September 9, 1921: Baha'i Feast in honor of Agnes Alexander, 9 September 1921, Seoul, Korea

Agnes Alexander brought the Baha'i Message to Korea

Prayer -- a poem by L. Khai

O Beloved!

The Superlative of every good,

The Love that needs

No knowledge of face, or form, or speech,

The Love so great we can never touch Thy Reality

But whose touch has realized all things

And Whose knowledge molds life's essence --

Thou only art the Eternally Perfect

And the totality of beauty.

Out of eternity

Thou hast plucked the smallest grain

And called it time --

The Sháh sent his special envoy to meet with the Báb and investigate the truth of His claims

Before long, news about the young man Who called Himself the Báb  --"the Gate” -- traveled as far as the court of Persia's ruler, Muhammad Shah. The fact that so many of his people were drawn to the Cause of the Báb  made the shah both curious and concerned. He decided he must find out more about the Báb  and His claims. To investigate on his behalf, he called on the one man acknowledged throughout the land as the most brilliant of religious scholars. At whatever gathering he spoke, no matter how learned the participants, all others would choose to sit in respectful silence and listen to him. Knowledgeable and wise beyond all others, he was also a man of integrity, truthful and trustworthy. His name was Siyyid Yahya, but he would become known as Vahid, meaning "the Peerless One."

The shah commanded Vahid to meet with the Báb  in Shiraz and there investigate the truth of His claims, then return to Tehran and report his findings. Vahid was pleased to obey. He, too, had heard of the Báb  and His Cause and wished to satisfy his own desire for more information. On the journey from Tehran to Shiraz, he thought of the many questions with which he would test the Báb . Vahid did not plan to make the interview easy, but thorough and demanding. The truth deserved no less. Little did the brilliant Vahid know that nothing in his previous experience had prepared him for what lay ahead.

Shoghi Effendi was a little taller than Baha’u’llah but shorter than ‘Abdu’l-Baha – a pilgrim’s first impression

I was aware that each pilgrim, on their first evening in Haifa, would enter the dining room first - and alone - to be greeted by the Guardian. I was well prepared for this but, when the time came, felt a ‘rush' of anxiety and trepidation – unsure, I guess, of how I would feel, being alone with the one person whom all Bahá'ís longed to meet. As I entered the dining room and saw, for the first time, the short but stocky figure of the Guardian, standing beside the dining table, dressed in a camel-coloured overcoat (it was mid-winter and he has just come in from the cold), with the Turkish fez which he habitually wore at an angle on his head. But it was the smile and the eyes that entranced me – and as he embraced me, Persian style, which I was still unaccustomed to, I found I had to reach down to respond to his embrace and I realized how short in stature the Guardian was. I knew from my reading at that time that Bahá'u'lláh was small in stature – and all pilgrims became aware of that when viewing the couches He slept on in the various rooms He occupied in 'Akká and Bahji, but had not been aware that the Guardian was also so short. I learned later that ‘Abdu'l-Bahá was the tallest of the three, that Bahá'u'lláh was very short in stature, and the Guardian was only a little taller – between the two in height. Initially it was quite a shock but, after that first moment, the Guardian always seemed so tall, whether standing or sitting (which was how the Western pilgrims usually saw him) – the impact of his person was such that physical height did not matter, did not even register, as one was overwhelmed by his spiritual stature which seemed to tower above all else.

- Bill Washington  (‘Recollections of Pilgrimage: Nine Days with the Guardian in 1957’)

“people are wrapped in a strange sleep!”

And again: “Is there any excuse left for anyone in this Revelation? No, by God, the Lord of the Mighty Throne! My signs have encompassed the earth, and My power enveloped all mankind, and yet the people are wrapped in a strange sleep!” 

- Shoghi Effendi (Quoting Baha'u'llah; ‘The Promised Day Is Come’) 

“the real Christian is very rare: he is that soul from whose comely face there shineth the splendour of Christ, and who showeth forth the perfections of the Kingdom”

Thou didst begin thy letter with a blessed phrase, saying: 'I am a Christian.' O would that all were truly Christian! It is easy to be a Christian on the tongue, but hard to be a true one. Today some five hundred million souls are Christian, but the real Christian is very rare: he is that soul from whose comely face there shineth the splendour of Christ, and who showeth forth the perfections of the Kingdom; this is a matter of great moment, for to be a Christian is to embody every excellence there is. I hope that thou, too, shalt become a true Christian. Praise thou God that at last, through the divine teachings, thou hast obtained both sight and insight to the highest degree, and hast become firmly rooted in certitude and faith. It is my hope that others as well will achieve illumined eyes and hearing ears, and attain to everlasting life: that these many rivers, each flowing along in diverse and separated beds, will find their way back to the circumambient sea, and merge together and rise up in a single wave of surging oneness; that the unity of truth, through the power of God, will make these illusory differences to vanish away. This is the one essential: for if unity be gained, all other problems will disappear of themselves. 

