1937: Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era by J.E. Esslemont . Encourage Reader to Compare to Contemporary Versions

BAHÁ' U'LLÁH AND

THE NEW ERA

J. E. ESSLEMONT, M.B., CH.B., F.B.E.A.

WITH ADDED CHAPTER XVI

ON THE COVENANT OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

E.S. YAZDANI

First Published, 1923

Fourth Printing, March, 1930

Fifth Printing, April, 1931

Sixth Printing, June, 1932

REVISED EDITION

First Printing, March, 1937

Second Printing, March, 1940

E.S. YAZDANI

(See Notes on Page vi) THIS REVISED SPECIAL EDITION First Printing, December 2018 ISBN 978-1-64570-726-4

Published

G B F P T

Guardianship of the Bahá’í Faith Publishing Trust

December, 2018

PROLOGUE

The Bahá’í Faith was heralded by a young man named Siyyid Ali Muhammad, who became known as the Báb. The Báb declared His mission on May 23, 1844, closing the Adamic and Prophetic Cycle and opening the new Cycle of Light and Truth, destined to last at least 500,000 years. The Bábi and the Bahá’í dispensations are the first two dispensations, of many to come, in this new cycle. The Báb directed His followers to spread the new teachings throughout the Persian Empire in the mid-nineteenth century. He stirred the frozen Persian community to its depths, creating waves of opposition within the religious hierarchy and the Persian ruling elites. Many distinguished religious leaders, ruling personnel, and ordinary people accepted His new teachings. The ruling Persian clergy class, however, found Him to be a threat. The Báb was arrested and exiled within Persia. Finally, He was judged by a number of religious leaders in Tabriz and executed by the order of the Persian government in 1850. Many of His followers were savagely put to death by mobs, religious leaders, and the Persian government.

In 1852, a man named Mirza Husayn-‘Ali, a follower of the Báb, was arrested in Tehran and put into prison. While in prison, Mirza Husayn-‘Ali became aware that he was God’s new Messenger, fulfilling the Báb’s promise of the One to come after Him and formally ending the Bábi dispensation, which lasted only nine years. Mirza Husayn-‘Ali became known as Bahá’u’lláh, Arabic for “Glory of God”; but it was not until 1863 that He proclaimed His mission and revelation to the world.

Like the Báb before him, Bahá’u’lláh faced exile and persecution. He was sent into exile to Baghdad, Istanbul, Adrianople, and finally ‘Akká which is a part of Israel, today; He lived there under house arrest until He left this world in 1892. A prolific writer, Bahá’u’lláh sent tablets to the leaders of His time; Napoleon III; Queen Victoria; Pope Pius IX; Alexander II, Czar of the vast Russian Empire; William I, King of Prussia; Francis Joseph, King-emperor of Austria-Hungary; Sultan ‘Abdu’l-‘Aziz of the Ottoman Empire; and Nasser al-Din Shah, the ruler of Persia. He invited the leaders and the people of the world to embrace a new teaching for the establishment of the unity of humankind.

The outstanding teachings of the Bahá’í Faith can be summed up in the following principles: the declaration of Universal Peace; Oneness of mankind; Religion must be the cause of fellowship and love; All kinds of prejudices, religious, racial, political, and national destroy the edifice of humanity; Establishment of a universal language; Equality between women and men; Material civilization must be completed by spiritual civilization; Religion is the foundation for world unity; Universal education; and Complete harmony between science and religion. The Founder of the Bahá’í Faith confirmed that the unity of humanity and universal peace will be realized and the Kingdom of God on earth will be established according the prophecies of His Holiness the Christ.

Bahá’u’lláh left this world in 1892. In His Will, the Book of the Covenant, He appointed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to succeed Him. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá directed the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith and wrote

books and numerous tablets on the importance of the Faith during His ministry, which lasted from the passing of Bahá’u’lláh to his own death in late November 1921. After ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ascension, He was succeeded by His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, as the first guardian of the Faith, in accordance with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament.

The Founder of the Bahá’í Faith has engineered an administrative system known as The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh (WOB) to regulate the activities of the worldwide human communities. The WOB contains various institutions with the Institutions of the Guardianship, followed by the Universal House of Justice, being the most important. The institution of the Guardianship is represented by a Guardian at all times in the course of the Bahá’í Dispensation. The first Guardian was Shoghi Effendi who was appointed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Will and Testament. The duties of the Guardian are fully described in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament as well as in the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh by Shoghi Effendi; they include: appointing his successor in his own lifetime; sitting at the head of the Universal House of Justice; interpreting the Holy Writings; and having the final say on matters of the Faith as the Authorized Interpreter of the Bahá’í dispensation, which will be in existence not less than a thousand years.

The Institution of the Universal House of Justice (UHJ) is formed by marrying a universally elected body of the people and the Institution of Guardianship represented by the living guardian. The formation of the Universal House of Justice is under the supervision and direction of the guardian of the Faith. The UHJ passes laws and regulations that are not found in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh or ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The UHJ can change the laws enacted by past Houses and may enact new laws to meet the requirements of the time. The guardian, as the head of the Universal House of Justice, has only one vote and does not have the right of veto or to disregard any member’s vote or the vote of the majority. “But is bound to insist upon a reconsideration by them of any enactment he conscientiously believes to conflict with the meaning and to depart from the spirit of Bahá’u’lláh’s revealed utterances,” according to Shoghi Effendi.

The first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, in his own lifetime formed the embryo of the Universal House of Justice and appointed Charles Mason Remey as its President in an announcement to the Bahá’í World made via two cablegrams of January 9^th and March 2^nd, 1951. In these two cablegrams, the first Guardian appointed his successor as well as announced the formation of the embryo of the Universal House of Justice. The first cablegram reads:

“Proclaim National Assemblies (of) East (and) West weighty epoch-making 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) 'Akká (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) Báb'sHoly 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 Council which 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's Ascension, ranking second only (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.”

- SHOGHI

Haifa, Israel

January 9, 1951

[Messages to the Bahá’í World, Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1958, page 7].

Part of the second cablegram states:

“Greatly welcome assistance of the newly-formed International Council, particularly its President, Mason Remey, and its Vice-President, Amelia Collins, through contact with authorities designed to spread the fame, consolidate the foundations and widen the scope of influence emanating from the twin spiritual, administrative World Centers permanently fixed in the Holy Land constituting the midmost heart of the entire planet.”

- SHOGHI Cablegram, March 2, 1951 [Messages to the Bahá’í World, Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1958, page 22]

After Shoghi Effendi left this world on November 4, 1957 a group of people then elevated to the rank of the Hands of the Cause, led by Shoghi Effendi’s widow, Mrs. Rabbani, openly opposed and challenged the authority of C.M. Remey, the head of the embryonic Universal House of Justice. They propagated the idea that the line of Guardianship ended with the passing of the first Guardian and there would be no other guardian after Shoghi Effendi. Based on the fact that an embryo possesses all of the perfections of the body, the International Bahá’í Council, that is the embryo of the Universal House of Justice, was potentially the Universal House of Justice. According to the Will and Testament, the Head of the Universal House of Justice is the guardian of the Faith and the guardian of the Faith is the head of the Universal House of Justice. These two offices are, in fact, one office.

Based on these facts, the institution of the Guardianship will continue in the course of the Bahá’í Dispensation. Shoghi Effendi states: “Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship, the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would 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…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.” [The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1955, page 148]

In another passage Shoghi Effendi states: “It must be also clearly understood by every believer that the institution of the Guardianship does not under any circumstances abrogate, or even in the slightest degree detract from the power granted to the Universal House of Justice by Bahá’u’lláh in the Kitáb-i-Agdas, and repeatedly and solemnly confirmed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá 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, and assures the continuity of its labours, without presuming in the slightest to infringe upon the inviolability of its clearly-defined sphere of jurisdiction…” [The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1955, page 8]

C.M. Remey, after over two years of giving verbal advice to the Hands of the Bahá’í Faith, in private, in their conclaves, and in his written appeals, warned them of their violation of not wanting the continuation of the Guardianship and abandoning it. After sending various correspondence and appeals to the ex-Hands of the Faith, with no result, he announced his proclamation as the second Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith in 1960. C.M. Remey stated that he was the second Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith and successor to the first Guardian from the moment Shoghi Effendi left this world on November 4^th, 1957.

The ex-Hands of the Faith, after “assuming the reins of authority with no documents” [Introduction to The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963 by Rúhiyyah Khánum, page 9] to support them, and with no authority for any administrative function in the WOB, collectively claimed to be the successor to the first Guardian. To further mislead the believers, they formed an illegitimate universal house of justice in 1963. Their so-called universal house of justice does not have its “distinguished member”, the Guardian, as its president. It has not been formed in accordance with the Writings of the Faith. It does not manifest the development of the embryo of the Universal House of Justice, established by the first Guardian of the Faith in the early 1951 cablegrams. Thus this body, the so-called universal house of justice, is a false universal house of justice and is illegitimate.

Shoghi Effendi has rejected, in advance, the validity of such an institution, in a letter dated the summer of 1925 where he states: “Any institution that is not established in accordance with the Divine Order, not in conformity with the principles and the conditions recorded in the Holy Writings, as it is required for this august institution, consequently such an institution is void of credential deprived of spiritual station, and forbidden to have any right to legislate and enact laws and ordinances which are not explicitly recorded in the Holy Writings. It also lacks the essential qualities and the Divine confirmation.” [From the letter of November 27, 1925 to the central spiritual assembly of Írán].

The present administration in Haifa, the false universal house of justice and its supporters, do not represent the Bahá’í Faith. The Divinely established Bahá’í Faith no longer exists among these people. The Haifa Group converted the Bahá’í Faith into a sect which is yet another source of division and disharmony among the people of the world. In the last sixty years this administration has changed and twisted the Bahá’í Writings to suit their objectives and continues to keep the believers uninformed so they would follow their design. Whoever opposes them and expresses his or her view is blacklisted and excommunicated, even though this group has no authority to do so. Their victims are shunned and separated from their loved ones, and their divinely given human rights have been shamefully violated by the Haifa Group and their supporters. They are committing the same mistakes as the Rabbis did in the time of Christ, the priests did in the Dark Ages, or the mullahs have done since the inception of the Bábi and the Bahá’í Faith in Persia.

E.S. Yazdani, 5^th Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Sydney, Australia, December, 2018.

INTRODUCTION TO THIS REVISED SPECIAL EDITION

After the ascension of Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, on the fourth of November, 1957, the members of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause took over the worldwide community of the believers of the Bahá’í Faith. This was followed by their repudiation of the continuation of the Institution of the Guardianship, the most fundamental pillar of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh established by the Founder of the Faith in His Most Holy Book, the Kitáb-i-Agdas, and in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which explicitly outlines the elements of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. During the Ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the thirty six years of the Guardianship of Shoghi Effendi the building blocks of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh such as the Local Spiritual Assemblies and the National Spiritual Assemblies were formed. When the number of National Assemblies reached a certain number and grew to a level of maturity, the first Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith formed the first International Bahá’í Council, Which Shoghi Effendi described as the embryo of the Universal House of Justice, on the January 9^th, 1951. When Shoghi Effendi announced the formation of the Council, he said it was, “Ranking second only to glorious immortal events associated with the 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.” Later, in his March 2^th, 1951 cablegram, Shoghi Effendi named the officers of the Council with the appointment of C.M. Remey, Amelia Collins, President, Vice-President. A year later, in his March 8^th, 1952 cablegram Shoghi Effendi named Ugo Giachery, Leroy Ioas, member at large, and Secretary-General, respectively; and Jessie Revell, Ethel Revell, Lotfullah Hakim, as Treasurer, Western and Eastern Secretaries

The Hands of the Faith, headed by Rúhiyyah Khánum, replaced the Administrative Order from that of the Writings of the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’lláh, and His successor, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, particularly His Will and Testament, with their own made-up ‘administrative order’ in violation of the Writings of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh. C.M. Remey automatically ascended to the Office of the Guardianship of the Bahá’í Faith after Shoghi Effendi’s death. He condemned the plans of the Hands of the Faith and declared the Hands to be violators of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh.

The Hands of the Faith rejected the Guardianship of C.M. Remey and formed their own version of the so called ‘universal house of justice’ in 1963 without its “distinguished member”, the Guardian of the Cause. The Hands of the Cause and their creation, the so called ‘universal house of justice’, continued their violation by altering the Writings, misrepresenting the Revealed Words, and changing the contents of the Bahá’í books such as Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era by Dr. Esslemont.

Dr. Esslemont wrote in his prefatory note of the 1923 edition of the text that “Shoghi Effendi, the grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and ‘Guardian of the Cause’ has also read through the whole of the manuscript…and given it his cordial approval.”

E.S. Yazdani, the present Guardian, the spiritual head and the protector of the Cause of God, decided that the 1937 version of the introductory book, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era be

reviewed and published to reflect the true version of the text approved by the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi to reveal the changes which took place in the world wide Bahá’í Community.

In accordance with the text of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: the teaching of the Cause of God is to be under the direction and guidance of the Guardian of the Cause of God during the dispensation of the Bahá’í Faith. As this principle was violated initially, by the Hands of the Faith, and, subsequently by the so-called ‘universal house of justice’, the present Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith is compelled to assert his right that:

IT SHOULD BE BORN IN MIND THAT THE PRESENT GUARDIAN OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH, E.S. YAZDANI, BASED ON THE AUTHORITY GIVEN TO HIM BY THE WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ, AS IT WAS GIVEN TO HIS PREDECESSORS, AND AS IT WILL BE GIVEN TO HIS SUCCESSORS, IN THE COURSE OF THE DISPENSATION OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH, IS THE OWNER OF THE REVEALED WORDS BY THE BÁB AND BAHÁ’U’LLÁH, WRITINGS OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ AND ALL OF THE GUARDIANS BEFORE HIM. HE DOES NOT GIVE PERMISSION TO ANY PERSON OR ORGANIZATION TO PRINT AND PUBLISH ANY WORKS OUTLINED ABOVE WITHOUT THE NECESSARY PERMISSION FROM HIM, THE PRESENT GUARDIAN OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH. THIS, FURTHER, INCLUDES THE PERMISSION REQUIREMENT FOR PRINT AND PUBLICATION OF TEACHING WORKS BY OTHERS.

Subject to the above; the financial benefit received by any publisher of a Bahá’í book is the publisher’s and the Guardian of the Cause of God claims naught.

The original Chapters, from Chapter 1 – Chapter XV of the text have been reviewed and have been included in this special edition. Due to the importance of the Covenant of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, Chapter XVI, on the Covenant, has been written and added to the original text of the introductory book, Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era. The Preface and the Introduction to the revised, 1937 edition, by Dr. J.E. Esslemont has been included in this special revised edition.

This publication is provided to the public free of charge. The cost of its publication is provided by the believers faithful in the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh.

The present Guardian of the Faith, extends his thanks and appreciation for assistance, he received from Mr. Kamran Taimouri, Mrs. Anita Coryell, Mr. S.P. Yazdani and Mrs. Kiersten Kansteiner. Further thanks and appreciation is also extended to the believers for their financial contributions to make the publication of this text possible.

E.S. Yazdani

5^th Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith,

Sydney, Australia, December, 2018

PREFACE TO THE REVISED 1937 EDITION

With the publication of "Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era" more than ten years ago, the Bahá’í Faith was given its first well-conceived, thorough exposition by a student of the teachings. Recognizing its value as the most satisfactory introduction to the Cause, Bahá’ís in both East and West have found Dr. Esslemont's book so helpful that it has been translated into some thirty different languages.

As Dr. Esslemont himself recognized, the Faith entered a new phase of its history after the ascension of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá. The result is that the author's views, some of them written prior to 1921, no longer on certain aspects of the subject, correspond to the evolutionary character of the Faith. His treatment of events and social conditions then existing, moreover, no longer appear fully relevant. Unavoidably, a few errors of fact had entered his text, while his explanation of the stations of the Báb and of `Abdu'l-Bahá have been replaced in the minds of Bahá’ís by the authoritative interpretations since made by the first Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi.

The present edition therefore represents a revision made by the American National Spiritual Assembly, acting under the advice and approval of Shoghi Effendi.

These revisions in no respect alter the original plan of Dr. Esslemont's book, nor affect the major portion of his text. Their purpose has been to amplify the author's discussion in a few passages by the addition of material representing the fuller knowledge available since his lamented death, and newer translations of his quotations from Bahá’í Sacred Writings.

January, 1937

INTRODUCTION TO THE 1937 EDITION

In December 1914, through a conversation with friends who had met 'Abdu’l-Bahá, and the loan of a few pamphlets, I first became acquainted with the Bahá’í teachings. I was at once struck by their comprehensiveness, power and beauty. They impressed me as meeting the great needs of the modern world more fully and satisfactorily than any other presentation of religion which I had come across—an impression which subsequent study has only served to deepen and confirm.

In seeking for fuller knowledge about the movement I found considerable difficulty in obtaining the literature I wanted, and soon conceived the idea of putting together the gist of what I learned in the form of a book, so that it might be more easily available for others. When communication with Palestine was re-opened after the war, I wrote to 'Abdu’l-Bahá and enclosed a copy of the first nine chapters of the book, which was then almost complete in rough draft. I received a very kind and encouraging reply, and a cordial invitation to visit him in Haifa and bring the whole of my manuscript with me. The invitation was gladly accepted, and I had the great privilege of spending two and a half months as the guest of 'Abdu’l-Bahá during the winter of 1919-20. During this visit ‘Abdu'l-Bahá discussed the book with me on various occasions. He gave several valuable suggestions for its improvement and proposed that, when I had revised the manuscript, he would have the whole of it translated into Íránian so that he could read it through and amend or correct it where necessary. The revisal and translation were carried out as suggested, and ‘Abdu'l-Bahá found time, amid his busy life, to correct some three and a half chapters (Chapters I, II, V and part of III) before he passed away. It is a matter of profound regret to me that `Abdu'l-Bahá was not able to complete the correction of the manuscript, as the value of the book would thereby have been greatly enhanced. The whole of the manuscript has been carefully revised, however, by a committee of the National Bahá’í Assembly of England, and its publication approved by that Assembly.

I am greatly indebted to Miss E. J. Rosenberg, Mrs. Claudia S. Coles, Mirza Lotfullah S. Hakim, Messrs. Roy Wilhelm and Mountfort Mills and many other kind friends for valuable help in the preparation of the work.

As regards the transliteration of Arabic and Íránian names and words the system adopted in this book is that recently recommended by Shoghi Effendi for use throughout the Bahá’í world.

J. E. ESSLEMONT

Fairford, Cults, By Aberdeen.

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE . . . .

INTRODUCTION TO THIS REVISED SPECIAL EDITION . . . .

PREFACE TO REVISED TO THE 1937 EDITION . . . .

INTRODUCTION TO THE 1937 EDITION . . . .

CHAPTER

I THE GLAD TIDINGS . . . . . .

II BÁB : THE FORERUNNER . . . . .

III BAHÁ'U'LLÁH: THE GLORY OF GOD . . . . .

IV ‘ABDU'L-BAHÁ: THE SERVANT OF BAHÁ . . . .

V WHAT IS A BAHÁ'Í ? . . . . VI PRAYER . . . .

VII HEALTH AND HEALING . . . .

VIII RELIGIOUS UNITY . . . .

IX TRUE CIVILIZATION . . . .

X THE WAY TO PEACE . . . .

XI VARIOUS ORDINANCES AND TEACHINGS . . . .

XII RELIGION AND SCIENCE . . . .

XIII PROPHECIES FULFILLED BY THE BAHÁ’Í MOVEMENT . . . .

XIV PROPHECIES OF BAHA'U'LLAH AND `ABDU'L-BAHÁ . . . .

XV RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT . . . .

XVI THE COVENANT OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH . . . . The Book and the Center of the Covenant . . . . The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá . . . . Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith . . . . Mason Remey, the Second Guardian of the Faith . . . . Proclamation of Mason Remey to the Bahá’í World . . . . Donald A. Harvey, Third Guardian of the Faith . . . . Jacques Soghomonian, Fourth Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith . . . . E. S. Yazdani, Fifth and Present Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith . . . .

APPENDIX A . . . . KITÁB-I-‘AHD, The Book of the Covenant . . . . The Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh . . . .

APPENDIX B . . . . The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 . . . .

APPENDIX C . . . . THE DISPENSATION OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH . . . .

APPENDIX D . . . . A LAST APPEAL TO THE HANDS OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH . . . .

NOTES . . . .

INDEX . . . .

CHAPTER I

THE GLAD TIDINGS

"The Promised One of all the peoples of the world hath appeared. All peoples and communities have been expecting a Revelation, and He, Bahá'u'lláh, is the foremost teacher and educator of all mankind."—`Abdu'l-Bahá.

The Greatest Event in History

If we study the story of the "ascent of man" as recorded in the pages of history, it becomes evident that the leading factor in human progress is the advent, from time to time, of men who pass beyond the accepted ideas of their day and become the discoverers and revealers of truths hitherto unknown among mankind. The inventor, the pioneer, the genius, the prophet—these are the men on whom the transformation of the world primarily depends. As Carlyle says: –

"The plain truth, very plain, we think, is, that. . . . One that has a higher Wisdom, a hitherto unknown spiritual Truth in him, is stronger, not than ten men that have it not, nor than ten thousand, but than all men that have it not; and stands among them with a quite ethereal, angelic power, as if with a sword out of Heaven's own armory, which no buckler, and no tower of brass will finally withstand."—Signs of the Times.

In the history of science, of art, of music, we see abundant illustrations of this truth, but in no domain is the supreme importance of the great man and his message more clearly evident than in that of religion. All down the ages, whenever the spiritual life of men has become degenerate and their morals corrupt, that most wonderful and mysterious of men, the prophet, makes his appearance. Alone against the world, without a single human being capable of teaching, of guiding, of fully understanding him, or of sharing his responsibility, he arises, like a seer among blind men, to proclaim his gospel of righteousness and truth.

Amongst the prophets some stand out with special pre-eminence. Every few centuries a great Divine Revealer—a Krishna, a Zoroaster, a Moses, a Jesus, a Muhammad—appears in the East, like a spiritual Sun, to illumine the darkened minds of men and awaken their dormant souls. Whatever our views as to the relative greatness of these religion-founders, we must admit that they have been the most potent factors in the education of mankind. With one accord these prophets declare that the words they utter are not from themselves, but are a Revelation through them, a Divine message of which they are the bearers. Their recorded utterances abound, too, in hints and promises of a great world-teacher who will appear " in the fullness of time" to carry on their work and bring it to fruition, one who will establish a reign of peace and justice upon earth, and bring into one family all races, religions, nations and tribes, "that there may be one fold and One Shepherd" and that all may know and love God "from the least even unto the greatest."

Surely the advent of this "Educator of Mankind," in the latter days, when he appears, must be the greatest event in human history. And the Bahá’í Movement is proclaiming to the world the glad tidings that this Educator has in fact appeared, that his Revelation has been delivered and recorded and may be studied by every earnest seeker, that the "Day of the Lord" has already dawned and the "Sun of Righteousness" arisen. As yet only a few on the mountain-tops have caught sight of the Glorious Orb, but already its rays are illumining heaven and earth, and ere long it will rise above the mountains and shine with full strength on the plains and valleys too, giving life and guidance to all.

The Changing World

That the world, during the nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth centuries, has been passing through the death pangs of an old era and the birth pangs of a new, is evident to all. The old principles of materialism and self-interest, discredited, amidst the ruins they have wrought. Revolutionary changes of unprecedented magnitude have been occurring in every department of human life. The old era is not yet dead. It is engaged in a life and death struggle with the new. Evils there are in plenty, gigantic and formidable, but they are being exposed, investigated, challenged and attacked with new vigor and hope. Clouds there are in plenty, vast and threatening, but the light is breaking through, and is illumining the path of progress and revealing the obstacles and pitfalls that obstruct the onward way.

In the eighteenth century it was different. Then the spiritual and moral gloom that enshrouded the world was relieved by hardly a ray of light. It was like the darkest hour before the dawn, when the few lamps and candles that remain alight do little more than make the darkness visible. Carlyle in his Frederick the Great writes of the eighteenth century thus:—

"A century which has no history and can have little or none. A century so opulent in accumulated falsities . . . as never century before was! Which had no longer the consciousness of being false, so false had it grown; and was so steeped in falsity, and impregnated with it to the very bone, that—in fact the measure of the thing was full, and a French Revolution had to end it. . . . A very fit termination, as I thankfully feel, for such a century. . . . For there was need once more of a Divine Revelation to the torpid, frivolous children of men, if they were not to sink altogether into the ape condition."—Frederick the Great, Book I, Chap. 1.

Compared with the eighteenth century the present time is as the dawn after darkness, or as the spring after winter. The world is stirring with new life, thrilling with new ideals and hopes. Things that but a few years ago seemed impossible dreams are now accomplished facts. Others that seemed centuries ahead of us have already become matters of "practical politics." We fly in the air and make voyages under the sea. We send messages around the world with the speed of lightning. Within a few years we have seen the downfall of the great military autocracies, the admission of women to all kinds of professions from which they were formerly barred, the birth of a League of Nations, and other advances too numerous to mention.

The Sun of Righteousness

What is the cause of this sudden awakening throughout the world? Bahá'ís believe that it is due to a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the prophet Bahá'u'lláh, who was born in Írán and passed away in the Holy Land towards the close of the nineteenth century.

Bahá'u'lláh taught that the Prophet, or "Manifestation of God," is the Light-bringer of the spiritual world, as the sun is the light-bringer of the natural world. Just as the material sun shines over the earth and causes the growth and development of material organisms, so also, through the Divine Manifestation, the Sun of Truth shines upon the world of heart and soul, and educates the thoughts, morals and characters of men. And just as the rays of the natural sun have an influence which penetrates into the darkest and shadiest corners of the world, giving warmth and life even to creatures that have never seen the sun itself, so also, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the Manifestation of God influences the lives of all, and inspires receptive minds even in places and among peoples where the name of the Prophet is quite unknown. The advent of the Manifestation is like the coming of the Spring. It is a day of Resurrection in which the spiritually dead are raised to new life, in which the Reality of the Divine Religions is renewed and re-established, in which appear "new heavens and a new earth."

But, in the world of nature, the Spring brings about not only the growth and awakening of new life but also the destruction and removal of the old and effete; for the same sun, that makes the flowers to spring and the trees to bud, causes also the decay and disintegration of what is dead and useless; it loosens the ice and melts the snow of winter, and sets free the flood and the storm that cleanse and purify the earth. So is it also in the spiritual world. The spiritual sunshine causes similar commotion and change. Thus the Day of Resurrection is also the Day of Judgment, in which corruptions and imitations of the truth and outworn ideas and customs are discarded and destroyed, in which the ice and snow of prejudice and superstition, which accumulated during the season of Winter, are melted and transformed, and energies long frozen and pent up are released to flood and renovate the world.

The Mission of Bahá'u'lláh

Bahá'u'lláh declared, plainly and repeatedly, that He was the long-expected educator and teacher of all peoples, the channel of a wondrous Grace that would transcend all previous outpourings, in which all previous forms of religion would become merged, as rivers merge in the ocean. He laid a foundation which affords a firm basis for Unity throughout the whole world and the inauguration of that glorious age of peace on earth, goodwill among men, of which prophets have told and poets sung.

Search after truth, the oneness of mankind, unity of religions, of races, of nations, of East and West, the reconciliation of religion and science, the eradication of prejudices and superstitions, the equality of men and women, the establishment of justice and righteousness, the setting up of a supreme international tribunal, the unification of languages, the compulsory diffusion of knowledge—these, and many other teachings like these, were revealed by the pen of Bahá'u'lláh, in innumerable books and epistles several of which were addressed to the Kings and Rulers of the world.

His message, unique in its comprehensiveness and scope, is wonderfully in accord with the signs and needs of the times. Never were the new problems confronting men so gigantic and complex as now. Never were the proposed solutions so numerous and conflicting. Never was the need of a great world teacher so urgent or so widely felt. Never, perhaps, was the expectancy of such a teacher so confident or so general.

Fulfilment of Prophecies

‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes; ––

“When Christ appeared, twenty centuries ago, although the Jews were eagerly awaiting His Coming, and prayed every day, with tears, saying: ‘O God, hasten the Revelation of the Messiah,’ yet when the Sun of Truth dawned they denied Him and rose against Him with the greatest enmity, and eventually crucified that divine Spirit, the Word of God, and named Him Beelzebub, the evil one, as is recorded in the Gospel. The reason for this was that they said: ‘The Revelation of Christ, according to the clear text of the Torah, will be arrested by certain signs, and so long as these signs have not appeared, whoso layeth claim to be a Messiah is an impostor. Among these signs is this, that the Messiah should come from an unknown place, yet we all know this man’s house in Nazareth, and can any good thing come out of Nazareth? The second sign is that He shall rule with a rod of iron, that is, He must act with the sword, but this Messiah has not even a wooden staff. Another of the conditions and signs is this: He must sit upon the throne of David and establish David’s sovereignty. Now, far from being enthroned, this man has not even a mat to sit on. Another of the conditions is this: the promulgation of all the laws of the Torah; yet this man has abrogated these laws, and has even broken the Sabbath day, although it is the clear text of the Torah that whosever layeth claim to prophethood and revealeth miracles and breaketh the Sabbath day, must be put to death. Another of the signs is this, that in His reign justice will be so advanced that righteousness and well-doing will extend from the human even to the animal world – the snake and the mouse will share one hole, and the eagle and the partridge one nest, the lion and the gazelle shall dwell in one pasture, and the wolf and the kid shall drink from one fountain. Yet, now, injustice and tyranny have waxed so great in his time that they have crucified him! Another of the conditions in this, that in the days of the Messiah the Jews will prosper and triumph over all the people of the world, but now they are living in the utmost abasement and servitude in the Empire of the Romans. Then how can this be the Messiah promised in the Torah?’ “In this wise did they object to the Sun of Truth, although that Spirit of God was indeed the One promised in the Torah. But as they did not understand the meaning of these signs, they crucified the Word of God. Now the Bahá’ís hold that the recorded signs did come to pass in the Manifestation of Christ, although not in the sense which the Jews understood, the description in the Torah being allegorical. For instance, among the signs is that of sovereignty. For Bahá’ís say that the sovereignty of Christ was heavenly, divine, everlasting sovereignty, not a Napoleonic sovereignty that vanisheth in a short time. For well nigh two thousand years this sovereignty of Christ hath been established, and until now it endureth, and to all eternity that Holy Being will be exalted upon an everlasting throne. “In like manner all the other signs have been made manifest, but the Jews did not understand. Although nearly twenty centuries have elapsed since Christ appeared with divine splendor, yet the Jews are still awaiting the coming of the Messiah and regard themselves as true and Christ as false.” – Written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for this chapter.

Had the Jews applied to Christ He would have explained to them the true meaning of the prophecies concerning Himself. Let us profit by their example, and before deciding that the prophecies concerning the Manifestation of the Latter-Day Teacher have not been fulfilled, let us turn to what Bahá’u’lláh Himself has written regarding their interpretation, for many pf the prophecies are admittedly “sealed” sayings, and the True Educator himself is the only One who can break the seals and show the real meanings contained in the casket of words.

Bahá’u’lláh has written much in explanation of the prophecies of old, but it is not on these that He depends for proof of His prophethood. The sun is its own proof, to all that have the power of perception. When it rises we need no ancient predictions to assure us of its shining. So with the Manifestation of God when He appears. Were all the former prophecies swept into oblivion, He would still be His own abundant and sufficient proof to all whose spiritual senses are open.

Proofs of Prophethood

Bahá’u’lláh asked no one to accept His statements and His tokens blindly. On the contrary, He put in the very forefront of His teachings emphatic warnings against blind acceptance of authority and urged all to open their eyes and ears, and use their own judgment, independently and fearlessly, in order to ascertain the truth. He enjoined the fullest investigation and never concealed Himself, offering, as the supreme proofs of His prophethood, His words and works and their effects in transforming the lives and characters of men. The tests He proposed are the same as those laid down by His great predecessors. Moses said: –

“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” – Deut. xviii, 22.

Christ put His test just as plainly, and appealed to it in proof of His own claim. He said:–

“Beware of tales prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles: Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. …Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” –– Matt. Vii, 15-20.

In the chapters that follow, we shall endeavor to show whether Bahá’u’lláh’s claim to prophethood stands or falls by application of these tests: whether the things that He had spoken have followed and come to pass, and whether His fruits have been good or evil; in other words, whether His prophecies are being fulfilled and His ordinances established, and whether His life-work has contributed to the education and upliftment of humanity and the betterment of morals, or the contrary.

Difficulties of Investigation

There are, of course, difficulties in the way of the student who seeks to get at the truth about this Cause. Like all great moral and spiritual reformations. The Bahá’í Faith has been grossly misrepresented. About the terrible persecutions and sufferings of Bahá’u’lláh and His followers, both friends and enemies are in entire agreement. About the value of the Movement, however, and the character of its Founders, the statements of the believers and the accounts of the deniers are utterly at variance. It is just as in the time of Christ. Concerning the crucifixion of Jesus and the persecution and martyrdom of His followers both Christian and Jewish historians are in agreement, but whereas the believers say that Christ fulfilled and developed the teachings of Moses and the prophets, the deniers declare that He broke the laws and ordinances and was worthy of death.

In religion, as in science, truth reveals her mysteries only to the humble and reverent seeker, who is ready to lay aside every prejudice and superstition –– to sell all that he has, in order that he may buy the “one pearl of great price.” To understand the Bahá’í Faith in its full significance, we must undertake its study in the spirit of sincere and selfless devotion to truth, persevering in the path of search and relying on divine guidance. In the writings of its Founds we shall find the master-key to the mysteries of this great spiritual awakening, and the ultimate criterion of its value. Unfortunately, here again there are difficulties in the way of the student who is unacquainted with the Iránian and Arabic languages in which the teachings are written. Only a small proportion of the writings has been translated into English, and many of the translations which have appeared leave much to be desired, both in accuracy and style. But despite the imperfection and inadequacy of historical narratives and translations, the great essential truths which form the massive and firm foundations of this Cause stand out like mountains from the mists of uncertainty.

Aim of Book

The endeavor in the following chapters will be to set forth, as far as possible, fairly and without prejudice, the salient features of the history and more especially of the teachings of the Bahá’í Cause, so that readers may be enabled to form an intelligent judgment as to their importance, and perhaps be induced to search into the subjects more deeply for themselves.

Search after truth, however, important though it be, is not the whole aim and end of life. The truth is no dead thing, to be placed in a museum when found –– to be labeled, classified, catalogued, exhibited and left there, dry and sterile. It is something vital which must take root in men’s hearts and bear fruit in their lives ere they reap the full reward of their search.

The real object, therefore, in spreading the knowledge of a prophetic revelation is that those who become convinced of its truth may proceed to practice its principles, to “lead the life” and diffuse the glad tidings, thus hastening the advent of that blessed day when God’s Will shall be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

1. The “a” pronounced as in Sháh.

CHAPTER II

BÁB:¹ THE FORERUNNER

1. The “a” pronounced as in Sháh.

“Verily the oppressor hath slain the Beloved of the worlds that he might thereby quench the Light of God amidst His creatures and withhold mankind from the Stream of Celestial Life in the days of his Lord, the Gracious the Bountiful.” –– BAHÁ’U’LLÁH, in Tablet to Ra’ís

Birthplace of the New Revelation

Írán, the birthplace of the Bahá’í Revelation, has occupied a unique place in the history of the world. In the days of her early greatness she was a veritable queen among nations, unrivalled in civilization, in power and in splendor. She gave to the world great kings and statesmen, prophets and poets, philosophers and artists. Zoroaster, Cyrus and Darius, Háfiz and Firdawsi, Sa’di and ‘Umar Khayyám are but a few of her many famous sons. Her craftsmen were unsurpassed in skill; her carpets were matchless, her steel blades unequalled, her pottery world-famous. In all parts of the Near and Middle East she has left traces of her former greatness.

Yet, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries she had sunk to a condition of deplorable degradation. Her ancient glory seemed irretrievably lost. Her government was corrupt and in desperate financial straits; some of her rulers were feeble, and others monsters of cruelty. Her priests were bigoted and intolerant, her people ignorant and superstitious. Most of them belonged to the Shí’ih sect,¹ of Muhammadans, but there were also considerable numbers of Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians, of diverse and antagonistic sects. All professed to follow sublime teachers who exhorted them to worship the one God and to live in love and unity, yet they shunned, detested and despised each other, each sect regarding the others as unclean, as dogs or heathens. Cursing and execration were indulged in to a fearful extent. It was dangerous for a Jew or a Zoroastrian to walk in the street on a rainy day, for if his wet garment should touch a Muhammadan, the Muslim was defiled, and the other might have to atone for the offense with his life. If a Muhammadan took money from a Jew, Zoroastrian or Christian he had to wash it before he could put it in his pocket. If a Jew found his child giving a glass of water to a poor Muhammadan beggar he would dash the glass from the child’s hand, for curses rather than kindness should be the portion of infidels! The Muslims themselves were divided into numerous sects, among whom strife was often bitter and fierce. The Zoroastrians did not join much in these mutual recriminations, but lived in communities apart, refusing to associate with their fellow-countrymen of other faiths.

Social as well as religious affairs were in a state of hopeless decadence. Education was neglected. Western science and art were looked upon as unclean and contrary to religion. Justice was travestied. Pillage and robbery were of common occurrence. Roads were bad and unsafe for travel. Sanitary arrangements were shockingly defective.

Yet, notwithstanding all this, the light of spiritual life was not extinct in Írán. Here and there, amid the prevailing worldliness and superstition, could still be found some saintly souls, and in many a heart the longing for God was cherished, as in the hearts of Anna and Simeon before the appearance of Jesus. Many were eagerly awaiting the coming of a promised Messenger of God, and confident that the time of his advent was at hand. Such was the state of affairs in Írán when the Báb, the Herald of a new era, set all the country in commotion with His message.

Early Life

Mírzá ‘Ali Muhammad, who afterwards assume the title of Báb (i.e. Gate), was born at Shiráz, in the south of Írán, on the 20^th of October, 1819 A.D.¹ He was a Siyyid, that is, a descendant of the prophet Muhammad, His father, a well-known merchant, died soon after his birth, and He was then placed under the care of a maternal uncle, a merchant of Shíráz, who brought Him up. In childhood He learned to read, and received the elementary education customary for children² At the age of fifteen He went into business, at first with his guardian, and afterwards with another uncle who lived at Búshihr, on the shore of the Gulf of Írán.

As a youth He was noted for great personal beauty and charm of manner, and also for exceptional piety, and nobility of character. He was unfailing in his observance of the prayers, fasts and other ordinances of the Muhammadan religion, and not only obeyed the letter, but lived in the spirit of the prophet’s teachings. He married when about twenty-two years of age. Of this marriage one son was born, who died while still an infant, in the first year of the Báb’s public ministry.

Declaration

On reaching his twenty-fifth year, in response to divines, command, He declared that “God the Exalted had elected Him to the station of Bábhood.” In “A Traveller’s Narrative” we read that: ––

“What he intended by the term ‘Báb’ was this: that he was the channel of grace from some great Person still behind the veil of glory, who was the possessor of countless and boundless perfections, by whose will he moved and to the bond of whose love he clung.” – Episode of the Báb, p. 3

In those days belief in the imminent appearance of a Divine Messenger was especially prevalent among a sect known as the Shaykhís, and it was to a distinguished divine belonging to this sect, called Mullá Husayn Bushrú’í, that the Báb first announced his mission. The exact date of this announcement is given in the Bayán, one of the Báb’s writings, as two hours and eleven minutes after sunset on the 4^th day of the month of Jamádíyu’l-Avval, 1260 A.H.³ (i.e. 22^nd May, 1844 A.D.). As the Bahá’í day begins after sunset, and not after midnight, as in the West, the Báb’s declaration is celebrated on the 5^th day of Jamádi I. corresponding to the 23^rd of May.

1. First day of Muharram, 1235 A.H. 2. On this point a historian remarks: “The belief of many people in the East, especially the believers in the Báb (now Bahá’ís) was this: that the Báb received no education, but that the Mullás, in order to lower him in the eyes of the people, declared that such knowledge and wisdom as he possessed were accounted for by the education he had received. After deep search into the truth of this matter we have found evidence to show that in childhood for a short time he used to go to the house of Shaykh Muhammad (also known as ‘Abid) where he was to read and write in Persian. It was this to which the Báb referred when he wrote in the book of Bayán: ‘O Muhammad, O my teacher!...’ “The remarkable thing is this, however, that this Shaykh, who was his teacher, became a devoted disciple of his own pupil, and the uncle of the Báb who was like a father to him, whose name was Jájí Siyyid ‘Alí, also became a devout believer and was martyred as a Bábí. “The understanding of these mysteries is given to seekers after truth, but we know this, that such education as the Báb received was but elementary, and that whatever signs of unusual greatness and knowledge appeared in him were innate and from God. 3. A.H. – Anno Jehirae ––in the year of Jijrat (i.e. the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D).

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was born in the course of the same night, but the exact hour of His birth has not been ascertained. After some days of anxious investigation and study. Mullá Husayn became firmly convinced that the Messenger long expected by the Shí’his had indeed appeared. His eager enthusiasm over this discovery was soon shared by several of his friends. Before long the majority of the Shaykhís accepted the Báb, becoming known as Bábis; and soon the fame of the young prophet began to spread like wildfire throughout the land.

Spread of the Bábí Movement

The first eighteen disciples of the Báb (with Himself as nineteenth) became known as “Letters of the Living.” These disciples He sent to different parts of Írán and Turkistán to spread the news of His advent. MeantimeHe Himself set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where He arrived in December, 1844, and there openly declared His mission. On His return to Bushihr great excitement was caused by the announcement of His Bábhood. The fire of His eloquence, the wonder of His rapid and inspired writings, His extraordinary wisdom and knowledge, His courage and zeal as a reformer, aroused the greatest enthusiasm among His followers, but excited a corresponding degree of alarm and enmity among the orthodox Muslims. The Shí’ih doctors vehemently denounced Him, and persuaded the Governor of Fárs, named Husayn Khán, a fanatical and tyrannical ruler, to undertake the suppression of the new heresy. Then commenced for the Báb a long series of imprisonments, deportations, examinations before tribunals, scourgings and indignities, which ended only with His martyrdom in 1850.

Claims of the Báb

The hostility aroused by the claims of Bábhood was redoubled when the young reformer proceeded to declare that He was Himself the Midhí (Mahdi) whose coming Muhammad had foretold. The Shí’his identified this Mihdí with the 12^th Imám¹who had mysteriously disappeared from the sight of men about a thousand years previously. They believed that he was still alive and would reappear in the same body as before, and they interpreted in a material sense the prophecies regarding his dominion, his glory, his conquests and the “signs” of his advent, just as the Jews in the time of Christ interpreted similar prophecies regarding the Messiah. They expected that he would appear with earthly sovereignty and an innumerable army and declare his revelation, that he would raise dead bodies and restore them to life, and so on. As these signs did not appear, the Shí’his rejected the Báb with the same fierce scorn which the Jews displayed towards Jesus. The Bábís, on the other hand, interpreted many of the prophecies figuratively. They regarded the sovereignty of the Promised One, like that of the Galilean “Man of Sorrows,” as a mystical sovereignty; His glory as spiritual, not earthly glory; His conquests as conquests over the cities of men’s hearts; and they found abundant proof of the Báb’s claim in His wonderful life and teachings, His unshakable faith. His invincible steadfastness, and His power of raising to newness of spiritual life, those who were in the graves of error and ignorance.

1. The Imám of the Shí’his is the divinely ordained successor of the Prophet whom all the faithful must obey. Twelve persons successively held the office of Imám, the first being ‘Alí, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet. The twelfth was called by the Shí’his Ímám Mihdí. They hold that he did not die, but disappeared in an underground passage, A.H. 329, and that in the fullness of time he will come forth, overthrow the infidels and inaugurate an era of blessedness.

But the Báb did not stop even with the claim of Mihdíhood. He adopted the sacred title of “Nuqtiyi-ulá” or “Primal Point.” This was a title applied to Muhammad Himself by His followers. Even the Imáms were secondary in importance to the “Point,” from whom they derived their inspiration and authority. In assuming this title, the Báb claimed to rank, like Muhammad, in the series of great Founders of Religion, and for this reason, in the eyes of the Shí’his, he was regarded as an impostor, just as Moses and Jesus before him had been regarded as imposters. He even inaugurated a new Calendar, restoring the Solar year, and dating the commencement of the New Era from the year of his own declaration.

Persecution Increases

In consequence of these declarations of the Báb and the alarming rapidity with which people of all classes, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, were eagerly responding to his teaching, attempts at suppression became more and more ruthless and determined. Houses were pillaged and destroyed. Women were seized and carried off. In Tihrán, Fárs, Mázindarán, and other places great numbers of the believers were put to death. Many were beheaded, hanged, blown from the mouths of cannon, burnt or hanged, blown from the mouths of cannon, burnt or chopped to pieces. Despite all attempts at repression, however, the movement progressed. Nay, through this very oppression the assurance of the believers increased, for thereby many of the prophecies concerning the coming of the Mihdi were literally fulfilled. Thus in a tradition recorded by Jábir, which the Shí’his regard as authentic, we read: ––

“In him shall be the perfection of Moses, the preciousness of Jesus, and the patience of Job; his saints shall be abased in his time, and their heads shall be exchanged as presents, even as the heads of the Turk and the Deylamite are exchanged as presents; they shall be slain and burned, and shall be afraid, fearful and dismayed; the earth shall be dyed with their blood, and lamentation shall prevail amongst their women; these are my saints indeed.” New History of the Báb, translated by Prof. E. G. Browne, p. 132.

Martyrdom of the Báb

On the 9^th of July, 1850¹the Báb Himself, who was then in His thirty-first year, fell a victim to the fanatical fury of his persecutors. With a devoted young follower named Áqá Muhammad ‘Alí, who had passionately begged to be allowed to share His martyrdom. He was led to the scaffold in the old barracks square of Tabriz. About two hours before noon the two were suspended by ropes under their armpits in such a way that the head of Muhammad ‘Alí rested against the breast of his beloved Master. A regiment of Armenian soldiers was drawn up and received the order to fire. Promptly the volleys rang out, but when the smoke cleared, it was found that the Báb and His companion were still alive. The bullets had but severed the ropes by which they were suspended, so that they dropped to the ground unhurt. They proceeded to a room near by, where they were found talking to one of their friends. About noon they were again suspended. The Armenians, who considered the result of their volleys a miracle, were unwilling to fire again, so another regiment of soldiers had been brought on the scene, who fired when ordered. This time the volleys took effect. The bodies of both victims were riddled by bullets and horribly mutilated, although their faces were almost untouched.

By this foul deed the Barrack of Tabriz became a second Calvary. The enemies of the Báb enjoyed a guilty thrill of triumph, thinking that this hated tree of the Bábi faith was now severed at the root, and its complete eradication would be easy! But their triumph was short-lived! They did not realize that the Tree of Truth cannot be felled by any material axe. Had they but known, this very crime of theirs was the means of giving greater vigor to the Cause. The martyrdom of the Báb fulfilled His own cherished wish and inspired His followers with increased zeal. Such was the fire of their spiritual enthusiasm that the bitter winds of persecution but fanned it to a fiercer blaze. The greater the efforts at extinction, the higher mounted the flames.

Tomb on Mount Carmel

After the Báb’s martyrdom, His remains, with those of his devoted companion, were thrown on the edge of the moat outside the city wall. On the second night they were rescued at midnight by some of the Bábís, and after being concealed for years in secret depositories in Írán, were ultimately brought, with great danger and difficulty, to the Holy Land. There they are now interred in a tomb beautifully situated on the slope of Mount Carmel, not far from the Cave of Elijah, and only a few miles from the spot where Bahá’u’lláh spent His last years and where His remains now lie. Among the thousands of pilgrims from all parts of the world who come to pay homage at the Holy Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh, none omit to offer a prayer also at the shrine of His devoted lover and forerunner, the Báb.

Writings of Báb

The writings of the Báb were voluminous, and the rapidity with which, without study or premeditation, He composed elaborate commentaries, profound expositions or eloquent prayers, was regarded as one of the proofs of His divine inspiration.

The purport of His various writings has been summarized as follows: ––

“Some of these (the Báb’s writings) were commentaries on, and interpretations of, the verses of the Qur’án; some were prayers, homilies, and hits of (the true significance of certain) passages: others were exhortations, admonitions, dissertations on the different branches of the doctrine of the Divine Unity…encouragements to amendment of character, severance from worldly states, and dependence on the inspirations of God. But the essence and purport of his composition were the praises and descriptions of that Reality soon to appear which was his only object and aim, his darling and his desire. For he regarded his own appearance as that of a harbinger of good tidings, and considered his own real nature merely as a means for the manifestation of the greater perfections of that One. And indeed he ceased not from celebrating Him by night or day for a single instant, but used to signify to all his followers that they should expect His arising, in such wise that he declares in his writings: ‘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, my mysteries, riddles and intimations will become evident, and the embryo of this religion shall develop through the grades of its being and ascent, attain to the station of “the most comely of forms” and become adorned with the robe of “Blessed be God the Best of Creators!”’…and so inflamed was he with His flame that commemoration of Him was the bright candle of his dark nights in the fortress of Máh-kú, and remembrance of Him was the best of companions in the straits of the prison of Chihríq. Thereby he obtained spiritual enlargements; with His wine was he inebriated; and at remembrance of Him did he rejoice.” –– Episode of the Báb, p. 54.

He Whom God Shall Make Manifest

The Báb has been compared to John the Baptist, but the station of the Báb is not merely that of the herald or forerunner. In Himself the Báb was a Manifestation of God, the Founder of an independent religion, even though that religion was limited in time to a brief period of years. The Bahá’ís believe that the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh were Co-Founders of their Faith, the following words of Bahá’u’lláh testifying to this truth: “That so brief a span should have separated this most mighty and wondrous Revelation from Mine own 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.” In His references to Bahá’u’lláh, however, the Báb revealed an utter selflessness, declaring that, in the day of “Him whom God shall manifest”: ––

“If one should hear a single verse from Him and recite it, it is better than that he should recite the Bayán (i.e. the revelation of the Báb) a thousand times.” –– Episode of the Báb, p. 349.

He counted Himself happy in enduring any affliction, if by so doing He could smooth the path, by ever so little, for “Him whom God shall make manifest,” who was, He declared, the sole source of His inspiration as well as the sole object of His love.

Resurrection, Paradise and Hell

An important part of the Báb’s teaching is His explanation of the terms Resurrection, Day of Judgment, Paradise and Hell. By the Resurrection is meant, He said, the appearance of a new Manifestation of the Sun of Truth. The raising of the dead means the spiritual awakening of those who are asleep in the graves of ignorance, heedlessness and lust. The Day of Judgment is the Day of the new Manifestation, by acceptance or rejection of whose Revelation the sheep are separated from the goats, for the sheep know the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow Him. Paradise is the joy of knowing and loving God, as revealed through His Manifestation, thereby attaining to the utmost perfection of which one is capable, and, after death, obtaining entrance to the Kingdom of God and the life everlasting. Hell is simply deprivation of that knowledge of God with consequent failure to attain divine perfection, and loss of the Eternal Favor. He definitely declared that these terms have no real meaning apart from this; and that the prevalent ideas regarding the resurrection of the material body, a material heaven and hell, and the like, are mere figments of the imagination. He taught that man has a life after death, and that in the after-life, progress towards perfection is limitless.

Social and Ethical Teachings

In His writings the Báb tells His followers that they must be distinguished by brotherly love and courtesy. Useful arts and crafts must be cultivated. Elementary education should be general. In the new and wondrous Dispensation now commencing, women are to have fuller freedom. The poor are to be provided for out of the common treasury, but begging is strictly forbidden, as is the use of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes.

The guiding motive of the true Bábi must be pure love, without hope of reward or fear of punishment. Thus He says in the Bayán:––

“So worship God that if the recompense of your worship were to be the Fire, no alteration of your worship of Him would be produced. If you worship God from fear, that is unworthy of the threshold of the holiness of God…So also, if your gaze is on Paradise, and if you worship in hope of that; for then you have made God’s creation a partner with Him.” ––Bábís of Persia, II, by Prof. E.G. Browne, J.R.A.S., vol. xxi, p. 931.

Passion and Triumph

This last quotation reveals the spirit which animated the Báb’s whole life. To know and love God, to mirror forth His attributes and to prepare the way for His coming Manifestation ––these were the sole aim and object of His being. For Him life had no terrors and death no sting, for love had cast out fear, and martyrdom itself was but the rapture of casting His all at the feet of His Beloved.

Strange! That this pure and beautiful soul, this inspired teacher of Divine Truth, this devoted lover of God and of His fellow-men should be so hated, and done to death by the professedly religious of His day! Surely nothing but unthinking or willful prejudice could blind men to the fact that here was indeed a prophet, a Holy Messenger of God. Worldly greatness and glory He had none, but how can spiritual Power and Dominion be proved except by the ability to dispense with all earthly assistance, and to triumph over all earthly opposition, even the most potent and virulent? How can Divine Love be demonstrated to an unbelieving world save by its capacity to endure to the uttermost the blows of calamity and the darts of affliction, the hatred of enemies and the treachery of seeming friends, to rise serene above all these and, undismayed and unembittered, still to forgive and bless?

The Báb has endured and the Báb has triumphed. Thousands have testified to the sincerity of their love for Him by sacrificing their lives and their all in His service. Kings might well envy His power over men’s hearts and lives. Moreover, “He whom the Lord shall make manifest” has appeared has confirmed the claims and accepted the devotion of His forerunner, and made Him partaker of His Glory.

CHAPTER III

BAHÁ’U’LLÁH:¹THE GLORY OF GOD

¹ Pronounced with the accent on the second and fourth syllables, the first syllable being almost mute and both l’s distinctly sounded.

“O thou who art waiting, tarry no longer, for He is come. Behold His Tabernacle and His Glory dwelling therein. It is the Ancient Glory, with a new Manifestation.” – BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

Birth and Early Life

Mirzá Husayn ‘Alí, who afterwards assumed the title of Bahá’u’lláh (i.e. Glory of God), was the eldest son of Mírzá ‘Abbás of Nur, a Vazir or Minister of State. His family was wealthy and distinguished, many of its members having occupied important positions in the Government and in the Civil and Military Services of Írán. He was born in Tihrán (Teheran), the capital city of Írán, between dawn and sunrise on the 12^th of November, 1817.¹ He never attended school or college, and what little teaching He received was given at home. Nevertheless, even as a child He showed wonderful wisdom and knowledge. While He was still a youth His father died, leaving Him responsible for the care of His younger brothers and sisters, and for the management of the extensive family estates.

On one occasion ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, related to the writer of the following particulars about His father’s early days: ––

“From childhood He was extremely kind and generous. He was a great lover of outdoor life, most of His time being spent in the garden or the fields. He had an extraordinary power of attraction, which was felt by all. People always crowded around Him. Ministers and people of the Court would surround Him, and the children also were devoted to Him. When He was only thirteen or fourteen years old He became renowned for his learning. He would converse on any subject and solve any problem presented to Him. In large gatherings He would discuss matters with the ‘Ulamá (leading mullás) and would explain intricate religious questions. All of them use to listen to Him with the greatest interest. “When Bahá’u’lláh was twenty-two years old, His father died, and the Government wished Him to succeed to His father’s position in the Ministry, as was customary in Írán, but Bahá’u’lláh did not accept the offer. Then the Prime Minister said: ‘Leave him to himself. Such a position is unworthy of him. He has some higher aim in view. I cannot understand him, but I am convinced that he is destined for some lofty career. His thoughts are not like ours. Let him alone.”

Imprisoned as Bábi

When the Báb declared His mission in 1844, Bahá’u’lláh, who was then in His twenty-seventh year, boldly espoused the Cause of the new Faith, of which He soon became recognized as one of the most powerful and fearless exponents.

He had already twice suffered imprisonment for the Cause, and on one occasion had undergone the torture of the bastinado, when in August 1852, an event occurred fraught with terrible consequences for the Bábis. One of the Báb’s followers, a youth named Sádiq, had been so affected by the martyrdom of his beloved Master, of which he was an eye-witness, that his mind became deranged, and, in revenge, he waylaid the Sháh and fired a pistol at him. Instead of using a bullet, however, he charged his weapon with small shot, and although a few pellets struck the Sháh, no serious harm was done. The youth dragged the Sháh from his horse, but was promptly seized by the attendants of his Majesty and put him to death on the spot. The whole body of Bábís was unjustly held responsible for the deed, and frightful massacres ensued. Eighty

¹ 2^nd of Muharram, 1233 A.H.

of them were forthwith put to death in Tihrán with the most revolting tortures. Many others were seized and put into prisons, among them being Bahá’u’lláh. He afterwards wrote: –– “We had nothing to do with this odious deed, and our innocence was indisputably proved before the tribunals. Nevertheless, they arrested us and brought us to the prison in Tihrán, from Níyávarán, which was then the seat of the Royal Residence; on foot, in chains, and with bare head and feet, for a brutal fellow who was accompanying us on horseback snatched the hat from my head, and many executioners and farráshes (guards) hurried us along with great speed and put us for four months in a place the like of which has not been seen. In reality a dark and narrow cell were far better than the place where this wronged one and his companions were confined. “When we entered the prison, on arrival, they conducted us along a dismal corridor, and thence we descended three steep stairs to the dungeon appointed for us. The place was dark, and its inmates numbered nearly a hundred and fifty ––thieves, assassins and highway robbers. Holding such a crowd as this, it yet had no outlet but the passage through which we entered. The pen fails to describe this place and its putrid stench. Most of the company had neither clothes to wear nor mat to lie on. God knows what we endured in that gloomy and loathsome place! “By day and by night in this prison we reflected on the condition of the Bábís and their doings and affairs, wondering how, notwithstanding their greatness of soul, nobility and intelligence, they coud be capable of such a deed as this audacious attempt on the life of the sovereign. Then did this wronged one determine that, on leaving this prison, he would arise with the utmost endeavor for the regeneration of these souls… “One night in a dream this all-glorious word was heard from all sides: ‘Verily we will aid thee to triumph by thyself and by thy pen. Grieve not for that which hath befallen thee, and have no fear. Truly thou art of them that are secure. Ere long shall the Lord send forth and reveal the treasures of the earth, men who shall give thee the victory by thyself and by thy name wherewith the Lord hath revived the hearts of them that know’” (see Epitre au Fils du Loup, pp. 20-22).

Exile to Baghdád

This terrible imprisonment lasted four months, but Bahá’u’lláh and His companions remained zealous and enthusiastic, in the greatest of happiness. Almost every day one or more of them was tortured or put to death and the others reminded that their turn might come next. When the executioners came to fetch one of the friends, the one whose name was called would literally dance with joy, kiss the hands of Bahá’u’lláh, embrace the rest of his fellow-believers and then hasten with glad eagerness to the place of martyrdom.

It was conclusively proved that Bahá’u’lláh had no share in the plot against the Sháh, and the Russian Minister testified to the purity of his character. He was, moreover, so ill that it was thought He would die. Instead, therefore, of sentencing Him to death, the Sháh ordered that He should be exiled to ‘Iráq-i-‘Arab, in Mesopotamia; and thither, a fortnight later, Bahá’u’lláh set out, accompanied by His family and a number of other believers. They suffered terribly from cold and other hardships on the long winter journey, and arrived in Baghdád in a state of almost utter destitution.

As soon as His health permitted, Bahá’u’lláh began to teach inquirers and to encourage and exhort the believers, and soon peace and happiness reigned among the Bábís.¹This, however,¹This was early in the year 1853, or nine years after the Báb’s Declaration, thus fulfilling certain prophecies of the Báb concerning “the year nine.”

was short-lived. Bahá’u’lláh’s half-brother, Mírzá Yahyá, also known as Subhh-i-Azal, arrived in Baghdád, and soon afterwards differences, secretly instigated by him, began to grow, just as similar divisions had arisen among the disciples of Christ. These differences (which later, in Adrianople, became open and violent) were very painful to Bahá’u’lláh, whose whole aim in life was the promotion of unity among the people of the world.

Two Years in the Wilderness

About a year after coming to Baghdád, He departed alone into the wilderness of Sulaymániyyih, taking with him nothing but a change of clothes. Regarding this period He writes in the Book of Íqán as follows: ––

“In the early days of Our arrival in this land when We discerned the signs of impending events, We decided, ere they happened, to retire. We betook Ourselves to the wilderness, and there, separated and alone, led for two years a life of complete solitude. From Our eyes there rained tears of anguish, and in Our bleeding heart there surged an ocean of agonizing pain. Many a night We had no food for sustenance, and many a day Our body found no rest. By Him Who hath My being between His hands! Notwithstanding these showers of afflictions and unceasing calamities, Our soul was wrapt in blissful joy, and Our whole being evinced an ineffable gladness. For in Our whole being evinced an ineffable gladness. For in Our solitude We were unaware of the harm or benefit, the health or ailment, of any soul. Alone, We communed with Our spirit, oblivious of the world, and all that is therein. We knew not, however, that the mesh of divine destiny exceedeth the vastest of mortal conceptions, and the dart of His decree transendeth the boldest of human designs. None can escape the snares He setteth, and no soul can find release except through submission to His will. By the righteousness of God! Our withdrawal contemplated no return, and Our separation hoped for no reunion. The one object of Our retirement was to avoid becoming a subject of discord among the faithful, a source of disturbance unto Our companions, the means of injury to any soul, or the cause of sorrow to any heart. Beyond these, We cherished no other intention, and apart from them, We had no end in view. And yet, each person schemed after his own desire, and pursued his own idle fancy, until the hour when, from the Mystic Source, there came the summons bidding Us return whence We came. Surrendering Our will to His, We submitted to His injunction.

“What pen can recount the things We beheld upon Our return! Two years have elapsed during which Our enemies have ceaselessly and assiduously contrived to exterminate Us, whereunto all witness.” ––Íqan, p. 251.

Opposition of Mullás

After His return from this retirement, His fame became greater than ever and people flocked to Baghdád from far and near to see Him and hear His teachings. Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, as well as Muhammadans, became interested in the new message. The Mullás (Muhammadan doctors), however, took up a hostile attitude and persistently plotted to effect His overthrow. On a certain occasion they sent one of their number to interview Him and submit to Him certain questions. The envoy found the answers of Bahá’u’lláh so convincing and His wisdom so amazing, although evidently not acquired by study, that he was obliged to confess that in knowledge and understanding Bahá’u’lláh was peerless. In order, however, that the Mullás who had sent him should be satisfied as to the reality of Bahá’u’lláh’s prophethood, he asked that some miracle should be produced as a proof. Bahá’u’lláh expressed His willingness to accept the suggestion on certain conditions, declaring that if the Mullás would agree regarding some miracle to be performed, and would sign and seal a document to the effect that on performance of this miracle they would confess the validity of His mission and cease to oppose Him. He would furnish the desired proof or else stand convicted of imposture. Had the aim of the Mullás been to get at the truth, surely here was their opportunity; but their intention was far otherwise. Rightly or wrongly, they meant to secure a decision in their own favor. They feared the truth and fled from the daring challenge. This discomfiture, however, only spurred them on to devise fresh plots for the eradication of the oppressed sect. The Consul-General of Írán in Baghdád came to their assistance and sent repeated messages to the Sháh to the effect that Bahá’u’lláh was injuring the Muhammadan religion more than ever, still exerting a malign influence in Írán, and that He ought therefore to be banished to some more distant place.

It was characteristic of Bahá’u’lláh that at this crisis, when at the instigation of the Muhammadan Mullás the Íránian and Turkish Governments were combining their efforts to eradicate the Movement, He remained calm and srene, encouraging and inspiring His followers and writing imperishable words of consolation and guidance. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá relates how the Hidden Words were written at this time. Bahá’u’lláh would often go for a walk along the bank of the Tigris. He would come back looking very happy and write down those lyric gems of wise counsel which have brought help and healing to thousands of aching and troubled hearts. For years, only a few manuscript copies of the Hidden Words were in existence, and these had to be carefully concealed lest they should fall into the hands of the enemies that abounded, but now this little volume is probably the best known to all Bahá’u’lláh’s works, and is read in every quarter of the globe. The Book of Íqán is another well-known work of Bahá’u’lláh’s written about the same period, towards the end of His sojourn at Baghdád (1862-1863 A.D.).

Declaration at Ridvan,¹near Baghdad

After much negotiation, at the request of the Íránian Government, an order was issued by the Turkish Government summoning Bahá’u’lláh to Constantinople. On receipt of this news His followers were in consternation. They besieged the house of their beloved Leader to such an extent that the family encamped in the Garden of Najíb Páshá outside the town for twelve days, while the caravan was being prepared for the long journey. It was on the first of these twelve days, while the caravan was being prepared for the long journey. It was on the first of these twelve days (April 21 to May 3, 1863, i.e. nineteen years after the Báb’s declaration) that Bahá’u’lláh announced to several of His followers the glad tidings that He was the one whose coming had been foretold by the Báb ––the Chosen of God, the Promised One of all the prophets. The Garden where this memorable declaration took place has become known to Bahá’u’lláh as the “Garden of Ridván,” and the days Bahá’u’lláh spent there are commemorated in the “Feast of Ridván,” which is held annually on the anniversary of those twelve days. During those days Bahá’u’lláh, instead of being sad or depressed, showed the greatest joy, dignity and power. His followers became happy and enthusiastic, and great crowds came to pay their respects to Him.

¹ Pronounced Rizwán

All the notables of Baghdád, even the Governor himself, came to honor the departing prisoner.

Constantinople and Adrianople

The journey to Constantinople lasted between three and four months, and the party, consisting of Bahá’u’lláh with twelve members of His family and seventy-two disciples, suffered greatly from exposure. Arrived in Constantinople they found themselves prisoners in a small house in which they were very much overcrowded. Later they got somewhat better quarters, but after four months they were again moved on, this time to Adrianople. The journey to Adrianople, although it lasted but a few days, was the most terrible they had yet undertaken. Snow fell heavily most of the time, and as they were destitute of proper clothing and food, their sufferings were extreme. For the first winter in Adrianople, Bahá’u’lláh and his family, numbering twelve persons, were accommodated in a small house of three rooms, comfortless and vermin-infested. In the spring they were given a more comfortable abode. They remained in Adrianople over four and a half years. Here Bahá’u’lláh resumed His teaching and gathered about Him a large following. He publicly announced His mission and was enthusiastically accepted by the majority of the Bábís, who were known thereafter as Bahá’ís. A minority, however, under the leadership of Bahá’u’lláh’s half-brother, Mírza Yahyá, became violently opposed to him and joined with their former enemies, the Shí’ihs, in plotting for his overthrow. Great troubles ensued, and at last the Turkish Government banished both Bábís and Bahá’ís from Adrianople, exiling Bahá’u’lláh and His followers to ‘Akká in Palestine, where they arrived (according to Nabíl) on August 31, 1868, while Mírzá Yahyá and his party were sent to Cyprus.

Letters to Kings

About this time Bahá’u’lláh wrote his famous series of letters to the principal crowned heads of Europe, the Pope, the Sháh of Írán and the Government of the United States, announcing His mission and calling on them to bend their energies to the establishment of true religion, just government and international peace. In His letter to the Sháh He powerfully pleaded the cause of the oppressed Bábís and asked to be brought face to face with those who had instigated their persecution. Needless to say, this request was not complied with; Badí, the young and devoted Bahá’í who delivered the letter of Bahá’u’lláh, was seized and martyred with fearful tortures, hot bricks being pressed on his flesh!

In the same letter Bahá’u’lláh gives a most moving account of His own sufferings and longings: ––

“O king, I have seen in the way of God what no eye hath seen and no ear hath heard. Friends have disclaimed me; ways are straitened unto me; the pool of safety is dried up; the plain of ease is scorched yellow. How many calamities have descended, and how many will descend! I walk advancing toward the Mighty, the Bounteous, while behind me glides the serpent. My eyes rain down tears until my bed is drenched; but my sorrow is not for myself. By God, my head longeth for the spears for the love of its Lord, and I never pass by a tree but my heart addresseth it saying, ‘O would that thou wert cut down in my name and my body were crucified upon thee in the way of my Lord!’ Yea, because I see mankind going astray in their intoxication and they know it not: they have exalted their lusts and put aside their God, as though they took the Command of God for mockery, a sport and a plaything; and they think that they do well, and that they are harbored in the citadel of security. The matter is not as they suppose: tomorrow they shall see what they now deny.

“We are about to shift from this most remote place of banishment (Adrianople) unto the prison of ‘Akká. And according to what they say, it is assuredly the most desolate of the cities of the world, the most unsightly of them in appearance, the most detestable in climate, and the foulest in water; it is as though it were the metropolis of the owl; there is naught heard therein save the sound of its hooting. And in it they intend to imprison this servant, and to shut in our faces the doors of leniency and take away from us the good things of the life of the world during what remaineth of our days. By God, though weariness should weaken me, and hunger should destroy me, though my couch should be made of the hard rock and my associates of the beasts of the desert, I will not blench, but will be patient, as the resolute and determined are patient, in the strength of God, the King of Pre-existence, the Creator of the nations; and under all circumstances I give thanks unto God. And we hope of His graciousness (exalted is He)…that He will render all men’s faces sincere towards Him, the Mighty, the Bounteous. Verily He answereth him who prayeth unto Him and is near unto him who calleth on Him. And we ask Him to make this dark calamity a buckler for the body of His saints, and to protect them thereby from the sharp swords and piercing blades. Through affliction hath His light shone and His praise been bright unceasingly: this hath been His method though past ages and bygone times.” ––Episode of the Báb, pp. 146, 147.

Imprisonment in ‘Akká

At that time ‘Akká (Acre) was a prison-city to which the worst criminals were sent from all parts of the Turkish Empire. On arriving there, after a miserable sea journey, Bahá’u’lláh and His followers, about eighty to eighty-four in number, including men, women and children, were imprisoned in the army barracks. The place was dirty and cheerless in the extreme. There were no beds or comforts of any sort. The food supplied was wretched and inadequate, so much so that after a time the prisoners begged to be allowed to buy their food for themselves. During the first few days the children were crying continually, and sleep was almost impossible. Malaria, dysentery and other diseases soon broke out, and everyone in the company fell sick, with the exception of five (who became victims later on). Four succumbed to their sickness, and the sufferings of the survivors were indescribable.¹

This rigorous imprisonment lasted for two years, during which time none of the Bahá’ís were allowed outside the prison door, except four men, carefully guarded, who went out daily to buy food.

During the imprisonment in the barracks, visitors were rigidly excluded. Several of the Bahá’ís of Írán came all the way on foot for the purpose of seeing their beloved leader, but were refused admittance with the city walls. They used to go to a place on the plain outside the third moat, from which they could see the windows of Bahá’u’lláh’s He would show Himself to them at one of the windows and after gazing on Him from afar, they would weep and return to their homes, fired with new zeal for sacrifice and service.

Restrictions Relaxed

At last imprisonment was mitigated. A mobilization of Turkish troops occurred and the barracks were required for soldiers. Bahá’u’lláh and His family were required for soldiers. Bahá’u’lláh and His family wee transferred to a house by themselves and the rest of the party

¹ “In order to bury two of those who died, Bahá’u’lláh, gave his own carpet to be sold for the expenses of their burial, but instead of using this money for that purpose the soldiers appropriated it, and thrust the bodies into a hole in the ground.” –– Persian historian.

were accommodated in a caravanserai in the town. Bahá’u’lláh was confined for seven more years in the house. In a small room near that in which He was imprisoned, thirteen of His household, including both sexes, had to accommodate themselves as best they could! In the earlier part of their stay in this house they suffered greatly from insufficiency of accommodation, inadequate food supply and lack of the ordinary conveniences of life. After a time, however, a few additional rooms were placed at their disposal and they were able to live in comparative comfort. From the time Bahá’u’lláh and His companions left the barracks, visitors were allowed to see them, and gradually the severe restrictions imposed by the Imperial firmans were more and more left in abeyance, although now and then reimposed for a time.

Prison Gates Opened

Even when the imprisonment was at its worst, the Bahá’ís were not dismayed, and their serene confidence was never shaken. While in the barracks at ‘Akká, Bahá’u’lláh wrote to some friends, “Fear not, These doors shall be opened. My tent shall be pitched on Mount Carmel, and the utmost joy shall be realized.” This declaration was a great source of consolation to His followers, and in due course it was literally fulfilled. The story of how the prison doors were opened had best be told in the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as translated by His grandson, Shoghi Effendi: ––

“Bahá’u’lláh loved the beauty and verdure of the country. One day He passed the remark: “I have not gazed on verdure for nine years. The country is the world of the soul, the city is the world of bodies.’ When I heard indirectly of this saying I realized that He was longing for the country, and I was sure that whatever I could do toward the carrying out of His wish would be successful. There was in ‘Akká at that time a man called Muhammad Pashá Saíwat, who was very much opposed to us. He had a palace called Mara’ih, about four miles north of the city, a lovely place, surrounded by gardens and with a stream of running water. I went and called on this ‘Páshá, you have left the palace empty, and are living in ‘Akká.’ He replied: ‘I am an invalid and cannot leave the city. If I go there it is lonely and I am cut off from my friends.’ I said: ‘While you are not living there and the place is empty, let it to us.’ He was amazed at the proposal, but soon consented. I got the house at a very low rent, about five pounds per annum, paid him for five years and made a contract. I sent laborers to repair the place and put the garden in order and had a bath built. I also had a carriage prepared for the use of the Blessed Beauty.¹ One day I determined to go and see the place for myself. Notwithstanding the repeated injunctions given in successive firmans that we were on no account to pass the limits of the city walls, I walked out through the city gate. Gendarmes were on guard, but they made no objection, so I proceeded straight to the palace. The next day I again went out, with some friends and officials, unmolested and unopposed, although the guards and sentinels stood on both sides of the City Gates. Another day I arranged a banquet, spread a table under the pine trees of Bahjí, and gathered round it the notables and officials of the town. In the evening we all returned to the town together.

“One day I went to the Holy Presence of the Blessed Beauty and said: ‘The palace at Mazraih is ready for you, and a carriage to drive you there.’ (At that time there were no carriages in ‘Akká or Haifa.) He refused to go, saying: ‘I am a prisoner.’ Later I requested Him again, but got the same answer. I went so far as to ask Him a third time, but we still said ‘No!’ and I did not dare to insist further. There was, however, in ‘Akká a certain Muhammadan Shaykh, a well-known man with considerable influence, who loved Bahá’u’lláh and was greatly favored by Him. I called this Shaykh and explained the position to him.

¹ Jamál-i-Mubárak (lit. Blessed Beauty) was a title frequently applied to Bahá’u’lláh by his followers and friends.

I said, ‘You are daring. Go tonight to His Holy Presence, fall on your knees before Him, take hold of His hands and do not let go until He promises to leave the city!’ He was an Arab. …He went directly to Bahá’u’lláh and sat down close to His knees. He took hold of the hands of the Blessed Beauty and kissed them and asked: ‘Why do you not leave the city?’ He said: ‘I am a prisoner.’ The Shaykh replied: ‘God forbid! Who has the power to make you a prisoner? You have kept yourself in prison. It was your own will to be imprisoned, and now I beg you to come out and go to the palace. It is beautiful and verdant. The trees are lovely, and the oranges like balls of fire!’ As often as the Blessed Beauty said: ‘I am a prisoner, it cannot be,’ the Shaykh took His hands and kissed them. For a whole hour he kept on pleading. At las Bahá’u’lláh said, ‘Khayli khub (ver good)’ and the Shaykh’s patience and persistence were rewarded. He came to me with great joy to give the glad news of His Holiness’s consent. In spite of the strict firman of ‘Abdu’l-’Azíz which prohibited my meeting or having any intercourse with the Blessed Perfection, I took the carriage the next day and drove with Him to the palace. No one made any objection. I left Him there and returned myself to the city.

“For two years He remained in that charming and lovely spot. Then it was decided to remove to another place, at Bahjí, and the proprietor of the house fled away in distress, with all his family, ready to offer the house free of charge to any applicant. We took the house at the a very low rent, and there the doors of majesty and true sovereignty were flung wide open. Bahá’u’lláh was nominally a prisoner (for the drastic firmans of Sultán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz were never repealed), yet in reality He showed forth such nobility and dignity in His life and bearing that He was reverenced by all, and the Rulers of Palestine envied His influence and power. Governors and Mutasarrifs, generals and local officials, would humbly request the honor of attaining His presence ––a request to which He seldom acceded.

“On one occasion a Governor of the city implored this favor on the ground of his being ordered by higher authorities to visit, with a certain general, the Blessed Perfection. The request being granted the general, who was a very corpulent individual, an European, was so impressed by the majestic presence of Bahá’u’lláh that he remained kneeling on the ground near the door. Such was the diffidence of both visitors that it was only after repeated invitations from Bahá’u’lláh that they were induced to smoke the marguileh (hubble-bubble pipe) offered to them. Even then they only touched it with their lips, and then, putting it aside folded their arms and sat in an attitude of such humility and respect as to astonish all those who were present.

“The loving reverence of friends, the consideration and respect that were shown by all officials and notables, the inflow of pilgrims and seekers after truth, the spirit of devotion and service that was manifest all around, the majestic and kingly countenance of the Blessed Perfection, the effectiveness of His command, the number of His zealous devotees – all bore witness to the fact that Bahá’u’lláh was in reality no prisoner, but a King of Kings. Two despotic sovereigns were against Him, two powerful autocratic rulers, yet, even when confined in their own prisons, He addressed them in very austere terms, like a king addressing his subjects. Afterwards, in spite of the sever firmans, he lived at Bahjí like a prince. Often he would say: ‘Verily, verily, the most wretched prison has been converted into a Paradise of Eden.’

“Surely, such a thing has not been witnessed since the creation of the world.”

