From Bahaitext
| ←Issue 8 | Star of the West Volume 10 - Issue 9 |
Issue 10→ |
We are working hard to have proofread and nicely formatted text for you to read. Here is our progress on this issue:
|
STAR OF THE WEST PUBLISHED NINETEEN TIMES A YEAR In the Interest of the BAHAI MOVEMENT By the BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, 515 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, 111., U. S. A. Publishers.‘ ALBERT R. WINDUST—GERTRUDE BUIKEMA—DR. ZIA M. BAGDADI Entered as second-class matter April 9, 1911, at the postoffice at Chicago, Ill., under the Act of March 3, 1879. TERMSI $2.50 per year; 15 cents per copy Make Money Orders Payable to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, 111., U. S. A. To personal checks please add suflicient to cover the bank exchange. Address all communications to BAHAI NEWS SERVICE, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, 111., U. S. A. WORDS OF ABDUL-BAHA “Great importance must be given to the development of the STAR or THE VVEs'r. The circle of its discussion must be widened; in its columns must be published the essential problems pertaining to the Bahai life in all its phases. Its contents must be so universal that even the strangers may subscribe to it. Articles must be published, dealing with the universal principles of the Cause, the writers proving that this Cause takes a vital interest in all the social and religious movements of the age and is conducive to the progress of the world and its inhabitants. In short, the STAR or THE WEST must promote the aspirations and the ideals that will gather little by little around these general Tablets, bringing into the light of day all the historical, religious and racial knowledge which will be of the utmost value to the Bahai teachers all over the world.” From of the Divine Plan. Vol. 10 CONTENTS No. 9 “Every Century Has Its Own Idea1”................................. 178 Addrbss by DR. FREDERICK W. D’EvELYN. To Live the Life 182 Address by MARY HANFORD FORD. Recent Tablets from ABDUL-BAHA to American Bahais. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Mrs. Brookcr Dr. Olive Couch Will Levington Comfort Shanaz Khanum PERSIAN SEGTION—Continued 192-190 (See Contents, page 193.)
EVERY CENTURY has its own ideals which in accord with that century, is confirmed. In this illuminecl era, that which is confirmed is the Oneness of the World of Humanity. Every soul who serves this Oneness undoubtedly will be assisted. (See Tablet, page 185.)
STAR OF THE WEST “We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the, nations; that all nations shall become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of afiection and unity between the sons of men shall be strengthened, that diversity of religion shall cease and differences of race be annulled. So it shall be; these fruitless strifes; these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the ‘Most Great Peace’ shall come.”—BAHA’o’u.AH. Vol. 10 Kamal 1, 75 (August 20, 1919) No. 9 The Power of the Influence of Baha’o’llah Address by DR. FREDERICK W. D’EvELYN of San Francisco, delivered at the Fourth Session of the Bahai Congress at Hotel McA1pin, New York City, Monday afternoon, April 28th, 1919. Stenographically reported. “H E IS eon!” The Chairman has referred to the fact that I am from the West, and I am pleasantly reminded of that by the presence of our veteran and esteemed colleague, Mrs. Ford. The last time that We sat together upon the same platform was that never-to-be-forgotten, morning When, under the auspices of the Pa.nama-Pacifie Exposition, as the morning sun Was driving away the clouds and the mists from the portals of the Golden Gate, heralding the advent of a new dawn, so the Nazareth, the Bethlehem of the Old dispensation, gave place to the Sun of today, the City of Noor, of the new Covenant, on that morning quickened into being and into existence under the guidance of Abdul-Baha. In magnifying his commands he had revealed to us a secret -of greatness and the first Bahai Congress became a reality, an instrument of God’s purpose. Its potency Will be measured only in eternity. To the man in the street the culminating success of the modern newspaper is the headlines, and in the few minutes that have been allotted to me I am going to talk to you in headlines, and lest I be misunderstood, I am going to tell you the things that you know. Today, We are told, the World of humanity is inadvertent. We realize it is at variance. Today no nation, no peo ple are confident and at case, because confidence and security have passed away from the World of humanity. Presidents, kings, labor, capital, subjects—are all in danger. The need of a. collective center, where these difierenees may be annulled and the oneness of unity be established, is as urgent as it is evident. In the World of divinity, quality and identity are inseparable. No duality; absolute oneness. The power and influence of BAHA’o’LLAH are divine entities, inseparable, the perfection of unity. The