tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73032947204646643722024-03-18T21:25:17.436-07:00Baha'i Talks, Messages and ArticlesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-31706928195025457642023-01-11T14:18:00.003-08:002023-10-11T10:30:23.500-07:00The Case of the Bahá’í Minority in Iran: – a 1993 review of the history of the persecution of Baha’is in Iran and the success the community has had in using the U. N. system in their defense - by Douglas Martin<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4SuCtSFQonG2MmWwbO63OaTOaSMSLVI0Ee2IfttxoGNRfUUr2NHSEGOAkMugllA8juGHOoPM02VJByC-kwBgBeS7pCfO2jUDhUBZbRyGZ28p2Mp1U266jLdtmEFVGe_JMHJn3M5QYV3VopobxAveJPYOP2WCpEFwvM3NHPCejgNpZnUPmXFEWeHV94SD/s750/Douglas%20Martin.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="595" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4SuCtSFQonG2MmWwbO63OaTOaSMSLVI0Ee2IfttxoGNRfUUr2NHSEGOAkMugllA8juGHOoPM02VJByC-kwBgBeS7pCfO2jUDhUBZbRyGZ28p2Mp1U266jLdtmEFVGe_JMHJn3M5QYV3VopobxAveJPYOP2WCpEFwvM3NHPCejgNpZnUPmXFEWeHV94SD/w187-h236/Douglas%20Martin.jpg" width="187" /></a></div>The experience of the Baha'is of Iran is a classic case of
the violation of human rights, produced by religious intolerance. Prior to the
Islamic revolution a deep-seated prejudice against the Baha’is and their
religion characterized not only Iran’s Islamic clergy and the illiterate
masses, but also many among the country's educated elite and middle class. The
prejudice was widespread and communicated itself to many Western observers.
Michael Fischer, a generally sympathetic commentator on the revolution notes,
for example, that even the exercise of routine civil functions by Baha’is was
seen as proof of a “Baha’i conspiracy.”[1] Richard W. Cottam, author of
Nationalism in Iran, pointed out the problem of even discussing the subject of
the Baha’i Faith in a country in which the word “Bábí” has long been freely
used as an epithet, along with such words as “infidel,” to describe anyone to
whom the speaker is strongly opposed.[2] This prejudice is probably the most
important point to grasp for an observer wishing to understand the situation of
the Baha'is in modern Iran. The second point is that, in the land of the Baha’i
Faith’s origin, the prejudice is, paradoxically, combined with an almost
universal ignorance of the religion’s nature, teachings, and history. For over
a century a curtain of silence has surrounded the subject. The Baha'i community
has consistently been denied the use of any means of communication with the
general public: radio, television, newspapers, films, the distribution of
literature, or public lectures. The academic community in Iran has studiously
ignored the existence of the worldwide Faith founded there; the subject has
never been treated in any university courses or textbooks. Indeed, census
figures which provided statistics on all of the other religious and ethnic
minorities in Iran have consistently been omitted for the Baha'i community, the
largest religious minority of all.[3] Coupled with this calculated general
neglect, the public mind has been subjected, for decades, to abusive propaganda
from the Shi’ah Muslim clergy, in which the role of the Baha’i community in
Iran, its size, its beliefs, and its objectives have been grossly
misrepresented.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Both the ignorance and the prejudice are connected with the
tragic events that surrounded the beginning of the Bábí and Baha'i Faiths in
nineteenth-century Persia. It may help in clarifying the events of the past
decade if this background is briefly reviewed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Historical Background</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Baha'i Faith came into existence through the teachings of
two successive Founders. The first, a young Persian merchant known to history
as the Báb, announced in Shiraz, in May 1844, that He was the bearer of a
Revelation from God, whom the Shi'ah branch of Islam had long expected under
the title “the Twelfth Imam."[4] The world stood, He said, on the threshold
of an era that would witness the restructuring of all aspects of life. The
challenge to humanity was to embrace these changes by undertaking a
transformation of its moral and spiritual character. Central to the Báb's
teaching was the announcement of the imminent appearance of yet a second Divine
Messenger, one who would address all the peoples of the world.[5] During the
course of widespread attacks on His followers, incited by the Muslim clergy,
the Báb was executed in the city of Tabriz, in 1850. There followed throughout
Persia a horrific series of massacres of followers of the new religion. These
pogroms aroused the revulsion of Western diplomats and scholars, and deeply
scarred the Persian psyche, inspiring an effort to justify the killing of thousands
of innocent people by excoriating the victims' beliefs and intentions.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In 1863, however, one of the Báb’s leading disciples, who
had survived the pogroms, a Persian nobleman, Bahá'u'lláh, announced that He
was the Messenger for whom the Báb had come to prepare the way. Partly because
of the force of His own person and teaching, and partly because of unusual
marks of distinction conferred upon Him by the Báb, Bahá'u’lláh quickly
attracted the allegiance of virtually all the Bábís. From exile in the
neighboring Ottoman Empire, He began a thirty-year mission which brought into
existence the worldwide religion and community that today bear His name and
that are distinct from the Bábí religion out of which the Baha’i Faith
emerged.[6] Bahá’u'lláh's teachings are contained in a vast body of writings,
in both Persian and Arabic, regarded by Baha'is as the source of authority in
their Faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At the heart of Bahá'u'lláh’s teachings is the concept of
the oneness of mankind: The earth is but one country, and mankind its
citizens."[7] Strong emphasis is placed on the abolition of prejudices of
all kinds, on full equality between men and women, and on the responsibility of
each individual to investigate truth for himself. The great religious systems
of humanity are seen as equally valid stages in the progressive revelation of
the Divine Will, a process that will continue as long as the world endures.
Baha'is are encouraged to apply the scientific principle to the study of all
reality, including spiritual issues. Although forbidden by their beliefs to
involve themselves in any form of partisan political activity, members of the
Faith arc urged to give all possible support to developments that conduce to
global unification.[8] Some of Bahá’u'lláh's most important writings call upon
the rulers of the world to create an “International Tribunal" to which
nations will surrender whatever degree of sovereignty is necessary for the
establishment of world peace and disarmament.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is hardly a tenet of this credo that is not in
conflict with some dogma promulgated by the clerics of Shi'ah Islam, the
dominant religion of Iran. Muslim opposition was sharpened by Bahá'u'lláh's
insistence that humanity has entered the age of its maturity, in which neither
clergy nor rituals are any longer required. The central principle of the age,
He says, is the process of consultation and group decision-making, the key to
well-being for both the individual and society. To the clerics of Shi'ah Islam
it seemed certain that the promotion of such ideas in Iran would bring to an
end the system of tithes, endowments, social precedence, and political power
which they have always regarded as their religious right. To religious bigotry
was early added, therefore, the force of personal investment in the prevailing
scheme of things.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Outside the Muslim world, however, the new religion began to
attract a growing body of adherents. Communities sprang up across North America
and Western Europe, as well as in India, and lands in the East and Far East. While
Bahá'u’lláh’s teachings forbid proselytism as an infringement on the spiritual
integrity of the individual, great encouragement is given to activities that
promote public awareness of the Faith and that attract new members. Large scale
enrollments began in the 1950s and 60s, particularly in Latin America and
Africa. Today, the worldwide Baha'i community numbers over five million
members, representative of virtually all of the world's racial, religious, and
cultural diversity. National administrative structures have been erected in 165
countries [9] on a foundation of over 25,000 locally elected councils or
“Spiritual Assemblies.” Beginning in 1963, acting on provisions laid down in
Bahá'u'lláh’s writings, the membership of the National Assemblies have elected
regularly at five-year intervals the Faith’s international governing body, the
Universal House of Justice.[10]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As a consequence of this expansion, Iranian Baha'is now
represent considerably less than ten percent of the world’s total Baha'i
population. It is this highly diverse global community that sees itself as the
target of an entirely unjustified attack on its members in the land of the
Faith’s birth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The Pahlavi period, 1925-1979</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With the rise of the Pahlavi Shahs in 1925, a number of
important developments occurred in Iran which were to have major repercussions
on the welfare of the country's Baha'i community. Central to these developments
was the policy which Reza Shah and later his son, Muhammad Reza Shah, adopted
toward the Muslim clergy. Their objective was to transform their country, then
known in the West by its historic name Persia, into a modern secular state. In
pursuing this goal Iran's new rulers sought to exclude the clergy from all
major areas of social and cultural influence, while continuing to pay
lip-service to Shi’ah Islam as the country’s state religion and to provide
funding for religious institutions. The tensions which this policy engendered
were managed by the regime’s alternating suppression and appeasement of Islamic
interests. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since the Baha’i minority represented a major pool of
educated people, they had, of necessity, been employed in the many branches of
the civil service, while continuing to be denied formal constitutional rights.
The intensity of clerical opposition to the "Baha'i heresy," however,
made of the issue an irresistible means of placating the mullahs. Repeatedly,
during the rule of both of the Pahlavi Shahs, eminent mullahs were allowed to
incite mob attacks on Baha'i holy places and other properties. The ensuing loss
of life, however, inevitably attracted foreign protest. In 1955, a particularly
flagrant involvement of the government in one of the pogroms resulted in
interventions at the United Nations.[11] The Shah was embarrassed when
international pressure forced him to curtail the worst of the excesses.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The Islamic Revolution</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The collapse of the Pahlavi regime in February 1979 appeared
to free the Shi’ah clergy from the restraints which international
considerations had forced the Shahs to place on their political and social
influence. Alter ecclesiastical pressure had led also to the overthrow of two
interim revolutionary administrations.[12] the mullahs assumed the civil power
they today exercise as cabinet ministers, justices of the Supreme Court,
members of Parliament, heads of government departments, revolutionary judges,
military commissars, and block wardens whose control extends to the details of
daily life. Even the offices of president and prime minister were eventually
tilled by clergy. The media became organs of religious propaganda. Ration cards
and other crucial permits were distributed at mosques. New legislation imposed
rigid rules from the Islamic Shari'ah, the code of laws based on Islamic
tradition, on day- to-day life, and used the courts and police to enforce these
ordinances. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This theocratic regime confirmed the status of non- Muslims
as second-class citizens. Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians were admitted to
certain limited civil rights as “protected minorities" but were denied
equality under the law with the Muslim majority. For the Baha'i community,
however, there was not even this protection. As early as December 1978, shortly
before his return to Teheran, the Ayatollah Khomeini had made it clear that, in
Islamic Iran, Baha'i citizens would have no rights whatever. [13] While the
Islamic Constitution, adopted in 1979, makes a general reference to the
enjoyment of “equal rights" by all citizens, clauses assign the enjoyment
of such civil rights to persons who belonged either to the state religion or to
one of the tolerated minority faiths specifically named: Judaism, Christianity,
and Zoroastrianism.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Persecution Intensifies</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Encouraged by this formal exclusion of Baha'is from the
protections of citizenship, fanatical elements in the society began a
full-scale assault on the community. Prominent Shi'ah clergymen launched
attacks on Baha'is from the pulpit and in the media, denouncing them as
“enemies of Islam." “corrupt on earth." and persons “whose blood
deserves to be shed." The effect was to unleash waves of violence. Members
of the Faith were beaten, many businesses were confiscated or destroyed,
hundreds of houses burned, and efforts began with a view to forcing Baha'is to
recant their faith. By early 1980 this campaign had begun to enlist key organs
of the government. Baha'is were hunted out and discharged from all forms of
government employment. Prominent members of the community were dragged before
revolutionary tribunals and, in June of 1980, after summary mock trials, a
series of executions began.[14] <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With the assumption of full power by the mullahs that same
month, horrors multiplied daily: Baha'i girls kidnapped from their families and
raped, the bodies of highly-respected Baha’is dragged through the streets,
cemeteries bulldozed, their tombstones auctioned, widows forced to pay the
price of the bullets which had been used to execute their husbands, and
appalling tortures practiced on prisoners in the unending attempt to force the
Baha'is to recant their faith. The background of these outrages was a daily
life in which Iranian Baha'is had become social outcasts with no recourse
against whatever abuse the ill-disposed chose to commit. Baha’i marriages,
regardless of duration, were declared null and void. Baha'i marital life was
deemed prostitution (itself punishable by death), and Baha'i children were
judged illegitimate. A “Law of Retaliation" exempted crimes against
Baha’is from any punishment under the law. Baha'i holy places were seized and
publicly desecrated. Baha'i children were expelled from schools throughout Iran,
and retired Baha’is were summoned to repay not only the pensions to which they
had contributed during government service but also the salaries that had been
paid to them during their years of employment.[15]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>International Protest</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Initially, during the Bazargan ministry, the first of the
two revolutionary regimes which replaced Muhammad Reza Shah, the Iranian Baha'i
community limited its protests to representations to the new government.
Efforts were made to overcome the prevailing prejudice against the Baha'i
community and to reassure the government that Iranian Baha'is were loyal
citizens of their country. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When these initiatives received no response from the civil
authorities, Baha'i communities around the world sought the intervention of
their own governments in the hope that quiet representations might induce Iran
to halt at least the worst of the abuses. The governments of Australia, Canada,
and of several European nations were particularly supportive. The hostage
crisis which began in the fall of 1979 sharply limited the role the United
States could play in these initiatives.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">By the lime the Bazargan ministry fell, in November 1979,
however, it was apparent that such efforts were meeting with very limited
success. As violence increased, Baha’i communities began to intensify efforts
to bring the situation to the attention of the world’s media. Supporting
documents exposed the growing implication of Iranian government officials in
the persecutions, as well as the absence of any evidence for the charges on
which Baha'is were being condemned by revolutionary tribunals. Newspaper
stories and radio news reports on the subject began to appear in a great many
Western countries.[16] Television networks soon took up the case, several of
them doing feature stories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As attention given to the situation by the media increased,
foreign protest became open. As early as September 1979 the Human Rights
Commission of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Switzerland undertook an
independent investigation which led it to denounce the treatment of the Iranian
Baha'is as a clear example of a campaign of religious persecution. On 16 July
1980, the Canadian Parliament passed a unanimous resolution urging that the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights should intervene. Two months later,
on 19 September the European Parliament went on record as describing the
attacks on Iran's Baha’is as "a systematic campaign of persecution."
and urged member nations of the European community to bring pressure to bear on
the Iranian regime to halt the abuses.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With political turmoil in Iran increasing, the accusations
which were being made against the victims underwent a shift. For decades, the
clerical leadership and their agents had focused on the dangers that “false
religion" posed to the integrity of Islam and the purity of Islamic life.
The growth of radical political rhetoric now led the mullahs to emphasize a
second theme: the Baha’i community was said to have been a clandestine ally of
the Pahlavi regime and to have benefited from this alleged behind-the-scenes
support. In the absence of any evidence for such accusations, the Muslim clergy
argued that, under even the old Constitution, the Baha’is should have had no
civil rights; the limited freedom they had to exercise civil functions,
therefore, was proof that they had enjoyed a "privileged position."
Significantly, these quasi-political charges were soon included in the efforts
of Iranian embassies overseas to respond to press criticism of the
persecution.[17]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Abstention from Violence</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Meanwhile, the government itself was becoming the target of
violent opposition. It became apparent that the religious leadership was bent
on establishing a theocratic regime in which its own members would hold all of
the positions of power. Its political allies, particularly those on the left,
considered this a betrayal of the trust they had placed in the Ayatollah
Khomeini and the sacrifices they had made for the revolution. Their reaction
was to launch a campaign to overthrow those whose rise they had assisted. Since
all of the principal organs of the State were in the hands of the mullahs, the
opposition turned to political assassination. Hundreds of members of the new
regime and several thousand of the revolutionary guards who supported them were
killed by bombs, bullets, knives, and dynamite in a campaign of terrorism which
quickly turned government offices into virtual prison-fortresses.[18] <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Baha'i community remained entirely aloof from these
controversies. Among the principles strongly emphasized by Bahá’u'lláh are
obedience to government and the avoidance of involvement in partisan political
activity of any kind. Although not pacifists in the more technical sense of the
term, Baha'is are guided by Bahá’u'lláh's injunction that "it is better to
be killed than to kill."[19] It is significant that, despite the extreme
hostility of the regime to Baha’is, and the superstitions which had been
carefully cultivated with respect to them, no suggestion has ever been made in
any quarter that the community was implicated in assassinations or other
terrorist acts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The reason was the historical record that the community had
established. While the early Bábis had believed they had the right to take up
arms in self-defense against religious persecution, Bahá’u'lláh had called on
Baha'is to refrain from armed resistance against attacks. Successive outbreaks
of persecution during both the Qajar and Pahlavi periods had been met by
appeals for the intervention of the civil authorities and, increasingly, of the
international community. When the Islamic revolution occurred, therefore,
although members of the community were regarded with superstitious fear and
suspicion by the general population, they were also seen as non-violent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Viewed superficially, this record of non-involvement in
partisan politics or civil violence had only seemed to weaken the position of
Iran’s Baha'is. In the words of Hamid Algar, a contemporary Shi'ah scholar
whose writings reflect an attitude generally hostile to Baha'is, the minority
group: "... came to occupy something of a position between the State and
the Ulama (mullahs), not one enabling them to balance the two sides, but rather
exposing them to blows which each side aimed at the other. The government,
interested in maintaining order, would resist the persecution of the Baha’is by
the Ulama. but would equally, when occasion demanded, permit action against the
Baha'is."[20]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When the crisis provoked by the new Islamic revolutionary
regime arose, however, the historical record which the Iranian Baha'i community
had scrupulously established for over a century was to prove a key element in
the successful international campaign for its defense.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Appeal to the United Nations</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As it became increasingly apparent that leading circles in
the new regime were bent on the destruction of the Baha’i community, and that
other means of deflecting the campaign had failed, the Baha'i International
Community[21] turned to the United Nations. The appeal began in September 1980,
and coincided with representations from a number of other sources about a range
of alleged human rights violations in Iran. The work of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights is assisted by a sub-commission which deals with a
range of concerns at the preliminary level. Responding to the representations
of the Baha'i International Community, the Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities adopted a resolution addressing the
Baha’i concern and asked the Iranian authorities to protect the fundamental
rights and freedoms of this religious minority. There was no response from the
Iranian government to this appeal. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The following year, with the encouragement of certain
governments, including those of the European Community, Baha'i representatives
expressed their concerns to the 37th Session of the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights, which met in Geneva from 2 February to 13 March 1981. Later
that same year a number of governments raised the matter of the human rights
situation in Iran, specifically the persecution of the Bahais, at the 36th
Session of the United Nations General Assembly itself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Within Iran the persecution intensified. Accordingly, the
Baha'i International Community now made a direct appeal to the Commission on
Human Rights. On 24 February 1982, the Commission had before it the report of
the secretary-general containing many serious allegations about human rights
abuses in Iran, including the treatment of the Baha’is. The request for the
submission of this information came from the Sub-Commission’s resolution
adopted at its 34th seminar. August/September 1981. In the face of determined
efforts by the Iranian representatives, who argued that the report was
motivated only by the desire of what they termed “United States imperialism and
her European criminal friends" to interfere with the Iranian revolution,
the Commission reviewed the Bahai submission. The latter included reproductions
of official documents in which virtually every department of the Islamic
Republic's government referred to the adherence of the victims to “the depraved
Baha'i religion" as its sole and sufficient reason for seizing property,
discharging employees, revoking pensions, expelling schoolchildren,
confiscating bank accounts, prohibiting business dealings, and passing death
sentences. Copies of articles from major Iranian newspapers were provided, in
which the details of the condemnations had been openly celebrated.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Following this presentation the Commission adopted a
resolution, 5 March 1982: the secretary-general was directed to begin an
investigation of the human rights situation in Iran, and the Iranian government
was asked to cooperate.[22]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The Iranian Response</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The discussions at the Commission on Human Rights had begun
to reveal a certain unease among Third World nations with respect to Iran's
human rights record. Some of these had earlier spoken out at Geneva and had
expressed solidarity with the revolution. Pressure from such smaller and
disadvantaged countries, however, had an equal potentiality to become a serious
embarrassment to Iran's revolutionary government. Atrocities against
law-abiding citizens could not be Justified even on those grounds of necessity
which might be advanced to explain efforts to protect the revolution from its
political opponents. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">An interesting feature of the debate at the 1982 Commission
on Human Rights, therefore, was the development by representatives of the
Iranian government of a new rationale for its treatment of the Baha'i minority.
The argument was to become the foundation for the regime’s attempts to counter
all criticism of its attitude toward its Baha'i citizens.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For many years Baha'is had been identified by fundamentalist
Iranian Muslims as among the elements in Iranian society which were
“Westernizing" the country. The charge owed its origin to the popular
tendency in fundamentalist circles to regard such principles of social
development as the equality of men and women, reliance on democratic decision-making
processes, and freedom in scientific investigation as “satanic" influences
originating in Western lands. Such ideals were widely associated with the
beliefs of the Baha'i minority. This prejudice was seized upon and elaborated
into a conspiracy theory in which Iran's Baha'is were pictured as secret agents
serving foreign governments. Foreign control of the community had much earlier
been attributed to Tsarist Russia. Subsequently it passed, in a manner never
explained, to the British Foreign Office. Now, however, the Baha’i Faith was
transformed, again through a process not revealed by those making the
allegations, into an extension of “international Zionism.“ At the meeting of
the U.N. General Assembly's Third Committee, in November 1982, Iran's Permanent
Mission distributed copies of a booklet entitled Human Rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran, in which these political accusations against the Baha'i
minority were explained in detail.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With international attention growing, the Iranian authorities
also undertook elaborate efforts to conceal the continuing executions of
prominent Baha'is. Between 30 December 1981 and 9 January 1982, however. Le
Monde carried a series of stories exposing the secret executions of the members
of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'i community in Iran. The stories
eventually forced the Chief Justice of Iran, Ayatollah Moussavi-Ardibili into
an embarrassing public retreat from earlier denials.[23]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The Baha’i Faith Formally Banned</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Initially, it appeared that the intervention of the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights would have no more effect on the situation
of Iran's Baha'is than had that of individual governments. Persecutions
continued and, in some local cases, became particularly flagrant. On the night
of 18 June 1983 the Islamic revolutionary authorities in Shiraz hanged ten
Baha'i women and teenage girls who had refused to recant their Faith and
convert to Islam. Three days earlier the same authorities had hanged six men,
including the husbands, fathers, and sons of four of the women. The Islamic
judge who presided at the trials, Hujjatu'l-Islam Qaza’i, was quoted in the
government-controlled newspaper Khabar-i-Junub as warning that, if Baha'is did
not recant their Faith, “the day will soon come when the Islamic Nation will
... God willing fulfill the prayer of Noah: 'Lord leave not one single family
of infidels upon the earth'..."[24]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In August of that year, Iran’s prosecutor-general announced
the formal banning of all Baha'i religious institutions in the country, and
declared membership in them and service to them to be criminal offences. In
accordance with the Baha'i principle of obedience to government, the Iranian
community immediately complied, dissolving both its National Spiritual Assembly
and all of its local Assemblies throughout the country. In an open letter to
the government, some two thousand copies of which were audaciously distributed
by hand to the ministries, the press, and other public agencies, the community
announced its complete submission, protested the treatment accorded to their
Faith, and called on the government to fulfill the promise made by the
prosecutor-general that Baha'is would at least be permitted, as individuals, to
practice their religion in the privacy of their own homes.[25]</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The worthlessness of this promise was quickly demonstrated
when a new wave of Baha’i arrests followed immediately on the heels of the ban.
The majority of the victims were people who had formerly been members of the
now dissolved institutions. It was clear that the authorities were making use
of the ban as a legal device to sweep up large numbers of prominent Baha’is and
charge them, retroactively, with crimes against the State.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The United Nations Appoints a Special Representative</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Iranian government may have been counting on the case
eventually losing momentum in the United Nations system, simply because of the
difficulties and complexity of maintaining international concern. If so, it was
disappointed. At the meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in 1984, a
new resolution was adopted calling on the chairman to appoint a special
representative to undertake a thorough study of the human rights situation in
Iran, including that of the Baha’is. Subsequently, the Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) endorsed the Commission's decision. The report of the special
representative. Mr. Andres Aguilar, expressed great concern at the number and
gravity of the reported human rights violations in Iran. In endorsing these
observations, the Commission extended the representative’s mandate and
requested him to present an interim report to the General Assembly at its 40th
Session, including in its resolution "the situation of minority groups
such as the Baha'is." Again, the Economic and Social Council endorsed the
decision.[26] <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In consequence of these initiatives the General Assembly of
the United Nations itself went on record, in Resolution 40/ 141, as expressing
“its deep concern over the specific and detailed allegations of violations of
human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran." outlining in its statement
some of the specific reported violations. The General Assembly decided “to
continue its examination of the situation," by taking up the matter at its
41st Session, with the assistance of further reports submitted by the special
representative of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">By 1986 Mr. Aguilar had submitted his resignation. The
Commission on Human Rights appointed Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl to serve as the
new special representative of the Commission, and had called on the Iranian
government to extend its cooperation in his investigation by inviting him to
visit Iran. For two years the Iranian government resisted this pressure to
cooperate, insisting that the mission represented improper influence exerted on
the Commission by various Western governments. With the assistance of one or
two other delegations, Iran was able to secure the introduction at successive
sessions of the Human Rights Commission, of procedural motions which would have
had the effect of sidetracking the case and freeing Iran from accountability.
All of these efforts failed, however, and the Human Rights Commission continued
to renew the mandate of the special representative and to press Iran on the
issue.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">By this time, political developments in Iran and the
country's deteriorating economic condition produced a change in strategy on the
part of the Iranian authorities. In 1988 it was announced that Iran would
accept the visit of Mr. Galindo Pohl and lend its assistance to his investigation.
After further delays the visit of the special representative took place from 21
to 29 January 1990.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The First Visit by the U.N.’s Special Representative</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The change in Iranian strategy included a number of steps to
reduce some of those abuses of Iranian Baha’is which had attracted particular
international protest. Beginning a year prior to the Galindo Pohl visit, the
government began a systematic release of Baha’is from the prisons and jails
where over 700 of them had been confined. While some new arrests would be made
from time to time, the general effect was to reduce sharply the number of
Baha'i prisoners. At the same time, most Baha'i parents were permitted to
re-enroll their children in the school system without having to comply with
regulations which had earlier made such re-admission dependent on the child’s
recantation of his Faith. Again, the new policy was hedged about with
significant limitations: university students, for example, were not included in
the permission. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Executions, which had aroused particularly sharp criticism
in the international media and had been the object of vehement condemnation by
foreign governments, came to a halt. The last two Baha’i victims in Iran prior
to the first visit of the special representative were Iraj Afshin and Bihnam
Pasha, both executed in 1988.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In commenting on the situation in various public statements,
the Baha’i International Community acknowledged the improvements that had taken
place in the situations of various of its members in Iran. The Community
pointed out, however, that these improvements did not affect the status of the
Baha'i community in general, nor did they include any form of religious
tolerance. The Baha'i Faith remained a proscribed religion, its shrines and
other properties confiscated, its members denied any right to practice their
Faith, and the community excluded from all constitutional rights and
protections.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The report submitted by Mr. Galindo Pohl after his visit,
while candidly acknowledging the continued disabilities and abuses experienced
by Iranian Baha'is, expressed the hope that the situation in Iran might be
moving toward a kind of general “tolerance” of the community. This view was
presumably based on statements made to the special representative by Iranian
authorities, since only one Baha'i witness was able eventually, and with
enormous difficulty, to gain access to the building where the hearings were
taking place.[27]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The Representative’s Second Visit</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Encouraged by the willingness of the Iranian government to
permit the representative's visit to take place at all, and by a number of
human rights improvements which Mr. Galindo Pohl felt he had observed, the
group of nations which had taken the lead in framing the succession of
resolutions over the past several years likewise adopted a change of strategy.
After behind-the-scenes negotiation with the Iranian delegation, the Western
group drafted a relatively mildly worded resolution, renewing the Galindo Pohl
mandate and inviting Iran to continue its cooperative stance by welcoming a
second visit by the special representative. The resolution was carried
unanimously, the Iranian delegation having indicated before the vote that it
would not oppose adoption. The willingness of the Iranian delegation to give
tacit consent to direct investigation of the situation, even where the Baha'i
concerns were specifically singled out for mention, marked an important turning
point.[28] <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The second visit occurred 9 to 15 October 1990. The
subsequent report was, however, considerably more critical of the human rights
situation in Iran than the first, concluding that "The enormous quantity
and variety of allegations and complaints received from very diverse sources,
even allowing for the fact that they may contain errors or exaggerations,
provide a credible factual basis for the belief that human rights violations
occur frequently ..." For this reason, the report urged continued
“international monitoring by the competent United Nations organs, with a view
to insuring compliance with international human rights instruments in the
Islamic Republic of Iran ..." With respect to the situation of the Baha’i
minority, the special representative said: "Many documents signed by
administrative authorities have been received, providing evidence of discrimination,
confiscation, rejection by universities, suspension of pensions, demands for
the return of pensions earned and paid, denial of passports and other
irregularities ... This keeps the Baha’is in a perpetual state of uncertainty
about their activities. The Government should therefore be requested to take
effective action to ensure that these Iranian citizens enjoy the same civil and
political rights as the rest of the population."[29]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Despite this rather somber evaluation, the delegations which
had sponsored the previous year’s resolution on Iran appear to have concluded
that the consensus strategy still offered the greatest promise of maintaining
pressure on the Iranian government and encouraging an amelioration of the human
rights situation in the country. Accordingly, after considerable negotiation,
they set aside their own proposed text of a new resolution, in favor of a
compromise draft prepared in the name of the Commission’s chairman.[30] This
resolution, which again passed without a vote, continued the mandate of the
special representative to investigate the "allegations of human rights
violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran” and once again called upon the
government of Iran “to comply with international instruments of human rights."
Significantly, this consensus text continued to single out “the situation of
the Baha'is" for particular attention, a clear signal to Iran of the
seriousness with which a large number of delegations continue to view the
Baha'i issue.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The Representative's Third Visit</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When the Commission again took up the human rights situation
in Iran, in February 1992, this pressure markedly increased. The new interim
report submitted by the special representative after his third visit in
December 1991 was still more severe in its criticism of Iran, including its
references to the Baha'i case, and much more explicit in endorsing the evidence
for the charges being made by the Baha'i International Community.[31] While
noting that there had apparently been no further executions of Baha'is and that
the number of arrests had significantly fallen, the special representative
reported that “harassment and discrimination" had persisted. He concluded
that "the documentation gathered is reliable evidence of unfair and
discriminatory treatment toward Baha'is," and made specific reference to
property confiscations, denial of university education, refusal of permits to
establish businesses, confiscation of cemeteries and places of worship,
discrimination in matters of employment, access to public services, etc. The
Commission's attention was particularly drawn to “harassment ... aimed at
forcing them (Baha'is) to recant their faith." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Against this background, the 48th session of the Commission
received from a group of eighteen nations the text of a draft resolution much
firmer than those of the preceding two years, noting the special
representative's view that "no tangible progress occurred in the Islamic
Republic of Iran regarding the better implementation of human rights,"
expressing its concern about certain specific problems, including
"discriminatory treatment of certain groups of citizens for reasons of
their religious beliefs, notably the Baha’is," and endorsing the view of
the special representative that “the international monitoring of the human
rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran should be continued."
Several other delegations associated themselves with the draft after it had
been tabled.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the face of a Commission climate which was increasingly
favoring the adoption of consensus resolutions, Iran rather unwisely pressed
the matter to a vote. The resulting Resolution, which reproduced precisely the
text of the draft, was carried by twenty-two votes to twelve, with fifteen
abstentions.[32] The mandate of the special representative was extended for a
further year, and he was asked to present an interim report to the General
Assembly at its forthcoming 47th session. Consideration of the situation in
Iran would be maintained “as a matter of priority" at the following year's
Commission session.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On 18 March 1992. for the first time since 1988, a Baha'i
prisoner was executed. Three months later another Baha'i was murdered by
members of Iran's Disciplinary Forces, and in September 1992. two more death
sentences were passed. On 27 August 1992, the 44th session of the
Sub-Commission of Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities
passed a resolution drawing attention to the renewed persecution of religious
minorities and summary killings of Baha’is.[33]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On 23 November 1992, the special representative’s report to
the United Nations General Assembly was released and, in relation to the
Baha’is, was the strongest one to date. On 18 December 1992, the United Nations
General Assembly passed a strong resolution (88 votes in favor to 16 against,
with 38 abstentions) making special reference to the treatment of the Baha’i
community and expressing regret that “the Islamic Republic of Iran has not
given adequate follow-up to many of the recommendations contained in the
previous reports.“[34] The examination of the human rights situation in Iran
would continue during the General Assembly’s 48th session in 1993.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mr. Galindo Pohl's annual report to the Commission on Human
Rights in February 1993 revealed the existence of a circular, issued on 25 February
1991 by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council and signed by President
Khamenei, outlining the government's unpublicized policy towards the Baha’i
community. According to the special representative, the “guidelines have some
slightly positive elements, in particular when they refer to the general status
of this group and the granting of work permits, ration books and passports. But
it must be observed that one rule limits all the others, namely, that which
provides that the progress and development of the Baha’is shall be
blocked."[35] While the intention to oppress the Baha'i community is
clear, the contrast with the regime's earlier practices is dramatic. That those
actions against the Bahais which embarrassed the government in international
fora would have to be curbed was made clear in the statement made by Ayatollah
Khamenei, spiritual leader of the regime, as quoted in the preamble of the
document: “in this regard, a specific policy should be devised in such a way
that everyone will understand what should or should not be done." The
original of the document carried an endorsement of the proposals in the
handwriting of Mr. Khamenei himself. The key change, embodied in the
government’s circular, was that actions taken against the Baha'is would have to
be controlled, and the most flagrant types of persecution restrained, in order
to minimize the response of the international community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On 10 March 1993 a further strong resolution was passed at
the 49th Session of the Commission on Human Rights by a margin of 22 votes to
11, with 14 abstentions, noting "that there was no appreciable progress in
the Islamic Republic of Iran towards improved compliance with human rights
standards in conformity with international instruments.“[36] Once again, the
mandate of the special representative was renewed for a year and the matter
would continue to be on the agenda of the General Assembly as a matter of
priority. The stance of the Government of Iran continued to be one of
maintaining that it respects human rights, and attributing the pressure of the
Commission to the influence of Western governments hostile to the Iranian
government.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Despite the repeated protestations by various
representatives of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran that the
Baha'i community is not being persecuted, the evidence seems to indicate that
the intentions of the regime remain the same: to suffocate the Baha'i community
while trying to minimize negative reaction from the international community.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When the case of Iran's Baha'i minority was first introduced
in the United Nations human rights system ten years ago, the community in
Bahá'u'lláh’s native land faced the threat of eventual extinction. Influential
voices in the revolutionary regime had made clear their belief that the Baha'i
Faith was a "satanic" influence, that the Baha'i community had no
place in Iran’s future, and that its members were “apostates" subject to
the death penalty if they did not recant their beliefs and convert to Islam. The
energy of the pogrom thus launched, together with the overwhelming resources
available to those who inspired it, made the threat fully credible to anyone
familiar with the situation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today, while Iran’s Baha'i community is still excluded from
the protection which the Constitution and the laws assure to other segments of
the society, and while its members suffer various forms of discrimination, the
threat to its existence has been effectively lifted. Until the 1992 execution
of Mr. Bahman Samandari, there had been no executions for four years. As of
April 1993, only 7 members of the Faith remain in prison, most Baha'i children
have been re-enrolled in school, the prevailing economic discrimination is
beginning to give way, and a small number of Baha'is have even been permitted
to travel out of the country. Baha'is continue to suffer major deprivations in
the areas of employment, retirement pensions, and access to university as well
as a renewed threat to their personal property.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The most serious disabilities under which the community
still labors are the denial of any form of freedom to practice its religion and
the refusal of the authorities to return its desecrated shrines and other
properties. It is these communal, as well as individual, human rights that are
the focus of the continuing efforts of the Baha'i International Community in
the United Nations human rights system.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The United Nations human rights system is slow and
admittedly cumbersome. Its requirements do not accord easily, if at all, with
simultaneous recourse to the familiar weapons of political partisanship. As the
case of Iran's Baha’i minority convincingly demonstrates, however, it
constitutes an enormous leap forward in the world's efforts to protect the
human rights of oppressed people. In the view of Baha’is everywhere it
represents humanity’s best hope in this vital field of concern.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Notes</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">1. Michael M. J. Fischer. Iran: From Religious Dispute to
Revolution (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1980), 281.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">2. Richard W. Cottam. Nationalism in Iran (University of
Pittsburgh Press. 1979). 88.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">3. Prior to the Islamic revolution there were an estimated
400,000 Baha'is in Iran. The most recent (1978) census figures indicate that
Iran has about 30,000 Christians, 80,000 Jews, and 30,000 Zoroastrians: Europa
Year Book. 1989. 425-453. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">4. The Báb (lit., "Door“ or "Gate." i.e., of
the expected universal revelation) was born 'Ali-Muhammad, in Shiraz on 20
October 1819.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">5. The Báb referred to this figure as “He Whom God will make
manifest." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">6. Bahá’u’lláh (lit., “Glory of God") was born
Husayn-'Ali, a member of a noble family, in Teheran on 12 November 1817. It was
the Báb who first formally addressed him as “Bahá’u’lláh.“ <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">7. Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahà'u'lláh,
(Wilmette: Baha'i Publishing Trust. 1976), 250.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">8. Baha'is regard the League of Nations and the United
Nations Organization as initial stages in the gradual establishment of world
government. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">9. The Six Year Plan 1986-1992: Summary of Achievements
(Haifa: Baha'i World Centre. 1993). 111-114. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">10. Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year. 1992, shows
the Baha'i Faith, despite its relatively small membership, as one of the most
widely diffused religions on earth, second only to Christianity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">11. For a more detailed treatment of the subject see Douglas
Martin, The Persecution of the Bahà'is of Iran. 1844-1984 (Association for
Baha'i Studies. Ottawa. 1984), 15-29. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">12. The two administrations referred to are those of Prime
Minister Mehdi Bazargan, appointed by the Ayatollah Khomeini immediately
following the revolution, and President Abol-Hassan Bani-Sadr, elected at the
beginning of 1980, but overthrown and forced to flee in June, 1981.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">13. In an interview with Professor James Cockroft of Rutgers
University, published in Seven Days. 23 February 1979. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">14. Yusuf Subhani, a highly regarded member of the Teheran
Bahà'i community. was executed on 27 June 1980. To date, a total of 162 Iranian
Baha'is have been executed, an additional 27 have been killed while in
government custody, and 26 have been killed by mobs. The great majority of the
victims were members of the national or local Spiritual Assemblies, clearly
chosen in a campaign intended to destroy the community’s elected leadership.
The Baha'i Faith has no clergy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">15. For detailed documentation of these abuses see the
successive submissions made by the Bahâ’i International Community to United
Nations human rights agencies. See also a detailed study of the persecutions in
Douglas Martin, Persecution, 31-66.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">16. See New York Times, 21 July 1980; The Times, London. 15
July and 30 August 1980; Le Monde. 29 August 1980: The Sunday Statesman. New
Delhi. 20 July 1980; Newsweek, 24 March 1980.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">17. See for example, statements of the Iranian embassy in
Buenos Aires (26 September 1979). and the Iranian consulate in Manchester,
England (21 September 1979). Similar charges were made on PBS’s
"McNeil-Lehrer Report." 12 February 1980, by Mansour Farhang, the
regime’s spokesman and later representative at the United Nations. Farhang subsequently
rebroke with the regime and repudiated his allegations against the Iranian
Baha'i community (The Nation, 27 February 1982), claiming that he had been
misled by what he now regarded as a “fascist totalitarian ideology" that
had seized control of his country.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">18. The organization that took the lead in this campaign was
the Mujah-hidin-Khalq (Islamic Marxists). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">19. Nabil-i-A'zam,
The Dawn-breakers: Nabil’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahà’i Revelation
(New York: Baha'i Publishing Committee. 1932), xxxv.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">20. Hamid Algar. Religion and State in Iran: 1785-1906
(Berkeley: University of California Press. 1969). 151. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">21. "The Baha'i International Community" is a
Non-Governmental Organization holding consultative status with ECOSOC and
UNICEF. It collaborates with a range of other United Nations agencies in
various social and economic development projects throughout the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">22. 'Note by the Secretary-General," No. E/CN.4/1517.
31 December 1981. and "Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1982/27 on the
Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran." 11 March 1982.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">23. See scries of articles in Le Monde, 30 December 1981,
1.5. 8. 9 January 1982. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">24. Khobar i-Junub, Shiraz. 22 February 1983. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">25. After announcing the ban, the statement of the
prosecutor-general goes on to say: “If a Baha’i himself performs his religious
acts in accordance with his own beliefs, such a man will not be bothered by us,
provided he does not invite others to the Baha’i Faith, does not teach, does
not form assemblies, does not give news to others, and has nothing to do with
the administration.“ (Kayhan. 21 September 1983).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">26. "Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1984/54 on
the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran." 14 March
1984.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">27. "Report on the Human Rights Situation in the
Islamic Republic of Iran by the Special Representative of the Commission on
Human Rights ... pursuant to Commission resolution I989/66- No. E/CN.4/1990/24.
12 February 1990.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">28. "Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1990/79 on
the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran." 7 March
1990. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">29. “Report of the Economic and Social Council. Situation of
Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Note by the Secretary-General.”
No. A/45/697. 6 November 1990. 17.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">30. “Commission
on Human Rights Resolution 1991/82 on the Situation of Human Rights in the
Islamic Republic of Iran." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">31. "Report
on the Human Rights Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Special
Representative of the Commission on Human Rights ... pursuant to Commission
Resolution 1991." No. E/CN.4/1992/34. 2 January 1992.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">32. Commission on Human Rights Resolution 1992. on the
Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. 3 March 1992.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">33. Resolution No. E/CN.4/Sub.2/RES/1992/15. 27 August 1992.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">34. Resolution 47/146 of the United Nations General
Assembly. 18 December 1992. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">35. Final Report on the Situation of Human Rights in the
Islamic Republic of Iran by the Special Representative of the Commission on
Human Rights. Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, pursuant to Commission Resolution
1992/67 of 4 March 1992.’ No. E/CN.4/1993/41. 28 January 1993.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">36. Resolution E/CN.4/RES/1992/62 of the Commission on Human
Rights. 10 March 1993.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(The Baha'i World 1992-1993)</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-11139259075634579802022-10-09T04:59:00.025-07:002023-08-06T05:32:32.656-07:00Letter from May Maxwell to Mason Remey – describing how Thomas Breakwell became a Baha’i<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEjVii7_VyX3NoJU9yDqMRqK_s4IgHu7SpgSVOUeLrvsBcdkTM5x2xFe94k-X4yBdxiVUeihbFJUNCMroXuPUfxTP4kWHZrJExwRcrCegh7iwKJ6gKg8I23lrUcj0_fN4ZGSL2UN03RQGEsWCO4Vt288O0JxHug2yLbWbSz2VqZr4xJdikEMNDcbmd1pl/s525/May%20Maxwell-a.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="397" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYEjVii7_VyX3NoJU9yDqMRqK_s4IgHu7SpgSVOUeLrvsBcdkTM5x2xFe94k-X4yBdxiVUeihbFJUNCMroXuPUfxTP4kWHZrJExwRcrCegh7iwKJ6gKg8I23lrUcj0_fN4ZGSL2UN03RQGEsWCO4Vt288O0JxHug2yLbWbSz2VqZr4xJdikEMNDcbmd1pl/w205-h271/May%20Maxwell-a.png" width="205" /></a></div>Montreal, Canada, Dec. 3, 1913<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dear Bahai brother:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">. . . Regarding <a href="https://bahaiheoresheroines.blogspot.com/2009/12/thomas-breakwell-abdul-bahas-dear-one.html"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Thomas Breakwell</span></a>, you will remember the year
and the month that he came to me in Paris. when I was staying with Mrs.
Jackson. I do not remember the date but I remember all the facts. Early in the
spring my mother had written to ‘Abdu’l-Baha asking permission for me to leave
when she and my brother would be leaving to spend the summer in Brittany. A
Tablet had come in reply in which this permission was refused and ‘Abdu’l-Baha
said as far as it was possible, not to absent myself from Paris at all. Then
Mirza-Abul-Fazl wrote explaining the circumstances to him and asking for
permission for me to leave. But the time came for my mother and brother to
leave the city and the permission had not yet come. They closed the apartment
and I went to stay with Mrs. Jackson.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">During that month I spent in Paris we had wonderful
meetings, Mons. Dreyfus and others received the teachings at that time. I had
known, the previous winter, a Mrs. Milner who was a friend of Lillian James.
She had gone to America and returned and on the steamer coming back she had met
Thomas Breakwell. She had told him nothing of the teachings, but had spoken of
me as a special friend in Paris, whom she wished to have him meet, and the day
after they arrived in Paris, she brought him to my little apartment at Mrs.
Jackson's.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I shall never forget opening the door and seeing him
standing there. It was like looking at a veiled light. I saw at once his pure
heart, his burning spirit, his thirsty soul, and over all was cast the veil
which is over every soul until it is rent asunder by the power of God in this
day. As I opened the door, Mrs. Milner said "he was a stranger and she
took him in," then when we were seated she told me that he was a young
Englishman who had been living in the southern states of America and that he
was a Theosophist.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He stayed a short time. As he was leaving, he said that Mrs.
Milner had told him that I had received some teachings which had had a great
effect on my life and although he was only going to be in Paris a few days, he
would like to call to see me and hear what I could tell him. We made an
appointment for the following morning and then he left.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At the appointed hour next day he arrived, his eyes shining,
his face illumined, his voice vibrating under the stress of great emotion. He
looked at me very intently and then said: "I have come to you to help me.
Yesterday after I left you, I walked alone down the boulevard and suddenly some
great force nearly swept me off my feet. I stood still as though awaiting
something and a voice announced to me distinctly 'Christ has come!'" Then
he said, "What do you think this means?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then I gave him the Message and teachings from the beginning
and the veil that I had seen over him disappeared. He was like a blazing light.
Such was his capacity, that he received the Message in all its fulness and all
its strength and beauty within three days and on the third day he wrote his
supplication to ‘Abdu’l-Baha which in its force and simplicity I have never
seen equalled: "My Lord! I believe; forgive me. Thy servant, Thomas Breakwell."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That evening I went to the rue du Bac to get my mail and
found a cablegram which had just arrived, saying, "You may leave
Paris" Signed "Abbas." When, the next day, my heart filled with
gratitude, I joined my mother and brother beside the sea and told my mother all
that had happened, she burst into tears and said, "You have a wonderful
Master."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I could write you pages about the beloved Thomas Breakwell;
of the fire of love burning in his heart when he returned from Acca, of his
penetrating spiritual power in our midst, of the light of servitude and
sacrifice which burned so brilliantly in his soul; but you know all this even
better than I. I only want to add that his kindness and love to my mother during
those days in Paris produced a great effect on her and that he was always a joy
and a consolation to her during that period of her life before she understood
the glory of this Cause. I have always felt that Thomas Breakwell was the first
of the Paris believers to receive the confirmation of the Holy Spirit and the
fire of the Love of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am yours in servitude to the Center of the Covenant!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">May Maxwell</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 19, March 2, 1915)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-66067598956423376362022-07-20T08:46:00.003-07:002023-05-20T19:56:45.412-07:00Táhirih's Message to the Modern World - by Martha Root<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wL3FW2m2os7MlEule7r3CrUo5eQR_eub8nJL6IBB5gVoMB1g6JPFu2O0KSWe3syxVsheIxrP3f19hBcR5nEnrY1bgDIRpjq3RQ6jS_KqKXF4abPqHqCQPtYbhUyJBuKAh9qa6aoehmQgUmjDqBuSIWeKAHFdOnu4cU_NBr2KUWsjfC0UR3V-hT5jgg/s882/Martha%20Root-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="483" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-wL3FW2m2os7MlEule7r3CrUo5eQR_eub8nJL6IBB5gVoMB1g6JPFu2O0KSWe3syxVsheIxrP3f19hBcR5nEnrY1bgDIRpjq3RQ6jS_KqKXF4abPqHqCQPtYbhUyJBuKAh9qa6aoehmQgUmjDqBuSIWeKAHFdOnu4cU_NBr2KUWsjfC0UR3V-hT5jgg/w161-h294/Martha%20Root-1.jpg" width="161" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">[Transcript of a radio address, Sunday April 21, 1940]</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am happy to speak to you this evening about one of the
greatest young women in the world, one of the most spiritual, one of the
greatest poets of Iran, and the first woman of her time in Central Asia to lay
aside the veil and work for the equal education of the girl and the boy. She
was the first suffrage martyr in Central Asia. The woman suffrage movement did
not begin with Mrs. Pankhurst in the West, but with Táhirih, also often called
Qurratu’l-‘Ayn of Iran. She was born in Qazvín, Persia, in 1817.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Picture to your mind one of the most beautiful young women
of Iran, a genius, a poet, the most learned scholar of the Qur’an and the
traditions, for she was born in a Muhammadan country; think of her as the
daughter of a jurist family of letters, daughter of the greatest high priest of
her province and very rich, enjoying high rank, living in an artistic palace,
and distinguished among her young friends for her boundless, immeasurable
courage. Picture what it must mean for a young woman like this, still in her
twenties, to arise for the equality of men and women, in a country where, at
that time, the girl was not allowed to learn to read and write!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Journal Asiatic of 1866 presents a most graphic view of
Táhirih, the English translation of which is this: “How a woman, a creature so
weak in Iran, and above all in a city like Qazvín where the clergy possess such
a powerful influence, where the ‘Ulamás, the priests, because of their number
and importance and power hold the attention of the government officials and of
the people, how can it be that in such a country and district and under such
unfavourable conditions a woman could have organized such a powerful party of
heretics? It is unparalleled in past history.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As I said, in her day girls were not permitted to learn to
read and write, but Táhirih had such a brilliant mind, and as a child was so
eager for knowledge that her father, one of the most learned mullás of Irán,
taught her himself and later had a teacher for her. This was most unusual, for
in her day girls had no educational opportunities. She outdistanced her
brothers in her progress and passed high in all examinations. Because she was a
woman they would not give her a degree. Her father often said what a pity she
had not been born a son, for then she could have followed in his career as a
great mullá of the Empire.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Táhirih was married when she was thirteen years old to her
cousin, the son of the Imám-Juma, a great mullá who leads the prayers at the
mosque on Fridays. She had three children, two sons and one daughter. She
became a very great poet and was deeply spiritual, she was always studying
religion, always seeking for truth. She became profoundly interested in the
teachings of Shaykh Ahmad Ahsá’í and Siyyid Kázím Rashti, who were liberalists
and said great spiritual reforms would come. Her father was very angry with her
because she read their books and her father-in-law was too. But she continued
to study their books and she heard about the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, and their
teachings for universal peace and the equal education of the girl and the boy.
She believed in these principles whole-heartedly and declared herself a
believer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This great young woman of Qazvín laid aside the veil which
Muslim women wear; she didn’t put it aside altogether, but she many times let
it slip from her face when she lectured. But she declared that women should not
wear the veil, should not be isolated, but should have equal rights and
opportunities. She quoted her great teacher, Bahá’u’lláh, that man and woman
are as the two wings of the bird of humanity, and this bird of humanity cannot
attain its highest, most perfect flight until the two wings are equally poised,
equally balanced. She was too far ahead of her time, and like other pioneers of
great progressive movements, she was imprisoned. Instead of putting her into
jail, they made her a prisoner in the home of the Kalantar, that means the
Mayor of Tihrán. Here several poets and some of the greatest women of the
capital came to call, and every one was charmed by her presence. The Sháh of
Persia sent for her to be brought to his palace, and when he saw her he said:
“I like her looks, leave her and let her be.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Násiri’d-Dín-Sháh, the ruler, sent her a letter asking her
to give up her very advanced ideas and telling her if she did, he would make
her his bride, the greatest lady in the land. On the back of his letter she
wrote her reply in verse declining his magnificently royal offer. Her words
were:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kingdom, wealth and ruling be for thee,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wandering, becoming a poor dervish and calamity be for me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If that station is good, let it be for thee.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And if this station is bad, I long for it, let it be for me!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU01217fs82eg4DyRkZB3iYi8x_GbDRPZkzwp613b81EKg-5ABcp_TjKj5hQedRQj6bYL10k314BrmvmNPWDeGFjwlvhEaHheTLzUdTk04SqahrInnLCUCDqNG9g8rRhQ4LANbEJBCaUzNDz9MEy89yFoAttEpBrLzvX41VG0xZbOa9VVLZwAv2uzfLw/s1024/House%20of%20Kalantar%20where%20Tahirih%20was%20confined-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="1024" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU01217fs82eg4DyRkZB3iYi8x_GbDRPZkzwp613b81EKg-5ABcp_TjKj5hQedRQj6bYL10k314BrmvmNPWDeGFjwlvhEaHheTLzUdTk04SqahrInnLCUCDqNG9g8rRhQ4LANbEJBCaUzNDz9MEy89yFoAttEpBrLzvX41VG0xZbOa9VVLZwAv2uzfLw/w279-h201/House%20of%20Kalantar%20where%20Tahirih%20was%20confined-1.jpg" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">The house of the Kalantar in Tihran</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">She was a prisoner in the Mayor’s home for more than three
years and during all this time the women of Irán came to love her more and
more, and all people were enchanted with her poetry, and many came to believe
as she did, that this is the dawn of a great new universal epoch when we must
work for the oneness of mankind, for the independent investigation of truth,
for the unity of religions and for the education of the girl equally with that of
the boy. The orthodox clergy were afraid of these new progressive ideals and as
they were the power behind the government, it was decided to put Ṭáhirih to
death. They had to do it secretly because they knew how many hundreds of the
most important people in Ṭihrán loved her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">They decided upon September 15, 1852, for her death. With
her prophetic soul she must have divined it for she wrote in one of her poems:
“At the gates of my heart I behold the feet and the tents of hosts of
calamity.” That morning she took an elaborate bath, used rosewater, dressed
herself in her best white dress. She said good-bye to everyone in the house,
telling them that in the evening she was leaving to go on a long journey. After
that she said she would like to be alone, and she spent the day, as they said,
talking softly to herself, but we know she was praying. They came for her at
night and she said to them, “I am ready!” The Mayor had them throw his own
cloak about her so that no one would recognize her, and they put her upon his
own horse. In a roundabout way through smaller streets they took her to a
garden and had her wait in a servant’s room on the ground floor. The official
called a servant and ordered him to go and kill the woman downstairs. He went
but when Táhirih spoke to him he was so touched by her sweetness and holiness,
that he refused to strangle her, and carried the handkerchief again upstairs.
The official dismissed him, called a very evil servant, gave him liquor to
drink, then handed him a bag of gold as a present, put the handkerchief into
his hands and said, “Go down and kill that woman below and do not let her speak
to you.” The servant rushed in, brutally strangled her with the handkerchief,
kicked her and while she was still living threw her into a dry well and filled
it up with stones.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But they could not bury her there! Her influence had gone
around the whole world. Táhirih, Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, has become immortal in the
minds of millions of men and women, and her spirit of love and heroism will be
transmitted to millions yet unborn.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I should like to explain to you what her names mean. One of
her teachers, Kázím Rashti gave her the name of Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, which means
“Consolation of the Eyes,” because she was so young, so beautiful, so
spiritual. Bahá’u’lláh gave her the name Táhirih, which means “The Pure One.”
