# The Baha'i Movement: A Series of Nineteen Papers

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Charles Mason Remey, The Baha'i Movement: A Series of Nineteen Papers, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> The Bahai Movement
> A Series of Nineteen Papers
> BY
> CHARLES MASON REMEY
> 
> Published in the Ninety-fifth Year after
> the Birth of Baha’o’llah
> 
> Second Edition
> 
> PRESS OF
> D. MILANS & SONS
> WASHINGTON, D. C.
> 
> PREFACE
> 
> THESE papers treating of the Bahai Movement have been written at various times and places during the
> past two years, some typewritten copies of which have been circulated among people interested in the
> work. Because of the growing interest in the Bahai Cause and the increasing demand for literature upon
> the subject, it now seems advisable to publish these articles in book form, in the hope that they may be
> of service to those who desire more knowledge of the Bahai teaching.
> 
> C. M. R.
> 
> 21 March, 1912,
> Washington, D. C.
> 
> In the Persian and Arabic languages each letter has a numerical value and each name or word has as its
> numerical value the sum of the values of its component letters. A=l, B=2, H=5. Thus 9 is the numerical
> value of the name Baha, and this number, which is the greatest of simple numbers, is used by the Bahais
> as a symbol of the name.
> TABLE OF CONTENTS
> 
> Page
> I  INTRODUCTION                                                                               1
> II. THE BAB                                                                                    6
> III. BAHA’O’LLAH                                                                               14
> IV.  ABDUL-BAHA                                                                                25
> V.  THE MANIFESTATION OF THE WORD OF GOD                                                      35
> VI.  RELATION OF THE BAHAI MOVEMENT TO THE RELIGIONS OF                                        42
> THE PAST
> 1. CHRISTIANITY                                                                  43
> 2. JUDAISM                                                                       45
> 3. ISLAM                                                                         47
> 4. ZOROASTRIANISM                                                                49
> 5. HINDUISM                                                                      51
> 6. BUDDHISM                                                                      53
> 7. MODERN THOUGHT                                                                55
> RESUMÉ                                                                        57
> VII. THE BAHAI SACRED WRITINGS                                                                  59
> VIII. SOCIAL REFORMS, LAWS AND ORDINANCES                                                       64
> IX. THE NEED OF THE TIMES                                                                      72
> X. ORIENTAL-OCCIDENTAL UNITY                                                                  76
> XI. ETERNAL LIFE                                                                               80
> XII. HEAVEN AND HELL                                                                            83
> XIII. SCIENCE AND RELIGION                                                                      88
> XIV. THE SUPERNATURAL                                                                            90
> XV. EDUCATIONAL ASPECT OF THE BAHAI TEACHING                                                    91
> XVI. THE BAHAI MOVEMENT AND THE ECONOMIC QUESTIONS OF                                            94
> THE DAY
> XVII. THE EVOLUTION OF MAN                                                                       96
> XVIII. THE METHOD OF TEACHING AND THE GROWTH OF THE BAHAI                                        98
> MOVEMENT
> XIX. A PERSONAL TESTIMONY                                                                       103
> 
> [page 1]
> 
> I.
> INTRODUCTION
> 
> At the present time the religious world is in a state of change. It has broken away from the cold and
> hard creed and dogma of the past, and it is awakening to, and reaching out for, a broader conception of
> truth — the universal religion. This, the universal religion, is what The Bahai Movement offers to the
> world.
> While there are many philosophies, (religion, because of man’s limitations, has taken upon itself
> many and varying forms of thought) from the spiritual view-point there is but one religion. There is but
> one God and there is but one spiritual relation between HIM and the individual souls of men. The
> knowledge of the spiritual relation between the Creator and the created is the one only and true religion.
> It is the basic principle of all religious systems, and, shorn of the superstitions and imaginations of the
> past, it will be the religion of the future.
> Through knowing, understanding and living the principles of The Kingdom, men will become
> united; the various religions, sects, and cults will cease to exist as such, and all men will live as brothers.
> The Bahai Movement is actually bringing about this millennial condition. Through its teaching and
> influence the spiritual limitations of an undeveloped humanity are disappearing, and the Truth, which is
> the love of God, is manifesting itself here on this earth as brotherhood among men.
> This present day is characterized by a great spiritual awakening, the like of which has never before
> been in the world. This awakening is manifest among all people, in all countries, and under all
> conditions. During the past sixty-five
> 
> [page 2]
> 
> years the world has entered upon a new spiritual era: people who have made a study of the religious
> work of today realize this fact, notwithstanding their own personal view-points. In the Christian world
> we see the effect of this awakening in so convincing a manner that illustrations are unnecessary. In the
> other religions the same is clearly and strikingly visible in the many changes and movements which, in
> these latter years have characterized Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. This spiritual awakening
> is universal. It manifests itself differently under varying conditions, social, racial and religious, but
> considered as a whole, it indicates that now the soul of the world is awake and searching, and that
> nothing short of the universal truth will appease its hunger and quench its thirst. It is this universal soulneed which the Bahai teaching is meeting and satisfying.
> The teachers and prophets, the founders of the world-religions, have been seers as well as channels
> of truth to the people of their days. Through spiritual understanding and wisdom, they foresaw this
> latter-day universal awakening and demand for truth. They also foresaw the supply for this demand in
> the coming of another channel of divine grace, the Latter-Day Messiah. This, the greatest of all
> manifestations, they prophesied would arise with spiritual understanding and power, reveal and
> demonstrate the universal truth, which exists in all religions, and unite all men and establish the
> universal religion, the Kingdom of God on earth. That this manifestation, the greatest of all GOD’S
> Messengers, has come is the message that the Bahai Movement is giving to the world.
> There was a time when the religions of the world were considered as isolated and separate
> 
> [page 3]
> 
> one from another, with no connection whatever; but now, in the light of this new teaching, all are seen to
> have emanated from the one source — which is GOD. As parts of one great body, they are organically
> connected. Each has been a step leading humanity to a higher conception of the Creator and preparing
> souls for the time when all men would unite, worshipping HIM in spirit and in truth. Thus one prophet
> appeared, building upon the foundation of His predecessors, fulfilling their prophecies and
> accomplishing the hopes of their followers by leading humanity on, a stage further, in soul development.
> Each prophet prepared the way for the coming of the succeeding prophetic dispensation. In this way
> have all religious movements of the past been integral parts of the foundation of God’s Kingdom here on
> earth, whose completed structure now is appearing in the Revelation of Baha’o’llah, in which the
> prophecies, hopes and fruits of all religions are realized.
> The Bahai Movement offers to the world a teaching applicable to the modern needs of humanity. It
> offers religion renewed. All truth emanates from “The Word of God” and through GOD’S mouth-pieces,
> His anointed ones, it comes into the world for the soul-quickening of humanity. The teachings of all
> religions in their beginning were pure but, as time passed, man-created philosophy and thought crept in
> killing the pure spirit of truth until, finally, little remained save creed, dogma and ceremony. So, a purer
> conception of truth being needed, another divine revelation appeared. To-day the creeds and dogmas of
> the past are without spiritual potency. A new spiritual quickening is necessary, and, as of old, GOD has
> again revealed His Word, that all men, of all nations
> 
> [page 4]
> 
> and of all races, may receive more abundantly than ever before, His spirit. This He has accomplished
> through the three inspired leaders of the Bahai Movement; through The Bab, who was the herald and the
> First Point of this Revelation; through Baha’o’llah, who was the revealer of The Word; and now through
> Abdul-Baha, who is the expounder of The Word, in whom all things are fulfilled.
> Going back to the dawn of history one finds the family to be the unit of civilization. Later on, many
> families are found uniting under a patriarch, forming a clan or tribe. Still later are found federations of
> clans or tribes, from which nations have come into existence. Now the next step is the absorbing of all
> nations and races into one great world people. This is the order of the progress of mankind, and in the
> fruit of the teachings of Baha’o’llah is seen the beginning of this great end. Civilization is the product of
> religion. Each of the world’s civilizations had its birth in a religious movement. Civilization has always
> been the fruit of the spiritual awakening of a people who, by political and geographical barriers, were
> isolated from external influences. In this day geographic, political and social barriers have, through
> travel and communication, been obliterated until now man is limited only by the confines of this planet.
> We are on the threshold of an universal epoch. That which affects one people politically, socially or
> financially, affects the whole world, and the great universal civilization so rapidly advancing is casting
> its signs before. In the Bahai teaching is the spiritual power to unite men’s souls. It is forming a spiritual
> nucleus from which will spring the univer-
> 
> [page 5]
> 
> sal civilization to be, of the magnitude of which we can now form no conception.
> Today, has begun a new order of things upon the earth. Mankind is attaining spiritual maturity, and
> is demanding more spiritual food than the old forms and dogmas of religion can give him. Through
> spiritual enlightenment, ignorance is being dispelled, causing a change of soul — a change in man’s
> nature — and this change is being felt the world round. The mission and object of the Bahai Movement
> is the uniting of men of all nations, religions and races in the love of GOD and the brotherhood of man.
> Its teaching is constructive. It fulfills the highest hopes of the religions of the past, and is uniting all men
> in the great universal religion of the future.
> 
> [page 6]
> 
> II.
> THE BAB.
> 
> Mirza Ali Mohammed, known as The Bab,* was born in October, 1819, in the city of Shiraz, in
> southern Persia. His father, a Seyed or descendant of the prophet Mohammed, died during his infancy,
> whereupon the young child was adopted into the family of an uncle, a man of virtue, who reared Him,
> giving Him such elementary education in the Persian language as was customary among the sons of the
> merchant class to which He belonged. On attaining maturity Mirza Ali Mohammed went into business
> with His uncle and was for some time located in Bushire upon the Persian Gulf. As a young man He was
> noted for purity, gentleness, and charm. Even those who afterwards opposed and persecuted Him and
> His followers so cruelly, never attacked His personal character. Much religious meditation, they
> claimed, had unbalanced His mind.
> On May 23d, 1844, moved by the Spirit of God, Mirza Ali Mohammed gave His teachings to the
> world. At that time from various parts of Persia, were gathered together in Shiraz eighteen prepared
> souls, men of wisdom to whom it had been given to understand spiritual realities, and to these chosen
> disciples Mirza Ali Mohammed revealed His mission. He was the door (“Bab”) or forerunner of a great
> prophet and teacher soon to appear. He, The Bab, had been divinely sent as a herald to warn the people
> of the coming of The Promised One and to exhort them to purify themselves and prepare for His advent.
> One — whom He entitled “He whom God
> 
> ___________________
> 
> * “Bab” is the Arabic and Persian word for door or gate.
> 
> [page 7]
> 
> shall manifest,” the Latter-Day Messiah, promised in all the revealed writings of the past — was soon to
> come and establish The Kingdom of God upon earth.
> These eighteen first disciples of The Bab were known as “The Letters of The Living”. They, with
> Himself as “The Point,” formed the nucleus for the dissemination of the new teaching. As soon as The
> Bab had instructed these disciples in His simple doctrines, He sent them into various parts of Persia with
> the commission to teach and to proclaim His appearance. He then, with one of His followers, went upon
> the annual pilgrimage to Mecca where, before a concourse of over one hundred thousand pilgrims
> assembled from all parts of the Moslem world. He made His first public declaration. When He returned
> to Bushire, His cause was known in many parts of the country, and was so rapidly gaining adherents that
> the members of the Mussulman clergy became alarmed lest through the rise of this new cult they might
> lose their hold over the people. Then were The Bab’s travels, teachings, and trials increased.
> From Bushire The Bab went to Shiraz where He was roughly treated by the Moslems, placed under
> guard and ordered to remain within the confines of His house. There, nevertheless, many had access to
> Him, were attracted, and believed in His teaching, men of prominence and learning as well as those of
> the more humble walks of life. The world about him was against Him, yet through the power of Divine
> Love He overcame all obstacles and won the hearts of the people.
> The Bab next journeyed to Esphahan, where by that time He had many followers. There He was
> received by the governor of the city, a
> 
> [page 8]
> 
> Christian, who openly acknowledged belief in Him and befriended Him in many ways, giving Him
> facilities for meeting and teaching the people. This aroused the anger of the clergy to such a degree that
> the priests sought to put The Bab to death. Then it was that the governor concealed Him in the official
> quarters where He remained for some time in safety.
> The friendly governor dying suddenly, and The Bab’s whereabouts becoming known, an order was
> issued by the government in Teheran for Him to be conveyed thither. Accordingly, under guard He
> proceeded toward the capital. In the cities and villages along the route of travel His message had
> preceded Him, and wherever He went he found eager listeners and seekers whose souls He won. Even
> His captors could not resist the spirit which flowed from Him, and many of them became His friends and
> staunch supporters.
> The ministers of state being informed of the rapid growth of the Babi Movement and fearing lest The
> Bab’s presence in Teheran would agitate the clergy and possibly produce a religious uprising, another
> order was issued to the effect that He should not approach the city but tarry in a town not far distant.
> From there He was soon removed to the fortress of Maku in the extreme northwestern part of Persia. On
> this long, cross-country journey The Bab passed through many cities and, as always, His fame spread
> widely, and many believed and followed in His path.
> Among the most prominent of The Bab’s followers was Kurratu l’Ayn, poet, orator and heroine of
> the cause, who, after an eventful career in which she stood forth as a powerful exponent of the new faith,
> suffered a martyr’s
> 
> [page 9]
> 
> death. As a woman many decades ahead of her time, her life and example are an inspiration to all, and
> especially to her sisters of the Orient who, through the cause for which she died, are now being lifted
> from their former condition of ignorance and oppression into one of knowledge and freedom.
> As one listens to the accounts of the lives of the early Babis, (The Bab’s adherents were known as
> Babis) of their missions and labors, sufferings and martrydoms, he sees the wonderful spirit of the love
> of God which actuated them as they responded to the call. One is thrilled as he realizes that the days of a
> vital and a burning faith, such as moved the apostles and fathers of old, have again come to pass, for this
> latter-day religion is bearing the same manner of spiritual fruit as the religions of the past bore in their
> earlier days.
> The daily increase in the numbers of The Bab’s followers caused the Persian authorities to remove
> Him from Maku to a more remote imprisonment in the castle of Chih-rik, where He could be more
> closely guarded and would be less likely to communicate with the outside world. At length, His
> following having attained to great proportions, the clergy became thoroughly alarmed and instigated a
> heresy trial or public examination of His doctrines. This investigation was held in Tabriz by the
> authority of the governor of the province, and before the tribunal The Bab was brought a prisoner. All
> manner of insults and indignities were heaped upon Him, and finally He was flogged, one of the chief
> mullahs applying the rods with his own hands. After this The Bab was returned to his former prison in
> the fortress of Chih-rik.
> About this time began the early persecutions
> 
> [page 10]
> 
> and massacres of the Babis in Persia. Aroused by their priests, the fanatical Moslems fell upon the
> believers in many parts of the land, pillaging and burning their homes, and torturing and murdering men,
> women and children. These crimes are too revolting to be mentioned in detail. The heart seems to stand
> still when listening to the accounts of the marvelous courage and fortitude of even the children, not to
> mention that of the women and men. These souls with the greatest calmness and joy submitted to the
> most fiendish tortures and death rather than recant, or deny their faith, when denial would have saved
> them. One’s heart beats rapidly when he realizes that through this suffering these martyrs were lighting
> the way that people might be prepared to meet the One promised to appear and establish The Kingdom
> upon earth.
> Sometimes Babi fugitives banded themselves together to resist the attacks of the Moslems, and in
> some instances they defended themselves bravely only to be slaughtered in the end by the overwhelming
> number of their adversaries. That “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” is again proven to
> the world, for with the shedding of each drop of Babi blood the cause gained numbers of adherents.
> People who knew little or nothing of The Bab and His teachings, save that a great prophet’s forerunner
> had come, were confirmed in the faith and went forth to serve, and to die when called upon.
> Islam is the state religion of Persia, therefore that which shakes its power produces a like effect in
> the workings of the government. At length, seeing the cause to be steadily on the increase, the prime
> minister of the state ordered that The Bab be killed, hoping thus to put an end to the matter and to place
> himself in security
> 
> [page 11]
> 
> with the clergy and the people. Accordingly, The Bab was again removed from the prison of Chih-rik
> and taken to Tabriz, the seat of the local government of the province. Here, on the 9th of July, 1850, He
> suffered martrydom.
> The Bab, with one of His most devoted followers, a youth of noble family, was conducted to an open
> square in the city and there the two were bound and suspended by ropes against a wall. A company of
> Armenian Christian soldiers was drawn up and the order to fire given. When the smoke cleared,
> however, to the astonishment of all present it was found that the aim had been too high, and instead of
> harming the captives the ropes had only been severed and the two captives had dropped to the ground
> unhurt. So great was the consternation caused by this incident that the commander of the executing
> company refused to take further part in the affair, and another company, of native soldiers, was ordered
> out and The Bab and His disciple were again suspended before the wall. The ensuing volleys riddled
> both bodies with bullets, and death was instantaneous. Later, the remains were cast out into a moat and
> there exposed to public view as a warning of the fate which awaited those who followed the new faith.
> By night the body of The Bab was removed by some of the faithful, and after being swathed in silk it
> was disguised as a bale of merchandise and deposited in a place of safety. As conditions and wisdom
> demanded, from time to time this hiding place was changed, and finally, on the 21st of March, 1909, in
> the presence of a notable gathering of pilgrims from various parts of both the Orient and the Occident,
> the body of The Bab was laid to rest by Abdul-Baha, in
> 
> [page 12]
> 
> a sarcophagus, in the crypt of the shrine of The Bab in the Holy Land.
> Although The Bab was without learning and schooling, save that of a very elementary nature, yet He
> was so richly endowed with spiritual or inspirational wisdom that He discomfited the learned mullahs
> until they feared discussion with him, lest the people should see the weakness of their arguments and the
> strength of His teachings. He wrote with the greatest rapidity and fluency, dictating both in public and
> private His many treatises upon intricate theological questions.
> During the four years of The Bab’s imprisonment His numerous letters and epistles were, with the
> greatest difficulty, smuggled out of the prison and sent to the followers in various parts of the country.
> These writings contain His injunctions to the believers for their guidance and protection until the coming
> of “Him whom God shall manifest.”
> The Bab’s ordinances were given for the people of his time only, and were commensurable with the
> needs and conditions of the believers during the interim between his manifestation and the manifestation
> of the greater One to come. The Bab was the “First Point” of this revelation, the precursor of the greater
> One. In his teachings He reiterated again and again that, when “He whom God shall manifest” appeared,
> all should turn unto Him, and that He would reveal teachings and ordinances which would replace the
> Babi sacred literature.
> It is a matter of importance to note that the one great event for which the Babi Movement paved the
> way, was the manifestation of Baha’o’llah, treated of in the next chapter. It should not be considered as
> a later development of the
> 
> [page 13]
> Babi cause, but rather the Bab’s mission should be considered as simply introductory to it. Running
> through The Bab’s writings are found countless allusions to the spiritual power, splendor and glory of
> Baha’o’llah, who was then in the world, but unknown to men. He was the inspiration of The Bab, to
> Whom The Bab continually testified in the most eloquent and stirring of his verses, and of Whom He
> bore witness by a life of suffering and imprisonment, crowned by martyrdom.