Life at Bahjí

Having in His earlier years of hardship shown how to glorify God in a state of poverty and ignominy, Bahá’u’lláh in His later years at Bahjí showed how to glorify God in a state of honor and affluence. The offerings of hundred of thousands of devoted followers placed at His disposal large funds which He was called upon to administer. Although his life at Bahjí has been described as truly regal, in the highest sense of the word, yet it must not be imagined that it was characterized by material splendor of extravagance. The Blessed Perfection and his family lived in very simple and modest fashion, and expenditure on selfish luxury was a thing unknown in that household. Near His home the believers prepared a beautiful garden called Ridván, in which he often spent many consecutive days of even weeks, sleeping at night in a little cottage in the gardens. Occasionally He went further afield. He made several visits to ‘Akká and Haifa, and on more than one occasion pitched His tent on Mount Carmel, as He had predicted when imprisoned in the barracks at ‘Akká. The time of Bahá’u’lláh was spent for the most part in prayer and meditation, in writing the Sacred Books, revealing Tablets, and in the spiritual education of the friends. In order to give Him entire freedom for this great work, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá undertook the arrangement of all other affairs, even meeting the Mullás, poets, and members of the Government. All of these were delighted and happy through meeting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and entirely satisfied with the explanation and talks, and although they had not met Bahá’u’lláh Himself, they became full of friendly feeling towards Him, through their acquaintanceship with His son, for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s attitude caused them to understand the station of His father.

The distinguished orientalist, the late Professor Edward G. Browne, of the University of Cambridge, visited Bahá’u’lláh at the Bahjí in the year 1890, and recorded his impressions as follows: ––

“My conductor paused for a moment while I removed my shoes. Then with a quick movement of the hand he withdrew, and as I passed, replaced the curtain; and I found myself in a large apartment, along the upper end of which ran a low divan, while on the side opposite to the door were placed two or three chairs. 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 the kind called táj 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 jet-black 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 has 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 be 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 strifes, 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 Bahá. 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’s Narrative,” Episode of the Báb, p. 39.

Ascension

Thus simply and serenely did Bahá’u’lláh pass the evening of his life on earth until, after an attack of fever, he passed away on the 29^th of May, 1892, at the age of seventy-five. Among the last Tablets He revealed was His Will and Testament, which He wrote with His own hand and duly signed and sealed. Nine days after His death the seals were broken by His eldest son, in the presence of members of the family and a few friends, and the contents of the short but remarkable document were made known. By this will ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was constituted His father’s representative and the expounder of His teachings, and the family and relatives of Bahá’u’lláh and all believers were instructed to turn to Him and obey Him. By this arrangement sectarianism and division were provided against and the unity of the Cause assured.

Prophethood of Bahá’u’lláh

It is important to have clear ideas of Bahá’u’lláh’s prophethood. His utterances, like those of other divine “Manifestations,” may be divided into two classes, in one of which He writes or speaks simply as a man who has been charged by God with a message to His fellows, while in the other class the words purport to be the direct utterance of God Himself.

He writes in the Book of Íqán: –––

“We have already in the foregoing pages assigned two stations unto each of the Luminaries arising from the Daysprings of eternal holiness. One of these stations, the station of essential unity, We have already explained. ‘No distinction do We make between any of them.’ (Qur’án 2:136.) The other is the station of distinction, and pertaineth to the world of creation and to the limitations thereof. In this respect, each Manifestation of God hath a distinct individuality, a definitely prescribed mission, a predestined Revelation, and specially designated limitations. Each one of them is known by a different name, is characterized by a special attribute, fulfills a definite Mission, and is entrusted with a particular Revelation. Even as He saith: ‘Some of the Apostles We have caused to excel the others. To some God hath spoken, some He hath raised and exalted. And to Jesus, Son of Mary, We gave manifest signs, and We strengthened Him with the Holy Spirit.’ (Qur’án 2:253)… “Thus, viewed from the standpoint of their oneness and sublime detachment, the attributes of Godhead, Divinity, Supreme Singleness, and Inmost Essence, have been and are applicable to those Essences of being, inasmuch as they all abide on the throne of divine Revelation, and are established upon the seat of divine Concealment. Through their appearance the Revelation of God is made manifest, and by their countenance the Beauty of God is revealed. Thus it is that the accents of God Himself have been heard uttered by these Manifestations of the divine Being. “Viewed in the light of their second station–the station of distinction, differentiation, temporal limitations, characteristics and standards,–they manifest absolute servitude, utter destitution and complete self-effacement. Even as He saith: “I am the servant of God. I am but a man like you.’… “Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: ‘I am God!’ He verily speaketh the truth, and no doubt attacheth thereto. For it hath been repeatedly demonstrated that through their Revelation their attributes and names, the Revelation of God. His name and His attributes, are made manifest in the world. Thus, He hath attributes, are made manifest in the world. Thus, He hath revealed: ‘Those shafts were God’s, not Thine!’ (Qur’án 8:17.) And also He saith: ‘In truth, they who plighted fealty unto thee, really plighted that fealty unto God.’ (Qur’an 48:10.) And were any of them to voice the utterance: ‘I am the messenger of God,’ He also speaketh the truth, the indubitable truth. Even as He saith: ‘Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but He in the Messenger of God.’ Viewed in this light, they are all but Messengers of that ideal King, that unchangeable Essence. And were they all to proclaim: ‘I am the Seal of the Prophets,’ they verily utter but the truth, beyond the faintest shadow of doubt. For they are all but one person, one soul, one spirit, one being, one revelation. They are all the manifestation of the ‘Beginning’ and the ‘End,’ the ‘First’ and the ‘Last,’ the ‘Seen’ and ‘Hidden’ –all of which pertain to Him Who is in the innermost Spirit of Spirits and eternal Essence of Essences. And were they to say: ‘We are the servants of God,’ (Qur’án 33:40) this also is a manifest and indisputable fact. For they have been made manifest in the uttermost state of servitude, a servitude the like of which no man can possibly attain. Thus in moments in which these Essences of being were deeply immersed beneath the ocean of ancient and everlasting holiness, or when they soared to the loftiest summits of divine mysteries, they claimed their utterance to be the Voice of divinity, the Call of God Himself. Were the eye of discernment to be opened, it would recognize that in this very state, they have considered themselves utterly effaced and non-existent in the face of him who is the All-Pervading, the Incorruptible. Methinks, they have regarded themselves as utter nothingness, and deemed their mention in that Court an act of blasphemy. For the slightest whisperings of self, within such a Court, is an evidence of self-assertion and independent existence. In the eyes of them that have attained unto that Court, such a suggestion is itself a grievous transgression. How much more grievous would it be, were aught else to be mentioned in that Presence, were man’s heart, his tongue, his mind, or his soul, to be busied with anyone but the Well-Beloved, were his eyes to behold any countenance other than His beauty, were his ear to be inclined to any melody but His voice, and were his feet to tread any way but His way. “In this day the breeze of God is wafted, and His Spirit hath pervaded all things. Such is the outpouring of His grace that the pen is stilled and the tongue is speechless. “By virtue of this station, they have claimed for themselves the Voice of Divinity and the like, whilst by virtue of their station of Messengership, they have declared themselves the Messengers of God. In every instance they have voiced an utterance that would conform to the requirements of the occasion, and have ascribed all these declarations to Themselves, declarations ranging from the realms of divine Revelation to the realm of creation and from the domain of Divinity even unto the domain of earthly existence. Thus it is that whatsoever be their utterance, whether it pertain to the realm of Divinity, Lordship, Prophethood, Messengership, Guardianship, Apostleship or Servitude, all is true, beyond the shadow of a doubt. Therefore, these sayings which We have quoted in support of Our argument must be attentively considered, that the divergent utterances of the Manifestation of the Unseen and Daysprings of Holiness may cease to agitate the soul and perplex the mind.”––Kitáb-i-Íqán, 176-181.

When Bahá’u’lláh speaks as a man, the station He claims for himself is that of utter humility, of “annihilation in God.” What distinguishes the Manifestation is the completeness of His self-abnegation as well as the perfection of His powers. Under all circumstances He is able to say, as did Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Nevertheless not my will but Thine be done.” Thus in His epistle to the Sháh, Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“O King, verily I was as anyone among mankind, slumbering upon my couch. The gales of the All-Glorious passed by me and taught me the knowledge of what hath been. This thing is not from me, but from One who is Mighty and All-knowing. And He bade me proclaim between the earth and the heaven, and for this there hath befallen me that whereat the eyes of those who know overflow with tears. I have not studied those sciences which men possess, nor have I entered the colleges. … This is a leaf which the breezes of the Will of thy Lord the Mighty have stirred. Can it be still when the rushing winds blow? No, by the Lord of the Names and Attributes! Rather do they move it as they list, for Being belongeth not to nonentity in presence of the Eternal. His decisive command did come, causing me to speak for His Celebration amidst the worlds. Verily I was not save as one dead in presence of His Command, the hand of thy Lord, the Merciful, the Clement, turning me. Can anyone speak on his own part that for which all men, whether high or low, will persecute him? No, by Him who taught the Pen eternal mysteries, save him who is strengthened by one Mighty and Strong.” ––Episode of the Báb, p. 395.

As Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, so Bahá’u’lláh used sometimes to cook food and perform other lowly offices for his followers, he was a servant of the servants, and gloried only in servitude, content to sleep on a bare floor if need be, to live on bread and water, or even, at times, on what He called “the divine nourishment, that is to say, hunger!” His perfect humility was seen in His profound reverence for nature, for human nature, and especially for the saints, prophets and martyrs. To Him, all things spoke of God, from the meanest to the greatest.

His human personality had been chosen by God to become the Divine Mouthpiece and Pen. It was not of his own will that he had assumed this position of unparalleled difficulty and hardship. As Jesus said: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me,” so Bahá’u’lláh said: “Had another exponent or speaker been found. We would not have made Ourself an object of censure, derision and calumnies on the part of the people” (Tablet of Ishráqát). But the divine call was clear and imperative and He obeyed. God’s will became His will, and God’s pleasure, His pleasure; and with “radiant acquiescence.” He declared:––

“In truth I say, whatsoever befalleth in the Lord is the well-beloved of the soul and the desire of the heart. Deadly venom, in His Path, is but sweetness itself, and torment, in His Name, but cool and refreshing water” (see Epitre au Fils du Loup, p. 17).

At other times, as we have mentioned, Bahá’u’lláh speaks “from the station of Deity.” In these utterances His human personality is so completely subservient that it is left out of account altogether. Through Him God addresses His creatures, proclaiming His love for them, teaching them His attributes, making known His will, announcing His laws for their guidance and pleading for their love, their allegiance and service.

In the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the utterance frequently changes from one of these forms to another. Sometimes it is evidently the man who is discoursing, then without a break the writing continues as speaking in the first person. Even when speaking as a man, however, Bahá’u’lláh speaks as God’s messenger, as a living example of entire devotion to God’s will. His whole life is actuated by the Holy Spirit. Hence no hard and fast line can be drawn between the human and divine elements in his life or teachings. God tells him:––

“Say: ‘Naught is seen in my temple but the Temple of God, and in my beauty but His Beauty, and in my being but His Being, and in myself but Himself, and in my movement but His Movement, and in my acquiescence but His Acquiescence, and in my pen but His Pen, the Precious, the Extolled.’ “Say: ‘There hat not been in my soul but the Truth, and in myself naught could be seen but God.’” ––Súratu’l-Haykal, p. 30.

His Mission

Bahá’u’lláh’s mission in the world is to bring about Unity ––Unity of all mankind in and through God. He says: ––

“Of the Tree of Knowledge the All-glorious fruit is this exalted word: Of one Tree are all ye the fruits and of one Bough the leaves. Let not man glory in this that he loves his country, but let him rather glory in this that he loves his kind.”

Previous prophets have heralded an age of peace on earth, goodwill among men, and have given their lives to hasten its advent, but each and all of them have plainly declared that this blessed consummation would be reached only after the “Coming of the Lord” in the latter days, when the wicked would be judged and the righteous rewarded.

Zoroaster foretold three thousand years of conflict before the advent of Sháh Bahrám, the world-savior, who would overcome Ahriman the spirit of evil, and establish a reign of righteousness and peace.

Moses foretold a long period of exile, persecution and oppression for the children of Israel, before the Lord of Hosts would appear to gather them from all the nations, to destroy the oppressors and establish His Kingdom upon earth.

Christ said: “Think not that I am come to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace but a sword” (Matt. x, 34), and he predicted a period of wars and rumors of wars, of tribulations and afflictions that would continue till the coming of the Son of Man “in the Glory of the Father.”

Muhammad declared that because of their wrongdoings, Alláh had put enmity and hatred among both Jews and Christians that would last until the Day of Resurrection, when He would appear to judge them all.

Bahá’u’lláh, on the other hand, announces that He the Promised One of all these Prophets–the Divine Manifestation in whose era the reign of peace will actually be established. This statement is unprecedented and unique, yet it fits in wonderfully with the signs of the times, and with the prophecies of all the great prophets. Bahá’u’lláh revealed with incomparable clearness and comprehensiveness the means for bringing about peace and unity amongst mankind.

It is true that, since the advent of Bahá’u’lláh, there have been, until now, war and destruction on an unprecedented scale, but this is just what all the prophets have said would happen at the dawn of the “great and terrible Day of the Lord,” and is, therefore, but a confirmation of the view that the “Coming of the Lord of the Vineyard must miserably destroy the wicked husbandmen before He gives the Vineyard to others who will render Him the fruits in their seasons. Does not this mean that at the coming of the Lord dire destruction awaits those despotic governments, avaricious and intolerant priests, mullás, or tyrannical leaders who through the centuries have, like wicked husbandmen, misruled the earth and misappropriated its fruits?

There may be terrible events, and unparalleled calamities yet awhile on the earth, but Bahá’u’lláh assures us “that ere long, there fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass and the Most Great Peace shall come.” War and strife have become so intolerable in their destructiveness that mankind must find deliverance from them or perish.

“The fulness of time” has come and with it the Promised Deliverer!

His Writings

The writings of Bahá’u’lláh are most comprehensive in their range, dealing with every phase of human life, individual and social, with things material and things spiritual, and with prophetic anticipations of both the near and distant future.

The range and accuracy of His knowledge was amazing. He could quote and expound the Scriptures of the various religions with which His correspondents or questioners were familiar, in convincing and authoritative manner, although apparently He had never had the ordinary means of access to many of the books referred to. He declares in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, that He had never had time or opportunity even to read the writings of the Báb, although in His own writings He shows the most perfect understanding and knowledge and understanding of the Báb’s Revelation. (The Báb as we have seen, declared that His Revelation, the Bayán, was inspired by and emanated from “Him whom God shall make Manifest”!) With the single exception of a visit from Professor Browne, with whom in the year 1890 He had four interview, each lasting twenty to thirty minutes. He had no opportunities of intercourse with enlightened Western thinkers, yet His writings show a complete grasp of the social, political and religious problems of the Western World, and even His enemies had to admit that His wisdom and knowledge were incomparable. The well-known circumstances of His long imprisonment render it impossible to doubt that the wealth of knowledge from some spiritual source, quite independent of the usual means of study or instruction and the help of books or teachers.¹

Sometimes He wrote in modern Íránian, the ordinary language of his fellow-countrymen, which is largely admixed with Arabic. At other times, as when addressing learned Zoroastrians, He wrote in the purest classical Íránian. He also wrote with equal fluency in Arabic, sometimes in very simple language, sometimes in classical style somewhat similar to that of the Qur’án. His perfect mastery of these different languages and styles was remarkable because of His entire lack of literary education.

In some of His writings the way of holiness is pointed out in such simple terms that “the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein” (Isaiah xxx, 8). In others there is a wealth of poetic imagery, profound philosophy and allusions to Muhammadan, Zoroastrian and other scriptures, or to Íránian and Arabic literature and legends, such as only the poet, the philosopher

¹ When asked whether Bahá’u’lláh had made a special study of Western writings and founded his teachings in accordance with them ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that the books of Bahá’u’lláh, written and printed sixty years ago, contained the ideals now so familiar to the West, although at that time these ideas had not been printed or though of in the West.

or the scholar can adequately appreciate. Still others deal with advanced stages of the spiritual life and are to be understood only by those who have already passed through the earlier stages. His works are like a bountiful table provided with foods and delicacies suited to the needs and tastes of all who are genuine truth-seekers.

It is because of this that His Cause had effect among the learned and cultured, spiritual poets and well-known writers. Even some of the leaders of the Súfís and of other sects, and some of the political ministers who were writers, were attracted by His words, for they exceeded those of all other writers in sweetness and depth of spiritual meaning.

The Bahá’í Spirit

From His place of confinement in distant ‘Akká, Bahá’u’lláh stirred His native land of Írán to its depths; and not only Írán: He stirred and is stirring the world. The spirit that animated Him and His followers was unfailingly gentle, courteous and patient, yet it was a force of astonishing vitality and transcendent power. It achieved the seemingly impossible. It changed human nature. Men who yielded to its influence became new creatures. They were filled with love, a faith, and enthusiasm, compared with which earthly joys and sorrows were but long suffering or violent death with perfect equanimity, nay, with radiant joy, in the strength of fearless dependence on God.

Most wonderful of all, their hearts were so brimming over with the joy of a new life as to leave no room for thoughts of bitterness or vindictiveness against their oppressors. They entirely abandoned the use of violence in self-defence, and instead of bemoaning their fate, they considered themselves the most fortunate of men in being privileged to receive this new and glorious Revelation and to spend their lives or shed their blood in testifying to its truth. Well might their hearts ring with joy, for they believed that God the Supreme, the Eternal, the Beloved, had spoken to them through human lips, had called them to be His servants and friends, had come to establish His Kingdom upon earth, and to bring the priceless boon of Peace to a war-worn, strife-stricken world.

Such was the faith inspired by Bahá’u’lláh. He announced His own mission, as the Báb had foretold that He would, and, thanks to the devoted labors of His great Forerunner, there were thousands ready to acclaim His Advent ––thousands who had shaken off superstitions and prejudices, and were waiting with pure hearts and open minds for the Manifestation of God’s Promised Glory. Poverty and chains, sordid circumstances and outward ignominy could not hide from them the Spiritual Glory of their Lord–may, these dark earthly surroundings only served to enhance the brilliance of his real Splendor.

CHAPTER IV

‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ: THE SERVANT OF BAHÁ

“When the Ocean of My Presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation hath been completed, turn your faces toward Him whom God hath purposed, who hath branched from this Ancient Root.”–BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

Birth and Childhood

‘Abbás Effendi, who afterwards assumed the title of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (i.e. Servant of Bahá), was the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh. He was born in Tihrán shortly before midnight on the 23^rd May, 1844.¹In the very same hour in which the Báb declared His mission.

He was eight years of age when His father, to whom even then He was devotedly attached, was thrown into the dungeon in Tihrán. A mob sacked their house, and the family were stripped of their possessions and left in destitution. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells how one day He was allowed to enter the prison yard to see His beloved father when He came out for His daily exercise. Bahá’u’lláh was terribly altered, so ill He could hardly walk. His hair and beard unkempt, His neck galled and swollen from the pressure of a heavy steel collar. His body bent by the weight of His chains, and the sight made a never-to-be-forgotten impression on the mind of the sensitive boy.

During the first year of their residence in Baghdád, ten years before the open declaration by Bahá’u’lláh of His Mission, the keen insight of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá of His Mission, the keen insight of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who was then but nine years of age, already led Him to the momentous discovery that His father was indeed the Promised One whose Manifestation all the Bábís were awaiting. Some sixty years afterwards He thus described the moment in which this conviction suddenly overwhelmed his whole nature:–

“I am the servant of the Blessed Perfection. In Baghdad I was a child. Then and there He announced to me the Word, and I believed in Him. As soon as He proclaimed to me the Word, I threw myself at His Holy Feet and implored and supplicated Him to accept my blood as a sacrifice in His Pathway. Sacrifice! How sweet I find that word! There is no greater Bounty for me than this! What greater glory can I conceive than to see this neck chained for His sake, these feet fettered for His love, this body mutilated or thrown into the depths of the sea for His Cause! If in reality we are His sincere lovers–if in reality I am His sincere servant, then I must sacrifice my life, my all at His Blessed Threshold.”––Diary of Mirzá Ahmad Sohrab, January 1914.

About this time He began to be called by His friends “The Mystery of God,” a title given to Him by Bahá’u’lláh, by which He was commonly known during the period of residence in Baghdad.

When His father went away for two years in the wilderness, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was heart-broken. His chief consolation consisted in copying and committing to memory the Tablets of the Báb, and much of His time was spent in solitary meditation. When at last His father returned, the boy was overwhelmed with joy.

Youth

From that time onwards, He became his father’s closest companion and, as it were, protector. Although a mere youth, He already showed astonishing sagacity and discrimination, and undertook the task of interviewing all the numerous visitors who came to see his father. If He found they were genuine truth-seekers, He admitted them to His father’s presence, but otherwise He did not permit them to trouble Bahá’u’lláh. On many occasions He helped His father in answering the questions and solving the difficulties of these visitors. For example, when asked for an explanation of the phrase: “I was a Hidden Mystery,” which occurs in a well-known Muhammadan tradition,¹ Bahá’u’lláh turned to the “Mystery of God,” ‘Abbás, and asked Him to write the explanation. The boy, who was then about fifteen or sixteen years of age, at once wrote an important epistle giving an exposition so illuminating as to astonish the Páshá. This epistle is now widely spread among the Bahá’ís, and is well known to many outside the Bahá’í faith.

About this time ‘Abbás was a frequent visitor to the mosques, where He would discuss theological matters with the doctors and learned men. He never attended any school or college. His only teacher being His father. His favorite recreation was horseback riding, which He keenly enjoyed.

After Bahá’u’lláh’s Declaration in the Garden outside Baghdád, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s devotion to His father became greater than ever. On the long journey to Constantinople He guarded Bahá’u’lláh night and day, riding by His wagon and watching near His tent. As far as possible He relieved His father of all domestic cares and responsibilities, becoming the mainstay and comfort of the entire family.

During the years spent in Adrianople, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá endeared Himself to everyone. He taught much, and became generally known as the “Master.” At ‘Akká, when nearly all the party were ill with typhoid, malaria, and dysentery, He washed the patients, nursed them, fed them, watched with them, taking no rest, until, utterly exhausted. He Himself took dysentery, and for about a month remained in a dangerous condition. In ‘Akká, as in Adrianople, all classes, from the Governor to the most wretched beggar, learned to love and respect him.

Marriage

The following particulars, regarding the marriage of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were kindly supplied to the writer by an Íránian historian of the Bahá’í Faith:–

“During the youth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the question of a suitable marriage for him was naturally one of great interest to the believers, and many people came forward, wishing to have this crown of honor for their own family. For a long time, however, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá showed no inclinations for marriage, and no one understood the wisdom of this. Afterwards it became known that there was a girl who was destined to become the wife of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, one whose birth came about through the Blessing which the Báb gave to her parents in Isfáhán. Her father was Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí, who was the uncle of the ‘King of Martyrs’ and the ‘Beloved of Martyrs,’ and she belonged to one of the great and noble families of Isfáhán. When the Báb was in Ísfahán, Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí had no children, but his wife was longing for a child. On hearing of this, the Báb gave him a portion of his food and told him to share it with his wife. After they had eaten of that food, it soon became apparent that their long-cherished hopes of parenthood were about to be fulfilled, and in due course a daughter was born to them, who was given the name of Munirih Khanum²

¹The tradition is quoted in a tablet of Bahá’u’lláh; see Chapter V of this book. ² It is interesting to compare this story with that of the birth of John the Baptist; see St. Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 1

Later on a son was born, to whom they gave the name of Siyyid Yahyá, and afterwards they had some other children. After a time Munírih’s father died, her cousins were martyred by Zillu’s-Sultán and the mullás, and the family fell into great troubles and bitter persecutions because of their being Bahá’ís. Bahá’u’lláh then permitted Munírih and her brother Siyyid Yahyá to come to ‘Akká for protection. Bahá’u’lláh and his wife, Navváb, the mother of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, showed such kindness and favor to Munirih that others understood that they wished her to become the wife of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The wish of His father and mother became the wish of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, too. He had a warm feeling of love and affection for Munírih which was full reciprocated, and ere long they became united in marriage.”

The marriage proved exceedingly happy and harmonious. Of the children born to them four daughters have survived the rigors of their long imprisonment, and, through their beautiful lives of service, have endeared themselves to all who have been privileged to know them.

Center of the Covenant

Bahá’u’lláh indicated in many ways that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was to direct the Cause after His own ascension. Many years before His death He declared this in a veiled manner in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. He referred to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on many occasions as “The Center of My Covenant,” “The Most Great Branch,” “The Branch from the Ancient Root.” He habitually spoke of Him as “The Master” and required all his family to treat him with marked deference; and in His Will and Testament He left explicit instructions that all should turn to Him and obey Him.

After the death of the “Blessed Beauty” (as Bahá’u’lláh was generally called by His family and believers) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá assumed the position which His father had clearly indicated for Him as head of the Cause and authoritative Interpreter of the teachings, but this was resented by certain of His relatives and others, who became as bitterly opposed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as Subh-i-Azal had been to Bahá’u’lláh, They tried to stir up dissensions among the believers, and failing in that, proceeded to make various false charges against ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the Turkish Government.

In accordance with instructions received from his father, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was erecting a building on the side of Mount Carmel, above Haifa, which was intended to be the permanent resting-place of the remains of the Báb, and also to contain a number of rooms for meetings and services. They represented to the authorities that this building was intended as a fort, and that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and his followers meant to entrench themselves there, defy the Government, and endeavor to gain possession of the neighboring region of Syria.

Strict Imprisonment Renewed

In consequence of this and other equally unfounded charges, in 1901. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His family, who for more than twenty years had been allowed the freedom of the country for some miles around ‘Akká, were again, for over seven years, strictly confined within the walls of the prison city. This did not prevent Him, however, from effectively spreading the Bahá’í message through Asia, Europe and America. Mr. Horace Holley writes of this period as follows:––

“To ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as a teacher and friend, came men and women from every race, religion and nation, to sit at his table like favored guests, questioning him about the social, spiritual or moral program each had most at heart’ and after a stay lasting from a few hours to many months, returning home, inspired, renewed and enlightened. The world surely never possessed such a guest-house as this.

“Within its doors the rigid castes of India melted away, the racial prejudice of Jew, Christian and Muhammadan became less than a memory; and every convention save the essential law of warm hearts and aspiring minds broke down, banned and forbidden by the unifying sympathy of the master of the house. It was like a King Arthur and the Round Table … but an Arthur who knighted women as well as men, and sent them away not with the sword but with the Word.”––The Modern Social Religion, Horace Holley, p. 171.

During these years ‘Abdu’l-Bahá carried on an enormous correspondence with believers and inquirers in all parts of the world. In this work He was greatly assisted by His daughters and also by several interpreters and secretaries.

Much of His time was spent in visiting the sick and afflicted in their own homes; and in the poorest quarters of ‘Akká no visitor was more welcome than the “Master.” A pilgrim who visited ‘Akká at this time writes:––

“It is the custom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá each week, on Friday morning, to distribute alms to the poor. From his own scanty store he gives a little to each one of the needy who come to ask assistance. This morning about one hundred wee ranged in line, seated and crouching upon the ground in the open street of the court where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s house stands. And such a nondescript collection of humanity they were. All kinds of men, women and children––poor, wretched, hopeless in aspect, half-clothed, many of them crippled and blind, beggars indeed, poor beyond expression––waiting expectant–until from the doorway came ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. … Quickly moving from one to another, stopping sometimes to leave a word of sympathy and encouragement, dropping small coins into each eager outstretched palm, touching the face of a child, taking the hand of an old woman who held fast to the hem of his garment as he passed along, speaking words of light to old men with sightless eyes, inquiring after those too feeble and wretched to come for their pittance of help, and sending them their portion with a message of love and uplift.”–Glimpses of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, M. J. M., p. 13.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s personal wants were few. He worked late and early. Two simple meals a day sufficed Him. His wardrobe consisted of a very few garments of inexpensive material. He could not bear to live in luxury while others were in want.

He had a great love for children, for flowers, and for the beauties of nature. Every morning about six or seven, the family party used to gather to partake of the morning tea together, and while the Master sipped his tea, the little children of the household chanted prayers. Mr. Thornton Chase writes of these children:––

“Such children I have never seen, so courteous, unselfish, thoughtful for others, unobtrusive, intelligent, and swiftly self-denying in the little things that children love.”––In Galilee, p. 51.

The “ministry of flowers” was a feature of the life at ‘Akká, of which every pilgrim brought away fragrant memories. Mrs. Lucas writes:––

“When the Master inhales the odor of flowers, it is wonderful to see him. It seems as though the perfume of the hyacinths were telling him something, as he buries his face in the flowers. It is like the effort of the ear to hear a beautiful harmony––a concentrated attention.”––A Brief Account of my Visit to ‘Akká, p.26.

He loved to present beautiful and sweet-smelling flowers to his numerous visitors.

Mr. Thornton Chase sums up his impression of the prison life at ‘Akká as follows:––

“Five days we remained within those walls, prisoners with Him who dwells in that ‘Greatest Prison.’ It is a prison of peace, of love and service. No wish, no desire is there save the good of mankind, the peace of the world, the acknowledgement of the Fatherhood of God and the mutual rights of men as His creatures, His children. Indeed, the real prison, the suffocating atmosphere, the separation from all true heart desires, the bond of world conditions, is outside of those stone walls, while within them is the freedom and pure aura of the Spirit of God. All troubles, tumults, worries or anxieties for worldly things are barred out there.”––In Galilee, p. 24.

To most people the hardships of prison life would appear as grievous calamities, but for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá they had no terrors. When in prison He wrote:––

“Grieve not because of my imprisonment and calamity; for this prison is my beautiful garden, my mansioned paradise and my throne of dominion among mankind. My calamity in my prison is a crown to me in which I glory among the righteous.”

“Anyone can be happy in the state of comfort, ease, success, health, pleasure and joy; but if one be happy and contented in the time of trouble, hardship and prevailing disease, that is the proof of nobility.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. ii, pp. 258-263.

Turkish Commissions of Investigation

In 1904 and 1907 commissions were appointed by the Turkish Government to inquire into the charges against ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and lying witnesses gave evidence against Him. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, while refuting the charges, expressed His entire readiness to submit to any sentence the tribunal chose to impose. He declared that if they should throw Him into jail, drag Him through the streets, curse Him, spit upon Him, stone Him, heap upon Him all sorts of ignominy, hang Him or shoot Him he would still be happy.

Between the sittings of the Commissions of Investigation He pursued his ordinary life with the utmost serenity, planting fruit trees in a garden and presiding at a marriage feast with the dignity and radiance of spiritual freedom. The Italian Consul offered to provide Him a safe passage to any foreign port He cared to select, but this offer he gratefully but firmly refused, saying that whatever the consequences, He must follow in the footsteps of the Báb and the Blessed Perfection, who never tried to save Themselves or run away from Their enemies. He encouraged most of the Bahá’ís, however, to leave the neighborhood of ‘Akká, which had become very dangerous for them, and remained alone, with a few of the faithful to await His destiny.

The four corrupt officials who constituted the last investigating commission arrived in ‘Akká in the early part of the winter of 1907, stayed one month, and departed for Constantinople, after finishing their so-called “investigation,” prepared to report that the charges against ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had been substantiated and to recommend His exile or execution. No sooner had they got back to Turkey, however, than the Revolution broke out there, and the four commissioners, who belonged to the old regime, had to flee for their lives. The Young Turks established their supremacy, and all political and religious prisoners in the Ottoman Empire were set free. In September 1908 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was released from prison, and in the following year ‘Abdu’l-Hamíd, the Sultán became himself a prisoner.

Western Tours

After His release, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued the same holy life of ceaseless activity in teaching, correspondence, ministering to the poor and the sick, with merely the change from ‘Akká to Haifa and from Haifa to Alexandria, until August 1911, when He started on His first visit to the Western world. During His tours in the West, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met men of every shade of opinion and amply fulfilled the command of Bahá’u’lláh to “Consort with all the people with joy and fragrance.” He reached London early in September 1911, and spent a month there, during which, besides daily talks with inquirers and many other activities, He addressed the congregations of the Rev. R.J. Campbell at the City Temple, and of Archdeacon Wilberforce at St. John’s Westminster, and breakfasted with the Lord Mayor. He then proceeded to Paris, where His time was occupied in giving daily addresses and talks to eager listeners of many nationalities and types. In December he returned to Egypt, and next spring, in response to the earnest entreaty of the American friends. He proceeded to the United States, arriving in New York in April 1912. During the next nine months He travelled through America, from coast to coast, addressing all sorts and conditions of men––university students, Socialists, Mormons, Jews, Christians, Agnostics, Esperantists, Peace Societies, and speaking in churches of almost every denomination in each case giving addresses suited to the audience and the occasion. On December 5^th He sailed for Great Britain, where He passed six weeks visiting Liverpool, London, Bristol and Edinburgh. In Edinburgh He gave a notable address to the Esperanto Society, in which He announced that He had encouraged the Bahá’ís of the East to study Esperanto in order to further better understanding between the East and the West. After two months in Paris, spent as before in daily interviews and conferences, He proceeded to Stuttgart, where He held a series of very successful meetings with the German Bahá’ís; thence to Buda Pesth and Vienna, founding new groups in these places, returning in May 1913, to Egypt, and on December 5, 1913, to Haifa.

Return to Holy Land

He was then in His seventieth year, and His long and arduous labors, culminating in these strenuous Western tours, had worn out His physical frame. After His return He wrote the following pathetic Tablet to the believers in East and West:––

“Friends, the time is coming when I shall be no longer with you. I have done all that could be done. I have served the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh to the utmost of my ability. I have labored night and day all the years of my life. “Oh, how I long to see the believers shouldering the responsibilities of the Cause! Now is the time to proclaim the Kingdom of ABHÁ (i.e. The Most Glorious!). Now is the hour of union and concord! Now is the spiritual harmony of the friends of God! … “I am straining my ears toward the East and toward the West, toward the North and toward the South, that haply I may hear the songs of love and fellowship raised in the meetings of the believers. My days are numbered, and save this there remains non other joy for me. “Oh, how I yearn to see the friends united, even as a shining strand of pearls, as the brilliant Pleiades, as the rays of the sun, the gazelles of one meadow! “The mystic nightingale is singing for them; will they listen? The bird of Paradise is warbling; will they not hear? The Angel of the Kingdom of ABHÁ is calling to them; will they not hearken? The Messenger of the Covenant is pleading; will they not heed? “Ah! I am waiting, waiting to hear the glad news that the believers are the embodiment of sincerity and loyalty, the incarnation of love and amity and the manifestation of unity and concord! “Will they not rejoice my heart? Will they not satisfy my yearnings? Will they not heed my pleadings? Will they not fulfill my hopes? Will they not answer my call? “I am waiting, I am patiently waiting!”

The enemies of the Bahá’í Cause, whose hopes had risen high when the Báb fell a victim to their fury, when Bahá’u’lláh, was driven from His native land and made a prisoner for life, and again at the passing of Bahá’u’lláh––these enemies once more took heart when they saw the physical weakness and weariness of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after His return from his Western travels. But again their hopes were doomed to disappointment. In a short time ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was able to write:––

“Unquestionably this physical body and human energy would have been unable to stand the constant wear and tear…but the aid and help of the Desired One were the Guardian and Protector of the weak and humble ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. … Some have asserted that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is on the eve of bidding his last farewell to the world, that his physical energies are depleted and drained and that ere long these complications will put an end to his life. This is far from the truth. Although in the outward estimation of the Covenant-breakers and defective-minded the body is weak on account of ordeals in the Blessed Path, yet, Praise be to God! Through the providence of the Blessed Perfection the spiritual forces are in the utmost rejuvenation and strength. Thanks be to God that now, through the blessing and benediction of Bahá’u’lláh, even the physical energies are fully restored, divine joy is obtained, the supreme glad-tidings are resplendent and ideal happiness overflowing.”––Star of the West, vol. v, No. 14, p. 213.

Both during the European War and after is close ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, amidst countless other activities, was able to pour forth a series of great and inspiring letters which, when communications were re-opened, roused believers throughout the world to new enthusiasm and zeal for service. Under the inspiration of these letters the Cause progressed by leaps and bounds and everywhere the Faith showed signs of new vitality and vigor.

War Time at Haifa

A remarkable instance of the foresight of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was supplied during the months immediately preceding the war. During peace times there was usually a large number of pilgrims at Haifa, from Írán and other regions of the globe. About six months before the outbreak of war one of the old Bahá’ís living at Haifa presented a request from several believers of Írán for permission to visit the Master. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá did not grant the permission, and from that time onwards gradually dismissed the pilgrims who were at Haifa, so that by the end of July, 1914 none remained. When, in the first days of August, the sudden outbreak of the Great War startled the world, the wisdom of His precaution became apparent.

When the war broke out, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who had already spent fifty-five years of his life in exile and prison, became again virtually a prisoner of the Turkish Government. Communication with friends and believers outside Syria was almost completely cut off, and He and His little band of followers were again subjected to straitened circumstances, scarcity of food and great personal danger and inconvenience.

During the war ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had a busy time in ministering to the material and spiritual wants of the people about Him. He personally organized extensive agricultural operations near Tiberias, thus securing a great supply of wheat, by means of which famine was averted, not only for the Bahá’ís but for hundreds of the poor of all religions in Haifa and ‘Akká, whose wants He liberally supplied. He took care of all, and mitigated their sufferings as far as possible. To hundreds of poor people He would give a small sum of money daily. In addition to money He gave bread. If there was no bread He would give dates or something else. He made frequent visits to ‘Akká to comfort and help the believers and poor people there. During the time of war He had daily meetings of the believers, and through His help the friends remained happy and tranquil throughout those troublous years.

Sir ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás, K.B.E.

Great was the rejoicing in Haifa when, on the 23^rd day of September, 1918, at 3 P.M., after some twenty-four hours’ fighting, the city was taken by British and Indian cavalry, and the horrors of war conditions under the Turkish rule came to an end.

From the beginning of the British occupation, large numbers of soldiers and Government officials of all ranks, even the highest, sought interviews with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, delighting in His illuminating talks, His breadth of view and depth of insight. His dignified courtesy and genial hospitality. So profoundly impressed were the Government representatives by His noble character and His great work in the interests of peace conciliation, and the true prosperity of the people, that a knighthood of the British Empire was conferred on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the ceremony taking plane in the garden of the Military Governor of Haifa on the 27^th day of April, 1920.

Last years

During the winter of 1919–20 the writer had the great privilege of spending two and a half months as the guest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at Haifa and intimately observing His daily life. At that time, although nearly seventy-six years of age, He was still remarkably vigorous, and accomplished daily an almost incredible amount of work. Although often very weary He showed wonderful powers of recuperation, and His service were always at the disposal of those who needed them most. His unfailing patience, gentleness, kindliness and tact made His presence like a benediction. It was His custom to spend a large part of each night in prayer and meditation. From early morning until evening, except for a short siesta after lunch, He was busily engaged in reading and answering letters from many lands and in attending to the multitudinous affairs of the household and of the Cause. In the afternoon He usually had a little relaxation in the form of a walk or a drive, but even then He was usually accompanied by one or two, or a party, of pilgrims with whom He would converse on spiritual matters, or He would find opportunity by the way of seeing and ministering to some of the poor. After His return he would call the friends to the usual evening meeting in His salon. Both at lunch and supper He used to entertain a number of pilgrims and friends, and charm His guests with happy and humorous stories as well as precious talks on a great variety of subjects. “My home is the home of laughter and mirth,” He declared, and indeed it was so. He delighted in gathering together people of various races, colors, nations and religions in unity and cordial friendship around His hospitable board. He was indeed a loving father not only to the little community at Haifa, but to the Bahá’í community throughout the world.

The Passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s manifold activities continued with little abatement despite increasing bodily weakness and weariness up till the last day or two of His life. On Friday, November 25, 1921, He attended the Monday prayer at the Mosque in Haifa, and afterwards distributed alms to the poor with His own hands, as was His wont. After lunch He dictated some letters. When He had rested He walked in the garden and had a talk with the gardener. In the evening He gave His blessing and counsel to a loved and faithful servant of a household who had been married that day, and afterwards He attended the usual meeting of the friends in His own salon. Less than three days later, about 1.30 A.M. on Monday, November 28^th. He passed away so peacefully that, to the two daughters watching by His bedside, it seemed as if He had gone quietly to sleep.

The sad news soon spread throughout the town and was flashed over the wires to all parts of the world. The next morning (Thursday, November 29^th) the funeral took place:

“a funeral the like of which Haifa, nay, Palestine itself, had surely never seen…: so deep was the feeling that brought so many thousands of mourners together, representative of so many religions, races and tongues. “The High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, the Governor of Jerusalem, the Governor of Phoenicia, the chief officials of the Government, the Consult of the various countries, residents of Haifa, the heads of the various religious communities, the notables of Palestine, Jews, Christian, Moslems, Druses, Egyptians, Greeks, Turks, Kurds, and a host of his American, European and native friends, men, women and children, both of high and low degree… all, about ten thousand in number, mourning the loss of their beloved one. …’O God, our God!’ the people wailed with one accord, ‘Our father has left us, our father has left us!’ … “They slowly wended their way up Mount Carmel, the vineyard of God. … After two hours’ walking, they reached the garden of the Tomb of the Báb. …As the vast concourse pressed around, representatives of the various denominations, Moslems, Christians and Jews, all hearts being ablaze with fervent love of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, some on the impulse of the moment, others prepared, raised their voices in eulogy and regret, paying their last homage of farewell to their loved one. So united were they in their acclamation of him, as the wise educator and reconciler of the human race in this perplexed and sorrowful age, that there seemed to be nothing left for the Bahá’ís to say.”––The Passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, by Lady Blomfield and Shoghi Effendi.

Nine speakers, all of them prominent representatives of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities, bore eloquent and moving witness to their love and admiration of the pure and noble life which had just drawn to its close. Then the casket was slowly passed to its simple and hallowed resting-place.

Surely here was a fitting tribute to the memory of one who had labored all His life for unity of religions, of races, of tongues––a tribute, and aso a proof, that His life-work had not been in vain, that the ideals of Bahá’u’lláh, which were His inspiration, nay, His very life, were already beginning to permeate the world and to break down the barriers of sect and caste that for centuries had alienated Muslim, Christian, Jew, and the other diverse factions into which the human family has been riven.

Writings and Addresses

The writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are very numerous and are mostly in the form of letters to believers and inquirers. A great many of His talks and addresses have also been recorded and many have been published. Of the thousands of pilgrims who have visited Him at ‘Akká and Haifa a large number have written descriptions of their impressions, and many of these records are now available in printed form.

His teachings are thus very completely preserved, and they cover a very wide range of subjects. With many of the problems of both East and West He dealt more fully than His Father had done, giving more detailed applications of the general principles laid down by Bahá’u’lláh. A number of His writings have not yet been translated into any Western language, but enough is already available to give deep and full knowledge of the more important principles of His teaching.

He spoke Íránian, Arabic and Turkish. In His Western tours His talks and addresses were always interpreted, obviously losing much of their beauty, eloquence and force in the process, yet such was the power of the Spirit which accompanied His words that all who heard Him were impressed.

Station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

The unique station assigned to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by the Blessed Perfection is indicated in the following Tablet written by the latter:––

“When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces towards Him whom God hath purposed, who hath branched from this Ancient Root.”

And again:––

“…Refer ye whatsoever ye understand not in the Book to Him who hath branched from this might Stock.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself wrote the following:––

“In accordance with the explicit text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Baha2’u’lláh hath made the Center of the Covenant the Interpreter of His Word–a Covenant so firm and might that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like.”

The very completeness of the servitude with which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá promulgated the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in East and West resulted at times in a confusion of belief concerning His station on the part of believers. Realizing the purity of the spirit animating His word and deed, surrounded by religious influences marking the breakdown of their traditional doctrines, a number of Bahá’ís felt that they honored ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by likening Him to a Manifestation, or hailing Him as the “return of Christ.” Nothing caused Him such intense grief as this failure to perceive that His capacity to serve Bahá’u’lláh proceeded from the purity of the mirror turned to the Sun of Truth, and not from the Sun itself.

Moreover, unlike previous Dispensations, the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh had within it the potency of a universal human society. During ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s mission covering the period 1892 to 1921, the Faith evolved through successive stages of development in the direction of a true world order. Its development required continuous direction and specific instruction from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who alone knew the fulness of that new potent inspiration brought to earth in this age. Until His own Will and Testament was revealed after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s departure from the revealed after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s departure from the flesh, and its significance was expounded by Shoghi Effendi, first Guardian of the Faith, the Bahá’ís almost inevitably attributed to their beloved Master’s guidance a degree of spiritual authority equaling that of the Manifestation.

The effects of such naïve enthusiasm are no longer felt within the Bahá’í community, but with a sounder realization of the mystery of that incomparable devotion and servitude, the Bahá’ís can today all the more consciously appreciate the unique character of the mission which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá fulfilled. The Faith which in 1892 seemed so weak and helpless in the physical exile and imprisonment of its Exemplar and Interpreter, has since, with irresistible power, raised up communities in some forty countries, and challenges the weakness of a decaying civilization with a body of teachings that alone reveal the future of a despairing humanity.

The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá itself set forth with complete clarity the mystery of the stations of the Báb and of Bahá’u’lláh, and His own mission:––

“This is the foundation of the belief of the people of Baha2 (may my life be offered up for them). ‘His Holiness, the Exalted One (the Báb), is the Manifestation of the Unity and Oneness of God and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty. His Holiness, the Abhá Beauty (may my life be a sacrifice for His steadfast friends), is the Supreme Manifestation of God and the Dayspring of His Most Divine Essence. All others are servants unto Him and do His bidding.’”

By this statement, and by numerous others in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá emphasized the importance of basing one’s knowledge of the Faith upon His general Tablets, a foundation for unity of belief was established, with the result that the differences of understanding caused by reference to His Tablets to individuals, in which the Master answered personal questions, rapidly disappeared. Above all, the establishment of a definite administrative order, with the Guardian at its head, transferred to institutions all authority previously wielded in the form of prestige and influence by individual Bahá’ís in the various local groups.

Exemplar of Bahá’í Life

Bahá’u’lláh was pre-eminently the Revealer of the Word. His forty years’ imprisonment gave him but limited opportunities of intercourse with His fellow-men. To ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, therefore, fell the important task of becoming the exponent of the Revelation, the Doer of the Word, the Great Exemplar of the Bahá’í life in actual contact with the world of today, in the most diverse phases of its myriad activities. He showed that it is still possible, amid the whirl and rush of modern life, amid the self-love and struggle for material prosperity that everywhere prevail, to live the life of entire devotion to God and to the service of one’s fellows, which Christ and Bahá’u’lláh and all the prophets have demanded of men. Through trial and vicissitudes, calumnies, and treachery on the one hand, and through love and praise, devotion and veneration on the other, He stood like a lighthouse founded on a\ rock, around which wintry tempests rage and the summer ocean plays, His poise and serenity remaining ever steadfast and unshaken. He lived the life of faith, and calls on His followers to live it here and now. He calls on His followers to live it here and now. He raised amid a warring world the Banner of Unity and Peace, the Standard of a New Era, and He assures those who rally to its support that they shall be inspired by the Spirit of the New Day. It is the same Holy Spirit which inspired the Prophets and Saints of old, but it is a new outpouring of that Spirit, suited to the needs of the new time.

CHAPTER V

WHAT IS A BAHÁ’Í?

“Man must show forth fruits. A fruitless man, in the words of His Holiness the Spirit (i.e. Christ), is like a fruitless tree and a fruitless tree is fit for fire.”––BAHÁ’U’LLÁH, in Words of Paradise.

Herbert Spencer once remarked that by no political alchemy is it possible to get golden conduct out or leaden instincts, and it is equally true that by no political alchemy is it possible to make a golden society out of a leaden individuals. Bahá’u’lláh, like all previous prophets, proclaimed this truth and taught that in order to establish the Kingdom of God in the world, it must first be established in the hearts of men. In examining the Bahá’í teachings, therefore, we shall commence with the instructions of Bahá’u’lláh for individual conduct, and try to form a clear picture of what it means to be a Bahá’í.

Living the Life

When asked on one occasion: “What is a Bahá’í?” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied: “To be a Bahá’í simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.” On another occasion He defined a Bahá’í as “one endowed with all the perfections of man in activity.” In one of His London talks He said that a man may be a Bahá’í even if He has never heard the name of Bahá’u’lláh. He added:––

“The man who lives the life according to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is already a Bahá’í. On the other hand, a man may call himself a Bahá’í for fifty years, and if he does not live the life he is not a Bahá’í. An ugly man may call himself handsome, but he deceives no one, and a black man may call himself white, yet he deceives no one, not even himself.” ––‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 109.

One who does not know God’s Messengers, however, is like a plant growing in the shade. Although it knows not the sun, it is, nevertheless, absolutely dependent on it. The great prophets are spiritual suns, and Bahá’u’lláh is the sun of this “day” in which we live. The suns of former days have warmed and vivified the world, and had those suns not shone, the earth would now be cold and dead, but it is the sunshine of today that alone can ripen the fruits which the suns of former days have kissed into life.

Devotion to God

In order to attain to the Bahá’í life in all its fulness, conscious and direct relations with Bahá’u’lláh are as necessary as is sunshine for the unfolding of the lily or the rose. The Bahá’í worships not the human personality of Bahá’u’lláh, but the Glory of God manifest through that personality. He reverences Christ and Muhammad and all God’s former Messengers to mankind, but he recognizes Bahá’u’lláh as the bearer of God’s Message for the new age in which we live, as the Great World-teacher who has come to carry on and consummate the work of his predecessors.

Intellectual assent to a creed does not make a man a Bahá’í, nor does outward rectitude of conduct. Bahá’u’lláh requires of His followers whole-hearted and complete devotion. God alone has the right to make such a demand, but Bahá’u’lláh speaks as the Manifestation of God, and the Revealer of His Will. Previous Manifestations have been equally clear on this point. Christ said: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” In different words, all the Divine Manifestations have made this same demand from their followers, and the history of religion shows clearly that as long as the demand has been frankly recognized and accepted, religion has flourished, despite all earthly opposition, despite affliction, persecution and martyrdom of the believers. On the other hand, whenever compromise has crept in, and “respectability” has taken the place of complete consecration, then religion has decayed. It has become fashionable, but it has lost its power to save and transform, its power to work miracles. True religion has never yet been fashionable. God grant that one day it may become so; but it is still true, as in the days of Christ, that “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be who find it.” The gateway of spiritual birth, like the gateway of natural birth, admits men only one by one, and without encumbrances. If, in the future, more people succeed in entering that way than in the past, it will not be because of any widening of the gate, but because of a greater disposition on the part of men to make the “great surrender” which God demands; because long and bitter experience has at last brought them to see the folly of choosing their own way instead of God’s way.

Search After Truth

Bahá’u’lláh enjoins justice on all His followers and defines it as:––

“The freedom of man from superstition and imitation, so that he may discern the Manifestations of God with the eye of Oneness, and consider all affairs with keen sight.” ––Words of Wisdom

It is necessary that each individual should see and realize for himself the Glory of God manifest in the human temple of Bahá’u’lláh, otherwise the Bahá’í faith would be for him but a name without meaning. The call of the prophets to mankind has always been that men should open their eyes, not shut them, use their reason, not suppress it. It is clear seeing and free thinking, not srvile credulity, that will enable them to penetrate the clouds of prejudice, to shake off the fetters of blind imitation, and attain to the realization of the truth of a new Revelation.

He who would be a Bahá’í needs to be a fearless seeker after truth, but he should not confine his search to the material plane. His spiritual perceptive powers should be awake as well as his physical. He should use all the faculties God has given him for the acquisition of truth, believing nothing without valid and sufficient reason. If his heart is pure, and his mind free from prejudice, the earnest seeker will not fail to recognize the Divine Glory in whatsoever temple it may become manifest. Bahá’u’lláh further declares:––

“Man should know his own self, and know those things that lead to loftiness or to baseness, to shame or to honor, to wealth or to poverty.” ––Tablet of Tarázát. “The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted bed His Glory! And this cannot be attained save through the knowledge of His divine Manifestations.”––Words of Wisdom.

The Manifestation is the Perfect Man, the great Exemplar for Mankind, the First Fruit of the tree of humanity. Until we know Him we do not know the latent possibilities with ourselves. Christ tell us to consider the lilies how they grow, and declares that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. The lily grows from a very unattractive-looking bulb. If we had never seen a lily in bloom, never gazed on its matchless grace of foliage and flower, how could we know the reality contained in that bulb? We might dissect it most carefully and examine it most minutely, but we should never discover the dormant beauty which the gardener knows how to awaken. So until we have seen the Glory of God revealed in the Manifestation, we can have no idea of the spiritual beauty latent in our own nature and in that of our fellows. By knowing and loving the Manifestation of God and following His teachings we are enabled, little by little to realize the potential perfections within ourselves; then, and not till then, does the meaning and purpose of life and of the universe become apparent to us.

Love of God

To know the Manifestation of God means also to love Him. One is impossible without the other. According to Bahá’u’lláh, the purpose of man’s creation is that he may know God and adore him. He says in one of His Tablets:––

“The cause of the creation of all contingent geings has been love, as it is said in the well-known tradition. ‘I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known. Therefore I created the creation in order to be known.’”

And in the Hidden Words He says:––

“O Son of Being! “Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant.” “O Son of the Wondrous Vision! “I have breathed within thee a breath of My own Spirit, that thou mayest be My lover. Why hast thou forsaken Me and sought a beloved other than Me?”

“To be God’s lover! That is the sole object of life for the Bahá’í. To have God as his closest companion and most intimate friend, his Peerless Beloved, in Whose Presence is fulness of joy! And to love God means to love everything and everybody, for all are of God. The real Bahá’í will be the perfect lover. He will love everyone with a pure heart, fervently. He will hate no one. He will despise no one, for he will have learned to see the Face of the Beloved in every face, and to find His traces everywhere. His love will know no limit of sect, nation, class or race. Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“In former ages it hath been said: ‘To love one’s native land is faith.’ But the Tongue of Grandeur hath said in the day of this Manifestation: ‘Glory is not his who loves his own country, but glory is his who loves his kind.’”––Tablet of the World.

And again:––

“Blessed is he who prefers his brother before himself; such an once is of the people of Bahá.”––World of Paradise.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us we must be “as one soul in many bodies, for the more we love each other, the nearer we shall be to God.” To an American audience He said:––

“Likewise the divine religions of the holy Manifestation of God are in reality one though in name and nomenclature they differ. Man must be a lover of the light no matter from what day-spring it may appear. He must be a lover of the rose no matter in what soil it may be growing. He must be a seeker of the truth no matter from what source it come. Attachment to the lantern is not loving the light. Attachment to the earth is not befitting but enjoyment of the rose which develops from the soul is worthy. Devotion to the tree is profitless but partaking of the fruit is beneficial. Luscious fruits no matter upon what tree they grow or where they may be found must be enjoyed. The word of truth no matter which tongue utters it must be sanctioned. Absolute verities no matter in what book they be recorded must be accepted. If we harbor prejudice it will be the cause of deprivation and ignorance. The strife between religions, nations and races arises from misunderstanding. If we investigate the religions to discover the principles underlying their foundations we will find they agree, for the fundamental reality of them is one and not multiple. By this means the religionists of the world will reach their point of unity and reconciliation.”

Again He says:––

“Every soul of the beloved ones must love the others and withhold not his possessions an dlife from them, and by all means he must endeavor to make the others joyous and happy. But these others must also be disinterested and self-sacrificing. Thus may this Sunrise flood the horizons, this Melody gladden and make happy all the people, this divine Remedy become the panacea for every disease, this Spirit of Truth become the cause of life for every soul.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. i, p. 147.

Severance

Devotion to God implies also severance from everything that is not of God, severance, that is, from all selfish and worldly, and even other-worldly, desires. The path of God may lie through riches or poverty, health or sickness, through palace or dungeon, rose-garden or torture-chamber. Whichever it be, the Bahá’í will learn to accept his lot with “radiant acquiescence.” Severance does not mean stolid indifference to one’s surroundings or passive resignation to evil conditions; nor does it mean despising the good things which God has created. The true Bahá’í will not be callous, nor apathetic nor ascetic. He will find abundant interest, abundance work and abundant joy in the Path of God, but he will nor deviate one hair’s breadth from that path in pursuit of pleasure nor hanker after anything that God has denied him. When a man becomes a Bahá’í, God’s Will becomes his will, for to be at variance with God is the one thing he cannot endure. In the Path of God no errors can appal, no troubles dismay him. The light of love irradiates his darkest days, transmutes suffering into joy, and martyrdom itself into an ecstasy of bliss. Life is lifted to the heroic plane and death becomes a glad adventure. Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“He that hath in his heart even less than a mustard seed of love for anything beside Me, verily he cannot enter My Kingdom.” –––Súratu’l-Haykal. “O Son of Man! “If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and if thou sleekest My pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me and I may eternally live in thee.” “O My Servant! “Free thyself from the fetters of this world, and loose thy Soul from the prison of self. Seize thy chance, for it will come to thee no more.”––Hidden Words.

Obedience

Devotion to God involves implicit obedience to His revealed Commands even when the reason for these Commands is not understood. The sailor implicitly obeys his captain’s orders, even when he does not know the reason for them, but his acceptance of authority is not blind. He knows full well that the captain has served a thorough probation, and given ample proofs of competence as a navigator. Were it not so, he should be foolish indeed if he has not first ascertained that this Captain has given ample proofs of trustworthiness. Having received such proofs, however, to refuse obedience would be even greater folly, for only by intelligent and open-eyed obedience to the wise master can we reap the benefits of his wisdom, and acquire this wisdom for ourselves. Be the captain never so wise, if none of the crew obey him how shall the ship reach its port or the sailors learn the art of navigation? Christ clearly pointed out that obedience is the path of knowledge. He said:––

“My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me. If any man will do His will, he shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”––St. John vii, 16-17.

So Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“Faith in God, and the knowledge of Him, cannot be fully attained except … by practicing all that He hath commanded and all that is revealed in the Book from the Pen of Glory.”––Tablet of Tajalliyát.

Implicit obedience is not a popular virtue in these democratic days, and indeed entire submission to the will of any mere man would be disastrous. But the Unity of Humanity can be attained only by complete harmony of each and all with the Divine Will. Unless that Will be clearly revealed, and men abandon all others leaders and obey the Divine Messenger, then conflict and strife will go on, and men will continue to oppose each other, to devote a large part of their energy to frustrating the efforts of their brother men, instead of working harmoniously together for the Glory of God and the common good.

Service

Devotion to God implies a life of service to our fellow-creatures. We can be of service to God in no other way. If we turn our backs on our fellow-men, we are turning our backs upon God. Christ said, “Inasmuch as ye did it not unto the least of these My brethren, ye did it not unto Me.” So Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“O son of man! If thou regarded Mercy, look not to that which benefits thyself; but hold to that which will benefit thy fellow-men. If thou regardest Justice, choose thou for others that which thou choosest for thyself.”––Words of Paradise

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“In the Bahá’í Cause arts, sciences and all crafts are counted as worship. The man who makes a piece of notepaper to the best of his ability, conscientiously, concentrating all his forces on perfecting it, is giving praise to God. Briefly, all effort and exertion put forth my man from the fulness of his heart is worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to humanity. This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer. A physician ministering to the sick, gently, tenderly, free from prejudice, and believing in the solidarity of the human race, is giving praise.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Teaching

The real Bahá’í will not only believe in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, but find in them the guide and inspiration of his whole life and joyfully impart to others the knowledge that is the well-spring of his own being. Only thus will he receive in full measure “the power and confirmation of the Spirit.” All cannot be eloquent speakers or ready writers, but all can teach by “living the life.” Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“The people of Bahá must serve the Lord with wisdom, teach others by their lives, and manifest the Light of God in their deeds. The effect of deeds is in truth more powerful than that of words. … The effect of the word spoken by the teacher depends upon his purity of purpose and his severance. Some are content with words, but the truth of words is tested by deeds and dependent upon life. Deeds reveal the station of the man. The words must be according to what has proceeded from the mouth of the Will of God and is recorded in Tablets.”––Words of Wisdom.

The Bahá’í will, however, on no account force his ideas on those who do not wish to hear them. He will attract people to the Kingdom of God, not try to drive them into it. He will be like the good shepherd who leads his flock, and charms the sheep by his music, rather than like the one who, from behind, urges them with dog and stick.

Bahá’u’lláh says in the Hidden Words:––

“O Son of Dust! “The wise are they that speak not unless they obtain a hearing, even as the cup-bearer, who proffereth not his cup till he findeth a seeker, and the lover who crieth not out from the depths of his heart until he gazeth upon the beauty of his beloved. Wherefore sow the seeds of wisdom and knowledge in the pure soil of the heart, and keep them hidden, till the hyacinths of divine wisdom spring from the heart and not from mire and clay.”

Again He says, in the Tablet of Ishráqát:––

“O people of Bahá! Ye are te dawning-places of the Love and daysprings of the Favor of God. Defile not your Love and daysprings of the Favor of God. Defile not your tongues with cursing or execrating anyone, and guard your eyes from that which is not worthy. Show forth that which ye possess (i.e. Truth). If it be accepted, the aim is attained. If not, to rebuke or interfere with him who rejects is vain. Leave him to himself, and advance towards God, the Protector, the Self-Subsistent. Be not the cause of sorrow, how much less of sedition and strife! It is of hoped that ye may be nurtured in the shade of the tree of Divine Bounty and act as God has willed for you. Ye are all leaves of one tree and drops of one sea.”

Courtesy and Reverence

Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“O people of God! I exhort you to courtesy. Courtesy is indeed … the lord of all virtues. Blessed is he who is adorned with the mantle of Uprightness and illumined with the light of Courtesy. He who is endowed with Courtesy (or Reverence) is endowed with a great station. It is hoped that this wronged One, and all, will attain to it, hold unto it and observe it. This is the Irrefutable Command which hath flowed from the pen of the Greatest Name.”––Tablet of the World.

Again and again He repeats:––

“Let all the nations of the world consort with each other with joy and fragrance. Consort ye, O people, with the people of all religions with joy and fragrance.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says in a letter to the Bahá’ís of America:––

“Beware! Beware! Lest ye offend any heart! Beware! Beware! Lest ye hurt any soul! Beware! Beware! Lest ye deal unkindly toward any person! Beware! Beware! Lest ye be the cause of hopelessness to any creature! “Should one become the cause of grief to any one heart, or of despondency to any one soul, it were better to hide oneself in the lowest depths of the earth than to walk upon the earth.”

He teaches that as the flower is hidden in the bud, so a spirit from God dwells in the heart of every man, no matter how hard and unlovely his exterior. The true Bahá’í will treat every man, therefore, as the gardener tends a rare and beautiful plant. He knows that no impatient interference on his parts can open the bud into a blossom; only God sunshine can do that, therefore his aim is to bring that life-giving sunshine into all darkened hearts and homes.

Again, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is one requiring man, under all conditions and circumstances, to be forgiving, to love his enemy and to consider an ill-wisher as a well-wisher. Not that one should consider another as an enemy and then put up with him . . . and be forbearing toward him. This is hypocrisy and not real love. Nay, rather, you must see your enemies as friends, your ill-wishers as well-wishers and treat them accordingly. Your love and kindness must be real … not merely forbearance, if not of the heart, is hypocrisy.”––Star of the West, vol. iv, p. 191.

Such counsel appears unintelligible and self-contradictory until we realize that while the outer carnal man may be a hater and ill-wisher, there is in everyone an inner, spiritual nature which is the real man, from whom only love and goodwill can proceed. It is to this real, inner man in each of our neighbors that we must direct our thought and love. When he awakens into activity, the outer man will be transformed and renewed.

The Sin-covering Eye

On no subject are the Bahá’í teachings more imperative and uncompromising than on the requirement to abstain from fault-finding. Christ spoke very strongly on the same subject, but it has now become usual to regard the Sermon on the Mount as embodying “Counsels of Perfection” which the ordinary Christian cannot be expected to live up to. Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are at great pains to make it clear that on this subject they mean all they say. We read in the Hidden Words:––

“O Son of Man! “Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner. Shouldst thou transgress this command, accursed wouldst thou be, and to this I bear witness.” “O Son of Being! “Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou dost not. This is My command unto thee, do thou observe it.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us:––

“To be silent concerning the faults of others, to pray for them, and to help them, through kindness, to correct their faults. “To look always at the good and not at the bad. If a man has ten good qualities and one bad one, to look at the ten and forget the one; and if a man has ten bad qualities and one good one, to look at the one and forget the ten. “Never to allow ourselves to speak one unkind word about another, even though that other be our enemy.”

To an American friend He writes:––

“The worst human quality and the most great sin is back-biting, more especially when it emanates from the tongues of the believers of God. If some means were devised so that the doors of back-biting could be shut eternally, and each one of the believers of God unsealed his lips in praise of others, then the teachings of His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh would be spread, the hearts illumined, the spirits glorified, and the human world would attain to everlasting felicity.”––Star of the West, vol. iv, p. 192.

Humility

While we are commanded to overlook the faults of others, and see their virtues, we are commanded, on the other hand, to find out our own faults and take no account of our virtues. Bahá’u’lláh says in the Hidden Words:––

“O Son of Being! “How couldst thou forget thine own faults and busy thyself with the faults of others? Whoso doeth this is accursed of Me.” “O Emigrants! “The tongue I have designed for the mention of Me, defile it not with detraction. If the fire of self overcome you, remember your own faults and not the faults of My creatures, inasmuch as everyone of you knoweth his own self better than he knoweth others.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says––

“Let your life be an emanation of the Kingdom of Christ. He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. … In the religion of Bahá’u’lláh all are servants and maid-servants, brothers and sisters. As soon as one feels a little better than, a little superior to, the rest, he is in a dangerous position, and unless he casts away the seed of such an evil thought, he is not a fit instrument for the service of the Kingdom.” “Dissatisfaction with oneself is a sign of progress. The soul who is satisfied with himself is the manifestation of Satan, and the one who is not contented with himself is the manifestation of the Merciful. If a person has a thousand good qualities he must not look at them; nay, rather he must strive to find out his own defects and imperfections. … However much a man may progress, yet he is imperfect, because there is always a point ahead of him. No sooner does he look up towards that point than he becomes dissatisfied with his own condition, and aspires to attain to that. Praising one’s own self is the sign of selfishness.”––Diary of Mírzá Ahmad Sohrab, 1914.

Although we are commanded to recognize and sincerely repent of our sins, the practice of confession to priests and others is definitely forbidden. Bahá’u’lláh says in the Glad Tidings:––

“The sinner, when his heart is free from all save God, must seek forgiveness from God alone. Confession before the servants (i.e. before men) is not permissible, for it is not the means or the cause of Divine Forgiveness. Such confession before the creatures leads to one’s humiliation and abasement, and God––exalted be His Glory-does not wish for the humiliation of His servants. Verily He is Compassionate and Beneficent. The sinner must, between himself and God, beg for mercy from the Sea of Mercy and implore pardon from the Heaven of Forgiveness.”

Truthfulness and Honesty

Bahá’u’lláh says in the Tablet of Tarzát:––

“Verily, Honesty is the door of tranquility to all in the world, and the sign of glory from the presence of the Merciful One. Whosoever attains thereto has attained to treasures of wealth and affluence. Honesty is the greatest door to the security and tranquility of mankind. The stability of every affair always depends on it, and the world of honor, glory and affluence are illumined by its light. … “O people of Bahá! Honesty is the best garment for your temples and the most splendid crown for your heads. Adhere thereto by the Command of the Omnipotent Commander.”

Again He says:––

“The principle of faith is to lessen words and to increase deeds. He whose words exceed his acts, know verily, that his non-being is better than his bring, his death better than his life.”––Words of Wisdom.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Truthfulness is the foundation of all the virtues of mankind. Without truthfulness, progress and success in all of the worlds are impossible for a soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the other divine qualities will also become realized.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. ii, p. 459. “Let the light of truth and honesty shine from your faces so that all may know that your word, in business or pleasure, is a word to trust and be sure of. Forget self and work for the whole” (message to the London Bahá’ís, October 1911).

Self-realization

Bahá’u’lláh constantly urges men to realize and give full expression to the perfections latent within them––the true inner self as distinguished from the limited outer self, which at best is but the temple, and too often is the prison of the real man. In the Hidden Words He says:––

“O Son of Being! “With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My light. Be thou content with it and seek naught else, for My work is perfect and My command is binding. Question it not, nor have a doubt thereof.” “O Son of Spirit! “I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why sleekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.” “O My Servant! “Thou are even as a finely tempered sword concealed in the darkness of its sheath and its value hidden from the artificer’s knowledge. Wherefore come forth from the sheath of self and desire that thy worth may be made resplendent and manifest unto all the world.” “O My Friend! “Thou art the day-star of the heavens of My holiness, let not the defilement of the world eclipse thy splendor. Rend asunder the veil of heedlessness, that from behind the clouds thou mayest emerge resplendent and array all things with the apparel of life.”

The life to which Bahá’u’lláh calls His followers is surely one of such nobility that in all the vast range of human possibility there is nothing more lofty or beautiful to which man could aspire. Realization of the spiritual self in ourselves means realization of the sublime truth that we are from God and to Him we shall return. This return to God is the glorious goal of the Bahá’í; but to attain this goal the only path is that of obedience to His chosen Messengers, and especially to His Messenger for the time in which we live, Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet of the New Era.

CHAPTER VI

PRAYER

“Prayer is a ladder by which everyone may ascend to Heaven.”––MUHAMMAD.

Conversation with God

“Prayer,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “is conversation with God.” In order that God may make known His Mind and Will to men, He must speak to them in a language which they can understand and this He does by the mouths of His Holy Prophets. While these Prophets are alive in the body they speak with men face to face and convey to them the Message of God, and after their death their message continues to reach men’s minds through their recorded sayings and writings. But this is not the only way in which God can speak with men. There is a “language of the Spirit,” which is independent of speech or writing, by which God can commune with and inspire those whose hearts are seeking after truth, wherever they are, and whatever their native race or tongue. By this language the Manifestation continues to hold converse with the faithful after His departure from the material world. Christ continued to converse with and inspire His disciples after His crucifixion. In fact He influenced them more powerfully than before; and with other prophets it has been the same. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks much of this spiritual language. He says, for instance:––

“We should speak in the language of heaven-in the language of the spirit–for there is a language of the spirit and heart. It is as different from our language as our own language is different from that of the animals, who express themselves only by cries and sounds. “It is the language of the spirit which speaks to God. When, in prayer, we are freed from all outward things and turn to God, then it is as if in our hearts we hear the voice of God. Without words we speak, we communicate, we converse with God and hear the answer. … All of us, when we attain to a truly spiritual condition, can hear the Voice of God” (from a talk reported by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg).

Bahá’u’lláh declares that the higher spiritual truths can be communicated only by means of this spiritual language. The spoken or written word is quite inadequate. In a little book called The Seven Valley, in which He describes the journey of travellers from the earthly dwelling to the Divine Home, He says, in speaking of the more advanced stages of the journey:––

“The tongue is unable to give an account of these, and utterance falls exceedingly short. The pen is useless in this court, and the ink gives no result but blackness. … Heart alone can communicate to heart the state of the know; this is not the work of a messenger, nor can it be contained in letters.”

The Devotional Attitude

In order that we may attain the spiritual condition in which conversation with God becomes possible, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“We must strive to attain to that condition by being separated from all things from the people of the world and by turning to God alone. It will take some effort on the part of man to attain to that condition, but he must work for it, strive for it. We can attain to it by thinking and caring less for material things and more for the spiritual. The further we go from the one, the nearer we are to the other. The choice is ours. “Our spiritual perception, our inward sight must be opened, so that we can see the signs and traces of God’s spirit in everything. Everything can reflect to us the light of the Spirit” (from a talk reported by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg).

Bahá’u’lláh has written:–– “That seeker … at the dawn of every day…should commune with God, and, with all his soul, persevere in the quest of his Beloved. He should consume every wayward thought with the flame of His loving mention. …”––Gleanings, p. 265.

In the same way, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá declares:––

“When man allows the spirit, through his soul, to enlighten his understanding, then does he contain all creation. … But on the other hand, when man does not open his mind and heart to the blessing of the spirit, but turns his soul towards the material side, towards the bodily part of his nature, then is he fallen from his high place and he becomes inferior to the inhabitants of the lower animal kingdom.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Again, Bahá’u’lláh writes:––

“Deliver your souls, O people, from the bondage of self, and purify them from attachment to anything besides Me. Remembrance of Me cleanseth all things from defilement, could ye but perceive it. …Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, 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. …”––Gleanings, pp. 294-295.

Necessity for a Mediator

According to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:––

“A mediator is necessary between man and the Creator––one who receives the full light of the Divine Splendor and radiates it over the human world, as the earth’s atmosphere receives and diffuses the warmth of the sun’s rays.”––Divine Philosophy, p. 8. “If we wish to pray, we must have some object on which to concentrate. If we turn to God, we must direct our hearts to a certain center. If man worships God otherwise than through His Manifestation, he must first form a conception of God, and that conception is created by his own mind. As the finite cannot comprehend the Infinite, so God is not to be comprehended in this fashion. That which man conceives with his own mind he comprehends. That which he can comprehend is not God. That conception of God which a man forms for himself is but a phantasm, an image, an imagination, an allusion. There is no connection between such a conception and the Supreme Being. “If a man wishes to know God, he must find Him in the perfect mirror, Christ or Bahá’u’lláh. In either of these mirrors he will se reflected the Sun of Divinity. “As we know the physical sun by its splendor, by its light and heat, so we know God, the Spiritual Sun, when He shines forth from the temple of Manifestation, by His attributes of perfection, by the beauty of His qualities and by the splendor of His light” (from a talk to Mr. Percy Woodcock, at ‘Akká, 1909).

Again He says:

“Unless the Holy Spirit become intermediary, one cannot attain directly to the bounties of God. Do not overlook the obvious truth, for it is self-evident that a child cannot be instructed without a teacher, and knowledge is one of the bounties of God. The soil is not covered with grass and vegetation without the rain of the cloud; therefore the cloud is the intermediary between the divine bounties and the soil. … The light hath a center and if one desire to seek it otherwise than from the center, one can never attain to it. …Turn thine attention to the days of Christ; some people imagined that without the Messianic outpourings it was possible to attain to truth, but this very imagination became the cause of their deprivation.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. iii, pp. 591-592.

A man who tries to worship God without turning to His Manifestation is like a man in a dungeon trying through his imagination to revel in the glories of the sunshine.

Prayer Indispensable and Obligatory

The use of prayer is enjoined upon Bahá’ís in no uncertain terms. Bahá’u’lláh says in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas:–– “Chant (or recite) the Words of God every morning and evening. The one who neglects this has not been faithful to the Covenant of God and His agreement, and he who turns away from it today is of those who have turned away from God. Fear God, O my people! Let not too much reading (of the Sacred Word) and actions by day or night make you proud. To chant but one verse with joy and gladness is better for you than reading all the Revelations of the Omnipotent God with carelessness. Chant the Tablets of God in such measure that ye be not overtaken with fatigue and depression. Burden not the soul so as to cause exhaustion and languor, but rather refresh it that thus it may soar on the wings of Revelation to the Dawning-place of proofs. This brings you nearer to God, were ye of those who understand.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says to a correspondent:–– “O thou spiritual friend! Know thou that prayer is indispensable and obligatory, and man under no pretext whatever is excused therefrom unless he be mentally unsound or an insurmountable obstacle prevent him.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. iii, p. 683.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied:––

“Know thou, verily, it is becoming in a weak one to supplicate to the Strong One, and it behooveth a seeker of bounty to beseech the Glorious Bountiful One. When one supplicates to his Lord, turns to Him and seeks bounty from His Ocean, this supplication brings light to his heart, illumination to his sight, life to his soul and exaltation to his being. “During thy supplications to God and thy reciting, ‘Thy Name is my healing,’ consider how thine heart is cheered, thy soul delighted by the spirit of the love of God, and thy mind attracted to the Kingdom of God! By these attractions one’s ability and capacity increase. When the vessel is enlarged the water increases, and when the thirst grows the bounty of the cloud becomes agreeable to the tastes of man. This is the mystery of supplication and the wisdom of stating one’s wants” (from a tablet to an American believer, translated by ‘Ali Kuli Khán, October 1908).

Prayer the Language of Love

To another who asked whether prayer was necessary, since presumably God knows the wishes of all hearts, he replied:––

“If one friend feels love for another he will wish to say so. Though he knows that the friend is aware that he say so. Though he knows that the friend is aware that he loves him, he will still wish to say so. … God knows the wishes of all hearts, but the impulse to pray is a natural one, springing from man’s love to God. … “Prayer need not be in words but in thought and attitude. If this love and desire are lacking, it is useless to try and force them. Words without love mean nothing. If a person talks to you as an unpleasant duty, with no love or pleasure in his meeting with you, do you wish to converse with him?” (article in Fortnightly Review, June 1911, by Miss E.S. Stevens).

In another talk He said:––

“In the highest prayer, men pray only for the love of God, not because they fear Him or hell, or hope for bounty or heaven. …When a man falls in love with a human being, it is impossible for him to keep from mentioning the name of his beloved. How much more difficult is it to keep from mentioning the Name of God when one has come to love Him. … The spiritual man finds no delight in anything save in commemoration of God” (from notes of Miss Alma Robertson and other pilgrims, November and December 1900).

Congregational Prayer

Regarding the value of United or Congregational Prayer, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke as follows:––

“Man may say: ‘I can pray to God whenever I wish, when the feelings of my heart are drawn to God; when I am in the wilderness, when I am in the city, or wherever I may be. Why should I go where others are gathered upon a special day, at a certain hour, to unite my prayers with theirs, when I may not be in a frame of mind for praying?’ “To think in this way is useless imagination, for where many are gathered together their force is greater. Separate soldiers fighting alone and individually have not the force of a united army. If all the soldiers in this spiritual war gather together, then their united spiritual feelings help each other, and their prayers become acceptable” (from notes taken by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg).

While ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in these words emphasized the necessity of gatherings in which prayer is offered, and where spirit is strengthened by united turning to God, He did not teach that Bahá’í prayer is a form of obligatory congregational prayer. The obligatory prayers revealed by Bahá’u’lláh are for the individual. The reciting of any prayer congregationally is not a Bahá’í teaching, except in the case of a prayer revealed for use at funeral services.