While still in the twenties she began to preach the equal rights of men and
women, she was martyred at the age of thirty-six years, and yet today,
eighty-seven years after her cruel martyrdom, the women of Irán and of many
other countries of the Islámic world no longer are allowed to wear the veil,
and girls are receiving education. She did not die in vain. Táhirih’s
courageous deathless personality forever will stand out against the background
of eternity, for she gave her life for her sister women. The sweet perfume of
her heroic selflessness is diffused in the whole five continents. People of all
religions and of none, all races, all classes, all humanity, cherish the memory
of Táhirih and weep tears of love and longing when her great poems are chanted.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When I was in Vienna, Austria, a few years ago, I had an
interview with the mother of the President of Austria, Mrs. Marinna Hainisch,
the woman who has done most for woman’s education in Austria, that nation of
great culture. Mrs. Hainisch established the first high schools for girls in
her land. She told me that the inspiration of all her lifework had been Táhirih
of Irán. Mrs. Hainisch said: “I was a young girl, only seventeen years old when
I heard of the martyrdom of Táhirih, and I said, ‘I shall try to do for the
girls of Austria what Táhirih tried to do and gave her life to do, for the
girls of Irán.’” She told me: “I was married, and my husband too, was only
seventeen; everybody was against education for girls, but my young husband
said: ‘If you wish to work for the education of girls, you can.’” I mentioned
this interview over in Aligrah, India, a short time ago when I spoke to the
university students at the home of Professor Habíb, and at the close of my talk
another guest of honor arose, a woman professor of Calcutta University, and
asked if she could speak a few words. She said, “I am Viennese, I was born in
Vienna and I wish to say that Mrs. Marinna Hainisch established the first
college for the higher education of girls in Austria and I was graduated from
the college.” This is a proof of the influence of Táhirih. Mrs. Hainisch had
said to me, “It is so easy for you, Miss Root, to go all around the world and
be given the opportunity to speak on the equal education of the girl and the
boy. It was so hard for me to interest people in this new idea in my day, but I
remembered Táhirih and I tried. Poor Táhirih had to die for these very ideals
which today the world accepts!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When I was in Cawnpore, India, and spoke in a girls’ college
on Táhirih’s life the founder and the donor of that great college arose and
said: “It is my hope that every girl in this school will become a Táhirih of
India.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sir Rai Bahadur Sapru of Allahabad, one of India’s greatest
lawyers, said to me: “I love Táhirih’s poems so much that I Have named my
favorite little granddaughter Táhirih. I have tried for years to get her poems,
and now today you give them to me.” When I was in the Pemberton Club in London
one evening, a well known publisher said to me: “I shall get Táhirih’s poems
collected and publish them at a great price.” But he could never get them. I
should like to tell you, dear listeners on the air, that the day after the
martyrdom of Táhirih, the authorities burned her clothing, her books, her
poems, her birth certificate; they tried to wipe out every trace of her life;
but other people had some of her poems, and a friend of mine worked for years
to gather them together, copied them in longhand and gave them to me as a
present when I was in Irán in 1930. Another friend in India, Mr. Isfandiar K.
B. Bakhtiari of Karachi, has twice published one thousand copies of these poems
for people in India. In my book Táhirih the Pure, Irán’s Greatest Woman,
published July, 1938, I included her poems and published three thousand copies.
Two of these poems are translated into English, but the original poems are all
in the Persian language. They would be very beautiful sung in the Persian
language over your radio.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Professor Edward G. Browne of Cambridge University, in his
book A Traveller’s Narrative, wrote: “The appearance of such a woman as
Táhirih, Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, is in any country and in any age a rare phenomenon,
but in such a country as Persia it is a prodigy, nay, almost a miracle. Alike
in virtue of her marvelous beauty, her rare intellectual gifts, her fervid
eloquence, her fearless devotion and her glorious martyrdom, she stands forth
incomparable amidst her countrywomen. Had the Bábí religion no other claim to
greatness, this were sufficient, that it produced a heroine like
Qurratu’l-‘Ayn.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And now dear listeners, that we have heard of Táhirih,
Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, this first woman suffrage martyr, this first woman in Central
Asia to work for the education of girls, what will our own endeavors show forth
in this twentieth century?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today you have equal education for girls and boys in
Australia, and you have suffrage for women; but you in Australia and we in the
United States and in all other parts of the globe are born into this world to
work for universal peace, disarmament, a world court and a strong international
police force to ensure arbitration. We are born into this world to work for
universal education, a universal auxiliary language, for unity in religion and
for the oneness of mankind. Our lives, our world, need strong spiritual
foundations, and one of the finest traits of Táhirih, and one that helped the
world most, was her fidelity in searching for truth! She began as a little girl
and continued until the very day of her passing from this world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">O Táhirih, you have not passed out, you have only passed on!
Your spiritual, courageous life will forever inspire, ennoble and refine
humanity; your songs of the spirit will be treasured in innumerable hearts. You
are to this day our living, thrilling teacher!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Bahá'í World, Vol. 8, 1938-1940]</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-17183325934301667942022-04-20T07:59:00.001-07:002023-03-01T08:09:04.152-08:00The Guardian and the East – by Hand of the Cause Ali-Akbar Furutan<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2FnzYKw9EjBS3I2rHIfXzOxOb1f4YWsbkGMp5Oz6KV7g7hD9H0uWa8ay4IRyEjyPv8ewB_isGrv5AFhHLvbKRruDD1nD8tnaslXZyHQX3vu35WNJfuc-Y1XbaDUHht2fweqnCZQgMDEtxKk1F-98W4AUqGWRdDc2g2EOtYBIcp0XWJ8EnVVdlTBKqtg/s1024/Ali%20Akbar%20Furutan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="742" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2FnzYKw9EjBS3I2rHIfXzOxOb1f4YWsbkGMp5Oz6KV7g7hD9H0uWa8ay4IRyEjyPv8ewB_isGrv5AFhHLvbKRruDD1nD8tnaslXZyHQX3vu35WNJfuc-Y1XbaDUHht2fweqnCZQgMDEtxKk1F-98W4AUqGWRdDc2g2EOtYBIcp0XWJ8EnVVdlTBKqtg/w217-h300/Ali%20Akbar%20Furutan.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>This servant twice had the bounty of going to the Holy Land,
achieving his heart's desire by attaining the presence of the beloved Guardian
of the Cause of God. This privilege has been and will ever be a source of great
pride and joy for me in both this world and in the world to come.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After the passing of the beloved Master, the Mystery of God,
the mantle of authority fell on Shoghi Effendi, who was the "most
distinguished branch," "the Priceless Pearl," "the
interpreter of the Word of God" and His "Sign on earth." It was
he who was charged, through the provision of the Will and Testament of the
Center of the Covenant of the Ancient Beauty with the leadership of the people
of Baha in both the East and the West. It was he who, during thirty-six years
of Guardianship took the Cause of God to such heights of ascendancy as to
astonish all people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this essay, this servant wishes to describe briefly the
conditions of the beloved friends in Iran and its neighboring countries, and to
review the achievements of the Cause after the passing of 'Abdu'l-Baha, during
the Guardianship of Shoghi Effendi. Thus, it will become clearer to the reader
what bounty, what felicity and honor there is in being under the protecting
shade of the Center of the Covenant of the Almighty.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When Shoghi Effendi assumed the office of Guardianship in
1922, only one spiritual assembly, known as the "Spiritual Assembly of
Tehran," existed in Iran, the cradle of the Cause of God, and that
assembly had been founded at the instruction of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Fifteen notable believers
of the capital and four Hands of the Cause God comprised its membership. In
Russian Turkistan, in the cities of Ishqabad and Marv, and in the Caucasia in
Badklibih there also existed a spiritual assembly that attended to the affairs
of the friends there.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In his first message addressed to the believers in Iran,
written in his own handwriting and matchless style, the beloved Guardian thus
addressed the friends in Iran: ''Adequate and appropriate guidelines for the
election and establishment of the Universal House of Justice will be made
available to the friends after consultation and a complete study of the
matter." Also in his weighty message of 1922, he stated: " ... it is
my bounden duty, while consulting with the friends and relying upon God, to
devote my thoughts and energy to making the necessary provisions for the
establishment of that Body which, in the future, will resolve the most complex
issues and legislate on all matters not explicitly revealed in the book, as
well as elucidating on abstruse subjects .... "</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thereafter, in numerous messages he graciously shared with
the friends detailed instructions for the establishment and functioning of
spiritual assemblies in every city and village, in full conformity with the
administrative principles. Local spiritual assemblies were to refer important
matters to the Central Spiritual Assembly of Tehran-which at that time
functioned as the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran. The Central Assembly of
Tehran was to refer to the Holy Land those matters that it deemed were beyond
its authority and competence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">From this point forward, i.e., 1922, the beloved Guardian
started direct communication with Baha'i centers in Iran, whether large cities
or small villages, and in all his weighty messages guided the friends of the
Merciful to the establishment of spiritual assemblies. Like a skilled and
loving teacher, he would expound and elaborate on the subject for his students
until gradually the friends became familiar with Baha'u'llah's Administrative
Order and learned the fundamental principles for establishing spiritual
assemblies based on the revealed teachings. Thus, they gradually learned to put
these teachings into practice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The beloved Guardian followed the same approach for the
friends in India, Pakistan, Burma, Egypt, Sudan, Russian Turkistan, and Turkey,
encouraging and guiding them, in numerous messages, to strengthen the
foundation of the New Order and to form local spiritual assemblies - to which
he had referred as the pillars of future national spiritual assemblies. At the
same time, in his weighty messages he directed the friends to teach the Baha'i
Faith, shun the covenant-breakers, educate the children and youth, cling to
praiseworthy conduct, avoid moral degradation, live pure and sanctified lives,
and become detached from all save God. Thus, over a number of years, he
prepared the Baha'i communities in the East for the establishment of national
spiritual assemblies - which are the mighty pillars of God's Supreme House of
Justice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Among the important achievements in Iran and neighboring
countries during Shoghi Effendi's Guardianship the following can be listed:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">• The direction of the friends and spiritual assemblies to
gather the sacred Writings and to dispatch their originals and verified copies
to the Holy Land for authentication; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">• The firm establishment of a system of statistics and a
local register of believers; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">• The focus of the immediate attention of the friends on the
ordinances of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the provisions of the Will and Testament of
'Abdu'l-Baha and the complete avoidance of the covenant-breakers who persisted
in trying to wreck the foundation of the Cause of God· <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">• As a result of the beloved Guardian's indefatigable
efforts (I personally heard the Guardian, during my pilgrimage, say that he
worked twenty hours a day, resting only four hours), the establishment of
national spiritual assemblies in the following countries in preparation for the
formation of the Universal House of Justice: India, Pakistan, and Burma (1923);
Egypt and the Sudan (1924); Iraq (1932); Iran (1934). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Guardian's other significant accomplishments and
influence include:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Founding
the editorial board of Baha'i News in Iran (Tehran) in 1923;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Membership
of women, in the East, on local and national spiritual assemblies in 1954;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Letter
from the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada addressed
to Reza Shah - at the request of the Guardian - explaining the Baha’i
principles and requesting the release of the Baha'is in Iran from the fetters
of religious orthodoxy;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Commission
of Martha Root to travel in Iran to meet with those in authority in an effort to
dispel their misunderstandings about the Baha'i Faith;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Appointment of Keith Ransom-Kehler as a special envoy to Iran to meet with
prominent people and government officials in an effort to curtail the
persecution of the believers in that land. (Mrs. Ransom-Kehler passed away in
Isfahan);</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Instruct1on
of the Iranian community to send travel teachers to Iraq and Turkish Kurdistan;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Issuance
of clear and unmistakable directions for the observance of the Nineteen-Day
Feasts in accordance with the provisions of the administrative order;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stress on
the vital necessity of contributing to the Fund;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Place1ment
of particular emphasis on the education of youth and children and teaching them
the Arabic language;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Numerous
weighty messages pointing out the necessity of pioneering - primarily out of
Iran to distant lands and secondarily to towns and villages away from Tehran -
clearly directing the friends to disperse from population centers.</span></li></ul><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As a result of these repeated instructions, a large number
of Iranian fiends succeeded in pioneering out of Iran to countries in Europe,
Latin America, Asia, Australia, and North America in an effort to enhance the
progress of the Cause of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Any effort on my part would fail to explain adequately the
accomplishments of the beloved Guardian, much like the feeble attempt of an
ignorant person who may fondly imagine that he or she can contain an ocean in a
small cup. However, what I have tried to do is to convey a glimpse of the
untiring efforts of the beloved Guardian. The steadfastness, sacrifices and
martyrdoms of the Iranian friends (which are now well known the world over by
young and old alike and which brings tears of sadness to us all) were all the
result of thirty-six years of divine education and training under the
leadership of the beloved Guardian. Praise be to God that we have at a time
when the wish of the beloved Guardian for the establishment of the Supreme
House of Justice has been fulfilled. That which the Sign of God on earth had
foretold and disclosed to the vision of the Iranian friends in 1932 was
fulfilled in 1963. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(‘Vision of Shoghi Effendi’, Proceedings of the Association
for the Baha’i Studies Ninth Annual Conference, November 2-4, 1984, Ottawa,
Canada)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-69073015869616009862022-02-14T23:14:00.001-08:002023-02-20T23:18:48.573-08:00The Challenge and Promise of Bahá'í Scholarship - by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, 1981<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>[This memorandum was referenced in a letter written on behalf
of the Universal House of Justice dated 3 January 1979 to the Participants in
the Baha'i Studies Seminar held in Cambridge on 30 September and 1 October
1978; 'Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986'. It was published in the Bahá'í World, vol. 17, pages 195-196.]</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bahá'í scholarship is of great importance in the development
and consolidation of the Bahá’í community. Historical research, orientalism and
Islamic studies are obvious fields in which Bahá’ís can render great service to
the Faith; there are many others. Indeed, it is not difficult to visualize the
House of Justice, as Baha’u’llah's World Order unfolds, requiring the services
of distinguished Bahá’í scientists in all fields.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Inevitably a number of problems will confront Bahá’í
scholars, who will themselves have to discover the solutions, both empirically
and otherwise. Nonetheless it may be useful to offer at this early stage of the
development of Bahá’í scholarship a few thoughts on these matters.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It has become customary in the West to think of science and
religion as occupying two distinct — and even opposed — areas of human thought
and activity. This dichotomy can be characterized in the pairs of antitheses:
faith and reason; value and fact. It is a dichotomy which is foreign to Bahá’í
thought and should be regarded with suspicion by Bahá’í’ scholars in every
field. The principle of the harmony of science and religion means not only that
religious teachings should be studied in the light of reason and evidence as
well as of faith and inspiration, but also that everything in creation, all
aspects of human life and knowledge, should be studied in the light of
revelation as well as in that of purely rational investigation. In other words,
a Bahá’í scholar, when studying a subject, should not lock out of his mind any
aspect of truth that is known to him.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It has, for example, become commonplace to regard religion
as the product of human striving after truth, as the outcome of certain
climates of thought and conditions of society. This has been taken, by many
non-Bahá’í’ thinkers, to the extreme of denying altogether the reality or even
the possibility of a specific revelation of the Will of God to mankind through
a human Mouthpiece. A Bahá’í who has studied the Teachings of Baha’u’llah, who
has accepted His claim to be the Manifestation of God for this Age, and who has
seen His Teachings at work in his daily life, knows as the result of rational investigation,
confirmed by actual experience, that true religion, far from being the product
solely of human striving after truth, is the fruit of the creative Word of God
which, with divine power, transforms human thought and action.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A Bahá’í, through this faith in, this ‘conscious knowledge’
of, the reality of divine Revelation, can distinguish, for instance, between
Christianity, which is the divine message given by Jesus of Nazareth, and the
development of Christendom, which is the history of what men did with that
message in subsequent centuries; a distinction which has become blurred if not
entirely obscured in current Christian theology. A Bahá’í scholar conscious of
this distinction will not make the mistake of regarding the sayings and beliefs
of certain Bahá’ís at any one time as being the Bahá’í Faith. The Bahá’í Faith
is the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh: His Own Words as interpreted by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
and the Guardian. It is a revelation of such staggering magnitude that no
Bahá’í at this early stage in Bahá’í history can rightly claim to have more
than a partial and imperfect understanding of it. Thus, Bahá’í historians would
see the overcoming of early misconceptions held by the Bahá’í community, or by
parts of the Bahá’í community, not as ‘developments of the Bahá’í Faith’ — as a
non-Bahá’í’ historian might well regard them — but as growth of that
community‘s understanding of the Bahá’í Revelation. In scientific
investigation, when searching after the facts of any matter, a Bahá’í must, of
course. be entirely open-minded, but in his interpretation of the facts and his
evaluation of evidence we do not see by what logic he can ignore the truth of
the Bahá’í Revelation which he has already accepted; to do so would, we feel,
be both hypocritical and unscholarly.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Undoubtedly the fact that Bahá’í scholars of the history and
teachings of the Faith, believe in the Faith, will be a grave flaw in the eyes
of many non-Bahá’í academics whose own dogmatic materialism passes without
comment because it is fashionable; but this difficulty is one that Bahá’í
scholars share with their fellow believers in many fields of human endeavour,
and the Bahá’í principle of the harmony of religion and science compels all
Bahá’ís to protect themselves from the prevalent diseases resulting from the
divorce of faith and reason.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The sundering of science and religion is but one example of
the tendency of the human mind (which is necessarily limited in its capacity)
to concentrate on one virtue, one aspect of truth, one goal, to the exclusion
of others. This leads, in extreme cases, to fanaticism and the distortion of
truth, and in all cases to some degree of imbalance and inaccuracy. A scholar
who is imbued with an understanding of the broad teachings of the Faith will
always remember that being a scholar does not exempt him from the primal duties
and purposes for which all human beings are created. Not scholars alone, but
all men are exhorted to seek out and uphold the truth, no matter how
uncomfortable it may be. But they are also exhorted to be wise in their
utterance, to be tolerant of the views of others, to be courteous in their
behaviour and speech, not to sow the seeds of doubt in faithful hearts, to look
at the good rather than at the bad, to avoid conflict and contention, to be
reverent, to be faithful to the Covenant of God, to promote His Faith and
safeguard its honour, and to educate their fellow men, giving milk to babes and
meat to those who are stronger.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Scholarship has a high station in the Bahá’í teachings, and
Bahá’í scholars have a great responsibility to a growing, divinely-guided world
society. The ascertainment of truth and the acquisition of a fuller
understanding of the subjects of their scholarship are worthy and high
endeavours. But Bahá’u’lláh has seen fit to dwell at some length on the way to
offer the fruits of scholarship and expose error:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Thou hast written that one of the friends hath composed a
treatise. This was mentioned in the Holy Presence, and this is what was
revealed in response: Great care should be exercised that whatever is written
in these days doth not cause dissension, and invite the objection of the
people. Whatever the friends of the One true God say in these days is listened
to by the people of the world. It hath been revealed in the Lawh-i-Hikmat: “The
unbelievers have inclined their ears towards us in order to hear that which
might enable them to cavil against God, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting.” Whatever is written should not transgress the bounds of tact
and wisdom, and in the words used there should lie hid the property of milk, so
that the children of the world may be nurtured therewith, and attain maturity.
We have said in the past that one word hath the influence of spring and causeth
hearts to become fresh and verdant, while another is like unto blight which
causeth the blossoms and flowers to wither. God grant that authors among the
friends will write in such a way as would be acceptable to fair-minded souls,
and not lead to cavilling by the people.’ Elsewhere He has written:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Consort with all men, O people of Bahá, in a spirit of
friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a
jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language of utmost
kindliness and good will. If it be accepted, if it fulfil its purpose, your
object is attained. If any one should refuse it, leave him unto himself, and
beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly with him. A kindly
tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the bread of the spirit, it
clotheth the words with meaning, it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and
understanding . . .’ (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh: CXXXII) And
again:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Should any one among you be incapable of grasping a certain
truth, or be striving to comprehend it, show forth, when conversing with him, a
spirit of extreme kindliness and good will. Help him to see and recognize the
truth, without esteeming yourself to be, in the least, superior to him, or to
be possessed of greater endowments.’ (Gleanings from the Writings of
Bahá’u’lláh: V)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As more and more Bahá’ís enter the world of higher learning
they will have opportunities of exerting great influence in bringing about in
human consciousness and outlook that harmony of religion and science which is
so great a principle of their Faith. The distinction desired by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
for all Bahá’í’s is certainly for attainment by Bahá’í scholars, who by
following the exhortations of Bahá’u’lláh to moderation, kindliness, tact and wisdom,
may restore scholarship to that high station of dignity and admiration which it
formerly held and which is confirmed by the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-85200253840722624772022-01-10T11:12:00.014-08:002022-07-09T11:13:45.956-07:00The Greatest Name – by Thornton Chase<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzk8MuZVQ4x0pOrmqdCd4poZDxwmWDTx2LWb6xc6ZefZ5FmR-62urDWlwxYTKjWO_pxiAJDdkglQ7wONzV8gkfHIMNY5RiCwsfCJydOHsSnEik06ri7h3rxddH74Y3HkhJWCQBhRivQiEZVINUmYc0CgNkJqm1HXgdnz9H7fodCk8UDoN9K9ulpprYTg/s1024/Thornton%20Chase%20-%20the%20first%20American%20Baha'i-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="685" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzk8MuZVQ4x0pOrmqdCd4poZDxwmWDTx2LWb6xc6ZefZ5FmR-62urDWlwxYTKjWO_pxiAJDdkglQ7wONzV8gkfHIMNY5RiCwsfCJydOHsSnEik06ri7h3rxddH74Y3HkhJWCQBhRivQiEZVINUmYc0CgNkJqm1HXgdnz9H7fodCk8UDoN9K9ulpprYTg/w187-h280/Thornton%20Chase%20-%20the%20first%20American%20Baha'i-1.jpg" width="187" /></a></div>"Abha” is the Greatest Name of God revealed to us in
this age. God, the Infinite, who is above ascent or descent, beyond perception,
knowledge or comprehension, is nameless as far as man is concerned. A name of
anything expresses the qualities or manifestations of that thing. The essence
of nothing whatever is known. The essence of everything is nameless. Therefore,
the Greatest Name of God is the Name of His highest manifested attributes. The
highest appearance of Himself which can be perceived by any creature anywhere
in existence—that Name is "Abha." Its meaning is Splendor or The Most
Shining Glory. It is The Most Holy Outpouring, The Radiant Energy from the
Unseen, Unknown Infinite Entity.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anything to appear must have some one to see it. No creature
of existence can ever see the Infinite and, therefore, it is impossible for the
Infinite to have a name; but the Highest Quality or Manifestation of that
Infinite, which can be perceived by any creature in existence, can have a name
and that name is "Abha." It is Light.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Baha" is the same name on a different plane.
"Baha" is the name of the Manifestation in humanity to human kind.
"Abha" is the name of that Manifestation in His Heavens or Spiritual
Spheres.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Abha" is the highest, superlative Manifestation
that can be perceived only by the highest possible existences.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">God, the Infinite, is the Pre-Existent, which does not mean
as to time, but as the Cause of causes. He is not a part of existence. He,
Himself, is outside of all existences, but manifests Himself through all
existence as the light from a flame manifests itself throughout a crystalline
room. He, unknown in Himself, manifests His Glory through His chosen and
prepared Representative in existence. That Representative among mankind is
Baha’u’llah, the Glory of God, the Word Incarnate, the visible humanized Word.
Above it is the Glory of God, the Word Invisible. Light Itself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Allah-u-Abha” is the Greeting of the Greatest Name. It
is the Greeting of the Supreme Kingdom. "Ya Baha’u’l-Abha" is an
exclamation. It means: O Thou, the Glory of the Most Glorious!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Star of the West, vol. 4, no. 11, September 27, 1913)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-75544898861857306752021-12-20T20:21:00.002-08:002022-02-13T04:25:23.420-08:00Some Memories of the Sojourn of ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Paris, October-December 1911 – by Sitarih Khanum, Lady Blomfield<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTNkpgxbHaq7Ay2PFNd4vt-uG14L2IsXrtNcHpazDmgwOfhs1XXdrBAKEnN1JQJ0gT-rbdN3JFnxE2L-DNVrherYomc4jDqwaMq4fjQPdvRer55yk2gdevFJzFJ2EuHnpsXaiuwlrQVoZfbpESlZ95VPVFO4dxG9iGfYeRamu4rA5MeEMfWdxdmQV_Wg=s515" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="465" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgTNkpgxbHaq7Ay2PFNd4vt-uG14L2IsXrtNcHpazDmgwOfhs1XXdrBAKEnN1JQJ0gT-rbdN3JFnxE2L-DNVrherYomc4jDqwaMq4fjQPdvRer55yk2gdevFJzFJ2EuHnpsXaiuwlrQVoZfbpESlZ95VPVFO4dxG9iGfYeRamu4rA5MeEMfWdxdmQV_Wg=w243-h269" width="243" /></a></div>Much has been written of the journeys of 'Abdu'l-Baha,
'Abbas Effendi. Having been released from the prison fortress of 'Akka, after
forty years of captivity, He set Himself to obey the sacred charge laid upon
Him by His Father, Baha'u'llah. Accordingly He undertook a three years' mission
into the Western World. He left the Holy Land and came to Europe in 1911.
During that and the two following years, He visited Switzerland, England,
Scotland, France, America, Germany and Hungary.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When the days of 'Abdu'l-Baha's first visit to London (in
the autumn of 1911) were drawing to a close, His friends, Monsieur and Madame
Dreyfus-Barney, prepared an apartment for His residence whilst in the French
capital. It was charmingly furnished, sunny, spacious, situated in the Avenue
de Camiiens (No.4) whence a flight of steps led into the Trocadero Gardens.
Here the Master often took solitary, restful walks. Sheltered in this modern,
comfortable Paris flat, He whom we revered, with secretary servitors and a few
close friends, sojourned for an unforgettable nine weeks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I shall try to describe some of the events which took place,
but these events owe their significance to the atmosphere of otherworldliness
which encompassed the Master and His friends. We, at least some of us, had the
impression that these happenings became, as it were, symbols of Sacred Truths.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Who is this, with branch of roses in His hand, coming down
the steps? A picturesque group of friends (some Iranians wearing the kola
[hat], and a few Europeans following Him, little children coming up to Him.
They hold on to His cloak, confiding and fearless. He gives the roses to them,
caressingly lifting one after another into His arms, smiling the while that
glorious smile which wins all hearts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Again, we saw a cabman stop his fiacre, take off his cap and
hold it in his hands, gazing amazed, with an air of reverence, whilst the
majestic figure, courteously acknowledging his salutation, passed by with that
walk which a friend had described as "that of a king or of a
shepherd."<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another scene. A very poor quarter in Paris - Sunday morning
- groups of men and women inclined to be rowdy. Foremost amongst them a big man
brandishing a long loaf of bread in his hand, shouting, gesticulating, dancing.
Into this throng walked 'Abdu'l-Baha, on His way from a Mission Hall where He
had been addressing a very poor congregation at the invitation of their Pastor.
The boisterous man with the loaf, suddenly seeing Him, stood stilI. He then
proceeded to lay about Him lustily with his staff of life, crying "Make
way, make way! He is my Father, make way." The Master passed through the
midst of the crowd, now become silent and respectfully saluting Him. "Thank
you, my dear friends, thank you," He said smiling round upon them. The
poor were always His especially beloved friends. He was never happier than when
surrounded by them, the lowly of heart!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Who is He?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why do the people gather round Him? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why is He here in Paris? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shortly before Baha'u'llah "returned to the shelter of
Heaven," He laid a sacred charge upon His eldest Son, 'Abdu'l-Baha
(literally Servant of God, the Most Glorious). This charge was that He should
carry the renewed Gospel of Peace and Justice, Love and Truth, into all lands,
with special insistence on the translating of all praiseworthy ideals into
action. What profit is there in agreeing that these ideals are good? Unless
they are put into practice, they ate useless.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I hope to indicate, albeit too inadequately, something of
that Messenger, the "Trusted One," who came out of an Eastern prison
to bring His Father's Message to the bewildered nations of earth. During the
Paris visit, as it had been in London, daily happenings took on the atmosphere
of spiritual events. Some of these episodes I will endeavour to describe as
well as I can remember them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Every morning, according to His custom, the Master expounded
the Principles of the Teaching of Baha'u'llah to those who gathered round Him,
the learned and the unlearned, eager and respectful. They were of all
nationalities and creeds, from the East and from the West, including
Theosophists, Agnostics, Materialists, Spiritualists, Christian Scientists,
Social Reformers, Hindus, Sufis, Muslims, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and many
others. Often came workers in various humanitarian societies, who were striving
to reduce the miseries of the poor. These received special sympathy and
blessing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Abdu'l-Baha spoke in Iranian which was translated into
French by Monsieur and Madame Dreyfus-Barney. My two daughters Mary and
Ellinor, our friend Miss Beatrice Platt, and I took notes of these
"Talks" from day to day. At the request of the Master, these notes
were arranged and published in English. [1]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It will be seen that in these pages are gathered together
the precepts of those Holy Souls who, being Individual Rays of the ONE were, in
divers times and countries, incarnated here on Earth to lead the spiritual
evolution of human kind.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The words of 'Abdu'l-Baha can be put on to paper, but how
describe the smile, the earnest pleading, the loving-kindness, the radiant
vitality, and at times the awe-inspiring authority of His spoken words? The
vibrations of His voice seemed to enfold the listeners in an atmosphere of the
Spirit, and to penetrate to the very core of being. We were experiencing the
transforming radiance of the Sun of Truth; henceforth, material aims and
unworthy ambitions shrank away into their trivial obscure retreats.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Abdu'l-Baha would often answer our questions before we
asked them. Sometimes He would encourage us to put them into words.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"And now your question?" He said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I answered, "I am wondering about the next world,
whether I shall ask to be permitted to come back here to Earth to help?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Why should you wish to return here? In My Father's
House are many mansions -many, many worlds! Why would you desire to come back
to this particular planet?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The visit of one man made a profound impression upon us:
"O 'Abdu'l-Baha, I have come from the French Congo, where I have been
engaged in mitigating the hardships of some of the natives. For sixteen years I
have worked in that country."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"It was a great comfort to Me in the darkness of My
prison to know the work which you were doing."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Explanations were not necessary when coming to 'Abdu'l-Baha!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One day a widow in deepest mourning came. Weeping bitterly
she was unable to utter a word. Knowing her heart's grief, "Do not
weep," said 'Abdu'l-Baha, wiping away the tears from the piteous face.
"Do not weep! Be happy! It will be well with the boy. Bring him to see me
in a few days."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On her way out, this mother said, "O my child! He is to
go through a dangerous operation to-day. What can I do?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The Master has told you what to do. Remember His
words: 'Do not weep, it will be well with the boy. Be happy, and in a few days
bring him to see me.' "</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In a few days the mother brought her boy to the Master,
perfectly well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One evening at the home of Monsieur and Madame
Dreyfus-Barney, an artist was presented to 'Abdu'l-Baha. "Thou art very
welcome. I am happy to see thee. All true art is a gift of the Holy
Spirit."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"What is the Holy Spirit?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"It is the Sun of Truth, O Artist!"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Where, O where, is the Sun of Truth?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The Sun of Truth is everywhere. It is shining on the
whole world."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"What of the dark night, when the Sun is not
shining?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The darkness of night is past, the Sun has
risen."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"But, Master! how shall it be with the blinded eyes
that cannot see the Sun's splendor? And what of the deaf ears that cannot hear
those who praise Its beauty?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I will pray that the blind eyes may be opened, that
the deaf ears may be unstopped, and that the hearts may have grace to understand."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As 'Abdu'l-Baha spoke, the troubled mien of the Artist gave
place to a look of relief, satisfied understanding, joyous emotion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thus, interview followed interview. Church dignitaries of
various branches of the Christian Tree came. Some earnestly desirous of finding
new aspects of the Truth -- "the wisdom that buildeth up, rather than the
knowledge that puffeth up." Others there were who stopped their ears lest
they should hear and understand.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One afternoon, a party of the latter type arrived. They
spoke words of bigotry, of intolerance, of sheer cruelty in their bitter
condemnation of all who did not accept their own particular dogma, showing
themselves obsessed by "the hate of man, disguised as love of God" --
a thin disguise to the penetrating eyes of the Master! Perhaps they were
dreading the revealing light of Truth which He sought to shed upon the darkness
of their outworn ecclesiasticism. The new revelation was too great for their
narrowed souls and fettered minds.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The heart of 'Abdu'l-Baha was saddened by this interview,
which had tired Him exceedingly. When He referred to this visit there was a
look in his eyes as if loving pity were blended with profound disapproval, as
though He would cleanse the defiled temple of humanity from the suffocating
diseases of the soul! Then he uttered these words in a voice of awe-inspiring
authority,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Jesus Christ is the Lord of Compassion, and these men
call themselves by His Name! Jesus is ashamed of them!"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He shivered as with cold, drawing his 'aba closely about
Him, with a gesture as if sternly repudiating their misguided outlook.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Japanese Ambassador to a European capital (Viscount
Arawaka -Madrid) was staying at the Hotel d’Jena. This gentleman and his wife
had been told of 'Abdu'l-Baha's presence in Paris, and she was anxious to have
the privilege of meeting Him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I am very sad," said her Excellency. "I must
not go out this evening as my cold is severe and I leave early in the morning
for Spain. If only there were a possibility of seeing Him!"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This was told to the Master, who had just returned after a
long, tiring day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Tell the lady and her husband that, as she is unable
to come to me, I will call upon her."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Accordingly, 'though the hour was late, through the cold and
the rain He came, with His smiling courtesy, bringing joy to us all as we
awaited Him in the Tapestry Room.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Abdu'l-Baha talked with the Ambassador and his wife of
conditions in Japan, of the great international importance of that country, of
the vast service to mankind, of the work for the abolition of war, of the need
for improving conditions of life for the worker, of the necessity of educating
girls and boys equally.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The religious ideal is the soul of all plans for the good of
mankind. Religion must never be used as a tool by party politicians. God's
politics are mighty, man's politics are feeble.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Speaking of religion and science, the two great wings with
which the bird of human kind is able to soar, He said, "Scientific
discoveries have greatly increased material civilization. There is in existence
a stupendous force, as yet, happily, undiscovered by man. Let us supplicate
God, the Beloved, that this force be not discovered by science until Spiritual
Civilization shall dominate the human mind! In the hands of men of lower
material nature, this power would be able to destroy the whole earth."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;">'</span></o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Abdu'l-Baha talked of these and of many other supremely
important matters for more than an hour. The friends, wondering, said,
"How is it possible that having spent all His life imprisoned in an
eastern fortress, He should so well understand world problems and possess the
wisdom to solve them so simply?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Truly we were beginning to understand that the majesty of
greatness, whether mental or spiritual, is always simple.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One day, I received a disquieting letter, "It would be
well to warn 'Abdu'l-Baha that it might be dangerous for Him to visit a certain
country, for which I understand He proposes to set forth in the near
future."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Having regard to the sincere friendship of the writer, and
knowing that sources of reliable information were available to him, this
warning obviously could not be ignored. Therefore, as requested, I laid the
matter before the Master.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To my amazement, He smiled and said impressively, "My
daughter, have you not yet realized that never in my life have I been for one
day out of danger, and that I should rejoice to leave this world and go to my
Father?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Oh, Master! We do not wish that you should go from us
in that manner." I was overcome with sorrow and terror.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Be not troubled," said 'Abdu'l-Baha. "These
enemies have no power over my life, but that which is given them from on High.
If my Beloved God so willed that my lifeblood should be sacrificed in His path,
it would be a glorious day, devoutly wished for by me."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Therefore, the friends surrounding the much-loved master
were comforted and their faith so strengthened, that when a sinister-looking
man came to a group who were walking in the gardens and threateningly said,
"Are you not yet sufficiently warned? Not only is there danger for
'Abdu'l-Baha, but also for you who are with Him," the friends were
unperturbed, one of them replying calmly, "The Power that protects the
Master protects also His other servants. Therefore we have no fear."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The man departed, abashed, saying nothing more.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Two days before the close of 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit, a woman
came hurriedly into the gathering at the Avenue de Camoens:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Oh, how glad I am to be in time! I must tell you the
amazing reason of my hurried journey from America. One day, my little girl
astonished me by saying: 'Mummy, if dear Lord Jesus was in the world now, what
would you do?' 'Darling baby, I would feel like getting on to the first train
and going to Him as fast as I could.' 'Well, Mummy, He is in the world.' I felt
a great awe come over me as my tiny one spoke. 'What do you mean, my precious?
How do you know?' I said. 'He told me Himself, so in course He is in the
world.' Full of wonder, I thought: Is this a sacred message which is being
given to me out of the mouth of my babe? And I prayed that it might be made
clear to me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“The next day she said, insistently and as though she could
not understand, 'Mummy, darlin', why isn't you gone to see Lord Jesus? He's
told me two times that He is really here, in the world.' 'Tiny love, mummy
doesn't know where He is, how could she find Him?' 'We see, Mummy, we see.'</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I was naturally perturbed. The same afternoon, being
out for a walk with my child, she suddenly stood still and cried out,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'There He is! There He is!' She was trembling with
excitement and pointing at the windows of a magazine store where was a picture
of 'Abdu'l-Baha. I bought the paper, found this address, caught a boat that
same night, and here I am."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The above was written down as it was related to me. It is
again the second instance of the pictured face of 'Abdu'l-Baha arresting the
beholder with a compelling force. The first incident was that of a man in
deadly despair, about to take his own life; and now this innocent child!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was of great interest to notice the effect the presence
of 'Abdu'l-Baha had upon some children. One little girl whispered, "Look,
that is Jesus when He was old." Perhaps their unstained nature sensed the
breath of holiness which was always with Him and caused them to liken Him to the
Most Holy One of whom they were conscious.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One day a certain man of high degree came to 'Abdu'l-Baha.
"I have been exiled from my country. I pray you intercede for me that I
may be permitted to return."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"You will be allowed to return."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Some of my land has been bought by one of the Baha'i
friends. I desire to possess that property once more."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"It shall be given back to you and without
payment."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Who is the young man standing behind you? May he be
presented to me?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"He is 'Aqa Mirza Jalal, son of one of the martyred
brothers of Isfahan." "I had no part in that crime."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The part you took in that event, I know. Moreover,
your motive I know."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This man, with his fellow conspirator, the " Wolf"
(so named because of his ruthless cruelty and greed) had borrowed large sums of
money from the two noble and generous brothers of Isfahan. To accuse them of
being followers of Baha'u'llah, to bring them before a tribunal which condemned
them to be executed, and to have the brothers put to death, was their plot to
avoid being required to repay the loans.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After the death of the "Wolf" some documents were
discovered, relating to the borrowed money. This, with the addition of the
interest which had accumulated, now amounted to a considerable sum. The lawyer
who was in charge of the affair wrote to the son of the martyr, asking into
what bank the moneys should be paid. The reply sent, with the approval of 'Abdu'l-Baha,
was that he declined to accept repayment of money which had been one reason for
the shedding of his father's blood.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Aqa Mirza Jalal was now married to a daughter of
'Abdu'l-Baha. Whilst these episodes were taking place, we who witnessed them seemed
to be in a higher dimension where there were natural indications of the
presence of the Light which in all men is latent and in 'Abdu'l-Baha
transcendent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The constant awareness of an exhilaration, which carried us
out of our everyday selves, and gave us the sense of being One with the
Life-Pulse which beats through the Universe, is an experience to be treasured
rather than an emotion to be described. The reader will understand that it is
impossible to find fitting words for the thoughts and feelings which were with
us in those Paris days.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[1] Talks in Paris," by 'Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i Assembly,
London.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(The Baha’i World 134-1936)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-20441247538787890712021-11-16T18:50:00.002-08:002022-02-04T04:55:35.295-08:00The Path to God – by Dorothy Baker<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBSR0rHp0-0ATeMVtiXDgDUN7NhJXvtKzhobl3xirfksDul9aYGGzHxuE4qp1l7d0HcnGcCDSbLLfW3-lmwnBpQ4981_TVK7a1gNecY_mp_gKmY-H5hXHKv-mqXeyVOX_6ptisP9MI-LBdEzTICPCZpXNdTWadzR7Zenw7LIzRKWZC65sDT1IGGggHcA=s340" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="300" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBSR0rHp0-0ATeMVtiXDgDUN7NhJXvtKzhobl3xirfksDul9aYGGzHxuE4qp1l7d0HcnGcCDSbLLfW3-lmwnBpQ4981_TVK7a1gNecY_mp_gKmY-H5hXHKv-mqXeyVOX_6ptisP9MI-LBdEzTICPCZpXNdTWadzR7Zenw7LIzRKWZC65sDT1IGGggHcA=w218-h247" width="218" /></a></div>Revelation, the Path to God, has been progressive. Early man
could understand a little truth; later he could assimilate great truth.
Fundamentally the truth was one. With each appearance of truth, a rebirth of
powers has attended it; man has been imbued with divine ideals, and an
ever-advancing civilization has taken new steps forward. The miracle of new
social power is accompanied by the appearance of a Master Teacher. The lettered
Jews sprang from the spiritual genius of Moses; the glory of ancient Persia
reflected the fire of Zoroaster; unfolding Europe lifts her spires to the
glorious Nazarene; the architecture, astronomy, and poetic genius of the Muslim
world in the middle centuries bespeak the gift of Muhammad. "He hath ordained,"
writes Baha'u'llah, "that in every age and dispensation, a pure and
stainless Soul be made manifest in the kingdoms of earth and heaven."<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To the individual, this is always an invitation to sit at
the feet of the Master Teacher and renew his own powers. Laying aside the fears
imposed today by tradition, the seeker of the Path fearlessly looks for the
stainless mirror of his age. The Jew who knows the majesty of Moses, the
Christian who longs to touch the garment hem of Jesus; these are the souls
schooled in adoration. The illumined Writings of Baha'u'llah will bring to
these, and to the untutored millions, the light of renewed faith and the means
of traveling with sovereign power the immeasurable distances of the Path to
God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Words of Baha'u'llah, coming as a part of the unending
outpouring of the Word of God through the ages, act as the water of life upon
the thirsty soul, refreshing, cheering, and bringing forth the powers of the
seeker. Every life needs the emphasis of the love of God, but some cast about
for a lifetime, failing to find this Holy Grail of spiritual health and joy.
Just as bodies are sometimes lacking in the food elements that produce health,
the soul sometimes stands in need of a divine physician who can prescribe the
missing elements for spiritual success. The few thoughts given here are chosen
from the unlimited mine of wisdom and explanation offered in the Baha'i
Writings. Space permits mention of only a few.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Power through prayer</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Faculties long allowed to rust must be called into activity.
Man becomes like a stone unless he continually supplicates to God. Prayer is
the great quickener. There is no human being who is not in need of prayer.
‘Abdu'l-Baha said, "O thou spiritual friend! Thou hast asked the wisdom of
prayer. Know thou that prayer is indispensable and obligatory, and man under no
pretext whatsoever is excused from performing the prayer unless he be mentally
unsound, or an insurmountable obstacle prevent him." The sincere seeker,
however, often asks, "Why pray, since God knows our needs?" In
response, Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha mention many of the benefits of prayer:<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>1. Connection with God</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The wisdom of prayer is this: That it causeth a
connection between the servant and the True One, because in that state man with
all heart and soul turneth his face towards His Highness the Almighty, seeking
His association and desiring His love and compassion." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>2. Divine Companionship</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Verily He responds unto those who invoke Him, is near
unto those who pray unto Him. And He is thy Companion in every loneliness, and
befriends every exile." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>3. Joy</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Know thou that supplication and prayer is the Water of
Life. It is the cause of the vivification of existence and brings glad tidings
and joy to the soul." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Know that in every home where God is praised and
prayed to, and His Kingdom proclaimed, that home is a garden of God and a
paradise of His happiness."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>4. Healing</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"There are two ways of healing sickness, material means
and spiritual means. The first is by the use of remedies, of medicines; the
second consists in praying to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be
used and practiced ... Moreover, they are not contradictory, and thou shouldst
accept the physical remedies as coming from the mercy and favor of God..."
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"O thou pure and spiritual one! Turn thou toward God
with thy heart beating with His love, devoted to His praise, gazing toward His
Kingdom and seeking help from His Holy Spirit in a state of ecstasy, rapture,
love, yearning, joy and fragrance. God will assist thee, through a Spirit from
His Presence, to heal sickness and disease."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"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."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>5. Protection</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Besides all this, prayer and fasting is the cause of
awakening and mindfulness and conducive to protection and preservation from
tests." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>6. Removal of Difficulties</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Is there any remover of difficulties save God! Say,
Praise be to God! He is God! All are His servants and all abide by His
bidding." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Say, God sufficeth all things above all things, and
nothing in the heavens or in the earth but God sufficeth. Verily, He is in
Himself, the Knower, the Sustainer, the Omnipotent."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>7. Increased capacity</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"By these attractions one's ability and capacity
increase. When the vessel is widened the water increaseth and when the thirst
grows, the bounty of the cloud becomes agreeable to the taste of man. This is
the mystery of supplication and the wisdom of stating one's wants." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>8. Effect upon the World</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been
received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the
sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of
all men. Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by
God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance
of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous
man to throb." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>9. Intercession</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"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." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Asked whether it was possible through faith and love to
bring the New Revelation to the knowledge of those who have departed from this
life without having heard of it, 'Abdu'l-Baha 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."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"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."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"O Thou Omnipotent Lord! In this great dispensation
Thou dost accept the intercession of the sons and daughters in behalf of their
parents. This is one of the special, infinite bestowals of this cycle.
Therefore, O Thou kind Almighty, accept the request of this Thy servant at the
threshold of Thy singleness and submerge my mother in the ocean of Thy
Graces."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The science of going about prayer is so little understood
that we find ourselves, in the words of Tennyson:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"A child crying in the night, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A child crying for the light, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And with no language but a cry." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Abdu'l-Baha suggested that there were four wonderful
qualities that could help us to pray. The first is a detached spirit. It is a
little like closing a window to the noises of the street, that the strains of
the violin within the room may not be lost. The second is unconditional
surrender of our own wills to the Will of God. This is very subtle and very
difficult, for the self is inclined to argue with God and to rationalize its
own desires, putting them always first. How few have the singular purity of the
child who wanted a horse more than anything else in the world, and decided to
pray for it. After a time her father said, "God did not answer your
prayer, did He?" "But of course He did," she said simply,
"He said no!" Concentrated attention is the third quality, and the
fourth, true spiritual passion, that ardor and devotion which distinguishes the
apostle from the multitude. Surely God will raise to His very Presence the
least peasant who whole-heartedly casts himself at His feet, in preference to
the kings of the earth who are complacent. In the highest prayer, man prays
only for the love of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The actual words help concentration. It is good to repeat
the words so that the tongue and heart act together and the mind is better able
to concentrate. Then the whole man is surrounded by the spirit of prayer. The
communes of Baha'u'llah are like invigorating breezes; there is great power in
using them aloud, for the exalted pen of a Manifestation of God is a source of
power in the world. Prayer may be likened to a song; both words and music make
the song.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">If prayer is to become a guiding force, a protection, a joy,
and the source of divine companionship, it must become a habit. How often a
human being waits for the vicissitudes of life to drive him Godward when in
reality the harmony, health, and full victory lie in continual praise and
supplication. One needs to be in a perennial state of prayer. "The
greatest happiness for a lover is to converse with his beloved..."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Victorious Living</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A man's goal is God. He is born to tread the Path to God. In
the words of Baha’u’llah, "The purpose of God in creating man hath been,
and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His
Presence." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Success depends upon surrender to God at every turn. "O
thou who hast surrendered thy will to God!" wrote Baha’u’llah, "By
self-surrender and perpetual union with God is meant that men should merge
their will wholly in the Will of God, and regard their desires as utter
nothingness beside His Purpose." This is the secret of happiness.
"The liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete
servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth. Whoso hath tasted of its sweetness will
refuse to barter it for all the dominion of earth and heaven."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those on the Path are conscious of this joy. They have a
sense of victory that no circumstance, however ruthless, is able to destroy.
When the earliest Baha'i pilgrims found their way to the prison city of 'Akka,
'Abdu'l-Baha would often call in such radiant souls as the aged Haydar-'Ali,
who, because of his great suffering and saintly character, was called the angel
of 'Akka. When the American visitors seemed discontented with their lot,
'Abdu'l-Baha would say that Haydar-'Ali had also suffered; that he had been
dragged across a desert with his head in a sack! But Haydar-'Ali made always
the same reply, "I have known only the joy of serving my Lord."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Lady Blomfield, foremost early Baha'i of England, records
the tender moments when 'Abdu'l-Baha made His journey through the West, and
interviewed, under her own roof, so many of the thoughtful of that land. When
the people said, "We are glad, oh! so glad that you are free," He
replied:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"To me prison was freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Troubles are a rest to me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Death is life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"To be despised is honor. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Therefore I was full of happiness all through that
prison time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"When one is released from the prison of self, that is
indeed freedom! For self is the greatest prison. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"When this release takes place, one can never be
imprisoned. Unless one accepts dire vicissitudes, not with dull resignation,
but with radiant acquiescence, one cannot attain this freedom." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Martha Root, greatest of the first century Baha'i teachers,
knew the secret. On her last historic journey through the West, she was asked
the secret of her success and happiness. This plain little woman who had stood
before queens and emperors with such undeniable power, replied thoughtfully,
"It is important to find out God's first choice about everything. Then the
bounties flow, the hearts are made happy, and the spirit of attraction is at
work."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Such a soul has nothing to fear. There is no circumstance
that cannot be used for progress on the Path to God. "Nothing save that
which profiteth them can befall My loved ones," testified Baha'u'llah.
"The sea of joy yearneth to attain your presence, for every good thing hath
been created for you, and will, according to the needs of the times, be
revealed unto you."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Radiant acquiescence to the Will of God means obedience to
His Commands and contentment in all that befalls, but it never means inertia,
laziness, and slothful living. Activity in God's Will is the law of victory.
God can no more guide an inactive soul than a man can guide a car while it
stands by the side of the road, inert. "Pray and act," Martha would
say. Action attracts the answer to the prayer. That is the reason for the
importance of deeds in victorious living. 'Abdu'l-Baha wrote, "By faith is
meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good
deeds." These deeds are the wealth of the friends of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who have arisen to teach these truths have all
experienced the confirming power of assistance which Baha'u'llah promised to
His sincere servants. "A company of Our chosen angels shall go forth with
them, as bidden by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise ... If he be kindled
with the fire of His love, . . . the words he uttereth shall set on fire them
that hear him. Verily thy Lord is the Omniscient, the All-Informed. Happy is
the man that hath heard Our voice and answered Our call. He, in truth, is of
them that shall be brought nigh unto us."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even daily work done in the spirit of service is an
important part of victorious living, for it is accounted by Baha'u'llah as
worship. He writes, "We have made this, your occupation, identical with
the worship of God, the True One." Living apart for pious worship is
therefore discouraged. As Jesus gave His life to men in the market places, so
must our spirituality find practical expression among the people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">No life is victorious that cannot live with its fellows.
"Blessed is he who mingleth with all men in a spirit of utmost kindliness
and love." A Baha'i drops away all forms of arrogance. His door is open to
black and white, rich and poor, fellow countryman and foreign born. "Ye
are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with
another with the utmost love and harmony . . . So powerful is the light of
unity that it can illuminate the whole earth." The practice of social
unity by a mere handful of the champions of God must slowly give rise to the
harmony of the race.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Immortality</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Path to God is a stream of upward consciousness; it does
not end with this small world. Our existence here may be likened to an acorn
which, if quickened with life, becomes an oak. Or it may be likened to a child
in the matrix of the mother as it develops its faculties of sight, hearing, and
the like, for use in this world. So does the soul treat this world as a place
of beginning in which it develops its spiritual faculties for use in all the
worlds of God. The Word of God quickens the soul as the spring sunshine
quickens the acorn, and from a single Word of even one of the Prophets or
Manifestations of God, a soul may attain to the stream of consciousness. Many
are the assurances of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha concerning this journey for
the soul who faithfully sets out on the path to God. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">First we must know that there is continuance. The true
believer will "eternally live and endure. His spirit will everlastingly
circle round the Will of God. He will last as long as God, Himself, will last .
. . It is evident that the loftiest mansions in the Realm of Immortality have
been ordained as the habitation of them that have truly believed in God and in
His signs. Death can never invade that holy seat."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The other world is a world of knowledge and memory.
"Undoubtedly the holy souls who find a pure eye and are favored with
insight will in the kingdom of lights be acquainted with all mysteries, and
will seek the bounty of witnessing the reality of every great soul. Even they
will manifestly behold the Beauty of God in that world." "The
mysteries of which man is heedless in this earthly world, those will he
discover in the heavenly world, and there will he be informed of the secret of
truth; how much more will he recognize or discover persons with whom he hath
been associated."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not a static heaven, but a busy, active condition, bright
with growth and progress, is visualized for us by 'Abdu'l-Baha. Those who have
passed on through death have a sphere of their own. It is not removed from
ours. Their work, the work of the Kingdom is like ours but it is sanctified
from time and place. "It is as if a kind gardener transfers a fresh and
tender shrub from a narrow place to a vast region. This transference is not the
cause of the withering, the waning or the destruction of that shrub, nay rather
it makes it grow and thrive, acquire freshness and delicacy and attain verdure
and fruition."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Baha'u'llah speaks of the power bestowed upon the faithful
in the world of continuance. "The soul that hath remained faithful to the
Cause of God, and stood unwaveringly firm in His Path shall, after his
ascension, be possessed of such power that all the worlds which the Almighty
hath created can benefit through him. Such a soul provideth, at the bidding of
the Ideal King and Divine Educator, the pure leaven that leaveneth the world of
being, and furnisheth the power through which the arts and wonders of the world
are made manifest. Consider how meal needeth leaven to be leavened with. Those
souls that are the symbols of detachment are the leaven of the world. Meditate
on this, and be of the thankful."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And again, joy is the keynote! "O Son of the Supreme! I
have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I made
the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself
therefrom?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup
that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy and is the bearer of gladness. It
conferreth the gift of everlasting life. As to those who have tasted of the
fruit of man's earthly existence, which is the recognition of the one true God,
exalted be His glory, their life hereafter is such as We are unable to
describe. The knowledge thereof is with God alone, the Lord of all the
worlds."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"O my servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on
this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and
manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly
in store for you. Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to
your eyes."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The greatest gift of all, bestowed in the worlds of light,
must be the gift of companionship with the holy souls of every age. The heart
is immediately stirred by such a possibility. The grandeur of Moses comes close
to us; we sit again at the feet of Jesus the Christ! In short, we come to the
conclusion that the true believer of this illumined time is the associate and
intimate of the apostles of former times. "Likewise will they find all the
friends of God, both those of the former and recent times, present in the
heavenly assemblage."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"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."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">An American friend who had enjoyed the privilege of more
than one visit to 'Akka during the days of the exile of 'Abdu'l-Baha, related
an incident that took place at His table. With her sat persons of varied races,
some of them traditional enemies who had now grown so to love one another that
life and fortune would not have been too much to give if called upon to do so. As
the reality of their love gradually became plain to her, there was born a ray
of the knowledge of the intimacy of the near ones in the world beyond. When the
meal drew to a close, 'Abdu'l-Baha spoke of the immortal worlds. As nearly as
she could remember, the words he spoke were these:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"We have sat together many times before, and we shall
sit together many times again in the Kingdom. We shall laugh together very much
in those times, and we shall tell of the things that befell us in the Path of
God. In every world of God a new Lord's Supper is set for the faithful!"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The secret of so great a fulfillment is intimacy with God
through His Messenger. Revelation, the open door to God, is forever linked with
the Revelator. With one gracious gesture God bestows upon the world a divine
physician, a lawgiver, a perfect pattern, and a point of union with its God.