perfection of unity vocalized, materialized, is the Bahai Massage, and the Bahai Message is the need of the World today. When you hear this acclaim for the first time it would be very human, it would be pardonable, if a certain measure of unbidden resentment arose within you, born into being by the very assurance of the statement and by the alleged comprehensiveness of the claim. That claim is- specific rather than elaborate; it is centripetal rather than diffuse. It at one and the same time breaks down barriers, for to it they are non-existent, and overcomes diflioulties ; because in the onward progress of its triumph they are n0n-retarding. In its appeal to humanitygit concedes a universality that makes all the World kin. If we were asked to classify. to align the Bahai Message with some
of the great historical pronouncements of the world, we should speak of it as the Declaration of Independence. Today in the school houses, in the halls of council, in the chambers of congress, ra'rely indeed are the echoes of the utterances of the great father of our country silent. Today if you pick up a dozen of the leading newspapers, the possibility is that ten of them would be again repeating his wonderful warnings against “entangling alliances.” Thus contrasted, thus aligned, the Bahai Message becomes an ordinance of the most supreme inner significance, for its pronouncement is “Take ye heed, be ‘ware ye of entangling limitations.” Think, think of a God’s message so curtailed, so foreshortened, that any of His entities fall outside of its boundaries unreached, unsurrounded, unineluded. Such a, message would not be comforting, would not be assuring. It would not be Godlike. It would not be glorious, and it could not be Bahai. A few days ago I read in one of the London newspapers an article on literature, written by a special writer, in which he said, amongst other things, “The most read of the recent books is the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethice, at Work of twelve volumes, ten already published.” A holy father just returned from Rome, was present at the interview, and he added: “Yes, and there is no book today more frequently consulted in the Vatican than the one you have just mentioned.” If I were permitted to write into that, “the greatest recent book,” a definition of the Bahai Message, I think I would Write, “The Most Great Consummation of all G‘rod’s relationship, plans and purposes bestowed upon humanity since that day when in the beginning the Word was God.” Thus is it the Alpha and the Omega. A few moments ago we ‘spoke about the world being at variance. It might seem a disconnected sequel to claim these are victorious days, these are STAR OF THE WEST triumphant days. This is the Wycle of deeds,—n0t of words, and deeds proclaim the 'station of the deer. AbdulBaha. says: “Yes, these are great days, the time of the end has come, the doors of the Kingdom are open, the Supreme Concourse is descending to assist all.” Yes, these are great days, for back to memory, back to recognition, back to acceptance, is coming the fact that man is not merely the output of a system, nor the by-product of a community, but is a God-created, a God-claimed entity. The Bahai teachings say, the honor and the glory of man consists in the fact that amongst the beings he is the dawning place of righteousness, and adds Yes, and with divine assistance, the peace, Welfare and prosperity of the World of humanity are in his hands. The Bahai Message does not tell us that all men are equal, but it tells us that the crown of humanity rests upon all alike. This Message, the incarnate power and influence of BAHA’0’LLAH, that the birthmark, the reality of man is the Throne cf Divinity. The Manifestation of today is not an accident; is not a coincidence; is not merely history is the voice and the will of God, the meaning and the entity of God. Ethically it is the spiritual complement to the material development of mankind today, I say it with the conviction of every fibre of my being, that it is a normal thing, that it is a logical thing, that it is a fair-play thing, and With all the awe and the veneration that my soul is capable of, I say God could not, God would not, God dare not, deny to that thing which He says is “the dawning place of righteousness,” nay, would not deny to him the opportunity of ascending to a spiritual height complementary and coequal with his-permitted material development. The power and the ence of BAHA’0’LLAH will make this mundane sphere of ours the great arena in which this chosen thing of God, this thing man,--all other teachings, all other dogmas, all other predictions or