Deliverance from Calamities

According to the teaching of the prophets, disease and all other forms of calamity are due to disobedience to the Divine Commands. Even disasters due to floods, hurricanes and earthquakes are attributed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá indirectly to this cause. The suffering that follows error is not vindictive, however, but educative and remedial. It is God’s Voice proclaiming to man that he has strayed from the right path. If the suffering is terrible, it is only because the danger of wrongdoing is more terrible, for “the wages of sin is death.” Just as calamity is due to disobedience, so deliverance from calamity can be obtained only by obedience. There is no chance or uncertainty about the matter. Turning from God inevitably bings blessing. As the whole of humanity is one organism, however, the welfare of each individual depends not only on his own behavior, but on that of his neighbors. If one does wrong, all suffer in greater or less degree; while if one does well, all benefit. Each has to bear his neighbor’s burdens, to some extent, and the best of mankind are those who bear the biggest burdens. The saints have always suffered abundantly; the prophets have suffered superlatively. Bahá’u’lláh says in the Book of Íqán:––

“You must undoubtedly have been informed of the tribulations, the poverty, the ills, and the degradation that have befallen every Prophet of God and His companions. You must have heard how the heads of their followers were sent as presents unto different cities.”

This is not because the saints and prophets have merited punishment above other men. Nay, they often suffer for the sins of others, and choose to suffer, for the sake of others. Their concern is for the world’s welfare, not for their own. The prayer of the true lover of humanity is not that he, as an individual, may escape poverty, ill-health or disaster, but that mankind may be saved from ignorance and error and the ills that inevitably flow from them. If he wishes health or wealth for himself, it is in order that he may serve the Kingdom, and if physical health and wealth are denied him, he accepts his lot with “radiant acquiescence,” well knowing that there is a right wisdom in whatever befalls him in the Path of God.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Grief and sorrow do not come to us by chance; they are sent by the Divine Mercy for our perfecting. When grief and sorrow come, then will a man remember his Father who is in Heaven, who is able to deliver him from his humiliations. The more a man is chastened, the greater is the harvest of spiritual virtues shown forth by him”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 45.

At first sight it may seem very unjust that the innocent should suffer for the guilty, but ‘Abdu’l-Bahá assures us that the injustice is only apparent and that, in the long run, perfect justice prevails. He writes:––

“As to the subject of babes and children and weak ones who are afflicted by the hands of the oppressors … for those souls there is a recompense in another word … that suffering is the greatest mercy of God. Verily that mercy of the Lord is far better than all the comfort of this world and the growth and development appertaining to this place of mortality.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. ii, p. 337.

Prayer and Natural Law

Many find a difficulty in believing in the efficacy of prayer because they think that answers to prayer would involve arbitrary interference with the laws of nature. An analogy may help to remove this difficulty. If a magnet be held over some iron filings the latter will fly upwards and cling to it, but this involves no interference with the law of gravitation. The force of gravity continues to act on the filings just as before. What has happened is that a superior force has been brought into play––another force whose action is just as regular and calculable as that of gravity. The Bahá’í view is that prayer brings into action higher forces, as yet comparatively little known; but there seems no reason to believe that these forces are more arbitrary in their action than the physical forces. The difference is that they have not yet been fully studied and experimentally investigated, and their action appears mysterious an incalculable because of our ignorance. Another difficulty which some find perplexing is that prayer seems too feeble a force to produce the great results often claimed for it. Analogy may serve to clear up this difficulty also. A small force, when applied to the sluice-grate of a reservoir, may release and regulate an enormous flow of water-power, or, when applied to the steering-gear of an ocean liner, may control to the course of the huge vessel. In the Bahá’í view, the power that brings about answers to prayer is the inexhaustible Power of God. The part of the suppliant is only to exert the feeble force necessary to release the flow or determine the course of the Divine Bounty, which is ever ready to serve those who have learned how to draw upon it.

Prayer and Natural Law

Many find a difficulty in believing in the efficacy of prayer because hey think that answers to prayer would involve arbitrary interference with the laws of nature. An analogy interference with the laws of nature. An analogy may help to remove this difficulty. If a magnet be held over some iron filings the latter will fly upwards and cling to it, but this involves no interference with the law of gravitation. The force of gravity continues to act on the filings just as before. What has happened is that a superior force has been brought into play––another force whose action is just as regular and calculable as that of gravity. The Bahá’í view is that prayer brings into action higher forces, as yet comparatively little known; but there seems no reason to believe that these forces are more arbitrary in their action than these forces are more arbitrary in their action than the physical forces. The difference is that they have not yet been fully studied and experimentally investigated, and their action appears mysterious and incalculable because of our ignorance. Another difficulty which some find perplexing is that prayer seems too feeble a force to produce the great results often claimed for it. Analogy may serve to clear up this difficulty also. A small force, when applied to the sluice-gate of a reservoir, may release and regulate an enormous flow of water-power, or, when applied to the steering-gear of an ocean liner, may control the course of the huge vessel. In the Bahá’í view, the power that brings about answers to prayer is the inexhaustible Power of God. The part of the suppliant is only to exert the feeble force necessary to release the flow or determine the course of the Divine Bounty, which is ever ready to serve those who have learned how to draw upon it.

Bahá’í Prayers

Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have revealed innumerable prayers for the use of their followers at various times and for various purposes. The greatness of conception and depth of spirituality revealed in these utterances must impress every thoughtful student, but only by making their use a regular and important part of one’s daily life can their significance be fully appreciated and their power for good realized. Unfortunately, considerations of space prevent our giving more than a very few short specimens of these prayers. For further examples the reader must be referred to other works.

“O my God! Make Thy Beauty to be my food and let Thy Presence be my drink. Let my trust be in Thy Will, and my deeds according to Thy Command. Let my service be acceptable to Thee, and my action a praise to Thee. Let my help come only from Thee, and ordain my home to be Thy holy Mansion. Thou art the Precious, the Ever-Present, the Loving.”––Bahá’u’lláh. “I bear witness, O Lord, my God! That Thou hast created me to know Thee and to adore Thee. I testify at this moment to my feebleness and to Thy Might, to my poverty and to Thy Wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting!”––Bahá’u’lláh. “O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants, and reveal to them Thy great Purpose. May they follow Thy Commandments and abide in Thy Law. Help them, O God, in their endeavor, and grant them strength to serve Thee. O God! Leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by the of Knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy Love, Verily, Thou art their Helper and their Lord!”––Bahá’u’lláh “O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock. Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household. In Thy Holy Presence they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence. “O God! Thou art kind to all, Thou hast provided for all, dost shelter all, conferrest life upon all, Thou hast endowed each and all with talents and faculties, and all are submerged in the Ocean of Thy Mercy. “O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home. May they all live together in perfect harmony. “O God! Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind. “O God! Establish the Most Great Peace. “Cement Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy Love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence. “Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving and Thou art the One who overlookest the shortcomings of all mankind!”––‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ “O Thou Almighty! I am a sinner, but Thou art the Forgiver! I am full of shortcomings, but Thou art the Compassionate! I am in the darkness of error, but Thou art the Light of Pardon! “Therefore, O Thou Benevolent God, forgive my sins, grant thy Bestowals, overlook my faults, provide for me a shelter, immerse me in the Fountain of Thy Patience and heal me of all sickness and disease. “Purify and sanctify me. Give me a portion from the outpouring of holiness, so that sorrow and sadness may vanish, joy and happiness descend, despondency and hopelessness be changed into cheerfulness and trustfulness, and courage take the place of fear. “Verily Thou art the Forgiver, the Compassionate, and Thou art the Generous, the Beloved!”––‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ “O Thou Compassionate God! Bestow upon me a heart which like a mirror may be illumined with the Light of Thy Love; and inspire me with thoughts which may change the world into a rose garden, through the Spiritual Bounty.” “Thou art the Compassionate, and Thou art the Generous, the Beloved!”––‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Bahá’í prayer is not, however, confined to the use of prescribed forms, important as those are. Bahá’u’lláh teaches that one’s whole life should be a prayer, that work done in the right spirit is worship, that every thought, word and deed devoted to the Glory of God and the good of one’s fellows is prayer, in the truest sense of the word.¹

¹On the subject of Intercessory Prayer, see Chapter XL

CHAPTER VII

HEALTH AND HEALING

“Turning the face towards God brings healing to the body, the mind and the soul.” ––‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Body and Soul

According to the Bahá’í teaching the human body serves a temporary purpose in the development of the soul, and, when that purpose has been served, is laid aside; just as the egg-shell serves a temporary purpose in the development of the chick, and, when that purpose has been served, is broken and discarded. ‘Abdu’l-Baha says that the physical body is incapable of immortality, for it is a composite thing, built up of atoms and molecules, and, like all things that are composed, must, in time, become decomposed. The body should be the servant of the soul, never its master, but it should be a willing obedient and efficient servant, and should be treated with the consideration which a good servant deserves. If it is not properly treated, disease and disaster result, with injurious consequences to master as well as servant.

Oneness of All Life

The essential oneness of all the myriad forms and grades of life is one of the fundamental teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. Our physical health is so linked up with our mental, moral and spiritual health, and also with the individual and social health of our fellowmen, nay, even with the life of the animals and plants, that each of these is affected by the others to a far greater extent than is usually realized. There is no command of the prophet, therefore, to whatever department of life it may primarily refer, which does not concern bodily health. Certain of the teachings, however, have a more direct bearing on physical health than others, and these we may now proceed to examine.

Simple Life

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Economy is the foundation of human prosperity. The spendthrift is always in trouble. Prodigality on the part of any person is an unpardonable sin. We must never live on others like a parasite plant. Every person must have a profession whether it be literary or mammal, and must live a clean, manly, honest life, an example of purity to be imitated by others. It is more kingly to be satisfied with a crust of stale bread than to enjoy a sumptuous dinner of many courses, the money for which comes out of the pockets of others. The mind of a contented person is always peaceful and his heart at rest.”––Bahá’í Scriptures, p. 453.

Animal food is not forbidden, but ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“The food of the future will be fruit and grains. The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten. Medical science is only in its infancy, yet it has shown that our natural food is that which grows out of the ground.”––Ten Days in the Light of ‘Akká, by Julia M. Grundy.

Alcohol

The use of intoxicants, except as remedies in case of illness, is strictly forbidden by Bahá’u’lláh.

Enjoyments

The Bahá’í teaching is based on moderation, not on asceticism. Enjoyment of the good and beautiful things of life, both material and spiritual, is not only encouraged but enjoined. Bahá’u’lláh says: “Deprive not yourselves of that which has been created for you.” Again He says: “It is incumbent upon you that exultation and glad tidings be manifest in your faces.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“All that has been created is for man, who is at the apex of creation, and he must be thankful for the divine bestowals. All material things are for us, so that through our gratitude we may learn to understand life as a divine benefit. It we are disgusted with life we are ingrates, for our material and spiritual existence are the outward evidences of the divine mercy. Therefore we must be happy and spend our time in praises, appreciating all things.”––Divine Philosophy, p. 104.

Asked whether the Bahá’í prohibition of gambling and lotteries applies to games of every description, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied:––

“No, some games are innocent and if pursued for pastime cause no harm; but there is danger that pastime may degenerate into waste of time. Waste of time is not acceptable in the Cause of God, but recreation which may improve the bodily powers, as exercise, is desirable.”––A Heavenly Vista, p. 9.

Cleanliness

Bahá’u’lláh says, in the Book of Aqdas:–– “Be the essence of cleanliness among mankind … under all circumstances conform yourselves to refined manners … let no trace of uncleanliness appear on your clothes. … Immerse yourselves in pure water; a water which hath been used is not allowable. …Verily We have desired to see in you the manifestations of Paradise on earth, so that there may be diffused from you that wherat the hearts of the favored ones shall rejoice.”

Mirzá Abu’l-Fadl, in his book, Bahá’í Proofs (p. 89), points out the extreme importance of these commands, more especially in some parts of the East, where water of the foulest description is often used for household purposes, for bathing and even for drinking, and horribly insanitary conditions abound, causing a vast amount of preventable disease and misery. These conditions, often supposed to be sanctioned by the prevailing religion, can be changed, among Orientals, only by the commandment of one who is believed to have Divine authority. In many parts of the Western hemisphere, too, a wonderful transformation would result were cleanliness accepted not only as next to godliness, but as an essential part of godliness.

Effect of Obedience to Prophetic Commands

The bearing on health of these commands relating to the simple life, hygiene, abstinence from alcohol and opium, etc., is too obvious to call for much comment, although their vital importance is apt to be greatly underestimated. Were they to be generally observed, most of the infectious diseases and a good many others would soon vanish from among men. The amount of illness caused by neglect of simple hygienic precautions and by indulgence in alcohol hygienic precautions and by indulgence in alcohol and opium is prodigious. Moreover, obedience to these commands would not only affect health, but these commands would not only affect health, but these commands would not only affect health, but these commands would not only affect health, but would have an enormous effect for good on character and conduct. Alcohol and opium affect a man’s conscience long before they affect his gait or cause obvious bodily disease, so that the moral and spiritual gain from abstinence would be even greater than the physical. With regard to cleanliness, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“External cleanliness, although it is but a physical thing, has great influence upon spirituality. … The fact of having a pure and spotless body exercises and influence upon the spirit of man.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. iii, p. 585.

Were the commands of the prophets concerning chastity in sexual relations generally observed, another fertile cause of disease would be eliminated. The loathsome venereal diseases, which wreck the health of so many thousands today, innocent as well as guilty, babes as well as parents, would very soon be entirely a thing of the past. Were the commands of the prophets concerning justice, mutual aid, loving one’s neighbor as oneself, carried out, how could overcrowding, sweated labor and sordid poverty on the one hand, together with self-indulgence, idleness and sordid luxury on the other, continue to work mental, moral and physical ruin? Simple obedience to the hygienic and moral commands of Moses, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad or Bahá’u’lláh would do more in the way of preventing disease than all the doctors and all the public health regulations in the world have been able to accomplish. In fact, it seems certain that were such obedience general, good health would also become general. Instead of lives being blighted by disease or cut off in infancy, youth or prime, as so frequently happens now, men would live to a ripe old age, like sound fruits that mature and mellow ere they drop from the bough.

The Prophet as Physician

We live in a world, however, where from time immemorial obedience to the commands of the prophets has been exception rather than the rule; where love of self has been a more prevalent motive than love of God; where limited and party interests have taken precedence of the interests of humanity as a whole; where material possessions and sensual pleasures have been preferred to the social and spiritual welfare of mankind. Hence have arisen fierce competition and conflict, oppression and tyranny, extremes of wealth and poverty––all those conditions which breed disease, mental and physical As a consequence, the whole tree of humanity is sick, and sequence, the whole tree of humanity is sick, and every leaf on the tree shares in the general sickness. Even the purest and holiest have to suffer for the sins of others. Healing is needed––healing of humanity as a whole, of nations and of individuals. So, Bahá’u’lláh, like His inspired predecessors, not only shows how health is to be maintained, but also how it may be recovered when lost. He comes as the Great Physician, the Healer of the world’s sicknesses, both of body and of mind.

Healing by Material Means

In the Western world of today there is evident a remarkable revival of belief in the efficacy of healing by mental and spiritual means. Indeed many, in their revolt against the materialistic ideas about disease and its treatment which prevailed in the nineteenth century, have gone to the opposite extreme of denying that material remedies or hygienic methods have any value whatever. Bahá’u’lláh recognizes the value of both material and spiritual remedies. He teaches that the science and art of healing must be developed, encouraged and perfected, so that all means of healing may be used to the best advantage, each in its appropriate sphere. When members of Bahá’u’lláh’s own family were sick, a professional physician was called in, and this practice is recommended to his followers. He says: “Should ye be attacked by illness or disease, consult skillful physicians” (Book of Aqdas). This is quite in accordance with the Bahá’í attitude towards science and art generally. All sciences and arts which are for the benefit of mankind, even in a material way, are to be esteemed and promoted. Through science man becomes the master of material things; through ignorance he remains their slave.

Bahá’u’lláh writes:–– “Do not neglect medical treatment when it is necessary, but leave it off when health has been restored. Treat disease through diet, by preference, refraining from the use of drugs; and if you find what is required in a single herb, do not resort to a compounded medicament. …Abstain from drugs when the health is good, but administer them when necessary” (Tablet to a physician).

In one of his Tablets ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“O seeker after truth! There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means. The first way is through the use of material remedies. The second way is through the use of material remedies. The second consists in praying to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be used and practiced. … Moreover, they are not incompatible, and you should accept the physical remedies as coming from the mercy and favor of God who has revealed and made manifest medical knowledge, so that His servants may profit by this kind of treatment also.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. iii, p. 587

He teaches that, were our natural tastes and instincts not vitiated by foolish and unnatural modes of living, they would become reliable guides in the choice both of appropriate diet and of medicinal fruits, herbs and other remedies, as is the case with wild animals. In an interesting talk on healing, recorded in Some Answered Questions (p. 296), He says in conclusion:––

“It is therefore evident that it is possible to cure by foods, aliments, and fruits; but as today the science of medicine is imperfect, this fact is not yet fully grasped. When the science of medicine reaches perfection, treatment will be given by foods, aliments, fragrant fruits and vegetables, and by various waters, hot and cold in temperature.”

Even when the means of healing are material, the power that heals is really Divine, for the attributes of the herb or mineral are from the Divine Bestowals. “All depends upon God, Medicine is merely an outward form of means by which we obtain heavenly healing.”

Healing by Non-material Means

He teaches that there are also many methods of healing without material means. There is a “contagion of health,” as well as a contagion of disease, although the former is very slow and has a small effect, while the latter is often violent and rapid in its action. Much more powerful effects result from the patient’s own mental states, and “suggestion” may play an important part in determining these states. Fear, anger, worry, etc., are very prejudicial to health, while hope, love, joy, etc., are correspondingly beneficial. Thus Bahá’u’lláh says:–– “Verily the most necessary thing is contentment under all circumstances; by this one is preserved from morbid conditions and from lassitude. Yield not to grief and sorrow: they cause the greatest misery. Jealousy consumeth the body and anger doth burn the liver: avoid these two as you would a lion” (Tablet to a physician).

And ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Joy gives us wings. In times of joy our strength is more vital, our intellect keener. …But when sadness visits us our strength leaves us.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 100.

Of another form of mental healing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes that it results:––

“from the entire concentration of the mind of a strong person upon a sick person, when the later expects with all his concentrated faith that a cure will be effected from the spiritual power of the strong person, to such an extent that there will be a cordial connection between the strong person an the invalid. The strong person makes every effort to cure the sick patient and the sick person is confident of receiving a cure. From the effect of these mental impressions an excitement of the nerves is produced, and this impression and this excitement of the nerves will become the cause of recovery of the sick person.”––Some Answered Questions.

All these methods of healing, however, are limited in their effects, and may fail to effect a cure in severe maladies.

The Power of the Holy Spirit

The most potent means of healing is the Power of the Holy Spirit.

“This does not depend on contact, nor on sight, nor upon presence. … Whether the disease be light or severe, whether there be a contact of bodies or not, whether a personal connection be established between the sick person and the healer or not, this healing takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit.”––Some Answered Questions.

In a talk with Miss Ethel Rosenberg, in October 1904, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:––

“The healing that is by the power of the Holy Spirit needs no special concentration of contact. It is through the wish or desire and the prayer of the holy person. The one who is sick may be in the East and the healer in the West, and they may not have been acquainted with each other, but as soon as that holy person turns his heart to God and begins to pray, the sick one is healed. This is a gift belonging to the Holy Manifestations and those who are in the highest station.”

Of this nature, apparently, were the works of healing performed by Christ and His apostles, and similar works of healing have been attributed to holy men in all ages. Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá were gifted with this power, and similar powers are promised to their faithful followers.

Attitude of the Patient

In order that the power of spiritual healing may be brought fully into operation certain requirements are necessary on the part of the patient, of the healer, of the patient’s friends and of the community at large. On the part of the patient the prime requisite is turning with all the heart to God, with implicit trust both in His Power and in His Will to do whatever is best. To an American lady, in August 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:––

“All of these ailments will pass away and you will receive perfect physical and spiritual health. … Let your heart be confident and assured that through the Bounty of Bahá’u’lláh, through the Favor of Bahá’u’lláh, everything will become pleasant for you. … But you must turn yourface wholly towards the Abhá (All-Glorious) Kingdom, giving perfect attention––the same attention that Mary Magdalene gave to His Holiness Christ––and I assure you that you will get physical health and spiritual health. You are worthy. I give you the glad tidings that you are worthy because your heart is pure. … Be confident! Be happy! Be rejoiced! Be hopeful! …”

Although in this particular case ‘Abdu’l-Bahá guaranteed the attainment of sound physical health, He does not do so in every case, even where there is strong faith on the part of the individual. To a pilgrim at ‘Akká He said:––

“The prayers which were written for the purpose of healing are both for the spiritual and material healing. If healing is best for the patient, surely it will be granted. For some who are sick, healing would only be the cause of other ills. Thus it is that Wisdom does not decree the answer to some prayers. “O handmaid of God! The Power of the Holy Spirit heals both material and spiritual ills.”––Daily Lessons Received at ‘Akká, p. 95.

Again He writes to one who is ill:–– “Verily the Will of God acts sometimes in a way for which mankind is unable to find out the reason. The causes and reasons shall appear. Trust in God and confide in Him, and resign thyself to the Will of God. Verily thy God is affectionate, compassionate and merciful … and will cause His Mercy to descend upon thee.”––Star of the West, vol. viii, p. 232.

He teaches that spiritual health is conducive to physical health, but physical health depends upon many factors, some of which are outside the control of the individual. Even the most exemplary spiritual attitude on the part of the individual, therefore, may not ensure physical health in every case. The holiest men and women sometimes suffer illness. Nevertheless, the beneficent influence on bodily health which results from a right spiritual attitude is far more potent than is generally imagined, and is sufficient to banish ill-health in a large proportion of cases. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to an English lady;–– “You have written about the weakness of your body. I ask from the Bounties of Bahá’u’lláh that your spirit may become strong, that through the strength of your spirit your body also may be healed.”

Again He says:––

“God hath bestowed upon man such wonderful powers, that he might ever look upward, and receive, among other gifts, healing from His divine Bounty. But alas! Man is not grateful for this supreme good, but sleeps the sleep of negligence, being careless of the great mercy which God has shown towards him, turning his face away from the Light and going on his way in darkness.” ––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 16.

The Healer

The power of spiritual healing is doubtless common to all mankind in greater or less degree, but, just as some men are endowed with exceptional talent for mathematics or music, so others appear to be endowed with exceptional aptitude for healing. These are the people who ought to make the healing art their life-work. Unfortunately, so materialistic has the world become in recent centuries that the very possibility of spiritual healing has to a large extent been lost sight of. Like all other talents the gift of healing has to be recognized, trained and educated in order that it may attain its highest development and power, and there are probably thousands in the world today, richly dowered with natural aptitude for healing, in whom this precious gift is lying dormant and inactive. When the potentialities of mental and spiritual treatment are more fully realized, the healing art will be transformed and ennobled and its efficacy immeasurably increased. And when this new knowledge and power in the healer are combined with lively faith and hope on the part of the patient, wonderful results may be looked for.

“In God must be our trust. There is no God but Him, the Healer, the Knower, the Helper. … Nothing in earth or heaven is outside the grasp of God. “O physician! In treating the sick, first mention the name of Thy God, the Possessor of the Day of Judgment, and then use what God hath destined for the healing of His creatures. By My Life! The physician who has drunk from the Wine of My Love, his visit is healing and his breath is mercy and hope. Cling to him for the welfare of the constitution. He is confirmed by God in his treatment. “This knowledge (of the healing art) is the most important of all the sciences, for it is the greatest means from God, the Life-giver to the dust, for preserving the bodies of all people, and He has put it in the forefront of all sciences and wisdoms. For tis is the day when you must arise for My Victory. “Say: ‘O my God! Thy Name is my healing. Thy remembrance is my remedy, Thy nearness is my hope, Thy Love my joyous companion and Thy Mercy my healer and helper in this world and in the world to come. Verily Thou art the Giver, the Knower, the Wise.’ …”––BAHÁ’U’LLÁH, Tablet to a physician.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes:––

“He who is filled with the love of Bahá, and forgets all things, the Holy Spirit will be heard from his lips and the spirit of life will fill his heart. …Words will issue from his lips in strands of pearls, and all sickness and disease will be healed by the laying on of the hands.”––Star of the West, vol. viii, p. 233. “O thou pure and spiritual one! Turn thou toward God with one heart beating with His love, devoted to His praise, gazing towards 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.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. iii, pp. 628, 629.

How All Can Help

The work of healing the sick, however, is a matter that concerns not the patient and the practitioner only, but everyone. All must help, by sympathy and service, by right living and right thinking, and especially by prayer, for of all remedies prayer is the most potent “Supplication and prayer on behalf of others,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “will surely be effective.” The friends of the patient have a special responsibility, for their influence, either for good or ill, is most direct and powerful, either for good or ill, is most direct and powerful. In how many cases of sickness the issue depends mainly on the ministrations of parents, friends or neighbors of the helpless sufferer! Even the members of the community at large have an influence in every case of sickness. In individual cases that influence may not appear great, yet in the mass the effect is potent. Everyone is affected by the social “atmosphere” in which he lives, by the general prevalence of faith or materialism, of virtue or vice, of cheerfulness or depression; and each individual has his share in determining the state of that social “atmosphere.” It may not be possible for everyone, in the present state of the world, to attain to perfect health, but it is possible for everyone to become a “willing channel” for the health-giving power of the Holy Spirit and thus to exert a healing, helpful influence both on his own body and on all with whom he comes in contact. Few duties are impressed on Bahá’ís more repeatedly and emphatically than that of healing the sick, and many beautiful prayers for healing have been revealed both by Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

The Golden Age

Bahá’u’lláh gives the assurance that, through harmonious cooperation of patients, healers and the community cooperation of patients, healers and the community in general, and by appropriate use of the various means to health, material, mental and spiritual, the Golden Age may be realized, when, by the Power of God, “all sorrow will be turned into joy, and all disease into health.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that “when the Divine Message is understood, all troubles will vanish.” Again He say:–– “When the material world and the divine world are well co-related, when the hearts become heavenly and the aspirations pure, perfect connection shall take place. Then shall this power produce a perfect manifestation. Physical and spiritual diseases will then receive absolute healing.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. ii, p. 309.

Right Use of Health

In concluding this chapter it will be well to recall ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s teaching as to the right use of physical health. In one of His Tablets to the Bahá’ís of Washington He says:–– “If the health and well-being of the body be expended in the path of the Kingdom, this is very acceptable and praiseworthy; and if it be expended to the benefit of the human world in general––even though it be to their material (or bodily) benefit––and be a means of doing good, that is also acceptable. But if the health and welfare of man be spent in sensual desires, in a life on the animal plane, and in devilish pursuits––then disease were better than such health; nay, death itself were preferable to such a life. If thou art desirous of health, wish thou health for serving the Kingdom. I hope that thou mayest attain perfect insight, inflexible resolution, complete health, and spiritual and physical strength in order that thou mayest drink from the fountain of eternal life and be assisted by the spirit of divine confirmation.”

CHAPTER VIII

RELIGIOUS UNITY

“O ye people of the world! The virtue of this most Great Manifestation is that We have effaced from the Book, whatever was the cause of differences, corruption and discord, and recorded therein that which leads to Unity, Harmony and Concord. Joy unto those who act in accordance therewith!”––BAHÁ’U’LLÁH in Tablet of the World.

Sectarianism in the Nineteenth Century

Never, perhaps, did the world seem farther from religious unity than in the nineteenth century. For many centuries had the great religious communities––the Zoroastrian, Mosaic, Buddhist, Christian, Muhammadan and others––been existing side by side, but instead of blending together into a harmonious whole they had been at constant enmity and strife, each against the others. Not only so, but each had become split up, by division after division, into an increasing number of sects which were often bitterly opposed to each other. Yet Christ had said: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another,” and Muhammad had said: “This your religion is the one religion. … To you hath God prescribed the faith which He commanded unto Noah, and which We have revealed unto thee, and which We commanded unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus saying: ‘Observe this faith, and be not divided into sects therein!” The founder of every one of the great religions had called his followers to love and unity, but in every case the aim of the founder was to a large extent lost sight of in a welter of intolerance and bigotry, formalism and hypocrisy, corruption and misrepresentation, schism and contention. The aggregate number of more or less hostile sects in the world was probably greater at the commencement of the Bahá’í era than at any previous period in human history. It seemed as if humanity at that time were experimenting with every possible kind of religious belief, with every possible sort of ritual and ceremonial observance, with every possible variety or moral code.

At the same time an increasing number of men were devoting their energies to fearless investigation and critical examination of the laws of nature and the foundations of belief. New scientific knowledge was being rapidly acquired and new solutions were being found for many of the problems of life. The development of inventions such as steamship and railway, postal system and press, greatly aided the diffusion of ideas and the fertilizing contact of widely different types of thought and life. The so-called “conflict between religion and science” became a fierce battle. In the Christian world Biblical criticism combined with physical science to dispute, and to some extent to refute, the authority of the Bible, an authority that for centuries had been the generally accepted basis of belief. A rapidly increasing proportion of the population became skeptical about the teachings of the churches. A large number even of religious priests secretly or openly entertained doubts or reservations regarding the creeds adhered to by their respective denominations. This ferment and flux of opinion, with increasing recognition of the inadequacy of the old orthodoxies and dogmas, and groping and striving after fuller knowledge and understanding, were not confined to Christian countries, but were manifest, more or less and in different forms, among the people of all countries and religions.

Can Human Nature Change?

Education and religion are alike based on the assumption that it is possible to change human nature. In fact, it requires but little investigation to show that the one thing we can say with certainty about any living thing is that it cannot keep from changing. Without change there can be no life. Even the mineral cannot resist change, and the higher we go in the scale of being, the more varied, complex, and wonderful do the changes become. Moreover, in progress and development among creatures of all grades we find two kinds of change––one slow, gradual, often almost imperceptible; and the other rapid, sudden and dramatic. The latter occur at what are called “critical stages” of development. In the case of minerals we find such critical stages at the melting and boiling points, for example, when the solid suddenly becomes a liquid or the liquid becomes a gas. In the case of plants we see such critical stages when the seed begins to germinate, or the bud bursts into leaf. In the animal world we see the same on every hand, as when the grub suddenly changes into a butterfly, the chick emerges from its shell, or the babe is born from its mother’s womb. In the higher life of the soul we often see a similar transformation, when a man is “born again” and his whole being becomes radically changed in its aims, its character and activities. Such critical stages often affect a whole species or multitude of species simultaneously, as when vegetation of all kinds suddenly bursts into new life in spring-time. Bahá’u’lláh declares that just as lesser living things have times of sudden emergence into new and fuller life, so for mankind also a “critical stage,” a time of “re-birth,” is at hand. Then modes of life which have persisted from the dawn of history up till now will be quickly, irrevocably, altered, and humanity enter on a new phase of life as different from the old as the butterfly is different from the caterpillar, or the bird from the egg. Mankind as a whole, in the light of new Revelation, will attain to a new vision of truth; as a whole country is illumined when the sun rises, so that all men see clearly, where but an hour before everything was dark and dim. “This is a new cycle of human power,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. “All the horizons of the world are luminous, and the world will become indeed as a rose-garden and a paradise.” The analogies of nature are all in favor of such a view; the prophets of old have with one accord foretold the advent of such a glorious day; the sign of the times show clearly that profound and revolutionary changes in human ideas and institutions are even now in progress. What could be more futile and baseless therefore, than the pessimistic argument that, although all things else change, human nature cannot change?

First Steps Towards Unity

As a means of promoting religious unity Bahá’u’lláh advocates the utmost charity and tolerance, and calls on his followers to “consort with the people of all religions with joy and gladness.” In His last Will and Testament He says:–– “Contention and conflict hath He strictly forbidden in His book (Kitáb-i-Aqdas); such is the command of the Lord in this all-highest Revelation––a command which He hath exempted from all annulment and arrayed with the adorning of His confirmation.

“O ye people of the world! The Religion of God is for the sake of love and union; make it not the cause of enmity and conflict. …The hope is cherished, that the people of Bahá shall ever turn unto the Hallowed Word: ‘Lo! All things are of God!’––the All-Glorious Word that, like unto water, quencheth the fire of hate and rancor which doth smoulder in hearts and breasts. By this one Word shall the diverse sects of the world attain unto the light of real union; verily the Truth He speaketh, and to the Path He leadeth, and He is the Mighty, the Gracious, the Beauteous.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“All must abandon prejudices and must even go to each other’s churches and mosques, for, in all of these worshipping places, the Name of God is mentioned. Since all shipping places, the Name of God is mentioned. Since all shipping places, the Name of God is mentioned. Since all gather to worship God, what difference is there? None of them worship Satan. The Muhammadans must go to the churches of the Christians and the Synagogues of the Jews, and vice versa, the others must go to the Muhammadan Mosques. They hold aloof from one another merely because of unfounded prejudices and dogmas. In America I went to the Jewish Synagogues, which are similar to the I went to the Jewish Synagogues, which are similar to the Christian Churches, and I saw them worshipping God everywhere. “In many of these places I spoke to them about the original foundations of the divine religions, and I explained to them the proofs of the validity of the divine prophets and of the Holy Manifestations. I encouraged them to do away with blind imitations. All of the leaders must, likewise, go to each other’s Churches and speak of the foundation and of the fundamental principles of the divine religions. In the utmost unity and harmony they must worship God, in the worshipping places of one another, and must abandon fanaticism.”––Star of the West, vol. ix, No. 3, p. 37.

Were even these first steps accomplished and a state of friendly mutual tolerance established between the various religious sects, what a wonderful change would be brought about in the world! In order that real unity may be achieved, however, something more than this is required. For the disease of sectarianism, tolerance is a valuable palliative, but it is not a radical cure. It does not remove the cause of the trouble.

The Problem of Authority

The different religious communities have failed to unite in the past, because the adherents of each have regarded the founder of their own community as the one supreme authority, and his law as the divine law. Any prophet who proclaimed a different message was, therefore, regarded as an enemy of the truth. The different sects of each community have separated for similar reasons. The adherents of each have accepted some subordinate authority and regarded some particular version or interpretation of the Founder’s Message as the One True Faith, and all others as wrong. It is obvious that while this state of matters exists no true unity is possible. Bahá’u’lláh, on the other hand, teaches that all the prophets were bearers of authentic messages from God; that each in His day gave the highest teachings that the people could then receive, and educated me so that they were able to receive further teachings from His successors. He calls on the adherents of each religion, not to deny the Divine Inspiration of their own prophets, but to acknowledge the Divine Inspiration of all other prophets, to see that the teachings of all are essentially in harmony, and are parts of a great plan for the education and the unification of humanity. He calls on the people of all denominations to show their reverence for their prophets by devoting their lives to the accomplishment of that unity for which all the prophets labored and suffered. In His letter to Queen Victoria He likens the world to a sick man whose man whose malady to aggravated because he has fallen into the hands of unskilled physicians; and he tells how the remedy may be effected:––

“That which the Lord hath ordained as 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. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician. This, verily, is the truth, and all else naught but error.”––Gleanings, p. 255.

Progressive Revelation

A great stumbling-block to many, in the way of religious unity, is the difference between the revelations given by the different prophets. What is commanded by one is forbidden by another; how then can both be right, how can both be proclaiming the Will of God? Surely the truth is One, and cannot change. Yes, the Absolute Truth is infinitely beyond the present range of human understanding, and our conceptions of it must constantly change. Our earlier, imperfect ideas will be by the Grace of God replaced, as time goes on, by more and more adequate conceptions. Bahá’u’lláh says, in a Tablet to some Bahá’ís of Írán:––

“O people! Words are revealed according to capacity so that the beginners may make progress. The milk must be given according to measure so that the babe of the world may enter into the Realm of Grandeur and be established in the Court of Unity.”

It is milk that strengthens the babe so that it can digest more solid food later on. To say that because one prophet is right in giving a certain teaching at a certain time, therefore another prophet must be wrong who gives a different teaching at a different time, is like saying that because milk is the best food for the new-born babe, therefore, milk and nothing but milk should be the food of the grown man also, and to give any other diet would be wrong! ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Each divine revelation is divided into two parts. The first part is essential and belongs to the eternal world. It is the exposition of Divine truths and essential principles. It is the expression of the Love of God. This is one in all the religions, unchangeable and immutable. The second part is not eternal; it deals with practical life, transactions and business, and changes according to the evolution of man and the requirements of the time of each prophet. For example. … During the Mosaic period the hand of a person was cut off in punishment of a small theft; there was a law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but as these laws were not expedient in the time of Christ, they were abrogated. Likewise divorce had become so universal that there remained no fixed laws of marriage, therefore His Holiness Christ forbade divorce.

“According to the exigencies of the time. His Holiness Moses revealed ten laws for capital punishment. It was impossible at that time to protect the community and to preserve social security without these severe measures, for the children of Israel lived in the wilderness of Tah, where there were no established courts of justice and no penitentiaries. But this code of conduct was not needed in the time of Christ. The history of the second part of religion is unimportant, because it relates to the customs of this life only; but the foundation of the religion of God is one, and His Holiness Baháu’lláh has renewed that foundation.”––Divine Philosophy.

The religion of God is the One Religion, and all the prophets have taught it, but it is a living and a growing thing, not lifeless and unchanging. In the teaching of Moses we see the Bud; in that of Christ the Flower; in that of Bahá’u’lláh the Fruit. The flower does not destroy the bud, nor does the fruit destroy the flower. It destroys not, but fulfils. The bud-scales must fall in order that the flower may bloom, and the petals must fall that the fruit may grow and ripen. Were the bud-scales and the petals wrong or useless, then that they had to be discarded? Nay, both in their time were right and necessary; without them there could have been no fruit. So it is with the various prophetic teachings; their externals change from age to age, but each revelation is the fulfillment of its predecessors; they are not separate nor incongruous, but different stages in the life history of the One Religion, which has in turn been revealed as seed, as bud and as flower, and now enters on the stage of fruition.

Infallibility of the Prophets

Bahá’u’lláh teaches that everyone endowed with the Station of Prophethood is given sufficient proofs of His Mission, is entitled to claim obedience from all men and has authority to abrogate, alter or add to the teachings of His predecessors. In the Book of Íqán we read:––

“How far from the grace of the All-Bountiful and from His loving providence and tender mercies it is to single out a soul from amongst all men for the guidance of His creatures, and, on one hand, to withhold from Him the full measure of His divine testimony, and, on the other, inflict severe retribution on His people for having turned away from His chosen One! Nay, the manifold bounties of the Lord of all beings have, at all times, through the Manifestations of His divine Essence, encompassed the earth and all that dwell therein.” “…And yet, is not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall manifest itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions? For if the character of mankind be not changed, the futility of God’s universal Manifestation would be apparent.”

God is the One Infallible Authority, and the Prophets are infallible because their Massage is the Message of God given to the world through them. That Message remains valid until it is superseded by a later Message given by the same or another Prophet. God is the great Physician who alone can rightly diagnose the world’s sickness and prescribe the appropriate remedy. The remedy prescribed in one age is no longer suitable in a later age, when the condition of the patient is different. To cling to the old remedy when the physician has ordered new treatment is not to show faith in the physician, but infidelity. It may be a shock to the Jew to be told that some of the remedies for the world’s sickness which Moses ordered over three thousand years ago are now out of date and unsuitable; the Christian may be equally shocked when told that Muhammad had anything necessary or valuable to add to what Jesus prescribed; and so also the Muslim, when asked to admit that the Báb or Bahá’u’lláh had authority to alter the commands of Muhammad; but according to the Bahá’í view, true devotion to God implies reverence to ALL His Prophets, and implicit obedience to His latest Commands, as given by the Prophet for our own age. Only by such devotion can true Unity be attained.

The Supreme Manifestation

Like all the other prophets, Bahá’u’lláh states His own Mission in the most unmistakable terms. In the Lawh-i-Aqdas, a Tablet addressed especially to Christians, He says:––

“Surely the Father hath come and hath fulfilled that which you were promised in the Kingdom of God. This is the Word which the Son veiled when He said to those around Him that at that time they could not bear it. But when the stated time was ended, and the Hour arrived, the Word shoe forth from the Horizon of the Will. Beware, O Concourse of the Son (i.e. Christians)! Cast it not behind you, but hold thereunto. It is better for you than all that which is before you! … Verily, the Spirit of Truth is come, to guide you into all Truth. Verily, He speaketh not from Himself, nay, but rather from the All-Knowing and Wise. He is the One whom the Son hath glorified. … Abandon that which is before you, O people of the earth, and take that which is commanded you by Him who is the Powerful, the Faithful.”

And in a letter to the Pope, written from Adrianople in 1867, He says:––

“Beware lest celebrations hinder you from the Celebrated and worship hinder you from the Worshipped One! Behold the Lord, the Mighty, the all-Knowing! He hath come to minister in the life of the world, and for the uniting of whatever dwelleth therein. Come, O ye people, to the Dawning-place of Revelation! Tarry not, even for an hour! Are ye learned in the Gospel, and yet are unable to see the Lord of Glory? “This beseemeth you not, O learned concourse! Say then, if ye deny this matter, by what proof do you believe in God? Produce your proof. …”

Just as in these letters to Christians He announces the fulfillment of the Gospel promises, so He proclaims also to Muhammadans, Jews, Zoroastrians and the people of other faiths the fulfillment of the promises of their Holy Books. He addresses all men as the sheep of God, who have hitherto been divided into different flocks and sheltered in different folds. His message, He says, is the Voice of God, the Good Shepherd, who has come in the fulness of time to gather His scattered sheep into one flock, removing the barriers between them, “that there my be one fold and One Shepherd.”

A New Situation

The position of Bahá’u’lláh among the prophets is unprecedented and unique, because the condition of the world at the time of His advent was unprecedented and unique. By a long and checkered process of development in religion, science, art and civilization the world had become ripe for a teaching of Unity. The barriers which in previous centuries had made a world unity impossible were ready to crumble when Bahá’u’lláh appeared, and since His birth, in 1817, and more especially since the promulgation of His teachings began, these barriers have been breaking down in most astonishing fashion. Be the explanation what it may, about the fact there can be no doubt.

In the days of previous prophets geographical barriers alone were amply sufficient to prevent world-unity. Now that obstacle has been overcome. For the first time in human history men on opposite sides of the globe are able to communicate with each other quickly and easily. Things done in Europe yesterday are known in every continent of the world today, and a speech made in America today may be read in Europe, Asia and Africa tomorrow. Another great obstacle was the language difficulty. Thanks to the study and teaching of foreign languages, that difficulty has already been to a large extent overcome; and there is every reason to suppose that ere many years an international auxiliary language will be adopted and taught in all the schools of the world. Then this difficulty also will be completely removed. The third great obstacle was religious prejudice and intolerance. That, too, is disappearing. Men’s minds are becoming more open. The education of the people is passing more and more out of the hands of sectarian priests; and new and more liberal ideas can no longer be prevented from penetrating into even the most exclusive and conservative circles. Bahá’u’lláh is thus the first of the great prophets whose message has become known within a period of comparatively few years in every quarter of the globe. Within a short time the essential teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, translated from His own authentic writings, will be directly accessible to every man, woman and child in the world who is able to read.

Fulness of the Bahá’í Revelation

The Bahá’í Revelation is unprecedented and unique among the faiths of the world by reason of the fulness and completeness of its authentic records. The recorded words that can with certainty be attributed to Christ, to Moses, to Zoroaster, to Buddha, to Krishna, are very few, and leave many modern questions of great practical importance unanswered. Many of the teachings commonly attributed to these religious founders are of doubtful authenticity, and some are evidently accretions of later date. The Muhammadans possess in the Qur’án, and in a large store of traditions, a much fuller record of the life and teachings of their prophet, but Muhammad Himself, though inspired, was illiterate, as were most of his early followers. The methods employed for recording and spreading His teachings were in many respects unsatisfactory, and the authenticity of many of the traditions is very doubtful. As a result, differences of interpretation and conflicting opinions have caused divisions and dissensions in Islám, as in all previous religious communities.

On the other hand, both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh wrote copiously and with great eloquence and power. As both were debarred from public speaking and spent most of their lives (after the declaration of their mission) in prison, they devoted a large proportion of their time to writing, with the result that in richness of authentic scriptures the Bahá’í Revelation is unapproached by any of its predecessors. Clear and full expositions are given of many truths, which all the prophets have taught, have been applied to the problems which are facing the world today––problems of the utmost complexity and difficulty, many of which had not arisen in the days of former prophets. It is evident that this full record of authentic revelation must have a powerful effect in preventing misunderstandings in the future and in clearing up those misunderstandings of the past which have kept the various sects asunder.

The Bahá’í Covenant

The Bahá’í Revelation is unprecedented and unique in still another way. Before the death of Bahá’u’lláh He repeatedly put in writing a Covenant appointing his eldest son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, whom He often refers to as “The Branch,” or “The Most Great Branch,” as the authorized interpreter of the teachings, and declaring that any explanations or interpretations given by Him are to be accepted as of equal validity with the words of Bahá’u’lláh Himself. In his Will and Testament He says:––

“Reflect upon that which is revealed in my Book, the Aqdas: ‘When the Ocean of my Presence hath ebbed, and the Book of my Revelation hath been completed, turn your faces toward Him whom God hath purposed, who hath branched from this Ancient Root!’ The reference in this blessed verse is to the Most Great Branch.”

And in the Tablet of the Branch, in which He explains the station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, He says:––

“O people! Praise ye God for the manifestation of the Branch, for verily It is the most great favor unto you and the most perfect blessing upon you; and through Him every moldering bone is quickened. Whosoever turns to Him hath surely turned unto God, and whosoever turns away from Him hath turned away from my Beauty, denied my Proof and is of those who transgress.”

After the death of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had abundant opportunities, both in his own home and on his extensive travels, of meeting people from all parts of the world and of all shades of opinion. He heard all their questions, their difficulties and objections, and gave full explanations which were carefully recorded in writing. During a long series of years ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued this work of elucidating the teachings and showing their applications to the most varied problems of modern life. Differences of opinion which have arisen among believers have been referred to him and authoritatively settled, and thus the risks of future misunderstandings have been further reduced.

The spiritual or Providential character of the Faith, furthermore, is further exemplified in the continuance, after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, of the office of interpreter of the Sacred Writings in the person of the successive Guardians provided in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Testament. The Faith, therefore, throughout its era will never suffer the disintegrating influence of schisms resulting from differences of interpretation, nor the deterioration which follows when generally prevalent materialism substitutes lower values for those revealed by the Founder. In relation to the needs of social progress, Bahá’u’lláh provided for the formation of an international House of Justice, whose election and functions are more specifically revealed in the Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The fact that this supreme administrative body, the chairman of which will be the successive Guardians, can not only initiate legislation on all matters not defined in the Book, but also annul its own enactments when the Book, but also annul its own enactments when new conditions require different measures, assures for the Faith the vital continuity of a living organism. Established on universal truths, it is endowed with capacity to adapt to the conditions and requirements of each generation and age. Since acceptance of Bahá’u’lláh involves acceptance of the social teachings and the social institutions He revealed and provided, or which have been instituted by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, no Bahá’í can found a separate school or sect, nor justify any other basis for schism. The essential purpose of this Dispensation is to gather the races peoples and nations into one Faith and one order. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“One of the enemies of the Cause is he who endeavors to interpret the words of Bahá’u’lláh and thereby colors bye meaning according to his capacity, and collects around him a following, forming a different sect, promoting his own station, and making a division in the Cause.” Star of the West, vol. iii, p. 8.

In another Tablet He writes:–– “These people (promoters of schism) are like the froth that gathers on the surface of the sea; a wave will surge from the ocean of the Covenant and through the power of the Abhá Kingdom will cast this foam ashore. …These corrupt thoughts that emanate from personal and evil intentions will all vanish, whereas the Covenant of God shall remain stable and secure.”––Star of the West, vol. x, p. 95.

There is nothing to keep men from forsaking religion if they wish to do so, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says: “God Himself does not compel the soul to become spiritual. The exercise of the free human will is necessary.” The spiritual Covenant, however, clearly makes sectarianism within the Bahá’í community quite impossible.

No Professional Priesthood

One other feature of the Bahá’í organization must be specially mentioned, and that is the absence of a professional priesthood. Voluntary contributions towards the expenses of teachers are permitted and many devote their whole time to work for the Cause, but all Bahá’ís are expected to share in the work of teaching, etc., according to their opportunity and ability, and there is no special class distinguished from the fellow-believers by the exclusive exercise of priestly functions and prerogatives. In former ages priesthoods were necessary, because people were illiterate and uneducated and were dependent on priests for their religious instruction, for the conduct of religious rites and ceremonies, for the administration of justice, etc. Now, however, times have changed. Education is fast becoming universal, and if the commands of Bahá’u’lláh are carried out, every boy and girl in the world will receive a sound education. Each individual will then be able to study the Scriptures for himself, to draw the Water of Life for himself, direct from the Fountain-head. Elaborate rites and ceremonies, requiring the services of a special profession or caste, have no place in the Bahá’í system; and the administration of justice is entrusted to the authorities instituted for that purpose. For a child a teacher is necessary, but the aim of the true teacher is to fit his pupil to do without a teacher; to see things with his own eyes, hear with his own ears, and understand with his own mind. Just so, in the childhood of the race, the priest is necessary, but his real work is to enable men to do without him: to see things divine with their own eyes, hear them with their own ears and understand them with their own minds. Now the priest’s work is all but accomplished, and the aim of the Bahá’í teaching is to complete that work, to make men independent of all save God, so that they can turn directly to Him, that is, to His Manifestation. When all turn to one Center, then there can be no cross-purposes or confusion and the nearer all draw to the Center, the nearer they will draw to each other.

CHAPTER IX

TRUE CIVILIZATION

“O people of God! Be not occupied with yourselves. Be intent on the betterment of the world and the training of nations.”––BAHÁ’U’LLÁH.

Religion the Basis of Civilization

According to the Bahá’í view, the problems of human life, individual and social, are so inconceivably complex that the ordinary human intellect is incapable of itself of solving them aright. Only the Omniscient fully knows the purpose of creation and how that purpose may be achieved. Through the prophets He shows to mankind the true goal of human life and the right path of progress; and the building up of a true civilization depends upon faithful adherence to the guidance of prophetic Revelation. Bahá’u’lláh says:–– “Religion is the greatest instrument for the order of the world and the tranquility of all existent beings. The weakening of the pillars of religion has encouraged the ignorant and rendered them audacious and arrogant. Truly I say, whatever lowers the lofty station of religion will increase heedlessness in the wicked, and finally result in anarchy. … “Consider the civilization of the people of the Occident––how it has occasioned commotion and agitation to the people of the world. Infernal instruments have been devised, and such atrocity is displayed in the destruction of life as has not been seen by the eye of the world, nor heard by the ear of nations. It is impossible to reform these violent, overwhelming evils, except the peoples of the world become united upon a certain issue or under the shadow of One Religions. … “O peole of Bahá! Each one of the revealed Commands is a mighty stronghold for the protection of the world.”––Worlds of Paradise.

The present state of Europe and of the world in general eloquently confirms the truth of these words written so many years ago. Neglect of the prophetic commands and the prevalence of irreligion have been accompanied by disorder and destruction on the most terrible scale, and, without the change of heart and aim which is the essential characteristic of true religion, the reforms of society seems an utter impossibility.

Justice

In the little book of Hidden Words, in which Bahá’u’lláh gives in brief the essence of the prophetic teachings, His first counsel refers to the individual life:––

“O Son of Spirit! “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. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy hear; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.”

The first essential of social life is that individuals should become capable of discerning the true from the false and right from wrong, and of seeing things in their true proportions. The greatest cause of spiritual and social blindness, and the greatest foe of social progress, is selfishness. Bahá’u’lláh says:–– “O ye sons of intelligence! The thin eyelid prevents the eye from seeing the world and what is contained therein. Then think of the result when the curtain of greed covers the sight of the heart! “O people! The darkness of greed and envy obscures the light of the soul as the cloud prevents the penetration of the sun’s rays” (Tablet to some Íránian Zoroastrian Bahá’ís).

Long experience is at last convincing men of the truth of the prophetic teaching the selfish views and selfish actions inevitably bring social disaster, and that if humanity is not to perish ingloriously, each must look on the things of his neighbor as of equal importance with his own, and subordinate his own interests to those of humanity as a whole. In this way the interests of each and all will ultimately be best served. Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“O son of man! If thou lookest towards mercy, regard not that which benefits thee, and hold to that which the benefit thy fellow-men. If thou lookest towards justice, choose thou for others what thou choosest for thyself.”––Words of Paradise.

Government

The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh contain two different types of reference to the question of true social order. One type is exemplified in the tablets revealed to the Kings, which deal with the problem of government as existing in the world during Bahá’u’lláh’s life on earth; the other references are to the new order to be developed within the Bahá’í community itself. Hence arises the sharp contrast between such passages as: “The one true God, exalted be His glory, hath ever regarded, and will continue to regard, the hearts of men as His own, His exclusive possession. All else, whether pertaining to land or sea, whether riches or glory, He hath bequeathed unto the Kings and rulers of the earth”; and “It beseemeth all men, in this Day, to take firm hold on the Most Great Name, and to establish the unity of all mankind. There is no place to flee to, no refuge that any one can seek, except Him.”––Gleanings, pp. 203, 206. The apparent incompatibility of these two views is removed when we observe the distinction which Bahá’u’lláh makes between the “Lesser Peace” and the “Most Great Peace.” In His tablets to the Kings Bahá’u’lláh called upon them to assemble and take measures for the maintenance of political peace, the reduction of armaments and the removal of the burdens and insecurity of the poor. But His words make it perfectly clear that their failure to respond to the needs of the time would result in wars and revolutions leading to the overthrow of the old order. Therefore, on the one hand He said: “What mankind needeth in this day is obedience to them that are in authority,” and on the other, “Those men who, having amassed the vanities and ornaments of the earth, have turned away disdainfully from God––these have lost both this world and the world to come. Ere long, will God, with the Hand of Power, strip them of their possessions, and divest them of the robe of His bounty. …We have a fixed time for you, O peoples. If ye fail, at the appointed hour, to turn towards God, He verily, will lay violent hold on you, and will cause grievous afflictions to assail you from every direction. … The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective. …We have pledged Ourselves to secure Thy triumph upon earth and to exalt Our Cause above all men, though no king be found who would turn his face towards Thee.” Gleanings, pp. 209, 214, 216, 248.

“The Great Being, wishing to reveal the prerequisites of the peace and tranquility of the world and the advancement of its peoples, hath written: The time must come when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it, and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world’s Great Peace amongst men. Such a peace demandeth that the Great Powers should resolve, for the sake of the tranquility of the peoples of the earth, to the fully reconciled among themselves. Should any king take up arms against another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him.”––Gleanings, p. 249.

By such counsel, Bahá’u’lláh revealed the conditions under which public responsibility must be discharged in this Day of God. Appealing for international solidarity on the one hand, He no less clearly warned the rulers that continuance of the strife would destroy their power. Now modern history confirms this warning, in the rise of those coercive movements which in all civilized nations have attained such destructive energy, and in the development of warfare to the degree that victory is no longer attainable by any party. “Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace, hold ye fast unto this, the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependents. …That which the Lord hath ordained as 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. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician.”––Gleanings, pp. 254, 255.

By the Lesser Peace is meant a political unity of states, while the Most Great Peace is a unity embracing spiritual as well as political and economic factors. “Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.”––Gleanings, p. 7.

In former ages, a government could concern itself with external matters and material affairs, but today the function of government demands a quality of leadership, of consecration and of spiritual knowledge impossible save to those who have turned to God.

Political Freedom

Although advocating as the ideal condition a representative form of government, local, national and international. Bahá’u’lláh teaches that this is possible only when men have attained a sufficiently possible only when men have attained a sufficiently high degree of individual and social development. Suddenly to grant full self-government to people without education, who are dominated by selfish desires and are inexperienced in the conduct of public affairs, would be disastrous. There is nothing more dangerous than freedom for those who are not fit to use it wisely. Bahá’u’lláh writes in the Book of Aqdas:––

“Consider the pettiness of men’s minds. They ask for that which injureth them, and cast away the thing that profiteth them. They are, indeed, of those that are far astray. We find some men desiring liberty, and priding themselves therein. Such men are in the depths of ignorance. “Liberty must, in the end, lead to sedition, whose flames none can quench. Thus warneth you He Who is the Reckoner, the All-Knowing. Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness. “Regard men as a flock of sheep that need a shepherd for their protection. This, verily, is the truth, the certain truth. We approve of liberty in certain circumstances, and refuse to sanction it in others. We, verily, are the All-Knowing. “Say: True liberty consisteth in man’s submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it. Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heave of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty. Happy is the man that hath apprehend the Purpose of God in whatever He hath revealed from the Heaven of His Will, that pervadeth all created things. Say: 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.”

For improving the condition of backward races and nations, the Divine teachings are the sovereign remedy. When both people and statesmen learn and adopt these teachings are the sovereign remedy. When both people and statesmen learn and adopt these teachings the nations will be freed from all their bonds.

Rulers and Subjects

Bahá’u’lláh forbids tyranny and oppression in the most emphatic terms. In Hidden Words He writes:––

“O Oppressors on Earth! “Withdraw your hands from tyranny, for I have pledge Myself not to forgive any man’s injustice. This is My covenant which I have irrevocably decreed in the preserved tablet and sealed it with My seal of glory.”

There entrusted with the framing and administration of laws and regulations must “hold fast to the rope of Consultation, and decide upon and execute that which is conducive to the people’s security, affluence, welfare and tranquillity; for if matters be arranged otherwise, it will lead to discord and tumult.”––Tablet of the World.

On the other hand, the people must be law-abiding and loyal to the just government. They must rely on educational methods and on the force of good example, not on violence, for bringing about a better state of affairs in the nation. Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“In every country where any of this community reside, they must behave toward the government of that country with faithfulness, truthfulness and obedience.”––Glad Tidings. “O people of God! Adorn your temples with the mantle of trustworthiness and integrity; then assist your Lord with the hosts of good deeds and good morals. Verily We have forbidden you sedition and strife, in My Books and Epistles, in My Writings and Tablets; and by this We have desired only your loftiness and exaltation.”––Tablet of Ishráqát.

Appointment and Promotion

In making appointments, the only criterion must be fitness for the position. Before this paramount consideration, all others, such as seniority, social or financial status, family connection or personal friendship, must give way. Bahá’u’lláh says in the Tablet of Ishráqát:––

“The fifth Ishráq (Effulgence) is the knowledge by governments of the condition of the governed, and the conferring of ranks according to desert and merit. Regard to this matter is strictly enjoined upon every chief and ruler, that haply traitors may not usurp the position of trustworthy men nor spoilers occupy the seats of guardians.”

It needs but little consideration to show that when this principle becomes generally accepted and acted upon, the transformation in our social life will be astounding. When each individual is given the position for which his talents and capabilities specially fit him he will be able to put his heart into his work and become an artist in his profession, with incalculable benefit to himself and the rest of the world.

Economic Problems

The Bahá’í teachings insist in the strongest terms on the need for reform in the economic relations of rich and poor. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“The arrangements of the circumstances of the people must be such that poverty shall disappear, that everyone, as far as possible, according to his rank and position, shall share in comfort and well-being. We see among us men who are overburdened with riches on the one hand, and on the other those unfortunate ones who starve with nothing; those who possess several stately palaces, and those who have not where to lay their head. …This condition of affairs is wrong, and must be remedied. Now the remedy must be carefully undertaken. It cannot be done by bringing to pass absolute equality between men. Equality is a chimera! It is entirely impracticable. Even if equality could be achieved it could not continue; and if its existence were possible, the whole order of the world would be destroyed. The Law of Order must always obtain in the world of humanity. Heaven has so decreed in the creation of man. …Humanity, like a great army, requires a general, captains, under-officers in their degree, and soldiers, each with their appointed deputies. Degree are absolutely necessary to ensure an orderly organization. An army could not be composed of generals alone, or of captains only, or of nothing but soldiers without anyone in authority. “Certainly, some being enormously rich and others lamentably poor, an organization is necessary to control and improve this state of affairs. It is important to limit riches, as it is also of importance to limit poverty. Either extreme is not good. …When we see poverty allowed to reach a condition of starvation, it is a sure sign that somewhere we shall find tyranny. Men must bestire themselves in this matter, and no longer delay in altering conditions which bring the misery of grinding poverty to a very large number of people. “The rich must give of their abundance; they must soften their hearts and cultivate a compassionate intelligence, taking thought for those and ones who are suffering from lack of the very necessaries of life. “There must be special laws made, dealing with these extremes of riches and want. … The government of the countries should conform to the Divine Law which gives equal justice to all. … Not until this is done will the Law of God be obeyed.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá p. 140.

Public Finance

‘Abdu’l-Bahá suggests that each town and village or district should be entrusted as far as possible with the administration of fiscal matters within its own area and should contribute its due proportion for the expenses of the general government. One of the principal sources of revenue should be a graduated income tax. If a man’s income does not exceed his necessary expenditure he should not be required to pay any tax, but in all cases where income exceeds the necessary expenditure a tax should be levied, the percentage of tax increasing as the surplus of income over necessary expenditure increases. On the other hand, if a person, through illness, poor crops, or other cause for which he is not responsible, is unable to earn an income sufficient to meet his necessary expenses for the year, then what he lacks for the maintenance of himself and his family should be supplied out of public funds. There will also be other sources of public revenue, e.g. from intestate estates, mines, treasure-trove and voluntary contributions; while among the expenditures will be grants for the support of the infirm, of orphans, of schools, of the deaf and blind, and for the maintenance of public health. Thus the welfare and comfort of all will be provided for.¹

Voluntary Sharing

In a letter to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace, written in 1919, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Among the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is voluntary sharing of one’s property with others among mankind. This voluntary sharing is greater than (legally imposed) equality, and consists in this, that one should not prefer oneself to others, but rather should sacrifice one’s life and property for others. But this should not be introduced by coercion so that it becomes a law which man is compelled to follow. Nay, rather, man should voluntarily and of his own choice sacrifice his property and life for others, and spend willingly for the poor, just as is done in Írán among the Bahá’ís.”

Work for All

One of the most important instructions of Bahá’u’lláh in regard to the economic question is that all must engage in useful work. There must be no drones in the social hive, no able-bodied parasites on society. He says:––

“It is enjoined on every one of you to engage in some occupation––some art, trade or the like. We have made this––your occupation––identical with the worship of God, the True One. Reflect, O people, upon the Mercy of God and upon His Favors, then thank Him in mornings and evenings. “Waste not your time in idleness and indolence, and occupy yourselves with that which will profit yourselves and others beside yourselves. Thus hath the matter been decreed in this

¹For further particulars see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s published addresses, especially those given in the United States of America.

Tablet, from the Horizon of which the Sun of Wisdom and Divine Utterance is gleaming! The most despised of men before God is he who sits and begs. Cling unto the rope of means, relying upon God, the Causer of Causes.”––Glad Tidings.

How much of the energy employed in the business world of today is expended simply in cancelling and neutralizing the efforts of other people––in useless strife and competition! And how much in ways that are still more injurious! And how much in ways that are still more injurious! Were all to work, and were all work, whether of brain or hand, of a nature profitable to mankind, as Bahá’u’lláh commands, then the supplies of everything necessary for a healthy, comfortable and noble life would amply suffice for all. There need be no slums, no starvation, no destitution, no industrial slavery, no health-destroying drudgery.

The Ethics of Wealth

According to the Bahá’í teachings, riches rightly acquired and rightly used are honorable and praiseworthy. Services rendered should be adequately rewarded. Bahá’u’lláh says in the Tablet of Tarázát:––

“The people of Baha2 must not refuse to discharge the due reward of anyone, and must respect possessors of talent. …One must speak with justice and recognize the worth of benefits.”

With regard to interest on money, Bahá’u’lláh writes in the Tablet of Ishráqát as follows:––

“Most of the people are found to be in need of this matter; for if no interest be allowed, affairs (business) will be trammeled and obstructed. …A person is rarely found who would lend money to anyone upon the principle of ‘Qard-i-hasan’ (literally ‘good loan,’ i.e. money advanced without interest and repaid at the pleasure of the borrower). Consequently, out of favor to the servants, We have appointed ‘profit on money’ to be current, among other business transactions which are in force among people. That is … it is allowable, lawful and pure to charge interest on money … but this matter must be conducted with moderation and justice. The Pen of Glory has withheld itself from laying down its limits, as a Wisdom from His Presence and as a convenience for His servants. We exhort the friends of God to act with fairness and justice, and in such a way that the mercy of His beloved ones, and their compassion, may be manifested toward each other. … “The execution of these matters has been placed in charge of the men of the House of Justice, in order that they may act in accordance with the exigencies of the time and with wisdom.”

No Industrial Slavery

In the Book of Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh forbids slavery, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has explained that not only chattel slavery, but also industrial slavery, is contrary to the law of God. When in the United States in 1912, he said to the American people:––

“Between 1860 and 1865 you did a wonderful thing; you abolished chattel slavery; but today you must do a much more wonderful thing: you must abolish industrial slavery. … “The solution of economic questions will not be brought about by array of capital against labor, and labor against capital, in strife and conflict, but by the voluntary attitude of goodwill on both sides. Then a real and lasting justness of conditions will be secured. … “Among the Bahá’ís there are no extortionate, mercenary and unjust practices, no rebellious demands, no revolutionary uprisings against existing governments. … “It will not be possible in the future for me to amass great fortunes by the labors of others. The rich will willingly divide. They will come to this gradually, naturally, by their own volition. It will never be accomplished by war and bloodshed.”––Star of the West, vol. vii, No. 15, p. 147.

It is by friendly consultation and cooperation, by just co-partnership and profit-sharing, that the interests of both capital and labor will be best served. The harsh weapons of the strife and lockout are injurious, not only to the trades immediately affected, but to the community as a whole. It is, therefore, the business of the governments to devise means for preventing recourse to such barbarous methods of settling disputes. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said at Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1912:––

“Now I want to tell you about the law of God. According to the divine law, employees should not be paid merely by wages. Nay, rather they should be partners in every work. The question of socialization is very difficult. It will not be solved by strikes for wages. All the governments of the world must be united, and organize an assembly, the members of which shall be elected from the parliaments and the noble ones of the nations. These must plan with wisdom and power, so that neither the capitalists suffer enormous losses, nor the laborers become needy. In the utmost moderation they should make the law, then announce to the public that the rights of the working people are to be effectively preserved; also the rights of the capitalists are to be protected. When such a general law is adopted, by the will of both sides, should a strike occur, all the governments of the world should collectively resist it. Otherwise the work will lead to much destruction, especially in Europe. Terrible things will take place. “One of the several causes of a universal European war will be this question. The owners of properties, mines and factories, should share their incomes with their employees, and give a fairly certain percentage of their profits to their working-men, in order that the employees should receive, besides their wages, some of the general income of the factory, so that the employee may strive with his soul in the work.”––Star of the West, vol. viii, No. I, p. 7.

Bequest and Inheritance

Bahá’u’lláh states that a person should be free to dispose of his possessions during his lifetime in any way he chooses, and it is incumbent on everyone to write a will stating how his property is to be disposed of after his death. When a person dies without leaving a will, the value of the property should be estimated and divided in certain stated proportions among seven classes of inheritors, namely, children, wife or husband, father, mother, brothers, sisters and teachers, the share of each diminishing from the first to the last. In the absence of one or more of these classes, the share which would belong to them goes to the public treasury , to be expended on the poor, the fatherless and the widows, or on useful public works. If the deceased has no heirs, then all his property goes to the public treasury. There is nothing in the law of Bahá’u’lláh to prevent a man from leaving all his property to one individual if he pleases, but Bahá’ís will naturally be influenced, in making their wills, by the model Bahá’u’lláh has laid down for the case of intestate estates, which ensures distributions of the property among a considerable number of heirs.

Equality of Men and Women

One of the social principles to which Bahá’u’lláh attaches great importance is that women should be regarded as the equals of men and should enjoy equal rights and privileges, equal education, and equal opportunities. The great means on which he relies for bringing about the emancipation of women is universal education. Girls are to receive as good an education as boys. In fact, the education of girls is even more important than that of boys, for in time these girls will become mothers, and, as mothers, they will be the first teachers of the next generation. Children are like green and tender branches; if the early training is right they grow straight, and if it is wrong they grow crooked; and to the end of their lives they are affected by the training of their earliest years. How important, then, that girls should be well and wisely educated! During His Western tours, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had frequent occasion to explain the Bahá’í teaching on this subject. At a meeting of the Women’s Freedom League in London in January 1913. He said:–– “Humanity is like a bird with its two wings––the one is male, the other female. Unless both wings are strong and impelled by some common force, the bird cannot fly heavenwards. According to the spirit of this age, women must advance and fulfill their mission in all departments of life, becoming equal to men. They must be on the same level as men and enjoy equal rights. This is my earnest prayer and it is one of the fundamental principles of Bahá’u’lláh. “Some scientists have declared that the brains of men weigh more than those of women, and claim this as a proof of man’s superiority. Yet when we look around us we see people with small heads, whose brains must weigh little, who show the greatest intelligence and great powers of understanding; and others with big heads, whose brains must be heavy, and yet they are witless. Therefore the avoirdupois of the brain is no true measure of intelligence or superiority. “When men bring forward as a second proof of their superiority the assertion that women have not achieved as much as men, they use poor arguments which leave history out of consideration. If they kept themselves more fully informed historically, they would know that great women have lived and achieved great things in the past, and that there are many living and achieving great things today.”

Here ‘Abdu’l-Bahá described the achievements of Zenobia and other great women of the past, concluding with an eloquent tribute to the fearless Mary Magdalene, whose faith remained firm while that of the apostles was shaken. He continued:––

“Amongst the women of our own time is Qurratu’l-;Ayn, the daughter of a Muhammadan priest. At the time of the appearance of the Báb she showed such tremendous courage and power that all who heard her were astonished. She threw aside her veil despite the immemorial custom of the women of Írán, and although it was considered impolite to speak with men, this heroic woman carried on controversies with the most learned men, and in every meeting she vanquished them. The Íránian Government took her prisoner; she was stoned in the streets, anathematized, exiled from town to town, threatened with death, but she never failed in her determination to work for the freedom of her sisters. She bore persecution and suffering with the greatest heroism; even in prison she gained converts. To a Minister of Írán, in whose house she was imprisoned, she said; ‘You can kill me as soon as you like but you cannot stop the emancipation of women.’ At last the end of her tragic life came; she was carried into a garden and strangled. She put on, however, her choicest robes as if she were going to join a bridal party. With such magnanimity and courage she gave her life, startling and thrilling all who saw her. She was truly a great heroine. Today in Írán, among the Bahá’ís, there are women who also show unflinching courage, and who are endowed with great poetic insight. They are most eloquent, and speak before large gatherings of people. “Women must go on advancing; they must extend their knowledge of science, literature, history, for the perfection of humanity. Ere long they will receive their rights. Men will see women in earnest, bearing themselves with dignity, improving the civil and political life, opposed to warfare, demanding suffrage and equal opportunities. I expect to see you advance in all phases of life; then will your brows be crowned with the diadem of eternal glory.”

Women and the New Age

When woman’s point of view receives due consideration and woman’s will is allowed adequate expression in the arrangement of social affairs, we may expect great advancement in matters which have often been grievously neglected under the old regime of male dominance––such matters as health, temperance, peace, and regard for the value of the individual life. Improvements in these respects will have very far-reaching and beneficent effects. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has dominated over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities both of body and mind. But the balance is already shifting; force is losing its dominance, and mental alertness, intuition, and the spiritual qualities of love and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendancy. Hence the new age will be an age less masculine and more permeated with the feminine ideals, or, to speak more exactly, will be an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly balanced.”––Star of the West, vol. viii, No. 3, p. 4.

Methods of Violence Discarded

In bringing about the emancipation of women as in other matters, Bahá’u’lláh counsels his followers to avoid methods of violence. An excellent illustration of the Bahá’í method of social reform has been given by the Bahá’í women in Írán, Egypt and Syria. In these countries it is customary for Muhammadan women outside their homes to wear a veil covering women outside their homes to wear a veil covering the face. The Báb indicated that in the New Dispensation women would be relieved from this irksome restraint, but Bahá’u’lláh counsels His followers, where no important questions of morality is involved, to defer to established customs until people become enlightened, rather than scandalize those amongst whom they live, and arouse needless antagonism. The Bahá’í women, therefore, although well aware that the antiquated custom of wearing the veil is, for enlightened people, unnecessary and inconvenient, yet quietly put with the inconvenience, rather than rouse a storm of fanatical hatred and rancorous opposition by uncovering their faces in public. This conformity to custom is in no way due to fear, but to an assured confidence in the power of education and in the transforming and life-giving effects of true religion. Bahá’ís in these regions are devoting their energies to the education of their children, especially their girls, and to the diffusion and promotion of the Bahá’í ideals, well knowing that as the new spiritual life grows and spreads among the people, antiquated customs and prejudices will by and by be shed, as naturally and inevitably as bud-scales are shed in spring when the leaves and flowers expand in the sunshine.¹

Education

Education––the instruction and guidance of men and the development and training of their innate faculties––has been the supreme aim of all the Holy Prophets since the world began, and in the Bahá’í teachings the fundamental importance and limitless possibilities of education are proclaimed in the clearest terms. The teacher is the most potent factor in civilization and his work is the highest to which men can aspire. Education begins in the mother’s womb and as is as unending as the life of the individual. It is a perennial necessity of right living and the foundation of both individual and social welfare. When education on right lines becomes general, humanity will be transformed and the world will become a paradise. At present a really well educated man is the rarest of phenomena, for nearly everyone has false prejudices, wrong ideals, erroneous conceptions and bad habits drilled into him from babyhood. How few are taught from their earliest childhood to love God with all their hearts and dedicate their lives to Him; to regard service to humanity as the highest aim of life; to develop their powers to the best advantage for the general good of all! Yet surely these are the essential elements of a good education. Mere cramming of the memory with facts about arithmetic, grammar, geography, languages, etc., has comparatively little effect in producing noble and useful lives. Bahá’u’lláh says that education must be universal:–– “It is decreed that every father must educate his sons and daughters in learning and in writing and also in that which hath been ordained in the tablet. He who neglects that which hath been commanded (in this matter), if he be rich, it is incumbent on the trustees of the House of Justice to recover from him the amount required for the education of his children; otherwise (i.e. if the parent be not capable) the matter shall devolve upon the House of Justice. Verily We have made it (the House of Justice) an asylum for the poor and needy. “He who educates his son, or any other children, it is as though he hath educated one of My children.”–– Tablet of Ishráqát. “Men and women must place a part of what they earn by trade, agriculture or other business, in charge of a trustworthy person, to be spent in the education and instruction of the children. That deposit must be invested in the education of the children, under the advice of the trustees (of members) of the House of Justice.”––Tablet of the World.

Innate Differences of Nature

In the Bahá’í view the child’s nature is not like so much wax that can he molded indifferently to any shape according to the will of the teacher. Nay, each from the first has his own God-given character and individuality which can develop to the best advantage only in a particular way; and that way in each case is unique. No two people have exactly the same capabilities and talents, and the true educator will never attempt to force two natures into the same mold. In fact, he will never attempt to force any nature into any mold. Rather he will reverently tend the developing powers of the young nature, encourage and protect them, and supply the nourishment and assistance which they need. His work is like that of a gardener tending different plants. One plant likes the bright sunshine, another the cool shade; one loves the water’s edge and another the dry knoll; one thrives best on sandy soil and another on rich loam. Each must have its needs appropriately supplied, else its perfections can never be fully revealed. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“The Prophets acknowledge that education hath a great effect upon the human race, but they declare that minds and comprehensions are originally different. We see that certain children of the same age, nativity and race, nay, from the same household, under the tutorship of the same

¹ This has been clearly demonstrated by the social progress achieved under the Turkish republic.

teacher, differ in minds and comprehensions. No matter how the shell is educated (or polished) it can never become the radiant pearl. The black stone will not become the world-illuminating gem. The thorny cactus can never by training and development become the blessed tree. That is to say, training doth not change the essential nature of the human gem, but it produceth a marvelous effect. By this effective power all that is latent, of virtues and capacities in the human reality, will be revealed.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. iii, p. 577.

Character Training

The thing of paramount importance in education is character training. With regard to this, example is more effective than precept, and the lives and characters of the child’s parents, teachers and habitual associates are factors of the utmost importance. The prophets of God are the great educators of mankind, and their counsels and the story of their lives should be instilled into the child’s mind as soon as it is able to grasp them. Especially important are the words of the supreme teacher, Bahá’u’lláh, who reveals the root-principles on which the civilization of the future must be built up. He says:––

“Teach your children what hath been revealed through the Pen of glory. Instruct them in what hath descended from the heaven of greatness and power. Let them memorize the Tablets of the Merciful and chant them with the most melodious voices in the halls of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.”––Star of the West, vol. ix, No. 7, p. 81.

Arts, Sciences, Crafts

Training in arts, sciences, crafts and useful professions is regarded as important and necessary. Bahá’u’lláh says:––

“Knowledge is like unto wings for the being (of man) and is like a ladder for ascending. To acquire knowledge is incumbent upon all, but of those sciences which may profit the people of the earth, and not such sciences as begin in mere words and end in mere words. The possessors of sciences and arts have a great right among the people of the world. Indeed, the real treasury of man is his knowledge. Knowledge is the means of honor, prosperity, joy, gladness, happiness and exultation.”––Tablet of Tajallíyát.

