The World Order of Baha'u'llah

THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHA'U'LLAH
(U.S., First pocket-sized edition, 1991)
FILENAME: WOB.FN
FILEDATE: 08-06-94


+P3
THE WORLD ORDER OF &BAHA'U'LLAH

To the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the &Baha'is
of the United States and Canada.

Dearly-beloved co-workers:

I have been acquainted by the perusal of your latest communications
with the nature of the doubts that have been publicly expressed,
by one who is wholly misinformed as to the true precepts of the
Cause, regarding the validity of institutions that stand inextricably
interwoven with the Faith of &Baha'u'llah. Not that I for a moment
view such faint misgivings in the light of an open challenge to the
structure that embodies the Faith, nor is it because I question in the
least the unyielding tenacity of the faith of the American believers,
if I venture to dwell upon what seems to me appropriate observations
at the present stage of the evolution of our beloved Cause. I
am indeed inclined to welcome these expressed apprehensions inasmuch
as they afford me an opportunity to familiarize the elected
representatives of the believers with the origin and the character of
the institutions which stand at the very basis of the World Order
ushered in by &Baha'u'llah. We should feel truly thankful for such
futile attempts to undermine our beloved Faith--attempts that protrude
their ugly face from time to time, seem for a while able to
create a breach in the ranks of the faithful, recede finally into the
obscurity of oblivion, and are thought of no more. Such incidents
we should regard as the interpositions of Providence, designed to
fortify our faith, to clarify our vision, and to deepen our understanding
of the essentials of His Divine Revelation.

Sources of the &Baha'i World Order

It would, however, be helpful and instructive to bear in mind
certain basic principles with reference to the Will and Testament
of &Abdu'l-Baha, which, together with the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, constitutes
the chief depository wherein are enshrined those priceless elements
of that Divine Civilization, the establishment of which is the primary


+P4
mission of the &Baha'i Faith. A study of the provisions of these
sacred documents will reveal the close relationship that exists between
them, as well as the identity of purpose and method which
they inculcate. Far from regarding their specific provisions as incompatible
and contradictory in spirit, every fair-minded inquirer
will readily admit that they are not only complementary, but that
they mutually confirm one another, and are inseparable parts of one
complete unit. A comparison of their contents with the rest of &Baha'i
sacred Writings will similarly establish the conformity of whatever
they contain with the spirit as well as the letter of the authenticated
writings and sayings of &Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha. In fact, he
who reads the Aqdas with care and diligence will not find it hard to
discover that the Most Holy Book itself anticipates in a number of
passages the institutions which &Abdu'l-Baha ordains in His Will.
By leaving certain matters unspecified and unregulated in His Book
of Laws, &Baha'u'llah seems to have deliberately left a gap in the general
scheme of &Baha'i Dispensation, which the unequivocal provisions
of the Master's Will have filled. To attempt to divorce the one
from the other, to insinuate that the Teachings of &Baha'u'llah have
not been upheld, in their entirety and with absolute integrity, by
what &Abdu'l-Baha has revealed in His Will, is an unpardonable
affront to the unswerving fidelity that has characterized the life and
labors of our beloved Master.
I will not attempt in the least to assert or demonstrate the authenticity
of the Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha, for that in itself
would betray an apprehension on my part as to the unanimous confidence
of the believers in the genuineness of the last written wishes
of our departed Master. I will only confine my observations to those
issues which may assist them to appreciate the essential unity that
underlies the spiritual, the humanitarian, and the administrative
principles enunciated by the Author and the Interpreter of the
&Baha'i Faith.
I am at a loss to explain that strange mentality that inclines to
uphold as the sole criterion of the truth of the &Baha'i Teachings
what is admittedly only an obscure and unauthenticated translation
of an oral statement made by &Abdu'l-Baha, in defiance and total
disregard of the available text of all of His universally recognized
writings. I truly deplore the unfortunate distortions that have resulted


+P5
in days past from the incapacity of the interpreter to grasp
the meaning of &Abdu'l-Baha, and from his incompetence to render
adequately such truths as have been revealed to him by the Master's
statements. Much of the confusion that has obscured the understanding
of the believers should be attributed to this double error involved
in the inexact rendering of an only partially understood statement.
Not infrequently has the interpreter even failed to convey the exact
purport of the inquirer's specific questions, and, by his deficiency of
understanding and expression in conveying the answer of &Abdu'l-Baha,
has been responsible for reports wholly at variance with the
true spirit and purpose of the Cause. It was chiefly in view of the
misleading nature of the reports of the informal conversations of
&Abdu'l-Baha with visiting pilgrims, that I have insistently urged
the believers of the West to regard such statements as merely personal
impressions of the sayings of their Master, and to quote and
consider as authentic only such translations as are based upon the
authenticated text of His recorded utterances in the original tongue.
It should be remembered by every follower of the Cause that
the system of &Baha'i administration is not an innovation imposed
arbitrarily upon the &Baha'is of the world since the Master's passing,
but derives its authority from the Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha,
is specifically prescribed in unnumbered Tablets, and rests
in some of its essential features upon the explicit provisions of the
&Kitab-i-Aqdas. It thus unifies and correlates the principles separately
laid down by &Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha, and is indissolubly
bound with the essential verities of the Faith. To dissociate
the administrative principles of the Cause from the purely spiritual
and humanitarian teachings would be tantamount to a mutilation of
the body of the Cause, a separation that can only result in the disintegration
of its component parts, and the extinction of the Faith
itself.

Local and National Houses of Justice

It should be carefully borne in mind that the local as well as the
international Houses of Justice have been expressly enjoined by
the &Kitab-i-Aqdas; that the institution of the National Spiritual
Assembly, as an intermediary body, and referred to in the Master's
Will as the "Secondary House of Justice," has the express sanction


+P6
of &Abdu'l-Baha; and that the method to be pursued for the election
of the International and National Houses of Justice has been set
forth by Him in His Will, as well as in a number of His Tablets.
Moreover, the institutions of the local and national Funds, that
are now the necessary adjuncts to all local and national spiritual
assemblies, have not only been established by &Abdu'l-Baha in the
Tablets He revealed to the &Baha'is of the Orient, but their importance
and necessity have been repeatedly emphasized by Him in His
utterances and writings. The concentration of authority in the hands
of the elected representatives of the believers; the necessity of the
submission of every adherent of the Faith to the considered judgment
of &Baha'i Assemblies; His preference for unanimity in decision;
the decisive character of the majority vote; and even the
desirability for the exercise of close supervision over all &Baha'i
publications, have been sedulously instilled by &Abdu'l-Baha, as evidenced
by His authenticated and widely-scattered Tablets. To accept
His broad and humanitarian Teachings on one hand, and to reject
and dismiss with neglectful indifference His more challenging and
distinguishing precepts, would be an act of manifest disloyalty to
that which He has cherished most in His life.
That the Spiritual Assemblies of today will be replaced in time
by the Houses of Justice, and are to all intents and purposes identical
and not separate bodies, is abundantly confirmed by &Abdu'l-Baha
Himself. He has in fact in a Tablet addressed to the members of the
first Chicago Spiritual Assembly, the first elected &Baha'i body instituted
in the United States, referred to them as the members of the
"House of Justice" for that city, and has thus with His own pen
established beyond any doubt the identity of the present &Baha'i
Spiritual Assemblies with the Houses of Justice referred to by
&Baha'u'llah. For reasons which are not difficult to discover, it has
been found advisable to bestow upon the elected representatives of
&Baha'i communities throughout the world the temporary appellation
of Spiritual Assemblies, a term which, as the position and aims of
the &Baha'i Faith are better understood and more fully recognized,
will gradually be superseded by the permanent and more appropriate
designation of House of Justice. Not only will the present-day Spiritual
Assemblies be styled differently in future, but they will be enabled


+P7
also to add to their present functions those powers, duties,
and prerogatives necessitated by the recognition of the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah, not merely as one of the recognized religious systems
of the world, but as the State Religion of an independent and Sovereign
Power. And as the &Baha'i Faith permeates the masses of
the peoples of East and West, and its truth is embraced by the
majority of the peoples of a number of the Sovereign States of the
world, will the Universal House of Justice attain the plenitude of
its power, and exercise, as the supreme organ of the &Baha'i Commonwealth,
all the rights, the duties, and responsibilities incumbent
upon the world's future super-state.
It must be pointed out, however, in this connection that, contrary
to what has been confidently asserted, the establishment of
the Supreme House of Justice is in no way dependent upon the
adoption of the &Baha'i Faith by the mass of the peoples of the world,
nor does it presuppose its acceptance by the majority of the inhabitants
of any one country. In fact, &Abdu'l-Baha, Himself, in one of
His earliest Tablets, contemplated the possibility of the formation
of the Universal House of Justice in His own lifetime, and but for
the unfavorable circumstances prevailing under the Turkish ®ime,
would have, in all probability, taken the preliminary steps for its
establishment. It will be evident, therefore, that given favorable
circumstances, under which the &Baha'is of Persia and of the adjoining
countries under Soviet rule, may be enabled to elect their
national representatives, in accordance with the guiding principles
laid down in &Abdu'l-Baha's writings, the only remaining obstacle
in the way of the definite formation of the International House of
Justice will have been removed. For upon the National Houses of
Justice of the East and the West devolves the task, in conformity
with the explicit provisions of the Will, of electing directly the
members of the International House of Justice. Not until they are
themselves fully representative of the rank and file of the believers
in their respective countries, not until they have acquired the weight
and the experience that will enable them to function vigorously in
the organic life of the Cause, can they approach their sacred task,
and provide the spiritual basis for the constitution of so august a
body in the &Baha'i world.


+P8
The Institution of Guardianship

It must be also clearly understood by every believer that the
institution of Guardianship does not under any circumstances abrogate,
or even in the slightest degree detract from, the powers granted
to the Universal House of Justice by &Baha'u'llah in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas,
and repeatedly and solemnly confirmed by &Abdu'l-Baha in
His Will. It does not constitute in any manner a contradiction to
the Will and Writings of &Baha'u'llah, nor does it nullify any of
His revealed instructions. It enhances the prestige of that exalted
assembly, stabilizes its supreme position, safeguards its unity, assures
the continuity of its labors, without presuming in the slightest
to infringe upon the inviolability of its clearly-defined sphere of
jurisdiction. We stand indeed too close to so monumental a document
to claim for ourselves a complete understanding of all its
implications, or to presume to have grasped the manifold mysteries
it undoubtedly contains. Only future generations can comprehend
the value and the significance attached to this Divine Masterpiece,
which the hand of the Master-builder of the world has designed for
the unification and the triumph of the world-wide Faith of &Baha'u'llah.
Only those who come after us will be in a position to realize
the value of the surprisingly strong emphasis that has been placed
on the institution of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship.
They only will appreciate the significance of the vigorous language
employed by &Abdu'l-Baha with reference to the band of Covenant-breakers
that has opposed Him in His days. To them alone will
be revealed the suitability of the institutions initiated by &Abdu'l-Baha
to the character of the future society which is to emerge out
of the chaos and confusion of the present age. In this connection,
I cannot but feel amused at the preposterous and fantastic idea that
&Muhammad-'Ali, the prime mover and the focal center of unyielding
hostility to the person of &Abdu'l-Baha, should have freely associated
himself with the members of the family of &Abdu'l-Baha
in the forging of a will which in the words of the writer herself,
is but a "recital of the plottings" in which for thirty years &Muhammad-'Ali
has been busily engaged. To such a hopeless victim of
confused ideas, I feel I can best reply by a genuine expression of
compassion and pity, mingled with my hopes for her deliverance


+P9
from so profound a delusion. It was in view of the aforesaid observations,
that I have, after the unfortunate and unavoidable delay
occasioned by my ill health and absence from the Holy Land during
the Master's passing, hesitated to resort to the indiscriminate circulation
of the Will, realizing full well that it was primarily directed
to the recognized believers, and only indirectly concerned the larger
body of the friends and sympathizers of the Cause.

The Animating Purpose of &Baha'i Institutions

And now, it behooves us to reflect on the animating purpose and
the primary functions of these divinely-established institutions, the
sacred character and the universal efficacy of which can be demonstrated
only by the spirit they diffuse and the work they actually
achieve. I need not dwell upon what I have already reiterated and
emphasized that the administration of the Cause is to be conceived
as an instrument and not a substitute for the Faith of &Baha'u'llah,
that it should be regarded as a channel through which His promised
blessings may flow, that it should guard against such rigidity as
would clog and fetter the liberating forces released by His Revelation.
I need not enlarge at the present moment upon what I have
stated in the past, that contributions to the local and national Funds
are of a purely voluntary character; that no coercion or solicitation
of funds is to be tolerated in the Cause; that general appeals addressed
to the communities as a body should be the only form in
which the financial requirements of the Faith are to be met; that
the financial support accorded to a very few workers in the teaching
and administrative fields is of a temporary nature; that the
present restrictions imposed on the publication of &Baha'i literature
will be definitely abolished; that the World Unity activity is being
carried out as an experiment to test the efficacy of the indirect method
of teaching; that the whole machinery of assemblies, of committees
and conventions is to be regarded as a means, and not an end in
itself; that they will rise or fall according to their capacity to further
the interests, to &coordinate the activities, to apply the principles,
to embody the ideals and execute the purpose of the &Baha'i Faith.
Who, I may ask, when viewing the international character of the
Cause, its far-flung ramifications, the increasing complexity of its
affairs, the diversity of its adherents, and the state of confusion


+P10
that assails on every side the infant Faith of God, can for a moment
question the necessity of some sort of administrative machinery
that will insure, amid the storm and stress of a struggling civilization,
the unity of the Faith, the preservation of its identity, and the
protection of its interests? To repudiate the validity of the assemblies
of the elected ministers of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah would be
to reject those countless Tablets of &Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha
wherein They have extolled the station of the "trustees of the
Merciful," enumerated their privileges and duties, emphasized
the glory of their mission, revealed the immensity of their task,
and warned them of the attacks they must needs expect from the
unwisdom of their friends as well as from the malice of their
enemies. It is surely for those to whose hands so priceless a
heritage has been committed to prayerfully watch lest the tool
should supersede the Faith itself, lest undue concern for the
minute details arising from the administration of the Cause obscure
the vision of its promoters, lest partiality, ambition, and
worldliness tend in the course of time to becloud the radiance, stain
the purity, and impair the effectiveness of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah.

Situation in Egypt

I have already referred in my previous communications of January
10, 1926, and February 12, 1927, to the perplexing yet highly
significant situation that has arisen in Egypt as a result of the final
judgment of the Muslim ecclesiastical court in that country pronounced
against our Egyptian brethren, denouncing them as heretics,
expelling them from their midst, and refusing them the application
and benefits of the Muslim Law. I have also acquainted you
with the difficulties with which they are faced, and the plans which
they have conceived, in order to obtain from the Egyptian civil
authorities a recognition of the independent status of their Faith.
It must be explained, however, that in the Muslim countries of
the Near and Middle East, with the exception of Turkey which
has lately abolished all ecclesiastical courts under its rule, every
recognized religious community has, in matters of personal status
such as marriage, divorce and inheritance, its own ecclesiastical
court, totally independent of the civil and criminal tribunals, there
being in such instances no civil code promulgated by the government


+P11
and embracing all the different religious communities. Hitherto
regarded as a sect of &Islam, the &Baha'is of Egypt, who for the most
part are of Muslim origin, and unable therefore to refer for purposes
of marriage and divorce to the recognized religious tribunals
of any other denomination, find themselves in consequence in a
delicate and anomalous position. They have naturally resolved to
refer their case to the Egyptian Government, and have prepared for
this purpose a petition to be addressed to the head of the Egyptian
Cabinet. In this document they have set forth the motives compelling
them to seek recognition from their rulers, have asserted
their readiness and their qualifications to exercise the functions
of an independent &Baha'i court, have assured them of their implicit
obedience and loyalty to the State, and of their abstinence from interference
in the politics of their country. They have also decided
to accompany the text of their petition with a copy of the judgment
of the Court, with selections from &Baha'i writings, and with the
document that sets forth the principles of their national constitution
which, with few exceptions, is identical with the Declaration
and By-laws promulgated by your Assembly.
I have insisted that the provisions of their constitution should,
in all its details, conform to the text of the Declaration of Trust
and By-laws which you have established, endeavoring thereby to
preserve the uniformity which I feel is essential in all &Baha'i National
Constitutions. I would like, therefore, in this connection to
request of you what I have already intimated to them, that whatever
amendments you may decide to introduce in the text of the Declaration
and By-laws should be duly communicated to me, that I may
take the necessary steps for the introduction of similar changes in
the text of all other National &Baha'i Constitutions.
It will be readily admitted that in view of the peculiar privileges
granted to recognized religious Communities in the Islamic countries
of the Near and Middle East, the request which is to be submitted
by the &Baha'i Egyptian National Assembly to the Government
of Egypt is more substantial and far-reaching than what has
already been granted by the Federal Authorities to your Assembly.
For their petition is chiefly concerned with a formal request for
recognition by the highest civil authorities in Egypt of the Egyptian
National Spiritual Assembly as a recognized and independent &Baha'i


+P12
court, free and able to execute and apply in all matters of personal
status such laws and ordinances as have been promulgated by
&Baha'u'llah in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas.
I have asked them to approach informally the authorities concerned,
and to make the fullest possible inquiry as a preliminary
measure to the formal presentation of their historic petition. Any
assistance which your Assembly, after careful deliberation, may
find it advisable to offer to the valiant promoters of the Faith in
that land will be deeply appreciated, and will serve to confirm the
solidarity that characterizes the &Baha'i Communities of East and
West. Whatever the outcome of this mighty issue--and none can
fail to appreciate the incalculable possibilities of the present situation--
we can rest assured that the guiding Hand that has released
these forces will, in His inscrutable wisdom and by His omnipotent
power, continue to shape and direct their course for the glory, the
ultimate emancipation, and the unqualified recognition of His Faith.

. . . . . . .

Your true brother,
Shoghi.

Haifa, Palestine.
February 27, 1929.


+P13
THE WORLD ORDER OF &BAHA'U'LLAH
FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS


+P14

+P15
THE WORLD ORDER OF &BAHA'U'LLAH
FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful
throughout the West.

Dearly-beloved co-workers:

Amid the reports that have of late reached the Holy Land, most
of which witness to the triumphant march of the Cause, a few seem
to betray a certain apprehension regarding the validity of the institutions
which stand inseparably associated with the Faith of &Baha'u'llah.
These expressed misgivings appear to be actuated by certain
whisperings which have emanated from quarters which are either
wholly misinformed regarding the fundamentals of the &Baha'i Revelation,
or which deliberately contrive to sow the seeds of dissension in
the hearts of the faithful.

A Blessing in Disguise

Viewed in the light of past experience, the inevitable result of
such futile attempts, however persistent and malicious they may be,
is to contribute to a wider and deeper recognition by believers and
unbelievers alike of the distinguishing features of the Faith proclaimed
by &Baha'u'llah. These challenging criticisms, whether or not
dictated by malice, cannot but serve to galvanize the souls of its
ardent supporters, and to consolidate the ranks of its faithful promoters.
They will purge the Faith from those pernicious elements
whose continued association with the believers tends to discredit the
fair name of the Cause, and to tarnish the purity of its spirit. We
should welcome, therefore, not only the open attacks which its
avowed enemies persistently launch against it, but should also view
as a blessing in disguise every storm of mischief with which they
who apostatize their faith or claim to be its faithful exponents
assail it from time to time. Instead of undermining the Faith, such
assaults, both from within and from without, reinforce its foundations,
and excite the intensity of its flame. Designed to becloud its
radiance, they proclaim to all the world the exalted character of its


+P16
precepts, the completeness of its unity, the uniqueness of its position,
and the pervasiveness of its influence.
I do not feel for one moment that such clamor, mostly attributable
to impotent rage against the resistless march of the Cause of
God, can ever distress the valiant warriors of the Faith. For these
heroic souls, whether they be contending in America's impregnable
stronghold, or struggling in the heart of Europe, and across the seas
as far as the continent of Australasia, have already abundantly demonstrated
the tenacity of their Faith and the abiding value of their
conviction.

Distinguishing Features of &Baha'i World Order

I feel it, however, incumbent upon me by virtue of the responsibility
attached to the Guardianship of the Faith, to dwell more fully
upon the essential character and the distinguishing features of that
world order as conceived and proclaimed by &Baha'u'llah. I feel impelled,
at the present stage of the evolution of the &Baha'i Revelation,
to state candidly and without any reservation, whatever I regard may
tend to insure the preservation of the integrity of the nascent institutions
of the Faith. I strongly feel the urge to elucidate certain
facts, which would at once reveal to every fair-minded observer the
unique character of that Divine Civilization the foundations of
which the unerring hand of &Baha'u'llah has laid, and the essential elements
of which the Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha has disclosed.
I consider it my duty to warn every beginner in the Faith that
the promised glories of the Sovereignty which the &Baha'i teachings
foreshadow, can be revealed only in the fullness of time, that the
implications of the Aqdas and the Will of &Abdu'l-Baha, as the twin
repositories of the constituent elements of that Sovereignty, are too
far-reaching for this generation to grasp and fully appreciate. I
cannot refrain from appealing to them who stand identified with the
Faith to disregard the prevailing notions and the fleeting fashions
of the day, and to realize as never before that the exploded theories
and the tottering institutions of present-day civilization must needs
appear in sharp contrast with those God-given institutions which are
destined to arise upon their ruin. I pray that they may realize with
all their heart and soul the ineffable glory of their calling, the overwhelming


+P17
responsibility of their mission, and the astounding immensity
of their task.
For let every earnest upholder of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah
realize that the storms which this struggling Faith of God must
needs encounter, as the process of the disintegration of society advances,
shall be fiercer than any which it has already experienced.
Let him be aware that so soon as the full measure of the stupendous
claim of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah comes to be recognized by those
time-honored and powerful strongholds of orthodoxy, whose deliberate
aim is to maintain their stranglehold over the thoughts and
consciences of men, this infant Faith will have to contend with enemies
more powerful and more insidious than the cruellest torture-mongers
and the most fanatical clerics who have afflicted it in the
past. What foes may not in the course of the convulsions that shall
seize a dying civilization be brought into existence, who will reinforce
the indignities which have already been heaped upon it!

The Onslaught of All Peoples and Kindreds

We have only to refer to the warnings uttered by &Abdu'l-Baha
in order to realize the extent and character of the forces that are
destined to contest with God's holy Faith. In the darkest moments
of His life, under &Abdu'l-Hamid's ®ime, when He stood ready to
be deported to the most inhospitable regions of Northern Africa, and
at a time when the auspicious light of the &Baha'i Revelation had only
begun to break upon the West, He, in His parting message to the
cousin of the &Bab, uttered these prophetic and ominous words:
"How great, how very great is the Cause! How very fierce the onslaught
of all the peoples and kindreds of the earth. Ere long shall
the clamor of the multitude throughout Africa, throughout America,
the cry of the European and of the Turk, the groaning of India and
China, be heard from far and near. One and all, they shall arise with
all their power to resist His Cause. Then shall the knights of the
Lord, assisted by His grace from on high, strengthened by faith,
aided by the power of understanding, and reinforced by the legions
of the Covenant, arise and make manifest the truth of the verse:
`Behold the confusion that hath befallen the tribes of the defeated!'"
Stupendous as is the struggle which His words foreshadow, they
also testify to the complete victory which the upholders of the Greatest


+P18
Name are destined eventually to achieve. Peoples, nations, adherents
of divers faiths, will jointly and successively arise to shatter its
unity, to sap its force, and to degrade its holy name. They will assail
not only the spirit which it inculcates, but the administration which
is the channel, the instrument, the embodiment of that spirit. For as
the authority with which &Baha'u'llah has invested the future &Baha'i
Commonwealth becomes more and more apparent, the fiercer shall
be the challenge which from every quarter will be thrown at the
verities it enshrines.

Difference Between &Baha'i Faith and Ecclesiastical
Organizations

It behooves us, dear friends, to endeavor not only to familiarize
ourselves with the essential features of this supreme Handiwork of
&Baha'u'llah, but also to grasp the fundamental difference existing
between this world-embracing, divinely-appointed Order and the
chief ecclesiastical organizations of the world, whether they pertain
to the Church of Christ, or to the ordinances of the &Muhammadan
Dispensation.
For those whose priceless privilege is to guard over, administer
the affairs, and advance the interests of these &Baha'i institutions will
have, sooner or later, to face this searching question: "Where and
how does this Order established by &Baha'u'llah, which to outward
seeming is but a replica of the institutions established in Christianity
and &Islam, differ from them? Are not the twin institutions of the
House of Justice and of the Guardianship, the institution of the
Hands of the Cause of God, the institution of the national and local
Assemblies, the institution of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, but different
names for the institutions of the Papacy and the Caliphate, with all
their attending ecclesiastical orders which the Christians and Moslems
uphold and advocate? What can possibly be the agency that can
safeguard these &Baha'i institutions, so strikingly resemblant, in some
of their features, to those which have been reared by the Fathers of
the Church and the Apostles of &Muhammad, from witnessing the
deterioration in character, the breach of unity, and the extinction of
influence, which have befallen all organized religious hierarchies?
Why should they not eventually suffer the self-same fate that has


+P19
overtaken the institutions which the successors of Christ and
&Muhammad have reared?"
Upon the answer given to these challenging questions will, in a
great measure, depend the success of the efforts which believers in
every land are now exerting for the establishment of God's kingdom
upon the earth. Few will fail to recognize that the Spirit breathed by
&Baha'u'llah upon the world, and which is manifesting itself with
varying degrees of intensity through the efforts consciously displayed
by His avowed supporters and indirectly through certain
humanitarian organizations, can never permeate and exercise an abiding
influence upon mankind unless and until it incarnates itself in a
visible Order, which would bear His name, wholly identify itself
with His principles, and function in conformity with His laws. That
&Baha'u'llah in His Book of Aqdas, and later &Abdu'l-Baha in His
Will--a document which confirms, supplements, and correlates the
provisions of the Aqdas--have set forth in their entirety those essential
elements for the constitution of the world &Baha'i Commonwealth,
no one who has read them will deny. According to these
divinely-ordained administrative principles, the Dispensation of
&Baha'u'llah--the Ark of human salvation--must needs be modeled.
From them, all future blessings must flow, and upon them its inviolable
authority must ultimately rest.
For &Baha'u'llah, we should readily recognize, has not only imbued
mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit. He has not merely
enunciated certain universal principles, or propounded a particular
philosophy, however potent, sound and universal these may be. In
addition to these He, as well as &Abdu'l-Baha after Him, has, unlike
the Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set
of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials
of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a pattern for
future society, a supreme instrument for the establishment of the
Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification of the
world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness and justice
upon the earth. Not only have they revealed all the directions required
for the practical realization of those ideals which the Prophets
of God have visualized, and which from time immemorial have inflamed
the imagination of seers and poets in every age. They have
also, in unequivocal and emphatic language, appointed those twin


+P20
institutions of the House of Justice and of the Guardianship as their
chosen Successors, destined to apply the principles, promulgate the
laws, protect the institutions, adapt loyally and intelligently the Faith
to the requirements of progressive society, and consummate the incorruptible
inheritance which the Founders of the Faith have bequeathed
to the world.
Should we look back upon the past, were we to search out the
Gospel and the &Qur'an, we will readily recognize that neither the
Christian nor the Islamic Dispensations can offer a parallel either to
the system of Divine Economy so thoroughly established by &Baha'u'llah,
or to the safeguards which He has provided for its preservation
and advancement. Therein, I am profoundly convinced, lies the
answer to those questions to which I have already referred.
None, I feel, will question the fact that the fundamental reason
why the unity of the Church of Christ was irretrievably shattered,
and its influence was in the course of time undermined, was that
the Edifice which the Fathers of the Church reared after the passing
of His First Apostle was an Edifice that rested in nowise upon the
explicit directions of Christ Himself. The authority and features of
their administration were wholly inferred, and indirectly derived,
with more or less justification, from certain vague and fragmentary
references which they found scattered amongst His utterances as
recorded in the Gospel. Not one of the sacraments of the Church;
not one of the rites and ceremonies which the Christian Fathers
have elaborately devised and ostentatiously observed; not one of
the elements of the severe discipline they rigorously imposed upon
the primitive Christians; none of these reposed on the direct authority
of Christ, or emanated from His specific utterances. Not one of
these did Christ conceive, none did He specifically invest with sufficient
authority to either interpret His Word, or to add to what He
had not specifically enjoined.
For this reason, in later generations, voices were raised in protest
against the self-appointed Authority which arrogated to itself
privileges and powers which did not emanate from the clear text of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and which constituted a grave departure
from the spirit which that Gospel did inculcate. They argued with
force and justification that the canons promulgated by the Councils
of the Church were not divinely-appointed laws, but were merely human


+P21
devices which did not even rest upon the actual utterances of
Jesus. Their contention centered around the fact that the vague and
inconclusive words, addressed by Christ to Peter, "Thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church," could never justify the
extreme measures, the elaborate ceremonials, the fettering creeds and
dogmas, with which His successors have gradually burdened and
obscured His Faith. Had it been possible for the Church Fathers,
whose unwarranted authority was thus fiercely assailed from every
side, to refute the denunciations heaped upon them by quoting specific
utterances of Christ regarding the future administration of His
Church, or the nature of the authority of His Successors, they would
surely have been capable of quenching the flame of controversy, and
preserving the unity of Christendom. The Gospel, however, the only
repository of the utterances of Christ, afforded no such shelter to
these harassed leaders of the Church, who found themselves helpless
in the face of the pitiless onslaught of their enemy, and who eventually
had to submit to the forces of schism which invaded their ranks.
In the &Muhammadan Revelation, however, although His Faith
as compared with that of Christ was, so far as the administration of
His Dispensation is concerned, more complete and more specific in
its provisions, yet in the matter of succession, it gave no written,
no binding and conclusive instructions to those whose mission was
to propagate His Cause. For the text of the &Qur'an, the ordinances
of which regarding prayer, fasting, marriage, divorce, inheritance,
pilgrimage, and the like, have after the revolution of thirteen hundred
years remained intact and operative, gives no definite guidance
regarding the Law of Succession, the source of all the dissensions,
the controversies, and schisms which have dismembered and discredited
&Islam.
Not so with the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah. Unlike the Dispensation
of Christ, unlike the Dispensation of &Muhammad, unlike all the
Dispensations of the past, the apostles of &Baha'u'llah in every land,
wherever they labor and toil, have before them in clear, in unequivocal
and emphatic language, all the laws, the regulations, the principles,
the institutions, the guidance, they require for the prosecution
and consummation of their task. Both in the administrative provisions
of the &Baha'i Dispensation, and in the matter of succession, as
embodied in the twin institutions of the House of Justice and of the


+P22
Guardianship, the followers of &Baha'u'llah can summon to their aid
such irrefutable evidences of Divine Guidance that none can resist,
that none can belittle or ignore. Therein lies the distinguishing feature
of the &Baha'i Revelation. Therein lies the strength of the unity
of the Faith, of the validity of a Revelation that claims not to destroy
or belittle previous Revelations, but to connect, unify, and
fulfill them. This is the reason why &Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha
have both revealed and even insisted upon certain details in connection
with the Divine Economy which they have bequeathed to us,
their followers. This is why such an emphasis has been placed in
their Will and Testament upon the powers and prerogatives of the
ministers of their Faith.
For nothing short of the explicit directions of their Book, and
the surprisingly emphatic language with which they have clothed
the provisions of their Will, could possibly safeguard the Faith for
which they have both so gloriously labored all their lives. Nothing
short of this could protect it from the heresies and calumnies with
which denominations, peoples, and governments have endeavored,
and will, with increasing vigor, endeavor to assail it in future.
We should also bear in mind that the distinguishing character of
the &Baha'i Revelation does not solely consist in the completeness and
unquestionable validity of the Dispensation which the teachings of
&Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha have established. Its excellence lies
also in the fact that those elements which in past Dispensations have,
without the least authority from their Founders, been a source of
corruption and of incalculable harm to the Faith of God, have been
strictly excluded by the clear text of &Baha'u'llah's writings. Those
unwarranted practices, in connection with the sacrament of baptism,
of communion, of confession of sins, of asceticism, of priestly domination,
of elaborate ceremonials, of holy war and of polygamy, have
one and all been rigidly suppressed by the Pen of &Baha'u'llah; whilst
the rigidity and rigor of certain observances, such as fasting,
which are necessary to the devotional life of the individual, have
been considerably abated.

A Living Organism

It should also be borne in mind that the machinery of the Cause
has been so fashioned, that whatever is deemed necessary to incorporate


+P23
into it in order to keep it in the forefront of all progressive
movements, can, according to the provisions made by &Baha'u'llah,
be safely embodied therein. To this testify the words of &Baha'u'llah,
as recorded in the Eighth Leaf of the exalted Paradise: "It is incumbent
upon the Trustees of the House of Justice to take counsel
together regarding those things which have not outwardly been revealed
in the Book, and to enforce that which is agreeable to them.
God will verily inspire them with whatsoever He willeth, and He,
verily, is the Provider, the Omniscient." Not only has the House of
Justice been invested by &Baha'u'llah with the authority to legislate
whatsoever has not been explicitly and outwardly recorded in His
holy Writ, upon it has also been conferred by the Will and Testament
of &Abdu'l-Baha the right and power to abrogate, according to
the changes and requirements of the time, whatever has been already
enacted and enforced by a preceding House of Justice. In this connection,
He revealed the following in His Will: "And inasmuch as
the House of Justice hath power to enact laws that are not expressly
recorded in the Book and bear upon daily transactions, so
also it hath power to repeal the same. Thus for example, the House
of Justice enacteth today a certain law and enforceth it, and a hundred
years hence, circumstances having profoundly changed and the
conditions having altered, another House of Justice will then have
power, according to the exigencies of the time, to alter that law.
This it can do because that law formeth no part of the divine explicit
text. The House of Justice is both the initiator and the abrogator of
its own laws." Such is the immutability of His revealed Word. Such
is the elasticity which characterizes the functions of His appointed
ministers. The first preserves the identity of His Faith, and guards
the integrity of His law. The second enables it, even as a living
organism, to expand and adapt itself to the needs and requirements
of an ever-changing society.
Dear friends! Feeble though our Faith may now appear in the
eyes of men, who either denounce it as an offshoot of &Islam, or contemptuously
ignore it as one more of those obscure sects that abound
in the West, this priceless gem of Divine Revelation, now still in its
embryonic state, shall evolve within the shell of His law, and shall
forge ahead, undivided and unimpaired, till it embraces the whole of
mankind. Only those who have already recognized the supreme station


+P24
of &Baha'u'llah, only those whose hearts have been touched by
His love, and have become familiar with the potency of His spirit,
can adequately appreciate the value of this Divine Economy--His
inestimable gift to mankind.
Leaders of religion, exponents of political theories, governors of
human institutions, who at present are witnessing with perplexity
and dismay the bankruptcy of their ideas, and the disintegration of
their handiwork, would do well to turn their gaze to the Revelation
of &Baha'u'llah, and to meditate upon the World Order which, lying
enshrined in His teachings, is slowly and imperceptibly rising amid
the welter and chaos of present-day civilization. They need have no
doubt or anxiety regarding the nature, the origin or validity of the
institutions which the adherents of the Faith are building up
throughout the world. For these lie embedded in the teachings themselves,
unadulterated and unobscured by unwarrantable inferences,
or unauthorized interpretations of His Word.
How pressing and sacred the responsibility that now weighs upon
those who are already acquainted with these teachings! How glorious
the task of those who are called upon to vindicate their truth, and
demonstrate their practicability to an unbelieving world! Nothing
short of an immovable conviction in their divine origin, and their
uniqueness in the annals of religion; nothing short of an unwavering
purpose to execute and apply them to the administrative machinery
of the Cause, can be sufficient to establish their reality, and insure
their success. How vast is the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah! How great
the magnitude of His blessings showered upon humanity in this
day! And yet, how poor, how inadequate our conception of their
significance and glory! This generation stands too close to so
colossal a Revelation to appreciate, in their full measure, the infinite
possibilities of His Faith, the unprecedented character of His Cause,
and the mysterious dispensations of His Providence.
In the &Iqan, &Baha'u'llah, wishing to emphasize the transcendent
character of this new Day of God, reinforces the strength of His
argument by His reference to the text of a correct and authorized
tradition, which reveals the following: "Knowledge is twenty and
seven letters. All that the Prophets have revealed are two letters
thereof. No man thus far hath known more than these two letters.


+P25
But when the &Qa'im shall arise, He will cause the remaining twenty
and five letters to be made manifest." And then immediately follow
these confirming and illuminating words of &Baha'u'llah: "Consider:
He hath declared knowledge to consist of twenty and seven letters,
and regarded all the prophets, from Adam even unto &Muhammad,
the `seal,' as expounders of only two letters thereof. He also saith
that the &Qa'im will reveal all the remaining twenty and five letters.
Behold from this utterance how great and lofty is His station! His
rank excelleth that of all the prophets, and His revelation transcendeth
the comprehension and understanding of all their chosen
ones. A revelation, of which the prophets of God, His saints and
chosen ones have either not been informed or which, in pursuance
of God's inscrutable decree, they have not disclosed--such a revelation,
these vile and villainous people have sought to measure with
their own deficient minds, their own deficient learning and understanding."
In another passage of the same Book, &Baha'u'llah, referring to the
transformation effected by every Revelation in the ways, thoughts
and manners of the people, reveals these words: "Is not the object
of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole character
of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself, both outwardly
and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external
conditions? For if the character of mankind be not changed, the
futility of God's universal Manifestations would be apparent."
Did not Christ Himself, addressing His disciples, utter these
words: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear
them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will
guide you into all truth"?
From the text of this recognized tradition, as well as from the
words of Christ, as attested by the Gospel, every unprejudiced observer
will readily apprehend the magnitude of the Faith which
&Baha'u'llah has revealed, and recognize the staggering weight of the
claim He has advanced. No wonder if &Abdu'l-Baha has portrayed in
such lurid colors the fierceness of the agitation that shall center in
the days to come round the nascent institutions of the Faith. We can
now but faintly discern the beginnings of that turmoil which the rise
and ascendancy of the Cause of God is destined to cast in the world.


+P26
The Greatest Drama of the World's Spiritual History

Whether in the ferocious and insidious campaign of repression
and cruelty which the rulers of Russia have launched against the
upholders of the Faith under their rule; whether in the unyielding
animosity with which the Shiites of &Islam are trampling upon the
sacred rights of the adherents of the Cause in connection with
&Baha'u'llah's house in &Baghdad; whether in the impotent rage which
has impelled the ecclesiastical leaders of the Sunnite sect of &Islam
to expel our Egyptian brethren from their midst--in all of these we
can perceive the manifestations of the relentless hate which peoples,
religions, and governments entertain for so pure, so innocent, so
glorious a Faith.
Ours is the duty to ponder these things in our heart, to strive to
widen our vision, and to deepen our comprehension of this Cause,
and to arise, resolutely and unreservedly, to play our part, however
small, in this greatest drama of the world's spiritual history.

Your brother and co-worker,

Shoghi.

Haifa, Palestine,
March 21, 1930.


+P27
THE GOAL OF A NEW WORLD ORDER


+P28

+P29
THE GOAL OF A NEW WORLD ORDER

Fellow-believers in the Faith of &Baha'u'llah:

The inexorable march of recent events has carried humanity so
near to the goal foreshadowed by &Baha'u'llah that no responsible
follower of His Faith, viewing on all sides the distressing evidences
of the world's travail, can remain unmoved at the thought of its
approaching deliverance.
It would not seem inappropriate, at a time when we are commemorating
the world over the termination of the first decade since
&Abdu'l-Baha's sudden removal from our midst, to ponder, in the
light of the teachings bequeathed by Him to the world, such events
as have tended to hasten the gradual emergence of the World Order
anticipated by &Baha'u'llah.
Ten years ago, this very day, there flashed upon the world the
news of the passing of Him Who alone, through the ennobling influence
of His love, strength and wisdom, could have proved its stay
and solace in the many afflictions it was destined to suffer.
How well we, the little band of His avowed supporters who lay
claim to have recognized the Light that shone within Him, can still
remember His repeated allusions, in the evening of His earthly life,
to the tribulation and turmoil with which an unregenerate humanity
was to be increasingly afflicted. How poignantly some of us can
recall His pregnant remarks, in the presence of the pilgrims and
visitors who thronged His doors on the morrow of the jubilant
celebrations that greeted the termination of the World War--a war,
which by the horrors it evoked, the losses it entailed and the complications
it engendered, was destined to exert so far-reaching an
influence on the fortunes of mankind. How serenely, yet how powerfully,
He stressed the cruel deception which a Pact, hailed by peoples
and nations as the embodiment of triumphant justice and the unfailing
instrument of an abiding peace, held in store for an unrepented
humanity. Peace, Peace, how often we heard Him remark, the


+P30
lips of potentates and peoples unceasingly proclaim, whereas the
fire of unquenched hatreds still smoulders in their hearts. How often
we heard Him raise His voice, whilst the tumult of triumphant enthusiasm
was still at its height and long before the faintest misgivings
could have been felt or expressed, confidently declaring that the
Document, extolled as the Charter of a liberated humanity, contained
within itself seeds of such bitter deception as would further
enslave the world. How abundant are now the evidences that attest
the perspicacity of His unerring judgment!
Ten years of unceasing turmoil, so laden with anguish, so
fraught with incalculable consequences to the future of civilization,
have brought the world to the verge of a calamity too awful to
contemplate. Sad indeed is the contrast between the manifestations
of confident enthusiasm in which the Plenipotentiaries at Versailles
so freely indulged and the cry of unconcealed distress which victors
and vanquished alike are now raising in the hour of bitter delusion.