> 
> [page 14]
> 
> III.
> BAHA’O’LLAH
> 
> Mirza Hussein Ali of Noor, more widely known as Baha’o’llah, was born in Teheran, Persia, on the
> 12th of November, 1817. His family was one of wealth and note, His father as well as other relatives,
> having been ministers of the government, serving in various official capacities.
> During Baha’o’llah’s youth, His father died, leaving Him, the eldest son, as the head of the family.
> Being of a contemplative disposition, the public life which His father had led had no allurements for
> Baha’o’llah. He chose instead, one of comparative retirement, managing the family estates and affairs,
> and supervising the education of His brothers and sisters. Even in His youth the marks of wisdom and
> distinction were upon Him.
> In His home Baha’o’llah was taught the Persian language, and wisdom, knowledge and the deepest
> of spiritual mysteries were His, through His own studies, meditations and inspirations. Later, these basic
> principles of being are revealed in His writings with power and force. These truths are the foundation of
> the Bahai cause. They are living, spiritual principles, for they appeal to and satisfy the soul, and meet all
> of the moral and spiritual needs of life.
> Baha’o’llah never attended any school or institution of learning. His knowledge was inspirational. It
> came from the source of all knowledge, and is the source of knowledge for all.
> At the time The Bab made His declaration and sent his disciples forth from Shiraz, Baha‘o’llah, then
> about twenty-seven years of age, was residing in Teheran. When the glad tidings of
> 
> [page 15]
> 
> The Bab’s manifestation reached the capital, Baha’o’llah was among the first to respond to the call, and
> He, in turn, proclaimed the cause, upholding it firmly. He visited the city of Noor, the home of His
> family, and other neighboring cities and towns, where He engaged in expounding The Bab’s teachings,
> later returning to Teheran, there again to take up His work.
> The Bab and Baha’o’llah had no family connection whatever, the former being of Arabic-Persian
> descent, while the latter was of ancient Persian lineage. These two never met in person, yet in spirit they
> were intimate even in Their deepest thoughts and inspirations. Between Them a correspondence was
> established which was carried on up to the last days of The Bab’s mission here on earth.
> When, during His imprisonment in Chih-rik, The Bab foresaw the approaching day of His removal
> to Tabriz and His martyrdom, He sent by faithful followers to Baha’o’llah a package containing a
> number of His writings, His pencase and seal ring. At that time, though Baha’o’llah was known only as
> His staunch supporter, yet The Bab saw in Him divine signs not yet manifest to others.
> It was not long after The Bab’s martyrdom that a great calamity befell the believers. A certain
> enthusiast, who (though a believer in The Bab) was quite ignorant of the teachings, became unbalanced
> through brooding over the persecution and slaughter of his brother believers, and in the hope of being
> able to better their condition made an attempt upon the life of the Shah of Persia. The guilty one was
> immediately killed by the royal attendants. Without inquiring further into the matter, his crime was
> taken, by the Shah and his ministers, as a dem-
> 
> [page 16]
> 
> onstration of the Babis, as a body, against the government. Then the innocent were made to suffer for the
> guilty. This was the beginning of a season of the most bloody massacres and horrible torture of the
> believers. Even to be suspected of being a Babi was — in many cases — sufficient to cause the
> extinction of a whole family. In Teheran some eighty believers were handed over by the government to
> the Moslems to be killed, each being subjected to some unique torture before the final slaying.
> It was a time of greatest trial and test for the Babis. Each calamity was followed by one, more
> terrible; yet through all, the wonderful hope of The Promised One to come and their enthusiastic love
> and devotion to the memory of their martyred master, The Bab, upheld and strengthened them to meet
> every kind of persecution.
> In the midst of these troubles Baha’o’llah came boldly to the front. He was placed under arrest, and
> spent four months in chains in the dungeon of one of the Teheran prisons. Later on, it being proved that
> He was innocent of any plot against the government, He was sent by the royal order into exile to
> Baghdad in Asiatic Turkey. There it was thought He would be so far removed from the Babis in Persia
> as to destroy His prestige as leader among them. These events occurred in 1852, the ninth year after the
> declaration of The Bab.
> Baha’o’llah’s exile to Baghdad marks an important epoch in the development of the cause, for from
> that time He stands preeminent as a power in that persecuted community.
> After the fury of the massacres of 1851-1852, the Babis were in a deplorable condition. Many of the
> disciples and personal associates of The Bab had been martyred, while, on account
> 
> [page 17]
> 
> of the troubles, the few remaining ones who had personally been taught by Him were all but cut off from
> association with the younger followers. It had not been possible to disseminate, beyond a very limited
> circle, the writings of The Bab, so that the vast majority of the believers knew little of His real teachings.
> In addition, they were actuated by a powerful spirit of devotion to their cause; a devotion which, because
> of its very intensity, at times led them into difficulties. Here and there arose false claimants for The
> Bab’s successorship, all of which led to confusion and trouble.
> This was the condition that prevailed when Baha’o’llah reached Baghdad. Immediately He directed
> His attention and energy toward bringing knowledge and assurance to the followers. He taught them the
> real significance of The Bab’s teachings and little by little, through understanding, their undirected
> enthusiasm found power in restraint and strength. Thus He prepared them to recognize by their spiritual
> faculties, The One whose coming The Bab had proclaimed.
> The Babis now increased in firmness and steadfastness, especially those in Baghdad. As the fame of
> Baha’o’llah spread abroad, men of learning came to converse with Him and listen to His teachings, and
> of these many believed. As the believers increased in number, the anger of the Moslem clergy was
> aroused and this, in turn, gave rise to other serious difficulties. Baha’o’llah was then led to seek a
> solitary retreat in the mountain fastness of Kurdistan, where He remained for two years in spiritual
> preparation for His coming manifestation and ministry.
> Upon Baha’o’llah’s return to Baghdad, great was the joy of the Babis. By that time they
> 
> [page 18]
> were realizing their spiritual strength, and they welcomed their teacher with all the fervor and
> enthusiasm of Oriental devotees.
> Believers from various parts of Arabia and Persia now came to Baha’o’llah, seeking knowledge from
> Him. Then they went forth again to teach with a deeper understanding than before, and with a renewed
> zeal and fervor; and the cause grew in strength.
> These developments were closely watched by the Moslem priests. Fearful of the loss of their own
> hold upon the people, which they saw waning as the light of the new teachings spread, the priests incited
> the government against Baha’o’llah, with the determination to do all they could to curb His power.
> Accordingly, after some correspondence between the Persian and Turkish governments, an international
> arrangement was formulated, by which Baha’o’llah was ordered to proceed to Constantinople, there to
> await the pleasure of the Ottoman Sultan, to whom he became temporally subject.
> Upon hearing that their chief was to be removed from Baghdad, the believers became wild with
> grief, the greatest consternation prevailing among them. A number of them prepared to accompany Him
> in His further exile. When, in obedience to the summons of the Sultan, Baha’o’llah left Baghdad
> previous to starting on His long journey, He encamped a short distance from the city in the Garden of El
> Rizwan. There He was surrounded by some of His most devoted followers — believers in The Bab.
> To the most trusted of these followers Baha’o’llah, during His twelve days of sojourn in El Rizwan,
> revealed Himself and His mission: that He was The Promised One foretold by The Bab; that He was the
> One promised
> 
> [page 19]
> 
> by all the prophets to appear in the latter days and establish GOD’S Kingdom, the great universal
> brotherhood of nations; that He was the One through whose inspired guidance the difficulties of the
> believers would be removed; by steadfastly and unitedly following Whose injunctions those blessings
> for which the believers had hoped, suffered and prayed would be realized. This hope He extended to the
> adherents, exhorting them to renew their energies, faith and assurance.
> The Manifestation of Baha’o’llah took place in April, 1863, nineteen years after the declaration of
> The Bab.* This was the goal toward which all the Babis had directed their attention, beyond which no
> one had seen. Now, having attained to the meeting of The Promised One, the believers found themselves
> upon the threshold of an outlook so vast, and of a work so great, that it was only with the sustaining
> power of their new teacher that they were able to face the difficulties which confronted them.
> The period of preparation over, the trusted believers found themselves in the full light of the day of
> GOD, compared with which the preparative light of The Bab had been but as a few rays.
> Traveling overland by caravan, through Irak-Arabi and Asia Minor to Samsaon on the Black Sea,
> and from there by ship, Baha’o’llah and His band of followers, after a fatiguing journey, reached
> Constantinople.
> Here the exiles remained for several months under governmental surveillance, before they were sent
> under military escort to Adrianople, in
> 
> ___________________
> 
> * In the writings of The Bab are certain verses prophetic of the rise of Baha’o’llah in the ninth year of
> the Babi cause, and of His manifestation in the nineteenth year of the same. These prophecies were
> given symbolically, in such manner as to be understood only by the faithful.
> 
> [page 20]
> the interior of Roumelia. There, it was thought, Baha’o’llah would be so far removed from the world
> which His cause was agitating as practically to destroy His power as a religious leader, thus striking a
> fatal blow at the new faith. It is to be noted that each attempt upon the part of the temporal powers to
> oppose this cause marks an epoch in the demonstration of its spiritual power.
> Baha’o’llah and His exiled followers remained in Adrianople for five years, during which time the
> cause grew and the believers attained to moral and spiritual virtues, their faith manifesting itself in their
> daily lives. This was a time of growth and preparation. Through personal contact, those who were with
> Baha’ollah grew in the shadow of His wisdom, while those at a distance had their souls made strong and
> steadfast through His written teachings; for in Him all found the realization of the spiritual power, glory
> and majesty of “Him whom God shall manifest”.
> While in Adrianople Baha’o’llah directed His power to bringing the believers to a realization of His
> mission. The cause under The Bab’s inspiration was more or less local, being confined to a few Islamic
> countries. Its character and institutions were commensurable with the conditions to which it ministered.
> It fulfilled its purpose and when this was accomplished in the appearance of Baha’o’llah, the Babi
> Movement, as such, ceased to exist.
> With the manifestation of Baha’o’llah, not only did the followers cease to be known as Babis,
> becoming Bahais in name, but in the deepest spiritual sense did they receive from Baha’o’llah that soulquickening touch, which created within them the power to go forth to all the
> 
> [page 21]
> 
> world, carrying the message of peace, attracting people of all nations and religions, and fulfilling that
> which He sent them forth to accomplish.
> Dating from the time of the declaration of Baha’o’llah in the Garden of El Rizwan, the cause
> assumes a universal or a world character; for it must be understood that the teachings of Baha’o’llah are
> not limited to the needs of certain conditions and countries, nor to the oriental peoples. He comes, The
> One promised by all religions, for all peoples under all conditions, both oriental and occidental. His
> teaching is universal; it is for the whole world.
> Baha’o’llah achieved His work only under the greatest difficulties. Among those followers who
> accompanied Baha’o’llah in exile was His half-brother, who failed to comprehend Him and the scope
> and magnitude of His mission. This man resented Baha’o’llah’s growing power, and his opposition,
> together with the spread of the faith, created troubles with the Turkish government, which increased
> until an order was issued separating him from the believers, and sending Baha’o’llah a prisoner, to the
> fortress of Akka on the coast of Syria.
> It was in the summer of 1868 that Baha’o’llah and about seventy of His followers, men, women and
> children, were taken in captivity; overland to Gallipoli, where they were embarked in a ship sailing for
> Egypt. Arriving in the harbor of Alexandria, the exiles were transferred to another vessel which landed
> them in Haifa, but a few miles across the bay from Akka, a distance which was covered in small boats.
> Akka is the Acre of the time of the crusaders, more anciently known as Ptolemais. Her antiquated
> ramparts and crumbling fortifications, the scenes of some of the bloodiest combats of mili-
> 
> [page 22]
> 
> tary history from the ancient times of the Phoenicians down to the Napoleonic war in Syria, testify to an
> earthly power which is of the past; while her name, so intimately connected with the Bahai cause, to-day
> is most closely associated with that great constructive movement for spiritual power and peace, the glad
> tidings of which were first sent forth to all the world from behind her prison gates.
> For some years prior to Baha’o’llah’s arrival, the fortress of Akka had been used as a prison and a
> place of exile to which the Sultan of Turkey sent his political opponents. The deadly climate of that
> fever-stricken rock slowly but surely accomplished the desired destruction of many of these unfortunate
> ones.
> Here Baha’o’llah and His people were thrust into two rooms of the barrack prison. With poor and
> insufficient food, and water not fit to drink, fever and sickness broke out among the believers. Their
> sufferings were most intense, yet through all they were spiritually in the greatest joy and peace, for they
> realized that only by meeting the very worst of this world’s conditions, could Baha’o’llah relieve and
> change those conditions; while, as for themselves, they were only too happy and contented to share His
> sufferings.
> It was during this close confinement of Baha’o’llah within the prison of Akka that He made His
> declaration to the world. This was done by sending a series of epistles, written in Adrianople, to the
> rulers and potentates of the earth. In these missives He clearly states His mission, and He announces to
> all this latter-day call of The LORD — the call of unity, harmony, and peace.
> Very soon the officials and officers of the city began to realize the greatness of Baha’o’llah. and
> some among them believed in Him. His
> 
> [page 23]
> 
> fame as a teacher spread, and actuated by that veneration for wisdom, so peculiar to the Orient, many
> sought His presence, to be awakened to those truths the existence of which they previously had not
> realized.
> After two years of close confinement in prison, Baha’o’llah was given the liberty of the city and
> allowed to live in a house provided for Him and His family. His followers entered into various
> occupations in the town and vicinity, and the material condition of the community was greatly improved.
> In the early days of the imprisonment of Baha’o’llah in Akka, when He was most closely guarded
> and with the greatest difficulty His communications were transmitted to those outside the prison. His
> followers often journeyed from Persia overland, for months, to obtain but a glimpse of Him standing at
> His barred window or to gaze at Him from afar as He walked upon the parapet of the prison, and then
> they returned to their homes with renewed fervor and zeal in promulgating His cause. Later, these
> pilgrims from various countries had access to Him, and, quickened by His power, went forth to proclaim
> His Cause in the uttermost parts of the earth.
> Besides those who saw Him personally, Baha’o’llah reached thousands in distant lands, and satisfied
> their thirst for knowledge, through His tablets, which were epistles of exhortation, advice and
> explanation written in response to letters from believers and seekers.
> Baha’o’llah wrote also general treatises relating to matters both religious and secular. In these
> inspired writings are found the basic principles upon which are built the institutions of the Bahai faith.
> During the latter years of His ministry, Baha-
> 
> [page 24]
> 
> ’o’llah was allowed to spend much time in the country in the vicinity of Akka, even visiting Haifa and
> Mt. Carmel. At the villa of Behje (situated on the plain of Akka) He departed this life in the month of
> May, 1892, after forty years of hardship, imprisonment, and exile, that the soul of the world might be
> quickened with the life of the spirit. The tomb of Baha’o’llah, at Behje, is greatly venerated by the many
> pilgrims who yearly visit it from all parts of the world.
> Through Baha’o’llah this great teaching was given to man. His function was that of the revealer.
> Though as a man He lived a life in harmony with the conventions of His oriental environment, yet as
> The Revelator, the mouthpiece of The Spirit, His teachings are universally applicable to all peoples
> under all conditions. With the close of His ministry the latter-day revelation was complete as a
> revelation. The next step in the development of the cause was that of explaining, establishing and
> demonstrating these revealed truths in the world of practicality. For the accomplishment of this, Abdul-
> Baha, the son of Baha’o’llah, was the chosen instrument.
> 
> [page 25]
> 
> IV.
> ABDUL-BAHA.
> 
> Abdul-Baha Abbas, also known as Abbas Effendi, the eldest son of Baha’o’llah, was born in
> Teheran, Persia, on the 23d day of May, 1844, the very day upon which The Bab made His declaration
> to the disciples in Shiraz.
> At a very early age Abdul-Baha was called upon to share the sufferings of his father. When
> Baha’o’llah’s persecution began with His imprisonment in Teheran and exile to Baghdad, His property
> was confiscated, even to personal effects, while the members of His family suffered intensely for the
> bare necessities of life.
> Abdul-Baha’s schooling was interrupted in his childhood by these persecutions, and afterward he
> never attended any school. However, through the constant companionship of his father, from whom his
> inspiration came, and from his loving service to all people both high and low, an understanding, wisdom
> and knowledge are his which are of God.
> Abdul-Baha accompanied Baha’o’llah upon His winter journey from Teheran to Baghdad, and
> during the years of exile there was constantly at his father’s right hand, serving and helping Him in His
> work of teaching the people.
> Abdul-Baha was the first to recognize the divine power of Baha’o’llah. He was the first soul
> quickened by the spirit of Baha’o’llah, and the first to arise in the service of the Kingdom. In Abdul-
> Baha’s life of devotion to the cause and his practice of the precepts of Baha’o’llah, the perfect life of
> The Spirit is manifest, and in him all things are found to be accomplished.
> 
> [page 26]
> 
> In Adrianople Abdul-Baha took upon himself the task of relieving Baha’o’llah of all possible cares
> of daily life, so that He might devote Himself entirely to His mission. During the imprisonment in Akka,
> when hardship and sickness were encompassing the believers on every side, it was Abdul-Baha, who,
> through his buoyancy of spirit, gave courage to the distressed ones. It was he who nursed the sick and
> through the touch of his hand imparted strength to the weak, while the light of his great love illumined
> all and empowered them to overcome their ills.
> In the written testament of Baha’o’llah, as well as in His verbal teachings, which have come down to
> us through those who were near to Him, He appointed His son Abdul-Baha to succeed Him in His
> spiritual mission, and designated Him as the one who should complete His work in the world. The
> father’s mantle has fallen upon the shoulders of the son. The staff of Baha’o’llah is now in the hands of
> Abdul-Baha, and the Spirit of God, which spoke through Baha’o’llah revealing TRUTH to the world, is
> now manifesting to the world through Abdul-Baha’s life of service to God and to man.
> Abdul-Baha is the center of the Bahai cause. He is the one to be emulated. Through following him
> the Believers will attain to the spiritual fullness of the Bahai life. Abdul-Baha is the beloved son into
> whose hands has been intrusted the guidance of the people of The Kingdom.
> Abdul-Baha’s mission is that of the explainer, the establisher. Through his life of service he is
> teaching and leading the people to the realization of the revelation of Baha’o’llah. By his life of example
> he is teaching the heart of mankind and infusing spiritual consciousness into humanity.
> [page 27]
> 
> Abdul-Baha comes with the power of God to live and manifest the life of The Kingdom. This he is
> demonstrating to the world, for through his ministry all things as revealed and intended by Baha’o’llah
> are being accomplished.
> Almost his entire life Abdul-Baha has passed under the temporal law as an exile and a religious
> prisoner. At times he was only under military surveillance, and again imprisoned behind barred doors.
