the) third (and) last phase (of the) initial epoch (of the) evolution (of) 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan (are) destined (to) culminate (in the) worldwide festivities commemorating (the) fast-approaching Most Great Jubilee. First, development (of the) institutions (at the) World Center (of the) Faith (in the) Holy Land. Second, consolidation, through carefully devised measures (on the) home front (of the) twelve territories destined (to) serve (as) administrative bases (for the) operations (of the) twelve National Plans. Third, consolidation (of) all territories already opened (to the) Faith. Fourth, (the) opening (of the) remaining chief virgin territories (on the) planet through specific allotments (to) each National Assembly functioning (in the) Bahá'í world.
(The) projected historic, spiritual venture, at once arduous, audacious, challenging, unprecedented (in) scope (and) character (in the) entire field (of) Bahá'í history, soon to be set (in) motion, involves (the) adoption (of) preliminary measures (to the) construction (of)
Bahá'u'lláh's SepulcherDoubling (the) number (of) countries within (the) pale (of the) Faith through planting its banner (in the) remaining Sovereign States (of the) planet as well as (the) remaining virgin Territories mentioned (in) 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Tablets (of the) Divine Plan, involving (the) opening (of) forty-one countries (on the) Asiatic, thirty-three (on the) African, thirty (on the) European, twenty-seven (on the) American continents. Over twofold increase (in the) number (of) languages into which Bahá'í literature (is) translated, printed or (in) process (of) translation � forty (in) Asia, thirty-one (in) Africa, ten each (in) Europe (and) America, to be allocated (to the) American, British, Indian (and) Australian Bahá'í communities, including for (the) most part those into which Gospels (have been) already translated. Doubling (the) number (of) Mashriqu'l-Adhkar's, through (the) initiation (of the) construction (of) one (on the) Asiatic (and the) other (on the) European continent. (The) acquisition (of the) site (of the) future Mashriqu'l-Adhkar (on) Mt. Carmel. (The) purchase (of the) land (for) eleven future Temples, three (on the) American, three (on the) African, two (on the) Asiatic, two (on the) European, one (on the) Australian continents.
(The)erection (of the) first dependency (of the) Mashriqu'l-Adhkar (in)
Wilmette. (The)development (of the) functions (of the) institution (of the) Hands (of the) Cause.
(The) establishment (of a) Bahá'í Court (in the) Holy Land, preliminary (to the) emergence (of the) Universal House (of)
Justice.Codification (of the) laws (and) ordinances (of the) KITAB-I-AQDAS, Mother Book (of the) Bahá'í
Revelation. Establishment(of) six national Bahá'í Courts (in the) chief cities (of the) Islamic East, TihrAn, Cairo, BaghdAd, New Delhi, KarAchi, Ktibul. Extension (of) international Bahá'í endowments (in the) Holy Land, (on the) plain (of) 'Akka (and the) slopes (of) Mt. Carmel. Construction (of) international Bahá'í Archives (in the) neighborhood (of the) Báb's Sepulcher.
Construction (of a) tomb (for the) wife (of the)(of the) resting places (of the) father (of) Bahá'u'lláh (and the) mother (and) cousin (of the) Bib (for) reburial (in the) Bahá'í cemetery (in the) vicinity (of the) Most Great House.
Acquisition (of the) Garden (of) RigivAn (in) Baghd4d, site (of the) Siy~h-CAiA1 (in) Tihr~n, (site of the) martyrdom (of the) Báb (in) Tabrfz, (and of) His incarceration (in) Cbihriq.
More than quadruple (the) number (of) National Spiritual Assemblies, twenty-one (on the) American, thirteen (on the) European, ten (on the) Asiatic, three (on the) African (and) one (on the) Australian continents. Multiply sevenfold national Eja-ziratu'1-Quds, their establishment (in the) capital cities (of the) chief Sovereign States (and) chief cities (of the) principal Dependencies (of the) planet, twenty-one (in) America, fifteen (in) Europe, nine (in) Asia, three (in) Africa, one (in) New Zealand. Framing national Bahá'í constitutions, establishment national Bahá'í endowments (in) same capitals and cities (of) same States (and)
Dependencies.More than quintuple (the) number (of) incorporated National Assemblies, twenty-one (in) America, thirteen (in) Europe, twelve (in) Asia, three (in) Africa, one (in) Australasia.
(The) establishment (of) six national Bahá'í Publishing Trusts, two (in) America, two (in) Asia, one (in) Africa, one (in) Europe.
(The) participation (of the) women (of) Persia (in the) membership (of) national
Page 257Establishment (of) seven Israel branches (of) National Spiritual Assemblies, two (in) Europe, two (in) Asia, one each (in) America, Africa (and) Australia.
(The) establishment (of a) national Bahá'í printing press (in) Tihr~in.
Reinforcement (of the) ties binding (the) Bahá'í World Community (to the) United Nations. Inclusion, circumstances permitting, (of) eleven Republics comprised within Union (of) Soviet Social Republics and two European Soviet-controlled States within (the) orbit (of the) Administrative Order (of the) Faith.
Convocation World Bahá'í(of) RhjIv~n, Baghdad, third holiest city Bahá'í world, (on the) occasion (of the) worldwide celebrations (of the) Most Great Jubilee, commemorating (the) Centenary (of the) Ascension (of) Bahá'u'lláh (to the) Throne (of) His Sovereignty.
Current Bahá'í history must henceforth, as second decade (of) second Bahá'í century opens, move rapidly (and) majestically as (it has) never moved before since (the) inception (of the) Faith over (a) century ago. Earthly symbols (of) Bahá'u'lláh's unearthly Sovereignty must needs, ere (the) decade separating (the) two memorable Jubilees draws (to a) close, be raised as far north as Franklin beyond (the) Arctic Circle (and) as far south as (the) Falkiand Islands, marking (the) southern extremity (of the) western hemisphere, amidst (the) remote, lonely, inhospitable islands (of the) archipelagos (of the) South Pacific, (the) Indian (and) Atlantic oceans, (the) mountain fastnesses (of) Tibet, (the) jungles (00 Africa, (the) deserts (of) Arabia, (the) steppes (of) Russia, (the) Indian Reservations (of) North America, (the) wastelands (of) Siberia (and) Mongolia, amongst (the) Eskimos (of) Greenland (and) Alaska, (the) Negroes (of) Africa, Buddhist strongholds (in the) heart (of) Asia, (amongst) Lapps (of) Finland, (the) Polynesians (of the) South
Sea Islands, Negritos(The) broad outlines (of the) world-encircling plan (were) divinely revealed. Its course (was) chartered (by) 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í infallible Pen. Its shining goals (have been) set. (The) requisite administrative machinery (has been) created. Signal (has been) given by (the) Author (of the) Plan, (its)
Supreme Commander. (The)Lord (of) Hosts, (the) King of Kings, (has) pledged unfailing aid (to) every crusader battling (for)
His Cause. Invisiblebattalions (are) mustered, rank upon rank, ready (to) pour forth reinforcements from on high. Bahá'u'lláh's army (of) light (is) standing (on the) threshold (of the) Holy Year. Let them, as they enter it, vow (with) one voice, one heart, one soul, never (to) turn back (in the) entire course (of the) fateful decade ahead until each (and) every one will have contributed (his) share (in) laying on (a) worldwide scale an unassailable administrative foundation for Bahá'u'lláh's
Christ-promised Kingdomon earth, swelling thereby (the) chorus (of) universal jubilation wherein earth (and) heaven will join as prophesied (by) Daniel, echoed (by) 'Abdu'l-Bahá; "on that day will (the) faithful rejoice with exceeding gladness."
Call upon fifteen Hands (from) five continents, by virtue (of) their supreme function as chosen instruments (for the) propagation (of the) Faith, (to) inaugurate historic mission through (the) appointment, during RiKlvtin 1954, (of) five auxiliary boards (one) each continent, (of) nine members each, who will, as their adjuncts, or deputies, and working (in) conjunction (with the) various National Assemblies functioning (on) each continent, assist, through periodic systematic visits (to) Bahá'í centers, (in the) efficient, prompt execution (of the) twelve projected National Plans. Moreover request communities observing Bahá'í Holy Days, solar calendar, celebrate (with) befitting solemnity (the) approaching anniversary (of) I3ah4'u'11~h's Birthday, falling (in the) middle (of the) two month period during which, a hundred years ago, (the) Author (of the) Faith received (the) first intimation (of)
His glorious Mission.community commemorate occasion (by) special gathering (in the) Temple (in) Wilmette (and) urge attendance (of) as many believers (as) possible (and) invite Hands (of the) Cause (in)
United States (and) CanadaOBJECTIVES OF THE TEN-YEAR PLAN TO BE CONDUCTED BY TWELVE
BAW&'i NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES, 195319631. Adoption of preliminary measures for the construction of Bahá'u'lláh's Sepulcher in the Holy Land.
2. Doubling the number of countries within the pale of the Faith, involving the opening ing of: 41 countries in the Asiatic Continent 33 countries in the African Continent 30 countries in the European Continent 27 countries in the American Continent 3. Over twofold increase in the number of languages into which Bahá'í literature has been translated and printed, or is in process of translation: 40 in Asia 31 in Africa 10 in Europe 10 in America allocated to American, British, Indian, and Australian Bahá'í Communities.
4. Doubling the number of Mashriqu'l-Adhkar's through the initiation of construction of: 1 in the Asiatic Continent 1 in the European Continent 5. Acquisition of a site for the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkar on Mt. Carmel.
6. Erection of the first dependency of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A. 7. Purchase of land for eleven future Temples: 3 in the American Continent 3 in the African Continent 2 in the Asiatic Continent 2 in the European Continent 1 in the Australian Continent S. Development of the functions of the institution of the Hands of the Cause.
9. Establishment of a Baha Court in the Holy Land, as a preliminary to the emergence gence of the Universal House of Justice.
10. Codification of the Laws and Ordinances of the KITAB-I-AQDAS, the Mother Book of the Bahá'í Revelation.
11. Establishment of six National Bahá'í Courts in the chief cities of the Islamic East:
Tihr6~n12. Extension of the International Bahá'í Endowments in the Holy Land, in the plain of 'Akka and on the slopes of Mt. Carmel.
13. Construction of the International Bahá'í Archives in the neighborhood of the BTh's
Sepulcher.14. Construction of the tomb of the Wife of the Bib in Shir6z.
15. Identification of the resting-places of the Father of Bahá'u'lláh, and of the Mother and of the Cousin of the Báb, and their reburial in the Bahá'í cemetery in the vicinity of the Most Great House.
16. Acquisition of the Garden of RiK1v6~n in Baghd~c1, and of the site of the Siy&h-C�al in Tihdtn, of the Martyrdom of the Báb in Tabriz, and of His incarceration in
Chihriq.t7. More than quadruple the number of the National Spiritual Assemblies: 21 in the American Continent 13 in the European Continent 10 in the Asiatic Continent 3 in the African Continent 1 in the Australian Continent 18. Multiply sevenfold the number of the National Ha ratu'1-Quds and their establishment ment in the capital cities of the chief Sovereign States and in the chief cities of the principal Dependencies of the planet: 21 in America 15 in Europe 9 in Asia 3 in Africa
1 in New Zealand19. Framing of national Bahá'í constitutions and the establishment of national Bahá'í endowments in the capitals and cities of the same States and Dependencies.
20. More than quintuple the number of incorporated National Spiritual Assemblies: 21 in America 13 in Europe 12 in Asia 3 in Africa 1 in Australia 21. Establishment of six national Bahá'í Publishing Trusts: 2 in America 2 in Asia 1 in Africa 1 in Europe 22. Participation by tile women of Persia in the membership of National and Local
Assemblies.23. Establishment of seven Israel branches of National Spiritual Assemblies:
2 Europe24. Establishment of a National Bahá'í printing press in TihrAn.
25. Reinforcement of the ties binding the Bahá'í World Community to the United Nations.
tions.26. Inclusion, circumstances permitting, of eleven republics comprised within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and of two European Soviet-controlled States within the orbit of the Administrative Order of the Faith.
27. Convocation of a World Bahá'í Congress in the vicinity of the Garden of Ridvan, Baghd4d, the third holiest city in the Baha world, on the occasion of the world-wici~ wici~ celebrations of the Most Great Jubilee, commemorating the Centenary of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh to the throne of His sovereignty.
Page 260ALPHABETICAL LIST OF TERRITORIES TO RE OPENED TO THE FAITH, 19531963
Showing Allocation to National Spiritual Assemblies
Admiralty Is. (As.)San Marino (E) (It.Sw.) Sardinia (B) (It.Sw.) Seychelles (Af.) (Ir.) Shetland Is. (E) (Br.)
Sicily (E) (It.Sw.) Sikkim (As.) (In.) Society Is. (As.) (Aus.)
Socotra I. (Af.) (In.) Solomon Is. (As.) (Per.)Spitzbergen (E) (U.S.A.) St. Helena (At) (U.S.A.) St. Thomas I. (At.) (U.S.A.) Swaziland (Af.) (Per.)
Tadzhikistan (As.)I. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF INDIA, PRKISTAN, AND BURMA 1. Andaman Is. 7. Mah6 2. Bliutan 8. Mariana Is. 3. Daman 9. Nicobar Is. 4. Diu 10. Pondicherry 5. Goa 11. Sikkim
6. KarikalII. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA1. Caroline Is. 5. Macao I. 2. Dutch New Guinea 6. Sakhalin I. 3. Hainan I. 7. Tibet 4. Kazakhstan S. Tonga Is.
Page 263III. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF ThE BATL&'fS OF PERSIA
1. Brunei 5. Solomon Is. 2. Chagos Archipelago 6. Tadzhikistan 3. Kirgizia 7. Uzbekistan
4. MongoliaIV. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAI-Ik'fS OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW
ZEALAND1. Admiralty Is. 5. New Hebrides Is. 2. Cocos Is. 6. Portuguese Timor 3. Loyalty Is. 7. Society Is. 4. Mentawai Is.
V. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAnKIs OF CENTRAL AMERICA
1. Gilbert and Ellice Is. 2. Marshall Is.VI. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF 'IRAQ
1. HadhramautVII. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF CANADA
1. Marquesas Is. 2. Samoa Is.VIII. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF SOUTH AMERICA
1. Cook Is.I. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
1. Canary Is. 7. Portuguese Guinea 2. Cape Verde Is. 8. Rdunion I. 3. French Somaliland 9. Spanish Guinea 4. French Togoland 10. St. Helena 5. Mauritius 11. St. Thomas I.
6. Northern TerritoriesII. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF PERSIA
1. Ashanti Protectorate 4. Italian Somaliland 2. Basutoland 5. South Rhodesia 3. Bechuanaland 6. Swaziland
III. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF EGYPT AND StDAN
1. French Equatorial Africa 4. Rio de Oro 2. French West Africa 5. Spanish Morocco 3. Morocco (mt. Zone) 6. Spanish Sahara IV. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF INDIA, PAKISTAN, AND BURMA 1. Comoro Is. 4. Ruanda-Urundi 2. French Cameroons 5. Socotra I.
3. GambiaV. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF BRITISH ISLES
1. British Cameroons 3. Madeira 2. British Togoland 4. South West Africa
VI. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF 'IRAQ
1. SeychellesI. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF GERMANY AND AUSTRIA
1. Albania 7. Latvia 2. Crete 8. Lithuania 3. Estonia 9. Moldavia 4. Finno-Karelia 10. Rumania 5. Frisian Is. 11. White Russia
6. GreeceIL. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF THE BRITISH ISLES
1. Channel Is. 5. Malta 2. Cyprus 6. Orkney Is. 3. Faroe Is. 7. Shetland Is. 4. Hebrides Is.
III.NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA1. Andorra 4. Lofoten Is. 2. Azores 5. Spitzbergen 3. Balearic Is. 6. Ukraine
IV. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BATL&'IS OF ITALY AND SWITZERLAND
1. Liechtenstein 4. San Marino 2. Monaco 5. Sardinia 3. Rhodes 6. Sicily
AMERICA: 27 TerritoriesI. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF CANADA
1. Anticosti I. 7. Labrador 2. Baranof I. 8. Magdalen Is. 3. Cape Breton I. 9. Miquelon I. and St. Pierre I. 4. Franklin 10. Queen Charlotte Is. 5. Grand Manan I. 11. Yukon
6. KeewatinII. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF TIlE BAHÁ'ÍS OF SOUTH AMERICA
1. British Guiana 5. Galapagos Is. 2. Chio6 I. 6. Juan Fernandez Is. 3. Dutch Guiana 7. Leeward Is. 4. French Guiana 8. Windward Is. ilL NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1. Aleutian Is. 3. Key West 2. Falkland Is. 4. Kodiak I.
IV. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF CENTRAL AMERICA
1. Bahama Is. 3. Dutch West Indies 2. British Honduras 4. Margarita I.
Page 265Division of Activities According to National Spiritual Assemblies
I. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: 29 Territories 1. AFRICA (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
2. AsIAII. INDIA, PAKISTAN, AND BURMA: 16 Territories in 2 Continents
1. ASIAVI. GERMANY AND AUSTRIA: 11 Territories in 1 Continent
1. EUROPEVII. SOUTH AMERICA: 9 Territories in 2 Continent 1. AMERICA
(1) BritishIX. AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND: 7 Territories in 1 Continent
Admiralty Is.X. EGYPT AND S13DAN: 6 Territories in 1 Continent
French Equatorial AfricaXI. ITALY AND SWITZERLAND: 6 Territories in 1 Continent
1. EUROPEALPHABETICAL LIST OF LANGUAGES INTO WHIcH BAHÁ'Í LITERATURE Is TO BE
T Abor Mirza (borders of Tibet and N.E.
Assam)OBJECTIVES OF THE TEN-YEAR PLAN AT THE WORLD CENTER OF TIlE FAITH IN ISRAEL
1. Preliminary steps for the construction of the Sepulcher of Bahá'u'lláh.
2. Purchase of Land for the Temple on Mt. Carmel.3. Establishment of an International Bahá'í Court.
4. Construction of the International Bahá'í Archives.
5. Extension of international Bahá'í endowments.6. Development of the functions of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause.
7. Codification of the Laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.8. Reinforcement of ties binding the World Bahá'í Community to the United Nations.
9. Convocation of a World Bahá'í Congress in the vicinity of the Garden of Ri~1v~tn, City of Baghdid, on the occasion of the worldwide celebration of the Most Great Jubilee commemorating the centenary of the formal assumption by Bahá'u'lláh of
His Prophetic Office.10. Establishment of Israel Branches of seven National Spiritual Assemblies.
TERRITORIES ALREADY OPENED TO THE FAITH, ALLOCATED TO BAHÁ'Í NATIONAL
SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES FOR CONSOLIDATION 19531963VI. SOUTH AMERICA: 10 Territor AMERICA
1. ArgentinaCONSOLIDATION OF THE FAITH IN TERRITORIES INCLUDED WITHIN ITS PALE AS OF 1953
Allocation According to National Spiritual Assemblies
1. UNiTED STATES OF AMERICA: 2312 in Europe, 6 in Asia, 3 in the Americas, 2 in Africa
2. PERSIA: 1412 in Asia, 2 in Africa 3. INDIA, PAKISTAN, AND BURMA: 14 11 in Asia, 3 in Africa
4. CENTRAL AMERICA: 13LOCATION OF SITES FOR FUTURE BAHÁ'Í TEMPLES TO BE ACQUIRED 19531963
1. Sydney, Australia 2. Toronto, Canada 3. Panama City, Central
America4. Cairo, Egypt 5. New Delhi, India 6. Baghd4d, 'Iraq 7. Rome, Italy 8. Johannesburg, South
AfricaCITIES IN WHICH BANAl TEMPLES ARE TO BE CONSTRUCTED 19531963
1. Tihr6n, Persia 2. Frankfurt, GermanyALPHABETICAL LIST OF COUNTRIES IN WHICH BAHÁ'Í NATIONAL SPIRITUAL
ASSEMBLIES ARE TO BE ESTABLISHED 195319631. Afgh&nistTh 5. Belgium 2. Alaska 6. Bolivia 3. Argentina 7. Brazil 4. Austria 8. Burma
9. CeylonNATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES TO BE ESTABLISHED 19531963
Division According to Continents2. North West Africa (Regional) To be formed by the N.S.A. of Egypt and
Siidtin3. South and West Africa (Regional) To be formed by the N.S.A. of the United
StatesNational Assemblies to be formed by the N.S.A. of the United States: 12.
13.To be formed by the N.S.A. of Persia To be formed by the N.S.A. of India, P4kist6~n, and Burma To be formed by the N.S.A. of India, P~kist~n, and Burma To be formed by the N.S.A. of the
United StatesTo be formed by the N.S.A. of India, P4kistTh, and Burma To be formed by the N.S.A. of Persia To be formed by the N.S.A. of Persia To be formed by the N.S.A. of 'IrAq To be formed by the N.S.A. of India, P&kist~tn, and Burma (Regional) To be formed by the N.S.A. of the United States To be formed by the N.S.A. of Australia and
New Zealand1. Austria To be formed by the N.S.A. of Germany and Austria To be formed by the N.S.A. of the United States: 2. Belgium 6. Holland 3. Denmark 7. Italy 4. Finland 8. Luxembourg 5. France 9. Norway
10. PortugalALPHABETICAL LIST OF BAHÁ'Í NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES TO BE
INCORPORATED 195319631. N.S.A. of Arabia 5. N.S.A. of South East Asia 2. N.S.A. of Central and East Africa 6. N.S.A. of the South Pacific Islands 3. N.S.A. of the Near East 7. N.S.A. of S II. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES 8. N.S.A. of Afg1Anist~tn 9. N.S.A. of Alaska 10. N.S.A. of Argentina 11. N.S.A. of Austria 12. N.S.A. of Belgium 13. N.S.A. of Bolivia 14. N.S.A. of Brazil 15. N.S.A. of Burma 16. N.S.A. of Ceylon 17. N.S.A. of Chile 18. N.S.A. of Colombia 19. N.S.A. of Costa Rica 20. N.S.A. of Cuba 21. N.S.A. of Denmark 22. N.S.A. of Dominican
Republic23. N.S.A. of Ecuador 24. N.S.A. of El Salvador 25. N.S.A. of Finland 26. N.S.A. of France 27. N.S.A. of Guatemala 28. N.S.A. of Haiti 29. N.S.A. of Holland 30. N.S.A. of Honduras 31. N.S.A. of 'IK�q 32. N.S.A. of Italy 33. N.S.A. of Japan 34. N.S.A. of Luxembourg 35. N.S.A. of Mexico 36. N.S.A. of New Zealand 37. N.S.A. of Nicaragua 38. N.S.A. of Norway 39. N.S.A. of Pt�kist&n 40. N.S.A. of Panama 41. N.S.A. of Paraguay 42. N.S.A. of Persia 43. N.S.A. of Peru 44. N.S.A. of Portugal 45. N.S.A. of Spain 46. N.S.A. of Sweden 47. N.S.A. of Switzerland 48. N.S.A. of Turkey 49. N.S.A. of Uruguay 50. N.S.A. of Venezuela
Page 275ALPHABETICAL LIST OF BAHÁ'Í NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES WHICH ARE TO
ESTABLIS 1. N.S.A. of Arabia 2. N.S.A. of Central and
East Africa3. N.S.A. of the Near East 4. N.S.A. of North West
Africa8. N.S.A. of AfghAnistan 9. N.S.A. of Alaska 10. N.S.A. of Argentina 11. N.S.A. of Austria 12. N.S.A. of Belgium 13. N.S.A. of Bolivia 14. N.S.A. of Brazil 15. N.S.A. of the British
Isles16. N.S.A. of Burma 17. N.S.A. of Canada 18. N.S.A. of Ceylon 19. N.S.A. of Chile 20. N.S.A. of Colombia 21. N.S.A. of Costa Rica 22. N.S.A. of Cuba 23. N.S.A. of Denmark 24. N.S.A. of Dominican
Republic25. N.S.A. of Ecuador 26. N.S.A. of El Salvador 27. N.S.A. of Finland 28. N.S.A. of France 29. N.S.A. of Germany 5. N.S.A. of South East
Asia30. N.S.A. of Guatemala 31. N.S.A. of Haiti 32. N.S.A. of Holland 33. N.S.A. of Honduras 34. N.S.A. of Italy 35. N.S.A. of Japan 36. N.S.A. of Luxembourg 37. N.S.A. of Mexico 38. N.S.A. of New Zealand 39. N.S.A. of Nicaragua 40. N.S.A. of Norway 41. N.S.A. of Pttkist~n 42. N.S.A. of Panama 43. N.S.A. of Paraguay 44. N.S.A. of Peru 45. N.S.A. of Portugal 46. N.S.A. of Spain 47. N.S.A. of Sweden 48. N.S.A. of Switzerland 49. N.S.A. of Turkey 50. N.S.A. of Uruguay 51. N.S.A. of Venezuela
LOCALITIES IN WHICH A NATIONAL HAZIRATU'L-QUDS Is TO BE
AnchorageNATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES WHICH ARE TO ESTABLISH BRANCHES
IN ISRAEL 19531963LOCALITIES IN WInCH BAHÁ'Í PUBLISHING TRUSTS ARE TO BE FOUNDED 19531963
1. Cairo, Egypt 2. Frankfurt,LIST OF REPUBLICS CONSTITUTING THE UNION ~1. Armenia
2. Adhirb4yj6nCOUNTRIES WHOSE NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES ARE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
INTRODUCTION OF THE FAITH TN THE SOVIET UNIONL Chart showing the expansion of the IBahá'í Faith.
Page 278IN accepting the message of Bahá'u'lláh, every Bahá'í has opened his mind and heart to the dominion of certain fundamental truths. These truths he recognizes as divine in origin, beyond human capacity to produce. In the realm of spirit he attests that these truths are revealed evidences of a higher reality than man. They are to the soul what natural law is to physical body of animal or plant. Therefore the believer today, as in the Dispensation of Christ or Moses, enters into the condition of faith as a status of relationship to God and not of satisfaction to his own limited human and personal will or awareness. His faith exists as his participation in a heavenly world.
It is the essence of his responsibility and not a temporary compromise effected between his conscience or reason and the meaning of truth, society, virtue, or life.
The Bahá'í accepts a quality of existence, a level of being which has been created above the control of his own active power. Because on that plane the truth exists that mankind is one, part of his acceptance of the message of Bahá'u'lláh is capacity to see that truth as existing, as a heavenly reality to be confirmed on earth.
Because likewise on that higher level the inmost being of Moses, Christ, Muijammad, the Báb, and Bahá'u'lláh is one being, part of the believer's acceptance of the Bahá'í message is capacity to realize the eternal continuance of that oneness, so that thereafter never will he again think of those holy and majestic Prophets according to the separateness of their bodies, their countries and their times.
The Baha'i, morever, recognizes that the realm of truth is inexhaustible, the creator of truth God Himself. Hence the Bahá'í can identify truth as the eternal flow of life itself in a channel that deepens and broadens as man's capacity for truth enlarges from age to age. For him, that definition of truth which regards truth as tiny fragments of experience, to be taken up and laid down, as a shopper handling gems on a counter, to buy if one gem happens to please or seems becoming � such a definition measures man s own knowledge, or interest, or loyalty, but truth is a living unity which no man can condition.
It is the sun in the heavens of spiritual reality, while self-will denies its dominion because self-will is the shadow of a cloud.
There are times for the revelation of a larger area of the indivisible truth to mankind. The
Manifestation of GodWhen He appears on earth He moves and speaks with the power of all truth, known and unknown, revealed in the past, revealed in Him, or to be revealed in the future. That realm of heavenly reality is brought again in its power and universality to knock at the closed door of human experience, a divine guest whose entrance will bless the household eternally, or a divine punishment when debarred and forbidden and condemned.
Bahá'u'lláh reveals that area of divine 279truth which underlies all human association. He enlarges man's capacity to receive truth in the realm of experience where all men have condemned themselves to social chaos by ignorance of truth and readiness to substitute the implacable will of races, classes, nations and creeds for the pure spiritual radiance beneficently shining for all. Spiritual reality today has become the principle of human unity, the law for the nations, the devotion to mankind on which the future civilization can alone repose. As long as men cling to truth as definition, past experience, aspects of self-will, so long must this dire period of chaos continue when the separate fragments of humanity employ life not to unite but to struggle and destroy.
In the world of time, Bahá'u'lláh has created capacity for union and world civilization. His Dispensation is historically new and unique. In the spiritual world it is nothing else than the ancient and timeless reality of Moses, Jesus and Muhammad disclosed to the race in a stage of added growth and development so that men can take a larger measure of that which always existed.
Like the man of faith in former ages, the Bahá'í has been given sacred truths to cherish in his heart as lamps for darkness and medicines for healing, convictions of immortality and evidences of divine love. But in addition to these gifts, the Bahá'í has that bestowal which oniy the Promised One of all ages could bring: nearness to a process of creation which opens a door of entrance into a world of purified and regenerated human relations.
The final element in his recognition of the message of Bahá'u'lláh is that Bahá'u'lláh came to found a civilization of unity, progress and peace.
"0 Children of Men! Knowye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other.
Ponder at all times how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest.
Such is My counsel to you, o concourse of light!Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory."
Thus He describes the law of survival revealed for the world today, mystical only in that He addressed these particular words to our deepest inner understanding.
Their import is not confined to any subjective realm.
The motive and the realization He invokes has become the whole truth of sociology in this era.
Or, as we find its expression in another passage: "All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civiiza-tion)' And the truth reappears in still another form: "How vast is the tabernacle of the Cause of God! It hath overshadowed all the peoples and kindreds of the earth, and will, erelong, gather together the whole of mankind beneath its shelter."
The encompassing reach of the Cause of God in each cycle means the particular aspect of experience for which men are held responsible.
Not until our day could there be the creation of the principle of moral cause and effect in terms of mankind itself, in terms of the unifiable world.
The mission of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, following Bahá'u'lláh's ascension in 1892, was to raise up a community of believers through whom collectively He might demonstrate the operation of the law of unity.
'Abdu'l-Bahá'í mission became fulfilled historically in the experience of the
Bahá'ís of North America. Inthem He developed the administrative order, the organic society, which exemplifies the pattern of justice and order Bahá'u'lláh had creatively ordained.
By His wisdom, His tenderness, His justice and His complete consecration to Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá conveyed to this body of Bahá'ís a sense of partnership in the process of divine creation: that it is for men to recreate, as civilization, a human and earthly replica of the heavenly order existing in the divine will.
The BaWt'i administrative order has been described by the Guardian of the Faith as the pattern of the world order to be gradually attained as the Faith spreads throughout all countries. Its authority is Bahá'u'lláh, its sources the teachings He revealed in writing, with the interpretation and amplification made by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
The first conveyance of authority by Bahá'u'lláh was to His eldest son.
By this conveyance the integrity of the teachings was safeguarded, and the power of action implicit in all true faith directed into channels of unity for the development of the Cause in its universal aspects. No prior Dispensation has ever raised up an instrument like 'Abdu'l-Bahá through whom the
Page 283THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 281
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America, elected April, 1953.
Left to right: H. B. Kavelin, Mrs. Mamie L. Seto, W. Kenneth Christian, Miss Elsie Austin, Paul E. Haney, Miss Edna M. True, Horace Holley, Mrs. Dorothy Baker, Matthew Bullock.
spirit and purpose of the Pounder could continue to flow out in its wholeness and purity until His purpose had been achieved. The faith of the Bahá'í thus remains untainted by those elements of self-will which in previous ages have translated revealed truth into creeds, rites and institutions of human origin and limited aim.
Those who enter the Ba1A'f community subdue themselves and their personal interests to its sovereign standard, for they are unable to alter the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh and exploit its teachings or its community for their own advantage.
'Abdu'l-Bahá'í life exemplified the working of the one spirit and the one truth sustaining the body of believers throughout the world. He was the light connecting the sun of truth with the earth, the radiance enabling all Bahá'ís to realize that truth pener trates human affairs, illumines human problems, transcends conventional barriers, changes the climate of life from cold to warm. He infused Himself so completely into the hearts of the Bahá'ís that they asso ciated the administrative institutions of the Faith with His trusted and cherished methods of service, so that the contact between their society and theft religion has remained continuous and unimpaired.
The second conveyance of authority made by Bahá'u'lláh was to the institution He termed "House of Justice" : � "The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Bah~ [i.e., nine]
� It behooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly...."
"Those souls who arise to serve the Cause sincerely to please God will be inspired by the divine, invisible inspirations. It is incumbent upon all [i.e., all believers]
to obey. Administrative affairs are all in charge of the
Page 284House of Justice; but acts of worship must be observed according as they are revealed in the Book."
The House of Justiceis limited in its legislative capacity to matters not covered by the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh Himself: � "It is incumbent upon the Trustees of the House of Justice to take counsel together regarding such laws as have not been expressly revealed in the Book." A high aim is defined for this central administrative organ of the Faith : � "The men of the House of Justice of God must, night and day, gaze toward that which hath been revealed from the horizon of the Supreme Pen for the training of the servants, for the up-building of countries, for the protection of men and for the preservation of human honor.
In creating this institution for His community, Bahá'u'lláh made it clear that His Dispensation rests upon continuity of divine purpose, and associates human beings directly with the operation of His law. The House of Justice, an elective body, transforms society into an organism reflecting spiritual life. By the just direction of affairs this Faith replaces the institution of the professional clergy developed in all previous Dispensations.
By 1921, when 'Abdu'1-]3ah6 laid down His earthly mission, the American Bahá'í community had been extended to scores of cities and acquired power to undertake tasks of considerable magnitude, but the administrative order remained incomplete.
His Will and Testamentinaugurated a new era in the Faith, a further conveyance of authority and a clear exposition of the nature of the elective institutions which the Bahá'ís were called upon to form. In Shoghi Effendi, His grandson, 'Abdu'l-Bahá established the function of Guardianship with sole power to interpret the teachings and with authority to carry out the provisions of the
Will. The Guardianshipconnects the spiritual and social realms of the Faith in that, in addition to the office of interpreter, he is constituted the presiding officer of the international House of Justice when elected; and the Guardianship is made to descend from generation to generation through the male line.
From the Will these excerpts are cited: "After the passing away of this wronged one, it is incumbent upon the loved ones of the 'AbIA Beauty [i.e.,
Bahá'u'lláhto turn unto Shoghi Effendi � the youthful branch branched from the two hallowed and sacred Lote-Trees [i.e., descended from both the
Báb and Bahá'u'lláhas he is the sign of God, the chosen branch, the guardian of the Cause of God unto whom His loved ones must turn.
He is the expounder of the words of God and after him will succeed the firstborn of his lineal descendants.
"The sacred and youthful branch, the guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice, to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the AbhtL
Beauty.� The mighty stronghold shall remain impregnable and safe through obedience to him who is the guardian of the Cause of God.
No doubt every vainglorious one that purposeth dissension and discord will not openly declare his evil purposes, nay rather, even as impure gold would he seize upon divers measures and various pretexts that he may separate the gathering of the people of Baha."
"Wherefore, 0 my loving friends! Consort with all the peoples, kindreds and religions of the world with the utmost truthfulness, uprightness, faithfulness, kindliness, goodwill and friendliness; that all the world of being may be filled with the holy ecstasy of the grace of Baha.
"0 ye beloved of the Lord! Strive with all your heart to shield the Cause of God from the onslaught of the insincere, for souls such as these cause the straight to become crooked and all benevolent efforts to produce contrary results. To none is given the right to put forth his own opinion or express his particular convictions.
All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause and the
House of Justice.In each country where Ba1A'is exist, they participate in the world unity of their Faith through the office of the Guardian at this time, and they maintain local and national Bahá'í institutions for conducting their own activities.
In each local civil community, whether city, township or county, the Bahá'ís annually elect nine members to their locaL Spiritual
Assembly. In Americathe Bahá'ís of each State join in election of delegates by proportionate representation and these delegates, to the full number of one hundred
Page 285THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 283
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia, elected April, 1951.
and seventy-one, constitute the Annual Convention which elects the members of the National Spiritual Assembly. These national bodies, in turn, will join in the election of an international Assembly, or House of Justice, when the world Baha community is sufficiently developed.
The interrelationship of all these administrative bodies provides the world spirit of the Faith with the agencies required for the maintenance of a constitutional society balancing the rights of the individual with the paramount principle of unity preserving the whole structure of the Cause. The Baha as an individual accepts guidance for his conduct and doctrinal beliefs, for not otherwise can he contribute his share to the general unity which is God's supreme blessing to the world today. This general unity is the believer's moral environment, his social universe, his psychic health and his goal of effort transcending any personal aim. In the Bahá'í order, the individual is the musical note, but the teachings revealed by Bahá'u'lláh are the symphony in which the note finds its real fulfillment; the person attains value by recognizing that truth transcends his capacity and includes him in a relationship which 'Abdu'l-Bahá said endowed dowed the part with the quality of the whole. To receive, we give. In comparison to this divine creation, the traditional claims of individual conscience, of personal judgment, of private freedom, seem nothing more than empty assertions advanced in opposition to the divine will. It cannot be sufficiently emphasized that the Bahá'ís relationship to this new spiritual society is an expression of faith, and faith alone raises personality out of the pit of self-will and moral isolation into which so much of the world has fallen.
There can be no organic society, in fact, without social truth and social law embracing the individual members and evoking a loyalty both voluntary and complete. The political and economic groups which the individual enters with reservations are not true societies but temporary combinations of restless personalities, met in a truce which can not endure. Bahá'u'lláh has for ever solved the artificial dilemma which confuses and betrays the ardent upholder of inch-vidual freedom by His categorical statement that human freedom consists in obedience to God's law. The freedom revolving around self-will He declares "must, in the end, lead to sedition, whose flames none can quench.
� Know ye that the embodiment of libNational Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of the British Isles, 1953.
erty and its symbol is the animal. True liberty consists in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it." The Guardian, applying the terms of the Will and Testament to an evolving order, has given the present generation of Bahá'ís a thorough understanding of Bahá'í institutions and administrative principles.
Rising to its vastly increased responsibility resulting from the loss of the beloved Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Bahá'í community itself has intensified its efforts until in America alone the number of believers has been more than quadrupled since 1921. It has been their destiny to perfect the local and national Baha institutions as models for the believers in other lands. Within the scope of a single lifetime, the American Bahá'í community has developed from a small local group to a national unit of a world society, passing through the successive stages by which a civilization achieves its pristine pattern and severs itself from the anarchy and confusion of the past.
In Shoghi Effendi's letters addressed to this Bahá'í community, we have the statement of the form of the administrative order, its function and purpose, its scope and activity, as well as its significance, which unites the thoughts and inspires the actions of all believers today.
From these letters are selected a number of passages presenting fundamental aspects of the world order initiated by Bahá'u'lláh.
1. On its nature and scope: � "I cannot refrain from appealing to them who stand identified with the Faith to disregard the prevailing notions and the fleeting fashions of the day, and to realize as never before that the exploded theories and the tottering institutions of presentday civilization must needs appear in sharp contrast with those God-given institutions which are destined to arise upon their ruin.
"For Bahá'u'lláh has not only imbued mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit.
He has not merely enunciated certain universal principles, or propounded a particular philosophy, however potent, sound and universal these may be. In addition to these He, as well as 'Abdu'l-Bahá after Him, has, unlike the Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a pattern for future society, a supreme m-strument for the establishment of the Most
Page 287THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 285
Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness and justice upon the earth.
"Unlike the Dispensationof Christ, unlike the Dispensation of Mu1~ammad, unlike all the Dispensations of the past, the apos-ties of Bahá'u'lláh in every land, wherever they labor and toil, have before them in clear, in unequivocal and emphatic language, all the laws, the regulations, the principles, the institutions, the guidance, they require for the prosecution and consummation of their task. Therein lies the distinguishing feature of the Bahá'í Revelation. Therein lies the strength of the unity of the Faith, of the validity of a Revelation that claims not to destroy or belittle previous Revelations, but to connect, unify, and fulfill them.
"Feeble though our Faith may now appear in the eyes of men, who either de-flounce it as an offshoot of Iskim, or contemptuously ignore it as one more of those obscure sects that abound in the West, this priceless gem of Divine Revelation, now still in its embryonic state, shall evolve within the shell of His law, and shall forge ahead, undivided and unimpaired, till it embraces the whole of mankind. Only those who have already recognized the supreme station of Bahá'u'lláh, only those whose hearts have been touched by His love, and have become familiar with the potency of His spirit, can adequately appreciate the value of this Divine Economy � His inestimable gift to mankind.
"This Administrative Orderwill, as its component parts, its organic institutions, begin to function with efficiency and vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate its capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the New World Order destined to embrace in the fullness of time the whole of mankind.
-"Alone"Alone of all the Revelations gone before it this Faith has succeeded in raising a structure which the bewildered followers of bankrupt and broken creeds might well approach and critically examine, and seek, ere it is too late, the invulnerable security of its world-embracing shelter.
"To what else if not to the power and majesty which this Administrative Order � the rudiments of the future all-enfolding Bahá'í Commonwealth � is destined to manifest, can these utterances of Bahá'u'lláh al Jude: 'The world's equilibrium bath been upset through the vibrating influ~nce of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hatli been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System � the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed 2. On its local and national institutions: � "A perusal of some of the words of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the duties and functions of the Spiritual Assemblies in every land (later to be designated as the local Houses of Justice), emphatically reveals the sacredness of their nature, the wide scope of their activity, and the grave responsibility which rests upon them.
"Addressing the members of the Spiritual Assembly in Chicago, the Master reveals the following: � 'Whenever ye enter the council-chamber, recite this prayer with a heart throbbing with the love of God and a tongue purified from all but His remembrance, that the All-powerful may graciously aid you to achieve supreme victory: � '0 God, my God! We are servants of Thine that have turned with devotion to Thy Holy Face, that have detached ourselves from all beside Thee in this glorious Day. We have gathered in this spiritual assembly, united in our views and thoughts, with our purposes harmonized to exalt Thy Word amidst mankind. 0 Lord, our God! Make us the signs of Thy Divine Guidance, the Standards of Thy exalted Faith amongst men, servants to Thy mighty Covenant.
0 Thou our Lord Most High!AbM Kingdom, and resplendent stars shining upon all regions. Lord! Aid us to become seas surging with the billows of Thy wondrous Grace, streams flowing from Thy all-glorious Heights, goodly fruits upon the Tree of Thy heavenly Cause, trees waving through the breezes of Thy Bounty in Thy celestial
Vineyard. 0 God! Makeour souls dependent upon the Verses of Thy Divine Unity, our hearts cheered with the outpourings of Thy Grace, that we may unite even as the waves of one sea and become merged together as the rays of Thine effulgent Light; that our thoughts, our views, our feelings may become as one reality, manifesting the spirit of union throughout the world. Thou art the Gracious, the Bountiful, the Bestower, the Almighty, the Merciful, the Compassionate.'
"In the Most Holy BookNational Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria for the Year 110 (19531954).
'The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Baha, and should it exceed this number it does not matter. It behooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly. Thus hath the Lord your God commanded you. Beware lest ye put away that which is clearly revealed in His Tablet.
Fear God, 0 ye that perceive.'reveals the following: � 'It is incumbent upon every one not to take any step without consulting the Spiritual Assembly, and they must assuredly obey with heart and soul its bidding and be submissive unto it, that things may be properly ordered and well arranged. Otherwise every person will act independently and after his own judgment, will follow his own desire, and do harm to the Cause.'
"'The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrances, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and longsuffering in difficulties and servitude to His exalted Threshold.
Should they be graciously aided to acquire these attributes, victory from the unseen Kingdom of Baha shall be vouchsafed to them. In this day, assemblies of consultation are of the greatest importance and a vital necessity.
Obedience unto them is essential and obligatory.The members thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be attained when every member expresseth with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his argument. Should any one oppose, he must on no account feel hurt for not until matters are fully discussed can the right way be revealed. The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions. If after discussion, a decision be carried unanimously, well and good; but if, the Lord forbid, differences of opinion should arise, a majority of voices must prevail.'
"Enumerating the obligations incumbent upon the members of consulting councils, the Beloved reveals the fdllowing: � 'The first condition is absolute love and harmony amongst the members of the assembly.
They must be wholly free from estrangement and must manifest in themselves the Unity of
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National Spiritual Assembly of the Bábi'is of Canada, 19531954.
God, for they are the waves of one sea, the drops of one river, the stars of one heaven, the rays of one sun, the trees of one orchard, the flowers of one garden. Should harmony of thought and absolute unity be non-exist-ent, that gathering shall be dispersed and that assembly be brought to naught. The second condition: � They must when coming together turn their faces to the Kingdom on high and ask aid from the Realm of Glory. They must then proceed with the utmost devotion, courtesy, dignity, care and moderation to express their views.
They must in every matter search out the truth and not insist upon their own opinion, for stubbornness and persistence in one~ s views will lead ultimately to discord and wrangling and the truth will remain hidden. The honored members must with all freedom express their own thoughts, and it is in no wise permissible for one to belittle the thought of another, nay, he must with moderation set forth the truth, and should differences of opinion arise a majority of voices must prevail, and all must obey and submit to the majority. It is again not permitted that any one of the honored members object to or censure, whether in or out of the meeting, any decision arrived at previously, though that decision be not right, for such criticism would prevent any decision from being enforced.
forced. In short, whatsoever thing is arranged in harmony and with love and purity of motive, its result is light, and should the least trace of estrangement prevail the result shall be darkness upon darkness. If this be so regarded, that assembly shall be of God, but otherwise it shall lead to coolness and alienation that proceed from the Evil One. Discussions must all be confined to spiritual matters that pertain to the training of souls, the instruction of children, the relief of the poor, the help of the feeble throughout all classes in the world, kindness to all peoples, the diffusion of the fragrances of God and the exaltation of His lloiy Word. Should they endeavor to fulfill these conditions the Grace of the Holy Spirit shall be vouchsafed unto them, and that assembly shall become the center of the Divine blessings, the hosts of Divine confirmation shall come to their aid, and they shall day by day receive a new effusion of Spirit.'
"So great is the importance and so supreme is the authority of these assemblies that once 'Abdu'l-Bahá after having Himself and in His own handwriting corrected the translation made into Arabic of the Ishr~qtit (the
Effulgences) by Siwik�Faraj, a Kurdish friend from Cairo, directed him in a Tablet to submit the above-named translation to the Spiritual Assembly of Cairo, that
Page 290National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand,
Year 110 (19531954).he may seek from them before publication their approval and consent.
These are His very words in that Tablet: � 'His honor, Sheilt Faraju'116h, has here rendered into Arabic with greatest care the Ishr6tq~t and yet I have told him that he must submit his version to the Spiritual Assembly of Egypt, and I have conditioned its publication upon the approval of the above-named Assembly. This is so that things may be arranged in an orderly manner, for should it not be so any one may translate a certain Tablet and print and circulate it on his own account. Even a nonbeliever might undertake such work, and thus cause confusion and disorder.
If it be conditioned, however, upon the approval of the Spiritual Assembly, a translation prepared, printed and circulated by a nonbeliever will have no recognition whatever.'
"This is indeed a clear indication of the Master's express desire that nothing whatever should be given to the public by any individual among the friends, unless fully considered and approved by the Spiritual Assembly in his locality; and if this (as is undoubtedly the case) is a matter that pertains tains to the general interest of the Cause in that land, then it is incumbent upon the Spiritual Assembly to submit it to the consideration and approval of the national body representing all the various local assemblies. Not oniy with regard to publication, but all matters without any exception whatsoever, regarding the interests of the Cause in that locality, individually or collectively, should be referred exclusively to the Spiritual Assembly in that locality, which shall decide upon it, unless it be a matter of national interest, in which case it shall be referred to the national body. With this national body also will rest the decision whether a given question is of local or national interest.
(By national affairs is not meant matters that are political in their character, for the friends of God the world over are strictly forbidden to meddle with political affairs in any way whatever, but rather things that affect the spiritual activities of the body of the friends in that land.)
"Full harmony, however, as well as cooperation among the various local assemblies and the members themselves, and par~ ticularly between each assembly and the na
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tional body, is of the utmost importance, for upon it depends the unity of the Cause of God, the solidarity of the friends, the full, speedy and efficient working of the spiritual activities of His loved ones.
"Large issues in such spiritual activities that affect the Cause in general in that land, such as the management of the Star of the West and any periodical which the National Body may decide to be a Bahá'í organ, the matter of publication, of reprinting Bahá'í literature and its distribution among the various assemblies, the means whereby the teaching campaign may be stimulated and maintained, the work of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, the racial question in relation to the Cause, the matter of receiving Orientals and association with them, the care and maintenance of the precious film exhibiting a phase of the Master's sojourn in the United States of America as well as the original matrix and the records of His voice, and various other national spiritual activities, far from being under the exclusive jurisdiction of any local assembly or group of friends, must each be minutely and fully directed by a special board, elected by the National Body, constituted as a committee thereof, responsible to it and upon which the National Body shall exercise constant and general supervision.
"Regarding the establishment of 'National Assemblies,' it is of vital importance that in every country, where the conditions are f a-vorable and the number of the friends has grown and reached a considerable size, such as America, Great Britain and Germany, that a 'National Spiritual Assembly' be immediately established, representative of the friends throughout that country.
"Its immediate purpose is to stimulate, unify and coordinate by frequent personal consultations, the manifold activities of the friends as well as the local Assemblies; and by keeping in close and constant touch with the Holy Land, initiate measures, and direct in general the affairs of the Cause in that country.
"It serves also another purpose, no less essential than the first, as in the course of time it shall evolve into the
National House of Justice(referred to in 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Will as the 'secondary House of Justice'), which according to the explicit text of the Testament will have, in conjunction with the other National Assemblies throughout the Bahá'í world, to elect directly the mem bers of the International House of Justice, that Supreme Council that will guide, organize and unify the affairs of the Movement throughout the world.
"It is expressly recorded in 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Writings that these National Assemblies must be indirectly elected by the friends; that is, the friends in every country must elect a certain number of delegates, who in their turn will elect from among all the friends in that country the members of the National
Spiritual Assembly. Insuch countries, therefore, as America, Great Britain and Germany, a fixed number of secondary electors must first be decided upon.
The friends then in every locality where the number of adult declared believers exceeds nine must directly elect its quota of secondary electors assigned to it in direct proportion to its numerical strength.
These secondary electors will then, either through correspondence, or preferably by gathering together, and first deliberating upon the affairs of the Cause throughout their country (as the delegates to the Convention), elect from among all the friends in that country nine who will be the members of the
National Spiritual Assembly.Assembly, which, pending the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, will have to be reelected once a year, obviously assumes grave responsibilities, for it has to exercise full authority over all the local Assemblies in its province, and will have to direct the activities of the friends, guard vigilantly the Cause of God, and control and supervise the affairs of the Movement in general.
"Vital issues, affecting the interests of the Cause in that country such as the matter of translation and publication, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, the Teaching Work, and other similar matters than stand distinct from strictly local affairs, must be under the full jurisdiction of the National Assembly.
"It will have to refer each of these questions, even as the local Assemblies, to a special Committee, to be elected by the members of the National Spiritual Assembly, from among all the friends in that country, which will bear to it the same relation as the local committees bear to their respective local Assemblies.
"With it, too, rests the decision whether a certain point at issue is strictly local in its nature, and should be reserved for the consideration and decision of the local
Assembly, or whether it should fall under its own province and be regarded as a matter which ought to receive its special attention.
The National SpiritualAssembly will also decide upon such matters which in its opinion should be referred to the Holy Land for consultation and decision.
"With these Assemblies, local as well as national, harmoniously, vigorously, and efficiently functioning throughout the Bahá'í world, the oniy means for the establishment of the Supreme House of Justice will have been secured. And when this Supreme Body will have been properly established, it will have to consider afresh the whole situation, and lay down the principle which shall direct, so long as it deems advisable, the affairs of the Cause.
"The need for the centralization of authority in the National Spiritual Assembly, and the concentration of power in the various local Assemblies, is made manifest when we reflect that the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh is still in its age of tender growth and in a stage of transition; when we remember that the full implications and the exact significance of the Master's worldwide instructions, as laid down in His Will, are as yet not fully grasped, and the whole Movement has not sufficiently crystallized in the eyes of the world.
"It is our primary task to keep the most vigilant eye on the manner and character of its growth, to combat effectively the forces of separation and of sectarian tendencies, lest the Spirit of the Cause be obscured, its unity be threatened, its Teachings suffer corruption; lest extreme orthodoxy on one hand, and irresponsible freedom on the other, cause it to deviate from that Straight Path which alone can lead it to success.
"Hitherto the NationalConvention has been primarily called together for the consideration of the various circumstances attending the election of the National Spiritual Assembly. I feel, however, that in view of the expansion and the growing importance of the administrative sphere of the Cause, the general sentiments and tendencies prevailing among the friends, and the signs of increasing interdependence among the
National Spiritual Assembliesthroughout the world, the assembled accredited representatives of the American believers should exercise not only the vital and responsible right of electing the National Assembly, sembly, but should also fulfill the functions of an enlightened, consultative and cooperative body that will enrich the experience, enhance the prestige, support the authority, and assist the deliberations of the National Spiritual Assembly. It is my firm conviction that it is the bounden duty, in the interest of the Cause we all love and serve, of the members of the incoming National Assembly, once elected by the delegates at Convention time, to seek and have the utmost regard, individually as well as collectively, for the advice, the considered opinion and the true sentiments of the assembled delegates.
Banishing every vestige of secrecy, of undue reticence, of dictatorial aloofness, from their midst, they should radiantly and abundantly unfold to the eyes of the delegates, by whom they are elected, their plans, their hopes, and their cares. They should familiarize the delegates with the various matters that will have to be considered in the current year, and calmly and conscientiously study and weigh the opinions and judgments of the delegates.
The newly elected National Assembly, during the few days when the Convention is in session and after the dispersal of the delegates, should seek ways and means to cultivate understanding, facilitate and maintain the exchange of views, deepen confidence, and vindicate by every tangible evidence their one desire to serve and advance the common weal. Not infrequently, nay oftentimes, the most lowly, untutored and inexperienced among the friends will, by the sheer inspiring force of selfless and ardent devotion, contribute a distinct and memorable share to a highly involved discussion in any given Assembly. Great must be the regard paid by those whom the delegates call upon to serve in high position to this all-important though inconspicuous manifestation of the revealing power of sincere and earnest devotion.
"The National SpiritualAssembly, however, in view of the unavoidable limitations imposed upon the convening of frequent and longstanding sessions of the Convention, will have to retain in its hands the final decision on all matters that affect the interests of the Cause in America, such as the right to decide whether any local Assembly is functioning in accordance with the principles laid down for the conduct and advancement of the Cause. It is my earnest prayer that they will utilize their highly responsible po
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National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, Pdkist6n and Burma, 19521953 and 19531954.
sition, not only for the wise and efficient conduct of the affairs of the Cause, but also for the extension and deepening of the spirit of cordiality and wholehearted and mutual support in their cooperation with the body of their coworkers throughout the land. The seating of delegates to the Convention, i.e., the right to decide upon the validity of the credentials of the delegates at a given Convention, is vested in the outgoing National Assembly, and the right to decide who has the voting privilege is also ultimately placed in the hands of the National Spiritual Assembly, either when a local Spiritual Assembly is being for the first time formed in a given locality, or when differences arise between a new applicant and an already established local Assembly. While the Convention is in session and the accredited delegates have already elected from among the believers throughout the country the members of the National Spiritual Assembly for the current year, it is of infinite value and a supreme necessity that as far as possible all matters requiring immediate decision should be fully and publicly considered, and an endeavor be made to obtain after mature deliberation, unanimity in vital decisions.
Indeed, it has ever been the cherished desire of our Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, that the friends in their councils, local as well as national, should by their candor, their honesty of purpose, their singleness of mind, and the thoroughness of their discussions, achieve unanimity in all things. Should this in certain cases prove impracticable the verdict of the majority should prevail, to which decision the minority must under all circumstances, gladly, spontaneously and continually, submit.
"Nothing short of the all-encompassing, all-pervading power of His Guidance and Love can enable this nexxdy-enfolded order to gather strength and flourish amid the storm and stress of a turbulent age, and in the fullness of time vindicate its high claim to be universally recognized as the one Haven of abiding felicity and peace.~~ 3. On its international institutions: � "It should be stated, at the very outset, in clear and unambiguous language, that these twin institutions of the Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh should be regarded as divine in origin, essential in their functions
Page 294National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Egypt and S6d&n, 19501951.
and complementary in their aim and purpose. Their common, their fundamental object is to insure the continuity of that divinely-appointed authority which flows from the Source of our Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings. Acting in conjunction with each other these two inseparable institutions administer its affairs, coordinate its activities, promote its interests, execute its laws and defend its subsidiary institutions. Severally, each operates within a clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction; each is equipped with its own attendant institutions � instruments designed for the effective discharge of its particular responsibilities and duties. Each exercises, within the limitations imposed upon it, its powers, its authority, its rights and prerogatives.
These are neither contradictory, nor detract in the slightest degree from the position which each of these institutions occupies. Far from being incompatible or mutually destructive, they supplement each other's authority and functions, and are permanently and fundamentally united in their aims.
"Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the
World Order of Bahá'u'lláhwould be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as 'Abdu'l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. 'In all the Divine Dispensations,' He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, 'the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions.
Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.' Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.
"Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice this same System of the Will of 'Abdu'l-Bahá would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.
'He is the Interpreter of the Word of God,' 'Abdu'l-Bahá, referring to the functions of the Guardian of the Faith, asserts, using in His Will the very term which He Himself had chosen when refuting the argument of the Covenant-breakers who had challenged His right to interpret the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh.
'After him,' He adds, 'will succeed the firstborn of his lineal descendants.'
'The mighty stronghold,' He further explains, 'shall remain impregnable and safe through obedience to him who is the Guardian of the Cause of God.'
'It is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice, upon all the Agh%n, the AfnTh, the
Page 295THE WORLD ORDER OF IBAHÁ'U'LLÁH 293
Hands of the Cause of God, to show their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the Guardian of the Cause of God.'
"'It is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice,' Bahá'u'lláh, on the other hand, declares in the Eighth Leaf of the
Exalted Paradise, 'totake counsel together regarding those things which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book, and to enforce that which is agreeable to them.
God will verily inspire them with whatsoever He wileth, and He verily is the Provider, the Omniscient.'
'Unto the Most Holy Book'(the KITAB-I-AQDAS), 'Abdu'l-Bahá states in His Will, 'every one must turn, and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the
Universal House of Justice.That which this body, whether unanimously or by a majority doth carry, that is verily the truth and the purpose of God Himself. Whoso doth deviate therefrom is verily of them that love discord, hath shown forth malice, and turned away from the Lord of the
Covenant.'"Not oniy does 'Abdu'l-Bahá confirm in His Will Bahá'u'lláh's above-quoted statement, ment, but invests this body with the additional right and power to abrogate, according to the exigencies of time, its own enactments, as well as those of a preceding House of Justice.
'Inasmuch as the House of Justice,' is His explicit statement in His Will, 'hath power to enact laws that are not expressly recorded in the Book and bear upon daily transactions, so also it hath power to repeal the same This it can do because these laws form no part of the divine explicit text.'
"Referring to both the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice we read these emphatic words: 'The sacred and youthful Branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the
Universal House of Justiceto be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abhi Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One (the Báb) (may my life be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is of God.'
"From these statements it is made indubitably clear and evident that the Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter of the Word and that the Universal National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'IrAq, 19531954.
Page 296House of Justice has been invested with the function of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the teachings. The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá'u'lláh has not expressly revealed. Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other.
Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested.
"Let no one, while this System is still in its infancy, misconceive its character, belittle its significance or misrepresent its purpose. The bedrock on which this Admmis-trative Order is founded is God's immutable Purpose for mankind in this day.
The Source from which it derives its inspiration is no less than Bahá'u'lláh Himself. Its shield and defender are the embattled hosts of the AbM Kingdom.
It seed is the blood of no less than twenty thousand martyrs who have offered up their lives that it may be born and flourish.
The axis round which its institutions revolve are the authentic provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Its guiding principles are the truths which He Who is the unerring Interpreter of the teachings of our Faith has so clearly enunciated in His public addresses throughout the West.
The laws that govern its operation and limit its functions are those which have been expressly ordained in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
The seat round which its spiritual, its humanitarian and administrative activities will cluster are the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar and its Dependencies. The pillars that sustain its authority and buttress its structure are the twin institutions of the Guardianship and of the Universal House of Justice. The central, the underlying aim which animates it is the establishment of the New World Order as adumbrated by Bahá'u'lláh.
The methods it employs, the standard it inculcates, incline it to neither East nor West, neither Jew nor Gentile, neither rich nor poor, neither white nor colored.
Its watchword is the unification of the human race; its standard the 'Most Great Peace'; its consummation the advent of that golden millennium � the Day when the kingdoms of this world shall have become the Kingdom of
God Himself, the KingdomSixty years have passed since the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh was first brought to North America. Three generations of believers have worked and sacrificed and prayed in order to produce a body of Bahá'ís large enough to demonstrate the principles here summarized in a few pages for the presentday student of these teachings.
What 'Abdu'l-Bahá employed as unifying element for the American community during a period before more than rudimentary local administrative bodies could be established was the construction of the House of Worship, the Ma~briqu'1-Adiik6r in Wilmette. He in fact referred to the House of Worship as the ''inception of the Kingdom.'' Around its construction devotedly gathered the American friends. 'Abdu'l-Bahá approved their action in setting up a religious corporation to hold title to the property and provide a basis for collective action. In surveying those days from 1904 to 1921, one realizes how, in every stage of progress, the believers rushed forward in devotion before they could perceive the full results of action or comprehend the full unfoldment of their beloved Master's intention. In their hearts they knew that unity is the keynote of their Faith, and they were assured that the new power of unity would augment until it encompassed the whole of mankind. But as to the nature of world order, the foundation of universal peace, the principles of the future economy, while the clear picture eluded them, they went forward with enthusiasm to the
Light.In a continent consecrated to the pioneer, the early American Bahá'ís pioneered in the world of spirit, striving to participate in a work of supreme importance whose final re-suit was the laying of a foundation on which human society might raise a house of justice and a mansion of peace.
Page 297THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 295
A PROCEDURE FOR THE CONDUCT OF A LOCALAdopted by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the
United States and CanadaA PERUSAL of some of the words of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the duties and functions of the Spiritual Assemblies in every land (later to be designated as the local Houses of Justice), emphatically reveals the sacredness of their nature, the wide scope of their activity, and the grave responsibility which rests upon them." � SHOGHI EFFENDI, March 5, 1922.
"The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counselors to the number of Baha.
It behooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly. Thus hath the Lord your God commanded you. Beware lest ye put away that which is clearly revealed in His Tablet. Fear God, 0 ye that perceive." � BAW&'u'LL�.
"It is incumbent upon every one not to take any step without consulting the Spiritual Assembly, and they must assuredly obey with heart and soul its bidding and be submissive unto it, that things may be properly ordered and well arranged. Otherwise every person will act independently and after his own judgment, will follow his own desire, and do harm to the Cause.
"The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrances, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and longsuffering in difficulties and servitude to His exalted Threshold. Should they be graciously aided to acquire these attributes, victory from the unseen Kingdom of 1kM shall be vouchsafed to them. In this day, Assemblies of consultation are of the greatest importance and a vital necessity.
Obedience unto them is essential and obligatory.The members thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be attained when every member expresseth with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his argument. Should any one oppose, he must on no account feel hurt for not until matters are fully discussed can the right way be revealed. The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions. If, after discussion, a decision be car-ned unanimously, well and good; but if, the Lord forbid, differences of opinion should arise, 'a majority of voices must prevail "The first condition is absolute love and harmony amongst the members of the Assembly. They must be wholly free from estrangement and must manifest in themselves the Unity of God, for they are the waves of one sea, the drops of one river, the stars of one heaven, the rays of one sun, the trees of one orchard, the flowers of one garden.
Should harmony of thought and absolute unity be nonexistent, that gathering shall be dispersed and that Assembly be brought to naught. The second condition: They must when coming together turn their faces to the Kingdom on High and ask aid from the Realm of Glory. They must then proceed with the utmost devotion, courtesy, dignity, care and moderation to express their views. They must in every matter search out the truth and not insist upon their own opinion, for stubbornness and persistence in one's views will lead ultimately to discord and wrangling and the truth will remain hidden. The honored members must with all freedom express their own thoughts, and it is in no wise permissible for one to belittle the thought of another, nay, he must with moderation set forth the truth, and should differences of opinion arise a majority of voices must prevail, and all must obey and submit to the majority. It is again not permitted that any one of the honored members object to or censure, whether in or out of the meeting, any decision arrived at previously, though that decision be not right, for such criticism
Page 298In short, whatsoever thing is arranged in harmony and with love and purity of motive, its result is light, and should the least trace of estrangement prevail the result shall be darkness upon darkness. If this be so regarded, that Assembly shall be of God, but otherwise it shall lead to coolness and alienation that proceed from the Evil One. Discussions must all be confined to spiritual matters that pertain to the training of souls, the instruction of children, the relief of the poor, the help of the feeble throughout all classes in the world, kindness to all peoples, the diffusion of the fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Holy Word. Should they endeavor to fulfill these conditions the grace of the Holy Spirit shall be vouchsafed unto them, and that Assembly shall become the center of the Divine blessings, the hosts of Divine confirmation shall come to their aid, and they shall day by day receive a new effusion of Spirit." � 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ.
"The importance, nay the absolute necessity of these local Assemblies is manifest when we realize that in the days to come they will evolve into the local House of Justice, and at present provide the firm foundation on which the structure of the Master's Will is to be reared in the future."
"In order to avoid division and disruption, that the Cause may not fall a prey to conflicting interpretations, and lose thereby its purity and pristine vigor, that its affairs may be conducted with efficiency and promptness, it is necessary that every one [that is, every member of the Baha community] should conscientiously take an active part in the election of these Assemblies, abide by their decision, enforce their decree, and cooperate with them wholeheartedly in their task of stimulating the growth of the Movement throughout all regions. The members of these Assemblies, on their part, must disregard utterly their own likes and dislikes, their personal interests and inclinations, and concentrate their minds upon those measures that will conduce to the welfare and happiness of the Bahá'í community and promote the common weal." � SHOGHI EFFENDI, March 12, 1923.
"Let us recall His explicit and often-repeated assurances that every Assembly elected in that rarefied atmosphere of selflessness and detachment is, in truth, appointed of God, that its verdict is truly inspired, spired, that one and all should submit to its decision unreservedly and with cheerfulness." � SHOGm EFFENDI, February 23, 1924.
I. FUNCTIONS OF THE LOCALThe various functions of the local Spiritual Assembly, and its nature as a constitutional body, are duly set forth in Article VII of the ByLaws of the National Spiritual Assembly, and are more definitely defined in the ByLaws of a local Spiritual Assembly approved by the National Spiritual Assembly and recommended by the Guardian. Each local Spiritual Assembly, and all members of the local Baha community, shall be guided and controlled by the provisions of those
ByLaws.In addition to its observance of the general functions vested in the institution of a Spiritual Assembly, each Spiritual Assembly has need of a procedure for the conduct of its meetings.
The following items represent the outline of the parliamentary rules of procedure which the National Spiritual Assembly has adopted and recommends to each and every local Spiritual Assembly throughout the
United States.A meeting of the Spiritual Assembly is valid only when it has been duly called, that is, when each and every member has been informed of the time and place. The general practice is for the Assembly to decide upon some regular time and place for its meetings throughout the Bahá'í year, and this decision when recorded in the minutes is sufficient notice to the members.
When the regular schedule cannot be followed, or the need arises for a special meeting, the secretary, on request by the chairman or any three members of the Spiritual Assembly, should send due notice to all the members.
Order of BusinessRoll call by the Secretary (or Recording Secretary).
Prayer.THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 297
Reading and approval of Minutes of previous meetings.
Report of Secretary (or Corresponding Secretary), including presentation of letters received by the Assembly since its last meeting, and of any and all recommendations duly adopted by the community at the last Nineteen
Day Feast.New business, including conferences with members of the community and with applicants for enrollment as members of the community.
Closing Prayer.A Spiritual Assembly, in maintaining its threefold function of a body given (within the limits of its jurisdiction) an executive, a legislative and a judicial capacity, is charged with responsibility for initiating action and making decisions.
Its meetings, therefore, revolve around various definite matters which require deliberation and collective decision, and it is incumbent upon the members, one and all, to address themselves to the subject under discussion and not engage in general speeches of an irrelevant character.
Every subject or problem before an Assembly is most efficiently handled when the following process is observed: first, ascertainment and agreement upon the facts; second, agreement upon the spiritual or administrative Teachings which the question involves; third, full and frank discussion of the matter, leading up to the offering of a resolution; and fourth, voting upon the resolution.
A resolution, or motion, is not subject to discussion or vote until duly made and seconded. It is preferable to have each resolution clear and complete in itself, but when an amendment is duly made and seconded, the chairman shall call for a vote on the amendment first and then on the original motion. An amendment must be relevant to, and not contravene, the subject matter of the motion.
The chairman, or other presiding officer, has the same power and responsibility for discussion and voting upon motions as other members of the Assembly.
Discussion of any matter before the Assembly may be terminated by a motion duly made, seconded and voted calling upon the chairman to put the matter to a vote or to proceed to the next matter on the agenda. The purpose of this procedure is to prevent any member or members from prolonging the discussion beyond the point at which full opportunity has been given all members to express their views.
When the Assembly has taken action upon any matter, the action is binding upon all members, whether present or absent from the meeting at which the action was taken.
Individual views and opinions must be subordinated to the will of the Assembly when a decision has been made.
A Spiritual Assembly is an administrative unit, as it is a spiritual unit, and therefore no distinction between "majority" and "minority" groups or factions can be recognized. Each member must give undivided loyalty to the institution to which he or she has been elected.
Any action taken by the Assembly can be reconsidered at a later meeting, on motion duly made, seconded and carried. This reconsideration, according to the result of the consultation, may lead to a revision or the annulment of the prior action. If a majority is unwilling to reconsider the prior action, further discussion of the matter by any member is improper.
The Assembly has a responsibility in filling a vacancy caused by the inability of any member to attend the meetings. "It is only too obvious that unless a member can attend regularly the meetings of his local Assembly, it would be impossible for him to discharge the duties incumbent upon him, and to fulfill his responsibilities as a representative of the community. Membership in a local Spiritual Assembly carries with it, indeed, the obligation and capacity to remain in close touch with local Baha activities, and ability to attend regularly the sessions of the Assembly." � SHoorn EFFENDI, January 27, 1935.
The Spiritual Assembly, as a permanent body, is responsible for maintaining all its records, including Minutes of meetings, correspondence and financial records, throughout its existence as a Bahá'í institution. Each officer, therefore, on completing his or her term of office, shall turn over to the Assembly all records pertaining to the business of the Assembly.
Page 300A. The institution of the Nineteen Day Feast provides the recognized and regular occasion for general consultation on the part of the community, and for consultation between the Spiritual Assembly and the members of the community. The conduct of the period of consultation at
Nineteen Day FeastsFeast was inaugurated by the Báb and ratified by Bahá'u'lláh, in His Holy Book, the Aqdas, so that people may gather together and outwardly show fellowship and love, that the Divine mysteries may be disclosed.
The object is concord, that through this fellowship hearts may become perfectly united, and reciprocity and mutual helpfulness be established. Because the members of the world of humanity are unable to exist without being banded together, cooperation and helpfulness are the basis of human society. Without the realization of these two great principles no great movement is pressed forward."
London, England, December 29, 1912.has been described by the Guardian as the foundation of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. It is to be conducted according to the following program: The first part, entirely spiritual in character, is devoted to readings from Bahá'í Sacred Writings; the second part consists of general consultation on the affairs of the Cause. The third part is the material feast and social meeting of all the believers, and should maintain the spiritual nature of the Feast.
Bahá'ís should regard this Feast as the very heart of their spiritual activity, their participation in the mystery of the Holy Utterance, their steadfast unity one with another in a universality raised high above the limitations of race, class, nationality, sect, and personality, and their privilege of contributing to the power of the Cause in the realm of collective action.
Calendar of the Nineteenis responsible for the holding of the Nineteen Day Feast. If the Bahá'í calendar for some adequate reason cannot be observed, the Assembly may arrange to hold a Feast at the nearest possible date.
Only members of the Bahá'í community, and visiting Bahá'ís from other communities, may attend these meetings, but young people of less than twenty-one years of age, who have studied the Teachings and declared their intention of joining the community on reaching the age of twenty-one, may also attend.
Regular attendance at the Nineteen Day Feast is incumbent upon every Baha'i, illness or absence from the city being the only justification for absence. Believers are expected to arrange their personal affairs so as to enable them to observe the Baha calendar.
Order of BusinessThe chairman or other appointed representative of the Spiritual Assembly presides during the period of consultation.
The Spiritual Assemblyreports to the community whatever communications have been received from the Guardian and the National Spiritual Assembly, and provides opportunity for general discussion.
The Assembly likewise reports its own activities and plans, including committee appointments that may have been made since the last Feast, the financial report, arrangements made for public meetings, and in general shares with the community all matters that concern the Faith. These reports are to be followed by general consultation.
A matter of vital importance at this meeting is consideration of national and international Bahá'í affairs, to strengthen the capacity of the community to cooperate in promotion of the larger Bahá'í interests and to deepen the understanding of all believers concerning the relation of the local community to the Bahá'í World
Community.the channel through which to make suggestions and recommendations
Page 301THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 299
to the National Spiritual Assembly. These recommendations are offered first to the local community, and when adopted by the community come before the local Assembly, which then may in its discretion forward the recommendation to the National Spiritual Assembly accompanied by its own considered view.
Provision is to be made for reports from committees, with discussion of each report. Finally, the meeting is to be open for suggestions and recommendations from individual believers on any matter affecting the Cause.
The local Bahá'í community may adopt by majority vote any resolution which it wishes collectively to record as its advice and recommendation to the
Spiritual Assembly.Upon each member of the community lies the obligation to make his or her utmost contribution to the consultation, the ideal being a gathering of Bahá'ís inspired with one spirit and concentrating upon the one aim to further the interests of the
Faith.The Secretary of the Assembly records each resolution adopted by the community, as well as the various suggestions advanced during the meetings, in order to report these to the Spiritual Assembly for its consideration.
Whatever action the Assembly takes is to be reported at a later Nineteen Day Feast.
Matters of a personal nature should be brought before the Spiritual Assembly and not to the community at the Nineteen
Day Feast. Concerningthe attitude with which believers should come to these Feasts, the Master has said, "You must free yourselves from everything that is in your hearts, before you enter." (Bahá'í News Letter of the N. S. A. of Germany and Austria, December, 1934.)
B. The Annual Meetingon April 21, called for the election of the Spiritual Assembly, provides the occasion for the presentation of annual reports by the Assembly and by all its Committees.
The chairman of the outgoing Assembly presides at this meeting.
The order of business includes: Reading of the call of the meeting, reading of appropriate Baha passages bearing upon the subject of the election, appointment of tellers, distribution of ballots, prayers for the spiritual guidance of the voters, the election, presentation of annual reports, tellers' report of the election, approval of the tellers' report.
C. In addition to these occasions for general consultation, the Spiritual Assembly is to give consultation to individual believers whenever requested.
During such consultation with individual believers, the Assembly should observe the following principles: the impartiality of each of its members with respect to all matters under discussion; the freedom of the individual Baha to express his views, feelings and recommendations on any matter affecting the interests of the Cause; the confidential character of this consultation, and the principle that the Spiritual Assembly does not adopt any resolution or make any final decision, until the party or parties have withdrawn from the meeting.
Appeals from decisions of a local Spiritual Assembly are provided for in the ByLaws and the procedure fully described in a statement published in Bahá'í News, February, 1933.
When confronted with evidences of unhappiness, whether directed against the Assembly or against members of the community, the Spiritual Assembly should realize that its relationship to the believers is not merely that of a formal constitutional body but also that of a spiritual institution called upon to manifest the attributes of courtesy, patience and loving insight. Many conditions are not to be remedied by the exercise of power and authority but rather by a sympathetic understanding of the sources of the difficulty in the hearts of the friends. As 'Abdu'l-Bahá has explained, some of the people are children and must be trained, some are ignorant and must be educated, some are sick and must be healed.
Where, however, the problem is not of this order but represents flagrant disobedience and disloyalty to the Cause itself, in that case the Assembly should consult with the National Spiritual Assembly concerning the necessity for disciplinary action.
Members of the Bahá'í community, for their part, should do their utmost by prayer and meditation to remain always in a positive and joyous spiritual condition, bearing in mind the Tablets which call upon Bahá'ís to serve the world of humanity and not waste their precious energies in negative complaints.
Page 302300 THE BAHÁ'Í WO LV. B�smk'i ANNIVERSARIES,
FESTIVALS AND DAYSThe Spiritual Assembly, among its various duties and responsibilities, will provide for the general observance by the local community of the following Holy
Days:of the Bahá'í Faith create organic institutions having a membership elected by the Baha community. Bahá'u'lláh called these institutions into being; their establishment, definition, training and development came later, in the mm-istry of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and in that of the Guardian appointed in 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í
Testament.Since the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, the formation of local Spiritual Assemblies has multiplied in East and West, and the institution of the National Spiritual Assembly has become firmly established.
Concerning this national administrative body Shoghi Effendi has provided dear information and direction. Its purpose, its power, its responsibility and its functions and duties are definitely prescribed.
"Its immediate purpose is to stimulate, unify and coordinate by frequent personal consultations the manifold activities of the friends [believers]
as well as the local Assemblies; and by keeping in close and constant touch with the Holy Land Bahá'í World Center], initiate measures, and direct in general the affairs of the Cause in that country.
"It serves also another purpose, no less essential than the first in conjunction with the other National Assemblies throughout the Bahá'í world, to elect directly the members of the
International Houseof Justice, that Supreme Council that will guide, organize and unify the affairs of the [Faith] throughout the world.
it has to exercise full authority over all the local Assemblies in its province, and will have to direct the activities of the friends, guard vigilantly the Cause of God, and control and supervise the affairs of the [Faith]
in general."Vital issues, affecting the interests of the Cause in that country that stand distinct from strictly local affairs, must be under the full jurisdiction of the
National Assembly.It will have to refer each of these questions to a special Committee, to be elected by the members of the National Spiritual Assembly, from among all the friends in that country "With it, too, rests the decision whether a certain point at issue is strictly local in its nature or whether it should fall under its own province and be regarded as a matter which ought to receive its special attention."' "The need for the centralization of authority in the
National SpiritualAssembly, and the concentration of power in the various local Assemblies, is manifest."2 "The authority of the National
Spiritual Assemblyis undivided and unchallengeable in all matters pertaining to the administration of the Faith [throughout its country]."3
The individual Bahá'íhas spiritual citizenship in a world community of believers acting through local, national and international bodies.
There is no division of interest or conflict of authority among these institutions, for ever since the ascension of BahA'-lflahd'i
Administration (1945THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 301
First National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central America, Mexico and the Antilles, elected April, 1951.
Seated, left to right: Dr. David Escalante (San Salvador), James V. Facey (Colon), Miss Elena Marsella (Ciudad Trujilo), Artemus Lamb (San Jos6).
Standing, left to right: Mrs. Louise Caswell (Tegucigalpa), Zenayda Jurado C. (Mexico City), Mrs. Cora H. Oliver (Colon), Sra. Raquel I. Fran9ois de Constante (Panama City), Natalia A. ChAvez (Tegucigalpa).
u'11Th in 1892 His Faith has uninterruptedly possessed an infallible Interpreter, a spiritual Head, in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá until 1921, and in the Guardianship after that date.
The action of a Bahá'í administrative body, therefore, while rationally determined by constitutional principles, operates in a spiritual realm revealed by the
Manifestation of Godand maintained free from political pressure and the influence of materialism.
Apart from the appointedDecisions are confined to the sphere of action and are made by a body of nine persons.
The advice and direction clarifying the nature and operation of a National Spiritual Assembly have been compiled by the American llahA'is from letters written them by Shoghi Effendi
4 Rahd'i Administration;and ByLaws of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United
States.During the ministry of 'Abdu'l-Bahá after He had approved the petition submitted to Him by the American Bahá'ís expressing their desire to construct a House of Worship, these Baha formed a national body known as I3ahA'i Temple Unity, incorporated for the purpose of gathering funds and coordinating plans to erect the Temple in Wilmette. That body, though national in scope and elected by delegates representing the various local Bahá'í communities, was not a National Spiritual Assembly. It is interesting to note that in Baha
Temple Unity the AmericanBahá'ís established a body reflecting their own national historical experience. The local communities preceded the national body in time and each exercised an independent authority in the conduct of its own affairs. When their representatives agreed to form a national 13ah4'f body with full jurisdiction over Temple matters, they transferred to it powers which vested final
Page 304First National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South
America, elected April, 1951.Front row, left to right: Edmund I. Miessler (Sao Paulo), Mrs. Margot Worley (Baha), Miss Eve Nicklin (Lima),
Manuel Vera (Lima).Rear, left to right: Dr. Alejandro Reid (Punta Arenas), Mrs. Gayle Woolson (BogotA), Est6ban Canales L. (Asuncion), Srta. Mercedes Sanchez (Lima), Rangvald Taetz
(Montevideo).decision not in its directors but in the Annual Convention.
The vital distinction between Temple Unity and the National Spiritual Assembly when later established lay in this field of ultimate authority. The National Spiritual Assembly possessed original authority, powers and functions of its own.
It came into existence through election of its nine members at a National Convention but constituted a continuing authority derived from the Baha Teachings and not conferred by any action of the believers, whether as local communities or as delegates. This authority emerged supreme in relation to Bahá'í matters within the national community but subject to the higher authority of the Guardian and also of the future International
House of Justice.is an institution created by the Teachings of the Faith independent of the Bahá'ís who elect its members and of the Bahá'ís composing its membership.
In no way does this institution reflect either the political or the ecclesiastical influences of its environment, whether in America, Europe or the East. This fact has paramount importance.
On the one hand it reveals the existence of an organic religious society; on the other hand it demonstrates the freedom of this new community from the legalisms and devices acting within every human institution.
While the transition from Baha Temple Unity toTHE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 303
First Italo-Swiss Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly, 19531954.
Seated, left to right: Prof. Mario Fiorentini, Mrs. Anna Kunz, Dr. Ugo R. Giachery, Miss Elsa Steinmetz, Mrs. Stella Lonzar.
Standing, left to right: Mrs. Anne Lynch, Friedrich Schdr, Mrs. Marion Little, Prof. Alessandro Bausani.
pies inherent fri Bahá'í institutions, the formation of a National Spiritual Assembly in a new area represents more profoundly the creation of a new type of society. Every national Bahá'í community has gone through some evolution reflecting its historical background before its National Spiritual Assembly was established.
In Central and South America, the preliminary teaching work and formation of local communities was conducted by a committee of the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada. and when the Bahá'ís of Canada formed their own National Assembly, by a committee appointed and sustained from the United States.
The process of establishing new National Assemblies in those areas involved a number of steps.
The membership list of qualified adult Bahá'ís was carefully prepared.
The number of delegates to be elected to each of the first Annual Conventions under the principle of proportionate representation was determined.
The Convention date and site were chosen. A call was issued to the participating local communities through their
Assembliesfor the election of the delegate or delegates assigned to each. The elected delegates were provided with ballots and a copy of the Convention agenda.
The agenda, meanwhile, had been prepared in the light of the general nature of a Bahá'í National Convention and with respect to the particular conditions of the Bahá'í community.
The National SpiritualAssembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States selected from its own membership two persons to attend each Convention, one to open the meeting as temporary chairman, the other to call the roll, and both to supervise the election of permanent convention officers from the menther-ship of the delegates present. With that election the Convention proceeded as an independent body, but acting under friendly supervision, to fulfill its own special functions: consultation on current Bahá'í matters, and election of the members of the first National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of Central and South America. The nine persons receiving the highest number of votes on the first ballot, in accordance with the principle of plurality, were declared and certified to be Assembly members.
Page 306the newly elected bodies entered upon their duties in consultation with the representatives from the United States, who had prepared a list of actions to be taken annually by a national Bahá'í body.
Such an occasion as the birth of a national Bahá'í institution is cherished in the memory of all present.
Among the significant events are the receipt of a message from the Guardian of the Faith and greetings from all other National Spiritual
Assemblies. Nine Assembliesexisted at the time the two bodies were established in Latin America.5
The functions of a National Spiritual Assembly are manifold: the publication of Ba1A"i literature; national teaching plans; supervision of local communities; encouragement and direction of all the BaM is in their service to the Faith; and representation of the Bahá'ís in relation to the civil authorities.
Each national body prepares and adopts its own constitution, formulated on
5 These National SpiritualAssemblies were, in the order of their establishment,
India and Burma (1923), Germanyand Austria (1923), British Isles (1923), Egypt (1924), United States (1925),
'Iraq (1931), Persiathe basis of the model approved by the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
All the National SpiritualAssemblies collectively, under the title of The Bahá'í International Community, constitute an international nongovernmental organization whose delegates are accredited by United Nations for attendance and participation in its regional conferences.
Through the institution of the National Spiritual Assembly, Bahá'ís are enabled to carry out plans of considerable magnitude, collaborate with Bahá'ís of all other lands in matters of international interest, maintain common standards of administrative principle, and take advantage, in the appointment of committees, of particular talents and aptitudes possessed by individual believers. The National Spiritual Assembly stands as one of the pillars supporting the Bahá'í world community. Participation in national Bahá'í activities serves to insulate the individual Baha from infection by the psychic ills which afflict modern society as result of its lack of faith and spiritual direction.
Within the shelter of this emerging order the storms of partisanship cannot engulf the soul.
A PROCEDURE FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE ANNUALA SUMMARY of the constitutional basis of the Convention has been made by the
National Spiritual AssemblyAssembly determines the date, duration and place of the Annual Convention and provides for such meetings in connection with the Convention as it may feel are desirable.
III. CONVENTION PROCEDUREConvention [of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada], held in 1934, voted a recommendation calling upon the National Spiritual Assembly to supply a parliamentary procedure for the conduct of the Annual Convention, and the present material has been prepared to meet the need indicated by that recommendation.
Order of BusinessPrayer and devotional readings, provided by the outgoing National
Spiritual Assembly.Opening of the Convention by Presiding Officer of the National Spiritual
Assembly.Election by secret ballot of Convention Chairman and Secretary. The Convention Officers are to be elected by the assembled delegates from among the entire number of delegates who are present at the Convention.
Annual Report of NationalTHE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 305
Annual Committee Reports:These are to be considered as part of the Report of the National Spiritual Assembly. They are whenever possible published in Bahá'í News in advance of the Convention date, for the information of the delegates.
Subjects for Consultation.Any delegate may, before the Convention convenes, recommend to the National Assembly such topics as he deems of sufficient importance to be included in the Convention agenda; and the National Spiritual Assembly, from the list of topics received from delegates, and also suggested by its own knowledge and experience, is to prepare an agenda or order of business as its recommendation to the Convention.
This agenda may include, as part of the National Assembly's Annual Report, the presentation of special subjects by well qua!-ified members, committee representatives or non-Bahá'í experts whose exposition is necessary or desirable for the information of the delegates.
On motion duly made, seconded and voted, any such subject may be omitted, and also on motion duly made, seconded and voted, any other subject may be proposed for special consultation.
Annual Election. The election of members of the National Spiritual Assembly is to take place approximately midway during the Convention sessions, so as to enable the delegates to consult with both the outgoing and incoming Assemblies, in accordance with the Guardian's expressed desire.
Conduct of BusinessEvery deliberative body, to fulfill its functions, must conduct its deliberations in accordance with some established rules of order.
The parliamentary procedure here set forth for the Convention is based upon the procedure already adopted for meetings of local Assemblies and communities. It accordingly extends to sessions of the Annual Convention the same procedure under which the delegates, in their other Bahá'í activities, are accustomed to conduct discussion and consultation.
The purpose of consultation at the Annual Convention is threefold: to arrive at full and complete knowledge of the current conditions, problems and possibilities of the Faith in America; to give to the incoming National Assembly the benefit of the collective wisdom, guidance and constructive suggestions of the assembled delegates; and to contribute to the unity, in spirit and in action, of the entire American Bahá'í community.
The freedom of each and every delegate to take part in discussion and to initiate motions is untrammeled save as the undue acZ tivity of one delegate might hamper the rights of the other delegates. Any necessary limitation to be placed upon individual discussion shall be determined by the Chairman in the absence of any specific motion duly voted by the delegates themselves.
It shall be the duty of the Chairman to encourage general consultation and make possible the active participation of the greatest possible number of delegates.
The Chairman has the same power and responsibility for discussion and voting upon motions as other delegates. Members of the outgoing and incoming National Assembly who are not delegates may participate in the consultation but not vote.
A resolution, or motion, is not subject to discussion or vote until duly made and seconded. It is preferable to have each resolution clear and complete in itself, but when an amendment is duly made and seconded, the Chairman shall call for a vote on the amendment first and then on the motion. An amendment must be relevant to, and not contravene, the subject matter of the motion.
The Chairman shall call for votes by oral expression of ayes and nays, but where the result of the vote is doubtful by a show of hands or a rising vote. A majority vote determines.
Discussion of any matter may be terminated by motion duly made, seconded and voted, calling upon the Chairman to bring the matter to an immediate vote or proceed to other business.
The transactions of the Convention shall be recorded by the Secretary, and when certified by the Convention officers shall be given to the National
Spiritual Assembly.The electors in the Annual Election shall consist of those delegates included in the Roll Call prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly.
Ballots and tellers' report forms shall be provided by the National Assembly.
The election shall be conducted by the Convention, but delegates unable to attend
Page 308the Convention shall have the right to vote by mail.
The Chairman shall appoint three tellers, chosen from among the assembled delegates.
The electoral method shall be as follows:shall call the roll of delegates, whereupon each delegate, in turn, shall place his or her ballot in a ballot box; and as the names are called ballots received by mail shall be placed in the ballot box by the Secretary of the National
Assembly.2. The ballot box shall then be handed to the tellers, who shall retire from the Convention Hall to determine the result of the election.
3. The result of the election is to be reported by the tellers, and the tellers' report is to be approved by the Convention.
4. The ballots, together with the tellers' report, certified by all the tellers, are to be given the National Spiritual Assembly for preservation.
IV. THE CONVENTION RECORDThe permanent record of each successive Annual Convention shall consist of the following: � ( 1) Convention Call as issued by the National Spiritual Assembly, including list of participating Bahá'í Communities; (2) list of accredited delegates; (3) Annual Reports of the National Spiritual Assembly and of its Committees; (4) Messages sent to and received from the Guardian; (5) Resolutions and other transactions of the assembled delegates; (6) the result of the Annual Election.
� NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLYTHE Bahá'í principles clearly define and explain the nonpolitical character of the Faith, and serve as a guide for conduct in the relations of Bahá'ís with one another, with their fellow men, and in their relations with different departments of the civil government.
A brief summary of excerpts from the Bahá'í Writings will show that non-par-ticipation in political affairs is one of the basic axioms of Bahá'í action.
The keynote to this theme may be found in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. He has stated: "That one is indeed a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.
The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth. In another passage He hath proclaimed: It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."' "Sow not the seeds of discord among men, and refrain from contending with your neighbor Open, 0 people, the city of the human heart with the key of your utterance "That which beseemeth you is the love of 1 Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 250.
God, and the love of Him Who is the Manifestation of His Essence, and the observance of whatsoever He chooseth to prescribe unto you, did ye but know it. "Say: Let truthfulness and courtesy be your adorning.
Suffer not yourselves to be deprived of the robe of forbearance and justice, that the sweet savors of holiness may be wafted from your hearts upon all created things.
Say: Beware, 0 people of Bali, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ from their deeds. Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest to the peoples of the earth the signs of God, and to mirror forth His commandments.
Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind, for the professions of most men, be they high or low, differ from their conduct. lit is through your deeds that ye can distinguish yourselves from others. Through them the brightness of your light can be shed upon the whole earth "2 The aim of the Faith is to produce the reality of virtue in souls and evolve institutions capable of dealing with social matters justly, in the light of the revealed truths. This is entirely distinct from the province filled by partisan civil institutions.
2 Ibid., pp. 303305.THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 307
'Abdu'l-Bahá counseled the Bahá'ís from the early beginnings of the American Bahá'í community not to discuss political affairs :~ All conferences (i.e., all consultation and discussion) must be regarding the matters of benefit, both as a whole and individually, such as the guarding of all in all cases, their protection and preservation, the improvement of character, the training of children, etc. "If any person wishes to speak of government affairs, or to interfere with the order of government, the others must not combine with him because the Cause of God is withdrawn entirely from political affairs; the political realm pertains only to the Rulers of those matters; it has nothing to do with the souls who are exerting their utmost energy to harmonizing affairs, helping character and inciting (the people) to strive for perfections.
Therefore no soul is allowed to interfere with (political) matters, but only in that which is commanded."
With the development of a worldwide administrative structure within the Bahá'í Faith, institutions have been set up in national and local areas which assure the unity and integrity of the Faith. In unfolding these administrative institutions Shoghi Effendi has reiterated the importance of the nonpolitical character of the Baha teachings in a letter written March 21, 1932, to the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada:4 "I feel it, therefore, incumbent upon me to stress, now that the time is ripe, the importance of an instruction which, at the present stage of the evolution of our Faith, should be increasingly emphasized, irrespective of its application to the East or to the West.
And this principle is no other than that which involves the nonparticipation by the adherents of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, whether in their individual capacities or collectively as local or national Assemblies, in any form of activity that might be interpreted, either directly or indirectly, as an interference in the political affairs of any particular government.
Whether it be in the publications which they initiate and supervise; or in iheir official and public deliberations; or in the posts they occupy and the sei-vices they render; or in the communications they address to their fellow-disciples; or in their dealings with men of eminence 8 Rahd'i World Faith, p. 407.
4 World Order of Rahd'u'lldh, pp. 6467.and authority; or in their affiliations with kindred societies and organizations, it is, I am firmly convinced, their first and sacred obligation to abstain from any word or deed that might be construed as a violation of this vital principle.
Theirs is the duty to demonstrate, on one hand, their unqualified loyalty and obedience to whatever is the considered judgment of their respective governments.
"Let them refrain from associating themselves, whether by word or by deed, with the political pursuits of their respective nations, with the policies of their governments and the schemes and programs of parties and factions.
In such controversies they should assign no blame, take no side, further no design, and identify themselves with no system prejudicial to the best interests of that worldwide Fellowship which it is their aim to guard and foster.
Let them beware lest they allow themselves to become the tools of unscrupulous politicians, or to be entrapped by the treacherous devices of the plotters and the perfidious among their countrymen.
Let them so shape their lives and regulate their conduct that no charge of secrecy, of fraud, of bribery or of intimidation may, however ill-founded, be brought against them.
Let them rise above all particularism and partisanship, above the vain disputes, the petty calculations, the transient passions that agitate the face, and engage the attention, of a changing world.
It is their duty to strive to distinguish, as clearly as they possibly can, and if needed with the aid of their elected representatives, such posts and functions as are either diplomatic or political from those that are purely administrative in character, and which under no circumstances are affected by the changes and chances that political activities and party government, in every land, must necessarily involve. Let them affirm their unyielding determination to stand, firmly and unreservedly, for the way of Bahá'u'lláh, to avoid the entanglements and bickerings inseparable from the pursuits of the politician, and to become worthy agencies of that Divine Polity which incarnates God's immutable Purpose for all men.
"It shoud be made unmistakably clear that such an attitude implies neither the slightest indifference to the cause and interests of their own country, nor involves any insubordination on their part to the authority of recognized and established governments. Nor does it constitute a repudiation
Page 310of their sacred obligation to promote, in the most effective manner, the best interests of their government and people.
It indicates the desire cherished by every true and loyal follower of Bahá'u'lláh to serve, in an unselfish, unostentatious and patriotic fashion, the highest interests of the country to which he belongs, and in a way that would entail no departure from the high standards of integrity and truthfulness associated with the teachings of his Faith.
"As the number of the Bahá'í communities in various parts of the world multiplies and their power, as a social force, becomes increasingly apparent, they will no doubt find themselves increasingly subjected to the pressure which men of authority and influence, in the political domain, will exercise in the hope of obtaining the support they require for the advancement of their aims. These communities will, moreover, feel a growing need of the goodwill and the assistance of their respective governments in their efforts to widen the scope, and to consolidate the foundations, of the institutions committed to their charge. Let them beware lest, in their eagerness to further the aims of their beloved Cause, they should be led unwittingly to bargain with their Faith, to compromise with their essential principles, or to sacrifice, in return for any material advantage which their institutions may derive, the integrity of their spiritual ideals.
Let them proclaim that in whatever country they reside, and however advanced their institutions, or profound their desire to enforce the laws, and apply the principles, enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh, they will, unhesitatingly, subordinate the operation of such laws and the application of such principles to the requirements and legal enactments of their respective governments.
Theirs is not the purpose, while endeavoring to conduct and perfect the administrative affairs of their Faith, to violate, under any circumstances, the provisions of their country's constitution, much less to allow the machinery of their administration to supersede the government of their respective countries.
"It should also be borne in mind that the very extension of the activities in which we are engaged, and the variety of the communities which labor under divers forms of government, so essentially different in their standards, policies, and methods, make it absolutely essential for all those who are the declared members of any one of these corn-munities ies to avoid any action that might, by arousing the suspicion or exciting the antagonism of any one government, involve their brethren in fresh persecutions or complicate the nature of their task.
How else, might I ask, could such a far-flung Faith, which transcends political and social boundaries, which includes within its pale so great a variety of races and nations, which will have to rely increasingly, as it forges ahead, on the goodwill and support of the diversified and contending governments of the earth � how else could such a Faith succeed in preserving its unity, in safeguarding its interests, and in ensuring the steady and peaceful development of its institutions?
"Such an attitude, however, is not dictated by considerations of selfish expediency, but is actuated, first and foremost, by the broad principle that the followers of Bahá'u'lláh will, under no circumstances, suffer themselves to be involved, whether as individuals or in their collective capacities, in matters that would entail the slightest departure from the fundamental verities and ideals of their Faith. Neither the charges which the uninformed and the malicious may be led to bring against them, nor the allurements of honors and rewards, will ever induce them to surrender their trust or to deviate from their path. Let their words proclaim, and their conduct testify, that they who follow Bahá'u'lláh, in whatever land they reside, are actuated by no selfish ambition, that they neither thirst for power, nor mind any wave of unpopularity, of distrust or criticism, which a strict adherence to their standards might provoke."
And again: "The Bahá'íFaith as it forges ahead throughout the western world and particularly in lands where the political machinery is corrupt and political passions and prejudices are dominant among the masses, should increasingly assert and demonstrate the fact that it is nonpolitical in character, that it stands above party, that it is neither apathetic to national interests nor opposed to any party or faction, and that it seeks through administrative channels, rather than through diplomatic and political posts to establish, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the capacity, the sane patriotism, the integrity and highmindedness of its avowed adherents. This is the general and vital principle; it is for the National representatives to apply it with fidelity and vigor."5 Bahá'í News, December, 1932.
Page 311THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 309
These instructions raised the question whether Bahá'ís should vote in any public election.
A Tablet revealed byChase was sent to the Guardian, and the following reply was received, dated January 26, 1933:6 "The Guardian fully recognizes the authenticity and controlling influence of this instruction from 'Abdu'l-Bahá upon the question.
He, however, feels under the responsibility of stating that the attitude taken by the Master (that is, that American citizens are in duty bound to vote in public elections) implies certain reservations.
He, therefore, lays it upon the individual conscience to see that in following the Master's instructions no I3ah~i'i vote for an officer nor Bahá'í participation in the affairs of the Republic shall involve acceptance by that individual of a program or policy that contravenes any vital principle, spiritual or social, of the Faith."
The Guardian added to this letter the following postscript: "I feel it incumbent upon me to clarify the above statement, written in my behalf, by stating that no vote cast, or office undertaken, by a Baha should necessarily constitute acceptance, by the voter or office holder, of the entire program of any political party. No Bahá'í can be regarded as either a Republican or Democrat, as such. He is, above all else, the supporter of the principles enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh, with which, I am firmly convinced, the program of no political party is completely harmonious."
In a letter dated March 16, 1933, the Guardian sent these further details :~ "As regards the nonpolitical character of the Bahá'í
Faith, Shoghi Effendifeels that there is no contradiction whatsoever between the Tablet (to Thornton Chase, referred to above) and the reservations to which he has referred.
The Master surely never desired the friends to use their influence towards the realization and promotion of policies contrary to any of the principles of the Faith. The friends may yote, if they can do it, without identifying themselves with one party or another. To enter the arena of party politics is surely detrimental to the best interests of the Faith and will harm the Cause. It remains for the individuals to so use their right to vote as to keep aloof from party politics, and always bear in mind that they are voting on the S Ibid., April, 1933.
7 Ibid., January, 1934.merits of the individual, rather than because he belongs to one party or another. The matter must be made perfectly clear to the individuals, who will be left free to exercise their discretion and judgment. But if a certain person does enter into party politics and labors for the ascendancy of one party over another, and continues to do it against the expressed appeals, and warnings of the Assembly, then the Assembly has the right to refuse him the right to vote in Baha elections."
That this principle, as do all Bahá'í principles, has worldwide application is made clear by Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated March 11, 1936:8
"The Faith of Bahá'u'lláhhas assimilated, by virtue of its creative, its regulative and ennobling energies, the varied races, nationalities, creeds and classes that have sought its shadow, and have pledged unswerving fealty to its cause. It has changed the hearts of its adherents, burned away their prejudices, stilled their passions, exalted their conceptions, ennobled their motives, codrdi-nated their efforts, and transformed their outlook.
While preserving their patriotism and safeguarding their lesser loyalties, it has made them lovers of mankind, and the determined upholders of its best and truest interests.
While maintaining intact their belief in the Divine origin of their respective religions, it has enabled them to visualize the underlying purpose of these religions, to discover their merits, to recognize their sequence, their interdependence, their wholeness and unity, and to acknowledge the bond that vitally links them to itself. This universal, this transcending love which the followers of the Bahá'í Faith feel for their fel-low-men, of whatever race, creed, class or nation, is neither mysterious nor can it be said to have been artificially stimulated. It is both spontaneous and genuine.
They whose hearts are warmed by the energizing influence of God's creative love cherish His creatures for His sake, and recognize in every human face a sign of His reflected glory.
"Of such men and women it may be truly said that to them 'every foreign land is a fatherland, and every fatherland a foreign land.' For their citizensbip, it must be remembered, is in the Kingdom of Bahá'u'lláh.
Though willing to share to the utmost 8 World Order of Rahd'u'lldh, pp. 197198.
Page 312Delegates to the Eighteenth Annual Convention of the Bahá'ís of Persia, held at the Ija4ratu'1-Quds, Tihr~n, April 27-May 3, 1951.
Page 313THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 311
the temporal benefits and the fleeting joys which this earthly life can confer, though eager to participate in whatever activity that conduces to the richness, the happiness and peace of that life, they can, at no time, f or-get that it constitutes no more than a transient, a very brief stage of their existence, that they who live it are but pilgrims and wayfarers whose goal is the Celestial City, and whose home the Country of never-fail-ing joy and brightness.
"Though loyal to their respective governments, though profoundly interested in anything that affects their security and welfare, though anxious to share in whatever promotes their best interests, the Faith with which the followers of Bahá'u'lláh stand identified is one which they firmly believe God has raised high above the storms, the divisions, and controversies of the political arena. Their Faith they conceive to be essentially nonpolitical, supranational in character, rigidly nonpartisan, and entirely dissociated from nationalistic ambitions, pursuits, and purposes.
Such a Faith knows no division of class or of party.
It subordinates, without hesitation or equivocation, every particularistic interest, be it personal, regional, or national to the paramount interests of humanity, firmly convinced that in a world of interdependent peoples and nations the advantage of the part is best to be reached by the advantage of the whole, and that no abiding benefit can be conferred upon the component parts if the general interests of the entity itself are ignored or neglected."
The unity of Bahá'í action throughout the world is further emphasized in a letter from Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá'ís of Vienna, written in 1947 through his secretary, in which he said in part:9 "We Bahá'ís are one the world over; we are seeking to build up a new world order, divine in origin.
How can we do this if every Bahá'í is a member of a different political party � some of them diametrically opposite to each other?
Where is our unity then?We would be divided because of politics, against ourselves and this is the opposite of our purpose. Obviously if one Bahá'í in Austria is given freedom to choose a political party and join it, however good its aims may be, another Bahá'í in Japan or America, or India, has the right to do the same thing and he might belong to a party the very opposite 9 Bahá'í News, April, 1949.
in principle to that which the Austrian Bahá'í belongs to. Where would be the unity of the Faith then?
These two spiritual brothers would be working against each other because of their political affiliations (as the Christians of Europe have been doing in so many fratricidal wars). The best way for a Bahá'í to serve his country and the world is to work for the establishment of Bahá'u'lláh's World Order, which will gradually unite all men and do away with divisive pa-litical systems and religious creeds In the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the Bahá'ís are instructed to "obey and be the well-wishers of the governments of the land, regard disloyalty unto a just king as disloyalty to God Himself and wishing evil to the government a transgression of the Cause of God."10 In explanation of this statement the Guardian wrote, in a letter dated July 3, 1948:11 "Regarding your question about politics and the Master's Will; the attitude of the Baha must be twofold, complete obedience to the government of the country they reside in, and no interference whatsoever in political matters or questions.
What the Master's statement really means is obedience to a duly constituted government, whatever that government may be in form. We are not the ones, as individual Baha'is, to judge our government as just or unjust � for each believer would be sure to hold a different viewpoint, and within our own Bahá'í fold a hotbed of dissension would spring up and destroy our unity. We must build up our Bahá'í system, and leave the faulty systems of the world to go their way. We cannot change them through becoming involved in them; on the contrary, they will destroy us." Another application of this principle concerns the right, propriety or usefulness of exerting Baha influence for the enactment of legislative measures reflecting more or less the purpose of same Bahá'í principle or teaching. For example, should a Bahá'í community, local or national, lend the name of the Bahá'í Faith to support legislation which seeks to abolish race and religious discrimination in matters of industrial employment, or intervene when measures concerning military training of youth are before a legislature?
The National SpiritualBahá'ís of the United States has stated12 that, "as a general policy subject to the Guardian's specific direction in special cases, Bahá'ís and their administrative institutions should not feel obligated to adopt a 'Baha'i' attitude or course of action on matters of civil legislation.
Our teachings and basic principles speak far themselves.
These we can always declare and set forth with all possible energy whenever occasions arise. But a truth which is sundered from its sustaining spiritual Source, lifted out of its organic relationship to the Bahá'í community, broken off from the other truths, and made subject to the storm and stress of secular controversy, is no longer a truth with which we can usefully have concern. It has become an enactment to be carried out by institutions and groups committed to other enactments, other aims and purposes and methods not in conformity with the 'Divine Polity' entrusted to those alone who give full loyalty to Bahá'u'lláh. Far better for us to strive to mirror forth radiantly the individual and community virtues of a new era than to hope others than believers will achieve the holy mission of the Faith.
We Bahá'ís have in reality accepted a world order and not merely a new decalogue of truths or commands. On the other hand, obedience to civil government is an obligation laid by Bahá'u'lláh upon every Baha'i" Shoghi Effendi13 points out, as a guiding principle of Bahá'í conduct, that "in connection with their administrative activities, no matter how grievously interference with them might affect the course of the exten-l2RaIzd'i World, vol. 10, p. 278.
13 Rahd'i Administrationsion of the Movement, and the suspension of which does not constitute in itself a departure from the principle of loyalty to their Faith, the considered judgment and authoritative decrees issued by their responsible rulers must, if they be faithful to Bah~'u'-IlAli's and 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í express injunctions, be thoroughly respected and loyally obeyed.
In matters, however, that vitally affect the integrity and honor of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and are tantamount to a recantation of their faith and repudiation of their innermost belief, they [the Bahá'ís are convinced, and are unhesitatingly prepared to vindicate by their lifeblood the sincerity of their conviction, that no power on earth, neither the arts of the most insidious adversary nor the bloody weapons of the most tyrannical oppressor, cam ever succeed in extorting from them a word or deed that might tend to stifle the voice of their conscience or tarnish the purity of their faith."
"Small wonder if by the Pen of Bahá'u'lláh these pregnant words, written in anticipation of the present state of mankind, should have been revealed: 'It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who lovethA the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.' And again, 'That one indeed is a man who today dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race. 'Through the power released by these exalted words,' He explains, 'He hath lent a fresh impulse, and set a new direction, to the birds of men's hearts, and hath obliterated every trace of restriction and limitation from God's
Holy Book.' "14Statement Prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America V/HEN a great social crisis sweeps through a civilization, moral values become impaired.
In the crisis of our own time, members of the Bahá'í Faith go on record as firmly upholding the principle of loyalty to government.
More than eighty years ago Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, set forth this cardinal principle: "In every country or government where any of this community reside, they must behave toward that government with faithfulness, trustfulness, and truthfulness."
Loyalty to government, in the Baha view, is an essential spiritual and social principle.
"We must obey and be the well-wish-ers of the government of the land.
." "The essence of the Bahá'í spirit is that in order
Page 315THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 313
to establish a better social order and economic condition, there must be allegiance to the laws and principles of government." This allegiance is part of the strong emphasis on integrity of character found in the Baha teaching.
"Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts." "Beautify your tongues, 0 people, with truthfulness, and adorn your souls with the ornament of honesty. Beware, 0 people, that ye deal not treacherously with any one. Be ye the trustees of God amongst His creatures, and the emblems of His generosity amidst His people."
Without integrity of character in its citizens and without ~oyaIty to government, a nation will find itself torn asunder and unable to function as an organic society. Not oniy do the Baha teachings obligate members to be loyal to their government � they also specifically forbid them from taking any part in subversive political and social movements.
CONCERNING MEMBERSHIP IN NONBAHÁ'Í RELIGIOUSTHE instruction written by Shoghi Effendi concerning membership in non-Bah~.'i religious organizations, published in the July, 1935, number of Bahá'í News, has brought forth some interesting and important communications from local Spiritual Assemblies and also from individual believers, to all of which the National Spiritual Assembly has given careful and sympathetic attention.
The National Assemblyitself, on receiving that instruction, made it the subject of extensive consultation, feeling exceedingly responsible for its own understanding of the Guardian's words and anxious to contribute to the understanding of the friends.
In October, 1935, the Assembly sent in reply to some of these communications a general letter embodying its thoughts on the subject, and a copy of that letter was forwarded to Shoghi Effendi for his approval and comment. His references to its contents, made in letters addressed to the National Spiritual
Assembly on November29 and December 11, 1935, are appended to this statement.
Now that Shoghi Effendi'sapproval has been received, the National Assembly feels it desirable to publish, for the information of all the American believers, the substance of the October letter.
While so fundamental an instruction is bound to raise different questions corresponding to the different conditions existing throughout the Bahá'í community, the most important consideration is our collective need to grasp the essential principle under* * A statement prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly of the BaM'js of the United States.
lying the new instruction, and our capacity to perceive that the position which the Guardian wishes us to take in regard to church membership is a necessary and inevitable result of the steady development of the World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh.This essential principle is made clear when we turn to Shoghi Effendi's further reference to the subject as published in Bahá'í News for October, 1935 � words written by the Guardian's own hand.
In the light of these words, it seems fully evident that the way to approach this instruction is in realizing the Faith of Báb 4'-u'lThh as an ever-growing organism destined to become something new and greater than any of the revealed religions of the past. Whereas former Faiths inspired hearts and illumined souls, they eventuated in formal religions with an ecclesiastical organization, creeds, rituals and churches, while the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, likewise renewing man's spiritual life, will gradually produce the institutions of an ordered society, fulfilling not merely the function of the churches of the past but also the function of the civil state. By this manifestation of the Divine Will in a higher degree than in former ages, humanity will emerge from that immature civilization in which church and state are separate and competitive institutions, and partake of a true civilization in which spiritual and social principles are at last reconciled as two aspects of one and the same Truth.
No Bahá'í can read the successive World Order letters sent us by Shoghi Effendi without perceiving that the Guardian, for many
Page 316years, has been preparing us to understand and appreciate this fundamental purpose and mission of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. Even when the Master ascended, we were for the most part still considering the Baha Faith as though it were oniy the "return of Christ" and failing to perceive the entirely new and larger elements latent in the
Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.Thus, in the very first of the World Order letters, written February 27th, 1929, Shoghi Effendi said: "Who, I may ask, when viewing the international character of the Cause, its far-flung ramifications, the increasing complexity of its affairs, the diversity of its adherents, and the state of confusion that assails on every side the infant Faith of God, can for a moment question the necessity of some sort of administrative machinery that will insure, amid the storm and stress of a struggling civilization, the unity of the Faith, the preservation of its identity, and the protection of its interests?"
Although for five years the Guardian had been setting forth the principles of Bahá'í Administration in frequent letters, in 1927 he apparently felt it necessary to overcome some doubts here and there as to the validity of the institutions the Master bequeathed to the Bahá'ís in His Will and Testament. The series of World Order letters, however, goes far beyond the point of defending and explaining their validity as an essential element in the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh � the Guardian vastly extended the horizon of our understanding by making it clear that the Administrative Order, in its full development, is to be the social structure of the future civilization.
Thus, in that same letter quoted above, he wrote: "Not only will the presentday Spiritual Assemblies be styled differently in future, but will be enabled also to add to their present functions those powers, duties, and prerogatives necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, not merely as one of the recognized religious systems of the world, but as the State Religion of an independent and Sovereign Power.
And as the Bahá'í Faith permeates the masses of the peoples of East and West, and its truth is embraced by the majority of the peoples of a number of the Sovereign States of the world, will the
Universal House of Justiceattain the plenitude of its power, and exercise, as the supreme organ of the Bahá'í Commonwealth, all the rights, the duties, and responsibilities incumbent upon the world's future super-state."
This passage stands as the keystone in the noble structure which Shoghi Effendi has raised in his function as interpreter of the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
The Master developed the Cause to the point where this social Teaching, always existent in the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, could be explained to the believers and given its due significance as the fulfillment of
Bahá'í evolution. Asthe Guardian expressed it: "That Divine Civilization, the establishment of which is the primary mission of the Baha Faith." (World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 34.)
For us these words mean that a Baha is not merely a member of a revealed Religion, he is also a citizen in a World Order even though that Order today is still in its infancy and still obscured by the shadows thrown by the institutions, habits and attitudes derived from the past.
But since the aim and end has been made known, our devotion and loyalty must surely express itself, not in clinging to views and thoughts emanating from the past, but in pressing forward in response to the needs of the new creation.
That true devotion, which consists in conscious knowledge of the "primary mission," and unified action to assist in bringing about its complete triumph, recognizes that a Bahá'í today must have singleness of mind as of aim, without the division arising when we stand with one foot in the Cause and one foot in the world, attempting to reconcile diverse elements which the Manifestation of God Himself has declared to be irreconcilable.
The principle underlying the Guardian's instruction about membership in non-Bah~t'i religious bodies has already been emphasized by Shoghi Effendi in another connection � the instruction about the nonpolitical character of the Faith which he incorporated in his letter entitled "The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh."
For example: "I feel it, therefore, incumbent upon me to stress, now that the time is ripe, the importance of an instruction which, at the present stage of the evolution of our Faith, should be increasingly emphasized, irrespective of its application to the East or to the West. And this principle is no other than that which involves the nonparticipation by the adherents of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, whether in their
Page 317THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 315
individual capacities or collectively as local or national Assemblies, in any form of activity that might be interpreted, either directly or indirectly, as an interference in the political affairs of any particular government."
Again, when the question was raised as to membership in certain non-Bah6.'i organizations not directly religious or political in character, the Guardian replied: "Regarding association with the World Fellowship of Faiths and kindred Societies, Shoghi Effendi wishes to reaffirm and elucidate the general principle that Bahá'í elected representatives as well as individuals should refrain from any act or word that would imply a departure from the principles, whether spiritual, social or administrative, established by Bahá'u'lláh. Formal affiliation with and acceptance of membership in organizations whose programs or policies are not wholly reconcilable with the Teachings is of course out of the question."
(Bahá'í News, August, 1933.)Thus, not once but repeatedly the Guardian has upheld the vital principle underlying every type of relationship between Bahá'ís and other organizations, namely, that the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh is an ever-growing organism, and as we begin to realize its universality our responsibility is definitely established to cherish and defend that universality from all compromise, all admixture with worldly elements, whether emanating from our own habits rooted in the past or from the deliberate attacks imposed by enemies from without.
It will be noted that in the instruction published in Juiy, 1935, Bahá'í News, the Guardian made it clear that the principle involved is not new and unexpected, but rather an application of an established principle to a new condition. "Concerning membership in non-Bahá'í religious associations, the Guardian wishes to reemphasize the general principle already laid down in his communications to your Assembly and also to the individual believers that no Bahá'í who wishes to be a wholehearted and sincere upholder of the distinguishing princi-pies of the Cause can accept full membership in any non-B ah~A ecclesiastical organization. For it is oniy too obvious that in most of its fundamental assumptions the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh is completely at variance with outworn creeds, ceremonies and institutions.
During the days of the Master the Cause was still in a stage that made such an open and sharp dissociation between it and other religious organizations, and particularly the Muslim Faith, not only inadvisable but practically impossible to establish.
But since His passing events throughout the Baha world, and partidil-larly in Egypt where the Muslim religious courts have formally testified to the independent character of the Faith, have developed to a point that has made such an assertion of the independence of the Cause not only highly desirable but absolutely essential."
To turn now to the Guardian's words published in October Bahá'í News: "The separation that has set in between the institutions of the Bahá'í Faith and the Islamic ecclesiastical organizations that oppose it imposes upon every loyal upholder of the Cause the obligation refraining from any word or action that might prejudice the position which our enemies have of their own accord proclaimed and established. This historic development, the begin-flings of which could neither be recognized nor even anticipated in the years immediately preceding 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í passing, may be said to have signalized the Formative Period of our Faith and to have paved the way for the consolidation of its administrative order.
Though our Cause unreservedly recognizes the Divine origin of all the religions that preceded it and upholds the spiritual truths which lie at their very core and are common to them all, its institutions, whether administrative, religious or humanitarian, must, if their distinctive character is to be maintained and recognized, be increasingly divorced from the outworn creeds, the meaningless ceremonials and manmade institutions with which these religions are at present identified. Our adversaries in the East have initiated the struggle. Our future opponents in the West will, in their turn, arise and carry it a stage further.
Ours is the duty, in anticipation of this inevitable contest, to uphold unequivocally and with undivided loyalty the integrity of our Faith and demonstrate the distinguishing features of its divinely appointed institutions."
Nothing could be clearer or more emphatic. These words, asserting again the essential universality of the Cause, likewise repeat and renew the warning that the organized religions, even in America, will become bitterly hostile to the Faith of Bah&'
Page 318u'lldh, denounce and oppose it, and seek its destruction in vain effort to maintain their own "outworn creeds" and material power. Informed of this inevitable development, can a Bahá'í any longer desire to retain a connection which, however liberal and pleasing it now seems, is a connection with a potential foe of the
Cause of God? The Guardian'sinstruction signifies that the time has come when all American believers must become fully conscious of the implications of such connections, and carry out their ioy-alty to its logical conclusion.
Shoghi Effendi's latest words are not merely an approval of the foregoing statement, but a most helpful elucidation of some of the problems which arise when the friends turn to their local Assemblies for specific advice under various special circumstances.
"The explanatory statement in connection with membership in non-Bahá'í religious organizations is admirably conceived, convincing and in full conformity with the principles underlying and implied in the unfolding world order of Bahá'u'lláh." (November 29, 1933.)
"The Guardian has carefully read the copy of the statement you had recently prepared concerning non-membership in nonBahá'í religious organizations, and is pleased to realize that your comments and explanations are in full conformity with his views on the subject. He hopes that your letter will serve to clarify this issue in the minds of all the believers, and to further convince them of its vital character and importance in the present stage of the evolution of the Cause.
In this case,' as also in that of suffering believers, the Assemblies, whether local or national, should act tactfully, patiently and in a friendly and kindly spirit. Knowing how painful and dangerous it is 1 A special case involving an aged Baha'i, afflicted with illness, for whom severance of church relations might have been too great a shock.
for such believers to repudiate their former allegiances and friendships, they should try to gradually persuade them of the wisdom and necessity of such an action, and instead of thrusting upon them a new principle, to make them accept it inwardly, and out of pure conviction and desire. Too severe and immediate action in such cases is not only fruitless but actually harmful.
It alienates people instead of winning them to the Cause.
"The other point concerns the advisability of contributing to a church. In this case also the friends must realize that contributions to a church, especially when not regular, do not necessarily entail affiliation. The believers can make such offerings, occasionally, and provided they are certain that while doing so they are not connected as members of any church. There should be no confusion between the terms affiliation and association. While affiliation with ecclesiastical organizations is not permissible, association with them should not only be tolerated but even encouraged. There is no better way to demonstrate the universality of the Cause than this. Bahá'u'lláh, indeed, urges His followers to consort with all religions and nations with utmost friendliness and love.
This constitutes the very spirit of His message to mankind." (December 11, 1935.)
The National SpiritualAssembly trusts that the subject will receive the attention of local Assemblies and communities, and that in the light of the foregoing explanations the friends will find unity and agreement in applying the instruction to whatever situations may arise. In teaching new believers let us lay a proper foundation so that theft obedience will be voluntary and assured from the beginning of their enrollment as Baha'is.
In our attitude toward the older believers who are affected by the instruction let us act with the patience and kindliness the Guardian has urged.
BAYLk'IS AND MILITARY SERVICETHE BAHÁ'Í VIEW OF PACIFISM "With reference to the absolute pacifists or conscientious objectors IN a letter published to war: their attitude, in Bahá'í News, January, judged from the Bahá'í 1938, Shoghi Effendi, standpoint, is quite antisocial the Guardian of the BahA'iand due to its exaltation Faith wrote through his secretary:of the individual conscience leads inevitably to disorder and chaos in society.
Extreme paciTHE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 317
fists are thus very close to anarchists, in the sense that both of these groups lay an undue emphasis on the rights and merits of the individual. The Baha conception of social life is essentially based on the subordination of the individual will to that of society. It neither suppresses the individual nor does it exalt him to the point of making him an antisocial creature, a menace to society.
As in everything, it follows the 'golden mean.'The oniy way society can function is for the minority to follow the will of the majority.
"The other main objection to the conscientious objectors is that their method of establishing peace is too negative.
Noncooperation is too passive a philosophy to become an effective way for social reconstruction.
Their refusal to bear arms can never establish peace. There should first be a spiritual revitalization which nothing, except the Cause of God, can effectively bring to every man's heart."
THE BAnAl POSITION ON(A Public Statement issued by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States) In view of the increasing importance of a clear understanding of the details of the Bahá'í position on military service, the National Bahá'í Assembly presents the following statement of general principles for the information and guidance of the members of the Bahá'í Community in the United States and others who may have an interest in the Bahá'í viewpoint.
� The Bahá'í teachings require that fob lowers of the Faith obey the laws of the government under which they live, and this requirement includes the obligation for military service which rests upon all citizens. However, Bahá'ís are also required to apply for noncombatant service whenever the opportunity to do so is b~gally provided by their government on the basis of religious training and belief.
While the religious convictions of Bahá'ís require them to seek whatever exemption from combatant duty may be granted by their government on the grounds of religious belief, they definitely are not pacifists in the sense of refusal to cooperate with and obey the laws of an established government. Thus Bahá'ís do not, on the grounds of religious conviction, seek to abandon their obligation as citizens in time of war or national emergency. Neither do they attempt to avoid the dangers and hardships which are inevitable in time of war, and to which all citizens of military age are liable.
Thus Bahá'ís who are citizens of the United States are able to reconcile their fundamental spiritual convictions and their civil obligations as citizens by applying for noncombatant service under the existing Selective Service law and regulations.
The members of the Bahá'í Faith make no reservations in claiming that they are fully obedient to all provisions of the laws of their country, including the constitutional right of the Federal government to raise armies and conscript citizens for military service.
Although it is necessary for Bahá'ís to be classified as "conscientious objectors" to combatant military service in order to obtain a noncombatant status under the Sc-lective Service regulations, they are not conscientious objectors" in the sense of a refusal to obey the laws of their country or to perform noncombatant military duties as members of the armed forces. Their status is rather that of "conscientious co-opera-tors" with the military authorities of their country, since they serve as members of the armed forces in the Medical Corps, or in any capacity in which they may legally maintain a noncombatant status, regardless of the effect which this may have upon their personal safety, their convenience, the type of activity they must discharge, or the rank to which they may be assigned.
SUMMARY .OF THE GUARDIAN'SDuring World War II the Bahá'í position on military training and service, and the obligation of individual Bahá'ís to apply for and maintain a noncombatant status when this is possible under the laws of their country, were outlined specifically in a series of instructions and bulletins issued by the National
Assembly.Since 1945, two items on this subject have been published in BaJui'i News; one in the October, 1946 issue (pp. 910), and the
Page 320other in the September, 1948 issue (p. 6). Both of these articles quoted the Guardian's instruction contained in a letter to the National Assembly dated July 20, 1946, written in reply to a question as to whether the existence of the United Nations in its present form should change the attitude of Bahá'ís toward military duties which might require the taking of human life.
The Guardian's answer to this question is again quoted below: "As there is neither an
International PoliceForce nor any immediate prospect of one coming into being, the Báb's should continue to apply, under all circumstances, for exemption from any military duties that necessitate the taking of life. There is no justification for any change of attitude on our part at the present time."
These words indicate that the Guardian still feels that a Bahá'í cannot voluntarily enter any form of combatant military duty, and must seek exemption from such service if this is possible under the laws of his country.
The instruction given in the July 20, 1946 letter was confirmed recently in a cable received from the Guardian by the National Assembly on January 17, 1951.
The Guardian, in these and earlier communications, has made it clear that it is obligatory, and not an optional matter, for all Bahá'ís to apply for and maintain a noncombatant status if this is possible under the law. When such a law exists, as is the case in the United States, Bahá'ís cannot voluntarily enlist in any branch of the armed forces where they would be subject to orders to engage in the taking of human life. It is only through the Selective Service machinery of classification and induction that a noncombatant status can be secured and maintained.
The N.S.A. statement in the September, 1948 issue of Bahá'í News caLled attention to passage of the Selective Service Act of 1948, and to the fact that Section 6 (j) of this Act provides an exemption from combatant service and training for those citizens who are opposed to such service by reason of religious training or belief. This provision is similar to the one in Section 5 (g) of the Selective Service Act of 1940, which was the legal basis for application for exemption from combatant duty during the last war by Bahá'ís subject to the draft.
It is the firm spiritual obligation of Bahá'ís residing in the United States who must fill out a Selective Service Questionnaire, to indicate on this form (Series XIV) in the space provided that they are opposed to combatant military service and to claim the exemption provided under the Selective Service Act on the grounds of religious training and belief. They should also request a copy of the special form (SS Form No. 150) provided for those claiming such exemption, and then fill this out in accordance with instructions contained in a special bulletin "Bahá'ís and the Selective Draft," which may be obtained from the National Assembly or from Local Assembly
Secretaries.'ABDU'L-BAHÁ '�A/TELL is it with him who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Bahá'u'lláh and rem-dereth thanks unto his Lord! For He assuredly will be made manifest. God hath indeed irrevocably ordained it in the Bay6n.
� THE BAa.'The world's equilibrium bath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this 1 World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 146147.
wondrous System � the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed. � BAHÁ'U'LLÁH It is incumbent upon the Agh~~n, the Afiiln and My kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch.
Consider that which We have revealed in Ourthe ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed.
Who hath branched from this An2 2 Ibid., p. 146.THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 319
cient Root." The object of this sacred verse is none except the Most
Mighty Branch ('Abdu'l-Bahá).Thus have We graciously revealed unto you Our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful.
� BAHX'U' LL$LH.3There hath branched from the Sadratu'I-MuntahA this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness; well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law of God hath sprung forth from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the Ground of His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to encompass the whole of creation. � BAHÁ'U'LLÁH In accordance with the explicit text of the KITAB-I-AQDAS, Bahá'u'lláh bath made the Center of the Covenant the Interpreter of His Word � a Covenant so firm and mighty that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like. � 'ABDU'L-BAI-1K5 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who incarnates an institution for which we can find no parallel whatsoever in any of the world's recognized religious systems, may be said to have closed the Age to which He Himself belonged and opened the one in which we are now laboring. His Will and Testament should thus be regarded as the perpetual, the indissoluble link which the mind of Him Who is the Mystery of God has conceived in order to insure the continuity of the three ages that constitute the component parts of the Baha Dispensation.
The creative energies released by the Law of Bahá'u'lláh, permeating and evolving within the mind of 'Abdu'l-Bahá have, by their very impact and close interaction, given birth to an Instrument which may be viewed as the Charter of the New World Order which is at once the glory and the promise of this most great Dispensation. The Will may thus be acclaimed as the inevitable offspring resulting from that mystic intercourse between Him Who communicated the generating influence of His divine Purpose and the One Who was its vehicle and chosen recipient.
Being the Child of the Covenant � the Heir of bath Ibid., p. 134.
4 Ibid., p. 135.the Originator and the Interpreter of the Law of God � the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá can no more be divorced from Him Who supplied the original and motivating impulse than from the One Who ultimately conceived it. Bahá'u'lláh's inscrutable purpose, we must ever bear in mind, has been so thoroughly infused into the conduct of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and their motives have been so closely welded together, that the mere attempt to dissociate the teachings of the former from any system which the ideal Exemplar of those same teachings has established would amount to a repudiation of one of the most sacred and basic truths of the
Faith. � SrroGnI EFFENDIFor Bahá'u'lláh, we should readily recognize, has not oniy imbued mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit. He has not merely enunciated certain universal principles, or propounded a particular philosophy, however potent, sound and universal these may be. In addition to these He, as well as 'Abdu'l-Bahá after Him, has, unlike the Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials of a Divine Economy.
These are destined to be a pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness and justice upon the earth. � SHOGIn EFFENDI the Spirit breathed by Bahá'u'lláh upon the world can never permeate and exercise an abiding influence upon mankind unless and until it incarnates itself in a visible Order, which would bear His Name, wholly identify itself with His princi-pies, and function in conformity with His Laws
� SHOGm EFFENDIThe Administrative Order, which ever since Abdu'l-Bahá'í ascension has evolved and is taking shape under our very eyes m no fewer than forty countries9 of the world, may be considered as the framework of the Will itself, the inviolable stronghold wherein 6 ibid., pp. 143144.
7 Ibid., p. 19.~J By 1950 this figure had reached over one hundred; by 1954, over two hundred. This excerpt is from World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 144.
Page 322this newborn child is being nurtured and developed.
This Administrative Order, as it expands and consolidates itself, will no doubt manifest the potentialities and reveal the full implications of this momentous Document � this most remarkable expression of the Will of One of the most remarkable Figures of the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh. It will, as its component pads, its organic institutions, begin to function with efficiency and vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate its capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the New World Order destined to embrace in the fullness of time the whole of mankind. � SHoom
EFFENDI.The Charter which called into being, outlined the features and set in motion the processes of, this Administrative Order is none other than the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, His greatest legacy to posterity, the brightest emanation of His mind and the mightiest instrument forged to insure the continuity of the three ages which constitute the component parts of
His rather's Dispensation. � SHOGHLIIt was 'Abdu'l-Bahá Who, through the provisions of His weighty Will and Testament, has forged the vital link which must for ever connect the age that has just expired with the one we now live in � the Transitional and Formative period of the Faith � a stage that must in the fullness of time reach its blossom and yield its fruit in the exploits and triumphs that are to herald the Golden Age of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. � SHoGm
EFFENDI'The Document establishing that Order, the Charter of a future world civilization, which may be regarded in some of its features as supplementary to no less weighty a Book than the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; signed and sealed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá alA; entirely written with His own hand; its first section composed during one of the darkest periods of His incarceration in the prison-fortress of 'AkU, proclaims, categorically and unequivocally, the fundamental beliefs of the followers of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh; reveals, in unmistakable language, the twofold character of the Mission of the
Bab;discloses the full station of the Author of the Bahá'í Revelation; asserts that "all others are servants unto Him and do His bidding"; stresses the importance of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; establishes the institution of the Guardianship as a hereditary office and outlines its essential functions; provides the measures for the election of the International House of Justice, defines its scope and sets forth its relationship to that Institution; prescribes the obligations, and emphasizes the responsibilities, of the Hands of the Cause of God; and extolls the virtues of the indestructible Covenant established by Bahá'u'lláh. That Document, furthermore, lauds the courage and constancy of the supporters of
Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant;expatiates on the sufferings endured by its appointed Center; recalls the infamous conduct of Mirza YatiyA and his failure to heed the warnings of the Báb; exposes, in a series of indictments, the perfidy and rebellion of Mirza Mu1~ammad-'A11, and the complicity of his son Shu'A'u'11Th and of his brother Mirza Bahá'u'lláh; reaffirms their excommunication, and predicts the frustration of all their hopes; summons the Afn~n (the Báb's kindred), the Hands of the Cause and the entire company of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh to arise unitedly to propagate His Faith, to disperse far and wide, to labor tirelessly and to follow the heroic example of the Apostles of Jesus Christ; warns them against the dangers of association with the Covenant-breakers, and bids them shield the Cause from the assaults of the insincere and the hypocrite; and counsels them to demonstrate by their conduct the universality of the Faith they have espoused, and vindicate its high principles. In that same Document its Author reveals the significance and purpose of the Ijuqiiiqu'11~h (Right of God), already instituted in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; enjoins submission and fidelity towards all monarchs who are just; expresses His longing for martyrdom, and voices His prayers for the repentance as well as the forgiveness of His enemies. � SHoGm EFFENDI.'2 We stand indeed too close to so monumental a document to claim for ourselves a complete understanding of all its implications, or to presume to have grasped the manifold mysteries it undoubtedly con-tams.
Only future generations can compre-12 God Passes fly, p. 328.
Page 323THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 321
hend the value and the significance attached to this Divine Masterpiece, which the hand of the Master-builder of the world has designed for the unification and the triumph of the worldwide
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.Only those who come after us will be in a post tion to realize the value of the surprisingly strong emphasis that has been placed on the institution of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship To them alone will be revealed the suitability of the institutions initiated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the character of the future society which is to emerge out of the chaos and confusion of the present age � SHOGHI EEFENDI.18 i3 World Order of Rahd'u'Zldh, p. 8.
EXCERPTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF SilO GIlL EFFENDII HAVE been acquainted by the perusal of your latest communications with the nature of the doubts that have been publicly expressed, by one who is wholly misinformed as to the true precepts of the Cause, regarding the validity of institutions that stand inextricably interwoven with the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. Not that I for a moment view such faint misgivings in the light of an open challenge to the structure that embodies the Faith, nor is it because I question in the least the unyielding tenacity of the faith of the American believers, if I venture to dwell upon what seems to me appropriate observations at the present stage of the evolution of our beloved Cause.
I am indeed inclined to welcome these expressed apprehensions inasmuch as they afford me an opportunity to familiarize the elected representatives of the believers with the origin and character of the institutions which stand at the very basis of the world order ushered in by Bahá'u'lláh. We should fed truly thankful for such futile attempts to undermine our beloved Faith � attempts that protrude their ugly face from time to time, seem for a while able to create a breach in the ranks of the faithful, recede finally into the obscurity of oblivion, and are thought of no more. Such incidents we should regard as the interpositions of Providence, designed to fortify our faith, to clarify our vision, and to deepen our understanding of the essentials of His
Divine Revelation.lit would, however, be helpful and instructive to bear in mind certain basic principles with reference to the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, which, together with the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, constitutes the chief depository wherein are enshrined those priceless elements of that Divine Civilization, the establishment of which is the primary mission of the Bahá'í Faith.
A study of the provi sions of these sacred documents will reveal the close relationship that exists between them, as well as the identity of purpose and method which they inculcate.
Far from regarding their specific provisions as incompatible and contradictory in spirit, every fair-minded inquirer will readily admit that they are not only complementary, but that they mutually confirm one another, and are inseparable parts of one complete unit. A comparison of their contents with the rest of Baha Sacred Writings will similarly establish the conformity of whatever they contain with the spirit as well as the letter of the authenticated writings and sayings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá In fact, he who reads the Aqdas with care and diligence will not find it hard to discover that the Most Holy Book [Aqdas]
itself anticipates in a number of passages the institutions which 'Abdu'l-Bahá ordains in His Will. By leaving certain matters unspecified and unregulated in His Book of Laws lAqdas], Bahá'u'lláh seems to have deliberately left a gap in the general scheme of Dab Li Dispensation, which the unequivocal provisions of the Master's Will has filled. To attempt to divorce the one from the other, to insinuate that the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh have not been upheld, in their entirety and with absolute integrity, by what 'Abdu'l-Bahá has revealed in his Will, is an unpardonable affront to the unswerving fidelity that has characterized the life and labors of our beloved Master.
I will not attempt in the least to assert or demonstrate the authenticity of the Will and Testament of 'A bdu'I-Bahd, for that in itself would betray an apprehension on my part as to the unanimous confidence of the believers in the genuineness of the last written wishes of our departed Master.
I will only confine my observations to those issues which may
Page 324Bahá'ís of the British Isles, Convention, Year 110, London.
Page 325THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 323
assist them to appreciate the essential unity that underlies the spiritual, the humanitarian, and the administrative principles enunciated by the Author and the Interpreter of the Bahá'í
Faith.I am at a loss to explain that strange mentality that inclines to uphold as the sole criterion on the truth of the Bahá'í Teachings what is admittedly oniy an obscure and unauthenticated translation of an oral statement made by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in defiance and total disregard of the available text of all of His universally recognized writings.
I truly deplore the unfortunate distortions that have resulted in days past from the incapacity of the interpreter to grasp the meaning of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and from his incompetence to render adequately such truths as have been revealed to him by the Master's statements. Much of the confusion that has obscured the understanding of the believers should be attributed to this double error involved in the inexact rendering of an oniy partially understood statement.
Not infrequently has the interpreter even failed to convey the exact purport of the inquirer's specific questions, and, by his deficiency of understanding and expression in conveying the answer of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, has been responsible for reports wholly at variance with the true spirit and purpose of the Cause. It was chiefly in view of this misleading nature of the reports of the informal conversations of 'Abdu'l-Bahá with visiting pilgrims, that I have in-sistenfly urged the believers of the West to regard such statements as merely personal impressions of the sayings of their Master, and to quote and consider as authentic only such translations as are based upon the authenticated text of His recorded utterances in the original tongue.
It should be remembered by every follower of the Cause that the system of Bahá'í administration is not an innovation imposed arbitrarily upon the Bahá'ís of the world since the Master's passing, but derives its authority from the Will and Testament of 'A bdu'I-Bahd, is specifically prescribed in unnumbered Tablets, and rests in some of its essential features upon the explicit provisions of the Kitáb-i-A qdas. It thus unifies and correlates the principles separately laid down by Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and is indissolubly bound with the essential verities of the Faith. To dissociate the administrative principles of the Cause from the purely spiritual and humanitarian teachings would be tantamount to a mutilation of the body of the Cause, a separation that can oniy result in the disintegration of its component parts, and the extinction of the Faith itself.
LOCAL AND NATIONAL HOUSESIt should be carefully borne in mind that the local as well as the International Houses of Justice have been expressly enjoined by the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; that the institution of the National Spiritual Assembly, as an intermediary body, and referred to in the Master's Will as the "Secondary House of Justice," has the express sanction of 'Abdu'l-Bahá; and that the method to be pursued for the election of the International and National Houses of Justice has been set forth by Him in His Will, as well as in a number of His Tablets. Moreover, the institutions of the local and national Funds, that are now the necessary adjuncts to afl Local and National Spiritual Assemblies, have not only been established by Abdu'l-Bahá in the Tablets He revealed to the Bahá'ís of the Orient, but their importance and necessity have been repeatedly emphasized by Him in His utterances and writings. The concentration of authority in the hands of the elected representatives of the believers; the necessity of the submission of every adherent of the Faith to the considered judgment of Baha Assemblies; His preference for unanimity in decision; the decisive character of the majority vote; and even the desirability for the exercise of dose supervision over all Bahá'í publications, have been sedulously instilled by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, as evidenced by His authenticated and widely-scattered Tablets.
To accept His broad and humanitarian Teachings on one hand, and to reject and dismiss with neglectful indifference His more challenging and distinguishing precepts, would be an act of manifest disloyalty to that which He has cherished most in His life.
That the Spiritual Assembliesof today will be replaced in time by the Houses of Justice, and are to all intents and purposes identical and not separate bodies, is abundantly confirmed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself. He has in fact in a Tablet addressed to the members of the first Chicago Spiritual Assembly, the first elected Bahá'í body instituted in the United States, referred to them as the members of the "House of Justice"
Page 326for that city, and has thus with His own pen established beyond any doubt the identity of the present
Bahá'í Spiritual Assemblieswith the Houses of Justice referred to by Bahá'u'lláh.
For reasons which are not difficult to discover, it has been found advisable to bestow upon the elected representatives of Bahá'í communities throughout the world the temporary appellation of Spiritual Assemblies, a term which, as the position and aims of the Bahá'í Faith are better understood and more fully recognized, will gradually be superseded by the permanent and more appropriate designation of House of Justice. Not oniy will the presentday
Spiritual Assembliesbe styled differently in the future, but will be enabled also to add to their present functions those powers, duties, and prerogatives necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, not merely as one of the recognized religious systems of the world, but as the State Religion of an independent and Sovereign Power.
And as the Baha Faith permeates the masses of the peoples of East and West, and its truth is embraced by the majority of the peoples of a number of the Sovereign States of the world, will the
Universal House of Justiceattain the plenitude of its power, and exercise, as the supreme organ of the Bahá'í Commonwealth, all the rights, the duties, and responsibilities incumbent upon the world's future superstate.
It must be pointed out, however, in this connection that, contrary to what has been confidently asserted, the establishment of the
Supreme House of Justiceis in no way dependent upon the adoption of the Baha Faith by the mass of the peoples of the world, nor does it presuppose its acceptance by the majority of the inhabitants of any one country. In fact, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Himself, in one of His earliest Tablets, contemplated the possibility of the formation of the
Universal House of Justicein His own lifetime, and but for the unfavorable circumstances prevailing under the Turkish r6gime, would have, in all probability, taken the preliminary steps for its establishment.
It will be evident, therefore, that given favorable circumstances, under which the Bahá'ís of Persia and of the adjoining countries under Soviet Rule may be enabled to elect their national representatives, in accordance with the guiding principles laid down in 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í writings, the oniy remaining obstacle in the way of the definite formation of the International House of Justice will have been removed. For upon the
National Houses of Justiceof the East and West devolves the task, in conformity with the explicit provisions of the Will, of electing directly the members of the International House of Justice. Not until they are themselves fully representative of the rank and file of the believers in their respective countries, not until they have acquired the weight and the experience that will enable them to function vigorously in the organic life of the Cause, can they approach their sacred task, and provide the spiritual basis for the constitution of so august a body in the Bahá'í world.
THE INSTITUTION OF GUARDIANSHIPIt must be also clearly understood by every believer that the institution of Guardianship does not under any circumstances abrogate, or even in the slightest degree detract from, the powers granted to the Universal House of Justice by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and repeatedly and sob emnly confirmed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá alA in His Will. It does not constitute in any manner a contradiction to the Will and Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, nor does it nullify any of His revealed instructions. It enhances the prestige of that exalted assembly, stabilizes its supreme position, safeguards its unity, assures the continuity of its labors, without presuming in the slightest to infringe upon the inviolability of its clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction.
We stand indeed too close to so monumental a document to claim for ourselves a complete understanding of all its implications, or to presume to have grasped the manifold mysteries it undoubtedly contains.
Only future generations can comprehend the value and the significance attached to this Divine Masterpiece, which the hand of the Master-builder of the world has designed for the unification and the triumph of the worldwide
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.Only those who come after us will be in a position to realize the value of the surprisingly strong emphasis that has been placed on the iflStitUtiOil of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship.
They oniy will appreciate the significance of the vigorous language employed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá with reference to the band of Covenant-breakers that has opposed Him in His days. To them alone will be revealed the suitability of the institutions
Page 327THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 325
Bahá'ís attending the National Convention of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria, held in the newly erected Ija4ratu'1-Quds, Frankfurt-am-Main, April, 1951.
initiated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the character of the future society which is to emerge out of the chaos and confusion of the present age.
THE ANIMATING PURPOSEAnd now, it behooves us to reflect on the animating purpose and the primary functions of these divinely-established institutions, the sacred character and the universal efficacy of which can be demonstrated only by the spirit they diffuse and the work they actually achieve.
I need not dwell upon what I have already reiterated and emphasized that the administration of the Cause is to be conceived as an instrument and not a substitute for the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, that it should be regarded as a channel through which His promised blessings may flow, that it should guard against such rigidity as would clog and fetter the liberating forces released by His Revelation. Who, I may ask, when viewing the international character of the Cause, its far-flung ramifications, the increasing complexity of its af fairs, the diversity of its adherents, and the state of confusion that assails on every side the infant Faith of God, can for a moment question the necessity of some sort of administrative machinery that will insure, amid the storm and stress of a struggling civilization, the unity of the Faith, the preservation of its identity, and the protection of its interests? To repudiate the validity of the assemblies of the elected ministers of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh would be to reject these countless
Tablets of Bahá'u'lláhand 'Abdu'l-Bahá, wherein they have extolled their privileges and duties, emphasized the glory of their mission, revealed the immensity of their task, and warned them of the attacks they must needs expect from the unwisdom of friends, as well as from the malice of their enemies. It is surely for those to whose hands so priceless a heritage has been committed to prayerfully watch lest the tool should supersede the Faith itself, lest undue concern for the minute details arising from the administration of the Cause obscure the vision of its promoters, lest partiality, ambition, and worldliness tend in the course of time to becloud the radiance, stain the
Page 328purity, and impair the effectiveness of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.'
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVEWith the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the first century of the Bahá'í era, whose inception had synchronized with His birth, had run more than three quarters of its course. Sev-enty-seven years previously the light of the Faith proclaimed by the Báb had arisen above the horizon of Shfr& and flashed across the firmament of Persia, dispelling the agelong gloom which had enveloped its people. A blood bath of unusual ferocity, in which government, clergy and people, heedless of the significance of that light and blind to its splendor, had jointly participated, had all but extinguished the radiance of its glory in the land of its birth.
Bahá'u'lláh had at the darkest hour in the fortunes of that Faith been summoned, while Himself a prisoner in Tihr~~n, to reinvigorate its life, and been commissioned to fulfill its ultimate purpose. In Baghdad, upon the termination of the ten-year delay interposed between the first intimation of that Mission and its Declaration, He had revealed the Mystery enshrined in the BTh's embryonic Faith, and disclosed the fruit which it had yielded.
In Adrianople IBah6?u'11Th's Message, the promise of the BThi as well as of all previous Dispensations, had been proclaimed to mankind, and its challenge voiced to the rulers of the earth in both the East and the West. Behind the walls of the prison-fortress of 'Akka the Bearer of
God's newborn Revelationhad ordained the laws and formulated the principles that were to constitute the warp and woof of His World Order. He had, moreover, prior to His ascension, instituted the Covenant that was to guide and assist in the laying of its foundations and to safeguard the unity of its builders.
Armed with that peerless and potent Instrument, 'Abdu'l-Bahá alA, His eldest Son and Center of His Covenant, had erected the standard of His Father's Faith in the North American continent, and established an impregnable basis for its institutions in Western Europe, in the Far East and in Austra-ha.
He had, in His works, Tablets and addresses, elucidated its principles, interpreted its laws, amplified its doctrine, and erected 1 From World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 310.
(This communication was dated February 27, 1929.)the rudimentary institutions of its future Administrative Order. In Russia He had raised its first House of Worship, whilst on the slopes of Mt. Carmel He had reared a befitting mausoleum for its Herald, and deposited His remains therein with His Own hands.
Through His visits to several cities in Europe and the North American continent He had broadcast
Bahá'u'lláh's Messageto the peoples of the West, and heightened the prestige of the Cause of God to a degree it had never previously experienced. And lastly, in the evening of His life, He had through the revelation of the Tablets of the Divine Plan issued His mandate to the community which He Himself had raised up, trained and nurtured, a Plan that must in the years to come enable its members to diffuse the light, and erect the administrative fabric, of the Faith throughout the five continents of the globe.
The moment had now arrived for that undying, that world-vitalizing Spirit that was born in Shir~z, that had been rekindled in Tihr~n, that had been fanned into flame in Baghdad and Adrianople, that had been car-rie&to the West, and was now illuminating the fringes of five continents, to incarnate itself in institutions designed to canalize its outspreading energies and stimulate its growth....
The Administrative Orderwhich this historic Document has established, it should be noted, is, by virtue of its origin and character, unique in the annals of the world's religious systems. No Prophet before Bahá'u'lláh, it can be confidently asserted, not even Mubammad Whose Book clearly lays down the laws and ordinances of the Islamic Dispensation, has established, authoritatively and in writing, anything comparable to the Administrative Order which the authorized Interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings has instituted, an Order which, by virtue of the administrative principles which its Author has formulated, the institutions He has established, and the right of interpretation with which He has invested its Guardian, must and will, in a manner unparalleled in any previous religion, safeguard from schism the Faith from which it has sprung. Nor is the principle governing its operation similar to that which underlies any system, whether theocratic or otherwise which the minds of men have devised for the government of human institutions. Neither in the
Page 329TIlE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 327
ory nor in practice can the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh be said to conform to any type of democratic government, to any system of autocracy, to any purely aristocratic order, or to any of the various theocracies, whether Jewish, Christian or Islamic which mankind has witnessed in the past. It incorporates within its structure certain elements which are to be found in each of the three recognized forms of secular government, is devoid of the defects which each of them inherently possesses, and blends the salutary truths which each undoubtedly contains without vitiating in any way the integrity of the Divine verities on which it is essentially founded.
The hereditary authority which the Guardian of the Administrative Order is called upon to exercise, and the right of the interpretation of the Holy Writ solely conferred upon him; the powers and prerogatives of the Universal House of Justice, possessing the exclusive right to legislate on matters not explicitly revealed in the Most Holy Book; the ordinance exempting its members from any responsibility to those whom they represent, and from the obligation to conform to their views, convictions or sentiments; the specific provisions requiring the free and democratic election by the mass of the faithful of the Body that constitutes the sole legislative organ in the worldwide Baha community � these are among the features which combine to set apart the Order identified with the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh from any of the existing systems of human government.
Nor have the enemies who, at the hour of the inception of this Administrative Order, and in the course of its twenty-three year existence, both in the East and in the West, from within and from without, misrepresented its character, or derided and vilified it, or striven to arrest its march, or contrived to create a breach in the ranks of its supporters, succeeded in achieving their mMevolent purpose. The strenuous exertions of an ambitious Armenian, who, in the course of the first years of its establishment in Egypt, endeavored to supplant it by the "Scientific Society" which in his shortsightedness he had conceived and was spon soring, failed utterly in its purpose. The agitation provoked by a deluded woman who strove diligently both in the United States and in England to demonstrate the unauthenticity of the Charter responsible for its creation, and even to induce the civil authorities of Palestine to take legal action in the matter � a request which to her great chagrin was curtly refused � as well as the defection of one of the earliest pioneers and founders of the Faith in Germany, whom that same woman had so tragically misled, produced no effect whatsoever.
The volumes which a shameless apostate composed and disseminated, during that same period in Persia, in his brazen efforts not only to disrupt that Order but to undermine the very Faith which had conceived it, proved similarly abortive. The schemes devised by the remnants of the Covenant-breakers, who immediately the aims and purposes of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Will became known arose, headed by Mirza Bahá'u'lláh, to wrest the custodianship of the holiest shrine in the Bahá'í world from its appointed Guardian, likewise came to naught and brought further discredit upon them. The subsequent attacks launched by certain exponents of Christian orthodoxy, in both Christian and non-Chris-tian lands, with the object of subverting the foundations, and distorting the features, of this same Order were powerless to sap the loyalty of its upholders or to deflect them from their high purpose.
Not even the infamous and insidious machinations of a former secretary of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who, untaught by the retribution that befell Bahá'u'lláh's amanuensis, as well as by the fate that overtook several other secretaries and interpreters of His Master, in both the East and the West, has arisen, and is still exerting himself, to pervert the purpose and nullify the essential provisions of the immortal Document from which that Order derives its authority, have been able to stay even momentarily the march of its institutions along the course set for it by its Author, or to create anything that might, however remotely, resemble a breach in the ranks of its assured, its wide-awake and stalwart supporters.2
2 From God Passes By, pp. 323324 and 326328.Great as is my love and admiration for you, convinced as I am of the paramount share which you can, and will, undoubtedly have in both the continental and international spheres of future Bahá'í activity and service, I feel it nevertheless incumbent upon me to utter, at this juncture, a word of warning. The glowing tributes, so repeatedly and deservedly paid to the capacity, the spirit, the conduct, and the high rank, of the American believers, both individually and as an organic community, must, under no circumstances, be confounded with the characteristics and nature of the people from which God has raised them up.
A sharp distinction between that community and that people must be made, and resolutely and fearlessly upheld, if we wish to give due recognition to the transmuting power of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, in its impact on the lives and standards of those who have chosen to enlist under His banner.
Otherwise, the supreme and distinguishing function of His Revelation, which is none other than the calling into being of a new race of men, will remain wholly unrecognized and completely obscured.
THE SUPREME FUNCTION OFHow often have the Prophets of God, not excepting Bahá'u'lláh Himself, chosen to appear, and deliver their Message in countries and amidst peoples and races, at a time when they were either fast declining, or had already touched the lowest depths of moral and spiritual degradation.
The appalling misery and wretchedness to which the Israelites had sunk, under the debasing and tyrannical rule of the Pharaohs, in the days preceding their exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses; the decline that had set in in the religious, the spiritual, the cultural, and the moral life of the Jewish people, at the time of the appearance of Jesus Christ; the barbarous cruelty, the gross
* Pa~es 1328.idolatry and immorality, which had for so long been the most distressing features of the tribes of Arabia and brought such shame upon them when Muhammad arose to proclaim His Message in their midst; the indescribable state of decadence, with its attendant corruption, confusion, intolerance, and oppression, in both the civil and religious life of Persia, so graphically portrayed by the pen of a considerable number of scholars, diplomats, and travelers, at the hour of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh � aIl demonstrate this basic and inescapable fact. To contend that the innate worthiness, the high moral standard, the political aptitude, and social attainments of any race or nation is the reason for the appearance in its midst of any of these Divine Luminaries would be an absolute perversion of historical facts, and would amount to a complete repudiation of the undoubted interpretation placed upon them, so clearly and emphatically, by both Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
How great, then, must be the challenge to those who, belonging to such races and nations, and having responded to the call which these Prophets have raised, to unreservedly recognize and courageously testify to this indubitable truth, that not by reason of any racial superiority, political capacity, or spiritual virtue which a race or nation might possess, but rather as a direct consequence of its crying needs, its lamentable degeneracy, and irremediable perversity, has the Prophet of God chosen to appear in its midst, and with it as a lever has lifted the entire human race to a higher and nobler plane of life and conduct. For it is precisely under such circumstances, and by such means that the Prophets have, from time immemorial, chosen and were able to demonstrate their redemptive power to raise from the depths of abasement and of misery, the people of their own race and nation, empowering them to transmit in turn to other races and nations the saving grace and the energizing influence of their Revelation.
In the light of this fundamental principleTHE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 329
it should always be borne in mind, nor can it be sufficiently emphasized, that the primary reason why the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh chose to appear in Persia, and to make it the first repository of their Revelation, was because, of all the peoples and nations of the civilized world, that race and nation had, as so often depicted by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, sunk to such ignominious depths, and manifested so great a perversity, as to find no parallel among its contemporaries. For no more convincing proof could be adduced demonstrating the regenerating spirit animating the Revelations proclaimed by the BTh and Bahá'u'lláh than their power to transform what can be truly regarded as one of the most backward, the most cowardly, and perverse of peoples into a race of heroes, fit to effect in turn a similar revolution in the life of mankind.
To have appeared among a race or nation which by its intrinsic worth and high attainments seemed to warrant the inestimable privilege of being made the receptacle of such a Revelation would in the eyes of an unbelieving world greatly reduce the efficacy of that Message, and detract from the self-sufficiency of its omnipotent power.
The contrast so strikingly presented in the pages of Nabil's Narrative between the heroism that immortalized the life and deeds of the Dawn-Breakers and the degeneracy and cowardice of their defamers and persecutors is in itself a most impressive testimony to the truth of the Message of Him Who had instilled such a spirit into the breasts of His disciples. For any believer of that race to maintain that the excellence of his country and the innate nobility of its people were the fundamental reasons for its being singled out as the primary receptacle of the Revelations of the BTh and Bahá'u'lláh would be untenable in the face of the overwhelming evidence afforded so convincingly by that Narrative.
To a lesser degree this principle must of necessity apply to the country which has vindicated its right to be regarded as the cradle of the World
Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Sogreat a function, so noble a role, can be regarded as no less inferior to the part played by those immortal souls who, through their sublime renunciation and unparalleled deeds, have been responsible for the birth of the Faith itself. Let not, therefore, those who are to participate so predominantly in the birth of that world civilization, which is the direct offspring of their Faith, imagine for a moment that for some mysterious purpose or by any reason of inherent excellence or special merit Bahá'u'lláh has chosen to confer upon their country and people so great and lasting a distinction. It is precisely by reason of the patent evils which, notwithstanding its other admittedly great characteristics and achievements, an excessive and binding materialism has unfortunately engendered within it that the Author of their Faith and the Center of His Covenant have singled it out to become the standard-bearer of the New World Order envisaged in their writings. It is by such means as this that Bahá'u'lláh can best demonstrate to a heedless generation His almighty power to raise up from the very midst of a people, immersed in a sea of materialism, a prey to one of the most virulent and longstanding forms of racial prejudice, and notorious for its political corruption, lawlessness and laxity in moral standards, men and women who, as time goes by, will increasingly exemplify those essential virtues of self-renunciation, of moral rectitude, of chastity, of indiscriminating fellowship, of holy discipline, and of spiritual insight that will fit them for the preponderating share they will have in calling into being that World Order and that World Civilization of which their country, no less than the entire human race, stands in desperate need. Theirs will be the duty and privilege, in their capacity first as the establishers of one of the most powerful pillars sustaining the edifice of the Universal House of Justice, and then as the champion-builders of that New World Order of which that House is to be the nucleus and forerunner, to inculcate, demonstrate, and apply those twin and sorely-needed principles of Divine justice and order � principles to which the political corruption and the moral license, increasingly staining the society to which they belong, offer so sad and striking a contrast.
Observations such as these, however distasteful and depressing they may be, should not, in the least, blind us to those virtues and qualities of high intelligence, of youthfulness, of unbounded initiative, and enterprise which the nation as a whole so conspicuously displays, and which are being increasingly reflected by the community of the believers within it. Upon these virtues and qualities, no less than upon the elimination of the evils referred to, must depend, to a very great extent, the ability of that corn
Page 332munity to lay a firm foundation for the country's future role in ushering in the Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.
How STAGGERING THE RESPONSIBILITYHow great, therefore, how staggering the responsibility that must weigh upon the present generation of the American believers, at this early stage in their spiritual and administrative evolution, to weed out, by every means in their power, those faults, habits, and tendencies which they have inherited from their own nation, and to cultivate, patiently and prayerfully, those distinctive qualities and characteristics that are so indispensable to their effective participation in the great redemptive work of their Faith. Incapable as yet, in view of the restricted size of their community and the limited influence it now wields, of producing any marked effect on the great mass of their countrymen, let them focus their attention, for the present, on their own selves, their own individual needs, their own personal deficiencies and weaknesses, ever mindful that every intensification of effort on their part will better equip them for the time when they will be called upon to eradicate in their turn such evil tendencies from the lives and the hearts of the entire body of their fellow-citizens.
Nor must they overlook the fact that the World Order, whose basis they, as the advance-guard of the future Bahá'í generations of their countrymen, are now laboring to establish, can never be reared unless and until the generality of the people to which they belong has been already purged from the divers ills, whether social or political, that now so severely afflict it. Surveying as a whole the most pressing needs of this community, attempting to estimate the more serious deficiencies by which it is being handicapped in the discharge of its task, and ever bearing in mind the nature of that still greater task with which it will be forced to wrestle in the future, I feel it my duty to lay special stress upon, and draw the special and urgent attention of the entire body of the American believers, be they young or old, white or colored, teachers or administrators, veterans or new-corners, to what I firmly believe are the essential requirements for the success of the tasks which are now claiming their undivided attention.
Great as is the importance of fash ioiing the outward instruments, and of perfecting the administrative agencies, which they can utilize for the prosecution of their dual task under the Seven Year Plan; vital and urgent as are the campaigns which they are initiating, the schemes and projects which they are devising, and the funds which they are raising, for the efficient conduct of both the Teaching and Temple work, the imponderable, the spiritual, factors, which are bound up with their own m-dividual and inner lives, and with which are associated their human and social relationships, are no less urgent and vital, and demand constant scrutiny, continual self-examination and heart-searching on their part, lest their value be impaired or their vital necessity be obscured or forgotten.