Happy is the heart that experiences fusion with the Manifestation of God's
Perfection. Paul would be made alive in Christ Jesus. Stephen, radiant even as the
excited mob hurled him from the cliff, cries, "Behold, I see the Son of
Man sitting on the right hand of God the Father." 'Ali, youthful disciple
of this day, proclaims as he offers his life, "If I recant, whither shall
I go? In Him, I have found my paradise."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Word of God is the Water of Life, one Word throughout
cycles and ages. The soul, refreshed by new waters, finds itself yet on the old
Path, the ancient, eternal Path. To tread that Path with dignity and joy,
through this world and hereafter, is every man's birthright. Therefore, once in
about a thousand years, God, in His great compassion, clears the Path of
superstition and division, that the Way may be made plain once more for the
sincere seeker. And so Baha'u'llah has come.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today the stage is set for the greatest spiritual drama of
history, for the rebirth of the powers of the human race will be for the first
time world-wide and in proportion to infinitely higher development. The coming
of Baha'u'llah marks the close of a great cycle, the beginning of one
infinitely greater. Man has come of age; a world-wide unity will appear,
enjoyed by a new race. Baha'u'llah is the Father promised by Isaiah, the
Michael spoken of by Daniel, the Spirit of Truth prophesied by Jesus, the Mihdi
foretold by Muhammad, the Friend promised by Gautama, the Shah Bahram of
Zoroaster. His coming is the bow of promise in the sky. "The universe is
wrapped in an ecstasy of joy and gladness." "Peerless is this Day,
for it is as the eye to past ages and centuries, and as a light unto the
darkness of the times." </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(The Baha’i World 1950-1954)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-22466210435868913872021-10-12T13:41:00.006-07:002021-12-28T13:43:06.264-08:00The sufferings of Bahá’u’lláh and their significance – by George Townshend, M.A.<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9ziDFnmMxV3L7rnK4MZapw4v7TmQOYAfHJrsIaskVwmkvQyzaCaIBfPl1VGgM57Ex1Wha0iEML9EHgsUKd2HDe1XliD5AG2P6mtxQv05BOIeC8a9micENG5Cf7N8Edgo3mBmurRso8xWFEMf46adO6Z5HiVK2Ne0WpvFHuieRX1DspCYmHZny9vhL7Q=s407" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="399" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9ziDFnmMxV3L7rnK4MZapw4v7TmQOYAfHJrsIaskVwmkvQyzaCaIBfPl1VGgM57Ex1Wha0iEML9EHgsUKd2HDe1XliD5AG2P6mtxQv05BOIeC8a9micENG5Cf7N8Edgo3mBmurRso8xWFEMf46adO6Z5HiVK2Ne0WpvFHuieRX1DspCYmHZny9vhL7Q=w228-h232" width="228" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Prayers and Meditations of Bahá’u’lláh which the beloved
Guardian has given us is in large measure an intimate remembrance of the
Redeemer's sufferings. And Bahá’u’lláh wished us to meditate on these
sufferings. In the Tablet of Ahmad He says: "Remember My days during thy
days, and My distress and banishment in this remote prison."</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In a great poem known as the Fire Tablet He records at
length the tale of His calamities and writes at the close:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Thank the Lord for this Tablet whence thou canst
breathe the fragrance of My meekness and know what hath beset Us in the path of
God." He adds: "Should all the servants read and ponder this, there
shall be kindled in their veins a fire that shall set aflame the world."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">True religion in all ages has called on the faithful to suffer.
On the one hand it brings to mankind a happiness in the absolute and the
everlasting which is found nowhere but in religion. No unbeliever knows any joy
which in its preciousness can be compared to the joys of religion. "The
true monk," it has been said, "brings nothing with him but his
lyre."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the other hand Heaven is walled about with fire. This
bliss must be bought at a great price. So it has ever been in all religions of
mankind.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">An ancient hymn of India proclaims a truth as real now as it
was in distant times:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The way of the Lord is for heroes. It is not meant for
cowards.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Offer first your life and your all. Then take the name of
the Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He only tastes of the Divine Cup who gives his son, his
wife, his wealth and his own life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He verily who seeks for pearls must dive to the bottom of
the sea, endangering his very existence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Death he regards as naught; he forgets all the miseries of
mind and body. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He who stands on the shore, fearing to take the plunge,
attains naught. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The path of love is the ordeal of fire. The shrinkers learn
from it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who take the plunge into the fire attain eternal
bliss. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who stand afar off, looking on, are scorched by the
flames. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Love is a priceless thing only to be won at the cost of
death. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who live to die, those attain; for they have shed all
thoughts of self. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those heroic souls who are rapt in the love of the Lord,
they are the true lovers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">All the founders of religions have had to endure rejection
and wrong, and as mankind grew more and more mature and the victory of God
nearer, these wrongs, these sufferings have grown more and more severe
continually.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We read little if anything of martyrdom in the Old
Testament. But the New opens with Herod's slaughter of the innocents, his beheading
of John the Baptist; its central figure is a Man of Sorrows acquainted with
grief. The Gospels close with the agony in Gethsemane and with the Cross, the
Nails, the Spear, and history follows with the martyrdom of all the eleven
apostles.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb Himself was martyred and His followers gave up their
lives for love of Him, not by dozens only but by hundreds and by thousands. In
establishing the victory of God Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu'l-Bahá drank the cup of
suffering to the dregs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is said there are three kinds of martyrdom: one is to
stand bravely and meet death unflinchingly in the path of God without wavering
or under torture denying for an instant their faith. The second is little by
little to detach one's heart entirely from the world, laying aside deliberately
and voluntarily all vanities and worldly seductions, letting every act and word
become a speaking monument and a fitting praise for the Holy Name of
Bahá'u'lláh. The third is to do the most difficult things with such
self-sacrifice that all behold it as your pleasure. To seek and to accept
poverty with the same smile as you accept fortune. To make the sad, the
sorrowful your associates instead of frequenting the society of the careless
and gay. To yield to the decrees of God and to rejoice in the most violent
calamities even when the suffering is beyond endurance. He who can fulfill
these last conditions becomes a martyr indeed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">None can attempt to delineate the variety or to analyze the
nature of the afflictions which were poured upon Bahá'u'lláh. Repeatedly He has
Himself summarized them in a few brief powerful sentences. In one place He
calls our particular attention to the fact that it was not the Black Dungeon of
Tihran, for all its horrors and chains, which He named the Most Great Prison.
He gave that name to 'Akka. We are left to surmise why, and we reflect that in
the Black Pit His sufferings were chiefly personal and physical; His enemies
were external foes, the hope of redeeming the Cause was still with Him. But
when He went down to 'Akka in 1868, the traitor Mirza Yahya had done his deadly
work; the kings and leaders had definitely rejected the Message, He was
definitely cast out and silenced. Not He Himself alone but the Cause of God was
in prison.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We can never imagine what numberless possibilities of
immediate redemption the mad, sad, bad world had wantonly flung away; nor can
our less sensitive natures know what the anguish of this frustration must have
been to the eager longing of a heart as divinely centered, divinely loving as
His. But this much is abundantly plain; that the pains, the griefs, the
sorrows, the sufferings, the rejections, the betrayals, the frustrations which
were the common lot of all the High Prophets reached their culmination in Him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yet through all He remained calm, confident, His courage
unshaken, His acquiescence forever radiant. No one is to imagine that the
excess of His tribulations means that at any time the power of evil had
prevailed against Him. Pondering as He would have us to do, over the significance
of these afflictions, we are shown that the truth is quite otherwise. He
reveals:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Had not every tribulation been made the bearer of Thy
wisdom, and every ordeal the vehicle of Thy providence, no one would have dared
oppose Us, though the powers of heaven and earth were to be leagued against
Us."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He writes that God had sacrificed Him that men might be born
anew and released from their bondage to sin. He praises God for His sufferings,
He welcomes them, and even prays that for God's sake the earth should be dyed
with His blood and His head raised on a spearpoint. He continually protests
that with every fresh tribulation heaped upon Him He manifests a fuller measure
of God's Cause and exalts more highly still God's Word.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How bitterly felt were His tribulations, how acute His
anguish, how real His grief and pain is shown a hundred times in His laments.
His high divinity did not protect Him from human sensibility, but never did He
quail nor blanch, never did He show resentment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Many of His laments are not over His woes themselves but
over the effect they produce on the faithful whose hearts they sorely shook or
on the enemies of the Cause whom they fill with joy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nothing could exhaust His patience nor dampen His spirit.
"Though My body be pained by the trials that befall Me, though it be
afflicted by the revelation of Thy decree, yet My soul rejoiceth." He
affirms that the tribulations that He and the faithful are made to endure are
such as no pen in the entire creation can record, nor anyone describe. Yet
"We swear by Thy Might, every trouble that toucheth us in our love for
Thee is an evidence of Thy tender mercy, every fiery ordeal a sign of the
brightness of Thy light, every woeful tribulation a cooling draught, every toil
a blissful repose, every anguish a fountain of gladness.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How then is it that "by Thy stripes we are
healed?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is because the intensity, the magnitude, the volume of
the sufferings of Bahá’u’lláh called forth the fullest possible expression and
outpouring of the infinite mercy and love of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wrongs done to the founder of a religion have two inevitable
effects: one is that of retribution against the wrong done - the severity of
which we may judge from the two-thousand-year exile of the Jewish people. The
other is that of reward to the High Prophet whom they enable to release fresh
powers of life that would have otherwise lain latent, to pour forth Divine
energies which in their boundlessness will utterly overwhelm the forces of evil
and empower Him to say: "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the
world."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The sufferings of Bahá’u’lláh enable us in some degree to
measure the immensity of His love for mankind, to appreciate the sacrifice He
made for love of us. The story of them enables us to keep in remembrance the
heinous blackness and cruelty of the world of man from which He saved us; it
enables us to realize the meaning and the need of Divine redemption, it proves
to us the invincibility of God and the lone majesty of God's victory over evil.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is for the sake of learning more fully the love and the
glory and the might of God that we contemplate this story of Bahá’u’lláh’s
tribulations.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In that spirit we are to read it, and as a proof of His
triumphant inviolable love He keeps the picture before us in many forms that we
may be fortified and uplifted in our poor human struggle with the tests and
afflictions of life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Fire Tablet adds all the poignancy and impassioned power
of divine poetry to the story of the boundless suffering He and His beloved
followers had to endure. In language of torrential eloquence He tells of the
longing of the faithful for reunion with God being ungratified, He tells of the
casting out of those most near to His heart, of dying bodies, of frustrated
lovers left afar to perish in loneliness, of Satan's whisperings in every human
ear, of infernal delusions spreading everywhere, of the triumph of calamity,
darkness, and coldness of heart. He tells of the sovereignty in every land of
hate and unbelief while He Himself is forbidden to speak, left in the
loneliness of His anguish, drowning in a sea of pain with no rescue ship to
come and save Him. The light of honor and loyalty and truth are put out;
slander prevails and no avenging wrath of an outraged God descends to destroy
the wicked and vindicate God's messenger.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He calls to God for an answer. And the answer comes, showing
the inner significance of God's seeming to forsake His righteous ones.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Man's evil sets off God's goodness. Man's coldness of heart
sets off the warmth of God's love. Were it not for the night, how would the sun
of the Prophet's valor show forth the splendor of its radiance? Through His
loneliness, the unity of God was revealed; through His banishment, the world of
divine singleness grew fair.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"We have made abasement," said God to Him, "the garment of glory, and affliction the adornment of Thy temple, O Pride of
the worlds. Thou seest the hearts are filled with hate, and to overlook is
Thine, O Thou Concealer of the sins of the worlds. When the swords flash, go
forward! When the shafts fly, press onward! O Thou Sacrifice of the
worlds."</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In that battle which we - all of us - wage with pain and
suffering and sorrow, those are God's last words to us:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"When the swords flash, go forward! When the shafts
fly, press onward!" For love is a priceless thing, only to be won at the
cost of death. Those who live to die, those attain; for they have lost all
thoughts of self. Those heroic souls who are rapt in the love of the Lord, they
are the true lovers. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(The Baha’i World, 1950-1954)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-18371195031014042012021-08-05T20:12:00.008-07:002021-09-24T20:27:52.404-07:001932: Visiting the resting place of Mulla Husayn at Fort Tabarsi – by Keith Ransom-Kehler<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3F4VauejaNV7duG2fhcMD2Dd9tHnoa-PJJ90rgbUeptr9HEPlR2uXsly5yYvyMS4eEQYmKI9xlEeF0lQ3OcnX5izRP4Onn5o0G9QxG5kZjo93eMrSOazQdABGzqsQnWaZLByirlSowt-/s761/Keith-Ransom-Kehler.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="539" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv3F4VauejaNV7duG2fhcMD2Dd9tHnoa-PJJ90rgbUeptr9HEPlR2uXsly5yYvyMS4eEQYmKI9xlEeF0lQ3OcnX5izRP4Onn5o0G9QxG5kZjo93eMrSOazQdABGzqsQnWaZLByirlSowt-/w196-h276/Keith-Ransom-Kehler.jpg" width="196" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In <a href="https://bahaisworldwide.blogspot.com/2017/08/keith-ransom-keher-hand-of-cause-first.html"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">my</span></a> last letter we had been heartily welcomed by the
Friends of Kafsha Kula, when I had to stop writing.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was the end of a strenuous day, for before leaving Sari
we had packed; gone to be photographed in the beautiful garden given by Abdul
Molaki for the new Haziratu'l- Quds, been driven three times into the ditch by
an inexperienced driver taking me over the new road built for my coming; met
and addressed the Ahbab [Baha’i friends] of Mafruzac; commemorated the
martyrdom of Mulla Ali Jan; said poignant goodbyes, which is always a stirring
emotional experience; greeted, in passing, the Friends of Shahid, and then
participated in the welcoming ceremonies of Kafsha Kula.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The challenge to science today is to unlock the energies
resident in the atom and release them for human utility. If some inspired
person could find a method of utilizing the flea power of Persia, the land
would become, over-night, the greatest producer in the world. But even the
fleas, which made riot with our unaccustomed flavor, were unable to detract
from the joy of this memorable meeting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To our intense relief the rains were holding off although it
was November; but when we arose to find a grey morning we were urged to make an
early start for Shaykh Tabarsi, lest bad weather detain us.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is three miles across a wide river ford and through barren
rice-paddies (the crop had been long harvested) from Kafsha Kula to the site of
the Fort so heroically defended against an entire imperial army by three
hundred and thirteen men -- not seasoned soldiers, not the grizzled veterans of
many campaigns, like their opponents, but youthful students unaccustomed to
arms and accoutrements, and long trained in the cloistered life of metaphysical
argument and disquisition.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the record of humanity we find no parallel to their
accomplishment. Alexander's army of thirty thousand defeated the Persian forces
of six hundred thousand fighting one to twenty; but they were a military
organization, reared to "stratagems and sports." Quddus, Mulla Husayn
and their followers, without previous training, without adequate supplies, with
nothing but a flaming faith and an unquenchable devotion to their Lord, the
Báb, repulsed not once, but again and again, one to a thousand, the forces
arrayed against them.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Effie Baker, that intrepid and devoted servant of Shoghi
Effendi, (whose exploits and experiences in photographing our historic Baha'i
sites in Persia to illustrate "The Dawn-Breakers" deserves the high
appreciation and gratitude of the Baha'i world), had come, in the course of her
far-flung activities, to photograph this sacred place. My visit was of a very
different nature.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was the first Western Baha'i who came, not to carry out an
important commission such as hers, but to express, however feebly, that intense
love and admiration that the followers of Baha'u'llah everywhere feel for these
glorious saints and heroes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYTFxfSDcIghHFMH91iumHnIr0vQXo3fLmF4PfIR7BcCiBUOOBmdukWfcdhwFu4Hu1px0JRy84fwxFxs5nAgWMrl2AqQxWLi6-V3Lvx5uQ9Ms-4kfDE_mQ33QQmLuja3MIeNACzFo0sU8/s1520/Keith+Ransom-Kehler+and+friends+visiting+Fort+Tabarsi-1932.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="1520" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYTFxfSDcIghHFMH91iumHnIr0vQXo3fLmF4PfIR7BcCiBUOOBmdukWfcdhwFu4Hu1px0JRy84fwxFxs5nAgWMrl2AqQxWLi6-V3Lvx5uQ9Ms-4kfDE_mQ33QQmLuja3MIeNACzFo0sU8/w414-h210/Keith+Ransom-Kehler+and+friends+visiting+Fort+Tabarsi-1932.jpg" width="414" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Keith Ransom-Kehler and her cavalcade <br />leaving Fort Tabarsi</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was Friday the tenth of November that the "little
town was emptied of its folk this pious morn" to visit the Shrine, and a
large cavalcade, including Baha'is from many places in Mazindaran, from several
parts of Persia, together with the Spiritual Assembly of Sari, set out across
the uncharted fields for this memorable journey to Shaykh Tabarsi.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the darkest days of our oppression and persecution in
Persia, when the word Baha'i was barely whispered, Baha'u’llah promised that
one day Baha'is from the West would freely and openly consort with their
brethren in this sore-tried land. The miraculous fulfillment of this early
promise was the thought uppermost in the mind of every Persian, today.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some of the descendants of Mulla Ali Jan had arrived from
Mafruzac, and since they had the gentlest horse in the community it was chosen
for me. It is quite thirty years since my equestrian exploits, and being still
very feeble from my recent prolonged illness, they mounted me on a great
packsaddle astride, with the owner leading his docile mare and Alai, a large
and very strong man, literally balancing me by the hand, over rough land and
winding roads for six long miles. Let anyone who considers this a mere polite
gesture try it soon.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Such a sight has never been seen in Mazindaran
before," exclaimed Dr. Nadari. Sari, turning with a kind of awe to watch
this new army of peace advancing in the footsteps of those aforetime destined
by the forfeiture of their lives to challenge the world to the contemplation of
peace, gazed in wonder.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our horses gallantly swam the river, bare-legged Baha'is
guiding them safely to the steep bank opposite. It was in this very spot that
the Mulla Husayn implored those who were unprepared for the unprecedented
difficulties that lay before them to turn back. Those who finally crossed with
him remained to the end.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sometimes we swarmed afoot and ahorse over a big bare paddy,
sometimes we went single file over a narrow bridge, but the sound of prayer and
chanting never abated and at every turn we called upon the Greatest Name.
"Allah'u'-Abha! Allah'u'-Abha," cried the granddaughter of Mulla Ali
Jan again and again as we wound along the narrow irrigation paths. "That
must be our only thought today, our only utterance," she said.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In due time we reached the village of Arfa, headquarters of
the Imperial army besieging the Fort, and at a short distance we dismounted
before the Shrine, left, because it is a Muslim tomb, when everything else
connected with the Fort was demolished.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At my request, after we had recalled the magnificent history
of the spot, the entire party went into the inner room where the world's
greatest hero, the Mulla Husayn lies buried by the side of the old Islamic
teacher, Shaykh Tabarsi. There they chanted the Tablet of Visitation revealed
for him by the Báb.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Their devotions finished I was permitted to enter the Shrine
alone. Who can estimate the meaning of a moment or who recount the miracle of a
thought? Into the untrained mind of Brother Lawrence flashed the idea that
spring would soon adorn the barren boughs at which he glanced, with verdure,
and over him flooded the realization of the Presence of God in which he lived
out his life with joy and assurance. No more elevating an incident than the
light on a brass kettle reflected into the soul of Jacob Boehme his ecstatic
reunion with his Lord. "Dante looked at Beatrice once and ten silent
centuries sang."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My visit to that humble and neglected spot has pierced life
with a purpose that it did not have before. To visit our sacred Shrines in
Palestine is indeed a shaking experience, for these Eternal Beings wring the soul
with the appalling testimony of the cumulative horrors that man has ever heaped
upon God's Messengers. But after all these occupy a rank and station apart from
human kind. What They endured They endured with a superhuman equipment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mulla Husayn was human like unto us and with every
limitation of humanity attained to the station of divinity; in his ecstatic
devotion, his unswerving fidelity, his utter self-immolation it would be hard
to find his peer likeness.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My heart nearly broke as in an abandonment of misery and
repentance for all my negligence, unworthiness and arrogance, I fell prostrate
upon this hallowed earth and besought God to teach me, at whatever cost, that
sublime lesson of humility that had elevated this great devotee to a position
of incalculable glory; to kindle within my breast, with the fuel of my very
being, if necessary, this light of abandonment in His service that causes every
personal wish to cast the shadow of death; to quicken in my soul that life
eternal which alone can revitalize this earth into the promised Kingdom of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I see no humility, no fire, no life in myself since the
utterance of this impassioned prayer. I still go my ways in arrogance,
opinionation, and subverted purposes of achievement. But in an unused portion
of my being, like a treasure hidden in a field, lies something tremulous and
unforgettable, something with a wistful fragrance and tenderness, something
that lures and stills me, something strangely startling and tranquilizing --
the recollection of how the Mulla Husayn stood with folded arms upon the
threshold, like a servant to the man who had been twice preferred before him,
and rose from the dead, as it were, that no attention or respect might ever be
lacking to that one whom he might so easily have regarded as a usurper of his
position; of how, though numbers wished to acclaim him, he remained indifferent
to their adulation; of how, in every instance, before and after the Declaration
of his Lord, his eye never deviated from that Figure of Divine Perfection upon
which his life was stayed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">No one could kneel upon the Shrine of the Mulla Husayn and
arise the same person. The world is still resounding with his challenge: raised
first, by his glorious namesake, the Imam Husayn: "Is there any who will
assist me?"; the earth is still reverberating with the tread of his
dauntless feet; leading now the armies of the Supreme Concourse he is still
searching for recruits. And as I knelt there something buoyant and eager in me
seemed to answer "Here" to his muster-call while ringing down a
forgotten vista in my heart. I heard the marching order "Mount your
steeds, Oh heroes of God!"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who stayed behind were gathered in the square before
the Haziratu'l-Quds when men and horses bad once more safely crossed the river
and we returned. The samovars were boiling; tea was passed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"This day will never be forgotten." said Abdul
Molaki of the Sáiri Assembly. "Babes carried in their mothers arms today
will be tutored to recount this story to an unborn generation."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"This is what that celestial army died for." I
said; "the unity of East and West, of men and women, of rich and poor, of
young and old, of black, white, yellow and brown. Implore God that in that
future when these children recount the story of our pilgrimage, if as you
suggest it be brought to memory, my glaring faults, my childish frailties will
have been effaced by time. We give no heed to Peter's violent temper, to the
cold and narrow nature of James, to the complaints of Martha; for they are
walking in a light that irradiates this gloom. And when my last toll is taken and
my earthly pilgrimage complete may the infinite compassion of God- should I
ever be recalled - decree that if my faults must live some remembrance of my
great devotion to His Holy Cause, of my intense desire to serve the Guardian,
may also live beside them."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Before luncheon was finished a great stir and commotion
announced the arrival of my convoy from Babul (Barfarush); sixteen automobiles
conveying the Spiritual Assembly and a large group of Baha'is. Together with
the cars from Sari (for the Spiritual Assembly still continued beside me) we
had a procession of nineteen automobiles - a nine day's wonder in Persia, where
even the King is not so escorted. The streets were filled with gaping crowds as
we passed; the square surged with an inquiring host when we arrived. And thus
ends one chapter and begins another, - my divine adventure in Babul and the
adjoining villages.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'd be ashamed to tell you how late it is - or how early, as
the case may be. Reading this over I am still more ashamed of its egotistical
tone; but the pilgrimage to Shaykh Tabarsi is a purely subjective experience.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Star of the West [The Baha’i Magazine], vol, 24, no, 3,
June 1933)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-45870627398813961962021-05-12T12:25:00.001-07:002021-07-30T12:28:52.621-07:00The Martyr-Prophet of a World Faith – by William Sears<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8wzpmEaLVKII206KSNy1GSjr4Mzbl9cLp1R37PAllyJUFcSCGG09COhjLrf-ZUL8DHepcWsBFCrr96kJ4IEzC_1WxhtLXpIONpkZQg-RCB5J5RQXAdPzWrb1K_pJfvsje-2M5MO334CR/s1024/Hand+of+the+Cause+William+Sears-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="854" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT8wzpmEaLVKII206KSNy1GSjr4Mzbl9cLp1R37PAllyJUFcSCGG09COhjLrf-ZUL8DHepcWsBFCrr96kJ4IEzC_1WxhtLXpIONpkZQg-RCB5J5RQXAdPzWrb1K_pJfvsje-2M5MO334CR/w223-h267/Hand+of+the+Cause+William+Sears-1.jpg" width="223" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>The blistering July sun glared from the barrels of seven
hundred and fifty rifles, awaiting the command to fire and to take His life.</i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>He seemed so young to die, barely thirty, and He was
handsome, gentle, confident. Could He possibly be guilty of the shocking crime
of which He was accused?</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Thousands of eager spectators lined the Public Square. They
crowded along the roof-tops overlooking the scene of death. They wanted one
last sight of Him for He was either good or evil, and they were not sure which.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>It was high noon, July 9, 1850, in a parched corner of
Persia, the barracks square of the sundrenched city of Tabriz.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The chain of events leading to this scene began in 1844. It
was in an age of religious fervor. Everywhere men were preaching the return of
Christ. They urged the world to prepare for it. Wolff in Asia, Sir Edward
Irving in England, Leonard H. Kelber in Germany, Mason in Scotland, Davis in
South Carolina, and William Miller in Pennsylvania all agreed that their
studies of the Scriptures clearly showed that the hour for Christ's return was
at hand.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">James Russell Lowell's poem "The Crisis" was
written in that very hour of Advent enthusiasm:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Once to every man and nation</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">comes the moment to decide. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some great cause, God's new Messiah ... " <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The years between 1843 and 1847 were generally accepted as
the time for the return of Christ. Careful study of the prophecies had
simultaneously led Bible scholars and students in different parts of the world
to these fateful years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Did the years between 1843-1847 pass with no sign of the
return of Christ? Or were these years comparable to those which followed the
birth and enunciation of Christ's original message? Years which passed with no
visible sign to the people of Palestine that the Promised One had come. The
crucifixion of a trouble-maker from Nazareth they had dismissed from their
minds. Was the story to wait, as it had waited in the time of Jesus, for over
one hundred years before it began to reach the consciousness of the people? Was
the story of Calvary to be retold at an execution post in the public square of
Tabriz?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And during 1844, in Persia, this story had its beginning.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was the eve of May 23rd in Shiraz, the "city of
nightingales and blue tile fountains." Shiraz, in what was once the
ancient province of Elam given by Daniel, the Prophet, as the place of vision
in the latter days and mentioned in the book of Jeremiah: "And I will set
my throne in Elam."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A young man declared that He was the one foretold in all the
holy books of the past. He said He had come to usher in a new era, a new
springtime in the hearts of men. He was called "The Báb" which means
the door or the gate. His teaching was to be the gateway to a new age of unity:
The world is one country and mankind its citizens; there is only one religion
and all the prophets have taught it.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As Jesus had spoken to Peter, the fisherman, the Báb spoke
to a Persian student, Mulla Husayn. Mulla Husayn's own words can best describe
the depth of this experience:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“I sat spellbound by His utterance, oblivious of time. This
Revelation so suddenly and impetuously thrust upon me, came as a thunderbolt
which, for a time, seemed to have benumbed my faculties. Excitement, joy, awe,
and wonder stirred the depths of my soul. Predominant among these emotions was
a sense of gladness and strength which seemed to have transfigured me."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I sat enraptured by the magic of His voice and the
sweeping force of His Revelation. At last I reluctantly arose from my seat and
begged to depart.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The Báb smilingly bade me be seated and said, 'If you
leave in such a state, whoever sees you will assuredly say: This poor youth has
lost his mind.'"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At that moment the clock registered two hours and eleven
minutes after sunset on the eve of May 23, 1844. The Báb declared to Mulla
Husayn as he prepared to leave, "This night, this very hour will, in the
days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant
festivals."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One hundred years later, May 23, 1944, in over eight hundred
Baha'i communities of the world this hour was commemorated as the dawn of a new
age, the beginning of the era of "one fold and one shepherd."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In one century from the evening of its birth, this World
Faith heralded by the Báb had spread to all the major countries of the earth,
embracing people from every walk of life, every religious conviction, every
shade of skin-color.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The fame of the Báb soon spread beyond the circle of His
disciples. It reached the authorities of both church and state. They were
alarmed by the enthusiasm with which the people accepted the Báb's message. The
same wave of opposition and hatred that had surrounded Jesus, began to engulf
the Báb. The clergy at once initiated a combined attack upon Him. They gathered
their wisest and most capable scholars and speakers to argue with and try to
confuse the Báb. They arranged great public debates in Shiraz and invited the
Governor, the Clergy, the Military Chiefs, as well as the people, hoping to
discredit the young Prophet of Shiraz.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He spoke such searching truths that day by day the crowds
increased. His purity of conduct at an age when passions are intense impressed
the people who met Him. He was possessed of extraordinary eloquence and daring.
Instead of benefitting the clergy, the debates they arranged elevated the Báb
at their expense. He exposed, unsparingly, their vices and corruption. He
proved their infidelity to their own doctrine. He shamed them in their lives.
He defeated them with their own Holy Book in His hand.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Soon all of Persia was talking about the Báb. The Shah
himself, moved to investigate the truth of the reports concerning the Báb,
delegated Siyyid Yahyay-i-Darabi, surnamed Vahid, to go at once to Shiraz and
investigate the matter in person. Vahid was chosen because he was called the
"most learned and most influential" of all the Shah's subjects.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Vahid had three interviews with the Báb. After the first, he
said to a friend, "I expatiated unduly upon my own learning in His
presence. He was able in a few words to answer my questions."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of these interviews, Vahid said later, "As soon as I
was ushered into His presence, a sense of fear, for which I could not account,
suddenly seized me. The Báb, beholding my plight, arose from His seat, advanced
toward me, and, taking hold of my hand, seated me beside Him."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Seek from me,' He said, 'whatever is your heart's desire. I
will readily reveal it to you.'</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Like a babe that can neither understand nor speak, I
felt powerless to respond. The Báb smiled as He gazed at me. He said, 'Were I
to reveal for you the answers to the questions you seek, would you acknowledge
that My words are born of the spirit of God? Would you recognize that My
utterance can in no way be associated with sorcery or magic?'</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"How am I to describe this scene of inexpressible
majesty? Verses streamed from His pen with a rapidity that was truly
astounding. The incredible swiftness of His writing, the soft gentle murmur of
His voice, and the stupendous force of His style, amazed and bewildered
me."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Vahid summed up his report on his investigation of the Báb
by saying, "Such was the state of certitude to which I had attained that
nothing could shake my confidence in the greatness of His Cause."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When word of this reached the Shah, he told his Prime Minister,
"We have been informed that he has become a follower of the Báb. If this
be true, it behooves us to cease belittling the Cause of this youth."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Still disturbed by Vahid's response to the Báb's teaching,
the Shah issued an order summoning the Báb to the capital city of Tihran. The
Shah had received a letter from the Báb requesting such an audience. The Báb
said that He was confident of the justness of the King and so He wished to come
to the capital and hold conferences with the priests of the empire in the
presence of the Shah, the civil authorities, and the people. The Báb offered to
explain His Cause and His purpose. He said He would accept beforehand the
judgment of the Shah and, in case of failure, was ready to sacrifice His head.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb never reached Tihran. The Prime Minister, Haji Mirza
Aqasi, feared the consequences of such an interview. He feared the influence
the Báb might exert on both the Sovereign and the capital city. He succeeded in
persuading the Shah to transfer so dreaded a subject to Mah-Ku, a prison castle
in the Adhirbiyjan mountains to the north.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Enroute to Mah-Ku, the Báb approached the gate of Tabriz.
The news of His arrival stirred the hearts of the people and they set out to
meet Him, eager to extend their welcome to so beloved a Leader. The officials
of the Government refused to allow them to draw near and receive His blessing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As the Báb walked along the streets of Tabriz, the cries of
the multitude resounded on every side. So loud was the clamour of welcome that
a crier was ordered to warn the people of the danger to which they were
exposing themselves. The cry went forth: "Whoever shall make any attempt
to approach the Báb or seek to meet him, all that person's possessions shall be
seized and he shall be immediately imprisoned!"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">An undercurrent of excitement ran through the city during
the Báb's stay. With saddened hearts and mixed feelings of helplessness and
confusion, the people watched the beloved Prophet leave Tabriz for the castle
of Mah-Ku. They whispered among themselves, as had the followers of Jesus when
they watched Him being delivered in turn to Caiaphus and Pilate. "If this
is the Promised One, why is He subjected to the whims of the men of
earth?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb was given into the custody of 'Ali Khan, warden of
the solid, four-towered stone castle which sat on the summit of a mountain on
the frontier of Russia, Turkey, and Persia.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Prime Minister was confident that few, if any, would
venture to penetrate that wild region. The people of the area were already
hostile to the Báb, and it was the Prime Minister's hope that this enforced
seclusion among enemies would stifle the Faith at its birth and lead to its
extinction.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He soon realized how gravely he had underrated the force of
the Báb's influence. The hostility of the natives was subdued by the gentle
manners of the Báb. Their hearts were softened by His love for them. Their
pride was humbled by His modesty. Their opposition to His teaching was mellowed
by the wisdom of His words. Even the warden, 'Ali Khan, began to relax the
severity of the Báb's imprisonment, in spite of the Prime Minister's repeated
warning against falling under His spell.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Soon great numbers began to come from all quarters to visit
the Báb at Mah-Ku. During this period, the Báb composed His Persian Bayan, the
most comprehensive of all His writings. In it the Báb defined His mission as
two-fold: To call men to God, and to announce the coming of the Promise of all
ages and all religions - a great world educator whose station was so exalted
that in the words of the Báb, "A thousand perusals of the Bayan cannot
equal the perusal of a single verse to be revealed by Him whom God shall make
manifest."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Prime Minister was informed of the affection which the
once unfriendly people of Mah-Ku were showing toward the Báb. He was told of
the flood of pilgrims to the castle. Those who had been ordered to watch
developments, reported to the Prime Minister that the warden, 'Ali Khan, had been
enchanted by the Báb and treated Him as his host rather than as his prisoner.
Both fear and rage impelled the Prime Minister to issue an instant order for
the transfer of the Báb to the castle of Chiriq, called the "grievous
mountain."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb said farewell to the people of Mah-Ku who, in the
course of His nine month's captivity among them, had recognized to a remarkable
degree the power of His personality and the greatness of His character.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb was subjected to a closer and more rigorous
confinement at Chiriq. The Prime Minister left strict and explicit instructions
to the keeper, Yahya Khan, that no one was to enter the presence of his
prisoner. He was warned to profit by the failure of 'Ali Khan at Mah-Ku. Yet,
in spite of the open threat to his own safety, Yahya Khan found himself
powerless to obey. He soon felt the fascination of his prisoner and forgot the
duty he was expected to perform, for the love of the Báb had claimed his entire
being.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even the Kurds who lived in Chiriq, and whose fanaticism and
hatred exceeded that of the inhabitants of Mah-Ku, fell under the transforming
influence of the Báb. The love which the Báb radiated was a living thing. As
Saul of Tarsus had fallen victim to the enrapturing warmth of Jesus, in like
manner whoever came in contact with the Báb was transported into a new world of
joy and gladness. As the crowds had flocked to Jesus on the Mount of Olives, so
came the hungry, thirsty people of Persia to the Mountain of Chiriq.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">No sooner did this news reach the capital than the
infuriated Prime Minister demanded that the Báb be transferred at once to
Tabriz. He called an immediate conference of all the ecclesiastical dignitaries
of Tabriz to seek the most effective means for bringing to an abrupt end the
Báb’s power over the people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The news of the impending arrival of the Báb caused such
popular enthusiasm that the authorities decided to confine the Báb in a place
outside the gate of the city. The crowds besieged the entrance to the meeting
place the next day, impatiently awaiting the time when they could catch a
glimpse of His face. They pressed forward in such large numbers that a passage
had to be forced for the Báb.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When the Báb entered the hall, a great stillness descended
upon the people. At last the stillness was broken by the president of the
gathering. "Who do you claim to be,'' he asked the Báb, "and what is
the message which you have brought?"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pontius Pilate had asked Jesus, "Art thou a king,
then?" And Jesus replied, "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end
was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear
witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So did the Báb reply to the Assembly. "I am-I am-I am
the Promised One. I am the one whose name you have for a thousand years
invoked, at whose mention you have-risen, whose advent you have longed to
witness, and the hour of whose revelation you have prayed God to hasten.
Verily, I say, it is incumbent upon the peoples of both the East and the West
to obey My word and pledge allegiance to My person."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Immediately after He had pronounced these words, a quiet
fell over the hall; a feeling of awe seized those who were present; the pallor
of their faces betrayed the agitation of their hearts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The examination of the Báb continued to its pre-arranged
end. Yet, once again the purpose of the authorities had been frustrated. The
meeting had served only to uplift Him in the eyes of the people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb was at length delivered to the head of the religious
court of Tabriz to be whipped with the bastinado. As Jesus had fallen under the
scourge for His claim to be a Redeemer of men, the Báb also was subjected to
the same indignity. Eleven times the head of the religious court applied the
rod to the Bab's feet. He was struck across the face with one of the strokes
intended for His feet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dr. McCormick, an English physician, treated Him and
recalled their meeting in the following manner, "He was a very mild and
delicate looking man, rather small in stature, and very fair for a Persian,
with a melodious soft voice, which struck me much. In fact his whole look and
deportment went far to dispose one in his favor”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">His persecutors had fondly hoped that by summoning the Báb
to Tabriz they would be able through threats and intimidations to induce Him to
abandon His mission. They had failed. As Jesus had said, "My teaching is
not mine, but His that sent me," the Báb too made it clear that this message
was something greater than Himself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The gathering in Tabriz had enabled Him at last to set forth
emphatically, in the presence of the authorities, the distinguishing features
of His claim. It had also enabled Him to destroy, in brief and convincing
language, the arguments of His enemies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The news of this meeting spread rapidly throughout Persia.
It awakened new zeal in the hearts of His followers. They redoubled their
efforts to spread His teachings. It enkindled a corresponding reaction among
His adversaries. Persecutions, unprecedented in their violence, swept over the
nation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Shah succumbed to illness, and his Prime Minister Haji
Mirza Aqasi was toppled from power. The successor to the throne was
seventeen-year-old Nasiri'd-Din Mirza, and the active direction of the affairs
of the nation fell to a new Prime Minister, Mirza Taqi Khan. His rule was
iron-hearted and his hatred for the Báb more implacable than that of Haji Mirza
Aqasi. He unchained a combined assault of civil and ecclesiastical powers against
the Báb and His Faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When word of the suffering of His followers reached the Báb,
who had been returned to the castle of Chihriq, He was plunged in sorrow. There
was yet an added blow to come to Him. His beloved uncle, by whom He had been
reared in childhood, was arrested in Tihran to await execution.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It was this same uncle who had served the Báb with such
devotion throughout His life, who became one of His first and most ardent
disciples. It had been less than a year before his arrest in Tihran that the
Báb's uncle had visited Him in His prison cell in Chihriq. He had gone from
there to Tihran to teach the Faith of the Báb and had remained there until his
arrest as one of fourteen prisoners.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The fourteen captives in Tihran were imprisoned in the home
of one of the city officials. Every kind of ill treatment was inflicted upon
them to induce them to reveal the names and addresses of other believers. The
Prime Minister issued a decree threatening with execution whoever among the
fourteen was unwilling to recant his faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Seven were compelled to yield to the pressure and were
released at once. The remaining seven became known as the "Seven Martyrs
of Tihran." The Báb's uncle, one of the leading merchants of Shiraz, was
one of these seven. His friends urged him to deny his faith and save his life.
A number of the more affluent merchants offered to pay a ransom for him. The
Báb's uncle rejected their offer. Finally he was brought before the Prime
Minister.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"A number have interceded in your behalf," the
Prime Minister told him. "Eminent merchants of Shiraz and Tihran are
willing, nay, eager to pay your ransom. A word of recantation from you will set
you free and ensure your return with honors to your native city."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb's uncle boldly replied to these words. "Your
Excellency," he said, "my repudiation of the truths enshrined in this
Revelation would be tantamount to a rejection of all the revelations that have
preceded it. To refuse to acknowledge the mission of the Báb would be to deny
the divine character of the message which Muhammad, Jesus, Moses, and all the
prophets of the past have revealed. "</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Prime Minister could not hide his impatience as the
Báb's uncle signed his own death-warrant with his lips.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb's uncle continued: "God knows that whatever I
have heard and read concerning the sayings and doings of these messengers, I
have been privileged to witness the same from this youth, this beloved kinsman
of mine, from his earliest boyhood to this, the thirtieth year of His life. I
only request that you allow me to be the first to lay down my life in His
path."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Prime Minister was stupefied by such an answer. Without
uttering a word, he motioned that the Bab's uncle be taken out and beheaded.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The second to fall beneath the headsman's axe was Mirza
Qurban 'Ali. He was a close friend of many nobles. The mother of the Shah,
because of her friendship for Qurban 'Ali, said to the King, "He is no
follower of the Bab, but has been falsely accused."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So they sent for him. "You are a scholar, a man of
learning," they said. "You do not belong to this misguided sect. A
false charge has been preferred against you."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Qurban 'Ali replied, "I reckon myself one of the
followers and servants of the Báb, though whether He hath accepted me as such,
I know not."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">They tried to persuade, holding out hopes of a salary and
pension.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"This life and these drops of blood of mine," he
said, "are of but small account. Were the entire world mine, and had I a
thousand lives, I would freely cast them all at the feet of His friends."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Qurban 'Ali was taken to the Prime Minister.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Since last night I have been besieged by all classes
of state officials," the Prime Minister told him. "They are
vigorously speaking in your behalf. From what I learn of the position you
occupy and the influence your words exercise, you are not much inferior to the
Báb himself. If you had claimed for yourself the leadership, it would have been
better than to declare your allegiance to one who is certainly inferior to you
in knowledge."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"All the knowledge which I have acquired," Qurban
'Ali answered, "has only led me to bow down in allegiance before
Him." Qurban 'Ali boldly continued. "Ever since I attained the age of
manhood, I have regarded justice and fairness as the ruling motive of my life.
I have judged the Báb fairly with my mind and with my heart. I have reached the
conclusion that should this youth, to whose transcendent power friend and foe
alike testify, be false, then every Prophet of God from time immemorial down to
the present day should be denounced as the very embodiment of falsehood."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Neither the sweetness of bribes, nor the threat of death had
any effect.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I am assured of the unquestioned loyalty of over a
thousand admirers," Qurban 'Ali told the Prime Minister, "and yet I
am powerless to change the heart of the least among them. The Báb, however, has
proved Himself capable of transmuting the souls of the most degraded among His
fellowmen. Upon a thousand like me He has, unaided and alone, exerted such
influence that, without even attaining His presence, they have flung aside
their own desires and have clung passionately to His will. Fully conscious of
the inadequacy of the sacrifice they have made, they yearn to lay down their
lives for His sake."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Prime Minister hesitated. "Whether your words be of
God or not, I am reluctant to pronounce the sentence of death against one of
your exalted rank and station."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Why hesitate?" burst forth Qurban 'Ali. "For
this was I born. This is the day on which I shall seal with my life-blood my
faith in His cause." Seeing the Prime Minister's uncertainty, he added
quickly, "Be not reluctant. Rest assured that I shall never blame you for
your act. The sooner you strike off my head, the greater will be my gratitude
to you."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Prime Minister paled. "Take him away from this
place!" he cried. "Take him away! Another moment and he will have
cast his spell over me!"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Qurban 'Ali smiled gently. "No," he said,
"you are proof against that magic. It is a magic that can captivate only
the pure in heart."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Enfuriated, the Prime Minister arose from his seat. His face
was mottled and his whole frame shaking with anger as he shouted: "Nothing
but the edge of the sword can silence the voice of this deluded people!"
He turned to the executioners. "It is enough. No need to bring any more
members of this hateful sect before me. Words are powerless to overcome their
unswerving obstinacy. Whomever you are able to induce to recant his faith,
release him. As for the rest, strike off their heads. I will face no more of them!"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The news of the tragic fate which had befallen the seven
martyrs of Tihrin brought immeasurable sorrow to the heart of the Báb. To His
companions, the Báb explained that this event foreshadowed His own death soon
to follow.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Prime Minister decided to strike at the very head of the
Faith. Remove the Báb, he felt, and once more the old order could be restored.
He called his counsellors together and unfolded his plans.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Nothing," he told them, "short of the Báb's
public execution can enable this distracted country to recover its tranquility
and peace."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He dispatched an order commanding that the Báb be brought to
Tabriz a second time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Forty days before the arrival of this summons, the Báb
collected all the documents and writings in His possession. He placed them in a
box, along with His pen-case and ring, and made arrangements for their
disposal. 'Abdu'l-Karim, to whom they were eventually entrusted, informed his
fellow-disciples that all he could reveal of the letter which had been given
him concerning the contents of the box was that it was to be delivered into the
hands of Baha'u'llah, one of the Báb's ablest defenders in Tihran.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At last the Báb was escorted to the city of Tabriz which was
to be the scene of His martyrdom. Never had this city experienced a turmoil so
fierce. As the Báb was being led through the courtyard to His cell in the city
barracks, a youth leaped forward into His path. This eighteen year old boy had
forced his way through the crowd ignoring the peril to his own life which such
an attempt involved. His face was haggard, his feet were bare, his hair
disheveled. He flung himself at the feet of the Báb and implored Him:
"Send me not from Thee, O Master. Wherever Thou goest, suffer me to follow
Thee."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Reminiscent of the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross,
the Báb answered him, saying, "Muhammad-Ali, arise and rest assured that
you will be with Me. Tomorrow you will witness what God hath decreed."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That night the face of the Báb was aglow with joy, a joy
such as had never shone from His countenance. Indifferent to the storm that
raged about Him, He conversed with His companions with gaiety and cheerfulness.
The sorrows that had weighed so heavily upon Him seemed to have completely
vanished.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb saw the sun rise over the sands of His native Persia
for the last time. He was engaged in a confidential conversation with one of
His followers, who served as His secretary when He was interrupted by a
government official. The Chief Attendant for the Prime Minister's brother had
come to lead the Báb to the presence of the leading Doctors of law in
Tabriz to obtain from them the authorization for His execution.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb rebuked the Attendant for his interruption and held
fast to His secretary’s hand.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Not until I have said to him all those things that I wish
to say," the Báb warned the Attendant, "can any earthly power silence
Me. Though all the world be armed against Me, yet shall they be powerless to
deter Me from fulfilling, to the last word my intension."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Attendant was amazed at such boldness and effrontery in
a mere prisoner. He insisted that the Báb accompany him. The barracks doors
were opened and the Báb was brought into the courtyard, His conversation left
unfinished.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To the people of Tabriz, the Báb was no longer triumphant.
The campaign of united opposition by church and state was having its effect.
The Báb was now a humbled prisoner. The crowd filled the streets and people
climbed on each other's shoulders the better to see this man who was still so
much talked about.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Just as Jesus had entered Jerusalem hailed on all sides and
with palms strewn in His path only to be mocked and reviled in that same
Jerusalem within the week, in like manner the glory that had attended the Báb's
first visit to Tabriz was forgotten now. This time the crowd, restless and
excitable, flung insulting words at the Báb. They pursued Him as He was led
through the streets. They broke through the guards and struck Him in the face.
When seme missile hurled from the crowd would reach its mark the guards and the
crowd would burst into laughter.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As soon as the Chief Attendant secured the death-warrant, he
delivered the Báb into the hands of Sam Khan who was in charge of the Armenian
regiment which had been ordered to execute Him. Sam Khan had' found himself
increasingly affected by the behavior of his captive. He was seized with great
fear lest his action should bring upon him the wrath of God. He approached the
Báb and spoke to Him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I profess the Christian faith," he explained,
"and entertain no ill will against you. If your cause be the cause of
truth, enable me to free myself from the obligation to shed your blood."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Follow your instructions," the Báb replied,
"and if your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve
you from your perplexity.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sam Khan ordered his men to drive a nail into the pillar
that lay between the doors of the barracks. To the nail they made fast the
ropes from which the áab and His companion, Muhammad Ali, were to bs separately
suspended.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb remained silent, His pale handsome face framed by a
black beard and small moustache. His appearance and His refined manners, His
white and delicate hands, His simple but neat garments, all seemed out of place
in the midst of this scene of violence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Muhammad Ali begged Sam Khan to place him in such a manner
that his body would shield that of the Báb. He was eventually suspended so that
his head rested upon the breast of his Master.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">About ten thousand people had crowded onto the roofs of the
adjoining houses, all eager to witness the spectacle, yet all willing to change
at the least sign from the Báb. As the crowd that had passed by on Golgotha,
reviling Him, wagging their heads and saying, "save thyself. If thou be
the Son of God, come down from the cross," so , too , did the people of
Tabriz mock the Báb and jeer at His impotence.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As soon as the Báb and His companion were fastened to the
post, the regiment of soldiers ranged itself into three files. Sam Khan could
delay the command no longer. He ordered his men to fire. In turn, each of the
files opened fire upon them until the whole detachment had discharged its
volley of bullets.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The smoke from the firing of the seven hundred and fifty
old-style rifles was such as to turn the light of the noonday sun into darkness.
As soon as the cloud of smoke had cleared away, the crowd looked upon a scene
which reason could scarcely accept. Standing before them, alive and unhurt, was
the companion of the Báb, Muhammad 'Ali. The Báb Himself had vanished from
their sight. The cords with which they had been suspended were torn into pieces
by the bullets, yet their bodies had escaped the volleys.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The soldiers tried to quiet the crowd. The Chief Attendant
began a frantic search for the Báb. He found Him seated in the same room which
He had occupied the night before. The Báb was completing the conversation which
had been interrupted that morning by the Chief Attendant.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I have finished my conversation with my
secretary," the Báb told the Attendant. "Now you may proceed to fulfill
your intention."</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Attendant was too much shaken to resume. He remembered
the words the Báb had spoken that morning: "Though all the world be armed
against Me, yet shall they be powerless to deter Me from fulfilling, to the
last word, My intention."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Attendant refused to continue. He left the scene and
resigned his post.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Meanwhile, in the courtyard the soldiers, in order to quell
the excitement of the crowd, showed the cords which had been severed by the
bullets. The seven hundred and fifty musket balls had shattered the ropes into
fragments and freed the two, nothing more.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">L. M. Nicolas, a European scholar, wrote of this episode,
"It was a thing unique in the annals of the history of humanity. The
volley severed their bonds and delivered them without a scratch." M. C.
Huart, a French writer, stated, "It was a real miracle... they were freed
without a scratch."</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sam Khan was likewise stunned. He recalled the words the Báb
had addressed to him: "If your intention be sincere, the Almighty is
surely able to relieve you from your perplexity." He ordered his regiment
to leave the barracks square immediately. He told the authorities that he would
refuse ever again to associate himself and his regiment with any act that would
involve the least injury to the Báb, even though his refusal should entail the
loss of his own life.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After the departure of Sam Khan, the Colonel of the
bodyguard volunteered to carry out the order for the execution. A second time
the Báb and His companion were lashed to the fatal post while the firing squad
formed in line before them. As they prepared to fire the final volley, the Báb
spoke His last words to the gazing multitude.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Had you believed in Me, O Wayward generation," He
said, "everyone of you would have followed the example of this youth, who
stood in rank above most of you, and willingly would have sacrificed himself in
My path. The day will come when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall
no longer be with you."</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The regiment discharged the volley. The Báb and His
companion gave up their lives as the bullets shattered their bodies. As Jesus
had expired on the cross so that men might be called back to God, the Báb
breathed His last against the barracks wall in the city of Tabriz.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The martyrdom of the Báb took place at noon on Sunday, July
9, 1850, thirty years from the time of his birth in Shiraz.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(‘The Martyr-Prophet of a World Faith’)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-75763191576933149752021-02-10T02:21:00.002-08:002021-04-25T02:25:08.648-07:00The Old Churches and the New World-Faith – by George Townshend, M. A. (Oxon) (Sometime Canon of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and Archdeacon of Clonfert)<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizS-zEpGxH7zyDUWzI3m-5pQknXMdcfTjUppPlb9nVTclDon8tIpPxvyHfOqbIicRqPED7_2gzpfTRZP_A6R0AiVxO9fwsYtLEV6eJ-tRXeWj4wkVYw_878rIZSR__NupGbSfDsJ0KuWd7/s493/George+Townshend+circa+1920-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="450" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizS-zEpGxH7zyDUWzI3m-5pQknXMdcfTjUppPlb9nVTclDon8tIpPxvyHfOqbIicRqPED7_2gzpfTRZP_A6R0AiVxO9fwsYtLEV6eJ-tRXeWj4wkVYw_878rIZSR__NupGbSfDsJ0KuWd7/w217-h238/George+Townshend+circa+1920-1.jpg" width="217" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Having identified myself with the Faith of Baha'u'llah and
sacrificed my position as a canon and a dignitary of the Church of Ireland that
I might do so, I now make this statement on the relation of this Faith to
Christianity and to the Churches of Christ.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is submitted to all Christian people in general but more
especially to the bishops and clergy and members of my own communion, with the
humble but earnest and urgent request that they will give it their attention as
a matter of vital concern to the Church. Only through an impartial investigation
of the Cause of Baha'u'llah will they find, I fully believe, a means of
reviving the fortunes of the Church, of restoring the purity and the power of
the Gospel and of helping to build a better and more truly Christian world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Baha'u'llah (Whose approaching advent had been announced in
Persia nineteen years before by His prophetic Herald, the Báb, Himself a
world-famous figure) made His public declaration as a Messenger of God in
Baghdad in the year 1863. He affirmed that His appearance fulfilled the
promised Return of Christ in the glory of the Father. He brought a Teaching
which though ampler and fitted to a more advanced Age was in spirit and purpose
the same as that of Christ. He revealed those "other things" which
Jesus told His disciples He had to give them but which they could "not
bear" at that time. His mission was to bring the work of Christ to its
completion and realization, to reconstruct the social order of the world and
build the long-promised Kingdom of God in very fact.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He addressed individual letters or specific messages to the
monarchs of the West and to the members of the various ecclesiastical orders of
the Christian Churches, and directed numerous and repeated exhortations and
warnings to the entire Christian world. These without exception were ignored by
Christendom when they were made, and they have now been set aside and
disregarded for some eighty years. During that period the long established
influence of Christ in Christendom has suffered a decline so unprecedented, so
precipitous that the Bishops gathering for the Lambeth Conference were greeted
in the London press with the challenge that "Christianity is fighting for
its life"; while the Baha'i Faith proclaimed at that time by one lone
Prophet shut in a Turkish prison has spread through the whole globe, has led
the constructive thought of our time, has created a spiritual world-community
joining the East and the West, and is fast making good its right to a place in
the age-long succession of world-faiths.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Followers of the Gospel," exclaimed Baha'u'llah
addressing the whole of Christendom, "behold the gates of heaven are flung
open. He that had ascended unto it is now come. Give ear to His voice calling
aloud over land and sea, announcing to all mankind the advent of this
Revelation - a Revelation through the agency of which the Tongue of Grandeur is
now proclaiming: 'Lo, the sacred Pledge has been fulfilled, for He, the
Promised One is come.'" "The voice of the Son of Man is calling aloud
from the sacred vale, 'Here am I, here am I, O God, my God' ... whilst from the
Burning Bush breaketh forth the cry, 'Lo, the Desire of the world is made
manifest in His transcendent glory.' The Father hath come. That which ye were
promised in the Kingdom of God is fulfilled. This is the Word which the Son
veiled when He said to those around Him that at that time they could not bear
it. ... Verily the spirit of Truth is come to guide you unto all truth. ... He
is the one who glorified the Son and exalted His Cause."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The Comforter Whose advent all the scriptures have
promised is now come that He may reveal unto you all knowledge and wisdom. Seek
Him over the entire surface of the earth, haply ye may find Him."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Through a period of some twenty-five years from about 1865
to 1890, Baha'u'llah sent letters and messages to the monarchs and leaders of
mankind proclaiming to them that however little they recognized it - a
world-crisis had already taken shape and profound changes on a world-scale were
at hand; the old civilization would pass away and another take its place; a new
race of men would arise, and reverence, unity, peace, justice would become
watch-words in a new and happier order. He challenged them in burning words of
power to acknowledge the spiritual cause of world-events already coming into
view and to fill the lofty and noble part for which God and Christ had prepared
them. He warned them not to let prejudice or dogma or superstition or
self-interest or desire for leadership and glory from men deter them from
accepting this summons. Again and again He urged on their notice that the true
cause of this New Age and its happenings was spiritual and that they would find
the key to it in the Gospel which they so continually perused.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In a Tablet to Napoleon III, the most outstanding monarch of
the moment, He informed his Majesty that in the providence of God a new age of
unprecedented changes in human history was opening. He outlined certain
features of its ordained pattern, which would vitally concern a King-statesman,
and called on him to arise, humble himself before God, follow the guidance of
God's Prophet and take a bold initiative in unifying mankind. This, he wrote,
was the Wondrous Age Christ had come to announce. Christ's dominion had spread
westward that the West and its rulers might now give a lead in His holy
service. Would Napoleon now play the man in the precious Cause of God, he would
make himself an emperor of the wide world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Baha'u'llah had already been in communication with Napoleon
and had discovered his hypocrisy and insincerity. He makes mention of this, and
warns the Emperor (then in the plenitude of his pride and power) to give
immediate heed to the Prophet's word, else, He writes, "thy kingdom shall
be thrown into confusion and thine empire shall pass from thy hands. ...