> Yet despite these physical hindrances his spiritual work has prospered and his message of glad tidings
> has gone the world round, taking with it the peace of the Spirit to thousands of souls of every race and
> religion.
> That Abdul-Baha’s mission is a purely spiritual one needs no further demonstration than that which
> is already visible in the world. With all of the worldly powers against him, but with the power of God
> with him, he is accomplishing that which he was sent to accomplish, for from him is emanating that
> power which is uniting men’s hearts and drawing into The Kingdom the hungering souls from all
> peoples. Abdul-Baha is harmonizing Christians, Jews, Moslems, Zoroastrians, Buddhists and Hindus in
> the one and the true faith, the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man. The results of his work
> prove his cause.
> The name Abdul-Baha signifies the title of its bearer, “The Servant of God”. Abdul-Baha makes but
> one claim for himself, that of absolute servitude in the path of God. The Spirit of Baha’o’llah is the
> source of Abdul-Baha’s inspiration and his strength. He seeks no prestige nor prominence for himself.
> His demonstration to the world is through deeds. His method of teaching is through deeds. His
> 
> [page 28]
> 
> mission is to establish the deeds of The Kingdom in the lives of his followers.
> 
> With the passing of Baha’o’llah (May, 1892) began Abdul-Baha’s divine mission as “The Center of
> the Covenant”. When he arose invested with the power of the Spirit, began the third and final period of
> the establishment of The Kingdom here among men.
> Abdul-Baha is an exile from his country and, until the re-establishment of the Turkish Constitution
> in the summer of 1908, he was a religious prisoner, held in the fortress of Akka. With this political
> change, he — with many other prisoners and exiles — was freed and is no longer under military
> surveillance.
> Since his release Abdul-Baha has made but few changes in his daily life. Now it is possible for many
> more of his followers to visit him than formerly, consequently his duties and labors are increased. He
> has given up his residence in Akka and, after residing for some months in the neighboring town of
> Haifa, he has gone to Egypt, from whence he is at present carrying on his work.*
> During every phase of the progress of The Cause, Abdul-Baha has done nothing needlessly to agitate
> the fanatical peoples who surround him. In every way he and his family observe the oriental conventions
> of life, in order to maintain harmony and amicable relations with the surrounding people. He is changing
> the world by infusing spiritual wisdom into men’s souls. He teaches and reaches the people through
> leading them rather than by trying to force them, through winning souls by the spirit
> 
> ___________________
> 
> *Since the first edition of this book was published, Abdul-Baha has visited America where he travelled
> and taught extensively. At the present time (March, 1913) he is on a similar mission in Europe.
> [page 29]
> 
> rather than by trying to bring to bear the more objective forces of the outer world.
> As there were a few of The Bab’s professed followers, who failed in the days of Baha‘o’llah to
> recognize in Him the divine power by virtue of which He was The Bab’s successor, so there are also a
> few followers of Baha’o’llah, whose eyes have not been opened during the ministry of Abdul-Baha to
> the spirit manifesting within him, and who have failed to see in him the successor of Baha’o’llah.
> These opposing people have at times made much trouble for Abdul-Baha. During the years of his
> imprisonment, through false reports concerning his work, made to the government by these people (led
> by his own half-brother), the Turkish officials imagined the Bahais were plotting against the Ottoman
> power. Thus, much distress was created.
> Sometimes, on account of the troubles brought on by the opposing people, it has been impossible for
> the believers to visit Abdul-Baha. Once, some of his followers were cast into prison, and at another time
> some of the believers were forced to flee from the Holy Land and seek refuge in Egypt. Nevertheless,
> through all trials and troubles Abdul-Baha has gone steadily forward accomplishing his work, the
> number of his opposers decreasing and the number of his sympathizers increasing, until now he has
> clearly shown to all that his cause is not dependent upon earthly prosperity for its growth, nor does
> opposition hinder its spread.
> The Bahais have the uttermost esteem, love and veneration for Abdul-Baha. To them he is friend,
> counselor, and spiritual guide.
> In looking toward him as the expounder of divine wisdom his followers are worshipping the
> 
> [page 30]
> 
> Divine Light which is manifesting through his life of service to God and man. They are not deifying his
> human personality, for that he holds in common with all men.
> Abdul-Baha does not wish to call the attention of people to his personality, nor to himself as a man,
> save to demonstrate to them the principles of the higher life for which he stands. He not only does not
> seek personal prestige, but even anything suggestive of this is extremely odious to him. For example, he
> has repeatedly requested the believers not to use in connection with his name the terms “Lord” or
> “Master”, which are so often applied in the Orient to spiritual teachers. In fact, any demonstration of
> personal adoration is offensive to him.
> Abdul-Baha stands as the exponent of a spiritual principle, a great divine power. This, and this only,
> he desires the world to recognize.
> Many beautiful and touching incidents are related by the people of Akka of the way in which,
> through long-suffering and kindness, Abdul-Baha has won the hearts of those who, because of their
> prejudice, formerly were his enemies. Caring for the sick and protecting the oppressed form a large part
> of his daily duties. One of the titles applied to him by the indigent Arabs is “Father of the Poor”.
> While Abdul-Baha’s method of teaching and moving people is through the heart and is gentleness
> itself, nevertheless, conditions often make it necessary for him to be stern. Some of the native Arabs, and
> others with whom he has relations need to be dealt with by a loving but firm hand.
> Abdul-Baha administers justice, but with such kindness that the individual realizes it is done in the
> true spirit of paternal training; and instead
> 
> [page 31]
> 
> of offending the guilty one the opposite effect is produced, and a lasting good accomplished.
> Abdul-Baha is married. He has four daughters, three of whom have husbands and families. Abdul-
> Baha is teaching through his home life as a devoted husband and a loving father, a lesson to both the
> people of the East and of the West. He is teaching the Oriental, monogamy and that woman should be
> man’s intellectual, moral and spiritual companion as well as the mother of his children; and he is
> teaching the Occidental, in these days of marital unrest, that marriage should be founded upon a spiritual
> basis and not alone upon a physical one.
> While imprisoned Abdul-Baha received a stipend from the Turkish government. Now that he is
> freed, this no longer continues. He holds cultivated lands in the vicinity of Akka which render him an
> income. His personal needs and those of his family are few. In reality, that which he possesses is for the
> benefit of all, while he is but the guardian of it. No one knows of the many children he is educating; how
> many needy and infirm ones he is clothing, housing and feeding. Abdul-Baha is demonstrating to the
> world that there is neither virtue nor disgrace in either riches or poverty; and that man, either in need or
> in plenty, should utilize his little or his much glorifying God through serving humanity.
> There are many expenses in connection with the carrying on of the work. Those whose souls are in
> the cause contribute in various ways, of which few, if any, are known. The American Bahais can testify
> that Abdul-Baha very rarely permits any of them to share in carrying the burden of the work in the East,
> though in rare instances he has accepted contributions for this purpose.
> While his personality Abdul-Baha wishes
> 
> [page 32]
> 
> sacrificed, for the cause for which he stands, nevertheless the people look at the outer person, and each
> returning pilgrim from Akka is asked many questions regarding Abdul-Baha, the man.
> Abdul-Baha expresses perfect manhood. The vigor of a fully-developed physical, intellectual, and
> spiritual power is apparent in his every movement; yet with this is a delicacy, a sensibility and an
> intuition which denote the inspiration that dominates him. In him is all of the dignity and majesty of the
> king combined with the humbleness of the servant, and upon his brow is the strength and force of the
> ancient Mosaic type of man, counterbalanced by the gentleness of a child.
> In Abdul-Baha’s presence one becomes conscious of the deepest feeling of respect, veneration and
> even awe, yet not the awe which holds one at a distance, for within Abdul-Baha’s soul there burns such
> a fire of divine love that very few escape its power of attraction.
> The awakened soul realizes that Abdul-Baha understands the spiritual condition of men, and that he
> is the divine physician who, through the love of God, is healing the souls of men of the disease of
> ignorance and superstition and inharmony. He ministers to each in accordance with the needs of the
> individual. Often, at the time, one does not understand why Abdul-Baha acts and advises as he does, but
> later all becomes clear when, through carrying out his instructions, one sees the depth of his
> understanding and realizes the profoundness of his wisdom.
> Abdul-Baha seeks always to remove the cause of trouble. His vision penetrates into the soul and
> understands its condition. His balm is summed up in the word LOVE. Divine love annihilates worry and
> kills fear, and when it takes pos-
> 
> [page 33]
> 
> session of the soul it is as though another and a new dimension were added to the individual, and old
> conditions of doubt and uncertainty are replaced by poise and assurance. Abdul-Baha’s mission is to
> teach men to bring the love of The Kingdom into everyday life, and to manifest it in every thought, word
> and deed.
> It is in the little things and the numerous details of life that the test comes in applying spiritual
> teachings. In the life of Abdul-Baha it is through the seemingly small things that his great spirit
> manifests itself, and goes out with a penetrating power to the souls of those who allow themselves to
> come within the radius of its activity. In his presence it is as if a refreshing breeze, a spiritual force,
> proceeded from the heart of Abdul-Baha to that of the seeker— an indescribable force carrying strength
> to the weak and guidance to the strong.
> Abdul-Baha’s every word, look and gesture bespeaks his spirit, and while his spirit is the most
> elusive and difficult of all things to express in words, when once perceived it is the most tangible of
> realities, for it is the very essence of the life of the soul which is proceeding from him who is the center
> of guidance.
> Often the face of Abdul-Baha in repose, bears an expression as if caused by a great weight of sorrow
> impossible to describe. No soul can fathom the depths into which he sees, nor the profoundness of his
> realization of the suffering condition of man. He feels the hungering and the thirsting of the soul of
> humanity for spiritual rest, and upon his brow is written her silent agony. However, when Abdul-Baha
> speaks he is fairly charged with the positive life-forces of The Kingdom. In every glance and movement
> he manifests the joy of the Lord, and as he shows
> 
> [page 34]
> 
> forth this love and joy in his many deeds of kindness, his spirit penetrates the hearts of those who come
> in contact with him, and they in turn go forth filled with the spirit to work and to serve in his path.
> The pilgrim discovers in Abdul-Baha one who impresses his hearers not by projecting his own ideas
> or personality upon them, but by calling forth a response from within the soul of each individual seeker.
> The direct influence of the will of one personality upon another is transitory and without lasting benefit.
> But how different is the message of the spirit speaking through the life and the words of Abdul-Baha,
> who has sacrificed his will to the will of God. He has a message for every soul, and as the seeker meets
> spiritually with the soul of Abdul-Baha, a new force is added to his nature and he goes forth quickened,
> alive and aflame with the love of God.
> 
> Through The Bab the way was made ready and prepared for the coming of the Lord, the Latter-Day
> Messiah, Baha’o’llah. Through Baha’o’llah, in whom God was Manifest, divine knowledge was
> revealed to man, the laws of The Kingdom given to the world, and Abdul-Baha was appointed, “The
> Center of the Covenant”. Now through Abdul-Baha’s life of service to God and man, the way is made
> plain for all and the Kingdom of God established upon earth.
> 
> [page 35]
> 
> V.
> THE MANIFESTATION OF THE WORD OF GOD.
> 
> “That which is the cause of everlasting life, eternal honor, universal enlightenment, real salvation
> and prosperity, is first of all, the knowledge of God.” Abdul-Baha.
> 
> “The root of all knowledge is the knowledge of God: Glory be to Him! And this knowledge is
> impossible save through His Manifestation.” Baha’o’llah.
> 
> It is written: “In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was
> God.” It is through the Word of God manifested in the temple of man, that men’s souls become
> quickened with the spiritual life, attain divine knowledge, receive spiritual assurance, and are enabled to
> rise above the condition of ignorance and ascend the scale of advancement and civilization. The Word,
> or the Spirit of God, spoke through all the prophets or manifestations.
> Infinite Deity is beyond the comprehension of man: yet, through the manifestation of The Spirit of
> The Deity, man is enabled to come into touch with God, to comprehend and to know His characteristics
> and His attributes, and to obtain Divine Knowledge which is eternal life. By this is not meant that the
> essence of the Infinite Deity is contained nor confined in the personality of the revelator, but that the
> soul of the prophet is as a clear mirror which mirrors forth, or manifests, all of the divine attributes.
> Everywhere in the world of nature is seen the result of God’s creative power, yet this has never
> awakened nor brought spiritual quickening, divine joy, nor com-
> 
> [page 36]
> 
> fort to the soul of man. This is because God’s creation, though it emanates from Him, yet it does not
> manifest Him. The heart of man is only divinely quickened, and spiritually satisfied, through the coming
> to humanity of the Manifestation of God or The Word Revealed.
> The Manifestation of “The Word” or of “The Spirit,” through the prophets or “Chosen Ones,” is the
> unique source of the spiritual enlightenment of men. This source is of God, not of man. Though the
> prophets and divine teachers were men, their spiritual power and strength was not because of any human
> virtue or wisdom. Their power to change men’s natures, and to create great spiritual awakenings in the
> world was due to the Spirit of God which spoke through them. The Word of God is a life-giving, a
> creative power. Through it, slumbering humanity is quickened with spiritual wisdom, and the souls of
> men are lifted from the condition of ignorance to that of knowledge and wisdom. The advancement of
> the world of humanity is due to the quickening power of The Word. From it proceeds the very seed of
> civilization and progress and through it man is divinely quickened and born into The Kingdom of God.
> The great power of the world’s divine teachers has been due to their divine wisdom and inspiration.
> These Manifestations have each arisen as teachers among men. As they found sympathetic souls
> prepared for the spiritual messages which they brought, they revealed truths, always giving in proportion
> to the capacity of their disciples to receive.
> In the ministry of each prophet is seen a certain development, and unfoldment of his teaching. This is
> due to the spiritual unfoldment and development of the souls of his followers, for
> 
> [page 37]
> 
> speaking through each prophet was the Perfect Eternal Word, which in itself is above unfoldment and
> development. Men can comprehend this only as their souls develop. Therefore each prophet revealed
> himself little by little, as he prepared his followers to receive him in the fullness of his mission.
> The inner spiritual teachings of the Divine Manifestations have been one and the same in substance,
> differing only in degree. The degree of the spiritual knowledge manifested has been always
> commensurate with the degree of the spiritual capacity of the people to whom the prophet ministered.
> The outer teachings, including the divine laws and ordinances of the divine revelators, have differed in
> every age. These specific instructions have always been given in conformity with the material condition
> peculiar to the various ages.
> Through the harmony of the spiritual law and the material law, as exemplified in the lives and
> teachings of the Manifestations, humanity has come under divine guidance, the direct result of which has
> been a higher state of development of morals and all social relations.
> Thus, from the purely spiritual view-point the Bahais regard all the prophets as the same, because of
> the one eternal, unchangeable truth which they, one and all, manifested; whereas, viewed from the
> human standpoint, these spiritual teachers are seen to be different personalties, giving different teachings
> and establishing different religious systems.
> The laws and ordinances, as given to the world by the prophets, though material have had a deep
> spiritual effect upon man. They were given through divine wisdom; and by obedience to them, the living
> out of the same by men, the
> 
> [page 38]
> 
> conditions were created which were necessary for the fuller and unhampered spiritual unfoldment of
> humanity. It is for this reason that each revelator has insisted that the people follow his commands. It
> was for their own good that he commanded this. Their welfare depended upon following his injunctions.
> Supply and demand go hand in hand in spiritual matters, as science has proven them to do on the
> material plane. At the time of the coming of each divine manifestation there was a certain spiritual need
> among men. With each “Coming”, the ministering to that need was the unique mission of the prophet.
> The difference in the missions or the fields of work of the prophets, naturally differentiates them into
> the world manifestations, those whose teachings and ordinances were directly applied to the whole
> world, such as the Melchizadek type, Christ and Baha’o’llah, and the more local manifestations, those
> whose teachings and laws were applicable only to certain people under certain conditions, such as
> Zoroaster, Moses, Mohammed and others. Some prophets founded new religious systems which
> previously had not existed, while there were others who re-established and confirmed the faith of the
> people in the teachings and institutions of a former prophet. Of these latter the Hebrew prophets after
> Moses are examples.
> As there are cycles of growth, fruition and decay in life on the physical plane, there are also the
> cycles of birth, development, fruition, decay in religious systems or dispensations.
> As the cycles or seasons in the physical world are due to the condition of the material earth, so the
> cycles or seasons in the religious world
> 
> [page 39]
> 
> are due to the condition of the world of humanity.
> Every religion has had its birth in the advent of its divine founder. Through the labors of its early
> adherents it grew and developed, bringing forth its fruits in the institutions and civilization which grew
> up and formed about it. This was its golden age. Then followed a period in which the faith of the people
> grew cold, spirituality waned, morals suffered, and religion losing its spirit became a form. Thus the
> souls of the people became starved and their condition needed the ministration of another prophet, who
> in due time appeared and lifted them a step higher and nearer toward the coming of The Kingdom upon
> earth.
> In this way each prophet has been a link in the great chain of revelators, completing the work and
> fulfilling the words of his predecessors and preparing the way for others to come after him. Thus have
> all manifestations of the past prepared the way for the latter-day coming of The Lord, accomplished in
> the coming of Baha’o’llah, whose mission was to unite those now following many systems, into one
> brotherhood and one universal faith.
> The prophets have been seers as well as sources of divine life. Through spiritual understanding they
> were able to indicate in their teachings the material signs and conditions as well as the more spiritual
> ones, which would characterize the advent of succeeding manifestations.
> The “return” of the prophets does not refer to the return to this world of a “personality”. It refers to
> the return in another personality, of the impersonal Spirit, the Word or Spirit of God which spoke
> through the prophets of the past. With the passing of centuries people ceased
> 
> [page 40]
> to differentiate between the personality of a manifestation and the Spirit of God which spoke through
> him, hence, instead of looking for the return of The Spirit manifesting through another personality, in
> these latter days the people of each religion are mistakenly looking for the personal, individual return of
> their own special prophet.
> The mission of each divine revelator has been to announce and to prepare the way for the
> brotherhood of The Kingdom among men. Each accomplished his mission, speaking and teaching
> through symbols and parables commensurable with the conditions of his day; each quickened the souls
> of the people with divine life and each foretold the coming of the great Latter-Day Messiah who was to
> establish The Kingdom of Peace upon earth.
> In the coming of The Bab, Baha’o’llah and Abdul-Baha is found the fulfillment of the divine
> promises of God, given to the peoples of the past ages, and in it is the beginning of that age of divine
> enlightenment and spiritual wisdom for which men have long hoped and prayed. In the light of their
> inspired teachings all religious teachings of the past are understood and seen to be as parts of one great
> divine plan for the spiritual enlightenment of the world, and in the Bahai revelation is realized, also, that
> power which is binding and uniting the peoples of all races and religions in one universal religion, which
> is The Kingdom of God upon earth.