A War-Weary World

Neither the force which the framers and guarantors of the
Peace Treaties have mustered, nor the lofty ideals which originally
animated the author of the Covenant of the League of Nations,
have proved a sufficient bulwark against the forces of internal disruption
with which a structure so laboriously contrived had been
consistently assailed. Neither the provisions of the so-called Settlement
which the victorious Powers have sought to impose, nor the
machinery of an institution which America's illustrious and far-seeing
President had conceived, have proved, either in conception or
practice, adequate instruments to ensure the integrity of the Order
they had striven to establish. "The ills from which the world now
suffers," wrote &Abdu'l-Baha in January, 1920, "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. They will resort to every measure that may
rekindle the flame of war. Movements, newly-born and world-wide
in their range, will exert their utmost effort for the advancement of
their designs. The Movement of the Left will acquire great importance.
Its influence will spread."
Economic distress, since those words were written, together with


+P31
political confusion, financial upheavals, religious restlessness and
racial animosities, seem to have conspired to add immeasurably to
the burdens under which an impoverished, a war-weary world is
groaning. Such has been the cumulative effect of these successive
crises, following one another with such bewildering rapidity, that the
very foundations of society are trembling. The world, to whichever
continent we turn our gaze, to however remote a region our survey
may extend, is everywhere assailed by forces it can neither explain
nor control.
Europe, hitherto regarded as the cradle of a highly-vaunted civilization,
as the torch-bearer of liberty and the mainspring of the
forces of world industry and commerce, stands bewildered and
paralyzed at the sight of so tremendous an upheaval. Long-cherished
ideals in the political no less than in the economic sphere of human
activity are being severely tested under the pressure of reactionary
forces on one hand and of an insidious and persistent radicalism on
the other. From the heart of Asia distant rumblings, ominous and
insistent, portend the steady onslaught of a creed which, by its
negation of God, His Laws and Principles, threatens to disrupt
the foundations of human society. The clamor of a nascent nationalism,
coupled with a recrudescence of skepticism and unbelief, come
as added misfortunes to a continent hitherto regarded as the symbol
of age-long stability and undisturbed resignation. From darkest
Africa the first stirrings of a conscious and determined revolt against
the aims and methods of political and economic imperialism can
be increasingly discerned, adding their share to the growing vicissitudes
of a troubled age. Not even America, which until very
recently prided itself on its traditional policy of aloofness and the
self-contained character of its economy, the invulnerability of its
institutions and the evidences of its growing prosperity and prestige,
has been able to resist the impelling forces that have swept her into
the vortex of an economic hurricane that now threatens to impair
the basis of her own industrial and economic life. Even far-away
Australia, which, owing to its remoteness from the storm-centers
of Europe, would have been expected to be immune from the trials
and torments of an ailing continent, has been caught in this whirlpool
of passion and strife, impotent to extricate herself from their
ensnaring influence.


+P32
The Signs of Impending Chaos

Never indeed have there been such widespread and basic upheavals,
whether in the social, economic or political spheres of human
activity as those now going on in different parts of the world. Never
have there been so many and varied sources of danger as those that
now threaten the structure of society. The following words of
&Baha'u'llah are indeed significant as we pause to reflect upon the
present state of a strangely disordered world: "How long will
humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will injustice continue?
How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men?
How long will discord agitate the face of society? The winds of
despair 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, inasmuch as
the prevailing order appears to be lamentably defective."
The disquieting influence of over thirty million souls living under
minority conditions throughout the continent of Europe; the vast
and ever-swelling army of the unemployed with its crushing burden
and demoralizing influence on governments and peoples; the wicked,
unbridled race of armaments swallowing an ever-increasing share of
the substance of already impoverished nations; the utter demoralization
from which the international financial markets are now
increasingly suffering; the onslaught of secularism invading what
has hitherto been regarded as the impregnable strongholds of Christian
and Muslim orthodoxy--these stand out as the gravest symptoms
that bode ill for the future stability of the structure of modern
civilization. Little wonder if one of Europe's &preeminent thinkers,
honored for his wisdom and restraint, should have been forced to
make so bold an assertion: "The world is passing through the
gravest crisis in the history of civilization." "We stand," writes
another, "before either a world catastrophe, or perhaps before the
dawn of a greater era of truth and wisdom." "It is in such times,"
he adds, "that religions have perished and are born."
Might we not already discern, as we scan the political horizon,
the alignment of those forces that are dividing afresh the continent
of Europe into camps of potential combatants, determined upon a
contest that may mark, unlike the last war, the end of an epoch, a


+P33
vast epoch, in the history of human evolution? Are we, the privileged
custodians of a priceless Faith, called upon to witness a cataclysmical
change, politically as fundamental and spiritually as beneficent
as that which precipitated the fall of the Roman Empire in the
West? Might it not happen--every vigilant adherent of the Faith
of &Baha'u'llah might well pause to reflect--that out of this world
eruption there may stream forces of such spiritual energy as shall
recall, nay eclipse, the splendor of those signs and wonders that
accompanied the establishment of the Faith of Jesus Christ? Might
there not emerge out of the agony of a shaken world a religious
revival of such scope and power as to even transcend the potency of
those world-directing forces with which the Religions of the Past
have, at fixed intervals and according to an inscrutable Wisdom,
revived the fortunes of declining ages and peoples? Might not the
bankruptcy of this present, this highly-vaunted materialistic civilization,
in itself clear away the choking weeds that now hinder the
unfoldment and future efflorescence of God's struggling Faith?
Let &Baha'u'llah Himself shed the illumination of His words upon
our path as we steer our course amid the pitfalls and miseries of
this troubled age. More than fifty years ago, in a world far removed
from the ills and trials that now torment it, there flowed from
His Pen these prophetic words: "The world is in travail and its
agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness
and unbelief. Such shall be its plight that to disclose it now
would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. 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."

The Impotence of Statesmanship

Dearly-beloved friends! Humanity, whether viewed in the light
of man's individual conduct or in the existing relationships between
organized communities and nations, has, alas, strayed too far and
suffered too great a decline to be redeemed through the unaided
efforts of the best among its recognized rulers and statesmen--
however disinterested their motives, however concerted their action,


+P34
however unsparing in their zeal and devotion to its cause. No scheme
which the calculations of the highest statesmanship may yet devise;
no doctrine which the most distinguished exponents of economic
theory may hope to advance; no principle which the most ardent of
moralists may strive to inculcate, can provide, in the last resort,
adequate foundations upon which the future of a distracted world
can be built. No appeal for mutual tolerance which the worldly-wise
might raise, however compelling and insistent, can calm its passions
or help restore its vigor. Nor would any general scheme of mere
organized international &cooperation, in whatever sphere of human
activity, however ingenious in conception, or extensive in scope,
succeed in removing the root cause of the evil that has so rudely upset
the equilibrium of present-day society. Not even, I venture to assert,
would the very act of devising the machinery required for the
political and economic unification of the world--a principle that has
been increasingly advocated in recent times--provide in itself the
antidote against the poison that is steadily undermining the vigor of
organized peoples and nations. What else, might we not confidently
affirm, but the unreserved acceptance of the Divine Program enunciated,
with such simplicity and force as far back as sixty years ago,
by &Baha'u'llah, embodying in its essentials God's divinely appointed
scheme for the unification of mankind in this age, coupled with an
indomitable conviction in the unfailing efficacy of each and all of its
provisions, is eventually capable of withstanding the forces of internal
disintegration which, if unchecked, must needs continue to eat into
the vitals of a despairing society. It is towards this goal--the goal
of a new World Order, Divine in origin, all-embracing in scope,
equitable in principle, challenging in its features--that a harassed
humanity must strive.
To claim to have grasped all the implications of &Baha'u'llah's prodigious
scheme for world-wide human solidarity, or to have fathomed
its import, would be presumptuous on the part of even the declared
supporters of His Faith. To attempt to visualize it in all its possibilities,
to estimate its future benefits, to picture its glory, would be
premature at even so advanced a stage in the evolution of mankind.


+P35
The Guiding Principles of World Order

All we can reasonably venture to attempt is to strive to obtain a
glimpse of the first streaks of the promised Dawn that must, in the
fullness of time, chase away the gloom that has encircled humanity.
All we can do is to point out, in their broadest outlines, what appear
to us to be the guiding principles underlying the World Order
of &Baha'u'llah, as amplified and enunciated by &Abdu'l-Baha, the
Center of His Covenant with all mankind and the appointed Interpreter
and Expounder of His Word.
That the unrest and suffering afflicting the mass of mankind are
in no small measure the direct consequences of the World War and
are attributable to the unwisdom and shortsightedness of the
framers of the Peace Treaties only a biased mind can refuse to
admit. That the financial obligations contracted in the course of the
war, as well as the imposition of a staggering burden of reparations
upon the vanquished, have, to a very great extent, been responsible
for the maldistribution and consequent shortage of the world's
monetary gold supply, which in turn has, to a very great measure,
accentuated the phenomenal fall in prices and thereby relentlessly
increased the burdens of impoverished countries, no impartial mind
would question. That inter-governmental debts have imposed a severe
strain on the masses of the people in Europe, have upset the equilibrium
of national budgets, have crippled national industries, and led
to an increase in the number of the unemployed, is no less apparent
to an unprejudiced observer. That the spirit of vindictiveness, of
suspicion, of fear and rivalry, engendered by the war, and which
the provisions of the Peace Treaties have served to perpetuate and
foster, has led to an enormous increase of national competitive
armaments, involving during the last year the aggregate expenditure
of no less than a thousand million pounds, which in turn has accentuated
the effects of the world-wide depression, is a truth that even
the most superficial observer will readily admit. That a narrow and
brutal nationalism, which the post-war theory of self-determination
has served to reinforce, has been chiefly responsible for the policy of
high and prohibitive tariffs, so injurious to the healthy flow of
international trade and to the mechanism of international finance,
is a fact which few would venture to dispute.


+P36
It would be idle, however, to contend that the war, with all the
losses it involved, the passions it aroused and the grievances it left
behind, has solely been responsible for the unprecedented confusion
into which almost every section of the civilized world is plunged at
present. Is it not a fact--and this is the central idea I desire to
emphasize--that the fundamental cause of this world unrest is
attributable, not so much to the consequences of what must sooner
or later come to be regarded as a transitory dislocation in the affairs
of a continually changing world, but rather to the failure of those
into whose hands the immediate destinies of peoples and nations
have been committed, to adjust their system of economic and political
institutions to the imperative needs of a rapidly evolving age?
Are not these intermittent crises that convulse present-day society
due primarily to the lamentable inability of the world's recognized
leaders to read aright the signs of the times, to rid themselves once
for all of their preconceived ideas and fettering creeds, and to
reshape the machinery of their respective governments according to
those standards that are implicit in &Baha'u'llah's supreme declaration
of the Oneness of Mankind--the chief and distinguishing
feature of the Faith He proclaimed? For the principle of the Oneness
of Mankind, the cornerstone of &Baha'u'llah's world-embracing
dominion, implies nothing more nor less than the enforcement of His
scheme for the unification of the world--the scheme to which we
have already referred. "In every Dispensation," writes &Abdu'l-Baha,
"the light of Divine Guidance has been focussed upon one central
theme.... In this wondrous Revelation, this glorious century, the
foundation of the Faith of God and the distinguishing feature of
His Law is the consciousness of the Oneness of Mankind."
How pathetic indeed are the efforts of those leaders of human
institutions who, in utter disregard of the spirit of the age, are
striving to adjust national processes, suited to the ancient days of
self-contained nations, to an age which must either achieve the unity
of the world, as adumbrated by &Baha'u'llah, or perish. At so critical
an hour in the history of civilization it behooves the leaders of all
the nations of the world, great and small, whether in the East or
in the West, whether victors or vanquished, to give heed to the
clarion call of &Baha'u'llah and, thoroughly imbued with a sense of


+P37
world solidarity, the sine &qua non of loyalty to His Cause, arise
manfully to carry out in its entirety the one remedial scheme He, the
Divine Physician, has prescribed for an ailing humanity. Let them
discard, once for all, every preconceived idea, every national prejudice,
and give heed to the sublime counsel of &Abdu'l-Baha, the
authorized Expounder of His teachings. You can best serve your
country, was &Abdu'l-Baha's rejoinder to a high official in the service
of the federal government of the United States of America, who
had questioned Him as to the best manner in which he could promote
the interests of his government and people, if you strive, in your
capacity as a citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application
of the principle of federalism underlying the government of your
own country to the relationships now existing between the peoples
and nations of the world.
In The Secret of Divine Civilization (The Mysterious Forces
of Civilization), &Abdu'l-Baha's outstanding contribution to the
future reorganization of the world, we read the following:
"True civilization will unfurl its banner in the midmost heart of
the world whenever a certain number of its distinguished and
high-minded sovereigns--the shining exemplars of devotion and
determination--shall, for the good and happiness of all mankind,
arise, with firm resolve and clear vision, to establish the Cause of
Universal Peace. They must make the Cause of Peace the object of
general consultation, and seek by every means in their power to
establish a Union of the nations of the world. They must conclude
a binding treaty and establish a covenant, the provisions of which
shall be sound, inviolable and definite. They must proclaim it to all
the world and obtain for it the sanction of all the human race. This
supreme and noble undertaking--the real source of the peace and
well-being of all the world--should be regarded as sacred by all that
dwell on earth. All the forces of humanity must be mobilized to
ensure the stability and permanence of this Most Great Covenant.
In this all-embracing Pact the limits and frontiers of each and
every nation should be clearly fixed, the principles underlying the
relations of governments towards one another definitely laid down,
and all international agreements and obligations ascertained. In like
manner, the size of the armaments of every government should be


+P38
strictly limited, for if the preparations for war and the military
forces of any nation should be allowed to increase, they will arouse
the suspicion of others. The fundamental principle underlying this
solemn Pact should be so fixed that if any government later violate
any one of its provisions, all the governments on earth should arise
to reduce it to utter submission, nay the human race as a whole
should resolve, with every power at its disposal, to destroy that
government. Should this greatest of all remedies be applied to the
sick body of the world, it will assuredly recover from its ills and will
remain eternally safe and secure."
"A few," He further adds, "unaware of the power latent in
human endeavor, consider this matter as highly impracticable, nay
even beyond the scope of man's utmost efforts. Such is not the
case, however. On the contrary, thanks to the unfailing grace of
God, the loving-kindness of His favored ones, the unrivaled endeavors
of wise and capable souls, and the thoughts and ideas of
the peerless leaders of this age, nothing whatsoever can be regarded
as unattainable. Endeavor, ceaseless endeavor, is required. Nothing
short of an indomitable determination can possibly achieve it. Many
a cause which past ages have regarded as purely visionary, yet in
this day has become most easy and practicable. Why should this
most great and lofty Cause--the day-star of the firmament of true
civilization and the cause of the glory, the advancement, the well-being
and the success of all humanity--be regarded as impossible
of achievement? Surely the day will come when its beauteous light
shall shed illumination upon the assemblage of man."

Seven Lights of Unity

In one of His Tablets &Abdu'l-Baha, elucidating further His
noble theme, reveals the following:
"In cycles gone by, though harmony was established, yet, owing
to the absence of means, the unity of all mankind could not have
been achieved. Continents remained widely divided, nay even among
the peoples of one and the same continent association and interchange
of thought were well nigh impossible. Consequently intercourse,
understanding and unity amongst all the peoples and kindreds
of the earth were unattainable. In this day, however, means of communication
have multiplied, and the five continents of the earth have


+P39
virtually merged into one.... In like manner all the members of
the human family, whether peoples or governments, cities or villages,
have become increasingly interdependent. For none is self-sufficiency
any longer possible, inasmuch as political ties unite all peoples and
nations, and the bonds of trade and industry, of agriculture and
education, are being strengthened every day. Hence the unity of all
mankind can in this day be achieved. Verily this is none other but
one of the wonders of this wondrous age, this glorious century. Of
this past ages have been deprived, for this century--the century of
light--has been endowed with unique and unprecedented glory,
power and illumination. Hence the miraculous unfolding of a fresh
marvel every day. Eventually it will be seen how bright its candles
will burn in the assemblage of man.
"Behold how its light is now dawning upon the world's darkened
horizon. The first candle is unity in the political realm, the early
glimmerings of which can now be discerned. The second candle is
unity of thought in world undertakings, the consummation of which
will ere long be witnessed. The third candle is unity in freedom
which will surely come to pass. The fourth candle is unity in religion
which is the corner-stone of the foundation itself, and which, by the
power of God, will be revealed in all its splendor. The fifth candle
is the unity of nations--a unity which in this century will be securely
established, causing all the peoples of the world to regard themselves
as citizens of one common fatherland. The sixth candle is unity of
races, making of all that dwell on earth peoples and kindreds of one
race. The seventh candle is unity of language, i.e., the choice of a
universal tongue in which all peoples will be instructed and converse.
Each and every one of these will inevitably come to pass,
inasmuch as the power of the Kingdom of God will aid and assist in
their realization."

A World Super-State

Over sixty years ago, in His Tablet to Queen Victoria, &Baha'u'llah,
addressing "the concourse of the rulers of the earth," revealed
the following:
"Take ye counsel together, and let your concern be only for that
which profiteth mankind and bettereth the condition thereof....
Regard the world as the human body which, though created whole


+P40
and perfect, has been afflicted, through divers causes, with grave ills
and maladies. Not for one day did it rest, nay its sicknesses waxed
more severe, as it fell under the treatment of unskilled physicians
who have spurred on the steed of their worldly desires and have
erred grievously. And if at one time, through the care of an able
physician, a member of that body was healed, the rest remained
afflicted as before. Thus informeth you the All-Knowing, the All-Wise....
That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign
remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is
the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common
Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of
a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician. This verily is the
truth, and all else naught but error."
In a further passage &Baha'u'llah adds these words:
"We see you adding every year unto your expenditures and laying
the burden thereof on the people whom ye rule; this verily is
naught but grievous injustice. Fear the sighs and tears of this
Wronged One, and burden not your peoples beyond that which they
can endure.... Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need
armaments no more save in a measure to safeguard your territories
and dominions. Be united, O concourse of the sovereigns of the
world, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled amongst
you and your peoples find rest. Should any one among you take up
arms against another, rise ye all against him, for this is naught but
manifest justice."
What else could these weighty words signify if they did not
point to the inevitable curtailment of unfettered national sovereignty
as an indispensable preliminary to the formation of the future
Commonwealth of all the nations of the world? Some form of a
world super-state must needs be evolved, in whose favor all the
nations of the world will have willingly ceded every claim to make
war, certain rights to impose taxation and all rights to maintain
armaments, except for purposes of maintaining internal order within
their respective dominions. Such a state will have to include within
its orbit an international executive adequate to enforce supreme and
unchallengeable authority on every recalcitrant member of the commonwealth;
a world parliament whose members shall be elected by
the people in their respective countries and whose election shall be


+P41
confirmed by their respective governments; and a supreme tribunal
whose judgment will have a binding effect even in such cases where
the parties concerned did not voluntarily agree to submit their case
to its consideration. A world community in which all economic
barriers will have been permanently demolished and the interdependence
of Capital and Labor definitely recognized; in which the
clamor of religious fanaticism and strife will have been forever
stilled; in which the flame of racial animosity will have been finally
extinguished; in which a single code of international law--the
product of the considered judgment of the world's federated representatives--
shall have as its sanction the instant and coercive intervention
of the combined forces of the federated units; and finally a
world community in which the fury of a capricious and militant
nationalism will have been transmuted into an abiding consciousness
of world citizenship--such indeed, appears, in its broadest outline,
the Order anticipated by &Baha'u'llah, an Order that shall come to be
regarded as the fairest fruit of a slowly maturing age.
"The Tabernacle of Unity," &Baha'u'llah proclaims in His message
to all mankind, "has been raised; regard ye not one another as
strangers.... Of one tree are all ye the fruit and of one bough
the leaves.... The world is but one country and mankind its
citizens.... Let not a man glory in that he loves his country; let
him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind."

Unity in Diversity

Let there be no misgivings as to the animating purpose of the
world-wide Law of &Baha'u'llah. Far from aiming at the subversion
of the existing foundations of society, it seeks to broaden its basis,
to remold its institutions in a manner consonant with the needs of
an ever-changing world. It can conflict with no legitimate allegiances,
nor can it undermine essential loyalties. Its purpose is neither to
stifle the flame of a sane and intelligent patriotism in men's hearts,
nor to abolish the system of national autonomy so essential if the
evils of excessive centralization are to be avoided. It does not ignore,
nor does it attempt to suppress, the diversity of ethnical origins, of
climate, of history, of language and tradition, of thought and habit,
that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world. It calls for a
wider loyalty, for a larger aspiration than any that has animated


+P42
the human race. It insists upon the subordination of national impulses
and interests to the imperative claims of a unified world. It
repudiates excessive centralization on one hand, and disclaims all
attempts at uniformity on the other. Its watchword is unity in
diversity such as &Abdu'l-Baha Himself has explained:
"Consider the flowers of a garden. 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 fruit, 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
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."
The call of &Baha'u'llah is primarily directed against all forms of
provincialism, all insularities and prejudices. If long-cherished ideals
and time-honored institutions, if certain social assumptions and religious
formulae have ceased to promote the welfare of the generality
of mankind, if they no longer minister to the needs of a continually
evolving humanity, let them be swept away and relegated to the
limbo of obsolescent and forgotten doctrines. Why should these, in
a world subject to the immutable law of change and decay, be exempt
from the deterioration that must needs overtake every human institution?
For legal standards, political and economic theories are
solely designed to safeguard the interests of humanity as a whole,
and not humanity to be crucified for the preservation of the integrity
of any particular law or doctrine.

The Principle of Oneness

Let there be no mistake. The principle of the Oneness of Mankind--
the pivot round which all the teachings of &Baha'u'llah revolve

+P43
--is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of
vague and pious hope. Its appeal is not to be merely identified with
a reawakening of the spirit of brotherhood and good-will among
men, nor does it aim solely at the fostering of harmonious &cooperation
among individual peoples and nations. Its implications are
deeper, its claims greater than any which the Prophets of old were
allowed to advance. Its message is applicable not only to the individual,
but concerns itself primarily with the nature of those essential
relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members
of one human family. It does not constitute merely the enunciation
of an ideal, but stands inseparably associated with an institution
adequate to embody its truth, demonstrate its validity, and perpetuate
its influence. It implies an organic change in the structure of present-day
society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced. It
constitutes a challenge, at once bold and universal, to outworn
shibboleths of national creeds--creeds that have had their day and
which must, in the ordinary course of events as shaped and controlled
by Providence, give way to a new gospel, fundamentally different
from, and infinitely superior to, what the world has already conceived.
It calls for no less than the reconstruction and the demilitarization
of the whole civilized world--a world organically unified
in all the essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its
spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language,
and yet infinite in the diversity of the national characteristics of its
federated units.
It represents the consummation of human evolution--an evolution
that has had its earliest beginnings in the birth of family life, its
subsequent development in the achievement of tribal solidarity, leading
in turn to the constitution of the city-state, and expanding later
into the institution of independent and sovereign nations.
The principle of the Oneness of Mankind, as proclaimed by
&Baha'u'llah, carries with it no more and no less than a solemn
assertion that attainment to this final stage in this stupendous evolution
is not only necessary but inevitable, that its realization is fast
approaching, and that nothing short of a power that is born of God
can succeed in establishing it.
So marvellous a conception finds its earliest manifestations in the
efforts consciously exerted and the modest beginnings already


+P44
achieved by the declared adherents of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah who,
conscious of the sublimity of their calling and initiated into the
ennobling principles of His Administration, are forging ahead to
establish His Kingdom on this earth. It has its indirect manifestations
in the gradual diffusion of the spirit of world solidarity which
is spontaneously arising out of the welter of a disorganized society.
It would be stimulating to follow the history of the growth
and development of this lofty conception which must increasingly
engage the attention of the responsible custodians of the destinies of
peoples and nations. To the states and principalities just emerging
from the welter of the great Napoleonic upheaval, whose chief preoccupation
was either to recover their rights to an independent
existence or to achieve their national unity, the conception of world
solidarity seemed not only remote but inconceivable. It was not until
the forces of nationalism had succeeded in overthrowing the foundations
of the Holy Alliance that had sought to curb their rising power,
that the possibility of a world order, transcending in its range the
political institutions these nations had established, came to be seriously
entertained. It was not until after the World War that these
exponents of arrogant nationalism came to regard such an order as
the object of a pernicious doctrine tending to sap that essential
loyalty upon which the continued existence of their national life
depended. With a vigor that recalled the energy with which the members
of the Holy Alliance sought to stifle the spirit of a rising
nationalism among the peoples liberated from the Napoleonic yoke,
these champions of an unfettered national sovereignty, in their turn,
have labored and are still laboring to discredit principles upon which
their own salvation must ultimately depend.
The fierce opposition which greeted the abortive scheme of the
Geneva Protocol; the ridicule poured upon the proposal for a United
States of Europe which was subsequently advanced, and the failure
of the general scheme for the economic union of Europe, may appear
as setbacks to the efforts which a handful of foresighted people are
earnestly exerting to advance this noble ideal. And yet, are we not
justified in deriving fresh encouragement when we observe that the
very consideration of such proposals is in itself an evidence of their
steady growth in the minds and hearts of men? In the organized
attempts that are being made to discredit so exalted a conception are


+P45
we not witnessing the repetition, on a larger scale, of those stirring
struggles and fierce controversies that preceded the birth, and assisted
in the reconstruction, of the unified nations of the West?

The Federation of Mankind

To take but one instance. How confident were the assertions
made in the days preceding the unification of the states of the North
American continent regarding the insuperable barriers that stood
in the way of their ultimate federation! Was it not widely and
emphatically declared that the conflicting interests, the mutual distrust,
the differences of government and habit that divided the states
were such as no force, whether spiritual or temporal, could ever hope
to harmonize or control? And yet how different were the conditions
prevailing a hundred and fifty years ago from those that characterize
present-day society! It would indeed be no exaggeration to say
that the absence of those facilities which modern scientific progress
has placed at the service of humanity in our time made of the problem
of welding the American states into a single federation, similar
though they were in certain traditions, a task infinitely more complex
than that which confronts a divided humanity in its efforts to
achieve the unification of all mankind.
Who knows that for so exalted a conception to take shape a
suffering more intense than any it has yet experienced will have to
be inflicted upon humanity? Could anything less than the fire of a
civil war with all its violence and vicissitudes--a war that nearly
rent the great American Republic--have welded the states, not only
into a Union of independent units, but into a Nation, in spite of all
the ethnic differences that characterized its component parts? That
so fundamental a revolution, involving such far-reaching changes in
the structure of society, can be achieved through the ordinary processes
of diplomacy and education seems highly improbable. We
have but to turn our gaze to humanity's blood-stained history to
realize that nothing short of intense mental as well as physical agony
has been able to precipitate those epoch-making changes that constitute
the greatest landmarks in the history of human civilization.


+P46
The Fire of Ordeal

Great and far-reaching as have been those changes in the past,
they cannot appear, when viewed in their proper perspective, except
as subsidiary adjustments preluding that transformation of unparalleled
majesty and scope which humanity is in this age bound to
undergo. That the forces of a world catastrophe can alone precipitate
such a new phase of human thought is, alas, becoming increasingly
apparent. That nothing short of the fire of a severe ordeal, unparalleled
in its intensity, can fuse and weld the discordant entities that
constitute the elements of present-day civilization, into the integral
components of the world commonwealth of the future, is a truth
which future events will increasingly demonstrate.
The prophetic voice of &Baha'u'llah warning, in the concluding
passages of the Hidden Words, "the peoples of the world" that "an
unforeseen calamity is following them and that grievous retribution
awaiteth them" throws indeed a lurid light upon the immediate
fortunes of sorrowing humanity. Nothing but a fiery ordeal, out of
which humanity will emerge, chastened and prepared, can succeed in
implanting that sense of responsibility which the leaders of a new-born
age must arise to shoulder.
I would again direct your attention to those ominous words of
&Baha'u'llah which I have already quoted: "And when the appointed
hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the
limbs of mankind to quake."
Has not &Abdu'l-Baha Himself asserted in unequivocal language
that "another war, fiercer than the last, will assuredly break out"?
Upon the consummation of this colossal, this unspeakably glorious
enterprise--an enterprise that baffled the resources of Roman
statesmanship and which Napoleon's desperate efforts failed to
achieve--will depend the ultimate realization of that millennium of
which poets of all ages have sung and seers have long dreamed.
Upon it will depend the fulfillment of the prophecies uttered by the
Prophets of old when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares and
the lion and the lamb lie down together. It alone can usher in the
Kingdom of the Heavenly Father as anticipated by the Faith of
Jesus Christ. It alone can lay the foundation for the New World
Order visualized by &Baha'u'llah--a World Order that shall reflect,


+P47
however dimly, upon this earthly plane, the ineffable splendors of the
&Abha Kingdom.
One word more in conclusion. The proclamation of the Oneness
of Mankind--the head corner-stone of &Baha'u'llah's all-embracing
dominion--can under no circumstances be compared with such expressions
of pious hope as have been uttered in the past. His is not
merely a call which He raised, alone and unaided, in the face of the
relentless and combined opposition of two of the most powerful
Oriental potentates of His day--while Himself an exile and prisoner
in their hands. It implies at once a warning and a promise--a warning
that in it lies the sole means for the salvation of a greatly
suffering world, a promise that its realization is at hand.
Uttered at a time when its possibility had not yet been seriously
envisaged in any part of the world, it has, by virtue of that celestial
potency which the Spirit of &Baha'u'llah has breathed into it,
come at last to be regarded, by an increasing number of thoughtful
men, not only as an approaching possibility, but as the necessary outcome
of the forces now operating in the world.

The Mouthpiece of God

Surely the world, contracted and transformed into a single highly
complex organism by the marvellous progress achieved in the realm
of physical science, by the world-wide expansion of commerce and
industry, and struggling, under the pressure of world economic
forces, amidst the pitfalls of a materialistic civilization, stands in
dire need of a restatement of the Truth underlying all the Revelations
of the past in a language suited to its essential requirements.
And what voice other than that of &Baha'u'llah--the Mouthpiece of
God for this age--is capable of effecting a transformation of society
as radical as that which He has already accomplished in the
hearts of those men and women, so diversified and seemingly irreconcilable,
who constitute the body of His declared followers
throughout the world?
That such a mighty conception is fast budding out in the minds
of men, that voices are being raised in its support, that its salient
features must fast crystallize in the consciousness of those who are
in authority, few indeed can doubt. That its modest beginnings have
already taken shape in the world-wide Administration with which


+P48
the adherents of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah stand associated only those
whose hearts are tainted by prejudice can fail to perceive.
Ours, dearly-beloved co-workers, is the paramount duty to continue,
with undimmed vision and unabated zeal, to assist in the final
erection of that Edifice the foundations of which &Baha'u'llah has
laid in our hearts, to derive added hope and strength from the
general trend of recent events, however dark their immediate effects,
and to pray with unremitting fervor that He may hasten the
approach of the realization of that Wondrous Vision which constitutes
the brightest emanation of His Mind and the fairest fruit of
the fairest civilization the world has yet seen.
Might not the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of
the Faith of &Baha'u'llah mark the inauguration of so vast an era in
human history?

Your true brother,
SHOGHI

Haifa, Palestine,
November 28, 1931


+P49
THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE
CAUSE OF &BAHA'U'LLAH

+P50

+P51
THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE
CAUSE OF &BAHA'U'LLAH

To the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout
the United States and Canada.

Friends and fellow-defenders of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah:

Significant as have been the changes that have lately overtaken
a swiftly awakening humanity at this transitional phase of its
checkered history, the steady consolidation of the institutions which
the administrators of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah are, in every land,
toiling to establish should appear no less remarkable to even those
who are as yet imperfectly acquainted with the obstacles they have
had to surmount or the meagre resources on which they could rely.
That a Faith which, ten years ago, was severely shaken by the
sudden removal of an incomparable Master should have, in the face
of tremendous obstacles, maintained its unity, resisted the malignant
onslaught of its ill-wishers, silenced its calumniators, broadened
the basis of its far-flung administration, and raised upon it
institutions symbolizing its ideals of worship and service, should
be deemed sufficient evidence of the invincible power with which
the Almighty has chosen to invest it from the moment of its
inception.
That the Cause associated with the name of &Baha'u'llah feeds
itself upon those hidden springs of celestial strength which no force
of human personality, whatever its glamour, can replace; that its
reliance is solely upon that mystic Source with which no worldly
advantage, be it wealth, fame, or learning can compare; that it
propagates itself by ways mysterious and utterly at variance with


+P52
the standards accepted by the generality of mankind, will, if not
already apparent, become increasingly manifest as it forges ahead
towards fresh conquests in its struggle for the spiritual regeneration
of mankind.
Indeed, how could it, unsupported as it has ever been by the
counsels and the resources of the wise, the rich, and the learned in
the land of its birth, have succeeded in breaking asunder the shackles
that weighed upon it at the hour of its birth, in emerging unscathed
from the storms that agitated its infancy, had not its animating
breath been quickened by that spirit which is born of God,
and on which all success, wherever and however it be sought, must
ultimately depend?
It is not necessary for me to recall, even in their briefest outline,
the heart-rending details of that appalling tragedy which
marked the birth-pangs of our beloved Faith, enacted in a land
notorious for its unrestrained fanaticisms, its crass ignorance, its
unbridled cruelty. Nor do I need to expatiate on the valor, the
sublime fortitude, that defied the cruel torture-mongers of that race,
or stress the number, or emphasize the purity of the lives, of those
who died willingly that their Cause might live and prosper. Nor is
it necessary to dwell upon the indignation which those atrocities
evoked, and the feelings of unqualified admiration that surged, in
the breasts of countless men and women, in regions remote from
the scene of those indescribable cruelties. Suffice it to say that upon
these heroes of &Baha'u'llah's native land was bestowed the inestimable
privilege of sealing with their life-blood the early triumphs
of their cherished Faith, and of paving the way for its approaching
victory. In the blood of the unnumbered martyrs of Persia lay the
seed of the Divinely-appointed Administration which, though transplanted
from its native soil, is now budding out, under your loving
care, into a new order, destined to overshadow all mankind.

America's Contribution to the Cause

For great as have been the attainments and unforgettable the
services of the pioneers of the heroic age of the Cause in Persia,
the contribution which their spiritual descendants, the American
believers, the champion-builders of the organic structure of the
Cause, are now making towards the fulfillment of the Plan which


+P53
must usher in the golden age of the Cause is no less meritorious
in this strenuous period of its history. Few, if any, I venture to
assert, among these privileged framers and custodians of the constitution
of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah are even dimly aware of the
preponderating &role which the North American continent is destined
to play in the future orientation of their world-embracing Cause.
Nor does any appreciable number among them seem sufficiently
conscious of the decisive influence which they already exercise in
the direction and management of its affairs.
"The continent of America," wrote &Abdu'l-Baha in February,
1917, "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."
That the supporters of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah, throughout the
United States and Canada, are increasingly demonstrating the truth
of this solemn affirmation is evident to even a casual observer of
the record of their manifold services, whether in their individual
capacities or through their concerted endeavors. The manifestations
of spontaneous loyalty which marked their response to the expressed
wishes of a departed Master; the generosity with which
they have, on more than one occasion, arisen to lend a helping hand
to the needy and harassed among their brethren in Persia; the
vigor with which they have resisted the shameless attacks which
unrelenting enemies, both from within and without, have, with
increasing frequency, launched against them; the example which
the body of their national representatives have set to their sister
Assemblies in fashioning the instruments essential to the effective
discharge of their collective duties; their successful intervention on
behalf of their persecuted fellow-workers in Russia; the moral support
they have extended to their Egyptian fellow-disciples at a most
critical stage in their struggle for emancipation from the fetters
of Islamic orthodoxy; the historic services rendered by those intrepid
pioneers who, faithful to the call of &Abdu'l-Baha, forsook
their homes to plant, in the uttermost corners of the globe, the
standard of His Faith; and, last but not least, the magnificence of
their self-sacrifice, culminating in the completion of the super-structure
of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar--these stand out each as an eloquent


+P54
testimony to the indomitable character of the faith &Baha'u'llah has
kindled in their hearts.
Who, contemplating so splendid a record of service, can doubt
that these faithful stewards of the redeeming grace of God have
preserved, undivided and unimpaired, the priceless heritage entrusted
to their charge? Have they not, one might well reflect, in
ways which only future historians will indicate, approached the high
standard that characterized those deeds of imperishable renown
accomplished by those that have gone before them?
Not by the material resources which the members of this infant
community can now summon to their aid; not by the numerical
strength of its present-day supporters; nor by any direct tangible
benefits its votaries can as yet confer upon the multitude of the
needy and the disconsolate among their countrymen, should its
potentialities be tested or its worth determined. Nowhere but in the
purity of its precepts, the sublimity of its standards, the integrity
of its laws, the reasonableness of its claims, the comprehensiveness
of its scope, the universality of its program, the flexibility of its
institutions, the lives of its founders, the heroism of its martyrs,
and the transforming power of its influence, should the unprejudiced
observer seek to obtain the true criterion that can enable him to
fathom its mysteries or to estimate its virtue.

Decline of Mortal Dominion

How unfair, how irrelevant, to venture any comparison between
the slow and gradual consolidation of the Faith proclaimed by
&Baha'u'llah and those man-created movements which, having their
origin in human desires and with their hopes centered on mortal
dominion, must inevitably decline and perish! Springing from a
finite mind, begotten of human fancy, and oftentimes the product
of ill-conceived designs, such movements succeed, by reason of their
novelty, their appeal to man's baser instincts and their dependence
upon the resources of a sordid world, in dazzling for a time the
eyes of men, only to plunge finally from the heights of their meteoric
career into the darkness of oblivion, dissolved by the very
forces that had assisted in their creation.
Not so with the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah. Born in an environment
of appalling degradation, springing from a soil steeped in age-long


+P55
corruptions, hatreds and prejudice, inculcating principles
irreconcilable with the accepted standards of the times, and faced
from the beginning with the relentless enmity of government, church
and people, this nascent Faith of God has, by virtue of the celestial
potency with which it has been endowed, succeeded, in less than
four score years and ten, in emancipating itself from the galling
chains of Islamic domination, in proclaiming the self-sufficiency of
its ideals and the independent integrity of its laws, in planting its
banner in no less than forty of the most advanced countries of the
world, in establishing its outposts in lands beyond the farthest seas,
in consecrating its religious edifices in the midmost heart of the
Asiatic and American continents, in inducing two of the most
powerful governments of the West to ratify the instruments essential
to its administrative activities, in obtaining from royalty befitting
tributes to the excellence of its teachings, and, finally, in
forcing its grievances upon the attention of the representatives of
the highest Tribunal in the civilized world, and in securing from its
members written affirmations that are tantamount to a tacit recognition
of its religious status and to an express declaration of the
justice of its cause.
Circumscribed though its power as a social force may as yet
appear, and however obvious may seem the present ineffectiveness
of its world-embracing program, we, who stand identified with its
blessed name, cannot but marvel at the measure of its achievements
if we but compare them with the modest accomplishments that have
marked the rise of the Dispensations of the past. Where else, if not
in the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah, can the unbiased student of comparative
religion cite instances of a claim as stupendous as that
which the Author of that Faith advanced, foes as relentless as those
which He faced, a devotion more sublime than that which He
kindled, a life as eventful and as enthralling as that which He led?
Has Christianity or &Islam, has any Dispensation that preceded
them, offered instances of such combinations of courage and restraint,
of magnanimity and power, of broad-mindedness and loyalty,
as those which characterized the conduct of the heroes of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah? Where else do we find evidences of a transformation
as swift, as complete, and as sudden, as those effected
in the lives of the apostles of the &Bab? Few, indeed, are the instances


+P56
recorded in any of the authenticated annals of the religions of the
past of a self-abnegation as complete, a constancy as firm, a magnanimity
as sublime, a loyalty as uncompromising, as those which
bore witness to the character of that immortal band which stands
identified with this Divine Revelation--this latest and most compelling
manifestation of the love and the omnipotence of the
Almighty!

Contrast with Religions of the Past

We may vainly search in the records of the earliest beginnings
of any of the recognized religions of the past for episodes as thrilling
in their details, or as far-reaching in their consequences, as
those that illumine the pages of the history of this Faith. The
almost incredible circumstances attending the martyrdom of that
youthful Prince of Glory; the forces of barbaric repression which
this tragedy subsequently released; the manifestations of unsurpassed
heroism to which it gave rise; the exhortations and warnings
which have streamed from the pen of the Divine Prisoner in His
Epistles to the potentates of the Church and the monarchs and rulers
of the world; the undaunted loyalty with which our brethren are
battling in Muslim countries with the forces of religious orthodoxy
--these may be reckoned as the most outstanding features of what
the world will come to recognize as the greatest drama in the world's
spiritual history.
I need not recall, in this connection, the unfortunate episodes
that have, admittedly, and to a very great extent, marred the early
history of both Judaism and &Islam. Nor is it necessary to stress the
damaging effect of the excesses, the rivalries and divisions, the
fanatical outbursts and acts of ingratitude that are associated with
the early development of the people of Israel and with the militant
career of the ruthless pioneers of the Faith of &Muhammad.
It would be sufficient for my purpose to call attention to the
great number of those who, in the first two centuries of the Christian
era, "purchased an ignominious life by betraying the holy
Scriptures into the hands of the infidels," the scandalous conduct
of those bishops who were thereby branded as traitors, the discord
of the African Church, the gradual infiltration into Christian doctrine


+P57
of the principles of the Mithraic cult, of the Alexandrian
school of thought, of the precepts of Zoroastrianism and of Grecian
philosophy, and the adoption by the churches of Greece and of Asia
of the institutions of provincial synods of a model which they
borrowed from the representative councils of their respective
countries.
How great was the obstinacy with which the Jewish converts
among the early Christians adhered to the ceremonies of their ancestors,
and how fervent their eagerness to impose them on the
Gentiles! Were not the first fifteen bishops of Jerusalem all circumcised
Jews, and had not the congregation over which they presided
united the laws of Moses with the doctrine of Christ? Is it not a
fact that no more than a twentieth part of the subjects of the Roman
Empire had enlisted themselves under the standard of Christ before
the conversion of Constantine? Was not the ruin of the Temple,
in the city of Jerusalem, and of the public religion of the Jews,
severely felt by the so-called Nazarenes, who persevered, above a
century, in the practice of the Mosaic Law?
How striking the contrast when we remember, in the light of
the afore-mentioned facts, the number of those followers of
&Baha'u'llah who, in Persia and the adjoining countries, had enlisted
at the time of His Ascension as the convinced supporters of His
Faith! How encouraging to observe the undeviating loyalty with
which His valiant followers are guarding the purity and integrity
of His clear and unequivocal teachings! How edifying the spectacle
of those who are battling with the forces of a firmly intrenched
orthodoxy in their struggle to emancipate themselves from the
fetters of an outworn creed! How inspiring the conduct of those
Muslim followers of &Baha'u'llah who view, not with regret or
apathy, but with feelings of unconcealed satisfaction, the deserved
chastisement which the Almighty has inflicted upon those twin
institutions of the Sultanate and the Caliphate, those engines of
despotism and sworn enemies of the Cause of God!