Commotions shall seize all the people in that land. ... We see abasement
hastening after thee, whilst thou art of the heedless."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The contemptuous rejection of this warning was followed not
many months after by the sudden outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, the utter
defeat and capture of Napoleon at Sedan, and the collapse of his empire.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To Queen Victoria Baha'u'llah sent a letter in the course of
which He declared His identity: "O Queen in London! Incline thine ear unto
the voice of thy Lord, the Lord of all mankind. ... He in truth hath come into
the world in His most great glory and all that is mentioned in the Gospel hath
been fulfilled. ... Lay aside thy desire and set thine heart towards thy Lord,
the Ancient of Days. We make mention of thee for the sake of God and desire
that thy name may be exalted through thy remembrance of God, the creator of
earth and heaven. ... Turn thou unto God and say: O my Sovereign Lord, I am but
a vassal of Thine, and Thou art, in truth, the King of Kings.... Assist me
then, O my God, to remember Thee amongst Thy hand-maidens and to aid Thy Cause
in Thy lands. ..."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To Alexander II He wrote, "O Czar of Russia! Incline
thine ear unto the Voice of God, the King, the Holy. Beware lest thy desire
deter thee from turning unto the face of thy Lord, the Compassionate, the Most
Merciful. . .. He verily is come with His Kingdom, and all the atoms cry aloud,
'Lo, the Lord is come in His great majesty.' He who is the Father is come, and
the Son in the holy vale crieth out, 'Here am I, here am I, O Lord, My God.'
... Arise thou amongst men in the name of this all-compelling Cause and summon,
then, the nations unto God . ... Couldst thou but know the things sent down by
My Pen and discover the treasures of My Cause and the pearls of My mysteries...
thou wouldst in thy love for My Name and in thy longing for My glorious and
sublime Kingdom lay down thy life in My path. ..."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He wrote to Pope Pius IX announcing that "He who is the
Lord of Lords hath come" and that he who is the Rock (meaning Peter),
crieth out saying "Lo, the Father is come, and that which ye were promised
in the Kingdom is fulfilled." Baha'u'llah bade him -"Arise in the
name of the Lord, the God of Mercy, amidst the peoples of the earth and seize
thou the cup of life with the hands of confidence and first drink thou
therefrom and proffer it then to such as turn towards it amongst the peoples of
all faiths." He warned him not to repeat the error of the Pharisees and of
the men of learning who on His first coming opposed Jesus Christ and pronounced
judgment against Him, whilst he who was a fisherman believed on Him. He called
on him to "Sell all the embellished ornaments thou dost possess and expend
them in the path of God", to "Abandon thy kingdom unto the kings, and
emerge from thy habitation," and should anyone offer him all the treasures
of the earth "refuse to even glance upon them"; then, detached from
the world, let him "speak forth the praises of thy Lord betwixt earth and
heaven" and warn the kings of the earth against injustice in their
dealings with men.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the concluding pages of His communication to the Pope
which contain some of the most tender, moving and impassioned passages in these
writings, He expresses the warmth of His desire, the earnestness of His effort
to bring the followers of the Gospel into the Most Holy Kingdom of God and to
enable the true-hearted to discern its opened Gates. He urges them to rend the
spiritual veils that blind their eyes, to cast away everything, everything that
prevents them accepting this divine deliverance. He calls them to come out of
the darkness into the light poured forth by the sun of the Grace of God. He
tells them of the sovereignty that awaits them in the Kingdom on High if they
will but heed and obey, of the friendship of God and His companionship in His
everlasting realm of Beauty and of Power that He longs to bestow on them
according to His ancient promise. The Kingdom is theirs of right. He has bidden
them welcome to it, and His heart is sad to see that others enter but they,
alas! tarry before its gates in the darkness. How blessed are those who will
keep the covenant Christ made with His people, who will watch for their Lord's
return as He bade them, and know His voice when He calls them. Blessed are they
who will walk forward in the path Christ laid out for them so straight and true
and will take their rightful place in the van of the Legions of Light.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Elsewhere in these letters to the kings, and also in other
writings, Baha'u'llah speaks to the entire Christian world and addresses
directly officers of the various ecclesiastical orders in Christendom. For
instance: "O concourse of archbishops! He who is the Lord of all men hath
appeared. In the plain of guidance He calleth mankind whilst ye are yet
numbered with the dead. Great is the blessedness of him who is stirred by the
Breeze of God and hath arisen from amongst the dead in this perspicuous
Name."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"O concourse of bishops! ... He who is the Everlasting
Father calleth aloud between earth and heaven. Blessed the ear that hath heard
and the eye that hath seen and the heart that hath turned unto Him . ..."
And, "the stars of the heaven of knowledge have fallen, they that adduce
the proofs they possess in order to demonstrate the truth of My Cause and who
make mention of God in My Name; when however I came unto them in My majesty,
they turned aside from Me. They, verily, are of the fallen. This is what the
Spirit [Jesus] prophesied when He came with the truth and the Jewish Doctors
cavilled at Him. ..."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He addressed the priests, telling them it was their duty to
proclaim aloud the Most Great Name among the nations - they chose to keep
silence when every stone and every tree shouted aloud "The Lord is come in
His great glory!" "The Day of Reckoning," He wrote, "hath
appeared, the Day whereon He who was in heaven hath come. He verily is the One
whom ye were promised in the Books of God. ... How long will ye wander in the
wilderness of heedlessness and superstition? ...</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He warned the monks that they little understood the real
greatness of Jesus Christ which had been "exalted above the imagination of
all that dwell on the earth. Blessed are they who perceive it." "If
ye choose to follow Me," He wrote, "I will make you heirs of My
Kingdom; and if ye transgress against Me I will in My long-suffering endure it
patiently." He expressed His wonder at their men of learning who read the
Gospel and yet refused to acknowledge its All-Glorious Lord on His appearance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Again and again, in general statements and in particular
prophecies, Baha'u'llah warned the rulers of the world and their peoples that
if these clear, solemn and public pronouncements went unheeded and the reforms
enjoined were not made, then divine chastisement would descend from all sides
upon mankind: irreligion would spread and deepen; from it would flow anarchy;
authority and power would pass from the priesthood; the social order would
break up and dissolve to make place for another which God would guide men to build
in its stead.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Whatever "Lesser Peace" the war-weary nations
might at last arrange among themselves, it would not bring them a final
solution of their problems. This would come only with "The Most Great
Peace" of which He wrote in His Tablet (or letter) to Queen Victoria, with
the creation of a world commonwealth and with the ultimate emergence of a
divine world civilization. These objectives could be attained only through
acceptance of the Prophet of the Age and through the adoption of the
principles, plans and patterns for the new World Order which were transmitted
by Him from God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When no heed was given to Baha’u’llah's Declaration that His
prophethood was the return of Christ, when His appeal for the examination of
His Cause and the redress of cruel wrongs inflicted on Him was ignored; when no
one regarded His forecast, so forcefully and so fully presented, that a new
Dawn had broken, a New Age had come (new in a spiritual sense, in a moral
sense, in an intellectual sense), an Age which would bring a new outlook and
new concepts, an Age of Divine Judgment, in which tyranny would be thrown down,
the rights of the people asserted, and in which the social structure of the
human race would be changed; when no attention was paid to the vision He
opened, to the opportunities He offered, to the bold challenge which He had
from prison flung before the mighty ones of the world; then alas! the Churches
as the years went by found themselves caught into a current which bore them
irresistibly downward at an ever increasing speed and which at the end of eight
decades was still to be bearing them down to lower and yet lower levels in
their political standing, in their moral influence, in their intellectual
prestige, in their social authority, in their numbers and their financial
resources, in the popular estimate of the relevancy and the reality of the
religion which they taught and even in the vigour and unanimity of their own
witness to the basic truth upon which the Church itself had been founded.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">No comparable period of deterioration is to be found in the
long records of the Christian Faith. In all the vicissitudes of fifteen
eventful centuries (and they were many); in all the misfortunes, the mistakes,
the failures and the humiliations in which from time to time the Church was
involved, no such catastrophic decline is to be traced. The sovereignty which
the Church had wielded in the Middle Ages had indeed by the nineteenth century
become in Western Europe a thing of the past; but the diminution had been
gradual and moderate. The loss suffered during the previous eight hundred years
can hardly be compared with the vital damage inflicted during the last eighty.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In past crises the foundations of faith and of western
society were not shaken; hope remained dominant, and from tradition and memory
men drew inspiration. Society remained Christian and to that extent unified.
But now the very foundations have gone. Reverence and restraint are no more.
The heights of human nature are closed: its depths opened. Substitute systems
of ethics, man-made and man-regarding, are invented, dethroning conscience. The
dignity of reason and of knowledge is denied; truth itself is impugned.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The story of this calamitous decline is well known to all,
and its outstanding features can be briefly summarized.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the year 1870, not long after the dispatch of
Baha'u'llah's Tablet to his Holiness, the Pope was through King Victor
Emmanuel's seizure of Rome deprived by force of virtually the whole of that
temporal power which Baha'u'llah had advised him to renounce voluntarily. His
formal acknowledgment of the Kingdom of Italy by the recent Lateran Treaty
sealed this resignation of sovereignty.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The fall of the Napoleonic Empire was followed in France by
a wave of anti-clericalism which led to a complete separation of the Roman
Catholic Church from the State, the secularization of education, and the
suppression and dispersal of the religious orders.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In Spain, the monarchy which for so long had been in
Christendom the great champion of the Roman Church was overthrown and the State
secularized.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The dismemberment of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy caused
the disappearance both of the last remnant of the Holy Roman Empire and of the
most powerful political unit that gave to the Roman Church its spiritual and
financial support.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In Soviet Russia an organized assault directed against the
Greek Orthodox Church, against Christianity, and against religion,
disestablished that church, massacred vast numbers of its hundred million
members, stripped it of its six and a half million acres of property, pulled
down, closed or perverted to secular uses countless thousands of places of
worship and by "a five-year plan of godlessness" sought to eradicate
all religion from the hearts of the people. In every land and in all branches
of the Christian Church, even where there was no system of Establishment, the
rising power of nationalism continually made churches more and more subservient
to the interests and the opinions of the State - a tendency brought into strong
relief and notoriety in the first world-war.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The gradual decay of the intellectual prestige of religion
in Europe had extended over many generations, but it was brought prominently
before the public mind in the seventies of the last century, largely through
the controversies which followed Tyndale's Belfast address in 1874. The
character of this decay has been epitomized by Professor Whitehead, writing in
1926, thus:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Religion is tending to degenerate into a decent
formula wherewith to embellish a comfortable life. ... For over two centuries,
religion has been on the defensive, and on a weak defensive. The period has
been one of unprecedented intellectual progress. In this way a series of novel
situations has been produced for thought. Each such occasion has found the
religious thinkers unprepared. Something which has been proclaimed to be vital
has, finally, after struggle, distress and anathema been modified and otherwise
interpreted. The next generation of religious apologists then congratulates the
religious world on the deeper insight which has been gained. The result of the
continued repetition of this undignified retreat during many generations has at
last almost entirely destroyed the intellectual authority of religious
thinkers. Consider this contrast; when Darwin or Einstein proclaim theories
which modify our ideas, it is a triumph for science. We do not go about saying
there is another defeat for science, because its old ideas have been abandoned.
We know that another step of scientific insight has been gained."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The loss in the moral and spiritual field has been even more
vital and conspicuous, especially of recent years. There is no need to enlarge
upon the matter. The sickness at the heart of Christian life and thought which
made these humiliations possible has been the decay of spirituality. Love for
God, fear of God, trust in God's overruling providence and ceaseless care have
been no longer active forces in the world. The religious thinkers find
themselves baffled by the portents of the time: when men in disillusionment, in
anguish and despair come to them for counsel, seek from them comfort, hope,
some intelligible idea as to what this cataclysm means and whence it came and
how it should be met, they are completely at a loss. Though the Church for
nineteen centuries has proclaimed, and has enshrined in its creeds, the
emphatic and repeated promise of Christ that He would come again in power and
great glory to judge the earth, would exalt the righteous and inaugurate the
Kingdom of God among mankind, yet they believe and teach that through all these
years of deepening tribulation no Hand has been outstretched from heaven, no
light of Guidance has been shed upon the earth; that God has withheld from His
children in their deepest need His succour, His comfort and His love; that
Christ has utterly forgotten His promise or is impotent to redeem it and has
permitted His universal Church to sink in ruin without evincing the least small
sign of His interest or His concern.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Meantime the Baha'i Message has kindled once more on earth
the ancient fire of faith that Jesus kindled long ago, the fire of spontaneous
love for God and man, a love that changes all life and longs to show itself in
deeds of devotion and of self-sacrifice even to death and martyrdom. To them
who have recognized Christ's voice again in this Age has been given in renewed
freshness and beauty the vision of the Kingdom of God as Jesus and the Book of
Revelation gave it - the same vision, but clearer now and on a larger scale and
in more detail. A new enthusiasm has been theirs, a power that nothing could
gainsay or resist. Their words reached the hearts of men. With a courage, a
determination that only divine love could quicken or support they rose in the
face of ruthless persecution to bear witness to their faith. Fearless, though
comparatively few, weak in themselves but invincible in God's Cause, they have
now at the close of these eighty years carried that Faith far and wide through
the globe, entered well-nigh a hundred countries, translated their literature
into more than fifty languages [1] gathered adherents from East and West, from
many races, many nations, many creeds, many traditions, and have established
themselves as a world community, worshipping one God under one Name.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Baha'i Faith today presents the Christian Churches with
the most tremendous challenge ever offered them in their long history: a
challenge, and an opportunity. It is the plain duty of every earnest Christian
in this illumined Age to investigate for himself with an open and fearless mind
the purpose and the teachings of this Faith and to determine whether the
collective centre for all the constructive forces of this time be not the
Messenger from God, Baha'u'llah, He and no other; and whether the way to a
better, kinder, happier world will not lie open as soon as we accept the
Announcement our rulers rejected.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"O Kings of the earth! He Who is the Sovereign Lord of
all is come. The Kingdom is God's, the Omnipotent Protector, the Self-Subsisting.
Worship none but God and with radiant hearts lift up your faces unto your Lord,
the Lord of all names. This is a Revelation to which whatever ye possess can
never be compared could ye but know it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">" Ye are but vassals, O Kings of the earth! He Who is
the King of kings hath appeared, arrayed in His most wondrous glory, and is
summoning you unto Himself. the Help ill Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Take heed
lest pride deter you from recognizing the Source of Revelation, lest the things
of this world shut you out as by a veil from Him Who is the Creator of Heaven.
Arise and serve Him Who is the Desire of all nations, Who hath created you
through a word from Him and ordained you to be for all time emblems of His
sovereignty. ...</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"O Kings of Christendom! Heard ye not the saying of
Jesus, the Spirit of God, 'I go away and come again unto you'? Wherefore, then,
did ye fail, when He did come again unto you in the clouds of heaven, to draw
nigh unto Him, that ye might behold His face and be of them that attained His
Presence. In another passage He saith: 'When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come,
He will guide you into all truth.' And yet behold how when He did bring the
truth ye refused to turn your faces towards Him and persisted in disporting
yourselves with your pastimes and your fancies. ... "</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[1] This was written in 1954: the comparable statement now
(1963) would be “…have established that Faith in every state, territory and
major island of the world, translated their literature into more than 400 languages,
gathered adherents from East and West. from virtually all races, nations,
creeds and traditions..." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(The Baha’i World 1954-1963)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-71889649948986474082020-12-10T08:56:00.001-08:002021-04-21T09:10:55.536-07:00A Sampler from Mahmud’s Diary – by Marzieh Gail<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMSbGVqYPYuVf1lgG309h6PWz0H4Bx3Gta68b4lqGnximZh9_Ve2xU0cwg35lKIxXoto4o6tvZt5iiu_PevqFYVUP684zvA0s09RpN37lRcKtCuSwsikUGyUbkSMph13HDZiMEdtip3aY/s267/Marzieh+Gail-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMSbGVqYPYuVf1lgG309h6PWz0H4Bx3Gta68b4lqGnximZh9_Ve2xU0cwg35lKIxXoto4o6tvZt5iiu_PevqFYVUP684zvA0s09RpN37lRcKtCuSwsikUGyUbkSMph13HDZiMEdtip3aY/s0/Marzieh+Gail-1.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">We tend to forget what a star 'Abdu'l-Baha was in the
worldly sense, what a dazzling personality. We would be much mistaken if we
thought of Him as an ivory-tower philosopher, a desert saint or One who spent
His days only among the poor-although He loved them so much. The truth is that
He Who was the perfect model for all Baha'is was splendid, sophisticated, in
the good sense a man of the world; that He was equally at home in a palace or a
hovel, with a beggar, scholar, or prince. He excluded no class from what Queen
Marie of Rumania has referred to as the "wide embrace" - the Baha'i
Faith - and none excluded Him. He would enter a city unknown, and His reception
room would soon be overflowing. Weak and strong, known and unknown, they sought
Him out, even Persian grandees who had persecuted His followers at home. Poets
addressed odes to Him, artists painted Him, photographers took His picture. A number
of word pictures exist, Browne's for example of 1890:</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Seldom have I seen one whose appearance impressed me
more. A tall, strongly-built man holding himself straight as an arrow, with
white turban and raiment, long black locks reaching almost to the shoulder,
broad powerful forehead, indicating a strong intellect combined with an
unswerving will, eyes keen as a hawk's, and strongly marked but pleasing
features - such was my first impression of 'Abbas Effendi... Subsequent
conversation with him served only to heighten the respect with which his
appearance had from the first inspired me. One more eloquent of speech, more
ready of argument, more apt of illustration, more intimately acquainted with
the sacred books of the Jews, the Christians, and the Muhammadans, could, I
should think, scarcely be found even amongst the eloquent, ready, and subtle
race to which he belongs. These qualities, combined with a bearing at once
majestic and genial, made me cease to wonder at the influence and esteem which
he enjoyed even beyond the circle of his father's followers. About the
greatness of this man and his power no one who had seen him could entertain a
doubt."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And Lady Blomfield says of Him as He was in 1912: "He
wore a low-crowned taj, round which was folded a small, fine-linen turban of
purest white; His hair and short beard were of that snowy whiteness which had
once been black; His eyes were large, blue-gray with long, black lashes and
well-marked eyebrows; His face was a beautiful oval with warm, ivory-coloured
skin, a straight, finely-modelled nose, and firm, kind mouth ... His figure was
of such perfect symmetry, and so full of dignity and grace, that the first
impression was that of considerable height... inner glory shone in every
glance, and word, and movement as He came with hands outstretched."<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Abdu'l-Baha did not return to His home until a year after
He left America, December 5, 1912, exactly a year to the day. By then His three
years of travelling in the West had, the Guardian writes, "called forth
the last ounce of His ebbing strength." The travel record is one of
incredible accomplishments and triumphs. Mirza Mahmud Zarqani, official
chronicler of the journeys, was a member of the Master's suite and set down
what he could of those dawn-to-midnight days, those incantatory words. Almost
Boswellian in its immediacy, and including many a behind-the-scenes, informal
glimpse, his Diary seems to bring us the direct presence of 'Abdu'l-Baha. The
notes, from which the following paragraphs were taken, begin with the Master's
voyage away from America across wintry seas to a final year of supreme effort
in England and Scotland, and on the Continent far to the East. American Baha'is
will rejoice someday to read the full text, where they are praised by
'Abdu'l-Baha more than once, and where He says His heart was happy among them
because of all their activities for the Faith.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the Celtic [ship] a woman came to 'Abdu'l-Baha and told
Him that she was afraid of death. "Then," He said, "do something
that will keep you from dying; that will instead, day by day make you more
alive, and bring you everlasting life. According to the words of His Holiness
Christ, those who enter the Kingdom of God will never die. Then enter the
Divine Kingdom, and fear death no more."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">They spoke of the temporarily quiet Atlantic, and He said:
"One must ride in the Ship of God; for this life is a stormy sea, and all
the people on earth - that is, over two billion souls - will drown in it before
a hundred years have passed. All, except those who ride in the Ship of God.
Those will be saved."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In London He gave them this fragment of dialogue between man
and the Prophets:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Always, man has confronted the Prophets with this: 'We
were enjoying ourselves, and living according to our own opinions and desires.
We ate; we slept; we sang; we danced. We had no fear of God, no hope of Heaven;
we liked what we were doing, we had our own way. And then you came. You took
away our pleasures. You told us now of the wrath of God, again of the fear of
punishment and the hope of reward. You upset our good way of life.'</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The Prophets of God have always replied: 'You were
content to stay in the animal world, We wanted to make you human beings. You
were dark, We wanted you illumined; you were dead, We wanted you alive. You
were earthly, We wanted you heavenly.'"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That same day, He spoke of love. "In the world of
man," He said, "love is the brightness of the beauty of God. If there
be no love, this is the animal's kingdom, for the distinguishing feature of
man's world is love. Until love appears among men, there can be no full
happiness and peace. Notice how, when a person sits with a friend, his heart
leaps, how happy he becomes, but when he sits with an enemy, what a punishment!
We must therefore foster brotherhood and universal love."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Asked how to treat a personal enemy He answered, "Leave
the opposer to himself."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Asked, "What is Satan?" He replied: "The
insistent self."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He would start the day by having prayers chanted, and
Mahmmud writes that these prayers "lay sweet on the palate of the
soul."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Master said: "It has been revealed in the Teachings
that work is worship, but this does not mean that worship and the prescribed
mentionings of God should be abandoned, for such worship is a requirement set
forth in the Book of God. Prayer makes the heart mindful, it spiritualizes the
soul, it causes the spirit to exult, it gladdens the breast, till Divine love
appears and a man leans trustingly on the Lord and bows in lowliness at the
Threshold of Grandeur."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">'Abdu'l-Baha praised the British more than once, but He was
unhappy in one of the great cities on the Continent and said of its
inhabitants: "I see the people... like bees or ants, coming and going by
troops, surging past like waves, continually engrossed in their business. But
if you should ask them, 'What are you doing? Why all this commotion?' you would
find that they know nothing at all of their origin or their end, and that they
look for no other good except eating and sleeping and assiduously pandering to
their sensual desires."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After praising the scientific and technical accomplishments
of this greatest of centuries He commented: "Now it would be well for them
to bring about the means of travelling to other planets."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On being a Baha'i He said: "Up to now, to believe was
to acknowledge, to make a confession of faith, but in this greatest of all
Causes, believing means to have praiseworthy qualities and to perform
praiseworthy acts."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of duty He told them: "Man's duty is to persevere and
struggle, and to hope for God's help. Not for him to sit idly by, proud and
unconcerned. Since he cannot know the outcome of events, he must ever choose
the way of righteousness, learning from the past, for the future."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Asked if, the fewer material things a man has, the more
spiritual he becomes, the Master said: "Severance is not poverty but
freedom of the heart ... When a man's heart is free, and on fire with the love
of God, every material benefit, every physical advantage, will only serve to
develop his spiritual perfections. "</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Illustrating, He told them: "There were once two
friends, one rich but free of heart, one poor but tied to the world. On a
sudden the poor one suggested a journey and they set out, leaving everything
behind. The poor one saw that his rich companion had really abandoned all his
attachments, his possessions and affairs and was journeying along with no
thought of return. He said, 'Now that we are on our way, wait a while, I want
to go back, I have a donkey, I want to bring my donkey along.' The rich one
said, 'You are no traveller. You cannot even give up your donkey. For you, I
deserted all I had, my wealth and circumstance, and I came away, and I had no
thought of ever turning back. I had everything, and you had just one thing, and
you cannot wait to return for that one thing - that donkey.'''</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On another day, the Master gave them a story out of His own
life: "I was a child, nine years old. In the thick of those calamities, when
the enemy attacked, they stoned our house and it had filled up with stones. We
had nobody to help us. There was only my mother,[1] my sister, [2] and Aqa
Mirza Muhammad- Quli [3]. To protect us, my mother took us away from the
Shimiran Gate to the Sangilaj quarter, where in the back lanes she found a
house. In that house she watched over us and forbade us ever to set foot on the
street. But one day the problem of how to get food became so urgent that my
mother said to me: 'Can you go to your aunt's house? [4] Tell her to find a few
kráns [5] for us, no matter how.'</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Our aunt lived in the Takyih [6] of Haji Rajab-'Ali
near the house of Mirza Hasan Kajdamagh. I went there. She tried everywhere and
finally managed to collect five kráns, which she tied up in the corner of a
handkerchief and gave me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"On my way back through the Takyih, the son of Mirza
Hasan recognized me. Immediately he called out, 'This one is a Babi!' and the
boys ran after me. The house of Mulla Ja'far of Astarabad was not far away, and
I reached it and went into the. entry. The son of Mulla Ja'far saw me but he
did not put me out. Neither did he rout the boys.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I stayed there till it was dark. When I left the
place, the boys came after me again, shouting and throwing stones, following me
until I got close to the store of Aqa Muhammad Sanduqdar. The children did not
come on any farther after that. When I reached home, exhausted and terrified, I
fell to the ground. My mother asked, 'What ails you?' I could not tell her. I
simply fell down. My mother took the handkerchief with the money and put me to
bed and I slept."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Later He added, "There was a time in Tihran when we had
every means of comfort and luxury, and then in a single day they pillaged our
house and robbed us of everything. Living became so hard for us that there came
a day when my mother took a little flour and shook it into my hand instead of
bread, and I ate it like that."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Continually He repeated the basic theme of His life, that
nothing really matters except the Cause of God: "Look at the plains, look
at the hills: they are defeated armies, they are hosts that fell in heaps and
were levelled with the ground; they are the dust of high pavilions, and palace
and hall are the hole of owls that feed upon the dead, the roost of carrion
crows... All gain is loss, except in the great business of serving God."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[1] The sheltered and beautiful Navvab. then at most in her
mid-twenties</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[2] Bahiyyih Khanum, the Most Exalted Leaf, then seven<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[3] An uncle of ‘Abdu’l-Baha<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[4] A sister of Baha'u'llah<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[5] One-tenth of a tuman<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[6] A place where religious plays were performed.</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-44153831150399841592020-11-18T08:15:00.000-08:002021-04-12T08:24:51.934-07:00The Writings of the Guardian: – “precise and luminous” - by Rúhíyyih Khanum<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbFtgOYFWXBoQe2WAoFGnG49ddVsHlSNQup88Y9srpo4ogjjtsqKvjnkb1_fPf5UiPdInQPLcdv1AP6sEQMV64LCPhGBAnfaFBVgYvKZmpphdhopiLogveGgsQgsu9H2pPs6hIHhCzP1q/s459/Ruhiyyih-Khanum.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="354" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbFtgOYFWXBoQe2WAoFGnG49ddVsHlSNQup88Y9srpo4ogjjtsqKvjnkb1_fPf5UiPdInQPLcdv1AP6sEQMV64LCPhGBAnfaFBVgYvKZmpphdhopiLogveGgsQgsu9H2pPs6hIHhCzP1q/w220-h285/Ruhiyyih-Khanum.png" width="220" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In an age when people play football with words, kicking them
right and left indiscriminately with no respect for either their meaning or
correct usage, the style of Shoghi Effendi stands out in dazzling beauty. His
joy in words was one of his strongest personal characteristics, whether he
wrote in English—the language he had given his heart to—or in the mixture of
Persian and Arabic he used in his general letters to the East. Although he was
so simple in his personal tastes he had an innate love of richness which is
manifest in the way he arranged and decorated various Bahá’í Holy Places, in
the style of the Shrine of the Báb, in his preferences in architecture, and in
his choice and combination of words. Of him it could be said, in the words of
another great writer, Macaulay, that “he wrote in language ... precise and
luminous.” Unlike so many people Shoghi Effendi wrote what he meant and meant
exactly what he wrote. It is impossible to eliminate any word from one of his
sentences without sacrificing part of the meaning, so concise, so pithy is his
style....</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The language in which Shoghi Effendi wrote, whether for the
Bahá’ís of the West or of the East, has set a standard which should effectively
prevent them from descending to the level of illiterate literates which often
so sadly characterizes the present generation as far as the use and
appreciation of words are concerned. He never compromised with the ignorance of
his readers but expected them, in their thirst for knowledge, to overcome their
ignorance. Shoghi Effendi chose, to the best of his great ability, the right
vehicle for his thought and it made no difference to him whether the average
person was going to know the word he used or not. After all, what one does not
know one can find out. Although he had such a brilliant command of language he
frequently reinforced his knowledge by certainty through looking up the word he
planned to use in Webster’s big dictionary. Often one of my functions was to
hand it to him and it was a weighty tome indeed! Not infrequently his choice
would be the third or fourth usage of the word, sometimes bordering on the
archaic, but it was the exact word that conveyed his meaning and so he used it.
I remember my mother once saying that to become a Bahá’í was like entering a
university, only one never finished learning, never graduated. In his
translations of the Bahá’í writings, and above all in his own compositions,
Shoghi Effendi set a standard that educates and raises the cultural level of
the reader at the same time that it feeds his mind and soul with thoughts and truth....</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The supreme importance of Shoghi Effendi’s English
translations and communications can never be sufficiently stressed because of
his function as sole and authoritative interpreter of the Sacred Writings,
appointed as such by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Will. There are many instances when,
owing to the looseness of construction in Persian sentences, there could be an
ambiguity in the mind of the reader regarding the meaning. Careful and correct
English, not lending itself to ambiguity in the first place, became, when
coupled with Shoghi Effendi’s brilliant mind and his power as interpreter of
the Holy Word, what we might well call the crystallizing vehicle of the
teachings. Often by referring to Shoghi Effendi’s translation into English the
original meaning of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, or ‘Abdu’l-Bahá becomes clear and is
thus safeguarded against misinterpretation in the future. He was meticulous in
translating and made absolutely sure that the words he was using in English
conveyed and did not depart from the original thought or the original words.
One would have to have a mastery of Persian and Arabic to correctly understand
what he did....</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Guardian was exceedingly cautious in everything that
concerned the original Word and would never explain or comment on a text
submitted to him in English (when it was not his own translation) until he had
verified it with the original.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(‘The Priceless Pearl’)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-50783467472840039872020-10-18T21:45:00.001-07:002020-10-18T21:45:26.428-07:00The Missionary as Historian: William Miller and the Baha’i Faith – by Douglas Martin <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBR7cmPLcHvL2ESuM3gvvp8ix9C93xqxsVVsn9NHTmB5geKPHxN6zqhrCOPRo7BRJSN8mlojoA0xO5bbg5DykuZCnDmZ5gSUzWP5_qbXW8HRb1hTNaImC8pS2iYT_hxbuXzMIbbGWTJcX4/s865/Douglas+Martin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="865" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBR7cmPLcHvL2ESuM3gvvp8ix9C93xqxsVVsn9NHTmB5geKPHxN6zqhrCOPRo7BRJSN8mlojoA0xO5bbg5DykuZCnDmZ5gSUzWP5_qbXW8HRb1hTNaImC8pS2iYT_hxbuXzMIbbGWTJcX4/w200-h178/Douglas+Martin.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>A review of William McElwee Miller’s THE BAHA’I FAITH: ITS
HISTORY AND TEACHINGS (S. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1974), 358
pages, appendices, index.<span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“We are dealing ... not with what we would like to believe,
but with historical facts established beyond a doubt which we cannot but
accept.” — William Miller</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">William McElwee Miller is a man with an obsession. Although
by profession a Presbyterian clergyman, and for forty years employed in that
Church’s missions in Persia, Rev. Miller has focused a great part of his
energies as a writer and as a public lecturer on the subject of the Bahá’í
Faith. The two books he has written are both on that topic (1), as are a third
work on which he collaborated with the Reverend E. E. Elder, (2) and a number
of articles published in the religious press. His most recent book, ‘The Baha’i
Faith: Its History and Teachings’ may be fairly regarded as the final flowering
of this lifetime preoccupation.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To say this should not suggest that Rev. Miller regards his
subject with any affection. He briefly acknowledges that the Baha’i Faith has
become a worldwide religious force to be taken seriously. In speaking of The
Bahá’í World, the fourteen-volume summary of the Faith’s activities since 1925,
he says: “Whoever peruses [these volumes] ... will be impressed by the fact
that the Bahá’í Faith is indeed a world Faith.” He groups it in this respect
with Christianity and Islam, whose “field is the world.” (3) Such a judgment is
in itself no small admission. In his initial assessment, written in 1931, Rev.
Miller dismissed the Bahá’í Faith as “a dying movement,” a minor “sect” which
was on the point of disappearing entirely from the world scene: “It is only a
matter of time until this strange movement ... shall be known only to students
of history.” (4) His latest book would, therefore, have benefited greatly from
even a brief explanation of so startling a change of mind.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What has not changed is Rev. Miller’s very negative view of
the youngest addition to the world’s religions. Essentially, the Bahá’í Faith
which he pictures for his readers is a product of a century-long conspiracy
conceived by persons of the basest character and motive. Its present-day
followers (whose own spiritual life Rev. Miller assesses as in no way
distinguished) are entirely deceived as to their Faith’s real nature. Its laws
and teachings are either superficial, harmful, or irrelevant to mankind’s
needs. Its administrative order is “a dictatorship.”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To be sure, Rev. Miller does not advance these opinions as
succinctly or as candidly as they are summarized above. In all of his writings
he has earnestly sought to present his views as a detached commentary on a body
of neutral “facts” gathered by a dispassionate “scholar” through years of
patient research. The concluding effort of his career is no exception. The book
begins with an assertion that it was written “for the purpose of</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">presenting in a concise and orderly fashion
the facts which have been established by [Edward G.] Browne and other</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">trustworthy scholars ...” (5) It ends with
the measured question “can the Bahá’í World Faith be an adequate religion
for</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the world today, and for the
millennium to come?, and the magisterial judgment that the answer is
“decidedly</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">negative.” (6)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">No one who has read Rev. Miller’s earlier writings will be
distracted even momentarily by the introduction of these academic conventions.
The author’s highly partisan opinion of the Bahá’í Faith was formed over forty
years ago and was expressed in his first major publication on the subject,
written at that time. To what extent those views then represented the results
of a study of objective reality and to what extent they were the spontaneous
reaction of a Protestant missionary in the barren fields of the Islamic Middle
East against what he saw as a successful rival faith is impossible for anyone
to know. What does emerge clearly in this final work is an effort to deal with
the entirely unexpected developments of the intervening decades and to draw
together whatever materials have been turned up in the same period which might
be used to reinforce the original argument. The purpose, presumably, is to
counteract the demonstrated capacity of the Bahá’í community to attract growing
numbers of adherents in nominally Christian lands.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this aim the book may enjoy a measure of success over the
short run. The very scope suggested by the title, together with the historical
approach that is taken, the photographs, and the accompanying narrative detail,
give the work an air of thoroughness and authority. Where matters of belief and
religious practice are discussed, the author’s own opinions are closely woven
into the fabric of quotation and reference. The most damning conclusions are
presented in a tone of surprise and regret. Throughout, the book is heavily
footnoted, drawing on an apparently wide range of sources. While a degree of
animus that was much less apparent in Rev. Miller’s earlier writings has now
become unmistakable, the author also pays an occasional conventional tribute to
the sacrifices which Bahá’ís have made for beliefs which he himself regards as
misguided or positively dangerous. No doubt the fact that the author is a
Presbyterian clergyman will also lend the book special weight with Christian
readers who can be expected to assume that such a profession is itself a
guarantee of moral credentials.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When Rev. Miller’s work is examined at closer range the
carefully constructed scholarly illusion begins to rapidly fall apart. The most
serious shortcoming, indeed the fatal one, is the use which is made of the
sources. The problem takes several forms, the first of which appears in the
opening pages of the Introduction. As has already been indicated, Rev. Miller
presents his book as an attempt to provide “in concise and orderly fashion the
facts which have been established by Browne and other scholars.” Had such an
effort been undertaken it would have had a rich body of material on which to
draw. The rise of the Bahá’í Faith very early attracted an impressive group of
scholars and observers: Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau, A.L.M. Nicholas,
Clement Huart, E.G. Browne, Alexander Tumansky, Baron Victor Rosen, Mirza Kazem
Bek, and Hermann Roemer, to mention only the most important. (7)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rev. Miller is obviously familiar with the
names of most of these writers, as he lists several of them in his
Introduction. Apart from E.G. Browne, however, whose work is extensively used,
and occasional rather ill-digested references from Gobineau, the author
elliptically confides that he has not “been able to benefit” from direct
knowledge of these sources. (8) Who, then, are the “scholars” to whom he
refers?</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The source on whom Rev. Miller most depends is the late
Jelal Azal, a descendent of the notorious Mirza Yahya, Subh-i-Azal. Contrary to
Rev. Miller’s suggestion, Mr. Azal was not a recognized scholar, nor was he in
any sense independent. Rather, he was a person who had long been engaged in a
personal vendetta against the religion he is alleged to have been “studying.”
(9) His tendentious unpublished “notes,” endorsed by Rev. Miller as “the
results of ... scholarly research,” are used as the basis for some of the most
important passages of the author’s thesis. (10)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fortunately, Rev. Miller has provided a detailed index of
these notes and documents on which they are purportedly based, and he has
deposited copies of much of the material in the library at Princeton
University. There, in time, it will no doubt be subjected to such careful
examination as circumstances may warrant. For those familiar with the history
of the Bahá’í Faith, however, the entire performance has a depressing air of
deja vu. The long series of exposures of forgeries and misrepresentations
perpetrated by an earlier generation of Azali writers places the onus squarely
on any modern writer who seeks to make use of such sources, to demonstrate
their reliability beyond any possible doubt. (11) Rev. Miller, on the contrary,
places himself entirely in the hands of Mr. Azal, especially so far as the
post-Bábí period of his narrative is concerned, reproducing quite uncritically
whatever his correspondent sent him, and turning large sections of his book
into little more than an Azali tract. (12) The result is a work in which gross
errors of fact undermine the value of every chapter.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Where responsible sources are drawn upon, the use which is
made of them often seems remote from the accepted methods of historical
writing. Edward Granville Browne suffers particularly in this respect.
Professor Browne, a Cambridge orientalist, travelled extensively in the Middle
East during the latter part of the nineteenth and the first decade of the
twentieth century, met many of the early Bábís and Bahá’ís, and produced a
number of translations and scholarly commentaries as a result of his several
years’ research. (13) These are extremely valuable documents and have been
heavily used by various scholars, both Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í, in succeeding
decades. As a professional scholar, however, Professor Browne himself would
have been the first to recognize that his work would inevitably be subject to
revision, as later generations freed themselves from the particular political
and cultural context in which he was working, and as further historical
evidence surfaced. Indeed, the process of revision has been recognized as an
integral part of the writing of history ever since historiography moved out of
the nineteenth century’s naive belief that it could write “scientific history,”
“history as it really happened.”</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The most thorough and recent revisionist work on the
writings of Professor Browne related to the Bahá’í and Bábí Faiths is a
critique by Mr. H.M. Balyuzi, ‘Edward Granville Browne and the Bahá’í Faith’
(London: George Ronald, 1970). Entirely apart from the meticulous scholarship
of his study, Mr. Balyuzi treats his subject with a courtesy and respect which
could well serve as a model for writing of this nature. It is, therefore,
astonishing to note Rev. Miller’s reaction to the Balyuzi critique: “It is
indeed regrettable that now after sixty years, when Edward Browne is no longer
able to defend himself, his competence as a scholar, and even the integrity of
his character, should be thus called into question.” (14)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This, of course, is humbug. If taken seriously it would
suggest that a scholarly study like that of Professor Browne should be seen not
as a building block in the gradual erection of a comprehensive and many-sided
view of a major historical development, but rather as a kind of talisman which
endows a particular contemporary point of view with authority and which is
itself exempt from examination. So simplistic a view of the nature and function
of historical writing has no place in serious study, and its persistent use in
the work in question neither advances the author’s argument nor does credit to
the source thus misused.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The failure of the book to come to terms with the Balyuzi
critique makes it impossible for the uninformed reader to consider intelligently
and dispassionately Professor Browne’s own use of the sources available to him
at the turn of the century. Professor Browne leaned heavily, one could say
safely preferentially, on the views of a small band of men who at the time were
involved in a bitter and protracted campaign to destroy the influence of
Bahá’u’lláh. These men were Azalis, nominally supporters of Bahá’u’lláh’s
younger half-brother Mirza Yahya Subh-i-Azal. Unlike the mass of their fellow
believers they had rejected Bahá’u’lláh’s claim to be “He Whom God Will
Manifest,” Whose advent the Báb had promised. Professor Browne himself
estimated their number to be no more than three or four in every hundred Bábís,
all the remainder having recognized in Bahá’u’lláh the signs of the Báb’s “Promised
One.” (15)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Against the virtually unanimous voice of the followers of
the Báb, who knew the circumstances and the central personalities in the
dispute at first hand, Professor Browne gave preference to the statements of
the Azalis. What is the explanation for such a departure from historiographical
methods and standards to which Professor Browne had earlier demonstrated his
commitment?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He himself does not tell us. He presents no evidence from
independent sources which would support the Azali claims, and he makes it clear
that he has an equal measure of respect for the integrity of both parties.
Obviously, some very powerful influence had intervened. Thus one of the
invaluable contributions of Mr. Balyuzi’s recent work is that it has identified
this influence, with the help of documentation which has since come to light.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Bábí Revelation did not exercise only a spiritual and
emotional influence on Professor Browne, powerful as that effect obviously was.
Beyond this, Professor Browne insisted on seeing the new movement in the
context of Victorian democratic and nationalistic hopes. He loved Persia, and
he ardently looked to the Bábís to become the chief force in the political
liberalization of the country. Persia was at the time in the grip of a protracted
struggle between the reactionary elements supporting the feudal autocracy of
the Shah and a combination of somewhat ill-assorted radical and revolutionary
elements temporarily united under the title “Constitutionalists.” (16) Naively
seeing in the latter a kind of Persian equivalent of the British Liberal and
Labor Parties, Professor Browne made himself one of their leading spokesmen in
Britain and worked ardently to mobilize Western opinion in their support.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps even more important than his liberal ideals in
impelling Professor Browne along this course were nationalistic convictions
which held almost the force of a religion for him. Persia in the nineteenth
century had become the key to one of the great international power struggles of
the late nineteenth century, the contest of British and Russian empires for
control of the land route to India and the Orient. Each side sought clients on
the Persian domestic political scene. As Tsarist Russia increasingly supported
the congenial despotism of the Qajar monarchy, English patriots like Professor
Browne began to urge on their government the potential value of the
Constitutionalists as British allies. (17)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To Professor Browne’s intense disappointment, the Bábí
community, the most vital, disciplined, and progressive element in Persian
society, refused to be drawn into either the domestic or the international
conflict. The reason was Bahá’u’lláh’s assumption of His Prophetic role and His
refusal to compromise the universal nature of His message for political ends.
Professor Browne’s reaction may be read in his own commentary on Bahá’u’lláh’s
oft-quoted statement on the oneness of mankind:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bahá’ísm [sic], in my opinion, is too cosmopolitan in its
aim to render much direct service to that revival [i.e., of Persian political
life]. “Pride is not for him who loves his country,” says Bahá’u’lláh, “but for
him who loves the world.” This is a fine sentiment, but just now it is men who
love their country above all else that Persia needs. [emphasis added] (18)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only one small handful of Bábis were prepared, indeed eager,
to assume the political role which Professor Browne had envisioned for them.
These were the Azalis, who had by this time abandoned their erstwhile leader,
Mirza Yahya, to his lonely exile on Cyprus, and had suddenly metamorphosed into
political ideologists, journalists, and underground agents. In the process they
entered into intimate correspondence with Professor Browne and became his
trusted collaborators. It was from these men, intensely ambitious for public
careers, and blocked by Bahá’u’lláh from utilizing the Báb’s legacy to this
end, that Professor Browne received the “documents” and commentaries which Mr.
Balyuzi has convincingly exposed.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The only other non-Bahá’í sources whose assistance Rev.
Miller acknowledge are an improbable collection of avowed opponents of the
Bahá’í Faith, including several Protestant missionaries, a number of
individuals who were at one time or another expelled from Bahá’í membership
(and whose various reflections on one another’s integrity is an aspect of their
view not touched on in Rev. Miller’s highly selective citations from their
writings), and two amateur American polemicists who lack even these modest
credentials. Most of these persons are presented as independent “inquirers,”
and only a very careful reading of the book reveals that, in fact, they
represent a group of persons with varying grievances against the Bahá’í Faith,
several of whom have long maintained a close correspondence on the congenial subject
of attempts to “expose” its claims. In no sense can any of them be regarded as
independent, nor their writings as scholarly. One is left to assume that the
explanation for the failure of the book to draw on the works of any of the
recognized scholars, except for Browne and, in a small way, Gobineau, is
Rev.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Miller’s ignorance of European
languages other than English. Whatever the cause may be, the lack cannot
explain the similar neglect of several basic Bahá’í sources which are available
in the latter language. Limitations of space prevent a thorough examination of
the subject, but one or two of the more glaring examples will illustrate the
magnitude of the gap.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is impossible that any responsible examination of the
Bábí era could be undertaken without making extensive use of THE DAWN-
BREAKERS: NABIL’S NARRATIVE, the detailed history of that period written by the
one person who was both a firsthand observer and a recognized historical
writer. (19) For those events which he did not personally witness, Nabil
provides in exhaustive detail, the identity of the observers from whom he
received the accounts and very often the circumstances surrounding the
transmittal. To understand the significance of such a work one would have to
imagine the importance to Christian history of a similar, meticulously
annotated record kept by one of the immediate companions of Jesus Christ, and
covering all the significant events of the latter’s ministry. This unique body
of primary documentation is dismissed by Rev. Miller without further
explanation as not “reliable.” (20)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In its place, the principal source used for this period
(apart from Mr. Azal) is an extraordinary manuscript produced by unknown
writers sometime between 1852 and 1863, under the title Nuqtatu’l Kaf. (21) In
his study on the work of Professor Browne, Mr. Balyuzi has demonstrated the
unreliability of this strange mélange of historical narrative, superstition,
nihilistic thought, and naive partisan propaganda. He also rescues the
reputation of Mirza Jani, the merchant and Bábí martyr whose name and memoirs
were misused by the compilers of the work. (22) For a modern writer to discuss
the subject, therefore, would again have required coming to grips with the
argument contained in the Balyuzi critique. The challenge is particularly acute
for Rev. Miller, as the thesis of the section of his book which deals with the
Bábí period rests squarely on the authenticity of the Kaf manuscript. Rev.
Miller seems aware of the seriousness of the problem, but the one lengthy
footnote which he devotes to the Balyuzi study is both superficial and
essentially off the topic. (23) Ignoring the obstacle, he simply attributes the
manuscript to Mirza Jani and asserts that it is “the earliest and best history”
of the Bábí movement. (24)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rev. Miller’s presentation of the period dominated by the
ministry of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Cause (1921–1957),
suffers from a similarly unacceptable neglect of major sources. As with the
Bábí era, there is one detailed, comprehensive source, this time provided by
the person who, next to Shoghi Effendi himself, had the most intimate knowledge
of the events of those thirty-six years. The book is The Priceless Pearl, the
biography of the Guardian written by his widow and long-time secretary,
Rúhíyyih Khánum, the former Mary Maxwell of Montreal, Canada, and published two
years before Rev. Miller’s book went to press. (25) It is, by any standard, an
extraordinary achievement in biography, in which an intricately crafted
structure gives form and balance to the wealth of detail and documentation
provided for every phase of the subject’s life and work. It is not merely that
The Priceless Pearl is the best account of the events with which it deals. It
is the only comprehensive account in existence. One is free, if one wishes, to
regard it as “official history” (to use Rev. Miller’s disparaging phrase), but
to disregard it is to demonstrate either an ignorance of the role of the
Guardianship in Bahá’í history or a purpose so partisan as to produce the same
effect.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To be precise, Rev. Miller does not entirely disregard
Rúhíyyih Khánum’s writings. Rather, he extracts brief excerpts from moving,
personal accounts which the author gives of her marriage and Shoghi Effendi’s
death. These fragments lend color and an appearance of authenticity to Rev.
Miller’s presentation of the writer (who in contrast to the male writers quoted
is tastelessly referred to merely by her first name, “Mary”) as an emotional
woman whose range of understanding and even interest goes little beyond a
personal attachment to the man who was her husband. (26)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Apart from these highly misleading references, the
invaluable biographical work which Rúhíyyih Khánum has contributed to an
understanding of one of the most critical periods in the development of the
Bahá’í Faith, the period of its global expansion, is passed over in silence.
Yet the next chapter of Rev. Miller’s book finds space for nearly a dozen pages
of quotations from the writings of Charles Mason Remey, formerly a figure of
prominence in the Bahá’í Faith, who was expelled when he attempted to set
himself up as “the hereditary Guardian” of the Faith in 1960. (27) From an
objective point of view, and particularly in the light of subsequent events, on
which Rev. Miller had fully informed himself, Mr. Remey’s role in Bahá’í
history could hardly be regarded as a major one. His unsuccessful efforts to
create a rift in the membership of the Faith is no doubt relevant to any
comprehensive discussion of modern Bahá’í history, but could have been more
than adequately dealt with in a paragraph, illustrated by an extract from one
of Mr. Remey’s statements, if that seemed necessary to the writer’s
argument.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To present a figure of this kind as a major historical
source is unacceptable in any serious work. Mr. Remey was an aged man at the
time he produced the writings in question, one whose condition made him a
pathetic figure and whose mental state could not have been unknown to anyone in
even limited contact with him. (28) His statements throw no light whatever on
the extraordinary expansion of the Bahá’í Faith in the past four decades, which
had caused Rev. Miller so completely to revise his estimate of the Faith’s
capacities. Indeed, Mr. Remey wrote very little on this subject.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Inevitably, introduction of such material embroils its user
in serious problems. After a lengthy review of</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mr. Remey’s pronouncements, Rev. Miller suddenly asks, “Did it ever
occur to Mr. Remey that in claiming to be the Guardian [of the Bahá’í Faith] he
was himself violating the Will of Abdu’l-Bahá”, which required that the</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">successor of the Guardian be ‘the first born
of his [Shoghi Effendi’s] lineal descendants,’ ...” (29) The point seems so
obvious that one wonders why it is included at all. Few people, either within
the Bahá’í Faith or outside, took seriously Mr. Remey’s pretensions, and he
died in his hundredth year, at about the time Rev. Miller’s book was going to
press, bereft of supporters or attention. Having given the subject extensive
space, however, Rev. Miller seems to lose entirely the thread of his argument.
Nine pages after the statement just quoted, the Hands of the Bahá’í Cause are
criticized for having failed to “create a new Guardian,” a step for which, as
had just been noted, there was no authority in the Writings of their Faith.
(30) Rev. Miller’s judgment is most severe:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Unabashed ... and undeterred by the appeals of the Hand of
the Cause and President of the First International Bahá’í Council, Mason Remey,
to continue the Guardianship, the remaining Hands of the Cause proceeded with
their plans [to arrange for the election of the Universal House of Justice].”
(31)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A discussion of Rev. Miller’s use of sources is rendered
extremely difficult by the fact that except for the brief opening chapters on
Islam, he fails to provide a bibliography. Next to Nabil-i-A‘zam and Rúhíyyih
Khánum, the most serious omissions that are readily apparent are the
biographies of the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which have</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">been produced by Mr. Balyuzi (London: George
Ronald, 1971 and 1973, respectively). Both books deal in some detail with a
number of the most complex and contentious issues taken up by Rev. Miller. Both
are extensively documented and make use of archival material which has only
come to light in recent years. So far as ‘The Bahá’í Faith: Its History and
Teachings’ is concerned these two most current and basic texts might as well
not exist. Where Rev. Miller does use Bahá’í sources, his editorial comments on
them are uniformly hostile and unfair. The writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi
Effendi especially suffer in this respect. In marked contrast long-time enemies
of the Faith are treated with elaborate deference.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Although a wholesale misuse of sources is the book’s most
serious flaw, it is by no means the only one. Where congenial sources fail,
Rev. Miller leans heavily on the “it is not too improbably to suggest”
narrative method. Throughout the book, major gaps are filled in with this
insubstantial connective. The far from impressive result is worth a moment’s
attention because of the revealing glimpse it provides of the historiographical
methods and objectives underlying the book. Without exception, these glosses,
none of which is supported by a reference to the usual “documentation,”
depreciate the significance of some important event or personality of Bahá’í
history.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Occasionally, they are even used to force some unrelated
Christian theological message into the narrative. The Báb’s teachings on
kindness, for example, are attributed to the influence on Him of the Christian
scriptures: “It is probable [emphasis added] that in order to save his life
Baha denied he was a Babi, as the Bab had ordered his disciples to do at the
time of his execution. This is not improbable ...” (33)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bahá’u’lláh’s assumption of His divine mission is attributed
to a recognition on His part of certain practical necessities within the Bábí
movement: “Baha ... probably [emphasis added] realized that the Babi Cause in
order to survive needed stronger leadership than his brother Azal was able to
give.” (34) Not even Muhammad escapes, although in His case, the vast body of
existing scholarly comment imposes a greater degree of caution in the use of the
method:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“It was probably, in part at least [emphasis added], as a
result of this contacts with them [Jews and Christians] that a strong
conviction came to Muhammad ... that he had been appointed by Allah….