doubts to the contrary,-—in station become the dawning place of righteousness, will attain to the victory over the city of the hearts, and will confirm and conform to the created innateness of his birthmark, his inseparable possession of “reality.” The clear judgment must consider the obligation for the ment of these promises. Mankind of necessity must reach the loftiest destination, the exalted grade, the supreme stati0n—chosen for him by his Creator “in whose grasp is the kingdom of destiny and the power of execution.” This is the cycle of that confirmation, the uncompromising consummation‘ of the oneness of the World of humanity. Look at these times 'and seasons. Years are no longer of equal measure. A day may mean more than a year and a flash more than a day. It is not exaggerated to say that anything can take place in the spiritual life of man today. Consider for a moment the important values attached to material speed and nearness, the physical values of speed and nearness today. Our God is marching on,-—--and, the question is where is humanity, ahead, abreast or in the rear? That is the most vital question for whom? For you, as an individual; for you as individuals coalesced into the masses. Our God is marching on. Where is humanity? That supreme guidance which our te-aehers are look— ing for, our guides seeking after, our congressmen yearning for, that Supreme guidance which in their limitation they term - statesmanship. Statesmanship, the greatest good for the greatest numher. “That is statesmanship in its essence, in its final analysis‘? What is it? Is it not merely the harmonizing of the spiritual movement of the age? If that movement, that spirit, is unknown, is uninterpreted, unreeeived, where can be the statesmanship, Where can be the effieiency, where can be the standardization‘! Our God is marching on, While mankind is standing afar aloof, because our guides have not interpreted 181 the spiritual movement of this age. The power and the influence of BAHA’0’LLAH, the Bahai Message, in its potency, in its universality, in its domination, is the ally of the God that is marching on, the God that is doing great things. Yes, the Bahai Message, the power and the ence of BAHA’0’LLAH, the manifestation of today, is just this, it is God’s ways, G0d’s means, whereby humanity can come abreast with a God that is marching on, With a God who is fulfilling His promises, with a God who is completing His purposes. Therefore, We ask you, acquaint yourself with its teachings. Investigate its principles, exchange your ignorance for its knowledge, your weakness for its strength, your invalidism for its potency, your blindness for its illumination. You see that beautiful invention (pointing to a. light filter installed upon the platf0rm)—a-n unique thing, a helpful thing, but its sun, its rays, will not put the gold on the Wheat, the red on the cherry, or the blush on the peach. It is a mere tWilight,-—twilight even as the twilight of orthodoxy, the reflection of a sun that is not. The power and the influence of BAHA’0’LLAI-I is the full orbed sun of today that gives to the seasons their quickening and to mankind his fruitage. There is no power, 110 power, save the power and influence of BAHA’0’LLAH eonereted into the Bahai Message, the will and the Word of God; there is no power today save that power that can bring together beneath the same tree the hearts and the minds of the World of humanity. It is the motive power in all things; it is the mover of souls; it is the governor and the controller of the world of humanity. Be ye illumined with the light of today, don’t put light filters over your soul and be shaded by the nether gloom of yesterday. The power and influence of BAHA’0’LLAH is the zenith sun of today, the consummation of all God ’s relationships, from Way back when the Word was in the beginning, when the Word was God,
until this hour, the time of the- end. The glory and the honor of man consists in the fact that amongst the beings he is the dawning place of righteousness. The power and the influence of BAHA’0’LLAH has come to the World in this most greet cycle, asking you to come back and claim your birthright, the birthright God gave you, the birthright man cannot take from you. Come back! Be illumined with the light of today and turn your sight STAR OF THE WEST into yourself and see that claimant standing within you, glorious, mighty and supreme! The power and the influence of BAHA’0’LLAH, the Bahai Message, are just. G0d’s ways and God’s means whereby humanity today can come abreast with a God who is marching on. “Blessed are those who attain.” To Live the Life Address by MARY HANFORD Fom), at the Fourth Session of the Bahai Congress, at Hotel MoAlpin, New York City, Monday afternoon, April 28, 1919. Stenographically reported. I FEEL very happy to be here this afternoon, and very humble in following the eloquent Words of Dr. D’Evelyn, and as I stand here, it seems to me, that perhaps it is my mission today, a. very simple thing and yet a. necessary thing, to follow very slightly and very superficially some of those lines in which Abdul-Baha. has, We might say, taught us how we can catch up with God. Dr. D’Eve1yn has been telling us of the supreme message which has been given to us, of its grandeur, of its magnificence, of its supremacy, and it seems as if ever since Abdul-Baha had begun to talk to us, he has