Fundamental Principle of Religious Truth

Let no one, however, mistake my purpose. The Revelation, of
which &Baha'u'llah is the source and center, abrogates none of the
religions that have preceded it, nor does it attempt, in the slightest


+P58
degree, to distort their features or to belittle their value. It disclaims
any intention of dwarfing any of the Prophets of the past,
or of whittling down the eternal verity of their teachings. It can,
in no wise, conflict with the spirit that animates their claims, nor
does it seek to undermine the basis of any man's allegiance to their
cause. Its declared, its primary purpose is to enable every adherent
of these Faiths to obtain a fuller understanding of the religion with
which he stands identified, and to acquire a clearer apprehension
of its purpose. It is neither eclectic in the presentation of its truths,
nor arrogant in the affirmation of its claims. Its teachings revolve
around the fundamental principle that religious truth is not absolute
but relative, that Divine Revelation is progressive, not final. Unequivocally
and without the least reservation it proclaims all established
religions to be divine in origin, identical in their aims,
complementary in their functions, continuous in their purpose, indispensable
in their value to mankind.
"All the Prophets of God," asserts &Baha'u'llah in the &Kitab-i-Iqan,
"abide in the same tabernacle, soar in the same heaven, are
seated upon the same throne, utter the same speech, and proclaim
the same Faith." From the "beginning that hath no beginning," these
Exponents of the Unity of God and Channels of His incessant
utterance have shed the light of the invisible Beauty upon mankind,
and will continue, to the "end that hath no end," to vouchsafe fresh
revelations of His might and additional experiences of His inconceivable
glory. To contend that any particular religion is final, that
"all Revelation is ended, that the portals of Divine mercy are closed,
that from the daysprings of eternal holiness no sun shall rise again,
that the ocean of everlasting bounty is forever stilled, and that out
of the Tabernacle of ancient glory the Messengers of God have
ceased to be made manifest" would indeed be nothing less than
sheer blasphemy.
"They differ," explains &Baha'u'llah in that same epistle, "only
in the intensity of their revelation and the comparative potency of
their light." And this, not by reason of any inherent incapacity of
any one of them to reveal in a fuller measure the glory of the Message
with which He has been entrusted, but rather because of the
immaturity and unpreparedness of the age He lived in to apprehend
and absorb the full potentialities latent in that Faith.


+P59
"Know of a certainty," explains &Baha'u'llah, "that in every Dispensation
the light of Divine Revelation has been vouchsafed to men
in direct proportion to their spiritual capacity. Consider the sun.
How feeble its rays the moment it appears above the horizon. How
gradually its warmth and potency increase as it approaches its zenith,
enabling meanwhile all created things to adapt themselves to the
growing intensity of its light. How steadily it declines until it
reaches its setting point. Were it, all of a sudden, to manifest the
energies latent within it, it would, no doubt, cause injury to all
created things.... In like manner, if the Sun of Truth were suddenly
to reveal, at the earliest stages of its manifestation, the full
measure of the potencies which the providence of the Almighty has
bestowed upon it, the earth of human understanding would waste
away and be consumed; for men's hearts would neither sustain the
intensity of its revelation, nor be able to mirror forth the radiance
of its light. Dismayed and overpowered, they would cease to exist."
It is for this reason, and this reason only, that those who have
recognized the Light of God in this age, claim no finality for the
Revelation with which they stand identified, nor arrogate to the
Faith they have embraced powers and attributes intrinsically superior
to, or essentially different from, those which have characterized
any of the religious systems that preceded it.
Does not &Baha'u'llah Himself allude to the progressiveness of
Divine Revelation and to the limitations which an inscrutable Wisdom
has chosen to impose upon Him? What else can this passage
of the Hidden Words imply, if not that He Who revealed it disclaimed
finality for the Revelation entrusted to Him by the Almighty?
"O Son of Justice! In the night-season the beauty of the
immortal Being hath repaired from the emerald height of fidelity
unto the &Sadratu'l-Muntaha, and wept with such a weeping that
the concourse on high and the dwellers of the realms above wailed
at His lamenting. Whereupon there was asked, Why the wailing
and weeping? He made reply: As bidden I waited expectant upon
the hill of faithfulness, yet inhaled not from them that dwell on
earth the fragrance of fidelity. Then summoned to return I beheld,
and lo! certain doves of holiness were sore tried within the claws
of the dogs of earth. Thereupon the Maid of Heaven hastened forth,
unveiled, and resplendent, from Her mystic mansion, and asked of


+P60
their names, and all were told but one. And when urged, the first
Letter thereof was uttered, whereupon the dwellers of the celestial
chambers rushed forth out of their habitation of glory. And whilst
the second letter was pronounced they fell down, one and all, upon
the dust. At that moment a Voice was heard from the inmost shrine:
`Thus far and no farther.' Verily we bear witness to that which they
have done and now are doing."
"The Revelation of which I am the bearer," &Baha'u'llah explicitly
declares, "is adapted to humanity's spiritual receptiveness
and capacity; otherwise, the Light that shines within me can neither
wax nor wane. Whatever I manifest is nothing more or less than
the measure of the Divine glory which God has bidden me reveal."
If the Light that is now streaming forth upon an increasingly
responsive humanity with a radiance that bids fair to eclipse the
splendor of such triumphs as the forces of religion have achieved
in days past; if the signs and tokens which proclaimed its advent
have been, in many respects, unique in the annals of past Revelations;
if its votaries have evinced traits and qualities unexampled
in the spiritual history of mankind; these should be attributed not
to a superior merit which the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, as a Revelation
isolated and alien from any previous Dispensation, might possess,
but rather should be viewed and explained as the inevitable outcome
of the forces that have made of this present age an age infinitely
more advanced, more receptive, and more insistent to receive an
ampler measure of Divine Guidance than has hitherto been vouchsafed
to mankind.

Necessity for a Fresh Revelation

Dearly beloved friends: Who, contemplating the helplessness,
the fears and miseries of humanity in this day, can any longer question
the necessity for a fresh revelation of the quickening power of
God's redemptive love and guidance? Who, witnessing on one hand
the stupendous advance achieved in the realm of human knowledge,
of power, of skill and inventiveness, and viewing on the other the
unprecedented character of the sufferings that afflict, and the dangers
that beset, present-day society, can be so blind as to doubt that
the hour has at last struck for the advent of a new Revelation, for
a re-statement of the Divine Purpose, and for the consequent revival


+P61
of those spiritual forces that have, at fixed intervals, rehabilitated
the fortunes of human society? Does not the very operation of the
world-unifying forces that are at work in this age necessitate that
He Who is the Bearer of the Message of God in this day should
not only reaffirm that self-same exalted standard of individual conduct
inculcated by the Prophets gone before Him, but embody in
His appeal, to all governments and peoples, the essentials of that
social code, that Divine Economy, which must guide humanity's
concerted efforts in establishing that all-embracing federation which
is to signalize the advent of the Kingdom of God on this earth?
May we not, therefore, recognizing as we do the necessity for
such a revelation of God's redeeming power, meditate upon the
supreme grandeur of the System unfolded by the hand of &Baha'u'llah
in this day? May we not pause, pressed though we be by the
daily preoccupations which the ever-widening range of the administrative
activities of His Faith must involve, to reflect upon the
sanctity of the responsibilities it is our privilege to shoulder?

The Station of the &Bab

Not only in the character of the revelation of &Baha'u'llah, however
stupendous be His claim, does the greatness of this Dispensation
reside. For among the distinguishing features of His Faith
ranks, as a further evidence of its uniqueness, the fundamental
truth that in the person of its Forerunner, the &Bab, every follower
of &Baha'u'llah recognizes not merely an inspired annunciator but
a direct Manifestation of God. It is their firm belief that, no matter
how short the duration of His Dispensation, and however brief
the period of the operation of His laws, the &Bab had been endowed
with a potency such as no founder of any of the past religions was,
in the providence of the Almighty, allowed to possess. That He was
not merely the precursor of the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah, that He
was more than a divinely-inspired personage, that His was the
station of an independent, self-sufficient Manifestation of God, is
abundantly demonstrated by Himself, is affirmed in unmistakable
terms by &Baha'u'llah, and is finally attested by the Will and Testament
of &Abdu'l-Baha.
Nowhere but in the &Kitab-i-Iqan, &Baha'u'llah's masterly exposition
of the one unifying truth underlying all the Revelations of the


+P62
past, can we obtain a clearer apprehension of the potency of those
forces inherent in that Preliminary Manifestation with which His
own Faith stands indissolubly associated. Expatiating upon the unfathomed
import of the signs and tokens that have accompanied the
Revelation proclaimed by the &Bab, the promised &Qa'im, He recalls
these prophetic words: "Knowledge is twenty and seven letters. All
that the Prophets have revealed are two letters thereof. No man
thus far hath known more than these two letters. But when the
&Qa'im shall arise, He will cause the remaining twenty and five letters
to be made manifest." "Behold," adds &Baha'u'llah, "how great and
lofty is His station!" "Of His Revelation," He further adds, "the
Prophets of God, His saints and chosen ones, have either not been
informed, or in pursuance of God's inscrutable Decree, they have
not disclosed."
And yet, immeasurably exalted as is the station of the &Bab,
and marvellous as have been the happenings that have signalized
the advent of His Cause, so wondrous a Revelation cannot but
pale before the effulgence of that Orb of unsurpassed splendor
Whose rise He foretold and whose superiority He readily acknowledged.
We have but to turn to the writings of the &Bab Himself in
order to estimate the significance of that Quintessence of Light of
which He, with all the majesty of His power, was but its humble
and chosen Precursor.
Again and again the &Bab admits, in glowing and unequivocal
language, the &preeminent character of a Faith destined to be made
manifest after Him and to supersede His Cause. "The germ," He
asserts in the Persian &Bayan, the chief and best-preserved repository
of His laws, "that holds within itself the potentialities of the
Revelation that is to come is endowed with a potency superior to the
combined forces of all those who follow me." "Of all the tributes,"
the &Bab repeatedly proclaims in His writings, "I have paid to Him
Who is to come after Me, the greatest is this, My written confession,
that no words of Mine can adequately describe Him, nor can any reference
to Him in my Book, the &Bayan, do justice to His Cause." Addressing
Siyyid &Yahyay-i-Darabi, surnamed &Vahid, the most learned
and influential among his followers, He says: "By the righteousness
of Him Whose power causeth the seed to germinate and Who breatheth
the spirit of life into all things, were I to be assured that in the


+P63
day of His Manifestation thou wilt deny Him, I would unhesitatingly
disown thee and repudiate thy faith.... If, on the other
hand, I be told that a Christian, who beareth no allegiance to My
Faith, will believe in Him, the same will I regard as the apple of
Mine eye."

The Outpouring of Divine Grace

"If all the peoples of the world," &Baha'u'llah Himself affirms,
"be invested with the powers and attributes destined for the Letters
of the Living, the chosen disciples of the &Bab, whose station is ten
thousand times more glorious than any which the apostles of old
have attained, and if they, one and all, should, swift as the twinkling
of an eye, hesitate to recognize the Light of my Revelation, their
faith shall be of no avail, and they shall be accounted among the
infidels." "So tremendous," He writes, "is the outpouring of Divine
grace in this Dispensation that if mortal hands could be swift enough
to record them, within the space of a single day and night, there
would stream verses of such number as to be equivalent to the whole
of the Persian &Bayan."
Such, dearly-beloved friends, is the effusion of celestial grace
vouchsafed by the Almighty to this age, this most illumined century!
We stand too close to so colossal a Revelation to expect in
this, the first century of its era, to arrive at a just estimate of its
towering grandeur, its infinite possibilities, its transcendent beauty.
Small though our present numbers may be, however limited our
capacities, or circumscribed our influence, we, into whose hands so
pure, so tender, so precious a heritage has been entrusted, should
at all times strive, with unrelaxing vigilance, to abstain from any
thoughts, words, or deeds, that might tend to dim its brilliance, or
injure its growth. How tremendous our responsibility; how delicate
and laborious our task!
Dear friends: Clear and emphatic as are the instructions which
our departed Master has reiterated in countless Tablets bequeathed
by Him to His followers throughout the world, a few, owing to the
restricted influence of the Cause in the West, have been purposely
withheld from the body of His occidental disciples, who, despite
their numerical inferiority, are now exercising such a preponderating
influence in the direction and administration of its affairs.
I feel it, therefore, incumbent upon me to stress, now that the time


+P64
is ripe, the importance of an instruction which, at the present stage
of the evolution of our Faith, should be increasingly emphasized,
irrespective of its application to the East or to the West. And this
principle is no other than that which involves the non-participation
by the adherents of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, whether in their individual
capacities or collectively as local or national Assemblies, in
any form of activity that might be interpreted, either directly or
indirectly, as an interference in the political affairs of any particular
government. Whether it be in the publications which they initiate
and supervise; or in their official and public deliberations; or in the
posts they occupy and the services they render; or in the communications
they address to their fellow-disciples; or in their dealings
with men of eminence and authority; or in their affiliations with
kindred societies and organizations, it is, I am firmly convinced,
their first and sacred obligation to abstain from any word or deed
that might be construed as a violation of this vital principle. Theirs
is the duty to demonstrate, on one hand, the nonpolitical character
of their Faith, and to assert, on the other, their unqualified
loyalty and obedience to whatever is the considered judgment of
their respective governments.

The Divine Polity

Let them refrain from associating themselves, whether by word
or by deed, with the political pursuits of their respective nations,
with the policies of their governments and the schemes and programs
of parties and factions. In such controversies they should
assign no blame, take no side, further no design, and identify themselves
with no system prejudicial to the best interests of that world-wide
Fellowship which it is their aim to guard and foster. Let them
beware lest they allow themselves to become the tools of unscrupulous
politicians, or to be entrapped by the treacherous devices of
the plotters and the perfidious among their countrymen. Let them
so shape their lives and regulate their conduct that no charge of
secrecy, of fraud, of bribery or of intimidation may, however ill-founded,
be brought against them. Let them rise above all particularism
and partisanship, above the vain disputes, the petty calculations,
the transient passions that agitate the face, and engage the
attention, of a changing world. It is their duty to strive to distinguish,


+P65
as clearly as they possibly can, and if needed with the aid of
their elected representatives, such posts and functions as are either
diplomatic or political from those that are purely administrative
in character, and which under no circumstances are affected by the
changes and chances that political activities and party government,
in every land, must necessarily involve. Let them affirm their unyielding
determination to stand, firmly and unreservedly, for the
way of &Baha'u'llah, to avoid the entanglements and bickerings
inseparable from the pursuits of the politician, and to become worthy
agencies of that Divine Polity which incarnates God's immutable
Purpose for all men.
It should be made unmistakably clear that such an attitude
implies neither the slightest indifference to the cause and interests
of their own country, nor involves any insubordination on their
part to the authority of recognized and established governments.
Nor does it constitute a repudiation of their sacred obligation to
promote, in the most effective manner, the best interests of their
government and people. It indicates the desire cherished by every
true and loyal follower of &Baha'u'llah to serve, in an unselfish,
unostentatious and patriotic fashion, the highest interests of the
country to which he belongs, and in a way that would entail no
departure from the high standards of integrity and truthfulness
associated with the teachings of his Faith.
As the number of the &Baha'i communities in various parts of
the world multiplies and their power, as a social force, becomes
increasingly apparent, they will no doubt find themselves increasingly
subjected to the pressure which men of authority and influence,
in the political domain, will exercise in the hope of obtaining the
support they require for the advancement of their aims. These communities
will, moreover, feel a growing need of the good-will and
the assistance of their respective governments in their efforts to
widen the scope, and to consolidate the foundations, of the institutions
committed to their charge. Let them beware lest, in their
eagerness to further the aims of their beloved Cause, they should
be led unwittingly to bargain with their Faith, to compromise with
their essential principles, or to sacrifice, in return for any material
advantage which their institutions may derive, the integrity of
their spiritual ideals. Let them proclaim that in whatever country
they reside, and however advanced their institutions, or profound


+P66
their desire to enforce the laws, and apply the principles, enunciated
by &Baha'u'llah, they will, unhesitatingly, subordinate the operation
of such laws and the application of such principles to the requirements
and legal enactments of their respective governments. Theirs
is not the purpose, while endeavoring to conduct and perfect the
administrative affairs of their Faith, to violate, under any circumstances,
the provisions of their country's constitution, much less to
allow the machinery of their administration to supersede the government
of their respective countries.
It should also be borne in mind that the very extension of the
activities in which we are engaged, and the variety of the communities
which labor under divers forms of government, so essentially
different in their standards, policies, and methods, make it absolutely
essential for all those who are the declared members of any
one of these communities to avoid any action that might, by arousing
the suspicion or exciting the antagonism of any one government,
involve their brethren in fresh persecutions or complicate the nature
of their task. How else, might I ask, could such a far-flung Faith,
which transcends political and social boundaries, which includes
within its pale so great a variety of races and nations, which will
have to rely increasingly, as it forges ahead, on the good-will and
support of the diversified and contending governments of the
earth--how else could such a Faith succeed in preserving its unity,
in safeguarding its interests, and in ensuring the steady and peaceful
development of its institutions?
Such an attitude, however, is not dictated by considerations of
selfish expediency, but is actuated, first and foremost, by the broad
principle that the followers of &Baha'u'llah will, under no circumstances,
suffer themselves to be involved, whether as individuals or
in their collective capacities, in matters that would entail the slightest
departure from the fundamental verities and ideals of their Faith.
Neither the charges which the uninformed and the malicious may be
led to bring against them, nor the allurements of honors and
rewards, will ever induce them to surrender their trust or to deviate
from their path. Let their words proclaim, and their conduct testify,
that they who follow &Baha'u'llah, in whatever land they reside, are
actuated by no selfish ambition, that they neither thirst for power,


+P67
nor mind any wave of unpopularity, of distrust or criticism, which
a strict adherence to their standards might provoke.
Difficult and delicate though be our task, the sustaining power
of &Baha'u'llah and of His Divine guidance will assuredly assist us
if we follow steadfastly in His way, and strive to uphold the integrity
of His laws. The light of His redeeming grace, which no
earthly power can obscure, will if we persevere, illuminate our path,
as we steer our course amid the snares and pitfalls of a troubled
age, and will enable us to discharge our duties in a manner that
would redound to the glory and the honor of His blessed Name.

Our Beloved Temple

And finally, dearly-beloved brethren, let me once more direct
your attention to the pressing claims of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, our
beloved Temple. Need I remind you of the imperative necessity of
carrying out to a successful conclusion, while there is yet time, the
great enterprise to which, before the eyes of a watching world, we
stand committed? Need I stress the great damage which further
delay in the prosecution of this divinely-appointed task must, even
in these critical and unforeseen circumstances, inflict upon the prestige
of our beloved Cause? I am, I can assure you, acutely conscious
of the stringency of the circumstances with which you are faced, the
embarrassments under which you labor, the cares with which you
are burdened, the pressing urgency of the demands that are being
incessantly made upon your depleted resources. I am, however, still
more profoundly aware of the unprecedented character of the opportunity
which it is your privilege to seize and utilize. I am aware
of the incalculable blessings that must await the termination of a
collective enterprise which, by the range and quality of the sacrifices
it entailed, deserves to be ranked among the most outstanding
examples of &Baha'i solidarity ever since those deeds of brilliant
heroism immortalized the memory of the heroes of &Nayriz, of
&Zanjan, and of &Tabarsi. I appeal to you, therefore, friends and
fellow-disciples of &Baha'u'llah, for a more abundant measure of
self-sacrifice, for a higher standard of concerted effort, for a still
more compelling evidence of the reality of the faith that glows
within you.
And in this fervent plea, my voice is once more reinforced by


+P68
the passionate, and perhaps, the last, entreaty, of the Greatest Holy
Leaf, whose spirit, now hovering on the edge of the Great Beyond,
longs to carry on its flight to the &Abha Kingdom, and into the presence
of a Divine, an almighty Father, an assurance of the joyous
consummation of an enterprise, the progress of which has so greatly
brightened the closing days of her earthly life. That the American
believers, those stout-hearted pioneers of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah,
will unanimously respond, with that same spontaneous generosity,
that same measure of self-sacrifice, as have characterized their
response to her appeals in the past, no one who is familiar with the
vitality of their faith can possibly question.
Would to God that by the end of the spring of the year 1933
the multitudes who, from the remote corners of the globe, will
throng the grounds of the Great Fair to be held in the neighborhood
of that hallowed shrine may, as a result of your sustained
spirit of self-sacrifice, be privileged to gaze on the arrayed splendor
of its dome--a dome that shall stand as a flaming beacon and
a symbol of hope amidst the gloom of a despairing world.

Your true brother,
SHOGHI

Haifa, Palestine,
March 21, 1932


+P69
AMERICA AND THE MOST GREAT PEACE


+P70

+P71
AMERICA AND
THE MOST GREAT PEACE

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful
throughout the United States and Canada.

Friends and fellow-promoters of the Faith of God:

Forty years will have elapsed ere the close of this coming summer
since the name of &Baha'u'llah was first mentioned on the
American continent. Strange indeed must appear to every observer,
pondering in his heart the significance of so great a landmark in the
spiritual history of the great American Republic, the circumstances
which have attended this first public reference to the Author of
our beloved Faith. Stranger still must seem the associations which
the brief words uttered on that historic occasion must have evoked
in the minds of those who heard them.
Of pomp and circumstance, of any manifestations of public
rejoicing or of popular applause, there were none to greet this first
intimation+F1 to America's citizens of the existence and purpose of
the Revelation proclaimed by &Baha'u'llah. Nor did he who was its
chosen instrument profess himself a believer in the indwelling
potency of the tidings he conveyed, or suspect the magnitude of the
forces which so cursory a mention was destined to release.
Announced through the mouth of an avowed supporter of
that narrow ecclesiasticism which the Faith itself has challenged
and seeks to extirpate, characterized at the moment of its birth
as an obscure offshoot of a contemptible creed, the Message of the
Most Great Name, fed by streams of unceasing trial and warmed
by the sunshine of &Abdu'l-Baha's tender care, has succeeded in
driving its roots deep into America's genial soil, has in less than

+F1 In an address by Dr. Henry H. Jessup at the Parliament of Religions,
+F1 Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893.--Editor.


+P72
half a century sent out its shoots and tendrils as far as the remotest
corners of the globe, and now stands, clothed in the majesty
of the consecrated Edifice it has reared in the heart of that continent,
determined to proclaim its right and vindicate its capacity
to redeem a stricken people. Unsupported by any of the advantages
which talent, rank and riches can confer, the community of the
American believers, despite its tender age, its numerical strength,
its limited experience, has by virtue of the inspired wisdom, the
united will, the incorruptible loyalty of its administrators and teachers
achieved the distinction of an undisputed leadership among its
sister communities of East and West in hastening the advent of
the Golden Age anticipated by &Baha'u'llah.
And yet how grave the crises which this infant, this blessed,
community has weathered in the course of its checkered history!
How slow and painful the process that gradually brought it forth
from the obscurity of unmitigated neglect to the broad daylight
of public recognition! How severe the shocks which the ranks of
its devoted adherents have sustained through the defection of the
faint in heart, the malice of the mischief-maker, the treachery of
the proud and the ambitious! What storms of ridicule, of abuse
and of calumny its representatives have had to face in their staunch
support of the integrity, and their valiant defense of the fair
name, of the Faith they had espoused! How persistent the vicissitudes
and disconcerting the reverses with which its privileged members,
young and old alike, individually and collectively, have had
to contend in their heroic endeavors to scale the heights which a
loving Master had summoned them to attain!
Many and powerful have been its enemies who, as soon as they
discovered the evidences of the growing ascendancy of its declared
supporters, have vied with one another in hurling at its face the
vilest imputations and in pouring out upon the Object of its devotion
the vials of their fiercest wrath. How often have these sneered
at the scantiness of its resources and the seeming stagnation of its
life! How bitterly they ridiculed its origins and, misconceiving its
purpose, dismissed it as a useless appendage of an expiring creed!
Have they not in their written attacks stigmatized the heroic person
of the Forerunner of so holy a Revelation as a coward recanter,
a perverted apostate, and denounced the entire range of


+P73
His voluminous writings as the idle chatter of a thoughtless man?
Have they not chosen to ascribe to its divine Founder the basest
motives which an unscrupulous plotter and usurper can conceive,
and regarded the Center of His Covenant as the embodiment of
ruthless tyranny, a stirrer of mischief, and a notorious exponent
of expediency and fraud? Its world-unifying principles these impotent
enemies of a steadily-rising Faith have time and again
denounced as fundamentally defective, have pronounced its all-embracing
program as utterly fantastic, and regarded its vision of the
future as chimerical and positively deceitful. The fundamental verities
that constitute its doctrine its foolish ill-wishers have represented
as a cloak of idle dogma, its administrative machinery they
have refused to differentiate from the soul of the Faith itself, and
the mysteries it reveres and upholds they have identified with sheer
superstition. The principle of unification which it advocates and
with which it stands identified they have misconceived as a shallow
attempt at uniformity, its repeated assertions of the reality of supernatural
agencies they have condemned as a vain belief in magic,
and the glory of its idealism they have rejected as mere utopia.
Every process of purification whereby an inscrutable Wisdom chose
from time to time to purge the body of His chosen followers of
the defilement of the undesirable and the unworthy, these victims
of an unrelenting jealousy have hailed as a symptom of the invading
forces of schism which were soon to sap its strength, vitiate its
vitality, and complete its ruin.
Dearly-beloved friends! It is not for me, nor does it seem within
the competence of any one of the present generation, to trace the
exact and full history of the rise and gradual consolidation of this
invincible arm, this mighty organ, of a continually advancing Cause.
It would be premature at this early stage of its evolution, to attempt
an exhaustive analysis, or to arrive at a just estimate, of the impelling
forces that have urged it forward to occupy so exalted a
place among the various instruments which the Hand of Omnipotence
has fashioned, and is now perfecting, for the execution of
His divine Purpose. Future historians of this mighty Revelation,
endowed with pens abler than any which its present-day supporters
can claim to possess, will no doubt transmit to posterity a masterly
exposition of the origins of those forces which, through a remarkable


+P74
swing of the pendulum, have caused the administrative center
of the Faith to gravitate, away from its cradle, to the shores of the
American continent and towards its very heart--the present mainspring
and chief bulwark of its fast evolving institutions. On them
will devolve the task of recording the history, and of estimating
the significance, of so radical a revolution in the fortunes of a
slowly maturing Faith. Theirs will be the opportunity to extol
the virtues and to immortalize the memory of those men and women
who have participated in its accomplishment. Theirs will be the
privilege of evaluating the share which each of these champion-builders
of the World Order of &Baha'u'llah has had in ushering
in that golden Millennium, the promise of which lies enshrined in
His teachings.
Does not the history of primitive Christianity and of the rise
of &Islam, each in its own way, offer a striking parallel to this strange
phenomenon the beginnings of which we are now witnessing in this,
the first century of the &Baha'i Era? Has not the Divine Impulse
which gave birth to each of these great religious systems been
driven, through the operation of those forces which the irresistible
growth of the Faith itself had released, to seek away from the
land of its birth and in more propitious climes a ready field and
a more adequate medium for the incarnation of its spirit and the
propagation of its cause? Have not the Asiatic churches of Jerusalem,
of Antioch and of Alexandria, consisting chiefly of those
Jewish converts, whose character and temperament inclined them
to sympathize with the traditional ceremonies of the Mosaic Dispensation,
been forced as they steadily declined to recognize the
growing ascendancy of their Greek and Roman brethren? Have
they not been compelled to acknowledge the superior valor and
the trained efficiency which have enabled these standard-bearers of
the Cause of Jesus Christ to erect the symbols of His world-wide
dominion on the ruins of a collapsing Empire? Has not the animating
spirit of &Islam been constrained, under the pressure of
similar circumstances, to abandon the inhospitable wastes of its
Arabian Home, the theatre of its greatest sufferings and exploits,
to yield in a distant land the fairest fruit of its slowly maturing
civilization?
"From the beginning of time until the present day," &Abdu'l-Baha


+P75
Himself affirms, "the light of Divine Revelation hath risen
in the East and shed its radiance upon the West. The illumination
thus shed hath, however, acquired in the West an extraordinary
brilliancy. Consider the Faith proclaimed by Jesus. Though it first
appeared in the East, yet not until its light had been shed upon the
West did the full measure of its potentialities become manifest." "The
day is approaching," He, in another passage, assures us, "when
ye shall witness how, through the splendor of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah,
the West will have replaced the East, radiating the light of
Divine Guidance." "In the books of the Prophets," He again asserts,
"certain glad-tidings are recorded which are absolutely true and
free from doubt. The East hath ever been the dawning-place of the
Sun of Truth. In the East all the Prophets of God have appeared
...The West hath acquired illumination from the East but in
some respects the reflection of the light hath been greater in the
Occident. This is specially true of Christianity. Jesus Christ appeared
in Palestine and His teachings were founded in that country.
Although the doors of the Kingdom were first opened in that land
and the bestowals of God were spread broadcast from its center,
the people of the West have embraced and promulgated Christianity
more fully than the people of the East."
Little wonder that from the same unerring pen there should
have flowed, after &Abdu'l-Baha's memorable visit to the West,
these often-quoted words, the significance of which it would be
impossible for me to overrate: "The continent of America," He
announced in a Tablet unveiling His Divine Plan to the believers
residing in the North-Eastern States of the American Republic,
"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."
"May this American democracy," He Himself, while in
America, was heard to remark, "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'... The American people are
indeed worthy of being the first to build the tabernacle of the great
peace and proclaim the oneness of mankind... May America
become the distributing center of spiritual enlightenment and all


+P76
the world receive this heavenly blessing. For America has developed
powers and capacities greater and more wonderful than other nations...
May the inhabitants of this country become like angels
of heaven with faces turned continually toward God. May all of
them become servants of the omnipotent One. May they rise from
their present material attainments to such a height that heavenly
illumination may stream from this center to all the peoples of the
world... This 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."
Would it seem extravagant, in the light of so sublime an utterance,
to expect that in the midst of so enviable a region of the
earth and out of the agony and wreckage of an unprecedented
crisis there should burst forth a spiritual renaissance which, as it
propagates itself through the instrumentality of the American believers,
will rehabilitate the fortunes of a decadent age? It was
&Abdu'l-Baha Himself, His most intimate associates testify, Who,
on more than one occasion, intimated that the establishment of His
Father's Faith in the North American continent ranked as the most
outstanding among the threefold aims which, as He conceived it,
constituted the principal objective of His ministry. It was He Who,
in the heyday of His life and almost immediately after His Father's
ascension, conceived the idea of inaugurating His mission by enlisting
the inhabitants of so promising a country under the banner
of &Baha'u'llah. He it was Who in His unerring wisdom and out of
the abundance of His heart chose to bestow on His favored disciples,
to the very last day of His life, the tokens of His unfailing
solicitude and to overwhelm them with the marks of His special
favor. It was He Who, in His declining years, as soon as delivered
from the shackles of a long and cruel incarceration, decided to
visit the land which had remained for so many years the object of
His infinite care and love. It was He Who, through the power of
His presence and the charm of His utterance, infused into the entire
body of His followers those sentiments and principles which could


+P77
alone sustain them amidst the trials which the very prosecution of
their task would inevitably engender. Was He not, through the
several functions which He exercised whilst He dwelt amongst
them, whether in the laying of the corner-stone of their House of
Worship, or in the Feast which He offered them and at which He
chose to serve them in person, or in the emphasis which He on
a more solemn occasion placed on the implications of His spiritual
station--was He not, thereby, deliberately bequeathing to them all
the essentials of that spiritual heritage which He knew they would
ably safeguard and by their deeds continually enrich? And finally
who can doubt that in the Divine Plan which, in the evening of His
life, He unveiled to their eyes He was investing them with that
spiritual primacy on which they could rely in the fulfillment of their
high destiny?
"O ye apostles of &Baha'u'llah!" He thus addresses them in one
of His Tablets, "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
unique the favors with which you have been endowed." "My
thoughts," He tells them in another passage, "are turned towards
you, and my heart leaps within me at your mention. Could ye know
how my soul glows 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," He declares in another Tablet,
"is as yet unrevealed, its significance still unapprehended. Ere long
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,"
He once more affirms, "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 Almighty," He
assures them, "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,"
He admonishes them, "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


+P78
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 plentitude of its majesty and
glory, be firmly established."
"The hope which &Abdu'l-Baha cherishes for you," He thus
urges them, "is that the same success which has attended 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... Thus far ye have been untiring in your labors.
Let your exertions, henceforth, increase a thousandfold. Summon
the people in these countries, capitals, islands, assemblies and
churches to enter the &Abha Kingdom. The scope of your exertions
must needs be extended. The wider its range, the more striking
will be the evidences of Divine assistance... Oh! that I could
travel, even though on foot and in the utmost poverty, to these
regions and, raising the call of &Ya &Baha'u'l-Abha in cities, villages,
mountains, deserts and oceans, promote the Divine teachings! This,
alas, I cannot do! How intensely I deplore it! Please God, ye may
achieve it." And finally, as if to crown all His previous utterances,
is this solemn affirmation embodying His Vision of America's spiritual
destiny: "The moment this Divine Message 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. 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."
It is in the light of these above-quoted words of &Abdu'l-Baha
that every thoughtful and conscientious believer should ponder the
significance of this momentous utterance of &Baha'u'llah: "In the
East the light of His Revelation hath broken; in the West have
appeared the signs of His dominion. Ponder this in your hearts, O
people, and be not of those who have turned a deaf ear to the admonitions
of Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Praised...


+P79
Should they attempt to conceal its light on the continent, it will
assuredly rear its head in the midmost heart of the ocean, and, raising
its voice, proclaim: `I am the life-giver of the world!'"
Dearly-beloved friends! Can our eyes be so dim as to fail to
recognize in the anguish and turmoil which, greater than in any
other country and in a manner unprecedented in its history, are
now afflicting the American nation, evidences of the beginnings of
that spiritual renaissance which these pregnant words of &Abdu'l-Baha
so clearly foreshadow? The throes and twinges of agony
which the soul of a nation in travail is now beginning to experience
abundantly proclaim it. Contrast the sad plight of the nations
of the earth, and in particular this great Republic of the West, with
the rising fortunes of that handful of its citizens, whose mission,
if they be faithful to their trust, is to heal its wounds, restore its
confidence and revive its shattered hopes. Contrast the dreadful
convulsions, the internecine conflicts, the petty disputes, the outworn
controversies, the interminable revolutions that agitate the
masses, with the calm new light of Peace and of Truth which envelops,
guides and sustains those valiant inheritors of the law and
love of &Baha'u'llah. Compare the disintegrating institutions, the
discredited statesmanship, the exploded theories, the appalling degradation,
the follies and furies, the shifts, shams and compromises
that characterize the present age, with the steady consolidation, the
holy discipline, the unity and cohesiveness, the assured conviction,
the uncompromising loyalty, the heroic self-sacrifice that constitute
the hallmark of these faithful stewards and harbingers of the
golden age of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah.
Small wonder that these prophetic words should have been revealed
by &Abdu'l-Baha: "The East," He assures us, "hath verily
been illumined with the light of the Kingdom. Ere long will this
same light shed a still greater illumination upon the West. Then
will the hearts of its people be vivified through the potency of the
teachings of God and their souls be set aglow by the undying fire
of His love." "The prestige of the Faith of God," He asserts, "has
immensely increased. Its greatness is now manifest. The day is approaching
when it will have cast a tremendous tumult in men's
hearts. Rejoice, therefore, O denizens of America, rejoice with
exceeding gladness!"


+P80
Most prized and best-beloved brethren! As we look back upon
the forty years which have passed since the auspicious rays of the
&Baha'i Revelation first warmed and illuminated the American continent
we find that they may well fall into four distinct periods,
each culminating in an event of such significance as to constitute
a milestone along the road leading the American believers towards
their promised victory. The first of these four decades (1893-1903),
characterized by a process of slow and steady fermentation, may be
said to have culminated in the historic pilgrimages undertaken by
&Abdu'l-Baha's American disciples to the shrine of &Baha'u'llah.
The ten years which followed (1903-1913), so full of the tests and
trials which agitated, cleansed and energized the body of the earliest
pioneers of the Faith in that land, had as their happy climax &Abdu'l-Baha's
memorable visit to America. The third period (1913-1923),
a period of quiet and uninterrupted consolidation, had as its inevitable
result the birth of that divinely-appointed Administration, the
foundations of which the Will of a departed Master had unmistakably
established. The remaining ten years (1923-1933), distinguished
throughout by further internal development, as well as
by a notable expansion of the international activities of a growing
community, witnessed the completion of the superstructure of the
&Mashriqu'l-Adhkar--the Administration's mighty bulwark, the
symbol of its strength and the sign of its future glory.
Each of these successive periods would seem to have contributed
its distinct share in enriching the spiritual life of that community,
and in preparing its members for the discharge of the tremendous
responsibilities of their unique mission. The pilgrimages which its
foremost representatives were moved to undertake in that earliest
period of its history fired the souls of its members with a love and
zeal which no amount of adversity could quench. The tests and
tribulations it subsequently suffered enabled those who survived
them to obtain a grasp of the implications of their faith that no
opposition, however determined and well-organized, could ever hope
to weaken. The institutions which its tried and tested adherents
later on established furnished their promoters with that poise and
stability which the increase of their numbers and the ceaseless extension
of their activities urgently demanded. And finally the Temple
which the exponents of an already firmly established Administration


+P81
were inspired to erect gave them the vision which neither
the storms of internal disorder nor the whirlwinds of international
commotion could possibly obscure.
It would take me too long to attempt even a brief description
of the first stirrings which the introduction of the &Baha'i Revelation
into the New World, as conceived, initiated and directed by our
beloved Master, immediately created. Nor does space permit me
to narrate the circumstances attending the epoch-making visit of
the first American pilgrims to &Baha'u'llah's hallowed shrine, to
relate the deeds which signalized the return of these bearers of a
new-born Gospel to their native country, or to assess the immediate
consequences of their achievements. No word of mine would suffice
to express how instantly the revelation of &Abdu'l-Baha's hopes,
expectations and purpose for an awakened continent, electrified the
minds and hearts of those who were privileged to hear Him, who
were made the recipients of His inestimable blessings and the chosen
repositories of His confidence and trust. I can never hope to interpret
adequately the feelings that surged within those heroic hearts
as they sat at their Master's feet, beneath the shelter of His prison-house,
eager to absorb and intent to preserve the effusions of His
divine Wisdom. I can never pay sufficient tribute to that spirit of
unyielding determination which the impact of a magnetic personality
and the spell of a mighty utterance kindled in the entire
company of these returning pilgrims, these consecrated heralds of
the Covenant of God, at so decisive an epoch of their history. The
memory of such names as Lua, Chase, MacNutt, Dealy, Goodall,
Dodge, Farmer and Brittingham--to mention only a few of that
immortal galaxy now gathered to the glory of &Baha'u'llah--will
for ever remain associated with the rise and establishment of His
Faith in the American continent, and will continue to shed on its
annals a lustre that time can never dim.
It was through these pilgrimages, as they succeeded one another
in the years immediately following the ascension of &Baha'u'llah,
that the splendor of the Covenant, beclouded for a time by the
apparent ascendancy of its Arch-Breaker, emerged triumphant
amidst the vicissitudes which had afflicted it. It was through the
arrival of these pilgrims, and these alone, that the gloom which
had enveloped the disconsolate members of &Abdu'l-Baha's family


+P82
was finally dispelled. Through the agency of these successive visitors
the Greatest Holy Leaf, who alone with her Brother among
the members of her Father's household had to confront the rebellion
of almost the entire company of her relatives and associates,
found that consolation which so powerfully sustained her
till the very close of her life. By the forces which this little band
of returning pilgrims was able to release in the heart of that continent
the death-knell of every scheme initiated by the would-be
wrecker of the Cause of God was sounded.
The Tablets which were subsequently revealed by the untiring
pen of &Abdu'l-Baha, embodying in passionate and unequivocal
language His instructions and counsels, His appeals and comments,
His hopes and wishes, His fears and warnings, soon began to be
translated, published and circulated throughout the length and
breadth of the North American continent, providing the ever-widening
circle of the first believers with that spiritual sustenance which
could alone enable them to survive the severe trials they were soon
to experience.
The hour of an unprecedented crisis was, however, inexorably
approaching. Evidences of dissension, actuated by pride and ambition,
were beginning to obscure the radiance and retard the growth
of the newly-born community which the apostolic teachers of that
continent had labored to establish. He who had been instrumental
in inaugurating so splendid an era in the history of the Faith, on
whom the Center of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant had conferred the
titles of "&Baha's Peter," of the "Shepherd of God's Flocks," of
the "Conqueror of America," upon whom had been bestowed the
unique privilege of helping &Abdu'l-Baha lay the foundation-stone
of the &Bab's Mausoleum on Mt. Carmel--such a man, blinded by
his extraordinary success and aspiring after an uncontrolled domination
over the beliefs and activities of his fellow-disciples, insolently
raised the standard of revolt. Seceding from &Abdu'l-Baha
and allying himself with the Arch-Enemy of the Faith of God, this
deluded apostate sought, by perverting the teachings and directing
a campaign of unrelenting vilification against the person of &Abdu'l-Baha,
to undermine the faith of those believers whom he had during
no less than eight years, so strenuously toiled to convert. By the
tracts he published, through the active collaboration of the emissaries


+P83
of his chief Ally, and reinforced by the efforts which the
Christian ecclesiastical enemies of the &Baha'i Revelation were beginning
to exert, he succeeded in dealing the nascent Faith of God
a blow from which it could only slowly and painfully recover.
I need not dwell on the immediate effects of this serious yet
transitory cleavage in the ranks of the American adherents of the
Cause of &Baha'u'llah. Nor do I need to expatiate on the character
of the defamatory writings that poured upon them. Nor does it
seem necessary to recount the measures to which an ever-vigilant
Master resorted in order to assuage and eventually to dissipate
their apprehensions. It is for the future historian to appraise the
value of the mission of each of the four chosen messengers of
&Abdu'l-Baha who, in rapid succession, were dispatched by Him
to pacify and reinvigorate that troubled community. His will be the
task of tracing, in the work which these deputies of &Abdu'l-Baha
were commissioned to undertake, the beginnings of that vast Administration,
the corner-stone of which these messengers were instructed
to lay--an Administration whose symbolic Edifice He, at
a later time, was to found in person and whose basis and scope the
provisions of His Will were destined to widen.
Suffice it to say that at this stage of its evolution the activities
of an invincible Faith had assumed such dimensions as to force
on the one hand its enemies to devise fresh weapons for their
projected assaults, and on the other to encourage its supreme Promoter
to instruct its followers, through qualified representatives and
teachers, in the rudiments of an Administration which, as it evolved,
would at once incarnate, safeguard and foster its spirit. The works
of such stubborn assailants as those of Vatralsky, Wilson, Jessup
and Richardson vie with one another in their futile attempts to
stain its purity, to arrest its march and compel its surrender. To
the charges of Nihilism, of heresy, of &Muhammadan Gnosticism,
of immorality, of Occultism and Communism so freely leveled
against them, the undismayed victims of such outrageous denunciations,
acting under the instructions of &Abdu'l-Baha, retorted
by initiating a series of activities which by their very nature were
to be the precursors of permanent, officially recognized administrative
institutions. The inauguration of Chicago's first House of
Spirituality designated by &Abdu'l-Baha as that city's "House of


+P84
Justice"; the establishment of the &Baha'i Publishing Society; the
founding of the Green Acre Fellowship; the publication of the Star
of the West; the holding of the first &Baha'i National Convention,
synchronizing with the transference of the sacred remains of the
&Bab to its final resting-place on Mt. Carmel; the incorporation of
the &Baha'i Temple Unity and the formation of the Executive Committee
of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar--these stand out as the most
conspicuous accomplishments of the American believers which have
immortalized the memory of the most turbulent period of their
history. Launched through these very acts into the troublesome seas
of ceaseless tribulation, piloted by the mighty arm of &Abdu'l-Baha
and manned by the bold initiative and abundant vitality of a band
of sorely-tried disciples, the Ark of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant has,
ever since those days, been steadily pursuing its course contemptuous
of the storms of bitter misfortune that have raged, and which
must continue to assail it, as it forges ahead towards the promised
haven of undisturbed security and peace.
Unsatisfied with the achievements which crowned the concerted
efforts of their elected representatives within the American continent,
and emboldened by the initial success of their pioneer teachers,
beyond its confines, in Great Britain, France and Germany, the
community of the American believers resolved to win in distant
climes fresh recruits to the advancing army of &Baha'u'llah. Setting
out from the western shores of their native land and impelled
by the indomitable energy of a new-born faith, these itinerant
teachers of the Gospel of &Baha'u'llah pushed on towards the islands
of the Pacific, and as far as China and Japan, determined to establish
beyond the farthest seas the outposts of their beloved Faith.
Both at home and abroad this community had by that time demonstrated
its capacity to widen the range and consolidate the foundations
of its vast endeavors. The angry voices that had been raised
in protest against its rise were being drowned amid the acclamations
with which the East greeted its recent victories. Those ugly
features that had loomed so threateningly were gradually receding
into the distance, furnishing a still wider field to these noble warriors
for the exercise of their latent energies.
The Faith of &Baha'u'llah in the continent of America had indeed
been resuscitated. Phoenix-like it had risen in all its freshness,


+P85
vigor and beauty and was now, through the voice of its triumphant
exponents, insistingly calling to &Abdu'l-Baha, imploring Him to
undertake a journey to its shores. The first fruits of the mission
entrusted to its worthy upholders had lent such poignancy to their
call that &Abdu'l-Baha, Who had just been delivered from the
fetters of a galling tyranny, found Himself unable to resist. His
great, His incomparable, love for His own favored children impelled
Him to respond. Their passionate entreaty had, moreover,
been reinforced by the numerous invitations which representatives
of various interested organizations, whether religious, educational
or humanitarian, had extended to Him, expressing their eagerness
to receive from His own mouth an exposition of His Father's
teachings.
Though bent with age, though suffering from ailments resulting
from the accumulated cares of fifty years of exile and captivity,
&Abdu'l-Baha set out on His memorable journey across the seas
to the land where He might bless by His presence, and sanctify
through His deeds, the mighty acts His spirit had led His disciples
to perform. The circumstances that have attended His triumphal
progress through the chief cities of the United States and Canada
my pen is utterly incapable of describing. The joys which the announcement
of His arrival evoked, the publicity which His activities
created, the forces which His utterances released, the opposition
which the implications of His teachings excited, the significant
episodes to which His words and deeds continually gave rise--
these future generations will, no doubt, minutely and befittingly
register. They will carefully delineate their features, will cherish
and preserve their memory, and will transmit unimpaired the record
of their minutest details to their descendants. It would indeed be
presumptuous on our part to attempt, at the present time, to sketch
even the bare outline of so vast, so enthralling a theme. Contemplating
after the lapse of above twenty years this notable landmark
in America's spiritual history we still find ourselves compelled to
confess our inability to grasp its import or to fathom its mystery.
I have alluded in the preceding pages to a few of the more salient
features of that never-to-be-forgotten visit. These incidents, as we
look back upon them, eloquently proclaim &Abdu'l-Baha's specific
purpose to confer through these symbolic functions upon the first-born


+P86
of the communities of the West that spiritual primacy which
was to be the birthright of the American believers.
The seeds which &Abdu'l-Baha's ceaseless activities so lavishly
scattered had endowed the United States and Canada, nay the
entire continent, with potentialities such as it had never known in
its history. On the small band of His trained and beloved disciples,
and through them on their descendants, He, through that visit, had
bequeathed a priceless heritage--a heritage which carried with it
the sacred and primary obligation to arise and carry on in that
fertile field the work He had so gloriously initiated. We can dimly
picture to ourselves the wishes that must have welled from His
eager heart as He bade His last farewell to that promising country.
An inscrutable Wisdom, we can well imagine Him remark to His
disciples on the eve of His departure, has, in His infinite bounty
singled out your native land for the execution of a mighty purpose.
Through the agency of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant I, as the ploughman,
have been called upon since the beginning of my ministry to turn
up and break its ground. The mighty confirmations that have, in
the opening days of your career, rained upon you have prepared
and invigorated its soil. The tribulations you subsequently were
made to suffer have driven deep furrows into the field which my
hands had prepared. The seeds with which I have been entrusted I
have now scattered far and wide before you. Under your loving
care, by your ceaseless exertions, every one of these seeds must
germinate, every one must yield its destined fruit. A winter of
unprecedented severity will soon be upon you. Its storm-clouds are
fast gathering on the horizon. Tempestuous winds will assail you
from every side. The Light of the Covenant will be obscured
through my departure. These mighty blasts, this wintry desolation,
shall however pass away. The dormant seed will burst into fresh
activity. It shall put forth its buds, shall reveal, in mighty institutions,
its leaves and blossoms. The vernal showers which the tender
mercies of my heavenly Father will cause to descend upon you
will enable this tender plant to spread out its branches to regions
far beyond the confines of your native land. And finally the steadily
mounting sun of His Revelation, shining in its meridian splendor,
will enable this mighty Tree of His Faith to yield, in the fullness
of time and on your soil, its golden fruit.