Therefore, in the Koran, in accordance with the supposed pattern of the books
of previous prophets, ... we find regulations for marriage and divorce, ... The
Prophet of Arabia probably [emphasis added] took Moses as his model of what a
prophet should be and say and do, for he knew more of him than he did of
Jesus.” (35)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The results of this wholesale manufacturing of history are
unedifying and occasionally grotesque. One of the most firmly established facts
of Bahá’í history is the Báb’s recognition of the title which Bahá’u’lláh chose
for Himself and those which He conferred on His fellow Bábís. Nabil, who had
the details at first hand from those present describes the scene at the
conference of Badasht:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Upon each He [Bahá’u’lláh] bestowed a new name. He Himself
was henceforth designated by the name of Bahá; upon the Last Letter of the
Living was conferred the appellation of Quddús, and to Qurratu’l-’Ayn was given
the title of Tahirih. To each of those who had convened at Badasht a special
Tablet was subsequently revealed by the Báb, each of whom He addressed by the
name recently conferred upon him. (36)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Báb’s recognition of the title of Bahá’u’lláh (Glory of
God) was particularly significant since He had used precisely this term in the
Bayan to allude to the promised “Him Whom God Will Manifest.” On the eve of His
departure for Tabriz where He was executed the Báb reiterated this recognition
in a remarkable Tablet which He forwarded to Bahá’u’lláh. Nabil, who was
himself a witness of the transmittal, describes the document as:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">..a scroll of blue paper, of the most delicate texture, on
which the Báb, in His own exquisite handwriting, which was a fine shikastih
script, had penned, in the form of a pentacle, what numbered about five hundred
verses, all consisting of derivations from the words “Bahá.” ... So fine and
intricate was the penmanship that, viewed at a distance, the writing appeared
as a single wash of ink on the paper. We were overcome with admiration as we
gazed upon a masterpiece which no calligraphist, we believed, could rival. (37)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The scroll was duly delivered to Bahá’u’lláh at Tehran. The
most cursory research would have cleared up any question which a modern student
of the Bahá’í Faith might have on the subject. Instead, Rev. Miller ignores
Nabil’s account in favor of an entirely fictitious version of events in which
the Báb Himself, in some fashion not explained, conferred titles on all the
other Badasht participants except Bahá’u’lláh. The latter then undertook a
sedulous search through the Christian and other Scriptures for a title which
would advance His own plans: “Mirza Husayn Ali [Bahá’u’lláh] no doubt [emphasis
added] spent many hours searching for this beautiful word in all the sacred
writings...” (38)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the same fashion Shoghi Effendi’s exercise of the unique
ministry conferred on him in the Bahá’í Writings, a ministry for which he alone
had the authority, is attributed to a psychological insecurity on his own part:
“It seems that [emphasis added] he [Shoghi Effendi] did not know how to
delegate tasks to others ...” (39)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The freedom with which this device is used betrays an
ignorance on the part of the author of basic and readily available information
on his subject. The Comte de Gobineau, for example, the first Western scholar
to study</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the facts at first hand, says
of the Bábí heroine, Tahirih: “I have never heard anyone among the Muslims cast
any doubt on the virtue of so unusual a person” (40) Presumably lacking a
thorough knowledge of Gobineau’s work, and</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">having objectives other than historiographical ones, Rev. Miller’s
discussion of the subject casts a slur on the character of this unique woman,
whose personal life is regarded by Bahá’ís as the very model of moral purity:
“her</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">freedom of travelling about the
country with the Bábí chiefs scandalized many people, and there was probably
[emphasis added] some ground for criticism of his disregard for convention.”
(41) The writer then quotes an obscure reference from the Kaf manuscript and
asserts that Tahirih “was on intimate terms” with one of her male colleagues.
(42) The implication is clear.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A similar shadow is cast on the reputation of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
Howard Colby Ives, himself a Christian clergyman, fully acquainted with the
details of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Western trip, makes a particular point of the fact
that one of the many things which confirmed him in his recognition of
Bahá’u’lláh was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s refusal to accept assistance with his personal
expenses from Western believers. The funds which were raised by well-meaning
friends were courteously returned to them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“…He constantly refused the slightest remuneration, and even
when entertained by solicitous and generous hosts He was punctilious in seeing
to it that gifts to both hosts and servants of the household far outweighed
what He received.” (43)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mr. Ives’ book is a commonplace item in any Bahá’í library,
and although a number of other sources make precisely the same point, Rev.
Miller casually creates an entirely fictitious version of events: “in the
spring of 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá no doubt [emphasis added] at the invitation and the
expense [emphasis added] of the believers in America, set</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">forth on a journey which lasted nearly two
years.” (44)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Almost no aspect of Bahá’í history escapes this treatment. A
well-to-do philanthropist like Mrs. W. Sutherland Maxwell of Montreal, and
professional people such as Keith Ransom-Kehler and Dr. Susan Moody, whose
dedication of their funds and skills to the work of the Bahá’í Faith was an
inspiration to their coreligionists</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">all
over the world, are described as “paid pioneers.” (45) The open and emphatic
declaration of her faith as a Bahá’í by Queen Marie of Rumania, in letters to
newspapers and to the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith (some of which were
published with her consent in photostat form in Volumes VI and VIII of The Bahá’í
World) ( 46) is passed over in</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">silence,
and a letter from the Queen’s daughter, a member of a Christian religious
order, is used to raise doubt about the “alleged” conversion of the Queen. (47)
Countless other examples could be cited.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Moral insensitivity, indeed, is another glaring weakness of
the entire work. The shortcoming is unfortunately one which requires some
attention here, if for no other reason than the fact that moral sensitivity is
so important a requirement in anyone who seeks to write on matters as central
to human conscience as is faith. It is also an attribute to which Rev. Miller
lays formal claim by virtue of his profession. A single example will perhaps
stand for the numerous lapses which tarnish every chapter of his book. It concerns
the character of Mirza Yahya, Subh-i-Azal, the half-brother and persistent
enemy of Bahá’u’lláh, and a figure whom Rev. Miller’s book presents in the most
favorable possible light as an unworldly soul, utterly devoted to the memory of
the Báb, and incapable of any form of self-assertion. (48) The picture is one
which would have astonished the nineteenth-century Bábís who knew Azal at first
hand over a period of many years and whose assessment of his character is most
clearly demonstrated by the fact that almost without exception they came to
despise him. (49) As his character steadily deteriorated under the influence of
a consuming ambition and the manipulation of a former student of Muslim
theology, Siyyid Muhammad, who was his closest associate, no single piece of
grossness on Azal’s part so revolted those in contact with him as did his
treatment of the widow of the Báb. The Báb had prescribed the marks of respect
due her and had explicitly forbidden any man to presume to seek her in marriage
after the Báb’s own death. In the turmoil which followed the martyrdom of the
Báb and the dispersal of the Bábi community, Azal surpassed his other infamies
to that date when he first took this lady as one of his several wives and later
“gave” her to Siyyid Muhammad. Rev. Miller’s incapacity to understand the
nature of the events which he is discussing is nowhere more clearly revealed
than in the complacent passing reference which he makes to a subject which
Bahá’í historians regard with</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">abhorrence: “The blame for the opposition of Subh-i-Azal to Baha’s
claims has been laid by the Bahá’ís on Siyyid Muhammad of Isfahan, who had been
an intimate friend of the Báb, and had married the Báb’s widow Fatima.”
(50)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A parallel shortcoming is Rev. Miller’s ignorance of Bahá’í
thought itself. It is not to be expected that a Presbyterian clergyman would be
sympathetic with theological concepts central to a Faith that he considers to
be false. If he chooses to write a book on the subject, however, it is
reasonable to expect that he will at least understand these concepts and, as a
result of such understanding, presumably make a creditable effort at refuting
them in a work written for that purpose.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That Rev. Miller does not understand what the Bahá’í Faith
teaches on subject which are absolutely central to its message becomes apparent
as soon as he moves from his historiographical pastiche to conceptual
questions. The problem affects his efforts to deal with almost every major
issue, including the nature of God, the nature and function of revelation in
history, the role of the Messenger of God, the Bahá’í view of the station of
the Báb, life after death, and the relationship of each revelation to those
which precede and follow it. The subject is far beyond the scope of this review,
but one example will perhaps illustrate the seriousness of the problem.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Bahá’í Faith teaches that religion is progressive. Islam
is a fuller revelation than Christianity, and those revelations since Muhammad,
the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths, incorporate and develop the elements which appeared
for the first time in Islam, as well as unfolding yet other aspects of the
divine purpose. What sets the latter three Faiths apart from Christianity is
that they include moral teachings which relate to the organization of society
as well as those which govern purely individual conduct. Far from leaving unto
Caesar “the things that are Caesar’s,” Islam contained a wide range of moral
instruction related to the state’s administration of human affairs. The extraordinarily
beneficial effect of such moral instruction on the conduct of governments was
repeatedly demonstrated by the marked contrast between the way in which Islamic
and Christian societies carried on warfare, conducted diplomacy, encouraged
intellectual advancement, and administered the daily life of the peoples
entrusted to their care, throughout the several centuries in which these two
religious cultures were locked in their great historic</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">struggle.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is not surprising in this context, therefore, to find
that the Writings of both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh contained extensive teachings
directed at the conduct of institutions and states, teachings which necessarily
differ greatly from those intended to guide the life of the individual
believer. Bahá’u’lláh states that mankind has now entered the era of “divine
justice,” and that it is the duty of governments of the world to administer
justice, in accordance with divine principles. Similarly, He creates
institutions for the administration of the life of the Bahá’í community and
provides these institutions with specific guidance designed to enable them to
mold a community which can provide </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">a practical example for the organization of man’s social
life. While making it clear that loyalty to</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">government and the strict avoidance by Bahá’ís of involvement in any
kind of political activity are fundamental</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">principles of His Faith, He insists that all forms of human organization
are today under the judgment of God and will rise or fall depending on whether
they conform their philosophies of government and patterns of behavior to
the</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">central principle that the time has
come for the unification of humankind in one race and one global society.
(51)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the individual believer, however, the divine command lays
the duty of acting with love, mercy, forbearance and forgiveness. Going one
step beyond the so-called “Golden Rules” of earlier stages in mankind’s moral
evolution, Bahá’u’lláh calls upon the individual to “prefer others” to himself
and teaches that such a standard is the only basis upon which the Bahá’í
principle of “unity in diversity” can be realized, with all its implications
for the protection of individual identity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Few if any of the Christian missionary writers who have
chosen to attack the Bahá’í Faith over the past several decades have shown the
patience to try to grasp this fundamental distinction. For them faith is
essentially an individual matter. The individual is saved alone, and society as
such is irredeemable. The “coming of the Kingdom” is an event outside history,
so far outside indeed as to occur in another world entirely. To be sure, these
basic elements of Christian theology have been so muddied by conflicting
sectarian interpretations and by twentieth century attempts to create a “social
gospel” that they probably have little relevance for the average member of most
Christian churches. Yet Pauline theology itself has not changed. However
weakened or inarticulate, it continues to appear in habits of thought and in
assumptions which reveal their presence when a mind conditioned by them tries
to grapple with new elements in religious truth.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rev. Miller is a victim of these limitations. While
ostensibly aware that the Bahá’í Faith has dimensions other than those related
to the moral life of the individual, he clearly has not grasped the
implications. (52) In discussing the ministry of the Báb, he sketches briefly
the kinds of authority which the Bábí Scriptures gave to the Bábí state, in
preparation for the coming of “Him Whom God Will Manifest.” Although inadequate
and distorted, the discussion touches on such subjects as regulations governing
military activity, the rights of the state in private property, the rights of
citizens who have embraced the new Revelation, and one or two related subjects.
(53) The passage then continues:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“It is not clear how these regulations about conquest of
countries and divisions of booty [sic] were to be</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">reconciled with other commands in the Bayan
[the Babi Scriptures], such as: “No one is to be slain for unbelief, for the
slaying of a soul is outside the religion of God ... and if anyone commits it
he is not, and</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">has not been, of the
Bayan.”” (54)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The explanation, of course, lies in the distinction which
the three Faiths under discussion make between the moral responsibilities of
states (or institutions) and those of the individual soul. The extent to which
Rev. Miller has failed to understand the distinction is demonstrated by the
fact that the chapter which he devotes to the teachings of the Báb
indiscriminately mixes up laws and principles which fall into these two very
different categories.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The same conceptual problem handicaps Rev. Miller’s efforts
to understand the emphasis which Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and the Guardian of
the Bahá’í Cause (Shoghi Effendi) placed on the integrity of the community
entrusted to them. One of the most impressive achievements of the Bahá’í Faith
is its success in maintaining its unity during the first critical century of
its existence, the period in which schism has divided every religious movement
in the past. Rev. Miller seems to some extent appreciative of this achievement,
as he devotes considerable attention to the various efforts made over the years
to introduce schism into the ranks of the Bahá’í community without at any point
coming to grips with the implications of the Faith’s success in overcoming this
age-old enemy of men’s efforts to work together in harmony.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The factor responsible for the achievement has been the
conveyance of authority known as the “Covenant,” by which Bahá’u’lláh and
‘Abdu’l-Bahá endowed the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice with the
powers necessary to govern the community which They had brought into existence.
(55) At each stage in the development of the Bahá’í Faith this conveyance of
authority was challenged by various elements who sought to advance parties or
objectives of their own. These challenges were successfully surmounted only
because of the firmness with which the central institutions of the Faith
insisted upon the authority established under the Covenant, called upon the
entire community to unite in support of one single program, and where necessary
did not hesitate to expel from the ranks of the community those few persons who
refused to accept the conditions which Bahá’u’lláh Himself had placed upon
membership in His Faith. One is at liberty, if one chooses, to criticize this
element in the building of a global community, but any such criticism must be
founded on an understanding of the theory involved and of the distinction
between these principles of social organization and those which relate to the
spiritual life of the individual.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rev. Miller’s inability to grasp the distinction inevitably
leads him into a tangle of argument which misses entirely one of the most
interesting and important features of the development of the religion he is
attempting to describe. In his chapter on the teachings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, for
example, he quotes the latter as saying:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“You must love humanity in order to uplift and beautify
humanity. Even if people slay you, yet you must love them. ... We are creatures
of the same God, therefore we must love all as children of God even though they
are doing us harm.” (56)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rev. Miller then goes on to introduce the question of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s vigorous denunciation of those who attempted to break the
Covenant established by Bahá’u’lláh, to which they had committed
themselves:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“After reading these beautiful words it is disappointing to
discover in other utterances of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that he found it impossible to
love certain people. It appears that he to the end of his life cherished great
bitterness toward the “Covenant-breakers,” the leader of whom had been his own
brother Mirza Muhammad Ali.” (57)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In fact, one of the features of the lives of both
‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi which profoundly impressed those in close
contact with them and served as a powerful example to the conduct of the
members of the Faith at large, was the patience and forbearance which they
demonstrated as individuals in the face of almost daily harassment from those
whose personal ambitions they had blocked. (58)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Conceptual weaknesses of such dimensions are difficult to
understand in a writer whose professional training is in the field of theology
and who holds distinguished credentials in this highly specialized discipline.
Questions of prejudice aside, they arise presumably from a failure to take
seriously the intellectual foundations of the Faith being studied. There is no
more risky lapse in the examination of beliefs other than one’s own.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Certainly there is evidence that Rev. Miller frequently
flagged as his pursuit of his private white whale carried him on through
growing masses of information. Taken as a whole, the book is uneven. While some
sections are closely argued and demonstrate the author’s command of a large
body of detail, other betray signs of hasty writing and a very superficial
familiarity with the sources used. In some cases Rev. Miller’s material seems
entirely to escape his control. An example is his treatment of the subject of
the powerful impression which Bahá’u’lláh made on persons of capacity who met
Him. Rev. Miller seems to resist coming to terms with this incontrovertible
fact of the history he is recounting. In an apparent effort to reduce the
problem to more manageable proportions, he introduces an explanation which
Muslim theologians and other opponents of the Bahá’í Faith early developed to
account for the extraordinary impact of the Messenger of God upon human
consciousness. Rev. Miller paraphrases their explanation in his introduction of
the story of the interview which Bahá’u’lláh granted to Professor Browne:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Each visitor was carefully prepared for his audience with
the Manifestation of God. He was told that what he saw when he came into the
Divine Presence would depend on what he was himself—if he was a material person
he would see only a man, but if he was a spiritual being he would see God. When
his expectations had been sufficiently aroused, the pilgrim was led into the
presence of Bahá’u’lláh and was permitted to</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">gaze for a few moments upon “the Blessed Perfection” ...The almost
magical effect of such visits is seen in the account which Professor Browne has
given of his experience in Akka in 1890.” (59)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The explanation is nothing if not ingenious, and taken by
itself would no doubt seem quite persuasive to persons who lacked any other
information on Bahá’u’lláh’s life. Almost immediately afterward, however,
Rev.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Miller quotes the memorable words
of Professor Browne’s own version of events. Describing his entrance in
Bahá’u’lláh’s room, Professor Browne says:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Though I dimly suspected whither I was going and whom I was
to behold (for no distinct intimation had</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">been given to me) [emphasis added], a second or two elapsed ere, with a
throb of wonder and awe, I</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">became
definitely conscious that the room was not untenanted. In the corner where the
divan met the wall sat a wondrous and venerable figure ... 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
... 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!” (60)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since the explanation had been introduced to account for the
impact of Bahá’u’lláh’s personality on Browne, and since Browne himself states
that, far from being told whom he was to see, he had only inferred himself that
he might be entering the room of Bahá’u’lláh, one can only conclude that this
section of the book, like a number of others, represents a very hasty assembling
of material gathered from contradictory sources and quite unintegrated in the
writer’s own mind. Ironically, the passage of Professor Browne’s writings which
immediately precedes the section quoted by Rev. Miller is devoted to correcting
precisely the kind of story which Rev. Miller has carelessly retailed.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Finally, some attention must be given here to one further
theme, if for no other reason than the weight of emphasis placed on it by Rev.
Miller. This is the charge, brought against the Bahá’í s by Azalis and
subsequently picked up by others of their enemies, that the success of the
Bahá’í Faith was secured in large part by the murder of persons who opposed it.
The Founders of the Faith are accused, if not of initiating these crimes, at
least of conniving at them. (61)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The charge derives much of what force it possesses from a
tragic incident which tarnished the name of the Faith early in Bahá’u’lláh’s
imprisonment in ‘Akká, and which caused Him intense indignation and grief. (62)
The full story is given in Shoghi Effendi’s God Passes By and has long served
as an object lesson to a persecuted community of the importance and the
implications of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings on nonviolence. (63) At the same time,
Bahá’í writers have insisted that similar charges which Azalis and other
opponents hastened to heap on top of this incident have no basis whatever in
fact. Professor Browne, although he sought to avoid discussing the subject,
appears to have accepted at least some of the charges leveled against the early
Bahá’ís by his Azali acquaintances. (64) At no time were any of the charges
supported by independent evidence, nor were they pursued by Ottoman civil
authorities who eagerly took advantage of every excuse to persecute the new
religion. In retrospect it is obvious that the charges were conceived not
simply to blacken the reputation of the Bahá’ís, but to provide an explanation
for Bahá’u’lláh’s success which had so precisely fitted the assurances of the
Báb and which had created an inescapable dilemma for Azal and his supporters.
(65)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These charges have since been taken up and given wide
currency by the several Christian missionaries who have written against the
Bahá’í Faith. For the most part these missionaries have contented themselves
with simply advancing the charges on the basis of the otherwise unsupported
statements of the Azalis. Against this background it is interesting, therefore,
to examine how Rev. Miller handles the subject.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The most complete treatment of one such incident occurs in
his chapter on the life and work of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It concerns a certain Mirza
Yahya, who had abandoned his pledge under the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh and had
become the agent of Muhammad Ali in the latter’s efforts to set up a party of
his own. (66) For this, Yahya was severely rebuked by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and warned
in the strongest language that God would defend the unity of His Faith and that
unless Yahya desisted he would suffer in both this world and the next.
Undeterred, Yahya continued his activity. The following is the account of his
subsequent death as written by his father-in-law, Haji Mulla Husayn, and
reproduced together with other related documents by Professor Browne in his
1917 work Materials For The Study of the Bábí Religion. (67) The Haji felt he
had witnessed a fulfillment of “prophecy” and was writing to share the details
with a friend:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Touching the Tablet which was vouchsafed from the Land of
Heart’s Desire [i.e. ‘Akká, the home of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá], in truth if anyone
should possess the eye of discernment, these same Blessed Words which were thus
fulfilled are a very great miracle... I read the Tablet to Mirza Yahya and he
listened. ... Then he rose up and departed to his own house. A few nights later
towards the dawn one knocked at the door of my house. “Who is it?” I cried.
Then, seeing that it was a maid-servant, I added, “What wilt thou?” She
replied, “Mirza Yahya is done for.” I at once ran thither. Hajji Muhammad Baqir
also was present. I saw that blood was flowing from his (Mirza Yahya’s) throat,
and that he was unable to move. By this time it was morning. I at once brought
thither an Indian doctor. He examined him and said, “A blood-vessel in his lung
is ruptured. He must lie still for three days and not move, and then he will
recover.” He then gave him some medicine. The hemorrhage stopped for two days,
and his condition improved. In spite of this he was not admonished to return to
the Truth. After two days there was a second flow of blood from his throat and
he was nearly finished. The doctor came again and gave him medicine, but
ultimately it profited him nothing. Twice again he vomited undiluted blood, and
then surrendered his spirit. ...” (68)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rev. Miller provides an abbreviated excerpt from the above
account, the only document in the series published by Professor Browne which he
quotes. He entirely omits, however, that section of the passage that describes
the summoning of the doctor, the diagnosis which the latter gave, and the
details of the remissions and final hemorrhage which killed Yahya. (69) Instead,
he provides a brief summary of the contents of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s letter to Yahya
and the efforts of the latter’s father-in-law to admonish him, concluding: “A
few nights later Mirza Yahya was found in</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the house in a serious condition with blood flowing from his throat, and
after several days he died.” (70)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even more startling is the use which Rev. Miller makes of
the fact that Professor Browne has translated and reproduced the document: “Not
only did Abdu’l-Baha and his followers not remain silent, they went beyond
angry words. Browne has published evidence which proves conclusively [emphasis
added] that at least in one instance the old Bábí method of assassination was
resorted to by Abdu’l-Baha to get rid of a dangerous enemy.” (71) In sum, we
are told by Rev. Miller that Mirzá Yahya was murdered in a particularly
horrendous manner (presumably by having his throat cut), that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
acting in the traditions of his Faith, had ordered this odious crime, and that
the authority for all these charges is Edward Browne who subsequently published
his findings. Not one of these allegations is true.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For anyone with some direct experience of the subject, ‘The
Bahá’í Faith: Its History and Teachings’ conveys the impression of a rather
ill-tempered amateur theatrical group plodding resentfully through a
performance of Hamlet in which no one has been assigned the title role. For
what is almost totally absent from the book is the Bahá’í Faith itself. Only a
mere shadow, a kind of ghost of Denmark’s murdered king, is present on stage to
utter the occasional muffled protest from under the masses of trivia,
misrepresentation, and personal prejudice in which Rev.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Miller has literally burned his subject.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One searches in vain for a presentation of the great body of
ethical and devotional literature which makes up the bulk of Bahá’u’lláh’s
Writings, and which have exercised so powerful and positive an effect on the
lives of millions of persons. Its place is taken by a labored effort to
paraphrase and summarize precisely the one of Bahá’u’lláh’s books which its
Author Himself states must be understood in the light of a vast body of
supplementary Writings to most of which Rev. Miller had no access, and of the
expositions of those who were named to book’s sole interpreters. (72)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The persons of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, as Rev.
Miller presents them, must be virtually unrecognizable to those who knew them
at first hand. There is no trace of the great humanitarianism of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
which won Him universal respect from government and public alike and which, at
the time of His passing in 1921, evoked the greatest demonstration of public
grief from the many religious, ethnic, and cultural communities in Haifa that
modern Palestine has witnessed. (73) Nor is there any recognition of the
reputation of integrity which</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shoghi
Effendi built up over the thirty-six years of his Guardianship, which made him
the sole public figure in Haifa</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">whose
independence was spontaneously respected by all sides in the bitter civil wars
that ravaged the country after the 1948 partition, and which made it possible
for him to establish through processes of civil law which he had not himself
initiated every smallest public detail of the trust which Bahá’u’lláh’s
Covenant had conferred upon him. (74)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">One will search in vain, too, for an adequate presentation
of the extraordinary global expansion of the Bahá’í community over the past
forty years. The statistics of this expansion must be among the most impressive
of any religious development in the past century. (75) Only fragments of the
story appear in two of the later chapters, in both cases hedged about by
comments which depreciate the importance of the development being described.
(76) Since this phenomenon of expansion presumably caused the startling
reversal in Rev. Miller’s own assessment of the Bahá’í Faith’s capacities and
provoked the years of industry represented by this new book, the absence of an
adequate treatment of the subject is all the more remarkable.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But what is most strikingly absent from ‘The Bahá’í Faith:
Its History and Teachings’ is any effort to communicate the spirit which, for
over a century, has evoked self-sacrifice on a scale seldom equaled in
religious history and which has produced the expansion already mentioned. It
would be unrealistic and unfair to expect a Protestant clergyman to admire the
beliefs which inspired such devotion, or even to appreciate adequately the
devotion itself. The phenomenon nevertheless exists and is the feature of the
Bahá’í Faith which has most deeply impressed every disinterested observer who
has come in contact with it for over a century. It is almost tangible in the
writings of such independent scholars as Browne and Gobineau, neither of whom
himself became a believer nor felt his reputation diminished by his recognition
of this spiritual force as a fact of history. In an address on “the Bábi
Religion” to a scholarly audience at the South Place conference on comparative
religions in 1891, Professor Browne attempted to convey something of the power
of this spirit as he had experienced it at first hand. He described the
Bábí-Bahá’í movement as “an heroic struggle which I do not hesitate to call the
greatest religious movement of the century,” (77) and he concluded:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“I trust that I have told you enough to make it clear that
the objects at which this religion aims are neither trivial nor unworthy of the
noble self-devotion and heroism of the Founder and his followers. It is the
lives and deaths of these, their hope which knows no despair, their love which
knows no cooling, their steadfastness which knows no wavering, which stamp this
wonderful movement with a character entirely its own. For whatever may be the
merits of demerits of the doctrines for which these scores and hundreds of our
fellow-men died, they have at least found something which made them ready to
“leave all things under the sky, And go forth naked under sun and rain, And
work and wait and watch out all their years.””</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“It is not a small or easy thing to endure what these have
endured, and surely what they deemed worth life itself is worth trying to
understand. I say nothing of the mighty influence which, as I believe, the Babi
faith will exert in the future, nor of the new life it may perchance breathe
into a dead people; for, whether it succeed or fail, the splendid heroism of
the Babi martyrs is a thing eternal and indestructible… But what I cannot hope
to have conveyed to you is the terrible earnestness of these men, and the
indescribable influence which this earnestness, combined with other qualities,
exerts on any one who has actually been brought in contact with them. That you
must take my word for.... (78)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What is the strange defect in the ecclesiastical form of
religious organization, which so often prompts its members to seek to destroy
the faith of other men? It is a vice which, to one extent or another, has
characterized the priestly caste of virtually every religion in recorded
history. To our shame here in the West, it has especially stained the record of
the religion of Jesus Christ, the religion of which we have been preeminently
the trustees. The indecent and grossly unfair slanders against Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Islam, which for centuries were impressed upon the populations of
Christian lands by those whom they trusted as their spiritual mentors have done
incalculable harm to human relations and to the cause of world peace. If an
accounting were ever to be demanded (and one of Bahá’u’lláh’s persistent themes
is that in this day God and history are demanding just such an accounting),
Judaism alone could present the major Christian churches with a billing which
none of them is in any moral state to meet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In recent decades, with a vast increase in education and the
simultaneous breakdown of ecclesiastical authority, the open vilification of
earlier ages has given way to caution. Rev. Miller’s book can fairly be
considered a representative example of the new trend. But the spirit and the
essential methods have not changed. Nor has the aim, which is to attack and
create contempt and aversion for beliefs which differ from one’s own. The
perennial explanation is that truth must be served, whatever the cost to human
sensitivities. It would obviously be pointless and unseemly to dignify such
arguments with any serious attention in the face of the methods by which
earnest polemicists such as Rev. Miller seek to serve their conception of
truth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What is especially difficult to understand is that attacks
such as that of Rev. Miller against the Bahá’í Faith originate with men whose
own spiritual ancestors suffered cruelly and unfairly from the same abuse. For
the first two centuries after Christ the civilized Roman world was exposed to a
picture of the Christian faith which was a mockery of truth, as horrifying as
it is unrecognizable. In it Jesus was presented as the illegitimate offspring
of a transient mercenary soldier. As the story grew, new details were invented,
including a name for this entirely fictional parent. The disciples were
pictured as a band of fanatical cutthroats who mixed political conspiracy with
highway robbery and casual mayhem. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was portrayed as
a lunatic scheme to take over the civil government. Innocently allegorical
statements in the Gospels were wrenched out of context and used to hint at
obscene and cruel practices. Finally, it was charged that the story of this
wretched backwater uprising had then been used to manufacture a new universal
religion that would appeal to the educated “Westerners” of the day, the Greeks
and Romans.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These calumnies against Christianity did not originate with
pagan tyrants like Nero and Domitian. The original perpetrators were clergymen,
the heirs of Abraham and Moses. To their fellow Jews these priests no doubt
seemed models of traditional piety and learning. Yet they collaborated with
Roman civil authorities whom they considered both godless and corrupt and made
use of the “testimony” of apostates like Judas whose moral character they
despised.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the long run the chief result of this effort was to
awaken the curiosity of the spiritually hungry. Even before the conversion of
Constantine one-twentieth of the population of the empire had already embraced
the faith of Jesus Christ.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bahá’ís can perhaps, therefore, afford to regard Rev.
Miller’s effort to discharge his lifelong obsession with their Faith, with a
certain degree of equanimity. Whatever interest it may arouse must inevitably excite
a wider discussion of their Founder’s message. If at the same time it
stimulates His followers to a deeper study of the implications of that message,
they will surely have derived the maximum benefit from an experience which
believers in all ages before them have had and which the gradual but
unmistakable disappearance of the ecclesiastical profession around the world
seems likely to deny to their spiritual descendants.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Footnotes</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">1. William McElwee Miller, Baha’ísm: Its Origin, History,
and Teachings (Fleming H. Revell Co., 1931); William McElwee Miller, The Bahá’í
Faith: Its History and Teachings (South Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey
Library, 1974).</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">2. Mirza Husayn Ali Bahá’u’lláh, Al-Kitab Al-Aqdas or The
Most Holy Book (London: The Royal Asiatic Society, 1961): an English
translation of Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i-Aqdas with an introduction by W.M.
Miller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">3. Miller, Bahá’í Faith, pp. 349-50.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">4. Miller, Baha’ísm, p. 9.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">5. Miller, Baha’ísm, p. xi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">6. Ibid., p. 358.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">7. E.G. Browne provides a valuable bibliography on the Bábí
and Bahá’í Faiths prior to 1917 in two of his works: A Traveller’s Narrative
Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Báb, trans. Edward G. Browne
(Cambridge, England: The Univ. Press, 1918), pp. 175–243.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">8. Miller, Bahá’í Faith, p. xvi. Except where otherwise
indicated, further references to Rev. Millers work are taken from The Bahá’í
Faith: Its History and Teachings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">9. Mirza Yahya was the younger half-brother of Bahá’u’lláh
and like Him a follower of the Báb. The central theme of the Báb’s Teachings
was that He had come to prepare the way for a Universal Messenger of God, “He
Whom God Will Make Manifest.” The time of the advent of this figure was known
to God alone, but the Bábís were commanded to await it eagerly. At the height
of the persecutions of the Bábís in the late 1840s the Báb named Yahya as
titular head of the community and commanded him to set an example of fidelity.
Instead, Yahya fled in disguise as soon as the persecution of the Bábí
community began. When Bahá’u’lláh publicly proclaimed Himself to be the
Promised Messenger, Yahya at first temporized and then refused to submit. He
was promptly abandoned by virtually the entire Bábí community. His subsequent
attempts on Bahá’u’lláh’s life failed and deepened the abhorrence in which his
former coreligionists had come to hold him. In 1867 the Ottoman government
exiled Yahya and his immediate family to Cyprus where he died in 1912,
abandoned even by those few Bábís who had originally followed him. Yahya named
one of his surviving sons, Ahmad, as his successor, but the latter eventually
repudiated his father, sought ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s forgiveness for his part in the
family’s misdeeds, and lived the remainder of his life as a steadfast Bahá’í.
Rev. Miller seems unaware of this aspect of the Azal’s family story, as he is
under the impression that Yahya did not name a successor (Miller, p. 107).
Jelal Azal was a younger brother of Ahmad. apparently resenting the
circumstances in which he found himself, he began a lifelong effort to reverse
the verdict of history by reviving the Azali charges against Bahá’u’lláh and
attempting to interpret events in a fashion which would restore his father’s
reputation. The notes and documents which he gave to Rev. Miller are the fruit of
this campaign. The subject has been dealt with in detail by Shoghi Effendi in
God Passes By (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Pub. Trust, 1944), Chapters VII–XII
passim, and by Browne in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Traveller’s
Narrative, Introduction and Notes U, V, and W; in Materials, Introduction and
Sections I, VIII, IX;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and in Mirza
Huseyn of Hamadan, Tarikh-I-Jadid or New History of Mirza Ali Muhammad the Báb,
trans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Edward G. Browne (Cambridge,
England: The Univ. Press, 1893), passim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">10. Rev. Miller states: “While engaged in the task of
rewriting a book which was published many years ago [Bahá’ísm] ..., the author
was most fortunate in becoming acquainted through correspondence with another
scholar<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>[Mr. Azal] who was uniquely
qualified to supply new historical material and to throw fresh light on many of
the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>doctrines and the events of the
Babi-Baha’i movement. ...Mr. Azal most generously made available to the author
the results of his scholarly research, having supplied more than 1100 pages [of
notes and documents] ...”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(p. xvi). In
fact (so far as the first century of Bahá’í history is concerned), it is not
exaggerating the case to say that the bulk of the new primary material which
distinguishes this book from Rev. Miller’s earlier effort can be credited to
Mr. Azal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">11. See, for example, Hasan Balyuzi’s discussion of three
Azali contributions in Edward Granville Browne and the Bahá’í Faith (London:
George Ronald, 1970): the “Hasht Bihisht,” pp. 19–21, 33–34, 80–84; the
Nuqtatu’l-Kaf, PP. 70–88; and the Persian Introduction to the latter, pp. 70,
73–88. Mr. Balyuzi mentions various errors of fact in Azali manuscripts, whose
authorship had been concealed and which had earlier been pointed out by
Mirzá<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abu’l-Fadl. Rev. Miller takes note
of at least one of these flaws, although he fails to identify the source of the
insights. (Cf. Balyuzi, pp. 72–73; Miller, p. 73). Re. Miller also blandly
notes the Azali authorship of the “Hasht-Bihisht” (Miller, p. 102) without a
suggestion of recognition that the Azalis had attempted to pass it off as the
work of one of the Báb’s leading disciples, Haji Siyyid Javad. (Cf. Balyuzi, p.
20, citing Browne, J.R.A.S., n.s., vol. xxiv, p. 684.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">12. The kind of distortion which this influence produced in
Rev. Miller’s narrative is particularly apparent in those sections where he
attempts to discuss Bahá’u’lláh’s claim to be “He Whom God Will Manifest.” The
Báb had repeatedly stated that the central purpose of His own mission was the
preparation of mankind for the advent of this universal divine Messenger. He
had stated that the time of the advent was known to God alone but had assured a
number of His close disciples that they would in their own lifetimes recognize
and serve “Him Whom God Will Manifest.” (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 28).
Rev. Miller notes the reports of both Professor Browne and the Comte de
Gobineau that in the anarchy which followed the martyrdom of the Báb and the
massacres of many thousands of His followers, several of the more excitable
Bábis had come to believe that they were the Promised Deliverer (see Miller,
pp. 75-77). Indeed, the unknown authors of the Nuqtatu’l-Kaf sought to claim
the title for Mirza Yahya (see Miller, p. 73). The Báb, however, had assured
His followers emphatically in the Bayan (see Miller, p. 54) that no one could
falsely claim to be “He Whom God Will Make Manifest,” and succeed in such a
claim. Bahá’u’lláh’s complete triumph, therefore, and the humiliating collapse
of Yahya’s pretensions (see Miller, p. 98) were extremely embarrassing to the
Azali apologists. Their efforts to escape the dilemma centered on an attempt to
argue that a cryptic reference in the Bayan to the word “Ghiyath,” whose
numerical equivalent according to one method of reckoning is 1511, indicated
that the Promised One was not to appear until at least fifteen hundred and
eleven years had passed. Much more explicit references by the Báb to “the year
nine” and “the year nineteen” were entirely ignored. Rev. Miller takes up this
arcane argument and makes it the organizing principle of his discussion of the
relationship between the Bábi and Bahá’í Revelations. The entire presentation
is far removed from the methods and purposes of historiography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">13. See notes (7) and (9) above. Browne’s A Year Amongst The
Persians (Cambridge, England: The Univ. Press, 1893) is also extremely valuable
as are a number of papers published under the auspices of the Royal Asiatic
Society. Interested readers are also referred to Browne’s Introduction to Myron
Phelps’ Life and Teachings of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abbas
Effendi (New York: G.P. Putnam’s, 1903) and the text of a lengthy address
delivered in 1889 at the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>South Place
Institute under the title “Babism” and published in The Religious Systems of
the World: A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contribution to the Study
of Comparative Religions, ed. Wm. Sheowring and Conrad W. Thies (London:
Swann<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sonnenschien & Co., Limited,
1902), pp. 333–53.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">14. Miller, p. 113, n. 44 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">15. Browne, “Babism,” in Religious Systems, p. 351,
Tarikh-i-Jadid. p. xxiv; Traveller’s Narrative, p. xvii, Materials, pp.
xv–xvii.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">16. Browne, The Persian Revolution of 1905–1909 (Cambridge,
England: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1910) and The Persian Constitutional Movement
(London, 1918). Both works reflect the hopes which Browne placed in the Bábís,
and the latter especially reflects his disappointment, as does Materials, pp.
xv-xx.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">17. I am also indebted for these insights into the
nationalistic aspects of Professor Browne’s motivations to Professor Firuz
Kazemzadeh. See his Russia and Britain in Persia, 1864–1914: A Study in
Imperialism (New Haven, Ct.: Yale Univ. Press, 1968), p. 247, n. 16.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">18. English Introduction to Nuqtatu’l-Kaf, cited by Balyuzi,
Edward Granville Browne, p. 88.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">19. The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil’s Narrative of the Early Days
of the Bahá’í Revelation, trans. and ed. Shoghi Effendi (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í
Pub. Trust, 1932). This massively documented tome runs 668 pages and is
supplemented by over two hundred photographs, maps, sketches, and charts, as
well as an Appendix, a Glossary, and an index.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">20. Miller, p. 303.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">21. The title means literally “The Point of Kaf,” (that is,
the letter “K”). It is no longer possible to determine the reason why this
strange title was given to the manuscript.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">22. In his Tarikh-i-Jadid, published in 1893, Professor
Browne had included a translation of excerpts from the writings of the noted
Persian scholar Mirzá Abu’l-Fadl, who had studied an original copy of the
memoirs of Mirzá Jani. Mr. Balyuzi now published the further statement of Mirzá
Abu’l-Fadl that the manuscript which appeared in an English translation in 1910
under the title Kitab-i-Nuqtatu’l-Kaf was a forgery (Balyuzi, Edward Granville
Browne, pp. 70–73).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">23. Miller, pp. 111–13, n. 44. The note includes the
extraordinary statement: “Whether, therefore, the book published by Browne
[i.e., the Nuqtatu’l-Kaf] was written entirely by Mirzá Jani before his death
in 1852, or whether others wrote the book after the death of Mirzá Jani and
gave his name to it, the Nuqtatu’l-Kaf is by far the earliest account in our
possession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">24. Miller, p. 21.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">25. Rúhíyyih Rabbani, The Priceless Pearl (London: Bahá’í
Pub. Trust, 1969).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">26. Miller, pp. 295–99.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">27. Miller, pp. 311–23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">28. Mr. Remey was honored by the Guardian of the Bahá’í
Cause by appointment as a Hand of the Cause of God in 1951. Subsequently, in
preparation for the eventual election of the Universal House of Justice Shoghi
Effendi created an advisory body to assist him in his work, to which he gave
the name the International Bahá’í Council.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mr. Remey was appointed President of the Council, although what may be
considered to be the ranking position, “liaison with the Guardian of the
Faith,” was assigned to Rúhíyyih Khánum. Mr. Remey later stated that the
Council’s role was purely honorary (Miller, p. 292), although he subsequently
attempted to use his position in it to advance his bizarre claim to be the
“hereditary Guardian” of the Faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">29. Miller, p. 318.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">30. The position of the Hand of the Cause of God was created
by Bahá’u’lláh to distinguish certain believers who possessed unusual capacity
in the field of Bahá’í service. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá defines their role in his Will and
Testament (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Pub. Trust, 1944), and Shoghi Effendi relied
heavily on them to assist him with delicate and important missions and as
formal representatives of the Faith at major functions. He also named them
“Stewards” of the Faith, thus enabling them to make the necessary preparations
for the election of the Universal House of Justice, following Shoghi Effendi’s
death in 1957.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">31. Miller, p. 327.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">32. Ibid., p. 62.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">33. Ibid., p. 80.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">34. Ibid., p. 81.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">35. Ibid., pp. 2-4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">36. Nabil, Dawn-Breakers, p. 293.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">37. Ibid., p. 505.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">38. Miller, p. 120. As is the case so often throughout his
book Rev. Miller advances an alternative explanation, without any attempt to
resolve the contradiction or indeed even any clear indication that he
recognizes the problem it creates for his argument. In the case of
Bahá’u’lláh’s title, Tahirih is alleged (p. 119) to have given it to Him “to
comfort him.” Bahá’u’lláh is pictured as “hurt” because alone of all the
participants at Badasht He had been ignored by the Báb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">39. Ibid., p. 298.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">40. “Je n’ai jamais entendu personne parmi les musulmans
mettre en doute la vertu d’une personne si singuliere.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau, Les
Religions et philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale (Paris: Perrin, 1865), p.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>155.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">41. Miller, p. 31.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">42. Ibid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">43. Howard Colby Ives, Portals to Freedom, rev. ed. (London:
George Ronald, 1962), p. 135.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">44. Miller, p. 204.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">45. Ibid., p. 285.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">46. The full text of most of these letters can be found in
Volume 8 (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Pub. Committee, 1942), pp. 595–98, including
those printed at Queen Marie’s request in the Toronto Star (May 4 and Sept. 28,
1926) and the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin (Sept. 27, 1926). In addition to
her several public declarations of faith, Queen Marie arrived in Haifa in March
of 1930 to make a pilgrimage to the Shrines of the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. She
was prevented from doing so by intense political pressure, and subsequently
wrote (June 28, 1931) to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Martha Root:
“Both Ileana [her daughter] and I were cruelly disappointed at having been
prevented going to the holy shrines and of meeting Shoghi Effendi, but at that
time we were going through a cruel crisis and every movement I made was being
turned against me and being exploited politically in an unkind way.” (cited in
Priceless Pearl, p. 115). Rúhíyyih Khánum quotes the full texts of most of the
letters in Chapter IV of The Priceless Pearl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">47. Miller, pp. 304–05, n. 41.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">48. Ibid, pp. 71, 75, 82.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">49. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapter X; Browne
Tarikh-i-Jadid, p. xxii.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">50. Miller, p. 98.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">51. Interested readers are referred to Shoghi Effendi’s The
World Order of Bahá’u’lláh: Selected Letters, 2d rev. ed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Pub. Trust, 1974) and
The Promised Day Is Come, rev. ed. (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Pub.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust, 1961) for a complete development of
the theme. Both works quote extensively from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and
‘Abdu’l-Bahá.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">52. Miller. p. ???<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">53. Ibid., pp. ???<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">54. Ibid., p. ??? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">55. For a complete discussion of the subject see Shoghi
Effendi, World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 143–57.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">56. Miller, p. 229.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">57. Ibid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">58. See, for example, H.M. Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Centre
of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh (London: George<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ronald, 1971), Chapters IV and V, Rúhíyyih Khánum, Priceless Pearl,
Chapters V and VI; Phelps, Life and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Teachings of Abbas Effendi, passim; Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of
Bahá’u’lláh: Baghdad, Vol. I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Oxford:
George Ronald, 1974), Appendix I, Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Chapters IV,
XVII, XXIII.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">59. Miller, p. 126.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">60. Ibid., p. 127, quoted from Traveller’s Narrative, p.
xiii and Materials, p. 4, n. 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">61. The charges may be found in the writings of such
Christian ecclesiastics as Samuel Graham Wilson, Bahaism and Its Claims: A
Study of the Religion Promulgated by Baha Ullah and Abdul Baha (New York:
Fleming H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Revell Company, 1915); John
Richards Richards, The Religion of the Bahá’ís, the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge (London: The Macmillan Co., 1932); William M. Miller,
Baha’ism; Robert P.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Richardson, various
articles published in Open Court: “The Persian Rival to Jesus, and His American
Disciples,” 29 (Aug. 1915), 460–83; “The Precursor, the Prophet, and the Pope,”
30 (Oct. 1916), 617–37; “The Rise and Fall of the Parliament of Religions at
Greenacre,” 46 (Mar. 1931), 129–66.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">62. “My captivity can bring on Me no shame. Nay, by My life,
it conferreth on Me glory. This which can make Me ashamed is the conduct of
such of My followers as profess to love Me, yet in fact follow the Evil
One.”:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bahá’u’lláh, cited by Shoghi
Effendi, God Passes By, p. 190.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">63. Ibid., pp. 189-90.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">64. See, for example, Tarikh-i-Jadid, p. xxiii. Browne,
however attributes the “murders” to the actions of “too zealous Beha’is” and
exempts the Founders of the Faith from complicity, though he reports the Azali
charges on the latter point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">65. See note (12) above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">66. Mirza Yahya was no relation to the Mirza Yahya
Subh-i-Azal referred to extensively above. Muhammad Ali was a half-brother of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Following the death of Bahá’u’lláh he rebelled against the
authority conferred on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Bahá’u’lláh’s Will and attempted to
usurp the leadership of the Bahá’í Faith. He briefly enjoyed some success,
attracting to his side various members of the household as well as Ibrahim
Khayrullah, who had been the leading exponent of the Bahá’í Faith in America
and who also fretted under the authority of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The organization
which Khayrullah attempted to establish perished with him. Muhammad Ali died in
1936 having failed in his efforts to create a sectarian group of his own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">67. Browne, MATERIALS, pp. 155-???<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">68. Ibid., pp. 165-66.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">69. Miller, p. 184.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">70. Ibid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">71. Ibid., pp. 183-84.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">72. The Universal House of Justice, governing body of the
Bahá’í Faith, has continued the codification of the Kitábi-Aqdas, which was
begun by Shoghi Effendi. The first stage of this vast program was the
publication of A Synopsis and Codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy
Book of Bahá’u’lláh, comp. Universal House of Justice”, (Haifa: Bahá’í World
Centre, 1973). Contrary to Rev. Miller’s suggestions (Miller, pp. 143–44,
323–26) the Bahá’í world has had constant access to the Aqdas through the
translations of various sections as well as the extensive interpretations and
commentaries provided by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (and after him, Shoghi Effendi).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the mode of access prescribed by
Bahá’u’lláh. A labored translation which is often misleadingly inaccurate was
produced by Rev. E.E. Elder and is now reproduced by Rev. Miller as an Appendix
to his present book. It seems unlikely to add anything of value to mankind’s
appreciation of this unique work. Perhaps in an effort to overcome the lack of interest
which has been shown in the Elder translation (in which he himself
collaborated) Rev. Miller provides an endorsement by the ubiquitous Mr. Azal:
“The translators ... are to be congratulated on their excellent work.” (Miller,
pp. 326.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">73. Balyuzi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 24.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">74. Rúhíyyih Khánum, Priceless Pearl, Chapters XI and
XII.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">75. The details of the expansion can be traced in volumes
VII through XIV of The Bahá’í World, covering the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>period from 1937 to 1968, and in the several
statistical summaries of the successive Plans published by the World Centre of
the Bahá’í Faith in 1953, 1963 and 1968: The Bahá’í World: 1844–1952 (Wilmette,
Ill.: Bahá’í<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pub. Committee, 1953); The
Bahá’í World: 1844–1963 (n.p., n.d.); and the Universal House of Justice;
The<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bahá’í World: Statistical
Information (n.p.: 1968). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">76. In the second of these two chapters (pp. 336–41) Rev.
Miller publishes the results of what was apparently a personal survey he
undertook by correspondence. The burden of his “findings” is that the Bahá’í
Faith is not as widely known or well established in certain countries as its
own publications assert. Rev. Miller opens this strange sequence with the
statement: “the author sought information from non-Bahá’ís [emphasis added] in
a dozen different countries...” (Miller, p. 336). These ostensibly independent
sources are then introduced one by one: “A correspondent who has...travelled
widely, in all the North African countries”; “an authority on the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>religious situation in Burma”; “A long-time
resident of Korea”; “A person well acquainted with East Pakistan”; “long-time
residents in Japan, India, Yucatan, Indonesia, Lebanon and other lands” (this
latter list of addressees<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>failed to
respond). Footnotes give the names of the respondents: “Mr. H.W. Stalley”; “Dr.
Paul Clasper”; “Dr. F. Dale Bruner”; “Dr. Samuel Moffett”; “Mr. Waren Webster”;
and so on. There is no suggestion as to the professions of these gentlemen or
as to the nature of their connection with Rev. Miller. The question inevitably
arises as to whether in fact they, too, are Christian missionaries, and if
indeed they are, why Rev. Miller did not forthrightly state this fact so that
the degree of the disinterestedness of their contributions could be examined by
his readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">77. Browne, “Babism,” in Religious Systems, p. 350.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">78. Ibid., pp. 352–53.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(World Order magazine, Spring 1976)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-82301798684369998652020-09-13T21:13:00.003-07:002020-09-13T21:15:46.206-07:00Baha’u’llah as Protector – by Mabel Hyde Paine<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkgAFoD90b5M6NpbiuqPjWiNlBviZMApdBcDWVZpl0FM2xdu8e8qknVX7kmAIhNndoARwV_wvbxfaidEQScsh9kjn047bibyhQoRXYdePrRO5HfPee2sOUvuEX1zCNDxzHb3F18dZYdU1/s1024/Mabel+Hyde+Paine-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1017" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkgAFoD90b5M6NpbiuqPjWiNlBviZMApdBcDWVZpl0FM2xdu8e8qknVX7kmAIhNndoARwV_wvbxfaidEQScsh9kjn047bibyhQoRXYdePrRO5HfPee2sOUvuEX1zCNDxzHb3F18dZYdU1/w162-h164/Mabel+Hyde+Paine-1.jpg" width="162" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">In whatever way we view Baha'u'llah, awe and wonder and an
inability to comprehend must loom large in our attitude. An early pilgrim wrote
of 'Abdu'l-Baha, "As we gazed on Him I realized that we could in no way
comprehend Him; we could only love Him, follow Him, obey Him and thereby draw
nearer to His beauty. I understand that we could not fathom the mystery of His
being, we could only hope to be engulfed therein." [1] How much more,
even, is this true of Baha'u'llah.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yet, as Baha'is, we are not shut out as by a veil from Him.
We recognize in Him the living Word of God, that same Word of which St. John
wrote: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the
Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by
Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life and
the life was the light of men.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">... And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father."[ 2] As Baha'is we have the enlarged
conception of "the Only Begotten of the Father", that it applies to
all the great Messengers or Manifestations of God. As Baha'is, adoring
Baha'u'llah, we adore Jesus the Christ, Muhammad, all those great Ones who come
to this earth, but Who at the same time always abide in the heaven of the
creative power of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">God has willed that these great Ones, Who were with Him from
eternity and to eternity will abide with Him, should come to earth and take up
the human life and live it perfectly. They are the channels through which the
power of God may come to us. They are our help in troubles and in peril, our
sanctuary of protection. As Isaiah put it, "A man shall be as an hiding
place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry
place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." [3]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Among the ways by which we may come to an abiding sense of
the reality of this protective power of the Manifestations is study of Their
Words, which are deeply creative. Another way is a deep acquaintance with the
lives They led while on earth.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nabil's Narrative, ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, gives us many
glimpses into Baha'u'llah's life. Let us study them all, gain a fuller
understanding of His purity and strength, and thus learn to trust the
protective power of God and His Manifestations.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here is an incident told by Nabil that reveals Baha'u'llah
as Protector. When the followers of the Báb were some of them besieged in the
fortress of Tabarsi, Baha'u'llah visited them and promised to return. Some time
after, He set out to fulfill His promise. Three other Bábis accompanied Him,
Mulla Baqir, Mirza Jani, and Baha’u’llah's half-brother, Mirza Yahya.
Baha’u’llah had signified His wish that they allow no pause in their journey
and reach the fort that night, as guards were stationed by the enemy at
different places to intercept any who might try to bring aid to the besieged.
But His companions pressed Him to stop for a few hours of rest. Although He
knew this would involve great risk He yielded to their request. They stopped at
a deserted house, had supper, and His companions all retired to sleep.
Baha'u'llah alone remained wakeful. While He watched, guards appeared and,
recognizing Him as the leader of the party, proceeded to put them all under
arrest. Baha’u’llah assured the guards they were bringing no aid and advised
them to act in such a way as to cause them no regret in the future. This
warning, uttered with dignity and calm, induced the guards to treat them with
courtesy. But all were bade to mount their horses and proceed to the Governor
of Amul.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In Amul they were brought before a conclave of the priests
and religious leaders of the town and, after an unjust and insulting inquiry,
were all sentenced to receive the bastinado. The first to receive the bastinado
was Mulla Baqir. "I am only a groom of Baha'u'llah," he urged,
"I was on my way to Mashhad when they suddenly arrested me and brought me
to this place."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Baha'u'llah interceded for him and for the other two, saying
that He was responsible for any charges brought against them. "None of
them is guilty of any crime. If you insist on inflicting your punishment, I
offer Myself as a willing victim of your chastisement." And so Baha’u’llah
received the bastinado.[4]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How true this story runs to human weakness and Divine
strength, patience and protection. As we meditate on it we gain in wisdom and
understanding. There was the right way pointed out by Baha’u’llah, His
followers unwilling or unable to follow it, the trouble that ensued, the
retribution, which would have been to a certain extent just, and Divine love
intercepting it. Sometimes it is not intercepted, but we know that the love is
still there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here is another story Nabil tells, revealing the compassion,
the deep understanding and the strength of Baha’u’llah, that strength,
understanding and compassion from which flow His protective power.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After one of the followers of the Báb, crazed by the
persecutions his friends and relatives had suffered, made an unsuccessful
attempt on the life of the Shah, terrible persecutions came upon the Bábis.
Baha’u’llah, known as a Bábi leader, was arrested. On foot and exposed to the
fierce rays of the midsummer sun He was compelled to go bare-footed and
bareheaded the whole distance from His summer home to a prison in Tihran.
Several times He was stripped of His garments and was overwhelmed with abuse
and ridicule. All along the route He was pelted and vilified by the crowd. The
whole population had been persuaded that He was the enemy of their sovereign
and his realm.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">As he was approaching the dungeon, an old and decrepit woman
came out from the crowd with a stone in her hand, eager to cast it at the face
of Baha’u’llah. Her eyes glowed with a determination and fanaticism of which
few of her age are capable. "I adjure you," she pleaded, as she ran
to overtake those into whose hands Baha’u’llah had been delivered, "give
me a chance to fling my stone in His face."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Suffer not this woman to be disappointed," were
Baha’u’llah's words to His guards, as He saw her hastening behind Him.
"Deny her not what she regards as a meritorious act in the sight of
God." [5]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How deeply He understood human nature, how careful He was
not to interfere with the human conscience even when so undeveloped! How
sublimely selfless!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">These two stories often come to my mind as I seek to
understand a little of the Divine compassion of Baha'u'llah. Perhaps some
others of the many in The Dawn-Breakers have become revealing to you.
Baha'u'llah's life, as we meditate on it, is one way in which we may seek to
"draw nigh to Baha'u'llah that He may draw nigh to us" and reveal to
us His protective power.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The protection of Baha'u'llah involves also prayer and
communion. Here again we are reminded of His life and of His experience in the
dungeon in Tihran. He and His fellow Bábi prisoners were placed in two rows
facing each other, their feet in stocks, the heaviest of chains galling their
necks, the air they breathed laden with impurity. Baha'u'llah taught them to
seek the protection of God. He taught them to chant, one row chanting,
"God is sufficient unto me, He verily is the All-sufficing," while
the other would reply, "In Him let the trusting trust." Thus they
chanted with extreme fervor through the long night. Nabil says, "The chorus
of their gladsome voices would continue to peal out until morning, filling the
dungeon and piercing its massive walls." [6] Thus did they find the
protection of God.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This protection is our birthright, but we must seek it, find
it and abide in it. In one of the prayers revealed by Baha'u'llah He shows us
that such an effort is needed on our part if we are to benefit by God's
protection: "I have wakened in Thy shelter, O my God, and it becometh Him
that seeketh that shelter to abide within the Sanctuary of Thy protection and the
Stronghold of Thy defense."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps our greatest need is to be protected from self.
