THE ADVENT OF DIVINE JUSTICE
(U.S., First pocket-size edition 1990)
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THE ADVENT OF DIVINE JUSTICE
To the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout
the United States and Canada.
Best-beloved brothers and sisters
in the love of &Baha'u'llah:
It would be difficult indeed to adequately express the
feelings of irrepressible joy and exultation that flood my
heart every time I pause to contemplate the ceaseless evidences
of the dynamic energy which animates the stalwart
pioneers of the World Order of &Baha'u'llah in the execution
of the Plan committed to their charge. The signature of the
contract, by your elected national representatives, signalizing
the opening of the final phase of the greatest enterprise
ever launched by the followers of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah in
the West, no less than the extremely heartening progress recorded
in the successive reports of their National Teaching
Committee, attest, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the fidelity,
the vigor, and the thoroughness with which you are
conducting the manifold operations which the evolution of
the Seven Year Plan must necessarily involve. In both of its
aspects, and in all its details, it is being prosecuted with exemplary
regularity and precision, with undiminished efficiency,
and commendable dispatch.
The resourcefulness which the national representatives
of the American believers have, in recent months, so strikingly
demonstrated, as evidenced by the successive measures
they have adopted, has been matched by the loyal, the
unquestioning and generous support accorded them by all
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those whom they represent, at every critical stage, and with
every fresh advance, in the discharge of their sacred duties.
Such close interaction, such complete cohesion, such continual
harmony and fellowship between the various agencies
that contribute to the organic life, and constitute the basic
framework, of every properly functioning &Baha'i community,
is a phenomenon which offers a striking contrast to the
disruptive tendencies which the discordant elements of
present-day society so tragically manifest. Whereas every
apparent trial with which the unfathomable wisdom of the
Almighty deems it necessary to afflict His chosen community
serves only to demonstrate afresh its essential solidarity
and to consolidate its inward strength, each of the
successive crises in the fortunes of a decadent age exposes
more convincingly than the one preceding it the corrosive
influences that are fast sapping the vitality and undermining
the basis of its declining institutions.
For such demonstrations of the interpositions of an
ever-watchful Providence they who stand identified with
the Community of the Most Great Name must feel eternally
grateful. From every fresh token of His unfailing blessing on
the one hand, and of His visitation on the other, they cannot
but derive immense hope and courage. Alert to seize every
opportunity which the revolutions of the wheel of destiny
within their Faith offers them, and undismayed by the prospect
of spasmodic convulsions that must sooner or later fatally
affect those who have refused to embrace its light,
they, and those who will labor after them, must press forward
until the processes now set in motion will have each
spent its force and contributed its share towards the birth of
the Order now stirring in the womb of a travailing age.
These recurrent crises which, with ominous frequency
and resistless force, are afflicting an ever-increasing portion
of the human race must of necessity continue, however impermanently,
to exercise, in a certain measure, their baleful
influence upon a world community which has spread its
ramifications to the uttermost ends of the earth. How can
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the beginnings of a world upheaval, unleashing forces that
are so gravely deranging the social, the religious, the political,
and the economic equilibrium of organized society,
throwing into chaos and confusion political systems, racial
doctrines, social conceptions, cultural standards, religious
associations, and trade relationships--how can such agitations,
on a scale so vast, so unprecedented, fail to produce
any repercussions on the institutions of a Faith of such tender
age whose teachings have a direct and vital bearing on
each of these spheres of human life and conduct?
Little wonder, therefore, if they who are holding aloft
the banner of so pervasive a Faith, so challenging a Cause,
find themselves affected by the impact of these world-shaking
forces. Little wonder if they find that in the midst of
this whirlpool of contending passions their freedom has
been curtailed, their tenets contemned, their institutions assaulted,
their motives maligned, their authority jeopardized,
their claim rejected.
In the heart of the European continent a community
which, as predicted by &Abdu'l-Baha, is destined, by virtue
of its spiritual potentialities and geographical situation, to
radiate the splendor of the light of the Faith on the countries
that surround it, has been momentarily eclipsed through the
restrictions which a regime that has sorely misapprehended
its purpose and function has chosen to impose upon it. Its
voice, alas, is now silenced, its institutions dissolved, its literature
banned, its archives confiscated, and its meetings
suspended.
In central Asia, in the city enjoying the unique distinction
of having been chosen by &Abdu'l-Baha as the home of
the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world, as well as
in the towns and villages of the province to which it belongs,
the sore-pressed Faith of &Baha'u'llah, as a result of
the extraordinary and unique vitality which, in the course of
several decades, it has consistently manifested, finds itself at
the mercy of forces which, alarmed at its rising power, are
now bent on reducing it to utter impotence. Its Temple,
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though still used for purposes of &Baha'i worship, has been
expropriated, its Assemblies and committees disbanded, its
teaching activities crippled, its chief promoters deported,
and not a few of its most enthusiastic supporters, both men
and women, imprisoned.
In the land of its birth, wherein reside the immense
majority of its followers--a country whose capital has been
hailed by &Baha'u'llah as the "mother of the world" and the
"dayspring of the joy of mankind"--a civil authority, as yet undivorced
officially from the paralyzing influences of an antiquated,
a fanatical, and outrageously corrupt clergy, pursues
relentlessly its campaign of repression against the adherents
of a Faith which it has for well-nigh a century striven unsuccessfully
to suppress. Indifferent to the truth that the members
of this innocent and proscribed community can justly
claim to rank as among the most disinterested, the most
competent, and the most ardent lovers of their native land,
contemptuous of their high sense of world citizenship
which the advocates of an excessive and narrow nationalism
can never hope to appreciate, such an authority refuses to
grant to a Faith which extends its spiritual jurisdiction over
well-nigh six hundred local communities, and which numerically
outnumbers the adherents of either the Christian,
the Jewish, or the Zoroastrian Faiths in that land, the necessary
legal right to enforce its laws, to administer its affairs, to
conduct its schools, to celebrate its festivals, to circulate its
literature, to solemnize its rites, to erect its edifices, and to
safeguard its endowments.
And now recently in the Holy Land itself, the heart and
nerve-center of a world-embracing Faith, the fires of racial
animosity, of fratricidal strife, of unabashed terrorism, have
lit a conflagration that gravely interferes, on the one hand,
with that flow of pilgrims that constitutes the lifeblood of
that center, and suspends, on the other, the various projects
that had been initiated in connection with the preservation
and extension of the areas surrounding the sacred Spots it
enshrines. The safety of the small community of resident
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believers, faced by the rising tide of lawlessness, has been
imperiled, its status as a neutral and distinct community indirectly
challenged, and its freedom to carry out certain of
its observances curtailed. A series of murderous assaults, alternating
with outbursts of bitter fanaticism, both racial and
religious, involving the leaders as well as the followers of
the three leading Faiths in that distracted country, have, at
times, threatened to sever all normal communications both
within its confines as well as with the outside world. Perilous
though the situation has been, the &Baha'i Holy Places,
the object of the adoration of a world-encircling Faith, have,
notwithstanding their number and exposed position, and
though to outward seeming deprived of any means of protection,
been vouchsafed a preservation little short of miraculous.
A world, torn with conflicting passions, and perilously
disintegrating from within, finds itself confronted, at so crucial
an epoch in its history, by the rising fortunes of an infant
Faith, a Faith that, at times, seems to be drawn into its
controversies, entangled by its conflicts, eclipsed by its gathering
shadows, and overpowered by the mounting tide of its
passions. In its very heart, within its cradle, at the seat of its
first and venerable Temple, in one of its hitherto flourishing
and potentially powerful centers, the as-yet unemancipated
Faith of &Baha'u'llah seems indeed to have retreated before
the onrushing forces of violence and disorder to which humanity
is steadily falling a victim. The strongholds of such a
Faith, one by one and day after day, are to outward seeming
being successively isolated, assaulted and captured. As the
lights of liberty flicker and go out, as the din of discord
grows louder and louder every day, as the fires of fanaticism
flame with increasing fierceness in the breasts of men, as the
chill of irreligion creeps relentlessly over the soul of mankind,
the limbs and organs that constitute the body of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah appear, in varying measure, to have become
afflicted with the crippling influences that now hold
in their grip the whole of the civilized world.
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How clearly and strikingly the following words of
&Abdu'l-Baha are being demonstrated at this hour: "The darkness
of error that has enveloped the East and the West is, in this
most great cycle, battling with the light of Divine Guidance. Its
swords and its spears are very sharp and pointed; its army keenly
bloodthirsty." "This day," He, in another passage has written,
"the powers of all the leaders of religion are directed towards the
dispersion of the congregation of the All-Merciful, and the shattering
of the Divine Edifice. The hosts of the world, whether material,
cultural or political are from every side launching their assault, for
the Cause is great, very great. Its greatness is, in this day, clear and
manifest to men's eyes."
The one chief remaining citadel, the mighty arm which
still raises aloft the standard of an unconquerable Faith, is
none other than the blessed community of the followers of
the Most Great Name in the North American continent. By
its works, and through the unfailing protection vouchsafed
to it by an almighty Providence, this distinguished member
of the body of the constantly interacting &Baha'i communities
of East and West, bids fair to be universally regarded as the
cradle, as well as the stronghold, of that future New World
Order, which is at once the promise and the glory of the Dispensation
associated with the name of &Baha'u'llah.
Let anyone inclined to either belittle the unique station
conferred upon this community, or to question the role it
will be called upon to play in the days to come, ponder the
implication of these pregnant and highly illuminating words
uttered by &Abdu'l-Baha, and addressed to it at a time when
the fortunes of a world groaning beneath the burden of a
devastating war had reached their lowest ebb. "The continent
of America," He so significantly wrote, "is, in the eyes of the one
true God, the land wherein the splendors of His light shall be revealed,
where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, where
the righteous will abide, and the free assemble."
Already, the community of the believers of the North
American continent--at once the prime mover and pattern
of the future communities which the Faith of &Baha'u'llah is
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destined to raise up throughout the length and breadth
of the Western Hemisphere--has, despite the prevailing
gloom, shown its capacity to be recognized as the torchbearer
of that light, the repository of those mysteries, the exponent
of that righteousness and the sanctuary of that freedom.
To what other light can these above-quoted words
possibly allude, if not to the light of the glory of the Golden
Age of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah? What mysteries could &Abdu'l-Baha
have contemplated except the mysteries of that
embryonic World Order now evolving within the matrix of
His Administration? What righteousness if not the righteousness
whose reign that Age and that Order can alone establish?
What freedom but the freedom which the proclamation
of His sovereignty in the fullness of time must
bestow?
The community of the organized promoters of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah in the American continent--the spiritual
descendants of the dawn-breakers of an heroic Age,
who by their death proclaimed the birth of that Faith--
must, in turn, usher in, not by their death but through living
sacrifice, that promised World Order, the shell ordained to
enshrine that priceless jewel, the world civilization, of which
the Faith itself is the sole begetter. While its sister communities
are bending beneath the tempestuous winds that beat
upon them from every side, this community, preserved by
the immutable decrees of the omnipotent Ordainer and deriving
continual sustenance from the mandate with which
the Tablets of the Divine Plan have invested it, is now busily
engaged in laying the foundations and in fostering the
growth of those institutions which are to herald the approach
of the Age destined to witness the birth and rise of
the World Order of &Baha'u'llah.
A community, relatively negligible in its numerical
strength; separated by vast distances from both the focal-center
of its Faith and the land wherein the preponderating
mass of its fellow-believers reside; bereft in the main of material
resources and lacking in experience and in prominence;
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ignorant of the beliefs, concepts and habits of those
peoples and races from which its spiritual Founders have
sprung; wholly unfamiliar with the languages in which its
sacred Books were originally revealed; constrained to place
its sole reliance upon an inadequate rendering of only a
fragmentary portion of the literature embodying its laws, its
tenets, and its history; subjected from its infancy to tests of
extreme severity, involving, at times, the defection of some
of its most prominent members; having to contend, ever
since its inception, and in an ever-increasing measure, with
the forces of corruption, of moral laxity, and ingrained prejudice--
such a community, in less than half a century, and
unaided by any of its sister communities, whether in the
East or in the West, has, by virtue of the celestial potency
with which an all-loving Master has abundantly endowed
it, lent an impetus to the onward march of the Cause it has
espoused which the combined achievements of its coreligionists
in the West have failed to rival.
What other community, it can confidently be asked,
has been instrumental in fixing the pattern, and in imparting
the original impulse, to those administrative institutions that
constitute the vanguard of the World Order of &Baha'u'llah?
What other community has been capable of demonstrating,
with such consistency, the resourcefulness, the discipline,
the iron determination, the zeal and perseverance, the devotion
and fidelity, so indispensable to the erection and the
continued extension of the framework within which those
nascent institutions can alone multiply and mature? What
other community has proved itself to be fired by so noble a
vision, or willing to rise to such heights of self-sacrifice, or
ready to achieve so great a measure of solidarity, as to be
able to raise, in so short a time and in the course of such
crucial years, an edifice that can well deserve to be regarded
as the greatest contribution ever made by the West to the
Cause of &Baha'u'llah? What other community can justifiably
lay claim to have succeeded, through the unsupported efforts
of one of its humble members, in securing the spontaneous
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allegiance of Royalty to its Cause, and in winning
such marvelous and written testimonies to its truth? What
other community has shown the foresight, the organizing
ability, the enthusiastic eagerness, that have been responsible
for the establishment and multiplication, throughout its
territory, of those initial schools which, as time goes by, will,
on the one hand, evolve into powerful centers of &Baha'i
learning, and, on the other, provide a fertile recruiting
ground for the enrichment and consolidation of its teaching
force? What other community has produced pioneers combining
to such a degree the essential qualities of audacity, of
consecration, of tenacity, of self-renunciation, and unstinted
devotion, that have prompted them to abandon their
homes, and forsake their all, and scatter over the surface of
the globe, and hoist in its uttermost corners the triumphant
banner of &Baha'u'llah? Who else but the members of this
community have won the eternal distinction of being the
first to raise the call of &Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha in such highly important
and widely scattered centers and territories as the
hearts of both the British and French empires, Germany, the
Far East, the Balkan States, the Scandinavian countries, Latin
America, the Islands of the Pacific, South Africa, Australia
and New Zealand, and now more recently the Baltic States?
Who else but those same pioneers have shown themselves
ready to undertake the labor, to exercise the patience, and to
provide the funds, required for the translation and publication,
in no less than forty languages, of their sacred literature,
the dissemination of which is an essential prerequisite
to any effectively organized campaign of teaching? What
other community can lay claim to have had a decisive share
in the worldwide efforts that have been exerted for the safeguarding
and the extension of the immediate surroundings
of its holy shrines, as well as for the preliminary acquisition
of the future sites of its international institutions at its world
center? What other community can to its eternal credit claim
to have been the first to frame its national and local constitutions,
thereby laying down the fundamental lines of the
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twin charters designed to regulate the activities, define the
functions, and safeguard the rights, of its institutions? What
other community can boast of having simultaneously acquired
and legally secured the basis of its national endowments,
thus paving the way for a similar action on the part
of its local communities? What other community has
achieved the supreme distinction of having obtained, long
before any of its sister communities had envisaged such a
possibility, the necessary documents assuring the recognition,
by both the federal and state authorities, of its Spiritual
Assemblies and national endowments? And finally what
other community has had the privilege, and been granted
the means, to succor the needy, to plead the cause of the
downtrodden, and to intervene so energetically for the safeguarding
of &Baha'i edifices and institutions in countries such
as Persia, Egypt, &Iraq, Russia, and Germany, where, at various
times, its fellow-believers have had to suffer the rigors
of both religious and racial persecution?
Such a matchless and brilliant record of service, extending
over a period of well-nigh twenty years, and so
closely interwoven with the interest and fortunes of such a
large section of the worldwide &Baha'i community, deserves
to rank as a memorable chapter in the history of the Formative
Period of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah. Reinforced and enriched
as it is by the memory of the American believers' earlier
achievements, such a record is in itself convincing
testimony to their ability to befittingly shoulder the responsibilities
which any task may impose upon them in the future.
To overrate the significance of these manifold services
would be well-nigh impossible. To appraise correctly their
value, and dilate on their merits and immediate consequences,
is a task which only a future &Baha'i historian can
properly discharge. I can only for the present place on record
my profound conviction that a community capable of
showing forth such deeds, of evincing such a spirit, of rising
to such heights, cannot but be already possessed of such potentialities
as will enable it to vindicate, in the fullness of
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time, its right to be acclaimed as the chief creator and champion
of the World Order of &Baha'u'llah.
Magnificent as has been this record, reminiscent as it is,
in some of its aspects, of the exploits with which the dawn-breakers
of an heroic Age have proclaimed the birth of the
Faith itself, the task associated with the name of this privileged
community is, far from approaching its climax, only
beginning to unfold. What the American believers have,
within the space of almost fifty years, achieved is infinitesimal
when compared to the magnitude of the tasks ahead of
them. The rumblings of that catastrophic upheaval, which is
to proclaim, at one and the same time, the death-pangs of
the old order and the birth-pangs of the new, indicate both
the steady approach, as well as the awe-inspiring character,
of those tasks.
The virtual establishment of the Administrative Order
of their Faith, the erection of its framework, the fashioning
of its instruments, and the consolidation of its subsidiary institutions,
was the first task committed to their charge, as an
organized community called into being by the Will, and under
the instructions, of &Abdu'l-Baha. Of this initial task
they have acquitted themselves with marvelous promptitude,
fidelity, and vigor. No sooner had they created and
correlated the various and necessary agencies for the efficient
conduct of any policy they might subsequently wish to
initiate, than they addressed themselves, with equal zest
and consecration, to the next more arduous task of erecting
the superstructure of an edifice the cornerstone of which
&Abdu'l-Baha Himself had laid. And when that feat was
achieved, this community, alive to the passionate pleas, exhortations,
and promises recorded in the Tablets of the Divine
Plan, resolved to undertake yet another task, which in
its scope and spiritual potentialities is sure to outshine any
of the works they have already accomplished. Launching
with unquenchable enthusiasm and dauntless courage the
Seven Year Plan, as the first and practical step towards the
fulfillment of the mission prescribed in those epoch-making
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Tablets, they entered, with a spirit of renewed consecration,
upon their dual task, the consummation of which, it is
hoped, will synchronize with the celebration of the centenary
of the birth of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah. Well aware that
every advance made in the external ornamentation of their
majestic edifice would directly react on the progress of the
teaching campaign initiated by them in both the northern
and southern American continents, and realizing that every
victory gained in the teaching field would, in its turn, facilitate
the work, and hasten the completion, of their Temple,
they are now pressing on, with courage and faith, in their
efforts to discharge, in both of its phases, their obligations
under the Plan they have dedicated themselves to execute.
Let them not, however, imagine that the carrying out
of the Seven Year Plan, coinciding as it does with the termination
of the first century of the &Baha'i era, signifies either
the termination of, or even an interruption in, the work
which the unerring Hand of the Almighty is directing them
to perform. The opening of the second century of the &Baha'i
era must needs disclose greater vistas, usher in further
stages, and witness the initiation of plans more far-reaching
than any as yet conceived. The Plan on which is now focused
the attention, the aspirations, and the resources of the
entire community of the American believers should be
viewed as a mere beginning, as a trial of strength, a stepping-stone
to a crusade of still greater magnitude, if the duties
and responsibilities with which the Author of the Divine
Plan has invested them are to be honorably and entirely fulfilled.