SPIRITUAL PREREQUISITESOf these spiritual prerequisites of success, which constitute the bedrock on which the security of all teaching plans, Temple projects, and financial schemes, must ultimately rest, the following stand out as preeminent and vital, which the members of the American Baha community will do well to ponder.
Upon the extent to which these basic requirements are met, and the manner in which the American believers fulfill them in their individual lives, administrative activities, and social relationships, must depend the measure of the manifold blessings which the All-Bountiful Possessor can vouchsafe to them all. These requirements are none other than a high sense of moral rectitude in their social and administrative activities, absolute chastity in their individual lives, and complete freedom from prejudice in their dealings with peoples of a different race, class, creed, or color.
The first is specially, though not exclusively, directed to their elected representatives, whether local, regional, or national, who, in their capacity as the custodians and members of the nascent institutions of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, are shouldering the chief responsibility in laying an unassailable foundation for that Universal House of Justice which, as its title implies, is to be the exponent and guardian of that Divine Justice which can alone insure the security of, and establish the reign of law and order in, a strangely disordered world. The second is mainly and directly concerned with the Bahá'í youth, who can contribute so de
Page 333THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 331
cisively to the virility, the purity, and the driving force of the life of the Bahá'í community, and upon whom must depend the future orientation of its destiny, and the complete unfoldment of the potentialities with which God has endowed it. The third should be the immediate, the universal, and the chief concern of all and sundry members of the Bahá'í community, of whatever age, rank, experience, class, or color, as all, with no exception, must face its challenging implications, and none can claim, however much he may have progressed along this line, to have completely discharged the stern responsibilities which it inculcates.
A rectitude of conduct, an abiding sense of undeviating justice, unobscured by the demoralizing influences which a corruption-ridden political life so strikingly manifests; a chaste, pure, and holy life, unsullied and unclouded by the indecencies, the vices, the false standards, which an inherently deficient moral code tolerates, perpetuates, and fosters; a fraternity freed from that cancerous growth of racial prejudice, which is eating into the vitals of an already debilitated society � these are the ideals which the American believers must, from now on, individually and through concerted action, strive to promote, in both their private and public lives, ideals which are the chief propelling forces that can most effectively accelerate the march of their institutions, plans, and enterprises, that can guard the honor and integrity of their Faith, and subdue any obstacles that may confront it in the future.
This rectitude of conduct, with its implications of justice, equity, truthfulness, honesty, fair-mindedness, reliability, and trustworthiness, must distinguish every phase of the life of the Bahá'í community. "The companions of God," Bahá'u'lláh Himself has declared, "are, in this day, the lump that must leaven the peoples of the world.
They must show forth such trustworthiness, such truthfulness and perseverance, such deeds and character that all mankind may profit by their example." "I swear by Him Who is the Most Great Ocean!" He again affirms, "Within the very breath of such souls as are pure and sanctified far-reaching potentialities are hidden. So great are these potentialities that they exercise their influence upon all created things." "He is the true servant of God," He, in another passage has written, "who, in this day, were he to pass through cities of silver and gold, would not deign to look upon them, and whose heart would remain pure and uncle filed from whatever things can be seen in this world, be they its goods or its treasures. I swear by the Sun of Truth! The breath of such a man is endowed with potency, and his words with attraction."
"By Him Who shineth above the DaySpring of sanctity!"
He, still more emphatically, has revealed, "if the whole earth were to be converted into silver and gold, no man who can be said to have truly ascended into the heaven of faith and certitude would deign to regard it, much less to seize and keep it. They who dwell within the Tabernacle of God, and are established upon the seats of everlasting glory, will refuse, though they be dying of hunger, to stretch their hands, and seize unlawfully the property of their neighbor, however vile and worthless he may be. The purpose of the one true God in manifesting Himself is to summon all mankind to truthfulness and sincerity, to piety and trustworthiness, to resignation and submissiveness to the will of God, to forbearance and kindliness, to uprightness and wisdom.
His object is to array every man with the mantle of a saintly character, and to adorn him with the ornament of holy and goodly deeds."
"We have admonished all the loved ones of God," He insists, "to take heed lest the hem of Our sacred vesture be smirched with the mire of unlawful deeds, or be stained with the dust of reprehensible conduct." "Cleave unto righteousness, 0 people of Baha," He thus exhorts them, "This, verily, is the commandment which this wronged One hath given unto you, and the first choice of His unrestrained will for every one of you." "A good character," He explains, "is, verily, the best mantle for men from God. With it He adorneth the temples of His loved ones. By My life! The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun and the radiance thereof." "One right-ecus act," He, again, has written, "is endowed with a potency that can so elevate the dust as to cause it to pass beyond the heaven of heavens.
It can tear every bond asunder, and hath the power to restore the force that hath spent itself and vanished.
� Be pure, 0 people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous. Say: 0 people of God! That which can insure the victory of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, His hosts and helpers on earth, hath been
Page 334Australian and New Zealand Bahá'ís gathered at the Ija~iratu'1-Quds, 2 Lang Road, Paddington (Sydney), for the Jubilee Year Convention, April 30 � May 3, and the First Pacific School, May 4 � 6, 1953. Mrs. Clara Dunn, Hand of the Cause, is seated in the center, middle row.
Page 335THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 333
set down in the sacred Books and Scriptures, and are as clear and manifest as the sun. These hosts are such righteous deeds, such conduct and character, as are acceptable in Hi~ sight. Whoso ariseth, in this Day, to aid Our Cause, and suminoneth to his assistance the hosts of a praiseworthy character and upright conduct, the influence from such an action will, most certainly, be diffused throughout the whole world." "The betterment of the world," is yet another statement, "can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct." "Be fair to yourselves and to others," He thus counseleth them, "that the evidences of justice may be revealed through your deeds among Our faithful servants."
"Equity," He also has written, "is the most fundamental among human virtues. The evaluation of all things must needs depend upon it." And again, "Observe equity in your judgment, ye men of understanding heart!
He that is unjust in his judgment is destitute of the characteristics that distinguish man's station." "Beautify your tongues, 0 people," He further admonishes them, "with truthfulness, and adorn your souls with the ornament of honesty. Beware, 0 people, that ye deal not treacherously with any one. Be ye the trustees of God amongst His creatures, and the emblems of His generosity amidst His people." "Let your eye be chaste," is yet another counsel, "your hand faithful, your tongue truthful, and your heart enlightened."
"Be an ornament to the countenance of truth," is yet another admonition, "a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue." "Let truthfulness and courtesy be your adorning," is still another admonition, "suf-fer not yourselves to be deprived of the rube of forbearance and justice, that the sweet savors of holiness may be wafted from your hearts upon all created things. Say: Beware, o people of Baha, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ from their deeds. Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest to the peoples of the earth the signs of God, and to mirror forth His commandments.
Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind, for the professions of most men, be they high or low, differ from their conduct.
It is through your deeds that ye can distinguish yourselves from others. Through them the brightness of your light can be shed upon the whole earth. Happy is the man that heedeth My counsel, and keep-eth the precepts prescribed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise."
"0 army of God!" writesthe protection and help vouchsafed by the Blessed Beauty� may my life be a sacrifice to His loved ones � ye must conduct yourselves in such a manner that ye may stand out distinguished and brilliant as the sun among other souls. Should any one of you enter a city, he should become a center of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and lovingkindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that the people of that city may cry out and say: 'This man is unquestionably a Baha'i, for his manners, his behavior, his conduct, his morals, his nature, and disposition reflect the attributes of the Baha'is.' Not until ye attain this station can ye be said to have been faithful to the Covenant and
Testament of God." "Themost vital duty, in this day," He, moreover, has written, "is to purify your characters, to correct your manners, and improve your conduct. The beloved of the Merciful must show forth such character and conduct among His creatures, that the fragrance of their holiness may be shed upon the whole world, and may quicken the dead, inasmuch as the purpose of the Manifestation of God and the dawning of the limitless lights of the Invisible is to educate the souls of men, and refine the character of every living man.
." "Truthfulness," He asserts, "is the foundation of all human virtues.
Without truthfulness progress and success, in all the worlds of God, are impossible for any soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the divine qualities will also be acquired."
Such a rectitude of conduct must manifest itself, with ever-increasing potency, m every verdict which the elected representatives of the Bahá'í community, in whatever capacity they may find themselves, may be called upon to pronounce. It must be constantly reflected in the business dealings of all its members, in their domestic lives, in all manner of employment, and in any service they may, in the future, render their government or people.
It must be exemplified in the conduct of all Bahá'í electors,
Page 336when exercising their sacred rights and functions.
It must characterize the attitude of every loyal believer towards non-accept-ance of political posts, non-identification with political parties, nonparticipation in political controversies, and non-membership in political organizations and ecclesiastical institutions.
It must reveal itself in the uncompromising adherence of all, whether young or old, to the clearly enunciated and fundamental principles laid down by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His addresses, and to the laws and ordinances revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in His Most Hoiy Book. It must be demonstrated in the impartiality of every defender of the Faith against its enemies, in his fair-mindedness in recognizing any merits that enemy may possess, and in his honesty in discharging any obligations he may have towards him. It must constitute the brightest ornament of the life, the pursuits, the exertions, and the utterances of every Bahá'í teacher, whether laboring at home or abroad, whether in the front ranks of the teaching force, or occupying a less active and responsible position. It must be made the hallmark of that numerically small, yet intensely dynamic and highly responsible body of the elected national representatives of every Baha community, which constitutes the sustaining pillar, and the sole instrument for the election, in every community, of that Universal House whose very name and title, as ordained by Bahá'u'lláh, symbolizes that rectitude of conduct which is its highest mission to safeguard and enforce.
So great and transcendental is this principle of Divine justice, a principle that must be regarded as the crowning distinction of all Local and National Assemblies, in their capacity as forerunners of the Universal House of Justice, that Bahá'u'lláh Himself subordinates His personal inclination and wish to the all-compelling force of its demands and implications. "God is My witness!" He thus explains, "were it not contrary to the Law of God, I would have kissed the hand of My wouldbe murderer, and would cause him to inherit My earthly goods.
I am restrained, however, by the binding Law laid down in the Book, and am Myself bereft of all worldly possessions."
"Know thou, of a truth," He significantly affirms, "these great oppressions that have befallen the world are preparing it/or the advent of the Most Great
Justice.""Say," He again asserts, "He bath appeared with that Justice wherewith mankind bath been adorned, and yet the people are, for the most part, asleep."
"The light of men is Justice," He moreover states, "Quench it not with the contrary winds of oppression and tyranny.
The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity among men." "No radiance," He declares, "can compare with that of justice. The organization of the world and the tranquillity of mankind depend upon it." "0 people of God!"
He exclaims, "That which trained-i the world is Justice, for it is upheld by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars are the sources of life to the world."
"Justice and equity," is yet another assertion, "are two guardians for the protection of man. They have appeared arrayed in their mighty and sacred names to maintain the world in uprightness and protect the nations."
"Bestir yourselves, 0 people," is His emphatic warning, "in anticipation of the days of Divine justice, br the promised hour is now come. Beware lest ye fail to apprehend its import, and be accounted among the erring."
"The day is approaching," He similarly has written, "when the faithful will behold the daystar of justice shining in its full splendor from the dayspring of glory." "The shame I was made to bear," He significantly remarks, "hath uncovered the glory with which the whole of creation had been invested, and through the cruelties I have endured, the daystar of justice bath manifested itself, and shed its splendor upon men." "The world," He again has written, "is in great turmoil, and the minds of its people are in a state of utter confusion. We entreat the Almighty that He may graciously illuminate them with the glory of His Justice, and enable them to discover that which will be profitable unto them at all times and under all conditions."
And again, "There can he no doubt whatever that if the daystar of justice, which the clouds of tyranny have obscured, were to shed its light upon men, the face of the earth would be completely transformed."
"God be praised!" 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in His turn, exclaims, "The sun of justice hath risen above the horizon of
Bahá'u'lláh. For in HisTablets the foundations of such a justice have been laid as no mind hath, from the beginning of creation, conceived."
"The canopy of existence," He further explains, "resteth upon the pole of justice, and not of
Page 337THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 335
forgiveness, and the life of mankind de-pendeth on justice and not on forgiveness."
Small wonder, therefore, that the Author of the Ba1A'i Revelation should have chosen to associate the name and title of that House, which is to be the crowning glory of His administrative institutions, not with f or-giveness but with justice, to have made justice the only basis and the permanent foundation of His Most Great Peace, and to have proclaimed it in His Hidden Words as "the best beloved of all things" in His sight. It is to the American believers, particularly, that I feel urged to direct this fervent pka to ponder in their hearts the implications of this moral rectitude, and to uphold, with heart and soul and uncompromisingly, both individually and collectively, this sublime standard � a standard of which justice is so essential and potent an element.
As to a chaste and holy life it should be regarded as no less essential a factor that must contribute its proper share to the strengthening and vitalization of the Bahá'í community, upon which must in turn depend the success of any Bahá'í plan or enterprise. In these days when the forces of irreligion are weakening the moral fibre, and undermining the foundations of individual morality, the obligation of chastity and holiness must claim an increasing share of the attention of the American believers, both in their individual capacities and as the responsible custodians of the interests of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
In the discharge of such an obligation, to which the special circumstances resulting from an excessive and enervating materialism now prevailing in their country lend particular significance, they must play a conspicuous and predominant role. All of them, be they men or women, must, at this threatening hour when the lights of religion are fading out, and its restraints are one by one being abolished, pause to examine themselves, scrutinize their conduct, and with characteristic resolution arise to purge the life of their community of every trace of moral laxity that might stain the name, or impair the integrity, of so holy and precious a Faith.
A chaste and holy life must be made the controlling principk in the behavior and conduct of all Baha'is, both in their social relations with the members of their own community, and in their contact with the world at large. It must adorn and reinforce the ceaseless labors and meritorious exer tions of those whose enviable position is to propagate the Message, and to administer the affairs, of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. lit must be upheld, in all its integrity and implications, in every phase of the life of those who fill the ranks of that Faith, whether in their homes, their travels, their clubs, their societies, their entertainments, their schools, and their universities. It must be accorded special consideration in the conduct of the social activities of every IBahá'í summer school and any other occasions on which Baha community life is organized and fostered. It must be closdy and continually identified with the mission of the Baha" Youth, both as an element in the life of the Bahá'í community, and as a factor in the future progress and orientation of the youth of their own country.
Such a chaste and holy life, with its implications of modesty, purity, temperance, decency, and clean-mindedness, involves no less than the exercise of moderation in all that pertains to dress, language, amusements, and all artistic and literary avocations.
It demands daily vigilance in the control of one's carnal desires and corrupt inclinations. It calls for the abandonment of a frivolous conduct, with its excessive attachment to trivial and often misdirected pleasures.
It requires total abstinence from all a!-coholic drinks, from opium, and from similar habit-forming drugs. It condemns the prostitution of art and of literature, the practices of nudism and of companionate marriage, infidelity in marital relationships, and all manner of promiscuity, of easy familiarity, and of sexual vices.
It can tolerate no compromise with the theories, the standards, the habits, and the excesses of a decadent age. Nay rather it seeks to demonstrate, through the dynamic force of its example, the pernicious character of such the-aries, the falsity of such standards, the hollowness of such claims, the perversity of such habits, and the sacrilegious character of such excesses.
'tRy the righteousness of God!" writes Bahá'u'lláh, "The world, its vanities and its glory, and whatever delights it can offer, are all, in the sight of God, as worthless as, nay even more contemptible than, dust and ashes.
Would that the hearts of men could comprehend it. Wash yourselves thoroughly, 0 people of Baha, from the defilement of the world, and of all that pertaineth unto it. God Himself beareth Me witness!
Page 338The things of the earth ill beseem you. Casi them away unto such as may desire them, and fasten your eyes upon this most holy and eflul gent Vision." "0 ye My loved ones!"
He thus exhorts His followers, "Suf-fer not the hem of My sacred vesture to be smirched and mired with the things of this world, and follow not the promptings of your evil and corrupt desires."
And again, "0 ye the beloved of the one true God! Pass beyond the narrow retreats of your evil and corrupt desires, and advance into the vast immensity of the realm of God, and abide ye in the meads of sanctity and of detachment, that the fragrance of your deeds may lead the whole of mankind to the ocean of God's unfading glory."
"Disencumber yourselves," He thus commands them, "of all attachment to this world and the vanities thereof.
Beware that ye approach them not, inasmuch as they prompt you to walk after your own lusts and covetous desires, and hinder you from entering the straight and glorious Path." "Eschew all manner of wickedness," is His commandment, "for such things are forbidden unto you in the Book which none touch except such as God hath cleansed from every taint of guilt, and numbered among the purified." "A race oj men," is His written promise, "incomparable in character, shall be raised up which, with the feet of detachment, will tread under all who are in heaven and on earth, and will cast the sleeve of holiness over all that hath been created from water and clay." "The civilization," is His grave warning, "so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men. If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation."
"He hath chosen out of the whole world the hearts ol His servants," He explains, "and made them each a seat for the rev elation of His glory.
Wherefore, sanctify them from every defilement, that the things for which they were created may be engraven upon them.
This indeed is a token of God's bountiful favor.""Say," He proclaims, "He is not to be numbered with the people of Baha who Jolloweth his mundane desires, or fixeth his heart on things of the earth. He is my true follower who, if he come to a valley of pure gold will pass straight through it aloof as a cloud, and will neither turn back, nor pause. Such a man is assuredly of Me. From his garment the Concourse on high can inhale the fragrance of sanctity.
And if he met the fairest and most comely of women, he would not feel his heart seduced by the least shadow of desire for her beauty. Such an one indeed is the creation of spotless chastity. Thus instructeth you the Pen of the Ancient of Days, as bidden by your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful." "They that follow their lusts and corrupt inclinations," is yet another warning, "have erred and dissipated their efforts. They indeed are of the lost."
"It behooveth the pea. pie of Baha," He also has written, "to die to the world and all that is therein, to be so detached from all earthly things that the inmates of Paradise may inhale from their garment the sweet smelling savor of sanctity.
�They that have tarnished the fair name of the Cause of God by following the things of the flesh � these are in palpable error!" "Purity and chastity," He particularly admonishes, "have been, and still are, the most great ornaments for the handmaidens of God. God is My Witness!
The brightness of the light of chastity sheddeth its illumination upon the worlds of the spirit, and its fragrance is wafted even unto the
Most Exalted Paradise.""God," He again affirms, "hath verily made chastity to be a crown for the heads of His handmaidens.
Great is the blessedness of that handmaiden that hath attained unto this great station." "We, verily, have decreed in Our Book," is His assurance, "a goodly and bountiful reward to whosoever will turn away from wickedness, and lead a chaste and godly life. He, in truth, is the Great Giver, the All-Bountiful." "We have sustained the weight of all calamities," He testifies, "to sanctify you from all earthly corruption and ye are yet indifferent.
We, verily, behold your actions. If We perceive from them the sweet smelling savor of purity and holiness, We will most certainly bless you. Then will the tongues of the inmates of Paradise utter your praise and magnify your names amidst them who have drawn nigh unto
God.""The drinking of wine," writes 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "is, according to the text of the Most Holy Book, forbidden; for it is the cause of chronic diseases, weakeneth the nerves, and consumeth the mind." "Drink ye, 0 handmaidens ol God,"
Bahá'u'lláh Himsellhas affirmed, "the Mystic Wine from the cup of My words. Cast away, then, from you that
Page 339THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 337
which your minds abhor, for it hath been lorbidden unto you in His Tablets and His Scriptures. Beware lest ye barter away the River that is life indeed for that which the souls of the pure-hearted detest.
Become ye intoxicated with the wine of the love of God, and not wfth that which deadeneth your minds, 0 ye that adore Him! Verily, it hath been forbidden unto every believer, whether man or woman. Thus hath the sun of My commandment shone forth above the horizon of My utterance, that the handmaidens who believe in Me may be illumined."
It must be remembered, however, that the maintenance of such a high standard of moral conduct is not to be associated or confused with any form of asceticism, or of excessive and bigoted puritanism. The standard inculcated by Bahá'u'lláh, seeks, under no circumstances, to deny any one the legitimate right and privilege to derive the fullest advantage and benefit from the manifold joys, beauties, and pleasures with which the world has been so plentifully enriched by an All-Loving Creator. "Should a man," Bahá'u'lláh Himself reassures us, "wish to adorn himself with the ornaments of the earth, to wear its apparels, or partake of the benefits it can bestow, no harm can befall him, if he alloweth nothing whatever to intervene between him and God, for God hath ordained every good thing, whether created in the heavens or in the earth, for such of His servants as truly believe in Him.
Eat ye, o people, of the good things which God hath allowed you, and deprive not yourselves from His wondrous bounties. Render thanks and praise unto Him, and be of them that are truly thank ful~"
IMPORTANT MESSAGES FROM SHOGHI EFFENDIU.S.A., 1950 HI AlL (the) valiant acts (during the) course (of the) last twelve months (of) members (of) firmly knit world embracing divinely propelled Bahá'í Community, sin~ gly, collectively, both sexes, all ages laboring (in) near (and) distant fields, (in)
Eastern (and) Westernhemispheres, gathered (from) diverse classes, creeds (and) colors; as administrators, in (the) respective home lands or (as) settlers (or) itinerant teachers overseas; whether serving (in) private capacity or (in) official association (with) authorities.
Second half (of) opening decade (of) second Bahá'í century befittingly ushered in. Recent exploits (in) virgin territories (of) Western hemisphere, Arabian Peninsula, South and East Asia raised (to) one hundred (the) number (of) sovereign states (and) dependencies, enrolled (under the) banner (of the) Faith.
Forthcoming celebrations, commemorating (the) Hundredth Anniversary (of the) Martyrdom (of the) Herald (of the) Faith, doubly glorious, through association this historic victory, representing (an) increase (of) no less (than) twenty-two countries (in the) brief span (of) six years, since (the) Centennial (of the) Declaration (of) His Mission.
Number (of) centers (in) Australasia now exceeds sixty; Canadian Community nearing ninety centers already established; Alaskan territory eleven centers; European goal countries thirtyfive, number (of) newly declared believers almost doubled (during) course (of) past year.
Bahá'í literature enriched (by) translation (into) Welsh, Eskimo, Swahili, Hausa, Chinyanja, raising (the) total number (of) languages (to) sixty-three.
Languages (in) process (of) translation, eleven.Official recognition, constituting (a) unique victory (in the) annals (of the) Faith (in the) East, (and) West, extending (to) newly formed National Spiritual Assembly (of the) Dominion (of) Canada, through granting act (of) Parliament, enabling (the) National elected representatives (to) incorporate (as) religious organization.
Additional contract placed (for the) conCanadian National Baha Convention, struction (of the) parapet, crowning (the) Arcade (of the) Báb's
Mausoleum (on) Mt.Carmel, raising (the) total tonnage ordered (to) almost eight hundred.
(The) erection (of the) ornamental columns (of the) Temple interior commenced; ventilation (and) heating systems installed; number (of) visitors since (the) opening (of the) edifice (to the) public, over four hundred thousand.
Six year plan (of the)triumphantly concluded; almost quintupled number (of) Assemblies (in the) British Isles laid basis administrative structure (of the) Faith (in the) capital (of) Eire (and in the) chief cities (of) North Ireland (and)
Scotland.Bahá'í Community consummated 31 Assemblies, 17 Groups, 11 Isolated Centers formed beyond prescribed objectives.
Recognition, long last, accorded (by) 'Iraqi authorities (to) all marriages solemnized (by) Bahá'í Assemblies (in) 'Irdq
Page 341THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 339
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 2930, 1953.through official registration (of the) marriage certificate by court, first instance setting (a) momentous precedent throughout (the) Muslim East, constituting (a) significant landmark (in the) process (of the) emancipation (of the) Oriental followers (of the) Faith (from the) fetters (of) religious orthodoxy.
Certificate authorizing (the) celebration (of) Bahá'í marriages issued (by the) District of Columbia court.
Eight islands (of) Hawaii granted authority (to) recognize Bahá'í marriages.
Baha marriage contract legalized (by) attorney general throughout (the) territory (of) Alaska.
Bahá'í Holy Days recognized (by) Educational Department (of the) State (of) Victoria,
Australia.Conference convened (in the) capital city (of) Belgium, attended (by) hundred (and) thirty representatives (from) nineteen countries.
Page 342(The) historic first all-Swiss Bahá'í Conference (the) latest, most promising fruit (of the) transatlantic enterprise initiated (by the) American Bahá'í Community, held (in the) Swiss capital, presaging (the) acquisition by (the) goal countries (of an) independent status within (the) family (of) Bahá'í national communities.
(The) process (of) extension (of) Baha endowments accelerated through (the) donation (of) twenty acre property (near) Anchorage, Alaska; purchase (of) twenty-two acres (in) neighborhood (of) Auckland, site (of) projected New Zealand summer school; grant (of) burial ground by Egyptian authorities (to) Port
Said Bahá'í Community.(to the) United Nations reinforced through participation (in) European Regional Conference (of) nongovernmental organizations (in) Geneva; (and in)
Latin American Conferences(in) Chile, Uruguay; (and in) similar conferences (in) Kansas (and) Lake Success; (through) submission (in) response (to the) request (of the) UNO Committee (of) statement (on the) Bahá'í concept (and) method (of) community worship, subsequently transmitted (to the) Secretariat responsible (for the) planning (of) permanent headquarters (in the) United Nations.
Last (but) not least, nay (the) crowning achievement (of the) year just concluded (are the) stupendous exertions (of the) vanguard (of the) resistlessly advancing
Bahá'í World Communityresulting (in the) raising (of) half (a) million dollars, virtually attaining (the) objective set (for the) two-year drive (to) ensure (the) completion (of the) interior ornamentation (of the) Mother Temple (of the) West (in) anticipation (of) its approaching jubilee.
First stage (of) austerity period resolutely embarked upon, successfully traversed.
Resolution no less grim, self-abnegation no less heroic, solidarity in sacrifice no less striking, must needs distinguish (the) final phase (of the) stern struggle, still facing (the) dauntless higliminded spartan-souled American Baha Community, designed (to) liquidate (the) deficit (in the) General Fund, marring (the) otherwise spotless record (of) collective achievement, as well as (to) provide financial support imperatively required (to) meet, through prompt despatch (of) substantial number (of) compe tent pioneers, (the) emergency existing (in) Central (and) South America, thereby ensuring (the) glorious consummation (of the) thirteen-year-old enterprise through (the) formation (of the) projected twin National Assemblies (in) Latin America.
� SHOGrnDearly beloved coworkers: The first half of the two-year austerity period, inaugurated at so anxious an hour in the fortunes of the second Seven Year Plan, has been successfully traversed, and deserves to be regarded as a memorable episode in the history of the Faith and the unfoldment of the Plan in the North American continent. An effort, prodigious, nationwide, sus-tamed, and reminiscent in its heroism and consecration, of the immortal exploits of the Dawn-breakers of the Apostolic Age of the Baha Dispensation, has been exerted by their spiritual descendents, in circumstances which, though totally different in character, are yet no less challenging and for a cause as meritorious � an effort that has indeed outshone the high endeavors that have distinguished for so long the record of service associated with the American Bahá'í Community. All of its members who have participated in this collective undertaking should be heartily congratulated, particularly those who, by their acts of self-abnega-tion, have emulated the example of the heroes of our Faith at the early dawn of its history. The entire Ba1A'i world is stirred when contemplating the range of such an effort, the depth of consecration reached by those who have participated in it, the results it has achieved, the noble purpose it has served.
My heart overflows with gratitude for the repeated evidences of worthiness demonstrated by this generous-hearted, valiant and dedicated Community which has, no matter how onerous the task, how chaP lenging the issue, how distracting the external circumstances with which it has been surrounded, never shirked its duty or hesitated for a moment.
The high water mark of so gigantic an exertion, however, still remains to be reached. The year now entered, ushered in and consecrated by the Centenary of the tragic execution of the Martyr Prophet of our Faith, and packed with poignant memo
Page 343THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH{ 341
ries of the persecutions of Zanj~tn which stained its history a hundred years ago and carried its fortunes to almost its lowest ebb, and were a prelude to the most ghastly holocaust ever experienced by its followers, must witness as it rolls forward to its close, a still more striking demonstration of the tenacity of the members of this Community, a still nobler display of acts of self-sacrifice, a still more inspiring manifestation of solidarity, and evidences of a grimmer determination, of a greater courage and perseverance in response to the triple call of this present hour.
The vital needs of the most holy House of Worship reared in the service, and for the glory of the Most Great Name, though virtually met, still require the last exertions to ensure its completion as the hour of its jubilee approaches. The Latin-American enterprise, initiated thirteen years ago, and marking the initial collective undertaking launched by the American Bahá'í Community beyond the confines of the Great Republic of the West, and under the mandate of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan, still in a state of emergency and rapidly advancing towards its initial fruition, demands unrelaxing vigilance, and calls for still more strenuous exertions and self-sacrifice on the part of those who have so enthusiastically embarked upon it, who have so conscientiously and painstakingly shepherded it along its destined course and throughout the early stages of its unfoldment, and who are now, as a result of their ceaseless exertions, witnessing the first effiorescence of their mammoth pioneer labors. The construction of the Superstructure of the Holy Sepulcher of the Blessed Bab, now, at this anxious and urgent hour, superimposed on the manifold responsibilities shouldered by members of the American Bahá'í Community, affording them the first historic opportunity of directly sustaining, through their contributions, the most sacred enterprise ever undertaken in the history of the Faith, the first and most holy edifice reared at its World Center, and the initial international institution heralding the establishment of the supreme legislative body at the World Administrative Center, requires the immediate and sustained attention of the members of a community whose destiny has been linked, ever since its inception, with the various stages marking the rise and consolidation of this divinely appointed,
Unspeakably holy Enterprise.The hour is critical, laden with fate. Responsibilities bilities numerous and varied, as well as urgent and sacred, are crowding, in quick succession, upon a community youthful and valorous in spirit, Tich in experience, triumphant in the past, sensible of its future obligations, keenly aware of the sublimity of its world mission, inflexibly resolved to follow with unfaltering steps the road of its destiny. The world situation is perilous and gloomy. Rumblings from far and near bode evil for the immediate fortunes of a sadly distracted society.
The Second Seven YearPlan is flow approaching its conclusion. The Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Báb with all its poignant memories is upon us. We are entering a period crowded with the centenaries of the direst calamities � massacres, sieges, captivities, spoliations and tortures involving thousands of heroes � men, women and children � the world's greatest Faith has ever experienced.
Another Centenary commemorating an event as tragic and infinitely more glorious is fast approaching.
Time is short. Opportunities, though multiplying with every passing hour, will not recur, some for another century, others never again. However severe the challenge, however multiple the tasks, however short the time, however somber the world outlook, however limited the material resources of a hard-pressed adolescent community, the untapped sources of celestial strength from which it can draw are measureless, in their potencies, and will unhesitatingly pour forth their energizing influences if the necessary daily effort be made and the required sacrifices be willingly accepted.
Nor should it be forgotten that in the hour of adversity and in the very midst of confusion, peril and uncertainty, some of the most superb exploits, noising abroad the fame of this Community have been achieved. The construction of the superstructure of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar during one of the severest depressions experienced by the people of the Ullited States in this century; the inauguration of the first Seven Year Plan on the eve of and during the anxious years preceding the second world conflagration; its vigorous prosecution during its darkest days and its triumph before its conclusion; the launching of the European campaign on the morrow of the most devasting conflict that rocked the continent of Europe to its foundation � these stand out as shining evidences of the unfailing protection, guidance and sustaining power
Page 344Delegates and friends at the Twenty-Fourth Annual Bahá'í Convention and Jubilee Week Celebrations held in New Delhi, April 26 � May 2, 1953.
Page 345THE WOkLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 343
vouchsafed its members, so readily and so abundantly, in the hour of their greatest need and danger.
To consolidate the victories won, and reinforce the foundations of the unnumbered institutions so diligently established, in the North American continent; to rear the twill pillars of the Universal House of Justice in Latin America, with their concomitant administrative agencies functioning in no less than twenty Republics of Central and South America; to maintain in their present strength the strongholds of the Faith in the ten goal countries of Europe; to complete the interior ornamentation of the first Mashriqu'1-Adjjk6r of the West, and its Mother Temple, in preparation of its jubilee; to assist in the erection of the superstructure of a still holier edifice, envisaged by its Founder and established by the Center of His Covenant on God's holy mountain, at the very heart and center of our beloved Faith, would indeed constitute, by virtue of their scope, origin and character, embracing three continents and including within their range the world center of the Faith itself, a worthy, befitting fivefold offering placed on the Altar of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of His Mission by a community which, more than any sister community, in East or West, has contributed, since the inception of the Formative Age of His Faith to the enlargement of its limits, the rise and establishment of its
Administrative OrderThat this community may, in the course of these three coming years, discharge its fivefold task � now assuming, through the stress of circumstances, still vaster propor-dons, and investing itself with still greater blessedness and merit, than originally envisaged � with a spirit outshining any hitherto shown in the course of its half-century stewardship to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, is my most fervent wish and the object of my special and ardent prayers at this time when my heart and mind are fixed upon the sufferings and passion of the BTh on the occasion of the Centenary of His
Martyrdom.century, desire share following triple announcement Bahá'í world through National Assemblies East (and) West. First: Safe arrival (in) Holy Land (in the) course (of the) last six months successive consignments (of) stones (for the) remaining fa9ades (of the) Octagon (and) Pinnacles, eighteen window frames belonging (to the) Drum, one hundred tons (of) cement, thirtyfive tons (of) timber, fifteen tons (of) steel, eight wrought iron balustrades, stones (for the) lower section (of the) Drum as well as (the) completion (of) construction (of the) Octagon (and the) erection (of) fifteen feet Pinnacles constituting, with (the) ornamental balustrades (the) central adornment (of the) Holy Edifice.
(The) leaded glass required (for) twenty-four windows (of the) Octagon (and) eighteen lancet windows (of the) Drum, ordered. Investigations initiated (for the) fabrication (of) gilded tiles, (the) final material necessary (for the) construction (of the) Sepulcher.
Recall (with) feelings (of) humble thankfulness (and) intense joy (the) series (of) historic landmarks (in the) progress (of the) sacred enterprise, associated, first, (with the) formal entombment, Nawruz 1909, sixty lunar years after (the) BTh's martyrdom, (of) His dust (in the) vault (of the) Shrine; second, (the) laying, forty years later, Naw-Rtiz 1949, (of the) first threshold stones (of the) Arcade (of the) Sepulcher; third, (the) completion, two years later, Naw-Rflz 1951, (of the) excavation (for) eight piers, designed to support (the) Dome, followed (by the) placing, (a) year later, (on the) eve (of) Nawruz 1952, (of the) second crown (of the) same Edifice.
(The) way (is) now prepared for (the) erection of (the) Drum, including eighteen windows symbolizing (the) eighteen Letters of the Living, (the) appointed transmitters (of the) dawning Light (of the) Author (of the) BAN Dispensation, as well as (the) rearing (of the) golden Dome, constituting (the) third (and) final unit (of the) triple crown destined (to) irradiate its splendor (in the) heart (of) God's Holy Mountain.
Moved (to) pay warm, loving tribute (to the) Shrine's immortal architect (and) Hand (of the) Cause, Sutherland Maxwell, (and the) services (of) Ugo
Gia-chery, UNO Representative(of the) International Bahá'í Community, recently elevated (to the) rank (of) Hand (of the)
Page 346Cause, (and) newly-appointed member (of the) International Baha Council, (who is) ably discharging manifold responsibilities connected (with the) mighty undertaking.
Second announcement: (The)Council. Present membership now comprises: Ama-tu'1-Bah~ Riiljiyyih, chosen liaison between me (and the) Council.
Hands (of the) Cause, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery, Leroy Toas, President, Vice-presi-dent, member at large, Secretary-General, respectively.
Jessie Revell, Ethelupon (the) missions entrusted (to the) Hands (of the) Cause (in) connection (with the) establishment (of) }9a ratu'1-Quds (in the) Dominion (of)
Canada (and) CentralAfrica, (have) instructed Ugo Giachery (to) take (in) conjunction (with the) European Teaching Committee, immediate steps, after (the) conclusion (of his) pilgrimage, aiming (at the) formation, ere (the) termination (of) (the) American Community's second Seven Year Plan, (of the) first National Spiritual Assembly (of the) Bahá'ís (of) Italy (and) Switzerland.
Advise United States NationalAssembly arrange, through European Teaching Committee (the) election (on the) occasion (of) Naw-Rtiz 1953 (of) nineteen delegates by all local Assemblies already established (in) both countries. Urge convocation RhjvAn same year, (in the) city (of) Florence, (on the) occasion (of the) festivities (of the) Bahá'í Holy Year, (of the) first Convention (for the) express purpose (of) electing through (the) delegates (the) projected National Assembly.
Appeal (to the) American Bahá'í community, particularly (the) Bahá'ís residing (in) Italy (and) Switzerland, (to) exert (their) utmost (to) insure (in the) course (of the) coming year (the) multiplication of Spiritual Assemblies (in) both countries, thereby broadening (the) basis (of the) projected pillar (of the) future Universal House (of) Justice. Advise European Teaching Committee, upon consummation (of) the glorious enterprise (to) issue formal invitation (to) their spiritual offspring, (the) newly-emerged National Assembly, (to) participate, together (with its) sister National Assemblies (of the) United States, (the) British Isles, (and) Germany, (in the)
Intercontinental Conference(in) August (of the) same year (in the) capital city (of) Sweden. Anticipate entrusting (to the) youngest among (the) twelve National Assemblies (of) the Bahá'í World (a) specific plan enabling it, (in) conjunction (with its) sister National
Spiritual Assemblies(of the) Bahá'í World (to) promote (in the) course (of the) ten years separating (the) second from (the)
Most Great Jubilee (the) GlobalCrusade designed (to) hoist (the) standard (of) Bahá'u'lláh (in the) remaining states, dependencies (and) islands (of the) whole planet. Invite (the) attendants (to the) third Bahá'í Intercontinental Conference (to) befittingly commemorate (the) undreamt-of climax (of the) brilliant victories won (in the) course (of the) second Seven Year Plan, eclipsing (the) feats accomplished (in the) Latin American field (in the) course (of the) first Seven Year Plan (and) presaging (the) tremendous triumph to be won (in the) course (of the) third Seven Year Plan (in the) African,
Asiatic (and) AustralianWith throbbing heart call (to) mind (the) solemn affirmations (and) glowing promises recorded (in the) Tablets (of the) Divine Plan envisioning (the) evidences (of the) everlasting dominion destined (to) signalize (the) inauguration, (and) accompany (the) triumphal progress, (of the) mission (of the) vanguard (of) Bahá'u'lláh's crusaders (and) champion builders (of) His world order (in the) European, Asiatic, African (and) Australian continents (and the) islands (of the) Pacific Ocean. Advise
European Teaching Committee(to) cable (the) text (of the) third announcement (to the) Assemblies (of the) capital cities (of)
Italy (and) Switzerlandand urge on my behalf (the) participation (of the) Swiss believers (in the) first teaching conference (in) Rome (on the) eve (of) Nawruz this year (for) consultation (with their Italian collaborators (on the) prosecution (of the) soul-uplifting fateful undertaking (in the) heart (and) south (of the) European continent.
� SHOGHIExtend heartfelt greetings (to the) attendants (at the) third European Teaching Conference convened (in the) capital city (of) Denmark. (My) heart (is) uplifted
Page 347THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 345
(in) thanksgiving (to the) Martyr Prophet (of our) beloved Faith (on the) occasion (of the) first historic assemblage on Scandinavian soil, (on the) morrow (of the) centenary (of) His supreme sacrifice, representing diverse Bahá'í communities (of the) eastern and western hemispheres. (I) joyfully acknowledge (the) first evidences (of the) answer (to the) prayer (of the) Center (of the) Covenant voiced (in) His Tablet over thirty years ago, supplicating (that) holy souls be raised up (to) promulgate (the) Faith (in) northern lands.
(I) recall (with) feelings (of) profound emotion Bahá'u'lláh's own anticipation (of the) establishment (of) His Cause (in) lands (of the) extreme north (and) south through provision (in) His Most Holy Book (of the) specific ruling related (to the) ordinance (of) obligatory prayers. (I am) highly gratified (to) witness (the) far-reaching effect (of the) magnificent response (by the) American Bahá'í community (to the) memorable summons issued (by the) Herald (of the) Faith (in) His Qayytirnu'1-Asm~', calling (the) peoples (of the) West (to) forsake (their) homes (to) assure (the) triumph (of) God's Cause.
(I) welcome expansion (in) scope (of the) annual Conference through inauguration (of the) Summer School designed (to) prolong (the) sessions (of the) Conference, (to) stimulate (the) spirit (of) Bahá'í fellowship, (to) deepen understanding (of the) fundamental spiritual (and) administrative principles (of the) Faith, (to) fix (the) pattern (of) future independent national Summer Schools (in the) ten European goal countries. (I) appeal (to the) assembled representatives (of the) goal countries and through them (to the) entire body (of) believers (in the) respective homelands (to) rededicate themselves (to the) urgent tasks ahead (in the) course (of the) three coming years falling between (the) historic Centenaries (of the) Báb's martyrdom (and the) birth of Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic mission. Mindful (of the) struggles, sufferings (and) sacrifices (of the) heroes, saints, (and) martyrs (of the) Faith (in the) opening phase (of the) Apostolic Age (of the) Bahá'í Dispensation; fully aware (of the) circumstances attending (the) launching (of the) transatlantic project amidst (the) confusion (and) prostration afflicting (the) wartorn continent; heartened (by the) signal initial success achieved (in the) years immediately suc-.
ceeding (the) inauguration (of the) project, let them, undaunted (by the) perils (of the) progressively deteriorating international situation, pursue relentlessly (their) allotted tasks through rapid increase (in) membership, effective promotion (of the) recently initiated extension work, consolidation (of) all administrative agencies, energetic dissemination (of) Bahá'í literature, closer collaboration (with) sister Communities (in the) European continent, greater awareness (of their) inescapable responsibilities, deeper understanding (of the) verities (of) Bahá'u'lláh's
Revelation, (of) HisCovenant, World Order, (and) above all, through constant daily effort aiming (at the) enrichment (of the) spiritual life (of the) inch-vklual, constituting (the) sole foundation whereon (the) stability (of the) structure (of) every Administrative edifice must depend.
July 20, 1950.31 TO SEPTEMBER tO, 1951 Acclaim joyous occasion (of the) convocation on Dutch soil (of the) historic European Teaching Conference, constituting yet another link (in the) chain (of) annual gatherings (of the) representatives (and) followers (of the) Faith (of) Bahá'u'lláh (in the) ten European goal countries as well as (in) Bahá'í communities (of the) Eastern (and) Western hemispheres, stop.
Heart dilated, spirit uplifted (by the) contemplation (of the) range (and) quality (of the) service rendered; (by the) spirit demonstrated, (by the) degree (of) maturity attained (in the) diversified budding, virile communities rightly regarded (as the) first fruits (of the) operation (of) 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan (on the) European continent stop.
Welcome with feeling (of) particular gratification (the) participation (of the) newly enrolled Dutch,
Danish (and) Portuguesebelievers (in the) enterprises initiated (by the) Indian, Canadian, British, Bahá'í communities (in) Indonesia, Greenland (and) African continent, presaging undertakings destined (to) be systematically launched (by the) elected representatives (of the) newly emerged European communities throughout the remaining countries
Page 348(of) Europe and possibly, beyond its confines, stop.
(The) concluding years (of the) second seven year plan must witness within each (and) every goal country, notable multiplication (of) centers, steady consolidation (of the) Assemblies, rapid increase (in the) number (of the) avowed supporters (of the) Faith, (a) clearer vision (of the) strenuous tasks ahead, deeper awareness (of) their significance, (a) firmer resolve (toward) their prosecution (and a) greater dedication (to) their purpose, stop.
Signal, wholly unexpected, manifold achievements, illuminating (the) annals (of the) first five years (of the) operation (of the) second seven year plan embolden me (to) confidently anticipate, upon (the) termination (of the) brief span (of the) remaining two years, (the) gradual formation (of) regional National Assemblies (as) prelude (to the) emergence (of a) separate National Assembly (in) each goal country as well as (the) launching (of) organized campaigns, in collaboration (with the) parent community (of the) great republic of the West (in) conjunction (with the) long standing, preeminent national community laboring (in the) heart (of the) European continent, aiming (at the) spiritual conquest (of the) remaining sovereign states (of) Europe and, God willing, reaching beyond its borders as far as (the) heart (of the) Asiatic continent, stop.
Interval separating us (from the) inauguration (of) yet another stage (in the) unfoldment (of the) Divine Plan (is) swiftly diminishing, stop.
(The) perils confronting (the) sorely tried continent (are) steadily mounting, stop.
(The) auspiciously inaugurated, mysteriously unfolding, highly promising widely ramified crusade, embracing well nigh (a) score of dependencies (on the) African continent presenting (to the) privileged prosecutors (of the) Divine Plan (in the) European field (a) challenge at once severe, soul-stirring (and) inescapable, stop.
(The) future edifice (of the) Universal House of Justice, depending for its stability on (the) sustaining strength (of the) pillars erected (in the) diversified communities (of the) East (and) West, destined (to) derive added power through (the) emergence (of the) three National Assemblies (on the) American continents awaits (the) rise (of the) establishment (of) similar institutions (on the) European mainland, each depending directly (on the) efforts now consciously exerted by (the) champion builders (of the) Administrative Order (of the) Faith (of) Bahá'u'lláh (on the) European continent, stop.
May (the) Conference be aided through (the) outpouring grace (of the) author (of the) Revelation (to) hasten, through (the) deliberations (and) consecration (of its) attendants, so blissful (a) consummation, (to) lend unprecedented impetus (to the) present evolution (of the) Administrative Order and (to) accelerate (the) progress leading (to the) future emergence (of the) World
Order of Bahá'u'lláh.Dear and valued coworkers: The virtual termination of the interior ornamentation of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the West; the forthcoming formation of the twin
National Spiritual Assembliesof Latin America, following upon the establishment of a corresponding institution in the Dominion of Canada; the full attainment of the prescribed goals on the European continent in accordance with the provisions of the second Seven Year Plan and the consolidation already achieved in the North American continent, do not, under any circumstances, imply that the vast responsibilities, shouldered by a valiant, an alert and resolute community, have been fully and totally discharged, or that its members can afford, as the plan draws to its conclusion, to sink into complacency or relax for one moment in their high endeavors.
The hour destined to mark the triumphant conclusion of the second stage in their historic, divinely conferred world-encircling mission has not yet struck. Rumblings, loud and persistent, presaging a crisis of extreme severity in world affairs, confront them with a challenge which, in spite of what they have already accomplished, they cannot and must not either ignore or underrate.
The rise of the World Administrative Center of their Faith, within the precincts and under the shadow of its World Spiritual Center, a process that has been kept in abeyance for well nigh thirty years, whilst the machinery
Page 349THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 347
Delegates to the National Convention of the Bahá'ís of Egypt and the Stidan, 1950, attended for the first time by a delegate from the Stid6n (seated at extreme right).
of the national and local institutions of a nascent Order was being erected and perfected, presents them with an opportunity which, as the champion-builders of that Order and the torchbearers of an as yet unborn civilization, they must seize with alacrity, resolution and utter consecration.
The initiation of momentous projects in other continents of the globe, and particularly in Africa, as a result of the growing initiative and the spirit of enterprise exhibited by their fellow-workers in East and West, cannot leave unmoved the vanguard of a host summoned by 'Abdu'l-Bahá its Divine Commander, and in accordance with the provisions of a God-given Charter, to play such a preponderating role in the spiritual conquest of the entire planet. Above all, the rapid prosecution of an enterprise transcending any undertaking, whether national or local, embarked upon by the followers of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, destined to attain its consummation with the erection of the Dome of the Báb's holy Sepulcher, imposes an added obligation, owing to unforeseen circumstances, on the already multitudinous duties assumed by a community wholly ab sorbed in the various tasks it shoffiders.
In fact, as the Centenary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic Mission approaches, His American followers, not content with the successful conclusion, in their entirety, of the tasks assigned to them, must aspire to celebrate befittingly this historic occasion, as becomes the chosen recipients, and the privileged trustees, of a divinely conceived Plan, through emblazoning with still more conspicuous exploits, their record of stewardship to a Faith whose Author has issued such a ringing call to the rulers of the American continent, and the Center of Whose Covenant has entrusted the American Bahá'í Community with so glorious a mission.
Indeed the present stage in the construction of the superstructure of so holy a shrine imperatively demands a concentration of attention and resources commensurate with the high position occupied by this community, with the freedom it enjoys and the material means at its disposal. The signing of two successive contracts, for the masonry of the octagon, the cylinder and the dome of the edifice, necessitated by a sudden worsening of the international situation, which might
Page 350cut off indefinitely the provision of the same stones used for the erection of the Arcade and the Parapet of that Sepulcher, and amounting to no less than one hundred and ninety thousand dollars; the subsidiary contracts for the provision of steel and cement for the erection of the wrought iron balustrade and the metal window frames of both the octagon and the cylinder, involving an additional expenditure of no less than twenty thousand dollars, to which must be added the cost of the excavation for, and the sinking of, the eight piers designed to support the weight of the dome and of the immediate construction of the octagon, � these call for a stupendous effort on the part of all Bahá'í Communities and a self-abne-gation unprecedented in Bahá'í history. A drastic reduction of national and local budgets; the allocation of substantial sums by all National Assemblies; the participation of individuals through sustained and direct donations to the first international and incomparably holy enterprise synchronizing with the birth of the International Bahá'í Council at the very heart and center of a world-en-circling Faith can alone ensure the uninterrupted progress of an undertaking which, coupled with the completion of the Mother Temple of the West, cannot fail to produce tremendous repercussions in the Holy Land, in the North American continent and throughout the world.
A period of austerity covering the two-year interval separating us from the Centenary celebrations of the Year Nine, prolonging so unexpectedly the austerity period already traversed by the American Bahá'í Community, and now extended to embrace its sister communities throughout the Bahá'í world, is evidently not only essential for the attainment of so transcendent a goal, but also supremely befitting when we recall the nature and dimensions of the holocaust which a hundred years ago crim-son-dyed the annals of our Faith, which posterity will recognize as the bloodiest episode of the most tragic period of the Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation, which involved the martyrdom of that incomparable heroine TThirih, which was immediately preceded by the imprisonment of Bahá'u'lláh in the subterranean dungeon of Tihr~n, and which sealed the fate of thousands of men, women and children in circumstances of unspeakable savagery and on a scale unapproached throughout subsequent stages of Bahá'í history.
No sacrifice can be deemed too great, no expenditure of material resources, no degree of renunciation of worldly benefits, comfort and pleasures, can be regarded as excessive when we recall the precious blood that flowed, the many lives that were snuffed out, the wealth of material possessions that was plundered during these most tumultuous and cataclysmic years of the Heroic Age of our Faith.
Nor will the sacrifices willingly and universally accepted by the followers of the Faith in East and West for the sake of so noble a Cause, so transcendent an enterprise, fail to contribute their share towards the upbuilding of the World Administrative Center of that Faith, and the reinforcement of the ties already linking this Center with the recognized authorities of a State under the jurisdiction of which it is now function-~g, ties which the newty-formed
International Babi'i CouncilAlready the completion of the construction of the Arcade of this majestic Sepulcher and of its ornamental Parapet has excited the admiration, stimulated the interest, and enlisted the support, of both the local authorities and of the central government, as evidenced by the series of acts which, ever since the emergence of that State, have proclaimed the goodwill shown and the recognition extended by the various departments of that State to the multiplying international institutions, endowments, laws and ordinances of a steadily rising Faith.
The recognition of the sacred nature of the twin holy Shrines, situated in the Plain of 'Akka and on the slopes of Mt. Carmel; the exemption from state and civic taxes, granted to the Mansion of Baha adjoining the Most Holy Shrine, to the twin Houses, that of Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akka and 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Haifa, to the twin Archives, adjoining the Shrine of the Báb and the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf, and the twin Pilgrim Houses constructed in the neighborhood of that Shrine, and of the residence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá; the delivery of the Mansion of Mazra'ih by the authorities of that same State to the Bahá'í Community and its occupation after a lapse of more than fifty years; the setting apart, through government action, of the room occupied by Bahá'u'lláh in the Barracks of 'Akka, as a place of pilgrimage; the recognition of the
Baha Marriage CertificateTHE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 349
missioner of Haifa; the recognition of the Bahá'í Hoiy Days, in an official circular published by the Ministry of Education and Culture; the exemption from duty accorded by the Customs Department to all furniture received for Bahá'í Holy Places as well as for all material imported for the construction of the Báb's Sepulcher, the exemption from taxes similarly extended to all international Bahá'í endowments surrounding the Holy Tomb on Mt. Carmel, stretching from the ridge of the mountain to the Templar Colony at its foot, as well as to the holdings in the immediate vicinity of the resting-place of the Greatest H&y Leaf and her kinsmen � all these establish, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the high status enjoyed by the international institutions of a world Faith, in the eyes of this newborn
State.The construction of the Mausoleum of the Báb, synchronizing with the birth of that State, and the progress of which has been accompanied by these successive manifestations of the goodwill and support of the civil authorities will, if steadily maintained, greatly reinforce, and lend a tremendous impetus to this process of recognition which constitutes an historic landmark in the evolution of the World Center of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, � a process which the newly-formed Council, now established at its very heart, is designed to foster, which will gather momentum, with the emergence in the course of time of a properly recognized and independently functioning Bahá'í court, which will attain its consummation in the institution of the Universal House of Justice and the emergence of the auxiliary administrative Agencies, revolving around this Highest Legislative Body, and which will reveal the plenitude of its potentialities with the sailing of the Divine Ark as promised in the Tablet of Carmet I cannot at this juncture, overemphasize the sacredness of that Holy Dust embosomed in the heart of the Vineyard of God, or overrate the unimaginable potencies of this mighty institution founded sixty years ago, through the operation of the Will of, and the definite selection made by, the Founder of our Faith, on the occasion of His historic visit to that Holy Mountain, nor can I lay too much stress on the role which this institution, to which the construction of the superstructure of this Edifice is bound to lend an unprecedented impetus, is destined to play in the unfoldment of the
World Administrativeministrative Center of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh and in the efflorescence of its highest institutions constituting the embryo of its future World Order.
For, just as in the realm of the spirit, the reality of the Báb has been hailed by the Author of the Baha
Revelation as "The Pointround Whom the realities of the Prophets and Messengers revolve," so, on this visible plane, His sacred remains constitute the heart and center of what may be regarded as nine concentric circles, paralleling thereby, and adding further emphasis to the central position accorded by the Founder of our Faith to One "from Whom God bath caused to proceed the knowledge of all that was and shall be," "the Primal Paint from which have been generated all created things."
The outermost circle in this vast system, the visible counterpart of the pivotal position conferred on the Herald of our Faith, is none other than the entire planet. Within the heart of this planet lies the "Most Holy Land," acclaimed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá as "the Nest of the Prophets" and which must be regarded as the center of the world and the Qiblih of the nations. Within this Most Holy Land rises the Mountain of God of immemorial sanctity, the Vineyard of the Lord, the Retreat of Elijah, Whose Return the DAb Himself symbolizes.
Reposing on the breast of this Holy Mountain are the extensive properties permanently dedicated to, and constituting the sacred precincts of, the Báb's holy Sepulcher.
In the midst of these properties, recognized as the international endowments of the Faith, is situated the Most Holy Court, an enclosure comprising gardens and terraces which at once embellish, and lend a peculiar charm to, these Sacred Precincts.
Embosomed in these lovely and verdant surroundings stands in all its exquisite beauty the Mausoleum of the BTh, the Shell designed to preserve and adorn the original structure raised by 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the Tomb of the Martyr-Herald of our Faith. Within this Shell is enshrined that P&rl of Great Price, the Holy of Ilolies, those chambers which constitute the Tomb itself, and which were constructed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Within the heart of this Hoiy of Holies is the
Tabernacle, the Vaultrests the alabaster Sarcophagus in which is deposited that inestimable Jewel, the Bib's Holy Dust. So precious is this Dust
Page 352that the very earth surrounding the Edifice enshrining this Dust has been extolled by the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, in one of His Tablets in which He named the five doors belonging to the six chambers which He originally erected after five of the believers associated with the construction of the Shrine, as being endowed with such potency as to have inspired Him in bestowing these names, whilst the Tomb itself housing this Dust He acclaimed as the Spot round which the Concourse on high circle in adoration.
To participate in the erection of the superstructure of an Edifice at once so precious, so holy; consecrated to the memory of so heroic a Soul; whose site no one less than the Founder of our Faith has selected; whose inner chambers were erected by the Center of His Covenant with such infinite care and anguish; embosomed in so sacred a mountain, on the soil of so holy a Land; occupying such a unique position; facing on the one hand the silver-white city of 'AMA, the Qiblih of the Bahá'í world; flanked on its right by the hills of Galilee, the home of Jesus Christ, and on its left, by the Cave of Elijah; and backed by the plain of Sharon and, beyond it, Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest Shrine in IslAm � to participate in the erection of such an Edifice is a privilege offered to this generation at once unique and priceless, a privilege which only posterity will be able to correctly appraise.
In this supreme, this sacred and international undertaking in which the followers of Bahá'u'lláh, in all the continents of the globe, are summoned to show forth the noblest spirit of self-sacrifice, the members of the American Bahá'í Community must by virtue of the abilities they have already demonstrated and of the primacy conferred upon them as the chosen trustees of a Divine Plan, play a preponderating role, and, together with their brethren residing in the Cradle of their Faith, who are linked by such unique ties with its Herald, set an example of self-abnegation worthy to be emulated by their fellow-workers in every land.
Whilst the members of this privileged community, laboring so valiantly in the Western Hemisphere, are widening the range of their manifold activities, and thereby augmenting their responsibilities, in both the Holy Land and the African continent, the original tasks, associated with the prosecution of the Second Seven Year Plan, must, simultaneously with this added and meritorious effort which is being exerted, in memory of the beloved Bab, and for the spiritual emancipation of the downtrodden races of Africa, be carried to a triumphant conclusion.
Though the present deficit in their National Fund may, in a sense, register a failure on their part to meet their pressing obligations, and may arouse in their hearts feelings of self-reproach and anxiety, I can confidently assert that the supplementary duties they have discharged, and the material support they have extended, and are now extending, for the conduct of activities, not falling within the original scope of their Plan, not only fully compensate for an apparent shortcoming, but constitute, instead of a stain on their record of service, additional embellishments to the scroll already inscribed with so many exploits for the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.
Assured that no blot has marred so splendid a record of service; confident of their destiny; reliant on the unfailing guidance of the Founder of their Faith as well as on His sustaining power, let them address themselves, with unrelaxing vigilance and undiminished vigor, to the task of rounding off the several missions undertaken by them in Latin America, and in the North American and European continents.
The extension of the necessary material support and administrative guidance to the forthcoming National Assemblies of
Central and South Americathat will enable them to develop along sound lines and without any setback in the course of their unfoldment; the steady consolidation of the victories already won in the ten goal countries of Europe; the maintenance, at its present level and at whatever cost, of the status of the Assemblies and groups so laboriously built up; the provision of whatever is required to fully complete the interior of the Temple and beautify the grounds surrounding it, in preparation for its formal inauguration and its use for public worship � these should be regarded as the essential objectives of the American Bahá'í Community during the two year interval separating us from the Centenary celebrations of the prophetic Mission of the Founder of our Faith.
Time is running short.The effort required to discharge the manifold responsibilities now challenging the members of a lionhearted community is truly colossal.
The isTHE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 351
sues at stake, demanding every ounce of their energy, are incomparably glorious. An ominous international situation emphasizes this challenge and reinforces the urgency of these issues.
In the Holy Land, amid the tribes of a dark continent, over the wide expanses stretching from Panama to the extremity of Chile, in the heart of its own homeland, as well as in the new European field, marking the projection of its world mission across the seas, the
American Bahá'í Communitymust depThy its forces, hoist still higher its pennants, and erect still more glorious memorials to the heroism, the constancy and the devotion of its members. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Whose Plan they are executing in both Hemispheres, and to Whose summons they are now responding in the African continent; the Mb, Whose Sepulcher they are helping to erect; above all Bahá'u'lláh,
Whose embryonic WorldOrder they are building in the T{oiy Land and in other continents of the globe, look down upon them from their retreats of glory, applauding their acts, guiding their footsteps, vouchsafing Their blessings, and laying up, in the storehouses of the Abba Kingdom such treasures as only They can bestow.
May the members of this Community prove themselves, as they forge ahead and approach yet another milestone on the broad highway of their mission, worthy of still greater prizes, and fit to launch still mightier enterprises, for the glory of the Name they bear, and in the service of the Faith they profess.
March 29, 1951.CONVENTION, U.S.A., 1951 (My) heart (is) filled (with) thankfulness (at) contemplation (of the) chain (of) swiftly succeeding, epochmaking events transpiring (in the) course (of the) fifth year (of the) second Seven Year Plan, rendered memorable through association (with the) Centenary (of the) Martyrdom (of the) Prophet-Herald (of the) Bahá'í Dispensation testifying (to) God's unfailing protection (and the) manifold blessings vouchsafed (to the) Community (of the) Most Great Name alike (in) its World Center (and in) all continents (of the) globe.
Divine retributive justice (is) strikingly demonstrated through (a) series (of) suck den, rapid, devastating blows sweeping over leaders (and) henchmen (of) breakers (of) Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant foiling (the) schemes, levelling (the) hopes, (and) well-nigh extinguishing (the) remnants (of the) conspiring crew which dared challenge (the) authority, succeeded (in) infficting untold sorrow (and) assiduously plotted (to) disrupt (the) Will (and) Testament (of) its appointed Center.
(The) triumphant, resistlessly expanding Bahá'í Administrative Order now embraces (one) hundred (and) six sovereign states (and) dependencies constituting (an) addition (of) no less (than) twenty-seven countries since (the) Centenary celebration (of the) Declaration (of the) Mission (of the) Holy Bab.
(The) number of languages (into which) Bahá'í literature (is) translated (or in) process (of) translation (is) over eighty.
(The) number (of) incorporated Assemblies, local (and) national, (is) (one) hundred (and) ten.
(The) Centenary (of the) Martyrdom (of the) Herald (of the) Faith (was) befittingly commemorated, synchronizing (with the) completion (of the) Arcade (and) Parapet (of) His Sepulcher (on) Mt. Carmel, marking (the) termination (of the) two-year, quarter million dollar enterprise.
(The) preliminaries (for the) erection (of) two additional Pillars (of the) Universal House (of) Justice, culminating (in the) formation (of) National Assemblies (in) � SHOGHI Central America, Mexico, (and the) Antilles, (and in) South America (has been) successfully concluded, following (the) raising (of a) similar Pillar (in the) Dominion (of) Canada.
(The) interior ornamentation (of the) Mother Temple (of the) West (is) virtually completed, paving (the) way (for the) provision (of) accessories (and) landscaping (in) preparation (of its) public dedication destined (to) coincide (with the) twin celebrations (of the) consummation (of the) fifty year old enterprise (and the) Birth (of) Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic mission.
(The) prelude (to the) historic African campaign, (the) foremost objective (of the) two year plan (of the) Bahá'í Community (of the) British Isles, linking in formal association four National Assemblies (is) marked by (the) departure (of the) first pioneer (to) Tanganyika (and)
Page 354Bahá'ís attending the First National Bahá'í Convention of South America, Lima, Peru, April, 1951.
plans (for) settlementContracts amounting (to) over two hundred ten thousand dollars successively placed (for) stones, window frames, railing, steel, cement required (for the) erection (of the) Octagon, Cylinder (and) Dome (of the) Nt's Sepulcher raising (to) sixteen hundred tons total tonnage ordered (from) Italy.
(A) quarter-century old project (is) terminated through (the) construction (of the) last two terraces connecting (the) same edifice (with the) Templar Colony (at the) foot (of)
Carmel.(The) four year plan initiated (by the) Persian National Assembly (in the) promotion (of the) interests (of the) women members (of the) community (is) successfully concluded despite increasing disabilities resulting (from the) recrudescence (of) religious fanaticism afflicting (the) sore-pressed homeland (of) Bahá'u'lláh.
(A) notable step (in the) progress (of) Bahá'í women (of the) Middle East (is) taken through (the) extension (of the) right (of) membership (in) local Assemblies (to) women believers (in) Egypt.
(The) third European TeachingSchool (was) held (in) Copenhagen (and) attended (by) (one) hundred seventy-seven (persons) representing twenty-two countries.
(The) second All-SwissConference convened (in) ZUrich, foreshadowing (the) closer integration (of the) ten goal countries (of the) European continent through (the) eventual formation (of) regional National Assemblies (in)
Scandinavia, (the) BeneluxBaha literature (in) Greenlandic, previously disseminated as far (as) Thule, Etab, beyond (the) Arctic Circle, (has been) dispatched (to) radio station (in) Brondlundsfjord, Peary Land, eighty-sec-ond latitude, northernmost outpost (of the) globe.
Ties, linking (the) World Center (of the) Faith (with the) newly-emerged,
Page 355THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 353
rapidly consolidating sovereign state (in the) Holy Land, (have been) reinforced through (the) delivery (by the) Ministry (of) Religious Affairs (of the) Mazra'ih Mansion (into) Baha custody, (the) recognition (of) Bahá'í Holy Days (by the) Ministry (of) Education (and) Culture, following exemption granted (to) Bahá'í international endowments, (and) recognition accorded Bahá'í marriage certificate.
Bahd'u'flfih's residence (in) 'Akka, (the) scene (of) severe crises (in the) course (of the) ministries (of the) Founder (of the) Faith (and the) Center (of His) Covenant renovated (and) furnished, (are) added (to the) Holy Places already opened (to the) steadily swelling number (of) visitors both local (and) foreign.
(A) significant step (was) taken (by the) City Governorate (of) Cairo presaging (the) eventual recognition (by) state authorities (of the) Bahá'í laws (of) personal status, already codified (and) submitted (to the) central government (by the) Egyptian National
Assembly.Bonds binding (the) Bahá'í world community (to) United Nations strengthened (by) Bahá'í participation (in) regional conference (of) NonGovernmental
Organizations (in) GenevaPreliminary steps taken (in) preparation (of) final design (for the) Mashriqu'l-Adhkar (on)
Mt. Carmel by President(of the) International Bahá'í Council, specifically appointed (by) 'Abdu'l-Bahá (to be) its architect.
Process (of the) unfoldment (of the) ever-advancing
Administrative Orderaccelerated (by the) formation (of the) International Bahá'í Council designated (to) assist (in the) erection (of the) superstructure (of the) Báb's Sepulcher, cement ties uniting (the) budding World Administrative Center with (the) recently established state, (and) pave (the) way (for the) formation (of the) Bahá'í Court, essential prelude (to the) institution (of the) Universal House (of) Justice.
(I) hail particularly (the) brilliant victory won (by the) American Bahá'í Community (in) meeting (the) financial requirements (for the) completion (of the) interior ornamentation (of the) Temple (and) eliminating (the) deficit (in the) Victory Fund, exploits doubly meritorious owing (to the) added responsibilities courageously assumed (to) assist enterprise (in the) African field, (and) construction (of the) Báb's Sepulcher (in the)
Holy Land.(I am) thrilled (by the) multiple evidences (of the) simultaneous prosecution (of) Bahá'í national plans, East (and) West, (and the) rise (and) steady consolidation (of the) World Center (of the) Faith, constituting (the) distinguishing features (of the) second epoch (of the) Formative Age whose inception (on the) morrow (of the) Second World War coincided (with the) inauguration (of the) second Bahá'í century, and which bids fair (to) eclipse (the) splendors (of the) preceding epoch, which posterity will associate with (the) birth (and) rise (of the) embryonic
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.CONVENTION, U.S.A. Soul stirred, heart uplifted (by) recollection (of) events signalizing (the) twelve month period preceding (the) fateful year destined (to) witness (the) consummation (of) series (of) plans formulated (by) Bahá'í National Assemblies (of) five continents, as well as (the) inauguration (of the) second, glorious Jubilee (of the) Bahá'í Dispensation. (The) irresistible march (of the) Faith marked simultaneously (by the) steady consolidation (of) its administrative institutions (and the) rapid enlargement (of its) limits. No less (than) eighteen countries (have been) enrolled, raising (the) total number (within) its orbit (to) (one) hundred twenty-four. Languages (in which) Bahá'í literature (is) printed (or is) being translated (are) now ninety, including twelve African languages. (The) vast process (of the) rise (and) establishment (of the) World Center (of the) Faith (has been) accelerated. Contingents (of) Hands (of the) Cause (have been) successively appointed (in) every continent (of the) globe, five (of) whom (are) shouldering responsibilities (in the) Holy Land. (The)
International Bahá'íCouncil (has been) enlarged (and) officers designated.
(An) interview (was) accorded (by), (and) literature presented (to the) Israel Prime Minister (in the) course (of his) American visit (by) representatives (of the) American National Assembly. Eighteen plots, (a) twenty-two thousand square
Page 356meter area, (have been) added (to the) International Baha endowments (on the) slopes (of) Carmel.
Government survey concluded paving (the) way (for the) acquisition (of) over (one) hundred forty thousand square meters (of) property (in the) precincts (of the) Most Holy Tomb (at) Baha. (The) design (for the) Mash-riqu'1-Adbktir (on) Carmel, conceived (by the) President (of the) International Baha Council, completed. Privileges, exemption already accorded Bahá'í Holy Places (in)
Israel (by) Ministry(to) World Center (of the) Faith resumed following decade (of) external hostilities (and) internal disturbances agitating (the) Holy Land. Eight piers, designed (to) support (the) thousand ton superstructure (of the) B&b's Sepulcher constructed.
Successive contracts, totaling approximately forty-seven thousand dollars, (for the) construction (of the) structural work (and the) erection (of the) Octagon signed, culminating (in the) completion (of the) first unit (of the) superstructure, (and the) raising (of) eight pinnacles, constituting (the) second crown (of the) Holy Edifice. Preparations (to) build (the) Drum, (the) foundation unit (of the) golden Dome (of the) Sepulcher, commenced.
Twin pillars (of the) future House (of) Justice erected (in) Central (and) South America, additional pillar projected (for) Europe uniting (the) heart (and) south (of the) continent.
Preliminary measures initiated (for the) convocation (of) four intercontinental conferences (in the) African, American, European (and) Asiatic continents, involving (the) participation (of) twelve National Spiritual Assemblies, designed alike (to) befittingly celebrate (the) Centenary (of the) Year Nine (and to) launch ten year crusade destined (to) culminate (in the) Most Great Jubilee.
Two year plan (of the) Bahá'í community (of the) British Isles formally launched (on the) African continent through (the) dispatch (of) pioneers (to the) virgin territories (of) Tanganyika, Uganda, (and the) Gold Coast, (has been) reinforced (by the) assignment (of) Liberia (to the) American, Somaliland, Nyasaland (and) North Rhodesia (to the) Persian,
Zanzibar (and) Madagascar(to the) Indian, (and) Libya (and) Algeria (to the) Egyptian, National Assemblies, raising (the) number (of) States (and) Dependencies already soon (to be) opened (to the) Faith (to) twenty-five.
First fruits garnered comprise purchase (of) seventeen thousand dollar Ua4ratu'1-Quds (in) Kampala, settlement (of) Persian, American, British, Egyptian (and) Portuguese pioneers (in) Liberia, North Rhodesia, Angola, Libya, Spanish Morocco (and) Mozambique, inauguration (of) teaching classes, public meetings (and) firesides, enrollment (of) several native Africans belonging (to the) Teso,
Yao, Buganda (and) Mutocotribes, (and the) formation (of) Spiritual Assemblies (in) Kampala (and) Dar es Salaam.
European Teaching campaign, exceeding fondest hop~s, stimulated successively (by) convocation (of the) fourth European Teaching Conference (in) Scheveningen, representative (of) twenty-one countries, (the) first Iberian Conference (in) Madrid, (the) third Swiss Conference (in) Bern, (the) first Italian Conference (in) Rome, (the) first
Benelux Conference (in) Brussels(and the) establishment (of) headquarters (in) Amsterdam, Brussels,
Luxem-bourg-Ville, Bern(The) process (of) consolidation (of the) Faith stimulated (by the) recognition (of) Baha Holy Days (by the)
Superintendent (of) Public(of) Civil Service, (and of the) Bahá'í marriage certificate (by) civil authorities (of) Indianapolis; (by the) authorization by Adjutant General (of) Bahá'í identification (for) believers serving (in) U.S. Armed Forces.
Ba1A'i administrative centers steadily multiplying (in) Jjijaz, Yemen, Bal~rayn, Aljsa, Koweit, Qatar, Dubai, Masqat, Aden, heralding convocation (of) historic Baha Convention (in the) Arabian Peninsula, destined (to) culminate (in the) erection (of a) pillar (of the) Universal House (of) Justice (in the) midmost heart (of the) Islamic world.
(The) nineteen month plan, formulated (by the) National Spiritual Assembly (of the) Indian subcontinent (and) Burma, aiming among other things (at the) introduction (and) consolidation (of the) Faith (in the) capital cities (of) Nepal, Siam,
Page 357THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 355
IndoChina, Malaya, Indonesia (and) Sara-wak.Baha Community (to) United Nations reinforced (by) official participation (of) Bahá'í delegates (in) regional NonGovernmental
Confer-with)with) Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment (in the) Siy4h-QhAl (in) Tihr~n, (to) arise (and) scale still loftier heights (of) self-sacrifice (and) efface (the) deficit (in the) National Fund.
Address in particular fervent plea (to) brace itself (to) play (a) preponder Reception, South American National Baha Convention in Lima, Peru, 1953.
ences (in) Istanbul, Managua, Den Passar, Paris, (and) Lawrence, Kansas. Historic site (of) House occupied (by) Bahá'u'lláh (in) Istanbul (has been) partly purchased, (and) investigations conducted (for the) acquisition (of) similar sites associated (with the) exile (of the) Founder (of the) Faith (in) Adrianople.
Northern outposts (of the) Faith reinforced (by the) settlement (of) pioneers (in) Egedesminde, Greenland, (and in) Yellowknife,
Canadian North WesternLast (but) not least, (the) internal ornamentation (of the) Mother Temple (of the) West (has been) terminated, (and) design adopted, funds allocated (by the) Temple Trustees (for the) landscaping (of) its immediate surroundings, constituting (the) final step (for) its approaching
Jubilee. Appeal AmericanBahá'í community standing (on) threshold (of) concluding year (of) second Seven Year Plan, traversing (the) last stage (of the) austerity period, confronted (by the) approaching centenary (of the) darkest, bloodiest episode (in) Bahá'í history, associated (with the) nationwide holocaust (of) T6~hirih's martyrdom, (and ating role (in the) impending world crusade, which (a) world community, utilizing (the) agencies (of a) divinely-appointed world administrative order, (is) preparing (to) launch, amidst (the) deepening shadows (of a) world crisis, (for the) execution (of) 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í world-encircling plan (and the) subsequent unfoldment (of a) world civilization, (and the) ultimate attainment (of the) supreme objective, (the) illumination (and) redemption (of a) whok world. Advise share message
National Assemblies East(On) morrow (of) sixtieth anniversary (of) Bahá'u'lláh's Ascension share double announcement (with) Bahá'í world through all National Assemblies: (The) rapid progress (of the) enterprise majestically unfolding (in the) heart (of) God's Holy Mountain, (and the) steady decline (in the) fortunes (of the) remnant (of) old
Covenant-breakers still defiantly challenging (the) combined strength (of the) Ba1A'i world community.
(The) termination (of the) Octagon, setting (the) second crown (on the) Holy Edifice, synchronizing (with) last Nawruz Festival, (was) followed (by the) erection (and) gilding (of the) balustrade (during the) course (of the) succeeding Rhjv6~n period.
Preliminary investigations culminated (in the) erection (of the) scaffolding (and the) commencement (of the) construction (of the) Drum (at an) estimated cost (of) thirteen thousand pounds, constituting (the) third unit (of the) Edifice preparatory (to) raising (the) golden Dome.
Experiments, prior (to the) placing (of the) contract (for the) gilded tiles (for the) Dome, concluded. Confidently anticipate (the) completion (of) all preliminaries, enabling (the) builders (of the) mighty, sacred Structure (to) start construction (of the) Dome (on the) morrow (of the) opening (of the) fast approaching Holy Year, paving (the) way (to the) fulfillment (of) 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í prophecy, uttered (in the) dark days (of the) First World War, envisaging (the) glory (of the) resplendent Dome greeting (the) devout gaze (of) future pilgrims drawing nigh (to the) shores (of the) Holy Land.
Old Covenant-breakers, untaught (by the) lessons (of the) past sixty years, (the) reverses suffered (in) connection (with the) restitution (of) keys (to the) Shrine, (the) evacuation (and) restoration (of the) Mansion, (the) devastating loss (in) rapid succession (of) outstanding leaders (and) spokesmen, backed (by the) support (of the) perfidious Sobrab, engaging (the) services (of a) clever, hostile lawyer, unitedly challenged (the) authority conferred (by) 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Testament, (and) instituted legal proceedings against (the) Guardian (of the) Faith, questioned (his) right (to) demolish dilapidated house situated (within the) precincts (and) constituting (an) affront (to the) Most Holy Shrine (of the) Bahá'í world, were rebuffed through (the) intervention (of the) Israd government de-flying (the) competence (of the) civil court (to) adjudicate (the) matter, subsequently threatened (to) appeal (the) government decision (to the) Supreme Court, provoked (the) authorities who, (in) consequence (of) my representations (to) both (the) Prime Minister (and the) Minister (of) Foreign Affairs, issued authorization (to) demolish (the) ruins.
Shortsighted action prompted (by) blind, uncontrollable animosity, resulted (in the) irretrievable curtailment (of) longstanding privileges extended (to the) Covenant-breakers (during the) course (of) six decades (on the) occasion (of the) celebration (of the)
Bahá'í Holy Days.(The) signal success (in the) removal (of the) ruins (was) immediately followed (by) landscaping (the) approaches (to the) Shrine, (the) erection (of a) gate (and the) embellishment (of the) surroundings (of the) Tomb (of) Bahá'u'lláh, long denied (a) befitting entrance through (the) deliberate obstruction (by the) enemies (of the) Faith. Public access (to the) heart (of the) Qiblili (of the) Bahá'í world (is) now made possible through traversing (the) sacred precincts leading successively (to the) Holy Court, (the) outer (and) inner sanctuaries, (the) Blessed Threshold (and the) Holy (of) Holies.
Recent events prelude (the) acquisition. (and) development (of) over thirty acres (of) property surrounding Bahá'u'lláh's resting place (and are) paving (the) way (for the) erection (in the) course (of) future decades (of a) befitting Mausoleum destined (to) enshrine (the) Dust (of the) Founder (of) God's Most Hoiy
Faith.The steady expansion of the activities conducted so devotedly and so efficiently, during the last twelve months, by the members of the valiant and exemplary American Bahá'í Community, under the aegis of their elected national representatives, is such as to evoke feelings of deep and sincere admiration in my heart, and will serve to heighten the esteem in which they are held by their brethren in every continent of the globe.
The completion of the interior ornamentation of the holiest House of Worship ever to be raised by the followers of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, the initiation of the landscaping of the immediate approaches of this sacred and majestic Edifice, the actual launching of the highly promising, profoundly significant African Campaign, through the arrival and settlement of American pioneers in both
Page 359THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH{ 357
East and West Africa;the energetic efforts exerted for the multiplication of Baha administrative institutions and the stimulation and consolidation of the all-important teaching work throughout the States of the American Union; the generous, the unhesitating and effectual support extended to the newly fledged communities in Latin America in their efforts for the consolidation of the administrative structure so laboriously erected in recent years; the ready and enthusiastic response to the worldwide call for a befitting celebration by the entire Bahá'í world of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic Mission; the magnificent services already rendered by the recently elevated American Hands of the Cause of God, in diversified spheres of Bahá'í activity, at the World Center of the Faith, in the triple function of hastening the construction of the Bib's Sepulcher, of consolidating the ties binding the
International Bahá'íCouncil to the civil authorities of Israel, and of completing the design of the projected Mashriqu'l-Adhkar on Mt. Carmel, as well as in Latin America; the repeated contributions made for the erection of that Sepulcher, for the extension of Bahá'í international endowments and the institution of the Ija4ratu'1-Quds in Kampala; the marvelous loyalty demonstrated in connection with the repeated defection of members of the Holy Family and the nefarious activities of Covenant-breakers, both old and new; as well as the share a number of these Hands have had in administering a stunning defeat to the enemies of the Faith who, so boldly and shamelessly sought, through legal action, to challenge the authority of the Guardian of the Faith, and to publicly humiliate, the institution created through the provisions of 'Abdu'l-Bahá alA's Testament; the further unfoldment of the European project through the initiation of the two historic Conferences held in the Low Countries and in the Iberian Peninsula, and the convocation of the fateful Conference in Rome, heralding the formation of the Italo-Swiss National Assembly � the fairest fruit of that mighty Project � these stand out as the distinctive, the unforgettable, the infinitely meritorious achievements which posterity will record as the noblest exploits immortalizing the concluding years of the Second Seven Year Plan, and conferring untold benefits on its executors throughout the length and breadth of the Great Republic of the
West.So notable a record, such splendid achievements, investing, as they inevitably must, the American Baha Community with the potentialities so essential for the adequate conduct of the impending Ten Year Plan, that will constitute the third and last stage in the initial epoch, in the unfoldment of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Plan, and auguring well for the triumphant conclusion of the present Seven Year Plan, can, and must, if the star of this enviable community is to continue to rise, rapidly and uninterruptedly, to its meridian, be converted into a steppingstone for the achievements of such feats as will, not only outshine the splendor of the services already enumerated, but constitute a befitting termination to the second collective enterprise undertaken in American Bahá'í history, in the service of the Cause of RaM'-u'lldh, and for the execution of the grand Design conceived by the Center of His Covenant.
The support extended by a self-sacrificing, high-minded, ever alert community, for the erection of the Drum of the Sepulcher of the BTh and the raising of its crowning unit � the Dome itself � must, in the course of this current year, be consistently maintained, both by the individual members of this community, and the body of its elected representatives.
The assistance required for the acquisition of extensive properties, comprising both lands and houses, in the immediate neighborhood of the Most Holy Tomb in Baha, and for the embellishment of the approaches of that hallowed Shrine � the Qiblih of the Bahá'í world � as a necessary prelude to the ultimate erection of a befitting Mausoleum to enshrine the remains of
God's Supreme Manifestationon earth, must be generously and systematically extended.
The scheme of landscaping the area surrounding the recently completed Mother Temple of the West, in time for its consecration and formal opening for public I3ah&f worship, must be rapidly and carefully carried out. 'The subsidiary Plan, formulated for the intensification of the Campaign of internal expansion and consolidation in every State of the American Republic, must be assiduously executed, and under no circumstances, be allowed to deteriorate or to fall into abeyance. The flow of pioneers to the African continent, to Liberia, North Africa, West and Bast Africa, must, at xvhat~
Page 360ever cost, and while there is yet time, be substantially accelerated, as the essential prerequisite to the Ten Year crusade to be launched by no less than five National Assemblies in the African continent, on the morrow of the celebrations of the impending Holy Year. The process of multiplication of Bahá'í local Assemblies in the ten goal countries of Europe, and particularly in Italy and Switzerland, and the preparatory measures required to ensure the success of the twin historic assemblages destined to commemorate the last year of the Seven Year enterprise launched in the European continent � the
European Teaching Conferencein Florence � must be pushed forward with extreme care, vigilance and vigor. The utmost help and the necessary guidance must be vouchsafed to the newly emerged sister communities, in both Central and South America, to enable them to consummate their spontaneously undertaken Plans, so vital to their future association with the organized communities, in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, in the prosecution of the worldwide undertaking destined to be launched on the morrow of the celebration of the approaching Great Jubilee.
Above all, the most careful, prayerful, concentrated attention should be given by your Assembly, in conjunction with the several national committees, appointed for this purpose, to the adequate celebration of the fast approaching Holy Year, both lo-cafly, nationally and internationally, with particular emphasis on the three outstanding functions which the members of this Assembly must discharge, namely, the solemn consecration of the completed House of Worship and the commemoration of its Jubilee, the formal convocation of the Intercontinental Conference, and the holding of the Annual Convention in Wilmette, and the effective participation of the members of the American Bahá'í Community, both officially and unofficially, in the three other historic Intercontinental Conferences to be convened successively in Kampala,
Stockholm and New Delhi.The tasks ahead, calling for the expenditure of every ounce of energy on the part of the members of the indefatigable, irresistibly advancing, majestically unfolding American Bahá'í community and for the unrelaxing vigilance of its national elected representatives, are immense, highly diversified, truly challenging, sacred in character, undreamt of in their potentialities, urgent by their very nature, and inescapable in the responsibilities they involve. At the World Center of the Faith, where, at long last the machinery of its highest institutions has been erected, and around whose most holy shrines the supreme organs of its unfolding Order, are, in their embryonic form, unfolding; amidst the diversified tribes and races, peopling the
Dependencies and Principalitiesof the Dark Continent of Africa; in the far-flung territories of Central and South America so alien in culture, temperament, habits, language and outlook; in the capital cities and traditional strongholds of a materially highly advanced yet spiritually famished, much tormented, fear-ridden, hopelessly-sundered, heterogeneous conglomeration of races, nations, sects and classes overspreading the continent of Europe; in the heart of the African continent, in the capital city of the Indian subcontinent; in one of the leading capitals of the Scandinavian countries in Northern Europe, in the very heart of the leading Republic of the Western Hemisphere, the standard-bearers of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, the champion-builders of the Administrative Order, the vanguard of the Heralds of His World Order, and the Chief and appointed executors of the Master Plan of the Center of His Covenant, have, in the course of the few, fast-fleeting months ahead, separating them from the grandest crusade thus far launched in Bahá'í history, been assigned tasks, obligations and responsibilities that they can afford to neither minimize, neglect or shirk for a moment.
Within only a few weeks the Bahá'í World will enter upon the centenary of that fateful day of August the fifteenth, when a dastardly act, fraught with such terrible consequences, unleashed a series of tragic events that stained the annals of the Faith, that precipitated calamities on a scale unprecedented since its inception and unsurpassed in their tragic character by any event except the martyrdom of its Herald, which culminated in an holocaust reminiscent of the direst tribulations undergone by the persecuted followers of any previous religion, and which, in turn, paved the way, even as the darkest hour of the night precedes the dawn, for the first glimmerings that were to proclaim, to an unsuspecting world, and amidst the gloom and stench of the Siy~h-QP1 of Ti~~n~ the birth of the Mission of the
Page 361THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 359
Founder of our Faith.Less than four months separate us from the centenary celebrations designed to befittingly commemorate that glorious event in Bahá'í history, an event even more potent in its implications than the birth of the Báb Dispensation, and that left their lasting imprint on His Ministry.
Little wonder that, in the months immediately ahead, when our thoughts are fixed upon those days which heralded the outbreak of this reign of unprecedented terror, Bahá'í delegates and visting Bahá'ís attending the First Bahá'í Convention of Central America, Mexico and the Antilles, Panama City, April 2224, 1951.
yielding in sacredness to none other except the memorable occasion when the Founder of the Faith Himself ascended the throne of His spiritual sovereignty and formally assumed, in the City of Baghdad, His Prophetic Office. The radiance of God's infant light shining within the walls of that pestilential Pit � a radiance, an infinitesimal glimmer of which, as the Founder of the Faith, Himself, later testified, caused the dwellers of Sinai to swoon away � seemed, as it were, to be intermingled, whilst Bahá'u'lláh lay in chains and fetters in that subterranean dungeon, and, for many months after, with the somberness of the tragedy which enveloped the members of a persecuted community in almost every province of that hapless land. The dawning light of the Revelation promised and lauded by the Bib marks the termination of the second and darker crisis in the annals of the B~�bi Dispensation, and signalizes the commencement of a ten-year-long crisis, the first of the three successive ones and the outburst of a light of such inconceivable brightness and in the twelvemonth period immediately following when we commemorate the centenary of that reign of terror as well as throughout the succeeding decade, constituting the hundreth anniversary of the period following the birth of so glorious a Mission � little wonder that the followers of the Author of such a Revelation should be called upon to pour forth, as a ransom for so much suffering, and in thanksgiving for such priceless benefits conferred upon mankind, their substance, exert themselves to the utmost, scale the summits of self-sacrifice, accomplish the most valorous feats, and, through a concerted, determined, consecrated ten-year-long effort, achieve their greatest victories in honor of the Founder of their Faith, in grateful memory of His unnumbered slaughtered servants, and for the world establishment, and ultimate triumph, of His embryonic World Order.
Page 362Conferences, constituting the highlights of the centenary celebrations commemorating this unique period in Bahá'í history, commingling so much tragedy and glory, as well as the public consecration of the Most
Holy House of Worshipever to be raised for the glory of the Most Great Name, must alike proclaim, in no uncertain voice, the significance of the happenings which, a hundred years ago, endowed mankind with a potency unapproached at any period in the world's spiritual history, and signalize the inauguration of what may yet come to be regarded as a period of collective administrative and teaching accomplishments distinguishing the Formative Age of our Faith and endowed with a fertility comparable to that which marked the spiritual feats of the dawn-breakers of the Heroic Age which preceded it. To the members of the valorous Amer-lean Bahá'í Community, the chosen trustees and principal executors of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan, who, by virtue of the mission entrusted to them by the Center of RaM'-u'llcih's Covenant, have been empowered, and are fully qualified, to assume a preponderating role in the conduct of this world-encompassing crusade; to the longsuffering, the unflinching, the much loved and steadfast members of the venerable and still persecuted community of Bahá'u'lláh's followers laboring in His native land, whose spiritual ancestors have left a legacy of unsurpassed heroism and saintliness to the rising generation in both the East and the West; to the members of the small, yet intensely alive, community dwelling in the heart and center of the far-flung British Commonwealth of Nations, whose destiny is to lend a notable impetus to the progress of this world Crusade, through awakening the vast and heterogeneous multitudes that owe allegiance to the British Crown, and are dispersed throughout the five continents of the globe; to the members of the equally small yet virile and highly promising community, planted in the heart of the European continent, whose mission is to spread the light of the Faith throughout the regions that lie in its neighborhood and project its radiance as far as the heart of the Asiatic continent; to the members of the newly emerged yet swiftly advancing community established in the Dominion of Canada, worthy allies of the American Bahá'í Community in the furtherance therance of the Grand Design delineated in 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í immortal Tablets; to the members of the loyal, the assiduously laboring and highly diversified community in the Indian subcontinent, whose geographic position entitles them to extend substantial assistance to the prodigious task of awakening the peoples of South East Asia to the redemptive
Message of Bahá'u'lláh;to the members of the second most persecuted yet resolute community established in the heart of both the Arab and Muslim worlds, who, by virtue of the position they occupy, must play a distinctive part in the emancipation of a proscribed Faith from the fetters of religious orthodoxy; to the members of the youthful yet vigorously functioning community, championing the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh in the Antipodes who, by reason of their close proximity, are expected to contribute a substantial share to the establishment of the institutions of the Faith in the numerous and widely scattered islands and archipelagoes of the South Pacific Ocean; to the members of a long-established yet still persecuted community dwelling in a territory which may well rank, next to the Holy Land and the Cradle of our Faith, as the most holy in the entire Bahá'í world, who are destined to share with their brethren in Persia, Egypt and PThist6n in the task of achieving the recognition of a downtrodden Faith, by the ecclesiastical leaders of Isl&m; to the newly-fledged, spiritually alert communities of Central and South America, who, by virtue of the responsibilities m-vested in the inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere through the ringing call of Bahá'u'lláh in the Aqdas and the utterances of the Center of His Covenant, are expected by their brethren, in both the East and the West, to worthily play their part as associates of the chief executors of the Plan bequeathed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá; to the members of the communities in Italy and Switzerland, as yet in the embryonic stage of their development, and who will soon take their place as an independent entity in the international Baha community, and must assume theft share in planting the banner of a triumphant Faith in the heart of a continent regarded as the cradle of Western civilization as well as in the stronghold and nerve-center of the most powerful church in Christendom; indeed, to each and every believer, whether isolated, or associated with any local Assembly or group, who, though as yet unidenti
Page 363THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 361
fled with any specific national Plan for the systematic prosecution of this Crusade, cam still, and indeed must, lend his particular assistance in this gigantic enterprise � to all, without distinction of race, nation, class, color, age or sex, I feel moved, as the fateful hour of a memorable centenary approaches, to address my plea, with all the fervor that my soul can command and all the love that my heart contains, to rededicate themselves, collectively and individually, to the task that lies ahead of them.
Under whatever conditions, the dearly loved, the divinely sustained, the onward marching legions of the army of Bahá'u'lláh may be laboring, in whatever theater they may operate, in whatever climes they may struggk, whether in the cold and inhospitable territories beyond the Arctic Circle, or in the torrid zones of both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres; on the borders of the jungks of Burma, Malaya and India; on the fringes of the deserts of Africa and of the Arabian Peninsula; in the lonely, faraway, backward and sparsely populated islands dotting the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian Oceans and the North Sea; amidst the diversified tribes of the Negroes of Africa, the Eskimos and the Lapps of the Arctic regions, the Mongolians of East and South East Asia, the Polynesians of the South Pacific Islands, the reservations of the Red Indians in both American continents, the Ma-ones of New Zealand, and the aborigines of Australia; within the time-honored strongholds of both Christianity and Is1~m, whether it be in Mecca, Rome, Cairo, Najaf or Karbilfi; or in towns and cities whose inhabitants are either immersed in crass materialism, or breathe the fetid air of an aggressive racialism, or find themselves bound by the chains and fetters of a haughty intellectualism, or have fallen a prey to the forces of a blind and militant nationalism, or are steeped in the atmosphere of a narrow and intolerant ecciesiasticism � to them all, as well as to those who, as the fortunes of this fate-laden Crusade prosper, will be called upon to unfurl the standard of an all-conquering Faith in the strongholds of Hinduism, and assist in the breaking up of a rigid agelong caste system, who will replace the seminaries and monasteries acting as the nurseries of the Buddhist Faith with the divinely-ordained institutions of Bahá'u'lláh's victorious Order, who will penetrate the jungles of the Amazon, scale the moun tain-fastnesses of Tibet, establish direct contact with the teeming and hapless multitudes in the interior of China, Mongolia and Japan, sit with the leprous, consort with the outcasts in their penal colonies, traverse the steppes of Russia or scatter throughout the wastes of Siberia, I direct my impassioned appeal to obey, as befits His warriors, the summons of the Lord of Hosts, and prepare for that Day of Days when His victorious battalions will, to the accompaniment of hozannas from the invisible angels in the AbhA Kingdom, celebrate the hour of final victory.
"0, that I could travel," 'Abdu'l-Bahá crying out from the depths of His soul, gives utterance to His longing, in a memorable passage in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, addressed to the North American believers, "even though on foot and in the utmost poverty, to these regions, and raising the call of 'Y~-BahA'u'1-Abh&' in cities, villages, mountains, deserts and oceans, promote the Divine teachings!
This, alas, I cannot do. How intensely I deplore it! Please God, ye may achieve it!"
"Teach ye the Cause of God, 0 people of Baha," the Author of our Faith,
Himself, admonishes Hisfollowers, ". for God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds.
Should any one arise for the triumph of Our Cause, him will God render victorious though tens of thousands of enemies be leagued against him." "They that have forsaken their country," He assures them, for the purpose of teaching Our Cause � these shall the Faithful Spirit strengthen through its power. Such a service is, indeed, the prince of all goodly deeds, and the ornament of every goodly act." "When the hour cometh that this wronged and broken-winged bird will have taken its flight unto the celestial Concourse," is 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í last poignant call to the entire body of the followers of His Father's Faith, as recorded in His Will and Testament, "it is incumbent upon the friends and loved ones, one and all, to bestir themselves and arise, with heart and soul, and in one accord to teach His Cause and promote His Faith.
It behoveth them not to rest for a moment.They must disperse themselves in every land and travel throughout all regions.
Bestirred, without rest, and steadfast to the end, they must raise in every land
Page 364Bahá'ís attending the First Italo-Swiss Bahá'í Convention, Florence, Italy, April 2327, 1953.
Page 365THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 363
the cry of 'Y&BaM'u'1-AbM' that throughout the East and the West a vast concourse may gather under the shadow of the Word of God, that the sweet savors of holiness may be wafted, that men's faces may be illumined, that their hearts may be filled with the Divine Spirit and their souls become heavenly."
No matter how long the period that separates them from ultimate victory; however arduous the task; however formidable the exertions demanded of them; however dark the days which mankind, perplexed and sorely-tried, must, in its hour of travail, traverse; however severe the tests with which they who are to redeem its fortunes will be confronted; however afflictive the darts which their present enemies, as well as those whom Providence, will, through His mysterious dispensations raise up from within or from without, may rain upon them, however grievous the ordeal of temporary separation from the heart and nerve-center of their Faith which future unforeseeable disturbances may impose upon them, I adjure them, by the precious blood that flowed in such great profusion, by the lives of the unnumbered saints and heroes who were immolated, by the supreme, the glori-oiis sacrifice of the Prophet-Herald of our Faith, by the tribulations which its Founder, Himself, willingly underwent, so that His Cause might live, His Order might redeem a shattered world and its glory might suffuse the entire planet � I adjure them, as this solemn hour draws nigh, to resolve never to flinch, never to hesitate, never to relax, until each and every objective in the Plans to be proclaimed, at a later date, has been fully consummated.
June 30, 1952.(On the) occasion, auspicious opening Luxembourg Teaching Conference coinciding (with the) eve (of the) historic Holy Year marking (the) conclusion (of the) series (of the) memorable annual gatherings, leaving (an) indelible imprint (on the) annals (of the) second stage (of the) evolution (of)
'Abdu'l-Bahá A's DivinePlan, wholeheartedly share feelings (of) joy, pride (and) gratitude evoked (in the) hearts (of the) assembled representatives (of the) Bahá'í Communities (on the) European Continent (at the) prospect (of the) forthcoming convocation (of the) epochmaking convention (in) Florence, (the) harbinger (of the) birth (of the) Italo-Swiss
Bahá'í National Assembly.Stop. (The) projected institutions called (into) being amidst (the) worldwide celebrations commemorating (the) inception (of) Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic Mission, constituting fairest fruit (of the) initial stage (of the) European crusade, bound (to) add its valuable support (to the) triple pillars recently erected under (the) aegis (of the) same plan (in the) course (of the) same stage (of) its evolution designed (to) sustain (the) weight, (to) broaden (the) basis, (to) enhance (the) prestige, (to) add diversity (to the) elements (that are) destined (to) participate (in) six continents (of the) globe, (in the) future election (of the) Universal House (of) Justice. Stop.
Moved (to) warmly congratulate (the) American National Spiritual Assembly, ably directing (the) vast operations (of the) European crusade from (the) heart (of the) North American Continent; (the) European Teaching Committee, (the) principal executor (of the) plan, inaugurating (the) European phase (of) America's unfolding mission; (the) European representative (of the) Committee established (in) Geneva, vigilantly coordinating (the) ramifications (of the) newly launched project; every subsidiary agency, regional (and) local, contributing its share (to the) triumph (of the) common cause; all pioneers, past (and) present; settlers, itinerant teachers, worthy emissaries (of the) Center (of the) Covenant, who nobly responded (to) His call (in the) length (and) breadth (of the) ten goal countries; (the) entire body (of the) steadily multiplying native believers, constituting (the) core (of the) vanguard (of the) army, singled out by (the) Lord (of) Hosts (for the) quickening (and the) ultimate conquest (of the) spiritually slumbering continent, particularly (the) members (of the) twin rapidly rising communities (of) Italy (and) Switzerland, who singly (and) collectively hastened, through high endeavors, (the) consummation (of the) enterprise, exceeding fondest expectations.
Stop. Hail this crowning exploit (of the) Second Seven Year Plan as (the) forerunner (of the) formation (in) rapid succession, (in
Page 366the) course (of the) third phase (of the) Plan conceived (by the) Center (of) Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, (of) Regional National Assemblies (in) Scandinavia, Benelux countries, Therian Peninsula, themselves a prelude (to the) establishment (in) present (and) succeeding epochs (of the) evolution (of the) Divine Plan, (of) separate National Assemblies (in) each sovereign state, principality, (and) chief dependency (on the) European Continent, as well as (on the) neighboring principal islands (of the) Mediterranean, Atlantic Ocean, (and) North Sea. Stop.
Earnestly appeal (to) all participants (in the) phenomenal birth (and) rise (of the) communities constituting weighty elements (in the) life (of the) firmly knit world Bahá'í family (to) prepare themselves during present Conference (for the) future close collaboration (with the) long established sister communities (in the) British Isles, France (and) Germany (to) meet (the) challenge (of the) major strenuous task constituting (the) pivot (of the) deliberations (of the) approaching Stockholm Intercontinental Conference, designed (to) expand (and) consolidate (the) framework (of the) administrative order (of the) Faith (of) Bahá'u'lláh (in the) north, south, west (and) heart (of the) European Continent, foreshadowing (the) launching (of) future enterprises (in) collaboration (with the) German,
Persian, 'JiAqf Bahá'íCommunities, calculated (to) extend (the) regenerating influence (of the) same order (to) eastern (and) southeastern territories (of the) same continent (and) eventually beyond its confines, across (the) Ural Mountains (to the) north, west (and) ultimately (to the) heart (of the) Asiatic Continent. Stop.
Urge all attendants (to) dedicate part (of the) sessions (of this) Conference synchronizing (with) Centenary (of the) imprisonment (of) Bahá'u'lláh (in the) SiyTh-ChM (in) prayerful remembrance (of the) somber tragedy preceding (the) rise (of the) resplendent Orb (of the) august Revelation, (to) draw nigh (to) His spirit, (to) fix (their) thoughts (on) His promises, (to) derive fresh inspiration (from the) glorious triumph, following so closely (upon) His agonizing ordeal, (to) contemplate (the) magnitude (of) His Cause, (to) pledge themselves (to) ensure (in the) course (of the) decade opening before them (the) success (of the) twin colossal tasks assigned them, (the) propagation (of) His Faith (and the) consolidation (of the) agencies (of) His rising Administrative Order throughout (the) entire European
Continent.Announce (to) Bahá'í communities, East (and) West, (on the) joyous occasion (of the) hundred (and) thirty-fifth
Anniversary (of) Bahá'u'lláh'sBirthday, (the) successful termination (of the) protracted negotiations, initiated two years ago (and) culminating (in the) signature (to the) contract providing (the) eventual, formal transfer by (the) Development Authority (of the) State (of) Israel to (the) Palestine Branch (of the) American National Spiritual Assembly (of the) extensive, long-desired, vitally-needed property surrounding (and) safeguarding for posterity (the) Most Holy Tomb (of the) Founder (of the) Faith, as well as (the) adjoining Mansion.
(The) acquired area, raising Bahá'í holdings (on the) holy plain (of) 'Akka from four thousand to one hundred and fifty-five thousand square meters, (was) exchanged against property donated by children (of) Zikrullah, grandchildren (of) Mirza.
Muhammad Quli, Bahá'u'lláh's(This) spontaneous offer contrasts (with the) shameful action (of the) family (in the) sale to non-Bahá'ís (of the) property (in the) neighborhood (of the) Jordan valley purchased (through the) instrumentality (of) 'Abdu'l-Bahá during Bahá'u'lláh's lifetime, pursuant (to) His instructions (and) alluded (to in) His writings.
(The) forty acre property acquired (in this) single transaction almost equals (the) entire Bahá'í international endowments purchased (in the) course (of) sixty years (in the) vicinity (of the) BTh's Sepulcher (on the) slope (of) Mt.
Carmel.(The) exchange (of) said property, including land (and) houses (was) made possible (by the) precipitate flight (of the) former Arab owners, traditional supporters (of the) old Covenant-breakers (and) de-scendents (of the) notorious enemy (of) 'Abdu'l-Bahá who placed (his) residence
Page 367THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 365
(at the) disposal (of the) Committee (of) Investigation.
(The) signature (to the) agreement signalized (the) commencement (of) large-scale landscaping, aiming (at the) beautification (of the) immediate precincts (of the) holiest spot (in the) entire Bahá'í world, itself (the) prelude (to the) eventual erection, as happened (in the) ease (of the) Báb's Sepulcher, (of a) befitting Mausoleum enshrining (the) precious Dust (of the) Most
Great Name.Desire (to) acknowledge (the) indef at-igable efforts exerted (by) both Larry I{autz (and) Leroy Joas enabling (the) consummation (of the) initial stage (of the) enterprise destined (to) eclipse in its final phase (the) splendor (and) magnificence (of the) DAb's resting-place (on) Mt. Carmel.
Haifa, Israel, November 12, 1952.My soul is uplifted in joy and thanks giving at the triumphant conclusion of the second Seven Year Plan immortalized by the brilliant victories simultaneously won by the vanguard of the hosts of Bahá'u'lláh in Latin America, in Europe and in Africa � victories befittingly crowned through the consummation of a fifty year old enterprise, the completion of the first Masbriqu'I-Ac1hk~r of the Western World.
The signal success that has attended the second cal-lective enterprise undertaken in the course of the American Bahá'í history climaxes a term of stewardship to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, of almost three score years duration, � a period which has enriched the annals of the concluding epoch of the Heroic, and shed luster on the first thirty years of the Formative Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation. So fecund a period has been marked by teaching activities unexcelled throughout the western world and has been distinguished by administrative exploits unparalleled in the annals of any
Baha National Communitywhether in the East or in the West. I am impelled, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Most Great Festival, coinciding with a triple celebration � the dedication of the Mother Temple of the West, the launching of a World Spiritual Crusade and the Commemoration of the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Mission � to pay warmest tribute to the preeminent share which the American Baha Community has had in the course of over half a century in proclaiming His Revelation, in shielding His Cause, in championing His Covenant, in erecting the administrative machinery of His embryonic World Order, in expcrnnding His teachings, in translating and disseminating His Holy Word, in despatching the messengers of His Glad-Tidings, in awakening Royalty to His Call, in succoring His oppressed followers, in routing His enemies, in upholding His Law, in asserting the independence of His � SHOGHI Faith, in multiplying the financial resources of its nascent institutions and, last but not least, in rearing its greatest House of Worship � the first Ma~hriqu'1-Adbkair of the Western World.
The hour is now ripe for this greatly gifted richly blessed Community to arise and reaffirm, through the launching of yet another enterprise, its primacy, enhance its spiritual heritage, plumb greater depths of consecration and capture loftier heights in the course of its strenuous and ceaseless labors for the exaltation of God's Cause.
The Ten Year Plan, constituting the third and final stage of the initial epoch in the evolution of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Master Plan, which, God willing, will raise to greater heights the fame of the stalwart American Bahá'í Community, and seat it upon "the throne of an everlasting dominion," envisaged by the Author of the Tablets of this same Plan, involves: First, the opening of the following virgir territories, eleven in Africa: Cape Verde Islands,
Canary Islands, FrenchIsland; eight in Asia: Caroline Islands, Dutch New Guinea, Hainan Island, Kazakhstan, Macao Island, Sakhalin Island,
Tibet and Tonga Islands;six in Europe: Andorra, Azores, Balearic Islands, Lofoten
Islands, Spitzbergenand Ukraine, and four in America: Aleutian Islands, Falkiand Islands,
Key West and KodiakSecond, the consolidation of the Faith in the following territories, six in Asia: China, Formosa, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Philippine Islands; two in Africa:
Liberia and South Africa;twelve in Europe: the ten Goal Countries, Finland and France; three in America: the Hawaiian Islands,
Alaska and Puerto Rico.Third, the extension of assistance to the National
Spiritual Assembliesof the Bahá'ís of Central and South America, as well as to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland, in forming twenty
National Spiritual Assembliesin the Republics of Latin America and two in Europe, namely in Italy and Switzerland; the extension of assistance for the establishment of a National lja4ratu'l-Quds in the capital of each of the aforementioned countries as well as of national Bahá'í endowments in these same countries.
Fourth, the establishment of ten National Spiritual Assemblies in the following European countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, France and Finland.
Fifth, the establishment of a National Spiritual Assembly in Japan and one in the South Pacific
Islands.Sixth, the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly of Bahá'ís of
Alaska.Seventh, the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South and West Africa.
Eighth, the incorporation of each of the fourteen abovementioned National
Spiritual Assemblies.Ninth, the establishment of national Bahá'í endowments by these same National Spiritual
Assemblies.Tenth, the establishment of a National flaratu'1-Quds in the capital city of each of the eleven of the aforementioned countries, as well as one in Anchorage, one in Suva, and one in
Johannesburg.Eleventh, the erection of the first Dependency of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Western World.
Twelfth, the extension of assistance for the purchase of land for four future Tem-pies, two in Europe: in Stockholm and Rome; one in Central
America, in Panama City;Thirteenth, the completion of the landscaping of the grounds of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Wilmette.
Fourteenth, the raising to one hundred of the number of incorporated local assemblies within the American Union.
Fifteenth, the raising to three hundred of the number of local spiritual assemblies in that same country.
Sixteenth, the incorporation of spiritual assemblies in the leading cities of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal, as well as of the spiritual assemblies of Paris, of Helsing-fors, of Tokyo, of Suva and of Johannesburg.
Seventeenth, the quadrupling of the number of the local spiritual assemblies and the trebling of the number of localities in the aforementioned countries.
Eighteenth, the translation of Bahá'í literature into ten languages in
Europe:Basque, Estonian, Flemish, Lapp, Maltese, Piedmontese, Romani, Romansch, Yiddish and Ziryen; ten in America: Aguaruna, Ma-wak, Blackfoot, Cherokee, iroquois, Len-gua, Mataco, Maya, Mexican and Yaligan.
Nineteenth, the conversion to the Faith of members of the leading Indian tribes.
Twentieth, the conversion to the Faith of representatives of the Basque and Gipsy races.
Twenty-first, the establishment of summer schools in each of the Scandinavian and Benelux countries, as well as those of the Iberian
Peninsula.Twenty-second, the proclamation of the Faith through the Press and Radio throughout the United States of
Amenca.Twenty-third, the establishment of a Bahá'í Publishing Trust in Wilmette, Illinois.
Twenty-fourth, the formation of an Asian Teaching Committee designed to stimulate and coordinate the teaching activities initiated by the Plan.
May this Community � the spiritual de-scendents of the Dawn-Breakers of the Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Faith, the chief repository of the immortal Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan, the foremost executors of the Mandate issued by the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, the champion-build-ers of a divinely conceived Administrative Order, the standard-bearers of the all-con-quering army of the Lord of Hosts, the torchbearers of a future divinely inspired world civilization � arise, in the course of the momentous decade separating the
Great from Most GreatJubilee, to secure, as befits its rank, the lion's share in the prosecution of a global crusade designed to diffuse the
Page 369TIlE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 367
Light of God's RevelationDear and valued coworkers: My soul is thrilled and my heart is filled with gratitude as I contemplate � looking back upon six decades of eventful American Bahá'í history � the chain of magnificent achievements which, from the dawn of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the West until the present day, have signalized the birth, marked the rise and distinguished the unfoldment of the glorious Mission of the American Bahá'í Community. Of all
Bahá'í Communitiesin both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, with the sole exception of its venerable sister-community in Bah~7u'-flTh's native land, it alone may well claim to have released forces, and set in motion events, which stand unparalleled in the am nals of the Faith; while in the course of the last fifty years, comprising the concluding years of the Heroic and the opening Epochs of the Formative Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation, it can confidently boast of a record of stewardship which, for its scope, effectiveness and splendor, is unmatched by that of any other community in the entire Baha world.
The first to awaken to the Call of the New Day in the Western world; the first to spontaneously arise to befittingly erect the Mother Temple of the West; the first to grasp the implications, evolve the pattern and lay the basis of the structure of the Bahá'í
Administrative Orderin the entire Baha world; the first to openly and systematically proclaim the fundamental principles of the Faith, to adopt effectual measures for its defense, to invite the attention of Royalty to its teachings, to devise an adequate machinery for the translation, the publication and the dissemination of its literature and to provide the means for the creation of its subsidiary institutions; the first to champion the cause of the oppressed and to generously contribute to the alleviation of the sufferings of the needy and persecuted among the followers of Bahá'u'lláh; the first to inaugurate collective enterprises for the propagation of His Cause; the first to assert its independence in the west; the first to lay an unassailable foundation for the erection of auxiliary institutions de � Saoorn signed to multiply its financial resources; and, more recently, the first to achieve, as befits its primacy, the initial task devolving upon it in pursuance of the newly-launched world spiritual Crusade, this Community has abundantly merited, by the quality of its deeds and the magnitude of its exploits, the distinctive titles of the Cradle of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, of the Vanguard of His world-conquering Host, of the standard-bearers of the Oneness of Mankind, of the Chief Trustees of the Plan devised by the Center of the Covenant and of the torchbearers of an as yet unborn world civilization.
The services rendered by this same Community in recent years, in its capacity as the chief executors of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan, in the course of the second stage of the initial epoch in its evolution, are of such importance and significance as to deserve particular mention at this time.
In the North Americancontinent, throughout the Republics of Latin America, in the Ten Goal countries of Europe, on the shores and in the heart of the African continent, the members of this community have, in conformity with the provisions of the second Seven Year Plan, performed feats of such noble and enduring heroism as to enhance immensely their prestige, demonstrate unmistakably the caliber of their faith and qualify them to assume a preponderating share in the prosecution of the Ten Year Plan whose operations are to extend over the entire surface of the globe.
In the multiplication and consolidation of Ba1A'i Administrative institutions and their auxiliary agencies throughout Central America, the Antilles and every
South American Republic � atask supplementing the initial enterprise undertaken, in pursuance of the first Seven Year Plan, in connection with the introduction of the Faith into the
Republics of LatinAmerica; in the even more rapid development of nascent institutions of the Faith in Scandinavian, in the Benelux countries, in Switzerland, in the Italian and Iberian Peninsulas; in the laying of the administrative basis of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh in the capital and in some of the major cities of each of the ten European sovereign states included within the scope of the Plan; in the convocation of a series of historic teaching Conferences in
Page 370the North and in the bean of the European continent � heralding the convocation of the recently held, epochmaking intercontinental Teaching Conferences; in the translation, the publication and dissemination of Bahá'í literature in various European languages; in the still more dramatic evolution of the Faith in the African continent, culminating in the convocation of the first intercontinental Teaching Conference of the Holy Year in the heart of Africa; in the tremendous sacrifices spontaneously and repeatedly made to broaden and reinforce the foundations of the Faith in the North American continent, to sustain the campaigns undertaken in Latin America, Europe and Africa, and to meet the many demands of the Bahá'í Temple, rapidly nearing completion in Wit-mette; in the successive emergence of three National
Spiritual Assembliesin the Western Hemisphere � an outstanding contribution to the evolution and consolidation of the structure of the world administrative order of the Faith; in the completion of the interior ornamentation of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the West, the provision of its accessories and the initiation of the landscaping of its grounds; in the support extended to the development of the institutions of the World Center of the Faith; in the role played by its representatives, whether as Hands of the Cause or members of the
International Bahá'íCouncil; in the financial aid unhesitatingly given to hasten the construction, and insure the completion, of the Superstructure of the 13Th's Sepulcher on Mt. Carmel � above all, in the share its national elected representatives have assumed in providing the means for the convocation of the second intercontinental Teaching Conference of the Holy Year; in commemorating worthily the dedication to public worship of the Mother Temple of the West, on the occasion of its Jubilee; in befittingly inaugurating the launching of the World Spiritual Crusade, and in celebrating the climax of the Holy Year marking the centenary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Mission � in all these the
American Bahá'í Communityhas fully deserved the praise and gratitude of posterity, has merited the applause of the Concourse on high and earned a full measure of the Divine blessings and of the celestial sustenance of which it will stand in such great need in the course of the prosecution of still mightier and more glorious enterprises in the days to come.
The stage is now set, and the hour propitious, for a deployment of forces, and for the revelation of the indomitable spirit animating this community, on a scale and to a degree unprecedented in the entire course of American Bahá'í history. To the Antilles and the seventeen
Republics of Centraland of South America � the scene of the initial exploits of a conununity inaugurating the opening phase of its world-girding Mission � to the ten sovereign states of Europe which, at a subsequent stage in the unfoldment of that Mission, the members of this community enthusiastically and determinedly arose to open up and conquer; to the African Territories which, in addition to their allocated task under the second Seven Year Plan, they spontaneously endeavored to win to the all-conquering Cause of Bahá'u'lláh � to these numerous islands and archipelagoes, bordering the American, the European and African continents; Dependencies extensive, well-nigh inaccessible, and remote from the base of their operations throughout the Asiatic continent; lastly, the South Pacific area, the home of the one remaining race not as yet adequately represented in the Bahá'í world community, occupying spiritually so strategic a position owing to its proximity to the Bahá'í communities already firmly entrenched in South America, in the Indian subcontinent and in Australasia, at once challenging the resources of no less than eight National Spiritual Assemblies, and the theater destined to witness the noblest and the most resounding victories which the chosen executors of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan have been called upon to win in the service of the Cause of God � all these have now, in accordance with the requirements of an irresistibly unfolding Plan, been added, completing thereby the full circle of the worldwide obligations devolving upon a community invested with spiritual primacy by the Author of the immortal Tablets constituting the Charter of the Master Plan of the appointed Center of
Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant."The moment this Divine Message," lie Who penned these Tablets and conferred this primacy has most significantly affirmed, "is propagated though the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa and of Australasia, and as far as the islands of the Pacific, this Community will find itself securely established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion."
Then, and only then, will, as HeTHE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 369
Himself has so remarkably prophesied, "the whole earth" "resound with the praises of its majesty and greatness."
Now, indeed, is the time, after the lapse of two score years; following the triumphant conclusion of two successive historic Plans, marking the opening stages of the first Epoch in the unfoldment of that same Master Plan; on the morrow of the brilliant celebrations climaxing the worldwide festivities of a memorable I{oiy Year; and while a triumphant Community, in the first flush of enthusiasm, has just garnered the first fruits of its campaigns in four continents of the globe and is laden with its freshly won trophies, for this community to bestir itself, and, assuming its rightful preponderating share in the conduct of a newly launched world Spiritual Crusade, to demonstrate, through a supreme and sustained effort embracing the entire surface of the planet, its ability to safeguard that primacy, to enrich immeasurably the record of its stewardship and to bring to a majestic conclusion the opening Epoch in the evolution of a Plan destined to reveal the full measure of its potentialities, not only throughout the successive Epochs of the Formative Age of the Faith, but in the course of the vast reaches of time stretching into the Golden, the last Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
This decade-long global Crusade must mark a veritable turning point in American Bahá'í history. It must prove itself to be, as it develops, a force so pervasive and revolutionary in its character as to leave a lasting imprint not only on the destinies of the American Bahá'í Community but on the fortunes of the American nation as well. It must, even as a baptismal fire, so purge its members from self as to enable them to scale heights never as yet attained. It must, in its initial stages, witness a dispersal, combined with a consecration, reminiscent of the dawn of the Heroic Age in Bahá'u'lláh's native land.
It must, as it gathers momentum, awaken the select and gather the spiritually hungry amongst the peoples of the world, as well as create an awareness of the Faith not only among the political leaders of presentday society but also among the thoughtful, the erudite in other spheres of human activity. It must, as it approaches its climax, carry the torch of the Faith to regions so remote, so backward, so inhospitable that neither the light of Christianity or 1s16.m has, after the revolution of centuries, as yet penetrated. It must, as it approaches its conclusion, pave the way for the laying, on an unassailable foundation, of the structural basis of an Administrative Order whose fabric must, in the course of successive Crusades, be laboriously erected throughout the entire globe and which must assemble beneath its sheltering shadow peo-pies of every race, tongue, creed, color and nation.
Seconded by the neighboring fully fledged Canadian Bahá'í Community flourishing beyond the northern frontier of its homeland; supported by the newly emerged
Latin American Communitiesestablished in the Antilles and in each of the Central and Southern Republics of the Western Hemisphere; ably aided by its sister community vigorously functioning in the heart of a far-flung Empire, and destined to lend its inestimable assistance in the spiritual conquest of the numerous and widely scattered Dependencies of the British Crown; reinforced by the oldest and youngest national Bahá'í communities on the European mainland which are to play a prominent part in the eastern and southern regions, and across the frontiers of Europe, along the shores and in the islands of the Mediterranean; assisted by its venerable sister-community in the cradle of the Faith and by the second oldest national community in the Bahá'í world actively engaged in the propagation of the Faith in the Asiatic continent; confident of the help of its Egyptian and Indian sister-communities, whose destiny is closely linked with the African continent and Southeast Asia, respectively, and, lastly, assured of the unfailing cooperation of yet another national Community in the Antipodes which, owing to its geographical position, is bound to assume a notable share in the introduction of the Faith in the Islands of the South Pacific Ocean, the American 13ah~'i Community must, as befits its rank as the chief executor of the Divine Plan, play a dominant and decisive role in the direction and control of the manifold operations involved in the prosecution of the
North American, the LatinAmerican, the European, the African, the Asian and the South Pacific campaigns of this world Crusade, and ensure, by every means at its disposal and in conjunction with its junior partners, its ultimate and total success.
Within its own sphere, extending to every continent of the globe, embracing no less
Page 372than twenty-nine virgin territories and islands, the members of this stalwart and preeminent Community are called upon, among other things and within the relatively brief span of a single decade, to create nuclei, around which will crystallize future-assem- blies, in no less than eleven territories and islands of Africa, eight of Asia, six of Europe, four of America; to inaugurate the establishment of the future Dependencies of the Mother Temple of the West, and to ter-inmate the landscaping of its grounds; to consolidate and broaden the basis of the Administrative Order already laid in twenty-three territories and islands distributed in four continents of the globe and situated in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; to assist in the erection of no less than thirty-six pillars, twenty in Latin America, twelve in Europe, two in Asia, one in the North American continent and one in Africa, designed to help in sustaining the weight of the crowning unit of the Bahá'í Administrative Order, and in the establishment of national Bahá'í headquarters, of national endowments, and of national incorporations in all of these continents; to lend its aid for the acquisition of land in anticipation of the erection of four Temples, two in Europe, one in Africa and one in Central America; to lend an impetus to the progress of the Faith in its homeland through raising to three hundred the number of local Spiritual Assemblies and to one hundred the number of incorporated Assemblies, as well as through the founding of a Bahá'í Publishing Trust and the proclamation of the Faith through the Press and Radio; to enroll in the ranks of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh members of the Indian, of the Basque and Gipsy races; to assume responsibility for the translation and publication of Bahá'í literature in twenty languages, ten in the Americas and ten in Europe; and to contribute to the consolidation of the Faith in eight of the European goal countries through the establishment of local incorporations, as well as through the quadrupling of the number of local Assemblies and the trebling of the number of local Bahá'í centers in each one of them.
While this colossal task, which in its magnitude and potentialities transcends any previous collective enterprise launched in the course of American Baha history, is being energetically carried out, it should be constantly borne in mind � and this applies to all communities without exception partici pating in this world Crusade � that the twofold task of extension and consolidation must be supplemented by continuous and strenuous efforts to increase speedily not only the number of the avowed followers of the Faith in both the virgin and opened territories and islands included within the scope of the Ten Year Plan, but also to swell the ranks of its active supporters who will consecrate their time, resources and energy to the effectual spread of its teachings and the multiplication and consolidation of its administrative institutions.
The movement of pioneers, the opening of virgin territories, the initiation of Houses of Worship and of administrative headquarters, the incorporation of local and national elective bodies, the multiplication of assemblies, groups and isolated centers, the increase in the number of races, represented in the world Bahá'í Fellowship, the translation, publication and dissemination of Baha literature, the consolidation of administrative agencies and the creation of auxiliary bodies designed to support them, however valuable, essential and meritorious, will in the long run amount to little and fail to achieve their supreme purpose if not supplemented by the equally vital task � which is one that primarily concerns continually and challenges each single individual believer whatever his rank, capacity or origin � of winning to the Faith fresh recruits to the slowly yet steadily advancing army of the Lord of Hosts, whose reinforcing strength is so essential to the safeguarding of the victories which the band of heroic Bahá'í conquerors are winning in the course of their several campaigns in all the continents of the globe.
Such a steady flow of reinforcements is absolutely vital and is of extreme urgency, for noThing short of the vitalizing influx of new blood that will reanimate the world Bahá'í Community can safeguard the prizes which, at so great a sacrifice involving the expenditure of so much time, effort and treasure, are now being won in virgin territories by Bahá'u'lláh's valiant Knights, whose privilege is to constitute the spearhead of the onrushing battalions which, in diverse theaters and in circumstances often adverse and extremely challenging, are vying with each other for the spiritual conquest of the unsurrendered territories and islands on the surface of the globe.
This flow, moreover, will presage andTHE WORLD ORDER OP BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 371
hasten the advent of the day which, as prophesied by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, will witness the entry by troops of peoples of divers nations and races into the Bahá'í world � a day which, viewed in its proper perspective, will be the prelude to that long-awaited hour when a mass conversion on the part of these same nations and races, and as a direct re-suit of a chain of events, momentous and possibly catastrophic in nature, and which cannot as yet be even dimly visualized, will suddenly revolutionize the fortunes of the Faith, derange the equilibrium of the world, and reinforce a thousandfold the numerical strength as well as the material power and the spiritual authority of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
Of all the Objectives enumerated in my message to the representatives of this Community, assembled on the occasion of the celebration of the climax of the Holy Year, of the convocation of the second intercontinental Teaching Conference, of the inauguration of the Mother Temple of the West and of the launching of the World Spiritual Crusade, the most vital, urgent and meritorious, in this the opening year of the initial phase of this world-embracing enterprise, is, without doubt, the settlement of pioneers in all the virgin territories and islands assigned to this Community in all the continents of the globe, with the exception of the few which, owing to present political obstacles, can not as yet be opened to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
This process already so auspiciously inaugurated, which, in the course of the first eight months of the Holy Year has gathered such splendid momentum, and which bids fair to astonish, stimulate and inspire the entire Bahá'í world, must, during the concluding months of this same year and the one succeeding it, be so accelerated as to ensure the attainment of this paramount objective before the lapse of two years from the official launching of this World Crusade.
While this goal is being vigorously pursued close attention must be directed to the preliminary measures for the establishment of the first Dependency of the Mother Temple of the West, as well as to the completion of the landscaping of its grounds, a double task that will, on the one hand, mark the termination of the fifty-year old process of the construction of the Central Bahá'í House of Worship, and proclaim, on the other, the commencement of another de signed to culminate in the establishment in its plenitude of the institution of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar as conceived by Bahá'u'lláh and envisaged by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Moreover, immediate consideration should be. given to two other issues of prime importance, namely the purchase of land, which need not exceed for the present one acre, in anticipation of the construction of the first Mashriqu'1-Adbk~r of South Africa, and the prompt translation of a suitable Bahá'í pamphlet into the American and European languages allocated to your Assembly, and its publication and wide dissemination among the peoples and tribes for whom it has been primarily designed.
The followers of the Most Great Name, citizens of the Great Republic of the West; constituting the majority and the oldest followers of His Faith in a continent wherein, in the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "the splendors of His (Bahá'u'lláh's) Light shall be revealed" and "the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled," addressed by Him in His Tablets of the Divine Plan as the "Apostles" of His Father; the recipients of the overwhelming majority of these same Tablets constituting the Charter of that Plan; conquerors of most of the territories, whether sovereign states or Dependencies, already included within the pale of the Faith; the Champion-builders of a world Administrative System which posterity will regard as the Harbinger of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, must, if they wish to retain their primacy and enrich their heritage, insure that, ere the opening of the second phase of this World Crusade, the names of the first American Bahá'í conquerors to settle in virgin territories and islands will, as befits their primacy, be inscribed on the Scroll of Honor, now in process of preparation, and designed to be permanently deposited at the entrance door of the Inner Sanctuary of Bahá'u'lláh's Most 1{oiy Tomb, that the limited area of land required for the erection of four future Bahá'í Temples, in Rome, Stockholm, Panama City and Johannesburg, will be bought, that the landscaping of the grounds of the Temple in Wil-mette will be completed, and that the translation and the publication of the aforementioned pamphlet in the specified languages will be accomplished.
The two years that lie ahead, three months of which have already elapsed, will swiftly and imperceptibly draw to a close
Page 374Tasks even more onerous, equally weighty and requiring in a still greater measure the expenditure of effort and substance, lie ahead, which will brook of no delay, which will carry the Faith to still higher levels of achievement and renown, which will enlarge, through the forging of fresh instruments, the framework of a steadily rising world Administrative Order, and which will eventually, if worthily discharged, seal the triumph of the most prodigious, the most sublime, the most sacred collective enterprise launched by the adherents of the Cause of God in both hemispheres since the early days of the Heroic Age of the Faith � an enterprise which in its vastness, organization and unifying power, has no parallel in the world's spiritual history.
To them, and indeed to the entire body of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh, engaged in this global Crusade, I direct my appeal to arise and, in the course of these fast fleeting years, in every phase of the campaigns that are to be fought in all the continents of the globe, prove their worth as gallant warriors battling for the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. Indeed, from this very hour until the eve of the Most Great Jubilee, each and every one of those enrolled in the Army of Light must seek no rest, must take no thought of self, must sacrifice to the uttermost, must allow nothing whatsoever to deflect him or her from meeting the pressing, the manifold, the paramount needs of this preeminent
Crusade."Light as the spirit," "pure as air," "blaz-ing as fire," "unrestrained as the wind" � for such is Bahá'u'lláh's own admonition to His loved ones in His Tablets, and directed not to a select few but to the entire congregation of the faithful � let them scatter far and wide, proclaim the glory of God's Revelation in this Day, quicken the souls of men and ignite in their hearts the love of the One Who alone is their omnipotent and divinely appointed
Redeemer.Bracing the fearful cold of the Arctic regions and the enervating heat of the torrid zone; heedless of the hazards, the loneliness and the austerity of the deserts, the faraway islands and mountains wherein they will be called upon to dwell; undeterred by the clamor which the exponents of religious orthodoxy are sure to raise, or by the restrictive measures which political leaders may impose; undismayed by the smallness of their numbers and the multitude of their potential adversaries; armed with the efficacious weapons their own hands have slowly and laboriously forged in anticipation of this glorious and inevitable encounter with the organized forces of superstition, of corruption and of unbelief; placing their whole trust in the matchless potency of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, in the all-conquer-ing power of His might and the infallibility of His glorious and oft-repeated promises, let them press forward, each according to his strength and resources, into the vast arena now lying before them, and which, God willing, will witness, in the years immediately lying ahead, such exhibitions of prowess and of heroic self-sacrifice as may well recall the superb feats achieved by that immortal band of God-intoxicated heroes who have so immeasurably enriched the annals of the Christian, the Islamic and B~bi Dispensations.
On the members of the American Bahá'í Community, the envied custodians of a Divine Plan, the principal builders and defenders of a mighty Order and the recognized champions of an unspeakably glorious and precious Faith, a peculiar and inescapable responsibility must necessarily rest. Through their courage, their self-abnega-tion, their fortitude and their perseverance; through the range and quality of their achievements, the depth of their consecration, their initiative and resourcefulness, their organizing ability, their readiness and capacity to lend their assistance to less privileged sister-communities struggling against heavy odds; through their generous and sustained response to the enormous and ever-increasing financial needs of a world-encompassing, decade-long and admittedly strenuous enterprise, they must, beyond the shadow of a doubt, vindicate their right to the leadership of this world Crusade.
Now is the time for the hope voiced by 'Abdu'l-Bahá that from their homeland "heavenly illumination" may "stream to all the peoples of the world" to be realized. Now is the time for the truth of His remarkable assertion that that same homeland is "equipped and empowered to accomplish that which will adorn the pages of history, to become the envy of the world and be blest in both the East and the West," to be strikingly and unmistakably demonstrated. "Should success crown" their "en-terprise," He, moreover, has assured them, "the throne of the Kingdom of God will, in
Page 375THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 373
the plenitude of its majesty and glory, be firmly established."
Would to God that this Community, boasting already of so superb a record of achievements both at home and overseas, and elevated to such dazzling heights by the hopes cherished and the assurance given by the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, may prove itself capable of performing deeds of such distinction, in the course of the opening, as well as the succeeding phases of this World Spiritual Crusade, as will outshine the dedicated acts which have already left their indelible mark on the Apostolic Age of the Faith in the West; will excel the enduring, the historic achievements associated, at a later period, with this Community's memorable contribution to the rise and establishment of the world Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh; will surpass the magnificent accomplishments which, subse quently, as the result of the operation of the first Seven Year Plan, illuminated the annals of the Faith in both the North American continent and throughout Latin America and will eclipse the even more dramatic exploits which, during the opening years of the second Epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith, and in the course of the prosecution of the second Seven Year Plan, have exerted so lasting an influence on the fortunes of the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláhin the Antilles, throughout the Republics of Central America, in each of the ten Republics of South America, in no less than ten sovereign states in the continent of Europe, and in various Dependencies on the eastern and western shores, as well as in the heart of the African continent.
� SHOGHIBy the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States THE publication in this issue of Bahá'í News [June, 1951] of a general communication from the International Bahá'í Council, signed on its behall by its President, Mr. Charles Mason Remey, signalizes in a most impressive manner the nature of the new Bahá'í era in which we now live.
There are three stages in the evolution of the Bahá'í world community.
First, the formation of local groups and assemblies under the Master's loving care. flow many Tablets He revealed, charged with the spirit of unity, to raise up on this earth even small bodies of believers inspired with mutual love and trust and able to render united service to a divine Faith! American Bahá'ís still live who witnessed, and took active part in, that miraculous work.
In the Master's time also, the beginning of the national Bahá'í community could be discerned. The Temple project itself enlarged the horizon of the believer from his own local community to the larger body of Baha'is.
The Guardian took up this work, defined the duties and responsibilities of the Local and National Assemblies, and trained the believers of East and West in the administration of the activities of their Faith.
Now the consolidation of the international Bahá'í community is taking place before our eyes.
The call has been raised to individual Bahá'ís and not alone to National Assemblies, to enter into this greatest arena of Bahá'í sacrifice, understanding and action as a direct and permanent element in our lives.
Together with a host of Bahá'ís in other lands, we raise our eyes to the larger goal, accepting personal responsibility for the success of the Guardian's noble plans to complete the Shrine of the Báb and develop the Bahá'í world center in the Holy Land.
This new stage in the evolution of the Bahá'í community expects and requires a fuller maturity than we have ever manifested before. It means the most conscientious balancing of effort and resource as we serve simultaneously on the three levels of Bahá'í action: local, national and internationaL Just as we have for years devoted resources for national projects, limiting the scope of local action for the sake of the
Page 376greater and more important collective task, so now we, and all other Baha'is, while maintaining the essential work in both local and national fields, extend our devotion to the supreme world purpose.
We do not eliminate responsibility for local and national support, for the power of the local community stands at the foundation of the entire Bahá'í structure, and the unity of the national community constitutes the pillar on which will rest the future House of Justice and the fullest expression of the Guardian's spirit in the establishment of world order and peace.
It is a matter of enlargement of our Bahá'í life and not of choosing between different alternatives.
This process of international consolidation prepares the Bahá'ís for the formation and operation of the
House of Justice. Justas every Bahá'í in former days felt an inner relationship to the Master, and now an inner relationship to the Guardian, so now we are to experience a new sense of loyalty and devotion to an unfolding World Center, fulfilling the loyalty we have learned to render local and national administrative institutions.
What to the child and the youth seems to be an end, to the adult becomes a means to a true and supreme end. The end of our Baha service is to create a world in which humanity is one and citizenship is both spiritual and social integrity.
Great effort is needed for us to make the transition from youth to maturity.
Culturally and psychologically this experience parallels those vast historic changes when family union enlarged to the unity of the tribe, and when tribal union became loyalty to the nation.
The Guardian's messages have been preparing us for this new stage. In April, 1950, for example, he referred to the members of a "firmly knit, world embracing, divinely propelled
Baha community." OnJuly 5, 1950, he emphasized the "first historic opportunity of directly sustaining, through their contributions, the most sacred enterprise ever undertaken in the history of the Faith," and on March 21, 1951 � "I am moved to renew my fervent plea addressed to all National and local Assemblies and believers in all continents of the globe."
The degree to which we accept our whole responsibility will supply a true measure of the value of our faith.~
APPOINTMENT OF THE HANDS OF THE CAUSE OF GODthere is provision for the existence of the Hands of the Cause of God, a body of believers who are to serve directly under the Guardian of the Faith.
'Abdu'l-Bahá defines the functions of the Hands of the Cause in
His Will and Testament:of the Cause of God must be nominated and appointed by the guardian of the Cause of God. All must be under his shadow and obey his command.
"The obligations of the Hands of the Cause of God are to diffuse the Divine Fragrances, to edify the souls of men, to promote learning, to improve the character of all men and to be, at all times and under all conditions, sanctified and detached from earthly things. They must manifest the fear of God by their conduct, their manners, their deeds and their words.
"This body of the Hands of the Cause of God is under the direction of the guardian of the Cause of God. He must continually urge them to strive and endeavor to the utmost of their ability to diffuse the sweet savors of God, and to guide all the peoples of the world, for it is the light of Divine Guidance that causeth all the universe to be illumined."
THE GUARDIAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTSRecall feelings profound thankfulness joy chain recent historic events heralding long anticipated rise establishment World
Administrative Centerregarded third most momentous epochmaking development since inception Formative Age morrow 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í
Ascension.Quarter century constituting opening epoch this age signalized successively by erection consolidation over period no less
Page 377THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 375
sixteen years local, national institutions Bahá'í Administrative Order five continents globe conformity provisions Will Center Covenant and initiation first Seven
Year Plan American Bahá'íCommunity marking inauguration first epoch execution
'Abdu'l-Bahá'í DivinePlan unavoidably held abeyance over two decades pending creation divinely-appointed administrative agencies designed by its Author for its effective prosecution.
Opening years second epoch Formative Age now witnessing long last commencement third vast majestic fate-laden process following two abovementioned developments destined through gradual emergence manifold institutions World Center Faith crown administrative structure Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic
World Order. Giganticprocess now set motion opening decade second Ba-h&i Century synchronizing with, deriving notable impetus through, birth sovereign State, Holy Land, greatly accelerated through series swiftly succeeding events originated World
Center Faith.First, inauguration most holy worldwide enterprise unprecedented annals Faith construction heart Mount Carmel superstructure BTh's Sepulcher. Second, creation International Bahá'í Council precincts Holy Shrine forerunner International House Justice, supreme legislative organ nascent divinely conceived world � encircling Bahá'í Administrative Order. Third, acquisition restoration embellishment historic sites associated incarceration Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, recognition their sacred character, exemption taxes newly formed State, accessibility appreciative general public. Fourth, initiation formal negotiation central municipal authorities same State twofold purpose preserve posterity immediate directly threatened neighborhood
Most Holy Tomb FounderFaith outskirts 'Akka, acquire extensive, sorely needed properties vicinity Bib's Sepulcher destined serve site future edifices envisaged 'Abdu'l-Bahá to house auxiliary agencies revolving twin institutions Guardianship House Justice. Fifth, preparation design future
Mashriqu'l-Adhkar MountCannel outstanding indispensable feature unfoldment rising
World Administrative Order.Sixth, forthcoming convocation four conferences embracing eleven National Assemblies all continents globe marking inauguration beyond limits World Center Faith intercontinental stage Bahá'í activity precursor final step summoning assemblage representative communities all sovereign states, chief dependencies, islands, entire planet.
Hour now ripe take long inevitably deferred step, conformity provisions 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Testament, conjunction with six abovementioned steps through appointment first contingent Hands Cause God, twelve in number, equally allocated Holy Land, Asiatic, American, European continents.
Initial step now taken regarded as preparatory full development institution provided 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Will, paralleled preliminary measure formation International Council destined culminate emergence Universal House Justice. Nascent institution forging fresh links binding rising World Center Faith to consolidating World
Community followers MostGreat Name paving way adoption supplementary measures calculated reinforce foundations structure
Baha Administrative Order.Bahá'í Council; cradle Faith, Valiyu'-11Th Varq4, Tar6~u'1IAh Samandari,
'All-Akbar Furhtan; AmericanNine elevated rank Hand three continents outside Holy Land advised remain present posts continue discharge vital administrative teaching duties pending assignment specific functions as need arises. Urge all nine attend as my representatives all four forthcoming intercontinental conferences as well as discharge whatever responsibilities incumbent upon them at that time as elected representatives national Bahá'í communities.
Communicate text announcement all National Assemblies.
Haifa, Israel, December 24, 1951.(and) West, through National Assemblies, following nominations raising (the) number (of the) present Hands (of the) Cause of God (to) nineteen. Dominion Canada (and) United States, Fred Schopflocher (and) Corinne True, respectively.
Cradle (of) Faith Dhik-ru'116hMembers august body invested (in) conformity (with) 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Testament, twofold sacred function, (the) propagation (and) preservation (of the) unity (of the) Faith (of) Bahá'u'lláh, (and) destined (to) assume individually (in the) course (of) time (the) direction (of) institutions paralleling those revolving around (the) Universal House (of) Justice, (the) supreme legislative body (of the) Bahá'í world, are now recruited (from) all five continents (of) the globe (and) representative (of the) three principal world religions (of) mankind. Recently urged newly-appointed Hand (of) Canada, (on) occasion (of his) pilgrimage (to) Holy Land, (to) undertake preliminary measures, (in) conjunction (with)
Canadian NationalAssembly (for the) establishment (of) national Ua4ratu'1-Quds similar (to) those already founded (in) TihrAn, Wilmette, Baghdad, Sydney, Frankfurt,
Cairo (and) New Delhi.Identical instructions (were) given appointed Hand (of) Africa (in) course (of his) just concluded pilgrimage, (for the) acquisition (of) property (in) Kampala (to) serve (as) local Iaratu'1-Quds (to) synchronize (with) formation (of) first Assembly (in) heart (of) Africa, (to) be regarded (as) nucleus (of) national administrative headquarters (of) Faith destined (to) arise (on) morrow (of) formation (of)
National Spiritual(and) Eastern Territories (of) African continent.
Cable received February"(The) mantle (of) Hand (of) Cause now falls (upon the) shoulders (of) his distinguished daughter Abdu'l-Bahá R6biy-yih, who (has) already rendered (and is) still rendering manifold no less meritorious self-sacrificing services (at) World Center (of) Faith (of)
I3ah&'u'11Th.""Announce (to) all National Assemblies elevation (of) Paul Haney (to) rank (of) Hand of the
Cause.~~release (from) oppressive mi-prisonment (in the) SfyTh-C1A1 TihrAn, synchronizing (with the) termination (of the) epochmaking, two-month period associated sociated (with the) Birth (of) His Revelation, tion, unsurpassed, with (the) sole exception (of the) Declaration (of) His mission, (by) any episode (in the) world's spiritual history, tory, call upon Bahá'í communities, East (and) West, (to) ponder (the) unique significance, nificance, focus attention (on) imperative requirements (and to) respond worthily (to the) challenge offered each (of the) four fate-laden, fast-approaching
IntercontinentalConferences, constituting (the) highlights (of) recently ushered-in
Holy Year.Desire (to) announce (the) appointment (of the) Hands (of the) Cause, honored (by) direct association (with the) newly-initiated initiated enterprises (at the) world center (of the) Faith, (to) act, (in) addition (to) their individual participation (in the) deliberations liberations (at the) forthcoming Conferences, ences, (as) my special representatives, entrusted trusted (with a) fourfold mission: (to) bear, for (the) edification (of the) attendants, ants, a precious remembrance (of the) Go-founder founder (of the) Faith, deliver my official message (to the) assembled believers, elucidate date (the) character (and) purposes (of the) impending decade-long spiritual World Crusade (and) rally (the) participants (to) � SHOGHI energetic, sustained, enthusiastic prosecution tion (of the) colossal tasks ahead.
Instructing (the) President(of the) International ternational Bahá'í Council, Mason Remey,
Member at Large UgoToas, (to) discharge charge these functions (in the) course (of the) New Delhi, Stockholm (and) Kampala Conferences, respectively.
Delegating Abdu'l-Bahá, accompanied (by) Vice-President (of the) International Council, Amelia Collins, (to) fulfill three of (the) above mentioned functions, as well as carry (on) my behalf, (to) unveil (on the) occasion (of the) completion (of the) construction struction (of the) Mother-Temple (of the) � SHOGHI West, (to the) privileged attendants (at the)
Wilmette Conference(a) most prized remembrance membrance (of the) Author (of the) Faith,
Page 379THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 377
(which) never before left (the) shores (of the) Holy Land, to be placed beneath (the) dome (of the) consecrated edifice.
Moreover assigning her (the) task (to) act (as) my deputy (at the) historic ceremony marking (the) official Dedication (of the) holiest Masbriqu'1-AcThk~r (of the) Bahá'í world reared (to the) everlasting glory (and) honor (of the) Most Great Name (in the) heart (of the) North American continent.
� SHOGHIMessage from the Guardian To all the Hands of the Cause and all National Assemblies of the Bahá'í
World:Hail emergence (of the) unfoldment (in the) opening years (of the) second epoch (of the) formative age (of the) Bahá'í Dispensation (of the) august Institution foreshadowed (by the) Founder (of the) Faith (and) formally established (in the) Testament (of the) Center (of) His Covenant, closely associated (in) provisions (of the) same
Will (with) Institution(of the) Guardianship, destined (to) assume (in the) fullness (of) time, under (the) aegis (of the) Guardian, (the) dual sacred responsibility (for) protection (and) propagation (of the)
Cause (of) Bahá'u'lláh.Desire (to) pay warm tribute (to the) services rendered severally (and) collectively (by) appointed Hands (at the) World Center (of the) Faith (and in) territories beyond its confines.
Greatly value (their) support (in the) erection (of the) Báb's Sepulcher (on Mt.) Carmel; (in) reinforcing ties (with the) newly emerged State (of) Israel; (in the) extension (of the) International Endowments (in the) Holy Land; (in the) initiation (of the) preliminary measures (for the) establishment (of the) Bahá'í World Administrative Center, as well as (in their) participation (in) four successive Intercontinental
Teaching Conferences;(in their) extensive travels (in) African territories, (in) North, Central (and) South America, (in the) European, Asiatic (and)
Australian Continents.(This) newly constituted body, embarked (on) its mission (with) such auspicious circumstances, (is) now entering (the) second phase (of) its evolution signalized (by) forging (of) ties (with the) National Spiritual Assemblies (of the) Bahá'í world (for the) purpose (of) lending them assistance (in) attaining (the) objectives (of the) Ten Year Plan.
(The) hour (is) ripe (for the) fifteen Hands residing outside (the) Holy Land (to) proceed during Riqv~n (with the) appointment, (in) each continent separately, from among (the) resident Bahá'ís (of) that Continent, (of) Auxiliary Boards, whose members, acting (as) deputies, assistants (and) advisers (of the) Hands, must increasingly lend (their) assistance (for the) promotion (of the) interests (of the) Ten Year
Crusade.Continents (to) convene (in) Tihr~n, Wilmette (and) Frankfurt respectively (for the) purposes (of) consultation (and) nomination.
(The) Hands (of the) Cause (of the) African (and)must exercise (their) functions (in) Kampala (and) Sydney, respectively.
(The) Auxiliary Boards(of the) American, European (and) African Continents must consist (of) nine members each, (of the) Asiatic (and) Australian continents (of) seven (and) two, respectively.
(The) allocation (of) areas (in) each continent to (the) members (of the) Auxiliary Boards, as well as subsidiary matters regarding (the) development (of the) activities (of the) newly appointed bodies, (and the) manner (of) collaboration (with the) National Spiritual Assemblies (in their) respective Continents, (is) left (to the) discretion (of the) Hands.
All Boards must report (and) be responsible (to the) Hands charged (with) their appointment.
(The) Hands (of) each Continent (in) their turn must keep (in) close touch (with, and) report (the) result (of the) nominations (and) progress (of the) activities (of the) Boards (to the) National Assemblies (in their) respective continents, as well as (to the) four Hands residing (in the) Holy Land destined (to) act (as) liaison between themselves (and the) Guardian (of the) Faith.
Urge (the) initiation (of) five Continental Bahá'í Funds which, as they develop, will increasingly facilitate (the) discharge (of the) functions assigned (to the) Boards.
Transmitting five thousand pounds (as) my initial contribution (to) be equally divided (among the) five Continents.
Appeal (to the) twelve National Assemblies (and) individuals (to) insure (a) steady augmentation (of these) Funds through annual assignment (in) National Budgets (and by) individual contributions.
Advise transmit contributions (to) Varq~t, Holley, Giachery, Ban~ni (and) Dunn acting (as) Trustees (of the) Asiatic, American, European,
African (and) Australian FundsFervently supplicating (at the) Holy Threshold (for an) unprecedented measure (of) blessings (on this) vital (and) indispensable organ (of the) embryonic (and) steadily unfolding Bahá'í Administrative Order, presaging (the) emergence (of the) World
Order (of) Bahá'u'lláhwhich must pave (the) way (for the) establishment (of the) World Civilization destined (to) attain maturity (in the) course (of) successive Dispensations (in the) Five Thousand
Century Bahá'í Cycle.April 6, 1954. (Transmitted Through Hand of the Cause.)
� SHOGHI(of) East (and) West weighty epochmaking decision (of) formation (of) first International Bahá'í Council, forerunner (of) supreme administrative institution destined (to) emerge (in) fullness (of) time within precincts beneath shadow (of) World Spiritual Center (of) Faith already established (in) twin cities (of)
'Akka (and) Haifa. Fulfillment(of) prophecies uttered (by) Founder (of) Faith (and) Center (of) His Covenant culminating (in) establishment (of) Jewish State, signalizing birth after lapse (of) two thousand years (of an) independent nation (in the) Holy Land, (the) swift unfoldment (of) historic undertaking associated (with) construction (of) superstructure (of the) Báb's Sepulcher (on) Mount Carmel, (the) present adequate maturity (of) nine vigorously functioning national administrative institutions throughout Bahá'í World, combine (to) induce me (to) arrive (at) this historic decision marking most significant milestone (in) evolution (of) Administrative Order (of the) Faith (of) Bahá'u'lláh (in) course (of) last thirty years. Nascent Institution now created (is) invested (with) threefold function: first, (to) forge link (with) authorities (of) newly emerged State; second, (to) assist me (to) discharge responsibilities involved (in) erection (of) mighty superstructure (of the) flAb's Holy Shrine; third, (to) conduct negotiations related (to) matters (of) personal status (with) civil authorities.
To these will be added further functions (in) course (of) evolution (of) this first embryonic International Institution, marking its development into officially recognized Bahá'í Court, its transformation into duly elected body, its efflorescence into Universal House (of) Justice, (and) its final fruition through erection (of) manifold auxiliary institutions constituting (the) World Administrative Center destined (to) arise (and) function (and) remain permanently established (in) close neighborhood (of) Twin Holy Shrines.
Hail (with) thankful, joyous heart (at) long last (the) constitution (of)
International Councilwhich history will acclaim (as the) greatest event shedding luster (upon) second epoch (of) Formative Age (of) Bahá'í Dispensation potentially unsurpassed (by) any enterprise undertaken since inception (of)
Administrative Order(of) Faith (on) morrow (of) 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Ascension, ranking second oniy (to) glorious immortal events associated (with) Ministries (of the) Three Central Figures (of) Faith (in) course (of) First Age (of) most glorious Dispensation (of the) five thousand century Bahá'í Cycle. Advise publicize announcement through Public
Relations Committee.THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 379
Second announcement: (The)membership now comprises: Ama-tu'1-BaM R6lyiyyih, chosen liaison between me (and the) Council. Hands (of the) Cause, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery, Leroy Joas, President, Vice-presi-dent, Member at Large, Secretary-General, respectively.
Jessie Revell, EthelMr. Horace Holley, Secretary, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United
States.Following the momentous decision of our beloved Guardian to further consolidate the work he has been doing here for thirty years by the appointment of the first International Bahá'í Council, he has given us the privilege and joy of keeping our fellow Bahá'ís informed of not only the progress being made in the construction of the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel, but also of developments in our relationship to the authorities of the State of Israel.
The year 108 of the Bahá'í Era is obviously one of very great importance to all believers, for it is during this year that we must put forth our greatest united effort to date on behalf of the first undertaking here in the Jloiy Land, which has been characterized by the Guardian as not only of international scope and paramount importance, but as also being the most sacred task ever entrusted to our hands; namely, the raising of the dome of the Sepulcher of the Báb.
It had been the hope of the Guardian to carry forward this historic undertaking in easy stages; but the very critical international situation, the growing scarcity of primary materials, which is felt in the world market, and the uncertainty of what the outcome would be if there was any interruption in the quarrying, cutting and preparation of the stones in Italy for the Shrine, have forced him to greatly quicken the tempo of this work. What could have been done in a matter of years, he now sees must be done in a matter of months, unless the completion of the Shrine is to be perhaps indefinitely postponed.
The friends the world over who are now being called upon to share in the period of austerity which the American Bahá'ís have already passed through during the past two years, and to do their utmost to economize in local and national affairs during the coming twenty-four months, in order to provide the funds required so pressingly for the work of the Shrine, will no doubt be keenly interested to hear the details of the plans being made here.
As you are aware, from the time when Bahá'u'lláh pointed with His own hand to the present site of the Shrine, and instructed 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
to purchase this land, and bring the Body of the DAb from Persia and inter it here, the constant thought of first, the Master, and now, the Guardian has been to complete this sacred undertaking.
'Abdu'l-Bahá succeeded in terminating, before His ascension, six rooms of the nine rooms of the Shrine. After His passing, Shoghi Effendi added the three more rooms which had been contemplated, and then for a period of over twenty years, concentrated on purchasing land around the Shrine, and extending both the terraces approaching it and the gardens immediately encircling it. It was not until the Centenary in 1944 that he was able to disclose to the Bahá'ís the plan for the completion of the building � a plan which followed the wishes expressed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá himself.
You are all familiar, through previous reports, with the difficulties which were overcome in placing the initial contracts for the arcade. You know from photographs published how very beautiful the first part of the structure is. What perhaps the friends cannot realize is the great effect this building has produced locally. There is no doubt that it has not only interested the public in general, and tourists, but that it has become a source of pride to the people of Haifa, and warmed the cookies of the hearts of the authorities, as neither literature, nor admiration for the high principks they associate with the Bahá'ís could ever have done. It stands foursquare on the soil of Israel, and has become an advertisement for confidence in the future, no small thing, to a struggling people in a new State, surrounded by hostile elements.
In March, 1949, the first threshold stones were laid. By March, 1950, the carved para
Page 382pet, inlaid with green and gold mosaic, was being placed in position. At the beginning of March of this year, the most delicate operation associated with the entire structure, was commenced; namely the excavation, within the walls of the old original building, of the eight shafts required for the piers which will support the dome. Perhaps the friends do not realize that until a few weeks ago, every bit of work associated with placing 800 tons of granite, chiampo stone and mosaics in place, was carried out beyond the walls of the old building and upon its roof. But of course in order to erect the octagon, the drum of the dome, and the dome upon the existing building, new foundations had to be dug � foundations capable of holding up more than 1,000 tons of weight. After much consideration on the part of the architect, Mr. W. S. Maxwell, and the engineer, Prof. H. Neumann, it was decided that the oniy feasible way of doing this was to conceal within the eight partition walls of the eight rooms which surround the ninth central innermost room, which is the Tomb of the Báb, eight reinforced concrete piers. This required excavation to bedrock in eight places under the floors of the rooms of the Shrine.
At present these eight shafts have been successfully dug without in any way endangering the walls of the Shrine, some of them to a depth of over ten feet, and have been filled with concrete. The complementary eight shafts in the roof have likewise been excavated, and eight channels cut down the walls within which the concrete piers will be concealed, when they have been poured. This part of the work has been very delicate, necessitating as it did, cutting through the vaultings of the old ceilings, where in some places, the roof is over eight feet thick.
We have all been impressed with the immense strength of the building which SAbdu~1BaM constructed. It was indeed sufficiently strong to practically serve the purpose of a fortress, which as you remember, the enemies of the Faith accused it of being to the Turkish Commission which came to 'Akka to investigate 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í activities.
When the Guardian decided to place the order for the octagon of the Shrine, he discovered that steel and cement were practically unobtainable in this country, and that the quickest and most economical procedure would be to order these mate~ia1s from Italy, along with the three hundred tons of stone, trimmed and carved and ready to be built into position, which are required for the octagon and its eight pinnacles. He consequently instructed our dear Bahá'í brother, Dr. Ugo Giachery, to place the contract for the stone work of the octagon, which amounted to $63,000.00.
Reference to a photograph of the model of the Shine will show that the octagon has a wrought iron railing, which forms an ornamental balustrade at this level.
As such work is not procurable in this country, a further contract for $5,900.00 was signed in Italy, covering this item. Likewise the twenty-four windows of the octagon require metal frames, wholly unobtainable here, and a further contract for these was signed, amounting to $1,855.00. In addition to these two contracts, fifty tons of cement, and thirty-three tons of steel were ordered.
Upon being informed by Dr. Giachery of the extreme difficulty he had in getting permission to export to us cement and steel, the Guardian decided that the sooner the contract was placed in Italy for the remaining portions of the building, the better.
He therefore cabled Dr. Giachery to order all the stone work for the dome, the stone lantern surmounting it, and the drum supporting it, at once.
This necessitated committing us to another contract, amounting to $130,000.00, to which must be added $3,210.00 for the metal window frames of the drum of the dome, which are eighteen in number. Whilst contemplating the magnitude of the work which has been ordered in Italy, we must bear in mind that these contracts do not include the surfacing of the dome with whatever material is chosen to give it its golden appearance, nor the actual cost of construction of the entire edifice above the roof level of the old Shrine, which must now be undertaken in this country.
In coming to the decision to commit the Baha World and its resources so heavily at this time to this sacred enterprise, the Guardian took two important points into consideration: One was the quality of workmanship of the building, and the other was the state of the world at present. When work requiring such high standards of craftsmanship is undertaken, if the original staff is dispersed in the middle of the undertaking, it is very problematic whether, when construe-non is again resumed, the same standard can be maintained. Different workers have a dif
Page 383THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 381
ferent touch, and later work might be far below the level of what has so far been received.
We must remember that the arcade was ordered shortly after the end of World War II, when first-class labor was available. The other side of the picture which undoubtedly has most strongly influenced the Guardian in coming to his decision, is the gloomy political outlook at present, and the fact that any postponement of the construction of the Shrine might have turned out to be practically an indefinite postponement.
We know that the Cause of God moves ahead in mysterious ways, and no doubt in the future, when the Shrine is completed, not the least interesting of the facts associated with it and the romance of its construction will be that about sixteen hundred tons of granite was quarried, cut and carved in Italy and imported to Israel during undoubtedly one of the most disturbed periods in the world's history, and more particularly, in the history of the
Holy Land.In addition to the abovementioned momentous decisions, the Guardian has been able to carry out this winter another enterprise most dear to his heart, and one which he had been prevented from doing for over ten years, owing to the machinations of the Covenant-breakers.
The many friends who have been pilgrims to Haifa, will recall that 'Abdu'l-Bahá, having Himself built one terrace directly in front of the Shrine of the Báb, had expressed the desire that a series of these should link the
Holy Tomb with CarmelAvenue in the Templar Colony at the foot of Mt. Carmel, thus forming a direct line to the sea from the central door of the Shrine. This spring the municipality looked favorably upon our application for permission to complete the last two terraces, and the Guardian was able to extend the line of staircases, cypress trees, and walls, which comprise these terraces, by approximately another thirtyfive meters, He beauti-fled this termination of the Bahá'í properties leading to the Shrine of the B&b by erecting four more lampposts, two pedestals with beautiful lead vases, a temporary iron gate and considerable landscape gardening. The effect of the whole is most impressive, and has now made it possible for visitors to go straight up the staircases to the Shrine itself from the lower part of the town.
Recently the Presidentand one of the Secretaries of the International Bahá'í Coun-cii visited Jerusalem, where, in the course of several days, arrangements were made with the Ministry of Trade for receiving import licenses for the various materials to be used in the building of the Shrine on Mt. Cannel, including all stone work, structural steel, cement, wrought-iron decorative balustrades, metal window frames, etc. The Customs Department has likewise been most cooperative, and invariably frees all materials for the Shrine and objects for the Gardens, as well as the Holy Tombs and the Archives, from duty. When the Shrine is completed, this will mean that over sixteen hundred tons of material for its construction have come in duty-free.
On March 30th, the Presidentof the International Baha Council was received by Rabbi J. L. Hacohen
Maimon, Minister for ReligiousExcellency, the Minister, welcomed this representative of our beloved Guardian, assuring him of the friendship of the State of Israel toward all the religious communities in Israel, saying that it was the desire of his government that freedom of religion exist in this country and that their attitude toward all religious communities was one of friendship and of respect, and of the extension of their protection to the Holy Places of these various religions, adding: "Have we not all one Father?
Has not the one God created us all?"The President of the International Bahá'í Council then spoke of Israel as being the Ho7ty Land of the Baha'is, as well as that of the Jews, Christians and Muslims; telling the Minister that fifty and more years ago the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had written that Palestine would eventually become the Home of the Jewish people; and that this was published in print at that time. The interview was characterized by a sincere spirit of welcome on the part of the Minister and his associates who were present. A colored print of the architect's design for the fagade of the Tomb of the BM was presented to the Minister, and an invitation was extended to him and to Mrs. Maimon to visit the Shrine of the Báb and surrounding gardens when they could arrange to come to Haifa.