Baha'u'llah prayed, "Thou seest, O My Lord, how Thy servants are held
captive by their own selves and desires. Redeem them from their bondage, O My
God, by the power of Thy sovereignty and might, that they may turn towards Thee
when He Who is the Revealer of Thy names and attributes is manifested unto
men." [7]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Almost all our natural traits are selfish, our likes and
dislikes, our lack of faith, hope and love, our pride, our coldness, our
appetites and passions, our envy, our "habit of detraction", the
ascription to others of what we would not like to have ascribed to ourselves.
From all these tendencies Baha'u'llah protects us and shows us how to gain, whether
gladly and rapidly or painfully and slowly, the opposite characteristics, all
present potentially in our higher selves, such as sincerity, faithfulness,
wisdom, illumination, mercy and pity. This comes through centering our thoughts
and our lives in God and His Cause rather than in ourselves. "Remembrance
of Me cleanseth all things from defilement, could ye but perceive it." [8]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In another place He says, "I testify that if Thy
servants were to turn towards Thee with the eyes Thou didst create in them and
with the ears wherewith Thou didst endow them, they would all be carried away
by a single word sent down from the right hand of the throne of Thy majesty.
That word alone would suffice to brighten their faces, and to assure their
hearts and to cause their souls to soar up to the atmosphere of Thy great
glory, and to ascend to the heaven of Thy sovereignty." [9]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The protection Baha'u'llah gives may be from temporal and
material difficulties. 'Abdu'l-Baha tells how in a period of great difficulty
in Persia Baha'is were all protected. Almost every Baha'i could give an example
of prayer for temporal protection which was answered. But not always. Sometimes
the avalanche descends. Then our protection is spiritual. We gain assurance,
courage, spirit, which will sustain us whatever comes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Trusting Baha'u'llah as protector is not a passive state.
Trusting Him means drawing nearer to Him, obeying Him, longing to have our will
one with His. As one of the Hidden Words reveals, "My love is My
stronghold; he that entereth therein is safe and secure, and he that turneth
away shall surely stray and perish." [10]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">How does Baha'u'llah protect His Cause? Sometimes it seems
that the Cause of God is not protected, such dire calamities does it suffer.
Rather He would seem to have endowed it with such power that nothing can shake
its invincibility. As Baha'u'llah said, addressing His countrymen: "Give
heed to my warning, ye people of Persia. If I be slain at your hands, God will
assuredly raise up one who will fill the seat made vacant through my death; for
such is God's method carried into effect of old, and no change can ye find in
God's mode of dealing." "Should they attempt to conceal His light on
the continent, He will assuredly rear His head in the midmost heart of the
ocean and, raising His voice proclaim: 'I am the lifegiver of the world!'”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When the fanatical clergy of Persia had used their power to
do away with the Báb, to martyr with atrocious cruelty over 20,000 of His
followers and finally to banish Baha'u'llah, it seemed that His Cause had been
annihilated. But no power could stand in the way of its growth. The very
banishment of Baha'u'llah was the means of the spread of the Cause. The
personality of Baha'u'llah and above all the inherent strength of the
Revelation which He personified gave His Cause a fresh impetus despite the
calculations of its enemies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Faith rapidly revived and spread to states beyond its
previous confines. Baha’u’llah's stupendous claims, their proclamation in
challenging epistles to the crowned heads of the earth, the enthusiasm this
proclamation aroused in the hearts of countless followers, the transference to
the Holy Land of</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">the center of His
Cause; the gradual relaxation of the severity of His confinement which marked
the closing days of His life; the lifting of the ban which had been imposed by
the Sultan of Turkey on His intercourse with visitors and pilgrims who flocked
from various parts of the East to His prison; the awakening of the spirit of
inquiry among the thinkers of the West; the utter disruption of the forces that
had attempted to effect a schism in the ranks of His followers; above all, the
sublimity of those teachings with which His published works abounded, were
among the chief factors which showed those who had attempted to kill this Cause
that it was indestructible. It had proved itself able to rise phoenix-like from
its ashes and press forward along the road leading to undreamt of
achievements.[12]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Baha’u’llah is "the refuge of all". That the world
has not yet sought this refuge becomes startlingly clear as we witness humanity
strayed so far from the path of God that its leaders could not recognize the
face, the life and the message of His latest great Messenger. In a letter
written in March, 1941, Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith, has
made it abundantly clear that Baha'u'llah's message was brought to all the
greatest leaders of the nineteenth century. But what was the response? In the
words of Shoghi Effendi: "Who is the ruler, may it not confidently be
asked, whether of the East or of the West, who, at any time, since the dawn of
so transcendent a Revelation, has been prompted to raise His voice either in
its praise or against those who persecuted it? Which people has, in the course
of so long a captivity, felt urged to arise and stem the tide of such
tribulations? Who is the sovereign, excepting a single woman, shining in
solitary glory, who has, in however small a measure, felt impelled to respond
to the poignant call of Baha’u’llah? Who amongst the great ones of the earth
was inclined to extend this infant Faith of God the benefit of his recognition
or support? Which one of the multitudes of creeds, sects, races, parties,
classes and ... schools of human thought, considered it necessary to direct its
gaze towards the rising light of the Faith, to contemplate its unfolding
system, to ponder its hidden processes, to appraise its weighty message, to
acknowledge its regenerative power, to embrace its salutary truth, or to
proclaim its eternal verities? Who among the worldly wise and the so-called men
of wisdom and insight can justly claim, after the lapse of nearly a century ...
to have considered impartially its claims, to have taken sufficient pains to
delve into its literature, to have assiduously striven to separate facts from
fiction, or to have accorded its cause the treatment it merits? Where are the
preeminent exponents, whether of the arts or sciences, with the exception of a
few isolated cases, who have lifted a finger, or whispered a word of
commendation, in either the defense or the praise of a Faith that has conferred
upon the world so priceless a benefit, that has suffered so long and so
grievously, and which enshrines within its shell so enthralling a promise for a
world so woefully battered, so manifestly bankrupt?" [13]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only slowly and painfully do the leaders of the world and
the rank and file of the people come to see the truth that Baha’u’llah is
"the refuge of all and our great protection".[14]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[1] May Maxwell, "An Early Pilgrimage", p. 27</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[2] John 1 :1-4,14 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[3] Isaiah, 32:2 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[4] The Dawn Breakers, pp. 368-372 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[5] See The Dawn Breakers, pp. 607, 608 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[6] The Dawn Breakers, p. 632 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[7] Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations, pp. 25I, 252 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[8] Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 294 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[9] Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations, p. I9I <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[10] Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words (Arabic) No. 9 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[11] The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, p. 16<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[12] Condensed from The Epilogue to The Dawn-Breakers, by
Shoghi Effendi <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[13] Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day Is Come, p. 12 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">[14] 'Abdu'l-Baha<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(World Order magazine, July 1942)</span><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-60752674514540278992020-08-10T16:13:00.000-07:002020-08-27T16:18:27.026-07:00Baha’u’llah’s Epistle to the Son of the Wolf – Notes by Marzieh Gail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy38LaXCtMzfWdg_MtGZXoRXwKtDT9iEEkoIjbXdkLhoYBbmGseuLQRfrzHPm_aEmdVypruKPOP4-Wu3A_Dxxo3HDzKGbyhCvzXEQaW0I-DvtuFNA7p4EY2ehGmzDSO9o-6KhLNxEDzdDP/s1600/Marzieh+Gail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="340" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy38LaXCtMzfWdg_MtGZXoRXwKtDT9iEEkoIjbXdkLhoYBbmGseuLQRfrzHPm_aEmdVypruKPOP4-Wu3A_Dxxo3HDzKGbyhCvzXEQaW0I-DvtuFNA7p4EY2ehGmzDSO9o-6KhLNxEDzdDP/s200/Marzieh+Gail.jpg" width="145" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is the last major outstanding Tablet of Baha’u’llah.
The last He wrote before He left us; before that happened of which the Báb has
written, "all sorrow is the shadow of that sorrow."</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is the last of the hundred books He
revealed for us.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was written to a priest in Isfahan, a priest called the
"Son of the Wolf". His father had spoken the words that sent the
"twin shining lights," the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs
to their death. They were laid in two sandy graves near Isfahan. (Years
afterward, an American woman named Keith Ransom Kehler knelt there and wept and
brought them flowers; then in a few days she was stricken and died, and the
friends carried her back to these same graves and buried her beside them).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This priest, Aqa Najafi, had committed the unforgivable sin:
he had violated the Covenant and blasphemed against the Holy Spirit; that is,
he had hated, not the lamp, not the Prophet of God as an individual -- from
ignorance, or because he did not recognize Him -- but the light itself, the
perfections of God which the Prophet reflects; he had hated the light in the
lamp -- and "this detestation of the light has no remedy...”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This priest was, then, the most hopeless of sinners. His
evil found expression in many ways, and among them was this, that with his
pupils, he kicked at and trampled the martyred body of Mirza Ashraf, in Isfahan
(not the Ashraf of whom we read in Gleanings; Siyyid Ashraf, whose head was cut
off in Zanjan).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And yet, Baha'u'llah begins this Tablet with a prayer of
repentance for Aqa Najafi to recite. He offers this breaker of the Covenant
forgiveness; just as, in His Most Holy Book, He offers forgiveness to Mirza
Yahya, the treacherous half-brother who tried to destroy him. This offering is
a demonstration of "Badá" -- of the principle of the free operation
of the Will of God, Who doeth whatsoever He willeth and shall not he asked of
His doings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It proves how mistaken is that large group of human beings
who believe that everything is on a mechanical basis that this much sin brings
this much punishment, and so much good buys so much reward. To them, God is a
blind force, operating mechanically -- something like the third rail in the
subway. They themselves, however, would greatly resent being called a blind
force. (The Báb develops this principle of "Badá" in the Persian
Bayan.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Thou beholdest, O my God, him who is as one dead
fallen at the door of Thy favor, ashamed to seek from the hand of Thy loving
kindness the living waters of Thy pardon.»</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Thou hast ordained that every pulpit be set apart for
Thy mention . . . but I have ascended it to proclaim the violation of Thy
Covenant... "</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"O Lord, my Lord! and again, O Lord, my Lord! and yet
again, O Lord, my Lord!" </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Throughout the Tablet, he is several times directed to pray;
is addressed as would be one of Baha'u'llah's own sons; is told to arise and
serve the Faith; to believe, serve and trust; to enter the presence of
Baha'u'llah (Whom he had never seen); to save men from the "mire of self,”
to "seek the Most Great Ocean” and that "thereupon, will the doors of
the Kingdom be flung wide before thy face…” He is told: "O Shaykh! We have
enabled thee to hear the melodies of the Nightingale of Paradise… that thine
eye might be cheered…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As Dr. 'Ali-Kuli Khan has pointed out (unpublished
manuscript notes) the varying titles by which Baha'u'llah addresses Aqa Najafi
indicate that the Letter is intended for a much larger audience than he. It is
"a presentation of the Faith to humanity"; many aspects of man are
singled out and addressed. These titles include: "O Shaykh”; "O
distinguished divine," "O thou who hast gone astray!" "O
thou who hast turned away from God! Occasionally, too, others are specifically
named "O people of Baha," “O Hádi”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Many aspects of man are singled out and addressed. You find
here, not only the evil priests who in every dispensation hold men back from
their Lord -- the "blind mouths" of Lycidas -- but the good divines,
who are "as eyes to the nations”, reminiscent of the "Ulama in
Baha" of the Most Holy Book. You find here the king and the scholar, the
everyday believer, the saint, the sinner.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This Tablet, then, is much more than a letter to an
individual. It is an important general presentation of the Faith. In this Work,
as the Guardian tells us, Baha'u'llah "quotes some of the most
characteristic and celebrated passages of His own writings, and adduces proofs
establishing the validity of His cause.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Most books bring you closer to the author. But when you
study the work of Baha'u'llah, He eludes you. As the Guardian has told us in
‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’, He is "unapproachably glorious".</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Goethe says, "Above all peaks there is rest." I
have read this Book three times and studied it over a long period; it seems to
me more likely that above all peaks there is another peak.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You want, though it is almost impossible, to read this at
one sitting. It comes rapidly, and the English translation by the Guardian is
flawless. You want more and more of it and are too impatient to stop and think
over this and this, as you are urged along, and you mark things to come back
to.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It contains sentences like these:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"I belong to him that loveth Me..."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"… others had,
at times, to nourish themselves with that Divine sustenance which is hunger"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"In the treasuries of the knowledge of God there lieth
concealed a knowledge which, when applied, will largely, though not wholly,
eliminate fear."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Man's actions are acceptable after his having recognized
(the Manifestation)."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"He is truly learned who hath acknowledged My
Revelation, and drunk from the Ocean of My knowledge, and soared in the
atmosphere of My love..."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"A just king enjoyeth nearer access unto God than any
anyone.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"These, verily, are men who if they come to cities of
pure gold will consider them not; and if they meet the fairest and most comely
of women will turn aside”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It offers historical material which in future will stimulate
the keenest research. We learn, for example, of the Master's first betrothal;
of Baha'u'llah's arrest in Niyavaran and of the kind of chains He was bound
with; of the machinations against Him by Persian officials in Constantinople
and of the suicide there of Haji Shaykh Muhammad-'Ali; the fact that Mirza
Yahya was not exiled out of Persia; that he abandoned the writings of the Báb
in Baghdad; that Hadi Dawlat-Abadi tried to destroy every copy of the Bayan;
that the Azalis tried to claim Siyyid Javad-i-Karbala'i as one of themselves,
pasting his picture under that of Mirza Yahya; that Baha’u’llah had never read
the Bayan; that in 1863 (this date is given in ‘God Passes By’) Baha'u'llah
suggested to a Turkish official, Kamal Pasha, that his government convene a
gathering to plan for a world language and script. (In this connection, Volapuk
was invented by Johann Martin Schleyer of Konstanz, Baden, about 1879;
Esperanto, by Dr. Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof, was first discussed in print by him
in 1887; cf. Webster's New International Dictionary, 1929).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It gives us a moral code, including such precepts as:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"If anyone revile you, or trouble touch you, in the
path of God, be patient, and put your trust in Him Who heareth, Who seeth. He, in
truth, witnesseth, and perceiveth, and doeth what He pleaseth, through the
power of His sovereignty”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"The sword of wisdom is hotter than summer heat, and
sharper than blades of steel…”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"...withhold not from the poor the things given unto
you by God through His grace. He, verily, will bestow upon you the double of
what ye possess."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"If ye become aware of a sin committed by another,
conceal it, that God may conceal your own sin."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Be… thankful in adversity…”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Be fair in thy judgment and guarded in thy speech…”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Be… a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of
the victim of oppression ... a home for the estranger..."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The fear of God is continually stressed:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"We enjoin the servants of God and His handmaidens to
be pure and to fear God..."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"The fear of God hath ever been a . . . safe
stronghold”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Their [the Baha'is'] hearts are illumined with the
light of the fear of God..."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Students of the Qur'an will remember how strikingly the fear
of God is likewise extolled in that Book: "God loveth those who fear
Him," and "Whoso feareth God, his evil deeds will He cancel..."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Among many such precepts, Baha'u'llah states here:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Regard for the rank of sovereigns is divinely
ordained…” and interprets "Render unto Caesar" far differently from
the current meaning given this verse in Christendom, where it is made to imply
that Caesar is a sort of reversal of God, a concept at variance with the Baha'i
teaching on kingship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Baha'u'llah also answers, in this Work, a question often
asked: Why a new religion? He says, by implication to the Muslims, that if they
prefer what is ancient, why did they adopt the Qur'an in place of the Old and
New Testaments? And He states that if bringing a new Faith be His crime, then
Muhammad committed it before Him, and before Him Jesus, and still earlier,
Moses. He adds, "And if My sin be this, that I have exalted the Word of
God and revealed His Cause, then indeed am I the greatest of sinners! Such a
sin I will not barter for the kingdoms of earth and heaven."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Baha'is of the West are gradually learning more about
the Bá; through ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, ‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’, and
this present Text, they are drawing closer to Him, and to the story of His
life, which is the story of His love for Baha'u'llah. Among His utterances here
quoted is the striking plea to His followers that even should an imposter arise
after Him, they should not protest against the man, nor sadden him. (In time,
twenty-five persons, most of whom later begged forgiveness of Baha’u’llah,
claimed to be He Whom God Shall Manifest. This was because of His longing to
protect the True One. He is His own proof, the Báb told His followers.
"... who then can know Him through anyone except Himself? The breath of
the Báb's despair is here, and His beautiful words, "I... am, verily, but
a ring upon the hand of Him Whom God shall make manifest…" Baha’u’llah
links the Heraldship of the Báb with that of John the Baptist, and shows how
John's companions as well "were prevented from acknowledging Him Who is
the Spirit (Jesus)."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Not only are we brought near to Him Who was the return of
the Twelfth Imam, but to all the Imams, and -- since the Guardian is as the
Imam -- to the institution of Guardianship in our own Faith. The reference to
the "snow-white" hand of the Qa'im goes back to Moses' sign in the
Qur'an. By the "Impost” is meant the tithe, payment of which is a
religious duty, as are the Fast, the Pilgrimage, etc. : "We are the Way...
and We are the Impost, and We are the Fast, and We are the Pilgrimage, and We
are the Sacred Month, and We are the Sacred City....," says the Imam
Jafar-i-Sadiq. In connection with the Imamate, E. G. Browne's brief summary is
valuable:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"According to the Imamite view ... the vice-regency is
a matter altogether spiritual; an office conferred by God alone, first by His
Prophet, and afterwards by those who so succeeded him . . . the Imam of the
Shiites is the divinely-ordained successor</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">of the Prophet, one endowed with all perfections and spiritual gifts,
one whom all the faithful must obey, whose decision is absolute and final,
whose wisdom is superhuman and whose words are authoritative. "</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Swiftly, in this Book, the scenes pass. There is the
dungeon, and the dream there, and the promise: "Verily We shall render
Thee victorious by Thyself and by Thy Pen... Erelong will God raise up the
treasures of the earth men who will aid Thee..." There is the dramatic
suicide in the mosque, of Haji Shaykh Muhammad-'Ali. There is the "city,
on the shores of the sea, white, whose whiteness is pleasing unto God…” The
mood varies, the tempo shifts. You can hear these swift questions and answers
in music, as a kind of spiritual: "Hath the Hour come? Nay, more; it hath
passed... Seest thou men laid low? Yea, by my Lord... Blinded art thou...
Paradise is decked with mystic roses… hell hath been made to blaze…"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are the thought-inducing lines on the moan of the
pulpits: "I was walking in the Land of Tá (Tihran) -- the dayspring of the
signs of Thy Lord -- when lo, I heard the lamentation of the pulpits and the
voice of their supplication unto God, blessed and glorified be He. They cried
out and said... Alas, alas! … Would that we had never been created and revealed
by Thee!" This reminds us of the Qur'anic verse, referred to earlier by
Baha’u’llah: "God Who giveth a voice to all things, hath given us a
voice...” And then the earth-quaking apostrophe to the She-Serpent: "Judge
thou equitably, O She-Serpent! For what crime didst thou sting the children of
the Apostle of God...?” This refers to the martyrdom of the "twin shining
lights," descendants of Muhammad; you would need Michelangelo or Milton to
comment here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">People who must choose often ask whether they should add
this or that book to their private library. My reasons for owning this one are:
Its beauty of text, translation, and format; its brevity; its richness from the
academic point of view -- the materials it offers for study; its
comprehensiveness -- for, although it is an independent creative work, having
its own unity of form, its own personal spirit -- it is almost an anthology,
and one selected by Baha'u'llah Himself. And then, there is the totality of its
impact on the reader, and the eternal gift it holds out to him, of the mercy of
God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Yes, it helps us to enter His presence; it brings us to
"Him Whom the world hath cast away and the nations abandoned…”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Where has Aqa Najafi gone now? Where has he gone in his enormous
globular turban and his curled-up shoes? He was, as Baha'u'llah called his
fellow, "the last trace of sunlight upon the mountain-top.” Where has he
taken all his hatred? In any event, it became the occasion of this Book, this
last earthly gift to us from Baha'u'llah; His enemies brought Him poison, but
He changed it into honey for His loved ones. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(World Order magazine, May 1946)</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-3863161720716845632020-07-12T05:07:00.000-07:002020-08-17T05:15:12.260-07:00The Divine Servant – The Life of ‘Abdu’l-Baha – Part 1: 1844-1908 – by Jinab-i-Fadil<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoCGjZs2BLoFwI6scr3Q3ga6-CaHiMYBypxeJ-OFI9zKcF5yRnZJc_8hQrmdIju6RUVRBW4_DN2sfIPN_zmcDBDDZPkcgMs876RmxA-x-3WGmJKEmNDuaE3m9R2A2p4segzWfYXAJkt8e/s1600/Jenab-i-Fadil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="287" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoCGjZs2BLoFwI6scr3Q3ga6-CaHiMYBypxeJ-OFI9zKcF5yRnZJc_8hQrmdIju6RUVRBW4_DN2sfIPN_zmcDBDDZPkcgMs876RmxA-x-3WGmJKEmNDuaE3m9R2A2p4segzWfYXAJkt8e/s200/Jenab-i-Fadil.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://bahaiheoresheroines.blogspot.com/2010/10/jinab-i-fadil-1880-1957-mirza-asadullah.html"><span style="color: blue;">Jinab-i-Fadil</span></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The life of 'Abdu'l-Baha is very significant among the lives
of the past heavenly educators. If we study the history of the former
manifestations of God, we realize that the first portion of their lives has
been free from anxiety and persecution, while the life of 'Abdu'l-Baha from the
day of His birth has been one of vicissitude, trial and painful ordeals.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Moreover, the enemies and foes of ‘Abdu'l-Baha, never ceased
to plan and scheme to persecute and bring about his exile and banishment, and
to annihilate His Revelation. And these people had more general power than the
enemies of the former prophets.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One of the Divine Allegorical incidents was that
'Abdu'l-Baha was born in Teheran the same night upon which the Báb proclaimed
His Mission in Shiraz - that is, May 23rd, 1844. Baha'u'llah gave the name of
His father to ‘Abdu'l-Baha. This name was Abbas but He always called Him Master
– “Aqa” - even when He was a little child.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The first few years of the life of 'Abdu'l-Baha were spent
amid the most tragic and dramatic events of the life of Baha'u'llah. He was the
center of the movement, every tragic event revolved around Him and His home was
the rendezvous of all the Baha'is. All the news and all that transpired in the
Cause was brought to Him. His home was well known as the headquarters of the
Movement and often groups of rowdies would throw stones and try to hurt the
inmates. When ‘Abdu'l-Baha was a little child groups of urchins would surround
Him and try to stone Him. Even at the early age of eight or nine years
'Abdu'l-Baha had already witnessed the plotting of the enemies and had seen the
friends martyred and guillotined. Up to this age He had seen many headstones of
heroes and heroines who had gone to their death with radiant acquiescence.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Most of the time Baha’u’llah was absent from home traveling
in the interest of the Cause, and visiting the friends in prison. His property
was confiscated and both day and night His household was in danger, so there
was no opportunity for 'Abdu'l-Baha to go to school and learn the things which
other children have to learn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nevertheless, such deep and abiding attachment, such tender
regard, solicitude</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and affection
existed and was evidenced between ‘Abdu'l-Baha and Baha’u’llah that even in
those early days some members felt deeply that 'Abdu’l-Baha would eventually
unfold, develop and explain the teachings of Baha'u'llah.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While Baha’u’llah was going about or in prison, at a tender
age 'Abdu'l-Baha was the object of regard and reverence of His family; all
looked up to Him as the head of the family in spite of His youth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the age of nine the great exile began. The government
banished Baha’u’llah with His family in 1852 to the city of Baghdad. During a
long cold part of the journey ‘Abdu'l-Baha was so thinly clad, His toes were
frozen twice and the effect was felt by Him all the days of His life. Often
when He was tired out during the hours of day or night His feet would itch and
ache.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During the twelve years of Baha’u’llah in Baghdad and
Sulaymaniyyih of Kurdistan and the cave of the Mount of Sar-galu where He went
into retirement for the purpose of uninterrupted communion with God,
'Abdu'l-Baha was the cause of happiness to His family as well as its hope.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In that period of time when ‘Abdu’l-Baha was between the age
of nine and twenty He associated with many theologians, mystical and
philosophical groups. He opened the treasures of His innate knowledge among
them, He entered into those deep subjects and elucidated them in such a clear
manner that they marveled at His unlimited fund of information and asked Him
from what source He had received it. He answered them in these symbolical
words: "I received them from my Father." Therefore, they titled Him -
"Eminent Wise Youth."</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The physical general appearance of 'Abdu'l-Baha was very
pleasing. His face and form were beautifully proportioned and He was considered
a very handsome youth. He radiated a heavenly spiritual power and carried
Himself with kingly dignity. As He walked along the streets people admired His
carriage and physique, He had such strength and power in His bearing. One of
the qualities of the character of 'Abdu'l-Baha even when He was a youth was His
great spiritual fortitude. He had innate poise and balance which no vicissitude
could destroy; no one had ever seen Him angry and He was never moved or swerved
by any outside influence. His physical endurance astonished everyone. He seemed
like a great ocean without a ripple on its surface.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Another characteristic of 'Abdu'l-Baha worthy of emulation
was His extreme generosity. In this loving kindness He gave freely of
everything He had. It is related that in the home of Baha'u'llah there was a
beautiful rug upon which He used to sit. One day a poor Arab brought a load of
wood to the house. He saw the rug and was very much attracted by its beauty. He
handled it caressingly and exclaimed: "Oh, how wonderful it must be to
have such a splendid rug to sit upon!" ‘Abdu'l-Baha heard him and said:
"If you like the rug, take it." The man would not believe it was
really a gift but for fear he would lose it he put it over his shoulder and
began to run, looking back every few minutes to see if anyone was coming to
take it away from him. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">‘Abdu'l-Baha
said, "Go on, no one is going to take it away from you." ‘Abdu'l-Baha
had a wonderful sense of humor.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When He was but a child He was taken to the mountains to see
his father's sheep. There were thousands of them; the shepherds gave Him a
feast. At the end of the day the chief shepherd came to 'Abdu'l-Baha and told
him He must make a present to the shepherds. 'Abdu'l-Baha said, "I have
nothing"- the man said, "But you must give something"- So
'Abdu'l-Baha said, "What</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">about the
sheep?" - and he gave them all the sheep. When Baha'u'llah heard this He
laughed and said, "We will have to protect ‘Abdu'l-Baha from Himself, some
day He will give Himself away."</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Another characteristic of 'Abdu'l-Baha was His sociability,
courtesy and politeness shown to all degrees of society. He associated with the
highest officials, and with people of all ranks, giving them His divine
knowledge and thereby</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">raising them to a
higher level of comprehension. Likewise, He went among the most lowly in the
same attitude.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the East people spend years and years of their time trying
to perfect themselves in penmanship. It is considered an art of the highest
order and a man will spend twenty to fifty years teaching people this calling.
'Abdu'l-Baha's penmanship was so beautiful and so perfectly in accordance with
all the sacred writings of the East that samples of His work were used to copy
from. His knowledge of the Arabian and Persian writing was so great that it
seemed a miracle to the people though He never studied in His life.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">His range of vision was miraculous, and when talking to
Arabs they felt the utmost reverence for Him. With philosophers and learned men
He carried on conversation which astonished them. Without previous study on any
of these subjects He could understand and converse and raise the thought for
them to a much higher level than they themselves were able to reach.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When Baha’u’llah was sent forth to His second exile with His
family and followers for four months and had to travel through the most
inhospitable desert and villages in Mesopotamia, 'Abdu'l-Baha was constantly
protecting and helping Him.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During the exile of Baha’u’llah and His family for four
months in Constantinople and five years in Adrianople, the spiritual attraction
of 'Abdu’l-Baha in His association with many important people was manifested
more and more, and won them to Him in such a manner that they tried to remove
the difficulty of Baha'u'llah and help Him. For example, the Turkish Governor
of Adrianople became so intensely interested that he spent days and nights
listening to His conversations. When the order came for the next exile he was
unable to give it in person as he was too much affected by sorrow at parting
and was obliged to send the summons by letter.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When Baha’u’llah and a group of His followers were exiled to
Acre and were imprisoned in the barracks, as a result of the terrible climate
of the city and the loss of nourishing food, the very unhealthy water and
abominable conditions of the prison, they were all sick, and some of his
followers were relieved by death. Through these dire conditions 'Abdu'l-Baha
was untouched by disease and continually ministered to the needs of the
afflicted ones, giving them necessary remedies and cooking their food with his
own hands. Thus, through His protecting ministrations they all recovered.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After these two years of the terrible imprisonment of
Baha'u'llah in which no one of His followers was permitted to enter that city
to visit Him, and the nine years following when Baha'u'llah was confined to one
little house in Acre, through the instrumentality of 'Abdu'l-Baha and His
association with eminent people Baha'u'llah was finally, at the end of eleven
long years of imprisonment and hardship, permitted to leave the dreadful city
of Acca and go to a large comfortable house called Qasr-i-Bahj which had
beautiful gardens that were brought into existence by the efforts of
'Abdu'l-Baha. In this beautiful place Baha'u'llah spent the rest of His days,
but 'Abdu'l-Baha remained in Acre with His family meeting everyone, attending
to the solution of problems, interviewing statesmen, governors, lawyers, etc.,
in regard to different cases. To Him all people came for the solution of their
difficulties.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Abdu'l-Baha protected the Cause from all objections and
opposition. Thus, Baha'u'llah was left free and unhampered to prepare His
message for the world and His followers were now able to visit Him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One day of each week of His extremely busy life 'Abdu'l-Baha
went to visit Baha’u’llah at Bahji. On these occasions He always walked,
thereby showing his attitude of humility towards His Father. But after
Baha'u'llah told Him that He must ride, He obeyed Him. He would leave the city
of Acre riding, but as soon as Qasr-i-Bahji came into view He would dismount
and walk.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the other hand, upon the recognized days of
'Abdu'l-Baha's visits to Qas-i-Bahji, Baha'u'llah would watch for His coming
from a second story window, and as soon as He saw Him approaching, He would
call to His household saying, "The Master is coming, go and meet
Him!" No sooner would Father and Son meet than one would witness the
utmost humility of the Son and utmost love and devotion of the Father, making
the most dramatic picture conceivable. At these times no one was permitted to enter
during Their conversation, not even the family. No one could understand this
mystery between Son and Father. It makes one recall the words of the Bible
where it is declared, "The Father is in the Son and the Son is in the
Father." There has never been in the world a relationship so sweet and
perfect, with so much trust and confidence on both sides. In every way
'Abdu'l-Baha was the prototype of Baha'u'llah. They were the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">same height, their voices were alike, and
their manner of discerning.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">These were enough to make clear that the glory of God was
shining in Him, and would continue to shine in Him after the ascension of His
Father. Yet Baha'u'llah wrote in almost all of His writings, clearly as well as
symbolically, of His station. In the "Tablet of Beirut" He calls Him
the "Mystery of God." Particularly, in the Most Holy Book He said
emphatically that the people must turn their faces towards 'Abdu'l-Baha who was
the Branch of the everlasting tree. He also declared that ‘Abdu'l-Baha held the
keys which would open the Holy Tablets and Holy Books.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Finally, He proclaimed the station of the Center of the
Covenant, 'Abdu'l-Baha, in the Tablet of the Covenant, which He sealed and gave
'Abdu'l-Baha. In nine days after the ascension of Baha'u'llah, in 1892, the seal
was broken by 'Abdu'l-Baha amid the group of Baha'i friends and it was read by
them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thus 'Abdu'l-Baha ascended the throne of the Covenant of
Baha'u'llah and the glory of His Father began to shine through Him, to guide,
like a shepherd the children of men to the oneness of God and the brotherhood
of man.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Verily, it seemed that Baha'u'llah had not departed but His
sovereignty was still living in the garment of servitude. The pen of
'Abdu'l-Baha began to move for all the world, spreading the breath of life in
the utmost humility and kindness as did the pen of Baha'u'llah in the form of
lordship and command.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now at this time 'Abdu'l-Baha, with His great executive
power, began to establish the Cause of God in the hearts of humanity. He sent
more teachers and workers to different parts of the globe, and a new life was
manifested among the friends. Thousands of epistles, perfect jewels of wisdom
and knowledge concerning the affairs of life and about religion and divine
philosophy, were revealed by Him to the world.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All these activities increased the envy of the enemies of
the Cause. They had thought that at the passing of Baha’u’llah everything would
come to an end. Now, however, witnessing the renewed power and strength in
'Abdu'l-Baha they increased in activity and numbers, and a new group whose
jealousy had lain dormant in Baha'u'llah's lifetime now arose against
‘Abdu'l-Baha.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Those who merely met Him visiting the prisons, entertaining
the governor, officials and other guests, and who saw the increasing number of
pilgrims from different countries, would hardly suspect that enemies of the
Cause existed; for though their persecution continued day after day for years.
'Abdu'l-Baha tried to lead His enemies and those envious of Him with the utmost
kindness into the path of unity and service. But their envy was too great, and
they paid no heed to His advice, opposing Him more and more, till at last
'Abdu'l-Baha left Acre and His family and went alone to Tiberius and to
Elijah's cave in Mount Cannel, there to supplicate and commune with God.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Humanity always rejects its educators, choosing to follow
personal desires, even distorting religious teaching into an excuse for
disobedience, and those who are regarded as foremost in religious matters are
dominated by their pride to deny a Saviour. Nearness to God and His
Manifestation is a spiritual union, not a physical relationship. A spiritual
soul, however remotely situated from a Manifestation, can nevertheless be more
closely attached to that Manifestation than anyone related only by ties of
blood. The foremost followers of a religious teaching are like mirrors before a
sun, but as their light is reflected and not self-created, should they turn
from the sun their light will cease to shine. Thus, Baha'u'llah said, a
spiritual Educator is a divine balance, and the people of the world are weighed
by Him.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The efforts of 'Abdu'l-Baha's enemies were known only to
those few who were intimately close to Him. In spite of the fact that
'Abdu'l-Baha refrained for the time being from teaching the Cause of
Baha'u'llah on account of official prejudice against it, the people through His
counsel and guidance began to recognize His great station.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Abdu'l-Baha worked with such ease, assurance and poise that
He gave confidence to all who visited Him. The doors of His house were never
closed; they remained open from sunrise to sunset. All manner of people came to
Him to adjust their problems. Men and women poured constantly in and out of the
house, for 'Abdu'l-Baha was always ready to uplift and counsel the
downtrodden.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Different religious leaders and government officials came to
Him to present their questions. Even the Arab Bedouins and their sheiks had the
greatest devotion and respect for Him, journeying great distances to see Him.
They regarded Him as a holy patriarch and received from Him gifts, both
spiritual and material. Such was His influence that His simple word was
willingly obeyed by them when often governmental authority failed.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The fame of 'Abdu'l-Baha's generosity and love became such a
protection that frequently visitors traveling through the desert to Him were
not only free from Bedouin attacks, but were also accorded safe conduct.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">His simplicity of life forbade His personal use of the
costly gifts pressed upon Him by His friends in many countries, and He
preferred to pass on these offerings to people in need.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A wonderful sight at
Acre was to be seen every Friday morning before the house of 'Abdu'l-Baha. From
early morning the square would be crowded with the poor, the aged, and
cripples, men, women and children. 'Abdu'l-Baha would come out with some of His
friends, and the people would crowd round Him, yet reverently, like children
round a father. He would move from one to another, speaking kindly advice</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and comfort and putting· money into their
hands. He was especially kind to widows and their children.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was indeed a miracle that a prisoner, persecuted and
faced with opposition from so many powerful authorities, could thus gain such
influence over all kinds of people with spiritual weapons only. As long as
'Abdu'l-Baha lived the people felt perfect confidence in the future, no matter
what happened. They felt He was a divine father to whom they could go at all
times, a master to whom they could turn at any moment. He continually
ministered to their sufferings, often choosing to go on His errands of love at
night.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But all the time His enemies had been watching their
opportunity to vent their</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">jealousy.
They secretly sent many false reports to the Government in Constantinople, and
circulated forged letters purporting to have been issued by 'Abdu'l-Baha. Each
time the governor or other officials of the prison city were changed, they
would bribe them to unite with them in their opposition to 'Abdu'l-Baha. But
although disheartened by these continuous intrigues, 'Abdu'l-Baha's power rose
supreme above such hatred and won over those officials whom His enemies had
persuaded to oppose Him.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During this time of persecution, surrounded by spies and
enemies, 'Abdu'l-Baha accomplished the difficult task of having the remains of
the Báb brought from Persia to Haifa. He had constructed the shrine on Mount
Carmel which was to be the resting place of the body of the Báb. This edifice
was made the subject of a new attack. With the cooperation of a few of the
prison officials 'Abdu'l-Baha's opponents sent false information to the Government
that He was building a fortress on Mount Carmel and had so much influence with
surrounding and foreign powers that the Turkish Government would not be able to
withstand His power. This false report caused the Sultan such alarm that he
ordered 'Abdu'l-Baha to be either drowned or exiled to the heart of the African
desert.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">His friends, anxious for His safety, begged Him to leave
Acre; but saying that it was His duty to stay, He sent them away to different
places in Egypt, and disregarding all threats, remained with certain members of
His family in Acre.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When the Governmental Investigation Committee arrived in
Acre the enemies of 'Abdu'l-Baha associated with them to induce them to make a
false report. Accordingly, without visiting 'Abdu'l-Baha or finding out His
version, information was sent that the rumors were true. While these plots were
progressing and the atmosphere was tingling with suspicion, everyone was amazed
to see that 'Abdu'l-Baha was planting trees and building a house as though nothing
would happen.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When the judge sent for 'Abdu'l-Baha to present Himself in
court the sorrow of the friends was unbearable. They feared He might be taken
away immediately and they would never see Him again. But 'Abdu'l-Baha reassured
them, saying that His greatest joy and happiness would be to be hanged there in
Haifa.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Baha'u'llah had a wonderful felt cap or headdress which was
called a crown and this had been treasured by 'Abdu'l-Baha after the ascension
of the Blessed Perfection. Several times the friends had suggested that ‘Abdu'l-Baha
should wear this but He always replied, "There would be but one occasion
to wear it - if I were to be crucified." At this time He asked the family
to have the headdress ready.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When 'Abdu'l-Baha entered the court He found the charges and
false testimony prearranged. After admonishing His accusers for persecuting the
Cause of Truth as had always been done in former ages He said, "If you
desire to condemn me, I am ready and willing to sacrifice my life and will sign
any indictment you prepare, for it will bring me great happiness to be martyred
as were the promulgators of Truth before me."</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Just at this darkest hour, when events were most ominous for
'Abdu'l-Baha and the Cause, the whole situation changed with a miraculous
suddenness. The revolution of 1908, by the Young Turk Party, brought entire
freedom to Him who had been the world's Greatest Prisoner.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(Star of the West [The Baha’i Magazine],
vol. 15, no. 3, 1924)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-40201517754306316192020-05-19T15:37:00.000-07:002020-08-08T15:42:55.732-07:00Psychology from the Spiritual Standpoint – by Ella Goodall Cooper<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPeoBOEJja5eItnk6v2Te4iI9cJ7q5B6nePEn4BHZ4szKhaLbT_LQk0TGUJCS71aI9G2-xMNqPwevsZfu6OVVk05E__Q3_LFCQ3Xq-zDXjjf2UcgACWZmyjw2VE63of4eKWr04DHY3-lm5/s1600/Ella+Cooper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="595" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPeoBOEJja5eItnk6v2Te4iI9cJ7q5B6nePEn4BHZ4szKhaLbT_LQk0TGUJCS71aI9G2-xMNqPwevsZfu6OVVk05E__Q3_LFCQ3Xq-zDXjjf2UcgACWZmyjw2VE63of4eKWr04DHY3-lm5/s200/Ella+Cooper.jpg" width="134" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bahaiheoresheroines.blogspot.com/2017/12/ella-goodall-cooper-herald-covenant.html"><span style="color: blue;">Ella Goodall Cooper</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We, as Baha'is, approach the study of psychology as we do
every other science which is helpful to humanity, since one of our cardinal
principles is that in this day science and religion must work hand in hand in
order to bring to pass that spiritual civilization which is the goal of all
true education. "Study the sciences," says' ‘Abdu’l-Baha,
"acquire more and more knowledge. Assuredly one may learn to the end of
one's life. Use your knowledge always for the benefit of others."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Know thyself," enjoined Socrates, without,
however, revealing any method of going about it. Nevertheless, the precept
still holds good, and extends to knowing one's neighbor, since "the proper
study of mankind is man." To the Baha'is this popular interest, far from
being improper, is encouraging, for it is a token of people's interest in one
another, which interest we believe will grow and grow till all come to
recognize the truth of Baha'u'llah's saying, "This handful of dust, the
earth, is one home."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In sharp contrast to the popular superficial and often
selfish applications of psychology, are the earnest endeavors, profound and
beneficent, of the conscientious psychiatrists and physicians, patiently
working to unravel the intricate threads of maladjusted lives, using the valuable
technique contributed by the psycho-analysts, to bring education to the normal,
and relief to the abnormal, members of society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To these men, Janet, Freud Jung, Adler and others, society
owes a debt, which is ever growing, as the efforts, particularly those of Dr.
Adler and his colleagues in Vienna, are being extended to cooperate not only
with medical men but also with the educator and social welfare worker, and we
ardently hope the circle may soon widen to include the enlightened and
scientifically-minded religionist, as well. The efforts of this group are
directed toward prevention of abnormal conditions through education, rather
than merely the relief of the tragic situation after it has been allowed to
arise. Is not this the object of spiritual education also?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One of the most distinguished of this group, whom we have
lately had the good fortune to meet in America, is Dr. Alfred Adler of Vienna,
whose psychology is a method of gaining knowledge of individuals, including
knowledge of their inner life, and is founded upon a view of the individual as
a whole in himself, an indivisible unit of human society. Thus, while it has
grown up as a part of psycho-analysis, individual psychology only uses analysis
for the purpose of synthesizing the whole life of the individual.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I have borrowed the above information from Dr. Adler's
exponent and interpreter, Philippe Mairet, and will quote a few lines from the
same source:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"The supreme importance of this contribution to modern
psychology is due to the manner in which it reveals how all activities of the
soul are drawn together into the service of the individual, how all his
faculties and strivings are related to one end. We are enabled by this to enter
into the ideals, the difficulties, the efforts and discouragements of our
fellow-men, in such a way that we may obtain a whole and living picture of each
as a personality… There has never before been a method so rigorous and yet
adaptable for following the fluctuations of that most fluid, variable and
elusive of all realities, the individual human soul"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is precisely because all religions, and the Baha'i
Revelation in particular, have something vital to say on the subject of this
same elusive soul, that I have chosen to consider this adaptable method of Dr.
Adler as being most closely paralleled by the Baha’i teaching.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To the followers of this teaching it is always gratifying to
witness how such great and progressive men are unconsciously reflecting the
Spirit of this Age. Dr. Adler touches on problems deep and far reaching,
applying his principles to many spheres of life as well as to the art of
healing, problems which we believe can be solved by the "sovereign
remedy" brought by Baha'u'llah, the Divine Physician, for the healing of
the nations. Thus it seems to me to be peculiarly fitting, in pursuance of one
of His basic teachings - namely, religion must conform with science and reason
that we, as Baha'is, should hasten to unite our efforts with those altruistic
scientists whose services are being devoted to the amelioration of the enormous
burden of mental misery that afflicts humanity today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Religion, as such, seems to find scant favor at the hands of
the psychologist, partly, perhaps, because many of the cures, for which
religion in the past has claimed the credit, seem to him explainable upon a
psychological basis, or, perhaps, because his experience with religious manias
has been provocative of impatience for the whole subject, or, perhaps, because
he feels religion has lost its ancient potency, or, perhaps, because he regards
it not with the eye of faith, but as one seeking scientific truth.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dr. Overstreet seems to dismiss it with a shrug, saying that
many religionists are not really humanists, and that, "Religion, like a
good deal of the rest of our life, needs at last to concern itself with real
human beings." He refers, as do most scientists and educators, to orthodox
religion or theology, but that is not what the Baha'is mean by religion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Speaking scientifically, perhaps the great point of connection
between psychology and religion, is that essential longing, which is present in
all human creatures, the longing for individual immortality. Although science
has demonstrated the indestructibility of matter, yet the actuality of that
mysterious realm beyond this life has not been proved by any returned traveler,
and man has recourse only to faith if he is to believe what the Prophets have
always taught, and what mankind in general wishes to believe that it is indeed
the real life of the indestructible soul, for which this brief span of years
here is but the preparation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Baha'i teachings on this point give comforting assurance
to sustain the seeking soul, at the same time appealing to reason and inspiring
faith. We believe that faith in immortality and belief in spiritual realities
influence conduct profoundly, and mould character to noble ends, and that one
of the reasons why so much mental disturbance is painfully evident in the
world, is the apparent failure of religion to set forth a unified, convincing
and authoritative truth, freed from man-made dogmas and creeds, which will aid
struggling humanity to grapple with the overwhelming problems of this complex,
bewildering age. Our belief is that the Baha'i Cause does recognize and satisfy
just that universal, crying need.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And to my mind, a most important point of contact between
the Baha'i teaching and that of Dr. Adller is their common conviction of the
fundamental "oneness of humanity." It quite thrills me to quote his
declaration:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"We cannot escape from the net of our own relatedness.
Our sole safety is to assume the logic of our communal existence upon this
planet as an ultimate, absolute truth, which we approach step by step, through
the conquest of illusions arising from our incomplete organization and limited
capabilities as human beings.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And is not the mission of the Baha'i Movement to unite all
the races of the world?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Another point of contact is education. Dr. Adler speaks of
it repeatedly. He advocates psychology as the "human science" which
should be studied by laymen as well as by specialists, and shows that even the
study of the abnormal is necessary to gain an understanding of normal processes
(since the difference is only one of degree). He also states that the object of
this education of the normal human being and the re-education of the abnormal
one is the same - to fit both for a better understanding of human nature, and
to develop the social feeling, because man is a social being, not to be
considered as separated from human society, but one who must learn to take his
place as an integral part of it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Of course we agree heartily with Dr. Adler that human nature
is capable of being educated, moreover that education must begin with the
individual child from the moment of its birth, in order that its “behavior
pattern” may be correctly and happily set.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Abdu'l-Baha shows us that education to be complete should
be both material and spiritual, in other words, it should be for the heart as
well as the head. The Abbe Dimnet reminds us that Vauvenargues says,
"Great thoughts arise from the heart," and Joubert, "There is no
light in souls in which there is no warmth.” Hence, to the old question,
"can human nature change?" we would answer in the words of Dr.
Esselmont, a distinguished English physician and Baha'i teacher: "Both
education and religion are based upon the assumption that it can and does
change. In fact, it requires but little investigation to show that the one
thing we call say with certainty about any living thing is that it cannot keep
from changing."</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What has all this to do with modern psychology, you may ask?
We earnestly believe that that" science</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">of humanity," as Dr. Adler calls it, can be of still greater value
as a healing factor in dealing with disorders of the mind when it becomes
touched and illumined by a vital, dynamic religion such as taught by
Baha'u'llah, Whose appearance is the Sun of Truth in this day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The vibrations caused by this new influx of spiritual power
has brought into being many new schools of thought, numbers of which are
concerned with the healing and re-education of suffering and maladjusted
humanity. As we have noted, psychology itself has advanced until it has become
an important instrument in the hands of</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the best modern physicians - for it is acceptable to many who will
not</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">listen to the worn-out dogmas and
creeds of religion, as such, and yet whose needs demand something more than the
science of materia medica alone. In this respect the rise of these movements,
even though they be only pseudoscientific, has contributed to the whole
ministry of medicine.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Baha'i ideal of the physician of the future might be of
special interest here. 'Abdu'l-Baha says that the physician of the future must
be a man scientifically educated and trained, in order to be a skillful
diagnostician of disease (to know whether it be of mental or physical origin)
and, in addition to this knowledge, he must be imbued "with such a love of
God, such a love for humanity, such an intense desire to serve humanity, that
his very presence in the sick room will be like</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">healing to the patient.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In this day, when disorders of the mind have spread over the
world almost like a plague, physicians surely need to use both spiritual and
material means of healing, ever striving to find the perfect balance.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As regards man’s social development, Dr. Adler stresses
again and again the necessity of early education in order to fix the life
pattern of the child by habit, which becomes conduct, and eventually crystallizes
into character. He always regards man as a social being and each individual
soul as being motivated by the conscious or unconscious striving for a
"goal."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is evident then, in order to assist the souls to fit into
their environment and function happily and cooperatively with their fellow
beings, some kind of a worthy plan is necessary by which to guide their lives
and develop their social feeling; and when ignoble goals are discovered,
altruistic standards need to be substituted, and if they can be joyous, so much
the better. "Joy gives us wings," says 'Abdu'l-Baha.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Baha'i teaching, upon the same basis of human evolution,
offers a magnificent social program, because it is universal, constructed upon
the corner stone of the unity of the whole human family; not only that, but in
its re-statement of the eternal verities, it is marvelously adapted to the
complex needs of evolving humanity in this new and wonderful age.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Progress is so rapid these days that the next generation may
have to develop new and different powers in order to endure the high vibrations
of our mechanistic civilization.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Professor Meredith made the same statement that I heard
recently made by Doctor Ray Lyman Wilbur, to the effect, that to-day the speed
of life is so terrific that man's moral and spiritual consciousness has not yet
caught up with the extraordinary rapidity of the material or external changes,
thus causing a dislocation so fraught with danger that man stands aghast at the
products of his inventive genius and power, not knowing how to cope with these
new dangers that</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">threaten to overwhelm
him.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thoughtful minds cannot but realize that unless man can
somehow be educated to encompass these inventions and possess them for
constructive service to society, they will surely possess him and destroy the
world. Therefore, the education of youth to a realization of the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">truth that we are our "brother's
keeper," based upon science and</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">reinforced by the spiritual dynamic of real religion, is the only hope
of</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the future, if civilization is to be
saved.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Baha'is believe that the social program, revealed by
Baha'u'llah and elucidated by 'Abdu'l-Baha, gives to humanity the solution of
these stupendous problems.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In addition to the glorious basic principles, Baha'u'llah
advocates certain universal institutions for service to all mankind, as well as
giving certain vital precepts for the guidance and purification of the
individual</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">life. How noble is His
concept of a temple - called in the Persian, Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, which means
something far greater than merely a temple or church, something indeed, for
which we have no equivalent in English. His concept is that in every city there
should be built a group of buildings set in a large and beautiful garden; the
central building - its doors always open in welcome to all comers - to be the
house of worship; around it, first, the hospice, where hospitality would be
dispensed, perhaps to the weary traveler, perhaps to one who is temporarily out
of work, or to one in need of shelter for a time; next, the hospital, wherein
the physicians would minister unto the sick and needy, using both types of
healing, serving the poor from a free dispensary; then, a home for the aged, a
home for the orphans, and a home for the cripples and incurables; then, a
school for the children and a great university for the higher branches of
learning.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Every child would be educated in an art or craft or trade or
profession, boys and girls alike, for all Baha'is are taught the dignity of
labor, and that work pursued in the spirit of service is acceptable as prayer
and worship, in this new day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Those who serve in this great and beautiful community
center, would first enter the house of worship, lift up their hearts to God in
any manner they desire, and then, inspired and strengthened by the Holy Spirit,
they would go forth into these other institutions and serve all who come,
regardless of color, class or creed.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Such a plan would seem to appeal to the enlightened
psychologist as</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">offering an ideal
pattern for normal activity - the individual trained to work joyously and
intelligently for the good of the group, thereby gaining his own satisfaction
and happiness. Psychology teaches that emotional impulse must find its
legitimate outlet if life is to be normal and happy. To the Baha’is, this plan
of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar appears to be a superb plan of unifying social service
for, with the Spirit -God - at the center, and Humanity at the circumference,
the circle is complete.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To sum it up, this is what the Baha'is mean by religion -
the love of God, expressed in purity of individual life and deeds of joyous
service to all mankind.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dr. Adler closes his book, "Understanding Human
Nature," with these words: "The law of psychic development seems to
us to be irrefutable. It is the most important indicator to any human being who
wishes to build up his destiny consciously and openly, rather than to allow
himself to be the victim of dark and mysterious tendencies. These researches
are experiments in the science of human nature, a science which cannot
otherwise be taught or cultivated. The understanding</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">of human nature seems to us indispensable to
every man, and the study of its science, the most important activity of the
human mind.”</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Since the human science and real religion both operate in the
"realm of minds, hearts and spirits," may we not justly make a plea
for their conscious and definite cooperation, believing that in thus working
together hand in hand they may be able to transmute this science into the
"divine art of living."</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(Star of the West [The Baha’i Magazine], vol. 20, no. 8,
November 1929)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-43337663590110103312020-03-17T10:55:00.000-07:002020-07-16T12:44:08.318-07:00Happiness – Material and Spiritual – by Shahnaz (Louise Spencer) Waite<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFX8Gr67SMrxdWz4_PSJZiRsBO_uh2UqWFbdgFxciva6KAqPCxliA4B6w6M-A6gIbm4eZrW77lkx978sZme7QguHLo5OlIWWN7Rdd2CPhhm0XTyLAJaQ6BGxc7gBIsi1kPMHvJVHDMNMs/s1600/shahnaz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="350" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFX8Gr67SMrxdWz4_PSJZiRsBO_uh2UqWFbdgFxciva6KAqPCxliA4B6w6M-A6gIbm4eZrW77lkx978sZme7QguHLo5OlIWWN7Rdd2CPhhm0XTyLAJaQ6BGxc7gBIsi1kPMHvJVHDMNMs/s200/shahnaz.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thomas Edison, when celebrating his eighty-second birthday,
was asked to give his formula for a happy life. He replied -"I am not
acquainted with anyone who is happy." He could not give a recipe for
happiness, he who had given to mankind so much that had brought comfort and
enlightenment the world over, because, as he stated he knew no one who was
happy. His statement was unqualified, he made no exceptions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the other hand, there are countless cults whose leaders
make a specialty of "formulas for happiness." They promise perfect
"health, wealth, love, and happiness" to all who will pay the price
for the formula with instructions as to how to apply it; but it does not seem
to work out well or more of their followers would demonstrate the promised
results.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The extreme scarcity of happiness goes to show that there is
something else to be sought for upon which happiness depends, or else that one
is searching in the wrong direction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are as many human opinions as to how happiness may be
obtained as there are various conceptions as to what constitutes that blissful
state. That which ranks first among these may be classified under
sense-gratification. By the pleasure seeker it is confused with the sought-for
prize. Yet we know that sense-gratification is not happiness neither is
asceticism practiced to win this sacred gift.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It has been said that "happiness ever flees the ardent
seeker," that it "comes unbidden when it comes at all."