> Resurrection and judgment pertain to the coming of a manifestation. These terms should be
> understood spiritually. Through the Word revealed, souls are quickened and the spiritually dead are
> given divine life. The day of each prophet is the time of judgment for those souls
> 
> [page 41]
> 
> who hear his message, whether they accept the truth or reject it.
> To-day is the time of judgment prophesied in all of the holy books of all peoples. The call of The
> Lord has gone forth. The people are hearing it. Some are awake to it and are arising to serve, while other
> souls are not yet sufficiently aroused to realize what has come into the world.
> That The Word of God has again been manifested to man and that “The One” promised in the holy
> writings of all religions has come in the flesh and has established the new and the divine order of things,
> The Kingdom of God on earth, is the message which the Bahais are giving to the world.
> 
> [page 42]
> 
> VI.
> RELATION OF THE BAHAI MOVEMENT
> TO THE RELIGIONS OF THE PAST
> 
> The people of each religion expect the return of the Spirit which shone through their prophet in the
> past, and the universal establishment of their own religion. The Word of God speaking through all the
> prophets gave the same message of the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of The Kingdom
> upon earth.
> As time passed, and the spirit of the teachings became weak, the people ceased to regard their
> prophet as a human being, the medium through whom the Spirit of God manifested and was revealed.
> They began to deify the human personality of the prophet and instead of expecting the return of the same
> Spirit, manifesting through another personality, they began to look for the return in person of their guide
> or prophet. Thus the Christians believe in the corporeal descent of Jesus from the heavens (interstellar
> space), instead of the appearance of the Christ Spirit, which was the divine power in Jesus that He
> promised would again manifest upon earth at the end of His dispensation. In the same way the Jews look
> for the personal return of Elijah “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” and the
> Moslems look for the personal and corporeal return of the Imam Mahdi.
> As the Bahai message is being given to the people of each of these religions, they are being called
> back to the original teachings of their individual prophet. They realize that the voice of the Spirit spoke
> through Him, and they understand all the prophets to be manifestations of the
> 
> [page 43]
> 
> one Spirit of God to the people of their times, and in this day they see the manifestations again of this
> same Divine Spirit through the founders of the Bahai movement, by which are realized all the promises
> and prophecies of all the religions regarding the Latter-Day “Coming,” and The Kingdom upon earth.
> 
> CHRISTIANITY AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT.
> 
> The Bahais believe that in Jesus appeared “The Word,” or The Spirit of God. This differentiated Him
> from other men. By virtue of the Divine Spirit which spoke through Him, he was The Christ, the
> manifestation of God among men. Through Him souls became spiritually quickened, were reborn, and
> were lifted from the condition of spiritual ignorance (sometimes called sin), into one of spiritual
> enlightenment (sometimes called salvation).
> Like the mission of every prophet, that of Jesus The Christ was a three-fold one. First, He fulfilled
> the prophecies of the prophets who preceded Him and proclaimed His coming. Thus, in Him was the
> consummation of the former dispensations. Second, He was the unique source of divine enlightenment
> to the people of His dispensation, and through the power of His word he founded His cause. Third, He
> prepared the way for the coming of the great Latter-Day Messiah, Baha’o’llah, God manifesting Himself
> as The Father, whom He and all prophets foretold would arise in the fullness of time and establish The
> Kingdom of God upon earth.
> Jesus explains the divine plan for the spiritualization of the world in its entirety in the parable of the
> “householder which planted a vineyard” (St. Matt. XXI, 33-41), in which the householder is symbolic of
> God, the creator of the
> 
> [page 44]
> 
> world. The “vineyard” symbolizes the people of the world, while the “husbandmen” are the leaders of
> the people. His “servants” represent the prophets sent by the Lord to call the world to righteousness and
> divine obedience, all of whom the people persecuted and rejected. His “son” is Jesus, The Christ, whose
> teaching was refused by the world which crucified Him. “When the Lord therefore of the vineyard
> cometh” refers to the coming of the Latter-Day Messiah, Baha’o’llah, while “he will miserably destroy
> those wicked men and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits
> in their seasons,” is prophetic of the great outpouring of divine grace through this new revelation, which
> will be so great as to overcome and dispel the great power of evil (spiritual ignorance) which is
> dominating humanity. This day is the time of the world’s turning from humanity to divinity. Baha’o’llah
> has brought to the world a New Day, for with His coming, old conditions passed away and a new
> dispensation was ushered into existence. The law of equity, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,”
> and the Christ law of mercy and love have for centuries been known to man, but the power to enable the
> world in general to live according to the Christ law has been given to all humanity only through
> Baha’o’llah.
> When God came to the world manifesting Himself as the “Son,” Jesus Christ, the world rejected
> Him, “but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them
> that believe on His name.” To those individual souls He gave His peace, but not to the world, because
> the world did not receive Him. This He announced when He said: “Think not that I am come to send
> peace on
> 
> [page 45]
> 
> earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword/’ Here again, as well as in other instances, Christ states that
> His dispensation was to be a militant one, which would in the end of the age be followed by another, a
> triumphant dispensation of divine grace and peace here on earth. Now Baha’o’llah has brought that
> peace to the world. He is “The Prince of Peace,” who has come to the world and has established the
> foundation of peace on earth. How clearly Isaiah, the prophet, saw this coming of the Lord when He
> wrote, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His
> shoulder and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
> The Prince of Peace.”
> No one touched by the spirit of Christianity can fail to recognize that the Bahai teaching is only the
> perfection of Christianity, for to be a real Christian in spirit is to be a Bahai, and to be a real Bahai is to
> be a Christian. As one reads the words of Christ and the testimony of the apostles, who received from
> him many teachings, there stands out one promise above all other things — his second coming among
> men — another appearance of the Christ spirit. The Word of God in the temple of man. This
> manifestation to be the beginning of the end of the old order of human differences and at the same time
> to usher in the new order of divine peace here on earth. All is summed up in the promise “The Kingdoms
> of this world are become the Kingdoms of Our Lord, and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and
> ever.”
> 
> JUDAISM AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT.
> 
> The Bahais regard the Hebrew prophets as revealers of divine truth. Through these various
> 
> [page 46]
> 
> channels The Word was revealed, souls were quickened with divine life and obeyed the divine laws, and
> the way was prepared for the coming of The Kingdom on earth. These prophets from the earliest,
> Abraham, down to the last, Malachi, formed a complete chain. Each built upon the foundation of the
> teachings of His predecessors; each ministered to the spiritual needs of the people of his day, and each
> extended to humanity the promise of the coming of the Messiah, at the end of the days, and of the
> righting of all things in the establishment of the reign of God among men.
> As one reads the Hebrew Scriptures, the prophecies of the coming Messianic Dispensation are found
> to be the one great thread running through all. In this promise is heard the one divine voice of The Word
> of God speaking through the personalities of the many prophets or mouthpieces, or channels of truth.
> In the Jewish holy books are found prophecies pertaining in particular to two manifestations of “The
> Word,” to come. The so-called first and second comings of the Messiah; those relating to the first
> coming were fulfilled in the coming and mission of Jesus, The Christ, while those regarding the second
> coming are fulfilled in these latter days in the coming of “The Ancient of Days”, Baha’o’llah with His
> precursor, The Bab, in whom was The Spirit of Elijah (Malachi IV:5), and His “Servant, The Branch”,
> (Zech. III:8), who is Abdul-Baha.
> It was through the study of the prophecies regarding the second coming, as recorded by the prophet
> Daniel, that the Millerites learned that the Messiah was to come in the year 1844. They expected His
> miraculous appearance in the clouds and were disappointed. The Bab came and Ab-
> 
> [page 47]
> dul-Baha was born at this appointed time, fulfilling prophecy, but in a manner not anticipated by men.
> The country of Carmel and Sharon in the Holy Land, to which Baha’o’llah was sent in exile, and where
> He lived and taught, was the place designated by the ancient seers of Biblical fame, where the “Ancient
> of Days” would appear. The glory of the Lord of Hosts to come, and the power and majesty of His
> spiritual rule upon earth are testified to by prophet and psalmist in the most inspiring passages of
> Hebrew sacred writ, while the peace, prosperity and general upliftment of humanity resulting therefrom
> are most vividly depicted.
> The mission of the Jewish people was a religious one. From the seed of the progenitor of this people
> have come the founders of great religions of the past, as well as the founders of the great religion of the
> present and future. From Abraham, through the line of Isaac came Moses and Jesus; through Ishmael
> came Mohammed and The Bab; while from the line of another son (Abraham had six sons other than
> Isaac and Ishmael) was descended Jesse,* from whom descended Baha’o’llah.
> 
> ISLAM AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT.
> 
> The prophet Mohammed taught submission to the will of God. Islam means “Submission”.
> Mohammed arose in Arabia at a time of spiritual need when the people were sunken in ignorance and
> superstition. Through his guidance, idolatry and immorality were changed into the worship of the one
> God, and into high moral standards. He brought a code of laws and ordinances
> 
> ___________________
> 
> *Not Jesse, the father of David, but another of the same name, This point was explained to the writer by
> Abdul-Baha at Haifa. May, 1910.
> 
> [page 48]
> 
> perfectly adapted to the spiritual and material needs of the people of His day. These people, because of
> their extreme degradation, had been untouched both by Judaism and Christianity. They needed a
> teaching and a code of laws suited to their own special condition.
> The rise of the Moslem civilization has had no parallel in history. United under the standard of the
> belief in one God and the immortality of the soul, the fierce sons of the Arabian desert, in an incredibly
> short time, evolved into a highly cultured people, their sciences, arts and literature having contributed
> much toward our present western civilization.
> As division, superstition and decay crept into the Moslem Church the people retrograded, until in a
> few centuries after the death of Mohammed the spirit of his teaching was a thing of the past, and
> Moslem civilization was in a decline.
> Islam, like Christianity and every other religion, can not be judged by its later followers. The student
> must go to its source in order to ascertain its truths. In Christianity, the history of the divisions and wars
> between the churches is one thing, and the teaching of Christ is another thing. So it is in Islam. The
> present condition of its people, and the condition to which the prophet called them are indeed very
> different. The Moslems look for three manifestations in the latter days (it being literally expressed in
> their teachings as three trumpet calls). According to the traditions of Islam, seven years and forty years,
> respectively, were to separate these calls or comings. This corresponds to the missions of The Bab and
> of Baha’o’llah which lasted seven, and forty years.
> Islam teaches of a day (a time or period) of spiritual resurrection and judgment, and of the
> 
> [page 49]
> coming of the Christ, preceded by the Mahdi (director or guide), and of the establishment of The
> Kingdom upon earth.
> The Moslem believes the latter-day time of spiritual awakening or resurrection, through the giving
> forth of the Word of God, to be the time of the world’s judgment, the people being their own judges, as
> they choose to accept or to reject the newly revealed truth. This time was to be accompanied by certain
> signs similar to those mentioned in the Bible, such as: The coming of the spirit of Anti-Christ (which is
> infidelity), decay of religious faith among men, and the accompanying demoralization which this must
> bring with it.
> Many Moslems have come into the Bahai faith, accepting The Bab as the promised Mahdi and
> Baha’o’llah as the Christ (Spirit), who was to come, for both have fulfilled their prophecies and
> traditions of which there are many. According to them, The Bab appeared from the East and made his
> public declaration at Mecca, at the place and time prophesied (1844 A. D. or 1260 A. H.), and taught
> during the anticipated length of time. Also, Baha’o’llah arose in Irak and went to Akka and Carmel in
> Syria. His mission lasted 40 years. The many details are so clearly traced in tradition and prophecy, that
> it is very easy for the orthodox Moslem to realize the truth of the claims of both, and to see in their
> missions the fulfillment of the Islamic prophecies.
> 
> ZOROASTRIANISM AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT.
> 
> The present Zoroastrians, or Parsees, are but the remnant of a once powerful people. During the
> many vicissitudes of war and national decay their ancient political power has become dis-
> 
> [page 50]
> 
> sipated, and through contact with peoples of other religions their original religious teaching has lost its
> purity, and a lifeless formalism has taken the place of its once vital spiritual force. As for the sacred
> literature of the Zoroastrians, it, like themselves, is now but fragmentary; the elements necessary to give
> it complete comprehensive form are lost.
> Although many connecting links are missing in Zoroastrian holy writ, nevertheless its spirit is clear
> and apparent. Zoroaster taught a pure monotheism and the future existence and immortality of the soul,
> all of which He explained to the people in familiar terms and parables. The physical sun, which is the
> source of all physical life, He used as the symbol for the sun of truth, the manifestation of God, the
> source of all spiritual life, while the stars symbolized the lesser prophets. Purity is a fundamental
> teaching in Zoroastrianism. Both spiritual and physical purity are taught in its laws and ordinances,
> which were given in terms couched to meet the need of mankind in that ancient day. Fire being the great
> cleanser, it is the emblem used to denote spiritual purity, for it is through the spiritual fire of the love of
> God that men’s souls are purified and quickened into eternal life. Zoroaster is pictured as bringing down
> from heaven the divine fire with which to purify mankind. The spiritual meaning of this is apparent,
> although for centuries the understanding of these truths was lost and the people ignorantly adhered to the
> outer forms, worshipping the sun, the stars and fire, hence the terms applied to them, “Sun and Fire
> Worshippers”.
> The same idea of resurrection or quickening, spiritual judgment and The Kingdom of God on earth,
> expressed in other religious teach-
> 
> [page 51]
> 
> ings, are found in Zoroastrianism. The end of the Zoroastrian dispensation, it was foretold in their sacred
> literature, would be characterized by spiritual impurity, therefore the need of another manifestation to
> bring to earth the divine fire of the love of God for the purification of all people. The teaching has a
> number of prophecies regarding the coming of the great Latter-Day Prophet, spoken of as Shah Bahram,
> and the purification of the people of the earth by fire — the fire of the spirit.
> The expectation of this coming of the prophet is symbolized in the Zoroastrian worship, when the
> people turn to worship to the rising sun. As the same physical sun rises and sets again and again, giving
> life to the earth, so does the sun of God’s truth rise in each prophetic day and through the personality of
> the prophet of that day gives life to the souls which receive the rays of its spiritual warmth and power.
> The Zoroastrians who are now hearing of the message of the Bahai Movement are realizing that it is
> the fulfillment of the prophecies and the spirit of their own religion, and through this teaching they are
> coming into touch with kindred spirits in all the world. Thus they are arising to perform their service in
> this great work of uniting all men in the love of The Kingdom.
> 
> HINDUISM AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT.
> 
> The origin of Hinduism (Brahmanism), on account of the lack of annals and records in its literature,
> is practically lost to history. As it now is, Hinduism is a most complex system of philosophical thought,
> manners and customs. It lacks that unity of spirit and of form which the teaching originally possessed. In
> all religious systems men’s ideas have gradually re-
> 
> [page 52]
> 
> placed the inspired wisdom of the founders. In Hinduism this is particularly true, so much so that it is
> only with the greatest difficulty that the original spirit and teaching can be traced. Even some of the most
> learned students of Hindu philosophy, have doubted that originally Hinduism was a revealed teaching,
> for since its sacred books contain no chronicles, the personalities of the revealers have been lost.
> Of the truth in the original Hindu teachings, however, there is no doubt, for the voice of the Spirit,
> the source of all religion, speaks yet today through its holy books, the Vedas, despite the lapse of time
> since they were written.
> According to the teaching in the most ancient of the Hindu sacred books, God the creator, is all in
> all, beside whom there is none other. Sacrifice is taught as the means of attaining nearness to God.
> Material sacrifice is the symbol for the sacrifice of all worldly desires and passions which separate
> men’s souls from God, the highest attainment being that perfect at-onement with God which the giving
> up of every desire and passion alone can bring. Since God only is all in all, only the life in Him can be
> without change or end. This is eternal life.
> The teaching in its original purity was a simple monotheism. The divine spirit spoke to the people
> through the mediumship of different personalities at different times. These inspired souls arose as the
> need for their teachings became evident among men, to whom they were sent as spiritual guides.
> This thought is most clearly expressed in one of the Hindu sacred books, the “Bhagavad-Gita” or the
> Lord’s Song, in which it is written, “Whenever there is decay of righteousness and there is exaltation of
> unrighteousness, then I
> 
> [page 53]
> 
> Myself come forth. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil doers, for the sake of firmly
> establishing righteousness, I am born from age to age. The foolish disregard Me when clad in human
> semblance, ignorant of My supreme nature, the great Lord of beings.” The Hindus have here the promise
> of the coming of a great incarnation, Krishna, to occur in this day. He was to arise and establish
> universal righteousness and destroy spiritual ignorance or sin.
> The latter-day Krishna was to lead the people back to the spirit of pure teaching as given by His
> predecessors, (former manifestations of the spirit of the Lord) and through spiritual wisdom and power
> was to overcome all unrighteousness establishing in its place spiritual enlightenment. Those illumined
> Hindus whom the Bahai cause is reaching see in Baha’o’llah the incarnation of the spirit of God and
> they accept him as their promised one, Krishna.
> Thus, the Bahai teaching confirms the Hindu in the fundamental truth of his own religion, and it
> frees him from the superstition and caste which have for centuries kept his people in a state of both
> spiritual and physical bondage. Under this influence he attains to the real spirit of sacrifice as given in
> his ancient teachings, and to the real emancipation of the soul, which is in truth the fundamental tenet of
> the most ancient Hindus.
> 
> BUDDHISM AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT.
> 
> Buddhism stands in the relation to Hinduism very much as Christianity does to Judaism. Chrisitanity
> sprang from Judaism as the mother religion, in like manner Buddhism came out from Hinduism. As
> Christianity and Judaism evolved two widely differing systems of philosophy, so have Buddhism and
> Hinduism evolved
> 
> [page 54]
> 
> two theological systems, which not only do not resemble each other, but are in direct opposition. Jesus,
> the Christ, came not to destroy but to fulfill the law and prophets. Guatama, The Buddha, had no
> intention of departing from the true spiritual and original precepts of the teachings of Hinduism. His
> mission was to teach the people the divine significance of the past teachings, which had become to them
> but an empty form. Through Him millions of souls have received God’s truth in the measure of their
> capacity, and according to the degree their condition demanded.
> The Buddha taught of the one God, and of the life eternal. The state of nearness to God is termed
> nirvana, by the Buddhists. It is synonymous with the word heaven as used in the holy writings of other
> religions. Gautama wrote no books. The events of His life, and His words and teachings were recorded
> by His disciples and have been handed down to the people of succeeding generations.
> Of the original teachings of The Buddha much has been lost, and replaced by the doctrines and
> beliefs of men who came after Him. In fact the latter-day Buddhist teachings, so rich in the ramifications
> and speculations of philosophical thought, bear about as much resemblance to the original spiritual
> teachings of The Buddha, as the present day multiplicity of creeds of any one of the world religions
> bears to the real teachings of its founder.
> The Buddhists, like the Bahais, consider all religions to be, from the spiritual standpoint, one
> religion. They are without religious prejudice. They welcome all high elevating thought and teaching
> irrespective of its source. They believe Gautama, The Buddha, to have been one of a se-
> 
> [page 55]
> 
> ries of inspired souls sent to the peoples of various ages for divine training and guidance. As there were
> Buddhas who preceded Him, so there would be Buddhas who would succeed Him. They expect the
> coming of Maitrêya, or the great Fifth Buddha, whose coming, according to their traditions, is now due.