The President and VicePresident of the International Council have likewise paid cans upon both the Mayor of Haifa and the Mayor of 'Akka, as well as the Military Governor of Galilee. These visits were in the nature of courtesy calls, and established a friendly contact between these officials and the officers of the Council.
Page 384The President likewise had a very pleasant interview with the United States Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Monett B. Davis.
On April 13, the InternationalBahá'í Council gave a reception in the nature of a tea party at the
Mansion of Bahá'u'lláhat Baha. This was the first formal entertainment done by this body, and Government officials,
Consuls, Representativesfrom the Ministry of Religions in Jerusalem, as well as many friends and acquaintances, were present. The reception received a friendly writeup in the social column of the English-speaking newspapers of Israel, and was generally considered a great success.
It is interesting to note that the formation of the International Council was mentioned in various newspapers in this country in different languages, and "Kol Israel" has also on a number of occasions broadcast news concerning the Baha'is, amongst other items, to wish them a Happy Feast on such days as Naw-Rfzz and Ridvan.
Bahá'í books have for a long time been in the library of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and recently, at the request of the Ministry, some of our literature has been placed in the library of the Ministry of Religions in Jerusalem.
Books have also been presented to His Excellency, Rabbi Mai-mon, for his own personal library, be, himself, being a profound student of the religions of the past. The books were given to him at his request.
The nature of our contacts with the Government might be said to be of two kinds: Sometimes we procure assistance from them after considerable effort on our part; other times, we receive attention from authorities in very agreeable and unexpected ways. An important case in point is that of the room in the fortress of 'Akka, which was occupied by
Bahá'u'lláh upon Hisarrival in that city, for two years. Without our having made any solicitation regarding this historic spot, so sacred in our eyes for the memories it holds, we were informed by the Government Doctor who is in charge of the Hospital which has been established there, that he wished to deliver to the Bahá'ís the keys of Bahá'u'lláh's room, and that it had been especially set aside for us. This gesture was greatly appreciated, and the room is now available for Bahá'í pilgrims and local believers to visit. His Worship, the Mayor of Haifa, likewise was extremely cooperative and suggested that he would be glad to assist in any way he could in connection with completing the Shrine of the Bib, as he considered it a great embellishment to the city of Haifa. This kind offer was followed up, and through his good offices, the Government has released to us fifty tons of cement. One would have to be a resident of this country to realize just what that means.
Masra'ih is a Muslim religious endowment, and it is consequently impossible, under existing laws in this country, for it to be sold. However, as the friends are aware, the Ministry of Religions, due to the direct intervention of the Minister himself, Rabbi Maimon, consented, in the face of considerable opposition, to deliver Masra'ih to the Bahá'ís as a Holy Place to be visited by Baha pilgrims.
This means that we rent it from the Department of Muslim and Druze affairs in the Ministry of Religions.
The head of this Department is also a Rabbi, Dr. Hirschberg.
Recently he, his wife and party, visited all the Baha properties in Haifa and 'Akka, following upon a very pleasant tea party in the Western Pilgrim House with the members of the International
Bahá'í Council.After completing his visit to Masra'ih, Dr. Hirschberg and his party spent an hour going through the Mansion of Baha, and were much interested in the archives, records, photographs, maps, etc., which the Guardian has so impressively assembled in that building. The friends will be astonished to know that during Passover Week, over 1,000 people visited the Mansion.
They come on conducted tours, by foot, in busses, and comprise important foreign visitors and whole schools of children and young people from the Kibutzim.
The party of Dr. Hirschberg, accompanied by the President and Vice President of the
International Bahá'íCouncil, then motored to 'Akka and visited the House of Bahá'u'lláh, in which He spent so many years, and where the Aqdas was revealed, as well as other important writings. Last of all, a visit was made to the Mosque of 'Akid � it was Friday � the Muslim Sabbath, and a large congregation was assembled there.
As the worshippers came out of the Mosque, the Muslim ImAm who had been conducting the prayers, caine from the Mibrdb, and welcomed our party, insisting that we have coffee with him and the judge and other Muslim officials of 'Akka, within the courtyard precincts of the Mosque.
Page 385THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 383
We see that the Faith towards which the authorities of the New State of Israel have always been friendly, is now gaining prestige in their sight, and that they have recognized it to be a World Faith in scope, a World Religion � distinct and apart from the other religions of the past, yet nevertheless closely related to the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religions in their purity, as revealed by Christ and the Prophets.
Already, a Bahá'í marriage certificate has been recognized by the local authorities of this new State, and its Ministry of Education and Culture, unsolicited by us, has exempted Bahá'í school children throughout the State from attending school on BaU'i Holy Days. This was done in a circular issued to all schools. Our institutions, comprising two Holy Shrines, those of the Báb and
Bahá'u'lláh, two Archiveshousing sacred relics, one adjoining the Tomb of the BTh, the other, adjacent to the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf; two historical mansions, that of Baha, where Bahá'u'lláh passed away, and that of Masra'ih, where He first resided upon leaving the prison walls of 'Akka; two Houses associated with Bahá'u'lláh and the Master, namely, the one in 'Akka, where the
Manifestation of Godrevealed the Aqdas, and the one in Haifa, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away, have all been exempted from both Government and Municipal taxes; and objects received for them permitted to enter, duty free.
Likewise the area of over forty acres of land, surrounding the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel, has been exempted from taxation.
These things are the evidences of a spirit of true understanding and cooperation between the Bahá'í Community and the Israeli authorities.
We like to say to interested Jewish inquirers, that something very interesting and beautiful is happening here � the world's newest religion is growing up within the world's youngest
State.of the Bahá'ís of the United States, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
Dear Bahá'í Friends:Council wishes to share with the friends news of the prog ress of the Faith at its World Center, and to inform them of what has been done during the past year, under the guidance of the beloved Guardian.
The Shrine of the Báb With the steady progress in the construction of the Shrine of the Rib on Mt. Carmel, the eyes, not only of the Baha'is, are becoming increasingly fixed upon it, but also of the people of Israel.
As the friends are already aware, the octagon of the Shrine is now complete.
The eight minaret-like pinnacles, as well as the wrought-iron panels of the balustrade are now erected, and constitute, as Shoghi Effendi so beautifully said, the second crown of the building, the first crown being the carved marble parapet of the arcade with its green mosaic panels.
This balustrade has now been painted a deep green, and the motif brought out through the application of gold leaf. The effect is truly exquisite, so much so that many local people seem to be under the misapprehension that the building is now completed.
Evidently what exists is to them sufficiently charming to constitute the end of the enterprise.
On April 8, the preliminary work commenced on the third unit, which consists of the drum section of the Shrine, containing eighteen lancet windows, symbolic in number of the Eighteen Letters of the Living.
It is upon this intermediary unit, 11 meters (33 feet) high, that the dome of the Shrine must rest.
In spite of the fact that this drum is much smaller in circumference than the two previous units already built, it constitutes a knotty construction problem because it must be a perfect circle, and because it has two walls, an outer stone wall and an inner thin reinforced concrete one, which must he built simultaneously.
The fact that we are gaining in height constantly, also increases the difficulty of the operation.
From the unveiling of the Shrine model in 1944, on the occasion of the first Centenary of the Declaration of the Báb, the question of what material to use for the dome was really the main problem which faced Mr. Sutherland Maxwell, its architect. He had an original and very beautiful idea: The dome of the Shrine of the B~b was to be covered with a fish-scale pattern of tiles, in diminishing sizes. His concept had been of either a green or a gold dome; but the
Page 386Guardian considered that a golden dome was much more suitable for this
Second Holiest Structurein the Bahá'í world; the Qiblili of the Faith, the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh, being naturally the Most Sacred.
The problem of discovering a means of materializing this design faced the builders. Italian gold mosaic was considered a possibility, but discarded by the Guardian because of the uniform effect which the multitude of small facets would create at a distance, the original and highly decorative concept of tiles being entirely lost by such a treatment. Copper was out of the question because of the weight and the oxide staining which always occurs when this metal is used. That left oniy some form of porcelain or clay tile, or possibly a plastic material. The investigations of Dr. Ugo Giachery showed that plastic material was a risk, as no one can predict at present how it will react to years of exposure in this climate.
There remained therefore only tile as a feasible solution.
While attending the 1951in Holland, Dr. Gia-chery located an enterprising and long-estab-lished firm of tile makers in Utrecht. After a great deal of inquiry and experimentation on the part of this firm, a suitable solution to the problem of the dome seems to have been reached, and one which will realize the architect's design.
An underglaze gold tile has now been developed and an order will shortly be placed for over 27,000 tiles, ranging in height from eight centimeters to twenty centimeters.
The cost of these tiles will be approximately $11,000.
Hand in hand with the work on the Shrine, the fame of the Shrine is spreading, and one hears more and more comments upon it. The people not only of Haifa, but from many parts of Israel, take pride in it, and when they learn something of the teachings of the Faith, greatly admire what we stand for and what we are doing here in their country.
The friends are no doubt aware that ever since the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi has been extending not only the terraces between the Shrine and the Templar Colony at the foot of Mt. Carmel, but has been widening, eastward and westward, the terrace upon which the Shrine itself rests. One section has remained to be extended for a number of years, but the engineering problem involved was complicated, and the expense very great. This year, however, the Guardian has felt that the longer the delay in building this extension, the more hopelessly expensive such a construction would be, and he has consequently commenced work which will when completed add approximately 350 square meters to the terrace of the Shrine towards the east. This addition necessitates the construction of a nine meter high wall of more than 350 cubic meter content of stone. It is interesting to note that the stones for the work are being carried up from the ruins of the old city of Haifa, which are being removed in order to make way for a new development. When this portion of the terrace is completed, peo-pie visiting the Shrine will get the most wonderful view from this spot of the entire building, with the rays of the rising sun bringing out the Greatest Name in brilliant gold relief, in the northeastern corner of the arcade.
It is anticipated that in about a month and a half, this extension will be completed. The cost of the work will be about $12,600.
Babji, comprising theand His Mansion, receives an even greater flow of visitors than the Gardens here in Haifa; owing to the fact that because of construction, the immediate surroundings of the Shrine on Mt. Carmel are closed to the public.
During the recent Passover celebrations, more than 1,500 people visited Baha, 500 of these in one day.
The interiors of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and the Mansion, as well as the
House of Bahá'u'lláhin 'Akldt and the Mansion of Mazra'ih, have been greatly beautified during the past year, in preparation for the coming of the pit. grims.
The Mansion of Bahá'u'lláhFor six months, the Cause at its International Center went through a most irritating crisis and one which, had not the divine protection been so clearly vouchsafed to the Guardian and the friends serving him here, might have led to serious repercussions.
Ever since the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, as the friends are aware, the party of Mu-I~ammad-'A1f, his children, his relatives and a few supporters, have clustered around the Sacred Tomb. Upon the death of their Father, the sans of Bahá'u'lláh inherited shares in the Mansion where He passed away. In the course of many years, this building, so full of sacred associations, has witnessed the
Page 387THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 385
evidences of the violent animosity of the Covenant-breakers toward the Center of the Covenant.
The friends will remember from their perusal of Bahá'í history that already, while Bahá'u'lláh's body was being prepared for the grave, Mu1~ammad-'A1f was concentrating on his opposition to the Master. After the Ascension, and indeed until 1932, Mu-hammad-'A1I and his relatives resided in the Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh, in spite of the fact that the majority of the shares in this building were owned by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Bahá'u'lláh himself, in order to raise funds for his seditious activities, sold his share of the house of his Father to the Inspector of Police of 'Akka..
After the death of this man, and with tremendous inconvenience and legal complications, the Guardian succeeded in arranging to purchase back Bahá'u'lláh's original one-third share of the property. At this time, his son Musa Bahá'í was the Registrar of Lands in 'Akka, and catching wind of the transaction, succeeded at the last moment in bringing pressure to bear on the Police Inspector's heirs, and instead of the Cause coming into possession of the remaining one-third of the title deed, the Guardian, succeeded in getting only one-sixth, and the other one-sixth fell into the hands of the Covenant-breakers and was registered in their names.
About 1932, the Mansionof Bahá'u'lláh, which had been occupied by Mubammad-'Mi and his family ever since 1892, had f a!-len into such a state of disrepair that the roof was caving in. Shoghi Effendi considered this not only a disgrace to the memory of the Blessed Perfection, but also a responsibility which devolved upon the Baha'is, and he therefore represented to Muijam-mad-All, the necessity of repairing the building. Muliammad-'Ali, claiming he had no funds for such a purpose refused, but accepted the Guardian's proposal that he should evacuate the building, and allow the Bahá'ís to restore it; he moved into the adjacent building, where his son still lives.
After the Mansion had been restored to its original glory (and such a term is not an exaggeration, for it is a beautiful oriental palace built by a wealthy resident of 'Akka during the last century), the Guardian invited the British District Commissioner to inspect it with him � furnished, its walls lined with bookcases and pictures of interest to the Baha world, its cabinets containing Writings of Bahá'u'lláh in the original, the Room of Bahá'u'lláh itself restored, and original relics of His placed in it. It made such an impression that he agreed to ask the High Commissioner to include it as a Baha Holy Place along with the Shrines and the House in 'Akka, and exempt it from taxation. This was done. The status of the building changed from the personal residence of a son of Bahá'u'lláh to a Museum and Pilgrim House for the Baha'is; Mulmmmad-'All could no longer return, and was forced to remain where he had taken up his residence nearby.
A ruined blacksmith's shop which had existed, owned and worked by one of the Covenant-breakers, right next to the wall of the 1{oiy Tomb towards the east, the Guardian had likewise destroyed.
He had removed the old stables, and the unsightliness and disorder had been cleared away, and a quiet inner court created between the block of buildings in which the Tomb is situated, and the wall of the Mansion Garden.
Towards the south, however, a small one-story building with five rooms, remained, and although since the days of Bahá'u'lláh and the Master, it had been in Bahá'í possession, its title deed was part of the Mansion itself, of which the Covenant-breakers own one-sixth.
Last December, the Guardian, in view of the fact that the roofs of three of the rooms had caved in and the walls were crumbling, and the building becoming daily a more complete and dangerous ruin, instructed the caretaker of the Holy Shrine to demolish it. While he was doing this, the police arrived with an Order of Stay from the Haifa Court, to which the Covenant-breakers had appealed, in view of the fact that without their permission, property in which they had a share was being destroyed.
As the Covenant-breakershad been left in their portion of the Mansion property, in other words, part of the building towards the north and some rooms toward the east, unmolested and un-interfered with by the Guardian, he naturally supposed that after the Center of the Faith had been in undisputed possession of the building in question since 1892, he was at liberty, as Custodian of the Bahá'í Holy Places, to tear it down. The bitterness, however, of the Covenant-breakers still moti
Page 388vated by the evil genius of Majdi'd-Din, who although oniy a few years short of 100, and paraLyzed, is still living in the building adjacent to the Mansion, and led by the widow of Musa Baha'i, the daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, their hatred and their perennial desire to create mischief, again surged to the surface.
At the express request of the Covenant-breakers, a meeting was arranged at which two of them were present with their lawyer, the lawyer of the Guardian and two representatives of the Guardian, in an effort to settle the question peacefully out of court. However, the interview proved fruitless, because they continually raised the same old issues of sixty years ago which arose when Muljammad-'Ali challenged the authority of the Master.
They did, however, make a few requests which the Guardian considered were justified, such as being allowed to pray alone in the Tomb, and that they would be permitted to enter during certain hours, etc. In spite of this concession on his part, they decided to go to the Court and place the matter before the Judge informally, rather than in the form of a trial.
Twice the respective lawyers and parties concerned met in the Judge's presence, but at both meetings the unreasoning animosity of the daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, in particular, made any agreement impossible.
Indeed, it became evident that working through her advocate, one of the sharpest in the country, and one whom she had carefully filled with all kinds of misrepresentations as to the true situation which arose after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, she had no other intention than to prolong the existing condition, which was that the Guardian had been prevented legally from tearing down the building, and, in the meantime the case was neither being decided out of Court nor being brought up in Court. Every reasonable solution having been consistently set aside by the Covenant-breakers, the first hearing of the Case was set.
The Guardian, in spite of his desire to remove the unsightly rubble that the ruined house had become after its semi-demolition, was willing that the case should as expeditiously as possible be tried, knowing full well that any verdict could not but be in his f a-vor, not oniy on religious grounds, but because the building had been in his possession for over twenty years, which, according to the laws of this land, give a person certain welldefined rights.
It was not until the Covenant-breakers had the temerity to summon the Head of the Faith himself as a witness, that he decided to appeal to the Government to lift the matter entirely out of the jurisdiction of the Civil Court.
The three members of the International Bahá'í Council, Mr. Remey, Dr. Giachery and Mr. loas, consequently had interviews with high-ranking officials of the Foreign Office and the Prime Minister's office, as well as with the Attorney-General and the Vice-Minister of Religions. It was evident immediately that the Government was quite aware of the fact that the Bahá'í Faith is united Linder the leadership of its legitimate Guardian, and that he is the true Custodian of the Bahá'í Holy Places. In view of this, the Attorney-General, in pursuance with instructions from the Minister of Religions, informed the President of the Haifa Court that according to a law existing in the Statutes since 1924, the case in question should not be tried by a Civil Court as it was a re-hgious matter.
To the astonishment of all concerned, the lawyer of the Covenant-breakers decided to challenge the authority of this order of the Attorney-General on a technicality and to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. This in fact meant that the case would no longer be against the Guardian but against the Government itself!
Again interviews were had with the higher authorities in Jerusalem and Hakirya, and the Guardian's own appeal to the Prime Minister was transmitted to him.
This produced an immediate reaction. The legal adviser of the Prime Minister met with the Vice-Minister of Religions, the advocate of the Guardian and the advocate of the Cove-nant-breakers, and brought pressure to bear. The three Hands of the Cause, representing Shoghi Effendi, were in one room in the Ministry of Religions, and the Covenant-breakers in another, as the Bahá'ís had refused to meet with them any more. A stiff tussle ensued in which the lawyer of the Covenant-breakers repeatedly brought back more claims from Bahá'u'lláh's daughter, and the lawyer of the Guardian as consistently brought back from the members of the Council refusals to accept them.
Finally the representative of the Prime Minister informed them that any further fight they wished to carry on would be with the Government and if they wanted to do that, they
Page 389THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH}{ 387
could. The result was acceptance on their part to drop the case and the appeal.
From December until the end of May, they had succeeded in preventing the Guardian from doing what he wished to in the precincts of the Holy Tomb. They had, from giving the impression of being poor people whose rights were being denied and who objected to the demolition of a building in which they had a slight interest, gradually revealed themselves as being vindictive, revengeful, and pursuing with great determination and skill, a definite object, which had nothing whatsoever to do with the building in question, or whether it was torn down or rebuilt; but which revealed itself as being a plan to either get a key for themselves to the Holy Shrine, which would give them the position of joint Custodian with the Guardian, or of securing rooms in the Mansion itself for their own "Bahá'í Archives."
It would be no exaggeration to say that the entire course of the case was providential; and indeed all those here had the feeling that from beginning to end, it was pursuing a plan which no one could check or interfere with.
Over and over again, when it seemed that the case would be dropped or settled out of Court or brought before the Judge and speedily dismissed, or the demolition Stay removed pending a hearing, or that the ruins would be torn down because the proper Civil authority had issued a demolition order, at the list moment, everything would go awry and the case would continue, growing and growing in importance, and going to ever higher official levels until it reached the Prime
Minister himself. Infact, it gathered itself up like a big summer thunder cloud, and when it burst, crashed with full force on the heads of those who have disputed Bahá'u'lláh's instructions, the Successorship of His beloved Son, the Will and Testament, and the Guardianship, for sixty years.
When the three members of the International Bahá'í Council left the
Ministry of Religiousin Jerusalem, they had in their possession a paper giving them full authority to tear down the ruins at once.
Within forty-eight hours of their return, a flat surface of rubble was all that remained. Servants, Arab laborers and Bahá'í pilgrims had scattered the stones of the building in a blast of joy.
New Garden at BahaOne week later, the Guardian of the Cause, who went over to Bahá'í himself to supervise the work, had created, in time for the night of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh a beautiful entrance, into what is now called the Holy Court leading to the Shrine.
In front of the Mansion, and in the very spot where the ruined house had stood, a wide expanse of garden sprung from the dust, marble vases, carved white Carrara marble ornaments, lamp posts, cypress trees, borders, pebbled walks � b!
like a dream they spread before the eyes of thelaborers would quote to each other an old saying: "The ring of Solomon has been found!", which stems from a tradition that the king lost his ring, and that whoever found it and turned it on his finger � whatever he wished for would materialize instantly.
Without the innocent remark thrown out by the Guardian one day as he left Baha after visiting the T{oiy Tomb to the keeper: "Bring laborers and destroy these ruins," and which he made because he could no longer tolerate this dilapidation so near the Holy Shrine, and because he desired to build a befitting entrance at the end of the Garden adjacent to the Shrine, which had never had, for sixty years, any entrance, befitting or otherwise, the Covenant-breakers would not have once again been routed, suffered defeat and lost many of the privileges they enjoyed for sixty years in respect to visiting the Holy Shrine.
Indeed, it has been extraordinary the way this case has brought to the attention of almost every important Government Department in Israel, the true stature of the Faith, what it is doing here, who is its Head, what its plans are for the future, what it has already accomplished. One could almost say that the International Council were strangers to the Government in December, but, thanks to the good offices of our enemies, they became warm acquaintances!
The Purchase of EighteenOne of the most important events during this past year has been the purchase at long last of eighteen additional plots on Mt. Carmel, in the vicinity of the resting-places of the Sister, the Mother and the Brother
Page 390388 THE BAHÁ'Í WOR of 'Abdu'l-Bahá-. Upon
the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, all enemy property was seized and placed under the
Controller of AbsenteeProperty. Within the last eighteen months the Government established, after the passing of suitable legislation in the Knesset (Parliament), a body known as the "Development Authority," empowered to dispose of lands, subject to the approval of the Cabinet, either by lease or outright sale for dollars.
After over a year's negotiations with the Government, the eighteen plots were purchased for the sum of $118,000, and in April, 1952, transferred to the name of the Palestine Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United
States and Canada. Inaddition to these eighteen plots, totaling about six acres in area, the Guardian was able to purchase at the same time the remaining half of an empty plot facing both the Western Bahá'í Pilgrim House and the House of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, for the sum of $16,000.
It was largely due to the intervention of His Worship the Mayor of Haifa, Mr. Aba Khoushy, that the Cause was able to secure this land at this price, the original price having been very much higher.
The assurance it would be kept as a private open space induced His Worship to urge the Government to make a concession to the Bahá'ís in this matter.
Embryo of the UniversalCouncil has been, during the past year, not only enlarged but strengthened through the addition to its membership of Mr. Leroy loas, who fulfills the function of Secretary-General; and Dr. Ugo Giachery, Member at Large. On more than one occasion, the Guardian has pointed out to the members of the Council that the Charter upon which the Spiritual and Administrative activities of the Faith in Israel rest is the Tablet of Carmel, revealed by Bahá'u'lláh on Mt. Carmel. The "City of God" mentioned in this Tablet, is the Shrine of the BTh, and the "Ark" means the Laws of God, and refers to the Universal I-louse of Justice, the embryo of which is the present
International Bahá'íCouncil, which through successive stages will develop into the Universal House of Justice to be established and function on this Mo~y Mountain.
its membership i~ow consists of:There are now four Hands of the Cause serving the Faith permanently at its International Center, as members of this Body. Dr. Giachery has paid two visits to Israel during the past three months, in order to assist with the work being undertaken here and this has meant that five Hands of the Cause were in the Holy Land.
In addition to this, Mr. Dhikru'llAh Khadem, Mr. Shu'-~'u'I16h 'A16'i, Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher and Mr. MtisA BanThi, Hands of the Cause, have recently been in Haifa as pilgrims; in fact, two of them had the inestimable privilege of hearing from the Guardian's own lips that he had appointed them as part of the second contingent of Hands of the Cause.
Plans Completed Icr Mashriqu'1-Adhkdr on Mt. Carmel The President of the Council, Mr. Charles Mason Remey, has now completed his design for the Ma~briqu'1-Adbk4r which will be erected at a future date, somewhere on Mt. Carmel. During the past winter, he has had the opportunity of consulting with the Guardian about the final details, and having received his suggestions and approval, is now ready to order the model of his Temple in Italy, so that it can be exhibited in the Mother Temple of the West in Wilmette during the historic Convention of 1953. This building is very monumental in character.
While not resembling synagogue, church, mosque or any of the temples of former religions, it will have a distinctive religious character and dignity of its own. When constructed, it will greatly enhance the institutions of the Faith at the World Center and fulfill yet another of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í cherished hopes. I-low soon work on it could be undertaken is not known at present; but the design carried out by the architect chosen for this prrpose by &flC Master T{imself, has now 2oeen sam
Page 391THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 389
guarded for posterity, and is ready for execution when the appointed time comes.
Recognition a/the Faithby the israeli Government The relations of the State of Israel with our beloved Guardian and the International Bahá'í Council have been friendly and cordial. We are happy to report that steady progress is being made in obtaining suitable legal recognition of the Faith here, from the Government. During the past few months, the exemption already given by both the Mandate Authorities and the Jewish State to material gifts received for the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, the Shrine of the BTh, Mazra'ih, the House of Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akka and the Gardens on Mt. Carmel, has been extended to cover all things received for the Western and Eastern Pilgrim Houses and the Home of the Head of the Faith. In addition to this, the Government has been both understanding and cooperative as regards the reduction of the heavy charges made in the port on material sent for the Shrine of the Báb, and gifts received for the Holy Places.
Aside from the very pleasant interview two of the present members of the International Bahá'í Council, Mrs. Collins and Mr. has, had with the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. David Ben-Gurion, during his trip to America last summer, when they formed part of a delegation from the American National Spiritual Assembly received by him, contact has been made by various members of the Council and by Mr. Lawrence Hautz, with the following high-ranking officials of the State: Dr. Chaim Weizmann, President, at a reception at Rehovot;
Miss Golda Myerson, MinisterMr. Eliezer Kaplan, Minister of Finance; as well as Dr. W. Walter Eytan, Director General of the
Foreign Ministry; Dr.of Customs and Excise; Dr. Zerah Warhaftig, Minister of Religions; Mr. Ahoud
Avril, Director Generalto the Prime Minister, Mr. Shimon Eynat, Legal Adviser to the Prime Minister and the Attorney General, Mr. Kalman Cohen. It is both significant and interesting to note that the higher one goes in government circles, the greater is the courtesy shown and the wider the knowledge of the Faith possessed by its officials. Likewise at high levels we meet with ready understanding, and when assistance is necessary, we get it. Pilgrims to Haifa � from the East and from the
WestNo report of Bahá'í activities during the past year could convey any sense of the stirring progress being made here that did not mention the arrival of the pilgrims.
The first believer from the east to reach the Holy Land after more than ten years, during which the pilgrimage had been perforce suspended by the beloved Guardian, was Mr. Sami Doktoroglu, of Istanbul. After years of persecution, quiescence and obscurity, the Turkish believers have at last found themselves in a position to go ahead with their work in the service of Bahá'u'lláh. Thanks to the instructions carried back to them by this Bahá'í brother from the presence of the Guardian, they have organized their first three Spiritual Assemblies in the historic city of Istanbul, in Aintab and in Adana, and have recently purchased a portion of the land which is the site of the building once occupied by Bahá'u'lláh during his sojourn there in Constantinople.
The first Bahá'í pilgrim to arrive from the west was Mr. Lawrence Hautz of Milwaukee. His eagerness to render any assistance within his power to the work here attracted the eye of Shoghi Effendi, who is ever ready to embark on new activities when he finds willing hands!
It was in no small measure due to the enthusiasm and eagerness of this western Baha friend that the purchase of the additional plots here in Haifa was so speedily and successfully concluded. He made many contacts with the Government and impressed upon them the importance of the International Center of the Faith here to the 13ah4'is the world over, assuring them that Israel has no better friends than the people who believe that what Bahá'u'lláh promised will be fulfilled, and that His promises about Israel will likewise be fulfilled.
During four months, more than a hundred friends have been the guests of the Guardian, and carried back from his presence inspiration, guidance, love and boundless zeal to their fellow Baha'is, upon their return to their own countries, the pilgrimage, due to lack of adequate accom~ modation here, for large ut mbers o' peopi ha~. bee limited t ~ .;J(~r
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Page 445THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 443
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Page 448THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 447
I n'ra~ Vit~ A~ 4* DiQ~ ALL 1314 BY ��QZt Pi$k11~r$t coum~ or xwutzs 4 '1TH~X Vt ~4w.r4 D. Gray, Welter D. Powell, r,, nd Wa~ Nary Uuan, fl *itinn hereby Qo~afly, ?nas~ widn ed b~' vtttue of tbe 1* at th*tJtato, V. ThIuoti4I~r tasoojate o~irne1wa, togatber tot tfl. purpose of I ormihg S rivate auc-profit oorpor#ttosi urs4er the tern sad coz4it$ww �tsr.tnarter set o~at, ~ follows; 1. Tb. an of thAt corporaUQa Is The Spin taal Aaenbly of t1~ Baa 't.
~t tts Olty et flautan, T.xas. .,., Th. pvwpane 4cr which it Is. tonn4 4~ the �stabflshAnnt and maint~na oc of r.llgtns torstaip and apirit~xs1 &tiflti.s in .ocordaxwe with the prina$jilea of The Ssbati Wn4th4 a~ estabIb~hn4 by H.ki.'u'1hh~ Its PouMer, by 'Abda'1 Baha its jat,rjw.t.r and t~xecpX.r~ by 'bo~Jd XtfwAi~ The Thaki'ta ot Ste ~ard1an~and b? the National ~t1ttXa1 Aam~b1y ot I the Uait.4 Ztat.w and tMa4at its dti~.y cotwtiktd, rawswt *~nd wstzaX~ Mm�~ittzatWe ~aat1~ortty La 64~or Nohh Auwrlcet, ad t * d in~ of nfl The ~1aoe whert 'flu, $usinen,. t ttecQr araU6u ia' tS be tra~t~ctea ta ~at 3469 Mt. Vernoh Avon e~ KUou,tot~ florrta Cotxgty, ?oxaa,
K'4. The t~m tnt wht& It is tq cz;at is ~titty (so) ~tear * 5,, ?h.re1s no ~ajAta1 atcM.k, C ther i~re it pr s�~nt a a~ 6, Thop~tgsr tdtr,ctors hail be ~dn~ (9) an4t.rnaa~su and ~ot B ~tflflcc adds's sts,~e f tlow&t A A '~ (1) )~ca, Inez Vttt~rio1d~ ~4O9 tS. Veraca 4~t~Ot o~zon, Tnna
~ ~ a, AG &tax ~�13Zv Lsat~ It~n~ Ta~t~h--DAson~. Ason~. ..O~ Z~tctdns &trs4t~ ~ 7r4 4.nzn~e ReywAd~, 2109 $oboter *.4res~t Ho~wtoK~ ?axes A I Mwsr4 b.. ~rtsy, cQl &4~Kt Ahb~t* tr.ot~ $~otin4~eris K A. ~ (4) IcC~j dO9'.o~st.t ~Ar ~t, ~ato~, T~za~ ~K~}&)si$trTh F v~fls, $r...4J6l(~ R~~t~~op tr.ot4ja~s~iu ~ Aj,~.a rrn'ey,~Tt tie tb.ra~ at*.rsit~, *~~e1ex~ ~ iQ~atSc~ 2cx~W, A ~ '~ A ~ Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Houston, Texas (left, and next two pages).
Page 450zv~m~D~i y~nxm~s~O? rlzzthia tel thdv r ~aAat 1%1.
� 2' / Notary mkblt4. lierh C~iaty, P
Page 451tif (ertificate of Organization of a Cotporation, under Chapter Fifty of the ReviseU Statutes, and Amendments thereto.
~ ~ 4 a v')Xp(~ A-ti~l1 duJy o~h~wd ~ .t~. re~jden~e. o~ Sk~ of ~Ui~~ ~m ~h& first d~ NovFmber. . rfli~ �m ~fh~ ppv~ of ~ r~ T �s~bLish a ~~.1�4o~ eo~~rat�an; ~ uph~Ld and promote th0 s~irit~aiL, ~edu~tiona1 ~nd hu itar~atx ~e~hin~s of~ mail braherbo~d ~ceerdThg & tfle p4z~ccip1e~ of tt~e &hai io~1d Faith, and ~ e~j~y a~. other righ~, power,~ ~d privi2~e~ granted to eo~arat~�oas orgax~z~d p~t t~ ~hapter 50 oI~ the Rev~ise~* at~i~Ven of the ~3tate o kane tork S ~ uuiv ~I 1 lw ~um A ~,ffi ~r j~ tb�~te~1~, ~aiwL ~i h~ii~w, ~tr~ ~ ~ ~jr ~ t ~iniuL ~ t ~i~a L. B1ak~ ~a~ry A. r~w~ ~ ~ ~ B to i~e
Mc~oiib Bfl4 A1~i~$. ~IcCQr*~ Jr~ ~X~ itn ~ ~,ur ~dav w ~ha�man � ~ea?sa11 ~ )~ '~ A re~G. im4t~. I ~ ~ ~ ~ayL~1a~.3j ~ y Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Eliot, Maine (continued next two pages)
Page 453I~'ene G ~t4~ A7ned Louise I&o bjJ~aryA, Marl ~e, ~e1 i~ 00 e~, ~ien 8. .3~cComb ~Jr.
~ ~ ih~ ~Ai~ I V t fl~ 1 JAY t t $2 tTI ~S Ikkw rn~
Bun~Ma~ ~ ~ ~t h ~xe ~x ~t~ti~j ~ for o,~i r~-~h ~ in~A th~ ~ i~ pr~~'~v ~ ~md ~ I ~ th a John S. S,Pesse~dei~ t~e~uty \I1 R~EY G 1~4~RAL
Page 454copy (Name of corporation) Sptrltue1 Tseeb]7 of the Baa' is of fliot tan: YORK
Registry of DeedsJ0hfl G. ~�t1i ~Regt ter A true copy 6f recortb
STATE OF MAINE Cff~THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 453
.~ 2) Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Fresno, California (continued next five pages).
Page 456That we, the members of the Spiritual Asseably ot the Bahá'ís of ?resno, State of California, ar~ uniracorpor assaciatiOfl~ being &u.ly authorized and. empowered by & resolution passe& n~C siopte& by the Bahá'í aemunity or Freano, State of California, at the Feast of WILI~ hel& September Z6th.~ 1952, have this &ay associated. ourselves together, for the purponS of forming a religioUs coj s~ti6n ander the provislo Laws of the State of Cal and.
Page 457THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 455
of itt ~oordaic~? with the teac in ~ arid pritciples 4 &t 4 �~ t~'i Faith, .s et% tort by ~aiia�Q 1ah~ its I rounder;~ AbAn'1 � B&ha, AX Thtervreter an Exn~4&S; hoghi7 1~ften&i~ it~ Guar tan aw~ t e liatitnaLSpttitw&1 Assembl4 eon t tu.te& 4the Bahá'ís of th. Uufle4 Stat4, We uly pt * a4minia~ ra,tire attthotity in an? for t e Unit 4 Stat a of iwrm Mici~ t j N ib) Tb. as 'purposes Are ;o ctrbaii a by meaxlY ot&.Vottonal mestinss, putlie it etigsP1ett~ireS sn Aen � terezio~o4 of an d4~oationa11 wwanitaflan ~n ~p~ritUa1, a arac4sr~ by the onsjtruztion of a temple ~r temples ott universal wot0btp and. e&ifleeS for hnianitari.fl ~erv14i; by un1fyin~ ~upery�8iDg,prOmOt�flg.K8fl~l~ &eDOr&U Adminis-~ State ot Calttetaia; ~tk& ~oriPerat4on. ak~fl con mb 4 to axis ptrpetually, 4and fri t.p. purpose of a%ttaWius @ ~ fu~rtheriig any of the foregoing ob~erstaaud~jpW?POS~B, to Ao 1 any nd all acts an& VA tngs~ nt~ to exerci 00 mY ax4 afl.
powufl, which now or3I~roattOZ%flk&Y,bS aatXiorijet ty law / $ it bei~pt l~e/ebfexpre$MiY profl4i& tW~t ~he forpgo�n~ enuseratSon;of ~peeifi&pQW*rS stitll.jiQt bt# construe C) . � t
Page 458p#r.i alibi. ~d~rthe stattto ~flhnir~ this i.nn.rafloa.
(5) That thi Pr bA,aJt tre*~sut�on et K The bituins. of this oororatie2x liNk be lont*t in the X City otfr.uuo, ~St~t&.f Oulifrnia. ~ (6) That there ~h.11 be aLas &it..~ter.; thaVthe K nasa and a44r.suem ~of the ~ rho, adi. ~a*t as tireatora K 4 aA oft�nis until the �Intin C their nonuscra are as p zats orricas ibwzans /
KEIIXETH B~ SMIlE Ch~4~tms4 4~ Dit.otor Pr~ano Cat�fonia
GLADYS DODXER Ytoe-0hairmsa & V SDflhAM. BflAIIDIJ S.eretarv.A '7 W It LILLIAT RIZXLAJD tr.sAur*t & X XA3 X?GZI Roe. Saoy~ A, * U X
DOROTHY SKITIC LIbrarian 4(7) Thesa Artiolea of Izaorporation n~r be utzx4e4ofros tine to ti in the anner proriteft by Law.
II WITRESS WESUZO?, tixe Spiritual isunb1~~oftM 'Btia'is of Fresno, State of Ctlifoxtfla, lieritofor. �gstins n at un � noorporatet asaqoistici h~s eaua these Artiol'eu of Th80ep0 � ration to be duly aiga.& by its aembas~e this ~3rd. taj~ #t .7 nu~ry czc~I~ ~Zt~~n1 !atefl. 1. Jactinor ~~ ~tF:;:;4~?~~.
KI(9W ALX.~ �~SK P~ we t � ~ernber&oT the i~ritu~i A eeab1~ 4 Bahá'í o~ S~ D~ego~ State a b~. ~ ~ ~a~WatIo be. g d. y au.t o4ze& and eapo~& ~on~ pa~~& & op~e~ b tb~ Bs~~'i~ mx~it~t of &n Stat~ o~ Cal�for La, ~t a reg~ar~0~ e~i~z~ate4 ~ t~xa ~ a~t o~' Bab, held K&ro1i2Q~t?4 1~953~atw~a~ a ~ ~jt~ ~ tV~e m~ bern w pre t ~ ~u~' 1v~ toget er; or t~e purpo ~fKf0~ ming &1~iptt~ ~*~T Qratian uX1 E~ t e rovi io~ Of t~o 1&w~ ott e ~ ~
PIRIrUAI~ AS ~i TThi &&~ia~O sI~DI Q~.CALI 0 ~
an t t~e ~ ~ eexi ti ~ unine~r pr~te~it~o ft~ whit ~ ~e1n ~n ~ or te i~ ~TL~ ~IIi~I UAJYAS TX Q
M~ 0 ~ AiJ?ORNIA~t~ V ~e *(1~ t s'~ orati.~n ~es not o~te~upiat~e ~�~ � ~ trib t1O~I ~0 8 Un1&~( g~iD~ rO~1tS~ ~ U 1 fl ~ me b~ ~ti er~ e~ i ~rpor to the ~T in ~h ~w ~~ma~ir~ ~ v~h~t~ ~ K ~P) ~ ~ ~~4' ~ ~ ~ ~ 4 Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of San Diego California (continued next three pages)
Page 462of th~ Bahá'í Faith, a~ ~et fortla b~ ~~18J~IY it~ ~auu4er; Abdu'l-Bahá ltB Tht~rpret~r an~ ~emD1ar; ~Iio~hi 1~TIendI, its ~r~ii~n ~ tI~ I~at1on&1 Spirit~ia1 ~s~emb1y of The 3~ha*i~ ~f the united States, t~e truly n~t~tut~4 auThority in ~n~i ~or the Thited. ~tate~ o~ I~o~tt~ ime~10a (b) These pu~poses &~'e to be r~ii~ed by me~iS of ~VOtIOIia1 meetinga~ p~b1ic meetin~3, ILe~ture~ ~n~L ~oeZ~eiie~ OI~ &I~ ~dA1~at1Qfl&J. humanitaxi~ axi~i spiritual ~h~raeter; by th~ ~r~x~tion o�~ & te~pIe ~r te~p1es Qf U V~r~3&1 v~6rstdp arni e~io~ t~r hu~wnitari~ri ~erv1e~; by ~ ~u~er-v~i~ing, , promoting and ~enera11y a ini~teri~g the a~tiV1ti~S of tt~e ~atiati~ of t~e City ~f S~ ~)je~~ ~tat~ ~ Ca1iforni~, ~iitie~ ~ ideals: I~ t1~ fuJfiia~ent of their re1i~io~i~ offices, (4) That the ~orp~r~tion 1~ organlze4 p~rs~iant tb ~a~t 1~ c~f~ ~1vi~ion ? ~y1~ ~iUe � a~t~ the ~o~or~tio~ Cod~ of th~ State ~f C&iiThrnia; ~ai~i cor~ration shall o~ti~rne t~ exist pee � ~ttiaI1y~ and. ror tne ~uxpo~e oI~ attaining o~ farth~xiA~g any of tim ~oreg~ing obj~t~ and. ~ to do any a~A all a~t~ a~ tUngs~ and to ~i~e an~i ~i aLl ~ower~ whi~i now or~ here~-aster er nay b~ a~thori i ~r Thw~ it b~n~ hereby expr~~iy oii~ie~ that t~e ~ore~o~ng enm~ratIQ~i o1~ ~pecii'i~ powers ~'ranc~ K~ bAl
R~nry Ku ~Vic~ � Chajrm~ &~reet~ u~ ~rea~urer & fl�~to~
~e~tary .& D~re~A2r%flir~ctor flire~t~r flIr~t~x~ flir~c~r ~ ~ire~tor~ ('~Y Th~e A~t~~es a~t I rpoz4~tiQn r~a~r b~ ~mende~ fro~i t1~ne t~t�m~ in t~i~ m~flr;~r pre~yL~w.
Th~ ~fl'N~S$i W~{~EOF, tLe ~pir~t'~i. A e~rib1j ~ t~ l~ i~
St~t~ of Ca1i~orno~ r~e~to, exi~tin~ a~ an w4n~or~i6r~ted ~ t~a~i ~se~ ~Artic1t~e o~ In � ~oro~ration tG~k~ ~y ~g~ned ~eoretary 4~TW~1~ ~' ~1AL~A~
~3Y O~ ~ 2Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Glendale, California (continued next four pages).
Page 470its ~Lr4Iar1 *ad~ ~h* I~a*io~ia1 ~p~r�1 A �wht~t ~ tao Bfth~~a of tt~, tki1t�~. ~at.s, t~o ~tx1y i~~ed m�~t~tive ~1~hozity i~ ~tid ~or tile U~t.d ~~tt# ~f ~ Aa~r1~&~ (4) ?~iat th. oor~r~toa is organLse4 pv~0uRnt to Par~1, of ~dviu�on E o~ ~ 1, ~of ~he rporatlon Cqd~e of t1~e stato ~yf C~1~f~n~,a; said ~por.~i~n ~Ia3.L e~nti~n~* t~ &x1~t per � pet~1&11~r, and t~ the piupoae of ~taLiiing ~r ~rth.r~ra~ any of t~t ~orego1n5 obJ.~~ ~n~~1rp~a.a, to do a~ an~ all act* an4 t~1n~m an~ to �xexo�se a~r ~ .41 pa~era vs~i~a ~iow o~ heret~to~ may b. .~t~o4~a4 ~y �~w~ It be�n~ ~or.by IXDt,BS1Y F1~ tk~at t~a to g~zi~ �n~m&za~~n ~f 0pi~i(~ powers g~s11 ThG~ be oor~mtr~e4 ~ h.IA t~ Ilsit or r~tr�ot In any ~1Lm~*f o~ fore t~is ge~e~4 p~we~s oorxferrt& upon suob OQrpora *n& ~e 1a~uibXe un4ozKti~o atttute g exYiin5 this Incdr-poratX~n n (~) ~flia~ tflo prl*i*ipE. otfF,o for t~O trana&otIO~ of ~ b~i~ine~ ~ tIns do~p~rtii~fl ~s ~a ho Iooa~e~ In the City ~ G1.n4&l,, ~t~tO ~t c fox~4~~ ~tn the County ~ Lo~ Angeles.
and a4dL,e~o3 ~f %h~ ~grs~u w~io 6hftlj. &~t un~i1 ~ �1e~t1on ~ ~b~tr snoo�~ao~S ~re a~ o~.
aIXuan& �~Qr, Ora~au P. n*~1 V1au � 1~hiJ.raaa ~k Garn.~# if~#)A ~or.t&r~ &
GI&d1s At~Ineoz~, ~e~g~ar~r ~~.g1~a K. Li~ii~ Are as d1X~O~OrS SX~d attloera fo11~WS: GI.n4a1e~ c~1irornJ~a.
Page 471~7J 1kw.. krttol.g ~f In#orporat�on nay be anwztds4 from tiat to tie.. Lu tt, asanor prufl&eA by 1au~ fl~ WIE~fls JLtt2sQ?~ ttzo ~p1rizuxi Anmbly of tbt DaAt9j~ *t t*te City ot G1tnda.1,~ Stttq ~f CaUf#rnta, heretofore nlut-lag g as an unkoqrpor,t.& flOo*latIoA a. n~zee4 t one Article.
ot Ineorvontioz to bed y en it. ds~y of April1 1fl4~
RALPB SC HALLOu tide l3tt dq of Dri1~ 19 4, befon im# enevieve intenruss � EI'flY PU~LI in un for too nFl C~ERT7M ~LW.i Ak&~LS~s, tuIAL2 (F OASJFQnLIA, rea4 &t15 tbsretn, duly coals-~ai~sz*4 4 and �worn, perboualXy appnnt -~a1ph 6ahmJ4, Orahea P~ 2 ~Zflua'4xnAab. YIV8f, � t4insLLsflktob~tt~~ k*o~ to as to be Mx� penona d.aor�btl In an~ w~oao ziawai~ an uubnriw& to flte wtt&n �nutrginat~. end aoknowled8.d. to u that th�y �noutwd the saa#.
IN WI?)*ESS ;~jxmioy, I have hen.-unto unto sot I~ hazz4 an& aSflzst my otflui.3. seal. iii BaLd County of' Lou Aageles, tin 4ay and y'ar in t~i1a certificate first above wrttt ext.
NO?AssT 2U3LIC~Thc $14k of on rnncxe~ the iu~coi~ and that Ike :e~ ~ hand a~d of C4liforn~a~ ~t
ApriL 1q54A~U~SON, �a4h keii~ 4u~1y awjrr~ ~n oath) ~~ispQbg3 ~nd uayu~ r4 t~t CbaJ~r*~u, ~.t~rst~r~r .u& ~w.ua~*at oX T2~ p~x~it~ai A*ReRb17, ~t t~a. 3a. ~iu ~ G1.zi4a1.~ CafO,~flta, an gorpQrat*A a~o~1 1oe~~d~ In ~u Ci g of ~1oad1#.~
~t~ta oZ~C~�Xf~rnJ~; that az a �~dar ~F,&at I~etin~ ~ ~ the Ba~a' 1~ oommu*~�t7 of ~1eai4~L~; 4~s�~w.t,~&5 t~i� F.t at ~Iss~at ~ML~htP #fl ~ S~ptt ~ 19~~ b7 A 1~@BO1tLtiQfl w1ai1I~50~J*Xy ~au,.4 ~ai4 ad~pte4% K~~A~ ~J*{~#~tt N 1: ~~' t~ z ~ � ~X2~K7 ~r '~ t. � VuWkmn&dior~idOoWtty ~ had sevIre1y.vI~6wIedpd th~ �$ecuUbb4'the lbre ~ articles ofiMorpmttML.
~k wine~ wih~btarisk~#thfr CS.THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 475
B~ ~1~NOWN ThAT~THE SPIRIT AL A5S1~ Y ~' T1~ BAJ{A C THX ___________
~ CTr~ OF 'I~UCSON~ ARIZONA~ � � � � � ~ 4
HAVING ~U~MITTED TO ThE AR~Z0NA CORPORA~ ~UN CCMM~SSKN ~ D~ENCF 0~ ~CMPVANC~
WITh ThE LAW5 OF T,HE STATE oF AR~Z()~A GO&E~N~N~2 7H~ ~NCO~f~QRAT~0N OF COMPA~S,
~ 8Y V~ TUE OF THE PQWE~ VL~TW IN THE COMM~S~CN UNUh~R THL CQNSTITVW2N kN~) THE
LAWS OF ThE ATEAFTER $E ENACTED. VOR A PE,~C~S CF YW~N ~ ~ ~M T~V 1)ATi~ fl~RV~, U~L~~
S~N~R ~E~1OK~D I~Y ~AUTHO~Y OF ~IWV'A 2 In Witv~ess Whereof, .~ s ~
HE~tUv~IC ~ ~ HA~E ANt~~ 4' ~ Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tucson, Arizona.
Page 478THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 477
I AWflQZS OF 1NOOItPORATh3NThtWAZLU r. Ca~ N Xfl, n~ tate. fleId. I U ~ � wt ~*ic4,
Nwt, ~ Ct� ATherta Afltma U, S. aXswooa Oak Park Illinois 11&~LA1mxDQt nzt~ ~Jfl�na4t
Kr 34o~uz D. Kdllberg1026 -Uanoy Oak a IllinoiS~'*t ?tatb. ~ � Ah*i&ernu � O.&V*~k--flWte~
LaRoa~e 08 Gund men Oak Park IllinoisTflUTtotiiV 0CV r ruhiibir tt~fl%f~ ~ flS~ arnL 9at afl~fltinaIs i4rjqn. Ions Uliriob 219 Woreot ak Park Illinois ~4.' ~Aa& ~tu44w11 tOSS � It. ituy*or � 'tsir PaX* It tnott~ b~aw natnea~ ~ ~t ~rne ~ 9r r~ort~ ~t~d ~f Th~P~d St~tt~. fot L$~ p*~rpn~ d f~mb~ ~ tM" N~N~e A" ~rnr ~, ~ ~o~wfl(~ ~3pir tuAl Aas,mb of auao swears ~at4cr~tb!s Corporate A*reennt.
C 'C: tf ~t~w ~r~r~tk~ ni~y r~u~e, (7), ~ ~gii~t~ th~ m~m~ ~ t1~e ~ ~nd fix tb~ p~ati~ ~f t~e ~fiker~ ~(S~ To b~xrrt~~w m~i~y t~ b*~. ~ ~u pw~ment ~ p~r~y bought by it, and for ere~t-~ ~g b~dIdin m~k~Ag ~ ~d~foi other pur~ gm~i~ to t1t~ ~ ~f it~ ~nd ~ecu~ ~he ~yn~e~t ~ U~ m~y ~ b~~w~4 ~ ~ ~kdg~. or leed of trust, iipqn s~h prop~t~. r~I; p~op~, ~ mixe&~ ~w~d ~yit ~rnd it ~ li~ likemar~er. ~ee~it~ ~y t~t~4 ~ny i~ting ind~bt~dt~~, wi~kb ~t may. have Iawlnliy confr~te~1.
~th ~trMhrn f Th~W~)~ t~ 1~. ~ tk~d ii) ~I~e m~ P~1Mt~fl~nd th~ i~t~ h~ ~ A ~ 4 ~Y ~ ~ ~ ~ty nt ~ ~ ~t. i)u4~ h~c of ~ 1(I~~ ~ b~ ~y ~ n~ Th~ ~ ~ rn~~' h~ ~x~d by ~ ~ th~ s~iid t{~rIli hOe. h~,vt~r~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ar~. ~ n o~ I h~ ~rn~ ~ ~iiY d~ h~~1 ~ ~ ~ the ~pp&~,
A~enib1y~ m~ m~ Mrter Tee, $it.OQ %1s$e~ X.~Rbdger~, foi~ the
SS4ieta44y Qt State 7A ~4 f Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the BaWt'is of Greenwich, Connecticut (continued next page).
Page 486The foregoing is a true copy of a certificate filed in this alike and of the endorsement of pproval thereon.
IN T~STLMONY Wanuor, I have hereunto ~et my hand, and affixed the Seal of &aid State~ 'at Hartford, this 23rd
At' ~THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 485
~Z iizum~, ~aau.~ �v ~ II*&'ZRF I L ~ 0 t~a ~ .fl b.1~ f !i~&1 ~ aM e~t~*~M~ ~f W~i1$~4 R*at.a1 m~ *~..*4OMa of ~ 8tU~t. et Jmda~ d4$g *e ~ a~I*~i ~aa~etsnt *4 t~Ib p~'o'vtaJ~m .f ~S~ap~ 3~ 10 __ ~ ~A t*11eItg~ K 12 , ~ ~ Tazm4 a*e t R4~LM#*.P th sfrmfr. 21 ~n the 2lBt day ~st April in each Tear, 22 Th~ first ~..t�ng ~ i~id on the 21st day of April1 195S, at 23 350 West Liberty �trnt~ Roao~ ~.nda, 24 IN WI~YESS WYW&EOF~ vs hate a4q~ stgned &nd a$~a~Atd~td this 21$ eerttfltatt in trtpfl~ate tktta of April, 1951p 29 &fl A. 3D � 2 �
Page 489W~, th~ uwkr~i~n ~ d lun to b ~x ~ t~ t wd h co~ i~ ~ A t ~ 2 P. A. I ~31, ~ ~Thi~ d~ hei~by n~ake~ ~e~ut~ and ad~p~ th~ f~11~wii~g ti~1c~ ~f iatio~, t~.wit: ~ir~t~ J~ name ~ by tb~~ ~ by w~jieh ~t ~hafl b~ ~ in 1~*w, i~ ~ A~*emb2.~ o~ ~4k~' ~ c~ ~h C1~ of fl~a'~l4~ ~i1oh~#n ~d~f S~, The 1~ti~ ~f ~d ~bu~di ~r ~i~ty ~di~U h~ in th~ CIt1 of ~
~f CL~7 ~Third, 1~h~ t~m~oi~ which said ~rati4~shall b~ ~'a Eo~rth~ T~e ~b~r~s o~ said ~h~r~h or ~o~i~ty ~haU wOr~hiF ~nd 1~bor eog~th~r ~~d~ug t~ th~ &ii~i~1izxe, o~ At~i~a (or ~ rcThtion as th~ ~as~ may be), a~ from time to ~ ~th~ri~d ~nd ~ed~red by ~ ~ ib~ Am~ ~ th~ ~ ~ b~4~ ~ b~4i~, ~f t~, ~ to ~ ~ ~ FiI~th~ (h~r~ in~rt a1~y d*~&ed i~dditi~n~1 pr~i~i~im t)m~ize~i by tk~ At~t~.
are to ads4nl.ter t~, atX~sXra of ~ho !~itt.&~A~&iit of t~e ~i~y of (wand api . In a~orn~Ga~o.
1~u.eo~1i~e UThd a ~ ~1no1~I~# of ~4ie ~ Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Grand Rapids, Michigan (continued next page).
Page 491THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 489
~ ~v~the p ti~h~eby iatfr 1t~g&1 efft t ~ these ~rt~ci~, hereunto sx~ivour n~rne~ and places of i'esiden~ : � ai~d,~tateof Wehigan tw~ __ ~
(Signatures), (1si4en~e4~Et~ i~z1 J /~/~ ii 414
STATh OF ~fICHI AN,~1&y ~ g~tn~kI~4n t~e t ~i ~ des ribed in and who axe the regonnt~utn.nt �nd ai~ ow ed th.t ney~e~ted *E~ tjj s~cu~rrr~s COMMtS~S~QN
~ ~ APH~2 I9~4Singapore, ~wi~h effect from 28th ~Ju1y, 1952. LNO A18f52~. ~.
Certificate of incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Singapore.~ntv~A~ ~4 d~ foW~,ero de 1S~. � VX~~~ aapatal px~e~*e~t dos al ~der Eaowxtivo a ron~,oit~iento de la pemono?~ ~ue~1ioa tra 1.,~i21Ac~ig poaVtjra.=1~S1i 01 a@~o~ Wo. 4. Gobiorno d~ 1 ~rurno. � I~L PH~IMJ~.
~ IA ~PU~LIOA :-~II~U~L Th~ z 1 1QB~1~ 1~ *~ 8I~a~Ut0R &
la SAiL!~LE~ BAHÁ'Í I fl~ I O~ Iti~O~ ~on 5e40 en 08ta Cazpital y ~ ceaerlo 1~ ~no~i~ ~4io& q~ze -~o1i � 4ote~rt~iru~&o~s par *1 ~ ~1 ~�10d � 1e~a~Th*~ y r 1&l1.ntariaB vi~ente0 y q~o en 1~ �U~iO~1TO ~e ~ioZen, � 2~)~ D~2~32E los te~ttm~ni~a que at2~ioi~ten.
0 t~, in~r ~"~o b~ ~1 ~ ~ K via I~q~id~ui~n pc~ la 4re~0i6~1 Gr~1, 4,e ~mp~e~to8 Qtr t~ O~ ~p@1 ~e11t4o y ti~breu ~iuya repwsioitSn a y area e~e.M*u~in.~ a...X4uar~ 3lanQo ,. IE.R.L~ _________________________________________ o~ i~4na~1 y u p0 id~o de pu~te int. � ~ e~zpXti0 .1 pr.~8nt~e en W~I~it~evideo ~ loB ~UA~ ~ .~1 e d~e ~wirzo ~e ii ~Ve~iOll~o8 in~ftx~ � .
~ y dna. __________________ ______________ 1~2.~O ~ i 0 tX~r0~ Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Montevideo, Uruguay.
Page 498QRGA P flEl {~OBtE1IN'~, nr7ncU*fl*R A t~ ~e.mbita Ba.
t. Jiuac~ ii ~ftwa* Pr~sidente tsnsnnsc:onOvy~ Jo Rep~biica ~w~$ (~tw If~n $ qU4 a .x r,vo~ ~ jY QUiTO, MAR1Th 4 D! DI CWM3R~ 1W IS) NUWRO flO ~Q~24~A*VM~$ ,OltfltMr$&$ & ___ A~* ~flV5~fl$S n b~Cn~* tzs,nO II n p'a &t.*mpmi~ntn flE tflAILMNO ~ t,e. N
$~ ~ BAA A~ X~t Ii #4 4~nni~ Th,ntAr%r~ .*ktrrtde ~u' t& ~4n ~o _______ ~ � ~fl MWMIWMTt~ COP#STITOC$oNAt. ~t. r C6d# W~ ~'
LA RU'URL&CA '~ \XVQ ~ts ~*~K~c~nn~ :#~ t#~fl.t~r~,e h~i~'~ M~ P � S �~ dtct~~ dI N~MM � ~� p ~ 4~ 0)4 V R k~ LM4.~.# kOAA. AUNt ~ {14~W&ACIGN LA
I@ ArM$ SAMA� *QIMO Sfl ~QA~ u &h �k$~ U ~& P ~ 9~itiai 4eQM*~fl~V ~4 Ap.&r I. #~*r~ r ~' 4 ~ ~ t~mW* wv~ ntcAt ~ a # ~tador W~' y ~ ~ 4, ~ ttfl A W~ V '~' ~ZSt V ~ rZ~t.Z~ ~ ~oV U ~miqwn s tna.n~U.aIrS.WP*h n siMr~.
*le I�4 rn~ 4 t~bi ~ ~ t ~ A Certificate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Quito, Ecuador.
Page 49971YQE is GodI 0 peerless Lord! In Thine Almghty wisdom Thou hast enjoined marriage upon the peoples, that the genera (ions of men may succeed one an other in this contingent world, and that ever, so long as the world shall last, they may busy themselves at the Threshold of Thy oneness with servitude and worship, with salutation, adoration and prase.
"I have not created spirits and men, but that they should worship me." Wherefore, wed Thou in the heaven of Thy mercy these two birds of the nest of Thy love, and make them the means of attracting perpetual grace; that from the union of these two seas of loveawave of tenderness may surge and cast the pearls of pure and goodly issue on the shore of life. "He bath let loose the two seas, that they meet each other: Between them is a barrier whkli they overpass not.
Which then of the bounties of your Lord will ye deny? From each He bringeth up greater and lesser pearls."
0 Thou Rhid tordi Make Thou this marriage to bring forth coral and pearls. Thou art verily th0 AII� Powerful, the Most Great, the Ever-Forgiving.
� 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ HE IS THE BESTOWER,be to God, the Ancient, the Ever-Abiding, the Changeless, the
Eternal! He Whohad, testified in His Own Being that verily He is the One, th0 Single, the Untrammelled, the Exalted. We hear witness that verily there is no God but Him, acknowledging His oneness, confessing His singleness. He hath ever dwelt in unapproachable heights, in the summits of ijis loftiness, sanctified from the mention of aught save Himself, free from the description of aught but Him.
4, t{46 c~2t/ae c#/a~~e"We will all, i'eriI.y, abide by Ike IVill oJ God."
We, duly authorizedof the And when He desired to manifest grace and beneficence to men, and to set the world in order, He revealed observances s and created laws; among them He established the law of marriage, made it as a fortress for wellbeing and salvation, and enjoined it upon us in that which was sent down out of the heaven of sanctity in His Most Holy Book.
He saith, great is His glory: "Marry, 0 people, that from you may appear he who will remember Me amongst My servants; this is ontof My commandments unto you; obey
Cortifr that Mr. _________________________________________________ have on this flay of been united in Marriage according to the Order of Servce recorded in the Bahá'í Sacred Writings.
SIGflTURE OF ASSEMBLY REPRRSENTAflVEBahá'í Marriage Certificate adopted by the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America.~ ~, ~ ~ h~by ~ ~II)E hi~ ~nxd ~ _____________ r~ fl~ Marriage Certificate issued by the State of Idaho, U.S.A.
Page 501THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 499
S*Iarriagt Liuu~e LTo any pnpn icgelly .uthorixed to solemuirt marriage in the Sw. of Michigan, �rnflng: Manicgs may 6. soI.tnnh~ within SO days of 40* of Issue In the Stat. of hUchIgaa boa SAMJEL H. C. CLARK 08 WuM net mM 040
22 Whit.TutMt. fuJi eauie S3.�sat.th Critt,adsn )tnhr. mtId.a n.e
Non.flU same C tale 22 lVhite las at let MflMxy C.n
4344 WilliamMaids nine (11 v w14ow~ pnS wbon permt'a or tnrdhu's conmut, tz an ste Ms but attainM a. ar of tltbtaen ye*te, baa been flied ha as OEm, Ax aZdaflt has bai* !ltad In tbh office, a. prorld4 by Thibltc Act No. 128, Laws of 18*7, *. amended, by which It a~qeru tMt tabi ttewa~itu at, tnt In whites wMnof, I ham Mgn � J nO inlOd tka. pnawata, ed Jonter c ~ ~ �1
[III] ~: Clerk aThi, marring, license VOID 30 days after dat, of team.
Certificate at *arria~rtI IIn~Sby wiTh thu above lIcenam Un persons herein mat$on.4 were Joisud In marr'ng, by a. a~ county c. w tfle MIOmOAK I at aM Marriage Certificate issued by the State of Michigan, U.S.A.
Page 502Marriage Certificate issued by the State of New York, U.S.A.
Page 503'S. h~ &.~.d R 14 ~ ~ ~..
~ ~ � RtJThJ6 4~1ifor~&ia b~ ~ ,~ ~, 4 ~ ~ R. ~, ~ ~A~ThA ~ ~ I ~
1~~h W2.~Ic~.ck ~ , ~ ~ 141 ~ I hereby c~r~ihj t~5~a~ ~m~et~h 1~2t*~1 "~ Aim and~ th ~ were jouw~* ~ mamag~ b~i rn*~ u~ ij&~cda,,ce waji the iaws ~,f sl~ r~r~cnj ~f Hawu~ ~ n~ ~ htdkid o~i thr AYLSay of _ __ ~ � c2~&c7 x__ c~'i .
I � ~ W~h ~BQerd~4,a1th R�4~tr~~. ~one~,a~ Marriage Certificate issued by the Territory of Hawaii, U.S.A.
Page 504M~~buRJU "~ &oe~mis~onIr~NO Z~�
~ANO 1thtnA13fr~Y dais ~ n~st~t) o~ ~r r0t~L with ~, \
Te~X~S ~K~' ~ ~0 thet fo'iowed wThh tLose of other faiths.
The pkn is that the children will be excused but they will be expected to ma~e up ~the work that is missed, It I can be of further ser rica, please let know, Sincerely yours, ~2 td(y $ ltcct A
Ward I. J4LLlerLetter from Superintendent of Schools, Wilmington, Delaware, excusing Bahá'í children from school attendance on Bahá'í Holy Days.
Page 508dorn of~ r Communications between the Government of Liberia and the Bahá'í pioneers, authorizing the teaching of the Faith in the Republic of Liberia, and exempting goods consigned to the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Monrovia from Customs fees (continued next page).
Page 5090 00 0 C H '�0 C t~EW Z AALAND r~ 4
~kfr Y~. ~~ v, r lit! IC E 0 411L tAN 4 ZUiS ~Ceitiftcg4t, dwAtU "2 4 1 V N~ 1v'f d~W~ fr&4$ ~ ~ 1?
&~b r ~ ~ B ~ ?~~V V ~Cfl~ ~ t tg ~ kM I a ;td ~ A ~ 3.
4 1 _______ S V 4/,Y4ftW ~ 4
~X~Y& 3 4~~tO4~ � t ~ ~ ~ 4K ~ 4 f t4 A At Certificate of Transfer of Title to the Hyde Dunn Bahá'í School Property in Auckland New Zealand to the National Spiritual Assembly of Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand.
4Certificate of Organization o( Corporat'o~ under Chapter Fifty
of the Revised Statutes) and Amendments thereto.Tbe un4e~ign~d, offi~ of ~ ~ d~1y ~rg~nized ~L. ~ ~ ~Xi3~Y,~7i~a1 inthwx~oL,~. � ~ y of n~ne~o h ~1~es~ ~ub1i~ I ture~ and ~ ~r the ~xpo81tiofl c~t~ ~drIt~a1 tr~t~, ~Thoi~1e~ ~iJ ~U~4ot~ ~ ~ ~ion the ext~t ~n4 ~ s~ ~r3~ lite ~re Q2 all ~ ~it~s~ with ptit~2~r and o~ ~nici~ ~eaI ~uv~ p~na1 ~i~op~'ty a~ ~ay be ce~ary to ~&rx'~ ~ ~~eTh ~~t; ~nd ~ acqt~Jr~ by ~iI7t~, �~hase, 1EV1~e ~z~x~h r~a1~~nc~ ~i~I r)~rty~ w~ic~ '~1aj ~ oe~e~i to t~ ~orpora~ion~ t~ ~oJ~ a~d for the pu~os~s �ox~ '~aIe~ th~ ~ox' � i~ ~r~;aPtz~[; ~md t~ any sniU &LL ~in~s Iic~c~ S x'y 0 e~I'~7 ~ut t. ,~u~ati ~iaI~ x~ell~ouz, arit~iib1e ~ben~v~Thnt ~ aes of ~ ~oraU~ 2 bi tih~ cd .c~ ~ It~ ~d~c~ti~n&1 ~ ~ t~ie o~ ati~ o~ its pr~Qe2~tI r~ t. ~ &x~a4~d ~es, L~ c~r o~uic~ ~J2. ~cvr~ ~ t~ istt~v~ ~i~i:I~ a~ ~u~I a r~.tY~du1j e~Ji~hed ~A I ii ~ ~1~vive natIo~a3. aha'i body stat � 7 � 7 � � Certificate of Incorporation of the Bahá'í School in Green Acre, Eliot, Maine, under the name "Green Acre Bahá'í Institute" entitled to hold property (continued next two pages).
Page 515THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH 513
' ' Sa�d rporation i~ Ic t V th t w of Cuuntx &~.:X $ta Maine, ~Th& r~ rnkr I ifi en i~ nd thQw nauws aim ~s fo11mv~ Pre n o~e'.eGornb, Jr. Ayneni L. � ~ni1y IX Fnrsall; Ix'ene C. Jiniutti; Elsa L. ~dake1y~ C. Crass: hellI~ 5~ ~A ~rnd srxcr~Uy made o~tth to tbe I ~gdAng eutifie~t~ by th~tn ~igned~ that tlw &tmt ~& c~.
'cI&�k 2'~ ~ t~7~it C~ 41 h~rehy v~rtifv that I I&v~ ~tx~ndued tbe fox~g~h3g catificatt ~nd th~ ~am~ k prq~4r1y drawn and 4ned.
and is wafc~rmahi~ tc the rcn'gitutiua tud h~w~ ni the State, ft if$.~.& � t~& z4/$J~r Alt ~RNI~Y GENERAk~ 1~
Page 517Visible Embodiment of the Universality of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh
FOREWORDMANY discerning minds Bahá'í institution, we have testified to the must lay aside all customary profoundly significant ideas of the churches change which has taken and cathedrals of the place during recent years past. The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in the. character of popularfullills the original religious thinking. Re-ligionintention of religion has developed an entirely in each dispensation, new emphasis, more especiallybefore that intention for the layman, quite had become altered and independent of the older veiled by human invention sectarian divisions. and belief.
Instead of considering The Masljriqu'1-Adijk&r that religion is a matter is a channel releasing of turning toward an spiritual powers for abstract creed, the averagesocial regeneration because religionist today is it fills a different concerned with the practicalfunction than that assumed applications of religion by the sectarian church.
to the problems of human Its essential purpose life. Religion, in brief, is to provide a community meeting-place after having apparently for all who are seeking lost its influence in to worship God, and achieves terms of theology, has this purpose by interposing been restored more powerfullyno manmade veils between than ever as a spirit the worshiper and the of brotherhood, an impulse Supreme. Thus, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar toward unity, and an ideal is freely open to people of making for a more enlightened civilizationall Faiths on equal terms, throughout the world. who now realize the universality Against this background, of Bahá'u'lláh in revealing the institution of the the oneness of all the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar stands Prophets. Moreover, since revealed as the supreme the Bahá'í Faith has expression of all those no professional clergy, modern religious tendenciesthe worshiper entering animated by social ideals the Temple hears no sermon which do not repudiate and takes part in no ritual the reality of spiritual the emotional effect experience but seek to of which is to establish transform it into a dynamica separate group consciousness.
striving for unity. The Integral with the Temple Mashriqu'l-Adhkar when are its accessory buildings, clearly understood, gives without which the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar the world its most potent would not be a complete agency for applying mysticalsocial institution. These vision or idealistic buildings are to be devoted to aspiration to the servicesuch activities as a of humanity. It makes visibleschool for science, a hospice, and concrete those deeper a hospital, an asylum meanings and wider possibilitiesfor orphans. Here the of religion which could circle of spiritual experience not be realized until at last joins, as prayer the dawn of this universal and worship are allied age. directly to creative The term "Ma~hriqu'b-Adhk~r"service, eliminating means literally, "Dawning-placethe static subjective of the praise of God." demeuts from religion To appreciate the significanceand laying a foundation of this for a new and higher type of human association.
HORACE 1-JOLLEYTHE Beloved oi the Lord and the handmaids maids of the Merciful throughout the United
States and Canada.My well-beloved friends: Ever since that remarkable manifestation of Bahá'í solidarity and self-sacrifice which has signalized the proceedings of last year's memorable Convention, I have been expectantly awaiting the news of a steady and continuous support of the Plan which can alone ensure, ere the present year draws to its close, the resumption of building operations on our beloved Temple.
Moved by an impulse that I could not resist, I have felt impelled to forego what may be regarded as the most valuable and sacred possession in the Holy Land for the furthering of that noble enterprise which you have set your hearts to achieve. With the hearty concurrence of our dear Bahá'í brother, Ziaou1~Ah Asgarzadeh, who years ago donated it to the Most Holy Shrine, this precious ornament of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh has been already shipped to your shores, with our fondest hope that the proceeds from its sak may at once ennoble and reinforce the unnumbered offerings of the American believers already accumulated on the altar of Bahá'í sacrifice. I have longed ever since to witness such evidences of spontaneous and generous response on your part as would tend to fortify within me a confidence that has never wavered in the inexhaustible vitality of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in that land.
I need not stress at this moment the high hopes which so startling a display of unsparing devotion to our sacred Temple has already aroused in the breasts of the multitude tude of our brethren throughout the East. Nor is it I feel necessary to impress upon those who are primarily concerned with its erection the gradual change of outlook which the early prospect of the construction of the far-famed Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in America has unmistakably occasioned in high places among the hitherto sceptical and indifferent towards the merits and the practicability of the Faith proclaimed by Bah6 u'llAh. Neither do I need to expatiate upon the hopes and fears of the Greatest Holy Leaf, now in the evening of her life, with deepening shadows caused by failing eyesight and declining strength swiftly gathering about her, yearning to hear as the one remaining solace in her swiftly ebbing life the news of the resumption of work on an Edifice, the glories of which she has, from the lips of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself, learned to admire.
I cannot surely overrate at the present juncture in the progress of our task the challenging character of these remaining months of the year as a swiftly passing opportunity which it is in our power to seize and utilize, ere it is too late, for the edification of our expectant brethren throughout the East, for the vindication in the eyes of the world at large of the realities of our Faith, and last but not least for the realization of what is the Greatest Holy Leafs fondest desire.
As I have already intimated in the course of my conversations with visiting pilgrims, so vast and significant an enterprise as the construction of the first Mashriqu'1-Acibk4r of the West should be supported, not by the munificence of a few but by the joint contributions of the entire mass of the convinced followers of the Faith.
It cannot be Bahá'í Temple. A Temple for man's worship of God.
The Bahá'í House of Worship at Wilmette, Illinois, is a great circular building with nine entrances and circular steps which if laid end to end would cover two and onehalf miles. The building and landscaping have cost $2,600,000 and represent the sacrifice of Bahá'ís not only in the United States but also gifts from Bahá'ís abroad. It was dedicated May 2, 1953, as a high light of the Centenary celebrations of the BanAl Faith.
Page 520denied that the emanations of spiritual power and inspiration destined to radiate from the central Edifice of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar will to a very large extent depend upon the range and variety of the contributing believers, as well as upon the nature and degree of self-abnegation which their unsolicited offerings will entail. Moreover, we should, I feel, regard it as an axiom and guiding principle of Bahá'í administration that in the conduct of every specific Bahá'í activity, as different from undertakings of a humanitarian, philanthropic, or charitable character, which may in future be conducted under Bahá'í auspices, only those who have already identified themselves with the Faith and are regarded as its avowed and unreserved supporters should be invited to join and collaborate.
For apart from the consideration of embarrassing complications which the association of nonbelievers in the financing of institutions of a strictly Bahá'í character may conceivably engender in the administration of the Bahá'í community of the future, it should be remembered that these specific Bahá'í institutions, which should be viewed in the light of Bahá'u'lláh's gifts bestowed upon the world, can best function and most powerfully exert their influence in the world only if reared and maintained solely by the support of those who are fully conscious of, and are unreservedly submissive to, the claims inherent in the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. In cases, however, when a friend or sympathizer of the Faith eagerly insists on a monetary contribution for the promotion of the Faith, such gifts should be accepted and duly acknowledged by the elected representatives of the believers with the express understanding that they would be utilized by them only to reinforce that section of the Bahá'í Fund exclusively devoted to philanthropic or charitable purposes.
For, as the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh extends in scope and in influence, and the resources of I3ahA'i communities correspondingly multiply, it will become increasingly desirable to differentiate between such departments of the Bahá'í treasury as minister to the needs of the world at large, and those that are specifically designed to promote the direct interests of the Faith itself. From this apparent divorce between Bahá'í and humanitarian activities it must not, however, be inferred that the animating purpose of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh stands at variance with the aims and objects of the humanitarian and philanthropic institutions of the day. Nay, it should be realized by every judicious promoter of the Faith that at such an early stage in the evolution and crystallization of the Cause such discriminating and precautionary measures are inevitable and even necessary if the nascent institutions of the Faith are to emerge triumphant and unimpaired from the present welter of confused and often cofiflicting interests with which they are surrounded.
This note of warning may not be thought inappropriate at a time when, inflamed by a consuming passion to witness the early completion of the Mash-riqu'1-Ad�ilAr, we may not only be apt to acquiesce in the desire of those who, as yet uninitiated into the Cause, are willing to lend financial assistance to its institutions, but may even feel inclined to solicit from them such aid as it is in their power to render.
Ours surely is the paramount duty so to acquit ourselves in the discharge of our most sacred task that in the days to come neither the tongue of the slanderer nor the pen of the malevolent may dare to insinuate that so beauteous, so significant an Edifice has been reared by anything short of the unanimous, the exclusive, and the self-sacrificing strivings of the small yet determined body of the convinced supporters of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. How delicate our task, how pressing the responsibility that weighs upon us, who are called upon on one hand to preserve inviolate the integrity and the identity of the regenerating Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and to vindicate on the other its broad, its humanitarian, its Mi-embracing principles!
True, we cannot fail to realize at the present stage of our work the extremely limited number of contributors qualified to lend financial support to such a vast, such an elaborate and costly enterprise. We are fully aware of the many issues and varied Bahá'í activities that are unavoidably held in abeyance pending the successful conclusion of the Plan of Unified Action. We are only too conscious of the pressing need of some sort of befitting and concrete embodiment of the spirit animating the Cause that would stand in the heart of the American Continent both as a witness and as a rallying center to the manifold activities of a fast growing Faith.
But spurred by those reflections may we not bestir ourselves and resolve as we have never resolved before to
Page 521hasten by every means in our power the consummation of this all-absorbing yet so meritorious task?
I beseech you, dear friends, not to allow considerations of numbers, or the consciousness of the limitation of our resources, or even the experience of inevitable setbacks which every mighty undertaking is bound to encounter, to blur your vision, to dim your hopes, or to paralyze your efforts in the prosecution of your divinely appointed task. Neither, do I entreat you, to suffer the least deviation into the paths of expediency and compromise to obstruct those channels of vivifying grace that can alone provide the inspiration and strength vital not oniy to the successful conduct of its material construction, but to the fulfillment of its high destiny.
And while we bend our efforts and strain our nerves in a feverish pursuit to provide the necessary means for the speedy construction of the Mashriqu'1-AdPkir, may we not pause for a moment to examine those statements which set forth the purpose as well as the functions of this symbolical yet so spiritually potent Edifice?
It will be readily admitted that at a time when the tenets of a Faith, not yet fully emerged from the fires of repression, are as yet improperly defined and imperfectly understood, the utmost caution should be exercised in revealing the true nature of those institutions which are indissolubly associated with its name.
Without attempting an exhaustive survey of the distinguishing features and purpose of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, I should feel content at the present time to draw your attention to what I regard as certain misleading statements that have found currency in various quarters, and which may lead gradually to a grave misapprehension of the true purpose and essential character of the Mash-riqu'1-AcThk~r.
It should be borne in mind that the central Edifice of the Matriqu'1-AdAjlAr, round which in the fullness of time shall cluster such institutions of social service as shall afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the poor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved, and education to the ignorant, should be regarded apart from these Dependencies, as a House solely designed and entirely dedicated to the worship of God in accordance with the few yet definitely prescribed principles established by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It should not be inferred, ferred, however, from this general statement that the interior of the central Edifice itself will be converted into a conglomeration of religious services conducted along lines associated with the traditional procedure obtaining in churches, mosques, synagogues, and other temples of worship.
Its various avenues of approach, all converging towards the central Hall beneath its dome, will not serve as admittance to those sectarian adherents of rigid formul& and manmade creeds, each bent, according to his way, to observe his rites, recite his prayers, perform his ablutions, and display the particular symbols of his faith within separately defined sections of Bahá'u'lláh's
Universal House of Worship.Far from the Mash-riqu'1-Ad�k6r offering such a spectacle of incoherent and confused sectarian observances and rites, a condition wholly incompatible with the provisions of the Aqdas and irreconcilable with the spirit it inculcates, the central House of Bahá'í worship, enshrined within the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar will gather within its chastened walls, in a serenely spiritual atmosphere, oniy those who, discarding forever the trappings of elaborate and ostentatious ceremony, are willing worshipers of the one true God, as manifested in this age in the Person of Bahá'u'lláh. To them will the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar symbolize the fundamental verity underlying the Bahá'í Faith, that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is not final but progressive. Theirs will be the conviction that an all-loving and ever-watchful Father Who, in the past, and at various stages in the evolution of mankind, has sent forth His Prophets as the Bearers of His Message and the Manifestations of His Light to mankind, cannot at this critical period of their civilization withhold from His children the Guidance which they sorely need amid the darkness which has beset them, and which neither the light of science nor that of human intellect and wisdom can succeed in dissipating. And thus having recognized in Bahá'u'lláh the source whence this celestial light proceeds, they will irresistibly feel attracted to seek the shelter of His House, and congregate therein, unhampered by ceremonials and unfettered by creed, to render homage to the one true God, the Essence and Orb of eternal Truth, and to exalt and magnify the name of His Messengers and Prophets Who, from time immemorial even unto our day,
Page 522View of the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, February, 1953.
have, under divers circumstances and in varying measure, mirrored forth to a dark and wayward world the light of heavenly Guidance.
But however inspiring the conception of Bahá'í worship, as witnessed in the central Edifice of this exalted Temple, it cannot be regarded as the sole, nor even the essential, factor in the part which the Masbriqu'1-A4NAr, as designed by Bahá'u'lláh, is destined to play in the organic life of the
Bahá'í community. Divorcedfrom the social, humanitarian, educational and scientific pursuits centering around the Dependencies of the
Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, Bahá'íworship, however exalted in its conception, however passionate in fervor, can never hope to achieve beyond the meager and often transi tory results produced by the contemplations of the ascetic or the communion of the passive worshiper.
It cannot afford lasting satisfaction and benefit to the worshiper himself, much less to humanity in general, unless and until translated and transfused into that dynamic and disinterested service to the cause of humanity which it is the supreme privilege of the Dependencies of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar to facilitate and promote.
Nor will the exertions, no matter how disinterested and strenuous, of those who within the precincts of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar will be engaged in administering the affairs of the future Baha Commonwealth, fructify and prosper unless they are brought into close and daily communion with those spiritual agencies centering in and radiating
Page 523Nothing short of direct and constant interaction between the spiritual forces emanating from this House of Worship centering in the heart of the Ma~briqu'1-. Adhkir and the energies consciously displayed by those who administer its affairs in their service to humanity can possibly provide the necessary agency capable of removing the ills that have so long and so grievously afflicted humanity. For it is assuredly upon the consciousness of the efficacy of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, reinforced on one hand by spiritual communion with His Spirit, and on the other by the intelligent application and the faithful execution of the principles and laws He revealed, that the salvation of a world in travail must ultimately depend. And of all the institutions that stand associated with His Holy Name, surely none save the institution of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar can most adequately provide the essentials of Baha worship and service, both so vital to the regeneration of the world. Therein lies the secret of the loftiness, of the potency, of the unique position of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar as one of the outstanding institutions conceived by Bahá'u'lláh.
Dearly-beloved friends!May we not as the trustees of so priceless a heritage, arise to fulfill our high destiny?
Haifa, Palestine, October 25, 1929.By Former ARCHDEACON TOWNSHEND, M.A. ON THE lake shore at Wilmette stands the completed Temple of Praise, a sign of the Spirit of the Most Great Peace and of the Splendor of God that has come down to dwell among men. The walls of the Temple are transparent, made of an open tracery cut as in sculptured stone, and lined with glass.
All imaginable symbols of light are woven together into the pattern, the lights of the sun and the moon and the constellations, the lights of the spiritual heavens unfolded by the great Revealers of today and yesterday, the Cross in various forms, the Crescent and the nine pointed Star (emblem of the Bahá'í Faith). No darkness invades the Temple at any time; by day it is lighted by the sun whose rays flood in from every side through the exquisitely perforated walls, and by night it is artificially illuminated and its ornamented shape is etched with light against the dark. From whatever side the visitor approaches, the aspiring form of the Temple appears as the spirit of adoration; and seen from the air above it has the likeness of a Nine-Pointed Star come down from heaven to find its resting place on the earth.
THE RISE AND ESTABLISHMENT OE THE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER*
significant has been the erection of the superstructure and the completion of the exterior ornamentation of the first Mash-riqu'1-Adbk6r of the West, the noblest of the exploits which have immortalized the services of the American Baha community to the
Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.Consummated through the agency of an efficiently fune * Chapter XXII, pp. 348353.
tioning and newly established Administrative Order, this enterprise has itself immensely enhanced the prestige, consolidated the strength and expanded the subsidiary institutions of the community that made its building possible.
Conceived forty-one years ago; originating with the petition spontaneously addressed, in March 1903 to 'Abdu'l-Bahá by
Page 524the "House of Spirituality" of the Bahá'ís of Chicago � the first Baha center established in the Western world � the members of which, inspired by the example set by the builders of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of 'Ish-q~b~d, had appealed for permission to construct a similar Temple in America; blessed by His approval and high commendation in a Tablet revealed by Him in June of that same year; launched by the delegates of various American Assemblies, assembled in Chicago in November, 1907, for the purpose of choosing the site of the Temple; established on a national basis through a religious corporation known as the "Bahá'í Temple Unity," which was incorporated shortly after the first American Bahá'í Convention held in that same city in March, 1909; honored through the dedication ceremony presided over by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself when visiting that site in May, 1912, this enterprise � the crowning achievement of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the first Bahá'í century � had, ever since that memorable occasion, been progressing intermittently until the time when the foundations of that Order having been firmly laid in the North American continent the American Bahá'í community was in a position to utilize the instruments which it had forged for the efficient prosecution of its task.
At the 1914 American BahaConvention the purchase of the Temple property was completed. The 1920 Convention, held in New York, having been previously directed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to select the design of that Temple, chose from among a number of designs competitively submitted to it that of Louis J. Bourgeois, a French-Canadian architect, a selection that was later confirmed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself. The contracts for the sinking of the nine great caisSons supporting the central portion of the building, extending to rock at a depth of 120 feet below the ground level, and for the construction of the basement structure, were successively awarded in December, 1920 and August, 1921. In August, 1930, in spite of the prevailing economic crisis, and during a period of unemployment unparalleled in American history, another contract, with twenty-four additional subcontracts, for the erection of the superstructure was placed, and the work completed by May 1,1931, on which day the first devotional service in the new structure was celebrated, coinciding with the 19th anniversary of the dedication of the grounds by 'Abdu'l-Bahá The ornamentation of the dome was started in June, 1932, and finished in January, 1934. The ornamentation of the clerestory was completed in 1935, and that of the gallery unit below it in November, 1938.
The mainstory ornamentation was, despite the outbreak of the present war, undertaken in April, 1940, and completed in July, 1942; whilst the eighteen circular steps were placed in posh tion by December, 1942, seventeen months in advance of the centenary celebration of the Faith, by which time the exterior of the Temple was scheduled to be finished, and forty years after the petition of the Chicago believers had been submitted to and granted by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
This unique edifice, the first fruit of a slowly rnaturkg Administrative Order, the noblest structure reared in the first Bahá'í century, and the symbol and precursor of a future world civilization, is situated in the heart of the North American continent, on the western shore of Lake Michigan, and is surrounded by its own grounds comprising a little less than seven acres. It has been financed, at cost of over a million dollars, by the American Bahá'í community, assisted at times by voluntary contributions of recognized believers in East and West, of Christian, of Muslim, of Jewish, of Zoroastrian, of Hindu and Buddhist extraction. It has been associated, in its initial phase, with 'Abdu'1-]3ah6, and in the concluding stages of its construction with the memory of the Greatest
Holy Leaf, the Purest Branchand their mother. The structure itself is a pure white nonagonal building, of original and unique design, rising from a flight of white stairs encircling its base; and surmounted by a majestic and beautifully proportioned dome, bearing nine tapering symmetrically placed ribs of decorative as well as structural significance, which soar to its apex and finally merge into a common unit pointing skyward. Its framework is constructed of structural steel enclosed in concrete, the material of its ornamentation consisting of a combination of crystalline quartz, opaque quartz and white Portland cement, producing a composition clear in texture, hard and enduring as stone, impervious to the elements, and cast into a design as delicate as lace. It soars 191 feet from the floor of its basement to the culmination of the ribs, clasping the hemi
Page 525spherical dome which is forty-nine feet high, with an external diameter of ninety feet, and one-third of the surface of which is perforated to admit light during the day and emit light at night.
It is buttressed by pylons forty-five feet in height, and bears above its nine entrances, one of which faces 'Akka, nine selected quotations from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, as well as the Greatest Name in the center of each of the arches over its doors. It is consecrated exclusively to worship, devoid of all ceremony and ritual, is provided with an auditorium which can seat 1600 people, and is to be supplemented by accessory institutions of social service to be established in its vicinity, such as an orphanage, a hospital, a dispensary for the poor, a home for the incapacitated, a hostel for travelers and a college for the study of arts and sciences.
It had already, long before its construction, evoked, and is now increasingly evoking, though its interior ornamentation is as yet unbegun, such interest and comment, in the public press, in technical journals and in magazines, of both the United States and other countries, as to justify the hopes and expectations entertained for it by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Its model exhibited at Art centers, galleries, state fairs and national expositions � among which may be mentioned the Century of Progress Exhibition, held in Chicago in 1933, where no less than ten thousand people, passing through the Hall of Religions, must have viewed it every day � its replica forming a part of the permanent exhibit of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago; its doors now thronged by visitors from far and near, whose number, during the period from June, 1932, to October, 1941, has exceeded 130,000 people, representing almost every country in the world, this great "Silent Teacher" of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, it may be confidently asserted, has contributed to the diffusion of the knowledge of His Faith and teachings in a measure which no other single agency, operating within the framework of its Administrative Order, has ever remotely approached.
"When the foundation c/the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is laid in America," 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself has predicted, "and that Divine Edifice is completed, a most wonderful and thrilling motion will appear in the world of existence From that point of light the spirit of teaching, sflreading the Cause of God and promoting the teachings of God, will permeate to all parts of the world." "Out of this Mashriqu'l-Adlzkdr," He has affirmed in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, "without doubt, thousands of Mashriqu'l-Adhlcdrs will be born." "It marks," He, furthermore, has written, "the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth." And again: "It is the manifest Standard waving in the center oji that great continent."
"Thousands of Ma.yhriqu'l-Adjikdrs," He, when dedicating the grounds of the Temple, declared, will be built in the East and in the West, but this, being the first erected in the Occident, has great importance." "This organization o/the Masiiriqu'l-Acibkdr," He, referring to that edifice, has moreover stated, "will be a model for the coming cen-juries, and will hold the station ci the mother."
"Its inception," the Architect of the Temple has himself testified, "was not from man, for, as musicians, artists, poets receive their inspiration from another realm, so the Temple's architect, through all his years of labor, was ever conscious that Bahá'u'lláh was the creator of this building to be erected to His glory."
"Into this new design," he, furthermore, has written, ". is woven, in symbolic form, the great Bahá'í teaching of unity � the unity of all religions of all mankind.
There are combinations of mathematical lines, symbolizing those of the universe, and in their intricate merging of circle into circle, and circle within circle, we visualize the merging of all the religions into one." And again: "A circle of steps, eighteen in all, will surround the structure on the outside, and lead to the auditorium floor. These eighteen steps represent the eighteen first disciples of the BTh, and the door to which they lead stands for the Báb Himself." "As the essence of the pure original teachings of the historic religious was the same in the Bahá'í Temple is used a composite architecture, expressing the essence in the line of each of the great architectural styles, harmonizing them into one whole."
"It is the first new idea in architecture since the 13th century," declared a distinguished architect, H. Van Buren Magonigle, President of the Architectural League, after gazing upon a plaster model of the Tempk on exhibition in the Engineering Societies Building in New York, in June 1920. "The Architect," he, moreover, has stated, "has conceived a Temple of Light in which struc
Page 526ture, as usually understood, is to be concealed, visible support eliminated as far as possible, and the whole fabric to take on the airy substance of a dream. It is a lacy envelope enshrining an idea, the idea of light, a shelter of cobweb interposed between earth and sky, struck through and through with light � light which shall partly consume the forms and make of it a thing of facry."
"In the geometric forms of the ornamentation," a writer in the wellknown publication Architectural Record has written, "covering the columns and surrounding windows and doors of the Temple, one deciphers all the religious symbols of the world. Here are the swastika, the circle, the cross, the triangle, the double triangle or six pointed star (Solomon's seal) � but more than this � the noble symbol of the spiritual orb the five pointed star; the Greek Cross, the Roman cross, and supreme above all, the wonderful nine pointed star, figured in the structure of the Temple itself, and appearing again and again in its ornamentation as significant of the spiritual glory in the world today."
"The greatest creation since the Gothic period," is the testimony of George Grey Barnard, one of the most widely-known sculptors in the United States of America, "and the most beautiful I have ever seen."
"This is a new creation," Prof. Luigi Quaglino, ex-professor of Architecture from Turin declared, after viewing the model, "which will revolutionize architecture in the world, and it is the most beautiful I have ever seen. Without doubt it will have a lasting page in history. It is a revelation from another world."
"Americans," wrote SherwinCody, in the magazine section of the New York Times, of the model of the Temple, when exhibited in the Kevorkian Gallery in New York, "will have to pause long enough to find that an artist has wrought into this building the conception of a Religious League of Nations." And lastly, this tribute paid to the features of, and the ideals embodied in, this Temple � the most sacred House of Worship in the Baha world, whether of the present or of the future � by Dr. Rexford New-comb, Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois:
"This 'Temple of Light'opens upon the terrain of human experience nine great doorways which beckon men and women of every race and clime, of every faith and conviction, of every condition of freedom or servitude to enter here into a recognition of that kinship and brotherhood without which the modern world will be able to make little further progress The dome, pointed in form, aiming as assuredly as did the aspiring lines of the medieval cathedrals toward higher and better things, achieves not only through its symbolism but also through its structural propriety and sheer loveliness of form, a beauty not matched by any domical structure since the construction of Michelangelo's dome on the Basilica of St.
Peter in Rome.~~ON THE first day of May, 1912, a group of men, women, and children stood in the open fields where this House of Worship now stands. With them was 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He had come to perform the symbolic act of laying a cornerstone for the future Temple.
A woman who wanted to aid the building of the Temple, found a rough stone. She lived many miles from here and started on foot to carry the stone.
A little boy with a cart helped her part way.Finally, a man offered to carry it on his back, and the stone was brought to the fields here. 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked to use it as the foundation stone.
THIS TEMPLEThis act of sacrifice is symbolic of the whole story behind this House of Worship. In 1903 the Chicago Bahá'ís started the project to build in America a Temple to embody the new principles of faith in the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. The American Baha'is, then a few hundred in number, united in this project. Their determination was an act of faith. They had no money collected. They had no architect's plan.
But they made a beginning.Bahá'u'lláh taught that in each community there should be a Temple where the
Page 527voices of men and women are raised in praise to God. Each Bahá'í Temple is to have nine sides.
This is the only architectural requirement which Bahá'u'lláh made. But the symbolism is important. Nine is the largest single number and thus symbolizes comprehensiveness, culmination. Bahá'u'lláh used nine to symbolize the coming of age of the human race. He taught that the purpose of religion in this age is to unite the conflicting races and nations in one faith and a common world civilization.
He changed religion from personal salvation to a means for building world order.
At present, most people belong to religions differing greatly in time of origin. Judaism, for example, is over a thousand years older than Christianity. Some religions were started by men who were reformers. Some originated with individuals who claimed to reveal the Word of God. The spiritual truths of these religions are essentially the same. Every Bahá'í Temple symbolizes the oneness of religion. The early American Bahá'ís wanted to erect a Temple to express this idea. No group of people in the west had ever undertaken such a project.
In 1920 a competition was held for Bahá'í architects to submit designs for a Temple. The designs were submitted at a convention in New York City. Among the competitors was Louis Bourgeois, a French-Canadian architect.
His design was enthusiastically selected by the Baha after a committee of architects and engineers endorsed it. One prominent architect declared that it was the first new idea in religious architecture since the Middle Ages.
Bourgeois tried to get the feeling of the unity of religion into the design. On the great outer columns you find religious symbols placed in rising, chronological order � to give the idea of the continuity of religious truth from God. The swastika, an ancient religious symbol, is at the bottom of the design on these columns.
Then comes the six-pointed star of Judaism, the cross of Christianity, the star and crescent of Is1~m. Above these is a nine-pointed star to indicate the coming religious unity of the human race.
People find other ideas in the Temple design.The nine doors suggest varied ways by which men in the past have found a knowledge of God. Because the design is unusual, people try to find a single term for the architecture.
Some point out traces of different styles � Egyptian, Rornanesque, Arabic,
Renaissance and Byzantine.By suggestions of these various styles Bourgeois has indicated the repeated efforts of men to glorify
God.The building rests upon nine steel-rein-forced concrete caissons sunk 124 feet to bedrock level.
The diameter of the circular platform at top of the outside steps is 152 feet; the diameter of the dome is 98 feet. The height of the structure from main floor to dome pinnacle is 165 feet.
The materials for the outside of the Tern-pie presented many problems.
The architect and engineers had no precedent to go by. Years were spent in research. Finally, John I. Earley, an architectural sculptor, helped soke the main problem. Using a mixture of white cement and ground quartz, the outer ornamentation was cast in molds and then applied section by section.
With the war over, the Bahá'ís are plan-fling to complete the interior by 1953, the fiftieth anniversary of the time when the idea of building a Baha Temple in America was adopted. Then the Bahá'ís will eventually erect auxiliary buildings.
Bahá'u'lláh gave a unified plan for a community center with a beautiful House of Worship at its heart. Around this will be a hospital, a hospice, an orphanage, a college, and scientific laboratories.
Bahá'u'lláh urged that each Bahá'í Temple be surrounded by gardens and fountains.
Services in the Temple will not be elaborate.There will be no ritualism or set forms. Ba1A'is have no professional clergy to preside. Services are for prayer, meditation, and the reading of writings from the Sacred Scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith and the other great Faiths of the world. Sermons of any type will be out of place. Vocal music alone will be heard.
The Temple will be open to all people for prayer and meditation.
But Bahá'í worship means more than prayer and meditation. Bahá'u'lláh said that any work done in a spirit of service is a form of prayer.
The educational, humanitarian, and scientific institutions around the Temple will complete the dedication of the individual to God. To the Baha there is no rigid division between the spiritual and practical parts of life.
Bahá'ís do not solicit funds from the pub-lie for any of their activities.
From all over the world the Ba1A'is have contributed to the erection of this building. Funds have
Page 528come from Persia, India � in fact, from all the five continents. This Temple is both a gift from Bahá'ís and a demonstration of their Faith. Here is a building where men and women of all races and religions are welcome to come for prayer. Here no creed stigmatizes the follower of any great faith as infidel or pagan.
Here all men may turn their hearts to God and know that they are brothers.
SELECTED UTTERANCES OFThe earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens.
The best beloved ol all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away there from if thou desirest
Me.My love is My stronghold; he that enterest therein is safe and secure.
Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner.
Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent.I have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?
Make mention of Me on My earth that in My heaven I may remember thee.
0 rich ones on earth!The source ol all learning is the knowledge of Gad, exalted be His glory.
TEXTS FROM WoRns or BAHÁ'U'LLÁH SELECTEDReligion is a radiant light and an impregnable stronghold.
Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch.
So powerful is unity's light that it can illumine the whole earth.
Consort with the followers of all religions with friendliness.
O Son of Being! Thou art My Lamp and My light is in thee.
o Son of Being! Walk in My statutes for love ofThy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home reunion with Me.
The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun.
THIS FAITHThe people who built this House of Worship are Baha'is. They bear this name as members of a World
Faith. The word "Baha'i"comes from the name of the Founder of the Faith � B ah67u'11Th ("the Glory of God"). Bahá'í simply means ~'a follower of
Bahá'u'lláh."is called the "Bahá'í World Faith." There are three reasons for this.
First, I3ahA'is live in more than two hundred countries and territories of the world. Bahá'ís are people who formerly had different and conflicting religious backgrounds. They had been Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Protestants, Catholics, or else they had no religion at all.
They have found in the Bahá'í Faith a basis of unity that makes the competition of sects and denominations seem unimportant to them. Bahá'ís are people of different economic and social classes. Through a common devotion, rich and poor mingle as equals and work together to establish a world order for all men and women.
They are people of different national and racial backgrounds.
But the Bahá'í teachings have given them a higher loyalty � the loyalty to humanity.
Bahá'ís have no "color line~~ or racial segregation.
In this Faith, people of all races find equality with each other because they are equal before
God.quotations: Let your vision be world-embracing, embracing, rather than confined to your own selves." That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race."
Third, the Bahá'í Faithoffers a dear pattern of world order. It does not have any secret mystic doctrines; it does not have any priesthood or professional clergy.
People find this a practical, spiritual religion with
Page 529the mission of uniting the world in one common faith and one order.
Bahá'u'lláh declared that in our time religion must unite people or else it has no social value.
He declared that religion must show men how to build a just world. He emphasized that justice is the greatest good in the sight of God. To ~show men how to achieve this, He outlined a pattern of world order.
Bahá'u'lláh's vision of a united world begins with each man and woman.
Individuals must have high moral standards and a new basis of belief if they are to become citizens of one world.
Bahá'ís believe in one God, even though men have called Him by different names. God has revealed His Word in each period of history through a chosen
Individual Whom Bahacall "the Manifestation of God." He restates in every age God's purpose and will. His teachings are a revelation from God. Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ, and Muijammad were Manifestations of God. Each gave men divine teachings to live by. Bahá'ís believe that true religion is the real basis of civilized life.
Since there is one God, these Manifestations of God have each taught the same religious faith.
They have developed and adapted it to meet the needs of the people in each period of history. This unfoldment of religion from age to age is called "pro-gressive revelation."
Bahá'u'lláh, the Founderof the Bahá'í Faith, is the Manifestation of God for our time.
This is the basis of 13ah~'i belief: one God has given men one Faith through progressive revelations of His Will in each age of history, and Bahá'u'lláh reveals the Will of God for men and women of the present age. This basic belief enables Bahá'ís to unite and work together in spite of different religious backgrounds.
The Oneness of Mankindis like a pivot around which all the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh revolve.
This means that men and women of all races are equal in the sight of God and equal in the Bahá'í community. People of different races must have equal educational and economic opportunity, equal access to decent living conditions � and equal responsibilities.
In the Bahá'í view, there is no superior race or superior nation.
Bahá'u'lláh declared that a house of Justice must be established in each community.
This body, elected by the people, is to be composed of men and women so qualified that they may be "trustees of the Merciful among men." Each nation will have a Secondary or National House of Justice whose members will elect the International
House of Justice. Thisinternational legislature will make the laws for a federalized world.
Bahá'u'lláh emphasized certain principles to help bind people together in a united world: Men must seek for truth in spite of custom, prejudice, and tradition.
Men and women must have equal opportunities, rights, and privileges.
The nations must choose an international language to be used along with the mother tongue.
All children must receive a basic education.Men must make a systematic effort to wipe out all those prejudices which divide people.
Men must recognize that religion should go hand-in-hand with science.
Men must work to abolish extreme wealth and extreme poverty.
This Faith and these challenging ideas originated in Persia (IrAn) in 1844. In that year a young Man Who called Himself the Báb (or "Gate") began to teach that God would soon "make manifest" a World Teacher to unite men and women and usher in an age of peace. The B&b attracted so many followers that the Persian government and the Islamic clergy united to kill Him. And they massacred more than twenty thousand of His followers.
In 1863 Bahá'u'lláh announced to the few remaining followers of the Báb that He was the chosen Manifestation of God for this age. He called upon people to unite; He said that oniy in one common faith and one order could the world find an enduring peace.
He declared that terrible wars would sweep the face of the earth and destroy the institutions and ideas that keep men from their rightful unity.
The teachings of Bahá'u'lláh are a ringing call to action. They offer hope, courage, and vision. The books of Bahá'u'lláh in English are: The Hidden
Words, The Seven Valleysand the Four Valleys, The Book of Certitude, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Prayers and Meditations, and Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh.
A selecBut Bahá'u'lláh was not greeted with enthusiasm by the religious leaders of IslAm. As they saw His Faith spread, their hatred grew. They forced Him into exile � first to Baghd6xl, then to Constantinople, to Adrian-ople, and finally to 'AldA, Palestine.
There He died, still an exile and prisoner, in 1892.
Bahá'u'lláh appointed 'Abdu'l-Bahá, His eldest son, as the Interpreter of His teachings and the Exemplar of the Faith.
Under the leadership of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the Faith was introduced to Europe and America. After He was freed from prison in 1908, 'Abdu'l-Bahá made several missionary journeys. In 1912 He was in America for eight months during which time He laid the cornerstone of this Temple.
In 1921 'Abdu'l-Bahá died and left a will naming His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Faith and the interpreter terpreter of the teachings.
Under Shoghi Effendi'sdirection the Bahá'ís throughout the world have adopted an administrative order that is an application of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings for a world order. Thus Bahá'ís have begun to practice in their own affairs the social teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
Local and National Bahá'íare the pattern for the Houses of Justice of tomorrow.
Bahá'ís know from increasing experience that differences of nation, race, class, and religion can be removed by the uniting power of Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'ís know from increasing experience that this Faith can save men and women from the hatreds, the pessimism, the corruption, and the materialism of our age. They know this because they have seen it and experienced it. They invite you to investigate this Faith and share in this spiritual adventure.
ARCHITECTURE OF THE TEMPLE LNTLRJOR(This is the first of two articles by members of the Bahá'í Technical Advisory Board on various phases of the Temple interior work. The first, by Mr. McLaughlin, covers the general architectural features of the interior.
A subsequent article by Mr. Eardley describes the materials being used, the structural work, and other subjects of interest.)
A GOOD many years have passed since Louis Bourgeois conceived and developed the design for the Temple in Wilmette. These intervening years have seen perhaps as rapid and violent a change in prevailing concepts of architecture as the world has ever known.
In 1920 and the years immediately preceding, American architecture was in the grip of rigid stylism, of painstaking archaeology. In 1950 American architecture has abandoned eclecticism and is committed to a wholehearted expression of function and structure as the supreme objective.
The Bahá'í Temple typifies neither point of view.Had Bourgeois been content to swim along in the main stream of 1920 American architecture he would have clad his design in a medley of architectural styles.
Instead he put away his books of archaeology and brought forth a flowing, dynamic type of ornamentation that defies placing as to specific source. Were we to follow the prevailing fashion of 1950 as we complete the interior we would simply leave exposed the concrete framework of the interior and probably do a lot of talking about the honesty, integrity and beauty of naked, unabashed structures � perhaps a little whitewash and a few accents of color and form and we would consider it complete.
But all of us who are Bahá'ís during this thrilling period of completing the most holy House of Worship, know that our Temple is something quite apart from any architectural fashion of the moment.
When our Temple is completed it will be a unified, integrated entity, although designed and built in a period of swiftly moving change. The Guardian has directed that it be so, and of course that is the only way that a Bahá'í Temple can be.
When we enter one of the nine entrances to the Temple, some time in the spring of 1951, we will find the old temporary wooden doors removed, and simple but fine aluminum and glass substituted. The wooden crossbars above are to be removed and two large pieces of clear glass installed
Page 531in each opening � there would be oniy one piece, except for the pressures of high winds off Lake Michigan.
These large areas of glass will show, from the inside of the Tern-pie the ornament on the back of some of the exterior columns and arches.
The concrete piers in the bays have already been finished as round columns.
A picture of these appeared in the Bahá'í News for December, 1949. The design of these columns makes no attempt to copy heavy, masonry forms. They taper towards the bottom rather than towards the top as has been the case with masonry columns for millen-jums past. in so doing they register as surface treatment and not as massive masonry, for the load is carried by the concrete pier within.
Vertical joints, instead of being staggered in usual masonry fashion, are lined one above the other, further recognizing the surface qualities of the material. The marble base of the column will be recessed rather than projecting in the usual manner. We can see already, at the Temple, the lightness and grace, as well as the great dignity, of these columns.
The ceiling of each bay consists of a pair of ogee curves meeting in a straight line at the top. A lighting trough carries around each bay between columns, and silhouetted in front will be the nine inscriptions selected by the Guardian.
Color can be applied to the ceilings, and there is space for draperies against the outside wall, between windows.
In the main portion of the Temple there are, of course, the nine pairs of columns which rise to the springing of the dome. These columns are even now being finished with square sections of the surface material, and between each pair of columns rises a brilliant panel of ornament, clear to the springing of the dome.
Our architect, AlfredShaw, has felt from the very start of his work that he wanted to recapture the scale and quality of the exterior ornament of the dome. That he has at last fully done so is clear to those who have watched his designs progress from sketches to detailed drawings, to clay models, plaster casts, and finally to the executed panels. These nine great vertical panels of vibrant, flowing ornament eventually find their way into the detail of the dome.
Between the nine panels and pairs of piers are first the main story arches, then the gallery arches, and finally the smaller interlacing arches of the triforium gallery.
At each of the main story arches is a nine pointed star on which will be inscribed the Greatest Name. The Guardian has sent a detail of this inscription, which is to be followed exactly lest any Occidental liberties with epigraphy offend a practiced eye.
The dome has been brilliantly designed with an interlacing of flowing ornament, culminating in the Greatest Name at the zenith. The interior dome, like the exterior treatment, will be pierced, to transmit light.
To have watched the development of the interior design has been a thrilling experience.
The complete willingness and desire of our distinguished architect, Alfred Shaw, to merge his great creative powers into the background of the overall concept of the Temple has been stirring and deeply and gratefully admired. The problem has been difficult technically if only because of the absolute necessity of integrating what is being done in 1950 to form a harmonious entity with what was conceived before 1920.
But in only a little more than a year from now, given the necessary flow of funds, the Temple interior will have been completed. And it is going to be very beautiful.
STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF THE INTERIORIT HARDLY seems possible from the beautiful structure that almost thirty-eight now nearing completion.
years have passed since How many of us could that memorable occasion then visualize the magnitude in 1912 when our beloved of the work ahead!
'Abdu'l-Bahá met with After preparation of the the friends to dedicate architectural drawings the ground upon which by Mr. Louis Bourgeois, the Temple was to be built.and the selection of Major That meeting was held Burt of Ilolabird & Root as in an extraordinarily the supervising engineer, large tent � indeed a far the first major cry
Page 532operation was the sinking to bed rock of the nine unusually large caissons.
In addition to the caisson work the primary structural features included the foundation walls, and the domelike roof over what is now called Foundation Hall.
Following this came the fabrication and erection of the structural steel columns supporting the steelwork of the dome proper, and later the construction of the exterior concrete walls above grade, and balcony floors.
All of this has been completely described and illustrated in previous articles in the Bahá'í News, The Bahá'í World, a number of architectural and engineering magazines, and daily newspapers.
The structural items of the interior of the Temple are of a secondary nature in comparison with those mentioned in the previous paragraph. They are, nevertheless, important.
The interior tracery, as well as the plain or solid surfaces, must be precast and suspended in place by being attached to the columns, the interior balcony spandrels, and to the steel arches of the dome.
From the layman's standpoint, the work might be compared to the oldfashioned crazy quilt consisting of numerous pieces of odd shapes sewn together to form the finished design. The interior surfaces, being precast, must be of such size as can be readily handled, and, at the same time of such shape that the joints occur only where indicated on the architectural drawings.
A great deal of preliminary work must be done at the site before these castings can be set into place.
The method of supporting the cast sections is by means of vertical and shelf angles attached to the present steel and concrete surfaces. Shelf angles are pieces of steel formed in the shape of the letter "L," one leg of which is bolted or welded to the present structure while the outstanding leg supports the casts.
To be able to attach the new steel to the existing steel it has been necessary, in many instances, to cut away the concrete fireproofing. Once the casts are set in place upon the shelf angles, each piece must be bolted to the vertical angles to prevent displacement. Since each separate casting must be accurately placed, it follows that each shelf angle must also be accurately located at the joint between the castings. To a person viewing the work of cutting the concrete and placing these pieces of steel the process may appear confusing, but each piece of steel has a definite function. Once the castings are set and bolted itt place the several surrounding castings are doweled together to prevent any possible movement. At the Earley Studio, detail and full size drawings are made of the various pieces showing location of each bolt, reinforcing rods, dowels, and galvanized wire mesh.
Suspending of the dome tracery is carried out in a similar manner with each piece of tracery bolted to the dome steel.
At the time of building the dome the decision had not been made as to what material would eventually be used for the facing, and, therefore no definite arrangement was made for suspending such material.
Now that precast shapes have been decided upon, it means that additional ribs of circular steel must be attached to the existing dome steel and so located as to receive the bolts set in the castings.
The shape of the building, that is, nine-sided below the dome, and circular at the dome, involves rather interesting mathematical calculations as well as careful measurements in the field.
An approximate estimate of the weight of all the interior ornamentation furnished by the Earley Studio amounts to 1,450,000 pounds, of which the dome tracery will weigh approximately 293,000 pounds.
One of the interesting features is the exposed spirally-shaped reinforced concrete stairway. Since the decision to have the main entrances to the Temple on the West side, it became necessary to remove the existing steel stairs from the main floor to the first balcony.
The architect chose the spirally-shaped stair as being more in conformity with the interior design, not cutting off as much light as an enclosed stairway. According to budget limitations the railing will be of aluminum or stainless steel.
The new steel work required for the suspension of the interior finish is being furnished and set by the Butler Steel Foundry. The structural design has been under the supervision of Mr. Carl A. Metz of the architectural firm of Shaw, Metz & Doijo of Chicago. It is interesting to note that Mr. Metz, while at the University of Illinois, was a former pupil of Mr. Allen B. McDaniel. During the several phases of the construction of the Temple it was Mr. McDaniel who sacrificed much of his time and energy toward the execution of the original structure.
Page 533Interior of the Dome of the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois.
Page 534By ALFRED P. SHAW, Architect* Remarks addressed to the National Bahá'í Convention, 1951,
Wilmette, IllinoisBEING a very bad speaker, certainly not an accomplished one, I have to write a few things down, and the first thing that comes to me is that, although this is essentially a religious gathering, while this may sound material to you, I find that in some religions, and in all religions, possibly, we touch the material things eventually. At any rate, some years ago when we started this project for this interior, one of the most important men connected with original building opera-lion, said to me � he was not a Bahá'í obviously, just a poor fellow in the building business � "Well," he said, "Al, there is one thing you will find out about these people. They act in business according to their religious professions.~~ To all of you, I am sure, as it did to me � but especially to you � this must mean something.
These men who were on the Building or Technical Committee then are not the same as now. Some of them are, and there has been some change.
However, the same thing, the same feeling, has been the experience on this project of the interior.
There has been a constant interchange of ideas and when the very earnest proponent of some fine personal idea was outvoted, he took it as a part of the general progress and went on to the next problem. And I include the architect in this general description.
You can see that they almost made a Christian out of him.
As I may have mentioned when I spoke to this Assembly once before, it is not an easy or natural task to take an achievement such as Louis Bourgeois's great structure here and complete it. The proper solution demands a homogeneity with another man's inspiration and his aesthetics. Now, although there have been many discussions with the Technical Committee, the most difficult, and the most important were those at the very beginning of our association, which * Of the firm of Shaw, Mctz and Dcliii, Chicago, Illinois.
set the pattern for the character of the interior.
By the nature of the instructions from the Head of your Faith, there were certain aspects of the Bourgeois design which were to be adhered to. There was also the natural architectural need of unity and there were certain details and aesthetics also which, after laying aside a design for some years, even the original architect would very likely have wanted to change. There was also, if I may be permitted to say so, the necessity of the present architect believing in the merit of his own achievement.
This very principle my colleagues on the Technical Committee very sympathetically required of me, too.
The resulting open lace-like pattern in stone, organized into nine bays horizontally and four general vertical units and woven into one design has taken some of the character of the exterior and brought about a unified quality on the interior. This quality � although, personally, I have not done it for that reason alone � represents, I discover in talking with the members of the Committee, the unity of the beliefs which your Faith symbolizes.
The slow process from sketches to detailed drawings on a great structure like this, through the heating plans and the electrical engineering, the work of the modeler, the craftsmanship of the stonemason, the plasterers, the carpenters and all the other tradesmen and the people who coordinated them, has really resulted in a fine and amazing example of this kind of coordinated effort. In my profession, it happens more than once, and most of the time, that we sometimes forget this aspect, and here in this complicated structure it became obvious to me, as I sat thinking about this, this morning, how all these engineering details, sometimes hidden, sometimes visible, have been woven into what appears to be a unit upstairs, and, while it is not completely fin
Page 535ished, it certainly is finished enough so that we know that it is going to be what we had in mind.
I wish there were more of the people here who have done it, but I want to pay a tribute to all these men I have mentioned, these craftsmen, the people who ran this building, the people who coordinated the craftsmen, the people in distant cities who made some of the stone. When I look at this building and see it and recall how much time and effort and individual coordination it has taken, I think this is the place, even if they are not here, to thank them for it, and thank them for the patience they had and the contributions they made.
We, as the architects of the interior, hope and believe that the great purpose of this Temple will be more successfully fulfilled because of this completion of the interior. We also hope that it will be a continuing inspiration to all of you here in America and to all of your Faith. Thank you very much.
INTERIOR ORNAMENTATION OF THEBy ALLEN B. MCDANIEL and PAUL B. HANEY BOURGEOIS, the architect of the Temple, walked into the conference room of The Research Service in Washington, D.C., one morning in the early spring of 1929 and greeted the group: "Well, I have a surprise for you."
With this precipitate announcement, he laid a roll of original drawings on the table and proceeded to describe his design for the interior ornamentatiOn of the Temple. As the members of the group examined these drawings, expressions of amazement came from all on the extreme intricacy and delicacy of the design. Mr. H. Van Buren Magonigle, the consulting architect, questioned Mr. Bourgeois on the practicability of the execution of such an elaborate design. But as the meeting had been called to consider the steps to be taken in the construction of the superstructure of the Temple on the foundation completed eight years before, no further consideration was given at that time to the interior design.
The making of these drawings constituted the work of Mr. Bourgeois during the last two years of his life.
Nearly nine years, busily occupied with the erection of the superstructure and its ornamentation with the exterior stonework, passed before additional attention was given to the interior.
Then, on instructions received from the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, late in 1937, the interior design was purchased from Mrs. Pemberton, widow of Mr. Bourgeois. The original drawings were sent to Haifa for the International
Bahá'íArchives. The work of the exterior ornamentation continued without interruption to its completion with the building of the steps in
1942. Work on Templeconstruction could not be carried forward during the remaining war years owing to the restrictions then in effect.
The first intimation that Temple construction was to be resumed caine in the form of a message from the Guardian in March, 1946, requesting an approximate estimate of the cost of the interior ornamentation. This message also directed the Temple Trustees to modify the elaborate Bourgeois interior design in order to reduce excessive expenditure.
At the Thirty-Eighth AnnualConvention of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada in Apr11, 1946, the Guardian's cable setting forth the objectives of the Second Seven-Year Plan revealed that one of these objectives was to be the completion of the interior ornamentation of "the holiest House of Worship in the I3ah6N World" by 1953.
The simplification and modification of the Bourgeois design, in accordance with the instructions of Shoghi Effendi, presented technical problems of great complexity, requiring for their solution the highest degree of engineering and architectural knowledge and experience.
The Temple Trustees, shortly after the 1946 Convention, authorized and initiated two independent studies of the interior ornamentation, these studies to have as their major objective the production of a modified
Page 536Mr. Allen B. McDaniel, of Washington, D.C., who had been associated with the Temple construction work, as consulting and supervising engineer, since 1921, was requested to carry out one of these studies, and a special Technical Committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. Carl Scheffier, of Evanston, Illinois, was authorized to work independently on the same problem of producing a modified interior design.
Further instructions received from the Guardian in the months which followed specified that the modified design for the interior should include the carrying of the spirit and flow of the exterior architectural motifs into the interior, in order to preserve the homogeneity of the entire structure; the creation of a single, spacious auditorium, eliminating the separate small chapels or rooms included in the original Bourgeois concept; adequate acoustical treatment; the use of color; and the use of fixed seats, placed facing in the direction of the Holy Land.
On March 15, 1947, at meetings of the National Spiritual Assembly and the Temple Trustees, the results of nearly nine months of intensive work were presented by the two independent professional groups. The special Technical Conitnittee submitted a design prepared for the
Committee by Mr. EarlH. Reed, a Chicago architect, and Mr. McDaniel presented his modification of the Bourgeois interior design. These preliminary designs and accompanying reports were sent to Shoghi Effendi with a memorandum of explanation, for his review and decision.
The Guardian's decisions were communicated in a letter presented to the Annual Convention in April, 1947. Shoghi Effendi indicated a preference for the preliminary design submitted by Mr. McDaniel, particularly the idea of a perforated dome as contemplated by Mr. Bourgeois, but suggested that certain of Mr. Reed's ideas might be incorporated in Mr. McDaniel's plans. Also certain further modifications were suggested, mainly in the interest of homogeneity.
A revised design, incorporating these suggestions, was prepared by Mr. McDaniel, and adopted by the Temple Trustees in July, 1947.
Faced with the immediate requirement of the execution of the approved design, the Temple Trustees appointed from their membership a Temple Construction Committee, with Paul E. Haney, Chairman; and a Technical Advisory Board of three Baha technical specialists, Allen B.
McDaniel, RobertH. Eardley. With this working organization, a search was made for a competent concern of architects and engineers with the facilities necessary to prepare the working drawings and specifications, and able to assume responsibility for supervising the actual construction work.
After a careful canvass of many architectural firms in Washington, New York and Chicago, a member of the Technical Advisory Board called at the offices of one of the leading architectural concerns in the Loop district of Chicago one morning early in the summer of 1947, and posed the question to the head of the firm: "Would you be interested in preparing the detailed plans and specifications for the interior ornamentation of the Baha Temple at
Wilmette, Illinois?" Alook of doubt came over the face of the distinguished architect, Mr. Alfred P. Shaw, and he expressed a serious question as to the willingness of his firm to take on a project of this nature, especially in view of the difficulty of recreating the spirit and expressing the qualities of a work of such unique character � the product of the genius of an architect of a former period. However, the universal and outstanding nature of the project as expressed in the general design and flowing ornamentation of Louis Bourgeois' creation intrigued this craftsman, and on August 4, 1947, a contract was entered into with Mr. Alfred P. Shaw and his firm for the necessary architectural and engineering services.
Mr. Shaw thus entered upon perhaps the most difficult task which a topflight architect can attempt, to take an intensely personal creation of another architect, in this case that of Mr. Bourgeois, simplify it greatly, and at the same time give it that creative touch which is so essential if it is truly to live and convey the message intended.
The office of Shaw, Metz and Doijo began studies immediately, and in frequent consultation with the Chairman of the
Tern-pie ConstructionCommittee and the members of the Technical Advisory Board gradually evolved the plans for a design which embodied the flowing motifs and the spirit of the Bourgeois vision, but in simplified form as directed by the Guardian of the
Page 537Interior view of the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, facing east, showing first and second galleries.
Page 538Faith. This design was approved by Shoghi Effendi in cables dated May 4 and 6, 1948, with instructions to proceed promptly with the placing of contracts for the actual construction work.
The first step in the construction of the Temple interior involved the removal of the original iron stairway from the foundation area to the main floor, and from the main floor to the first gallery level on the south side of the structure, and the building of a new reinforced concrete stairway in the entranceway space on the opposite side of the building.
This work was performed by the George A. Fuller Company, Chicago, Illinois, the contractors who built the Temple superstructure in 1930 to 1931.
While this stairway construction was under way, a contract was signed by the Temple Trustees with the Fuller Company for the entire project, and during a period of some three years, this organization served as general contractor for the interior, furnishing all labor, materials, equipment, supplies and supervision for all phases of the work, including the placing of the cast stone sections of the interior ornamentation, the heating and ventilation, the electric lighting, terrazzo floor and other elements of the project.
The most important subcontract concerned the interior ornamentation, which was originally envisioned as of ornamental plaster.
But as the result of competitive bids, the proposal of the Earley Studio, Rosslyn, Virginia, was accepted for architectural concrete, at a figure $12,000 lower than that submitted for ornamental plaster.
The decade of experience of this concern in the fabrication of the exterior ornamentation of the Temple, had made possible a lower bid for a material preferable to plaster as to appearance, durability, cleanliness and permanence.
With the development of the working drawings in the architect's office, there arose the need of full size studies of the ornamentation. Full scale clay models of typical sections of the panels between the interior columns were made in the studio of Ro-chette and Parzini, architectural sculptors in New York City, and studied and modified from time to time by Mr. Shaw and the Technical Advisory Board. The developed, finished models were cast in plaster and shipped to the Earley Studio, where they were used in the process of making the cast concrete sections. Thus there evolved gradually a design which embodied the spirit and the dynamic quality of movement of the Bourgeois conception.
As the project progressed, the economic necessity to consider mounting construction costs pressed for action. Available data indicated that building costs had advanced about 20 percent during the two-year period since the inception of the project. Three sets of plans and cost figures were presented by the architect and the general contractor, and finally a plan involving an estimated total expenditure of about $860,000, and of about two years for construction operations, was adopted and approved by Shoghi Effendi. This figure was subsequently raised to approximately $890,000, as a result of a decision to include treatment of the alcoves of the interior auditorium with the Earley cast stone material.
As the sections of the interior piers and columns were being set in place, the ventilation ducts, piping for the heating system, electrical conduits, wires and equipment were installed by the various sub-contrac-tors. All this utilities work was completed in advance of the erection of the ornamentation.
At the Earley Studio, across the Potomac River from the Nation's capital city, the craftsmen carried on the work of modeling, making molds, casting and finishing the hundreds of beautiful white concrete sections of the tracery. The radiant casts, sparkling with quartz particles, were carefully packed in railroad cars, shipped to the Tern-pie and erected in place. Below the perforated dome, the panels of the tracery were cast with a background of rose quartz which gives a pinkish color to the spaces between the vertical ribs.
Studies were made by acoustical experts, in consultation with the architect and the Advisory Board, to ascertain the sound conditions of the interior of the Temple. Acoustical plaster was placed in the ceiling of the second gallery to reduce reverberation.
A public address system was also included in the plans, and provision made for its installation.
Lighting of the central space under the dome is effected by lamps in conical-shaped, brass-reflecting fixtures placed on the nine groups of interior columns, nineteen feet above the floor. The nine alcoves are illuminated by lights in horizontal troughs around
Page 539Interior ornamentation of Baha House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, as seen from second gallery. Visitors viewing the interior from the main floor and from the first gallery, thirty-six feet above floor level, are dwarfed by the proportions of the structure.
Page 540the bases of the arched ceilings. Ceiling lights furnish illumination for the two galleries.
.On the terrazzo floor are placed the 1,191 seats arranged in groups separated by the radial and circumferential aisles and facing the direction of the World Center of the
Faith.The visitor in the days to come will approach h the Temple along a walk leading from the intersection of Sheridan Road and Linden Avenue to the base of the Temple steps. On each side are to be the gardens, nine in number, each with its beds of lovely shrubbery and flowering plants surrounding a reflecting pooi, in the center of which a fountain will play. By a gradual ascent over terraces and steps, the circular walk at the foot of the eighteen steps is reached. Ascending g the steps to the main platform one gazes upward over the great arched doorway y of the main story to the tiers of windows s with their lace-like ornamental screens of the gallery story, and thence to the great ribs of the clerestory extending up and over the glorious hemispherical dome to the apex, symbolic of hands lifted to the heavens in supplication.
To enter the House of Worship one passes through a glass vestibule, on either side of which are alcoves with arched ceilings at whose bases are inscriptions from the Bahá'í Sacred Writings. Beyond groups of columns supporting the great dome, the visitor emerges into the central auditorium or gathering g place, where in the generations to come peoples of all nationalities, colors and creeds will assemble to listen to the reading of the Holy Books and to commune with God. In each bay of the nine-sided room, great vertical panels of flowery tracery gradually blend into the interlacing ornament t of the dome, where shines the Greatest Name at the zenith. Between the nine panels and groups of columns are first the main-story y arches, then the gallery arches and, at the base of the dome, the smaller interlacing arches of the triforium gallery.
Standing enthralled in the midst of the Temple, one feels that the ornamentation seems to take on life and flow ever upward and onward, symbolizing life with its evolution tion of progress from the material to the spiritual, and in this moment of understanding, ing, the observer realizes that the building of the Bahá'í House of Worship is a triumph of human and spiritual achievement.
In leaving the Temple the visitor may descend the inside stairway to the ground floor.
At the dedication of the Temple grounds 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed a national gathering of the followers of the Faith on May 1, 1912, the evening before He laid the stone which marked the site of this glorious House of Worship. He said: "Among the institutes tutes of the Holy Books is that of the foundation dation of places of worship, an edifice or temple is to be built in order that humanity might find a place of meeting and this is to be conducive to unity and fellowship among them. The real temple is the very Word of God, for to it all humanity must turn and it is the center of unity for all mankind. It is the collective center, the cause of accord and communion of hearts, the sign of solidarity darity of the human race, the source of life eternal. Temples are the symbols of the divine vine uniting force, so that when people gather there in the House of God they may recall the fact that the law has been revealed vealed for them and that the law is to unite them. They will realize that just as this Tern-pie pie was founded for the unification of mankind, kind, the law preceding and creating it came forth in the manifest Word. This is why His Holiness Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, has commanded manded that a place of worship be built for all the religionists of the world; that all religions, ligions, races, creeds and sects may come together gether within its universal shelter; that the proclamation of the oneness of mankind shall go forth from its open courts of holi-"1 "1 1 Promulgation of Universal Peace, vol. 1, p. 62.
Model of landscaping surrounding the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois.
The smaller building at the right, across Sheridan Road, is the National Haziratu'1-Quds of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America.
Page 541H E long-awaited announcement of the design selected for landscaping the Temple grounds, and of the placing of contracts for the work, was made in March, 1952.
In the spring of 1951, the Temple Trustees had communicated with a number of representative landscape architects and requested them to submit designs and preliminary estimates.
The specifications taken from Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá called for treatment of a circular area, and a design providing for nine paths, gardens, pools and fountains. Indeed, the tract of land acquired, and the location of the Temple at its center, reflected the understanding of the Master's directions by the early believers.
From the designs submitted, the one prepared by Mr. hubert E. Dahi, the Bahá'í landscape architect who years ago made preliminary studies of the project, was selected by the Trustees.
His sketch was submitted to the Guardian, who cabled his approval during the summer of 1951. A
Temple Landscape Committeewas appointed consisting of Mr. Robert McLaughlin, Mr. Leroy loas, Mr. H. Borrah
Kavelin and Mr. ClarenceUlirich, to represent the Trustees in carrying out the project with the landscape architect and the contractors.
A contract was entered into with Mr. Dali dated July 9, 1951. The services of the George A. Fuller Company as general contractors were continued throughout the completion of the landscaping work.
It is of interest to note that the trustees of the Wilmette Village, and also the State Highway Department (which has jurisdiction over the width of the land used for State highways even within towns), gave the Trustees written permission in October, 1951, to extend the landscaping, if necessary, through the parkway to the curb on Sheridan Road.
The Village does not plan to build any sidewalks on the west side of Sheridan
Road from Linden Avenueto the canal, which leaves the present parkway free for use as an approach to the Temple land. This courtesy is greatly appreciated by the National Spiritual
Assembly.Before considering the nature of Mr. Dali's design it is important to note two written statements from the Guardian: "The Guardian approves of your action to only expend two hundred thousand dollars at present for the Temple landscaping and leave further embellishment until a later date. He is very glad that this work is being done by such a devoted Bahá'í as Mr. Dahi, who will put his whole heart into it and be inspired by the original concept as much as possible."
(To the N.S.A. in letter written by the Guardian's secretary, dated November 23, 1951.)
The next day in a letter addressed to Mr. Dahi, written by the Guardian through his secretary, we have this beautiful message: "He is very pleased with the plans you have made for the Temple grounds; of course he regrets the pools and fountains will have to be postponed, but this will not prevent carrying out an almost complete garden scheme for the 1953 date, and for economy's sake, seems a necessary measure.
"The Guardian feels the Temple will show to better advantage if flood lighted from without. This will not prevent, no doubt, when the floodlights are on, any ii-lumination from within producing a pleasing effect.
"He wishes you every success in this important service you are rendering the Faith, and will pray that all may go well and your ideas be realized in a most beautiful effect."
WORK IN PROGRESSMuch detailed work has been accomplished to date in the way of the necessary drawings, specifications and estimates. The plan is to begin grading work as early as possible in the spring of 1952, and continue the operations without interruption until completed.
MR. DATIL'S DESIGNThe accompanying illustration gives a basic concept, and the inserted "Approach View" conveys a clear impression of one of
Page 543the nine tree-lined walks, with provision for reflecting pool between the two paths.
As shown, the space between each two adjoining approaches is filled with a sunken garden and space for a fountain.
provides one of the entrances to the circular walk, giving a long and most attractive vista of the landscaped grounds and the majestic edifice.
There will be no entrance from the road 79 ~ 7~2 ~2 ft''fltj 1'4.','.,r iv'"" Design for landscaping surrounding Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, as made by Hubert E. Dahi and approved by the Guardian.
At the base of the present circular steps a concrete walk or platform will be constructed, its outer circumference a series of concave arcs after the manner of the entrance bays of the Temple itself.
This platform or walk is reached from the approaching paths by several steps.
The outer circumference of the design is a circular walk giving access to all nine approaches and the nine gardens. At the lower right hand of the sketch we see the treatment to be given the area outside the great circle, along Sheridan
Road and Linden Avenue.The intersection of these two streets on the Sheridan Road side, owing to traffic conditions.
The main entrance is from Linden Avenue at the point where we now enter the Foundation.
To enter the Temple basement level, after the landscaping work is completed, the design provides for steps downward at the point where this particular entrance path intersects the sidewalk or platform at the bottom of the circular steps. Dotted lines on the sketch indicate the location of the basement level corridor.
Owing to the downward slope of both Sheridantheir point of intersection, the uniform level of the outer circular walk must be maintained by a grading operation which at some points raises the walk a few feet above street level.
Instead of a retaining wall, it is planned to support the circular walk by a sloping earthen embankment, which can be turfed and perhaps planted, giving a much more pleasing effect than a vertical concrete wall.
Ti-rn ARCHITECT'S DESCRIPTIONArchitect has prepared a written description of his design from which the following excerpts are taken: "Its setting, as with the jewel, must emphasize the attractiveness of the structure and, while reflecting the lines and embellishment and the spirit of the Temple, must not, in itself, be given ornamental character which will compete with the building.
"The study follows 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í word picture in every detail. Briefly, it involves an approach leading to each nine entrance bays with gardens between. Circular fountains with jets of water keeping them ever fresh and clear are found in the gardens, while long basins are located in the approaches, reflecting glimpses of the Temple to the visitor walking along the approach. The whole is enclosed within an outer circular walk, and an inner walk, at the base of the Temple steps, provides a vantage point at a higher elevation from which the entire scene can be viewed.
"The gardens are arranged and planted with simple dignity, restrained in treatment but with a touch of color and softness of texture which will give them a gardenesque feeling of peaceful and quiet loveliness.
In area there are involved almost five acres of intensive development."
TEMPLE DEDICATION, 1953What we have here is the final embellishment of the world's supreme House of Worship, preparing it for its mission to the public of America and indeed of the world.
As we consider the Guardian's Jubilee plans, including the public Jubilee celebrations during RiQv~n, 1953, the All-America Intercontinental Congress, and the Dedication of the Temple to public worship, every Bahá'í may well thrill with gratitude for the years of concentrated effort and immense sacrifice which brought the Temple to its present point of completion, and steel his resolve to assure completion of this impressive, noble and exquisite framework within which the Bahá'í House of Worship can blazon forth its divine Promise to a desperate world!
� NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLYONE of the familiar sights that deserves more than our passing notice is the Bahá'í Temple which lifts its white dome into the sky on the shore of Lake Michigan in Wil-mette.
Nearly every Northwesternstudent has marvded at the beauty of the temple as he viewed it while cheering in Dyche Stadium or while driving along Sheridan Road. But relatively few fully appreciate the momentous architectural and engineering significance of the structure. The temple, pic * This article appeared in Northwestern Engineer, Student Publication of the Technological
Institute of NorthwesternUniversity, Evanston, Illinois, 10:18, September, 1951. It is reprinted here with permission of the editors. Three illustrations of the Temple accompanied the article.
tured in this issue's frontispiece, will probably be recorded by historians as one of the outstanding architectural works of the twentieth century.
Both the new principles of ornamentation and the solution of unusual problems of construction have attracted much attention from professional builders the world over.
Although the project was conceived nearly 100 years ago, the first consequential progress was revealed in 1920 when the plan of architect Louis Bourgeois was selected in a competition among
Bahá'í architects. Manyconsider it the greatest advance in religious architecture in several hundred years.
In order to understand the architecture of the Bahá'í house of worship it is necessary
Page 545Bahá'u'lláh, who founded the faith in Persia, preached world unity as the road to fulfiument of man's purpose. Important principles of the Baha faith include the complete equality of the sexes, collaboration
Byzantine. Notwithstandingits use of the several western styles of architecture, the overall impression on an observer strikes an oriental chord.
Availability of funds permitted the initiation of foundation work in 1921. The main Assembly rig for checking large bay tracery models at Earley Studios.
with science, a universal auxiliary language, a more nearly equal distribution of wealth, and an international tribunaL Unity of God, unity of religion, and unity of mankind are stressed.
In keeping with this unity theme, the architect designed a structure unifying the several welldefined styles of architecture. Beginning with the Bahá'í nine-pointed star (which the temple resembles when seen from the air) Bourgeois designed a structural record of architectural history.
The first story is a pleasing combination of py-ions and columns, patterned after the low, squatty, ancient Egyptian temples.
Moving upward, traces of old Roman architecture from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries blend into the Renaissance architecture of the second story. The Renaissance style extends to the clerestory, which makes use of Romanesque windows. The dome is reminiscent of the early
Christian churches. Itslacy motif is taken from yet another style, the support of the foundation consists of nine concrete caissons which were sunk 124 feet to bed rock, 90 feet below the surface of nearby Lake Michigan.
The 36 pillars which carry the dome rest directly upon these caissons.
The foundation floor is a reinforced concrete circular building 202 feet in diameter. This section of the structure is now covered by a mound of earth rising to the eighteen circular steps which lead to the main floor.
The earth fill, incidentafly, is part of the material excavated for the construction of the Northwestern Technological Institute.
Around a central auditorium are located the rooms housing the operating equipment for heating, lighting, and ventilating systems.
The nonagonal base of the main floor is 36 feet high and 150 feet in diameter. It in-eludes a circular hall 72 feet in diameter which extends for the full height of 138 feet to the interior of the dome. When interior decorating is completed, this main audito
Page 546Progress view dated December 29, 1950, illustrates the finished walls of a bay alcove and the ornamentation of column arches.
Page 547Temple Interior construction � progress to April 17, 1950.
Page 548Interior ornamentation of the dome being put in place, March 28, 1951.
rium will seat approximately 1200 persons. The acoustic qualities of the hail will be Unexcelled.
The first gallery is also nine-sided, but it is rotated twenty degrees so that the pylons rise from bases above the middle of each of the main story entrances. This gallery has a height of 47 feet and an outside diameter of 136 feet.
The drum-shaped second gallery, or clerestory, is 20 feet high with a diameter of 93 feet.
The dome, with a diameter of 72 feet inside and 90 feet outside, is immediately above. It is one of the largest domes without a center support ever to be built. Actually three domes in one, it consists of two independent structural steel frames thoroughly cross-braced. Between these is an aluminum and wire-glass dome for weather protection and for passage of light through the perforated interior and exterior ornamentation. The metal joints were designed to provide drainage for leakage and condensation.
For repairs any part of the dome may be reached by ladders and catwalks. Outlets are provided at the base of the dome at three places to furnish steam, water, compressed air, and a vacuum for the cleaning and maintenance of the dome structure.
The basic framework of the temple is composed of structural steel and reinforced concrete.
The ingenuity of form-builders was taxed to the limit since curved lines and warped surfaces dominate the entire structure.
The elaborate design of the exterior ornamentation was the cause of the greatest construction problem. Months of studies, conferences, and investigations were involved in the selection of materials for use in the lacy decoration.
Samples of various types of cast stone, terra cotta, aluminum alloy, and architectural concretes were prepared and subjected to weathering on property adjacent to the constructiofi site to test their durability and discoloration properties.
Finally a special concrete developed by architectural sculptor John J. Earley was ac
Page 549cepted. His material consisted of one part crushed crystalline quartz and three parts crushed opaque quartz mixed with white portland cement and water. The resultant exposed-aggregate concrete possesses a compressive strength of 70009000 psi. The sculptor's first step in preparing the ornamentation was the carving of a fullsized clay model for each section. Plaster of paris impressions were taken from the clay model.
From these forms a plaster model was constructed, reinforced with hemp, jute, and steel. This rough model was carved and polished to give a fine-textured surface from which was made another plaster of paris mold, the negative of the fina]
cast section. These negatives were lined with zinc and shellacked. Finally the concrete was molded in these forms around reinforcing rods. After careful cleaning and brushing the sections were shipped to Wilmette and applied to the base superstructure. The exposed aggregate gives the entire outer surface a white radiant quality consistent with its frequently applied description as the "Temple of Light."
�showing one of the large outer columns, reveals the feeling of religious unity that influenced the architect's design of the ornamentation.
In rising chronological order are seen the symbols of the nine consuming religions of history.
At the bottom is the ancient swastika, topped by the six-pointed star of Judaism, the cross of Christianity, the star and crescent of Is1~m, and the Bahá'í nine-pointed star. The complex combination of mathematical lines and the merging of circle into circle emphasize the common ties that bind religions.
The frequent recurrence of the number nine in the design of the temple is purposeful. Baha count their faith as the ninth and unifying religion of mankind.
In addition, nine is the largest single digit, signifying the ultimate.
Landscaping of the $2,500,000 temple will be completed for formal dedication of the building in 1953.
Eventually it is planned to make the temple the heart of a community center.
Around it will be a hospital, a hospice, an orphanage, a college, and scientific laboratories situated among gardens and fountains.
UNVEILING THE MODEL OF THE TEMPLE TO BEtold us that certain material objects, certain material constructions have a spiritual mission and a spiritual effect in the world. Before the
Bahá'í Temple, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkarwas built here in Wil-mette, He told us that when that Temple was built, it would have a great spiritual effect in the world, that it would be a symbol manifesting forth to all of the world the spiritual ideals and the services to humanity of the members of the Baha
Faith.As we study the history of the religions of the past, we see that each religion has built a civilization in the world and has developed also a style of architecture which has found its full and perfect expression in the temples of the epoch.
Way back in the very dawn of religious history, when the Prophet Abraham came out from his home land and took his band of followers to the Land of Promise, ise, the Holy Land, one of his first activities was building a temple to the Lord. That temple was a very simple place of worship, the altar which he built on the mountain top for the sacrifices that he instituted as the ritual for the people of his day. It was probably a very simple affair, built, laid up, of rough stones gathered from the top of the mountain.
But it was the center; that simple altar on the mountain top, that place of worship, was the center of the civilization of that day. In those days, the people lived pastoral lives in the valleys bdow, but on certain occasions they went up on the mountain top for their spiritual worship, for their sacrifices.
Centuries later, when Moses, the Prophet of God, led the children of Israel out of Egypt, out of the land of bondage to the land of promise, one of the first institutions He established was the Tabernacle.
ThatModel of Mashriqu'l-Adhkar designed for construction on Mt. Carmel, Israel, Charles Mason Remey, architect.
Page 551Tabernacle was a portable temple of worship. There was the inner Holy of Holies, there was the court around that, and finally the outer court, and during the long forty years that the children of Israel were in the wilderness, when they struck their camp, their first duty was to set up this Tabernacle. Thus the Tabernacle was the center of their religious life in the wilderness.
Later on, when the Jewish civilization developed in Jerusalem, Solomon's Temple was the center of their religious and cultural life. It was built very much on the rudimentary plan of the tabernacle in the wilderness, having an inner Holy of Ilolies and then the inner court and the outer court.
At that time, people flowed from all nations to Jerusalem to partake of the learning and culture of that civilization, the center of which was the Temple.
When the Christian Churchwas established centuries later, little by little, their churches became the cultural centers of Christianity. At first, the style was like the Roman style in the City of Rome. Later it developed into the Romanesque style in the West, into the Byzantine style of the Eastern Church, and after some thirteen or fourteen centuries, we have the flowering of the magnificent cathedrals and churches of Europe.
This style of architecture, the Gothic style, developed in its greatest fragrance, beauty and magnificence in the central part of France: the Cathedrals of Lyon, of Chartres, of Amiens, Rheims, and Notre Dame of Paris are the outstanding temples of the Christian era.
When Muhammad gave Histeaching in the deserts of Arabia, one of the first architectural expressions was the Mosque. Islamic culture went westward into Northern Africa, up into Spain, east into Persia and then down into India.
The Mosques of these countries were the spiritual centers of education and culture in that magnificent civilization which Isltm gave to the world.
And so it was with the other religions in the Far East. The place of worship has been the cultural center and the point for the development of architecture and all the al-fled arts.
Now, in the Bahá'í Faith, the religion of the present age, we are exhorted, in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, to build temples for worship, and we have been given a general plan for these.
There shall be a temple proper, circular in effect, but actually having nine sides. This is to be the sanctuary for worship, prayer and meditation, and this central temple is to be surrounded by various institutions for the physical benefit of mankind � schools, hospitals and all other institutions that go to make up the activities of a great world civilization.
The Bahá'í Temple expresses the renewal of religion.
It realizes a faith which relates the soul to a universal, a revealed and a divine truth wherein all human beings, of whatever race, class or creed, can meet and share the true equality emanating from their common dependence upon God. It serves a teaching which goes beyond all the social philosophies to make possible a world order capable not only of coordinating and guiding economic effort but also of safeguarding and fostering the highest qualities of man.
The first Bahá'í Templewas built many years ago in that country east of the Caspian Sea, sometimes spoken of as TransCaspian. There, in the City of 'IsljqAlAd, our friends of the Orient built the first Bahá'í Temple. It was my privilege to visit it some forty-five years ago. We have heard very little about our friends there in the last few years. The present Russian Government confiscated the Temple and the Bahá'í community in 'I4iqk-hid was scattered and dispersed.
In the last few days, we have dedicated the Temple here in Wilmette.
A number of years ago, when I was still a student of architecture, I first heard of the Bahá'í Faith.
When the time came for me to create my thesis in architecture, I recoiled that I wanted very much to take as my subject a typical Baha Temple.
That was a Ut-tie over fifty years ago and thereafter I spent a great deal of time making different studies for Baha Temples.
Some of you may recall that when the design was chosen for the Temple here in Wilmette, a number of us architects offered drawings, mine among them.
Shortly afterward, the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, revealed a Tablet to me stating that my mission in the future would be to design the Temple to be built on Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land.
As we all know, the Holy Land is the Holy Land of the Jewish, Christian and MuI)ammadan religions.
Now in these days, it is the Holy Land for all the world through the Bahá'í Faith. Our spiritual background is there and also our administrative center and the Master planned that there should be a Bahá'í Temple on
Mt. CanneLAbout five years ago, our beloved GuardIan, Shoghi Effendi, wrote to me that it was time to begin to think of the design, the completed design, for that Temple.
In the latter part of 1947 and the early days of 1948, I made a complete set of drawings for the Temple. Later I took those drawings over to our Guardian and he made a number of suggestions that really created within my mind an entirely unique and different design from any of those studies that I had made before.
That is what we are going to show you this evening.
These designs were made during the past two or three years while I have been living in Haifa and they were made under the direction of our Guardian, Shoghi Effendi. I must say that the architecture, the architectural motifs, are really his rather than mine. He gave me a great many criticisms, a great many suggestions, and after a period of working, making drawings, submitting them to him and restudying them, a design was made that he approved. He decided that a model should be made of this design and that it should be unveiled at this Conference. I left Haifa a little over three months ago, going to Italy, and there in the City of Florence, I engaged a wood carver to make this model. I had had some rather bad experience with plaster models, which did not hold up in transportation, but this model of wood has transported very well.
It is assembled and we are going to show it to you now.
It speaks for itself!MONG different peoples and at different times many different methods have been adopted for the measurement of time and fixing of dates, and several different calendars are still in daily use, e.g., the Gregorian in
Western Europe, the Julianin many countries of Eastern Europe, the Hebrew among the Jews, and the Mu1~ammadan in Muslim countries.
The Báb signalized the importance of the dispensation which He came to herald, by inaugurating a new calendar. In this, as in the Gregorian Calendar, the lunar month is abandoned and the solar year is adopted.
The Bahá'í year consists of 19 months of 19 days each (i.e., 361 days), with the addition of certain "intercalary days" (four in ordinary and five in leap years) between the eighteenth and nineteenth months in order to adj ust the calendar to the solar year. The Báb named the months after the attributes of God.
The Bahá'í New Year, like the ancient Persian New Year, is astronomically fixed, commencing at the March equinox (March 21), and the Baha era commences with the year of the Báb's declaration (i.e., 1844 A.D., 1260 Alt).
In the not far distant future it will be necessary that all peoples in the world agree on a common calendar.
It seems, therefore, fitting that the new age of unity should have a new calendar free from the objections and associations which make each of the older calendars unacceptable to large sections of the world's population, and it is difficult to see how any other arrangement could exceed in simplicity and convenience that proposed by the Bib.
BAnK! FEASTS, ANNIVERSARIES AND DAYSFeast of Ri~1v6n (Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh), April 21 � May 2, 1863.
Feast of Naw-Rfiz (New Year), March 21.Fasting seasons lasts 19 days beginning with the first day of the month of 'A1~', March 2 � the feast of Naw-Riiz follows immediately after.
551The first day of RiQv~n, The ninth day of RigivAn, The twelfth day of Ri4v~n, The anniversary of the declaration of the Báb, The anniversary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh, The anniversary of the birth of the BTh, The anniversary of the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, The anniversary of the martyrdom of the BTh, The feast of Naw-Rtiz.
NOTE: 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in one of His Tablets addressed to a believer of Nayriz, Persia, has written the following: "Nine days in the year have been appointed on which work is forbidden. Some of these days have been specifically mentioned in the Book. The rest follows as corollaries to the Text. Work on the Day of the Covenant (F&te Day of 'Abdu'l-Bahá), however, is not prohibited. Celebration bration of that day is left to the discretion of the friends. Its observation is not obligatory. The days pertaining to the Abh6 Beauty (Bahá'u'lláh) and the Primal Point (the Báb), that is to say these nine days, are the only ones on which work connected with trade, commerce, industry and agriculture is not allowed. In like manner, work connected with any form of employment, whether governmental or otherwise, should be suspended."
As a corollary of this Tablet it follows that the anniversaries of the birth and ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá are not to be regarded as days on which work is prohibited.
ibited. The celebration of these two days, however, is obligatory.
Bahá'ís in East arid West, holding administrative positions, whether public or private, should exert the utmost effort to obtain special leave from their superiors to enable them to observe these nine holy days.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL GLEANED FROM NABIL'SCalendar) has been taken by me from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas', one of the works written by the Báb. As I have observed in these days that certain believers are inclined to regard the year in which IBah6Th'114h departed from Baghdad to Constantinople as marking the beginning of the Badi' Calendar, I have requested Mirza Aq~ Hn, the amanuensis of Bahá'u'lláh, to ascertain His will and desire concerning this matter. Bahá'u'lláh answered and said: 'The year sixty A.H. (1844 A.D.), the year of the Declaration of the BTh, must be regarded as the beginning of the
Badi' Calendar.' The Declarationof the B~b took place on the evening preceding the fifth day of Jamadiyu'1-Avval, of the year 1260 A.H. It has been ordained that the solar calendar be followed, and that the vernal Equinox, the day of Nawruz, be regarded as the New Year's Day of the Badi' Calendar.
The year sixty, in which the fifth day of Jam4-diyu'1-Avval coincided with the sixty-fifth day after Naw-Rtiz, has accordingly been regarded as the first year of the Badi' Calendar.
As in that year, the day of Naw-Rflz, the vernal Equinox, preceded by sixty-six days the date of the Declaration of the 13Th, I have therefore, throughout my history, regarded the Naw-Rfiz of the year sixty-one
Page 5551st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th
BAHÁ'Í CALENDAR AND FESTIVALS 553
AM. (the Nawruz immediately following the Declaration of the Báb) as the first Nawruz of the Badi' Calendar.
I have accordingly considered the Naw-Rtiz of this present year, the year 1306 A.H., which is the 47th solar year after the Declaration of the Báb, as the 46th Nawruz of the Bad? Calendar.
Soon after Bahá'u'lláhhad left the fortress of 'Akka and was dwelling in the house of Malik, in that city, He commanded me to transcribe the text of the Badi' Calendar and to instruct the believers in its details. On the very day in which I received His command, I composed, in verse and prose, an exposition of the main features of that Calendar and presented it to Him. The versified copy, being now unavailable, I am herein transcribing the version in prose. The days of the week are named as follows Arabic
NameAsm~' 'Izzat Mashiyyat 'Jim Qudrat Qawi Mas6.'il Sharaf SuItTh Mulk 'Ail6
TranslationFebruary 26 to March four in ordinary and five in leap years.
First Days1 inclusive � The first day of each month is thus the day of Bah4, and the last day of each month the day of 'A16'.
The B~b has regarded the solar year, of 365 days, S hours, and fifty odd minutes, as consisting of 19 months of 19 days each, with the addition of certain intercalary days. He has named the New Year's Day, which is the Day of Naw-Rtiz, the day of Baha, of the month of Bah6~ He has ordained the month of 'AlA' to be the month of fasting, and has decreed that the day of Nawruz should mark the termination of that period. As the BTh did not specifically define the place for the four days and the fraction of a day in the Bad? Calendar, the people of the Baydn were at a loss as to how they should regard them. The revelation of the Kitáb-i-A qdas in the city of 'Akka resolved this problem and settled the issue.
Bahá'u'lláh designated those days as the "Ayy~m-i-H6Y and ordained that they should immediately
Page 556National Ha4ratu'1-Quds, TihrTh, Persia, RiQ�tn, 1951. (View taken from the air.)
precede the month of 'AlA', which is the month of fasting. He enjoined upon His followers to devote these days to feasting, rejoicing, and charity. Immediately upon the termination of these intercalary days, Bahá'u'lláh ordained the month of fasting to begin. I have heard it stated that some of the people of the Baydn, the followers of Mirza Yaljy6, have regarded these intercalary days as coming immedi&ely after the month of 'A1~', thus terminating their fast five days before the day of Naw-Rtiz.
This, notwithstanding the explicit text of the Baydn which states that the day of Naw-Riiz must needs be the first day of the month of Baha, and must follow immediately after the last day of the month of 'A1~'. Others, aware of this contradiction, have started their fasting on the fifth day of the month of 'AlA', and included the intercalary days within the period of fasting.
Every fourth year the number of the in-terealary days is raised from four to five. The day of Nawruz falls on the 21st of March only if the vernal Equinox precedes the setting of the sun on that day.
Should the vernal Equinox take place after sunset, Naw-Riiz will have to be celebrated on the following day.
The Báb has, moreover, in His writings, revealed in the Arabic tongue, divided the years following the date of His Revelation, into cycles of nineteen years each. The names of the years in each cycle are as fol lows:
1. AlifBAHÁ'Í CALENDAR AND FESTIVALS 555
called Kull-i-$%ay'.The numerical value of the word "V~ijid" is nineteen, that of "Kull-i-$hay'" is 361.
"Vttbid" signifies unity, and is symbolic of the unity of God.
The DAb has, moreover, stated that this system of His is dependent upon the acceptance and good-pleasure of "Him Whom God shall make manifest." One word from Him would suffice either to establish it for all time, or to annul it forever.
For instance, the date of the 21St of April, 1930, which is the first day of RiQvin, and which according to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas must coincide with the "thirteenth day of the second Bahá'í month," and which fell this year (1930) on Monday, would, according to the system of the Badi' Calendar, be described as follows: "The day of Kam6.I, the day of Qudrat, of the month of JaMi, of the year Baha, of the fifth V~ibid, of the first
Kull-i-Shay'."I-Iaziratu'1-Quds of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, newly erected, April, 1951.
Page 558BAHA A. BAGHDAD Houses Occupied During
Thison Wednesday, April 10, 1854 A.D. � Rajab 12, 1270 A.H.
B. SULAYMANIYYIHBefore reaching SulaymThiyyih, He lived for a time on the Sar-Gahi mountain.
During His absence from BaghdTh, His family transferred their residence from
House of H6ji 'All-MadadNabil arrived at Baghdad 6 months after Bahá'u'lláh's departure for Sulaym6.niyyih.
C. BAGHDXDon Wednesday, March 19, 1856 A.D. � Rajab 12, 1272 A.H. Departure from shAsh: Thursday, A.D. � ShavvAl 5, Mazra'iy-i-Vash-March 26, 1863 1279 A.H. Tablet of the Holy Mariner revealed while in the Mazra'iy-i-Vashsh6.sh.
Departure from Baghd6.dfor Constantinople, Wednesday afternoon (first day of RiQv6n), April 22, 1863 A.D. � Dhi'1-Qa'dih 3, 1279 All.
Works Revealed During ThisC. BAGj~ID~,r' � continued S6riy-i-$abr revealed on first day of Ridvan.
Arrival at Garden ofFamily at Garden of Ri~Iv~n on eighth day after first of Ridvan.
Departure from Gardenof Ridvan for Constantinople last day of Ri~Iv~in, at noon on
Sunday, May3, 1863 A.D. � Dhi'1-Qa'dih 14, 1279 A.H. Length of overland journey from Garden of Ridvan to S~msiin on Black Sea: 110 days.
Works Revealed DuringFirayj~tt (arrival early afternoon � stayed seven days), arrived on Sunday, May 3, 1863 A.D. � Dhi'1-Qa'dih 14, 1279 A.H. (Firayj~t is about 3 miles distant from Baghdad) Judaydih, Qarih-Tapih, Sa1~iyyih (stayed two nights), D~ist-Khurm~~ni, T~wuq, Kark6k (stayed two days), Irbil, Z~b River, Bahá'u'lláh, Mosul (stayed 3 days),
Z~kh(iJazirih, Ni~ibin, iLasan-Aq~, M~~rdin, Dfy6r-Bakr, Ma'dan-Mis, KMrpiit (stayed 2 or 3 days), Ma'dan-Nuqrih, Siv~s, T(iq~t, Amasia (stayed 2 days), IlThiyyih (while approaching
Sam-siln, "Lawli-i-Hawdaj"was revealed), (last day of overland journey), S~msiIin (stayed 7 days), Black Sea port.
Sailed in a Turkishsteamer about sunset for Constantinople, Sinope (arrived next day about noon), Black Sea port: stayed few hours, Any~buii (arrived next day).
CONSTANTINOPLEon Works RevealedHouses OccupiedDuration
D. Dur-Dur- DuringArrival at noon SubMnika-Y~i-H6House of Sbamsi1 month
BigSunday, August 1863,16,Law1~-i-'Abdu'1-'Aziz Va-VukaTh(2-story, A.D. near Khir gih
Sbaraf Mosque)D. CONSTANTINOPLE � continuedWorks RevealedHouses OccupiedDuration
Dur-Dur- Dur-LengthLength of sea ing This ing This Period voyage from Period S&ms6n to Constantinople 3 days.
Length of journey from Constantinople toHouse of Visi 3 months P~jsh4 (3-story, near Sul t~n
MuI?ammad Mosque)A.D. � Rajab 1, 1280 A.H. of stay: 4 8 months, 22 Length of overland journey from Constantinople to Adri-anople: 12 days.
Departure from Adri-anople on1. KhAn-i-'Ar6b (caravanseral, two-story, near house of 'Izzat-Aq~)
2. House in Muridiy-yihquarter, near house 2 4. KMniy-i-Amru'lldh (several stories, near
Sultan-Salim Mosque)11 months I. Uz6n-Kupriabout noon. Lawh-i-Ra'is (Tablet 2. KashAnih of Ra'is) was revealed in (arrived this place)
Page 561BAHÁ'Í CALENDAR AND FESTIVALS 559
3. Gallipoli (length of journey from Adrianople to Gallipoli about 4 days) (after a few days' stay sailed before noon in Austrian steamer for
Alexandria, Egypt)4. Madelli (arrived about sunset � left at night) 5. Smyrna (stayed 2 days, left at night) 6. Alexandria (arrived in the morning, transshipped and left at night for Haifa) 7. Port Said (arrived morning, left the same day at night) 8. Jaffa (left at midnight) 9. Haifa (arrived in the morning, landed and after a few hours left on a sailing vessel for 'Akka) F. 'AKKA Arrival on Monday, August 31, A.D.