+P87
The implications of such a parting message could not long remain
unrevealed to &Abdu'l-Baha's initiated disciples. No sooner
had He concluded His long and arduous journey across the American
and European continents than the tremendous happenings to
which He had alluded began to be made manifest. A conflict, such
as He had predicted, severed for a time all means of communication
with those on whom He had come to place such implicit trust
and from whom He was expecting so much in return. The wintry
desolation, with all its havoc and carnage, pursued during four
years its relentless course, while He, repairing to the quiet solitude
of His residence in the close neighborhood of &Baha'u'llah's hallowed
shrine, continued to communicate His thoughts and wishes
to those whom He had left behind and on whom He had conferred
the unique tokens of His favor. In the immortal Tablets
which, in the long hours of His communion with His dearly-beloved
friends He was moved to reveal, He unfolded to their eyes
His conception of their spiritual destiny, His Plan for the mission
He wished them to undertake. The seeds His hands had sown He
was now watering with that same care, that same love and patience,
which had characterized His previous endeavors whilst He was
laboring in their midst.
The clarion call which &Abdu'l-Baha had raised was the signal
for an outburst of renewed activity which, alike in the motives
it inspired and the forces it set in motion, America had scarcely
experienced. Lending an unprecedented impetus to the work which
the enterprising ambassadors of the Message of &Baha'u'llah had
initiated in distant lands, this mighty movement has continued to
spread until the present day, has gathered momentum as it extended
its ramifications over the surface of the globe, and will continue
to accelerate its march until the last wishes of its original Promoter
are completely fulfilled.
Forsaking home, kindred, friends and position a handful of
men and women, fired with a zeal and confidence which no human
agency can kindle, arose to carry out the mandate which &Abdu'l-Baha
had issued. Sailing northward as far as Alaska, pushing on
to the West Indies, penetrating the South American continent to the
banks of the Amazon and across the Andes to the southernmost
ends of the Argentine Republic, pressing on westward into the


+P88
island of Tahiti and beyond it to the Australian continent and still
beyond it as far as New Zealand and Tasmania, these intrepid
heralds of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah have succeeded by their very
acts in setting to the present generation of their fellow-believers
throughout the East an example which they may well emulate.
Headed by their illustrious representative, who ever since the call
of &Abdu'l-Baha was raised has been twice round the world and
is still, with marvellous courage and fortitude, enriching the matchless
record of her services, these men and women have been instrumental
in extending, to a degree as yet unsurpassed in &Baha'i history,
the sway of &Baha'u'llah's universal dominion. In the face of
almost insurmountable obstacles they have succeeded in most of
the countries through which they have passed or in which they
have resided, in proclaiming the teachings of their Faith, in circulating
its literature, in defending its cause, in laying the basis of
its institutions and in reinforcing the number of its declared supporters.
It would be impossible for me to unfold in this short
compass the tale of such heroic actions. Nor can any tribute of
mine do justice to the spirit which has enabled these standard-bearers
of the Religion of God to win such laurels and to confer
such distinction on the generation to which they belong.
The Cause of &Baha'u'llah had by that time encircled the globe.
Its light, born in darkest Persia, had been carried successively to
the European, the African and the American continents, and was
now penetrating the heart of Australia, encompassing thereby the
whole earth with a girdle of shining glory. The share which such
worthy, such stout-hearted, disciples have had in brightening the
last days of &Abdu'l-Baha's earthly life He alone has truly recognized
and can sufficiently estimate. The unique and eternal significance
of such accomplishments the labors of the rising generation
will assuredly reveal, their memory its works will befittingly preserve
and extol. How deep a satisfaction &Abdu'l-Baha must have
felt, while conscious of the approaching hour of His departure, as
He witnessed the first fruits of the international services of these
heroes of His Father's Faith! To their keeping He had committed
a great and goodly heritage. In the twilight of His earthly life He
could rest content in the serene assurance that such able hands
could be relied upon to preserve its integrity and exalt its virtue.


+P89
The passing of &Abdu'l-Baha, so sudden in the circumstances
which caused it, so dramatic in its consequences, could neither impede
the operation of such a dynamic force nor obscure its purpose.
Those fervid appeals, embodied in the Will and Testament of a
departed Master, could not but confirm its aim, define its character
and reinforce the promise of its ultimate success.
Out of the pangs of anguish which His bereaved followers have
suffered, amid the heat and dust which the attacks launched by
a sleepless enemy had precipitated, the Administration of &Baha'u'llah's
invincible Faith was born. The potent energies released
through the ascension of the Center of His Covenant crystallized
into this supreme, this infallible Organ for the accomplishment of
a Divine Purpose. The Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha unveiled
its character, reaffirmed its basis, supplemented its principles,
asserted its indispensability, and enumerated its chief institutions.
With that self-same spontaneity which had characterized her response
to the Message proclaimed by &Baha'u'llah America had
now arisen to espouse the cause of the Administration which the
Will and Testament of His Son had unmistakably established. It
was given to her, and to her alone, in the turbulent years following
the revelation of so momentous a Document, to become the fearless
champion of that Administration, the pivot of its new-born institutions
and the leading promoter of its influence. To their Persian
brethren, who in the heroic age of the Faith had won the crown
of martyrdom, the American believers, forerunners of its golden
age, were now worthily succeeding, bearing in their turn the palm
of a hard-won victory. The unbroken record of their illustrious
deeds had established beyond the shadow of a doubt their preponderating
share in shaping the destinies of their Faith. In a world
writhing with pain and declining into chaos this community--
the vanguard of the liberating forces of &Baha'u'llah--succeeded in
the years following &Abdu'l-Baha's passing in raising high above
the institutions established by its sister communities in East and
West what may well constitute the chief pillar of that future House
--a House which posterity will regard as the last refuge of a tottering
civilization.
In the prosecution of their task neither the whisperings of the
treacherous nor the virulent attacks of their avowed enemies were


+P90
allowed to deflect them from their high purpose or to undermine
their faith in the sublimity of their calling. The agitation provoked
by him who in his incessant and sordid pursuit of earthly
riches would have, but for &Abdu'l-Baha's warning, sullied the
fair name of their Faith, had left them in the main undisturbed.
Schooled by tribulation and secure within the stronghold of their
fast evolving institutions they scorned his insinuations and by their
unswerving loyalty were able to shatter his hopes. They refused to
allow any consideration of the admitted prestige and past services
of his father and of his associates to weaken their determination
to ignore entirely the person whom &Abdu'l-Baha had so emphatically
condemned. The veiled attacks with which a handful of deluded
enthusiasts subsequently sought in the pages of their periodical
to check the growth and blight the prospects of an infant
Administration had likewise failed to achieve their purpose. The
attitude which a besotted woman later on assumed, her ludicrous
assertions, her boldness in flouting the Will of &Abdu'l-Baha and
in challenging its authenticity and her attempts to subvert its principles
were again powerless to produce the slightest breach in the
ranks of its valiant upholders. The treacherous schemes which the
ambition of a perfidious and still more recent enemy has devised
and through which he is still striving to deface &Abdu'l-Baha's noble
handiwork and corrupt its administrative principles are being once
more completely frustrated. These intermittent and abortive attempts
on the part of its assailants to force the surrender of the
newly built stronghold of the Faith its defenders have from the
very beginning utterly disdained. No matter how fierce the assaults
of the enemy or skillful his stratagem they have refused to yield
one jot or one tittle of their cherished convictions. His insinuations
and clamor they have consistently ignored. The motives which animated
his actions, the methods he steadily pursued, the precarious
privileges he seemed momentarily to enjoy they could not but
despise. Thriving for a time through the devices which their scheming
minds had conceived and supported by the ephemeral advantages
which fame, ability or fortune can confer these notorious exponents
of corruption and heresy have succeeded in protruding for a time
their ugly features only to sink, as rapidly as they had risen, into
the mire of an ignominious end.


+P91
From the midst of these afflictive trials, reminiscent in some of
their aspects of the violent storm that had accompanied the birth
of the Faith in their native land, the American believers had again
triumphantly emerged, their course undeflected, their fame unsullied,
their heritage unimpaired. A series of magnificent accomplishments,
each more significant than the previous, were to shed increasing
lustre on an already illustrious record. In the dark years immediately
following &Abdu'l-Baha's ascension their deeds shone with
a radiance that made them the object of the envy and the admiration
of the less privileged among their brethren. The entire community,
untrammeled and supremely confident, was rising to a great and
glorious opportunity. The forces that had motivated its birth, that
had assisted in its rise, were now accelerating its growth, in a
manner and with such rapidity that neither the pangs of a world-wide
sorrow nor the unceasing convulsions of a distracted age could
paralyze its efforts or retard its march.
Internally the community had embarked in a number of enterprises
that were to enable it on the one hand to extend still further
the scope of its spiritual jurisdiction and on the other to fashion
the essential instruments for the creation and consolidation of the
institutions which such an extension imperatively demanded. Externally
its undertakings were inspired by the twofold objective of
prosecuting, even more intensely than before, the admirable work
which in each of the five continents its international teachers had
initiated, and of assuming an increasing share in the handling and
solution of the delicate and complex problems with which a newly-emancipated
Faith was being confronted. The birth of the Administration
in that continent had signalized these praiseworthy exertions.
Its gradual consolidation was destined to insure their
continuance and to accentuate their effectiveness.
To enumerate only the most outstanding accomplishments which,
in their own country and beyond its confines, have so greatly enhanced
the prestige of the American believers and have redounded
to the glory and honor of the Most Great Name is all I can presently
undertake, leaving to future generations the task of explaining
their import and of affixing a fitting estimate to their value. To the
body of their elected representatives must be attributed the honor
of having been the first among their sister Assemblies of East and


+P92
West to devise, promulgate and legalize the essential instruments
for the effective discharge of their collective duties--instruments
which every properly constituted &Baha'i community must regard as
a pattern worthy to be adopted and copied. To their efforts must
likewise be ascribed the historic achievement of establishing their
national endowments upon a permanent and unassailable basis and
of creating the necessary agency for the formation of those subsidiary
organs whose function is to administer on behalf of their
trustees such possessions as these may acquire beyond the limits
of their immediate jurisdiction. By the weight of their moral support
so freely extended to their Egyptian brethren they were able
to remove some of the most formidable obstacles which the Faith
had to surmount in its struggle to enfranchise itself from the fetters
of Muslim orthodoxy. Through the effective and timely intervention
of these same elected representatives they were able to avert the
woes and dangers which had menaced their persecuted fellow-workers
in the Soviet Republics, and to ward off the rage which had
threatened with immediate ruin one of the most precious and noblest
of &Baha'i institutions. Nothing short of the whole-hearted assistance,
whether moral or financial which the American believers,
individually and collectively, were moved to extend on several occasions
to the needy and harassed among their brethren in Persia
could have saved these hapless victims of the consequences of the
calamities that had visited them in the years following &Abdu'l-Baha's
ascension. It was the publicity which the efforts of their
American brethren had created, the protests they were led to make,
the appeals and petitions they had submitted, which mitigated these
sufferings and curbed the violence of the worst and most tyrannical
opponents of the Faith in that land. Who else, if not one of their
most distinguished representatives, has risen to force upon the
attention of the highest Tribunal the world has yet seen the grievances
which a Faith, robbed of one of its holiest sanctuaries, had
suffered at the hand of the usurper? Who else has succeeded in
securing, through patient and persistent effort, those written affirmations
which proclaim the justice of a persecuted cause and tacitly
recognize its right to an independent religious status? "The Commission,"
is the resolution passed by the Permanent Mandates Commission
of the League of Nations, "recommends that the Council


+P93
should ask the British Government to make representations to the
&Iraqi Government with a view to the immediate redress of the
denial of justice from which the petitioners (the &Baha'i Spiritual
Assembly of &Baghdad) have suffered." Has any one else except
an American believer been led to obtain from royalty such remarkable
and repeated testimonies to the regenerating power of
the Faith of God, such striking references to the universality of
its teachings and the sublimity of its mission. "The &Baha'i teaching,"
such is the Queen's written testimony, "brings peace and understanding.
It is like a wide embrace gathering together all those
who have long searched for words of hope. It accepts all great
Prophets gone before, it destroys no other creeds and leaves all
doors open. Saddened by the continual strife amongst believers of
many confessions and wearied of their intolerance towards each
other, I discovered in the &Baha'i teaching the real spirit of Christ
so often denied and misunderstood: Unity instead of strife, Hope
instead of condemnation, Love instead of hate, and a great reassurance
for all men." Have not the American adherents of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah, through the courage displayed by one of the
most brilliant members of their community, been instrumental in
paving the way for the removal of those barriers which have, for
well-nigh a century, hampered the growth and crippled the energy
of their fellow-believers in Persia? Is it not America who, ever
mindful of &Abdu'l-Baha's passionate entreaty, has sent out to the
ends of the earth a steadily increasing number of its most consecrated
citizens--men and women the one wish of whose lives is to
consolidate the foundations of &Baha'u'llah's world-embracing dominion?
In the northernmost capitals of Europe, in most of its
central states, throughout the Balkan Peninsula, along the shores
of the African, the Asiatic and South American continents are to
be found this day a small band of women pioneers who, single-handed
and with scanty resources, are toiling for the advent of the
Day &Abdu'l-Baha has foretold. Did not the attitude of the Greatest
Holy Leaf, as she approached the close of her life, bear eloquent
testimony to the incomparable share which her steadfast and self-sacrificing
lovers in that continent have had in lightening the burden
which had weighed so long and so heavily on her heart? And
finally who can be so bold as to deny that the completion of the


+P94
superstructure of the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar--the crowning glory of
America's past and present achievements--has forged that mystic
chain which is to link, more firmly than ever, the hearts of its
champion-builders with Him Who is the Source and Center of their
Faith and the Object of their truest adoration?
Fellow-believers in the American continent! Great indeed have
been your past and present achievements! Immeasurably greater
are the wonders which the future has in store for you! The Edifice
your sacrifices have raised still remains to be clothed. The House
which must needs be supported by the highest administrative institution
your hands have reared, is as yet unbuilt. The provisions
of the chief Repository of those laws that must govern its operation
are thus far mostly undisclosed. The Standard which, if
&Abdu'l-Baha's wishes are to be fulfilled, must be raised in your
own country has yet to be unfurled. The Unity of which that standard
is to be the symbol is far from being yet established. The machinery
which must needs incarnate and preserve that unity is not
even created. Will it be America, will it be one of the countries of
Europe, who will arise to assume the leadership essential to the
shaping of the destinies of this troubled age? Will America allow
any of her sister communities in East or West to achieve such
ascendancy as shall deprive her of that spiritual primacy with
which she has been invested and which she has thus far so nobly
retained? Will she not rather contribute, by a still further revelation
of those inherent powers that motivate her life, to enhance
the priceless heritage which the love and wisdom of a departed
Master have conferred upon her?
Her past has been a testimony to the inexhaustible vitality of
her faith. May not her future confirm it?

Your true brother,
SHOGHI.

Haifa, Palestine,
April 21, 1933.


+P95
THE DISPENSATION OF &BAHA'U'LLAH


+P96

+P97
THE DISPENSATION
OF &BAHA'U'LLAH

To the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout
the West.

Fellow-laborers in the Divine Vineyard:

On the 23rd of May of this auspicious year the &Baha'i world
will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah. We, who at this hour find ourselves standing on the
threshold of the last decade of the first century of the &Baha'i era,
might well pause to reflect upon the mysterious dispensations of so
august, so momentous a Revelation. How vast, how entrancing the
panorama which the revolution of four score years and ten unrolls
before our eyes! Its towering grandeur well-nigh overwhelms us.
To merely contemplate this unique spectacle, to visualize, however
dimly, the circumstances attending the birth and gradual unfoldment
of this supreme Theophany, to recall even in their barest outline
the woeful struggles that proclaimed its rise and accelerated its
march, will suffice to convince every unbiased observer of those
eternal truths that motivate its life and which must continue to
impel it forward until it achieves its destined ascendancy.
Dominating the entire range of this fascinating spectacle towers
the incomparable figure of &Baha'u'llah, transcendental in His
majesty, serene, awe-inspiring, unapproachably glorious. Allied,
though subordinate in rank, and invested with the authority of
presiding with Him over the destinies of this supreme Dispensation,
there shines upon this mental picture the youthful glory of the &Bab,
infinite in His tenderness, irresistible in His charm, unsurpassed in
His heroism, matchless in the dramatic circumstances of His short
yet eventful life. And finally there emerges, though on a plane of
its own and in a category entirely apart from the one occupied by
the twin Figures that preceded Him, the vibrant, the magnetic personality
of &Abdu'l-Baha, reflecting to a degree that no man, however


+P98
exalted his station, can hope to rival, the glory and power with
which They who are the Manifestations of God are alone endowed.
With &Abdu'l-Baha's ascension, and more particularly with the
passing of His well-beloved and illustrious sister the Most Exalted
Leaf--the last survivor of a glorious and heroic age--there draws
to a close the first and most moving chapter of &Baha'i history, marking
the conclusion of the Primitive, the Apostolic Age of the Faith
of &Baha'u'llah. It was &Abdu'l-Baha Who, through the provisions
of His weighty Will and Testament, has forged the vital link which
must for ever connect the age that has just expired with the one
we now live in--the Transitional and Formative period of the
Faith--a stage that must in the fullness of time reach its blossom
and yield its fruit in the exploits and triumphs that are to herald
the Golden Age of the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah.
Dearly-beloved friends! The onrushing forces so miraculously
released through the agency of two independent and swiftly successive
Manifestations are now under our very eyes and through
the care of the chosen stewards of a far-flung Faith being gradually
mustered and disciplined. They are slowly crystallizing into institutions
that will come to be regarded as the hall-mark and glory of
the age we are called upon to establish and by our deeds immortalize.
For upon our present-day efforts, and above all upon the extent to
which we strive to remodel our lives after the pattern of sublime
heroism associated with those gone before us, must depend the
efficacy of the instruments we now fashion--instruments that must
erect the structure of that blissful Commonwealth which must
signalize the Golden Age of our Faith.
It is not my purpose, as I look back upon these crowded years
of heroic deeds, to attempt even a cursory review of the mighty
events that have transpired since 1844 until the present day. Nor
have I any intention to undertake an analysis of the forces that
have precipitated them, or to evaluate their influence upon peoples
and institutions in almost every continent of the globe. The authentic
record of the lives of the first believers of the primitive
period of our Faith, together with the assiduous research which
competent &Baha'i historians will in the future undertake, will combine
to transmit to posterity such masterly exposition of the history
of that age as my own efforts can never hope to accomplish. My
chief concern at this challenging period of &Baha'i history is rather
to call the attention of those who are destined to be the champion-builders
of the Administrative Order of &Baha'u'llah to certain fundamental


+P99
verities the elucidation of which must tremendously assist
them in the effective prosecution of their mighty enterprise.
The international status which the Religion of God has thus
far achieved, moreover, imperatively demands that its root principles
be now definitely clarified. The unprecedented impetus which the
illustrious deeds of the American believers have lent to the onward
march of the Faith; the intense interest which the first &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar
of the West is fast awakening among divers races and
nations; the rise and steady consolidation of &Baha'i institutions in
no less than forty of the most advanced countries of the world;
the dissemination of &Baha'i literature in no fewer than twenty-five
of the most widely-spoken languages; the success that has recently
attended the nation-wide efforts of the Persian believers in the preliminary
steps they have taken for the establishment, in the outskirts
of the capital-city of their native land, of the third &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar
of the &Baha'i world; the measures that are being taken for
the immediate formation of their first National Spiritual Assembly
representing the interests of the overwhelming majority of &Baha'i
adherents; the projected erection of yet another pillar of the Universal
House of Justice, the first of its kind, in the Southern
Hemisphere; the testimonies, both verbal and written, that a
struggling Faith has obtained from Royalty, from governmental
institutions, international tribunals, and ecclesiastical dignitaries;
the publicity it has received from the charges which unrelenting
enemies, both new and old, have hurled against it; the formal enfranchisement
of a section of its followers from the fetters of
Muslim orthodoxy in a country that may be regarded as the most
enlightened among Islamic nations--these afford ample proof of the
growing momentum with which the invincible community of the
Most Great Name is marching forward to ultimate victory.
Dearly-beloved friends! I feel it incumbent upon me, by virtue
of the obligations and responsibilities which as Guardian of the
Faith of &Baha'u'llah I am called upon to discharge, to lay special
stress, at a time when the light of publicity is being increasingly
focussed upon us, upon certain truths which lie at the basis of our
Faith and the integrity of which it is our first duty to safeguard.
These verities, if valiantly upheld and properly assimilated, will,
I am convinced, powerfully reinforce the vigor of our spiritual life


+P100
and greatly assist in counteracting the machinations of an implacable
and vigilant enemy.
To strive to obtain a more adequate understanding of the significance
of &Baha'u'llah's stupendous Revelation must, it is my
unalterable conviction, remain the first obligation and the object
of the constant endeavor of each one of its loyal adherents. An
exact and thorough comprehension of so vast a system, so sublime
a revelation, so sacred a trust, is for obvious reasons beyond the
reach and ken of our finite minds. We can, however, and it is our
bounden duty to seek to derive fresh inspiration and added sustenance
as we labor for the propagation of His Faith through a
clearer apprehension of the truths it enshrines and the principles
on which it is based.
In a communication addressed to the American believers I have
in the course of my explanation of the station of the &Bab made a
passing reference to the incomparable greatness of the Revelation
of which He considered Himself to be the humble Precursor. He
Whom &Baha'u'llah has acclaimed in the &Kitab-i-Iqan as that promised
&Qa'im Who has manifested no less than twenty-five out of the
twenty-seven letters which all the Prophets were destined to reveal--
so great a Revealer has Himself testified to the &preeminence of
that superior Revelation that was soon to supersede His own. "The
germ," the &Bab asserts in the Persian &Bayan, "that holds within
itself the potentialities of the Revelation that is to come is endowed
with a potency superior to the combined forces of all those who
follow me." "Of all the tributes," He again affirms, "I have paid to
Him Who is to come after Me, the greatest is this, My written confession,
that no words of Mine can adequately describe Him, nor
can any reference to Him in My Book, the &Bayan, do justice to His
Cause." "The &Bayan," He in that same Book categorically declares,
"and whosoever is therein revolve round the saying of `Him
Whom God shall make manifest,' even as the Alif (the Gospel) and
whosoever was therein revolved round the saying of &Muhammad,
the Apostle of God." "A thousand perusals of the &Bayan," He
further remarks, "cannot equal the perusal of a single verse to be
revealed by `Him Whom God shall make manifest.'... Today the
&Bayan is in the stage of seed; at the beginning of the manifestation
of `Him Whom God shall make manifest' its ultimate perfection
will become apparent.... The &Bayan and such as are believers
therein yearn more ardently after Him than the yearning of any
lover after his beloved.... The &Bayan deriveth all its glory from


+P101
`Him Whom God shall make manifest.' All blessing be upon him
who believeth in Him and woe betide him that rejecteth His truth."
Addressing Siyyid &Yahyay-i-Darabi surnamed &Vahid, the most
learned, the most eloquent and influential among His followers, the
&Bab utters this warning: "By the righteousness of Him Whose
power causeth the seed to germinate and Who breatheth the spirit
of life into all things, were I to be assured that in the day of His
manifestation thou wilt deny Him, I would unhesitatingly disown
thee and repudiate thy faith.... If, on the other hand, I be told
that a Christian, who beareth no allegiance to My Faith, will believe
in Him, the same will I regard as the apple of Mine Eye."
In one of His prayers He thus communes with &Baha'u'llah:
"Exalted art Thou, O my Lord the Omnipotent! How puny and
contemptible my word and all that pertaineth unto me appear unless
they be related to Thy great glory. Grant that through the assistance
of Thy grace whatsoever pertaineth unto me may be acceptable in
Thy sight."
In the &Qayyumu'l-Asma'--the &Bab's commentary on the &Surih
of Joseph--characterized by the Author of the &Iqan as "the first, the
greatest and mightiest" of the books revealed by the &Bab, we read
the following references to &Baha'u'llah: "Out of utter nothingness,
O great and omnipotent Master, Thou hast, through the celestial
potency of Thy might, brought me forth and raised me up to proclaim
this Revelation. I have made none other but Thee my trust;
I have clung to no will but Thy will... O Thou Remnant of God!
I have sacrificed myself wholly for Thee: I have accepted curses for
Thy sake, and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in the path
of Thy love. Sufficient witness unto me is God, the Exalted, the
Protector, the Ancient of Days." "And when the appointed hour
hath struck," He again addresses &Baha'u'llah in that same commentary,
"do Thou, by the leave of God, the All-Wise, reveal from the
heights of the Most Lofty and Mystic Mount a faint, an infinitesimal
glimmer of Thy impenetrable Mystery, that they who have recognized
the radiance of the Sinaic Splendor may faint away and die as
they catch a lightening glimpse of the fierce and crimson Light that
envelops Thy Revelation."
As a further testimony to the greatness of the Revelation identified
with &Baha'u'llah may be cited the following extracts from
a Tablet addressed by &Abdu'l-Baha to an eminent Zoroastrian follower
of the Faith: "Thou hadst written that in the sacred books of
the followers of Zoroaster it is written that in the latter days, in


+P102
three separate Dispensations, the sun must needs be brought to a
standstill. In the first Dispensation, it is predicted, the sun will remain
motionless for ten days; in the second for twice that time; in
the third for no less than one whole month. The interpretation of
this prophecy is this: the first Dispensation to which it refers is the
&Muhammadan Dispensation during which the Sun of Truth stood
still for ten days. Each day is reckoned as one century. The &Muhammadan
Dispensation must have, therefore, lasted no less than one
thousand years, which is precisely the period that has elapsed from
the setting of the Star of the Imamate to the advent of the Dispensation
proclaimed by the &Bab. The second Dispensation referred to
in this prophecy is the one inaugurated by the &Bab Himself, which
began in the year 1260 A.H. and was brought to a close in the year
1280 A.H. As to the third Dispensation--the Revelation proclaimed
by &Baha'u'llah--inasmuch as the Sun of Truth when attaining that
station shineth in the plenitude of its meridian splendor its duration
hath been fixed for a period of one whole month, which is the maximum
time taken by the sun to pass through a sign of the Zodiac.
From this thou canst imagine the magnitude of the &Baha'i cycle--
a cycle that must extend over a period of at least five hundred
thousand years."
From the text of this explicit and authoritative interpretation of
so ancient a prophecy it is evident how necessary it is for every
faithful follower of the Faith to accept the divine origin and uphold
the independent status of the &Muhammadan Dispensation. The
validity of the Imamate is, moreover, implicitly recognized in these
same passages--that divinely-appointed institution of whose most
distinguished member the &Bab Himself was a lineal descendant, and
which continued for a period of no less than two hundred and sixty
years to be the chosen recipient of the guidance of the Almighty and
the repository of one of the two most precious legacies of &Islam.
This same prophecy, we must furthermore recognize, attests the
independent character of the &Babi Dispensation and corroborates
indirectly the truth that in accordance with the principle of progressive
revelation every Manifestation of God must needs vouchsafe to
the peoples of His day a measure of divine guidance ampler than
any which a preceding and less receptive age could have received or
appreciated. For this reason, and not for any superior merit which
the &Baha'i Faith may be said to inherently possess, does this prophecy
bear witness to the unrivaled power and glory with which the Dispensation
of &Baha'u'llah has been invested--a Dispensation the


+P103
potentialities of which we are but beginning to perceive and the
full range of which we can never determine.
The Faith of &Baha'u'llah should indeed be regarded, if we wish
to be faithful to the tremendous implications of its message, as the
culmination of a cycle, the final stage in a series of successive, of
preliminary and progressive revelations. These, beginning with
Adam and ending with the &Bab, have paved the way and anticipated
with an ever-increasing emphasis the advent of that Day of Days
in which He Who is the Promise of All Ages should be made
manifest.
To this truth the utterances of &Baha'u'llah abundantly testify.
A mere reference to the claims which, in vehement language and
with compelling power, He Himself has repeatedly advanced cannot
but fully demonstrate the character of the Revelation of which He
was the chosen bearer. To the words that have streamed from His
pen--the fountainhead of so impetuous a Revelation--we should,
therefore, direct our attention if we wish to obtain a clearer understanding
of its importance and meaning. Whether in His assertion
of the unprecedented claim He has advanced, or in His allusions to
the mysterious forces He has released, whether in such passages as
extol the glories of His long-awaited Day, or magnify the station
which they who have recognized its hidden virtues will attain,
&Baha'u'llah and, to an almost equal extent, the &Bab and &Abdu'l-Baha,
have bequeathed to posterity mines of such inestimable wealth as
none of us who belong to this generation can befittingly estimate.
Such testimonies bearing on this theme are impregnated with such
power and reveal such beauty as only those who are versed in the
languages in which they were originally revealed can claim to have
sufficiently appreciated. So numerous are these testimonies that a
whole volume would be required to be written in order to compile
the most outstanding among them. All I can venture to attempt at
present is to share with you only such passages as I have been able
to glean from His voluminous writings.
"I testify before God," proclaims &Baha'u'llah, "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." "In this most mighty
Revelation," He unequivocally announces, "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


+P104
will future ages witness its like." "He it is," referring to Himself
He further proclaims, "Who in the Old Testament hath been named
Jehovah, Who in the Gospel hath been designated as the Spirit of
Truth, and in the &Qur'an acclaimed as the Great Announcement."
"But for Him no Divine Messenger would have been invested with
the robe of prophethood, nor would any of the sacred scriptures
have been revealed. To this bear witness all created things." "The
word which the one true God uttereth in this day, though that word
be the most familiar and commonplace of terms, is invested with
supreme, with unique distinction." "The generality of mankind is
still immature. Had it acquired sufficient capacity We would have
bestowed upon it so great a measure of Our knowledge that all who
dwell on earth and in heaven would have found themselves, by
virtue of the grace streaming from Our pen, completely independent
of all knowledge save the knowledge of God, and would have been
securely established upon the throne of abiding tranquillity." "The
Pen of Holiness, I solemnly affirm before God, hath writ upon My
snow-white brow and in characters of effulgent glory these glowing,
these musk-scented and holy words: `Behold ye that dwell on earth,
and ye denizens of heaven, bear witness, He in truth is your Well-Beloved.
He it is Whose like the world of creation hath not seen, He
Whose ravishing beauty hath delighted the eye of God, the Ordainer,
the All-Powerful, the Incomparable!'"
"Followers of the Gospel," &Baha'u'llah addressing the whole of
Christendom exclaims, "behold the gates of heaven are flung open.
He that had ascended unto it is now come. Give ear to His voice
calling aloud over land and sea, announcing to all mankind the
advent of this Revelation--a Revelation through the agency of
which the Tongue of Grandeur is now proclaiming: `Lo, the sacred
Pledge hath been fulfilled, for He, the Promised One, is come!'"
"The voice of the Son of Man is calling aloud from the sacred vale:
`Here am I, here am I, O God my God!' ... whilst from the Burning
Bush breaketh forth the cry: `Lo, the Desire of the world is made
manifest in His transcendent glory!' The Father hath come. That
which ye were promised in the Kingdom of God is fulfilled. This is
the Word which the Son veiled when He said to those around Him
that at that time they could not bear it... Verily the Spirit of
Truth is come to guide you unto all truth... He is the One Who
glorified the Son and exalted His Cause..." "The Comforter
Whose advent all the scriptures have promised is now come that He


+P105
may reveal unto you all knowledge and wisdom. Seek Him over the
entire surface of the earth, haply ye may find Him."
"Call out to Zion, O Carmel," writes &Baha'u'llah, "and announce
the joyful tidings: `He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come!
His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing
splendor is revealed... Hasten forth and circumambulate the City
of God that hath descended from heaven--the celestial Kaaba round
which have circled in adoration the favored of God, the pure in heart
and the company of the most exalted angels.'" "I am the One," He
in another connection affirms, "Whom the tongue of Isaiah hath
extolled, the One with Whose name both the Torah and the Evangel
were adorned." "The glory of Sinai hath hastened to circle round
the Day-Spring of this Revelation, while from the heights of the
Kingdom the voice of the Son of God is heard proclaiming: `Bestir
yourselves, ye proud ones of the earth, and hasten ye towards Him.'
Carmel hath in this day hastened in longing adoration to attain His
court, whilst from the heart of Zion there cometh the cry: `The
promise of all ages is now fulfilled. That which had been announced
in the holy writ of God, the Beloved, the Most High, is made manifest.'"
"&Hijaz is astir by the breeze announcing the tidings of
joyous reunion. `Praise be to Thee,' We hear her exclaim, `O my
Lord, the Most High. I was dead through my separation from Thee;
the breeze laden with the fragrance of Thy presence hath brought
me back to life. Happy is he that turneth unto Thee, and woe betide
the erring.'" "By the one true God, Elijah hath hastened unto My
court and hath circumambulated in the day-time and in the night-season
My throne of glory." "Solomon in all his majesty circles in
adoration around Me in this day, uttering this most exalted word:
`I have turned my face towards Thy face, O Thou omnipotent Ruler
of the world! I am wholly detached from all things pertaining unto
me, and yearn for that which Thou dost possess.'" "Had &Muhammad,
the Apostle of God, attained this Day," &Baha'u'llah writes in a
Tablet revealed on the eve of His banishment to the penal colony of
&Akka, "He would have exclaimed: `I have truly recognized Thee, O
Thou the Desire of the Divine Messengers!' Had Abraham attained
it, He too, falling prostrate upon the ground, and in the utmost lowliness
before the Lord thy God, would have cried: `Mine heart is filled
with peace, O Thou Lord of all that is in heaven and on earth! I
testify that Thou hast unveiled before mine eyes all the glory of
Thy power and the full majesty of Thy law!'... Had Moses
Himself attained it, He, likewise, would have raised His voice


+P106
saying: `All praise be to Thee for having lifted upon me the light
of Thy countenance and enrolled me among them that have been
privileged to behold Thy face!'" "North and South both vibrate
to the call announcing the advent of our Revelation. We can hear
the voice of Mecca acclaiming: `All praise be to Thee, O Lord my
God, the All-Glorious, for having wafted over me the breath redolent
with the fragrance of Thy presence!' Jerusalem, likewise, is calling
aloud: `Lauded and magnified art Thou, O Beloved of earth and
heaven, for having turned the agony of my separation from Thee
into the joy of a life-giving reunion!'"
"By the righteousness of God," &Baha'u'llah wishing to reveal
the full potency of His invincible power asserts, "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." "By God besides
Whom is none other God! Should any one arise for the triumph of
our Cause, him will God render victorious though tens of thousands
of enemies be leagued against him. And if his love for Me wax
stronger, God will establish his ascendancy over all the powers of
earth and heaven. Thus have We breathed the spirit of power into
all regions."
"This is the King of Days," He thus extols the age that has
witnessed the advent of His Revelation, "the Day that hath seen
the coming of the Best-beloved, Him Who through all eternity hath
been acclaimed the Desire of the World." "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." "Were mankind
to give heed in a befitting manner to no more than one word of
such a praise it would be so filled with delight as to be overpowered
and lost in wonder. Entranced, it would then shine forth resplendent
above the horizon of true understanding."
"Be fair, ye peoples of the world;" He thus appeals to mankind,
"is it meet and seemly for you to question the authority of one
Whose presence `He Who conversed with God' (Moses) hath longed
to attain, the beauty of Whose countenance `God's Well-beloved'
(&Muhammad) had yearned to behold, through the potency of Whose
love the `Spirit of God' (Jesus) ascended to heaven, for Whose sake


+P107
the `Primal Point' (the &Bab) offered up His life?" "Seize your
chance," He admonishes His followers, "inasmuch as a fleeting
moment in this Day excelleth centuries of a bygone age...
Neither sun nor moon hath witnessed a day such as this... It
is evident that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath
lived is divinely ordained and may, in a sense, be characterized as
God's appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique and is to be
distinguished from those that have preceded it. The designation
`Seal of the Prophets' fully reveals and demonstrates its high
station."
Expatiating on the forces latent in His Revelation &Baha'u'llah
reveals the following: "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 world-wide
regeneration." "This is," He adds, "the most great, the most
joyful tidings imparted by the pen of this wronged One to mankind."
"How great," He in another passage exclaims, "is the Cause!
How staggering the weight of its message! This is the Day of which
it hath been said: `O my son! verily God will bring everything to
light though it were but the weight of a grain of mustard seed, and
hidden in a rock, or in the heavens or in the earth; for God is
subtile, informed of all.'" "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
will assuredly reveal it in this day, pure and cleansed from
dross." "He that partaketh of the waters of My Revelation will
taste all the incorruptible delights ordained by God from the beginning
that hath no beginning to the end that hath no end." "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 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."


+P108
Estimating the station of the true believer He remarks: "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 such a believer." "If the veil be lifted,"
He similarly affirms, "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."
Stressing the superlative character of His Revelation as compared
with the Dispensation preceding it, &Baha'u'llah makes the following
affirmation: "If all the peoples of the world be invested with
the powers and attributes destined for the Letters of the Living,
the &Bab's chosen disciples, whose station is ten thousand times more
glorious than any which the apostles of old have attained, and if
they, one and all, should, swift as the twinkling of an eye, hesitate
to recognize the light of My Revelation, their faith shall be of no
avail and they shall be accounted among the infidels." "So tremendous
is the outpouring of Divine grace in this Dispensation that if
mortal hands could be swift enough to record them, within the
space of a single day and night there would stream verses of such
number as to be equivalent to the whole of the Persian &Bayan."
"Give heed to my warning, ye people of Persia," He thus addresses
His countrymen, "If I be slain at your hands, God will
assuredly raise up one who will fill the seat made vacant through
my death; for such is God's method carried into effect of old, and
no change can ye find in God's mode of dealing." "Should they
attempt to conceal His light on the continent, He will assuredly rear
His head in the midmost heart of the ocean and, raising His voice,
proclaim: `I am the lifegiver of the world!'... And if they cast
Him into a darksome pit, they will find Him seated on earth's
loftiest heights calling aloud to all mankind: `Lo, the Desire of the
world is come in His majesty, His sovereignty, His transcendent
dominion!' And if He be buried beneath the depths of the earth,
His Spirit soaring to the apex of heaven shall peal the summons:
`Behold ye the coming of the Glory; witness ye the Kingdom of
God, the most Holy, the Gracious, the All-Powerful!'" "Within the
throat of this Youth," is yet another astounding statement, "there lie


+P109
prisoned accents which, if revealed to mankind to an extent smaller
than a needle's eye, would suffice to cause every mountain to crumble,
the leaves of the trees to be discolored and their fruits to fall; would
compel every head to bow down in worship and every face to turn
in adoration towards this omnipotent Ruler Who, at sundry times
and in diverse manners, appeareth as a devouring flame, as a billowing
ocean, as a radiant light, as the tree which, rooted in the soil
of holiness, lifteth its branches and spreadeth out its limbs as far
as and beyond the throne of deathless glory."
Anticipating the System which the irresistible power of His
Law was destined to unfold in a later age, He writes: "The world's
equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this
most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath
been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous
System--the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed."
"The Hand of Omnipotence hath established His Revelation upon
an unassailable, an enduring foundation. Storms of human strife are
powerless to undermine its basis, nor will men's fanciful theories
succeed in damaging its structure."
In the &Suratu'l-Haykal, one of the most challenging works of
&Baha'u'llah, the following verses, each of which testifies to the resistless
power infused into the Revelation proclaimed by its Author,
have been recorded: "Naught is seen in My temple but the Temple
of God, and in My beauty but His Beauty, and in My being but
His Being, and in My self but His Self, and in My movement but
His Movement, and in My acquiescence but His Acquiescence, and
in My pen but His Pen, the Mighty, the All-Praised. There hath
not been in My soul but the Truth, and in Myself naught could be
seen but God." "The Holy Spirit Itself hath been generated through
the agency of a single letter revealed by this Most Great Spirit, if
ye be of them that comprehend."... "Within the treasury of Our
Wisdom there lies unrevealed a knowledge, one word of which, if
we chose to divulge it to mankind, would cause every human being
to recognize the Manifestation of God and to acknowledge His
omniscience, would enable every one to discover the secrets of all the
sciences, and to attain so high a station as to find himself wholly
independent of all past and future learning. Other knowledges We
do as well possess, not a single letter of which We can disclose, nor
do We find humanity able to hear even the barest reference to
their meaning. Thus have We informed you of the knowledge of
God, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise." "The day is approaching


+P110
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, ere long, 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!"
Such is, dearly-beloved friends, &Baha'u'llah's own written testimony
to the nature of His Revelation. To the affirmations of the
&Bab, each of which reinforces the strength, and confirms the truth,
of these remarkable statements, I have already referred. What
remains for me to consider in this connection are such passages in
the writings of &Abdu'l-Baha, the appointed Interpreter of these same
utterances, as throw further light upon and amplify various features
of this enthralling theme. The tone of His language is indeed as
emphatic and His tribute no less glowing than that of either
&Baha'u'llah or the &Bab.
"Centuries, nay ages, must pass away," He affirms in one of His
earliest Tablets, "ere the Day-Star of Truth shineth again in its
mid-summer splendor, or appeareth once more in the radiance of its
vernal glory... How thankful must we be for having been made
in this Day the recipients of so overwhelming a favor! Would that
we had ten thousand lives that we might lay them down in thanksgiving
for so rare a privilege, so high an attainment, so priceless
a bounty!" "The mere contemplation," He adds, "of the Dispensation
inaugurated by the Blessed Beauty would have sufficed to overwhelm
the saints of bygone ages--saints who longed to partake for
one moment of its great glory." "The holy ones of past ages and centuries
have, each and all, yearned with tearful eyes to live, though
for one moment, in the Day of God. Their longings unsatisfied,
they repaired to the Great Beyond. How great, therefore, is the
bounty of the &Abha Beauty Who, notwithstanding our utter
unworthiness, hath through His grace and mercy breathed into us
in this divinely-illumined century the spirit of life, hath gathered
us beneath the standard of the Beloved of the world, and chosen to
confer upon us a bounty for which the mighty ones of bygone ages
had craved in vain." "The souls of the well-favored among the concourse


+P111
on high," He likewise affirms, "the sacred dwellers of the
most exalted Paradise, are in this day filled with burning desire to
return unto this world, that they may render such service as lieth
in their power to the threshold of the &Abha Beauty."
"The effulgence of God's splendrous mercy," He, in a passage
alluding to the growth and future development of the Faith, declares,
"hath enveloped the peoples and kindreds of the earth, and
the whole world is bathed in its shining glory... The day will
soon come when the light of Divine unity will have so permeated
the East and the West that no man dare any longer ignore it." "Now
in the world of being the Hand of divine power hath firmly laid
the foundations of this all-highest bounty and this wondrous gift.
Whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this holy cycle shall gradually
appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning of
its growth and the dayspring of the revelation of its signs. Ere the
close of this century and of this age, it shall be made clear and
evident how wondrous was that springtide and how heavenly was
that gift!"
In confirmation of the exalted rank of the true believer, referred
to by &Baha'u'llah, He reveals the following: "The station which he
who hath truly recognized this Revelation will attain is the same
as the one ordained for such prophets of the house of Israel as are
not regarded as Manifestations `endowed with constancy.'"
In connection with the Manifestations destined to follow the
Revelation of &Baha'u'llah, &Abdu'l-Baha makes this definite and
weighty declaration: "Concerning the Manifestations that will come
down in the future `in the shadows of the clouds,' know verily that
in so far as their relation to the source of their inspiration is concerned
they are under the shadow of the Ancient Beauty. In their
relation, however, to the age in which they appear, each and every
one of them `doeth whatsoever He willeth.'"
"O my friend!" He thus addresses in one of His Tablets a man
of recognized authority and standing, "The undying Fire which the
Lord of the Kingdom hath kindled in the midst of the holy Tree
is burning fiercely in the midmost heart of the world. The conflagration
it will provoke will envelop the whole earth. Its blazing flames
will illuminate its peoples and kindreds. All the signs have been
revealed; every prophetic allusion hath been manifested. Whatever
hath been enshrined in all the Scriptures of the past hath been made
evident. To doubt or hesitate is no more possible... Time is
pressing. The Divine Charger is impatient, and can tarry no longer.


+P112
Ours is the duty to rush forward and, ere it is too late, win the
victory." And finally, is this most stirring passage which He, in one
of His moments of exultation, was moved to address to one of His
most trusted and eminent followers in the earliest days of His
ministry: "What more shall I say? What else can my pen recount?
So loud is the call that reverberates from the &Abha Kingdom that
mortal ears are well-nigh deafened with its vibrations. The whole
creation, methinks, is being disrupted and is bursting asunder
through the shattering influence of the Divine summons issued from
the throne of glory. More than this I cannot write."
Dearly-beloved friends! Enough has been said, and the quoted
excerpts from the writings of the &Bab, of &Baha'u'llah and of
&Abdu'l-Baha are sufficiently numerous and varied, to convince the
conscientious reader of the sublimity of this unique cycle in the
world's religious history. It would be utterly impossible to over-exaggerate
its significance or to overrate the influence it has exerted
and which it must increasingly exert as its great system unfolds
itself amidst the welter of a collapsing civilization.
To whoever may read these pages a word of warning seems,
however, advisable before I proceed further with the development
of my argument. Let no one meditating, in the light of the afore-quoted
passages, on the nature of the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah,
mistake its character or misconstrue the intent of its Author. The
divinity attributed to so great a Being and the complete incarnation
of the names and attributes of God in so exalted a Person should,
under no circumstances, be misconceived or misinterpreted. The
human temple that has been made the vehicle of so overpowering
a Revelation must, if we be faithful to the tenets of our Faith, ever
remain entirely distinguished from that "innermost Spirit of
Spirits" and "eternal Essence of Essences"--that invisible yet rational
God Who, however much we extol the divinity of His Manifestations
on earth, can in no wise incarnate His infinite, His
unknowable, His incorruptible and all-embracing Reality in the
concrete and limited frame of a mortal being. Indeed, the God Who
could so incarnate His own reality would, in the light of the teachings
of &Baha'u'llah, cease immediately to be God. So crude and
fantastic a theory of Divine incarnation is as removed from, and
incompatible with, the essentials of &Baha'i belief as are the no less
inadmissible pantheistic and anthropomorphic conceptions of God--


+P113
both of which the utterances of &Baha'u'llah emphatically repudiate
and the fallacy of which they expose.
He Who in unnumbered passages claimed His utterance to be
the "Voice of Divinity, the Call of God Himself" thus solemnly
affirms in the &Kitab-i-Iqan: "To every discerning and illumined
heart it is evident that God, the unknowable Essence, the Divine
Being, is immeasurably exalted beyond every human attribute such
as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress...
He is, and hath ever been, veiled in the ancient eternity of His
Essence, and will remain in His Reality everlastingly hidden from
the sight of men... He standeth exalted beyond and above all
separation and union, all proximity and remoteness... `God was
alone; there was none else beside Him' is a sure testimony of this
truth."
"From time immemorial," &Baha'u'llah, speaking of God, explains,
"He, the Divine Being, hath been veiled in the ineffable
sanctity of His exalted Self, and will everlasting continue to be
wrapt in the impenetrable mystery of His unknowable Essence...
Ten thousand Prophets, each a Moses, are thunderstruck upon the
Sinai of their search at God's forbidding voice, `Thou shalt never
behold Me!'; whilst a myriad Messengers, each as great as Jesus,
stand dismayed upon their heavenly thrones by the interdiction
`Mine Essence thou shalt never apprehend!'" "How bewildering to
me, insignificant as I am," &Baha'u'llah in His communion with
God affirms, "is the attempt to fathom the sacred depths of Thy
knowledge! How futile my efforts to visualize the magnitude of
the power inherent in Thine handiwork--the revelation of Thy
creative power!" "When I contemplate, O my God, the relationship
that bindeth me to Thee," He, in yet another prayer revealed in His
own handwriting, testifies, "I am moved to proclaim to all created
things `verily I am God!'; and when I consider my own self, lo,
I find it coarser than clay!"
"The door of the knowledge of the Ancient of Days," &Baha'u'llah
further states in the &Kitab-i-Iqan, "being thus closed in the
face of all beings, He, the Source of infinite grace ... hath caused
those luminous Gems of Holiness to appear out of the realm of the
spirit, in the noble form of the human temple, and be made manifest
unto all men, that they may impart unto the world the mysteries
of the unchangeable Being and tell of the subtleties of His imperishable
Essence... All the Prophets of God, His well-favored, His
holy and chosen Messengers are, without exception, the bearers of


+P114
His names and the embodiments of His attributes... These
Tabernacles of Holiness, these primal Mirrors which reflect the
Light of unfading glory, are but expressions of Him Who is the
Invisible of the Invisibles."
That &Baha'u'llah should, notwithstanding the overwhelming
intensity of His Revelation, be regarded as essentially one of these
Manifestations of God, never to be identified with that invisible
Reality, the Essence of Divinity itself, is one of the major beliefs
of our Faith--a belief which should never be obscured and the
integrity of which no one of its followers should allow to be
compromised.
Nor does the &Baha'i Revelation, claiming as it does to be the
culmination of a prophetic cycle and the fulfillment of the promise
of all ages, attempt, under any circumstances, to invalidate those
first and everlasting principles that animate and underlie the religions
that have preceded it. The God-given authority, vested in
each one of them, it admits and establishes as its firmest and ultimate
basis. It regards them in no other light except as different stages in
the eternal history and constant evolution of one religion, Divine
and indivisible, of which it itself forms but an integral part. It
neither seeks to obscure their Divine origin, nor to dwarf the
admitted magnitude of their colossal achievements. It can countenance
no attempt that seeks to distort their features or to stultify
the truths which they instill. Its teachings do not deviate a hairbreadth
from the verities they enshrine, nor does the weight of its
message detract one jot or one tittle from the influence they exert
or the loyalty they inspire. Far from aiming at the overthrow of
the spiritual foundation of the world's religious systems, its avowed,
its unalterable purpose is to widen their basis, to restate their
fundamentals, to reconcile their aims, to reinvigorate their life, to
demonstrate their oneness, to restore the pristine purity of their
teachings, to &coordinate their functions and to assist in the realization
of their highest aspirations. These divinely-revealed religions,
as a close observer has graphically expressed it, "are doomed not to
die, but to be reborn... `Does not the child succumb in the youth
and the youth in the man; yet neither child nor youth perishes?'"
"They Who are the Luminaries of Truth and the Mirrors reflecting
the light of Divine Unity," &Baha'u'llah explains in the &Kitab-i-Iqan,
"in whatever age and cycle they are sent down from their
invisible habitations of ancient glory unto this world to educate the
souls of men and endue with grace all created things, are invariably


+P115
endowed with an all-compelling power and invested with invincible
sovereignty... These sanctified Mirrors, these Day-Springs of
ancient glory are one and all the exponents on earth of Him Who
is the central Orb of the universe, its essence and ultimate purpose.
From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is
derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a
reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless
glory... Through them is transmitted a grace that is infinite,
and by them is revealed the light that can never fade... Human
tongue can never befittingly sing their praise, and human speech
can never unfold their mystery." "Inasmuch as these Birds of the
celestial Throne," He adds, "are all sent down from the heaven of
the Will of God, and as they all arise to proclaim His irresistible
Faith, they therefore are regarded as one soul and the same person...
They all abide in the same tabernacle, soar in the same
heaven, are seated upon the same throne, utter the same speech, and
proclaim the same Faith... They only differ in the intensity of
their revelation and the comparative potency of their light...
That a certain attribute of God hath not been outwardly manifested
by these Essences of Detachment doth in no wise imply that they
Who are the Day-Springs of God's attributes and the Treasuries
of His holy names did not actually possess it."
It should also be borne in mind that, great as is the power
manifested by this Revelation and however vast the range of the
Dispensation its Author has inaugurated, it emphatically repudiates
the claim to be regarded as the final revelation of God's will and
purpose for mankind. To hold such a conception of its character and
functions would be tantamount to a betrayal of its cause and a
denial of its truth. It must necessarily conflict with the fundamental
principle which constitutes the bedrock of &Baha'i belief, the principle
that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation
is orderly, continuous and progressive and not spasmodic or
final. Indeed, the categorical rejection by the followers of the Faith
of &Baha'u'llah of the claim to finality which any religious system
inaugurated by the Prophets of the past may advance is as clear
and emphatic as their own refusal to claim that same finality for
the Revelation with which they stand identified. "To believe that
all revelation is ended, that the portals of Divine mercy are closed,
that from the daysprings of eternal holiness no sun shall rise
again, that the ocean of everlasting bounty is forever stilled, and
that out of the tabernacle of ancient glory the Messengers of God


+P116
have ceased to be made manifest" must constitute in the eyes of
every follower of the Faith a grave, an inexcusable departure from
one of its most cherished and fundamental principles.
A reference to some of the already quoted utterances of
&Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha will surely suffice to establish, beyond
the shadow of a doubt, the truth of this cardinal principle. Might not
the following passage of the Hidden Words be, likewise, construed
as an allegorical allusion to the progressiveness of Divine Revelation
and an admission by its Author that the Message with which
He has been entrusted is not the final and ultimate expression of
the will and guidance of the Almighty? "O Son of Justice! In the
night-season the beauty of the immortal Being hath repaired from
the emerald height of fidelity unto the &Sadratu'l-Muntaha, and wept
with such a weeping that the concourse on high and the dwellers of
the realms above wailed at His lamenting. Whereupon there was
asked, Why the wailing and weeping? He made reply: As bidden I
waited expectant upon the hill of faithfulness, yet inhaled not from
them that dwell on earth the fragrance of fidelity. Then summoned
to return I beheld, and lo! certain doves of holiness were sore tried
within the claws of the dogs of earth. Thereupon the Maid of heaven
hastened forth unveiled and resplendent from Her mystic mansion,
and asked of their names, and all were told but one. And when
urged, the first letter thereof was uttered, whereupon the dwellers
of the celestial chambers rushed forth out of their habitation of
glory. And whilst the second letter was pronounced they fell down,
one and all, upon the dust. At that moment a voice was heard from
the inmost shrine: `Thus far and no farther.' Verily We bear witness
to that which they have done and now are doing."
In a more explicit language &Baha'u'llah testifies to this truth
in one of His Tablets revealed in Adrianople: "Know verily that
the veil hiding Our countenance hath not been completely lifted.
We have revealed Our Self to a degree corresponding to the capacity
of the people of Our age. Should the Ancient Beauty be unveiled
in the fullness of His glory mortal eyes would be blinded by the
dazzling intensity of His revelation."
In the &Suriy-i-Sabr, revealed as far back as the year 1863,
on the very first day of His arrival in the garden of &Ridvan, He thus
affirms: "God hath sent down His Messengers to succeed to Moses
and Jesus, and He will continue to do so till `the end that hath no
end'; so that His grace may, from the heaven of Divine bounty, be
continually vouchsafed to mankind."


+P117
"I am not apprehensive for My own self," &Baha'u'llah still more
explicitly declares, "My fears are for Him Who will be sent down
unto you after Me--Him Who will be invested with great sovereignty
and mighty dominion." And again He writes in the &Suratu'l-Haykal:
"By those words which I have revealed, Myself is not
intended, but rather He Who will come after Me. To it is witness
God, the All-Knowing." "Deal not with Him," He adds, "as ye have
dealt with Me."
In a more circumstantial passage the &Bab upholds the same truth
in His writings. "It is clear and evident," He writes in the Persian
&Bayan, "that the object of all preceding Dispensations hath been
to pave the way for the advent of &Muhammad, the Apostle of God.
These, including the &Muhammadan Dispensation, have had, in their
turn, as their objective the Revelation proclaimed by the &Qa'im.
The purpose underlying this Revelation, as well as those that preceded
it, has, in like manner, been to announce the advent of the
Faith of Him Whom God will make manifest. And this Faith--
the Faith of Him Whom God will make manifest--in its turn, together
with all the Revelations gone before it, have as their object
the Manifestation destined to succeed it. And the latter, no less than
all the Revelations preceding it, prepare the way for the Revelation
which is yet to follow. The process of the rise and setting of the Sun
of Truth will thus indefinitely continue--a process that hath had no
beginning and will have no end."
"Know of a certainty," &Baha'u'llah explains in this connection,
"that in every Dispensation the light of Divine Revelation hath been
vouchsafed to men in direct proportion to their spiritual capacity.
Consider the sun. How feeble its rays the moment it appeareth above
the horizon. How gradually its warmth and potency increase as it
approacheth its zenith, enabling meanwhile all created things to adapt
themselves to the growing intensity of its light. How steadily it
declineth until it reacheth its setting point. Were it all of a sudden
to manifest the energies latent within it, it would no doubt cause
injury to all created things... In like manner, if the Sun of
Truth were suddenly to reveal, at the earliest stages of its manifestation,
the full measure of the potencies which the providence of
the Almighty hath bestowed upon it, the earth of human understanding
would waste away and be consumed; for men's hearts
would neither sustain the intensity of its revelation, nor be able to
mirror forth the radiance of its light. Dismayed and overpowered,
they would cease to exist."


+P118
In the light of these clear and conclusive statements it is our
clear duty to make it indubitably evident to every seeker after truth
that from "the beginning that hath no beginning" the Prophets of
the one, the unknowable God, including &Baha'u'llah Himself, have
all, as the channels of God's grace, as the exponents of His unity,
as the mirrors of His light and the revealers of His purpose, been
commissioned to unfold to mankind an ever-increasing measure of
His truth, of His inscrutable will and Divine guidance, and will
continue to "the end that hath no end" to vouchsafe still fuller and
mightier revelations of His limitless power and glory.
We might well ponder in our hearts the following passages from
a prayer revealed by &Baha'u'llah which strikingly affirm, and are a
further evidence of, the reality of the great and essential truth lying
at the very core of His Message to mankind: "Praise be to Thee,
O Lord my God, for the wondrous revelations of Thine inscrutable
decree and the manifold woes and trials Thou hast destined for
myself. At one time Thou didst deliver me into the hands of
Nimrod; at another Thou hast allowed Pharaoh's rod to persecute
me. Thou alone canst estimate, through Thine all-encompassing
knowledge and the operation of Thy Will, the incalculable afflictions
I have suffered at their hands. Again Thou didst cast me into the
prison-cell of the ungodly for no reason except that I was moved to
whisper into the ears of the well-favored denizens of Thy kingdom
an intimation of the vision with which Thou hadst, through Thy
knowledge, inspired me and revealed to me its meaning through the
potency of Thy might. And again Thou didst decree that I be
beheaded by the sword of the infidel. Again I was crucified for
having unveiled to men's eyes the hidden gems of Thy glorious
unity, for having revealed to them the wondrous signs of Thy
sovereign and everlasting power. How bitter the humiliations heaped
upon me, in a subsequent age, on the plain of &Karbila! How lonely
did I feel amidst Thy people; to what state of helplessness I was
reduced in that land! Unsatisfied with such indignities, my persecutors
decapitated me and carrying aloft my head from land to land
paraded it before the gaze of the unbelieving multitude and deposited
it on the seats of the perverse and faithless. In a later age I was
suspended and my breast was made a target to the darts of the
malicious cruelty of my foes. My limbs were riddled with bullets
and my body was torn asunder. Finally, behold how in this day my
treacherous enemies have leagued themselves against me, and are
continually plotting to instill the venom of hate and malice into the


+P119
souls of Thy servants. With all their might they are scheming to
accomplish their purpose... Grievous as is my plight, O God, my
Well-beloved, I render thanks unto Thee, and my spirit is grateful
for whatsoever hath befallen me in the path of Thy good-pleasure.
I am well pleased with that which Thou didst ordain for me, and
welcome, however calamitous, the pains and sorrows I am made
to suffer."


+P120

+P121
THE &BAB

+P122

+P123
Dearly-beloved friends! That the &Bab, the inaugurator of the
&Babi Dispensation, is fully entitled to rank as one of the self-sufficient
Manifestations of God, that He has been invested with
sovereign power and authority, and exercises all the rights and
prerogatives of independent Prophethood, is yet another fundamental
verity which the Message of &Baha'u'llah insistently proclaims
and which its followers must uncompromisingly uphold.
That He is not to be regarded merely as an inspired Precursor of
the &Baha'i Revelation, that in His person, as He Himself bears
witness in the Persian &Bayan, the object of all the Prophets gone
before Him has been fulfilled, is a truth which I feel it my duty
to demonstrate and emphasize. We would assuredly be failing in
our duty to the Faith we profess and would be violating one of its
basic and sacred principles if in our words or by our conduct we
hesitate to recognize the implications of this root principle of &Baha'i
belief, or refuse to uphold unreservedly its integrity and demonstrate
its truth. Indeed the chief motive actuating me to undertake
the task of editing and translating &Nabil's immortal Narrative has
been to enable every follower of the Faith in the West to better
understand and more readily grasp the tremendous implications of
His exalted station and to more ardently admire and love Him.
There can be no doubt that the claim to the twofold station ordained
for the &Bab by the Almighty, a claim which He Himself has
so boldly advanced, which &Baha'u'llah has repeatedly affirmed, and to
which the Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha has finally given
the sanction of its testimony, constitutes the most distinctive feature
of the &Baha'i Dispensation. It is a further evidence of its uniqueness,
a tremendous accession to the strength, to the mysterious power
and authority with which this holy cycle has been invested. Indeed
the greatness of the &Bab consists primarily, not in His being the
divinely-appointed Forerunner of so transcendent a Revelation, but
rather in His having been invested with the powers inherent in the
inaugurator of a separate religious Dispensation, and in His wielding,
to a degree unrivaled by the Messengers gone before Him, the
scepter of independent Prophethood.
The short duration of His Dispensation, the restricted range
within which His laws and ordinances have been made to operate,


+P124
supply no criterion whatever wherewith to judge its Divine origin
and to evaluate the potency of its message. "That so brief a span,"
&Baha'u'llah Himself explains, "should have separated this most
mighty and wondrous Revelation from Mine own previous Manifestation,
is a secret that no man can unravel and a mystery such as
no mind can fathom. Its duration had been foreordained, and no
man shall ever discover its reason unless and until he be informed of
the contents of My Hidden Book." "Behold," &Baha'u'llah further
explains in the &Kitab-i-Badi', one of His works refuting the arguments
of the people of the &Bayan, "behold, how immediately upon
the completion of the ninth year of this wondrous, this most holy and
merciful Dispensation, the requisite number of pure, of wholly consecrated
and sanctified souls had been most secretly consummated."
The marvelous happenings that have heralded the advent of the
Founder of the &Babi Dispensation, the dramatic circumstances of
His own eventful life, the miraculous tragedy of His martyrdom,
the magic of His influence exerted on the most eminent and powerful
among His countrymen, to all of which every chapter of &Nabil's
stirring narrative testifies, should in themselves be regarded as
sufficient evidence of the validity of His claim to so exalted a station
among the Prophets.
However graphic the record which the eminent chronicler of
His life has transmitted to posterity, so luminous a narrative must
pale before the glowing tribute paid to the &Bab by the pen of
&Baha'u'llah. This tribute the &Bab Himself has, by the clear assertion
of His claim, abundantly supported, while the written testimonies
of &Abdu'l-Baha have powerfully reinforced its character
and elucidated its meaning.
Where else if not in the &Kitab-i-Iqan can the student of the
&Babi Dispensation seek to find those affirmations that unmistakably
attest the power and spirit which no man, except he be a Manifestation
of God, can manifest? "Could such a thing," exclaims
&Baha'u'llah, "be made manifest except through the power of a
Divine Revelation and the potency of God's invincible Will? By the
righteousness of God! Were any one to entertain so great a Revelation
in his heart the thought of such a declaration would alone
confound him! Were the hearts of all men to be crowded into his
heart, he would still hesitate to venture upon so awful an enterprise."
"No eye," He in another passage affirms, "hath beheld so great an
outpouring of bounty, nor hath any ear heard of such a Revelation
of loving-kindness... The Prophets `endowed with constancy,'


+P125
whose loftiness and glory shine as the sun, were each honored with
a Book which all have seen, and the verses of which have been duly
ascertained. Whereas the verses which have rained from this Cloud
of divine mercy have been so abundant that none hath yet been able
to estimate their number... How can they belittle this Revelation?
Hath any age witnessed such momentous happenings?"
Commenting on the character and influence of those heroes and
martyrs whom the spirit of the &Bab had so magically transformed
&Baha'u'llah reveals the following: "If these companions be not the
true strivers after God, who else could be called by this name?...
If these companions, with all their marvelous testimonies and wondrous
works, be false, who then is worthy to claim for himself the
truth?... Has the world since the days of Adam witnessed such
tumult, such violent commotion?... Methinks, patience was revealed
only by virtue of their fortitude, and faithfulness itself was
begotten only by their deeds."
Wishing to stress the sublimity of the &Bab's exalted station as
compared with that of the Prophets of the past, &Baha'u'llah in that
same epistle asserts: "No understanding can grasp the nature of His
Revelation, nor can any knowledge comprehend the full measure of
His Faith." He then quotes, in confirmation of His argument, these
prophetic words: "Knowledge is twenty and seven letters. All that
the Prophets have revealed are two letters thereof. No man thus far
hath known more than these two letters. But when the &Qa'im shall
arise, He will cause the remaining twenty and five letters to be made
manifest." "Behold," He adds, "how great and lofty is His station!
His rank excelleth that of all the Prophets and His Revelation
transcendeth the comprehension and understanding of all their
chosen ones." "Of His Revelation," He further adds, "the Prophets
of God, His saints and chosen ones, have either not been informed,
or, in pursuance of God's inscrutable decree, they have not disclosed."
Of all the tributes which &Baha'u'llah's unerring pen has chosen
to pay to the memory of the &Bab, His "Best-Beloved," the most
memorable and touching is this brief, yet eloquent passage which
so greatly enhances the value of the concluding passages of that
same epistle. "Amidst them all," He writes, referring to the afflictive
trials and dangers besetting Him in the city of &Baghdad, "We
stand life in hand wholly resigned to His Will, that perchance
through God's loving kindness and grace, this revealed and manifest
Letter (&Baha'u'llah) may lay down His life as a sacrifice in the
path of the Primal Point, the most exalted Word (the &Bab). By


+P126
Him, at Whose bidding the Spirit hath spoken, but for this yearning
of Our soul, We would not, for one moment, have tarried any longer
in this city."
Dearly-beloved friends! So resounding a praise, so bold an assertion
issued by the pen of &Baha'u'llah in so weighty a work, are
fully re-echoed in the language in which the Source of the &Babi
Revelation has chosen to clothe the claims He Himself has advanced.
"I am the Mystic Fane," the &Bab thus proclaims His station in the
&Qayyumu'l-Asma', "which the Hand of Omnipotence hath reared.
I am the Lamp which the Finger of God hath lit within its niche
and caused to shine with deathless splendor. I am the Flame of that
supernal Light that glowed upon Sinai in the gladsome Spot, and lay
concealed in the midst of the Burning Bush." "O &Qurratu'l-'Ayn!"
He, addressing Himself in that same commentary, exclaims, "I
recognize in Thee none other except the `Great Announcement'--the
Announcement voiced by the Concourse on high. By this name, I
bear witness, they that circle the Throne of Glory have ever known
Thee." "With each and every Prophet, Whom We have sent down
in the past," He further adds, "We have established a separate
Covenant concerning the `Remembrance of God' and His Day.
Manifest, in the realm of glory and through the power of truth,
are the `Remembrance of God' and His Day before the eyes of the
angels that circle His mercy-seat." "Should it be Our wish," He
again affirms, "it is in Our power to compel, through the agency of
but one letter of Our Revelation, the world and all that is therein
to recognize, in less than the twinkling of an eye, the truth of
Our Cause."
"I am the Primal Point," the &Bab thus addresses &Muhammad
&Shah from the prison-fortress of &Mah-Ku, "from which have been
generated all created things... I am the Countenance of God
Whose splendor can never be obscured, the light of God whose
radiance can never fade... All the keys of heaven God hath
chosen to place on My right hand, and all the keys of hell on My
left... I am one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of
God. Whosoever hath recognized Me, hath known all that is true
and right, and hath attained all that is good and seemly... The
substance wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay out of
which others have been formed. He hath conferred upon Me that
which the worldly-wise can never comprehend, nor the faithful
discover." "Should a tiny ant," the &Bab, wishing to stress the limitless
potentialities latent in His Dispensation, characteristically


+P127
affirms, "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," is &Abdu'l-Baha's comment on
so startling an affirmation, "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!"
To these authoritative assertions and solemn declarations made
by &Baha'u'llah and the &Bab must be added &Abdu'l-Baha's own incontrovertible
testimony. He, the appointed interpreter of the utterances
of both &Baha'u'llah and the &Bab, corroborates, not by implication
but in clear and categorical language, both in His Tablets and in
His Testament, the truth of the statements to which I have already
referred.
In a Tablet addressed to a &Baha'i in &Mazindaran, in which He
unfolds the meaning of a misinterpreted statement attributed to
Him regarding the rise of the Sun of Truth in this century, He
sets forth, briefly but conclusively, what should remain for all time
our true conception of the relationship between the two Manifestations
associated with the &Baha'i Dispensation. "In making such a
statement," He explains, "I had in mind no one else except the &Bab
and &Baha'u'llah, the character of whose Revelations it had been my
purpose to elucidate. The Revelation of the &Bab may be likened to
the sun, its station corresponding to the first sign of the Zodiac--
the sign Aries--which the sun enters at the Vernal Equinox. The
station of &Baha'u'llah's Revelation, on the other hand, is represented
by the sign Leo, the sun's mid-summer and highest station. By this
is meant that this holy Dispensation is illumined with the light of
the Sun of Truth shining from its most exalted station, and in the
plenitude of its resplendency, its heat and glory."
"The &Bab, the Exalted One," &Abdu'l-Baha more specifically
affirms in another Tablet, "is the Morn of Truth, the splendor of
Whose light shineth throughout all regions. He is also the Harbinger
of the Most Great Light, the &Abha Luminary. The Blessed Beauty
is the One promised by the sacred books of the past, the revelation
of the Source of light that shone upon Mount Sinai, Whose fire
glowed in the midst of the Burning Bush. We are, one and all,
servants of their threshold, and stand each as a lowly keeper at their
door." "Every proof and prophecy," is His still more emphatic
warning, "every manner of evidence, whether based on reason or


+P128
on the text of the scriptures and traditions, are to be regarded as
centered in the persons of &Baha'u'llah and the &Bab. In them is to be
found their complete fulfillment."
And finally, in His Will and Testament, the repository of His
last wishes and parting instructions, He in the following passage,
specifically designed to set forth the guiding principles of &Baha'i
belief, sets the seal of His testimony on the &Bab's dual and exalted
station: "The foundation of the belief of the people of &Baha (may
my life be offered up for them) is this: His holiness the exalted
One (the &Bab) is the Manifestation of the unity and oneness of God
and the Forerunner of the Ancient Beauty (&Baha'u'llah). His holiness,
the &Abha Beauty (&Baha'u'llah) (may my life be offered up as
a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme Manifestation
of God and the Day-Spring of His most divine Essence." "All
others," He significantly adds, "are servants unto Him and do His
bidding."


+P129
&ABDU'L-BAHA


+P130

+P131
Dearly-beloved friends! I have in the foregoing pages ventured
to attempt an exposition of such truths as I firmly believe are
implicit in the claim of Him Who is the Fountain-Head of the
&Baha'i Revelation. I have moreover endeavored to dissipate such
misapprehensions as may naturally arise in the mind of any one
contemplating so superhuman a manifestation of the glory of God.
I have striven to explain the meaning of the divinity with which
He Who is the vehicle of so mysterious an energy must needs be
invested. That the Message which so great a Being has, in this age,
been commissioned by God to deliver to mankind recognizes the
divine origin and upholds the first principles of every Dispensation
inaugurated by the prophets of the past, and stands inextricably
interwoven with each one of them, I have also to the best of my
ability undertaken to demonstrate. That the Author of such a Faith,
Who repudiates the claim to finality which leaders of various denominations
uphold has, despite the vastness of His Revelation,
disclaimed it for Himself I have, likewise, felt it necessary to prove
and emphasize. That the &Bab, notwithstanding the duration of His
Dispensation, should be regarded primarily, not as the chosen
Precursor of the &Baha'i Faith, but as One invested with the undivided
authority assumed by each of the independent Prophets of
the past, seemed to me yet another basic principle the elucidation
of which would be extremely desirable at the present stage of the
evolution of our Cause.
An attempt I strongly feel should now be made to clarify our
minds regarding the station occupied by &Abdu'l-Baha and the significance
of His position in this holy Dispensation. It would be indeed
difficult for us, who stand so close to such a tremendous figure and
are drawn by the mysterious power of so magnetic a personality,
to obtain a clear and exact understanding of the &role and character
of One Who, not only in the Dispensation of &Baha'u'llah but in
the entire field of religious history, fulfills a unique function. Though
moving in a sphere of His own and holding a rank radically different
from that of the Author and the Forerunner of the &Baha'i Revelation,
He, by virtue of the station ordained for Him through the
Covenant of &Baha'u'llah, forms together with them what may be
termed the Three Central Figures of a Faith that stands unapproached


+P132
in the world's spiritual history. He towers, in conjunction
with them, above the destinies of this infant Faith of God from
a level to which no individual or body ministering to its needs after
Him, and for no less a period than a full thousand years, can ever
hope to rise. To degrade His lofty rank by identifying His station
with or by regarding it as roughly equivalent to, the position of
those on whom the mantle of His authority has fallen would be an
act of impiety as grave as the no less heretical belief that inclines
to exalt Him to a state of absolute equality with either the central
Figure or Forerunner of our Faith. For wide as is the gulf that
separates &Abdu'l-Baha from Him Who is the Source of an independent
Revelation, it can never be regarded as commensurate with
the greater distance that stands between Him Who is the Center
of the Covenant and His ministers who are to carry on His work,
whatever be their name, their rank, their functions or their future
achievements. Let those who have known &Abdu'l-Baha, who
through their contact with His magnetic personality have come to
cherish for Him so fervent an admiration, reflect, in the light of
this statement, on the greatness of One Who is so far above Him
in station.
That &Abdu'l-Baha is not a Manifestation of God, that, though
the successor of His Father, He does not occupy a cognate station,
that no one else except the &Bab and &Baha'u'llah can ever lay claim
to such a station before the expiration of a full thousand years--
are verities which lie embedded in the specific utterances of both
the Founder of our Faith and the Interpreter of His teachings.
"Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation direct from God," is the
express warning uttered in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, "ere the expiration of
a full thousand years, such a man is assuredly a lying imposter. We
pray God that He may graciously assist him to retract and repudiate
such claim. Should he repent, God will no doubt forgive him. If,
however, he persists in his error, God will assuredly send down one
who will deal mercilessly with him. Terrible indeed is God in punishing!"
"Whosoever," He adds as a further emphasis, "interpreteth
this verse otherwise than its obvious meaning is deprived of the
Spirit of God and of His mercy which encompasseth all created
things." "Should a man appear," is yet another conclusive statement,
"ere the lapse of a full thousand years--each year consisting of
twelve months according to the &Qur'an, and of nineteen months of
nineteen days each, according to the &Bayan--and if such a man
reveal to your eyes all the signs of God, unhesitatingly reject him!"