Treatment of Criminals

In a talk on the right method of treating criminals, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke as follows:––

“The most essential thing is tha the people must be educated in such a way that they will avoid and shrink from perpetrating crimes, so that the crime itself willappear to them as the greatest chastisement, the utmost condemnation and torment. Therefore no crimes which require punishment will be committed. “If someone oppresses, injures and wrongs another, and the wronged man retaliates, this is vengeance, and in censurable. If ‘Amr dishonors Zayd, the latter has not the right to dishonor ‘Amr; if he does, this is vengeance, and it is very reprehensible. No, rather he must return good for evil, and not only forgive, but also, if possible, be of service to his oppressor. This conduct is worthy of man, for what advantage does he gain by vengeance? The two actions are equivalent; if one action is reprehensible both are reprehensible. The only difference is, that one was committed first, the other later. “But the community has the right of defence and self-protection; moreover, the community has no hatred or animosity for the murderer; it imprisons or punishes him merely for the protection and security of others. “Thus when Christ said: ‘Whosoever shall smite thee on the one cheek, turn to him the other also,’ it was for the purpose of teaching men not to take personal revenge. He did not mean that if a wolf should fall upon a flock of sheep and wish to destroy it, the wolf should be encouraged to do so. No, if Christ had known that a wolf had entered the fold and was about to destroy the sheep, most certainly he would have prevented it. … “The constitution of the communities depends upon justice. …Then what Christ meant by forgiveness and pardon is not that when nations attack you, burn your homes, plunder your goods assault your wives, children and relatives and violate your honor, you should be submissive in the presence of these tyrannical foes, and allow them to perform all their cruelties and oppressions. No, the words of Christ refer to the conduct of two individuals towards each other. If one person assaults another, the injured one should forgive him. But the communities must protect the rights of man. One thing remains to be said: it is that the communities are day and night occupied in making penal laws, and in preparing and organizing instruments and means of punishment. They build prisons, make chains and fetters, arrange places of exile and banishment, and different kinds of hardships and tortures, and think by these means to discipline criminals; whereas, in reality, they are causing destruction of morals and perversion of characters. The community, on the contrary ought to strive and endeavor with the utmost seal and effort to accomplish the education of men, to cause them day by day to progress and to increase in science and knowledge, to acquire virtues, to gain good morals and to avoid vices, so that crimes may not occur.”––Some Answered Questions, pp. 307-312.

Influence of the Press

The importance of the press as a means of diffusing knowledge and educating the people, and its power as a civilizing force, when rightly directed, are fully recognized by Bahá’u’lláh. He writes:–– “In this day the mysteries of this earth are unfolded and visible before the eyes, and the pages of swiftly appearing newspapers are indeed the mirror of the world; they display the doings and actions of the world; they display the doings and actions of the different nations; they both illustrate them and cause them to be heard. Newspapers are as a mirror endowed with hearing, sight and speech; they are a wonderful phenomenon and a great matter. “But it behooves the writers and editors thereof to be satisfied from the prejudice of egotism and desire, and to be adorned with the ornament of equity and justice. They must inquire into matters as fully as possible in order that they may be informed of the real facts, and commit the same to writing. Concerning this wronged one, what the newspapers have published has for the most part been devoid of truth. Good speech and truthfulness are, in loftiness of position and rank, like the sun which has risen from the horizon of the heave of knowledge.”––Tablet of Tarázát.

CHAPTER X

THE WAY TO PEACE

“Today, this servant has assuredly come to vivify the world and to bring into unity all who are on the face of the earth. That which God willeth shall come to pass and thou shalt see the earth even as the Abhá (Most Glorious) Paradise.”––BAHÁ’U’LLÁH, in Tablet to Ra’is

Conflict versus Concord

During the past century scientists have devoted an immense amount of study to the struggle for existence in the plant and animal world, and amid the perplexities of social life, many have turned for guidance to the principles which have been found to hold good in the lower world of nature. In this way they have come to regard rivalry and conflict as necessities of life, and the ruthless killing out of the weaker members of society as a legitimate or even necessary means of improving the race. Bahá’u’lláh tells us, on the other hand, that, if we wish to ascend the scale of progress, instead of looking backward to the animal world, we must direct our gaze forward and upward, and must take not the beasts, but the prophets as our guides. The principles of unity, concord and compassion taught by the prophets are the very antithesis of those dominating the animal struggle for self-preservation, and we must choose between them, for they cannot be reconciled. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“In the world of nature the dominant note is the struggle for existence––the result of which is the survival of the fittest is the origin fittest. The law of the survival of the fittest is the origin of al difficulties. It is the cause of war and strife, hatred and animosity, between human beings. In the world of nature there is tyranny, egoism, aggression, overbearance, usurpation of the rights of others and other blameworthy attributes which are defects of the animal world. Therefore, so long as the requirements of the natural world play paramount part among the children of men, success and prosperity are impossible. Nature is warlike, nature is bloodthirsty, nature is tyrannical, for nature is unaware of God the Almighty. That is why these cruel qualities are natural to the animal world. “Therefore the Lord of mankind, having great love and mercy, has caused the appearance of the prophets and the revelation of the Holy Books, so that through divine education humanity may be released from the corruption of nature and the darkness of ignorance, be confirmed with ideal virtues and spiritual attributes, and become the dawning-place of merciful emotions. … “A hundred thousand times, alas! That ignorant prejudice, unnatural differences and antagonistic principles are yet displayed by the nations of the world toward one another, thus causing the retardation of general progress. This retrogression comes from the fact that the principles of divine civilization are completely abandoned, and the teachings of the prophets are forgotten.”––Star of the West, vol. viii, p. 15.

The Most Great Peace

In all ages the prophets of God have foretold the coming of an era of “peace on earth, goodwill among men.” As we have already seen Bahá’u’lláh, in the most glowing and confident terms, confirms these prophecies and declares that their fulfilment is at hand, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:–– “In this marvelous cycle, the earth will be transformed and humanity arrayed in peace and beauty. Disputes, quarrels and murders will be replaced by harmony, truth and concord; among the nations, peoples, races and countries, love and amity will appear. Cooperation and union will be established, and finally war will be entirely suppressed. …Universal peace will raise its tent in the center of the earth and the blessed tree of life will spread so such an extent that it will overshadow the East and the West. Strong and weka, rich and poor, antagonistic sects and hostile nations, which are like the world and the lamb, the leopard and the kid, the lion and the calf, will act toward each other with the most complete love, friendship, justice and fairness. The world will be filled with science, with the knowledge of the reality of the mysteries of beings, and with the knowledge of God.”––Some Answered Questions, p. 73.

Religious Prejudices

In order to see clearly how the Most Great Peace may be established, let us first examine the principal causes that have led to war in the past and see how Bahá’u’lláh proposes to deal with each. One of the most fertile causes of war has been religious prejudice. With regard to this the Bahá’í teachings show clearly that animosity and conflict between people of different religions and sects have always been due, not to true religion, but to the want of it, and to its replacement by false prejudices, imitations and misrepresentations.

In one of His talks in Paris, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:––

“Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth; it should give birth to spirituality, and bring light and life to every soul. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division it would be better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act. For it is clear that the purpose of a remedy is to cure, but if the remedy only aggravates the complaint, it had better be left alone. Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Again He says:––

“From the beginning of human history down to the present time various religions of the world have anathematized one another and accused one another of falsity. They have shunned one another most rigidly, exercising mutual animosity and rancor. Consider the history of religious warfare. One of the greatest religious wars, the Crusades, extended over a period of 200 years. Sometimes the Crusaders were successful, killing, pillaging and taking captive the Muhammadan people; sometimes the Mussulmans were victorious, inflicting bloodshed and ruin in turn upon the invaders. “So they continued for two centuries, alternately fighting with fury and relaxing with weakness until the European religionists withdrew from the East, leaving ashes of desolation behind them and finding their own nations in a condition of turbulence and upheaval. Yet this was only one of the ‘Holy wars.’ “Religious wars have been many. Nine hundred thousand martyrs of the Protestant cause was the record of conflict and difference between that sect of Christians and the Catholics. How many languished in prisons! How merciless the treatment of captives! All in the name of religion! “The Christians and Muhammadans considered the Jews as satanic and the enemies of God. Therefore they cursed and persecuted them. Great numbers of Jews were killed, their houses burnt and pillaged, their children carried into captivity. The Jews in turn regarded the Christians as infidels, and the Muhammadan as enemies and destroyers of the laws of Moses; therefore they called down vengeance upon them and curse them even to this day. “When the light of Bahá’u’lláh dawned from the East, he proclaimed the promise of the oneness of humanity. He addressed all mankind saying: “Ye are all fruits of one tree. There are not two trees, one a tree of divine mercy, the other the tree of Satan.” Therefore we must exercise the utmost love toward one another. We must not consider any people the people of Satan, but know and recognize all as servants of one God. At most it is this: some do not know, they must be guided and trained. Some are ignorant, they must be informed. Some are as children, they must be helped to reach maturity. Some are ailing, their moral condition is bad, they must be treated until their morals are purified. But the sick man is not to be hated because he is sick; the child must not be shunned because he is a child, the ignorant one is not to be despised because he lacks knowledge. They must be treated, educated, trained and assisted in love. Everything must be done in order that all humanity may live under the shadow of God in the utmost security, in happiness of the highest type.”––Star of the West, vol. viii, p. 76.

Racial and Patriotic Prejudices

The Bahá’í doctrine of the unity of mankind strikes at the root of another cause of war, namely, racial prejudice. Certain races have assumed themselves to be superior to others and have taken for granted on the principle of “survival of the fittest,” that this superiority gives them the right to exploit for their own advantage, or even to exterminate, weaker races. Many of the blackest pages in the world’s history are examples of the pitiless application of this principle. According to the Bahá’í view people of every race are of equal value in the sight of God. All have wonderful innate capacities which only require suitable education for their development, and each can play a part, which instead of impoverishing, will enrich and complete the life of all the other members of the body of humanity. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:–– “Concerning the prejudice of race; it is an illusion, a superstition pure and simple, for God created us all of one race. … In the beginning also there were no limits and boundaries between the different lands; no part of the earth belonged more to one people than to another. In the sight of God there is no difference between the various races. Why should man invent such a prejudice? How not created men that they should destroy one another. All of their Heavenly Father. “The only real difference lies in the degree of faithfulness, of obedience to the laws of God. There are some who are as lighted torches; there are others who shine as stars in the sky of humanity. “The lovers of mankind, these are the superior men, of whatever nation, creed or color they may be.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 137.

Equally mischievous with racial prejudice is political or patriotic prejudice. The time has now come when narrow national patriotisms should be merged in the wider patriotism whose country is the world. Bahá’u’lláh says:–– “In former ages it hath been said: ‘To love one’s native land is faith,’ but the Tongue of Grandeur hath said in the day of this Manifestation: ‘Glory is not his who loves his native land, but Glory is his who loves his kind.’ By these exalted words He taught the birds of souls a new flight and effaced restriction and blind imitation from the Book.”––Tablet of the World.

Territorial Ambitions

Many are the wars which have been fought over pieces of territory whose possession has been coveted by two or more rival nations. The greed of possession has been as fertile a cause of strife among nations as among individuals. According to the Bahá’í view, land rightly belongs not to individual men or individual nations but to humanity as a whole; nay, rather, it belongs to God alone, and all men are but tenants. On the occasion of the Battle of Benghazi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:–– “The news of the Battle of Benghazi grieves my heart. I wonder at the human savagery that still exists in the world: How is it possible for men to fight from morning till night, killing each other, shedding the blood of their fellow-men? And for what object? To gain possession of a part of the earth! Even the animals when they fight have an immediate and more reasonable cause for their attacks. How terrible is it that men who are of the higher kingdom can descend to slaying and bringing misery to their fellow-beings for the possession of a tract of land––the highest of created beings fighting to obtain the lowest form of matter, earth. “Land belongs not to one people but to all people. The earth is not man’s home but his tomb. “However great the conqueror, however many countries he may reduce to slavery, he is unable to retain any part of these devastated lands but one tiny portion––his tomb. “If more land is required for the improvement of the condition of the people, for the spread of civilization …surely it would be possible to acquire peaceably the necessary extension of territory. But war is made for the satisfaction of men’s ambition. For the sake of worldly gain to the few terrible misery is brought to numberless homes, breaking the hearts of hundreds of men and women. … “I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of his heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. When soldiers of the world draw their swords to kill, soldiers of God clasp each other’s hands. So may all the savagery of men disappear by the mercy of God, working through the pure in heart and the sincere of soul. Do not think the peace of the world an ideal impossible to attain. Nothing is impossible to the divine benevolence of God. If you desire with all your heart friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger until it reaches the minds of all men.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 23.

Universal Language

Having glanced at the principal causes of war and how they may be avoided, we may now proceed to examine certain constructive proposals made by Bahá’u’lláh with a view to achieving the Most Great Peace. The first deals with the establishment of a universal auxiliary language. Bahá’u’lláh refers to this matter in the Book of Aqdas and in many of hit Tablets. Thus in the Tablet of Ishráqát he says:–– “The Sixth Ishráq (Effulgence) is Concord and Union amongst men. Through the radiance of Union have the regions of the world at all times been illumined, and the greatest of all means thereunto is the understanding of one another’s writing and speech. Ere this, in Our Epistles, have We commanded the Trustees of the House of Justice, either to choose one of the existing tongues, or to originate a new one, and in like manner to adopt a common script, teaching these to the children in all the schools of the world, that the world may become even as one land and one home.”

About the time when this proposal of Bahá’u’lláh was first given to the world, there was born in Poland a boy named Ludovic Zamenhof, who was destined to play a leading part in carrying it into effect. Almost from his infancy, the ideal of universal language became a dominant motive in Zamenhof’s life, and the result of his devoted labors was the invention and widespread adoption of the language known as Esperanto, which has now stood the test of over thirty-five years and has proved to be a very satisfactory medium of international intercourse. It has the great advantage that it can be mastered in about a twentieth part of the time required to master such languages as English, French or German. At an Esperanto banquet given in Paris in February 1913, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:–– “Today one of the chief causes of the differences in Europe is the diversity of languages. We say this man is a German, the other is an Italian, then we meet an Englishman and then again a Frenchman. Although they belong to the same race, yet language is the greatest barrier between them. Were a universal auxiliary language in operation they would all be considered as one. “His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh wrote about this international language more than forty years ago. He says that as long as an international language is not adopted complete union between the various sections of the world will be unrealized, for we observe that misunderstandings will not be dispelled except through an international auxiliary language. “Generally speaking, the whole people of the Orient are not fully informed of events in the West, neither can the Westerners put themselves in sympathetic touch with the Easterners; their thoughts are enclosed in a casket––the international language will be the master key to open it. Were we in possession of a universal language, the Western books could easily be translated into that language, and the Eastern peoples be informed of their contents. In the same way the books of the East could be translated into that language for the benefit of the people in the West. The greatest means of progress towards the union of East and West will be a common language. It will make the whole world one home and become the strongest impulse for human advancement. It will upraise the standard of the oneness of humanity. It will make the earth one universal commonwealth. It will be the cause of love between the children of men. It will cause good fellowship between the various races. “Now, praise be to God that Dr. Zamenhof has invented the Esperanto language. It has all the potential qualities of becoming the international means of communication. All of us must be grateful and thankful to him for this noble effort; for in this way he has served his fellow-men well. With untiring effort and self-sacrifice on the part of its devotees Esperanto will become universal. Therefore every one of us must study this language and spread it as far as possible so that day by day it may receive a broader recognition, he accepted by all nations and governments of the world, and become a part of the curriculum in all the public schools. I hope that Esperanto will be adopted as the language of all the future international conferences and congresses, so that all people need acquire only two languages––one their own tongue and the other the international language. Then perfect union will be established between all the people of the world. Consider how difficult it is today to communicate with various nations. If one studies fifty languages one may yet travel through a country and not know the language. Therefore I hope that you will make the utmost effort, so that this language of Esperanto may be widely spread.”

While these allusions to Esperanto are specific and encouraging, it remains true that until the House of Justice has acted on the matter in accordance with Baha2’u’lláh’s instruction, the Bahá’í Faith is not committed to Esperanto nor to any other living or artificial tongue. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in fact, in a Tablet describing the “seven candles of unity,” places unity of language last, as if this ideal cannot be achieved until the world has attained to the unity of nations, the unity of races and the unity of religions. It is therefore impossible during these transitional years to anticipate what will result when the selection of the universal secondary language becomes eventually possible.

League of Nations

Another proposal frequently and powerfully advocated by Bahá’u’lláh was that a Universal League of Nations should be formed for the maintenance of international peace. In a letter to Queen Victoria, written in 1865, He said:–– “O concourse of rulers! Compose your differences, then will ye no more need a multitude of warriors, nor the equipments thereof, but merely such as to protect therewith your realms and your peoples. … Be united, O concourse of Sovereigns, for thereby the winds of dissension amongst you will be stilled and the peoples around you find rest. …Should one of you arise against another, arise ye, one and all, against him, for this is naught but manifest justice.” In 1875, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave a forecast of the establishment of a Universal League of Nations, which is especially interesting at the present time¹ in view of the strenuous attempts now being made to establish such a league. He wrote:–– “Yea, the true civilization will raise its banner in the center of the world when some noble rulers of high ambitions, the bright suns of the world of humanitarian enthusiasm, shall, for the good and happiness of all the human race, step forth with firm resolution and keen strength of mind and hols a conference on the question of universal peace; when, keeping fast hold of the means of enforcing their views, they shall establish a union of the states of the world, and conclude a definite treaty and strict alliance between them upon conditions not to be evaded. When the whole human race had been consulted through their representatives and invited to corroborate this treaty, which verily would be a treaty of universal peace and would be accounted sacred by all the peoples of the earth, it would be the duty of the united powers of the world to see that this great treaty should be strengthened and should endure. “In such a universal treaty the limits of the borders and boundaries of every state should be fixed, and the customs and laws of every government; all the agreements and affairs of state and arrangements between the various governments should be propounded and settled in due form; the size of the armaments for each government should likewise be definitely agreed upon, because if in the case of any state there were to be an increase in the preparation for war, it would be a cause for alarm to the other states. The bases of this powerful alliance should be so fixed that, if one of the states afterwards broke any of the articles of it, the rest of the nations of the world would rise up and reduce it to submission. Yea, the whole human race would band its forces together to overthrow that government. “If so great a remedy should be applied to the sick body of the world, it would certainly be a means of continually and permanently healing its illness by the inculcation of universal moderation” (see Mysterious Forces of Civilization, pp. 134-140).

From the Bahá’í point of view, the League of Nations does not fulfil the teachings on the subject of world order and peace. They recognize a great distinction between the “Lesser Peace”––the effort of political states to achieve international agreement––and the “Most Great Peace” of Bahá’u’lláh, which can alone be successful in that it bases social measures upon spiritual unity. Thus, on December 17, 1919. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed the following:–– “At present Universal Peace is a matter of great importance, but unity of conscience is essential, so that the foundation of this matter may become secure, its establishment firm and its edifice strong. … Although the League of Nations has been brought into existence, yet it is incapable of establishing Universal Peace. But the Supreme Tribunal which His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh has described will fulfill this sacred task with the utmost might and power.”

International Arbitration

Bahá’u’lláh also advocated the establishment of an international court of arbitration, so that differences arising between nations might be settled in accordance with justice and reason, instead of by appeal to the ordeal of battle. In a letter to the Secretary of the Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration, in August 1911, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:–– “About fifty years ago in the Book of Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh commanded people to establish universal peace and summoned all the nations of the divine banquet of international arbitration, so that the questions of boundaries, of national honor and property, and of vital interests between national honor and property, and of vital interests between nations might be settled by an arbitral court of justice, and that no nation would dare to refuse to abide by the decisions thus arrived at. If any quarrel arise between two

¹The author wrote this passage in 1919-1920.––Editor.

nations it must be adjudicated by this international court and be arbitrated and decided upon like the judgment rendered by the Judge between two individuals. If at any time any nation dares to break such a decision, all the other nations must arise to put down this rebellion.”

Again, in one of His Paris talks in 1911, he said:–– “A supreme tribunal shall be established by the peoples and governments of every nation, composed of members elected from each country and government. The members of this great council shall assemble in unity. All disputes of an international character shall be submitted to this court, its work being to arrange by arbitration everything which otherwise would be a cause of war. The mission of this tribunal would be to prevent war.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 145.

During the quarter of a century preceding the establishment of the League of Nations a permanent Court of Arbitration was established at the Hague (1900), and many arbitration treaties were signed, but most of these fell far short of the comprehensive proposals of Bahá’u’lláh. No arbitration treaty was made between two great Powers in which all matters of dispute were included. Differences affecting “vital interests,” “honor” and “independence” were specifically excepted. Not only so, but effective guarantees that nations would abide by the terms of the treaties into which they had entered were lacking. In the Bahá’í proposals, on the other hand, questions of boundaries, of national honor and of vital interest are expressly included, and agreements will have the supreme guarantee of the World-League of Nations behind them. Only when these proposals are completely carried out will international arbitration attain the full scope of its beneficent possibilities and the curse of war be finally banished from the world.

Limitation of Armaments

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“By a general agreement all the governments of the world must disarm simultaneously. It will not do if one lays down its arms and the others refuse to do so. The nation of the world must concur with each other concerning this supremely important subject, so that they may abandon together the deadly weapons of human slaughter. As long as one nation increases her military and naval budget other nations will be forced into this crazed competition through their natural and supposed interests.”–– Diary of Mírzá Ahmad Sohrab, May 11-14, 1914.

Non-resistance

As a religious body, Bahá’ís have, at the express command of Bahá’u’lláh, entirely abandoned the use of armed force in their own interests, even for strictly defensive purposes. In Írán many, many thousands of the Bábís and Bahá’ís have suffered cruel deaths because of their faith. In the early days of the Cause the Bábís on various occasions defended themselves and their families by the sword, with great courage and bravery. Bahá’u’lláh, however, forbade this, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes:––

“When Bahá’u’lláh appeared, he declared that the promulgation of the truth by such means must on no account be allowed, even for purposes of self-defense. He abrogated the rule of the sword and annulled the ordinance of ‘Holy War.’ ‘If ye be slain,’ said he, ‘it is better for you than to slay. It is through the firmness and assurance of the faithful that the Cause of the Lord must be diffused. As the faithful, fearless and undaunted, arise with absolute detachment to exalt the Word of God, and, with eyes averted from the things of this world, engage in service for the Lord’s sake and by His power, thereby will they cause the Word of Truth to triumph. These blessed souls bear witness by their life-blood to the truth of the Cause and attest it by the sincerity of their faith, their devotion and their constancy. The Lord can avail to diffuse. His Cause and to defeat the froward. We desire no defender but Him, and with our lives in our hands face the foe and welcome martyrdom’” (written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for this book).

Bahá’u’lláh wrote to one of the persecutors of His cause:––

“Great God! This sect has no need of arms. All its efforts tend toward the peace of the world. Its armies are good actions; its arms, good deeds; its generals, the fear of God. Happy is he who is equitable. “By God! These men, by their patience, their tranquillity, their resignation and their contentment, have become the manifestations of justice. Their submission has reached the point where they let themselves be killed rather than kill; and this while these oppressed ones of the earth have submitted to that which hath not been recorded by the histories of the world, and which the eye of the nations hath never seen. “How could they have endured such terrible misfortunes without stretching forth a hand to preserve themselves? What was the cause of their resignation and their tranquillity? It was the constant interdictions of the Pen of Glory, for these have seized the reins of the commandments with the force and power of the Master of the world.”––L’Épitre au Fils du Loup.

The soundness of Bahá’u’lláh’s non-resistance policy has already been proved by results. For every believer martyred in Írán, the Bahá’í faith has received a hundred new believers into its fold, and the glad and dauntless way in which these martyrs cast the crowns of their lives at the feet of their Lord has furnished to the world the clearest proof that they had found a new life for which death has no terrors, a life of ineffable fulness and joy, compared with which the pleasures of earth are but as dust in the balance, and the most fiendish physical tortures but trifles light as air.

Righteous Warfare

Although Bahá’u’lláh, like Christ, counsels his followers as individuals and as a religious body to adopt an attitude of non-resistance and forgiveness towards their enemies, he teaches that it is the duty of the community to prevent injustice and oppression. If individuals are persecuted and injured it is right for them to forgive and abstain from retaliation, but it is wrong for a community to allow pillage and murder to continue unchecked within its borders. It is the duty of a good government to prevent wrongdoing and to punish offernders.¹So also with the community of nations. If one nation oppresses or injures another, it is the duty of all other nations to unite to prevent such oppression. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes:––

“It ma happen that at a given time warlike and savage tribes may furiously attack the body politic with the intention of carrying on a wholesale slaughter of its members; under such a circumstance defence is necessary.”–– Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 170.

Hitherto the usual practice of mankind has been that if one nation attacked another, the rest of the nations of the world remained neutral, and accepted no responsibility in the matter unless their own interests were directly affected or threatened. The whole burden of defence was

¹ See also section on Treatment of Criminals.

left to the nation attacked however weak and helpless it might be. The teaching of Bahá’u’lláh reverses this position and throws the responsibility of defence not specially on the nation attacked, but on all the others, individually and collectively. As the whole of mankind is one community, an attack on any one nation is an attack on the community, and ought to be dealt with by the community. Were this doctrine generally recognized and acted on, any nation contemplating an aggression on another would know in advance that it would have to reckon with the opposition not of that other nation only, but of the whole of the rest of the world. This knowledge alone would be sufficient to deter even the boldest and most bellicose of nations. When a sufficiently strong league of peace-loving nations is established war will, therefore, become a thing of the past. During the period of transition from the old state of international anarchy to the new state of international solidarity aggressive wars will still be possible, and in these circumstances, military or other coercive action in the cause of international justice, unity and peace may be a positive duty. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes that in such case:–– “Even war is sometimes the great foundation of peace, and destroying is the cause of rebuilding …this war may be essentially attuned to the melodies of peace; and then verily this fury is kindness itself, this oppression is the essence of justice and this war is the source of reconciliation. Today, the true duty of a powerful king is to promote universal peace; for verily this signifies the freedom of all the people of the world.”––Mysterious Forces of Civilization.

Unity of East and West

Another factor which will help in bringing about universal peace is the linking together of the East and the West. The Most Great Peace is no mere cessation of hostilities, but a fertilizing union and cordial cooperation of the hitherto sundered peoples of the earth which will bear much precious fruit. In one of His talks in Paris, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:––

“In the past, as in the present, the Spiritual Sun of Truth has always shone from the horizon of the East. In the East Moses arose to lead and teach the people. On the Eastern horizon arose the Lord Christ. Muhammad was sent to an Eastern nation. The Báb arose in the Eastern land of Írán. Bahá’u’lláh lived and taught in the East. All the great spiritual teachers arose in the Eastern world. “But although the Sun of Christ dawned in the East, the radiance thereof was apparent in the West, where the effulgence of its glory was more clearly seen. The divine light of His teaching shoe with a greater force in the Western world, where it has made more rapid headway than in the land of its birth. “In these days the East is in need of material progress and the West is in need of a spiritual ideal. It would be well for the West to turn to the East for illumination, and to give in exchange its scientific knowledge. There must be this interchange of gifts. The East and the West must unite to give to each other what is lacking. This union will bring about true civilization where the spiritual is expressed and carried out in the material. Receiving thus, the one from the other, the greatest harmony will prevail, all people will be united, a state of great perfection will be attained, there will be a firm cementing, and this world will become a shining mirror for the reflection of the attributes of God. “We all, the Eastern and the Western nations, must strive day and night, with heart and soul, to achieve this high ideal, to cement the unity between all the nations of the earth. Every heart will then be refreshed, all eyes will be opened, the most wonderful power will be given, the happiness of humanity will be assured. …This will be the Paradise which is to come on earth, when all mankind will be gathered under the Tent of Unity in the Kingdom of Glory.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 17.

CHAPTER XI

VARIOUS ORDINANCES AND TEACHINGS

“Know thou that in every age and dispensation all divine ordinances are changed and transformed according to the requirement of the time, except the law of Love, which, like a fountain, always flows and is never overtaken by change.”––BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

Monastic Life

Bahá’u’lláh, like Muhammad, forbids His followers to leave lives of monastic seclusion. In the Tablet to Napoleon III we read:–– “Say: ‘O concourse of monks! Seclude not yourselves in cells and cloisters; nay, abandon them at My bidding and engage in that which profiteth your souls and the souls of mankind. …” “Enter ye into wedlock, that one may rise in your stead, for We have gainsaid impurity and enjoined fidelity upon you. Ye have followed your own ways and cast behind your backs the ways of the Lord. Fear ye the Lord and be not of the foolish. But for man, who would make mention of My name in My land, and how would My qualities and attributes be revealed? Ponder ye, and be not of them that are veiled and asleep. He that wedded not (that is Jesus) found not a place in which to abide, nor shelter wherein to lay His head, and this through that which the hands of treachery had wrought. The sanctity of His soul depended not upon that which ye have known and cherish of idle fancy, but rather upon that which We have. Ask, that ye may know His Station, that transcendeth the imaginings of all that dwell on earth. Blessed are they that know!”

Does it not seem strange that Christian sects should have instituted the monastic life and celibacy for the clergy, in view of the facts that Christ chose married men for his disciples, and both He Himself and His apostles lived lives of active beneficence, in close association and familiar intercourse with the people? In the Muhammadan Qur’án we read:–– “To Jesus the son of Mary We gave the Gospel, and We put into the hearts of those who followed Him kindness and compassion: but as to the monastic life, they invented it themselves. The desire only of pleasing God did We prescribe to them, and this they observed not as it ought to have been observed” (Qur’án, s. lvii. 27).

Whatever justification there may have been for the monastic life in ancient times and bygone circumstances, Bahá’u’lláh declares that such justification no longer exists; and, indeed, it seems obvious that the withdrawal of a large number of the most pious and God-fearing of the population from association with their fellows, and from the duties and responsibilities of parenthood, must result in the spiritual impoverishment of the race.

Marriage

The Bahá’í teachings recommend monogamy, and Bahá’u’lláh makes marriage conditional on the consent of both parties and of the parents. He says in the Book of Aqdad:––

“Verily in the Book of Bayán (the Báb’s Revelation) the matter is restricted to the consent of both (bride and bridegroom). As We desired to bring about love and friendship and the unity of the people, therefore We made it conditional upon the consent of the parents also, that enmity and ill-feeling might be avoided.”

On this point ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to an inquirer:–– “As to the question of marriage, according to the law of God: First you must select one, and then it depends on the consent of the father and mother. Before your selection they have no right of interference.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. iii, p. 563.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that as a result of this precaution of Bahá’u’lláh’s the strained relations between relatives-in-law which have become proverbial in Christian and Muhammadan countries are almost unknown among the Bahá’ís, and divorce is also of very rare occurrence. He writes on the subject of matrimony:–– “The Bahá’í betrothed is the perfect agreement and entire consent of both parties. They must show forth the utmost attention and become informed of one another’s character. The firm covenant between them must become an eternal binding, and their intentions must be everlasting affinity, friendship, unity and life. “The bridegroom must, before the bridesman and a few others, say: ‘Verily, we are content with the Will of God,’ and the bride must rejoin: ‘Verily, we are satisfied with the Desire of God.’ “The marriage of Bahá’ís means that the man and woman must become spiritually and physically united, so that they may have eternal unity throughout all the divine worlds, and improve the spiritual life of each other. This is Bahá’í matrimony.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. ii, p. 325.

Divorce

In the matter of divorce, as in that of marriage, the instructions of the prophets have varied in accordance with the circumstances of the times. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states the Bahá’í teaching, with regard to divorce, thus:–– “The friends (Bahá’ís) must strictly refrain from divorce unless something arises which compels then to separate because of their aversion for each other; in that case, with the knowledge of the Spiritual Assembly, they may decide to separate. They must then be patient and wait one complete year. If during this year harmony is not re-established between them, then their divorce may be realized…. The foundation of the Kingdom of God is based upon harmony and love, oneness, relationship and based upon harmony and love, oneness, relationship and union, not upon differences, especially between husband and wife. If one of these two become the cause of divorce, that one will unquestionably fall into great difficulties, will become the victim of formidable calamities and experience deep remorse” (Tablet to the Bahá’ís of America).

In the matter of divorce, as in other matter, Bahá’ís will, of course, be bound not only by the Bahá’í teaching, but also by the laws of the country in which they live.

The Bahá’í Calendar

Among different people 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 Julian in many countries of Eastern Europe, the Hebrew among the Jews, and the Muhammadan in Muslim communities. 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 adjust the calendar to the solar year. The Báb named the months after the attributes of God. The Bahá’í New Year, like the ancient Íránian New Year, is astronomically fixed, commencing at the March equinox (March 21^st), and the Bahá’í era commences with the year of the Báb’s declaration (i.e. 1844 A.D., 1260 A.H.). 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 Báb.¹

Spiritual Assemblies

Before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá completed his earthly mission, he had laid a basis for the development of the administrative order established in Baha’u’llah’s Writings. To show the high importance to be attributed to the institution of the Spiritual Assembly, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a tablet declared that a certain translation must be approved by the Spiritual Assembly of Cairo before publication, even though He Himself had reviewed and corrected the text.

¹ The months in the Bahá’í Calendar are as follows:––listed:

Arabic Name	English Translation	First Days
1st Bahá	Splendor	March 21st
2nd Jalál	Glory	April 9th
3rd Jamál	Beauty	April 28th
4th ‘Azama t	Grandeur	May 17th
5th Núr	Light	June 5th
6th Rahmat	Mercy	June 24th
7th Kalimát	Words	July 13th
8th Kamál	Perfection	Aug. 1st
9th Asmá’	Names	Aug. 20th
10th ‘Izzat	Might	Sept. 8th
11th Mashiyyat	Will	Sept. 27th
12th ‘Ilm	Knowledge	Oct. 16th
13th Qudrat	Power	Nov. 4th
14th Qawl	Speech	Nov. 23rd
15th Masá’il	Questions	Dec. 12th
16th Sharaf	Honor	Dec. 31st
17th Sultán	Sovereignty	Jan. 19th
18th Mulk	Dominion	Feb. 7th
Intercalary Days	s Feb. 26^th to March 1^st	inclusive

19th ‘Alá’
Loftiness
March 2nd

By Spiritual Assembly is meant the administrative body of nine persons, elected annually by each local Bahá’í community, in which is vested the authority of decision on all matters of mutual action on the part of the community. This designation is temporary, since in future the spiritual Assemblies will be termed Houses of Justice. Unlike the organization of churches, these Bahá’í bodies are social rather than ecclesiastical institutions. That is, they apply the law of consultation to all questions and difficulties arising between Bahá’ís, who are forbidden to carry them to the civil court, and seek to promote unity as well as justice throughout the community. The Spiritual Assembly is in no wise equivalent to the priest or clergy, but is responsible for upholding the teachings, stimulating active service, conducting meetings, maintaining unity, holding Bahá’í property in trust for the community, and representing it in its relations to the public and to other Bahá’í communities. The nature of the Spiritual Assembly, local and national, is described more fully in the section devoted to the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the final chapter, but its general functions have been defined by Shoghi Effendi as follows:––

“The matter of Teaching, its direction, its ways and means, its extension, its consolidation, essential as they are to the interests of the Cause, constitute by no means the only issue which should receive the full attention of these Assemblies. A careful study of Bahá’u’lláh’s and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets will reveal that other duties, no less vital to the interests of the Cause, devolve upon the elected representatives of the friends in every locality. “It is incumbent upon them to be vigilant and cautious, discreet and watchful, and protect at all times the Temple of the Cause from the dart of the mischief-maker and the onslaught of the enemy. “They must endeavor to promote amity and concord amongst the friends, efface every lingering trace of distrust, coolness and estrangement from every heart, and secure in its stead an active and whole-hearted cooperation for the service of the Cause. “They must do their utmost to extend at all times the helping hand to the poor, the sick, the disabled, the orphan, the widow, irrespective of color, caste and creed. “They must promote by every means in their power the material as well as spiritual enlightenment of youth, the means for the education of children, institute, whenever possible, Bahá’í educational institutions, organize and supervise their work and provide the best means for their progress and development. … “They must undertake the arrangement of the regular meetings of the friends, the feasts and anniversaries, as well as the special gatherings designed to serve and promote the social, intellectual and spiritual interests of their fellow-man. “They must supervise in these days when the Cause is still in its infancy all Bahá’í publications and translations, and provide in general for a dignified and accurate presentation of all Bahá’í literature and its distribution to the general public.”

The possibilities inherent in Bahá’í institutions can only be estimated when one realizes how rapidly modern civilization is disintegrating for lack of that spiritual power which can alone supply the necessary attitude of responsibility and humility to the leaders and the requisite loyalty to the individual members of society.

BAHÁ’Í FEASTS, ANNIVERSARIES AND DAYS OF FASTING

Feast of Ridván (Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh, April 21––May 2, 1863. Feast of Naw-Rúz (New Yaer), March 21. Declaration of the Báb, May 23, 1844. Day of the Covenant, November 26. Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, November 12, 1817. Birth of the Báb, October 20, 1819. Birth of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, May 23, 1844. Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, May 29, 1892. Martrydom of the Báb, July 9, 1850. Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, November 28, 1921. Fasting season lasts 19 days beginning with the first day of the month of ‘Alá’, March 2––the feast of Naw-Ruz follows immediately after.

Feasts

The essential joyousness of the Bahá’í religion finds expression in numerous feasts and holidays throughout the year. In a talk of the Feast of Naw-Rúz, in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:––

“In the sacred laws of God, in every cycle and dispensation there are blessed feasts, holidays and workless days. On such days all kinds of occupations, commerce, industry, agriculture, etc., should be suspended. “All should rejoice together, hold general meetings, become as one assembly, so that the national oneness, unity and harmony may be demonstrated in the eyes of all. “As it is a blessed day it should not be neglected, nor deprived of results by making it a day devoted to the pursuit of mere pleasure. “During such days institutions should be founded that may be of permanent benefit and value to the people. … “Today there is no result or fruit greater than guiding the people. Undoubtedly the friends of God, upon such a day, must leave tangible philanthropic or ideal traces that should reach all mankind and not pertain only to the Bahá’ís. In this wonderful dispensation, philanthropic affairs are for all humanity without exception, because it is the manifestation of the mercifulness of God. Therefore, my hope is that the friends of God, every one of them, may become as the mercy of God to all mankind.”

The Feasts of Naw-Rúz (New Year) and Ridván, the Anniversaries of the Birth of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, and of the Báb’s Declaration (which is also the birthday of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá), are the great joy-days of the year for Bahá’ís. In Írán they are celebrated by picnics or festal gatherings at which music, the chanting of verses and tablets, and short addresses suitable to the occasion are contributed by those present. The intercalary days between the 18^th and 19^th months (that is, February 26^th to March 1^st inclusive) are specially devoted to hospitality to friends, the giving of presents, ministering to the poor and sick, etc. The anniversaries of the martyrdom of the Báb and the departure of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are celebrated with solemnity by appropriate meetings and discourses, the chanting of prayers and tablets.

Fast

The nineteenth month, following immediately on the hospitality of the intercalary days, is the month of the fast. During nineteen days the fast is observed by abstaining from both food and drink from sunrise to sunset. As the month of the fast ends as the March equinox, the fast always falls in the same season, namely, spring in the northern, and autumn in the southern, hemisphere; never in the extreme heat of summer nor in the extreme cold of winter, when hardship would be likely to result. At that season, moreover, the interval between sunrise and sunset is approximately the same all over the habitable portion of the globe, namely, from about 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. The fast is not binding on children and invalids, on travellers, or on those who are too old or too weak (including women who are with child or have babes at the breast). There is much evidence to show that a periodical fast such as is enjoined by the Bahá’í teachings is beneficial as a measure of physical hygiene, but just as the reality of the Bahá’í feast does not lie in the consumption of physical food, but in the commemoration of God, which is our spiritual food, so the reality of the Bahá’í fast does not consist in abstention from physical food, although that may help in the purification of the body, but in the abstention from the desires and lusts of the flesh, and in severance from all save God. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Fasting is a symbol. Fasting signifies abstinence from lust. Physical fasting is a symbol of that abstinence, and is a reminder; that is, just as a person abstains from physical appetites, he is to abstain from self-appetites and self-desires. But mere abstention from food has no effect on the spirit. It is only a symbol, a reminder. Otherwise it is of no importance. Fasting for this purpose does not mean entire abstinence from food. The golden rule as to food is do not take too much or too little. Moderation is necessary. There is a sect in India who practice extreme abstinence, and gradually reduce their food until they exist on almost nothing. But their intelligence suffers. A man is not fit to do service for God with brain or body if he is weakened by lack of food. He cannot see clearly” (quoted by Miss E.S. Stevens in Fortnightly Review, June 1911).

Meetings

‘Abdu’l-Bahá attaches the greatest importance to regular meetings of the believers for united worship, for the exposition and study of the teachings and for consultation regarding the progress of the Movement. In one of His Tablets He says:–– “It hath been decided by the Desire of God that union and harmony may day by day increase among the friends of God and the handmaids of the Merciful. Not until this is realized will the affairs advance by any means whatever! And the greatest means for the union and harmony of al the Spiritual Meetings. This matter is very important and is as a magnet to attract divine confirmation.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. i, p. 125.

In the spiritual meetings of Bahá’ís contentions argument and the discussion of political or worldly affairs must be avoided: the sole aim of the believers should be to teach and learn Divine Truth, to have their hearts filled with Divine Love, to attain more perfect obedience to the Divine Will, and to promote the coming of the Kingdom of God. In an address given at New York in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:––

“The Bahá’í meeting must be the meeting of the Celestial Concourse. It must be illumined by the light of the Celestial Concourse. The hearts must be as mirrors wherein the lights of the Sun of Truth shall be revealed. Every bosom must be as a telegraph station: one terminal of civil wire shall be in the bosom of the soul, the other in the Celestial Concourse, so that messages may be exchanged between them. In this way from the Abhá Kingdom inspiration shall flow and in all discussions harmony shall prevail. …The more agreement, unity and love prevail among you, the more shall the confirmations of God assist you and the help and aid of the Blessed Beauty, Bahá’u’lláh, support you.”

In one of His Tablets He said:––

“In these meetings outside conversation must be entirely avoided, and the gathering must be confined to chanting the verses and reading the words, and to matters which concern the Cause of God, such as explaining proofs, adducing clear and manifest evidences, and tracing the signs of the Beloved Ones of the creatures. Those who attend the meeting must, before entering, be arrayed with the utmost cleanliness and turn to the Abhá Kingdom, and then enter the meeting with all meekness and humbleness; and while the tablets are being read, must be quiet and silent; and if one wishes to speak he must do so with all courtesy, with the satisfaction and permission of those present, and do it with eloquence and fluency.”

The Nineteen Day Feast

With the development of the Bahá’í administrative order since the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Nineteen Day Feast, observed on the first day of each Bahá’í month, has assumed a very special importance, providing as it does not only for community prayer and reading from the Holy Books, but also for general consultation on all current Bahá’í affairs. This Feast is the occasion when the Spiritual Assembly makes its reports to the community and invites both discussion of plans and suggestions for new and better methods of service.

Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.¹

Bahá’u’lláh left instructions that temples of worship should be built by his followers in every country and city. To these temples he gave the name of “Mashriqu’l-Adhkár,” which means “Dawning Place of God’s Praise.” The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is to be a nine-sided building surmounted by a dome, and as beautiful as possible in design and workmanship. It is to stand in a large garden adorned with fountains, trees and flowers, surrounded by a number of accessory buildings devoted to educational, charitable, social purposes, so that the worship of God in the temple may always be closely associated with reverent delight in the beauties of nature and of art, and with practical work for the amelioration of social conditions.² In Írán, up till the present, Bahá’ís have been debarred from building temples for public worship, and so the first great Mashriqu’l-Adhkár was built in ‘Ishqábád, Russia. The second Bahá’í House of Worship stands on the shore of Lake Michigan, a few miles north of Chicago. Designed by the late Louis Bourgeois, its architecture has attracted widespread attention. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá dedicated the site during his visit to America in 1912. The superstructure was completed in April, 1931, nineteen years from the day of dedication. Its external decoration, based upon designs left by the architect, has been applied in the form of artificial stone, cast in units from molds prepared from hand-carved models, a new process. The resulting surface, while carrying an intricate and beautiful design, has greater durability than any natural stone. By 1935, the dome and clerestory sections had been completed. During recent years, the Bahá’ís of Írán have also acquired a site for Mashriqu’l-Adhkár overlooking the city of Tihrán.

In tablets referring to this “Mother-Temple” of the West, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes as follows:––

“Praise be to God, that, at this moment, from every country in the world, according to their various means, contributions are continually being sent toward the fund of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in America. …

¹(Pronounced Azkar). ² In connection with the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár it is interesting to recall Tennyson’s lines:–– “I dreamed That stone by stone I reared a sacred fane, A temple, neither Pagod, Mosque nor Church, To every breath from heaven and Truth and Peace And Love and Justice came and dwelt therein.” Akbar’s Dream, 1892.

From the day of Adam until now, such a thing has never been witnessed by man, that from the furthermost country of Asia contributions were forwarded to America. This is through the power of the Covenant of God. Verily this is a cause of astonishment for the people of perception. It is hoped that the believers of God may show magnanimity and raise a great sum for the building. … I want everyone left free to act as he wills. If anyone wishes to put money into other things, let him do so. Do not interfere with him in any way, but be assured the most important thing at this time is the building of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. “The Mashrequ’l-Adhkár must have nine sides, doors, fountains, paths, gateways, columns and gardens, with ground floor, galleries and domes, and in design and construction must be beautiful. The mystery of the edifice is great, and cannot be unveiled yet, but its erection is most important undertaking of this day. The Mashrequ’l-Adhkár has important accessories, which are accounted of the basic foundations. These are: school for orphan children, hospital and dispensary for the poor, home for the incapable, college for the higher scientific education, and hospice. In ever city a great Mashriqu’l-Adhkár must be founded after this order. In the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár services will be held every morning. There will be no organ in the Temple. In buildings near by, festivals, services, conventions, public meetings and spiritual gatherings will be held, but in the Temple the chanting and singing will be unaccompanied. Open ye the gates of the Temple to all mankind. “When these institutions, college, hospital, hospice and establishment for the incurables, university for the study of higher sciences, giving post-graduate courses, and other philanthropic buildings are built, the doors will be opened to all the nations and religions. There will be absolutely no line of demarcation drawn. Its charities will be dispensed irrespective of color or race. Its gates will be flung wide open to mankind; prejudice towards none, love for all. The central building will be devoted to the purpose of prayer and worship. Thus …religion will become harmonized with science, and science will be the handmaid of religion, both showering their material and spiritual gifts on all humanity.”

Life After Death

Bahá’u’lláh tells us that the life in the flesh is but the embryonic stage of our existence, and that escape from the body is like a new birth through which the human spirit enters on a fuller, freer life. He writes:–– …”Know thou of a truth that the soul, after its separation from the body, will continue to progress until it attaineth the presence of God, in a state and condition which neither the revolution of ages and centuries, nor the changes and chances of this world, can alter. It will endure as long as the Kingdom of God. His sovereignty, His dominion and power will endure. It will manifest the signs of God and His attributes, and will reveal His loving kindness and bounty. The movement of My Pen is stilled when it attempteth to befittingly describe the loftiness and glory of so exalted a station. The honor with which the Hand of Mercy will invest the soul is such as no tongue can adequately reveal, nor any other earthly agency describe. 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. …The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men. The Prophets and Messengers of God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth. The purpose underlying their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the Most High. The light which these souls radiate is responsible for the progress of the world and the advancement of its peoples. They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the peoples. They are like unto leaven which leaveneth the world of being, and constitute the animating force through which the arts and wonders of the world and made manifest. Through the clouds rain their bounty upon men, and the earth bringeth forth its fruits. All things must needs have a cause, a motive power, an animating principle. These souls and symbols of detachment have provided and will continue to provide, the supreme moving impulse in the world of being. The world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different from that of the child while still in the womb of the mother. …”––Gleanings, pp. 155-157.

Similarly ‘Abdu’l-Bahá writes:––

“The mysteries of which man is heedless in the earthly world, those will he discover in the heavenly world, and there will he be informed of the secrets of the truth; how much more will he recognize or discover persons with whom he has been associated. 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. They will even manifestly behold the Beauty of God in that world. Likewise will they find all the friends of God, both those of the former and recent times, present in the heavenly assemblage. “The difference and distinction between men will naturally become realized after their departure from this mortal world. But this distinction is not in respect to place, but in respect to the soul and conscience. For the Kingdom of God is sanctified (or free) from time and place; it is another world and another universe. And know thou for a certainty that in the divine worlds the spiritual beloved ones will recognize one another, and will seek union with each other, but a spiritual union. Likewise a love that one may have entertained for anyone will not be forgotten in the world of the Kingdom, nor will thou forget there the life that thou hadst in the material world.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. i, p. 204.

Heaven and Hell

Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá regard the descriptions of Heaven and Hell given in some of the older religious writings as symbolic, like the Biblical story of the Creation, and not as literally true. According to them, Heaven is the state of perfection, and Hell that of imperfection; Heaven is harmony with God’s will and with our fellow, and Hell is the want of such harmony; Heaven is the condition of spiritual life, and Hell that of spiritual death. A man may be either in Heaven or in Hell while still in the body. The joys of Heaven are spiritual joys, and the pains of Hell consist in the deprivation of these joys. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“When men are delivered through the light of faith from the darkness of vices, and become illuminated with the radiance of the sun of Truth, and ennobled with all the virtues, they esteem this to be the greatest reward and they know it to be the true paradise. In the same way they consider that the spiritual punishment is to be subjected to the world of nature, to be veiled from God, to be brutal and ignorant, to fall into carnal lusts, to be absorbed in animal frailties, to be characterized with dark qualities … these are the greatest punishments and tortures. “The rewards of the other world are the perfections and the peace obtained in the spiritual worlds after leaving this world. The spiritual favors, the various spiritual gifts in the Kingdom of God, the gaining of the desires of the heart and soul, and the meeting of God in the world of eternity. In the same way, the punishments of the other world consist in being deprived of the special divine blessings and the absolute bounties and falling into the lowest degrees of existence. He who is deprived of these divine favors, although he continues after death, is considered as dead by the people of truth. “The wealth of the other world is nearness to God. Consequently it is certain that those who are near the Divine Court are allowed to intercede, and this intercession is approved by God. It is even possible that the condition of those who have died in sin and unbelief may become changed; that is to say, they may be the object of pardon through the Bounty of God, not through His Justice; for bounty is giving without desert, and justice is giving what is deserved. As we have power to pray for these souls here, so likewise we shall possess the same power in the other world, which is the Kingdom of God. Therefore in that world also they can make progress. As here they can they plead for forgiveness, and receive light through entreaties and supplications. “Both before and after putting off this material form, there is progress in perfection, but not in state. There is no other being higher than a perfect man. Man when he has reached that state can still make progress in perfections but not in state, because there is no state higher than that of a perfect man to which he can transfer himself. He only progresses in the state of humanity, for the human perfections are infinite. Thus, however learned a man may be we can imagine one more learned. Hence, as the perfections of humanity are endless, man can also make progress in perfections after leaving this world.”––Some Answered Questions.

Oneness of the Two Worlds

The unity of humanity as taught by Bahá’u’lláh refers not only to men still in the flesh, but to all human beings, whether embodied or disembodied. Not only all men now living on the earth, but all in the spiritual world as well, are parts of one and the same organism and these two parts are intimately dependent, one on the other. Spiritual communion one with the other, far from being impossible or unnatural, is constant and inevitable. Those whose spiritual faculties are as yet undeveloped are unconscious of this vital connection, but as one’s faculties develop, communications with those beyond the veil gradually becomes more conscious and definite. To the prophets and saints this spiritual communion is as familiar and real as are ordinary vision and conversation to the rest of mankind. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:–– “The visions of the prophets are not dreams; no they are spiritual discoveries and have reality. They say, for example: ‘I saw a person in a certain form, and I said such a thing, and he gave me such an answer.’ This vision is in the world of wakefulness, and not in that of sleep; it is a spiritual discovery. “Among spiritual souls, there are spiritual understandings, discoveries, a communion which is purified from imagination and fancy, an association which is sanctified from time and place. So it is written in the gospel that on Mount Tabor Moses and Elias came to Christ, and it is evident that this was not a material meeting. It was a spiritual condition. Communications such as these are real, and produce wonderful effects in the minds and thoughts of men, and cause their hearts to be attracted.”––Some Answered Questions.

While admitting the reality of “supernormal” psychic faculties he deprecates attempts to force their development prematurely. These faculties will unfold naturally when the right time comes, if we only follow the path of spiritual progress which the prophets have traced for us. He says:–– “To tamper with psychic forces while in this world interferes with the condition of the soul in the world to come. These forces are real, but normally, are not active on this plane. The child in the womb has its eyes, ears, hands, feet, etc., but they are not in activity. The whole purpose of life in the material world is the coming forth into the world of Reality, where those forces will become active. They belong to that world” (from Miss Buckton’s notes, revised by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá).

Intercourse with spirit of the departed ought not to be sought for its own sake, nor in order to gratify idle curiosity. It is both a privilege and duty, however, for those on one side of the veil to love and help and pray for those on the other. Prayers for the dead are enjoined on Bahá’ís. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said to Miss E.J. Rosenberg in 1904: The grace of effective intercession is one of the perfections belonging to advanced souls, as well as to the Manifestations of God. Jesus Christ had the power of interceding for the forgiveness of His enemies when on earth, and He certainly has this power now. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá never mentions the name of a dead person without saying ‘May God forgive me!’ or words to that effect. Followers of the prophets have also this power of praying for the forgiveness of souls. Therefore we may not think that any souls are condemned to a stationary condition of suffering or loss arising from absolute ignorance of God. The power of effective intercession for them always exists. … The rich in the other world can help the poor, as the rich can help the poor here. In every world all are the creatures of God. They are always dependent on Him. They are not independent and can never be so. While they are needful of God, the more they supplicate, the richer they become. What is their merchandise, their wealth? In the other world what is help and assistance? It is intercession. Undeveloped souls must gain progress at first through the supplications of the spiritually rich; afterwards they can progress through their own supplications. Again He says:–– “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.”––‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 97.

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 hearing 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.”––Notes of Mary Hanford Ford: Paris, 1911.

On the other hand, Bahá’u’lláh writes:––

“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 him, by a Command from God, the Dearest and the praiseworthy” (Tablet translated by ‘Alí Kulí Khán).

When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was asked how it was that the heart often turns with instinctive appeal to some friend who has passed into the next life, he answered:––

“Is a law of God’s creation that the weak should lean upon the strong. Those to whom you turn may be mediators of God’s Power to you, even as when on earth, but it is the One Holy Spirit which strengthens all men.”–– ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, p. 97.

The Non-existence of Evil

According to Bahá’í philosophy it follows from the doctrine of the unity of God that there can be no such thing as positive evil. There can only be one Infinite. If there were any other power in the universe outside of or opposed to the One, then the One would not be infinite. Just as darkness is but the absence or lesser degree of light, so evil is but the absence or lesser degree of good––the undeveloped state. A bad man is a man with the higher side of his nature still undeveloped. If he is selfish, the evil is not in his love of self––all love, even self-love, is good, is divine. The evil is that he has such a poor, inadequate misguided love of self and such a lock of love for others and for God. He looks upon himself as only a superior sort of animal, and foolishly pampers his lower nature as he might pamper a pet dog––with worse results in his own case than in that of the dog.

In one of His letters ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“As to thy remark, that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá hath said to some of the believers that evil never exists, nay rather, it is a non-existent thing, this is but truth, inasmuch s the greatest evil is man’s going astray and being veiled from truth. Error is lack of guidance; darkness is absence of light; ignorance is lack of knowledge; falsehood is lack of truthfulness; blindness is lack of sight; and deafness is lack of hearing. Therefore, error, blindness, deafness and ignorance are non-existent things.”

Again He says:––

“In creation there is no evil: all is good. Certain qualities and natures innate in some men and apparently blameworthy are not so in reality. For example, from the beginning of his life you may see in a nursing child the signs of desire, of anger and of temper. Then it may be said that good and evil are innate in the reality of man, and this is contrary to the pure goodness of nature and creation. The answer is that desire, which is to ask for something more, is a praiseworthy quality if used suitably. If a man has the desire to acquire science and knowledge, or to become compassionate, generous and just, it is most praiseworthy. So if he exercises anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts it is very praiseworthy; but if he does not use these qualities in a right way, it is blameworthy. …It is the same with all the natural qualities of man, which constitute the capital of life; if they be used and displayed in an unlawful way, they become blameworthy. Therefore it is clear that creation is purely good.”––Some Answered Questions.

Evil is always lack of life. If the lower side of man’s nature is disproportionately developed, the remedy is not less life for that side, but more life for the higher side, so that the balance may be restored. “I am come,” said Christ, “that ye may have life what we all need––life, more life, the life that is life indeed! Bahá’u’lláh’s message is the same as Christ’s “Today,” he says, “this servant has assuredly come to vivify the world” (Tablet to Ra’ís), and to his followers he says: “Come, that we may make you the vivifiers of the world” (Tablet to the Pope).

CHAPTER XII

RELIGION AND SCIENCE

“’Alí, the son-in-law of Muhammad, said: “That which is in conformity with science is also in conformity with religion.’ Whatever the intelligence of man cannot understand, religion ought not to accept. Religion and science walk hand in hand, and any religion contrary to science is not the truth.”––‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Conflict Due to Error

One of the fundamental teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is that true science and true religion must always be in harmony. Truth is one, and whenever conflict appears it is due, not to truth, but to error. Between so-called science and so-called religion there have been fierce conflicts all down the ages, but looking back on these conflicts in the light of fuller truth we can trace them every time to ignorance, prejudice, vanity, greed, narrow-mindedness, intolerance, obstinacy or something of the kind–– something foreign to the true spirit of both science and religion, for the spirit of both is one. As Huxley tells us, “The great deeds of philosophers have been less the fruit of their intellect than the direction of that intellect by an eminently religious tone of mind. Truth has yielded herself rather to their patience, their love, their single-heartedness and self-denial than to their logical acumen.” Boole, the mathematician, assures us that “geometric induction is essentially a process of prayer––an appeal from the finite mind to the Infinite for light on finite concerns.” The great prophets of religion and science have never denounced each other. It is the unworthy followers of these great world-teachers––worshippers of the letter but not of the spirit of their teaching––who have always been the persecutors of the later prophets and always been the persecutors of the later prophets and the bitterest opponents of progress. They have studied the light of the particular revelation which they hold sacred, and have defined its properties and peculiarities as seen by their limited vision, with the utmost care and precision. That is for them the one true light. If God in His infinite bounty sends fuller light from another quarter, and the torch of inspiration burns brighter than before from a new torch-holder, instead of welcoming the new light and worshipping with renewed gratitude the Father of all lights they are angry and alarmed. This new light does not correspond with their definitions. It has not the orthodox color, and does not shine from the orthodox place, therefore it must at all costs be extinguished lest it lead men astray into the paths heresy! Many enemies of the prophets are of this type––blind leaders of the blind, who oppose new and fuller truth in the supposed interests of what they believe to be the truth. Others are of baser sort and are moved by selfish interests to fight against truth, or else block the path of progress by reason of spiritual deadness and inertia.

Persecution of Prophets

The great prophets of religion have always been, at their coming, despised and rejected of men. Both they and their early followers have given their backs to the smiters and sacrificed their possessions and their lives in the path of God. Even in our own time this has been so. Since 1844 A.D., many thousands of Báb’ís in Írán have suffered cruel deaths for their faith, and many more have borne imprisonment, exile, poverty and degradation. The latest of the great religions has been “baptized in blood” more than its predecessors, and martyrdoms have continued down to the present day. With the prophets of science the same thing has happened. Giordano Bruno was burned as a heretic in 1600 A.D. for teaching, amongst other things, that the earth moved around the sun. A few years later the veteran philosopher Galileo had to abjure the same doctrine on his knees in order to escape a similar fate. In later times, Darwin and the pioneers of modern geology were vehemently denounced for daring to dispute the teaching of Holy Writ that the world was made in six days, and less than six thousand years ago! The opposition to new scientific truth has not all come from the Church, however. The orthodox in science have been just as hostile to progress as the orthodox in religion. Columbus was laughed to scorn by the so-called scientists of his day, who proved to their own satisfaction that if ships did succeed in getting down to the Antipodes over the side of the globe, it would be absolutely impossible for them to get up again! Galvani, the pioneer of electrical science was scoffed at by his learned colleagues, and called the “frogs’ dancing master.” Harvey, who discovered the circulation of the blood, was ridiculed and persecuted by his professional brethren on account of his heresy and driven from his lecture chair. When Stephenson invented his locomotive engine, European mathematicians of the locomotive engine, European mathematicians of the tine, instead of opening their eyes and studying the facts, continued for years to prove to their own satisfaction that an engine on smooth rails could never pull a load, as the wheels would simply slip round and the train make no progress. To examples like these one might add indefinitely, both from ancient and modern history, and even from our own times. Dr. Zamenhof, the inventor of Esperanto, had to battle for his wonderful international language against the same sort of ridicule, contempt, and stupid opposition which greeted Columbus, Galvani, and Stephenson. Even Esperanto, which was given to the world so recently as 1887, has had its martyrs.

The Dawn of Reconciliation

In the last half century or so, however, a change has come over the spirit of times, a New Light of Truth has arisen which has already made the controversies of last century seem strangely out of date. Where are the now the boastful materialists and dogmatic atheists who, only a few short years ago, were threatening to drive religion out of the world? And where are the preachers who so confidently consigned those who did not accept their dogmas to the fires of hell and the tortures of the damned? Echoes of their clamor we may still hear, but their day is fast declining and their doctrines are being discredited. We can see now that the doctrines around which their controversies waxed most bitter were neither true science nor true religion. What scientist in the light of modern psychical research could still maintain that “Brain secretes thought as the liver secretes bile”? Or that decay of the body is necessarily accompanied by decay of the soul? We now see that thought to be really free must soar to the realms of psychical and spiritual phenomena and not be confined to the material only. We realize that what we now know about nature is but as a drop in the ocean compared with what remains to be discovered. We therefore freely admit the possibility of miracles, not indeed in the sense of the breaking of nature’s laws, but as manifestations of the operation of subtle forces which are still unknown to us, as electricity and X-rays were to our ancestors. On the other hand, who amongst our leading religious teachers would still declare it is necessary to salvation to believe that the world was made in six days, or that the description of the plagues of Egypt as given in the Book of Exodus is literally true, or that the sun stood still in the heavens (that is, that the earth stopped its rotation) to let Joshua pursue his enemies, or that if a man accept not the creed of St. Athanasius, “without doubt he shall perish everlastingly”? Such beliefs may still be repeated in form, but who accepts them in their literal sense and without reservation? Their hold on people’s hearts and minds has gone or is fast going. The religious world owes an even heavier debt to the real saints and mystics who, through good report and ill, held to the vital truths of spiritual experience and demonstrated to an incredulous world that the life is more than meat and the unseen greater than the seen. These scientists and saints were like the mountain-peaks which caught the first rays of the rising sun and reflected them to the lower world, but now the sun has risen and its rays are illuminating the world. In the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh we have a glorious revelation of truth which satisfiers both heart and mind, in which religion and science are at one.

Search after Truth

Complete harmony with science is evident in the Bahá’í teachings regarding the way in which we must seek the truth. Man must cut himself free from all prejudice so that he may search after truth unhindered. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“In order to find truth we must give up our prejudices, our own small trivial notions; an open receptive mind is essential. If our chalice is full of self, there is no room in it for the water of life. The fact that we imagine ourselves to be right and everybody else wrong is the greatest of all obstacles in the path towards unity, and unity is essential if we would reach Truth, for Truth is one. … “No one truth can contradict another truth. Light is good in whatsoever lamp it is burning! A rose is beautiful in whatsoever garden it may bloom! A star has the same radiance if it shines from the East or from the West! Be free from prejudice; so will you love the Sun of Truth from whatever point in the horizon it may arise. You will realize that if the Divine Light of Truth shone in Jesus Christ, it also shone in Moses and Buddha. This is what is meant by the search after truth. “It also means that we must be willing to clear away all that we have previously learned, all that would clog our steps on the way to Truth; we must not shrink, if necessary, from beginning our education all over again. We must not allow our love for any one religion or any one personality so to blind our eyes that we become fettered by superstition. When we are freed from all these bond, seeking with liberated minds, then shall we be able to arrive at our goal.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 127.

True Agnosticism

The Bahá’í teaching is at one with science and philosophy in declaring the essential nature of God to be entirely beyond human comprehension. As emphatically as Huxley and Spencer teach that the nature of the Great First Cause is unknowable, does Bahá’u’lláh teach that “God comprehends all; He cannot be comprehended.” To knowledge of the Divine essence “the way is barred and the road is impassable,” for how can the finite comprehend the Infinite; how can a drop contain the ocean or a mote dancing in the sunbeam embrace the universe? Yet the whole universe is eloquent of God. In each drop of water are hidden oceans of meaning , and in each mote is concealed a whole universe of significances, reaching far beyond the ken of the most learned scientist. The chemist and physicist pursuing their researches into the nature of matter, have passed from masses to molecules, from molecules to atoms, from atoms to electrons and ether, but at every step the difficulties of the research increase till the most profound intellect can penetrate no farther, and can but bow in silent awe before the unknown Infinite which remains ever shrouded in inscrutable mystery.

“Flower in the crannied wall, I pluck you out of the crannies. I hold you here, root and all in my hand, Little flower, but if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is.”––TENNYSON.

If the flower in the crannied wall, if even a single atom of matter, presents mysteries which the most profound intellect cannot solve, how is it possible for man to comprehend the universe? How dare he pretend to define or describe the Infinite cause of all things? All theological speculations about the nature of God’s essence are thus swept aside as foolish and futile.

Knowledge of God

But if the essence is unknowable, the manifestations of its bounty are everywhere apparent. If the first cause cannot be conceived, its effects appeal to our every faculty. Just as knowledge of a painter’s pictures gives to the connoisseur a true knowledge of the artist, so knowledge of the universe in any of its aspects––knowledge of nature or of human nature, of things visible or of things invisible––is knowledge of God’s handiwork, and gives to the seeker of Divine truth a real knowledge of His Glory.

“The heavens declare the Glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge.”––Ps. xix.

The Divine Manifestations

All things manifest the bounty of God with greater or less clearness, as all material objects exposed to the sun reflect its light in greater or less degree. A heap of soot reflects a little, a stone reflects more, a piece of chalk more still, but in none of these reflections can we trace the form and color of the glorious orb. A perfect mirror, however, reflects the sun’s very form and color, so that looking into it is like looking at the sun itself. So it is with the way in which things speak to us of God. The stone can tell us something of the Divine attributes, the flower can tell us more, the animal with its marvelous senses, instincts and power of movement, more still. In the lowest of our fellow-men we can trace wonderful faculties which tell of a wonderful Creator. In the poet, the saint, the genius, we find a higher revelation still, but the great prophets and founders of religions are the perfect mirrors by which the religions are the perfect mirrors by which the love and wisdom of God are reflected to the rest of mankind. Other men’s mirrors are dulled by the stains and the dust of selfishness and prejudice, but these are pure and without blemish––wholly devoted to the Will of God. Thus they become the greatest educators of mankind. The Divine teachings and the Power of the Holy Spirit proceeding through them have been and are the cause of the progress of humanity, for God helps men through other men. Each man who is higher in the ascent of life is the means of helping those who are lower, and those who are the highest of all are the helpers of all mankind. It is as if all men were connected together by elastic cords. If a man rises a little above the general level of his fellows, the cords tighten. His former companions tend to draw him back, but with an equal force he draws them upwards. The higher he gets, the more he feels the weight of the whole world pulling him back, and the more dependent he is on the divine support, which reaches him through the few who are still above him. Highest of all are the great Prophets and Saviors, the Divine “Manifestations”––those perfect men who were each, in their day, without peer or companion, and bore the burden of the whole world, supported by God alone. “The burden of our sins was upon Him” was true of each of them. Each was the “Way, the Truth and the Life” to His followers. Each was the channel of God’s bounty to every heart that would receive it. Each had his part to play in the great divine plan for the upliftment of humanity.

Creation

Bahá’u’lláh teaches that the universe is without beginning in time. It is a perpetual emanation from the Great First Cause. The Creator always had His creation and always will have. Worlds and systems may come and go, but the universe remains. All things that undergo composition, in time undergo decomposition, but the component elements remain. The creation of a world, a daisy or a human body is not “making something out of nothing,” it is rather a bringing together of elements which before were scattered, a making visible of something which before was hidden. By and by the elements will again be scattered, the form will disappear, but nothing is really lost or annihilated; ever new combinations and forms arise from the ruins of the old. Bahá’u’lláh confirms the scientists who claim, not six thousand, but millions and billions of years for the history of the earth’s creation. The evolution theory does not deny creative power. It only tries to describe the method of its manifestation, and the wonderful story of the material universe which the astronomer, the geologist, the physicist and the biologist are gradually unfolding to our gaze is, rightly appreciated, far more capable of evoking the deepest reverence and worship than the crude and bald account of creation given in the Hebrew Scriptures. The old account in the Book of Genesis had, however the advantages of indicating by a few bold strokes of symbolism the essential spiritual meanings of the story, as a master painter may, by a few strokes of the brush, convey expressions which the mere plodder with the most laborious attention to details blind us to the spiritual meaning then we should be better without them, but if we have once firmly grasped the essential meaning of the whole scheme, then knowledge of the details will give our conception a wonderful added richness and splendor and make it a magnificent picture instead of a mere sketch plan. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Know that it is one of the most abstruse spiritual truths that the world of existence, that is to say, this endless universe, has no beginning. … Know that a Creator without a creature is impossible, a provider without those provided for cannot be conceived; for all the divine names and attributes demand the existence of beings. If we could imagine a time when no being existed, this imagination would be the denial of the Divinity of God. Moreover, absolute non-existence cannot become existence. If the beings were absolutely non-existent, existence would not have come into being. Therefore, as the Essence of Unity, that is, the existence of God, is everlasting and eternal and has neither beginning nor end, it is certain that this world of existence has also neither beginning nor end. Yet, it may be that one of the parts of the universe, one of the globes, for example, may come into existence, or may be disintegrated, but the other globes are still existing. As each globe has a beginning, necessarily it has an end, because every composition, collective or particular, must of necessity become decomposed; the only difference is that some are quickly decomposed and others more slowly, but it is impossible that a composed thing should not eventually be decomposed.”––Some Answered Questions.

The Descent of Man

Bahá’u’lláh also confirms the biologist who finds for the body of man a history reaching back in the development of the species though millions of years. Starting from a very simple, apparently insignificant form, the human body is pictured as developing stage by stage, in the course of untold generations, becoming more and more complex, and better and better organized until the man of the present day is reached. Each individual human body develops through such a series of stages, from a tiny round speck of jelly-like matter to the fully developed man. If this is true of the individual, as nobody denies, why should we consider it derogatory to human dignity to admit a similar development for the species? This is a very different thing from claiming that man is descended from a monkey. The human embryo may at one time resemble a fish with gill-slits and tail, but it is not a fish. It is a human embryo. So the human species may at various stages of its long development have resembled to the outward eye various species of lower animals, but it was still the human species, possessing the mysterious latent power of developing into man as we know him today, nay more, of developing in the future, we trust, into something far higher still.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“It is clear that this terrestrial globe in its present form did not come into existence at all once, but gradually passed through different phases until it became adorned with its present perfection. … Man in the beginning of his existence and in the womb of the earth, like the embryo in the womb of the mother, gradually grew and developed, and passed from one form to another, until he appeared with this beauty and perfection, this force and this power. It is certain that in the beginning he had not this loveliness and grace and elegance, and that he only by degrees attained this shape, this form, this beauty and this grace. … Man’s existence on this earth, from the beginning until it reaches this stage, form and condition, necessarily lasts a long time … but from the beginning of man’s existence he is a distinct species. … Admitting that the traces of organs which have disappeared actually exist (in the human body), this is not a proof of the impermanence and the non-originality of the species. At the most it proves that the form and fashion and the organs of man have progressed. Man was always a distinct species, a man, not an animal.”––Some Answered Questions.

Of the story of Adam and Eve He says:––

“If we take this story in its apparent meaning, according to the interpretation of the masses, it s indeed extraordinary. The intelligence cannot accept it, affirm it, or imagine it; for such arrangements, such details, such speeches and reproaches are far from being those of an intelligent man, how much less of the Divinity––that Divinity who has organized this infinite universe in the most perfect form, and its innumerable inhabitants with absolute system, strength and perfection. … “Therefore the story of Adam and Eve who ate from the tree, and their expulsion from Paradise, must be though of simply as a symbol. It contains divine mysteries and universal meanings, and it is capable of marvelous explanations.”––Some Answered Questions.

Of the story of Adam and Eve He says:––

“If we take this story in its apparent meaning, according to the interpretation of the masses, it is indeed extraordinary. The intelligence cannot accept it, affirm it, or imagine it: for such arrangements, such details, such speeches and reproaches are far from being those of an intelligent man, how much less of the Divinity––that Divinity who has organized this infinite universe in the most perfect form, and its innumerable inhabitants with absolute system, strength and perfection. … “Therefore the story of Adam and Eve who ate from the tree, and their expulsion from Paradise, must be thought of simply as a symbol. It contains divine mysteries and universal meanings, and it is capable of marvelous explanations.”––Some Answered Questions.

Body and Soul

The Bahá’í teachings with regard to body and soul, and the life after death, are quite in harmony with the results of psychical research. They teach, as we have seen, that death is but a new birth––the escape from the prison of the body into a larger life, and that progress in the after-life is limitless. A large body of scientific evidence has gradually been accumulating which in the opinion of impartial but highly critical investigators is amply sufficient to establish beyond all question the fact of a life after death––of the continued life and activity of the conscious “soul” after the dissolution of the material body. As F.W.H. Myers says in his Human Personality, a work which summarizes many of the investigations of the Psychical Research Society:––

“Observation, experiment, inference, have led many inquirers, of whom I am one, to a belief in direct or telepathic intercommunication, not between the minds of men still on earth only, but between minds or spirits still on earth and spirits departed. Such a discovery opens the door also to revelation. … “We have shown that amid much deception and self-deception, fraud and illusion, veritable manifestations do reach us from beyond the grave. … “By discovery and by revelation certain theses have been provisionally established with regard to such departed souls as we have been able to encounter. First and chiefly, I, at least, see ground to believe that their state is one of endless evolution in wisdom and in love. Their loves of earth persist, and most of all, those highest loves which find their outlet in adoration and worship. …Evil to them seems less a terrible than a slavish thing. It is embodied in no mighty Potentate; rather it forms an isolating madness from which higher spirits strive to free the distorted soul. There needs no chastisement of fire; self-knowledge is man’s punishment and his reward; self-knowledge is man’s punishment and his reward; self-knowledge and the nearness or the aloofness of companion souls. For in that world love is actually self-preservation; the Communion of Saints not only adorns but constitutes the Life Everlasting. Nay, from the laws of telepathy it follows that that communion is valid to us here and now. Even now the love of souls departed makes answer to our invocations. Even now our loving memory––love is itself a prayer––supports and strengthens those delivered spirits upon their upward way.”

The measure of agreement between this view, which is founded on careful scientific research, and that of the Bahá’í teachings, is truly remarkable.

Unity of Mankind

“Ye are all fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch, the flowers of one garden.” That is one of the most characteristic sayings of Bahá’u’lláh, and another is like it: “Glory is not his who loves his own country, but glory is his who loves his kind.” Unity––unity of mankind, and of all created beings in God––is the main theme of his teaching. Here again the harmony between true religion and science is evident. With every advance in science the oneness of the universe and the inter-dependence of its parts has become more clearly evident. The astronomer’s domain is inseparably bound up with the physicist’s, and the physicist’s with the chemist’s, the chemist’s with the biologist’s, the biologist’s with the psychologist’s, and so on. Every new discover in one field of research throws new light on other fields. Just as physical science has shown that every particle of matter in the universe attracts and influences every other particle, no matter how minute or how distant, so psychical science is finding that every soul in the universe affects and influences every other soul. Prince Kropotkin, in his book on Mutual Aid, shows most clearly that even among the lower animals, mutual aid is absolutely necessary to continued life, while in the case of man, the progress of civilization depends on the increasing substitution of mutual aid for mutual enmity. “Each for all and all for each” is the only principle on which a community can prosper.

The Era of Unity

All the signs of the time indicate that we are at the dawn of a new era in the history of mankind. Hitherto the young eagle of humanity has clung to the old eyrie in the solid rock of selfishness and materialism. Its attempts to use its wings have been timid and tentative. It has had restless longings for something still unattained. More and more it has been chafing in the confinement of the old dogmas and orthodoxies. But now the era of confinement is at an end, and it can launch on the wings of faith and reason into the higher realm of spiritual love and truth. It will no longer be earth-bound as it was before its wings had grown, but will soar at will to the regions of wide outlook and glorious freedom. One thing is necessary, however, if its flight is to be sure and steady. Its wings must not only be strong, but they must act in perfect harmony and co-ordination. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“It cannot fly with one wing alone. If it tries to fly with the wing of religion alone it will land in the clough of superstition, and if it tries to fly with the wing of science alone it will end in the dreary bog of materialism.”–––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 132.

Perfect harmony between religion and science is the sine quá non of the higher life for humanity. When that is achieved, and every child is trained not only in the study of the sciences and arts, but equally in love to all mankind and in radiant acquiescence to the Will of God as revealed in the progress of evolution and the teachings of the prophets, then and not till then, shall the Kingdom of God come and His Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven; then and not till then shall the Most Great Peace shed its blessings on the world.

“When religion,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “shorn of the superstitions, traditions and unintelligent dogmas, shows its conformity with science, then there will be a great unifying, cleansing force in the world, which will sweep before it all wars, disagreements, discords and struggles, and then will mankind be united in the power of the love of God.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá p. 135.

CHAPTER XIII

PROPHECIES FULFILLED BY THE BAHÁ’Í MOVEMENT

“As to the Manifestations of the Greatest Name (Bahá’u’lláh): This is He whom God promised in all His Books and Scriptures such as the Bible, the Gospels, and the Qur’án.”––‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Interpretation of Prophecy

The interpretation of prophecy is notoriously difficult, and on no subject do the opinions of the learned differ more widely. This is not to be wondered at, for, according to the revealed writings themselves, many of the prophecies were given in such a form that they could not be fully understood until the fulfillment came, and even then, only by those who were pure in heart and free from prejudice. Thus at the end of Daniel’s visions the seer was told:––

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased … and I heard, but I understood not: then said I, ‘O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” and he said, ‘Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.’”––Daniel xii, 4-10.