Conditions must be right, for it enters the human heart. It cannot dwell with
discord or inharmony. It is never found where evil impulses, greed and
selfishness dwell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Neither does marked culture, education, talents or fame
encage it. Palatial environments, wealth and social position seem more often to
frighten it away; and sordid conditions offer no inducement for its abiding
place. Material grandeur, pomp and glory hold nothing that attracts its divine
nature.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In Mythology even the "Gods of Olympus" were not said
to be happy, and human history reveals very little happiness in its record of
the ages.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Why then does this quest for happiness go on so frantically,
continuously, and apparently is so futile? Has its evasiveness no spiritual
meaning for us? Are we as humans really ready for happiness?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To entertain so divine a guest, one must have a still
chamber in the heart, a place of absolute purity, beauty and harmony. The
flitting fantasies which men experience, dependent upon the senses, which enter
their lives from time to time, cannot enter that sacred chamber. One may think
he is happy for a while, but later awakens from the dream only to find it an
illusion, and not reality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Many of the religions do not promise happiness during one's
human pilgrimage. Jesus held up the immortal life, life in the hereafter, as
the goal of attainment. Human life implies growth, and growth is ever
accompanied by pain. While there is any undeveloped side to man's soul, any
imperfect faculty, there must be struggle and strife. Hence happiness complete
and soul- satisfying cannot be of human origin, or known by the lower
consciousness of man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Mr. Edison has been more than frank. He has plainly and
bluntly stated a fact which most seek to hide even from themselves. He is
"acquainted with no one who is happy." Yet Mr. Edison is eminently
successful. Those who so lightly unite "success with happiness', as twins,
might note this fact. It would seem these twains are not interdependent or in
any way correlated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What then is happiness, that it is so elusive, and comparatively
non-existent? Who can describe it? It seems to mortal sense an intangible,
ethereal essence which steals into hearts like a breath from heaven. It may
linger but a moment, or it may shed its benediction over a shadowed life, for
shadows are not incompatible with it, though earthly splendor may be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Having seen its rare radiance shining forth now and then
through the human face of some great soul, we know it is not a myth, therefore
its general absence from the world of humanity seems to prove that conditions
for its abode are not right in human hearts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Is selfishness the unsurmountable barrier to happiness? When
we rise in consciousness above the petty, little center and circumference of
self with its material interests, its insatiable clamorings for pleasure, for
entertainment, for earthly possessions, and so-called joy, we find that the
human heart has not been seeking for real happiness, but only forgetfulness of
self, forgetfulness of some misery, some disappointment, some jealous thought,
some envious desire, some unfulfilled ambition. To forget self is the motive of
this urge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Between those who only seek to forget, and those who are
taught to "visualize a positive, radiant supreme state of happiness”,
created through the power of thought, and will force, yet which ever eludes the
seeker, there is a wide division -- the two extremes of the pole and neither
attaining the coveted goal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Even in our cherished arts and sciences, our aesthetic
culture and "inspiring avocations" there may be a subtle and
deep-rooted selfishness, then we wonder why we are not happy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The great mystics tell us that we "gain by losing, we
receive by giving, and all things become ours through renunciation." May
this not be the sign-post which points to the road leading to happiness?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Many centuries ago St. Augustine said – “Thou hast made the
heart for Thyself and it is ever restless until it finds its rest in
Thee." Even in those far off days human hearts were searching vainly for
happiness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All things considered, what is the answer to this insistent
question – “Where can happiness be found?" How may we find it and having
found it keep it? Who can point to us the way?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">‘Abdu'l-Baha, who was -- "A joy-bringer, and a Herald
of the Kingdom of Happiness” -- has placed in our hand the Golden Key which
will unlock the door to the Kingdom where happiness alone abides. Let us
meditate upon these His words:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Know thou that there are two kinds of happiness,
spiritual and material. As to material happiness it never exists; nay, is but
imagination, an image reflected in mirrors, a specter and shadow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Consider the nature of material happiness. It is something
which but slightly removes one's afflictions; yet the people imagine it to be
joy, delight, exultation and blessing. All the material blessings including
food, drink, etc. tend only to allay thirst, hunger, and fatigue. They bestow
no delights on the mind or pleasure on the soul; nay, they furnish only the
bodily wants. So this kind of happiness has no real existence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"As to spiritual happiness, this is the true basis of
the life of man, because life - (the spiritual) is created for happiness, not
for sorrow, for pleasure, not for grief. Happiness is life; sorrow is death; spiritual happiness is life eternal. This is light which is not followed by
darkness. This is honor which is not followed by shame. This is existence which
is not followed by annihilation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“This great blessing and precious gift is obtained by man
only through the Guidance of God. This happiness is the fundamental basis from
which man is created, worlds are originated, the contingent beings have
existence, and the world of God appears like unto the appearance of the sun at
mid-day. This happiness is but the Love of God."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"The world needs more happiness and illumination. The
star of happiness is in every heart; we must remove the clouds so that it may
twinkle radiantly. Happiness is an internal condition. When it is once
established man will ascend to the supreme heights of bliss. A truly happy man
will not be subject to the shifting eventualities of time. Like unto an eternal
king he will sit upon the throne of fixed realities. He will be impervious to
outward changing circumstances and through his deeds and actions he will impart
happiness to others. A Baha'i must be happy, for the blessings of God are
bestowed upon him."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is evident from these inspiring words of 'Abdu'l-Baha,
that real happiness is purely a spiritual condition, and the reward of victory
over the carnal self, and this mastery He has said is gained through loving
service to others through self-forgetfulness, not by external means, but
through losing the thought of self in thinking of others. He has said --
"The Key to self-mastery is self-forgetting." Thus self-forgetting is
the magnet which draws the spirit of happiness into our hearts. It has been
said --" Happiness is a perfume which we cannot pour upon others without
spilling some of it upon ourselves." Thus in giving, we receive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Abdu'l-Baha has further said upon this most vital question:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Afflictions and troubles are due to a state of not
being content with what God has ordained for you. If one submits himself to God
he is happy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"A man asked another - 'In what station are you?' He
answered: 'in the utmost happiness.'; 'Where does this happiness come from? He
answered: 'because all existing things move according to my wish; therefore I
do not find anything contrary to my desire; thus I have no sorrow. There is no
doubt that all beings move by the Will of God, and I have given up my own will,
desiring the Will of God. Thus my will becomes the Will of God, for there is
nothing to myself. All are moving by His Will, yet they are moving by mine, in
this case I am very happy.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“When man surrenders himself, everything will move according
to his wish."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Concentrate the soul upon God so that it may become as
a fountain pouring out the Water of Life to a thirsty world. Live up to the
principles of sacrifice. The world will then become as nothing, and be without
power to attract you away from God. Sacrifice your will to the Will of God. The
Kingdom is attained by the one who forgets self. Everything becomes yours by
renunciation of everything."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Love is the means of the most-great happiness in both
the material and spiritual worlds."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Man must live in contentment with the conditions of
his time. He must not make himself the slave of any habit. Contentment is real
wealth. If one develops within himself the quality of contentment, he will
become independent. Contentment is the creator of happiness. When one is
contented he does not care for either riches or poverty. He lives above the
influence of them."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Wealth has a tempting and drawing quality. It
bewilders the sight of its charmed victim with showy appearances and draws them
on and on to the edge of a yawning chasm. It makes a person self-centered,
self-occupied, forgetful of God and holy things. On the other hand there are
souls who are the essence of existence; in their estimation wealth offers no
attraction... Their intense passion for God will wax greater each day. Such
rich men are in reality the light-bringing stars of the heaven of mankind,
because they have been tried and tested and have come out of the crucible as
pure gold ... unalloyed and unadulterated. With all the wealth of the world at
their feet they are yet mindful of God and humanity, they spend their acquired
riches for the dispelling of the darkness of ignorance and employ their
treasures for the alleviation of the misery of the children of God. The light of
such rich men will never grow dim and the tree of their generosity will grow in
size and stature, producing fruits in all seasons. Their every deed will be as
an example for succeeding generations."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Strive day and night and do whatever is possible that perchance
you may wake the heedless, give sight to the blind, bring life to the dead,
refresh the weary, and bring those in despair and darkness to light and
splendor. If the hope of man be limited to the material world what ultimate
result is he working for? A man with even a little understanding must realize
that he should live differently from the worms who hold to the earth in which
they are finally buried. How can he find happiness there? My hope is that you
may become freed from the material world and strive to understand the meaning
of the heavenly world, the world of lasting qualities, the world of truth, the
world of eternal kingliness so that your life may not be barren of results, for
the life of the material man has no fruit of Reality. But lasting results are
produced by the heavenly existence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“If a man becomes touched with the divine spark even though
he be an outcast and oppressed he will be happy, and his happiness cannot
die."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">These Divine Words are a formula for that Reality of
happiness which all the world is seeking. Blessed are they who apply them and
find thereby within their own hearts the Kingdom of Happiness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In conclusion let me leave with you this beautiful prayer revealed
by 'Abdu'l-Baha, which breathes the very spirit of happiness into one's soul:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"O Thou Kind God! To me thou art kinder than myself and
Thy Love is more abundant and more ancient. Whenever I am reminded of Thy
Bestowals, I am made happy and hopeful. If I have been agitated, I obtain ease
of heart and soul. If I am sick, I gain eternal health. If I am disloyal, I
become loyal. If I have been hopeless, I become hopeful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">O Thou Lord of the Kingdom! Cause Thou the rejoicing of my
heart; empower my weak spirit and strengthen my exhausted nerves. Illumine thou
my eyes; suffer my ears to become hearing, so that I may hearken to the Music
of the Kingdom and attain to the joy and happiness Everlasting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Verily Thou art the Generous, the Giver, the Kind!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(Star of the West [The Baha’i Magazine], vol. 20, no. 5,
August 1929)</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-6356846043866533312020-01-14T05:07:00.000-08:002020-05-08T05:08:24.665-07:001979: The tragic death of the Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga and his family – by NSA of Canada<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GoVrxXeA_gyxMfbVFNbLMPxFK_fAC_C1Fw8U4PgofNcAYZFLw7ihdn4hLrWLWuhITwvZyGneHSkUBlPzCODsunM3TrYjHOUOcrVhGaBB-0paLbSoIyA97eRsS89ABjJfQvvaWkggfzMd/s1600/Enoch+Olinga-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="586" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5GoVrxXeA_gyxMfbVFNbLMPxFK_fAC_C1Fw8U4PgofNcAYZFLw7ihdn4hLrWLWuhITwvZyGneHSkUBlPzCODsunM3TrYjHOUOcrVhGaBB-0paLbSoIyA97eRsS89ABjJfQvvaWkggfzMd/s200/Enoch+Olinga-1.jpg" width="147" /></a><i style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Universal House of justice has shared with us a copy of
a letter dated January 11, 1980, from the Hands of the Cause of God residing in
the Holy Land to the Hands of the Cause of God throughout the world. We hope
this will allay any concerns the friends may have had over the circumstances
surrounding the death of our beloved Hand of the Cause, Enoch Olinga.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"In all of these sad events it is some consolation to
know that apparently the murder of Mr. Olinga was in no way directly connected
with either religion or politics; in other words no one associated Enoch with
any political factions and this attack on him was not in the nature of an
attack on the Faith itself. Enoch may have been killed just because he was an
affluent businessman and well known because of this and as a 'leader' of the
Baha’is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“For some years past in Uganda the elimination of prominent
people has been a fixed policy of certain factions and nearly all those who
fell into this category fled the country. Mr. Vuyiya, who arrived in Kampala
from Nairobi three days after the event, writes ' ... staying in the middle of
the town, I had the full effect of the state of near anarchy in Kampala at
night. There were shots every night.' He points out that in the nightly curfew
no one could tell who was roaming about the streets and that every night brought
with it ‘... the news of the murder of yet another family.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“As nothing worth mentioning, including a large sum of money
which was available in Mr. Olinga's desk, seems to have been stolen from the
home, some people consider that it was one of the acts being regularly
committed by some obscure faction, to create the impression that lawlessness
was rampant and thus discredit the efforts of the new Government to maintain
law and order. In similar killings these 'thugs' have stated they are not
thieves but have come 'only for lives.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Now that detailed reports have been received here, we feel
we should acquaint you fully with these matters so that the Baha'is, through
this report to you, will be properly informed and not attribute his murder to
all kinds of things which have no foundation in fact; we notice through
meetings with the friends and letters received here that there is a lot of
speculation, misinformation and personal interpretation of events going
about."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>The report then goes on to document, from all available
sources, the events surrounding the brutal murder of Mr. Olinga and his family.
We regret that we are unable to print the letter in its entirety. Following are
extracts from the report:</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"We learn from George Olinga, Enoch's eldest son, that
from the time the Faith was banned until Idi Amin fell from power his father,
on many occasions, stated he would not leave the country or run away. He was
not only worried over the morale of the Baha'is but was very much concerned
about the Baha'i properties and their protection. That they were safeguarded in
the midst of so much turmoil, that precious archive material was removed to a
remote spot and nothing happened to it, we owe largely to this fellow Hand of
ours, this Enoch we loved so much ...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Of his father's last days George writes: 'He spent
most of his time at Kikaya cutting the grass around the Temple, sweeping the
Temple, and the last few days before his tragic death he had reorganized the
Baha'i Centre, from washing the floor to allocation of rooms for various
functions of the newly appointed Administrative Committee.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“During their first meeting in Kampala I had just arrived
from Nairobi and Daddy was overjoyed when I told them that while I was in Kenya
I had found the grass mowers for the Temple grounds and that they had been
purchased ... So happy was Daddy during these last days of his life that he
told some of the friends he is so relieved to have handed over to the
Administrative Committee that he was ready to die…’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"It is probably never going to be possible to establish
exactly what the terrible course of events was which took place that night;
sleeping next to the garage, in a building near the back door, which gave on to
the small compound into which, through the gate, the automobile driveway
entered the grounds, was a Baha'i garden boy; on either side of the Olinga
property were neighbours. In a city where murder for many weeks has stalked the
streets in the dark, and the rattle of automatic fire is frequently heard,
people keep inside and under cover themselves when they hear guns going off
nearby. No doubt this was equally true of those near the Olinga home.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"We are told, however, by the garden boy, that
Elizabeth was in the kitchen, at the back of the house preparing dinner with
Lennie; Badi was studying in the back bedroom at the end of the inner corridor
and Tahirih may have been with him. It is conjectured that there were six armed
men, one remained to guard the gate through which they broke into the property,
and the other five came to the back door demanding it be opened and firing
shots. Whatever exactly took place a trail of blood was found from the kitchen
to the room Badi was in and a rough attempt had been made to bandage Lennie's
leg where he had been wounded. As this is the room where all except Enoch were
murdered, it seems likely they sought refuge there, locked the door and enough
time elapsed to try and staunch Lennie's wound before the armed men broke in
and evidently lined Elizabeth, Lennie, Badi and Tahirih up against the wall and
shot them; two rows of bullet holes showed they were shot both at chest and
knee level and the pitiful mangled remains of these four people were found next
day on the floor in a pile.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Exactly what happened to Enoch is not known; George
surmises, from accounts of those who were at least in the vicinity, if not
actual eye witnesses of what took place in the house, that Enoch was in the
sitting room, heard the cries and shots, came out into the compound at the back
and was taken in either to see his family shot or see them lying dead and once
again came out into the compound for he was heard to be weeping and sobbing out
loud; he was then shot from behind in the chest and hips and fell in front of
the garage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“The neighbours stated that they phoned the police five
times when all this was happening but were told there were patrol cars in the
area; no one came. In the morning, whenever he dared venture forth , the garden
boy found Enoch's body and ran to inform a member of the newly appointed Uganda
Administrative Committee who immediately went to the home of 'Auntie Claire',
the much-loved and esteemed early pioneer to Africa who owns a well -known
nursery school..." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(Baha’i Canada, vol. 2, no. 9, March/April 1980)</span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-17625811215878723972019-10-23T21:55:00.000-07:002020-02-01T08:51:22.481-08:00July 1950: Pilgrimage to the Scenes of the Báb’s Captivity and Martyrdom – by Hand of the Cause Dhikru’llah Khadem, translated by Marzieh Gail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFX6QZfshgWby4vHg4ko81sd_cicWU54JauZl2kgO32k6JGf2MSCoGAR4IH1lF0PdUg8Z3zMbrLJs24zghExrfyiekT9tJ9m0Y6ksRvZ94ecBas4A2yZPVGWbuwhvnUROCgqnvCFe8YxG/s1600/Mr+Khadem-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1105" data-original-width="1251" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxFX6QZfshgWby4vHg4ko81sd_cicWU54JauZl2kgO32k6JGf2MSCoGAR4IH1lF0PdUg8Z3zMbrLJs24zghExrfyiekT9tJ9m0Y6ksRvZ94ecBas4A2yZPVGWbuwhvnUROCgqnvCFe8YxG/s200/Mr+Khadem-a.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A hundred years have now gone by since the meek and holy Báb,
the Gate of God, was put to death at noon on July 9, 1850, and even to the
present day the world and its peoples ("except for those into whose eyes
God hath shed the radiance of His Face") are fast in a deathlike sleep,
unconscious of a mighty Faith, a transcendent Dispensation, which made prophets
and seers of past ages cry out and weep with longing for it. At this time the
Baha'is of the world, from the northernmost point of the globe to the
southernmost, and from Far East to Far West, following the example of Shoghi
Effendi turned their hearts toward the Country of Sorrows, to commemorate at
the Guardian's bidding the first Centenary of the Bab's martyrdom. In
recognition of this event the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of
Persia went on a nine days' pilgrimage into Adbirbayjan. This is an account of
their journey and what it meant to one of them.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxSdtuCFRpCgfiW9RO-AgveLnmAOM1iwLdJRkmezrGoFDifM4iKk31HaM0kRw2CHtiraTP1aaZlxeEURlr21Ee0ghNqQXh-mjR-Jd0_Hzj7g6ODjKKV144V8fHFFwNucHBDimhTUuI3f4/s1600/map-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="1215" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxSdtuCFRpCgfiW9RO-AgveLnmAOM1iwLdJRkmezrGoFDifM4iKk31HaM0kRw2CHtiraTP1aaZlxeEURlr21Ee0ghNqQXh-mjR-Jd0_Hzj7g6ODjKKV144V8fHFFwNucHBDimhTUuI3f4/s320/map-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Journey to Tabríz</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is Thursday, the 6th of July, 1950. It is the day of
Istijlál, the day of Qudrat, the month of Rahmat, of the year Javáb, of the
sixth Váhid of the first Kull-i-Sbay'. The group of travelers has set out as
pilgrims, in a spirit of humility and penitence and great love, going to the
place of the Báb's last agony. They are traveling to that spot whose very name,
some thousand years ago, set fire to the heart of Muhammad's descendent the
Imám Muhammad-Báqir, so that he spoke these words of it: "Inevitable for
us is Adhirbáyján. Nothing can equal it ... "</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They are traveling to see the place with their physical
eyes, but also to weep over the anguish of that Lord of men in the Country of
Sorrows itself, where earth and air, mountains and lakes, streams, trees, and
stones bear witness to the wrong that was done Him. They will pour out for Him
as a libation something of the sorrow of their hearts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The bus goes fast. Again it slows. It fulfills the promise
as to the Day of the Lord and the coming of the Kingdom when, Scripture says,
the earth will be rolled up. All along our talk is of the passion of the Báb.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We pass through Zanján and remember how lightly Hujjat and
his companions tossed away their lives there. Wherever the new road replaces
the old, we turn like compass needles to the abandoned thoroughfare, because it
was there that the Báb passed by.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At Míyánaj we see Him again - in that house with the upper
room. One of the friends calls our attention to the fact that the Báb loved
high places; that even when they were leading Him away to prison, wherever they
would stop, in whatever town or village, and even if there were only one upper
room in the place, it was there He chose to stay. His prisons, too, whether in
Tabriz or Mah-Ku or Chihriq, were always in high places. In His Tablet to
Muhammad Shah, revealed at Mah-Ku, He speaks, however, of His abode as being
still higher than the prison, for He says, "It is as if I were dwelling in
the loftiest Paradise, delighting Myself with the remembrance of God, the Most
Great."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-37qeeZuxM2gDe3msgqYjwHWEx3Lk9-Z7ZgB4u5CVT71sUCOnDwgC4S1pUl7_tyiNZBFqIFnyA9hI6ygrU0udqyOSCMQlA2FpD1aw-bgTKUNymOlzxY4gGz6zMFNbRI0f5y8AupGkLhY/s1600/Tabriz-circa+1935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1600" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-37qeeZuxM2gDe3msgqYjwHWEx3Lk9-Z7ZgB4u5CVT71sUCOnDwgC4S1pUl7_tyiNZBFqIFnyA9hI6ygrU0udqyOSCMQlA2FpD1aw-bgTKUNymOlzxY4gGz6zMFNbRI0f5y8AupGkLhY/s320/Tabriz-circa+1935.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Tabriz, circa 1935</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(The Dawn-Breakers)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As we talk of all this, mountains and deserts and pasture
lands pass by us, and about midnight we come to Tabriz. Waiting for us here are
the believers. They welcome us, and carrying out the efficient arrangements of
the Tabriz Assembly, they guide us away singly or by twos, to the different
houses where we are to stay.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here are people who have never laid eyes on us before,
approaching us with such pleasure. And afterward, when we went away, although
we had been with them only a few days, they wept and so did we. It is this that
is stirring all over the Baha'i world today, because the love of God has
transfigured human nature.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is two days before the Commemoration. Early on the day
itself, all are to gather at the Haziratu'I-Quds, where a general meeting will
be held; communes will be chanted, the Guardian's letter will be read, and
then, one by one or two by two, the visitors, guided by local believers, are to
circle around the Barracks Square where the Bab was offered up as a sacrifice,
the holy place of which it is written: "The souls of the Prophets and
Messengers do pace about it."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The meetings arranged throughout Tabriz are brilliant.
Absent friends are remembered and missed. We feel that the hearts of all
believers throughout East and West are focused on this city, and this gives
rise to emotions that are best communicated not in words but from heart to
heart.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The Commemoration</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now it is the eve of the Martyrdom. The Bahá'ís are in their
houses; they are gathered in small groups, or quite alone. They are communing
with their Lord. I cannot tell how it is. We recall the aspect of that other
night one hundred years ago:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How Mirzá Muhammad-'Ali surnamed Anís and Siyyid Husayn the
amanuensis remained in the presence of the Báb; the conversation that took
place that night between disciple and Beloved; all this came to mind again. To
emulate the kind of obedience that Anís offered his Lord that night - this is
the ultimate wish of every Bahá’í.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In a commentary the Báb had referred to the circumstances of
His approaching martyrdom in this wise:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Had I not been gazing upon this secret fact, I swear
by Him in Whose hand is My soul, should all the kings of the earth be banded
together they could not take from Me so much as a single letter of a
word."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And again, in the Tablet to Muhammad Shah:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"All the keys of heaven God hath chosen to place on My
right hand, and all the keys of hell on My left ... "</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was His own unconditioned will to cast down His holy life
in the pathway of the "Remnant of God" -He Whom the Splendor of God
has named "My previous Manifestation, the Precursor of My Beauty." Of
Whom, again, He has said, "I am He, He is I; I am His Beloved; He is My
Beloved."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Could we sleep on a night like this?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Day finally breaks. The appointed time approaches. It is as
if from all the streets and passageways of Tabriz souls are gathering for
Judgment. Yes, it is the Resurrection Day, the rise of the Qá'im and the
Qayyúm. The squares of Tabriz are black with crowds.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Deliver us, most exalted Beloved . . . forgive us then
our sin and hide away from us our evil deeds." (Qur'an 3: 191.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeSsWQGfvkLGPGBeVSibvx_8PPiU0h3KYFKNTZHbojiReOUHvVH1l4M1skQyR404nInithqNUmZX64L3F0p9JzTuT2eNGpnHaOHRuOtBFt2fi5RDnvAM0sX67ZUfWdirfXM-4W17O67Uq/s1600/The+Ark+-+Citadel+of+Tabriz+where+the+bab+was+confined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="870" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeSsWQGfvkLGPGBeVSibvx_8PPiU0h3KYFKNTZHbojiReOUHvVH1l4M1skQyR404nInithqNUmZX64L3F0p9JzTuT2eNGpnHaOHRuOtBFt2fi5RDnvAM0sX67ZUfWdirfXM-4W17O67Uq/s320/The+Ark+-+Citadel+of+Tabriz+where+the+bab+was+confined.jpg" width="174" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">The Ark (Citadel) of Tabriz <br />where the <span style="text-align: start;">Báb</span> was confined</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(The Dawn-Breakers)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Some are hurrying, reverently, prayerfully, up to the
"Ark," the Citadel where the Báb was imprisoned, to that high place
which even today dominates the whole city and which, once seen, is impressed on
the heart forever. They go here, that they may, prior to commemorating the hour
of the Martyrdom, witness yet another stage in the long passion of the Báb.
Some wait till a later hour to make this pilgrimage. These stay in the vicinity
of the Bab's upper chamber, and bowing their foreheads to the earth in that
exalted place, are repeating excerpts from His writings, such as the Commentary
on the Surih of Joseph. Not one has a thought except for the Beloved; they are
in another world now, and they cannot easily return from it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the base of the terrifying "Ark," at the
entrance to the courtyard, the Báb has once again demonstrated His power; for
on a structure they have raised here in memory of the dead, we find inscribed
this verse from the Qur'an: "Think not of those who are slain in the path
of God as dead; nay, alive with their Lord, are they richly sustained."
(Surih 3: 163.) It stands as a secret allusion to the Báb's agony and death.
The pilgrims, reading this holy verse, seek leave to enter here, and thus they
pass into the prison with their hearts free from everything except God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The time has come to attend the meeting in Tabriz. The
program goes forward; it is well arranged and deeply moving. Although the
friends in other areas have been advised not to attend in large numbers,
nevertheless some are here from other parts of Adhirbáyján for this historic
day, and the great auditorium of the Hiratu'I-Quds is jammed; those who cannot
find seats stand in the doorways and in the embrasures of the windows.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Prayers are chanted. Then we listen to the Báb's Tablet to
Muhammad Shah. Today the holy blood of the Bab is coursing through the world,
it is flowering everywhere, and where is Muhammad Shah? We search, but find no
trace of him. That foolish Minister of his has also sunk into his tomb, and
that other Prime Minister, Taqi the Bloodshedder, the Brazen, who condemned the
Lord of the world to death, has vanished in eternal night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the Turkish language, the Assembly secretary then speaks.
He tells impressively of the spread of the Faith across the world, and of the
building of the Báb's Shrine on Mt. Carmel. The account of the Martyrdom is
read. A strange spiritual atmosphere prevails; you would say a glimmer from the
world beyond is hovering here. With complete humility, the Visitation Tablet of
the Bab is chanted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Cfsy87ZPokosp80232D4cigwLbB5PyQxuVSTR5fKMChPcl9I07jb3mHv6F9akNocXPUjGRLKWk3DhrG3uLzTs05D5ZZJxM1AtT4TjsxyxINBogOUDWSzkPREuJLFLWb1aOiKJQflxA1W/s1600/Distance+view+of+the+Barracks+Square+in+Tabr%25C3%25ADz+where+the+B%25C3%25A1b+was+martyred.+Photos+taken+in+the+dead+of+winter+of+a+later+year.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="1600" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Cfsy87ZPokosp80232D4cigwLbB5PyQxuVSTR5fKMChPcl9I07jb3mHv6F9akNocXPUjGRLKWk3DhrG3uLzTs05D5ZZJxM1AtT4TjsxyxINBogOUDWSzkPREuJLFLWb1aOiKJQflxA1W/s320/Distance+view+of+the+Barracks+Square+in+Tabr%25C3%25ADz+where+the+B%25C3%25A1b+was+martyred.+Photos+taken+in+the+dead+of+winter+of+a+later+year.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Distance view of the Barracks Square in Tabríz <br />where the Báb was martyred. Photos taken in <br />the dead of winter of a later year</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Baha'i Media Bank)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is almost noon. The pilgrims, led by some of the local
friends, have come in utter lowliness, imploring the help of God, to
circumambulate that place which is worshiped by the people of Paradise.
Unobtrusively they pass around the Barracks Square. They see the very spot
where the Martyrdom took place. They visualize the Barracks as they were that
day, and the roof tops black with people. They see the Báb there, bound to
Anís, and suspended from the ropes. They hear again the words that passed
between the Báb and the farráshbáshí; between the Báb and Sam Khán. Then Anís,
making himself a living shield for the Báb. Then the first volley, by the will
of the Báb, setting forth His proof to the stupefied people, taking no effect.
Anís stands there before them in his immaculate white robe; not even the smoke from
the seven hundred and fifty rifles has settled on it. The Báb concludes His
interrupted conversation with His amanuensis. Other soldiers are drawn up. The
Báb utters His last words, and His blessed voice still seems to ring across the
Barracks Square:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_Vh2BMtLuZUJ0aZaNucqJatyERy2okvvnips5j2l4LacY7hmkf5C1Ku8zkx58IfpqUD6l0sYAQnCDMGFqL93SOBVSLzkODxPbYTPqfV6gSI74ttmd1lhsjUYchVKcUDttL57EwNYEcbH/s1600/Close-up+view+of+the+Barracks+Square+in+Tabr%25C3%25ADz+where+the+B%25C3%25A1b+was+martyred.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="1600" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_Vh2BMtLuZUJ0aZaNucqJatyERy2okvvnips5j2l4LacY7hmkf5C1Ku8zkx58IfpqUD6l0sYAQnCDMGFqL93SOBVSLzkODxPbYTPqfV6gSI74ttmd1lhsjUYchVKcUDttL57EwNYEcbH/s320/Close-up+view+of+the+Barracks+Square+in+Tabr%25C3%25ADz+where+the+B%25C3%25A1b+was+martyred.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Close-up view of the Barracks Square in <br />Tabríz where the Báb was martyred</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Baha'i Media Bank)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"O wayward generation! Had you believed in Me, everyone
of you would have followed the example of this youth, who stood in rank above
most of you, and would have willingly sacrificed himself in My path. The day
will come when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall have ceased to be
with you." [1]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the words of 'Abdu'l-Baha, "The groaning of the
Supreme Concourse is lifted up .... The people of Paradise wail and cry out,
their eyes shedding tears, their hearts afire."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At this moment we are conscious of the loving attention of
the Guardian, the beloved Shoghi Effendi, who labors at all times to exalt the
Báb, who spreads His utterances abroad, who is now devoting his nights and days
to constructing the Shrine of the Martyr-Prophet on Mt. Carmel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The circumambulation is complete. A feast is ready. But it
is as if our bodies had sustained a death wound, and the pain does not lessen
...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During the remainder of our stay a great number of
gatherings are held, each one generating a vivid, never-to-be-forgotten quality
of the spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Visit to Urúmíyyih</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The following day we leave for Saysán. Some of the friends
have come out along the way to welcome us while others have repaired and
leveled the road ahead. What is this joy, this feeling of exhilaration? In the
spacious auditorium - I think it measures nine by nineteen meters - of the new
Hazirá a morning and an afternoon meeting are held. The auditorium is packed,
there is no room even to walk through, many are crowding the embrasures of the
windows and the doorways, and others stand outside the building. Prayers are
being chanted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As the Assembly welcomes us in the accents of Adhirbáyján, we
recall the well-known verse, "When they speak Persian, Turks are
life-bestowers." Two of us, Varqa and Furutan, reply with addresses in
Turkish, telling of victories already won by the Faith, and victories to come.
Labib, famed Baha'i photographer, takes pictures. He has made photographs of
all these places that relate to the Báb in Adhirbáyján, the way-stations on His
journey, the historic sites . . . Food is prepared for us.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hBUdYr-tFCkWGdFRE3nZ-o2xg2_p3tVSiwy5xgvJTdDbr__egUTD0TytJl6g8W5GpBsP_EWmeaPPCkZAuVv3I3f2mkA6_xKWX1QNHKS9lCIs-Vy5TNfQ4NRi0hhdPw1Vy8zfptzZ2Wiw/s1600/Ur%25C3%25BAm%25C3%25ADyyih.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="920" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hBUdYr-tFCkWGdFRE3nZ-o2xg2_p3tVSiwy5xgvJTdDbr__egUTD0TytJl6g8W5GpBsP_EWmeaPPCkZAuVv3I3f2mkA6_xKWX1QNHKS9lCIs-Vy5TNfQ4NRi0hhdPw1Vy8zfptzZ2Wiw/s320/Ur%25C3%25BAm%25C3%25ADyyih.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The next day we visit the holy sites at Urúmiyyih. We are to
meet the friends of this area on our return. The lake of Urúmiyyih rises before
us, and we recall the Báb's arrival at the city here, Ridá’íyyih.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As one of the friends has said, it is not saddening to visit
these holy places, because outwardly at least the Báb suffered no afflictions
here. He was the guest of Malik Qasim Mirza, who received Him with ceremony and
forbade that any disrespect be shown Him. The room of the Báb, in the upper
story of the prince's house, is like His upper chamber in Shiraz; it lifts the
spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The entrance door and wall of the public bath attended by
the Bab have been preserved; they are just as they were then. Dumbly they
address the pilgrim. The pool of the bath is empty now. The people had carried
away, to the last drop, the water used by the Báb for His ablutions, to bless
themselves with it and keep it as medicine for their ills…</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-uZH7U71VieITfwDUxWk4aCrGZI4FjuWSnQqW0YNGWyvdERnfWAsz2UmY9mabbilbVxWX_YKBXlkUJfwXVT0w3YGB5GdqjI-aFh0T3oz5UlY3r3UB3qqPrwHf8GM9kbpMrHuWn-iJKyb/s1600/circa+1935-Urumiyyih-House+occupied+by+the+Bab-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1024" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-uZH7U71VieITfwDUxWk4aCrGZI4FjuWSnQqW0YNGWyvdERnfWAsz2UmY9mabbilbVxWX_YKBXlkUJfwXVT0w3YGB5GdqjI-aFh0T3oz5UlY3r3UB3qqPrwHf8GM9kbpMrHuWn-iJKyb/s320/circa+1935-Urumiyyih-House+occupied+by+the+Bab-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">circa 1935,Urumiyyih: House occupied by the Bab</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(The Dawn-Breakers)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We know that even an animal had a care for Him here. The
prince's unmanageable horse became quiet under His hand, and let Him mount - a
strange thing to witness, and the memory of it will endure forever. [2] At the
same time, a warning to mankind; for how is it that man in his unawareness has
sunk even below the animal and has shut himself away from grace?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We cannot forget the meeting with our friends of Ridá’íyyih,
in a house blessed by the Báb with His presence. Here too the invisible hand of
the Báb has been at work - across from the Bath we read the inscription:
"God is the Light of the heavens and of the earth." (Qur'an 24:35)
This verse appears in delicate calligraphy on sky-blue tile, and serves as a
guide post to "the Countenance of God Whose splendor can never be
obscured, the light of God whose radiance can never fade"- words uttered
by the Primal Point Himself concerning His own Essence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The Mountain of Suffering</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is morning. Our bus leaves for Tabriz. The driver has
agreed to stop alI along the way so that we can meet with local friends, and
some of these have been alerted ahead of time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The first place where we stop is Sháhpur (Salmás), and a
meeting is held. The pioneers here are solidly established; like their
spiritual brothers and sisters across Persia, they have left their homes and it
is their great joy to have taken part in the extensive teaching campaign; to
have earned the approval of the beloved Guardian who wrote of the Plan:
"It is a vital undertaking of the followers of the All-Merciful, conceived
and established in the opening years of the second century of the Baha'i
Dispensation, and without peer or precedent throughout all the brilliant
history of the first century of this wondrous Cause in that holy land";
and to have assisted in the Plan's successful completion by the Centenary of
the Martyrdom.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7ZONCYvraOcUYFXxsvn7W5H1eEJcCxBK_nvYXe7Bsr7ntDf4yrWq5CeBK56mPyXj3dd1RjHOEBUQ5zZpHbpPrhfY4s7mmsh-UyHDgn-FKjBFnvBRRlEWfLCcstoHu4FLe4-Jf5tvbLsF/s1600/Mah-Ku-Chihriq.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="1017" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7ZONCYvraOcUYFXxsvn7W5H1eEJcCxBK_nvYXe7Bsr7ntDf4yrWq5CeBK56mPyXj3dd1RjHOEBUQ5zZpHbpPrhfY4s7mmsh-UyHDgn-FKjBFnvBRRlEWfLCcstoHu4FLe4-Jf5tvbLsF/s320/Mah-Ku-Chihriq.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They are rendering enviable services and their faces are
nothing but light. Unforgettably now, a woman believer chants; her voice rises,
all lowliness and supplication, so that our hearts are drawn toward God. And
out of that place, Salmas, which lies near Chihriq - and which the poet Háfiz
has named "the abode of Salma," greeting it six hundred years ago and
calling down blessings upon it, saying, "Hail, a thousand times hail, to
thee, O abode of Salma! How dear is the voice of thy camel-drivers, how sweet
the jingling of thy bells!" - out of Salmas, which lies between the
"Open Mountain" (Mah-Ku) and the "Grievous Mountain"
(Chihriq), our unspoken prayers ring out from one mountain to the other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Surely they are heard as well in the holy worlds of the
Beloved. Suddenly we decide to follow the road taken by Mullá Husayn when, in
Mashhad , he vowed to walk the whole distance that separated him from the Báb,
and come to Him on the mountain of Mah-Ku. We long to visit the spot on the
mountain where the Lord shone forth , as promised by God in the Qur'anic verse
: "When God manifested Himself to the mountain." (Surih 7: 139.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It so happened that the Guardian's message, sent by
telegraph in commemoration of the Martyrdom and addressed to the long-afflicted
Baha'is of Persia, was dated at this very day and hour.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixTiuN7ZGLoeLSEOh-BVscYKGqtet4PAwwujEt_rEZcoE-ffA_e9RZoKjfNiZhc0VlMDOHOre06Xyc4u6l039qC1HdtdK8w_sJFV5lflfCbahzMM5wjPzcNG6RmIZHDB2EypCamonELoP/s1600/circa+1935-Mah-Ku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="965" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixTiuN7ZGLoeLSEOh-BVscYKGqtet4PAwwujEt_rEZcoE-ffA_e9RZoKjfNiZhc0VlMDOHOre06Xyc4u6l039qC1HdtdK8w_sJFV5lflfCbahzMM5wjPzcNG6RmIZHDB2EypCamonELoP/s320/circa+1935-Mah-Ku.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Mah-Ku, circa 1935</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(The Dawn-Breakers)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The words of the Imam who said, "I have known God by
His disposal of man's resolves," were now demonstrated. Everyone felt a
longing to go on pilgrimage to "the Open Mountain." The plan to tum
back to Tabriz was changed; we determined to remain in Khuy and prepare for the
pilgrimage to Mah-Ku.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Some feel that although they are unable to walk the entire
distance that separated Mullá Husayn from the Báb, [3] they will at least go on
foot from Khuy to Mah-Ku, following in the footsteps of Mullá Husayn's faithful
attendant, Qambar-'Ali. Unfortunately, this cannot be done. It is now almost
half past three in the afternoon, and the bus is leaving for Mah-Ku. Some of
the friends of Khuy are with us. We find ourselves looking up and down the
road, searching for Mullá Husayn and Qambar-'AIi, and we think of those two
holy souls; we consider their humility, their spiritual quality, their
evanescence. Mountains and valleys pass by. The goal nears. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Over a wide area around Mah-Ku the plains are black; the
world mourns at Mah-Ku; for mile on mile the land is studded with outcroppings of
glistening black rock. Like ebony planets, these rocks rise out of the land;
they flood it like waves of an ebony sea. Posted haphazardly at the mountain
pass are other, monstrous shapes, terrifying rock formations that guard the
entry. All nature is a prison here, on guard over the Beloved of mankind, over
that Captive of Whom Baha'u'llah has written: "The purpose in creating the
world and making it to flourish was His Manifestation."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We come to a river that boils and clamors through the rocks;
it has cut its way through solid rock and is maybe fifteen feet deep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We remember how Nabil tells us that the night before Mullá
Husayn and his servitor arrived - it was on the eve of the Feast of the New
Year - 'Ali Khan, the frontier officer in charge of the castle of Mah-Ku, had a
dream. He saw the Prophet Muhammad, followed by a companion, advancing to meet
him from beside the bridge. In the dream, Muhammad was on His way to visit the
castle, to greet the Báb on the occasion of the New Year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'All khan awoke with a sense of exhilaration. He performed
his ablutions and prayed, dressed himself in his best garments, sprinkled
rosewater on his hands, and went out on foot to receive the Visitor. He further
instructed a servant to saddle and bridle his three best horses and hold them
in readiness at the bridge. But when he met Mullá Husayn there, 'Ali Khan was
told: "I have vowed to accomplish the whole of my journey on foot, to
visit an illustrious Personage who is being held prisoner on top of the mountain.
For this reason I will not ride."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We strain our eyes, but we cannot see 'Ali Khan now, and his
honored visitors. But the memory of this event has, even till our day, made the
hearts of hundreds of thousands of Baha'is all across the world beat faster;
and God alone in His wisdom knows how many billions of other hearts, throughout
the length of the Baha'i Cycle which in the words of 'Abdu'l-Baha is to last
"at least five hundred thousand years," will turn their attention
toward this place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We are still in the defile. We cannot see Mah-Ku. And then
suddenly, around the bend, there is "the Open Mountain" and the town
of Mah-Ku on its slopes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You who may read this, believe me: I would swear by Him Who
is the Lord of the mountain that in all the world there is no such terrifying
sight as this. Those who have traveled to the ends of the earth will bear me
out: There is no other mountain like this. It has no like, just as the anguish
of the Báb had no like, so that the Blessed Beauty wrote in the Visitation Tablet:
"I bear witness that the eye of creation hath never gazed upon one wronged
like Thee."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If, as scientists believe, our globe of dust detached itself
one way or another from the sun, and down through the endless ages came at last
to be as we know it, it is certain that wind and cloud, sun, moon, and sky
worked from the beginning that had no beginning to bring about this mountain of
Mah-Ku, in just this wise, to serve as the prison of the Báb. It is not a place
that writers and painters can describe, this spot that was the destined setting
against which the meekness of the Báb shone out. The reader must see the
mountain for himself, and the prison house and the place where the Lord made
Himself manifest, and he must then observe what the sight has done to his own
heart, and meditate on these things through long, wakeful nights and at many a
dawn, and then, if he can, let him write of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfl_L5AHkLKFOSnNa0wFDZfP19eX4gfZ8uMFyP9Kn5XX12pbtXvPHEq7IwYPlYSC-sVGZIatTcmG-vSbB7bU2afdPi1EYMYbVksR_rHdMzdJynQyk645MaoPBpePgDJ4TUhLwGFSgySJyj/s1600/Mah-Ku+circa+1950s-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1600" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfl_L5AHkLKFOSnNa0wFDZfP19eX4gfZ8uMFyP9Kn5XX12pbtXvPHEq7IwYPlYSC-sVGZIatTcmG-vSbB7bU2afdPi1EYMYbVksR_rHdMzdJynQyk645MaoPBpePgDJ4TUhLwGFSgySJyj/s320/Mah-Ku+circa+1950s-a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Mah-Ku circa 1950s</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">(Baha'i media Bank)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We are speaking of this when, after a brief detour from the
road in the frightening pass that leads through the mountain, we see on our
right a view of "the Open Mountain" and on its slopes the town of
Mah-Ku. At this point the pass, lying between Mah-Ku and another high mountain
that pushes into the sky across from it, widens out. And again we come face to
face with the heights of Mah-Ku. Then the pass narrows again as if it were the
mouth of the Fathomless Pit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The mountain stretches like a bow, between the entrance and
exit of the pass. It rises, awesome, overpowering, into the sky. It rivals the
moon's heights, and shuts the moon away. At either end of the bow, nature has
piled two massive towers, lifting out of the mountain, up and up into the Milky
Way. From a distance you would say these two are jailers, adding to the cruelty
of the Báb's imprisonment. Or again, that they are minarets from which was
raised the cry, "Hasten ye to salvation! Hasten ye to salvation! I bear
witness that He Who is 'Ali before Nabil [4] (‘Ali-Muhammad, the Báb) is the
Gate of the Remnant of God!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The city of Mah-Ku lies within the curve of the bow, the
opening of which is several hundred meters across; it clings to the steep
slopes, an almost perpendicular street rises jaggedly from house to house,
leading finally up to the mountain top.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Panting and sweating we climb toward the summit. Not all of
us, however. One or two of the band who set out from Khuy to make this
pilgrimage cannot keep on; the road is too rough, too steep. They cannot reach
that last point of all, the prison of the Báb. They complete their pilgrimage
by the roadside, and who knows, perhaps they show a special reverence in this.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As the Báb writes in the Tablet to Muhammad Shah, the castle
lies in the center of the mountain and there is no higher point. The slope ends
abruptly at the castle and above it there is not a span of earth where anything
could be built or find a foothold. Not jutting straight up in fortress-like
walls, but inverted here in a wide arc, the mountain becomes a great parasol or
cupola sheltering the prison place. Rain and snow cannot fall here; stars and
moon cannot cast down their light; only the cruel cold, the scorching heat can
enter here. For all day long in the heat of summer, the fortress and the
mountain, like a concave mirror, gather in the heat, and all night long, while
in other places people are restfully asleep, they radiate it back. And winter
times the cold is so intense that the water which the Báb used for His
ablutions froze on His face.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is here that the Monarch of love was beset by the legions
of tyranny, and the Dove of holiness prisoned by owls.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The two towers which nature has planted on the slopes of the
mountain seem from here more vigilant than ever, holding their Captive in full
view. A deep cleft runs crookedly from the summit all the way down the mountain
and across from the prison, like a knotted black cord hanging; thousands of
feet it swings down, a symbol of the anger of God. Perhaps it means that God
desires to pull down the mountain, to crush out nature and man as well. Yet
again, we believe that Mah-Ku, the prison of His Holiness, should exist
forever, that, as the ages unroll, the peoples of the earth may come at last to
understand some hint of the Báb's agony. So it is that the pull of the earth
has not been able to draw down this curving roof-like peak, raised up
"without pillars that can be seen" (Qur'an 31 :9) and that castle and
mountain stand in their place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is Mah-Ku . . .</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVH7wAxcWkWaykWlOt_u7Xl_JHi0TW2uf2wWWeXXZXF8-9DO2b7pBc4MYnyxFdWs9dCNVW2HckL6VxJh3tphWw5_nog4-AP6hLBz2p0hIgvb_fWb-Qe9Zyg9ccRxLZJvS3LLJ9ZjgDwKE/s1600/Mah-Ku-more+recent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVH7wAxcWkWaykWlOt_u7Xl_JHi0TW2uf2wWWeXXZXF8-9DO2b7pBc4MYnyxFdWs9dCNVW2HckL6VxJh3tphWw5_nog4-AP6hLBz2p0hIgvb_fWb-Qe9Zyg9ccRxLZJvS3LLJ9ZjgDwKE/s320/Mah-Ku-more+recent.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Mah-Ku, more recent</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The pilgrims, with two of the Baha'is who are pioneers at
Mah-Ku, reach only the base of the mountain at sunset. They must climb the
mountain before night shuts down, for at the summit is their long-desired goal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At this time we bring to mind what Shaykh Hasan-i-Zunuzi
said to the historian Nabil: That as the Báb dictated His Teachings at Mah-Ku,
the rhythmic flow of His chant could be heard by those who lived at the foot of
the mountain, and mountain and valley re-echoed His voice. What a melody that
must have been; how it must have shaken the spirit! Our ears strain now in the
effort to hear it again, or to catch the song of the Kingdom that reverberates
from slope to slope.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After long twisting and turning up the mountain we draw near
to the abode of the Well Beloved. Here is another "oratory" [5] at
the base of the walls; from the heart of the mountain, gushing beneath the
castle, a stream of pity and anguish jets out with a noise like sighs and sobs
and plunges down the mountain, scattering over the surface of a massive rock.
Here is clear delicate water, well-suited to this holy place, for our
ablutions. The friends are very careful not to muddy it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We come to the castle steps. Step after step, our yearning
mounts. Here then is the prison of the Lord of the Age. Here is the place where
they brought as a captive the Sovereign and Possessor of the earth, of Whom it
is written: "My Lord hath ordained that all which is and all which is not
should belong to the Adored One that liveth forever."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now we can make out His cell and that of His guards. The
sorrowing voice of the Báb, which could move a heart to its depths, seems to be
ringing against the mountain-side, and the sacred verses He addressed to
Muhammad Shah from this very place speak to our souls:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"I swear by the Most Great Lord! Wert thou to be told
in what place I dwell, the first person to have mercy on Me would be thyself.
In the heart of a mountain is a fortress . . . the inmates of which are
confined to two guards and four dogs. Picture, then, My plight ..."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All of us, in complete humility, praying and supplicating
God, visit the cells and rooms. We take up the dust of the holy place for a
blessing. We chant verses of the Báb:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"O Thou the Consolation of Mine eyes! Verily Thou art
the Great Announcement!" "O Thou Remnant of God! I have sacrificed
Myself wholly for Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake, and have yearned
for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We call to mind His Manifestation and His longing to offer
Himself up in death. The Visitation Tablet is chanted. As we stand there in the
dark of the night, we remember that the Holy Being spent His nights on the
mountain in total darkness; there was not even a candle for Him here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Our hearts are heavy; grief bows us down. But suddenly we
are comforted by the words of the Primal Point to His own Essence: "Be
patient, O Consolation of Mine eyes, for verily God hath vowed to establish Thy
glory in every land, amongst all that dwell on earth." Our minds are now
flooded with joy. It is as if from one end of the sky to the other a blinding
light shines down. We see that the Báb - Who in this place out of the very
depths of His captivity and His anguish revealed unnumbered utterances -
completely disregarded the prison, and continued to exercise that all-powerful,
all-pervasive Will, against which no worldly might prevails.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In His Book, the Persian Bayan, written on this mountain
top, from this dark and narrow cell, He alludes to His own glory; and with His
promise of World Order bestows new life on all mankind, and relates the
exaltation of His own eternal rank and station to the spreading awareness of
this Order.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the heart of this mountain the wrongs inflicted on Him
Whom the world has wronged stand before us. But in the heart of another
mountain, which seems now to rise face to face with this one and in sharp
contrast with this, the sovereignty, dominion and might of the Lord are made
manifest. The Guardian of Baha'u'llah's followers, the "primal
branch" that hath grown out "from the Twin Holy Trees," watches
us here, watches the two mountains. Here is Mah-Ku; and there is the holy
mountain where the Báb's body is laid to rest - named by Prophets thousands of
years back in time, the Mountain of God (Mt. Carmel). The King of Glory has
related that mountain to His own Self. The Heavenly Father has chosen that spot
to hold the dust of the Báb, and has set it apart as the center of His new
World Order.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The Mountain of Victory</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now that we speak of these things here at Mah-Ku in the
Báb's prison, and Mt. Carmel rises suddenly before us, it is not inappropriate
to turn our thoughts toward His everlasting resting place, so that we may note
how the long cruelties, the prison, and at last the bullets - intended, in the
words of the Almighty, to free mankind from the chains of self and passion -
were changed into abiding glory. How Baha'u'llah, in the pathway of Whose love
the Báb sought and found death, fulfilled the promises voiced by the Prophets
of God back through the endless ages, when He named Mt. Carmel as the Shrine of
the Báb. How at His command the blessed hands of 'Abdu'l-Baha reared the divine
edifice; how redemption of the promises set down in the Tablet of Carmel [6]
was entrusted to the mighty arm of Shoghi Effendi, the wondrous, unique and
priceless Guardian.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What is the best way to go on pilgrimage to the City that
has come down from heaven, as the Shrine of the Báb is called in the Tablet of
Carmel; the Shrine which, Baha'u'llah tells us, Mt. Zion circumambulates? Shall
we take the path that leads from the Pilgrims' House all the way to the Tomb
-the house that after its builder is named Ja'far-Ábád? 'Abdu'l-Baha said that
Háfiz referred to this house when he wrote:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Between Ja'far-Abad and Musallá</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Laden with ambergris the north wind blows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Or, as in the case of Mah-Ku, when we looked first at the
mountain itself, shall we contemplate the Shrine from a distance and set these
two mountains against each other and compare them each to each? I think this
last is best. . . .</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We follow the Guardian over the flowering slopes of Haifa.
They seem to glitter with colored gems and pearls, like a bride at her wedding,
and we repeat to ourselves the lines, "From every branch within the
blossoming grove, a thousand petals are cast before the king." We observe
the Guardian's gait, and we think that if men's eyes were seeing eyes, this in
itself would be proof enough.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We have watched the sea in the sunset and now we are
returning. We look upon Carmel, heart of the world, and at its center the Báb's
Shrine, heart of Carmel. We see its terraces from far away, burning like lighted
torches before the eyes of its builder. The Guardian smilingly contemplates all
this. His voice, strong and clear, rings down the mountain; he is saying,
"Terraces of light; light upon light." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">His words echo back from the slopes and the sea. We think of
the contrast between those long nights on Mah-Ku, when the Báb was denied even
a candle, and now, when the terraces of His Shrine are light upon light, the
face of the building is a solid sheet of light, the whole mountain is to blaze
with light.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We remember two lines that were chanted by 'Abdu'l-Baha:
"Glad tidings, glad tidings! Zion is dancing! Glad tidings, glad tidings!