> His work is to be with all mankind and through Him the earthly conditions of the past are to change and
> be replaced by an age of divine wisdom and understanding.
> The following excerpt from the recorded teachings of Gautama to His disciple Ananda, given just
> previous to His death, explains in a few words much of his teaching, “I am not the first Buddha who
> came upon earth, nor shall I be the last. I came to teach you the truth, and I have founded upon earth The
> Kingdom of Truth. Gautama Siddhartha will die, but Buddha will live, for Buddha is the truth and the
> truth cannot die. He who believes in the truth and lives in it is My disciple, and I shall teach him. The
> religion which I have preached to you will flourish so long as my disciples cling to the truth, and lead a
> life of purity. In due time another Buddha will arise, and He will reveal to you the selfsame eternal truth
> which I have taught you”. Ananda said: “How shall we know Him?” Gautama replied: “He will be
> known as Maitrêya, which means, ‘He whose name is Kindness’.”
> 
> MODERN THOUGHT AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT.
> 
> During the past sixty or seventy years so-called “Modern Thought” has entered into the fold of every
> religion, preparing the people for a broad, universal conception of God’s truth, a conception unfettered
> by the mental limitations of past ages. Although it is called “Modern
> 
> [page 56]
> 
> Thought,” it is in reality the most ancient thought, for it is the resurrection of the spirit which the
> religions originally possessed, and which during so many centuries was lost to humanity.
> Modern Thought has been as a plough, which has prepared the religious ground of the world to
> receive the spiritual seeds of The Kingdom. Modernism has uprooted ancient creed and dogma, and
> along with this uprooting, the faith of many has been shaken and much spiritual seeking has resulted.
> Now the Bahai teaching is sowing the seeds of a live faith in men’s souls. It is demonstrating to the
> world that faith, religion and spirituality are vital and necessary forces in the world of humanity, and that
> they have nothing in common with the superstitions and imaginations of the past. The Modern
> Thoughtists of all races and religions are teaching the same principles as held by the followers of the
> Bahai cause. They realize that humanity as a whole is now passing through a period of spiritual rebirth,
> and this is the beginning of the age of spiritual wisdom, which is the millennium. In the great spiritual
> organism of the universe, the various parts and members are organically united and linked together as
> are the organs of the body. As there have been great changes and upheavals in the evolution of the
> material world, due to material causes, so there have been great phases of change and development in
> the evolution of the spiritual world, due to the action of spiritual causes.
> The present day awakening, as seen in all of the many branches of Modern Thought, and the coming
> of another revelation are the direct result of certain great changes taking place in the spiritual realm of
> existence, which are being pro-
> 
> [page 57]
> 
> duced by spiritual causes. In the early morning when the sun is yet below the horizon, the heavens are
> illumined by its rays and the coming of day is evident to all. As the sun slowly rises, those upon the high
> places first see it, later those in the valleys see it also; and when it is at its zenith the whole country is
> receiving its rays and basking in its warmth.
> So it is when the sun of truth manifests here upon earth for the guidance of the people. The
> manifestation or revelator, is preceded by the signs of spiritual awakening, which show the people that a
> new spiritual day or era is at hand. Those illumined souls of high spiritual discernment first recognize in
> the revealer or prophet, the source of the light of God; later, the people in general awaken to His spiritual
> power and wisdom and finally, through His teaching, both material and spiritual bounties are
> forthcoming to the world.
> This wave of modernism which has swept over the world, dispelling the night of spiritual ignorance
> and superstition, is the first twilight of the great day of God upon earth. Already many illumined souls
> are seeing in the inspired revealers of the Bahai religion the light of the world to be and its point of
> diffusion. Later on, the whole world will realize that which now only the few see. Then, all humanity
> will be the recipients in full of the much anticipated bounties of The Kingdom of God upon the earth.
> 
> Resumé.
> 
> As the people of the various religions come into the spirit of the Bahai Cause, their faith in the truth
> of their own religion is augmented rather than lessened, for the spirit of this present
> 
> [page 58]
> 
> day teaching is the same as that which actuated the early fathers of the ancient religions.
> The Bahai Movement teaches severance. In his heart man must be severed from the world and its
> passions. His dependence must be upon God though outwardly he must live in the world, there fulfilling
> his material mission in life.
> In the Bahai life, severance is comprised in the rebirth of the Christian, the spirit of obedience of the
> Jew, the submission of the Moslem, the purification of the Zoroastrian, the sacrifice of the Hindu, the
> renunciation of the Buddhist, and the “living in harmony with the divine” of the Modern Thoughtist. In
> the Bahai movement, is summed up all of the spiritual essence of the religions of the past, which is now
> given in a form most applicable to the present day needs of man, and adequate to cope with the modern
> universal problems.
> 
> [page 59]
> 
> VII.
> THE BAHAI SACRED WRITINGS
> 
> The Bab.
> 
> The book of The Bab, or His collective writings, is known as “The Beyan”. That the mission of The
> Bab was introductory to the advent of Baha’o’llah is most clearly stated in this book, in which the
> coming of “Him whom God shall manifest” is the one great theme. In it The Bab exhorts the people
> spiritually to prepare themselves to meet and to recognize and to adhere to, Baha’o’llah when He should
> appear. He left certain laws and ordinances for the guidance of His followers until the advent of
> Baha’o’llah, all of which should be abrogated, with the promised coming. These writings, calculated to
> meet and minister to the local conditions which were chiefly Islamic, have as yet not been translated into
> English.
> 
> Baha’o’llah.
> 
> The writings of Baha’o’llah are numerous and are in general, comparatively brief treatises. Of these
> a number have been translated and published in the Occidental languages, while others still remain in the
> original Persian and Arabic texts.
> One of the first books translated and published in English was the Kitabu’l-Ighan (The Book of
> Assurance). This was written by Baha’o’llah during His exile in Baghdad, and was a reply to certain
> theological questions asked by a learned Mussulman divine. While the expression is couched in terms
> peculiar to Islamic thought, yet, deeper than these terms, are revealed uni-
> [page 60]
> 
> versal spiritual teachings the essence of which appeals to the people of any religion.
> In the Book of Assurance, Baha’o’llah quotes familiar texts from the Old and New Testaments of the
> Bible, and from the Koran of Mohammed, and He explains the spiritual truths contained in these three
> books, relative to the end and passing of the old dispensations, the coming of the Messiah, and the
> ushering into existence of the new dispensation of The Kingdom upon earth. He demonstrates the
> oneness of the teachings of the Jewish, Christian and Mussulman Holy literature regarding this Latter-
> Day advent of the Lord.
> In the Suratu’l Hykl (Chapter upon the Temple or Body) Baha’o’llah treats of His calling, His arising
> in response thereto, and His mission here among men.
> In The Book of the Seven Valleys, Baha’o’llah explains the different stages of the spiritual progress
> or development of the soul of man. These stages He divides into seven, which He terms “Valleys”. This
> book was written to elucidate certain truths from the standpoint of Mysticism. In order to appreciate it,
> one must understand and be in sympathy with the spirit and teachings of the Mystics.
> In the Lawhu’l-Akdas (The Holy Tablet) Baha’o’llah explains His cause to the Christian world. He
> demonstrates that now is the time of the end spoken of by Jesus, The Christ, and He exhorts the
> Christians to consider the importance of this day and of its cause. He demonstrates the necessity for
> relinquishing dependence upon the creeds and customs of the past ages, and exhorts all to adhere to the
> pure truth of the words of Jesus which, when understood, will confirm the truth revealed again in this
> day.
> 
> [page 61]
> 
> The Hidden Words (in two parts, one translated from the original Arabic text and the other from the
> Persian) contain the essence of the spiritual truths revealed by the divine revelators of the past. In these
> utterances the fundamental divine truths are again revealed to humanity in terms applicable to the
> exigencies of this age. Each verse is replete with spiritual significances, and in each is hidden a message,
> or word, for the hungry soul.
> The Tablets of Tarazat, Tajalleyat and Ishrakat, contain exhortations regarding the conduct of man.
> In these books Baha’o’llah dwells upon those virtues, through the practice of which spiritually awakened
> man will evolve and attain to the state of nearness to God.
> In the Kitabu’l-Akdas (Book of the Law) Baha’o’llah outlines both the material and spiritual laws for
> the guidance of the people of the coming dispensation. He provides for governmental laws based upon
> divine laws. These laws are not arbitrary. They are given with divine wisdom and their virtue will
> become apparent as men live in accordance with their statutes, for through so doing, the source of the
> ills of the day will disappear. The ordinances of the Bahai cause aim at the eradication of wrong-doing
> rather than the chastisement of those who perpetrate wickedness.
> The Kitabu’l-Ahd (Book of the Testament) is the will and testament of Baha’o’llah to His followers.
> In this document He provides for the guidance of His followers after His passing, by appointing His
> beloved son, Abdul-Baha, to be the Center of His Covenant, towards whom all of the faithful should
> turn.
> Baha’o’llah left many other writings to the world. These are, for the greater part, in the
> 
> [page 62]
> 
> form of epistles or “Tablets,” written to individuals. Noteworthy among these are the “Epistles to the
> Kings”, written just previous to His arrival at Akka, and sent from this prison to all parts of the world,
> during His incarceration.
> In these Tablets Baha’o’llah declares His Cause to the kings and potentates of the earth, exhorting
> them to turn to The Kingdom and to The Promised One whom God had sent to establish peace upon
> earth, to abolish warfare, and to give their attention to the establishment of those institutions which
> would benefit their subjects.
> 
> Abdul-Bahá.
> 
> The writings of Abdul-Baha are for the greater part epistles (“Tablets”) written to individuals, or to
> assemblies of the followers. These are explanatory of the revealed writings of Baha’o’llah. A number of
> Abdul-Baha’s lessons upon various spiritual subjects have been collected, translated and published by
> one of his followers, under the title of “Some Answered Questions”. This work is of value to the student
> who desires an insight into the spirit of the teaching. Abdul-Baha’s mission is that of amplifying and
> applying the truth as revealed by his father. This, Abdul-Baha is accomplishing by his life of service and
> example even more than by his words. His Life is his book. From him is proceeding that power of
> understanding which is enabling his followers to realize and to attain to the spiritual admonitions of
> Baha’o’llah.
> In reading the translations of the writings of The Bab, Baha’o’llah and Abdul-Baha, the westerner
> should always bear in mind two things: 1st, these original writings were in the symbolic and florid style
> of the Persian or Arabic tongues, many of the expressions and similes of
> 
> [page 63]
> 
> which are untranslatable and, perforce, have been rendered literally, consequently much of the rich
> poetic oriental expression is out of harmony with the more matter-of-fact occidental tongue, through
> which, in translation, it is forced to express itself; 2d, many of these writings were sent to people in
> intellectual conditions foreign to those to which we are accustomed here in the west. The object of these
> teachers being to make spiritual connection with souls, they sometimes employ one line of thought and
> terminology, and sometimes another, from an entirely different point of view. For instance, in order to
> reach a Mussulman the argument must be Islamic, whereas to reach a Christian, it must be Christian, etc.
> In studying these writings let the reader first familiarize himself with all the conditions under which
> they were written: the writer, the people to whom he was writing, their previous religious training, the
> tongue, etc.; then he will understand the spiritual wisdom of the writings, the truth of which will not be
> obscured by expression, names or terminology.
> 
> [page 64]
> 
> VIII.
> SOCIAL REFORMS, LAWS, AND ORDINANCES
> 
> Not only did Baha’o’llah reveal spiritual laws and principles for the people of the world, but He also
> outlined social reforms for the more material guidance and well-being of mankind.
> The spiritual or religious foundation is the essential foundation; social reforms are the fruit of
> spiritual growth. Up to the present time but few of the proposed institutions of the Bahai faith have been
> established. Now is the time for spiritual seed sowing, later will come the time of spiritual fruitage and
> harvest. Now the believers are establishing the spiritual institutions of the teachings, spreading the
> message, enkindling faith and love in men’s hearts. The future will see materialized the fruit of the
> labors of the Bahais of today when, added to the present development of the movement, will be all the
> institutions to round out the work, thus accomplishing the complete design, as outlined by Baha’o’llah.
> The Ordinances of the Bahai faith are in accord with the natural laws governing human relations and
> affairs, and are so ordered as to bring forth the highest and most perfect physical, moral and spiritual
> development of all who place themselves within the sphere of influence. These laws are to be followed
> by the people from choice, not by compulsion. As people know and understand the wisdom of the
> precepts of Baha’o’llah, they will from volition, and for their own welfare and that of those about them,
> desire to live according to His advice.
> Perfect liberty and freedom in religious thought and belief is to be allowed every one.
> 
> [page 65]
> 
> The Bahais are exhorted to mingle freely with people of all creeds, and in no way to shut themselves off
> from those of other beliefs. Neither should they criticise nor denounce the teachings nor the followers of
> other religious movements. Through fraternal intercourse, kindness, and loving service to all humanity,
> the believers in this latter-day revelation will eventually demonstrate its truth to all the world.
> While the Bahais are commanded not to interfere with the religion of others, other people are
> advised to relinquish those creeds and customs which separate them into many divisions, in order that all
> may come into the one great spiritual unity of The Kingdom. All things find their birth in unity. The life
> of any being or organization of beings is dependent upon this principle. Therefore, how important is
> unity, and of the various kinds how all-important is spiritual and religious unity, for it is the foundation
> of all unity and of the progress of the world.
> With the development of the spiritual world-unity, Baha’o’llah anticipated various universal
> institutions for the great benefit of humanity. He exhorted the rulers and governments of the world to
> abolish warfare and establish peace; to settle international difficulties by arbitration rather than by
> bloodshed. In order to facilitate international understanding and unite all people, Baha’o’llah advocated
> a universal language, which would itself be instrumental in the promotion of mutual understanding and
> sympathy between peoples.
> From Baha’o’llah’s writings, it does not seem to have been His idea that the kings of this earth
> should cease to exist, but rather that all governments should be established upon a system of
> representation, without which no government
> 
> [page 66]
> 
> can uphold the rights of the people. The followers of Baha should be law-abiding citizens in whatever
> country they may dwell and they should be loyal supporters of all just and righteous governments.
> One of the institutions of The Bab was the rearrangement of the calendar. This change was
> confirmed by Baha’o’llah, and the new calendar is beginning to be used by Bahais. Eventually it will
> supersede the many systems now current. The Bahai Era begins with the year 1844 A. D. or 1260 A. H.
> The first day of the Bahai year falls on March 21st, the day upon which the sun enters the sign of Aries,
> and is commonly known as the first day of spring. The year is divided into nineteen months of nineteen
> days each, making in all 361 days to which are added four (every fourth year five) intercalary days, to
> complete the 365 or 366 days of the year.
> The Bahais have nothing in their own religion to exclude those holding different views. They have
> no form of membership, no formulated creed nor institutions to differentiate them outwardly from other
> people. Their work is ever inward rather than outward, and for the benefit of all rather than a few. In this
> religion there is no priesthood. Teaching is given without money and without price. All are teachers,
> each in his own sphere of life. Those, able and fitted to do so, go forth as speakers, while others teach
> quietly by their deeds, and by speaking the message when they find a hearer. While the cause asks only
> for the hearts of its followers, nevertheless, when the heart is in the work there comes the desire to give
> and to do something material for the movement. The giving of tithes for carrying on the Bahai work is a
> privilege, not an obligation.
> 
> [page 67]
> 
> Baha’o’llah, like all of the world’s religious teachers, laid great stress upon prayer and fasting. Both
> are necessary for the development of the soul. Through prayer the soul is brought into communion with
> God and receives the spiritual sustenance necessary for its life and well-being. Through fasting the soul
> becomes freed from the materiality of the flesh; it then apprehends higher things, becomes conscious of
> divine realities, and receives the spiritual life forces to a higher degree than possible under the normal
> condition of the body.
> Baha’o’llah clearly states that seeking refuge in creed and dogma, and faith without works, are not
> acceptable. The Bahais have no forms or ceremonials, such as have characterized the religions of the
> past. Prayer is made individually by the suppliant to God. Prayer, supplemented by a pure and useful life
> in this world, forms the elements of true worship. Every one should have an occupation, which conduces
> to the welfare of humanity, the diligent pursuance of which is in itself an act of worship.
> The Bahai teaching encourages marriage, while asceticism and celibacy are discouraged. Monogamy
> is taught, and among the believers in the Orient is gradually replacing the systems of polygamy which
> have always existed there. The body should be developed, not mortified, because it is the medium
> through which the spirit works. A good and perfect body is desirable.
> The executive affairs of the Bahai cause will eventually be presided over by a synod, known as the
> “House of Justice”. Its members will be selected by the people. These members are to be qualified by
> spiritual characteristics and wisdom. They will be the trustees of the people. Their mission will be to
> serve the people in the numer-
> 
> [page 68]
> 
> ous avenues of Bahai activity, in charitable and philanthropic works, and all the practical institutions
> which make for the welfare of the people and the cause. The House of Justice will meet at stated times
> and in various parts of the world, for the performance of its work. In addition to this general or central
> House of Justice for all the world, there will be assemblages in each community for the carrying on of
> local service.
> Baha’o’llah strongly denounced the taking of opium and kindred drugs. The Bahais do not use
> intoxicating liquors as beverages, and among them even the use of tobacco is discouraged. Gambling is
> forbidden, as having a demoralizing effect upon the people. In fact all excesses, tending to weaken the
> body and the moral force of man, should be eschewed by him.
> Individual advancement and personal incentive are to be fostered and encouraged, but the general
> weal of the mass is even more to be considered. The weak and unfortunate ones are to be protected from
> the greedy ones. Profit in business is to be sought, but one person has no right to enrich himself at the
> expense of another. When the ordinances of Baha’o’llah are established there will be fewer extremes of
> wealth and poverty. The people will be better off than they are now. The Bahai cause is prepared to meet
> and to reform the many human ills which the humanitarian thinkers and workers of the day are striving
> to eradicate. This is being accomplished through the spiritualizing method of changing the natural
> hardness of men’s hearts by infusing into them the Love of God.
> In the Bahai cause woman holds a position equal to that of man. She is not denied any rights.
> Through the Bahai teaching the women in the oriental countries are already reaping the
> 
> [page 69]
> benefits of education and are advancing in many ways, which customs of their former religion would
> close to them. It is hardly necessary here to mention those laws touching upon hygiene and the education
> of both sexes, and the admonitions forbidding mendicity, slavery, cruelty to animals and other offences,
> because, though in the Orient the need for them is yet very great, our western civilization has already
> accomplished these reforms.