+P133
&Abdu'l-Baha's own statements, in confirmation of this warning,
are no less emphatic and binding: "This is," He declares, "my firm,
my unshakable conviction, the essence of my unconcealed and explicit
belief--a conviction and belief which the denizens of the &Abha
Kingdom fully share: The Blessed Beauty is the Sun of Truth, and
His light the light of truth. The &Bab is likewise the Sun of Truth,
and His light the light of truth... My station is the station of
servitude--a servitude which is complete, pure and real, firmly
established, enduring, obvious, explicitly revealed and subject to no
interpretation whatever... I am the Interpreter of the Word of
God; such is my interpretation."
Does not &Abdu'l-Baha in His own Will--in a tone and language
that might well confound the most inveterate among the breakers
of His Father's Covenant--rob of their chief weapon those who so
long and so persistently had striven to impute to Him the charge
of having tacitly claimed a station equal, if not superior, to that of
&Baha'u'llah? "The foundation of the belief of the people of &Baha
is this," thus proclaims one of the weightiest passages of that last
document left to voice in perpetuity the directions and wishes of a
departed Master, "His Holiness the Exalted One (the &Bab) is the
Manifestation of the unity and oneness of God and the Forerunner
of the Ancient Beauty. His Holiness the &Abha Beauty (&Baha'u'llah)
(may my life be a sacrifice for His steadfast friends) is the supreme
Manifestation of God and the Day-Spring of His most divine Essence.
All others are servants unto Him and do His bidding."
From such clear and formally laid down statements, incompatible
as they are with any assertion of a claim to Prophethood, we should
not by any means infer that &Abdu'l-Baha is merely one of the
servants of the Blessed Beauty, or at best one whose function is to
be confined to that of an authorized interpreter of His Father's
teachings. Far be it from me to entertain such a notion or to wish to
instill such sentiments. To regard Him in such a light is a manifest
betrayal of the priceless heritage bequeathed by &Baha'u'llah to mankind.
Immeasurably exalted is the station conferred upon Him by
the Supreme Pen above and beyond the implications of these, His
own written statements. Whether in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, the most
weighty and sacred of all the works of &Baha'u'llah, or in the
&Kitab-i-'Ahd, the Book of His Covenant, or in the &Suriy-i-Ghusn
(Tablet of the Branch), such references as have been recorded by
the pen of &Baha'u'llah--references which the Tablets of His Father
addressed to Him mightily reinforce--invest &Abdu'l-Baha with a


+P134
power, and surround Him with a halo, which the present generation
can never adequately appreciate.
He is, and should for all time be regarded, first and foremost,
as the Center and Pivot of &Baha'u'llah's peerless and all-enfolding
Covenant, His most exalted handiwork, the stainless Mirror of His
light, the perfect Exemplar of His teachings, the unerring Interpreter
of His Word, the embodiment of every &Baha'i ideal, the
incarnation of every &Baha'i virtue, the Most Mighty Branch sprung
from the Ancient Root, the Limb of the Law of God, the Being
"round Whom all names revolve," the Mainspring of the Oneness
of Humanity, the Ensign of the Most Great Peace, the Moon of
the Central Orb of this most holy Dispensation--styles and titles
that are implicit and find their truest, their highest and fairest
expression in the magic name &Abdu'l-Baha. He is, above and beyond
these appellations, the "Mystery of God"--an expression by which
&Baha'u'llah Himself has chosen to designate Him, and which, while
it does not by any means justify us to assign to Him the station
of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of &Abdu'l-Baha the
incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman
knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely
harmonized.
"When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of
My Revelation is ended," proclaims the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, "turn your
faces towards Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched
from this Ancient Root." And again, "When the Mystic Dove will
have winged its flight from its Sanctuary of Praise and sought its
far-off goal, its hidden habitation, refer ye whatsoever ye understand
not in the Book to Him Who hath branched from this mighty
Stock."
In the &Kitab-i-'Ahd, moreover, &Baha'u'llah solemnly and explicitly
declares: "It is incumbent upon the &Aghsan, the &Afnan and
My kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most
Mighty Branch. Consider that which We have revealed in Our Most
Holy Book: `When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the
Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him
Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient
Root.' The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most
Mighty Branch (&Abdu'l-Baha). Thus have We graciously revealed
unto you our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful."
In the &Suriy-i-Ghusn (Tablet of the Branch) the following


+P135
verses have been recorded: "There hath branched from the &Sadratu'l-Muntaha
this sacred and glorious Being, this Branch of Holiness;
well is it with him that hath sought His shelter and abideth beneath
His shadow. Verily the Limb of the Law of God hath sprung forth
from this Root which God hath firmly implanted in the Ground of
His Will, and Whose Branch hath been so uplifted as to encompass
the whole of creation. Magnified be He, therefore, for this sublime,
this blessed, this mighty, this exalted Handiwork!... A Word
hath, as a token of Our grace, gone forth from the Most Great
Tablet--a Word which God hath adorned with the ornament of
His own Self, and made it sovereign over the earth and all that is
therein, and a sign of His greatness and power among its people
...Render thanks unto God, O people, for His appearance; for
verily He is the most great Favor unto you, the most perfect bounty
upon you; and through Him every mouldering bone is quickened.
Whoso turneth towards Him hath turned towards God, and whoso
turneth away from Him hath turned away from My beauty, hath
repudiated My Proof, and transgressed against Me. He is the Trust
of God amongst you, His charge within you, His manifestation unto
you and His appearance among His favored servants... We have
sent Him down in the form of a human temple. Blest and sanctified
be God Who createth whatsoever He willeth through His inviolable,
His infallible decree. They who deprive themselves of the shadow
of the Branch, are lost in the wilderness of error, are consumed
by the heat of worldly desires, and are of those who will assuredly
perish."
"O Thou Who art the apple of Mine eye!" &Baha'u'llah, in His
own handwriting, thus addresses &Abdu'l-Baha, "My glory, the
ocean of My loving-kindness, the sun of My bounty, the heaven of
My mercy rest upon Thee. We pray God to illumine the world
through Thy knowledge and wisdom, to ordain for Thee that which
will gladden Thine heart and impart consolation to Thine eyes."
"The glory of God rest upon Thee," He writes in another Tablet,
"and upon whosoever serveth Thee and circleth around Thee. Woe,
great woe, betide him that opposeth and injureth Thee. Well is it
with him that sweareth fealty to Thee; the fire of hell torment him
who is Thine enemy." "We have made Thee a shelter for all mankind,"
He, in yet another Tablet, affirms, "a shield unto all who
are in heaven and on earth, a stronghold for whosoever hath believed
in God, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing. God grant that through
Thee He may protect them, may enrich and sustain them, that He


+P136
may inspire Thee with that which shall be a wellspring of wealth
unto all created things, an ocean of bounty unto all men, and the
dayspring of mercy unto all peoples."
"Thou knowest, O my God," &Baha'u'llah, in a prayer revealed
in &Abdu'l-Baha's honor, supplicates, "that I desire for Him naught
except that which Thou didst desire, and have chosen Him for no
purpose save that which Thou hadst intended for Him. Render Him
victorious, therefore, through Thy hosts of earth and heaven...
Ordain, I beseech Thee, by the ardor of My love for Thee and My
yearning to manifest Thy Cause, for Him, as well as for them that
love Him, that which Thou hast destined for Thy Messengers and
the Trustees of Thy Revelation. Verily, Thou art the Almighty, the
All-Powerful."
In a letter dictated by &Baha'u'llah and addressed by &Mirza &Aqa
&Jan, His amanuensis, to &Abdu'l-Baha while the latter was on a visit
to Beirut, we read the following: "Praise be to Him Who hath honored
the Land of &Ba (Beirut) through the presence of Him round
Whom all names revolve. All the atoms of the earth have announced
unto all created things that from behind the gate of the Prison-city
there hath appeared and above its horizon there hath shone forth
the Orb of the beauty of the great, the Most Mighty Branch of God
--His ancient and immutable Mystery--proceeding on its way to
another land. Sorrow, thereby, hath enveloped this Prison-city,
whilst another land rejoiceth... Blessed, doubly blessed, is the
ground which His footsteps have trodden, the eye that hath been
cheered by the beauty of His countenance, the ear that hath been
honored by hearkening to His call, the heart that hath tasted the
sweetness of His love, the breast that hath dilated through His
remembrance, the pen that hath voiced His praise, the scroll that
hath borne the testimony of His writings."
&Abdu'l-Baha, writing in confirmation of the authority conferred
upon Him by &Baha'u'llah, makes the following statement: "In
accordance with the explicit text of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas &Baha'u'llah
hath made the Center of the Covenant the Interpreter of His Word--
a Covenant so firm and mighty that from the beginning of time until
the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like."
Exalted as is the rank of &Abdu'l-Baha, and however profuse
the praises with which in these sacred Books and Tablets &Baha'u'llah
has glorified His son, so unique a distinction must never be construed
as conferring upon its recipient a station identical with, or
equivalent to, that of His Father, the Manifestation Himself. To


+P137
give such an interpretation to any of these quoted passages would
at once, and for obvious reasons, bring it into conflict with the no
less clear and authentic assertions and warnings to which I have
already referred. Indeed, as I have already stated, those who overestimate
&Abdu'l-Baha's station are just as reprehensible and have
done just as much harm as those who underestimate it. And this
for no other reason except that by insisting upon an altogether
unwarranted inference from &Baha'u'llah's writings they are inadvertently
justifying and continuously furnishing the enemy with proofs
for his false accusations and misleading statements.
I feel it necessary, therefore, to state without any equivocation
or hesitation that neither in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas nor in the Book of
&Baha'u'llah's Covenant, nor even in the Tablet of the Branch, nor
in any other Tablet, whether revealed by &Baha'u'llah or &Abdu'l-Baha,
is there any authority whatever for the opinion that inclines
to uphold the so-called "mystic unity" of &Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha,
or to establish the identity of the latter with His Father or
with any preceding Manifestation. This erroneous conception may,
in part, be ascribed to an altogether extravagant interpretation of
certain terms and passages in the Tablet of the Branch, to the
introduction into its English translation of certain words that are
either non-existent, misleading, or ambiguous in their connotation.
It is, no doubt, chiefly based upon an altogether unjustified inference
from the opening passages of a Tablet of &Baha'u'llah, extracts of
which, as reproduced in the &Baha'i Scriptures, immediately precede,
but form no part of, the said Tablet of the Branch. It should
be made clear to every one reading those extracts that by the phrase
"the Tongue of the Ancient" no one else is meant but God, and that
the term "the Greatest Name" is an obvious reference to &Baha'u'llah,
and that "the Covenant" referred to is not the specific Covenant of
which &Baha'u'llah is the immediate Author and &Abdu'l-Baha the
Center but that general Covenant which, as inculcated by the &Baha'i
teaching, God Himself invariably establishes with mankind when
He inaugurates a new Dispensation. "The Tongue" that "gives,"
as stated in those extracts, the "glad-tidings" is none other than the
Voice of God referring to &Baha'u'llah, and not &Baha'u'llah referring
to &Abdu'l-Baha.
Moreover, to maintain that the assertion "He is Myself," instead
of denoting the mystic unity of God and His Manifestations, as
explained in the &Kitab-i-Iqan, establishes the identity of &Baha'u'llah
with &Abdu'l-Baha, would constitute a direct violation of the oft-repeated


+P138
principle of the oneness of God's Manifestations--a principle
which the Author of these same extracts is seeking by implication
to emphasize.
It would also amount to a reversion to those irrational and superstitious
beliefs which have insensibly crept, in the first century of
the Christian era, into the teachings of Jesus Christ, and by crystallizing
into accepted dogmas have impaired the effectiveness and
obscured the purpose of the Christian Faith.
"I affirm," is &Abdu'l-Baha's own written comment on the
Tablet of the Branch, "that the true meaning, the real significance,
the innermost secret of these verses, of these very words, is my own
servitude to the sacred Threshold of the &Abha Beauty, my complete
self-effacement, my utter nothingness before Him. This is my
resplendent crown, my most precious adorning. On this I pride
myself in the kingdom of earth and heaven. Therein I glory among
the company of the well-favored!" "No one is permitted," He warns
us in the passage which immediately follows, "to give these verses
any other interpretation." "I am," He, in this same connection,
affirms, "according to the explicit texts of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas and
the &Kitab-i-'Ahd the manifest Interpreter of the Word of God...
Whoso deviates from my interpretation is a victim of his own
fancy."
Furthermore, the inescapable inference from the belief in the
identity of the Author of our Faith with Him Who is the Center
of His Covenant would be to place &Abdu'l-Baha in a position superior
to that of the &Bab, the reverse of which is the fundamental,
though not as yet universally recognized, principle of this Revelation.
It would also justify the charge with which, all throughout
&Abdu'l-Baha's ministry, the Covenant-Breakers have striven to
poison the minds and pervert the understanding of &Baha'u'llah's
loyal followers.
It would be more correct, and in consonance with the established
principles of &Baha'u'llah and the &Bab, if instead of maintaining this
fictitious identity with reference to &Abdu'l-Baha, we regard the
Forerunner and the Founder of our Faith as identical in reality--
a truth which the text of the &Suratu'l-Haykal unmistakably affirms.
"Had the Primal Point (the &Bab) been someone else beside Me as
ye claim," is &Baha'u'llah's explicit statement, "and had attained My
presence, verily He would have never allowed Himself to be separated
from Me, but rather We would have had mutual delights with
each other in My Days." "He Who now voiceth the Word of God,"


+P139
&Baha'u'llah again affirms, "is none other except the Primal Point
Who hath once again been made manifest." "He is," He thus refers
to Himself in a Tablet addressed to one of the Letters of the Living,
"the same as the One Who appeared in the year sixty (1260 A.H.).
This verily is one of His mighty signs." "Who," He pleads in the
&Suriy-i-Damm, "will arise to secure the triumph of the Primal
Beauty (the &Bab) revealed in the countenance of His succeeding
Manifestation?" Referring to the Revelation proclaimed by the &Bab
He conversely characterizes it as "My own previous Manifestation."
That &Abdu'l-Baha is not a Manifestation of God, that He gets
His light, His inspiration and sustenance direct from the Fountain-head
of the &Baha'i Revelation; that He reflects even as a clear and
perfect Mirror the rays of &Baha'u'llah's glory, and does not inherently
possess that indefinable yet all-pervading reality the exclusive
possession of which is the hallmark of Prophethood; that His words
are not equal in rank, though they possess an equal validity with the
utterances of &Baha'u'llah; that He is not to be acclaimed as the
return of Jesus Christ, the Son Who will come "in the glory of the
Father"--these truths find added justification, and are further reinforced,
by the following statement of &Abdu'l-Baha, addressed to
some believers in America, with which I may well conclude this
section: "You have written that there is a difference among the
believers concerning the `Second Coming of Christ.' Gracious God!
Time and again this question hath arisen, and its answer hath
emanated in a clear and irrefutable statement from the pen of
&Abdu'l-Baha, that what is meant in the prophecies by the `Lord
of Hosts' and the `Promised Christ' is the Blessed Perfection
(&Baha'u'llah) and His holiness the Exalted One (the &Bab). My
name is &Abdu'l-Baha. My qualification is &Abdu'l-Baha. My reality
is &Abdu'l-Baha. My praise is &Abdu'l-Baha. Thraldom to the Blessed
Perfection is my glorious and refulgent diadem, and servitude to all
the human race my perpetual religion... No name, no title, no
mention, no commendation have I, nor will ever have, except
&Abdu'l-Baha. This is my longing. This is my greatest yearning.
This is my eternal life. This is my everlasting glory."


+P140

+P141
THE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER


+P142

+P143
Dearly-beloved brethren in &Abdu'l-Baha! With the ascension
of &Baha'u'llah the Day-Star of Divine guidance which, as foretold
by &Shaykh &Ahmad and Siyyid &Kazim, had risen in &Shiraz, and,
while pursuing its westward course, had mounted its zenith in
Adrianople, had finally sunk below the horizon of &Akka, never to
rise again ere the complete revolution of one thousand years. The
setting of so effulgent an Orb brought to a definite termination the
period of Divine Revelation--the initial and most vitalizing stage
in the &Baha'i era. Inaugurated by the &Bab, culminating in
&Baha'u'llah, anticipated and extolled by the entire company of the
Prophets of this great prophetic cycle, this period has, except for
the short interval between the &Bab's martyrdom and &Baha'u'llah's
shaking experiences in the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran, been characterized
by almost fifty years of continuous and progressive Revelation--a
period which by its duration and fecundity must be regarded as
unparalleled in the entire field of the world's spiritual history.
The passing of &Abdu'l-Baha, on the other hand, marks the
closing of the Heroic and Apostolic Age of this same Dispensation
--that primitive period of our Faith the splendors of which can
never be rivaled, much less be eclipsed, by the magnificence that
must needs distinguish the future victories of &Baha'u'llah's Revelation.
For neither the achievements of the champion-builders of the
present-day institutions of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, nor the tumultuous
triumphs which the heroes of its Golden Age will in the
coming days succeed in winning, can measure with, or be included
within the same category as, the wondrous works associated with
the names of those who have generated its very life and laid its
pristine foundations. That first and creative age of the &Baha'i era
must, by its very nature, stand above and apart from the formative
period into which we have entered and the golden age destined to
succeed it.
&Abdu'l-Baha, Who incarnates an institution for which we can
find no parallel whatsoever in any of the world's recognized religious
systems, may be said to have closed the Age to which He Himself
belonged and opened the one in which we are now laboring. His
Will and Testament should thus be regarded as the perpetual, the
indissoluble link which the mind of Him Who is the Mystery of


+P144
God has conceived in order to insure the continuity of the three
ages that constitute the component parts of the &Baha'i Dispensation.
The period in which the seed of the Faith had been slowly germinating
is thus intertwined both with the one which must witness its
efflorescence and the subsequent age in which that seed will have
finally yielded its golden fruit.
The creative energies released by the Law of &Baha'u'llah, permeating
and evolving within the mind of &Abdu'l-Baha, have, by
their very impact and close interaction, given birth to an Instrument
which may be viewed as the Charter of the New World Order
which is at once the glory and the promise of this most great Dispensation.
The Will may thus be acclaimed as the inevitable offspring
resulting from that mystic intercourse between Him Who communicated
the generating influence of His divine Purpose and the
One Who was its vehicle and chosen recipient. Being the Child of
the Covenant--the Heir of both the Originator and the Interpreter
of the Law of God--the Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha can
no more be divorced from Him Who supplied the original and
motivating impulse than from the One Who ultimately conceived
it. &Baha'u'llah's inscrutable purpose, we must ever bear in mind,
has been so thoroughly infused into the conduct of &Abdu'l-Baha,
and their motives have been so closely wedded together, that the
mere attempt to dissociate the teachings of the former from any
system which the ideal Exemplar of those same teachings has established
would amount to a repudiation of one of the most sacred
and basic truths of the Faith.
The Administrative Order, which ever since &Abdu'l-Baha's
ascension has evolved and is taking shape under our very eyes in no
fewer than forty countries of the world, may be considered as the
framework of the Will itself, the inviolable stronghold wherein this
new-born child is being nurtured and developed. This Administrative
Order, as it expands and consolidates itself, will no doubt manifest
the potentialities and reveal the full implications of this momentous
Document--this most remarkable expression of the Will of
One of the most remarkable Figures of the Dispensation of &Baha'u'llah.
It will, as its component parts, its organic institutions, begin
to function with efficiency and vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate
its capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the very
pattern of the New World Order destined to embrace in the fullness
of time the whole of mankind.


+P145
It should be noted in this connection that this Administrative
Order is fundamentally different from anything that any Prophet
has previously established, inasmuch as &Baha'u'llah has Himself
revealed its principles, established its institutions, appointed the
person to interpret His Word and conferred the necessary authority
on the body designed to supplement and apply His legislative ordinances.
Therein lies the secret of its strength, its fundamental distinction,
and the guarantee against disintegration and schism.
Nowhere in the sacred scriptures of any of the world's religious
systems, nor even in the writings of the Inaugurator of the &Babi
Dispensation, do we find any provisions establishing a covenant
or providing for an administrative order that can compare in scope
and authority with those that lie at the very basis of the &Baha'i
Dispensation. Has either Christianity or &Islam, to take as an instance
two of the most widely diffused and outstanding among the world's
recognized religions, anything to offer that can measure with, or be
regarded as equivalent to, either the Book of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant
or to the Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha? Does the text of
either the Gospel or the &Qur'an confer sufficient authority upon
those leaders and councils that have claimed the right and assumed
the function of interpreting the provisions of their sacred scriptures
and of administering the affairs of their respective communities?
Could Peter, the admitted chief of the Apostles, or the &Imam &Ali,
the cousin and legitimate successor of the Prophet, produce in
support of the primacy with which both had been invested written
and explicit affirmations from Christ and &Muhammad that could
have silenced those who either among their contemporaries or in a
later age have repudiated their authority and, by their action, precipitated
the schisms that persist until the present day? Where, we
may confidently ask, in the recorded sayings of Jesus Christ, whether
in the matter of succession or in the provision of a set of specific
laws and clearly defined administrative ordinances, as distinguished
from purely spiritual principles, can we find anything approaching
the detailed injunctions, laws and warnings that abound in the
authenticated utterances of both &Baha'u'llah and &Abdu'l-Baha? Can
any passage of the &Qur'an, which in respect to its legal code, its
administrative and devotional ordinances marks already a notable
advance over previous and more corrupted Revelations, be construed
as placing upon an unassailable basis the undoubted authority
with which &Muhammad had, verbally and on several occasions,
invested His successor? Can the Author of the &Babi Dispensation


+P146
however much He may have succeeded through the provisions of
the Persian &Bayan in averting a schism as permanent and catastrophic
as those that afflicted Christianity and &Islam--can He be said
to have produced instruments for the safeguarding of His Faith as
definite and efficacious as those which must for all time preserve
the unity of the organized followers of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah?
Alone of all the Revelations gone before it this Faith has,
through the explicit directions, the repeated warnings, the authenticated
safeguards incorporated and elaborated in its teachings, succeeded
in raising a structure which the bewildered followers of
bankrupt and broken creeds might well approach and critically
examine, and seek, ere it is too late, the invulnerable security of its
world-embracing shelter.
No wonder that He Who through the operation of His Will has
inaugurated so vast and unique an Order and Who is the Center of
so mighty a Covenant should have written these words: "So firm
and mighty is this Covenant that from the beginning of time until
the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like."
"Whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this holy cycle," He wrote
during the darkest and most dangerous days of His ministry, "shall
gradually appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning
of its growth and the dayspring of the revelation of its signs."
"Fear not," are His reassuring words foreshadowing the rise of
the Administrative Order established by His Will, "fear not if this
Branch be severed from this material world and cast aside its leaves;
nay, the leaves thereof shall flourish, for this Branch will grow after
it is cut off from this world below, it shall reach the loftiest pinnacles
of glory, and it shall bear such fruits as will perfume the world with
their fragrance."
To what else if not to the power and majesty which this Administrative
Order--the rudiments of the future all-enfolding &Baha'i
Commonwealth--is destined to manifest, can these utterances of
&Baha'u'llah allude: "The world's equilibrium hath been upset
through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World
Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the
agency of this unique, this wondrous System--the like of which
mortal eyes have never witnessed."
The &Bab Himself, in the course of His references to "Him
Whom God will make manifest" anticipates the System and glorifies
the World Order which the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah is destined
to unfold. "Well is it with him," is His remarkable statement in the


+P147
third chapter of the Persian &Bayan, "who fixeth his gaze upon the
Order of &Baha'u'llah and rendereth thanks unto his Lord! For He
will assuredly be made manifest. God hath indeed irrevocably
ordained it in the &Bayan."
In the Tablets of &Baha'u'llah where the institutions of the
International and Local Houses of Justice are specifically designated
and formally established; in the institution of the Hands of the
Cause of God which first &Baha'u'llah and then &Abdu'l-Baha brought
into being; in the institution of both local and national Assemblies
which in their embryonic stage were already functioning in the
days preceding &Abdu'l-Baha's ascension; in the authority with
which the Author of our Faith and the Center of His Covenant
have in their Tablets chosen to confer upon them; in the institution
of the Local Fund which operated according to &Abdu'l-Baha's
specific injunctions addressed to certain Assemblies in Persia; in the
verses of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas the implications of which clearly anticipate
the institution of the Guardianship; in the explanation which
&Abdu'l-Baha, in one of His Tablets, has given to, and the emphasis
He has placed upon, the hereditary principle and the law of primogeniture
as having been upheld by the Prophets of the past--in these
we can discern the faint glimmerings and discover the earliest intimation
of the nature and working of the Administrative Order
which the Will of &Abdu'l-Baha was at a later time destined to
proclaim and formally establish.
An attempt, I feel, should at the present juncture be made to
explain the character and functions of the twin pillars that support
this mighty Administrative Structure--the institutions of the Guardianship
and of the Universal House of Justice. To describe in their
entirety the diverse elements that function in conjunction with these
institutions is beyond the scope and purpose of this general exposition
of the fundamental verities of the Faith. To define with
accuracy and minuteness the features, and to analyze exhaustively
the nature of the relationships which, on the one hand, bind together
these two fundamental organs of the Will of &Abdu'l-Baha and
connect, on the other, each of them to the Author of the Faith and
the Center of His Covenant is a task which future generations will
no doubt adequately fulfill. My present intention is to elaborate
certain salient features of this scheme which, however close we may
stand to its colossal structure, are already so clearly defined that we
find it inexcusable to either misconceive or ignore.


+P148
It should be stated, at the very outset, in clear and unambiguous
language, that these twin institutions of the Administrative Order
of &Baha'u'llah should be regarded as divine in origin, essential in
their functions and complementary in their aim and purpose. Their
common, their fundamental object is to insure the continuity of
that divinely-appointed authority which flows from the Source of
our Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers and to maintain
the integrity and flexibility of its teachings. Acting in conjunction
with each other these two inseparable institutions administer its
affairs, &coordinate its activities, promote its interests, execute its
laws and defend its subsidiary institutions. Severally, each operates
within a clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction; each is equipped
with its own attendant institutions--instruments designed for the
effective discharge of its particular responsibilities and duties. Each
exercises, within the limitations imposed upon it, its powers, its authority,
its rights and prerogatives. These are neither contradictory,
nor detract in the slightest degree from the position which each of
these institutions occupies. Far from being incompatible or mutually
destructive, they supplement each other's authority and functions,
and are permanently and fundamentally united in their aims.
Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World
Order of &Baha'u'llah would be mutilated and permanently deprived
of that hereditary principle which, as &Abdu'l-Baha has written, has
been invariably upheld by the Law of God. "In all the Divine Dispensations,"
He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the
Faith in Persia, "the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions.
Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright."
Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be
imperiled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely
endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable
it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations
would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define
the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives
would be totally withdrawn.
Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal
House of Justice this same System of the Will of &Abdu'l-Baha
would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in
those gaps which the Author of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas has deliberately
left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.
"He is the Interpreter of the Word of God," &Abdu'l-Baha, referring
to the functions of the Guardian of the Faith, asserts, using


+P149
in His Will the very term which He Himself had chosen when
refuting the argument of the Covenant-breakers who had challenged
His right to interpret the utterances of &Baha'u'llah. "After
him," He adds, "will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants."
"The mighty stronghold," He further explains, "shall remain impregnable
and safe through obedience to him who is the Guardian
of the Cause of God." "It is incumbent upon the members of the
House of Justice, upon all the &Aghsan, the &Afnan, the Hands of
the Cause of God, to show their obedience, submissiveness and
subordination unto the Guardian of the Cause of God."
"It is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice,"
&Baha'u'llah, on the other hand, declares in the Eighth Leaf of the
Exalted Paradise, "to take counsel together regarding those things
which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book, and to enforce
that which is agreeable to them. God will verily inspire them with
whatsoever He willeth, and He verily is the Provider, the Omniscient."
"Unto the Most Holy Book" (the &Kitab-i-Aqdas), &Abdu'l-Baha
states in His Will, "every one must turn, and all that is not
expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House
of Justice. That which this body, whether unanimously or by a
majority doth carry, that is verily the truth and the purpose of
God Himself. Whoso doth deviate therefrom is verily of them that
love discord, hath shown forth malice, and turned away from the
Lord of the Covenant."
Not only does &Abdu'l-Baha confirm in His Will &Baha'u'llah's
above-quoted statement, but invests this body with the additional
right and power to abrogate, according to the exigencies of time, its
own enactments, as well as those of a preceding House of Justice.
"Inasmuch as the House of Justice," is His explicit statement in His
Will, "hath power to enact laws that are not expressly recorded in
the Book and bear upon daily transactions, so also it hath power to
repeal the same... This it can do because these laws form no part
of the divine explicit text."
Referring to both the Guardian and the Universal House of
Justice we read these emphatic words: "The sacred and youthful
Branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal
House of Justice to be universally elected and established, are both
under the care and protection of the &Abha Beauty, under the shelter
and unerring guidance of the Exalted One (the &Bab) (may my life
be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is of God."
From these statements it is made indubitably clear and evident


+P150
that the Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter of the
Word and that the Universal House of Justice has been invested
with the function of legislating on matters not expressly revealed
in the teachings. The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning
within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments
of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right
and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment
on such laws and ordinances as &Baha'u'llah has not expressly revealed.
Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and
prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the
specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely
invested.
Though the Guardian of the Faith has been made the permanent
head of so august a body he can never, even temporarily, assume the
right of exclusive legislation. He cannot override the decision of the
majority of his fellow-members, but is bound to insist upon a
reconsideration by them of any enactment he conscientiously believes
to conflict with the meaning and to depart from the spirit of
&Baha'u'llah's revealed utterances. He interprets what has been specifically
revealed, and cannot legislate except in his capacity as
member of the Universal House of Justice. He is debarred from
laying down independently the constitution that must govern the
organized activities of his fellow-members, and from exercising
his influence in a manner that would encroach upon the liberty of
those whose sacred right is to elect the body of his collaborators.
It should be borne in mind that the institution of the Guardianship
has been anticipated by &Abdu'l-Baha in an allusion He made in
a Tablet addressed, long before His own ascension, to three of
His friends in Persia. To their question as to whether there would
be any person to whom all the &Baha'is would be called upon to turn
after His ascension He made the following reply: "As to the question
ye have asked me, know verily that this is a well-guarded secret.
It is even as a gem concealed within its shell. That it will be revealed
is predestined. The time will come when its light will appear, when
its evidences will be made manifest, and its secrets unraveled."
Dearly-beloved friends! Exalted as is the position and vital
as is the function of the institution of the Guardianship in the
Administrative Order of &Baha'u'llah, and staggering as must be
the weight of responsibility which it carries, its importance must,
whatever be the language of the Will, be in no wise over-emphasized.
The Guardian of the Faith must not under any circumstances, and


+P151
whatever his merits or his achievements, be exalted to the rank
that will make him a co-sharer with &Abdu'l-Baha in the unique
position which the Center of the Covenant occupies--much less
to the station exclusively ordained for the Manifestation of God.
So grave a departure from the established tenets of our Faith is
nothing short of open blasphemy. As I have already stated, in the
course of my references to &Abdu'l-Baha's station, however great
the gulf that separates Him from the Author of a Divine Revelation
it can never measure with the distance that stands between
Him Who is the Center of &Baha'u'llah's Covenant and the Guardians
who are its chosen ministers. There is a far, far greater distance
separating the Guardian from the Center of the Covenant
than there is between the Center of the Covenant and its Author.
No Guardian of the Faith, I feel it my solemn duty to place on
record, can ever claim to be the perfect exemplar of the teachings of
&Baha'u'llah or the stainless mirror that reflects His light. Though
overshadowed by the unfailing, the unerring protection of
&Baha'u'llah and of the &Bab, and however much he may share with
&Abdu'l-Baha the right and obligation to interpret the &Baha'i teachings,
he remains essentially human and cannot, if he wishes to remain
faithful to his trust, arrogate to himself, under any pretense whatsoever,
the rights, the privileges and prerogatives which &Baha'u'llah
has chosen to confer upon His Son. In the light of this truth to pray
to the Guardian of the Faith, to address him as lord and master,
to designate him as his holiness, to seek his benediction, to celebrate
his birthday, or to commemorate any event associated with his life
would be tantamount to a departure from those established truths
that are enshrined within our beloved Faith. The fact that the
Guardian has been specifically endowed with such power as he may
need to reveal the purport and disclose the implications of the
utterances of &Baha'u'llah and of &Abdu'l-Baha does not necessarily
confer upon him a station co-equal with those Whose words he is
called upon to interpret. He can exercise that right and discharge
this obligation and yet remain infinitely inferior to both of them
in rank and different in nature.
To the integrity of this cardinal principle of our Faith the
words, the deeds of its present and future Guardians must abundantly
testify. By their conduct and example they must needs establish
its truth upon an unassailable foundation and transmit to
future generations unimpeachable evidences of its reality.
For my own part to hesitate in recognizing so vital a truth


+P152
or to vacillate in proclaiming so firm a conviction must constitute
a shameless betrayal of the confidence reposed in me by &Abdu'l-Baha
and an unpardonable usurpation of the authority with which He
Himself has been invested.
A word should now be said regarding the theory on which this
Administrative Order is based and the principle that must govern
the operation of its chief institutions. It would be utterly misleading
to attempt a comparison between this unique, this divinely-conceived
Order and any of the diverse systems which the minds of men, at
various periods of their history, have contrived for the government
of human institutions. Such an attempt would in itself betray a
lack of complete appreciation of the excellence of the handiwork
of its great Author. How could it be otherwise when we remember
that this Order constitutes the very pattern of that divine civilization
which the almighty Law of &Baha'u'llah is designed to establish
upon earth? The divers and ever-shifting systems of human polity,
whether past or present, whether originating in the East or in the
West, offer no adequate criterion wherewith to estimate the potency
of its hidden virtues or to appraise the solidity of its foundations.
The &Baha'i Commonwealth of the future, of which this vast
Administrative Order is the sole framework, is, both in theory and
practice, not only unique in the entire history of political institutions,
but can find no parallel in the annals of any of the world's
recognized religious systems. No form of democratic government;
no system of autocracy or of dictatorship, whether monarchical or
republican; no intermediary scheme of a purely aristocratic order;
nor even any of the recognized types of theocracy, whether it be
the Hebrew Commonwealth, or the various Christian ecclesiastical
organizations, or the Imamate or the Caliphate in &Islam--none of
these can be identified or be said to conform with the Administrative
Order which the master-hand of its perfect Architect has fashioned.
This new-born Administrative Order incorporates within its
structure certain elements which are to be found in each of the
three recognized forms of secular government, without being in
any sense a mere replica of any one of them, and without introducing
within its machinery any of the objectionable features
which they inherently possess. It blends and harmonizes, as no
government fashioned by mortal hands has as yet accomplished,
the salutary truths which each of these systems undoubtedly contains


+P153
without vitiating the integrity of those God-given verities on which
it is ultimately founded.
The Administrative Order of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah must in
no wise be regarded as purely democratic in character inasmuch as
the basic assumption which requires all democracies to depend fundamentally
upon getting their mandate from the people is altogether
lacking in this Dispensation. In the conduct of the administrative
affairs of the Faith, in the enactment of the legislation necessary
to supplement the laws of the &Kitab-i-Aqdas, the members of the
Universal House of Justice, it should be borne in mind, are not,
as &Baha'u'llah's utterances clearly imply, responsible to those whom
they represent, nor are they allowed to be governed by the feelings,
the general opinion, and even the convictions of the mass of the
faithful, or of those who directly elect them. They are to follow,
in a prayerful attitude, the dictates and promptings of their conscience.
They may, indeed they must, acquaint themselves with the
conditions prevailing among the community, must weigh dispassionately
in their minds the merits of any case presented for their
consideration, but must reserve for themselves the right of an
unfettered decision. "God will verily inspire them with whatsoever
He willeth," is &Baha'u'llah's incontrovertible assurance. They, and
not the body of those who either directly or indirectly elect them,
have thus been made the recipients of the divine guidance which is
at once the life-blood and ultimate safeguard of this Revelation.
Moreover, he who symbolizes the hereditary principle in this Dispensation
has been made the interpreter of the words of its Author,
and ceases consequently, by virtue of the actual authority vested
in him, to be the figurehead invariably associated with the prevailing
systems of constitutional monarchies.
Nor can the &Baha'i Administrative Order be dismissed as a
hard and rigid system of unmitigated autocracy or as an idle imitation
of any form of absolutistic ecclesiastical government, whether
it be the Papacy, the Imamate or any other similar institution, for
the obvious reason that upon the international elected representatives
of the followers of &Baha'u'llah has been conferred the exclusive
right of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the
&Baha'i writings. Neither the Guardian of the Faith nor any institution
apart from the International House of Justice can ever usurp
this vital and essential power or encroach upon that sacred right.
The abolition of professional priesthood with its accompanying
sacraments of baptism, of communion and of confession of sins,


+P154
the laws requiring the election by universal suffrage of all local,
national, and international Houses of Justice, the total absence of
episcopal authority with its attendant privileges, corruptions and
bureaucratic tendencies, are further evidences of the non-autocratic
character of the &Baha'i Administrative Order and of its inclination
to democratic methods in the administration of its affairs.
Nor is this Order identified with the name of &Baha'u'llah to
be confused with any system of purely aristocratic government in
view of the fact that it upholds, on the one hand, the hereditary
principle and entrusts the Guardian of the Faith with the obligation
of interpreting its teachings, and provides, on the other, for
the free and direct election from among the mass of the faithful
of the body that constitutes its highest legislative organ.
Whereas this Administrative Order cannot be said to have been
modeled after any of these recognized systems of government, it
nevertheless embodies, reconciles and assimilates within its framework
such wholesome elements as are to be found in each one of
them. The hereditary authority which the Guardian is called upon
to exercise, the vital and essential functions which the Universal
House of Justice discharges, the specific provisions requiring its
democratic election by the representatives of the faithful--these
combine to demonstrate the truth that this divinely revealed Order,
which can never be identified with any of the standard types of
government referred to by Aristotle in his works, embodies and
blends with the spiritual verities on which it is based the beneficent
elements which are to be found in each one of them. The admitted
evils inherent in each of these systems being rigidly and permanently
excluded, this unique Order, however long it may endure
and however extensive its ramifications, cannot ever degenerate into
any form of despotism, of oligarchy, or of demagogy which must
sooner or later corrupt the machinery of all man-made and essentially
defective political institutions.
Dearly-beloved friends! Significant as are the origins of this
mighty administrative structure, and however unique its features,
the happenings that may be said to have heralded its birth and
signalized the initial stage of its evolution seem no less remarkable.
How striking, how edifying the contrast between the process of
slow and steady consolidation that characterizes the growth of its
infant strength and the devastating onrush of the forces of disintegration


+P155
that are assailing the outworn institutions, both religious
and secular, of present-day society!
The vitality which the organic institutions of this great, this
ever-expanding Order so strongly exhibit; the obstacles which the
high courage, the undaunted resolution of its administrators have
already surmounted; the fire of an unquenchable enthusiasm that
glows with undiminished fervor in the hearts of its itinerant
teachers; the heights of self-sacrifice which its champion-builders
are now attaining; the breadth of vision, the confident hope, the
creative joy, the inward peace, the uncompromising integrity, the
exemplary discipline, the unyielding unity and solidarity which its
stalwart defenders manifest; the degree to which its moving Spirit
has shown itself capable of assimilating the diversified elements
within its pale, of cleansing them of all forms of prejudice and
of fusing them with its own structure--these are evidences of a
power which a disillusioned and sadly shaken society can ill afford
to ignore.
Compare these splendid manifestations of the spirit animating
this vibrant body of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah with the cries and
agony, the follies and vanities, the bitterness and prejudices, the
wickedness and divisions of an ailing and chaotic world. Witness
the fear that torments its leaders and paralyzes the action of its
blind and bewildered statesmen. How fierce the hatreds, how false
the ambitions, how petty the pursuits, how deep-rooted the suspicions
of its peoples! How disquieting the lawlessness, the corruption,
the unbelief that are eating into the vitals of a tottering civilization!
Might not this process of steady deterioration which is insidiously
invading so many departments of human activity and thought be
regarded as a necessary accompaniment to the rise of this almighty
Arm of &Baha'u'llah? Might we not look upon the momentous happenings
which, in the course of the past twenty years, have so deeply
agitated every continent of the earth, as ominous signs simultaneously
proclaiming the agonies of a disintegrating civilization and
the birthpangs of that World Order--that Ark of human salvation
--that must needs arise upon its ruins?
The catastrophic fall of mighty monarchies and empires in the
European continent, allusions to some of which may be found in
the prophecies of &Baha'u'llah; the decline that has set in, and is still
continuing, in the fortunes of the &Shi'ih hierarchy in His own
native land; the fall of the &Qajar dynasty, the traditional enemy
of His Faith; the overthrow of the Sultanate and the Caliphate,


+P156
the sustaining pillars of &Sunni &Islam, to which the destruction of
Jerusalem in the latter part of the first century of the Christian era
offers a striking parallel; the wave of secularization which is
invading the &Muhammadan ecclesiastical institutions in Egypt and
sapping the loyalty of its staunchest supporters; the humiliating
blows that have afflicted some of the most powerful Churches of
Christendom in Russia, in Western Europe and Central America; the
dissemination of those subversive doctrines that are undermining the
foundations and overthrowing the structure of seemingly impregnable
strongholds in the political and social spheres of human
activity; the signs of an impending catastrophe, strangely reminiscent
of the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West, which threatens
to engulf the whole structure of present-day civilization--all witness
to the tumult which the birth of this mighty Organ of the Religion
of &Baha'u'llah has cast into the world--a tumult which will grow
in scope and in intensity as the implications of this constantly
evolving Scheme are more fully understood and its ramifications
more widely extended over the surface of the globe.
A word more in conclusion. The rise and establishment of this
Administrative Order--the shell that shields and enshrines so precious
a gem--constitutes the hall-mark of this second and formative
age of the &Baha'i era. It will come to be regarded, as it recedes
farther and farther from our eyes, as the chief agency empowered
to usher in the concluding phase, the consummation of this glorious
Dispensation.
Let no one, while this System is still in its infancy, misconceive
its character, belittle its significance or misrepresent its purpose.
The bedrock on which this Administrative Order is founded is God's
immutable Purpose for mankind in this day. The Source from
which it derives its inspiration is no one less than &Baha'u'llah
Himself. Its shield and defender are the embattled hosts of the
&Abha Kingdom. Its seed is the blood of no less than twenty thousand
martyrs who have offered up their lives that it may be born
and flourish. The axis round which its institutions revolve are the
authentic provisions of the Will and Testament of &Abdu'l-Baha.
Its guiding principles are the truths which He Who is the unerring
Interpreter of the teachings of our Faith has so clearly enunciated
in His public addresses throughout the West. The laws that govern
its operation and limit its functions are those which have been
expressly ordained in the &Kitab-i-Aqdas. The seat round which its
spiritual, its humanitarian and administrative activities will cluster


+P157
are the &Mashriqu'l-Adhkar and its Dependencies. The pillars that
sustain its authority and buttress its structure are the twin institutions
of the Guardianship and of the Universal House of Justice.
The central, the underlying aim which animates it is the establishment
of the New World Order as adumbrated by &Baha'u'llah. The
methods it employs, the standard it inculcates, incline it to neither
East nor West, neither Jew nor Gentile, neither rich nor poor,
neither white nor colored. Its watchword is the unification of the
human race; its standard the "Most Great Peace"; its consummation
the advent of that golden millennium--the Day when the kingdoms
of this world shall have become the Kingdom of God Himself,
the Kingdom of &Baha'u'llah.

SHOGHI.

Haifa, Palestine,
February 8, 1934.


+P158

+P159
THE UNFOLDMENT OF WORLD CIVILIZATION

+P160

+P161
THE UNFOLDMENT OF WORLD
CIVILIZATION

To the beloved of God and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout
the West.

Friends and fellow-heirs of the grace of &Baha'u'llah:

As your co-sharer in the building up of the New World Order
which the mind of &Baha'u'llah has visioned, and whose features the
pen of &Abdu'l-Baha, its perfect Architect, has delineated, I pause to
contemplate with you the scene which the revolution of well-nigh
fifteen years after His passing unfolds before us.
The contrast between the accumulating evidences of steady consolidation
that accompany the rise of the Administrative Order of
the Faith of God, and the forces of disintegration which batter at
the fabric of a travailing society, is as clear as it is arresting. Both
within and outside the &Baha'i world the signs and tokens which, in
a mysterious manner, are heralding the birth of that World Order,
the establishment of which must signalize the Golden Age of the
Cause of God, are growing and multiplying day by day. No fair-minded
observer can any longer fail to discern them. He cannot be
misled by the painful slowness characterizing the unfoldment of the
civilization which the followers of &Baha'u'llah are laboring to establish.
Nor can he be deluded by the ephemeral manifestations of returning
prosperity which at times appear to be capable of checking
the disruptive influence of the chronic ills afflicting the institutions
of a decaying age. The signs of the times are too numerous and
compelling to allow him to mistake their character or to belittle their
significance. He can, if he be fair in his judgment, recognize in the
chain of events which proclaim on the one hand the irresistible
march of the institutions directly associated with the Revelation of
&Baha'u'llah and foreshadow on the other the downfall of those
powers and principalities that have either ignored or opposed it--he
can recognize in them all evidences of the operation of God's all-pervasive
Will, the shaping of His perfectly ordered and world-embracing
Plan.
"Soon," &Baha'u'llah's own words proclaim it, "will the present
day Order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.
Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth and is the Knower of things unseen."
"By Myself," He solemnly asserts, "the day is approaching


+P162
when We will have rolled up the world and all that is therein, and
spread out a new Order in its stead. He, verily, is powerful over all
things." "The world's equilibrium," He explains, "hath been upset
through the vibrating influence of this Most Great, this new World
Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the
agency of this unique, this wondrous System, the like of which
mortal eyes have never witnessed." "The signs of impending convulsions
and chaos," He warns the peoples of the world, "can now
be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing Order appeareth to be lamentably
defective."
Dearly-beloved friends! This New World Order, whose promise
is enshrined in the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah, whose fundamental
principles have been enunciated in the writings of the Center of His
Covenant, involves no less than the complete unification of the entire
human race. This unification should conform to such principles
as would directly harmonize with the spirit that animates, and the
laws that govern the operation of, the institutions that already constitute
the structural basis of the Administrative Order of His
Faith.
No machinery falling short of the standard inculcated by the
&Baha'i Revelation, and at variance with the sublime pattern ordained
in His teachings, which the collective efforts of mankind may yet
devise can ever hope to achieve anything above or beyond that
"Lesser Peace" to which the Author of our Faith has Himself
alluded in His writings. "Now that ye have refused the Most Great
Peace," He, admonishing the kings and rulers of the earth, has
written, "hold ye fast unto this the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may
in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependents."
Expatiating on this Lesser Peace, He thus addresses in that
same Tablet the rulers of the earth: "Be reconciled among yourselves,
that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to
safeguard your territories and dominions... Be united, O kings
of the earth, for thereby will the tempest of discord be stilled
amongst you, and your peoples find rest, if ye be of them that comprehend.
Should any one among you take up arms against another,
rise ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice."
The Most Great Peace, on the other hand, as conceived by
&Baha'u'llah--a peace that must inevitably follow as the practical
consequence of the spiritualization of the world and the fusion of
all its races, creeds, classes and nations--can rest on no other basis,
and can be preserved through no other agency, except the divinely


+P163
appointed ordinances that are implicit in the World Order that
stands associated with His Holy Name. In His Tablet, revealed
almost seventy years ago to Queen Victoria, &Baha'u'llah, alluding
to this Most Great Peace, has declared: "That which the Lord hath
ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the
healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal
Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except
through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired
Physician. This, verily, is the truth, and all else naught but error...
Consider these days in which the Ancient Beauty, He Who is the
Most Great Name, hath been sent down to regenerate and unify
mankind. Behold how with drawn swords they rose against Him,
and committed that which caused the Faithful Spirit to tremble.
And whenever We said unto them: `Lo, the World Reformer is
come,' they made reply: `He, in truth, is one of the stirrers of mischief.'"
"It beseemeth all men in this Day," He, in another Tablet,
asserts, "to take firm hold on the Most Great Name, and to establish
the unity of all mankind. There is no place to flee to, no refuge that
any one can seek, except Him."