For the consummation of the present Plan can result in
no more than the formation of at least one center in each of
the Republics of the Western Hemisphere, whereas the duties
prescribed in those Tablets call for a wider diffusion,
and imply the scattering of a far greater and more representative
number of the members of the North American &Baha'i
community over the entire surface of the New World. It is
the undoubted mission of the American believers, therefore,
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to carry forward into the second century the glorious work
initiated in the closing years of the first. Not until they have
played their part in guiding the activities of these isolated
and newly fledged centers, and in fostering their capacity to
initiate in their turn institutions, both local and national,
modeled on their own, can they be satisfied to have adequately
discharged their immediate obligations under &Abdu'l-Baha's
divinely revealed Plan.
Nor should it for a moment be supposed that the completion
of a task which aims at the multiplication of &Baha'i
centers and the provision of the assistance and guidance
necessary for the establishment of the Administrative Order
of the &Baha'i Faith in the countries of Latin America realizes
in its entirety the scheme visualized for them by &Abdu'l-Baha.
A perusal, however perfunctory, of those Tablets embodying
His Plan will instantly reveal a scope for their activities
that stretches far beyond the confines of the Western
Hemisphere. With their inter-American tasks and responsibilities
virtually discharged, their intercontinental mission
enters upon its most glorious and decisive phase. "The moment
this Divine Message," &Abdu'l-Baha Himself has written,
"is carried forward by the American believers from the shores of
America and is propagated through the continents of Europe, of
Asia, of Africa, and of Australasia, and as far as the islands of the
Pacific, this community will find itself securely established upon
the throne of an everlasting dominion."
And who knows but that when this colossal task has
been accomplished a greater, a still more superb mission, incomparable
in its splendor, and foreordained for them by
&Baha'u'llah, may not be thrust upon them? The glories of
such a mission are of such dazzling splendor, the circumstances
attending it so remote, and the contemporary events
with the culmination of which it is so closely knit in such a
state of flux, that it would be premature to attempt, at the
present time, any accurate delineation of its features. Suffice
it to say that out of the turmoil and tribulations of these "latter
years" opportunities undreamt of will be born, and circumstances
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unpredictable created, that will enable, nay impel,
the victorious prosecutors of &Abdu'l-Baha's Plan, to
add, through the part they will play in the unrolling of the
New World Order, fresh laurels to the crown of their servitude
to the threshold of &Baha'u'llah.
Nor should any of the manifold opportunities, of a totally
different order, be allowed to pass unnoticed which the
evolution of the Faith itself, whether at its world center, or
in the North American continent, or even in the most outlying
regions of the earth, must create, calling once again
upon the American believers to play a part, no less conspicuous
than the share they have previously had in their collective
contributions to the propagation of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah.
I can only for the moment cite at random certain of
these opportunities which stand out preeminently, in any
attempt to survey the possibilities of the future: The election
of the International House of Justice and its establishment in
the Holy Land, the spiritual and administrative center of the
&Baha'i world, together with the formation of its auxiliary
branches and subsidiary institutions; the gradual erection of
the various dependencies of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of
the West, and the intricate issues involving the establishment
and the extension of the structural basis of &Baha'i community
life; the codification and promulgation of the ordinances
of the Most Holy Book, necessitating the formation,
in certain countries of the East, of properly constituted and
officially recognized courts of &Baha'i law; the building of the
third &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the &Baha'i world in the outskirts
of the city of &Tihran, to be followed by the rise of a similar
House of Worship in the Holy Land itself; the deliverance of
&Baha'i communities from the fetters of religious orthodoxy
in such Islamic countries as Persia, &Iraq, and Egypt, and the
consequent recognition, by the civil authorities in those
states, of the independent status and religious character of
&Baha'i National and Local Assemblies; the precautionary
and defensive measures to be devised, coordinated, and carried
out to counteract the full force of the inescapable attacks
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which the organized efforts of ecclesiastical organizations
of various denominations will progressively launch
and relentlessly pursue; and, last but not least, the multitudinous
issues that must be faced, the obstacles that must be
overcome, and the responsibilities that must be assumed, to
enable a sore-tried Faith to pass through the successive
stages of unmitigated obscurity, of active repression, and of
complete emancipation, leading in turn to its being acknowledged
as an independent Faith, enjoying the status of
full equality with its sister religions, to be followed by its establishment
and recognition as a State religion, which in turn
must give way to its assumption of the rights and prerogatives
associated with the &Baha'i state, functioning in the plenitude
of its powers, a stage which must ultimately culminate
in the emergence of the worldwide &Baha'i Commonwealth,
animated wholly by the spirit, and operating solely in direct
conformity with the laws and principles of &Baha'u'llah.
The challenge offered by these opportunities the
American believers, I feel confident, will, in addition to their
answer to the teaching call voiced by &Abdu'l-Baha in His
Tablets, unhesitatingly take up, and will, with their traditional
fearlessness, tenacity, and efficiency, so respond to it
as to confirm, before all the world, their title and rank as the
champion-builders of the mightiest institutions of the Faith
of &Baha'u'llah.
Dearly beloved friends! Though the task be long and
arduous, yet the prize which the All-Bountiful Bestower has
chosen to confer upon you is of such preciousness that
neither tongue nor pen can befittingly appraise it. Though
the goal towards which you are now so strenuously striving
be distant, and as yet undisclosed to men's eyes, yet its
promise lies firmly embedded in the authoritative and unalterable
utterances of &Baha'u'llah. Though the course He
has traced for you seems, at times, lost in the threatening
shadows with which a stricken humanity is now enveloped,
yet the unfailing light He has caused to shine continually
upon you is of such brightness that no earthly dusk can ever
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eclipse its splendor. Though small in numbers, and circumscribed
as yet in your experiences, powers, and resources,
yet the Force which energizes your mission is limitless in its
range and incalculable in its potency. Though the enemies
which every acceleration in the progress of your mission
must raise up be fierce, numerous, and unrelenting, yet the
invisible Hosts which, if you persevere, must, as promised,
rush forth to your aid, will, in the end, enable you to vanquish
their hopes and annihilate their forces. Though the ultimate
blessings that must crown the consummation of your
mission be undoubted, and the Divine promises given you
firm and irrevocable, yet the measure of the goodly reward
which every one of you is to reap must depend on the extent
to which your daily exertions will have contributed to the
expansion of that mission and the hastening of its triumph.
Dearly beloved friends! Great as is my love and admiration
for you, convinced as I am of the paramount share
which you can, and will, undoubtedly have in both the continental
and international spheres of future &Baha'i activity
and service, I feel it nevertheless incumbent upon me to utter,
at this juncture, a word of warning. The glowing tributes,
so repeatedly and deservedly paid to the capacity, the
spirit, the conduct, and the high rank, of the American believers,
both individually and as an organic community,
must, under no circumstances, be confounded with the
characteristics and nature of the people from which God has
raised them up. A sharp distinction between that community
and that people must be made, and resolutely and fearlessly
upheld, if we wish to give due recognition to the
transmuting power of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, in its impact
on the lives and standards of those who have chosen to enlist
under His banner. Otherwise, the supreme and distinguishing
function of His Revelation, which is none other
than the calling into being of a new race of men, will remain
wholly unrecognized and completely obscured.
+P17
How often have the Prophets of God, not excepting
&Baha'u'llah Himself, chosen to appear, and deliver their
Message in countries and amidst peoples and races, at a time
when they were either fast declining, or had already
touched the lowest depths of moral and spiritual degradation.
The appalling misery and wretchedness to which the
Israelites had sunk, under the debasing and tyrannical rule
of the Pharaohs, in the days preceding their exodus from
Egypt under the leadership of Moses; the decline that had
set in in the religious, the spiritual, the cultural, and the
moral life of the Jewish people, at the time of the appearance
of Jesus Christ; the barbarous cruelty, the gross idolatry
and immorality, which had for so long been the most distressing
features of the tribes of Arabia and brought such
shame upon them when &Muhammad arose to proclaim His
Message in their midst; the indescribable state of decadence,
with its attendant corruption, confusion, intolerance, and
oppression, in both the civil and religious life of Persia, so
graphically portrayed by the pen of a considerable number
of scholars, diplomats, and travelers, at the hour of the Revelation
of &Baha'u'llah--all demonstrate this basic and inescapable
fact. To contend that the innate worthiness, the
high moral standard, the political aptitude, and social attainments
of any race or nation is the reason for the appearance
in its midst of any of these Divine Luminaries would be
an absolute perversion of historical facts, and would
amount to a complete repudiation of the undoubted interpretation
placed upon them, so clearly and emphatically, by
both &Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha.
How great, then, must be the challenge to those who,
belonging to such races and nations, and having responded
to the call which these Prophets have raised, to unreservedly
recognize and courageously testify to this indubitable truth,
that not by reason of any racial superiority, political capacity,
or spiritual virtue which a race or nation might possess,
but rather as a direct consequence of its crying needs, its lamentable
+P18
degeneracy, and irremediable perversity, has the
Prophet of God chosen to appear in its midst, and with it as
a lever has lifted the entire human race to a higher and nobler
plane of life and conduct. For it is precisely under such
circumstances, and by such means that the Prophets have,
from time immemorial, chosen and were able to demonstrate
their redemptive power to raise from the depths of
abasement and of misery, the people of their own race and
nation, empowering them to transmit in turn to other races
and nations the saving grace and the energizing influence of
their Revelation.
In the light of this fundamental principle it should always
be borne in mind, nor can it be sufficiently emphasized,
that the primary reason why the &Bab and &Baha'u'llah
chose to appear in Persia, and to make it the first repository
of their Revelation, was because, of all the peoples and nations
of the civilized world, that race and nation had, as so
often depicted by &Abdu'l-Baha, sunk to such ignominious
depths, and manifested so great a perversity, as to find no
parallel among its contemporaries. For no more convincing
proof could be adduced demonstrating the regenerating
spirit animating the Revelations proclaimed by the &Bab and
&Baha'u'llah than their power to transform what can be truly
regarded as one of the most backward, the most cowardly,
and perverse of peoples into a race of heroes, fit to effect in
turn a similar revolution in the life of mankind. To have appeared
among a race or nation which by its intrinsic worth
and high attainments seemed to warrant the inestimable
privilege of being made the receptacle of such a Revelation
would in the eyes of an unbelieving world greatly reduce
the efficacy of that Message, and detract from the self-sufficiency
of its omnipotent power. The contrast so strikingly
presented in the pages of &Nabil's Narrative between the
heroism that immortalized the life and deeds of the Dawn-Breakers
and the degeneracy and cowardice of their defamers
and persecutors is in itself a most impressive testimony
to the truth of the Message of Him Who had instilled such a
+P19
spirit into the breasts of His disciples. For any believer of
that race to maintain that the excellence of his country and
the innate nobility of its people were the fundamental reasons
for its being singled out as the primary receptacle of the
Revelations of the &Bab and &Baha'u'llah would be untenable
in the face of the overwhelming evidence afforded so convincingly
by that Narrative.
To a lesser degree this principle must of necessity apply
to the country which has vindicated its right to be regarded
as the cradle of the World Order of &Baha'u'llah. So great a
function, so noble a role, can be regarded as no less inferior
to the part played by those immortal souls who, through
their sublime renunciation and unparalleled deeds, have
been responsible for the birth of the Faith itself. Let not,
therefore, those who are to participate so predominantly in
the birth of that world civilization, which is the direct offspring
of their Faith, imagine for a moment that for some
mysterious purpose or by any reason of inherent excellence
or special merit &Baha'u'llah has chosen to confer upon their
country and people so great and lasting a distinction. It is
precisely by reason of the patent evils which, notwithstanding
its other admittedly great characteristics and achievements,
an excessive and binding materialism has unfortunately
engendered within it that the Author of their Faith
and the Center of His Covenant have singled it out to become
the standard-bearer of the New World Order envisaged
in their writings. It is by such means as this that &Baha'u'llah
can best demonstrate to a heedless generation His
almighty power to raise up from the very midst of a people,
immersed in a sea of materialism, a prey to one of the most
virulent and long-standing forms of racial prejudice, and
notorious for its political corruption, lawlessness and laxity
in moral standards, men and women who, as time goes by,
will increasingly exemplify those essential virtues of self-renunciation,
of moral rectitude, of chastity, of indiscriminating
fellowship, of holy discipline, and of spiritual insight
that will fit them for the preponderating share they will
+P20
have in calling into being that World Order and that World
Civilization of which their country, no less than the entire
human race, stands in desperate need. Theirs will be the
duty and privilege, in their capacity first as the establishers
of one of the most powerful pillars sustaining the edifice of
the Universal House of Justice, and then as the champion-builders
of that New World Order of which that House is to
be the nucleus and forerunner, to inculcate, demonstrate,
and apply those twin and sorely needed principles of Divine
justice and order--principles to which the political corruption
and the moral license, increasingly staining the society
to which they belong, offer so sad and striking a contrast.
Observations such as these, however distasteful and
depressing they may be, should not, in the least, blind us to
those virtues and qualities of high intelligence, of youthfulness,
of unbounded initiative, and enterprise which the nation
as a whole so conspicuously displays, and which are
being increasingly reflected by the community of the believers
within it. Upon these virtues and qualities, no less than
upon the elimination of the evils referred to, must depend,
to a very great extent, the ability of that community to lay a
firm foundation for the country's future role in ushering in
the Golden Age of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah.
How great, therefore, how staggering the responsibility
that must weigh upon the present generation of the American
believers, at this early stage in their spiritual and administrative
evolution, to weed out, by every means in their
power, those faults, habits, and tendencies which they have
inherited from their own nation, and to cultivate, patiently
and prayerfully, those distinctive qualities and characteristics
that are so indispensable to their effective participation
in the great redemptive work of their Faith. Incapable as yet,
in view of the restricted size of their community and the limited
influence it now wields, of producing any marked effect
on the great mass of their countrymen, let them focus their
attention, for the present, on their own selves, their own individual
needs, their own personal deficiencies and weaknesses,
+P21
ever mindful that every intensification of effort on
their part will better equip them for the time when they will
be called upon to eradicate in their turn such evil tendencies
from the lives and the hearts of the entire body of their fellow-citizens.
Nor must they overlook the fact that the World
Order, whose basis they, as the advance-guard of the future
&Baha'i generations of their countrymen, are now laboring to
establish, can never be reared unless and until the generality
of the people to which they belong has been already purged
from the divers ills, whether social or political, that now so
severely afflict it.
Surveying as a whole the most pressing needs of this
community, attempting to estimate the more serious deficiencies
by which it is being handicapped in the discharge of
its task, and ever bearing in mind the nature of that still
greater task with which it will be forced to wrestle in the
future, I feel it my duty to lay special stress upon, and draw
the special and urgent attention of the entire body of the
American believers, be they young or old, white or colored,
teachers or administrators, veterans or newcomers, to what I
firmly believe are the essential requirements for the success
of the tasks which are now claiming their undivided attention.
Great as is the importance of fashioning the outward
instruments, and of perfecting the administrative agencies,
which they can utilize for the prosecution of their dual task
under the Seven Year Plan; vital and urgent as are the campaigns
which they are initiating, the schemes and projects
which they are devising, and the funds which they are raising,
for the efficient conduct of both the Teaching and Temple
work, the imponderable, the spiritual, factors, which are
bound up with their own individual and inner lives, and
with which are associated their human and social relationships,
are no less urgent and vital, and demand constant
scrutiny, continual self-examination and heart-searching on
their part, lest their value be impaired or their vital necessity
be obscured or forgotten.
Of these spiritual prerequisites of success, which constitute
+P22
the bedrock on which the security of all teaching
plans, Temple projects, and financial schemes, must ultimately
rest, the following stand out as preeminent and vital,
which the members of the American &Baha'i community will
do well to ponder. Upon the extent to which these basic requirements
are met, and the manner in which the American
believers fulfill them in their individual lives, administrative
activities, and social relationships, must depend the measure
of the manifold blessings which the All-Bountiful Possessor
can vouchsafe to them all. These requirements are none
other than a high sense of moral rectitude in their social and
administrative activities, absolute chastity in their individual
lives, and complete freedom from prejudice in their dealings
with peoples of a different race, class, creed, or color.
The first is specially, though not exclusively, directed to
their elected representatives, whether local, regional, or national,
who, in their capacity as the custodians and members
of the nascent institutions of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, are
shouldering the chief responsibility in laying an unassailable
foundation for that Universal House of Justice which,
as its title implies, is to be the exponent and guardian of that
Divine Justice which can alone insure the security of, and
establish the reign of law and order in, a strangely disordered
world. The second is mainly and directly concerned
with the &Baha'i youth, who can contribute so decisively to
the virility, the purity, and the driving force of the life of the
&Baha'i community, and upon whom must depend the future
orientation of its destiny, and the complete unfoldment of
the potentialities with which God has endowed it. The third
should be the immediate, the universal, and the chief concern
of all and sundry members of the &Baha'i community, of
whatever age, rank, experience, class, or color, as all, with
no exception, must face its challenging implications, and
none can claim, however much he may have progressed
along this line, to have completely discharged the stern responsibilities
which it inculcates.
+P23
A rectitude of conduct, an abiding sense of undeviating
justice, unobscured by the demoralizing influences which a
corruption-ridden political life so strikingly manifests; a
chaste, pure, and holy life, unsullied and unclouded by the
indecencies, the vices, the false standards, which an inherently
deficient moral code tolerates, perpetuates, and fosters;
a fraternity freed from that cancerous growth of racial
prejudice, which is eating into the vitals of an already debilitated
society--these are the ideals which the American believers
must, from now on, individually and through concerted
action, strive to promote, in both their private and
public lives, ideals which are the chief propelling forces that
can most effectively accelerate the march of their institutions,
plans, and enterprises, that can guard the honor and
integrity of their Faith, and subdue any obstacles that may
confront it in the future.
This rectitude of conduct, with its implications of justice,
equity, truthfulness, honesty, fair-mindedness, reliability,
and trustworthiness, must distinguish every phase of the
life of the &Baha'i community. "The companions of God," &Baha'u'llah
Himself has declared, "are, in this day, the lump that
must leaven the peoples of the world. They must show forth such
trustworthiness, such truthfulness and perseverance, such deeds
and character that all mankind may profit by their example." "I
swear by Him Who is the Most Great Ocean!" He again affirms,
"Within the very breath of such souls as are pure and sanctified
far-reaching potentialities are hidden. So great are these potentialities
that they exercise their influence upon all created things." "He
is the true servant of God," He, in another passage has written,
"who, in this day, were he to pass through cities of silver and gold,
would not deign to look upon them, and whose heart would remain
pure and undefiled from whatever things can be seen in this world,
be they its goods or its treasures. I swear by the Sun of Truth! The
breath of such a man is endowed with potency, and his words with
attraction." "By Him Who shineth above the Dayspring of sanctity!"
He, still more emphatically, has revealed, "If the whole
+P24
earth were to be converted into silver and gold, no man who can be
said to have truly ascended into the heaven of faith and certitude
would deign to regard it, much less to seize and keep it.... They
who dwell within the Tabernacle of God, and are established upon
the seats of everlasting glory, will refuse, though they be dying of
hunger, to stretch their hands, and seize unlawfully the property of
their neighbor, however vile and worthless he may be. The purpose
of the one true God in manifesting Himself is to summon all mankind
to truthfulness and sincerity, to piety and trustworthiness, to
resignation and submissiveness to the will of God, to forbearance
and kindliness, to uprightness and wisdom. His object is to array
every man with the mantle of a saintly character, and to adorn him
with the ornament of holy and goodly deeds." "We have admonished
all the loved ones of God," He insists, "to take heed lest the
hem of Our sacred vesture be smirched with the mire of unlawful
deeds, or be stained with the dust of reprehensible conduct."