> While religion and state will never be reunited upon the old lines of creed and dogma, the Bahais
> look forward to the time when the states, or governments of the nations, will be founded upon a spiritual
> foundation — when the material laws of men will be founded and enforced according to the principles
> of the divine laws of God. Religion is necessary to man. Nations, as well as individuals, have at times
> tried to live without religion and the results have always been disastrous. The divine foundation is the
> only foundation upon which to build any institution that shall endure. The ideal government rests upon
> this foundation, which is not a union of church and state, but a union of religion and state.
> Eventually, in every Bahai center there will be a building (temple) set apart for The Lord’s use.
> Grouped about this, as a center, will be various institutions for the benefit of man — hospitals, homes,
> hospices, colleges, and other philanthropic enterprises. All of these buildings together, will constitute the
> Mashrak-El-Azcar: (literally “The dawning place of the mentions of God”).
> The central building, or Temple proper, will be a nine-sided structure surmounted by a dome, and
> surrounded by gardens. The number 9 is
> 
> [page 70]
> 
> symbolic of the Spirit of God Manifest. The Temple will be a sanctuary for the reading or chanting of
> the “Holy Words,” for meditation and for prayer, a place of universal worship open to all, in which
> people of all races and religions can worship God individually, in spirit and in truth, without the
> intermediary of church, priest or ritual.
> The practical institutions of the Mashrak-El-Azcar will afford the opportunity for the establishment
> in the world of all branches of those progressive works for which the Bahai cause stands. In this day,
> religion is to be the direct source of inspiration in all secular affairs. The Bahai faith stands as the
> promoter of advancement in every line of human activity and development, and therefore every phase of
> these innumerable activities will draw its life from, and be an integral part of, the Mashrak-El-Azcar. In
> the Bahai teaching one finds exhortations to prayer and worship, upon the one hand, and exhortations to
> work and service to humanity upon the other. “Faith without deeds is not acceptable,” therefore the
> Bahai religious work includes all work and service needful to man. This faith stands for all material and
> social progress. This idea is developed in the Mashrak-El-Azcar.
> The Mashrak-El-Azcar is the symbolic expression of the prophet or the manifestation of God. The
> central building or place of worship may be compared to the heart or the innermost point of illumination,
> while the surrounding institutions may be compared to the fruit of (or service and good works performed
> by) the manifestation. Within the house of worship the people will find their inspiration, while through
> the surrounding institutions they will manifest this inspiration to the world, by loving service to
> humanity.
> 
> [page 71]
> 
> Not long since, in the city of Eshkabad, in Russian Turkestan, such a Mashrak-El-Azcar was built.
> This work represents the combined efforts of the Bahais throughout the Orient. Its architectural beauty
> and size testify to the loving offerings of those believers, while the idea for which it stands is far above
> the conception of the surrounding people.
> In this service, of the Mashrak-El-Azcar, as well as many others the Bahais are laying a foundation,
> of whose existence the world in general is now not aware, for the alleviation of many human evils. The
> people of the future will understand the far-sightedness of these people of to-day in their effort to bring
> all secular affairs under spiritual guidance.
> The Bahais of the west are following in the steps of their oriental brethren. In the city of Chicago a
> movement has been started for the erection there of the first Mashrak-El-Azcar in the Occident. Already
> an extensive building site has been purchased, overlooking Lake Michigan, and it is hoped that soon the
> building will be begun. Offerings for this work have been sent from the Bahais in all parts of the world.
> The Mashrak-El-Azcar represents the sum total of all the Bahai activities. Abdul-Baha has repeatedly
> written to the believers in America, that of all works the building of the Mashrak-El-Azcar is the most
> important. It is the foundation for the new order of the spiritual Kingdom upon earth, therefore its
> importance cannot be overestimated. When it stands accomplished, it will be as a haven of rest to those
> who seek communion with God within its sacred precincts; while outwardly, it will be as a banner
> manifesting to the world the service and the purpose of the Bahai cause.
> 
> [page 72]
> 
> IX.
> THE NEED OF THE TIMES
> 
> Living, spiritual religion is the cause of social reform. It precedes and is the leader of human
> progress, and is the basis of civilization. Lifeless religion, of theology and form, precedes and is the
> cause of social and moral degradation. It retards human progress, and is the destroyer of civilization.
> Live religion produces peace and harmony. Dead religion makes warfare and discord.
> Each of the world’s spiritual teachers was in advance of the people of his time. Each was
> independent of the thought and institutions of his day, and was a creator of thought, morals and social
> advancement. This progressive spirit characterized each of the great religious movements during its
> earlier days.
> Later, religion ceased to be an independent institution (a leader of the people), and it became a
> dependent institution, dependent upon and catering to the thought of the people of the day. Its mission as
> a leader and a creator of thought and morals was at an end, and instead of elevating the people, it
> retarded their progress and became the cause of stagnation and disintegration. Advancing civilization
> has had no more subtle or persistent enemy to contend with than lifeless religious systems.
> Foremost among the world problems of the day is the abolition of war and the establishment of
> Peace. National, racial and religious hatred have been the principal causes of warfare. The present
> different religious teachings or philosophies, not only are not working for Peace upon earth, but through
> their influence upon men are
> 
> [page 73]
> 
> actually holding people at variance, dividing humanity, and in many cases have been the direct cause of
> war. Since the Bahai teaching is striking a fatal blow at these prejudices, it is not only eliminating the
> cause of strife, but, in place of this enmity, it is planting a virile and growing unity between all peoples.
> The Bahai principle of unity is not merely negative, a suspension of inharmony, it is a positive force
> for unity, which, as it grows, transmutes destructive forces into constructive forces. It stands for, and is a
> promoter of, all of the universal progressive movements uniting nations, which the world now needs.
> Through it, the differences between eastern and western thought, manners and customs, and the lack of
> confidence between all people, are being changed and replaced by oneness of thought and action and by
> confidence and fraternity.
> The Bahai Cause stands for:
> The Unity of all Religions.
> The Political Unity of nations.
> The Social Unity of all classes, peoples and races.
> The Unity of Languages in one universal language.
> Universal Suffrage.
> The Advancement of all Material Institutions, conducive to the general welfare of man; his
> enlightenment and progress.
> World Peace.
> All of which is to be established upon the foundation of spiritual unity between peoples.
> In this day, the peoples of the world are being drawn together by all of the material forces of
> civilization. Commerce and political relations have brought people of all nations, races and religions
> together, upon the plane of their outer
> 
> [page 74]
> 
> activities, but as yet they form a heterogenous mixture, having no inner or spiritual ground upon which
> to build a fundamental unity. Such a spiritual meeting ground of unity is now the most needed thing in
> the world. The time is at hand for the people of the world to unite in all matters, most of all in religion,
> since it is the most potent factor in shaping character. The good character of nations has been made by
> religion and it has been destroyed through the lack of it.
> The theologies of the past have nothing to offer the world today as the solution of this mighty
> problem. Each of them was evolved under conditions of the past, and has no relation to, power or
> influence upon, the present universal world-needs.
> The day of dependent religion is at an end, and this world is now ripe for the leadership of a virile
> religious movement: a religion ahead of the times, one whose teaching is independent of, and not limited
> by the current thought of man; that will lead the world onward, infusing into it the spiritual force to
> reform its institutions, and unite all races and nations, oriental and occidental, in faith in God and
> confidence in one another, thus making a firm spiritual foundation for the coming great worldcivilization.
> “The Bahai teaching is not an eclectic philosophy, neither is it a sect. It is a living spiritual religion.
> Because of its soul inspiring qualities, it appeals alike to the unschooled and the learned, to the masses
> and the few. The Bab, Baha’o’llah and Abdul-Baha stand out as divine teachers and leaders,
> independent of the world’s attitude and thought. They are not building a theological system from
> intellectual
> 
> [page 75]
> 
> material. Like all world movers they were far ahead of their times. Peace, arbitration and an international
> language, in fact a universal civilization, were unthought of by the world, when these teachers, over a
> half century ago, announced their spiritual message, in which is incorporated the solution of all the
> teeming questions which now occupy the minds of some of the greatest thinkers and philanthropists of
> the age. Upon every hand people are clamoring to understand more clearly the principles of peace to
> which the Bahai leaders and their followers have borne witness by trials and suffering and death.
> The Bahai cause is ministering to the great spiritual need of the day, by planting in the soul of the
> world a living religion of brotherhood. Because of this universal need, this cause is destined to grow
> until it envelops the whole world, uniting all men and leading them onward toward the age of spiritual
> enlightenment, prosperity, and peace.
> 
> [page 76]
> 
> X.
> ORIENTAL-OCCIDENTAL UNITY.
> 
> The Orient can truly be said to be the mother of the human race. From her heart went forth those
> great racial wave movements which have peopled the earth. In her mountain fastnesses the prophets
> communed with God and received His life-giving truth (which has been the inspiration of all mankind),
> and in her valleys and upon her plains civilization had its dawn.
> The Occident can with equal truth be said to be the son, or man-child of the mother Orient. Both
> materially and spiritually the Occident has received its physical life and its religious inspiration from the
> Orient, the fruit of which is the present occidental civilization.
> During many centuries the peoples of the East and those of the West have been separated by barriers,
> racial, religious, geographic and political. So complete has been this segregation, that these two halves
> of humanity have developed along different lines of thought, manners and customs, until the very
> natures and characteristics of these peoples have become, in general, distinct and foreign to each other.
> Now, in these latter days, through the breaking down of the former material barriers, the oriental and
> occidental peoples are being forced one upon the other. Through international relations, the increase of
> foreign commerce, and the travel and mingling of people, the Orientals and Occidentals are daily
> coming into closer relations upon the material plane of life. As yet, however, this is but a superficial
> mingling, void of any basic unity.
> Without any trust, confidence or affinity for one another, the Oriental and Occidental are at
> 
> [page 77]
> 
> variance in almost every way. That which will destroy this variance is the spiritual confidence, trust, and
> mutual affinity, which the Bahai faith is creating between the East and the West. Through the
> establishment of such practical institutions of service as will demonstrate this spiritual unity, the greatest
> material and spiritual benefit to all humanity will result, for, springing from this spiritual foundation will
> be all of those religious, political, and social activities, for which the Bahai cause stands, and which will
> eventually unite in one civilization all the peoples of the world.
> The Bahai cause stands for spiritual unity manifested in every phase and activity of life. The Bab,
> Baha’o’llah and Abul-Baha stand pre-eminent as lovers and servants of humanity. Their mission was
> that of spiritual uniting and life giving, therefore their teachings influence every phase and detail of life.
> With the fruition of this cause, the great Orient-Occident problem will be solved. Through this Bahai
> spiritual unity encompassing all peoples, oriental and occidental characteristics will so blend that a new
> world type of man will be evolved: one which will embody, not only the present existing virtues of the
> East and the West, but most of all, the highest spiritual possibilities of humanity, which can come to
> light only as people unite and live according to divine law applied to every phase of life.
> The stages of development through which collective man passes are parallel and analogous to those
> through which he passes as an individual. Until the state of physical maturity is reached, individual men
> and women are content to live apart from one another. Each is developing his or her own mental and
> physical characteristics,
> [page 78]
> 
> and, normally, two different and distinct types, masculine and feminine, are the result.
> When maturity is reached, the reason for the difference in the characteristics of man and woman
> becomes apparent. Affinity and union take place between these differing natures and a great change is
> produced in each. One supplies what the other lacks, and two rounded out and more perfect lives is the
> result, and further, through this love union of man and woman, the way is made for the birth of other
> human beings. When two parents are united by the bonds of a complete love, their children come into
> this world under the highest possible auspices for both bodily and soul development, and in their natures
> are found magnified the combined virtues of both parents.
> In this day, the human race is reaching the stage of maturity, the Orient along her own characteristic
> lines, and the Occident along his own characteristic lines. Now their future development depends upon
> their union, both spiritual and physical. These two halves of humanity, eastern and western, must unite
> and become as one in every respect, spiritual and material, in order that each may reach its highest
> development. From this union will come the future universal world-type of man, who will combine in
> himself all the human virtues and the highest spiritual possibilities.
> Such an union between the East and West can never be accomplished upon any foundation other
> than a spiritual one. When the Occident and the Orient meet on a common spiritual ground, then an
> intellectual and social unity in all of its forms with all of its institutions, will result.
> By brute force a man can dominate a woman while the souls of both are suffering, although
> 
> [page 79]
> 
> neither may be aware of this condition. In the perfect marriage, neither the man nor the woman
> dominates the other. Through love, they become as one soul in two bodies. So must it be between the
> Occident and the Orient. Many oriental countries have been held by occidental nations through force.
> This has not been conducive in any way to the solution of this world problem. Under a regime of force,
> both peoples, the dominant and the dominated, suffer from lack of unity. Each remains within itself, its
> life forces and possibilities undeveloped, pent up, and suffering for lack of the expression which only the
> freedom of harmony can give.
> In the coming epoch of religious, racial and national unity, for which the Bahai cause is paving the
> way, there will be no question of “supremacy” over one another. All peoples will be members of one
> harmonious world-family, each working to protect and help the other! Under this order, which is the
> order of God’s Kingdom, the highest civic and national institutions will be evolved, and the masses of
> the people will attain to a high state of spiritual, moral and physical development. Thus, humanity will
> attain to a state of civilization and advancement, of the greatness of which no one can now form any
> conception.
> 
> [page 80]
> 
> XI.
> ETERNAL LIFE
> 
> Eternal life is the condition of the spiritually alive or divinely quickened soul.
> To be merely alive to physical, animal and human things is not life according to religious
> terminology. To be alive in the spiritual sense is to be conscious of the Spirit of God manifest, to believe
> in Him, and to do according to His will. The soul is an indestructible entity which exists after its
> separation or freedom from the material body. Yet mere natural existence, either here or in the life
> beyond, is not life from the spiritual or divine view-point.
> Through “The Manifestation,” the soul of natural man is quickened with divine or eternal life, which
> is as a new and a higher dimension added to his human nature. By virtue of this divine quickening, the
> spiritually-born soul comes directly under divine guidance. Though in the world, yet it lives in a higher
> realm than before — the divine realm — from which it receives life, and a force that characterizes it
> with higher qualities. Thus, through the baptism of the spirit or the Word of God revealed, the soul
> passes from the condition of natural darkness into one of divine light, from the condition of spiritual
> ignorance or death, into that of spiritual awakeness or eternal life.
> Eternal life is not a condition to which the soul attains through its own virtue or through evolution
> from the natural plane. It is a gift and a bounty from God bestowed upon natural man through
> Revelation. It is given through God’s mercy and favor, not through His justice. There is evolution upon
> the natural plane, confined to that plane, and also evolution upon the
> 
> [page 81]
> 
> spiritual plane, confined to that plane, but there is no evolution from one plane to the other. In the Divine
> Kingdom, before as well as after death, there is progression towards perfection of the type of perfect
> spiritual manhood. There is nothing to which the soul may evolve beyond perfect spiritual manhood, for
> spiritual man is the highest being of God’s creation, above which there is no creation. Male and female
> are conditions of the physical realm and not of the spiritual kingdom. By virtue of the Holy Spirit,
> manifesting through the revealer, the souls of His followers are lifted from the lower to the higher plane,
> from natural manhood to spiritual manhood, they become characterized with divine qualities, and they
> show forth in their lives the fruits of the Spirit.
> As metal is heated in the fire and so partakes of the characteristics of the fire until it is like the fire,
> so the soul, through the revealed word, becomes characterized by divine characteristics. As with the
> metal, the source of the heat being outside of it, the moment it is removed from the fire it loses the
> characteristics of the fire, so it is with the human soul, for when it separates itself from God’s Word,
> divine characteristics cease to emanate from it. The source of divine life is not in man but in The Word
> revealed, and of man’s divine enlightenment, in his dependence upon The Word.
> Good actions and good deeds characterize the quickened soul, but good actions and good deeds are
> not in themselves a proof that a soul is divinely quickened. Many souls without faith or spiritual
> assurance lead exemplary lives from the ethical standard, while, upon the other hand, many souls sunken
> in crime and depravity become touched by the spirit and are born into The
> 
> [page 82]
> 
> Kingdom, and bring forth the fruits of the divine life.
> Life in its highest and fullest sense, exists in that soul in which all of the life forces, both divine and
> material, reach their highest development. Neither a physically perfect man nor a highly educated man is
> upon the highest plane until he is quickened, and alive to the divine realities. The perfect type of
> manhood has an all-round physical, psychical, intellectual and divinely spiritual development. As souls
> are dedicated to God’s service and become cleansed and pure from earthly conditions, then the deepest
> mysteries of The Kingdom become clear to them. All doubts and fears are dispelled by faith and
> assurance, while all inharmonious conditions are replaced by harmonious ones through the love of God
> burning in the soul. This is Eternal Life.
> [page 83]
> 
> XII.
> HEAVEN AND HELL.
> 
> Heaven and hell, salvation and sin, light and darkness, are terms employed to differentiate the two
> spiritual conditions of the soul of man.
> The spiritually quickened soul, alive with the life of the Spirit, is that condition called heaven, while
> the unawakened soul, not yet conscious of the bounty of God, nor alive in His Spirit, is that state of
> spiritual lethargy or darkness called hell. These two conditions apply to the life of the soul in this world,
> as to the soul in the great beyond. As there are conditions of both spiritual awakeness and spiritual
> slumber here in this life, so there are these same conditions in the realm of the immaterial into which the
> soul passes upon leaving this body.
> God’s mercy is never wearied. As for those souls who go out into the great beyond without being
> spiritually awakened here, for their quickening He has ways and means unknown to us. Reward and
> punishment are of two kinds, natural and spiritual. In the world of nature every good act, in accord with
> her laws, produces a good effect, and every violation of nature’s principles has a harmful, or detrimental
> effect upon the individual. The reward and punishment, the good or the bad effect following the good or
> bad action of man, is inevitable; it is according to fixed law. Likewise, according to the divine law he
> advances spiritually, and when he violates that law he suffers spiritually. Spiritual conditions, however,
> are more far reaching than material conditions, for they are not limited to this earthly plane; they are
> eternal.
> The greatest blessing which can descend upon
> 
> [page 84]
> 
> man is the knowledge of God. The greatest calamity is to be deprived of this knowledge. Through God’s
> mercy He has given man the blessing of knowing Him. He has also given man free will to accept or
> reject this blessing as he wills, therefore divine knowledge or ignorance comes to man, as reward or
> punishment for his choice.
> A soul in this world may reject the light and be spiritually deprived, and at the same time be totally
> ignorant of its state of deprivation. From the spiritual view-point a soul may be in darkness and in
> spiritual torment, but because of the lack of spiritual perception this soul may not realize its own
> condition.
> As darkness is but the absence of light, so ignorance is but the absence of knowledge, and spiritual
> death but the absence of spiritual life. Evil has no life nor positive existence. It is negative, it is the
> absence of positive light. Thus darkness, ignorance and death are negative and have no power within
> themselves, while light, knowledge and life are positive powers, containing those elements which dispel
> their opposites.