1 868 � JamAdiyu'1-AvvalArrival of the BTh in Mdh-Kii, MMir1Ayj~n Summer, 1847 Incarceration of the Báb in Chihriq, Adhir b4yj~n April, 1848 Conference of BadashtJune, 1848 Interrogation of the Báb in Tabriz Adhir bayj~n July, 1848 Martyrdom of the BTh in
Tabriz Adhirfrom Kurdistan ... March 19, 1856 Declaration of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh April 22, 1863
Arrival of Bahá'u'lláhIja~iratu'1-Quds of the Bahá'ís of Kampala, Uganda, British East Africa, April, 1952.
Ija4ratu'1-Quds of the Bahá'ís of Paris, France, 1953.
Page 563BAHÁ'Í CALENDAR Departure of Bahá'u'lláh
from Adrianople August 12, 1868in 'Akka August 31, 1868 Death of the Purest Branch
June 23, 1870First public reference to the Faith in Amer ica September 23, 1893 Establishment of the first Bahá'í center in the West February, 1894 Arrival of the first group of Western p11-grims in 'Akka December 10, 1898 Arrival of the Báb's remains in the Holy
Land January 31, 1899Reincarceration of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akka August 20, 1901 Commencement of the construction of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of 'IsiiqTh~d November 28, 1902 Release of 'Abdu'l-Bahá from His incarcera tion September, 1908 Interment of the Báb's remains on Mt. Carmel mel March 21, 1909 Opening of the first American
Bahá'í Convention March 21, 1909 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í departure for Egypt September, 1910 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í arrival in London September 4, 1911 'Abdu'l-Bahá arrival in America April 11, 1912 Laying of the cornerstone of the Masliri-qu'1-Adhk~r in Wilmette, IlL, by 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Bah4 May 1, 1912Commencement of the construction of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Wilmette, Illinois
December, 192028, 1921 Verdict of the Muhammadan Court in Egypt pronouncing the Faith to be an independent religion May 10, 1925 Martha Root's first interview with Queen Marie of Rumania ... January 30, 1926 Resolution of the Council of the League of Nations upholding the claim of the Ba-h~'i community to the House of B aM'-u'11~h in Baghdad March 4, 1929 Passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf July, 1932 Inception of the First
American Seven-YearCompletion of exterior ornamentation of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Wilmette, Illinois 1943 Centenary celebration of the Founding of the Bahá'í Faith and opening of first All-American
Bahá'í ConventionCompletion of Arcade and Parapet of the Shrine of the B6t on Mt. Carmel
July 9, 1950Completion of interior ornamentation of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Wilmette, Illinois
October, 1952Inauguration of the Centenary Celebrations of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Prophetic
Mission October, 1952in Wilmette, Illinois May 1, 1953 Public dedicationMay 2, 1953
All-America Bahá'í IntercontinentalTeaching Conference, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., and the inauguration of the
Ten-Year International715, 1953 Completion of the construction of the Shrine of the Báb
October, 1953(Compiled by the National Bahá'í Youth Committee of the United States)
INTRODUCTIONB AHA'I Youth the world over have been very busy carrying on extensive studying, teaching, and administrative work.
The reports of the different countries during the years 106108 of the Bahá'í era show the important role the youth have come to play in the present Baha world. The youth have pioneered in many countries. They have been the mainstay of some communities. They have served on Local Spiritual Assemblies, as well as on many national committees.
Shoghi Effendi has said in one of his letters (through his secretary), "The youth today must show forth a greater maturity than any previous generation, for they are called upon to pass through perhaps the gravest crisis in the history of the world, and they must meet their destiny with faith, steadfastness, assurance and poise."
The reports of a number of the Bahá'í Youth Committees around the world give evidence that the Baha youth everywhere are maturing.
And although the youth have become more and more active in shouldering adult work, they have not neglected the youth work. No, the Bahá'í young people have also carried on their own activities. They have persisted in spite of programs of austerity, in spite of restrictions in some localities, and have redoubled their efforts to carry out the different plans of the Guardian.
In The Advent of DivineJustice (p. 58), Shoghi Effendi has given this message to the Bahá'í Youth: "No greater demonstration can be given to the peoples of both continents of the youthful vitality and the vibrant * Tbe period covered is roughly 19491952 (Bahá'í Years 106108, inclusive).
Bahá'í Youth on reaching the age 21 years became voting members and assume responsibilities with adults in the Bahá'í Community. The report of the National Youth Committee of the United States is given on pages 586596.
power animating the life, and the institutions of the nascent Faith of Bahá'u'lláh than an intelligent, persistent, and effective participation of the Baha Youth, of every race, nationality, and class, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá'í activity.
� I hope, and indeed pray, that such a participation may not only redound to the glory, the power, and the prestige of the Faith, but may also react so powerfully on the spiritual lives, and galvanize to such an extent the energies of the youthful members of the Bahá'í community, as to empower them to display, in a fuller measure, their inherent capacities, and to unfold a further stage in their spiritual evolution under the shadow of the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh."Responding to these inspiring words, the Bahá'í Youth continue to spread their glorious Message, and to work for their wonderful Faith, and prepare themselves to be of greater service as the adult membership of a New World Order.
GREAT BRITAINDuring the years 1950 to 1952, following the completion of the Six-Year Plan, the key words of all Bahá'í activity were "con-solidation" and "austerity." We soon discovered that the task of consolidation was as demanding as that of initial teaching, and called for mature minds and a new kind of patience.
The new maturity of the community was demonstrated by the lowering of the youth age limit from 30 to 25 years. Now we officially adopt the sober responsibilities of age five years sooner than before. We find youth serving on local spiritual assemblies in many towns and making valuable contributions in the pioneering and teaching field.
Strict austerity has limited the number of National Youth Committee meetings and local youth activities.
In 1950, World Youth Daywas celebrated by local devotionals inaugurating a special youth fund for contri-562
Page 565butions to the Shrine of the Báb. Youth were asked to donate money they might otherwise have spent if a national youth gathering had been arranged.
In 1951 the publication of the Bahá'í Youth Bulletin was suspended for austerity reasons, but, at the same time, we saw an exciting new development in the appointment of a National Youth
Committee for Scotland.The youth activities during the Summer Schools of 1950 and 1951 reached their height when an entire day's program of teaching, entertainment and the presentation of different aspects of Baha life was carried out successfully for both Bahá'ís and non-Bah&is.
This year's Youth Committeehas tried to consult and organize largely by correspondence. Its activities include the encouragement of isolated youth, single youth members in adult communities, and the support of the work of local youth committees. In some communities all the youth serve on the local spiritual assemblies, and they have decided against the formation of a local youth committee for the present. But London, Bournemouth, Birmingham and Newcastle have active Youth Committees meeting regularly and making extremely useful contacts with associations and non-Bah6A communities which are sympathetic to our principles.
Plans for the future include a youth conference in Nottingham to be held over the coming Naw-Riiz for all the
British Baha'is. Fourof Britain's youth served as pioneers to Africa in the six-year plan.
The youth of today are the pioneers and administrators of tomorrow!
GERMANYThe German Youth celebrated World Youth Day in the city of Heidelberg.
Arriving on bicycles, by train and on buses, over fifty young friends came to participate in this sixth postwar
World Youth Day. Thespecific topic was: "World Peace, Our Obligation."
ITALYThe Bahá'í Faith, since the year 1947, has found hearty response in Italy among young people. So in the course of time a Youth Committee was formed, the basic work of which consists in attracting interested young people to our Faith.
Despite general difficulties in presenting religious topics, other than Catholic, in Italy, the number of young declared believers is slowly but steadily increasing. Especially in the year 1951 the Youth Committee attracted some young elements to the Cause in Rome. In the communities of Florence and Naples a number of young people were deeply interested in the Message.
There are also youth working on the following committees appointed by our Assemblies: Translation, Feasts, and Book Sale.
Two of us are even members of the Spiritual Assemblies of Rome and Naples.
Our committee was often visited by friends coming from abroad � from Persia, America, Luxembourg, Switzerland.
Personal acquaintance strengthened the already solid ties of Bahá'í brotherhood and fellowship. Among our dear guests we mention, with a special feeling of gratitude for the spiritual inspiration they gave us, Jindra Mynarov~t,
Rustam Paym~n, MasoudRepresentatives of our committee took part in the European Teaching Conferences of Brussels, Copenhagen and Scheveningen, visiting with the local youth committees.
Of special importance to us was the visit of Mr. Ted Cardell, who passed through Rome on his way to pioneer in Africa. He met with members of our committee who, deeply moved by his inspiring Bahá'í enthusiasm, went to bid him farewell at his departure, expressing to him once more their Baha love and their wishes for great spiritual success.
The celebration of some Feasts and Festivities � such as the Day of the Covenant and World Religion Day � was entrusted to the Youth Committee. Our youth explained on those occasions to numerous audiences the religious value and meaning of the Manifestation of Bahá'u'lláh.
The hopes of young people in general are, of course, very high, even if their practical achievements sometimes fall short of their hopes. But we are sure that "older" Bahá'ís will apply also to our shortcomings these words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: "There are imperfections in every human being, and you will always become unhappy if you look towards the people themselves.
But if you look towards God you will love them."Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Maywood, Illinois, incorporated June 11, 1951.
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Fresno, California, incorporated February 20, 1953.
Page 567Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of San Diego, California, incorporated April 29, 1953.
A!Spiritual Assemffiy of the Bahá'ís of Sacramento, California, incorporated April 9, 1954. (One member had died.)
Page 568continued the work it started last year, extending the range of cultural activities and youth studies with illuminating and outstanding results.
Social activities were carried out on a larger scale, including parties held at the homes of the friends.
To these parties nonBahá'ís were invited to enable them to get some idea about the Bahá'í community.
This resulted in narrowing the gulf between Bahá'ís and nonBahA'is. Some Bahá'í studies were included, besides fun, in the program of these parties.
The committee, in cooperation with the National Spiritual Assembly, carried out several projects for the Faith, such as, the pioneering project in central Africa.
This project was carded on simultaneously by theof Persia, India, the United States and the British Isles. The pioneering project in Libya and Algiers, also the Five-Year Plan for Egypt and Sfld~n, are still being worked out.
The committee published several religious documents and some valuable studies on the Faith.
The National Youth Committee, with the support of local committees, made regulations for the approaching summer school. The National Youth Committee planned for symposiums on pioneering which were held by all the local committees. These symposiums explained the pioneering project. A booklet on the African project was discussed.
A registration book was prepared for youth to record their ages, occupations, aims, and qualifications for pioneering. This registration book was intended to enable the committee to select the persons to be recommended for pioneering.
National Youth Day, in which all the Local committees of Egypt assisted, was celebrated on December 23, 1951.
Its subject was "TheInternational Youth Day, which was celebrated on the 25th of March, 1951, was very successful. It was thoroughly planned by the National Youth Committee under the supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly. Important personalities were invited to this International Youth Day, including writers, journalists and other broadminded people. A film of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar was shown, and at the close of the sym posium the guests were invited to an elegant banquet.
PERSIAhave enjoyed real cooperation while performing their duties.
In the following report some of the Bahá'í youth activities for the years 106107 are outlined.
With the help of the youth, forty-two new Bahá'í youth centers have been established. At present there are 207 committees and thirteen youth groups, totaling 220 Ba1A'i youth centers.
The Bahá'í youth have contributed to the teaching program, but owing to the present restrictions, full results were not obtained in this field.
What the Bahá'í youth have accomplished in pioneering really deserves attention because they have participated notably in the fulfillment of the 45-month pioneering plan.
The number of the Bahá'í youth who have pioneered during the two years exceeds 120. In addition the youth, by means of teaching trips, donations, and cone-spondence, have been in contact with the pioneers. The Persian
National Youth Committeestrove by every means possible to encourage youth to pioneer � with the result that classes were opened for the teaching of arts and for the guidance of candidates.
Reducing the number of illiterates was an important project during the two years. Classes were held in which friends of all ages participated. The Bahá'í youth contributed by providing funds and by sending teachers to the
Baha centers. As aresult of the project a number of youth have been taught to read and write. We can now state that in several centers there are no Baha illiterates.
Despite difficulties experienced in this field and the lack of facilities at hand, we hope with the new plans and the help of the Almighty, better results can be obtained with the view to completely dispelling illiteracy from the Ba1A'i community.
The teaching of children and youth has been undertaken by the youth in all the centers.
The following classes were held: 1. Classes for children.
2. Classes in the Bahá'í Writings in which Bahá'í Laws, principles, administrative order, history and other subjects were taught.
Page 569Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Glendale, California, incorporated April 29, 1954.
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Tucson, Arizona, incorporated January 21, 1954.
Page 570Spiritual Asembly of the Bahá'ís of Oak Park, Illinois, incorporated February 16, 1954.
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nashville, Tennessee, incorporated April 13, 1954.
Page 571Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Greenwich, Connecticut, incorporated April 23, 1954.
Page 5723. Classes for increasing general knowledge � scientific and literary conferences, discussion classes, speech and reading, Arabic and English, fine arts classes, and summer school classes were held for the youth.
As usual the Bahá'í youth have traveled to many Bahá'í centers, especially during the summer time.
They have profited from this opportunity to visit the Bahá'í pioneers. They have met and worked with other Bahá'í youth.
More than 170 Bahayouths have gone on teaching trips during those two years.
Youth clubs have been established in more than twenty centers. In some places
More than 5,000 Bahá'íyouths attended the Bahá'í symposium which was held on Sunday the 6th of Sbahru'1-Mulk, Year 106 (February 12, 1950), in more than eighty places in Persia.
The program included Ruljiyyih Khi-num's article, a speech on "The Future World under the Bahá'í Faith," music, and other activities.
During the symposium contributions were given for the pioneering plan.
On the suggestion of the Persian National Youth Committee and with the approval of the National Youth of America, the Symposium of the Year 107 was held on Sunday, 5th of Shahru'1-BahA (March 25, 1950), to Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Reno, Nevada, incorporated April 20, 1954.
these clubs were developed as social centers for the Baha youth.
The Bahá'í youth of Persia have succeeded in issuing publications in more than seventeen places.
Some of the publications are in the form of wall bulletins. A hang Badi (The New Melody) is a national bulletin which has been published for five years and has 1,200 subscribers.
Libraries are often established and supervised by the youth. At present the youth have libraries in more than seventy places. Twenty-three libraries have been inaugurated by the Bahá'í youth in the past two years.
In addition, the youth have strengthened the libraries by giving hooks and money, and have encouraged Baha youth by every means possible to use those libraries and benefit from them.
commemorate 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í trip from East to West.
The fourth Persian Bahá'íYouth Convention was held in Shahru'1-Kalim&t, Year 106, eighteen delegates participating, and the fifth Convention was held with nineteen delegates and six members of the
National Youth Committee.The following messages from the Guardian were in reply to the Convention's cables: "Assure participants fourth youth conference ardent loving prayers success deliberations befitting discharge sacred responsibilities.
Shoghi.""Appreciate message youth convention supplicating bountiful blessing.
Shoghi."and 107, fifty-seven Bahá'í youth conferences were held in twenty Bahá'í centers. The delegates of
Page 573Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Surat, India, incorporated March 24, 1951.
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Jalna, Hyderabad (Deccan), India, incorporated 1951.
Page 574Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kamarhati, India, incorporated September 7, 1950.
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Mysore, India, incorporated September 25, 1950.
Page 575the National Youth Committee attended twenty of these conferences. Two regional conferences were held during these years.
Exhibitions of fine arts were held in six Bahá'í centers during the two-year period.
INDIA, PAKISTSN AND BURMAhave continued to function: one in India, one in P~kist~n, and one in Burma, in addition to the National Youth Committee at the center.
The function of these Regional Committees included: (1) holding the Summer large extent due to the sacrifices of a number of young believers. In addition to assisting in the establishment of new Assemblies, youth are the mainstay of many local Assemblies, several of which, particularly on the west coast, are constituted entirely of youth.
Youth from various centers gathered together and went on a teaching trip to South India. They toured most of the major cities and traversed nearly 3,000 miles, visiting new centers, making contacts, giving the Message to various people and also encouraging pioneers who had for a long time been isolated from the rest of the corn-Spiritual Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Singapore, incorporated July 28, 1952.
Schools in their respective regions, (2) encouraging the youth to acquaint themselves more fully with the Bahá'í teachings, (3) consolidation of old youth centers and developing new ones, (4) encouraging youth to undertake short teaching trips in their neighborhood, and (5) holding the annual event of World Youth
Day.Though Bahá'í youth were greatly handicapped in their pioneering efforts owing to the diversity of culture and language in the places where they pioneered, yet many new Assemblies that were formed and many old centers that were strengthened were to a munity and were striving hard to serve the Cause.
A valuable addition to our ranks was the arrival of Rizwanieh Eglirari in Delhi recently. Having stayed for a short while in England assisting the British Bahá'ís in their teaching efforts, she has now pioneered to India to settle in this country. Such instances of devotion, courage and selfless service, we are confident, will go a long way in arousing the youth of this country, and will undoubtedly induce them to follow in her footsteps.
The eleventh Summer Schoolsession was held in India from October 1624, 1950 in the cool and salubrious climate of Panch-gani, 5,000 feet above sea level. Regular
Page 576Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Montevideo, Uruguay, incorporated 1952.
classes commenced on the 17th, the average number of youth attending being eighty. Three teachers were able to attend, namely Mr. Yazdani of Ti~hit, Prof. Pritam Singh and Mr. N. A. Khavari.
The school was specially fortunate in having Mr. Yazdani of Persia.
Not often is there the opportunity of hearing one so learned and so eloquent.
On October 24, Panchganicelebrated United Nations Day and Mr. Yazdani, as the Bahá'í speaker, gave an illuminating address which was very effective. Mr. F. Tirandazi conducted the session as the Principal.
Sunday February 25 was celebrated as World Youth Day. The theme was "Now � a Cycle of Peace," as suggested by the National Youth Committee of the
United States. Meetingswere held at Agra, Bombay, Delhi, Hyderabad (Deccan), Panch-gani, Poona and Sholapur. Several of the meetings were held at hotel auditoriums and prominent citizens were invited. in some cities, meetings for Bahá'í youth were held in the morning, while public functions, with non-Bahá'í youth invited to take part, were held in the evening.
The programs were varied with Bahá'í talks, technicolor films of the Baha Centenary and the Bahá'í Temple at Wilmette, Illinois, singing of children, quizzes, and refreshments.
Pdkistdn Regionof P4kistTh kept close liaison with the National Spiritual
Assembly, the NationalYouth Committee, the Local Assembly at Karachi and the Regional Youth Committee of India. Throughout the year, the Committee remained in correspondence with most of the youth centers in Pttkist6.n, urging them to be active towards a single goal, namely teaching, and acquainting them with the news sent to them from other parts.
This Committee also assisted the Assembly at Karachi in the organization of the Summer School.
The Summer School session in P~kist~n was held October 1828, 1950.
Owing to the floods in the Punjab, the attendance from the provinces was small. The early morning prayers created a spiritual atmosphere
Page 577First Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of Tripoli, Libya, formed April 21, 1954.
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of G5teberg, Sweden, formed April 21, 1953.
Page 578which will live long in the hearts of those present.
The students showed a remarkable devotion to learning the subjects, which were: (1) History of Buddhism, (2) Twelve
Bahá'í Principles, (3)Day Programs were conducted in Hyderabad (Sind), Karachi and Quetta. The daily papers announced the meetings at which Bahá'í youth were the speakers.
Ceylon RegionIn the infant center of Ceylon, the youth are the mainstay of the community.
They are engaged mainly in propagating the Cause and many of them have pioneered to virgin territories to establish the banner of the Cause. The officers of the Colombo Assembly are all youth. First to accept the Cause in Ceylon was a young man, Anver Cadir, who abandoned an influential position with a local political party and accepted the
Cause.Bahá'í youth in Colombo held regular meetings at the Baha center.
A two-year plan was passed by the committee to organize and form Bahá'í youth committees in other parts of the Island. Study classes were held once a week by the Study Circle Corn-mittee. Baha literature was sent to friends with whom the Baha youth were in contact.
In celebration of World Youth Day a public meeting was held by the Bahá'í youth of Colombo in the City Light Hall. Youth and members of the Colombo Spiritual Assembly delivered lectures in English and Tamil on the subject, "Now � a
Cycle of Peace." Verygood publicity was given by the press before and after the meeting.
Burma Regionall the Bahá'í youth participated, speaking on different topics of the Cause.
As the majority of the members speak Burmese, lectures were delivered in Burmese. Everyone was anxious to widen his knowledge of the history and teachings of the Cause and to try his utmost to speak in public too.
The Bahá'í youth planned a very elaborate program for World Youth Day and celebrated it successfully. Talks were given in Burmese, English and Urdu on such subjects as Universal Peace, Unity,
True Happiness. Beforethe meeting, a group photograph of the Bahá'í youth of Rangoon was taken.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALANDThe publication of the Youth Letter has continued on a quarterly basis.
As in previous years we have endeavored where possible to continue the Youth Letter along lines calculated to keep local groups in touch with each other, to provide a series of Baha and non-B ah6i articles, and, finally, to keep abreast of international news that would prove of interest to youth.
This year we have published articles on youth by senior Baha'is, thus giving to youth the benefit of our more experienced writers.
We have at all times kept the Youth Letter for general appeal, thus stimulating not only Bahá'í Youth interest, but the interest of our many non-Bahá'í readers also.
A pleasing aspect of the year's activity has been the very large part youth pLayed at the recent Summer School. The youth were responsible for providing both speakers and entertainment at many public functions held by local spiritual assemblies of the Bahá'ís throughout Australia and New Zealand.
A general survey of the National Youth picture reveals active youth groups in Adelaide, Melbourne, Yerrinbool, Sydney, Brisbane, Toowoomba, Wollongong, and Perth. There are isolated Baha Youth in various other centers of Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.
The most outstanding event of the Bahá'í Year 108 is the formation of a
Regional Youth Committeeof New Zealand. This Committee has done good work and has already commenced a quarterly newsletter. Though our numbers are very small, the youth of Australia and New Zealand are doing much work on various local and national committees.
The National Public RelationsCommittee is mainly composed of youth this year. The chairman of the New South
Wales Regional TeachingIn every field the youth are active. Two members of this year's National Youth Committee have gone to Leeton, a "goal" town, as pioneer settlers.
In order to keep contact, the National Youth Committee meetings are alternated, one being held
Page 579First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Porto, Portugal, formed April, 1952.
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of The Hague, Netherlands, 19521953.
Page 580British Borneo's first Bahá'í Spiritual Assembly, in Kuching, Sarawak.
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa.
Page 581at Leeton and the next at National Headquarters in Sydney. The secretary attends all meetings.
The annual Bahá'í SummerSchool was held early in January. The National Youth Committee conducted the afternoon classes for the youth. Naturally many adults attended too. The first week the subject of the class was "A Teaching Manual," and the second week the subject was "Instruments of the Orchestra," a musical appreciation class.
SOUTH AMERICA(elected ApriL 1951) appointed the first National Bahá'í Youth Committee, consisting of four active youth members and six consulting members.
None of the active members had ever had any experience in this field of work � only enthusiasm to serve to the best of his ability.
For the first time a census was begun of the Bahá'í
Youth of South America.At the suggestion of the National Bahá'í Youth Committee, the youth in Valparaiso and Lima organized local groups. A set of bylaws was made up for social and cultur2d clubs organized by Bahá'í youth groups with non-BaM'is. These clubs will help inquirers to come in contact with Bahá'ís and learn about their very high standards, philosophy and ideals.
A monthly bulletin has been published since July, 1951 with inspirational artides; suggestions for organizing Bahá'í youth groups; models for Bahá'í youth meetings; and beautiful messages received from many National Bahá'í Youth Committees, which showed the readers the very strong bond of love and unity among the Bahá'ís of the world. The National
Bahá'í Youth Committeehopes to guide and organize isolated Bahá'í youths in this territory and to help them attract the attention of other young people toward this glorious way through the bulletin.
The committee has exchanged correspondence with as many Bahá'í communities as possible, trying to help isolated Bahá'ís directly, and giving them advice and enthusiasm to work for the Faith.
We know that by the will of God, with more experience, the National Bahá'í Youth
Committee for South Americawill be able to issue a better Youth Bulletin, and help the youth of its territory in a more efficient way.
Sdo PauloEver since there has existed an Assembly in Sao Paulo, Brazil, there has existed some youth activity. The pioneering family who first settled there in 1947 had an ideal setup, for they had two Bahá'í youth, a boy and a girl.
The youth activity was not begun by making a special effort to organize but was an outgrowth of cooperation to establish a new community. From the beginning weekly meetings were held to attract peo-pie. We, the two youth, invited our friends who in turn brought their friends. The adults of the community invited their friends and everyone gathered together each week to discuss the teachings, and hear lectures which were always in English and translated in Portuguese for the first several years.
Maybe many came to hear English, but they came, until weekly attendance became close to forty, filling to capacity the home of the pioneers, which was the Bahá'í center.
We were then forced to divide the meetings and have the younger people who spoke English come another evening. In this way we learned how to conduct classes and activities, for we had the youth who would always come and we had to plan something for them. These meetings attracted many young people, mostly Europeans who knew English. Some were seeking for some intellectual activity, some for faith in the future and a solution to problems, some just friendship.
The Second World Warbrought about these needs and our Faith offered food to these thirsty souls.
As time went on we felt the need for recreation along with the purely intellectual discussions, and, as a means to attract new youth, monthly tea-dances were held. Before the dancing and refreshments (which our guests contributed) a short discussion was held giving the Bahá'í teachings directly or indirectly on the subject chosen. After over a year of this activity it was felt that these dances had served their purpose and they were discontinued, to be given at longer intervals upon request of the group or whenever attendance at youth meetings slackened.
At the meetings we discussed, chapter by chapter, the New Era, Security for a Failing World by Stanwood
Cobb, and PrescriptionFirst Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Trivandrum, India, 19501951.
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Anchorage Recording
District, Alaska, organized April 21, 1951,First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Zilrich, Switzerland, elected April 21, 1950.
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Basra, South 'Ir~iq, inaugurating the land offered by one of them for the future local UaAratu'I-Quds.
Page 584First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Sheffield, England, 19501951.
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Daidanaw, Burma, 1950195 1.
Page 585Selections from the Bahá'í Writings, talks of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a series on comparative religions and outstanding Christian sects were other studies which were followed.
We feel that the Bahá'í Faith has given very much to many young people in S~o Paulo. It has given a hope; it has given happiness and new friendships; it has shown that a Plan and a Faith exist which are available when we finally awaken spiritually.
In these few years there have been five marriages among young people who have met through the Bahá'í Faith. Two of these had Baha weddings, the last being the wed-ings ings are invited to Bahá'í meetings. This is progressing slowly.
As we recognize the necessity of youth's vitality in a Baha Community, we are striving to find those who are prepared to recognize the Word of God for this Day.
Rio de JaneiroA weekly English class for young students is held in the Rio Bahá'í Center and many a youth has heard and read of the Faith through this activity.
San tos Last year the Holmes family were sent as Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Rosarlo-Santiago, Isabela, Republic of the Philippines.
ding of one of the original founders of the youth group in S~o Paulo, Bob Miessler, who married a lovely Brazilian girl, Myriam Bueno, who has become a radiant Baha'i. This is one more tie between "different" peoples to show that in reality we are all one.
BahaIn Baha there has been very little youth activity other than contacts with organized groups. Owing to conventions and family ties the young people are not yet given enough liberty of thought. We are attempting first to acquaint young people with the local Bahá'í Center by offering free English conversation classes once a week.
From this group those who show ?interest in the Teach-pioneers pioneers to Santos to establish an Assembly there.
Among their new believers is a young Brazilian boy of 23 who is alive with the Teachings and has an amazing understanding of them. He has been studying to become an English teacher and is now begin-fling to study Spanish in order to be a more valuable Bahá'í in South America. He assures us that as long as he lives in Santos the Faith will never die there but will continually progress.
Now that we youth of South America have our National Youth Committee, we are striving to become an organized and cooperative entity. We consist of some twelve countries which speak two different languages,
Spanish and Portuguese.Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Port Said, Egypt, with a woman as member for the first time.
Page 587Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Alexandria, Egypt, with women elected members for the first time, April 21, 1951.
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Cairo, Egypt, with women elected members for the first time, April 21, 1951.
Page 588through correspondence and a oneness of spirit and goals that we can work together. The news from other countries received through their youth bulletins is a great inspiration to us, as each community is so isolated, especially in Brazil, and each has its own particular problems.
We are striv ing now for better understanding and hope soon to be able to form a youth committee for each country which will cooperate with our National Youth Committee, at present located in Colombia. We are sure that "should anyone arise for the triumph of our Cause, him will God render victorious."
REPORT OF INTERNATIONAL BAHÁ'Í YOUTH(Compiled by Dwight A lien) F ROM reports of youth activity in the Bahá'í Faith during the year 19521953, it would seem that youth are gradually becoming more aware of the importance of the role which they, as youth of a New World Order, must play in the establishment of the Faith in the minds and hearts of all men.
Independently, the Bahá'íyouth everywhere continued to deepen themselves in the knowledge of their Faith, preparing to meet the challenges of establishing the New World Order. Before the year was over, the challenge came in more force and potency than could have been imagined � the challenge of a Ten Year
Global Crusade. "Pioneering"became the new byword for all Baha'is, a word with personal meaning. Youth learned that their due was to be the vanguard in situations which would be difficult in terms of physical discomforts; their attitude became one of eager anticipation. A young African boy wrote of a newfound awareness and understanding; a German youth was learning a new meaning for consecration; an American girl, always active in Bahá'í Administration, was finding a deeper appreciation for Bahá'í teaching � all stood ready and waiting to serve. The next year would find these same young people among the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh and far from their native lands, but this was a year of preparation as well as a year of activity.
Therefore, as we review the reports of international Bahá'í activity, we must consider the overwhelming spirit which motivated the conferences, the publications, the teaching activity � to swell the ranks for the Crusade to come. This spirit is perhaps best expressed in a report from the
National"The youth are earnestly aware of the inestimable bounties of God and His manifold blessings that He has chosen them to be the executors of God's Divine Plan. They know they can afford nothing but to consecrate every ounce of their energy, every particle of their efforts for the success of this great Plan." "We know full well that God is on our side and that it is up to us to prove that we are worthy of the generous trust that has been conferred upon us and the honor that was ours when we were placed among the dashing battalions of Bahá'u'lláh's young crusaders in the Spiritual Conquest of the entire Planet."
PUBLICATIONSA number of National Youth Committees publish newsletters or bulletins on a regular basis.
The National Youth Committeesof Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Egypt and the Sfld~n, and Germany issue their bulletins quarterly; the National Youth Committee of India, P6~kistAn and Burma issue a bimonthly bulletin; and the National Youth Committee of the United States issues a monthly bulletin. In addition to the quarterly bulletin issued in Arabic by the Committee of Egypt and the Sfid4n, one issue in English was published.
Several of the National Youth Committees undertook other publishing ventures.
The National Youth Committeeof Egypt and the Siid4n published four booklets in two years, dealing with educational, teaching, and pioneering topics.
The National Youth Committeeof Iran issued two publications for Persian youth in other lands.
Page 589First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Berlin reestablished after World War II, April 21, 1950.
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Cienfuegos, Cuba, elected April 21, 1951.
Page 590A successful youth workshop was held at summer school � a Bahá'í prayer was learned,
Prescription for Livingwas studied and the April issue of the youth letter was edited. The sessions ended with a concert and a barbecue.
The youth also sponsored a work camp, which enthusiasm, filled with new fire and zeal. India, Pdkistdn. The summer schools held in India and in P~kistAn both proved great successes.
In P4kist6n the summer school was held November 212, 1952, at Hyderabad Sind. In India the thirteenth summer school session was held in Panchgani October 1524, 1952. Regular classes had a First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Callao, PerP, elected April 21, 1951.
proved to be so successful, hope was expressed for its development into an annual affair.
Germany. The yearly summer schools brought together Bahá'í and non-B alA'i youth in friendly association.
All studied the Holyand 'Abdu'l-Bahá, offered solutions to the problems of our modern day, took turns in giving a talk, and participated in discussions.
The atmosphere was ideal, for summer schools were held in picturesque Youth Hostels in the most scenic parts of Germany. Thus, in addition to the serious program of study, there were many opportunities for outdoor activities, such as hikes through the woods. At the end of the sessions the youth returned home with renewed energy and total average of eighty youth attending the sessions.
They took keen interest in the discussions at the Youth Conference held on October 17 and 18, the main topic for discussion being "Pioneering."
Canada. Youth attended the Ontario Summer School in August, 1952, to consult and coordinate their efforts.
Egypt and Saddn. Thesummer school sessions held in August, 1952, were devoted to a study of the basic Bahá'í literature.
The school was a very successful enterprise in which both the administrative and the social aspects of the Bahá'í Faith were practiced. The youth who attended gained a valuable and rare experience and had an opportunity to increase their knowledge of the Faith.
Page 591was held on the 30th and 31st of October, 1952, at the National $a4ra-tu'1-Quds in Cairo. Youth delegates from all parts of Egypt attended and many vital questions were discussed. Among the most important was the subject of pioneering. Many recommendations were made, and it was encouraging to find that immediate action was taken.
England. The London YouthCommittee on its own initiative decided to hold a youth conference in March. The theme was
"Our Irretrievable Chance."At the conference it was generally felt that they could contribute tremendously toward the promotion and dissemination of the Cause through consecration, initiative, and most important of all, action.
Germany. In considering the need to extend the scope of teaching to gain new believers and contacts, the National Youth Committee realized that national youth gatherings were essential to bring greater results. Therefore, it established four national meetings to be convened each year, for the youth of different towns and cities throughout Germany.
The results have been very successful, and the spirit of cooperation, of love and harmony, of becoming deepened in the Cause has been felt by all who attended.
This has added stimulus to the communities when the youth returned.
The annual autumn meetings, held on a national basis, gave opportunity to discuss the teaching problems which would spread the Cause to more localities in Germany, enlarge the number of Bahá'í youth, and consolidate existing Bahá'í groups.
Much was accomplished in this respect. The autumn sessions were held in Maulbronn during 1951 and in Heilbronn during 1952.
Winter schools held during the last week of December, 1952, and the first days of January, 1953, were at the Youth Hostel of Titisee, in the heart of the Black Forest of Southern Germany, near Freiburg. Meetings were held both day and evening, interspersed with recreational periods.
All the youth participated in one way or another, thereby growing in the spirit of brotherhood, solidarity, companionship, and service to Iran. Twenty youth conferences were held at fifteen centers, eleven of which had National Youth Committee representatives.
The seventh National YouthConvention was held in Tihr6~n the latter part of August, 1952. Representatives from Baha centers and seven National Youth Committee members were present. Consultation was held on guiding and teaching youth and familiarizing them with the procedure and function of youth administration. The total contributions of the youth of Ir4n through their representatives at this convention for the Shrine of the BTh was one hundred and ten thousand rials. In response to a cable sent to the Guardian on the opening day of the convention, the following reply was received: "Supplicating rich blessings high endeavors preserve noble task.
Shoghi."United States. The week of September 27 to October 5, 1952, was set aside as National Bahá'í Youth Week during which the youth were urged to live the lives of pioneers and concentrate upon teaching the Faith. This week was opened with the first of the National Youth Conferences on September 27 and 28, 1952, the theme of which was "Consecration to Teaching." Both the theme and the agenda were inspired by Leroy loas' memorable letter from Haifa. The agenda was designed to provide the youth with a maximum of teaching advice and to bring out the lessons of successful teaching techniques and experiences. National Bahá'í Youth Week was concluded on October 5 with a youth public meeting in all localities where
National Youth Conferenceswere held the weekend before. The topic for this meeting was "Why
We are Baha'is."The second of the National Youth Conferences was held on January 10 and 11, 1953, and "Oneness of Mankind" was chosen as the subject. It was planned to combine a National Youth Conference with a major teaching effort on the part of the participating youth. The agenda included a panel and a public meeting.
The third National YouthChance," focused attention on the urgent needs of the few remaining weeks of the Second Seven Year Plan. The agenda, devised in the form of a series of multi-membered panels so as to afford a maximum of active participation for the attending youth, was dedicated to a complete review of the Divine Plan, and
Page 592First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Agra, India, 1950195 1.
Page 593First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Ichalkaranji, India, 19501951.
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kanpur, India, April 21, 1952.
Page 594The fourth and last National Youth Conference of the year was held during the National Convention period, the theme being "The
Jubilee Year."world, the observance of World Youth Day has become an annual event and affords an opportunity for youth to present their ideas from public platforms about the Faith, The same theme is used wherever there are meetings, whether the language of the discussion be German or Persian, Urdu or
English. "Hope in a TroubledThe Committee invited three speakers to participate, dividing the topic into three parts: "Hope who had been attracted to the Faith. There were public lectures, open discussions, readings from the Holy Writings, and music. This event grows in importance each year, and provides an excellent opportunity to present the world vision of the Faith.
India, Pdkistdn, and Burma. March 25 was observed as World Youth Day.
Each community held two meetings � one exclusively for Bahá'í youth and the other a pub-lie meeting.
At meetings in Sholapur, Bombay, Panch-gani, and Rangoon, pamphlets, programs or other symposium souvenirs were distributed to the non-Bahá'ís attending.
In both Bombay and Rangoon, good press coverage was given to the public meetings. In Karachi about fifty youth attended a meeting to discuss
"Duties and Responsibilitiesof Baha Youth." The chosen theme for this year's observance, "Hope in a First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Florence, Italy, elected April 21, 1951.
of World Government," "Hope of Education," and "Hope of Religion."
Films were also shown.England. The youth committee arranged a symposium of both Baha and non-Bah6N speakers to celebrate the occasion.
Germany. Bahá'í youth from all parts of Germany came to participate in the meeting held in Esslingen.
Many brought friends Troubled World," was covered by lectures in English and Urdu. Meetings were also held in Surat and
Poona.Irdn. The seventeenth World Youth Day was observed March 25, 1953. Reports of this observance were received from fifty-eight centers, listing a combined total of thirty-f our hundred people in attendance, who contributed a total of thirty-two thou
Page 595sand seven hundred and thirty rials for the Shrine of the Báb.
United States. Plans were made for the occasion by the National Youth Committee and were shared with the Bahá'í youth of the world. The Committee had been in correspondence with all National Youth Committees and the youth of other countries and in collaboration with them a manual for World Youth Day was written and distributed to all youth. It consisted of helpful suggestions for holding public meetings, firesides, followup meetings, and preparation of effective publicity. A radio script on the chosen theme was made available.
HOME FRONTIn Australia there are youth in all but one of the provinces, six local Youth Committees, and many isobted youth.
The New Zealand group has had an increase of seven new youth out of a total of twenty-five, indicating the extent of their activity.
Canada. An increased interest in youth was revealed throughout the Canadian Baha community as a whole, and the National Youth Committee answered several inquiries as to how to organize and direct youth firesides and activities in various centers. In Toronto, Hamilton, and St. Catherine the youth groups sponsored many firesides and social outings.
The Ontario Youth Committeesponsored weekly youth firesides at the Toronto center as well as several dances and get-togethers and a conference. Two youth keynoted one session of the Canadian National Bahá'í Convention in April, 1953, and throughout the Dominion, youth participation in regional conferences was prevalent.
The National Youth Committeesponsored a weekend youth forum in Kingston, with delegates attending from various Ontario centers.
Canadian Bahá'í youth on college campuses atand Queen's University in Kingston have held regular firesides. These meetings received good publicity in campus publications.
Egypt and S4ddn. Duringof Egypt and Siid~n has been preparing a course that includes in the study of the Faith, religious, economic, and social subjects. They also guided
Local Youth Corn-mitteesmittees in the study of the basic Bahá'í literature.
The National Youth Committeehoped to increase the number of Local Youth Committees in Egypt and the S6d6n and d goal of four new Local Youth Committees was Eight members of the first
SpiritualAssembly of the Bahá'ís of Tokyo, Japan, 1950195 1.
set. Two were actually established in Egypt and the National Youth Committee hoped to establish the
Local Youth CommitteeEngland. One of the objects of the London Youth Committee has been to coordinate the activities of the youth. Several socials were arranged, both at the Center and in Bahá'í homes. The Committee prepared the devotional program for the Birthday of the BTh, October 9, 1952, at the request of the London Spiritual Assembly. Other programs in which the youth participated were the presentation of a script "The Son of Desire" at a public meeting at the center, and a play given at the 7Naw-Rttz program, March 21, 1953.
Germany and Austria. Thewas in close contact with many youth organizations of different religious affiliations. Bahá'í youth attended their meetings and in this way brought to them an awareness of Bahá'í thought and teaching.
Persian Bahá'í youth studying in Germany have a great influence in promoting the
Faith. Both to Bahá'ísand nonBahA'is, the interaction of Persian and German Bahá'ís is a constant delight.
Page 596were held in Bombay, Poona, and Panchgani. Correspondence was carried on with the National Spiritual Assembly,
Regional Youth Committeeof PAkistan and Burma, youth centers in India, and other National Youth Committees.
The Regional Youth Committeesof P4ki-stAn and Burma met regularly, maintained regular correspondence with the
National Youth Committeeand rendered all possible assistance to the Local Youth Committees.
to encourage and guide the active youth throughout the country was drawn up and sent throughout tr~n.
South America. The Southreported that during 19521953 they have worked hard to make every community realize the tremendous importance of the youth in the Faith; they endeavored to help them get organized and to be active in their own youth groups. It was felt that the most important task was to establish a youth committee in each Bahá'í community to insure the commu First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Naples, ItMy, elected April 21, 1951.
Many youth took active part in the discharge of the nineteen month plan. Many new assemblies that were formed and many old centers that were strengthened were aided to a large extent by the sacrifices of a number of young Baha'is. In addition to assisting in the establishment of new Assemblies, youth are the mainstay in many Local Spiritual Assemblies, and several Assemblies, particularly on the west coast, are constituted entirely of youth over voting age.
Ircin. The National YouthCommittee of Trim was in contact with over two hundred Local Youth Committees and youth groups inside IrAn; with the eleven National Youth Committees of the world; and with the Bahá'í International Bureau at Geneva, both by correspondence and by the exchange of periodicals.
During the year twenty-four representatives visited thirty-six centers to meet, stimulate and report to the Youth. A plan nity's future. During the year several groups were organized and, although small at present, are full of promise for the future. Groups are located in Lima, Peru; Bogot6, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Osorno,
Chile; Quilpue, Chile;The Committee prepared a booklet of statutes for social culture clubs, based on Bahá'í principles and administration in which, even if the Bahá'í Faith is not mentioned because of prevailing restrictions, more youth will become familiar with the Bahá'í way of life, principles, and spiritual ideals. The booklet received the approval of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South America, and has been distributed to all communities which have asked for it. United States. At its first meeting, the National Youth Committee arranged a Jubilee Calendar of youth activities for the year
Page 597First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Jakarta, Indonesia, elected April 21, 1954.
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kampala, Uganda, British East Africa, formed April 21, 1952.
Page 598First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Woiflialden, Switzerland, elected April 21, 1950.
19521953, setting dates and subjects for four Youth Conferences and the topic for World Youth Day on March 25, 1953.
The dates and subjects were chosen with special regard to the unique features of the Jubilee and Holy
Year.met with the American National Teaching Committee, and as a result of consultation new avenues of cooperation were discovered. The National Teaching Committee supplied the National Youth Committee with a list of all the goal cities and communities in the United States, and the Youth Committee in turn wrote a personal letter to every youth residing in or around those areas informing them of the significance of Bahá'í activity in their locality and asking them to contact their respective
Regional Teaching Committeesand cooperate fully with them. The goals and plans of the American National Teaching Committee have been given prominent publicity in the National
Youth Bulletin.was also in constant touch with the Area Youth Committees which gave active cooperation in planning and executing youth activities.
Other undertakings of the National Youth Committee included on-the-spot coverage of the Intercontinental Conferences for the Youth Bulletin; sending of individual letters of welcome to new Bahá'í youth; the sale of two thousand copies of the youth-prepared pamphlet,
"New Horizons of Unity";the mimeographing and distribution of an outline for the preparation of youth for enrollment in the Faith; and the compilation of a list, broken down geographically, of African students in the United States. This list was made available to all interested Local
Spiritual Assemblies.In the past two years four Bahá'í youth entered the pioneering field.
They settled in Libya and since their arrival have served the Faith well, setting an example of sacrifice and devotion. They have led the way for other pioneers who will come during the course of the World Crusade.
Many of the youth who are preparing to pioneer are still at universities and colleges but the coming two years will witness a flow of pioneers to the allotted territories.
Germany. The youth of Germany look toward the Ten-Year Crusade with determination and assurance, confident they will help both in the spreading of the Faith at home and abroad.
India, Pdkistdn, and Burma.Three youth from India and PAkist6n have pioneered to Africa.
Page 599IN THE spring of 1947 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada was accredited to United Nations as a national nongovernmental organization qualified to be represented at United
Nations Conferencesthen existing were recognized collectively as an international non-govern-mental organization under the title of "The Ba1A'i
International Community."and Australia and New Zealand. To these eight bodies have since been added the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of Canada, of Central America and of South
America. Each NationalSpiritual Assembly in its application established the National Assembly of the United States as its representative in relation to United
Nations.A significant action was taken in July, 1947, when the United Nations Special Committee in Palestine addressed a letter to Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, as Head of the Bahá'í Faith resident in the Bahá'í World Center at Haifa, requesting an expression of the Bahá'í attitude on the future of Palestine.
In his reply, Shoghi Effendi made it clear that "Our aim is the establishment of universal peace in the world and our desire to see justice prevail in every domain of human society, including the domain of poi-itics."
The Guardian also pointed out his concern that "the fact be recognized by whoever exercises sovereignty over Haifa and 'Akka, that within this area exists the spiritual and administrative center of a world Faith, and that the independence of that Faith, its right to manage its international affairs from this source, the rights of Bahá'ís from any and every country of the globe to visit it as pilgrims (enjoying the same privilege in this respect as Jews,
Mus-urns and Christiansdo in regard to visiting Jerusalem) be acknowledged and permanently safeguarded."
With this communication the Guardian enclosed a summary of the history and teachings of the Bahá'í Faith which the Bahá'ís of the United States reprinted and distributed widely.
In addition to participation in a number of United Nations regional and International conferences, four Bahá'í documents have been formally submitted:
"A Bahá'í Declarationof Human Obligations and Rights," 1947; "A Bahá'í Statement on the Rights of Women," 1947; and "The Work of
Bahá'ís in PromotionOn November 9, 1949, a letter was addressed to United Nations explaining the Bahá'í concept of worship, in connection with the effort of United Nations to formulate a method of worship acceptable for use in its future prayer building.
On May 9, 1947, the Guardian wrote through his secretary to explain why he was encouraging Bahá'í association with United Nations: "He feels that the friends should bear in mind that the primary reason that he is encouraging Baha association with the United Nations is to give the Cause due publicity as an agency working for and firmly believing in the unification of the human family and permanent peace, and not because he believes that we are at present in a position to shape or influence directly the course of human affairs!
Also, he believes this association will afford the believers an opportunity of contacting prominent and progressive-minded people from different countries and calling the Faith and its principles to their attention. We should associate ourselves in every way with all movements of UN which are in accordance with our principles and objectives; but we should not seek to take the initiative or focus a glare of publicity and public attention on a very wide scale upon ourselves which might prove vcry detrimental to our own interests.
He considered, for instance, the 'Baha Declaration of
Human Obliga-597tiGris and Rights' appropriate and believes this type of action to be wise and suitable." Other references in words of the Guardian include the following.
From cablegram dated April 16, 1948, addressed to the National Convention of the Bahá'ís of the United States: "Recognition extended to the Faith by United Nations as an international nongovernmental body, enabling appointment of accredited representatives to United Nations conferences is heralding world recognition for a universal proclamation of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh."
From cable of April 26, 1948, a passage included recognition by United Nations as one of the achievements of the American Bahá'í Community, "whose spokesmen are securing recognition of the institutions of Bahá'u'lláh's rising world order in the United Nations." From letter dated May 18, 1948: "The recognition given your Assembly (as representative of the other National Spiritual Assemblies) by UNO as a nongovernmental body entitled to send representatives to various UNO conferences marks an important step forward in the struggle of our beloved Faith to receive in the eyes of the world its just due, and be recognized as an independent World Religion.
Indeed, this step should have a favorable reaction on the progress of the Cause everywhere, especially in those parts of the world were it is still persecuted, belittled, or scorned, particularly in the East."
All NonGovernmental Organizations make contact with United Nations through its Department of Public Information, section for NonGovernmental
Organizations.The status of the nongovernmental organization has been defined by the Section for NonGovernmental Organizations in a letter written to the Baha United Nations
Committee:Information does not accredit organizations, but accredits the person nominated by an organization as an observer.
This system is similar to the accreditization of newspaper correspondents, which does not give acereditization to the paper, but to the man. Of course, the ac-creditization of the observer or the correspondent is dependent upon the standing of the organization or paper.
This may seem a fine line, but it is specifically designed to avoid the impression that we give status to organization as such. The only way in which an organization can receive status from the United Nations is through having been granted consultative status by the Economic and
Social Council."This definition of the Bahá'í relationship to United Nations is important.
In referring to that relationship in public talks or publicity, the correct statement to make is: Bahá'í observers are accredited from the Baha International Community (or from the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of the United States if reference to the national nongovernmental organization is intended).
In 1947 a United NationsCommittee was appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, and Baha relations with United Nations have been channeled through that committee.
UNITED NATIONS INFORMED OF THE BAHA'!7ITHE letter addressed by the Bahá'í International Community to the Secretary-General of United Nations on November 9, 1949, concerning the Bahá'í concept of worship presented the following statement: Mr. Trygve Lie, Secretary-General
United Nationshave a particular interest in the development by United Nations of a prayer building or center designed to promote the spiritual unity of its representatives and delegates.
Since our community has brought together in one religious fellowship a worldwide body of believers, the question of a common worship reconciling the traditional views and practices of men and women in ninety-four countries, representing more than thirty races, and possessing backgrounds reflecting the influences of all re
Page 601THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND UNITED NATIONS 599
4 t 1*V Thy servants in every land j 4 suffer the diverse religions to I I in harmony. mci/ce of the 1 tiqns q single nOt~0n, 'so they 'may ~ee ecich other as one ~ r fQmiIy, denizens of with May mantnd;ssoc: N a 9 God! Raise the Mnner of the oneness of hwnankind Oh
4$ Cod! Establish the Most GreatN N �P~t ~ 4kv' 7 Prayer Card, issued with compliments of the United Nations Committee of the Bahá'í International Community, 225 Fifth Avenue, New York 10 New York
Page 602vealed faiths, has been for Bahá'ís a matter of supreme and vital importance.
The fact that for such a varied and diverse body the problem of common worship has been completely solved, and the universality of Bahá'í prayer and devotion demonstrated for many years, should make the Bahá'í practice interesting and significant to United Nations.
We therefore respectfully request that the following brief statement on Bahá'í prayer and worship be made available to those concerned with the creation of the prayer building and the conduct of prayer at United Nations sessions.
Fundamentally, the Bahá'ísfeel equal reverence for the founders of all revealed religions.
The Bahá'í teachings recognize that all the Prophets are one in spirit, that all reveal God to mankind as successive manifestations of His will. Their revelation is continuous and progressive.
On this foundation the Bahá'ís of East and West realize and accept the unity of all religions.
Congregational worship among the Bahá'ís consists of the reading of passages from all extant Holy Books, with no ritualistic device, no racial, denominational or nationalistic discrimination.
This worship fosters reverence for all the Prophets of the past, cultivates spiritual unity among participants, and emphasizes the true aim of the religion of God as the unity of the human race.
To demonstrate this new concept the American Bahá'ís are completing their House of Worship on Lake Michigan, near Chicago, in the Village of Wilmette. Over each of its nine entrances is inscribed a text defining a particular approach to the spiritual reality common to mankind. These texts are: � "The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens.
"The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest
Me."My love is My stronghold; he that entereth therein is safe and secure.
"Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner.
"Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent.
"I have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?
"Make mention of Me on My earth that in My heaven I may remember thee.
"0 rich ones on earth!"The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory."
The following brief passage describes the type of public worship which will be conducted in this House of Worship when completed:
"The Bahá'í House of Worshipis not one more religious edifice of denominational character.
It has been built according to a new and higher pattern of worship, wherein persons of all races, nations and creeds may enter the unifying Spirit which emanates from the Word of God. Bahá'í worship includes no sermon, no physical drama, no man-conceived prayer, invocations or conventionalized response.
The Manifestation of God, He alone, has utterance in this holy place."
In the design of the exterior of the House of Worship is symbolized the equality of all revealed faiths through the use of characteristic religious motifs such as the Star of David, the Christian Cross, the ancient (true) Swastika.
With this statement we enclose a copy of an illustrated brochure which deals more fully with the design and function of the Bahá'í
House of Worship. Itis our hope that this solution of the serious problem of a common worship of the God of all mankind � the very heart of world order and peace � may be helpful to United
Nations.THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND UNITED NATIONS 601
OF BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES IN RELATIONHE following outline of Bahá'í participation in United Nations Conferences has been taken largely from material prepared by the United Nations Committee.
Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeh has been the accredited
Bahá'í Internationalof International NonGovernmental Organizations was held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 1721, 1948. The Baha delegates to this Conference were Ugo R. Giachery, Charles Mason Remey and Mildred R. Mottahedeh.
It was the first appearance of the Bahá'í International Community working in conjunction with the other
International NonGovernmentalare brief excerpts from the Report made by the Bahá'í delegates: "So far as we could ascertain our organization represented more countries than any other organizations there present.
It was of course a very happy moment for us when different organizations got up and stated their qualifications for the three offices on the Interim Committee.
We knew that we were not well known in the Congress and that the chances of our being elected were rather slim, however, we felt it advisable to take this opportunity to state our qualifications. This was done by Dr. Giachery who rose and said that the Bahá'í International Community represented ninety-one countries � nine National Assemblies � all races, all nationalities, all confessions and all ages.~~ The Bahá'í delegation made many friends at this Conference and laid the groundwork for future relations with these delegates.
During 1948 the UnitedNations Committee made many friends at the United Nations Headquarters, Lake Success, and invited some of them to a series of fireside meetings at which our beliefs and principles were explained.
In 1949 the is were invited to send delegates to the
State Conference of Kansasfor NonGovernmental Organizations which was held at the
University of Kansas.Campbell. Mrs. Sarah Harris was an observer. The assistance and remarks of our delegates were warmly appreciated, as we heard from some of the officials at the
Conference.was held at Lake Success, N.Y., April 49. The noteworthy feature of this Conference was the unusual character of the Baha delegation.
The delegates were Hilda Yen Male, a Chinese, Amin Ban6ni, a Persian, Matthew Bullock, an American Negro,
Erneric Sala, a Europeanby birth and now a Canadian citizen, and Mildred R. Mottahedeb, an American.
This was the most international of all the delegations and represented five continents.
At this Conference a special Committee was set up by a resolution of the Conference to call National meetings of Non-Govern-mental Organizations in all the member countries of the United Nations.
Mildred R. MottahedeliNations Committee decided to acquaint the official delegates to the General Assembly and the permanent delegates to the United Nations with the Ba1A'i principles. A prayer was printed and sent to the delegates of the
General Assembly Meetingat Lake Success and a warm acknowledgment was received from the Honorable Warren Austin, Chief of the United States Delegation to the United Nations. Copies of the Bahá'í leaflets on "Pattern for Future
Society" and "Industrial Justice"were mailed all the permanent delegates of the United
Nations.of NonGovernmental Organizations was called in Geneva, Switzerland, to which we sent Amin Baha as a delegate. During this Conference, Mr. Ba-n5nf had the opportunity to present the work which is being done by Bahá'í summer schools in the field of human rights.
Page 604Regional Conference of United Nations NonGovernmental Organizations, Yildiz Palace, Istanbul, April 913, 1951.
A United Nations RegionalCon jerence of NonGovernmental Organizations, held in Santiago, Chile, in October, 1949, afforded the first opportunity enjoyed by Latin American Bahá'ís to participate in United Nations activities.
From the report prepared by the Bahá'í delegate, it appears that the Bahá'ís of Chile had received a direct invitation to take part. The local
Assemblies of Santiago, Valparaisoand Vijia del Mar each selected one representative.
Mr. Hugo Arteagabeatia of Valparaiso served as delegate and Miss Ema Cabezas of Vifia del Mar and Mrs. Julia de
Jiminez of Santiagoas observers. These appointments were accepted by the Bahá'í
International CommunityTo make their contribution as effective as possible, the Bahá'í representatives prepared papers on two items of the agenda, that concerning work of nongovernmental organizations for United Nations through press, radio and visual material, and that concerning their work in the field of education.
The Conference approved Baha recommendations expressed in these papers, for example, on the need of establishing a more universal consciousness, and the need to eliminate prejudices rooted in the emotional, irrational nature, in order to make possible the attainment of United Nations aims.
Through this participation the ground was prepared for helpful permanent cooperation with United Nations on the part of Latin American Baha'is.
In October, 1949, a Regionaland Senor Acosta, Uruguay, Sefior Esteban Canales, Chile, Edmund J. Miessler and Muriel Miessler, Brazil.
Two of the recommendations offered by the Baha delegates at this Conference were: "(1) That there be established in each country, and if possible in each city a permanent office of the UNO in which all of the NonGovernmental Organizations would participate and collaborate. The
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity, which is represented in all countries, offers to collaborate
Page 605THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND UNITED NATIONS 603
Bahá'í Delegates to United Nations International Conference of NonGovernmental Organizations, held at Lake Success, New York, April 49, 1949. Left to right: Amin Baha'i, Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeh, Miss Hilda Yen, Matthew Bullock.
in this respect to assist in the great work of the
UNO."(2) That the goals and objects of the UNO be given to children giving them a universal conscience through means of pictures, (telling the stories and adventures of the UNO) in magazines, etc., to prepare the new generations for this so necessary universal consciousness for the establishment of permanent peace and unity."
In 1950 another StateOrganizations was held at the University of Kansas and three Baha delegates were sent: Mr. and Mrs. L. Paul Harris and Mrs.
Esther Klein Cochran.was called in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 2628, 1950. The following excerpts are taken from the report of the delegates: "The conference was held at the Palais des Nations and approximately two hundred delegates represented one hundred and three organizations.
Only three organizations were represented by the full quota of five allowed to each organization and the Bahá'í International Community was among these three. The fact that we had a complete delegation enabled us to participate in the work of all five committees.
The members of our delegation were Bishop Brown (United States), Ugo R. Giachery (Italy), Rafi Y. Motta-hedeli
(United States), AbbasBagdadi (Switzerland), and Mildred R. Mottahedeli (Bahá'í
International Observer).as chairman and Mildred R. Mottahedeh as secretary of our delegation.
"A resolution was drawn up by our Bahá'í delegation and this resolution was adopted and presented to the plenary session where it was warmly received.
It reads as follows: 'In order to surmount the wave of pessimism which threatens the princi
Page 606pies of the United Nations, the NGOs undertake to employ all their resources to create and intensify all over the world a moral atmosphere favourable to the acceptance of these principles.'
"Committee 5 on MiddleBagdadi. This committee had met briefly and adjourned after hearing a report of the Iranian Association for the UN on their seminar on 'reaching on the United Nations which had been given in Teheran this year. The report was given in French, which they do not understand, and was not translated into English as is customary in these conferences.
"The committee reconvened the next day and by this time Mrs. Mottahedeh had finished her work on the Asian committee and joined Abbas Bagdadi.
She asked that Mrs. Taimurtash, the Vice Chairman (and daughter of the former Prime Minister of IrAn) give the translation of the report in English.
She did so and mentioned the successful activities of the United Nations Association of which the Shah is the Honorary President and told of the establishment of the Seminar. The goal of this organization is to serve the peace and various means were used to achieve its purpose, such as films, pamphlets, placards, lectures, radio, etc. Five countries were invited to attend the Seminar, among them India, AfghanistAn and 'Iraq, and various types of people were present.
Mrs. Mottahedeli asked why the invitation had not been extended to the Bahá'ís who have a membership in Tr6n numbering approximately one million and constituting the largest minority there. Mrs. Taimurtash said that the invitation was extended through the radio and press and that, if the Bahá'ís were not present, it was not the fault of those in charge. She further said that there are only three minorities in Iran: the Jews, the Zoroastrians, and the Christians (Armenians and Nestorians) and that Iran treats her minorities well and they are all represented in Parliament.
'We do not consider the Bahá'ís a minority,' she said, 'but look upon them just as ourselves.' Mrs. Mottahedeli responded that an invitation should have been sent to all
UN NonGovernmental OrganizationsMrs. Taimurtash said, 'There are no BTh~'is in Iran.' Mrs. Mottahedeh offered to furnish her with the names of the chairman and the secretary and the address of the headquarters.
Mrs. Taimurtash said that it was a pity this was a meeting of nongovernmental organizations and she could not therefore give the official government attitude on the Baha'is.
"At this point the secretary, Mr. Lawrence of the World Assembly of Youth, asked about the Bahá'í organization and said he had never heard of it. Mrs. Taimur-tash stated that the Baha Faith was merely a sect of Islam, to which Mrs. Mottahedeh quickly responded, 'I will not allow this statement to stand on the record,' and proceeded to give a brief exposition of the Faith. She added that the principles of the Bahá'í Faith were more nearly identical with the principles of the UN than those of any other organization.
The Chairman remarked that it seemed to him this was a private quarrel between two organizations, but Mrs. Mottahedeh assured him it was not, but was a matter of principle.
"At first the members of the committee were annoyed and impatient at what seemed to be a private quarrel but they soon began to grasp that there was more to the matter than appeared on the surface and the majority rushed to the support of the Bahá'í delegation.
When Mrs. Mottahedehinsisted on the resolution being put to a vote Mrs. Taimurtash grew angry and said the Iranian Government does not recognize the Bahá'ís and Mrs. Mottahedeh replied that it did not change the fact of their existence and that they had existed for nearly a century and added that the UN had recognized them as was witnessed by our participation in this conference.
"The discussion of this matter occupied over an hour. The Chairman said that the matter now seemed to him something other than a private difference and he thought the Bahá'ís were right. He suggested strengthening the resolution even further to say that all nongovernmental organizations accredited to the UN should be specifically invited to all national regional UN conferences. The Chairman's amendment and our original resolution were accepted by a strong majority vote.
"When the problems of Afric~t were presented for discussion, Mr. Lawrence (a West African and the secretary of our committee) said that he was very sorry to report that in Africa the minorities are in a very bad state.
He cited no examples in order notTHE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND UNITED NATIONS 605
to touch upon political problems but wished only to mention that the minorities there are treated badly.
He therefore is in full agreement with, and ready to support, the resolution of the Bahá'ís about discrimination."
At these meetings our Baha training shines out and enables us to win many friends.
"At the Geneva conference this training was deeply evident. Numerous people spoke to us of the outstanding work done by our delegation in each committee. The truth of the matter is that most of the constructive work that was done came from our delegation and this was widely acknowledged.
The fact that we tried to be just, harmonious, constructive, nonpolitical and showed a genuine appreciation of others' efforts soon came to be recognized. We also were far better prepared in discussion and conference technique than the large majority of the delegates and this is, of course, due to our Bahá'í training in committee and convention work."
In 1950 the Nobel Prizewas conferred upon Dr. Ralph J. Bunche for the notable work he did in mediating the questions in Israel. On this occasion the Bahá'ís of Oslo presented him with a congratulatory telegram from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and received a very warm response from him. In 1950 Mr. William B. de Forge was appointed National Observer to the United Nations for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States.
In 1950 a Conference ofinterested in nonscholastic teaching about the United Nations met at Lake Success.
Dr. DavidThe year 1951 was a particularly active one, in which four important Regional Conferences were called. The first of the series took place in Istanbul, Turkey, April 913, and the following are excerpts from the report of the delegates: "The delegation was as follows: Mrs. Rafi Mottahedeli,
International Bahá'íMr. Kamil Abbas, of 'IrAq; Mr. Mo-hamed Mustafa Soliman, of Egypt and S6-d6n; Mr. Mecdi man, of Turkey.
"The Bahá'í Delegationinvited the following Bahá'ís to sit in and listen to the
Conference, as Bahá'íobservers: Mr. Sami Doktoroglu and Miss Ulgan man, of Turkey, and Mrs. Farakhou Samadea, of Iran.
"At 10:30 A.M., the session was opened by His Excellency, the Governor (Vali) of Istanbul.
He welcomed the firstbeing held at Istanbul, and assured them of his best wishes for its success.
Then Prof. Gokdogan of the Teknik University of Istanbul was elected Chairman, upon a suggestion made by Mr. Tewfik Khabil, delegate of the Arab Union of Egypt, and seconded by an Israelite delegate.
"Mr. R. Bokhari, the Director of the United Nations
Department of PublicInformation Center of Cairo, Egypt, was elected Secretary. About Vice-Chairman, as there was no suggestion made, Mn Mecdi man, the Bahá'í Delegate of Turkey, proposed that Mrs. Mottahedeh be the Vice-Chairman and it was seconded and she was consequently elected.
"Upon the opening of the first Committee's session, Miss Sureyya Aga-OgIu, of the University Women's League and a Turkish lawyer, asked the Chairman if some information would be given about the Bahá'í Community, as she did not know anything about it, while she could see that Community represented.
Mr. R. Mottahedek made a very short yet sound presentation of the Faith and its principles, and the statement was satisfactory.
Bahá'í delegates took their actual part in the work of the two Committees and tried to display tact and discretion that attracted all minds and hearts to them. The tact was more striking when Mrs. Mot-tahedeh sincerely and thankfully declined when suggestions were made to have her elected either as the Chairman or the
Vice-Chairman of CommitteeNo. 2, drawing attention to the fact that the two officers should preferably be elected from among the delegations of the Regional countries.
"As the first session of the two Committees was over, delegates and observers of the NonGovernmental Organizations rushed to inquire about the Baha Faith, and a good dissemination of pamphlets was made.
In this circumstance, the Baha delegates felt greatly indebted to the valuable contributions of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'Irtiq for having supplied the delegation with a big quantity of pamphlets.
As a matter of fact, the members of the Bahá'í delegation were occupied
Page 608Bahá'í Representatives and Observers at United Nations
NonGovernmental Organizations Regional Conference for the Middle East, held in Istanbul, Turkey, April 913, 1951, with Dr. Faryar, Director of UN Information Center in TibrAn (extreme right). Photograph taken in front of the Yildiz Palace.
Left to right: Mecdi man, Bahá'í delegate from Turkey; Kamil Abbas, Bahá'í delegate from 'Iraq; Sami Doktoroglu, Bahá'í observer from Turkey; Rafi Mottahedeh, Bahá'í representing Iran; Mrs. Mildred Mottahedeli, Bahá'í International Community delegate and observer; Farakhou Samadea, observer from kin;
Mohamed Mustafa Soleiman, Bahá'í delegate from Egypt and Siid~n;
Dr. Faryar, TihrAn; Ulgan man, Bahá'í observer from Turkey.
Page 609for the entire thirty-minute period with explaining facts about the Faith.
It was not only during this period, but throughout the Conference that the Bahá'ís were steadily besieged by all the reporters of all the leading newspapers, for information about the Faith.
"On April 12, the delegation invited Mr. Daniel Auster, the delegate of the UN Association of Israel, who is also the Mayor of Jerusalem, to lunch at the Park Hotel. It was a very pleasant occasion and we were especially gratified to hear the many complimentary remarks about how much the Bahá'ís are contributing to the beauty of Israel, and the high ideals of the Baha'is. The Mayor was especially pleased at our inviting him, because of the tension created by the presence of both Jews and Arabs at this
Conference. The Jewsfelt that they were more or less standing alone and were delighted to find Bahá'í delegates so friendly, especially since we had Arabs among us. "To return to the report of the committee work, the resolutions were drafted on April 12 and it can honestly be said that the Bahá'ís contributed greatly to the work of these committees, which, in fact, would have produced little results without the Baha delegates. They acted as a coordinating point between all factions and were able by useful resolutions, to assist the future work. In both committees, it could be said that the bulk of the resolutions were the result of Bahá'í suggestions.
"Generally, there was a wide publicity given to the Faith by the press, and Bahá'í delegates were frequently besieged by the reporters. For several days, all the UN Conference news items mentioned the Faith.
"The result was that finally Cumhuriyet (Republic), one of the leading papers in Turkey, wondered in its edition of April 13, as to such a comparatively small minority in the U.S.A. playing a leading part in the Conference work. [Other papers which car1 ned articles concerning Bahá'í participation in the Conference were Hflrriyet
(April 9), Yeni Sabah"We have no doubt that this publicity will have a resounding effect on the teaching work of the
Turkish Bahá'í Community. Lettersand telegrams of congratulations were received from the Turkish Bahá'ís outside side of Istanbul � Gazi-Anteb and Adana � after they had seen the favorable press.
"Of historic significance is the fact that the Bahá'í Delegation was officially received at the reception given by the Governor of Istanbul for the assembled delegates. Also, that the Conference should have been held at the Palace of Sultan 'Abdu'1-Hamid, the archenemy of the Faith; and the Faith mentioned so frequently at the Palace!
"It is also of significance that a National Committee of NonGovernmental Organizations of Turkey was called for a meeting by Prof.
Gokdogan, the Chairmanof the Conference. In that meeting, the Chairman announced that the Bahá'í Community of Turkey is officially recognized by the Department of Public Information of United Nations and it was actually listed among the NonGovernmental Organizations of Turkey, and invited to work with the other The second of the series of Regional Conferences was held on the Island of Bali, in Den Passar, July 29 to August 3, 1951. Of the Bahá'í delegates appointed, Mr. Stanley Bolton, Jr., of Australia and New Zealand, Mr. B. Sohaili of Pakistan, and Capt.
H. Buys of Indonesia were the only delegates able to attend. Mrs. Shirin Fozdar who was representing an Indian organization assisted the Bahá'í delegation greatly through the Conference.
The following excerpts are from their report: "During the course of the meeting, the Committee was interviewed by a reporter from the leading newspaper, which resulted in an article about the Faith appearing in the July 24 issue of the publication A.I.D. This publicity was the first secured for the Faith in Indonesia. The reporter also wrote about the Faith for a news agency in Djakarta and it is possible that the story may have been picked up by other newspapers.
"It is certain that everyone concerned with the Conference has at least heard the word Bahá'í and a majority know a little of principles, history and aims of the
Faith."It was felt that the Bahá'í delegates contributed much to the Conference; made valuable contacts with the Indonesian Officials present, and succeeded in carrying the Message to all those with whom we came in touch.
We feel certain that the contributions of the Bahá'í delegation will lend weight not oniy to the activities of the Baha
Page 610International Community, but also will stimulate Bahá'í activity here in Indonesia itself, which is at present one of the outposts of the
Faith."411, 1951. The delegatets were: Sra. Raquel Frangois de Constante, from Panama; Julio C. Hernandez, from Nicaragua;
ArtemusThe following excerpts are from the report of the delegates to this
Conference:to the unexpected postponement of the Conference from the 4th to the 6th of
August, the Delegationtook advantage of the opportunity to visit the Directors of the two most liberal newspapers, La Flecha and La Notkia, as well as the directors of the newspapers of the Student Federation who are good friends of the Baha'is. As a result of these efforts news of the arrival of the Bahá'í Delegation appeared in the three papers, one with a photograph on the front page; unfortunately, oniy La Razon of the Student Federation published statements on the Teachings.
"The Delegation met every morning to pray. On the next day all went to their respective committees.
Sra. Constante continued attracting attention, especially for being the only woman taking active part in the discussions.
All the newspapers published accounts of the main events of the Conference and the name of the Bahá'í Delegation figured in almost all of them, although generally the names of known national figures were those that were played up visibly.
"Dr. Fusoni [DirectorHe listened with deep interest to explanations of the Faith and asked many questions, stating that he had often heard of the Faith but knew practically nothing of it. He seemed deeply moved by our cooperation and promised to see the Bahá'ís in other places, such as Panama and Mexico.
"In this session Sra.Constante presented a number of recommendations which the Bahá'í Delegation had prepared for the better functioning of future conferences and which were well received. Also, the Teaching Committee approved the recommendation based upon the original Bahá'í recoin-meadation meadation in conjunction with the later ones.
"In the plenary session in the afternoon reports were given of the different agencies of the UN. Dr. Luis Gabuardi of the Chamber of Commerce asked about the Faith, stating that he had been impressed by the manner in which the Bahá'í Delegation had Representatives of the
Baha Internationalof United Nations held in Managua, Nicaragua, August 411, 1951.
Left to right: Artemus Lamb (Costa Rica), Sra.acted and presented their recommendations as well as the universal and 'complete' manner which the Bahá'í Community had worked in other Conferences judging from the former reports. This is another proof of the necessity of always proceeding with care and wisdom, for what we are doing is building a permanent record of our capacity by which thousands of people are going to judge the Faith.
"During the final days many conversations were held with the leaders and most active delegates, about both the work of the United Nations and the Bahá'í Faith, and we believe that we could say in all truth that this Conference has opened a new stage of recognition and of prestige for the Faith in this territory."
Page 611THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND UNITED NATIONS 609
On October 29 � November2, 1951, a Regional Conference of NonGovernmental Organizations was called in Paris and the Bahá'í International Community sent fourteen delegates from ten different countries: Jean Deleuran, Tove Deleuran, Denmark; Dorothy Ferraby,
John Ferraby, British Isles;The following excerpt is taken from their report: "The Ba1A'i delegation is highly gratified to report that Ugo Giachery was nominated by the Department of Public Information for
Chairman of Committeeof United Nations Information in Europe,' and was accepted by the delegates without dissent. As Chairman of one of the four Committees, he became ex officio a member of the Steering Committee for the Conference.
As such, he was presented to the President of theAuriol, and also attended a lunch given by the Cercie de 1'Americain Latin. This appointment was felt both to give publicity to the Faith and to enhance its prestige in the eyes of the delegates."
Since the close of the Conference, we have received clippings of the publicity which the delegates received on their return to their native countries.
Bahá'í participation in these Conferences has brought certain facts to the attention of the delegates of the other
Non-Govern-mental OrganizationsWherever a Conference is called, we usually have well-qualified native Baha to participate in them. This is most unusual, since many of even the largest of the
NonGovernmental Organizationswhose memberships run into the millions send delegates mostly from Western Europe and the United States. Our delegations have been a living proof of the wide spread of our world membership.
Our delegates have also been conspicuous by the training they have received in consultation in their own community affairs.
They have been able to apply this training in a constructive way that has given real assistance to the progress of all these
Conferences.Without exception we have heard nothing but praise for the work that all Bahá'í delegates have done throughout the world.
The work of the Bahá'ístarted very modestly but has grown to large proportions which have repercussions in all parts of the Baha world. We are gradually winning respect in international circles for the principles of the Faith and the character of its followers.
19521954 During the two years 19521954 several conferences were held in different parts of the world with very interesting results.
The Fifth InternationalOrganizations was held at the United Nations Headquarters, October 610, 1952. Our delegates were: Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, Mrs. Hilda Yen Male, Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeli, Mr. Albert Rakovsky, Mr. Manuel Vera; our observers were Mr. William de Forge and Mrs. Hedda Rakovsky.
The Vice-Chairman of WorkingCommittee No. 1 was our Baha representative, Mrs. Hilda Yen Male. It is of interest to quote the following from the report of this
Committee:"Something for the Bahá'ís to look forward to is a world history, to be written from the world point of view, called
'A Cultural and ScientificThis world history is to be in six volumes, to be written by an international group of eminent authorities on the subjects to be covered in this history.
It is roughly estimated that this world history will be completed sometime between 1957 and 1962. On disclosing this item of information by Mr. Carnes, the Right
Reverend Monsignor DonaldA. Mac-lean, delegate from the World Federation of Catholic Universities, attacked the world history for omitting God. Mr. Carnes answered by quoting Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt when she answered attacks on the United Nations as follows: 'The United Nations is doing the work of God without mentioning Him oniy.' Miss Ruth F. Woodsmall, delegate from the International Alliance of Women, said that it depends upon the definition of the word 'culture' whether or not to include religion in defining culture.
Mrs. Hilda Yen Male then attempted to strike a conciliatory note by saying that if the definition did not include religion in a cultural
Page 612and scientific history of mankind, the peo-pies of the world still needed a history book written from a world point of view impartially to help peoples to understand and appreciate one another's cultures, instead of being written from a partial national point of view to perpetuate animosity of the peoples of the nations against one another; and if the definition should include religion, the Bahá'ís would welcome it all the more. The religious history of the world should start right from the beginning and follow through to the very latest religion, which is the Bahá'í World Faith, impartially and truthfully, without the feeling of 'religious nationalism,' for it would be discovered that all religions, stripped of their manmade dogma and creed, are one, because truth is one. Just as there should be internationalism in the political, economic, and social realm, so there should be 'religious internationalism.' Therefore, the Bahá'í International Community wanted to express to Mr. Carnes of UNESCO their endorsement of the writing of this Cultural and Scientific History of
Mankind."The question of Human Rights was extensively discussed at this Committee also, and our delegate called attention to the tremendous amount of work yet to be done in this field. The Genocide Convention came within the scope of the discussion on Human Rights. Our delegate, Mrs. Male, drafted a recommendation, which was proposed and amended by Mr. Barnett Tanner, M.P., delegate from the Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations, and it was adopted by majority vote.
The resolution reads as follows: "in view of the lack of information and the misinformation on much of the work of the United Nations, especially the Convention on Genocide, it is recommended that international NonGovernmental Organizations urge their national branches to make further effort to make known as widely as possible the texts of United Nations Conventions, such as the Convention on Genocide and the Convention on Refugees, etc."
In Working Committee No.2, our delegate, Mr. Manuel Vera, who was the only Latin American delegate during most of the Conference, was able to be extremely useful in the discussion of technical assistance.
Pie is working in theOur delegate to Working Party No. 3 was Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeh. It would be of general interest to note the following from her report: "The Bahá'í delegate proposed the following recommendation:
'NonGovernmental Organizationsshould try to plan some of their conferences in trust and non-self-gov-erning territories.' Our delegate gave the example of our Jubilee Conference which will be held in Kampala.
"The recommendation was amended to read as follows:
'NonGovernmental Organizationsshould try to plan some of their conferences in trust and non-self-governing territories, being sure that there is a firm control of the conference in order not to have it used as a political springboard.' The recommendation was accepted more or less in this form. It is an interesting commentary that the amendment did not occur to the mind of the Bahá'í delegate making the original recommendation because Bahá'ís never have to concern themselves with political questions."
The Bahá'í delegate on Working Party No. 4 was Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh.
The following is quoted from his report: "The Bahá'í delegate pointed out that one should not lose sight of the forest behind individual trees, and that it was not enough to promise people technical assistance or more food in order to win their support. What is needed is a statement of the ideology underlying the United Nations. A movement is strong oniy if its ideas and actions are in tune with the basic forces which shape history.
There, it is necessary to demonstrate to the masses that the UN is an expression of such forces and not merely a political organization created by a number of states for their own special purposes.
"The statement of the Bahá'í delegate was warmly supported by Miss Lie
(Interna-tional Associationof Business and Professional Women, Norway), Mr. McNeill, and Dr. Leitner. The Working Party expressed the desire that a section on ideology be included in its final report to the plenary session.
"The Chairman of the Working Party, Dr. Leitner, asked the Baha delegate to participate in the drafting of the report and to write the section on ideology.
The Bahá'í delegate's draft was unanimously approved at the last session of the Working Party and incorporated into the text of its final report.
Page 613THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND UNITED NATIONS 611
Bahá'í Delegates at the Fourth United Nations International NonGovernmental
Organizations Conference, held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, June 2628, 1950.
Right to left: Dr. Ugo R. Giachery, Mrs. Bishop Brown (observer), Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeh, Rafi Mottahedeli, Abbas Bagdadi.
"This proposal was accepted and brought before the plenary session of the
Conference."It can be said that the contribution of the Bahá'í delegates was positive in that it raised the whole discussion to a higher level, where it was possible to introduce some of the Bahá'í principles in a form acceptable to all."
From March 263 1, 1952, the UN Regional Conference of NonGovernmental Organizations was held in La Paz, Bolivia.
Our delegates were Mr.It would be interesting here to give some of the resolutions which our delegates presented at this conference: "In order that humanity may arrive at a universal understanding, it is necessary to teach adults, as well as the new generations, how to develop a universal mind, and that can be accomplished only by studying the spiritual life of each race, considering that its civilization and progress have been due to the grade of ethics generated by the great spiritual educators of each people.
It is necessary to teach them to venerate and love each one of them equally so that no prejudice may exist among the peoples and that unity of conscience, which alone can bring success to the efforts of the great entity of the United Nations in freeing the world from the horrors of war, may be established. That all problems be considered with a universal, not a nationalistic outlook."
It should be borne in mind that all these Bahá'í delegates who took part in these Conferences in various parts of the world were complete novices.
Yet in every case their training in consultation in Baha community life enabled them to take part in the discussions in such a way as to assist the purpose of the Conference.
All were extremely careful not to take any part in politics and their impartial attitude h~s been noticed at all of these Conferences.
In April, 1952, a Conference oj NonGovernmental Organizations was held in Quito, Ecuador.
Our delegates were Mrs. RoxanaPasquel. Our delegates had numerous opportunities to make constructive contributions during the meetings of the Working Committees and the resolutions which they presented were approved during the final plenary session. Through this
Conference many Latin Americansinterested in international affairs, became acquainted with the principles of the Baha Faith.
Here it would be appropriate to say that we have heard from United Nations personnel that ours has been one of the very few international NonGovernmental Organizations that have been able to send delegates who were native to the region where the Conference was being held. The person at the UN immediately in charge of these Conferences, said "The Bahá'ís have been present at all the Latin American Conferences and have usually been represented by native people of the region. The Bahá'í delegates are always cooperative and constructive and their efforts definitely contribute to the success of our
Latin American Conferences." Thiscomment applies not only to the Conferences held in Latin America, but it is true of the Ba1A'i participation in these
NonGovernmental ConferencesPerhaps the most interesting Regional Conference of all is the one that was held
Bahá'í Delegation (left) at Fifth Conference of International NonGovernmental
Organizations on United Nations Information, held in New York
City, October 610, 1952.THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND UNITED NATIONS 613
Fourth World Congress for World Federal Government, held in Rome, Italy, April 29, 1951.
The three Bahá'í representatives appear in second row, far left (left to right): Prof. Mario Fiorentini, Dr. Ugo R. Giachery, Prof. Alessandro Bausani.
October 2431, 1952, in the Philippines. At this conference our delegates were: Mr. S. H. Koreshi, representing the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, P4kistttn, and Burma; Mr. S. P. Bolton, Jr., representing the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand; Dr. David M. Earl, Headquarters Delegate,
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity; and Mr. K. H. Paym6n, representing the Bahá'ís of Indonesia.
Quoted from the report presented by the delegates is the following excerpt:
'The Bahá'í Delegationwas the largest single delegation at the Conference, and probably influenced the course of the discussion more than any other. It would be no exaggeration to state that our delegation was the leading delegation.
The word Bahá'í became a byword of the Conference and was mentioned on many occasions in committee and plenary sessions and also by the speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Eulogio Perez, in his closing remarks."
In other parts of the world, increased Bahá'í activity in United Nations affairs was reported. The I3ahils of Rio de Janeiro had been cooperating since 1950 with the Organization of NonGovernmental Organizations of Brazil. The quality of their participation was such that in 1953 the Bahá'í Community of Rio de Janeiro was elected to the National Council.
In 1952 and 1953 the Bahá'ís were ably represented at the United Nations
Conferences for NonGovernmentalof European NonGovernmental Organizations was convened in September, 1953, in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity was ably represented by Dr. Ugo R. Giachery.
Dr. Giachery is a veteran of many of these Conferences and is well known and highly respected by the other delegates. Miss Elsa Steinmetz acted as observer.
In November, 1953, a specialin New York. The Bahá'í International Community was represented by Mr. William de Forge.
Page 616Dr. David Earl, Headquarters Delegate of the Bahá'í International Community, being presented to President Quirino of the Republic of the Philippines at reception given for delegates to the NonGovernmental Organizations Conference of United Nations, Manila, October 24, 1952.
NonGovernmental Organizations Conference on Technical Assistance
held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, March 29, 1954.
Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeli, representative of the Bahá'í International Community, is seated third from right.
Page 617THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND UNITED NATIONS 615
In March, 1954, a NonGovernmental OrganizationsAssistance was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Each Organization was permitted only one delegate, and Mrs. Mildred R. Mottahedeh represented the
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity. During the course of this conference our delegate made some suggestions regarding the publicizing of the
United Nations TechnicalAssistance Program and the marketing of handicrafts from the underdeveloped countries. The suggestions were most enthusiastically received by the Technical
Assistance Departmentand the general body of delegates. Many considered it the only worthwhile suggestion developed from the Conference.
Following the Conferenceour delegate was invited by the United Nations to draw up a definite plan containing the suggestions.
This plan was submitted to the heads of various departments at the United Nations and all have given their hearty approval.
Mrs. Mottahecleh was planning to go to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
She asked the Technical Assistance Board whether they would like her to make liaison with the government officials wherever she went, in order to advance the project. This suggestion was met with warm approval and the United Nations issued a letter to Mrs. Mottahedeh describing the plan, in order to facilitate her work.
It would here be interesting to describe the nature of this project. The suggestion was that, under the sponsorship of the United
Nations Technical AssistanceBoard, a series of exhibitions be held at the most important trade fairs throughout the world. These exhibitions were to consist of photographs showing the progress in the fields of health, education, agriculture, nutrition, transportation and development of resources and handicrafts in the underdeveloped countries.
In addition to the photographic exhibits, actual samples of the products were to be displayed to acquaint possible buyers with new potential sources of raw and finished materials. Films on the work done in the developing of these underdeveloped countries were also to be shown.
In this way the splendid solid accomplishments of the Technical Assistance Department of the United Nations would become known to sizable segments of the world's population and new markets could be found for the products of the underdeveloped countries.
This project was undertaken in line with the Bahá'í policy to do anything in the powers of the Bahá'í
International Communityto forward the humanitarian work of the United Nations.
Page 618de Brogue Aus-senac Prof. E. G. Browne, M.A., M.B., Cambridge University
Luther BurbankDr. I. Estlin Carpenter, D.Litt., Manchester College,
OxfordRev. K. T. Chung Rt. Hon. The Earl Curzon of Kedleston Prof. James Darmesteter, Leak des Hautes Etudes,
ParisRev. I. Tyssul Davis, B.A. S. Eitrem, Professor, University of Oslo, Norway Dr. Auguste Forel, University of ZUrich
Prof. Francesco GabrieliProf. Jowett, Oxford University Prof. Dimitry Kazarov,
University of SofiaRev. Frederick W. Oakes H.R.H. Princess Olga of
YugoslaviaRoyal Asiatic Society, Journal of Prof. Dr. Jan Rypka
Viscount Herbert Samuelof Carmel, G.C.B., G.B.E., M.P. Prof. Benoy Kumar Sarkar, M.A., Ph.D. flmile Schreiber, Publicist Prof. Han Prasad Shastri, D.Litt.
Col. Raja Jai PrithviRev. Griffith J. Sparham Sir Ronald Storrs, K.C.M.G., C.B.E.
Ex-Governor William SuizerIndeed a great light came to me with the message of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. It came as all great messages come at an hour of dire grief and inner conflict and distress, so the seed sank deeply.
My youngest daughter finds also great strength and comfort in the teachings of the beloved masters.
We pass on the message from mouth to mouth and all those we give it to see a light suddenly lighting before them and much that was obscure and perplexing becomes simple, luminous and full of hope as never before.
That my open letter was balm to those suffering for the cause, is indeed a great happiness to me, and I take it as a sign that God accepted my humble tribute.
The occasion givell me to be able to express myself publicly, was also His Work � for indeed it was a chain of circumstances of which each link led me unwittingly one step further, till suddenly all was clear before my eyes and I understood why it had been.
Thus does He lead us finally to our ultimate destiny.
Some of those of my caste wonder at and disapprove my courage to step forward pronouncing words not habitual for Crowned Heads to pronounce, but I advance by an inner urge I cannot resist. With bowed head I recognize that I too am but an instrument in greater Hands and rejoice in the knowledge.
Little by little the veil is lifting, grief tore it in two. And grief was also a step leading me ever nearer truth, therefore do I not cry out against grief!
May you and those beneath your guidance be blessed and upheld by the sacred strength of those gone before you.
Kenneth Walker, F.R.C.S., F.I.C.S. Dr. Marshall Wingfield, D .D., Litt.D. Sir Francis Younghusband, K.C.S.I., K.C.LE.
Sir Alfred ZimmernA woman' brought me the other day a Book. I spell it with a capital letter because it is a glorious Book of love and goodness, strength and beauty.
She gave it to me because she had learned I was in grief and sadness and wanted to help. She put it into my hands saying: "You seem to live up to His teachings." And when I opened the Book I saw it was the word of 'Abdu'l-Bahá prophet of love and kindness, and of his father the great teacher of international goodwill and understanding � of a religion which links all creeds.
Their writings are a great cry toward peace, reaching beyond all limits of frontiers, above all dissension about rites and dogmas. It is a religion based upon the inner spirit of God, upon the great, not-to-be-overcome verity that God is love, meaning just that. It teaches that all hatreds, intrigues, suspicions, evil words, all aggressive patriotism even, are outside the one essential law of God, and that special beliefs are hut surface things whereas the heart that beats with divine love knows no tribe nor race.
It is a wondrous Message that Bahá'u'lláh and his son 'Abdu'l-Bahá have given us. They have not set it up aggressively, knowing that the germ of eternal truth which lies at its core cannot but take root and spread.
There is only one great verity in it: Love, the mainspring of every energy, tolerance toward each other, desire of understanding each other, knowing each other, helping each other, forgiving each other.
It is Christ's Messagetaken up anew, in the same words almost, but adapted to the thousand years and more difference that lies between the year one and today. No man could fail to be better because of this Book.
I commend it to you all.If ever the name of Bahá'u'lláh or 'Abdu'l-Bahá comes to your attention, do not put their writings from you. Search out their Books, and let their glorious, peace-bringing, love-creating 1 Miss Martha L. Root. � Editor.
Page 621APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 619
words and lessons sink into your hearts as they have into mine.
One's busy day may seem too full for religion.Or one may have a religion that satisfies. But the teachings of these gentle, wise and kindly men are compatible with all religion, and with no religion.
Seek them, and be the happier.Of course, if you take the stand that creation has no aim, it is easy to dismiss life and death with a shrug and a "that ends it all; nothing comes after."
But how difficult it is so to dismiss the universe, our world, the animal and vegetable world, and man. How clearly one sees a plan in everything.
How unthinkable it is that the miraculous development that has brought man's body, brain and spirit to what it is, should cease. Why should it cease? Why is it not logical that it goes on? Not the body, which is only an instrument, but the invisible spark or fire within the body which makes man one with the wider plan of creation.
My words are lame, and why should I grope for meanings when I can quote from one who has said it so much more plainly, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, whom I know would sanction the use of his words: "The whale physical creation is perishable. Material bodies are composed of atoms.
When these atoms begin to separate, decomposition sets in. Then comes what we call death.
"This composition of atoms which constitutes the body or mortal element of any created being, is temporary. When the power of attraction which holds these atoms together is withdrawn, the body as such ceases to exist.
"With the soul it is different.The soul is not a combination of elements, is not composed of many atoms, is of one indivisible substance and therefore eternal.
"It is entirely out of the order of physical creation; it is immortal!
The soul, being an invisible, indivisible substance, can suffer neither disintegration nor destruction. Therefore there is no reason for its coming to an end.
"Consider the aim of creation: Is it possible that all is created to evolve and de velop through countless ages with merely this small goal in view � a few years of man's life on earth? Is it not unthinkable that this should be the final aim of existence? Does a man cease to exist when he leaves his body?
If his life comes to an end, then all previous evolution is useless.
All has been for nothing.All those eons of evolution for nothing! Can we imagine that creation had no greater aim than this?
"The very existence of man's intelligence proves his immortality. His intelligence is the intermediary between his body and his spirit. When man allows his spirit, through his soul, to enlighten his understanding, then does he contain all creation; because man being the culmination of all that went before, and thus superior to all previous evolutions, contains all the lower already-evolved world within himself. Illumined by the spirit through the instrumentality of the soul, man's radiant intelligence makes him the crowning-point of creation!"
Thus does 'Abdu'l-Bahá explain to us the soul � the most convincing elucidation I know.
(From the Toronto DailyAt first we all conceive of God as something or somebody apart from ourselves. We think He is something or somebody definite, outside of us, whose quality, meaning and so-to-say "personality" we can grasp with our human, finite minds, and express in mere words.
This is not so. We cannot, with our earthly faculties entirely grasp His meaning � no more than we can really understand the meaning of Eternity.
God is certainly not the old Fatherly gentleman with the long beard that in our childhood we saw pictured sitting amongst clouds on the throne of judgment, holding the lightning of vengeance in His hand.
God is something simpler, happier, and yet infinitely more tremendous. God is All, Everything. He is the power behind all beginnings. He is the inexhaustible source of supply, of love, of good, of progress, of achievement.
God is therefore Happiness.His is the voice within us that shows us good and evil.
But mostly we ignore or misunderstand this voice.to come down amongst us upon earth to make clear His word, His real meaning. Therefore the Prophets; therefore Christ, Mi4iammad, Bahá'u'lláh, for man needs from time to time a voice upon earth to bring God to him, to sharpen the realization of the existence of the true God. Those voices sent to us had to become flesh, so that with our earthly ears we should be able to hear and understand.
Those who read their Bible with "peeled eyes" will find in almost every line some revelation.
But it takes long life, suffering or some sudden event to tear all at once the veil from our eyes, so that we can truly see.
Sorrow and sufferings are the surest and also the most common instructors, the straightest channel to God � that is to say, to that inner something within each of us which is God.
Happiness beyond all understanding comes with this revelation that God is within us, if we will but listen to His voice. We need not seek Him in the clouds.
He is the All-Father whence we came and to whom we shall return when, having done with this earthly body, we pass onward.
If I have repeated myself, forgive me. There are so many ways of saying things, but what is important is the truth which lies in all the many ways of expressing it. (From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Monday, September 27, 1926.)
"Lately a great hope has come to me from one, 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
I have found in His and HisMessage of Faith all my yearning for real religion satisfied. If you ever hear of Bahá'ís or of the Baha Movement which is known in America, you will know what that is. What I mean: these Books have strengthened me beyond belief and I am now ready to die any day full of hope. But I pray God not to take me away yet for I still have a lot of work to do."
"The Bahá'í teaching brings peace and understanding.
"It is like a wide embrace gathering together all those who have long searched for words of hope.
"It accepts all great prophets gone before, it destroys no other creeds and leaves all doors open.
"Saddened by the continual strife amongst believers of many confessions and wearied by their intolerance towards each other, I discovered in the Bahá'í teaching the real spirit of Christ so often denied and misunderstood: "Unity instead of strife, hope instead of condemnation, love instead of hate, and a great reassurance for all men."
"The Baha teaching brings peace to the soul and hope to the heart.
"To those in search of assurance the words of the Father are as a fountain in the desert after long wandering." 1934.
"More than ever today when the world is facing such a crisis of bewilderment and unrest, must we stand firm in Faith seeking that which binds together instead of tearing asunder."
"To those searching for light, the Baha Teachings offer a star which will lead them to deeper understanding, to assurance, peace and good will with all men."
1936.H. Phelps' 'Abbas Eflendi, pages xi-xvi; 1903 (rev. 1912) � I have often heard wonder expressed by Christian ministers at the extraordinary success of BThi missionaries, as contrasted with the almost complete failure of their own. "How is it," they say, "that the Christian doctrine, the highest and the noblest which the world has ever known, though supported by all the resources of Western crvi-lization, can only count its converts in Mu-ijammadan lands by twos and threes, while B6iAism can reckon them by thousands?" The answer, to my mind, is plain as the sun at midday.
Western Christianity, save in the rarest cases, is more Western than Christian, more racial than religious; and by dallying with doctrines plainly incompatible with the obvious meaning of its Founder's words,
Page 623APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 621
such as the theories of ''racial supremacy,~~ "imperial destiny," "survival of the fittest," and the like, grows steadily more rather than less material. Did Christ belong to a "domi-nant race," or even to a European or "white race"9 I am not here arguing that the Christian religion is true, but merely that it is in manifest conflict with several other theories of life which practically regulate the conduct of all States and most individuals in the Western world, a world which, on the whole, judges all things, including religions, mainly by material, or to use the more popu-hr term, "practical" standards There is, of course, another factor in the success of the BThi propagandist, as compared with the Christian missionary, in the conversion of Muijammadans to his faith: namely, that the former admits, while the latter rejects, the Divine inspiration of the Qur'an and the prophetic function of
Muliammad. The Christianmissionary must begin by attacking, explicitly or by implication, both these beliefs; too often forgetting that if (as happens but rarely) he succeeds in destroying them, he destroys with them that recognition of former prophetic dispensations (in-cluding the Jewish and the Christian) which Mu1~ammad and the Qur'an proclaim, and converts his Muslim antagonist not to Christianity, but to Scepticism or Atheism. What, indeed, could be more illogical on the part of Christian missionaries to Muhammadan lands than to devote much time and labor to the composition of controversial works which endeavor to prove, in one and the same breath, first, that the Qur'an is a lying imposture, and, secondly, that it bears witness to the truth of Christ's mission, as though any value attached to the testimony of one proved a liar! The BThI (or Baha'i) propagandist, on the other hand, admits that Mubammad was the prophet of God and that the Qur'an is the Word of God, denies nothing but their finality, and does not discredit his own witness when he draws from that source arguments to prove his faith. To the Western observer, however, it is the complete sincerity of the Báb's, their fearless disregard of death and torture undergone for the sake of their religion, their certain conviction as to the truth of their faith, their generally admirable conduct towards mankind and especially towards their fellow believers, which constitute their strongest claim on his attention.
2.H. Phelps' 'Abbas Eflendi, pages viii-x � It was under the influence of this enthusiasm that I penned the Introduction to my translation of the Traveller's
Narrative.This enthusiasm, condoned, if not shared, by many kindly critics and reviewers, exposed me to a somewhat savage attack in the Oxford Magazine, an attack concluding with the assertion that my Introduction displayed "a personal attitude almost inconceivable in a rational European, and a style unpardonable in a university teacher."
(The review in question appeared in the Oxford Magazine of May 25, 1892, page 394: ".
the prominence given to the Báb in this book is an absurd violation of historical perspective; and the translation of the Traveller's Narrative a waste of the powers and opportunities of a Persian
Scholar.")Increasing age and experience (more's the pity!) are apt enough, even without the assistance of the Oxford Magazine, to modify our enthusiasms; but in this case at least time has so far vindicated my judgment against that of my Oxford reviewer that he could scarcely now maintain, as he formerly asserted, that the BThI religion "had affected the least important part of the Muslim world and that not deeply." Every one who is in the slightest degree conversant with the actual state of things [September 27, 1903] in Persia flow recognizes that the number and influence of the BThis in that country is immensely greater than it was fifteen years ago.
A Traveller's Narrative, page 309 � The appearance of such a woman as Qurratu'1-'Ayn is in any country and any age a rare phenomenon, but in such a country as Persia it is a prodigy � nay, almost a miracle. Alike in virtue of her marvelous beauty, her rare intellectual gifts, her fervid eloquence, her fearless devotion and her glorious martyrdom, she stands forth incomparable and immortal amidst her countrywomen. Had the B6]A religion no other claim to greatness, this were sufficient � that it produced a heroine like Qurratu'1-'Ayn.
Page 624Narrative, pages xxxix-xl-� Though I dimly suspected whither I was going and whom I was to behold (for no distinct intimation had been given to me), a second or two elapsed ere, with a throb of wonder and awe, I became definitely conscious that the room was not untenanted. In the corner where the divan met the wall sat a wondrous and venerable figure, crowned with a felt headdress of the kind called hi]
by dervishes (but of unusual height and make), round the base of which was wound a small white turban.
The face of him on whom I gazed I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes seemed to read one's very soul; power and authority sat on that ample brow; while the deep lines on the forehead and face implied an age which the jetblack hair and beard flowing down in indistinguishable luxuriance almost to the waist seemed to belie. No need to ask in whose presence I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain!
A mild, dignified voice bade me be seated, and then continued: "Praise be to God, that thou baa attained! Thou hast come to see a prisoner and an exile. We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; yet they deem us a stirrer up of strife and sedition worthy of bondage and banishment.
That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should he strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled � what harm is there in this? Yet so it shall be; these fruitless stri/es, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come.
Do not you in Europe need this also? is not this that which Christ foretold?
Yet do we see your kings and rulers lavishing their treasures more freely on means for the destruction of the human race than on that which would conduce to the happiness of mankind.
These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must cease, and all men be as one kindred and one family. Let not a man glory in this that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind Such, so far as I can recall them, were the words which, besides many others, I heard from Baha. Let those who read them consider well with themselves whether such doctrines merit death and bonds, and whether the world is more likely to gain or lose by their diffusion.
Introduction to A Traveller'sNarrative, page xxxvi � Seldom have I seen one whose appearance impressed me more. A tall, strongly built man holding himself straight as an arrow, with white turban and raiment, long black locks reaching almost to the shoulder, broad powerful forehead, indicating a strong intellect combined with an unswerving will, eyes keen as a hawk's, and strongly marked but pleasing features � such was my first impression of 'Abbas
Effendi, "The Master" (Aq~)Subsequent conversation with him served oniy to heighten the respect with which his appearance had from the first inspired me. One more eloquent of speech, more ready of argument, more apt of illustration, more intimately acquainted with the sacred books of the Jews, the Christians and the Mutiammadans, could, I should think, be scarcely found even amongst the eloquent, ready, and subtle race to which he belongs. These qualities, combined with a bearing at once majestic and genial, made me cease to wonder at the influence and esteem which he enjoyed even beyond the circle of his father's followers.
About the greatness of this man and his power no one who had seen him could entertain a doubt.
B~ DR. J. ESTLIN CARPENTER, D.LITT.Religions, pages 70, 71 � From that subtle race issues the most remarkable movement which modern Mu-I~amrnadanism has produced. Disciples gathered round him, and the movement was not checked by his arrest, his imprisonment for nearly six years and his final execution in 1850. It, too, claims to be a universal teaching; it has already its noble army
Page 625APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 623
of martyrs and its holy books; has Persia, in the midst of her miseries, given birth to a religion which will go round the world?
B~ THE REV. I. K. CHEYNE, D.LrrT., D.D.of Races and Religions (1914) � There was living quite lately a human being1 of such consummate excellence that many think it is both permissible and inevitable even to identify him mystically with the invisible Godhead.
His2 combination of mildness and power is so rare that we have to place him in a line with supernormal men. We learn that, at great points in his career after he had been in an ecstasy, such radiance of might and majesty streamed from his countenance that none could bear to look upon the effulgence of his glory and beauty.
Nor was it an uncommon occurrence for unbelievers involuntarily to bow down in lowly obeisance on beholding His Holiness.
The gentle spirit of the Báb is surely high up in the cycles of eternity.
Who can fail, as Professor Browne says, to be attracted by him? "His sorrowful and persecuted life; his purity of conduct and youth; his courage and uncomplaining patience under misfortune; his complete self-negation; the dim ideal of a better state of things which can be discerned through the obscure mystic utterances of the Baydn; but most of all, his tragic death, all serve to enlist our sympathies on behalf of the young prophet of Shir~z."
"Ii sentait le besoin d'une r6forme pro-fond h introduire dans les moeurs publiques.
Ii s'est sacrifi~ pour 1'humanitd; pour elle ii a donn6 son corps et son Ame, pour cue ii a subi les privations, les affronts, les injures, la torture Ct le martyre."
(Mons. Nicolas.)If there has been any prophet in recent times, it is to Bahá'u'lláh that we must go. Character is the final judge. Bahá'u'lláh was a man of the highest class � that of prophets. But he was free from the last infirmity of noble minds, and would certainly not have separated himself from others. He would have understood the saying: "Would God all the Lord's people were prophets!"
What he does say, however, is just as fine: "I do not
1 Bahá'u'lláh.desire lordship over others; I desire all men to be even as I am."
The day is not far off when the details of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í missionary journeys will be admitted to be of historical importance. How gentle and wise he was, hundreds could testify from personal knowledge, and I, too, could perhaps say something.
I will only, however, give here the outward framework of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í life, and of his apostolic journeys, with the help of my friend Lutfull6h.
During his stay in London he visited Oxford (where he and his party � of Persians mainly � were the guests of Professor and Mrs. Cheyne), Edinburgh,
Clifton and Wokiag. Itis fitting to notice here that the audience at Oxford, though highly academic, seemed to be deeply interested, and that Dr. Carpenter made an admirable speech.
B~ PROFESSOR ARMINIUSTestimonial to the Religion of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. (Published in Egyptian Gazette, Sept. 24, 1913, by Mrs. I. Stannard.) � I forward this humble petition to the sanctified and holy presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbas, who is the center of knowledge, famous throughout the world, and loved by all mankind. 0 thou noble friend who art conferring guidance upon humanity � May my life be a ransom to thee!
The loving epistle which you have condescended to write to this servant, and the rug which you have forwarded, came safely to hand. The time of the meeting with your Excellency, and the memory of the benediction of your presence, recurred to the memory of this servant, and I am longing for the time when I shall meet you again. Although I have traveled through many countries and cities of 1s16.m, yet have I never met so lofty a character and so exalted a personage as your Excellency, and I can bear witness that it is not possible to find such another. On this account, I am hoping that the ideals and accomplishments of your Excellency may be crowned with success and yield results under all conditions; because behind these ideals and deeds I easily discern the eternal welfare and prosperity of the world of humanity.
This servant, in order to gain firsthand information and experience, entered into the ranks of various religions, that is, outwardly, I became a Jew, Christian,
Muijammadanand Zoroastrian. I discovered that the devotees of these various religions do nothing else but hate and anathematize each other, that all their religions have become the instruments of tyranny and oppression in the hands of rulers and governors, and that they are the causes of the destruction of the world of humanity.
Considering those evil results, every person is forced by necessity to enlist himself on the side of your Excellency, and accept with joy the prospect of a fundamental basis for a universal religion of God, being laid through your efforts.
I have seen the father of your Excellency from afar. I have realized the self-sacrifice and noble courage of his son, and I am lost in admiration.
For the principles and aims of your Excellency, I express the utmost respect and devotion, and if God, the Most High, confers long life, I will be able to serve you under all conditions.
I pray and supplicate this from the depths of my heart.
Your servant,Political Problems of Indian Defense, chapter XI, page 116. (The Revival of BAbjism. ) � When one has been like Sa'id, a great personage, and then a common soldier, and then a prisoner of a Christian feudal chief; when one has worked as a navvy on the fortifications of the Count of Antioch, and wandered back afoot to ShirAz after infinite pain and labor, he may well be disposed to think that nothing that exists is real, or, at least, has any substantial reality worth clinging to. Today the public peace of Persia is no longer subject to such violent perturbations.
At least, as far as we are concerned, the appearances of peace prevail, and few of us care or have occasion to look beyond the appearances. But for the Persians themselves, have the conditions very much changed? Do they not witness one day the sudden rise of this or that favorite of fortune and the next day his sudden fall?
Have they not seen the AtAbak-i-A'zam twice hold sway as the Shah's all-powerful Vazir, and twice hurled down from that pinnacle by a bolt from the blue? How many other ministers and governors have sat for a time on the seats of the mighty and been swept away by some intrigue as sordid as that to which they owed their own exaltation?
And how many in humbler stations have been in the meantime the recipients of their unworthy favors or the victims of their arbitrary oppression?
A village which but yesterday was fairly prosperous is beggared today by some neighboring landlord higher up the valley, who, having duly propitiated those in authority, diverts for the benefit of his own estates the whole of its slender supply of water. The progress of a governor or royal prince, with all his customary retinue of ravenous hangers-on, eats out the countryside through which it passes more effectually than a flight of locusts.
The visitation is as ruinous and as unaccountable.
Is it not the absence of all visible moral correlation of cause and effect in these phenomena of daily life that has gone far to produce the stolid fatalism of the masses, the scoffing skepticism of the more educated classes, and from time to time the revolt of some nobler minds? Of such the most recent and perhaps the noblest of all became the founder of
BAbjism.was not the first, and still less the last, of a long line of martyrs who have testified that even in a country gangrened with corruption and atrophied with indifferentism like Persia, the soul of a nation survives, inarticulate, perhaps, and in a way helpless, but still capable of sudden spasms of vitality.
Chapter XI, page 124 � Sociallyone of the most interesting features of B4biism is the raising of woman to a much higher plane than she is usually admitted to in the East. The B6h himself had no more devoted a disciple than the beautiful and gifted lady, known as Qurratu'1-'Ayn, the "Consolation of the Eyes," who, having shared all the dangers of the first apostolic missions in the north, challenged and suffered death with virile fortitude, as one of the Seven Martyrs of Tihr~n. No memory is more deeply venerated or kindles greater enthusiasm than hers, and the influence which she yielded in her lifetime still inures to her sex.
Page 627APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 625
B~ HARRY CHARLES LUKACHof the East, (Macmillan & Co., London, 1913.) � BahA'iism is now estimated to count more than two million adherents, mostly composed of Persian and Indian Sbi'ihs, but including also many Sunnis from the Turkish Empire and North Africa, and not a few Brahmans, Buddhists, Taoists, Shintoists and Jews.
It possesses even European converts, and has made some headway in the United States.
Of all the religions which have been encountered in the course of this journey � the stagnant pools of Oriental Christianity, the strange survivals of sun-worship, and idolatry tinged with Muijammadanism, the immutable relic of the Sumerians � it is the only one which is alive, which is aggressive, which is extending its frontiers, instead of secluding itself within its ancient haunts. It is a thing which may revivify Isflm, and make great changes on the face of the Asiatic world.
B~ PROFESSOR JOWETT of Oxford Quotation from Heroic Lives, page 305 � Prof.
Jowett of Oxford, Masterof Balliol, the translator of Plato, studied the movement and was so impressed thereby that he said: "The BAbite Bahá'í movement may not impossibly turn out to have the promise of the future." Dr. J. Estlin
Carpenter quotes Prof.Edward Caird, Prof. Jowett's successor as Master of Balliol, as saying, "He thought Wtbiism (as the Bahá'í movement was then called) might prove the most important religious movement since the foundation of Christianity."
Prof. Carpenter himself gives a sketch of the Bahá'í movement in his recent book on Con? parative Religions and asks, "Has Persia, in the midst of her miseries, given birth to a religion that will go around the world?"
(Excerpt from an article by Louise Drake Wright.)When spending the winters of 19067 in Alassio, Italy, I often met the late professor Lewis Campbell, professor of Greek in the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, for many years, who was an eminent pupil of Dr. Benjamin Jowett, late master of Balliol
College and Professorof Greek in the Uni versity of Oxford, also Doctor of Theology of the University of Leyden,
Holland.profound spiritual and intellectual attainments he was highly honored as one who spoke with truthful authority and his noted translations of Greek poetry endeared him to all. From him I first heard of the Bahá'í Revelation, the significance of which had been indelibly impressed upon him by Dr. Jowett's deep convictions concerning it, and I wrote down some very telling sentences which Professor Campbell quoted from Dr. Jowett's words to him.
"This Baha Movement is the greatest light that has come into the world since the time of Jesus Christ. You must watch it and never let it out of your sight. It is too great and too near for this generation to comprehend. The future alone can reveal its import."
B~ ALFRED W. MARTINReligion and the Religion of the Future, pages 8 191 � Inasmuch as a fellowship of faiths is at once the dearest hope and ultimate goal of the Bahá'í movement, it behooves us to take cognizance of it and its mission.
Today this religious movement has a million and more adherents, including people from all parts of the globe and representing a remarkable variety of race, color, class and creed. It has been given literary expression in a veritable library of Asiatic, European, and American works to which additions are annually made as the movement grows and grapples with the great problems that grow out of its cardinal teachings. It has a long roll of martyrs for the cause for which it stands, twenty thousand in Persia alone, proving it to be a movement worth dying for as well as worth living by.
From its inception it has been identified with Bahá'u'lláh, who paid the price of prolonged exile, imprisonment, bodily suffering, and mental anguish for the faith He cherished � a man of imposing personality as revealed in His writings, characterized by intense moral earnestness and profound spirituality, gifted with the selfsame power so conspicuous in the character of Jesus, the power to appreciate people ideally, that is, to see them at the level of their best and
Page 628to make even the lowest types think well of themselves because of potentialities within them to which He pointed, but of which they were wholly unaware; a prophet whose greatest contribution was not any specific doctrine He proclaimed, but an informing spiritual power breathed into the world through the example of His life and thereby quickening souls into new spiritual activity.
Surely a movement of which all this can be said deserves � nay, compels � our respectful recognition and sincere appreciation.
Taking precedence over all else in its gospel is the message of unity in religion.
� It is the crowning glory of the Bahá'í movement that, while deprecating sectarianism in its preaching, it has faithfully practiced what it preached by refraining from becoming itself a sect. its representatives do not attempt to impose any beliefs upon others, whether by argument or bribery; rather do they seek to put beliefs that have illumined their own lives within the reach of those who feel they need illumination.
No, not a sect, not a part of humanity cut off from all the rest, living for itself and aiming to convert all the rest into material for its own growth; no, not that, but a leaven, causing spiritual fermentation in all religions, quickening them with the spirit of catholicity and fraternalism.
Who shall say but that just as the little company of the Mayflower, landing on Plymouth Rock, proved to be the small beginning of a mighty nation, the ideal germ of a democracy which, if true to its principles, shall yet overspread the habitable globe, so the little company of Bahá'ís exiled from their Persian home may yet prove to be the small beginning of the worldwide movement, the ideal germ of democracy in religion, the Universal Church of Mankind?
B~ PROF. JAMES DARMESTETERand Literary Sketch" (translated by G. K. Nariman), and incorporated in Persia and Parsis, Part I, edited by G. K. Nariman.
Published under patronage of the Persian League, Bombay, 1925.
(The MarkerLiterary Series for Persia, No. 2.) � The political reprieve brought about by the Stiffs did not result in the regeneration of thought. But the last century which marks the end of Persia has had its revival and twofold revival, literary and religious. The funeral ceremonies by which Persia celebrates every year for centuries � the fatal day of the 10th of Muijarram, when the son of 'All breathed his last at KarbilA � have developed a popular theater and produced a sincere poetry, dramatic and human, which is worth all the rhetoric of the poets. During the same times an attempt at religious renovation was made, the religion of B4biism. Demoralized for centuries by ten foreign conquests, by the yoke of a composite religion in which she believed just enough to persecute, by the enervating influence of a mystical philosophy which disabled men for action and divested life of all aim and objects, Persia has been making unexpected efforts for the last fifty-five years to remake for herself a virile ideal. BAbiism has little of originality in its dogmas and mythology. Its mystic doctrine takes its rise from $tifism and the old sects of the 'Alludes formed around the dogma of divine incarnation. But the morality it inculcates is a revolution. It has the ethics of the West.
It suppresses lawful impurities which are a great barrier dividing
Is1~m from Christendom.It de-flounces polygamy, the fruitful source of Oriental degeneration. It seeks to reconstitute the family and it elevates man and in elevating him exalts woman up to his level. BThiism, which diffused itself in less than five years from one end of Persia to another, which was bathed in 1852 in the blood of its martyrs, has been silently progressing and propagating itself. If Persia is to be at all regenerate it will be through this new faith.
B~ CHARLES BAuDoUINStudies, Part III, page 131. (Allen & Unwin, London, 1924.) � We Westerners are too apt to imagine that the huge continent of Asia is sleeping as soundly as a mummy. We smile at the vanity of the ancient Hebrews, who believed themselves to be the chosen people.
We are amazed at the intolerance of the Greeks and Romans, who looked upon the members of all races as barbarians.
Nevertheless, we ourselves are like the Hebrews, the Greeks
Page 629APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 627
and the Romans. As Europeans we believed Europe to be the only world that matters, though from time to time we may turn a paternal eye towards America, regarding our offspring in the New World with mingled feelings of condescension and pride.
Nevertheless, the great dataclysm of 1914 is leading some of us to undertake a critical examination of the inviolable dogma that the European nations are the elect. Has there not been of late years a demonstration of the nullity of modern civilization � the nullity which had already been proclaimed by Rousseau, Carlyle, Ruskin, Tolstoy, and Nietzsche? We are now inclined to listen more attentively to whispers from the East. Our self-complacency has been disturbed by such utterances as that of Rabindranath Tagore, who, lecturing at the Imperial University of Tokyo on June 18, 1916, foretold a great future for Asia.
The political civilization of Europe was "carnivorous and cannibalistic in its tendencies." The East was patient, and could afford to wait till the West, "hurry after the expedient," had to halt for the want of breath. "Europe, while busily speeding to her engagements, disdainfully casts her glance from her carriage window at the reaper reaping his harvest in the field, and in her intoxication of speed, cannot but think him as slow and ever receding backwards.
But the speed comes to its end, the engagement loses its meaning, and the hungry heart clamors for food, till at last she comes to the lonely reaper reaping his harvest in the sun. For if the office cannot wait, or the buying and selling, or the craving for excitement � love waits, and beauty, and the wisdom of suffering and the fruits of patient devotion and reverent meekness of simple faith. And thus shall wait the East till her time comes."
Being thus led to turn our eyes towards Asia, we are astonished to find how much we have misunderstood it; and we blush when we realize our previous ignorance of the fact that, towards the middle of the nineteenth century, Asia gave birth to a great religious movement � a movement signalized for its spiritual purity, one which has had thousands of martyrs, one which Tolstoy has described. H. Dreyfus, the French historian of this movement, says that it is not "a new religion," but "religion renewed," and that it provides "the only possible basis for a mutual understanding between religion and free thought."
Aboveall, we are impressed by the fact that, in our own time, such a manifestation can occur, and that the new faith should have undergone a development far more extensive than that undergone in the same space of time nearly two thousand years ago, by budding Christianity.
�At the present time, the majority of the inhabitants of Persia have, to a varying extent, accepted the BThiist faith. In the great towns of Europe, America, and Asia, there are active centers for the propaganda of the liberal ideas and the doctrine of human community, which form the foundations of Bah6Aist teaching.
We shall not grasp the full significance of this tendency antil we pass from the description of BaIA'iism as a theory to that of Bah~'iism as a practice, for the core of religion is not metaphysics, but morality.
The Bah4'iist ethical code is dominated by the law of love taught by Jesus and by all the prophets.
In the thousand and one details of practical life, this law is subject to manifold interpretations. That of HaM'-u'116h is unquestionably one of the most comprehensive of these, one of the most exalted, one of the most satisfactory to the modern mind.
That is why Bahá'u'lláh is a severe critic of the patriotism which plays so large a part in the national life of our day. Love of our native land is legitimate, but this love must not be exclusive. A man should love his country more than he loves his house (this is the dogma held by every patriot); but Bahá'u'lláh adds that he should love the divine world more than he loves his country.
From this standpoint, patriotism is seen to be an intermediate stage on the road of renunciation, an incomplete and hybrid religion, something we have to get beyond. Throughout his life Bahá'u'lláh regarded the ideal universal peace as one of the most important of his aims.
Bahá'u'lláh is in this respect enunciating a novel and fruitful idea.
There is a better way of dealing with social evils than by trying to cure them after they have come to pass. We should try to prevent them by removing their causes, which act on the individual, and especially on the child. Nothing can be more plastic than the nature of the child.
The government's first duty must be to provide for the careful and efficient education of children, remembering that education is something more than instruc
Page 630tion. This will be an enormous step towards the solution of the social problem, and to take such a step wiji be the first task of the Baytu'1-'Ad'1
(House of Justice). "Itis ordained upon every father to rear his son or his daughter by means of the sciences, the arts, and all the commandments, and if any one should neglect to do so, then the members of the council, should the offender be a wealthy man, must levy from him the sum necessary for the education of his child. When the neglectful parent is poor, the cost of the necessary education must be borne by the council, which will provide a refuge for the unfortunate."
The Baytu'1-'Ad'1, likewise, must prepare the way for the establishment of universal peace, doing this by organizing courts of arbitration and by influencing the governments.
Long before the Esperantists had begun their campaign, and more than twenty years before Nicholas II had summoned the first Hague congress, Bahá'u'lláh was insisting on the need for a universal language and courts of arbitration.
He returns to these matters again and again: "Let all the nations become one in faith, and let all men be brothers, in order that the bonds of affection and unity between the Sons of men may be strengthened.
What harm can there be in that? It is going to happen. There will be an end to sterile conflicts, to ruinous wars; and the Great Peace will come!" Such were the words of HaM'-u'llAh in 1890, two years before his death.
While adopting and developing the Christian law of love, Bahá'u'lláh rejected the Christian principle of ascetism. He discountenanced the macerations which were a nightmare of the Middle Ages, and, whose evil effects persist even in our own days.
Bah&iism, then, is an ethical system, a system of social morality. But it would be a mistake to regard Eah6?iist teaching as a collection of abstract rules imposed from without.
Ba1A'iism is permeated with a sane and noble mysticism; nothing could be more firmly rooted in the inner life, more benignly spiritual; nothing could speak more intimately to the soul, in low tones, and as if from within.
Such is the new voice that sounds to us from Asia; such is the new dawn in the East. We should give them our close attention; we should abandon our customary mood of disdainful superiority. Doubtless, Bahá'u'lláh's teaching is not definitive. The Persian prophet does not offer it to us as such. Nor can we Europeans assimilate all of it; for modern science leads us to make certain claims in matters of thought � claims we cannot relinquish, claims we should not try to forego. But even though Bahá'u'lláh's precepts (like those of the Gospels) may not fully satisfy all these intellectual demands, they are rarely in conflict with our scientific outlooks.
If they are to become our own spiritual food, they must be supplemented, they must be relived by the religious spirits of Europe, must be rethought by minds schooled in the Western mode of thought.
But in its existing form, BahA'fist teaching may serve, amid our present chaos, to open for us a road leading to solace and to comfort; may restore our confidence in the spiritual destiny of man. It reveals to us how the human mind is in travail; it gives us an inkling of the fact that the greatest happenings of the day are not the ones we were inclined to regard as the most momentous, not the ones which are making the loudest noise.
B~ DR. HENRY H. Jnssup, D.D.of Religion; Volume II, 13th Day, under Criticism and
Discussion of MissionaryMethods, page 1122. At the Columbian Exposition of 1893, at Chicago. Edited by the Rev. John Henry Barrows, D.D. (The Parliament Publishing Company, Chicago, 1893.) � This, then, is our mission: that we who are made in the image of God should remember that all men are made in God's image. To this divine knowledge we owe all we are, all we hope for. We are rising gradually toward that image, and we owe to our fellowmen to aid them in returning to it in the Glory of God and the Beauty of Holiness.
It is a celestial privilege and with it comes a high responsibility, from which there is no escape.
In the Palace of Baha, or Delight, just outside the Fortress of 'Akka, on the Syrian coast, there died a few months since, a famous Persian sage, the Báb Saint, named Bahá'u'lláh � the "Glory of God" � the head of that vast reform party of Persian Mus-urns, who accept the New Testament as the Word of God and Christ as the Deliverer of
Page 631APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 629
men, who regard all nations as one, and all men as brothers. Three years ago he was visited by a Cambridge scholar and gave utterance to sentiments so noble, so Christlike, that we repeat them as our closing words: "That all nations should become one m faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religions should cease and differences of race be annulled. What harm is there in this? Yet so it shall be. These fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come. Do not you in Europe need this also? Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind."
B~ THE RIGHT HON. THEExcerpts from Persia and the Persian Question, Vol. I, pages 496504.
(London, 1892.) � Beauty and the female sex also lent their consecration to the new creed and the heroism of the lovely but ill-fated poetess of Qazvfn, Zarrin-TAj (Crown of Gold) or Qurratu'1-'Ayn (Solace of the Eyes), who, throwing off the veil, carried the missionary torch far and wide, is one of the most affecting episodes in modern history.
The lowest estimate places the present number of BThis in Persia a half a million. I am disposed to think, from conversations with persons well qualified to judge, that the total is nearer one million.
They are to be found in every walk of life, from the ministers and nobles of the Court to the scavenger or the groom, not the least arena in their activity being the Mussulman priesthood itself. It will have been noticed that the movement was initiated by Siyyids, $ttjfs and Mu11~ts, i.e., persons who, either by descent, from pious inclination, or by profession, were intimately concerned with the Mu1~ammadan creed; and it is among even the professed votaries of the faith that they continue to make their converts.
Quite recently the B&bis have had great success in the camp of another enemy, having secured many proselytes among the Jewish populations of the Persian towns.
I hear that during the past year (1891) they are reported to have made 150 Jewish converts in Tihrctn, 100 in HamadAn, 50 in Kd~b6n, and 75 per cent of the Jews at Gu1p~yigAn.
The two victims, whose names were I:I4ji MirzaIjusayn, have been renamed by the B This: Sult6nu'sh-Shuhad6', or King of Martyrs, and
Mali-biibu'sh-Shuhadtor Beloved of Martyrs � and their naked graves in the cemetery have become places of pilgrimage where many a tear is shed over the fate of the "Martyrs of Isf6ih6n.".
It is these little incidents, protruding from time to time their ugly features, that prove Persia to be not as yet quite redeemed, and that somewhat staggers the tall-talkers about Irtnian civilization.
If one conclusion more than another has been forced upon our notice by the retrospect in which I have indulged, it is that a sublime and murmuring [?] devotion has been inculcated by this new faith, whatever it be.
There is, I believe, but one instance of a BThi having recanted under pressure of menace of suffering, and he reverted to the faith and was executed within two years. Tales of magnificent heroism illumine the bloodstained pages of BThi history. Ignorant and unlettered as many of its votaries are, and have been, they are yet prepared to die for their religion, and fires of Smithfield did not kindle a nobler courage than has met and defied the more refined torture-mongers of Tihr6n. Of no small account, then, must be the tenets of a creed that can awaken in its followers so rare and beautiful a spirit of self-sacrifice.
From the facts that Btibiism in its earliest years found itself in conflict with the civil powers and that an attempt was made by Báb's upon the life of the $Mh, it has been wrongly inferred that the movement was political in origin and Nihilist in character. It does not appear from a study of the writings either of the 13Th or his successor, that there is any foundation for such a suspicion.
The charge of immorality seems to have arisen partly from malignant inventions of opponents, partly from the much greater freedom claimed for women by the Bib, which in the oriental mind is scarcely dissociable from profligacy of conduct. If B~biism continues to grow at its present rate of progression, a time may conceivably come when it will oust Muhammadanism from the field in Persia. Since its recruits are won from the best soldiers of the garrison whom it is attacking, there is greater reason to believe that it may ultimately prevail.
Page 632� The pure and suffering life of the Báb, his ignominious death, the heroism and martyrdom of his followers, will appeal to many others who can find no similar phenomena in the contemporaneous records of IslAm.
B~ SIR FRANCIS YOUNGHIJSBANDcalled himself, was the story of spiritual heroism unsurpassed in Svabhava's experience; and his own adventurous soul was fired by it. That a youth of no social influence and no education should, by the simple power of insight, be able to pierce into the heart of things and see the real truth, and then hold on to it with such firmness of conviction and present it with such suasion that he was able to convince men that he was the Messiah and get them to follow him to death itself, was one of those splendid facts in human history that Svabhava loved to meditate on. This was a true hero whom he would wish to emulate and whose experiences he would profit by. The Báb's passionate sincerity could not be doubted, for he had given his life for his faith. And that there must be something in his message that appealed to men and satisfied their souls, was witnessed to by the fact that thousands gave their lives in his cause and millions now follow him.
If a young man could, in oniy six years of ministry, by the sincerity of his purpose and the attraction of his personality, so inspire rich and poor, cultured and illiterate, alike, with belief in himself and his doctrines that they would remain staunch, though hunted down and without trial sentenced to death, sawn asunder, strangled, shot, blown from guns; and if men of high position and culture in Persia, Turkey and Egypt in numbers to this day adhere to his doctrines, his life must be one of those events in the last hundred years which is really worth study. And that study fortunately has been made by the Frenchman Gobineau and by Professor E. G. Browne, so that we are able to have a faithful representation of its main features.
Thus, in only his thirtieth year, in the year 1850, ended the heroic career of a true God-man. Of the sincerity of his conviction that he was God-appointed, the manner of his death is the amplest possible proof. In the belief that he woukl thereby save others from the error of their present beliefs he willingly sacrificed his life.
And of his power of attaching men to him, the passionate devotion of hundreds and even thousands of men who gave their lives in his cause is convincing testimony.
Lie himself was but "a letter out of that most mighty book, a dewdrop from that limitless ocean."
The One to come would reveal all mysteries and all riddles. This was the humility of true insight.
And it has had its effect.His movement has grown and expanded, and it has yet a great future before it. During his six years of ministry, four of which were spent in captivity, he had permeated all Persia with his ideas.
And since his death the movement has spread to Turkey, Egypt, India and even into Europe and America. His adherents are now numbered by millions.
"The Spirit which pervades them," says Professor Browne, "is such that it cannot fail to affect most powerfully all subject to its influence."
For many years I have been interested in the rise and progress of the Baha Movement. Its roots go deep down into the past and yet it looks far forward into the future. It realizes and preaches the oneness of mankind. And I have noticed how ardently its followers work for the furtherance of peace and for the general welfare of mankind. God must be with them and their success therefore assured.
Excerpt from Modern Mystics.The martyrdom of the Bib took place on July 9, 1850, thirty-one years from the date of his birth.
His body was dead. His spirit lived on. Wusayn had been slain in battle.
Quddtis had been done to death in captivity.The One who shall be made manifest was alive. And in him and in others had been engendered such love for the B~b and what he stood for as, in the words of the chronicler, no eye had ever
Page 633APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHA'11 FAITH 631
beheld nor mortal heart conceived: if branches of every tree were turned into pens, and all the seas into ink, and Earth and Heaven rolled into one parchment, the immensity of that love would still remain untold. This love for the Cause still survived.
And it was sufficient.Bahá'u'lláh was, indeed, despoiled of his possessions, deserted by his friends, driven into exile from his native land and, even in exile, confined to his house. But in him the Cause was still alive � and more than alive, purified and ennobled by the fiery trials through which it had passed.
Under the wise control, and direction of Bahá'u'lláh from his prison-house, first at Baghd~id and then at 'AkU in Syria, there grew what is now known as the Bahá'í Movement which, silently propagating itself, has now spread to Europe and America as well as to India and Egypt, while the bodily remains of the Bib, long secretly guarded, now find a resting place on Mount Carmel in a Tomb-shrine, which is a place of p11-grimage to visitors from all over the world.
FROM AN ARTICLE IN THEat Oxford" � 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed a large and deeply interested audience at Manchester College, Oxford, on December 31.
The Persian leader spoke in his native tongue, Mirza Aljmad Solirab interpreting.
Principal Estlin Carpenterpresided, and introduced the speaker by saying that they owed the honor and pleasure of meeting 'Abdu'l-Bahá to their revered friend, Dr. Cheyne, who was deeply interested in the Bahá'í teaching. The movement sprung up during the middle of the last century in Persia, with the advent of a young Muijammadan who took to himself the title of the B~b (meaning door or gate, through which men could arrive at the knowledge or truth of God), and who commenced teaching in Persia in the year 1844. The purity of his character, the nobility of his words, aroused great enthusiasm. He was, however, subjected to great hostility by the authorities, who secured his arrest and imprisonment, and he was finally executed in 1850. But the movement went on, and the writings of the BTh, which had been copious, were widely read. The movement has been brought into India, Europe, and the United States.
It does not seek to create a new sect, but to inspire all sects with a deep fundamental love. The late Dr. Jowett once said to hinr that he had been so deeply impressed with the teachings and character of the flab that he thought BThiism, as the present movement was then known, might become the greatest religious movement since the birth of Christ.
B~ REV. I. TYSSUL DAVIS, B.A.of Religions. Excerpts from Chapter X: Bah&'iism � The Religion of Reconciliation. (The Lindsey Press, London,
England.)The Bahá'í religion has made its way because it meets the needs of its day.
It fits the larger outlook of our time better than the rigid exclusive older faiths. A characteristic is its unexpected liberality and toleration. It accepts all the great religions as true, and their scriptures as inspired. The Bah&iists bid the followers of these faiths disentangle from the windings of racial, par-ticularist, local prejudice, the vital, immortal thread, the pure gospel of eternal worth, and to apply this essential element of life. Instances are quoted of people being recommended to work within the older faiths, to remain, vitalizing them upon the principles of the new faith. They cannot fear new facts, new truths as the Creed-defenders must.
They believe in a progressive revelation. They admit the cogency of modern criticism and allow that God is in His nature incomprehensible, but is to be known through
His Manifestations. Theirethical ideal is very high and is of the type we Westerners have learnt to designate "Christ-like."
"What does he do to his enemies that he makes them his friends?" was asked concerning the late leader. What astonishes the student is not anything in the ethics or philosophy of this movement, but the extraordinary response its ideal has awakened in such numbers of people, the powerful influence this standard actually exerts on conduct. It is due to four things: (1) It makes a call on the Heroic Element in man. It offers no bribe.
It bids men endure, give up, carry the cross. It calls them to sacrifice, to bear torture, to suffer martyrdom, to brave death.
(2) It offers liberty of thought. Even upon such a vital question as im
Page 634mortality it will not bind opinion. Its atmosphere is one of trust and hope, not of dogmatic chilI.
(3) It is a religion of love. "Notwithstanding the interminable catalogue of extreme and almost incredible sufferings and privations which this heroic band of men and women have endured � more terrible than many martyrdoms � there is not a trace of resentment or bitterness to be observed among them. One would suppose that they were the most fortunate of the people among whom they live, as indeed they do certainly consider themselves, in that they have been permitted to live near their beloved Lord, beside which they count their sufferings as nothing" (Phelps).
Love for the Master, love for the brethren, love for the neighbors, love for the alien, love for all humanity, love for all life, love for God � the old, well-tried way trod once before in Syria, trodden again.
(4) It is a religion in harmony with science. It has here the advantage of being thirteen centuries later than Isl4m. This new dispensation has been tried in the furnace, and has not been found wanting. It has been proved valid by the lives of those who have endured all things on its behalf.
Here is something more appealing than its logic and rational philosophy.
"To the Western observer" (writes Prof. Browne), "it is the complete sincerity of the BAHÁ'ÍS, their fearless disregard of death and torture undergone for the sake of their religion, their certain conviction as to the truth of their faith, their generally admirable conduct toward mankind, especially toward their fellow-believers, which constitute their strongest claim on his attention."
"By their fruits shall ye know them!" We cannot but address to this youthful religion an All Hail!
of welcome. We cannot fail to see in its activity another proof of the living witness in our own day of the working of the sleepless spirit of God in the hearts of men, for He cannot rest, by the necessity of His nature, until He bath made in conscious reality, as in power, the whole world His own.
B~ HERBERT PUTNAMThe dominant impression that survives in my memory of 'Abdu'l-Bahá is that of an extraordinary nobility: physically, in the head so massive yet so finely poised, and the modeling of the features; but spiritually, in the serenity of expression, and the stig-gestion of grave and responsible meditation in the deeper lines of the face. But there was also, in his complexion, carriage, and expression, an assurance of the complete health which is a requisite of a sane judgment. And when, as in a lighter mood, his features relaxed into the playful, the assurance was added of a sense of humor without which there is no true sense of proportion. I have never met any one concerned with the philosophies of life whose judgment might seem so reliable in matters of practical conduct.
My regret is that my meetings with him were so few and that I could not benefit by a lengthier contact with a personality combining a dignity so impressive with human traits so engaging.
I wish that he could be multiplied!Translated from a letter to Mine. Isabel Grinevskaya, Oct. 22, 1903.
I am very glad that Mr. V. V. Stassov has told you of the good impression which your book has made on me, and I thank you for sending it. I have known about the Báb's for a long time, and have always been interested in their teachings.
It seems to me that these teachings, as well as all the rationalistic social religious teachings that have arisen lately out of the original teachings of Bralimanism, Buddhism,
Judaism, Christianityand Is16~m distorted by the priests, have a great future for this very reason that these teachings, discarding all these distorting incrustations that cause division, aspire to unite into one common religion of all mankind.
Therefore, the teachings of the BAHÁ'ÍS, inasmuch as they have rejected the old Mu-1~ammadan superstitions and have not established new superstitions which would divide them from other new superstitions (unfor-tunately something of the kind is noticed in the exposition of the Teachings of the Báb), and inasmuch as they keep to the principal fundamental ideas of brotherhood, equality and love, have a great future before them.
In the Mu1~ammadan religion there has been lately going on an intensive spiritual movement. I know that one such movement
Page 635APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 633
is centered in the French colonies in Africa, and has its name (I do not remember it), and its prophet. Another movement exists in India, Lahore, and also has its prophet and publishes its paper Review of Religions.
Both these religious teachings contain nothing new, neither do they have for their principal object a changing of the outlook of the people and thus do not change the relationship between the people, as is the case with BThiism, though not so much in its theory (Teachings of the Báb) as in the practice of life as far as I know it. I therefore sympathize with BThiism with all my heart inasmuch as it teaches people brotherhood and equality and sacrifice of material life for service to God.
Translated from a letter to Frid ul Khan Wadelbekow.
(This communication is dated 1908 and is found among epistles written to Caucasian Muhammadans.)
In answer to your letter which questions how one should understand the term God. I send you a collection of writings from my literary and reading club, in which some thoughts upon the nature of God are included. In my opinion if we were to free ourselves from all false conceptions of God we should, whether as Christians or Mu-1~ammadans, free ourselves entirely from picturing God as a personality. The conception which then seems to me to be the best for meeting the requirements of reason and heart is found in 4th chap. St. John, 71215 that means God is Love. It therefore follows that God lives in us according to the measure or capacity of each soul to express His nature. This thought is implicit more or less clearly in all religions, and therefore in Muhammadanism.
Concerning your second question upon what awaits us after death I can oniy reply that on dying we return to God from whose Life we came. God, however, being Love we can on going over expect God only.
Concerning your third question, I answer that so far as I understand Isl4m, like all other religions, ]3rahmanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc., it contains great basic truths but that these have become corrupted by superstition, and coarse interpretations and filled with unnecessary legendic descriptions.
I have had much help in my researches to get clear upon Muliammadan ism by a splendid little book "The Sayings of Muhammad."
The teachings of the BANs which come to us out of IslAm have through Bahá'u'lláh's teachings been gradually developed and now present us with the highest and purest form of religious teaching.
B~ DR. EDMUND PRIVATThe practical and spiritual understanding between nations, the realization of the unity of mankind above all barriers of language and religion, the feeling of responsibility towards all who suffer from grief or injustice are only different branches of the same central teaching which gives the Bahá'í Movement such a faithful and active family of workers in so many countries.
La superstition, 1'intol6rance et 1'alliance des pr&res avec Ia tyrannie s6vit en IslAm comme ailleurs.
La grande lumi&e s'assom-brit dans la fum6e t6ndbreuse des formes vides et des passions fanatiques.
Ii y eut plusieurs fois des r6vells et des retours A la puret6 du message.
Chez nous, en Perse, le B~b v6cut en saint et mourut en martyr h Tabriz, ii y a pr~s d'ua si&le.
Bahá'u'lláh lui succ6da, exil6 de Perse, emprisonn6 par le sultan ture. Ii proclamait que 1'unit6 divine exciut les rivalit6s.
La soumission ~ DieuSi la religion les s6-pare, c'est qu'elle a perdu son principal sens.
En plein milieu du dix-neuvi&me si~c1e, an temps des Lamartine et des Victor Hugo, le grand saint musulman fixait aux Baha'i, ses disciples, un programme et des principes plus actuels que jamais.
L'IslAm a toujours proclam6 ce dogme avec majest6, mais les religions luttent en brandissant le nom d'un proph~te ou d'un autre, au lieu d'insister sur leur enseigne-ment, qui pourrait les rapprocher.
Bahá'u'lláh tAchait de faire tomber les parois, non pas Mahom6tisme avant tout, mais vraiment hUm, c'est-~rdire soumission commune A Ia volont6 supr~me.
On ne parlait alors ni d'un Wilson, ni d'un Zamenhof, mais 1'exil6 de Baha mon-trait aux g6n6rations futures le chemin
Page 636Son fils 'Abdu'l-Bahá r6pandit plus tard son message en Europe Ct en Am6rique. M&me un libre penseur comme Auguste Ford s'y rallia de grand coeur.
Le cercie amical des Bahá'í s'~tend autour du niionde.
En Perse, un million d'entre eux sou-tiennent des 6coles, fameuses dans le pays. (From La Sagesse de l'Orient, Chap. III.)
B~ DR. AUGUSTE FORELQue dois-je ajouter aujourd'hui en aoflt 1921, apr~s les horribles guerres qui viennent de mettre 1'humanit6 ~ feu et & sang, tout en d6voilant plus que jamais Ia terrible f6rocit6 de nos passions haineuses? Rien, sinon que nous devons demeurer d'au-tant plus fermes, d'autant plus in6branlables dans notre lutte pour le Bien social.
Nos enfants ne doivent pas se d6courager; us doivent au contraire profiter du chaos mondial actuel pour aider h Ia p6nible organisation sup6rieure et supranationale de L'humanit6, A 1'aide d'une f6d6ration univer-selle des peuples.
En 1920 seulement j'ai appris h con-naitre, ~ Karisruhe, la religion supraconfes-sionnelle et mondiale des Bahá'ís fond6e en Orient par le person Bahá'u'lláh ii y a 70 ans. C'est Ia vraie religion du Bien social humain, sans dogmes, ni pr&res, reliant entre eux tous les hommes sur notre petit globe terrestre.
Je suEs devenu Baha'i.Que cette religion vive et prosp~re pour le bien de 1'humanit6; c'est 1~ mon voeu Ic plus ardent.
B~ GENERAL RENATO PIOLAHaving been engaged all of his life in the training of men, he does this (i.e., write on the subject of religion) more as a "shepherd of a flock" might do, in hope of persuading his friends and brothers to turn spontaneously to the Illumined Path of the
Great Revelation.B~ REV. FREDERICK W. OAKES The Enlightener of human minds in respect to their religious foundations and privileges is of such vital importance that no one is safe who does not stop and listen for its quiet meaning, and is to the mind of men, as the cooling breeze that unseen passes its breath over the varying leaves of a tree. Watch it! And see how uniformly, like an unseen hand passing caressingly over all its leaves: Full of tender care and even in its gifts of love and greater life: Caresses each leaf. Such it is to one who has seated himself amid the flowers and fruit trees in the Garden Beautiful at 'Akka, just within the circle of that Holy and Blessed shrine where rests the Mortal part of the Great Enlightener.
His handiwork is there, you touch the fruit and flowers his hand gave new life's hopes to, and kneeling as I did beside Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Marvelous Manifestation, felt the spirit's immortal love of Him who rests there.
While I could not speak the words of the Litany, my soul knew the wondrous meaning, for every word was a word of the soul's language that speaks of the Eternal love and care of the Eternal Father.
So softly and so living were the reflections from his beautiful personality, that one needed not spoken words to be interpreted.
And this Pilgrim came away renewed and refreshed to such a degree, that the hard bands of formalism were replaced by the freedom of love and light that will ever make that sojourn there the prize memory and the Door of revelation never to be closed again, and never becloud the glorious Truth of Universal Brotherhood. A calm, and glorious influence that claims the heart and whispers to each of the pulsing leaves of the great family in all experiences of life, "Be not afraid.
It is I!" � And makes us long to help all the world to know the meaning of those words spoken by
The Great Revealer, "Letus strive with heart and soul that unity may dwell in the world."
And to catch the greatness of the word ''Strive,~~ in quietness and reflection.
B~ RENWICK J. 0. MILLARJournal, Wick, Scotland I was in Chicago for only some ten days, yet it would take a hundred chapters to describe all the splendid sights and institutions I was privileged to see. No doubt Chicago has more than its fair share of alien gangsters and gunmen, and the despicable
Page 637APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 635
doings of this obnoxious class has badly vitiated its civic life and reputation.
But for all that it is a magnificent city � in many respects probably the finest in America; a city of which its residents have innumerabk reasons to be proud.
Every day indeed was filled up with sightseeing and the enjoyment of lavish hospitality. One day, for example, I was entertained to lunch at the Illinois Athletic Club as the guest of Mr. Robert Black, a prosperous Scot belonging to Wigtonshire, who is in the building trade.
He is an ex-presi-dent of the St. Andrew's Society.
Mr. Falconer and other Scots' friends were present, and they were all exceedingly kind and complimentary.
I could not, in short, have been treated with more distinction if I had been a prominent Minister of State instead of a humble Scottish journalist out on a mission of fraternity and good will.
On the same day II met by appointment Mr. Albert R. Windust with whom I went out to see the Bahá'í Temple which is in course of being erected at Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan.
It is about an hour's ride out on the elevated railway. Only the foundation and basement have so far been constructed, and the work was meanwhile stopped, but, we understand, is now shortly to be resumed. I have no hesitation in saying that when completed this Temple will be one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the world. I had the privilege of an introduction to the architect, a Frenchman, M. Bourgeois, who speaks English fluently. We spent a considerable time with him in his beautiful studio overlooking the Lake, and he did me the honour of showing me the plans of the Temple, drawings which cost him years of toil, and they are far beyond anything I could have imagined in beauty and spiritual significance.
M. Bourgeois, who is well advanced in years, is a genius and mystic � a gentleman of charming personality.
In all that I had the pleasure of seeing in his studio I had a privilege that is given to few.
My signature is in his personal book, which contains the names of some of the great ones of the earth! Mr. Windust, who is a leading Bahá'í in the city, is a quiet and humble man, but fu]1
of fine ideas and ideals.He treated me with the utmost brotherly courtesy. How is it, I kept asking myself, that it should be mine to have all this privilege and honour? There was no reason save that they told me I had touched the chords of truth and sincerity in referring to and reviewing the Bahá'í writings and principles in a few short articles in this Journal. The Temple is designed to represent these principles � universal religion, universal brotherhood, universal education, and the union of science and religion. Meantime the Chicagoans are seemingly indifferent to all its spiritual significance; but some day they will wake up to a realisation of the fact that its symbolism will mark the city as one of destiny in the world.
B~ CHARLES H. PRISKHumanity is the better, the nobler, for the Bahá'í
Faith. It is a Faiththat enriches the soul; that takes from life its dross.
I am prompted thus to express mysdf because of what I have seen, what I have heard, what I have read of the results of the Movement founded by the Reverend Bahá'u'lláh.
Embodied within that Movement is the spirit of world brotherhood; that brotherhood that makes for unity of thought and action.
Though not a member of the Bahá'í Faith, I sense its tremendous potency for good. Ever is it helping to usher in the dawn of the day of "Peace on
Earth Good Will to Men."By the spread of its teachings, the Baha cause is slowly, yet steadily, making the Golden Rule a practical reality.
With the high idealism of Bahá'u'lláh as its guide, the Bahá'í Faith is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Countless are its good works. For example, to the pressing economic problems it gives a new interpretation, a new solution. But above all else it is causing peoples everywhere to realize they are as one, by heart and spirit divinely united.
And so II find joy in paying this little tribute to a cause that is adding to the sweetness, the happiness, the cleanness of life.
It' PROF. HART PRASADMy contact with the Baha Movement and my acquaintance with its teachings, given by Haslrat-i-13ah4'u'I1Th, have filled me with real joy, as II see that this
Movement, so cosmopolitan in its appeal, and so spiritual in its advocacy of Truth, is sure to bring peace and joy to the hearts of millions.
Free from metaphysical subtleties, practical in its outlook, above all sectarianism, and based on God, the substratum of the human soul and the phenomenal world, the Baha Movement carries peace and illumination with it. As long as it is kept free from orthodoxy and church-spirit, and above personalities, it will continue to be a blessing to its fob lowers.
B~ SHRI PUROHIT SWAMII am in entire sympathy with all of the principles that the Baha Movement stands for; there is nothing which is contrary to what I am preaching. I think at this stage of the world such teachings are needed more than anything else.
I find the keynote of the Teachings is the spiritual regeneration of the world.
The world is getting more and more spiritually bankrupt every day, and if it requires anything it requires spiritual life. The Baha Movement stands above all caste, creed and color and is based on pure spiritual unity.
By PROF. HERBERT A. MILLERThe central drive of the Bahá'í Movement is for human unity. It would secure this through unprejudiced search for truth, making religion conform to scientific discovery and insisting that fundamentally all religions are alike. For the coming of universal peace, there is great foresight and wisdom as to details. Among other things there should be a universal language; so the Bahá'ís take a great interest in Esperanto though they do not insist on it as the ultimate language.
No other religious movement has put so much emphasis on the emancipation and education of women. Everyone should work whether rich or poor and poverty should be abolished What will be the course of the Baha Movement no one can prophesy, but I think it is no exaggeration to claim that the program is the finest fruit of the religious contribution of
Asia.Shoghi Effendi's statement cannot be improved upon.
The Bahá'ís have had the soundest position on the race question of any religion. They not only accept the scientific conclusions but they also implement them with spiritual force. This latter is necessary because there is no other way to overcome the emotional element which is basic in the race problem.
"I have not said enough perhaps in the first paragraph.
Please add the following: The task of learning to live together, though different, is the most difficult and the most imperative that the world faces.
The economic problem will be relatively easy in comparison. There are differences in the qualities of cultures but there are no differences in qualities of races that correspond. This being recognized by minorities leads them to resist methods of force to keep them in subordination. There is no solution except cobperation and the granting of self-respect."
B~ VISCOUNT HERBERT SAMUELCARMEL, G.C.B., G.B.E., M.P. In John O'London's Weekly, March 25, 1933.
It is possible indeed to pick out points of fundamental agreement among all creeds. That is the essential purpose of the Bahá'í Religion, the foundation and growth of which is one of the most striking movements that have proceeded from the East in recent generations.
If one were compelled to choose which of the many religious communities of the world was closest to the aim and purpose of this Congress, I think one would be obliged to say that it was the comparatively little known Baha Community.
Other faiths and creeds have to consider, at a Congress like this, in what way they can contribute to the idea of world fellowship.
But the Baha Faith exists almost for the sole purpose of contributing to the fellowship and the unity of mankind.
Other communities may consider how far a particular element of their respective faith
Page 639APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 637
may be regarded as similar to those of other communities, but the Baha Faith exists for the purpose of combining in one synthesis all those elements in the various faiths which are held in common. And that is why I suggest that this Bahá'í community is really more in agreement with the main idea which has led to the summoning of the Congress than any particular one of the great religious communities of the world.
Its origin was in Persia where a mystic prophet, who took the name of the BTh, the "Gate," began a mission among the Persians in the earlier part of the nineteenth century. He collected a considerable number of adherents.
His activities were regarded with apprehension by the Government of Persia of that day. Finally, he and his leading disciples were seized by the forces of the Persian Government and were shot in the year 1850. In spite of the persecution, the movement spread in Persia and in many countries of Isl6sn. He was followed as the head of the Community by the one who has been its principal prophet and exponent, Bahá'u'lláh. He was most active and despite persecution and imprisonment made it his life's mission to spread the creed which he claimed to have received by direct divine revelation. He died in 1892 and was succeeded as the head of the Community by his son, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who was born in 1844. He was living in Haifa, in a simple house, when I went there as High Commissioner in 1920, and I had the privilege of one or two most interesting conversations with him on the principles and methods of the Bahá'í Faith. He died in 1921 and his obsequies were attended by a great concourse of people. I had the honour of representing His Majesty the King on that occasion.
Since that time, the Bahá'í Faith has secured the support of a very large number of communities throughout the world.
At the present time it is estimated that there are about eight hundred Bahá'í communities in various countries. In the United States, near Chicago, a great Temple, now approaching completion, has been erected by American adherents of the Faith, with assistance from elsewhere. Shoghi Effendi, the grandson of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, is now the head of the community.
He came to England and was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, but now lives in Haifa, and is the center of a community which has spread throughout the world.
(Introductory address delivered at the Baha session of the World Congress of Faiths, held in London, July, 1936.)
In 1920 I was appointed as the first High Commissioner for Palestine under the British Mandate, and took an early opportunity of paying a visit to 'Abdu'l-Bahá Effendi at His home in
Haifa.I had for some time been interested in the Bahá'í movement, and felt privileged by the opportunity of making the acquaintance of its Head. I had also an official reason as well as a personal one.
'Abdu'l-Bahá had been persecuted by the Turks.A British regime had now been substituted in Palestine for the Turkish. Toleration and respect for all religions had long been a principle of British rule wherever it extended; and the visit of the High Commissioner was intended to be a sign to the population that the adherents of every creed would be able to feel henceforth that they enjoyed the respect and could count upon the goodwill of the new Government of the land.
I was impressed, as was every visitor, by 'Abdu'l-Bahá alA's dignity, grace and charm. Of moderate stature, His strong features and lofty expression lent to His personality an appearance of majesty. In our conversation He readily explained and discussed the principal tenets of BaWd, answered my inquiries and listened to my comments. I remember vividly that friendly interview of sixteen years ago, in the simple room of the villa, surrounded by gardens, on the sunny hillside of Mount Carmel.
I was glad I had paid my visit so soon, for in 1921 'Abdu'l-Bahá died. I was only able to express my respect for His creed and my regard for His person by coming from the capital to attend His funeral. A great throng had gathered together, sorrowing for His death, but rejoicing also for His life.
B~ REV. K. T. CHUNG (From Rev. K. T. Chung's Preface to the Chinese version of Dr. Esslemont's Book.)
Last summer upon my return from a visit to Japan, I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs.
Page 640Keith Ransom-Keller on the boat. It was Learnt that this lady is a teacher of the Bahá'í Cause, so we conversed upon various subjects of human life very thoroughly.
It was soon found that what the lady imparted to me came from the source of Truth as I have felt inwardly all along, so I at once realized that the Baha Faith can offer numerous and profound benefits to mankind.
My senior, Mr. Y. S. Tsao, is a well-read man. His mental capacity and deep experience are far above the average man. He often said that during this period of our country when old beliefs have lost their hold upon the people, it is absolutely necessary to seek a religion of all-embracing Truth which may exert its powerful influence in saving the situation. For the last ten years, he has investigated indefatigably into the teachings of the Bahá'í Cause. Recently, he has completed his translations of the book on the New Era and showed me a copy of the proof. After carefully reading it, I came to the full realization that the Truth as imparted to me by Mrs. Ransom-Kehier is veritable and unshakable.
This Truth of great value to mankind has been eminently translated by Mr. Tsao and now the Chinese people have the opportunity of reading it, and I cannot but express my profound appreciation for the same.
Should the Truth of the Ba1A'i Faith be widely disseminated among the Chinese people, it will naturally lead to the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. Should everybody again exert his efforts towards the extension of this beneficent influence throughout the world, it will then bring about world peace and the general welfare of humanity.
B~ PROF. DIMITRY KAZAROVtine des causes principales de la situation actuelle du monde c'est que 1'humanit6 est trop en arri&e encore dans son d6veloppe-ment spirituel. Voi1~ pourquoi tout ensei-gnement qui a pour but A 6veiller et fortifier Ia conscience morale et religieuse des horn-mes est d'une importance capitale pour 1'avenir de notre race. La BaM'iisme est un de ces enseignements.
Ii a ce m6rite qu'en portant des principes qui sont communs de toutes les grandes religions (et sp6cialement du christianisme) cherche A les adapter aux conditions de la vie actuelle et h la psy-chologie de 1'homme moderne. En outre ii travail pour 1'union des hommes de toute nationalit6 a race dans urie conscience morale et rehgieuse commune.
Ii n'a pas la prdtention d'&tre autant une religion nou-velle qu'on trait d'union entre les grandes religions existantes: cc sur quoi ii insiste surtout ce n'est pas d'abandoner la religion h laquelle nous appartenons d6ja pour en chercher une autre, mais ~ faire un effort pour trouver dans cette m~me religion 1'61&-melt qui nous unit aux autres et d'en faire la force d&erminante de notre conduite toute enti~re.
Cet 6l6ment (commun h toutes les grandes religions) c'est Ia conscience que nous sommes avant tout des &res spin-tuels, unis dans une m6me entit6 spirituelle dont nous ne sommes que des parties-unies entre elles par 1'attribut fondamental de cette entit6 spirituelle � & savoir l'amour. Manifester, r6aliser, d6velopper chez nous et chez les autres (surtout chez les enfants) cette conscience de notre nature spirituelle et 1'amour comme son attribut fondamental c'est Ia chose principale que nous devons poursuivre avant tout et par toutes les manifestations de notre activit6. C'est en nl&me temps le seul moyen par lequel nous pouvons esp6rer de r6aliser une union tou-jours grandissant parmi les hommes.
Le Ba1A'iisme est un des enseignements qul cherche h 6veiller chez nous � n'importe h queue religion nous appartenons � juste-ment cette conscience de notre nature spin-tuelle.
Ii y a plus de 20 ans un groupe d'hommes et femmes de diff6rentes nationalit6s et religions, anim6s par le d6sir de travailler pour 1'union des peuples, ont commenc6 h publier un journal en esperanto SOUS le titre
"Uni-versala Unigo." Lepremier article du premier numero de ce journal 6tait consacr6 au Bah~'iisme et h son fondateur. II me semble que cc fait est une preuve 6clatante de ce que je viens de dire sur le Bah4'iisme.
B~ REV. GRIFFITH J. SPARHAMIn his book A League of Religions, by the Rev. J. Tyssul Davis, formerly minister of the Theistic Church in London, and at present minister of a Unitarian Church in Bristol, England, the writer sets out to dem
Page 641APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 639
onstrate that each great religious movement in the world has contributed something of peculiar importance to the spiritual life of man. Thus, he says, the great contribution of Zoroastrianism has been the thought of Purity; of Brahmanism that of
Justice; of Muhammadanismthat of Submission; of Christianity that of Service; and so on. In each instance he lays his finger on the one thing par excellence for which the particular religious culture seemed to him to stand, and tries to catch its special contribution in an epigrammatic phrase. Coming, in this way, to Bah6'iism, he names it "the Religion of Reconciliation."
In his chapter on Bah&iism he says: "The Bahá'í religion has made its way because it meets the need of the day. It fits the larger outlook of our time, better than the rigid older faiths. A characteristic is its unexpected liberality and toleration. It accepts all the great religions as true and theft scriptures as inspired."
These, then, as he sees BaM'fism, are its essential features: liberality, toleration, the spirit of reconciliation; and that, not in the sense, as Mr. H. G. Wells has it in his Soul of a Bishop, of making a "collection" of approved portions of the world's varied and differing creeds, but in the sense, as he also puts it in the same book, of achieving a great "simplification."
"BahA'iists," says Dr. Davis, "bid the followers of these (that is, the world's) faiths disentangle from the windings of racial, par-ticularist, local prejudices, the vital, immortal thread of the pure gospel of eternal worth, and to apply this essential element to life."
That is Dr. Davis's interpretation of the genius of Bah6Aism, and that it is a true one, no one who has studied BahS'iism, even superficially, can question, least of all the outsider. Indeed one may go further and assert that no one who has studied Bah4'iism, whether superficially or otherwise, would wish to question it; particularly if he approaches the subject from a liberal and unprejudiced point of view. In the last act of his Wandering Jew, Mr. Temple Thurston puts into the mouth of Matteos, the Wandering Jew himself, the splendid line, "All men are Christians � all are Jews." He might equally well have written, "All men are Christians � all are Baha'is." For, if the sense of the Unity of Truth is a predominant characteristic of liberally-minded pea-pie, pie, whatever may be their religious tradition, it is predominantly a characteristic of BahA'iism; since here is a religious system based, fundamentally, on the one, simple, profound, comprehensive doctrine of the unity of God, which carries with it, as its necessary corollary and consequence, the parallel doctrine of the unity of Man.
This, at all events, is the conviction of the present writer; and it is why, as a Unitarian, building his own faith on the same basic principles of divine and human unity, he has long felt sympathy with and good will toward a religious culture which stands on a foundation identical with that of the faith he holds. And a religion that affirms the unity of things must of necessity be a religion of reconciliation; the truth of which in the case of BaM'iism is clear.
B~ ERNEST RENANPassage tir6 de Les Ap6tres, Edition L6vy, Paris, 1866 Notre skele a vu des mouvements reli-gieux tout aussi extraordinaires que ceux d'autrefois, mouvements qui ont provoqu6 autant d'enthousiasme, qui ont eu d6ja, proportion gard6e, plus de martyrs, Ct dont 1'avenir est encore uncertain.
Je ne pane pas des Mormons, secte & quciques dgards si sotte et si abjecte que 1'on h6site ~ Ia prendre an s6rieux.
Ii est instructif, cependant, de voir en plein 1 %me si&le des milliers d'hommes de notre race vivant dans le miracle, croyant avec une foi aveugle des merveilles qu'ils disent avoir vues et touch6es. II y a d6jA toute une litt6rature pour montrer I'accord du Mormonisme et de Ia science; cc qui vaut mieux, cette religion, fond6e sur de niaises impostures, a su accomplir des pro-diges de patience et d'abn6gation; dans cinq cents ans des docteurs prouveront sa divinit6 par les merveiles de son 6tablissement.