- ‘Abdu'l-Baha ('Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Baha')

God’s “chosen ones” and the “souls” of those who “love” God are “vivified” by God’s “living waters”

I implore Thee, [God] …to enable me to drink deep of the living waters through which Thou hast vivified the hearts of Thy chosen ones and quickened the souls of them that love Thee, that I may, at all times and under all conditions, turn my face wholly towards Thee. 

- Bahá’u’lláh (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh)

August 1912: 'Abdu'l-Baha at a youth camp, USA

Ahmad Sohrab, standing left, and
Valiyu'llah-i-Varqa, right are in fezzes

The verse in the Bible: - “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”

The truth is that all mankind are the creatures and servants of one God, and in His estimate all are human. Man is a generic term applying to all humanity. The biblical statement "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" does not mean that woman was not created. The image and likeness of God apply to her as well. In Persian and Arabic there are two distinct words translated into English as man: one meaning man and woman collectively, the other distinguishing man as male from woman the female. The first word and its pronoun are generic, collective; the other is restricted to the male. This is the same in Hebrew. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, 2 May 1912, Chicago, Illinois; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)

Writers and Writing

Thou hast written that one of the friends hath composed a treatise. This was mentioned in the Holy Presence, and this is what was revealed in response: Great care should be exercised that whatever is written in these days doth not cause dissension, and invite the objection of the people. Whatever the friends of the one true God say in these days is listened to by the people of the world. It hath been revealed in the Lawh-i-Hikmat: "The unbelievers have inclined their ears towards us in order to hear that which might enable them to cavil against God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting." Whatever is written should not transgress the bounds of tact and wisdom, and in the words used there should lie hid the property of milk, so that the children of the world may be nurtured therewith, and attain maturity. We have said in the past that one word hath the influence of spring and causeth hearts to become fresh and verdant, while another is like unto blight which causeth the blossoms and flowers to wither. God grant that authors among the friends will write in such a way as would be acceptable to fair-minded souls, and not lead to cavilling by the people. 

- Bahá'u'lláh (From a Tablet; 'The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Writers and Writing')

Juliet Thompson and May Maxwell

Juliet Thompson(left) and May Maxwell

Condition of humanity and responsibilities of Baha’is

To the Believers of God and the Maidservants of the Merciful throughout the World

Upon them be Baha’u’l-Abha!

He is God!

O ye spiritual friends of Abdu'l-Baha!

"Perfume Thou the East! Illumine Thou the West! Bestow Thou light to the North! Grant Thou life to the South!” This verse bath been revealed from the lips of the Center of the Covenant one year after the departure of Baha’u’llah… Praise be to God! that now its signs have become manifest, its powers evident, and its proof plain. Thanks be unto Him! that the East and the West are stirred into cheerfulness, and through the Holy Fragrances all directions are perfumed.

The Blessed Perfection, in a clear text, hath promised us in the Book: "Verily I behold you from the horizon of Abha and will make victorious whomsoever will arise in the service of my Cause with the hosts of the Supreme Concourse and the cohorts of the favored angels." Praise be to God! that this victory and confirmation became visible and manifest and hath shone forth from the horizon of the world like unto the sun.

Therefore, O ye friends of God! Show ye forth an earnest endeavor and display ye a resolute effort, so that ye may become assisted in the adoration of the Ancient Beauty and the Manifest Light; to be the cause of spreading the light of the Sun of Truth; to infuse into the dead, antiquated body of the world a new spirit; to cast in the fields of the hearts pure seeds; to arise in the service of the Cause; to speak with eloquent tongues; to become candles of guidance in the assemblage of the world; to become shining stars in the horizon of the existent being; to become merciful birds in the rose garden of oneness; to sing the melodies of realities and significances; to spend every breath of your existence in the service of this conspicuous light; so that in the end ye may be freed from loss and failure and attain to the inexhaustible treasury of the Kingdom.

The “distinct gradation in the character of the opposition” the Faith encountered during 1844-1944

We can discover a no less distinct gradation in the character of the opposition it has had to encounter—an opposition, at first kindled in the bosom of Shi‘ah Islám, which, at a later stage, gathered momentum with the banishment of Bahá’u’lláh to the domains of the Turkish Sulṭán and the consequent hostility of the more powerful Sunní hierarchy and its Caliph, the head of the vast majority of the followers of Muhammad—an opposition which, now, through the rise of a divinely appointed Order in the Christian West, and its initial impact on civil and ecclesiastical institutions, bids fair to include among its supporters established governments and systems associated with the most ancient, the most deeply entrenched sacerdotal hierarchies in Christendom. We can, at the same time, recognize, through the haze of an ever-widening hostility, the progress, painful yet persistent, of certain communities within its pale through the stages of obscurity, of proscription, of emancipation, and of recognition—stages that must needs culminate in the course of succeeding centuries, in the establishment of the Faith, and the founding, in the plenitude of its power and authority, of the world-embracing Bahá’í Commonwealth.

