THE'BAHAI'REVELATION 
 AND- RECONSTRUCTION 
 
 BV-GHARLES'MASON-REMEY 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 
 $B im 2b5 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/bahairevelationrOOremerich 
 
The Bahai Revelation 
 and Recon^lru(5tion 
 
The Bahai Revelation and Recon- 
 struction 
 
 A general brief treatise upon the history and 
 the spiritual, social and economic principles 
 of this religious movement, with special 
 regard to the application of these 
 principles to, and there influ- 
 ence on, the coming peace 
 of nations and the 
 tranquillity and 
 welfare of 
 humanity 
 
 > * > > > ' 
 »,* > ■ J 111 > > 
 
 By 
 Charles Mason Remey 
 
 1919 
 
^v 
 
 •1 
 
 r^ 
 
 Note. 
 
 This book is compiled from previously 
 approved and published Bahai writings and 
 teachings, of which it is a synthesis. 
 
 < t c c c c 
 
 ' •■ t < c < , « 
 
 Distributed by 
 
 Bahai Publishing Society, 
 
 P. O. Box 283, Chicago, 111. 
 
OTHER WORKS BY THE AUTHOR OF 
 THIS BOOK. 
 
 "The Bahai Movement." 
 
 "Observations of a Bahai Traveler." 
 
 "Bahai Teaching." 
 
 "Constructive Principles of the Bahai Move- 
 ment." 
 
 "The Mashrak-el-Azkar (Bahai Temple)." 
 
 "Through Warring Countries to the Mountain 
 of God." 
 
 "The Peace of the World." 
 
 416436 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 To the ever-increasing number of men and 
 women who are serving humanity, desiring to 
 alleviate its suffering, this booklet is offered 
 with the assurance that in the religion of which 
 it treats is to be found the solution of the prob- 
 lems of the day. 
 
ABDUI. BAHA 
 
PREFACE. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Paramount in the public mind at the present 
 time is the all-absorbing plan for the religious, 
 social and economic reconstruction of the world 
 and the arranging of a lasting peace between 
 the nations. The leaders of thought now most 
 prominent before the world are advocating many 
 principles of reconstruction and world peace 
 which are parallel with those held by the adher- 
 ents of the Bahai Movement and for which this 
 cause has been paving the way for the past sev- 
 enty-five years ; therefore, now, a volume stating 
 briefly the Bahai teaching upon these subjects 
 should be well received by the thinking, reading 
 public. 
 
 To students of the Bahai religious teaching 
 the facts mentioned, and the religious philosophy 
 discussed in this booklet will be quite familiar, 
 since this is but a brief resume of the data and 
 thought found in a fuller and a more expanded 
 form in the standard works of this teaching. To 
 those who are not familiar with the spirit of the 
 Bahai Religion and its philosophy, it is the hope 
 of the author that this abridged exposition of 
 these teachings may lead them to a closer study 
 of the subject. 
 
 C. M. R., 
 Washington, D. C, 
 December 18, 1918. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Peace Ideals 21 
 
 The Bahai Religion 22 
 
 The Bab 23 
 
 Persecutions 25 
 
 Baha'o'llah 26 
 
 The Promised One 27 
 
 The Bahai Movement 30 
 
 Abdul Baha 31 
 
 Abdul Baha's Service to Humanity 33 
 
 Abdul Baha's Method of Teaching 34 
 
 Abdul Baha's Imprisonment 35 
 
 The Center of the Covenant 36 
 
 Abdul Baha's Travels 37 
 
 Abdul Baha in the Holy Land 38 
 
 The New Day 39 
 
 Orient and Occident 40 
 
 Religion and Peace 42 
 
 Bahai Universality 43 
 
 Investigation of Religious Truth 44 
 
 Science and Religion 45 
 
 Woman 45 
 
 Education 47 
 
 Fulfillment of Prophesy 47 
 
 Revelation 48 
 
 Oneness of All Religion 49 
 
 The Bahai Glad Tidings 50 
 
 Object of Religion 51 
 
 Present World Problems 51 
 
Page 
 
 Oneness of Humanity 52 
 
 The Promised Messiah 53 
 
 The Bahai Message 54 
 
 Bahai Sacred Writings 55 
 
 The Great Religious Awakening 56 
 
 Present Religious Outlook 57 
 
 Influence of Religion 58 
 
 Religion and the Present Problem 59 
 
 Problem of Peace or War 60 
 
 Interdependence of Nations 61 
 
 Militarism Conducive to War 63 
 
 Bahai Peace Teaching 64 
 
 Religion and Deeds 66 
 
 The Racial Question 68 
 
 The Parliament of Nations 70 
 
 Peace Protection 71 
 
 Co-operation 77 
 
 Economic Questions 77 
 
 Universal Language 78 
 
 The Mashrak-el-Azkar 79 
 
 The Method of Teaching 80 
 
 Instructions 80 
 
 Rise and Fall of Nations 81 
 
 The Hope of the Nations 83 
 
 Growth of the Bahai Religion 84 
 
 An Exhortation by Abdul Baha 87 
 
"The Cause of Baha*o'llah is the same as the 
 Cause of Christ. It is the same temple and the 
 same foundation. In the coming of Christ the 
 divine teachings were given in accordance with 
 the infancy of the human race. The teachings of 
 Baha'o'llah have the same basic principles, but 
 are according to the stage of the maturity of the 
 world and the requirements of this illumined 
 age." 
 
 Abdul Baha. 
 
THE BAHAI REVELATION AND RECON- 
 STRUCTION. 
 
THE BAHAI REVELATION AND RECON- 
 STRUCTION. 
 
 PEACE IDEALS. 
 
 The ideals of world peace and the brotherhood 
 of mankind have been making rapid progress in 
 the thought of the world during the past two or 
 three decades. Prior to the recent war in Europe 
 these ideals were held for the most part by ex- 
 treme idealists, people who were regarded by 
 many as visionary and Utopian to the point of 
 impracticability, but now that the war is over 
 the need for the realization of these international 
 ideals of co-operation and interdependence be- 
 tween the various peoples, nations and races is 
 being realized on all sides and the world is ac- 
 cepting these ideals in the practical spirit of 
 wanting to apply them to its international needs. 
 ^±^eople in general are already anticipating a fed-^ 
 eration of the nations, which will introduce a 
 new international system of relations and con- 
 duce towards a civilization in which the energies 
 of men and women will no longer be consumed 
 by national rivalries, inharmonious contests and 
 wars, but these energies will be turned into con- 
 structive channels for the improvement and 
 welfare of the human race. ^ The soul of the 
 
THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 r*"" 
 
 world of humanity is only now beginning to 
 awaken to the fact that the real heritage of hu- 
 manity is just ahead; that we stand at the 
 threshold of the new day of the golden age of 
 universal civilization, progress and culture of 
 which Christ and the Prophets testified, for the 
 reality of which They suffered and shed Their 
 blood, and for which mankind has hoped and 
 prayed for centuries — that this new kingdom 
 might "come on earth as it is in heaven." 
 
 In these latter days of the year 1918 one can 
 scarcely scan a newspaper or a current maga- 
 zine without seeing articles which testify that 
 the thought of the public is not only occupied 
 with many movements for general world better- 
 ment, but thousands of people are giving their 
 time and devoting their energies to the practical 
 service of mankind along various lines of recon- 
 struction of human institutions, affairs and re- 
 lations calculated to meet the new present day 
 needs of humanity, preparing the way for greater 
 reforms and institutions to come in the near 
 future. 
 
 THE BAHAI RELIGION. 
 
 There is, at the present time, a philosophy, a 
 religious teaching, Ithe followers of which are 
 striving to make this world a more fit place in 
 which to live. This religious teaching is known 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 28 
 
 as the Bahai Religious Movement. The object 
 of this movement is to further the spirit of real 
 brotherhood between the peoples of the dif- 
 ferent religions and races, Oriental and Occi- 
 dental, forming a common ground for amicable 
 international relations and the establishment of 
 a universal religion which will be the foundation 
 of inter-religious, inter-racial and inter-national 
 brotherhood and peace. The doctrines and. 
 practices of this religion offer to mankind a prac- 
 tical basis of unity, one which is in direct line 
 with the great world needs of this age. It is 
 paving the way spiritually for the great univers- 
 al civilization which will evolve as people of all 
 religions, races and nations unite both spiritually 
 and materially into one great world people. 
 
 THE BAB. 
 
 Mirza AH Mohammed, the first teacher of the 
 Bahai Cause, was known as The Bab, which is 
 the Persian and the Arabic word for door or 
 gate. His teaching began with the declaration 
 of His mission to eighteen chosen disciples who 
 were gathered together in the city of Shiraz in 
 southern Persia on the twenty-third day of May, 
 1844. To these spiritually alive and prepared 
 souls The Bab declared His mission as fore- 
 runner of a great world teacher. One Whom He 
 referred to as "He Whom God Shall Manifest, 
 
 Af 
 
24 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 the great divine teacher who would shortly ap- 
 pear with manifest signs of spiritual power and 
 through whom the Divine Covenant would be 
 fulfilled and the religious unity of the world 
 would be accomplished. 
 
 The Bab, then a youth of but nineteen years, 
 through spiritual wisdom and through purity 
 of purpose and soul, drew unto Himself many 
 followers, who in turn arose to promulgate His 
 simple doctrines, and their fervor within a very 
 short time became the means of assembling a 
 large following. Immediately the movement 
 met with great opposition upon the part of the 
 Persian clergy, and at their instigation The Bab 
 was placed under military surveillance. Not- 
 withstanding this trouble He continued His 
 teaching and exhorted the people through purity 
 of living to make ready and to fit themselves for 
 the coming of the Promised One who was short- 
 ly to appear. 
 
 Thus passed the first two years of The Bab's 
 ministry. His cause had then so increased in in- 
 fluence that the Moslem clergy, fearful of the 
 loss of their hold over the people, caused The 
 Bab to be seized and cast into prison ; neverthe- 
 less during His imprisonment He continued His 
 teaching through letters and epistles, which were 
 secretly conveyed to His followers throughout 
 the country. After four years of confinement 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 25 
 
 The Bab, upon the charge of heresy, was con- 
 demned to death, and on July 9, 1850, in the city 
 of Tabriz in northwestern Persia, He suffered 
 martyrdom together with one of His devoted 
 followers. 
 
 The Bab arose with steadfastness and power 
 to herald the coming of the Lord of the Ages. 
 The institutions which He had established were 
 therefore temporary, being destined to bridge 
 over the time until the coming of the great teach- 
 er who would establish a universal cause. The 
 Bab gave very definite instructions to His fol- 
 lowers that they, upon the appearance of the one 
 promised, should turn implicitly to that one, fol- 
 lowing His teachings and instructions, in which 
 would be a spiritual power that would evolve 
 and grow until it filled the world, unifying all 
 men of all races and religions in the Kingdom of 
 God upon earth. 
 
 PERSECUTIONS. 
 
 As the cause of The Bab spread throughout 
 Persia, the most dire troubles and persecutions 
 descended upon the believers, who were known 
 as Babis. The Mohammedans fell upon them, 
 destroying their properties and killing men, wom- 
 en and children. Over twenty thousand believ- 
 ers willingly gave up property, family and life 
 rather than deny their faith, which act would, in 
 
26 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 most cases, have saved them. In Persia even as 
 late as 1901 there were over one hundred and 
 seventy believers martyred at one time in the 
 city of Yazd. 
 
 BAHA'O'LLAH. 
 