Le B4bisme, en Perse, a 6t6 un ph6no-n~ne autrement consid6rable. Un homme doux et sans audune pr6tention, une sorte de Spinoza modeste et pleux, s'est vii, pres-que malgr6 lui, 61ev6 au rang de thaumaturge d'incarnation divine, et est devenu le chef d'une secte nombreuse, ardente et fa-natique, qii a failli amener une r6volution comparable ~ celle de 1'Js1~m. Des milliers de martyrs sont accourus pour luf avec 1'al-
Page 642l6gresse audevant de la mort. Un jour sans pareil peut-&tre dans 1'histoire du monde fut celui de Ia grande boucherie qui se fit des Báb's, & T6h6ran.
"On vit ce jour-h dans les rues et les bazars de T6h6ran," dit un narrateur qui a tout su d'original, "un spectacle que la population semble devoir n'ou-blier jamais. Quand la conversation encore aujourd'hui se met sur cette mati&e, on peut juger 1'admiration m~16e d'horreur que la foule 6prouve et que les ann6es n'ont pas diminu6e.
On vit s'avancer entre les bour-reaux des enf ants et des femmes les chairs ouvertes sur tout le corps, avec des m&hes allum6es, flambantes, fich6es, dans les bles-sures. On trainait les victimes par des cordes et on les faisait marcher ~ coups de fouct. Enfants et fennnes s' avangaient en chantant un verset qui dit: En v6rit6 nous venons de Dieu et nous retournons ~ Lui.
Leurs voix s'elevaient, 6clatantes, au-dessus du silence profond de Ia foule. Quand un des sup-plici6s tombait et qu'on le faisait relever h coups de fonet ou de balonnette, pour peu que la perte de son sang qui ruisselait sur tous ses membres mi laissat encore un peu de force, ii se mettait a danser et criait avec un surcroi d'enthousiasme: "En v6rit6 nous sommes & Dieu et nous retournons ~ Lui." Quelques-uns des enfants expir~rent pendant le trajet; les bourreaux jet~rent leurs corps sous les pieds de leurs p&es et de leurs soeurs, qui march~rent fi~rement dessus et ne leur donn&ent pas deux regards. Quand on arriva au lieu d'ex6cution, on proposa encore mx victimes Ia vie pour leur abjuration.
Un bourreau imagina de dire ~ un p&e que, s'iI ne c6dait pas, ii couperait la gorge ses deux fils sur sa poitrine.
C'6taient deux petits gar~ons dont 1'ain6 avait 14 ans et qui, rouges de leur sang, les chairs calcin6es, 6coutaient froidement Ic dialogue; le p~re r6pondit, en se couchant par terre, qu'il 6tait pr&t et 1'ain6 des enfants, r6clamant avec emportement son droit d'ainesse, de-manda ~ &tre 6gorg6 Ic premier.1 Enfin tout fut achev6. La nut tomba sur un amas de chairs informes; les t&es 6taient attach6es en paquets au poteau justicier et les chiens 1 Un autre d6tail que je tiens de source premi~re est celul-ci: Quelques sectaires, qu'on voulait amener ~ r&ractation, furent attaches ~ la gueule de canons amorc6s d'une m~che longue et brfllant lentement. On leur proposait de couper la mache, s'ils reniajent le Bib. Eux, les bras tendus vers le feu, le sup-pliaient de Se hater de venir bien vite consommer leur bonbeur.
des faubourgs se dirigeaient par troupes de cc c6t6.
Cela se passait en 1852.La secte de Mozdak sous Chosro~s Nousch fut 6touff6e dans un pareil bain de sang.
Le d6voue-meat absolu est pour les nations naives la plus exquise des jouissances et une sorte de besoin. Dans 1'affaire des BAHÁ'ÍS, on vit des gens qui 6taient ~ peine de la secte, venir se d6noncer eux-m&mes afin qu'on les adjoignit aux patients. II est si doux ~ 1'homme de souffrir pour quelque chose, que dans bien des cas 1'appftt du martyre suffit pour faire crone.
Un disciple qui fut le campagnon de sup-puce du Bib, suspendu ~ cOt6 de lui aux remparts de Tabriz et attendant la mort, n'avait qu'un mot ~ la bouche: "Es-tn content de moi, maitre?"
B~ THE HON. LILIAN HELENMONTAGUE, J.P., D.H.L. As a Jewess I am interested in the Bahá'í Community.
The teaching lays particular stress on the Unity of God and the Unity of Man, and incorporates the doctrine of the Hebrew Prophets that the Unity of God is revealed in the Unity of Men. Also, we seem to share the conception of God's messengers as being those people who in their deep reverence for the attributes of God, His beauty, His truth, His righteousness and His justice, seek to imitate Him in their imperfect human way. The light of God is reflected in the soul of him who seeks to be receptive. Like the members of the Bahá'í community, we Jews are scattered all over the world, but united in a spiritual brotherhood. The Peace ideal enumerated by the Hebrew Prophets is founded on faith in the ultimate triumph of God's justice and righteousness.
B~ PROE. NORMAN BENTWICI-IPalestine may indeed be now regarded as the land not of three but of four faiths, because the Bahá'í creed, which has its center of faith and pilgrimage in 'Akka and Haifa, is attaining to the character of a world-religion. So far as its influence goes
Page 643APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 641
in the land, it is a factor making for international and inter-religious understanding.
B~ SMILE SCHREIRERTrois pro ph?tes (From Les Echos, Paris, France, September 27, 1933.)
Alors que le marxisme sovi6tique pro-dame le mat6rialisme historique, alors que les jeunes g6n6rations sionistes sont 6gale-ment de plus en plus indiff6rentes aux croyances 6tablies, une nouvelle religion est n6e en Orient, et sa doctrine prend, dans les circonstances actuelles, un int6r&t d'au-tant plus grand que, s'&artant du domaine purement philosophique, elle pr6conise en 6conomie politique des solutions qui coincident curieusement avec les pr6occupations de notre 6poque.
Cette religion, de plus, est par essence antiraciste.
Elle est n6e en Perse, vers 1840, et les trois proph&tes successifs qui 1'ont pr~ch6e sont des Persans, c'est-A-dire des musulmans de naissance.
Le premier, le cr6ateur, s'appelait le Bib. Ii pr&ha vers 1850, et pr6conisa, outre la r6conciiation des diff6rents cultes qui divi-sent 1'humanit6, la lib6ration de la femme, r6duite aujourd'hui encore ~ un quasi escia-vage dans tout 1'Ishm.
Une Persane d'une rare beaut6, et qui, chose rare chez les musulmanes, 6tait dou6e d'un grand talent oratoire, r6pondant au nom difficile h prononcer de Qourratou-'1-'AYn, 1'accompagna dans ses r6unions, n'h6sitant pas, en donnant elle-mgme 1'exemple, A pr6coniser la suppression du voile pour les femmes.
Le Báb et die r6ussirent & convaincre, h 1'6poque, des dizaines de milliers de Persans et le shah de Perse les emprisonna Fun et 1'autre, ainsi que la plupart de leurs partisans. Le Báb fut pendu. Sa belle collabora-trice fut 6trangl6e dans sa prison. Leurs disciples furent exil6s ~ Saint-Jeaa-d'Acre, devenue temple du "Bah&'iisme."
C'est ainsi que j'ai visit6 la maison du successeur du BTh, Bahá'u'lláh, transform6e aujourd'hui en temple du "Bah~~'iisme." C'est ainsi que s'intitule cette religion, qui est plutOt une doctrine phiosophique, car elle ne comporte ni culte d6fini, ni surtout de clerg6. Les pr&tres, disent les Bah&'istes, sont tent6s de fausser, dans un but de lucre, 1'id6alisme d6sint6ress6 des cr6ateurs de religions.
Bahá'u'lláh, le principal des trois pro-phtes, r6pandit sa doctrine non seulement en Orient, mais dans beaucoup de pays d'Europe, et surtout aux Stats-Unis oh son influence fut telle que le nombre des Bah4'i-istes attient aujourd'hui plusieurs millions. Ii fut persdcut6 par les Perses et mourut en exil.
Son fils, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, lui succ6da et formula, d'apr~s les principes de son pare, la doctrine 6conomique du Bah6'iisme; elle indique une prescience 6tonnante des 6v6nements qui se sont d6rou1~s depuis: la guerre d'abord, la crise ensuite. Ii mourut peu apits la guerre, ayant vu la r6alisation de la premi~re paflie de ses pro-phdties.
L'originalit6 du Bah4'iismeest de cher-cher a faire passer dans le domaine pratique, et plus particu1i~rement dans le do-maine social, les principes essentiels du judaYsme, du catholicisme et de 1'islamisme, en les combinant et en les adaptant aux be-soins de notre 6poque.
La BaIA'iisme proclame que les rapports sociaux deviennent fatalement impossibles dans une soci6t6 oh 1'id6alisme individuel ne donne pas une base certaine aux engagements qui lient les hommes entre eux.
L'individu se sent de plus en plus isold au milieu d'une jungle sociale qui menace, h beaucoup d'6gards, son bien-&tre et sa curit6. La bonne volont6 Ct I'honn&et6, ne produisant plus dans sa vie et dans son travail le r6sultat qu'il attend, tendent ~ perdre pour lui toute valeur pratique. De 1~ nais-sent, selon les caract&es, 1'indiff6rence et le d&ouragement, ou 1'audace, le manque de scrupules qui tendent ?t se procurer par tous les moydils, m~me les plus r6pr6-hensibles, les bdn6fices mat6riels n&essaires a 1'existence.
La soci6t6, n'6tant plus soumise ~i aucun contr6le, ni politique ni moral, devient un vaisseau sans gouvernail oil personne ne peut plus rien pr6voir Ct qui est sujet h des crises de plus en plus fr6quentes et do plus en plus violentes.
L'6poque actuelle, d6cla-rent les proph~tes persans, marque Ia fin d'une civilisation qui ne seU plus les in-t6r~ts de 1'humanit6.
Elk aboutit ~ la faillite compkte des institutions morales et mat6rielles destin6es A assurer le bien-~tre et Ia s6durit6 des horn
Page 644mes, c'est-~-dire 1'Piat, 1'tglise, le Commerce et 1'Industrie. Le principe fondamen-tal d'oh peut venir Ic salut de Ia civilisation engagde dans des voics qul conduisent ~ sa destruction est Ia solidarit6 des nations et des races. Car 1'interp6n6tration des peuples est devenue telle qu'il leur est impossible de trouver isol6ment la voje de la prosp6rit6.
Ces proph&ies, qui pouvaient paraitre cx-cessives et quelque peu pessimistes & 1'6po-que oL elles ont 6t6 faites, vers 1890, ne sont pas, les 6v6nements 1'ont prouv6, de simples j6r6miades.
II reste ~ examiner comment, partant de ces donn6es, qui ne sont que trop exactes, le Bah6'iisme, con~u dans la Perse lointaine et si arri6r6e ~ 1'6poque, aboutit aux m&mes conclusions que la plu-part des 6conomistes modernes qul, dans les diff6rents pays de civilisation occidentale, proclament qu'en dehors d'une collaboration internationale ii n'y a pas d'issue possible ~ Ta crise actuelle entrain ant tous les peuples ~i une mis~re toujours plus grande.
Une religion '7conomique" (From Les Echos, Paris,Les principes du Bahd'iisme, formul6s par son principal prophte, Bahá'u'lláh, peuvent paraitre s6rieusement compromis en un temps oh Ia fr6n6sie nationaliste, r6cemment aggrav6e de racisme, semble en 6loigner de plus en plus 1'application.
Toute Ia question est de savoir si ceux qui sont en faveur aujourd'hui, dans tant de pays, sont susceptibles de r6soudre le pro-b1~me non pas de Ia prosp6rit6, mais simple-ment du logement et de la faim, dans les diff6r6ntes nations qui nient par leurs th6o-ries et tous leurs actes la solidarit6 des peu-pies et des races.
Une nouveile guerre mondiale sera sans doute n6cessaire pour que 1'humanit6, qui n'a pas encore compris Ia leQon de 1914, se rende enfin compte que les solutions de violence et de conqu&e ne peuvent engendrer que la ruine g6n6rale, sans profit pour aucun des bellig6rants.
Quof qu'll en soit, les principales pens6es 6conomiques de Bahá'u'lláh, telles qu'elles ont @6 formul6es ii y a un demisi~c1e, prou-vent que la sagesse et le simple bon sens ont cela de commun avec les 6crevisses, c'est qu'ii leur arrive fr6quemment de marcher ~ reculons.
Voici les principaux pr6ceptes de ce moderne Marc-Aurele: "L'6volution humaine se divise en cycles organiques, correspondant h la dur6e d'une religion, laquelle est d'environ un millier d'ann&s. Un cycle social nouveau commence toutes les fois qu'apparait un pro-ph&te dont 1'influence et les enseignements renouvellent la vie int6rieure de 1'homme et font d6ferler ~ travers le monde une nou-velle vague de progr~s.
"Chaque nouveau cycle ddtruit les croyan-ces et les institutions us6es du cycle pr6c6-dent et fonde sur d'autres croyances, en 6troite conformit6, celles-fl, avec les besoins actuels de 1'humanit6, une civilisation nou-velle.
"L'influence de chaque proph~te s'est, dans le pass6, limit6e A une race on une religion, en raison de 1'isolement g6ographi-que des r6gions et des races, mais le si&cle dans lequel nous entrons n6cessite Ia cr6a-tion d'un ordre organique s'6tendant au monde entier. Si le vieji esprit de tribu per-siste, Ia science d6truira le monde, ses forces destructrices ne pouvant &tre contr6l6es que par une humanit6 unie travaillant pour la prosp6rit6 et le bien commun.
"La loi de Ia lutte pour la vie n'existe plus pour 1'homme ds qu'il devient conscient de ses pouvoirs spirituels et moraux.
Elle est alors remplac6e par Ia loi plus haute de Ia coop6ration. Sous cette loi, 1'individu jouira d'un statut beaucoup plus large que celni qul est accord6 aux citoyens passits du corps politique actuel. L'administration publique passera des mains de partisans politiques qui trahissent Ia cause du peuple aux mains d'hommes capables de consid6rer une charge publique comme une mission sacr6e.
"La stabilit6 6conomique ne depend pas de 1'application de tel plan socialiste ou communiste plus on moms th6orique, mais du sentiment de la solidarit6 morale qui unit tous les hommes et de cette conception que les richesses ne sont pas Ia fin de la vie, mais seulement un moyen de vivre.
"L'important n'est pas en une aveugle soumission g6n6rale ~ tel syskme politique, ~ tel r~g1ement, qui ont pour effet de sup-primer chez 1'individu tout sentiment de responsabilitd morale, mais en un esprit d'entr'aide et de coo$ration. Ni le principe
Page 645APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAnAl! FAITH 643
d6mocratique, ni le principe aristocratique ne peuvent fournir s6par6ment h la soei6t6 une base solide.
La democratic est impuis-sante contre les querelles intestines Ct 1'aris-tocratie ne subsiste que par Ia guerre. Une combinaison des deux principes est donc n6cessaire.
"En cette p6riode de transition entre le viell age de la concurrence et 1'&e nouvelle de la coop6ration, la vie m~me de 1'huma-nit6 est en p6ril. Les ambitions nationalistes, la lutte des classes, Ia peur et le convoitises 6conomiques sont autant de forces qui pous-sent ~ une nouvelle guerre internationale. Tons les Gouvernements du monde doivent soutenir et organiser une assembl6e dont les membres sojent 6lus par 1'6lite des nations. Ceux-ci devront mettre au point, au-dessus des egoYsmes particuliers, le nouveau statut 6conomique du monde en dehors duquel tous les pays, mais surtout 1'Europe, seront conduits aux pires catastrophes."
'Abdu'l-Bahá, son successeur, reprenant Ia doctrine de son pare, concinait dans un discours prononc6 ~ New-York en 1912: "La civilisation mat6rielle a atteint, en Occident, le plus haut degr6 de son d4velop-pernent.
Mais c'est en Orient qu'a pris nais-sance et que s'est d6velopp6e Ia civiisation spirituelle.
Un lien s'6tablira entre ces deux forces, et leur union est la condition de 1'immense progr~s qui doit gtre accompli.
"Hors de h, Ia s6durit6 et la confiance feront de plus en plus d6faut, les luttes Ct les dissensions s'accroitront de jour en jour et les divergences entre nations s'accentue-ront davantage. Les pays augmenteront constamment leurs armements; Ia guerre, puis la certitude d'une autre guerre mondi-ale angoisseront de plus en plus les esprits. L'unit6 du genre humain est le premier fon-dement de toutes les vertus."
Ainsi parla 'Abdu'l-Bahá en 1912, et tout se passa comme ii 1'avait pr6dit.
Mais ces paroles n'ont pas viejili; elles pourrajent, sans le moindre changement, &re r6p6t6es en 1933. Aujourd'hui, comme ii y a vingt ans, la menace de la guerre est de nouveau suspendue au-dessus de nos totes et les causes de haines et de conflits s'accu-mulent ii tel point que, s'iI existe vraiment un flux et tin reflux des id~es, on peut presque conclure, avec une certaine dose d'optirnisme, que nous n'avons jamais d6 Si pks de venir aux id6es de coop6ration qui, seules, peuvent nous sauver.
3.Malgr6 les tristesses de notre 6poque et peut-&tre m~me ~ cause d'elles, je reste con-vaincue que les id6es ~ Ia This divines et humaines qui sont 1'essence du BahWiisme finiront par triompher, pourvu que chacun de ceux qui en comprennent 1'immense in-tdr& continue quoi qu'il advienne ~ les d& fendre Ct ~ les propager.
B~ Miss HELEN KELLER(In a personal letter written to an American Bahá'í after having read something from the Braille edition of Bahá'u'lláh and the New
Era.)The philosophy of Bahá'u'lláh deserves the best thought we can give it. I am returning the book so that other blind people who have more leisure than myself may be "shown a ray of Divinity" and their hearts be "bathed in an inundation of eternal love."
I take this opportunity to thank you for your kind thought of me, and for the inspiration which even the most cursory reading of Bahá'u'lláh's life cannot fail to impart. What nobler theme than the "good of the world and the happiness of the nations" can occupy our lives? The message of universal peace will surely prevail.
It is useless to combine or conspire against an idea which has in it potency to create a new earth and a new heaven and to quicken human beings with a holy passion of service.
B~ DR. RoKUICrnRo MASUJIMA"The Japanese race is of rational mind. No superstition can play with it. Japan is the oniy country in the world where religious tolerance has always existed. The Japanese Emperor is the patron of all religious teachings.
The Bahá'í publications now form part of His Majesty's Library as accepted by the Imperial House.
"The search for truth and universal cdii-cation inculcated by the Bahá'í Teachings, if soundly conducted, cannot fail to interest the Japanese mind. Bah6iism is bound to permeate the Japanese race in a short time."
Page 646(In a letter to the Daily Sketch, London, England, December 16, 1932.)
The Bahá'í Movement of Persia should be a welcome adjunct to true Christianity; we must always remember how artificial the growth of Latin Christian ideas has been as compared with the wide and less defined beliefs native to early Christian faith.
B~ FORMER PRESIDENT MASARYK(In an audience with an American Bahá'í journalist in Praha, in 1928.)
Continue to do what you are doing, spread these principles of humanity and do not wait for the diplomats. Diplomats alone cannot bring the peace, but it is a great thing that official people begin to speak about these universal peace principles.
Take these principles to the diplomats, to the universities and colleges and other schools, and also write about them.
ft is the people who will bring the universal peace.
B~ ARCHDUCHESS ANTON OFArchduchess Anton of Austria, who before her marriage was Her Royal Highness Princess Ileana of Rumania, in an audience with Martha L. Root, June 19, 1934, in Vienna, gave the following statement for The Bahá'í World, Vol. V: "I like the Bahá'í Movement, because it reconciles all Faiths, and teaches that science is from God as well as religion, and its ideal is peace."
B~ DR. HERBERT ADAMS GIBBONS(Excerpt from personal letter dated May 18, 1934.)
I have had on my desk, and have read several times, the three extracts from 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Message of Social Regeneration.
Taken together, they form an unanswerable argument and plea for the oniy way that the world can be made over.
If we could put into effect this program, we should indeed have a new world order.
"The morals of humanity must undergo change. New remedy and solution for human problems must be adopted. Human intellects themselves must change and be subject to the universal reformation."
In these three sentences we really have it all.H. R. H. Princess Olga, wife of H. R. H. Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia, daughter of H. R. H. Prince Nicholas of Greece and cousin of His Majesty King George H of Greece, is deeply interested in religion and in education, and her wonderful kindnesses to every one have been commented upon beautifully in several English books and magazines as well as by the Balkan press.
"I like the Bahá'í Teachings for universal education and universal peace," said this gracious Princess in her charming villa on the Hill of Topcidor, Belgrade, on January 16, 1936; "I like the Bahá'í Movement and the Young Men's Christian Association, for both are programs to unite religions. Without unity no man can live in happiness." Princess though she is, she stressed the important truth that every man must do his job!
"We are all sent into this world for a purpose and people are too apt to forget the Presence of God and true religion.
I wish the Bahá'í Movement every success in the accomplishment of its high ideals."
B~ EUGEN RELGISNous avons trac6 dans ces pages seule-ment la signification dii Bah6Aisme, sans examiner tolls ses principes et son programme pratique dans lequel sont harmo-nis6es avec I'id6al religleux "les aspirations Ct les objectifs de Ia science sociale."
Mais on cloit attir6r 1'attention de tons les esprits libres sur ce mouvement, dont les promo-teurs ont le m6rite d'avoir contribu6 h la clarification de 1'ancienne controverse entre Ja religion et la science � et d'avoir donn6 A maint homme un pen de leur tol6rance et de leur optimisme: "L'humanit6 6tait jus-qu'ici rest6e dans le stade de 1'enfance; elle approche maintenant de Ia maturit6" ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Washington, 1912).
Qui osera r6p6ter aujourd'hui, dans IaAPPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 645
m&16e des haines nationales et sociales, cette sentence de progits? C'est un Oriental qui nous a dit cela, a nous, orgueileux ou scep-tiques Occidentaux.
Nous voudrions voir aujourd'hui, dans I'Allemagne hitl6riste, dans les pays terroris6s par le fascisme, paralys6s par la dictature politique, � un spectacle ddcrit par le suisse Auguste Forel d'apr~s 1'anglais Sprague qui a vue en Bir-manie et en Inde, des Bouddhistes, des Maljom6tans, des Chr6tiens a des Juifs, qui allajent bras-dessus bras-dessous, comme des fr~res, "au grand 6tonnement de Ia population qui n'a jamais VII une chose pa-reile!"
B~ ARTHUR HENDERSONI have read the pamphlet on the New World Order by Shoghi Effendi. It is an eloquent expression of the doctrines which I have always associated with the Bahá'í Movement and I would like to express my great sympathy with the aspirations towards world unity which underlie his teaching.
B~ PROF. DR. V. LESNY The conditions are so changed now, since the technique of the present time has destroyed the barriers between nations, that the world needs a uniting force, a kind of super-religion. I think BaM'iism could develop to such a kind of religion.
I am quite convinced of it, so far as I know the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh There are modern saviors and Bahá'u'lláh is a Savior of the twentieth century. Everything must be done on a democratic basis, there must be international brotherhood.
We must learn to have confidence in ourselves and then in others. One way to learn this is through inner spiritual education, and a way to attain such an education may be through BalA'i-ism.
I am still of the opinion that I had four years ago that the Bahá'í Movement can form the best basis for international good~ will, and that Bahá'u'lláh Himself is the Creator of an eternal bond between the East and the West.
The Bahá'í Teaching is a living religion, a living philosophy.
I do not blame Christianity, it has done a good work for culture in Europe, but there are too many dogmas in Christianity at the present time. Buddhism was very good for India from the sixth century B.C. and the Teachings of Christ have been good for the whole world; but as there is a progress of mind there must be no stopping and in the Bahá'í Faith one sees the continued progress of religion.
B~ PRINCESS MARIE ANTOINETTEA cette 6poque oh 1'humanit6 semble sortie d'un long sommeil pour revivre A 1'Esprit, consciemment on inconsciemment, 1'homme cherche et s'6lance A Ia poursuite de i'm-visible et de sciences qui nous y conduisent.
L'angoisse religiense aussi n'a jamais 6t6 plus intense.
Par sa grande 6volution 1'homme actuel est pr& A recevoir le grand message de Bahá'u'lláh dans son mouvement synth&i-que qui nous fait passer de 1'ancienne corn-pr6hension des divisions A Ia compr6hension modern oti nous cherchons ~ suivre les on-des qui se propagent traversant toute limitation humaine Ct de Ia cr6ation.
Chaque combat que nous livrons h nos penchants nous cl6gage des voiles qui s6pa-rent le monde visible du monde invisible et augmente en nous cette capacit6 de perception Ct de s'accorder aux longucurs d'ondes les plus vari6es, de vibrer au contact des rythmes les plus divers de Ia cr6ation.
Tout ce qui nous vient directement de la nature est toujours harmonic absolue. Le tout est de capter 1'6quilibre de toute chose Ct lui donner Ia voix au moyen d'un instrument capable d'6mettre les mgmes harmonies que notre &me, ce qui nous fait vibrer et devenir le lien entre le pass6 et 1'avenir en attaignant une nouvelle 6tape correspondant h 1'6volution du monde.
En religion, la Cause de Bahá'u'lláh, qui est la grande r6v6lation de notre 6poque, est Ia m~me que celle du Christ, son temple et son fondement les mernes mis en harmonie avec le degr6 de inaturiP~ moderne.
Page 648'Abdu'l-Bahá will surely unite the East and the West: for He treads the mystic way with practical feet.
B~ PROF. BOGDAN POPOVITCHThe Bahá'í Teaching carries in its Message a fine optimism � we must always in spite of everything be optimists; we must be optimists even when events seem to prove the contrary!
And Bahá'ís can be hopeful, for there is a power in these Teachings to bring to humanity tranquillity, peace and a higher spirituality.
B~ EX-GOVERNOR WILLIAMWhile sectarians squabble over creeds, the Bahá'í Movement goes on apace.
It is growing by leaps and bounds. It is hope and progress. It is a workl movement � and it is destined to spread its effulgent rays of enlightenment throughout the earth until every mind is free and every fear is banished. The friends of the Bahá'í Cause believe they see the dawn of the new day � the better day � the day of Truth, of Justice, of Liberty, of Magnanimity, of Universal Peace, and of International Brotherhood, the day when one shall work for all, and all shall work for one.
B~ LUTHER BURBANKI am heartily in accord with the Bahá'í Movement, in which I have been interested for several years. The religion of peace is the religion we need and always have needed, and in this Bahá'í is more truly the religion of peace than any other.
B~ PROF. YONE NooucniI have heard so much about 'Abdu'l-Bahá, whom people call an idealist, but I should like to call Him a realist, because no idealism, when it is strong and true, exists without the endorsement of realism.
There is nothing more real than His words on truth. His words are as simple as the sunlight; again like the sunlight, they are universal. No Teacher, I think, is more important today than 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
B~ PROFESSOR RAYMOND FRANKare a stirring fusion of poetic beauty and religious insight. I, like another, have been "struck by their comprehensiveness."
I find they have extraordinary power to pull aside the veils that darken my mind and to open new visions of verity and lift.
B~ ANGELA MORGANOne reason I hail with thanksgiving the interpretation of religion known as the Baha Faith and feel so deep a kinship with its followers is that I recognize in its Revelation an outreach of the Divine to stumbling humanity; a veritable thrust from the radiant Center of
Life.Every follower of this faith that I have ever met impressed me as a living witness to the glory at the heart of this universe. Each one seemed ifiled with a splendor of spirit so great that it overflowed all boundaries and poured itself out upon the world here in this moment of time, by some concentrated act of love toward another human being.
B~ ARTHUR MOOREThe lovely peace of Carmel, which still attracts mystics of different faiths, dominates Haifa. On its summit are the Druses in their two villages; at its feet the German Templars, whose avenue leads up to the now large and beautiful terraced property of the Persian Baha on the mountainside. Here the tombs of the BTh and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, set in a fair garden, are a place of international pilgrimage. On Sundays and holidays the citizens of Haifa of all faiths come for rest and recreation where lie the bones of that young prophet of S�irAz who nearly a hundred years ago preached that all men are one and all the great religions true, and foretold the coming equality of men and women and the birth of the first League of Nations.
Page 649APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 647
B~ PROF. DR. JAN RYPKA Charles University, Prague,
Czechoslovakiaare resolutely firm in their religion. Their firmness does not have its roots in ignorance.
The Persian inborn character causes them to see things somewhat too great, slightly exaggerated, and their dissensions with the ruling Ishm make them a little bitter towards it. Everything else in their characters is accounted for as due to their Teachings; they are wonderfully ready to help and happy to sacrifice. Faithfully they fulfil their office and professional duties.
Long ago they already solved the problem of the Eastern woman; their children are carefully educated.
They are sometimes reproached for their lack of patriotism.
Certainly, as specifically Persian as the Shi'ihcan never become; but the Bahá'í Religion like Christianity does not preclude the love of one's fatherland. Are the Europeans not sufficiently patriotic! According to my experiences, the Bahá'ís in that respect, are very unjustly criticized by their Mu~am-madan brothers.
During the centuries the Shi'ih Religion has developed a deep national tradition; with this the universal Bahá'í Faith will have a hard battle.
Nevertheless, the lack of so great numbers is richly recompensed by the fervor and the inner spirit of the Persian Bahá'í
Community. The Bahá'íworld community will educate characters which will appear well worthy of emulation by people of other Faiths, yes, even by the world of those now enemies of the Bahá'í
Cause.The experience acquired in the West, for me was fully verified also in the Persian Orient. The Bahá'í Faith is undoubtedly an immense cultural value.
Could all those men whose high morality I admired and still admire have reached the same heights oniy in another way, without it? No, never! Is it based oniy on the novelty of the Teachings, and in the freshness of its closest followers?
B~ A. L. M. NICOLAS Je ne sais comment vous remercier ni comment vous exprimer Ia joie qui inonde mon coeur. Ainsi donc, ii faut non seule-ment admettre mais aimer et admirer le Bib. Pauvre grand Proph~te n6 au fin fond de la Perse sans aucun moyen d'instruction et qui seul au monde, entour6 d'ennemis, arrive par Ia force de son g6nie ~ cr6er une religion universelle
Ct sage. Que Bahá'u'lláhlui ait, par la suite, succ~d6, soit, mais je veux qu'on admire Ia subIimit~ du Bab, qui a d'ailleurs pay6 de sa vie, de son sang la r6forme qu'il a pr&h6e.
Citez-moi un autre exemple, scm-blable. Enfin, je puis mourir tranquille. Gloire ~ Shoghi Effendi qui a calm6 mon tourment et mes inqui6tudes, gloire & lui qui reconnais Ia valeur de Siyyid 'All-Muhammad dit le BTh.
Je suN si content que je baise vos mains qui ont trac6 mon adresse sur 1'enveloppe quf m'apporte le message de Shoghi.
Merci, Mademoiselle. Merci du fond du cocur.I have followed it (the Bahá'í Cause) with deep interest ever since my trip to London to the
First Races Congressin July, 1911, when I heard for the first time of the Bahá'í Movement and its summary of the principles for peace. I followed it during the war and after the war. The Bahá'í Teaching is one of the spiritual forces now absolutely necessary to put the spirit first in this battle against material forces.
The Bahá'í Teaching is one of the great instruments for the final victory of the spirit and of humanity.
The Bahá'í Cause is one of the great moral and social forces in all the world today. I am more convinced than ever, with the increasing moral and political crises in the world, we must have greater international coordination. Such a movement as the Baha Cause which paves the way for universal organization of peace is necessary.
Ri' Sm RONALD STORRS, K.C.M.G., C.B.E. I met 'Abdu'l-Bahá first in 1900, on my way out from England and Constantinople through Syria to succeed Harry
Boyle as Oriental Secretaryto the British Agency in Cairo. (The episode is fully treated in my
Page 650Orientations, published by Ivor Nicholson and Watson.) I drove along the beach in a cab from Haifa to 'Akka and spent a very pleasant hour with the patient but unsubdued prisoner and exile.
I never failed to visit Him whenever I went to Haifa. His conversation was indeed a remarkable planning, like that of an ancient prophet, far above the perplexities and pettiness of Palestine politics, and elevating all problems into first principles.
He was kind enough to give me one or two beautiful specimens of His own handwriting, together with that of Mislikin-Qalam, all of which, together with His large signed photograph, were unfortunately burned in the Cyprus fire.
I rendered my last sad tribute of affectionate homage when in 1921 I accompanied Sir Herbert Samuel to the funeral of 'Abbas Effendi. We walked at the head of a train of all religions up the slope of Mount Carmel, and I have never known a more united expression of regret and respect than was called forth by the utter simplicity of the ceremony.
(From an address delivered at the opening of theMy first connection with the Bahá'í Faith dates from the beginning of this century, when it was my fortune and honour to become the Arabic pupil of Edward Browne.
My first glimpse of 'Abbas Effendi was in the summer of 1909, when I drove round the Bay of Acre in an Arab cab, visited him in the barracks and marvelled at his serenity and cheerfulness after 42 years of exile and imprisonment.
I kept touch with him through my confidential agent, Husayn hey Ruhi, son of a Tabriz martyr, and the "Per-sian Mystic" of my book "Orientations."
After the Young Turk Revolution, 'Abbas Effendi was released.
He visited Egypt in 1913, when I had the honour of looking after him, and of presenting him to Lord Kitchener, who was deeply impressed by his personality � as who could fail to be? Then war cut him off from us and it might have gone hard with him in Haifa but for the indirect interposition of His Majesty's Government.
When, in his famous victory drive to the North, Allenby captured Haifa, be detached me from Jerusalem to organise the British Administration there. On the evening of my arrival I visited my revered friend. "I found him sitting in spotless white. He placed at my disposal the training and talents of his community, and I appointed one or two to positions of trust, which they still continue to deserve." Later, he visited me in Jerusalem, and was held in great esteem and respect by the High Commissioner, Lord Samuel.
In Egypt he presented me with a beautiful specimen of writing by the celebrated Bahá'í calligraphist Mishkin-Qalam, and with his own Persian pen box; in Palestine with an exquisite little Bokkara rug from the tomb of the Báb: all three, alas, destroyed by fire in Cyprus. When, on November 29, 1921, he was buried, 10,000 men, women and children, of many varying races and creeds, walked in the funeral procession up Mount Carmel, to lay his body in the exquisite cypress-avenued shrine.
Telegrams reached HaifaMr. Winston Churchill, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, desired the High Commissioner for Palestine to convey to the Ba1A'i Community on behalf of His Majesty's Government their sympathy and condolence on the death of Sir 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbas, K.B.E., and Field Marshal Lord Al-lenby telegraphed likewise from Egypt.
With 'Abbas Effendi theI have not lost contact with the Bahá'í world, and I hope I never shall.
Recently I had the honour of receiving at the British Legation in Tihran, a deputation of the Ba1A'i Community, headed by Samimi, the respected Chief Munshi of the Legation, and Varga, President of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia.
Later I was received by the Council at a tea, so sumptuous that the remembrance adds a sting to my British Ration Card. My diary of April 5, 1943 at Sbfr~z, tells me: "After luncheon, off to visit the House of the Báb, leaving the car for the narrow winding streets, and shown over by Faziul-lah Benana and the curator. A small but perfect courtyard, with a little blue tiled, eight feet square tank, six large red goldfish, a tiny orange tree and runner carpets round the sides, and a narrow deep well. Above, His bed and His sitting rooms (for which our hosts took off their shoes), and on the second floor the room in which in 1844 He
Page 651APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 649
declared His mission, to a solitary disciple." What can I say more? Half a century ago the great Dr. Jowett, of Balliol, wrote: "This is the greatest light the world has seen since Christ, but it is too great and too close for the world to appreciate its full import." Already over many parts of the globe there are Bahá'ís actively, honourably, peaceably employed.
May this auspicious centenary prove propitious also for the early restoration of world peace.
Having enjoyed the signal honor of many years friendship with the late Head of the Faith, together with that of the present Guardian, I beg to justify herewith my admiration for the members and practice of Baha'ism, which not oniy produced and are still producing constant and positive good, but which, unlike, alas, many other religions, have never occasioned the slightest harm to any living creature or any good cause.
B~ COL. RAJA JAT PRITHVIEven as early as 1929 or perhaps even a little earlier, I used to hear the names of Bahá'u'lláh and Bah6'iism; and in 1929 when I undertook a lecturing tour in Europe on the humanistic methods of promoting peace and unity among races, nations and individuals, my attention was once again drawn to Bahá'u'lláh and his teachings by my friend Lady Blomfield, who gave me some books, too, on the subject.
But my eyes were then too weak to permit any reading, and the need and urgency of some expert treatment for my eyes was in fact an additional reason for my leaving for Europe.
Besides, I was then too full of my own philosophy of "Humanism," and was too busy with my own programme of lectures for Europe, and did not acquaint myself with any full details about the Bahá'ís and their tenets and principles.
Perhaps, I imagined that the Bahá'ís were some sort of religious or philosophical mystics, and I was not particularly interested in any mere mysticism or in any merely theoretical creed, however much its conclusions might be logical and satisfying to the intellect.
When afterwards, in 1933, the Second Parliament of Religions or the World
Fellowship of Faiths was held in Chicago � a conference inspired by the high ideals of mutual understanding, goodwill, co-opera-tion and peace and progress, and I went there to attend and participate in the conference, my attention was again drawn to the Bahá'í Faith by some of its followers there, who took me to their temple at Wil-niette, Illinois, which was then under construction but was nearly finished, and showed me the nine gates and chambers of worship for the nine principal religions of the world.
Naturally enough, I took it that BahA'iism was something like theosophy, which is interested in studying and comparing the respective merits of religions and in recognising their respective greatness, and which can therefore appeal only to the intellectual section of mankind and hardly appeal to the masses.
Later, in 1936, however, while I was in Rangoon, I had an opportunity, rather, the opportunity was thrust upon me � to acquaint myself more fully with the tenets and teachings of BaIA'iism.
Mr. S. Schopflocher, a Bahá'í from Canada, who was on a lecturing tour, was then in Rangoon, and I was asked to introduce him to the public and to preside over a lecture of his. Therefore I secured a few books on the subject, and on reading them, 1 was struck with the remarkable fact that BaM'iism is a faith, which not merely recognises the respective merits of the world religions, but goes a step further and teaches that all religions are One, all the religious seers, saints and prophets are the religious seers, saints and prophets of One religion only, that all mankind is One, and that we must think and feel and act in terms of brotherhood.
"We must realise," as a Bahá'í very beautifully puts it, "that, as the aeroplane, radio and other instruments have crossed the frontiers drawn upon the map, so our sympathy and spirit of oneness should rise above the influences that have separated race from race, class from class, nation from nation and creed from creed. One destiny now controls all human affairs. The fact of world-unity stands out above all other interests and considerations."
Sometime back, in this year, Mr. N. R. Vakil, a Baha gentleman of Surat, gave me a copy of the book, The Bahá'í
World:19361938. Though I have not been able to read the whole book through, I find it is a mine of information, a regular cyc1op~dia on the subject.
It is interesting to read thatthe origin of the faith was in Persia, where a mystic prophet who took the name of "Bab" (which means "gate") began the mission among the Persians in the early part of the nineteenth century, that he and his disciples were persecuted by the Persian Government and were finally shot in 1850, that, notwithstanding the persecution, the movement spread under the able and inspiring leadership of Bahá'u'lláh, its principal prophet and exponent, that on his death in 1892 he was succeeded by his son, 'Abdu'b Baha, who continued the work till 1921, when, on his death, his grandson, Shoghi Effendi, became the head of the community � a community now numbering nearly a million and spread in all the five continents of the world.
Though the traditionally orthodox Hindus, Muslims, Christians, etc., may not agree to call themselves Bahá'ís or even to subscribe to its main tenet, viz.,
that all religions are One, I think that the really enlightened among them can have no conscientious objection and will indeed wholeheartedly subscribe to it. Another important aspect of the Bahá'í Faith is its absolutely nonpolitical nature. In the Golden Age of the Cause of Bahd'-u 11Th Shoghi Effendi categorically rules out any participation by adherents of the Faith, either individually or collectively, in any form of activity which might be interpreted as an interference in the political affairs of any particular government. So that no government need apprehend any sort of danger or trouble from Bah4'iism.
On the whole, the perusal of the Book The Bahá'í World: 19361938 has deeply impressed me with the belief that the principles of Bah6iism, laying stress as they do on the Oneness of mankind, and being directed as they are towards the maintenance of peace, unity and cooperation among the different classes, creeds and races of people, will go a long way in producing a healthy atmosphere in the world for the growth of Fellowship and Brotherhood of Man. Further, I see no harm in the followers of other faiths accepting these main principles of BahA'iism, wherein, I think, they can find nothing against the teachings of their own prophets, saints and seers. I rather think that by accepting these main principles of BaM'iism they will help in hastening the establishment of a New World Order, an idea perhaps first clearly conceived by BahA'u' 11Th and which every thinking man will now endorse as a "consummation to be devoutly wished for."
AN ARTICLE IN THE JANUARYIRELAND � The death of 'Abbas Effendi, better known since he succeeded his father, Bahá'u'lláh, thirty years ago as 'Abdu'l-Bahá, deprives Persia of one of the most notable of her children and the East of a remarkable personality, who has probably exercised a greater influence not only in the Orient but in the Occident, than any Asiatic thinker and teacher of recent times. The best account of him in English is that published in 1903 by G. P. Putnam's Sons under the title of the Life and Teachings of 'Abbas Effendi compiled by Myron H. Phelps chiefly from information supplied by Bahá'u'lláh KMnum. She states that her brother's birth almost coincided with the "manifesta-tion" of Mirza 'All Muhammad the Báb (24th May, 1844), and that she was his junior by three years. Both dates are put three years earlier by another reputable authority, but in any case both brother and sister were mere children when, after the great persecution of the Báb's in 1852 their father Bahá'u'lláh and his family were exiled from Persia, first to Baghdid (185263) then to Adrianople (1863~8), and lastly to 'Akka (St. Jean d'Acre) in Syria, where Bahá'u'lláh died on 28th May, 1892, and which his son 'Abdu'l-Bahá was only permitted to leave at will after the Turkish Revolution in 1908. Subsequently to that date he undertook several extensive journeys in Europe and America, visiting London and Paris in 1911,
America in 1912, Budapestin 1913, and Paris, Stuttgart, Vienna, and Budapest in the early summer of 1914.
In all these countries he had followers, but chiefly in America, where an active propaganda had been carried on since 1893 with very considerable success, resulting in the formation of important
Bahá'í Centers in NewYork, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities. One of the most notable practical results of the Bahá'í ethical teaching in the United States has been, according to the recent testimony of an impartial and qualified observer, the establishment in Bahá'í circles in New York of a real fraternity between black and white,
Page 653APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 651
and an unprecedented lifting of the "color bar," described by the said observer as "almost miraculous."
Ample materials exist even in English for the study of the remarkable personality who has now passed from our midst and of the doctrines he taught; and especially authoritative are the works of M. Hippolyte Drep fus and his wife (formerly Miss Laura Clifford Barney), who combine intimacy and sympathy with their hero with sound knowledge and wide experience. In their works and in that of Mr. Myron H. Phelps must be sought those particulars which it is impossible to include in this brief obituary notice.
B~ RT. HON. M. R. JAYAKAR,Bah~'iism insists on points which constitute the essentials of the several creeds and faiths which have divided and still divide the human family.
It seeks thereby to establish human unity. It inculcates pursuit of truth through the miasma of superstitions old and new. These features ought to secure for Bah6Aism an enduring place in the religions of the world.
It is one of the noblest contributions which Asia has made to human civilization.
The history of its martyrdom in Tihffrn is a glorious chapter, indicating how much suffering the awakened human spirit can endure for the sake of its convictions. In the world as one sees it today, divided and torn asunder by warring ambitions, Bah4'iism has undoubtedly a great part to play.
B~ PROF. BENOY KUMAR SARKAR, M.A., Ph.D. For over a quarter of a century, � since my American days, � I have been under the conviction that the Bahá'í movement serves to expand the intellectual and moral personality of every individual that comes into contact with it. The movement has set in motion some of those currents of thought and work which lead to the silent but effective conversion of men and women to humaner and world-embracing principles of daily conduct.
Because of these creative forces in the social domain the Bahá'í movement ment is to be appreciated as one of the profoundest emancipators of mankind from the tradition of race-chauvinism and ethno-re-ligious bigotry.
With best wishes and greetings, I remain, Cordially Yours,
Benoy Sarkar.The founder of the Bahá'í Faith is undoubtedly one of the Great Seers of the Modern Age. The Gospel that he enunciated and the programme that he enjoined upon his followers are singularly like a prophecy of the ideal and dream that inspire the heart of youth with (the) quest for a brave new world built upon equity, fellowship and peace.
In the midst of all the tragic horror of hate and bloodshed that surround us today, his message to humanity does indeed fulfill the meaning of his name, and carries the "glory of God" into the darkness.
B~ JULES BoIsMirza 'All-Muhammad, the BTh, or the portal of a new wisdom, � a young man, brave, handsome, and tempered like a steel blade, the finest product of his country. This new Alexander, "the beloved of the worlds," subjugator of souls, died in 1850 at the age of thirty-one, having shed no blood but his own, a martyr of spotless love, of universal charity.
The BThis, his partisans, were "beheaded, hanged, blown from the mouth of cannons, burnt, or chopped to pieces." Their homes were burned, their womenfolk carried off or executed. Still the movement progressed. Scarcely had the BTh's mission begun, � he was allowed a bare two years of preaching, � when he was cast into prison, ques~ tioned, bastinadoed, disfigured, then tried for heresy before a clerical court, and finally put to death.
The Báb was led to the scaffold at Tabriz with a young devotee who had implored to share his fate. About two hours before noon the two were suspended by ropes, under their armpits, in such a manner that the head of the disciple rested against the breast
Page 654Armenian soldiers received the order to fire; but when the smoke cleared, the Báb and his companion were found to be unscathed.
The bullets had merely severed the ropes by which they were suspended.
Amazed by what they considered a miracle, the soldiers were unwilling to fire again. They were replaced by a more docile squad, and this time the volley took effect. The bodies of both victims were riddled by bullets and horribly mutilated, but their faces, spared by a strange caprice of destiny, bore an expression of radiant transfiguration.
All Europe was stirred to pity and indignation.The event occurred on the ninth of July, 1850; among the "litterateurs" of my generation, in the Paris of 1890, the martyrdom of the Báb was still as fresh a topic as had been the first news of his death. We wrote poems about him. Sarah Bernhardt entreated Catulle Mends for a play on the theme of this historic tragedy. When he failed to supply a manuscript, I was asked to write a drama entitled "Her Highness the Pure," dealing with the story of another illustrious martyr of the same cause, � a woman,
Qurratu'1-'Ayn, the PersianJoan of Arc and the leader of emancipation for women of the Orient.
Her case was unique. Had it been admissible for a woman to be a Malidi, or a "Point," Qurratu'1-'Ayn, � who bore resemblance to the medheval H6loise and the neoplatonic Hypatia, � would have been recognized as the equal of the Bib.
Such virile courage and power did she inherit that all who saw and heard her were uplifted to a new understanding of the mission of her sex.
A poetess, philosopher, linguist, and theologian, an early convert of the Báb, she threw aside her veil, despite the immemorial custom of Asia, carried on controversies with the most learned scholars of her country, discomfited them, and won recognition as their master. Imprisoned, anathematized, driven from town to town, stoned in the streets, she defied, singlehanded, a S24h who "through his decree could slaughter a thousand men each day," � and often did so. To her executioners she said, "You may kill me as soon as you please, but you cannot stop the emancipation of women." Then, having donned her choicest robes, as if to join a bridal party, she was dragged into a garden and strangled by a negro.
The Báb had exhorted the people to purify themselves that they might welcome the Divine Sun, of whom he was the Radiant Morn.
When the B~b declared his mission in 1844, Mirza Ijusayn-'Ali, a young man of twenty-seven, the son of a vizier, and of royal descent, boldly espoused the perilous cause. Prison and exile soon became his portion.
Scenes were enacted during this period which recall the Terror in France, with its horrors and its hero .......
Baha'is, previously members of antago-fistic sects, have manifested toward every one, even their enemies, a spirit of help and amity. We can oniy be glad that persecu-dons have diminished and that a gentle and ennobling influence has regenerated the Orient, from Syria to Burma. It is quite possible that BaM'fism has a mission to pacify and spiritually quicken races and tribes which we have so far been unable to evangelize.
B~ THE LATE SIR Jowi MARTINYou honour me with a request that I should add my small brick to the exalted edifice of the Bahá'í teaching.
Its happy creed so passionately urged and so convincingly stated is an inspiration to all who work and who, in the words of Kipling, have realised the significance of "No one shall work for money and no one shall work for fame, but all for the joy of the working."
I would like to add my conviction to your teaching that "absolute equality is a chimera" which, socially, is entirely impracticable. It has become a slogan to many work-en, reliance upon which will oniy lead to a cruel disillusionment.
The only "equality" is that which any man may attain by being prominent in his work. It has been truly said that "every man can do some one thing better than any other man."
So let our ambition be, no matter how humble our work may appear, to be of the aristocracy of work. And if to "work is to pray" may not this noble ambition to be among the elect of the workers of the world, bring us by steps to the dream of your great Teacher of a Great Universal Peace, against which if any government among you take up arms to destroy that peace, "the whole human race,"
Page 655APPRECIATIONS OF THE BA}{A'I FAITH 653
he tells, "shall resolve with every power at its disposal to destroy."
B~ DR. HEWLETT JOHNSONI read with interest the social programme of your movement demonstrating the best education for everyone, equal status for men and women and the like and also your encouragement of scientific research and emphasis on the need for a World Commonwealth, together with the oneness of mankind.
I am in complete agreement with those aims and wish you well in the pursuit of them.
B~ ARNOLD TOYNBEE, HON.The Bahá'u'lláh sect has been excommunicated by the Im&mi Mujtahids and been evicted from its Iranian homeland; but it is already apparent that these bitter experiences of persecution and expatriation have served this infant religion in good stead; for it has thereby been driven into looking beyond the Mediterranean and the Atlantic for new worlds to conquer in the strength of a principle (Non-Violence) which is apt to work as am "open sesame" for any missionary religion that has the faith to embrace it. B~ Sm RAMASWAMI MUDALIAR, K.C.S.I.
President, Economic SocialNations Conference on Freedom of In formation; Prime Minister,
Mysore State.It was in San Francisco in 1945 that I first had the privilege of meeting the fob lowers of the Baha Faith and learning something of the teachings of their great Prophet. I had spoken at the Plenary Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and had pointed out that it was not the independence of the nations, but their interdependence that had to be emphasized and constantly kept in view. The distinctions of Race and Religion, of colour and creed, are but superficial; the welfare of one part of the world cannot be sustained if other areas are depressed.
The War had ii-lustrated most forcibly the indivisibility of human happiness and human misery. It had, in fact, taught us that there was only one undivided world and that we are the children of one God.
A little group of Ba1A'fs who were at the conference and met me afterwards, congratulated me on having given expression on that world platform to some of the beliefs that they held dear. That is how I became acquainted with and soon deeply interested in the Bahá'í Faith. I have since had the privilege of meeting Bahá'ís in various centres in India,
Europe and America. Ihave a very happy and lively recollection of my visit to Wilmette, Illinois, where I was taken round the "Temple of Light" � the Ba1A'i Temple � a beautiful and inspiring structure, which in its very architecture, with its nine sides dedicated to the nine great religions of the world, emphasizes the universality of all religions.
"You are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch," says the Prophet. Again and again I have come across such sayings which have forcibly reminded me of the teachings of the Vedas. "Whenever virtue subsides and vice triumphs, then am I reborn to redeem mankind," says the Divine in the Gita. The Bahá'í Faith remarkably speaks not of one Prophet for all time, but of a succession of prophets as Divine dispensation sees the need for them.
In fact, the Bahá'í Faith gives us the great and previous message of unity in religion. The Bahá'ís do not form a sect by themselves.
Rather, through the teachings of their Prophet, they try to illumine the eternal verities of every religion and to quicken the noble impulses of the true followers of every religion with the spirit of catholicity and fraternalism. How much the world needs such a spirit today How far we are from that one far off divine event to which the whole creation is destined to move the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.
Perhaps the Baha Faithis destined to be, and may prove, the greatest single force in achieving that Godly consecrated consummation
Page 656I understand that a public meeting will be held in Benares for the celebration of the 105th Anniversary of the Declaration of the B~b, i. e. Gateway, the forerunner of RaM'-u'11~h, father of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Bahá'u'lláh is the prophet of the Movement now known in all the countries of the world as the Bahá'í Faith. From such literature of the Movement as I have come across and read, and from conversations I have had with members of the Movement who have kindly come to see me, I have acquired a great admiration for it. One of its twelve principal items of belief is that the essentials of all religions are one.
This belief is very dear to my heart and I have endeavoured to propound it at length in my book
"The Essential Unityof All Religions" supporting it with some 1400 (fourteen hundred) texts of the Sacred Scriptures of eleven living great religions, quoted in original with English translation. I wish with all my heart every success for this philanthropic and spiritual Movement.
B~ S. EITREMMany thanks for your kind gift of Bahá'í Literature.
Today I got the package, and I have been sitting almost the whole day absorbed in the perusal of this new "Gospel," which contains so much of eternal truth, of wonderful beauty and comfort.
Truly I have never heard anything about this new form for a World Religion, which really permits the human thought and scientific discoveries to have their rights, and at the same thne speak a simple language of the heart.
It is truly noteworthy how all the great Religions meet in agreement on all essential points.
How very near all this seems to be the last great movement, the New-Plato-nism, you might discover, if you could get hold of some of those writings.
My old kolleg, professor Gunnar Rudberg, now in Uppsala, has translated some choice selec tions in Swedish, "Plotinus, the Mystic and the Reformer"
(Stockholm 1927).you may be able to get the loan of it. From this we learn how every living thing, all worlds are bound together in sympathy, that the "reality of goodness" is the birthright of all. The old stoics had seen far, when they claimed that all mankind formed a unity, that we all were brothers, that we all aimed towards the same goal. The great wonder of it is, that the plain and great truths have been proclaimed by the very best of men at different times, perhaps with growing clearness, as humanity grows into age on this planet.
It is a sign of that it must be "truths," since the best of men time and again discover them.
Bahá'u'lláh is undoubtedly one of these "good" Prophets.
With renewed thanks, and the best wishes for theI am so happy to know that the Christlike Gospel of good will is growing throughout the world.
You hold in your organization the key that will settle all of our difficulties, real and imaginary. I was with you in spirit.
May God bless, keep and prosper you.The Baha faith is one among many, both ancient and modern, calling to man to share a deeper spirituality, a nobler ethic and a saner mind.
Though young in years the Bahá'ís have their saints and prophets who have paid their last measure of devotion for the faith.
The spirit of God, to be effective among men must be applied to concrete situations and this application always involves doctrine and practices in the particularity of time and culture. Their successful application
Page 657APPRECIATIONS OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH 655
leads to a reverence for form rather than for the spirit which gave life to the mode of expression.
That is the reason why all religious forms become lifeless when bereft of the spiritual life which gave them power. Every effort to return to or recover this original spirit, is commendable.
The Baha doctrine that man is one and that the great religions of man are essentially one, is a viewpoint which promises justice to God's witness to himself among others and at the same time utilizes all the insights of the past in giving direction and meaning to the life of modern man. The great historic religions suffer from the particularities of their regional contexts.
The Bahá'ís essay a large undertaking when they attempt to divorce the temporal from the eternal in the religions of the past and relate this eternal to the needs of the modern world. Time oniy will reveal whether so much of ancient truth which has become uncouth can again be made relevant.
To make ancient truth relevant is to save it, not to do so is to lose it. Man's task is not to repudiate or liquidate the good of the past but to complete and fulfill.
This task will require the work of many prophetic minds.
As God is one, so is man and so is religion, despite their diversity of form.
That which belongs to all is more important; our differences are incidental.
God's blessing be upon those whatever their faith or name who will lead man to this deep sense of community with man and God.
B~ KENNETH WALKER, F.R.C.S., F.I.C.S. Fear has no power to draw nations together, but drives them further apart, and the sole hope for the future lies in a spiritual revival based on the realization that all the great World Faiths proclaim identical religious truths. "The earth," said 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "is one nativity, one home and all mankind are the children of one father.
God has created them and they are the recipients of His compassion The obstacle to human happiness is racial or religious prejudice, the competitive struggle for existence and inhumanity toward each other."
There could be no more fitting message for the world of 1953 than these words uttered many years ago. I send you my best wishes for the success of your Jubilee Celebration of
Bahá'u'lláh's Dispensation.Full of love for all humanity; but it has come before its time. In these days of cold wars and after two hot wars, very much too hot, humanity has turned a deaf ear. But the day will come when these moral ideals will overcome the beast in man. Then that great hour will come when all people will unite in brotherhood to war against everything that leads to war of man against man.
This is indeed the true basis of the teachings of all of the Great Prophets.
� January 20, 1952.A richiesta degli interessati, certifico che ii Bahaismo, nato nella seconda met~ del secolo scorso quale sviluppo di una riforma nell'Islamismo persiano (Babismo), ha attu-almente lasciato cadere quasi ogni specifico contatto con I'Islamismo tradizionale, C Si sviluppato in una fede sopranazionale e superconfessionale, diffusa non solo in Oriente, ma in Europa e in America.
Capi-saldi di questa fede sono ideali e dottrine altamente morali e umanitarie, di pace di concordia e fratellanza umana, di migliora-mento interiore dell'uomo e della socieffi, in nulla ripugnanti alla moderna coscienza morale e religiosa. Onde nulla a mio avviso osterebbe al libero esercizio del culto baha-ista, quale ammesso in altri paesi d'Europa e d'America, e che si restringe del resto a semplici e ordinate cerimonie di edificazione e preghiera in comune.
B~ DR. ci. A. BORGESEThe reference to Bahá'í was the first; I do not think it will be the last. To the purity and intensity of this religious movement I have given long since the attention which should be given to it by any one-wonder aware that a political union is empty if a unifying religion does not overarch the variances of the creeds.
Page 658Professor of the History of Religion, University c.f Rome Ii Bahaismo ~ una religione universalista cresciuta sul tronco dell'Islamismo sejita come protesta e riforma, e ormai quasi completamente svincolata della tradizione musulmana ed organizzata su un piano inter-nazionale.
Esso prende nome da Baha Allah ('Splen-dore di Dio'), nome dcl persiano Mirza Hussain Au (18171892), die dopo 1'ucci-sione del flab, fondatore del Babismo, avvenuta nel 1850, ne continub Ia missione dandole nuovi impulsi e nuovi atteggia-menti.
Ii Baha, come ii Bab, die ne ii precur-sore (un p0' come II Battista ~ II precur-sore di Gesti), ~ un essere divino, una nuova manifestazione (dopo Mos, clopo Gesti e dopo
Maometto) dello Spiritouni-versale, annunziatore di una religione pitt perfetta, superiore alla religione di Mao-metto e a quella di Gesh, come questa ~ a sua volta superiore alla religione di Mos~.
Erede dello spirito non conformista del Babismo, ma alieno delle sue pratiche misti-che, attaccato alla memoria dei suoi martin e dde prime persecuzioni, ma aperto alle correnti liberali ed umanitarie, ii Bahaismo in questa forma modernizzante si & diffuso in Occidente, specie in America, dove ha oggi i suoi centri ed organi principali.
Nella situazione odierna del mondo, ii movimento spirituale Bahai, con le sue tendenze cosmopolitistiche, le sue aspira-zioni pacifistiche, Ic sue attivit~ propagandi-stiche, i suoi interessi culturali, merita di essere seguito con attenzione.
B~ DR. MARSHALL WINGEIELD, D.D., LITT.D.Of the multitude of pilgrims to the Holy Land, thousands visit the tomb of Bahá'u'lláh and the tomb of his forerunner the Báb. I had that inspiring experience in the spring of 1951. I had entered many buildings in stockinged feet. At these two tombs I was so aware of the holy that I really felt like removing my shoes. As I thought of these God-filled men, I gave thanks for their vision of the unity of mankind and for their appreciation of every manifestation of the God who is eternally One.
And I gave silent thanks also for the world-mindedness which seems to come naturally to all who are hospitable to the Bahá'í faith.
To lovers of God and man, there is nothing more depressing than the thought of the divisiveness of the numerous exclusive religions of mankind.
Conversely, there is no thought more heartening than the thought that there is at work in the world a religion which transcends all sectarianism and recognizes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus by declaring my belief that the future is on the side of Baha'i. It was not Jesus who made
Western ChristianityJesus preached the gospel of universal brotherhood: his followers marred his teachings with exclusiveness.
As I look on Christianity with its pathetic fragmentation, I am haunted by the feeling that Jesus has a better chance to win through the universalism of Bahá'í than through the institutionalism which bears his name.
Character is the final arbiter of all religions.The spiritual quality of the adherents of Bahá'í whom I have personally known, have given the faith a warm place in my heart.
The Mayor of Haifa gave a dinner on April 13, 1951, to the commission of which I was a member.
My seatmate was a noted journalist of the Jewish faith.
I had spent the afternoon in the beautiful Persian Gardens sacred to Baha'i, hence it was natural for me to speak of the Baha Faith. The journalist said: "The people of that faith are truly catholic.
All men of goodwill can subscribe to their faith without renouncing anything good in their own, be they Christian, Muslim or Jew. It is a religion of additions, not subtractions.
You are not asked to renounce anything but hate and narrow-mindedness.
The Bahá'í people are gentle and free from hate: they bless everything they touch."
� June 5,1953.said to the School: The Bahá'í Faith is a great Movement working for world order and peace. Its achievements are outstanding in a very short period, and it holds the promise of the future. I wish it all success. The Bahá'ís will have a great mission.
It is to hold high the banner of Unity before the whole world.
Page 659With sorrowful heart announce through National Assemblies Hand of Cause of Bahá'u'lláh highly esteemed dearly beloved Sutherland Maxwell gathered into the glory of the Ablia Kingdom. His saintly life extending well-nigh fourscore years, enriched during the course of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í ministry by services in the Dominion of Canada, ennobled during Formative Age of the Faith by decade of services in Holy Land, during darkest days of my life, doubly honored through association with the crown of martyrdom won by May Maxwell and incomparable honor bestowed upon his daughter, attained consummation through his appointment as architect of the Arcade and Superstructure of the B~b's Sepulcher as well as his elevation to the front ranks of the Hands of the Cause of God.
Advise all National Assemblieshold befitting memorial gatherings particularly in the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Wilmette, and in the lila-ziratu'1-Quds in
TilirAn.I{olley and Fred Schopflocher, to attend as my representatives the funeral in Montreal.
Moved to name after him the southern door of Báb's Tomb as tribute to his services to second holiest
Shrine of Bahá'í World.The mantle of Hand of Cause now falls upon the shoulders of his distinguished daughter, Abdu'l-Bahá Riil2iyyih, who has already rendered and is still rendering no less meritorious self-sacrificing services at World Center of Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
Haifa, Israel, March 26th, 1952.was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1874. On both sides he was of Scotch descent, his grandfather having migrated from Jedburgh with his family in the early part of the nineteenth century.
Other ancestors had come from Aberdeen. Both William and his older brother Edward were interested in building. Edward graduated as an engineer from McGill University, but when William left High School, he refused to follow this course as he could not study architecture there at that time. He went to Boston, at the age of seventeen, and the extraordinary ability he had for both drawing and design soon became apparent and he was given ornamental details of important buildings to work up into their final form.
In 1899 he went to the tcole des Beaux Arts in Paris where he was allowed to attend as a courtesy to the Canadian Government, in view of the fact he had no diplomas and was not planning to sit for any examinations.
He worked for two years in the studio of the wellknown architect Paschal. It was in this studio that he met a fellow-student, Randolph Bolles, who introduced him to his mother and sister; the sister, May Bolles, was already a convinced and active Bahá'í and had just returned to Paris from her pilgrimage to the Prison City of 'AkM, where she had met 'Abdu'l-Bahá. William's great interest at that time was art and architecture.
However, he made up his mind Miss ]3olles was the only woman he would ever marry. She reciprocated his sentiments, but refused to leave Paris and her teaching work for the Ba1A'i Faith.
He had to return to Canada, entered the office of his brother Edward, but continued to correspond with Miss Bolles in the hope she would marry him. At last Mrs. Bolles wrote 'Abdu'l-Bahá and laid the situation before Him. He gave His permission for May Bolles to leave France, and blessed the marriage.
In 1902 they were married in London. May Maxwell introduced the Faith to Canada, her home being its first Center. She never liked the name of William for her husband, and called him by his middle 657
Page 660name, Sutherland, all her life � a name no one else had ever used. Sutherland became the partner of his brother, and the Firm of Edward and W. S. Maxwell became famous throughout
Canada; before WorldWar I they had the biggest architectural offices in the country. The engineering and business sense of the older brother, as well as his knowledge and fine taste, combined with the genius for proportion, design and detail of the younger brother, turned out many Canadian landmarks, such as: The
Regina Parliament Buildings;Chateau Frontenac Hotel, Quebec; the Art Gallery, Church of the Messiah, and Nurses Wing of Royal Victoria Hospital, in Montreal, as well as many other public edifices and private homes.
In 1909, May and SutherlandMaxwell made a pilgrimage together to the Prison City of 'Akka, to visit 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Sutherland was not yet a convinced Baha'i. One day at table, he said to
'Abdu'l-Bahá: "The Christiansworship God through Christ; my wife worships God through You; but I worship Him direct." 'Abdu'l-Bahá smiled and said: "Where is He?" "Why, God is everywhere," replied
Sutherland. "EverywhereHe then went on to demonstrate that such worship was worship of a figment of the imagination and had no reality; we must worship God through something tangible and real to us, hence the rOle of the Manifestations.
Sutherland bowed his head in acceptance. The real seed of his faith germinated from that hour. The way this faith grew in him was a beautiful thing.
Pie had all the profound Scotch reticence, the horror of being peculiar, talked about, or different.
For years in Montreal the Bahá'ís were called "Mu-ijammadans," "Sun-Worshipers," "Here-tics," etc. A city composed of a large fanatical
French Canadian Catholicelement, and an equally conservative Protestant English-Scotch element, was determined to think the worst, with no investigation whatsoever, of the strange
Oriental Cult "that Mrs.Maxwell" belonged to. Since he built his home in 19078 until the present day, the Maxwell house has been the center of Bahá'í activity in Montreal; Mrs. Maxwell taught ceaselessly; Mr. Maxwell was the silent but willing partner. In 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited Montreal, attracted there, as He said Himself, by the devotion of May Maxwell.
The morning ofwas waiting on the platform as 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í train drew in to ask Him most humbly to honor his home by being his guest. The Master accepted. He loved Sutherland very much; He told his wife once during His threeday visit in their house: "He is a very good man."
He also admonished her not to neglect the father, now that she had a child.
The Max-wells had been childless up until their visit to 'Akka in 1909.
At that time He had assured them He would pray for them to have a child.
In 1910, Mary Sutherland, their only child, had been born.
In order to appreciate Sutherland Maxwell, and the achievements of the last years of his life, one has to recognize two great factors in his nature: The first is that he was one of those souls whose nature is all goodness. This is what led the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith to attest to his "saintly life" in his obituary cable. It is a nature not uncommon amongst the Scots. He was upright, truthful, and never approached a human being except in courtesy, friendliness, and that graciousness that is the essence of the democratic spirit. In spite of this trusting attitude, he had remarkably sound judgment. This was of great help in the workings of the Montreal Spiritual Assembly, of which he was a member and most often Chairman, for decades.
The second deep strain that colored all his nature was that he was an artist through and through. His wife, in one of her letters to him (and no one knew him better or appreciated him more) wrote: "You have the charm of originality."
Two things not often found together were combined conspicuously in him: an encyclopedic knowledge of all the arts, and a creative capacity for bringing new things into being. One must remember that an architect almost never has free reign for his own ideas, but is constantly interfered with and limited by his clients' desires and concepts. There was nothing he could not do with his hands in fulfillment of his mental image.
When the Chateau Frontenacwas built, he designed not oniy the lines of the twenty-story modern structure, but practically every detail of the interior: wrought-iron railings, furniture, grills, lamps, ceilings, elevator interiors, etc. He would take the chisel from the stone carver, the gouge from the wood carver, and "sweeten the lines" as he termed it. He was idolized by the workmen, need
Page 661less to say. In the course of years his achievements and talents brought honors. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Institute of
British Architects; aFellow and past president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada; an Academician of the Royal Canadian Academy and its vice-presi-dent and his water colors often hung in Academy shows; a member and past president of the Province of Quebec Association of Architects; a founding member of the "Pen and Pencil Club" and the
"Arts Club" in Montreal.The honors, medals and distinctions which he received testified not only to his ability as an architect and artist, but were also a recognition of his inner qualities of character.
In 1937 the course of his life was drastically changed through the marriage of his daughter, Mary, to the Guardian of the Ba-h~'i Faith. May and Mary, after a two-year sojourn in France, Belgium and Germany, had proceeded to Haifa as pilgrims.
They had already visited the Guardian in 1923, shortly after 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í passing. Mary had returned in the winter 192627 for another visit; but when a cable reached Sutherland, urging him to come at once in order to be present for his daughter's marriage, he was thrown into a turmoil of feeling. From that moment he added to the respect and affection he already had for Shoghi Effendi as his Guardian, a profound and tender love that grew, at the end of his life, into a thing of rare and touching beauty.
May's health, bordering all the thirty-eight years of their marriage, on invalidism, was even trailer as she approached seventy. She and Sutherland, after some months in Haifa, returned by slow stages to their home in Montreal.
The signal and overwhelming honor bestowed on them created an intense desire to render greater services to the Faith.
Hitherto the demands of his professional activity had kept Sutherland tied, except for attendance at a few annual Conventions and visits to Green Acre Bahá'í School in the summer, to Montreal. Now they made a much prized tour together of some of the eastern cities in America, as
Page 662� 2 Riihiyyih KjAnum at grave of her father, William Sutherland Maxwell, Hand of the Cause of God, in Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal.
Floral spray sent by the Guardian of the Baha World Faith from Haifa, in foreground.
Mrs. Amelia Collins stands to the right of Rtiljfyyih KjiAnum, and others include National Spiritual Assembly members and Montreal Baha'is. May, 1953.
Page 663In 1940, upon arrival with her niece Jeanne Bolles in Buenos Aires, where she had gone on a teaching trip with the consent of Sutherland, May suffered a heart attack and died.
The first act of the Guardian was to invite Sutherland, flow entirely alone, to come and live in Haifa.
From 1940, until his death in 1952, may be said to be the true years of burgeoning in this distinguished man's life. He accepted the loss of his wife with a meekness and faith, a gratitude for all the happy years of marriage they had shared, a pride in her death at the age of seventy in the field of service � a death of which Shoghi Effendi said she "laid down her life with such a spirit of consecration and self-sacrifice as has truly merited the crown of Martyrdom." He always felt her near him.
The years he spent in Haifa coincided with some of the hardest in Shoghi Effendi's life. Quietly, unassumingly, like a rock, Sutherland stood by him; the faith, planted in his heart by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, was now in fullest flower.
He was a tower of spiritual strength.referred small matters to Sutherland for his advice: a new flight of steps, a lamp post, a new entrance.
To the architect of over forty years practical experience this was pleasant child's play. He would make a pen sketch in perspective, color it and submit it to the Guardian, so he could see what the finished article would look like in situ.
Shoghi Effendi was delighted.He decided to ask Sutherland to work oh a scheme for completing the Shrine of the Báb. He knew that 'Abdu'l-Bahá had wanted a dome and an arcade added to the original building. By 1942, Sutherland submitted to him studies for the Shrine. It was not an easy task; a square, fortress-like stone building, one story high, already existed halfway up a steep mountain; about this and above this, not destroying or hiding any part of the previous structure erected "with tears" by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, must come a worthy envelope, a case for the pearl.
By 1944, the completed and accepted design, in model form, was exhibited to the Bahá'ís gathered on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb's Mission, in the precincts of His resting-place.
A number of the elements in Sutherland's design were either suggested by or modified by the
Guardian.Sutherland had the highest respect for Shoghi Effendi's taste and judgment.
By 1946 � for a period of about one year� Sutherland found himself in charge of the Guardian's outside work. Mail, visitors, Government contacts, errands were managed singlehanded by the whitehaired man of seventy-two. He did a good job, but it was too much for him � a blood-vessel broke in his ear and left him totally deaf on one side, shaken and dizzy for weeks on end,. In 1948, accompanied by Mr. Weeden, he flew to Italy and placed, in collaboration with Dr. Ugo Giachery, the first contract for the stone work of the BTh's Shrine. In spite of failing strength he continued his detailed and working drawings right up to the night when his health broke down in 1949. There followed a long and serious illness, when he was condemned by the best doctors as being beyond hope of recovery. It was then that the deep spiritual attachment he had formed to Shoghi Effendi became manifest. No matter how desperate his state, he invariably responded to the Guardian. It was the Guardian's love, his determination not to let him die, that brought him back. The man condemned to die lived to visit the completed Arcade of the Shrine he had worked on with such love, and sacrificed his health for.
His age and the hard work of a lifetime had, however, taken their toll. He suffered ups and downs, recovery followed collapse, collapse recovery. It was a heartbreaking two years for those who loved him. Sutherland's cherished wish was to visit Montreal again.
Arrangements were made for him to pass the summer of 1951, accompanied by his devoted nurse, in his home. He was to return in the autumn to Haifa.
This plan suited him perfectly; but when Fall came, it was evident that in view of the acute shortages in Israel, he could not be fed the fresh food he needed, and which alone kept him from relapsing into violent gallbladder upsets. He remained in Canada, longing for the day he could return to his home in the Holy Land.
It was during this winter that Shoghi Effendi bestowed upon him the inestimable bounty of becoming a Hand of the Cause of God. He understood and was deeply touched; he said "I did not do it all alone; there were so many others who helped." The humility was typical of the man. After a fall, and a relapse into his illness, he sank
Page 664rapidly. It was not possible for his daughter to reach him in time; he died in the night of March 25, 1952; his nurse and his favorite nephew, Sterling Maxwell, by his side.
On the slopes of Mt. Royal, where the wind plays with the falling autumn leaves of gold and red, where the snow all winter long lays its dazzling cloak and in spring snow drops break up through the ice, Wil-ham Sutherland Maxwell, in the city of his birth, lies buried.
On the slopes of Mt. Carmel an immortal monument to his abilities and his devotion covers the Tomb of the Martyr
Prophet of a World"Heart filled (with) sorrow (for) loss (of) greatly prized, much loved, highly admired herald (of) Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, Roy Wilhelm.
Distinguished career enriched annals (of) concluding years (of) Heroic (and) opening years (of) Formative
Age (of) Faith. Sterlingqualities endeared him (to) his beloved Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
His saintliness, indomitable faith, outstanding services local, national, international, (his) exemplary devotion, qualify him (to) join ranks (of) Hands (of) Cause, insure him everlasting reward (in) AbbA Kingdom. Advise hold memorial gathering (in) Tern-pie befitting his unforgettable services (and) lofty rank."
December 24, 1951.In the history of the Bahá'í Faith during the first half of the twentieth century,
RoyC. Wilhelm occupied an important place. The firmness of his faith, the purity of his devotion, his self-sacrifice and his untiring activity enabled him to make a unique contribution to the establishment of the Faith in North America and indirectly, through his generous aid to Miss Martha Root, and his distribution of Bahá'í literature in many languages, to its spread in other continents. Essentially humble, he carried heavy administrative responsibilities with a winning charm which endeared him to a host of friends.
Roy Wilhelm was first and foremost a man of integrity who applied the high Ba-hd'i standards of conduct to himself before he applied them to others.
Born in Zanesyille, Ohio, September 17, 1875, Roy Wilhelm and his parents moved to West Englewood, New Jersey, and opened their import firm in New York City, which he actively conducted until the last few years of his life.
It was on this property in West Englewood that 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1912, during His North American visit, held a unity feast for the Bahá'ís of the New York metropolitan area at which He announced that on that date the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh was truly established in America. The site of that gathering will, in the future, mark the oniy public Memorial which the American Bahá'ís are permitted to construct in reverent observance of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í visit from April to December, 1912.
From a Bahá'í who was also associated with a group which met in the Dodge home, New York City, for many years after 1900, has come this description: "The meetings were intensely interesting and full of fervor. It was a happy group, and there was an apparent spiritual intelligence, one might say, even if our knowledge of the Teachings was limited.
A baptism of the Holy Spirit must have been the pure bounty of the Lord to this group.
Without exception every one had a great and sincere desire to serve the Cause in the way he or she seemed to be guided. Roy (Wilhelm) attended these meetings regularly At that time the available Bahá'í literature was slight, and copies of prayers and tablets were typewritten and distributed � SHOGHI from friend to friend. One of the earliest efforts to make the sacred texts more widely available was voluntarily initiated and sustained by Mr. Wilhelm. His compilations, successively translated into a number of languages, were widely used at fireside (home) and public meetings conducted more and more frequently as Bahá'í centers increased in number in North America.
To this one devoted worker may be attributed the great service of printing and making readily available hundreds of thousands of Bahá'í pamphlets in the course of his lifetime. In addition, his business advertisements in trade journals became notable for the use of a brief Bahá'í text in each.
Much could be written about his visits to Bahá'í centers on his business trips throughout the country, carrying the great Message
Page 665to countless inquirers and strengthening the ardor of the active Bahá'í workers themselves.
"The Bahá'ís everywhere looked forward to his coming, and prepared meetings for him ." one of his contemporaries has written.
The year 1907 marked the greatest experience in the formative years of his Bahá'í life. In April of that year Roy Wilhelm, accompanied by his mother, went on a pilgrimage to attain the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá at 'Akka in the Holy Land. The words of welcome uttered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, as translated into English, were written down by Mr. Wilhelm immediately afterward and quoted in a letter written to his fellow Ba-h6A teacher,
Mrs. Mariam Haney: "Wel-come!Very welcome! I have been waiting for your coming. It is with God's help that you have reached 'Akka You represent all the American believers Thank God that you caine."
The following year Roy Wilhelm prepared and distributed a booklet recounting his pilgrimage, which he entitled "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (Matt. 7:7)." On the front cover was reproduced a photograph of the door leading to 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í room. Quoting from the text: "That which most impresses the pilgrim to the 'Most Great Prison' at 'Akka, is the spirit of sacrifice.
Nowhere have I witnessed such love, such perfect harmony.
The desire of those in that prison was to serve one another. In our Western liberty it is difficult to realize the bitter antagonism and hatred which exists in the East between the followers of the several great religious systems. For example, a Jew and a Mu1~ammadan would refuse to sit at meat together: a Hindu to draw water from the well of either. Yet, in the house of 'Abdu'l-Bahá we found Christians, Jews, Muliammadans, Zoroastrians, Hindus, blending together as children of the one God, living in perfect love and harmony "At the house of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in 'Akka, we met many of these peoples, but they had lost all trace of the discord and hatred which has been inbred and cultivated for centuries, and now they are as members of one Household. They sacrifice their lives for one another.
To what shall we attribute this miracle of unity? We had heard much of the love and kindness shown by the Oriental brothers to the pilgrims from Roy C. Wilhelm.
the West � after our visit we understood In the meeting of the West with the East is fulifiled the prophecies of the Books During our last meal 'Abdu'l-Bahá broke a quantity of bread into His bowl; then asking for the plates of the pilgrims He gave to each of us a portion. When the meal was finished, He said: 'I have given you to eat from My bowl � now distribute My Bread among the people.'" The Bahá'í message of the oneness of mankind and the essential unity of Revelation brought its own severe tests to the followers in all countries, that the sincere might be separated from the insincere. The storm of bitter controversy raged around the calm and radiant Presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
Center of Bahá'u'lláh'sVictim of official persecution and confined to prison quarters until 1908, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was also assailed by the unfaithful within His own family, and these enemies attempted to create the basis for general disloyalty within the Bahá'í communities of East and West. With other stalwart souls of his generation Roy Wilhelm stood above a frequently bewildering
Page 666and subtle controversy and radiated the spirit of firmness in that Covenant.
He was very dear to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and received many evidences of his Master's trust and esteem. For a long period the cablegrams and letters (tablets) sent by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Bahá'í groups and individuals in North America were addressed in Roy Wilhelm's care and forwarded by him to their destinations.
In 1909 the American Baha'is, under the initiative of the Chicago group, elected a national Baha body to represent all the
Bahá'ís of North Americain their united effort to purchase land and plan the construction of the House of Worship recently completed in Wilmette,
Illinois.From that year until his retirement from active Bahá'í service in 1946, with the exception of a single year of illness, Roy Wilhelm was elected annually to the Bahá'í Temple Unity and to the later National Spiritual Assembly, and for years served as its treasurer. No other American believer has achieved a comparable record. As treasurer, the integrity of his character and the simple, direct humanness of his exposition of financial matters brought about a rapid development of the Bahá'í fund as an organic institution of the community.
After the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, the Guardian who was appointed in
His Will and Testamentsummoned two American Bahá'ís for conference in Haifa
� Roy Wilhelm and MountfortThe Guardian's cablegram lamenting the passing of Roy Wilhelm from this world on December 20, 1951, is cited at the beginning of this article.
In conclusion it is appropriate to quote from letters addressed to him by 'Abdu'l-Bahá They illumine the essential worth of this man, and his service as a steadfast pillar of a new and worldwide Faith.
"Verily thou art serving in every respect; thou art striving more than thine energy permits, and thou art rendering self-sacri-fice. I am pleased with thee to the utmost."
"Verily thou art Baha, thou art godly and heavenly.
Thou art self-sacrificing in service to the Kingdom.
Even a minute thou dost not neglect. Thy heart is overflowing with the love of God. Be thou assured that thou wilt receive great Confirmations!"
"The sight of your portrait brought joy to My heart, because it is luminous and celestial, and looking at the photograph of your house, I saw the charm of the spot, the beauty of its environment, and the perfection of its building.
"I am extremely pleased with you because you are a true Baha'i. Your house is My house; there is no difference whatsoever between yours and Mine."
� HORACE HOLLEY"Profoundly grieved (at) passing (of) dearly loved, outstandingly staunch
Hand (of) Cause Fred Schopflocher.(His) numerous, magnificent services extending over thirty years (in) administrative (and) teaching spheres (for) United States,
Canada, InstitutionsNational Assembly hold befitting memorial gathering (at) Temple he generously helped raise. Advise hold memorial gathering (at) Maxwell home (to) commemorate his eminent part (in) rise (of) Administrative Order (of) Faith (in) Canada.
Urge ensure burial (in) close neighborhood (of) resting place (of) distinguished
Hand (of) Cause SutherlandA world-renowned symbol of the great evolution of the Bahá'í Faith, the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar at Wilmette, is nearing completion, representing the collective effort of believers throughout the world and particularly in North America. Of the many international services to the Faith rendered by Fred Schopflocher over the last thirty years, perhaps none is more enduring than his contribution to the completion of the Temple. Mr. Schopflocher early understood the significance of the Temple and through numerous visits to the Guardian realized its importance to the growth of the Faith. It was after one of these visits to Haifa that Mr. Schopflocher arrived at a National
Ba-h6A Convention in Wilmetteand generated afresh an enthusiasm for resumption of construction work on the exterior ornamentation of the Temple. It was for this service that the Guardian called Fred
Schopflocher "the ChiefBorn in Germany in 1877 of Jewish parentage, Mr. Schopflocher was brought up along orthodox lines but, after leaving school, ceased to follow the customs of his faith and leaned towards an agnosticism which included a search for a more universal expression of religion. Years later, after he had become permanently settled in business in Canada, Mr. Schopflocher heard of the Bahá'í Faith and, shortly thereafter, became a Baha'i.
In 1922, Mr. Schopflocher made his first visit to Haifa which was the beginning of many journeys to the Center of the Faith. His devotion to the Guardian was immediate and lasting and, on several of his international tours, the Guardian gave him specific assignments to carry out. His trips, usually undertaken in conjunction with his business, took him to every corner of the globe where he was able to visit Bahá'í communities and learned to appreciate, at first hand, the extraordinary bond linking the believers throughout the world in their love for a common Cause. Normally, as Fred said, it would have been impossible for a Westerner to make contact with so wide a variety of peoples in East and West, especially on short and relatively infrequent visits to so many places, but the worldwide community of the believers has destroyed all barriers.
One of Mr. Schopflocher'searliest interests as a Baha was in Green Acre which, when he entered the Faith, was in need of considerable improvement and repair. Mr. Schopflocher donated several important properties to Green Acre and played a major r6le in the development and expansion of its facilities.
Subsequently, when Geyser-yulewas developed as a Summer School, Mr. Schopflocher also took a great personal interest in its success and attended many of its sessions.
During the period from 1924 to 1947, Mr. Schopifocher was elected a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Ba-hd'is of the United States and Canada for fifteen different years. When the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada was formed as an independent administrative body in 1948, Mr. Schopflocher was elected a member and has continuously served on that body ever since.
It was chiefly through Fred's efforts, with the able assistance of Horace Ilolley, that the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada secured a unique form of incorporation by an Act of the Parliament of Canada.
In this last year, coincident with his appointment as a Hand of the Cause of God, the Guardian instructed Fred to assist the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada in the establishment of the Hazira.
This brief sketch of Mr. Schopflocher's life was approved by him in February, 1953.
Two months later he attended the Canadian National Convention before proceeding to the Intercontinental
Conference in Chicago.At the Convention he made valuable contributions to the discussion, particularly of the ltla4ra and the Temple plans and of financial matters. He yielded to the urgent appeals of the Western delegates to visit their communities at an early date. He spoke at the Feast of Ri~1vin on the functions of the Hands of the Cause of God and shared some of the notes from his pilgrimage to Haifa in January, 1953. This talk, so deeply moving, so inspiring, so revealing of the profound humility and devotion of the man, will be long remembered by the friends.
Page 668Fred kept his promise to the Western Canadian believers in the latter part of June. He brought them too a new understanding of the Hands of the Cause and a clearer appreciation of our Guardian and of the tremendous services he renders the Bahá'í world.
Fred had a deep affection for the friends in India.
He had been eagerly looking forward to attending the New Delhi Conference.
It was not to be. He passed away in Montreal at 9:30 A.M. on Monday, July 27, 1953, after a few days' illness.
The funeral service was conducted by the CanadianBurial was made, at the Guardian's request, close to the grave of Sutherland Maxwell, the first Canadian Hand of the Cause. On August
23, the Montreal Assemblyarranged a memorial service in the Maxwell Home which was attended by members of the National Assembly and friends, mainly from the Montreal area. This service in Fred's home community was intimate and personal. Many people recalled with loving gratitude personal associations with Fred, kindly and helpful things he had done in his unobtrusive way, gifts of hospitality or consideration that they had treasured sometimes for many years.
On August 28, a second memorial service was arranged by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. A report of this service is published in the September issue of their Bahá'í
News.The cable from the Guardian, the many messages received from Hands of the Cause of God, from National and Local Assemblies, from individuals throughout the Bahá'í world and from many non-Bab4'f friends and business associates attested to the deep sense of loss felt in every continent on the passing of this humble, staunch and devoted soul.
LOUIS G. GREGORY"Profoundly deplore grievous loss dearly beloved, nobleminded, golden-hearted Louis Gregory, pride (and) example (to the) Negro adherents (of the) Faith, keenly feel loss (of) one so loved, admired (and) trusted (by) 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Deserves rank Louis G. Gregory.(of) first Hand (of the) Cause (of) his race. Rising
Bahá'í generation Africancontinent will glory (in) his memory (and) emulate his example. Advise hold memorial gathering (in) Temple (in) token recognition (of his) unique position, outstanding services.
� SHOGHIDearly loved, universally respected Louis 0. Gregory passed away on July 30, 1951. Although he had been frail in body for many months, the luminous spirit and great heart were so apparent, so overwhelming, that none anticipated his sudden departure.
Only a week before, he had arranged and carried out a meeting in his home in Eliot, Maine, where he discussed the prophecies in the Bible, with their import for these perilous times.
The dozen or more who gathered there will forever treasure this meeting which proved to be his last. Seated at his desk, his warm and radiant smile welcoming everyone, with his indescribable spiritual dignity, a manifest evidence of the world in which he lived, he carried on the meeting with joy and radiance.
His body was laid to rest in the burying ground at Eliot, Maine. On Wednesday afternoon,
August 1, a Memorialwas held at Fellowship House in the large room which was filled to overflowing, not only with the members of the Eliot Bahá'í Community but also with the many friends who were attending the Green Acre Bahá'í School.
In this room he had conducted teaching meetings, fireside groups and conferences on race amity, the subject so close to his heart, and it seemed fitting that in this beautiful spot the prayers of the friends should pour forth in gratitude for such a wonderful life lived in their midst, and in supplication for his eternal progress.
On November 24, 1951, a memorial service was held in the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly. It was attended by friends from various parts of the United States and Canada who had come to pay tribute to this great soul.
Louis Gregory was born in Charleston, South Carolina, June 6, 1874. His father died when he was five years of age; until his mother married again matters were difficult for her and her two sons, and they were sometimes hungry.
His stepfather was kind to him and when he became a youth apprenticed him to a tailor. Later his stepfather paid the expenses of his first year at Fisk
University, and Louissupported himself and put himself through this university by obtaining scholarships, by work at cleaning, pressing and tailoring for the students, and sometimes working as a waiter during the summer vacations.
After he graduated from Fisk he taught at Avery Institute, a small private school maintained by people from the North to help students of exceptional intellectual capacity.
He had studied there as a young boy. After this period of teaching he began the study of law at Howard University, receiving his LL.B. degree March 26, 1902. When he had passed the necessary examinations he began the practice of law in Washington, D.C., where he formed a partnership with another lawyer, James A. Cobb. They continued as law partners until 1906, when Louis took a position in the United
States Treasury Department.James A. Cobb, later appointed Judge of the District Court, has written of
Louis Gregory:"It was my privilege to have known Mr. Gregory intimately from 1895 until a short time before his passing. I knew him as a student, teacher, practicing lawyer, lecturer and friend, and in each capacity he was strong and outstanding.
In other words he was a fine student, a lovely character and a person with a great mind which he devoted to the betterment of mankind. Those of us who knew him well cannot but mourn his loss, but there should be some comfort in the fact that he lived long and well, and those with whom he came in contact were and are better for their association with him. In fact, he was one of those who enriched the life of America."
Louis first heard about the Baha Faith while he was employed with the Government, in 1908.
He always spoke with great love and appreciation of the cultivated, southern white gentleman, a coworker in the same department, who first brought the Cause to his attention, saying: "I think that this is something that will interest you. I am too old to investigate it. You are young and I would like you to do so." Although this gentleman did not accept the Faith, he was the means of putting Louis in contact with Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hannen, Bahá'ís of Washington, D.C., who taught him and exemplified in their lives the beauty of the Teachings, thereby attracting his heart. His first Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Bahá came through Mr. Hannen.
We know at present relatively little about his childhood and youth. The picture of his mother reveals a person of great love and spiritual beauty.
We have no picture of his father. When we realize how well prepared Louis was for the Bahá'í teachings, we can well appreciate how deep and wide his inner life had really been. There is no doubt that he was created with a great destiny and that time would show that in the history of his race he would stand among its leaders. In fact, in response to his letter to 'Abdu'l-Bahá telling of his acceptance of the Faith, 'Abdu'l-Bahá called upon him to become the cause of guidance of both the white and the colored races. In this beautiful Tablet 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote:
"0 Thou Wooer of Truth!Thank God that thou hast attained to such a bounty, discovered the Path of the Kingdom and received the Glad-Tidings of the Universe of the Most
High. This Divine Bestowalis conducive to the Everlasting Glory in both worlds.
I hope that thou mayest become the Herald of the Kingdom, become the means whereby the white and colored
Page 670peoples shall close their eyes to racial differences and behold the reality of humanity, and that is the universal unity which is the oneness of the kingdom of the human race, the basic harmony of the world and the appearance of the Bounty of the Almighty.
"In brief, do not look upon thy weak body and thy limited capacity; look thou upon the Bounties and Providence of the Lord of the Kingdom, for His confirmation is great, and His Power unparalleled and incomparable.
With a heart full of longing, Louis asked permission to visit the Holy Threshold, and in reply he received another Tablet early in 1910: Thou hast asked for permission to present thyself in this Holy Land; it is not at present in accord with wisdom. Postpone this matter to another and more appropriate time."
However, through the Bounty of God the doors opened, and in 1911 when 'Abdu'l-Bahá was in Ramleh, Egypt,
Louis visited Him. Hearrived in Ramleh on April 10, 1911. There and later in Haifa and 'Akka. where he went to visit the sacred Shrines of the BTh and Bahá'u'lláh, he drank deeply from the ocean of inspiration, guidance and steadfastness.
His notes of this visit and extracts from some Tablets he received from 'Abdu'l-Bahá were printed in a booklet entitled A Heavenly Vista.
The words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá described this visit in Tablets written at that time, for it was apparent that this was not an ordinary pilgrimage. To an American Bahá'í 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote: "Mr. Gregory arrived with the utmost love and spirituality and returned with infinite happiness. He added to his faith and found firmness and steadfastness. Undoubtedly you shall see these things at the time of his arrival.
It is my hope that he may become the cause of increasing the love of the friends and the maidservants of the
Merciful."To another 'Abdu'l-Bahá alA wrote: "Mr. Gregory is at present in great happiness; he went to 'Akka and visited the Holy Threshold and the Supreme Court. He is now, day and night mingling with the friends of God and 'Abdu'l-Bahá in joy and gladness.
He will return to America very soon, and you, the white people, should then honor and welcome this shining colored man in such a way that all the people will be astonished."
Louis did not return directly to the United States but, at the request of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, visited Germany amidst heavenly confirmations.
Of this we are assured, because in a Tablet to one of the German friends 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote: "Your letter arrived and its contents showed that Mr. Gregory, by visiting the Blessed Tomb, has received a new power and a new life. When he arrived at Stuttgart, although being of black color, yet he shone as a bright light in the meeting of the friends Louis Gregory returned to the United States radiant and happy, filled with a zeal and a determination to bring to pass the expectations and hopes of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Lie began a task which he pursued steadily until his death � to unify the white and colored peoples of the world and to aid in establishing the oneness of humanity.
During the visit of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the United States in 1912 a luncheon in His honor was given in Washington by Mirza Ali-Kuli Khan and Madame Khan, who were both Baha'is. Khan was at that time charg6 d'affaires of the Persian Legation in the capital city. Many noted people were invited, some of whom were members of the official and social life of Washington, as well as a few Baha'is. Just an hour before the luncheon 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent word to Louis Gregory that lie might come to Him for the promised conference.
Louis arrived at the appointed time, and the conference went on and on; 'Abdu'l-Bahá seemed to want to prolong it. When luncheon was announced, 'Abdu'l-Bahá led the way and all followed Him into the dining room, except Louis. All were seated when suddenly 'Abdu'l-Bahá stood up, looked all around, and then said to Mirza Khan, Where is Mr. Gregory? Bring Mr. Gregory! There was nothing for Mirza Khan to do but find Mr. Gregory, who fortunately had not yet left the house, but was quietly waiting for a chance to do so. Finally Mr. Gregory came into the room with Mirza Khan.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who was really the Host (as He was wherever He was), had by this time rearranged the place setting and made room for Mr. Gregory, giving him the seat of honor at His right. He stated He was very pleased to have Mr. Gregory there, and then, in the most natural way as if nothing unusual had happened, proceeded to give a talk on the oneness of mankind.
Page 671Addressing Mr. and Mrs. Gregory in the early months of 1914 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote: "0 ye two believing souls!
Continually do I remember you. I beg of God that through you, good fellowship may be obtained between the white and colored races, for you are the introduction to this accomplishment I know also that your thought and mention by day and by night is the guidance of souls white and black. Therefore be ye most happy, because ye are confirmed in this great matter."
When Mrs. Agnes Parsonsvisited 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Holy Land in 1920 He asked her to inaugurate, in Washington, D.C., the first Conference for Amity and Unity between the white and colored peo-pies. Assisted by a capable committee Mrs. Parsons organized this Conference.
It was held in Washington, May 1921, 1921, and was a great success, bringing together able and important representatives of both white and colored peoples.
It became a prototype of many similar meetings held in cities large and small throughout the
United States and CanadaMr. Gregory was one of the speakers and reported the proceedings of the Conference in the Star of the West.1
It is probable that no individual teacher in the Faith has traveled more extensively throughout the United States than Mr. Gregory. Living in the utmost simplicity, sacrificing at every turn, he spoke in schools, colleges, churches, forums, conferences and with individuals throughout the land. With a marvelous blending of humility and courage, of tenderness and adamantine firmness and steadfastness, he met high and low, rich and poor, educated and ignorant, and gave to them the cup of the Water of Life. He spoke in Protestant, Catholic and Jewish schools and before nondenominational groups, and everywhere he was accepted.
His radiant and gentle spirit opened the doors for those who followed after him; many a Bahá'í teacher seeking an opening to teach has been met with the words: "0 yes! We know Mr. Gregory and we love him. If you are a friend of his, you are welcome."
For more than thirtyfive years Louis Gregory was the mainspring behind the work for Race Amity.
Whether as chairman 1 Vol. 12, p. 115, June, 1921.
of the Bahá'í Nationalor as a member, and he was either one or the other for a great many years, or as an individual, he was tireless in his activities in promoting unity.
Green Acre, in Eliot, Maine, was the scene of many Unity Conferences at which prominent leaders shared the platform, with Mr. Gregory, the moving force and the-organizer, oftentimes completely in the background. He never lost sight of the goal.
He was elected a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and served faithfully for many years. When he was elected, Shoghi Effendi wrote him that he welcomed his election but that he wished him to concentrate, Iirst and foremost, upon the teaching work and to arrange his affairs in such a way that no administrative responsibilities would in any way interfere with the effective conduct of his teaching work.
This Louis Gregory accomplished by arranging his teaching trips so that the itinerary allowed him to attend the meetings of the National
Spiritual Assembly.That his dependable, trustworthy and faithful services were appreciated is evidenced by the many letters he received from the Guardian through the years. He made the Guardian happy.
In one of his letters Shoghi Effendi wrote: "Your letter has infused strength and joy in my heart For your own dear self, I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for the heroic constancy, mature wisdom, tireless energy and shining love with which you are conducting your ever expanding work of service to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. You hardly realize what a help you are to me iii my arduous task."
The capacities of Louis Gregory were versatile, for he shone equally as a delegate to the Convention, as secretary of the Convention, as the recording secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, as a speaker and as a writer. Articles by him appeared in the Star of the West, The Bahá'í Magazine, the World Order Magazine, and in nearly every issue of The Bahá'í World. These articles like the addresses he gave are thoughtful, factual and filled with the spirit of love and exaltation that characterized his life.
Twice at the invitation of the great Negro educator, Booker T. Washington, Louis Gregory visited Tuskegee Institute and was called upon to address the students on the
Page 672Bahá'í Faith. Their response to the Bahá'í ideals and principles was most enthusiastic. Here he made the acquaintance of that outstanding Negro genius and man of God,
Dr. George WashingtonCarver, who showed the utmost appreciation of the Faith. This was the beginning of an increasingly rich friendship. Whenever Mr. Gregory went to Tuskegee, and he visited there many times, he had understanding and sympathetic talks with Dr. Carver in his famous laboratory or in his room.
Louis Gregory's spiritual position was so well centered in the Teachings and in his complete obedience to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian that he held the banner of oneness high in the heavens yet never became the subject of controversy. He showed infinite patience, for his faith in the goal of his hopes was such that he possessed a long range view, and he met every opposition or intolerance with understanding and radiant acquiescence.
His heart was full of fire but he knew the wishes of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and transmuted that fire into brilliant light.
When a serious operation and increasing bodily weakness curtailed his traveling and he was obliged to stay in Eliot and be content with shorter trips, Louis Gregory turned to correspondence and to a deeper study of the Teachings. His spiritual awareness became increasingly vivid. He lived again the high lights of his life. He drew ever nearer to the beloved of his heart, the Guardian. In retrospect we realize that he was being prepared for that transition which came suddenly to a great personage, a great lover of all mankind, "golden-hearted" Louis
Gregory.Cablegram from the Guardian: Hearts grieved (at) lamentable, untimely passing (of)
Dorothy Baker, distinguished Hand(of the) Cause, eloquent exponent its teachings, indefatigable supporter its institutions, valiant defender its precepts. (Her) long record (of) outstanding service (has) enriched (the) annals (of the) concluding years (of the) Heroic (and the) opening epoch (of the) Formative Age (of the) Bahá'í Dispensation.
Fervently prayingAssure relatives profound loving sympathy. (Her) noble spirit (is) reaping bountiful reward.
Advise hold memorial gathering (in the) Temple befitting her rank (and) imperishable services
� SHOGHIMystery of mysteries is the tragic British jet plane disaster near the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea, which, on January 10, 1954, deprived the Bahá'í Cause of Dorothy Baker's spiritually intelligent services in this world.
Distinguished in her life as a Hand of the Cause, an administrator, a remarkably gifted teacher, she was lifted out of her lofty position at the time when she was in the full tide of her capacities for service to our beloved Faith.
Mere words cannot express the quality of grief which afflicted Bahá'ís on every continent. But a life of genuine Bahá'í service so pure and beautiful had its effect on many lives, and, even in this sudden passing to her Heavenly Home, she proclaimed the Baha Faith. The news of the disaster went round the world,
Page 673and undoubtedly millions of people heard the word "Baha'i" for the first time.
Dorothy Beecher Bakerwas born in Newark, New Jersey, December 21, 1898. Her father was related to Henry Ward Beecher, a liberal clergyman famous for his eloquence on the subjects of the abolition of slavery and prohibition, and to Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of
Uncle Tom's Cabin. Dorothywas graduated from the Montclair Normal College and thereafter taught in the public schools of Newark for two years.
She was then offered a contract to teach in the Ethical Culture School in New York but declined the offer and, in the summer of 1921, she was married to Frank Baker. They had two children, Louise Baker Matthjas and William, both of them comprehending and loyal Baha'is. Frank Baker deserves much gratitude, for he stood by Dorothy's side always, and, in his own magnificent services and his support of Dorothy's teaching activities, there was the element of true sacrifice.
In the early pioneering days of the Bahá'í Cause in New York City (19001905), I was closely associated with Dorothy's grandmother, known to the Ba1A'is as Mother Beecher. We worked together, arranging the programs and meetings at Genealogical Hall and in many other activities. Mother Beecher was an elderly person even then. She lived near us, and I used to see her practically every day in connection with our Bahá'í duties.
I loved to hear her dwell on her religious experiences.
Her stories were without end.After Dorothy had grown to a little girl, Mother Beecher was full of anxiety, at times, about her. Dorothy's parents were not Ba1A'is then, although now they are both active in the
Faith, and Mother Beecherwould say to me: "I will train Dorothy; I will train her. She shall be my spiritual child.
I would not be loyal to Bahá'u'lláh if my granddaughter did not receive the true
Bahá'í Teachings." Shesaid this so many times that it has remained indelibly impressed upon me.
We have heard much about this mystical bond which brought grandmother and granddaughter together; and indeed it was Mother Beecher who trained Dorothy and brought her safely into the Bahá'í fold. Louise Baker Matthjas tells how in 1912 Mother Beecher took Dorothy, then fourteen years old, to New York to see 'Abdu'l-Bahá..
. She had been a very shy child, sensitive to the point of deep suffering in the presence of adults. She was so shy that years later she still remembered the tension she felt when she entered the room where 'Abdu'l-Bahá was speaking. He smiled at her, and without speaking to her directly, motioned her to a footstool at His side. At first she was so much afraid that He might speak to her that she could hardly bear it, but as He seemed to pay no further attention to her, she gradually relaxed. She was never able to remember what He talked about that day, but it was the moment of her birth as a Baha, and from that time on she considered herself a Baha. Although she left without speaking to Him, she could think of nothing else for days afterward and finally wrote Him a letter saying that she wished to serve the Faith. He immediately sent her a Tablet in His own hand, translated by one of His secretaries which is now in the National Archives, in which He told her that He would pray that God would grant her desire.
A few nights after that meeting in New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent for Mother Beecher, who went to Him immediately. When she entered the room He was speaking to some people but interrupted what He was saying, turned to her, and said, rather abruptly: "I called you to say that your granddaughter is My own daughter. You must train her for Me."
This rare and lovely soul was almost a perfect student; she studied the Bahá'í Teachings in such a way (that is, with both mind and heart) that one would think her very life depended on her being filled to overflowing with the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. She often said something to this effect: Nothing worth knowing is attained without labor, tremendous effort, and undivided attention.
She always felt sure that she was to go forth to service and that her duty would be to give out "thoughts that breathe."
She often said that she wished her service would "kindle the feelings" and touch the hearts. She certainly attained this wish, for as a speaker in small or large groups, she was eloquent, persuasive, and convincing. She also had that quality of personality so necessary for a public speaker, inimitable charm. But the most important quality, which was ever present, and which strangers as well as friends could observe, was that of sincerity
Page 674� her pure sincerity. She was an ardent Ba-h6A first, last, and all the time.
Her first talk before the public was given in Foundation Hall of the Temple, probably about 1929, at a Ridvan Feast.
I shall never forget how the friends rejoiced in her "aris-ing," as they called it; in fact she was surrounded, both before and after this talk, and one could hear the comments about the attainment of Mother Beecher's granddaughter.
It produced a profound sensation because most of the friends did not know that Dorothy had become (among all the young people) one of the best informed on the Bahá'í Teachings. From that time on, the evolution of this Bahá'í speaker was rapid, phenomenal.
She was wanted everywhere.Soon thereafter she became very prominent in interracial work and as a traveling teacher, covering first one part and then another of this country and Canada, speaking before large audiences.
One year she proclaimed the Bahá'í Teachings in ninety colleges throughout the South, and she fearlessly spoke in every one of them (both white and Negro) on the Bahá'í doctrine of the brotherhood of man. "The future must be quite different from the past," she would say; and then she would enlarge upon this theme. "We must recognize and live in actual deeds as well as in words this great brotherhood."
She never failed to give the Source of her Light as the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh.
She served always with zeal, determination, sincerity, and a logic unanswerable.
Her own faith was so intense, so elevating, so noble, that she certainly could easily be called one of the "vivifiers" of the world.
We are not attempting to write here a complete history of Dorothy Baker's life, but even briefly we must not fail to mention her many services at the
Bahá'í SummerShe gave courses on the Bahá'í Teachings in all these schools, and reports from those in attendance invariably referred to her influence on the young people; they would gather around her, asking questions and trying to imbibe some of her enthusiasm. They did not just admire her, but they had for her esteem and reverence and love.
In the course of time our beloved Guardian sent her to Latin America.
She not only made one teaching tour there, but several (including
Central and South Americaand the Islands), always working directly under the Guardian's instructions. He conferred upon her the station of Hand of the Cause, and in the last years of her life she promptly and joyously followed his direct instructions to her. The story of her services in the countries below the borders of the United States will one day be a very thrilling record of magnificent work in the Most Great Cause. She must have had an unusual capacity for associating with, and reaching the hearts of, the Latin people.
They loved her enthusiasm, her methods, her personality, her spiritual knowledge and achievements. She will certainly be a cherished star in their memory forever.
Mrs. Margot Worley, Chairman of the National Bahá'í Assembly of South America, has sent us the following tribute: "We were stunned at the news of Dorothy's tragic end, and our hearts felt the tremendous void and loss. Ever since the news of her passing reached us, the Baha, Brazil, BaWt'i Community has been praying for her. We of South America can never forget Dorothy, nay, she now stands close to our hearts as never before.
Her first visit to us was when she brought experience and wisdom to our Fourth Congress, held in Lima, Peru. We felt childlike in her presence, for truly we were all so young and puny by comparison, our knowledge so scanty and vague. All through that Congress each soul grew and developed, whether it was aware of it or not. Dorothy laid the World Order at our feet, and by her clear explanations, brought us step by step to where you dear souls stood. We had a glimpse, as it were, of the glory of RaM'-u'lltth's handiwork and of Shoghi Effendi's guidance "We must confess we almost stood in awe in Dorothy's presence. We know she had ample preparation for her great work and that she stood as a shining example to us all. When once again she was with us at Buenos Aires for our Second Convention, April, 1952, she stood before us in a different capacity.
Shoghi Effendi had just conferred upon her the station of Hand of the Cause of God. Upon her beamed a different light and her countenance was radiant Her prayers were felt surrounding us; her strong sense of duty threw a different light upon our tasks, and we of South America came to understand that we were living in precious times. Dorothy again
Page 675guided us in our decisions, helped us with our plans, encouraged us with advice and understanding. She showed us how the dear friends in North America had sacrificed over the years and had helped establish the Faith throughout the Bahá'í world. Dorothy had the gift of pointing out the way to sacrifice, the way to earn the right of being known as a Baha and thus become 'the supreme moving impulse in the world of being.'
"Dorothy took part in every service our beloved Faith offered her; she had visited the Guardian, stepped upon the Thresholds of the Holy Shrines, prayed where Bah6 u'114h had spent His last days.
Can any soul ask for more!"Spiritual Assembly, has written: "Her influence in Central America is most powerful, and at the same time mysterious, for in reality she spent only a few days here on several occasions; yet all loved her deeply and feel dependent upon her like children to a mother. After her passing, many have written to say that her influence is both felt and seen more powerfully than ever Letters have poured in from all sides. On the night of February 19, all the Central American Assemblies and Groups have been requested to hold a Memorial Service in her honor. What tribute could be higher to that great and lovely soul that was and is Dorothy than that a whole Continent of believers love her like a mother and sister and are now arising to new and greater service to the Faith in her memory and to try in their way to make up for the crushing loss which they feel?"
Dorothy Baker also visited many Centers in the goal countries of Europe and was a speaker on the public programs of many Bahá'í Conferences.
Of course her eloquent and persuasive presentation of the Faith won for her the plaudits of strangers and friends; and letters indicate that they longed for her services, her continued rich blessings from the Court of the Divine
King.The Master said: 'The most efficient capital of the Bahá'í teacher is the Divine Power.
With that alone he may conquer the cities of the hearts." She seemed always to have that necessary confirmation. When any public meeting anywhere was open for questions from the audience after the address, Dorothy was equal to what we might call a pressure from all sides. She could answer all questions intelligently and with entire confidence in the Teachings she proclaimed. She had many personal interviews and private Bahá'í meetings in nearly every city she visited. We have often heard her quote these words of Bahá'u'lláh: "This is a matchless Day. Matchless must, likewise, be the tongue that celebrateth the praise of the Desire of all nations, and matchless the deed that aspireth to be acceptable in His sight."
For sixteen years, although she was engaged so actively in the teaching work, she served on the National Spiritual Assembly and was its chairman for four years. As a Hand of the Cause of God, she attended the four
Intercontinental Conferencesduring the Holy Year of the Cause and was a speaker on the public programs of all of them.
After the New DelhiConference, in the last months of her life, she made an arduous teaching trip through
India.A letter from Doris McKay, pioneer in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, contains a tribute to Dorothy Baker and an interesting account of her first meeting with Martha Root. ".
It was on a visit to Jamestown, N.Y., in, I think, 1936, that Dorothy met Martha Root, another of her kind.
I sat with Martha at a table in the dining room of the Y.W.C.A., waiting for Dorothy to join us. 'How very strange,' I said to Martha, 'that you and Dorothy have never met!' Then the doors opened, and Dorothy's fragrance and light moved through the room toward Martha's tender glow.
We arose and went to meet her, and Dorothy's outstretched hands met Martha's. Not a word was spoken in this moment too great for words.
At the table we talked, Dorothy clad in a deep and listening humility. For a few days the two great stars were in conjunction as they devoted themselves to us and to our friends.
In the Supreme Concoursewe have a recently arrived delegate from this world.
Because of her 'the world to come' is closer to all of us who earnestly wish it. The crowning event in her almost miracu-bus life in the Cause was her pilgrimage to the presence of our beloved Guardian in Haifa; this was during the first part of 1953. She had asked permission a few times previously to be allowed this pilgrimage, but each time it was deferred because her teaching work was of such great importance.
In a letter to me about this visit, she said:"I would not attempt to write the real things, the things of the heart, but I can say this, that the Glory of the Cause, its grandeur, shines like the sun; and as for our beloved Guardian; he is at times a servant, and again a king; and he is at once the point of all joy and again the nerve center of suffering.
One does not accept part of him and refuse part. He is, alas, a ransom; we are his beneficiaries.
He suffers the grief of the Prophets, and yet is the 'true brother.'
And as he casts himself into the sea of sacrifice, he is willing to cast us, one and all, into that shining sea also. America is the lead horse. He drives a chariot that must win over the combined forces of the world.
He cracks the whip over the lead horse, not the others. Do the friends not realize this? The pilgrimage begins when you take his hand, and ends when you last look upon his dear face, and in between you kneel at the Shrines and ask for divine direction to serve him. And when your prayer is answered, there is no doubt about it at all; a thousand mercies circle around such an answer, and the Guardian is in the center of them all."
The Master said: "Theservice of the friends belongs to God and not to them." Dorothy Baker's services belonged to God. He chose her for furthering the great Plan of the Ages. She had ceaseless, tireless energy and used it to carry the Divine Remedies to a drifting world.
But her place is empty.There is no one at present who possesses quite the same qualities.
That which will remain with us who knew her so well will always be her freshness and vigor, her lucidity in teaching the Bahá'í Faith, and her power to reach the hearts.
Her assurance, born of the spirit and of true knowledge of the Teachings, made her a magnificent demonstration of the power of the revealed Word in this age.
� MARIAM HANEYCablegram from the Guardian: Mourn loss (of) immortal heroine, Marion Jack, greatly-loved and deeply-admired by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, (a) shining example (to) pioneers (of) present (and) future generations (of) East (and) West, surpassed (in) constancy, dedication, self-abnegation (and) fearlessness by none except (the) incomparable Martha Root. Her unremitting, highly-meritorious activities (in the) course (of) almost half (a) century, both (in) North
America (and) SoutheastEurope, attaining (their) climax (in the) darkest, most dangerous phase (of the) second World War, shed imperishable luster (on) contemporary Bahá'í history.
(This) triumphant soul (is) now gathered (to the) distinguished band (of her) coworkers (in the) Abh4 Kingdom: Martha Root, Lua Getsinger, May Maxwell, Hyde Dunn, Susan Moody, Keith Ransom-Keh-ler,
Ella Bailey (and) DorothyBaker, whose remains, lying (in) such widely scattered areas (of the) globe as Honolulu, Cairo, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Tihr6~n, 1sf Ah~n, Tripoli (and the) depths (of the)
Mediterranean (Sea)attest the magnificence (of the) pioneer services rendered (by the) North American Bahá'í community (in the) Apostolic (and) Formative Ages (of the) Bahá'í
Dispensation.Advise arrange (in) association (with the) Canadian National Assembly (and the) European Teaching Committee (a) befitting memorial gathering (in the) Ma-shriqu'1-Acibk4r.
Moved (to) share with (the) United States (and)(the) expenses (of the) erection, (as) soon as circumstances permit, (of a) worthy monument (at) her grave, destined (to) confer eternal benediction (on a) country already honored (by) its close proximity (to the) sacred city associated (with the) proclamation (of the) Faith (of) Bahá'u'lláh.
Share message all NationalMarion Jack, "immortal heroine," "shin-ing example to pioneers," passed from this life on March 25, 1954, in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she had been living for twenty-four years as a pioneer of the Bahá'í Faith. Her remains are buried in the British cemetery there. The Guardian's tribute, expressed in his cablegram of March 29, attests the high station which this "triumphant soul" has attained.
Marion Jack's services in the Bahá'í Faith began early in the new century.
Born in Saint John, NewBrunswick, Canada, on December 1, 1866, of a prominent family,
Page 677she received much of her education in England and particularly in France, where she studied art.
Landscape painting was her special field. Some of her paintings are preserved in the Holy Land at the World Center of the Faith.
She first learned of the Faith at a social gathering during her student days in Paris. Charles Mason Rerney writes of this first introduction: "My first remembrance of Marion Jack was when we were students in the
Latin Quarter in Paris.She was studying painting, I, architecture, and I used to see her in the 'Quarter' along the boulevard on Mont Parnasse. In the
Quarter lived a Mine.Philippe who kept a Pension where a number of girl students lived. Mine.
Philippe gave dancing parties at infrequent intervals. It was at one of these affairs, a fancy dress dance, that I met Marion. She was dressed in a fiery red costume that she had made herself of crinkled tissue paper topped off by an enormous 'Merry Widow' hat decorated with large yellow paper flowers It was as we danced and sat out between dances that I told Marion of the Baha Faith. She was, as many were in those early days, afire with the Faith then and there, all at once. Marion met the Baha'is, came to meetings in my studio and elsewhere, and that was the beginning of her belief."
From this time forward, her life was dedicated to the service of the Faith. She spent some time in 'Akka and was there in 1908, where she taught English to 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í grandchildren.
She continued her painting while she was there.By 1914 she had returned to North America. She was one of the first to respond to the call of the Divine Plan of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, performing pioneer service in Alaska and teaching in Toronto, Montreal, and many other places. She also spent a good deal of time in Green Acre, Eliot, Maine, helping with the teaching work at the Bahá'í School and continuing her painting.
Many friends remember this joyous, wholly dedicated soul from those days.
Impressed by her gracious charm, her understanding, her twinkling sense of humor,, everyone who recounts some association with her does so with a smile which seems to spring spontaneously from the mention of her name..
'Jackie," as she was affectionately called, was ageless in her complete at-home-ness with young and old alike, was beloved wherever she went, drawing all to her and to each other through the quality of her faith, love and devotion to the Cause and to her beloved
Guardian.One of her Green Acre friends writes: "She was such a lovely person � so joyous and happy that one loved to be with her. Her shining eyes and beautiful smile showed how much the Bahá'í Faith meant to her �We used to love to go to her studio and talk with her, also to see her paintings of the Holy Land and familiar Green Acre landscapes. She always entered into any plan with zest. If we could all radiate happiness as did Ja~kie, I am sure we would attract more people to the Faith."
In 1930 Marion Jack returned to Haifa and following this visit went to Sofia, Bulgaria, where she spent the remainder of her life.
During the earlier years of this period she attended the German Summer School and undertook teaching missions to Vienna and Budapest.
In Sofia she held frequent meetings that were well attended by people of prominence and capacity. As World War II approached, and all who could fled the country, the Guardian suggested that she go to Switzerland or to some safer place. She pleaded to be allowed to remain at her post, preferring, as she put it, to "remain at the switch." Living on a small pension, which did not always reach her in recent
Page 678years, suffering serious deprivation, aged and in poor health, she remained at her post. It was not without reason that 'Abdu'l-Bahá used to call her "General
Jack."One of the friends writes of these days: "She was much sought out and beloved everywhere she went. As the socalled Iron Curtain dropped, fewer people attended her meetings because of fear of the government. Towards the end of her life even her closest friends no longer went to see her, except one Baha'i. During the last months of her severe illness, I wrote Miss Jack almost every week and in her last letter she bade me goodbye, hoping for a reunion in the
Kingdom. When Miss Jackstill corresponded, her letters were always cheerful, most spiritual and even humorous. The British Consulate called her 'our friend.'
She was a consecrated Baha teacher, full of charm, understanding, gaiety and humor."
One of her devoted students, who became a Bahá'í through her, writes of the later years in Sofia: "I met Miss Jack in June, 1938, in Sofia. I had left Austria when Hitler took over and found a temporary position in Sofia, waiting for my visa to the United States.
I noticed her in the restaurant where I took my luncheon and she impressed me immediately with her friendly smile that she had for everybody. One day when her regular waiter who spoke English had his day off, the hostess asked me to serve as interpreter and from that day on, I shared the luncheon table with her regularly. It did not take long before she invited me to join a small group of her friends with whom she had discussions in her hotel room, and that was how I met the Faith.
"Her room was a museum, full of her pictures, books and papers all over. We sat wherever there was some place � on 'the' chair, the bed, on the floor, and she always had some refreshments for her guests. The discussions on the Faith were handicapped by the complicated language question. Marion had no Baha literature in the Bulgarian language, few people understood English, and her favored book, 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Paris Talks, had to be translated by one person from French into German or English and by somebody else into Bulgarian.
It was fun, but how much of the original spirit remained was questionable.
"Marion had to be very careful in the choice of her guests. Bulgaria had one offi cial State Religion, the Greek Orthodox Church, and oniy a few other religions were permitted, like Catholic, Jewish, Lutheran, Baptist, Seventh
Day Adventist and Isl4m. EveryFaith that was not permitted was forbidden and meetings like ours were illegal.
State employees had to sign loyalty oaths stating their adherence to the legal Faith and we had one girl who worked for the government.
"When World War II broke out, Marion had to discontinue her meetings. Sofia became the center of European spy systems. Neither she nor I (a German citizen of secondary quality) could dare to be seen together.
I kept contact with her indirectly through 'neutral' Bulgarian citizens. She was in financial difficulties because her funds did not get to her. But her spirit was unbroken.
"In October, 1940, when I finally got my visa for the United States, I dared to call her on the phone and even to see her. She had moved to a cheaper hotel. Her room was probably too small for two people and we met in the hotel lobby. I told her of my plan to go to the United States by the complicated way, crossing the Black Sea to Odessa, through Russia on the Trans-Sibe-rian Railroad and across the Pacific from Japan to the United States. I invited her to come along and promised that I would take care of her. But she declined. She told me that the Guardian had permitted her to go to Switzerland rather than to wait far the German invasion in Bulgaria which was expected daily.
She considered it her duty to stay in Sofia and would neither seek security in Switzerland nor in her native Canada, nor the United States.
"We exchanged letters until Bulgaria became part of the Iron Curtain and she indicated that it was too dangerous to receive my letters and to write to me."
In a letter dated June 17, 1954, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles, the Guardian, through his secretary, extols the standard set by Marion Jack as a pioneer: "To remain at one's post, to undergo sacrifice and hardship, loneliness and, if necessary, persecution, in order to hold aloft the torch of Bahá'u'lláh, is the true function of every pioneer.
"Let them remember Marion Jack, who for over twenty years, in a country the language of which she never mastered; during
Page 679war and bombardment; evacuation and poverty; and at length, serious illness, stuck to her post, and has now blessed the soil of the land she had chosen to serve at such cost with her precious remains, every atom of which was dedicated to Bahá'u'lláh.
Perhaps the friends are not aware that the Guardian, himself, during the war on more than one occasion urged her to seek safety in Switzerland rather than remain behind enemy lines and be entirely cut off. Lovingly she pleaded that he would not require her to leave her post; and he acquiesced to her request. Surely the standard of Marion Jack should be borne in mind by every pioneer!"
In a letter to the European Teaching Committee, dated May 24, 1954, through his secretary, the Guardian also stressed the quality of Marion Jack's services to the Cause and the heroic conditions under which she lived and worked: "He would suggest that, when writing to the European centers, you share with the believers the glorious example of the life of Marion Jack. Young or old could never find a more inspiring pioneer in whose footsteps to walk, than this wonderful soul.
"For over thirty years, with an enlarged heart, and many other ailments she remained at her post in Bulgaria. Never well-to-do, she often suffered actual poverty and want: want of heat, want of clothing, want of food, when her money failed to reach her because Bulgaria had come under the Soviet zone of influence. She was bombed, lost her possessions, she was evacuated, she lived in drafty, cold dormitories for many, many months in the country, she returned, valiant, to the capital of Bulgaria after the war and continued, on foot, to carry out her teaching work.
"The Guardian himself urged her strongly, when the war first began to threaten to cut her off in Bulgaria, to go to Switzerland.
She was a Canadian subject, and ran great risks by remaining, not to mention the dangers and privations of war. However, she begged the Guardian not to insist, and assured him her one desire was to remain with her spiritual children. This she did, up to the last breath of her glorious life.
Her tomb will become a national shrine, immensely loved and revered, as the Faith rises in stature in that country.
"He thinks that every Bahá'í and most particularly those who have left their homes and gone to serve in foreign fields, should know of, and turn their gaze to, Marion Jack."
As requested by the Guardian, a Memorial gathering was held for Marion Jack in the Baha House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, the program prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States in association with the Canadian
National Bahá'í Assemblyand the European Teaching Committee, on Tidy 3, 1954.
Among the over two hundred Bahá'ís attending were representatives from the Canadian Bahá'í Community.
To permit more of the Canadian Bahá'ís to share in a Memorial to Marion Jack, a time had been set aside at the Canadian National Bahá'í Convention, on May 1, 1954, for the Canadian friends to gather for commemoration and prayers.
In their tribute to Marion Jack, published by theof the Bahá'ís of Canada as an insert to their Ba-hd'i News of April, 1955, are cited the following Words of Bahá'u'lláh (Gleanings, p. 319): "When the victory arriveth, every man shall profess himself as believer and shall hasten to the shelter ci God's Faith. Happy are they who in the days of world-encom-passing trials have stood fast in the Cause and refused to swerve from the Faith."
EDWARD B. KINNEY"Grieve passing dearly loved, highly admired, greatly trusted, staunch, indefatigable, self-sacrificing teacher, pillar (of) Faith, Saffa Kinney. His leonine spirit, exemplary steadfastness, notable record (of) services enriched annals (of) closing period Heroic Age (and) opening phase
Formative Age (of) Baha'ireward assured (in) AbM Kingdom beneath shadow (of) Master he loved so dearly, served so nobly, defended so heroically until last breath."
� SHOGHIEdward B. Kinney (beloved Saffa) was born of an old New York family in the spring of 1863, the spring of Bahá'u'lláh's epochmaking Declaration in the Ri~Tv4n. As though by coming at such a moment
Page 680into the world, Saffa was gifted with unusual genius. His genius found two channels of expression � in this material world through the greatest of all arts, music, with its spiritual source; in the region of the soul through that purest evidence of faith which the human spirit can manifest: an immediate recognition of the Messenger of God and a life wholly devoted to Him.
"Saffa was so human," said a friend after he passed from this life into that other where his heart was centered.
And perhaps when we think of him now, we think first of that endearing humanness of his � fiery and rash and vigorous and with a rollicking sense of humor. But, above and beyond his temperament and character was his power of love, caught directly from the heart of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, on whom his heart was so passionately fixed.
It was my inestimable privilege to be with the Kinneys in 'AkU in 1909.
One day when we were lunching with 'Abdu'l-Bahá He turned to Saff a and said that He had answered the questions of all, now Mr. Kinney was left.
Saffa replied, tears in his eyes: "There is only one question in my soul, How can I love you more?"
And the Master replied that He would answer later.
He told Saffa, too, on that occasion that his home would be one of the heavenly constellations and that the stars would gather there.
Later, in Haifa, while Saffa and his wife were sitting at night with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. on the porch of His house, He began to talk of poverty to them. He vividly described the actual want of Bahá'u'lláh after all His wealth had been swept away, and the deprivations and sufferings of His family, and He ended with the words: May God give you the treasure of the Kingdom, the breaths of the Holy Spirit. If, perchance, you are overtaken by poverty, let it not make you sad. At best, you will then become companions of Christ.
In a few years poverty did overtake them. They found themselves wholly dependent on Saffa's earnings as a musician � the uncertain income of an artist.
But in spite of their precarious existence their indomitable faith triumphed to fulfill that other prophecy made by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Their home became indeed as a heavenly constellation in which the stars gathered, a center where the Edward B. ("Saffa") Kinney.
Bahá'ís from East and West met � from Persia andand California and all the points between � and where many a Baha, in greater financial straits even than the Kinneys, found a shelter. There were times when every couch in that real home was occupied.
Blows came that were harder to bear than poverty.They had two remarkable children who died in their early youth, Sanford and Howard, leaving them with only one son, Donald. Yet even such bitter conditions (to use words spoken to them by 'Abdu'l-Bahá) tasted sweet to them.
But before the collapse of their finances and the death of the two boys, the joy of this family rose to a peak when, in the spring of 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited the United States and spent much of His time in their home, receiving there many of His countless visitors.
In Haifa 'Abdu'l-Baháhad given to Mr. Kinney the name Saffa, the Persian word meaning rock. One day in the autumn He took Saffa for a long walk in the strip of park along
Riverside Drive, Newstood still on the path and looking deep into Saff a's eyes asked in heart-piercing tones: Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? �
Page 681In Saffa the qualities of rock were evident � fiery and impetuous in his early life, rising at last to serene heights and attaining profound humility, steadfast to the end and, in this great Day, never for a moment wavering in his steadfastness.
After 'Abdu'l-Bahá had departed from this life and His Last Will and Testament became known, Saffa again proved his everlasting faithfulness.
After his grief at loss of the beloved Master had abated, He perceived in "the youthful Branch, Shoghi Effendi" the resurrection of the Covenant, and in the Administrative Order the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. With unabated zeal and love and the deepest spiritual insight Saffa served this great Cause till the last hours of his life. In his blessed home, as the friends gathered there, the wings of the Covenant were stirring above us and the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was living in our midst.
The Guardian wrote him the tenderest letters, and at last came one designating Saffa and Vaffa Kinney pillars of the Faith in the City of the Covenant.
� JULIET THOMPSONA being endowed with rare powers and qualities, gifted and uplifted beyond the average level � a real survivor of the Heroic Age.
This definition, though brief, may help to convey to the reader's mind a faint impression of
Dr. Youness Afrukhtih'sIn the springtime of youth while adrift in search of Truth on the stormy ocean of life, the tide and wind of destiny brought him close to the divine Ark of salvation to which he clung tenaciously and within which he found abiding security and happiness, a new outlook on life and a Cause so momentous that he remained dedicated to it to the very end of his days.
His allotted span of years covered a period of no less than eight decades.
It traversed, so to speak, the fringes of both the Heroic and the Formative Ages of our Faith. His life remains closely linked with the former, since he flourished and struggled in it and at the same time derived from it a sustained, lavish measure of spiritual light and guidance. Also his work and memory are closely bound up with the latter Age on whose threshold he lingered for well nigh three decades and distinguished himself as a redoubtable champion of the Cause, as a capable international teacher and as one whose untiring effort for the spiritual regeneration of his countrymen will long be remembered and admired. Moreover, the crowning period of his life, immortalized by being spent in the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, imparts to his whole career a unique and fascinating quality.
Twice during 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í ministry Dr. Youness Afrukhtih went on pilgrimage to 'Akka The first journey took place about five years after Bahá'u'lláh's ascension and lasted for a few months.
Then again in April, 1900, he set out, at the Master's gracious invitation, on his second visit to the Holy Land where he stayed for nearly nine years and served the Master as secretary and interpreter in a spirit of loving adoration. In those difficult and turbulent years when the Covenant-breakers were feverishly engaged in subversive activities against 'Abdu'l-Bahá, he vindicated the strength of his character by assuming a leading rOle in defending the Covenant and in reassuring the pilgrim and resident believers who seemed to be extremely alarmed and agitated at that time.
He was like a solid rock, firm and imperturbable, a haven of refuge for the storm-tossed and the weak. Always in time of adversity he behaved with dignified composure.
Neither taunts of the disdainful nor threats of the malicious nor events of the most perplexing nature could ever disturb his lucid mind or daunt his courage in proclaiming the Cause of God among men. The services he rendered to the Faith were great, so were the blessings he received in return. Indeed, the measure of love and kindness lavished on him by the Master was so great that it did not fail to excite the envy of the friends around him. A cursory glance at his Memoirs as well as the perusal of the wonderful Tablets revealed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in his name will amply show this fact.
By profession Dr. YounessLie studied medicine at the Presbyterian College, Beirut, and after receiving his diploma he returned to Persia where, through efficient and systematic practice, he proved himself a highly proficient physician.
Page 682For some time he served as medical officer in the Sehat Hospital founded in 1909 by a group of Bahá'í doctors with the collaboration of Dr. S. Moody, representing the Persian-American Educational
Society.Dr. Youness Khan was a distinguished speaker who combined eloquence and wit in a masterly and graceful manner.
The hearer, far from losing interest or growing weary, would always welcome his talk as a treat, as a source of delight and inspiration. His power of concentration was such that it was well within his compass to speak continuously for hours on a given subject without notes. And not oniy was he a gifted orator but also in the arena of literary work he moved with remarkable confidence and distinction. His writings possess peculiar charm and reveal to a considerable degree the author's touch of genius as well as his genuine love for the Cause. Notable among his work is the interesting diary he wrote about his teaching trip to Europe published under the title "Irtibat-i-Sitarq va Gharb" (Union of the East and West).
However, his wonderful Memoirs (un-published) concerning the years he spent in the presence of the Master constitute his most precious gift to posterity and a valuable contribution to the history of our Faith.
They depict some aspects of the life of the Master during the most dramatic period of his ministry � the dark decade prior to the overthrow of the despotic Ottoman regime � and dwell on the nature as well as the magnitude of the Covenant-breakers' evil deeds and intrigues.
Dr. Youness Khan's memory will ever remain associated with the compilation of the wonderful book Some Answered Questions in recognition of the valuable service be was privileged to render as interpreter between the Master and Laura Barney at those historic luncheon talks. A vivid impression as to the manner in which these talks were given can be gained from the relevant account in his Memoirs from which the following interesting passages are quoted: "The Master would sit at the head of the dinner table while Laura Barney usually sat on His left and Ethel Rosenberg took the seat next to her.
Also about eight or nine other pilgrims and residents were present. I used to sit beside the Master, facing Laura Barney, rendering first her questions into Persian, then the answers given by the Master into English, while Ethel Rosenberg noted down both the questions and answers in English."
(The original words uttered by the Master were simultaneously written down by Mirza Munfr.) ". Since the nourishment of the spirit was given priority over that of the body, it often happened that eating was delayed. The Master when elucidating the problems used to speak in such a manner that the hearer would be enchanted. One day when He was insisting that I should first eat and then speak, and I was deeply engrossed in the subject under discussion, He asked Laura what was the English word for 'mutarjim'; she said 'interpreter.'
Again He asked what was the word for 'gorosneh.''Abdu'l-Bahá pointing at me, exclaimed: 'Hungry interpreter! Hungry interpreter!'
I enjoyed this remark immensely and wonder what would some one else have done if he were in my place.
I adopted this kingly title for myself and had it engraved on a seal, thus overlooking the term 'Jin&b-i-Khin' which 'Abdu'l-Bahá always used in referring to me."
The intervening years between 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í passing and the outbreak of the second World War saw Dr. Afrukhtih rise to the plenitude of his teaching career. In 1925
Page 683lie embarked on a trip to America where his presence aroused immense enthusiasm among the friends. Then four years later he set out on an extensive tour of Europe where he addressed many groups and societies and brought to the friends in that continent a clearer insight into the spiritual significance as well as the administrative principles of our Faith. Also his visit, marking the culmination of his teaching activities, proved highly useful in fostering a sense of love and fellowship between the Bahá'ís of the East and West and in bringing the Cause to the attention of many enlightened people in Europe.
In the conduct of the administrative affairs of the Faith, Dr. Youness Khan's services were by no means less remarkable. For years in succession he served with distinction as member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of Persia and as member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of Tihr4n until he was rather well advanced in age and the weight of years made itself increasingly felt on his frail body.
Gradually his health broke down and illness forced him to discontinue all his activities. As his condition grew steadily worse it became clear that his end was at hand. He passed away at his home in Tihr4n on November 28, 1948, after a prolonged illness.
His physical frame was gone from our midst! But in reality the impression of his dynamic personality, the memory of his charming manners, will remain ever vivid in the heart of all those who knew him. There, beyond the gathering mists of years, his noble life and example stand out as a beacon shining along the road to Eternity.
The following message received from Shoghi Effendi on the occasion of his passing may well serve as a monumental epilogue to his imperishable memory: "Hearts grief-stricken passing dearly beloved Youness Afrukhtih distinguished promoter Hoiy Faith herald Covenant trusted secretary beloved Master staunch supporter His Testament.
His services enrich annals bothFaith. Instruct assemblies all provinces hold befitting memorial gatherings.
Inform Varq~ erect my behalf monument his grave. Ardently praying Almighty's inestimable blessing his soul."
� HABIB TAHIRZADEHThus did 'Abdu'l-Bahá address this angelic being, one of the rare gems in the diadem of the Kingdom. Aunt Ella, as she was fondly known to her many devoted friends around the world, was one of that rapidly diminishing treasure of precious souls who have entered the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and who are possessed of that unique quality of spirit known only among those who were touched by the magic wand of that Divine Alchemist.
Hers was an enchanting spirit of exquisite grace, whose gentleness, warmth and generosity were showered continuously on all peoples.
She radiated all the days of her life the virtues of the true maidservant of Baha She was one of that handful of early Bahá'ís in the United States who implanted the banner of Bahá'u'lláh in that land, and who nurtured it and protected it with the iron strength of their consecrated spirit.
In a Tablet to one of the friends 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote of the services of Mrs. Cooper and her mother, Mrs. Good all: "Thou hadst written concerning the services of Mrs. Goodall and Mrs. Cooper. These two dear maidservants of God are truly two shining candles, and in character are unique and matchless.
They sacrifice their lives in the pathway of God under conditions of hardship and trouble and are filled with spirituality and good cheer. It is certain that the divine confirmations will encircle them."
Shoghi Effendi's cablegram at the time of her passing has defined her lifelong service to her beloved
Faith:"Deeply grieved sudden passing herald Covenant Ella Cooper, dearly loved handmaid 'Abdu'l-Bahá, greatly trusted by Him. Her devoted services during concluding years Heroic Age and also Formative Age Faith unforgettable.
Assure relatives, friends, deepest sympathy loss.Ella Frances Goodall was born in San Francisco, California, January 12, 1870, of an influential, wellknown California family. She and her mother, Helen Goodall, were among the first Bahá'ís of California. They learned of the Faith from Miss Ann Apperson, a niece of Mrs. Phoebe Hearst. They studied with Mrs. Lua Getsinger, and
Page 684In March, 1899, Ella Goodall and a young Bahá'í friend, Nellie Hillyer Brown, made the pilgrimage to 'Akka They were among the earliest westerners to visit 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
While there 'Abdu'l-Bahá revealed for Ella Goodall the first of numerous Tablets which He sent her over the years: "He is E1-AbhA! 0 my God!
Thou seest Thy servant who is believing in Thee, and supplicating through [he door of Thy Oneness.
Render her all good throughThis brief contact with the World of Reality experienced in 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í presence centered her life in the Faith. A singleness of purpose, the promulgation and protection of the Covenant, animated her whole life henceforth.
In 1904 Ella Goodall married Charles Miner Cooper, M.D. 'Abdu'l-Bahá blessed this union, and theirs was a lifelong devotion.
The home which Mrs. Cooper made for the doctor, her mother and brother, Arthur, reflected her gracious dignified attributes.
It was always a special treat for everyone to visit this home.
"0 thou maidservant of God, I ask God that thou mayest open meetings in San Francisco, and give eloquent expositions of the Kingdom of God "Although thou an unique and alone in that city, yet verily I am thy friend and companion. Be not sad and forget not God. Endeavor to guide some souls to the Kingdom and establish Unity among the people, to prepare meetings of teaching and to open the eyes of the blind "Under all conditions My Soul and My Life shall abide with you in this world as well as the world above."
As soon as 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í wishes were expressed, Ella Cooper and her mother began the work of establishing the Faith in San Francisco, and some years later she moved to the city, where she lived the rest of her life. In a short time a Bahá'í Community developed there, and for many decades Ella Cooper was its guiding light. Her strenuous labors throughout the western United States, and principally in northern California, laid the foundation of the Faith in these regions.
In 1908 Ella Cooper and her mother were permitted to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. For two weeks they shared the prison life with 'Abdu'l-Bahá and His family, but were "in the Home of God."
When they returned from 'AkM Mrs. Goodall and Mrs.
Cooper published DailyLessons Received at Acca � January, 1908, in which they told of the deep spiritual experience that had been theirs and of the lessons by word and deed that they had received.
Shortly after Ella Cooperreturned from 'Akka, she invited a group of young women to her home for a study class which continued over many years to 1922.
She called this group the "Peach Tree" and the members of the group called her "Mother Peach."
A number became Bahá'ís and are active today.During these early years one of Mrs. Cooper's most important services was the protection of the Faith from the influence of the Covenant-breakers.
'Abdu'l-Bahá had written: "I supplicate God to make the hearts as solid mountains which could not be shaken, neither by the rumbling thunder of dispute nor by the winds of suspicions."
"You must be extremely careful in those Western regions lest a soul may disseminate the seeds of doubt and violation.
Direct everyone at all times to the necessity of firmness in the Covenant that the tests may not shake them "Do thou make a trip to the cities of California,
Oregon and Seattle Investigatethis and call everyone to firmness Gently and wisely she and her mother taught the new Bahá'ís the importance of turning wholly to 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the Center of the Covenant. Indeed she was a champion of the
Covenant!When 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited California, while on His North American tour in 1912, He was a guest briefly at the Oakland home of Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Goodall, and there, on October 16, He spoke to a large gathering of friends. For many years the anniversary of that meeting has been celebrated and the talk given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá read. It was a period of great joy for all the Baha'is.
'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to many groups and gave two of His most significant talks' while there, one at Stanford University on 1 These talks are published in Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 342349 and 355365.
Page 685science and religion and the other at the Temple Emmanu-E1 on progressive revelation. Mrs. Cooper was untiring in her efforts to assist in all these arrangements for 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í visit.
An outstanding event in the Bahá'í history of the West was the convoking of the first "International Bahá'í Congress" in conjunction with the Panama-Pacific
International Expositionin the spring of 1915 in San Francisco. Mrs. Cooper, her mother and several other Bahá'ís who formed the executive committee of the Congress had approached 'Abdu'l-Bahá with their desire to hold such a Congress during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá had approved and selected the Baha speakers who were men of note in their professions and also Bahá'ís of long and eminent service. The Congress was held April 19 through 25 and attracted large audiences to hear the Bahá'í teachings on peace.
Although initiated by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of San
Francisco the Congresswas under the official auspices of the Panama-Pacific
International Exposition.as "International Bahá'í Congress Day," and held an official reception at Festival Hall, where a commemorative bronze medallion was presented to the Bahá'ís in recognition of the Bahá'í program for universal peace.
Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Goodall,and Mrs. Kathryn Frankland visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá for the last time in September, 1920. For thirty days they were in Haifa, at the "Home of the hearts" as Ella Cooper called it. 'Abdu'l-Bahá answered their questions and lavished His love upon them.
Over the years until He passed away in 1921 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed many Tablets to Mrs. Cooper in response to questions she had asked Him in letters.
With 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í death Ella Cooper's devotion to the Covenant immediately embraced the first Guardian of the Cause of God, Shoghi Effendi, appointed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. She had seen Shoghi Effendi as a child at 'Akka and had often remarked about his unique qualities and his love for 'Abdu'l-Bahá Her unswerving fidelity to the Covenant now centered in the Guardian with full love and obedience.
Ella Cooper's services continued formany years both in teaching and in the development of the institutions of the Faith. She served on the San Francisco Spiritual Assembly for many years from 1921 to 1934, and was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada for two years, 192223 and 192324. She took an active interest in the formation of the new Bahá'í School at Geyserville, California, worked on the School committee, and taught there for some years.
Another significant public Bahá'í event in which Mrs. Cooper played a leading role was the organization of the first "Confer-ence for World Unity" at San Francisco, March 2022, 1925. Prominent intellectual, cultural and humanitarian leaders were invited to participate.
Mrs. Cooper spared neither time nor money to bring the conference into existence.
Dr. David Starr Jordan, then president of Stanford University, who had invited 'Abdu'l-Bahá to speak at Stanford, acted as honorary chairman, and important representatives of the various Pacific areas, races, religions and nations spoke. The meetings were climaxed by an address on the Bahá'í Faith by JinAb-i-1�4il. This meeting inaugurated a series of world
Page 686During the many years that Mrs. Cooper was active, and even after she could no longer be about much, she was the mainspring of the Bahá'í spirit of hospitality and warmth in San Francisco. When Ba1A'i visitors were coming to San Francisco she would send a large bouquet of flowers and a note of welcome to be in their room when they arrived.
The last two major public activities in which Ella Cooper took a part in her long years of Bahá'í service were in connection with the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939 and the United Nations Conference on International Organization in 1945, both of which were held in San Francisco.
A "Committee of One Hundred"leaders of all Faiths was organized when the San Francisco world's fair was being planned, to erect the Temple of Religion at the fair and to direct all religious activities of the Exposition. Mrs. Cooper and Leroy loas were invited to be the Bahá'í representatives on this Committee, on which she served as one of the directors. Two days were designated officially on the Exposition program as Bahá'í Day, Juiy 16 and October 15. Mrs. Cooper was chairman of the "Religious Unity Service" presented by the Bahá'ís on Juiy 16 and of the Vesper Services on October 15.
She was an active member of the "Com-mittee on the Bahá'í Peace Plan" appointed from among the Bahá'ís of the San Francisco Bay area by the National Spiritual Assembly in connection with the United Nations Conference convened in 1945. This committee held a dinner and public meeting at which a number of the delegates to the Conference were present, and it prepared "The Bahá'í Peace Program" brochure which they distributed to every person attending that conference.
In the later years of her life Mrs. Cooper was unable to be as active as she formerly had been, but she followed the work of the Faith with avid interest through the teaching bulletins and news letters, and through a voluminous correspondence which she carried on with Bahá'í friends around the world. Most Bahá'í visitors to the city would visit her to be refreshed by her gentle spirit, and to share with her news of the progress of the Faith far and near.
On her eightieth birthdaywrote a tribute to his wife which exemplifies the beauty of her character to all who loved her:
A Birthday Tribute � Eightyroses for my still young wife, one for each year of her fragrant life, during which she has mothered the world and steadfastly kept its flag unfurled; for God gave to her a magic cup from which the unworldly poor could sup; and of solace a cruse at whose lip the lonely and the bereaved could sip; a sustaining staff that she could lend in hour of need to a pilgrim friend; the Power of Prayer � an inner light not of land, sea or air that could bright the dark corridors that run through life and amity bring in place of strife; and a warmth that made her from her birth as welcome as the rain to the earth. Fortunate am I she cared for me, otherwise I would not care to be.
In July, 1951, Dr. Cooper suddenly passed away.Mrs. Cooper spent the fob lowing day preparing the readings for his service, and that night fell into a coma, from which she did not recover, and passed within four days after his death, on July 12, 1951.
The local papers carried feature articles about her passing, the major part of which spoke of her lifelong devotion to the Bahá'í Faith, and of her work in promoting its ideals of the unity of all peoples and religions.
So closed the life of one of the "Heralds of the Covenant," one whose life was dedicated to Bahá'u'lláh in service and love and one who succeeded as few have in making her character a mirror of the celestial qualities.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MARTYRDOMOn February 3, 1950, about eight-thirty o'clock in the morning, two citizens of K6.-sh4n entered the office of Dr. ]3erjfs and invited him to make a house call. Since there were ten patients waiting in his office, the doctor requested postponement of the call. The visitors pleaded that the case was a real emergency, and the doctor relented and followed the two men.
After passingthrough the streets of K~sh4n they reached their destination and at this time six other men who had been awaiting the group attacked the physician.
With knives, sticks and their fists they wounded him seriously. He was thrown from a height of about fifteen feet through a window. The persecutors continued to beat him until he was no longer alive. At least eighty stab wounds were apparent on his body. The owner of the house tried to intercede for the doctor but his efforts were futile.
The landlord called for help from the rooftop. Members of the town gathered around and witnessed the cruel act. Muhammad Rassul-Zadeh, the vicious murderer, washed his hands with the snow on the sidewalk.
With his accomplices he went to the police office, explaining that they were teachers of the Mul2ammadan faith and had killed Dr. Berjis for religious differences.
The men were imprisoned.The people of the town feared the threats of this religious group and closed their shops. After medical examination of the body of Dr. Berjis a group of Bahá'ís under police protection carried the body of the martyred physician to Gu1ast~~n Javid which is three kilometers from K~sh4n. A Bahá'í funeral was held for the distinguished doctor.
Dr. Sulaymin Berjis, physician of Kdsh4n Persia, martyred February 3, 1950.
ELLA M. BAILEYOn being informed of the death of Miss Ella Bailey, pioneer who accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gulick in their settlement of Tripoli, Libya, the Guardian on August 30 cabled: "Grieve passing valiant exemplary pioneer. Reward (in) Kingdom bountiful."
"'Oh, Ella Bailey, Ella Bailey! Oh, Ella Bailey,He kept repeating my name as He looked off into space. But He put into my name every possible emotion. That was the wonder of it." These words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, spoken in Chicago in 1912, conveyed to Miss Bailey this meaning: "My child, you are going to suffer. You are going to have a great deal of sorrow, and you are going to have a great deal of pain. Life is going to be hard." Miss Bailey remarked in an interview forty years later, "In those few words, He gave me all the emotions of a lifetime. He gave suffering but with it He gave me faith and strength. This made me feel His spiritual power and His truth."
Ella Martha Bailey was born in Houston, Texas, on December 18, 1864.
While she was an infant, the family moved to San Diego County, California, and settled on a ranch.
She was stricken with infantile paralysis at the age of two and one of her limbs remained paralyzed. As a child, she developed a fondness for the outdoors and learned, despite her physical handicap, to ride horseback expertly.
Her desire to serve mankind became apparent in her youth. She chose to enter the teaching profession not because of the rather meager financial reward attached to it but by reason of the manifold opportunities it afforded for child guidance. After graduating from normal school in southern California, Miss Bailey moved to Berkeley and began her career as a teacher. She taught various elementary grades and was deeply loved by her pupils who continued to remember her as the decades passed. When she retired in 1924 because of ill health, the principal of McKinley School wrote her a note of gratitude and appreciation for her services and her example. "I cannot close this letter," he wrote, "without telling you again what a precious thing your friendship has been to me and will con
Page 688tinue to be, and how we all have been inspired by your courage and faith."
Photographs taken in her youth attest to her beauty and winsomeness. She deliberately decided to forego the pleasures and rewards of marriage in order to give greater service to a larger number of people than a family group comprises.
The immortal Lua GetsingerMiss Bailey was one of the "waiting servants" who embraced the Faith prior to the American visit of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. As the friends in California did not expect the bounty of a visit to the Pacific Coast, several of them journeyed to Chicago to be sure of meeting Him. Miss Bailey made the trip with her intimate friends, Mrs. Ella Cooper and her mother, Mrs. Helen Goodall. A year or two before her passing, she recalled her meeting with 'Abdu'l-Bahá and how copiously she wept with joy despite her firm resolve not to do so. She said, (as recorded by Charles Cornell of Berkeley, California): "We wondered what He looked like, the color of His eyes, of His hair. After I had once seen Him, I never had words with which to express these things.
They seemed so unimportant.He greeted me by saying that He was happy to see me with my spiritual mother, thereby confirming a beautiful spiritual relationship that continued for life between Mrs. Goodall and myself." It also sealed the relationship of sister between Miss Bailey and Mrs. Cooper.
The wonderful qualities of Ella Bailey were well known to her acquaintances and to the Bahá'ís in the San Francisco region. She was the first chairman of the Berkeley Bahá'í Assembly and was elected annually to that body for more than twenty years. She was constantly teaching by word and even more, by deed, but she preferred always to remain in the background. In over twenty years of association with her, the writer does not remember having once seen her on a public platform.
Far from seeking publicity, she avoided it. During her long residence at the Berkeley Women's City Club, she used her membership to sponsor many
Bahá'í gatherings. Herroom became a kind of clinic for the distressed and disconsolate. Hundreds have partaken of her spiritual and material hospitality and generosity. Her presentation of the message of Bahá'u'lláh was indeed like that of a royal subject giving his most precious possession to his sovereign. Gentleness and sweetness were her abiding traits. She never tried to force her opinions on anyone but ever beckoned the thirsty to come to the fountain and drink the water of life that will bring healing to men and nations. Her saintly life provided the best means of promoting the prestige of the Faith she so ardently espoused.
Sound in judgment, she never aroused hostility nor did she compromise on principle. Many were her secret sacrifices.
She would give sumptuous dinners for friends who were oblivious to the fact that their hostess very often contented herself with tea, toast, and perhaps a little soup.
Her whole day passed in cheering the brokenhearted, in helping the needy, in visiting the sick, and in refreshing the spirits of the unending stream of guests that came to see her.
On learning that Shoghi Effendi had expressed the hope that Mr. and Mrs. Gulick would pioneer in Africa, Miss Bailey secretly aspired to go with them. She was too humble to voice her desire but beamed gratefully when she was told that they would enjoy having her with them. Then a cloud came over her countenance and she replied, "It would be selfish of me to go to Africa and be a burden."
The Gulicks felt that her presence would be a blessing but to make sure of doing the right thing, cabled the beloved Guardian. The answer of Shoghi Effendi, "Approve Bailey accompany you," constituted Ella Bailey's marching orders.
The next question was whether both the African journey and the trip to Chicago for the Jubilee commemoration should be attempted. The prayerful decision was that it would be a pity for Ella Bailey to forego the opportunity of witnessing the dedication of the Temple which had gloriously risen on the spot she had seen as bare soil in 1912. She attended the main events of the Jubilee including the Temple dedication, viewed the portraits of Bahá'u'lláh and of the Báb, and, through the writer, signified at the Intercontinental Teaching Conference her determination to go forth as an African pioneer.
She returned to Berkeley in excellent spirits and relatively good health.
An old friend remarked that her voice had not been so light and gay in forty years. A few days later, sad to relate, she came down with pneumonia, spent some time in a hospital, and was obliged to leave her residence at the
Page 689Club and live in a nursing home. Gradually she regained some of her health and strength and it was decided to start the journey.
Old friends of older faiths were horrified at her decision to puii up stakes in California and settle on the old Barbary Coast of North Africa and they warned her that such a move would shorten her life. She smilingly answered, "I do not find it such a great sacrifice to give up living in a rest home."
She left her adopted California on July 14, 1953, never to return. The next evening she stayed in the New York apartment of Dr. Fazly Melany where she was visited by two Hands of the Cause, Dbikru'llAh Kh6r dem and Musa Ban6ni.
Early the next morning she sustained a fall but there were no fractures and travel was resumed as scheduled. The next stopover was Rome where
Professor Mario Fiorentinirendered all possible assistance. Miss Bailey had the misfortune to fall again with the consequence that the stay in Italy was cut short. Equipped with an oxygen mask, Miss Bailey was an excellent traveler. She arrived at Tripoli on July 20 and was met at the airport by two Baha'is.
During the closing days of her earthly existence, she was sometimes not conscious of her condition which worsened as a result of additional falls. Then again she would become painfully aware of her infirmities and would apologize for the work her sickness entailed.
She knew that she was in loving hands and, when possessed of her faculties, repeatedly thanked Mrs. Shawkat-'Alf Faraju'lltth for the infinite pains she took in caring for her day and night. The presence in the room of two-year-old Robert Gulick III always brought a smile to her face as she loved him deeply and had great faith in his future. Death came toward twilight, at eight o'clock on August 26, 1953. A half hour earlier she was visited by a former member of the Egyptian National Spiritual Assembly and by a young man of Persian ancestry who soon afterward became the first Bahá'í pioneer to the Fezzan. Friends quickly gathered at the bedside of the departed believer and they recited and chanted appropriate prayers in Arabic and English. It was a touching demonstration of international Bahá'í solidarity, of uncalculated affection in an age of calculated risks. Particularly memorable was the moving scene in which an Egyptian friend kissed her fore-Ella Ella M. Bailey.
head and tearfully bade her farewell, "Goodbye,Interment was set for August 27 and on that day a second service was held at the Government Cemetery on the western outskirts of Tripoli.
Friends were also present that evening when the casket was placed in a niche in the cemetery wall.
In the Mother Temple of the West, a few days later, members of the
American National SpiritualAssembly prayed for the progress of her soul in the realms on high.
The very stones of the cemeteries testify to the preponderating share of the American Bahá'í women in the pioneering effort. They speak of incomparable Martha Root in mid-Pacific, of indomitable May Maxwell in the Argentine, of heroic Keith Ransom-Keller near the King of the Martyrs and the Beloved of the Martyrs in hfiMn, of the immortal Lua Getsinger beside the greatest Bahá'í scholar in Cairo, and now of valiant Ella Bailey overlooking and blessing the shores of Tripoli. Her humility prevented her from writing to the Guardian but he perceived the inner worth and true greatness of this wonderful lady.
No friend or relative understood her station as did Shoghi Effendi, and to us in Tripoli this was
Page 690an added, though unneeded, proof that he is guided by God.
The Guardian requested three friends of American nationality in Tripoli to submit a design for a memorial marker on Miss Bailey's grave which will one day, God willing, be in a Bahá'í cemetery.
He wishes personally to bear the expense of this memorial.
He has ranked her with the greatest of the noble band of Bahá'í teachers including those mentioned above and two who have more recently ascended to the Abh~i Kingdom: Marion Jack, whose persevering effort will ever merit emulation; and Dorothy Baker, whose extraordinary gifts as a teacher are matchless and whose radiant spirit continues to inspire all who knew her.
In leaving her home land and in sacrificing her life for the Cause of God, Ella Bailey qualified for the crown of martyrdom.
In his cablegram at the conclusion of thepaid tribute to Ella Bailey and acclaimed her contribution to the world crusade: "Irresistibly unfolding Crusade sanctified death heroic eighty-eight-year-old Ella Bailey elevating her rank martyrs Faith shedding further luster
American Bahá'í Community"Share grief (at) passing (of) esteemed veteran (of) Faith, Maria Joas. Soul rejoicing (in the) Abh4 Kingdom (at the) services rendered (by her) dear son (at the) World Center (of the) Faith (in the) triple function (of) Hand (of the)
Cause, Secre-tary-General(of the) Council (and) Supervisor (of) construction (of the) dome (of the)
Bib's Sepulcher."To think of mother without thinking of her family and the Baha Faith at the same time, would be impossible.
I mention "f am-ily" first, because she had much of her fain-iiy long before she heard of the Bahá'í Faith.
She was born December 6, 1865, in Pas sau, Germany. Her childhood was quite lonely because of a series of events that deprived her of her loved ones.
Her father was killed in the Franco-Prussian war when she was three, her mother died when she was five, and shortly thereafter, her twin sister was taken from her to live in France. She herself went to live with an aunt and uncle in Munich, but through the years she never forgot her lovely mother and sister. So lonely was she as a child that at six years of age she would take all her dolls to bed with her, calling them her brothers and sisters. Often she would find herself on the floor because her "family" took all the room! She vowed that when she grew up she would have at least twelve children, so none would ever be lonely, and twelve she did have, although two died in infancy.
All her love and joy circled around her family and her religion.
Never was there a mother who could more greatly inspire her children, and at the same time arouse such a great protective spirit within them � one of undying love and devotion.
Hers was a happy disposition, even though her life was a difficult one.
"Why are you always so happy?" a friend once asked her. "You have nothing to be happy about." "Oh, but I have," she replied. "When I look about me and see how little others have, I realize I have so much more, so how could I help but be grateful to God and be happy."' "That's the trouble with you," said her friend, "you always look at those who have less than you, instead of those who have more." Mother had not yet heard of the Baha Teachings and "radiant acquiescence," but they were in her heart, nevertheless.
When she was in her sixteenth year her aunt and uncle brought her to visit America.
With the group was her cousin's college roommate, whom she later married.
She and her husband never returned toHowever, they were always seeking, and later both joined
� SHOGI-IT the MethodistChurch but this did not seem to satisfy their spiritual needs either. For many years father had been looking for the return of Christ.
When he was young, his mother, a very religious woman, had told him that she felt the time was imminent for Christ's return, that she probably would not live to see this, but that he might do so. Thus he was always looking for and buying
Page 691books dealing with the interpretation of the Book of Revelation and any other information that might help him in his search for the return of Christ. After hearing of the Bahá'í Faith, he and mother were most happy to attend the classes of Mr. Paul Dealy of Chicago, even though it meant an hour's ride each way on streetcars, involving several transfers. Mother said she had prayed for seventeen years to find a religion that would satisfy her. There always seemed to be a curtain before her and in back of that curtain was what she was seeking.
When, after the twelfth lesson, Mr. Dealy told the class that Christ had returned and he gave them the name of Bahá'u'lláh, they were overcome, and the curtain seemed to lift for mother. She knew at once that this was what she had been seeking.
She and father wrote their supplication to 'Abdu'l-Bahá that very night [July 7, 1898], stating their belief in this Truth and asking to be accepted by Him as Baha'is. Their hearts were flooded with joy. The following day their ninth child was born.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá came to America in 1912, my parents and the family had the privilege of seeing Him a number of times in Chicago. For many years mother had longed for a flower which His blessed hands had touched and she was often tempted to ask pilgrims going to 'Akka to secure one for her if possible. However, in her humble way she felt that if 'Abdu'l-Bahá wanted her to have one, she would receive it. The first day that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was in Chicago, she went with one of her children to the Plaza Hotel to see Him. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was out, so they waited for Him all afternoon.
They were in the hail when He came out of the elevator and lovingly greeted them. Walking toward His room, He said, "Come, come." Mother knew He was tired and hesitated to follow, but He turned again and said, "Come, come." So she and her son followed Him to His reception room. In a few minutes He came out of His room with some roses and walking over graciously handed one of them to her. Mother said afterward, "He looked at me with those eyes that could read one's very soul. There was no need of His telling me, 'This is the flower you have wished for these many years.~
Always mother and father promoted the Faith as best they could, telling neighbors and friends of the Glad Tidings, but dedicated as they were, they did not neglect their children. Study classes were held in the home every week for them and such friends as might care to come.