been trying to tell us how we can catch up with that message, what we can do to lift ourselves out of personalities and into entity, out of animalism and into spirituality, out of that self-indulgence which is the curse of the natural man and into that superb effort Which is the acme and attainment of the spiritual man. And so, if I can tell you, very simply, this afternoon, just a few of the lines which Abdul-Baha has pointed out to us in that Way, I shall be very happy. And one of them it makes me very glad to speak because it gives me the opportunity to say to you just a. bit of some of those Wonderful words which AbdulBaha has recently been sending across the continent and across the ocean. You know, we are living in such an astounding day of tumult and endeavor, a. day when all the old World is so absolutely falling to pieces that sometimes We are in despair, sometimes We say how can any great edifice ever lift its head out of this ruin and catch the light of the sun once more? Now and again these words of Abdul-Baha come to us across the ocean and across the continent and give us hope because they always practically point out a direct pathway which we must follow to attain this end. It is a pathway always along certain lines and always, on the other hand, inclusive of that great realm that is described by that little Word cmaduct, the one Word that we are most prone to forget in our march towards spiritual attainment and supremacy. And so I want to read these Words of Abdul-Baha, which have been recently received by a friend in New York. He says: “No doubt had the World of Women wielded sufficient prestige, the conflagration of this War would not have set the world If the mass of women in Europe and of those in America had been enfranehised throughout all the state undoubtedly they would not agree to war. At present this War has made millions of children fatherless and millions of fathers and mothers destitute of sons ; this war has snatched
from pitiable sisters their brethren, this war has turned millions of women into widows and destitute of husbands, this war has made cities desolate, this War has made the very foundations of mankind quake and quiver. If in future, women, like unto men; are given the franchise, assuredly they shall prevent the occurrence of War; whereas, otherwise the matter will be difficult. Man is sanguinary and even Worse than devouring beasts. Of what use is exhortetion and to What amounts admonition? A mighty power is necessary in order to make an effective opposition, otherwise it will be exceedingly difficult. I pray God that the World of women may be assisted and confirmed for their purpose is universal peace.” You know how it is yourself in this new era in which we are living; how difficult We find our situation everywhere. For instance, here is the man of the old order who nevertheless has been endowed With new ideas and he has to have a little struggle with himself When instead of handing out to his Wife the customary quarter for bread and tea, he is obliged to say, “My dear, my bank account is open to you,” and then accept with humility the number of checks which pour in for cashing, as a result of the new and inexperienced liberty which this Woman is enjoying. And on the other hand, you know, it seems a little queer to the new Woman who has submitted always and whose grandmothers have submitted always, to begin suddenly to realize What it means to not only boss the household but boss the head of the household as well (1aughter)—freguent1y realizing that unless she bosses the head of the household the household will go to the demnition bow-Wows, so to speak (laughter). And you know What BAHA’0’LLAH says to us about the world of the past, about the World of the present; that it is a. World of animalism, a world of cruelty, a. world of self-indulgence, and that he 133 says also this world of the past has been governed by force. That day has ended. The World of the future is to be governed by love. The World of the future is to be ruled by the spirit, not by the arm of law, even in the old sense, but by that new and wonderful knowledge of our nearness to that heavenly source of light which alone can give us Wisdom and alone can carry us to the acme of our success and attainment in this World. Look at it, this question of man and woman, from the point of view of the ideal which Abdul-Baha, to us. Man is the objective side of existence. Man is the objective actor in existence. He is the individual who does things outwardly. And what is Woman? man is the subjective element in existence. While man is the fighting one, woman is the praying one. While man wields all the material forces of existence into the forms which he chooses, woman Waits and listens for the pattern to be given through which those forces and into which these forces may be moulded. Always in the past the World has been dominated only by the objective side of its existent power. Is it any wonder We have had Wars‘? Is it any Wonder We have had inharmony after inharmony and injustice after injustice, and that again and again, in the eras of our history, we have had to confess that we have completely forgotten God? And now suddenly what does AbdulBa-ha, say to us: That henceforth men are to be equal in franchise with the men, that women are to be equal in power with the men, that women are to sit in our council halls and Women are to be recognized as our counselors. Why? They are the element of love. They are the element of creation, they are the medium through which God speaks to the world. And do you not stop in reverence and fold your hands in prayer as you gaze forward and (Continued on page 186)