- Shoghi Effendi (‘Preface to God Passes By’)

1925: Baha'i Boys and Girls Schools in Ishqabad, Russia

 

Whatever we do or give to the Manifestation of God reverts back to us

Whatever reacheth Me is ordained to reach Me; and that which hath come unto Me, to him who giveth will it revert… For assuredly whatsoever God hath decreed for Me shall come to pass and naught else save that which God hath ordained for us shall ever touch us. Woe betide him from whose hands floweth evil, and blessed the man from whose hands floweth good. Unto no one do I take My plaint save to God; for He is the best of judges. Every state of adversity or bliss is from Him alone, and He is the All-Powerful, the Almighty.

- The Báb  (‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

November 1922: The sultanate was abolished

The sultanate was an institution of Islamic kingship, most particularly the dynasty of Ottoman rulers, who combined secular power with the religious leadership of the Sunni Muslim world by their claims to the Caliphate. The sultanate was abolished by the new Turkish republic on 1 November 1922, and the caliphate in 1924. These twin institutions were regarded by Shoghi Effendi as the 'arch-enemy' of the Baha'i Cause, (God Passes By, p. 407; and The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 173) and their collapse cited as an instance of Divine judgment.

The Caliphate was an Islamic institution established after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. The Caliph, the self-styled vicar of the Prophet of Islam, came to be regarded also as the "Commander of the Faithful," and the protector of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. He became the leader of Sunni Muslims all over the world. By the 19th century, the title rested with the Ottoman rulers (Sultans). 

(Adapted from ‘A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha’I Faith’, by Peter Smith; ‘God Passes by’, by Shoghi Effendi; and ‘The World Order of Baha'u'llah’, by Shoghi Effendi)

“Prayer… transcends all ritualistic forms and formulae.”

Prayer is essentially a communion between man and God, and as such transcends all ritualistic forms and formulae. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 15 June 1935 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Service in Baha’i Temples)

'Akka: May 1967

Akka from the air, looking west over the Mediterranean. Most Great Prison shown in center, Mosque to lower left.

Baha’u’llah cites examples of the amazingly great “forces latent in His Revelation”

Expatiating on the forces latent in His Revelation Bahá’u’lláh reveals the following:

• “Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame and instilled into every word a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of this world-wide regeneration.” “This is,” He adds, “the most great, the most joyful tidings imparted by the pen of this wronged One to mankind.”
• “How great,” He in another passage exclaims, “is the Cause! How staggering the weight of its message! This is the Day of which it hath been said: ‘O my son! verily God will bring everything to light though it were but the weight of a grain of mustard seed, and hidden in a rock, or in the heavens or in the earth; for God is subtile, informed of all.’”
• “By the righteousness of the one true God! If one speck of a jewel be lost and buried beneath a mountain of stones, and lie hidden beyond the seven seas, the Hand of Omnipotence will assuredly reveal it in this day, pure and cleansed from dross.”
• “He that partaketh of the waters of My Revelation will taste all the incorruptible delights ordained by God from the beginning that hath no beginning to the end that hath no end.”
• “Every single letter proceeding from Our mouth is endowed with such regenerative power as to enable it to bring into existence a new creation—a creation the magnitude of which is inscrutable to all save God. He verily hath knowledge of all things.”
• “It is in Our power, should We wish it, to enable a speck of floating dust to generate, in less than the twinkling of an eye, suns of infinite, of unimaginable splendor, to cause a dewdrop to develop into vast and numberless oceans, to infuse into every letter such a force as to empower it to unfold all the knowledge of past and future ages.”
• “We are possessed of such power which, if brought to light, will transmute the most deadly of poisons into a panacea of unfailing efficacy.”

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah; included in ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’)

Story for Children: Theresa Makes Baha’u’llah’s Birthday a Special Day

The little girl lay in her bed under soft covers. As the light of dawn slowly filled the room, a small bird flitted onto a tree outside and began to chirp. In the barnyard, the rooster crowed loudly and Theresa stirred in her sleep.

Her brown eyes opened. Her first thought was: "Today is a special day. It is Someone's birthday - Someone important. It is Baha'u'llah's Birthday." Theresa jumped out of bed, eager for the day to start. Birthdays were one of her favorite things. There were always fun things to do - candle-lit cakes and parties and friends. How she did love it all!

She stood before her closet. Mother had said that she did not have kindergarten today because it was a Holy Day. So Theresa did not choose a schooldress to wear. After slipping into some play clothes, she went into the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and hair until they shone.

Mother was cooking breakfast in the warm kitchen. She set a plate in front of Theresa, who drew in a deep breath of the sweet pancake smell. Mother kissed the top of her head and told her it was like kissing the ebony wings of a bird. It was very nice to think that her black hair matched the color of a bird's feathers. She liked birds. In fact, she felt close to all of God's animal creatures.

She asked, "Mama, are we going to Miss Margie's house for Baha'u'llah's birthday party?" "I'm afraid we won't be able to go today," Mother replied. "Our car's not working, so we'll have to stay home and celebrate the Blessed Beauty's Special Day in our own way. And that's rather nice, too, isn't it?"