The Kingdom of God whirls in delight!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Instead of panting and struggling up the narrow-twisted road
at Mah-Ku, stopping at times because we can climb no more, here we can rest on
every terrace in the midst of gardens and trees, in lovely settings of
mountainside and sea. Pools and fountains are to be built here that will
reflect the sky and heaven. Each terrace is dedicated to one of the Letters of
the Living, and we are received as it were by him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We forget our sorrows, as we take deep breaths of the
delicate air. No longer is the Báb a captive on Mah-Ku. He rests in the divine
gardens on the Mountain of God. He lies across the Bay of Haifa from His
Well-Beloved, Baha'u'llah, the Point of Adoration, Him Whom God made manifest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Abdu'l-Baha, Who had cast aside His turban and wept and
sobbed aloud as, with His own hands, He laid the Báb's body in the heart of
Carmel, Himself rests now beside the Báb. The companion who died with the Báb
has never been separated from Him. Near them are built the tombs of the Most
Exalted Leaf, and of the brother, the mother, and consort of 'Abdu'l-Baha.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">From the foot of the mountain all the way to the Shrine, the
nine terraces rise in memory of nine Letters of the Living, and, in accord with
the Guardian's design, from the Shrine to the summit of Mt. Carmel nine more
shall complete the number.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The beloved Guardian, called by the Master "My
Shoghi," was from his early childhood enamored of the Báb. He dreamed of
the Báb, and he was named Rabbani in memory of the Báb's title Rabb-i-A'lá. It
is he who, standing on the heights of the Shrine, drew the geometric designs of
the terraces. He laid out the gardens, and established the International Baha'i
Endowments about the Shrine. He has placed here the International Archives, of
whose treasures Baha'u'llah had promised, "Ere long souls will be raised
up who will preserve every holy relic in the most perfect manner." The
portrait of the Báb, drawn in Urumiyyih and gazed upon by Baha'u'lIah Himself,
is here. Here too are His outer garments and His shirt, soaked in His blood. A
copy of the portrait and locks of the Bab's hair have been sent as a historic
gift to the Baha'i House of Worship in the United States, which has been
completed under the Guardianship of Shoghi Effendi; and the Guardian has
promised a copy to Persia, cradle of the Faith, as soon as the first Persian
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is built.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Guardian has added to the Shrine on Mt. Carmel three
rooms built according to the same plan as those already constructed by the
Master. He has extended the length, width and height of the Shrine, and is now
protecting the Edifice like a pearl of great price within the shell of an
arcade and crowning it with a balustrade set with panels, the central one to
the north bearing a great green and gold mosaic of the Greatest Name.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is the Guardian who has widely spread the works of the
Báb. In "The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah" he has set forth the
exalted station of the Báb. By translating the narrative of Nabil he has
published the days of the Báb across the earth. He has seen to it that in every
area the Centenaries of the Báb's Declaration and of His Martyrdom were
befittingly celebrated. Across over a hundred countries he has added thousands
upon thousands of souls to the company of those who love the Báb, and he is
looking for yet more countries to come.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At this time the Guardian is concentrating his labors on
completion of the Edifice, importing marbles and granite and other priceless
rock materials that had lain in the earth down endless ages until at last they
should serve for the building of just such a Shrine -rock materials in jade and
rose, that are symbols of the Báb's lineage and the way He died. Following the
architect's design (you can see it in color, in the pages of that mirror of
Baha'i activities around the globe, The Baha'i World) , [7] the arcade and
balustrade have been completed, and the Guardian is now working day and night
to direct completion of the superstructure and rear the great golden dome. Then
the light will pour out of this source of light and envelop all mankind, and
the "people of Baha" referred to in the Tablet of Carmel will be made
manifest, and God will sail His ark upon His holy mountain, and the laws of God
will be made known to all men, and the Tabernacle of the Lord of Hosts will be
pitched on the heights of Carmel, and the divine World Order be unveiled; and
there near the resting place of the Most Exalted Leaf (the sister of
'Abdu'l-Baha) and the other blessed ones, and in the neighborhood of the Holy
Shrine, the Universal House of Justice will be established, and the promise
"Then shalt thou see the Abha paradise on earth" will be redeemed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsgfmDiBzEgYSOCG9aauO5MGxOKrnvOQ9UFASS32McJ21dUEOcUNPW0kcjjpJqPBtQYFbenbJ27L79OmU6eCXuEAKDXJ66cr-8HVuil1B2ig-Pn9daeznN0-Bc02c2D7wUBsO8FJlBka6/s1600/Shrine+of+the+Bab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="800" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVsgfmDiBzEgYSOCG9aauO5MGxOKrnvOQ9UFASS32McJ21dUEOcUNPW0kcjjpJqPBtQYFbenbJ27L79OmU6eCXuEAKDXJ66cr-8HVuil1B2ig-Pn9daeznN0-Bc02c2D7wUBsO8FJlBka6/s320/Shrine+of+the+Bab.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Let us go into the gardens around the Shrine-Tomb. Let us
walk there on the Mountain of God, and "unravel the mysteries of love from
its windflowers," for "solaced are the eyes of them that enter and
abide therein!" Let us see with our own eyes how "the rose-gardens
that grow around His Holy Tomb have become the pleasure-spot of all kinds and
conditions of men," how the flower beds and fruit-bearing trees cluster so
thick around the Shrine. Visitors, not Baha'is, will tell you these fresh and
green and delicate gardens have no equal anywhere else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When the famed Orientalist A. L. M. Nicolas, who had longed
to see the Báb's Shrine exalted, received as a gift from Shoghi Effendi a copy
of its design, together with a copy of The Dawn-Breakers of Nabil, he was so
moved that he kissed the bearer's hand. Strangers love this place, how much
more do the friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Within the holy precincts we put on slippers and anoint
ourselves with rose water poured out by the Guardian himself, this wonderful
personage who has arisen "with the most perfect form, most great gift,
most complete perfection." His handsome face is so phenomenally bright
that the Master wrote, "His face shineth with a brightness whereby the
horizons are illumined."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Within the Shrine his voice, resonant, haunting, lifts in
the Visitation prayer:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"The praise which hath dawned from Thy most august
Self, and the glory which hath shone forth from Thy most effulgent Beauty, rest
upon Thee ... " <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I wonder if I am awake or in a dream. "Bless Thou, O
Lord my God, the Divine Lote-Tree and its leaves, and its boughs, and its
branches . . . as long Thy most excellent titles will endure and Thy most
august attributes will last."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If we observe the Guardian when he places flower petals on
the threshold of the Báb's sepulcher, we shall see as he strews the roses and
violets there how intense are the stirrings of His love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Today from the mountain of Mah-Ku the anguished cry of the
Báb is raised no more:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"In this mountain I have remained alone, and have come
to such a pass that none of those gone before Me have suffered what I have
suffered, nor any transgressor endured what I have endured!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With these great victories, these new and mighty
institutions, surely the sorrow of His heart is stilled at last, and out of the
verses of the Bayán He is calling: "Well is it with him who fixeth his
gaze upon the Order of Baha'u'llah and rendereth thanks unto His Lord!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Today the Báb is not alone on the mountain any more:
"The people of the Supreme Horizon and the presences who dwell in the
eternal paradise circle around His Shrine." The love of the Baha'is around
the globe, from Anchorage to Magallanes, from farthest East to farthest West,
gathered within the shelter of the Branch of the Sinaitic Tree, centers on this
place and is offered up continuously to Him; while the Guardian labors by day
and by night to bring to pass the prophecy of the Master when He said:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"I see the ships of all the kings of the world berthed
at the docks of Haifa. I see the sovereigns disembark. Bareheaded and
barefooted, and carrying on their shoulders vases studded with jewels, they
advance toward the Shrine."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And to fulfill these written words set down by the Pen of
Glory:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"After that which is inevitable shall have come to
pass, these very kings and presidents will follow in the footsteps of the
champions of the Cause of God. They will enter the field of service. They will
fling in the dust the crowns of their perishable sovereignty and place on their
heads the diadems of utter servitude, and in the front ranks of the pioneers
they will labor with all their heart, with all their possessions, with all that
God in His bounty hath bestowed</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">upon
them, to spread this Faith. And when their labors are completed they will
hasten to this sacred place, and in complete humility, supplicating God, bowing
down before Him, in utter lowliness, they will circle round the Holy Shrines,
and lifting their voices will cry out to heaven, extolling and magnifying and
glorifying the Lord, and they will unveil and establish before all the peoples
of the earth the incalculable greatness of this almighty Faith."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In this unfaithful world, this house of grief, where all
things die except the Face of the Beloved, where in a little while there will
be no sign of us left, let us bequeath to those who will come after us an
enduring proof of what we feel. So that they will remember us, who lived in the
days of the first Guardian; so that they will tell one another, for five
thousand centuries to come, how we loved the Primal Point.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">[1] Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, page 53</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">[2] The Dawn-Breakers, pages 309-310. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">[3] Mashhad is in the northeast corner of Persia; Mah-Ku in
the extreme northwest comer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">[4] According to the abjad reckoning, "Nabil" and </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Muhammad" are numerical equivalents, the letters
of each word totaling 92.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">[5] Musallá, "The Oratory," a favorite resort of
the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">poet Háfiz near Shiraz, watered by the stream of </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ruknábad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">[6] In Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">pages 14-17.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(The Baha'i World 1950-1954)</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-30645869165447862362019-07-17T21:03:00.000-07:002019-11-08T21:53:34.953-08:00‘Abdu’l-Baha, The Center of the Covenant – by Juliet Thompson<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88bVrAgCJvowmhpMGE9BGKNwEOG4W62j4xY9isycuzV5gdtOT9b4nTdw2de2foybQFXuPjJMNwtyDWI2jXnEWTiB_GEDLiJnMMQRP0ZPwVhuUS78wx3rJ2SIeW0KkVwCb3Wx_l6zP1jLQ/s1600/Juliet+Thompson+in+her+studio-a-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88bVrAgCJvowmhpMGE9BGKNwEOG4W62j4xY9isycuzV5gdtOT9b4nTdw2de2foybQFXuPjJMNwtyDWI2jXnEWTiB_GEDLiJnMMQRP0ZPwVhuUS78wx3rJ2SIeW0KkVwCb3Wx_l6zP1jLQ/s320/Juliet+Thompson+in+her+studio-a-1.jpg" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Juliet Thompson in her studio</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>'Abdu’l-Baha: Vibrant Personality and Unique Function of the
Figure Who Heralds the Golden Age</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In these days when a civilization is dying before our very
eyes, and when the great Prophet, Baha’u’llah, has appeared, standing on the
threshold of a new age with a scroll of new commandments in His hand, two other
Figures stand with Him, of heart-captivating beauty: - the youthful Báb, His
Forerunner, equal in rank with Him as an independent Revelator, and the Son of
Baha'u'llah, 'Abdu'l-Baha. “’Abdu'l-Baha", translated, means "Servant
of the Glory", and this is His self-assumed title. Baha'u'llah entitled
Him ‘The Master’".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the language of Shoghi Effendi, the present Guardian of
the Baha'i Faith, 'Abdu'l-Baha "holds not only in the Dispensation of
Baha'u'lIah, but in the entire field of religious history, a unique function.
Though moving in a sphere of His own and holding a rank radically different
from that of the Author and the Forerunner of the Baha'i Revelation, He, by
virtue of the station ordained for Him through the Covenant of Baha'u'llah
forms, together with Them, what may be termed the Three Central Figures of a
Faith unapproached in the world's spiritual history. He towers, in conjunction
with Them, above the destinies of this infant Faith of God from a level to
which no individual or body ministering to its needs after Him, and for no less
a period than a thousand years, can ever hope to rise."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Among the many titles conferred by His Father on
'Abdu'l-Baha is that of "The Mystery of God". The Guardian, referring
to these titles, writes that they "invest Him with a power and surround
Him with a halo which the present generation can never adequately
appreciate."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We, of course, are of this generation, and the hearts that
are grateful to 'Abdu'l-Baha have realized with sorrow the truth of the
Guardian's words: - we cannot "appreciate" such grandeur, nor the
significance of such a station. We stand too close to this tremendous Figure to
envision its overshadowing of the future, and are too imperfect, at our stage of
development, to perceive in its fullness the beauty of the Perfect. We have but
one hope: - As, in reality, we love and follow the Servant of God, His
"halo" shines for us, and, seeing it, we adore "the
Mystery". The heart made bold by love can scale great heights - though not
such heights as His.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Guardian has unveiled for us in one incomparable
sentence the meaning of the title, "The Mystery of God", leaving it,
in its essence, still a mystery. "In the person of 'Abdu'l-Baha," he
says, "the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman
knowledge and perfections have been blended and completely harmonized."
Thus He, the Perfect Man, is a bridge between man in his "station of
servitude" and that forever mysterious Being, the Manifestation of God.
He, indeed, is our link with Baha'u'llah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To glimpse something ' of the beauty of the Name,
'Abdu'l-Baha, and of the Master's choice of it, to understand why the Guardian
calls it "the magic Name", and to feel its power over the heart, let
us recall the Baha'i conception of the station of servitude.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The Servant of the Glory</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">According to the Baha'i Teaching, man has no approach to the
Essence of Deity save through the Revelator, whose human temple is so pervaded
by the burning energy of the Holy Spirit, or creative Word of God, that He is
as a sun to His age. The outpourings of light from the Essence mingle with and
use His pure Being. Man through Him is made aware of God. Yet even He claims no
access to unknowable Deity. And just as the Revelator Himself stands in a World
of His own, below the World of Deity, so man is in a fixed station - that of
servitude - beyond which he cannot pass. Yet so great is this station of
servitude that only the evolved and selfless soul can rise to its high requirements:
- true service to God and to man. Baha'u'llah has said: "Verily Man is not
called Man until he becomes adorned with the attributes of the Merciful."
And Jesus said: "He that is greatest among you shall be your
servant."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So we see 'Abdu'l-Baha, destined from birth to fulfill
"a unique function in all religious history", endowed from birth with
superhuman perfections, yet choosing a name which places the emphasis on His
human nature, identifies Him with man's station. At the same time He uplifts
for us the sublimity of this station, unveiling in His own Being its manifold
"new virtues" and the splendor of its future - while forever He
towers above it, its Exemplar. "'Abdu'l-Baha, the Servant of Baha, has
clad himself in the mantle of servitude and devotion for the beloved of Baha.
Verily this is a great victory."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The Perfect Exemplar</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is Shoghi Effendi who designates 'Abdu'l-Baha the Perfect
Man, the "Exemplar" of the Baha'i Faith. That is, His life, in its
perfection, is not only the pure example to our generation, but to a re-born
human race, who will follow Baha'u'llah through all the future centuries till
the close of His Dispensation. Man, we are told, is now in his "turbulent
adolescence", about to come of age. His maturity will then unfold, his
latent spiritual powers, including more subtle senses, will appear; his
unclouded reality will radiate the “new virtues". To such a race as this,
unimaginable now, 'Abdu'l-Baha will still be the Exemplar. And such a race as
this will have developed the consciousness wherewith to "adequately
appreciate" Him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Before we consider His great appointment under the Will and
Testament of His Father as "Center and Pivot of Baha'u'llah's peerless and
all-enfolding Covenant", let us look back into that perfect life. Let us
look for a moment into His childhood, His tenth year, when a world-shaking
event occurred in His presence - and His alone. This was the first Declaration
of Baha'u'llah made in 1853 in Baghdad, where He, with His Family, then lived
in exile, - the exact fulfillment of the Báb's prophecy that in "the Year
Nine" (corresponding with 1853) "He Whom God would make
manifest" would announce Himself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was in the preceding year, in Tihran, and in a dungeon,
that Baha'u'llah first woke to His world Mission. Accused as a follower of the
Báb who had just been put to death, He, too, sat awaiting death, bowed under
heavy chains; when in a dream one night He heard these words, resounding from
all sides:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and
by Thy Pen. Grieve Thou not for that which hath befallen Thee, neither be Thou
afraid, for Thou art in safety. Ere long will God raise up the treasures of the
earth - men who will aid Thee through Thy Name, wherewith God hath revived the
hearts of such as have recognized Him."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When, by the intervention of the Russian ambassador,
Baha'u'llah was released and returned to His plundered home, and His beggared
family, the nimbus of the Prophet rested upon Him. "He returned," His
daughter has said, "a changed Father." To this "changed
Father" 'Abdu'l-Baha, then only a little child, gave up His whole heart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Of that first Declaration of Baha'u'llah, made to His Son
alone, we have the account of 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself, given sixty years later.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“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."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The sacrifice, of life at least, was accepted, and prolonged
for fifty-six years in prison and exile, within the limitations of which
'Abdu'l-Baha was faithful to a servitude, incessant as the beating of the
heart, to God and man. With all who came to Him in the Prison of 'Akka seeking
alms or wisdom, with the countless pilgrims who in the end found their way to
that prison, in a vast correspondence with East and West, day and night He
labored. He took no rest, allowing Himself but two or three hours of sleep.
Even beyond these fifty-six years was the sacrifice prolonged. When the
commutation of His life-sentence opened for Him world opportunities, as He
traveled throughout Europe and America, His door stood open from dawn to
midnight. High and low flocked to that door and none was turned away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Forty of those years of exile were passed at the side of His
Father, at times in a close imprisonment all but insupportable to the flesh. It
was in 'Akka, Syria, a Turkish penal colony, that Baha’u’llah and His family
spent these darkest days, confined in a fortress - He and His Son in chains. To
this penal colony more than seventy disciples had chosen to follow their
beloved Lord, accompanying Him from Adrianople, preferring captivity with Him
to freedom in their own homes. And now, in the terrible "Barracks" of
'Akka, during a period of two years, these were all herded into one room, men,
women and children, with the delicately reared family of Baha'u'llah. The room
had an adjoining alcove, in which Baha'u'llah was placed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the stories we have of those days, through all the
intolerable physical misery we hear the high ring of 'Abdu'l-Baha's gaiety
cheering His fellow-prisoners. We see Him nursing with His own hands the sick
and the dying among them, as many - in that one room - fell victims to dreadful
contagious diseases. When the jailers fastened chains upon Him, we can sense
the sweetness of His tones answering their astonished question: "How is it
you laugh and sing when prisoners ironed in this way usually cry out, weep and
lament?" "I rejoice because you are doing me a great kindness; you
are making me very happy. For a long time I have wished to know the feelings of
a prisoner in irons, to experience what other men have been subjected to. I
have heard of this; now you have taught me what it is. You have given me this
opportunity. Therefore I sing and am very happy. I am very thankful to
you."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To skip years: - one of His daughters gave me a little
vignette of the bombardment of Haifa during the last war. "When it
began," she said, "the Master gathered us all around Him and told us
such enchanting stories that we forgot the guns."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Human experience, bitter at best - for Him raised to the
degree of torture - He accepted with divine gallantry, an ecstatic secret
exultation. To the believers of Mazindaran, singled out at the time for
martyrdom, He wrote: "Let things go by with a smile .... This is not the
first blood that has been shed on the plain of Karbila."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">From the first we find 'Abdu'l-Baha decisive and endowed
with a strange power. While His Father was still in the dungeon in Tihran and
'Abdu'l-Baha but eight years old, the wife of Baha'u'llah, returning one day
from her sister's house to which she went daily in the hope of receiving news
of her husband, found her little son in the street, surrounded by a band of
older boys who had gathered to molest Him. "He was standing straight as an
arrow in their midst, quietly commanding them not to lay hands on Him. Which,
strange to say," the story ends, "they seemed unable to do."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Another picture of this commanding power comes down to us
from His early youth. At that time the most terrible crisis which Baha'u'llah
and His family ever had to meet, developed in Adrianople, where again they were
on the eve of banishment. A banishment far more cruel than the three that had
preceded it, for now this uniquely united family was to be torn asunder,
Baha'u'llah sent to a distant city, a secret destination, His wife and children
to another secret destination; forever parted, and forever lost, one to the
other. 'Abdu'l-Baha sought out the officials. Again and again He went to them.
What he said has not been recorded -- only that "He pleaded",
"He persisted", and that the officials "seemed unable to put the
measure into execution." While this measure was pending, news of it
reached the believers of Adrianople and they rushed in a body to the house of
Baha'u'llah, frantic at the thought of separation from Him. One old man seized
a knife and crying, “if I must be separated from my Lord, I will go now and
join my God," cut his throat. A scene of wild confusion followed, during
which a cordon of police surrounded the frenzied crowd and brutally attempted
to control it. It was then that 'Abdu'l-Baha suddenly appeared in their midst.
We sense a lightning flash of power, a superhuman force, as we read of His
"impassioned and vehement words", denouncing the cruelty of the
police, demanding the presence of the governor. "We had never
before," said His sister, in telling the story, "seen my brother
angry." So swift was the effect of this anger that the governor was at
once sent for. He hurried to the scene and, witnessing it, said: "We cannot
separate these people. It is impossible."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thus it was that seventy devotees found themselves
imprisoned in one room with their Divine Beloved.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We are told that from the hour of Baha'u'llah's first
Declaration made to His little Son, this Son "seemed to constitute Himself
His Father's special attendant and servant." At that tender age in
Baghdad, His first thought was to protect His Father. With an eagerness that
moves the heart, He made a shield of His own young body to ward off the
insincere and, while Baha’u’llah sat writing those sacred Books which are
destined to guide a world, to guard His seclusion from intruders.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As 'Abdu'l-Baha grew into early manhood in Baghdad it is
said His beauty was so great that when He walked in the street ladies screened
by their lattices threw roses on Him. Only a few years later we find Him in
chains in the fortress of 'Akka.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As the years went by this imprisonment in 'Akka became less
and less rigorous, for no governor could resist the unearthly attractive power
which radiated from their captives, Father and Son. Yet they were never wholly
out of danger. Time after time disturbances brought about with the Persian and
Turkish governments threatened them with death. Always confined within the
walls of 'Akka, at first in the Barracks, later in a small house, later still
on one floor of a house, they were permitted after some years to walk in the
streets of that stark white prison-city, treeless, hot, malarial. Another long
period of years and Haifa, twelve miles from 'Akka, was included in their
sphere of liberty. Toward the close of His life, Baha'u'llah lived in Bahji, a
beautiful country-place on the sea near 'Akka. Its name, chosen by Him, means
Joy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Stronghold of the Faith</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The earthly life of Baha'u'llah ended in 1892, and from the
hour when His Will and Testament was read, 'Abdu'lBaha was recognized as the
Center and Pivot of His Covenant.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Thou knowest, O My God," Baha'u'llah prays,
"that I desire for Him naught except that which Thou didst desire and have
chosen Him for no purpose save that for which Thou hadst intended Him."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In this unparalleled institution, the Covenant, of which
'Abdu'l-Baha is appointed the Center and the sole Interpreter of the Words of
Baha'u'llah, in which the Baha'is are required to turn to this Center in
perfect obedience (that obedience which only love evokes), we find the great
stronghold of the Baha'i Faith. For this function of sole Interpreter implies
the reading of the sacred Books by the same divine light that revealed them,
and guards the Faith forever from those schisms which have rent other religious
systems into countless sects.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And now, in His clear and incisive explanations of His
Father's Will, in His firm insistence that all Baha'is strictly adhere to its
provisions, we see again in 'Abdu'l-Baha a tower of strength and commanding
power.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For there is nothing more vital to the Faith of Baha'u'llah
than the preservation of its unity. A religion which has for its object the
establishment of the Oneness of Mankind must be in itself an organic unity and
must, like a sound body, served by all its cells, remain a living unit through
its all-pervading Spirit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the subject of the Covenant 'Abdu'l-Baha writes, among
many other statements:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Were it not for the protecting power of the Covenant
to guard the impregnable fort of the Cause of God, there would arise among the
Baha'Is, in one day, a thousand different sects, as was the case in former
ages, but in this Blessed Dispensation, for the sake of permanency of the Cause
of God and the avoidance of dissension amongst the people of God, the Blessed
Beauty (may my life be a sacrifice to Him) has through the Supreme Pen written
the Covenant and Testament; He appointed a Center, the Exponent of the Book and
the Annuller of disputes. Whatsoever is written by Him is conformable to truth
and under the protection of the Blessed Beauty. He is infallible."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"As to the most great characteristic, and it is a
specific teaching of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah and not given by any of the
Prophets of the Past, - it is the teaching concerning the Center of the
Covenant. By giving the teaching concerning the Center of the Covenant, He made
a provision against all kinds of differences, so that no man should be able to
create a new sect."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"My purpose is to convey to you that it is your duty to
guard the Religion of God, so that none shall be able to assail it outwardly or
inwardly. If you see injurious teachings coming from an individual, no matter
who that individual may be, even though He be my own son, know ye verily that I
am quit of him."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thus sternly speaks "the Lover of the East", who
for Himself would accept no title but that of the Servant, in protection of the
Covenant of Baha'u'llah.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We now see 'Abdu'l-Baha, through the appointment of
Baha'u'llah, as embodied Authority to all who profess themselves believers. Yet
the great import of this appointment was not fully revealed till the ascension
of 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself, when in His own Will and Testament was found the
amazing sequel to His Father's Will, the further unfolding of the Master-Plan -
the Plan of the Divine Revelator for a New World Order.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This we will consider later. Let us now turn to other
passages in the sacred writings of Baha'u'llah referring to 'Abdu'l-Baha's
station of Mystery. For the obedience of the Baha'is to their Source of light
is of a two-fold nature: a strict obedience to the outer laws through which
order will be restored in a chaotic world, and obedience to those inner laws of
Spirit, exemplified in the Being of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Without this last deepest
obedience, the form, however imposing its structure, can never give life to the
world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Look at me," said 'Abdu'l-Baha - and none but He
could dare say this - "Look at me, follow me, be as I am; take no thought
for yourselves or your lives, whether ye eat, or whether ye sleep, whether ye
are comfortable, whether ye are well or ill, whether ye are with friends or
foes; . . . for all these things ye must care not at all. Look at me and be as
I am; ye must die to yourselves and to the world that ye may be born again and
enter the kingdom of heaven. Behold a candle, how it gives its light. It weeps
its life away drop by drop in order to give forth its flame of light."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Of Him, in the Tablet of the Branch, Baha'u'llah writes:
“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,
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."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In other Tablets addressed to 'Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'u'llah
writes in His own hand: "We pray God to illumine the world through Thy
knowledge and wisdom." And in another: "The Glory of God rest upon
Thee and upon whosoever serveth Thee and circleth around Thee." "We
have made Thee a shelter for all mankind, a shield unto all who are in heaven
and earth, a stronghold for whosoever hath believed in God, the Incomparable,
the All-knowing."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Praise be to Him," again writes Baha'u'llah to
'Abdu'lBaha, who had set forth for Beirut, "Who hath honored the land of
Ba (Beirut) through the footsteps of Him round Whom all names revolve ....
Blessed, doubly blessed, is the ground which His footsteps have trodden, the
eye that hath been cheered by the beauty of His countenance, the ear that hath
been honored by hearkening to His call, the heart that hath felt the sweetness
of His love." In this same Tablet Baha'u'llah refers to His Son as
"The great, the most mighty Branch of God - His ancient and immutable
Mystery."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Speaking from the heights of His divine humility, and from
His knowledge of the essence of His station of servitude, 'Abdu'l-Baha
interprets the Tablet of the Branch thus: "I affirm that the true meaning,
the real significance, the innermost secret of these verses, of these very
words, is my own servitude to the sacred Threshold of the Abha Beauty, my
complete self-effacement, my utter nothingness before Him. This is my resplendent
crown, my most precious adorning." And, in this connection, as the
Guardian tells us, He writes: "I am, according to the explicit texts of
the Kitab-i-Aqdas and the Kitab-i-'Ahd, the manifest Interpreter of the Word of
God .... Whoso deviates from my interpretation is a victim of his own
fancy."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Even should we dare, in the face of such statements, to
attempt to lift the veil lowered by a divine hand - to pry into the forbidden -
we are wholly incapable of understanding, much less interpreting, these words
of Baha'u'llah that refer to the Mystery of God. Yet awareness is not forbidden
and the Master Himself has shown us the way to awareness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Turn with thy breast unto the heart of
'Abdu'l-Baha," He, Himself, writes, "and then this concealed fact will
be disclosed, the Hidden Mystery [be] unveiled to thee." "O ye
friends! Turn the mirrors of your hearts toward mine. Unquestionably the
mysteries of this heart shall be reflected upon those hearts and the emotions
of this longing one shall become manifest and evident." "I am the
lamp and the love of God is my light. The light hath become reflected in the
mirrors of hearts. Therefore turn thou unto thy heart, that is, when it is in
the utmost freedom, and behold how the radiance of my love is manifest in that
mirror and thou art near unto me…</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Turn
thou unto the Kingdom of Abha, until thou mayest comprehend my mysteries."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>In the Image of ‘Abdu’l-Baha</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the combined activities of meditation and service, in the
outcry for understanding expressed through prayer, and that other form of
outcry, the endeavor to pattern our lives on His sublime life - and in unity
with one another - lies the secret of approach to this veiled Figure in the
midmost heart of the Covenant which Baha'u'llah has taken with His believers.
Herein lies also the secret whereby our Faith may burn through the thick
darkness of the world around us. For not till our lives become glowing
examples, not till the love of which His heart is the channel to "quicken
mouldering bones" is reflected into our own hearts; not till we love as
those early heroes, the Dawn-Breakers, loved; not till the mirrored image of
'Abdu'l-Baha, God's "charge within us", actually “stands within"
us, will we radiate that power which alone can change the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Let us look once more into our beloved Exemplar's 'life.
First, another fleeting glance into that life bounded by prison walls and yet
unlimited; then into His days of freedom when, the doors of His prison having
opened through the downfall of two sovereigns, His royal jailers - the Sultan
of Turkey, the Shah of Persia - He went forth into the world, the Pioneer of
pioneers, embodying in His every act, before the eyes of Europe and America,
the Holy Teachings His eloquence spread.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In 'Akka He was known as the Father of the Poor. Once a week
He gathered into His garden the maim, the halt, the blind and the lepers. Here
He would walk up and down among them, with His majestic tread and His tender
ways, pausing before each one to embrace him, to give to each one some special
word of cheer, taking even lepers into His arms. He would then press into the
palm of each money enough to sustain him till his next visit. For as He wittily
said to a friend who questioned the wisdom of charity: “Assuredly give to the
poor. If you give them nothing but words, when they put their hands into their
pockets after you have gone, they will find themselves none the richer for
you."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This moving scene in the garden has been witnessed by many
Western pilgrims. It happened once a week, on Friday. Then He called the poor
and the suffering to Him. But every day and night He went to them, seeking them
out Himself in their own wretched hovels. One of the Persian believers said to
me: "There is not an alley in 'Akka I do not know, nor a prison cell, for
I have followed the footsteps of my Lord."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Monstrously sinned against, too great was He to claim the
right to forgive. In His almost off-hand brushing aside of a cruelty, in the
ineffable sweetness with which He ignored it, it was as though He said:
Forgiveness belongs only to God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">An example of this was His memorable meeting with the royal
prince, Zillah Sultan, brother of the Shah of Persia, Muhammad 'Ali Shah. Not
alone 'Abdu'l-Baba, but a great number of His followers, band after band of Baha'i
martyrs, had suffered worse than death at the hands of these two princes. When
the downfall of the Shah, with that of the Sultan of Turkey, set 'Abdu'l-Baba
at liberty, 'Abdu'l-Baha, beginning His journey through Europe, went first to
Thonon-les-Bains on the Lake of Geneva. The exiled Shah was then somewhere in
Europe; Zillah-Sultan, also in exile with his two sons, had fled to Geneva.
Thus 'Abdu'l-Baha, the exonerated and free, and Zillah Sultan, the fugitive,
were almost within a stone's throw of each other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the suite of 'Abdu'l-Baha was a distinguished European
who had visited Persia and there met Zillah Sultan. One day when the European
was standing on the balustraded terrace of the hotel in Thonon and 'Abdu'l-Baha
was pacing to and fro at a little distance, Zillah Sultan approached the
terrace.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Abdu'l-Baha was wearing, as always, the turban, the long
white belted robe and long 'aba of Persia. His hair, according to the ancient
custom of the Persian nobility, flowed to His shoulders. Zillah Sultan, after
greeting the European, immediately asked:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Who is that Persian nobleman?"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"'Abdu'l-Baha."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Take me to Him."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In describing the scene later, the European said:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"If you could have heard the wretch mumbling his
miserable excuses!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But 'Abdu'l-Baha took
the prince in His arms.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"All that is of the past," He answered,
"Never think of it again. Send your two sons to see me. I want to meet
your sons."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They came, one at a time. Each spent a day with the Master.
The first, though an immature boy, nevertheless showed Him great deference. The
second, older and more sensitive, left the room of 'Abdu'l-Baha, where he had
been received alone, weeping uncontrollably.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"If only I could be born again," he said,
"into any other family than mine."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For not only had many Baha'is been martyred during his
uncle's reign (upwards of a hundred by his father's instigation), and the life
of 'Abdu'l-Baha threatened again and again, but his grandfather, Násir'd-Din
Shah, had ordered the execution of the Báb, as well as the torture and death of
thousands of Bábís. The young prince was "born again" - a Baha'i.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Shortly before this meeting of 'Abdu'l-Baha and the brother
of the Shah, the Master had passed through the greatest crisis of His life,
when the Sultan, 'Abdu'I-Hamid, was on the very brink of issuing an order for
His execution. An investigating committee had been sent from Constantinople to
try 'Abdu'l-Baha for treason and had pronounced Him guilty. But it was while
they were still on the sea on their way back to Constantinople that the young
Turks rose overnight and dethroned the Sultan. During those days of waiting for
death on the cross, the Spanish consul conceived a plan to rescue 'Abdu'l-Baha
by spiriting Him away on an Italian ship. But in telling the story afterward
'Abdu'l-Baha said:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"I thought: The Bab did not run away; Baha'u'llah did
not run away and now neither will I run away. I will not deliver myself. Then
God delivered me! The cannon of God boomed before the palace of
'Abdu'I-Hamid!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Throughout Europe and America for the greater part of three
years - 1911, 1912 and 1913 - went 'Abdu'l-Baha, uplifting with His magic
eloquence the Teachings of His Father, speaking on the platform of many
churches, universities, synagogues and progressive movements, calling the world
to a realization of its essential oneness and to the establishment of universal
peace, warning the world of the terrible wars to come should it fail to turn
toward peace - and God; serving innumerable individuals; shaking the hearts by
His dynamic Love; rousing many to a momentary wakefulness. How drowsy must have
been that generation to have fallen again into so sound asleep!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The effect of 'Abdu'l-Baha on those multitudes who saw and
heard Him certainly promised other results. As He walked among the people, an
Immortal in a less than human world, with His ineffable beauty, His
scintillating power, His strange, unearthly majesty, eyes full of wonder followed
Him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The poet, Kahlil Gibran, said: "For the first time I
saw form noble enough to be the receptacle for Holy Spirit!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">An atheist went to a church to hear Him speak and later
eagerly sought Him at His house. When this atheist was asked: "Did you
feel the greatness of 'Abdu'l-Baha?" he indignantly replied: "Would
you feel the greatness of Niagara?"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Those who met Him perceived no more than their capacity
could register. A society woman exclaimed: "Such beauty - the beauty of
strength! And such charm! Why, He is a perfect man of the world!" And
another society woman who had talked at length with Him: "You can hide
nothing from Him! He looked into my heart and discovered all its secrets."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A woman in sorrow, passing through a cruel experience, said:
"He took all the bitterness out of my heart." A famous playwright,
when he came from the room of 'Abdu'l-Baha, declared: "I have been in the
presence of God!" And Lee McClung, then Treasurer of the United States,
after his meeting with the Master, groping for words to describe it, said:
"I felt as if I were in the presence of a great Prophet Isaiah – Elijah -
no, that is not it. The presence of Christ – no, I felt as if I were in the
presence of my Divine Father."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Turkish ambassador, Zia Pasha, a devout Muhammadan, when
told of the advent of Baha'u'llah, had scoffed at the thought of a new Prophet.
But while 'Abdu'l-Baha was in Washington Zia Pasha met Him at the Persian
Embassy, invited by His Excellency Ali-Kuli Khan, and Madame Khan, and
immediately arranged a dinner to be given in His honor at the Turkish Embassy.
At this dinner the ambassador rose and, facing 'Abdu'l-Baha with tears in his
eyes, toasted Him as "The Light of the age, Who has come to spread His
glory and perfection among us."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">These are only a few examples of the response of the people
to the Mystery of God which I myself witnessed in 1912.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After the Master's return to Syria, during the years of the
first World War and under the hot summer sun of Galilee, He, though well over
seventy, Himself ploughed the wheat fields of His estate there, that the
starving people might have bread.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When 'Abdu'l-Baha ascended in 1921 to His "original
abode", plunging the Baha'i world into such grief as is only felt once in
an age, when disciples mourn their Lord, His last Will and Testament came as a
complete surprise, an inestimable bounty to His confused and desolate believers.
For in it He appointed His own grandson, the beloved Shoghi Effendi, as the
Guardian of the Baha'i Faith and His successor as sole Interpreter of the
sacred Books. So we found our Faith still safeguarded from schisms and
dissensions - still led through a Focal Point of "unerring guidance".</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"The mighty stronghold," 'Abdu'l-Baha says in that
most powerful Document, His Will, "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, the Aghsan, the
Afnan, the Hands of the Cause of God, to show their obedience, submissiveness
and subordination unto the Guardian of the Cause of God." "He is the
Interpreter of the Word of God and after Him will succeed the first-born of his
lineal descendants." "Salutation and praise, blessing and glory be
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 from the Twin Holy Trees. Well is it with him that seeketh
the shelter of His shade that overshadoweth all mankind."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The Kingdom of God</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Shoghi Effendi tells us: "It was 'Abdu'l-Baha Who,
through the provisions of His weighty Will and Testament, has forged the vital
link which must forever connect the age that has just expired [the
"glorious and heroic Apostolic Age"] with the one we now live in -
the Transitional and Formative period of the Baha'i Faith …" "His
Will and Testament should be regarded as the perpetual, the indissoluble link
which the mind of Him Who is the Mystery of God has conceived in order to
insure the continuity of the three ages that constitute the component parts of
the Baha'i Dispensation." (The Apostolic, the Formative and the Golden
Age.) "The creative energies released by the Law of Baha'u'llah,
permeating and evolving within the mind of 'Abdu'l-Baha, have, by their very
impact and close inter-action, 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 the mystic intercourse between Him Who
communicated the generating influence of His divine Purpose and the One Who was
its vehicle and chosen recipient."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As we read in the Will the boldly outlined pattern of a New
World Order "which", in the words of the Guardian, "lies
enshrined in the Teachings of Baha'u'llah," we are reminded of passages in
Isaiah: "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 peace there shall be no
end ...."; and, "Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light
of the sun and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven
days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the hurt of His people and healeth the
stroke of their wound." And in the Book of Revelation: "I saw a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth are passed
away."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now, in this great Document, the Will and Testament of
'Abdu'l-Baha, we see 'Abdu'l-Baha in yet another aspect: - that of the
Architect of a Divine Order through which earth will reflect the Kingdom of God
Himself - rather, will be the Kingdom of God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We of the Formative Period see only "as in a glass
darkly" that future, when a bankrupt world, now deluded by the plans of
its leaders into incomparable misery, will at last turn to the Divine Plan - by
which we must build in faithful adherence to its sublimity. We see its glory
but dimly, since its very nature foreshadows mature man - man evolved to the
state where his soul, through connection with the world of Spirit, is the
recipient of divine guidance. The Universal House of Justice, acting in
collaboration with the inspired Guardian, is promised "unerring
guidance". But the culminating point of this unerring guidance is the
Guardian, in his function of sole Interpreter of the sacred Books. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thus, in obedience to the Guardian, which is clearly
obedience to the Revealed Word, in obedience to the Tablets and the
Life-Pattern of our Beloved Master, in true co-operation with and obedience to
our Assemblies (the present form of the Houses of Justice) lies the key to our
essential unity. We who believe that a group of disciples may, by the grace of
God, sound such a depth of oneness as can stabilize the world and may form a
spiritual nucleus from which the Brotherhood of Man will grow, have no choice
but to obey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We have seen 'Abdu'l-Baha, through His Will and Testament,
as well as through His function of Exemplar, the "vital" and
"indissoluble" link" between the great age of the Baha'i
Messengers and Apostles, our own age and the Golden Age to come. In a letter to
a believer the Guardian has been even more explicit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Although the bodily Temple has disappeared," he
writes, "yet His Spirit, nay, the very plans and Institutions He Himself
laid down during His life-time, continue to operate and function in the present
Administrative Era of our Faith. There is thus close doctrinal as well as
historical continuity between the era of ‘Abdu'I-Baha and the present phase of
the Administrative development of the Cause. Both the Temple enterprise and the
Teaching campaign now operating in North, Central and South America, which
constitute the two-fold task set up before the American Baha'i Community under
the Seven Year Plan, were established and launched during the ministry of
'Abdu'l-Baha. The Seven-Year Plan is indeed but the child of that Divine Plan
set up by the Master in His immortal Tablets revealed to the American believers
during the darkest days of the first World War, and its operation and success
are therefore primarily dependent upon the faithful application of the methods
and principles He Himself has defined and upon the power and guidance centering
in His creative writings."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And now to return once more to our Master, 'Abdu'l-Baha, as
the Mystery of God, the Servant of God and our Exemplar.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What is the servant of the living body but the heart? What
is the highest function of the heart but to be the channel of Divine Love? -
that Law of Love which, as we are told by Baha'u'llah, "is never overtaken
by change." And 'Abdu'l-Baha's last words to His believers in His Will and
Testament concern this mystery of love, without which none can rise to the
station of servitude.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"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 the
peoples and kindreds of the world, be they friends or strangers. So intense
must be the spirit of love and lovingkindness, 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.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"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 Baha, that
ignorance, enmity, hate and rancor may vanish from the world and the darkness
and 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 towards you, show justice
towards them, should they keep aloof from you, attract them to yourself, should
they show their enmity, be friendly towards them, should they poison your lives,
sweeten their souls, should they inflict a wound on you, be a salve to their
sores. Such are the attributes of the sincere! Such are the attributes of the
truthful."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(World Order Magazine, vol. VII, no. 12, March 1942) </span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-89415867429231722202019-02-10T01:30:00.000-08:002019-02-26T12:11:26.474-08:00Question: If all souls' thoughts were entirely given to holy thoughts of God, what would become of the world from a commercial standpoint? – Answer by Mirza ‘Abu’l-Fadl<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8myF_57go_97HzEC3w1bIemGTPlu_6egirhGDWcwqaH4dYllBVWf6Kz-HUcyVQXmNuKcHKEOkxnWjKfe8Glohd3Em3NtA8AOgPH2SlEJzL-ILxM69mSoooDv4mIQKvlSCEVi1OuzCT6pw/s1600/Mirza+Abu%2527l-Fadl+with+some+early+Western+believers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="824" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8myF_57go_97HzEC3w1bIemGTPlu_6egirhGDWcwqaH4dYllBVWf6Kz-HUcyVQXmNuKcHKEOkxnWjKfe8Glohd3Em3NtA8AOgPH2SlEJzL-ILxM69mSoooDv4mIQKvlSCEVi1OuzCT6pw/s320/Mirza+Abu%2527l-Fadl+with+some+early+Western+believers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">circa 1902: Mirza Abu'l-Fadl (center) <br />with some early Western believers</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Love, faith and being filled with the will of God are not
contradictory to the temporal affairs that man has to attend to -- that is, we
can be filled with the love of God and at the same time look after our worldly
life and pursuits which are necessary to guarantee our social welfare and
prosperity, etc. -- though in the beginning it is difficult for us to realize
this state in ourselves, yet this can become feasible and practical, if we obey
the laws and ordinances of God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For instance, consider David: While he was attentive and
watchful over his temporal affairs and worldly dominion to such an extent that
he looked after each one of his soldiers, computed their number, arranged their
sustenance and means of living, and while he was so alert in arranging
administrative affairs that he was not at all heedless of the neighboring kings
and their thoughts -- even through outward means -- even in such wise that
through warfare and battles he strengthened that weak kingdom of the Israelites
and glorified his people before the eyes of the great kings of Egypt and
Assyria -- nevertheless, could it be thought that he was meanwhile separated
from the love of God? Or could it be said he was so carried away by temporal
occupations and cares as to make him heedless of the commemoration of God? And
could we and you, as some people, bring ourselves to believe that David did
sin?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Likewise, consider His Holiness Abraham: He was a man who
led a nomadic life, and possessed large herds and flocks in the desert, and he
gained his living by rearing sheep and cattle. He was so watchful and attentive
in the administration of the affairs pertaining to temporal pursuits that
nothing escaped his notice. Although when single and alone, he migrated from
the Ur of the Chaldeans, he exercised the utmost care in his worldly affairs,
and thus became accounted among the highest men of affluence in Syrian lands;
and notwithstanding he contributed personal watchfulness and attention over
every single sheep in case of sickness, yet he was not for a single moment
heedless of the commemoration of God; so much so, that among all the
inhabitants of the world, at that time, he alone was chosen by God as His
friend.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Consequently, we and you must likewise exert ourselves, in
order to reach such a point in the love of God that the world and its
occupations, no matter how involving they may be, may not prevent us from the
praise of God, nor make us heedless of His commemoration.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Muhammed, the Prophet, has said: "Man in this world
must be so attentive to his worldly affairs and temporal necessary pursuits,
that it may seem as though he thinks he is going to live forever in this world,
and he must, at the same time, be so submerged in the love of God and occupied
with the thoughts of the hereafter, that it may seem as though he is going to
die and leave this earth at the very moment."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Moreover, one of the great elements in the laws of every
religion, deals with the rules concerning the orderly arrangement and
preservation of human society. One of their solid commands is this: That man
should be engaged in a trade or profession, and should by this means be a cause
of tranquility and peace to others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Baha’u’llah has so emphatically laid down rules concerning
the orderly management of mercantile pursuits and professions that He has
accounted occupation in such professions as an act of worship on the part of a
believer - - that is, according to Baha’u’llah, to be engaged in an honorable
art, trade or profession, by which ourselves and humanity can be benefited, is
an act of worship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">O my dear sister: Endeavor that man may reach such a point
that nothing of this world can prevent him from the love of God, to such an
extent that if he goes to sleep, he may have God in his thoughts; if he engages
in trade or temporal occupation, he may do it for the purpose of benefiting his
fellowmen; and if he walks, he may walk to perform that which is best for the
people of the world, and that the more he increases in spirituality, the more
he may learn about the well management of his affairs. Man must love the world
and all the people therein for the sake of its Maker. Even as the Persian poet
sung six hundred years ago:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"In this world I am rejoiced over the One,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Through Whom the world is rejoiced; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am in love with all the people of the world, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For all the world belongs to Him." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For a believer, even his worldly and professional pursuit is
an act of worship; for an unbeliever, even his activity in the acts of worship
is no other than entire occupation with the world and worldly things. This you
have realized in the church, and in the spirit in which many in the church
performed their acts of worship. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(Star of the West, vol. 7, o. 2, April 9,
1916)</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7303294720464664372.post-67376740454413892102019-01-15T01:30:00.000-08:002019-02-08T12:53:20.740-08:00Baha’i Scientific Proofs of Life after Death – a talk by Martha Root, 1927<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-gpmsj26uv0wTwkIzNaEfgZK9Hvqt6baxXVFNV_OfqNrKwzDlPpusYWk0zFghyphenhyphenIXz31-qthN0IsHNP0E9PAg8kgv7XxgDXd7r9YW61STbPZTNPl3Mq_jPOs2ueiGFPifx_5nG2AcUWRg/s1600/martha-root-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="602" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-gpmsj26uv0wTwkIzNaEfgZK9Hvqt6baxXVFNV_OfqNrKwzDlPpusYWk0zFghyphenhyphenIXz31-qthN0IsHNP0E9PAg8kgv7XxgDXd7r9YW61STbPZTNPl3Mq_jPOs2ueiGFPifx_5nG2AcUWRg/s200/martha-root-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><i>An address given at the second Baha'i session of the
Nineteenth Universal Congress of Esperanto, August first, 1927, in Danzig, Europe</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"O Son of the Supreme! Death have I ordained even as
glad-tidings for thee; wherefore dost thou sorrow? Light have I made to
illumine thee, why veil thyself from it?" (From the "Hidden
Words" of Baha'u'llah)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There is not a question of this twentieth century which
interests people more, perhaps, than the scientific proofs of life after death.
It is a great privilege, therefore, to present some of the scientific proofs of
immortality from the Baha'i teachings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Baha’u’llah teaches that the physical body, just as science
tells us, is composed of atoms which through attraction cohere, and thus the
body is formed. But later these atoms disintegrate and we have what is called
destruction or death; but that the spirit within the body is entirely
different. It is not composed of atoms which cohere and disintegrate; the
spirit is composed of one element, one substance, therefore it can never
disintegrate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The spirit is an effulgence which shines upon the body as
the sun shines upon the mirror. One can never point to any part of his body and
say, "The spirit is located here." The spirit, in its very essence is
immortal, and when the spirit within us is once awakened - and this constitutes
what is called in the Bible "being born again" - we become immortal
here and now; and when we pass on, this awakened spirit goes with full
consciousness into the higher kingdom. It puts off the body as one would a
garment, and it will function more powerfully without the limitations of the
body. 'Abdu'l-Baha teaches that when the spirit enters the kingdom of light it
puts on a spiritual body - a celestial body which will never change, and the
spirit continues its progression in the higher realms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Abdu'l-Baha also teaches that there are many worlds of God.
Everything in the physical world has its counterpart in the spiritual world,
For example, the scientists say that there are three hundred million worlds
quite as large as this little earth. If there are three hundred million
physical worlds then there are also many spiritual worlds, even as Christ
indicated when he taught, "In my Father's house are many mansions."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">'Abdu'l-Baha said that the spirit, when it enters into the
next kingdom, will come into the presence of Christ and Baha'u'llah and Buddha
and Moses and all of the Prophets and all its loved ones, and it will speak to
them of its spiritual journey through this earth plane.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The whole purpose of being born into this world is not material
happiness or these exterior conditions, which we think are so important, but
the most scientific truth one can learn is that the real purpose of life here
is that the spirit, potential in each soul, may become awakened and evolve the
qualities which it will use in the higher kingdom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The child born into the human kingdom comes potentially
prepared with eyes and ears and other senses which it has developed ready to
use; in the same way we spiritually are in the womb life of the life eternal
and the most scientific knowledge we can ever acquire is to learn how to take
on divine qualities, for all that the awakened spirit can carry with it into
this higher kingdom are these God-like qualities which it has evolved here. So
many times people think of science as referring only to material objects; but
divine science, which teaches the reality of the spirit, is as truly scientific
as the discovery of electricity and radio.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This reality of the spirit is brought home clearly in a few
trenchant sentences which 'Abdu'l-Baha spoke in one of His addresses in America
when He visited that country in 1912:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Change and transformation are peculiarities of
composition. There is no change and transformation in the spirit. In proof of
this the body may become weakened in its members. It may be dismembered or one
of its members may be incapacitated... Dismember a healthy man, the spirit is
not dismembered. Amputate his feet, his spirit is there. He may become lame,
the spirit is not affected. The spirit is ever the same; no change or
transformation can you perceive, and because there is no change or
transformation it is everlasting and permanent."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">‘Abdu'l-Baha also takes the often vivid experiences of a
being in sleep, when the body is inert and powerless, and it might be said to
all intents and purposes non-existent, as another and perhaps even stronger
illustration of the persistence and independence of the human spirit. He says:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Consider man while in the state of sleep; it is
evident that all his parts and members are at a standstill, are functionless.
His eye does not see, his ear does not hear, his feet and hands are motionless,
but nevertheless he does see in the world of dreams, he does hear, he speaks,
he walks, he may even fly in an aeroplane. Therefore, it becomes evident that
though the body be dead, yet the spirit is alive and permanent. Nay, the
perceptions may be keener when man's body is asleep, the flight may be higher,
the hearing may be more acute; all the functions are there and yet the body is
at a standstill.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hence it is proof that there is a spirit in the man, and in
this spirit there is no distinction as to whether the body be asleep or
absolutely dead and dependent. The spirit is not incapacitated by these
conditions; it is not bereft of its perfections."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Some might say: ‘I cannot believe in the spirit because I
cannot see it, I cannot feel it, I cannot know it with my five senses.’ But
'Abdu'-Baha tells us, "If the spirit of man belonged to the elemental
existence the eye could see it, the ear hear it, the hand touch it. As long as
these five senses cannot perceive it, the proof is unquestioned that it does
not belong to the elemental world and therefore is beyond death or mortality
which are inseparable from that material realm of existence."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One fact which material scientists may not agree with, but
which the Baha'i teachings absolutely prove, is that "the body does not
conduct the processes of intellection or thought radiation," and that the
power of reason is not shared with the animal but is peculiar to the human
spirit. I quote the words of 'Abdu'l-Baha:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"The body does not conduct the processes of
intellection or thought radiation. It is only the medium of the grossest
sensations. This human body is purely animal in type, and like the animal, is
subject only to the grosser sensibilities. It is utterly bereft of ideation or
intellection, utterly incapable of the processes of reason. The animal perceives
according to its animal senses. It comprehends not beyond its sense
perceptions; … but we know that in the human organism there is a center of
intellection, a power of intellectual operation which is the discoverer of the
realities of things. This power can unravel the mysteries of phenomena. It can
comprehend that which is knowable, not alone the sensible. All the inventions
are its products, for all these have been the mysteries of nature… all the
sciences which we now utilize are the products of that wondrous reality. But
the animal is deprived of its operations. The arts we now enjoy are the
expressions of this marvelous reality. The animal is bereft of them because
these conscious realities are peculiar to the human spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"These evidences prove that man is possessed of two
realities, a reality connected with the senses and which is shared in common
with the animal, and another reality which is conscious and ideal in character.
This latter is the collective reality and the discoverer of mysteries. That
which discovers the realities of things undoubtedly is not of the elemental
substances. It is distinct from them, for mortality and disintegration are the
properties inherent in compositions and are referable to things which are
subject to sense perceptions, but the collective reality in man, not being so
subject, is the discoverer of things. Therefore it is real, eternal, and does
not have to undergo change and transformation."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This proves that the physical brain is not the discoverer,
but is only the instrument of the human spirit and that the spirit can carry on
its processes of thinking and is not annihilated by the disintegration of the
physical body. It will prove also that the highest science which one can attain
is to learn how to awaken this human spirit and to teach it to use the power of
the Holy Spirit; thus the spirit gradually takes on divine qualities. It
develops a brilliant spiritual intuition and it catches glimpses of cosmic
consciousness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When the spirit, through prayer, meditation and service, is
turned toward the infinite essence of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit
the mysteries of God shine upon the spirit of the individual as upon a
photographic plate. It is then that genius is born, that the highest arts and
sciences come into being and the brain is only the instrument like the camera.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In all the different kingdoms preparation is made for a
kingdom still higher; for example, in the mineral kingdom the mineral prepares
itself by disintegration, so that the vegetable may reach down and take it up
into this higher kingdom. The vegetable prepares itself by growth and
augmentation so that the animal may take it up. The Baha'i Teachings accept
completely the evolutionary principle, including the development of the human
race through the lower forms of life, but insist that inherently man was man
from the beginning of things and that his evolution, now at an end so far as
bodily forms are concerned, is to be continued indefinitely, nay, eternally,
through the development of his spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Baha'is believe that evolution was not purposeless. Of
what profit to evolve such a being as man, with powers and perceptions, as I
think</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">has been clearly shown, so far
above the animal, and then let the process suddenly stop and leave the work
unfinished? No. Evolution will still continue, but it will be the evolution of
the spirit. The process begins with man on this earthly plane of
existence,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and with his spirit soaring</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">above the limitations of earth after it has
been freed from the encumbrance of the body, will continue to</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">undreamed of perfections in the life</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">hereafter.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Convinced as we are of this, we feel that the most important
things of today, looked at even from the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">evolutionary, scientific standpoint, are not the things material,
necessary and imperative as it is to develop them to the utmost as the
strivings for human comfort and advancement persist. What is really essential
is the development of the thing that will last, not the evanescently material,
but the permanently spiritual. And it is important that we realize that fact
while we are still active and energetic here, and that we strive to fit
ourselves as best we possibly can for the swifter advancement that we feel lies
within our grasp in the continuation of our perceptive life on another
plane.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In conclusion a few more of the illuminating teachings of
'Abdu'l-Baha are quoted which will help us understand this most important
subject of "Life After Death"- the evolution of the material side of
man, his most important work here and now, and how he can best prepare himself
for the greater evolution that is to come when he advances beyond the material
bounds and his reality wings its way into the realm of the eternal:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“In the world of existence man has traversed successive
degrees until he has attained the human kingdom. In each degree of his
progression he has developed capacity for advancement to the next station and
condition. While in the kingdom of the mineral he was attaining the capacity
for promotion into the degree of the vegetable. In the kingdom of the vegetable
he underwent preparation for the world of the animal, and from thence he has
come onward to the human degree, or kingdom. Throughout this journey of
progression he has ever and always been potentially man.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“In the beginning of his human life man was embryonic in the
world of the matrix. There he received capacity and endowment for the reality
of human existence. The forces and powers necessary for this world were
bestowed upon him in that limited condition. In this world he needed eyes; he
received them potentially in the other. He needed ears; he obtained them there
in readiness and preparation for his new existence. The powers requisite in
this world were conferred upon him in the world of the matrix so that when he
entered this realm of real existence he not only possessed all necessary
functions and powers but found provision for his material sustenance awaiting
him.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Therefore, in this world he must prepare himself for the
life beyond. That which he needs in the world of the Kingdom must be obtained
here. Just as he prepared himself in the world of the matrix by acquiring
forces necessary in this sphere of existence, so, likewise, the indispensable
forces of the divine existence must be potentially attained in this world.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“What is he in need of in the Kingdom which transcends the
life and limitation of this mortal sphere? That world beyond is a world of
sanctity and radiance; therefore, it is necessary that in this world he should
acquire these divine attributes. In that world there is need of spirituality,
faith, assurance, the knowledge and love of God. These he must attain in this
world so that after his ascension from the earthly to the heavenly Kingdom he
shall find all that is needful in that eternal life ready for him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“That divine world is manifestly a world of lights;
therefore, man has need of illumination here. That is a world of love; the love
of God is essential. It is a world of perfections; virtues, or perfections,
must be acquired. That world is vivified by the breaths of the Holy Spirit; in
this world we must seek them. That is the Kingdom of everlasting life; it must
be attained during this vanishing existence.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“By what means can he acquire these things? How shall he
obtain these merciful gifts and powers? First, through the knowledge of God.
Second, through the love of God. Third, through faith. Fourth, through
philanthropic deeds. Fifth, through self-sacrifice. Sixth, through severance
from this world. Seventh, through sanctity and holiness. Unless he acquires
these forces and attains to these requirements, he will surely be deprived of
the life that is eternal. But if he possesses the knowledge of God, becomes
ignited through the fire of the love of God, witnesses the great and mighty
signs of the Kingdom, becomes the cause of love among mankind and lives in the
utmost state of sanctity and holiness, he shall surely attain to second birth,
be baptized by the Holy Spirit and enjoy everlasting existence.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(Star of the West, vol. 19, no. 5, August 1927)</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com