STAR OF THE WEST TABLET FROM ABDUL-BAHA O thou STAR OF THE WEST! Be thou happy! Be thou happy! . Shouldst thou continue to remain firm and eternal, ere long, thou shalt become the Star of the East and shalt spread in every country and clime. Thou art the first paper of the Bahais which is organized in the country of America. Although for the present thy subscribers are limited, thy form is small and thy voice weak, yet shouldst thou stand unshakable, become the object of the attention of the friends and the center of the generosity of the leaders of the faith who are firm in the Covenant, in the future thy subscribers will become hosts after hosts like unto the waves of the sea; thy volume will increase, thy arena will become vast and spacious and thv voice and fame will be raised and become world-wide—and at last thou shalt become the first paper of the world of human (Signed) ABDUL-BAHA Aams. Similarly, the Magazine, the STAR or THE WEST, must be edited in the utmost its contents must be the promul gator of the Cause of God—so that both- in the East and the West they may become informed of the most important events. STAROF THE WEST FOUNDATION Northeastern States: HOOPER HARRIS. Southern States: JOSEPH H. HANNEN. Western States: HELEN S. GOODALL. Dominion of Canada: MAY MAXWELL. Central States: ALBERT VAIL, CARL SCHEFFLER. Editorial Staff: ALBERT R. WINDUST—GERTRUDE BUIKEMA——DR. ZIA M. BAGDADI Honorary Member: MIRZA AHMAD SOHRAB Vol. 10 Kamal 1, 75 (August 20, 1919) Recent Tablets from Abdul-Baha to American Bahais MRS. BROOKER O thou daughter of the Kingdom The letter thou hadst written on J anuary 22nd, 1919, was received. Praise thou the Lord, that thou hast been ushered into the divine Kingdom as one of the chosen people of God and the light of guidance hath been reflected upon thy pure heart like unto a light which is ignited in a lamp and a candle which bestows light to a gathering; thou hast organized a meeting and hast been engaged in the promulgation of divine teachings. Rest thou assured that divine confirmations shall reaeh (thee) and heavenly eohorts shall assure (thee) the vie tory and that thyself and thy respected husband shall attain unto everlasting life and shall serve the oneness of the world of humanity, and shall bring together other souls under the shade of the pavilion- of the Kingdom. At present engage in service and you Will have permission to present yourself. Convey longing greeting to Mr. Russell Brooker and tell him: “Praise the Lord, for He hath flung open to thy face the doors of Solomon ’s Wisdom, and pray God that He may bestow upon thee an everlasting sovereignty, for S010m0n’s kingship was ephemeral, it passed away and did not remain forever, while the sovereignty of the love of God is perpetual and endless. I hope that thou mayest sit on this throne and that is firmness and steadfastness in the love of God.”
As to thy new business, the former trade. . . . is the cause of thy comfort. The new business will engage greatly your mind. It is advisable for thee to engage in the previous trade and devote the rest of your time to spiritual matters. Upon the-e be Baha-e1-Abha! (Signed) ABDUL-BAHA-ABBAS. (Translated by Shoghie Rabbani, March 30th, 1919, house of Abdul-Baha, Haifa, Palestine.) DR. OLIVE G. COUCH O thou attracted to the Kingdom of God ! Thy letter dated January 31st, 1919, was received. Although I am bodily far and remote, yet in spirit I associate and am intimate with you. Do not be grieved. Divine beatitude is thy possession and divine glad-tidings abide with thee. This bliss and gladness is not followed by grief and this illumination leaves no room for darkness. At present engage in service to the Kingdom of God. Whenever the ways will be opened and the means will be fully provided by which thou mayest travel in perfect comfort and ease then thou hast permission to present thyself. Convey my greeting to Mrs. Beede. It was a, long time that the (holy) leaves were awaiting the receipt of her news, but so far no letter has been received from her. But now that you have informed us of her news the whole family has been made grateful. Upon thee be greeting and praise I (Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS. (Translated by Shoghie Rabbani, March 30th, 1919, house of Abdul-Baha, Haifa, Palestine.) 