 The Promised One, Baha'o'Uah, a youth de- 
 scended from a family of nobility and prominence 
 in Persia, appeared at the time and place fore- 
 told by The Bab. He arose with vigor and 
 force, upholding and publicly teaching the truths 
 taught by The Bab. Shortly after The Bab's 
 martyrdom, when the great persecutions of the 
 believers began, Baha'o'Uah with others of the 
 new faith was cast into an underground dungeon 
 in Teheran, Persia, and with chains about His 
 neck He was held prisoner while His properties 
 were pillaged and confiscated. Most of Baha- 
 'o'llah's fellow prisoners were killed, while He 
 with some of the believers was finally sent in 
 exile to Baghdad in Irak-Arabi. 
 
 In Baghdad Baha'ollah arose vdth spiritual 
 power and divine dominion to spread the new 
 faith. He labored to bring strength and assur- 
 ance to the Babis and He breathed into them a 
 new spirit, for the massacres and persecutions 
 had thrown them into a most lamentable condi- 
 tion of both mental and physical distress. At 
 one time Baha'o'Uah went from Baghdad alone 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 27 
 
 into the mountain fastnesses of Kurdistan, and 
 there for two years He lived the life of a recluse, 
 preparing Himself spiritually for His coming 
 mission. Then He returned to Baghdad to care 
 for and to lead the people. 
 
 THE PROMISED ONE. 
 
 In The Bab's prophetic writings there were 
 found many passages, through the spiritual in- 
 terpretation of which the people were to be en- 
 abled to recognize the Promised One who would 
 follow after Him, and as the believers came more 
 and more under Baha*o'llah*s guidance they 
 realized the profoundness of His divine knowl- 
 edge and they looked upon Him as their guide. 
 In the coming of Baha'o'llah was the fulfillment 
 of The Bab's promise, the coming of The An- 
 cient of Days, The Lord of Hosts, to which The 
 Bab had testified by a life of service and by 
 martyrdom. 
 
 Through Baha'o'llah's wisdom and spiritual 
 insight there came calmness, assurance and 
 strength to the followers. But as the movement 
 increased in numbers the fanaticism of the Mus- 
 sulman clergy against the believers continued 
 to increase rather than diminish, until finally at 
 the instigation of these priests an international 
 agreement was made between the despotic 
 King of Persia and the Sultan of Turkey, through 
 
28 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 which arrangement Baha'o'Uah and a band of 
 His followers were ordered to a more distant 
 exile in Constantinople in order to separate them 
 from the believers in Persia, for the Moham- 
 medans were fearful lest their own religion 
 Would be overthrown by this new faith. 
 
 Upon the eve of His departure from Irak- 
 Arabi to Constantinople in April, 1863, Baha- 
 *o'llah declared Himself, to His most trusted fol- 
 lowers, to be the One to whom The Bab had 
 borne witness as "He Whom God Shall Mani- 
 fest." After a long journey, overland and by sea, 
 Baha'o'llah with His band of exiles arrived in 
 Constantinople, where He remained for several 
 months. Then He was sent still farther on to 
 Adrianople in Roumelia, in order to separate 
 Him as far as possible from the world which His 
 cause was agitating. 
 
 After five years of exile in Adrianople, Tur- 
 key, during which the cause continued to grow 
 both inwardly and outwardly in strength, an- 
 other decree, issued by the despotic Ottoman 
 government, ordered Baha'o'llah to be sent to 
 the prison fortress town of Akka (Acre), a Turk- 
 ish penal colony on the Mediterranean sea just 
 north of Mount Carmel in Syria. In this land of 
 Sharon and Carmel where, according to the an- 
 cient prophets, the Messiah would appear and 
 the Glory of God would be manifest in the latter 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 29 
 
 days, Baha'o'Uah lived and taught. During the 
 first two years in the Holy Land He was closely 
 guarded within the prison of the fortress of Akka, 
 but soon His greatness became so apparent to 
 the prison officers and He manifested such spir- 
 itual power that they showed Him great consid- 
 eration, and were most kind and friendly, for 
 they saw only truth and perfect righteousness 
 in Him. Thus the material condition of the 
 Bahai community was greatly benefitted. First 
 Baha'o'Uah was allowed the liberty of the fort- 
 ress city, then His tent was pitched upon the 
 Mount of Carmel, and He spent much of His 
 time at Behje, a villa upon the plain of Akka. 
 
 During these years many believers and truth- 
 seekers came great distances to visit Baha'o'Uah 
 and receive from Him spiritual understanding, 
 they in turn going forth to spread His cause in 
 the far parts of the world. Through His Tablets 
 or epistles Baha'o'llah reached many people in 
 distant lands, answering their questions and giv- 
 ing them spiritual advice. He also wrote many 
 general treatises upon spiritual subjects. These 
 contain explanations of the principles of His 
 teachings, as well as certain general admoni- 
 tions and ordnances through the observance of 
 which mankind will evolve to a high state of 
 mjaterial and spiritual welfare. In His writings 
 Baha'o'Uah unlocked the mysteries of the spir- 
 
30 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 itual truths in the holy books of the religions of 
 the past. He clearly demonstrated that all truth 
 is one truth, and that all prophets have mani- 
 fested the one same spirit of God. 
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT. 
 
 With the coming of Baha'o'Uah and the estab- 
 lishment of His religion the mission of His fore- 
 runner, The Bab, was completed, and the Babi 
 Cause became the Bahai Cause. The mission of 
 The Bab being practically confined to Persia and 
 to a few neighboring countries. His ordinances 
 and teachings were calculated to meet the local 
 needs and, conditions there extant. The mission 
 of Baha'o'Uah being to the whole world, His 
 teachings were universal in character and were 
 directly applicable to any and all conditions of 
 men, irrespective of race, religion or degree of 
 human attainment. 
 
 In the month of May, 1892, after forty years 
 of spiritual labor, Baha'o'Uah departed this life. 
 He had given His teachings to the world, in their 
 entirety, and His direct mission was completed, 
 yet there was more work to be done in order to 
 establish His cause in the world. The spirit of 
 the Bahai teachings remained to be practically 
 demonstrated in the world. For the accomplish- 
 ment of this Baha'o'Uah exhorted His followers 
 to look toward His son, Abdul Baha, as the ex- 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 31 
 
 pounder of His teachings, upon whose shoulders 
 His mantle would fall, and through whose serv- 
 ice to humanity the life of the Kingdom would 
 be^'demonstrated to all mankind. In order to 
 insure the unity and solidarity of the cause, and 
 to protect the believers from disunion and dif- 
 ferences, Baha'o'Uah in two different places in 
 the Book of Akdas (one of His chief writings) 
 commanded His followers after His departure 
 to turn their faces to "The Branch Extended 
 from the Ancient Root," and to refer all matters 
 to "The Center of The Covenant," which center 
 is Abdul Baha. Also, in the Book of The Testa- 
 ment, Baha'o'Uah explains that by "The Branch 
 Extended from the Ancient Root" is meant the 
 "Greatest Branch," Abdul Baha, to whom all 
 should turn. 
 
 ABDUL BAHA. 
 
 Abdul Baha was born in Teheran in northern 
 Persia, upon the 23rd day of May, 1844, the very 
 day upon which The Bab gathered His disciples 
 together in southern Persia and there made His 
 declaration. Abdul Baha was named Abbas, 
 Abdul Baha (The Servant of God) being his 
 spiritual title, the name by which he is known as 
 a spiritual teacher. 
 
 In the accounts of Abdul Baha handed down 
 by those who knew him when a child we are 
 
S2 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 told that at an early age he showed a contem- 
 plative and deeply spiritual nature combined with 
 a highly forceful and active disposition. When 
 he was only eight years old, the greatest perse- 
 cution of the Bahais began in Persia and it was 
 but a short time after this that he went into exile 
 with his father, Baha'o'Uah. 
 
 During the ten years spent with Baha'o'Uah, 
 in Baghdad, Abdul Baha passed from childhood 
 into adolescence and manhood. Because of the 
 vicissitudes of the exile he never attended school, 
 but through constant association with Baha- 
 'o'llah and devotion and service in the cause 
 Abdul Baha grew strong in knowledge, in wis- 
 dom and in spiritual attainments. As he at- 
 tained maturity, he became Baha'o'Uah's chief 
 aid and support in carrying on His work. It was 
 Abdul Baha who first interviewed all persons 
 who came to confer with Baha'o'llah, and so 
 ordered matters that Baha'o'llah could meet 
 those having spiritual desires and capacity and 
 who needed Him, without losing time with those 
 who came only through curiosity. During those 
 days, Baha'o'Uah was visited by many believers 
 from Persia, as well as by truth seekers from 
 among various religions and nations. Abdul 
 Baha himself also taught the people diligently, 
 and he discussed religious principles with learned 
 theologians, who marveled at his wisdom and his 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 33 
 
 interpretation of spiritual teachings. They could 
 not understand how this youth, uneducated from 
 their standard of erudition, could produce with 
 great ease and fluency arguments that none 
 could refute or gainsay, for he had never attend- 
 ed a college or university, as is the custom 
 among Oriental savants and theologians. 
 
 When the time came for Baha'o'Uah to reveal 
 Himself as the Promised One of all religions, it 
 was Abdul Baha who first recognized Him in 
 His divine capacity, and it was Abdul Baha who 
 first voiced the mighty message of the Mani- 
 festation of the Spirit of God among men. 
 
 ABDUL BAHA'S SERVICE TO 
 HUMANITY. 
 
 Abdul Baha's life has been one of service to 
 the Bahai Cause. During the exile journeys of 
 Baha'o'llah and His followers, and the imprison- 
 ment in Adrianople and Akka, Abdul Baha was 
 constantly serving spiritually and materially. 
 When persecution was at its height, he encour- 
 aged the people, comforted them, and gave them 
 hope, and when sickness and disease broke out 
 among the Bahais, while they were confined in 
 the prison of Akka, Abdul Baha was the chief 
 nurse and servant of all. 
 
 It is often remarked that when in repose Abdul 
 Baha appears much older than his real age. This 
 
34 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 is undoubtedly true, for he has had to bear not 
 only his own trials but also the troubles of the 
 people who have surrounded him from time to 
 tim^, depending upon him to help carry their 
 burdens and share their troubles. But when 
 Abdul Baha speaks, voicing the Bahai Message 
 of Glad Tidings to the world, one soon becomes 
 aware that the spirit Which proceeds from him 
 to those whom he teaches is not a spirit capable 
 of being affected by age nor earthly conditions, 
 but is the spirit of eternal life which gives hope, 
 vigor and happiness to all who partake of it. 
 
 The great desire of Abdul Baha is to be known 
 as the servant of God. In his life of service is 
 seen the power, glory and majesty of Baha'o'llah, 
 who declared His son to be "The Center of The 
 Covenant" and "the Greatest Branch from the 
 Pre-Existent Root." Through Abdul Baha's 
 service the spiritual glory of Baha'o'llah is being 
 manifested in the world today, and the Kingdom 
 of the Father is being realized here upon the 
 earth. 
 
 ABDUL BAHA'S METHOD OF TEACHING. 
 
 Abdul Baha*s method of teaching spiritual 
 truths is direct and concrete. He reaches the 
 heart and through spiritual contact penetrates 
 the soul of the individual. Many beautiful and 
 touching incidents are related in the Orient of 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 35 
 
 the way in which, through long suffering and 
 kindness, he has won the hearts of those who, 
 because of their prejudices, 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 in the Orient is 
 "father of the poor." 
 
 Abdul Baha's power is that of love. In go- 
 ing into his presence something within one's soul 
 seems to respond to his soul. Thus a spiritual 
 bond is formed which is most far-reaching, for it 
 is of the nature of divine love and always remains 
 with one. Through his life and example he is 
 teaching people the life and the way of the King- 
 dom. He has a message for every one, and as one 
 meets and contacts with him in spirit it is as if 
 a new force were added to one's nature. The 
 power of the love of God is brought very close to 
 those who come in contact with Abdul Baha. 
 