Humanity's Coming of Age

The Revelation of &Baha'u'llah, whose supreme mission is none
other but the achievement of this organic and spiritual unity of the
whole body of nations, should, if we be faithful to its implications,
be regarded as signalizing through its advent the coming of age of
the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely as yet another
spiritual revival in the ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only
as a further stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as
the culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but
rather as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous evolution
of man's collective life on this planet. The emergence of a
world community, the consciousness of world citizenship, the founding
of a world civilization and culture--all of which must synchronize
with the initial stages in the unfoldment of the Golden Age of
the &Baha'i Era--should, by their very nature, be regarded, as far as
this planetary life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in the
organization of human society, though man, as an individual, will,
nay must indeed as a result of such a consummation, continue indefinitely
to progress and develop.
That mystic, all-pervasive, yet indefinable change, which we


+P164
associate with the stage of maturity inevitable in the life of the individual
and the development of the fruit must, if we would correctly
apprehend the utterances of &Baha'u'llah, have its counterpart in the
evolution of the organization of human society. A similar stage
must sooner or later be attained in the collective life of mankind,
producing an even more striking phenomenon in world relations,
and endowing the whole human race with such potentialities of well-being
as shall provide, throughout the succeeding ages, the chief
incentive required for the eventual fulfillment of its high destiny.
Such a stage of maturity in the process of human government must,
for all time, if we would faithfully recognize the tremendous claim
advanced by &Baha'u'llah, remain identified with the Revelation of
which He was the Bearer.
In one of the most characteristic passages He Himself has revealed,
He testifies in a language that none can mistake to the truth
of this distinguishing principle of &Baha'i belief: "It hath been decreed
by Us that the Word of God and all the potentialities thereof
shall be manifested unto men in strict conformity with such conditions
as have been foreordained by Him Who is the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise... Should the Word be allowed to release suddenly
all the energies latent within it, no man could sustain the weight of
so mighty a revelation... Consider that which hath been sent down
unto &Muhammad, the Apostle of God. The measure of the Revelation
of which He was the Bearer had been clearly foreordained by Him
Who is the Almighty, the All-Powerful. They that heard Him, however,
could apprehend His purpose only to the extent of their station
and spiritual capacity. He, in like manner, uncovered the Face
of Wisdom in proportion to their ability to sustain the burden of
His Message. No sooner had mankind attained the stage of maturity,
than the Word revealed to men's eyes the latent energies with
which it had been endowed--energies which manifested themselves
in the plenitude of their glory when the Ancient Beauty appeared,
in the year sixty, in the person of &Ali-Muhammad, the &Bab."
&Abdu'l-Baha, elucidating this fundamental verity, has written:
"All created things have their degree or stage of maturity. The
period of maturity in the life of a tree is the time of its fruit-bearing...
The animal attains a stage of full growth and completeness,
and in the human kingdom man reaches his maturity when
the light of his intelligence attains its greatest power and development...
Similarly there are periods and stages in the collective life
of humanity. At one time it was passing through its stage of childhood,


+P165
at another its period of youth, but now it has entered its long-predicted
phase of maturity, the evidences of which are everywhere
apparent... That which was applicable to human needs during the
early history of the race can neither meet nor satisfy the demands
of this day, this period of newness and consummation. Humanity
has emerged from its former state of limitation and preliminary
training. Man must now become imbued with new virtues and powers,
new moral standards, new capacities. New bounties, perfect
bestowals, are awaiting and already descending upon him. The gifts
and blessings of the period of youth, although timely and sufficient
during the adolescence of mankind, are now incapable of meeting
the requirements of its maturity."

The Process of Integration

Such a unique and momentous crisis in the life of organized
mankind may, moreover, be likened to the culminating stage in the
political evolution of the great American Republic--the stage which
marked the emergence of a unified community of federated states.
The stirring of a new national consciousness, and the birth of a new
type of civilization, infinitely richer and nobler than any which its
component parts could have severally hoped to achieve, may be said
to have proclaimed the coming of age of the American people.
Within the territorial limits of this nation, this consummation may
be viewed as the culmination of the process of human government.
The diversified and loosely related elements of a divided community
were brought together, unified and incorporated into one coherent
system. Though this entity may continue gaining in cohesive power,
though the unity already achieved may be further consolidated,
though the civilization to which that unity could alone have given
birth may expand and flourish, yet the machinery essential to such
an unfoldment may be said to have been, in its essential structure,
erected, and the impulse required to guide and sustain it may be
regarded as having been fundamentally imparted. No stage above
and beyond this consummation of national unity can, within the
geographical limits of that nation, be imagined, though the highest
destiny of its people, as a constituent element in a still larger entity
that will embrace the whole of mankind, may still remain unfulfilled.
Considered as an isolated unit, however, this process of integration
may be said to have reached its highest and final consummation.
Such is the stage to which an evolving humanity is collectively


+P166
approaching. The Revelation entrusted by the Almighty Ordainer
to &Baha'u'llah, His followers firmly believe, has been endowed with
such potentialities as are commensurate with the maturity of the
human race--the crowning and most momentous stage in its evolution
from infancy to manhood.
The successive Founders of all past Religions Who, from time
immemorial, have shed, with ever-increasing intensity, the splendor
of one common Revelation at the various stages which have marked
the advance of mankind towards maturity may thus, in a sense, be
regarded as preliminary Manifestations, anticipating and paving
the way for the advent of that Day of Days when the whole earth
will have fructified and the tree of humanity will have yielded its
destined fruit.
Incontrovertible as is this truth, its challenging character should
never be allowed to obscure the purpose, or distort the principle,
underlying the utterances of &Baha'u'llah--utterances that have established
for all time the absolute oneness of all the Prophets, Himself
included, whether belonging to the past or to the future. Though
the mission of the Prophets preceding &Baha'u'llah may be viewed
in that light, though the measure of Divine Revelation with which
each has been entrusted must, as a result of this process of evolution,
necessarily differ, their common origin, their essential unity,
their identity of purpose, should at no time and under no circumstances
be misapprehended or denied. That all the Messengers of
God should be regarded as "abiding in the same Tabernacle, soaring
in the same Heaven, seated upon the same Throne, uttering the
same Speech, and proclaiming the same Faith" must, however much
we may extol the measure of Divine Revelation vouchsafed to mankind
at this crowning stage of its evolution, remain the unalterable
foundation and central tenet of &Baha'i belief. Any variations in the
splendor which each of these Manifestations of the Light of God
has shed upon the world should be ascribed not to any inherent superiority
involved in the essential character of any one of them, but
rather to the progressive capacity, the ever-increasing spiritual
receptiveness, which mankind, in its progress towards maturity, has
invariably manifested.

The Final Consummation

Only those who are willing to associate the Revelation proclaimed
by &Baha'u'llah with the consummation of so stupendous


+P167
an evolution in the collective life of the whole human race can grasp
the significance of the words which He, while alluding to the glories
of this promised Day and to the duration of the &Baha'i Era, has
deemed fit to utter. "This is the King of Days," He exclaims, "the
Day that hath seen the coming of the Best-Beloved, Him Who,
through all eternity, hath been acclaimed the Desire of the World."
"The Scriptures of past Dispensations," He further asserts, "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." "It is evident," He, in another passage explains,
"that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived
is divinely-ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God's
appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished
from those that have preceded it. The designation `Seal of
the Prophets' fully revealeth its high station. The Prophetic Cycle
hath verily ended. The Eternal Truth is now come. He hath lifted
up the ensign of power, and is now shedding upon the world the
unclouded splendor of His Revelation." "In this most mighty Revelation,"
He, in categorical language, declares, "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, standeth unparalleled in the annals of the past,
nor will future ages witness its like."
&Abdu'l-Baha's authentic pronouncements should, likewise, be
recalled as confirming, in no less emphatic manner, the unexampled
vastness of the &Baha'i Dispensation. "Centuries," He affirms in one
of His Tablets, "nay, countless ages, must pass away ere the Day-Star
of Truth shineth again in its mid-summer splendor, or
appeareth once more in the radiance of its vernal glory... The
mere contemplation of the Dispensation inaugurated by the Blessed
Beauty would have sufficed to overwhelm the saints of bygone ages
--saints who longed to partake, for one moment, of its great glory."
"Concerning the Manifestations that will come down in the future
`in the shadows of the clouds,'" He, in a still more definite language,
affirms, "know, verily, that in so far as their relation to the
Source of their inspiration is concerned, they are under the shadow
of the Ancient Beauty. In their relation, however, to the age in
which they appear, each and every one of them `doeth whatsoever
He willeth.'" "This holy Dispensation," He, alluding to the Revelation
of &Baha'u'llah, explains, "is illumined with the light of the


+P168
Sun of Truth shining from its most exalted station, and in the plenitude
of its resplendency, its heat and glory."

Pangs of Death and Birth

Dearly-beloved friends: Though the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah
has been delivered, the World Order which such a Revelation must
needs beget is as yet unborn. Though the Heroic Age of His Faith
is passed, the creative energies which that Age has released have
not as yet crystallized into that world society which, in the fullness
of time, is to mirror forth the brightness of His glory. Though the
framework of His Administrative Order has been erected, and the
Formative Period of the &Baha'i Era has begun, yet the promised
Kingdom into which the seed of His institutions must ripen remains
as yet uninaugurated. Though His Voice has been raised, and the
ensigns of His Faith have been lifted up in no less than forty countries
of both the East and the West, yet the wholeness of the human
race is as yet unrecognized, its unity unproclaimed, and the standard
of its Most Great Peace unhoisted.
"The heights," &Baha'u'llah Himself testifies, "which, through
the most gracious favor of God, mortal man can attain in this Day
are as yet unrevealed to his sight. The world of being hath never
had, nor doth it yet possess, the capacity for such a revelation. The
day, however, is approaching when the potentialities of so great a
favor will, by virtue of His behest, be manifested unto men."
For the revelation of so great a favor a period of intense turmoil
and wide-spread suffering would seem to be indispensable. Resplendent
as has been the Age that has witnessed the inception of the
Mission with which &Baha'u'llah has been entrusted, the interval
which must elapse ere that Age yields its choicest fruit must, it is
becoming increasingly apparent, be overshadowed by such moral
and social gloom as can alone prepare an unrepentant humanity for
the prize she is destined to inherit.
Into such a period we are now steadily and irresistibly moving.
Amidst the shadows which are increasingly gathering about us we
can faintly discern the glimmerings of &Baha'u'llah's unearthly sovereignty
appearing fitfully on the horizon of history. To us, the
"generation of the half-light," living at a time which may be designated
as the period of the incubation of the World Commonwealth
envisaged by &Baha'u'llah, has been assigned a task whose high privilege
we can never sufficiently appreciate, and the arduousness of


+P169
which we can as yet but dimly recognize. We may well believe, we
who are called upon to experience the operation of the dark forces
destined to unloose a flood of agonizing afflictions, that the darkest
hour that must precede the dawn of the Golden Age of our Faith
has not yet struck. Deep as is the gloom that already encircles the
world, the afflictive ordeals which that world is to suffer are still in
preparation, nor can their blackness be as yet imagined. We stand
on the threshold of an age whose convulsions proclaim alike the
death-pangs of the old order and the birth-pangs of the new.
Through the generating influence of the Faith announced by &Baha'u'llah
this New World Order may be said to have been conceived.
We can, at the present moment, experience its stirrings in the womb
of a travailing age--an age waiting for the appointed hour at which
it can cast its burden and yield its fairest fruit.
"The whole earth," writes &Baha'u'llah, "is now in a state of
pregnancy. The day is approaching when it will have yielded its
noblest fruits, when from it will have sprung forth the loftiest trees,
the most enchanting blossoms, the most heavenly blessings. Immeasurably
exalted is the breeze that wafteth from the garment of thy
Lord, the Glorified! For lo, it hath breathed its fragrance and made
all things new! Well is it with them that comprehend." "The onrushing
winds of the grace of God," He, in the &Suratu'l-Haykal,
proclaims, "have passed over all things. Every creature hath been endowed
with all the potentialities it can carry. And yet the peoples of
the world have denied this grace! Every tree hath been endowed
with the choicest fruits, every ocean enriched with the most luminous
gems. Man, himself, hath been invested with the gifts of understanding
and knowledge. The whole creation hath been made the
recipient of the revelation of the All-Merciful, and the earth the repository
of things inscrutable to all except God, the Truth, the
Knower of things unseen. The time is approaching when every created
thing will have cast its burden. Glorified be God Who hath
vouchsafed this grace that encompasseth all things, whether seen or
unseen!"
"The Call of God," &Abdu'l-Baha has written, "when raised,
breathed a new life into the body of mankind, and infused a new
spirit into the whole creation. It is for this reason that the world
hath been moved to its depths, and the hearts and consciences of men
been quickened. Erelong the evidences of this regeneration will be
revealed, and the fast asleep will be awakened."


+P170
Universal Fermentation

As we view the world around us, we are compelled to observe
the manifold evidences of that universal fermentation which, in
every continent of the globe and in every department of human life,
be it religious, social, economic or political, is purging and reshaping
humanity in anticipation of the Day when the wholeness of the human
race will have been recognized and its unity established. A twofold
process, however, can be distinguished, each tending, in its own
way and with an accelerated momentum, to bring to a climax the
forces that are transforming the face of our planet. The first is essentially
an integrating process, while the second is fundamentally
disruptive. The former, as it steadily evolves, unfolds a System
which may well serve as a pattern for that world polity towards
which a strangely-disordered world is continually advancing; while
the latter, as its disintegrating influence deepens, tends to tear down,
with increasing violence, the antiquated barriers that seek to block
humanity's progress towards its destined goal. The constructive
process stands associated with the nascent Faith of &Baha'u'llah, and
is the harbinger of the New World Order that Faith must erelong
establish. The destructive forces that characterize the other should
be identified with a civilization that has refused to answer to the
expectation of a new age, and is consequently falling into chaos and
decline.
A titanic, a spiritual struggle, unparalleled in its magnitude yet
unspeakably glorious in its ultimate consequences, is being waged
as a result of these opposing tendencies, in this age of transition
through which the organized community of the followers of &Baha'u'llah
and mankind as a whole are passing.
The Spirit that has incarnated itself in the institutions of a rising
Faith has, in the course of its onward march for the redemption
of the world, encountered and is now battling with such forces as
are, in most instances, the very negation of that Spirit, and whose
continued existence must inevitably hinder it from achieving its
purpose. The hollow and outworn institutions, the obsolescent doctrines
and beliefs, the effete and discredited traditions which these
forces represent, it should be observed, have, in certain instances,
been undermined by virtue of their senility, the loss of their cohesive
power, and their own inherent corruption. A few have been swept
away by the onrushing forces which the &Baha'i Faith has, at the
hour of its birth, so mysteriously released. Others, as a direct


+P171
result of a vain and feeble resistance to its rise in the initial stages
of its development, have died out and been utterly discredited. Still
others, fearful of the pervasive influence of the institutions in which
that same Spirit had, at a later stage, been embodied, had mobilized
their forces and launched their attack, destined to sustain, in their
turn, after a brief and illusory success, an ignominious defeat.

This Age of Transition

It is not my purpose to call to mind, much less to attempt a detailed
analysis of, the spiritual struggles that have ensued, or to
note the victories that have redounded to the glory of the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah since the day of its foundation. My chief concern is not
with the happenings that have distinguished the First, the Apostolic
Age of the &Baha'i Dispensation, but rather with the outstanding
events that are transpiring in, and the tendencies which characterize,
the formative period of its development, this Age of Transition,
whose tribulations are the precursors of that Era of blissful felicity
which is to incarnate God's ultimate purpose for all mankind.
To the catastrophic fall of mighty kingdoms and empires, on the
eve of &Abdu'l-Baha's departure, Whose passing may be said to have
ushered in the opening phase of the Age of Transition in which
we now live, I have, in a previous communication, briefly alluded.
The dissolution of the German Empire, the humiliating defeat inflicted
upon its ruler, the successor and lineal descendant of the
Prussian King and Emperor to whom &Baha'u'llah had addressed
His solemn and historic warning, together with the extinction of
the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the remnant of the once-great
Holy Roman Empire, were both precipitated by a war whose outbreak
signalized the opening of the Age of Frustration destined to
precede the establishment of the World Order of &Baha'u'llah. Both
of these momentous events may be viewed as the earliest occurrences
of that turbulent Age, into the outer fringes of whose darkest phase
we are now beginning to enter.
To the Conqueror of Napoleon III, the Author of our Faith
had, on the morrow of the King's victory, addressed, in His Most
Holy Book, this clear and ominous warning: "O King of Berlin!
...Take heed lest pride debar thee from recognizing the Day-Spring
of Divine Revelation, lest earthly desires shut thee out, as by
a veil, from the Lord of the Throne above and of the earth below.
Thus counseleth thee the Pen of the Most High. He, verily, is the


+P172
Most Gracious, the All-Bountiful. Do thou remember the one whose
power transcended thy power (Napoleon III), and whose station
excelled thy station. Where is he? Whither are gone the things he
possessed? Take warning, and be not of them that are fast asleep.
He it was who cast the Tablet of God behind him, when We made
known unto him what the hosts of tyranny had caused Us to suffer.
Wherefore, disgrace assailed him from all sides, and he went down
to dust in great loss. Think deeply, O King, concerning him, and
concerning them who, like unto thee, have conquered cities and ruled
over men. The All-Merciful brought them down from their palaces
to their graves. Be warned, be of them who reflect."
"O banks of the Rhine!" &Baha'u'llah, in another passage of that
same Book, prophesies, "We have seen you covered with gore, inasmuch
as the swords of retribution were drawn against you; and so
you shall have another turn. And We hear the lamentations of Berlin,
though she be today in conspicuous glory."

Collapse of &Islam

The collapse of the power of the &Shi'ih hierarchy, in a land
which had for centuries been one of the impregnable strongholds
of Muslim fanaticism, was the inevitable consequence of that wave
of secularization which, at a later time, was to invade some of the
most powerful and conservative ecclesiastical institutions in both the
European and American continents. Though not the direct outcome
of the last war, this sudden trembling which had seized this hitherto
immovable pillar of Islamic orthodoxy accentuated the problems and
deepened the restlessness with which a war-weary world was being
afflicted. &Shi'ih &Islam had lost once for all, in &Baha'u'llah's native
land and as the direct consequence of its implacable hostility to His
Faith, its combative power, had forfeited its rights and privileges,
had been degraded and demoralized, and was being condemned to
hopeless obscurity and ultimate extinction. No less than twenty
thousand martyrs, however, had to sacrifice their lives ere the Cause
for which they had stood and died could register this initial victory
over those who were the first to repudiate its claims and mow down
its gallant warriors. "Vileness and poverty were stamped upon
them, and they returned with wrath from God."
"Behold," writes &Baha'u'llah, commenting on the decline of a
fallen people, "how the sayings and doings of &Shi'ih &Islam have
dulled the joy and fervor of its early days, and tarnished the pristine


+P173
brilliancy of its light. In its primitive days, whilst they still adhered
to the precepts associated with the name of their Prophet, the Lord
of mankind, their career was marked by an unbroken chain of victories
and triumphs. As they gradually strayed from the path of
their Ideal Leader and Master, as they turned away from the light
of God and corrupted the principle of His Divine unity, and as
they increasingly centered their attention upon them who were only
the revealers of the potency of His Word, their power was turned
into weakness, their glory into shame, their courage into fear. Thou
dost witness to what a pass they have come."
The downfall of the &Qajar Dynasty, the avowed defender and
the willing instrument of a decaying clergy, almost synchronized
with the humiliation which the &Shi'ih ecclesiastical leaders had suffered.
From &Muhammad &Shah down to the last and feeble monarch
of that dynasty, the Faith of &Baha'u'llah was denied the impartial
consideration, the disinterested and fair treatment which its cause
had rightly demanded. It had, on the contrary, been atrociously harassed,
consistently betrayed and prosecuted. The martyrdom of the
&Bab; the banishment of &Baha'u'llah; the confiscation of His earthly
possessions; His incarceration in &Mazindaran; the reign of terror
that confined Him in the most pestilential of dungeons; the intrigues,
the protests, and calumnies which thrice renewed His exile and led
to His ultimate imprisonment in the most desolate of cities; the
shameful sentences passed, with the connivance of the judicial and
ecclesiastical authorities, against the person, the property, and the
honor of His innocent followers--these stand out as among the
blackest acts for which posterity will hold this blood-stained dynasty
responsible. One more barrier that had sought to obstruct the forward
march of the Faith was now removed.
Though &Baha'u'llah had been banished from His native land,
the tide of calamity which had swept with such fury over Him and
over the followers of the &Bab, was by no means receding. Under the
jurisdiction of the &Sultan of Turkey, the arch-enemy of His Cause,
a new chapter in the history of His ever-recurring trials had opened.
The overthrow of the Sultanate and the Caliphate, the twin pillars
of &Sunni &Islam, can be regarded in no other light except as the inevitable
consequence of the fierce, the sustained and deliberate persecution
which the monarchs of the tottering House of &Uthman, the
recognized successors of the Prophet &Muhammad, had launched
against it. From the city of Constantinople, the traditional seat of
both the Sultanate and the Caliphate, the rulers of Turkey had, for


+P174
a period covering almost three quarters of a century, striven, with
unabated zeal, to stem the tide of a Faith they feared and abhorred.
From the time &Baha'u'llah set foot on Turkish soil and was made
a virtual prisoner of the most powerful potentate of &Islam to the
year of the Holy Land's liberation from Turkish yoke, successive
Caliphs, and in particular the &Sultans &Abdu'l-'Aziz and &Abdu'l-Hamid,
had, in the full exercise of the spiritual and temporal authority
which their exalted office had conferred upon them, afflicted
both the Founder of our Faith and the Center of His Covenant with
such pain and tribulation as no mind can fathom nor pen or tongue
describe. They alone could have measured or borne them.
To these afflictive trials &Baha'u'llah has repeatedly testified: "By
the righteousness of the Almighty! Were I to recount to thee the
tale of the things that have befallen Me, the souls and minds of men
would be incapable of sustaining its weight. God Himself beareth
Me witness." "Twenty years have passed," He, addressing the kings
of Christendom, has written, "during which We have, each day,
tasted the agony of a fresh tribulation. No one of them that were
before Us hath endured the things We have endured. Would that
ye could perceive it! They that rose up against us have put us to
death, have shed our blood, have plundered our property, and violated
our honor." "Recall to mind My sorrows," He, in another connection,
has revealed, "My cares and anxieties, My woes and trials,
the state of My captivity, the tears that I have shed, the bitterness of
Mine anguish, and now Mine imprisonment in this far-off land...
Couldst thou be told what hath befallen the Ancient Beauty, thou
wouldst flee into the wilderness, and weep with a great weeping...
Every morning I arose from my bed, I discovered the hosts of
countless afflictions massed behind My door; and every night when
I lay down, lo, My heart was torn with agony at what it had suffered
from the fiendish cruelty of its foes."
The orders which these foes issued, the banishments they decreed,
the indignities they inflicted, the plans they devised, the investigations
they conducted, the threats they pronounced, the atrocities
they were prepared to commit, the intrigues and baseness to
which they, their ministers, their governors, and military chieftains
had stooped, constitute a record which can hardly find a parallel in
the history of any revealed religion. The mere recital of the most
salient features of that sinister theme would suffice to fill a volume.
They knew full well that the spiritual and administrative Center of
the Cause they had striven to eradicate had now shifted to their


+P175
dominion, that its leaders were Turkish citizens, and that whatever
resources these could command were at their mercy. That for a
period of almost three score years and ten, while still in the plenitude
of its unquestioned authority, while reinforced by the endless machinations
of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of a neighboring
nation, and assured of the support of those of &Baha'u'llah's kindred
who had rebelled against, and seceded from, His Cause, this despotism
should have failed in the end to extirpate a mere handful of its
condemned subjects must, to every unbelieving observer, remain one
of the most intriguing and mysterious episodes of contemporary
history.
The Cause of which &Baha'u'llah was still the visible leader had,
despite the calculations of a short-sighted enemy, undeniably triumphed.
No unbiased mind, penetrating the surface of conditions
surrounding the Prisoner of &Akka, could any longer mistake or
deny it. Though the tension which had been relaxed was, for a time,
heightened after &Baha'u'llah's ascension and the perils of a still unsettled
situation were revived, it was becoming increasingly evident
that the insidious forces of decay, which for many a long year
were eating into the vitals of a diseased nation, were now moving
towards a climax. A series of internal convulsions, each more devastating
than the previous one, had already been unchained, destined
to bring in their wake one of the most catastrophic occurrences of
modern times. The murder of that arrogant despot in the year 1876;
the Russo-Turkish conflict that soon followed in its wake; the wars
of liberation which succeeded it; the rise of the Young Turk movement;
the Turkish Revolution of 1909 that precipitated the downfall
of &Abdu'l-Hamid; the Balkan wars with their calamitous consequences;
the liberation of Palestine enshrining within its bosom
the cities of &Akka and Haifa, the world center of an emancipated
Faith; the further dismemberment decreed by the Treaty of Versailles;
the abolition of the Sultanate and the downfall of the House
of &Uthman; the extinction of the Caliphate; the disestablishment
of the State Religion; the annulment of the &Shari'ah Law and the
promulgation of a universal Civil Code; the suppression of various
orders, beliefs, traditions and ceremonials believed to be inextricably
interwoven with the fabric of the Muslim Faith--these followed
with an ease and swiftness that no man had dared envisage. In these
devastating blows, administered by friend and foe alike, by Christian
nations and professing Muslims, every follower of the persecuted
Faith of &Baha'u'llah recognized evidences of the directing


+P176
Hand of the departed Founder of his religion, Who, from the invisible
Realm, was unloosing a flood of well-deserved calamities
upon a rebellious religion and nation.
Compare the evidences of Divine visitation which befell the persecutors
of Jesus Christ with these historic retributions which, in
the latter part of the first century of the &Baha'i Era, have hurled
to dust the chief adversary of the religion of &Baha'u'llah. Had not
the Roman Emperor, in the second half of the first century of the
Christian Era, after a distressful siege of Jerusalem, laid waste the
Holy City, destroyed the Temple, desecrated and robbed the Holy
of Holies of its treasures, and transported them to Rome, reared a
pagan colony on the mount of Zion, massacred the Jews, and exiled
and dispersed the survivors?
Compare, moreover, these words which the persecuted Christ,
as witnessed by the Gospel, addressed to Jerusalem, with &Baha'u'llah's
apostrophe to Constantinople, revealed while He lay in His
far-off Prison, and recorded in His Most Holy Book: "O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them
which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings!" And again, as He wept over the city: "If thou hadst known,
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy
peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall
come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee,
and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall
lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and
they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou
knewest not the time of thy visitation."
"O Spot that art situate on the shores of the two seas!" &Baha'u'llah
thus apostrophizes the City of Constantinople, "The throne of
tyranny hath, verily, been established upon thee, and the flame of
hatred hath been kindled within thy bosom, in such wise that the
Concourse on high and they who circle around the Exalted Throne
have wailed and lamented. We behold in thee the foolish ruling over
the wise, and darkness vaunting itself against the light. Thou art
indeed filled with manifest pride. Hath thine outward splendor made
thee vainglorious? By Him Who is the Lord of mankind! It shall
soon perish, and thy daughters and thy widows and all the kindreds
that dwell within thee shall lament. Thus informeth thee the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise."
To &Sultan &Abdu'l-'Aziz, the monarch who decreed each of &Baha'u'llah's


+P177
three banishments, the Founder of our Faith, while a
prisoner in the &Sultan's capital, addressed these words: "Hearken,
O king, to the speech of Him that speaketh the truth, Him that doth
not ask thee to recompense Him with the things God hath chosen to
bestow upon thee, Him Who unerringly treadeth the Straight Path
...Set before thine eyes God's unerring Balance and, as one
standing in His presence, weigh in that Balance thine actions every
day, every moment of thy life. Bring thyself to account ere thou art
summoned to a reckoning, on the day when no man shall have
strength to stand for fear of God, the day when the hearts of the
heedless ones shall be made to tremble."
To the Ministers of the Turkish State, He, in that same Tablet,
revealed: "It behooveth you, O Ministers of State, to keep the precepts
of God, and to forsake your own laws and regulations, and to
be of them who are guided aright... Ye shall, erelong, discover
the consequences of that which ye shall have done in this vain life,
and shall be repaid for them... How great the number of those
who, in bygone ages, have committed the things ye have committed,
and who, though superior to you in rank, have, in the end, returned
unto dust, and been consigned to their inevitable doom!... Ye
shall follow in their wake, and shall be made to enter a habitation
wherein none shall be found to befriend or help you... The days
of your life shall roll away, and all the things with which ye are
occupied, and of which ye boast yourselves, shall perish, and ye
shall, most certainly, be summoned by a company of His angels to
appear at the spot where the limbs of the entire creation shall be
made to tremble, and the flesh of every oppressor to creep...
This is the day that shall inevitably come upon you, the hour that
none can put back."
To the inhabitants of Constantinople, while He lived the life of
an exile in their midst, &Baha'u'llah, in that same Tablet, addressed
these words: "Fear God, ye inhabitants of the City, and sow not the
seeds of dissension amongst men... Your days shall pass away
as have the days of them who were before you. To dust shall ye
return, even as your fathers of old did return." "We found," He,
moreover, remarks, "upon Our arrival in the City its governors and
elders as children gathered about and disporting themselves with
clay... Our inner eye wept sore over them, and over their transgressions
and their total disregard of the thing for which they were
created... The day is approaching when God will have raised
up a people who will call to remembrance Our days, who will tell


+P178
the tale of Our trials, who will demand the restitution of Our rights
from them that, without a tittle of evidence, have treated Us with
manifest injustice. God assuredly dominateth the lives of them that
wronged Us, and is well aware of their doings. He will, most certainly,
lay hold on them for their sins. He, verily, is the fiercest of
avengers." "Wherefore," He graciously exhorteth them, "hearken
ye unto My speech, and return ye to God and repent, that He,
through His grace, may have mercy upon you, may wash away your
sins, and forgive your trespasses. The greatness of His mercy surpasseth
the fury of His wrath, and His grace encompasseth all who
have been called into being and been clothed with the robe of life,
be they of the past or of the future."
And, finally, in the &Lawh-i-Ra'is we find these prophetic words
recorded: "Hearken, O Chief ... to the Voice of God, the Sovereign,
the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting... Thou hast, O
Chief, committed that which hath made &Muhammad, the Apostle of
God, groan in the Most Exalted Paradise. The world hath made
thee proud, so much so that thou hast turned away from the Face
through Whose brightness the Concourse on high hath been illumined.
Soon thou shalt find thyself in evident loss... The day
is approaching when the Land of Mystery (Adrianople) and what
is beside it shall be changed, and shall pass out of the hands of the
King, and commotions shall appear, and the voice of lamentation
shall be raised, and the evidences of mischief shall be revealed on
all sides, and confusion shall spread by reason of that which hath
befallen these captives at the hands of the hosts of oppression. The
course of things shall be altered, and conditions shall wax so grievous,
that the very sands on the desolate hills will moan, and the trees
on the mountain will weep, and blood will flow out of all things.
Then wilt thou behold the people in sore distress."
Thirteen hundred years had to elapse from the death of the
Prophet &Muhammad ere the illegitimacy of the institution of the
Caliphate, the founders of which had usurped the authority of the
lawful successors of the Apostle of God, would be fully and publicly
demonstrated. An institution which in its inception had trampled
upon so sacred a right and unchained the forces of so distressful a
schism, an institution which, in the latter days, had dealt so grievous
a blow to a Faith Whose Forerunner was Himself a descendant
of the very &Imams whose authority that institution had repudiated,
deserved full well the chastisement that had sealed its fate.
The text of certain &Muhammadan traditions, the authenticity of


+P179
which Muslims themselves recognize, and which have been extensively
quoted by eminent Oriental &Baha'i scholars and authors, will
serve to corroborate the argument and illuminate the theme I have
attempted to expound: "In the latter days a grievous calamity shall
befall My people at the hands of their ruler, a calamity such as no
man ever heard to surpass it. So fierce will it be that none can find
a shelter. God will then send down One of My descendants, One
sprung from My family, Who will fill the earth with equity and
justice, even as it hath been filled with injustice and tyranny." And,
again: "A day shall be witnessed by My people whereon there will
have remained of &Islam naught but a name, and of the &Qur'an
naught but a mere appearance. The doctors of that age shall be the
most evil the world hath ever seen. Mischief hath proceeded from
them, and on them will it recoil." And, again: "At that hour His
malediction shall descend upon you, and your curse shall afflict you,
and your religion shall remain an empty word on your tongues. And
when these signs appear amongst you, anticipate the day when the
red-hot wind will have swept over you, or the day when ye will have
been disfigured, or when stones will have rained upon you."
"O people of the &Qur'an," &Baha'u'llah, addressing the combined
forces of &Sunni and &Shi'ih &Islam, significantly affirms, "Verily, the
Prophet of God, &Muhammad, sheddeth tears at the sight of your
cruelty. Ye have assuredly followed your evil and corrupt desires,
and turned away your face from the light of guidance. Erelong will
ye witness the result of your deeds; for the Lord, My God, lieth in
wait and is watchful of your behavior... O concourse of Muslim
divines! By your deeds the exalted station of the people hath been
abased, the standard of &Islam hath been reversed, and its mighty
throne hath fallen."

Deterioration of Christian Institutions

So much for &Islam and the crippling blows its leaders and institutions
have received--and may yet receive--in this, the first century
of the &Baha'i Era. If I have dwelt too long on this theme, if I
have, to a disproportionate degree, quoted from the sacred writings
in support of my argument, it is solely because of my firm conviction
that these retributive calamities that have rained down upon
the foremost oppressor of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah should rank not
only among the stirring occurrences of this Age of Transition, but


+P180
as some of the most startling and significant events of contemporary
history.
Both &Sunni and &Shi'ih &Islam had, through the convulsions that
had seized them, contributed to the acceleration of the disruptive
process to which I have previously referred--a process which, by its
very nature, is to pave the way for that complete reorganization and
unification which the world, in every aspect of its life, must achieve.
What of Christianity and of the denominations with which it stands
identified? Can it be said that this process of deterioration that has
attacked the fabric of the Religion of &Muhammad has failed to
exert its baneful influence on the institutions associated with the
Faith of Jesus Christ? Have these institutions already experienced
the impact of these menacing forces? Are their foundations so
secure and their vitality so great as to enable them to resist this onslaught?
Will they, as the confusion of a chaotic world spreads and
deepens, fall in turn a prey to their violence? Have the more orthodox
among them already arisen, and, if not, will they arise, to repel
the onset of a Cause which, having pulled down the barriers of
Muslim orthodoxy, is now advancing into the heart of Christendom,
in both the European and American continents? Would such
a resistance sow the seeds of further dissension and confusion, and
consequently serve indirectly to hasten the advent of the promised
Day?
To these queries we can but partly answer. Time alone can
reveal the nature of the &role which the institutions directly associated
with the Christian Faith are destined to assume in this, the
Formative Period of the &Baha'i Era, this dark age of transition
through which humanity as a whole is passing. Such events as have
already transpired, however, are of such a nature as can indicate
the direction in which these institutions are moving. We can, in
some degree, appraise the probable effect which the forces operating
both within the &Baha'i Faith and outside it will exert upon them.
That the forces of irreligion, of a purely materialistic philosophy,
of unconcealed paganism have been unloosed, are now spreading,
and, by consolidating themselves, are beginning to invade some
of the most powerful Christian institutions of the western world,
no unbiased observer can fail to admit. That these institutions are
becoming increasingly restive, that a few among them are already
dimly aware of the pervasive influence of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah,
that they will, as their inherent strength deteriorates and their discipline
relaxes, regard with deepening dismay the rise of His New


+P181
World Order, and will gradually determine to assail it, that such an
opposition will in turn accelerate their decline, few, if any, among
those who are attentively watching the progress of His Faith would
be inclined to question.
"The vitality of men's belief in God," &Baha'u'llah has testified,
"is dying out in every land; nothing short of His wholesome medicine
can ever restore it. The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into
the vitals of human society; what else but the Elixir of His potent
Revelation can cleanse and revive it?" "The world is in travail,"
He has further written, "and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its
face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its
plight that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly."
This menace of secularism that has attacked &Islam and is undermining
its remaining institutions, that has invaded Persia, has penetrated
into India, and raised its triumphant head in Turkey, has
already manifested itself in both Europe and America, and is, in
varying degrees, and under various forms and designations, challenging
the basis of every established religion, and in particular the
institutions and communities identified with the Faith of Jesus
Christ. It would be no exaggeration to say that we are moving into
a period which the future historian will regard as one of the most
critical in the history of Christianity.
Already a few among the protagonists of the Christian Religion
admit the gravity of the situation that confronts them. "A wave of
materialism is sweeping round the world"; is the testimony of its
missionaries, as witnessed by the text of their official reports, "the
drive and pressure of modern industrialism, which are penetrating
even the forests of Central Africa and the plains of Central Asia,
make men everywhere dependent on, and preoccupied with, material
things. At home the Church has talked, perhaps too glibly, in pulpit
or on platform of the menace of secularism; though even in England
we can catch more than a glimpse of its meaning. But to the
Church overseas these things are grim realities, enemies with which
it is at grips... The Church has a new danger to face in land
after land--determined and hostile attack. From Soviet Russia a
definitely anti-religious Communism is pushing west into Europe
and America, East into Persia, India, China and Japan. It is an economic
theory, definitely harnessed to disbelief in God. It is a religious
irreligion... It has a passionate sense of mission, and is
carrying on its anti-God campaign at the Church's base at home, as
well as launching its offensive against its front-line in non-Christian


+P182
lands. Such a conscious, avowed, organized attack against religion
in general and Christianity in particular is something new in history.
Equally deliberate in some lands in its determined hostility to
Christianity is another form of social and political faith--nationalism.
But the nationalist attack on Christianity, unlike Communism,
is often bound up with some form of national religion--with &Islam
in Persia and Egypt, with Buddhism in Ceylon, while the struggle
for communal rights in India is allied with a revival both of Hinduism
and &Islam."
I need not attempt in this connection an exposition of the origin
and character of those economic theories and political philosophies
of the post-war period, that have directly and indirectly exerted, and
are still exerting, their pernicious influence on the institutions and
beliefs connected with one of the most widely-spread and best organized
religious systems of the world. It is with their influence
rather than with their origin that I am chiefly concerned. The
excessive growth of industrialism and its attendant evils--as the
aforementioned quotation bears witness--the aggressive policies
initiated and the persistent efforts exerted by the inspirers and organizers
of the Communist movement; the intensification of a militant
nationalism, associated in certain countries with a systematized
work of defamation against all forms of ecclesiastical influence,
have no doubt contributed to the de-Christianization of the masses,
and been responsible for a notable decline in the authority, the
prestige and power of the Church. "The whole conception of God,"
the persecutors of the Christian Religion have insistently proclaimed,
"is a conception derived from the ancient oriental despotisms. It is
a conception quite unworthy of free men." "Religion," one of their
leaders has asserted, "is an opiate of the people." "Religion," declares
the text of their official publications, "is a brutalization of the
people. Education must be so directed as to efface from the people's
minds this humiliation and this idiocy."
The Hegelian philosophy which, in other countries, has, in the
form of an intolerant and militant nationalism, insisted on deifying
the state, has inculcated the war-spirit, and incited to racial animosity,
has, likewise, led to a marked weakening of the Church
and to a grave diminution of its spiritual influence. Unlike the bold
offensive which an avowedly atheistic movement had chosen to
launch against it, both within the Soviet union and beyond its confines,
this nationalistic philosophy, which Christian rulers and governments
have upheld, is an attack directed against the Church by


+P183
those who were previously its professed adherents, a betrayal of its
cause by its own kith and kin. It was being stabbed by an alien and
militant atheism from without, and by the preachers of a heretical
doctrine from within. Both of these forces, each operating in its
own sphere and using its own weapons and methods, have moreover
been greatly assisted and encouraged by the prevailing spirit of
modernism, with its emphasis on a purely materialistic philosophy,
which, as it diffuses itself, tends increasingly to divorce religion
from man's daily life.
The combined effect of these strange and corrupt doctrines,
these dangerous and treacherous philosophies, has, as was natural,
been severely felt by those whose tenets inculcated an opposite and
wholly irreconcilable spirit and principle. The consequences of the
clash that inevitably ensued between these contending interests,
were, in some cases, disastrous, and the damage that has been
wrought irreparable. The disestablishment and dismemberment of
the Greek Orthodox Church in Russia, following upon the blow
which the Church of Rome had sustained as a result of the collapse
of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy; the commotion that subsequently
seized the Catholic Church and culminated in its separation
from the State in Spain; the persecution of the same Church in
Mexico; the perquisitions, arrests, intimidation and terrorization to
which Catholics and Lutherans alike are being subjected in the heart
of Europe; the turmoil into which another branch of the Church
has been thrown as a result of the military campaign in Africa;
the decline that has set in the fortunes of Christian Missions, both
Anglican and Presbyterian, in Persia, Turkey, and the Far East;
the ominous signs that foreshadow serious complications in the
equivocal and precarious relationships now existing between the
Holy See and certain nations in the continent of Europe--these
stand out as the most striking features of the reverses which, in
almost every part of the world, the members and leaders of Christian
ecclesiastical institutions have suffered.
That the solidarity of some of these institutions has been irretrievably
shattered is too apparent for any intelligent observer to
mistake or deny. The cleavage between the fundamentalists and the
liberals among their adherents is continually widening. Their creeds
and dogmas have been watered down, and in certain instances ignored
and discarded. Their hold upon human conduct is loosening,
and the personnel of their ministries is dwindling in number and in
influence. The timidity and insincerity of their preachers are, in


+P184
several instances, being exposed. Their endowments have, in some
countries, disappeared, and the force of their religious training has
declined. Their temples have been partly deserted and destroyed,
and an oblivion of God, of His teachings and of His Purpose, has
enfeebled and heaped humiliation upon them.
Might not this disintegrating tendency, from which &Sunni and
&Shi'ih &Islam have so conspicuously suffered, unloose, as it reaches
its climax, still further calamities upon the various denominations
of the Christian Church? In what manner and how rapidly this
process, which has already set in, will develop the future alone can
reveal. Nor can it, at the present time, be estimated to what extent
will the attacks which a still powerful clergy may yet launch against
the strongholds of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah in the West accentuate
this decline and widen the range of inescapable disasters.
If Christianity wishes and expects to serve the world in the
present crisis, writes a minister of the Presbyterian Church in
America, it must "cut back through Christianity to Christ, back
through the centuries-old religion about Jesus to the original religion
of Jesus." Otherwise, he significantly adds, "the spirit of Christ
will live in institutions other than our own."
So marked a decline in the strength and cohesion of the elements
constituting Christian society has led, in its turn, as we might well
anticipate, to the emergence of an increasing number of obscure
cults, of strange and new worships, of ineffective philosophies,
whose sophisticated doctrines have intensified the confusion of a
troubled age. In their tenets and pursuits they may be said to reflect
and bear witness to the revolt, the discontent, and the confused
aspirations of the disillusioned masses that have deserted the cause
of the Christian churches and seceded from their membership.
A parallel might almost be drawn between these confused and
confusing systems of thought that are the direct outcome of the
helplessness and confusion afflicting the Christian Faith and the
great variety of popular cults, of fashionable and evasive philosophies
which flourished in the opening centuries of the Christian Era,
and which attempted to absorb and pervert the state religion of that
Roman people. The pagan worshipers who constituted, at that
time, the bulk of the population of the Western Roman Empire,
found themselves surrounded, and in certain instances menaced, by
the prevailing sect of the Neo-Platonists, by the followers of nature
religions, by Gnostic philosophers, by Philonism, Mithraism, the
adherents of the Alexandrian cult, and a multitude of kindred sects


+P185
and beliefs, in much the same way as the defenders of the Christian
Faith, the preponderating religion of the western world, are realizing,
in the first century of the &Baha'i Era, how their influence is
being undermined by a flood of conflicting beliefs, practices and
tendencies which their own bankruptcy had helped to create. It was,
however, this same Christian Religion, which has now fallen into
such a state of impotence, that eventually proved itself capable of
sweeping away the institutions of paganism and of swamping and
suppressing the cults that had flourished in that age.
Such institutions as have strayed far from the spirit and teachings
of Jesus Christ must of necessity, as the embryonic World
Order of &Baha'u'llah takes shape and unfolds, recede into the background,
and make way for the progress of the divinely-ordained
institutions that stand inextricably interwoven with His teachings.
The indwelling Spirit of God which, in the Apostolic Age of the
Church, animated its members, the pristine purity of its teachings,
the primitive brilliancy of its light, will, no doubt, be reborn and
revived as the inevitable consequence of this redefinition of its fundamental
verities, and the clarification of its original purpose.
For the Faith of &Baha'u'llah--if we would faithfully appraise
it--can never, and in no aspect of its teachings, be at variance,
much less conflict, with the purpose animating, or the authority
invested in, the Faith of Jesus Christ. This glowing tribute which
&Baha'u'llah Himself has been moved to pay to the Author of the
Christian Religion stands as sufficient testimony to the truth of this
central principle of &Baha'i belief:--"Know thou that when the Son
of Man yielded up His breath to God, the whole creation wept with
a great weeping. By sacrificing Himself, however, a fresh capacity
was infused into all created things. Its evidences, as witnessed in all
the peoples of the earth, are now manifest before thee. The deepest
wisdom which the sages have uttered, the profoundest learning
which any mind hath unfolded, the arts which the ablest hands have
produced, the influence exerted by the most potent of rulers, are but
manifestations of the quickening power released by His transcendent,
His all-pervasive and resplendent Spirit. We testify that when
He came into the world, He shed the splendor of His glory upon
all created things. Through Him the leper recovered from the leprosy
of perversity and ignorance. Through Him the unchaste and
wayward were healed. Through His power, born of Almighty God,
the eyes of the blind were opened, and the soul of the sinner sanctified...