185 WILL LEVINGTON COMFORT. To his honor Will Levington Comfort, through Shahnaz Waite-—Upon him be Baha-E1-Abha! He Is God! O thou son of the Kingdom! Praise be to God, that like unto a torch thou hast been ignited, and like unto a star thou hast shone. This light is the light of reality, which is divine guidance, and not a material one. It is a heavenly lamp and not an earthly one which, although it reveals objects, yet it does not discover and comprehend them, i. e., it is unaware of the World of things, and simply reveals them to the eye; while on the other hand, the light of Truth both reveals and discovers objects and does moreover comprehend them. Praise be to God that thou hast attained to such a light. Upon thee be Baha-el-Abha! (Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS. (Translated by Shoghi Rabbani, March 15, 1919. Home of Abdul-Baha, Haifa, Palestine.) SHANAZ KHANUM. To the maid-servant of God, Shanaz Khanum, Los Angeles, California-— Upon her be BAHA’0’LLAH E1-Abha! He Is God! O thou revered maid-servant of God! Thy letter from Los Angeles was re ceived. Thank divine Providence that thou hast been assisted in service and hast been the cause of the promulgation of the oneness of the world of humanity. Not until the darkness of differences among men is dissipated With the pavilion of unity cast its shadow over all regions; otherwise rest and composure, peace and universal reconciliation are unachievable. This illumined age necessitates its fulfillment. Every century has its own ideal Which, in accord with that century, is ed. In this illumined era, that which is
confirmed is the oneness of the world of humanity. Every soul who serves this oneness undoubtedly will be assisted. I hope that in the Assemblies thou mayest sing praises with a sweet melody STAR OF THE WEST and become the cause of joy and gladness to all. Upon thee be E1-Baha-e1-Abha! (Signed) ABDUL-BAHA ABBAS. (Translated by Shoghi Rabbani, December 30, 1918. Haifa, Palestine.) To Live the/Life (Continued from page 183) realize Whatthat world may become when the objective side of existence has put its hands firmly into that of the subjective side of existence and both reverently and lovingly are looking to that divine Source from which alone our wisdom can arrive to us? That is what Abdul-Baha means when he says that women will prevent War. It is that woman knowing in the soul of her infinite patience, what is the divine ideal to which mankind may attain, Waits patiently for its consummation and is never willing to hurry it by the crudity and the coarseness of force, and so in that World which is stretching before us through all its tumult, through all its anguish, through all its anger, there is coming this new presence of patience, this new presence of love which will wait, this new presence of kindliness which will not criticize, and that is to make itself present in the world through this franchise which is given everywhere to womankind, through this council Which is granted to Womankind, thrc-ugh this freedom and this equality of comradeship which henceforth will guard and guide not only the fortunes of the world collectively, but, thank heaven, the individual fortunes of the individual man and woman who are united to consummate the life of this World. I know you have thought of the meaning of that Wonderful little Word, conduct, and how it applies to your life, how it applies to mine, of how it is the silver thread marking the path along which we finally reach the little haven of rest and of comfort whence we can look back and survey the anguish of the path which We have pursued because it is through conduct that we attain intuition, it is through conduct that We obtain self control, it is through conduct that we are enabled at last to stand and look at ourselves and realize what beastly things We have been in the past which is so near us, because We may theorize and We may prophesy all that we can, and we may read holy books and we may commit them to memory, We may have every text at our tongue ’s end, and if We have not stopped to say, “What did I do yesterday’? How did I hurt my friend‘? How did I forget that wonderful law which Abdul-Baha has given uses the Golden Rule of this day and the coming not a cause of grief to anyone ”——it is all in Vain. Be not a cause of grief to anyone. There is so much grief in this World. There is so much anguish that We can.not escape. There is so much sorrow that We cannot avoid that presently, after We have begun to realize it, and after our own heart perhaps has been burned to ashes, there is a spark left which says to us, “At least you can do this thing, you can live in your corner of the world so that no one in that corner of the World suffers from your aot or word. You can do that.” And What would become of us if all the World Would do that‘? “That would become of the universe if every one were doing that? Living in his corner of the World so that no other through him; so that no other had a moment of grief or an added anguish because he stood there in that place?