 ABDUL BAHA'S IMPRISONMENT. 
 
 Abdul Baha remained in Akka a prisoner for 
 just forty years. His freedom came through an 
 adjustment of governmental matters, brought 
 about by the re-establishment of the Turkish con- 
 stitution in the summer of 1908. During this con- 
 finement, Abdul Baha was yearly visited by 
 friends and followers from all parts of the world, 
 although often it was with the greatest difficulty 
 
36 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 that these friends were able to see him, and some- 
 times the interviews were perforce very brief. 
 Notwithstanding these conditions, each pilgrim 
 received bounteously from Abdul Baha, who is 
 the source of the spiritual life of the Bahai world, 
 and then hastened to his or to her own country 
 to share this gift of God with others. 
 
 THE CENTER OF THE COVENANT. 
 
 t^ The followers of the Bahai Religion are held 
 together by a powerful spirit of love for Abdul 
 Baha. As the life blood goes from the heart to 
 each organ of the body, nourishing and bringing 
 it into functional relation with every other organ, 
 so from Abdul Baha, who is the center and heart 
 of the Bahai Cause, goes forth the spirit of the 
 love of God to each of the multitude of its mem- 
 bers. All who have experienced this spiritual 
 contact with Abdul Baha realize that in reality 
 he is different and apart from other men. To 
 each one who has had this experience it has been 
 demonstrated in a unique manner, primarily for 
 the individual's own personal enlightenment. Ab- 
 dul Baha's mission as "The Center of The Cov- 
 enant" holds the Bahais together in an organic 
 body, and through the channel of his life of serv- 
 ice the Bahai spirit is forming a new religious life 
 in the world. 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 37 
 
 ABDUL BAHA'S TRAVELS. 
 
 After his freedom Abdul Baha began to travel. 
 Two winters he spent in Egypt, the summer and 
 fall of the year 1911 he spent in London and in 
 Paris, and it will be recalled by many persons 
 that Abdul Baha visited America in 1912, deliver- 
 ing addresses in various cities and towns, explain- 
 ing the Bahai principles and their application to 
 the present-day religious, social and economic 
 needs of humanity. Even up to as short a time 
 as six years ago many people regarded the uni- 
 versality of the philosophy taught by Abdul 
 Baha as far too great a step to be taken from 
 the particular and familiar philosophy of the 
 past into the unexplored universal realm of re- 
 ligious thinking of the future. But the pres- 
 ent general thinking world can with a quickened 
 religious perception look back and see the po- 
 tency of Abdul Baha's teaching, now realizing 
 that he with his message was simply ahead of and 
 beyond the understanding of the general prevail- 
 ing world of religious thought of that time. How- 
 ever, conditions in the world have so changed 
 during the past few years, that the time of 
 restricted thought has now passed, and humanity 
 is now more awake than ever before to the vital 
 spiritual principles of religion, progress and civ- 
 ilization. During these travels Abdul Baha met 
 
88 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 people who were attracted by the spirit of the 
 Bahai Cause, and he sowed spiritual seeds in their 
 hearts which will grow in God's own time and 
 bring forth the fruit of the Kingdom. 
 
 ABDUL BAHA IN THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 During the past five years of war, Abdul Baha 
 has been in the Holy Land. Recent telegraphic 
 reports from the advancing British army in Pal- 
 estine announce that he is safe and living on 
 Mount Carmel, surrounded by a group of follow- 
 ers. In a recent letter written by Abdul Baha to 
 friends in Teheran, Persia, he portrays the then 
 present condition in Palestine in the following 
 terms: 
 
 "It has been a long time since the thread of 
 correspondence has been entirely broken, and the 
 hearts (of the people here) have been affected 
 with sorrow and agitation. Now praise be to God 
 that in these days, through divine favor, the black 
 clouds are dispersed and the light of composure 
 and tranquillity has enlightened this region, and 
 the tyrannous (Turkish) government is done 
 away with and followed by a just (British) ad- 
 ministration. All the people have been de- 
 livered from the most great hardships and the 
 most difficult afflictions. In this huge tempest 
 and violent revolution, in which all nations of the 
 world were caught and were involved in dire ca- 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 89 
 
 lamity, cities were destroyed, souls were slaugh- 
 tered, properties were pillaged and taken as 
 booty, the cries and lamentations of the helpless 
 ones were raised from every prominent spot, and 
 the tears fell from the eyes of the orphans like a 
 flowing torrent in all the oppressed countries. 
 * * * It has mjeanwhile become evident that 
 the teachings of His Holiness Baha'o'Uah are the 
 cause of the comfort and illumination of the 
 world of humanity. In the Tablets (letters of 
 Baha'o'Uah) the justice and the administrative 
 sagacity of the government of England have been 
 repeatedly dwelt upon, and now it has become 
 clear that in reality the inhabitants of this coun- 
 try after untold sufferings have attained to com- 
 posure and security." 
 
 THE NEW DAY. 
 
 I Abdul Baha teaches that the world is in the 
 beginning of a new age and that "this is a new 
 cycle of human power., j All the horizons of the 
 world are luminous, and the world will become 
 indeed as a garden and a paradise.ilt is the hour 
 of the unity of the sons of men and of the draw- 
 ing together of all races and all classes,! The 
 gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowl- 
 edge of the oneness of mankind and the funda- 
 mental oneness of religion. War shall cease be- 
 tween nations, and by the will of God the Most 
 
40 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 Great Peace shall come; the world will be seen 
 as a new world, and all men will live as brothers." 
 As with each of the vital messages of truth as 
 given by the inspired Prophets or Manifestations 
 of God in the past ages, the Bahai message of 
 universal religion comes at a time of the greatest 
 world need, for in this day the creeds and the 
 dogmas of the past have lost their spiritual pow- 
 er, and the world is reaching out for a religion 
 which will be a living spiritual factor in the life 
 of humanity. The Bahai Movement is a religious 
 cause, the institutions and spirit of which are not 
 founded upon the human thought of past days. 
 Being above and beyond the natural trend of 
 thought, this cause is forming within the souls 
 of men higher ideals, thoughts and actions com- 
 mensurate with the present and future needs of 
 humanity, and these high ideals are ushering in 
 the beginning of a greater civilization than the 
 world has yet seen. 
 
 ORIENT AND OCCIDENT. 
 
 The Orient has been the source of the world's 
 inspiration, while in the Occident has appeared 
 the fruition of this inspiration in the form of a 
 highly evolved civilization. As from Asia the 
 Caucasian peoples swept westward from time to 
 time in great wave movements to rule the world, 
 so have the spiritual truths brought by Christ and 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 41 
 
 the Prophets — the givers o£ religion to the world 
 —had their dawnings or points of appearance in 
 the East, for these great divine personages each 
 appeared in Asia, and from her shores Their fol- 
 lowers and disciples embarked to carry Their 
 messages of truth to the peoples of the other 
 continents. However, in this day and age the 
 Orient and her people are widely separated from 
 the Western world. Enmity, suspicion and laclT* 
 of confidence and understanding between the Ori- 
 ental and Occidental peoples are the greatest 
 obstacles to be overcome before universal broth- 
 erhood and a real peace can be realized in the 
 world. This present gulf between the Orient and 
 the Occident is the result of ages of differing 
 civilizations which have been evolved by re- 
 ligious systems and philosophies foreign to one ^ 
 another, for the civilization of a people, with its / 
 many institutions of education, its language, its | 
 arts, its philosophy, and even the very tempera- | 
 ment of the people themselves, are but the result j 
 or the fruitage of their religious ideals past and I 
 present and those of their forebears. 
 
 Here in the Occident our civilization and tem- 
 perament are equally the result of the spirit of our 
 philosophy and the ideals of the life and education 
 under which we are trained. 
 
 The Oriental is essentially a mystic and an 
 ardent religionist. With him his religion is by 
 
fa 
 
 42 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 far the most important interest he has in life. 
 If he is superstitious, his fanaticism is without 
 limit, but if his soul is alive with the true and the 
 real spirit of religion he is another being; he is a 
 conscious and a self-acknowledged factor in the 
 great world of humanity and its oneness. 
 
 It is upon the religious ground that the Oriental 
 and the Occidental can meet in common under- 
 standing and comradship. Through the Bahai 
 teachings this chasm between the East and the 
 West is bridged, and now in this movement Ori- 
 entals and Occidentals are meeting on a common 
 ground of religious sympathy, understanding and 
 brotherhood. 
 L. 
 
 RELIGION AND PEACE. 
 
 Religious differences have been the chief cause 
 of warfare, for the bloodiest of battles have been 
 fought between opposing religious factions, while 
 religious sympathy and understanding have al- 
 ways made for peace and prosperity. \ Prior to 
 the beginning of the Bahai Movement little or 
 nothing was being generally taught or written 
 ^jy. / about peace, arbitration, universal language, suf- 
 
 ^ V^\ ^^^S^ ^^ ^^y ^^ *^^ other universal institutions 
 hA^ 1 through which people now realize cire to be found 
 * ' the tranquillity and the progress and advancement 
 
 of humanity. During the past half century the 
 world has awakened to the necessity for all of 
 
 ■A 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 43 
 
 these institutions, and now the most enlightened 
 people are realizing that theflack of spiritual or 
 religious understanding, with the accompanying 
 lack of moral perception, is the real cause of all 
 human iUs^J While Baha'o'Uah's teaching was 
 ahead of the world of His day, the world of today 
 is realizing more and more, as time goes on, the 
 value of that teaching. 
 
 BAHAI UNIVERSALITY. 
 
 The adherents of the Bahai teaching have no 
 church organization or form of enrolled member- 
 ship. They are composed of people of various 
 denominations, sects and religions who, aroused 
 by the quickening religious spirit of this present 
 age, are banded together and spiritually united in 
 their efforts to infuse into all humanity these 
 progressive religious ideals. These they believe 
 to be the fundamental principles of the great 
 world civilization which will evolve as the spirit 
 of internationalism grows and peoples and na- 
 tions arise to co-ordinate in all their activities, 
 thus forming an interdependent federation en- 
 compassing the entire world and all of its peoples. 
 
 Regarding this movement, Abdul Baha makes 
 the following statement : "The Bahai Movement 
 is not an organization. You can never organize 
 the Bahai Cause. The Bahai Movement is the 
 spirit of this age. It is the essence of all the high- 
 
 / 
 

 44 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 / est ideals of this century. The Bahai Cause is an 
 inclusive movement; the teachings of all the re- 
 ligions and societies are found here; the Chris- 
 tians, Jews, Buddhists, Mohammedans, Zoroastri- 
 ans, Theosophists, Freemasons, Spiritualists, etc., 
 find their highest aims in this cause * * * the 
 Socialists and Philosophers find their theories 
 fully developed in this movement." 
 
 INVESTIGATION OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 
 
 One finds in the Bahai teaching the following 
 principles: "No man should follow blindly his 
 ancestors and forefathers; nay, each must see 
 with his own eyes, hear with his own ears, and 
 investigate truth in order that he may find the 
 truth." 
 
 One welcomes a religion with assurance which 
 not only allows but advocates that the individual 
 shall inquire into the realities of religion, since so 
 much of the creed and dogma of the religions of 
 the past have forbidden people from investigating 
 for themselves, but rather imposed upon them the 
 beliefs and religious forms of their forefathers, 
 which were not to be questioned. The supersti- 
 tions of the past would not have persisted as long 
 as they did if people had understood the reality 
 of religion. The proof of this is now that people 
 are stud5dng into the true principles of religion, 
 the superstitions are disappearing, and the peo- 
 
 u 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 45 
 
 pie are becoming free from the incubus of re- 
 ligious imaginings. 
 
 SCIENCE AND RELIGION. 
 
 Abdul Baha teaches that "religion must be rea^ 
 sonable ; it must agree perfectly with science, so I 
 that science shall sanction religion, and religion / 
 sanction science. The two must be brought to- I 
 gether, indissolubly in the reality. Down to thej 
 present day it has been customary for man to ac- 
 cept a thing because it was called religion, even 
 though it were not in accord with human reason." 
 
 The imaginations and superstitions of many of 
 the religious systems of the past are incompatible 
 with common sense and science, for they are but 
 the thoughts and the imaginings of men of past 
 ages. The universal basic spiritual truths of the 
 many religions, as differentiated from the super- 
 stitions incorporated in their theological and dog- 
 matic humanly evolved systems of thought, are 
 scientific and in conformity with the known laws 
 of science. The Bahais believe that when men un^ 
 derstand the true principles of religion no conflict^ 
 will be found between these truths and the ma-/ 
 terial sciences. 1 
 
 WOMAN. 
 
 The advent of this movement has found a large 
 and growing response among progressive women 
 the world around, but particularly is its effect to 
 
46 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 be noted among the women of the Orient, Among 
 the most prominent of The Bab's followers was 
 Kurrat-ul-Ayn, poetess and heroine of this cause, 
 who, after an eventful career, in which she stood 
 forth as a confirmed exponent of the new faith, 
 suffered a mart5n:'s death at the hands of the 
 Mohammedan ecclesiastics because of her activ- 
 ities in her religious propaganda. As a spiritual 
 disciple of this new age and a woman many de- 
 cades ahead of her time, her life is 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, superstition and oppression into a state 
 of knowledge and freedom. 
 
 Regarding the equality of men and women, 
 Abdul Baha says : "This is peculiar to the teach- 
 ings of Baha'o'llah, for all former religious sys- 
 '^ems placed men above women. Daughters and 
 sons must follow the same form of study and the 
 same education. Having one course of education 
 promotes unity among mankind." 
 
 In the Mohammedan world the condition of 
 woman is so closely allied to and prescribed by 
 the religious tenets that the value of true relig- 
 ious doctrines will readily be recognized. A liv- 
 ing religious enthusiasm is needed to give force 
 to this modern movement among Moslem women, 
 for it must first combat and overcome the preju- 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 47 
 
 dice, ignorance and fanaticism of the Moslem 
 clerical doctrinaires before education and enlight- 
 enment can reach into the time-honored but 
 darkened seclusion of the women. 
 
 Through a broad and liberal education along 
 material lines, balanced by a knowledge of man's 
 moral and spiritual duties, the Bahais believe that 
 the superstitions of the past will disappear and 
 with them the prejudice and ignorance which 
 have always made for man's limitation. TheH 
 Bahai Movement stands strongly for the educa- / 
 tion of woman, even going so far as to teach that / 
 it is more necessary for parents to educate their 
 girls than their boys. Women being the mothers 
 and the first teachers of the race, it is more neces 
 sary that they be educated than men. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 Abdul Baha says: "All mankind should par- 
 take of both knowledge and education, and this 
 partaking of knowledge and of education is one 
 of the necessities of religion. The education of 
 each child is obligatory. If there are no parents, 
 the community must look after the child. Each 
 person should have his part of the sciences." 
 
 FULFILLMENT OF PROPHESY. 
 
 From the religious viewpoint this teaching of- 
 fers to the world the fulfillment of the revelations 
 of the past, an all-inclusive, universal teaching, so 
 
 leces-j 
 
48 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 broad that people of all races and of all creeds 
 find a place therein. It is essentially a religious 
 movement, a spiritual teaching, free from the lim- 
 itations of sect and "ism," and constructive in its 
 building upon the faith of the individual and upon 
 the pure teachings of the past, thus increasing 
 love and devotion for God and creating within 
 each soul the desire to manifest these divine 
 bounties through brotherly service to one's fel- 
 lowmen. The teaching holds that mankind needs 
 and seeks spiritual guidance. This divine guid- 
 ance has always come to humanity through the 
 instrumentality of the prophets or revealers of 
 truth. These chosen souls have been the found- 
 ers of the great religious world movements. They 
 have manifested the Spirit of God to the people 
 of the world, and through these divine manifesta- 
 tions men have known God and have become 
 quickened by the spirit and brought into that state 
 known as the life eternal. 
 
 REVELATION. 
 
 The foundation of the Bahai philosophy is ex- 
 pressed in this short quotation from one of Baha- 
 'o'Uah's writings : "The root of all knowledge is 
 the knowledge of God. Glory be to Him! and 
 this knowledge is impossible save through His 
 Manifestation." Each of the world's great mani- 
 fested spiritual teachers has taught the same 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 49 
 
 eternal truth, revealing in it the measure and in 
 the terms applicable to the people of His time. 
 This truth has ever been the mainspring and 
 source of human advancement and civilization. 
 
 The Divine Covenant, or promise to the world, 
 of the coming in the "end of the days" of a great 
 Manifestation, One who would arise with spiritual 
 power to establish upon earth God's Kingdom of 
 Peace was made through the prophets of the 
 past. Though the personalities of the Prophets 
 differed, yet the divine power which spoke 
 through each was the same in spirit and reality. 
 Each Prophet revealed God and the law of the 
 Divine Kingdom in proportion to the needs of 
 the age to which He ministered, and in terms and 
 parables familiar to the people. In their purity 
 all the revealed religious teachings are in perfect 
 accord; all teach the fatherhood of God and the 
 brotherhood of man. 
 
 ONENESS OF ALL RELIGION. 
 
 Again in the words of Abdul Baha is found the 
 definition of the one foundation of all religion, as 
 follows: "The foundation underlying all the di- 
 vine precepts is that one reality. It must needs 
 be reality, and reality is one, not multiple. There- 
 fore the foundation of the divine religions is one ; 
 but we can see that certain forms have come in, 
 certain imitations of forms and ceremonies have 
 
50 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 crept in. They are heretical, they are accidental, 
 because they differ ; hence they cause differences 
 among religions; but if we set aside these imita- 
 tions and seek the reality of the foundation we 
 shall all agree ; religion is one and not multiple." 
 Human differences, imaginations and super- 
 stitions have been the cause of religious division, 
 dissention and disintegrationrBuTtrue spiritual- 
 ity has ever been the source and mainspring of 
 man's unity in religion and advancement in civili- 
 zationj Each of the great world civilizations 
 has^fiad its conception and birth in a spiritually 
 active religion, while the downfall of civilizations 
 has been brought about by spiritually lifeless 
 religious ideals, shrouded in forms and in super- 
 stitions, causing the fall of morals and the decay 
 of civilization. 
 
 THE BAHAI GLAD TIDINGS. 
 
 The unique message which the Bahais are giv- 
 ing to the world is that of the fulfillment of The 
 Covenant made by God with the people of the 
 world through the prophets of old. Again a 
 Manifestation of the Word has come in accord- 
 ance with promise of old, this time in Baha*o*llah 
 who came for the whole world, so that all people 
 of all religions, races and nations might become 
 one in faith and brothers in the divine kingdom. 
 In order to establish the kingdom of peace upon 
 
 V 
 
 I? 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 51 
 
 earth, The Bab prepared the way for Baha'o'Uah. 
 Through Baha'o'Uah the power, spirit and wis- 
 dom of the new age of the Kingdom dawned in 
 the world. Now, through Abdul Baha, this new 
 age of spiritual light is being proclaimed and es- 
 tablished in the various parts of the earth. 
 
 OBJECT OF RELIGION. 
 
 Abdul Baha says: "Every religion is the 
 greatest divine effulgence, the cause of life 
 among men, the cause of honor of humanity, and 
 is productive of the life everlasting among 
 humankind. Religion is not for enmity or hatred. 
 It is not for tyranny or injustice. If religion be 
 the cause of enmity and rancor, if it should prove 
 to be the cause of alieniating men, assuredly 
 non-religion would be better, for religion and 
 the teachings which appertain to it are as a 
 course of treatment. What is the object of any 
 course of treatment? It is to cure and heal; but 
 if the outcome of a course of treatment should 
 be productive of mere diagnosis and discussion 
 of symptons then the abolition of it is evidently 
 preferable. In this sense abandoning religion 
 would be a step toward unity." 
 
 PRESENT WORLD PROBLEMS. 
 
 The Bahais hold that each age of the world \ 
 has had its needs and its problems to solve, and | 
 these problems have been solved by the divine I 
 
52 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 / manifestations. Now, in this latter age, the 
 i great problems, economic, political and religious 
 f are not confined, as in the past, to certain re- 
 j stricted geographic areas, but are universal. 
 Through the advance of civilization all countries 
 and peoples of the world have been brought to- 
 gether until, for the first time in its history, the 
 world now finds that it has entered upon a uni- 
 versal era in its progress. This is the universal 
 age, in which all peoples and nations are to 
 merge and develop into one great world civiliza- 
 tion. 
 
 As the former ages have had certain spiritual 
 
 or religious needs, so this present and coming 
 
 } universal age, past the threshold of which the 
 
 1 world now stands, has its own needs, spiritual 
 
 1 and religious. The world is now ready for the 
 
 spiritual unity and harmony of its people. The 
 
 universal religion now is needed in order that 
 
 mie universal civilization may be realized. 
 
 ONENESS OF HUMANITY. 
 
 In treating of the oneness of humanity Abdul 
 Baha says: "Baha'o'llah addresses Himself to 
 the world of men, saying: *Ye are all leaves of 
 one tree and the fruits of one arbor,' that is, the 
 world of existence is no other than one tree, and 
 the nations or peoples are like unto the different 
 branches or limbs thereof, and human individuals 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 58 
 
 are similar to the fruits and blossoms thereof — 
 while in all past religious books and epistles the 
 world of humanity has been divided into two 
 parts, one called the people of the Book, or the 
 Pure Tree, and the other, the Evil Tree. One 
 half of the people of the world were looked upon 
 as belonging to the faithful, and the other half as 
 belonging to the irreligious and the infidel; one 
 half of the people were consigned to the mercy 
 of the Creator, and the other half were con- 
 sidered as objects of the wrath of their Maker]_ 
 but Baha'o'llah proclaimed the oneness of the 
 world of humanity; He submerged all mankind 
 in the sea of divine generosity." ^^^.^ 
 
 THE PROMISED MESSIAH. 
 
 The people of each religion look for the com- 
 ing of a prophet or teacher who will fulfill the 
 hopes of their own teaching and establish the 
 truth of the world. The Christians look for the 
 coming of the Christ (Spirit) and the establish- 
 ment of Christ's Kingdom; the Jews await the 
 coming of their Messiah, and God's Kingdom on 
 earth; the Moslems believe that the Mahdi will 
 come and prepare the way for the coming of the 
 Lord and the Kingdom; the Zoroastrians have 
 prophecies relating to the coming of Shah Bah- 
 ram, and the establishment of the divine order 
 of things, foretold in their holy books; the 
 
64 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 Hindus believe that the Divine Spirit Krishna 
 will speak again to the world for the enlighten- 
 ment of the people; and the Buddhists look for 
 the coming of the great Fifth Buddha, whose 
 mission will be that of bringing a general world- 
 wide spiritual enlightenment, while the Theo- 
 sophists and some other religious cults, of 
 modern organization, look for the coming of a 
 universal religious teacher or great spiritual 
 master who will bring a divine message which 
 will unite all mankind in one brotherhood under 
 one God. 
 
 THE BAHAI MESSAGE. 
 
 ^ With the coming of the Bahai teachers, and the 
 cause which they have established, the people 
 of the various religions find the fulfillment of the 
 sacred teachings of the past, and also the solu- 
 tion of the great latter-day problem of religious 
 unity. The Bahai teaching confirms and com- 
 pletes all religious teachings which have gone 
 before, and offers a practical philosophy which 
 meets the present-day spiritual needs of human- 
 ity. 
 
 In teaching of Baha'o'llah the great Master 
 Divine Revealer of truth, whose coming for ages 
 has been the hope of the world, Abdul Baha 
 says that He was the educator of the world of 
 humanity; His teachings were universal and con- 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 55 
 
 f erred illumination upon mankind; His knowl^^ 
 edge was innate and spontaneous, not acquired;;. 
 He answered the questions of all sages, solved 
 the difficult problems of humanity, and withstood j 
 all the persecutions and sufferings heaped uponj 
 Him ; He was a joy bringer and the herald of the : 
 Kingdom of Happiness; His knowledge was in-| 
 finite and his wisdom all comprehensive; thej 
 penetration of His Word and the potency of His; 
 influence was so great as to humble even His! 
 worst enemies; sorrows and tribulations did not;j 
 vex Him; His courage and conviction was God- 1 
 like; day unto day He became firmer and more) 
 zealous; He was the establisher of universal j 
 civilization, the unifier of religions, the standard \ 
 of universal peace, and the embodiment of all 
 the highest and noblest virtues of the world of I 
 humanity. ^ J 
 
 BAHAI SACRED WRITINGS. 
 
 The collective writings of The Bab are known 
 as "The Beyan." These treat of the coming of 
 Baha'o'Uah, and contain exhortations to the 
 people, calling them to purify themselves and 
 prepare to meet the promised One that they 
 might be fitted to serve Him. Baha'o'llah wrote 
 many treatises in the form of books and epistles, 
 in which He demonstrates the oneness of the 
 spirit of all the former religious teachings, and 
 
 ^ 
 
56 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 also treats of the present teaching in its relations 
 to the religions of the past. Many of these writ- 
 ings were in reply to special questions asked by 
 men of learning, and were therefore written 
 from various points of thought — Moslem, Jew- 
 ish, Christian, etc. The writings of Abdul Baha 
 are explanatory of the teachings of Baha'o'llah. 
 Abdul Baha's method of teaching is through his 
 life of service to humanity as, well as by his pen 
 and spoken word. In this influence of his daily 
 life he exemplifies the principles of Baha^o'llah. 
 
 THE GREAT RELIGIOUS AWAKENING. 
 
 The natural tendency of man is to remain in 
 his own particular groove of religious feeling 
 and thought until compelled to give this up by 
 conditions and forces apparently outside of him- 
 self. This is often brought about by disappoint- 
 ment and suffering, and through his relations 
 with other people. As it is with the religious 
 thought and feeling of the individual, so it is 
 with that of nations or of peoples. From age to 
 age their religious convictions undergo certain 
 changes and modifications produced upon the 
 general or cosmic psychology of the mass by 
 the spiritual conditions attending the appearance 
 in the world of the great divine revelators or 
 manifestations. 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 57 
 
 Attending the rise or advent of these divine 
 personages is a general religious awakening, a 
 quickening spirit which, though it works silently 
 in the hearts of men, eventually is realized and 
 recognized by all as the light of a new spiritual 
 era or epoch. The prophet or the manifestation 
 of the age is the center of this divine enlighten- 
 ment, and as the souls of people awaken in re- 
 sponse to the spirit of the new age they recog- 
 nize the divine mission of the one who brings the 
 religious message of the day. 
 
 PRESENT RELIGIOUS OUTLOOK. 
 
 The great changes in human conditions, pro- 
 duced as the world passes out of an age of 
 formal religious thought into one with a new 
 spirit and progressive ideals, cause the downfall 
 of old institutions which have served their day 
 and the establishment of new institutions calcu- 
 lated to meet the present and future needs of 
 humanity. This time of change is always a try- 
 ing one. This passing from the spiritual adole"^ 
 scence to the maturity of the race, as it were, is 
 attended by the disruption and collapse of 
 former ideals before the people have really 
 sufficiently gotten hold of the new principles to 
 be firmly settled therein. At this present time 
 the world is in the throes of such an epoch. 
 These years of war have witnessed great changes 
 
58 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 in the ideals of the world, and in no phase of life 
 is this change more manifest than in religious 
 thought and feeling. Through bloodshed and 
 calamity peoples of different classes, nations, 
 races and creeds have been thrown together into 
 an intimate contact upon so vast a scale as to be 
 quite without parallel in the pages of history. 
 The intense hardships and sufferings of these 
 multitudes have freed hearts and minds of many 
 time honored superstitions and traditions which 
 composed the outer shell or form of religion. 
 
 While men are thus being torn away from 
 former religious limitations through the destruc- 
 tion of their mental fetiches, found to be unten- 
 able under the present every-day conditions of 
 life, a spirit within the deep religious nature of 
 the masses has been aroused, a something which 
 is causing them to realize a condition of spiritual 
 paucity upon their part and of bewilderment as 
 they vainly attempt to adjust their religious 
 ideas to this new world psychology into which 
 
 I they have been hurled. It is, therefore, not sur- 
 
 '■i ^ 
 
 prismg that people in general should be realizing 
 and acknowledging that they are facing a new 
 day of religious reality. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF RELIGION. 
 
 The influence of religion as a reconstructive 
 force as well as a destructive force is very clearly 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 59 
 
 seen in history. Certain fundamentally true re- 
 ligious doctrines and fraternal sentiments have 
 united peoples and have been the foundation 
 movements of progressive civilization, while 
 upon the other hand superstitious religious 
 teachings and prejudices taught by religious 
 leaders and preachers have had much to do with 
 the bringing about of wars. Search the pages 
 of history. The student will find but few wars 
 which were brought about quite independently 
 of the clergy, who exert such an influence upon_ 
 humanity and direct to so great an extent the 
 destinies of men. In the war just past the re- 
 ligious leaders in the various countries have ex- 
 erted so great an influence for the stimulation of 
 war valor that the power which they exercised 
 has been recognized by the governments and has 
 been to a great extent used to rally the people 
 and to stir their patriotism. 
 
 RELIGION AND THE PRESENT 
 PROBLEM. 
 
 As religion has played so important a part and 
 exerted such a strong influence in the formation 
 of the policies and ideals of nations it is timely 
 that the world should now begin to consider 
 what religion may have to offer toward the peace 
 of the world and the attending great interna- 
 tional problems which now confront the nations 
 
60 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 — what constructive influence it can exert in es- 
 tablishing more cordial relations and a better 
 understanding and sympathy between! peoples 
 of the different civilizations and races from which 
 the new great universal world civilization is to 
 arise, by extending its protecting justice and 
 peace to all the peoples and countries of the 
 world both large and small. 
 
 PROBLEM OF PEACE OR WAR. 
 
 The universal problem now in the minds of 
 people is this: Is humanity to continue indefi- 
 nitely this struggle between nations, with its 
 seasons of war separated by longer or shorter 
 periods of so-called peace, during which the 
 nations are recuperating and renewing their 
 engines of destruction in order to again enter 
 into open conflict, destroying that which has 
 taken years of labor to construct; or has the 
 time not come for a change from this archaic 
 system of destruction to one of justice, co-opera- 
 tion and construction between the nations, a sys- 
 tem conducive to peace? 
 
 Upon this question the world is now divided. 
 On the one hand are the extreme militarists, who 
 hold that the peace and prosperity of the nations 
 can only be maintained by developing and main- 
 taining the military strength of the individual 
 nation, that the world progresses through mili- 
 
/ 
 
 AND RECONSTRUCTION 61 
 
 tary valor, that peace is devitalizing to a nation, 
 and that without war a nation becomes effemi- 
 nate and decadent. Then, upon the other hand, 
 there are those who hold a view quite opposite 
 to that of the militarists ; namely, that peace and 
 co-operation — not military conflict and destruc- 
 tion — are the conditions under which the high- 
 est virtues of man are bom and develop. 
 
 INTERDEPENDENCE OF NATIONS. 
 
 World conditions in this twentieth century are 
 not what they were in past epochs. In the pres- 
 ent time through travel, communication, and 
 commerce the interdependence of peoples and 
 nations has become a recognized factor hereto- 
 fore comparatively non-existent, which now has 
 to be met by the world. In primitive times in 
 sparsely populated countries, where families 
 were separated by distances, individual feuds, 
 quarrels, and warfare were the rule. But as the 
 lands filled up, cities were formed and people 
 lived in closer contact one with another, condi- 
 tions changed and became so modified that co-op- 
 eration between individuals became necessary 
 and conducive to the best good of all. When the 
 majority of the people in a land wanted law and 
 order, they established it; and with an adequate 
 police force order was forced upon the disorderly 
 members of society, and in this way life was 
 
68 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 made safe for the mass of the people. In other 
 words, from the material viewpoint, conditions 
 had changed. It no longer being possible for 
 one man to enrich himself at the expense of his 
 neighbor through pillage and theft, men then 
 began to co-operate, and in this new state of 
 interdependence each found his horizon of life 
 enlarged and his scope for developnient in- 
 creased. 
 
 From this same material standpoint a parallel 
 may here be drawn between the development of 
 peace between families or tribes and peace be- 
 tween nations. In past epochs nations and 
 peoples were separated by geographic bound- 
 aries, not easily surmountable. In those days 
 it was possible for the people of one country to 
 invade the territory of another nation and enrich 
 themselves by carr5dng off booty and plunder 
 (often in the form of bullion and slaves) and thus 
 from material considerations prosper through 
 war. But now in this day those ancient condi- 
 /^tions no longer exist. Now nations are so de- 
 ( pendent upon one another for finances, food- 
 \ stuffs, and supplies of all kinds, as well as for the 
 \ output of their own products, that their welfare 
 1 and prosperity no longer depend upon war but 
 \ upon peace, no longer upon conquest, but upon 
 \co-operation with neighboring nations. 
 
 In this present time nations lose far more 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 63 
 
 through war than they can possibly gain. A 
 nation now at war after gaining an overwhehn- 
 ing victory over an adversary, finds it quite im- 
 possible to exact sufficient tribute to recompense 
 it for the material outlay, the loss of life, and the 
 many terrible after-effects of war which it suf- 
 fers. Thus war has become a losing proposition, 
 one doomed to loss even before entered upon. 
 
 This interdependence of nations and peoples 
 is a new phase of world progress, which now 
 needs to be reckoned with in dealing with inter- 
 national and military matters. 
 
 MILITARISM CONDUCIVE TO WAR. 
 
 The development of national military power 
 and preparedness for war, so fervently advocated ' 
 by many as a national protection and a means 
 for peace, instead of making for peace has quite 
 the opposite effect, for it makes for war. A 
 standing army and a large and increasing navy 
 is not only a great economic drain upon a people, 
 but such a system in itself keeps alive the spirit 
 of war. It tends to make a people proud and 
 overbearing, and further the spirit of fear and 
 hatred between peoples, races and nations, thus 
 psychologically laying the foundation for strife 
 through the mental and moral destructive in- 
 fluences. The system of militarism keeps the spirit 
 of war alive, keeps the people in training for war. 
 
64 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 and places in their hands and ready for use at 
 all times the engines and instruments of war, 
 thus making war possible at short notice and 
 with little provocation. It is a recognized fact 
 that with a large and a growing armament and a 
 standing army in training for wai' the time comes 
 when the leaders of the people want to fight; 
 and when such a group of people want war, like 
 individuals under the power of the same warlike 
 thought, sooner or later a pretext will be found 
 f~^nd they will bring on a fight. Thus the means 
 of war become a cause of war, because these 
 means exert both a conscious and an unconscious 
 influence for war, increasing hatred between 
 nations and races, all of which must be consid- 
 ered as fundamental elements in the general psy- 
 chology of war, which psychology is the real 
 underlying cause of wars of aggression. 
 
 BAHAI PEACE TEACHING. 
 
 The Bahai Religion teaches that in order to 
 abolish the causes of war a blow must be struck 
 at all hatred and enmity between classes, races, 
 
 t nations and religions, and at the greed and ava- 
 rice inherent in savage man. In the words of 
 Abdul Baha we find that "it is established that 
 all the prophets of God have come to unite the 
 children of men and not to disperse them, and to 
 put in action the law of love and not enmity. 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 65 
 
 Consequently, we must throw aside all these 
 prejudices, the racial prejudice, the patriotic pre- 
 judice, the religious and political prejudices. We 
 must become the cause of unity of the human 
 race." 
 
 These disturbing causes, i. e., prejudices, are 
 at root in the soul of man. As the actions of 
 peoples as well as of individuals are but the re- 
 flection of their thought and ideals, action — na- 
 tional as well as individual — can be traced back to 
 the general and personal thought of the people. 
 The power of imagination is a far greater ele- 
 ment in life than material considerations, for the 
 actions of people are ruled by the power of their 
 sentiments, thoughts, affections, prejudices and 
 material desires. The cause of this recent world ' 
 war was greed, national prejudice, pride, hatred 
 and fear, all of which causes have their root in 
 the soul of man and arise through a lack of spirit- 
 ual assurance, poise and development. Peace 
 can only be permanently established by freeing 
 the world from this obsession of war thought, by 
 freeing the people from greed, fear, desire of 
 aggression, and from racial, national and re- 
 ligious prejudice, all of which make up the cause \ 
 of war. Because of this recent war the thinking \ 
 public is now alive to the need of this day, and T 
 realizes that the question of maintaining a last- 
 ing peace is by far the most important issue at I 
 
66 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 present before the world. The real inner peace 
 cannot be objectively forced upon a people or 
 peoples. It cannot come from without. It must 
 be bom in a people, spiritually and psychologi- 
 cally, before it begins to be manifest in their civic 
 and national life. And now the question is: 
 How is this inner change to be accomplished? 
 How are prejudice, hate, and materialism to be 
 overcome? The Bahais meet this question with 
 a positive teaching in word and deed of the divine 
 love principle of true religion. The Bahai Move- 
 ment, heralding the universal religious cause of 
 this new age, stands for the oneness in spirit and 
 in deed of all peoples of all religions, races and 
 nations. It therefore deals directly or indirectly 
 jwith the many attending human problems. 
 Abdul Baha teaches that now is the time "that 
 all men and nations shall make peace ; that there 
 shall be universal peace among governments, 
 universal peace among religions, universal peace 
 among races, universal peace among the deni- 
 zens of all regions. Today in the world of hu- 
 manity the most important matter is the ques- 
 tion of universal peace. The realization of this 
 principle is the crying need of the time." 
 
 RELIGION AND DEEDS. 
 
 This teaching holds aloft a high spiritual ideal 
 which must be realized in deeds and actions. 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 
 
 67 
 
 "These are the days of faith and deeds, not the 
 days of words and lip service." "The effect of 
 deeds is in truth more powerful than that of 
 words." "Deeds reveal the station of the man." 
 Such are the maxims of the Bahais. Therefore, 
 in advancing the ideal of peace upon earth it is 
 not merely advanced as an ethereal dream not 
 to be realized in this world, bu1("along with this" 
 ideal are presented certain international reforms 
 and institutions for which the Bahais stand, and 
 through the application of which they believe 
 that war and strife will cease and a constructive 
 system of co-operation will take the place of the 
 present and past strife and hatred between na- 
 tions. 
 
 The Bahai Cause teaches that bro therly love 
 is the means through which the true civilization 
 of humanity will be realized. Prejudice and 
 hatred between peoples of different classes, na- 
 tions, races or religions, are destructive factors 
 in the world, and are the cause of the retrogres- 
 sion of the race. Therefore, the followers of the 
 Bahai Movement, in order firmly to lay a foun- 
 dation for human solidarity, are doing their ut- 
 most tofiestroy these various forms of animosity 
 and prejudice by striving to implant in the hearts 
 of people the principles of the love of God. _, 
 
 
68 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 THE RACIAL QUESTION. 
 
 COne of the most serious questions of the day 
 that of the existing racial prejudice and hatred. 
 This distrust causes the oppression of one race 
 by another race, producing ill feeling and strife 
 and creating acts which sometimes come to open 
 
 r warfare. Those souls who have been touched 
 by the spirit of the Bahai Cause have bom in 
 their hearts a deep love for the people of other 
 races which precludes their ever harboring any 
 traces of racial antagonism, and is the basis of 
 justice and equity in their relations with all man- 
 
 l kind. When traveling around the world, visit- 
 ing the Bahai people in various countries. 
 Oriental and Occidental, one is much impressed 
 by the affinity and mutual trust and understand- 
 ing created between the peoples of different 
 races and colors by this religion of practical 
 brotherhood, and in the living principles of this 
 cause one finds the solution and means of adjust- 
 ment of this great and threatening menace to 
 humanity — race hatred. 
 
 Even in reading this brief sketch of some of 
 the various constructive Bahai principles herein 
 outlined it will be seen that each of these factors 
 is a necessary element and a part of the real 
 peace and prosperity of the world, so that the 
 doctrine of universal peace very properly belongs 
 
 I 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 69 
 
 in the Bahai philosophy and is one of its most 
 important principles. In voicing His cause 
 Baha'o'Uah said: "We desire but the good of 
 the world and the happiness of the nations; yet 
 they deem us a stirrer-up of strife and sedition 
 worthy of bondage and banishment — ^that all 
 nations should become one in faith and all men 
 as brothers ; that the bonds of affection and unity 
 between the sons of men should be strengthened ; 
 that diversity of religion should cease, and differ- 
 ences of race be annulled. What harm is there 
 in this? Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, 
 these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the 
 Most Great Peace shall come. Is not this that 
 which Christ foretold? Yet do we see yourn 
 kings and rulers lavishing their treasures more / 
 freely on means for the destruction of the human 
 race than on that which would conduce to the 
 happiness of mankind. These strifes and this 
 bloodshed and discord must cease, and all men 
 be as one kindred and one family. Let not a 
 man glory in this ; that he loves his country ; let 
 him rather glory in this ; that he loves his kind." 
 Moreover, during Baha'o'Uah's imprisonment, 
 in a series of epistles to the kings and rulers of 
 the world. He proclaimed a new day and age of 
 peace to follow these wars and times of trouble. 
 In these days the world is seeing his predictions 
 fulfilled. 
 
70 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 THE PARLIAMENT OF NATIONS. 
 
 In the writings of Baha'o'Uah and of Abdul 
 Baha are numerous treatises regarding peace 
 and unity, all of which taken togther form the 
 teaching and the attitude of the movement 
 toward this subject, nor is the teaching indirect 
 and vague in the methods it advances for the 
 ^Establishment of harmony between nations. The 
 I nations should come together and establish an 
 I international court of arbitration, supporting and 
 V enforcing its international decisions. Besides 
 ' military forces in each country sufficient to main- 
 tain national order, an international police should 
 be instituted in order to enforce the just decrees 
 of the international court of arbitration, so that if 
 one nation should threaten the peace and tran- 
 quillity of the world it could be forced into line 
 with the others without the horrors of a pro- 
 longed war. Such measures, together with the 
 strict neutrality of those nations not implicated 
 in the international dispute, and their refusal to 
 send either munitions of war or lend financial aid 
 to belligerent nations, would very shortly do 
 away with the possibility of war from a material 
 standpoint. The constructive teaching of peace 
 principles and true religion is slowly but surely 
 eradicating the war thought from the minds of 
 men. 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 71 
 
 Speaking of this international tribunal for the 
 judicial settlement of international troubles and 
 disputes Abdul Baha said: "A tribunal which 
 will be under the power of God, and under the 
 protection of all men. Each one must obey the 
 decisions of this tribunal, in order to arrange the 
 difficulties of every nation. About fifty years 
 ago in the Book of Akdas Baha'o'Uah com- 
 manded the people to establish the universal 
 peace and summoned all the nations to the divine 
 banquet of international arbitration, so that the 
 questions of boundaries, of national honor and 
 property, and of vital interests between nations 
 might be decided by an arbitral court of justice. 
 Remember, these precepts were given more than 
 half a century ago (at that moment no one spoke 
 of universal peace nor of any of these principles) 
 Baha'o*llah proclaimed them to all the sover- 
 eigns of the world. They are the spirit of this 
 age ; the light of this age ; they are the well-being 
 of this age." 
 
 PEACE PROTECTION. 
 
 While the Bahai Religion teaches peace prin- 
 ciples, it also teaches that vicious maraudersH 
 must be restrained by force, and the weaker and I 
 innocent must be protected; nevertheless, the I 
 power which will bring about a real and a lasting j 
 peace must be a spiritual power which will strike j 
 
72 . THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 I at and overcome the root or the primal cause of 
 war. 
 
 About forty years ago a book was written by 
 one who was under the training of Baha'o'llah, 
 one who then was prominent in the Bahai Cause 
 as a teacher and a philosopher. In this book is 
 found developed some of the Bahai teachings 
 upon world law and order. This Work was pub- 
 /"Hished under the title of "The Mysterious Forces 
 \ of Civilization," and is an exposition of Bahai 
 jThought and ideals relative to both national and 
 V^jitemational affairs. Although at the time it 
 was written the attention of the world in general 
 had not been called to arbitration and universal 
 peace, nevertheless, even more than twenty years 
 prior to that date Baha'o'Uah was la3dng the 
 foundation of His religion for world conciliation. 
 The following excerpt from the book in question 
 mentions arbitration backed up by a limited mili- 
 tary force as an institution through which war 
 may be eliminated : 
 
 "Yea, the true civilization will raise its ban- 
 ner in the center of the world, when some noble 
 kings of high ambitions, the bright suns of the 
 world of humanitarian enthusiasm shall, for the 
 good and happiness of all the human race, step 
 forth with firm resolution and keen strength of 
 mind and hold a conference on the question of 
 universal peace; when, keeping fast hold of the 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION V3 
 
 means of enforcing their views they shall estab- 
 lish a union of the states of the world, and con- 
 clude a definite treaty and strict alliance between 
 them upon conditions not to be evaded. WheriA 
 the whole human race shall have been consulted \ 
 through their representatives and invited to cor- ] 
 roborate this treaty, which verily would be a / 
 treaty of universal peace and would be accounted / 
 sacred by all the peoples of the earth, it would I 
 be the duty of the united powers of the world 
 to see that this great treaty should be strength- I 
 ened and should endure. / 
 
 "In such a universal treaty the limits of the / 
 borders and boundaries of every state should be / 
 fixed, as well as the customs and laws of every/ 
 government. All the agreements and the affairs^ 
 of state, and the arrangements between the vari-^ 
 ous governments, should be propounded and set- 
 tled in due form. The size of the armaments 
 for each government should likewise be definitely 
 agreed upon ; because, if in the case of any state 
 there were to be an increase in the preparation 
 for war, it would be a cause of alarm to the other 
 states. At any rate, the basis of this powerful 
 alliance should be so fixed that, if one of the 
 states afterwards broke any of the articles of it 
 the rest of the nations of the world would rise 
 up and destroy it. Yea, the whole human race 
 
I 
 74 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 L would band its forces together to exterminate 
 it. 
 
 "If so great a remedy should be applied to the 
 sick body of the world, it would certainly be the 
 means of continually and permanently healing 
 its illness by the inculcation of universal modera- 
 tion. Reflect that, under such conditions of life, 
 (no government or kingdom would need to pre- 
 pare and accumulate war materials, or would 
 need to pay heed to the invention of new weap- 
 ons of offense for the vexation and hurt of man- 
 kind. On the contrary, they would require a few 
 soldiers as a means of assuring the safety of the 
 state and punishing the wicked and rebellious 
 and preventing the growth of civil sedition. Not 
 more than these few would be needed. In the 
 first place, therefore, the servants of God, that 
 is to say, all the inhabitants of a state, would be 
 freed from bearing the burden of the tremen- 
 dous expense of an army. In the second place, 
 the many persons who now devote their lives to 
 the invention of instruments of war would no 
 longer waste their time upon such work, which 
 but encourages ferocity and blood-thirstiness, 
 and is repugnant to the universal ideal of hu- 
 manity. On the contrary, they would then em- 
 ploy their natural gifts in the cause of the general 
 well-being, and would contribute towards the 
 peace and salvation of mankind. All the rulers 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 75 
 
 of the world would then be settled on peaceful 
 thrones amid the glory of a perfect civilization, 
 and all the nations and peoples would rest in the 
 cradle of peace and comfort. ^_^ 
 
 "Some persons who are ignorant of the world 
 of true humanity and its high ambitions for the 
 general good reckon such a glorious condition of 
 life to be very difficult ; nay, rather impossible to 
 compass, but it is not so. Far from it, for, by 
 the grace of God, and by the testimony of the 
 Beloved (those near to the threshold of the 
 Creator), and by the incomparably high ambi- 
 tions of the souls that are perfect, and the 
 thoughts and opinions of the wisest men of the 
 age, there never has been and is not^ now any- 
 thing improbable and impossible in existence. 
 What are required are the most resolved deter- 
 mination and the most ardent enthusiasm. How 1 
 many things, which in ancient times were re- / 
 garded as impossibilities, of such a kind that the , 
 intellect could hardly conceive them, we now| 
 perceive to have become quite simple and easy. 
 Why then should this great and important mat- 
 ter of universal peace, which is verily the sun 
 among the lights of civilization, the cause of 
 honor, freedom and salvation to all, be consid- 
 ered as something improbable of realization. 
 
 "It is evident that the honor and greatness of 
 man have not arisen through blood-thirstiness. 
 
76 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 the destruction of cities and kingdoms, and the 
 ruining and murdering of armies and peoples. 
 
 [On the contrary, the cause of high-mindedness 
 and prosperity is based upon the cherishing of 
 justice and the S5mipathy with one's fellow citi- 
 zens, from the highest to the lowest, upon build- 
 ing up the kingdom, the cities and villages, the 
 suburbs and the country, and upon the freedom 
 and quiet of the servants of God in laying down 
 the foundation of the principles of progress, and 
 in the extension of the common weal, and the 
 Mncrease of wealth and general prosperity. 
 Reflect how many world-subduing kings have sat 
 on thrones as conquerors. For example, Hala- 
 koo Khan, Ameer Timur, who subjugated the 
 great continent of Asia; Alexander the Macedon- 
 ian, and Napoleon the First, who stretched the 
 hand of tyranny over three of the five continents 
 of the world. What advantages have resulted 
 from these vast conquests? Was any kingdom 
 established, or was there any gain of happiness? 
 Was any djmasty permanently settled thereby, 
 or did it mean merely the ending of the reign of 
 /"one particular dynasty? The only result pro- 
 duced by the world-conquering operations of 
 Halakoo and Jenghiz, provoking war on all sides, 
 was that the continent of Asia became like a 
 heap of ashes beneath the blaze of terrible con- 
 flagration. The only outcome of the great con- 
 
 L' 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 77 
 
 quest of Alexander the Macedonian, was the fall 
 of his sun from his throne as a ruler, and the 
 passing of his dominions into the hands of Cas- 
 sander, Seleucus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus. 
 Napoleon the First found no benefit in his vic^ 
 tories over the kings of Europe, but he ruined 
 well constituted kingdoms and well cultivated 
 countries. He destroyed hundreds of thousands 
 of men, terrorized and intimidated the whole / 
 continent of Europe, and ended his own life in a I 
 wretched captivity. Such were the results left/ 
 behind them by these kings and their huge con-l 
 quests." — ' 
 
 CO-OPERATION. 
 
 The Bahais hold that co-operation is the basic 
 principle upon which all institutions should be 
 founded, the co-operation of all for the good of 
 all. Laws should be so regulated that it will be "| 
 impossible for one man to enrich himself at the 
 expense or oppression of another. Through the 
 proper adjustment of political and commercial 
 relations between individuals and nations all will 
 live in harmony, happiness and in plenty. 
 
 ECONOMIC QUESTIONS. 
 
 Regarding the economic question, Abdul Baha 
 says: "No religious books of the past prophets 
 speak of the economic question, while the eco- 
 
78 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 nomic problem has been thoroughly solved in 
 /^the teachings of Baha*ollah. Certain regula- 
 tions are revealed which insure the welfare and 
 well being of all humanity. Just as the rich man 
 enjoys his rest and his pleasures surrounded by 
 luxuries, so the poor man must likewise have a 
 home, be provided with sustenance, and not be in 
 want. Until this is effected happiness is impos- 
 ^le. All are equal in the estimation of God; 
 their rights are one and there is no distinction 
 for any soul ; all are protected beneath the justice 
 of God." 
 
 ^ wa: 
 
 UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. 
 
 Linguistic differences between peoples and 
 nations have not been conducive to understand- 
 ing and mutual appreciation. In order to in- 
 crease the means of the inter-communication of 
 thought and humanitarian ideals between peo- 
 ples of different languages, the Bahais teach 
 r**that a universal language shall be adopted 
 / which shall be taught by all the schools 
 and academies of the world. A committee ap- 
 I pointed by national bodies shall select a suitable 
 \ language to be used as a means of international 
 I communication, and that language shall be 
 \ taught in all the schools of the world in order 
 \ that every one shall need but two languages, his 
 national tongue and the universal language. All 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 79 
 
 will acquire the international language." The 
 Bahais believe that the adpotion of a universal 
 language would be one of the various means for 
 the furthering of the universal Bahai ideals, 
 creating a better understanding between all 
 peoples. . 
 
 THE MASHRAK-EL-AZKAR. 
 
 In the Bahai Cause there is no priesthood nor 
 clergy. Each soul approaches God in prayer 
 without sacred rite or ceremony. Temples open 
 to all people of all religions are to be provided 
 for reading, meditation and prayer. These are 
 to be surrounded by hospices, hospitals, asylums, 
 schools, universities, etc., the whole group of 
 buildings to be known as a "Mashrak-el-Azkar," 
 which literaly means "The dawning point of the 
 mentionings of God." In these institutions is 
 symbolized both the spiritual worship and the 
 humanitarian service as taught by Baha'o'Uah. 
 Not long since in the city of Eshkhabad, in 
 Russian Turkistan, a Mashrak-el-Azkar was 
 built. At present the Bahais throughout the 
 world are uniting in the work of building the 
 first Mashrak-el-Azkar in America, which is to 
 be erected near the city of Chicago, upon the 
 shore of Lake Michigan, where a considerable 
 site has been acquired. It is anticipated that 
 the work of building will soon begin. 
 
[■: 
 
 80 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 THE METHOD OF TEACHING. 
 
 The Bahai teaching is given without money 
 and without price. Teachers are self-support- 
 ing, giving their time and services, save in rare 
 instances where people of means have been 
 known to furnish living and traveling expenses 
 for certain teachers while they were on missions 
 of teaching. The recompense for teaching is the 
 joy and satisfaction of serving in the cause of 
 truth. The teaching consists of first living the 
 principles of the cause in one's inner life and then 
 speaking of them to others. All believers are 
 \ teachers, each in his or her own sphere. The 
 ^ahais in no way form a close sect or cult. They 
 do not separate themselves from other people. 
 Their work is outward and in the world where 
 they are seeking to diffuse spiritual knowledge 
 and serve humanity. 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS. 
 
 In the teachings of Baha*o'llah He ordered 
 certain changes in the manners and customs of 
 people, through the observance of which the 
 world in general will be helped both materially 
 and spiritually. He advises the Bahais to be 
 tolerant, and in no way to separate themselves 
 from other people, nor denounce those of other 
 beliefs. All men are free to believe as they wish, 
 all are exhorted to unite in faith and lay aside 
 \ the prejudices and superstitions of past ages. Leg- 
 
 r 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 81 
 
 islation should be representative. The BahaisK 
 should be peaceful and law abiding citizensi 
 Their thought should be humanitarian above alj 
 else. Faith without works is not acceptableJ] 
 One's worship should be supplemented by a pure? 
 and useful life in the world. People should 
 marry. Asceticism is discouraged. Monogamy 
 is taught. Harshness and hatred are to be over- 
 come by gentleness and love. Man should not 
 use intoxicants as a beverage. Opium and 
 kindred drug habits are denounced, as is also 
 gambling. Baha'o'Uah forbade mendicity, 
 slavery, cruelty to animals, and many other 
 abuses which our western civilization has 
 already remedied, so it is hardly necessary 
 to mention them here. The following of these j 
 ordnances is already producing its good effect 
 in the many Bahai centers throughout the world 
 and good fruits are coming therefrom. The 
 business affairs of the Bahai Movement are con- 
 ducted by assemblies of consultation. Eventually 
 there will be a general assembly of consultation 
 composed of representatives for all parts of the 
 world. This will be known as "The Universal 
 House of Justice." 
 
 RISE AND FALL OF NATIONS. 
 
 True religion, morality, and the accompany- 
 ing high ideals have always gone hand in hand 
 
/ 
 
 82 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 with human uplift and progress; and conversely, 
 in times when irreligion and immorality have pre- 
 vailed, with the inevitable lowering of all ideals, 
 nations have retrograded and civilization has 
 fallen and decayed, and the people have been in 
 manifest loss. This principle can be seen work- 
 ing in the world of today in the rise and fall of 
 governments, nations and peoples. The follow- 
 ing words quoted from a recent interview with 
 Abdul Baha express his teaching upon this sub- 
 ject: 
 
 "This war has lasted very long, but it had to 
 come. The corrupt world needed such a purifi- 
 cation. The war was not an act of God, but 
 rather the results of the accumulation of our 
 own evil deeds. Because peoples and nations 
 did not act in accordance with justice, and t5rran- 
 nized innocent men, this war had to sweep away 
 all remnants of autocracy, absolutism and mili- 
 tarism, and usher in an era of democracy, equal- 
 ity before the law, and international peace." 
 
 As one studies deeply into the spirit and phil- 
 osophy of the Bahai Religion, one is impressed 
 with its similarity to the principles of the teach- 
 ings of Christ. Christ advocated peace, but dur- 
 ing these nineteen centuries there has been no 
 peace between men because that spirit of peace 
 has not become a reality between nations ; yet we 
 are told that the stone which was rejected by 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 83 
 
 the builders would become the chief cornerstone 
 of the temple. Many isolated experiences of in- 
 dividuals prove that the Christ philosophy of the 
 Sermon on the Mount can be applied with suc- 
 cess in one's individual relations with others, but 
 until now the nations have rejected the actual 
 practice of this philosophy as being unsuited to 
 their methods of solving their international prob- 
 lems. But now in the exposition of the workinj 
 philosophy of the Bahais one finds a safe and an 
 adequate connection between the spiritual ideals 
 of religion and material world conditions, which 
 offers a practical solution for the peace of na- 
 tions, and one quite possible of an early attain- 
 ment if the nations are able to carry out these 
 high ideals and principles, bringing them out 
 from the realm of the ideal to be resdized in thej 
 world of reality. 
 
 THE HOPE OF THE NATIONS. 
 
 While the mere cessation of open hostilities 
 on the fields of battle in Europe has marked one 
 great epoch of peace, the world has not yet at- 
 tained to the real foundation of a lasting peace. 
 This lasting world peace cannot come until in^ 
 ternational, economic and social justice is estab- 
 lished, and not before the psychological causes 
 of greed, desire for national aggrandizement at 
 the expense of other nations, hatred and animos- ( 
 
84 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 lity are wiped out between the different classes, 
 {^tions, races and religions. Suffering humanity 
 will surely look with sympathy and with a broad- 
 ness and a far-seeing vision upon a religious 
 teaching which is diffusing through the world 
 such a constructive philosophy for the recon- 
 struction of society as one finds being promul- 
 gated by the followers of this movement. 
 
 GROWTH OF THE BAHAI RELIGION. 
 
 The movement under The Bab was confined 
 to Persia and the adjacent countries. During 
 the ministry of Baha'o'Uah, the message was 
 taken to various other countries of the Orient 
 and now has spread the world around. There 
 are not only centers of Bahai teaching in Qiina, 
 Japan, Burma, India, Persia, Turkistan, Cau- 
 casia, the Turkish countries and in Egypt, but 
 there are Bahai centers in France, Germany, 
 England, and throughout the United States and 
 /Canada. This growth has been a comparatively 
 \ slow but steady one. It is not limited by relig- 
 ious or racial conditions, which is proven by 
 the many heterogeneous elements which this 
 cause is assimilating and fusing into one element, 
 which is the world type of man. 
 
 The universal principles of truth which the 
 Bahai Movement is teaching are already clearly 
 seen in the way in which this teaching appeals 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 85 
 
 to people of all religions, races, and nationalities. 
 The moment that an individual becomes touchecT^ 
 by the Bahai spirit he becomes a citizen of the I 
 world, quite freed from the limitations of his \ 
 former outlook or environment, while his former 
 social and religious prejudices are changed into 
 a desire to do something toward forming a world 
 brotherhood through tangible service to his fel- 
 low men. In the Bahai meetings — notably those 
 in the Orient — one sees Christians, Jews, Mos- 
 lems, Zoroastrians, Hindus and Buddhists min- 
 gling as brothers and eating at the same tables. 
 It has been the writer's privilege to travel ex- 
 tensively and to attend many such reunions. He 
 has spent much time in the Oriental countries 
 and has seen the spiritual blending of the Orient 
 and Occident, which process is being brought 
 about by the love and devotion of the Bahais one 
 for another. These people are really demon- 
 strating the power of divine love, for with them 
 it is so powerful as to overcome all religious and 
 racial antipathy and is producing real brother- 
 hood and peace. 
 
 Already the Bahai ideals are finding a warm 
 welcome among the more progressive Moslems 
 in various parts of the Oriental world as well as 
 among the Hindus and Zoroastrians in India, the 
 Buddhists in Burma and Japan, and the Jews and 
 Christians in various parts of the Orient and Oc- 
 
86 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 cident. The Bahai teaching does not come to 
 the people of these divers religions to destroy 
 their faith in the truths of their prophets. In- 
 stead this movement seeks to confirm them in 
 the true principles of the religion which they 
 already hold, while the universal application of 
 these principles of religion as taught by the 
 Bahais come a uniting power to draw all 
 of these different religious elements into one 
 great harmonious whole. The several testi- 
 nibnies of Oriental travelers who have contract- 
 ed with the Bahais in those lands assure us that 
 the movement is embracing a multitude of heter- 
 ogeneous religious elements, and that through it 
 already many Christians, Jews, Moslems, Zoro- 
 astrians, Buddhists and Hindus are united in 
 that spirit of universal religious brotherhood 
 which has been the hope of the prophets and 
 religious seers down through the ages. 
 
 w 
 
AND RECONSTRUCTION 87 
 
 AN EXHORTATION BY ABDUL BAHA. 
 
 "O People! The doors of the Kingdom are 
 opened — the Sun of Truth is shining upon the 
 world— the fountains of life are flowing— the 
 daysprings of mercy have appeared — the greatest 
 and most glorious light is now manifest to il- 
 luminate the hearts of men. Wake up and hear 
 the voice of God calling from all parts of the 
 supreme world — *Come unto me, O ye children 
 of men ; come unto me, O ye who are thirsty, and 
 drink from this sweet water which is descending 
 in torrents upon all parts of the globe !' 
 
 Now is the time! Now is the accepted time! 
 
 Look ye at the time of Christ; had the people^ 
 realized that the Holy Spirit of God was speak- i 
 ing to them through His Divine mouth they 
 would not have waited three centuries before 1 
 accepting Him. And now is it meet for you that f 
 ye are sleeping upon the beds of idleness and 
 neglect, while the Father foretold by Christ has 
 come amongst us and opened the greatest door 
 of bounteous gifts and divine favors? Let us 
 not be like those in past centuries who were 
 deaf to His call and blind to His beauty ; but let 
 us try and open our eyes that we may see him, 
 and open our ears that we may hear Him, and 
 cleanse our hearts that He may come and abide 
 in our temples. _ 
 
 
88 THE BAHAI REVELATION 
 
 These days are the days of faith and deeds — 
 not the days of words and lip service. Let us 
 arise from the sleep of negligence and realize 
 what a great feast is prepared for us, first eating 
 thereof ourselves, then giving unto others who 
 are thirsting for the water of knowledge and 
 hungering for the bread of life. 
 
 These great days are swiftly passing and once 
 gone can never be recalled; so while the rays of 
 the Sun of Truth are still shining, and The Center 
 of The Covenant of God is manifest, let us go 
 forth to work, for after a while the night v/ill 
 come and the way to the vineyard will not then 
 be as easy to find. 
 
 The light of knowledge hath appeared, before 
 which the darkness of every superstitious fancy 
 
 Iwill be annihilated. The hosts of the supreme 
 concourse are descending to assist all those who 
 rise up to serve their Lord, to subdue and gain 
 the victory over the city of the hearts, to pro- 
 claim the glad tidings of the coming of the Lord, 
 and to unite the souls of His creatures." 
 
Distributed by 
 
 Babai PablisMng Society 
 
 p. 0. Box 283, Chicago, Illinois 
 
 These books are sold at a price 
 just sufficient to cover the cost of 
 printing and handling. 
 
 The Mashrak-El-Azkar 
 
 By Chas. Mason Remey. 
 
 Comprising — Quotations from 
 Abdul Baha's words — An his- 
 torical sketch of the Bahai 
 Movement — A general explana- 
 tion of the Mashrak-El-Azkar 
 (Bahai Temple) — A description 
 of the Mashrak-El-Azkar in 
 Eshkhabad in Russian Turkistan 
 and — An account of the pre- 
 paratory work for building the 
 first Mashrak-E l-Azkar in 
 America, with descriptions and 
 illustrations of an exhibit of 
 nine preliminary designs for 
 this building, showing various 
 treatments in different styles of 
 architecture. 
 
 This book contains a portrait 
 of Abdul Baha and nineteen 
 architectural illustrations. 
 
 A large volume, bound in cloth, 
 $1.00. 
 
 Postage — additional. 
 
 This book weighs 2 pounds. For 
 postage, see parcel post rate between 
 your town and Chicago. 
 
 Bahai Teaching. 
 
 By Chas. Mason Remey. 
 
 Containing quotations from the 
 Bahai Sacred Writings and sev- 
 eral previously published articles 
 upon the history and aims of the 
 Teaching. 
 
 Bound in cloth $ .60 
 
 Postage, oc additional. 
 
 Constructive Principles of the 
 
 Bahai Movement. 
 
 By Chas. Mason Remey. 
 
 A booklet containing a brief sum- 
 mary of the history, institutions 
 and object of the Cause, with 
 special emphasis upon those uni- 
 versal principles for world prog- 
 ress, religious, social, and eco- 
 nomic which are foremost 
 amongst the burning questions 
 of the day now uppermost in 
 the minds of thinkers. 
 
 Bound in cloth $ .40 
 
 Postage, 5c additional. 
 
 Through Warring Countries to 
 the Mountain of God. 
 
 By Chas. Mason Remey. 
 
 An account of some of the ex- 
 
 geriences of two American Ba- 
 ais in France, England, Ger- 
 many, and other countries, on 
 their way to visit Abdul Baha 
 in the Holy Land, in the year 
 1914. 
 
 This book of travel is in the 
 form of a fac-simile of the au- 
 thor's manuscript. It contains a 
 hitherto unpublished portrait of 
 Abdul Baha, with twenty-eight 
 photographic illustrations o f 
 groups of people and places con- 
 nected with the Bahai Cause. 
 
 A large volume bound in 
 cloth $2.00 
 
 Postage additional. 
 
 This book weighs 2 pounds. For 
 postage, see parcel post rate uetweea 
 your town and Chicago. 
 
 The Bahai Movement 
 
 By Chas. Mason Remey. 
 
 This book describes the principles 
 of the Bahai Movement and out- 
 lines the history of the Cause. 
 
 Bound in cloth $.50 
 
 Postage 10c additional. 
 
Observations of a Bahai 
 Traveler. 
 
 By Chas. Mason Remey. 
 
 Treats of travels among the 
 Bahais of the Orient and of the 
 Teachinp:s from the viewpoint of 
 the various world religions; also 
 a brief history of the Movement. 
 Has 12 illustrations and one map. 
 
 Bound in cloth. 
 
 .$ .60 
 
 Postage 10c additionaL 
 
 The Bahai Revelation 
 and Reconstruction. 
 By Chas. Mason Remey. 
 
 A brief history of the Bahai 
 Movement and an exposition of 
 some of its most salient principles 
 with special emphaesis upon its 
 peace prog-ram and the influence of 
 relifirion for the harmony and the 
 peace of the nations. 
 
 Contains 
 Baha. 
 
 a portrait of Abdul 
 
 Bound in cloth $1.00 
 
 Postagre, 10c additional. 
 
 The Peace of the World. 
 By Chas. Mason Remey. 
 
 A presentation of the Constructive 
 Peace Tradings of the Bahai Re- 
 ligion. 
 
 Bound in cloth $ .75 
 
 Postage, 10c additional. 
 
 The New Day. 
 
 By Chas. Mason Remey. 
 
 A brief statement of the history 
 and teachings of the Bahai Revel- 
 ation. 
 
 A booklet bound in paper. 
 
 Price $ .15 
 
 6 copies $ .75 
 
 100 copies $12.00 
 
 Postage 2c per copy additional 
 and in quantities at parcel post rate. 
 
RE 
 K 
 
 LC 
 
 J 
 
 4 
 
 RETURN TO the circulation desk of any 
 University of California Library 
 
 or to the 
 
 NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 BIdg. 400, Richmond Field Station 
 University of California 
 Richmond, CA 94804-4698 
 
 H 
 
 AfC 
 
 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 
 
 • 2-month loans may be renewed by calling 
 (510)642-6753 
 
 • 1 -year loans may be recharged by bringing 
 books to NRLF 
 
 • Renewals and recharges may be made 
 4 days prior to due date 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AUG 1 2 2006 
 
 FOR, 
 
 DD20 12M 1-05 
 
 (G4427sl0)476B 
 
 . General Library 
 
U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES 
 
 iiimnniiii 
 
 CDDMOTTTD? 
 
 416436 
 
 8? 
 
 university' OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 FROH-THDBAHAI^BOOKS 
 
 orcitiuii[s-niisox>REiin 
 
 Copy No. 
 
 /^ 
 
 /7y...„.:. /7