"Cleave unto righteousness, O people of &Baha," He thus exhorts
them, "This, verily, is the commandment which this wronged One
hath given unto you, and the first choice of His unrestrained will
for every one of you." "A good character," He explains, "is, verily,
the best mantle for men from God. With it He adorneth the temples
of His loved ones. By My life! The light of a good character surpasseth
the light of the sun and the radiance thereof." "One righteous
act," He, again, has written, "is endowed with a potency that
can so elevate the dust as to cause it to pass beyond the heaven of
heavens. It can tear every bond asunder, and hath the power to
restore the force that hath spent itself and vanished.... Be pure,
O people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous.... Say: O
people of God! That which can insure the victory of Him Who is
the Eternal Truth, His hosts and helpers on earth, have been set
down in the sacred Books and Scriptures, and are as clear and
manifest as the sun. These hosts are such righteous deeds, such
conduct and character, as are acceptable in His sight. Whoso ariseth,
in this Day, to aid Our Cause, and summoneth to his assistance
the hosts of a praiseworthy character and upright conduct,
the influence from such an action will, most certainly, be diffused
throughout the whole world." "The betterment of the world," is
+P25
yet another statement, "can be accomplished through pure and
goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct." "Be fair
to yourselves and to others," He thus counseleth them, "that
the evidences of justice may be revealed through your deeds among
Our faithful servants." "Equity," He also has written, "is the
most fundamental among human virtues. The evaluation of all
things must needs depend upon it." And again, "Observe equity
in your judgment, ye men of understanding heart! He that is unjust
in his judgment is destitute of the characteristics that distinguish
man's station." "Beautify your tongues, O people," He further
admonishes them, "with truthfulness, and adorn your souls with
the ornament of honesty. Beware, O people, that ye deal not
treacherously with anyone. Be ye the trustees of God amongst His
creatures, and the emblems of His generosity amidst His people."
"Let your eye be chaste," is yet another counsel, "your hand
faithful, your tongue truthful, and your heart enlightened." "Be an
ornament to the countenance of truth," is yet another admonition,
"a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of
righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of
the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue." "Let
truthfulness and courtesy be your adorning," is still another admonition;
"suffer not yourselves to be deprived of the robe of forbearance
and justice, that the sweet savors of holiness may be
wafted from your hearts upon all created things. Say: Beware, O
people of &Baha, lest ye walk in the ways of them whose words differ
from their deeds. Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest to the
peoples of the earth the signs of God, and to mirror forth His commandments.
Let your acts be a guide unto all mankind, for the professions
of most men, be they high or low, differ from their conduct.
It is through your deeds that ye can distinguish yourselves from
others. Through them the brightness of your light can be shed upon
the whole earth. Happy is the man that heedeth My counsel, and
keepeth the precepts prescribed by Him Who is the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise."
"O army of God!" writes &Abdu'l-Baha, "Through the protection
and help vouchsafed by the Blessed Beauty--may my life
be a sacrifice to His loved ones--ye must conduct yourselves in
+P26
such a manner that ye may stand out distinguished and brilliant as
the sun among other souls. Should any one of you enter a city, he
should become a center of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his
faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and
loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that the
people of that city may cry out and say: `This man is unquestionably
a &Baha'i, for his manners, his behavior, his conduct, his morals,
his nature, and disposition reflect the attributes of the &Baha'is.'
Not until ye attain this station can ye be said to have been faithful
to the Covenant and Testament of God." "The most vital duty, in
this day," He, moreover, has written, "is to purify your characters,
to correct your manners, and improve your conduct. The beloved
of the Merciful must show forth such character and conduct
among His creatures, that the fragrance of their holiness may be
shed upon the whole world, and may quicken the dead, inasmuch
as the purpose of the Manifestation of God and the dawning of the
limitless lights of the Invisible is to educate the souls of men, and
refine the character of every living man...." "Truthfulness," He
asserts, "is the foundation of all human virtues. Without truthfulness
progress and success, in all the worlds of God, are impossible
for any soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the
divine qualities will also be acquired."
Such a rectitude of conduct must manifest itself, with
ever-increasing potency, in every verdict which the elected
representatives of the &Baha'i community, in whatever capacity
they may find themselves, may be called upon to pronounce.
It must be constantly reflected in the business dealings
of all its members, in their domestic lives, in all manner
of employment, and in any service they may, in the future,
render their government or people. It must be exemplified in
the conduct of all &Baha'i electors, when exercising their sacred
rights and functions. It must characterize the attitude of
every loyal believer towards nonacceptance of political
posts, nonidentification with political parties, nonparticipation
in political controversies, and nonmembership in political
organizations and ecclesiastical institutions. It must reveal
itself in the uncompromising adherence of all, whether
+P27
young or old, to the clearly enunciated and fundamental
principles laid down by &Abdu'l-Baha in His addresses, and
to the laws and ordinances revealed by &Baha'u'llah in His
Most Holy Book. It must be demonstrated in the impartiality
of every defender of the Faith against its enemies, in his fair-mindedness
in recognizing any merits that enemy may possess,
and in his honesty in discharging any obligations he
may have towards him. It must constitute the brightest ornament
of the life, the pursuits, the exertions, and the utterances
of every &Baha'i teacher, whether laboring at home or
abroad, whether in the front ranks of the teaching force, or
occupying a less active and responsible position. It must be
made the hallmark of that numerically small, yet intensely
dynamic and highly responsible body of the elected national
representatives of every &Baha'i community, which constitutes
the sustaining pillar, and the sole instrument for the
election, in every community, of that Universal House
whose very name and title, as ordained by &Baha'u'llah, symbolizes
that rectitude of conduct which is its highest mission
to safeguard and enforce.
So great and transcendental is this principle of Divine
justice, a principle that must be regarded as the crowning
distinction of all Local and National Assemblies, in their capacity
as forerunners of the Universal House of Justice, that
&Baha'u'llah Himself subordinates His personal inclination
and wish to the all-compelling force of its demands and implications.
"God is My witness!" He thus explains, "were it not
contrary to the Law of God, I would have kissed the hand of My
would-be murderer, and would cause him to inherit My earthly
goods. I am restrained, however, by the binding Law laid down in
the Book, and am Myself bereft of all worldly possessions." "Know
thou, of a truth," He significantly affirms, "these great oppressions
that have befallen the world are preparing it for the advent of
the Most Great Justice." "Say," He again asserts, "He hath appeared
with that Justice wherewith mankind hath been adorned,
and yet the people are, for the most part, asleep." "The light of men
is Justice," He moreover states, "Quench it not with the contrary
+P28
winds of oppression and tyranny. The purpose of justice is the appearance
of unity among men." "No radiance," He declares, "can
compare with that of justice. The organization of the world and the
tranquillity of mankind depend upon it." "O people of God!" He
exclaims, "That which traineth the world is Justice, for it is upheld
by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars are
the sources of life to the world." "Justice and equity," is yet another
assertion, "are two guardians for the protection of man.
They have appeared arrayed in their mighty and sacred names to
maintain the world in uprightness and protect the nations." "Bestir
yourselves, O people," is His emphatic warning, "in anticipation
of the days of Divine justice, for the promised hour is now
come. Beware lest ye fail to apprehend its import, and be accounted
among the erring." "The day is approaching," He similarly has
written, "when the faithful will behold the daystar of justice shining
in its full splendor from the dayspring of glory." "The shame I
was made to bear," He significantly remarks, "hath uncovered
the glory with which the whole of creation had been invested, and
through the cruelties I have endured, the daystar of justice hath
manifested itself, and shed its splendor upon men." "The world,"
He again has written, "is in great turmoil, and the minds of its
people are in a state of utter confusion. We entreat the Almighty
that He may graciously illuminate them with the glory of His Justice,
and enable them to discover that which will be profitable unto
them at all times and under all conditions." And again, "There
can be no doubt whatever that if the daystar of justice, which the
clouds of tyranny have obscured, were to shed its light upon men,
the face of the earth would be completely transformed."
"God be praised!" &Abdu'l-Baha, in His turn, exclaims,
"The sun of justice hath risen above the horizon of &Baha'u'llah. For
in His Tablets the foundations of such a justice have been laid as
no mind hath, from the beginning of creation, conceived." "The
canopy of existence," He further explains, "resteth upon the pole
of justice, and not of forgiveness, and the life of mankind dependeth
on justice and not on forgiveness."
Small wonder, therefore, that the Author of the &Baha'i
Revelation should have chosen to associate the name and
+P29
title of that House, which is to be the crowning glory of His
administrative institutions, not with forgiveness but with
justice, to have made justice the only basis and the permanent
foundation of His Most Great Peace, and to have proclaimed
it in His Hidden Words as "the best beloved of all
things" in His sight. It is to the American believers, particularly,
that I feel urged to direct this fervent plea to ponder in
their hearts the implications of this moral rectitude, and to
uphold, with heart and soul and uncompromisingly, both
individually and collectively, this sublime standard--a standard
of which justice is so essential and potent an element.
As to a chaste and holy life, it should be regarded as no
less essential a factor that must contribute its proper share to
the strengthening and vitalization of the &Baha'i community,
upon which must in turn depend the success of any &Baha'i
plan or enterprise. In these days when the forces of irreligion
are weakening the moral fiber, and undermining the
foundations of individual morality, the obligation of chastity
and holiness must claim an increasing share of the attention
of the American believers, both in their individual
capacities and as the responsible custodians of the interests
of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah. In the discharge of such an obligation,
to which the special circumstances resulting from an
excessive and enervating materialism now prevailing in
their country lend particular significance, they must play a
conspicuous and predominant role. All of them, be they
men or women, must, at this threatening hour when the
lights of religion are fading out, and its restraints are one by
one being abolished, pause to examine themselves, scrutinize
their conduct, and with characteristic resolution arise to
purge the life of their community of every trace of moral
laxity that might stain the name, or impair the integrity, of
so holy and precious a Faith.
A chaste and holy life must be made the controlling
principle in the behavior and conduct of all &Baha'is, both in
their social relations with the members of their own community,
and in their contact with the world at large. It must
+P30
adorn and reinforce the ceaseless labors and meritorious exertions
of those whose enviable position is to propagate the
Message, and to administer the affairs, of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah.
It must be upheld, in all its integrity and implications,
in every phase of the life of those who fill the ranks of that
Faith, whether in their homes, their travels, their clubs, their
societies, their entertainments, their schools, and their universities.
It must be accorded special consideration in the
conduct of the social activities of every &Baha'i summer
school and any other occasions on which &Baha'i community
life is organized and fostered. It must be closely and continually
identified with the mission of the &Baha'i youth, both as
an element in the life of the &Baha'i community, and as a factor
in the future progress and orientation of the youth of
their own country.
Such a chaste and holy life, with its implications of
modesty, purity, temperance, decency, and clean-mindedness,
involves no less than the exercise of moderation in all
that pertains to dress, language, amusements, and all artistic
and literary avocations. It demands daily vigilance in the
control of one's carnal desires and corrupt inclinations. It
calls for the abandonment of a frivolous conduct, with its
excessive attachment to trivial and often misdirected pleasures.
It requires total abstinence from all alcoholic drinks,
from opium, and from similar habit-forming drugs. It condemns
the prostitution of art and of literature, the practices
of nudism and of companionate marriage, infidelity in marital
relationships, and all manner of promiscuity, of easy familiarity,
and of sexual vices. It can tolerate no compromise
with the theories, the standards, the habits, and the excesses
of a decadent age. Nay rather it seeks to demonstrate,
through the dynamic force of its example, the pernicious
character of such theories, the falsity of such standards, the
hollowness of such claims, the perversity of such habits, and
the sacrilegious character of such excesses.
"By the righteousness of God!" writes &Baha'u'llah, "The
world, its vanities and its glory, and whatever delights it can offer,
+P31
are all, in the sight of God, as worthless as, nay even more contemptible
than, dust and ashes. Would that the hearts of men could
comprehend it. Wash yourselves thoroughly, O people of &Baha,
from the defilement of the world, and of all that pertaineth unto it.
God Himself beareth Me witness! The things of the earth ill beseem
you. Cast them away unto such as may desire them, and fasten
your eyes upon this most holy and effulgent Vision." "O ye My
loved ones!" He thus exhorts His followers, "Suffer not the hem
of My sacred vesture to be smirched and mired with the things of
this world, and follow not the promptings of your evil and corrupt
desires." And again, "O ye the beloved of the one true God! Pass
beyond the narrow retreats of your evil and corrupt desires, and
advance into the vast immensity of the realm of God, and abide ye
in the meads of sanctity and of detachment, that the fragrance of
your deeds may lead the whole of mankind to the ocean of God's
unfading glory." "Disencumber yourselves," He thus commands
them, "of all attachment to this world and the vanities thereof.
Beware that ye approach them not, inasmuch as they prompt you
to walk after your own lusts and covetous desires, and hinder you
from entering the straight and glorious Path." "Eschew all manner
of wickedness," is His commandment, "for such things are forbidden
unto you in the Book which none touch except such as God
hath cleansed from every taint of guilt, and numbered among the
purified." "A race of men," is His written promise, "incomparable
in character, shall be raised up which, with the feet of detachment,
will tread under all who are in heaven and on earth, and
will cast the sleeve of holiness over all that hath been created from
water and clay." "The civilization," is His grave warning, "so
often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences, will, if
allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil
upon men.... If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific
a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the
restraints of moderation." "He hath chosen out of the whole world
the hearts of His servants," He explains, "and made them each a
seat for the revelation of His glory. Wherefore, sanctify them from
every defilement, that the things for which they were created may
be engraven upon them. This indeed is a token of God's bountiful
+P32
favor." "Say," He proclaims, "He is not to be numbered with the
people of &Baha who followeth his mundane desires, or fixeth his
heart on things of the earth. He is My true follower who, if he come
to a valley of pure gold will pass straight through it aloof as a
cloud, and will neither turn back, nor pause. Such a man is assuredly
of Me. From his garment the Concourse on high can inhale
the fragrance of sanctity.... And if he met the fairest and most
comely of women, he would not feel his heart seduced by the least
shadow of desire for her beauty. Such an one indeed is the creation
of spotless chastity. Thus instructeth you the Pen of the Ancient of
Days, as bidden by your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful."
"They that follow their lusts and corrupt inclinations," is yet another
warning, "have erred and dissipated their efforts. They indeed
are of the lost." "It behooveth the people of &Baha," He also
has written, "to die to the world and all that is therein, to be so
detached from all earthly things that the inmates of Paradise may
inhale from their garment the sweet smelling savor of sanctity....
They that have tarnished the fair name of the Cause of God by
following the things of the flesh--these are in palpable error!"
"Purity and chastity," He particularly admonishes, "have been,
and still are, the most great ornaments for the handmaidens of
God. God is My Witness! The brightness of the light of chastity
sheddeth its illumination upon the worlds of the spirit, and its fragrance
is wafted even unto the Most Exalted Paradise." "God," He
again affirms, "hath verily made chastity to be a crown for the
heads of His handmaidens. Great is the blessedness of that handmaiden
that hath attained unto this great station." "We, verily,
have decreed in Our Book," is His assurance, "a goodly and
bountiful reward to whosoever will turn away from wickedness,
and lead a chaste and godly life. He, in truth, is the Great Giver,
the All-Bountiful." "We have sustained the weight of all calamities,"
He testifies, "to sanctify you from all earthly corruption and
ye are yet indifferent.... We, verily, behold your actions. If We
perceive from them the sweet smelling savor of purity and holiness,
We will most certainly bless you. Then will the tongues of the
inmates of Paradise utter your praise and magnify your names
amidst them who have drawn nigh unto God."
+P33
"The drinking of wine," writes &Abdu'l-Baha, "is, according
to the text of the Most Holy Book, forbidden; for it is the cause
of chronic diseases, weakeneth the nerves, and consumeth the
mind." "Drink ye, O handmaidens of God," &Baha'u'llah Himself
has affirmed, "the Mystic Wine from the cup of My words. Cast
away, then, from you that which your minds abhor, for it hath
been forbidden unto you in His Tablets and His Scriptures. Beware
lest ye barter away the River that is life indeed for that which the
souls of the pure-hearted detest. Become ye intoxicated with the
wine of the love of God, and not with that which deadeneth your
minds, O ye that adore Him! Verily, it hath been forbidden unto
every believer, whether man or woman. Thus hath the sun of My
commandment shone forth above the horizon of My utterance, that
the handmaidens who believe in Me may be illumined."
It must be remembered, however, that the maintenance
of such a high standard of moral conduct is not to be
associated or confused with any form of asceticism, or of excessive
and bigoted puritanism. The standard inculcated by
&Baha'u'llah seeks, under no circumstances, to deny anyone
the legitimate right and privilege to derive the fullest advantage
and benefit from the manifold joys, beauties, and pleasures
with which the world has been so plentifully enriched
by an All-Loving Creator. "Should a man," &Baha'u'llah Himself
reassures us, "wish to adorn himself with the ornaments of
the earth, to wear its apparels, or partake of the benefits it can
bestow, no harm can befall him, if he alloweth nothing whatever to
intervene between him and God, for God hath ordained every good
thing, whether created in the heavens or in the earth, for such of
His servants as truly believe in Him. Eat ye, O people, of the good
things which God hath allowed you, and deprive not yourselves
from His wondrous bounties. Render thanks and praise unto Him,
and be of them that are truly thankful."
As to racial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well-nigh
a century, has bitten into the fiber, and attacked the
whole social structure of American society, it should be regarded
as constituting the most vital and challenging issue
confronting the &Baha'i community at the present stage of its
+P34
evolution. The ceaseless exertions which this issue of paramount
importance calls for, the sacrifices it must impose,
the care and vigilance it demands, the moral courage and
fortitude it requires, the tact and sympathy it necessitates,
invest this problem, which the American believers are still
far from having satisfactorily resolved, with an urgency and
importance that cannot be overestimated. White and Negro,
high and low, young and old, whether newly converted to
the Faith or not, all who stand identified with it must participate
in, and lend their assistance, each according to his or
her capacity, experience, and opportunities, to the common
task of fulfilling the instructions, realizing the hopes, and
following the example, of &Abdu'l-Baha. Whether colored or
noncolored, neither race has the right, or can conscientiously
claim, to be regarded as absolved from such an obligation, as
having realized such hopes, or having faithfully followed
such an example. A long and thorny road, beset with pitfalls,
still remains untraveled, both by the white and the Negro
exponents of the redeeming Faith of &Baha'u'llah. On the
distance they cover, and the manner in which they travel
that road, must depend, to an extent which few among
them can imagine, the operation of those intangible influences
which are indispensable to the spiritual triumph of the
American believers and the material success of their newly
launched enterprise.
Let them call to mind, fearlessly and determinedly, the
example and conduct of &Abdu'l-Baha while in their midst.
Let them remember His courage, His genuine love, His informal
and indiscriminating fellowship, His contempt for
and impatience of criticism, tempered by His tact and wisdom.
Let them revive and perpetuate the memory of those
unforgettable and historic episodes and occasions on which
He so strikingly demonstrated His keen sense of justice, His
spontaneous sympathy for the downtrodden, His ever-abiding
sense of the oneness of the human race, His overflowing
love for its members, and His displeasure with
+P35
those who dared to flout His wishes, to deride His methods,
to challenge His principles, or to nullify His acts.