When the call came to start a children's class in Chicago, mother promptly offered her services and taught for a number of years.
Children always loved her and she gently instilled in them the Bahá'í teachings � God is love; Bahá'u'lláh has come, the great Universal Prophet for this New Day; His Forerunner, the 13Th, with His charm, love and devotion, bringing the Glad Tidings; 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the beloved Exemplar, Interpreter and Center of the Covenant; Shoghi Effendi, the much loved First Guardian of the Faith And also from the Hidden Words: "I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life." "My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, a kindly and radiant heart ...""Of all things the best beloved in My sight is Justice One of mother's fondest hopes had been to see the Temple completed.
For some years she had acted as hostess one day a week during the guiding season, and realized the tremendous teaching medium of the Temple. She was impatient for its completion.
Father and Mr. AlbertWindust, both of the first Spiritual Assembly of Chicago,
Page 692had had the great privilege of writing the letter requesting 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í permission to build the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in the Chicago area.
Since that time fifty years or more had elapsed.Life for mother was drawing to a close. And now, in the spring of 1953, the Jubilee Celebration had started. People were coming from all over the world to attend.
What a happy evening it was when all the Persian Hands of the Cause and their families, who had come to attend the Jubilee, came to visit mother in her daughter's home in Oak Park, at the request of her son, Leroy, who had also been appointed a Hand of the Cause by Shaghi Effendi and had taken residence, with his wife, Sylvia, at the Pilgrim
House in Haifa. Heradvanced years were bringing her many joys, for had not our beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, honored Leroy by naming the ninth door of the shrine of the Báb, "BTh-i-Ioas"?
Her cup was almost full, but still she had not seen the completion and dedication of the Tem-pie.
She remembered 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í promise that people would enter the Faith in throngs when the Temple was completed, drawn at first through the great inspiring beauty of this noble edifice. Had He not said, "Some material things have a spiritual effect.
On May 1, 1953, was held the Bahá'í Dedication of the Temple. Our beloved Rt~iyyih KThAnum, representing the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, had come all the way from the World Center of the Faith at Haifa in honor of this Dedication of the Mother Temple of the West and the observance of the Centenary of the
Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh.Though very ill, mother was lifted in her wheel chair by loving hands up the eighteen steps encircling the base of the structure � those steps in memory of the eighteen Letters of the Living � then through the door and at last in the Auditorium of the completed Temple.
What joy she felt can only be imagined. To this was added the great happiness of seeing the beautiful picture of Bahá'u'lláh, brought to America for the first time, to be viewed by His loving followers, and of feeling the thoughtful kindness of Rhljiyyih Kj~6num who walked beside mother as she was wheeled to the door and bade her farewell.
At last it was accomplished!The great day for which mother had waited these many years! A day of joy, a day of fulfillment, ment, with a brilliant promise for the future.
Mother slipped away on May 25, 1953, at the age of eighty-seven.
Not really "away" � just over the line into the spiritual realm. She had seen the Faith advance from its feeble beginning in America, when the only Baha literature consisted of the Tablets received from 'Abdu'l-Bahá which were lovingly and humbly read and reread, to its present flourishing condition, with translations of the original Teachings of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh; talks, explanations and exhortations of 'Abdu'l-Bahá; and books, letters and directives by our beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi; with the added writings of his wife,
R61~iyyih Kji6num.How wonderful it is that today the world is indeed awakening spiritually to the call of Bahá'u'lláh.
How far flung are the banners of His Cause, enlisting the allegiance of people all over the world, on all continents and islands of the sea!
Mother often used to say to me, "I love the Bahá'í Faith so much, but how little I can do towards its promotion.
All I can do is to let my little flame shine out as best it can."
Today her children are ardent Bahá'ís and at the present writing seven of her grandchildren have answered Shoghi Effendi's call for pioneers.
They are to be found in such distant places as the Dutch West Indies, the Bahá'u'lláh Islands, Monte Carlo, Paris, and even on the home front in Nevada, Texas and
Illinois!And so has ended the "little flame" of a loving mother and devoted Baha'i, or has it, in truth, really ended? Even though the visible flame has disappeared, will not its effects go on and on into eternity?
� VIOLA TUTTLEHis parents were from families well known for their wholehearted services and self-sacrifices for the Bahá'í Faith. His mother was the daughter of Mull~ 'All-Akbar Ardisl4ni, who together with Quddiis and Mulh Sadiq-i-Kj~urdsdni, formerly known as Muqaddas, and surnamed by Bahá'u'lláh, Ismu'lIAhu'1-Asdaq, embraced
Page 693the Cause at its inception in SbirAz, and were the first to be persecuted.
His father Aqi SiyyidShahab was the son of Mirza Fatlt-'Ali, who was aware of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh before its declaration, and whose devotion was recognized by Bahá'u'lláh, and who surnamed him Fath-'Azam.
Nuri'd-Din's childhood was passed in Ar-distan, but when he was ten years old his father had to migrate to TilirAn with him because of constant persecution from Mus-urn priests and mobs. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, also, permitted the family to be transferred to Tihdtn, where during the first years, they suffered great privations. Gradually, however, the family got over the difficulties and established a more or less comfortable home, where Nuri'd-Din was brought up in the love of the
Cause of God.He was educated in the Tarbiyat School, and attended Bahá'í teaching courses, and in both lines won the admiration of his teachers for his zeal, interest and intelligence.
When he was twenty-four, he entered the government service, and was appointed chief of the Post Office in KirmThsh6h. In later years, he served as chief accountant of the late Majesty, a position he held for eleven years, proof of his honesty and ability, and was always well known as a Baha'i. People frequented his house and office for assistance � which he could render in his position � and they were never rejected.
He served the Cause as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and of the Tih-r6n Assembly with his usual diligence.
He was so much occupied that his family saw very little of him, and that only at breakfast time.
He visited the Holy Land in 1942 and on his return brought the glad-tidings to the Bahá'ís who had been deprived of them for many years because of unsettled conditions in Palestine. His return to Irein was the signal for many Bahá'ís to migrate and teach the Cause. Many people who met and heard him were fired with so much enthusiasm that they volunteered to forsake their interests for the Cause, Abiding by the instruction from the Guardian, he stayed in Tih-pin, much as he desired to go to Afghinisttin and establish a Baha center there. He worked, however, very hard as a member of the Emigration Committee, and was always first and foremost to help Bahá'ís who were emigrating, often at the expense of his own interests.
He undertook to repair and reconstruct the House of Bahá'u'lláh in Tilirin and took a great deal of pains to complete the work according to the original design.
An outstanding work of his was compiling the Addresses made by 'Abdu'l-Bahá which he published under the name "Khata-bat," and added it to the wealth of Bahá'í literature.
He was benevolent to friend and foe, and always extended help to people in distress, forgetting his own debts and monetary troubles. After the heartbreaking incident of his death, great was the number of people who related stories of his generosity, and who grieved over the loss of such a devoted friend.
It happened like this: After leaving his official work, he and his brother purchased a ruin of a village from the government, and did their best to improve its condition with regard to the income, health and education of the villagers. The peasants who could hardly get from their lands enough to pay their expenses for a quarter of a year, not only were enabled to meet their annual needs, but also started to buy extra accommodations.
However, they proved very ungrateful for all his kind
Page 694ness, and let the village be used for intrigues against the Baha'is.
It was on Tuesday night on the 26th of August 1952 at 9 P.M. when he went there as a kind father for their guidance that he was met by a fanatical mob, and was put to death in a most cruel way, thus adding his name to the immortal list of martyrs who have given their lives for the glory of the Cause.
News of his death came as a shock to the Bahá'í world. His funeral was attended both by Bahá'ís and non-Bah6As. Memorial services, worthy of his station, were held by Bahá'í communities. One service was specially held by the National Spiritual Assembly of bin as instructed by the Guardian. Many telegrams and consoling letters were received from all over the world.
His body was interred at the north section of the Bahá'í cemetery in Tihr~n, and the beloved Guardian gave instructions for his tomb to be erected on his behalf.
In conclusion I quote the cablegram of the Guardian on this grievous occasion: "Deeply saddened sudden great loss outstanding promoter Faith assure friends relatives loving fervent prayers progress soul Kingdom advise hold befitting memorial gathering his unforgettable services bountifully rewarded. � Snooni."
IJAJI MUhAMMAD TAHIR MALMIRIMalmiri lived, labored, and passed away in the ancient town of Yazd, Ir6n, a town notorious for its religious fanaticism and its large number of mullas. He was born there about the year 1852 which witnessed the inception of the mission of Bahá'u'lláh, and lived there long enough to see the centenary celebration of that Holy Year. Known to almost every citizen, no other Bahá'í in Yazd was so dearly loved and admired by the friends, and so bitterly denounced and insulted by the foes.
Fortified by his staunch faith, animated by his intense desire to serve the Cause, sustained by the guiding Hand of Bahá'u'lláh, undaunted in the face of dire sufferings, his life and conduct served to perpetuate the spirit of the apostolic age to which he belonged.
His life was wholly dedicated to the Cause. The idea uppermost in his mind al
U6-ji Muhammad Thhir Malmiri.No power, no preoccupation, no conventional matter of daily life could ever deflect him from this high purpose. His teaching exploits were so intensive that today, a large section of the Ba1A'i community of Yazd owes to his lifelong effort its allegiance to the Cause.
116-if Muhammad Tthirwas a brilliant debater and speaker. It is difficult to convey the pleasure one derived from his inspiring conversation which ranged from humorous trifles to weighty pronouncements.
His knowledge of the history and literature of the great world religions was prodigious. He could recite almost half the Qur'Th by heart, as well as hundreds of recorded
Muslim traditions. Alsohe was extremely well-versed in the Bible and the books of other religions.
The source from which he drew his energy seemed to be inexhaustible.
He could speak for hours about religious matters without either feeling tired himself or boring his listeners. Rather they were fascinated by the gaiety of his conversation and by the ripple of his ready and eloquent tongue. Even the enemies of the Cause were silenced and subdued by his charm and dignity, On several occasions fanatical persons,
Page 695intent on carrying out sinister plots against his life, came to his fireside meetings in the guise of seekers of truth, carrying weapons in their pockets. After coming in contact with his dominating personality, however, they changed their minds altogether, and strangely enough, a couple of them eventually became ardent believers.
But H641 Muhammad T4hir'stalks were not always honeyed. There are few, if any, among the leading Muslim priests in Yazd who, at one time or another, have not felt the sting of his taunts and retorts or were not drawn into his entangling net, oniy to emerge with their wings clipped, utterly confounded by the amazing force of his argument.
At the height of his teaching career, almost every evening he used to attend fireside meetings which usually lasted till after midnight.
Whenever he was free at night or returned home rather early, he would keep awake well into the small hours of the morning, either pacing the compound of his modest house in prayer and meditation or sitting up to read or write.
His pen was as ready and able as his tongue, and his voluminous writings are direct, lively and inspiring. Famous among his works is the History of the Martyrs of Yazd, a moving portrayal of one of the most revolting episodes in Bahá'í history.
His Memoirs, written during the second World War and containing a wealth of choice reminiscences, has been designated by the beloved Guardian an interesting storehouse of information for future
Bahá'í historians. Anotherenduring work, undertaken at the behest of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, is the history of the inception and growth of the Faith in his native district. Compiled in two volumes, it depicts the lives, achievements, sufferings and martyrdom of the early heroes and pioneers in that area.
Also his Fusul Arbd'ihis a masterly exposition of proofs demonstrating the prophetic mission of the Founder and Herald of our Faith with profuse quotations from various religious books used in support of his thesis.
The crowning glory of his life was the rare privilege of attaining the presence of Bahá'u'lláh in the year 1878 in 'Akka, where he stayed for about nine months. The wonderful events and experiences associated with this momentous pilgrimage, no less than his contact with the mysterious power emanating from the person of Bahá'u'lláh, made a deep and abiding impression upon his whole being and served him as a source of inspiration and spiritual enlightenment, enabling him to steer his way steadily and triumphantly amid the perils and cross currents of his eventful life.
The remarkable feature of his interviews with Bahá'u'lláh is the fact that overcome by His dazzling greatness, he seldom dared to look at His Face or to utter a single word. Rather he would approach I-urn in a sense of spiritual discernment.
In his thrilling Memoirs he states: "Whenever I came into the presence of the Blessed Beauty if there were anything I wanted to ask, I would say it by way of the heart and He would answer me invariably. I was so deeply impressed by His supreme power that I always sat in His presence spellbound, oblivious of myself." Once he entreated Bahá'u'lláh that he might be granted the privilege of laying down his life for the Cause as a martyr.
"You shall live long to teach the Cause," was His prompt reply. In fact he did live long � a hundred years � and did distinguish himself in teaching and serving the Cause with exemplary devotion. The wonderful Tablets revealed in his name by both Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the letters from the beloved Guardian, all bear ample testimony to his noble life of service.
Early in 1914 Wji Mo1~ammadTThir went on his second pilgrimage to the Holy Land where he basked for four months in the sunshine of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í unbounded blessings and love.
Rank and fortune, in the material sense, never came TJttji Mu1~ammad Thhir's way. He used to earn his modest living mainly by working as a hand weaver. Yet, whenever he managed to secure some bushels of grain or other provisions for our daily use, nobody was allowed to touch them until he had set aside a substantial portion for the poor of the town as well as the needy among the martyrs' widows and orphans.
After the terrible Bahá'í massacre in Yazd which occurred soon after the turn of the century, 'Abdu'l-Bahá appointed IJ6~ji Muijammad T6iiir to look after the hapless, terror-stricken remnants of the martyrs' families.
For several years he devoted himself to the arduous task of organizing help for the poor, comforting the bereaved, tending the sick, and rearing and educating the children.
He derived ample pleasure fromgiving food, money and clothing to the needy and distressed. Everybody was welcome to his home and his table. The words of praise and admiration which streamed from the Pen of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in appreciation of his beneficent work stand as a glowing testimony to his sense of love and devotion to the downtrodden.
Throughout the rugged years of his life H~tjf Muijammad T6.hir seems to have joined in permanent wedlock with adversity. The lifelong sufferings he bore at the hands of the enemies, the insults and indignities to which he was subjected at every turn, the perilous adventures he went through, the grievous loss of three children who perished during the Bahá'í massacre in Yazd, the weight of chains and imprisonment he joyfully accepted towards the end of his life in company with the fellow-members of the Spiritual Assembly of Yazd � these together with many other distressing events, far from dampening his spirits, served to steel his energies and to reveal the true measure of his indomitable faith.
The evening of his life was dimmed by years of declining faculties and infirmity. Sinking beneath the gathering weight of old age and ill health, he laid down the burden he carried so worthily for nearly eighty years and passed away peacefully at his home on June 4, 1953. In his will he bequeathed all his possessions to the Cause.
The following gracious message from the beloved Guardian may well serve as a befitting epilogue to his memory:
"Grieve passing Mul3ammadThhir Mal-miri long record services unforgettable praying progress soul kingdom."
� HABIB TXBIRZXDEH"Johanna Schubarth, by virtue of her sacrificial services to the Faith over such a long period of time, has attained a very high station.
She is the mother of the Norwegian Bahá'í Community, and is the founder of the Faith in that country.
She served diligently under adverse conditions, and all alone, for many years, kept the light of the Faith aflame, single handed. She was a very rare soul, was entirely consecrated to the Faith and completely devoted to its service.
Oniy future generations will be able to properly appraise the value of the great service which she has rendered at such a critical time in the history of the Faith, and under such difficult conditions.
"The Guardian wishes to make clear the importance of the station of Johanna Schu-barth, as she was the founder of the Bahá'í Community in Norway, and thus her station is higher than that of a pioneer.
From Letter of the Guardian through his AssistantThese words, written at the direction of Shoghi Effendi, Head of the Bahá'í World Faith, establish for all time the station of
Johanna Christensen Schubartli.She was born in 1877 in the little village of Sandeherred, Norway.
Nearby, large whaling vessels were built and repaired and Johanna's mother's family were employed in this business.
Her great grandfather had a large boat in which he would go out to help ships in danger and distress.
Her father, a ship leader, did not come back one day and nothing was ever heard of him or his ship.
Thus a family of eighteen children, with "plenty of sons," was left fatherless.
Her mother married a second time and it was decided that the younger children should become known by the name of their second father. So it was that Johanna's name became Schuharth.
As a little girl, Johanna watched the "dig-gings" of the Gogstad ship, a Viking ship so called because it was on the Gogstad farm near where Johanna lived that this fine specimen was found.
Viking ships were used as burial places for kings and queens, were buried deep in the ground and covered with a special sand to preserve them.
Johanna watched as this one was taken out of the earth, piece by piece, and sent off to the University of Oslo where it was studied and reassembled.
It is now one of the two chief exhibits at the Viking Museum [Vikingshu-set]
in Oslo. Johanna's aunt, Hilde Christensen, became interested in the beautiful de~ signs and colors in the old fabrics found in the Viking ships, and through scientific study was able to reproduce the colors. Her books on this subject have become classics.
Johanna went to the United States to pursue her profession of nursing and it was through a patient in Urbana, Illinois, that she first heard of the Bahá'í Faith. She withdrew from her work as a nurse for a period
Page 697of six months in order to study the Faith thoroughly before she fully accepted it. It was through May Maxwell that she received her confirmation and declared herself in 1919.
In 1927 Johanna returned to Norway to nurse her mother, and on her way she was privileged to visit Haifa. There she had daily talks with the Guardian, Johanna asking questions, the Guardian answering and explaining things to her. Shoghi Effendi asked her to remain in Oslo and spread the Teachings.
There were no other Bahá'ís in Norway then, and there was no Bahá'í literature in Norwegian.
Johanna put her will in the Hands of God and was guided in all her work by Bahá'u'lláh and the beloved Guardian. Although she would have liked very much to return to the United States, she remained in Oslo and began translating the Baha Writings into Norwegian.
Desiring to give the remainder of her life to work for the Bahá'í Faith and feeling that the translation of the Writings would be her greatest gift, she studied the language and took the University examination at the age of fifty or more years. She agonized over getting into her native language the spiritual depths in the Words of Bahá'u'lláh.
"There is no way to express these things in Norwegian," she would say, but somehow she brought their expression foflh.
She was always working on some manuscript of translation from the Writings, even after she became crippled with arthritis and could devote only a few minutes at a time to it during the last two years of her life.
When the European TeachingCommittee began its work in Norway in 1946, as part of the unfoldment of the Divine Plan of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Second Seven-Year Plan, there were ready in Norwegian, thanks to Johanna's efforts, Esslemont's book, in print and on sale in one of the large book shops of Oslo; translations of The
Hidden Words, the Wordsof Wisdom, and, in manuscript form, the Kitáb-i-lqdn of
Bahá'u'lláh, many Bahá'íprayers, and The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Soon afterward came translations of Shoghi Effendi's The Goal of a New World Order and the compilation Bahá'í Community. Later, in cooperation with the Norwegian Translating Committee, Johanna contributed the lion's share to translations of papers on "The Covenant" and "Compara-tive Religion" read at the Summer School held in connection with the
European Teaching Conferenceat Copenhagen (Psi-nore) in 1950. Johanna also helped with the translation of David Hofman's The
Renewal of Civilization.The respect in which Johanna was held in Oslo, her friendship of many years' standing with Johanna Sbrensen, now Mrs. Dr. Hoeg of Herning, Denmark, and above all, her staunch devotion and utter self-sacrifice to the slightest wish of the beloved Guardian, all greatly aided the work of the continuous promotion of the Faith in this northern country.
Johanna Schubarth lived in Oslo in a large room which was flooded with sunlight when there was sun. It was on the third floor of an old building, up a winding wooden staircase.
The only heat in the room during the long, dark, cold winters was from a large tile stove for which coal had to be lugged from the basement.
During the war years there was no coal. Wishing to serve her countrymen in these difficult times, Johanna took up again her profession of nursing, volunteering her services.
She received a citation from the King of Norway for her work but her health was broken by the deprivations and sufferings she had endured.
In 1947 all food was still rationed in Norway but as a retired nurse, Johanna was able to receive a few eggs a month and some milk. Every food package sent her from the United States was carefully stretched as far as it would go, and the choicest items saved for the Nineteen Day Feasts held in her apartment.
Some of the friends wished to provide Johanna with a supply of coal as soon as it became possible to buy a little at a time, but she would not permit it, refusing to sign the papers necessary to get it delivered. She would live and serve to the utmost of her ability and strength, but would take care of herself � her heritage from ancestors used to the rigors of whaling would not permit anything else.
During the twenty years that Johanna Schubarth "held aloft the light of the Faith" in Norway, the visits of Bahá'í itinerant teachers and visitors brought high lights to her days. Always, at train or ship, she went to meet them, to welcome them, and to bid them farewell; whatever the time of day or night, or however cold the weather, her spiritual and radiant face shone out from the crowd. Among these teachers was Martha Root, termed by the Guardian "that archetype of Bahá'í itinerant teachers," who in 1935 visited the Scandinavian countries. In the last days of Johanna's life she was made radiantly happy and brought close to the beloved Guardian through the visit of Dhikru'llAh Kh6dem, Hand of the Cause of God, and his lovely wife.
At the beginning of the Second Seven-Year Plan, Johanna's joy was great when she welcomed the pioneers sent to Norway by the European Teaching Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. To these pioneers she was ever a source of strength and comfort. It was not easy, after so many years of working alone, suddenly to work with others, but she achieved this transition because of her love for the Guardian and her selfless obedience to the Administration. Great was her joy in the firm establishment of the Faith with the formation of the first local Assembly in Norway, the Spiritual Assembly of Oslo, in April, 1948. As chairman of that Spiritual Assembly she presided at the first public meeting held in Oslo, in January, 1950.
In Juiy of the same year, she rejoiced to be able to attend the European Teaching Conference held in Copenhagen, together with every member of the Oslo Bahá'í Community.
On the first of December,passed away in a hospital in Oslo. The Scandinavian Bahá'í Bulletin for January, 1953, carried an article in tribute to her, written by Mrs. Asta B~rnho1dt, an old friend and a Baha'i, which said in part:
"The Oslo Baha Conununitytherewith lost the foundation stone in the promotion of the Faith in Norway.
Johanna's life and person testified to her wholesome character. Great words and violent feelings were unknown to her. We knew her as a person who radiated purity, simplicity, justice and stability.
Her great love for the Faith which she had accepted, we shall never forget!
Nor her goodness and helpfulness to all!Johanna was quiet, reserved, shy, a "doer" and not a "talker." As the unfoldment of the Faith progressed in this new community and it formed the base for an ever-widening teaching work, Johanna was a bulwark of firmness around which temporary crises made no headway, and all felt in her strength, integrity and depth of understanding, the everlasting qualities of true faith.
In the communication from the Guardian dated March 11, 1953, he instructed "that as many friends as possible attending the Conference in Stockholm, make a special effort to travel there via Norway and to visit her grave. This refers not only to the Bahá'ís attending the Conference from America, but likewise those attending from the various parts of Europe."
Accordingly, in obedience to this request, many Bahá'ís from the United
States, Persia and Europeancountries gathered, in the days immediately preceding the Third Intercontinental Teaching Conference in July, 1953, as well as immediately after the Conference, to read prayers at the grave of "the founder of the Faith" in Norway.
Johanna's remains had been laid to rest, after a beautiful Bahá'í service, in the Var Frelsers (Our Savior's) Cemetery within the city of Oslo. In December, 1953, her remains were removed to the Vest Grave-lund or Western Cemetery, at the foot of Holmenkollen mountain on the outskirts of Oslo, where, in her Will and Testament, it was found she had requested burial. "Only future generations will be able to properly appraise the value of the great service which she has rendered at such a critical time in the history of the Faith, and under such difficult conditions.
Page 699George") passed away on Saturday, November 4, 1950, at the age of 91. The Guardian cabled: "Grieve passing distinguished indefatigable promoter Faith ardently supplicating progress soul Abh~ Kingdom her notable meritorious services unforgettable."
A Tribute by Alfred SugarI was introduced to Mrs. George at Wal-mar House, the first Center of the London Bahá'í Community, then recently acquired.
My first impression of her was of a rather formidable personality � tall, erect, dark, direct and rather brusque in speech. But more intimate contact soon revealed her warm, sympathetic understanding and progressive character.
To her intimates Florence George revealed her pride.
She was proud of the distinction "Mother," bestowed on her by 'Abdu'l-Bahá She liked to speak of her pilgrimage to Haifa, of her Master's personal care that the individual needs of the pilgrims were provided for; of His humor and His wisdom; of how He taught humility to the ostentatious and raised to dignity the self-abased.
She prized the injunction He gave her that she was to be a Mother to the younger generation of Bahá'ís and train them in the love and knowledge of the Cause. This injunction she obeyed faithfully.
Mother George was proud, too, that she had been instrumental in making known the Faith to Dr.
Esslemont. Followingon a series of happenings which must have been preordained, the doctor wrote to Mrs. George.
The correspondence led to his attending a Baha meeting in London, which meeting marked the beginning of his devotion to and his magnificent work for the Cause. Later, during her stay in Bournemouth, Mrs. George devoted herself to the further instruction of Dr. Esslemont and Sister Challis. But hers was not the pride of successful achievement; it was akin to the pride of a child who had been singled out for a special distinction, and having been so honored, must show herself worthy of the responsibility which the distinction imposed.
Now that I look back on those earlierdays, I feel that in her work for the Cause, Mother George tried to reflect the Light she had received from the Master in the days of her pilgrimage to Him. It was in the spirit of His Light that she conducted the Sunday afternoon meetings in her Chelsea home.
These gatherings were marked by simple dignity; they were instructive, inspiring and without formality. Her hospitality, without "fuss," was warm and unstinted. We knew that the work her hospitality entailed, the comfort provided and the good things we enjoyed, sprang from the loving service of her daughter Dorothy Weilby. We may have failed to properly acknowledge this at the time, but we, who benefited by her service, never forget.
She liked to have young people to come to see her. She loved to teach them; she prized their affection. She went forward from the guidance of the Master to that of the Guardian without hesitancy and without question. To her the Master's Will was the authority; the later period was the fitting sequel to the earlier. In the course of her last letter to me, the script of which betrayed the weakness of the hand that wrote, she said: "I cannot get to the meetings now and you can imagine my feelings.
But I dosome teaching of young Bahá'ís and I try to entertain at my home Bahá'ís who need help." And, "I think the pioneers have done good work."
So, there has passed from this earthly life another of the links who bring to our Formative Period the spirit and the blessed aroma of the Apostolic Age, passed to the Abh~ Kingdom, there to unite with them who have gone before, to supplicate on our behalf, to contribute their love and their prayers so that we who remain here may be aided by the Supreme Concourse in the work and sacrifice which it is our privilege to contribute to the progress of the Cause we love.
� From British Bahá'í Journal, December, 1950, p. 6.
PHILIP GODDARD SPRAGUE"Staunch, exemplary, greatly admired, dearly loved
Sprague," the Guardiancabled after Philip Sprague's death on September 23,
1951. How well ShoghiEffendi has expressed in those three words, "dearly loved Sprague," the feeling of the Baha
Community about Philip.The reason he called forth that love was, no doubt, his own deep, abiding love for the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and the Guardian. "All I want is to be with the Master," Philip often said in those last painful months of his life.
Philip Goddard Spraguewas born in New York City on January 1, 1899, the son of Dr. Shirley Sprague and Marguerite Mo-rette
Sprague. His dear AuntCarrie Kinney taught him the Faith when he was a small boy, so that when 'Abdu'l-Bahá came to this country in 1912, Philip was overjoyed to see Him.
The memory of that early meeting never left him. In 1919 and 1920 he received several Tablets from 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in one of which the Master advised him to go into business.
At that time 'Abdu'l-Bahá through His secretary sent weekly messages to certain American believers about what was happening in Haifa, and the young Philip was of great assistance to the Kinneys in mimeographing these and mailing them all over the country.
This was Philip's first devoted service to thewas outstanding. Large groups thronged to his fireside meetings, and many accepted the Faith through study classes which grew out of the fireside groups. Philip was happiest when he was teaching, and those whom he taught felt his deep devotion to the Master and the Guardian and were moved by his deep spiritual conviction as he talked. From 1926 to 1929 he and Dorothy Champ, assisted by Keith Ransom-Kehier, held very successful fireside meetings in Dorothy's home in Harlem. This was one of the first interracial groups in the city. Keith Ransom-Kehier, a great Bahá'í and a gifted speaker, helped them to spread the Faith among the Negroes of Harlem.
Philip had long wanted to go to Haifa, and the Guardian urged him to make the pilgrimage. On November 20, 1928, Shoghi Effendi cabled "Welcome," which was his invitation to start. After Philip's return early in 1929, the Guardian wrote the following through his secretary: "He wishes me to assure you of his personal affection and prayers and of his sincere desire and hope that you will render valued and permanent services to a Cause so near and dear to your heart. Think what a smile � if a human smile it should be � would run across the Master's lips to watch the Philip he knew
Page 701as a child raise high the standard of His Cause in America."
During the Temple construction Philip inspired the friends everywhere to give to the Fund, and during the First Seven-Year Plan, 1937 to 1944, he worked ceaselessly to get settlers and pioneers that the Cause might be established in every state in North America.
As chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New York he kept constantly before the Community the Guardian's messages, and urged the believers to sacrifice for the progress of the Faith. In Shoghi Effendi's cable of October 4, 1951, he records that the memory of Philip's work both in the teaching and administrative fields will never be forgotten. These are his words: "Memory notable services teacher administrator
North (and) Latin AmericaWhen the Guardian's translation of The Dawn-Breakers first reached us, Philip read that immortal record of the early days of the Faith with avid interest. He was transported to great spiritual heights by reading about the Báb and those holy souls who surrounded Him. This book had a tremendous influence on his life.
Another strong influence was his love for May Maxwell and hers for him.
She taught him much. "The soul's motion in relation to the Beloved is the unfolding of all the meaning of life," she used to say. Philip read and reread An Early Pilgrimage, which is her account of her first meeting with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. One of his favorite passages was: "As we gazed on Him, I realized that we could in no way comprehend Him; we could only love Him, follow Him, obey Him, and thereby draw nearer to His beauty." Such thoughts as these which she expressed in her talks and letters to Philip found an echo in his own heart.
So, after her death in1, 1940, it was natural that Philip should go to South America for a six months' teaching trip. This was in Septem. her of the same year. His fireside gatherings in Buenos Aires were attended by large numbers of youth who loved him dearly. He returned in February, 1941, on the same ship with Mary Keene Manero whom he later married.
He made a second trip to South America in 1942, staying three months.
In 1944 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and served with distinction as national treasurer at the time when the Assembly was engrossed in the first stages of the Temple interior construction.
Philip had great personal charm. His sense of humor was delightful and endeared him to his friends. The little Green Acre cottage in Eliot, Maine, with its beautiful garden was a joy to him and Mary.
They loved flowers, and kept the house and porch gay with them, arranged in his own artistic way.
During much of his life Philip was ill. In the last difficult years of his sickness his wife was a constant source of encouragement and help.
He learned to be patient under the severest suffering.
Shoghi Effendi called his spirit in his last illness "exemplary."
Philip's inner reality was a tender, gentle, yet strong spirit which ever turned to the Beloved, and made him, as the Guardian said, "dearly loved" Philip
Sprague.Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed: "0 son of Being! Thy Eden is My Love and reunion with Me thy home. Enter and tarry not. This is what hath been destined for thee in Our Kingdom above and Our exalted paradise."
The reaffirmation of the Covenant of God and the reassurance of Divine Guidance became the motivating power in the life of Nellie Stevi-son French, upon whom 'Abdu'l-Bahá bestowed the appellation, "My daughter."
Nellie was born October 19, 1868, in Peoria, Illinois; her father, Josiah Hill Stevi-son, an Episcopalian, and her mother, Sarah Swain Stevison, member of a Quaker f am-ily, provided their daughter and son, Dudley, who was born 1882 in Chicago, with the usual Sunday school associations.
Evincing a marked talent for singing, Nellie left in 1888 for Naples, Italy, to develop that interest.
The four-year residence abroad gave her the opportunity to learn the French and Italian languages, to acquire an appreciation of the Latin fine arts, and to master a strenuous course in training for the operatic stage. She suffered a case of typhoid fever in 1892 and returned to the United States
Page 702to recuperate; but her recovery was followed by scarlet fever which impaired her vocal chords irreparably. Her aspirations for a musical career were ended.
In December, 1894, Nellie Stevison was married to Stuart Whitney French, a childhood companion.
About 1896, accompanied by her mother, she attended a few meetings at the home of Dr. Kjnyru'llTh, a Syrian, on West Adams
Street in Chicago. Heinformed those assembled that there had come into the world a new revelation and a new prophet, Bahá'u'lláh.
Although Dr. Ki~ay-ru'114h'sknowledge of the Teachings of the Cause of God was limited, the spiritual seeds were sown. Moving to
Arizona in 1900, NellieFrench lived in Bisbee until 1904 and in Douglas until 1917 where she participated in the social and civic activities of the pioneer mining communities. These interests were highlighted by being elected Arizona State President of the
Federation of Women'sClubs; she served from 1912 to 1914. Her visits to Chicago and New York furnished a few Bahá'í contacts with meager information; the Bahá'í messages copied and exchanged were sporadic, rudimentary, and fragmentary. Mrs.
Isabella Brittingham'scoming to Arizona in 1917 to teach the spiritual significance of the Bahá'í Faith offered her a rare privilege.
That experience confirmed Nellie who became the first resident Bahá'í teacher in Arizona.
Mr. and Mrs. French decided in 1918 to make Pasadena, California, their permanent home. Nellie French assisted the friends with the study meetings held in the old
Odd Fellows Hall. DuringRiQv~n, in April, 1921, Mr. and Mrs. French visited Haifa and 'Akka; that pilgrimage became the fulfillment of all her hopes. In a loving atmosphere she communed with the mem-hers of the Holy Family; she prayed at the Shrine in the ineffable presence of the Center of the Covenant, the "Cord stretched betwixt the earth and the Abh~i Kingdom"; and she trod the paths that had felt the imprint of the footsteps of the Promised One of the Ages.
The dedication of her life to service in the Cause of God was consummated; and she had received the bounty of seeing 'Abdu'l-Bahá before His Ministry was ended.
Her Bahá'í activities were many and varied.She contributed to the literature of the Faith by her work from 1930 to 1946 as Chairman of the Bahá'í World Editorial Committee, during which time she assembled material for volumes IV-X. She translated into French and Italian the "Blue Book" and the brochure "Number 9," and for several years she wrote "Loom of Reality," a column published in the Pasadena Star-News.
In 1931 she made permanent Braille plates for Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era and for the KiM b-i-I qdn.
As an administrator, she served as Chairman of the Pasadena Spiritual Assembly from 1928 to 1938. For four years, ending in 1944 she was Chairman of the Inter-America Committee, and in this capacity she presided at a session of the Centenary Celebration in 1944. Later she was a member of the European
Teaching Committee. Shehelped support the work of the International Bureau at Geneva and the All-Indian project at Macy, Nebraska, undertaken by her sister-in-law,
Mary Fancy Stevison.All this time she was very active as a teacher, holding many firesides, participating in the study meetings of the friends, and proclaiming the Faith during her travels. For many years, Mr. and Mrs. French
Page 703spent every summer in Europe and called on the friends at the various centers. Prior to Mr. French's passing in 1946, as they cruised over the seas, Nellie took every opportunity available to promulgate the Message from Spitzbergen, north of Norway, to Magallanes in South America and from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Melbourne, Australia.
After an absence of thirty-one years to the day, in April, 1952, Nellie French returned to the Baha Center on Mt. Carmel to meet the beloved Guardian in person. The harvest of her invaluable experiences, her familiarity with the Baha Writings, and her devotion to the Administrative Order of the Faith, seemed to merge into a supreme at-oneness at the fountainhead of the living waters whose source is God.
During the Holy YearFrench settled in the principality of Monaco on September 12, 1953, to hoist valiantly the banner of the Bahá'í Faith. As the first decade of the second Bahá'í century was coming to its close, on January 3, 1954, Nellie Stevison French was summoned from her pioneer post to the Abht~
Kingdom.On January 4, 1954, the Guardian cabled: "Deeply regret passing valiant pioneer. Long record (of her) services, highly meritorious.
Praying (for) progress (of) soul (in) Kingdom.""Grieved passing distinguished, consecrated pioneer Dagmar Dole, outstanding record unforgettable, reward bountiful. Praying progress soul Kingdom."
Dagmar Dole was born in San Francisco, California, on June 14, 1902.
Her great grandfather Daniel Dole and his wife left Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1841 to take up their duties as pioneer Protestant missionaries in the Hawaiian Islands.
Her grandfather, Georgefather, Walter Dole, was the oldest son of a family of thirteen, twelve of whom were born in Hawaii. Dagmar's great uncle, the second son of Daniel, became the head of the Provisional Government and then President of the Republic in 1893. After turning the islands over to the United States, he became the first
Governor of Hawaii.Dagmar's mother was a member of the wellknown Drejer family, of Copenhagen, Denmark, whose forebear was the famous young thinker and writer of that name, who died at the age of 30 years, leaving a trail of provocative and constructive thought after him. A monument to his memory now stands in the city of Copenhagen.
It is interesting that Dagmar's father's family should have been missionaries and her mother's family Danish, as these two facts were combined in Dagmar's history of service to God. Her life became consecrated to the work of teaching the Bahá'í Faith and part of this service was done in the land of her mother's forebears � Denmark.
On November 12, while the Baha world was celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh, Dagmar passed to the Abh~ Kingdom. She had been in ill health for some months. She arrived for the Luxembourg Conference but became too ill to participate.
Arrangements were immediately made for her to be sent to the Valmont Clinic, situated in one of the loveliest spots of Switzerland, above Montreux. Here for two months Dagmar rested and received treatment.
On November 8 she became very ill, passed into a state of unconsciousness and five days later slipped through the "Open Door" to pioneer in the worlds of God.
In California, through her friend Marion Holley Hofman, Dagmar had first heard of the Bahá'í Faith and immediately accepted it. Hers was an active Bahá'í life.
Soon after becoming a declared believer she and her close friend, Virginia Orbison, went to � SHOrn-IT Glendale, California, to help maintain Assembly status, under the first "Seven-Year Plan." She then became active in Committee work for Central and South America and served as Chairman of the
Inter-Amer-ica Committee.Later she journeyed to Alaska, and did valuable work in consolidating the Bahá'í community on that frontier.
From Anchorage she went to the Bristol Bay area in the
Page 704Bering Sea, and worked among the Eskimos and Alaskan Indians working in the fishing industry.
Her service to these minority people cannot be measured. She won their friendship because she gave them her love and compassion. She served them both materially and spiritually. She was their friend.
Then came the Second Seven-Year Plan and the call for pioneers in the European field, and Dagmar responded.
She was assigned to Copenhagen, Denmark. Here again she served the Faith she loved so well with steadfastness and courage. Her record in Denmark is rich. She, along with other pioneers and Johanne Hoeg, was instrumental in bringing forty-seven believers into the Faith in Denmark.
Her last pioneer assignment was to Italy, where she served both in Naples and in Milan.
In the village of Glion, high on the slopes of the Swiss Alps, lies Dagmar � where in the springtime the white narcissus pour out their fragrance and the snowcapped mountains eternally stand sentinel.
Snow was softly falling, covering everything in a mantle of white, as members of Dagmar's family, and her Bahá'í friends from all over Switzerland gathered for the funeral service. During her short stay in Valmont, Dagmar had won the hearts of the entire staff. The doctors, nurses, the maids, all came to pay their last tribute because they, too, loved her.
At the opening words of the funeral service � "From the sweet scented streams of Thine Eternity give me to drink 0 my God.
Within the garden of Thine immortality, before Thy countenance, let me abide forever a shaft of light pierced the snow-clouds and shone upon that open grave.
How could one be sad?How could one be sad at the passing of one who had been obedient to the command of her Lord � 'Teach ye the Cause of God," says Bah6 u'llAh.
From the moment of her recognition of the Cause of God, Dagmar rose up and carried the banner of Bahá'u'lláh to far off Alaska, back across the American continent, over the Atlantic to the shores of Europe, where she fell in action.
"She died in 'battle dress,' " said the Guardian; "it is wonderful to die in active service.
Looking up at those majestic mountains one was reminded of the qualities of Dag-mar � nobility and strength. Thinking of the starry white narcissus that will blossom over those mountain slopes, one saw her innate purity; that delicate shyness and awareness that were hers.
"Her spiritual station is very high." These words of the Guardian gave us a sense of pure joy.
"Her grave will be a great blessing to Switzerland � to all Europe. She is the first to give her life for the Cause in the European project. Her resting-place is important." Already evidence of these words of the Guardian has been manifested. One cannot express in words the sense of feeling. One knew the leaven of the Faith was working, cementing those souls standing at that open grave into one unit � each pledging renewed effort in carrying forward the banner that Dagmar laid into our hands.
"Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It be-stoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness. It conferreth the gift of everlasting life." Dagmar is one of those confident believers to whom Bahá'u'lláh gave this glorious promise.
� HONOR KEMPTON18751950 Florence Kh6.num was the daughter of a prominent
New England manufacturer, FtancisW. Breed. She was brought up on the family estate in Lynn, Massachusetts. Later she attended finishing schools in Boston and New York, traveled in Europe, and made her social debut in Chicago at the home of Mrs. Potter Palmer.
Newspaper accounts of the time described her popularity and beauty.
Early tragedies, including her betrothal as he lay on his deathbed, to the poet Philip Henry Savage, and her father's loss of fortune, turned her mind toward serious things. She began to study mysticism, dramatics and art and it was in the course of these studies that she met the lecturer and critic, Mary Hanford Ford. About this time
Mrs. Ford visited GreenAcre, Eliot, Maine, where she attended classes conducted by Mirza Abu'I-Fadl and Ali-Kuli Khan and became a Baha.
It was Mrs. Ford who introduced Au-Kuli Khan to the Breed family in Boston. When he first entered Mrs. Breed's drawing room, Khan, was attracted by a painting which he took for the artist's ideal of a beautiful woman.
It was not long before he married the lady whose portrait the artist had painted. When news of this union reached the Hoiy Land, 'Abdu'l-Bahá alA celebrated it. He gave to Florence the name Ral2aniyyih, she who is holy, pure, spiritual. When the first child was born, the Master said he was the first fruit of the spiritual union between East and West.
Taking their infant son, the Khans visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá on their way to Persia.
'Abdu'l-Bahá showed great bounty to Florence. It was in the course of this visit that He told Khan that He testified she was a true believer. He also said, Rahat mikunad � she shall have rest.
In Persia Madame Khan was obliged to wear the veil in those early times, the first decade of this century. The change of climate and customs was difficult for her. She fell ill and they despaired of her life. Khan nursed her for months, all the Bahá'ís did what they could, and she survived. She never forgot her love for the
Persian Baha'is.She returned to the United States, where Dr. Khan became charg~ d'ajjaires at the
Florence Breed Khan.Persian Legation in Washington, D.C. As chatelaine of the
Legation, Florence KhA-numThe SIAli gave her a title � Murav-vihu's-Saltanih � one who bestows spirit on the realm. At this time 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited the United States and Madame Khan was able to bring many of the leading personalities of the day into His presence. He permitted a photograph of Himself to be taken with the Khans, and another with their children. Florence KhAnum was present at the Unity Feast of June 29, 1912, given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Himself at West Englewood, NewJersey, and Dr. Khan translated the words spoken on that occasion.
At the home of Florence's mother, Alice Ives Breed, society matron and one of the early Bahá'ís in the United States, 'Abdu'l-Bahá celebrated the Báb's birthday, and about that time He also presided at her sister's wedding. When Mr. Breed tried to thank Him for all His kindness to Florence on her Eastern visit, 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked why he thanked Him, they were His own family.
Florence was also present on that last daywhen the Bahá'ís went to the ship to take leave of the beloved Master, and Dr. Khan translated His final words to the
Bahá'ís of America.Two things 'Abdu'l-Bahá taught her she often quoted in Persian: One was that He said to her Sabr kun mit/il-i-Man bdsh � be patient, be as I am. The other was when some one expressed discouragement to Him, saying they could not possibly acquire all the qualities and virtues that Bahá'ís are directed to possess, and the Master replied Kam Kdm. Raz bih r4z � little by little; day by day.
After World War I, Dr. Khan was appointed a member of the Persian Delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference. Their stay in Paris that year was perhaps the high point of Madame Khan's official life.
At this time 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent word that His grandson, Shoghi Effendi, was coming to Paris on his way to Oxford
University. Florence Kh6numwas thus able to serve as Shoghi Effendi's hostess on numerous occasions, and he gave the family their most precious possession, a robe of 'Abdu'l-Bahá When Dr, Khan became head of the Persian Embassy at Constantinople, Madame Khan's significant social role continued. The Turkish writer Mufty-Zade K. Zia Bey in his book Speaking of the Turks describes how she and her husband worked to promote international understanding: "The only reception that I know of at which all officials and prominent citizens of all nations were invited was the reception given at the Persian Embassy in honour of the Crown Prince of Persia it was the most successful reception of the season in Constantinople The Persian representative bravely decided to ask everybody without distinction of nationality and without regard to the political situation, and let events take their course. Naturally, events were powerfully helped by the 'savoir-faire' and the courtesy of the Persian representative and of his wife Of course we were all anxious to see how it would turn out Khanoum wore her beautifully embroidered Persian court gown and her diamond decorations and greeted us with the ineffable charm which has won for her the hearts of all who have met her in three continents."
His account closes: "They had dared to bring together all the representa tives of different nations at war and of nations who had not yet concluded peace and they had been most successful in their endeavour."1
The then Crown Princeof Persia took Dr, Khan away with him as Grand Master of his Court. That is how it came about that when the greatest calamity of their lives overtook them, Dr, Khan was traveling to Persia and Florence was still in Istanbul. This calamity was the sudden, and to the Bahá'ís then, unbearable passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Very shortly, however, it became known that the Master had left a Will and Testament placing His Father's Cause in the safest of hands. A new word entered the Baha vocabulary, the word
Guardian. Madame Khanherself carried the first available copy of the Will and Testament across the Caucasus and into Persia.
The Bahá'ís of Baku on the Caspian Sea sat up most of the night transcribing the Will so that she could take it on with her the next morning.
After serving as head of the Prince Regent's Court, Dr. Khan was appointed Plenipotentiary to the Five Republics of the Caucasus, and then in 1924 the Khan family returned to the United States, stopping on their way for a memorable visit with the Guardian in Haifa.
The last twenty-five years of her life were difficult for Florence KhAnum and at times tragic. On June 24, 1950, at the Unity
Feast in New Jersey, FlorenceKMnum passed away suddenly, without suffering, in a place and on an occasion sacred to the memory of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Loving friends attended her. As she died a friend was singing the Lord's Prayer.
The Bahá'ís of New YorkCity where she resided held a notable memorial service for Madame Khan and her body was laid to rest in the Breed family plot at Lynn. An American Catholic friend had a mass said for her, and in TihrAn the Muhammadan editor of the newspaper lain devoted several columns to her story. The Guardian of the Faith cabled: "Profoundly grieve passing beloved, distinguished, staunch, greathearted handmaid beloved Master. Praying fervently progress soul Kingdom.
Her reward assured. Loving sympathy. (signed)In March, 1951, in Yazd, a young man was discovered dead in a desokte part of the town. A few enemies of the Bahá'í Faith spread false rumors about, to the effect that Babram Rawi ni of Taft.
the boy had been murdered by Baha. They placed his body in a coffin and carried it around the town lamenting the death of the youth and speaking vehemently of the cruel deed of the Baha'is.
While this incident was taking place, two men who were members of the Faith, were severely beaten in a neighborhood shop because of their religious affiliation with the Bahá'í group.
At the same time another group of enemies of the Faith went about the town of Taft destroying the gardens and damaging the homes of Baha'is. One Baha with a Parsi background, named Bartiam Seroosh Rawlni, complained to the police about these persecutions.
On the way back to his home that night he was attacked with knives and martyred by enemies of the Faith.
LOUISE STAPFER BOSCHA little girl was born to the Maurice Stapfers in Zurich, Switzerland, on July 11, 1870. They named her Louise. She grew to be a fair, curly-haired, blue-eyed child and later as a woman she was beloved by all who knew her. No trumpets heralded her birth and none echoed her death on September 6, 1952, at Geyserville, California, but her gentle manner, humility, her service to others and her devotion to her Master's every wish is inscribed on many, many hearts and is recognized in the
Rea7lms of Glory.Little is known of her childhood days, as she always thought "Louise" was a minor subject. In later years she seemed happiest when talking with others about the "One-ness of God, the oneness of the Prophets, and the oneness of mankind."
Can you not visualize her as a studious, loving and yet merry little lass?
In April, 1889, courageous Louise landed in New York and soon began the study of homeopathic medicine.
In 1901 she met Miss Fanny S. Montague of Dobbs Ferry, New York, who introduced her to the Bahá'í Faith.
She also studied fervently at Green Acre under the guidance of Miss Sarah I. Farmer.
Soon she became engaged to Dr. Win. Moore, brother of Liaa Getsinger and together they made plans to live a life of service and administering homeopathic remedies in the Southern States. To her great sorrow he contracted yellow fever and passed on before she could join him there.
Subsequently she met the beloved May Maxwell and accompanied her to Haifa in 1909 where she came into the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá; this to her was the greatest of honors. Her great love for May Maxwell is a story in itself. In her notes may be found a significant quotation: "I cannot speak of the great benefits to my life and the transformation I experienced through the association of May
Maxwell."While strolling in the gardens one day, Louise expressed to 'Abdu'l-Bahá her great desire to rise to the heights of spiritual knowledge.
She asked fervently: "'Abdu'l-Bahá, what can I do to attain this?"
He gazed at her fondly and replied "Give me thy heart." She dedicated her life to fulfilling this inspiring request.
Upon her return to America she obtainedemployment in the medical department of the Briarcliff
Manor School in New York. Shewas also privileged to care for Rtiljiy-yih Kh4nurn when she was a child.
A momentous event occurred when Dr. Getsinger persuaded Louise to write to John Bosch, a fellow countryman in California.
On January 19, 1914, LouiseBosch were wedded in San Francisco. To this union there was "born" one glorious "chuld" � the Geyserville
Bahá'í Summer School.They nurtured it with fervent prayers, steadfast devotion and unceasing service until their physical beings were no more on this plane.
John and Louise had a happy life together.Many are the anecdotes each, with a little twinkle in the eyes, could relate of the other. John never could lavish worldly riches on his Louise, for she always managed to encounter some one more needy to whom to pass on her possessions.
As his bride, John gave her five hundred dollars to spend as she wished.
She made haste to send it to the Temple fund.In the little village of Geyserville, Louise and her little basket of various small gifts and remedies will remain a memory to the townsmen.
Just as 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í gift of a rose would be transformed into a priceless gem � so it was with Louise as she left a smile here, a word of encouragement there, perhaps a needed homeopathic remedy or a bit of spiritual knowledge.
To compensate for having no child of her own, for she loved children, she gave her all to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh and especially to the Geyser-yule
School.Louise fully realized that the New World Order must penetrate even the most remote regions of the world. Having studied diligently 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan she and John set sail for Tahiti in the spring of 1920. Remaining there for five months, they planted the seed.
As 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote, "Thouart sowing a seed that shall in due time give rise to thousands of harvests."
Upon their return from the South Seas they began to plan for a pilgrimage to Haifa. On the way they toured Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy, where they did extensive teaching, and arrived in Haifa just fourteen days before 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away on November 28, 1921. However, they remained for forty days and had the great honor of bringing the first copy of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Will and Testament, given them by Shoghi Effendi, to the National Convention in 1922.
During the years Louise came to realize the great need for teachers and that a school on the Bosch property would be of the greatest of service.
John had already written tothis simple place on the hill be dedicated to the universal spirit of the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. May it be a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar although it be not of grandeur in appearance but only a place of utmost simplicity for traveling souls to rest in and to partake of the spirit as it is given. I pray that the atmosphere here may henceforth be filled with true spirituality and power, and that we may be guided by the strong hand of the Almighty so that this place may be a natural source of pure water for the believers to drink from and for all good hearts who are earnestly seeking for enlightenment."
Plans materialized and in August, 1927, under the Big Tree the first
Western Baha Summer Schoolwas held. John was a staunch supporter of the driving forces in Louise and gave generously of his wealth for propagating the Cause of God; without her determination the Summer School could not have been realized. She sacrificed her whole being for it. In 1933 Shoghi Effendi wrote her, the work you have initiated in collaboration with Mr. Bosch is a historic achievement, an example to the Bahá'í communities in other lands, a source of future blessings and an added evidence of the mighty and glorious spirit that animates you both in the service of our beloved Cause. Strive, that every passing year may witness a fresh advance in the extension of its scope, the spread of its influence and the consolidation of its foundation."
She wrote countless letters and found joy in providing personally for the comfort of each student. The place was scrubbed to spotlessness as dust and Louise could never dwell in the same room. She was truly a perfectionist.
She always remembered her "charges" and corresponded endlessly to guide them further in the Teachings.
Her torch kindled the flame of friends and teachers from East, West,
North and South. Manybelievers brought their contacts to blessed Louise, and through her great warmth, love and understanding, their confirmation would be achieved.
In 1913 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a Tablet to her, "Oh thou daughter of the Kingdom:
Page 709Thou art one of the old believers and be-longest to the firm and steadfast maidservants of the Kingdom. Therefore in the estimation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá thou art f a-vored. Thank God that thou art firm in the Covenant and hast turned thy face toward the Kingdom of Abhti. I hope from the bestowals of Bahá'u'lláh that He may so enkindle thee as to move that region, that thou mayest unloose thy tongue in guiding the people and attract the souls to His Holiness Bahá'u'lláh."
To tell more of the life of Louise Bosch woiAd be to repeat the account of the life of John Bosch so ably presented in
The Ba-Iid'i World, VolumeXI. They were the rarest of teams � one supported the other, the lacks of one supplemented by the other. This magnificent marriage was indeed "made in Heaven." Without John's wise counseling the perseverance of Louise would have been as a ship without a captain.
Before the visit of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to America, He issued a Tablet in which he declared that the Bahá'ís must pave the way for His coming by showing great love and unity to one another. He said, "Love is the greatest of all living Powers." Louise fully understood stood and had the rare quality of being able to express her love to all Baha'is. She also loved the Guardian and had a devoted comprehension of his station; she constantly emphasized it to the friends. During her later days, when her physical and mental faculties ebbed away, the qualities of her soul proved themselves, for she was more than ever the sweetest and most lovable Louise.
On a bright sunny afternoon soon after she was taken from them, her friends gathered for a memorial service in the Collins Hall on the Geyserville School grounds. Mamie Seto and Arthur Dahi paid her homage, thus closing a chapter in Bahá'í history concerning two great souls, Louise and John. She was laid to rest atop a hill, alongside John, overlooking the valley they both loved so well. The chapter is closed but the book will go on and on � their child, the Geyserville School, will continue to train teachers and send forth pioneers to all nations, peoples and creeds until there is but One World, and the brotherhood of man is established, as a result of the devotion and sacrifice of all the great souls like John and Louise Bosch.
"The Maid Servant of God, Louise," wrote 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1904, "0 thou who art advancing towards God!
Verily the Cause is great and the Lord is Merciful and Clement. Trust in the Grace of Thy Lord, and be firm in love for Him who has created thee and made thee. The veils shall be removed, the shining lamp shall beam, the clouds shall be dispelled, the lights of the Sun of love shall appear on the horizons and God shall grant thy wishes and give thee the power of deeds.
"It is incumbent upon thee to depend wholly upon the Center of Lights, and call out for love, universal peace and harmony amongst the people in the East of the earth and its West, so that the foundation of rancor may be destroyed and the edifice of love and faithfulness be set up, and that the heavenly powers may govern the mortal sentiments and the merciful feelings may become manifest in the human realities.
This is becoming of those maidservants of God, who are attracted to that Beauty which is shining from the Horizon of the Kingdom of God upon the world.
"Upon thee be greeting and praise."On learning of the passing of Mrs. Florence Morton, Worcester, Mass., former member of the National Spiritual Assembly and for some years its Treasurer, the Assembly cabled the Guardian to inform him.
Shoghi Effendi cabled this reply, received"Grieve passing faithful promoter (of) Faith. Praying (for the) progress (of her) soul."
The sunlight slanted down on His white garment as He walked majestically down the streets of Boston.
Crowds going in both directions stared; walked on, each with his own thoughts.
Almost a block away, she saw Him and was stirred.He was gone before she could catch up. But Mrs. Florence Morton, shopping in Boston that day, never forgot the venerable figure seen at a distance.
She was later to seek and find 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and to walk in His straight path, serving all the days of her life.
During World War I, a few years after the Boston incident, on vacation with her family in Nova Scotia, she watched a hospital ship dock in the early morning hours at Halifax. Authorities had planned it that way � early, so that the public might not see the maimed and wounded being carried from the ship. But Florence Morton, on her early walk in the gray dawn mist, saw at first hand the results of war. The blind, the legless, the armless, the shellshocked boys were carried from the ship.
It was at that moment that she resolved to dedicate her life and her fortune to promoting world peace. Thus the Divine Hand beckoned to a waiting, gentle soul.
Seeking, she found Him; found that she had missed meeting 'Abdu'l-Bahá in person by the length of a city block.
One night in the world of dreams His blessed face appeared to her in a blinding light. "The results of that dream must have been imprinted on my wondering face," she related many years later, "for in the morning my husband looked at me and said, 'What has happened to you?'" From that time (about 1919) nothing could stop her search, nor dim the radiance of her Faith.
She studied intensively with Mr. and Mrs. 1-Joward Struven, then residing in Worcester. Until she died April 3,
Florence Morton.1953, she served unswervingly, pouring out her material means abundantly and giving of herself, despite opposition of family and friends.
She was born in Worcester, October 12, 1875, the daughter of Frederick E. and Sarah (Wood) Reed.
She attended a finishing school in Binghamton, New York, and spent two years abroad. Except for a brief period in her childhood when the family moved to Thompson, Connecticut, she lived her life in Worcester. She married Fred S. Morton there, and they had one son, Stan-icy R. Morton.
Soon after hearing of the Baha Faith she and Mrs. Amelia Collins, then living in Princeton, Massachusetts, where the Morton family had a summer home, studied deeply together. Both later became members of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Mrs. Morton served as its Treasurer for a number of years.
In 1924 she was serving as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and through her efforts the sixteenth Annual Convention was held in Worcester. News
Page 711papers of April 27 in Worcester gave banner headlines to the "B ah6.'i
Congress and Conventionof the Bahá'í Temple Unity," at the Bancroft hotel. Photographs of 'Abdu'l-Bahá appeared and pictures of the Tern-pie model were used. Worcester friends remember how they all prepared food for hundreds of people and much of the expense of the Convention was assumed by Florence Morton, though none of her own community was ever aware of the extent of her services.
Worcester Bahá'ís also remember that she was instrumental in getting
Dr. John Herman Randallof the Community Church in New York City to come to Worcester for a series of paid lectures preceding the Convention, in order to prepare the Christian minds for the Bahá'í message.
She later bore the expense of a magazine, World Unity, to indirectly interest people in the Faith; and underwrote the expense of Dr. Randall on a tour of the United States in which he appeared on platforms with the leading Christian and Jewish ministers and rabbis. In connection with her interest in World Unity Magazine and World Unity meetings, Mrs. Morton made it possible to bring out the compilation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í public talks entitled Foundations of World Unity, later taken over by the Bahá'í
Publishing Committee.She was instrumental in keeping the Worcester Bahá'í Center open for more than thirty years, during which time the Bahá'í Community grew and flourished and sent forth pioneering individuals. She financially assisted many pioneers to go forth into States where no Bahá'ís resided, as soon as the First Seven-Year Plan was announced.
Mrs. Morton built Bahá'íSchool, and gave it to the Faith. She had assisted, previous to this new building, in remodeling the Inn and other Green Acre properties.
No one can even guess how many of the friends were recipients of her bounty in attending sessions at Green Acre; nor how many she sent off to annual Conventions. Her one request was always that "no one must know this."
She served for many years on the New England Regional committees; the Green Acre School committees and the National
Radio Committee.Her gifts to the House of Worship in Wil mette are also unknown by the friends. Once, reading a joyous cable of appreciation from Shoghi Effendi published in Ba-hd'i News, I mentioned it to Florence. She had not yet seen that issue and was quite upset that her generosity had become known, for hers was a true humility.
She had a passion for flowers and one often found her on her knees weeding her gardens at her Worcester house or at her country estate in Paxton, Massachusetts. Once, finding her gently spraying some seedlings with a small ear syringe, she said: "You must never use the hose for it has too much force for such tender little plants." When Roy Wilhelm developed his famous estate on Spreckle Mountain at North Lovell, Maine, it was Florence who planted the first gardens and watched over them, hurrying from Worcester to Maine many times early each spring.
At Paxton, in the spring and summer, Florence welcomed Bahá'í friends on any and all occasions. Many new people received the Message or deepened in the Creative Word to the accompaniment of water splashing down over the old mill wheel. She had rebuilt the old grist mill, furnished it in New England antiques in one huge room, used almost exclusively for her Ba-hi'i friends. Other spots of beauty high in the Paxton hills were used for picnics and for study.
When a young girl, a cook in her home, received the Message and almost at once became a luminous and firm believer, Florence was overjoyed.
"I have always prayed that I might find some one who would be immediately receptive," she said.
How happily she and Mrs. Collins prayed and studied with Elsie in the kitchen, long after the rest of the household was quiet at night!
Another joint effort with Mrs. Collins was compiling the prayers and Writings called Bahá'í Writings the proceeds of which were turned into the Temple Fund. Hundreds of copies were given to their friends.
Future generations of believers may look upon the grave of Florence
Morton in Hope Cemeteryin Worcester. But none save Him will know of all her good deeds; so selfeffacing, so truly full of humility was she in her earthly life.
� ALICE BACONRa1~mAn Kulayni was born in the county of Mamaq&n where he acquired his elementary education.
He started as a tailor in the same county and as he was very sociable and kind soon his workshop became a center for the gathering of the educated Baha and nonBahá'í youth.
Although he was not more than 25, his vigilance and alertness brought him into contact with the elder men who welcomed him for his traits. He often acted as an arbitrator in many disputes brought to him by Bahá'ís and nonBahá'ís and always lent a hand in benevolent affairs and religious ceremonies on the mourning days of Muliarram. In 1935 a Bahá'í youth who had great appreciation for the traits and virtues of Raljm6n Kulayni took him to a Bahá'í meeting.
Then he became interested in associating more with the Baha'is. His ever-increasing interest in the Faith was mostly due to the good conduct of the Bahá'ís around him and not to the authentic proofs or traditions of the Faith.
In 1937 the late Aq~ Zaynu'1-'Abidin Abadi, one of the early believers and a steadfast friend and the conquerer of two counties in the district of Mar~ghih to whom 'Abdu'l-Bahá has addressed several Tablets, taught the Word of God to Ra1~m6n Kulayni, after which he became a Bahá'í in 1938.
His success in the Faith caused a depression in his business and gradually his relatives and acquaintances kept aloof and left him alone. This treatment by his relatives increased
Kulayni's courage. Beingindifferent to the rebukes and denunciations of all the ignorant people around him, he abandoned all that he had in his possession for the benefit of his brother. He married
Aq~ Zaynu'1-'Abidin'sKulayni had great ambitions and enrolled in the Railroad Technical School when business became slack in 1941.
In 1942 his wife, Huma, passed away and left him alone with their oniy son, Parviz. He decided to remain single out of sympathy for his mother-in-law who had outlived her husband and daughter.
When friends tried to induce him to marry again he would reply with a smile, "If I get married my present-in-law will collaborate with my wife and they both will break my back." Then seriously he would add that he would
Raliman Kulayni Mamaqani.never leave his widowed mother-in-law alone, as she was his oniy hope when he was in great despair.
His faithfulness and sympathy were deeply felt by his relatives who had withdrawn from all association with him.
Finally, he found himself unable to do the housekeeping when his mother-in-law became feeble. Then upon the constant insistence of the Bahá'ís and his mother-in-law he married the daughter of Kazim P611, one of the Bahá'ís of Mamaq~n, who brought him a son and a daughter.
In 1951 he was assigned as the Technical Inspector of the railroad rolling stock in Durtid where he served the Cause as a faithful pioneer. In August, 1953, some fanatics in Durilid began a campaign to incite the people there against the Baha'is, stopping at nothing in their denunciations.
All the Bahá'ís who could not stand the situation left
Durfld for Andimishkand Burtijird. Kulayni returned from Andimishk upon the instruction of the superintendent of the Division of Railroad to remain at his post, although aware of the possible dire consequences.
Soon after his return the rabble broke thewindow panes of his house and the superintendent ordered a new house for him. On September 26, 1953, when Kulayni was moving into his new house Ustad Gijulan, a ruffian incited by the bigots of the city, suddenly stabbed him in the stomach, heart, and neck. Thus Kulayni became, at thirty-seven, a martyr in the Cause.
Later his family stated that when Kulayni left Andimishk for Dur6d he turned to his wife, with great ecstacy and exhilaration and said, "Do not worry for me. I leave the children to you and hope God be with you." He proved his faithfulness and loyalty to the Cause and government by shedding his blood.
'Abdu'1 Hussein Yazdi.The last survivor in Egypt of those who had the privilege of receiving the
Blessing of Bahá'u'lláh.and grandson of Wiji 'Abdu'1 Raiiim Yazdi, a veteran believer at Yazd, who was allowed to come to 'Akka and reside during the days of Bahá'u'lláh, ha'u'I1~h, was born in the city of Yazd in 1880, and during infancy accompanied his parents to 'Akka.
His father 'Alt Akbarwas ordered by Bahá'u'lláh to reside at Alexandria and engaged in trade.
As a child, the late 'Abdu'1 Hussein received the blessings of I3ahti'u'lltth, and in 1892 he was 12 years old. He subsequently was a loyal and devoted follower of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and was under the kind benevolence of the beloved Guardian
Shoghi Effendi.He was ever a devoted and sincere follower of the Bahá'í principles.
He passed away in peace on August 27, 1950, and was buried at Akxandria.
The circumstances associated with his burial at the "Free Thinkers" burial grounds raised with the authorities the question of allotting a burial ground for Bahá'ís at Alexandria and pushed it forward a step.
Two daughters survive him."Grieve passing dear devoted coworker Kennedy. Long record services unforgettable.
Praying progress soul."Charles Nelson Kennedy, a devoted member of the Baha Community of Paris and chairman of the Spiritual Assembly for many years, was a native of England, born at Leeds (Yorkshire) November 6, 1875. At the age of 18, his parents having lost their fortune, he left England for Central Russia, going to Samarkand and later Sko-belev, where he became mining engineer in coal mines belonging to Monsieur and Madame
Orsero de Keapkoff.Orsero de Keapkoff left for Paris, where M. de Keapkoff died in 1912.
Mr. Kennedy, who had remained in Russia, left for France just before the war of 1914 and met Madame de Keapkoff, who was of French nationality, and in 1915 they were married.
During a voyage they made to Gr6ville (Manche) they met the artist Edwin Scott and his wife, both well known members of the
Bahá'í Community of Paris.became Baha'is, and they were soon very active members. This was about 1926. Mrs. Kennedy died during the war of 1939. Mr. Kennedy escaped being deported as he was already an ill man. On October 21, 1950, after a very long and painful illness, he passed into the Abhd Kingdom, deeply regretted by all who loved and highly appreciated him as a man and a Bahá'í of outstanding qualities.
� EDITH R. SANDERSONL. W. EGGLESTON DEC. 8, 1872 � SEPT. 5, 1953 "Grieve passing valued promoter Faith. His historic donation (of) School highly meritorious, reward bountiful (in) Kingdom. Deepest sympathy, praying progress (of his) soul."
(Cablegram received September 8, 1953, by Mrs. L. W. Eggleston.)
In 19271928 Graceand Harlan Ober were living in Clarence, New York, a small town near Rochester. One day Grace Ober was waiting for a bus when a woman stopped her car and offered Grace a ride. A conversation on religion developed.
Later, when somebody told Lou Eggleston of this conversation, he went to the Obers to find out more about their Faith. From such a simple incident, a chain of events was started that resulted in the establishment of the Louhelen Baha School at Davison, Michigan.
Lou's chief services to the Faith revolved around the founding of the school.
Lou Eggleston was in the American tradition of the self-made man.
He had little formal education and was trained as a plumber.
He worked hard and seemed to possess great reserves of physical energy. At one period of his life he commuted by automobile one hundred and twenty miles a day from Louhelen Ranch to Detroit, yet always seemed to be relaxed and at ease. He possessed an intuitive genius for solving practical engineering problems, an ability which seemed uncanny, but which he credited to prayer and meditation.
For thirty years Lou was employed by the American Radiator Company, finally becoming head of the Research and
Development Laboratoryof the Detroit Lubricator Company, a division of American Radiator. He was greatly respected by the personnel and company officials.
An engineering associate reports a meeting of engineers, called to solve a particularly puzzling technical problem.
The discussion became involved, and several men proposed rather complicated solutions.
Lou got up, walked to a blackboard, drew a simple sketch and said, "Gentlemen, I think this is the solution." There was a momentary silence, for the solution was direct and logical.
Lou became a Bahain 1930, after moving from Rochester to Detroit. He served on the Detroit Spiritual Assembly, was many times a delegate to the National Convention.
Tie and his wife, Helen, conducted regular firesides in their apartment.
Shortly after accepting the Faith, he took steps to carry out a dream of service that occupied most of his energies and resources SHOGHI during the rest of his life. His idea was to buy a farm that could be self-supporting and become the basis for establishing a Ba-hi' school. He consulted a number of his Bahá'í friends and, one summer, he and Helen drove to Green Acre to see how that Baha school was run.
Three miles south of Davison, Michigan,on Route 15 � a route number which has become familiar to hundreds of Bahá'ís � Lou bought a farm. The buildings were not in good condition but his practical eye saw possibilities that patience and hard work could develop. He called the farm "The Louhelen Ranch," a fitting name since in the years that followed Lou and Helen worked in devoted partnership building the foundations of a Bahá'í school.
A small cabin stands near a stream in a ravine in the middle of the ranch acreage. Here the first informal nine-day session of the Louhelen School was held in the summer of 1931. Discussion groups met either in the cabin or on the banks of the ravine, where rough bleacher seats were erected. The teachers at that first session were Dorothy Baker, Harlan and Grace Ober,
Mabel and Howard Ives.The beginning was without fanfare, but it was so good a beginning that the simple rustic setting was soon too small and had to be abandoned.
The original farm buildings were close to the highway.
In the second summer a violent windstorm blew down a large old barn and Lou always said it was God's wind that took down that framework so he could build on the solid cement foundation.
There the auditorium was erected. "Pullman Lodge," a smaller barn, had been turned into single private rooms on the first floor and dormitory space on the second. But that proved inadequate to house the number of believers and friends the second year. Lou met this challenge by turning the immense hayloft of the second barn into two floors of rooms and by building several one-room cabins in the trees near the main house.
Before the first sessionhad written to Shoghi Effendi for advice, and his suggestions and approval of courses were their guide each year. The National Assembly appointed a Program Committee, but the Egglestons carried the financial burden of maintenance and development until 1948 when they deeded over the school buildings and nine acres of the property to the National Spiritual
Assembly.Housing and feeding those attending the sessions became a full-time job.
By the time morning devotions had started, Lou and Helen would be driving to the wholesale houses in Flint to buy food by the bushel basket.
While others studied, they served in this way.Lou often said they spent the winter months praying for a good cook for the summer, and adding blankets and dishes to the supplies.
By 1934 it became necessary to hold separate youth sessions, so many were attending, and they had asked for such an arrangement.
A youth committee made and enforced rules and helped work out their own programs. In 1937 the first full meeting of the
National Youth Committeewas held at Louhelen. (This was at a time when the National Youth Committee was made up of members from both coasts and the central area of the United States.)
Lou and Helen Egglestonwere always asking how the school could be improved, how it could serve the Faith more effectively. Rates were kept as low as possible and were even lower for youth.
Lou will always be remembered by Baha youth for his generosity. If they could not pay for board and room, he would see to it they came anyway. (A direct result of this youth work was the first Bahá'í Assembly in Flint � nine miles from the school.
All nine members of that first Flint Assembly were under twenty-five years old.)
This desire to improve led to the holding of the Winter L. W. Eggleston.
Page 716Day. Lou felt it was a shame to waste the buildings by using them only in the summer months. By now the library building had been built, with its huge fireplace that adequately warmed the second floor dormitory. Stoves were added to the Pullman Lodge, and extra rooms in the house � long since improved and enlarged � were pressed into winter service.
Lou will always be remembered as a gardener. He was continually planting trees and flowers around the school buildings. The pleasant campus grounds are due to his foresight.
Freshly cut flowers were always on the tables and on the platform for the Sunday afternoon public lectures.
And some of us remember Lou standing outside the door of the little auditorium, handing a rose to each person coming out.
Over the years Lou worked tirelessly to help the school make the Faith better known throughout the State of Michigan.
The library established at the school was registered as a public library.
And Lou rendered public services which helped enhance the prestige of the Faith. He was active in the organic farming movement, lecturing and writing about it. He was a charter member and president of the Genesee County Organic Farm and Garden Club, was a charter member and served on the board of
NaturalFood Associates, and was a Merit Badge counselor in soil management and agriculture for the Boy
Scouts.He was dignified, selfeffacing, friendly and hospitable. An engineering friend and associate wrote: "I remember him from childhood as a rather stern but kindly disposed man � very quiet but with an air of authority.
I also remember him as an engineer � and a very practical one. Probably my clearest recollections are the ones during his illness. Helen permitted me to see him a few weeks before his death. He was in bed of course � very pale, thin, and quiet. We both smiled, then tears came to our eyes; he reached out his hands to grip mine and said, 'I'll see you soon on the other side.'
(I believe this is nearly verbatim.) I left the room shortly after without further words. This was the last time I saw him."
An institution of thehas a tremendously wide influence. We cannot measure the services of a man who donates and helps build up such an institution.
But we can point out at least one fact � former members of the Louhelen School Program Committee are pioneering in at least three continents.
� W. KENNETH CHRISTIANNational Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand, 2 Lang Road, Paddington, Sydney, N.S.W., AUSTRALIA.
Cable: NATBAHA'I, Sydney.National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles, 27 Rutland Gate, London, S.W. 7, ENGLAND.
Cable: BAHA'I, London.National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, 47 Eastville Avenue, Toronto 13, Ontario, CANADA.
Cable: BAHA'I, Toronto.National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central America & Antilles, Apartado 3751, San Jos6, Costa Rica, CENTRAL AMERICA.
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Egypt and Stid6n, P.O. Box 29, Faggala, Cairo, Eciypr.
Cable: BAHABUREAU, Cairo.National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria, Friedrich Ebertstrasse 39, Neckargemlind, bei Heidelberg, GERMANY.
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, Pgkist6n and Burma, P.O. Box 19, New Delhi, INDIA.
Cable: RABBANIAN, Newdeihi.National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'Iraq, P.O. Box 5, Baghdtid, 'IRAQ.
Cable: BAHA'I, Baghdad.National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland, Bahá'í Bureau, R~imistrasse 38, ZUrich 1, SWITZERLAND.
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia, Shirkat Nawnahalan, Tihr~n, IRAN.
Cable: NAWNAHALAN, Rawhani, Tihdtn.National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South America, Apartado 772, Lima, Peru, SOUTH AMERICA.
Cable: BAHA'I, Lima.National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A. Cable: BAHA'I, Wilmette.
United States of America, International Bahá'í Bureau, 37 Quai Wilson, Geneva, SWITZERLAND.
Cable: BAHA'I, Geneva.Second Regional Conference of the Bahá'ís of France, held in Lyon, April 1819, 1954.
First Benelux Bahá'í Conference, held in Brussels, Belgium, April 1214, 1952.
Page 721144. Margarita I. 145. Mariana Is. 146. Marquesas Is.
147. Martinique4. LOCAL BAHÁ'Í SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES, BLIES, GROUPS, AND LOCALITIES
WHERE ISOLATED BAHÁ'ÍS1001 West Solano Dr., Phoenix 5. Phoenix: Mrs. Mabel W. Dunham, Secy., 1106
East Oak St.6. Township 14, Tucson: Mrs. Martha E. Shuman, Secy., 5347 East 20th St.,
Tucson9. Little Rock: Mrs. Mary E. Conat-ser, Secy., 3101
Madison St.13. Beverly Hills: Mrs. Liii Olitzki-Her-mann, Secy., P.O. Box 794.
14. Burbank: Mrs. Lou Vena Wells, Secy., 250 N. Orchard
St.15. Chula Vista: Mrs. Zelma I. Krug, Secy., 166 3rd St., Apt. 1 16. Cloverdale Twp.: Mrs. Johanna Vanoni, Secy.,
Box 243 C, Route 1, Geyserville 17. El Monte Jud. Dist.:
Mrs. Henri N. Heller, Secy., 10037 East Olive St~,
Temple City535 Yosemite Ave., Fresno 4 19. Glendale: Mrs. Garnette Whitefield, Secy., 1017 Boynton St., Glendale 5 20. Inglewood: Mrs. Delores Vaden, Secy., 333 N.W.
Magnolia Ave.22. Long Beach: Mrs. Mattie Russell Allen, Secy.,
2805 East 7th St., Long23. Los Angeles: Mrs. Gertrude M. Jacoby, Secy., 5725 Katherine Ave., Van Nuys 24. Millbrae: Mrs. Viviana Lisota, Secy., 81 Camino
Alto25. Monrovia: Mrs. Bessie C. Duckett, Secy., 149
Norumbega Drive26. National City: Mrs. Vale R. Carlson, Secy.,
516 "C" Ave.Teaching Conference of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles, 27. Oakland: Mr. Paul S. Jones, Secy.,
86 Glen Ave., Oakland 11 28. Palo Alto: Mrs. Joyce Dahi, Secy., P.O. Box 238 29. Pasadena: Mrs. Katrina Valentine, Secy., 943
North El Molino Ave.Mrs. Beatrice Buckley, Secy., 755 East Poppy-fields Dr., Altadena 31. Sacramento: Mrs. Mozelle Bourget, Secy.,
3996 McKinley Blvd.32. San Bernardino: Mrs. Ailene V. Fletcher, Secy., 772 Campus Way 33. San Diego: Mr. John Stroessler, Secy., 4202
58th St.34. San Francisco: Mrs. Florence C. Haake, Secy.,
461 14th St., San Francisco 18 35. San Mateo: Mr. Lee Lopez, Secy.,
1318 Mt. Diablo Ave. 36. Santa Barbara: Mr. Edward P. C. Connaughton, Secy., 1636 Ana-capa
St.37. Santa Monica: Mrs. Josephine Gardiner, Secy., 1054 A Third
St.Mrs. Grace E. Jensen, Secy., 10457 South Gunn Rd., Whittier
COLORADOMrs. Elizabeth Clark, Secy., Wah-Keeney Park, Route
1, Evergreen46. Greenwich: Mrs. Muriel Michels, Secy., 8 Richmond Dr., Old Greenwich
47. New Haven: Miss ClaraDelegates in session at the Fifth Baha Co FLORIDA 50. Miami: Miss Ida Solomon, Secy.,
137 N.W. lithAve.55. Ada County: Mrs. Mildred R. Cos-sey, Secy., P.O.
Box 994, Boise58. Batavia: Mrs. Charlesella Stoakley, Secy., 449 Madison
St.15 61. Danville: Mrs. Shirley Cantrell, Secy., 720 East
Madison63. Evanston: Mr. L. Wyatt Cooper, Secy., 1580 Dewey
Ave.65. Oak Park: Mrs. Ruth LaRocque, Secy., 708 Gunderson
Ave.67. Quincy: Mrs. Eunice Hanawalt, Secy., 524 Spring
St.68. Springfield: Mrs. Gretchen Schultz, Secy., 2168 South
Renfro70. Waukegan: Mrs. Harriet Terry, Secy., 1522 Meirose
St.71. Wilmette: Mrs. Eleanor Stewart, Secy., 121 Linden
Ave.72. Winnetka: Mrs. Dorothy F. Red-son, Secy., 681
Garland Ave.94 2nd Ave. S.W. 77. Waterloo: Mr. Aaron L. Roff, Secy.,
917 Hartman St.78. Topeka: Mrs. Bertha Campbell, Secy., 403 Huntoon
KENTUCKY79. Louisville: Mrs. Meta L. Dahi, Secy., 3716 Illinois
Ave.80. New Orleans: Mrs. Margaret 0. Maurer, Secy., 1623
General Taylor, New Orleans82. Portland: Mrs. Thelma Rivers, Secy., 278 Woodfords
St.Mrs. A. Esther Sibole, Secy., 4903 Alton St., S.E., Boulevard Hts.
MASSACHUSETTS87. Cambridge: Mrs. Louise K. Say-ward, Secy., 50
Follen St.88. Springfield: Mrs. Elsa R. Bates, Secy., 99 Princeton St., Springfield 9 89. Worcester: Mrs. Sally Pierce, Secy., S Kimball
St.90. Ann Arbor: Mrs. Bernice D. Anderson, Secy., 718
North 4th Ave.91. Battle Creek: Mrs. Melba D. Nun-nally, Secy.,
179 Oneita St.414 Clancy Ave., N.E. 96. Muskegon: Mrs. Emma M. Allen., Secy., 1433
Nolen St.97. Royal Oak: Mrs. Shirley A. Baha'i, Secy., 907
East Third St.98. Royal Oak Twp.: Miss DeMaris La-vetta Morris, Secy., 21341 Park-side,
Ferndale 2099. Duluth: Mr. Robert Cameron, Secy., 2915 Kruger
Road123 South 11th St., Apt. H 101. St. Paul: Mrs. Gladys Livermore, Secy., 632
Earl St.104. St. Louis: Mrs. Mildred Birkett, Secy., 1215 San Jacinto Ct., St. Louis 10
MONTANA108. Omaha: Mrs. Wendell R. Lane, Secy., 1112 North
17th St.110. Portsmouth: Mrs. Nella Gustafson, Secy., 77 Circuit
Rd.111. Dumont: Mrs. Emily Kalantar, Secy., 314 Washington
Ave.113. Englewood: Mr. Nathaniel I. Douglas, Secy., 42
East Forest Ave.114. Jersey City: Mrs. June Shapiro, Secy., P.O. Box 495, Journal Sq. Sta.,
Jersey City 6115. Montclair: Mrs. Catherine M. Healy, Secy., 45 North
Fullerton Ave.117. Ridgewood: Mrs. Elizabeth Schmidt, Secy., 80 Oak
St.Mrs. Rosemarie Smith, Secy., R.R. 1, Box 1760, Albuquerque
NEW YORK121. Binghamton: Mrs. Betsy I. Richard, Secy., 42
Lincoln Ave.122. Buffalo: Mrs. Elizabeth M. Patterson, Secy.,
333 Ontario St.123. Hamburg Twp.: Miss Kathryn M. Potter, Secy.,
294 Clark St., RFD 1 124. Jamestown: Mrs. Ida L. Pickett, Secy., 110�
Cheney St.Brooks, Secy., 49 Rowley St., Rochester 7 128. Seneca Twp.: Mrs. Marguerite Fi-roozi, Secy.,
Canandaigua Rd., Geneva 129. Syracuse: Mr. Albert D. Heist, Jr., Secy.,
221 Bennington Dr.133. Cincinnati: Mrs. Lorene Dustan, Secy., 2533 Homestead
Place, Cincinnati 11134. Cleveland: Mrs. Eleanor H. Reeves, Secy., 1539 East Boulevard, Apt. 7 135. Columbus: Mrs. Margarete Acebo, Secy., 777 Franklin Ave., Columbus 5 136. Dayton: Mrs. Marion Imig, Secy.,
1517 Princeton Dr., Dayton 6 137. Lima: Mrs. Mae Vaughn, Secy.,
509 North Collett St.Second All-Swiss Bahá'í Conference at Zurich, November 1819, 1950.
Page 729138. Oklahoma City: Mrs. Alice C. Lutz-minger, Secy., 511� North West 13th
St.139. Portland: Mrs. Dorothy C. I-lender-son, Secy.,
4835 East Burnside, Apt.3301 Powelton Ave., Philadelphia 4 141. Pittsburgh: Mrs. Victoria Richards, Secy.,
665 College Ave., Pittsburgh 32 142. Scranton: Mrs. Helen Beck, Secy.,
429 Quincy Ave.143. West Chester: Mrs. Jane Lear Tal-icy, Secy.,
205 West Market St.144. San Juan: Mrs. Maria T. Martin de Irizarry, Secy., P.O. Box 1869
RHODE ISLAND151. San Antonio: Mrs. Patricia Sheppard, Secy.,
515 Fresno St.155. Kirkland: Mrs. Margaret V. Bailey, Secy., 204
19th Ave.158. Spokane: Mrs. Rose M. Bates, Secy., W. 3107 Euclid Ave., Spokane 12 159. Tacoma: Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson, Secy., 414 S.
Tacoma Ave.167. Shorewood: Mrs. Beula Brown, Secy., 3514 North
Murray Ave.168. Waukesha: Mrs. Elizabeth J. Burgess, Secy., 217
Wisconsin Ave.171. Laramie: Mrs. Solveig V. Corbit, Secy., P.O.
Box 112Friends attending the Third Mi-Swiss Bahá'í Conference, in Bern, February 2324, 1952.
Page 734440. Asheville 490. Astoria 441. Asheville 491. Clatsup (outside) County 442. Greensboro 492. Joseph 443. Rocky Mount 493. Medford
Page 736572. Ft. Atkinson 573. Granville, Town of 574. Kenosha (outside) 575. Lincoln Twp.
576. Madison (outside)Delegates and friends attending banquet of the Fourth South American Bahá'í Congress, Lima, Per6, ALABAMA
1. Fair Hope1215, 1949, attended by Bahá'í representatives from Bogota, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Calf, and Medellfn,
Colombia;Group of Bahá'ís attending Fourth European Bahá'í Teaching Conference and Summer School, Scheveningen, Holland, August 31 � September 10, 1951.
Page 743Bahá'í Summer Conference held in Baha, Alberta, Canada, 1951.
Page 746! I Group of Bahá'ís on steps of "Peace Palace," The Hague, after visiting the Bahá'í Book Display in the Peace Palace Library, during the Fourth European Teaching Conference, held in Scheveningen, Holland, 1951.
Page 749Delegates and friends attending the Third European Bahá'í Teaching Conference and Summer School, Elsinore, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1950.
Conference in session, Third European Teaching Conference, Elsinore, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 2427, 1950.
Page 7538. Bahá'u'lláh: % Mr. Mohammad Yakub Kausar, Chabewale, Qua Bazar, Nr. Ram Narain
ParkBldg., 1st Floor, Khanderao Darwaja, Baranpura, % R. M. Pillay, Secy.
10. Belgaum: Bahá'í Centre, Social Club Compound, % J. A. Sarooshi, Secy.
11. Bombay: Post Box 470(Excelsior Restaurant, 206 Hornby Rd., Fort, % R. N. Shah, Secy.)
12. Calcutta: Post Box14. Gwalior: 1 Wagle house, Dal Bazar, Laslikar, % P. Chandra, Secy.
15. Hyderabad (Deccan):16. Ichalkaranji: % S. R. Gharge, Secy., Clerk,
Civil Judge's Court17. Jaipur City: % B. J. Singh, Secy., National Annand Hotel, 1st Floor,
Jo-han Bazar18. Jalna: % A. Fahmi, Secy., Green Hotel, Munshi Bldg., Saddar
Bazar% Dr. Wali Mohammad, Balutalab, House No. 42, Distt. 24
Parganas24 (Royal irani Hotel, Wilson Rd., % A. Sheikh, Secy.)
22. Lucknow: Post Box 159(% N. Nagaraja Rao, 18 Singacheri St., Triplicane)
24. Mysore: Post Box 39(Door No. 3157, Arch Gate Rd., Lashkar Mohalla) 25. Nagpur: Bahá'í Centre, 12 Dangerfield Rd., Saddar 26. Nasik: % Mr. R. R. Irani, Secy., Banat Chawi No. 16, Bhagur Rd., Deolali (Nasik) 27. Panchgani: Bahá'í Centre, Rockside, % R. Melirshahi,
Secy.Hotel, opp. Railway Station, % S. B. Mo-bedzadeh, Secy.)
29. Rampur: % Mr. Pir Mohammad, Secy., Village Rampur, P.O. Sayed Raja, Distt.
BanarasBihari Das, Vii-lage Salimpur, P.O. Sakaldiha, Distt. Banaras, % KaIlu Nath Prashad, Secy.
31. Secunderabad: Post33. Srinagar: % Mr. Muhammad Khalil, Secy., Munarifaroosh,
Mohalla Sayed Au AkbarVakil, Secy., Makanvalla Bldg., Kotwal Street, Nanpura
GROUPS1. Chittagong: % Mr. Amiru'1 Islam, Diwan Bazar,
Noormahal2. Dacca: % Mr. Amjad Au, Secy., Representative,
National Carbon Co. (Pak)House, School Rd., Hirabad, % H. V. Be-hishti, Secy.
4. Karachi: % FaridoonYazmeidi, Secy., Bakhtiari & Co., Corner House, El-phinstone St., Saddar
5. Lyalipur: % Rana AiltafNo. 860, Mohalla Kumbhar Mandi 7. Peshawar: % Mr. Munawar Shah, Secy., 1449 Karimpura
8. Quetta: Post Box 119. Rawalpindi: House No. 540/A, Mohan-pura, % Syed Ahmed, Secy.
10. Sialkot Cantt: % BashirBAHÁ'Í DIRECTO 11. Sukkur (Sind): Cafe
Iran, Lucas Park, % Dr. M. A. Latiff, Secy.1. Daidanaw: % Mg. Mya Thi, Secy., P.O. Kungyangon, Hanthawaddy Distt., Daidanaw 2. Kyigon: % L.S.A. Mandalay 3. Mandalay: % Mg. Ko Gyi, Secy., % U Mya, Ret'd
Postmaster, 34th Street21 Shwebo St., Kyaukmyaung 5. Thamaing: % L.S.A. Rangoon 6. Twante: % L.S.A. Rangoon
ISOLATED CENTER2nd Floor, York Street, Fort, Colombo, mbo, % B. D. Sally, Secy.
1. Kalutara1. Singapore: 352-A Tajong Katong Rd., 1. Seremban
% Mr. John FozdarBahá'ís attending the Fifth European Teaching Conference and Summer School, Luxembourg, September, 1952.
Page 7592. Puntarenas: Sr. Jenaro Miranda, Secy., 25 Vras. Oeste
Jesus de Pc-tat1~n4. Cienfuegos, L. V.: Sr. Juan Rena Cabrera, Secy.,
San Fernando 1856. Ciudad Trujillo: Sr. Elfas Camps, Secy., Arzobispo
Nouel #797. San Salvador: Sr. Est~ban Canales, Secy., % Sr. Jose Antonio Cor-peiio,
7a. CalIeo Oriente #56% Sr. Francisco L. Juarez 9.Ciudad Guatemala: Sr.Aristides Marchena, Secy., 5a.Avenida
Norte #913. Tegucigalpa: Sra. Marcia Steward, Secy., Apartado 273
JAMAICA16. Spanish Town: Mr. Alfred Senior, Secy., 82 Young
Street17. Mexico DY.: Srta. Ana Maria An-zaldua, Secy.,
Netzahuatcoyotl #165, mt. 17 18. Puebla: Sr. Guilermo Alarc6n, Secy., Escuela
Unesco, 3 Poniente 51520. CoI6n: Miss Amy McAllister, Secy., Apartado 361 21. Panama: Sra. Raquel de Constante, Secy., Apartado 513
GROUPSFourth Swiss Bahá'í Teaching Conference, at Basel, Switzerland, November 2223, 1952.
Page 761Attendants at the First French Teaching Conference, held in Lyon, France, May 23 and 24, 1953.
Page 7621. Buenos Aires: Sr. Athos Costas, Secy., Perh 428, Depto.A. (r.48) 2. C6rdoba: Sra. Esther de Gros, Secy., David
Luque 4*53. La Paz: Sr. Estanislao Alvarez M., Secy., Casilla 1613
BRAZIL4. Baha: Srta. Dinah Franca, Secy., Caixa Postal 1091 5. Rio de Janeiro: Srta.
Reneta Her-feld, Secy.,801 6. Sflo Paulo: Sra. Nyiza de Taetz, Secy., Caixa
Postal 79237. Punta Arenas: Sr. Alejandro Reid, Secy., Casilla 79 8. Quilpu& Sr. Alberto P6rez, Secy., Calle Blanco 929 9. Santiago de Chile: Sr. Carlos Martinez, Secy.,
Casila 3731International Bahá'í School, Loncoche, Chile, February, 1953.
10. Bogota: Srta. Gloria Sanchez, Secy., Apartado12. Calf: Sr. Alfonso M. Barona, Secy., Carrera 9a. #142
ECUADOR14. Asunci6n: Sr. Angel Recalde, Secy., Apartado 742
PERIl15. Callao: Sra. Roxana GaUegos, Secy., Cockrane 459 16. Lima: Sr. Jorge B6jar, Secy., Apar-tado 772
URUGUAY17. Montevideo: Sra. Carola de Escofet, Secy., Casilla 823
VENEZUELA18.Caracas:Srta.CarmenEstevez, Secy.,CalleReal deSabana Grande 243, Edif.Concordia #6,
Altos1. Adelaide, S.A.: Mrs. L. Giordano, Secy., 6 Fisher Tce., Mile End 2. Brisbane, Qid.: Miss Margaret Forrest, Secy.,
20 Watson St., Wilston18 Urunga Pde., Miranda 4. Hobart, Tasmania: Mrs. E. M. Green-law, Secy.,
P.O. Box 292c 5. Kuring-gai, N.S.W.: Mrs. D. Rook-wood, Secy.,
23 Churchill Ave., Wali-roonga, Sydney, N.S.W. 6. Melbourne, Vic.: Mrs. M. Handley, Secy., 25 Rosstown Rd., Carnegie S.E.
9, Victoria7. Payneham, S.A.: Miss Leila Clark, Secy., 255 Payneham Rd., Joslin, Adelaide, S.A. 8. Perth, W.A.: Mrs. A. 0. Miller, Secy.,
73 Berwick St., Victoria10. Unley, S.A.: Mrs. E. Osborn, Secy., 52 Commercial Rd., Hyde Park, Adelaide 11. Wollongong, N.S.W.: Miss M. Dun-fling, Secy.,
2 Wiseman Ave.9 Lanark Ave., Gleneagles, S.A. 13. Yerrinbool, N.S.W.: Mr. F. Wyss, Secy., Swiss Cottage, Park St., Tah-moor
GRoups1. Booleroo Centre, S.A. 2. Bowral, N.S.W. 3. Burnside, S.A. 4. Canberra, A.C.T. 5. Cleve, West Coast, S.A. 6. Coombe, S.A. 7. Devonport, Tasmania 8. Gawler, S.A. 9. Geelong, Victoria 10. Glenorchy, Tasmania 11. I{uonvile, Tasmania 12. Kadina, S.A. 13. Kapunda, SA. 14. Kingston, S.A. 15. Kurrajong Heights, N.S.W. 16. Launceston, Tasmania 17. Leeton, N.S.W. 18. Lilydale, Tasmania 19. Lismore, N.S.W. 20. Newcastle, N.S.W. 21. Orange, N.S.W. 22. Port Adelaide, S.A. 23. Port Lincoln, S.A. 24. Port Moresby, Papua
Terr.25. Quorn, S.A. 26. Renmark, S.A. 27. St. Peters, S.A. 28. Stirling, S.A. 29. Toowoomba, Qid.
30. Waikerie, S.A. 31. Warnambool, Victoria1. Albany, W.A. 2. Avoca Beach, N.S.W. 3. Bathurst, N.S.W. 4. Belaire, S.A. 5. Blakiston, S.A. 6. Emu Point, W.A. 7. Glen Innes, N.S.W. 8. Goldsborough, Vic.
9. Gulgong, N.S.W. 10. Harvey, W.A. 11. Kennington, Bendigo,
Vic.12. Lyndoch, S.A. 13. Meningie, S.A. 14. Mosman, Sydney, N.S.W. 15. Mullumbimby, North Coast, N.S.W. 16. Murry Bridge, S.A. 17. Nambour, Qid.
18. Neville, N.S.W. 19. Nuriootpa, S.A. 20. Talgarno, Vie.
21. Theodore, Qid.22. Tooroona, Tasmania 23. Wagga, N.S.W. 24. Wirulla, West Coast, S.A.
Page 766764 THE BAHÁ'Í WORL LOCAL ASSEMBLIES
1. Auckland: Mrs. Beryl Van der Vaart, Secy.,P.O. Box 1906 2. Devonport: Mr. E. B. M. Dewing, Secy.,
32 Hythe Tce., Mairangi7. Rama Rama, Auckland 8. Turua, Hauraki Plains 9. Weymouth, Auckland
FIJI1. Suva: Mrs. V. Au, Secy., P.O. Box 462 Bahá'í Summer School, Esslingen, Germany, August 915, 1953.
Visitors included four Hands of the Cause from Persia and two from Germany, as well as Bahá'ís from eight different countries (Germany, Austria, Persia, United States of America, England, Switzerland, Italy and France).
Page 7676. West Vancouver: Mrs. Katherine Moscrop, Secy.,
4422 Stone Cres., Cypress11. Forest Hill: Mrs. Marjorie Merrick, Secy., 592 Briar Hill Rd., Toronto 10
12. Hamilton: Miss AmyHaistead, Secy., Box 322 14. London: Mrs. Dorothy Smith, Secy.,
179 Windsor Ave.15. North York: Mrs. Evelyn Raynor, Secy., 32 Barwick
Drive, Wilson Heights17. Ottawa: Mr. John Davies, Secy., 345 Laurier Ave. E., Apt. 5 18. Pickering: Mrs. B. Pemberton-Pigott, Secy.,
R.R. 2 19. Scarboro: Mrs. Joan Stewart, Secy.,101 Queensbury Ave., Toronto 13 20. Toronto: Mrs. Edith Blakely, Secy.,
135 Castlefield Rd.23. St. Lambert: Miss Margery Lanning, Secy., 419 Notre
Dame St.24. Verdun: Mrs. Naomie Theberge, Secy., 215 River St., Apt. 11 25. Westmount: Mrs. Yvonne Estall, Secy., 538 Argyle
Ave.Twelfth Bahá'í Summer School held in Panchgani (India), October 1625, 1951.
10. DIRECTORY OF LOCALITIES INEIRE 3. Blackburn: Miss J. Kranen, Secy., Park 1. Dublin: Adib Taherzadeh, View, Haslingden Rd., Secy., 8 Belmont Villas, Blackburn, Lancs.
Donnybrook, Dub-un 4. Blackpool: Mrs. Hyett, Secy., 46 Chepstow Rd. ENGLAND 5. Bournemouth: Mrs. Cranmer, Secy.,
2. Birmingham: Mrs. Goode, 52A Soutlibourne Rd., Secy., 29 Robert Rd., South-bourne, Bournemouth
Birmingham 20154 Woodland Dr., Hove 4 8. Bristol: Mrs. Weeks, Secy., 9 Caledonia Place, Clifton, Bristol 9. Leeds: R. H. Bahá'u'lláh, Secy., 90 Cart Manor Rd., Leeds 7 10. Liverpool: Miss S. Farnsworth, Secy.,
19 Canning St., Liverpool 8 11. London: E. Munsiff, Secy., 9 Clifford St.,
London W. 112. Manchester: Mrs. Senior, Secy., 15 Oaklands Rd., Swinton, Lanes.
13. Newcastle: I. Jameson, Secy., 21 Beech Grove,
Wailsend, Northumberland18. Sheffield: Mrs. Broom, Secy., 38 Wadsley Lane,
Sheffield 6Cardiff: I). 0. McArthur, Secy., 8 Stanwell Cres.,
Penarth, Glamor-ganA view of the service dedicated to the Ezeiza International Bahá'í School, Argentina, at the opening of the Convention School Session, 1952.
Page 7711. Berlin: Fr. Rosa Leline, Secy., Berlin-Charlottenburg,
Schloss-Str. 292. Bonn: Mr. Bozorg Hemmati, Secy., Helmholtzstr.
21 3. Darmstadt: Dr. Rudolf Jockel II, Secy., Barkhausstr.
70 4. Dllsseldorf: Fri. Ursula Miihlschlegel, Secy.,
D tisseldorf-Gerresheim,9 6. Esslingen,/Neckar: Herrn Peter Rom-mel, Secy., Kepplerstr. 10 7. Frankfurt/Main: Fr. Johanna v. Wer-them, Secy., Eysseneckstr.
25 8. Freiburg/Br.: Fri. Luise Trautwein, Secy.,
Zasiusstr. 659. G~ippingen: Fr. Helene Muller, Secy., Hohenstaufenstr.
26 10. Hamburg: Fr. Ruth Kohl, Secy., Harzloh12. Karisruhe: Fri. Waltraut Weber, Secy., Karlsruhe-Riippurr,
Resedenweg 8814. Mifichen: Ursula Hoffrnann, Secy., Miinchen-Obermenzing,
Mefizinger-str. 94112 16. Tiibingen: Fri. Natalie Monte, Secy., Postamt
II, Postfach 647Bahá'í Summer School held August 18 � September 1, 1951, at Thwaite Hall, Cottingliam, Yorkshire, England.
Page 7731. Wien (Vienna): Fri. 1. Ehrwald/Tirol Margarete Lentz, Secy., 2. Linz/Donau Wien IX, Liechtensteinstr. 121/253. Salzburg
Page 774Bahá'í Summer School at Hyderabad-Sind (Pikist6~n), 19521953.
12. DIRECTORY OF LOCALITIES IN1. Alexandria: P.O. Box 1865 2. Cairo: P.O. Box 29,
Faggala5. Mehalla-el-Kobra: Mr. Mustafa Mohammed, Secy.,
Storekeeper Egyptian State6. Port Said: P.O. Box 339 7. Sohag: P.O. Box 17 8. Suez: P.O. Box 108 9. Tanta: P.O. Box 9
GROUPS AND ISOLATED CENTERSSecy., 'Avashiq-Miqdadiyih 2. Bahá'u'lláh: % Mr. Mohammed Jawad Al-Bassam,
Secy.3. Baghdad: P.O. Box 5 4. Basrah: % Mr. Naji Al-Hasani, Secy., Ashar,
Basrab5. Dhiyabih: % Mr. Husain Jamil, Secy., Dhiyabih-Miqdadiyih 6. Mosul: P.O. Box 19
GROUPS AND ISOLATEDJamshidi, Erbid, 'Adasiyyih Secy., 2. 'Amman: % Mohammed Shoghi Ia'-afer, P.O. Box 218
KOWBIT2. Naples: Prof. Mario Langione, Secy., Rione Cavallegeri Aosta, Fuorigrotta, ma
Casa 251. Cagliari, Sardinia 2. M&a 3. Palermo, Sicily
4. San Remo1. Bern: Mr. Hans MUller, Secy., Brunn-mattstrasse 32 2. Geneva: Mrs. Anne Lynch, Secy., 37 Quai Wilson
3. ZUrich: Miss VerenaN.B. � The BTh Himself states in one passage of the
Persian Bay~n that HisThe titles in this section include those Bahá'í works which have been approved as authentic and reliable and which likewise are in print and available at the date this list is made. They are published and distributed by Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 110 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois.
(a) WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH Epistle to the Son of the Wolf.
Translated by ShoghiEffendi. Addressed to a Muslim priest who had been a savage enemy of the Faith. The result of opposition to the Prophet of God, and proofs adduced to establish the validity of the Faith.
Introduction by Marzieh182 pp. and glossary and index. Bound in cloth $2.50 Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. Translated by Shoghi Effendi. Excerpts from the sacred writings of Bahá'u'lláh, touching on the nature of religion, the spiritual nature of man, and the transformation of human society. Introduction by Dr. Win. Kenneth Christian.
346 pp. and glossary and index. Bound in fabrikoid $3.00
Hidden Words.Effendi. The essence of all revealed truth, expressed in brief penetrating meditations. Introduction by George Townshend.
52 pp. Bound in fabrikoidEffendi. Sets forth the grand redemptive scheme of God, revealing the oneness of religion, its continuity and evolution through the successive Prophets of God, and elucidates some of the allegorical and abstruse passages of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim Scriptures.
Introduction by HelenBishop. 257 pp. and glossary and index. Bound in cloth $3.00 Index, separately (for older edition) $ .15
Prayers and Meditations.Effendi. A selection of communes and devotional passages revealed by Bahá'u'lláh. 339 pp. and index. Bound in fabrikoid $3.00 The Seven Valleys and
The Four Valleys.Two treatises which describe the stages that the soul must traverse to attain the object of its existence. Introduction by Dr. Robert Gulick, Jr. 62 pp. Bound in fabrikoid $1.25 Bound in paper$ .75
Three Obligatory Dailyby Shoghi Effendi. The three obligatory prayers, any one of which is to be selected for daily use by Baha'is. 14 pp. Stiff cover. Per copy $ .10 (b) WRITINGS OF THE Báb The Báb's Address to the Letters of the Living.
Reproduced in pamphlet form from hand-lettered copy of pages 9294 of the Dawn-Breakers.
12 pp $ .10 (c) WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁEpistles revealed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 19161917 to the American Bahá'ís outlining their teaching responsibilities around the world. 54 pp. Self cover $ .20
The Bahá'í Peace Program.Two letters, to the Committee on Durable Peace, The Hague, and to the late Dr. Auguste Forel of Switzerland, expounding the principles essential to the attainment of world unity and peace.
48 pp. Bound in fabrikoid $1.50 Bound in paper$ .75
Foundations of WorldA selection of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í public addresses and letters on the theme of the spiritual foundations of world unity. Introduction by Horace Holley. 178 pp. Bound in paper $1.00
Page 780Bahá'í Group of Aden, Aden Protectorate Some Answered Questions.
Collected and translated by Laura Clifford Barney.
'Abdu'l-Bahá'í explanations of a wide variety of spiritual and philosophic questions, including the nature and influence of the Prophets, the nature of man and certain Biblical subjects. Introduction by Laura Clifford Barney.
New introduction to 1954 edition by Anna-marie Honnold. 350 pp. Bound in cloth $3.00 Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
The Charter which establishes the Guardianship and delineates the major features of the administrative institutions of the Bahá'í Faith. The provisions of the Will protect the integrity and unity of the Faith. Complete text, 26 pp. Stiff cover $.25 Selections from the Will and Testament, accompanied by passages from the Writings of the Mb and Bahá'u'lláh which reveal the continuity of the Faith, and by passages from the communications of Shoghi Effendi explaining the significance of the Will and Testament itself.
20 Pp.Faith. Selected public addresses of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. 32 pp. Ten copies $ .50 (d) WORKS COMPILED FROM
WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁHSelections from writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
466 pp. Bound in cloth $2.00treating of the qualities that characterize wholeness of living, the means to attain these and the goals of spiritual development. 128 pp. and notes. Bound in fabrikoid $1.50
Page 781Bahá'u'lláh, The Báb, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. A selection of the prayers revealed by the three central Figures of the Faith. 112 pp. Bound in old ivory Spanish leatherette $1.25
Bahá'í Prayers (Generaland Occasional). Contains the prayers in the "General" edition and also prayers suited to Bahá'í occasions, such as the Tablet of
Abmad, Tablets of VisitationBahá'u'lláh, the Báb, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. A selection of prayers in pocket size edition. 24 pp. Bound in paper $ .15 (f) WORKS COMPILED FROM WRITINGS
OF BAIIA'U'LLAJT, 'ABDU'L-BAITASelected Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and SJ-toghi
Eflendi.Ten copies $ .50 100 copies$4.50 (g) WRITINGS OF SHOGHI
EFFENDIA general letter written by Shoghi Effendi to the American Baha'is, dated December 25, 1938. This communication emphasizes the Bahá'í teachings in the encouragement and protection of racial and religious minorities, the quality of integrity in administrative bodies, and the virtue of chastity.
78 Pp. Paper cover $.75 America and the Most Great
Peace.By Shoghi Effendi. A letter to the Bahá'ís of North America dated April 21, 1933. 24 pp. Available only in The World Order of
Bahá'u'lláh.The letters written by Shoghi Effendi to the American Bahá'í community, from January, 1922, to July, 1932, in his capacity of Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to encourage, guide and instruct the Bahá'ís in carrying out the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá concerning the organic development of the Bahá'í community.
The volume also contains excerpts from 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Will, and an Appendix consisting of the Declaration of Trust and ByLaws of the National Spiritual
Assembly, and ByLawsFifty copies $1.50 The Bahá'í Faith, 1 8441950.
36 Pp. Stiff cover. Per copy$ .25 The J3ahd'i Faith, 18441952.
Information statistical and comparative. Including
Supplement: Ten Yearby Shoghi Effendi. 74 pp. Map. Stiff paper cover $.75
The Challenging Requirementsand Central America and their representatives in Europe, dated June 5, 1947. SeLf cover.
36 pp $ .25 Twelve copies$1.00 The Citadel of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
A general letter to the8, 1948. Self cover. 8 pp $ .25 Twelve copies$1.00
The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh.A letter addressed by Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá'ís of the West, dated February 8, 1934.
In this letter the Guardian of the Baha Faith clarifies, with numerous quotations from Bahá'í sacred writings, the spiritual station and mission of B alA'-u'llAh, the BTh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and the nature of the
World Order which Bahá'u'lláhestablished. 66 pp. Bound in paper $.25 Available also in The
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, a World Religion. Shoghi Effendi. A statement prepared for United Nations Special Palestine Committee, July, 1947. 8 pp. and cover. Ten copies $1.00
The Goal of a New Worldthis communication (dated November 28, 1931) the Guardian analyzes the existing international, political, economic and social problems, points to the signs of impending chaos, and emphasizes the guiding principles of world order established by Bahá'u'lláh. 32 pp. Available oniy in The
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.A history of the Bahá'í Faith throughout its first century, 18441944, by
Shoghi Effendi. IntroductionBound in fabrikoid $3.00 Index, separately 25 The Golden Age of the
Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.Guardian's letter (dated March 21, 1932) referring to the spiritual importance of America in the new world order. 24 pp. Available only in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.
Messages to America.Selected letters and cablegrams addressed by Shoghi Effendi to the
Bahá'ís of Northpp. Bound in fabrikoid $2.00 Messages from the Guardian.
Letters and cablegrams received from Shoghi Effendi.
June, 1932, to Juiy, 1940; compiled from Bahá'í News. 78 pp. Paper cover. Each $ .20
The Promised Day Is Come.Guardian's forceful explanation of the present worldwide moral and social chaos as the result of the rejection of the Prophet of God for this day. 129 pp. and index. Bound in paper $1.50 Spiritual Pot encies of
That Consecrated Spot.This letter, dated October 25, 1939, conveys to the Bahá'ís of the West, the significance of the interment of members of Bahá'u'lláh's Family near the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel.
Self cover. 8 pp. $40By Shoghi Effendi. A letter dated March 11, 1936, giving an analysis of the death of the old order and the birth of the new.
46 pp. Available only in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.Seven successive communications from Shoghi Effendi, 1929 to 1936, which define the relation of the Baha Faith to the process of social evolution in this new age. Introduction by Horace Holley. 206 pp. and index. Bound in fabrikoid $2.00
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.By Shoghi Effendi. A letter (dated Feb-mary 27, 1929) from the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith explaining the continuity of the Faith after the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and relating Bahá'í institutions to the ideal of world order and peace. 16 pp. Available oniy in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, above.
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh:letter (dated March 21, 1930) develops the subject with remarks on the distinguishing features of Ba1A'i world order, ajid on the essential differences between the Bahá'í Faith and ecclesiastical organizations. 16 pp. Available only in The
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.A selection of the messages of the Guardian starting with passages from the
God Given Mandate (1946)and showing the rapid evolution of the institutions of the Faith to March, 1952. 46 pp. Paper cover. Per copy $ .20 Ten copies $2.00
A World Survey, The Baha'i24 pp., self cover. 50 copies $1.50 (li) WRITINGS ON THE BAHÁ'Í
FAITHBahá'í Group in Hyogo-ken, Osaka, Japan, in front of their Bahá'í Hall, the gift of Mr. Nonreddin Momtazi, second from right, front row. Miss Agnes Alexander, early pioneer to Japan, seated third from right. This group will form the second Local Spiritual Assembly in Japan on April 21, 1954.
Appreciations of theAppreciations of the Faith by scholars, writers and prominent people over the world. 70 pp. Bound in paper $ .25
Bahá'í Answers.from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, The Báb, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. This book is for the convenience of Bahá'í teachers, students and seekers for a broader knowledge of the Bahá'í Faith. 258 pp. Bound in heavy paper. Per copy $2.50
The Bahá'í CentenaryBound in fabrikoid. 254 pp $2.00 Bahá'u'lláh and the New
Era.An authoritative and comprehensive survey of Bahá'í history and teachings as related to present religious, scientific and social conditions in Europe and America, with many quotations from the writings. Edition revised by the National Spiritual Assembly under the direction of Shoghi Effendi. 350 pp. Bound in fabrikoid $1.25 Paper cover 75
The Chosen Highway.accounts of the Three Central Figures of the Faith drawn mainly from personal conversations and letters from persons closely associated with the early days of the Faith. Introduction and notes by H. M. Bahá'í and David Hofman. 164 pp. Bound in fabrikoid $2.00
The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil'sNarrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation.
Translated and Editedby Shoghi Effendi. An outstanding historical record by an eyewitness to many of the most moving incidents of the early days of the Faith, and contains a detailed account of the martyrdom of the 13Th on July 9, 1850. The text is liberally annotated from histories by contemporary European scholars. 668 pp. and appendix and index. II-lustrated.
Bound in green fabrikoid $7.50782 THE BAHÁ'Í WO Do'a: The Call to Prayer.
By Ruth I. Moffett. An exposition on the practice of prayer, with a selection of prayers from various religions. 126 pp. Bound in paper $1.25 The Martyr-Prophet of a World Faith.
Written by William B.20 pp. with stiff paper cover $ .15 And radio script (reading time 15 min utes). 6 pp $ .20
Race and Man.Cox. Scientific and sociological thought on race problems and spiritual teachings on race unity. Quotations from leading authorities on race unity, and selections from Bahá'í teachings.
134 pp. Paper cover $1.00Creating the new society through the impetus of a dynamic World Faith. 140 pp. Paper cover $1.00
Tomorrow and Tomorrow.A vivid picture of what lies ahead in the way of world progress and the focusing of world trends that will eventuate in a peaceful planetary society.
103 pp. Paper cover $1.50 Twenty-Five Years of the
Guardianship.By Olivia Kelsey. A religious historical drama in five acts. 56 pp. Paper cover $.75 (i) BAnAl REPRINTS The following titles provide reprints of some of the passages in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi which throw clear light on important current problems and situations.
Christians, Jews and Mu~-iammadans.12, 1912. 8 pp. 100 copies $2.00
Christ's Promise Fulfilled.Questions by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, chosen for answers they provide to questions often asked, particularly by people of Christian background. Compiled for use in connection with the Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Evanston, Iii., 1954. 75 pp. Per copy $ .35 10 copies$2.50
The Destiny of America.of Divine Justice by Shoghi Effendi, a communication from the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, addressed to the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada. 8 pp. 100 copies $2.00
On Industrial Justice.By 'Abdu'l-Bahá. An answer to a question addressed to 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Laura Clifford Barney in 1907 and incorporated into the work published under title of Some Answered Questions, 8 pp. 100 copies $1.00
The Mission of Bahá'u'lláh.Selections from the Holy Writings of the Founder of the Bahá'í World Faith.
Compiled in commemoration of the Jubilee Centenary of the Bahá'í Revelation 18531953. 16 pp. Self cover, 5 copies $1.00 Limited edition, colored paper cover, each $ .90
A Pattern for Future Society.Excerpt from a letter addressed by Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá'ís of the West on March 11, 1936, 4 pp. 100 copies $1.00 (j) PAMPHLETS
Baha'i: The Coming of WorldA summary of its foundation and formation for individual believers, groups, assemblies and committees. 70 pp.
PaperReprint of article published in Common Cause Magazine.
8 pp. Per copy $ .15 Ten copies$1.00
The Bahá'í House of Worship.Attractive yellow trimmed, with interior and exterior views of the Temple.
8 pp. 2 copies $ .15 100 copies$5.00Prepared for the San Francisco Conference of the United
Nations on International16 pp. Per copy $ .20 Twelve copies$2.00 The Bahá'í Principle of
Civilization.Per copy $ .05 Fifty copies$2.00. 100 copies$3.50 Bahá'í Teachings for a
World Faith.16 pp. Paper cover. Per copy $ .05 Fifty copies $2.00. 100 copies$3.50 Basic Facts of the Bahá'í
Faith.sheet 9� x 6� in. Each $ .01 500 copies$4.50
Bahá'í Temple Gardens.By Hubert E. Dahi. Reprinted from Landscape Architecture, July, 1953. The story of the creation of the garden setting for the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wil-mette, Iii. 8� x 11 in. 8 pp. Self cover.
Per copy $ .10 25 copies $2.00By E. S. Campbell. Biblical and Bahá'í references treating of the fulfillment of prophecy. 24 pp. Stiff cover. Per copy $.60 Ten copies $5.00
Chicago Daily News Reprint.Article and illustrations of Temple that appeared in December, 1952 issue of Daily News. Ten copies $ .75
Chicago Sunday TribuneArticle and colored illustrations of Temple as floodlighted during the 1944 Centenary celebrations. Published June 17, 1945. 20 copies $1.00
Chicago Sunday TribuneAn article, entitled "Temple of Light," which appeared in the magazine section of the Chicago Sunday Tribune, to commemorate the dedication of the House of Worship in Wilmette. Written by a professional newsman, this article is reprinted in presentation format with three full-color pictures of the Temple, interior and exterior. 7� x 10� in. (minimuM order) 10 copies $ .75 100 copies$6.00
Classification of Bahá'í8 pp. Self cover. Per copy $ .05 Fifteen copies$ .50 Declaration of Trust by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, and By-Lows of a Local Spiritual Assembly. Per copy $ .15
Encyclopaedia BritannicaSingle sheet 6 x 9 in. Ten copies $ .30 100 copies$2.50
Faith Icr Freedom.Introductory pamphlet on the Faith. 24 pp. Paper cover. Per copy $ .10 Fifty copies$4.50 The Lesser and the Most
Great Peace.Three pamphlets with brief statements on the spiritual life; on race relations, and on man's soul, mind and spirit, each containing excerpts from the Bahá'í Writings. Each 8 pp. Set of three $.25 25 sets $6.00 Individual titles, lots of ten only, 10 cop jes $1.00 50 copies of one title$4.50
Page 786By Horace Holley. A brief statement of the character and workings of Bahá'í administration at the present time. 18 pp. Self cover. 10 copies $1.00
Prophecy Fulfilled.pp. Paper cover. Ten copies $ .50 100 copies$4.50
Questions the World IsA series of five small four-page leaflets giving answers to five timely questions.
Of interest to inquirers.By Dorothy Baker. An article on progressive revelation.
28 pp. Self cover. Per100 copies$4.50 Religious Education for a Peaceful Society.
By Horace Holley. 24 pp. Stiff cover with picture of Bahá'í House of Worship.
Perof the statement on aims and purposes of the Faith which has appeared in successive volumes of The Bahá'í World. 16 pp. Self cover.
Sold in lots of ten only $1.00 50 copies$4.50
A School of World Religion.4 page green folder. 25 copies$1.00 100 copies$3.50
Security for a FailingIntimate stories from the lives of the Founders of the Faith, with map of their journeys. This compilation is drawn from many sources including the Diary of Mahm6d. Per copy $1.00 Ten copies$8.00 Additional maps sold separately, each $.1o
Teaching Problems.32 pp. Paper cover. 10 copies $ .50 100 copies $4.50
Your Experience as a Baha'i.The relation of the individual Bahá'í to the Bahá'í Community. Helpful to the new believer. 12 pp. Stiff cover. Per copy $.20 25 copies $4.50 (k) PHONOGRAPH RECORDS Words for the World.
Readings from the Bahá'íAn Aid to the Study of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
Mimeographed. 16 pp $ .2550 pp. 8� x 11 in. Per copy $ .75 Bahá'u'lláh and the New
Era � Course of Study.Study course adapted for use in informal fireside groups. Mimeographed.
46 pp. $.75for use in Conference Institutes. 90 Pp., stiff cover; separate mimeographed booklet, Suggestions for conduct of Institutes on the Covenant and Administration.
4 pp. with cover. Both $1.25 Reading List for the Study of the Covenant. Compiled by May Stebbins. Part I lists
Page 787material available at this time. Part II refers to material in early Bahá'í books and pamphlets.
Mimeographed. 4 pp. $ .15Study Aid for seven discussion periods. Prepared by Marian C. Lippitt. Mimeo graphed. 7 pp $ .15
The Drama of Salvation:A compilation of Excerpts from the Bahá'í Sacred Writings, for Institute Study. 134 Pp., stiff cover $1.50 Essential Verities of the Bahá'í Faith.
Study Aid. Mimeographed.Study outline on the complete Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the establishment of the Administration under the Guardianship. Mimeographed.
103 pp $ .75By Mamie L. Seto. A Ten-Lesson Study Course. Mimeographed.
14 pp. $ .15 Reference books needed: SelectedCommittee. 29 pp. Per copy $ .50 Study outline. 5 pp. Each $ .10 World Crusade Chart of
Tasks and Objectives.from letters of the Guardian to the twelve National Spiritual Assemblies and their Annual Conventions of 1953, and from the Guardian's
Statistical InformationStudy outline. 70 pp $ .50 (in) CHILDREN'S COURSES
A Bahá'í Child's A B C.Music by Eugene Babcock. A book of songs for the small child. Illustrations by E. Butler McHenry. 28 pp. Heavy blue cover. $1.25 Bahá'í Principles for
Children.For the child of intermediate age. 12 looseleaf illustrations for coloring. 19 pp. $.50
Child's Prayer Book.for Children. Twenty-five lessons, for children in intermediate and upper grades. Paper cover $so
Creation.Fifteen lessons, with pictures ... $ .20 A Junior's
Book of Religion.12 pp $ .20 Manual of Suggestions for Organizing a Bahá'í
Children's Hour.Twenty-four lessons for children of six to ten $ .35 (n) BAHÁ'Í LITERATURE IN FOREIGN
LANGUAGES~Paper cover $1.25 L'~conomie Mondiale de Bahá'u'lláh by
Horace Holley (World EconomyPaper cover $1.25 Bahá'í Prayers (fabrikoid)$1.50
HebrewPrinciples of the Bahá'í Faith $ .05 World Religion.
Five copies $ .10(13aM'u'1I~h and the New Era). Bound in cloth.$1.50
ItalianPaper cover $ .75 (o) THE BAHA WORLD Prepared by an International Editorial Committee under the direction of Shoghi Effendi.
Official international record of Bahá'í activity, profusely illustrated and fully documented.
Each volume comprises a statement on the aims and purposes of the Faith, selections from the J3ah~'i Sacred Writings, a survey of international activities of the Faith for the specified period, a directory of Bahá'í centers around the world, a bibliography of literature, tributes to the Faith by prominent people, and articles about the Faith. These are authoritative sources of information for libraries and for individual research on the development of the
Faith.304 pp., net $1.50 Contains articles on "The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá," by Shoghi Effendi and Lady Blomfield; "Haifa, 'Akka, Baha," by Keith R. Kehier;
"Kunjangoon, Burma� the Village of 'Abdu'l-Bahá," by Inez Cook; the "Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of 'Isjjq~-bAd"; and early pictures of haifa, 'Akka and
Baha.in 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í handwriting; articles on "The Case of Bahá'u'lláh's House in Baghdad before the League of Nations"; articles by Martha Root (emi-nent Bahá'í teacher) on "The Bahá'í Cause at the Esperanto Congress, 1928," "A Visit to Rustum Vambery," "An Audience with King Faisal"; pictures of the Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh and the Disciples of 'Abdu'l-Bahá..
Volume IV (April, 1930 � April, 1932).548 pp., net $2.50 Features a full-page facsimile of Appreciation written by Dowager Queen Marie of Rumania; articles on
"Further Developmentsiii the Case of Bahá'u'lláh's House before the League of Nations"; on the building of the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois; "'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Visit to
London," by Lady Blomfield;712 pp., net $2.50 Contains full-page photographs of Bahá'u'lláh KhAnum the Most Exalted Leaf, her memorial shrine; Queen Marie of Rumania; articles on
"The Passing of Bahá'u'lláhLeaf"; on the ornamentation of the Dome of the House of Worship, Wilmette;
"Further Developmentsin the Case of Bahá'u'lláh's I{ouse before the League of Nations"; several articles by Keith Ransom Kehier on the Faith; several articles by Martha Root on "Count Leo Tolstoy and the Bahá'í Movement," "A Visit to
Adri-anople"; Genealogies772 pp., net $3.00 Features facsimile of Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet to the American Presidents, presented by the National Spiritual Assembly to
President Franklin Roosevelt;articles on "Some Memories of the Sojourn of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris," by Lady BThm-field;
"'Abdu'l-Bahá'í HistoricMeeting with Jane Addams," by Ruth Moffett; articles by Martha Root on her visits and interviews with Queen Marie of Rumania, President
Eduard Bene~, King Haakonof Norway, Professor Christensen of Denmark, on Iceland, and Russia's Contribution to the Bahá'í Faith.
Volume VII (April, 1936 � April, 1938). Stock exhausted.
Volume VIII (April, 1938 � April, 1940).1040 pp., net $5.00 Contains full-page pictures of Mihdi, the Purest Branch, the Monuments on the graves of the Mother and Brother of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and facsimile of a letter addressed to Shoghi Effendi from Queen Marie of Rumania; articles on "The Passing of Munirih KMnum the Holy Mother," wife of
'Abdu'l-Bahá; "The Passingof Queen Marie of Rumania"; Martha Root's travels and death;
"The Passing of May Maxwell";pictures of the various designs submitted for the House of Worship in Wilmette; the Monuments of the Family of 'Abdu'l-Bahá on Mt. Carmel.
Volume IX (April, 1940 � April, 1944).Four years. 1004 pp., net $10.00 Features full-page color illustration of the design for the completion of the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel; articles and pictures of the completion of the exterior ornamentation of the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois; articles on the American
Teaching Program 19361944880 pp., net $10.00 Features articles on the world celebrations of the Centenary of the Declaration of the Bib;. on the completion of the exterior of the House of Worship, Wilmette; on Bahá'í activities to promote the Teachings with the United Nations
Conference on InternationalOrganization at San Francisco, 1945; picture of the House of Worship floodlighted at night.
Volume XI (April, 1946 � April, 1950).Four years. 894 pp., net $12.50 Features articles on "The Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Guardianship"; teaching programs of various National Bahá'í Communities around the world; articles and photographs of the beginning of the interior ornamentation of the House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois; pictures of the construction work on the Shrine of the Mb and the gardens at the W-odd Center of the Faith at Haifa, Israel.
Page 790The magazine was suspended temporarily with issue of March, 1949. Back issues available from April, 1935, to March, 1949. Some issues not available.
Per issue $ .20 Miscellaneous bound volumes. Per vol
3A. BAHÁ'Í UNITEDEffendi's translation entitled Kitáb-i-iqdn or Book of Certitude.
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf. Translated bySociety, Chicago. Superseded by a new translation.
The Source of Spiritual(Tablet of the Branch, Kitáb-i-'Ahd, Law1~-i-Aqdas).
(b) WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ 'A bdu'l-Bahd in London, edited by Eric Hammond.
A record of public and private addresses delivered in 1911.
'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York. Selected addresses delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá at Columbia University, a number of churches, and at public meetings of peace societies.
'Abdu'l-Bahá on Divine Philosophy (com-piled by Isabel F. Chamberlain).
Tudor Press, Boston, 1916.Single copies per copy while available $.1o Vols. I to XII � 19 issues per volume.
Vols. XIII to XXV � 12Compiled from the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Josephine D. Storey.
96 pp.Unity. Compiled from 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í public addresses in America.
Superseded by revised edition.Publishing Society, Chicago, 1920. Now included in The Bahá'í
Peace Program."Letter of Love" from 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbas to the Beloved in America.
Bahá'í PublishingLetters to the Friends in Persia. Bahá'í Publishing Society, January 21, 1906.
Mysterious ForcesA work addressed to the people of Persia over fifty years ago to show the way to true progress.
Prayers and Tablets.Public addresses delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í throughout the United States in 1912.
The Reality of Religion � TabletTablet to the Beloved of God in America. Translated by 'Ali-Kuli-Kh6n. Cambridge, Mass.,
January 3, 1906.I~f~h~ni (Au-mad Sohrib), Washington, D.C., September 8, 1906.
Tablet to the East andThe Bahá'í Assembly of Washington, D.C. Tablets by 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbas to the House of Justice of Chicago, to the Ladies' Assembly of Teaching, and others.
Tablets Containing GeneralTranslated by M.A.E. Washington, D.C., August 29, 1906.
Tablets from 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbas to F. E. Wrestling
Brewster. Bahá'í PublishingBelievers in the Year 1900. The Board of Council, New York, 1901.
Unveiling of the DivineVisiting Tablets for Martyrs Who Suffered in Persia. Translated by
'Ali-Kuli Kji~n. Bahá'íBahá'í Calendar compiled from the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, 1916.
Bahá'í Calendar. Dailyexcerpts from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá Privately printed in Honolulu, New York and other cities.
Bahá'í Calendar br 1932.Bahá'í Prayers. The Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
210 pp. 1929.by Horace Hol-ley, Brentano's, New York, 1923. Baha Publishing Committee, New York, 1929.
Compilation. ConcerningCompilation No. 9. Available in different languages.
Corn pilation of Utterances from the Pen of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Regarding His Station.A compilation of passages on nature from Bahá'í Sacred Writings and from the Bible, selected by Frances Esty.
Life Eternal. CompiledFrom the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Tudor Press, Boston, 1916.A compilation of the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá. by
Mariam Haney and LouisGregory, to assist the progress of interracial amity, 1927.
Peace: A Divine Creation.Containing also prayers revealed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. 108 pp.
Prayers Revealed by Bahá'u'lláhand 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Translated by Shoghi Effendi. Boston, 1923.
Prayers Revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, The Báb and 'A bdu'l-Bahti, translated by Shoghi Effendi.
24 pp. Prayers, Tablets, Instructions, etc., gathered by American visitors in 'Akka, 1900.
Racial Amity. Compiled(The complete letters to July, 1932, are included in Bahá'í Administration.)
The World Moves On to its Destiny. 4 pp. (e) WRITiNGS ON THE I3AHA'I FAITH
Abu'1-Fa~ll, Mirza: Baha'iRevelation. This book contains a most excellent compilation of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, gathered from various translations and arranged so as to be consecutive as to subjects. 182 pp.
Dodge, Arthur Pillsbury:Oriental Rose. A vivid presentation of historical aspects of the Bahá'í Movement. 214 pp. Chicago, 1910.
Hare, W. Loftus (editor): Religions of the Empire.
Harris, W. Hooper: Lessons on the Bahá'í Revelation.
Herrick, Elizabeth: UnityTriumphant. 226 pp. Holley, Horace: Bahd'ism � the
Modern Social Religion.Mathews, Loulie A.: Whence Comes the Light? 84 pp. Phelps, Myron H.: The Life and Teachings of 'Abbas Effendi. Publishers,
Putnam & Sons.Pinchon, Florence E.: Coming of the Glory. An interesting narrative giving the spirit and the principles of the
Bahá'í Movement.The Episode of the Bib, written by a contemporary Persian scholar, the manuscript having been presented to the translator by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Printed from the original plates by Cambridge University Press, 178 pp.
Page 793Kingdom of the Father, Foretold. A book dealing with prophecy referring to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.
262 pp. Watson, Marie A.: JvIy Pilgrimage to the Land of Desire.
(f) BAHÁ'Í LITERATURE IN PAMPHLETLetters written on behalf of the "Friends" of 1sf dhdn, Persia, to the American
Believers.Addresses delivered before the New York and Chicago
Assemblies. Translatedby Alimad SohrTh. Persian-American Publishing Co., Los Angeles, 1924.
Abu'1-Fa~11, Mirza: TheBrilliant Proof. A refutation of an attack on the Cause by a Protestant missionary.
Contains both EnglishAssembly, Washington, D.C. Agnew, A. S.: In Spirit and in Truth. Table Talks at 'Akka. Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago,. 1907.
B., L.H.C.: Th.e TrueGod's Heroes. Lippincott, London and Philadelphia, 1910.
Blomfield, Lady: The FirstTemple. Reprint of press comments and Temple symbolism. Chicago, 1921.
Brittingham, IsabellaBrittingliam, James F.: The Message of the Kingdom of God. 1907.
Campbell, Helen: The Baha'iAbraham Was I Am. An explanation of the Station of the Prophet.
In Galilee. An interesting account of a visit to Haifa in 1907.
What Went Ye Out For to See? A letter written in reply to an inquiry from a Christian.
Clevenger, I. F.: Map Showing Travels of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. 1927.
Cobb, Stanwood: Homoculture.Esslemont, I. K: Bahá'u'lláh and His Message. Briefly outlining the spiritual message of the New Day.
What Is a Bahá'í Americanedition published by Louis Bourgeois, Chicago, 1921. What is the Bahá'í Faith? A brief explanation by the late Dr. J. E. Esslemont, author of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Available in many languages.
F~4i1, Jin~tb-i-: Addresses.5 booklets. Translated by Alimad Sohr~b. Seattle, 1921.
Finch, Ida: Rays from the Sun of Truth.G. Gregory. 40 pp. Grundy, Julia M.: Ten Days in the Light of 'Akka.
Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1907.of Civilization. Board of Council, New York, 1902.
Page 794Eye View of the World in the Year 2000. A reprint of article in
The Bahá'í Magazine.in Persia in the Year 1903 A .D. Translated by Yiinis KA~n. Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1907. Martyrdoms in Persia in 1903, relating the circumstances in which seventy Persian Bahá'ís were martyred.
Holley, Horace: The Baha'iPublishing Committee, 1931. The Bahá'í explanation of current world depression and unrest. 32 pp.
View of Bahá'í GuestCall of God. The significance of the return of the
Messenger.Pilgrimage, 1898. Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1917.
Moody, Dr. Susan I.:in My Life. Translated by Alimad SohrTh. Persian-American Publishing Co., Los Angeles, 1924.
National Spiritual AssemblyBahá'í Persecutions in Persia. Reprint of letter written to the Si~h of Persia, Ri41~ Sh~h Pahiavi, July, 1926.
Bahá'í Procedure. Compilation.Peake, Margaret B.: Visit to 'Abbas E0endi in 1899.
Grier Press, Chicago, 1911.and Reconstruc-don. Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1919.
Bahá'í Teachings. (SevenBAHÁ'Í BIBLIOGRAPHY Letters from Honolulu.
Privately printed. Februaryof Five Lectures Upon the Bahá'í Movement. Through Warring Countries to the Mountain of God.
Private printing. Twelvearticles introductory to the study of the Bahá'í teachings.
Universal Consciousnessbdu'l-Bahá'í First Days in America. From the diary of Juliet Thompson. 40 pp. The Roycrofters.
Townshend, George: ReligionTaken at 'A kkd. Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1907.
United States Government:Bahá'í Census. A pamphlet showing the registration of the Bahá'ís as an organized religious body.
Vail, Albert: The Bahá'íBahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1904. New York, 1927.
Hymns of Peace and Praise.Winterburn, Mr. and Mrs. George: Table Talks with 'A bdu'l-Bahd. Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1908.
Mr. Noel Wuttunee of Calgary, Alberta, the first Canadian Indian Baha'i, with his wife.
Zuehien, J. L.: The Bahá'í Movement. Articles originally published in Vedic Magazine of Lahore. Versey, 1916.
(g) GENERAL PUBLICATIONS29 � May 2, 1916, a combination program and compilation, Chicago,
Ill.The Bahá'í Faith, by a Methodist Layman, questions and answers suggested by personal experience.
The Bahá'í House of Worship.A brief description of the Bahá'í Temple at WiI-mette, Illinois.
Illustrated. 8 pp.A pamphlet outlining the history and aims of the Cause.
The Bahá'í Religion, a reprint of the two Bahá'í papers presented at the Conference on Some Living Religions within the British Empire. Paper, 24 pp.
The Bahá'í Temple, House36 pp. Compilation, No. 9, available in English, Esperanto, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Hungarian,
Yiddish.His Worship the Mayor of Haifa, Mr. Aba Khoushy, being welcomed by members of the National Spiritual Assembly when he visited the Bahá'í Temple in Wilmette, Illinois.
The Dawn of World Civilization.1945. 8 pp. Flowers Culled from the Rose Garden of 'Akka, by Three Pilgrims in 1908.
Green Acre, a reprint of articles published inNo. 80 to No. 104. 25 pp. Light of the World. By a group of Pilgrims. The Tudor Press, Boston, 1920.
The Spirit of World Unity, selections from words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in America on religious, racial and scientific subjects.
24 pp. Star of the West, November, 1925, Peace Number.
Studies in Jewish Mysticism.Compilation. 12 pp. The Transformation of Human Society. 12 pp.
Universal PrinciplesPersian-American Bulletin, Washington, D.C., 1912.
Views of Haifa, 'Akka,for Children. A series of thirty-six lessons in four sections, for teachers holding Bahá'í study and discussion classes for children. 40 pp.
Bahá'í Teachings ConcerningChrist. Compiled by the Outline Bureau of the National Teaching Committee, 19281929.
Page 797A compilation prepared by the National Teaching Committee.
16 pp. Children's Course in Bahá'í Principles with pictures to color.
Conditions of Existence, Servitude, Prophet-hood, Deity. Compiled by Emogene Hoagg.
The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh � ACompiled by the Outline Bureau of the National Teaching Committee, 1930.
Outlines for Study of Scriptures. Compiled by Louis G. Gregory. Mimeographed.
Questions and Topicsfor Discussion in Bahá'í classes and meetings, compiled by Louis G. Gregory. Mimeographed.
Study ci Outlines of Science, compiled by the Outline Bureau of the
National Bahá'í TeachingEnoch Olinga, pioneer from East Africa (top left, dark suit) carried the Faith to this goal country of the Ten-Year Plan.
Page 798Titles in this list were in print at the time this list was compiled and have been approved d by an official Bahá'í body. Those marked "B.P.T." are published by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Baha'i, London, W.C. (a) WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. Translated and compiled by Shoghi Effendi. 376 pp. Cloth.
B.P.T. 1949.of Certitude). Translated by Shoghi Effendi. 284 pp. Cloth. B.P.T. 1948.
(b) WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁpublished in the British Isles under the title Talks by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Given in Paris.) B.P.T. 1951.
Some Christian Subjects.Reprint of the section of that title from Some Answered Questions. B.P.T. 1947.
The Will and Testament(c) WORKS COMPILED FROM THE WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH,
THEfor use equally by Bahá'ís and sympathizers of the
Faith.the Obligatory Prayers and others of interest chiefly to Baha'is. B.P.T. 1951.
Bahá'í Prayers. The two books above bound in single cover. B.P.T. 1951.
The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.A compilation of passages explaining this momentous subject.
B.P.T. 1950.selected for meditation to help the seeker come to know God. B.P.T. 1947.
The Glad Tidings of Bahá'u'lláh.Passages illustrating the spiritual message of Bahá'u'lláh and the journey of the individual soul. Wisdom of the East Series. John Murray, London, 1949.
The Pattern of Bahá'íLife. Passages selected to guide individual conduct.
B.P.T. 1948.The Bahá'í Faith 18441952 � Information statistical and comparative. Compiled by the Guardian.
(e) COMPiLATIONS FROM THE WRITINGSfrom the writings of Shoghi Effendi. B.P.T. 1953.
Principles of Bahá'í Administration.Selections from the Guardian's writings concerning the relations and functions of the individual Bahá'í and of the local and national institutions.
13.P.T. 1950.(f) WRITINGS ON THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH Esslemont, J. E.: Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Revised edition.
Cloth. Geo. Allen & Unwin, 1939.Faith. A short history of the Bahá'í Faith issued by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Great Britain on the occasion of the Centenary of the Declaration of the
B~~b of His Mission. WithBAHÁ'Í BIB Rabbani, Riihiyyih: Prescription
for Living. A challenge to the individual to recreate his own character and contribute his share to saving mankind. George Ronald, 1950.
Shook, Glenn A.: Mysticism,restatement of the Bible in terms of modern thought and need. Lindsay Drummond, 1939.
The Promise of All Ages.Originally published under the pen name "Christophul." New edition, George Ronald, 1948.
(g) BAnAl LITERATURE IN PAMPHLETbrief and simple outline of the origin, principles and institutions of the Administrative Order. B.P.T. 1947.
The Bahá'í Faith. An introductory booklet. Supersedes earlier editions. B.P.T. 1948.
Esslemont, I. E.: The Message of Bahá'u'lláh. A considerably revised edition of Bahá'u'lláh and His Message. B.P.T. 1949.
Ferraby, J. G.: Ba/nil Teachings on Economics, B.P.T. 1948.
Progressive Revelation.on the Will and Testament of 'A bdu'l-Bahci. B.P.T. 1947.
Pinchon, Florence: Bahá'íProblems. Advice and suggestions to help Bahá'ís put into practice their first obligation.
B.P.T. 1950.Old Churches and the New World Faith. An appeal to the churches of the West. B.P.T. 1948.
(h) OUTLINES AND GUIDES"Uyo rndiye munthe, ndi:A~~ amine amadziprkka veRse pa zinchiw zonse ;a umunth,u
BAHÁ'U'LLÁH.LONDON, W.C.,. Title page of Bahá'í pamphlet in ChiNyanja published by the British Africa
Committee, entitled "Dois an example of one of the thirty African languages into which Bahá'í literature has been or is being translated.
Fydd-y-Bahá'í (The Bahá'íUnayoishi? (Do you know in what day you are living?).
Ki-Swahili. Philip Hainsworth, 1950.Mulidziwa? (Do you know in what day you are living?).
ChiNyanja. Philip Hainsworth, 1950.Bahá'ís of Helsinki, Finland, at the Third Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, July, 1953.
4A. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONS OF GREAT(a) WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ 'Abdu'l-Bahá in London.
Edited by Eric Hammond.(b) COMPILATIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH, THE Bab,
AND 'ABDU'L-BAHÁA short compilation of some of the Guardian's writings about the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. B.P.T. 1945.
(e) BOOKS ABOUT THE BAHÁ'ÍGod's Heroes. Drama. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., 1910.
Blomfield, Lady (Sit~rihA rich compilation of episodes in various periods of the history of the Faith.
The life stories of members of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í family, as related to Lady Blomfield.
Cheyne, T. K.~ The Reconciliation of Races and Religions.
Adams and Charles Black, 1914.for a Failing World. Adapted for British publication from the American text. B.P.T. 1940.
Dreyfus, Hippolyte: TheHall, Mrs. Basil (Parvine) The Drama of the Kingdom.
A play based on a plot outlined by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.of God. Wisdom of the East Series. John Murray, 1909.
Hare, W. Loftus, editor: Religions of the Empire.Addresses delivered by representatives of the several religions invited to participate in the Conference on Some Living Religions within the British Empire, held at the Imperial Institute, London, England, Sept. 22 to Oct. 3, 1924. Includes two papers read on the Bahá'í Cause. Duckworth, 1925.
Herrick, Elizabeth: UnityPhelps, Myron H.: The Life and Teaching of 'Abbas Etlendi. Putnam, 1904.
Pinchon, Florence E.: The Coming of the Glory.with the Bahá'ís of India and Burma. Priory Press, 1908.
(f) BAHÁ'Í LITERATURE IN PAMPHLETSupplement to The Christian Commonwealth, June 25, 1913.
Bahá'í Prayers. A selection.Blomfield, Lady, and Shoghi Effendi: The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. 1921.
Child, C. W.: A Reading of the Hands of His Excellency 'A bdu'l-Bahd. Reprinted from
The International PsychicEsslemont, J. E.: Bahá'u'lláh and His Message. B.P.T. 1938.
What Is a Bahá'í A reprint of chapter three of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Kenneth Mackenzie, 1919.
Graham, John: ProgressiveRosenberg, Ethel I.: A Brief Account of the Bahá'í Movement. Priory Press, 1911. A Brief Sketch of Bahd'iism, 1905.
Scaramucci, Mrs.: TheWalsh, Dr. Walter: Living Religions and the Bahá'í Movement. The Free Religious Movement, 1924.
(g) OUTLINES AND GUIDES FORDr. Sushila Nayyar, Health Minister, Delhi State, on her way to the dais to preside over the
Thhirih's M(Publications in other languages spoken in elsewhere under name of language) The Bahá'í Faith and lsldm.
The Bahá'í Faith and Judaism.India, Burma, Ceylon and Pdkistdn listed Memorials of the Faithful.
Bombay.Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Tiran~, 1933. Fjal~ T~ Fshehura (Hidden Words). New
Ch'~4sht Livizja Beha'i? (What Is the Baha York.Faith?). Kitáb-i-lqdn. Tiran~, 1932.
Detyrat e Domosdoshe Besnik vet Baha'i, 1932. Libri i Bes~s, Tiran~, 1932.
7. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONS IN BULGARIANBahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Sofia, 1932. Seven Valleys (in manuscript).
Hidden Words. Sofia, 1937. Words of Wisdom (in manuscript).
Kitáb-i-Jqdn (in manuscript).Pamphlet. Some Answered Questions (in manuscript).
First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Kalutara (Ceylon), 19531954.
Page 804Dr. J. Kr~msk~: The East and the New Era (Vychod a nov6. doba).
Dr. I. E. Esslemont: Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Prague, 1932.
10. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONS IN DANISHand Persian.) Translated by Prof. K. Barr. Copenhagen, 1948.
Tre Daglige PligtB~z5nnerof Bahá'u'lláh). Translated into Danish by Prof. K. Barr. Copenhagen, 1947.
Kit~ib-i-iqdn af Bahá'u'lláh.Translated by Prof. K. Barr. 1949. (In manuscript.)
Hvad er Bahá'í Beva~gelsen?By J. E. Esslemont. Translated by Johanne S6rensen.
Copenhagen, 1926.By J. B. Esslemont. Translated by Johanne S6rensen.
Copenhagen, 1926.Bahá'u'lláh og den Nye Tid. (Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era.) By I. E.
Esslemont. TranslatedRoads We Face.) By W. Kenneth Christian. (Pamphlet.)
11. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONS IN DUTCHBahá'u'lláh: De VerborgenDr. I. B. Esslemont: Woorden. (The Bahá'u'lláh en het nieuwe Hidden Words.) Rotterdam, Tijdperk. (Bahá'u'lláh 1932. and the New Era.)
Kitáb-i-lqdn. Rotterdam,Bloemlezing uit de geschrittender Bahá'í Beweging. Amsterdam, van Bahá'u'lláh. (Selected1914.
Writings of Bahá'u'lláh.)Amsterdam, 1949. De weg tot een menswaardige Wereld. Amsterdam, 1949.
(Pamphlet.)Some members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of 'Iraq carrying the wreath bearing the name of the National Spiritual Assembly to the royal cemetery to place it on the tomb of the Queen, who died December 27, 1950.
12. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONSella perso lingvo tradukis Lutfu'lltih S. Hakim, John E. Es-slemont, London, Brita Esperantista Aso-do, jam ne indikata, 80, 39 pp Ka&itaj vortoj, ella angla lingvo tradukis Vasily I. Erosenko, Japanujo, loko kaj jaro ne indikataj, 80, 23 pp.
The BTh: Parolada de Bábinstruoj, loko kaj jaro ne indikataj, 80, 16 pp. La Sep Kandeloj de
Mondunueco. Paris TalksKompilajo, vortoj de Bahá'u'lláh kaj 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Wandsbek, Germany, Baha Esperanto-Eldonejo, jaro ne indikata, 80, 16 pp.
ES PB RANT 0Esslemont, Dr. I. E.: Bahá'u'lláh ka] la nova epoko, ella angla originalo tradukita de Lidja Zamenhof,
Weinheim (Germany), Baha'iEsperanto-Eldonejo, 1930, 80, 191 pp. Bahá'u'lláh kaj Lia Misio,
Hamburg, Esperanto Komitatode Ia Baha Movado. 1926, 80, 22 pp. Grossmann, Dr. Hermann: La esenco de la Bahaismo, Wandsbek, Baha Esperanto-Eldonejo, 1929, 80, 8 pp. Kliemke, Dr. Ernst: Bahaismo ka] politiko, la stata idealo laft la instruoj de Bahá'u'lláh, Wandsbek, Germany, Baha Es. peranto-Eldonejo, 1929, 80, 8 pp. Miihlschlegel, Dr. Adelbert: Parolado en la dua Ba/wa kunveno dum la XVIIIa Uni-versala Kongreso de Esp era nto en Genevo, Stuttgart, 1925, 8~, 4 pp.
Nabil: The Dawn-Breakers."New Era" Bahá'í School, Panchgani, Bombay State (India), 1950.
Page 807sciencaj pruvoj de vivo post morto. Praha, 1927, 80, 7 Pp. S.S.: La Historio de l'Bahaj'a (Baha!) Mo-vado, Universala Fido, esperantigita de William W. Mann, London, the Priory Press, 1907, 80, 24 pp. Lidja Zamenhof: Homo, Dio, Prof eto, Weinheim, Baha Esperanto-Eldonejo, 1931, 80, 8pp Bahaaj pruvoj di vivo post morto, Wands-bek, Germany, Baha Esperanto-Eldonejo, 1928, 80, 8 pp. Historic, instruc] ka]
valoro de Ia Bahd'i-movado.Hamburg, Esperanto Komitato de la Bahaa-movado, 1925, 80, 8 pp. Kio estas la Baha movado?
Genf. 1925, 80, 8 pp. Kio estas la Baha movado?Wandsbek, jaro ne indikata, 80, 4 pp. Religio kaj Scienco lat~ la lumo de Ia Bahaja (bahaa!)
rivelajo, London, Brita Esperan-tista Asocio, 1919, 80, 28 pp. La Nova Tago. La internacia bahaa esper-anto-gazeto.
B ahaa Esperanto-Eldonejo (Germany).For information on German and Esperanto Bahá'í literature and magazines please address Fri. Elsa
Maria Grossmann, Neck-argemiindTraduit du persan et de 1'arabe par Hippolyte Dreyfus. Tome I. La Tr~s
Sainte Tablette; Les ParolesExt ra its des Ecrits de Bahá'u'lláh. Textes choisis et traduits du persan par Shoghi Effendi. Traduit de I'anglais par G. des Hons. (Version fran~aise de Gleanings.)
Les Paroles Cach4es.(c) WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ Testament d'A bdu'l � Baha.
(Mimeographed.)Laura C. Barney; traduits par Hip-polyte Dreyfus.
(Some Answered Questions.)Les Forces myst&ieuses de Ia Civ ilisatian. Traduit par G. des. Hons.
Entretiens d'A bdu'l-Bahc~ ~ Paris. Traduits parLe But d'un nouvel Ordre Mondial. Traduit par L&rn
Karakehia.Vers 1'Apog~e de la Race Humaine. Traduit par G. des Hons. 1936.
(e) WRITINGS ON TIlE BAHÁ'ÍBahá'u'lláh et l'tre nouvelle, par I. E. Essle-mont.
Traduit par JulietteLe Babisme et le Baha'isme, par Hippolyte Dreyfus.
(Extrait du livre Religions et Socie~te~s.)La Descente de la nouvelle Jerusalem, par G. Townshend.
(Manuscript.)Les Portes de Ia Libert~, par H. C. Ives. Traduit par Jane Montefiore.
(Manu-script.)La Renaissance de la Civilisation, par David Hofrnan. Traduit par Line Cristi, Luci-enne Migette, Marie Chevalier.
(Manu-script.)Les Heros de Dieu, par Laura C. Barney. Drame en 5 actes. Traduit par Hippolyte Dreyfus. (Manuscript.)
L'Apparition de la Splendeur divine, par Florence Pinchon.
Traduit par Amanatil-lahBahá'í Group of Suva, capital of Fiji Islands, 1950, with visiting member of National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand.Une Institution divine, le Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, par Hippolyte Dreyfus.
Le Vrai Baha'i. (5 Chap.Le Baha'isme. 9. Sa Mission dans le monde, par Paule
Mayer May.THAT ARE (a) WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH
Verborgene Worte (nebst Gebeten). 1948.130 pp. Die sieben Taler. 40 pp. (b) WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ Sendschreiben an die Zentralorganisation fflr einen dauernden Frieden, den Haag. 32 pp. Wille und Testament. 1946.
(c) WORKS COMPILED FROM THE WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH,
THEGott geht vorilber. 487 pp. (e) WRITINGS ON THE BAHÁ'Í
FAITHBahá'u'lláh und das neue Zeitalter. By Dr. J. E. Esslemont. George Ronald, Oxford. 276 pp.
Umbruch zur Einheit. ByA. Schrbder, Stuttgart, 1947. 85 pp. Die L5sung der sozialen Fragen aul Grund der Bahd'i-Lehren.
By Dr. Manoutchehr ZabihEr! idite Prophezeiungen, by Elizabeth H. Cheney.
Die neue Weltordnung.Em neues Zeitalter bricht an. European Teaching Committee, 1947.
Sendschreiben van 'Abdu'l-BaháFourth Bahá'í Women's Progressive Convention, held at i{a4ratu'1-Quds, Tihr~tn, April 1316, 1950.
PUBLICATIONS IN GERMAN AREdes Paradieses, Tablett Tardzdt, Tablett Tajalliydt,
Tab-lett Ishrdqdt. Nachder Englischen Ueber-setzung von 'Aif-Kuli Khan; Deutsch von W. Herrigel. Stuttgart,
Verlag des Deut-schenBaM'i-Bundes, 1921, 80, 123 pp. Das heilige Tablett, geoffenbart in Baghd~td. Aus dem Englischen; von W. H~rige1. Stuttgart, Selbstverlag der Bah~'i-Vereini-gung, 1911, 80, 8p~
Das Tablett vom Zweig.Aus dem Eng-lisehen; von Fr. Schweizer. Herausgege-ben von den Bahá'ís in Zuffenhausen. Ohne Jahr, 80, 8 pp. Tablett von Isizrdqdt,
Tablett von Tardzdt, Wortedes Paradieses, Tablett von Tajal liydt, Frohe Botschaften.
Aus dem Eng-lischen; von A. Braun und E. Ruoff. Stuttgart,
Selbstverlag der Bah6'i-Veremi-gung.von A. Braun and E. Ruoff. Stuttgart, Verlag der Bah~t'i-Vereinigung, 1916, 80, 104 pp.
Verborgene Worte, WorteEffendi; Deutsch von Alice Schwarz und W. Herrigel.
Stuttgart, Verlag des Deutschen Bah~i'i-Bundes, 1924, ~O, 109 Pp. (b) WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ Ansprachen, gehalten im F{erbst 1911 in Paris.
Aus dem Englischen; vonBAHÁ'Í BIBLIOGRAPHY rigel. Stuttgart, Verlag des Deutschen Bah6~'i-I3undes, 1921, 80, 196 pp.
Beantwortete Fragen. NachG.m. b. H. 1929, ~O VIII und 392 pp. Line Botschaft an die Juden.
Aus dem Engli-schen; von W. Herrigel. Stuttgart, im Selbstverlag der BaM'i-Vereinigung. 1913, 80, 15 pp. Evangelium der Lie/rn und des Friedens fUr unsere
Zeit (Ansprachen in Paris).Aus dem Englischen; von W. Herrigel. Stuttgart, Selbstverlag der Bah~'i-Vereinigung. 1914, ~O, 172 pp. Religion und Philosophie, 1911, Paris.
Tabelle (Tablets) ailgemeiner Belehrung. Deutsch von Fanny A. Knobloch. 1906, ohne Angabe des Ortes, 80, 12 pp. Tabelle (Tablets) an die Geliebten Gottes des A bendlandes. Deutsch von Fanny A. Knobloch. 1906, ohne Angabe des Ortes, 8~, 8 pp. (c) WORKS COMPILED FROM
WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH'ABDU'L-BAIIA Bahd'iperlen (Worte von Bahá'u'lláh und 'Abdu'l-Bahá).
Stuttgart, Verlag des DeutscheaBahi'i-Bundes, 1921, 80, 16 pp. (d) WRITINGS OF SHOGHI EFFENDI
Die Weltordnung von Bahá'u'lláh.vom Deut-schen Bah6i'i-Nationalrat, Stuttgart, Mirza 1930, 80, 15 pp. An die Geliebten des Herrn und an die Die-nerinnen des Barmherzigen in der ganzen Welt. Aus dem Englischen.
Herausgege-ben vom DeutscheaBahA'i-Nationalrat, Stuttgart, April 1930 (vervielfiultigt), Folio, 17 pp. (e) WRITINGS ON THE BAHÁ'Í
FAITHan die Freunde Gottes und an die Dienerinnen des Barm-herzigen im A bendland.
Aus dem Engli-schen; von A. Schwarz. Ohne Angabe des Ortes und des Jahres.
St 4 PP.'A bdu'1-Bahd's. Ohne An-gabe des Ortes und des Jabres, 80, 32 pp. Brittingham, Isabella, D.: Die Oflenbarung von
Bahá'u'lláh. Aus dem Englisehen;von W. Herrigel. Stuttgart, Selbstverlag der Baha'i-Vereinigung, 1910, 80, 47 pp.
Carpenter, Marion: Majnt~nin den "Sieben Thiern." Deutsch von E. M. Gr. und Dr. H. Cr. Wandsbek, Weltgemeinschaft, 1926, 80, 8 pp. Chase, Thornton: Die Bahd'iofJenbarung.
Aus dem Englischen; von W. Herrigel.war, war Ich. Aus dem Englischen; von W. Her-rigel. Stuttgart,
Verlag der BahA'i-Vereini-gung.Oline Jahr, 80, 8 pp. Dreyfus, Dr. Hippolyte: Bdbismus und Bahd'ism us.
Deutsch von Margarete Platte.Frankfurt a.M. Neuer Frankfurter Verlag G.m.b.H., 1909, 8~, 61 pp.
Finheits-Religion. IhreWirkung auf Staat, Erziehung, Sozialpolitik, Frauenrechte und auf die einzelne IPersbnlichkeit. Deutsch von W. ilerrigel. Stuttgart, Verlag des Deutschen BaM'i-Bundes, 1920, 80, 40 pp. Esslemont, Dr. John B.: Bahá'u'lláh und das
Neue Zeitalter. Deutschvon H. K. und W. II. Stuttgart, Verlag des Deutschen Bah6A-Bundes, 1927, 80, VIII � 431 pp. Was in em Bahá'í Aus dem
Englischenvon der Bah6'i-Arbeitsgemeinschaft sgemeinschaft Esslingen.
Olineund Wahr-heitsbeweise der Bahd'i-Religion. Nach der
Englischen Uebersetzungvon 'Au-Quli-KhAw Deutsch von W. H. Stuttgart, Verlag des Deutschen Bah6i-Bundes G.m.b.L{. 1919, ~O, xxiv + 295 pp.
Gldnzender Beweis (BurliTheAll Faiths Convention held on April 30, 1953, in New Delhi, as a part of the Baha Jubilee Week Celebrations (April 26 � May 2).
Honorable Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Minister for Health, Government of India, is in the Chair.
Page 813von der Bah~'i-Vereinigung Zuffenhausen, ohne Jahr, 80, 45 pp Grossmann, Dr. Tlermann: Am Morgen einer neuen
Zeit, Verlag StreckerDie Bahd'i-Bewegung, ihre Geschichte, Lehren und Bedeutung. Herausgegeben von der BaM'i-Bewegung. Hamburg, 1926, 80, 8 pp. Bahd'i-Erziehung. Wandsbek,
Weltge-meinschaft, DeutscherZweig, 1924, 80, 8 pp. Chanan. Bine Erz~ih1un~, aus unserer Zcit. Wandsbek, 1927, 80, 8 pp. Rosen gdrtlein-Lehrstunden.
Lehrproben zur Bah~'i-Erziehung.Herausgegeben von der Weltgemeinschaft, Wandsbek, oline Jahr, 80, 12 pp. Die soziale Frage und ihre L6sung im Sinne der Bahd'i-Lehre. Stuttgart, Verlag des Deutschen Bah~'i-Bundes, 1923, 80, 12 pp.
Das Wesen der Bahd'i-Lehre.und des Jahres. 80, 8 pp. W. H.: Die Bahd'i-Bewegung im Allgemei-nen und ihre grossen Wirkungen in In-dien. Stuttgart, Verlag des Deutschen Bah6N-Bundes, 1922, 80 56 pp.
Universaler Friede, Uni~ersaleReligion. Die Bah~'i-Bewegung, ihr Zweck und Ziel. Stuttgart,
Selbstverlag der Bah~'i-Vereini-gung.1916, 80, 16 pp. Hartmann, Pauline: Bahd'i-Weltanschauung, g, Verlag des Geistigen Nationairats der Deutschen Baha'i.
E. V., 80, 24 pp.von Bahá'u'lláh. Aus dem Englisehen. 30 pp. Geneva, 1934.
Kliemke, Dr. Ernst (HeinrichWandsbek, Welt-gemeinschaft, Deutscher Zweig, 1924, 80 8 pp.