> As there are many degrees of spiritual enlightenment for the soul while it inhabits the physical body,
> so are there many degrees for it in the realms beyond this world. In this world man is endowed with the
> freedom of choice. When Divine Grace is offered him, he can accept or reject it as he chooses. Thus, his
> responsibility is great. Choice between light and darkness — divine illumination and ignorance exists,
> however, here in this world only. In the realms beyond, these earthly conditions do not exist. There the
> soul can exercise no free choice, as only the good exists. There, spiritual progress and develop-
> 
> [page 85]
> ment are also possible, but do not depend upon the will of the individual, but wholly upon the mercy and
> bounty of God. It is only in this life that man can voluntarily choose to accept the life of the Spirit and
> through this choice attain to divine blesings.
> The Kingdom of Heaven is, both here and hereafter, for those souls who are alive in The Lord.
> Through revelation the divine promise has been extended to man at various times through the ages, that
> in the fullness of time the quickening spirit of The Lord, through the Latter-Day Messiah, would be so
> poured out upon all men of all races, that the vast majority of mankind would be illumined and
> quickened and be in the state called heaven. The past conditions of spiritual ignorance and darkness
> would pass, and the day of divine wisdom, or great age would come. The “end of the world,” “the
> destruction of the world,” and similar terms used in holy writ, are symbolic of the end of the ages of
> spiritual darkness and sin, and the ushering into existence of the new epoch of general spiritual
> illumination. The coming age of peace, prosperity, and divine enlightenment will be The Kingdom of
> God upon earth.
> The Kingdom hereafter, is that state of life in which the spiritually illumined souls find themselves
> after passing from the physical body. Man’s objective senses, being of the plane of this natural realm,
> convey to the mind only conceptions of conditions peculiar to this material world, therefore, of that
> immaterial condition of the soul in the existence beyond this world, man can form no mental conception
> whatever. As the soul attains to a greater and fuller divine life, it becomes conscious and is assured of
> the perpetuity and eternalness of the state of awakening,
> 
> [page 86]
> 
> and has no doubt as to the reality of the life eternal, yet can not form a mental conception of that
> condition because it is beyond the scope of man’s imagination.
> Before the physical birth of the child into this world, it is developing its physical organs, the utility
> of which do not become apparent until birth. During its pre-natal life, through the mother, the child is
> nourished by life forces from the world into which it is to be born.
> So it is with the spiritual life of the soul. While in this body, the soul is developing spiritual virtues
> and faculties, the need for, and virtue of which do not now appear, but which will become apparent
> when it enters into the life beyond. Again like the child, the soul, while in this body, is spiritually
> nourished with force from that realm or condition into which it will be born or enter, upon leaving its
> prior condition.
> The Bahai believes that, while so-called death in a sense separates souls for a time, there is a
> spiritual link binding all together. The souls in the realm beyond, retain remembrance of things here, as
> well as of those near to them. Through intercession there, souls here are helped. All quickened souls are
> spiritually united. This tie is eternal. It is not dependent upon physical means. All souls, born of the
> spirit, are different members of one great spiritual body, and whether those members are on this earth or
> in the realm beyond, there is a connection between them which death does not sever. Natural ties are
> severed when the soul leaves the body, but spiritual ties are eternal. Through the sincere prayers of
> others a soul is helped while here in this world, and likewise, through the intercession of others, a soul
> having passed from this life is helped on his spiritual way in the realm beyond;
> 
> [page 87]
> 
> for progress is not confined to this earthly existence. The souls, too, who have passed on, are able
> through their intercessions to help those here on earth. All of this is possible because the pervading spirit
> of God is uniting the souls of The Kingdom at all times and under all conditions.
> [page 88]
> 
> XIII.
> SCIENCE AND RELIGION.
> 
> Natural or material science is classified knowledge of the human, animal, vegetable and mineral
> kingdoms; religion, or spiritual science, is classified knowledge of the life of the spiritual, or divine
> kingdom, and the laws which govern it. There is no inharmony nor conflict between these two realms,
> for there is perfect accord throughout the whole of God’s creation. Natural science teaches men how to
> live properly upon this human plane. Through observing its laws and living in accord with them, man
> attains to a high state of material, physical, psychic, and intellectual development. On the other hand, the
> prophets have revealed to humanity the laws which govern the spiritual kingdom of souls. As people live
> in accord with these divine laws, their souls develop spiritually and they attain to a high state of general
> development, for with the spiritual development, follows an evolution in the natural or material
> development of man. When men understand the realities of both the natural and divine realms, they will
> find no conflict between religion and science.
> The reason that science and religion have contended in the past, with each other, is because religious
> teachings have contained so many imaginations and superstitions as to make them inpossible of
> acceptance to men of science. To be sure, these superstitions did not exist in the purity of the teachings
> as given by the prophets themselves. Superstitions are the impediments which religion has gathered as it
> has been handed down through the ages. Science finds only this dross a contradiction of her knowledge,
> but the spiritual teachings, though they deal with
> 
> [page 89]
> 
> a higher realm, are in perfect accord with natural science.
> The Bahai teaching is logical and reasonable. It is free from superstition and is compatible with
> modern science. There is in it spiritual force, which is its very life and essence. This transcends mere
> intellect, logic and reason, although it is in perfect accord and harmony with them.
> One great work which the Bahai cause is accomplishing is the harmonizing of science and religion.
> It shows scientific people that true religion not only is not opposed to science, but that it is itself
> scientific, and that man needs more than mere intellectual food — he needs spiritual knowledge. Not
> until man adds the spiritual to the intellectual has he that perfect balance, by virtue of which he attains to
> highest development. The Bahai teaching is bringing a stronger, firmer and more vital faith into the
> religious world. Through the spirit of this movement, people of the old established religions realize that
> they have nothing to fear from the world of modem scientific thought. Under this influence, the old
> superstitions are dropping away, but the pure, untarnished truth is standing supreme.
> The realization that there is no conflict between the material and divine realms, that material truth
> and divine truth are in perfect accord, frees man from superstition and fear, and gives him faith and
> assurance, opening before him the door to the highest possibilities and development.
> 
> [page 90]
> 
> XIV.
> THE SUPERNATURAL
> Miracles form no part of the Bahai teaching.
> The prophets were endowed with powers, both natural and spiritual, through which they
> accomplished that which was impossible to ordinary man. The unusual things which they did were for
> the instruction and education and spiritual quickening of those about them. The miracles ascribed to
> them have been a great test of faith for the people of after generations, for to many, miracles are not a
> proof of divinity.
> A material phenomenon seemingly outside the domain of natural law, would not prove to thinking
> people that the doer was divine. In these days of physical and psychological experiment and research no
> one would ascribe divine powers to the physicist or the psychologist who astonished the world with
> discoveries and demonstrations.
> Many wonderful things are recorded by the Bahais, illustrative of the spiritual powers of the
> founders of their religion, but these form no part of the teaching nor are they ever mentioned as proofs,
> for, if so, they would prove a stumbling block rather than an attraction to truth seekers.
> The great and wonderful miracle, performed by the prophets and manifestations of the past and the
> present, is their power to implant in the souls of men the love of God, to quicken humanity with divine
> life and, with all of the earthly forces against them, to accomplish their divine work. This is a real, a
> spiritual miracle.
> 
> [page 91]
> 
> XV.
> EDUCATIONAL ASPECT OF THE BAHAI TEACHING.
> 
> In order to produce world unity, the superstitions and prejudices of past ages must be removed from
> men’s minds. Lack of education, creates narrowness and prejudice; education, brings broadness of view,
> and sympathy with others.
> The past systems of narrow education have tended more towards perpetuating than eradicating
> inharmony between men. The followers of the different religious systems, being at variance with one
> another, have in their educational systems handed down to coming generations the prejudice, ignorance
> and dogmatism of past generations, thus instilling into the children all the soul-retarding elements which
> encumbered the natures of the parents. The natural tendency of man has been to remain upon the old
> level of inharmony rather than to arise therefrom by his own will.
> Now, in this enlightened age, there has appeared in the world simultaneously with the Bahai
> revelation, a new order of educational methods. Former dogma and prejudice are no longer taught to
> children, and the minds of the youths of this generation are not thus limited and handicapped.
> In fact, in this day, in freeing our educational system from the superstition, prejudice and dogma of
> the past, the mistake has been made of eliminating, also, all spiritual precepts from the general
> instruction of children. Thinking educators are beginning to see the demoralizing results of the lack of
> spiritual instruction in the present system; for in the people of this genera-
> 
> [page 92]
> 
> tion is manifest, to an alarming degree, the inroads of certain vices against which they are unable to
> protect themselves because of the want of moral and spiritual training and poise.
> It is an all-round education, for which the Bahai cause stands. Man is a combination of several
> natures and his general well-being depends upon a balanced training and development. Bodily he must
> train and develop his physical powers in order to have a good and perfect organism through which to
> manifest the higher man. Physically and mentally he must train and develop the powers of perception,
> memory and reason, that he may have mental organism through which to manifest the higher spiritual
> man. Man’s spiritual training and soul development is the most important of all education. This is the
> highest and greatest power within his being; therefore its importance cannot be overestimated. By
> religious and spiritual training is not meant the teaching of doctrine or creed, but rather, inculcating into
> man the knowledge of the Truth.
> When man has attained to the Bahai conception of education, he is indeed educated in every sense of
> the word. This is the only education which fully fits man for the life here, as well as for the life
> hereafter.
> The Bahai teaching stands for the higher education of woman. In some recent instructions sent to the
> Orient, Abdul-Baha has exhorted the Bahais to give their daughters every possible educational
> advantage, telling them it was even more necessary that their girls should be educated than their boys,
> because women are the mothers and the natural teachers of men, and it is of the greatest importance to
> the race that they be highly educated. Already several Bahai
> 
> [page 93]
> 
> women physicians and nurses are working in Persia. Their work is of the greatest importance among the
> women, because they are able to penetrate into the seclusion of the family life of the people, in ways not
> open to men.
> Several other Americans, Bahais, have gone to Persia as teachers, and are associated there with the
> educational work. Quite recently a girls’ school was opened by the Bahais in Teheran, and from the last
> accounts, there were more scholars than could be accommodated. In addition to this, educational work is
> being carried on in all of the oriental countries, where there are congregations of Believers. Each year
> brings Bahai students to Europe and America, who after completing their studies return to their own
> countries as teachers.
> Through liberal education and the diffusion of knowledge and wisdom, both spiritual and material,
> the superstitions and limitations of the past will cease to exist, all people will be in sympathy with
> humanity as a whole, and each individual will consider himself a citizen of the world rather than
> exclusively of one country, and one people.
> 
> [page 94]
> 
> XVI.
> THE BAHAI MOVEMENT AND THE
> ECONOMIC QUESTIONS OF THE DAY.
> 
> With the expansion of civilization and the peopling of the world, the field for conquest is so rapidly
> diminishing that already a great change has been produced in the economic conditions of the world.
> Owing to the present international conditions, and the nearness of nations, war is assuming an aspect
> more detrimental to all parties than it has ever had in the past. Arbitration must in the end supplant
> national conquest and warfare.
> Likewise, the warlike methods upon which the world’s commerce has been conducted will ere long
> become obsolete, because of the passing of the conditions which made those methods possible.
> Commercial relations are now becoming so intimate between nations, that co-operation must eventually
> take the place of the present warfare of illegitimate competition, in the business world.
> The Bahai cause teaches co-operation in all affairs. Through working together for the good of the
> mass, rather than for the aggrandizement of the individual, the Bahais anticipate that national and
> economic affairs will be so regulated that comparatively little misery will exist in the world. There will
> not be the extremes of wealth and poverty which now exist and all people, both rich and poor, will be
> better off than now.
> Through the stable financial conditions which co-operation between capital and labor will bring
> about (co-operation for the best good of all concerned), the laborer will be assured of a livelihood and
> will be enabled to get the best out of life, and, upon the other hand, the capitalist will be less on the
> defensive and less burdened than
> 
> [page 95]
> 
> he is now. Because of the co-operation of all classes, the wealthy will occupy themselves more with
> matters pertaining to the general welfare of the people, rather than seeking mainly their own individual
> enjoyment.
> As people come into the spirit of the Bahai teaching and see the virtue of co-operation, and act upon
> this principle, the great economic problems which now threaten the world with dire calamities will
> disappear and give place to institutions for the highest good of mankind, through which all people will
> live in harmony, in happiness and in plenty. The Bahais believe that eventually the whole world will
> recognize the power of the spiritual principle of co-operation, and will apply it in matters of every day
> life, thus solving life’s mighty economic problem in all of its details.
> 
> [page 96]
> 
> XVII.
> THE EVOLUTION OF MAN.
> 
> The Bahais teach the existence of five kingdoms, planes, divisions or kinds of creation:
> (1) The mineral kingdom, or material plane in which there is no life or spirit, in the ordinary
> acceptance of the term.
> (2) The vegetable kingdom or physical plane, in which there is the lowest form of spirit or life. This
> plane is characterized by the principle of growth and fruition, by virtue of which organisms develop and
> propagate their kind.
> (3) The animal kingdom or psychical plane, the organisms of which are differentiated from those of
> the vegetable plane by the power to apprehend conditions outside of themselves.
> (4) The human kingdom, that of man, which is differentiated from the animal condition by the
> intellectual faculty, by virtue of which man comprehends ideas in the abstract.
> (5) The divine kingdom, or condition of spiritual illumination, which is differentiated from the
> human, or natural, or unspiritually quickened state of the soul, by consciousness of God. By virtue of
> this higher life, the quickened soul apprehends spiritual realities, lives in spiritual communion with the
> divine, and is of the order of The Kingdom of God. Unlike the vegetable, animal and human kingdoms,
> which are dependent for existence upon earthly conditions, the spiritual life of the soul is dependent
> upon those peculiar to the divine realm. These conditions are eternal, therefore the life of divinely
> quickened souls is eternal. The spiritual condition in which those souls live is not confined to an earthly
> realm.
> Beyond and above all created kind is the Holy
> [page 97]
> 
> Spirit of God, uncreated and infinite, unknowable to man save through Its Manifestation, the mediator
> between God and His children here upon earth. Divinely quickened man is the highest of the creatures,
> above which there is no creation. From his beginning man was created man — a distinct species. In the
> early days of man upon earth, in many respects he more resembled the animal than he did the man type
> of to-day. But from his first appearance there was in him that human spirit, apart and of a different kind
> from the animal, which, though at first hidden, has evolved into the type of man that we now know. In
> the coming age of divine development, humanity will continue evolving to a far higher state than it now
> has attained. Man, never having been anything but man, can never evolve out of the kingdom of his own
> kind and species. He will, however, be approaching nearer and nearer to the perfect type of spiritual
> manhood and perfection.
> 
> [page 98]
> 
> XVIII.
> THE METHOD OF TEACHING AND THE
> GROWTH OF THE BAHAI MOVEMENT.
> 
> The method of Bahai teaching is constructive, in every sense. In presenting this cause to a soul, the
> teacher’s first step is to confirm the seeker in the truth of his own religion, and upon that, as a
> foundation, place this latter-day teaching. Argument and dispute have no place in this cause. The
> teaching is quietly yet fearlessly given, and then the matter is left with the listener and God. People are
> not urged or enticed, but rather, through love, are attracted to the cause.
> It has been found, when two or more souls come together to discuss religious matters with perfect
> love in their hearts, the result is always uplifting and conducive to edification. When people meet
> together for religious discussion without this spirit of true charity in their hearts, the result is always
> distressing, and it would have been better had they not met. This principle of the power of love the
> Bahais understand, and they rely upon it and not upon arguments presented from the plane of intellect
> alone.
> In order to combat evil the soul should be filled with love and truth. Fear, together with all its
> attending destructive forces, disappears in the presence of faith and assurance. The Bahai teaching is one
> of joy and gladness. True spirituality is profound yet not depressing, and while uplifting, is free from
> levity. Truth and love are in the world to lift people up from suffering and depression, and should,
> therefore, be presented as they are, full of joy. The Bahais are taught at all times to manifest in their
> thoughts, words and actions the joy of the Lord. It is only by
> 
> [page 99]
> 
> showing forth a joyful and happy spirit, and by loving service to humanity, that suffering and seeking
> souls are attracted and brought under the power of the quickening spirit of the cause. Through kind and
> loving service to all humanity, to friend and foe alike, the Bahais have a most powerful weapon with
> which to combat religious prejudice and spiritual ignorance. Even the most difficult people are won
> through continued kindness. Once attracted, the hungry soul recognizes and accepts the Truth. The
> Bahai teachers find that when a soul is reached by their teaching, whether a Christian, Moslem, Jew or
> Buddhist, the truth at once appeals to his inner nature, and he will usually say, “This is exactly what I
> have always believed”.
> Having no organization, ritual, or priesthood after the manner of other religions, the Bahais are
> opposing the work of no other religious bodies. It is a world-wide movement, the spirit of which is
> working unhindered and unbound by confines and barriers of sect and ism. The Bahais see and
> recognize truth and spiritual beauty wherever found, and through this attitude of love and tolerance for
> all, they find at every hand, among the people of other religious bodies, the opportunity of sharing the
> spirit of their faith.
> Often people inquire whether affiliation with the Bahai cause necessitates the giving up of church
> membership. The advice is always that no human or religious relations should be severed, but that these
> relations should become as avenues for giving forth the message and the spirit of the Bahai faith. People
> having church relations continue to mingle with church people. However, they do not remain silent
> about the new light which has come to them. When
> 
> [page 100]
> 
> ever they find prepared souls, they give them the glad tidings of the coming of The Lord in His
> Kingdom, and thus they diffuse the knowledge and spirit of the Truth.
> Where there are several sympathizers in the work in the same vicinity, regular meetings are
> established. At these reunions the sacred writings are read, the teachings are explained, and seekers are
> welcomed. As these groups increase in numbers, they become known as “Assemblies.” In the assemblies
> certain people are usually selected to serve. These confer together and arrange for meetings,
> publications, and other matters in connection with the carrying on of the work.
> There is no distinction such as teacher or pupil. All are teachers and at the same time all are pupils.
> Contributions are not solicited. The cause must first find root in the hearts of the people, then the people
> will of themselves arise to serve it. When a soul realizes the greatness of the privilege of aiding the
> Bahai work, then he assists, in the measure in which he is able, his own heart being his guide.
> The Bahais are working toward the great end of uniting all races and religions in the Love of the
> Lord. They are impelled by no other motive than the Love of God. They are not looking for results,
> theirs is the satisfaction of service, and there is no other satisfaction or pleasure which can approach that
> joy, the joy of serving God.
> One of the questions the Bahais are often asked, is regarding the number of those who profess this
> faith. The reason for their inability to answer is quite clear to those who realize that the object of this
> movement is to leaven the whole lump of humanity, with its numerous divisions, rather than to
> precipitate another sect upon
> 
> [page 101]
> 
> the many already existent. Having no form of membership, the Bahais make no attempt to estimate their
> number. Their strength is a spiritual strength, not to be measured numerically. Even were it possible to
> know the exact number of Bahais in the world, this reckoning would be of short duration because the
> movement is growing continually, interest in it is increasing, and the hearts of people are daily becoming
> more attracted, and more confirmed in the truth.