+P186
He it is Who purified the world. Blessed is the man who,
with a face beaming with light, hath turned towards Him."

Signs of Moral Downfall

No more, I believe, need be said of the decline of religious institutions,
the disintegration of which constitutes so important an
aspect of the Formative Period of the &Baha'i Era. &Islam had
both as a result of the rising tide of secularism and in direct consequence
of its declared and persistent hostility to the Faith of
&Baha'u'llah sunk to a depth of abasement rarely attained in its history.
Christianity had, likewise, owing to causes not wholly dissimilar
to those operating in the case of its sister Faith, steadily
weakened, and was contributing, in an increasing measure, its share
to the process of general disintegration--a process that must necessarily
precede the fundamental reconstruction of human society.
The signs of moral downfall, as distinct from the evidences of
decay in religious institutions, would appear to be no less noticeable
and significant. The decline that has set in in the fortunes of Islamic
and Christian institutions may be said to have had its counterpart in
the life and conduct of the individuals that compose them. In whichever
direction we turn our gaze, no matter how cursory our observation
of the doings and sayings of the present generation, we can
not fail to be struck by the evidences of moral decadence which, in
their individual lives no less than in their collective capacity, men
and women around us exhibit.
There can be no doubt that the decline of religion as a social
force, of which the deterioration of religious institutions is but an
external phenomenon, is chiefly responsible for so grave, so conspicuous
an evil. "Religion," writes &Baha'u'llah, "is the greatest of
all means for the establishment of order in the world and for the
peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein. The weakening of the
pillars of religion hath strengthened the hands of the ignorant and
made them bold and arrogant. Verily I say, whatsoever hath lowered
the lofty station of religion hath increased the waywardness of
the wicked, and the result cannot be but anarchy." "Religion," He,
in another Tablet, has stated, "is a radiant light and an impregnable
stronghold for the protection and welfare of the peoples of the
world, for the fear of God impelleth man to hold fast to that which
is good, and shun all evil. Should the lamp of religion be obscured,
chaos and confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness, of justice,


+P187
of tranquillity and peace cease to shine." "Know thou," He, in yet
another connection, has written, "that they who are truly wise have
likened the world unto the human temple. As the body of man
needeth a garment to clothe it, so the body of mankind must needs
be adorned with the mantle of justice and wisdom. Its robe is the
Revelation vouchsafed unto it by God."
No wonder, therefore, that when, as a result of human perversity,
the light of religion is quenched in men's hearts, and the
divinely appointed Robe, designed to adorn the human temple, is
deliberately discarded, a deplorable decline in the fortunes of humanity
immediately sets in, bringing in its wake all the evils which
a wayward soul is capable of revealing. The perversion of human
nature, the degradation of human conduct, the corruption and dissolution
of human institutions, reveal themselves, under such circumstances,
in their worst and most revolting aspects. Human character
is debased, confidence is shaken, the nerves of discipline are
relaxed, the voice of human conscience is stilled, the sense of decency
and shame is obscured, conceptions of duty, of solidarity, of
reciprocity and loyalty are distorted, and the very feeling of peacefulness,
of joy and of hope is gradually extinguished.
Such, we might well admit, is the state which individuals and
institutions alike are approaching. "No two men," &Baha'u'llah, lamenting
the plight of an erring humanity, has written, "can be
found who may be said to be outwardly and inwardly united. The
evidences of discord and malice are apparent everywhere, though
all were made for harmony and union." "How long," He, in the
same Tablet, exclaims, "will humanity persist in its waywardness?
How long will injustice continue? How long is chaos and confusion
to reign amongst men? How long will discord agitate the face of
society? The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction,
and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is
daily increasing."
The recrudescence of religious intolerance, of racial animosity,
and of patriotic arrogance; the increasing evidences of selfishness,
of suspicion, of fear and of fraud; the spread of terrorism, of lawlessness,
of drunkenness and of crime; the unquenchable thirst for,
and the feverish pursuit after, earthly vanities, riches and pleasures;
the weakening of family solidarity; the laxity in parental control;
the lapse into luxurious indulgence; the irresponsible attitude
towards marriage and the consequent rising tide of divorce; the
degeneracy of art and music, the infection of literature, and the


+P188
corruption of the press; the extension of the influence and activities
of those "prophets of decadence" who advocate companionate marriage,
who preach the philosophy of nudism, who call modesty an
intellectual fiction, who refuse to regard the procreation of children
as the sacred and primary purpose of marriage, who denounce religion
as an opiate of the people, who would, if given free rein, lead
back the human race to barbarism, chaos, and ultimate extinction--
these appear as the outstanding characteristics of a decadent society,
a society that must either be reborn or perish.

Breakdown of Political and Economic Structure

Politically a similar decline, a no less noticeable evidence of
disintegration and confusion, can be discovered in the age we live in--
the age which a future historian might well recognize to have been
the preamble to the Great Age, whose golden days we can as yet but
dimly visualize.
The passionate and violent happenings that have, in recent years,
strained to almost the point of complete breakdown the political and
economic structure of society are too numerous and complex to
attempt, within the limitations of this general survey, to arrive at
an adequate estimate of their character. Nor have these tribulations,
grievous as they have been, seemed to have reached their climax, and
exerted the full force of their destructive power. The whole world,
wherever and however we survey it, offers us the sad and pitiful
spectacle of a vast, an enfeebled, and moribund organism, which is
being torn politically and strangulated economically by forces it has
ceased to either control or comprehend. The Great Depression, the
aftermath of the severest ordeals humanity had ever experienced, the
disintegration of the Versailles system, the recrudescence of militarism
in its most menacing aspects, the failure of vast experiments
and new-born institutions to safeguard the peace and tranquillity of
peoples, classes and nations, have bitterly disillusioned humanity and
prostrated its spirits. Its hopes are, for the most part, shattered, its
vitality is ebbing, its life strangely disordered, its unity severely
compromised.
On the continent of Europe inveterate hatreds and increasing
rivalries are once more aligning its ill-fated peoples and nations
into combinations destined to precipitate the most awful and implacable
tribulations that mankind throughout its long record of martyrdom
has suffered. On the North American continent economic distress,


+P189
industrial disorganization, widespread discontent at the abortive
experiments designed to readjust an ill-balanced economy, and
restlessness and fear inspired by the possibility of political entanglements
in both Europe and Asia, portend the approach of what may
well prove to be one of the most critical phases of the history of the
American Republic. Asia, still to a great extent in the grip of one of
the severest trials she has, in her recent history, experienced, finds
herself menaced on her eastern confines by the onset of forces that
threaten to intensify the struggles which the growing nationalism
and industrialization of her emancipated races must ultimately engender.
In the heart of Africa, there blazes the fire of an atrocious
and bloody war--a war which, whatever its outcome, is destined
to exert, through its world-wide repercussions, a most disturbing
influence on the races and colored nations of mankind.
With no less than ten million people under arms, drilled and instructed
in the use of the most abominable engines of destruction
that science has devised; with thrice that number chafing and fretting
at the rule of alien races and governments; with an equally
vast army of embittered citizens impotent to procure for themselves
the material goods and necessities which others are deliberately destroying;
with a still greater mass of human beings groaning under
the burden of ever-mounting armaments, and impoverished by the
virtual collapse of international trade--with evils such as these,
humanity would seem to be definitely entering the outer fringes of
the most agonizing phase of its existence.
Is it to be wondered at, that in the course of a recent statement
made by one of the outstanding Ministers in Europe this warning
should have been deliberately uttered: "If war should break out
again on a major scale in Europe, it must bring the collapse of
civilization as we know it in its wake. In the words of the late Lord
Bryce, `If you don't end war, war will end you.'" "Poor Europe is
in a state of neurasthenia...", is the testimony of one of the
most outstanding figures among its present-day dictators. "It has
lost its recuperative power, the vital force of cohesion, of synthesis.
Another war would destroy us." "It is likely," writes one of the
most eminent and learned dignitaries of the Christian Church,
"there will have to be one more great conflict in Europe to definitely
establish once and for all an international authority. This conflict
will be the most horrible of horribles, and possibly this generation
will be called on to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives."
The disastrous failure of both the Disarmament and Economic


+P190
Conferences; the obstacles confronting the negotiations for the limitation
of Naval armaments; the withdrawal of two of the most
powerful and heavily armed nations of the world from the activities
and membership of the League of Nations; the ineptitude of the
parliamentary system of government as witnessed by recent developments
in Europe and America; the inability of the leaders and
exponents of the Communist movement to vindicate the much-vaunted
principle of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat; the perils
and privations to which the rulers of the Totalitarian states have, in
recent years, exposed their subjects--all these demonstrate, beyond
the shadow of a doubt, the impotence of present-day institutions to
avert the calamities with which human society is being increasingly
threatened. What else remains, a bewildered generation may well
ask, that can repair the cleavage that is constantly widening, and
which may, at any time, engulf it?
Beset on every side by the cumulative evidences of disintegration,
of turmoil and of bankruptcy, serious-minded men and women,
in almost every walk of life, are beginning to doubt whether society,
as it is now organized, can, through its unaided efforts, extricate
itself from the slough into which it is steadily sinking. Every system,
short of the unification of the human race, has been tried,
repeatedly tried, and been found wanting. Wars again and again
have been fought, and conferences without number have met and
deliberated. Treaties, pacts and covenants have been painstakingly
negotiated, concluded and revised. Systems of government have
been patiently tested, have been continually recast and superseded.
Economic plans of reconstruction have been carefully devised, and
meticulously executed. And yet crisis has succeeded crisis, and the
rapidity with which a perilously unstable world is declining has been
correspondingly accelerated. A yawning gulf threatens to involve in
one common disaster both the satisfied and dissatisfied nations, democracies
and dictatorships, capitalists and wage-earners, Europeans
and Asiatics, Jew and Gentile, white and colored. An angry Providence,
the cynic might well observe, has abandoned a hapless planet
to its fate, and fixed irrevocably its doom. Sore-tried and disillusioned,
humanity has no doubt lost its orientation, and would seem
to have lost as well its faith and hope. It is hovering, unshepherded
and visionless, on the brink of disaster. A sense of fatality seems
to pervade it. An ever-deepening gloom is settling on its fortunes as
she recedes further and further from the outer fringes of the darkest
zone of its agitated life and penetrates its very heart.


+P191
And yet while the shadows are continually deepening, might we
not claim that gleams of hope, flashing intermittently on the international
horizon, appear at times to relieve the darkness that encircles
humanity? Would it be untrue to maintain that in a world of
unsettled faith and disturbed thought, a world of steadily mounting
armaments, of unquenchable hatreds and rivalries, the progress,
however fitful, of the forces working in harmony with the spirit of
the age can already be discerned? Though the great outcry raised by
post-war nationalism is growing louder and more insistent every
day, the League of Nations is as yet in its embryonic state, and the
storm clouds that are gathering may for a time totally eclipse its
powers and obliterate its machinery, yet the direction in which the
institution itself is operating is most significant. The voices that
have been raised ever since its inception, the efforts that have been
exerted, the work that has already been accomplished, foreshadow
the triumphs which this presently constituted institution, or any
other body that may supersede it, is destined to achieve.

&Baha'u'llah's Principle of Collective Security

A general Pact on security has been the central purpose towards
which these efforts have, ever since the League was born, tended to
converge. The Treaty of Guarantee which, in the initial stages of its
development, its members had considered and discussed; the debate
on the Geneva Protocol, the discussion of which, at a later period,
aroused among the nations, both within the League and outside it,
such fierce controversy; the subsequent proposal for a United States
of Europe and for the economic unification of that continent; and
last but not least the policy of sanctions initiated by its members,
may be regarded as the most significant landmarks in its checkered
history. That no less than fifty nations of the world, all members
of the League of Nations, should have, after mature deliberation,
recognized and been led to pronounce their verdict against an act
of aggression which in their judgment has been deliberately committed
by one of their fellow-members, one of the foremost Powers
of Europe; that they should have, for the most part, agreed to impose
collectively sanctions on the condemned aggressor, and should
have succeeded in carrying out, to a very great measure, their decision,
is no doubt an event without parallel in human history. For
the first time in the history of humanity the system of collective
security, foreshadowed by &Baha'u'llah and explained by &Abdu'l-Baha,


+P192
has been seriously envisaged, discussed and tested. For the
first time in history it has been officially recognized and publicly
stated that for this system of collective security to be effectively
established strength and elasticity are both essential--strength involving
the use of an adequate force to ensure the efficacy of the
proposed system, and elasticity to enable the machinery that has
been devised to meet the legitimate needs and aspirations of its aggrieved
upholders. For the first time in human history tentative
efforts have been exerted by the nations of the world to assume collective
responsibility, and to supplement their verbal pledges by actual
preparation for collective action. And again, for the first time
in history, a movement of public opinion has manifested itself in
support of the verdict which the leaders and representatives of
nations have pronounced, and for securing collective action in pursuance
of such a decision.
How clear, how prophetic, must sound the words uttered by
&Baha'u'llah in the light of recent international developments:--"Be
united, O concourse of the sovereigns of the world, for thereby will
the tempest of discord be stilled amongst you, and your peoples find
rest. Should any one among you take up arms against another, rise
ye all against him, for this is naught but manifest justice." "The
time must come," He, foreshadowing the tentative efforts that are
now being made, has written, "when the imperative necessity for
the holding of a vast, an all-embracing assemblage of men will be
universally realized. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs
attend it, and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such
ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world's Great
Peace among men... Should any king take up arms against another,
all should unitedly arise and prevent him."
"The sovereigns of the world," writes &Abdu'l-Baha in elaboration
of this theme, "must conclude a binding treaty, and establish a
covenant, the provisions of which shall be sound, inviolable and
definite. They must proclaim it to all the world, and obtain for it
the sanction of all the human race... All the forces of humanity
must be mobilized to insure the stability and permanence of this
Most Great Covenant... The fundamental principle underlying
this solemn Pact should be so fixed that if any government later
violate any one of its provisions, all the governments on earth
should arise to reduce it to utter submission, nay the human race as
a whole should resolve, with every power at its disposal, to destroy
that government."


+P193
There can be no doubt whatever that what has already been accomplished,
significant and unexampled though it is in the history
of mankind, still immeasurably falls short of the essential requirements
of the system which these words foreshadow. The League of
Nations, its opponents will observe, still lacks the universality which
is the prerequisite of abiding success in the efficacious settlement of
international disputes. The United States of America, its begetter,
has repudiated it, and is still holding aloof, while Germany and
Japan, who ranked among its most powerful supporters, have abandoned
its cause and withdrawn from its membership. The decisions
arrived at and the action thus far taken, others will maintain,
should be regarded as no more than a magnificent gesture, rather
than a conclusive evidence of international solidarity. Still others
may contend that though such a verdict has been pronounced, and
such pledges been given, collective action must, in the end, fail in its
ultimate purpose, and that the League itself will perish and be submerged
by the flood of tribulations destined to overtake the whole
race. Be that as it may, the significance of the steps already taken
cannot be ignored. Whatever the present status of the League or
the outcome of its historic verdict, whatever the trials and reverses
which, in the immediate future, it may have to face and sustain,
the fact must be recognized that so important a decision marks
one of the most distinctive milestones on the long and arduous road
that must lead it to its goal, the stage at which the oneness of the
whole body of nations will be made the ruling principle of international
life.
This historic step, however, is but a faint glimmer in the darkness
that envelops an agitated humanity. It may well prove to be
no more than a mere flash, a fugitive gleam, in the midst of an
ever-deepening confusion. The process of disintegration must inexorably
continue, and its corrosive influence must penetrate deeper
and deeper into the very core of a crumbling age. Much suffering
will still be required ere the contending nations, creeds, classes and
races of mankind are fused in the crucible of universal affliction,
and are forged by the fires of a fierce ordeal into one organic commonwealth,
one vast, unified, and harmoniously functioning system.
Adversities unimaginably appalling, undreamed of crises and upheavals,
war, famine, and pestilence, might well combine to engrave
in the soul of an unheeding generation those truths and principles
which it has disdained to recognize and follow. A paralysis more
painful than any it has yet experienced must creep over and further


+P194
afflict the fabric of a broken society ere it can be rebuilt and regenerated.
"The civilization," writes &Baha'u'llah, "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...
The day is approaching when its flame will devour the
cities, when the Tongue of Grandeur will proclaim: `The Kingdom
is God's, the Almighty, the All-Praised!'" "From the moment the
&Suriy-i-Ra'is (Tablet to &Ra'is) was revealed," He further explains,
"until the present day, neither hath the world been tranquillized, nor
have the hearts of its peoples been at rest... Its sickness is approaching
the stage of utter hopelessness, inasmuch as the true Physician
is debarred from administering the remedy, whilst unskilled
practitioners are regarded with favor, and are accorded full freedom
to act. The dust of sedition hath clouded the hearts of men, and
blinded their eyes. Erelong they will perceive the consequences of
what their hands have wrought in the Day of God." "This is the
Day," He again has written, "whereon the earth shall tell out her
tidings. The workers of iniquity are her burdens... The Crier
hath cried out, and men have been torn away, so great hath been
the fury of His wrath. The people of the left hand sigh and bemoan.
The people of the right abide in noble habitations: they quaff
the Wine that is life indeed from the hands of the All-Merciful, and
are, verily, the blissful."

Community of the Most Great Name

Who else can be the blissful if not the community of the Most
Great Name, whose world-embracing, continually consolidating activities
constitute the one integrating process in a world whose institutions,
secular as well as religious, are for the most part dissolving?
They indeed are "the people of the right," whose "noble
habitation" is fixed on the foundations of the World Order of &Baha'u'llah
--the Ark of everlasting salvation in this most grievous
Day. Of all the kindreds of the earth they alone can recognize,
amidst the welter of a tempestuous age, the Hand of the Divine
Redeemer that traces its course and controls its destinies. They alone
are aware of the silent growth of that orderly world polity whose
fabric they themselves are weaving.


+P195
Conscious of their high calling, confident in the society-building
power which their Faith possesses, they press forward, undeterred
and undismayed, in their efforts to fashion and perfect the necessary
instruments wherein the embryonic World Order of &Baha'u'llah can
mature and develop. It is this building process, slow and unobtrusive,
to which the life of the world-wide &Baha'i Community is
wholly consecrated, that constitutes the one hope of a stricken society.
For this process is actuated by the generating influence of
God's changeless Purpose, and is evolving within the framework
of the Administrative Order of His Faith.
In a world the structure of whose political and social institutions
is impaired, whose vision is befogged, whose conscience is bewildered,
whose religious systems have become anemic and lost their
virtue, this healing Agency, this leavening Power, this cementing
Force, intensely alive and all-pervasive, has been taking shape, is
crystallizing into institutions, is mobilizing its forces, and is preparing
for the spiritual conquest and the complete redemption of
mankind. Though the society which incarnates its ideals be small,
and its direct and tangible benefits as yet inconsiderable, yet the
potentialities with which it has been endowed, and through which it
is destined to regenerate the individual and rebuild a broken world,
are incalculable.
For well nigh a century it has, amid the noise and tumult of a
distracted age, and despite the incessant persecutions to which its
leaders, institutions, and followers have been subjected, succeeded
in preserving its identity, in reinforcing its stability and strength,
in maintaining its organic unity, in preserving the integrity of its
laws and its principles, in erecting its defenses, and in extending and
consolidating its institutions. Numerous and powerful have been
the forces that have schemed, both from within and from without,
in lands both far and near, to quench its light and abolish its holy
name. Some have apostatized from its principles, and betrayed ignominiously
its cause. Others have hurled against it the fiercest anathemas
which the embittered leaders of any ecclesiastical institution are
able to pronounce. Still others have heaped upon it the afflictions and
humiliations which sovereign authority can alone, in the plenitude
of its power, inflict.
The utmost its avowed and secret enemies could hope to achieve
was to retard its growth and obscure momentarily its purpose.
What they actually accomplished was to purge and purify its life,
to stir it to still greater depths, to galvanize its soul, to prune its


+P196
institutions, and cement its unity. A schism, a permanent cleavage
in the vast body of its adherents, they could never create.
They who betrayed its cause, its lukewarm and faint-hearted
supporters, withered away and dropped as dead leaves, powerless to
cloud its radiance or to imperil its structure. Its most implacable
adversaries, they who assailed it from without, were hurled from
power, and, in the most astonishing fashion, met their doom. Persia
had been the first to repress and oppose it. Its monarchs had miserably
fallen, their dynasty had collapsed, their name was execrated,
the hierarchy that had been their ally and had propped their declining
state, had been utterly discredited. Turkey, which had thrice
banished its Founder and inflicted on Him cruel and life-long imprisonment,
had passed through one of the severest ordeals and far-reaching
revolutions that its history has recorded, had shrunk from
one of the most powerful empires to a tiny Asiatic republic, its
Sultanate obliterated, its dynasty overthrown, its Caliphate, the
mightiest institution of &Islam, abolished.
Meanwhile the Faith that had been the object of such monstrous
betrayals, and the target for such woeful assaults, was going from
strength to strength, was forging ahead, undaunted and undivided
by the injuries it had received. In the midst of trials it had inspired
its loyal followers with a resolution that no obstacle, however formidable,
could undermine. It had lighted in their hearts a faith that
no misfortune, however black, could quench. It had infused into
their hearts a hope that no force, however determined, could shatter.

A World Religion

Ceasing to designate to itself a movement, a fellowship and the
like--designations that did grave injustice to its ever-unfolding system
--dissociating itself from such appellations as &Babi sect, Asiatic
cult, and offshoot of &Shi'ih &Islam, with which the ignorant and the
malicious were wont to describe it, refusing to be labeled as a mere
philosophy of life, or as an eclectic code of ethical conduct, or even
as a new religion, the Faith of &Baha'u'llah is now visibly succeeding
in demonstrating its claim and title to be regarded as a World Religion,
destined to attain, in the fullness of time, the status of a
world-embracing Commonwealth, which would be at once the instrument
and the guardian of the Most Great Peace announced by its
Author. Far from wishing to add to the number of the religious
systems, whose conflicting loyalties have for so many generations


+P197
disturbed the peace of mankind, this Faith is instilling into each of
its adherents a new love for, and a genuine appreciation of the unity
underlying, the various religions represented within its pale.
"It is like a wide embrace," such is the testimony of Royalty
to its claim and position, "gathering together all those who have
long searched for words of hope. It accepts all great Prophets gone
before it, destroys no other creeds, and leaves all doors open." "The
&Baha'i teaching," she has further written, "brings peace to the soul
and hope to the heart. To those in search of assurance the words of
the Father are as a fountain in the desert after long wandering."
"Their writings," she, in another statement referring to &Baha'u'llah
and &Abdu'l-Baha, has testified, "are a great cry toward peace, reaching
beyond all limits of frontiers, above all dissension about rites
and dogmas... It is a wondrous message that &Baha'u'llah and
His son &Abdu'l-Baha have given us. They have not set it up aggressively
knowing that the germ of eternal truth which lies at its
core cannot but take root and spread." "If ever the name of &Baha'u'llah
or &Abdu'l-Baha," is her concluding plea, "comes to your attention,
do not put their writings from you. Search out their Books,
and let their glorious, peace-bringing, love-creating words and lessons
sink into your hearts as they have into mine."
The Faith of &Baha'u'llah has assimilated, by virtue of its creative,
its regulative and ennobling energies, the varied races, nationalities,
creeds and classes that have sought its shadow, and have
pledged unswerving fealty to its cause. It has changed the hearts of
its adherents, burned away their prejudices, stilled their passions,
exalted their conceptions, ennobled their motives, &coordinated their
efforts, and transformed their outlook. While preserving their patriotism
and safeguarding their lesser loyalties, it has made them
lovers of mankind, and the determined upholders of its best and
truest interests. While maintaining intact their belief in the Divine
origin of their respective religions, it has enabled them to visualize
the underlying purpose of these religions, to discover their merits,
to recognize their sequence, their interdependence, their wholeness
and unity, and to acknowledge the bond that vitally links them to
itself. This universal, this transcending love which the followers of
the &Baha'i Faith feel for their fellow-men, of whatever race, creed,
class or nation, is neither mysterious nor can it be said to have been
artificially stimulated. It is both spontaneous and genuine. They
whose hearts are warmed by the energizing influence of God's creative


+P198
love cherish His creatures for His sake, and recognize in every
human face a sign of His reflected glory.
Of such men and women it may be truly said that to them "every
foreign land is a fatherland, and every fatherland a foreign land."
For their citizenship, it must be remembered, is in the Kingdom of
&Baha'u'llah. Though willing to share to the utmost the temporal
benefits and the fleeting joys which this earthly life can confer,
though eager to participate in whatever activity that conduces to the
richness, the happiness and peace of that life, they can, at no time,
forget that it constitutes no more than a transient, a very brief stage
of their existence, that they who live it are but pilgrims and wayfarers
whose goal is the Celestial City, and whose home the Country
of never-failing joy and brightness.
Though loyal to their respective governments, though profoundly
interested in anything that affects their security and welfare, though
anxious to share in whatever promotes their best interests, the Faith
with which the followers of &Baha'u'llah stand identified is one
which they firmly believe God has raised high above the storms, the
divisions, and controversies of the political arena. Their Faith they
conceive to be essentially non-political, supra-national in character,
rigidly non-partisan, and entirely dissociated from nationalistic ambitions,
pursuits, and purposes. Such a Faith knows no division of
class or of party. It subordinates, without hesitation or equivocation,
every particularistic interest, be it personal, regional, or national, to
the paramount interests of humanity, firmly convinced that in a
world of inter-dependent peoples and nations the advantage of the
part is best to be reached by the advantage of the whole, and that
no abiding benefit can be conferred upon the component parts if the
general interests of the entity itself are ignored or neglected.
Small wonder if by the Pen of &Baha'u'llah these pregnant words,
written in anticipation of the present state of mankind, should have
been revealed: "It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his
own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The
earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens." And again,
"That one indeed is a man who today dedicateth himself to the
service of the entire human race." "Through the power released by
these exalted words," He explains, "He hath lent a fresh impulse,
and set a new direction, to the birds of men's hearts, and hath obliterated
every trace of restriction and limitation from God's Holy
Book."
Their Faith, &Baha'is firmly believe, is moreover undenominational,


+P199
non-sectarian, and wholly divorced from every ecclesiastical
system, whatever its form, origin, or activities. No ecclesiastical
organization, with its creeds, its traditions, its limitations, and exclusive
outlook, can be said (as is the case with all existing political factions,
parties, systems and programs) to conform, in all its aspects,
to the cardinal tenets of &Baha'i belief. To some of the principles
and ideals animating political and ecclesiastical institutions every
conscientious follower of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah can, no doubt,
readily subscribe. With none of these institutions, however, can he
identify himself, nor can he unreservedly endorse the creeds, the
principles and programs on which they are based.
How can a Faith, it should moreover be borne in mind, whose
divinely-ordained institutions have been established within the jurisdiction
of no less than forty different countries, the policies and
interests of whose governments are continually clashing and growing
more complex and confused every day--how can such a Faith,
by allowing its adherents, whether individually or through its organized
councils, to meddle in political activities, succeed in preserving
the integrity of its teachings and in safeguarding the unity of
its followers? How can it insure the vigorous, the uninterrupted
and peaceful development of its expanding institutions? How can
a Faith, whose ramifications have brought it into contact with mutually
incompatible religious systems, sects and confessions, be in a
position, if it permits its adherents to subscribe to obsolescent observances
and doctrines, to claim the unconditional allegiance of
those whom it is striving to incorporate into its divinely-appointed
system? How can it avoid the constant friction, the misunderstandings
and controversies which formal affiliation, as distinct from
association, must inevitably engender?
These directing and regulating principles of &Baha'i belief the upholders
of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah feel bound, as their Administrative
Order expands and consolidates itself, to assert and vigilantly
apply. The exigencies of a slowly crystallizing Faith impose upon
them a duty which they cannot shirk, a responsibility they cannot
evade.
Nor are they unmindful of the imperative necessity of upholding
and of executing the laws, as distinguished from the principles,
ordained by &Baha'u'llah, both of which constitute the warp and
woof of the institutions upon which the structure of His World
Order must ultimately rest. To demonstrate their usefulness and
efficacy, to carry out and apply them, to safeguard their integrity,


+P200
to grasp their implications, and to facilitate their propagation &Baha'i
communities in the East, and recently in the West, are displaying
the utmost effort and are willing, if necessary, to make whatever
sacrifices may be demanded. The day may not be far distant when
in certain countries of the East, in which religious communities
exercise jurisdiction in matters of personal status, &Baha'i Assemblies
may be called upon to assume the duties and responsibilities
devolving upon officially constituted &Baha'i courts. They will be empowered,
in such matters as marriage, divorce, and inheritance, to
execute and apply, within their respective jurisdictions, and with the
sanction of civil authorities, such laws and ordinances as have been
expressly provided in their Most Holy Book.
The Faith of &Baha'u'llah has, in addition to these tendencies and
activities which its evolution is now revealing, demonstrated, in
other spheres, and wherever the illumination of its light has penetrated,
the force of its cohesive strength, of its integrating power,
of its invincible spirit. In the erection and consecration of its House
of Worship in the heart of the North American continent; in the
construction and multiplication of its administrative headquarters
in the land of its birth and in neighboring countries; in the fashioning
of the legal instruments designed to safeguard and regulate the
corporate life of its institutions; in the accumulation of adequate
resources, material as well as cultural, in every continent of the
globe; in the endowments which it has created for itself in the immediate
surroundings of its Shrines at its world center; in the
efforts that are being made for the collection, the verification, and
the systematization of the writings of its Founders; in the measures
that are being taken for the acquisition of such historical sites as
are associated with the lives of its Forerunner and its Author, its
heroes and martyrs; in the foundations that are being laid for the
gradual formation and establishment of its educational, its cultural
and humanitarian institutions; in the vigorous efforts that are being
exerted to safeguard the character, stimulate the initiative and coordinate
the world-wide activities of its youth; in the extraordinary
vitality with which its valiant defenders, its elected representatives,
its itinerant teachers and pioneer administrators are pleading its
cause, extending its boundaries, enriching its literature, and
strengthening the basis of its spiritual conquests and triumphs; in
the recognition which civil authorities have, in certain instances,
been induced to grant to the body of its local and national representatives,
enabling them to incorporate their councils, establish


+P201
their subsidiary institutions, and safeguard their endowments; in
the facilities which these same authorities have consented to accord
to its shrines, its consecrated edifices, and educational institutions;
in the enthusiasm and determination with which certain communities
that had been severely tested and harassed are resuming their
activities; in the spontaneous tributes paid by royalty, princes,
statesmen and scholars to the sublimity of its cause and the station
of its Founders--in these, as in many others, the Faith of &Baha'u'llah
is proving beyond doubt its virility and capacity to counteract
the disintegrating influences to which religious systems, moral
standards, and political and social institutions are being subjected.
From Iceland to Tasmania, from Vancouver to the China Sea
spreads the radiance and extend the ramifications of this world-enfolding
System, this many-hued and firmly-knit Fraternity, infusing
into every man and woman it has won to its cause a faith, a
hope, and a vigor that a wayward generation has long lost, and is
powerless to recover. They who preside over the immediate destinies
of this troubled world, they who are responsible for its chaotic
state, its fears, its doubts, its miseries will do well, in their bewilderment,
to fix their gaze and ponder in their hearts upon the evidences
of this saving grace of the Almighty that lies within their reach--
a grace that can ease their burden, resolve their perplexities, and
illuminate their path.

Divine Retribution

The whole of mankind is groaning, is dying to be led to unity,
and to terminate its age-long martyrdom. And yet it stubbornly
refuses to embrace the light and acknowledge the sovereign authority
of the one Power that can extricate it from its entanglements,
and avert the woeful calamity that threatens to engulf it.
Ominous indeed is the voice of &Baha'u'llah that rings through
these prophetic words: "O ye peoples of the world! Know, verily,
that an unforeseen calamity followeth you, and grievous retribution
awaiteth you. Think not that which ye have committed hath been
effaced in My sight." And again: "We have a fixed time for you,
O peoples. If ye fail, at the appointed hour, to turn towards God,
He, verily, will lay violent hold on you, and will cause grievous
afflictions to assail you from every direction. How severe, indeed,
is the chastisement with which your Lord will then chastise you!"
Must humanity, tormented as she now is, be afflicted with still


+P202
severer tribulations ere their purifying influence can prepare her to
enter the heavenly Kingdom destined to be established upon earth?
Must the inauguration of so vast, so unique, so illumined an era in
human history be ushered in by so great a catastrophe in human
affairs as to recall, nay surpass, the appalling collapse of Roman civilization
in the first centuries of the Christian Era? Must a series of
profound convulsions stir and rock the human race ere &Baha'u'llah
can be enthroned in the hearts and consciences of the masses, ere His
undisputed ascendancy is universally recognized, and the noble edifice
of His World Order is reared and established?
The long ages of infancy and childhood, through which the
human race had to pass, have receded into the background. Humanity
is now experiencing the commotions invariably associated
with the most turbulent stage of its evolution, the stage of adolescence,
when the impetuosity of youth and its vehemence reach their
climax, and must gradually be superseded by the calmness, the wisdom,
and the maturity that characterize the stage of manhood. Then
will the human race reach that stature of ripeness which will enable
it to acquire all the powers and capacities upon which its ultimate
development must depend.

World Unity the Goal

Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of the
stage which human society is now approaching. Unity of family, of
tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and
fully established. World unity is the goal towards which a harassed
humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. The
anarchy inherent in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax.
A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize
the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish
once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental
principle of its life.
"A new life," &Baha'u'llah proclaims, "is, in this age, stirring
within all the peoples of the earth; and yet none hath discovered its
cause, or perceived its motive." "O ye children of men," He thus
addresses His generation, "the fundamental purpose animating the
Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote
the unity of the human race... This is the straight path,
the fixed and immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this
foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair


+P203
its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine
its structure." "The well-being of mankind," He declares, "its
peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is
firmly established." "So powerful is the light of unity," is His further
testimony, "that it can illuminate the whole earth. The one true
God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of
these words... This goal excelleth every other goal, and this aspiration
is the monarch of all aspirations." "He Who is your Lord,
the All-Merciful," He, moreover, has written, "cherisheth in His
heart the desire of beholding the entire human race as one soul and
one body. Haste ye to win your share of God's good grace and
mercy in this Day that eclipseth all other created days."
The unity of the human race, as envisaged by &Baha'u'llah, implies
the establishment of a world commonwealth in which all nations,
races, creeds and classes are closely and permanently united,
and in which the autonomy of its state members and the personal
freedom and initiative of the individuals that compose them are
definitely and completely safeguarded. This commonwealth must,
as far as we can visualize it, consist of a world legislature, whose
members will, as the trustees of the whole of mankind, ultimately
control the entire resources of all the component nations, and will
enact such laws as shall be required to regulate the life, satisfy the
needs and adjust the relationships of all races and peoples. A world
executive, backed by an international Force, will carry out the decisions
arrived at, and apply the laws enacted by, this world legislature,
and will safeguard the organic unity of the whole commonwealth.
A world tribunal will adjudicate and deliver its compulsory
and final verdict in all and any disputes that may arise between the
various elements constituting this universal system. A mechanism of
world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole
planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning
with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity. A world
metropolis will act as the nerve center of a world civilization, the
focus towards which the unifying forces of life will converge and
from which its energizing influences will radiate. A world language
will either be invented or chosen from among the existing languages
and will be taught in the schools of all the federated nations as an
auxiliary to their mother tongue. A world script, a world literature,
a uniform and universal system of currency, of weights and measures,
will simplify and facilitate intercourse and understanding
among the nations and races of mankind. In such a world society,


+P204
science and religion, the two most potent forces in human life, will
be reconciled, will &cooperate, and will harmoniously develop. The
press will, under such a system, while giving full scope to the expression
of the diversified views and convictions of mankind, cease
to be mischievously manipulated by vested interests, whether private
or public, and will be liberated from the influence of contending
governments and peoples. The economic resources of the world will
be organized, its sources of raw materials will be tapped and fully
utilized, its markets will be &coordinated and developed, and the distribution
of its products will be equitably regulated.
National rivalries, hatreds, and intrigues will cease, and racial
animosity and prejudice will be replaced by racial amity, understanding
and &cooperation. The causes of religious strife will be permanently
removed, economic barriers and restrictions will be completely
abolished, and the inordinate distinction between classes
will be obliterated. Destitution on the one hand, and gross accumulation
of ownership on the other, will disappear. The enormous
energy dissipated and wasted on war, whether economic or political,
will be consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of
human inventions and technical development, to the increase of the
productivity of mankind, to the extermination of disease, to the
extension of scientific research, to the raising of the standard of
physical health, to the sharpening and refinement of the human
brain, to the exploitation of the unused and unsuspected resources
of the planet, to the prolongation of human life, and to the furtherance
of any other agency that can stimulate the intellectual,
the moral, and spiritual life of the entire human race.
A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and exercising
unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably vast resources,
blending and embodying the ideals of both the East and the West,
liberated from the curse of war and its miseries, and bent on the exploitation
of all the available sources of energy on the surface of the
planet, a system in which Force is made the servant of Justice,
whose life is sustained by its universal recognition of one God and
by its allegiance to one common Revelation--such is the goal
towards which humanity, impelled by the unifying forces of life,
is moving.
"One of the great events," affirms &Abdu'l-Baha, "which is to
occur in the Day of the manifestation of that incomparable Branch
is the hoisting of the Standard of God among all nations. By this
is meant that all nations and kindreds will be gathered together under


+P205
the shadow of this Divine Banner, which is no other than the
Lordly Branch itself, and will become a single nation. Religious and
sectarian antagonism, the hostility of races and peoples, and differences
among nations, will be eliminated. All men will adhere to one
religion, will have one common faith, will be blended into one race
and become a single people. All will dwell in one common fatherland,
which is the planet itself." "Now, in the world of being," He
has moreover explained, "the Hand of Divine power hath firmly
laid the foundations of this all-highest bounty, and this wondrous
gift. Whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this holy Cycle shall
gradually appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning
of its growth, and the dayspring of the revelation of its signs.
Ere the close of this century and of this age, it shall be made clear
and evident how wondrous was that spring-tide, and how heavenly
was that gift."
No less enthralling is the vision of Isaiah, the greatest of the
Hebrew Prophets, predicting, as far back as twenty five hundred
years ago, the destiny which mankind must, at its stage of maturity,
achieve: "And He (the Lord) shall judge among the nations, and
shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into
plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not
lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more
...And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and
a Branch shall grow out of his roots... And he shall smite the
earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips
shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of
his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together... And
the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned
child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt
nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."
The writer of the Apocalypse, prefiguring the millenial glory
which a redeemed, a jubilant humanity must witness, has similarly
testified: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more
sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, `Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and


+P206
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be
their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away.'"
Who can doubt that such a consummation--the coming of age of
the human race--must signalize, in its turn, the inauguration of a
world civilization such as no mortal eye hath ever beheld or human
mind conceived? Who is it that can imagine the lofty standard
which such a civilization, as it unfolds itself, is destined to attain?
Who can measure the heights to which human intelligence, liberated
from its shackles, will soar? Who can visualize the realms which
the human spirit, vitalized by the outpouring light of &Baha'u'llah,
shining in the plenitude of its glory, will discover?
What more fitting conclusion to this theme than these words of
&Baha'u'llah, written in anticipation of the golden age of His Faith--
the age in which the face of the earth, from pole to pole, will mirror
the ineffable splendors of the &Abha Paradise? "This is the Day
whereon naught can be seen except the splendors of the Light that
shineth from the face of thy Lord, the Gracious, the Most Bountiful.
Verily, We have caused every soul to expire by virtue of Our
irresistible and all-subduing sovereignty. We have then called into
being a new creation, as a token of Our grace unto men. I am,
verily, the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days. This is the Day
whereon the unseen world crieth out: `Great is thy blessedness, O
earth, for thou hast been made the foot-stool of thy God, and been
chosen as the seat of His mighty throne!' The realm of glory exclaimeth:
`Would that my life could be sacrificed for thee, for He
Who is the Beloved of the All-Merciful hath established His sovereignty
upon thee, through the power of His name that hath been
promised unto all things, whether of the past or of the future.'"

Shoghi.

Haifa, Palestine,
March 11, 1936.