To discriminate against any race, on the ground of its
being socially backward, politically immature, and numerically
in a minority, is a flagrant violation of the spirit that
animates the Faith of &Baha'u'llah. The consciousness of any
division or cleavage in its ranks is alien to its very purpose,
principles, and ideals. Once its members have fully recognized
the claim of its Author, and, by identifying themselves
with its Administrative Order, accepted unreservedly the
principles and laws embodied in its teachings, every differentiation
of class, creed, or color must automatically be obliterated,
and never be allowed, under any pretext, and however
great the pressure of events or of public opinion, to
reassert itself. If any discrimination is at all to be tolerated, it
should be a discrimination not against, but rather in favor of
the minority, be it racial or otherwise. Unlike the nations and
peoples of the earth, be they of the East or of the West, democratic
or authoritarian, communist or capitalist, whether belonging
to the Old World or the New, who either ignore,
trample upon, or extirpate, the racial, religious, or political
minorities within the sphere of their jurisdiction, every organized
community enlisted under the banner of &Baha'u'llah
should feel it to be its first and inescapable obligation to
nurture, encourage, and safeguard every minority belonging
to any faith, race, class, or nation within it. So great and
vital is this principle that in such circumstances, as when an
equal number of ballots have been cast in an election, or
where the qualifications for any office are balanced as between
the various races, faiths or nationalities within the
community, priority should unhesitatingly be accorded the
party representing the minority, and this for no other reason
except to stimulate and encourage it, and afford it an opportunity
to further the interests of the community. In the light
of this principle, and bearing in mind the extreme desirability
of having the minority elements participate and share responsibility
+P36
in the conduct of &Baha'i activity, it should be
the duty of every &Baha'i community so to arrange its affairs
that in cases where individuals belonging to the divers minority
elements within it are already qualified and fulfill the
necessary requirements, &Baha'i representative institutions,
be they Assemblies, conventions, conferences, or committees,
may have represented on them as many of these divers
elements, racial or otherwise, as possible. The adoption of
such a course, and faithful adherence to it, would not only
be a source of inspiration and encouragement to those elements
that are numerically small and inadequately represented,
but would demonstrate to the world at large the universality
and representative character of the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah, and the freedom of His followers from the taint
of those prejudices which have already wrought such havoc
in the domestic affairs, as well as the foreign relationships,
of the nations.
Freedom from racial prejudice, in any of its forms,
should, at such a time as this when an increasingly large section
of the human race is falling a victim to its devastating
ferocity, be adopted as the watchword of the entire body of
the American believers, in whichever state they reside, in
whatever circles they move, whatever their age, traditions,
tastes, and habits. It should be consistently demonstrated in
every phase of their activity and life, whether in the &Baha'i
community or outside it, in public or in private, formally as
well as informally, individually as well as in their official capacity
as organized groups, committees and Assemblies. It
should be deliberately cultivated through the various and
everyday opportunities, no matter how insignificant, that
present themselves, whether in their homes, their business
offices, their schools and colleges, their social parties and
recreation grounds, their &Baha'i meetings, conferences, conventions,
summer schools and Assemblies. It should, above
all else, become the keynote of the policy of that august
body which, in its capacity as the national representative,
and the director and coordinator of the affairs of the community,
+P37
must set the example, and facilitate the application
of such a vital principle to the lives and activities of those
whose interests it safeguards and represents.
"O ye discerning ones!" &Baha'u'llah has written, "Verily,
the words which have descended from the heaven of the Will of
God are the source of unity and harmony for the world. Close your
eyes to racial differences, and welcome all with the light of oneness."
"We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of
the nations," He proclaims, "...that all nations should become
one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and
unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity
of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled."
"&Baha'u'llah hath said," writes &Abdu'l-Baha, "that the various
races of humankind lend a composite harmony and beauty of color
to the whole. Let all associate, therefore, in this great human garden
even as flowers grow and blend together side by side without
discord or disagreement between them." "&Baha'u'llah," &Abdu'l-Baha
moreover has said, "once compared the colored people to
the black pupil of the eye surrounded by the white. In this black
pupil is seen the reflection of that which is before it, and through it
the light of the spirit shineth forth."
"God," &Abdu'l-Baha Himself declares, "maketh no distinction
between the white and the black. If the hearts are pure
both are acceptable unto Him. God is no respecter of persons on
account of either color or race. All colors are acceptable unto Him,
be they white, black, or yellow. Inasmuch as all were created in the
image of God, we must bring ourselves to realize that all embody
divine possibilities." "In the estimation of God," He states, "all
men are equal. There is no distinction or preference for any soul, in
the realm of His justice and equity." "God did not make these divisions,"
He affirms; "these divisions have had their origin in man
himself. Therefore, as they are against the plan and purpose of God
they are false and imaginary." "In the estimation of God," He
again affirms, "there is no distinction of color; all are one in the
color and beauty of servitude to Him. Color is not important; the
heart is all-important. It mattereth not what the exterior may be if
the heart is pure and white within. God doth not behold differences
+P38
of hue and complexion. He looketh at the hearts. He whose morals
and virtues are praiseworthy is preferred in the presence of God; he
who is devoted to the Kingdom is most beloved. In the realm of
genesis and creation the question of color is of least importance."
"Throughout the animal kingdom," He explains, "we do not find
the creatures separated because of color. They recognize unity of
species and oneness of kind. If we do not find color distinction
drawn in a kingdom of lower intelligence and reason, how can it be
justified among human beings, especially when we know that all
have come from the same source and belong to the same household?
In origin and intention of creation mankind is one. Distinctions
of race and color have arisen afterward." "Man is endowed
with superior reasoning power and the faculty of perception"; He
further explains, "he is the manifestation of divine bestowals.
Shall racial ideas prevail and obscure the creative purpose of unity
in his kingdom?" "One of the important questions," He significantly
remarks, "which affect the unity and the solidarity of
mankind is the fellowship and equality of the white and colored
races. Between these two races certain points of agreement and
points of distinction exist which warrant just and mutual consideration.
The points of contact are many.... In this country, the
United States of America, patriotism is common to both races; all
have equal rights to citizenship, speak one language, receive the
blessings of the same civilization, and follow the precepts of the
same religion. In fact numerous points of partnership and agreement
exist between the two races, whereas the one point of distinction
is that of color. Shall this, the least of all distinctions, be allowed
to separate you as races and individuals?" "This variety in
forms and coloring," He stresses, "which is manifest in all the
kingdoms is according to creative Wisdom and hath a divine purpose."
"The diversity in the human family," He claims, "should
be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many
different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord." "If
you meet," is His admonition, "those of a different race and color
from yourself, do not mistrust them, and withdraw yourself into
your shell of conventionality, but rather be glad and show them
kindness." "In the world of being," He testifies, "the meeting is
+P39
blessed when the white and colored races meet together with infinite
spiritual love and heavenly harmony. When such meetings are
established, and the participants associate with each other with
perfect love, unity and kindness, the angels of the Kingdom praise
them, and the Beauty of &Baha'u'llah addresseth them, `Blessed are
ye! Blessed are ye!'" "When a gathering of these two races is
brought about," He likewise asserts, "that assemblage will become
the magnet of the Concourse on high, and the confirmation of
the Blessed Beauty will surround it." "Strive earnestly," He again
exhorts both races, "and put forth your greatest endeavor toward
the accomplishment of this fellowship and the cementing of this
bond of brotherhood between you. Such an attainment is not possible
without will and effort on the part of each; from one, expressions
of gratitude and appreciation; from the other, kindliness and
recognition of equality. Each one should endeavor to develop and
assist the other toward mutual advancement.... Love and unity
will be fostered between you, thereby bringing about the oneness of
mankind. For the accomplishment of unity between the colored
and white will be an assurance of the world's peace." "I hope," He
thus addresses members of the white race, "that ye may cause
that downtrodden race to become glorious, and to be joined with
the white race, to serve the world of man with the utmost sincerity,
faithfulness, love, and purity. This opposition, enmity, and prejudice
among the white race and the colored cannot be effaced except
through faith, assurance, and the teachings of the Blessed Beauty."
"This question of the union of the white and the black is very important,"
He warns, "for if it is not realized, erelong great difficulties
will arise, and harmful results will follow." "If this matter remaineth
without change," is yet another warning, "enmity will
be increased day by day, and the final result will be hardship and
may end in bloodshed."
A tremendous effort is required by both races if their
outlook, their manners, and conduct are to reflect, in this
darkened age, the spirit and teachings of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah.
Casting away once and for all the fallacious doctrine
of racial superiority, with all its attendant evils, confusion,
and miseries, and welcoming and encouraging the intermixture
+P40
of races, and tearing down the barriers that now divide
them, they should each endeavor, day and night, to fulfill
their particular responsibilities in the common task which so
urgently faces them. Let them, while each is attempting to
contribute its share to the solution of this perplexing problem,
call to mind the warnings of &Abdu'l-Baha, and visualize,
while there is yet time, the dire consequences that must
follow if this challenging and unhappy situation that faces
the entire American nation is not definitely remedied.
Let the white make a supreme effort in their resolve to
contribute their share to the solution of this problem, to
abandon once for all their usually inherent and at times subconscious
sense of superiority, to correct their tendency
towards revealing a patronizing attitude towards the members
of the other race, to persuade them through their intimate,
spontaneous and informal association with them of
the genuineness of their friendship and the sincerity of their
intentions, and to master their impatience of any lack of responsiveness
on the part of a people who have received, for
so long a period, such grievous and slow-healing wounds.
Let the Negroes, through a corresponding effort on their
part, show by every means in their power the warmth of
their response, their readiness to forget the past, and their
ability to wipe out every trace of suspicion that may still linger
in their hearts and minds. Let neither think that the solution
of so vast a problem is a matter that exclusively concerns
the other. Let neither think that such a problem can
either easily or immediately be resolved. Let neither think
that they can wait confidently for the solution of this problem
until the initiative has been taken, and the favorable circumstances
created, by agencies that stand outside the orbit
of their Faith. Let neither think that anything short of genuine
love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact,
sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent,
and prayerful effort, can succeed in blotting out the stain
which this patent evil has left on the fair name of their common
country. Let them rather believe, and be firmly convinced,
+P41
that on their mutual understanding, their amity, and
sustained cooperation, must depend, more than on any other
force or organization operating outside the circle of their
Faith, the deflection of that dangerous course so greatly
feared by &Abdu'l-Baha, and the materialization of the
hopes He cherished for their joint contribution to the fulfillment
of that country's glorious destiny.
Dearly beloved friends! A rectitude of conduct which,
in all its manifestations, offers a striking contrast to the deceitfulness
and corruption that characterize the political life
of the nation and of the parties and factions that compose it;
a holiness and chastity that are diametrically opposed to the
moral laxity and licentiousness which defile the character of
a not inconsiderable proportion of its citizens; an interracial
fellowship completely purged from the curse of racial prejudice
which stigmatizes the vast majority of its people--these
are the weapons which the American believers can and
must wield in their double crusade, first to regenerate the
inward life of their own community, and next to assail the
long-standing evils that have entrenched themselves in the
life of their nation. The perfection of such weapons, the
wise and effective utilization of every one of them, more
than the furtherance of any particular plan, or the devising
of any special scheme, or the accumulation of any amount
of material resources, can prepare them for the time when
the Hand of Destiny will have directed them to assist in creating
and in bringing into operation that World Order which
is now incubating within the worldwide administrative institutions
of their Faith.
In the conduct of this twofold crusade the valiant warriors
struggling in the name and for the Cause of &Baha'u'llah
must, of necessity, encounter stiff resistance, and suffer
many a setback. Their own instincts, no less than the fury of
conservative forces, the opposition of vested interests, and
the objections of a corrupt and pleasure-seeking generation,
must be reckoned with, resolutely resisted, and completely
overcome. As their defensive measures for the impending
+P42
struggle are organized and extended, storms of abuse and
ridicule, and campaigns of condemnation and misrepresentation,
may be unloosed against them. Their Faith, they may
soon find, has been assaulted, their motives misconstrued,
their aims defamed, their aspirations derided, their institutions
scorned, their influence belittled, their authority undermined,
and their Cause, at times, deserted by a few who
will either be incapable of appreciating the nature of their
ideals, or unwilling to bear the brunt of the mounting criticisms
which such a contest is sure to involve. "Because of
&Abdu'l-Baha," the beloved Master has prophesied, "many a
test will be visited upon you. Troubles will befall you, and suffering
afflict you."
Let not, however, the invincible army of &Baha'u'llah,
who in the West, and at one of its potential storm centers is
to fight, in His name and for His sake, one of its fiercest and
most glorious battles, be afraid of any criticism that might be
directed against it. Let it not be deterred by any condemnation
with which the tongue of the slanderer may seek to
debase its motives. Let it not recoil before the threatening
advance of the forces of fanaticism, of orthodoxy, of corruption,
and of prejudice that may be leagued against it. The
voice of criticism is a voice that indirectly reinforces the
proclamation of its Cause. Unpopularity but serves to throw
into greater relief the contrast between it and its adversaries,
while ostracism is itself the magnetic power that must eventually
win over to its camp the most vociferous and inveterate
amongst its foes. Already in the land where the greatest
battles of the Faith have been fought, and its most rapacious
enemies have lived, the march of events, the slow yet steady
infiltration of its ideals, and the fulfillment of its prophecies,
have resulted not only in disarming and in transforming the
character of some of its most redoubtable enemies, but also
in securing their firm and unreserved allegiance to its
Founders. So complete a transformation, so startling a reversal
of attitude, can only be effected if that chosen vehicle
which is designed to carry the Message of &Baha'u'llah to the
+P43
hungry, the restless, and unshepherded multitudes is itself
thoroughly cleansed from the defilements which it seeks to
remove.
It is upon you, therefore, my best-beloved friends, that
I wish to impress not only the urgency and imperative necessity
of your holy task, but also the limitless possibilities
which it possesses of raising to such an exalted level not
only the life and activities of your own community, but the
motives and standards that govern the relationships existing
among the people to which you belong. Undismayed by the
formidable nature of this task, you will, I am confident,
meet as befits you the challenge of these times, so fraught
with peril, so full of corruption, and yet so pregnant with
the promise of a future so bright that no previous age in the
annals of mankind can rival its glory.
Dearly beloved friends! I have attempted, in the beginning
of these pages, to convey an idea of the glorious opportunities
as well as the tremendous responsibilities which, as
a result of the persecution of the far-flung Faith of &Baha'u'llah,
now face the community of the American believers, at
so critical a stage in the Formative Period of their Faith, and
in so crucial an epoch in the world's history. I have dwelt
sufficiently upon the character of the mission which in a not
too distant future that community must, through the impelling
force of circumstances, arise and carry out. I have uttered
the warning which I felt would be necessary to a clearer
understanding, and a better discharge, of the tasks lying
ahead of it. I have set forth, and stressed as far as it was in
my power, those exalted and dynamic virtues, those lofty
standards, which, difficult as they are to attain, constitute
nonetheless the essential requirements for the success of
those tasks. A word, I believe, should now be said in connection
with the material aspect of their immediate task,
upon the termination of which, at its appointed time, must
depend not only the unfoldment of the subsequent stages in
the Divine Plan envisaged by &Abdu'l-Baha, but also the acquisition
+P44
of those capacities which will qualify them to discharge,
in the fullness of time, the duties and responsibilities
demanded by that greater mission which it is their privilege
to perform.
The Seven Year Plan, with its twofold aspects of Temple
ornamentation and extension of teaching activity, embracing
both the Northern and Southern American continents,
is now well advanced into its second year, and offers
to anyone who has observed its progress in recent months
signs that are extremely heartening and which augur well
for the attainment of its objectives within the allotted time.
The successive steps designed to facilitate, and covering the
entire field of, the work to be achieved in connection with
the exterior ornamentation of the Temple have for the most
part been taken. The final phase which is to mark the triumphant
conclusion of a thirty-year old enterprise has at long
last been entered. The initial contract connected with the
first and main story of that historic edifice has been signed.
The Fund associated with the beloved name of the Greatest
Holy Leaf has been launched. The uninterrupted continuation
to its very end of so laudable an enterprise is now assured.
The poignant memories of one whose heart so greatly
rejoiced at the rearing of the superstructure of this sacred
House will so energize the final exertions required to complete
it as to dissipate any doubt that may yet linger in any
mind as to the capacity of its builders to worthily consummate
their task.
The teaching aspect of the Plan must now be pondered.
Its challenge must be met, and its requirements studied,
weighed, and fulfilled. Superb and irresistible as is the
beauty of the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the West, majestic
as are its dimensions, unique as is its architecture, and priceless
as are the ideals and the aspirations which it symbolizes,
it should be regarded, at the present time, as no more
than an instrument for a more effective propagation of the
Cause and a wider diffusion of its teachings. In this respect
it should be viewed in the same light as the administrative
+P45
institutions of the Faith which are designed as vehicles for
the proper dissemination of its ideals, its tenets, and its verities.
It is, therefore, to the teaching requirements of the Seven
Year Plan that the community of the American believers
must henceforth direct their careful and sustained attention.
The entire community must, as one man, arise to fulfill
them. To teach the Cause of God, to proclaim its truths, to
defend its interests, to demonstrate, by words as well as by
deeds, its indispensability, its potency, and universality,
should at no time be regarded as the exclusive concern or
sole privilege of &Baha'i administrative institutions, be they
Assemblies, or committees. All must participate, however
humble their origin, however limited their experience, however
restricted their means, however deficient their education,
however pressing their cares and preoccupations, however
unfavorable the environment in which they live. "God,"
&Baha'u'llah, Himself, has unmistakably revealed, "hath prescribed
unto everyone the duty of teaching His Cause." "Say," He
further has written, "Teach ye the Cause of God, O people of
&Baha, for God hath prescribed unto everyone the duty of proclaiming
His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all
deeds."
A high and exalted position in the ranks of the community,
conferring as it does on its holder certain privileges and
prerogatives, no doubt invests him with a responsibility that
he cannot honorably shirk in his duty to teach and promote
the Faith of God. It may, at times, though not invariably,
create greater opportunities and furnish better facilities to
spread the knowledge of that Faith, and to win supporters to
its institutions. It does not, however, under any circumstances,
necessarily carry with it the power of exercising
greater influence on the minds and hearts of those to whom
that Faith is presented. How often--and the early history of
the Faith in the land of its birth offers many a striking testimony--
have the lowliest adherents of the Faith, unschooled
and utterly inexperienced, and with no standing
+P46
whatever, and in some cases devoid of intelligence, been capable
of winning victories for their Cause, before which the
most brilliant achievements of the learned, the wise, and the
experienced have paled.
"Peter," &Abdu'l-Baha has testified, "according to the history
of the Church, was also incapable of keeping count of the days
of the week. Whenever he decided to go fishing, he would tie up his
weekly food into seven parcels, and every day he would eat one of
them, and when he had reached the seventh, he would know that
the Sabbath had arrived, and thereupon would observe it." If the
Son of Man was capable of infusing into apparently so
crude and helpless an instrument such potency as to cause,
in the words of &Baha'u'llah, "the mysteries of wisdom and of
utterance to flow out of his mouth," and to exalt him above the
rest of His disciples, and render him fit to become His successor
and the founder of His Church, how much more can
the Father, Who is &Baha'u'llah, empower the most puny and
insignificant among His followers to achieve, for the execution
of His purpose, such wonders as would dwarf the
mightiest achievements of even the first apostle of Jesus
Christ!
"The &Bab," &Abdu'l-Baha, moreover, has written, "hath
said: `Should a tiny ant desire, in this day, to be possessed of such
power as to be able to unravel the abstrusest and most bewildering
passages of the &Qur'an, its wish will no doubt be fulfilled, inasmuch
as the mystery of eternal might vibrates within the innermost
being of all created things.' If so helpless a creature can be
endowed with so subtle a capacity, how much more efficacious
must be the power released through the liberal effusions of the
grace of &Baha'u'llah!"