If God sealed up the prophecies until the appointed time, and did not fully reveal the interpretation even to the prophets who uttered them, we may expect that none but the appointed Messenger of God will be able to break the seal and disclose the meanings concealed in the casket of the prophetic parables. Reflection on the history of prophecies and their misinterpretation in previous ages and dispensations, combined with the solemn warnings of the prophets themselves, should render us very chary of accepting the speculations of theologians as to the real meaning of these utterance and the manner of their fulfilment. On the other hand, when someone appears who claims to fulfil the prophecies, it is important that we examine his claim with open, unprejudiced minds. Should he be an impostor, the fraud will soon be discovered and no harm will be done, but woe to all who carelessly turn God’s Messenger from the door because He comes in an unexpected form or time. The life and utterances of Bahá’u’lláh testify that he is the Promised One of all the Holy Books, who has power to break the seals of the prophecies and to pour forth the “Sealed choice wine” of the divine mysteries. Let us hasten, then, to hear his explanations and to re-examine in their light the familiar but often mysterious words spoken by the prophets of old.

The Coming of the Lord

The “Coming of the Lord” in the “last days” is the one “far-off divine event” to which all the prophets look forward, about which their most glorious songs are sung. Now what is meant by the “Coming of the Lord?” Surely God is at all times with His creatures, in all, through all and over all; “Closer is He than breathing, nearer than hands and feet.” Yes, but men cannot see or hear God immanent and transcendent, cannot realize His Presence, until He reveals Himself through a visible form and talks to them in human language. For the revelation of His higher attributes, God has always made use of a human instrument. Each of the prophets was a mediator through whom God visited and spoke to His people. Jesus was such a mediator, and the Christians have rightly regarded His appearance as a coming of God. In Him they saw the Face of God and through His lips they heard the Voice of God. Bahá’u’lláh tells us that the “Coming” of the Lord of Hosts, the Everlasting Father, the Maker and Redeemer of the world, which, according to all the prophets, is to take place at “the time of the end,” means no other than His manifestation in a human temple, as He manifestation in a human temple, as He manifested through the temple of Jesus of Nazareth, only this time with a fuller and more glorious revelation, for which Jesus and all the former prophets came to prepare men’s hearts and minds.

Prophecies about Christ

Through failing to understand the meaning of the prophecies about the dominion of the Messiah, the Jews rejected Christ. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“The Jews still await the coming of the messiah, and pray to God day and night to hasten His advent. When Jesus came they denounced and slew Him, saying: ‘This is not the One for whom we wait. Behold, when the Messiah shall come, signs and wonders shall testify that He is in truth the Christ. The Messiah will arise out of an unknown city. He shall sit upon the throne of David, and behold, He shall come with a sword of steel, and with a scepter of iron shall he rule. He shall fulfill the Law of the Prophets. He shall conquer the East and the West, and shall glorify His chosen people the Jews. He shall bring with Him a reign of Peace during which even the animals shall cease to be at enmity with man. For behold, the wolf and the lamb shall drink from the same spring, and all God’s creatures shall be at rest. …’ “Thus the Jews thought and spoke, for they did not understand the Scriptures nor the glorious truths that were contained in them. The letter they knew by heart, but of the life-giving Spirit they understood not a word. “Hearken, and I will show you the meaning thereof: Although Christ came from Nazareth, which was a known place, He came also from heaven. His body was born of Mary, but His Spirit came from heaven. The sword He carried was the sword of His tongue, with which He divided the good from the evil, the true from the false, the faithful from the unfaithful, and the light from the darkness. His Word was indeed a sharp sword! The throne upon which He sat is the Eternal Throne from which Christ reigns for ever, a heavenly throne, not an earthly one, for the things of earth pass away but heavenly things pass not away. He re-interpreted and completed the Laws of Moses and fulfilled the Law of the Prophets. His Word conquered the East and the West. His Kingdom is everlasting. He exalted those Jews who recognized Him. They were men and women of humble birth, but contact with Him made them great and gave them everlasting dignity. The animals who were to live with one another signified the different sects and races, who once having been at war, were now to dwell in love and charity, drinking together the Water of Life from Christ the Eternal Spring.”––Wisdom of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 48.

Most Christians accept these interpretations of Messianic prophecies about the latter-day Messiah, many of them take up the same attitude as the Jews, expecting a miraculous display on the material plane which will fulfill the very letter of the prophecies.

Prophecies about the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh

According to the Baha2’í interpretations, the prophecies which speak of “the time of the end,” the “last days,” the coming of the “Lord of Hosts,” of the “Everlasting Father,” refer especially, not to the advent of Jesus Christ, but to that of Bahá’u’lláh. Take for instance, the well-known prophecy in Isaiah:–– “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. …For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.”––Isa. Ix, 2-7.

This is one of the prophecies that has often been regarded as referring to Christ, and much of it may quite fairly be thus applied, but a little examination will show how much more fully and aptly it applies to Bahá’u’lláh. Christ has, indeed, been a light-bringer and Savior, but for nearly two thousand years since His advent the great majority of the people of the earth have continued to walk in darkness, and the children of Israel and many others of God’s children have continued to groan under the rod of oppressor. On the other hand, during the first few decades of the Bahá’í era, the light of truth has illumined the east and the west, the gospel of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man has been carried into all countries of the world, the great military autocracies have been overthrown, and a consciousness of world unity has been born which brings hope of eventual relief to all the downtrodden and oppressed nationalities of the world. The great was which from 1914 to 1918 convulsed the world, with its unprecedented use of fire-arms, liquid fire, incendiary bombs and fuel for engines, and indeed been “with burning and fuel of fire.” Bahá’u’lláh, by dealing at great length in his writings with questions of government and administration, and showing how they may best be solved, has “taken the government upon his shoulders” in a way that Christ never did. With regard to the titles “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace,” Bahá’u’lláh repeatedly refers to himself as the manifestation of the Father, of whom Christ and Isaiah spoke, whereas Christ always referred to himself as the Son; and Bahá’u’lláh declares that his mission is to establish peace on earth, while Christ said: “I came not to send peace but a sword,” and as a matter of fact during the whole of the Christian era wars and sectarian strifes have abounded.

The Glory of God

The title “Bahá’u’lláh” is the Arabic for “Glory of God,” and this very title is frequently used by the Hebrew prophets for the Promised One who is to appear in the last days. Thus in the 40^th chapter of Isaiah we read:––

“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wildernesss, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain: and the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

Like the former prophecy, this has also been partly fulfilled in the advent of Christ and His forerunner, John the Baptist; but only partly, for in the days of Christ the warfare of Jerusalem was not accomplished; many centuries of bitter trial and humiliation were yet in store for her. With the advent of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, however, the more complete fulfilment is beginning or appear, for even already brighter days have dawned for Jerusalem, and her prospects of a peaceful and glorious future seem now to be reasonably assured. Other prophecies speak of the Redeemer of Israel, the Glory of the Lord, as coming to the Holy Land from the East, from the rising of the sun. Now Bahá’u’lláh appeared in Írán, which is eastward from Palestine, towards the rising of the sun, and he came to the Holy Land, where he spent the last twenty-four years of his life. Had he come there as a free man, people might have said that it was the trick of an imposter in order to conform to the prophecies; but he came as an exile and prisoner. He was sent there by the Sháh of Írán and the Sultán of Turkey, who can hardly be suspected of any design to furnish arguments in favor of Bahá’u’lláh’s claim to be the “Glory of God” whose coming the prophets foretold.

The Day of God

The word “Day” in such phrases as “Day of God: and “Last Day” is interpreted as meaning “Dispensation.” Each is like a sun. His teachings have their dawn, their truth gradually illumines more and more the minds and hearts of the people until they attain the zenith of their influence. Then they gradually become obscured, misrepresented and corrupted, and darkness overshadows the earth until the sun of a new day of the Supreme Manifestation of God is the Last Day, because it is a day that shall never end, and shall not be overtaken by night. His sun shall never set, but shall illumine the souls of men both in this world and in the world to come. In reality none of the spiritual suns ever set. The suns of Moses, of Christ, of Muhammad, and all the other prophets are still shining in heaven with undiminished lustre. But earth-born clouds have concealed their radiance from the people of earth. The Supreme Sun of Bahá’u’lláh will finally disperse these dark clouds, so that the people of all religions will rejoice in the light of all the prophets, and with one accord worship the one God whose light all the prophets have mirrored forth.

Prophecies about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

In the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, are several references to a man called the Branch. These have often been taken by Christians as applying to Christ, but are regarded by Bahá’ís as referring especially to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It is a usual custom in Írán to call the eldest son of the family “the greatest branch,” and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, is commonly known among the Bahá’ís under this title. Bahá’u’lláh, in his writings, frequently refers to Himself as the Tree, or the Root, and to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the Branch. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself writes:––

“’Abdu’l-Bahá is the Center of the Covenant of God, the Branch which is subservient to the Tree. The essential is the Tree, the foundation is the Tree and the universal reality is the Tree.”––Star of the West, vol. viii, No. 17, p. 325.

The longest Bible prophecy about the Branch is in the 11^th chapter of Isaiah:––

“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord…righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. … They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. … 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, which shall be left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá remarks about this and other prophecies of the Branch:––

“One of the great events which is to occur in the day of the manifestation of that incomparable Branch, is the hoisting of the standard of God among all nations, meaning that all the nations and tribes will come under the shadow of this divine Banner, which is no other than the Lordly Branch itself, and will become a single nation. The antagonism of faiths and religions, the hostilities of races and peoples, and the patriotic differences, will be eradicated from among them. All will become one religion, one faith, one race, and one single people, and will dwell in one native land, which is the terrestrial globe. Universal peace and concord will be realized between all the nations. The incomparable Branch will gather together all Israel––signifying also that in this cycle the Jewish people who are scattered to the east, and west, south and north, will be assembled together in the Holy Land. “Now see: these events did not take place in the Christian cycle, for the nations did not come under the one standard which is the divine Branch. But in this cycle of the Lord of Hosts all the nations and peoples will enter under the shadow of this flag. In the same way, Israel, scattered all over the world, was not reassembled in the Holy Land in the Christian cycle; but in the beginning of the cycle of Bahá’u’lláh this divine promise, as is clearly stated in all the books of the prophets, has begun to be manifest. You can see that from all parts of the world tribes of Jews are coming to the Holy Land; they live in villages and lands which they make their own, and day by day they are increasing to such an extent that all Palestine will become their home.”––Some Answered Questions, p. 75.

Since the above was written, Palestine has passed out of the hands of the Turks, and the “Allied and Associated Powers” have endorsed the policy of reestablishing a national home for the Jews in Palestine. Since the great war we have also had the establishment of a League which, despite its failure to maintain peace or organize security, has revealed a new and larger sense of collective responsibility among nations, and has served to educate great numbers of persons in the preliminary lessons of world citizenship. This very failure serves to emphasize the new order founded by Bahá’u’lláh, the power of which steadily augments as the force of the old order rapidly ebbs away.

The Day of Judgment

Christ spoke much in parables about a great Day of Judgment, when “the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father; and shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. xvi, 27). He compares this Day to the time of harvest, when the tares are burned and the wheat gathered into barns:––

“So shall it be at the end of the world (consummations of the age). The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”––Matt. xiii, 40-43.

The phrase “end of the world” used in the Authorized Version of the Bible in this and similar passages has led many to suppose that when the Day of Judgment comes, the earth will suddenly be destroyed, but this is evidently a mistake. The true translation of the phrase appears to be “the consummation or end of the age.” Christ teaches that the Kingdom of the Father is to be established on earth, as well as in heaven. He teaches us to pray: “Thy Kingdom come; Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In the parable of the Vineyard, when the Father, the Lord of the Vineyard, comes to destroy the wicked husbandmen, he does not destroy the vineyard (the world) also, but lets it out to other husbandmen, who will render Him the fruits of their season. The earth is not to be destroyed, but to be renewed and regenerated. Christ speaks of that day on another occasion as “the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of his Glory.” St. Peter speaks of it as “the times of refreshing,” “the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his Holy Prophets since the world began.” The Day of Judgment of which Christ speaks is evidently identical with the coming of the Lord of Hosts, the Father, which was prophesied by Isaiah and the other Old Testament prophets; a time of terrible punishment for the wicked, but a time in which justice shall be established and righteousness rule, on earth as in heaven. In the Bahá’í interpretation, the coming of each Manifestation of God is a Day of Judgment, but the coming of the supreme Manifestation of Bahá’u’lláh is the great Day of Judgment for the world-cycle in which we are living. The trumpet-blast of which Christ and Muhammad and many other prophets speak is the call of the Manifestation, which is sounded for all who are in heaven and on earth––the embodied and the disembodied. The meeting with God, through His Manifestation, is, for those who desire to meet Him, the gateway to the Paradise of knowing and loving Him, and living in love with all His creatures. Those, on the other hand, who prefer their own way to God’s way, as revealed by the Manifestation, thereby consign themselves to the hell of selfishness, error and enmity.

The Great Resurrection

The Day of Judgment is also the Day of Resurrection, of the raising of the dead. St. Paul in his First Epistle to the Corinthians says:––

“Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortality must put on immortality.”––I Cor. v, 51–54

As to the meaning of these passages about the raising of the dead, Bahá’u’lláh writes in the Book of Íqán:––

“…By the terms ‘life’ and ‘death,’ spoken of in the Scriptures, is intended the life of faith and the death of unbelief. The generality of the people, owing to the failure to grasp the meaning of these words, rejected and despised the person of the Manifestation, deprived themselves of the light of His divine guidance, and refused to follow the example of that immortal Beauty. “Even as Jesus said: ‘Ye must be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit’ (John iii, 5-6). The purport of these words is that whosoever in every dispensation is born of the Spirit and is quickened by the breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he verily is of those that have attained unto ‘life’ and ‘resurrection’ and have entered into the ‘paradise’ of the love of God. And whosoever is not of them is condemned to ‘death’ and the ‘deprivation,’ to the ‘fire’ of unbelief, and to the ‘wrath’ of God. “In ever age and century, the purpose of the Prophets of God and their chosen ones hath been no other but to affirm the spiritual significance of the terms ‘life,’ ‘resurrection,’ and ‘judgment.’ … Wert thou to attain to but a dewdrop of the crystal waters of divine knowledge, thou wouldst readily realize that true life is not the life of the flesh but the life of the spirit. For the life of the flesh is common to both men and animals, whereas the life of the spirit is possessed only by the pure in heart who have quaffed from the ocean of faith and partaken of the fruit of certitude. This life knoweth no death, and this existence is crowned by immortality. Even as it hath been said: ‘He who is a true believer liveth both in this world and in the world to come.’ If by ‘life’ be meant this earthly life, it is evident that death must needs overtake it.”––pp. 114, 118, 120.

According to the Bahá’í teaching the Resurrection has nothing to do with the gross physical body. That body, once dead, is done with. It becomes decomposed and its atoms will never be recomposed into the same body. Resurrection is the birth of the individual to spiritual life, through the gift of the Holy Spirit bestowed through the Manifestation of God. The grave from which he arises is the grave of ignorance and negligence of God. The sleep from which he awakens is the dormant spiritual condition in which many await the dawn of the Day of God. This dawn illumines all who have lived on the face of the earth, whether they are in the body or out of the body, but those who are spiritually blind cannot perceive it. The Day of Resurrection is not a day of twenty-four hours, but an era which has now begun and will last as long as the present world-cycle continues. It will continue when all traces of the present civilization will have been wiped off the surface of the globe.

Return of Christ

In many of His conversations Christ speaks of the future Manifestation of God in the third person, but in others the first person is used. He says: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself” (John xiv, 2). In the first chapter of Acts we read that the disciples were told, at the ascension of Jesus: “This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Because of these and similar sayings, many Christians expect that when the Son of Man comes “in the clouds of heaven and with great glory” they shall see in bodily form the very Jesus who walked the streets of Jerusalem two thousand years ago, and bled and suffered on the cross. They expect to be able to thrust their fingers into the prints of the nails on his hands and feet, and their hands into the spear-wound in his side. But surely a little reflection on Christ’s own words would dissipate such an idea. The Jews of Christ’s time had just such ideas about the return of Elias, but Jesus explained their error, showing that the prophecy that “Elias must first come” was fulfilled, not by the return of the person and body of the former Elias, but in the person of John the Baptist, who came “in the spirit and power of Elias.” “And if ye will receive it,” said Christ, “this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” The “return” of Elias, therefore, meant the appearance of another person, born of other parents, but inspired by God with the same spirit and power. These words of Jesus may surely be taken to imply that the return of Christ will, in like manner, be accomplished by the appearance of another person born of another mother, but showing forth the Spirit and Power of God even as Christ did. Bahá’u’lláh explains that the “coming again” of Christ was fulfilled in the advent of the Báb and in his own coming. He says:––

“Consider the sun. Were it to say now, “I am the sun of yesterday,’ it would speak the truth. And should it, bearing the sequence of time in mind, claim to be other than that sun, it still would speak the truth. In like manner, if it be said that all the days are but one and the same, it is correct and true. And if it be said, with respect to their particular names and designations, that they differ, that again is true. For though they are the same, yet one doth recognize in each a separate designation, a specific attribute, a particular character. Conceive accordingly the distinction, variation, and unity characteristic of the various Manifestations of holiness, that thou mayest comprehend the allusion made by the creator of all names and attributes to the mysteries of distinction and unity, and discover the answer to thy question as to why that everlasting Beauty should have at sundry times, called Himself by different names and titles.”––Íqán, p. 21.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“Know that the return of Christ for a second time doth not mean that the people believe, but rather signifieth the One promised to come after Him. He shall come with the Kingdom of God and His Power which hath surrounded the world. This dominion is in the world of hearts and spirits, and not in that of matter; for the material world is not comparable to a single wing of a fly, in the sight of the Lord, wert thou of those who know! Verily Christ came with His Kingdom from the beginning which hath no beginning, and will come with His Kingdom to the eternity of eternities, inasmuch as in this sense ‘Christ’ is an expression of the Divine Reality, the simple Essence and heavenly Entity, which hat no beginning nor ending. It hath appearance, arising, manifestation and setting in each of the cycles.”––Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, vol. i, p. 138.

The Time of the End

Christ and his apostles mentioned many signs which would distinguish the times of the “Return” of the Son of Man in the glory of the Father. Christ said:––

“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. …For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled … for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captives into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled.”––Luke xxi, 20-24.

Again He said:––

“Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying ‘I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these things are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”––Matt. xxiv, 4-14.

In these two passages Christ foretold in plain terms, without veil or covering, the things that must come to pass before the coming of the Son of Man. During the centuries that have elapsed since Christ spoke, every one of these signs has been fulfilled. In the last part of each passage he mentions an event that shall mark the time of the coming––in one case the ending of the Jewish exile and the restoration of Jerusalem, and in the other the preaching of the gospel in all the world. It is startling to find that both of these signs are being literally fulfilled in our own times. If these parts of the prophecy are as true as the rest, it follows that we must be living now in the “time of the end” of which Christ spoke. Muhammad also mentions certain signs which will persist until the Day of Resurrection. In the Qur’án we read:––

“When Alláh said: ‘O Jesus! Verily I will cause thee to die, and exalt thee towards Me, and clear thee of the charges of those who disbelieve, and will place those who follow thee (that is, Christians) above those who disbelieve (Jews and others) until the Day of Resurrection; then to Me shall be your return, so I will decide between you concerning that in which you differed.’”––Súrat iii, 54. “ ‘The Hand of God,’ say the Jews, ‘is chained up. Their own hands shall be chained up––and for that which they have said shall they be cursed. Nay! outstretched are both His hands! At His own pleasure doth He bestow gifts. That which hath been sent down to thee from thy Lord will surely increase the rebellion and unbelief of many of them; and We have put enmity and hatred between them that shall last until the Day of Resurrection. Oft as they kindle a beacon fire for war shall God quench it.”––Súrat v, 69. “And of those who say, ‘We are Christians,’ have We accepted the Covenant. But they too have forgotten a part of what they were taught; wherefore We have stirred up enmity and hatred among them that shall last until the Days of Resurrection; and in the end will God tell them of their doings.”––Súrat v, 17.

These words also have been literally fulfilled in the subjection of the Jews to Christian (and Muslim) peoples, and in the sectarianism and strife which have divided both Jews and Christians among themselves during all the centuries since Muhammad spoke. Only since the commencement of the Bahá’í era (the Day of Resurrection) have signs of the approaching end of these conditions made their appearance.

Signs in Heaven and Earth

In the Hebrew, Christian, Muhammadan and many other Scriptures, there is a remarkable similarity in the description of the signs which are to accompany the coming of the Promised One. In the Book of Joel we read:––

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. For behold, in those days, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them into the valley of Jehoshaphat (Jehovah judgeth) and will plead with them there …multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem: and the heaven and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the strength of his people.”

Christ says:––

“Immediately after the tribulations of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”––Matt. xxiv, 29, 30.

In the Qur’án we read:––

“When the sun shall be shrouded, And when the stars shall fall, And when the mountains are made to pass away … And when the leaves of the Book shall be unrolled, And when the heaven shall be uncovered, And when hell shall be made to blaze.”––Súrat lxxxi.

In the Book of Íqán Bahá’u’lláh explains that these prophecies about the sun, moon and stars the heavens and the earth, are symbolical and are not to be understood merely in the literal sense. The prophets were primarily concerned with spiritual, not with material things; with spiritual, not with physical, light. When they mention the sun, in connection with the Day of Judgment, they refer to the Sun of Righteousness. The sun is the supreme source of light, so Moses was a sun for the Hebrews, Christ for the Christians, and Muhammad for the Muslims. When the prophets speak of the sun being darkened, what is meant is that the pure teachings of these spiritual Suns have become obscured by misrepresentation, misunderstanding and prejudice, so that the people are in spiritual darkness. The moon and stars are the lesser sources of illumination, the religion leaders and teachers, who should guide and inspire the people. When it is said that the moon shall not give her light or shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, it is indicated that the leaders of the churches shall become debased, engaging in strife and contention, and the priests shall become worldly-minded, concerned about earthly instead of heavenly things. The meaning of these prophecies is not exhausted by one explanation, however, and there are other senses in which these symbols can be interpreted. Bahá’u’lláh says that in another sens the words “sun,” “moon,” and “stars” are applied to the ordinances and instructions enacted in every religion. As in every subsequent Manifestation the ceremonies, forms customs and instructions of the preceding Manifestations are changed in accordance with the requirements of the times, so, in the sense the sun and moon are changed and the stars dispersed. In many cases the literal fulfilment of these prophecies in the outward sense would be absurd or impossible; for example, the moon being turned into blood or the stars falling upon the earth. The least of the visible stars is many thousand times larger than the earth, and were one to fall on the earth there would be no earth left for another to fall on! In other cases, however, there is a material as well as a spiritual fulfilment. For example, the Holy Land did literally become desert and desolate during many centuries, as foretold by the prophets, but already, in the Day of Resurrection, it is beginning to “rejoice and blossom as the rose,” as Isaiah foretold. Prosperous colonies are being started, the land is being irrigated and cultivated, and vineyards, olive groves and gardens are flourishing where half a century ago there was only sandy waste. Doubtless when men beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks, wildernesses and deserts in all parts of the world will be reclaimed; the scorching winds and sandstorms that blow from these deserts, and make life in their neighborhood well-nigh intolerable, will be things of the past; the climate of the whole earth will become milder and more equable; cities will no longer defile the air with smoke and poisonous fumes, and even in the outward, material sense there will be “new heavens and a new earth.”

Manner of Coming

As to the manner of His coming at the end of the age, Christ said:––

“And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet…then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.”––Matt. xxiv, xxv.

Regarding these and similar passages Bahá’u’lláh writes in the Book of Íqán:––

“The term ‘heaven’ denoteth loftiness and exaltation, inasmuch as it is the seat of the revelation of those Manifestations of Holiness, the Day-springs of ancient glory. These ancient Beings, though delivered from the womb of their mother, have in reality descended from the heaven of the will of God. Though they be dwelling on this earth, yet their true habitations are the retreats of glory in the realms above. Whilst walking amongst mortals, they soar in the heaven of the divine presence. Without feet they tread the path of the spirit, and without wings they rise unto the exalted heights of divine unity. With every fleeting breath they cover the immensity of space, and at every moment traverse the kingdoms of the visible and the invisible. … “By the term ‘clouds’ is meant those things that are contrary to the ways and desires of men. Even as He hath revealed in the verse already quoted: ‘As oft as an Apostle cometh unto you with that which your souls desire not, ye swell with pride, accusing some of being impostors and slaying others. (Qur’án 55:56.) These ‘clouds’ signify, in one sense, the annulment of laws, the abrogation of former Dispensations, the repeal of rituals and customs current amongst men, the exalting of the illiterate faithful above the learned opposers of the Faith. In another sense, they mean the appearance of that immortal Beauty in the image of mortal man, with such human limitations as eating and drinking and waking, and such other things as cast doubt in the minds of men, and cause them to turn away. All such veils are symbolically referred to as ‘clouds.’ “These are the ‘clouds’ that cause the heavens of the knowledge and understanding of all that dwell on earth to be cloven asunder. Even as He hath revealed: ‘On that day shall the heaven be cloven by the clouds.’ (Qur’án 25:25.) Even as the clouds prevent the eyes of men from beholding the sun, so do these things hinder the souls of men from recognizing the light of the divine Luminary. To this beareth witness that which hath proceeded out of the mouth of the unbelievers as revealed in the sacred Book: ‘And they have said: “What manner of apostle is this? He eateth food, and walketh the streets. Unless an angel be sent down and take part in His warnings, we will not believe.”’ (Qur’án, 25:7.) Other Prophets, similarly, have been subject to poverty and afflictions, to hunger and to the ills and chances of the world. As these holy Persons were subject to such needs and wants, the people were, consequently, lost in the wilds of misgivings and doubts, and were afflicted with bewilderment and perplexity. How, they wondered, could such a person be sent down from God, asset His ascendency over all the peoples and kindreds of the earth, and claim Himself to be the goal of all creation,––even as He hath said: ‘But for Thee, I would have not created all that are in heaven and on earth,’––and yet be subject to such trivial things? You must undoubtedly have been informed of the tribulations, the poverty, the ills, and the degradation that have befallen every Prophet of God and His companions. You must have heard how the heads of their followers were sent as presents unto different cities, how grievously they were hindered from that whereunto they were commanded. Each and every one of them fell a prey to the hands of the enemies of His Cause, and had to suffer whatsoever they decreed. … “The All-Glorious hath decreed these very things, that are contrary to the desires of wicked men, to be the touchstone and standard whereby He proveth His servants, that the just may be known from the wicked, and the faithful distinguished from the infidel. … “And now, concerning His words: ‘And he shall send His angels. …’ By ‘angels’ is meant those who, reinforced by the power of the spirit, have consumed, with the fire of the love of God, all human traits and limitations, and have clothed themselves with the attributes of the most exalted Beings and of the Cherubim. … “As the adherents of Jesus have never understood the hidden meaning of these words, and as the signs which they and the leaders of the Faith have expected have failed to appear, they therefore refused to acknowledge, even until now, the truth of those Manifestations of Holiness that have since the days of Jesus been made manifest. They have thus deprived themselves of the outpouring of God’s holy grace, and of the wonders of His divine utterance. Such is their low estate in this, the Day of Resurrections! They have even failed to perceive that were the signs of the Manifestation of God in every age to appear in the visible realm in accordance with the text of established traditions, none could possibly deny or turn away, nor would the blessed be distinguished from the miserable, and the transgressor from the God-fearing. Judge fairly: Were the prophecies recorded in the Gospel to be literally fulfilled; were Jesus, Son of Mary, accompanied by angels, to descend from the visible heaven upon the clouds; who would dare to disbelieve, who would dare to reject the truth, and wax disdainful? Nay, such consternation would immediately seize all the dwellers of the earth that no soul would feel able to utter a word, much less to reject or accept the truth.”––pp. 67, 71, 72, 73, 76, 78, 80.

According to the above explanation the coming of the Son of Man, in lowly human form, born of woman, poor, uneducated, oppressed and set at naught by the great ones of the earth––this manner of coming is the very touchstone by which He judges the people of earth and separates them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. Those whose spiritual eyes are opened can see through these clouds and rejoice in the “power and great glory”––the very glory of God––which He comes to reveal; the others, whose eyes are still holden by prejudice and error, can see but the dark clouds and continue to grope in gloom, deprived of the blessed sunshine.

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and h shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in. … But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap. … For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble. … But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise, with healing in his wings.”––Mal. Iii, iv.

NOTE––The subject of fulfilment of prophecy is such an extensive one that many volumes would be required for its adequate exposition. All that can be done within the limits of a single chapter is to indicate the main outlines of the Bahá’í interpretations. The detailed Apocalypses revealed by Daniel and St. John have been left untouched. Readers will find certain chapters of these dealt with in Some Answered Questions. In the Book of Íqán, by Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’í Proofs, by Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl, and in many of the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá further explanation of prophecies may be found.

CHAPTER XIV

PROPHECIES OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH AND

‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ

“And if thou shalt say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”––Deut. xviii, 22.

Creative Power of God’s Word

God, and God alone, has the power to do whatever He wills, and the creative power of His word––its effectiveness to change and transform all human affairs and to triumph over all human opposition. Through the word of the prophets God announces His will, and the immediate or subsequent fulfilment of that word is the clearest proof of the prophet’s claim and of the genuineness of his inspiration.

“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, so that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater: so shall my Word be that goeth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it.”––Isa. Lv, 10, 11.

When the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus with the question: “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” the answer of Jesus was simply to point to the effects wrought by His words:––

“Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.”––Matt. xi, 4-6.

Let us now see what evidence there is to show whether the words of Bahá’u’lláh have this creative power which is distinctive of the word of God. Bahá’u’lláh commanded the rulers to establish universal peace, and their prolongation of the policy of war since 1869-1870 has overthrown many ancient dynasties, while each successive war has produced less and less of the fruits of victory, until the European War of 1914-1918 revealed the historically startling fact that war has become disastrous to victor and vanquished alike. Bahá’u’lláh bade the rulers likewise to act as trustees of those under their control, making political authority a means to true general welfare. The progress toward social legislation has been unprecedented, and in countries failing to respond to this spiritual decree, revolutions have brought new and more representative governments to power. He commanded limitation of the extremes of wealth and poverty, and ever since, legislation for the establishment of minimum subsistence levels and for graduated taxation of wealth by income and inheritance taxes has been a constant concern. He commanded the abolition of both chattel and economic slavery, and ever since, the progress toward emancipation has been a ferment in all parts of the world. Bahá’u’lláh declared the equality of men and women, expressed through equal responsibilities and equal rights and privileges, and since that declaration, the bonds of which women have been bound for ages have been breaking, and woman has rapidly been securing her rightful place as the equal and partner of man. He declared the fundamental oneness of religions, and the succeeding interval has witnessed the most determined efforts of sincere souls in all parts of the world to achieve a new degree of tolerance, of mutual understanding and of cooperation for universal ends. The sectarian attitude has everywhere been undermined, and its historical position has become more and more untenable. The basis of exclusiveness in religion has been destroyed by the same forces making nationalism of the self-contained type incapable of survival. He commanded universal education, and made the independent investigation of truth, a proof of spiritual vitality. Modern civilization has been stirred to its depths by this new leaven. Compulsory education for children, and the extension of educational facilities for adults, have become a primary policy of government. Nations which deliberately seek to restrict the independence of mind and spirit among their citizens by that very policy have aroused revolution within and suspicion and fear outside their boundaries. Bahá’u’lláh commanded the adoption of a universal auxiliary language, and Dr. Zamenhof and others obeyed his call by devoting their lives and genius to this great task and opportunity. Above all, Bahá’u’lláh imbued humanity with a new spirit, arousing new longings in minds and hearts and new ideals for society. Nothing in all history is so dramatic and impressive as the course of events since the dawn of the Bahá’í era in 1844. Year by year, the power of a dead past prolonged through outworn ideas, habits, attitudes and institutions, has weakened, until at present every intelligent man and woman on earth realizes that humanity is passing through its most terrible crisis. On the one hand we see the new creation arising as the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s teaching has revealed the true path of Bahá’u’lláh’s teaching has revealed the true path of evolution. On the other hand we see naught but disaster and frustration in all realms where that light is resisted or ignored. Yet, to the faithful Bahá’í, these and countless other evidences, impressive as they are, fail to give the real measure of the spiritual majesty of Bahá’u’lláh. His life on earth, and the irresistible force of his inspired words, stand as the only true criterion of the will of God. A study of the more detailed prophecies of Bahá’u’lláh and their fulfilment will give powerful corroborative evidence. Of these prophecies we shall now proceed to give a few examples, about the authenticity of which there can be no dispute. They were widely published and known before their fulfilment came about. The letters which he sent to the crowned heads of the world, in which many of these prophecies occur, were compiled in a book (Súratu’l-Haykal) which was first published in Bombay over forty years ago. Several editions have since been published. We shall also give some examples of noteworthy prophecies by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Napoleon III

In the year 1869 Bahá’u’lláh wrote to Napoleon III, rebuking him for his lust of war and for the contempt with which he had treated a former letter from Bahá’u’lláh. The Epistle contains the following stern warning:––

“Thy doings shall throw thy kingdom into confusion, sovereignty shall pass from thy hands, to require thee for thy deeds, and thus thou shalt find thyself in grievous loss. Convulsions shall seize all peoples in yonder land, unless thou dost arise in this Cause and in this straight path follow the Spirit. Hath thy pomp made thee vain-glorious? By my life! It shall not endure, nay, it shall pass away, unless thou dost cling unto this strong cord. We behold abasement hastening upon thy heels and thou art yet of them that are heedless.”

Needless to say, Napoleon, who was then at the zenith of his power, paid no heed to this warning. In the following year he went to war with Prussia, firmly convinced that his troops could easily gain Berlin; but the tragedy foretold by Bahá’u’lláh overwhelmed him. He was defeated at Saarbruck, at Weissenburg, at Metz, and finally in the crushing catastrophe at Sedan. He was then carried prisoner to Prussia, and came to a miserable end in England two years later.

Germany

Bahá’u’lláh later gave an equally solemn warning to the conquerors of Napoleon, which also fell on deaf ears and received a terrible fulfilment. In the Book of Aqdas, which was begun in Adrianople, and finished in the early years of Bahá’u’lláh’s imprisonment in ‘Akká, he addressed the Emperor of Germany as follows:––

“O King of Berlin! … Recollect the one who was greater than thee in station (that is, Napoleon III) and whose position was higher than thine. Where is he? And where are his possessions? Be admonished, and be not of those who sleep. He cast the Tablet of God behind him, when We informed him of what had befallen Us from the hosts of oppression, and thus disgrace beset him from all sides until he returned to the dust in great loss. O King, think deeply concerning him, as well as about those like unto thee, those who conquered cities, and ruled over the servants of God––and God brought them down from palaces to graves. Be warned, and be of those who are mindful. … “O Banks of the River Rhine! We have seen you drenched in gore because the swords of retribution were drawn against you and you shall have another turn. And we hear the lamentation of Berlin, although it be today in manifest glory.”

During the period of German successes in the Great War of 1914-18, and especially during the last great German offensive in the spring of 1918, this well-known prophecy was extensively quoted by the opponents of the Bahá’í Faith in Írán, in order to discredit Bahá’u’lláh; but when the forward sweep of the victorious Germans was suddenly transformed into crushing, overwhelming disaster, the efforts of these enemies of the Bahá’í Cause recoiled on themselves, and the notoriety which they had given to the prophecy became a powerful means of enhancing the reputation of Bahá’u’lláh.

Írán

In the Book of Aqdas written when the tyrannical Mazaffaru’d-Din Sháh was at the height of his power, Bahá’u’lláh blesses the city of Tihrán, which is the capital of Írán, and His own birthplace, and says of it:––

“Let nothing grieve thee, O Land of Tá (Tihrán), for God hath chosen thee to be the source of the joy of all mankind. He shall, if it be His Will, bless thy throne with one who will rule with justice, who will gather together the flock of God which the wolves have scattered Such a ruler will, with joy and gladness, turn his face towards, and extend his favors unto, the people of Bahá. He indeed is accounted in the sight of God as a jewel among men. Upon him rest forever the glory of God, and the glory of all that dwell in the kingdom of His revelation. “Rejoice with great joy, for God hath made thee ‘the Day Spring of His light,’ inasmuch as within thee was born the Manifestation of His Glory. Be thou glad for this name that hath been conferred upon thee––a name through which the Day Star of grace hath shed its splendor through which both earth and heaven have been illumined. “Ere long will the state of affairs within thee be changed, and the reins of power fall into the hands of the people. Verily, thy Lord is the All-Knowing. His authority embraceth all things. Rest thou assured in the gracious favor of thy Lord. The eye of His loving-kindness shall everlastingly be directed towards thee. The day is approaching when thy agitation will have been transmuted into peace and quiet calm. Thus hath it been decreed in the wondrous Book.”––Gleanings, p. 110.

So far, Írán has only begun to emerge from the period of confusion foretold by Bahá’u’lláh, but already constitutional government has been started, and signs are not lacking that a brighter era is at hand.

Turkey

To the Sultán of Turkey and his Prime Minister ‘Alí Páshá, Bahá’u’lláh, then (in 1868) confined in a Turkish prison, addressed some of His most solemn, grave warnings. To the Sultán He wrote from the Barracks at ‘Akká:––

“O thou who considerest thyself the greatest of all men … one long thy name shall be forgotten and thou shalt find thyself in great loss. According to thy opinion, this Quickener of the world and its Peace-maker is culpable and seditions. What crime have the women, children and suffering babes committed to merit thy wrath, oppression and hate? You have persecuted a number of souls who have shown no opposition in your country, and who have instigated no revolution against the government; nay, rather, by day and by night they have been peacefully engaged in the mentioning of God. You have pillaged their properties, and through your tyrannical acts, all that they had was taken from the. …Before God, a handful of dust is greater than your kingdom, glory, sovereignty and dominion, and should He desire, He would scatter you as the sand of the desert. Ere long His wrath shall overtake you, revolutions shall appear in your midst and your countries will be divided! Then you will weep and lament and nowhere will you find help and protection. …Be ye watchful, for the wrath of God is prepared, and ere long you shall behold that which is written by the Pen of Command (see Star of the West, vol. ii, p. 3).

And to ‘Alí Páshá He wrote:––

“O Ra’is (chief) Thou hast committed that which made Muhammad, the prophet of God, groan in the Supreme Paradise. The world hath made thee proud, so much so that thou hast turned away from the Face through whose Light the people of the Celestial Concourse were illumined. Soon thou shalt find thyself in evident loss. Thou didst unite with the Ruler of Írán for doing Me harm, although I had come to you from the Dawning-place of the Almighty, the Great, with a Cause which refreshed the eyes of the favored ones of God. … “Didst thou think that thou couldst put out the fire which God hath enkindled in the Universe? No! I declare by His True Soul, wert thou of those who understand. More than that, by what thou hast done its blaze and flame have been increased. Soon it will encompass the world and its inhabitants. …Soon the Land of Mystery (that is, Adrianople) and others will be changed and will pass out of the hands of the King, and commotions shall appear, lamentations shall arise, corruption shall appear in the districts and affairs will be in a confusion because of what hath happened to those captives (Bahá’u’lláh and his companions) from the hosts of oppression. The command will change and the conditions will become grievous to such an extent that the sands will be moaning on the desolate hills, the trees will be weeping on the mountains, and blood shall be flowing from all things, and the people shall be seen in great distress. … “Thus hath the matter been decreed on the part of the Designer, the Wise, whose Command the hosts of heaven and earth could not withstand, nor could all the kings and rulers withhold Him from that which He willeth. Calamities are the oil for this Lamp, and through them its Light increaseth, were ye of those who know! All oppositions displayed by the oppressors are indeed as heralds to this matter, and by them the Appearance of God and His Cause have become widely spread among the people of the world.”

Again in the Book of Aqdas He wrote:––

“O Point which liest on the shore of the two seas (that is, Constantinople)! The throne of injustice hath been fixed in thee, and in thee hath been kindled the fire of hatred in such wise that the Supreme Host lament thereat, and those who circle around the Lofty Throne. We behold in thee the foolish ruling over the wise, and the darkness exalting itself over the Light, and, verily, thou art in evident pride. Hath thine outward adornment rendered thee proud? Soon thou shalt perish, by the Lord of Creation! And thy daughters and widows and those peoples that are within thee shall lament. Thus doth the Wise, the All-Knowing prophesy to thee.”

The successive calamities which have befallen this once-great empire since the publication of these warnings have furnished an eloquent commentary on their prophetic significance.

America

In the Book of Aqdas, written about fifty years ago, Bahá’u’lláh appealed to America as follows:––

“O Rulers of America, Presidents, and Governors of the Republic therein. …Hear the call from the Dawning-place on High: There is no God but Me, the Speaker and Omniscient: Bind up the broken limb with the hands of justice, and break the sound limb of the oppressor with the rod of the Command of your Lord, the Ruler, the Wise!”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His addresses in America and elsewhere frequently expressed the hope, the prayer and the assurance that the banner of international peace would be first raised in America. At Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 5, 1912, he said:––

“America is a noble nation, a standard bearer of peace throughout the world, shedding her light to all regions. Other nations are not untrammelled and free of intrigues like the United States, and are unable to bring about Universal Peace. But America, thank God, is at peace with all the world, and is worthy of raising the flag of brotherhood and International Peace. When the summons to International Peace is raised by America, all the rest of the world will cry: ‘Yes, we accept.’ The nations of every world will cry: ‘Yes, we accept.’ The nations of every clime will join in adopting the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, revealed over fifty years aog. In His Epistles He asked the parliaments of the world to send their best and wisest men to an international world-parliament that should decide all questions between the peoples and establish peace … then we shall have the Parliament of Man of which the prophets have dreamed.”––Star of the West, vol. vi, p. 81.

The appeals of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have already been responded to, in a large measure, by the United States of America, and in no country of the world have the Bahá’í teachings met with readier acceptance. The role assigned to America, of summoning the nations to international peace, has as yet, however, been only partially played, and Bahá’ís are awaiting with interest the developments which the future has in store.

The Great War

Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on many occasions foretold with surprising accuracy the coming of the Great War of 1914-1918. At Sacramento, California, on October 26, 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:––

“Today the European continent is like an arsenal. It is a storehouse of explosives, ready for just a spark, and one spark could set aflame the whole of Europe, particularly at this time, when the Balkan question is before the world.”

In many of his addresses in America and Europe he gave similar warnings. In another address in California in October 1912 he said that we are on the eve of the Battle of Armageddon referred to in the sixteenth chapter of Revelation. The time is two years hence, when only a spark will set aflame the whole of Europe. The social unrest in all countries, the growing religious skepticism antecedent to the millennium, and already here, will set aflame the whole of Europe as is prophesied in the Book of whole of Europe as is prophesied in the Book of Daniel and in the Book (Revelation) of John. By 1917 kingdoms will fall and cataclysms will rock the earth.” (Reported by Mrs. Corinne True in The North Shore Review, September 26, 1914, Chicago, U.S.A.) On the eve of the great conflict He said:––

“A general mêlée of the civilized nations is in sight. A tremendous conflict is at hand. The world is at the threshold of a most tragic struggle. …Vast armies––millions of men–are being mobilized an stationed at their frontiers. They are being prepared for the fearful contest. The slightest friction will bring them into a terrific crash, recorded in the past history of mankind” (at Haifa, August 3, 1914).––Star of the West, vol. v, p. 163.

Social Troubles After the War

Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also foretold a period of great social upheaval, conflict and calamity as an inevitable result of the irreligion and prejudices, the ignorance and superstition, prevalent throughout the world. The great international military conflict was but one phase of this upheaval. In a tablet dated January, 1920, He wrote:––

“O ye lovers of truth! O ye servants of mankind! As the sweet fragrance of your thoughts and high intentions has breathed upon me, I feel that my soul is irresistibly prompted to communicate with you. “Ponder in your hearts how grievous is the turmoil in which the world is plunged; how the nation on earth are besmeared with human blood, nay their very soil is turned into clotted gore. The flame of war has caused so wild a conflagration that the world in its early days, in its middle ages, or in modern times has never witnessed its like. The millstones of war have ground and crushed many a human head, nay, even more severe has been, the lot of these victims. Flourishing countries have been made desolate, cities have been laid level with the ground, and smiling villages have been turned into ruin. Fathers have lost their sons and sons turned fatherless. Mothers have shed tears of blood in mourning for their youths, little children have been made orphans, and women left wanderers and homeless. In a word, humanity, in all its phases, has been debased. Loud is the cry and wailing of orphans, and bitter the lamentations of mothers which are echoed by the skies. “The prime cause for all these happenings is racial, national, religious, and political prejudice, and the root of all this prejudice lies in outworn and deepseated traditions, be they religious, racial, national, or political. So long as these traditions remain, the foundation of human edifice is insecure, and mankind itself is exposed to continuous peril. “Now in this radiant age, when the essence of all being has been made manifest, and the hidden secret of all created things been revealed, when the morning light of truth has broken and turned the darkness of the world into light, is it meet and seemly that such a frightful carnage which brings irretrievable ruin upon the world should be made possible? By God! That cannot be. “Christ summoned all the peoples of the world to reconciliation and peace. He commanded Peter to return his sword unto its scabbard. Such was His wish and counsel, and yet they that bear His name have unsheathed the sword! How great the difference between their deeds and the explicit text of the Gospel! “Sixty years ago Bahá’u’lláh, even as a shining sun, shone in the firmament of Írán, and proclaimed that the world is wrapt in darkness and this darkness is fraught with disastrous results, and will lead to fearful strife. In His prison-city of ‘Akká, He apostrophized in unmistakable terms the Emperor of Germany, declaring that a terrible war shall take place, and Berlin will break forth in lamentation and wailing. In like manner, whilst the wronged prisoner of the Sultán of Turkey in the citadel of ‘Akká, He clearly and emphatically wrote him that Constantinople will fall a prey to grave disorder, in such wise that the women and children will raise their moaning cry. In brief, He addressed epistles to all the chief rulers and sovereigns of the world, and all that He foretold has been fulfilled. From His pen of glory flowed teachings for the prevention of war, and these have been scattered far and wide. “His first teaching is the search after truth. Blind imitation, He declared, killeth the spirit of man, whereas the investigation of truth frees the world from the darkness of prejudice. “His second teaching is the oneness of mankind. All men are but one fold, and God the loving Shepherd. He bestoweth upon them His most great ‘mercy, and considers them all as one. ‘Thou shalt find no difference amongst the creatures of God.’ They are all His servants, and all seek His bounty. “His third teaching is that religion is the most mighty stronghold. It should be conducive to unity, rather than be the cause of enmity and hate. Should it lead to enmity and hate better not have it at all. For religion is even as medicine, which if it should aggravate the disease, its abandonment would be preferred. “Likewise, religious, racial, national, and political prejudice, all are subversive of the foundation of human society, all lead to bloodshed, all heap ruin upon mankind. So long as these remain, the dread of war will continue. The sole remedy is universal peace. And this is achieved only by the establishment of a supreme Tribunal, representative of all governments and peoples. All national and international problems should be referred to this tribunal, and whatsoever be its decision that should be enforced. Were a government or people to dissent, the world as a whole should rise against it. “And among his teachings is the equality in right of men and women, and so on with many other similar teachings that have been revealed by His pen. “At present it has been made evident and manifest that these principles are the very life of the world, and the embodiment of its true spirit. And now, ye, who are the servants of mankind, should exert yourselves, heart and soul, to free the world from the darkness of materialism and human prejudice, that it may be illumined with the light of the City of God. “Praise be to Him, ye are acquainted with the various schools, institutions and principles of the world; today nothing short of these divine teachings can assure peace and tranquillity to mankind. But for these teachings, this darkness shall never vanish, these chronic diseases shall never be healed; nay they shall grow fiercer from day to day. The Balkans will remain restless, and its condition will aggravate. The vanquished will not keep still, but will seize every means to kindle anew the flame of war. Modern universal movements will do their utmost to carry out their purpose and intentions. The Movement of the Left will acquire great importance, and its influence will spread. “Wherefore, endeavor that with an illumined heart, a heavenly spirit, and a divine strength, and aided by His grace, ye may bestow God’s bountiful gift upon the world … the gift of comfort and tranquillity for all mankind.”

In a talk given in November 1919, He said:–– “Bahá’u’lláh frequently predicted that there would be a period when irreligion and consequent anarchy would prevail. The chaos will be due to too great liberty among people who are not ready for it, and in consequence there will have to be a temporary reversion to coercive government, in the interests of the people themselves and in order to prevent disorder and chaos. It is clear that each nation now wishes complete self-determination and freedom of action, but some of them are not ready for it. The prevailing state of the world is one of irreligion, which is bound to result in anarchy and confusion. I have always said that the peace proposals following the great war were only a glimmer of the dawn, and not the sunrise.”

Coming of the Kingdom of God

Amid these troublous times, however, the Cause of God will prosper. The calamities caused by the selfish struggle for individual existence, or for party or sectarian or national gain, will induce the people to turn in despair to the remedy offered by the Word of God. The more calamities abound, the more will the people turn to the only true remedy. Bahá’u’lláh says in His Epistle to the Sháh:––

“God hath made afflictions as a morning shower to this green pasture, and as a wick for His Lamp, whereby earth and heaven are illumined. … Through affliction hath His Light shone and His Praise been bright unceasingly; this hath been His method through past ages and bygone times.”

Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá predict in the most confident terms the speedy triumph of spirituality over materiality and the consequent establishment of the Most Great Peace. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote in 1904:––

“Know this, that hardships and misfortunes shall increase day by day, and the people shall be distressed. The doors of joy and happiness shall be closed on all sides. Terrible wars shall happen. Disappointment and the frustration of hopes shall surround the people from every direction until they are obliged to turn to God. Then the lights of great happiness shall enlighten the horizons, so that the cry of ‘Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!’ may arise on all sides.” (Tablet to L.D.B. quoted in Compilation on War and Peace, p. 187.)

When asked, in February 1914, whether any of the Great Powers would become believers, He replied:–– “All the people of the world will become believers. Should you compare the beginning of the Cause with its position today, you would see what a quick influence the Word of God has, and now the Cause of God has encompassed the world. …Unquestionably, all will come under the shadow of the Cause of God.”––Star of the West, vol. ix, p. 31.

He declares that this consummation is near at hand and will come about during the present century. In an address to Theosophists in February 1913. He said:–– “This Century is the Century of the Sun of Truth. This Century is the Century of the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the earth.”––Star of the West, vol. ix, p. 7.

In the last two verses of the Book of Daniel occur the cryptic words:––

“Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand, three hundred and thirty-five days. But go thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.”

Many have been the attempts of learned students to solve the problem of the significance of these words. In a table-talk at which the writer was present, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said that these 1,335 days mean 1,335 solar years from the Hijrat. (Flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, marking the beginning of the Muhammad era.) As the Hijrat occurred in 622 A.D. the date referred to is, therefore, 1957 (i.e. 622+1,335) A.D. Asked: “What shall we see at the end of the 1,335 days?” he replied: Universal Peace will be firmly established, a Universal language promoted. Misunderstandings will pass away. The Bahá’í Cause will be promulgated in all parts and the oneness of mankind established. It will be most glorious!

‘Akká and Haifa

Mírzá Ahmad Sohrab recorded in his diary the following prophecy about ‘Akká and Haifa uttered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá while seated by the window of one of the Bahá’í Pilgrim Homes at Haifa on February 14, 1914:––

“The view from the Pilgrim Home is very attractive, especially as it faces the Blessed Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh. In the future the distance between ‘Akká and Haifa will be built up, and the two cities will join and clasp hands, becoming the two terminal sections of one mighty metropolis. As I look now over this scene, I see so clearly that it will become one of the first emporiums of the world. This great semi-circular bay will be transformed into the finest harbor, wherein the ships of all nations will seek shelter and refuge. The great vessels of all people will come to this port, bringing on their docks thousands and thousands of men and women from every part of the globe. The mountain and the plain will be dotted with the most modern buildings and palaces. Industries will be established and various institutions of philanthropic nature will be founded. The flowers of civilization and culture from all nations will be brought here to blend their fragrances together and blaze the way for the brotherhood of man. Wonderful gardens, orchards, groves and parks will be laid out on all sides. At night the great city will be laid out on all sides. At night the great city will be lighted by electricity. The entire harbor from ’Akká to Haifa will be one path of illumination. Powerful searchlights will be placed on both sides of Mount Carmel to guide the steamers. Mount Carmel itself, from top to bottom, will be submerged in a sea of lights. A person standing on the summit of Mount Carmel, and the passengers of the steamers coming to it, will look upon the most sublime and majestic spectacle of the whole world. “From every part of the mountain the symphony of ‘Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!’ will be raised, and before the daybreak soul-entrancing music accompanied by melodious voices will be uplifted towards the throne of the Almighty. “Indeed, God’s ways are mysterious and unsearchable. What outward relation exists between Shíráz and Tihrán, Baghdád and Constantinople, Adrianople and ‘Akká and Haifa? God worked patiently, step by step, through these various cities, according to His own definite and eternal plan, so that the prophecies and predictions as foretold by the prophets might be fulfilled. This golden thread of promise concerning the Messianic Millennium runs through the Bible, and it was so destined that God in His own good time would cause its appearance. Not even a single word will be left meaningless and unfulfilled.”

CHAPTER XV

RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT

“I bear witness, O friends! that the favor is complete, the argument fulfilled, the proof manifest and the evidence established. Let it now be seen what your endeavors in the path of detachment will reveal. In this wise hath the divine favor been fully vouchsafed unto you and unto them that are in heaven and on earth. All praise to God, the Lord of all Worlds.”––Hidden Words

Progress of the Cause

Unfortunately it is impossible, within the space at our disposal, to describe in detail the progress of the Bahá’í Faith throughout the world. Many chapters might be devoted to this fascinating subject, and many thrilling stories related about the pioneers and martyrs of the Cause, but a very brief summary must suffice. In Írán the early believers in this revelation met with the utmost opposition, persecution and cruelty at the hands of their fellow-countrymen, but they faced all calamities and ordeals with sublime heroism, firmness and patience. Their baptism was in their own blood, for many thousands of them perished as martyrs; while thousands more were beaten, imprisoned, stripped of their possessions, driven from their homes or otherwise ill-treated. For sixty years or more anyone in Írán who dared to own allegiance to the Báb or Bahá’u’lláh did so at the risk of his property, his freedom and even of his life. Yet this determined and ferocious opposition could no more check the progress of the Movement than a cloud of dust could keep the sun from rising. From one end of Írán¹to the other Bahá’ís are now to be found in almost every city, town and village, and even amongst the nomad tribes. In some villages the whole population is Bahá’í and in other places a large proportion of the inhabitants are believers. Recruited from many and diverse sects, which were bitterly hostile to each other, they now form a great fellowship of friends who acknowledge brotherhood, not only with each other, but with all men everywhere, who are working for the unification and upliftment of humanity, for the removal of all prejudices and conflict, and for the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the world. What miracle could be greater than this? Only one, and that the accomplishment throughout the entire world of the task to which these men have set themselves. And signs are not lacking that this greater miracle, too, is in progress.

In Turkestan, in America, in India and Burma, Bahá’ís are already to be numbered by the thousand, while in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France Bahá’í centers have been established and the range of their spiritual activities is rapidly extending. In some of the countries there are one or more monthly magazines devoted to the Cause, and in a number of them there are regular annual congresses attended by representatives of all the Bahá’ís in the country. Japan also has had a monthly Bahá’í magazine published in Japanese and Esperanto. In many other countries of the world, east and west, believers are to be found––a mere sprinkling of the population as yet,

¹ Lord Curzon, in his book, Persia and the Persian Question, published in 1892, the year of Bahá’u’lláh’s death, writes:–– “The lowest estimate places the present number of Bábís in Persia at 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 of their activity being the Mussulman priesthood itself. … “If Bábism continues to grow at its present rate of progression, a time may conceivably come when it will oust Mohammedanism from the field in Persia. This, I think, it would be unlikely to do, did it appear upon the ground under the flag of a hostile faith. But 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.” (Vol. i, pp. 490-502.)

but exerting an influence out of proportion to their numbers. The Faith is showing an astonishing vitality, and is spreading, like leaven, through the lump of humanity, transforming people and society as it spreads. The early believers in the West hoped that the spread of the spirit of the Faith, and acceptance of its principles, would somehow and in a destined time unify mankind. The further unfoldment of the elements then only latent in the teachings, however, has made it clear that acceptance of this Revelation is not merely a matter of inner attitude, vital though that be, but also of world citizenship, the conscious effort to develop to their full power, the new social institutions established by Bahá’u’lláh. Thus, in an effort to show the growth of the Cause, one must look beyond any more or less vague appearance of Bahá’u’lláh’s principles in the form of general public ideals, and beyond even the increase in the number of declared adherents. At this stage in its evolution, the strength of the Faith is evidenced primarily in the rapid transformation of the Bahá’í community from the status of devoted worshippers to that of a firm constitutional order able to resist the confusion and hostilities of a desperate environment. The fact that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá definitely foretold another international war indicates what an intolerable strain is yet to be laid upon all traditional social institutions. The relatively small number of Bahá’ís may still seem insignificant in comparison with the followers of the ancient religions, but they are confident that ta divine Power has blessed them with the high privilege of serving a new order into which will throng the multitudes of East and West at no distant day. By 1963, the one hundredth anniversary of the declaration of Bahá’u’lláh in the Garden of Ridván, the Bahá’ís are informed by Shoghi Effendi, the foundations of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh will have been laid throughout the world. While, therefore it remains true that the Holy Spirit has reflected from pure hearts in all countries and unconscious of the Source, and the growth of the Faith can be witnessed in the many efforts outside the Bahá’í community to promote one or another of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings, nevertheless the lack of any enduring foundation in the old order is convincing proof that the ideals of the Kingdom can only become fruitful within the framework of the Bahá’í community.

Prophethood of Báb and Bahá’u’lláh The more we study the lives and teachings of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, the more impossible does it seem to find any explanation of their greatness, except that of Divine Inspiration. They were reared in an atmosphere of fanaticism and bigotry. They had only the most elementary education. They had no contact with Western culture. They had no political contact with Western culture. They had no political or financial power to back them. They asked nothing from men, and received little but injustice and oppression. The great ones of earth ignored or opposed them. They were scourged and tortured, imprisoned and subjected to direct calamities in the fulfilment of their mission. They were alone against the world, having no help but that of God, yet already their triumph is manifest and magnificent. The grandeur and sublimity of their ideals, the nobility and self-sacrifice of their lives, their dauntless courage and conviction, their amazing wisdom and knowledge, their grasp of the needs of both Eastern and Western peoples, the comprehensiveness and adequacy of their teachings, their power to inspire whole-hearted devotion and enthusiasm in their followers, the penetration and potency of their influence, the progress of the Movement they founded––surely these constitute proofs of prophethood as convincing as any which the history of religion can show.

A Glorious Prospect

The Bahá’í glad tidings disclose a vision of the Bounty of God and of the future progress of humanity, which is surely the greatest and most glorious Revelation ever given to mankind, the development and fulfilment of all previous Revelation of mankind and the creation of “new heavens and a new earth.” It is the same task to which Christ and all the prophets have devoted their lives, and between these great teachers there is no rivalry. It is not by this Manifestation or by that, but by all together, that the task will be accomplished. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:––

“It is not necessary to lower Abraham to raise Jesus. It is not necessary to lower Jesus to proclaim Bahá’u’lláh. We must welcome the Truth of God wherever we behold it. The essence of the question is that all these great Messengers came to raise the Divine Standard of Perfections. All of them shine as orbs in the same heaven of the Divine Will. All of them give Light to the world.”––Star of the West, vol. iii, No. 8, p. 8. The task is God’s, and god calls not only the prophets but all mankind to be His co-workers in this creative process. If we refuse His invitation, we shall not hinder the work from going on, for what God wills shall surely come to pass. If we fail to play our part He can raise up other instruments to perform His purpose; but we shall miss the real aim and object of our own lives. At-one-ment with God––becoming His lovers, His servants, the willing channels and mediums of His Creative Power, so that we are conscious of no life within us but His Divine and abundant life––that, according to the Bahá’í teaching, is the ineffable and glorious consummation of human existence. Humanity, however, is sound at heart, for it is made “in the image and likeness of God,” and when at last it sees the truth, it will not persist in the paths of folly. Bahá’u’lláh assures us that ere long the call of God will be generally accepted, and mankind as a whole will turn to righteousness and obedience. “All sorrow will then be turned into joy, and all disease into health,” and the kingdoms of this world shall become “the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. xi, 15). Not only those on earth, but all in the heavens and on the earth, shall become one in God and rejoice eternally in Him.

Renewal of Religion

This state of the world today surely affords ample evidence that, with rare exceptions, people of all religions need to be re-awakened to the real meaning of their religion; and that re-awakening is an important part of the work of Bahá’u’lláh. He comes to make Christians better Christians, to make Muslims real Muslims, to make all men true to the spirit that inspired their prophets. He also fulfils the promise made by all these prophets, of a more glorious Manifestation which was to appear in the “Fulness of Time” to crown and consummate their labors. He gives a fuller unfolding of spiritual truths than his predecessors, and reveals the Will of God with regard to all the problems of individual and social life that confront us in the world today. He gives a universal teaching which affords a firm foundation on which a new and better civilization can be built up, a teaching adapted to the needs of the world in the new era which is now commencing.

Need for New Revelation

The unification of the world of humanity, the welding together of the world’s different religions, the reconciliation of Religion and Science, the establishment of Universal Peace, of International Arbitration, of an International House of Justice, of Arbitration, of an International House of Justice, of an International Language, the Emancipation of Women, Universal Education, the abolition not only of Chattel Slavery, but of Industrial Slavery, the Organization of Humanity as a single whole, with due regard to the rights and liberties of each individual––these are problems of gigantic magnitude and stupendous difficulty in relation to which Christians, Muhammadans and adherents of other religions have held and still hold the most diverse and often violently opposed views, but Baha2’u’lláh has revealed clearly defined principles, the general adoption of which would obviously make the world a paradise.

Truth is for All

Many are quite ready to admit that the Bahá’í teachings would be a splendid thing for Írán and for the East, but imagine that for the nations of the West they are unnecessary or unsuitable. To one who mentioned such a view, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied:––

“As to the meaning of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, whatever has to do with the universal good is divine, and whatever is divine is for the universal good. If it be true, it is for all; if not, it is for no one; therefore a divine cause of universal good cannot be limited to either the East of the West, for the radiance of the Sun of Truth illumines both the East and the West, and it makes its heat felt in the South and in the North––there is no difference between one Pole and another. At the time of the Manifestation of Christ, the Romans and Greeks thought His Cause was especially for the Jews. They thought they had a perfect civilization and nothing to learn from Christ’s teachings, and by this false supposition many were deprived of His Grace. Likewise know that the principles of Christianity and the Commandments of Bahá’u’lláh and identical and that their paths are the same. Every day there is progress; there was a time when this divine institution (of progressive revelation) was in embryo, then newborn, then a child, then an intellectual youth; but today it is resplendent with beauty and shining with the greatest brilliancy. “Happy is he who penetrates the mystery and takes his place in the world of the illumined ones.”

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ

The New Phase

With the passing of its beloved leader, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Bahá’í Faith entered on a new phase of its history. This new phase represents a higher state in the existence of the same spiritual organism, a more mature and consequently a more responsible expression of the faith felt by its members. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had devoted His superhuman energy and unique capacity to the task of spreading His love for Bahá’u’lláh throughout the East and West. He had lighted the candle of faith in countless souls. He had trained and guided them in the attributes of the personal spiritual life. With His passing, the time had come to establish the administrative order which has been termed the pattern and nucleus of the world order which it is the special mission of the religion of Bahá’u’lláh to establish. The will and testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá consequently marks a turning point in Bahá’í history, dividing the era of immaturity and irresponsibility from that era in which the Bahá’ís themselves are destined to fulfill their spirituality by enlarging its scope from the realm of personal experience to that of social unity and cooperation. The three principal elements in the administrative plan left by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are:––

1. “The Guardian of the Cause of God,” 2. “The Hands of the Cause of God,” and 3. “The Spiritual Assemblies, Local, National and International.”

The Guardian of the Cause of God

‘Abdu’l-Bahá appointed His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, to the responsible position of “Guardian of the Cause” (Valíyi-Amru’lláh). Shoghi Effendi is the eldest son of Ziáiyyih Khánum, the eldest daughter of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. His father, Mírzá Hádi, is a relative of the Báb (although not a direct descendant, as the Báb’s only child died in infancy). Shoghi Effendi was twenty-five years of age, and was studying at Balliol College, Oxford, at the time of his grandfather’s passing. The announcement of his appointment is made in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will as follows:––

“O my loving friends! After the passing away of this wronged one, it is incumbent upon the Branches and Twigs of the Sacred Lote-Tree (that is, the relatives of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh), the Hands of the Cause of God and the loved ones of the Abhá Beauty, to turn unto Shoghi Effendi––the youthful Branch, branched from the Two Hallowed and Sacred Lote-Tree (Báb and Bahá’u’lláh) and the fruit grown from the union of the two offshoots of the Tree of Holiness, as He is the sign of God, the Chosen Branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, he unto whom all the Branches, the Twigs, the Hands of the Cause of God and His loved ones must turn. He is the expounder of the Words of God, and after him will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants. … “The sacred and youthful Branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal Assembly (Baytu’l’Adl) to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness the Exalted One. May my life be offered up for them both! Whatsoever they decide is of God. … “O ye beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of god to appoint in his own lifetime him that shall become his successor, that differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning. Thus, should the firstborn of the Guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words, ‘The child is the secret essence of its sire,’ that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the Guardian), and his glorious lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must the Guardian of the Cause choose another Branch to succeed him. “The Hands of the Cause of god must elect from their own number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in the important services of the work of the Guardian of the Cause of God. The election of these nine must be carried, either unanimously or by majority, from the company of the Hands of the Cause of God, and these, whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor. This assent must be given in suchwise that the assenting and dissenting voices may not be distinguished (that is, by secret ballot).”

“Hands of the Cause of God”

During his own lifetime Bahá’u’lláh appointed four tried and trusted friends to assist in directing and promoting the work of the Movement, and gave thou the title of Ayádíyi-Amru’lláh (lit. “Hands of the Cause of God”). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá makes provision in his Will for the establishment of a permanent body of workers to serve the Cause and help the Guardian of the Cause. He writes:––

“O friends! the Hands of the Cause of the God must be nominated and appointed by the Guardian of the Cause of God. … The obligation of the Hands of the Cause of God is to diffuse the Divine Fragrances, to edify the souls of men and to be, at all times and under all circumstances, 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 people of the world, for it is the light of Divine Guidance that causeth all the universe to be illumined.”

The Administrative Order

The following remarks on the Bahá’í administrative order are taken from The Bahá’í World, Vol. V, page 191 et seq.:–– In the Bahá’í Cause, the principles of world administration were expressed by Bahá’u’lláh, and these principles were developed in the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, more especially in His Will and Testament. The purpose of this organization is to make possible a true and lasting unity among peoples of different races, classes, interests, characters, and inherited creeds. A close and sympathetic study of this aspect of the Bahá’í Cause will show that the purpose and method of Bahá’í administration is so perfectly adapted to the fundamental spirit of the Revelation that it bears to it the same relationship as body to soul. In character, the principles of Bahá’í administration represent the science of cooperation; in application, they provide for a new and higher type of morality worldwide in scope. … A Bahá’í community differs from other voluntary gatherings in that its foundation is so deeply laid and broadly extended that it can include any sincere soul. Whereas other associations are exclusive, in effect if not in intention, and from method if not from ideal, Bahá’í association is inclusive, shutting the gates of fellowship to no sincere soul. In every gathering there is latent or developed some basis of selection. In religion this basis is a creed limited by the historical nature of its origin; in politics this is party or platform; in economics this is a mutual misfortune or mutual power; in the arts and sciences this basis consists of special training or activity or interests. In all these matters, the more exclusive the basis of selection, the stronger the movement––a condition diametrically opposed to that existing in the Bahá’í Cause. Hence the Cause, for all its spirit of growth and progress, develops slowly as regards the numbers of its active adherents. For people accustomed to exclusiveness and division in all affairs. The important sanctions have ever been warrants and justifications of division. To enter the Bahá’í Movement is to leave these sanctions behind––an experience which at first invariably exposes one to new trials and sufferings, as the human ego revolts against the supreme sanction of universal love. The scientific must associate with the simple and unlearned, the rich with the poor, the white with the colored, the mystic with the literalist, the Christian with the Jew, the Muslim with the Parsee: and on terms removing the advantage of long established presumptions and privileges. But for this difficult experience there are glorious compensations. Let us remember that art grows sterile as it turns away from the common humanity, that philosophy likewise loses its vision when developed in solitude, and that politics and religion never succeed apart from the general needs of mankind. Human nature is not yet known, for we have all lived in a state of mental, moral, emotional or social defense, and the psychology of defense is the psychology of inhibition. But the love of God removes fear; the removal of fear establishes the latent powers, and association with others in spiritual love brings these powers into vital, positive expression. A Bahá’í community is a gathering where this process can take place in this age, slowly at first, as the new impetus gathers force, more rapidly as the members become conscious of the powers unfolding the flower of unity among men. … The responsibility for and supervision of local Bahá’í affairs is vested in a body known as the Spiritual Assembly. This body (limited to nine members) is elected annually on April 21^st, the first day of Ridván (the Festival commemorating the Declaration of Bahá’u’lláh) by the adult declared believers of the community, the voting list being drawn up by the outgoing Spiritual Assembly. Concerning the character and functions of this body, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written as follows:––

“It is incumbent upon everyone (every believer) not to take any step (of Bahá’í activity) 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 fragrance, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and long-suffering in difficulties and servitude to His exalted Threshold. Should they be graciously aided to acquire these attributes, victory from the unseen Kingdom of Bahá 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 suck wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be attained when every member expresses with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his argument. Should anyone 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. “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 non-existent, 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. …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.”…

Expounding this subject, Shoghi Effendi writes:–– “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 to the general interests 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 only with regard to publication, but all matters without my 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 (Bahá’í) 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 particularly between each Assembly and the National 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. “The various Assemblies, local and national, constitute today the bedrock upon the strength of which the Universal House (of Justice) is in future to be firmly established and raised. Not until these function vigorously and harmoniously can the hope for the termination of this period of transition be realized. … Bear in mind that the keynote of the Cause of God is not dictatorial authority, but humble fellowship; not arbitrary power, but the spirit of frank and loving consultation. Nothing short of the spirit of a true Bahá’í can hope to reconcile the principles of mercy and justice, of freedom and submission, of the sanctity of the right of the individual and of self-surrender, of vigilance, discretion and prudence on the one hand, and fellowship, candor, and courage on the other.” …

The local Spiritual Assemblies of a country are linked together and coordinated through another elected body of nine members, the National Spiritual Assembly. This body comes into being by means of an annual election held by elected delegates representing the local Bahá’í communities. The delegates are elected by all the adult declared believers of a community in which a Spiritual Assembly exists. The National Convention in which the delegates are gathered together is composed of an elective body based upon the principle of a proportional representation. The total number of delegates is fixed by Shoghi Effendi for each country, and this number is fulfilled by assigning to each local community the number of delegates called for by its relative numerical strength. These National Conventions are preferably held during the period of Ridván, the twelve days beginning April 21^st which commemorate the Declaration made by Bahá’u’lláh in the Garden of Ridván near Baghdád. The recognition of delegates is vested in the outgoing National Spiritual Assembly. A National Convention is an occasion for deepening one’s understanding of Bahá’í activities and of sharing reports of national and local activities for the period of the elapsed year. It has been the custom to hold a public Bahá’í Congress in connection with the Convention. The function of a Bahá’í delegate is not limited to attendance at the National Convention and participation in the election of the new National Spiritual Assembly. While gathered together, the delegates are a consultative and advisory body whose recommendations are to be carefully considered by the members of the elected National Spiritual Assembly. The relation of the National Spiritual Assembly to the local Spiritual Assemblies and to the body of the believers in the country is thus defined in the letters of the Guardian of the Cause:

“Regarding the establishment of National Assemblies, it is of vital importance that in every country, where the conditions are favorable and the number of the friends has grown and reached a considerable size––that a National Spiritual Assembly be immediately established, representative of the friends throughout that country. “Its immediate purpose is to stimulate, unity 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’s 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 members of the International or Universal House of Justice, that Supreme Council that will guide, organize and unify the affairs of the Movement throughout the world. “The National Spiritual Assembly which, pending the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, will have to be re-elected 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-Adhkár, the teaching work, and other similar matters 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, 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 the country, which will bear to it the same relations 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 a matter which ought to receive its special attention. “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 Conventional 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 were 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 dispersion of the delegates, should seek ways and means to cultivate understanding, facilitate and maintain 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. “The National Spiritual Assembly, however, in view of the unavoidable limitations imposed upon the convening of frequent and long-standing sessions of the Convention, will have to retain in its hands the final decision on all matters that affect the interests of the Cause––such as the right to decide whether any local Assembly is functioning in accordance with the principles laid down for the conduct and the advancement of the Cause.”

Concerning the matter of drawing up the voting list to be used at the annual local Bahá’í elections, the responsibility for this is placed upon each local Spiritual Assembly, and as a guidance in the matter of the Guardian has written the following:

“To state very briefly and a s adequately as present circumstances permit the principal factors that must be taken into consideration before deciding whether a person may be regarded a true believer or not: Full recognition of the station of the Forerunner, the Author and the True Exemplar of the Bahá’í Cause, as set forth in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament; unreserved acceptance of and submission to whatsoever has been revealed by their Pen; loyal and steadfast adherence to every clause of our Beloved’s sacred Will; and close association with the spirit as well as the form of the present-day Bahá’í administration––these I conceive to be the fundamental and primary consideration that must be fairly, discreetly and thoughtfully ascertained before reaching such a vital decision.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s instruction provide for the further development of Bahá’í organization through an International Spiritual Assembly to be elected by the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies. This international body has not yet come into existence, but its special character has been clearly defined: “And now, concerning the Assembly (Baytu’l-‘Adl: i.e. House of Justice) which God hath ordained as the source of all good and freed from all error, it must be elected by universal suffrage, that is, by the believers. Its members must be manifestations of the fear of God, and daysprings of knowledge and understanding, must be steadfast in God’s Faith, and the well-wishers of all mankind. By this Assembly is meant the Universal Assembly: that is, in each country a secondary Assembly must be instituted, and these secondary Assemblies must elect the members of the Universal one. “Unto this body all things must be referred. It enacteth all ordinances and regulation that are not to be found in the explicit Holy Text. By this body all the difficult problems are to be resolved, and the Guardian of the Cause is its sacred head and distinguished member, for life, of that body. Should he not attend in person its deliberations, he must appoint one to represent him. …This Assembly enacted the laws and the executive enforceth them. The legislative body must reinforce the executive, the executive must aid and assist the legislative body, so that, through the close union and harmony of these two forces, the foundation of fairness and justice may become firm and strong, that all the regions of the world may become even as Paradise itself. “Unto the Most Holy Book everyone must turn, and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal Assembly. That which this body, either 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.”

Even at the present time, the Bahá’ís in all parts of the world maintain an intimate and cordial association by means of regular correspondence and individual visits. This contact of members of different races, nationalities and religious traditions is concrete proof that the burden of prejudice and the historical factors of division can be entirely overcome through the spirit of oneness established by Bahá’u’lláh. The larger implication of this order are explained by Shoghi Effendi in successive communications addressed to the Bahá’í community since February, 1929:––

“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 present-day 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, have, unlike the Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essential 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… “Unlike the Dispensation of Christ, unlike the Dispensation of Muhammad, unlike all the Dispensations of the past, the apostles 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 of their task. …Therein lies the distinguishing features 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 denounce it as an offshoot of Islám, or contemptuously ignore it as one more of those obscure sects that about 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.”––March 21, 1930. “It is towards this goal–the goal of a new World Order, Divine in origin, all-embracing in scope, equitable in principle, challenging in its features––that a harassed humanity must strive. … “How pathetic indeed are the efforts of those leaders of human institutions who, in utter disregard of the spirit of the age, are striving to adjust national processes, suited to the ancient days of self-contained nations, to an age which must either achieve the unity of the world, as adumbrated by Bahá’u’lláh, or perish. At so critical an hour in the history of civilization it behooves the leaders of all the nations of the world, great and small, whether in the East or in the West, whether victors or vanquished, to give heed to the clarion call of Bahá’u’lláh and, thoroughly imbued with a sense of world solidarity, the sine quâ non of loyalty to His Cause, arise manfully to carry out in its entirety the one remedial scheme He, the Divine Physician, has prescribed for an ailing humanity. Let them discard, once for all, every preconceived idea, every national prejudice, and give heed to the sublime counsel of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the authorized Expounder of His Teachings. You can best serve your country, was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’srejoinder¹to a high official in the service of the federal government of the United States of America, who had questioned Him as to the best manner in which he could promote the interests of his government and people, if you strive, in your capacity as a citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application of the principle of federalism underlying the government of your own country to the relationships now existing between the peoples and nations of the world. … “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 and 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 eve in such cases where the parties concerned did not voluntarily agree to submit their case to its consideration. 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; in which a single code of international law––the product of the considered judgment of the world’s federated representatives––shall have as its sanction the instant and coercive intervention of the combined forces of the federated units; 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––such indeed, appears, in its broadest outline, the Order anticipated by Bahá’u’lláh, an Order that shall come to be regarded as the fairest fruit of a slowly maturing age. … “Let there be no misgivings as to the animating purpose of the world-wide Law of Bahá’u’lláh. Far from aiming at the subversion of the existing foundation of society, it seeks to broaden its basis, to remold its institutions in a manner consonant with the needs of an ever-changing world. It can conflict with no legitimate allegiances, nor can it undermine essential loyalties. Its purpose is neither to stifle the flame of a sane and intelligent patriotism in men’s hearts, nor to abolish the system of national autonomy so essential if the evils of excessive centralization are to be avoided. It does not ignore, nor does it attempt to suppress, the diversity of ethical origins, of climate, of history, of language and tradition, of thought and habit, that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world. It calls for a wider loyalty, for a larger aspiration than any that has animated the human race. … “The call of Bahá’u’lláh is primarily directed against all forms of provincialism, all insularities and prejudices. …For legal standards, political and economic theories are solely designed to safeguard the interests of humanity as a whole, and not humanity to be crucified for the preservation of the integrity of any particular law or doctrine. …The principle of the Oneness of Mankind––the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve––is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope. …Its 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 represents the consummation of human evolution. … “That the forces of a world catastrophe can alone precipitate such a new phase of human thought is, alas, becoming increasingly apparent. …Nothing but a fiery ordeal, out of which humanity will emerge,

¹In the year 1912.

chastened and prepared, can succeed in implanting that sense of responsibility which the leaders of a new-born age must arise to shoulder. …Has not ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself asserted in unequivocal language that ‘another war, fiercer than the last, will assuredly break out’?”––November 28, 1931.