Miihlschlegel, Adelbert:80. Ohne Angabe des Ortes, September, 1924, 80, 8 pp. Ridvan 81, Festspiel.
Stuttgart, Bah~'i-Bund, Deutscher Zweig, 1925, 80, 8 pp.
Nabil's Narrative: ThePhelps, Myron H.: 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbas, Leben und Lehren.
Aus dem Englischen; von W. H. Stuttgart, Verlag des Deut-schen Bah~'i-Bundes, 1922, 80, 248 pp.
Remey, Charles Mason:von W. II. Verlag des Deutschen Bah~'i-Bun-des, Stuttgart, 1923, 80, 32 pp.
Einheit. Die OffenbarungAngabe des Ortes und des Jabres. 80, 8 pp. Rosenberg, Ethel I.: Die Bahd'i-Lehre, de-ren ethische and soziale Begriffe.
Aus dem Englischen; von Fr. Schweizer. Stuttgart, Selbstverlag der Bah~'i-Vereinigung, 1908, 80, 8 pp. S. S.: Fin Jahr unter den Bahá'í in Indien und
Birma. Aus dem Englischen;von W. 14. Stuttgart, Selbstverlag der Bahci'i-Vereinigung, ohne Jahr, 80, 46 pp. Die Geschicht.e der Bahd'i-Bewegung.
Aus dem Englischen; von W. H. Stuttgart Selbstverlag der Bah~'i-Vereinigung, 1913, Zweite auflage, 1913, 80, 22 pp. Dritte auflage, 1919, 80, 22 pp. Schwarz, Alice: Die universale Weltreligion. Stuttgart,
Verlag des DeutschenBaM'i-Bundes, 1919, 80, 35 pp. Wright, A. H.: Báb und seine Secte in Per-sien,
Leipzig.(f) GENERAL PAMPHLETS An der Schwelle eines neues Zeitalters. Flugblatt.
Stuttgart, W. H. Ohne Jahr. 80, 10 pp.Aus Leben und Lehre des Bahd'ism us. Hamburg, Bah~i'i-Ver1ag, 1918, 80, 42 pp. Die Bahd'i-Bewegung. Flugblatt.
Stuttgart, Verlag des Deutschen Bah6'i-Bundes, ohne Jahr, 80, 4 pp. Die Bahá'í Lehre, 1933, Schmal 80, 4 pp. Bericht vom ersten Deutschen
Bahci'i-Kon-gress 1921.Herausgegeben von der Bah~'i-Arbeitsgemeinschaft Esslingen (vervielftiltigt) 40, 54 pp. Die Geschichte vom kleinen Vogel und an-dere Erzdhlungen aus dem Leben 'A bdu'l-Bahd's.
Wandsbek, Weltgemeinschaft, Deutscher Zweig, 1925, 80, 8 pp.
Religiase Lichtblicke.dem Franzii-sischen; von Albert Renftle. Stuttgart, Verlag der Bah~'f-Vereinigung, 1916, 80 16 pp. Erweiterte Aufiage, Stuttgart,
1928, Verlag des Deutschenin Deutschland und Oesterreich nebst Satz-ung des Geistigen Rates der Bahá'í in Stuttgart.
Herausgegeben vom Nationalen GeistigenRat der Bahá'í in Deutschland und Oesterreich e. V., Stuttgart, 1935, 80, 32 pp.
Was 1st die Bahd'i-Bewegung?(2 Ausgaben: Hamburg und Wien), 80, 8 bezw. 10 pp. Weihnachtsbeilage fi.~r Kinder. Dezember 1921.
Beilage zur Sonne der Walirheit, 80 8 pp.Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Budapest, A Tizenke~t Bahai Alapelv (Bahá'í Princi-1933.
33. pies).Bahá'u'lláh Og Ni~i Timinn (Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era). By I. E. Esslemont. Translated ted from the English. Reykjavik, 1939.
19. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONS IN ITALIAN(a) WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH LeLe Setti Valli e Le Quattro Parole Celate. Translated Valli. Translated by the by Ugo R. Gia-chery. G. Italian Bahá'í Translating Bardi, Typographer, Rome, 1949.and Publishing Committee.
G. Bardi, Typographer, Rome, 1949.Translated by the Italian Bahá'í Translating and Publishing Committee. Mimeographed, Rome, 1950.
(c) WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁdi 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Translated by the Italian Bahá'í
Translating and PublishingTranslated by H. E. J{oagg. Casa Editrice LaRibalta, Rome, 1923.
(d) WORKS COMPILED FROM WRITINGS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH,
THE BábUn Piano per la Societ& Futura. (Extract from The New Era, by Esslemont.)
G. I3ardi, Typographer, Rome, 1947.by Ugo R. Giachery. G. Bardi, Typographer, Rome, 1947.
Che cos? un Bahá'í (Extract from The New Era.) G. Bardi, Typographer, Rome, 1947.
La Fede Baha'i. By A. Bausani.An extract from Scienza e Umanit&, Societa di Scienze Naturali ed Economiche, Palermo, 1950, 16 pp. 80.
(g) PAMPHLETS Calendarlo Baha'i. 4 PP.G. Bardi, Typographer, Rome, 1st edition 1947, 2nd edition 1949.
20. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONS IN MAORJTe Whakatikenga Baha'i, Pamphlet by U. G. Paul. Auckland, New Zealand, 1933.
21. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONSWill and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (mim-eographed).
Verdens-Religionen. BySchubartli. Petlitz Boktrykkeri, Oslo, 1935; distributed by Cammermeyers l3oghandel,
Oslo.A Bahá'í group in Addis Ababa on the occasion of visit of Mason Remey, President of the International Bahá'í Council, Mrs. Mildred Mottahedeh of New York City, and R. Yazdi, following their attendance at the Intercontinental Bahá'í Conference at Kampala, Uganda, Africa.
22. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONS IN POLISHBahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Geneva, 1940. Some Answered Questions (in manuscript).
The Hague TabletA Religido Mundial, par Shoghi Effendi (pamphlet).
Rio de Janeiro, 1940.First four native African Baha of Kampala, Uganda, representing the Buganda, Batero and Teso tribes.
24. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONS IN RUMANIANBahá'u'lláh and the New Era, Bucharest, Ce Este Miscarea Baha'i, Bucharest, 1934.
1934.Kitáb-i-Aqdas, ed. A. H. Tumansky, M& moires de 1'Academie imp~ria1e de St. Petersburg 1899 Viii serie vol. III, No. 6.
Kitáb-i-lqdn. Riga, Pus jela 14, 1933.Works of Bahá'u'lláh, ed. A. H. Tumansky, St. Petersburg, 1892.
Some Answered QuestionsTablet to the Hague. By 'Abdu'l-Bahá London, 1922.
Talk of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York. 'Ishqabad, 1922.
Bahá'u'lláh. By IsabelBahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Printed in Latvia, 1930.
Bah'iyyat. By M. Blanovsky.No. 9 (Compilation). New York, N.Y. Talk about Bahá'í Faith. B~kii.
Page 818Fifth National Bahá'í Youth Convention, Tihr~in (Baha Year 107).
26. BAHÁ'Í PUBLICATIONS IN SERBIANBook of Prayers. Belgrade, 1936. Hidden Words. Belgrade, 1936.
Kitáb-i-Iqdn (in manuscript).Text Books). 25 volumes to date. In Czech and Slovak. Containing serial translations of the Bahá'í Writings, prayers, compilations, articles and excerpts.
A Compilation (9).El Kitáb-i-Iqdn. Bahá'u'lláh. Las La Sabiduria de 'A bdu'1-Bahd Oraci6nes Obligatorios. (Wisdom of 'Abdu'l-Bahá).
Bahá'u'lláh.La Ultima Volun tad y Oraci6nes Bahá'ís (Bahá'í Testamento de 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Prayers). Bahá'u'lláhGerman, British and Persian Friends attending the Bahá'í Youth
Summer Week, Dllsberg, Germany, August 1825, Selecciones de las Escrituras de Bahá'u'lláh, de 'Abdu'l-Bahá, y de Shoghi Effendi.
(A set of three booklets.)Era (Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era). By I. E. Esslemont.
Primer Centenaric, 18441944. Renovaci6n de la Civilizaci6n.
PAMPHLETSla Unidad Mundial, by Spiritual Assembly of Punta Arenas, Chile.
Base de La Comunidad Baha'i.y Desarrollo de Ia Fe Baha'i. Santos E. Dominguez, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Canto Celestial.Ett M.3nster till framtida samhiille. By Sho ghi Effendi. Translated by Scandinavian Translating Committee, 1951.
Bahá'u'lláh och den nya tids~1dern. By J. E. Esslemont.
Translated by Anna Rudd-Palmgren, 1932.ORIENTAL LANGU ABYSSINIAN (AMHARJC)
Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Addis Ababa, 1935.Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, by Dr. J. E. Esslemont.
Cairo, 1930.Ishrdqdt, Tajalliydt, Tardzdt, and Kalimdt. Cairo.
Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Bombay, Cairo, Persia.Bahá'í Youth of Germany gathered at Bahá'í Youth Summer Week, Breuberg
Castle, Neustadt-i-Odenwald, July 30 � August 5, 1950, with Bahá'í visitors from England, France, Norway, Persia and the U Some Answered Questions.
Cairo, 1930.Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Bombay, 1932. Superseded by new edition.
Dawn of a New Day.A Letter to the Women of Japan, by Agnes B. Alexander.
1916.New Civilization, by K. Torikai. 1917. Religion of Love. 1917.
What Is Bahd'flsmn? by Dr. G. I. Augur. 1916.Table talks collected by Laura C. Barney. Kegan, Paul, London, 1908.
The Bahá'í Calendar. Tihr~n.(Prayers for the fast, for healing, for pilgrimages, etc.)
Bahd'iism and Socialism.Bahá'í Youth Symposium, Rangoon, February 25, 1951.
Dald'ilu'l-'Irjdn, MirzaThe Early Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, compiled by Baron Rosen, St. Petersburg.
Esslemont, J. E.: Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. Haifa. 1932.
Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. (Transla-tion from the English. 1949.)
F~idi1-i-M~izindarini: Historyto God (Prayers by Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi) � 3 vols.
Nabil's Narrative: a Summary.Istidldliyyih, I and II, by Na'im, Tabrfz, 1911 and 1912.
Istidldliyyiy-i-Afshdr.Kashfu'l-Ghitd' compiled by Siyyid Mihdi Gu1p~yg~ni.
'Ishqabad.Kh~dem Dhikru'I1~h, translator: Appreciations of the
Bahá'í Faith. (Frompage booklet written in Persian on the Bahá'í Tem-pie. Published by the Bahá'í Assembly of Washington, D.C. Mathnavi (Nabil's chronological poem.) Cairo.
Mihr~ib-Khini: The CityReply to the apocryphal K. Dolgorouki. The 19 Talks. Cairo.
The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.Delhi, 1933. Poems by Na'im. Tabriz, Tihr~~ri, Cairo and
Bombay.Printed from manuscript copy, 1929 (1308 A. H.), 240 pp.
A Traveller's NarrativeBy I. Brit-tingham, translated by V. M. Swami. Rangoon, 1906.
Seven Valleys and FourBahá'í Teachings for a World Faith. Translation (third edition).
Bishdrdt-i' U;md.Ishrdqdt, Bi~iidrdt, Kalimdt, Tardzdt, Tajalli-ydt,
Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh.Will and Testament. (Excerpt.) The Words of 'A bdu'l-Bahd.
Zuhur-i-Qd'im-i-'A li-Muhammad.(Available through Bahá'í Publishing Trus ACHOLI
The Bahá'í Faith � ReligionMulidziwa? (Do you know in what day you are living?) Translated by Philip Hainsworth. (Pamphlet.)
London, 1950.Unayoishi? (Do you know in what day you are living?) Translated by Philip Hainsworth.
(Pamphlet.) London, 1950.Bahá'u'lláh kaj la Nova Epoko. By I. E. Esslemont.
(In Esperanto Braille.)(c) PUBLISHED IN FRANCE (Braille) Essai sur le Bahd'iisme.
By Hippolyte Dreyfus.(d) PUBLISHED IN JAPAN (Braille) Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. By I. E. Essle-mont.
(In Japanese Baha'i)Titles prelixed by an asterisk (~) are printed from Braille plates.
All other titles are hand transcribed.~Nine Inscriptions for exterior of Bahá'í House of Worship.
(ii) WRITINGS OF THE B&BCommentary on the Will and Testament of 'A bdu'l-Bahd.
By David Hofman.The Bahá'í House of Worship, Pamphlet published by the Bahá'í Publishing
Committee.The Bahá'í Principle of Civilization. Horace Holley.
Bahá'í Teachings on Economics.Old Churches and the New World Faith. George Townshend.
The Oneness of Mankind.Religious Education for a Peaceful Society. Horace
Holley.Africa News. Issued by the Africa Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles.
(Mim-eographed.)Issued by the Consolidation Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles. (Mimeographed.)
Bahá'í Bulletin. Publishedby the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New
Zealand.by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles.
Bahá'í Jugendbrief. IssuedAssembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria. (Mimeographed.)
Bahd'i-Nachrichten. Issuedby the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria.
(Mimeographed.)by the National Spiritual Assembly of Bahá'ís of the United States.
Bahá'í News Letter. Publishedby the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, Pakistan and
Burma.Issued by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia.
(Mimeographed.)of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. (Mimeographed.)
Bahá'í Youth Letter. Issuedby the National Youth Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand. (Mimeographed.)
Canadian Bahá'í News.Published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Ba-h~'is of Canada.
The Child's Way. Publishedby Child Education Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the
United States.Issued by the International Bahá'í Bureau, 37 Quai Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland.
(Mimeo-graphed.)quarterly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand.
Journal Baha'i. Issuedby the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Paris.
(Mimeo-graphed.)Payambar. Published in Urdu and Persian under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, P~tkist~n and Burma. (Mimeographed.)
Sonne der Wahrheit. ZeitschriftPublished by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Ba-h~'is of Germany and Austria.
United States Africa Bulletin.Issued by the Africa Teaching Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United
States.suspended during austerity period.) Published by a committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Ba-h~'is of the United
States.the World, 1 9411948. Kosmon Press, Los Angeles, 1940.
Andrews, Fannie Fern:Atkins, G. G., and Braden, C. S.: Procession oj the Gods. Harpers, New York, 1936.
Bach, Marcus: Report toBarton, Geo. A.: Religions of the World. Univ. Chicago Press, 1917, 1930.
Baudouin, Charles: ContemporaryStudies Fr. Translation, E. and C. Paul. E. P. Dutton, 1925.
Bell, Archie: The Speltof History. W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., New York, 1943.
Benjamin, S. G. W.: Persia and the Persians. Ticknor & Co., Boston, 1886.
Bercorize, Zion: For ImmediateBerry, G. L.: Religions of the World. Barnes & Noble, New York, 1947.
Bibesco, Princess G. V.: The Eight Paradises,Bowen, Win. C.: The Church at Work in the Modern World. Univ. Chicago Press, 1936.
Page 834Byng, Edward I.: The World of the Arabs. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1944.
Campbell, Myrtle W.: The Continuity of the Prophets.
Pageant Press, New York, 1952.Claflin, W. Harold: History of India and Persia, p. 362, in The History of Nations, edited by Geo.
M. Dutcher. P. F. Collier, New York, 1928.Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., Garden City, New York, 1928.
The New Books of Revelation.Gaxyani, M. I.: A Brief History of Bahá'u'lláh, The Founder of the Bahá'í Religion. San Diego, Calif.,
1914.Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1949, p. 250.
Tlaas, Win. S., Iran.Hadley, Earl J.: Magic Powder. Putnam, New York, 1945.
Hammond, Eric: The SplendorHarmon, W. W.: Microcosm, Macrocosm. Pub, by Author, Boston, 1915.
Harrison, Marguerite:Higgins, Harold H.: Shadows to the Unseen. The Driftwood Press, Montpelier, Vt., 1937.
History of the Nineteenth Century Year by Year, 3 volumes (see P. 1131).
P. F. Collier & Son, New York, 1902.Hocking, Win. Ernest: Living Religions and a World Faith. Macmillan, New York, 1940.
Holisher, Desider: The Cathedrals, Churches, Publishers, New York, House of God, Temples.
Crown 1946.Palestine: Today and Tomorrow. Macmillan, New York, 1929.
Holmes-Pollack Letters, 18741932. Edited byBook of Readings. Macmillan Co., New York, 1946, pp. 379384.
Hoover, W. I. I.: Religionisms and Christianity. The Stratford Co., Boston, 1924.
Howen, Herbert H.: Asia, A Short History from Earliest Times to the Present. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1936.
Hubbard, Elbert: SelectedJordan, Rev. F. M.: The Mu~iammadan World of Today. 1929.
Kahn, E. J., Jr.: Who, Me? Harper, New York, 1949, p. 179.
Keyserling, Hermann:Float representing "This Earth One Country" entered in annual parade, July 4, 1950, at Anchorage, Alaska, by the Bahá'í Children's Workshop. The nineteen children and two adults wore costumes of fourteen different countries.
Page 836of Nationalism in the East. Harcourt, Brace, New York, 1929.
Malcolm, Napier: FiveReligion and the Religion of the Future. Appleton Co., New York, 1926.
Mason, Myra: Where DoCongress, New York, 1928. McDaniel, Allen B.: The Spell of the Tem-pie. Vantage Press, New York, 1953. McKibben-Harper, Mary, M.D.: The Doctor
Takes a Holiday. TorchThe Midwest, in Look at America series. Houghton, Muffin Co., Boston, 1947, p. 57.
Miller, Herbert A.: TheMiller, W. M.: Bahaism: Its Origin, History, Teachings.
Fleming Revell Co., New York, 1931.Mott, Francis I.: Christ the Seed. Beau-champ, 1939.
Mumford, Lewis: The Conductof Life. Har~ court, Brace & Co., New York, 1951, p. 117.
Muzumdar, Dr. H. T.: The United Nations of the World. Universal Pub.
Co., 1942.and Religious Conferences at the Columbian Exposition.
Nwafor, A. A.: WithoutOliphant, Lawrence: Haifa, or Life in Modern Palestine.
Harpers, 1887.Piper, Raymond F.; Hoople, Ross E.; Tol-ley, William P.: The Bahá'í Faith, in Irloople et al.: Preface to Philosophy, Macmillan Co., New York, 1946, pp. 379384.
384.of Religions. Translated from French. G. P. Putnam Sons, London and N.Y., 1909.
Religion at the University of Arizona. 1951. (Pamphlet.)
Religious Bodies, 1926:on International Arbitration, May 15, 16, 17, 1912.
(p. 42.)of Civ iliza-tion. Harbinson & Harbinson, Oceano, Calif.
Rumble and Carty: Radioof Religion, Pasadena, Calif., and Vanguard Press, New York, 1928.
Singer, Caroline, anddhdn. Oxford Univ. Press, New York, and London, 1936.
Page 837Bahá'í group at Annual Convention of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles, April 29 � May 1, 1950, Bonnington Hotel, London.
Skinner, Clarence R.:Universalist Pub. Co. Speer, Robert E.: Missions and Modern History. 2 vols. F. H. Revell Co., New York, Chicago, 1904.
The Unfinished Task ofSwift, A. C.: Religion Today. McGrawHill, New York, 1933.
This is America. CIO booklet.Thomas, Henry (Schnittkind, H. T.): The Wonder Book of History, Science, Nature, Literature, Art,
Religion, and PhilosophyTitus, Murray T.: The Young Moslem Looks at Life. Friendship Press, New York, 1937.
Todd, A. J.: Theories of Social Progress. Macmillan, New York, 1924.
Toynbee, Arnold 1: CivilizationAmong youth attending the Green Acre Youth Camp in June, 1951, was a young man from Kenya, British East Africa, now student in an American University. He expressed gratitude for his happy experience at the camp, and extended a cordial welcome to Bahá'ís who visit his land. Wieman, Henry Nelson, and Walter Marshall Horton: The Growth of Religion. Willett, Clark & Co., Chicago and New York, 1938 (p. 222).
Wilber, Donald N.: Iran � Past and Present. Princeton Univ. Press, 1948.
Wilson, Sir Arnold: Persia.Giant: Walt Whitman and His Times. Harper, New York and London, 1941.
Wons, Anthony: Tony'sof Man's Knowledge. Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1927.
The World Almanac andZwemer, Samuel M.: Heirs of the Prophets, Moody Press, Chicago, 1946, p. 118.
Ishim, a Challenge to Faith. New York, 1901.McHugh, Sid: My Life and Work. South Australia, 1951.
Portus, G. V.: The Price of Peace. South Australian League of Nations Union, Dec., 1944.
BRITISHThe Spirit of Isldm. Christophers, London, W. 1, 1949.
Ashbee, C. R.: A Palestine Notebook. Doubleday, Page, 1923.
Baedekar, Karl: Baedekar'sBrowne, Edward G., translator: A Traveller's Narrative, Written to illustrate the Episode of the BETh.
2 volumes, one in Persian.Canney, A.: An Encyclopedia of Religions. Routledge, London, 1921.
Carpenter, I. E.: Comparative Religion. Williams & Norgate, London, 1913.
Cheyne, Thomas Kelley:Lindsey Press, London, 1926, Chap. X. Donaldson, Dwight M.:
The Shi'ite Religion.Biwell-Sutton, L. P.: Modern lrdn. Geo. Rutledge Sons, Ltd., London, 1941.
Reprint, 1942.Faiths and Fellowships, being the Proceedings of the World Congress of Faiths held in London, July 317, 1936. Pub.
by I M. Watkins, London, W.C. 2.Historians History of the World, Vol. XXIV. Hooper & Jackson, London and New York, 1908.
}{uart, Cl6ment: A History of Arabic Literature, London, 1903.
Hughes, Thomas Patrick, B.D., M.R.A.S.: Dictionary of Isldm. W. H. Allen & Co., London, 1865.
flume-Griffith, M. E.: Behind the Veil in Persia and Turkish Arabia. Seeley & Co. Ltd., London, 1909.
Ijusayn (Mirza, of J{amadAn):Jackson, A. V. Williams: Persia, Past and Present.
Macmillan, London, 1906.Kennedy, I. M.: The Religions and Philosophies of the East. Werner Laurie, London, 1911.
Kisch, F. H. (Colonel), C.B.E., D.S.O.: Palestine Diary. 1938.
Lammens, H., Professor of Arabic at St.and Institutions. Translated from the French by Sir. B. Dennison Ross. E. P. Dutton, London, 1929.
LinkLater, Eric: The ManThe Fringe of the East, Macmillan & Co., London, 1913.
Markham, Clements R.: A General Sketch of the History of Persia. Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1874.
Maud, Constance E.: Sparks Among the Stubble. P. Allen & Co., 1924.
Mears3 I. & L. B.: Creative Energy. John Murray, London, 1931.
NarimTh, 0. K.: Persia and Parsis. Bombay, 1925.Pole, W. Tudor: Private Dowding. John Watkins, London, 1917.
Some Deeper Aspects of the War. Taylor Bros.,Religious Systems of the World. Swan, Son-nenschein & Co., London, 1908.
Rice, C. Co11i~ ~r: PersianRichards, I. R.: The Religion of the Baha'is. London, 1932.
Samuel, Viscount: Beliefof Life and Manners in Persia. John Murray, London, 1856.
Skrine, Francis H. B.:of Brotherhood, and its Place in the Evolution of Creeds. Longmans,
Green &Sketches. E. P. Dutton & Co., London, 1938; Murray, 1939.
Storrs, Sir Ronald: Orientations.Sykes, P. M.: A History of Persia. 2 vols., Macmillan, London, 1915.
Tilyard, Acifrida: SpiritualLife of the Spirit and the Life Today. Wetheren & Co., London, 1925.
Ussher, John: JourneyIllustreret Dansk Konversationsleksikon. Copenhagen, 1933.
Scdmonsens Konversattonsleksikon.Bicier, V., & E. Cense, editors: Ora Libro. Warszawa, 1937.
Braga, Ismael Gomes: Veterano?Privat, Edmund: Vivo de Zamenhof. Rick-rnansworth, England, 1937.
Scherer, Joseph R.: Cirkail la Mondon kun la Verda Stelo. Heroldo de Esperanto, Koin, Germany, 1933.
FRENCHBalteau, M. I.: Le Bdb'isme: Lecture fait par M. J. B. t~ la S~ance du 22 Mai, 1896. Acad~mie Nationale de Reims, Reims, 1897.
Bibesco, Princesse: LesVoyage en Perse comprenant 1'~pisode du B~b et son martyre.
De Vaux, Baron Carra:Fagnan, M. E.: Revue Critique de 1'Histoire et de Litte~rature, 1887.
Furon, Raymond: L'IranBahá'í Delegates to United Nations NonGovernmental Organizations Regional Confer
ence, held in Den Passar, Island of Bali, Indonesia, July 29 � August 3, 1951.
(Photograph taken on board S.S. Plancius.)Left to right: Stanley Bolton, Jr., delegate of Australia and New Zealand; Mrs. Shirin Fozdar, Bahá'í teacher from India, representing the All-India Women's Educational Conference; Captain H. Buys, delegate of Indonesia; Borzoo Sohaili, delegate of P~kist6.n.
Gobineau, Comte de: LesReligions et les Philosophies dans I'Asie Centrale.
Paris, 1924 and 1928.La Syrie. Vol. I. Imprimerie Cathol., Beirut, 1921.
La Palestine. MaisonNicolas, A. L. M.: Essai sur le Siiayiiflsme. Vol. 1. Shaykh A1imad-i-A1is~i'f.
Paul Geuthner, Paris, 1910.Ernest Leroux, Paris, 1911. Essai sur le Si~aykhisme.
Vol. 4. Science de Dieu.Ernest Leroux, Paris, 1911. Religions et Soci~t~s.
Alcan, Paris, 1905. Siyyid 'Ali-Mu~ammad dit LeG6n~rale des Religions, 6dit. 1924, Lib. Aristide Quillet, 278, Bd. ~t.
Germain, Paris, p. 260.840 Rein~ch, Salomon: Orpheus, Histoire G4n~-rale des Religions, &Tit. 1909, Lib. Alcide Picard, 18 et 20 rue Soufflot, Paris, p. 246.
Renan, Ernest: Les Ap6tres.L'Eglise Chr~tienne. Levy, Paris, 1879. Rolland, Romain: Cl6rambault, p. 371.
Rosen, Baron Victor: CollectionScientifi-ques de l'Institut des Lan gues Orientales. Vols.
I, III.de Dieu et de l'Ag-neau connu sous le nom de Babisme.
12 Juin 1902 (pamphlet).1933, Librairie Plon, 8, rue Garan-ci~re, Paris, P. 207.
Serena, Mine. C.: Hommes et Choses en Perse.B~bisme et l'Is-1dm. Recherches sur les origines du Bab-isme et ses rapports avec 1'Is1~m.
Libr. g~n6ra1e de droit, Paris, 1942, pp. 497502.A ligemeines Konversations-Lexik on. Verlag fur Wissen und Bildung, Berlin, 1928.
Ar-tilel: BThi, Bah~'fsmus.in Persien. Leipzig, 1896, 80, 68 p p. Artikel in Der Export, Jahrg. 13, Nr. 2429.
A ufstrebende Kulturbewegungen.Dopf, Hamburg, Signal-Verlag, 1927, II Lieferung, pp. 3538.
Zur Beek, Gottfried, in:Verlag "Auf Vorpos-ten," Berlin-Charlottenburg, 1919.
Beg, Ibrahim: Zustdndeim heutigen Persien wie sie das Reisebuch Ibrahim Begs ent-hiillt. S. IV, V, 21014, 330. Herausgege-ben von Dr. Walter Schulz,
Leipzig. Verlag von Karldes Konstanti-nopler Korrespondenten vom 10. Mai 1896 flber Scheich Dschemaleddin, den
Urheber der Ermordung NasireddinDie bisherige Er! olge der Welt-Hilfssprache Esperanto auf der ganzen Welt. Heraus-gegeben von Proelss und Sappi, Graz, IPaulus-Verlag, 1922, pp. 53, 70, 75.
Clemen, C.: Die nichtchristlichen Kultur-Religionen. B. G. Teubner, Leipzig, 1921. Vol. I, p. 7; Vol. II, pp. 100104.
Diez, Ernst: Glaube und Welt des Islam. Stuttgart, 1941.
Ethe, Dr. I{ermann: Essays und Studien. Berlin, 1872.
Ewers, Hans Heinz, in: Ameisen. Verlag Georg Muller,
Miinchen.oder Reformation. Leopold Klotz-Verlag, Gotha, 1925, p. 49ff.
Ford, Auguste: Kleine PhilosophiefUr Jedermann, Dresden, Kaden & Co., 1928, p. 24ff.
Die Medizin der GegenwartVerlag Felix Meiner, Leipzig, 1926, pp. 25, 26, 28, 34. Testament. ~ditiori de La Libre Pens~e International, Lausanne, 1931, p. 13. Der wahre Sozialismus der
Zukun ft. Verlag DeutscherDer Weg zur Kultur. Anzengruber-Ver-lag, Leipzig, 1924, pp. 132133, 157, 163.
F5rster, Friedrich Wilhelm, in: Weltpolitik und Weltgewissen, 1919.
Freda, Dr. Ludwig: Urn den Sozialismus. Herold-Verlag, Stuttgart, 1921, p. 86.
Geheime Gesellschaften.Martens, Bad Schmiedeberg, Verlag F. E. Baumann, ohne Angabe des Jabres, p. 272.
Geiger und Kuhn, in: Grundriss der Irani-schen Philosophie.
II. Strassburg, 1896.B. G. Teubner, Leipzig, 1923 (zweite Auflage, zweiter
Abdruck).Braille Exhibit including Bahá'í books transcribed in Braille. Exhibit arranged by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Butte, Montana, January 12 � February 2, 1952.
Graham, John W.: Der Glaube eines Qud-kers. Qu~iker-Vedag, Leipzig, 1926, p. 48.
Grosch, Dr. phil. jur.zur Erneue-rung der Kultur in: Jahrbuch fur Viilker-recht und Friedensbewegung.
Herausgege-ben von Dr.Grossmann, Dr. Jlermann: "Die Bah~'i-Bewegung," in Aufstrebende Kulturbewe-gun gen und ihre Vorkdmpfer.
Herausge-geben von KarlMensch sein. Ver-lag-Menschheitspartei, Hamburg, 1930, p. 38.
Hutten, Kurt von: Seher � Grabler � En-thusiasten.
Sekten und re1igi~iseder Gegenwart. Evangeli-schen Geselisehaft, Stuttgart, 1950.
Jeremias, Dr. Alfred, in: Ailgemeine Re-ligionsgeschichte.
Verlag R. Piper & Co., Miinchen, 1924 (zweite Auflage), p. 109.
Jockel, Rudolf: Die Glaubenslehrender Bahd'i-Rehgion. Dissertation, Darmstadt, 1951.
Kaim, Dr. Julius Rudolf, in: Geist des Mor-genlandes.
C. Diinnhaupt Verlag, Dessau, 1927, p. 66 if.Keyserling, Hermann, Graf: Das Reisetage-buch eines
Philosophen.Klbtzel, C. Z.: Die Strasse der Zehntausend. Gebriider Enoch Verlag, Hamburg, 1925, pp. 19596.
Kremer, A. von: Geschichte der herrschen-den Ideen des Isldm. Leipzig, 1868.
Kriegsdienstverweigererin vielen Ldndern. Bericht fiber die internationale
Konferenz in Sonntagsbergvom Karmel." Mitteilungen aus der Karmelmission e. V. Haifa, 24. Juli, 1921, Heft 5, P. 59.
Manifest der Internationalen842 Sonnefelder Jugend, (Qu~iker-Sied1ung), Sonnefeld b Coburg, p. 10 (ohne
Jahr).Mann, Traugott, in: Orientalische Literatur-zeitung. 1909, p. 22 f. Besprechung iiber
Laura Clifford Barney:May, Karl: Im Reiche des Silbermen Lt3-wen, vol. I, pp. 434, 448.
Meyer, SuperintendentaD.: "Der B~bis-mus in Persien," in Church at home and abroad, Vol. 14, Meyers Lexicon, 1924, pp. 327333.
Meyers Konversations-Lexikon.Heft 4/5, p. 52. Orell Fiissli Verlag, Zurich und Leipzig, 1931.
Najmajer, Marie von: Poems"Friede durch Recht," in Pazifistischer Zitantenschatz, Ludwigsburg, 1921. Polak, Dr. Jakob: Persien, das Land und seine Bewohner, Leipzig, 1865. Rasmussen, Dr. E.: "Der Bah~'ismus," in Zeitschrift fUr Religionspsychologie, Band I, pp. 383389. Dr. Joh. Breslauer, Halle a.d. Saale, 1908.
Das Reich Gottes auf Erden.Burkert, Druck von A. Bie-nert, Niemes, 1929, p. 27.
Relgis, Eugen: in Wegezum Frieden, eine internationale Rundfrage. Verlag Paul Riechert, Heide i. Hoist., 1932.
Religions Zugeh5rigkeitin Baden. Heraus-gegeben vom Badischen Statistischen Lan-desamt, Freiburg LB.,
Herder U. Co., 1928, p. 131.Riechert, Paul: Wege zum Frieden. Heide in Holstein, 1932.
Ritter, Prof. Dr. H.: in Der Isldrn, Jahrgang XIII, 1/2, p. 134. C. H. Becker und H. Ritter, 1923.
Roda Roda: in Morgensonne,der Biicherfreunde, Weg-weiser Verlag, Berlin, 1922, pp. 4454.
R6mer, Dr. Hermann: Die Bdbi-Bahd'i. Verlag der Deutschen Orient-Mission, Potsdam, 1912, 80, VII, 192 pp.
Rosen, Friedrich: Persienin Wort tind Bud. Franz Schneider-Verlag, Berlin, 1926, pp. 5556.
Rosen, Victor: Sendschreibendes Bahá'u'lláh. Petersburg, Akademie, 1908, Vol. I. "Der Behaismus," in
Evangelisches MissionsMagazin, 1908, P. 91 if. Die Propaganda fUr asiatische
Religionen im Abendland.Basel, 1910, p. 45 if. Rosenkranz, Prof. Dr. Gerhard: Die Baha'i. Stuttgart, 1949.
Ross, Cohn: Der Weg nach Osten. F. A. Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1923, p. 166.
Scheurlen, Paul: Die Sektender Gegenwart. Queliverlag der Ev. Geseilsehaft, Stuttgart, 1921, pp. 169175.
Schoenaich, General von: Pal jistina. H. Meyer's Buchdruckerei, Ilalberstadt, 1926, pp. 103105.
von Sigsfeld, Viktoria: in Der Werdegang der Menschen des neuen Tages. Ober-Iicht-Verlag,
Finsterlingen i/B.Stuebe, Prof. H.: Geschichte der Weltreli-gionen, in
Die neue Volkyhochschule.B. G. Weimann, Leipzig, 1925, vol. 1, p. 54. Artikel:
"Der BThismus."Thielman, Baron Max von: Journey in the Caucasus, Persia and Turkey in Asia. London, 1875.
Page 845BAHA Tisdall, D.: "Der Is1~m in Persien," in Reich Christi.
Potsdam, 1908, p. 178 f.und der Orient. He-rausgegeben von Paul Birnkoff, Rotapfel-Verlag, Zurich und Leipzig, 1925, pp. 86, 9599, 120, 123, 262, 264, 265.
Vamb6ry, Hermann: MeineWegener, Armin I.: in Am Kreuzweg der Welten. Volksverband der Biicherfreunde, Wegweiser-Verlag G.m.b.T{., Berlin, 1930, pp. 183199, 318�, 344.
Welt-Missions-Konferenz, Edinburgh, 1910, Bericht der Kommission IV, "IslAm," in Reich Christi, Dr. Lepsius, Potsdam, 1911, p. 11ff.
Wolff, Helmut: Pilgrimdes nenen Zeitalters. Eigenverlag, Karlsruhe-Radolfzell, ohne Angabe des Jalires.
Wright, A. H.: "Báb und seine Sekte in Per-sien," in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Mor-genldndischen Gesellscha/t, 1851, p. 384 if. Zustdnde irn heutigen
Persien. Herausgege-benvon Dr. Walter Schulz, Verlag Karl W. Hirsemann, Leipzig, 1903, pp. iv, v, 210214, 330.
HUNGARIANUnity of All Religions, Madras, 1933; 2d ed., 1939.
ITALIANCinti, Decio: Storia delle Religioni. Vol. 2. Societh Editrice Libraria, Milano, 1936.
Cipolla, Arnaldo: Al Sepoicrodelle Religioni. Giuseppe Laterza e Figli, Vol. 2, Ban, 1929.
Moreno, M. Martino: La Dottrina deli 'Is-1dm.Turchi, Nicola: Man uale di Storia delle Re-ligioni.
Fratelli Bocca, Turin, 1912.of Forty Nations). Vol. II, chap. "The Baha Sanctuary"; vol. III, pp. 17477, chap. "Impressions of Bahá'ís in Hamad6n and TihrAn," 1935.
NORWEGIANVender Kjem, H. Asehehoug & Co., Oslo, 1935, pp. 112113.
PERSIANde Fradique Mendes (Memorias e Notas). Livraria Lelo and IrmTh, Porto (Lisbon), 1936 (10th ed.).
RUMANIANCultura Poporului B, dul Academici 2, Bucharest, 1935.
RUSSIANDisplay of photographs and texts alluding to the Bahá'í Faith, Punta Arenas, Magallanes, Chile, 1952.
SPANISHde las Religiones, Ediciones Pay-by, Mexico City, p. 363.
Hutchinson: La historia de las naciones. Traducido al Castellono por Ibern.
Casa Editorial Segui,(Vice Consul of Spain) Viaje al interior de Persia. 3 Vols.
Imprenta y Estereotipiade Ariban y Ca (Sucesores de Rivadeneyra), Madrid, 18801 881.
SWEDISHArne, T. J.: Svenskarna och ~isterlandet. Bokfiirlaget Natur och Kultur, Stockholm, 1952, pp. 4950.
Brick, Anna Riwkin och Daniel: (A picture.)Liv mellan ~fister och Viister. Bonnier, Stockholm, 1946, pp. 349350.
~Jsterlandets S Jdl. H. Gebers Pirlag, Stockholm, 1926, pp. 207208.
Ess6n, RUtger: Bakom Asiensoch Nu. Hugo Gebers F5rlag, Stockholm, 1915, pp. 168, 255.
H6gberg, L. E.: Bland(circa 1890). Svenska Missionsfbr-bundet, Stockholm, 1920, pp. 7996.
Jannes, Elly: cisterland.Wahi-stPim & Widstrand, 1935, Del. I, pp. 238241 (som inneh~ller en teckning dyer Báb's avr~ittningen).
Pernov: Palestina frirr och nu. Israelsmis-sionens Andelsf5renings BokfLirlag, Stockholm, 1950, pp. 107108.
Raquette, G.: Muhammeds religion. Sven-ska Tryckeri AB, Stockholm, 1935, pp. 90, 156, 157, 166.
Page 847i Orienten. Na-tur och Kultur, Stockholm, 1952, pp. 151156.
156.Lars Hbker-bergs Bokf6rlag, Stockholm, 1938, pp. 146160.
Sbderblom, Nathan: ErlimmandeReligions-urk under. Geber, Stockholm, 1907, pp. 154156.
Tallqvist, Knut: P~ Heligi Central-A sien. P. G. Berg, Stockholm, 1866, p. 19. Resa i Persien.
I. L. T6rnqvists F&lag, Landskrona, 1869, pp. 214226.
Ostrup, J.: Islams Kultur under det Nit-tonde Arhundradet.
P. A. Norstedt & S6ners Farlag, Stockholm, 1924, pp. 2425, 25, 42.
Astr6m, Richard: TillGennesarets Sjiii. J. A. Lindblads F6rlag, Uppsala, 1931, pp. 13 814 1.
37. REFERENCES TO THE BAHÁ'Í FAITHPau, Jan. 15, 1936, Buenos Aires. La Prensa, Dec. 15, 1935, Buenos Aires.
AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALANDLumi~re et Libert& Nov., 1935. Brussels. Le Rouge et le Noir, Nov. 27, 1935. Brussels.
BRAZILCorreic do Brasil, Nov. 11, 1935. Pernambuco Esperantista, Dec., 1943; July-Aug.,
1943; Sept.-Nov., 1943.Asiatic Quarterly Review, April, 1913. Christian Commonwealth, Jan. 1,
1913; Jan.22, 1913; Jan. 29, 1913; Feb. 12, 1913. Clifton Chronicle and Directory, Jan., 1913. Daily Sketch (London), Dec. 16, 1932.
Edinburgh Evening News, Jan., 1913.Journal of the Royal Asiatic Soc., Vols. XXI, 1889; XXIV, 1892; XXIX, 1897.
Journal of the Royal AsiaticFlash (Toronto), Aug. 27, 1947. Psychic Digest (Toronto), Apr. 1, 1946.
Page 848Bulletin de l'A cad~mie Imperiale de St. Petersburg, Vols. VIII, IX.
Bulletin M~1anges Asiatique, Vol. IV. L'en dehors, Dec., 1936,
Or1~ans.II, VII, VIII, 1866; x. Le Libre Echange, Jan., 1936, Paris.
Pax, July-August, 1938.Revue Critique d'Histoire et de Litt6rature, April 18, 1887.
Revue Hebdomadaire, Feb. 8, 1936: Mine. Alice Fernand-Haiphen:
"Palestine d'Hier, PalestineRevue du Monde Musulman, IX, 339341. Revue Moderne, 18651866.
GERMANYA Ilgemeine Missionszeitschrijt, 1894, p. 327; 1903, p. 242.
Deutsche Rundschau, Vol. XVIII, 1879.Journal of the German Oriental Society, Vol. V, 1851.
Oriental Literaturzeitung, 1909.India and Israel (Bombay), March, 1951, p. 20; May 10, 1951, p. 55.
Indian Review (Madras), Aug., 1914.Oriente Moderno, 1922, pp. 511, 563; 1949, p. 190; 1950, p. 199, Rome.
Rassegna Lucchese, April, 1951, p. 19, Lucca.Rivista degli Studi Orientali, 1909, p. 654, Rome.
Ricerche Religiose, Vol. XX, pp. 1718, 1949, Rome.
JAPANCuvantul Liber, Oct. 26, 1935, Bucharest. Santier, 1934, Bucharest.
RUSSIABulletin de la Acad~mie Imperiale de St. Petersburg, Vols. VIII, IX.
Universala Uni~o, Vol. I, 1913. Zapiski, by Baron Rosen, 1889.
SPAINExhibit of Faiths of the British Commonwealth, arranged and presented by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Manchester, at the Bahá'í Center, Manchester, September 915, 1951.
Page 850First exhibition of Bahá'í books held in Paris, end of 1949, for two weeks at Librairie Clair Savoir, 6 rue du Pr~ aux Clercs.
Cruzada Misionera, April,Estrella del Mar (Madrid), Feb. 1952. Pueblo (Madrid), Oct. 20, 1951. Sophia (Revista teosofica orientalismo-oc-cultismo), vol. 16, p. 3, Jan. 7,
1908 (Ra-fael Urbano:Tiempos Nuevos (Barcelona), Jan., 1936. Ya (Madrid), Jan. 18, 1953.
SWEDENAftonbiadet, Jan. 30, 1948, Stockholm. Frisksport, Oct. 10, 1947, Stockholm.
SWITZERLANDSi~Ji Quarterly, March, 1928 (published in English).
UNITED STATES OF AMERICAAmerican Astrology, April, 1938; Nov., 1939; Dec., 1939; Sept., 1940; Nov., 1946; Jan., 1947; Nov., 1949.
American Concrete institute Journal, June, 1933, pp. 397, 403; Jan., March, 1934; Feb., 1939, suppi.
American Guide, 1949.American Mercury, June, 1941; Sept., 1941; Sept., 1949.
Amerika Esperantisto, June, 1912; Feb., 1913; Feb., 1914; July-Aug.,
1918; April,Christian Century, Oct. 22, 1941; Jan. 12, 1944; July 26, 1944; Aug. 16,
1944; Jan.Contemporary Review, Aug., 1869; Oct., 1869; March, 1912; Aug., 1944.
Contemporary Review Advertiser, Dec., 1885.Current Literature, July, 1901; Sept., 1911; June, 1912.
Domestic Engineering, April, 1946.Engineering News-Record, Nov. 22, 1923; Jan. 8, 1931.
Esoteric Christianity, Feb., 1915. Everybody's, Dec., 1911.
Everyday Psychology and Inspiration, Feb., 1935.Fortnightly Review, June, 1911; April, 1912; June, 1913.
Fortune, Feb., 1947.Horoscope, July, 1942; Jan., 1948; Sept., 1949; Jan., 1950.
The Independent, April, 1912; July, 1912; Sept., 1912; Dec., 1921.
Information Bulletin, Jan., 1950.Literary Digest, May, 1912; Aug., 1920; Dec., 1921; Nov. 22, 1930.
Littel's Living Age, Aug., 1869.Missionary Review, Oct., 1902; Feb., 1904; March, 1904; May, 1906; Oct., 1911; Oct., 1914; Aug., 1919; Oct., 1921.
Moslem World, Oct., 1931; Oct., 1940.National Geographic Magazine, Dec., 1938; Dec., 1947; Dec., 1953.
Negro Digest, Sept., 1949.View of section of Bahá'í Jubilee Exhibition at Park Lane House, London.
Page 853The New Outlook, Jan., 1951. New York Times, Feb., 1913.
New York Times Book Review, Aug. 1, 1920.Open Court, June, 1904; Aug., 1915; Oct., 1915; Nov., 1915; Aag., 1916; Oct., 1916; Nov., 1916; Mar., 1931.
The Outlook, June, 1901; June, 1912; Dec., 1920; Dec., 1921.
Pageant, Jan., 1950.Review of Reviews, Feb., 1901; Jan., 1909; June, 1912; Feb., 1922.
Saturday Evening Post, Jan. 7, 1950, p. 25.This Week in Fort Wayne, Nov. 8, 1949. Tide, Sept. 13, 1946.
Tilden's Health ReviewUnity, Feb. 1918; Dec., 1921; April, 1929; July, 1944.
Viewpoint, Autumn, 1952.The Visitor � This Week in Minneapolis, April 1926, 1947.
Vogue, Aug., 1950.What to See and Where to Stop in the Great Lakes States, 1951.
Where, Sept., 1951.American Esperantist, May-June, 1943. American Swedish Monthly, Feb., 1954.
Canadian Geographical25, 1933, Shanghai. Common Cause, Sept., 1950, p. 92, University of Chicago.
Fate Magazine: Is Thisthe New Religion? by Myrtle W. Campbell. Editor, R. N. Webster, Chicago,
Winter 1949.International Arts Quarterly, Sept.-Nov., 1946, Denver.
Journal of the Columbianof the District of Columbia, May, 1943, Washington, D.C., p. 14.
Kaisar-i-Hind, Dec. 31, 1933, Bombay.The Modern Mystic and Monthly Science Review, Sept., 1945, London.
The Modern Review: "TheNew Orient, Jan., 1926, New York. Open Court, July, 1931, Chicago.
Oregon Mineralogist, Jan., 1934, Portland, Oregon.
Oriente Moderno, vol. 30, p. 199, 1950, Rome.Religious Education, Sept., 1932; Aug., 1946, Chicago.
The Religious Highway, April, 1933, Tokyo.World Philosophy, Feb., 1943, pp. 2527. Maha Publishing Co., Chicago.
World Unity, April, 1932; Nov., 1933 (and successive issues), New York.
39. REFERENCES TO THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH(All references are noted regardless of degree of accuracy.)
Algemene Encyclopaedie. Christelijke Encyclopaedie.
Winkler Prins, 16 Vomunes. J. H. Kok, Kampen, 1925.
Uitgevers Mij. Elsevier, Vol. 1, Page 221.Amsterdam, 1933. Vol. II. Columbia Encyclopedia.
Columbia Univ. Press, The American Guide: edited 1933.
by H. G. Als-berg. Hastings House, N.Y., 1949.Bolufer. Editoria Reunidos, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1952.
Diccionario Encic1ope~dicoEdited by }{outsma and others. Luzac & Co., London, 1933.
The Encyclopedia of Labor.An Encyclopedia of Religion, E. P. Dutton & Co., 1921.
Encyclopedia of SocialL. Langer. lf{oughton Muffin Co., Boston, revised edition, 1948.
Enzyklopddie des Isldms.Edited by Houts-ma. Leiden, 1911, p. 566ff., p. 569ff.
The Fact Book. Current854 THE I3AHA'1 Hastings Encyclopaedia
of Religion and Ethics.History of Nations. P. T. Collier & Son Co., New York, 1928.
History of Religions.und Kirche. Edited by Buchberger. 2nd edition, 1930, vol. 1.
The Modern Encyclopedia.Yearbook. Funk & Wagnalls, 1933, and in annual volumes.
The New Lamed History, 1922.World-Tele-gram, 1943, 1947 and subsequent years.
The World Book Encyclopedia.'Abbas 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abdu'1-I{amid 'Abdu'1-Uusayn 'Abdu'lIAh
Abh~Aqdas 'Arabist~n Asm~t' 'Av6siiiq Ay~di Azal 'Azamat 'Aziz
BábIshtihdrd Is1~m Islamic Ism6iiliyyih Jstar4Md 'Izzat
JaM~ 4 �. . . V C, ....~f C, 5 a... as in account a.. as in arm
TRANSLITERATION OF ORIENTAL WORDS 857
GUIDE TO TRANSLITERATION ANDas (e) in best as (ee) in meet u...as(o)in aw...asln short mown u. as(oo)in moon
The "i"The emphasis in Persian words is more or less evenly distributed, each syllable being equally stressed as in French.
For example, do not say Tabriz or Tabarsi; stay as long on one syllable as on the next; Tabriz; Ta-barsi. (While there are many exceptions to this rule, it is the most generally correct method of treating the question of stress.)
A frequent mistake is the failure to distinguish between broad and flat "a's." This differentiation makes the language especially musical and should be observed: in the word Afn~n, for example, pronounce the first "a" as in mat, and the second syllable to rhyme with on. Americans are apt to pronounce short "a" plus "r" like the verb form are; this is a mistake; "ar" should be pronounced as in the name of Harry � cf. Tarbiyat.
The same differentiation should be observed in the ease of long and short "i" and long and short "u." As the guide to the transliteration indicates, short "i" is like "e" in best, and long "i" like "ee" in meet; for example, Ibr~ihim is pronounced Eb-r~heem;
Page 860"u" being like "o" in short, and long "6" being like "oo" in moon, the following would be pronounced:
Quddfls � Qod-dooss; B~rfurilsh � B4r-fo-roosh.Pronounce "aw" to rhyme with oh, or mown; Naw-Rtiz is No-Rooz.
The following consonants may be pronounced like z: dh, z, z, d. The following consonants may be pronounced like ss: th, s, s. Zh is pronounced like the "s" in pleasure. Kh is pronounced like "ch" in Scotch loch or German nacht. Do not pronounce it as "k." Westerners are as a rule incapable of pronouncing "gh" and "q"; a guttural French "r" will serve here; otherwise use hard "g" as in good.
$ and 1~, approximately like the English aspirate "h," should never be dropped. Tih r~n is Teh-ron; madrisih is mad-res-seh; Mihifib is Meh-rob.
In the case of double letters pronounce each separately: 'Abbas.
The character transliterated (') represents a pause; it is not unlike the initial sound made in pronouncing such a word as every. The word Bahá'í is phonetically as follows: "a" as in account; "A" as in father; ('), pause; "i" as ee in meet.
The character transliterated (') may also be treated as a pause.
N.B. As Persian often indicates no vowel sounds and as its pronunciation differs in different localities throughout Persia and the Near East as well as among individuals in any given locality, a uniform system of transliteration such as the above, which is in use by Bahá'í communities all over the world, is indispensable to the student.
Page 861Adh4n: Muslim call to prayer. Adib: literally "the learned." Agh~in: literally "branches."
Denotes sons and descendants of Bahá'u'lláh.Date of Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina, and basis of Mu1~ammadan chronology.
Akbar: "Greater."'Am&: literally "light cloud," symbolizes the "First
Invisible Substance."Amfn: literally "the truste&" Amir: "Lord," "p~nce," "commander," ''governor.~~ Aq~: "Master." Title given by Bahá'u'lláh to 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
A'?am: "The greatest."Bab: "Gate." Title assumed by Mirza 'AlP Muhammad, after the declaration of His Mission in Shir6z in May, 1844 A.D. Bab: Follower of the BTh.
BadC: literally "the wonderful."Baha: "Glory," "splendor," "light." Title by which Bahá'u'lláh (Mirza ilusaya-'Ali) is designated.
Baha'i: Follower of 13ah4'u'llAh.Denotes that part of the Plain of 'Ak1A where the Shrine and the Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh are situated.
Bani-EThshim: The family from which Mu-bammad descended.
Bahá'u'lláh: "RemnantBayfln: "Utterance," "explanation." Title given by the 13Th to His Revelation, particularly to His Books.
Big: Honorary title, lower title than Kh~n."Endowed with constancy": a title given to Prophets who revealed a book and instituted religious laws.
Farm6n: "Order," "command," "royal decree."Its length differs in different parts of the country according to the nature of the ground, the local interpretation of the term being the distance which a laden mule will walk in the hour, which varies from three to four miles.
Arabicised from the Persian "par-sang," and is supposed to be derived from pieces of stone (sang) placed on the roadside.
"Fourth Heaven": one of the stages of the invisible
Realm.lJ4ji: A Mul2ammadan who has performed the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Ija4ratu'1-Quds: Bahá'í Headquarters.
Hijirali: literally "migration."Howdali: A litter carried by a camel, mule, horse or elephant for traveling purposes.
Page 862Imm: Title of the twelve Shi'ih successors of Mul2ammad.
Also applied to Muslim religious leaders.1m~m-Jum'ih: The leading im4m in a town or city; chief of the mu11~s.
Im~m-Thdih: DescendantThe title of Bahá'u'lláh's epistle to the uncle of the B~b.
IshrAq4t: literally "effulgences."Isrttf ii: The Angel whose function is to sound the trumpet on the Day of
Judgment.JThiliyyih: The dark age of ignorance among the Arabs before the appearance of
Muhammad.JamM-i-Mub4rak: literally "the Blessed Beauty," applied by certain Bahá'ís to Bahá'u'lláh.
Jamtil-i-Qidam: literally "the ancient Beauty."Ka'bih: Ancient shrine at Mecca. Now recognized as the most holy shrine of Isl5m.
Kabir: literally "great."Kar-Khud~�: Chief of a ward or parish in a town; headman of a village.
Kalantar: "Mayor."Kawthar: A river in Paradise, whence all the other rivers derive their source.
KhAn: "Prince," "lord," "nobleman," "chief-tain."
Kitáb-i-Aqdas: literallyKu1~h: The Persian lambskin hat worn by government employees and civilians.
Madrisih: Religious college. Man-YuzbiruhuThh:"He Whom God will make manifest." The title given by the Báb to the
Promised One.Mashriqu'1-AJ�k&r: literally "the dawning place of the praise of God." Title designating Baha House of Worship.
Masjid: Mosque, temple, place of worship.Mayd~n: A subdivision of a farsakh. A square or open place.
Mihdi: Title of the Manifestation expected by IslAm.
Mll~rTh: The principal place in a mosque where the mAin prays with his face turned towards Mecca.
Mi'r6j: "Ascent," used with reference to Muhammad's ascension to heaven.
Mirza: A contraction of Amfr-Z6dih, meaning son of Amir. When affixed to a name it signifies prince; when prefixed, simply Mr. Mi~bkin-Qa1am: literally "the musk-scented pen.
Mu'adhdhin: The one who sounds the AdhAn the Mu~ammadan call to prayer.
Mujtahid: Muliammadandoctor-of-law. Most of the mujtahids of Persia have received their diplomas from the most eminent jurists of Karbil~ and
Najaf.The numerical value of which has been assigned by the Báb as the limit of the time fixed for the advent of the promised
Manifestation.applied to the Bahá'í New Year's Day; according to the Persian Calendar the day on which the sun enters Aries.
Nuqtih: "Point."PahiavAn: "Athlete," "champion"; term applied to brave and muscular men.
Q641: Judge; civil, criminal, and ecclesiastical.QalyAn: A pipe for smoking through water. Qiblili: The direction to which people turn in prayer: especially Mecca, the Qiblih of all Muhammadans.
Qur'an: "Sacrifice."DEFINITIONS OF ORIENTAL TERMS Sadratu'1-Muntah~: the name of a tree planted by the Arabs in ancient times at the end of a road, to serve as a guide.
As a symbol it denotes the Manifestation of God in His Day.
SThibu'z-ZamTh: "LordSark~ir-i-Aq6i literally the "Honorable Master," applied by certain Bahá'ís to 'Abdu'l-Bahá "Seal of the Prophets": One of the titles of Muhammad.
"Seventh Sphere": Thehighest stage of the invisible Realm. Denotes also the
Manifestation of Bahá'u'lláh.of religious court, appointed to every large city by the SjiTh.
Sir~tt: literally "bridge~~ or "path," denotes the religion of God.
Siyyid: Descendant of the Prophet Muliam-mad.'Urvatu'1-Vutibq6~ literally "the strongest handle," symbolic of the Faith of God.
Vali-'Ahd: "Heir to the throne." Varaqiy-i-'UIy6~ literally "the most exalted Leaf," applied to Bahá'í Khinum, sister of 'Abdu'l-Bahá VarqA: literally "the dove." Vil4yat: guardianship.
"White Path": SymbolizesZaynu'1-Muqarrabin: literally "the Ornament of the favored."
Page 864of Bahá'u'lláh which the beloved Guardian has given us is in large measure an intimate remembrance of the Redeemer's sufferings.
And Bahá'u'lláh wished us to meditate on these sufferings.
In the Tablet of A1~mad He says: "Remember My days during thy days, and My distress and banishment in this remote prison."
In a great poem known as the Fire Tablet He records at length the tale of His calamities and writes at the close: "Thank the Lord for this Tablet whence thou canst breathe the fragrance of My meekness and know what bath beset Us in the path of God." He adds: "Should all the servants read and ponder this, there shall be kindled in their veins a fire that shall set aflame the world."
True religion in all ages has called on the faithful to suffer. On the one hand it brings to mankind a happiness in the absolute and the everlasting which is found nowhere but in religion. No unbeliever knows any joy which in its preciousness can be compared to the joys of religion. "The true monk," it has been said, "brings nothing with him but his lyre."
On the other hand Heaven is walled about with fire.
This bliss must be bought at a great price. So it has ever been in all religions of mankind.
An ancient hymn of India proclaims a truth as real now as it was in distant times: The way of the Lard is for heroes. It is not meant for cowards.
Offer first your life and your all. Then take the name of the Lord.
He only tastes of the Divine Cup who gives his son, his wife, his wealth and his own life.
He verily who seeks for pearls must dive to the bottom of the sea, endangering his very existence.
Death he regards as naught; he forgets all the miseries of mind and body.
He who stands on the shore, fearing to take the plunge, attains naught.
The path of love is the ordeal of fire. The shrinkers learn from it. Those who take the plunge into the fire attain eternal bliss.
Those who stand afar off, looking on, are scorched by the flames.
Love is a priceless thing only to be won at the cost of death.
Those who live to die, those attain; for they have shed all thoughts of self.
Those heroic souls who are rapt in the love of the Lord, they are the true lovers.
All the founders of religions have had to endure rejection and wrong, and as mankind grew more and more mature and the victory of God nearer, these wrongs, these sufferings have grown more and more severe continually.
We read little if anything of martyrdom in the Old
Testament. But the Newopens with Herod's slaughter of the innocents, his beheading of John the Baptist; its central figure is a Man of Sorrows acquainted with grief. The Gospels close with the agony in Gethsemane and with the Cross, the Nails, the Spear, and history follows with the martyrdom of all the eleven apostles.
The BTh Himself was martyred and His followers gave up their lives for love of Him, not by dozens only but by hundreds and by thousands. In establishing the victory of God 865
Page 868Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá drank the cup of suffering to the dregs.
It is said there are three kinds of martyrdom: one is to stand bravely and meet death unflinchingly in the path of God without wavering or under torture denying for an instant their faith.
The second is little by lit-tie to detach one's heart entirely from the world, laying aside deliberately and voluntarily all vanities and worldly seductions, letting every act and word become a speaking monument and a fitting praise for the Holy Name of Bahá'u'lláh.
The third is to do the most difficult things with such self-sacrifice that all behold it as your pleasure. To seek and to accept poverty with the same smile as you accept fortune. To make the sad, the sorrowful your associates instead of frequenting the society of the careless and gay. To yield to the decrees of God and to rejoice in the most violent calamities even when the suffering is beyond endurance.
He who can fulfill these last conditions becomes a martyr indeed.
None can attempt to delineate the variety or to analyze the nature of the afflictions which were poured upon Bahá'u'lláh.
Repeatedly He has Himselfsummarized them in a few brief powerful sentences.
In one place He calls our particular attention to the fact that it was not the Black Dungeon of Tili-rAn, for all its horrors and chains, which He named the Most Great Prison. He gave that name to 'Akka. We are left to surmise why, and we reflect that in the Black Pit His sufferings were chiefly personal and physical; His enemies were external foes, the hope of redeeming the Cause was still with Him. But when He went down to 'Akka in 1868, the traitor Mirza Yaby~ had done his deadly work; the kings and leaders had definitely rejected the Message, He was definitely cast out and silenced.
Not He Himself alone but the Cause of God was in prison.
We can never imagine what numberless possibilities of immediate redemption the mad, sad, bad world had wantonly flung away; nor can our less sensitive natures know what the anguish of this frustration must have been to the eager longing of a heart as divinely centered, divinely loving as His.
But this much is abundantly plain; that the pains, the griefs, the sorrows, the sufferings, the rejections, the betrayals, the frustrations which were the common lot of all the High Prophets reached their culmination in Him.
Yet through all He remained calm, confident, his courage unshaken, his acquiescence forever radiant.
No one is to imagine that the excess of His tribulations means that at any time the power of evil had prevailed against Him. Pondering as He would have u~ to do, over the significance of these afflictions, we are shown that the truth is quite otherwise.
He reveals: "Had not every tribulation been made the bearer of Thy wisdom, and every ordeal the vehicle of Thy providence, no one would have dared oppose Us, though the powers of heaven and earth were to be leagued against Us." He writes that God had sacrificed Him that men might be born anew and released from their bondage to sin. He praises God for His sufferings, He welcomes them, and even prays that for God's sake the earth should be dyed with His blood and His head raised on a spearpoint. He continually protests that with every fresh tribulation heaped upon Him He manifests a fuller measure of God's Cause and exalts more highly still God's Word.
How bitterly felt were His tribulations, how acute His anguish, how real His grief and pain is shown a hundred times in His laments. His high divinity did not protect Him from human sensibility, but never did He quail nor blanch, never did He show resentment.
Many of His laments are not over His woes themselves but over the effect they produce on the faithful whose hearts they sorely shook or on the enemies of the Cause whom they fill with joy.
Nothing could exhaust His patience nor dampenbody be pained by the trials that befall Me, though it be afflicted by the revelation of Thy decree, yet My soul rejoiceth." He affirms that the tribulations that He and the faithful are made to endure are such as no pen in the entire creation can record, nor anyone describe.
Yet "We swear by Thy Might, every trouble that toucheth us in our love for Thee is an evidence of Thy tender mercy, every fiery ordeal a sign of the brightness of Thy light, every woeful tribulation a cooling draught, every toil a blissful repose, every anguish a fountain of gladness."
How then is it that "by Thy stripes we are healed?"
Page 869It is because the intensity, the magnitude, the volume of the sufferings of Bahá'u'lláh called forth the fullest possible expression and outpouring of the infinite mercy and love of God.
Wrongs done to the founder of a religion have two inevitable effects: one is that of retribution against the wrong done � the severity of which we may judge from the two thousand year exile of the Jewish people. The other is~ that of reward to the High Prophet whom they enable to release fresh powers of life that would have otherwise lain latent, to pour forth Divine energies which in their boundlessness will utterly overwhelm the forces of evil and empower Him to say: "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the worlcL" The sufferings of Bahá'u'lláh enable us in some degree to measure the immensity of His love for mankind, to appreciate the sacrifice He made for love of us. The story of them enables us to keep in remembrance the heinous blackness and cruelty of the world of man from which He saved us; it enables us to realize the meaning and the need of Divine redemption, it proves to us the invincibility of God and the lone majesty of God's victory over evil.
It is for the sake of learning more fully the love and the glory and the might of God that we contemplate this story of Bahá'u'lláh's tribulations.
In that spirit we are to read it, and as a proof of His triumphant inviolable love He keeps the picture before us in many forms that we may be fortified and uplifted in our poor human struggle with the tests and afflictions of life.
The Fire Tablet adds all the poignancy and impassioned power of divine poetry to the story of the boundless suffering He and His beloved followers had to endure.
In language of torrential eloquence He tells of the longing of the faithful for reunion with God being ungratified, He tells of the casting out of those most near to His heart, of dying bodies, of frustrated lovers left afar to perish in loneliness, of Satan's whisperings in every human car, of infernal delusions spreading everywhere, of the triumph of calamity, darkness, and coldness of heart. He tells of the sovereignty in every land of hate and unbelief while He Himself is forbidden to speak, left in the loneliness of His anguish, drowning in a sea of pain with no rescue ship to come and save Him. The light of honor and loyalty and truth are put out; slander prevails and no avenging wrath of an outraged God descends to destroy the wicked and vindicate God's messenger.
He calls to God for an answer. And the answer comes, showing the inner sigaifi-cance of God's seeming to forsake His fight-eous ones.
Man's evil sets off God's goodness. Man's coldness of heart sets off the warmth of God's love.
Were it not for the night, how would the sun of the Prophet's valor show forth the splendor of its radiance? Through His loneliness, the unity of God was revealed; through His banishment, the worM of divine singleness grew fair.
"We have made misery," said God to Him, "the garment of Thy glory, and sorrow the beauty of Thy temple. 0 Thou treasure of the worlds! Thou seest the hearts are filled with hate, and shalt absolve them, Thou Who dost hide the sins of all the worlds! Where the swords flash, go forward, where the shafts fly, press onward, 0 Thou victim of the worlds."
In that battle which we � all of us � wage with pain and suffering and sorrow, those are God's last words to us: "Where the swords flash, go forward; Where the shafts fly, press onward."
For love is a priceless thing, only to be won at the cost of death.
Those who live to die, those attain; for they have lost all thoughts of self. Those heroic souls who are rapt in the love of the Lord, they are the true lovers.
Page 870F ROM an older day we hear there was a time when God walked with men. That ancient belief is now a faded rose that has lost its glory, but it keeps a precious fragrance which still stirs the heart with wonder and with hope.
God walked with men!The idea seems to change the world from a great, implacable machine into a place of adoration and fulfilled love. It makes us ask, do we live in a universe of mechanical atoms, of strange, perfect stars and suns looking down without feeling or pity upon our griefs and lonely failures, or can we be actually living in the compassionate heart of God?
How could such an exalted idea ever become lost and forgotten? Was it merely a beautiful but empty dream? Or was it a sublime truth we have sold for the price to pay for personal and selfish desires?
This world, we know too well, without a God who walks with men, imprisons us in a vast loneliness where we have to live with our own discontent, our failure, lacking real purpose or aim.
It is not enough to become at times part of some officially heralded movement pronounced necessary and noble if the nobility does not penetrate into our own hearts and redeem us from our unsatisfying selves. But the discontent lingers and the hope occasionally returns.
What has happened to human beings that they can be so skillful in doing great things but so helpless when they turn their wonderful powers to the greater task of ordering their own hearts?
Ages ago the Greeks, the Romans, the German peoples and the Scandinavians attempted to fill this world of loneliness with imagined gods who walked with men. Their poets invented nearby heavens filled with deities whom the people worshipped as gods. These deities embodied the hopes, longings, loves and passions of human beings. Entering their daily lives, the imaginary gods and goddesses, fauns, elves and sprites, empowered to punish or reward, seemed for a long time to satisfy the upreaching heart and still the restless mind.
The rise and spread of revealed religions, and coming of the attitude of science which replaced the imagination of childish peoples, denuded the skies, the mountains, the forests and the fields of all these charming man-invented deities.
Once more the world became a place of loneliness, unless people could find solace and healing in the proclamations of great religious doctors.
Mighty waves of faith did spread over the pagan world. There was something which the disconsolate person could find to cherish in his secret heart. A purer love and a more ardent adoration of God gave to our fathers and mothers a source of strength and courage � a sense of consecration to their Creator.
The religious systems, too, have attempted to overcame the loneliness of hearts, using the genius of architects, sculptors, painters and poets to create impressive cathedrals and colorful pageants to draw men away from themselves and plunge them into the ecstasy of a high communal experience.
However deeply our fathers and mothers drank of this golden cup, they did not succeed in handing their sense of fulfillment down to us. Nor could they express the nobility of their faith through the redemption of a warring, divided society.
II.We of today are spiritual orphans. We cannot live as idle heirs of any fortune accumulated in the past. The precious treasure of faith has been wasted in wars, revolutions and the hideous tyrannies which have afflicted our time.
It is very plain to us now that nothing can compensate for the loss of the direct, simple, heart-transforming power of the love of God.
However high men rise in their organization of formal worship of God, their work does not take the place of God. Beneath the clamor of religious systems we find with disconsolate fear that the human heart stands alone. Happiness?
Yes, there are people who love us and people we love. There are many useful things to do from morning until night. Nevertheless we know there is a conscious solitude even in the happy heart.
The worldabout us is terrifying, people become more and more abandoned to pleasure as a flight from the solitude which we know too well is the emptiness where God has not brought His compassion, His understanding, His strength and His healing.
It is within this emptiness at the center of being, that our anxieties are distilled.
Of course no one shows his anxieties to others if he can conceal them.
We learn to put up a brave front in order to conceal that secret inner void.
We talk about everything except the one great thing that really counts. Perhaps we conform to opinion and the public standard of manners and efficiency so successfully that after a while we regard the front as our real self.
But if we do this, sooner or later some crisis overtakes us, strikes at our very heart, and makes us more conscious than ever how weak and helpless human beings are without God. What we call strength is often no more than the habit of closing the heart, and this is the most disastrous weakness.
HI.They teach us today that the universe is vast beyond comprehension. In it the little earth, our home, has become reduced to insignificance. There must be a God to create and rule this mighty universe, but can a God so majestic and powerful come down to walk with men? The beautiful old stories of God do not match the new stories of scientific discovery. The world has changed. There seems to be no connection between our modern universe and the simple spirit of pure love for which we long.
Everything has become organized and technically perfected except people themselves.
Who is the God who has walked with men? When does He appear? How does
He disclose Himself? Canwe still seek and find a deathless love that will claim our erring hearts, touch them with passion and save us from ourselves?
Today a wonderful event has taken place. People have thought that religion was something that happened centuries ago, and its story was complete and finished.
Though everything has changed during the past few generations, nothing, they supposed, could change the systems of belief that have been in existence and ruled so long. The world could be uprooted, but God, they tell us, remained silent while millions suffered and the nations lost their way.
What happened was the bringing forth of a new truth about God's love for mankind.
A great being in the East has revolutionized religion. Though He was persecuted and resisted, His words have been carried slowly but steadily to all parts of the world.
This is the essence of what this heroic, sublime and inspired Person has told the world today.
First, that the almighty God of the universe, Creator of man, remains forever concealed, too glorious for any human to approach.
Second, He sends His Spiritto inspire a perfect man upon our earth and through Him pour forth His love and His saving truth to all who will listen and believe. Third, God reveals His divine nature and purpose to mankind age after age, so that the world is never left without His assurance of love and redemption.
This perfect being in whom the celestial Spirit enters and takes possession of the man's own personal powers is the Prophet, or as some say, the Messenger or the Mes-slab. There is no way to God except through His chosen Messenger.
In His Prophet, God walks with men. Through Him, God's. passionate love for men is poured forth and His inspired guidance written or spoken as inspiration for individuals, races and nations.
Iv.God walks with men! Alas, that in this humble human form some of the powerful leaders have failed to recognize the Spirit of God Himself.
They have always resisted and condemned Him whenever He appears in the time of the world's greatest.
trouble. Though no human will can overcome God's will, the enemies of the Spirit have killed the Messenger and martyred those nearest and dearest to Him. Afterward, when darkened souls found that His message of love and immortality could not be suppressed, they did everything possible to alter its meaning and restrict its influence.
They confined its free, universal, radiant love and living truth within a complicated system of theology, creed and ritual, which confuses all but a few, while proclaiming themselves defenders of the faith, and the champion of its mission.
But we are not concerned with systems and the great disputes about religion.
Our longing is for the God Who walks with men. What we pray for is the infinite privilege of hearing His words with our own ears, ad
Page 872mitting His love into our own hearts, and understanding His message with our own minds.
All of us have been taught to revere some Prophet's name and exalt His mission as explained to us in childhood and youth. But we have been warned that other Prophets are false messengers who arose solely to betray our inherited faith.
The sublime truth that comes to us toda9 is that the Prophets are not hostile to each other, but identical beings all filled with the same Spirit and carrying out the same mission. Details of their Message changed from age to age because different conditions called for new treatment.
The miraculous bounty of our time is that through this new revelation we can regard the religion of God as one universal faith, which passes through different periods of development but always upholds the one divine love and always works to bring peo-pie together as members of the one great human family.
God walks with men!Let us fear no longer to search out for ourselves the tenderness, the ardor and the compassion of the love which God has poured forth through His Prophets, arid to learn, with new minds, the infinite wisdom of His counsel.
The God Who walks with men is the Father of all humanity. There is no longer any religious reason for assuming that He cherishes only one race or one creed or that there is any divine word justifying prejudice and dissension among the many diverse peoples of the human race.
Since there is, beyond all our complicated doubting, a God Who walks with men, let us reverently draw near and join those throngs of people, those fortunate individuals and those dear companions actually standing in the presence of the Messengers who, one by one, stood forth, each in His own age, as the Witnesses and Spokesmen of God on earth. The tongues are different but the speech is one!
Can the seeking heart make a better beginning of this joyous quest than to turn to the words of that great, heroic figure, Moses? Moses, we recall, arose among an exiled and enslaved people subject to the conquering might, the arrogant pride of the ancient Egyptian Empire. There was no daily reporting of His words and no description of His presence, hut the recorded words carry full conviction that He expressed God's love and truth to people exactly like ourselves.
The words are not many, but they do seem to lay a foundation for belief in one God and for love of humanity.
"Thou shalt have no other God before me. Thou shalt not kill Love thy neighbor as thyself." God walked with men. He pointed the way, and when they took the way they were favored; but when they turned from the way, they fell into misfortune.
This view brings religion back to the individual.God has given religion to all and not made it a monopoly for any group to dispense for a profit.
"What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy
God?"But though the way was so plain, the peo-pie must have lost it and become as bewildered as people are today.
For we find these terrible words spoken by a later Prophet: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord; and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." What were they to seek � the words which they already possessed but had forgotten, or a new way to understand these words; or was it a new word they had to await?
God walked with other races also. To His people, Zoroaster said: "To enjoy the benefits of providence is wisdom; to enable others to enjoy them is virtue. He who is indifferent to the welfare of others does not deserve to be called a man." How this lifts the heart! "The best way of worshiping God is to allay the distress of the times and to improve the condition of mankind."
"Have the religions of mankind no common ground?Is there not everywhere the same enrapturing beauty, beaming forth from many thousand places? Broad indeed is the carpet which the All-Loving One has spread, and beautiful the colors He has given it." "Diversity of worship has divided the human race into countless nations, from all these dogmas we may select one � Divine Love."
Another Prophet, Muhammad, said:"God is the light of the Heavens and of the earth.
God guideth whom He will to His light, and God setteth forth parables to men, for God knoweth all things." He also said, "There is no compulsion in religion." Are we not to accept truth freely and cherish it as a blessing rather than bear it as a heavy load? "We make no distinction between any of His Messengers," Muijammad also said. Thus the different peoples, sharing their holy words, can draw closer in fellowship, acknowledging one God.
When Buddha walked with men, He said: "As a mother even at the risk of her own life protects her son, her oniy son, so he who has recognized the Truth cultivates good will without measure among all beings, unstinted, unmixed with any feeling of making distinctions or showing preferences."
"To him in whom love dwells, the whole world is but one family." Among the Hindus their Prophet said, "Like the body that is made up of different limbs and organs, all monal creatures exist depending upon one another." "Toward all that live, I am the same.
�Whoever devoutly worships Me, they are in Me and I in them."
VI.How inspiringly God walked with men when Jesus went about among the people in His day! His spirit of compassionate understanding, poured out upon humble individuals, upon the sick, the blind and the erring, along with His firm repudiation of hypocrisy and pride, could only be a pure reflection of the power God vested in Him.
Perhaps these healings were physical miracles He performed, but they might also have been spiritual healings, to make the inwardly blind see the light of Truth and the religiously dead arise to a new life of faith. Certainly He attributed all His works to the divine Power, and the religion He preached was based on worship of God, not of Himself. "Let your light so shine before men. that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." When an enemy asked Him which was the great commandment, He said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.", His work was done among a people whose ancestors had received a religion from God through Moses.
The opposers used that religion as their justification.
Can God's religion oppose itself? Or do the people abandon the spirit of their religion and exploit its outer forms and special privilege, so that a new Prophet must appear?
The world of Christ's Beatitudes is a heavenly world, full of illumination and inner peace, but it has not conquered the world of our human strife nor made peace the great law over the nations.
Is it for ever to be thus?The Prophet's vision a dream, and our struggles and failures the reality?
A future heaven but a present chaos? "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot hear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth."
VII.This greatest challenge to the human heart has been squarely met by the Bahá'í teachings.
They explain that all the Prophets came to prepare the people, race by race or nation by nation, for existence in this very age in which we were born � the age when all peo-pies would be brought together and have to learn how to live together or else be faced with destruction.
The learning how to live together means living according to the standards set for them by all the Prophets.
The being faced with destruction means attempting to solve our great, world problems without any true, religious spirit.
Stated that way, anyone can see that all our wars today are the sufferings we impose on each other as punishments for breaking the laws of God. lie does not punish us � we punish ourselves.
But how can we bring such a terrible period of suffering to an end?
By worshiping the one God, the Father of all peoples, and living according to the laws and principles His Prophet, Bahá'u'lláh, has revealed for humanity today. The Spirit which animated the Prophets of ancient times has animated Bahá'u'lláh and inspired his words with such truth that every sincere person can say to himself, "Religion is not dead � it is reborn. Religion is not something for primitive people living only simple lives � it is a world-unifying principle, a majestic World Plan for the redemption of a stricken society." The Bahá'í teachings call to the soul, summoning us to serve in a supreme crusade to
Page 874establish peace and justice through divine Law. Nothing greater can enter the heart than this pure flame of faith in the living God who, once more, has walked with men.
"Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee."
Here speaks the very heart of religion. To the downcast soul, shrinking from its responsibilities, the Prophet says, "Thou art My dominion and My dominion perish-eth not, wherefore fearest thou thy perishing?
Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished, why dost thou dread extinction?
Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn. Abide then in thy love for Me, that thou mayest find Me in the realm of glory."
Here are His words to us about brotherhood: "Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest."
The Prophet uncovers a deep source of life within our personality which we can never attain by our own effort. The love that God offers us is universal.
When we partake of it we know that the same transforming spirit enters all others who believe, and therefore by this sharing of universal love we become united.
How this world can attain peace is proclaimed in these noble words: "The sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith." When we grasp this divine truth we are able to make our lives count in the terrible struggle now going on between the way of God and the way of unregenerate man.
To accept and to assimilate truth we must prepare ourselves by willingness to give up errors, prejudice and half-truths even though, or rather especially when, these seem to have become the bulwarks of a decadent society.
Truth cannot enter the life which consciously profits by error. The gulf between the words of the Prophet and human intellect is wider than this earth, but it can be bridged by every sincere seeker.
"The time foreordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is now come. The promises of God, as recorded in the Holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled."
God walks with men!EDUCATION in the past, whether oral or literate, has had as its chief purpose the transmission to each new generation of the knowledge, skills, traditions and mores of the race, thus assuring the stability and perpetuation of particular cultures and civilizations.
Until recently education has not concerned itself with human progress.
Its aim has been the perpetuation of the "status quo." In the Occident all through the Middle Ages, and in Asia until the present century, this devotion to ancestral patterns has resulted in what is termed "medievalism."
This static type of culture may be characterized by four I's: Ignorance,
Illiteracy, Insularityand Inertia. With such characteristics, medievalism will be seen as a vicious circle, self-perpetuating and self-imprison-ing.
The Greeks broke out from traditionalism for a few brilliant centuries and then lapsed again. The Muslims in their turn created a brilliant age of science which has left beneficent results to world civilization.
But around the Eleventh Century, this 6lan died down and 1s16.m sank into that medievalism and obscurantism which has so strikingly
Page 875characterized it for the past five or six centuries.
Europe, stimulated and awakened from her Dark Ages by the brilliant lights of the Islamic-Arabic culture, entered upon a long period of progress which constantly gained in momentum, culminating today in the marvels of our technological age.
Although humanity has made progress by such periodic flowerings of culture and invention, the concept of human progress, strange to say, has been very late in arriving on the planet. The classical traditions, and the traditions of medieval Christian Europe, were introspective.
The Greeks and Romans looked back to a Golden Age from which humanity had degenerated; the Christians looked back to an age of innocence from which a sinful humanity had lapsed.
It was not until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that the idea of human progress began to rise, particularly in that free atmosphere of intellectualism in France which has been called the Age of Enlightenment.
The discovery of the New World and the voyages and observations of world travelers brought to Europe an important and eye-opening wealth of material regarding the customs and folk-patterns of savages, semi-savages and Asiatics whose varied cultures had hitherto been either totally unknown or little appreciated.
Then thanks to that sheer logic of the French mind, the idea arrived that the untutored lives of the savages probably had been the nature of all human life on the planet at one time; and that the superior standards of living and intellectual enlightenment of the contemporaneous Europe had been due to progress from lower conditions.
Once this concept of past progress was arrived at, it was natural to extend the concept of progress into the future. If man had already developed from low to high conditions, what was there to prevent him from going on and developing still higher?
Thus arose the most dynamic idea that has ever entered the mind of man � PRoo-RESS.
Here is something to inspire man's imagination, to awaken his desires, and to whet his will. Something, in a word, which can in itself � by sheer creative power residing in the concept � stimulate and induce man to erupt from the sterile imprisonment of medievalism where he has remained for so many centuries.
We do not need to rehearse here all the amazing ways in which humanity has progressed since the Century of Enlightenment � the discoveries of science and their application to human living; the great enlargement of man's knowledge and conceptual power; the broadening of his horizons; the narrowing of the planet until all are near neighbors; and the promise of technology to bless and fructify the earth.
The discovery of evolution in the nineteenth century wrought a still vaster expansion of the mind of humanity than had the French
Age of Enlightenment.With this new vision which the theory of evolution gave to human thought, everything in the universe from minuscule to majuscule was seen as developing in terms of progress; a progress sidetracked or vitiated here and there by back-currents and eddies, but in the main, persistently at work throughout the cosmos to individualize and form to ever more perfect patterns everything that exists.
Very suddenly � if we speak in terms of human life upon this planet or even in terms of the history of civilization � this light-bringing concept of progress has dawned and begun everywhere to energize the souls of men. The whole world has now become progress-minded.
There is not a race, not a region where the ideas of human progress and the examples of human progress are not working like a subtle yeast to raise the heavy dough of sterile custom into the bread of life.
Naturally this world-shaking concept of progress has penetrated the field of education, which next to religion is the most conserving and conservative force in the life of man.
So now education, in addition to handing over to the new generation the know!-edges and skills and mores of the past, is aiming also to stimulate the mind with the history of the past as shown in terms of progress, and with the possibility of further progress on and on throughout the coming year.
At this point we may consider the nature and plan of Baha education as it is begin-fling to unfold, and will unfold more and more with each coming generation.
Bahá'í education is not oniy progress-minded; it also has in the World Order of
Page 876Bahá'u'lláh a distinct pattern of perfection as the goal of human effort.
Almost a century ago Bahá'u'lláh laid down certain definite principles for human progress, leading up to and culminating iii a new world civilization dedicated to world unity, peace and prosperity.
Since Bahá'u'lláh enunciated these world principles � not as creations of the human mind but as divine messages to man � Bahá'ís enter upon all study of human progress with a brilliant hope and faith and dedication such as is not to be found elsewhere. And as the patterns of perfection are already authoritatively announced, Bahá'ís are saved from those frictional wastes of energy and those futile digressions which characterize the efforts of liberals to arrive at some commonly accepted scheme of operation.
In accordance with this planetary aim, the core of the Baha curriculum will be the new World Order as edicted by Bahá'u'lláh.
The history of the past, the social and physical sciences, all will be oriented in the practical direction of the achievement in the future of a more orderly and happy world. All Bahá'í students will thus become future-minded and dedicated to world progress.
"He is a true man," declared Bahá'u'lláh, "who devotes his energies to the building of a better world." Salvation as understood in the Bahá'í Faith is not only the spiritualization of the individual, but also the spiritualization and redemption of humanity and of its institutions.
This new World Order around which Ba-h~'i education will be centered is best described in the words of the present Guardian and administrator of the
Bahá'í World Faith, Shoghi"The unity of the human race, as envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh, implies the establishment of a world commonwealth in which all nations, races, creeds, and classes are closely and permanently united, and in which the autonomy of its state members and the personal freedom and initiative of the individuals that compose them are definitely and completely safeguarded.
This commonwealth must, as far as we can visualize it, consist of a world legislature, whose members will, as trustees of the whole of mankind, ultimately control the entire resources of all the component nations, and will enact such laws as shall be required to regulate the life, satisfy the needs and adjust the relationships of all races and peoples.
A world exec utive, backed by an international Force, will carry out the decisions arrived at, and apply the laws enacted by, this world legislature, and will safeguard the organic unity of the whole commonwealth.
A world tribunal will adjudicate and deliver its compulsory and final verdict in all and any disputes that may arise between the various elements constitut-big this universal system.
A mechanism of world intercommunication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity. A world metropolis will act as the nerve center of a world civilization, the focus towards which the unifying forces of life will converge and from which its energizing influences will radiate. A world language will either be invented or chosen from among the existing languages and will be taught in the schools of all the federated nations as an auxiliary to their mother tongue. A world script, a world literature, a uniform and universal system of currency, of weights and measures, will simplify and facilitate intercourse stimulate the intellectual, the moral, and spiritual life of the entire human race.
"A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and exercising unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably vast resources, blending and embodying the ideals of both the East and the West, liberated from the curse of war and its miseries, and bent on the exploitation of all the available sources of energy on the surface of the planet, a system in which Force is made the servant of Justice, whose life is sustained by its universal recognition of one God and by its allegiance to one common Revelation � such is the goal towards which humanity, impelled by the unifying forces of life, is moving."
The formulation of such principles of organization for all humanity and the guidance of humanity into a new World Order is too immense a task for any human personality.
It requires a superpower.The function of the individual is to become a channel for a Divine Force and a Divine Plan which would remake this planet into a better and happier home for man. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Light which guided the Prophets and shone forth from them, that the Bahá'ís seek to operate.
"When you breathe forth the breath ofthe Holy Spirit from your hearts into the world, commerce and politics will take care of themselves in perfect harmony. All arts and sciences will become revealed, and the knowledge of God will be manifested. It is not your work, but that of the Holy Spirit which you breathe forth through the Word. This is a fundamental truth."1
VI.It may seem strange to include spiritual love in an educational curriculum.
But this quality � the practice of which was the essence and kernel of Christ's teaching � is again emphasized in the Bahá'í Faith as the cornerstone of the training for the future world civilization, and as the only means of achieving that functional unity which will effectively bind the nations and races of the world together.
Tolerance, mutual understanding and consideration are not enough. Admirable as these characteristics are, they always fail in frictional contingencies and emotional crises. Spiritual love alone can actually cement together in unbreakable union the diverse races of the world, with their diverse temperaments, customs, and self-interests.
This divine love is none other than the Holy Spirit, through the fostering influence of which man's animal nature is to be transformed. This is the "second birth" of which Christ spoke. It is the way to the harmonization and spiritualization of man's nature as an individual. It is the only secure foundation for world harmony and peace. Hence the importance of teaching and training youth in these vital truths that compose what 'Abdu'l-Bahá called "the spiritual science" � vasfly more important in the establishment of a world civilization than are any of the physical or social sciences.
But how can any educational system train children along this line of love-devel-opment, this spiritualization of human motives which is the desideration not only of BaA'i culture but of all world cultures irrespective of creed or circumstance?
Pedagogic inculcation and preachment will not accomplish this basic goal of child-development.
Oniy a dedicated corps of teachers � themselves aflame with this spiritual love � can accomplish such a superhuman task. The spirit of love must prevail not oniy in the home but also in the school. The power of example is more effective than
1 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Divinethe power of words. It was the example, the contagion of the Spirit, that under the guidance of the apostles changed pagan hearts into hearts of sacrificial love. This task was supremely difficult when undertaken in the regeneration of adults, as the tutorial and expostulative letters of St. Paul indicate.
It is much easier to train the innocence and viability of childhood into such spiritualization of character.
And with each generation of such tutelage, the spiritual level will rise higher.
Thus, with each succeeding generation of Baha'is, education will exert itself the world over to produce ever more noble and more consecrated characters, dowered with both love and wisdom; and equipped technologically for the colossal tasks which will face them in the achieving of a united and peaceful humanity.
VII.Much as these spiritual motivations and powers are needed for the superhuman task of forging this planet into a peacefully functioning unity � a task which, as Shoghi Effendi points out, is epochal, and once achieved will never present itself again � important as is this planetary task, the needs and values of man as an individual will not be neglected in the Baha curriculum.
The present struggle to achieve world unity is an exigency which will not be always with us. When once this unity is achieved and world peace assured, whereto shall man direct his energies?
In addition to his duties and responsibilities in the new world-citizenship, the individual has a quest of his own which is legitimate � the quest for career-success, for happiness, for spiritual and harmonious living.
Baha education will strongly emphasize, therefore, the true nature of man, as an immortal soul which has both the opportunity and the obligation of spiritual development. In accordance with his dual nature, man's selfhood or "ego" can become either degenerate or regenerate. Either we are constantly advancing on the spiritual path, or we are daily retrogressing.
Even to remain inactive is to decay.A wholly new science will evolve under the Bahá'í aegis � a new type of psychology. The present materialistic psychology, which either denies or ignores the existence of a soul, will yield ground to a more spiritual science which will unfold to youth the essen
Page 878tial nature of his being and his consequent spiritual potentialities.
In fact, the whole process of education, including the acquisition of knowledge and the acquirement of skills, will be reoriented around those spiritual potentialities which are basic not only to the development of moral character but also to the wholesome development of man's emotional nature. Such a spiritual psychology will lift the human mind, expand its horizons, and develop powers higher than the materialistic scientist has been able to conceive.
VIII.Bahá'u'lláh compared man to a mine of hidden wealth which can be made available only by education. But how can education develop these new and unseen powers? To achieve this unparalleled task the educator must realize man's true nature to be spirit. In the intellectual training of the child, the pregnant truth must be recognized that man's mind is but an instrument, and that his real creative powers flow from the soul.
'Abdu'l-Bahá has made the portentous statement that it is the Divine Creative Spirit fructifying the mind which enables human beings both to comprehend and to master the universe they live in. Therein lies the chief difference between man's intelligence and that of the animal. Animals, too, have intelligence to a degree. They can think � but only concretely.
They cannot generalize, form inductions and deductions, or think in those abstract terms which reveal the nature of existence and the means of controlling and dominating environment.
Abstract and creative thinking is a gift of the Creator to man alone, enabling him � as made in the image of God � to comprehend to a remarkable degree the creative patterns of the universe, and to create himself.
Bahá'í education, therefore, will emphasize the spiritual, intuitional and creative factors in the development of youth. Education will be less stereotyped and more creative, less formal and standardized, and more tolerant and sympathetic toward the individual's development of those remarkable intuitional powers which are the basis of creativeness.
Bahá'u'lláh hints at the possibility of immediate or intuitive knowledge on the part of man. This is a dangerous field for the educator to operate in. But indubitably, all creations of man's genius, all new departures from the routine past, are of such nature. Bahá'í education will, therefore, keep to a safe minimum the authority of tradition, while emphasizing and fostering the factors of progress, invention and creation.
This progressive attitude of Bahá'í education will have important repercussions in society itself, hastening the technologization of the planet and enhancing its prosperity and happiness.
lx.We have been discussing education, up to this point, from the heights of progress already established by Western civilization. But in Asia and Africa and most of South America, reforms in education must be at first more fundamental. Before creative scholarship can be achieved, there lies before these backward countries the primary task of overcoming illiteracy itself. This is, for over half the world's peoples, an enormously difficult obligation.
Baha'is, the world over, assume the full responsibilities of such a planetary task. For one of the fulcrum principles of Bahá'u'lláh's new World Order was the achievement of universal education.
This was declared to be a duty before God and a primary obligation of the Bahá'í State. 'Abdu'l-Bahá declared that it was a grave lapse on the part of the parent or the state to allow children to grow up illiterate, ignorant, undeveloped, as regards the noble pattern of their true being.
Asia has up to the present failed to escape from the vicious repetitive circle of medic-valism.
Only literacy and education and the contagion of new desires and aspirations can break up this hereditary stagnation.
hi this epochal century of change, Asia has at last begun to catch the contagion of progress.
Her peoples are everywhere alive, as never before, with the ferment of western science and technology, with western notions of human rights, and western ideas of progress.
To this pregnant situation the Bahá'í Faith brings a definite pattern for progress which will lift Asia out of the dilemma of favoring either retardation or technological materialism.
For Bahá'í education and Ba-h~'i concepts of progress distinctly enlist the spiritual factors which the West has been gradually losing and denying.
Bahá'í education trains for a world civilization that will be dynamically spiritual at
Page 879the same time that it will be technological and practical.
"Every youth must be trained to a profession or vocation," declared Bahá'u'lláh � a desideration which the Occident as well as the Orient has need to consider. And of all vocations and professions, Bahá'u'lláh asserted that agriculture is the most important.
Here is an educational system perfect as to conception and practical as to application. The Bahá'ís in Asiatic countries, such as Persia, Egypt, 'IrAq, and India, are, as might be expected, the most progress-minded citizens in their respective communities. They are already taking steps to inaugurate the humble beginnings of that educational system which will one day universally characterize the Bahá'í World State.
The Bahá'í system of education, as eventually established throughout the world, will have a universal curriculum, will operate in a universal language, and will inculcate a universal ethics � gradually forging the various races and peoples of the world into a cultural unity which will flower into a world civilization.
The need of an auxiliary universal language was emphasized by Bahá'u'lláh as one of the important principles of the new World Order. The purpose of such a universal language was not only to facilitate world travel, commerce and culture; but also to help create that sense of unity which is inherent in the use of a common tongue.
Great periods of civilization in the past have developed and utilized such a common language.
In the Graeco-Roman civilization which dominated the Mediterranean for five hundred years, Latin became the official language, with Greek as a secondary language of culture.
In the Arabic-Islamicfor over a thousand years, Arabic became both the official and cultural language.
Scholars of various racial and linguistic origins did all their scientific research and writing in this language, and because of the universal sway of Arabic were able to travel at will from court to court, from university to university. This academic world freedom of movement and regional exchange of scholarship and learning proved a powerful stimulus to that great age of mA-ence ence which the Muslim world created and maintained from the eighth to the twelfth century.
When Europe awoke from her dark slumber to create the Renaissance under the stimulus and influence of Muslim civilization, Church Latin became the universal language. A professor could travel, as many did, from Paris to Oxford, or from Padua to Paris � and later, to more distant universities such as Prague or Vienna � using always the basic language of Latin for instruction and for literary expression.
And here in Europe, as had been the case in the Arabic-Islamic culture,, this academic cross-fertiliza-tion proved a great aid in the flowering of science and culture.
Today, in spite of nationalistic rivalries and rancors and of the thousand petty obstacles which a multilingual humanity labors under, science and culture range the planet. The excellent custom of exchange professors and pupils is but a faint begin-fling of that cultural universality which will some day prevail throughout the world.
In the Bahá'í culture, science and technology will hold a high place, striving in friendly rivalry with spiritual potencies to build a better world.
Bahá'u'lláh said that religion and science were the two wings by which humanity flies, and one of the leading pronouncements of the program for the new World Order is the necessity for complete harmony between science and religion.
To accomplish this, both scientists and religion-ists must renounce dogmatism and tradition and dedicate themselves to Truth.
With sincere effort such dedication will produce a working unity. For it is inconceivable that Truth should be disparate.
As there is but one universe, so there can be but one truth about the universe.
It matters not from what angle the approach is made, the apex of realization � if the search is sincere � will be unitary.
This does not mean that the universe will look the same to both scientist and religionist In fact, the universe does not look the same to any two individuals. Factors of intelligence and of sensitivity enter in, with the result that the universe � highly complicated and mysterious as it is and must always be � is never seen with parallel vision by more than a single pair of eyes.
The important point to note here is thatthe reconciliation of science and religion as invoked by Bahá'u'lláh does not imply the stereotyping of either one. It is an expanding world civilization that the Bahá'ís are creating; not a crystallization, but a vivification of human thought and culture.
Standardization, scholasticism and obscurantism will, it is hoped, fail for ages to produce dryrot in the noble world structure to which Ba-h~'is the world over will for centuries devote an earnest and zealous consecration.
XII.To sum up, Bahá'í education will be essentially progressive.
It will inculcate the world's need for progress and it will profoundly foster the development of future-minded youth dedicated to world citizenship. These specific and global aims of Bahá'í education will exert a profound influence on the future Bahá'í curriculum, designed to be worldwide in scope.
Within and penetrating to the core of every subject taught will be the inculcation of the spiritual essentials which must dominate both man~s in � tellection and his efforts.
In a word, Baha education will play an important part in building a new humanity which will be as far advanced over the materialistic intellectualism of today as this intellectualism is in advance of the cruel savagery of cannibals.
This new humanity will be a spiritualized humanity.
The present age of intellectualism � with all its technological miracles � has witnessed the apotheosis of sheer intellect with a corresponding defeat of the spirit.
The coming age of humanity will see spiritual values gradually assume a higher place in man's esteem than purely intellectual ones.
Yet all that the powerful intellect of man has achieved so far will be valued and retained and built into the fabric of the new world culture. This very intelligence of man will be still further enhanced by the spiritual development which will go pan passu with all intellectual development.
The major motivations of the new humanity will be spiritual in nature, aiming at the spiritualizaton of the individual and the spiritualization of humanity � until unity and love and fellowship so prevail upon the planet that this small sector of the universe can truly be called, as Bahá'u'lláh urged it to become, "one home."
As St. Paul envisioned: "When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things.
And now abideth faith, hope and love � these three; but the greatest of these is love."
Since these noble words were uttered, Love in the midst of humanity has felt its way, has prevailed here and there infinitesimally, yet effectively enough to show how great a yeast love is. Now we hopefully await the dawn of that day when spiritual love will dominate the planet and rule all the affairs of man. Not intellect but love; not more technology but more humanology; not more miracles of science but more miracles of faith � this is what the world most needs. And this gospel of love and spiritual joyousness will form the nucleus of Bahá'í world education.
These goals of the new World Order were vividly expressed in a letter written to a Japanese girl in Tokyo in 1920 by 'Abdu'l-Bahá son of the Founder of the Bahá'í World Faith. We conclude with a quotation from this epistle: �religion must be the cause of concord; it should agree with science and reason; it must be a factor of progress to the world of humanity, it should be free from blind imitations. All prejudices are destructive to the foundation of the world of humanity.
The equality of men and women; the universalization of knowledge (educa-tion); the creation of one universal language; justice and righteousness; economic facilities among mankind; the need of the world of humanity of the breaths of the Holy Spirit; the establishment of universal peace; the institution of the Supreme
Court of Arbitration;the freedom and equality of all mankind; the brotherhood of the world of humanity."
Page 881TODAY we were to visit all those precious places associated with Bahá'u'lláh and the Master in the prison city of 'Akka.
We drove through the newer part of 'Akka down to the great sweep of sandy beach where a stormy wind lashed the great breakers and drove them as far into the old city as possible.
We turned left and wound our way over the hill down into the old city again.
The wind blew everyone's coat collar up around the neck. The day was still gray, misty and chill. The cold crashing of the surf punctuated the silent spots in our conversation as we stood, our backs to the sea wall, gazing across the way at the House of 'Abb6d.
The sea, the wind, the swirling mist, none could cool down the ardor that stirred inside the pilgrim as he looked upon this gray shell of a house that once sheltered the
Supreme Prophet of God.This was once the sanctuary of the Supreme Pen. Its walls had resounded to the words of the Most
Great Book, the MightyAqdas. Here were formed the laws which would stand inviolate and unaltered for a thousand years.
Here were fashioned the provisions which would lay the foundation for the greatest structure in the social history of mankind. Here, those ancient prophetic words had come true, "The Government shall be upon His shoulders."
Here, the Author of the Bahá'í Faith, protected by these blessed walls from the stinging winds of the sea, had poured out the fairest fruit of all His Revelation, the Aqdas � preeminent among all the writings which had streamed forth in a neverending river from His holy pen.
What a plain, unimposing structure. Two stories in height with a small balcony around the second floor front, drab gray in color, bleak in appearance, beautiful to the believer.
We were all staring silently up at the balcony which surrounds the bedroom of Bahá'u'lláh. Many long hours He had paced this balcony, looking out over the sea and down upon the very earth where we were standing. This small balcony, which can be crossed in less than ten paces, furnished almost the only outside exercise for Bahá'u'lláh in seven long years of imprisonment within the walls of this house.
* * * Before entering the House, we walked to the small public square in the rear. Our gracious host, Leroy Joas, holding his hat and coat-collar against a wind that whirled tiny cyclones of 'Akka dust across the courtyard, showed us the exact spot where the Master had stood and distributed alms and food to the poor.
Salah led us back between the houses and into the side door of the House of 'Abbild. We crossed an inner court and started up a flight of stairs, turning to the right twice and continuing to climb until we reached the living quarters of the Holy Family. We saw the small room that held thirteen believers the first night spent in this house. We saw the upper shelf which one of the friends had slept upon that first night and, rolling over too far to one side, had toppled down upon the
Master.We removed our shoes and walked across another room of soft carpets, through a small hallway and then turned left into Bahá'u'lláh's bedroom.
Against the wall on the seaside of the room was a long cushioned bench. Upon the south end, toward Haifa, rested the t6j of Bahá'u'lláh, marking the place where He often would sit. A few feet away, along the south wall, was a rocking chair which He used. Upon the floor, a carpet brought with them all the way from Adrianople.
As I write this now in Johannesburg, I am back there again. I can feel my pulse accelerate and my heart beat stronger.
The atmosphere of these holy places never leaves you.
It comes rushing back whenever you turn to 'Akka and Haifa. Hour after hour, month after month, year upon year, Bahá'u'lláh had moved back and forth in this room. At times He would turn left in the doorway and go out on the balcony which runs across the front of the house. After
Page 882Salali chanted a prayer, we followed Bahá'u'lláh's path to the balcony and looked out upon the turbulent sea. The wind, it seemed to us, was still whipping up the indifferent Mediterranean and driving it toward the shore, where in mighty rollers it bowed and prostrated itself before the throne of Majesty.
The room of revelation (where Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Aqdas) is quite different from the others. This was also 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í bedroom.
It is paneled in wood which is to be found in other places associated with Him. This bedroom is in the back corner of the House. We could look down into the back courtyard. We saw many of the books of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, His writing equipment, papers, the simple iron bed � many things that were much loved by Him and are revered by all who look upon them.
Above all else, the mind tries to take in the truth that here in this room, a room that is simplicity itself, was revealed the Book of Laws, the Most Great Book, the mightiest written testimony since the beginning of our recorded times. Its Author would cast His Shadow of guidance for five hundred thousand years!
It is too much to understand.The mind willingly surrenders and turns to examine the surroundings, the little things it can comprehend.
'Abdu'l-Bahá sat here, He walked here, He knelt here, He looked out this window. But irresistibly your thoughts keep coming back to that one inescapable fact � it was here that Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Aqdas.
Emptying yourself of every single thing to which the mind can cling, you ask Almighty God to pour into your heart a true appreciation of this experience you are undergoing.
The presence and significance of these holy places are like hammer-blows to those of us who have lived in a world so remote from the spirit.
Those veritably spiritual thunderbolts � the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, of the BTh, and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the room at Baha where Bahá'u'lláh passed away, the mansion of Mazra'ih, the Garden of RidyTh � all had numbed the senses until the cup could not contain the flood.
* * Each of us said a prayer before departing from this cradle of future civilization. When we made our way downstairs, there was additional conversation, but none of it registers.
The hearing was working, but the comprehension and recording instruments were unable to function. This was a mercy of God. The body must be much like an electrical system.
It can successfully carry its normal "load" of power, but when subjected suddenly to an incredibly strong current, it "blows out" the fuse at its point of protection. A similar phenomenon happens to the pilgrim, several times, in fact. Something breaks the connection and permits no more impulses to register. The system cannot bear them. (Bahá'u'lláh has written of this spirit, saying of the wine of revelation that it is so inebriating to the Prophet, Himself, that the pen is stilled and can move no more.)
The sun came out gaily for a brief moment, for the first time, as we strolled through the picturesque streets of "Old 'Akka."
It splashed against the drab earth-colored walls and transformed them into a happy tan. We traced our way along many of the favorite walks of the Master.
We paused and took photographs in the doorway of the house of the former Mufti of 'Akka. He had been a bitter enemy of Bahá'u'lláh.
Salah, caretaker at Baha, told us the story of the two attempts on the life of Bahá'u'lláh made by this
Mufti while Bahá'u'lláhOnce with a hidden dagger, but Bahá'u'lláh before admitting him to His presence said, "Let him first cleanse his hands." A second time, the Mufti planned to strangle the
Blessed Beauty, and Bahá'u'lláhsaid before admitting him, "First let him cleanse his heart." The Mufti became an ardent believer and collected all the "traditions" to be found in the Faith about 'AkU.
What a delightful city "Old 'Akka is to visit.Salali, who was born within its walls, greeted almost everyone. He told us many intriguing stories about its non-B alA'f history as well. We entered a small door built in one of the lower walls of the prison, walked to the center of a cellar-like cavern. Below us excavation had been started. How strange to know that beneath the prison lies this famous church built by Richard, the Lionhearted. The packed earth on which
Page 883we stood was high up toward the top of the Gothic arches. The pillars were buried many, many feet in the solid earth below us. * * * Salab pointed out the house to which Bahá'u'lláh had been taken in custody when some of His followers had disobeyed His commands, quarreled with three enemies of the Faith and slew them. Bahá'u'lláh was dictating Tablets to His secretary when troops surrounded His house.
Crowds gathered quickly.They shouted at Bahá'u'lláh as the Governor, sword in hand, led Him away for questioning. His innocence was established and Bahá'u'lláh was freed; the Governor apologized for his own bad behavior.
* 4: We began our approach to the prison itself.The steps up which Bahá'u'lláh had walked to enter the fortress that first time have been taken down. They have left their scar across the body of the prison wall.
We all stopped and gazed up at the marks of that old stairway. This was as far as we could retrace the steps of banishment.
In order to enter the prison, we had to drive around the city to the front by the sea wall.
We parked by the gate, passed the guards, and walked about three hundred yards up to the prison entrance. As you cross the small bridge over the moat, you can see the cannon balls of Napoleon embedded in the walls. They are splashed with red paint to make them easily visible.
Passing through a small arched entrance, we approached the courtyard.
The prison is now a hospital for the insane and feebleminded.
You can see them exercising in the very courtyard where the believers were herded together that first day.
There was a sound of heavy keys rattling in a metal door, the door swung open, and you entered the prison barracks.
Passing through an anteroom of poor, unfortunate sick ones, you enter the cellblock. In the far lefthand corner is a plaque which reads:
Bahá'í Holy Place. ThisWe removed our shoes outside the great door, and then entered the prison cell where for over two years Bahá'u'lláh had been shut away from the world. This was the heart of the "Most
Great Prison." Eventhat Black Pit in Tihr4n, the Siydh-ChM, a place foul beyond comparison, a dungeon wrapped in thick darkness, so dreadful that no tongue could describe its loathsome smell, had not been called by such a name.
* .* * The cell was barren and desolate in Bahá'u'lláh's day. Now there is a Persian carpet in the corner where He used to sit. There are five straight-backed chairs upon which the pilgrims sit. One window looks out upon the old 'Akka.
The other two windows look out upon the sea.These are the windows shown in most of the photographs.
From here Bahá'u'lláhwould look out toward that spot beyond the moat where His followers would stand hoping for a glimpse of His hand waving from the window.
We all stood and peered out at that same spot and to the white-capped sea beyond it. Later we walked out to that place of bliss and sorrow and looked up at these two forlorn windows.
The face of the prison is bruised and scarred from shellfire.
* * * Inside the prison-cell itself, the heart is touched and saddened by the sight of that bleak, unfragrant room. True, it has been cleaned and restored, but here and there upon the floor were small fragments of paint and plaster which had fallen from the ceiling and walls.
These are a grim reminder of the chilling dampness of this dismal place.
Here in this cell, where but a few paces carry you from end to end, Bahá'u'lláh spent over two years of His precious life. Here it was that Bahá'u'lláh, Himself, said that His sufferings had reached their culmination.
Our eyes bestowed loving prayers upon each of these places of anguish.
After all these years, and even with the reformations, it is still unsanitary and foul in these barracks.
The mind refuses to try to picture the misery and abomination that must have surrounded
Bahá'u'lláh upon Hisarrival here. We know that they were herded together, deprived of food and drink, that malaria, dysentery, and the sickening heat added to their sorrows. All were ill but two.
It was here that the two brothers died the same night locked in each other's arms. Bahá'u'lláh sold His carpet to provide for their winding sheets and burial, but the
Page 884guards had kept the money and cast them into a pit unwashed and unshrouded.
This is where Bahá'u'lláh's young son, Mirza Milidi, the Purest Branch, was killed. He was pacing the roof at twilight reciting his prayers.
He fell through an unguarded skylight on a wooden crate below which pierced his ribs and took his life in less than a day. It was here that this sweet son pleaded with his Father, Bahá'u'lláh, that his life be not saved, but that it be offered as a ransom so that the pilgrims, who so longed for His healing Presence, might be permitted to attain their hearts' desire.
At his tomb in the Monument gardens, we repeated the words of Bahá'u'lláh written about him: "Thou art the trust of God and His treasure in this land. Erelong will God reveal through thee that which He hath desired."
* *wrote many of His tablets to the kings of the earth, proclaiming that the only remedy for the ills of the world was the union of all its peoples in one common faith, and that oniy a divine, inspired Physician could bring this to pass.
Many were the wholesome truths that flowed from that Supreme Pen within this prison cell. Each of these tablets and writings took on a new force since we had came to the scene of their origin.
The doors that did not open for Bahá'u'lláh for two years, swing wide for you, then grind closed upon their hinges.
We put on our shoes, everyone silent, lost in the weight of thoughts which held words down, unformed.
This was the last stop in 'Akka. We were grateful.
We wanted no conversation; no invasion of that place the mind had set aside for reflecting upon this unequaled experience.
There was no receptiveness left to truly appreciate the stories told as we descended the stairs; the room below where the rest of the pilgrims had been quartered, the place where the Master had made broth for all � � made broth with little more than air for ingredients.
His words spoken in London sent another sliver of pain into the body. He had made so much broth in those days, He said, that He could make a very good broth with a very little.
How the Master lovedHow Bahá'u'lláh would call the pilgrims together, would make them laugh at their troubles, until they forgot their stone beds, the lack of food and water. He banished the pain of their illness and the ravages of their fever. He would tell them stories and lift their hearts. He would start them to laughing so loudly that they must be cautioned for fear the sentinels would believe they were mad if they could laugh and enjoy themselves in these conditions of utter dreadfulness.
What tenderness must have been in the Master's eyes as He placed His graceful hand upon the luxurious furniture of the Western world and said, "We had no chairs such as this in the prison of 'Akka; no soft beds to lie upon; no delicious food to nourish us. But I would not exchange all of these days for one moment of the sweetness of those hours in the presence of the Blessed Beauty."
Seeing these poor, unfortunate inmates of the asylum for the last time, one thinks: How like the entire world is this prison barracks.
These pitiful wretches, unbalanced, living in another dead world (like all humanity) are within but a few paces of the Holy Place of Bahá'u'lláh, Healer of all ills.
* * * We crossed the moat and walked out into the open air. The clouds were gone. The sun was out ruling the blue sky all by itself. The sea, a deeper blue, was still charging up to the old sea wall and plunging against its rocks. There was a queer, mingled feeling in possession of me. ft was half of joy and half of sadness, gladness and heavy-hearted-ness, happiness and sorrow.
Perhaps it was the accumulation of the day's emotions, unsettled and unabsorbed within me. Each experience taking charge of my being at alternate intervals, just as the sea sent alternate breakers against the wall.
I did not look back. It was all locked forever in my heart.
Page 885By DR. W. KENNETH CHRISTIAN WE LIVE in a world aligned into opposing armed camps.
We live in a world where hatred is manufactured, packaged and sold. We live in a world where mass thought can be and is molded for the purposes of special groups and parties. We live in a world which tries to make religious division, economic division, political division, and social division the normal way of life. And this is anothei way of saying that it is quite all right for society to be divided against itself.
In the past fifty years a world revolution has been carried out. This is the revolution in the nature of time and space.
The inner and outer life of men and women can never be the same as it has been in the centuries preceding our own.
When we recall that all the inhabitants of a great city can be fed and clothed and kept warm by airborne supplies alone, then we know that we are not living in the conditions of our grandparents. When the news of events in the Korean peninsula can immediately make clear to farmers in Maine, to taxi drivers in Chicago and oil-riggers in Texas, that they personally are concerned, then we know that we are living in a world whose bonds are being more closely knit every week and month.
If a severe snowstorm maroons a bus load of people in a farm house, problems arise at once.
Each individual wants to maintain a particular way of life and cling to a set of personal attitudes.
If it is clear that the group will be forcibly housed together only a few days, a working adjustment can generally be arrived at, but each individual will still be inconvenienced.
But if these people had to live together permanently, they would have to make a revolutionary change in their attitude and habits.
By the revolution in time and space, the peoples of the world have been thrust together. This coming together of the world's peoples is more literally true than many wish to admit. And it is not temporary. There is no going backward to any semblance of "the good old days."
* An address delivered at the Centenary Commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Bib held at the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois; July 9, 1950.
We live in one world whether we like it or not. And we may react to this condition in one of three general ways. First, we may concentrate on ourselves � trying to get healthier and healthier, or trying to get wealthier and wealthier, or trying to build ourselves up into some sort of superior being. Such efforts as these deny the social nature of man. And they overlook the simple fact that the gentleman with the scythe disposes alike of health, wealth, and self-delu-sion.
A second way of reacting to the one world we live in is to try to carry over the methods and institutions of the past and make them fit the new conditions.
Until about the last one hundred years people had to be divided because they lived under isolated, agricultural conditions.
Continents were separated by oceans instead of being united by air. Great masses of the people in different cultures were grossly ignorant of each other, and there was little chance then that the ignorance could be removed. Therefore national policy was based on the political and economic separation of peoples.
Conflict was considered normal. The followers of the great religions each considered themselves unique and by far superior.
Everything in life seemed to make disunity sacred.
Many people still try to follow this pattern.The nation state is still regarded as the highest political loyalty. Most religious people still think and act in terms of division at the same time that they talk of brotherhood. And there are those who think only in terms of economics, as if the Holy Grail were actually a silver cup. Some want a class dictatorship to dominate the world as if a world pacified would be a world at peace. Such men as these are the dividers of the human race.
The third way of reacting to one world is to build a new world society founded on the principle of unity.
This would mean creating a world government and recasting the social, economic, political, and spiritual foundations of human life. Not many peo-pie as yet have the courage or vision to react in this manner.
But among these peopleare to be found the followers of Bahá'u'lláh throughout the world.
Bahá'ís know where they are going. Their goal was set about a century ago, before the present world need became obvious.
For a century they have been patiently building a grass roots world order.
They have not waited for the statesmen or for the world crisis.
The goal of the Baha Faith is to unite the world in one social order and one common faith. This goal came into being through the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
And it was the Báb who prepared the way.After the martyrdom of the Báb came a time of despair and disaster.
The Báb had cut His followers loose from the laws and institutions of Is1~m.
He had awakened love and hope in the hearts of a people whose national culture was bigoted and degenerate. His call had won the support of peasant and scholar alike. His own example of fearlessness and courage inflamed His followers to deeds of heroism and even reckless enthusiasm. His six-year public career affected all Persia and cut like a knife down through every social level in the country. He taught His followers that One greater than Himself � "Him Whom God would make Manifest" � would publicly announce His mission in nineteen years.
The firing squads in the public square of the city of Tabriz ended the life of the Bib.
But they did not destroy the Faith He had initiated.
Among those who had earlier responded to the Cause of the BTh was the man known to history as Bahá'u'lláh.
Born into a wealthy and ancient family, Bahá'u'lláh had served the Cause of the BTh, ignoring the gibes and scorn of His caste. He had been a fearless champion.
But He was humiliated, stoned, and cast into an underground dungeon where He lay chained by the neck and the feet for four months. His property and wealth were seized � poverty became His lot. And then in 1853 He was exiled from Persia to BaghdAd.
Bahá'u'lláh was the only outstanding leader of the BTh's Faith who was not killed. An ambassador of a western power threatened the Persian government if it should slay a man of such majestic character.
The martyrdom of the Báb and the blood bath of His followers had already attracted the attention of thinkers in Europe.
The forcible exile projected the Faith into the arena of the world. In BaghdAd Bahá'u'lláh revived the hopes of the remnant who had accepted the flAb. In that ancient city of 'Iraq He began to unfold a system of religion which is unique in the world's history.
There is not time here for us to follow the successive exiles of
Bahá'u'lláh � from Baghd6dto Constantinople (now Istanbul), then to Adrianople (now Edirne), and finally in 1868 to 'Akka, Israel, where He lived until His death in 1892. By each exile an envious and reactionary clergy and State hoped to wipe out His influence. What we are concerned with today is the chief teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and the effect they have had in the last century.
Bahá'u'lláh wrote: "A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth Consider the peoples of the West. Witness how, in their pursuit of that which is vain and trivial, they have sacrificed, and are still sacrificing countless lives for the sake of its establishment and promotion."1 "The civilization, so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness And again: "The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human so,,3 '' ciety the whole human race is encompassed with great, with incalculable afflictions.
We see it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore-tried and di~il1usioned. They that are intoxicated by self-conceit have interposed themselves between it and the Divine and infallible Physician.
Witness how they have entangled all men, themselves included, in the mesh of their devices."4 And again: "If ye stay not the hand of the oppressor, if ye fail to safeguard the rights of the downtrodden, what right have ye to vaunt yourselves among men?"5 These are just a few random selections from Bahá'u'lláh's penetrating criticism of modern civilization.
We may well ask, To what standard of life doesfollowers? The answer is clear. "Be anxiously concerned with 'Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 196.
2 Ibid., pp. 3423.the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations in its exigencies and requirements."6 "All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization."7 "That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race."8 "The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."9 Bahá'u'lláh declared to the nations that the burden of armaments was too grievous a weight for the people. He urged the rulers to meet together and lay the foundations for a world government.
He declared that the principle of collective security was a necessary means for the establishment of justice. None of the rulers to whom He appealed paid any heed. Is it not now time to listen?
Is it not now time for the people to listen?The principles, the laws, and the social institutions created by Bahá'u'lláh are for the purpose of building a united world which can provide justice for all its members.
The key principle is the oneness of mankind which means the complete repudiation of racial superiority and the practice of race unity.
"The best beloved of all things in My sight," said Bahá'u'lláh, "is justice."10 Bahá'u'lláh spoke with the authority which comes from God. Like Christ and Muhammad and the other founders of the world's great faiths, Bahá'u'lláh was not a scholar or a pedant. He possessed an innate knowledge.
He had the ability to awaken devotion and transform character.
He has implanted a love of God in the hearts of countless men and women.
For Bahá'u'lláh is thefor our age. He has restated the essentials of religion, stripping away the layers of theology, and brushing aside such notions as that of inherited sin. He shows us how religion has been progressively revealed and unfolded in each age. Now it is possible for us to see that religion, too, evolves. In each age there has been a God-chosen individual, or Manifestation, Who has been the core of spiritual authority and vision for the forward movement of religion.
The teachings of Bahá'u'lláh do two principal things for our age. First, they provide a social structure through which world jus-3 Gleanings, p. 213.
~Ibid., p. 215.tice may function. Second, they provide a moral sanction for world order.
There will be no lasting peace for decent men and women without a world government. And no world government can function successfully unless millions of people give it an enthusiastic and lasting loyalty. While many religions speak of brotherhood, Bahá'u'lláh declares that "The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
In the light of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, the man who believes in God will devote his energies to building a world commonwealth.
This is the next step in human evolution.Bahá'ís recognize it as the "coming of age" of the entire human race.
How strange and perverse is the human heart! The military leader, the conqueror whose boast is in battles won and in millions slaughtered � he receives the acclaim of the multitude, and his ears are deafened by their shouts of praise.
But the Manifestationof God received scorn and abuse, torture and exile.
The demagogue who promises bread and circuses, money without work and achievement without effort, he is fawned upon and praised, and in his own lifetime his likeness is produced in statues of bronze and of marble. But the Manifestation of God wins only the hearts of a few. And it is these few who give up their bread to serve Him and who give the breath of their lives and the blood of their bodies that the divine vision of a greater human good may come to pass upon the earth.
The Manifestation of God among men is a measure by which men and women can see their true height.
The dividers of men and the haters cannot lift their eyes to His height.
Like children, they are too self-absorbed, too busy building little castles in the sand.
Despite ecclesiastical anger, despite reactionary scorn, and indifference, the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has grown steadily and extended itself through the world. Though, even today, the Balls in Persia know the ruthless anger of the mobs directed against them.
But the response of the people to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh is also a story of sacrifice and heroism. Most of the people who have become Bahá'ís are obscure to fame. But heroism knows no pedigree or social rank. And so, steadily, the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh have been translated into various languages until now the total is over sixty.
Page 888Bahá'ís have moved and settled in country after country until now the roots of the Faith have taken hold in more than one hundred sovereign countries and dependencies of the world. First it was Persia and 'IrAq, and Turkey, Israel, and Egypt. Then it was India, and Burma, and the United States, England, and Canada, and France, and Germany. A few decades ago, an elderly couple in California, a Mr. and Mrs. Hyde Dunn, sold their little home and sailed for Australia.
They earned their own living and traveled from city to city, and the Faith was established in Australia and New Zealand. They were but two of hundreds who have gone to strange lands to bring the words of Bahá'u'lláh to the people. Without a paid clergy, and with few material resources, this great movement to take Bahá'u'lláh's message of unity and justice to the people goes steadily forward.
And within the last three decades the Bahá'ís have systematically applied the social teachings of Bahá'u'lláh to the conduct of their own affairs. A religious world order, on the grass roots level of society, is taking shape.
Within the Bahá'í world community have come people from all walks of life and all kinds of religious and nationalistic and racial backgrounds. Here they find a practice of religion which is adult, just, and suited to the age we live in. While some people may look back and read the record of the past one hundred years as a series of ever-deepening crises, I offer you another part of the record. A part of the record not as well known as the political intrigue and the warfare.
I offer you the record of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh which moves steadily forward with its healing message of unity and justice.
And at the same time I offer you a challenge.Have you the courage and the vision to take the outstretched hand of Bahá'u'lláh and join with those who are dedicated to building a divine world order of human society? Have you the courage and vision to realize that 13ab4'u'llAh is the Father promised by Jesus Christ? Can you arise and respond to the call of God in our time?
6. THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH:WE OF the West have grown so used to the central prayer of our faith � Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven � that we are dull to its magic, and despite almost two millenniums of repetition, which must have worn a deep if hidden channel through our collective conscience, we seem no longer to perceive or accept Christ's vision of earthly consummation.
To a Bahá'í this is the more strange, since in our view the twentieth century is the threshold of that Kingdom; and that simple but commanding idea, which in one form or other has compelled men's highest thoughts throughout history, is in the cycle we now enter to attain reality. Indeed, the transformation from idea to reality has already begun, and the embryo of God's Kingdom on earth, already brought into life, is even now acquiring structure and form, against the day of its birth after yet-to-be-expected incubation in the womb of our universal affliction and travail.
If we are to look back through centuries upon the idea and forward through centuries to the reality, we should bear in mind the character of this Kingdom on earth.
It has, I believe, certain essentials: I. There will be one Ruler in the Kingdom: God.
2. There will be one humanity, one brotherhood of all the men on earth, who will be endowed with spiritual consciousness to know and obey their Divine
King.3. There will be a universal state, unified in government, harmonizing the rich diversity of human cultures.
4. There will be universal peace, resting in justice, the condition and mode of this Divine Kingdom.
Page 889One other point should not be overlooked, as it is the test of the idea of the Kingdom in contrast to the reality of the Kingdom. The idea has had life only in men's minds. As idea it has inspired and even in certain periods molded human societies and governments.
But the Kingdom in reality has not, up to this age, had any being. For the Kingdom of God on earth, like all forms of life created by God, is essentially organic. It has conception, embryonic development, birth, and growth through life stages. It is a Divine creation, and oniy when, by the Will of its Creator, it does indeed appear on this earth, will it pass from the idea of the Kingdom, known to great minds and humble hearts for many ages, to the reality of the Kingdom which will be a shelter, a sanctuary, and a home for all the human race.
II.Probably the most consistent view of the Kingdom of God on earth is to be found in the Old Testament.
The "chosen people," the astonishing Hebrew race, has for at least three thousand years been the repository of this concept, to which it has tenaciously clung through all glory, vicissitude, and human error. "God and His Kingdom on earth � that was their twofold revelation. Abraham [C. 1550 B.c.] stood at the head of the movement.
In the midst of idolatry and human sacrifice he seems to have known One God,
Almighty and All-Comprehending� and in obedience to the Divine Command led forth from Ur a band of kinsmen � on a religious crusade."' In the Old Testament js embodied the history of this people; its journey into Egypt and its captivity there; its deliverance by Moses; its rise to an eminence of dominion and culture in the Promised Land when its influence, according to Bahá'í teaching, awakened Greek philosophy to the existence of the one God and the immortal soul of man; its decline from virtue; its preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
But here the story passes into other hands, as indeed was prophesied, and the "chosen people," dispersed and despised, entered its long night of suffering until its final return to the Promised Land in our own time.
To one who studies the words of the Hebrew Prophets, it is evident that the consummation they foresaw is even now un1 H. N.
Spalding, Civilizationin East and West, Oxford University Press, 1939, p. 150.
folding. The pattern of their prophecy was closely woven; one cannot separate the strands.
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judab from the four corners of the earth."
This perfectly clear and now fulfilled statement is associated in the visions of the Hebrew Prophets with the coming of God's Kingdom on earth.
In "the great and very terrible" day of the Lord, in "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time," "it shall come to pass that the mountain of the Lord's House shall be established in the top of the mountains and all nations shall flow unto it." "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord and His name one." "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God."2
IlLThe idea of the Kingdom of God on earth scintillates in Hebrew thought with the majesty and power of God as Supreme Ruler, and with the bright promise of the accomplished day of unity and peace. The ruling principles of the ideal state are less clear. Here there are two problems: (1) The na-tore of God's rule on earth, that is, by what mediation, since God Himself is in all true religion and philosophy admitted to be Unknown and Unknowable; and (2) the nature of men's relations to each other. Throughout history the idea of the Kingdom, whether confined to idea or embodied in a visible order, has held as its central point of authority and good the concept of some kind of Vicegerent of God � king, philosopher, priest, or a combination of all.
For the earliest known vision and practice of such a god-centered society, we must look to Egypt where, between about 4000 and 2400 B.C., took place "the first rise of a civilization of profound moral vision anywhere on the globe." Here the "'Sun of righteousness' rose over two thousand years 2 Isaiah, 11; Joel, 2; Daniel, 12; Isaiah, 2; Zecha-dab, 14; Isaiah, 9 and 35.
Page 890earlier than he did in Palestine."3 Fragments of ancient writings show a society formed in the beginning under the presiding influence of the Sun-god Re ("thou art he who overlooks all gods ."), whose character shone forth in the Pharaohs who succeeded him. "It is Command who is in thy mouth, it is Understanding who is in thy heart," became a salutation to the Pharaoh, thus identifying him with qualities attributed (after 3000 B.c.) to the
Sun-god himself. At alater date of moral decadence and misery in the state, after the dissolution of the Second Union about the 25th century B.C., social prophets looking back on that long reign of 'righteousness" or "truth" (Egyptian Maat) found in it their only hope for the future. The sage Ipuwer, mourning his country's unhappy condition, recalled the divine sovereignty of Re: "It is said he is the shepherd of all men. There is no evil in his heart Where is he today? Doth he sleep perchance? Behold his might is not seen."4 It is clear that in the Sun-god these early prophets found not only the divine center of authority in the state, but the source of morality as well.
In documents dating some two thousand years before Christ such concepts as this appear: that good word which came out of the mouth of Re himself: 'Speak truth, do truth, for it is great, it is mighty, it is enduring.'
And again: "I have made every man like his brother, and I have forbidden that they do evil, [but] it was their hearts which undid that which I had said."5 "It is very surprising," writes Breasted of these sages, "that their social idealism took the form of Messianism, the belief in a righteous ruler yet to come, one who should usher in a golden age of justice for all mankind, a belief later inherited by the Hebrews."0 Not long after this time and practically contemporaneous with the foundation of the Hebrew race, in then distant China, a golden age of Sage-Kings was also shaping a pattern which evoked in Chinese thought over many centuries an idea of government guided by kings dedicated to Heaven's rule, supported James Henry Breasted,
The Dawn of Conscience, Charlesby citizens imbued with the highest moral virtues, and guaranteeing to all the benefits of justice and peace.
The princes of Chou [12th century B.C.] were held up by later thinkers 'as a mirror to flash great ideals down the ages.' The worshippers of a 'vast, somewhat impersonal overruling deity,' termed T'ien or 'Heaven,' they drew from its sovereign 'Decree' the prophet-like doctrine that 'rulers are appointed by Heaven for the purpose of ruling the world so as to bring about the welfare of men.' "~ In a later period of disorder, Confucius (551479 B.c.), looking back upon this golden age of the still-reigning Chou dynasty, and delineating the moral virtues essential to good men and good government, recognized the place of the Sage-King in holding all stable.
"A virtuous ruler is like the Polestar, which keeps its place, while all the other stars do homage to it."8 Within the bounds of this essay it is impossible to develop the full argument that throughout history and in societies all over the world there have existed prototypes, as well as mature concepts, of divinely-inspired kings extending their beneficent rule over great dominions, organizing justice and peace, and reflecting upon mankind the power and majesty of God Himself. Not only have such kings reigned, both in vision and actuality, but their remembered exam-pies have led to the projection of utopian kingdoms and commonwealths, wherein the whole of mankind would be gathered under one divine rule.
"The Divine Kingship is one of the earliest and one of the most persistent of institutions in human civilization. Sometimes, as with the high priests and the kings of Israel, the pontiffs and the consuls of Rome, the Popes and the kings of Europe, the priestly and royal offices divide [although seldom entirely]. But in China the Emperor has always been the Son of Heaven; in Persia the kings were god-descended and even today are inspired directly by AliTh; in the Bábylonian cities reigned the priest-kings; in Egypt Pharaoh was god; the rex in Rome and the basileus in Athens held priestly of-K.
K. J. Spalding, Three Chinese Thinkers, p. 18 (Citing Smith and Creel,
The Birth of China).This book contains fascinating material on early concepts of ideal human relations.
S Lionel Giles, The Sayingsfice; in Imperial Rome Caesar was god in death, divine Augustus; even the petty Gothic kings were descended from Odin; in Peru the Inca rulers were priests; to this day the Mikado is priest and god. These have been the symbols of community alone powerful and august enough to battle against disruptive egoism.
Whether we think of Akka, that great Emperor of India whom the Buddha inspired, "more famous than Charlemagne or Caesar"; or of Charlemagne himself, whose aim was to make his Empire a moral community, one vast Christian city ."; or in an earlier day "of the immeasurable majesty of the Roman peace"; or of the kings of China and Egypt before-mentioned; or of Mu1~ammad the Prophet, "founder of a State sole Head of the civil administration, the supreme Judge, the
Commander-in-Chief "Wyor a gain if we recall some of the great concepts which have lifted men's eyes to far horizons � Plato's
Republic; Augustine'sCity of God and its "one Commonwealth of all Christian men"; Dante's vision of true monarchy [De Monarchia]
where "life should be lived in freedom and peace"; and that mother-idea of all Western culture, "Thy Kingdom come" � in all these examples of living kingdoms and living ideas, both precept and promise, we are reminded of the ancient theme: "They shall come from the East and from the West and from the North and from the South and shall sit down in the
Kingdom of God.""Mankind as a whale has always striven to organize a universal state. There have been many great nations with great histories; but the more highly they were developed the more unhappy they were, for they felt more acutely than other people the craving for worldwide union." � Dostoevski.
Because the examples we give are from the past, we ought not to think they have lost potency for the present and future.
Indeed, the idea of the Kingdom becomes in our time the more compelling because the conditions for its realization now exist. Past visions were, by the great minds who con9 George E. G. Catlin, A History of the Political
Phi losophers, Allen &10 Citations in this paragraph, in order, are from Koeppen, Professor Kleinclausz,
The Elder Pliny, Sir ThomasArnold. The succeeding quotations in the paragraph are from the works mentioned.
ceived them, held valid for all the known world � but the known world was at no time all the world.
Although the boundaries were being constantly pressed outward, not until the nineteenth century could men claim to have found most of their brothers, and not until the twentieth century were the means of knowing them really at hand. It follows that not until our own time could the Kingdom of God on earth, by definition and also by logical necessity a universal kingdom, become more than idea, become a possibility.
But is it not also a needed consummation? Is it by accident that the discovery of all the parts of humanity should have been paralleled by far-reaching efforts to unite them in some kind of orderly pattern, some universal state?
Most of such projects for international law and government, from the Hague Tribunal to the United Nations, have been impelled by the threat of war: their goal has been universal peace.
"Of all things," wrote Dante in De Monarchia, "that are ordered to secure blessings to men, peace is the best: by quiet the individual man grows perfect in wisdom; and society as a whole is best fitted in the tranquillity of peace for its proper work, which may be called divine."
In a lecture delivered in Oxford in 1913, Sir W. M. Ramsay comments on this passage: "It is necessary to guard against a misapprehension of what is meant here by the word 'peace.' Dante thinks of peace, not as a negative but as a positive idea. Peace is not the mere absence of war: it is the power that maintains order and makes moral law effective. It is the administrative force of Justice, and it is the necessary condition of freedom It is the orderly balance of active and powerful forces."" The forces of the modern world � whether the products of man's intellectual powers applied to nature; or the expression of his emotional loyalties to nation, race, and religion; or the driving power of his physical needs � all these forces are now loose in one arena. "A crisis has, for the first time in history, come upon the world at once.
The nations are now like beasts herded together in a cage, and without a keeper."12 We should not expect men's powers and forces to abate; they ought on the contrary it Sir W. M. Ramsay, The Imperial Peace � An Ideal iii
European History, OxfordUniversity Press, 1913, pp. 7, 16. This essay is a powerful argument far true kingship at the beart of the modern world st'ate.
12 H. N. Spalding, op.to be immensely fortified in a world of freedom and peace. The challenge is to lead mankind out of the cruel disorder of this age into the long-expected universal state.
But "how shall there be constructed a supreme order able to enforce that universal freedom and justice combined which constitute the active power of peace?"t8 This, the central question of the twentieth century, surcharged with human need, giving voice to the impulse for self-preservation and life more abundant, is in truth the propelling force destined, in the Bahá'í view, to carry humanity from the idea of the Kingdom into its living actuality.
The desirability of the Kingdom of God on earth is today as widely accepted in theory as ever it was in the past � indeed, a great deal more so � but we do not call our vision by this name. The reason is simple. Of the four essentials of the Kingdom, most thoughtful men acknowledge three: There will be one humanity.
There will be a universal state.Order, or the Federation of Mankind, or any other name except the Kingdom, because they do not realize that to exist and endure, it must be a kingdom, and a kingdom not of men but of God.
"Universal peace will not be brought about through human power, and shall not shine in full splendor unless this weighty and important matter shall be realized through the Word of God, and be made to shine forth through the influence of the Kingdom of God." � 'Abdu'l-Bahá The achievement of the "organic and spiritual unity of the whole body of nations~~ is the "supreme mission" of the Bahá'í Faith.'5 The approximately thousand-year span of the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, Founder of that Faith, is understood by His followers to be the precise millennium during which the long process of evolution will carry humanity from isolation and separateness to wholeness and unity on a planetary scale.
BaJA'is14 Tablet to David Buchanan, classmate of President Wilson, written in 1919.
15 Shoghi Effendi, WorldPublishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois, 1938, p. 163.
associate this outcome with the coming of age of the human race.
The Declaration of the Bib, the Forerunner, in 1844, inaugurated this millennium, disclosed its hidden meaning, and imbued mankind with an energy both turbulent and irresistible. The appearance of the DAb signalized humanity's potential coming of age. He released "the creative energies which, reinforced by the effusions of a swiftly succeeding and infinitely mightier Revelation, were to instill into the entire human race the capacity to achieve its organic unification, attain maturity and thereby reach the final stage in its age � long ~ From that date revolutionary changes began to appear in the world. Every race and nation experienced transformation in its traditional life and culture. No people escaped the impact of the new forces which found their expression in radical developments of science and technology, in new and universal aspirations for human welfare, in arts escaping their conventional forms, and in the gradual assemblage of political leadership for the building of a world-embracing order.
"A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth Soon will the presentday Order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. Mankind's ordered life hat/i been revolutionized. through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System, the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed."'7 Such are the plain words spoken by Bahá'u'lláh for the guidance of all who have eyes to see and hearts to understand the world-shaking events of our time.
Now more than a century of this millennium has passed and it is possible to realize the direction of social change; indeed, it is impossible to escape it. What was potential with the appearance of the Báb is day by day seeking its form. Unity in the political realm, named by Bahá'u'lláh the Lesser Peace, is fast crystallizing and is the next stage in world affairs. Bahá'u'lláh, anticipating the struggles which would seize and convulse all peoples in the twentieth century, foresaw as their outcome a transitional period in which the world, realizing at last and only too well "the anarchy inherent in state sovereignty," would "abandon this fetish, rec16 Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By. p. 57.
17 Cited in The Worldognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life."18 "Hold ye fast unto this the Lesser Peace," Bahá'u'lláh cautioned the leaders of mankind, "that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependents � Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice."19
Shoghi Effendi, Guardianof the Baha Faith, has described the Lesser Peace in these terms: "Some form of a world Super-State must needs be evolved, in whose favor all the nations of the world will have willingly ceded every claim to make war, certain rights to impose taxation and all rights to maintain armaments, except for purposes of maintaining internal order within their respective dominions.
Such a state will have to include within its orbit an International Executive adequate to enforce supreme and unchallengeable authority on every recalcitrant member of the commonwealth; a World Parliament whose members shall be elected by the people in their respective countries and whose election shall be confirmed by their respective governments; and a Supreme Tribunal whose judgment will have a binding effect even in such cases where the parties concerned did not voluntarily agree to submit their case to its consideration."20 It will be seen how much stronger is the union of states contemplated by Bahá'ís than any league or organization so far devised. That it will be achieved in a relatively short time, that its birth will mark the coming of age of human society, and that it will lay the basis for the gradual unfoldment of world unity in all its aspects, are Bahá'í teachings which logic reinforces and events must confirm. "This is the stage which the world is now approaching, the stage of world unity, which will, in this century, be securely established."2'
VI.Great as is the achievement promised to this "radiant century" � a century overshadowed by calamity, yet that calamity itself a stimulus and providence � it must be made 18 Shoghi Effendi, ibid., p. 202.
~~Ibid.. p. 162.clear that Bahá'ís view the Lesser Peace as a time of transition. It will "in some degree" better the condition of mankind.
It will not deliver men into the full life of the Kingdom on earth. It will, by ensuring and enforcing world peace, give opportunity for reconstruction, and for the development of civilization on a vast new scale. The human race, having come of age, having attained the equivalent of age twenty-one in the life of the individual, will rapidly progress and show forth its ampler powers. But the life of the spirit, which is man's unique capacity and the oniy source of his contentment and joy, cannot be so quickly renewed. The way of faith in God has been long obscured, and the world has yet a downward path to follow before the Light of Divine Guidance breaks from the mountain tops to illumine the gloomy plain. While politically maturing, mankind will continue to decline spiritually until the Voice of the Promised One reaches and rejoices all ears.
Men must not think, therefore, as they cross the long plateau of the Lesser Peace, that the Divine process has been subdued or human destiny fulfilled.
The laws of growth, ever the same in organic creation, pursue a gradual course; and so the vast organism of collective society will gradually unfold throughout the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh.
In this unfoldment Bahá'ís believe there are two processes at work. The one has been described; the other is yet obscure. The one is outward, in some measure mechanical; the other is the hidden birth and growth of what has been called the embryo and nucleus of the Kingdom of God on earth. It grows from the seed lilanted by the Hand of Bahá'u'lláh in the womb of the planet.
It is a Divine Order, heralded by the Báb, conceived by Bahá'u'lláh, delineated by the mind of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (son of Bahá'u'lláh and Center of His Covenant), and now silently, almost imperceptibly passing through its embryo condition in the rise of the administrative institutions of the Baha Faith. From embryo to child to man's estate, this Order is destined to unfold in a process absolutely distinct from, yet parallel to, the evolution of world society in the Lesser Peace.
Ultimately the two processes are destined to meet and, after a time of gradual fusion, they will culminate in the goal which is common to them both: World Commonwealth, the object of humanity's evolution.
Page 894the promise foretold by prophets and seers for well-nigh six thousand years. This culmination of the Bahá'í Dispensation was described by Bahá'u'lláh as the Most Great Peace, the purpose and glorious outcome of His distinctive mission to mankind. It "must inevitably follow as the practical consequence of the spiritualization of the world and the fusion of all its races, creeds, classes, and nations "22 What else can these words signify but the inception of that vast, universal, all-embrac-ing, spiritual Kingdom which we know as the Kingdom of God on earth? How shall we view this "end of the age," this millennium of transition and fulfillment, save as the Promised Day foretold in all Holy Books?
How shall we understand the One chosen by God to inaugurate such a millennium, and to infuse into the body of mankind the vitality, faith, and vision to unfold its potentiality, save as the Promised One, the
Vicegerent of God, Hewho "hath been sent down to regenerate and unify mankind"?28 "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." "And the Lord
22 Shoghi Effendi, Theshall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord and His Name One."
Such is the expectation held by the followers of Bahá'u'lláh. Such is the hope which they, and they alone, can offer to the whole of mankind in this hour of world affliction and despair.
"Now in the world of being the Hand of divine power hath firmly laid the foundations of this all-highest bounty and this wondrous gift. Whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this holy cycle shall gradually appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning of its growth and the dayspring of the revelation of its signs. Ere the close of this century and of this age, it shall be made clear and evident how wondrous was that springtide and how heavenly was that gift!"24 24 'Abdu'l-Bahá, ibid., p. 111.
Author's Note: The student who wishes to understand the pattern and functioning of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, and its relation to the future World Commonwealth and the Kingdom of God on earth, should make a close study of the published writings of Shoghi Effendi, first Guardian of the
Bahá'í Faith. SectionsV and VI of this article are based on these writings, and in a few points on the Guardian's discourses at table in Haifa, February, 1954.
7. THE CALL OF THE MARTYRSin this crisis of our fortunes time brings round to us the centennial of the great martyrdoms in Persia.
The siege of Tabarsf closed in the spring of 1849 with the death of almost all its defenders including one half of the "Letters of the Living" � MuIU Husayn and Quddfls among them.
In March, 1850, the Seven Martyrs were beheaded in the great square of Tihr4n.
In May of that year the investment of the BThis in Zanj~n opened. In June Vatiid, the "unique and peerless figure of his Age," was martyred, and most of his companions at Nayriz after him.
On July 9 the BTh was shot to death in Tabriz.Early in 1851 tlujjat was killed, and some 1,800 feb low believers perished with him. Then in 1852 came the universal holocaust of torture and massacre which involved
TThirihand thousands of others and did not cease till every discoverable BAlM was slain or cowed or driven into exile. The authorities then were assured the movement was at an end and its fires quenched forever.
Little did those blind and wicked men know the power hidden in this Cause or the profound effects of self-sacrificing faith.
With unflinching firmness the martyrs went to the doom for which they had longed and prayed, counting such a death a boon and a reward. They endured their sufferings with superhuman patience, breaking their stubborn silence, if at all, only to utter words of forgiveness to their executioners or to chant a hymn of thanksgiving to the Beloved into whose presence they were passing.
So unexampled was their resolution and their fortitude that it astonished and bewil
Page 895dered beholders, attracted hearts, made converts (secret or open) to the Bib, spread His fame and that of His followers beyond the borders of Persia and inspired many a revering tribute from western scholars or diplomats and others who told in glowing phrases of the "rare and beautiful spirit of self-sacrifice" which distinguished the Báb's and of "the sublime and unmurmuring devotion" with which they defied their torture-mon-gers.
To an American correspondent who in after years wrote of these dreadful scenes, 'Abdu'l-Bahá replied in a Tablet which has since found its way into print that these martyrdoms fanned the fire of the love of God, spread the Word of God, uplifted the standard of God and drew from the Tree of Life fragrances of holiness that were diffused through the world. We of the West have seen the proof of the enduring effects of this heroic devotion to God in the deep, strong, steadfast faith that distinguishes today the Bahá'ís of the Land of the Martyrs. Bahá'u'lláh in a great prayer for forgiveness of sins has permitted us to plead "the blood of Thy lovers who were so attracted by Thy sweet utterance that they betook themselves to the lofty summit of the
Mount of Great Martyrdom."To tinge thy hair with thy blood is greater in My sight than the creation of the universe and the light of both worlds.
Strive then to attain this, 0 servant!"They gave their lives simply for love of God, that they might be true to Him, be close to Him, be united with Him. Love and longing for God uplifted, transformed them, gave them a strange new strength and held them firm through every trial.
Nothing less than this divinely given rapture could have animated such utter self-abandonment as was theirs. It was not firmness of character, not love for the principles of the Faith, not love for its ideals, nor for its reforms, nor even love for virtue and for the attributes of God, which inspired their heroism: but rather an unreserved, all-ab-sorbing, all-forgetting devotion for one in Whom they saw God Manifest.
Before they knew Him, they had, one and all (even the valiant Ijusayn, even T&hirih) been ordinary men and women, with their selfishnesses and their doubts; till love came upon them and transmuted their whole being, ing, changed the gnat into an eagle, the hare into a lion, gave them the mastery of life and ushered them into new ranges of ecstasy and power.
That Heroic Age is past.The martyrs stand to us as an example and a challenge. They show us what an appeal, a charm lies in this Faith for hearts that are sensitive to its influence.
But the battle which they fought is still unwon, the Faith for which they died has not as yet prevailed.
In a world, perverse, preoccupied, obfuscated with doubt and pride, a new opposition has taken form, a new foe has reared his gloomy ramparts against the advancing Truth. From their bloodstained graves the voice of the martyrs calls on us believers of a later day, for a love, a courage as deeply based as theirs that shall now achieve that ultimate victory which their Lord promised them and which their hearts foresaw.
Their courage was infinite.None can measure it. Tried to the uttermost it showed no tremor but only triumphant strength. Earth's bitterest cruelty tried to break it but only made it burn higher and with an in-tenser flame.
Bahá'u'lláh in a Word"The essence of courage," He tells us, "is the promotion of the Word of God and steadfastness in His love."
The Qur'an writes, "Thetruly brave are those who stand firm and behave patiently under ills and hardships; their patience is only for God and not to display bravery."
It is the Cause that matters.It is the Cause that distinguishes from all lesser kinds of courage the courage that rises in the soul, that lasts on into the hereafter, that is a permanent possession.
It is the Cause that opens these hidden reserves of strength and rapture; and this all-hallowing Cause is none other than the selfless service of God and of His Beloved.
The story of the martyrs as handed down to us shows on every page, in every word that the ground of their heroism was the ardor of their faith. In Nabil's record and in the testimony of Báb's cjttoted in it, doctrine fills but little place; faith is all in all. The Báb's imprisonment separated Him from His disciples and they had few opportunities of receiving His instructions; but through their deep, strong, ardent faith they reached the end of all learning and exhausted knowi
Page 896edge � they became one with God. To us in this Formative Age doctrine is much, teaching problems are urgent, constructive work is vital; yet no service can take the place of Faith. 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave us a command and imposed on us a Covenant: "As your faith is, so shall your blessings and your powers be. That is the standard. That is the standard. That is the standard."
Unquestioning belief in the Manifestation; an unshadowed vision of God in Him; impassioned love for Him; this is the handle of every weapon in the armor of the soldiers of Light.
It is not enough that we should believe; we are required to deepen our faith continually.
It is not enough to acknowledge Bahá'u'lláh and love Him; we must love Him more and more. Faith and love are living, growing, expanding things, as seed, as leaven.
A believer once started on his way, cannot stand still without incurring grievous loss. If he does not grow forward, he slips back.
"Let your morning be better than your evening, and your day an improvement on the morning," was the command of Bahá'u'lláh.
"It is not permissible for two days to resemble each other," said Muijammad.
The BANs were forever eager and active in the Cause of God, forever facing danger. They associated with one another. They called on the Sacred Name, they chanted their prayers together. The joy of their love so radiated from them that it was commonly said one could not have tea with them without wishing to join their society. Their enemies charged them with magic, with casting spells of love on those who came to them. And when the summons came to dare and to die for their Beloved, they were ready.
The Source on which they drew for their strength is within the reach of all of us 'Abdu'l-Bahá has expressed it in these words: � "Our Strength is the Strength of the Blessed Perfection!
Though all mankind unite against us,be ours; Nor can all the world despoil us of it. His Strength is our weapon to wield for evermore, With it we shall conquer all things.
His Strength is a sword that rusteth not, A treasure that knows no bounds."
8. THE PATH TO GODREVELATION, the Path to God, has been progressive.
Early man could understand a little truth; later he could assimilate great truth. Fundamentally the truth was one. With each appearance of truth, a rebirth of powers has attended it; man has been imbued with divine ideals, and an ever-advancing civilization has taken new steps forward. The miracle of new social power is accompanied by the appearance of a Master Teacher. The lettered Jews sprang from the spiritual genius of Moses; the glory of ancient Persia reflected the fire of
Zoroaster; unfolding Europelifts her spires to the glorious Nazarene; the architecture, astronomy, and poetic genius of the Muslim world in the middle centuries bespeak the gift of Mul2am-mad. "He hath ordained," writes Bahá'u'lláh, "that in every age and dispensation, a pure and stainless Soul be made manifest in the kingdoms of earth and heaven."
To the individual, this is always an invitation to sit at the feet of the Master Teacher and renew his own powers.
Laying aside the fears imposed today by tradition, the seeker of the Path fearlessly looks for the stainless mirror of his age. The Jew who knows the majesty of Moses, the Christian who longs to touch the garment hem of Jesus; these are the souls schooled in adoration. The illumined Writings of Bahá'u'lláh will bring to these, and to the untutored millions, the light of renewed faith and the means of traveling with sovereign power the immeasurable distances of the Path to God.
The Words of Bahá'u'lláh, coming as a part of the unending outpouring of the Word of God through the ages, act as the water of life upon the thirsty soul, refreshing, cheering, and bringing forth the powers of the seeker.
Every life needs the emphasisof the love of God, but some cast about for a lifetime, failing to find this Holy Grail of spiritual health and joy. Just as bodies are sometimes lacking in the food elements that produce health, the soul sometimes stands in need of a divine physician who can prescribe the missing elements for spiritual success. The few thoughts given here are chosen from the unlimited mine of wisdom and explanation offered in the Bahá'í Writings. Space permits mention of only a few.
POWER THROUGH PRAYERFaculties long allowed to rust must be called into activity. Man becomes like a stone unless he continually supplicates to God. Prayer is the great quickener. There is no human being who is not in need of prayer.
'Abdu'l-Bahá said, "0 thou spiritual friend!Thou hast asked the wisdom of prayer. Know thou that prayer is indispensable and obligatory, and man under no pretext whatsoever is excused from performing the prayer unless he be mentally unsound, or an insurmountable obstacle prevent him." The sincere seeker, however, often asks, "Why pray, since God knows our needs?" In response, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá mention many of the benefits of prayer.
1. Connection with God"The wisdom of prayer is this: That it causeth a connection between the servant and the True One, because in that state man with all heart and soul turneth his face towards His Highness the Almighty, seeking His association and desiring His love and compassion.~~
2. Divine Companionship"Verily He responds unto those who invoke Him, is near unto those who pray unto Him. And He is thy Companion in every loneliness, and befriends every exile."
3. Joy"Know thou that supplication and prayer is the Water of Life. It is the cause of the vivification of existence and brings glad tidings and joy to the soul."
"Know that in every home where God is praised and prayed to, and His Kingdom proclaimed, that home is a garden of God and a paradise of His happiness."
4. Healing"There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means.
The first is by the use of remedies, of medicines; the second consists in praying to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be used and practiced Moreover, they are not contradictory, and thou shouldst accept the physical remedies as coming from the mercy and favor of
God"0 thou pure and spiritual one! Turn thou toward God with thy heart beating with His love, devoted to His praise, gazing toward His Kingdom and seeking help from His Holy Spirit in a state of ecstasy, rapture, love, yearning, joy and fragrance.
God will assist thee, through a Spirit from His Presence, to heal sickness and disease."
"Continue in healing hearts and bodies and seek healing for sick persons by turning unto the Supreme Kingdom and by setting the heart upon obtaining healing through the power of the Greatest Name and by the spirit of the love of God."
5. Protection"Besides all this, prayer and fasting is the cause of awakening and mindfulness and conducive to protection and preservation from tests."
6. Removal of Difficulties"Say, God sufficeth all things above all things, and nothing in the heavens or in the earth but God sufficeth. Verily, He is in Himself, the Knower, the Sustainer, the Omnipotent."
(Prayers of the DAb, the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, to be used in times of difficulty.)
7. Increased capacity "By these attractions one's ability and capacity increase. When the vessel is widened the water increaseth and when the thirst grows, the bounty of the cloud becomes agreeable to the taste of man. This is the mystery of supplication and the wisdom of stating one's wants."
Page 8988. Effect upon the World "Intone, 0 My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men.
Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb."
9. Intercession"Those who have ascended have different attributes from those who are still on earth, yet there is no real separation. In prayer there is a mingling of station, a mingling of condition. Pray for them as they pray for you.
Asked whether it was possible through faith and love to bring the New Revelation to the knowledge of those who have departed from this life without having heard of it, 'Abdu'l-Bahá replied, "Yes, surely!
since sincere prayer always has its effect, and it has a great influence in the other world. We are never cut off from those who are there. The real and genuine influence is not in this world but in that other."
"He who lives according to what was ordained for him � the Celestial Concourse, and the people of the Supreme Paradise, and those who are dwelling in the Dome of Greatness will pray for blin, by a Command from God, the Dearest and the praiseworthy."
"0 Thou Omnipotent Lord!In this great dispensation Thou dost accept the intercession of the Sons and daughters in behalf of their parents. This is one of the special, infinite bestowals of this cycle. Therefore, 0 Thou kind Almighty, accept the request of this Thy servant at the threshold of Thy singleness and submerge my mother in the ocean of Thy Graces."
The science of going about prayer is so little understood that we find ourselves, in the words of Tennyson: "A child crying in the night, A child crying for the light, And with no language but a cry."
'Abdu'l-Bahá suggested that there were four wonderful qualities that could help us to pray. The first is a detached spirit. It is a lit-tie like closing a window to the noises of the street, that the strains of the violin within the room may not be lost. The second is unconditional surrender of our own wills to the Will of God.
This is very subtle and very difficult, for the self is inclined to argue with God and to rationalize its own desires, putting them always first. How few have the singular purity of the child who wanted a horse more than anything else in the world, and decided to pray for it. After a time her father said, "God did not answer your prayer, did He?" "But of course He did," she said simply, "He said no!" Concentrated attention is the third quality, and the fourth, true spiritual passion, that ardor and devotion which distinguishes the apostle from the multitude.
Surely God will raise to His very Presence the least peasant who whole-heart-edly casts himself at His feet, in preference to the kings of the earth who are complacent. In the highest prayer, man prays only for the love of God.
The actual words help concentration. It is good to repeat the words so that the tongue and heart act together and the mind is better able to concentrate. Then the whole man is surrounded by the spirit of prayer.
The communes of Bahá'u'lláh are like invigorating breezes; there is great power in using them aloud, for the exalted pen of a Manifestation of God is a source of power in the world. Prayer may be likened to a song; both words and music make the song.
If prayer is to become a guiding force, a protection, a joy, and the source of divine companionship, it must become a habit. How often a human being waits for the vicissitudes of life to drive him Godward when in reality the harmony, health, and full victory lie in continual praise and supplication. One needs to be in a perennial state of prayer. "The greatest happiness for a lover is to converse with his beloved
VICTORIOUS LIVINGA man's goal is God. He is born to tread the Path to God. In the words of Bahá'u'lláh, "The purpose of God in creating man hath been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence."
Success depends upon surrender to God at every turn.
"0 thou who hast surrendered thy will to God!" wrote Bahá'u'lláh,
"Byself-surrender and perpetual union with God is meant that men should merge their will wholly in the Will of God, and regard their desires as utter nothingness beside His Purpose." This is the secret of happiness.
"The liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth. Whoso hath tasted of its sweetness will refuse to barter it for all the dominion of earth and heaven."
Those on the Path are conscious of this joy.They have a sense of victory that no circumstance, however ruthless, is able to destroy. When the earliest Bahá'í pilgrims found their way to the prison city af 'Akka, 'Abdu'l-Bahá would often call in such radiant souls as the aged ilaydar-'AII, who, because of his great suffering and saintly character, was called the angel of 'Akka.
When the American visitors seemed discontented with their lot, 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
would say that Ijaydar-'Ali had also suffered; that he had been dragged across a desert with his head in a sack! But Ijaydar-'Ali made always the same reply, "I have known only the joy of serving my Lord."
Lady l3lomfield, foremost early Baha of England, records the tender moments when 'Abdu'1-13ah4 made His journey through the West, and interviewed, under her own roof, so many of the thoughtful of that land. When the people said, "We are glad, oh!
so glad that you are free," He replied: "To me prison was freedom.
"Troubles are a rest to me."Therefore I was full of happiness all through that prison time.
"When one is released from the prison of self, that is indeed freedom!
For self is the greatest prison."When this release takes place, one can never be imprisoned. Unless one accepts dire vicissitudes, not with dull resignation, but with radiant acquiesence, one cannot attain this freedom."
Martha Root, greatest of the first century Baha teachers, knew the secret.
On her last historic journey through the West, she was asked the secret of her success and happiness.
This plain little woman who had stood before queens and emperors with such undeniable power, replied thoughtfully, "It is important to find out God's first choice about everything.
Then the bounties flow, the hearts are made happy, and the spirit of attraction is at work."
Such a soul has nothing to fear. There is no circumstance that cannot be used for progress an the Path to God. "Nothing save that which profiteth them can befall My loved ones," testified Bahá'u'lláh.
"The sea of joy yearneth to attain your presence, for every good thing bath been created for you, and will, according to the needs of the times, be revealed unto you."
Radiant acquiesdnce to the Will of God means obedience to His Commands and contentment in all that befalls, but it never means inertia, laziness, and slothful living. Activity in God's Will is the law of victory. God can no more guide an inactive soul than a man can guide a car while it stands by the side of the road, inert. "Pray and act," Martha would say. Action attracts the answer to the prayer. That is the reason for the importance of deeds in victorious living. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote, "By faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds." These deeds are the wealth of the friends of God.
Those who have arisen to teach these truths have all experienced the confirming power of assistance which Bahá'u'lláh promised to His sincere servants. "A company of Our chosen angels shall go forth with them, as bidden by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise If he be kindled with the fire of His love, the words he uttereth shall set on fire them that hear him. Verily thy Lord is the Omniscient, the All-Informed. Happy is the man that bath heard Our voice and answered Our call. He, in truth, is of them that shall be brought nigh unto us." Even daily work done in the spirit of service is an important part of victorious living, for it is accounted by Bahá'u'lláh as worship. He writes, "We have made this, your occupation, identical with the worship of God, the True One."
Living apart for pious worship is therefore discouraged.
As Jesus gave His life to men in the market places, so must our spirituality find practical expression among the people.
No life is victorious that cannot live with its fellows. "Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness and love."
A Baha drops away all forms of arrogance. His door is open to black and white, rich and poor, fellow countryman and foreign born. "Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one
Page 900with another with the utmost love and harmony So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth." The practice of social unity by a mere handful of the champions of God must slowly give rise to the harmony of the race.
IMMORTALITYThe Path to God is a stream of upward consciousness; it does not end with this small world. Our existence here may be likened to an acorn which, if quickened with life, becomes an oak. Or it may be likened to a child in the matrix of the mother as it develops its faculties of sight, hearing, and the like, for use in this world.
So does the soul treat this world as a place of beginning in which it develops its spiritual faculties for use in all the worlds of God. The Word of God quickens the soul as the spring sunshine quickens the acorn, and from a single Word of even one of the Prophets or Manifestations of God, a soul may attain to the stream of consciousness.
Many are the assurances of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá concerning this journey for the soul who faithfully sets out on the path to
God.The true believer will "eternally live and endure, His spirit will everlastingly circle round the Will of God.
He will last as long as God, Himself, will last It is evident that the loftiest mansions in the Realm of Immortality have been ordained as the habitation of them that have truly believed in God and in His signs.
Death can never invade that holy seat."The other world is a world of knowledge and memory.
"Undoubtedly the holy souls who find a pure eye and are favored with insight will in the kingdom of lights be acquainted with all mysteries, and will seek the bounty of witnessing the reality of every great soul. Even they will manifestly behold the Beauty of God in that world." "The mysteries of which man is heedless in this earthly world, those will he discover in the heavenly world, and there will he be informed of the secret of truth; how much more will he recognize or discover persons with whom he hath been associated."
Not a static heaven, but a busy, active condition, bright with growth and progress, is visualized for us by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Those who have passed on through death have a sphere of their own.
It is not removed from ours. Their work, the work of the Kingdom is like ours but it is sanctified from time and place. "It is as if a kind gardener transfers a fresh and tender shrub from a narrow place to a vast region. This transference is not the cause of the withering, the waning or the destruction of that shrub, nay rather it makes it grow and thrive, acquire freshness and delicacy and attain verdure and fruition."
Bahá'u'lláh speaks of the power bestowed upon the faithful in the world of continuance. "The soul that hath remained faithful to the Cause of God, and stood unwaveringly firm in His Path shall, after his ascension, be possessed of such power that all the worlds which the Almighty hath created can benefit through him. Such a soul provideth, at the bidding of the Ideal King and Divine Educator, the pure leaven that leaveneth the world of being, and furnisheth the power through which the arts and wonders of the world are made manifest. Consider how meal needeth leaven to be leavened with. Those souls that are the symbols of detachment are the leaven of the world.
Meditate on this, and be of the thankful."And again, joy is the keynote! "0 Son of the Supreme! I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom?"
"Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It be-stowetli joy and is the bearer of gladness. It conferreth the gift of everlasting life. As to those who have tasted of the fruit of man's earthly existence, which is the recognition of the one true God, exalted be His glory, their life hereafter is such as We are unable to describe.
The knowledge thereof is with God alone, the Lord of all the worlds."
"0 my servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes."
The greatest gift of all, bestowed in the worlds of light, must be the gift of companionship with the holy souls of every age. The heart is immediately stirred by such a possibility. The grandeur of Moses comes close to us; we sit again at the feet of Jesus the Christ! In short, we come to the conclu
Page 901sion that the true believer of this illumined time is the associate and intimate of the apostles of former times. "Likewise will they find all the friends of God, both those of the former and recent times, present in the heavenly assemblage."
"Blessed is the soul which, at the hour of its separation from the body, is sanctified from the vain imaginings of the peoples of the world. Such a soul liveth and moveth in accordance with the Will of its Creator, and entereth the all-highest Paradise. The maids of Heaven, inmates of the loftiest mansions, will circle around it, and the Prophets of God and His chosen ones will seek its companionship.
With them that soul will freely converse, and will recount unto them that which it hath been made to endure in the path of God, the Lord of all worlds. If any man be told that which hath been ordained for such a soul in the worlds of God, the Lord of the throne on high and of earth below, his whole being will instantly blaze out in his great longing to attain that most exalted, that sanctified and resplendent station."
An American friend who had enjoyed the privilege of more than one visit to 'Akka. during the days of the exile of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, related an incident that took place at His table. With her sat persons of varied races, some of them traditional enemies who had now grown so to love one another that life and fortune would not have been too much to give if called upon to do so. As the reality of their love gradually became plain to her, there was born a ray of the knowledge of the intimacy of the near ones in the world beyond. When the meal drew to a close, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of the immortal worlds. As nearly as she could remember, the words he spoke were these: "We have sat together many times before, and we shall sit together many times again in the Kingdom.
We shall laugh together very much in those times, and we shall tell of the things that befell us in the Path of God.
In every world of God a new Lord's Supper is set for the faithful!"
The secret of so great a fulfillment is inti macy with God through His Messenger. Revelation, the open door to God, is forever linked with the Revelator. With one gracious gesture God bestows upon the world a divine physician, a lawgiver, a perfect pattern, and a point of union with its God.
Happy is the heart that experiences fusion with the Manifestation of God's Perfection. Paul would be made alive in Christ Jesus. Stephen, radiant even as the excited mob hurled him from the cliff, cries, "Behold, I see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of God the Father."
'AU, youthful disciple of this day, proclaims as he offers his life, "If I recant, whither shall I go? In Him, I have found my paradise."
The Word of God is the Water of Life, one Word throughout cycles and ages. The soul, refreshed by new waters, finds itself yet on the old Path, the ancient, eternal Path. To tread that Path with dignity and joy, through this world and hereafter, is every man's birthright. Therefore, once in about a thousand years, God, in His great compassion, clears the Path of superstition and division, that the Way may be made plain once more for the sincere seeker.
And so Bahá'u'lláh has come.Today the stage is set for the greatest spiritual drama of history, for the rebirth of the powers of the human race will be for the first time world wide and in proportion to infinitely higher development. The coming of Bahá'u'lláh marks the close of a great cycle, the beginning of one infinitely greater. Man has come of age; a worldwide unity will appear, enjoyed by a new race. Bahá'u'lláh is the Father promised by Isaiah, the Michael spoken of by Daniel, the Spirit of Truth prophesied by Jesus, the Mihdi foretold by Muhammad, the Friend promised by Gautama, the icih
Bahr4m of Zoroaster. Hiscoming is the bow of promise in the sky. "The universe is wrapped in an ecstasy of joy and gladness." "Peerless is this Day, for it is as the eye to past ages and centuries, and as a light unto the darkness of the times."
Page 902A MONG the apostles of modern science and liberty of thought, a prominent place belongs to Michele Lessona, an Italian, whose sincere and courageous words inspired and helped mold the character of at least two generations of Italians.
A scientist, a writer, a philosopher, an explorer and an educator, Professor Lessona stands out � with a stature that towers above that of many a wellknown scientist � as one of the foremost thinkers of the nineteenth century.
He was born September 20, 1823, in Ve-naria Reale, a suburb of Turin.
His father,Dr. Carlo Lessona, was at the time the director of the wellknown veterinary school of Venaria, and this fact might explain the boy's early interest in scientific study.
In 1846 Michele Lessonaobtained a degree of medicine and surgery from the
Royal University of Turin.Immediately after graduation he went to Egypt and, although rather young, was appointed Chief of the KlAn Kah Hospital in Cairo.
In 1849 he returned to Italy and became an instructor in Natural History, first in Asti and then in Turin.
In 1854, at the age of 31, he was appointed Professor of Mineralogy and Zoology at the Royal University of Genoa. In 1864, after his return from Persia, he taught first at the University of Bologna and then at the University of Turin.
Here he occupied in 1865 the Chairs of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, becoming in 1877 the Rector of that University.
During his life Michele Lessona produced a variety of scientific and literary works. Among his classical publications are to be remembered an illustrated treatise on natural history, in several volumes; his masterpiece on ethics, Power and Will; Confessions of a Rector; Memoirs of an Old Professor; and the translation into Italian of the best known works of Darwin, Samuel Smiles, John Lubbock, and many others.
In 1892 King Humbert of Italy made him a Senator for life, a well-deserved recompense for his patriotism, leadership and learning.
He passed away, amidst universal sorrow, on July 20, 1894, in his beloved Turin.
In 1862 Professor Lessonahad been appointed physician to the diplomatic delegation that went to Persia at that time to establish relations between the newly created Kingdom of Italy and the government of N6siri'd-Din ShAh.
Immediately on his arrival in Tabriz, he met a Persian of high lineage, DAPd KMn who, having lived for many years in Italy, spoke
Italian perfectly. Fromthis gentleman Lessona learned of the BThi movement, and he became fascinated with the life of the
Page 903When opportunity permitted, he ttied to visit places connected with the history of the Báb, and he had the opportunity to converse, many times and at length, with Count de Gobi-aeau, the French ambassador to the court of the Sh6h.
When he returned towrote a book Hunting in Persia and a precious little monograph of sixty-six pages entitled I Bab.
Fernando Morosi, a Bahá'íof Rome and a book dealer by profession, recently found a copy of this book, which was immediately dispatched to Haifa and is now in the custody of Shoghi Effendi. It represents one of the very first documentations, made by an European, of the episode of the BTh.
The little book was printed in 1881 by the RoyalBona of Turin and contains a good narrative of the life of the BTh and other personal considerations of the author concerning the BAN movement.
Some of the episodes he relates differ slightly from the accounts in the wellknown histories by Browne, de Gobineau, and Nabil-i-Zarandi There are, however, other parts of the book which I would like to bring to the attention of the reader.
After presenting his informant, D~iid KhAn the author comments: "Religious discussions are of comfort to the misfortunate who are oppressed by tyranny and always stripped, or about to be stripped, of everything they own."
Presenting the figure of the Báb, he says: "Forty years ago, in the city of $bir4z, there left childhood and entered puberty a youth that for his singular potency of intellect, for his extraordinary application to study, his profound religious tendencies, his loving nature, for his energy of character, grace of body and beauty of countenance awakened admiration and affection in everyone who had occasion to deal with him, and captivated all the love of his teachers and relatives. The name of this youth was Mirza 'AU-Muhammad.
It was said later that his family was of the high nobility, one of those descending from the Prophet by way of the Imim Uusayn It is certain that his family was wealthy and that he was encouraged in every manner in his most ardent 1 Edward 0. Brawne, translator and editor of A Traveller's
Narrative; M. le Cainedo Gobinean, author of Les Religions et les Philosophies dans PAste Centrale; and Mu1~ammad-i-Zarandi, surnamed Nabil-i-A'?am, author of The Dawn-Breakers.
Title Page of Lessona'sHistory of the Báb Movement, written in 1862 and published in 1881 in Turin, Italy � one of the earliest European accounts of the life and martyrdom of the ~ desire to learn. Mirza 'All-Muhammad showed ardor similarly in religious practices ''He would converse with the Rabbis of Shiriz.
He would investigate the doctrine of the Gabras2 It is also certain that he studied the Gospels, a rather easy matter, thanks to the volumes of the Bible and the Gospel translated into the Persian language which the British disseminated in all of Persia A bad translation in poor style, without the imagination and the floweriness of these sacred books."
"The present SliTh, N6~iri'd-Dfn, sometimes during his luncheon requests the reading of the Bible in Persian and sometimes he laughs, and then the courtiers burst into a clamorous laughter and for a few days they speak only of that verse, or word, which has provoked the hilarity of the sovereign."
Speaking of the clergy, Lessona observes: "The clergy of Persia is extremely corrupt; at the same time it administers religion and justice � the first badly, the second worse; it falsifies wills, defrauds of possessions, sells justice, practices usury and indulges in debauchery The powerful 2 GaIn-(or guebTe), a term used contemptuously to designate the Zoroastrian priesthood (see A Traveller's Narrative, page 34, footnote 1).
Page 904ones are in fear of it, the lowly scoff at it, the masses despise and exploit it, ready to deride and ridicule it or to rise up at its call to revolt.
Every mosque has a larger or smaller number of beggars who live off scant charity and become instruments of violence, plunder and death in the hands of the priests."
Professor Lessona then speaks of Dr. Polak3 who, at the time, was physician to the ShAh and who wrote books of medicine in Persian.
Relating in detail the history of the BThis, he mentions the eighteen Letters of the Living4 of one of whom, Mulki IJu-sayn, he writes: "He was a very learned man, both in religion and jurisprudence: daring, austere and fiery."
Returning to the beginning of the ministry of the Báb, he says: His style was imaginative and sublime, not like anything human; thus to his quality of a most eloquent orator he added that of an inimitable writer.
And while he preached, discussed and taught in the mosques, in the colleges, in the streets, in his house, everywhere they were reading aloud his verses, often interrupting with cries of the most ardent admiration. In all of Shiriz they did not speak of anything else but the Bib, everyone was filled with enthusiasm for him The house of the B~b was crowded, night and day, with new converts to his faith; to him came men rich in possessions, men of intellect and energy, and among the very first many mull~ts enrolled under his banner."
The author speaks of Qurratu'1-'Ayn5 and the siege of Tabarsi,6 and, having visited Zanj6n,7 he states: "I visited that city ten years after the happenings I have related, Dr. 3. E. Polak, author of Persien. Dos Land und seine Bewohner (1865), was also professor at the Medical College of
Tihr~.n (A Traveller'sEffendi, p. 5); their names are listed in The Dawn-Breakers, pp. 8081.
5 Qurratu'1-'Ayn, "the only woman enrolled by the H~b as one of the Letters of the Living" (God Passes By, p. 73), given the title T~hirih (the Pure One) by Bahá'u'lláh, "the lovely but rn-fated poetess of Qasvin" (Curzon) became well known throughout Europe for her efforts in behalf of the education of the women of
Persia.6 For an account of the eleven-months' siege of 313 followers of the B~b at the shrine of Sjjaykb Tabarsi, a few nifles south of B~rfurdsh, by the army of the ShAh, see God Passes By, pp. 3842, and Dawn-Breakers, pp. 343429. It was during this siege that MLI11~ Husayn and Qudd6s were killed.
~ The uprising against the followers of the B~b at ZanjAn is described in God Passes By, pp. 4446, and in chapter
24 of The Dawn-Breakers.and I still found frightening traces of the devastation which had taken place."
Referring to the difficulty of securing more information on the Báb movement, he adds: In Persia it is impossible to speak of the BANs or to learn something about their affairs. The terror which this name awakens is such that no one dares to speak, or even think, of it. The Italians whom I found in Tihrgn, and who proved extremely kind in every way, wanted to tell me little or nothing about the BThis, or were unable to do so; the same was true of Europeans of other nationality in Tihr6n, Tabriz or Rasht. Nicolas/ with whom I made the long journey from Tihr~n to St. Petersburg, started to speak to me about them oniy after we passed the
Persian frontier Countde Gobi-neau, in the village of Gezer near TilirAn, would narrate to me episodes about this sect, making the hours of the evening pass as lightning while he wrote its history and read to me some chapters Gathering material for the history of the Bib, which he was doing at the time, was fraught with danger in the heart of Persia, even for a Minister of the French
Emperorcritical comments on the episode of Sliaykjj Tabarsi2 Lessona states: ". this judgment is entirely unjust and a thousand miles from the truth, if we want to apply it to the precepts of the Báb These precepts are in a symbolical language and, amidst mystic formulas, we found the sweet doctrines of the Báb, respectful of the past but made to contrast with formalism and to make the spirit of goodness prevail The
B~b and Qurratu'1-'Aynwere purified from any thought of violence and their lives were filled with love for their fellow men and with enthusiasm for the Faith In relating the atrocious tortures inflicted on the B~bis, Lessona relates:
The ShAh and the Sadr-i-A'~am (PrimeMinister) feared a revolution, seeing conspirators all around them; they thought therefore to devise some scheme that would involve the largest number of persons.
The8 Monsieur J. B. Nicolas, Interpreter of the Imperial
French Embassy in TitrAnand father of A. L. M. Nicolas, author of Siyyid 'AZI-Mu4ammad dit Xe Edt, Paris, Dujaraic & Cc., 1905.
9 Hermann V~mb6ry, author of Meine Wcrnderun-gen und Erlebnisse in Persien (1867), writes concerning the siege of Sbaykb Tabarsi pp. 286303), according to
Browne, in A Traveller's~;t es.,.j,.. ederro salan ~ ~ P.~by~d ~ /~ ~7L~r ~� ~~/A K ~ sin 6
S3~Yv ~Sh~ih then schemed to deliver the Báb's to the various civil and military employees, charging them to put said Báb's to death. From the type of torture inflicted on the victims, from the most heinous manner in which they would be put to death, he could judge their~ zeal Those who had not enough imagination to find new tortures went to the Kalantar who knew how to suggest others That Kalantar then acquired many titles to the Sh~ih's benevolence "10 "From that day," the author continues, "eighteen years have passed and in Persia the same sovereign, N~tsiri'd-Din Sh~th reigns, always diffident, always suspecting, always in fear of the BThis. From time to time they arrest some one, condemn him very often to despoliation for the reason that he is a B~bi but more often using this as 10 This system of persecution is attested also by Nabil, op. cit., p. 612, footnote 2, and by Browne, op. cit.,
Note T, p. 328.an excuse. The governors of the provinces thus have an easy method of taking all the possessions of a poor victim who has put something aside.
The government says that BThism is extinguished, but it operates as if it were alive "A new Bab, successor to the first, lives in Baghdcid, outside the government of the SMh.
From there he is in touch with all Persia and has disseminated Báb's in all those provinces and even in the Indies of the
Orient."This correspondent was thrilled in reading these words, because of all the early European historians of the Faith Michele Lessona makes a direct and unmistakable reference to Bahá'u'lláh, Who the following year in Baghd~c1 made His Declaration in the Rid-vttn.
The author ends his monograph by putting before the reader the question whether the Báb doctrine would survive and propa gate. Wisely he answers it himself by quoting one of Manzoni's verses: "To posterity the arduous judgment!"
The great friendship born in Persia between Lessona and Count de Gobineau had its strange epilogue in Turin. After the fall of the French Empire, de Gobineau, exiled from his native France, spent part of the year in Italy and part in Germany.
On the evening of October 12, 1882, a distinguished looking and elegantly dressed gentleman, on his way to Pisa, became ill in a hotel bus in Turin. He was taken to the Hotel Liguria and there this traveler died, the early morning of October 13, attended by the hotel owner and some of the servants. The hand of fate had made it possible for Count Arthur Joseph de Gobineau to sleep forever in Italian soil and in the same town where Michele Lessona lived and where Les-sona, himself, twelve years later was laid to rest.
10. THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND WORLDINEVITABLY as the upward swing of the pendulum is followed by a downward stroke, or as synthesis emerges from the interaction of thesis and antithesis, modern thinkers are countering the coldly rational materialistic bent of the late nineteenth century with a new appreciation of the basic need for humans to believe in something beyond the laboratories of physical science. A historian, Toynbee, has pointed out that the practical extinction of faith in Western society is "the supreme danger to the spiritual health and even to the material existence of the Western body social � a deadlier danger, by far, than any of our hotly canvassed and loudly advertised political and economic maladies."1 A biophysicist, du Noily, has emphasized the necessity for basing a new moral development "on a unification, a reconciliation of the rational � science � with * This article appeared in Common Cause, 4:92, September, 1950, and is reprinted here by permission of the author and the publishers,
The University of ChicagolArnold 3. Toynbee, A Study of History. London, Oxford University Press, 1939, vol. V. p. 671.
the universal � faith; on an explanation of the relation between matter and spirit."2 In response to this almost unconscious but apparently fundamental need, and possibly because older religious forms have all too conspicuously failed to bring to the masses either individual or international peace, new religious movements are beginning to receive the attention of mankind.
It should be a matter of some encouragement that one new religious approach which has been preeminently successful in gaining active and loyal adherents in every continent of the globe, and in every country where freedom of religious discussion is permitted, is a faith which places among its most basic purposes the establishment of a world commonwealth. Despite suppression and persecution from civil and from ecclesiastical authorities both in Persia, the land of its birth, and in the Turkish Empire, to which it was carried in
2Lecomte dii Noily, HumanDestiny. New York, Longmans, Green & Co., 1947, p. 256.
Page 907its very earliest days, after barely one hundred years the Baha faith, flourishing in some sixty countries, developed an international nongovernmental organization recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and was sending its representatives, including American citizens, to participate in a conference on human rights at Geneva.3
Further interest is lent to the story of the Bahá'í faith when it is realized that this progress has been accomplished by a group without clergy or priesthood; thus it can hardly be argued that an ecclesiastical hierarchy has advanced the Ba1A'i teachings in order to preserve and extend its own vested interest. Knowledge of the Bahá'í teachings, on the contrary, has been spread from continent to continent and from country to country by individual lay members who have been so inspired with enthusiasm and so convinced that these teachings answered the fundamental needs of modern society that they have taken it on themselves to give their time, means, and energy to traveling, and even to living for extended periods of time, in communities and countries other than their own, for the sole purpose of sharing their new faith with others.4 When it is realized that every adherent of this belief, in whatever country he may be found, has wholeheartedly accepted the principles of world government and world citizenship, it seems not inappropriate to inquire in some detail into the history and philosophy of the Bahá'í faith.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BAHA'IAt Shidtz on May 23, 1844, Siyyid 'AlP Mubammad, who afterward became known
S United Nations. Economicand Social Council. Committee on Arrangements for Consultation with NonGovernmental
Organizations. Reportof the Conferences Called by the Ad Hoc Committee of Consultative Non-GoveTnmental Organizations. E/C.2/98 (June 2, 1948), p. 6. (Ear additional material concerning official Bahá'í contacts with the United Nations, see pages 597615. Editors.)
4 One such example out of many was recently mentioned by Martha Gelihorn in her article on Luxembourg, "Party Girl in Paradise," Saturday Evening Post, January 7, 1950, vol. 222, Na. 28, p. 25.
5 An excellent book on Hah~'i history from the RaM'!
viewpoint is Shoghi Effendi, God Passes Ry, Wilmette, Ill., Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1944. An adequate summary of the HaM'!
teachings as well as a historical account will be found in Emeric Sala, This Earth One Country, Boston, Bruce Huniphries, Inc., 1945, pp. 10281.
For the viewpoint of a wellknown historian, see Arnold 3. Toynbee, op. cit., vol. 5, pp. 174176, 665.
as the B~b (i.e., Gate), made the announcement that he was the promised one whose coming was to fulfill messianic prophecy. His specific mission, he stated, was to prepare Persia and the world for the advent of a second prophet who would bring a message even more significant than his own. His writings eventually included prayers, commentaries on passages in the Qur'an, and moral exhortations calling on his followers to sever themselves from worldly things, rely on God, and maintain themselves completely ready to accept the prophet who was to follow. As to his relation with the later Manifestation, the Báb wrote: "I am a letter out of that most mighty book and a dewdrop from that limitless ocean, and when He shall appear, my true nature will become evident, and the embryo of this religion shall develop and attain to the station of 'the most comely of forms.' "6 The new code of religious law, the new example of moral and spiritual reform set by the Báb, were in such marked contrast to the standards of the day that they were considered by corrupt civil and religious leaders as involving a mortal threat to established interests. Like every social reformer, the Báb was vilified bitterly by those who were the most guilty of excesses, and it was soon found possible to imprison him in the name of religious orthodoxy.
His followers by the thousand were tortured and slain by fiendish methods paling even Fox's Book of Martyrs; and after six years of confinement, the BTh himself was publicly executed by an army firing squad at Tabriz on July 9, 1850.
Yet here the typical pattern of religious history was repeated: the new religion grew under persecution, beginning to make headway even among the elite and ruling class. It was from a family of this sort, his father being a minister of state, that there came Mirza Ijusayn 'Ali, who later was known as Bahá'u'lláh (i.e., Glory of God).
During the lifetime of the BTh this individual accepted his message; and after the Báb's martyrdom, Bahá'u'lláh became one of his bestknown followers.
His noble birth did not prevent his paying a price for his faith: stripped of his wealth and possessions, He was imprisoned, tortured, and finally, with his family, exiled to Baghd4d, then a part of the Turkish Empire.
6 Quoted in Edward 0.Narrative. Cambridge, The University Press, 1891. p. 54.
Page 908As the years passed, Bahá'u'lláh's spiritual station became so evident as to attract large numbers of visitors from various parts of Persia.
Once again the religious leaders felt the established order to be in jeopardy; the Turkish government was prevailed upon to cooperate; Bahá'u'lláh and his family were summoned to appear in Constantinople. While preparing to leave, on April 21, 1863, Bahá'u'lláh announced to a group of sincere well-wishers that he was the promised one whom the B~b had foretold.
Almost a hundred persons insisted on accompanying Bahá'u'lláh and sharing His hardships; after a few months in Constantinople, the entire group was moved in the dead of winter, without adequate clothing or food, to Adrianople.
It was in this city that Bahá'u'lláh publicly announced His mission, and from this time, His followers were called
Baha'is.A few years later, the group was moved again, this time to the ancient fortress-prison of 'Akka (Acre) in Palestine [now Israel].
Here the most rigid conditions were imposed: Some eighty persons, including women and children, were crowded into a few dirty rooms.
Malaria and dysentery were prevalent; food and water foul. After a few years of such confinement, restrictions were again relaxed, and Bahá'u'lláh with His family was permitted to occupy a small house and move about within the city walls. Still later, He was permitted to move to a nearby rural location.
Although pilgrims visited Him during the latter years of His life, His long imprisonment and exile prevented Bahá'u'lláh from personally teaching large numbers of people. Instead, He put His message in writing, and these writings today form the basis of the Bahá'í faith. In them, Bahá'u'lláh sounded the great call to spiritual excellence and moral perfection which the world has come to associate with its most highly developed religious thought; but in addition, He placed a new emphasis on the social aspects of human relationship, and in outlining the obligation of the individual to society, in effect He laid the foundation for a future world commonwealth.
After the passing of Bahá'u'lláh from this life on May 28, 1892, spiritual leadership of the nascent Bahá'í community fell upon the shoulders of His oldest son, 'Abbas Effendi, who became better known as 'Abdu'l-Bahá (i.e., Servant of RaM).
Early in his childhood 'Abdu'l-Bahá had understood His f a-ther's peculiar station; although only in His twenties when the incarceration at 'AMA began, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had developed into His fatner's most trusted lieutenant, gradually taking on Himself more and more of the administrative detail involved in Bahá'u'lláh's relationships with officials and visitors and so freeing His father for meditation and the recording of His message. As the first person to believe in Bahá'u'lláh's mission, and the foremost exemplar in His personal life of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was preeminently qualified to hold together and encourage the Baha'is.
During His lifetime the number of believers continued to increase, and the new faith began to receive the serious attention of
Westerners.Pilgrims from the United States arrived as early as 1894; others came from England and the continent.
In many cities of Europe and America, Bahá'í groups were formed. After changing political conditions in Turkey resulted in freeing all political and religious prisoners, 'Abdu'l-Bahá at the age of sixty-seven visited Europe.
The year was 1911; to a world standing on the brink of catastrophe, He brought a message of peace and unity. During the following year, He spent nine months in the United States and Canada, speaking in cities from coast to coast. Many persons active in Bahá'í affairs in the United States today still have vivid memories of their conversations with 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Just as Bahá'u'lláh had provided in writing that, after His departure, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was to be the recognized center of the movement and interpreter of the writings, so 'Abdu'l-Bahá in turn provided for an unbroken succession of the central responsibility.
After His death on November 28, 1921, it was found that His will and testament established a new institution: that of the Guardianship. By explaining the duties of the Guardian and outlining the manner in which future Guardians were to be selected, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was able to forestall those ruinous schisms with which the question of authorized succession has plagued other established religions.7
As first Guardian, 'Abdu'l-Baháchose His grandson, Shoghi Effendi, who is still discharging the function.
Under Shoghi Effen-I Willdi's leadership, the world center of the Ba-h~'i Faith has been established at Haifa, local Bahá'í institutions have been consolidated in hundreds of cities throughout the world, and national institutions set up in nine countries where the number of believers necessitates such an organization. Of parallel importance with the forming of the administrative framework has been the progressive elucidation of Bahá'u'lláh's program arising from the Guardian's accurate translations of Bahá'u'lláh's writings, together with his own original works, in which he has applied the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh to current and future world problems.
I3AHi'i TEACHINGS RELATEDtalks, 'Abdu'l-Bahá emphasized over and over that the purpose of religion must be to promote unity and concord, and that in this day, no unity less than that of the entire human race could be considered as an adequate goal.8 This unity, He pointed out, must have a spiritual basis in order to overcome the innate self-seeking tendencies so much in evidence today; but it must be expressed in concrete social institutions and not confined to mere sentimentality.
For example, He insisted that equal opportunities and rights must be granted to women, at a time when this was generally considered an idealistic dream; He showed that capital and labor must cooperate in harmony, as each was essential to the other: a viewpoint which even yet can hardly be called popular. Universal education and an unfettered individual investigation of truth were also part of the program; this would result in immeasurably raising both cultural and scientific standards. A world auxiliary language must be agreed upon and taught in every school throughout the world: thus every person could communicate directly with any other without fear of misunderstanding or embarrassment. But above all, He pointed out, the Bahá'í teachings furnished a definite foundation on which to construct a world commonwealth.
Just as previous religious teachings have dealt with individual discipline, He showed that Bahá'u'lláh offers a formula for social discipline. Like great religions of the past, the Baha Faith upholds a belief in God and
S 'Abdu'1-HahS, Foundationsstresses the necessity of ethical and moral personal conduct; but, unlike them, it goes beyond this to make its chief immediate concern the creation of a world government and a world culture based on justice. Rather than insisting that one religion is true and others erroneous, Bahá'u'lláh demonstrates that all established religions are divine in origin, and have marked important stages in social evolution; adherents of all may therefore with complete consistency join hands in a world faith embodying their highest ideals.
Union of all peoples in a world faith with mutual respect for all previous prophets He considers essential to the formation of an integrated world community.
How completely the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh are intended to affect society is shown in the words of
Shoghi Effendi:� the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh revolve � is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope. Its appeal is not to be merely identified with a reawakening of the spirit of brotherhood and goodwill among men, nor does it aim solely at the fostering of harmonious cooperation among individual peoples and nations.
Its implications are deeper, its claims greater than any which the Prophets of old were allowed to advance. Its message is applicable not only to the individual, but concerns itself primarily with the nature of those essential relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members of one human family. It does not constitute merely the enunciation of an ideal, but stands inseparably associated with an institution adequate to embody its truth, demonstrate its validity, and perpetuate its influence. It implies an organic change in the structure of presentday society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced.
It calls for no less than the reconstruction and the demilitarization of the whole civilized world � a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language, and yet infinite in the diversity of the national characteristics of its federated units."9 It is implicit in the Bahá'í teachings that world unity will not come about suddenly, by revolutionary means. Rather, the people of the world, through experience in trial and
9 Shoghi Effendi, Theerror, through making faltering steps with leagues and confederations, will evolve a progressively more perfect union. The principles laid down by Bahá'u'lláh, accordingly, are not so much concerned with the techniques of accomplishing world unity as with those of operating a world commonwealth. Viewed in this way, they may serve as a useful criterion for evaluating progress toward world government, as well as furnishing a fruitful source of ideas for inclusion in a world constitution.
One of the greatest Bahá'í principles is that emphasizing the oneness of mankind: "The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.
There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The fundamental purpose animating the
Faith of God and His Religionis to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advanbing civilization. That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.
It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."'0 In this connection, the Bahá'í writings strike boldly at an attitude which is still one of the most potentially dangerous sources of disharmony: that of race prejudice: "Concerning the prejudice of race, it is an illusion, a superstition pure and simple, for God created us all of one race. In the sight of God there is no difference between the various races. Why should man invent such a prejudice?
All races, tribes, sects, and classes share equally in the bounty of their
Heavenly Father. Thelovers of mankind, these are the superior men, of whatever nation, creed, or color they may be."" The writings of Bahá'u'lláh are permeated with a sense of the vital importance of justice in establishing world order: 10 Shoghi Effendi, tr.,
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, New York, Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1939, pp. 215, 21718, 250.
~~The Wisdom of 'Abdu'l-Bahá,"The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice. We cherish the hope that the light of justice may shine upon the world and sanctify it from tyranny.
The structure of world stability and order hath been reared upon, and will continue to be sustained by, the twin pillars of reward and punishment.
There is no force on earth that can equal in its conquering power the force of justice and wisdom."'2 Even during the transitional period into which the world is giving signs of moving at the present moment, before the actual accomplishment of world unity, Bahá'u'lláh indicates the cardinal importance of justice: "0 rulers of the earth!
Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions.
Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice."'8 A world community with a world consciousness, enforcing world justice in accordance with a world faith: this is the significant scheme of Bahá'u'lláh. Clearly, even when speaking of "mundane" affairs such as politics and labor relations, the Bahá'í approach is basically spiritual; far from being something to engage in once a week, religion in the Bahá'í sense becomes the mainspring of human activity: "The whole duty of man in this Day is to attain that share of the flood of grace which God poureth forth for him. Every eye, in this Day, should seek what will best promote the Cause of God. Beseech ye the one true God to grant that ye may taste the savor of such deeds as are performed in His path.
Forget your own selves, and turn your eyes toward your neighbor. Bend your energies to whatever may foster the education of men."14 Acceptance of these principles and their application to personal life has wrought revolutionary changes in countless individuals; but social revolution, with its concomitant use of force rather than reason as the deciding factor, is completely contrary to the Ba-hfl attitude.
It may very reasonably be asked how the Bahá'ís of the world, despite 12 Shoghi Effendi, tr.,
The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh,Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 21819.
13 Ibid., p. 254.their unquestionably high principles, can hope to effect any real change in social or political conditions, if they are committed to waiting for evolution to take its course.
The answer to such a question reveals what may possibly be of significance to the world even within our own lifetimes: the already established and functioning
"Bahá'í Administration."15The organizational and operational framework by which the affairs of the Bahá'í faith are currently being handled throughout the world has been purposely designed to apply in daily use the principles enjoined upon mankind by Bahá'u'lláh. Actually, social evolution may be visualized as proceeding along two distinct lines: one, the political, through the establishment by the nations of the world of such agencies as the League of Nations and the United Nations, from which line the foundation of a world state may eventually emerge; the other, the nonpolitical, where in institutions such as those of the Bahá'ís the new principles of world consciousness and administration without partisanship are being developed.
Thus, the Bahá'ís may feel that they are contributing day by day in deeds, not merely in words, to forming the concrete institutions of a new world order.
Perhaps the fundamental inspiration which Bahá'í administration can give to world administration is the abolition of the conflict between interests. Diversity of interests, and the consequent necessity for their accurate representation, is so basic a feature of modem democratic-parliamentary systems, that a proposal to disregard this conflict may sound radical to the point of negating democracy.
Yet Bahá'u'lláh points out, and BaWt'i administration applies it in practice, that the interest of the whole human race is the oniy interest worthy of consideration; anything lesser is intrinsically selfish.
On such a basis, there can be no conflict of interest; there may be a difference of opinion as to the proper mode of operation, but the basic purpose of any de1~ The following are the most useful references on this subject: The Rahd'i Community, Wilmette, Ill., Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1947.
Ralid'i Procedure, Wilmette, Ill., Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1942.
David flofman, A Commentaryon the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, London, Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1943.
Shoghi Effendi, Bahá'íAdministration, Wilmette, Ill., flah6'i Publishing Committee, 1941.
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.cision will always proceed from agreement, not disagreement.
From this principle, revolutionary as it seems, proceeds another equally surprising to adherents of the Western democratic system: with no divergent interests to represent, there is no need for political parties. Not a one-party system, but a no-party system, is envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh. To insure that this will be so in actuality and not merely in theory, presentday Bahá'í elections are conducted entirely by secret ballot, and without nominations.
No one announces himself as a candidate, and there are no campaign speeches or promises. In a local election, every adult Bahá'í resident in the local area is eligible to be voted for; and similarly in a national election. Those who are elected, since they made no campaign promises, and have no idea who voted for them, are entirely free of obligation to a constituency, and can accordingly devote themselves completely to the welfare of the whole group. It will undoubtedly be necessary to introduce changes in this electoral technique when voters are counted in the millions; but the principle of completely nonpartisan elections is a challenging one.
Another essential element in Bahá'í administration is the elimination of the fundamental separation of powers to which Americans are so well accustomed.
This, too, is felt to be a relic of the conflict-of-interest era, so that the highest administrative authority is vested on any level (local, national, or international) in a board which unites in itself the legislative, executive, and judicial responsibilities.'6 It is these boards, at present consisting of nine members each, which are elected in the nonpartisan manner described above; since elections are not for single-position offices, and the nine receiving the highest number of votes are all declared elected, the system works more smoothly than might otherwise be supposed.
Implicit in the placing of the highest responsibility for administration in the hands of a board is the elimination of opportunity for any one individual to make a decision on his own motion. Social responsibility is so ingrained a part of the political philosophy of Bahá'u'lláh that there is no place for the individual executive or judge; action affect-in~ human beings can rightfully be taken only by the group.
16 Such an agency has not yet been organized on the international level.
Page 912Concerning the method by which the group comes to its decisions, Baha administration again uses a technique which is untried in the arena of politics: that of "con-sultation." In distinction to the parliamentary procedure, whereby a motion must be made before it can be discussed, and which results in debate rather than sincere cooperative effort, the Bahá'í method is to explore the question completely and unemotionally, encouraging each person to state his opinions freely, and so far as possible coming to a mutual agreement before the motion is put. Thus, an attempt is made to have the motion sum up the feelings of the group in the aggregate rather than reflecting the wishes of a faction.
If, in spite of this attempt to achieve unity, irreconcilable differences remain, the majority view must be accepted, since, as explained above, the difference is considered to be one of opinion only and not of fundamental interest.
Bahá'ís hope that ultimately the spiritual and political lines of administrative evolution will come together, allowing the world government to claim the loyalty of a citizenry united in a world faith; but that the principle of collective responsibility is still to be observed at that distant stage of development is shown by the provision that the chairman of even the universal authority should have no veto power.
Through such techniques as these, Bahá'u'lláh has projected morality from an individual concern to the plane of group responsibility. It is precisely this application of the individual conscience to group activity which is lacking in the world today, and is essential if there is to be a world tomorrow. Whether or not one agrees with the strictly religious side of the Bahá'í teachings, it would be hard indeed to disregard the effects which organized religion has had on the world in the past. That a religion now receiving an ever-widening circle of acceptance is so completely interwoven with the ideal of world government, and that it is consciously attempting to develop patterns for future society, can hardly fail to be significant to those who are aware of the direction in which civilization is moving.
11. THE BIRTH OF WORLD RELIGIONVt/INTER is that season of the year when, to all outward seeming, the world of trees and flowers and grasses lies dead � yet all of us know that this is not true. In reality the seeds simply lie dormant and asleep, awaking the proper combination of warmth and moisture to stir them to life. Indeed a few seeds anticipate the season and, braving the blasts of winter, push themselves to flower � soft riots of color in a dreary landscape. These are the harbingers of what is to come. Later the whole vegetable kingdom stirs itself. Up through the muck and mire and darkness, the fragile shoots work their slender fingers upward. Moving all obstacles aside they struggle far beyond their seeming strength that one day they may emerge from darkness into the light of the sun that called them forth.
In the physical world we call this season Spring.One can almost feel a difference in the very air when Spring touches the earth with the key that unlocks the fetters of winter.
All life takes on a new aspect at this time of year. Musicians and poets, through the ages, have sung of the spring season more often than of any other subject except love. Some poets have claimed that for men childhood is the springtime of life; others have written that man's springtime comes when he falls in love. Perhaps each man knows his own spring season best. This much we do know � all of us: Spring is a time of rebirth; the moments, year on year, when earth cloaks herself with fresh new garments to gladden the eye of man. These yearly cycles are so frequent and regular in a life time that man knows of a certainty that, after the winter season is over, the spring will come and that nothing deters its coming. Yet with this example of the bounty of God ever before him, man does not yet seem aware of the lesson it teaches. Man does not seem to realize that whenever he allows a winter season to lay hold of his spiritual heritage, God never fails to send a spiritual springtime to
Page 913awaken him to new life and glory. In his perversity, man has from time immemorial turned from religion to irreligion � from the light of truth to the darkness of error.
His spirit, like the seed, lies dormant and asleep. Yet whenever the light of God is extinguished in human hearts � whenever man has raised veils of dogma and superstition between himself and his Creator � God sends a divine springtime.
At such a time, there are always a few waiting souls � dawn-breakers � who, like the crocus, arise to herald the new day of God. Alas how few heed � how few listen to them!
Almost two thousand years have passed over the earth since one such springtime came and went in the environs of the ancient city of Jerusalem. Today five hundred million Christians can, from this distance of time, look back and say: Yes, that was the divine springtime. How wonderful it must have been to have sat at His feet and heard those glorious words of the Sermon on the Mount, or to have followed his footsteps through Galilee.
The three years of His ministry were the days of Spring for the Christian world.
We can, in looking back, understand and appreciate this truth today, but at the time there were few, a mere handful, that appreciated and saw the glory of what was taking place.
The Faith of Christ is but one of the religious systems that the world knows. What of the others? � The Jews, the followers of Buddha, the faithful of IslAm, the Parsi, the Hindu � have they not also known a spiritual springtime?
Each lays claim to such a time of rebirth; each looks upon his Prophet as a Messenger from God.
Each looks upon the life time of his Prophet as a wondrous spiritual spring.
But each claims that his Messenger was the true, the greatest and final One. How can this be?
No spring season in Nature can claim to be the best or the final. At one time or another, all over the planet, year after year spring comes in nature.
The seasons chase their sure way around the globe, slighting none. Yet men say the Springtime of God is exclusive, final, and named!
We of the West are more familiar with the teachings of the Jewish Faith than of any other religion except the Christian.
Though that knowledge has not kept the western world from violent prejudices against the valiant congregation that through the centuries have kept aloft the banner of the One
God � the Mighty Lord. Thefamiliar story of Moses tells of the leading of a people from the winter season of bondage and despair in Egypt, to the spring season that in words of eternal glory descended from Sinai and ushered the Jews into the Promised Land. Those same Ten Commandments even today are the basis of our civil and religious law. Such ancient festivals as the Passover are still celebrated by the Jews in remembrance of the bounties and the bestowals of God during the Spring Season of their Faith.
The western peoples have had little contact with the other Faiths except in a prejudiced or negative way. The motion picture has shown us many scenes of the Arab peo-pies, usually so prejudicial to the true facts that we have the impressions of a dirty, fanatical, and scheming group of desert bandits. For the rest � such writers as Sales and a host of other lay and priestly writers of Christendom have thundered their charges that Muhammad was an impostor, the devil incarnate, the antiChrist, a liar, a crazed and licentious fool. But the facts that one out of every seven inhabitants of the globe is a Muslim, and that no religion to that time so cemented its followers from such absolute disunity into so complete a unity attest the fallacy of these writings. Muhammad, the Messenger of God, preached His gospel of submission to the one true God. In His life time He witnessed the growth of that Faith from a handful of devoted followers in the city of Mecca to the rallying of the whole of Arabia to His banner.
Mecca, where Mul2ammadfirst preached His Message of one Almighty God, was already to the tribes of Arabia Deserta a Holy City. The Kaaba, in Mecca, was already a point of pilgrimage. That small square windowless building contained many stone idols to which the peoples of Arabia did homage. Here were to be found images of Mary and Joseph and the small black stone said to have been given by Gabriel to Abraham. Jealous of the fortunes that came from the pilgrims stopping to pray in this city that burned in the desert, the leading families drove Mu1~ammad and His little band out of the city. In time, and in peace, Mul2ammad returned, heading a great host of the faithful. From the top of the Kaaba a Negro convert, raised the call that today rallies IslAm to prayer around the world:
Page 914"There is no God but AllAh, and Muijam-mad is His Messenger." How like the first commandment that Moses brought down from Sinai! Muhammad raised the station of women, abolished dishonesty, forbade the use of intoxicating beverages, limited polygamy, and introduced a host of spiritual and civil laws that made the Muslim nations the envy and the mentors of the entire world. Such was the Islamic Springtime and its flowering.
Equally glorious, equally inspiring to their people were the spring seasons of Buddha, Krishna and Zoroaster. Bahá'ís believe that each of these God-inspired
Men were Manifestationsof God, bringers of the divine springtime, quickeners of a new Day of God and of the earth and its peoples. The Bahá'í Faith teaches that each of these Prophets has been sent to call men back to truth and to God. They did not come to establish new religions. Each of these Divine Educators has upheld the validity of His predecessors and foretold the coming of a successor. Each and all have attested the coming of that most great spiritual springtime in the fullness of God's plan that would signalize the bringing of the Kingdom of God to earth � the birth of a world religion.
It is the Bahá'í premise that once again, in our time, a divine springtime has blessed the planet.
The story begins in the ancient land of Persia in the city of roses, the city of legend and nightingales, Shfr~z beloved of poets. On an evening in May in the year 1844, in an upper room there spoke One who called Himself the Báb (meaning the gate). He proclaimed the springtime of a new day of God. In words of magnetic beauty He called mankind to oneness and to God. He announced the coming of that most great divine Educator who would lead the world into peace and order. For six years the matchless utterances of the B61, stirred the hearts of His countrymen, moving many thousands to love and devotion. Still others were stirred to hatred and violence, a violence that sought the life blood of all who claimed allegiance to the Báb.
In rising crescendos of horror, the forces of state and clergy rose in their might against these "God-intoxicated heroes" to destroy them; and the streets and the byways ran red, with their blood.
Then, one fateful day in a barracks square in Tabriz, the mouths of seven-hundred and fifty rifles spoke, and the beloved voice of the B~b was stilled forever.
The Springtime had come, however, and the whole world could not stay its force. Nine years later in the ancient city of Bagh-d~d there arose, in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Báb, and of all religions, One who called Himself
Bahá'u'lláh � the GloryTo Him the brokenhearted and leaderless followers of the Báb turned and were then called Baha'is.
Laying claim to the mantle of Prophethood, Bahá'u'lláh called on the rulers of men to establish peace on earth and to turn to God. Heedless of His call, the world moved on in its accustomed ways. Bahá'u'lláh Himself, the victim of f a-natical hatred, was moved from prison to prison, exile to exile, and finally was banished for life to the Turkish penal colony only a short distance from the slopes of Mt. Carmel � to the city of 'AkU, the "Door of Hope" proclaimed in Hosea.
The history of the divine springtime that is the Bahá'í World Faith is no collection of Iegends � Bahá'u'lláh is as much a part of our modern history as Lincoln,
Queen Victoria, or NapoleonIlL From His "most great prison" He viewed our world and its clashing group disunities, its crashing worlds. He saw the races of the world fomenting hatreds for one another; lie saw the subjugation of whole racial groups in slavery. From His pen there came the remedy: "Ye are all leaves of one tree, and drops of one sea."' "Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created.
Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest."2 Bahá'u'lláh called the peoples of the world to the fold of one family, the human family.
From the remoteness of His exile He saw with prophetic vision the crashing of the nationalistic worlds � the eternal blood-let-ting of warring nations. He saw an end to war and lie uttered the mighty assurance: "Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 'Most Great Peace' shall come Is not 1 Bahá'í World Faith, p. 201.
2 Hidden Words (arabic), verse 68.this that which Christ foretold? These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must cease, and all men be as one kindred and one family Let not a man glory in this, that lie loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind.~~S Bahá'u'lláh laid the principles upon which would be built an international tribunal � a Federation of Nations � the unity of the planet into one Nation with a common citizenship for its peoples.
From its beginning 108 years ago the Ba-M'i Faith has moved around the globe. The Báb declared His mission to one; forty days later there were eighteen who believed.
In the next nineteen years over twenty thousand had been martyred for believing the teachings of the Bib, and the Faith had spread in Persia, 'Iraq, Burma, India and parts of the Turkish Empire.
Through the life time of Bahá'u'lláh, the Faith became known more and more widely. Shortly after the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, a Presbyterian Minister, Rev. Henry H. Jessup, of Beirut, Syria, sent an address to be read at the World's Parliament of Religions convened in the city of Chicago in 1893. Dr. Jessup could not attend in person.
In closing, his address reads:4 "In the palace of Baha, or delight, just outside the fortress of 'Akka, on the Syrian coast, there died a few months since a famous Persian sage, the B~bi saint, named Bahá'u'lláh � the Glory of God � the head of that vast reform party of Persian Mus-urns, who accept the New Testament as the Word of God and Christ as the deliverer of men, who regard all nations as one, and all men as brothers. Three years ago He was visited by a Cambridge scholar, and gave utterance to sentiments so noble, so Christlike, that we repeat them as our closing words ." How little Dr. Jessup knew that he was introducing to the West the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, for his was the first known public reference to the Bahá'í Faith in the western world.
Bahá'u'lláh left for His people a Covenant in which He named His eldest Son 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the Center of that Covenant, the exemplar of His teachings. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was released from prison in 1908 by the Young Turk Revolution which granted amnesty to As recorded by Prof. Edward 0. Browne, Introduction (p. xl) to A Traveller's
Narrative.all political and religious prisoners. Shortly thereafter He began a series of journeys that were to take him to Egypt, Europe and North America. Wherever he went people responded to the love for mankind that He demonstrated.
Each and all sat in rapt attention as they listened to His message of peace and love. Great and small humbly bowed themselves before this Servant of
God.Wilberforce invited 'Abdu'l-Bahá to address the congregation of St. John the Divine at Westminster after the evening service. The archbishop read the translation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í words lilinseif.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá had finished, the congregation, following the archdeacon's example, knelt to receive the blessing of the Servant of God. In the United States during an arduous eight months 'Abdu'l-Bahá traveled from coast to coast, scattering on every hand the life-giving words of His Father's Message.
He spoke at New York, Columbia, and Howard Universities, laid the dedication stone for the Bahá'í House of Worship north of Chicago that today stands in its shimmering beauty.
In Temple Emmanu-EI, synagogue in San Francisco, He addressed two thousand listeners; at Leland Stanford University over nineteen hundred gathered to hear His words.
The names of those who met and talked with Him read like an American Who's
Who: Alexander GrahamWise, and Dr. David Starr Jordan, who said, "'Abdu'l-Bahá will surely unite the East and the West: for He treads the mystic way with practical feet."5 This list is too long for inclusion hereiI3esides these, thousands heard His message and many rallied to the Cause of Peace which He preached and lived.
In 1913 'Abdu'l-Bahá returned to Haifa, to spend the remaining years of His life consolidating the victories already won.
There generated from His presence such order and love that the hearts of the diverse peoples throughout the world that called themselves Bahá'ís were cemented together into one great family.
Tn 1921 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away. In His Will and Testament He named His grandson Shoghi Effendi as the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. Into his capable 5 "Appreciations of the Hahd'f Faith," The Bahá'í World, this volume, p. 646.
6 See God Passes By, p. 289.hands were entrusted the affairs of the youthful Cause. Through the ensuing years of his stewardship the administrative affairs of the worldwide Bahá'í Community have been consolidated.
Step by step through grave perils and impending crises, the Guardian has led the Bahá'ís from victory to victory. Today in over 200 countries and territories of the world Bahá'í Spiritual Assemblies and groups function vigorously. Their literature is translated into over ninety languages.
Local Spiritual Assembliesdemocratically elected have paved the way for the eleven National administrative institutions that have already come into being.
The first InternationalBahá'í Council has but recently been established at the spiritual center of the Baha world, Haifa, Israel, � the forerunner of that supreme Baha administrative institution destined to emerge in the fullness of time � the
International House of Justice.Even the biased observer must admit that the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has in slightly over a century fulfilled in marvelous ways the task of uniting peoples who before the advent of these Teachings knew no unity at all. Jew, Christian, Hindu, Parsi, Muslim, Buddhist and the man with no religion at all are, within the Bahá'í Faith, able to worship Almighty God without rancor or prejudice one for the other, for as Bahá'ís they understand that the names AllAh, Jehovah, Brahma, Ahura Mazda, Lord, and many others all refer to one Father, God, and that His Messengers though different in name shed the same glorious light upon the dark planet.
Among Bahá'ís there is no overt nationalism, for they are indeed citizens of the world. With them also there is to be found a racial brotherhood in practice that has no equal in any other sectarian or religious group.
Bahá'ís believe this is a day of spiritual springtime � a new Day of God. Certainly the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh have stirred the hearts and minds of His followers and made of many "God-Intoxicated heroes." They believe also that the events of this twentieth century, though seemingly unrelated to the growing Cause of God, are the results of this Most Glorious of spiritual springtimes.
Bahá'u'lláh has written: "The world's equilib-Hum hath been upset through the vibrating influence of the most great, this new World Order."7 Thrones and dynasties have toppled, governments have been thrown from power, powerful church groups have lost prestige and temporal power, wars have riddled the planet leaving in their wake debt and death. An old world order struggles against its inevitable end. The winter season of an old age battles against the revivifying breaths of an advancing spiritual springtime. The Bahá'í Faith calls the world to witness the birth of a world religion. Only through independent investigation of these claims without prejudice can the seeker know this to be so through his own knowledge.
"Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."8 "Awake, for, lo! the morning Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is made manifest. The portal of His grace is open wide; enter therein, 0 peoples of the world!
For He who is your Promised One is come!"2 7 Gleanings, p. 136.
SLuke 11:9.THE American Indians are religion as the source potential Baha'is. Prayerof personal power, and many in many forms is common practicehave espoused Christianity among them, and many because they look upon of their tribal council the white man as more powerful laws and procedures are than the Indian and credit similar to those of the this power to his religion.
Bahá'í administrative However, they find the many, order. Their native religionoften conflicting religious involves every in-dividualsects very disconcerting, in the group and regulates and thus are responsive every detail of personal to movements that aim behavior. They regard to unite instead of di
Page 917vide. Because of their intense faith that peace will some day come to pass, they are easily interested in the Bahá'í teachings about World
Order and Universal Brotherhood."Therefore, it is inevitable that as the Bahá'í Faith reaches out to embrace more and more peoples everywhere, it will easily win 'unqualified adherence and support among the indigenous peoples of America' for whom 'Abdu'l-Bahá predicted so glorious a future."
� STATEMENT BY AMERICANWhere the story of Bahá'í work among the Indians begins would be hard to find on a map or pinpoint in a report. It is enough to say and believe that when the breezes of Gad's new Revelation breathed across the planet, it stirred American Indians as well as it did the rest of mankind, though they, like others, were not aware of the source of the Divine springtime that was stirring the winter season of men's hearts.
The work of the Bahá'ícommittee began when instructions came from our beloved Guardian to form an administrative unit, the object of which would be to take the Faith to the leading Indian tribes of this country.
At the Bahá'í IntercontinentalConference held in Chicago in 1953, Bahá'ís who had no idea they were to be on a committee of this type began to concern themselves with the task. Dorothy Baker asked one of them to "Find an Indian I3aha'i for me!" Riil2iyyih Khgnum asked another, "What are you doing about the Indians?" Thus the pattern for the Crusade years was begun far removed from Arizona which was to be the seat of committee membership, for the first year at least.
Yet in Tucson, Arizona, another part of the pattern was being woven. A young couple began to attend Bahá'í firesides, and just before RiQv~n, 1953, they became Bahá'ís on an evening long to be remembered. They were Charmion and Robert McKusick, and Bahá'u'lláh certainly knew the need that was to be and prepared these two to be on hand when it arose. Charmion was freshly graduated with honors from the University of Arizona with a degree in Anthropology specializing in the American Indians.
Bob was and is a potter, and his knowledge of Indian de signs and ritualistic symbols is vast. Most of his pottery work is built around the religious symbols and designs of the Indians of the Southwest.
They were ready made for the important work that was to come � the experts for the committee yet to be formed.
Later, when the committee was appointed, these two were a natural choice and so was Eli Powlas, its only Indian member.
In November the Nationalto the committee to assist in developing the great teaching potential that exists in the American colleges and universities attended by Indian youth. Wally had entered the University of Arizona in September, 1953, for the express purpose of teaching among Indian youth.
At an early meeting of the committee, it became clear that much groundwork had already been laid in scattered spots all over the country. Individual Bahá'ís and communities had "made a beginning" here and there. Many had registered their desire at the Conference of 1953 to assist in Indian teaching, and with these, correspondence was soon under way.
Four words, a prayer, and a statement written by 'Abdu'l-Bahá became our watchwords: The four words, to be repeated again and again in committee meetings, are Love, Wisdom, Tact, and Patience.
The prayer, which has become a favorite with the committee and looms large in the history of the year, reads: "Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the val-icy, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow, where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified" (Bahá'u'lláh).
The statement of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, an ever-shining beacon before the eyes of the committee, said in part, ". for these souls [the American Indians] may be likened unto the ancient inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, who, prior to the Mission of Mu-Ijammad, were like unto savages.
When the light of Mubammad shone forth in their midst, however, they became so illumined as to enlighten the whole world."
Here was the challenge!Our task given by the Guardian was twofold: conversion to the Faith of members of the leading Indian tribes, and translation of Bahá'í literature into the Cherokee language.
Page 918We chose as our goals, cities in or near heavy concentrations of Indian population: Gallup, New Mexico, Indian capital of the world; Miami, Oklahoma, center of interest for a larger number of different tribes than any other city; and Pierre, South Dakota. To these goal cities, we added the task of rebuilding the lapsed Macy, Nebraska, Assembly. An all-Indian Assembly had been formed at Macy with great labor and sacrifice through the dedicated efforts of Mrs. Mary Stevison and Mrs. Amelia Collins, who later visited the reservation to assist in the forming of the Assembly. Macy was a pivot around which many hopes revolved.
We were not able to make a general appeal for pioneers to our goals because of the urgent need for pioneers in foreign fields and in goal cities on the home front, so we set about making contact with those who had expressed a desire to work among the Indians.
Our first project was the preparation of a teaching brochure, a handbook to assist both those who would work on reservations and those who would be teaching that thirtyfive per cent of the Indian population who live elsewhere. Next was the compiling of employment information and data concerning the various goal areas to which we hoped pioneers would go. Thirdly, maps of the reservations were obtained so that Bahá'ís interested could pinpoint the area where they might settle.
By early fall, the first pioneer, Grace Dean of Clifton, Arizona, secured a federal teaching post at Byless, Arizona, on the San Carlos reservation to teach the Apache children.
Shortly thereafter, Mrs.City volunteered her services to the committee for a one-year period, and proceeded to Flagstaff, Arizona, to do graduate work at the college there.
In addition, she secured a teaching post at nearby Tuba City on the Navajo reservation.
In November, Mr. and Mrs. Edvard Lindstrom of Manchester, New Hampshire, moved to Yakima, Washington, to take a social service post that involves working with the tribes of the Pacific Northwest. During the same month, Mrs. Ethel Murray left Providence, Rhode Island, to take a post in Bryson City, North Carolina, near the Cherokee reservation.
This was a most important place as her task was that of taking the Faith to the Cherokee and assisting with the translation work.
In the fall also, Marguerite Bruegger of Chicago arrived in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, to pioneer among the Indians of that region.
On December 24, 1953, James Stone, Jr., of Martinsburg, West Virginia, arrived in Gallup, New Mexico, the first of our goal cities to be settled. Through the assistance of Edna Atkins who lives nearby, visits to the Macy reservation were begun in February.
Through the year a growing correspondence was carried on with government agencies, educational and religious groups, and individuals concerning the Cherokee language. After a while, a letter from Ethel Murray informed us that she had found a translator, named Moses Owl, among the Cherokee Indians.
Immediately we sent the prayer beginning "Blessed is the spot to him for translation.
Remembering what 'Abdu'l-Bahá had said when the American friends had asked his permission to build a Temple, "Make a beginning and all will come right," we did just that, and our beginning was a prayer!
Through correspondence with Mrs. Murray, we learned that Moses Owl thought the name, Bahá'u'lláh, was like the Cherokee word for God. A Sioux who helped with the translation said the teachings sounded like those of the Sioux religion, and Moses Owl countered that they were very much like the Cherokee thinking on religion.
Finally that wonderful day arrived when through the mails came the long awaited scrap of paper holding the words of Bahá'u'lláh written in the language of the Cherokee people. Gratefully, we saw how the hand of the Beloved had helped us along the way.
Then we set about the larger task of choosing the contents of the first pamphlet to be translated into Cherokee, a work that will be one of the first concerns of the second year of committee activity.
In this first year we have brought the Message to nineteen tribes, the first trails-lation into Cherokee has been accomplished, and the pattern for future activity has been set and is moving. Through the Secretary General of the International
Bahá'í Council, LeroyJoas, the Guardian has sent his approval and urged the further advancement of our work.
The Challenge is there � contacts mustbecome converts so that they may teach their own people! 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said these Indian people will illumine the whole world. It is the task of the American Bahá'ís to light the torch.
What a glorious privilege!IT WAS no confirmation in belief to me to come into the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá; perhaps I did not need it. As I had come into the knowledge of the Baha Faith in 1903, I had already been a Bahá'í for nine years when 'Abdu'l-Bahá came to the United States in 1912; I had accepted Him as the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant of peace and unity for the world.
However, every moment spent in His presence brought its lesson in the "divine art of living."
Perhaps the best way to tell a story is to start at the beginning. Mrs. Margaret LaGrange and
I, Bahá'ís of Johnstown~N.Y., anticipating the visit of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to America in 1912, were planning to go to New York City to meet Him on arrival. A day or so before we planned to start for New York, word came that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was not on the ship expected.
This news was, of course, disturbing to us and was the cause, temporarily, of greater disappointment than I can express. However, the thought came to me that 'Abdu'l-Bahá could send a wireless message, which He did, confirming His anticipated arrival.
(Wireless was then in its infancy and was considered more or less a miracle.)
According to our plan, therefore, we started for New York City on the evening preceding the 11th of April. The next morning we found our way to the pier where already many of the friends of 'Abdu'l-Bahá were gathered, this number being augmented by the frequent arrival of others, some alone, some in groups of two or three. Subdued excitement, glorious anticipation at the joy of meeting the Master, filled the hearts and radiated from the faces and voices of the friends. We waited for some time and at last our patience was rewarded in seeing the huge bulk of the vessel breaking through the morning fog and mist. In due time it docked.
It was not long before word came from 'Abdu'l-Bahá that He would meet the friends at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kinney, two Bahá'ís of long standing in the Faith. After receiving this word the friends began to disperse. But Margaret and I, knowing that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was on the vessel, could not tear ourselves away from the pier; so, lingering, our eyes riveted, we were rewarded with a glimpse of Him for whom our hearts longed. Then, satisfied, in anticipation of the afternoon meeting, we, too, left the pier. Later I suppose we had lunch, but it is only a supposition, for such a minor detail of physical existence has absolutely passed from my memory.
When we arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kinney, the rooms were crowded with the friends and 'Abdu'l-Bahá was mingling freely among them radiating the spiritual happiness Tie said He felt in meeting the "friends of God."
That afternoon in His first address to the American Bahá'ís He said in part: "1 am greatly pleased with the city of New York.
Its harbor entrance, its piers, buildings and broad avenues are magnificent and beautiful. Truly it is a wonderful city. As New York has made such progress in material civilization, I hope that it may also advance spiritually in the kingdom and covenant of God so that the friends here may become the cause of the illumination of America; that this city may become the city of love and that the fragrance of God may be spread from this place to all parts of the world. I have come for this. I pray that you may be manifestations of the love of Bahá'u'lláh This is my highest aspiration."1 At the end of this address 'Abdu'l-Bahá greeted each one personally, clasping the hand and repeating the word, "Marhab&! Marhab4!"
(Welcome! Welcome!) with such fervor that I could not fail to grasp tThe addresses of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York City, from which passages are quoted in this article, may be found in Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 114. (Editors.)
Page 920Our second meeting with 'Abdu'l-Bahá was on April 12, in the studio of Miss Phillips. In connection with this meeting, I mu~t~ go into a little detail that will show all too clearly my immaturity in the ethics of the Kingdom.
As Margaret and I entered the spacious room we observed our beloved 'Abdu'l-Bahá sitting on a couch, a young Persian on either side of Him. Shortly one of the devoted friends of the Master eatered and one of the Persians sitting beside 'Abdu'l-Bahá arose and offered his seat to the lady, which she accepted. I was disturbed and said to myself, "Oh!
Who is worthy to sit beside 'Abdu'l-Bahá" The question bothered me all evening, but was relegated to the background of my mind save at such times as I found myself alone with my thoughts.
'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a beautiful talk that evening, saying in part: "These are the days of seed-sowing. These are the days of tree-planting Tie who sows a seed in this day will behold his reward in the fruits and harvest of the heavenly kingdom."
And again, "The doors of the kingdom are opened. The lights of the Sun of Truth are shining �Know ye then the value of these days.~~ Later, in leaving, as 'Abdu'l-Bahá took my hand, I was conscious of His eyes partially raised to mine. Did He see there the unanswered question of the early evening: Who is worthy to sit beside 'Abdu'l-Bahá On the following Monday, the last day we were privileged to be in His holy presence, He deigned to answer my question. After greeting us He seated Margaret on a chair near Him at just the right angle, she told me later, where she might look into His eyes; thus fulfilling a desire of hers. Then, He seated me on the couch beside Him and turned on me (the questioner) the smile of His divine love, which penetrated my physical and spiritual consciousness. Thus did He teach us, the friends, everywhere; not by rebuke, but with touching example, that the Sun of God's bounty shines upon all and only the veils of self hide us from an ever-increasing realization of its effulgence.
On Saturday, April 13, 191~ with many others we gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Morten to see and hear the Master. That day in His address He compared the appearance of a Divine Manifestation to the springtime and showed us that the progress and decline of religion are comparable to the four seasons in the material world. In part He said: "The world spiritual is like unto the world phenomenal When we look upon the phenomenal world we perceive that it is divided into four seasons; one is the season of spring, another the season of summer, another autumn and then these three seasons are followed by winter When 'Abdu'l-Bahá reached the phrase "the season of summer" the interpreter hesitated and finally stopped speaking. Then the voice of the Master came forth clear and strong with "summer," and a ripple of pleasantry went through the audience as we realized that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was interpreting to the interpreter.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá was weary and repaired to an upper room, some one suggested closing the door of the room, to "pro-tect" the Master, that He might have some seclusion from the friends who were already ascending the stairs to be nearer to Him. How like the days of Jesus when the disci-pies tried to spare Him the encroachment of the crowd!
'Abdu'l-Bahá said, Let them come! He took my hand as I with others passed before Him and He said to me, Al-ldh-u-Abhd, that word of Bahá'í greeting, which means God the Most Glorious.
Many years later 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that the unity of the friends was the cause of health to Him, and the extreme weariness of that afternoon I now believe was brought about by the weight of the spirit's burden rather than by any physical strain, great as that no doubt was; for He received callers from very early in the morning until late at night; no one was turned away.
Margaret and I longed for an interview with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Some of the friends had been granted that privilege, so we decided to ask an interpreter to arrange it for us. Again I was reminded of the days of Jesus Christ and of the desire of the disciples to protect Him from the multitude. The interpreter said the Master was very busy, but, nothing daunted, Margaret explained to him that we were from out of town and longed for an interview before leaving New York. So the matter was finally arranged and on Sunday morning at nine we found ourselves being ushered into the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and in English He was addressing us
Page 921with the words, Sit down, sit down, as He courteously showed us to seats. Then the question so frequently asked by Him, Are you well? Are you happy? � What did He mean � the health of the body or the wellbeing of the spirit? I do not recall giving an answer.
How could we answer a question that to the Questioner was already clear � that for us time was standing still; that we had reached the ultimate of our desire, our station in the sun where there is no night. His next words awakened us to our immediate environment.
He said, He was happy to have such souls as we were: Rest thou assured, rest thou assured. And, we had come some distance to meet Him and had passed through difficulties, but He had come farther to meet us. Such words we were not prepared to hear; knowing that we were humble people and feeling we had but small capacity to serve the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, we could not understand such words applying to ourselves.
We were taken to the smaller room of the suite, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave private interviews. There He told Margaret He prayed for her parents (who had passed into the life beyond some months before).
Her eyes filled with tears and overflowed; mine then did likewise. The interpreter, perhaps at a loss, shook his head at us and said in an admonishing tone that we should never cry in His presence. It made Him sad. As I looked up, I saw that 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í sadness was for us � not for Himself � for with hands outstretched to calm and protect us, like a mother bird hovering over her young in the nest, He exclaimed in
English, Laugh! Laugh!I shall never forget that voice, vibrant and powerful beyond any words of mine to express. In that voice I have come to see the power of heaven to rout all the negative forces of existence, and in arising to obey that command to find the eternal joy of life.
'Abdu'l-Bahá bade us come to the church (Church of the Ascension, Fifth
Avenue and Tenth Street)where He was to speak that morning. Margaret sat at His side and I directly facing Him. He lovingly took and held the hand of Margaret (in leaving) and fondly patted her shoulder with the other hand.
He then did the same to me; and when I asked the interpreter to tell Him I wished to serve Him always, He called me His daughter. He then said, Your face is radiant.
I find I must digress a little in order to give the reader a clear understanding of the real value of the beautiful expressions that 'Abdu'l-Bahá bestowed upon the friends. Once when He in a Tablet called one of the faithful friends His daughter, I laughingly remarked, "If 'Abdu'l-Bahá ever called me His daughter I'd never have another worry. I'd know I was saved." As we grow in grace and spiritual understanding we find that 'Abdu'l-Bahá, through these bestowals, sowed the seeds of attainment in our hearts; we realize that He opened the door of spiritual progress for us, as in His great love and wisdom He saw the Father's face in every face.
It was Palm Sunday and the church was filled to capacity and more, although we understood that the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá there that morning had not been publicly announced. To me, and I have no doubt to many others, it was an unforgettable picture � 'Abdu'l-Bahá standing among the lilies.
If you have thought of 'Abdu'l-Bahá as robed in somber, formal ecclesiastical dress, please "see" Him now (I never saw Him otherwise) in long, light, easy-flowing cloak and light head dress, a symbol of sunlight; warm, comforting, and "alive."
There was a certain color resemblance between 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í white hair and his cream-colored cloak and the white and gold of the lilies. He stood there, not a figure come to be worshiped, but as the Servant of the Divine Gardener, warming the ground of human minds and hearts by a deeper penetration of the rays of the Sun of Truth.
Although coming from a life of suffering and imprisonment, He radiated the life-giv-ing forces of God, declaring "there is no prison save the prison of self"; teaching that man is essentially a spiritual being, and that all down the ages man's conception of socalled death as extinction has corroded within him and closed his spiritual eye to the unspeakably blessed opportunities of this life, as well as to the vision of his glorious destiny in all the worlds of God.
Among the words He addressed to that audience were the following, after forty years so strikingly applicable to the world of today. He said: "Today the world of humanity is in need of international unity and conciliation.
To establish these great fundamental principles a propelling power is needed.
It is selfevident that unity of the human world and
Page 922the 'Most Great Peace' cannot be accomplished through material means.
All the Prophets have come to promote divine bestowals, to found the spiritual civilization and teach the principles of morality.
Therefore we must strive with all our powers so that spiritual influences may gain the nc-tory In His first address that Sunday to the Christian Church in America, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent forth the call to unity, even as He did later on that same day in His address before the adherents of New Thought.
On that afternoon, April 14, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the Union Meeting of Advanced Thought Centers in Carnegie Lyceum on
West 57th Street. Inall His teachings 'Abdu'l-Bahá was Himself a point of unity. He first established a basis of unity and upon that He proceeded to build something of eternal value. Sometimes people have questioned the simplicity of His presentation of truth. In His public addresses, as well as in His private interviews, He fitted His words to the spiritual capacity of those to whom He spoke.
To that audience in Carnegie Lyceum He said in part: "I have come here with this mission; that through your endeavors, through your heavenly morals, through your devoted efforts a perfect bond of unity and love may be established between the east and the west, so that the bestowals of God may descend upon all and all may be seen to be parts of the same tree, � the great tree of the human family �so likewise must we be connected and blended together until each pan shall become the expression of the whole Again and again did 'Abdu'l-Bahá stress the oneness of mankind: All humanity are leaves on the Tree of Creation; some ill who need to be healed, others ignorant who need to be taught; but all recipients of the bounty of the loving Creator. Even in material ways 'Abdu'l-Bahá demonstrated the unity that He taught; He joined in the clapping of hands at that particular gathering, and contributed when the offering was taken.
I wish I could convey to you a clearer picture of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, that love that knows no limitation, no restriction, flowing out to and embracing male and female, rich and poor, schooled and unschooled.
He received each soul as a precious substance upon which to bestow the bounty of the Love of God.
A touching instance of that love is found in the episode of the roses.
One day when we were in the hail, the little floor maid emerged frm 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í suite, her arms filled with roses � beautiful roses � the gift to Him from some of the Baha'is. Sensing that we were friends of the Master, all formality fell away and with a touching gesture she exclaimed, "See what He gave me!
See what He gave me!"She probably knew nothing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Station as the Center of God's Covenant and the Interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's teaching to a needy world; she perhaps did not know His name or title, but He had shown her His love.
Margaret and I were entertained during our stay in New York by my aunt who lived on 73rd Street, almost under the eaves, it seemed to me, of the Ansonia Hotel.
Imagine our delight when we were told that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was staying at the Ansonia.
It seemed like a special privilege to us, and indeed such it very strikingly turned out to be. It came about in this way. On that last morning of our stay I suggested to Margaret that we walk over to the hotel before leaving the city, saying we might get a glimpse of 'Abdu'l-Bahá passing out or going in. How limited was my vision! Later we walked over to the Ansonia and some friends who were just leaving the hotel said to us, "Go right up. 'Abdu'l-Bahá is there." So as if led by an unseen hand we walked to the elevator and when we alighted from it other friends of 'Abdu'l-Bahá were leaving His suite and in their joy of having been with the Master and in the blessing of sharing, they said to us, "'Abdu'l-Bahá is there. Go right in." We opened the door and found, seemingly waiting for us, the one whose door was closed to none, regardless of color, race or creed. Truly 'Abdu'l-Bahá had drawn us to Himself.
He would not let us leave the city without another assurance of His love for us. As I write of His love "for us," I am reminded of the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to one of the friends visiting Him in 'Akka. When that Bahá'í spoke of her wish that all the friends in America might be in 'Akka sharing her blessing, He answered that they are here; one represents all.
After seating us, 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked about our health, then addressed us with the words He had used in our first interview, enlarging upon them, saying we had come some distance to meet Him.
He had come farther to meet us. He had made the journey because of His great love for us. At first the
Page 923journey was very hard; the harder the path, the greater the difficulty, the greater the mercy.
The divine bounty is continually descending.I had been in rather poor health for some months and had hoped to receive from 'Abdu'l-Bahá something to help me carry on my household duties, which were exacting, for I was brought up in the oldfashioned way that assumed the house could not be clean unless one had a backache. The most experienced psychiatrist could not have more readily touched upon my need than did 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Servant of the Divine Physician, when He advised me, in response to the interpreter's word about my health, to decrease physical labor, work not beyond the extent of your strength, turn toward the Kingdom of God; strength is from God; divine confirmation shall descend; you shall attain to physical health; rest assured of the favor of God. More than once through the years these words of the Master have kept not oniy my physical balance, but the mental and spiritual as well.
A day or two before leaving home for New York City to meet our beloved Master, I had a dream. During my years of knowledge of the Bahá'í Faith, I have had several dreams from which I have endeavored to extract some spiritual meaning, but the dream in question is the oniy one for which I have a verbal interpretation from 'Abdu'l-Bahá therefore, the importance of that particular dream is to me very great.
When the interpreter spoke of my dream (with another Baha'i, I was standing before a vast expanse of water) 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that in the dream the sea is the Kingdom, and that is the Cause of God. That I with that other Bahá'í shall attain to the shore of that Sea, and shall behold its expanse.
The time had come when Margaret and I were scheduled to leave New York City for home. After this last unexpected meeting, on April 15, 1912, we were never again in His physical presence.
14. THE BANAl FAITH INTHE motion for today's debate is: 'Africa for Africans.' May I call upon Mr. Chisiza to speak on the motion?" said the chairman.
"Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen," the writer began, "we are assembled to debate but let us not talk for argument's sake. The motion we have today affects us profoundly.
The ideas we shall gather from this debate will go a long way to determine the fate or blessings of your immediate family, your fellow Africans and what's more, our posterity.
"Black Africa is in ferment today. The African is in a plight because of a foreign white minority.
The Hereros in SouthWest Africa have protested, have prayed that their country should not be under Malan's South Africa but the white administrators have given them a deaf ear. In South Africa itself the Defiance Campaign against apartheid laws is at its height. 'Shoot the leaders, jail the rest and investigate later' is Malan's slogan.
In Bechuanaland, SeretseKhama has been banished by foreigners who once acknowledged him ruler and owner of that country. In Central Africa, Africans are protesting, are wailing and yelling in vain against federation. In Tanganyika your feb low Africans are crying for equal representation. In Uganda, in 1949 we had terrible socalled riots. In Kenya your brothers and sisters are being marauded as Mau Maus and as adherents of Dini Ya Nsambwa? In Egypt there is the Suez Canal
Zone struggle. In WestAfrica the massacres connected with the S.S.S. movement will long remain in our memories. And alas, even in the far off Congo the East African Standard says that a chief has protested in public that he might better die than see himself stripped of his all by the white man.
"In all these troubles, please note, ladies and gentlemen, the aggressor has been the white man, and as long as he is with us he 1 A religion or sect started by an African in Kenya.
Page 924But how long are we going to endure his atrocities? Granted we can't any longer, how do we check them?
Get rid of the aggressor himself and let Africa be for Africans.
"The white man must go back where he came from not because we hate foreigners but because he hates us, because he oppresses us and as a raiding lion is got rid of, so must we get rid of the white man.
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman.""Segawa, anything striking in the paper?" "Oh, thirty dear fellows � Dini Ya Nsam-bwa adherents � have been killed, so far, by the police."
I felt a chilly draft go through my heart."You know, Dunduzu," Segawa started to say meditatively, his eyes fixed on a distant point, "I don't think there is a God." I eyed him with understanding. He continued.
"How can God, the Just, the Merciful, be indifferent to this tyranny? Why should a Just God create people with different colors so that some should be oppressed by reason of those same colors? What harm is there in following
Dm1 Ya Nsambwa? They[Euro-peans] tell us of freedom of worship but what's this now? Because an African is black they think God cannot send a black prophet to him.
Look, these people are teaching us lies. They are selfish. They say Christian Africans shouldn't drink liquors, but they do.
They say you should not commit adultery but they are the worst harlots.
They say you should love your neighbor but they don't love us. Oh, they are liars!" He paused, then went on slowly, "I see now that we have been fools. Why did we leave the beliefs of our forefathers?
They knew God and used to worship Him through dead people who were near Him.
Why didn't we continue to worship God that way?Believe me, these people are not following the teachings of Christ. Have you read Tolstoy's letter to Mahatma Gandhi?"
"No," I said."I can't remember the exact words but what he means is this: The Christian world which professes to follow the teachings of Christ has built and is maintaining its empires by wars. This shows that they are not following the teaching of Christ which is LOVE." We were silent for two minutes and then he sighed and said, "Oh, Lord!" Both of us were hopeless.
We were out from our afternoon classes. The day was mild and most of the boys were outside the buildings reading newspapers.
"Hello, you fellows. They say there is a European who wants to talk on spiritual things in the Hall," one boy said.
"Tell the gentleman that our parents don't send us here for spiritual things. Our concern is the School Certificate.
See?" snapped another.In spite of this remark many boys went. I did, too, but for the simple reason of whiling away the evening.
"We arc brothers, gentlemen," the charming white fellow told us seriously. In spite of his seriousness, I felt like saying, "Son of a gunner! Your missionaries have been telling us this sort of thing for a century, yet do we see them practice it? Lincoln coined even a nobler phrase � 'with malice towards none but charity for all' � but what results has it produced on you fellows?"
"Color prejudice," he went on to say, "is a manmade thing. It must be relinquished because it is the cause of human misunderstanding and discord." There was something in that but it is a platitude which even Malan may have voiced in his early years.
If only these fellows can practice what they say, this world might be a paradise overnight!
He dwelt at length on what he called Oneness of Mankind. In his eyes shone something invisible which touched your heart with a softening stroke. Indeed my stubborn heart was melting. He paused with a smile which had obviously a very distant source. It was deeply meaningful.
"Does anybody want to ask a question?" No questions but silence and attention.
He switched on to another subject."All religions are from God." He surprised us. It was on the tip of my tongue to say, "Except IslAm. Well, it just couldn't be," I thought.
But by this time skepticism had almost left me. I allowed the words to soak into my head. The doors of my emotional self seemed to have been shattered to let in this fellow to play on my emotions and play he did. Now I marvel at: "The differences between different religions are due to the different times and places in which they happen to be revealed."
Now I frown with him at a blunder or injustice being done; now I smile with him at a feasible solution he presents.
"God curse you if you don't live the life of all that you say with this strange sincerity," I am sure I said inwardly.
Page 925It was getting towards sundown at this juncture and the fellow pulled out a pocket watch, looked at it and shot a glance at our teacher who evidently had met him before.
"It's getting late, gentlemen.I clicked my tongue in disgust. I thought: Europeans with their wives and food! Now this fellow feels as if he has been away from his wife for a century. He is probably dying of hunger too. But can't he tolerate it only for today?
"Go, go on, go on, on," came the confused urgings.
Too late to say "go on" myself, I ventured to ask, "What's the matter, sir?"
He swept the audience with that smile which seemed to say: "We are in a quagmiry world, in a world of injustice and pathetic delusion.
"On my part, it wouldn't bother me to be here fill sunrise, but you must get home. Some of you are expected by your parents; we do not want to upset their plans," he said.
"That is our business, sir," retorted a young man from the back.
"Go on, go, go on," came another volley of goons.He settled down without the least sign of fatigue, hunger or anxiety. I must have been wrong about his feelings.
"All that I have been telling you," said he, "are the Teachings of a new
Prophet � Bahá'u'lláh. Hewas born in Persia and He is the Return of Christ!"
The brows of the boys were furrowed as much as to say, "W~hat?"
"Does anyone have a Bible?""You see," he told us, "we have forgotten the promise of Christ. We have forgotten its details.
All we remember is that Christ said that He would come again. We are now going to prove that what Christ said about his second coming has been fulfilled by Bahá'u'lláh."
Together we turned the leaves of the Bible and proved, first, that the time for Christ's return arrived a hundred years ago; second, that the signs of His coming have all been fulfilled!
"From these," the fellow cogently concluded, "it follows that Christ must have already come. But you may ask why did we not see Him?" He explained that for one thing we did not see the Return of Christ because He came in a manner we did not expect; for another we did not see Him because cause we did not know from where He would come.
He expounded in detail the manner of coming ofgist of the explanation was first, that Christ in His second coming must be born; for if He is to come in a manner different from other men why should Jesus warn us against false prophets; second, that the clouds on which He is expected to come are the limitations of His human body. It is those physical limitations which would prevent people from seeing His Reality just as physical clouds prevent us from seeing the splendor of the sun. Finally, the charming white fellow showed us how Bahá'u'lláh and His Faith fulfilled all these prophecies. He showed us (1) that the Bahá'í Faith started at a time when the Return of Christ should have come; (2) that Bahá'u'lláh and His Faith came at a time when the signs of Christ's Return were being fulfilled; (3) that Bahá'u'lláh came in the true manner He (as the Return of Christ) was expected; and (4) that He (Bahá'u'lláh) came from the place (Baha'i) where the-Bible says the Return of Christ must come from. With this, 'All Nakiijav~tni (for that is the name of that white speaker) ended his talk and returned to his home.
So it was that I who was made to detest white men with the religion they brought, was now challefiged by another white man to accept another religion; I who cherished the Teachings of Christ but who strongly doubted that Christ was the Son of God, was now being challenged to acknowledge His Return; I who believed in the expulsion of the white man from Africa, was now ironically being made to consider him as a brother. It was a frightful insomnia that I had that night. A deadly war was going on within my divided self. Its end seemed to be continually put off by a warning a student had yelled directly after we came out from the lecture. He said, "Don't forget for a minute that white men brought their religion and took our land. This fellow is bringing a new technique of keeping you quiet while his friends snatch our land and domineer over us." I confessed that I could not prove the contrary, yet some invisible force seemed to push me to a decision.
The following day witnessed the end of my war. I had turned things over for nine and a half hours of the previous night.
The result was that I had trampled down everybit of a doubt within me. I longed to be asked the most difficult question by anybody who doubted because I was sure that I could rip off a cogent and convincing answer.
In the evening, 'AU came again to outline the history of the Forerunner, the Author and the Interpreter of the Baha Faith, and also to tell us about the obligations and prohibitions enjoined on the Baha'is.
I considered all of them as reasonable and necessary but there was one which was a hard pill � fasting! "Fasting."
I wondered. "Hope this isn't Jslttm. Heavens, I have never fasted in my life."
However, later in the evening by sheer luck I came across Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. "It's a sort of text book of the Faith," Mr. Frobisher K. Kagwa (the teacher who first met 'Au) said as he gave it to me. The first thing I looked up was "fast-ing" and there I found a satisfying explanation. "Fasting," 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's Teachings, explained, "is a symbol.
Fasting signifies abstinence from lust from self-appetites and self-desires." "Fasting," He reiterated, "is a symbol of that abstinence it is a reminder otherwise it is of no importance." That appealed to me; it satisfied me.
Right away I told Mr. Kagwa to contact Mr. 'Au and tell him that I wanted to become a Baha. He did and the following day my roommate, Godwin Peter Kabisa, and I signed our dcc-larations as Baha'is.
Later in the evening a teacher asked me, "Do you really understand what you have done? I understand Bahá'ís have nothing to do with politics.
Is that what you are going to comply with?""Yes I started to speak, but he interrupted. "What a loss to Nyasaland,"2 he went on ruefully.
"What a loss! Just why have you believed in the Bahá'í Faith?" he asked. He was just the fellow I had been looking for.
Teacher or no teacher, I would hammer my belief into him.
"I believe in the Bahá'í Faith because it's the oniy solution to political problems. And if I have a solution to our political problems I don't think it is useful anymore to fiddle with politics.
Let me add, sir, that the oniy thing that an African can do to regain his freedom is to expel
Europeans from Africa. Butthis is impracticable in view of the fact that Europeans have hydrogen bombs while we have only spears. The alternative to the 2 The writer's native country.
above solution is to compromise our claims. But why take only half of what we want while the Bahá'ís give us the whole? They give us full equality. Mr. Kagwa who has been with the Baha for a considerable time will bear this out.
Equality, which every African wants today, is what the Bahá'í Faith gives us and that is why I identify myself with it." I laughed exultantly but he was serious. I thought he needed some more. I went on. "I take it, sir, that you don't ask me why I have embraced a faith, because I am sure you know that it is the propensity of ninety-nine and three-quarters per cent of mankind to have a religious faith of some kind. What you ask, I believe, is why I have chosen the Bahá'í Faith of all faiths.
The reason is this: I believe that mankind has been constantly lifted from a former religion to a new one just as a boy in grade one moves by degrees to the sixth form. The new faith to which mankind is being lifted is the Baha Faith. It seems improper for me, therefore, to remain in the former grade while I am being called into a new one. That the Bahá'í Faith is new and that in a way it symbolizes an upper grade is shown by the following contrast: While the former Prophets taught individual love, to love our neighbors,
Bahá'u'lláh teaches UniversalLove. While the followers of different religions consider their particular religion to be the only true and best, Bahá'u'lláh says that all religions are from God, that all have been useful to mankind at their prescribed time but that now, after more than thirteen hundred years since the last religion was revealed, mankind needs a new religion which will be in keeping with his needs and his progressive mentality. So it seems to me, sir, that if one becomes a Baha'i, one leaves his particular religion oniy to embrace all former religions plus Bahá'u'lláh's New Faith. And I think such a fellow is better off than somebody who believes in only one grade of religion."
The teacher shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Well." And well it was.
Such was my preliminary understanding of the Bahá'í Faith but now after a year and a half of experience and vigorous study, my understanding has deepened and broadened.
I have seen with my own eyes how the Bahá'í Faith has restored unity in African families which were formerly divided because one member belonged to a different religion or sect. I have watched it remove con
Page 927fusion among many Africans who wondered why there were so many religions.
For the first time, it has shown many the difference between a sect and religion. I used to call Protestantism a religion!
My association with white Baha'is, on the other hand, has proved to me that the Bahá'í Faith, unlike many other faiths today, is not impractical. The watchwords of the white Bahá'ís seem to be: "Action, not words. Live the life," which in black Africa means "Love the African."
Finally, let me mention that the Bahá'í Teachings have brought hope not only to me but also to countless others who have had the golden chance of investigating the Baha Faith.
They have opened new vistas for us; they have made us sight new goals; nay, they have marshaled us into a new world of unprecedented ideals and aspirations.
For I, who loved my country, now love my kind; I who dreamed of dedicating my life to the cause of the African, have now dedicated my life to the Cause of God. I am now seriously working for A world community in which all economic barriers will have been permanently demolished and the interdependence of Capital and Labor definitely recognized; in which the clamor of religious fanaticism and strife will have been forever stilled; in which the flame of racial animosity will have been finally extinguished; and finally a world community in which the fury of a capricious and militant nationalism will have been transmuted into an abiding consciousness of world citizenship In my quiet moments I gape and murmur, "So the next record that history will make is that of the unification of the nations. So communication is soon going to assume new meaning � for travelers will no longer be mere tourists.
They will be traveling with the anticipation of meeting new brothers and sisters in the islands of the seas, in far off Asia, Australia and even in wild Africa. So geography will put on a new meaning too � for old as well as young will begin to dust off and buy atlases that they may know exactly where George or Jane are in the Philippines, in the Congo, in Finland or in Peru."
It seems to me, people will master the geography of the world as they have mastered the geography of their countries because soon the planet earth will be their country.
The picture overpowers one. Vast and inevitable changes are impending � changes which Bahá'u'lláh sums up by saying, "Soon will the present day order be rolled up and a new one spread out in its stead."
8 Shoghi Effendi, WorldTHE swamp water, they told us, was alive with crocodiles. The raft, just big enough to hold our car, was propelled by six young Africans using long, thin poles.
Once we sighted a breathtaking blue-gold water lily. At once, the boys pushed the raft into the reeds to pluck it for us. With great happiness they presented it to us. The ceremony had delayed the crossing another half hour. Our mixed group of African, British, and American Bahá'ís was watched curiously by one of the young Basoga on the raft.
"What makes the white-skin and black-skin people laugh together so pleasantly?"
he asked.He was much taken with it, and began to read it aloud to all the African people on the raft. He read it all, as the ferry raft inched along. There would have been time to have read
The New Era. TimelessAt one time we nearly drove our small car into a number of hippopotami which were coming up out of the Nile river to eat the sweet green grass.
We stopped at another time within eight feet of a huge, sleeping lion.
As our car sped along the Kenya Park roads, we scattered ostriches, zebra, giraffes; we sent gazelles and bucks of many varieties scurrying for cover.
We sat at dusk on a terrace at Mtito Andei and looked across the haze of sunset at the white hair of Kilimanjaro.
We spent a night on an African train which was so crowded that we had to sleep on the floor of the dining car.
Page 928We stood with Bahá'í friends in the cauldron heat of Mombassa and studied that paradoxically named edifice, "Fort Jesus."
We welcomed a mammoth orange moon which rose majestically from the
Indian Ocean at Zanzibar.As our ship slid noiselessly into harbor, the graceful palm trees would be etched against that ball of fire. The fragrance of cloves from the island drifted across the water.
We clasped hands, and twenty years fell overboard!
We visited a Bahá'í community in Dar es Salaam that would have cheered 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í heart. It had among its members Africans from several different tribes, Persian, British, Turkish, Indian, Egyptian, and American Baha'is. Once we drove off to help with a Bahá'í school in the interior, miles from the nearest town of any size. Soon we were in the center of an entire Baha village. People rushed out to greet us, not in African or English, but with "A11Th-u-Abh4."
They ushered us into our new home, a round mud hut with thatched roof. There, hanging by itself, on the wall was a small frame drawing of the Greatest Name. This was our home for fifteen days. It would be crowded at night with eager faces, asking endless questions, still unsatisfied by a day filled with seven separate classes on the Faith. A wildcat would break in, steal food, and peer intently at the Americans feigning sleep inside the mosquito net. Hornets would drone mournfully in and out of the thatched roof when the sun roused them from sleep. Our guest, a sweet little monkey, lived on the wall top, and would poke his hand through the straw roof to steal eggs from the unsuspecting hen who had laid them there.
Occasionally, they would fight bitter duels through small holes in the roof.
Here we would have dysentery and malaria. But everything is crowded out of the memory by the love we were shown. We thanked our host, through an interpreter, for his kindness in giving up his home to us. He replied, "It is not to thank me. It is to thank Bahá'u'lláh who makes all things possible."
From June to February, we sailed anchorless upon the wondrous sea of Bahá'u'lláh's world community. Each day was a treasure. The following are but a few of the incidents that make up the most rewarding period in our entire Bahá'í life to the present time.
One evening in Kampala, we spoke to a charming young Buganda. We had been talking about the history of his people and the great war which had been so fiercely fought by the Catholics and Protestants to gain supremacy. He told us how the Kabaka (King) had refused to embrace either belief since they broke the very commandment which Jesus had given them, his followers, "to love one another."
"What is your own background in religion?" we asked him.
"Many things I have been," he said, "but never happy inside. I was born a Pagan, but I became a Catholic because they owned the primary school and I wished to learn.
Then I became a Protestantbecause they owned the high school. Then," he chuckled, "since the college was owned by the government, I became an agnostic."
"What are you now?"I have heard much about the Bahá'í Faith, but I lack the courage to believe that it can really be as my ears tell me.
I am no longer a child or boy. Now I must believe, not because I desire to gain something, but because my bean tells me it is true and will fill my emptiness."
We agreed. He told us that he knew it would not be easy, nor popular, but what did it matter if only it were true.
Again we agreed, and quoting the words of Bahá'u'lláh, said, "adversity is the oil that feedeth the flame of this Lamp" of God.
When we parted months later, he said, "I thought my soul had been lost when I was born. Now I know that Bahá'u'lláh was just keeping it for me. Now He has returned it to me." As we said our goodbyes, his parting words were, "The scar of friendship which the Ba1A'is have cut into my heart will never be healed."
There is a natural poetry in the African speech.It is not dependent on education. One of the most eloquent of all those we met was an illiterate.
He spoke in fragments, but they fell together like pieces of a fresh mosaic. We met in Mombassa, in the Kit Kat Cafe. It is one of the few places where all races can gather in freedom and mental security. However, they also gather there in riotous sound. To the background chanting of an East Indian love song on the gramophone, and surrounded by raucous conversations in Swahili, Arabic and Portuguese, this young man told us his understanding of the three central figures of the Faith.
He wanted so sincerely to be a Baha.We had come to determine his understanding, to see if he were ready to become a believer.
We regretted at the time that we had no recorder to preserve his words.
Halting as they were, they outshone, in their simplicity the polished speech of those who had come to question. The sequence and the exact content have escaped us after all this time, but we shall always be able to communicate the spirit of what he said.
"Tell us in your own words," we asked him, "a bout the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and 'AN du'1-Bah4."
He nodded. Never taking his eyes from ours, he began to speak.
"When it is dusk, no one sees good. They fear.They hate what they don't see. Even if it is people.
Then the sun comes and they do see a little.He was good. They killed Him because they liked it to be dark. But it needed to be brighter like hot daytime to see they are wrong to hate. This was Bahá'u'lláh. 'See everybody,' He said 'how nice they are. Love, don't hate.'
He died. Not really death because He left His son, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Not so bright, but good like afternoon sun to see us safe home before it is black. 'Abdu'l-Bahá said good things. People are alike even if they look different. All belong to God, so don't do what God wouldn't do. Be good men. Then He died. But He told us to go to the
Guardian (Shoghi Effendi).He would be strong and guard us. He would tell away our troubles. He will, too; I believe in him. 'Abdu'l-Bahá said, 'Whatever the Guardian says is right. Do it.' And I will."
When he had finished, a questioning look came into his eyes. it seemed to say, "Please, am I a Baha'i" "I know I am ignorant," he told us, "but I want to learn all there is in the world to know about my Faith. I can't find words for the fullness of my heart." He sighed sadly, as he made a confession.
"I tried to tell my religious man what I believe. He stops me sometimes and says, 'Where are you when it is church?' I told him what I believe, but always he defeats me what I say. He defeats me with words. I tell him again, but he defeats me with words." Suddenly he looked up and smiled happily. "But only he defeats my head, not my heart. This," he said, touching his heart, "belongs to Bahá'u'lláh and no one can conquer it away from
Him."When they asked us later if we thought the young man should be taken into the Faith, we replied, "If you don't take him in, you itfad better put us out because we are learning from him every moment."
At the opening of thoin Teso, Uganda, there were over two hundred and fifty African Bahá'ís present. There were sixteen Local Assemblies represented.
Following a huge barbecue, there was a public meeting.
Public officials, school teachers, tribal dignitaries, guests both African and European were present.
At the first session, the chairman of the host community welcomed us with a delightful speech.
He told of the great fear in his people's hearts when all the Teso Bahá'ís had left for the Kampala Conference. They were implored not to go by their friends and families who were not Baha'is.
"You will be eaten," they warned. When all the Bahá'ís returned from the conference, there was great excitement.
They were counted to make certain none was missing.
Then there was rejoicing in the streets."Even today," the chairman continued, "we were approached and told, 'beware! The Americans will carry you away and eat you.',, Marguerite Sears replied to his speech and drew attention to the similarity of fears the world over.
"When we left New York," she said, "some of our friends, who were not Baha'is, told us, 'Be careful. Some of the people in Africa may carry you off and eat you.'" When the laughter ebbed, the Conference began.
The school followed.The program was as follows: 89:30 A.M. � History of
Faith1012:30 A.M. � Three classes on language (A) For illiterates (to learn to read and write their own language)
(B) For Beginning English45:00 P.M. � Bahá'í Administration (explanations) 55:45 r.M. � Administration (prac-tical application)
Page 930How to conduct a Feast, an election How to hold Bahá'í consultation Functions of Assemblies, Committees, etc. 79:30 r.M. � Special classes for Bahá'í Pioneers 9:3012:00 P.M � Social, questions, fun.
The more these people heard about their Faith, the more enthusiastic they became. When the sheer delight of hearing the teachings was too much for them, they would cover their ears with both hands and then remove them to make certain they were hearing these wonderful things. Then they would say, "Tell the words again, please."
One entire afternoon of the Conference was given over to a discussion of the two most challenging problems that Africa must face: polygamy and alcohol.
The law relative to polygamy was simply explained.
No African is penalized by becoming a Baha'i.If a man has more than one wife before he accepts the Faith, he keeps them all. However, he can take no more without breaking the law. If he has but one, he keeps that one and takes no more. If he is unmarried, he is permitted but one wife.
A young man asked a question (on behalf of a friend, he said) about marriage.
"What if you know you're going to become a Bahá'í Couldn't you fast marry three wives first, and then accept the Faith?"
The silence of his own people was his answer.One of the men near him said, "The answer to that lies between you and
God."It was not taken in any form unless essentially required as medical treatment under doctor's prescription.
We suggested that we secure some of the local drink, put it in a bowl and set fire to it. When it burst into flames, we could demonstrate what happened to the inside of the stomach when a person drank.
"No," we were cautioned, "that wouldn't be helpful.
You see, when our people want to get something to drink, they say, 'Light a match to it. If it burns, I'll buy it.' One old man shook his head. "Bad thing," he grumbled, "it steals your head before it steals your feet."
The remark by a Basoga man, who admitted to taking a drink off and on, settled the matter of alcohol.
"I did not know it was forbidden," he told everyone.
"Now I do know. So it must go forever. There is no room in my heart for both alcohol and Bahá'u'lláh."
One young man spends his time going from community to community in Teso, helping each assembly and group to remain as active as possible. He was a translator at the Conference school.
His little child became ill with smallpox. At the same time, thieves broke into his home in his absence and stole his supply of grain.
The year before, enemies had thrown acid on his f am-ily's clothes, ruining the clothes completely. When we asked him if all this had really happened to him, he replied, "Yes.
Sometimes I say to myself, 'Oule, why is this happening to you always, so many things?' Then I answer myself and I say, 'Oule, it is Bah6 u'11&h who is polishing you inside.
Go and teach His Faith, and leave the rest toCommittee met one day in Mbale, forty-five miles away, Oule missed the bus. Tie scurried about until he could borrow a bicycle and then he pumped the forty-five miles and arrived but ten minutes late for the meeting.
He did not feel that there could be any excuse for his absence. This was part of his belief in God, and he must not fail to do his part. It would be easy to believe in Bahá'u'lláh and remain at home, but it would be impossible to serve Bahá'u'lláh and still remain. He felt that life must be an example of Bahá'u'lláh's words in His book of Laws where He cautions mankind "not to be indulgent in carrying out His statutes"; prescribes the twin inseparable duties of recognizing the "Dayspring of God's Revelation (the Messenger) and of observing all the ordinances revealed by Him, neither of which is acceptable without the other."
There were seven African pioneers who attended the Teso school. They had risen spontaneously when the Guardian had called for volunteers.
They planned to leave for their posts immediately after the school ended.
We took one of them to Ngora to catch the bus for his goal city. He had
Page 931already said goodbye to family and friends. Over his shoulder he carried a stick, broken from a young tree. In a white cloth, tied to the end of the stick, were all his worldly possessions.
He was off to a new land, a new language, a new people.
"Pray for me," he said, "that I will stand brave."
Then he thanked the pioneer teachers who had come to the school. He praised their sacrifice for coming to Teso, for giving up so much to bring more of God's truth to his people.
These teachers had come by auto, with their families, and would return together.
This African pioneer had left wife, children, home � everything � at the call of the Guardian.
He did not think that what he was doing was a sacrifice. Others might be sacrificing, but he was obeying the voice in his heart. Bahá'u'lláh had said of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "who obeys Him, obeys God." The Guardian had called for pioneers, and to this soul the voice of God had spoken. He answered it the oniy way he knew how to answer, with "instant, exact and complete obedience."
To us, he was the symbol of Bahá'u'lláh's words, "whither can a lover go but to the laud of his beloved? and what seeker findeth rest away from his heart's desire?
seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more."
He shook hands with us and then wormed his way into the crowded bus.
He was the leaven in this mass of humanity. He poked his head out the window and grinned at us. His smile made you feel how deprived you were not to be where he would be. He managed to wriggle one arm free to wave to us. As the bus carried him off to his post, he called back happily,
"All6li-u-Abh6l"No word was received from him for some time after.
The committee became worried about his welfare.Perhaps he was ill. Perhaps he had not found employment.
Perhaps the teaching work had not yet begun. There had been no word for two months.
Finally they heard. Not a letter, but a telegram.It said simply: "Send more declaration blanks, and pamphlets in English."
Another of the pioneers was off to teach the Faith in Kenya, in the heart of the Mau Mau trouble area. He had been a teacher at a church school when he had first heard of the Faith. One of the Bahá'ís gave him a pamphlet to read. lie took it back to his room at the school. It was discovered by the school authorities, and he was told to destroy it and have nothing further to do with this new belief.
He refused, saying, "This is my faith. This I can really believe." He was warned that if he persisted, he would lose his job.
He must either give up his job or this foolishness.
"Foolishness?" he asked."That there is only one God and oniy one religion?
That all the Messengers of God are equal and teach the same truth in different ages? That all men are brothers, and that mankind must not only believe this is so, but behave that way? This is foolishness?"
He was told to make a choice."There is no choice," he told them. "Nothing can make me give up my faith."
"We shall see," he was told.He was put out of his job. He was barred from securing teaching work at any other school. His father and the tribal authorities were approached by the clergy and asked to influence the boy to return to his work and to the church. He was threatened with banishment from the tribe, with disinheritance, with open opposition.
"If it must be," he replied, "it is God's will. I shall never give up my belief in Bahá'u'lláh. It is better to be for something than to live for nothing."
Everyone opposed him.Obstacles were hurled into his path. Bahá'u'lláh's words were fulfilled at each step along the way for this courageous believer: "Ye shall be hindered from loving Me, and souls shall be perturbed as they make mention of Me. For minds cannot grasp Me, nor hearts contain Me." As a last resort, they tried to get the young man's wife to sway him, to threaten him with divorce unless he abandoned the Bahá'í Faith.
Little by little, he had been shorn of every tie.lie had given up his job, his tribe, his family, his friends, and now his wife and children.
There was, he said, no praise due him. If there had been a choice to make, perhaps his wisdom could have been commended; but since God had talked to his heart, the world had died before his eyes.
How many times these people, because of their purity and simplicity reminded us of the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh: "Divest not thyself of My beauteous robe, and forfeit not thy portion from My wondrous fountain, lest thou shouldst thirst forevermore."
Later, when we arrived in Dar es Salaam,we heard that this young man had already brought eight new people into the Faith at his pioneer post.
There was a very lovable boy who was determined to speak English as soon as possible. Whenever he was with us, he would practice.
"After all," he said, "when in Rome, do as Rome does."
Following one of the classes on The Dawn-Breakers, and the tale of the historic defense of Fort Tabarsi, he said, admiringly, "That was a very movable story."
A man from Mbale read the small booklet on the principles of the Faith, and insisted on becoming a believer immediately.
He was told he could not, that he must wait until he knew more. He was also told that it was for his protection as well as the protection of the Faith that each person should know exactly and thoroughly what he was accepting before he could become a follower of Bahá'u'lláh.
"I'm ready now," he said."Never did I have such happy reading. This is the truth I accept. I believe in Bahá'u'lláh.
I am a Baha'i" "You are not. Not yet."Good. I accept it. Whatever it is, if Bahá'u'lláh said it, I believe it, and I will do it. I am a "Later maybe."
"Now!""But you do not know what the Faith is yet. You have oniy a beginning."
"I know all. Listen!"Then he began to recite his version of what he had read in the booklet: "God one. Prophets one.
Man one. All good. Work is to pray, justice for everybody � even the dark � all good. See, I know everything.
I am a Baha'i."Impatiently, his questioner said, "All right, if you know everything, where does the Guardian live?"
The answer came back at once, full of confidence.It was the only large city he knew; so certainly the Guardian must live there.
Now he knows where the Guardian lives. He also knows about the local and national assemblies, and the Universal House of Justice. He knows that there are other cities than Mombassa, and that there are Bahá'ís throughout the world, living His principles and spreading His teachings that the "world is one country and mankind its citizens." He blushingly admits now that he doesn't know everything, but he does know that this Faith is the hope of his heart and the help of his people.
The first pioneer to leave the Teso school for his post went to far off Tanganyika. To him it meant a journey to another country across great Lake Victoria. We gathered around the car that was to take him as far as Kampala.
His wife and little son kissed him goodbye. He laughed and cried all at the same time. He was laughing with joy for the privilege of serving this Faith he so loved, and he was weeping with sadness at parting. He was shaken with bewilderment at this great spiritual motion that was stirring amidst his people. His body seemed to be urging him to stay, while his spirit pulled him inexorably away.
We all sang in unison the most popular song of the school session.
It was written by the Americans, using all the words of Ateso they had learned. It was set to the tune of "Mine eyes have seen the Glory of the coming of the Lord."
"Yoga Ojekuna ebu Yoga Ojekuna ebu Yoga Ojekuna ebu Ealama nui nul Yoga do!"
Freely translated it said, "Hello, I am feeling fine, yes. Hello, I am feeling fine, yes. Hello, I am feeling fine, yes.
Thank you very very much.This never failed to send the two hundred and fifty Bahá'ís at the school off into spasms of unrestrained laughter.
Finally the moment of farewell came. We had one last song together around the car. The words and music had been written by the school chorus, written they said by Bahá'í consultation.
They called it, "Yes, Bahá'u'lláh is the return of Christ."
Then we embraced our pioneer in fond goodbyes. Our last view of this servant of the Guardian was the picture of him clinging tightly with one hand to the Baha literature he was taking with him.
He had a Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, the little pamphlet in Swahili, the Hidden Words, a mimeographed copy of Bible Prophecies, and a small five cent red note
Page 933book in which, he said, he could write down all the names of his new contacts.
With his free hand, he waved farewell. He called out the window of the car to us: "We shall meet again, in Haifa, Baghd4d, or heaven."
10.We have not spoken here of the difficulties or hardships that a pioneer encounters.
No citadel is wrested from the enemy without casualties. Malaria, dysentery, infected toes, smashed fingers, influenza, cold, heat, hunger, discomfort.
These are all campaign ribbons for each pioneer.There is no need to expatiate upon sufferings. These are the mortar with which the monument of victory is held erect and in place. One rapidly learns that what he thought were bare essentials of living, are really luxuries. What he thought were impossible conditions are really the bare essentials.
Every pioneer has a period of "let down." The trumpets and the banners of "send off" fade. He has ridden the exciting crest of the wave. The wave subsides and he is in the quiet waters of the harbor.
Now only his own energy can keep him afloat until he adjusts to this new world. It is here that he suffers from a common pioneer disease. Not fatal, but universal. It is caused by: no job, no visa, no money, no room, no friends, no mail, and no good coffee. Everything seems impossible of accomplishment.
The disease is called the Afri"can'ts." But once the prayers begin to take hold and the pioneer receives an encouraging letter such as: "Dear Mabel � I would have written from the Congo sooner to cheer you through ma-lana only I was unconscious with typhoid" the cure is accomplished! This is the time when the pioneer realizes that, of course, he can't accomplish everything all by himself. He was never expected to do this. All he was asked to do was to "report at his post for duty" and allow Bahá'u'lláh to accomplish the task through him, the willing channel. At this point, he becomes a real Afri"can.~~ 'Abdu'l-Bahá told us that we must be soldiers of God. We leave our homes, friends, families � Mi � and go into the field of battle. There is no turning back. The enemy is engaged. The world is now our battlefield, the ten year crusade our plan of action. We must empty ourselves from the cities and rush oat to reinforce every outpost, armed only with what 'Abdu'l-Bahá called "guns of love." The light, once kindled, must never be allowed to go out.
Bahá'u'lláh, in the Tablet of Carmel, cried out, "0 how I long to announce unto every spot on the surface of the earth, and to carry to each one of its cities, the glad-tidings of this
Revelation'Abdu'l-Bahá echoed poignantly those same words. "0 that I could travel, even though on foot and in the utmost poverty, to these regions and, raising the call of Y~-BahA'u'1'-Abh~ in cities, villages, mountains, deserts and oceans, promote the Divine teachings!
This, alas, I cannot do. How intensely I deplore it. Please God, ye may achieve it." Africa, the most neglected, abused, deprived of the continents has heard this call and is answering.
One morning we were speaking of the suffering and martyrdoms during the time of the BTh. We had just finished telling the story of the seven martyrs of TihAn. One very sweet old man came up to speak with us. The dear soul thought that these stories meant that they, too, the African IBaM'is, would soon be called upon to give their lives for the Faith.
He thanked us and said, "This will help to hold me up when it comes my turn to be killed."
In one of the very last letters 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote, Tie said, "I have done all that could be done. I have served the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh to the utmost of My ability. 0 how I long to see the Believers shouldering the responsibilities of the Cause save this there remains none other joy for me."
The charger that 'Abdu'l-Bahá promised us is awaiting the rider who will spur it into the arena to win the victory in His name. The tests that hold men back are the same in this day as they have been in every day of God: wealth, children, hunger, and death. Cast them aside, as the hero of B~~rfur6sh cast aside his satchel of turquoise, as the mother of Ashraf cast aside her heart's desire, as the defenders of Tabarsi cast aside the sumptuous banquet offered by their tempters, as the uncle of the Mb cast aside his life asking only that he "be the first to lay down his life for his beloved kinsman."
Let all, who are not "clay pieces to be disintegrated with a little moisture," enter the fray as soldiers of the Covenant; not turning back until the Crusade is won, or life has been laid down as a marker along the way that points to the hill of triumph.
Page 934Design for the completion of th~ sepulchre of the Bat' on Mt. Carmel 1-laija.
In Haifa on the slopes of Mount Cannel in the midst of a beautiful tarden lie the sacred shrines of the Bahá'í religion, "the lonudation and growth of which;' according to Lord Samuel, first � and only Jewish � High
Commissioner of MandatedPalestine, is one of the most striking movements that have proceeded from the East in recent. gene-iatiOn~."
This religion which only last year celebrated the centenary 'of its founder's martyr's death is today represented in a hundred countries throughout the world and &ha'i literature has bee ii translated into sixty languages. In India alone there are Bahá'í congregations in 54 different towns.
The Bahá'í Faith is of nonpolitical character and Bahá'ís ore con2rnaflded by the Founde.r of their Faith to be loyal subjects of the Governments under which they live.
Whilst the Bahá'í religion originated in Persia, and apart from perhaps the U.S.A. still is represented there by larger numbers of followers than in any other country, its spiritual centre is Haifa, where Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í faith, resides and where the remains of the founder were brought for interment.
True to its enlightened religious policy the Government of Israel is extending jullest religious ant pnomy to this little known and small community and Israel is probably the only country today where Bahá'í marriage certificates are specifically recognized by the law.
Reproduced below is Lord Samuel's introductory address delivered at the Bahá'í session of the World Congress of Faiths, held in London in 1936.
The Ed.If one were compelled to choose which of the many religious communities of the world was closest to the aim and purpose of this Congress, I think one would be obliged, to say that it was the comparatively Iittk known Bahá'í community.
Other communities may consider how far a particular clement of their respective faith may be regarded as similar to thosQ of other communities, but the Bahá'í Faith exists for the purposc of combining in one synthesis all those elements in the various faiths which are he!d in common.
Its origin was in Persia where a mystic propbrt, who took the name of the Báb, the "Gate ", began a mission among the Persians in the earlier part of thc nineteenth century. He collected a considerable number of adherents. His activitk's were rega'rdcd with apprehension by the government of Persia of that day. Finally, he and his leading disciples were seized by the forces of the Persian Government and were shot' in the year 1850. In spite of the persecution, the movement spread in Persia and in many Islamic countries.
He was followed as the head of the community by the one who has been its principal prophet and exponent, Haha?u'llah.
He was most active and despite petsecution and imprisonment made it his life mission to spread the creed which he claim-cd to have received by direct divine revelation. He died in 1892 and was succeeded as the head of the community by his son Abdu'l-Bahá, who was born in 1844. HC\ was living in Haifa, in a simple house, ~vhen I went there as High Commissioner in 1920, and I had the privilege of one or two most interesting conversations with him on the principles and methods of the Bahá'í Faith.
He died in 192! and his obsequies ~vrre attended by a great concourse of people. I had the honour of representing His Majesty the King on the occasion.
The completed part of the shrine on Mt. Carmel, Haifa.
Since that time the Bahá'í Faith h~s secured the support of a very large number of communities throughout the world.
At the present time it is cstj-mated that there are about eight hundred Bahá'í communities in various countries.
Above and opposite: Pages from India and Israel, March, 1951, with article on the Bahá'í Faith and the World Center of the Faith (reproduced by permission).
Page 935Reproduced below is a quotation attributed to 'Abdu't Bahá'í (T8441921) grandfather of the present "Guar-dian n of the Bahá'í Faith."
This astounding prophecy about the development of Haifa Bay, was recorded by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab in his diary as having been made by 'Abdu'I Bahá'í in 1914, i.e. when Jewish immigration was hardly noticeable e yet: "In the future the distance between Acco (Acre) and Haila wilt be built up, and the two cities will join and clasp hands, becobting the two Iermibal sections of one mighty metropolis. As I took now over this scene, I see so clearly that it will become one of the first emporiums s of the world. This great semicircular bay will be Iransi armed mb the finest harbour, wherein the ships of all nations will seek shelter and refuge. The great vessels of all peoples will come to this port, bringing on their decks thousands and thousands of men and women from every part of the globe. The mountain and he plain will 'be dotted with the most modern buildings and palaces. Industries will be established and various institutions of phulanthTopic nature will be founded. The flowers of civilization and culture from all nations will be brought here to blend their /ragrances together and blaze the way for the brotherhood of man.
Wonderful gardens, orchards, groves and parks will be laid out on a11. sides. At night the great city will be lighted by electricity. The entire harbour from Acco to Haila will be one path of illumination. Powerlul searchlights will be placed on both sides of Mount Carmel to guide the steamers. Mount Carmel itself; from lop to bottom, will be submeTged in a sea of lights.
A person standing on the summit of Mount Cannel, and tht passengers of the steamers coming to it, will look Opon the most sublime and majestic spectacle of the whole world:" (Top) Haifa 1914 (population 15,000, no port facili-lies, ies, no industry, no road to Acco, Haifa Bay one big swamp).
(Bottom) Haifa xgsx (populal ion QCO,oOO, befl harbour in East an Mediterranean, big industry, excellent roads to Acco, entire Haifa Bay densely p04w-fated.)
ed.) (Centre) Haifa 1951; by night.NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY feels induced to go ahead OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF with the formation of the
INDIA, PAKISTAN AND BURMA First International Baha'i
Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian Council. This Council whereas of the Bahá'í Faith, with in the first instance will the headquarters at Haifa, forge a link with the authorities Israel, has announced through of the newly emerged state, discharge the National Spiritual Assemblythe responsibilities connected of the Bahá'ís of India, with the erection of the superstructure Pakistan and Burma and eight of the Báb's Holy Shrine other sister National Assembliesat Haifa and conduct negotiation~ representing the Bahá'í com-munityrelating to matters of personal in 100 countries of the globe, status of the Bahá'ís with civil that as prophecies uttered by authorities throughout the tbc~Founder of the Faith world, will ultimately transform itself about the establishment of into an elected International the Jewish State after a lapse House of Justice.
of two thousand years as N. A. KHAVARI, an independent nation and Delhi, 9-1-1951.Acting Secretary.
such other connected matters have come about to be true, he
Page 936Haifa and Haifa Bay at night, 1951. (Reproduced by courtesy of India and Israel.)
Page 937Beyond the sweep of farthest In the forgotten past, star the priests and kings, Beneath the beauty of And hierophants of wisdom, the rose could divine. His tokens shine remotely From the celestial orbs, far far future things, His glory stands ineffably And veil these secrets close.
by symbolic sign. (Radiant the heart of him who knows.)
From age to age the thread of promise runs, No longer weak as creed That there will dawn a outworn Royal King of days, No longer dim as hope A glory to eclipse all denied former ones, His will proclaims celestial A peace on earth, beyond morn the mind to praise. Within the dungeon of our pride.
The rod of Jesse blossomed, (His power no people can and God willed deride.)
Immortal light be born in a dark cave. A scourge He gives each The young man hammered bitter fear to a cross and killed, He arms for death each To be the resurrection sullen hate.
from the grave. His lovers know that He is here Our Savior Christ, whom Destroying sin in man Moses had foretold, and state.
The Magi saw His portent (The world is witness in the sky, to its fate.)
They offered sacrifice of myrrh and gold, His glory seizes East Unto the daystar of their and XT'est prophecy. Confounding nation, sect and clan He would return, He said, A fiery crucible to test in all His power The soul committed unto In God's eternal glory man.
from on high. (The goal of life since And like a thief He came time began.)
in the night hour, Yet still men seek to He builds upon our ruined see Him from the sky. age A kingdom righteous, firm His immemorial Being cannotand sure.
wane, Behold! Our ancient heritage Knows no descent nor Summons the meek, awaits rising, time nor place, the pure.
Yet is, for finite creatures (His peace forever will born again, endure.)
To hold the perfect pattern for the race.The ancient beauty that THE GREATEST NAME the prophets saw In dream, in crystal, JUDITH MASEFIELD writ in shifting sand, And in the fiery bush, God doth reveal Himself decrees a law oft, and in manifold guises, That men should dwell As crossed in the braided as brothers in one land. linen He lay on the straw.
Gabriel uttereth tidings, Under His ensign, as Ezekiela star arises.
said, He falleth dew on the All kindreds, color, kind, fleece whom the saints adore.
to be at one, Parts of a body that obey God doth ordain to be, the head, and the pure discerneth The Planets that circle round friend and the best-beloved a central sun. and hallow again.
Not very far in time, 935 ordained to be A concord that will form the world anew.
Ask of the light, far light there is to see As from the mountain crest, the distant view.
Page 938He, who is Holy bread to the soul that yearneth Is held by the iron nail, to die of His pain.
Throned in the royal radiance no eye may bear it, He veileth the Commune Cup of the purple wine.
At the predestined hour the anointed ones share it, And issue forth from the heart of the inmost shrine.
God hath revealed anew by His power and pity.The manifest Word arrayed in sinew and bone Declareth mankind shall dwell in one fold and city.
The chalice of grace be drained for one Name alone.
Beauty eternal beyond man's mind or his measure, The maid of the snow-bright lily did form Me and bring Solomon's temporal glory the fruit of My pleasure.
Tongue of the chosen creation doth herald a king.It soundeth a clarion call, the tune of His will. Bright is the orb of fire, � if the dawn-cloud hideth It gildeth anon the crag of the most high hill.
THE PERFECT SILENCEHere is the perfect silence Above the white and blue of ancient walls, The silver censer of the moon swings in mid-heaven.
Faint fragrance of white jasmine is the spirit of all love Set free, � a still white flame within the crystal air.
Upon the seaward slope, the grove of giant pines Is etched in majesty against the moonlit night; Those tall black trunks are bars across the argent light, A high barred window set against the sky.
At sunset, when I knelt within the Shrine The windows to the west were walls of fire.
Within my soul the flame of His great Name Was like a flashing sword, that severed all my past.
From this eternal moment � I knew myself before the Face of God, Too terrible His glory and too great His power!
How shall one drop resist the ceaseless tide Of His celestial sea?
But now, when night is deep upon the land And the calm beauty of the moon Moves softly through the vast ethereal arch, Peace breathes through every atom of the air And draws each living spark to one pure unity.
The Timeless holds this instant in His hand: "Be still, be still, and know that I am God!"
Here is the perfect silence.Man in his infinite scope is less a pattern than a promise, Tearing his tissued edges on the rocks of circumstance, Bearing no lineated smoothness from which The great are carved or pressed in mold, Creating much from hopeless little, Encompassing the earth and all its promise in single grain of dust In which he finds frontiers of universes.
That man bears fleshly fruit is procreant And pregnant in him, seeded with animal duty No more than sipping water at a pooi.
But that he bears abstract fruit of spirit, Finding on undelineated boughs of urge and faith The mysterious, marveled seeking of finite for the infinite Which it does not know and never knows, Yet quests in ceaseless yearning � There is the miracle of being, Earth's keyhole to the universe.
Is there so small a word for breathless awe, So great a sound to thunder out the wonder That man while flesh Is spirit?
Page 939Man, enamored with destiny he knows not, Neither sees its end, Stands like a star upon all time's horizon, Limned against his own reckoning And the reckoning of generations past and future, Head spiring toward Heaven, Arms outstretched to encompass his own growth's level, Feet planted upon the earth, Five-pointed in aim and destiny.
Frightened by his immensity of purpose, A lost and lonely shaveling of the spirit webbed in earth, He adores his prison as the unborn clings to womb, Knowing comfort of food, sleep, flesh on flesh, Gaining heightened sense of magnitude as an ant Crawling about a thimble believes itself a giant.
Yet catching glimpse of sky he burns with yearning for its unfamiliar fabric, Crying out in longing Like one shocked by blade on vitals his own band drove Without the mind's command.
SOLILOQUY OF MANIn the agonized gabble of the dumb I strive for words describing bond of eternity and me, Finding naught but single syllables of soundlessness, Disjointed, unrelated, unfinished, unbegun, Torn, wrested, anguished by bitter torment Of saying the unsayable.
Despairing, I know my flesh as prison That grows upon itself like yeast, Seeming to rise and free itself, Yet bound in expansion to its germ Which builds so much and then no more, Having counted cells.
Weeping, do I cry after the uncounted and countless; And crying, make no sound � There!
Like an echo came a word, A clear strong single word That pierced my prison like a long-billed bird!
It soared to Heaven And soaring is lost to sight, The finite become infinitesimal And infinite, Entering spiritual adventure in lonely whorls of space, Concentric sprung to broadly stretching, sweeping magnitude, Straining the soul's elasticity to follow spirit's pull; Dragging the body like a man pulled by a runaway team, Falling, stumbling, Caught by a direction he cannot direct.
The word is God!And I am stabbed by joy whose hurt is bliss, Whose death is life, Whose grimace of despairing quest transfigures flesh to spirit As it seeks space that is not space But being.
God! God! God!Nay, but a single utterance have I made from birth to death.
Nay, not even this I claim!The cry was born with mankind, not with man; My lips are sounding boards to echo primal urge, Its single momentum in continuance seeming multiple, reuttered.
Admitting this, I disclaim birth or death.All mankind is with me, of me, in me � The dead, the born, the unborn, unconceived Seeking the infinitude of destiny.
Do I praise God that I am not a lesser god, Single, alone, dependent on personal power To blossom seed of purpose.
If I, this flesh, should vanish at this instant Yet would the space I filled be atmosphere of joy and hope Knowing the urge of man leaps in my heart, A gnat-sized vessel bearing the world's elixir.
How can I speak of spirit with clay words, Molds baked by time, Usage fitted to a form, itself a prison? How speak explosion in the heart when unfound is discovered � Unlike becomes like � Two become whole as each and yet bound in another totality, One plus one equals three, dealing in super equations?
Blaze bright in the far sky, The star torn burning from the heavens, hurled to earth, Where for a space it glows Feebly battling the dull mud cooling leach of earth!
Page 940How many hopes and dreams have blazed the sky And, torn from spiraling path, have met the pull of gravity, Plunging in fiery agony to earth And there died out?
But hopes and dreams that find though mystery of love The common dream and common hope Discover strength to swing eternally in orbit.
Gravity has no power on these.The dreamer of the dream becomes discoverer, A scouting spirit for the earth bound.
Let the lark rest upon my heart and sing me hope That some one dream of mine shall find its mark And, questing through the dark of undiscovered time, Find reason in its flight.
Body instinct bids us live.Spirit instinct bids us die Knowing in that small bleak word a form of birth, Opposite become apposite to eternal life. Such is the flight of dreams, Such is the swing of stars.
Each day comes as a spark of life to light my embers � Whither goeth the smoke of my enterprise?
To becloud the skies and befoul the earth?Or to scent the heavens and houses of men With the attar of the love of God?
IL.O King of Kings, look upon my plight That knowing dark, I seek the light.
o God, in praise I seek to name the Nameless And stricken mute yet feel the voice box pulse with yearning.
O Thou of many Names in many tongues, Yet single in Thy essence, Cup Thy hand about my soul that it may flame, And consumed Be tenderer fire in other worlds and spaces.
I am so much a man, so clayed and weighted That I can have brief vision of Thy Majesty.
Break the clay pot!Free the adder of desire To swing in rhythm to Thy will, Yielding the venom of its passion For curatives of ill!
III.A voice came in the prison of man's heart, saying Lo, this is a Breath of God � The Voice Itself vibrates on Heights of Soundlessness.
Accept the Breath that It may give you Life To praise the Voice.
Man touched the prison bars of earthiness, And found them vanished.
At their vanishing a great light came upon him Leaving him dazzled, crying � "God, where are You!"
The Breath pulsed through man, answering: You will find Me in My Voices, And Ic! One rings forth in each of My days of time.
"It is a riddle!" man wept. "Solve it!"The Breath answered, saying: One is equal to the Many, And the Many form One. Yea, though I come in many many Names, I am One and Alone.
Seek ye the Spirit and not the form.times, bearing Man wept for the mystery of the answer, Freed yet blind and guideless, Knowing not the mystery was in him That hearing Heard not.
Lo, the Breath of God came again: The dignity of man shall not perish from the earth In this or any time.
Man was created for a purpose And the purpose lies with
God.And lo, without form or organs, a jellied speck, Man heard in the essence of his senses And the vast and endless destiny of human spirit Conceived and brought forth cells of being.
The cast of time is slowly changing shape, Being molded by the Potter even as it molds clay.
The future man is you, the past, today; Deep in his unborn atoms lie all generations.
Page 941~8ut he is .mo re, as you are mcyr.e Than past, Evolved to further reaches 4 man's scqpe That remains eternally further,i~ev.er fur-~hest, Kno ing no end.
Take ye pride in such destiny But beware lest pride be br the molded, not the
Molder.Men, sprung from the soil off feebleness, cry, "Might! Might!"
Glorying in a day's bloom and ignoring the fructifying
Source.The incantations of the mighty Have become but tinkling bells in dark, Wraithed by clouds of fear, Rung by sell-pity QI the fallen.
Men set themsdves upon altars built of stick and stone, Lacking God-concept, Lacking past and future, Hoarding immediacy, here and now, Lacking all members of human framework, Feeble in sin g~led strength of sell, Parceling o~t God, Measuring, iwiing, dividing the In finite by finite standard, Believing Creator less than creature.
On the minarets ci Arab has God's voice been called.
Did Mu,~zammad say "Allah"?in the forests of the Bhagavad-Gita has His murmur been heard, And in the sweet song of Buddha.
On ithe Mc~unt did He call to men through the lips of C~hriM.
Moses heard Him in the wilderness of his timesKrishna in the distant space of time Called forth the Eternal Truth, And earlier still did
Sabeans worship GodUnder anoTher Name and other circum-stance,v. And it was God.
The Báb, that Youth of Persia, flung wide the Gate of the City of
GodAnd the Glory of God trumpeted through the Gate, "I am come again and again, unto eternity, And in this day My Name is Bahá'u'lláh."' And Bahá'u'lláh spoke by the Will of God old Words in a new tongue, Suitable for men with extended perception Whose metal refined by time and circumStance held broader tonality, The latent become the apparent. "Ye are the leaves of one tree!"
Bahá'u'lláh spake.Or Christ, or Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad, Zoroaster, Moses,
The Bdh?But men, perception dulled by hammer blows of self, Seek to stop up the Words pouring from the Trumpet, Declaring themselves God's protector But inwardly vaunting themselves His better, I-us selector ol what He should say, Determiner of His instrument.
Yet does the Voice persist, Echoing around the world, Creeping through keyholes, lodging in hearts.
Driven from the market place, it sou gAs through the stalls.
it is heard in the weeping of war-butchered millions,
Echoing, "Mercy! Peace!"Uttered in need, its own need strengthens it. Even is it heard in palaces of kings, guard-less against tile Uncon fined.
Once heard, it is never quite forgotten, Even by enemies: It reverberates through the brain to work magic on the soul, And the tongues c/the unwitting Vibrate in new phrase and meaning.
Prideful of this Word upon their ton gues � Knowing not whence it came � Men boast, "Behold our wisdom!
We do not need God. We are gods!" They take up the pattern of the Word, And lay it upon their council tables, saying, "With this we build a world!" But find no fabric.
But some sought substance of the Spirit, And knew God, Acknowledging Him, Prostrating themselves before the Vessel of His
Voice.Then did their patter become wisdom, Tuned to the Spirit and not the form. But by the boasters were they called
Page 942Destroyers of their fathers' ways, Mockers of the might of man, Weak, sniveling in prayer.
Driven Irom council tables, they became the strange and hunted, Seemingly conquered, But mighty in faith,
The Eternal Faith:It gave them succor on new standing � Seen, they were seen not, And killed were undying.
levels of under3.How great a miracle is this The Day of God redawned When weak become mighty, and mighty fallen!
In all the mountaintops of earth fires kindle While the ignorant cry "Death!"
in the valleys, Hesitating to scale the peaks Lest they lall into the chasm of sacrifice Or be consumed by Eternal Fire, Desiring mortality above immortality, Seeing no further than birth and death, Seeking to crystallize their mold upon the future's body.
How fragile are the shouts of men That fall in brittle fragments on the earth, Bound by gravity to inflict sell torture!
o men of loud voices and bloodied feet, Treading upon the man-barbed earth and frightening back the doves of Heaven, Go to thy dove cotes � Reckon well their emptiness, And thy pain.
o thou hypocrites singing "Peace, peace!" to the tune of a battle cry And with thy swords cutting off your tongues which utter it, Knowing peace in oneness, do you yet seek to dissimulate oneness into many, Priding yourselves upon the variety of perception.
Defile not the earth, For it gives birth into eternity.
Scorn not the brother, For he is mother Of fraternity.
Which of you boast, "I worship God!" And befoul His altar with the spittle of contempt?
How shall an altar be judged � That you have built it?
All men have altars in their being. In their many are the one, And in that oneness, many.
The dawn hath crept into the camp of night And dimmed the flickering fires about the tents That blaze no higher than the eye's ascents, Limited by craft discovered in other dawns and days.
Sweep back the ashes, cast them under sod!Learn in rising sun new skills and ways That purpose this fresh
Day of God.Man is renewed each dawning instant, Freshborn atoms craving sustenance. He can, therefore, be never led in full at one spread table.
Learning, he has within him the eternally untaught.
Taking a step, some part of him has never walked.How should man know the world or worlds except for God?
How gain that knowledge from the awful Source of Might When even bursting atom frights his soul?
Lo, in mercy for man's limited capacity God sifts His Power through Messengers � Voices, Trumpets, sent that men may hear, And hearing, understand.
Voices destined, bearing no self, no will but God's � Voices which cause the air to tremble with Their Call � Voices man thinks to mute by shattering the
InstrumentBut which reverberate in endless power, Seeming diflused by martyrdom As a crystal vial, broken, diffuses its essence.
Seeing their Words cause destiny, despite mockery and death, Men term these Voices prophets.
Prophets? They are more!Not mere prophecy they bring But life, law, evolution, knowledge Of God, with God, by God, for God, They have no being but in God.
The .~huttered eyes of men peer warily forth And catching but single glimpse of single Instrument of God Are blinded by that Beauty.
Consoling their weakness, they declare one glimpse is all men's eyes are given, And drop the shutters, Clinging to memory of the one brief sight, Denying themselves the bounty of infinite light.
Page 943Thus were shutters closed from age to age Upon Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster,
BuddhaChrist, Muhammad, 11db, Bahá'u'lláh, Those with the sweet throats tuned to God's vibrations.
0 man, open thy ears to the Voice. Hear, and put thy hearing into acts worthy of Thy destiny Which God bequeaths, having brined that purpose in your seed.
Pray, and praying look beneath the ripple ol the small flecked words To the deep dark rhythm flowing underneath, Sometimes of Heaven, sometimes of hell.
Does your stream seek the sea And sacrifice its savor to salted urge of earth, Losing separated puniness and gaining might of all earth's freshets?
Or does it end in small lost slough Creeping turgidly to end in dust?
Iv.The echo of God blows hot and instant on my ear, I shall hear, I shall hear!
And hearing, delve among the catacombs of soul and pull forth life.
Living, shall I bestow that life on all I touch. My avenue of reach lies no farther than my door � Should I ask more than power to lift the latch?
Should I weep and wail at destiny To be echo of an Echo When it comes from the
Source of All?Only is such limit tragic if scorning I fail the infinite scope within.
Only God's all-seeing Eye knows scope in all its breadth.
I shall never glimpse its whole But see within each finished task the miniature of destiny.
The earth is a trysting place for powers and men.It is not love at sight; The task comes like an uncut jewel.
Let my hand be steady, Shape the facet true and sharp That it may hold reflection of God's will.
What nation shall I enter that is not mine, Or entering give not allegiance?
The chemistry of earth is with me always.What body shall I enter that is not mine, Or entering give not dignity?
The chemistry of being is with me always.Side by side lie the majestic and the mean. The inconsequential instant upon instant adds to eternity, The hammer blow upon the single nail erects the house, One jewel beside another, and the strand's complete.
God grant me power to honor the small, the trifling deed, My eternal instrument to attain infinite perfection.
God give me partner power to recognize the fertile deed, A seed to grow the future.
MAN'S VISIONLo, as I prayed, humble and seeking, The bars of my prison earth crumbled about me And I beheld a mighty vision, Causing my body to quake and my spirit to soar: I saw the world � was it today, tomorrow? � Lying in stricken waste.
Even the birds flying high above Were caught in deadly ray of death, Crying innocent peeps as they plummeted below, Unguilty, unwary, doomed by their master, men.
And the master groveled and groaned on the earth, Chained by his own chains, Doomed by his own decree, Dying and dead, and those yet to die.
I witnessed such agonies of the damned That I, in vision, seemed to plead for death.
And then, as though in mercy for my pain, the vision faded into words Written in letters of fire which vanished at my touch But were more terrible than living fire � "This is the Judgment Day, the Apocalypse foretold!"
Then did it seem, when I again saw scene, that terrible Day had ended And a new Day dawned in its stead,
Page 944Peopled by but a handful, saved by some tenacity of flesh and spirit.
In that new Day war was a poison even the young feared Who screamed when the thoughtless pointed sticks in play.
And even if there had been no fear, There were too few left to war.
For the few left the only hope was work, Razing wreckage, clearing rotted accumulation of man, cities, nations, Scarce able to cling to a dream of hope, Such hopelessness was before them.
In the east, west, north, south � All worked with common necessity, And the world rebuilded swiftly in union of purpose, Builded sternly from fear of the Apocalypse Which clung to the horizon like dust from a lately fallen building, � Builded prayerfully from fear of the Lord.
One thing the survivors knew above all else � That
God was Almighty.Without question or interpretation or rationalization or lessening or anything but
ALMIGHTY!Their children learned first God, and then their letters, Prayer being judged the prizing point of wisdom.
In all the people was there knowledge of God, even in simplest tasks, Even into marrow of their bones.
In that knowledge came awareness of the pitifulness of human schemes unleavened by Divinity And being full of pity, even the strong were pitying to the weak.
And the weak, knowing despair too fully to fear it longer, Became strong, letting forth their energies.
Oh, how describe the way of a world rebuilded, Ashes of the old fertilizing the new, entering the cement of its construction?
How speak the passioned necessity which causes nations to plead entrance into World Tribunal, Inspired by the lash of Judgment to blend races, traditions, powers That man might stay on earth.
In that New Day, those who spoke against union were renegades, Using the raven croak of death, shunned by his fellows, His flesh in the public eye seeming to scale from his bones, Leaving a warning skeleton.
So came the peoples of the world, From China, Russia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, the islands of the sea, From every longitude and latitude, From North Pole to the South, Clamoring to follow God's Plan � One World, One God, One Peace, One Religion, One language,
One People, � Synchronizingwings of science and religion in harmonied flight, Performing love in law, And in justice wiping poverty from earth, Reaching step by step toward the fullness implied in the seed of man, And setting their spirits upon the threshold of the infinite dimensions of
God.And their spirits, freed from the prison of self, Sought and returned to them such mysteries and revelations That they became as a new race � Godlike servants bearing treasure from their Master,
God.At noon they gave praise, At dawn and night-tide Until even the dust was seasoned with the love of
GodAnd became in itself changed, Yielding latent bounties, leveling seasons So that fields sprang from glaciers and breezes cooled equator.
VI.Thou earth become a woridl Star burning bright along the paths of Heaven, Behold thy children men in full maturity, Yielding fruit from bud of promise, Enriching thy clay with beauty so that other planets marvel, "Is this a sun that once was but a star'?"
Thou earth become a world!Take wings of song to fly upon thy destiny In euphony so fervid, piercing sweet That all the myriad worlds must quiver in response To mankind's praise Of God and world beatitude.
Ring out! Ring out in mighty anthem: 0 God, to Thy compelling
SplendorThe people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
Page 945O God, Thy matchless flame of Glory Fires gold Thy clayed repository.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, Thy Beauty brightens deeds To bring in justice common needs.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, let nations seek to render Faithful image of Thy Grandeur.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o Cod, through Thy revealing Light Let truth be choice of plebiscite.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, we pray Thy hand of Mercy Will blunt the barbs of controversy.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, let Thy creative Words Bind seas and lands with sacred girds.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, guide us into Perfection Lessen mortal-born defection.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, put Thy supernal Names Upon our tongues in righteous aims.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, in worship of Thy Might Make us humbly seek the right.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
O God, through Thy majestic Will Bequeath us arts of commonweal.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, give us Thy holy Knowledge That great and small may interpledge.
Lord Gad!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, with Thy creative Power Cause every human seed to flower!
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, from myriad tongues we reach Around the world in common Speech.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, we seek through humble Questions Material forms for revelations.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, in councils ruled by Honor We uphold peace and outlaw war.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, Thy Sovereignty lifts man From prisoned self to global span.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o god, we enter Thy Dominion Bound in sacramented union.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
o God, we praise with thankfulness Thy bounteous gifts of Loftiness.
Lord God!The people of Thy creation Come from every nation To join in holy bond of this, Thy world.
Page 946To the troubled soul in the night of its despair it is not enough to say, be still and calm, all things will pass, nor generations greatly change.
Can human calm-quell Charybdis, the mind aware, thought-circling, rising in an uproar? So, stand palm-spread pread in prayer under the sacred stars range-roving roving in universal music.
Or length low lie � suck lifestrength from the ancient earth, enmesh soreseif in living leaves.
Earth can partly satisfy as well as stars; what rises to a question in the flesh, resolves in death.
Page 947V 1. ThePro-mised Day ~Y is come; i ne uay of Judgment here; The Great Mu len ni 2.
2. In ban -ish -ment and cell He wrote to pon tiff, sage, To rul er~ cit a 3.
3. From David's Throne of old, From Zo ro as ter's Kings, From Is lam s House tore ~
Our Father's-dom clear! this new age: En sign springs I I I K
His WorldI I r corps corps men world wide, Will Stem rur-ther malice, not save by deed, Not col or, not feature, soul stir ring Light, With sci -encewith reason, i~ A i ~ "'I Will loose free -dom's Not na -tion, not Dis -pel ling the ,~ j 1. dt) 947
Page 950~i~i.~tino I ~va1ked by a crys -tal stre am 'Neath tall trees at' ver -dant dant green green The spark ling wa -ters ters flo'd forth from the throne of the great un seen, Golden
Page 951reed flutes played sweet mu sic A4~ t~ .~ k aJ I I I 6 � gray silk mist swirled away. The sun burst through in in a blaze .
S ti I 1' and the light was as bright as mid day
~ MarcatoFreed from the dross of the world I sifL ed the glittering sand in
II �won -der der I gazed a � mazed, They were jewels from the heart o~ tJ Sua I I drank from the crys tal stre am For my thirst would not be de JAJ, I came to the pearl y
Page 953gate of themar -tyred ONE who cried:"ENTER!"
Nightin gales sang, Ros es bloomed ev where, where, Sva Who could describe the scene k K I
Page 954Ci I.h. ~ I swooned from ~ ti L � "---J---I-'--- � � ~1) 1) 9'. � sheer ec-sta- sy such beauty no earth hug could bear -ButI ButI .~A44 � 1 J~.J I ~ ~ f24~~~~A
Ahi ~ ~"t~t t w ~ I k K � � � sensed from the joy that was mine that the "Gb-ry of God" was g ~ � ~. hC ~ ~ ~� j ~ ~ --I � I � . E) * j. ~(-~s~-Q
~1 LibitumIs there an -yre may er of dif fi cul ties ties save God?
� ~~~1 I IItenderly All are His ser -vants and
I, Went. ~7ZLiIjJI~ ding.8va all a bide by
Hisa tempo A hi Loco ~ I ~ ~ L~U Ii~~ � a i � ~ ~ .. � ~.� � �~
N W W I W II� I I 1' Say~ God suE-ti -ceth all things a � bove all things I I � I ..' s * a tempo tranquzlio I � t) II I' and noth -ing In the � AL I earth but I I I hi I J i-it.1'~ ~V~: 7~. "' IPI!
I i Andante tranquilLo r � 3 � ~ *. .~suf fi- fi-cetk cetk Ver~-i-ky He 3: F is in
Himself� the Om -iii pa- tent � � ~oco a poco nt. e dim.
lost.~ ' � , Is there an - y Re-mov-er er of diff i- cul ties sotto voce ate pa ~II 1 !~ ~
Page 958U mfip~j?/ ~ ser -vants and all a bide by
HisA g bd ding I � ; ~f2�II nt. II L~.I .J. C) I p"l I I I. Music copyrighted 19~4 by Frank A. Fredericks
Page 959Revealed by Bahá'u'lláh G. F. Handel
LargeHe is the King, the All Know -ing, the � Wise! Lo, the Night-in~ gale of sweet mel-a dies, proclaiming to the sin cere ones the glad tid -ings of the I I, ~ 111111
Li d. 1 ~ WNearness of God. Call -ing the be hey -ers in the Di -~ineUn-~.ty ~to the court of the Presence of the Gen er -ous One, in -form-ing the severed of the Mes-sa~e which hath been re -vealed by God, the King, the Gb ri -ous, the Quintet Arranged and Harmonized by Louise C. Rich, Chicago, Illinois, U. S. A.
Page 960Peer less. s. Guiding e sanc-ti-ty and the by -ers to t seat to this of Re -Splen Splen dent dent Beati-ty. Ver-thisis MostGreat Beau-ty,f27 i ly that 1 4.1 iii. ..~ J) told in that Book of the Mes-sen-gers,through whom truth shall be dis tin -guished Ak~ .~.fl ~ I j ii ~ I V F ''~ I I I
~ ~ K~\ II III I! Ifrom er -ror and the wisdom of ev -'ry command be tested. Ver - ly He is the Pow-er4uL, the Great. 0 Ah-mad! Bear thou wit ness that ver-i ly lie is A
Page 961God and there is � no God but Him � � � � the King, the. Pro-tec tor, the In .~ .~ ~ ~ I ill.
I I com-pa-rable,the Om ni p0 tent. And that the One whom He hath sent forth � ~'' r ~ r by the name or Al i was the True One from God, to Whose corn -mands r~AL~kK I I I we are all conform -ing. Say: 0 People be o be di -ent to the ~ ~ ~ Ii I ~ il�i a Ii I J I ~h~i hhl I or di -nan-ces of God which have been enjoined in the Ba -yan by the Gb ri I I � . I I I j I
Page 962k -wT~o. . ~ u u you but know. Thus doth the .~4 ,1. I -~3-~44--j I . -. .
utter us ~ 1* . ..11 mes sage. Who so ev er de sir -eth let him turn a side ~ ~ I ,ii~I I lhhhi
I0this counsel and whoso. ev er de sir -eth let him ~ I I ~ � � ,-1.1: 0 People, if ye de fly these vers es, by what proof have ye be -lieved in God?
I 12.I I.1..: I.1..: .1.
iii: w. w w His Book ~s the Moth or Book did-gale
N~t4nI I I ~ I if e w ~ w W call un to you from this prisHe hath but to de on. -Liv er ~ 141 ~
II II I
this clear from p w~ wp~ +I 91 I � ai~ K!! I I ~4I ~ ii I
I IIII I j~ ~ F ~ ~iJ----g- ** w w w w w w w Pro duce it, 0 as -sem-blage of false ones: Nay, by the One in whose hand is my
_ II ~irsoul, they are not, and nev er shall be a -ble to do this e yen should they corn 20 1 ~ I L F. bine to assist one an-oth er. 0 Ah-mad! Forget not My boun ties while I am
~ F I~ r I F~) � w w w ab-sent:Re-mem-ber My days dur -ing thy days, and My dis tress and banishment in ~ '~. h I I this remote prison: And be thou so steadfast in My love that thy heart shall not � ~~4b waver, e yen if the swords of the en -e-rnies rain blows up on thee and, all fir~NI2~ djK~j'~ j~ Hi J iJ iii in the Heavens and in the earth a rise a gainst thee. Be thou as a .b~*~444~7jYhLNA ~ 4 S I r
Page 964flame __ of fire to My � � en-e-mies and a nv er of life ____ Ii IJ Iii ~ j~ ~L F r f 1~ � ~
IIter-nal to My � loved ones, and be not of those who doubt. And if thou art' ~ ~ A ~U~J I� � . � I I F ~ I gJ~J~J j~~hi ii L-ShIhhk~kIi'J~
2 JIo -ver tak en by af mc -tion in My path, or de -gre da -tion for My Sake, .~ h ~ ~ ~ JI ~ � . � N U Eu, ill I � � be not thou troubled there by. Re ly up on God, thy God and th~ 2 iILl\I I L K ~t.J I lu -sion,o~di~ see see God withtheirowneyes,or bereft cern-ment ~~':'~iI to I j j I I
Page 965hear H~s nte~ dy dy with their own ~ars.. Thus have We foumd them as t~iou al so dost Wit mess: mess: Thus have their sn-per -sti- tions be come veils be At.
At.w W tween them and their own hearts and kept them from the path of God, the Ex A A 8 F
I IN] r � A � Ie who turns a way from this Beauty hath al so turned a way from the Mes -sen-gers of the pastand show -eth pride towards God from all e 3.
. J I i I
Page 966ter-ni-ty toall e ter -ni-Ly. Learn well this tab let, 0 Ah mad. ad.
i~k ff9. ~�U Chant it during t y days and withhold not thyself therefrom. For verily, God hath or-W
W W WWI~ p � �I�~~"'~ .KKhI~ ~F I dained for the one who chants it the re ward of a hun -dred mar -tyrs and a service in both worlds. These fav ors have We be stowed upon thee as bounty on Our part and a mercy Our Pres -ence, that thou mayest I I I ~ be of those who are grate -ful. By God! Should one who is in af -flic -tion or grief I I
I FI~I I I � in a � i read tab ab -3od 3od will dis this so so - let let lute'sin b~i A 2J wiLh -cer 4 i flJ ty, I I a ii
,~ KH I ~. . � :. :QII:. ID pel his sad ness solve his d and re move his af flic tions V I w.wU U U W Ver-i- ~y, He is � the ~Aer-ci- ~u1, the Corn -~pas sion- ate. � Praise ~.
I I. ~ j2~iiF},~ i~ 4 I ~1 be toGod, the Lord of all the Worlds!
I Lj~~ ~. ~ .~1 A~-~J.CHANT SETTING FOR SOLO OR UNISON VOICES WITHOUT ACCOMPANIMENT*
DEDICATED TO OUR BELOVED GUARDIAN, SHOGHI EFFENDI.
BA HA 'U'.ff is King,the All Wise! "~f t~e He A the know know ila, k ing, ~. the a e) in-galeo~ eo~ W� sing eth upon Night par . th~ a a K~'~~?~\ K~'~~?~\ dise A 1W W W � h~ � r r T r twigs o~ tke Tree of E tern --i ty, with ho ~y and sweet mel.-o-dies,Pro. claiming gladti W� o ot h to the God, God, sin ding~ the cere of near ones ~ ~ L the ness ~ h ~ Call the in Di court -ing be the of of hey vine the
-ers Un Presenceor the Gen er -ous One, in -rorming the Sev -ered ones of the meg-sage which A L ~' L L ~ w w - w. . w hathbeenre by God,the theGlor-thePeer r less, King, King, i -vealed vealed -ous, ous,
A IIIGuid -ing the by -ers to the seat of sanc ti ty and to this re -splend -ent f /~~N t~N t)Beau -ty.Ver *~ foretold in i ly that the books of this is Most the
A L I. I L L GreatMessengers, truthshallbedis-tinguisheder� ror and the through wnom from wisdom of ~ ~ k w U ~ eve ry corn-mand shall be tested. Ver i ly He is the Tree of Life that *AIios 0! basses should sing ibis a third lower..
The tempo should not be too strict but should fIo~ according to the meaning and rhylhni of the words.
Page 969U U � ~ ~ bring forththefruitsofGod,theEx -Pow-er ower Great. 0 alt alt -ful, eth ed, the the
~ � =~zz~~mj � L LL UL Ir r 4W W � Ab mad! Bear thou witness that ver i ly He is God and there is no God but WW rr flim, the King, the Pro -tect or, the In -comp-ara-ble, the Omnipotent. And that the A K ~ one whom He hath sent forth by the name of Al I was the true one from
N L Sweetly II~ ~. I. ci # ~' ~ � God, to Whose corn-mands we are all con-form-ing. Say: 0 Peo pie 7~N A ~ K , w W beo be -(lient to the or di -nauc es ofGod which have been enjoined in the Ba ,,~ ~ ,,~ rd., � ~\a tempo ~ ~ L I. ~ yan by the Glor -jous, the Wise One. Ver-i-Iy Heis the King of the Messengers and 1~.
0) � W W his Book is the Mother Book, did ye but know. Thus doth the Night-in-gale utter His A ~ "~T~ .'W".
t) w. U call un to you from this pri son. lie hath but to de ii -ver this clear mess-ago cresc ~. ~ S A k~ ~IY]
Who so ev er de sir -eth Let him turn a side from this coun -sel and Faster, ag~a~ ed A L. L k L L t)r p r ~ r
I'A Who-de- de-lethimchoosethepathtoHisLord.0 .0 peo so-Si- Si- ev- ev-reth reth pie, er '7" v~j ~' *~ if ye de-fly these verses, by what proof have ye belie ved in
Clod?ni � ~�� P aentlv 0)Pro-duce it, 0 as.semb-lageNay, in Whose hand of false ones. by the is My
I ~' K k Onew � w soul, they are not and nev er shall be ab le le
~, NI A~ to do even should this, they corn
Tenderly7 V V Ah I I �I,W � For
bino to as -sist one a mad! get not -noth or. 0 My 'WN~ � 1' � I. h m r r ~ r V haunt -jes while I am ab days during sent. Re mem thy thy days ~'WN '~N ber
MyN I k yr r and My dis tress and ban -ish ment in this re mote pris on. And be thou so
K~Nw w v rr~ pr p stead fast in my love that thy heart shall not way er, ev en if the swords of the A K L K K en e -mies rain blows upon thee and all the heaven~ and the earth arise a~ ~ ~ j~ ~. . i Lx t~ t\ h N L~ i~ rs I 1 Be thou as a flame of fire to M7yen e -mies and a nv-er of life eternal to My pp ~ -', -~w. � WE.. loved ones, and be not of those who doubt. And if thou art A 7W~N t) '~.' � �E� � �" ~.Y ~ ~ ~ over- taken by af-flic- tion in my path or d& gre-da- tion for My sake, be not thou IA-I I L L I. N N i' r r � wc w W W W W W troubled there by. Re ly upon God, thy God and the Lord of thy fathers.
~ 14 For the peo. pie are wand' - ring in the paths of de. lu sion, be rest of
Page 971A L L L w. w hear with their His mel-awn awn o dy
.Jwdiscernment to see God with their own eyes, or A P (Faster,like a wkzspcr) L w w ears Thus have we found them,ni-so dast Thus have ~s thou witness. their A ~ 1 ~i k~ k V super- sti-tions be-comeveils between themandtheir ownheartsandkeptthemfrom thepathof I II If ii W � � w"w'~ ~' ~ God, the Exalted, the Great. Be thou assured in thyself that ver. i-ly,he who turns away L L k L L k � ww w r r r r ~ from this beau4y bath ai so Lurned a way from ~he Mess-en- gers of the past pride towards God from all e-tern- i ty to all e tern i ty Learn Learn well this A L L
ILL~ '-f'' tab let, 0 Ah mad. Chant it dur -ing thy days and with hold not thy-A A I L I L L � ~ w ~ u~y~W w self therefrom. For ver i ly, God ha~h ordained for the one who chants it, the re ~ ~ ~ w P1' /dnlostwhisnered ~,I.tI ward of a hundred martyrs and .a ser vice in both wodds. These favors have we be A k k � W W � stowed up boun-onOurpartand a mer fromOur on thee ty as as a cy A mf N F' N N k~K~ presence, whoaregrate-ful. By that thou God!
may. est should be of those one who is w W U in at -flic- tion ar grief read this Tab let with ab so lute sin -cer i ty
Page 972A K k K I'~ I h1 I h I H, Ii I I I I. ~ , � JJ J J~.
w God will dis -pel his sad ness, solve his dif fi cult -jes and remove his af A A f m, ~ ~Ii ~ it H � W%iJ1W � ~ � flic-tions. Ver i-ly He i the Mer Ci-I~:q)-t
I~:q)-t wd i tLJd~ Eul, the Corn pas -sion-ate. Praise be to God the Lord of aU the worlds.
Sept. 14~ 1950 Feb. 5, 1951 Berkeley, Calif.B ah~'u'I1~h Charles Duncan
I I La ,the AllPos-sess ing is comeEarth and I I p. ~ I I Lo ,theAll possessing is come .Earth and heaven, k t\ N I.fl �Ii J ~, w I I heav en, glo ry and do -mm-jon are God's the Lord of all I I I I I W w I 1' glory and do -mm-ion are God's,the Lord of all
'1 ILk III I �men, the Pos -sess- or of the Throne on high and of earth be low.
below.men, the Pos sess-or of the Throne on high and of earth ~ Lwo sopranos, altos, tenors or basses.
Page 973No~ too slowlyThy name is my heal - ing, 0 my God, Thee is my remedy; Thee is my hope f and re -mern -brance of Nearness to
(Ophonal)love forTheeis my corn pan ion. f (Opt~ona1) 1. .,m~ ~ 2 Thy mere y to me is my
Slowlyhealing and my suc cor in both this world and the world to come. Thou yen ly art the All -Bounti-ful 1~ the All-A A I
Knowing the ALL Wise.A tA ~$.11A.r-'. � ~ zc~. ~ w ~ w ~
Page 977O THOU, BY WHOSE NAME (Cont.) A ~ heart Ver i ly I.h.6l.
a I, Thou art the Gi - -ver ver Ge ner -ous ous
FI IBroad wLth deuotion mfCharles Duncan Sop. cresc. p ~ Ya
Sop.Ya cresc., Ba h u'1-Ab ha' ha' --h~i'. mf J p4 Cd ~ Ya crest Ba na I u -u'1-Ab u'1-Ab --h~i. mf Ya crcsc. Ba ul-Ab P ~ � Ya - I1~. mf p I I Bahá'í u'1-Ab h~. Ya crcsc. mf f ~ � ... L... P bp Ya rla-iu{' u'I-Ab hi'. i'.
I I CfCSC.j0C0 dim. p n~f A$;~::. I ' I Ba-ha' u'1-Ab - ha Ya dam. p mf I cresc.poco .9 I I 13a-h' u'1-Ab c~esc.poco dim. P mf
Da-hQ u'I-Ab VaDa-h~' u'I-Ab - Ya Ya
cresc.poco mf � ~ I � I
VT � II I~zzz=i~~mP Ba u'1 Ab ha.
.I.f I Ba h~' u'I cresc.I f .9 � 8 cresc. � � I Ba h~' h~' u'i
Ha Solo� 'I Ba-ha' ul
Ab Soloya Ba ha' ha' ha ya U ~ I ~ 2 � a � L~. 3 ~J j~W
Jy~~ Ba'' � ~~L~ ha. Ya q � s Ba-ha u'1
Ab'~ � � ~ � ~ � � r. ire C, � � 0' u ha u'I Ab ha.
Ya Ba-ha'I I I ~ u'I Ab hi'.
riL p u'1 Ab ha.nt. i~ ri 3 j71 ,3 � i 3 � i r � I � u'I Ab ha.
nt. I ~3 3 � ...:� �~j V ~ Ba ha' u'1 Ab-ha'
Page 982p Tutti ~ Tempo of opening J ~ � ~ � � � �~.
S.'.9 .& ~ I Ba h' h' u'1 Ab h~. h~. Y& Ba
P TuttiS.' Ba ha' u'1 . Ab ha r~ Th' I I S.H Ba -u'I u'I Ab_- ha a u'1 Ab Ab ha 7nf ____
Page 983Ya ~ B ha' u'I Ab-h~i fj� Ba cresc.
Ba u'1 u'1 Ab ha.I cresc. Jr S.' S." Ya Ba ha u'L Ab ha.
cresc. if Ba ha' ul Ab ha.rail, motto 3'' I � � ~4~EL II. if ntf � ~ ~ Hymn for all pea pies, V~7hitepea pie, pie, Blackpeo pie, ~rir~r ~ p ~ L2il~ jJLLL~ C?~RC. ~OCO j~ r~fl ~ � ~' I I I I ~ ac Yel low and Red, for all peo pie. pie. Let us all ts~ jS � 3 rr rr '3, jI8~r, ,3r Copijrigkt, AfOArLI, ~, R. �. ffu~ztzi~'tge~ Inc.
Thternationtzl O.~pyright Secured983 : this to love to~ / � creed servethe hu man need.No more hearts claim f 3 � I I � set with � No more eyes wet with tears.
fears, S 3 ~2' Birds, brooks, June flowers, Dews, rains, ~ ~ � z~ ~ ~ ~~=~ ~ leaf bow Red ros es, white lii -jes, Thine and y -ers, ers,
Ii L H 1128a poco pae mosso cJ I all And mine Sweeter mu - sic_______ thrillssouls new - ~ ~ mf a poco pii~ mosso I I arts a rise from loft -ler molds.the This s fair earth, gut t'ring I I � � i 5t.~ttt.~u-~ ~ c~sc. pooo a poco .9 .9 , .9
R L H 1126985 eq ui-�y.All life's beau ty, all life's worth worth En vis vis ion par a a -dise___________ on earth. ~ ~, � ~5' ~LJi~.
I~~L~J I~ ''' KrTHE BAHÁ'Í COMMUNITY OF CHANNELJ~~ * SMRITUAL
THE BRITISH ISLES JERS H~LIER� GROUP
1954 OR INDIVIDUAL
Page 993OF CANADA 1954 * SPIRITUAL ASSEt~4BtY
� GROUP OR INDIVIDUALOF GERMANY AND AUSTRIA 1954 � GROUP OR INO~VlOUAL
Page 996*AJMER AGftA KANPUR* * LUCKNOW GORAKHPUR,.
� FAIZASADMap of Greenland showin a localities where Bahá'í literature has beei
Page 999