The field is indeed so immense, the period so critical,
the Cause so great, the workers so few, the time so short, the
privilege so priceless, that no follower of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah,
worthy to bear His name, can afford a moment's
hesitation. That God-born Force, irresistible in its sweeping
power, incalculable in its potency, unpredictable in its
course, mysterious in its workings, and awe-inspiring in its
+P47
manifestations--a Force which, as the &Bab has written, "vibrates
within the innermost being of all created things," and
which, according to &Baha'u'llah, has through its "vibrating
influence," "upset the equilibrium of the world and revolutionized
its ordered life"--such a Force, acting even as a two-edged
sword, is, under our very eyes, sundering, on the one hand,
the age-old ties which for centuries have held together the
fabric of civilized society, and is unloosing, on the other, the
bonds that still fetter the infant and as yet unemancipated
Faith of &Baha'u'llah. The undreamt-of opportunities offered
through the operation of this Force--the American believers
must now rise, and fully and courageously exploit them.
"The holy realities of the Concourse on high," writes &Abdu'l-Baha,
"yearn, in this day, in the Most Exalted Paradise, to return
unto this world, so that they may be aided to render some service
to the threshold of the &Abha Beauty, and arise to demonstrate their
servitude to His sacred Threshold."
A world, dimmed by the steadily dying-out light of religion,
heaving with the explosive forces of a blind and triumphant
nationalism; scorched with the fires of pitiless persecution,
whether racial or religious; deluded by the false
theories and doctrines that threaten to supplant the worship
of God and the sanctification of His laws; enervated by a
rampant and brutal materialism; disintegrating through the
corrosive influence of moral and spiritual decadence; and
enmeshed in the coils of economic anarchy and strife--such
is the spectacle presented to men's eyes, as a result of the
sweeping changes which this revolutionizing Force, as yet in
the initial stage of its operation, is now producing in the life
of the entire planet.
So sad and moving a spectacle, bewildering as it must
be to every observer unaware of the purposes, the prophecies,
and promises of &Baha'u'llah, far from casting dismay
into the hearts of His followers, or paralyzing their efforts,
cannot but deepen their faith, and excite their enthusiastic
eagerness to arise and display, in the vast field traced for
them by the pen of &Abdu'l-Baha, their capacity to play their
+P48
part in the work of universal redemption proclaimed by &Baha'u'llah.
Every instrument in the administrative machinery
which, in the course of several years, they have so laboriously
erected must be fully utilized, and subordinated to the
end for which it was created. The Temple, that proud embodiment
of so rare a spirit of self-sacrifice, must likewise be
made to play its part, and contribute its share to the teaching
campaign designed to embrace the entire Western Hemisphere.
The opportunities which the turmoil of the present age
presents, with all the sorrows which it evokes, the fears
which it excites, the disillusionment which it produces, the
perplexities which it creates, the indignation which it
arouses, the revolt which it provokes, the grievances it engenders,
the spirit of restless search which it awakens, must,
in like manner, be exploited for the purpose of spreading far
and wide the knowledge of the redemptive power of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah, and for enlisting fresh recruits in the
ever-swelling army of His followers. So precious an opportunity,
so rare a conjunction of favorable circumstances,
may never again recur. Now is the time, the appointed time,
for the American believers, the vanguard of the hosts of the
Most Great Name, to proclaim, through the agencies and
channels of a specially designed Administrative Order, their
capacity and readiness to rescue a fallen and sore-tried generation
that has rebelled against its God and ignored His
warnings, and to offer it that complete security which only
the strongholds of their Faith can provide.
The teaching campaign, inaugurated throughout the
states of the North American Republic and the Dominion of
Canada, acquires, therefore, an importance, and is invested
with an urgency, that cannot be overestimated. Launched
on its course through the creative energies released by the
Will of &Abdu'l-Baha, and sweeping across the Western
Hemisphere through the propelling force which it is generating,
it must, I feel, be carried out in conformity with certain
+P49
principles, designed to insure its efficient conduct, and
to hasten the attainment of its objective.
Those who participate in such a campaign, whether in
an organizing capacity, or as workers to whose care the execution
of the task itself has been committed, must, as an essential
preliminary to the discharge of their duties, thoroughly
familiarize themselves with the various aspects of
the history and teachings of their Faith. In their efforts to
achieve this purpose they must study for themselves, conscientiously
and painstakingly, the literature of their Faith,
delve into its teachings, assimilate its laws and principles,
ponder its admonitions, tenets and purposes, commit to
memory certain of its exhortations and prayers, master the
essentials of its administration, and keep abreast of its current
affairs and latest developments. They must strive to obtain,
from sources that are authoritative and unbiased, a
sound knowledge of the history and tenets of &Islam--the
source and background of their Faith--and approach reverently
and with a mind purged from preconceived ideas the
study of the &Qur'an which, apart from the sacred scriptures
of the &Babi and &Baha'i Revelations, constitutes the only Book
which can be regarded as an absolutely authenticated Repository
of the Word of God. They must devote special attention
to the investigation of those institutions and circumstances
that are directly connected with the origin and birth
of their Faith, with the station claimed by its Forerunner,
and with the laws revealed by its Author.
Having acquired, in their essentials, these prerequisites
of success in the teaching field, they must, whenever they
contemplate undertaking any specific mission in the countries
of Latin America, endeavor, whenever feasible, to acquire
a certain proficiency in the languages spoken by the
inhabitants of those countries, and a knowledge of their customs,
habits, and outlook. "The teachers going to those parts,"
&Abdu'l-Baha, referring in one of the Tablets of the Divine
Plan to the Central American Republics, has written, "must
+P50
also be familiar with the Spanish language." "A party speaking
their languages ...," He, in another Tablet, has written,
"must turn their faces to and travel through the three great Island
groups of the Pacific Ocean." "The teachers traveling in different
directions," He further states, "must know the language of the
country in which they will enter. For example, a person being proficient
in the Japanese language may travel to Japan, or a person
knowing the Chinese language may hasten to China, and so forth."
No participator in this inter-American campaign of
teaching must feel that the initiative for any particular activity
connected with this work must rest solely with those
agencies, whether Assemblies or committees, whose special
concern is to promote and facilitate the attainment of this
vital objective of the Seven Year Plan. It is the bounden duty
of every American believer, as the faithful trustee of &Abdu'l-Baha's
Divine Plan, to initiate, promote, and consolidate,
within the limits fixed by the administrative principles of
the Faith, any activity he or she deems fit to undertake for
the furtherance of the Plan. Neither the threatening world
situation, nor any consideration of lack of material resources,
of mental equipment, of knowledge, or of experience--
desirable as they are--should deter any prospective
pioneer teacher from arising independently, and from setting
in motion the forces which, &Abdu'l-Baha has repeatedly
assured us, will, once released, attract even as a magnet the
promised and infallible aid of &Baha'u'llah. Let him not wait
for any directions, or expect any special encouragement,
from the elected representatives of his community, nor be
deterred by any obstacles which his relatives, or fellow-citizens
may be inclined to place in his path, nor mind the censure
of his critics or enemies. "Be unrestrained as the wind," is
&Baha'u'llah's counsel to every would-be teacher of His
Cause, "while carrying the Message of Him Who hath caused the
dawn of Divine Guidance to break. Consider how the wind, faithful
to that which God hath ordained, bloweth upon all regions of
the earth, be they inhabited or desolate. Neither the sight of desolation,
nor the evidences of prosperity, can either pain or please it. It
+P51
bloweth in every direction, as bidden by its Creator." "And when
he determineth to leave his home, for the sake of the Cause of his
Lord," &Baha'u'llah, in another passage, referring to such a
teacher, has revealed, "let him put his whole trust in God, as the
best provision for his journey, and array himself with the robe of
virtue.... If he be kindled with the fire of His love, if he forgoeth
all created things, the words he uttereth shall set on fire them that
hear him."
Having on his own initiative, and undaunted by any
hindrances with which either friend or foe may, unwittingly
or deliberately, obstruct his path, resolved to arise and respond
to the call of teaching, let him carefully consider every
avenue of approach which he might utilize in his personal
attempts to capture the attention, maintain the
interest, and deepen the faith, of those whom he seeks to
bring into the fold of his Faith. Let him survey the possibilities
which the particular circumstances in which he lives offer
him, evaluate their advantages, and proceed intelligently
and systematically to utilize them for the achievement of the
object he has in mind. Let him also attempt to devise such
methods as association with clubs, exhibitions, and societies,
lectures on subjects akin to the teachings and ideals of
his Cause such as temperance, morality, social welfare, religious
and racial tolerance, economic cooperation, &Islam, and
Comparative Religion, or participation in social, cultural,
humanitarian, charitable, and educational organizations
and enterprises which, while safeguarding the integrity of
his Faith, will open up to him a multitude of ways and
means whereby he can enlist successively the sympathy, the
support, and ultimately the allegiance of those with whom
he comes in contact. Let him, while such contacts are being
made, bear in mind the claims which his Faith is constantly
making upon him to preserve its dignity, and station, to
safeguard the integrity of its laws and principles, to demonstrate
its comprehensiveness and universality, and to defend
fearlessly its manifold and vital interests. Let him consider
the degree of his hearer's receptivity, and decide for himself
+P52
the suitability of either the direct or indirect method of
teaching, whereby he can impress upon the seeker the vital
importance of the Divine Message, and persuade him to
throw in his lot with those who have already embraced it.
Let him remember the example set by &Abdu'l-Baha, and
His constant admonition to shower such kindness upon the
seeker, and exemplify to such a degree the spirit of the
teachings he hopes to instill into him, that the recipient will
be spontaneously impelled to identify himself with the
Cause embodying such teachings. Let him refrain, at the
outset, from insisting on such laws and observances as
might impose too severe a strain on the seeker's newly
awakened faith, and endeavor to nurse him, patiently, tactfully,
and yet determinedly, into full maturity, and aid him
to proclaim his unqualified acceptance of whatever has been
ordained by &Baha'u'llah. Let him, as soon as that stage has
been attained, introduce him to the body of his fellow-believers,
and seek, through constant fellowship and active
participation in the local activities of his community, to enable
him to contribute his share to the enrichment of its life,
the furtherance of its tasks, the consolidations of its interests,
and the coordination of its activities with those of its
sister communities. Let him not be content until he has infused
into his spiritual child so deep a longing as to impel
him to arise independently, in his turn, and devote his energies
to the quickening of other souls, and the upholding of
the laws and principles laid down by his newly adopted
Faith.
Let every participator in the continent-wide campaign
initiated by the American believers, and particularly those
engaged in pioneer work in virgin territories, bear in mind
the necessity of keeping in close and constant touch with
those responsible agencies designed to direct, coordinate,
and facilitate the teaching activities of the entire community.
Whether it be the body of their elected national representatives,
or its chief auxiliary institution, the National
Teaching Committee, or its subsidiary organs, the regional
+P53
teaching committees, or the local Spiritual Assemblies and
their respective teaching committees, they who labor for the
spread of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah should, through constant
interchange of ideas, through letters, circulars, reports, bulletins
and other means of communication with these established
instruments designed for the propagation of the Faith,
insure the smooth and speedy functioning of the teaching
machinery of their Administrative Order. Confusion, delay,
duplication of efforts, dissipation of energy will, thereby, be
completely avoided, and the mighty flood of the grace of
&Baha'u'llah, flowing abundantly and without the least obstruction
through these essential channels will so inundate
the hearts and souls of men as to enable them to bring forth
the harvest repeatedly predicted by &Abdu'l-Baha.
Upon every participator in this concerted effort, unprecedented
in the annals of the American &Baha'i community,
rests the spiritual obligation to make of the mandate of
teaching, so vitally binding upon all, the all-pervading concern
of his life. In his daily activities and contacts, in all his
journeys, whether for business or otherwise, on his holidays
and outings, and on any mission he may be called upon to
undertake, every bearer of the Message of &Baha'u'llah
should consider it not only an obligation but a privilege to
scatter far and wide the seeds of His Faith, and to rest content
in the abiding knowledge that whatever be the immediate
response to that Message, and however inadequate the
vehicle that conveyed it, the power of its Author will, as He
sees fit, enable those seeds to germinate, and in circumstances
which no one can foresee enrich the harvest which
the labor of His followers will gather. If he be member of
any Spiritual Assembly let him encourage his Assembly to
consecrate a certain part of its time, at each of its sessions, to
the earnest and prayerful consideration of such ways and
means as may foster the campaign of teaching, or may furnish
whatever resources are available for its progress, extension,
and consolidation. If he attends his summer school--
and everyone without exception is urged to take advantage
+P54
of attending it--let him consider such an occasion as a welcome
and precious opportunity so to enrich, through lectures,
study, and discussion, his knowledge of the fundamentals
of his Faith as to be able to transmit, with greater
confidence and effectiveness, the Message that has been entrusted
to his care. Let him, moreover, seek, whenever feasible,
through intercommunity visits to stimulate the zeal for
teaching, and to demonstrate to outsiders the zest and alertness
of the promoters of his Cause and the organic unity of
its institutions.
Let anyone who feels the urge among the participators
in this crusade, which embraces all the races, all the republics,
classes and denominations of the entire Western Hemisphere,
arise, and, circumstances permitting, direct in particular
the attention, and win eventually the unqualified
adherence, of the Negro, the Indian, the Eskimo, and Jewish
races to his Faith. No more laudable and meritorious service
can be rendered the Cause of God, at the present hour, than
a successful effort to enhance the diversity of the members
of the American &Baha'i community by swelling the ranks of
the Faith through the enrollment of the members of these
races. A blending of these highly differentiated elements of
the human race, harmoniously interwoven into the fabric of
an all-embracing &Baha'i fraternity, and assimilated through
the dynamic processes of a divinely appointed Administrative
Order, and contributing each its share to the enrichment
and glory of &Baha'i community life, is surely an achievement
the contemplation of which must warm and thrill every
&Baha'i heart. "Consider the flowers of a garden," &Abdu'l-Baha
has written, "though differing in kind, color, form, and
shape, yet, inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one
spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays
of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm, and addeth unto
their beauty. How unpleasing to the eye if all the flowers and
plants, the leaves and blossoms, the fruits, the branches and the
trees of that garden were all of the same shape and color! Diversity
of hues, form and shape, enricheth and adorneth the garden, and
+P55
heighteneth the effect thereof. In like manner, when divers shades
of thought, temperament and character, are brought together under
the power and influence of one central agency, the beauty and
glory of human perfection will be revealed and made manifest.
Naught but the celestial potency of the Word of God, which ruleth
and transcendeth the realities of all things, is capable of harmonizing
the divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas, and convictions of
the children of men." "I hope," is the wish expressed by &Abdu'l-Baha,
"that ye may cause that downtrodden race [Negro] to
become glorious, and to be joined with the white race to serve the
world of man with the utmost sincerity, faithfulness, love and purity."
"One of the important questions," He also has written,
"which affect the unity and the solidarity of mankind is the fellowship
and equality of the white and colored races." "You must attach
great importance," writes &Abdu'l-Baha in the Tablets of
the Divine Plan, "to the Indians, the original inhabitants of
America. For these souls may be likened unto the ancient inhabitants
of the Arabian Peninsula, who, prior to the Revelation of &Muhammad,
were like savages. When the &Muhammadan Light shone
forth in their midst, they became so enkindled that they shed illumination
upon the world. Likewise, should these Indians be educated
and properly guided, there can be no doubt that through the
Divine teachings they will become so enlightened that the whole
earth will be illumined." "If it is possible," &Abdu'l-Baha has
also written, "send ye teachers to other portions of Canada; likewise,
dispatch ye teachers to Greenland and the home of the Eskimos."
"God willing," He further has written in those same
Tablets, "the call of the Kingdom may reach the ears of the Eskimos....
Should you display an effort, so that the fragrances of God
may be diffused among the Eskimos, its effect will be very great
and far-reaching." "Praise be to God," writes &Abdu'l-Baha,
"that whatsoever hath been announced in the Blessed Tablets unto
the Israelites, and the things explicitly written in the letters of
&Abdu'l-Baha, are all being fulfilled. Some have come to pass; others
will be revealed in the future. The Ancient Beauty hath in His sacred
Tablets explicitly written that the day of their abasement is
over. His bounty will overshadow them, and this race will day by
+P56
day progress, and be delivered from its age-long obscurity and degradation."
Let those who are holding administrative positions in
their capacity as members of either the National Spiritual
Assembly, or of the national, the regional, or local teaching
committees, continually bear in mind the vital and urgent
necessity of insuring, within as short a time as possible, the
formation, in the few remaining states of the North American
Republic and the provinces of the Dominion of Canada,
of groups, however small and rudimentary, and of providing
every facility within their power to enable these newly
formed nuclei to evolve, swiftly and along sound lines, into
properly functioning, self-sufficient, and recognized Assemblies.
To the laying of such foundations, the erection of such
outposts--a work admittedly arduous, yet sorely needed
and highly inspiring--the individual members of the American
&Baha'i community must lend their unstinted, continual,
and enthusiastic support. Wise as may be the measures
which their elected representatives may devise, however
practical and well conceived the plans they formulate, such
measures and plans can never yield any satisfactory results
unless a sufficient number of pioneers have determined to
make the necessary sacrifices, and to volunteer to carry
these projects into effect. To implant, once and for all, the
banner of &Baha'u'llah in the heart of these virgin territories,
to erect the structural basis of His Administrative Order in
their cities and villages, and to establish a firm and permanent
anchorage for its institutions in the minds and hearts of
their inhabitants, constitute, I firmly believe, the first and
most significant step in the successive stages through which
the teaching campaign, inaugurated under the Seven Year
Plan, must pass. Whereas the external ornamentation of the
&Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, under this same Plan, has now entered
the final phase in its development, the teaching campaign is
still in its initial stages, and is far from having extended effectively
its ramifications to either these virgin territories, or
to those Republics that are situated in the South American
+P57
continent. The effort required is prodigious, the conditions
under which these preliminary establishments are to be
made are often unattractive and unfavorable, the workers
who are in a position to undertake such tasks limited, and
the resources they can command meager and inadequate.
And yet, how often has the pen of &Baha'u'llah assured us
that "should a man, all alone, arise in the name of &Baha, and put
on the armor of His love, him will the Almighty cause to be victorious,
though the forces of earth and heaven be arrayed against
him." Has He not written: "By God, besides Whom is none other
God! Should anyone arise for the triumph of our Cause, him will
God render victorious though tens of thousands of enemies be
leagued against him. And if his love for me wax stronger, God will
establish his ascendancy over all the powers of earth and heaven."
"Consider the work of former generations," &Abdu'l-Baha has
written; "During the lifetime of Jesus Christ the believing, firm
souls were few and numbered, but the heavenly blessings descended
so plentifully that in a number of years countless souls entered beneath
the shadow of the Gospel. God has said in the &Qur'an: `One
grain will bring forth seven sheaves, and every sheaf shall contain
one hundred grains.' In other words, one grain will become seven
hundred; and if God so wills He will double these also. It has often
happened that one blessed soul has become the cause of the guidance
of a nation. Now we must not consider our ability and capacity,
nay rather we must fix our gaze upon the favors and bounties of
God, in these days, Who has made of the drop a sea, and of the
atom a sun." Let those who resolve to be the first to hoist the
standard of such a Cause, under such conditions, and in
such territories, nourish their souls with the sustaining
power of these words, and, "putting on the armor of His love,"
a love which must "wax stronger" as they persevere in their
lonesome task, arise to adorn with the tale of their deeds the
most brilliant pages ever written in their country's spiritual
history.