> The Bahais are widely distributed throughout the world. During the days of The Bab, His cause was
> confined principally to Persia, though He had adherents also in Turkey and in neighboring countries.
> With the rise of Baha‘o’llah, this field of work was extended. The Bahai teachers went north into
> Caucasia, Russia and Turkestan, south into India, east into Burma and later on into China. With
> Baha‘o’llah’s exile in Turkey, Roumelia and Syria, His cause spread in those countries as well as in
> Egypt and in Arabia.
> The establishment of the Bahai cause in the West has been accomplished under the ministry of
> Abdul-Baha. In the year 1894, a small group of people in the city of Chicago became interested in the
> Revelation. Later, similar groups were formed in New York, Washington, and San Francisco. In the
> winter of 1898-99, the first band of American Bahai pilgrims crossed the seas to visit Abdul-Baha, then
> in exile in the Holy Land. Up to that time the communication between the American Bahais and Abdul-
> Baha had been by writing only. Then, with the added impetus of Abdul-Baha’s personal touch, these
> American pilgrims returned to the West with renewed zeal and desire to spread the cause.
> From the enthusiasm of this first band of trav-
> 
> [page 102]
> 
> elers, new centers of the teaching were founded in France, England and America. From these as a
> nucleus have developed Believers, in all parts of the United States, in Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, Japan
> and Australia, as well as in various parts of Germany, Switzerland and Italy. During this period of
> growth, several Bahai teachers from the Orient have traveled through Europe and America, instructing
> and teaching the people and helping to establish new centers. Likewise, teachers from the Occident have
> traveled and taught in the oriental countries. Quietly and slowly the cause has grown amid all varieties
> of human conditions, among peoples of every religion, race and clime. In the growth and progress of the
> Bahai Movement is demonstrated its universal spiritual power. Accepted by people of every condition, it
> is making inroads into their souls, as leaven; it is uniting these many heterogeneous elements into one
> homogeneous world-people.
> 
> [page 103]
> 
> XIX.
> A PERSONAL TESTIMONY
> 
> In the preceding chapters of this book I have attempted to give a general résumé of the history and
> teaching of the Bahai cause, and the work now being accomplished. Here it is my desire to relate to the
> reader a few of my own experiences in connection with this cause. During the past twelve years, it has
> been my privilege to visit Abdul-Baha several times and to travel extensively among the Bahais in
> foreign lands. It is with the desire of sharing the inspiration received from Abdul-Baha and from his
> followers, that I am presuming to record these personal observations.
> My first visit to Abdul-Baha was in the winter of 1901. At that time the cause in the West was in its
> infancy and was passing through a critical period of its growth. But few of the words of Baha’o’llah and
> Abdul-Baha had been translated, and the believers, though fired with faith and a great desire to
> disseminate the teachings had as yet, learned but little of the spiritual principles of the cause.
> Consequently there was a general lack of harmony of ideas among the adherents, which caused much
> confusion. It was against such odds that Abdul-Baha was heroically struggling.
> At that time he was in comparative ease, having been allowed to leave the prison city of Akka with
> its unhealthy climate, and was spending the winter in the neighboring town of Haifa. Notwithstanding
> this betterment in the conditions of Abdul-Baha’s outer life, one felt the weight which was upon his soul
> and saw how his spirit was taxed in his endeavor to teach and train the people in the way of The
> Kingdom.
> 
> [page 104]
> 
> I recall an incident which showed the stress under which he, at that time, was laboring. One night
> after a busy day of teaching and letter writing he had gathered twenty or more of us at his table for the
> late evening meal. We were about half through with the repast, when some one made an allusion to
> some difficulty among the believers in America. Abdul-Baha looked very serious, then in evident
> distress of both mind and body he arose from the table and left the room. As he went through the door
> his aba (cloak) fell from his shoulders to the floor. Gathering it up I hurriedly followed him to the terrace
> in front of the house. Scarcely touching him I slipped the cloak over his shoulders. He did not notice the
> incident, so troubled and absorbed was he as he passed out into the night.
> For over a year before I first met Abdul-Baha, I had been a believer in the Bahai cause, so when I
> went to him it was not to have my faith established but rather to have it confirmed, and to gain
> knowledge. In the accomplishment of this, Abdul-Baha helped through his understanding of me. From
> the moment I met him I realized he understood me perfectly, as an old friend. Thus a bond was
> established, which has always been a source of joy, delight, and help to me, for each visit I have had
> with him, and every tablet (letter) and message received from him, has strengthened this understanding
> and has demonstrated to me again and again, Abdul-Baha’s all-penetrating spiritual sight and wisdom.
> Notwithstanding the distance and circumstances which separate Abdul-Baha from his friends, when they
> receive his tablets they find advices and admonitions peculiarly applicable to them in their needs of that
> moment.
> During the eleven days I remained in Haifa,
> 
> [page 105]
> 
> I had this phase of Abdul-Baha’s personality deeply engraved on my mind. All was not easy to
> understand. I had various spiritual ups and downs until shortly before I left him, then everything became
> very clear and my spiritual rapport with him was established. The moment of our parting was a happy
> one for me, because I felt that I was carrying away with me something which could never be destroyed,
> a spiritual friendship which would grow eternally, both here and in the future realm.
> Early in the summer of 1901, shortly after my first visit, an order was issued sending Abdul-Baha
> back to the prison city of Akka. There he remained for seven years, with the exception of a short period,
> when upon several occasions he was permitted to visit the tomb of Baha’o’llah at Behje, a mile or two
> beyond the city gates. During this period of imprisonment, it was at times with the utmost difficulty that
> pilgrims were able to see Abdul-Baha, nevertheless this was a great period of growth in the cause.
> Abdul-Baha worked diligently with his pen and the result of his labors became apparent among the
> Bahais in all parts of the world.
> Six years elapsed between my first and second visits to Abdul-Baha, during which interim he had
> been confined to the fortress. Knowing that some recent pilgrims had remained nine days in Akka, I had
> rather set my mind upon a visit of the same length. On reaching Haifa I was told that, on account of the
> troublous conditions surrounding Abdul-Baha, I would be able to remain with him but a few hours. At
> first the thought of so short a visit was a keen disappointment. Upon second thought, however, my
> mental attitude changed
> 
> [page 106]
> 
> and I realized fully that Abdul-Baha understood and was planning for the best.
> Whether one is benefitted by meeting Abdul-Baha depends upon really meeting him spiritually. It is
> the open, unprejudiced and seeking souls which unite with the soul of Abdul-Baha. When this spiritual
> contact is effected, the personal visit to him is not essential for enlightenment, for, with spiritual
> connection between the souls of Abdul-Baha (the heart of the Bahai movement) and the believers (the
> members of the body of the movement), these souls are one with him, and through this unity his divine
> wisdom and love go forth to all his followers.
> Although my second visit with Abdul-Baha was very short, I would not have wished it otherwise.
> Again I left him in great joy with my soul overflowing with the love of The Kingdom, which he so
> freely radiates. The one great lesson which he taught me at that time was dispelling (negative) fear with
> (positive) assurance.
> The natural tendency of man is often to fear people and to shut himself away from them. This
> becomes a habit and one which causes much ill ease, and this condition I was just beginning to realize.
> Not from anything which Abdul-Baha said to me, but through the way in which he received and treated
> me I saw clearly that I could not serve him in the cause and continue to remain inwardly aloof from
> people. I saw that it was because of Abdul-Baha’s freedom from constraint, and through his fearlessness
> and his friendly way of approaching people, his frank expression of love, faith and assurance, that he
> was able to reach the souls of men and impart to them his courage and wisdom.
> Abdul-Baha throws himself into the lives of
> 
> [page 107]
> 
> all about him. Through this contact he undoubtedly suffers much, nevertheless, thus he is enabled to
> reach the people and to minister to them. His fearlessness, combined with gentleness and humility in
> approaching people, was a lesson to me, for in his method I saw the way in which Abdul-Baha’s
> followers must live in order to do his work among men.
> My next visit to Abdul-Baha was at the culmination of his troubles and difficulties just previous to
> the fall of the former despotic Ottoman power, and the re-establishment of the constitutional government
> in the midsummer of 1908. Upon arriving in Haifa, I found that some recent American pilgrims had not
> been able to meet Abdul-Baha, but had returned to America happy in having seen him from a distance as
> he walked upon an elevated balcony on his house within the fortifications of Akka. Four Arabs, recent
> converts to the faith, on account of their belief had for several months been confined in the prison of the
> fortress. Others of the Bahais, in order to avoid pending trouble, by Abdul-Baha’s advice had sought
> temporary refuge in Egypt, while those remaining in Syria were all but panic stricken by the trouble and
> persecutions which were daily descending upon the Bahai community from the hands of the
> unscrupulous government officials.
> After remaining several days in Haifa, word came from Abdul-Baha for me to go to Akka and
> proceed to the house of a certain Persian gentleman, one of the oldest and most faithful of the believers.
> In the guise of a native Syrian and with the assistance of one of the oriental Bahais, I entered the prison
> city, passing through the various guarded gates without being halted. Once established in the privacy of
> the house of
> 
> [page 108]
> 
> the friend, Abdul-Baha having the freedom of the city within the fortifications, came to see me several
> times.
> Though under the most severe physical difficulties, Abdul-Baha was visibly in the greatest spiritual
> strength and power. In strong contrast with the fear and terror of his followers, impossible to describe,
> Abdul-Baha stood forth in the greatest of joy of soul and tranquility of spirit. He radiated calmness and
> assurance, and through his strength the community of the friends was saved from despair and from the
> disaster which would have accompanied the loss of hope at such a moment. This situation was dramatic
> in the extreme. It was shortly followed by the tragic downfall of the government that for forty years had
> held Abdul-Baha a prisoner.
> Several months later I was again permitted to travel in Syria and visit Abdul-Baha. Although it had
> not been long in point of time since my previous visit, yet the conditions surrounding Abdul-Baha had
> so changed as to make the previous time seem, by comparison, to have been in a former decade. Abdul-
> Baha was free. The uttermost liberty existed. Akka had ceased to be a penal colony and the gates were
> no longer guarded.
> The Bahais had not yet recovered from their first ecstasy of joy over the freedom of Abdul-Baha, yet
> through all this manifest jubilation he was conducting his work as usual. It was then that I realized, to
> the extent of my capacity, how far above this world’s conditions Abdul-Baha stands. Not discouraged by
> criticism, persecution, calamity; not elated by applause, commendation nor good fortune, he stands apart
> from the world upon a firm rock, the spiritual foundation of The Kingdom. By
> 
> [page 109]
> 
> virtue of this severance from all save God, he is enabled to change the current of the world’s thought
> from materiality to spirituality, and to create in men’s souls the fire of God’s love.
> Almost two years after the great change in Turkey, I again went to Syria. In coming in contact with
> Abdul-Baha each soul receives the message, or the lesson, for which it is then ready and prepared to
> receive. Previously my attention had been chiefly called to those principles for which Abdul-Baha
> stands, which are so clearly manifested in his life, while his personality, as a man in the world, had
> impressed me but little. Now, this which previously I had allowed to pass almost unnoticed was to be
> my chief lesson.
> I saw the exquisite beauty of Abdul-Baha’s personality from lines of physical strength and
> refinement in his face, to his trained thought and judgment. His dignity and carriage, his mental grasp of
> things both great and small, and the manner in which he dealt with them in proportion to their
> importance, were all of the deepest interest to me.
> In his person one sees at once the power of the spirit as well as its gentle, refining qualities, a
> combination of strength and delicacy, of masculine and feminine qualities; the balanced combination of
> dignity, humility, forcefulness .and gentleness.
> Whatever may be one’s mental conception of Abdul-Baha, one must invariably readjust it from time
> to time. Under his guidance, his followers are growing in spiritual stature, and as the perceptive powers
> of the soul increase, one sees more and more clearly Abdul-Baha’s spiritual power and divine mission.
> Were one to visit him many times, each time his former
> 
> [page 110]
> 
> idea would be laid aside for a clearer and a more defined conception.
> My last visit with Abdul-Baha was in September, 1911, during his sojourn in London, England.
> There he was in the vortex of western civilization, sought by many people from various walks of life,
> both high and low. Under these conditions his spirit shone forth with greater brilliancy than ever before.
> It is natural and easy for the western mind to weave a halo of sentiment and romance about the
> personality of a persecuted religious leader, exiled and imprisoned for his faith under the corrupt rule of
> an oriental despot; but, when this same spiritual teacher comes into the limelight of western thought and
> customs, the people see him from a different angle; things which they but imagined about him are
> dispelled, and his real virtues stand out more strikingly visible than ever.
> Abdul-Baha, stripped of his accustomed oriental environment, appeared more clearly than ever to be
> the master of the spiritual situation. I heard him give the first public address that he had ever made,
> before a vast concourse of about 2,000 souls, and I was also with him during a number of personal
> interviews granted to various truth seekers. At all times under these unaccustomed conditions he drew
> unto himself all people, and through his love, wisdom and power, gave them spiritual assurance and
> satisfaction.
> One afternoon some one asked Abdul-Baha regarding the relation of his mission to that of the great
> Manifestation, Baha’o’llah. He replied by saying, “Baha’o’llah is the root of the tree of The Kingdom,
> while I am the branch, branched from that pre-existent root. The fruit
> 
> [page 111]
> 
> of the tree appears upon the branches, not upon the roots.”
> 
> The most potent of all factors in moving humanity is love; it is at the same time the most elusive and
> the most difficult of all things to define. We know it only through its characteristics, and these we never
> fail to recognize. So it is with true religion. There is a spiritual force, which is divine love, working in it
> that is its very life force. When one feels his soul responding to this, he realizes that he has come into
> contact with a higher realm, and though he cannot describe this awakening in so many words, it is none
> the less to him the most real of all things.
> In these latter days, when “prophets” and “new religions” are so abundant, one naturally wonders
> how to distinguish truth from error, and how to recognize the Lord’s anointed one from among many
> men. The difficulty was solved almost two thousand years ago by him who said, “By their fruits ye shall
> know them”.
> To him who has traveled and lived among the Bahais and has seen the effect of this cause upon the
> lives of peoples of every race and religion, there can be no doubt as to the divine source of its teachings,
> for in the fruits of the Bahai cause is manifest its truth.
> It has been my privilege to travel among, and to associate with, the Bahais in many foreign
> countries, and I can testify to the spiritual qualities manifested in their lives. Often I have been in a
> position where I have been obliged to place myself entirely in the hands of strange men, whose language
> I could not speak, the only thing which we had in common being our faith. I say the only thing was our
> faith, yet this was everything because that faith was large enough to encompass all things.
> 
> [page 112]
> 
> Western travelers whom I have met in the oriental countries have been surprised that I trusted myself
> in out-of-the-way places and along unfrequented routes of travel, alone with the oriental people as my
> sole companions and friends. When one is surrounded by friends, his personal welfare is seldom a
> subject of worry. I can truthfully state that never have I felt more at ease and free from care than when I
> have been with the oriental Bahais. Wherever I happened to be with them, I have always had a warmth
> of hospitality and kindness lavished upon me. This was not because of any other reason than that I was
> of their faith.
> Between the Bahais of the East and those of the West there exists the strongest tie. Since it was
> through the suffering, pain, and trials of the Bahais of the Orient that this faith had its first growth and
> was brought to the West, the western Bahais look toward their eastern brothers and sisters with deepest
> feelings of love and gratitude. Western Bahais have in their souls a strong love for the eastern Bahais
> and a burning desire to go to them sharing with them all the practical things of the western civilization.
> Upon the other hand, in the growth of the Bahai cause here in the West the oriental Bahais see the
> result of their labors, for these believers are their spiritual offspring. They see the fruit of their bloody
> persecution and great sufferings, and with open and joyful hearts they are anxious to receive into their
> very lives their western brothers and sisters, learning from them and in turn pouring out upon them, all
> of that wealth of devotion, love, and spiritual assurance, which the people of the East have and which the
> people of the West need.
> 
> [page 113]
> Among the Bahais there is a practical demonstration of a combined religious and secular unity. Good
> works are not done under the name of “charity” nor “philanthropy”. Rather, it is “reciprocation” and
> “interdependence”. Each gives what he has to give, and through the spirit of giving and doing in loving
> service, ones own nature unfolds and he himself receives abundantly.
> Particularly in the Orient the contrast between the Bahais and other people is very striking. There,
> the average Orientals and Occidentals, meet without mingling, each remaining foreign to the other, but
> the opposite is true with these very same people when they are touched by the Bahai spirit, for then we
> see them associating with one another as members of one family, having the same interests and desires,
> and united in the same works.
> Among the oriental Bahais there is a love and a devotion to this cause and its principles, impossible
> to describe. It is beyond comprehension to understand, yet one recognizes it.
> In many countries and among people of every race and of every religion I found such a warm
> welcome and had such friendship and devotion showered upon me, simply because I was a Bahai, that I
> felt and saw the blending process at work, uniting the East and the West. This is a force working
> independently of material conditions. I saw it working under all conditions and amid all surroundings,
> from those of the half-naked jungleman living in his hut, to those of the cultured man of wealth dwelling
> in his palace. This spiritual love, which is of God, is the strongest power in creation. In its uniting force
> is the foundation of accord and harmony upon which the Orient and the Occident are
> 
> [page 114]
> 
> meeting. From this movement will appear, as fruits, all of those social institutions between the East and
> the West, which will materially demonstrate the truths which the Bahais now witness as spiritual
> realities.
> In Persia I found the Bahais struggling against great opposition upon the part of those surrounding
> them, in their work of uplifting and educating woman. While in that country, I met Bahai women who
> are doing great work for their own sex. Until recently this work, for the most part, has been very quietly
> done, in fact almost in secret, on account of the persecution by the Moslems, whose traditions regarding
> the seclusion and oppression of women, the Bahais are undermining.
> I found the Persian believers to be most stanch and courageous people. While the great massacres
> and martyrdoms of the Bahais in that land are probably now a thing of the past, nevertheless the Bahais
> are still under persecution and even in these days it sometimes leads to loss of life.
> Many men whom I met had been eyewitnesses to the massacres of the 80’s, in which so many of our
> people died for their faith, while others with whom I talked had lost both family and property. One
> impression which I recall very vividly, was the calm way, free from any trace of rancor, in which the
> Persian Bahais referred to the losses and afflictions visited upon them by the enemies of the cause.
> Instead of causing embitterment, these troubles have had a most spiritualizing effect upon the believers,
> for the persecution has been as a fire which has taken everything from them save the love of God, with
> which their hearts are ablaze.
> After a visit among these people, one
> 
> [page 115]
> 
> feels spiritually better and stronger than before, absorbing a force from them which gives courage in
> moments of weakness and guidance in moments of strength. This is the spirit which abides with those
> who are in reality severed from all save God. It is this spirit which is manifest in the life and teaching of
> Abdul-Baha, and in the lives of those who in spirit follow the principles for which he stands.
>
> — *The Baha'i Movement: A Series of Nineteen Papers (Used by permission of the curator)*