I think often as I look forward to the future and the day when I lay my head down for its final sleep in this World and I hope its lovely awakening in the next world, I may be able to look back and say at least, in the last days of my life I remembered that I was careful not to grieve those who were next to me. I was careful to spread love as fully and as freely as possible in my passage of life. And you know that is concerned in this Word conduct. That is concerned in this word service, in the Word that is constantly on the lips of Abdul-Baha. and which he is not Willing to use just as service, but Which he turns again and again into that more powerful Word of servitude, which some of us come to know Very well. Indeed, in these days of our existence that word servitude which imprisons us until the desire has fallen away from us, the desire for domination, the desire for supremacy, the desire to be the chief one in any place, is our salvation. And presently, When our servitude has been long and has been harsh and has been very severe, until our limbs are torn with the chains that bind us, What has happened to us? Why, a strange freedom has come, in which light blazes about us and fragrafice is in our nostrils and a heavenly voice sounds through our ears, saying, “My beloved servant, thou hast done well.” When you hear that voice, you know What happens to us, because it has happened to you many times. You know that you say to yourself, “Let the servitude be doubled, let it even never end, so that I may hear again those Wonderful and lovely Words that concern not my life here alone but all the everlasting life that stretches forever beyond us and is so different from this one, that when we have once had the tiniest glimpse of it everything in this life must necessarily fall into complete insignificance.” There is a beautiful story that AbdulBaha. tells us in his book The Mysterious Forces of Civilization-. It is a Wonder ful story and an eloquent story, a universal story, as are all the stories which Abdul-Baha tells us, and he tells of how a king in Arabia was like many kings, given to satisfaction of his impulses and his appetites, and one day, satisfying his appetite, he fell desperately drunk, so not knowing What he did, suddenly commanded the execution of two men that he loved best in the world, and, because his Word Was law, his command was obeyed immediately, and the heads of his faithful servants were stricken off. In the morning when he realized how faithfully the commands of his obdurate and unobstructed will had been fulfilled, in that morning his soul could not contain the anguish that possessed him at his own wretched conduct, and so, out of ignorance and out of his stupidity, he issued another decree even worse than the first one. He said, “I will build me two houses and on the anniversary of the death of these two men whom I have slain I will sit between these two houses and whoever comes to me on one side shall be slain in memory of those Whom I slew ignorantly, and whoever comes to me on the other side shall be granted the desire of his heart.” So it happened that the king in traveling about the World had a most lovely and beautiful experience, because that is the grace of heaven to us, you know, that in the height of our foolishness, and of our self-indulgence, the refreshing draughts of divine ichor fall into our parched lips, and We know We are not forgotten of heaven. So he came hunting alone and forlorn, and having lost his companions, he arrived at the house of a poor sheik of the desert, who had little in his place to eat, but who received the king with the hospitality which was his habit, and seating him at his table he said to his wife, “See the little kid that we have, although it is the last one, kill it and prepare it and bring it to our guest, everything that we have.” So they put it all before him on the simple
table, and the king ate there with greater joy, with greater gladness, than he had ever known. Wishing to reward that kindness, as he left, he said to his host, “Come to me any time you are in trouble and I will grant you any wish that you make to me. I am at your command; my realm is at your service.” So he Went back to his home, but remembered that table, that hour; he could not forget it. Then by sad fate, there were a couple of years when the harvest failed, when poverty doubled, poverty struck this son of the desert, who was in reality a son of God, and his Wife said to him, “What shall We do, We have nothing to eat,” and he replied, “I will now go to the king, I will ask for the fulfillment of his promise and he Will save us.” S0, getting on the back of his horse, he flew across the desert, seeking the king, seeking salvation, and came upon the Wrong side of the pathway just on the day when the king sat there to reward or to kill. The king, knowing nothing but his own obdurate material, animal, physical will, said to him, “Why have you come on this pathway and on this day. You Whom I wished to reward with every blessing of my realm, and now I can only give you death?” Hanzalah, kneeling before him in dismay, said, “Only grant me one privilege, then, that I may have a year to arrange my affairs, and I will come back to you a year from today and suffer the penalty that is imposed upon me?” The king said, “I cannot grant you this without a surety; you know that well. I have you now in my hands, and how do I know What will happen if you get out of my hands?” He was accustomed to physical laws. He was accustomed to animal passion. He knew nothing about a spiritual law which over-erides all that. So the man, looking about among the courtiers, asked one and was refused, and then at last appealed to another so powerfully that his soul was quickened, and