"Although," &Abdu'l-Baha, in the Tablets of the Divine
Plan, has written, "in most of the states and cities of the United
States, praise be to God, His fragrances are diffused, and souls unnumbered
+P58
are turning their faces and advancing toward the Kingdom
of God, yet in some of the states the Standard of Unity is not
yet upraised as it should be, nor are the mysteries of the Holy
Books, such as the Bible, the Gospel, and the &Qur'an, unraveled.
Through the concerted efforts of all the friends the Standard of
Unity must needs be unfurled in those states, and the Divine
teachings promoted, so that these states may also receive their portion
of the heavenly bestowals and a share of the Most Great Guidance."
"The future of the Dominion of Canada," He, in another
Tablet of the Divine Plan, has asserted, "is very great, and the
events connected with it infinitely glorious. The eye of God's loving-kindness
will be turned towards it, and it shall become the manifestation
of the favors of the All-Glorious." "Again I repeat," He,
in that same Tablet reaffirms His previous statement, "that
the future of Canada, whether from a material or a spiritual standpoint,
is very great."
No sooner is this initial step taken, involving as it does
the formation of at least one nucleus in each of these virgin
states and provinces in the North American continent, than
the machinery for a tremendous intensification of &Baha'i
concerted effort must be set in motion, the purpose of which
should be the reinforcement of the noble exertions which
only a few isolated believers are now making for the awakening
of the nations of Latin America to the Call of &Baha'u'llah.
Not until this second phase of the teaching campaign,
under the Seven Year Plan, has been entered can the campaign
be regarded as fully launched, or the Plan itself as
having attained the most decisive stage in its evolution. So
powerful will be the effusions of Divine grace that will be
poured forth upon a valiant community that has already in
the administrative sphere erected, in all the glory of its exterior
ornamentation, its chief Edifice, and in the teaching
field raised aloft, in every state and province, in the North
American continent the banner of its Faith--so great will be
these effusions that its members will find themselves overpowered
by the evidences of their regenerative power.
+P59
The Inter-America Committee must, at such a stage,
nay even before it is entered, rise to the level of its opportunities,
and display a vigor, a consecration, and enterprise as
will be commensurate with the responsibilities it has shouldered.
It should not, for a moment, be forgotten that Central
and Southern America embrace no less than twenty independent
nations, constituting approximately one-third of
the entire number of the world's sovereign states, and are
destined to play an increasingly important part in the shaping
of the world's future destiny. With the world contracting
into a neighborhood, and the fortunes of its races, nations
and peoples becoming inextricably interwoven, the remoteness
of these states of the Western Hemisphere is vanishing,
and the latent possibilities in each of them are becoming increasingly
apparent.
When this second stage in the progressive unfoldment
of teaching activities and enterprises, under the Seven Year
Plan, is reached, and the machinery required for its prosecution
begins to operate, the American believers, the stout-hearted
pioneers of this mighty movement, must, guided by
the unfailing light of &Baha'u'llah, and in strict accordance
with the Plan laid out by &Abdu'l-Baha, and acting under
the direction of their National Spiritual Assembly, and assured
of the aid of the Inter-America Committee, launch an
offensive against the powers of darkness, of corruption, and
of ignorance, an offensive that must extend to the uttermost
end of the Southern continent, and embrace within its scope
each of the twenty nations that compose it.
Let some, at this very moment, gird up the loins of their
endeavor, flee their native towns, cities, and states, forsake
their country, and, "putting their whole trust in God as the best
provision for their journey," set their faces, and direct their
steps towards those distant climes, those virgin fields, those
unsurrendered cities, and bend their energies to capture the
citadels of men's hearts--hearts, which, as &Baha'u'llah has
written, "the hosts of Revelation and of utterance can subdue."
+P60
Let them not tarry until such time as their fellow-laborers
will have passed the first stage in their campaign of teaching,
but let them rather, from this very hour, arise to usher
in the opening phase of what will come to be regarded as
one of the most glorious chapters in the international history
of their Faith. Let them, at the very outset, "teach their own
selves, that their speech may attract the hearts of their hearers."
Let them regard the triumph of their Faith as their "supreme
objective." Let them not "consider the largeness or smallness of
the receptacle" that carries the measure of grace that God
poureth forth in this age. Let them "disencumber themselves of
all attachment to this world and the vanities thereof," and, with
that spirit of detachment which &Abdu'l-Baha exemplified
and wished them to emulate, bring these diversified peoples
and countries to the remembrance of God and His supreme
Manifestation. Let His love be a "storehouse of treasure for
their souls," on the day when "every pillar shall tremble, when
the very skins of men shall creep, when all eyes shall stare up with
terror." Let their "souls be aglow with the flame of the undying
Fire that burneth in the midmost heart of the world, in such wise
that the waters of the universe shall be powerless to cool down its
ardor." Let them be "unrestrained as the wind" which "neither
the sight of desolation nor the evidences of prosperity can either
pain or please." Let them "unloose their tongues and proclaim
unceasingly His Cause." Let them "proclaim that which the Most
Great Spirit will inspire them to utter in the service of the Cause of
their Lord." Let them "beware lest they contend with anyone, nay
strive to make him aware of the truth with kindly manner and
most convincing exhortation." Let them "wholly for the sake of
God proclaim His Message, and with that same spirit accept whatever
response their words may evoke in their hearers." Let them
not, for one moment, forget that the "Faithful Spirit shall
strengthen them through its power," and that "a company of His
chosen angels shall go forth with them, as bidden by Him Who is
the Almighty, the All-Wise." Let them ever bear in mind "how
great is the blessedness that awaiteth them that have attained the
honor of serving the Almighty," and remember that "such a service
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is indeed the prince of all goodly deeds, and the ornament of
every goodly act."
And, finally, let these soul-stirring words of &Baha'u'llah,
as they pursue their course throughout the length and
breadth of the southern American continent, be ever ready
on their lips, a solace to their hearts, a light on their path, a
companion in their loneliness, and a daily sustenance in
their journeys: "O wayfarer in the path of God! Take thou thy
portion of the ocean of His grace, and deprive not thyself of the
things that lie hidden in its depths.... A dewdrop out of this ocean
would, if shed upon all that are in the heavens and on earth, suffice
to enrich them with the bounty of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise. With the hands of renunciation draw forth
from its life-giving waters, and sprinkle therewith all created
things, that they may be cleansed from all man-made limitations,
and may approach the mighty seat of God, this hallowed and resplendent
Spot. Be not grieved if thou performest it thyself alone.
Let God be all-sufficient for thee.... Proclaim the Cause of thy
Lord unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth. Should any
man respond to thy call, lay bare before him the pearls of the wisdom
of the Lord, thy God, which His Spirit hath sent down upon
thee, and be thou of them that truly believe. And should anyone
reject thy offer, turn thou away from him, and put thy trust and
confidence in the Lord of all worlds. By the righteousness of God!
Whoso openeth his lips in this day, and maketh mention of the
name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend
upon him from the heaven of my name, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
On him shall also descend the Concourse on high, each bearing
aloft a chalice of pure light. Thus hath it been foreordained in
the realm of God's Revelation, by the behest of Him Who is the
All-Glorious, the Most Powerful."
Let these words of &Abdu'l-Baha, gleaned from the
Tablets of the Divine Plan, ring likewise in their ears, as they
go forth, assured and unafraid, on His mission: "O ye apostles
of &Baha'u'llah! May my life be sacrificed for you!... Behold the
portals which &Baha'u'llah hath opened before you! Consider how
exalted and lofty is the station you are destined to attain; how
+P62
unique the favors with which you have been endowed." "My
thoughts are turned towards you, and my heart leaps within me at
your mention. Could ye know how my soul gloweth with your love,
so great a happiness would flood your hearts as to cause you to
become enamored with each other." "The full measure of your success
is as yet unrevealed, its significance still unapprehended. Erelong
ye will, with your own eyes, witness how brilliantly every one
of you, even as a shining star, will radiate in the firmament of your
country the light of Divine Guidance, and will bestow upon its
people the glory of an everlasting life." "I fervently hope that in
the near future the whole earth may be stirred and shaken by the
results of your achievements." "The Almighty will no doubt grant
you the help of His grace, will invest you with the tokens of His
might, and will endue your souls with the sustaining power of His
holy Spirit." "Be not concerned with the smallness of your numbers,
neither be oppressed by the multitude of an unbelieving
world.... Exert yourselves; your mission is unspeakably glorious.
Should success crown your enterprise, America will assuredly
evolve into a center from which waves of spiritual power will emanate,
and the throne of the Kingdom of God will, in the plenitude of
its majesty and glory, be firmly established."
It should be remembered that the carrying out of the
Seven Year Plan involves, insofar as the teaching work is
concerned, no more than the formation of at least one center
in each of the Central and South American Republics. The
hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah
should witness, if the Plan already launched is to meet
with success, the laying, in each of these countries, of a
foundation, however rudimentary, on which the rising generation
of the American believers may, in the opening years
of the second century of the &Baha'i era, be able to build.
Theirs will be the task, in the course of successive decades,
to extend and reinforce those foundations, and to supply the
necessary guidance, assistance, and encouragement that will
enable the widely scattered groups of believers in those
countries to establish independent and properly constituted
local Assemblies, and thereby erect the framework of the
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Administrative Order of their Faith. The erection of such a
framework is primarily the responsibility of those whom the
community of the North American believers have converted
to the Divine Message. It is a task which must involve, apart
from the immediate obligation of enabling every group to
evolve into a local Assembly, the setting up of the entire machinery
of the Administrative Order in conformity with the
spiritual and administrative principles governing the life and
activities of every established &Baha'i community throughout
the world. No departure from these cardinal and clearly
enunciated principles, embodied and preserved in &Baha'i national
and local constitutions, common to all &Baha'i communities,
can under any circumstances be tolerated. This, however,
is a task that concerns those who, at a later period, must
arise to further a work which, to all intents and purposes, has
not yet been effectively started.
To pave the way, in a more systematic manner, for the
laying of the necessary foundation on which such permanent
national and local institutions can be reared and securely
established is a task that will very soon demand the
concentrated attention of the prosecutors of the Seven Year
Plan. No sooner has their immediate obligation in connection
with the opening up of the few remaining territories in
the United States and Canada been discharged, than a carefully
laid-out plan should be conceived, aiming at the establishment
of such a foundation. As already stated, the provision
for these vast, preliminary undertakings, the scope of
which must embrace the entire area occupied by the Central
and South American Republics, constitutes the very core,
and must ultimately decide the fate, of the teaching campaign
conducted under the Seven Year Plan. Upon this campaign
must depend not only the effectual discharge of the
solemn obligations undertaken in connection with the present
Plan, but also the progressive unfoldment of the subsequent
stages essential to the realization of &Abdu'l-Baha's vision
of the part the American believers are to play in the
worldwide propagation of their Cause.
+P64
These undertakings, preliminary as they are to the
strenuous and organized labors by which future generations
of believers in the Latin countries must distinguish themselves,
require, in turn, without a moment's delay, on the
part of the National Spiritual Assembly and of both the National
Teaching and Inter-America Committees, painstaking
investigations preparatory to the sending of settlers and itinerant
teachers, whose privilege will be to raise the call of the
New Day in a new continent.
I can only, in my desire to be of some service to those
who are to assume such tremendous responsibilities, and to
suffer such self-denial, attempt to offer a few helpful suggestions
which, I trust, will facilitate the accomplishment of
the great work to be achieved in the very near future. To this
work, that must constitute an historical landmark of first-class
importance when completed, the energies of the entire
community must be resolutely consecrated. The number of
&Baha'i teachers, be they settlers or travelers, must be substantially
increased. The material resources to be placed at
their disposal must be multiplied, and efficiently administered.
The literature with which they should be equipped
must be vastly augmented. The publicity that should aid
them in the distribution of such literature should be extended,
centrally organized, and vigorously conducted. The
possibilities latent in these countries should be diligently exploited,
and systematically developed. The various obstacles
raised by the widely varying political and social conditions
obtaining in these countries should be closely surveyed and
determinedly surmounted. In a word, no opportunity
should be neglected, and no effort spared, to lay as broad
and solid a basis as possible for the progress and development
of the greatest teaching enterprise ever launched by
the American &Baha'i community.
The careful translation of such important &Baha'i writings
as are related to the history, the teachings, or the Administrative
Order of the Faith, and their wide and systematic
dissemination, in vast quantities, and throughout as
+P65
many of these Republics as possible, and in languages that
are most suitable and needed, would appear to be the chief
and most urgent measure to be taken simultaneously with
the arrival of the pioneer workers in those fields. "Books and
pamphlets," writes &Abdu'l-Baha in one of the Tablets of the
Divine Plan, "must be either translated or composed in the languages
of these countries and islands, to be circulated in every part
and in all directions." In countries where no objections can be
raised by the civil authorities or any influential circles, this
measure should be reinforced by the publication, in various
organs of the Press, of carefully worded articles and letters,
designed to impress upon the general public certain features
of the stirring history of the Faith, and the range and character
of its teachings.
Every laborer in those fields, whether as traveling
teacher or settler, should, I feel, make it his chief and constant
concern to mix, in a friendly manner, with all sections
of the population, irrespective of class, creed, nationality, or
color, to familiarize himself with their ideas, tastes, and habits,
to study the approach best suited to them, to concentrate,
patiently and tactfully, on a few who have shown
marked capacity and receptivity, and to endeavor, with extreme
kindness, to implant such love, zeal, and devotion in
their hearts as to enable them to become in turn self-sufficient
and independent promoters of the Faith in their respective
localities. "Consort with all men, O people of &Baha," is
&Baha'u'llah's admonition, "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 goodwill. If it be accepted, if it fulfill its
purpose, your object is attained. If anyone 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."
An effort, moreover, can and should be made, not only
+P66
by representative &Baha'i bodies, but also by prospective
teachers, as well as by other individual believers, deprived
of the privilege of visiting those shores or of settling on that
continent, to seize every opportunity that presents itself to
make the acquaintance, and awaken the genuine interest, of
such people who are either citizens of these countries, or are
in any way connected with them, whatever be their interests
or profession. Through the kindness shown them, or any literature
which may be given them, or any connection which
they may establish with them, the American believers can
thereby sow such seeds in their hearts as might, in future
circumstances, germinate and yield the most unexpected results.
Care, however, should, at all times, be exercised, lest
in their eagerness to further the international interests of the
Faith they frustrate their purpose, and turn away, through
any act that might be misconstrued as an attempt to proselytize
and bring undue pressure upon them, those whom they
wish to win over to their Cause.
I would particularly direct my appeal to those American
believers, sore-pressed as they are by the manifold, the
urgent, and ever-increasing issues that confront them at the
present hour, who may find it possible, whatever be their
calling or employment, whether as businessmen, school
teachers, lawyers, doctors, writers, office workers, and the
like, to establish permanently their residence in such countries
as may offer them a reasonable prospect of earning the
means of livelihood. They will by their action be relieving
the continually increasing pressure on their Teaching Fund,
which in view of its restricted dimensions must provide,
when not otherwise available, the traveling and other expenses
to be incurred in connection with the development
of this vast undertaking. Should they find it impossible to
take advantage of so rare and sacred a privilege, let them,
mindful of the words of &Baha'u'llah, determine, each according
to the means at his or her disposal, to appoint a deputy
who, on that believer's behalf, will arise and carry out so
noble an enterprise. "Center your energies," are &Baha'u'llah's
+P67
words, "in the propagation of the Faith of God. Whoso is worthy
of so high a calling, let him arise and promote it. Whoso is unable,
it is his duty to appoint him who will, in his stead, proclaim this
Revelation, whose power hath caused the foundations of the
mightiest structures to quake, every mountain to be crushed into
dust, and every soul to be dumbfounded."
As to those who have been able to leave their homes
and country, and to serve in those regions, whether temporarily
or permanently, a special duty, which must continually
be borne in mind, devolves upon them. It should be one of
their chief aims to keep, on the one hand, in constant touch
with the National Committee specifically entrusted with the
promotion of their work, and to cooperate, on the other, by
every possible means and in the utmost harmony, with their
fellow-believers in those countries, whatever the field in
which they labor, whatever their standing, ability, or experience.
Through the performance of their first duty they will
derive the necessary stimulus and obtain the necessary
guidance that will enable them to prosecute effectively their
mission, and will also, through their regular reports to that
committee, be imparting to the general body of their fellow-believers
the news of the latest developments in their activities.
By fulfilling their other duty, they will insure the
smooth efficiency, facilitate the progress, and avert any untoward
incidents that might handicap the development of
their common enterprise. The maintenance of close contact
and harmonious relationships between the Inter-America
Committee, entrusted with the immediate responsibility of
organizing such a far-reaching enterprise, and the privileged
pioneers who are actually executing that enterprise, and extending
its ramifications far and wide, as well as among
these pioneers themselves, would set, apart from its immediate
advantages, a worthy and inspiring example to generations
still yet to be born who are to carry on, with all its
increasing complexities, the work which is being initiated at
present.
It would, no doubt, be of exceptional importance and
+P68
value, particularly in these times when the various restrictions
imposed in those countries make it difficult for a considerable
number of &Baha'i pioneers to establish their residence
and earn their livelihood in those states, if certain
ones among the believers, whose income, however slender,
provides them with the means of an independent existence,
would so arrange their affairs as to be able to reside indefinitely
in those countries. The sacrifices involved, the courage,
faith, and perseverance it demands, are no doubt very
great. Their value, however, can never be properly assessed
at the present time, and the limitless reward which they
who demonstrate them will receive can never be adequately
depicted. "They that have forsaken their country," is &Baha'u'llah's
own testimony, "for the purpose of teaching Our Cause--
these shall the Faithful Spirit strengthen through its power.... By
My life! No act, however great, can compare with it, except such
deeds as have been ordained by God, the All-Powerful, the Most
Mighty. Such a service is indeed the prince of all goodly deeds, and
the ornament of every goodly act." Such a reward, it should be
noted, is not to be regarded as purely an abstract blessing
confined to the future life, but also as a tangible benefit
which such courage, faith and perseverance can alone confer
in this material world. The solid achievements, spiritual
as well as administrative, which in the far-away continent
of Australasia, and more recently in Bulgaria, representative
believers from both Canada and the United States have accomplished,
proclaim in terms unmistakable the nature of
those prizes which, even in this world, such sterling heroism
is bound to win. "Whoso," &Baha'u'llah, in a memorable passage,
extolling those of His loved ones who have "journeyed
through the countries in His Name and for His praise," has written,
"hath attained their presence will glory in their meeting, and
all that dwell in every land will be illumined by their memory."
I am moved, at this juncture, as I am reminded of the
share which, ever since the inception of the Faith in the
West, the handmaidens of &Baha'u'llah, as distinguished
from the men, have had in opening up, single-handed, so
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many, such diversified, and widely scattered countries over
the whole surface of the globe, not only to pay a tribute to
such apostolic fervor as is truly reminiscent of those heroic
men who were responsible for the birth of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah,
but also to stress the significance of such a preponderating
share which the women of the West have had
and are having in the establishment of His Faith throughout
the whole world. "Among the miracles," &Abdu'l-Baha Himself
has testified, "which distinguish this sacred Dispensation is
this, that women have evinced a greater boldness than men when
enlisted in the ranks of the Faith." So great and splendid a testimony
applies in particular to the West, and though it has
received thus far abundant and convincing confirmation
must, as the years roll away, be further reinforced, as the
American believers usher in the most glorious phase of their
teaching activities under the Seven Year Plan. The "boldness"
which, in the words of &Abdu'l-Baha, has characterized
their accomplishments in the past must suffer no
eclipse as they stand on the threshold of still greater and nobler
accomplishments. Nay rather, it must, in the course of
time and throughout the length and breadth of the vast and
virgin territories of Latin America, be more convincingly
demonstrated, and win for the beloved Cause victories more
stirring than any it has as yet achieved.
To the &Baha'i youth of America, moreover, I feel a
word should be addressed in particular, as I survey the possibilities
which a campaign of such gigantic proportions has
to offer to the eager and enterprising spirit that so powerfully
animates them in the service of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah.
Though lacking in experience and faced with insufficient resources,
yet the adventurous spirit which they possess, and
the vigor, the alertness, and optimism they have thus far so
consistently shown, qualify them to play an active part in
arousing the interest, and in securing the allegiance, of their
fellow youth in those countries. No greater demonstration
can be given to the peoples of both continents of the youthful
vitality and the vibrant power animating the life, and the
+P70
institutions of the nascent Faith of &Baha'u'llah than an intelligent,
persistent, and effective participation of the &Baha'i
youth, of every race, nationality, and class, in both the
teaching and administrative spheres of &Baha'i activity.
Through such a participation the critics and enemies of the
Faith, watching with varying degrees of skepticism and resentment,
the evolutionary processes of the Cause of God
and its institutions, can best be convinced of the indubitable
truth that such a Cause is intensely alive, is sound to its very
core, and its destinies in safe keeping. I hope, and indeed
pray, that such a participation may not only redound to the
glory, the power, and the prestige of the Faith, but may also
react so powerfully on the spiritual lives, and galvanize to
such an extent the energies of the youthful members of the
&Baha'i community, as to empower them to display, in a
fuller measure, their inherent capacities, and to unfold a further
stage in their spiritual evolution under the shadow of
the Faith of &Baha'u'llah.
Faithful to the provisions of the Charter laid down by
the pen of &Abdu'l-Baha, I feel it my duty to draw the special
attention of those to whom it has been entrusted to the urgent
needs of, and the special position enjoyed by, the Republic
of Panama, both in view of its relative proximity to
the heart and center of the Faith in North America, and of
its geographical position as the link between two continents.
"All the above countries," &Abdu'l-Baha, referring to the Latin
States in one of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, has written,
"have importance, but especially the Republic of Panama, wherein
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans come together through the Panama
Canal. It is a center for travel and passage from America to
other continents of the world, and in the future it will gain most
great importance." "Likewise," He again has written, "ye must
give great attention to the Republic of Panama, for in that point
the Occident and the Orient find each other united through the
Panama Canal, and it is also situated between the two great
oceans. That place will become very important in the future. The
teachings, once established there, will unite the East and the West,
+P71
the North and the South." So privileged a position surely demands
the special and prompt attention of the American
&Baha'i community. With the Republic of Mexico already
opened up to the Faith, and with a Spiritual Assembly properly
constituted in its capital city, the southward penetration
of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah into a neighboring country is but
a natural and logical step, and should, it is to be hoped,
prove to be not a difficult one. No efforts should be spared,
and no sacrifice be deemed too great, to establish even
though it be a very small group in a Republic occupying,
both spiritually and geographically, so strategic a position--
a group which, in view of the potency with which the words
of &Abdu'l-Baha have already endowed it, cannot but draw
to itself, as soon as it is formed, the outpouring grace of the
&Abha Kingdom, and evolve with such marvelous swiftness
as to excite the wonder and the admiration of even those
who have already witnessed such stirring evidences of the
force and power of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah. Preference, no
doubt, should be given by all would-be pioneers, as well as
by the members of the Inter-America Committee, to the
spiritual needs of this privileged Republic, though every effort
should, at the same time, be exerted to introduce the
Faith, however tentatively, to the Republics of Guatemala,
Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica which
would link it, in an unbroken chain, with its mother Assemblies
in the North American continent. Obstacles, however
formidable, should be surmounted, the resources of the
&Baha'i treasury should be liberally expended on its behalf,
and the ablest and most precious exertions should be consecrated
to the cause of its awakening. The erection of yet another
outpost of the Faith, in its heart, will constitute, I firmly
believe, a landmark in the history of the Formative Period of
the Faith of &Baha'u'llah in the New World. It will create limitless
opportunities, galvanize the efforts, and reinvigorate
the life, of those who will have accomplished this feat, and
infuse immense courage and boundless joy into the hearts
of the isolated groups and individuals in the neighboring
+P72
and distant Republics, and exert intangible yet powerful
spiritual influences on the life and future development of its
people.
Such, dearly beloved friends, is the vista that stretches
before the eyes, and challenges the resources, of the American
&Baha'i community in these, the concluding years of the
First Century of the &Baha'i Era. Such are the qualities and
qualifications demanded of them for the proper discharge of
their responsibilities and duties. Such are the requirements,
the possibilities, and the objectives of the Plan that claims
every ounce of their energy. Who knows but that these few
remaining, fast-fleeting years, may not be pregnant with
events of unimaginable magnitude, with ordeals more severe
than any that humanity has as yet experienced, with
conflicts more devastating than any which have preceded
them. Dangers, however sinister, must, at no time, dim the
radiance of their new-born faith. Strife and confusion, however
bewildering, must never befog their vision. Tribulations,
however afflictive, must never shatter their resolve.
Denunciations, however clamorous, must never sap their
loyalty. Upheavals, however cataclysmic, must never deflect
their course. The present Plan, embodying the budding
hopes of a departed Master, must be pursued, relentlessly
pursued, whatever may befall them in the future, however
distracting the crises that may agitate their country or the
world. Far from yielding in their resolve, far from growing
oblivious of their task, they should, at no time, however
much buffeted by circumstances, forget that the synchronization
of such world-shaking crises with the progressive unfoldment
and fruition of their divinely appointed task is itself
the work of Providence, the design of an inscrutable
Wisdom, and the purpose of an all-compelling Will, a Will
that directs and controls, in its own mysterious way, both
the fortunes of the Faith and the destinies of men. Such simultaneous
processes of rise and of fall, of integration and
of disintegration, of order and chaos, with their continuous
+P73
and reciprocal reactions on each other, are but aspects of a
greater Plan, one and indivisible, whose Source is God,
whose author is &Baha'u'llah, the theater of whose operations
is the entire planet, and whose ultimate objectives are
the unity of the human race and the peace of all mankind.
Reflections such as these should steel the resolve of the
entire &Baha'i community, should dissipate their forebodings,
and arouse them to rededicate themselves to every single
provision of that Divine Charter whose outline has been delineated
for them by the pen of &Abdu'l-Baha. The Seven
Year Plan, as already stated, is but the initial stage, a stepping-stone
to the unfoldment of the implications of this
Charter. The impulse, originally generated through the
movement of that pen, and which is now driving forward,
with increasing momentum, the machinery of the Seven
Year Plan, must, in the opening years of the next century, be
further accelerated, and impel the American &Baha'i community
to launch further stages in the unfoldment of the Divine
Plan, stages that will carry it far beyond the shores of the
Northern Hemisphere, into lands and among peoples where
that community's noblest acts of heroism are to be performed.
Let anyone inclined to doubt the course which this enviable
community is destined to follow, turn to and meditate
upon these words of &Abdu'l-Baha, enshrined, for all time,
in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, and addressed to the entire
community of the believers of the United States and Canada:
"The full measure of your success," He informs them, "is as
yet unrevealed, its significance still unapprehended. Erelong, ye
will, with your own eyes, witness how brilliantly every one of you,
even as a shining star, will radiate, in the firmament of your country,
the light of Divine Guidance, and will bestow upon its people
the glory of an everlasting life.... The range of your future
achievements still remains undisclosed. I fervently hope that in the
near future the whole earth may be stirred and shaken by the results
of your achievements. The hope, therefore, which &Abdu'l-Baha
cherishes for you is that the same success which has attended
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your efforts in America may crown your endeavors in other parts of
the world, that through you the fame of the Cause of God may be
diffused throughout the East and the West, and the advent of the
Kingdom of the Lord of Hosts be proclaimed in all the five continents
of the globe." "The moment," He most significantly adds,
"this Divine Message is carried forward by the American believers
from the shores of America, and is propagated throughout the continents
of Europe, of Asia, of Africa, and of Australasia, and as far
as the islands of the Pacific, this community will find itself securely
established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion. Then will
all the peoples of the world witness that this community is spiritually
illumined and divinely guided. Then will the whole earth
resound with the praises of its majesty and greatness."
No reader of these words, so vibrant with promises
that not even the triumphant consummation of the Seven
Year Plan can fulfill, can expect a community that has been
raised so high, and endowed so richly, to remain content
with any laurels it may win in the immediate future. To rest
upon such laurels would indeed be tantamount to a betrayal
of the trust placed in that community by &Abdu'l-Baha. To
cut short the chain of victories that must lead it on to that
supreme triumph when "the whole earth may be stirred and
shaken" by the results of its achievements would shatter His
hopes. To vacillate, and fail to "propagate through the continents
of Europe, of Asia, of Africa, and of Australasia, and as far as
the islands of the Pacific" a Message so magnificently proclaimed
by it in the American continent would deprive it of
the privilege of being "securely established upon the throne of
an everlasting dominion." To forfeit the honor of proclaiming
"the advent of the Kingdom of the Lord of Hosts" in "all the five
continents of the globe" would silence those "praises of its majesty
and greatness" that otherwise would echo throughout
"the whole earth."
Such vacillation, failure, or neglect, the American believers,
the ambassadors of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, will, I
am firmly convinced, never permit. Such a trust will never
be betrayed, such hopes can never be shattered, such a privilege
+P75
will never be forfeited, nor will such praises remain
unuttered. Nay rather the present generation of this blessed,
this repeatedly blessed, community will go from strength to
strength, and will hand on, as the first century draws to a
close, to the generations that must succeed it in the second
the torch of Divine Guidance, undimmed by the tempestuous
winds that must blow upon it, that they in turn, faithful
to the wish and mandate of &Abdu'l-Baha, may carry that
torch, with that self-same vigor, fidelity, and enthusiasm, to
the darkest and remotest corners of the earth.
Dearly beloved friends! I can do no better, eager as I am
to extend to every one of you any assistance in my power
that may enable you to discharge more effectively your divinely
appointed, continually multiplying duties, than to direct
your special attention, at this decisive hour, to these immortal
passages, gleaned in part from the great mass of
&Baha'u'llah's unpublished and untranslated writings.
Whether in His revelation of the station and functions of His
loved ones, or His eulogies of the greatness of His Cause, or
His emphasis on the paramount importance of teaching, or
the dangers which He foreshadows, the counsels He imparts,
the warnings He utters, the vistas He discloses, and
the assurances and promises He gives, these dynamic and
typical examples of &Baha'u'llah's sublime utterance, each
having a direct bearing on the tasks which actually face or
lie ahead of the American &Baha'i community, cannot fail to
produce on the minds and hearts of any one of its members,
who approaches them with befitting humility and detachment,
such powerful reactions as to illuminate his entire being
and intensify tremendously his daily exertions.
"O friends! Be not careless of the virtues with which ye have
been endowed, neither be neglectful of your high destiny.... Ye
are the stars of the heaven of understanding, the breeze that stirreth
at the break of day, the soft-flowing waters upon which must
depend the very life of all men, the letters inscribed upon His sacred
scroll." "O people of &Baha! Ye are the breezes of spring that
are wafted over the world. Through you We have adorned the
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world of being with the ornament of the knowledge of the Most
Merciful. Through you the countenance of the world hath been
wreathed in smiles, and the brightness of His light shone forth.
Cling ye to the Cord of steadfastness, in such wise that all vain
imaginings may utterly vanish. Speed ye forth from the horizon of
power, in the name of your Lord, the Unconstrained, and announce
unto His servants, with wisdom and eloquence, the tidings of this
Cause, whose splendor hath been shed upon the world of being.
Beware lest anything withhold you from observing the things prescribed
unto you by the Pen of Glory, as it moved over His Tablet
with sovereign majesty and might. Great is the blessedness of him
that hath hearkened to its shrill voice, as it was raised, through the
power of truth, before all who are in heaven and all who are on
earth.... O people of &Baha! The river that is Life indeed hath
flowed for your sakes. Quaff ye in My name, despite them that
have disbelieved in God, the Lord of Revelation. We have made
you to be the hands of Our Cause. Render ye victorious this
Wronged One, Who hath been sore-tried in the hands of the workers
of iniquity. He, verily, will aid everyone that aideth Him, and
will remember everyone that remembereth Him. To this beareth
witness this Tablet that hath shed the splendor of the loving-kindness
of your Lord, the All-Glorious, the All-Compelling." "Blessed
are the people of &Baha! God beareth Me witness! They are the solace
of the eye of creation. Through them the universes have been
adorned, and the Preserved Tablet embellished. They are the ones
who have sailed on the ark of complete independence, with their
faces set towards the Dayspring of Beauty. How great is their
blessedness that they have attained unto what their Lord, the Omniscient,
the All-Wise, hath willed. Through their light the heavens
have been adorned, and the faces of those that have drawn
nigh unto Him made to shine." "By the sorrows which afflict the
beauty of the All-Glorious! Such is the station ordained for the true
believer that if to an extent smaller than a needle's eye the glory of
that station were to be unveiled to mankind, every beholder would
be consumed away in his longing to attain it. For this reason it
hath been decreed that in this earthly life the full measure of the
glory of his own station should remain concealed from the eyes of
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such a believer." "If the veil be lifted, and the full glory of the
station of those who have turned wholly towards God, and in their
love for Him renounced the world, be made manifest, the entire
creation would be dumbfounded."
"Verily I say! No one hath apprehended the root of this
Cause. It is incumbent upon everyone, in this day, to perceive with
the eye of God, and to hearken with His ear. Whoso beholdeth Me
with an eye besides Mine own will never be able to know Me.
None among the Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree,
hath ever completely apprehended the nature of this Revelation."
"I testify before God to the greatness, the inconceivable
greatness of this Revelation. Again and again have We, in most of
Our Tablets, borne witness to this truth, that mankind may be
roused from its heedlessness." "How great is the Cause, how staggering
the weight of its Message!" "In this most mighty Revelation
all the Dispensations of the past have attained their highest, their
final consummation." "That which hath been made manifest in
this preeminent, this most exalted Revelation, stands unparalleled
in the annals of the past, nor will future ages witness its like."
"The purpose underlying all creation is the revelation of this most
sublime, this most holy Day, the Day known as the Day of God, in
His Books and Scriptures--the Day which all the Prophets, and
the Chosen Ones, and the holy ones, have wished to witness."
"The highest essence and most perfect expression of whatsoever
the peoples of old have either said or written hath, through this
most potent Revelation, been sent down from the heaven of the
Will of the All-Possessing, the Ever-Abiding God." "This is the
Day in which God's most excellent favors have been poured out
upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused
into all created things." "This is the Day whereon the Ocean
of God's mercy hath been manifested unto men, the Day in which
the Daystar of His loving-kindness hath shed its radiance upon
them, the Day in which the clouds of His bountiful favor have
overshadowed the whole of mankind." "By the righteousness of
Mine own Self! Great, immeasurably great is this Cause! Mighty,
inconceivably mighty is this Day!" "Every Prophet hath announced
the coming of this Day, and every Messenger hath
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groaned in His yearning for this Revelation--a revelation which,
no sooner had it been revealed than all created things cried out
saying, `The earth is God's, the Most Exalted, the Most Great!'"
"The Day of the Promise is come, and He Who is the Promised One
loudly proclaimeth before all who are in heaven and all who are on
earth, `Verily there is none other God but He, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting!' I swear by God! That which had been enshrined
from eternity in the knowledge of God, the Knower of the seen and
unseen, is revealed. Happy is the eye that seeth, and the face that
turneth towards, the Countenance of God, the Lord of all being."
"Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all the sacred
Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness. The soul of every
Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this
wondrous Day. All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise,
yearned to attain it." "This Day a door is open wider than both
heaven and earth. The eye of the mercy of Him Who is the Desire
of the worlds is turned towards all men. An act, however infinitesimal,
is, when viewed in the mirror of the knowledge of God, mightier
than a mountain. Every drop proffered in His path is as the sea
in that mirror. For this is the Day which the one true God, glorified
be He, hath announced in all His Books, unto His Prophets and
His Messengers." "This is a Revelation, under which, if a man
shed for its sake one drop of blood, myriads of oceans will be his
recompense." "A fleeting moment, in this Day, excelleth centuries
of a bygone age.... Neither sun nor moon hath witnessed a day
such as this Day." "This is the Day whereon the unseen world
crieth out, `Great is thy blessedness, O earth, for thou hast been
made the footstool of thy God, and been chosen as the seat of His
mighty throne.'" "The world of being shineth, in this Day, with
the resplendency of this Divine Revelation. All created things extol
its saving grace, and sing its praises. The universe is wrapt in an
ecstasy of joy and gladness. The Scriptures of past Dispensations
celebrate the great Jubilee that must needs greet this most great
Day of God. Well is it with him that hath lived to see this Day, and
hath recognized its station." "This Day a different Sun hath arisen,
and a different Heaven hath been adorned with its stars and its
planets. The world is another world, and the Cause another
+P79
Cause." "This is the Day which past ages and centuries can never
rival. Know this, and be not of the ignorant." "This is the Day
whereon human ears have been privileged to hear what He Who
conversed with God [Moses] heard upon Sinai, what He Who is
the Friend of God [&Muhammad] heard when lifted up towards
Him, what He Who is the Spirit of God [Jesus] heard as He ascended
unto Him, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting." "This
Day is God's Day, and this Cause His Cause. Happy is he who
hath renounced this world, and clung to Him Who is the Dayspring
of God's Revelation." "This is the King of Days, the Day
that hath seen the coming of the Best Beloved, He Who through all
eternity hath been acclaimed the Desire of the World." "This is the
Chief of all days and the King thereof. Great is the blessedness of
him who hath attained, through the sweet savor of these days,
unto everlasting life, and who, with the most great steadfastness,
hath arisen to aid the Cause of Him Who is the King of Names.
Such a man is as the eye to the body of mankind." "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." "This Day is different from other
days, and this Cause different from other causes. Entreat ye the
one true God that He may deprive not the eyes of men from beholding
His signs, nor their ears from hearkening unto the shrill
voice of the Pen of Glory." "These days are God's days, a moment
of which ages and centuries can never rival. An atom, in these
days, is as the sun, a drop as the ocean. One single breath exhaled
in the love of God and for His service is written down by the Pen
of Glory as a princely deed. Were the virtues of this Day to be recounted,
all would be thunderstruck, except those whom thy Lord
hath exempted." "By the righteousness of God! These are the days
in which God hath proved the hearts of the entire company of His
Messengers and Prophets, and beyond them those that stand guard
over His sacred and inviolable Sanctuary, the inmates of the celestial
Pavilion and dwellers of the Tabernacle of Glory." "Should the
greatness of this Day be revealed in its fulness, every man would
forsake a myriad lives in his longing to partake, though it be for
one moment, of its great glory--how much more this world and its
corruptible treasures!" "God the true One is My Witness! This is
+P80
the Day whereon it is incumbent upon everyone that seeth to behold,
and every ear that hearkeneth to hear, and every heart that
understandeth to perceive, and every tongue that speaketh to proclaim
unto all who are in heaven and on earth, this holy, this exalted,
and all-highest Name." "Say, O men! This is a matchless
Day. Matchless must, likewise, be the tongue that celebrateth the
praise of the Desire of all nations, and matchless the deed that
aspireth to be acceptable in His sight. The whole human race hath
longed for this Day, that perchance it may fulfill that which well
beseemeth its station and is worthy of its destiny."
"Through the movement of Our Pen of Glory We have, at the
bidding of the Omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every
human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency. All
created things proclaim the evidences of this worldwide regeneration."
"O people! I swear by the one true God! This is the Ocean
out of which all Seas have proceeded, and with which every one of
them will ultimately be united. From Him all the Suns have been
generated, and unto Him they will all return. Through His potency
the Trees of Divine Revelation have yielded their fruits, every one
of which hath been sent down in the form of a Prophet, bearing a
Message to God's creatures in each of the worlds whose number
God, alone, in His all-encompassing knowledge, can reckon. This
He hath accomplished through the agency of but one Letter of His
Word, revealed by His Pen--a Pen moved by His directing Finger
--His Finger itself sustained by the power of God's Truth." "By
the righteousness of the one true God! If one speck of a jewel be lost
and buried beneath a mountain of stones, and lie hidden beyond
the seven seas, the Hand of Omnipotence would assuredly reveal it
in this Day, pure and cleansed from dross." "Every single letter
proceeding from Our mouth is endowed with such regenerative
power as to enable it to bring into existence a new creation--a creation
the magnitude of which is inscrutable to all save God. He
verily hath knowledge of all things." "It is in Our power, should
We wish it, to enable a speck of floating dust to generate, in less
than the twinkling of an eye, suns of infinite, of unimaginable
splendor, to cause a dewdrop to develop into vast and numberless
oceans, to infuse into every letter such a force as to empower it to
+P81
unfold all the knowledge of past and future ages." "We are possessed
of such power which, if brought to light, will transmute the
most deadly of poisons into a panacea of unfailing efficacy."
"The days are approaching their end, and yet the peoples of
the earth are seen sunk in grievous heedlessness, and lost in manifest
error." "Great, great is the Cause! The hour is approaching
when the most great convulsion will have appeared. I swear by
Him Who is the Truth! It shall cause separation to afflict everyone,
even those who circle around Me." "Say: O concourse of the heedless!
I swear by God! The promised day is come, the day when tormenting
trials will have surged above your heads, and beneath
your feet, saying: `Taste ye what your hands have wrought!'" "The
time for the destruction of the world and its people hath arrived.
He Who is the Pre-Existent is come, that He may bestow everlasting
life, and grant eternal preservation, and confer that which is
conducive to true living." "The day is approaching when its [civilization's]
flame will devour the cities, when the Tongue of Grandeur
will proclaim: `The Kingdom is God's, the Almighty, the All-Praised!'"
"O ye that are bereft of understanding! A severe trial
pursueth you, and will suddenly overtake you. Bestir yourselves,
that haply it may pass and inflict no harm upon you." "O ye peoples
of the world! Know, verily, that an unforeseen calamity is following
you, and that grievous retribution awaiteth you. Think not
the deeds ye have committed have been blotted from My sight." "O
heedless ones! Though the wonders of My mercy have encompassed
all created things, both visible and invisible, and though
the revelations of My grace and bounty have permeated every
atom of the universe, yet the rod with which I can chastise the
wicked is grievous, and the fierceness of Mine anger against them
terrible." "Grieve thou not over those that have busied themselves
with the things of this world, and have forgotten the remembrance
of God, the Most Great. By Him Who is the Eternal Truth! The day
is approaching when the wrathful anger of the Almighty will have
taken hold of them. He, verily, is the Omnipotent, the All-Subduing,
the Most Powerful. He shall cleanse the earth from the defilement
of their corruption, and shall give it for an heritage unto such
of His servants as are nigh unto Him." "Soon will the cry, `Yea,
+P82
yea, here am I, here am I' be heard from every land. For there hath
never been, nor can there ever be, any other refuge to fly to for
anyone." "And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly
appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to
quake. Then, and only then, will the Divine Standard be unfurled,
and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody."
"In the beginning of every Revelation adversities have prevailed,
which later on have been turned into great prosperity."
"Say: O people of God! Beware lest the powers of the earth alarm
you, or the might of the nations weaken you, or the tumult of the
people of discord deter you, or the exponents of earthly glory sadden
you. Be ye as a mountain in the Cause of your Lord, the Almighty,
the All-Glorious, the Unconstrained." "Say: Beware, O
people of &Baha, lest the strong ones of the earth rob you of your
strength, or they who rule the world fill you with fear. Put your
trust in God, and commit your affairs to His keeping. He, verily,
will, through the power of truth, render you victorious, and He,
verily, is powerful to do what He willeth, and in His grasp are the
reins of omnipotent might." "I swear by My life! Nothing save that
which profiteth them can befall My loved ones. To this testifieth
the Pen of God, the Most Powerful, the All-Glorious, the Best Beloved."
"Let not the happenings of the world sadden you. I swear
by God! 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." "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.
You are destined by Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of
their benefits, to share in their joys, and to obtain a portion of their
sustaining grace. To each and every one of them you will, no
doubt, attain."
"This is the day in which to speak. It is incumbent upon the
people of &Baha to strive, with the utmost patience and forbearance,
to guide the peoples of the world to the Most Great Horizon. Every
body calleth aloud for a soul. Heavenly souls must needs quicken,
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with the breath of the Word of God, the dead bodies with a fresh
spirit. Within every word a new spirit is hidden. Happy is the man
that attaineth thereunto, and hath arisen to teach the Cause of
Him Who is the King of Eternity." "Say: O servants! The triumph
of this Cause hath depended, and will continue to depend, upon
the appearance of holy souls, upon the showing forth of goodly
deeds, and the revelation of words of consummate wisdom." "Center
your energies in the propagation of the Faith of God. Whoso is
worthy of so high a calling, let him arise and promote it. Whoso is
unable, it is his duty to appoint him who will, in his stead, proclaim
this Revelation, whose power hath caused the foundations of
the mightiest structures to quake, every mountain to be crushed
into dust, and every soul to be dumbfounded." "Let your principal
concern be to rescue the fallen from the slough of impending extinction,
and to help him embrace the ancient Faith of God. Your
behavior towards your neighbor should be such as to manifest
clearly the signs of the one true God, for ye are the first among men
to be re-created by His Spirit, the first to adore and bow the knee
before Him, the first to circle round His throne of glory." "O ye
beloved of God! Repose not yourselves on your couches, nay, bestir
yourselves as soon as ye recognize your Lord, the Creator, and hear
of the things which have befallen Him, and hasten to His assistance.
Unloose your tongues, and proclaim unceasingly His Cause.
This shall be better for you than all the treasures of the past and of
the future, if ye be of them that comprehend this truth." "I swear
by Him Who is the Truth! Erelong will God adorn the beginning of
the Book of Existence with the mention of His loved ones who have
suffered tribulation in His path, and journeyed through the countries
in His name and for His praise. Whoso hath attained their
presence will glory in their meeting, and all that dwell in every
land will be illumined by their memory." "Vie ye with each other
in the service of God and of His Cause. This is indeed what profiteth
you in this world, and in that which is to come. Your Lord, the
God of Mercy, is the All-Informed, the All-Knowing. Grieve not at
the things ye witness in this day. The day shall come whereon the
tongues of the nations will proclaim: `The earth is God's, the Almighty,
the Single, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing!'" "Blessed
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is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the
heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the
valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow
where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified."
"The movement itself from place to place, when undertaken for the
sake of God, hath always exerted, and can now exert, its influence
in the world. In the Books of old the station of them that have
voyaged far and near in order to guide the servants of God hath
been set forth and written down." "I swear by God! So great are the
things ordained for the steadfast that were they, so much as the eye
of a needle, to be disclosed, all who are in heaven and on earth
would be dumbfounded, except such as God, the Lord of all worlds,
hath willed to exempt." "I swear by God! That which hath been
destined for him who aideth My Cause excelleth the treasures of
the earth." "Whoso openeth his lips in this day, and maketh mention
of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall
descend upon him from the heaven of My name, the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise. On him shall also descend the Concourse on high,
each bearing aloft a chalice of pure light. Thus hath it been foreordained
in the realm of God's Revelation, by the behest of Him Who
is the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful." "By the righteousness of
Him Who, in this day, crieth within the inmost heart of all created
things, `God, there is none other God besides Me!' If any man were
to arise to defend, in his writings, the Cause of God against its
assailants, such a man, however inconsiderable his share, shall be
so honored in the world to come that the Concourse on high would
envy his glory. No pen can depict the loftiness of his station, neither
can any tongue describe its splendor." "Please God ye may all
be strengthened to carry out that which is the Will of God, and
may be graciously assisted to appreciate the rank conferred upon
such of His loved ones as have arisen to serve Him and magnify
His name. Upon them be the glory of God, the glory of all that is in
the heavens and all that is on earth, and the glory of the inmates of
the most exalted Paradise, the heaven of heavens." "O people of
&Baha! That there is none to rival you is a sign of mercy. Quaff ye of
the Cup of Bounty the wine of immortality, despite them that have
repudiated God, the Lord of names and Maker of the heavens."
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"I swear by the one true God! This is the day of those who
have detached themselves from all but Him, the day of those who
have recognized His unity, the day whereon God createth, with the
hands of His power, divine beings and imperishable essences, every
one of whom will cast the world and all that is therein behind
him, and will wax so steadfast in the Cause of God that every wise
and understanding heart will marvel." "There lay concealed within
the Holy Veil, and prepared for the service of God, a company of
His chosen ones who shall be manifested unto men, who shall aid
His Cause, who shall be afraid of no one, though the entire human
race rise up and war against them. These are the ones who, before
the gaze of the dwellers on earth and the denizens of heaven, shall
arise and, shouting aloud, acclaim the name of the Almighty, and
summon the children of men to the path of God, the All-Glorious,
the All-Praised." "The day is approaching when God will have, by
an act of His Will, raised up a race of men the nature of which is
inscrutable to all save God, the All-Powerful, the Self-Subsisting."
"He will, erelong, out of the Bosom of Power, draw forth the Hands
of Ascendancy and Might--Hands who will arise to win victory
for this Youth, and who will purge mankind from the defilement of
the outcast and the ungodly. These Hands will gird up their loins
to champion the Faith of God, and will, in My name, the Self-Subsistent,
the Mighty, subdue the peoples and kindreds of the
earth. They will enter the cities, and will inspire with fear the
hearts of all their inhabitants. Such are the evidences of the might
of God; how fearful, how vehement is His might!"
One more word in conclusion. Among some of the
most momentous and thought-provoking pronouncements
ever made by &Abdu'l-Baha, in the course of His epoch-making
travels in the North American continent, are the following:
"May this American Democracy be the first nation to establish
the foundation of international agreement. May it be the
first nation to proclaim the unity of mankind. May it be the first to
unfurl the Standard of the Most Great Peace." And again: "The
American people are indeed worthy of being the first to build the
Tabernacle of the Great Peace, and proclaim the oneness of mankind....
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For America hath developed powers and capacities
greater and more wonderful than other nations.... The American
nation is equipped and empowered to accomplish that which will
adorn the pages of history, to become the envy of the world, and be
blest in both the East and the West for the triumph of its people.
...The American continent gives signs and evidences of very
great advancement. Its future is even more promising, for its influence
and illumination are far-reaching. It will lead all nations spiritually."
The creative energies, mysteriously generated by the
first stirrings of the embryonic World Order of &Baha'u'llah,
have, as soon as released within a nation destined to become
its cradle and champion, endowed that nation with the worthiness,
and invested it with the powers and capacities, and
equipped it spiritually, to play the part foreshadowed in
these prophetic words. The potencies which this God-given
mission has infused into its people are, on the one hand, beginning
to be manifested through the conscious efforts and
the nationwide accomplishments, in both the teaching and
administrative spheres of &Baha'i activity, of the organized
community of the followers of &Baha'u'llah in the North
American continent. These same potencies, apart from, yet
collateral with these efforts and accomplishments, are, on
the other hand, insensibly shaping, under the impact of the
world political and economic forces, the destiny of that nation,
and are influencing the lives and actions of both its
government and its people.
To the efforts and accomplishments of those who,
aware of the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah, are now laboring in
that continent, to their present and future course of activity,
I have, in the foregoing pages sufficiently referred. A word,
if the destiny of the American people, in its entirety, is to be
correctly apprehended, should now be said regarding the
orientation of that nation as a whole, and the trend of the
affairs of its people. For no matter how ignorant of the
Source from which those directing energies proceed, and
however slow and laborious the process, it is becoming increasingly
+P87
evident that the nation as a whole, whether
through the agency of its government or otherwise, is gravitating,
under the influence of forces that it can neither comprehend
nor control, towards such associations and policies,
wherein, as indicated by &Abdu'l-Baha, her true destiny
must lie. Both the community of the American believers,
who are aware of that Source, and the great mass of their
countrymen, who have not as yet recognized the Hand that
directs their destiny, are contributing, each in its own way,
to the realization of the hopes, and the fulfillment of the
promises, voiced in the above-quoted words of &Abdu'l-Baha.
The world is moving on. Its events are unfolding ominously
and with bewildering rapidity. The whirlwind of its
passions is swift and alarmingly violent. The New World is
being insensibly drawn into its vortex. The potential storm
centers of the earth are already casting their shadows upon
its shores. Dangers, undreamt of and unpredictable, threaten
it both from within and from without. Its governments
and peoples are being gradually enmeshed in the coils of the
world's recurrent crises and fierce controversies. The Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans are, with every acceleration in the
march of science, steadily shrinking into mere channels. The
Great Republic of the West finds itself particularly and increasingly
involved. Distant rumblings echo menacingly in
the ebullitions of its people. On its flanks are ranged the potential
storm centers of the European continent and of the
Far East. On its southern horizon there looms what might
conceivably develop into another center of agitation and
danger. The world is contracting into a neighborhood.
America, willingly or unwillingly, must face and grapple
with this new situation. For purposes of national security, let
alone any humanitarian motive, she must assume the obligations
imposed by this newly created neighborhood. Paradoxical
as it may seem, her only hope of extricating herself
from the perils gathering around her is to become entangled
in that very web of international association which the
+P88
Hand of an inscrutable Providence is weaving. &Abdu'l-Baha's
counsel to a highly placed official in its government
comes to mind, with peculiar appropriateness and force:
You can best serve your country if you strive, in your capacity
as a citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application
of the principle of federalism, underlying the government of
your own country, to the relationships now existing between
the peoples and nations of the world. The ideals that
fired the imagination of America's tragically unappreciated
President, whose high endeavors, however much nullified
by a visionless generation, &Abdu'l-Baha, through His own
pen, acclaimed as signalizing the dawn of the Most Great
Peace, though now lying in the dust, bitterly reproach a
heedless generation for having so cruelly abandoned them.
That the world is beset with perils, that dangers are
now accumulating and are actually threatening the American
nation, no clear-eyed observer can possibly deny. The
earth is now transformed into an armed camp. As much as
fifty million men are either under arms or in reserve. No less
than the sum of three billion pounds is being spent, in one
year, on its armaments. The light of religion is dimmed and
moral authority disintegrating. The nations of the world
have, for the most part, fallen a prey to battling ideologies
that threaten to disrupt the very foundations of their dearly
won political unity. Agitated multitudes in these countries
seethe with discontent, are armed to the teeth, are stampeded
with fear, and groan beneath the yoke of tribulations
engendered by political strife, racial fanaticism, national hatreds,
and religious animosities. "The winds of despair," &Baha'u'llah
has unmistakably affirmed, "are, alas, blowing from every
direction, and the strife that divides and afflicts the human
race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and
chaos can now be discerned...." "The ills," &Abdu'l-Baha, writing
as far back as two decades ago, has prophesied, "from
which the world now suffers will multiply; the gloom which envelops
it will deepen. The Balkans will remain discontented. Its restlessness
will increase. The vanquished Powers will continue to agitate.
+P89
They will resort to every measure that may rekindle the
flame of war. Movements, newly born and worldwide in their
range, will exert their utmost for the advancement of their designs.
The Movement of the Left will acquire great importance. Its influence
will spread." As to the American nation itself, the voice
of its own President, emphatic and clear, warns his people
that a possible attack upon their country has been brought
infinitely closer by the development of aircraft and by other
factors. Its Secretary of State, addressing at a recent Conference
the assembled representatives of all the American Republics,
utters no less ominous a warning. "These resurgent
forces loom threateningly throughout the world--their ominous
shadow falls athwart our own Hemisphere." As to its
Press, the same note of warning and of alarm at an approaching
danger is struck. "We must be prepared to defend
ourselves both from within and without.... Our defensive
frontier is long. It reaches from Alaska's Point Barrow to
Cape Horn, and ranges the Atlantic and the Pacific. When
or where Europe's and Asia's aggressors may strike at us no
one can say. It could be anywhere, any time.... We have
no option save to go armed ourselves.... We must mount
vigilant guard over the Western Hemisphere."
The distance that the American nation has traveled
since its formal and categoric repudiation of the Wilsonian
ideal, the changes that have unexpectedly overtaken it in recent
years, the direction in which world events are moving,
with their inevitable impact on the policies and the economy
of that nation, are to every &Baha'i observer, viewing the developments
in the international situation, in the light of the
prophecies of both &Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha, most significant,
and highly instructive and encouraging. To trace
the exact course which, in these troubled times and pregnant
years, this nation will follow would be impossible. We
can only, judging from the direction its affairs are now taking,
anticipate the course she will most likely choose to pursue
in her relationships with both the Republics of America
and the countries of the remaining continents.
+P90
A closer association with these Republics, on the one
hand, and an increased participation, in varying degrees, on
the other, in the affairs of the whole world, as a result of
recurrent international crises, appear as the most likely developments
which the future has in store for that country.
Delays must inevitably arise, setbacks must be suffered, in
the course of that country's evolution towards its ultimate
destiny. Nothing, however, can alter eventually that course,
ordained for it by the unerring pen of &Abdu'l-Baha. Its federal
unity having already been achieved and its internal institutions
consolidated--a stage that marked its coming of
age as a political entity--its further evolution, as a member
of the family of nations, must, under circumstances that
cannot at present be visualized, steadily continue. Such an
evolution must persist until such time when that nation will,
through the active and decisive part it will have played in
the organization and the peaceful settlement of the affairs of
mankind, have attained the plenitude of its powers and
functions as an outstanding member, and component part,
of a federated world.
The immediate future must, as a result of this steady,
this gradual, and inevitable absorption in the manifold perplexities
and problems afflicting humanity, be dark and oppressive
for that nation. The world-shaking ordeal which
&Baha'u'llah, as quoted in the foregoing pages, has so graphically
prophesied, may find it swept, to an unprecedented
degree, into its vortex. Out of it it will probably emerge, unlike
its reactions to the last world conflict, consciously determined
to seize its opportunity, to bring the full weight of its
influence to bear upon the gigantic problems that such an
ordeal must leave in its wake, and to exorcise forever, in
conjunction with its sister nations of both the East and the
West, the greatest curse which, from time immemorial, has
afflicted and degraded the human race.
Then, and only then, will the American nation, molded
and purified in the crucible of a common war, inured to its
rigors, and disciplined by its lessons, be in a position to raise
+P91
its voice in the councils of the nations, itself lay the cornerstone
of a universal and enduring peace, proclaim the solidarity,
the unity, and maturity of mankind, and assist in the
establishment of the promised reign of righteousness on
earth. Then, and only then, will the American nation, while
the community of the American believers within its heart is
consummating its divinely appointed mission, be able to fulfill
the unspeakably glorious destiny ordained for it by the
Almighty, and immortally enshrined in the writings of &Abdu'l-Baha.
Then, and only then, will the American nation accomplish
"that which will adorn the pages of history," "become
the envy of the world and be blest in both the East and the West."
SHOGHI
December 25, 1938