“This Administrative Order …will, 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 fulness of time the whole of mankind. … “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 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 allude: ‘The world’s equilibrium hath 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 wondrous System––the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.” … “The Bahá’í Commonwealth of the future, of which this vast Administrative Order is the sole framework, is, both in theory and practice, not only unique in the entire history of political institutions, but can find no parallel in the annals of any of the world’s recognized religious systems. No form of democratic government; no system of autocracy or of dictatorship, whether monarchical or republican; no intermediary scheme of a purely aristocratic order; nor even any of the recognized types of theocracy, whether it be the Hebrew Commonwealth, or the various Christian ecclesiastical organizations, or the Imamate, or the Caliphate in Islám––none of these can be identified or said to conform with the Administrative Order which the master-hand of its perfect Architect has fashioned. … “Let no one, while this System is still in its infancy, belittle its significance or misrepresent its purpose. The bedrock on which this Administrative Order is founded is God’s immutable Purpose for mankind in this day. The Source from which it derives its inspiration is no one less than Bahá’u’lláh Himself. …The central, the underlying aim which animates it is the establishment of the New World 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.’” … February 8, 1934. “The contrast between the accumulating evidences of steady consolidation that accompany the rise of the Administrative Order of the Faith of God, and the forces of disintegration which batter at the fabric of a travailing society, is as clear as it is arresting. Both within and outside the Bahá’í world the signs and tokens which, in a mysterious manner, are heralding the birth of that World Order, the establishment of which must signalize the Golden Age of the Cause of God, are growing and multiplying day by day. … “’Soon,’ Bahá’u’lláh’s own words proclaim it, ‘will the present-day Order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.’ … “The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh…should…be regarded as signalizing through its advent the coming of age of the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely as yet another spiritual revival in the ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only as a further stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as the culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous evolution of man’s collective life on this planet. The emergence of a world community, the consciousness of world citizenship, the founding of a world civilization and culture … should … be regarded, as far as this planetary life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in the organization of human society, though man, as an individual, will, nay must indeed as a result of such a consummation, continue indefinitely to progress and develop. … “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 the 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 executive, 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 is compulsory and final verdict in all and any disputes that may arise between the various elements constituting this universal system. A mechanism of world intercommunication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrance and restrictions, and functioning with marvelous 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 and understanding among the nations and races of mankind. In such a world society science and religion, the two most potent forces in human life, will be reconciled, will cooperate, and will harmoniously develop. The press will, under such a system while giving full scope to the expression of the diversified views and convictions of mankind, cease to be mischievously manipulated by vested interests, whether private or public, and will be liberated from the influence of contending governments and peoples. The economic resources of the world will be organized, its sources of raw materials will be tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be coordinated and developed, and the distribution of its products will be equitably regulated. “National rivalries, hatreds, and intrigues will cease, and racial animosity and prejudice will be replaced by racial amity, understanding and cooperation. The causes of religious strife will be permanently removed, economic barriers and restrictions will be completely abolished, and the inordinate distinction between classes will be obliterated. Destitution on the one hand, and gross accumulation of ownership on the other, will disappear. The enormous energy dissipated and wasted on war, whether economic or political, will be consecrated and wasted on war, whether economic or political, will be consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of human inventions and technical development, to the increase of the productivity of mankind, to the extermination of disease, to the extension of scientific research, to the raising of the standards of physical health, to the sharpening and refinement of the human brain, to the exploitation of the unused and unsuspected resources of the planet to the prolongation of human life, and to the furtherance of any other agency that can 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 force of life, is moving. … “The whole of mankind is groaning, is dying to be led to unity, and to terminate its age-long martyrdom. And yet it stubbornly refuses to embrace the light and acknowledge the sovereign authority of the one Power that can extricate it from its entanglements, and avert the woeful calamity that threatens to engulf it. … “Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of the stage which human society is now approaching. Unity of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and fully established. World unity is the goal toward which a harassed humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. The anarchy inherent in state-sovereignty is moving towards a climax. A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life.” …––March 11, 1936.

Further Extracts from the Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

In view of the momentous importance of the Last Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the gravity of the issues it raises and the profound wisdom underlying its provisions, we feel that it would be inadvisable, for the present, to undertake any commentary on its contents. We give, however, as a fitting close to this outline of the Bahá’í Faith, a few further extracts, which vividly portray the spirit and leading principles which animated and guided ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and are transmitted as a rich heritage to His faithful followers:––

“O ye beloved of the Lord! In this sacred Dispensation, conflict and contention are in no wise permitted. Every aggressor deprives himself of God’s grace. It is incumbent upon everyone to show the utmost love, rectitude of conduct, straightforwardness and sincere kindliness unto all peoples and kindreds of the world, be they friends or strangers. So intense must be the spirit of love and loving kindness, that the stranger may find himself a friend, the enemy a true brother, no difference whatsoever existing between them” “For universality is of God and all limitations are earthly.”

“Wherefore, O my loving friends! Consort with all the peoples, kindreds, and religions of the world with the utmost truthfulness, uprightness, faithfulness, kindliness, good-will and friendliness, that all the world of being may be filled with the holy ecstasy of the grace of Bahá, that ignorance, enmity, hate and rancor may vanish from the world and the darkness of estrangement amidst the peoples and kindreds of the world may give way to the Light of Unity. Should other peoples and nations be unfaithful to you show your fidelity unto them, should they be unjust toward you show justice towards them, should they keep aloof from you attract them to yourselves, should they show their enmity be friendly towards them, should they poison your lives, sweeten their souls, should they inflict a wound upon you, be a salve to their sores. Such are the attributes of the sincere! Such are the attributes of the truthful.”

“O ye beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon you to be submissive to all monarchs that are just and to show your fidelity to every righteous king. Serve ye the sovereigns of the world with utmost truthfulness and loyalty. Show obedience unto them and be their well-wishers. Without their leave and permission do not meddle with political affairs, for disloyalty to the sovereign is disloyalty to God Himself. This is my counsel and the commandment of God unto you. Well is it with them that act accordingly.”

“Lord! Thou seest all things weeping over me and my kindred rejoicing in My woes. By Thy Glory, O my God! Even amongst mine enemies, some have lamented my troubles and my distress, and of the envious ones a number have shed tears because of my cares, my exile and distress, and of the envious ones a number have shed tears because of my cares, my exile and afflictions. They did this because they found naught in me but affection and care and witnessed naught but kindliness and mercy. As they saw me swept into the flood of tribulation and adversity and exposed even as a target to the arrows of fate, their hearts were moved with compassion, tears came to their eyes and they testified declaring – “The Lord is our witness; naught have we seen from him but faithfulness, generosity and extreme compassion.” The Covenant-breakers, foreboders of evil, however, waxed fiercer in their rancor, rejoiced as I fell a victim to the most grievous ordeal, bestirred themselves against me and made merry over the heartrending happenings around me.”

“I call upon Thee, O Lord my God! With my tongue and with all my heart, not to requite them for their cruelty and their wrongdoings, their craft and their mischief, for they are foolish and ignoble and know not what they do. They discern not good from evil, neither do they distinguish right from wrong, nor justice from injustice. They follow their own desires and walk in the footsteps of the most imperfect and foolish amongst them. O my Lord! Have mercy upon them, shield them from all afflictions in these troubled times and grant that all trials and hardships may be the lot of the Thy servant that hath fallen into this darksome pit. Single me out for every woe and make me a sacrifice for all Thy loved ones. O Lord, Most High! May my soul, my life, my being, my spirit, my all be offered up for them. O God, my God! Lowly, suppliant and fallen upon my face, I beseech Thee with all the ardor of my invocation to pardon whosoever hath hurt me, forgive him that hath conspired against me and offended me, and wash away their misdeeds of them that have wrought injustice upon me. Vouchsafe unto them Thy goodly gifts, give them joy, relieve them from sorrow, grant them peace and prosperity, give them Thy bliss and pour upon them Thy bounty. Thou art the Powerful, the Gracious, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting!”

“The disciples of Christ forgot themselves and all earthly things, forsook all their cares and belongings, purged themselves of self and passion, and with absolute detachment scattered far and wide and engaged in calling the peoples of the world to the divine guidance; till at last they made the world another world, illumined the surface of the earth, and even to their last hour proved self-sacrificing in the pathway of that beloved One of God. Finally in various lands they suffered glorious martyrdom. Let them that are men of action follow in their footsteps!”

“O God, my God! I call Thee, Thy Prophets and Thy Messengers, Thy Saints and Thy Holy Ones, to witness that I have declared conclusively Thy Proofs unto Thy loved ones and set forth clearly all things unto them, that they may watch over Thy Faith, guard Thy Straight Path and protect Thy Resplendent Law. Thou art, verily, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise!”

FINIS

THE COVENANT OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

By E.S. Yazdani

“Religion is the greatest instrument for the order of the world and the tranquility of all existent beings. The weakness of the pillars of religion [caused by erring human beings] has encouraged the ignorant and rendered them audacious and arrogant. Truly, I say, whatever lowers the lofty station of religion will increase heedlessness in the wicked, and finally result in anarchy. Hear, O ye possessors of perception! Then be admonished, O ye endowed with sight!”

From “The Words of Paradise: by Bahá’u’lláh

When the words of God are challenged, the truth is interfered with and the natural harmony is impeded by man; man positions himself into a dangerous situation where anything could happen to harm him, whether it is in the material or the spiritual world, as if a vehicle is diverted from its paved path to an off road direction.

This fact becomes more evident when a founder of a religion has left the material world to the world above where access to him is closed forever and His advice or His Written words are challenged, denied, altered, tampered with, and the authority of His appointed one is not respected by the self-centered people of influence surrounding the appointed authority. In the absence of the appointed authority, man commits error; willingly or unintentionally, that would cause events to benefit one at the expense of the others. In other words, the natural harmony and the natural process are hindered, and the notion of truth will disappear. Analogous to this is the Federation Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, having written and accepted rules and regulations for football, made it necessary that a referee is on the field to supervise and interpret the rules of the game while the game is in progress. In the absence of the referee on the field, anything could go wrong. The technical errors would be denied by parties and a rise of different opinions among the players and among the spectators around the field and around the world would occur; all the result of the absence of the referee to prevent disorder on the playing field. A similar situation would result in a court of law if the judge were not present to carry out his vital function during the court process.

When the Manifestation of God proclaims His Mission and His spiritual momentum is let loose to the world of man in this contingent world; man is subjected to and is influenced by the Words of God; he is then compelled to accept or reject His call, making himself either to adhere to the Manifestation of God and obey His Commandments or oppose His Will, becoming God’s Great Covenant-Breaker; forming enemies of the Messenger of God.

To counterbalance the forces of darkness, to prevent harm to His fundamental principles of His established true Faith, to regulate and channel the flow of divine momentum, to provide the means and apparatus given to His adherents for the protection of His Cause from His enemies, the Manifestation of God for this age, Bahá’u’lláh established His Lesser Covenant with His believers. There are two types of Covenants that God has made with mankind; the Greater Covenant and the Lesser Covenant. The Greater Covenant, the ancient Covenant is that Covenant that God has made with all mankind. This Covenant fulfilled with Bahá’u’lláh’s announcement in the Garden of Ridván in 1863. In His tablet He states:

“In the name who shines forth from the Horizon of Might! Verily the Tongue of the Ancient gives glad tidings to those who are in the world concerning the appearance of the Greatest Name, and who takes His Covenant among the nations. Verily, He is Myself: the Shining-Place of My Identity; the East of My Cause; the Heaven of My Bounty; the Sea of My Will; the Lamp of My Guidance; the Path of My Justice; the Standard of My Love. The one who hath turned to Him [Bahá’u’lláh] hath turned to My face and is illuminated through the light of My Beauty; hath acknowledged my Oneness and confessed My Singleness. The one who hath denied Him hath been deprived of the Salsibil [the heavenly fountain] of My Love, of the Kawther of My Grace, the cup of My Mercy and the Wine of which the sincere ones have been attracted and the monotheists have taken flight in the air of My Compassion, which no one hath known except him whom I have taught the matter revealed in My Hidden Tablet.” Bahá’u’lláh. [The Covenant and Administration, Baha'i Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois]. Further discussions on the Greater Covenant are not the subject of this chapter. The reader’s attention is drawn to other works of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for further information. The subject of this chapter is the Lesser Covenant. Bahá’u’lláh in the Hidden Words says:

O My Friend

Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life, [Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh] which is planted in the all-glorious paradise? Awestruck ye listened as I gave utterance to these three most holy words: O friends! Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you, and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings. Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings, and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you.”

In the past, while a Founder of a religion was alive, the unity and adherence of the believers was secured. This unity was disrupted after the Founder had left the material world and the religion of God, which “…is a brilliant light and a mighty stronghold for protection and comfort of the people of the world…” branched into sects which “are ways and offshoots issued from the main religions as a result of political motivations or differences on innovative exegesis. The base and foundations of sectarianism is not a claim for a new revelation and new signs from God, but it is on finding answers to obscure matters relying on opinions and independent judgments of clerical classes.” The influential, self-given authority of the clerical classes abuse the revealed Words to benefit their agenda and turning the religion of God into sects. For instance, consider the statement made by His Holiness Christ; “and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,” in regard to Peter or the statement by His Holiness Mohammad; “I inform you that whomever I am his Mawla, [friend and guardian] this Ali is his Mawla.”

In short, in the past religion of God there has not been a strong Covenant or provision on the subject of succession to provide the believers the means to defend the Faith against its enemies. Even during the Báb’i dispensation, “Can He [The Báb] be said to have produced instruments for the safeguarding of His Faith…” after His martyrdom in 1850?

Contrary to past dispensations, Bahá’u’lláh has provided the instrument, laws and regulations and a system of administration to safeguard His Cause from deviation from His divinely established course, from sectarianism, from division among His adherents, from misinterpretation of His divinely revealed Words, from current determined oppositions arising from within and the old enemies from without, to achieve unification of the people of the world and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth foretold of its rise by the past Manifestations of God. This mighty Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, is the subject of this chapter added to the original text of “Baha’u’llah and the New Era” formulated by its author, J.E. Esslemont in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader the documents and the Writings related to the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh and to show the importance of the institutions provided by Bahá’u’lláh in His system of administration known as “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.” The Order, the advent of which The Báb heralded: “Well is it with him,” the Báb announces, “Who fixeth upon the Order of Bahá’u’lláh, and rendereth thanks unto his Lord.” Bahá’u’lláh established its foundation in The Kitáb-i-Aqdás, His Most Holy Book, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá printed its blue print in His Will and Testament, the charter of the worlds future civilization.

The Book and the Center of the Covenant

The divinely originated process sent through the Báb to mankind on May 23, 1844 initiated a series of events that caused a revolutionary state in the entire land of Persia where the Government, together with the religious hierarchies, tried to oppose the Bábi movement. The irresistible movement possessed momentum to change the entire life of man on the planet, when the revelation of Bahá’u’lláh took place initially in the Siyáh-Chál of Tehran, and subsequently and publicly in the Garden of Ridván in Baghdad in 1863, resulted in the revelation of numerous books and tablets which flowed from the realm of the unseen, informed the kings and the rulers of the world of the advent of “Him Who will be made manifest,” laid the foundation of the “World Order of Bahá’u’lláh” revealed to mankind the Most Holy Book of the revelation, The Kitáb-i-Aqdás, manifested the Book of the Covenant that established the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh; “So firm and mighty is this Covenant,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states, “that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like.” In the same document, the Book of the Covenant, He, the Founder of this Mighty Revelation, appointed His eldest son, the Greatest Branch; “The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent upon the Aghsán, the Afnán and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch.” This was His confirmation of His announcement formerly made in the Most Holy Book; “When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended,” proclaims the Kitáb-i-Aqdás, “turn your faces towards Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.” And repeated, “When the Mystic Dove will have winged its flight from its Sanctuary of Praise and sought its far-off goal, its hidden habitation, refer ye whatsoever ye understand not in the Book to Him Who hath branched from this mighty Stock.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, (which means ‘Servant of Glory’) a title He chose for Himself, has a unique station in the Bahá’í Dispensation and in particular in the Apostolic Age of the Bahá’í movement. He is not a Manifestation of God and He does not share the station of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states: “My firm, my unshakable conviction, the essence of my unconcealed and explicit belief – a conviction and belief which the denizens of the Abhá Kingdom fully share: The Blessed Beauty [Bahá’u’lláh] is the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth. The Báb is likewise the Sun of Truth, and His light the light of truth…My station is the station of servitude – a servitude which is complete, pure and real, firmly established, enduring, obvious, explicitly revealed and subject to no interpretation whatever…I am the Interpreter of the Word of God; such is my interpretation.”

In the Tablet of the Branch Bahá’u’lláh announces: “There hath branched from the Sadratu’l-Munahá 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. Magnified be He, therefore, for this sublime, this blessed, this mighty this exalted Handiwork!...A Word hath, as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the Most Great Tablet – a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of His own Self, and made it sovereign over the earth and all that is therein, and a sign of His greatness and power among its people…Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for verily He is the most great Favor unto you, the most perfect bounty upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened. Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso turneth away from Him hath turned away from My beauty, hath repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me. He is the Trust of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto you and His appearance among His favored servants… We have sent him down in the form of a human temple. Blest and sanctified be God Who createth whatsoever He willeth through His violable, His infallible decree. They who deprive themselves of the shadow of the Branch, [‘Abdu’l-Bahá] are lost in the wilderness of error, are consumed by the heat of worldly desires, and are of those who will assuredly perish.” In another tablet written in His own hand, Bahá’u’lláh addresses ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; “O Thou Who art the apple of Mine eye…My glory, the ocean of My loving-kindness, the sun of My bounty, the heaven of My mercy rest upon Thee. We pray God to illumine the world through Thy knowledge and wisdom, to ordain for Thee that which will gladden Thine heart and impart consolation to Thine eyes.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá is the Center of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh.

The full text of the Book of the Covenant is shown in Appendix A. In the same appendix the reader will find explanatory notes written by the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, on the Covenant and the Center of the Covenant. The reader’s attention is further drawn to “The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh” Shoghi Effendi on the station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Apostolic Age of the Bahá’í dispensation.

The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was penned by the Center of the Covenant, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, during a period of great suspense in His life while He was a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire from his early childhood to the late years of his life. The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is not only a document, in which He has appointed Shoghi Effendi as His successor to succeed Him after His ascension from this world, the Will is complementary to the Kitáb-i-Aqdás. The Will is the permanent link between the Heroic Age and the Formative Age of the Bahá’i Dispensation. The Will is the charter of the future world civilization necessary to secure the activities of the future, most complex world. The Will is designed for the unification of the people of the world and the spiritual triumph of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. The Will cannot be divorced from the Founder of the Faith, Bahá’u’lláh. “The creative energies released by the Law of Bahá’u’lláh. “The creative energies released by the Law of Bahá’u’lláh,” Shoghi Effendi states: “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 both 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 weed 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.” “The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,” Shoghi Effendi, the first guardian of the Faith further states: “Extolls the virtues of the indestructible Covenant established by Bahá’u’lláh…summons the Afnán (the Báb’s kindred), the Hands of the Cause and the entire community 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 associated with the Covenant-Breakers, and bids them shield the Cause from the assaults of the insincere and hypocrite; and counsels them to demonstrate by their conduct the universality of the Faith they have espoused, and vindicate its high principles…” (God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi, page 328). The full text of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is shown in Appendix B.

Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith

Based on the text of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the firm and clear clauses found in that document; Shoghi Effendi ascended to the office of the first guardian of the Bahá’í Faith without any challenges as regard to the matter of succession in the Cause of God. The ministry of Shoghi Effendi, as the administration and the spiritual head of the Bahá’í Faith community. Lasted for thirty six years from the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1921 to his own death on the fourth of November, 1957 at the age of nearly sixty years.

In the period of his ministry Shoghi Effendi expanded the Bahá’í community to the far corners of the world, elements of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh were established one after another, historical documents were translated for the people of the west, numerous sections of the Holy Writings, needed at the time, were translated, the pillars upon which the Universal House of Justice had to come into existence were formed, interpretive works such as “The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh” were written and published during his ministry (Section Four on the administration of this article is shown in Appendix C), along with various books written by the guardian, such as “God Passes By”, “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh”, “The Promised Day is Come”, and “Bahá’í Administration” etc. were published.

As part of his duties, Shoghi Effendi had to appoint his successor in his own life-time as highlighted in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá where the document states: “It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor that differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show n himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first-born of the Guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words:---“The child is the secret essence of its sire,” that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the Guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he, (the Guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him.”

In accordance with the Writings, all the believers in Bahá’u’lláh are branches grown from the Tree of Holiness. Bahá’u’lláh, in one of His tablets, writes:

“Since the believers are the branches and leaves of this Tree of Holiness then whatever befalls to the Tree of course [the same] will befall to the twigs, branches and leaves…” In another passage Bahá’u’lláh, in one of His tablets, writes:

“The Manifestation is symbolized as Tree [of Holiness] and then whatever manifested from that Manifestation are all leaves, branches, twigs and fruits of the Manifestation. For instance the Báb…was the Tree of Manifestation of God and the believers in His Cause are collectively considered as leaves, branches, twigs and fruits.”

[Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Badí’, Printed in Germany, 2008, page 38.]

It becomes very clear that Shoghi Effendi could have appointed any believer, faithful in Bahá’u’lláh and His Covenant, as his successor. Shoghi Effendi was forty years old when he married Miss Mary Maxwell, titled Ruhiyyih Khanum, on the 24^th of March, 1937. Shoghi Effendi and Ruhiyyih Khanum did not have any children, the Branches, Bahá’u’lláh’s sons, Mirza Muhammad-Ali, Mirza Badí’u’lláh and Ziya’u’lláh all became Covenant-breakers and were deceased. The absence of Bahá’u’lláh’s male descendant and lack of physical sons or children by Shoghi Effendi did not make him unable to appoint his successor.

On the ninth of January, 1951, Shoghi Effendi sent the following cablegram to the Bahá’í World community. The cable reads:

“Proclaim National Assemblies of East and West weighty epoch-making decision of formation of first International Baha'i 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 Bab’s sepulcher on Mount Carmel, the present adequate maturity of nine vigorously functioning national administrative institutions throughout Baha'i World, combine to induce me to arrive at this historic decision marking most significant milestone in evolution of Administrative Order of the Faith of Baha’u’llah 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 Bab’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 Baha'i Court, its transformation into duly elected body, its efflorescence into Universal House of Justice, and its final fruition through erection of manifold auxiliary institutions constitute the World Administrative Center destined to arise the function and remain permanently established in close neighborhood of Twin Holy Shrines. Hail with thankful, joyous heart, at long last, the constitution of International Council which history will acclaim as the greatest event shedding luster upon second epoch of Formative Age of Baha'i Dispensation potentially unsurpassed by any enterprise undertaken since inception of Administrative Order of Faith, on morrow of Abdu’l-Baha’s Ascension, ranking second only 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 Baha'i Cycle. Advise publicize announcement through Public Relations Committee.” - SHOGHI

In this cable Shoghi Effendi confirms that:

*The first International Bahá’í Council is the forerunner/embryo of the Universal House of Justice.

*The adequate maturity of nine spiritual assemblies of the east and the west, prompted the guardian to arrive at the decision to form such august an institution.

*The first embryonic International Institution is to be developed into an officially recognized Bahá’í Court, then its transformation into a duly elected body then into the Universal House of Justice.

*The formation of the International Council ranking second only to the Apostolic age of the Bahá’í dispensation of the five thousand century Bahá’í Cycle.

Shoghi Effendi, in another cablegram dated March 2, 1951, appointed C.M. Remey as the head of the first International Bahá’í Council stated: “The enlargement of the International Baha'í Council. Present membership now comprises: Amatu’l-Baha R’uhiyyih, chosen liaison between me and the Council, Hands of the Cause; Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery, Leroy Ioas, President, Vice-President, member at large, Secretary-General, respectively. Jesse Revell, Ethel Revell [and] Lotfullah Hakim [are] Treasurer, Western and Eastern assistance Secretaries.”

In this cablegram Shoghi Effendi confirms that:

*Mason Remey is the president of the embryo of the Universal House of Justice and potentially his successor. “The embryo possesses” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states, “from the first all perfections, in one word all powers…but they are not visible, and become so only by degree.”

Ruhiyyih Khanum was the link between the Guardian and the Council. Shoghi Effendi directed the Council through Ruhiyyih Khanum and Mason Remey never independently activated the Council while the first Guardian of the Faith was alive. Although Mason Remey received requests or encouragement from the other members of the Council to activate the Council, Mason Remey always refused to do so, saying the Council is the domain of the Guardian and no one is to interfere with his authority. (Ref. Mason Remey’s Daily Observation). In fact, the Council was not activated during the remaining life of the first Guardian of the Faith and the Guardian provided individual members with various tasks to be carried out by them.

Mason Remey, the Second Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith

O My Friend

Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life [Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh], which is planted in the all-glorious paradise? Awestruck ye listened as I gave utterance to these three most holy words: O friends! Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you, and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings. Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings, and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you.

From The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh

“And there were lightning and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake and great hail,” meaning that after the appearance of the Book of the Testament there will be a great storm, and the lightnings of the anger and the wrath of God will flash, the noise of the thunder of violation of the Covenant will resound, the earthquake of doubts will take place, the hail of torments will beat upon the violators of the Covenant, and even those who profess belief will fall into trials and temptation.

From Some Answered Questions by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

How dare the Hands of the Faith presume to violate the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá? Do away with the Administration that is the Guardianship?

The answer to this is that the spirit of violation enters quietly, but when once in possession of the body, it dares do anything to gain its end while the body, more and more controlled by the violation, is helpless.

From A Last Appeal to the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land by Charles Mason Remey

On the fourth of November, 1957, Shoghi Effendi died suddenly in London. His sudden death caused disturbance in the Bahá’í communities on the question of succession. The manner in which Shoghi Effendi appointed his successor, in his own lifetime, and in accordance with the Will and Testament, put in motion a series of events that, on one side, were the fulfillment of the past prophecies highlighted in the Writings, and on the other hand, paved the way for the Hands of the Faith in particular, and the believers in general, to manifest their hidden agenda and “Attempts that protrude their ugly face from time to time, seen 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,” after the death of the first Guardian.

Mysteriously, Shoghi Effendi set the scene by engineering a method that established the embryo of the Universal House of Justice and simultaneously appointed Mason Remey its head. In his cablegrams, in fact, Shoghi Effendi announced his successor. [Ref. Cables dated January, 9 and 2 March, 1951 to the Bahá’í World.] His method of appointment of his successor was not according to the expectation of the Hands of the Faith and other believers. They erroneously expected that either Shoghi Effendi’s first born, a male descendant of Bahá’u’lláh’s, or by some other conventional method, such as by a way of a will to be opened after his death, Shoghi Effendi would appoint his successor. Neither of these expected methods took place. In fact, Shoghi Effendi did not have any children and Bahá’u’lláh’s male descendants were dead or being declared unfaithful to the Cause. Shoghi Effendi appointed his successor in conformity to the requirements of the Will and Testament. The believers, and particularly the Hands of the Faith, were expected to investigate and discover Shoghi Effendi’s successor and obey his command. The Hands of the Faith chose the to ignore the Will and Testament and by their erroneous action caused Shoghi Effendi’s prediction: “…their present enemies, as well as those whom Providence will, through His mysterious dispensations raise up from within or from without…” come to light and “seem for a while able to create a breach in the ranks of the faithful…” to manifest itself.

Initially, the appointment of the Hands of the Faith, by the first Guardian of the Faith took place after formation of the embryo of the Universal House of Justice, as promised as early as November 27, 1929: “appointment of the Hands of the Faith…all are pending on formation of the Universal House of Justice…” The Hands of the Faith failed to discover the mysteries of the International Bahá’í Council and to assent to the choice of the Guardian for succession as required by the Will and Testament. Following the death of Shoghi Effendi, the Hands of the Faith challenged the Will and Testament and claimed, erroneously, the end to the line of Guardianship in the Bahá’í dispensation forever. In her early cable to the Bahá’í communities of the world, Ruhiyyih Khanum, one of the Hands of the Faith and widow of Shoghi Effendi, the Institution of the Hands of the Faith; an Institution that, the terms and conditions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, provided no administrative role for them and with the knowledge the Hands of the Faith had, as it is apparent from the question Ruhiyyih Khanum put forward; “How [was this body of the Hands of the Faith] to assume the reins of authority with no documents to support us?” took over the management of the affairs of the Cause with no documents to support them.

Following the death of the first Guardian of the Faith, the Hands of the Faith, without having any administrative authority committed the following perpetrations:

* By-passing the authority of Mason Remey as the head of the embryo of the Universal House of Justice, invested in him by the first Guardian of the Faith.

* Failure to activate the embryo of the Universal House of Justice after Shoghi Effendi left this world.

*Ruhiyyih Khanum in her first cable directed the Bahá’í World communities to follow the Hands of the Faith and “cling” to them outside the authority of any Bahá’í Writings and Administrative documents.

*Collectively claiming themselves to be “The supreme body of the Bahá’í World Community”, then formed an illegal body of “Custodians of the Bahá’í World Faith” compromising nine members, elected from the body of the Hands of the Faith.

*Proclaiming, “The Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, His Eminence the late Shoghi Effendi, passed away in London (England) on the 4^th of November 1957, without having appointed a successor,” in their proclamation of November 25, 1957. Further, in the same document, to further confuse the believer, by quoting a clause of the Will in the same document, to further confuse the believer, by quoting a clause of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, namely “The Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in the important service in the work of the Guardian of the Cause of God;” attempted to equalize the illegally formed “Custodians of the Bahá’í World Faith,” a function required under the Will and Testament for the living Guardian of the Faith, not for Shoghi Effendi who no longer was with us in this material world.

*The Hands of the Faith directed the National Assemblies to include: “We pledge our full support, faith and allegiance to the body of the Custodians of the Bahá’i World Faith elected by the Hands of the Cause,” in their letter of submission to the erroneously formed body outside of any Bahá’i Administrative documents.

*Without natural development of the embryo of the Universal House of Justice into a recognized Bahá’i Court, into a duly elected body, into the Universal House of Justice and into, “Its final fruition through erection (of) manifold auxiliary institutions constituting (the) World Administrative Center,” the Hands of the Faith destroyed the embryo of the Universal House of Justice and elected nine members instead, and finally arranged an election of the so called Universal House of Justice, during Ridván, 1963, without its “Distinguished member,” its “Sacred head,” the Guardian of the Faith, and disregarding Shoghi Effendi’s statement where he articulates, as early as the summer of 1925, “Any institution that is not established in accordance with the Divine Order, not in conformity with the principles and the conditions recorded in the Holy Writings, as it is required for this august institution, consequently such an institution is void of credential deprived of spiritual station, and forbidden to have any right to legislate and enact laws and ordinances which are not explicitly recorded in the Holy Writings. It also lacks the essential qualities and the Divine confirmation.” They then tagged this false body with the appellation of “infallibility.” [From his letter to the Eastern believers dated summer of 1925]

Initially, Mason Remey sat with the Hands of the Faith and constantly reminded his fellow Hands of the Faith that ending the line of the Institution of the Guardianship in the Bahá’i dispensation is a clear violation of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh. Mason Remey, on the violation of the Guardianship of the Administrative order of the Faith after the ascension of the first Guardian of the Cause states:

“At the first Bahj’i Conclave, [November 25, 1957] the Hands of the Faith took over the management of the affairs of the Bahá’i Faith. This was followed by their repudiation of the Administration Guardianship of the Bahá’í Faith, this violation of the Guardianship that is the heart of the Administration of the Bahá’í Faith, is condemned by the second Guardian of the Faith and all who follow this violation of the Bahá’í Faith are pronounced by him to be violators of the Faith for thus by this action have they severed themselves from the Bahá’í Religious Faith.

“One of the first actions of these violating Hands of the Cause in this first conclave was to decree that no recorded or written records be taken of things transpiring in their conclaves. At the same time, by a universally passed resolution, all were held in secrecy everything that transpired in those conclaves.

“The second Guardian of the Faith, then in occultation , in the capacity of a Hand of the Cause and President of the Bahá’í International Council, sat with the Hands in this conclave. He knew at that time that this violation of the Guardianship was being perpetrated, but hoping to rectify this condition through friendly argument and pacific method he agreed with the others, to keep in strict secret with them from the Bahá’í world, all things that passed between the Hands of the Faith in their conclaves and conferences. For he hoped, to be able to show them their errors and thus save them from their violation of the Faith.

“Two and a half years or thereabouts of time passed, the while he was telling the Hands of their violation and begging them to reconsider their stand against the Guardianship – but all to fail in the end in this endeavor.

“Through his forbearance, the Second Guardian of the Faith kept this pact of secrecy with the Hands of the Cause as long as possible to keep it, hoping that they would have a change of heart, cast aside their violation of the Faith and welcome the advent of the Second Guardian of the Faith. But when the second Guardian of the Faith, found that the violations of the Hands were at the point of causing irreparable damage to the Bahá’í Faith – then he had to break with the Hands of the Faith. It was then necessary for him to make his advent as Guardian of the Faith in order to save the Faith.

“Therefore when he announced to the Bahá’í World, Ridván 117 B.E., that the beloved first Guardian of the Faith had, during his lifetime, appointed him, Mason Remey, the second Guardian of the Faith, he – for the preservation of the Faith – broke all connections with the violating Hands of the Faith and now for the safety of the Faith, he is telling and explaining to the Bahá’í World the things that the Hands of the Faith have been perpetrating against the Faith; namely their attempt to do away with the Administrative-Guardianship of the Faith, the foundation of which was given to the first Guardian of the Faith, and to the Bahá’í World in the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, upon which foundation Shoghi Effendi inaugurated the Administration that the Hands of the Cause are violating.”

Failure of the Hands of the Faith to reconsider their stand against the principles of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh and their negative response to the call of the second Guardian of the Faith announced privately his station, first to the Hands of the Faith, [see Appendix D for his last appeal to the Hands of the Faith] he, Mason Remey then publicly proclaimed his position as the second Guardian of the Faith to the Bahá’í World by his Proclamation of Ridván 117 B.E. through the Annual National Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America assemble at Wilmette, Illinois, Ridván 117 of Bahá’í Era:

Proclamation of Mason Remey to the Bahá’í World

“BELOVED FRIENDS:

Believers have questioned me as to my status as President of the Baha'i International Council, appointed by The Beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi, the First Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. I take the means of this proclamation, to the coming annual national convention to tell all Baha'is exactly what my position and status is in the Faith.

The Baha'i people the world around know that The Beloved Guardian singled me, Mason Remey, out from amongst all of the Believers upon earth to occupy the position of President of the Baha'i International Council. This is the only position suggestive of authority that Shoghi Effendi ever bestowed upon anyone, the only special and specific appointment of authority to any man ever made by him.

The Beloved Guardian declared the Baha'i International Council to be the forerunner of and the first step toward the establishment of The Universal House of Justice, and furthermore, that the Baha'i International Council was the embryo of The Universal House of Justice which embryo would eventually develop into The Universal House of Justice.

Although all Baha'is know that I, Mason Remey, am the President of the Baha'i International Council by the appointment of The Beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi, yet many of you may not know me personally. I have been living at Haifa much of the time during these past ten years. My visits to America being in the summers when I have done but little travelling among the Baha'i communities so personally I may be a stranger to the many recently registered in the Faith. Therefore, I will tell you something about myself.

My forebearers were early American Colonials of New England in the north and Virginia in the south. I was brought up in the Christian Faith as taught by the Episcopal Church. The members of this church, as you know, although always orthodox may be anything from Catholic upon one hand to Protestant on the other. While this church is usually classed as Protestant, its Prayer Book proclaims it to be “The Holy Catholic Apostolic Church.” My inheritance was from the Catholic interpretation of Christianity rather than from the Protestant attitude.

To the average American, The Catholic Church usually means Roman Catholic, but there are other Catholic communions. In The Holy Land, that is now my home and has been for these past ten years, the Ministry of Religions of Israel lists eleven different Catholic communions in that country – Roman, Anglican, Russian, Armenian, Greek, Greek Orthodox, Coptic, etc. The Anglican Catholic Persuasion corresponding to the so called High Episcopal Church in America.

With this Catholic background it was the most logical and natural thing in the world for me to accept the Baha'i message without question as I did when I heard it in 1899-1900 from May Ellis Bolles (later Mrs. Sutherland Maxwell), because the Holy Catholic Apostolic Church teaches the Second Coming of Christ – The Christ to come manifesting as the Lord of Creation – the Prince of Peace – coming to establish “His Kingdom upon Earth as it is in Heaven.”

From New England on the north and Virginia on the south, my forebears came into the middlewest where I was born in 1874 at a town on the Mississippi River, two hundred and ten miles from Chicago, not far distant from the geographic center of the United States, this land that our Beloved Guardian has called “The Cradle of the Administration of the Baha'i Faith.” Thus do I introduce myself to those of you who may know me but by name only.

As I travel about through the Baha'i world, the friends ask me many questions about the life of the believers in Israel, and in particular about the Hands of the Faith in The Holy Land? The Baha'i people are just curious to know about things transpiring there and of how the problems of the Faith are being handled?

There is some general information that I can give them that is in no way confidential but I am not mentioning anything of a confidential nature to any Baha'i because as is well known in Baha'i circles from the first of the conclave of the Hands the majority of the Hands of the Faith were united in the opinion that absolutely nothing said or done in these conclaves be divulged, disclosed or revealed to any of the Baha'is outside of the body of the twenty seven Hands. However, each Hand of the Faith is not only allowed but urged to express herself or himself with perfect freedom within the four walls of the chamber in which the Hands are gathered. It is the duty enjoined upon each of the Hands to express her or his own convictions to the Hands when seated in conclave.*

I, as the President of the International Council was one of those things that every Baha'i knows but that just never happened to be talked about nor even mentioned in any of the conclaves or in the conferences of the Hands of the Faith; therefore, as this subject was never mentioned, I, having promised the Hands never to divulge any of their discussions, proceedings or decisions, am not breaking faith with International Council a subject that was never even mentioned nor brought up for discussion by the Hands of the Faith in any conference that I ever attended or know anything about.

Before going into the subject of my Presidency of the International Council and the stand that I take in the cause and explain in this letter, I would preface my statement by giving in a few words a picture of the set up of things in Haifa under the regime of The Beloved Guardian when all the members of the International Council including the resident Hands lived there and served the Guardian daily. Each of us council members were given instructions by Shoghi Effendi of what he wanted us to do and we reported to him as these various services were underway and completed. The sole authority of all these operations rested in the instructions given to each direct from the Guardian himself, thus as a council, a functioning body, we never undertook any services of any nature whatsoever.

*A Conclave, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is “Any meeting for secret consultation.”

After the appointment of the International Council, many times one of the members would come to me saying, “Mason, you are the President of the Council, get yourself busy, call a meeting, you are the President of the Council, you should take the initiative to organize this body and do something.” To which my response was always, “The Guardian of the Faith appointed the Baha'i International Council and He will tell me what I should do and when I should call the Council into action.”

The First Guardian of the Faith left this world without giving me any orders or instructions whatsoever regarding the International Council. The Beloved Guardian gave me no authority to do anything about the Universal Council during his lifetime for while He was living He was the Guardian of the Faith and as infallibility then was vested in him only, my position was then only that of I myself holding a potential responsibility. But with the death of Shoghi Effendi, He no longer being the center upon earth of infallibility, I became the acting President of the International Council in my own right as President of this body, thus I came into active command of the council. Therefore I am now assuming the powers that came to me automatically upon the death of Shoghi Effendi and that have been mine exclusively of all others upon earth since the death of the First Guardian of the Faith.

This is the authority I am now exercising when I refuse to recognize any interference from anyone in the affairs of the International Council. This means from any one at all, person or persons.

The Hands of the Faith can only function as protectors of the Faith when they are serving under the direction following the commands of the infallible Guardian of the Faith. They have no authority vested in themselves as Hands of the Faith to act in their own capacity nor in any other capacity, save under the directions of the living Guardian of the Faith.

The Beloved Guardian chose me to be the President of the Baha'i International Council that is according to his explanation the President of the Embryonic Universal House of Justice. Therefore I am the President of the Embryonic Universal House of Justice. When this August body becomes the Universal House of Justice, if such being during my lifetime, I will then be the President of the First Universal House of Justice of the Baha'i Dispensation.

Therefore, inasmuch as The Beloved Guardian in His Infallibility has thus placed me in command of the Faith to protect and to guard the Faith, I can do nothing but assume my place that he has given me with all of the responsibilities, the perquisites and emoluments that go with this position, therefore by his infallible orders I now alone after him command the cause and guard its integrity.

The delay until now of my calling the attention of the believers to the provisions for the protection and the guarding of the cause, made some years ago by our Beloved Guardian when He appointed me to be the President of the Baha'i International Council, has given the Hands of the Faith and the believers of the Faith ample time to discover for themselves, had that been possible for them to have discovered my unique position in the Faith. But until now no one, other than I, has discovered that such authority was vested in me by Our Beloved Guardian. To the moment of my sending out into the Baha'i world of this proclamation, I have taken no one into this confidence – I have stood single and alone in all the world guarding the Faith.

That I was to occupy this August position in The Baha'i Faith that the Beloved Guardian has chosen me to occupy, I have definitely known for the past twelve years more or less, without ever mentioning it to anyone until very recently when privately and in secret, I made this declaration to the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land. In this proclamation statement to you I am now declaring my position of command in the cause to the Believers here in America, “The Cradle of the Administration of The Baha'i Faith,” and through this convention to all the Baha'i World.

In this time of confusion of thought and purpose that so threatens the Baha'i world, now is the propitious moment for me to make the announcement that I do in this writ. I cannot delay any longer. All these plans of the Hands of the Faith for 1963 that are so absorbing and confusing to the people of the Faith must be dropped and stopped immediately. I am the only one who can command this situation so I have arisen to do so for I alone in all this world have been given the authority and the power to accomplish this.

Be it understood. I of myself make no claims for myself. I am but telling and reminding the Hands of the Faith and the Baha'is of all the world of the responsibilities that The Beloved Guardian placed upon me as President of the Baha'i International Council.

It is well known throughout the Baha'i world and accepted by all Baha'is that the protection of the Faith and the propagation of the Faith are special and particular functions of the Hands of the Faith, they working and serving under the direction of the Guardian of the Faith. It is from and through the Guardianship that infallibility is vested and that the Hands of the Faith receive their orders.

The Program for 1960 as announced by the Hands of the Faith in their message to the Baha'i world of November 4, 1959 signed by twenty two of the Hands, as well as the same program announced in their former messages, so flagrantly violate and puts to naught the Will and Testament, the Guardianship, and the Administration of the Faith that the Beloved Guardian so laboriously and painstakingly built up during his long ministry, that I can no longer condone such actions upon the part of the Hands of the Faith. I have remained silent now for over two years hoping that they would give up this destructive propagandizing but all to no effect so now it is necessary that I call a halt upon their activities.

I now command the Hands of the Faith to stop all of their preparations for 1963 and furthermore I command all believers both as individual Baha'is and as assemblies of Baha'is to immediately cease cooperating with and giving support to this fallacious program for 1963.

I have delayed as long as I dare delay before issuing this command to the Baha'i world – I, hoping that the Hands of the Faith would see for themselves that the will and testament of Abdu’l-Baha was being violated and that they would of themselves abandon their stand. I, standing single and alone against the entire Baha’i world but confirmed and steadfast in my assurance of ultimately saving the cause from this calamity. My assurance is based upon the authority that The Beloved Guardian gave me as President of the Council, the authority enabling me to act and assume command of the Baha'is that came to me at His death.

It is meet right and timely that I should make this announcement in this convention of Baha'is of America which land the Beloved Guardian called the “Cradle of the Administration.” I make this call here and now standing single and alone before you but fully confident of your support and cooperation in all Baha'i matters for you understand the Administration of the Faith and that I guard it from all violation and harm.

Because the Beloved Guardian called America the Cradle of the Baha'i Administration, the American Baha'is have a very special and particular responsibility to which I am calling them now at this particular time.

I expect the friends in this convention to consider with prayer and with thought this declaration to the entire Baha'i world. I expect them to accept me without question as their Commander-in-Chief in all Baha'i matters and to follow me so long as I live for I am the Guardian of the Faith – the Infallible Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.

The line of the Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith is unbroken for I have been the Guardian of the Faith since the death of the Beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi.

At their earliest convenience the National Assembly of the United States should communicate with me so that I can arrange to receive them. Since they are the first amongst the National Assemblies to be called into spiritual action by me their responsibilities are very great for I am calling this American National Assembly first from all other National Assemblies of the world to support me in my command of the Baha'i Cause.

Dearly Beloved Friends, seated in convention in the land of the Cradle of the Administration of the Faith, this is all that I have to tell you now at this time.

With much love to you.

Faithfully In El Abha,

MASON R., GUARDIAN

OF THE BAHA'I FAITH”

For further notes given by Mason Remey, the second Guardian of the Faith, the reader’s attention is directed to his last appeal to the Hands of the Faith shown in Appendix D of this introductory text.

Mason Remey protected the Cause and continued his ministry as the second Guardian of the Faith until his death in February 1974 at nearly one hundred years of age. His resting place is in Florence, Italy.

Prior to his death, Mason Remey appointed Donald A. Harvey as his successor and third Guardian of the Faith on 23 May, 1967. “I, the second Guardian of the Baha'i Faith hereby appoint Donald Harvey at my death to be my successor, the third Guardian of the Faith.

Signed Mason Remey, May 23, 1967.

“P.S. May the spirit of El Abha ever protect this line of spiritual descent from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Center of the Covenant of El Abha. C.M.R.”

Donald A. Harvey, Third Guardian of the Faith

Upon the death of the Second Guardian of the Faith, D.A. Harvey ascended to the position of third Guardian of the Faith. During his ministry he protected the Cause until his death on October 19, 1991 in Paris, France. Donald Harvey wrote numerous letters to individuals and some of the leaders of the world announcing the advent of Bahá’u’lláh as the latest Manifestation of God to be accepted and followed by every person living on this planet. He writes in one of his letters to an individual, “The human being never created himself, he is not self-created and could never be. He must certainly have ben created by an infinitely superior Being. All-Supreme over all things, the Designer and Maker of the vast universe, limitless in time and space. This Author and Supreme Creator, we human beings give Him the searching for Him and unfailingly finding Him in any of His Messengers. God, the All-Powerful, is certainly able in each epoch, to create a Man chosen among all His contemporaries, raising Him up, to invest Him with infinite qualities and perfection, equip Him with proofs and evidence of His mission, and thus make Him a Perfect Educator for all men and women of each era. Such is the Messenger of God on Earth.”

“It is finally the sole way, the only way for human civilization to advance.” In the same passage he continues to write, “Mankind is in great danger upon this Planet Earth,…just like stranded sailors upon a raft or lifeboat just about to sink, we supplicate God; ‘Save Our Soul.’ “Nevertheless,” Donald Harvey writes, “The Almighty God will soon establish with all good-willed persons, His Kingdom on Earth, to reflect His Kingdom in the next world, the world next to this contingent world.”

There are a few volumes of collections of his letters yet to be published.

Prior to his death, and in accordance with the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in November, 1984, the Third Guardian appointed his successor. He announced:

“By this writ in my own handwriting I, Donald Alphonse Harvey, presently residing at 5, rue Lavasier, 75008 Paris, France, and presently being the Third Guardian of the Universal Faith and Revelation of Baha’u’llah until my soul is called from this earth, do appoint and designate Mr. Jacques SOGHOMONIAN, presently residing at 27, place Sebastopol, 13004 Marseille, France, as his successor as Fourth Guardian of the Universal Faith and Revelation of Baha’u’llah. This writ is thus being made by virtue of the Explicit Text of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’, in compliance with all prescription found in it.

Rougemont, near Montbard, Co’te d’or, in France, this day of Saturday, November 17, year 1984 AD,

Signed Donald A. Harvey

Third Guardian”

Jacques Soghomonian, Fourth Guardian of the Faith

Jacques Soghomonian became the Fourth Guardian when his predecessor , Donald Harvey’s soul separated from his body and ascended to the next world, upon the death of the Third Guardian. Like his predecessor, Jacques Soghomonian carried out his duties as the Guardian of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh from October 19, 1991 to his own death on September 6, 2013, when he left this contingent world. Jacques Soghomonian wrote a series of letters, to nearly al the national assemblies under the direction of the “Haifa Group” in the Holy Land. Publication of the Ridván Magazine commenced during his Guardianship in 2006 and continued after his death in September, 2013.

In accordance with the requirement of the Will and Testament, He, Jacques Soghomonian appointed his successor in his open letter of February 10, 2005. He writes in his open letter:

“To all the believers, faithful to the Will and the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

On this day, February the tenth 2005, after thinking a lot for the good Cause of the Bahá’í Faith, I have taken the following decisions:

According to the powers, I was confirmed on as the Fourth Guardian and faithful to the Covenant of Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on account of my health problem, I had nominated Kamran Taimouri as my successor as far as the carrying on of the Guardianship was concerned. That was done on November 25^th 2003. Today February 10^th 2005, I definitely nominate Kamran Taimouri as the Hand of the Cause of God to comfort the structure of the Faith in the USA. I do hope that Kamran Taimouri will accept my decision. Concerning the USA, I nominate Brent Reed, Amy Krueger and Brent Mathieu as the Hands of the Cause of God.

Mrs. Jean Miller, [is appointed] as the coordinator for carrying on [the progress] and growth of the Faith [in the USA].

In faithfulness to the Covenant in its spirit and its letters, do not forget the obedience to the Covenant and the truth that goes with it. This obedience is the main rule for all the Faithful and it will give you Baha’u’llah’s assistance.

Last, but not least, with my intense prayer, here is my supreme and final willing: I indisputably name as my successor Mr. Enayatollah Sarvestani YAZDANI [living at] 2c Hampden Road Pennant Hill, NSW, Australia. He will be the 5^th Guardian after my death. As the number of the believers is increasing all over the world, we must set up the Guardianship Funds in accordance with the Covenant. More information will be given in the following letters.

With all my affection and my prayers to all of you,

Faithfully in Al-Abha,

Sincerely yours

Signed

Jacques Soghomonian”

E.S. Yazdani, Fifth and Present Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith

Currently E.S. Yazdani occupies the position of the fifth Guardian of the Faith in accordance with the authority given to him by his predecessor, Jacques Soghomonian, in his letter of February 10, 2005 asserted above.

APPENDIX A

KITAB-I-‘AHD, The Book of the Covenant

Bahá’u’lláh

KITAB-I-‘AHD

THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT

Although the Most High Horizon is devoid of trivial possessions of the earth, we have nevertheless bequeathed unto our heirs a noble and peerless heritage within the treasure-house of trust and resignation.

We have left no treasure nor have we added to man’s pains.

By the Life of God! In earthly riches fear is hidden and peril is concealed. Consider, then take warning by what the God of Mercy hath revealed in the Qur’án: -

“Woe unto those who malign and speak evil of their fellows; who hoard earthly goods and count their riches.”

Earthly possessions are unstable; wherefore whatsoever passeth or suffereth vicissitudes is unworthy of regard except to a limited measure.

In bearing hardships and tribulations and in revealing verses and expounding proofs, it has been the purpose of this oppressed One to extinguish the fire of hate and animosity, that, haply, the horizons of the hearts of mankind be illumined with the light of concord and attain real tranquility.

The light of the following utterance shineth from the horizon of the Divine Tablet, which should be observed by all: Oh people of the world! I counsel you to act in a manner which shall tend to elevate your stations. Cling to divine virtue and obey the divine law. Truly I say, the tongue is for mentioning that which is good; do not defile it by evil speech. “God hath forgiven your past ways.” You must henceforth speak that which is worthy. Shun reviling, maligning, and whatsoever will offend your fellowmen.

Man’s station is great. Ere this, the following exalted words have flowed forth from the Pen of Abhá:

This is a Day great and blessed. Whatsoever was hidden in man is today being revealed. The station of man is great, were he to cling to truth and righteousness and be firm and steadfast in the Cause. Before the God of Mercy, a true man appears like unto heaven. The sun and the moon of that heaven are his sight and hearing and its stars are his shining attributes. His station is the highest and his signs are the educator of the world.

In this Day, every believer who discovered the fragrance of the garment and turned with a pure heart unto the most high horizon is indeed recorded in the Crimson Tablet as of the people of Bahá.

Hold the chalice of My grace in My name. Then drain it in My mention, the mighty, the wonderful!

Oh people of the world! The religion of God is to create love and unity; do not make it the cause of enmity and discord. All that is regarded by men of insight and the people of the most lofty outlook as the means for safeguarding and effecting the peace and tranquility of man, has flowed from the Supreme Pen. But the ignorant ones who are the victim of self and desire, are heedless of the consummate wisdom of the truly wise One, and their words and deeds are prompted by fancy and superstition.

Oh ye chosen of God and His trusted ones! Kings are the manifestors of God’s power and the source of His majesty and affluence. Pray ye in their behalf. The government of the earth has been vouchsafed unto them. But the hearts of men He decreed unto Himself. He forbade conflict and strife – a rigid prohibition the Book. This is the Decree of God in this most great Manifestation; and God hath preserved it from annulment and clothed it with the broidered garment of confirmation. Verily, He is the all-knowing, the all-wise!

It is incumbent upon all to support those rulers and chiefs of state who are adorned with the raiment of justice and equity. Blessed are the rulers and the learned in el-Bahá! They verily are My trustees amongst My servants, and the sources of My Decrees amongst My people. Upon them rest My Bahá, My mercy and My grace which hath encircled the world!

Anent this matter, we have revealed in the Book of Aqdás the following words which radiate the light of divine mercy:

Oh my Branches! A mighty power and supreme potency is hidden and concealed in the world of being. Focus your gaze upon it and upon the direction of its unity, not upon the differences which are apparent therein.

God’s Will and Testament enjoins upon the branches, the twigs, and the kinsfolk, one and all, to gaze unto the most great Branch. Consider what we have revealed in my Book of Aqdás, to wit:

“When the sea of My Presence is exhausted and the Book of Origin hath reached its end, turn you unto him (‘Abdu’l-Bahá) who is desired by God – he who is issued from this ancient Root.”

The purpose of this sacred verse is the most great Branch. Thus have we declared the matter as a favor on our part, and we are the gracious, the beneficent!

God hath, verily, decreed the station of the great Branch next to that of the most great Branch. Verily He is the wise ordainer. We have chosen el-Akbar after the el‘A’sam, as a command on the part of God, the all-knowing, the omniscient.

All must regard the other Branches with affection, but God hath not decreed unto them any right to the people’s property.

Oh my branches, my twigs, and my kinsfolk! I counsel you to manifest divine virtue, and to act in accord with the Law, and with whatsoever is befitting and will elevate you stations.

Truly I say, virtue is the greatest commander which leads the Cause of God to victory, and the legions which deserve this commander are pure, sanctified and praiseworthy deeds and attributes.

Say: Oh servants! Do not make the cause of order a cause for disorder, nor the means of unity a means for disunity. It is hoped that the people of Bahá will observe the sacred verse: “Say, all are created by God.” This lofty utterance is like unto water for quenching the fire of hate and hostility which is hidden and stored in men’s hearts and minds. This single utterance will cause the various sects and creeds to attain the light of true unity. Verily He speaketh truth and guideth to the right path; and He is the mighty, the glorious, the omnipotent.

For the honor of the Cause and the promotion of the Word – it is necessary that all shall respect and have regard for the Branches. This command has been recorded once and again in the divine Book. Blessed is he who obeys whatsoever hath been ordained on the part of God, the ancient ruler. All shall also have respect for the women-members of Our household and for the afnán and kinsfolk. We likewise counsel you to serve mankind and bring peace to the world.

All that leads to the quickening of the people and the salvation of the world hath been revealed from the kingdom of utterance by the Lord of mankind. Hearken to the exhortations of the Supreme Pen with ideal ears. These are preferable unto you above all that is on the earth. Whereunto beareth witness my Book, the blessed, the glorious!

The Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh

An Explanation by Shoghi Effendi

A dynamic process, divinely propelled, possessed of undreamt-of potentialities, world-embracing in scope, world-transforming in its ultimate consequences, had been set in motion on that memorable night when the Báb communicated the purpose of His mission to Mullá Husayn in an obscure corner of Shíráz. It acquired a tremendous momentum with the first intimations of Bahá'u'lláh's dawning Revelation amidst the darkness of the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán. It was further accelerated by the Declaration of His mission on the eve of His banishment from Baghdád. It moved to a climax with the proclamation of that same mission during the tempestuous years of His exile in Adrianople. Its full significance was disclosed when the Author of that Mission issued His historic summonses, appeals and warnings to the kings of the earth and the world's ecclesiastical leaders. It was finally consummated by the laws and ordinances which He formulated, by the principles which He enunciated and by the institutions which He ordained during the concluding years of His ministry in the prison-city of ‘Akká.

To direct and canalize these forces let loose by this Heaven-sent process, and to insure their harmonious and continuous operation after His ascension, an instrument divinely ordained, invested with indisputable authority, organically linked with the Author of the Revelation Himself, was clearly indispensable. That instrument Bahá'u'lláh had expressly provided through the institution of the Covenant, an institution which He had firmly established prior to His ascension. This same Covenant He had anticipated in His Kitáb-i-Aqdás, had alluded to it as He bade His last farewell to the members of His family, who had been summoned to His bed-side, in the days immediately preceding His ascension, and had incorporated it in a special document which He designated as "the Book of My Covenant," and which He entrusted, during His last illness, to His eldest son `Abdu'l-Bahá.

Written entirely in His own hand; unsealed, on the ninth day after His ascension in the presence of nine witnesses chosen from amongst His companions and members of His Family; read subsequently, on the afternoon of that same day, before a large company assembled in His Most Holy Tomb, including His sons, some of the Báb's kinsmen, pilgrims and resident believers, this unique and epoch-making Document, designated by Bahá'u'lláh as His "Most Great Tablet," and alluded to by Him as the "Crimson Book" in His "Epistle to the Son of the Wolf," can find no parallel in the Scriptures of any previous Dispensation, not excluding that of the Báb Himself. For nowhere in the books pertaining to any of the world's religious systems, not even among the writings of the Author of the Bábí Revelation, do we find any single document establishing a Covenant endowed with an authority comparable to the Covenant which Bahá'u'lláh had Himself instituted.

"So firm and mighty is this Covenant," He Who is its appointed Center has affirmed, "that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like." "It is indubitably clear," He, furthermore, has stated, "that the pivot of the oneness of mankind is nothing else but the power of the Covenant." "Know thou," He has written, "that the `Sure Handle' mentioned from the foundation of the world in the Books, the Tablets and the Scriptures of old is naught else but the Covenant and the Testament." And again: "The lamp of the Covenant is the light of the world, and the words traced by the Pen of the Most High a limitless ocean." "The Lord, the All-Glorified," He has moreover declared, "hath, beneath the shade of the Tree of Anísá (Tree of Life), made a new Covenant and established a great Testament... Hath such a Covenant been established in any previous Dispensation, age, period or century? Hath such a Testament, set down by the Pen of the Most High, ever been witnessed? No, by God!" And finally: "The power of the Covenant is as the heat of the sun which quickeneth and promoteth the development of all created things on earth. The light of the Covenant, in like manner, is the educator of the minds, the spirits, the hearts and souls of men." To this same Covenant He has in His writings referred as the "Conclusive Testimony," the "Universal Balance," the "Magnet of God's grace," the "Upraised Standard," the "Irrefutable Testament," "the all-mighty Covenant, the like of which the sacred Dispensations of the past have never witnessed" and "one of the distinctive features of this most mighty cycle."

Extolled by the writer of the Apocalypse as "the Ark of His (God) Testament"; associated with the gathering beneath the "Tree of Anísá" (Tree of Life) mentioned by Bahá'u'lláh in the Hidden Words; glorified by Him, in other passages of His writings, as the "Ark of Salvation" and as "the Cord stretched betwixt the earth and the Abhá Kingdom," this Covenant has been bequeathed to posterity in a Will and Testament which, together with the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and several Tablets, in which the rank and station of `Abdu'l-Bahá are unequivocally disclosed, constitute the chief buttresses designed by the Lord of the Covenant Himself to shield and support, after His ascension, the appointed Center of His Faith and the Delineator of its future institutions.

In this weighty and incomparable Document its Author discloses the character of that "excellent and priceless heritage" bequeathed by Him to His "heirs"; proclaims afresh the fundamental purpose of His Revelation; enjoins the "peoples of the world" to hold fast to that which will "elevate" their "station"; announces to them that "God hath forgiven what is past"; stresses the sublimity of man's station; discloses the primary aim of the Faith of God; directs the faithful to pray for the welfare of the kings of the earth, "the manifestations of the power, and the daysprings of the might and riches, of God"; invests them with the rulership of the earth; singles out as His special domain the hearts of men; forbids categorically strife and contention; commands His followers to aid those rulers who are "adorned with the ornament of equity and justice"; and directs, in particular, the Aghsán (His sons) to ponder the "mighty force and the consummate power that lieth concealed in the world of being." He bids them, moreover, together with the Afnán (the Báb's kindred) and His own relatives, to "turn, one and all, unto the Most Great Branch (`Abdu'l-Bahá)"; identifies Him with "the One Whom God hath purposed," "Who hath branched from this pre-existent Root," referred to in the Kitáb-i-Aqdás; ordains the station of the "Greater Branch" (Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí) to be beneath that of the "Most Great Branch" (`Abdu'l-Bahá); exhorts the believers to treat the Aghsán with consideration and affection; counsels them to respect His family and relatives, as well as the kindred of the Báb; denies His sons "any right to the property of others"; enjoins on them, on His kindred and on that of the Báb to "fear God, to do that which is meet and seemly" and to follow the things that will "exalt" their station; warns all men not to allow "the means of order to be made the cause of confusion, and the instrument of union an occasion for discord"; and concludes with an exhortation calling upon the faithful to "serve all nations," and to strive for the "betterment of the world."

That such a unique and sublime station should have been conferred upon `Abdu'l-Bahá did not, and indeed could not, surprise those exiled companions who had for so long been privileged to observe His life and conduct, nor the pilgrims who had been brought, however fleetingly, into personal contact with Him, nor indeed the vast concourse of the faithful who, in distant lands, had grown to revere His name and to appreciate His labors, nor even the wide circle of His friends and acquaintances who, in the Holy Land and the adjoining countries, were already well familiar with the position He had occupied during the lifetime of His Father.

He it was Whose auspicious birth occurred on that never-to-be-forgotten night when the Báb laid bare the transcendental character of His Mission to His first disciple Mullá Husayn. He it was Who, as a mere child, seated on the lap of Táhirih, had registered the thrilling significance of the stirring challenge which that indomitable heroine had addressed to her fellow-disciple, the erudite and far-famed Vahíd. He it was Whose tender soul had been seared with the ineffaceable vision of a Father, haggard, dishevelled, freighted with chains, on the occasion of a visit, as a boy of nine, to the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán. Against Him, in His early childhood, whilst His Father lay a prisoner in that dungeon, had been directed the malice of a mob of street urchins who pelted Him with stones, vilified Him and overwhelmed Him with ridicule. His had been the lot to share with His Father, soon after His release from imprisonment, the rigors and miseries of a cruel banishment from His native land, and the trials which culminated in His enforced withdrawal to the mountains of Kurdistán. He it was Who, in His inconsolable grief at His separation from an adored Father, had confided to Nabíl, as attested by him in his narrative, that He felt Himself to have grown old though still but a child of tender years. His had been the unique distinction of recognizing, while still in His childhood, the full glory of His Father's as yet unrevealed station, a recognition which had impelled Him to throw Himself at His feet and to spontaneously implore the privilege of laying down His life for His sake. From His pen, while still in His adolescence in Baghdád, had issued that superb commentary on a well-known Muhammadan tradition, written at the suggestion of Bahá'u'lláh, in answer to a request made by `Alí-Shawkat Páshá, which was so illuminating as to excite the unbounded admiration of its recipient. It was His discussions and discourses with the learned doctors with whom He came in contact in Baghdád that first aroused that general admiration for Him and for His knowledge which was steadily to increase as the circle of His acquaintances was widened, at a later date, first in Adrianople and then in ‘Akká. It was to Him that the highly accomplished Khurshíd Páshá, the governor of Adrianople, had been moved to pay a public and glowing tribute when, in the presence of a number of distinguished divines of that city, his youthful Guest had, briefly and amazingly, resolved the intricacies of a problem that had baffled the minds of the assembled company-- an achievement that affected so deeply the Páshá that from that time onwards he could hardly reconcile himself to that Youth's absence from such gatherings.

On Him Bahá'u'lláh, as the scope and influence of His Mission extended, had been led to place an ever greater degree of reliance, by appointing Him, on numerous occasions, as His deputy, by enabling Him to plead His Cause before the public, by assigning Him the task of transcribing His Tablets, by allowing Him to assume the responsibility of shielding Him from His enemies, and by investing Him with the function of watching over and promoting the interests of His fellow-exiles and companions. He it was Who had been commissioned to undertake, as soon as circumstances might permit, the delicate and all-important task of purchasing the site that was to serve as the permanent resting-place of the Báb, of insuring the safe transfer of His remains to the Holy Land, and of erecting for Him a befitting sepulcher on Mt. Carmel. He it was Who had been chiefly instrumental in providing the necessary means for Bahá'u'lláh's release from His nine-year confinement within the city walls of Akká, and in enabling Him to enjoy, in the evening of His life, a measure of that peace and security from which He had so long been debarred. It was through His unremitting efforts that the illustrious Badí had been granted his memorable interviews with Bahá'u'lláh, that the hostility evinced by several governors of Akká towards the exiled community had been transmuted into esteem and admiration, that the purchase of properties adjoining the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan had been effected, and that the ablest and most valuable presentation of the early history of the Faith and of its tenets had been transmitted to posterity. It was through the extraordinarily warm reception accorded Him during His visit to Beirut, through His contact with Midhát Páshá, a former Grand Vizir of Turkey, through His friendship with Azíz Páshá, whom He had previously known in Adrianople, and who had subsequently been promoted to the rank of Valí, and through His constant association with officials, notables and leading ecclesiastics who, in increasing number had besought His presence, during the final years of His Father's ministry, that He had succeeded in raising the prestige of the Cause He had championed to a level it had never previously attained.

He alone had been accorded the privilege of being called "the Master," an honor from which His Father had strictly excluded all His other sons. Upon Him that loving and unerring Father had chosen to confer the unique title of "Sirru'lláh" (the Mystery of God), a designation so appropriate to One Who, though essentially human and holding a station radically and fundamentally different from that occupied by Bahá'u'lláh and His Forerunner, could still claim to be the perfect Exemplar of His Faith, to be endowed with super-human knowledge, and to be regarded as the stainless mirror reflecting His light. To Him, whilst in Adrianople, that same Father had, in the Súriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch), referred as "this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness," as "the Limb of the Law of God," as His "most great favor" unto men, as His "most perfect bounty" conferred upon them, as One through Whom "every mouldering bone is quickened," declaring that "whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God," and that "they who deprive themselves of the shadow of the Branch are lost in the wilderness of error." To Him He, whilst still in that city, had alluded (in a Tablet addressed to Hájí Muhammad Ibráhím-i-Khalíl) as the one amongst His sons "from Whose tongue God will cause the signs of His power to stream forth," and as the one Whom "God hath specially chosen for His Cause." On Him, at a later period, the Author of the Kitáb-i-Aqdás, in a celebrated passage, subsequently elucidated in the "Book of My Covenant," had bestowed the function of interpreting His Holy Writ, proclaiming Him, at the same time, to be the One "Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root." To Him in a Tablet, revealed during that same period and addressed to Mírzá Muhammad Qulíy-i-Sabzívarí, He had referred as "the Gulf that hath branched out of this Ocean that hath encompassed all created things," and bidden His followers to turn their faces towards it. To Him, on the occasion of His visit to Beirut, His Father had, furthermore, in a communication which He dictated to His amanuensis, paid a glowing tribute, glorifying Him as the One "round Whom all names revolve," as "the Most Mighty Branch of God," and as "His ancient and immutable Mystery." He it was Who, in several Tablets which Bahá'u'lláh Himself had penned, had been personally addressed as "the Apple of Mine eye," and been referred to as "a shield unto all who are in heaven and on earth," as "a shelter for all mankind" and "a stronghold for whosoever hath believed in God." It was on His behalf that His Father, in a prayer revealed in His honor, had supplicated God to "render Him victorious," and to "ordain ... for Him, as well as for them that love Him," the things destined by the Almighty for His "Messengers" and the "Trustees" of His Revelation. And finally in yet another Tablet these weighty words had been recorded: "The glory of God rest upon Thee, and upon whosoever serveth Thee and circleth around Thee. Woe, great woe, betide him that opposeth and injureth Thee. Well is it with him that sweareth fealty to Thee; the fire of hell torment him who is Thy enemy."

And now to crown the inestimable honors, privileges and benefits showered upon Him, in ever increasing abundance, throughout the forty years of His Father's ministry in Baghdád, in Adrianople and in ‘Akká, He had been elevated to the high office of Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, and been made the successor of the Manifestation of God Himself--a position that was to empower Him to impart an extraordinary impetus to the international expansion of His Father's Faith, to amplify its doctrine, to beat down every barrier that would obstruct its march, and to call into being, and delineate the features of, its Administrative Order, the Child of the Covenant, and the Harbinger of that World Order whose establishment must needs signalize the advent of the Golden Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation.

Appendix B

The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Part One

Herein Follow the Tablets and Testament of 'Abdu'I-Bahá

ALL-PRAISE TO HIM Who, by the Shield of His Covenant, hath guarded the Temple of His Cause from the darts of doubtfulness, Who by the Hosts of His Testament hath preserved the Sanctuary of His most Beneficent Law and protected His Straight and Luminous Path, staying thereby the onslaught of the company of Covenant-breakers, that have threatened to subvert His Divine Edifice; Who hath watched over His Mighty Stronghold and All-Glorious Faith, through the aid of men whom the slander of the slanderer affect not, whom no earthly calling, glory and power can tum aside from the Covenant of God and His Testament, established firmly by His clear and manifest words, writ and revealed by His All-Glorious Pen and recorded in the Preserved Tablet.

Salutation and praise, blessing and glory rest upon that primal branch of the Divine and Sacred Lote-Tree, grown out, blest, tender, verdant and flourishing from the Twin Holy Trees; the most wondrous, unique and priceless pearl that doth gleam from out the Twin surging seas; upon the offshoots of the Tree of Holiness, the twigs of the Celestial Tree, they that in the Day of the Great Dividing have stood fast and firm in the Covenant; upon the Hands (pillars) of the Cause of God that have diffused widely the Divine Fragrances, declared His Proofs, proclaimed His Faith, published abroad His Law, detached themselves from all things but Him, stood for righteousness in this world, and kindled the Fire of the Love of God in the very hearts and souls of His servants; upon them that have believed, rested assured, stood steadfast in His Covenant and followed the Light that after my passing shineth from the Dayspring of Divine Guidance -- for behold! he is the blest and sacred bough that hath branched out from the Twin Holy Trees. Well is it with him that seeketh the shelter of his shade that shadoweth all mankind.

0 ye beloved of the Lord! The greatest of all things is the protection of the True Faith of God, the preservation of His Law, the safeguarding of His Cause and service unto His Word. Ten thousand souls have shed streams of their sacred blood in this path, their precious lives they offered in sacrifice unto Him, hastened wrapt in holy ecstasy unto the glorious field of martyrdom, upraised the Standard of God's Faith and writ with their life-blood upon the Tablet of the world the verses of His Divine Unity. The sacred breast of His Holiness, the Exalted One (may my life be a sacrifice unto Him), was made a target to many a dart of woe, and in Mazindaran, the blessed feet of the Abhá Beauty (may my life be offered up for His loved ones) were so grievously scourged as to bleed and be sore wounded. His neck also was put into captive chains and His feet made fast in the stocks. In every hour, for a period of fifty years, a new trial and calamity befell Him and fresh afflictions and cares beset Him. One of them: after having suffered intense vicissitudes, He was made homeless and a wanderer and fell a victim to still new vexations and troubles. In 'Iraq, the Day-Star of the world was so exposed to the wiles of the people of malice as to be eclipsed in splendor. Later on He was sent an exile to the Great City (Constantinople) and thence to the Land of Mystery (Adrianople), whence, grievously wronged, He was eventually transferred to the Most Great Prison (‘Akká). He Whom the world hath wronged (may my life be offered up for His loved ones) was four times banished from city to city, till at last, condemned to perpetual confinement, He was incarcerated in this prison, the prison of highway robbers, of brigands and of man-slayers. All this is but one of the trials that have afflicted the Blessed Beauty, the rest being even as grievous as this.

And still another of His trials was the hostility, the flagrant injustice, the iniquity and rebellion of Mírzá Yahyá. Although that Wronged One, that Prisoner, had through His loving-kindness nurtured him in His own bosom ever since his early years, had showered at every moment His tender care upon him, exalted his name, shielded him from every misfortune, endeared him to them of this world and the next, and despite the firm exhortations and counsels of His Holiness, the Exalted One (the Báb) and His clear and conclusive warning; -- "Beware, beware, lest the Nineteen Letters of the Living and that which hath been revealed in the Bayán veil thee!" yet notwithstanding this, Mírzá Yahyá denied Him, dealt falsely with Him, believed Him not, sowed the seeds of doubt, closed his eyes to His manifest verses and turned aside therefrom. Would that he had been content therewith! Nay, he even attempted to shed the sacred blood (of Bahá'u'lláh) and then raised a great clamor and tumult around him, attributing unto Bahá'u'lláh malevolence and cruelty towards himself. What sedition he stirred up and what a storm of mischief he raised whilst in the Land of Mystery (Adrianople)! At last, he wrought that which caused the Day-Star of the world to be sent an exile to this, the Most Great Prison, and sorely wronged, and in the West of this Great Prison He did set.

0 ye that stand fast and firm in the Covenant! The Center of Sedition, the Prime Mover of mischief, Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí, hath passed out from under the shadow of the Cause, hath broken the Covenant, hath falsified the Holy Text, hath inflicted a grievous loss upon the true Faith of God, hath scattered His people, hath with bitter rancor endeavored to hurt 'Abdu'lBahá and hath assailed with the utmost enmity this servant of the Sacred Threshold. Every dart he seized and hurled to pierce the breast of this wronged servant, no wound did he neglect to grievously inflict upon me, no venom did he spare but he poisoned therewith the life of this hapless one. I swear by the most holy Abhá Beauty and by the Light shining from His Holiness, the Exalted One (may my soul be a sacrifice for Their lowly servants), that because of this iniquity the dwellers in the Pavilion of the Abhá Kingdom have bewailed, the Celestial Concourse is lamenting, the Immortal Maids of Heaven in the All-Highest Paradise have raised their plaintive cries and the angelic company sighed and uttered their moanings. So grievous the deeds of this iniquitous person became that he struck with his axe at the root of the Blessed Tree, dealt a heavy blow at the Temple of the Cause of God, deluged with tears of blood the eyes of the loved ones of the Blessed Beauty, cheered and encouraged the enemies of the One True God, by his repudiation of the Covenant turned many a seeker after Truth aside from the Cause of God, revived the blighted hopes of Yahyá's following, made himself detested, caused the enemies of the Greatest Name to become audacious and arrogant, put aside the firm and conclusive verses and sowed the seeds of doubt. Had not the promised aid of the Ancient Beauty been graciously vouchsafed at every moment to this one, unworthy though he be, he surely would have destroyed, nay exterminated the Cause of God and utterly subverted the Divine Edifice. But, praised be the Lord, the triumphant assistance of the Abhá Kingdom was received, the hosts of the Realm above hastened to bestow victory. The Cause of God was promoted far and wide, the call of the True One was noised abroad, ears in all regions were inclined to the Word of God, His standard was unfurled, the ensigns of Holiness gloriously waved aloft and the verses celebrating His Divine Unity were chanted. Now, that the true Faith of God may be shielded and protected, His Law guarded and preserved and His Cause remain safe and secure, it is incumbent upon everyone to hold fast unto the Text of the clear and firmly established blessed verse, revealed about him. None other transgression greater than his can be ever imagined. He (Bahá'u'lláh) sayeth, glorious and holy is His Word:-"My foolish loved ones have regarded him even as my partner, have kindled sedition in the land and they verily are of the mischief-makers." Consider, how foolish are the people! They that have been in His (Bahá'u'lláh's) Presence and beheld His Countenance, have nevertheless noised abroad such idle talk, until, exalted be His explicit words, He said:-"Should he for a moment pass out from under the shadow of the Cause, he surely shall be brought to naught." Reflect! What stress He layeth upon one moment's deviation: that is, were he to incline a hair's breadth to the right or to the left, his deviation would be clearly established and his utter nothingness made manifest. And now ye are witnessing how the wrath of God hath from all sides afflicted him and how day by day he is speeding towards destruction. Ere long will ye behold him and his associates, outwardly and inwardly, condemned to utter ruin.

What deviation can be greater than breaking the Covenant of God! What deviation can be greater than interpolating and falsifying the words and verses of the Sacred Text, even as testified and declared by Mírzá Badí'u'lláh! What deviation can be greater than calumniating the Center of the Covenant himself! What deviation can be more glaring than spreading broadcast false and foolish reports touching the Temple of God's Testament! What deviation can be more grievous than decreeing the death of the Center of the Covenant, supported by the holy verse:-"He that layeth a claim ere the passing of a thousand years ... ," whilst he (Muhammad 'Alí) without shame in the days of the Blessed Beauty had advanced such a claim as this and been confuted by Him in the aforementioned manner, the text of his claim being still extant in his own handwriting and bearing his own seal. What deviation can be more complete than falsely accusing the loved ones of God! What deviation can be more evil than causing their imprisonment and incarceration! What deviation can be more severe than delivering into the hands of the government the Holy Writings and Epistles, that haply they (the government) might arise intent upon the death of this wronged one! What deviation can be more violent than threatening the ruin of the Cause of God, forging and slanderously falsifying letters and documents so that this might perturb and alarm the government and lead to the shedding of the blood of this wronged one, -such letters and documents being now in the possession of the government! What deviation can be more odious than his iniquity and rebellion! What deviation can be more shameful than dispersing the gathering of the people of salvation! What deviation can be more infamous than the vain and feeble interpretations of the people of doubt! What deviation can be more wicked than joining hands with strangers and with the enemies of God!