he said, STAR OF THE WEST “I will be surety for him on his return.” So the sheik rode away, not endowed with great earthly possession, but to prepare for the death which was to be his a year from that time. When that day came, they watched for him and watched for him and he did not come. The king, knowing only the material law of satisfaction and demand, having never heard of anything else, said: “We must slay his substitute, nothing will save him,” but nevertheless Waited until sunset Was near, and then as the man was brought forth for execution, suddenly a Warrior was deseried, a horseman, on the horizon, and they Waited, and he came nearer and nearer, and finally flung himself at the feet of the king, and the king, lost in astonishment, said to him: “But why are you such a fool, why have you come back to death when you had escaped, when you knew very well that justice would be satisfied by the sacrifice of your substitute.” Then, lifting his head, Hanzalah said to the king, “But I could never have rested with such a conclusion as that. Does not honor hold a man, and is a physical life so precious that one would sacrifice his love of God and his love of his kind for the sake of such a miserable thing as the saving of physical existence? Why I would gladly give my life, I have arranged my aifairs and I have no fear of death, it is sweet to me.” The king looked at him with amazement. “You are not pale, you are not trembling, you are facing the executioner, and you are not afraid, how is this‘? What upholds you?” And he said, “I am the follower of my Lord, I have learned from him the secret of life, the joy of existence; long ago I heard the Words of the Lord Christ, and they gave me eternal life. How could I fear when you give me the entrance into that eternal life‘? Is not this something to rejoice over?” You know how it is with you in this World. You have gone on in your physi
cal existence, you have satisfied all your desires, you have sat upon your throne, and you have slain your enemies, then suddenly the Word of the Spirit falls into your heart, such a. thing as you never experienced before, the Word of the Spirit, the power of the Spirit, scales fall from your eyes, at last you know that you are not a physical being, that the loss of your physical life is nothing to you—instant1y you stand before yourself, glorious, enfranchised, alive, living eternally, looking back with the eyes of Wisdom at the paltry things for which you would have sacrificed that eternity. And it was so with the king. “Oh,” he said, “why did I not know this before? Why did I slay my friends first, and how, later, could I have built these houses and slain so many others? Oh,” he cried, “tear them down quickly, and you, beloved one, you sit beside me and tell me all the secrets of this truth which has given you such power, which has given you such Wisdom, which has brought you such happiness, which has taught you What nothing else can teach, what life actually is.” That was what happened to the king. And Hanzalah sat sweetly beside him in his humility and talked to him; gave him noble writings; the houses were both torn down and the Wicked paths were all made clear. Henceforth the king was known as the blessing and the father of all his people. Do you think that story belongs to the past? Do you think it lies only in the fourth or fifth century in which its scene is laid, and in Arabia? It is for each one of us, because each one of us has to tear down his houses which he has built with the wrong feeling and each one of us has to take into his heart that wonderful knowledge, that message of the spirit which fills us with joy and makes us indifferent to all the voices of ambition and privilege. It brings to us the meaning of that other lovely thing that Abdul-Baha has said to us. You know We can never eom~ plete the repetition of all these wonderful Words that he has said to us pointing the Way of the future. He says this little word. “The divine nearness is unlimited both in this world and the next.” The divine nearness is so many things, the divine nearness is the inspiring idea falling upon us from heaven, carrying with it its ideal, surrounding us so that we forget ourselves and those Who are near to us, and know only the presence of that ideal and the power of that idea which consumes us until we have carried it out completely. The divine nearness is that consciousness of the word of the Spirit which sears us sometimes like a flame, and fills us sometimes like a fragrance, cutting us off again from all the meanness of the ambitions of this World and carrying us on into the mysteries of life that stretch into the other world and bring us a consciousness of God that we have never had before, a realization of His nearness, a knowledge of What the Holy Spirit is and what is the Work of the Holy Spirit, so that presently we begin to see it is all that We Want. If I can have the divine nearness, if I can have the Holy Spirit, What do I care as to the texture of my gown, the height of the Walls that cover me, my station, or the quality of the food that I eat? Because this divine nearness, this which must pervade the World, this which I begin to know, this which I can do my part in sharing with every one, this is the greatest blessing of existence and this is the foundation of the new world that is to be built out of the ashes of the past, and will construct everywhere again, and again these temples whose principles and gilded tops will catch the rays of the universal sun, so that they will be reflected upon all mankind and all mankind will know here on this earth what it is to live in heaven.
--PERSIAN TEXT--
--PERSIAN TEXT--
--PERSIAN TEXT--
Original scans
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |