BP 
 
 365 
 
 .R35 

 
 presented to the 
 UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 SAN DIEGO 
 
 by 
 
 IZETTA JEWEL MILLER
 
 2.0 
 
 The Bahai Movement 
 
 A Series of Nineteen Papers Upon 
 The Bahai Movement 
 
 BY 
 CHARLES MASON REMEY 
 
 Published in the Ninety-fifth Year after 
 the Birth of BahaVllah
 
 PRESS OF 
 
 J. D. MILANS & SONS 
 WASHINGTON, D. C.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THESE papers treating of the Bahai Movement 
 have been written at various times and places 
 during the past two years, some typewritten copies 
 of which have been circulated among people interested 
 in the work. Because of the growing interest in the 
 Bahai Cause and the increasing demand for literature 
 upon the subject, it now seems advisable to publish these 
 articles in book form, in the hope that they may be of 
 service to those who desire more knowledge of the 
 Bahai teaching. 
 
 C. M. R. 
 21 March, 1912, 
 Washington, D. C.
 
 In the Persian and Arabic languages each let- 
 ter has a numerical value and each name or word 
 has as its numerical value the sum of the values 
 of its component letters. A=l, B=2, H 5. 
 Thus 9 is the numerical value of the name Baha, 
 and this number, which is the greatest of simple 
 numbers, is used by the Bahais as a symbol of 
 the name.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 1. INTRODUCTION 1 
 
 II. THE BAB 6 
 
 III. BAHA'O'LLAH 14 
 
 IV. ABDUL-BAHA 25 
 
 V. THE MANIFESTATION OF THE WORD 
 
 OF GOD 35 
 
 VI. RELATION OF THE RAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 TO THE RELIGIONS OF THE PAST. . 42 
 
 1. CHRISTIANITY 43 
 
 JUDAISM 45 
 
 ISLAM 47 
 
 4. ZOROASTRIANISM 49 
 
 5. HINDUISM 51 
 
 6. BUDDHISM 53 
 
 7. MODERN THOUGHT 55 
 
 RESUME 57 
 
 VII. THE BAHAI SACRED WRITINGS 59 
 
 VIII. SOCIAL REFORMS, LAWS AND ORDI- 
 NANCES 64 
 
 IX. THE NEED OF THE TIMES 72 
 
 X. ORIENTAL-OCCIDENTAL UNITY 76 
 
 XL ETERNAL LIFE 80 
 
 XII. HEAVEN AND HELL 83 
 
 XIII. SCIENCE AND RELIGION 88 
 
 XIV. THE SUPERNATURAL 90 
 
 XV. EDUCATIONAL ASPECT OF THE BAHAI 
 
 TEACHING 91 
 
 XVI. THE BAHAI MOVEMENT AND THE ECO- 
 NOMIC QUESTIONS OF THE DAY 94 
 
 XVII. THE EVOLUTION OF MAN 96 
 
 XVIII. THE METHOD OF TEACHING AND THE 
 GROWTH OF THE BAHAI MOVE- 
 MENT 98 
 
 XIX. A PERSONAL TESTIMONY.. ,.103
 
 I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 At the present time the religious world is in a 
 state of change. It has broken away from the 
 cold and hard creed and dogma of the past, and 
 it is awakening to, and reaching out for, a 
 broader conception of truth the universal re- 
 ligion* This, the universal religion, is what The 
 Bahai Movement offers to the world. 
 
 While there are many philosophies, (re- 
 ligion, because of man's limitations, has taken 
 upon itself many and varying forms of thought) 
 from the spiritual view-point there is but one 
 religion. There is but one God and there is but 
 one spiritual relation between HIM and the in- 
 dividual souls of men. The knowledge of the 
 spiritual relation between the Creator and the 
 created is the one only and true religion. It is 
 the basic principle of all religious systems, and, 
 shorn of the superstitions and imaginations of 
 the past, it will be the religion of the future. 
 
 Through knowing, understanding and living 
 the principles of The Kingdom, men will become 
 united ; the various religions, sects, and cults will 
 cease to exist as such, and all men will live 
 as brothers. The Bahai Movement is actually 
 bringing about this milennial condition. Through 
 its teaching and influence the spiritual limi- 
 tations of an undeveloped humanity are disap- 
 pearing, and the Truth, which is the love of God, 
 is manifesting itself here on this earth as broth- 
 erhood among men. 
 
 This present day is characterized by a great 
 spiritual awakening, the like of which has never 
 before been in the world. This awakening is 
 manifest among all people, in all countries, and 
 under all conditions. During the past sixty-five 
 1
 
 2 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 years the world has entered upon a new spiritual 
 era: people who have made a study of the re- 
 ligious work of today realize this fact, notwith- 
 standing their own personal view-points. In the 
 Christian world we see the effect of this awaken- 
 ing in so convincing a manner that illustrations 
 are unnecessary. In the other religions the same 
 is clearly and strikingly visible in the many 
 changes and movements which, in these latter 
 years have characterized Judaism, Islam, Hin- 
 duism and Buddhism. This spiritual awakening 
 is universal. It manifests itself differently un- 
 der varying conditions, social, racial and re- 
 ligious, but considered as a whole, it indicates 
 that now the soul of the world is awake and 
 searching, and that nothing short of the uni- 
 versal truth will appease its hunger and quench 
 its thirst. It is this universal soul-need which 
 the Bahai teaching is meeting and satisfying. 
 
 The teachers and prophets, the founders of 
 the world-religions, have been seers as well as 
 channels of truth to the people of their days. 
 Through spiritual understanding and wisdom, 
 they foresaw this latter-day universal awakening 
 and demand for truth. They also foresaw the 
 supply for this demand in the coming of another 
 channel of divine grace, the Latter-Day Messiah. 
 This, the greatest of all manifestations, they 
 prophesied would arise with spiritual under- 
 standing and power, reveal and demonstrate the 
 universal truth, which exists in all religions, and 
 unite all men and establish the universal religion, 
 the Kingdom of God on earth. That this mani- 
 festation, the greatest of all GOD'S Messengers, 
 has come is the message that the Bahai Move- 
 ment is giving to the world. 
 
 There was a time when the religions of the 
 world were considered as isolated and separate
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 3 
 
 one from another, with no connection what- 
 ever; but now, in the light of this new teaching, 
 all are seen to have emanated from the one 
 source which is GOD. As parts of one great 
 body, they are organically connected. Each has 
 been a step leading humanity to a higher concep- 
 tion of the Creator and preparing souls for the 
 time when all men would unite, worshipping 
 HIM in spirit and in truth. Thus one prophet 
 appeared, building upon the foundation of his 
 predecessors, fulfilling their prophecies and ac- 
 complishing the hopes of their followers by 
 leading humanity on, a stage further, in soul de- 
 velopment. Each prophet prepared the way for 
 the coming of the succeeding prophetic dispen- 
 sation. In this way have all religious movements 
 of the past been integral parts of the foundation 
 of God's Kingdom here on earth, whose com- 
 pleted structure now is appearing in the Revela- 
 tion of Baha'o'llah, in which the prophecies, 
 hopes and fruits of all religions are realized. 
 
 The Bahai Movement offers to the world a 
 teaching applicable to the modern needs of hu- 
 manity. It offers religion renewed. All truth 
 emanates from "The Word of God" and through 
 GOD'S mouth-pieces, His anointed ones, it 
 comes into the world for the soul-quickening of 
 humanity. The teachings of all religions in their 
 beginning were pure but, as time passed, man- 
 created philosophy and thought crept in killing 
 the pure spirit of truth until, finally, little 
 remained save creed, dogma and ceremony. 
 So, a purer conception of truth being 
 needed, another divine revelation appeared. To- 
 day the creeds and dogmas of the past are with- 
 out spiritual potency. A new spiritual quicken- 
 ing is necessary, and, as of old, GOD has again 
 revealed His Word, that all men, of all nations
 