A few months ago, in concert with others, he that hath broken the Covenant, hath prepared a document teeming with calumny and slander wherein, the Lord forbid, among many similar slanderous charges, 'Abdu'l-Bahá is deemed a deadly enemy, the ill-wisher of the Crown. They so perturbed the minds of the members of the Imperial Government that at last a Committee of Investigation was sent from the seat of His Majesty's Government which, violating every rule of justice and equity that befit His Imperial Majesty, nay, with the most glaring injustice, proceeded with its investigations. The ill-wishers of the One True God surrounded them on every side and explained and excessively enlarged upon the text of the document whilst they (the members of the Committee) in their turn blindly acquiesced. One of their many calumnies was that this servant had raised aloft a banner in this city, had summoned the people together under it, had established a new sovereignty for himself, had erected upon Mount Carmel a mighty stronghold, had rallied around him all the peoples of the land and made them obedient to him, had caused disruption in the Faith of Islám, had covenanted with the following of Christ and, God forbid, had purposed to cause the gravest breach in the mighty power of the Crown. May the Lord protect us from such atrocious falsehoods!

According to the direct and sacred command of God we are forbidden to utter slander, are commanded to show forth peace and amity, are exhorted to rectitude of conduct, straightforwardness and harmony with all the kindreds and peoples of the world. We must 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. With these final and decisive words, how can it be that these imprisoned ones should indulge in such vain fancies; incarcerated, how could they show forth such disloyalty!

But alas! The Committee of Investigation hath approved and confirmed these calumnies of my brother and ill-wishers and submitted them to the presence of His Majesty the Sovereign. Now at this moment a fierce storm is raging around this prisoner who awaiteth, be it favorable or unfavorable, the gracious will of His Majesty, may the Lord aid him by His grace to be just. In whatsoever condition he may be, with absolute calm and quietness, 'Abdu'l-Bahá is ready for self-sacrifice and is wholly resigned and submitted to His Will. What transgression can be more abominable, more odious, more wicked than this!

In like manner, the focal Center of Hate, hath purposed to put 'Abdu'l-Bahá to death and this is supported by the testimony written by Mírzá Shu'á'u'lláh himself and is here enclosed. It is evident and indisputable that they are privily and with the utmost subtlety engaged in conspiring against me. The following are his very words written by him in this letter: -"I curse at every moment him that hath kindled this discord, imprecate in these words 'Lord! have no mercy upon him' and I hope ere long God will make manifest the one that shall have no pity on him, who now weareth another garb and about whom I cannot any more explain." Reference he doth make by these words to the sacred verse that beginneth as follows:--"He that layeth a claim ere the passing of a thousand years ..." Reflect! How intent they are upon the death of 'Abdu'l-Bahá! Ponder in your hearts upon the phrase "I cannot any more explain" and realize what schemes they are devising for this purpose. They fear lest, too fully explained, the letter might fall into alien hands and their schemes be foiled and frustrated. The phrase is only foretelling good tidings to come, namely that regarding this all requisite arrangements have been made.

0 God, my God! Thou seest this wronged servant of Thine, held fast in the talons of ferocious lions, of ravening wolves, of bloodthirsty beasts. Graciously assist me, through my love for Thee, that I may drink deep of the chalice that brimmeth over with faithfulness to Thee and is filled with Thy bountiful Grace; so that, fallen upon the dust, I may sink prostrate and senseless whilst my vesture is dyed crimson with my blood. This is my wish, my heart's desire, my hope, my pride, my glory. Grant, 0 Lord my God, and my Refuge, that in my last hour, my end may even as musk shed its fragrance of glory! Is there a bounty greater than this? Nay, by Thy Glory! I call Thee to witness that no day passeth but that I quaff my fill from this cup, so grievous are the misdeeds wrought by them that have broken the Covenant, kindled discord, showed their malice, stirred sedition in the land and dishonored Thee amidst Thy servants. Lord! Shield Thou from these Covenant-breakers the mighty Stronghold of Thy Faith and protect Thy secret Sanctuary from the onslaught of the ungodly. Thou art in truth the Mighty, the Powerful, the Gracious, the Strong.

In short, 0 ye beloved of the Lord! The Center of Sedition, Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí, in accordance with the decisive words of God and by reason of his boundless transgression, hath grievously fallen and been cut off from the Holy Tree. Verily, we wronged them not, but they have wronged themselves!

0 God, my God! Shield Thy trusted servants from the evils of self and passion, protect them with the watchful eye of Thy loving kindness from all rancor, hate and envy, shelter them in the impregnable stronghold of Thy care and, safe from the darts of doubtfulness, make them the manifestations ·of Thy glorious Signs, illumine their faces with the effulgent rays shed from the Dayspring of Thy Divine Unity, gladden their hearts with the verses revealed from Thy Holy Kingdom, strengthen their loins by Thy all-swaying power that cometh from Thy Realm of Glory. Thou art the All-Bountiful, the Protector, the Almighty, the Gracious!

0 ye that stand fast in the Covenant! When the hour cometh that this wronged and brokenwinged bird will have taken its flight into the Celestial Concourse, when it will have hastened to the Realm of the Unseen and its mortal frame will have been either lost or hidden neath the dust, it is incumbent upon the Afnán, that are steadfast in the Covenant of God and have branched from the Tree of Holiness; the Hands, (pillars) of the Cause of God (the glory of the Lord rest upon them), and all the friends and loved ones, one and all to bestir themselves and arise with heart and soul and in one accord, to diffuse the sweet savors of God, to teach His Cause and to promote His Faith. It behooveth them not to rest for a moment, neither to seek repose. They must disperse themselves in every land, pass by every clime, and travel throughout all regions. Bestirred, without rest, and steadfast to the end, they must raise in every land the triumphal cry "Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá!" (0 Thou the Glory of Glories), must achieve renown in the world wherever they go, must burn brightly even as a candle in every meeting and must kindle the flame of Divine love in every assembly; that the light of truth may rise resplendent in the midmost heart of the world, that throughout the East and throughout the West a vast concourse may gather under the shadow of the Word of God, that the sweet savors of holiness may be diffused, that faces may shine radiantly, hearts be filled with the Divine spirit and souls be made heavenly.

In these days, the most important of all things is the guidance of the nations and peoples of the world. Teaching the Cause is of utmost importance for it is the head corner-stone of the foundation itself. This wronged servant has spent his days and nights in promoting the Cause and urging the peoples to service. He rested not a moment, till the fame of the Cause of God was noised abroad in the world and the celestial strains from the Abhá Kingdom roused the East and the West. The beloved of God must also follow the same example. This is the secret of faithfulness, this is the requirement of servitude to the Threshold of Bahá!

The disciples of Christ forgot themselves and all earthly things, forsook all their cares and belongings, purged themselves of self and passion, and with absolute detachment scattered far and wide and engaged in calling the peoples of the world to the divine guidance; till at last they made the world another world, illumined the surface of the earth, and even to their last hour proved self-sacrificing in the pathway of that beloved One of God. Finally in various lands they suffered glorious martyrdom. Let them that are men of action follow in their footsteps!

0 my loving friends! After the passing away of this wronged one, it is incumbent upon the Aghsan (Branches), the Afnán (Twigs) of the Sacred Lote-Tree, the Hands (pillars) of the Cause of God and the loved ones of the Abhá Beauty to tum unto Shoghi Effendi -the youthful branch branched from the two hallowed and sacred Lote-Trees and the fruit grown from the union of the two offshoots of the Tree of Holiness, -as he is the sign of God, the chosen branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, he unto whom all the Aghsan, the Afnán, the Hands of the Cause of God and His loved ones must tum. He is the Interpreter of the Word of God and after him will succeed the first-born 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 Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One (may my life be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is of God. Whoso obeyeth him not, neither obeyeth them, hath not obeyed God; whoso rebelleth against him and against them hath rebelled against God; whoso opposeth him hath opposed God; whoso contendeth with them hath contended with God; whoso disputeth with him hath disputed with God;

whoso denieth him hath denied God; whoso- disbelieveth in: him hath disbelieved in God; whoso deviateth, separateth himself and turneth aside from him hath in truth deviated, separated himself and turned aside from God. May the wrath, the fierce indignation, the vengeance of God rest upon him! The mighty stronghold 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 Aghsan, the Afnán, the Hands of the Cause of God to show their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the Guardian of the Cause of God, to tum unto him and be lowly before him. He that opposeth him hath opposed the True One, will make a breach in the Cause of God, will subvert His Word and will become a manifestation of the Center of Sedition. Beware, beware, lest the days after the ascension (of Baha’u’llah) be repeated when the Center of Sedition waxed haughty and rebellious and with Divine Unity for his excuse deprived himself and perturbed and poisoned others. No doubt every vainglorious one that purposeth dissension and discord will not openly declare his evil purposes, nay rather, even as impure gold, will he seize upon divers measures and various pretexts that he may separate the gathering of the people of Bahá. My object is to show that the Hands of the Cause of God must be ever watchful and so soon as they find anyone beginning to oppose and protest against the Guardian of the Cause of God, cast him out from the congregation of the people of Bahá and in no wise accept any excuse from him. How often hath grievous error been disguised in the garb of truth, that it might sow the seeds of doubt in the hearts of men!

O ye beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor, that differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom, and learning. Thus, should the first-born of the Guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words: -“The child is the secret essence of its sire,” that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the Guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious lineage not be matched with goodly character, then must he, (the Guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him.

The Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in the important services in the work of the Guardian of the Cause of God. The election of these nine must be carried either unanimously or by majority from the company of the Hands of the Cause of God and these, whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor. This assent must be given in such wise as the assenting and dissenting voices may not be distinguished (i.e., secret ballot).

O friends! The Hands 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. Should any, within or without the company of the Hands of the Cause of God disobey and seek division, the wrath of God and His vengeance will be upon him, for he will have caused a breach in the true Faith of God.

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. To disregard, though it be for a moment, this absolute command which is binding upon everyone, is in no wise permitted, that the existent world may become even as the Ábhá Paradise, that the surface of the earth may become heavenly, that contention and conflict amidst peoples, kindreds, nations and governments may disappear, that all the dwellers on earth may become one people and one race, that the world may become even as one home. Should differences arise, they shall be amicably and conclusively settled by the Supreme Tribunal, that shall include members from all the governments and peoples of the world.

O ye beloved of the Lord! In this sacred Dispensation, conflict and contention are in no wise permitted. Every aggressor deprives himself of God’s grace. It is incumbent upon everyone to show the utmost love, rectitude of conduct, straightforwardness and sincere kindliness unto all peoples and kindreds of the world, be they friends or strangers. So intense must be the spirit of love and loving kindness, that the stranger may find himself a friend, the enemy a true brother, no difference whatsoever existing between them. For universality is of God and all limitations earthly. Thus man must strive that his reality may manifest virtues and perfections, the light whereof may shine upon everyone. The light of the sun shineth upon all the world and the merciful showers of Divine Providence fall upon all peoples. The vivifying breeze reviveth every living creature and all beings endued with life obtain their share and portion at His heavenly board. In like manner, the affections and loving kindness of the servants of the One True God must be bountifully and universally extended to all mankind. Regarding this, restrictions and limitations are in no wise permitted.

Wherefore, O my loving friends! Consort with all the peoples, kindreds, and religions of the world with the utmost truthfulness, uprightness, faithfulness, kindliness, good-will and friendliness, that all the world of being may be filled with the holy ecstasy of the grace of Bahá, that ignorance, enmity, hate and rancor may vanish from the world and the darkness of estrangement amidst the peoples and kindreds of the world may give way to the Light of Unity. Should other peoples and nations be unfaithful to you show your fidelity unto them, should they be unjust toward you show justice towards them, should they keep aloof from you attract them to yourselves, should they show their enmity be friendly towards them, should they poison your lives, sweeten their souls, should they inflict a wound upon you, be a salve to their sores. Such are the attributes of the sincere! Such are the attributes of the truthful.

And now, concerning the House of Justice which God hath ordained as the source of all good and freed from all error, it must be elected by universal suffrage, that is, by all the believers. Its members must be manifestations of the fear of God and daysprings of knowledge and understanding, must be steadfast in God’s faith and well-wishers of all mankind. By this House is meant the Universal House of Justice, that is, in all countries a secondary House of Justice must be instituted, and these secondary Houses of Justice must elect the members of the Universal one. Unto this body all things must be referred. It enacteth all ordinances and regulations that are not to be found in the explicit Holy Text. By this body all the difficult problems are to be resolved and the Guardian of the Cause of God is its sacred head and the distinguished member for life of that body. Should he not attend in person its deliberations, he must appoint one to represent him. Should any of the members commit a sin, injurious to the common weal, the Guardian of the Cause of God hath at his own discretion the right to expel him, whereupon the people must elect another one in his stead. This House of Justice enacteth the laws and the government enforceth them. The legislative body must reinforce the executive, the executive must aid and assist the legislative body so that through the close union and harmony of these two forces, the foundation of fairness and justice may become firm and strong, that all the regions of the world may become even as Paradise itself.

O Lord, my God! Assist Thy loved ones to be firm in Thy Faith, to walk in Thy ways, to be steadfast in Thy Cause. Give them Thy grace to withstand the onslaught of self and passion, to follow the light of Divine Guidance. Thou art the Powerful, the Gracious, the Self-Subsisting, the Bestower, the Compassionate, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.

O friends of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá! The Lord, as a sign of His infinite bounties, hath graciously favored His servants by providing for a fixed money offering (Huqúq), to be dutifully presented unto Him, though He, the True One and His servants have been at all times independent of all created things, and God verily is the All-Possessing, exalted above the need of any gift from His creatures. This fixed money offering, however, causeth the people to become firm and steadfast and draweth Divine increase upon them. It is to be offered through the Guardian of the Cause of God, that it may be expended for the diffusion of the Fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Word, for benevolent pursuits and for the common weal.

O ye beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon you to be submissive to all monarchs that are just and to show your fidelity to every righteous king. Serve ye the sovereigns of the world with utmost truthfulness and loyalty. Show obedience unto them and be their well-wishers. Without their leave and permission do not meddle with political affairs, for disloyalty to the sovereign is disloyalty to God Himself.

This is my counsel and the commandment of God unto you. Well is it with them that act accordingly.

Note: (This written paper hath for a long time been preserved underground, damp having affected it. When brought forth to the light it was observed that certain parts of it were injured by the damp, and the Holy Land being sorely agitated it was left untouched.)

Part Two

He is God

O MY LORD, my heart’s Desire, Thou Whom I ever invoke, Thou Who art my Aider and my Shelter, my Helper and my Refuge! Thou seest me submerged in an ocean of calamities that overwhelm the soul, of afflictions that oppress the heart, of woes that disperse Thy gathering of ills and pains that scatter Thy flock. Sore trials have compassed me round and perils have from all sides beset me. Thou seest me immersed in a sea of unsurpassed tribulations, sunk into a fathomless abyss, afflicted by mine enemies and consumed with the flame of their hate, enkindled by my kinsmen with whom Thou didst make Thy strong Covenant and Thy firm Testament, wherein Thou biddest them turn their hearts to this wronged one, to keep away from me the foolish, the unjust, and refer unto this lonely one all that about which they differ in Thy Holy Book, so that the Truth may be revealed unto them, their doubts may be dispelled and Thy manifest Signs be spread abroad.

Yet now Thou seest them, O Lord, my God! With Thine eye that sleepeth not, how they have broken Thy Covenant and turned their backs thereon, how with hate and rebelliousness they have erred from Thy Testament and have arisen intent upon malice.

Adversities have waxed still more severe as they rose with unbearable cruelty to overpower and crush me, as they scattered far and wide their scrolls of doubt and in utter falsehood hurled the calumnies upon me. Not content with this, their chief, O my God, hath dared to interpolate Thy Book, to fraudulently alter Thy decisive Holy Text and falsify that which hath been revealed by Thy All-Glorious Pen. He did also maliciously insert that which Thou didst reveal for the one that hath wrought the most glaring cruelty upon Thee, disbelieved in Thee and denied Thy wondrous Signs, into what Thou didst reveal for this servant of Thine that hath been wronged in this world. All this he did that he might beguile the souls of men and breathe his evil whisperings into the hearts of Thy devoted ones. Thereunto did their second chief testify, confessing it in his own handwriting, setting thereupon his seal and spreading it throughout all regions. O my God! Could there be a more grievous injustice than this? And still they rested not, but further strove with stubbornness, falsehood and slander, with scorn and calumny to stir up sedition in the midst of the government of this land and elsewhere, causing them to deem me a sower of sedition and filling the minds with things that the ear abhorreth to hear. The government was thus alarmed, fear fell upon the sovereign, and the suspicion of the nobility was aroused. Minds were troubled, affairs were upset, souls were perturbed, the fire of anguish and sorrow was kindled within the breasts, the Holy Leaves (of the Household) were convulsed and shaken, their eyes rained with tears, their sighs and lamentations were raised and their hearts burned within them as they bewailed this wronged servant of Thine, fallen a victim into the hands of these, his kindred, nay his very enemies!

Lord! Thou seest all things weeping over me and my kindred rejoicing in My woes. By Thy Glory, O my God! Even amongst mine enemies, some have lamented my troubles and my distress, and of the envious ones a number have shed tears because of my cares, my exile and distress, and of the envious ones a number have shed tears because of my cares, my exile and afflictions. They did this because they found naught in me but affection and care and witnessed naught but kindliness and mercy. As they saw me swept into the flood of tribulation and adversity and exposed even as a target to the arrows of fate, their hearts were moved with compassion, tears came to their eyes and they testified declaring – “The Lord is our witness; naught have we seen from him but faithfulness, generosity and extreme compassion.” The Covenant-breakers, foreboders of evil, however, waxed fiercer in their rancor, rejoiced as I fell a victim to the most grievous ordeal, bestirred themselves against me and made merry over the heartrending happenings around me.

I call upon Thee, O Lord my God! With my tongue and with all my heart, not to requite them for their cruelty and their wrongdoings, their craft and their mischief, for they are foolish and ignoble and know not what they do. They discern not good from evil, neither do they distinguish right from wrong, nor justice from injustice. They follow their own desires and walk in the footsteps of the most imperfect and foolish amongst them. O my Lord! Have mercy upon them, shield them from all afflictions in these troubled times and grant that all trials and hardships may be the lot of the Thy servant that hath fallen into this darksome pit. Single me out for every woe and make me a sacrifice for all Thy loved ones. O Lord, Most High! May my soul, my life, my being, my spirit, my all be offered up for them. O God, my God! Lowly, suppliant and fallen upon my face, I beseech Thee with all the ardor of my invocation to pardon whosoever hath hurt me, forgive him that hath conspired against me and offended me, and wash away their misdeeds of them that have wrought injustice upon me. Vouchsafe unto them Thy goodly gifts, give them joy, relieve them from sorrow, grant them peace and prosperity, give them Thy bliss and pour upon them Thy bounty.

Thou art the Powerful, the Gracious, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting!

O dearly beloved friends! I am now in very great danger and the hope of even an hour’s life is lost to me. I am thus constrained to write these lines for the protection of the Cause of God, the preservation of His Law, the safeguarding of His Word and the safety of His Teachings. By the Ancient Beauty! This wronged one hath in no wise borne nor doth he bear a grudge against any one; towards none doth he entertain any ill-feeling and uttereth no word save for the good of the world. My supreme obligation, however, of necessity, prompteth me to guard and preserve the Cause of God. Thus, with the greatest regret, I counsel you saying: Guard ye and preserve the Cause of God, protect His law and have the utmost fear of discord. This is the foundation of the belief of the people of Bahá (may my life be offered up for them): “His Holiness, the Exalted One (the Báb), is the Manifestation of the Unity and Oneness of God and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty. His Holiness the Abhá Beauty (may my life be a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the Supreme Manifestation of God and the Dayspring of His Most Divine Essence. All others are servants unto Him and do His bidding.” Unto the Most Holy Book 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. By this House is meant that Universal House of Justice which is to be elected from all countries, that is from those parts in the East and West where the loved ones are to be found, after the manner of the customary elections in Western countries such as those of England.

It is incumbent upon these members (of the Universal House of Justice) to gather in a certain place and deliberate upon all problems which have caused difference, questions that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book. Whatsoever they decide has the same effect as the Text itself. And inasmuch as the House of Justice 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. Thus for example, the House of Justice enacteth today a certain law and enforceth it, and a hundred years hence, circumstances having profoundly changed and the conditions having altered, another House of Justice will then have power, according to the exigencies of the time, to alter that law. This it can do because that law formeth no part of the Divine Explicit Text. The House of Justice is both the initiator and the abrogator of its own laws.

And now, one of the greatest and most fundamental principles of the Cause of God is to shun and avoid entirely the Covenant-breakers, for they will utterly destroy the Cause of God, exterminate His Law and render of no account all efforts exerted in the past. O friends! It behooveth you to call to mind with tenderness the trials of is Holiness, the Exalted One, and show your fidelity to the Ever-Blest Beauty. The utmost endeavor must be exerted lest all these woes, trials and afflictions, all this pure and sacred blood that hath been shed so profusely in the Path of God, may prove to be in vain. Ye know well what the hands of the Center of Sedition, Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí, and his associates have wrought. Among his doings, one of them is the corruption of the Sacred Text whereof ye are all aware, the Lord be praised, and know that it is evident, proven and confirmed by the testimony of his brother, Mírzá Badí’u’lláh, whose confession is written in his own handwriting, beareth his seal, is printed and spread abroad. This is but one of his misdeeds. Can a transgression be imagined more glaring than this, the interpolation of the Holy Text? Nay, by the righteousness of the Lord! His transgressions are writ and recorded in a leaflet by itself. Please God, ye will peruse it.

In short, according to the explicit Divine Text the least transgression shall make of this man a fallen creature, and what transgression is more grievous than attempting to destroy the Divine Edifice, breaking the Covenant, erring from the Testament, falsifying the Holy Text, sowing the seeds of doubt, calumniating ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, advancing claims for which God hath sent down no warrant, kindling mischief and striving to shed the very blood of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and many other things whereof ye are all aware! It is thus evident that should this man succeed in bringing disruption into the Cause of God, he will utterly destroy and exterminate it. Beware lest ye approach this man, for to approach him is worse than approaching fire!

Gracious God! After Mírzá Badí’u’lláh had declared in his own handwriting that this man (Muhammad ‘Alí) had broken the Covenant and had proclaimed his falsification of the Holy Text, he realized that to return to the True Faith and pay allegiance to the Covenant and Testament would in no wise promote his selfish desires. He thus repented and regretted the thing he had done and attempted privily to gather in his printed confessions, plotted darkly with the Center of Sedition against me and informed him daily of all the happenings within my household. He has even taken a leading part in the mischievous deeds that have of late been committed. Praise be to God affairs recovered their former stability and the loved ones obtained partial peace. But ever since the day he entered again into our midst, he began afresh to sow the seeds of sore sedition. Some of his machinations and intrigues will be recorded in a separate leaflet.

My purpose is, however, to show that it is incumbent upon the friends that are fast and firm in the Covenant and Testament to be ever wakeful lest after this wronged one is gone this alert and active worker of mischief may cause disruption, privily sow the seeds of doubt and sedition and utterly root out the Cause of God. A thousand times shun his company. Take heed and be on your guard. Watch and examine; should anyone, openly or privily, have the least connection with him, cast him out from your midst, for he will surely cause disruption and mischief.

O ye beloved of the Lord! Strive with all your heart to shield the Cause of God from the onslaught of the insincere, for the souls such as these cause the straight to become crooked and all benevolent efforts to produce contrary results.

O God, my God! I call Thee, Thy Prophets and Thy Messengers, Thy Saints and Thy Holy Ones, to witness that I have declared conclusively Thy Proofs unto Thy loved ones and set forth clearly all things unto them, that they may watch over Thy Faith, guard Thy Straight Path and protect Thy Resplendent Law. Thou art, verily, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise!

Part Three

He Is the Witness, the All-Sufficing

O MY GOD! my Beloved, my heart’s Desire! Thou knowest, Thou seest that which hath befallen this servant of Thine, that hath humbled himself at Thy Door, and Thou knowest the sins committed against him by the people of malice, they that have broken Thy Covenant and turned their backs on The Testament. In the day-time they afflicted me with the arrows of hate and in the night-season they privily conspired to hurt me. At dawn they committed that which the Celestial Concourse did lament and at eventide they unsheathed against me the sword of tyranny and hurled in the presence of the ungodly their darts of calumny upon me. Notwithstanding their misdeeds, this lowly servant of Thine was patient and did endure every affliction and trial at their hands, though by Thy power and might he could have destroyed their words, quenched their fire and stayed the flame of their rebelliousness.

Thou seest, O my God! how my long-suffering, my forbearance and silence have increased their cruelty, their arrogance and their pride. By Thy Glory, O Beloved One! They have misbelieved in Thee and rebelled against Thee in such wise that they left me not a moment of rest and quiet, that I might arise as it is meet and seemly, to exalt Thy Word amidst mankind, and might serve at Thy Threshold of Holiness with a heart that overfloweth with the joy of the dwellers of the Abhá Kingdom.

Lord! My cup of woe runneth over, and from all sides blows are fiercely raging upon me. The darts of affliction have compassed me round and the arrows of distress have rained upon me. Thus tribulation overwhelmed me and my strength, because of the onslaught of the foemen, became weakness with me, while I stood alone and forsaken in the midst of my woes. Lord! Have mercy upon me, lift me up unto Thyself and make me to drink from the Chalice of Martyrdom, for the wide world with all its vastness can no longer contain me.

Thou art, verily, the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Gracious, the All-Bountiful!

O ye the true, the sincere, the faithful friends of this wronged one! Everyone knoweth and believeth what calamities and afflictions have befallen this wronged one, this prisoner, at the hands of those who have broken the Covenant at the time when, after the setting of the Day-Star of the world, his heart was consumed with the flame of His bereavement.

When, in all parts of the earth, the enemies of God profiting by the passing away of the Sun of Truth, suddenly and with all their might launched their attack; at such a time and in the midst of so great a calamity, the Covenant-breakers arose with the utmost cruelty, intent upon harm and the stirring up of the spirit of enmity. At every moment a misdeed they did commit and bestirred themselves to sow the seeds of grievous sedition, and to ruin the edifice of the Covenant. But this wronged one, this prisoner, did his utmost to hide and veil their doings, that haply they might regret and repent. His long-suffering and forbearance of these evil deeds, however, made the rebellious ones still more arrogant and daring; until, through leaflets written with their own hands, they sowed the seeds of doubt, printing these leaflets and scattering them broadcast throughout the world, believing that such foolish doings would bring to naught the Covenant and the Testament.

Thereupon the loved ones of the Lord arose, inspired with the greatest confidence and constancy and aided by the power of the Kingdom, by Divine Strength, by heavenly Grace, by the unfailing help and Celestial Bounty, they withstood the enemies of the Covenant in well-nigh three score and ten treatises and supported by conclusive proofs, unmistakable evidences and clear texts from the Holy Writ, they refuted their scrolls of doubt and mischief-kindling leaflets. The Center of Sedition was thus confounded in his craftiness, afflicted by the wrath of God, sunk into a degradation and infamy that shall be lasting until the Day of Doom. Base and wretched is the plight of the people of evil deeds, they that are in grievous loss!

And as they lost their cause, grew hopeless in their efforts against the loved ones of God, saw the Standard of His Testament waving throughout all regions and witnessed the power of the Covenant of the Merciful One, the flame of envy so blazed within them as to be beyond recounting. With the utmost vigor, exertion, rancor and enmity, they followed another path, walked in another way, devised another plan: that of kindling the flame of sedition in the heart of the very government itself, and thus cause this wronged one, this prisoner to appear as a mover of strife, inimical to the government and a hater and opponent of the Crown. Perchance ‘Abdu’l-Bahá may be put to death and his name be made to perish whereby an arena may be opened unto the enemies of the Covenant wherein they may advance and spur on their charger, inflict a grievous loss upon everyone and subvert the very foundations of the edifice of the Cause of God. For so grievous is the conduct and behavior of this false people that they are become even as an axe striking at the very root of the Blessed Tree. Should they be suffered to continue they would, in but a few days’ time, exterminate the Cause of God, His Word, and themselves.

Hence, the beloved of the Lord must entirely shun them, avoid them, foil their machinations and evil whisperings, guard the Law of God and His religion, engage one and all in diffusing widely the sweet savors of God and to the best of their endeavor proclaim His Teachings.

Whosoever and whatsoever meeting becometh a hindrance to the diffusion of the Light of Faith, let the loved ones give them counsel and say: “Of all the gifts of God the greatest is the gift of Teaching. It draweth unto us the Grace of God and is our first obligation. Of such a gift how can we deprive ourselves? Nay, our lives, our goods, our comforts, our rest, we offer them all as a sacrifice for the Abhá Beauty and teach the Cause of God.” Caution and prudence, however, must be observed even as recorded in the Book. The veil must in no wise be suddenly rent asunder. The Glory of Glories rest upon you.

O ye the faithful loved one of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá! It is incumbent upon you to take the greatest care of Shoghi Effendi, the twig that hath branched from the fruit given forth by the two hallowed and Divine Lote-Trees, that no dust of despondency and sorrow may stain his radiant nature, that day by day he may wax greater in happiness, in joy and spirituality, and may grow to become even as a fruitful tree.

For he is, after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Guardian of the Cause of God, the Afnán, the Hands (pillars) of the Cause and the beloved of the Lord must obey him and turn unto him. He that obeyeth him not, hath not obeyed God; he that turneth away from him, hath turned away from God and he that denieth him, hath denied the True One. Beware lest anyone falsely interpret these words, and like unto them that have broken the Covenant after the Day of Ascension (of Bahá’u’lláh) advance a pretext, raise the standard of revolt, wax stubborn and open wide the door of false interpretation. To none is given the right to put forth his own opinion or express his particular conviction. All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause and the House of Justice. And he that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error.

The Glory of Glories rest upon you!

The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh

By Shoghi Effendi

Part 4

On Administration

The Administrative Order From The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah By Shoghi Effendi

Dearly-beloved brethren in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá! With the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh the Day-Star of Divine guidance which, as foretold by Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim, had risen in Shiráz, and, while pursuing its westward course, had mounted its zenith in Adrianople, had finally sunk below the horizon of ‘Akká, never to rise again ere the complete revolution of one thousand years. The setting of so effulgent an Orb brought to a definite termination the period of Divine Revelation – the initial and most vitalizing stage in the Bahá’i era. Inaugurated by the Báb, culminating in Bahá’u’lláh, anticipated and extolled by the entire company of the Prophets of this great prophetic cycle, this period has, except for the short interval between the Báb’s martyrdom and Bahá’u’lláh’s shaking experiences in the Siyáh-Chál of Tihrán, been characterized by almost fifty years of continuous and progressive Revelation – a period which by its duration and fecundity must be regarded as unparalleled in the entire field of the world’s spiritual history.

The passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, on the other hand, marks the closing of the Heroic and Apostolic Age of this same Dispensation – that primitive period of our Faith the splendors of which can never be rivaled, much less be eclipsed, by the magnificence that must needs distinguish the future victories of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation. For neither the achievements of the champion-builders of the present- day institutions of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, nor the tumultuous triumphs which the heroes of is Golden Age will in the coming days succeed in winning, can measure with, or be included within the same category as, the wondrous works associated with the names of those who have generated its very life and laid its pristine foundations. That first and creative age of the Bahá’í era must, by its very nature, stand above and apart from the formative period into which we have entered and the golden age destined to succeed it.

‘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 have 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 Bahá’í Dispensation. The period in which the seed of the Faith had been slowly germinating is thus intertwined both with the one which must witness its efflorescence and the subsequent age in which that seed will have finally yielded its golden fruit.

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 both 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 wedded 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.

The Administrative Order, which ever since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ascension has evolved and is taking shape under our very eyes in no fewer than forty countries of the world, may be considered as the framework of the Will itself, the inviolable stronghold wherein this new-born 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 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.

It should be noted in this connection that this Administrative Order is fundamentally different from anything that any Prophet has previously established, inasmuch as Bahá’u’lláh has Himself revealed its principles, established its institutions, appointed the person to interpret His Word and conferred the necessary authority on the body designed to supplement and apply His legislative ordinances. Therein lies the secret of its strength, its fundamental distinction, and the guarantee against disintegration and schism. Nowhere in the sacred scriptures of any of the world’s religious systems, nor even in the writings of the Inaugurator of the Bábi Dispensation, do we find any provisions establishing a covenant or providing for an administrative order that can compare in scope and authority with those that lie at the very basis of the Bahá’í Dispensation. Has either Christianity or Islám, to take as an instance two of the most widely diffused and outstanding among the world’s recognized religions, anything to offer that can measure with, or be regarded as equivalent to, either the Book of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant or to the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá? Does the text of either the Gospel or the Qur’án confer sufficient authority upon those leaders and councils that have claimed the right and assumed the function of interpreting the provisions of their sacred scriptures and of administering the affairs of their respective communities? Could Peter, the admitted chief of the Apostles, or the Imám ‘Ali, the cousin and legitimate successor of the Prophet, produce in support of the primacy with which both had been invested written and explicit affirmations from Christ and Muhammad that could have silenced those who either among their contemporaries or in a later age have repudiated their authority and, by their action, precipitated the schisms that persist until the present day? Where, we may confidently ask, in the recorded sayings of Jesus Christ,, whether in the matter of succession or in the provision of a set of specific laws and clearly defined administrative ordinances, as distinguished from purely spiritual principles, can we find anything approaching the detailed injunctions, laws and warnings that abound in the authenticated utterances of both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá? Can any passage of the Qur’án, which in respect to its legal code, its administrative and devotional ordinances marks already a notable advance over previous and more corrupted Revelations, be construed as placing upon an unassailable basis the undoubted authority with which Muhammad had, verbally and on several occasions, invested His successor? Can the Author of the Bábi Dispensation however much He may have succeeded through the provisions the Persian Bayán in averting a schism as permanent and catastrophic as those that afflicted Christianity and Islám – can He be said to have produced instruments for the safeguarding of His Faith as definite and efficacious as those which must for all time preserve the unity of the organized followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh?

Alone of all the Revelations gone before it this Faith has, through the explicit directions, the repeated warnings, the authenticated safeguards incorporated and elaborated in its teachings, 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.

No wonder that He Who through the operation of His Will has inaugurated so vast and unique an Order and Who is the Center of so mighty a Covenant should have written these words: “So firm and mighty is this Covenant that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like.” “Whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this holy cycle,” He wrote during the darkest and most dangerous days of His ministry, “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.” “Fear not,” are His reassuring words foreshadowing the rise of the Administrative Order established by His Will, “fear not if this Branch be severed from this material world and cast aside its leaves; nay, the leaves thereof shall flourish, for this Branch will grow after it is cut off from this world below, it shall reach the loftiest pinnacles of glory, and it shall bear such fruits as will perfume the world with their fragrance.”

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 allude: “The world’s equilibrium hath 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 wondrous System-the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.”

The Báb Himself, in the course of His references to “Him Whom God will make manifest” anticipates the System and glorifies the World Order which the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh is destine to unfold. “Well is it with him,” is His remarkable statement in the third chapter of the Persian Bayán, “who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Bahá’u’lláh and rendereth thanks unto his Lord! For He will assuredly be made manifest. God hath indeed irrevocably ordained it in the Bayán.”

In the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh where the institutions of the International and Local Houses of Justice are specifically designated and formally established; in the institution of the Hands of the Cause of God which first Bahá’u’lláh and then ‘Abdu’l- Bahá brought into being; in the institution of both local and national Assemblies which in their embryonic stage were already functioning in the days preceding ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ascension; in the authority with which the Author of our Faith and the Center of His Covenant have in Tablets chosen to confer upon them; in the institution of the Local Fund which operated according to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s specific injunctions addressed to certain Assemblies in Persia; in the verses of the Kitáb-i- Aqdás the implications of which clearly anticipate the institution of the Guardianship; in the explanation which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in one of His Tablets, has given to, and the emphasis He has placed upon, the hereditary principle and the law of primogeniture as having been upheld by the Prophets of the past-in these we can discern the faint glimmerings and discover the earliest intimation of the nature and working of the Administrative Order which the Will of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was at a later time destined to proclaim and formally establish.

An attempt, I feel should at the present juncture be made to explain the character and functions of the twin pillars that support this mighty Administrative Structure-the institutions of the Guardianship and of the Universal House of Justice. To describe in their entirety the diverse elements that function in conjunction with these institutions is beyond the scope and purpose of this general exposition of the fundamental verities of the Faith. To define with accuracy and minuteness the features, and to analyze exhaustively the nature of the relationships which, on the one hand, bind together these two fundamental organs of the Will of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and connect, on the other, each of them to the Author of the Faith and the Center of His Covenant is a task which future generations will no doubt adequately fulfill. My present intention is to elaborate certain salient features of this scheme which, however close we may stand to its colossal structure, are already so clearly defined that we find in inexcusable to either misconceive or ignore.

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 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’lláh would 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-Aqdás 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 first-born 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 Aghsán, the Afnán, the 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, “to take 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 willeth, and He verily is the Provider, the Omniscient.” “Unto the Most Holy Book” (the Kitáb-i-Aqdás), ‘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 only does ‘Abdu’l-Bahá confirm in His Will Bahá’u’lláh’s above-quoted statement, 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 of 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 Justice to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abhá 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 House of Justice has been invested with the function of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the teachings. The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá’u’lláh has not expressly revealed. 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.

Though the Guardian of the Faith has been made the permanent head of so august a body he can never, even temporarily, assume the right of exclusive legislation. He cannot override the decision of the majority of his fellow-members, but is bound to insist upon a reconsideration by them of any enactment he conscientiously believes to conflict with the meaning and to depart from the spirit of Bahá’u’lláh’s revealed utterances. He interprets what has been specifically revealed, and cannot legislate except in his capacity as member of the Universal House of Justice. He is debarred from laying down independently the constitution that must govern the organized activities of his fellow-members, and from exercising his influence in a manner that would encroach upon the liberty of those whose sacred right is to elect the body of his collaborators.

It should be borne in mind that the institution of the Guardianship has been anticipated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in an allusion He made in a Tablet addressed, long before His own ascension, to three of His friends in Persia. To their question as to whether there would be any person to whom all the Bahá’is would be called upon to turn after His ascension He made the following reply: “As to the question ye have asked me, know verily that this is a well-guarded secret. It is even as a gem concealed within its shell. That it will be revealed is predestined. The time will come when its light will appear, when its evidences will be made manifest, and its secrets unraveled.”

Dearly-beloved friends! Exalted as is the position and vital as is the function of the institution of the Guardianship in the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh, and staggering as must be the weight of responsibility which it carries, its importance must, whatever be the language of the Will, be in no wise over-emphasized. The Guardian of the Faith must not under any circumstances, and whatever his merits or his achievements, be exalted to the rank that will make him a co-sharer with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the unique position which the Center of the Covenant occupies-much less to the station exclusively ordained for the Manifestation of God. So grave a departure from the established tenets of our Faith is nothing short of open blasphemy. As I have already stated, in the course of my references to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s station, however great the gulf that separates Him from the Author of a Divine Revelation it

can never measure with the distance that stands between Him Who is the Center of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant and the Guardians who are its chosen ministers. There is a far, far greater distance separating the Guardian from the Center of the Covenant than there is between the Center of the Covenant and its Author.

No Guardian of the Faith, I feel it my solemn duty to place on record, can ever claim to be the perfect exemplar of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh or the stainless mirror that reflects His light. Though overshadowed by the unfailing, the unerring protection of Bahá’u’lláh and of the Báb, and however much he may share with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the right and obligation to interpret the Bahá’i teachings, he remains essentially human and cannot, if he wishes to remain faithful to his trust, arrogate to himself, under any pretense whatsoever, the rights, the privileges and prerogatives which Bahá’u’lláh has chosen to confer upon His Son. In the light of this truth to pray to the Guardian of the Faith, to address him as a lord and master, to designate him as his holiness, to seek his benediction, to celebrate his birthday, or to commemorate any event associated with his life would be tantamount to a departure from those established truths that are enshrined within our beloved Faith. The fact that the Guardian has been specifically endowed with such power as he may need to reveal the purport and disclose the implications of the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá does not necessarily confer upon him a station co- equal with those Whose words he is called upon to interpret. He can exercise that right and discharge this obligation and yet remain infinitely inferior to both of them in rank and different in nature.

To the integrity of this cardinal principle of our Faith the words, the deeds of its present and future Guardians must abundantly testify. By their conduct and example they must needs establish its truth upon an unassailable foundation and transmit to future generations unimpeachable evidences of its reality.

For my own part to hesitate in recognizing so vital a truth or to vacillate in proclaiming so firm a conviction must constitute a shameless betrayal of the confidence reposed in me by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and an unpardonable usurpation of the authority with which He Himself has been invested.

A word should now be said regarding the theory on which this Administrative Order is based and the principle that must govern the operation of its chief institutions. It would be utterly misleading to attempt a comparison between this unique, this divinely-conceived Order and any of the diverse systems which the minds of men, at various periods of their history, have contrived for the government of human institutions. Such an attempt would in itself betray a lack of complete appreciation of the excellence of the handiwork of its great Author. How could it be otherwise when we remember that this Order constitutes the very pattern of that divine civilization which the almighty Law of Bahá’u’lláh is designed to establish upon earth? The divers and ever-shifting systems of human polity, whether past or present, whether originating in the East or in the West, offer no adequate criterion wherewith to estimate the potency of its hidden virtues or to appraise the solidity of its foundations.

The Bahá’í Commonwealth of the future, of which this vast Administrative Order is the sole framework, is, both in theory and practice, not only unique in the entire history of political institutions, but can find no parallel in the annals of any of the world’s recognized religious systems. No form of democratic government; no system of autocracy or of dictatorship, whether monarchical or republican; no intermediary scheme of a purely aristocratic order; the Hebrew Commonwealth, or the various Christian ecclesiastical organizations, or the Imamate or the Caliphate in Islám-none of these can be identified or be said to conform with the Administrative Order which the master-hand of its perfect Architect has fashioned.

This new-born Administrative Order incorporates within its structure certain elements which are to be found in each of the three recognized forms of secular government, without being in any sense a mere replica of any one of them, and without introducing within its machinery any of the objectionable features which they inherently possess. It blends and harmonizes, as no government fashioned by mortal hands has as yet accomplished, the salutary truths which each of these systems undoubtedly contains without vitiating the integrity of those God- given verities on which it is ultimately founded.

The Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh must in no wise be regarded as purely democratic in character inasmuch as the basic assumption which requires all democracies to depend fundamentally upon getting their mandate from the people is altogether lacking in this Dispensation. In the conduct of the administrative affairs of the Faith, in the enactment of the legislation necessary to supplement the laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdás, the members of the Universal House of Justice, it should be borne in mind, are not, as Bahá’u’lláh’s utterances clearly imply, responsible to those whom they represent, nor are they allowed to be governed by the feelings, the general opinion, and even the convictions of the mass of the faithful, or of those who directly elect them. They are to follow, in a prayerful attitude, the dictates and promptings of their conscience. They may, indeed they must, acquaint themselves with the conditions prevailing among the community, must weigh dispassionately in their minds the merits of any case presented for their consideration, but must reserve for themselves the right of an unfettered decision. “God will verily inspire them with whatsoever He willeth,” is Bahá’u’lláh’s incontrovertible assurance. They, and not the body of those who either directly or indirectly elect them, have thus been made the recipients of the divine guidance which is at once the life-blood and ultimate safeguard of this Revelation. Moreover, he who symbolizes the hereditary principle in this Dispensation has been made the interpreter of the words of its Author, and ceases consequently, by virtue of the actual authority vested in him, to be the figurehead invariably associated with the prevailing systems of constitutional monarchies.

Nor can the Bahá’í Administrative Order be dismissed as a hard and rigid system of unmitigated autocracy or as an idle imitation of any form of absolutistic ecclesiastical government, whether it be the Papacy, the Imamate or any other similar institution, for the obvious reason that upon the international elected representatives of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh has been conferred the exclusive right of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the Bahá’í writings. Neither the Guardian of the Faith nor any institution apart from the International House of Justice can ever usurp this vital and essential power or encroach upon that sacred right. The abolition of professional priesthood with its accompanying sacraments of baptism, of communion and of confession of sins, the laws requiring the election by universal suffrage of all local, national, and international Houses of Justice, the total absence of episcopal authority with its attendant privileges, corruptions and bureaucratic tendencies, are further evidences of the non-autocratic character of the Bahá’í Administrative Order and of its inclination to democratic methods in the administration of its affairs.

Nor is this Order identified with the name of Bahá’u’lláh to be confused with any system of purely aristocratic government in view of the fact that it upholds, on the one hand, the hereditary principle and entrusts the Guardian of the Faith with the obligation of interpreting its teachings, and provides, on the other, for the free and direct election from among the mass of the faithful of the body that constitutes its highest legislative organ.

Whereas this Administrative Order cannot be said to have been modeled after any of these recognized systems of government, it nevertheless embodies, reconciles and assimilates within its framework such wholesome elements as are to be found in each one of them. The hereditary authority which the Guardian is called upon to exercise, the vital and essential functions which the Universal House of Justice discharges, the specific provisions requiring its democratic election by the representatives of the faithful-these combine to demonstrate the truth that this divinely revealed Order, which can never be identified with any of the standard types of government referred to by Aristotle in his works, embodies and blends with the spiritual verities on which it is based the beneficent elements which are to be found in each one of them. The admitted evils inherent in each of these systems being rigidly and permanently excluded, this unique Order, however long it may endure and however extensive its ramifications, cannot ever degenerate into any form of despotism, of oligarchy, or of demagogy which must sooner or later corrupt the machinery of all man-made and essentially defective political institutions.

Dearly-beloved friends! Significant as are the origins of this mighty administrative structure, and however unique its features, the happenings that may be said to have heralded its birth and signalized the initial stage of its evolution seem no less remarkable. How striking, how edifying the contrast between the process of slow and steady consolidation that characterizes the growth of its infant strength and the devastating onrush of the forces of disintegration that are assailing the outworn institutions, both religious and secular, of present-day society!

The vitality which the organic institutions of this great, this ever-expanding Order so strongly exhibit; the obstacles which the high courage, the undaunted resolution of its administrators have already surmounted; the fire of an unquenchable enthusiasm that glows with undiminished fervor in the hearts of its itinerant teachers; the heights of self-sacrifice which its champion-builders are now attaining; the breadth of vision, the confident hope, the creative joy, the inward peace, the uncompromising integrity, the exemplary discipline, the unyielding unity and solidarity which its stalwart defenders manifest; the degree to which its moving Spirit has shown itself capable of assimilating the diversified elements within its pale, of cleansing them of all forms of prejudice and of fusing them with its own structure-these are evidences of a power which a disillusioned and sadly shaken society can ill afford to ignore.

Compare these splendid manifestations of the spirit animating this vibrant body of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh with the cries and agony, the follies and vanities, the bitterness and prejudices, the wickedness and divisions of an ailing and chaotic world. Witness the fear that torments its leaders and paralyzes the action of its blind and bewildered statesmen. How fierce the hatreds, how false the ambitions, how petty the pursuits, how deep-rooted the suspicions of its peoples! How disquieting the lawlessness, the corruption, the unbelief that are eating into the vitals of a tottering civilization!

Might not this process of steady deterioration which is insidiously invading so many departments of human activity and thought be regarded as a necessary accompaniment to the rise of this almighty Arm of Bahá’u’lláh? Might we not look upon the momentous happenings which, in the course of the past twenty years, have so deeply agitated every continent of the earth, as ominous signs simultaneously proclaiming the agonies of a disintegrating civilization and the birthpangs of that World Order-that Ark of human salvation- that must needs arise upon its ruins?

The catastrophic fall of mighty monarchies and empires in the European continent, allusions to some of which may be found in the prophecies of Bahá’u’lláh; the decline that has set in, and is still continuing, in the fortunes of the Shi’ih hierarchy in His own native land; the fall of the Qájár dynasty, the traditional enemy of His Faith; the overthrow of the Sultanate and the Caliphate, the sustaining pillars of Sunni Islám, to which the destruction of Jerusalem in the latter part of the first century of the Christian era offers a striking parallel; the wave of secularization which is invading the Muhammadan ecclesiastical institutions in Egypt and sapping the loyalty of its staunchest supporters; the humiliating blows that have afflicted some of the most powerful Churches of Christendom in Russian, in Western Europe and Central America; the dissemination of those subversive doctrines that are undermining the foundations and overthrowing the structure of seemingly impregnable strongholds in the political and social spheres of human activity; the signs of an impending catastrophe, strangely reminiscent of the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West, which threatens to engulf the whole structure of present-day civilization- all witness to the tumult which the birth of this mighty Organ of the Religion of Báha’u’lláh has cast into the world – a tumult which will grow in scope and in intensity as the implications of this constantly evolving Scheme are more fully understood and its ramifications more widely extended over the surface of the globe.

A word more in conclusion. The rise and establishment of this Administrative Order – the shell that shields and enshrines so precious a gem- constitutes the hall-mark of this second and formative age of the Bahá’i era. It will come to be regarded, as it recedes farther and farther from our eyes, as the chief agency empowered to usher in the concluding phase, the consummation of this glorious Dispensation.

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 Administrative Order is founded is God’s immutable Purpose for mankind in this

day. The Source from which it derives its inspiration is no one less than Bahá’u’lláh Himself. Its shield and defender are the embattled hosts of the Abhá Kingdom. Its 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-Aqdás. The seat round which its spiritual, its humanitarian and administrative activities will cluster are the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár 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 Kingdom of Bahá’u’lláh.

Haifa, Palestine, February 8, 1934.

APPENDIX D

A LAST APPEAL TO THE HANDS OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH

A PRIVATE AND SECRET

DOCUMENT

TO BE READ ONLY

THE HANDS OF THE FAITH

MASON REMEY

HAND OF THE FAITH AND

PRESIDENT OF THE BAHA'I INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL

APPOINTED BY THE BELOVED GUARDIAN OF THE FAITH

1960

A LAST APPEAL

TO THE HANDS OF THE FAITH

EXHORTING THEM

TO ABANDOM THEIR PROGRAM FOR 1963

AND THAT THEY SEEK TO FIND

THE SECOND GUARDIAN

OF THE BAHA'I FAITH

AND THAT THEY UPHOLD

THE WILL AND TESTAMENT

THE MASTER ABDU’L-BAHA

AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE FAITH

AS ESTABLISHED BY

THE BELOVED GUARDIAN SHOGHI EFFENDI

THAT AT PRESENT IS

UNDER A CLOUD OF VIOLATION

THAT THREATENS THE FULFILLMENT

OF ITS MISSION TO MANKIND

MASON REMEY

HAND OF THE FAITH AND

PRESIDENT OF THE BAHA'I INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL

APPOINTED BY THE FIRST GUARDIAN OF THE BAHA'I FAITH

APRIL 1960

INTRODUCTION

The assertions that I present in this last appeal to the Hands of the Baha'i Faith are of the same general nature and character as those of the first appeal so this last appeal may be considered as a continuation of the first appeal added to which is emphasized the importance that the Hands of the Faith should give to preparing themselves to recognize and to accept the Second Guardian of the Faith when they realize that The Beloved Guardian actually made this appointment Himself some time before his death in escrow to take effect at his death. Thus the chair of the Guardianship has never been vacant but only hidden from the world to be recognized by the believers as some may or will do now at almost any time, then He will be known to the Baha’i World! He the successor of The Beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi – He the Second Guardian of the Baha'i Faith!

MASON REMEY

President of the Baha'i

International Council

Written in part in Room #60, Hotel Berchielli

Florence, Italy

December 1959

and in part in Apartment 2,

1310 New Hampshire Avenue N.W.

Washington 6, D.C.

U.S. of North America

I GUARD THE FAITH

During and throughout the entire mission of The Beloved Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of the Faith, He at all times held the unique authority that only the Guardian of the Cause could hold as the sole and only commander of the cause, He never shared this with anyone. He guarded this most zealously. This was his sole prerogative.

When the Beloved Guardian appointed me President of the Baha'i International Council He bestowed upon me a potential responsibility, the responsibility of that position.

As I have explained elsewhere in this writ, The Beloved Guardian never gave me any orders as to what I should do to put into action the International Council so I did nothing, thus were the affairs of the council up until the time of the death of Shoghi Effendi at which time my responsibilities as President of the council, that until then had been the Guardian’s sole responsibility, then became my responsibilities – these were my responsibilities coming to me when the Beloved Guardian was released by his death from all earthly responsibilities, responsibilities that had weighed so heavily upon him during the long and many years of his Guardianship.

Now since the departure from this world of Shoghi Effendi, the responsibilities of the International Council and everything connected with it are my responsibility, my unique responsibility – a responsibility such as no other Baha'i carries nor possesses. Mine is now the sole and the exclusive right to handle the affairs of the International Council. Such is the responsibility and calling conferred upon me by Our Beloved Guardian that went into effect at his death in November 1957, the year when I inherited this particular responsibility together with other responsibilities devolving upon me by Shoghi Effendi’s death which I will speak of and explain to the believers at some later time. For the present, it is sufficient for me to explain but this my control of the Baha'i International Council, its functioning and its other affairs. Therefore I hold that nothing be done by any one or by any ones other than I, myself, toward anything at all that concerns the Baha'i International Council and this means the Hands of the Faith are at all times to be under the direction and command of the Guardian of the Faith, and my authority to direct the affairs of the International Council, to direct them of myself independent of and free from all authority, was conferred upon me by The Beloved Guardian thus these powers because mine automatically at the death of the First Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.

I now and here ordain upon this Day of Naw-Ruz 117 of the Baha'i Era (the day upon which I am penning this writ) that there shall be nothing done about the Baha'i International Council or about any of its activities. This is to be until I, President of the Council, order otherwise.

MASON REMEY

Washington D.C., U.S.A.

21 March 1960

REALIZE MY APPOINTMENT

In other words, in addition to what I have already here written in thus appointing me President of the International Council, The Beloved Guardian and as already stated The Beloved Guardian has bestowed upon me, I whom he chose from among all the Baha’is of the World this power and authority that after Him I now have to protect the Baha'i Faith in which capacity and for which end I now stand before the Hands of the Faith and tell them that now, after the death of the first Guardian, I inherit and take over and now exercise the right and the full power that Shoghi Effendi gave to me, and to me alone, after Him to protect the Faith from this impending violation of the Baha'i International Council.

Do you realize what this implies and means and to what position in the Faith and Beloved Guardian has appointed me, Mason Remey?

TO THE HANDS OF THE FAITH

Dearly Beloved Hands of the Faith, please try and understand my position of command in the Faith to regulate the affairs of the International Council, when I tell you to desist in your attempts to control and to end the International Council preparatory to your program for 1963.

My position in Baha'i affairs has been clearly given to me by The Beloved Guardian. Pray accept it and make your announcement to the world of your acceptance of the position of command thus bequeathed to me by Our Beloved Guardian, bequeathed to me in escrow only to become known to the world of the cause after His death – the departure from amongst us all of Shoghi Effendi – He who was The First Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.

In your announcement to the Baha'i world after the last conclave of 1959, you definitely stated that you intend taking over the International Council, that you the Custodian Hands will dictate the policies of the council for two years, then put it out of existence to establish your House of Justice in 1963, which program was endorsed by twenty two of the Hands – so the entire Baha'i world knows of your intentions!

Now I, President of the International Council, appointed by the Beloved Guardian, tell you to desist in your efforts to end the International Council as you state is your intention to do, for you to give up your project for 1963. By ordering you to stop such proceedings I am using the authority and the power given me by The Beloved Guardian to protect and to guard the affairs of the International Council.

Yet! Beloved Hands of the Faith, why should one wonder at the mess of Baha'i matters that the Hands of the Faith are making with their plans for 1963?

Hands of the Cause, you have no divine authority vested in you as Hands of the Faith. According to the commands in The Will and Testament you are to serve only under the direction of the Guardian of the Faith, the Guardian Himself being the infallible one to guide you. You should realize this for when you do realize this, your first and only step to be taken should be to find the Guardian who can guide you.

Instead of following this procedure you have strayed from the true path of the cause by wanting to eliminate forever the Guardianship. Some of you, the majority in fact, supported the “New Baha'i Era” cult of SANS GUARDIANSHIP. Nothing could have been nor be in the present or the future more bewildering to the Baha'i world than your attitude and all that it implies.

Arise Hands of the Faith. You should arise seeking to find your Guardian. The first step that you should have taken was to have sought for your Guardian! From your attitude of not wanting the Guardianship to be is the first indication of trouble for you and a stumbling block in your path! You have chosen to follow this violation. Awake and see that it is leading you away from truth and into error.

MY UNIQUE POSITION

I have hinted at and alluded to in an around-about-way in various of my notes and writings to the prophetic vision that I had about a year and a half before The Beloved Guardian called me to Haifa, uprooted me from Washington and planted me there in The Holy Land telling me that from that time on Israel was to be my home.

Until then I had tried to put that flash-vision out of my mind, thinking that it was but a vagary of my imagination, or worse than that some evil spirit of temptation to lead me astray possibly to incite me to have personal aspirations of position in the cause of which aspirations I wanted to have no part, for when I first read The Will and Testament of the Master, the copy of which was given to me by Shoghi Effendi Himself at the time He called me to Haifa in February 1921 – my first reaction was that to be one of the Hands of the Faith and have to live in Haifa was not only quite the last thing that I wanted but actually the one thing that I did not want to have happen to me.

I had not been in Haifa as a Hand of the Faith for very long before I began to realize that that flash-vision of things to come was beginning to work out as it had been revealed to me. I found myself not only appointed to be one of the Hands of the Faith but the President of the Baha'i International Council. Furthermore the Guardian told me that upon formal occasions when He presided at the feasts and gatherings of the believers at the Holy Shrines that I should walk next behind him with the other believers following and that when He was seated in his automobile I was to sit at his left hand and that such should always be my position seated next to him when in the gatherings of the believers. These commands usually were given to me by Ruhiyyih Khanum who was my contact with Shoghi Effendi. I always addressed him through her save when He himself spoke directly to me which was but rarely. In speaking to him I would have addressed him in the third person but this I never did because I felt I should carry out this Baha'i protocol exactly as instructed to do without adding anything to it of mine own thought. In speaking of the Guardian to any non-Baha'i in Israel I always alluded to Him as “His Eminence”, I following His instruction to do so.

While I never was conscious that the Guardian had any personal affection for me as an individual, I always was conscious that he in a quiet but decided way was placing me thus in a very special way before the Baha'is who surrounded him. At table I always sat at his left with Ruhiyyih Khanum at his right, except when where were special Pilgrims present when they were accorded this place at his left.

In all of the Baha'i gatherings held in the absence of the Guardian I took my seat at the head of the table and always walked ahead with the others following me and this order I always maintained in Haifa as one of the Custodian Hands there. I was as unobtrusive as I could be in my manner and this has never to my knowledge been questioned by anyone nor has anyone ever taken any exception to this my attitude although this is as far as I have ever gone, while living in The Holy Land. I always have preceded all other of the men believers in entering the Shrines for worship when no women are present. When Ruhiyyih Khanum and other ladies are in the groups I stand aside until they have entered, then enter myself followed by the men believers. This as I note has never been questioned to my knowledge or my observation.

Upon the only formal Israeli National occasion (the funeral of Dr. Wiemann, President of the Republic) at which the Guardian was present, I was his sole attendant, walking behind him, He heading all of the other religious leaders of Israel, I following him with my arms firmly set akimbo to so protect the Guardian from being shoved aside or passed by the Mullahs, Bishops, Arch Bishops, and other religious leaders who were pressing on behind me.

Upon various other ceremonial occasions where the Beloved Guardian wanted to be represented, these being in Jerusalem, He sent me thither to represent Him and this custom of my leading has continued to be observed – I being in the lead – in these days of interregnum during which we have no Guardian in office commanding the friends to which custom now established no one has made audible nor visible objection. It is just one of those things that everyone seems to accept without question.

But this precedent has only been followed upon formal occasions. When The Beloved Guardian wanted business to be done in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, or any where else, He usually sent Leroy Ioas to attend to it and on occasion others of the Hands of the Faith, not me, and this procedure has of course been followed in these interregnum days.

The one great and outstanding appointment of me as President of the Baha'i International Council with the authoritative power in the Faith and over the Faith both of the Hands of the Faith and the believers that this now gives me and is given to me alone and unique above all the believers in the world was in itself the ultimate realization to me of my flash-vision. I frequently refer to this vision that was given me eleven or twelve years ago during which years the responsibility that was coming to me has weighed much upon my heart and soul and mind during these intervening years, and particularly so during these last two or three of which have been so very difficult for all of the believers the world around, Hands of the Faith and those who are looking toward the Hands of the Faith for guidance.

Now at this date the guidance of the cause is off the track, as it were. For it is not the province of the Hands of the Faith to guide the Faith. They are to serve the Guardian of the Faith and are to carry on and carry out His commands.

It is therefore upon these grounds that I, President of the Baha'i International Council, that I command them to desist from their attempt and cease their program of tampering with the International Council and give up their program for 1963 that is a violation of the Will and Testament of the Master Abdu’l-Baha as well as a violation of the Administration that The Beloved Guardian built up in accordance with the command of Abdu’l-Baha.

THE FAITH IS PROTECTED

Whether or not The Beloved Guardian realized or knew of his approaching death, He left his cause fully protected when He appointed me President of the Baha'i International Council for by so doing he vested in me, Mason Remey, the authority to guard the Faith against this violation of the Administration even though this violation be perpetrated by the Hands of the Faith as proposed in the Report of the Conclave at Bahje of 1959 that was signed by 22 of the 27 Hands of the Faith. Thus these friends have gone on record as upholding this violation. Therefore the only stand for me to take now is to forbid all the plans of the Hands for 1963.

AWAKE FRIENDS OF THE HANDS – AWAKE

Violation conscious or unconscious so poisons and distorts the spiritual vision of the one or ones infected that they are not able to help themselves to see the truth of the matter. Every concerted action of the Hands of the Faith since their stand was taken in the First Conclave at Bahje to put aside the Administration of the Faith by so making changes in its fabric or structure has been to violate and to confuse the believers more and more by leading them farther and farther away from the way as established by The Beloved Guardian.

They started out by assuming command of the Faith shortly followed by their actual acceptance of the Chicago Manifesto “The New Baha'i Era” but that the decided was too strongly put to give out to the people of the Faith at that time so its publication was suppressed, but as I have shown in other parts of this writ they, the Hands, highly approved of by the letter that the Custodian Hands wrote to Horace Holley approving highly of the Manifesto, declaring, Sans Guardianship.

Now since that Manifesto has been withdrawn from circulation among the friends, the Custodian Hands have adopted a beating down process, trying to beat down any hopes that they may find bobbing up now and then among the believers here and there by discouraging all hopes that any may have of another Guardian to follow Shoghi Effendi. But as time goes on these Hands now go so far as to insist that the Baha’is abandon all hopes, going so far as practically to forbid any discussion at all of the possibility of the Guardian who awaits in occultation, and has waited in occultation since the death of Shoghi Effendi until the moment for Him to come forth with the clear proofs to prove His Guardianship to the Baha'i world.

The Second Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, whose presence upon earth is as yet unknown to any believers save to himself, will ere long be obliged to come forth from his concealment ere the sufferings of the firm believers to be too great for them to sustain these present conditions any longer – for they, these firm ones who cling to the Administration as established by The Beloved Guardian, must not be made to suffer too long and too much ere even their faith be put to too great a test. Christ prayed that these days be shortened for the sake of the very elect lest even they, the elect, might fall.

This moment is indeed the eleventh hour in the judgment of the Hands of the Faith. Let them beware and understand this and turn from the way they have made for themselves in their program for 1963.

HANDS OF THE FAITH: Abandon your program. Awake. Desire that the Guardianship continue and diligently seek your Guardian so when He comes forth from his present occultation He will find you desiring Him, looking for Him and ready to follow Him as He leads the Faith on to victory promised to the world by the Divine Manifestations, Christ and the Prophets since the creation of the world.

The Guardian of the Faith who ere long will appear is calling to you to make you ready for His coming. Awake, Hands of the Faith and make yourselves ready to meet Him, the Second Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.

VIOLATION

The present stand of the Hands of the Faith against the continuation of the Guardianship beyond that of Shoghi Effendi is indeed a most clearly stated and defined violation of both The Will and Testament of the Master Abdu’l-Baha and also a violation of the administrative system of Baha'i law and order that the Beloved Guardian constructed and built up upon The Will and Testament of the Master Abdu’l-Baha and also a violation of the administrative system of Baha'i law and order that the Beloved Guardian constructed and built up upon The Will and Testament and was getting into running performance in all parts of the Baha'i world when death interrupted his mission.

The normal and logical procedure of the Hands of the Faith under such conditions should have been to take up his work of carrying on Administration according to the plan and The Will and Testament, of assuming their own responsibility of protecting the Faith by seeking the Second Guardian to continue on where the service of Shoghi Effendi was so without-any-warning brought to such a sudden end. Such procedure would have been carrying out the intent of The Will and Testament.

But No, an influential group of individuals within the body of the twenty seven Hands of the Faith consulted together in private from the others, made a covenant between themselves and then proceeded to put this over the others (and with a certain success too) – that is to say they have up until the present time been able to hold up and hold back the carrying on of the Administration of the Faith as given in The Will and Testament which administrative principle centered about the infallibility of the Guardianship perpetrated by fallaciously promising the people an infallible Universal House of Justice that they – the Hands – would form in 1963.

This is indeed a violation of The Will and Testament, a violation clear and distinct!

There is but one Baha'i method of meeting violation and that is to cut it out completely and cast it out from the cause without any compromising what so ever!

Some of the enlightened Baha’is in Germany in letters and by telegram called the attention of the Hands of the Faith to the fact that the Faith according to The Revealed Word that the Hands should not abandon the Guardianship. Their missives were sent to the conclave of Hands in Bahje, but these were not read nor discussed in the conference by the Hands save that it was understood that when two German Hands returned to Frankfurt that they would explain to the friends of their National Spiritual Assembly that all of these matters would be taken up and settled by the infallible Universal House of Justice that they would establish in 1963.

As I view this situation of our Faith, I see it started to develop because the Hands did not distinguish the difference between violation and disunion or inharmony for violation and inharmony are two very different things and are not to be treated or handled in the same manner.

A simple case of inharmony between believers is to be treated by love and by one giving into the other any by following the opinion of the majority. But according to the teaching of Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha, violation is an entirely different matter from disunity and inharmony; one that has to be treated of in altogether different manner than inharmony for violation must be cut out absolutely and not palliated with at all.

I don’t know what individual experiences if any that the Hands of the Faith may have had with violation but I doubt if any of the occidental Hands of the Faith have had any experience with violation with but the exception of Mrs. True and myself. The Khirella violation and that of the Kirchners in Chicago followed by that of Fareed, of the Ispahani Family of Haifa, the Woodcock Family of Montreal and others were all so long ago in the rapidly moving history of our Faith as to be out of the present consciousness of those believers who have come into the Faith in the more recent times than these that I mention.

However, all of the Hands of the Faith know of the defection of Ahmad Sohrab because this is of so recent date as still to be an enemy movement that in its various branches in different parts of the world is actively working against the Baha'i Faith.

Now why is it that the Hands of the Faith cannot see that the stand that they are now united upon is one of violation? The Hands of the Baha'i Faith claim to be following the teachings of Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha and the interpretation and application of those teachings by The Beloved Guardian but with no continuation of the Guardianship. Theirs is the same stand as that taken by Ahmad Sohrab!

Ahmad Sohrab announced in print that he accepted the teachings of Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha, but without the Guardianship. Why is it that the Hands of the Faith cannot see this point of my argument? When Ahmad Sohrab made his defection we had the Beloved Shoghi Effendi here with us to lead us but now the Guardian has not yet appeared to take the command of the situation before us. Only the Second Guardian of the Faith can pull the cause out of its present dilemma.

While the Hands, as well as all other members of the Faith, were in deep sorrow at the death of Shoghi Effendi there was never any expression of desire amongst the Hands of the Faith that they have another Guardian to take his place, infallibly to direct the cause. No, the majority of the Hands definitely in their attitudes do not want a Second Guardian. When confronted blankly by me with this accusation, some of them hastened to affirm by spoken words that of course they would like to have another Guardian, etc. etc. But surely their attitudes deny their words.

When The National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'i of Germany expressed the hope of having a Second Guardian of the Faith to the Second Bahje Conclave nothing was done about these messages save to commission the two German Hands of the Faith upon their return to Frankfurt to talk with the members of their assembly and tell them that The Universal House of Justice that they would establish in 1963 with the infallibility that they attributed to it would decide about all Baha'i procedures including whether or not the Guardianship should be continued.

I’ve never heard how this fallacious teaching was received by the German National Assembly. Several of the Hands knowing how I felt about the Guardianship came to me and talked to the effect that the Universal House of Justice in 1963, being infallible, might reestablish the Guardianship but as none of these friends in their attitudes and their speech appeared to me to want anything of me save for me to be quiet and cease agitating the subject of Guardianship, I saw plainly that they were trying to get my support of their violation to put over their House of Justice in 1963 and that they were baiting the hook of their violation with this fallacious possibility of Guardianship hoping that I would be satisfied with this ruse upon their part to carry their point that from that First Bahje Conclave and since then ever has been the abolition of Guardianship.

Inasmuch as some of the Hands of the Faith are going to such length to kill the cause, I feel it is high time that this matter be brought to a head and cut out from the cause before it becomes worse and more difficult to handle than it now is. Therefore I am putting into writing this document an account of these things between us as I see them in the hope that the Hands will reconsider their stand.

THE FIRST BAHJE CONCLAVE

When the first conclave of the Hands of the Faith assembled at Bahje to learn that no will nor testament of Shoghi Effendi could be found amongst his papers, prayers were chanted and read and the conclave closed to convene on the following morning.

For the most part, if not all the American Hands returned to Haifa for the night while for the most part, if not all, the ten Hands who were Persians were quartered for the night at Bahje. When the conclave went into session the following morning one of the Persian Hands arose making the statement that since Shoghi Effendi left no son to inherit the Guardianship and since no will nor testament of his could be found among his papers, that the Guardianship of the Faith must be considered to be ended with The Beloved Guardian of the Faith Shoghi Effendi, there upon all of the other Persian Hands quickly arose in support of this move, with the result that this move had the immediate support of the majority of the Hands.

Circumstantial evidence of the situation showed beyond a doubt that the Persian friends had consulted amongst themselves between these two meetings – the first on one day and the second on the following day – and that they had come to an agreement between themselves that the Guardianship be abandoned. Thus in the confusion and heat of the moment the Guardianship was definitely abandoned by the majority of the conclave thus was violated The Will and Testament of the Master Abdu’l-Baha.

Since that first conclave all of the proceedings of the Hands of the Faith in Conclave and the objects and support by the Custodian Hands of the Faith in The Holy Land have been based upon the assumption that the Guardianship is now closed forever, although this has not been said definitely to the Baha'i world.

Thus at this present time, 1959-1960, stands this matter of the violation of the Will and Testament of the Master Abdu’l-Baha upon which as the foundation, The Beloved Guardian during the thirty six years of his ministry built the present Baha'i Administration that now is suffering from this violation.

CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION OF VIOLATION

As I remember in this first conclave when the motion was made to end the Guardianship it was immediately supported by all of the Persian Hands. There was practically little or no discussion. They all stood together and each recited the same formula of why the Guardianship should be ended. The Guardian left no son to inherit the Guardianship and there was not found any will nor testament from him; therefore the institution was ended. It was the Will of God that there never be another Guardian – BADAH.

That this was all a preplanned move upon the part of these Persian Hands was most obvious. This circumstantial evidence could not be doubted. In court testimony it is a well recognized fact that when a body of witnesses all give exactly the same testimony word by word, that such is proof of collusion.

THE PROMISE OF THE HANDS TO ELECT A BAHA'I INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL

In making this promise to the Baha'i world the Hands of the Faith have not taken into consideration that The Beloved Guardian Himself appointed the Baha'i International Council. Do the Hands of the Faith think that they have the right to do anything further at all about this?

When the Hands of the Faith will in reality want a Guardian they will then be in line to receive and recognize the Second Guardian of the Faith when He appears. Then they will have an infallibility to direct them in all matters. In the meanwhile, I, the President of the Council, refuse to allow the Hands to do anything about the council, the council must rest inactive as it is until we have an acknowledged Guardian to inaugurate its activities.

What can I do to change their attitude? The only thing I can do about this for the moment is to do nothing at all save hope and pray that matters will so shape themselves that the opportunity will come when I assured of support will be able to jump into the arena of Baha'i thought and make clear myself to them.

But one little glimmer of light have I thus far had. It came to me after the close of the last session of this third conclave. We were all leaving the Mansion of Bahje, it was dark as we walked out to where the cars were parked to take us back to Haifa and one of the Hands of the Faith slipped his arm through mine as we walked and whispered in my ear “There will be other Guardians”. This friend was Herrmann Grossmann Hand of the Faith.

THE GUARDIANSHIP

Without the institution of the Guardianship there can be no Administration, the two are one and co-existent. The two divine verities the Covenant and the Guardianship with the Administration form the message that the Baha’is had for the world in the days of the Guardianship.

In other words the message of the covenant as taught in the days of Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha isolated from the Administration is now no longer the Baha'i message for the world as it had formerly been before The Will and Testament was given to the Baha'i for with the inauguration of the Administration, this the Administration which is the Guardianship now became together with the covenant the message that the Baha’is had for the world.

During this present interregnum of the past two years and more, the teachers of the Faith, the pioneers, have had no message for the world for as things are now in the Faith, with no assurance of Guardianship, they are no longer able to teach The Will and Testament. In other words, the Faith is at a standstill, the dangers of which are so increasing daily that this is indeed a time of peril such as this cause has never before faced in its entire history.

The “Dawn Breakers” of the cause faced the dangers of physical extermination by Fire and the Sword but the danger that we now face is a far worse and more subtle menace than that which the Dawn Breakers faced. They could see the enemy and meet him face to face whereas now the people of the Faith in this year A.D. 1959 are at the mercy of a spiritually diseased state of the plague of violation of The Will and Testament, a condition that is not only unseen but not even inspected by twenty six out of the total number of the twenty seven Hands of the Faith. In other words among the Hands I alone see this disease slowly creeping over and into Conclaves of the Hands of the Faith as well as permeating the activities of the Custodian Hands of the Faith in The Holy Land who between the conclave of all of the Hands form the central body directing Baha'i affairs throughout the world.

This condition of the affairs I have seen right along from the time that the Custodian Body of Hands in The Holy Land was formed and I have repeatedly warned them of this condition of violation that has attacked them and so blinded them in their deliberations as to cause them seek constantly to give support to those actions and things that should not be because all of their actions are confirmatory to the attitude of violation of The Will and Testament that has so far characterized everything carried on and executed by the Hands of the Faith. Noted that I write “ALL” of their actions. I write the word ALL because of their defection, everything proceeding therefrom is perforce wrong and by everything I mean everything, all because the Hands have lost confidence in the Administration that is the Guardianship.

Now in this time of confusion of thought in the cause I exhort you to cling fast to the Administration as established by The Beloved Guardian and withhold your judgment and condemnation of those such as our German friends of Frankfurt and our friends Tony Fillon Gupta of Lucknow, all of whom with many others myself included, still hope that The Second Guardian of the Faith will soon come forth speaking with the authority of The Beloved Guardian. Tony’s faith was the same as mine own that there would, that there musts be a Second Guardian to follow the First Guardian of the Faith. But you, the Hands of the Faith in The Holy Land, have countenanced his having his voting rights taken from him and he thus disagreed! I am astonished at the lengths to which this violation of the Master’s Will and Testament has taken the Hands of the Faith, but such is the bewildering effects of violation of the Holy teachings! You have become so spiritually sick that you are no longer responsible.

I, as the individual Baha'i Mason Remey, center my hope upon the presence of The Second Guardian of the Faith here amongst us. For in this world He now is. But as yet his presence is not yet revealed. I hold this belief as does Tony Fillon but Tony doesn’t know that I endorse his hopes – does not know it yet.

THIS VIOLATION MUST END

For the past year and more I’ve tried to use gentle and pacific reason and argument in defense of the Guardianship against the united intention of the Body of Hands that there shall never be another Guardian.

Now seeing that this violation of The Master’s Will and Testament is daily becoming stronger until it threatens to become the accepted way of life of the cause, as a last resort I am obliged single handedly to come out into the open and use my prerogatives as President of the International Baha'i Council as appointed by our late Beloved Guardian, to force the Hands of the Faith to relinquish their united stand against the Guardianship.

I may force them to do this for this is the only way left for me to do since milder methods are powerless against this violation that so dominates the Hands.

My way of forcing this issue is simply by announcing to the Hands that in no way shall I countenance their right to do anything at all about nor with the Baha'i International

Council. The Beloved Guardian appointed me President of the Council and in this capacity I am responsible to no one save to the Guardian of the Faith. Therefore, I take the stand that there can be no functioning of the council until there be a recognized and accepted Guardian of the Faith to institute it.

The Hands of the Faith have no right to command the election of an International Council; therefore I refuse to have anything at all to do with this matter that has been and is being promised by the Hands to the Baha'i world.

In other words, I block their actions in this and since The Beloved Guardian gave me this position as President of the Council and this is known the Baha'i world around, the Hands can do nothing about the matter as I hold the reins and will not allow them to carry out their plan inspired by this violation. My notion for the present is merely a negative one. I will do nothing and by doing nothing I control the Hands without trying further to put any positive pressure upon nor against them.

The positive pressure that will compel them to abandon this movement of violation to control the Baha'i Faith will come from the mass of the people of the Faith the world around. Those to whom the Hands of the Faith have been for over two years past inoculating with this fallacious propaganda of the Council in 1961 followed by the Universal House of Justice in 1963.

The only refuge and safety that there is for the Faith is the Second Guardian for the Faith under whose guidance and protection this interregnum of confusion, fallaciousness and violation in the Hands of the Faith will be of the past and forgotten in the assuredness and the strength of the Faith that will follow the restitution of the Guardianship.

THE SOLUTION OF THE PRESENT DILEMMA

Years ago before my birth my Father was a passenger upon a small vessel going up our Atlantic seaboard coast. When off Cape Hatteras the ship struck a severe hurricane with its officers drinking with the Captain in delirium tremens, the crew at the point of mutiny, the passengers in panic and the vessel in danger of going down with all on board. Something had to be done and done quickly. My father was but a passenger aboard, nevertheless he was obliged by the circumstances to take command of the ship and get her into the next port of call for there was no one else on board who could do this but him, therefore he had to take command of the ship.

In the last Conclave of the Hands I saw very clearly that if I didn’t arise again and take a stand for the continuance of the Guardianship, that the ark of the Baha'i covenant would surely be wrecked and the Faith lost to the world. Therefore I was obliged to take my stand as one Hand of the Faith against the united opinion and action of all the other Hands. As I said many times to the Hands I did not want at all to take the stand but the Cause of God had to be saved so I was obliged to take charge of the situation as I did and as I intend continuing to do until our Faith is again under the infallible guidance of the Second Guardian who then will be acknowledged by all.

ONLY THE GUARDIAN CAN LEAD AND DIRECT THE HANDS OF THE FAITH

The Holy Spirit in this dispensation only functions through the channel of the Guardianship. It does not function through the Body of Hands independently from the Guardianship; therefore the Body of Hands are helpless to serve the cause save under the direction of a Guardian in the flesh here to direct them.

As I have shown in other parts of this writ, the present promises being made by the Hands of the Faith of the election for the functioning of an International Baha'i Council and the Universal House of Justice to follow are not for the Hands of the Faith to institute but for the Guardian of the Faith Himself to create and inaugurate. So the quicker that this present program of the past two years and more that the Hands have been working upon and promising to the people is abandoned the better and easier it will be for the cause for these institutions can never be accomplished in this way.

In His wisdom, The Beloved Guardian appointed me, Mason Remey, President of the Baha'i International Council and for reason explained at length elsewhere in this writ, I will not allow this present program of the Hands to go through. Without my cooperation with them as President of the International Council, it cannot be formed and I intend to hold to this my thesis that I explain in this writ, namely that all things connected with the International Council are now frozen and at a stand still not to be reopened until the Second Guardian is invisible and acknowledged command of the Cause. Then this the functioning of the International Council as well as the formation of the Universal House of Justice will be directed by the Guardian of the Faith, if not by The Second Guardian it will be by one of his successors.

When the Hands of the Faith with time and thought consider these matters they will see that I, Mason Remey, the one of the Hands designated by The Beloved Guardian as the President of the International Baha'i Council have the right and the power to not only call a halt in the present proceedings of the Hands of the Faith in their efforts to establish a functioning International Council, but that this power given me and to me alone among the twenty seven Hands also controls the formation of any Universal House of Justice since the Universal House of Justice commonly comes into existence following the functioning of the Baha'i International Council.

Therefore, because I forbid the functioning of the Baha'i International Council until the Guardianship be reestablished, automatically this precludes the establishing of any Universal House of Justice as has been planned and promised to the Baha’is by the Body of the Hands of the Faith.

THE BAHA'I INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL

The Baha'i world knows that The Beloved Guardian appointed the International Council, therefore the Hands of the Faith should know that no one nor ones save a Guardian of the Faith has the right to alter and add to that which the First Guardian of the Faith instituted.

I, Mason Remey, President of the council appointed by Shoghi Effendi, refuse to allow the Hands to make any change in this present status of quietude of the International Council which status was left by The Beloved Guardian as it now is inactive awaiting orders from the succeeding Guardian of the Faith.

Should the Hands of the Faith attempt to do anything with the International Council or to attempt to elect and put into office another International Council, I as President of the Council appointed to this office by our late Guardian, will be obliged to refuse to acknowledge the right of the Hands of the Faith to tamper with the affairs of the International Council.

Inasmuch as the first Guardian of the Faith appointed the Baha'i International Council now no one but a Guardian of the Faith can command that the next step be taken in defining and in inaugurating the functioning of that council. Therefore, I as President of the council, can take no orders from the Hands of the Faith.

THE PRESENT DARKNESS

This period of interregnum darkness in the Baha'i world so lamented in the communications sent forth to the Baha'i world by the Hands of the Faith is the result of the violation of the Master’s Will and Testament by the Hands of the Faith, for when they repudiated the Guardianship they indeed placed themselves in darkness because the Guardianship is the only channel through which The Abha Guidance comes to the world so by their refusing to consider the continuation of the Guardianship, they are thus for the time being imposing their darkness upon the entire Baha'i world.

The spiritual activities of the Faith now await the forthcoming of The Second Guardian of the Faith into the arena of the active Baha'i world which activities are now suffering this period of the delay, this interregnum between the first and the second Guardians of the Faith.

Thus The Second Guardian mercifully delays His advent into the active Baha'i world in order to give these Hands a little more time that they may awake and be prepared to accept Him when He proclaims Himself, but the time is short. The Hands of the Faith should make hast to awake lest The Second Guardian find them still slumbering. He may be forced to come out into the open Baha'i world, disregarding the Hands in order to take over His command of the Cause.

ARISTOCRACY AND DEMOCRACY

It is to be noted that it is in democratic America where the Administration of the Faith has taken its most firm hold among the Baha’is whose rule is that of the Guardianship invested with infallibility. That many of the Hands of the Faith now don’t like the continuation of the Baha'i Administration under the infallible Guardianship and now would like to see the institution of the Hands of the Faith disappear under the present suicidal-to-the-cause plan of the Body of the Hands to eliminate the Guardianship that would mean also the elimination of the Hands of the Faith because the present twenty seven Hands will within a generation die off and disappear.

In America however, peopled by the descendants of those early settlers who fled from the old world when they were oppressed by autocratic rule and entrenched aristocracies, these people built up the American democracy that is the very antithesis of all that was in Persia and in other oriental countries, yet it is a Democratic America where the Administration under the Guardianship is strong, so strong that the Beloved Guardian called America the cradle of the Administration!

And now the Persian element in the Body of the Hands were the first to start this condition of the revolt against the Guardianship, this violation of the Administration of the Faith as given to us in The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha. This was started in the opening discussions of the First Bahje Conclave as I describe in this writ.

AMERICA THE CRADLE OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE FAITH

This was spoken of many times by The Beloved Guardian who at the same time mentioned Persia as being the cradle of the Faith.

How clearly has this been demonstrated in the history of the Baha'i Faith! The covenant of Baha’u’llah was announced in Bagdad and had its first support in Persia and in the establishing of this faith there, thousands of lives of the Martyrs were offered in Persia in the Way of the Covenant.

When the time came in the life of the Faith for the first steps to be taken for the organized spread of the Faith the world around, The Blessed Center of the Covenant, Abdu’l-Baha, gave to the Baha'is in his Will and Testament the administrative plan for the propagation of the Faith after which the Baha'i Covenant together with the Administration of the Faith then became the message that the cause had for the world, these two phases of the teaching covenant and Administration merged into one teaching program, became the Baha'i message to mankind and in order to thoroughly drill the Baha'is in this message the Beloved Guardian exhorted all to study carefully The Will and Testament in which the covenant and the Administration and the Guardianship are demonstrated to be one and the same reality. The Administration is the Guardianship and the Guardianship is the Administration – inseparable one from the other and together with the covenant was the message that Shoghi Effendi taught and led us to give to the world.

But what has happened in these three conclaves of the Hands of the Faith? In the first conclave, the Administration was violated when the Hands struck a blow aimed directly at the elimination of all Guardianship to follow that of Shoghi Effendi, and since then naught but the confusion of this violation has characterized the work of the Body of the Hands of the Faith until now – 1960 – the works of this Body of Hands are at a stop point where they can no longer continue the fallacious program that they have decided themselves to build a Universal House of Justice to be preceded by an elected Baha'i International Council that they proposed to form. This stop is because I, The President of the International Baha'i Council appointed to that office by The Beloved Guardian refuse to countenance their interference with that council-that council which He, The Beloved Guardian Himself created naming me as its president.

In thus opposing the conclave of the Hands of the Faith, I am not taking any other action against their unity save than by simply to refuse to acknowledge their right to thus meddle with matters that only should be handled and inaugurated by the Guardianship of the Cause. This point will be found further dilated upon by me in other parts of this writ.

Thus the Hands of the Faith, when they read this statement, will see that my appointment as President of the Council enables me to refuse to allow their interference in this matter.

Should they go ahead with their present programmes they have announced to the Baha'i world, I’ll have plenty to say to the Hands. All that I am doing now for this moment is to refuse to recognize the right of the Hands to carry on this their present world Baha'i plans for electing the council though at the present moment in 1961, their plans are being accepted without any audible objections that I know of in the Baha'i world but with the exception of that voice of one believer in Lucknow, India, from that of Tony Fillon in South America, and some murmurings of discontent from some of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha’is scattered here and there in Germany and but a few others. There may be other murmurings too and I dare say there are many of such that the Custodian Hands in Haifa may know nothing of.

. This present condition of crisis in our Faith can but create much discontent that at any time may suddenly burst into an open rebellion of the believers. Therefore, the necessity that all this mess of matters be once and for all settled if possible in camera (in secret by conclave). After all, the Hands are but fallible, they talk and they can’t conceal in their attitudes that which is going on in their hearts and minds so it is only a matter of a little time before the doings of the Hands in conclave become known to the outside Baha'i world.

This present intention of the majority of the Hands that there shall never be another Guardian (that I treat of in other parts of this writ as showing conclusively from attitudes of the majority of the Hands but which they do not mention now even between themselves as they did in the beginning shortly after the first Bahje conclave) will in all probability make but little stir amongst the believers of the Orient, for these friends of the Faith have never been as keen about the Administration as have been the American Baha’is. But not so however, among the Baha’is of the western world, particularly those in the Americas and those of Europe because America is the Cradle of the Administration or of the Guardianship and because the cause in Latin America and in the ten European lands of the successful crusade accomplished there by the American Pioneers who would naturally plant there the spirit of the North American Baha'i Pioneers that was one of the intense devotion to the Administration, to the Beloved Guardian and all that He stood for. For these reasons do I feel that America will be the place where the strongest support of the Guardianship will be manifest in case that this ever becomes a controversial matter. Therefore I urge the Hands of the Faith to give particular thought and consideration to this fact that America is the Cradle of the Administration.

The cities of continental Europe are now the meeting points of the Pioneers of the Faith and I am anticipating that it is in those places that the argument for and against the Guardianship may probably break out. Already it is discussed there in the European lands opened up by Pioneers from America in Germany and in France. In all of these countries the people are by nature astute thinkers. Already in these countries there are now many Persian Pioneers who it seems openly talk about their approval of the stand against continuing the Guardianship. Therefore this is being talked about and is under discussion and argument by the people of Europe who, as I have explained, naturally tend to have the point of view of those Americans who planted the Faith amongst them, and now with this influx of Persian Pioneers in all these countries as opposed to the popular American viewpoint, practically all of whom do not sympathize with and are in reality against the continuation of the Guardianship – there is sure to be forthcoming in the near future clashes between those holding these two diametrically opposed points of view. So for the reasons that I give here, I caution the Hands of this condition that is surely to be forthcoming shortly in Europe and from there spread to America where the great agitation will then be centered that is bound to come and split the cause unless this be stopped. The only way to avoid this split in the Baha'i world between the east and the west is for the Hands of the Faith to cling to the hope of the coming forth of the Second Guardian as promptly as possible before any split can occur along this plane of cleavage not yet a split between these differing viewpoints of the generality of the Persian and the American believers.

The danger of a split is more imminent in America than in Persia. Were the believers in America to know what is really being done now by the Hands of the Faith and what the real unspoken intention is of the Body of the Hands, namely that of no more Guardianship, I verily believe that there would be an overnight revolution among the believers in condemnation of the violation of The Will and Testament.

Here lies the danger in which the Hands of the Faith now find themselves. Between themselves the majority of the Hands are firm in their intention that there shall never be another Guardian, but this they have not told the Baha'i world. In other words the majority of the Hands of the Faith are deliberately withholding from the Baha'i public their real intentions.

One might well ask why all this secrecy? It is because there is something to hide and that which the majority of the Hands of the Faith are trying to hide from the people in that they have every intention of ending the Guardianship.

To have this all come out into the open can be avoided by the Hands by the prompt reestablishment of the hope of the believers in the Guardianship that one trusts would be received by the believers of the Orient without trouble despite their present feelings as opposed to it.

When the Second Guardian comes forth and is in command and the friends the world around with all working under Him the power of the Faith to accomplish the world crusade instituted by The First Guardian of the Faith, then the cause of Baha’u’llah united under the infallible guidance of the Administration established by Shoghi Effendi will then take the cause onward from victory to victory.

The longer that the chair of the Guardianship is vacant the more trouble there will be accumulating that will eventually have to be solved. Let all the Hands prepare to welcome The Second Guardian!

THIS CALL A DANGEROUS DOCUMENT

Until this present time (1960) the Hands have shown their disapproval of the action that this statement urges. This is understandable that they should take it as they do, understandable to one who understands the workings of violation because they, the Hands, have been so completely immersed in the violation that they are following as not to be able to distinguish between firmness in The Master’s Will and Testament and violation thereof.

I am taking every possible precaution that this document be kept very secret and confidential between the Hands for this matter of the Guardianship should be settled once and for all positively between the Hands before it gets talked of abroad which there is always danger. For if the American Baha’is as a whole should realize that the very existence of the Faith is now at stake it would indeed create an agitation in the cause because America is the Cradle of the Administration of the Faith and the strength of the Administration is firmly rooted in the consciousness that envelops them very strongly and to which they will cling.

The Hands should consider the danger of the position in which they might find themselves were the believers in America to discover some of the things that I treat of in this writ.

The initial thought of the Persian Hands who banded themselves together in the first conclave against the continuance of the Guardianship has so enveloped and influenced the actions of the Body of Hands that they, the Hands themselves, don’t realize the difference in the way in which the Administration is received in America and on the way in which it is not received in Persia. Here one finds two diametrical forces working in opposite directions and I can see that the only solution that will save a most serious condition of conflict between the Orient and Occident in the cause of the world around will be for the Hands in the next conclave to resume the hope of the people in the Guardianship as promptly and as quickly as possible.

Such prompt action in this emergency upon the part of the Hands will stop this conflict that is now coming out into the open in Europe, signs of which are now beginning to appear as I have shown in pioneer communities where the Persian and the Occidental pioneers talk and the western Baha’is are learning of and beginning to realize that the attitude of these Persian Baha’is is for no more Guardianship.

As I have written, the American people are by their nature unsuspicious. Up until the present time they have trusted in the guidance of the Hands but when they realize that the Guardianship, the administration of their Faith, is in jeopardy they indeed will be very much upset and will lose this trust.

When the Hands announce to the Baha'i world the resuming of the Guardianship there will be no revolt among the friends in Persia for they are conditioned to obey authority, and this announcement will bring great confirmation in America because that land is the Cradle of the Administration that is the Guardianship.

The explosive element that is so dangerous in this written statement of mine is that if it should get out and away from the Hands and have circulation among the believers it would then create a revolution of division in the cause and no one wants that, the Hands least of all.

RESPONSIBILITY

When the Beloved Guardian appointed me President of the Baha'i International Council, he placed a certain responsibility upon me and this responsibility I am taking and I don’t intend to relinquish it upon any plea pressed upon me by the Hands of the Faith that I should unmindful of this in order to in unity and inharmony with them for were I to choose to be in unity with the Hands in their violation of The Will and Testament I would indeed be violating the trust that the Beloved Guardian placed in me when he appointed me President of the Baha'i International Council.

In this position as President of the Council appointed by The Beloved Guardian I am responsible to no one save to the Guardian of the Faith wherever he may be. Therefore, I am the only person in the world who has the Baha'i authority to halt this program of the Hands to elect an International Council and without the Baha'i International Council functioning there can be no House of Justice.

This condition of a halt in your program for 1963 cannot be hidden from the Baha'i world in the manner that the knowledge of many of the deliberations of the Hands are kept from them; therefore, when the Hands of the Faith realize their dilemma and of how they are to keep face with the mass of the believers, I anticipate that their alternative will be to quickly solve their embarrassment by announcing their hopes for a Second Guardian of the Faith.

If I can bring this about then I shall feel that for the moment I have successfully handled this trust The Beloved Guardian gave to me.

MY PERSONAL PROBLEM IN THE CONCLAVES OF THE HANDS OF THE FAITH

In my Baha'i Reminiscences I have noted that for the past nine, ten or perhaps eleven years it may have been that I had been mentally confirmed in a dream or vision holding the conviction that the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith would endure against all the opposition that the world might bring against it. In other words every fiber of my being was assured of this, so sure was I that the very thought of a break in the Guardianship of the Faith had never even occurred to me.

Even on the morning of the convening of the First Conclave of the Hands of the Faith at the Bahje after we had not been able to find any Will or Testament amongst the papers in the desk of The Beloved Guardian in Haifa, even after that when we entered into conclave I had faith that something would come up in the conclave that would in some way produce a Guardian for us. Thus so convinced was I that in the high emotional atmosphere of the conclave (and the attending confusion of thought of the gathering that was produced by the presentation of the opposing thought insisted upon by the Persian Hands of the Faith) that there should never be another Guardian to follow Shoghi Effendi that was so quickly and promptly supported and urged and passed by the conclave at the insistence of the ten Persian Hands, that I then found myself speechless in the face of this calamitous turn taken by the conclave.

My feelings were torn. I felt that I should arise and condemn this turn as a violation of the years of the mission of The Beloved Guardian but then I thought of myself and that in mine own estimation of myself thinking and feeling that of all the two billion and more souls living upon the earth that I myself considered myself to be the very last person of all to speak up and demand that the Hands of the Faith reverse their evident decision of no successor for Shoghi Effendi! Thus my human thoughts of my own self dominated me and I said nothing because I had it in my consciousness that this defense of the Guardianship should and ought to come from someone other than me! But no one arose to make this point. Thus without any opposition this move to violate the established Administration of the Faith dominated the conclave.

During the year following the first conclave in the conference of the Custodian Hands in The Holy Land I spoke many times telling these friends of our great mistake of the First Conclave, telling them that everything that we were doing and planning to do was all upon the wrong basis and foundation but nothing that I said was heeded, nothing. These friends’ attitude toward me was that of a kind and loving family indulgence and forbearing toward the babblings of an aged family member in his dotage! They were always kind to me and forbearing. When I thought of myself all this was highly amusing but when I thought of the Faith, The Baha'i Religion, it was tragic and I was indignant at the stupidity of the friends. But then I realized that the evil effects of violation were such as I was there witnessing. This poison of violation when once started knows no moderation. It throws every firm one into reverse as it were. The brilliant become stupid, the firm become wobbly and the strong weak!

Then came the Second Conclave of the Hands in 1958. I knew that the key to the carrying on of the World Crusade could only be successful under the leadership and command of a Guardian to follow Shoghi Effendi and continue the work of Him who had been The First Guardian of our Faith. But then again personal reticence kept me spellbound, the feeling that someone other than I should arise and take the stand for the restitution of the Guardianship that had been negated and thus violated. Thus the proceedings of this conclave continued on.

It was the last day of the conclave that after a struggle my good Baha'i sense got the upper hand of my human conventional thought and manners and I arose and spoke as one Hand of the Faith speaking against the violation of majority of our body.

While my stand shook the conclave there was no articulate response to my entreaty but the stand had been made by me in that conclave. My mind and conscience was clear and I continued to hold my stand in the meetings of the Custodians between this second and the third conclaves at which third conclave in 1959 I made it very clear to all that I intended to fight them all, fight single handedly this struggle against this violation of the Guardianship of our Faith. I took this stand in order to save the Baha'i Faith for the world and I am confirmed in my consciousness of ultimate success. Someone had to make this stand and the only apology that I have to make to the Hands of the Baha'i Faith for my action is that since no other one of the Hands arose to make this stand I was obliged not only to make it myself as I am explaining here, but as I am explaining in other parts of this writ I find it necessary that I now go even further and assume command myself to combat this situation and crisis in the Baha'i Faith by calling a halt in the preparations that the Hands are making for the establishment of a Universal House of Justice in 1963 preceded by the election and brief functioning for a few months of the Baha'i International Council as a necessary prelude to the House of Justice all of which preparations and promises to the Baha'i world are most fallacious and a flagrant violation of the Administration of the Faith that was established by The Beloved Guardian.

By virtue of the fact that Shoghi Effendi appointed me the President of the Baha'i International Council I am in a position to stop the Hands of the Faith in their plan to elect a new International Council and this I am now doing. When the Hands of the Faith read this writ they will see that I, the President of the Baha'i International Council command this situation and that by standing solidly and refusing to recognize or to countenance the right of the Hands of the Faith to elect and establish a functioning Baha'i International Council, I thus put to naught their entire plan for 1963 for the Hands have no authority to do this, nor to attempt to create a Universal House of Justice. These and all other Baha'i Institutions are for the Guardian to inaugurate and are not for the Hands to inaugurate.

The Hands of the Faith are to be directed by the Guardian and are to assist Him and stand by and with Him in His command of the cause. The Hands of the Faith have but two fields where they are free to initiate and pursue their special services in the Faith under the direction of the Guardian namely to propagate and to protect the Faith.

THE THREAT OF TROUBLE IN THE FAITH

It may have to be the threat of trouble for them that will eventually awaken and force the body of Hands to abandon their present policy of no more Guardianship and to make a right about face and look for the Second Guardian of the Faith who when He appears will end this violation that is the root of all trouble and the Faith will again find itself under the protection of the infallible Guardianship.

Just how this will all be brought about one cannot foretell. Should the body of Hands see the problem clearly and with alacrity arise to reinstate the hope of the appearance of the Second Guardian, all will be accomplished with dispatch and with ease for in his own good time the Guardian will come. But if the Hands refuse to give the believers the hope of a Second Guardian of the Faith then there will indeed be much more trouble that in the end will mount up to such proportions that the Hands will eventually be forced by the condition of the mass of believers to revive the Faith in the Guardianship in order to save the Faith.

As I explained to the Hands in our last conclave the judgment of the Hands, brought about by this violation, is at hand-the judgment will be precipitated by the mass of the believers when they begin to question for then will come the danger of a split in the Faith.

This violation has gone along now for so long that many are becoming so conditioned to it that the problem is daily becoming more difficult. Nothing short of the advent of The Second Guardian will meet this emergency for then both the Hands of the Cause and the believers will have the guidance that they need and must have or the Faith dies.

At and following our last conclave a number of the Hands said that my refusing to endorse their united opinion was causing a division among the Hands that would be bad for the Faith. My reply to this was that this wasn’t a case of in-harmony that required to be passed over and forgotten but that this was a case of violation which ought to be cut out and cast out and in no way harmonized with, no capitulation, no compromise whatsoever.

This answer will be mine to whatever argument may be brought up to combat my present attitude that is but a restatement of the attitude that I have always had and ever shall have with regards to violation.

THE BAHA'I INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL

Some time near or about the year 1950 I found myself travelling among the Baha'i Assemblies in Europe with the plan in mind of continuing my travels south into Africa meeting the Baha’is in different lands and from there on eastward over the Pacific back to my home in the City of Washington.

But while in Europe came a call from Shoghi Effendi for me to go to The Holy Land so thither I went expecting to make a pilgrimage but of a few days. Pleased as I was to go to The Beloved Guardian I was astonished and made more pleased yet when not long after my arrival, He told me that from then henceforth Haifa was to be my home. He had already appointed me a Hand of the Cause and this was not long afterward followed by the Guardian’s appointment of the Baha'i International Council of which He made me the President, thus began my duties at the center of the Administration of the Baha'i Faith.

I and the other members of the council were individually each under the daily direction of the Guardian Himself. He would tell us what he wanted done and we would do it, each knowing little or nothing of what the others were doing and never cooperating with them nor consulting with one another since we were each on our several jobs with no two on the same detail where consultation might have been necessary. The Guardian never assembled us in a meeting nor for any gathering.

Chiefest among my duties was making for the Guardian sketches, studies and drawings for his building activities here in The Holy Land including drawings for the Temple to be built on Mount Carmel, in Persia, in Kampala, Germany and later Australia.

Shoghi Effendi had very decided ideas of exactly what he wanted in the way of the architecture of these Baha'i temples. All he wanted of me was that I put his ideas upon paper in the form of drawings from which building could be done. In his travels in Europe and particularly in England Shoghi Effendi had acquired photographs of buildings, the decoration and the character of which he admired and wished to have incorporated in and to give the character that he wanted to these various temple structures. My job was to get his ideas from him and from such documents as he gave me and from these to put down upon paper making plans and elevations as best I could to suit him.

But as for organizing the Baha'i International Council as a council, the Guardian never mentioned this to me nor did I ever mention it to him for I was not long in finding out that Shoghi Effendi knew very well what he wanted and my job was to find out what he wanted and then to do it for him and in his way and not to interject any thoughts of mine own.

From time to time I was taken to task by one of the other members of the International Council Mrs. Collins who urged me to get busy and organize meetings of the council. To do I don’t know what? The Guardian hadn’t given me instructions to organize anything nor to do anything at all so my decision was to await orders from him, an attitude on my part that I’ve never had reason to regret although I am still under this mentioned criticism for doing nothing.

Thus yet so stands the affairs of the Baha'i International Council. Until the Second Guardian of the Faith orders it, the friends should do nothing about the International Council.

All save I were worried about what will the Baha'i world think and what will they say regarding my attitude? But this was not my worry. It was a worry of others of the Hands. So that is where the matter stands so far as my stand and position are concerned.

I was surprised some days after the last conclave closed when Marion Hofman, then staying in Haifa, said to me that she was so glad that the Hands were going to keep me on as President of the Council for that Ruhiyyih Khanum had assured her that they had no intention of replacing me in the election of the council that they had decided upon holding. Marion evidently expected me to make some observation on being told this piece of Baha'i news. All I could reply to her was that I didn’t know what the Custodian Hands were planning to do since I was no longer a member of that body. Because of my promise to you of holding in secret with you all proceedings of the conferences of the Hands, I could not explain anything to her.

However, here now in this writ, I would again remind the Hands of the Faith that for the moment I do not intend to do anything at all myself about the council. I do not countenance any measures taken by the Hands with regards to the International Council for I consider as I have stated before, the present program of the Hands of the Faith for 1963 to be in violation of the Administration of the Faith as given in The Will and Testament and as explained and as elucidated to by The Beloved Guardian and that so far as my attitude is concerned I await The Second Guardian of the Faith to direct as to what should be done about the council.

THERE SHALL BE NO VIOLATION OF THE BAHA’I INTERNATION COUNCIL

For I, Mason Remey, am its President appointed by the Guardian of the Faith and I shall not countenance nor allow the Hands of the Faith nor any individual nor any other group of individuals of the Faith to put aside and out of office those whom the Guardian of the Faith has appointed the members of this council. No one has this power save a Guardian of the Faith and as we are now in the time of interregnum between the First and as the Second Guardian has not yet come forth from his occultation; therefore no change can be made in the personnel of the International Council until the Guardian be in office to order it.

Therefore, I, President of the Baha'i International Council, demand that the Hands of the Faith cease propagandizing the Baha'i world with their promises of electing an International Council in order to open the way for themselves to direct the election of a Universal House of Justice of Baha'i.

Thus has the violation of The Master’s Will and Testament led the body of Hands of the Faith on toward other violations such as usurping the unique power vested in the Guardianship to elect their own International Council and next to be followed by their House of Justice in 1963.

Therefore, let the Hands of the Faith know that the President of the Baha'i International Council, appointed by The Beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi, orders them to cease their activities to meddle in the affairs of this council.

Therefore, let the Hands of the Faith quickly turn from their path of violation and make haste to await the advent of the Second Guardian of the Faith before the Baha'i world becomes aware of this condition of their violation.

OPPOSITION TO THE GUARDIANSHIP

In this writing I have stated how and when in the First Bahje Conclave was started the opposition to the continuation of the Guardianship, then in other parts of this writing of how this opposition gained the support of others of the Hands in addition to the Persian Hands who began it, then finally it received the support of all the Hands except myself. The last few to give their support were apparently misled into accepting the plan that this opposition to the Guardianship offered to form a substitute infallibility that they claimed that the House of Justice would have that they proposed establishing in 1963.

Now I as President of the International Baha'i Council given this post by The Beloved Guardian will not allow the Hands to tamper in any way with the present quiescent existence of the International Council thus have I the authority to block their programme of 1963.

Now therefore, the Hands of the Faith are at a stalemate out from which there is but one recourse and that is for the Hands to delay and call off all action until the Second Guardian of the Faith gives to the cause the protection possible for its continuance.

Why is it thus that the resident Hands in Thy Holy Land don’t want a Second Guardian? Why is this so?

It looks to me as if they personally don’t want their easy way of life disturbed by the presence amongst them of a Guardian who would command the cause and very probably curtail their luxuries and prerequisites that they are enjoying during this interregnum that they never had in the days of the Beloved Guardian.

The Hands of the Faith have been greatly blessed and honored by having been elevated to their position by The Beloved Guardian but along with this blessing is demanded sacrifices that are not demanded of those who have so far been less favored than these appointed Hands; therefore much personal and individual sacrifices is definitely required of them. When the Hands of the Faith make the sacrifice of their will that there shall not be another Guardian and when they really want in their hearts that there should be Guardianship for the Faith, then they will gladly want to put into this vacant chair the Second Guardian of the Faith.

In the meanwhile, I as the President of the Baha'i International Council, appointed thereto by The Beloved Guardian, have the power to halt the fallacious programs of the Hands to elect an International Council and a House of Justice.

It was the Guardian of the Faith who made me President of the International Council, therefore I am responsible for the protection of the Faith. I am not responsible to the Hands of the Faith. I await the command of the Second Guardian of the Faith to tell the Baha'i world what his wishes are regarding the functioning of the International Council. I do not take orders from the Hands of the Faith.

AUTHORITY

Authority in the Administration of the Baha'i Faith is vested in the Guardianship, the Hands of the Faith having been elevated to their position of Handship by the Guardian are responsible to him whom they should stand next to and support in Baha'i procedure and in obeyance to his orders. The only prerogative bestowed upon the Hands of the Faith in The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha is that they propagate and that they protect the Faith.

As I have shown elsewhere in this writ, it is incumbent upon the Hands that they protect the cause under all conditions from all harm. The violation of the Guardianship and violation of the Administration are one and the same violation. This is the case now before the cause.

It is evident and beyond all doubt that it is the especial duty of the Hands now as at all times to protect the cause from this evil.

The Beloved Guardian appointed me, Mason Remey President of the Baha'i International Council but while under His Guardianship I had no authority to go ahead with this council, organize it and put it into functioning order, for this lay only in the province of the Guardianship to do. But my appointment as President of the Council does give me the power to halt the body of the Hands and insist that they leave this matter to the judgment and initiation of the Second Guardian of the Faith.

In other words I have the authority to hold up this matter to be acted upon by the Guardianship which Guardianship now for the moment is hidden from people and in occultation left thus by our late Beloved Guardian his reasons for which will some day be known to the Baha'i world. Therefore by my policy of doing nothing with the firm intention of continuing to stand pat and continue to do nothing. I block the entire fallacious program of the Hands to take control of the workings of the Baha'i Faith with its International Council and Universal House of Justice which if it all went through as the Hands have announced to the Baha'i world, the violation of The Will and Testament would indeed then be triumphant in the Baha'i world and this would indeed spell the finish of the Baha'i cause.

But as the power to stop all this violation was given to me by The Beloved Guardian when he appointed me President of the International Council so I am now exercising that power by not countenancing the authority of the Hands to elect an International Council. Therefore, I am blocking the Hands in their program to give a Universal House of Justice to the cause in 1963.

When the people of the Baha'i world begin to wake up to the fact that the Hands have thus been misleading them and whom these people realize the stand that I am taking to cast out from the cause this violation that upholds this annihilation of the Guardianship, the Body of the Hands will indeed be up against a condition from which there is no escape for them whatsoever but to quickly announce to the Baha’is that the Second Guardian of the Faith, when He comes forth with the reins of authority in His hand, will put all things right in the Baha'i Faith.

I know well that the Hands of the Faith have the best of intentions possible in this matter but as they don’t understand this matter of violation, they are confused and are misled and are unable to see nor comprehend the problem before them.

With Baha'i affairs in their present state I know of no other plan nor means than this that I am thus outlining to you by which this violation can be cleaned out of the Faith and the way made for the reinstatement of the Guardianship.

I and I alone am the only one in the world who can engineer this clean up in the cause and I intend to stand and accomplish this, my authority being that The Beloved Guardian gave me this mission to accomplish and the power over all the other Hands of the Faith and other people of the cause to carry it through when he bestowed upon me the Presidency of the Baha'i International Council. Therefore it is my bond and duty to stand up and right this matter even though my method may seem drastic when I have to force this issue as I am doing.

NO COMPROMISE

When I made my stand in the last conclave for the continuation of the Guardianship and I refused to sign my name endorsing the fallacies of the present program of the Hands of the Faith, the Hands as a body, took the ground that I would cause a split in the cause the world around and again subsequently after the close of the conclave, several of the Hands came to me individually urging and entreating me not to continue with my refusal to sign my name to the edicts issued by the Body of the Hands telling me of the evils of disunion and in-harmony among Baha’is and that all should uphold and with all sincerity relinquish their own personal opinions and without question

relinquish their own ideas and support the ideas of the majority.

In each of these cases I replied to them that this present problem in our Faith which I had precipitated was not a matter of in-harmony and disunity but one of violation that had to be treated of not by coming together in union but by separating and casting out the violation and to isolate it so that it could no longer harm the cause, that as an infection in the body the source or center of the infection had to be removed, cut out and cast out from the body, that to neglect to cast it out was to increase the sickness for when the infection goes beyond a certain point it becomes gangrenous and the sick one dies.

This matter of violation none of these friends could understand. They had become so conditioned to the thought that the Guardianship be ended that they just couldn’t see that The Will and Testament was being violated and at the same time with this violation of this covenant that the Master left, His Will and Testament, that they were also violating by putting aside the structure of the Administration of the Faith that The Beloved Guardian had built and constructed upon the foundation given by the Master.

None of the Hands but I saw this, therefore I had to arise alone and make this stand in order to save the Baha'i Cause!

In most of the other cases of violation that have had to be met in the history of the Baha'i Faith there has been a distinct center or nucleus of this gangrenous infection as it were a central point or figure such as Ahmad Sohrab or Ruth White in the days of The Beloved Guardian or as forced on the cause by Khierella in the days of Abdu’l-Baha. In these cases, by cutting out these centers of violation with their adherents the cause was saved from this spiritual poison. As a surgeon cuts out a cancerous growth together with all of its tentacles where the growth had formed, in order that none of the infection remain, so in those mentioned cases of violation both the Master Abdu’l-Baha and The Beloved Guardian made a clean out, root and branch and a definite separation of these erring people from those who were firm in the Faith. Abdu’l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi did not bring them together in unity with the firm Baha’is – no, he cut them off absolutely and completely.

Now our present case in question differs somewhat from these examples that I mention for as yet no definite line up has formed in the Baha'i world for and against this violation of the Guardianship. This spiritual illness that we suffer at present is as an illness suffused and diffused throughout the body of the Hands, not yet at a point for any cutting off to be done, but at a stage where the violation should be cleared out from the consciousness of the Hands for whom this is accomplished and we find ourselves with the advent of The Second Guardian, again under the infallible Guidance of the Guardianship, all will then be well with the Faith collectively as it will be with us each individually.

The problem before us is a most serious spiritual sickness and needs to be healed without delays ere it reach proportions that will be more difficult to treat than at present.

If the Hands of the Faith follow my urgence and at our next conclave restore hope in the Guardianship, the Second Guardian of the Faith on emerging from his occultation will take the command held by The Beloved Guardian and then all will be well and our present dilemma will soon be of the past and forgotten. But if this action of the Hands of the Faith be delayed, then (time passing rapidly) the outside Baha'i world when they find out that the election of the Baha'i International Council and the Universal House of Justice in 1963 cannot be realized then there will trouble and a plenty of it. For the people will hold the Hands of the Faith responsible for this condition of having promised and planned a program that they cannot fulfill. Therefore to save the Faith I urge that the Hands of the Faith change their attitude toward the Second Guardian of the Faith and be prepared to welcome Him.

I regret very much having to be so drastic and having thus to take a hold of the direction of Baha'i affairs, but since the present plan of action of the Hands of the Faith if continued will wreck the cause, I must take this action even though drastic as it be in order to save the Faith that is so dear to all of us.

CONCLUSION

All that I treat of in the pages of this appeal to the Hands of the Baha'i Faith is addressed to them and to them only and all in absolute confidence so I have had no reason for leaving anything unsaid save those things that would personally wound these friends. I have attempted to word my statement without mentioning any names in such manner that in the reading of this writ, those whose actions I criticize will know and understand my object in bringing up these matters. These pages have all been written during which time I have been with great affection conscious of my great Baha'i love for each and every one herein mentioned whether in praise or in criticism.

This stand for the Guardianship started as a plea on my part to the Hands to free themselves from the bad and evil influence of the violation of The Will and Testament of the Master Abdu’l-Baha and also from this same bad and evil spirit of the violation of all the structure of Administration that The Beloved Guardian Himself built up upon and around The Will and Testament. But Alas! You were all so thoroughly imbued with and under the influence of this violation that no one gave heed to my warning therefore I found it necessary to take command of this situation first to refuse to put my name to the Report of the Last Conclave to the Baha'i World and now to forbid the election of the Baha'i International Council that you propose to create. Thus I make it impossible for you to take the next step that you plan, namely the formation of the Universal House of Justice that you have promised to the Baha'i world to be in 1963.

When you study carefully the points that I make and present in this writ, you will see that I do command this situation and that the only thing that you can do about it is to accept and follow the advice that I am giving you, namely at our next conclave of the Hands to rescind your program for 1963, make a stand for the Guardianship, look for the appearance of the Second Guardian of the Faith, and work to bring to a happy conclusion and victory the present Baha'i world crusade so ardently advocated by our late Beloved Guardian.

At this present time, 1960, this rectification of the matter of the Guardianship can be accomplished by the Hands as I am here showing you without disturbing the Baha'i world. To be sure it will be a great surprise to the people of the cause but rather then a source of upset, hope of the inevitable appearance of the Second Guardian of the Faith will be the source of power that will be of tremendous confirmation to the cause that we all love and serve. Furthermore this continued Guardianship will be the only safe refuge for each of the Hands of the Faith to take refuge therein as their protection against any criticism that may be aimed at them by the believers of the cause in either the occident (in America) or in the Orient (in Persia) for by this action of the Hands of the Faith that I urged them to take, they will “Save Face” with the Baha'i world around. In fact things are now approaching to such a climax in the cause that this procedure I wish the Hands to take is the only thing that they can now do to save face with the people of the cause and with the world for such action as I here wish to be taken will cause the people to forget about all this violation that has inspired the fallacious program of an Universal House of Justice for the cause in 1963 that the Hands as their last stand in favor of the violation have been promising to the people for these past two years.

THE SECOND GUARDIAN OF THE BAHA'I FAITH

There was a reason why The Beloved Guardian appointed me the President of the Baha'i International Council that thus now gives me the power to call a halt upon the condition of violation of The Master’s Will and Testament and by blocking and putting to naught the error that is now being unitedly upheld by the body of the Hands of the Faith, all but me, and of all the Hands I being the only one with the vision to see that the Guardianship must be maintained, supported and carried on.

There may be to be sure other individual believers who see this matter as I do but I am the only one of the Hands (the nobility of the cause) who sees this and I too am the only one of the Hands to whom The Beloved Guardian has given the power to confront all of the Hands and tell them that I will not allow them to carry out their as yet (unannounced formally) intention of abolishing the Guardianship that they are so persistently pushing that if they succeed will be the end and the finish of the Baha'i Faith in this world.

As you don’t see this it is therefore necessary that I should actually beat you all into line as I am thus forced to do in order to save the cause.

Try to consider this matter and try to see the reason why The Beloved Guardian Himself placed the reins of power in my hands over the body of Hands and thus over the believers of all the world by my appointment as President of the Baha'i International Council for in this capacity. It is I who is now in command of the Baha'i Faith so I am now ordering and compelling the Hands of the Faith to relinquish their way of violation and make themselves ready to welcome the Second Guardian of the Baha'i Faith to take over this command.

It is not necessary for me to suggest to the Hands who they should expect as successor to Shoghi Effendi in Guardianship? You should know this without being told by me although I know and I have known for the past eleven or twelve years who the Second Guardian was to be. There is but one of the Hands of the Faith who is prepared to fill this office of the Second Guardian of the Faith and by now you should all know who he is and knowing who he is you should obey him without his having to tell you because his appointment is clearly written in the appointment and the commands of The Beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi.

THIS DOCUMENT

Inasmuch as no minutes nor other records are ever taken of the proceedings of the conclaves of the Hands of the Faith and inasmuch as in the best of consultation and arguments, that oft times border upon dispute together with the emotional strain that accompanies the presentation of thoughts and points of view that are often in opposition one to the other, and inasmuch as under such conditions of conflict of thought and minds of those participating in these conclaves are often at a loss to remember just what was said and who said what, I take this means of putting down by written word the stand for the acceptance of the Guardianship that I have taken in the Bahje Conclaves as well as the same in the conferences of the first two years of the Custodian Hands in The Holy Land. My stand is indeed opposed to the united stand of all of the other twenty six Hands of the Faith and of the believers who trust them. Thus do I, President of the Baha'i International Council appointed by the First Guardian of the Faith, thus do I stand singly and alone amongst all Baha’is of the world – I, Mason Remey.

DOUBT BREEDS DOUBT – CONVICTION CREATES CONVICTION

The present condition of uncertainty in the minds of the believers the world around as to the future of the Guardianship and the Administration of the Baha'i Faith and the fact that the message as given in the days of The Beloved Guardian (when it was believed that the continuance of the Guardianship was an assured institution of the Faith, about which no one had any doubt) can now no longer be given has created a basic state of uncertainty in the minds and in the spiritual assurance of the Baha’is throughout the world. In the minds of the pioneers and teachers in all places there is the question of what is going to happen to the cause without the Guardian to lead the believers to the spiritual victories promised in The Will and Testament of the Master, and as attested to by The Beloved Guardian Himself? With such spiritually disquieting questions in their minds, how can the Baha’is assure and confirm others and bring them to the point of certainty in believing in our faith?

Certainty and confirmation creates certainty and confirmation in the hearts of others. We can not expect the cause to spread so long as the believers are in this present state of uncertainty as to their Faith for doubt in them can only breed doubt in others. The Baha'i Faith can not establish belief and convert the world until the believers the world around stand united and are themselves convinced of the truth of that which they are teaching.

The only way in which this cause can ever sweep the world and accomplish its mission to mankind is for the Hands of the Faith to forsake this fallacious program on which they are embarked, abandon it avowedly and completely, and by this move reestablish faith in the Guardianship. This is the only move that the Hands can now make that will give the believers the world around the conviction and the unity of direction necessary to accomplish the goal of the world crusade upon which we are embarked.

Let the Custodian Hands of the Faith in The Holy Land lose no time, if necessary call an emergency conclave of all the Hands, that they can take this step now at once and then organize to study The Holy Writ hoping and praying to be lead to find the Guardian of the Faith who surely is with us but waiting to be wanted.

AT PRESENT THE BAHA’IS HAVE NO MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD

When I left Haifa in 1958 for the Intercontinental Conference of the Faith in Sidney, Australia where I represented the Hands of the Faith I was instructed by the Custodians in Haifa not to allow any discussion of the Guardianship to come up before the congregation. This instruction I carried out by avoiding and by evading the subject and in my addresses to the gathering there taking my thought back to the days of the Master Abdu’l-Baha when we only knew about the covenant and knew nothing about the Administration under a Guardian. So upon the covenant I spoke in Sidney yet in my mind I knew perfectly well that now in this day of the Administration of the Faith that such a talk as I gave was not at all the message that the Beloved Guardian taught us to give because to that message of the Covenant of the days of Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha had been added the message of The Will and Testament which together with that of the covenant formed the message that was then on and from now on ought to be the Baha'i message for the world but which now the Hands of the Faith in The Holy Land forbid mention or discussion of the Guardianship, therefore the believers no longer have the message to give to the world that The Beloved Guardian taught us to give. The elimination of the Guardianship eliminates the message and if the believers hold to this doctrine there is no hope they can give the world.

Such confusion of thought and of purpose places uncertainties and doubts in the minds of the Baha'i teachers. They don’t know what to teach? Formerly they taught The Will and Testament, now that is out because of no Guardianship. It so effects their Faith that the Holy Spirit cannot flow through these believers to enlighten those whom they wish to teach with the result that they are not able to confirm new believers in The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha because they themselves are confused by the contradiction in the present program of teaching brought about by the fact that the Hands of the Faith have violated The Will and Testament. Therefore, this confusion of thought that produces a lethargic spiritual sickness in the cause is like a cancerous growth that must be removed and cut out before the body Baha'i can again be strong and healthy.

Violation breeds violation. It can breed nothing else but its own kind. When will the Hands of the Faith awaken to this condition that is killing the cause, wounding and paralyzing the heart of the cause? How can any Baha'i fail to see that the body of the cause cannot live unless it have the heart which is the Guardianship to give it life and force and strength to carry on and minister spiritually to the people of the world?

THE SECOND GUARDIAN OF THE FAITH

Some of the Hands of the Faith present at the last Bahje Conclave (in 1959) may remember my urgence for the continuance of the Guardianship that was met at one point in the proceedings by the question asked of me, who did I propose to be the next Guardian? It was in reality more of a taunt than a serious question but ignoring the taunt I answered seriously by saying I had no suggestions what so ever to make to the Hands as to this question of who should be the Second Guardian but nevertheless I knew the next Guardian was a reality in the world and that in his own good time would reveal himself to the Baha'i world.

Under the pressure of your wish that all consultation between the Hands be held in camera I gave you my word not to tell the believers about matters discussed in the conclaves and consultations of the Hands.

CONFIDENTIAL BAHA'I MATTERS

It is most difficult for the Hands of the Faith to maintain in secrecy and in confidence their deliberations. In fact for the most part it seems to be quite impossible for them or for any other people to hide feelings and attitudes. Even when nothing is said by word of mouth emotional attitudes reveal that which one would never tell in so many words.

I realize that at this stage the successful outcome of my stand alone against all of the other Hands of the Faith against this violation that I am fighting demands upon my silence before the Baha'i world but within our body of Hands of the Faith I reserve the right to say what I think of their actions for it is my sacred Baha'i duty in as kind a way as possible to say what is in my mind and that is why I am so insistent in trying to show you how The Will and Testament of the Master has been violated and how you, under the spell of this violation, are nullifying the Administration, the fabric of which our Beloved Guardian labored so to erect upon the foundation of The Will and Testament.

So long as the Baha'i world knows nothing of what is going on in the conferences of the Hands you may think yourselves to be safe from their censure but should through one or more of the Hands the argument that I make in this document get abroad amongst the believers in America – then the body of the Hands would indeed be in trouble with the believers at large – particularly with those in America for Shoghi Effendi told us that America is the Cradle of the Administration of the Baha'i Faith.

The case and the sympathy with which the friends in Persia are taking the fiat of “no more Guardianship” will I assure you be met in the Americas with an opposing reaction for America is the Cradle of the Administration (that is the Guardianship nothing more nor less) and in my opinion the American Baha’is are just not going to take this violation of The Will and Testament that you are trying to put over on the Baha'i world! I feel that I should tell you this.

I know that you don’t see this at all for such is the way and the manner of violation. It twists and puts everything into reverse. It causes people to do and to be just the opposite from what they should do and be. You can’t help your sick condition. I know this very well indeed; therefore, some force outside of yourselves is needed to get you out and away from this condition that unless stopped will kill the cause.

I see troubles ahead for the body of the Hands. Their embarrassment before the world of the Faith when the people find that there can be no active Baha'i International Council nor no Universal House of Justice until the Guardianship be recognized by the believers the world around. When the Hands of the Faith find themselves up against this condition in the Faith, then as a last resort in order to save face and save the Faith – then as a last resort they will be obliged to seek refuge in the Guardianship.

VIOLATION PAST AND PRESENT

When Mirza Ahmad Sorhab set up his organization of Baha’is of “The New History Society” as he called it, his stand was that he accepted Baha’u’llah’s and Abdu’l-Baha’s teachings but he refused to accept the Guardianship of the Faith as provided for in The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha. In other words he accepted everything believed and taught by the orthodox Baha’is with the exception of the Guardianship and in order to claim divine authority he reverted to teachings of Baha’u’llah and of The Master Abdu’l-Baha but eliminating the Guardianship as I have already explained.

This defection of Ahmad Sohrab is clearly seen by and understood by all of the Hands of the Faith but they are blind to the fact that they themselves are defecting from The Will and Testament of the Master upon precisely the same point on which Sohrab defected, namely the Guardianship. The Hands of the Faith in their Proclamation to the Baha'i World exhorted the friends just as Ahmad did to uphold the teachings of Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha but they are eliminating (as Sohrab had done before them) the Guardianship of the Faith. The difference between these two heresies being that Ahmad Sorhab came out point blank denying the Guardianship whereas the Hands of the Faith in their Proclamation have said nothing about their intention, didn’t even mention the word Guardian nor Guardianship but concocted this present organization of the Faith with the nine Custodian Hands of the Faith in The Holy Land, for which there is no authority whatsoever in Baha'i Script nor lore, urging the people to surge forward with the propagation of the Baha'i Faith, just as did Sohrab – minus the Guardianship, in fact going so far as to exhort the believers not to discuss the Guardianship, the heart of the Administration.

In the days of the Sohrab violation we had The Beloved Guardian with us to protect the Faith but now with this present violation working in our midst the protection that the cause has is vested in me, the President of the International Council. Therefore I arise to take command of this situation that has been precipitated upon the Baha'i world by the last conclave message to all Baha’is announcing the intention of the Hands to take over the control of the International Council and plans for 1963 all of which are in open violation of The Administration of our Faith and that I, as the President of the Council appointed by The Beloved Guardian, cannot allow. Therefore I must call a halt in these proceedings which I am authorized to do by the appointment of The Beloved Guardian, in whose appointment and orders we all have perfect confidence and because of my appointment to this key position in the Faith I control this situation and I do so in order to give the Faith the only protection possible against the violation that the Hands of the Faith now attempt to put over. Therefore for the very life of the Baha'i Faith, it is necessary for me to arise and take the stand against this violation and since there was no one nor ones other than I to take this stand I myself alone have had to arise to meet this situation – Alone, with all others against me, I am confirmed in the hope that now that I have made this stand others of the Hands of the Faith will see and realize this condition and seek to rectify it. Of the eventual happy outcome of all these vital questions there is no doubt whatever. I must take this stand of command of the Faith for there upon depends the ousting out of this violation and reestablishing the Administration according to The Will and Testament of the center of the covenant, Abdu’l-Baha.

GODS KINGDOM UPON EARTH

The Baha'i Faith is the long promised and anticipated Kingdom of Heaven upon earth. Its rulership is vested in the Guardianship of the Faith –its nobility the Hands of the Faith elevated to that estate by appointment by the Guardian and lastly the followers, the mass of the believers throughout the world. Thus this Kingdom upon earth has these three basic elements – The Ruler, those appointed Hands who surrounded him and the great number of adherents who form the mass of the Faith.

The fallacy of the program so evidently foisted upon the Baha’is by the Hands of the Faith during these past two years and more is devoid of Guardianship and is now on the way within a generation to be without the institution of the Hands of the Faith for this present body of Hands will die off and be no more. With no possibility of renewal (because only the Guardian can create a Hand of the Faith), the cause ere long will be but an indiscriminate mass of people trying to rule and regulate themselves! Thus the present policy of the Hands of the Faith is to destroy the Kingdom of God on earth and put a political democracy in its place? Although until now I am the only one of the twenty seven Hands who has arisen to reason thus, surely many believers in America and also in other parts of the world, such as the friends in Germany, will see at a glance that the cause as a triumphant Kingdom cannot continue without the acceptance of the Guardianship, all hope of which and desire for which now seems to have been abandoned by the majority of the Hands of the Faith!

Since America is the Cradle of the Administration of the Faith, the American Baha’is will I am sure be the first to recognize the imperative necessity of the reestablishment of the Guardianship and without doubt also the first to recognize the Second Guardian Himself when He appears.

In their fallacious planning for the cause by the Hands of the Faith one finds them eliminating the Guardianship. These Hands of the Faith propose that the mass of the Baha’is form an International Assembly which they claim will have the infallibility necessary to guide the Faith without regard for the divinely inspired element necessary that only the Guardian can provide.

It just doesn’t make any sense at all for it is the antithesis of the philosophy and teaching of The Will and Testament, namely these Hands plan the destruction of Abdu’l-Baha’s plan of the Administration of the Kingdom to be replaced by a purely republican or democratic form that has none of the elements of the Kingdom of God necessary to make it a Kingdom, a King and his nobility and his people.

To be sure the body of Hands have not so far come out frankly and told the believers that they as a majority insist the Guardianship be ended, nevertheless such seems to be their unvoiced intention though not yet definitely proclaimed. The truth of the matter is that the majority of Hands personally do not want the Guardianship to continue, but this they are not mentioning in any of their statements to the Baha'i world. This very attitude of their silence upon this matter is indicative of their intent. I will make further mention of this in this writ.

During this time of interregnum, that is one of confusion of thought and effort under which the Faith now labors, one fallacy makes the way not only for another fallacy but then demands fallacy after fallacy to sustain and justify the fallacy that those fallacies are attempting to sustain and to maintain.

Inasmuch as the Custodian Hands of the Faith in The Holy Land, with the exception of myself, were united in agreement with the sentiment of the first conclave that the Guardianship be ended in favor of the anticipated infallibility that they expected in the Universal House of Justice to give that they planned to create in 1963. In the sending out their letters of information and instructions to various assemblies and individuals throughout the Baha'i world as well as to individual believers, it was decided by majority that all nine of us were to sign these letters under the words “In the Service of The Beloved Guardian of the Faith”.

To me this savored of the violation of the Administration and of the Guardianship for it was one of those fallacies invented to support and reinforce the fallacy previously made, that of no more Guardianship advocating in its stead the very remote control of the affairs of the cause by Shoghi Effendi in absentia from His eternal station in the Abha Kingdom thus ending and nullifying the need for Guardianship here upon earth.

In other words, when once violation starts there is no stopping it. It is a devastating disease in the body Baha'i. In these conferences of the Custodian Hands, the Hands were violating by thus considering themselves to be still in the Service of Shoghi Effendi by signing “In the name of the First Guardian of the Faith” (Shoghi Effendi dead and himself in the Abha Realms of existence) where as we of the Faith in this world according to the Administration should now be signing ourselves “In the service of the Second Guardian of the Baha'i Faith” did we know our Guardian. I could only see the Guardianship and our service to the Guardian as being a function of this world and not of the future Abha Kingdom. The dilemma of the present crisis of the Faith is that for this time being the Faith is not in contact with the living Guardian because he is unknown to the Hands of the Faith and to the people of the cause and is delaying his coming forth from his occultation in the hope that the Hands of the Cause will want to welcome him when he comes to them.

Therefore I refused to sign my name as still being in the service of Shoghi Effendi. Here I and the others of the Custodian Hands found ourselves at an impasse. Neither side would give in to the other. I explained at length my stand for the continuation of the Guardianship that they were united against with the result that now I am no longer one of these nine Custodian Hands of the Faith residing in The Holy Land.

The problem of the Custodian Hands now is to keep all these doings and happenings a secret from all Baha’is outside of this body of the Hands and we all know how difficult it is for the Baha’is to keep secrets. All that I myself now can do for the time being is to keep my stand, maintain my promise to the Custodian Hands that I would keep all this a secret from the outside Baha'i world and at the same time keep faith with the Hands of the Faith by expressing to them and to them only exactly what I think about the solution of this Baha'i problem – the Guardianship.

ON BOARD THE S.S. SATURNIA, 31 DECEMBER 1959, BOUND FROM NAPLES TO NEW YORK

Today is my sixtieth anniversary in the Baha'i Faith. In looking back over these anniversaries I remember them to have been happy times when I have often gathered together Baha'i friends to mark the occasion. Today I am alone on this ship with my thoughts going out to my Baha'i friends the world around!

I awakened this morning feeling indignant – thoroughly indignant – at the attitude of the Hands of the Baha'i Faith toward the Guardianship of the Faith, that they don’t want the Guardianship to continue and that they don’t intend that it continue and that they don’t intend that it continue beyond that of the First Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi. This indignation was one because of a principle of the Faith violated, no personal antagonism at all toward any of the Hands who are so unfortunate as to have been thus poisoned and confused by this violation – but on the contrary deep sorrow in my heart for each one of them.

As I have noted in these writings in this statement, this violation of the Administration was started in the First Bahje Conclave by the Persian Hands of the Faith and found sufficient support to carry the body of the Hands those very few who thought otherwise that the Guardianship should be supported and continued were overruled by the majority and whatever may have been their objections in order to maintain unity in supporting the action of the majority of the Hands, thus this great violation took control of the body of the Hands of the Faith and is still through this body in control of the Faith throughout the world, although even the control is fallacious since in The Holy Teachings of the Faith, of the Hands of the Faith are given no authority to control anything.

So far all that I myself have done to counteract this violation has been not to oppose the will of the body of the Hands in anything that I say to the world outside of the meetings of the Hands but to explain and to show the Hands of the Faith where they are wrong and that unless they change from their policy of violation and reinstate the Guardianship that they will kill the cause. Such is my stand in talks with the Hands of the Faith – all secret and private between us – I assuring them that keep face before the Baha'i world united with them, in the hope that they will see their violation, abandon it and themselves accept the Guardianship before this matter of the violation of The Master’s Will and Testament gets out and be understood by the Baha'i world for when the friends in America (the Cradle of the Administration) realize what the Hands are doing to this Administration, they are going to put such pressure upon the Hands of the Faith that their position of dignity and honor before the world will indeed be in jeopardy if not lost

Completely and this will be bad for the Hands and for the cause too.

I am telling the Custodian Hands, as I told all of the Hands in the Third Bahje Conclave, that I would no longer affix my signature to their decrees of violation of the Administration and the Guardianship and I intend to continue refusing to endorse such violation.

When I reach America, if any of the Baha'is ask me why my name does not appear in print endorsing these fiats of the Hands I shall say it was because I did not sign my name to this message and this is as far as I shall go for the present – ever hoping that the Hands will change their present policy that I assured the Hands on leaving Haifa that I would not openly oppose before the believers – this for the reason that I have given of not wanting to embarrass the Hands.

I am hoping that my refusal to endorse the plan of the Hands to put the Baha'i International Council into operation will awaken the Hands to the fact that I as the President of the Council into operation will awaken the Hands to the fact that I as the President of the Council, appointed by The Beloved Guardian, am in command of that situation which command they, the Hands, have no right to question.

Now for the present I am trusting that this, my forbidding them to tamper with the International Council, will awaken them to the point that they will see their mistaken and fallacious propaganda of promising the Baha'i world an elected and an active International Council and a Universal House of Justice in 1963.

I have the power to stop these works of the Hands of the Faith and thus do I intend to use this power to guard the Faith.

Should the Hands of the Faith at the next conclave of all of the Hands still persist in these violations of The Will and Testament and of the Administration and of all that The Beloved Guardian built up upon the admonitions of The Will and Testaments, I may have to tell the Hands that I can no longer keep silent about their violation and that I will be obliged to place the entire matter before the Baha'i world in a final attempt that the people of the Faith will then bring sufficient weight (pressure) upon the Hands necessary to change their cause of supporting violation to one back again to The Will and Testament with the Guardianship.

But as I state – I trust this step will not be necessary for me to take and that rather than have these matters aired throughout the Baha'i world that the Hands will give in and give up their present policy.

In any event, the Faith must be saved from the present manner in which the Hands of the Faith are administering it and I, as President of the Baha'i International Council, as the only person in all this world who has the power (as the appointed President of that Council by The Beloved Guardian) to command a halt in the mischief that they (the Hands) are doing to the Faith; therefore, I am exercising this command.

Therefore, come what may I intend to stand firmly in order that the cause of Baha’u’llah be saved to accomplish its mission in the world and all of this pother is supported by a few of the Hands who don’t want the Guardianship to continue because it will disturb their easy life in Haifa, enjoying the good things of this world when they should be making sacrifices for the spread of the Kingdom of God on earth for which Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha, followed by The Beloved Guardian devoted their lives!

God knows and I know too that I have no desire at all to stand up thus and literally beat the Hands of the Faith thus forcing them to abandon the fallacious program that they have been fathering for these past years and more – all of which is fallacious and is maiming and sickening and killing the Baha'i Faith – but as I am stating to the Hands in this statement, I am the only one to do this job so I am thus taking command of the situation and telling the Hands what they should do to save the Faith, thereby assuming a command tantamount to that of a Guardian of the Faith to be obeyed by all.

AT SEA, 1 JANUARY 1960

On board the S.S. Saturnia bound for Naples to New York. I awakened early this morning with the thought question in my mind. What is to be done to save the Baha'i Faith if the body of the Hands of the Faith continue to stand firmly upon their present ground of unity in their refusal to consider the continuation of the Guardianship?

I am hoping that when they receive my first written call or appeal to them and after they have read and studied it, they will see their danger and do something about it. If they remain firm in their violation of the Administration of the Will and Testament, I may then send out to each Hand of the Faith a copy of this my statement in which I demand that they harken to my order to them – I as President of the Baha'i International Council – that they cease meddling with the International Council that having been established by The Beloved Guardian, being under the Guardianship, can only be put into action by a Guardian of the Faith and that as now there is no Guardian as its President, hold that it remain quiescent until the Guardianship be recognized, established and accepted.

The program (fallacious as it is) upon which the Hands are working to establish their House of Justice in 1963 depends upon their first having an elected and working International Council. The stopping of their electing a council and getting it working precludes and brings to an end their hopes for 1963.

I trust that in their dilemma that they will then be facing that they will then capitulate and decide that they want a Guardian and then the Faith will be on the way again of The Will and Testament – the Administration and all will be well. But if they refuse to obey me as President of the Council they may turn upon me – expel me from their body – then what am I to do to save the Faith?

This is the thought question that I awakened with this morning.

To be sure this entire business of the nine Custodian Hands has no Baha'i sanction whatsoever. It was thought to be a necessity to bridge the interregnum between the First and Second Guardianships of the Baha'i Faith – this interregnum being caused by there being no Will nor Testament of Shoghi Effendi being found – a seemingly legitimate expediency in this emergency for the Hands of the Faith to take over temporarily, until the next Guardian took over the affairs of the cause but not their province to alter and change the entire structure of the Administration as they are doing by starting out to eliminate forever the Guardianship that is the heart of the Administration of the Faith. While the Beloved Guardian appointed the twenty seven Hands of the Faith commissioning them in a general way to propagate and to protect the Faith beyond this general commission I, Mason Remey as President of the Baha'i International Council, with Mrs. Collins as Vice President and the other members of this council, were the only ones whom The Beloved Guardian appointed to carry on any special works of the Baha'i Faith, and in this one case he merely appointed us and never went beyond that, therefore the council has always been acquiescent body the duties of which have never been assigned or designated so all that there is to do about the activities of the council must await the instructions to be issued by the Second Guardian of the Faith.

I therefore, as President of the International Council, am holding the affairs of the council in status quo until we have a Guardian to openly direct these affairs.

My position therefore while it did not allow me to go ahead with the activities of the council in the days of Shoghi Effendi, now gives me the authority not to do anything with or about the council until so commanded by The Second Guardian of the Faith. Therefore, I have the right that I take now of ordering the Hands of the Faith to quit this interference and await the coming forth of the Second Guardian of the Faith for when He is accepted by the Baha'i world then He will command all things in the Faith – then all will be well.

I must if possible avoid creating any movement in opposition to the body of Hands, but at the same time I must bring pressures upon that body in order to turn them from their present course in order to save the Faith.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HANDS OF THE FAITH

In the appointment of the Hands, the elevation of certain of the twenty seven believers to this station of assistants to the Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi, laid a great responsibility upon them which responsibility is particularly great right now in this interregnum when there is no acknowledged Guardian to direct the Hands.

Did the Beloved Guardian by look, word or deed ever indicate that any conditions would or could end the Guardianship with HIS Administration as Guardian of the Faith? Indeed did he ever entertain such a thought? Upon the contrary, he had in mind the site further along on the curve of the walk beyond where he placed the Archive Building recently completed where the administration buildings of the Faith were to be placed amongst which would in the future be built the residence of the Guardian. This was not for Shoghi Effendi himself. He already had his house in which he lived that formerly had been the home of the Master Abdu’l-Baha. The residence upon Mount Carmel, whether or not he thought of living there himself, was planned for the future Guardians of the Faith.

But now I again ask why is it that the Hands are now so insistent that the Guardianship end with Shoghi Effendi? WHY? Let each of the Hands of the Faith who does not want the Guardianship to continue look into his or her own mind and heart to find out why he or she does not want the Guardianship to continue?

As I have cited elsewhere in this writ, during the past two and more years of interregnum the Custodian Hands in The Holy Land have settled themselves down and are very comfortably installed in Haifa. The Second Guardian of the Faith in taking command there will surely alter very fundamentally the present set up of life there and this would indeed enjoin changes and many sacrifices among these present Custodians but can any such personal considerations, that may be unpleasant from the human viewpoint to contemplate, cause a Hand of the Faith not to want the Guardianship to be? This is a time when we Hands must arise to make sacrifices for it will be thereby only that the cause will flourish.

Let us think of this matter and consider the mass of the believers throughout the world who are looking toward the Hands for guidance. Only through the sacrifices of these Hands of the Faith at this moment can they save themselves from themselves. It is just as necessary that we Hands sacrifice ourselves in order to properly guide the mass of the believers as it is that this mass of believers stand ready to follow and to support the Hands in this emergency but the first move towards this relation between those who lead and those who are led should be that the leaders maintain the morale of this relationship. This is the meaning of “Noblesse Oblige”. The position of the Hands demands that they make the sacrifices! Thus for since the death of Shoghi Effendi the majority of the Hands have not proved themselves to be faithful to the Guardianship.

In World War II, a nephew of mine served in our Navy on the U.S.S. Yorktown. She, worsted in battle on the high seas, her Captain commanded all to stand by ready to abandon ship. My nephew, in command of a company of eighteen sailors, found that there were but eighteen life preservers in his company’s locker where there should have been nineteen. Where upon he proceeded to distribute these eighteen to his eighteen men and when the order came to abandon ship he, without a life preserver himself led off diving into the Pacific followed by his men each in his life belt. Fortunately all were rescued after being in the water for more than an hour.

By such acts of those in command is the morale of the Navy sustained and maintained. This morale is very demanding upon the officers in command of men in battle. Had a naval officer, in such an example as I have cited, taken a life belt for himself and left one of his men without this protection he would indeed have lost the confidence of his men, the confidence necessary to sustain and maintain naval morale in battle. So it is in the spiritual battle of the Baha'i Faith!

How much more necessary is “Nobless Oblige” required of those of us in the Baha'i Faith to whom the mass of the believers the world around are looking for guidance in our present emergency? How dare the Hands violate The Will and Testament as they are doing?

At present the people of our Faith the world around are like an army of soldiers who suddenly finding themselves without a commander may soon begin to question and wonder what is going to happen to their Kingdom, for without a commander-in-chief how can their army protect their Kingdom? Why don’t the Hands of the Faith institute a search through the world for The Second Guardian who is somewhere waiting for the Hands to want Him before He disclosed Himself?

What will the Baha'i world think and what will they say when they realize that among the Hands of the Faith there are those who want the Guardianship abolished?

THE TWO SUPPORTS OF THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

The Guardianship on one side and the International Assembly upon the other side are the two supports of the Universal House of Justice as explained by the Beloved Guardian and accepted by all of the believers.

The Universal House of Justice can only function in its infallibility when it has these two supports – the International Assembly alone without the Guardianship cannot be the Universal House of Justice. In other words, the elected International Assembly that is the voice of the mass of the people of the Faith and is chosen by them is alone and by itself not endowed with infallibility!

This I have explained many times in the conferences of the Custodian Hands in Haifa as well as to the body of the Hands in both the second and third conclaves but apparently all to no effect. They holding that the International Assembly chosen by the mass of the people of the Faith is in itself to be infallible without the Guardianship that they hold now to be non-existent.

How any one of normal mental capacity can reason thus is a mystery to me. At no time when I have discussed this with any of the Hands of the Faith did this reasoning of mine make any impression upon anyone of them. They all persisted in their assertion that without a Guardian the Hands had the right to call for the election of an International Assembly in 1963 and when convened this assembly would be the Universal House of Justice the decisions of which assembly would have infallibility.

This lack of logic and reasoning not only makes no sense but is positively pernicious. Such is the result of this violation of the Administration of our Faith. It is like a disease that the body of the Hands brought upon themselves when they forsook the Guardianship at their first conclave since which their efforts have been concentrated on preaching and teaching this atrocious doctrine of their plans for 1963 to the believers in all parts of the world.

Personally I marvel that the Baha’is in the occident have not arisen “en masse” to rebel against such leadership that is actually spreading violation whereas the Hands of the Faith are commissioned to protect the Faith from violation!

When will the Hands of the Faith want and seek for The Second Guardian who alone can free them and the cause from this spiritual disease that is spreading the spiritual blindness the world around? When??

THE FALLACY OF A UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE IN 1963

Although I sat in the conclave at the time, I don’t remember how the idea started amongst the Hands that they were empowered to establish a Universal House of Justice. But inspired by the violation of The Will and Testament, when started this fallacy immediately took the fancy of the great majority and was passed upon to be proclaimed through the Baha’is as the solution of the present Baha'i problem that perplex the Baha'i world.

To this matter my argument has been and is that the creating and organizing of the Universal House of Justice is a matter that only a Guardian of the Faith can accomplish and therefore it does not fall within the province of the Hands to undertake. There are two major supports upon which the functioning of the Universal House of Justice rests, the Guardianship representing the divine infallibility of the Faith and the International Assembly to be elected democratically by the believers.

Under the present condition of the Faith without a Guardian, the Universal House of Justice that the Hands propose inaugurating can in no manner create this infallible element of this first support of a Universal House of Justice. The formation of the second support since this has no element of infallibility and is a human democratic institution proclaiming the voice of the people this second support will be very easy to be elected by the people themselves when the Guardian of the Faith will come forth and tell them so to do but not before He commands it. Therefore the impossibility of having a Universal House of Justice until there first be a Guardian for without a Guardian to act as its president, there can be no Universal House of Justice.

The intensive manner in which the Custodian Hands are reiterating in their message to the Baha'i world promising them in all fallaciousness that their House of Justice in 1963 will have the infallibility necessary to guide the Baha'i Faith to spiritual victories is the greatest sign in the present time of the violation of the Master’s Will and Testament. Indeed so flagrant is this that I marvel that there has not yet been sporadic uprisings and demonstrations among the believers the world around against such nonsensical pap as is now being thus handed out to them. I see troubles in the offing that can only be met and avoided by a complete reversal of the entire modus operendi of the Hands of the Faith, since the convening of their first conclave at Bahje, where violation made its first appearance. The heart of the Administration, the Guardianship itself, has thus been violated.

The Hands of the Faith are working assiduously making frantic efforts to justify themselves in all these matters lest they lose face before the Baha'i world. They are indeed in great danger of losing face. It will be better for them to have to acknowledge to themselves in secret conclave that they have been for these two years and more on the wrong track. Held within the four walls of the next conclave such recognition will be far less bitter and not so humiliating to the cause as to have all this matter come out openly to be talked over and discussed and God knows what (?) by the Baha'is the world around!

Therefore before matters become worse than they are now (and they are very bad now and daily becoming worse) let the Hands of the Faith in conclave convening as soon as possible unitedly save the Faith by seeking the only protection that will save it, namely The Second Guardian to pull the cause out of its present dilemma and solve all of our difficulties that all may surge ahead under the direction of a Guardian and at this late date complete the world crusade started and urged by the First Guardian of the Faith, the Beloved Guardian. To seek for The Second Guardian, is the action that the Hands should now take. Christ said seek and ye shall find.

THE PERILS OF THOSE IN HIGH ESTATE

You the Hands of the Baha'i Faith looked up to by all the Baha'i world have had obligations placed upon you proportionate with this blessing bestowed upon you by The Beloved Guardian. Obligations of such a nature as yours require that you make sacrifices commensurable with the divine bounty that has been your portion, for such are the requirements, to prove yourselves worthy of the blessings that have been bestowed upon you.

The beginning of our present time of peril was in the First Bahje Conclave when the stand was taken to violate The Will and Testament, eliminating the Guardianship of the Faith and concocting the plan of the majority that is now being preached to the Baha’is of the world to have a guardianless government, a Kingdom of God without a King doing away with the very foundation of all the work of The Beloved Guardian that must needs end only in confusion and in other and further deviation from the basic principles of the Baha'i Faith.

The peril to the cause is such that the only thing for the Baha’is to do is to seek for The Second Guardian who is waiting to be wanted by the believers before coming forth to lead the believers. But alas the Hands do not want him!

In other words, I am protecting the Hands of the Faith by thus shielding you in your violation against your rejection by the believers of the Faith should these believers find out, know and realize your violation of the Administration. I cannot hold much longer this protection that I am thus giving you. All that I can hope for is to hold out this protection to the Hands long enough for you to change your attitude toward the Guardianship, renounce your program for 1963, and announce this to the Baha'i world assuring them that you uphold The Master’s Will and Testament that means that you still believe in the Guardianship but that you just don’t know how it is to be continued.

When you do as I tell you to do you will then be in the position of firmness in the Baha'i Faith in which you will be protected from making these mistakes, that now so becloud your vision and confuse your mind and bewilder and put to test the Baha’is the world around.

I assure you that I am doing everything I can to make it in the end as easy as possible for you.

I am the protector of the Faith and my first concern at this time is the protection of the Hands of the Cause, to guard them from the possibility of any criticism past, present or future, visited upon them by the Baha'i world. Therefore, Hands of the Faith, follow me and do as I tell you to do!

DANGER THAT THE BAHA'I WORLD LOSE CONFIDENCE IN THE HANDS OF THE FAITH

Were this hazard not uppermost in my mind I might have been included to remain silent and let this violation of The Will and Testament run along as it is going, trusting that in some way or another the Hands of the Faith would have this matter brought to a head when like a gangrenous condition in an ill human body would reach a crisis that would require a major surgical operation to remove.

I, President of the International Council, have the power to stop their formation of an elected council and I intend to stop it by refusing to recognize their right to do this in order to save the Baha'i Faith. Without an elected International Council functioning as prelude to the House of Justice there can not be a House of Justice!

Therefore in order to avoid such an acute crisis in Baha'i affairs that would involve the entire Baha'i world, I am adding this Second Statement to my First Statement to the Hands hoping to awaken them to the danger of allowing the present condition to run along any longer.

Therefore, now I bring to bear the power that I have to force this and to compel the Hands to give up their present fallacious program of attempting to elect an International Council and a House of Justice.

I realize the jar and shakeup that this decision of mine will precipitate in the body of Hands, but better have it within that body where you can confine it among the Hands then have it within that body than have a split in the cause the world around!

Therefore, the present necessity of keeping the contents of these “Statements” (Appeals) from me to you in absolute confidence in order that you Hands of the Faith can quickly clear this violation out from the body of Hands before it attains further credence in the world and becomes more difficult to meet. But if the Hands delay and delay to urge the believers to prayerfully look for and await with hope a Guardian, matters will become worse and their problems more difficult. It is to save the Hands of the Faith from the criticism of the Baha'i world that I urge them so fervently to seek to recognize the Second Guardian as quickly as possible and to save them from further troubles.

THE WILL AND TESTAMENT MUST STAND

How dare the Hands of the Faith presume to violate The Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha? Do away with the Administration that is the Guardianship???

The answer to this is that the spirit of violation enters quietly but when once in possession of the body it dares do anything to gain its end-the while the body more and more controlled by the violation, is helpless.

So it is now with the body of the Hands of the Baha'i Faith. They are controlled by this violation of The Will and Testament – the violation of the Administration of the cause and the violation of the Guardianship – therefore, they are helpless to help themselves.

Salvation of the body of Hands and that of the Baha'i Faith must come from without the body of their present unity that supports this violation. No one save The Second Guardian can accomplish this.

The Beloved Guardian in addition to having elevated me, Mason Remey, to Handship in the Faith also made me the President of the Baha'i International Council thus placing in my hands the power to call a halt to the program of the body of Hands to create an International Council as their first step toward instituting a House of Justice that they declare will have infallible power over the Baha'i cause, thus they calculated to enforce their violation upon the entire Baha'i Faith as it already controls them.

But here I step into the picture to block this violation by maintaining my position as President of the Baha'i International Council reminding them that The Beloved Guardian Himself appointed me to this position of authority over them and I am now telling them that I will maintain this authority and will not allow them to hold any election to form the International Council thus is frustrated their plan for creating a House of Justice!

In other words, I of all the believers in the Baha'i Faith hold the key to this situation by having the power in my hands to bring the Hands of the Faith out from under their violation that controls them. I guard the Faith!

This is why I am taking this stand against the violation of the Guardianship and this is why I am trying to cast out this evil spirit that is so dominating the Body of the Hands of the Faith for it is only by my taking this stand that the Faith of El Baha can be saved.

Now at this juncture in this time of interregnum of no Guardianship, the next step is that the Hands of the Faith is to seek the Second Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. This as I have explained in this call is not only within their province to do, but is a “Must” for them to do now at this time. They are commanded to protect the Faith and the only way in which they can accomplish this in this emergency is that they seek the protection of The Second Guardian of the Faith.

I forbid any and all Baha’is to give support to the program of the Hands of the Faith for 1963.

FINIS

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THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH

1937: Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era by J.E. Esslemont . Encourage Reader to Compare to Contemporary Versions - Bahá'í Censorship

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