 4 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 and of all races, may receive more abundantly 
 than ever before, His spirit. This He has ac- 
 complished through the three inspired leaders of 
 the Bahai Movement: through The Bab, who 
 was the herald and the First Point of this Reve- 
 lation; through Baha'o'llah, who was the re- 
 vealer of The Word; and now through Abdul- 
 Baha, who is the expounder of The Word, in 
 whom all things are fulfilled. 
 
 Going back to the dawn of history one finds 
 the family to be the unit of civilization. Later 
 on, many families are found uniting under a pa- 
 triarch, forming a clan or tribe. Still 1 later are 
 found federations of clans or tribes, from which 
 nations have come into existence. Now the next 
 step is the absorbing of all nations and races into 
 one great world people. This is the order of the 
 progress of mankind, and in the fruit of the 
 teachings of Baha'o'llah is seen the beginning of 
 this great end. Civilization is the product 
 of religion. Each of the world's civili- 
 zations had its birth in a religious move- 
 ment. Civilization has always been the 
 fruit of the spiritual awakening of a people 
 who, by political and geographical barriers, were 
 isolated from external influences. In this day 
 geographic, political and social barriers have, 
 through travel and communication, been oblit- 
 erated until now man is limited only by the con- 
 fines of this planet. We are on the threshold 
 of an universal epoch. That which affects one 
 people politically, socially or financially, affects 
 the whole world, and the great universal civ- 
 ilization so rapidly advancing is casting its signs 
 before. In the Bahai teaching is the spiritual 
 power to unite men's souls. It is forming a spir- 
 itual nucleus from which will spring the univer- 
 sal civilization to be, of the magnitude of which 
 we can now form no conception
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 5 
 
 Today, has begun a new order of things upon 
 the earth. Mankind is attaining spiritual ma- 
 turity, and is demanding more spiritual food 
 than the old forms and dogmas of religion can 
 give him. Through spiritual enlightenment, ig- 
 norance is being dispelled, causing a change of 
 soul a change in man's nature and this change 
 is being felt the world round. The mission and 
 object of the Bahai Movement is the uniting of 
 men of all nations, religions and races in the 
 love of GOD and the brotherhood of man. Its 
 teaching is constructive. It fulfills the highest 
 hopes of the religions of the past, and is uniting 
 all men in the great universal religion of the fu- 
 ture.
 
 II. 
 
 THE BAB. 
 
 Mirza All Mohammed, known as The Bab,* 
 was born in October, 1819, in the city of Shiraz, 
 in southern Persia. His father, a Seyed or de- 
 scendant of the prophet Mohammed, died during 
 his infancy, whereupon the young child was 
 adopted into the family of an uncle, a man of 
 virtue, who reared him, giving him such ele- 
 mentary education in the Persian language as 
 was customary among the sons of the merchant 
 class to which he belonged. On attaining ma- 
 turity Mirza Ali Mohammed went into business 
 with his uncle and was for some time located 
 in Bushire upon the Persian Gulf. As a young 
 man he was noted for purity, gentleness, and 
 charm. Even those who afterwards opposed 
 and persecuted him and his followers so cruelly, 
 never attacked his personal character. Much 
 religious meditation, they claimed, had unbal- 
 anced his mind. 
 
 On May 23d, 1844, moved by the Spirit of 
 God, Mirza Ali Mohammed gave his teachings to 
 the world. At that time from various parts of 
 Persia, were gathered together in Shiraz eight- 
 een prepared souls, men of wisdom to whom it 
 had been given to understand spiritual realities, 
 and to these chosen disciples Mirza Ali Moham- 
 med revealed his mission. He was the door 
 ("Bab") or forerunner of a great prophet and 
 teacher soon to appear. He, The Bab, had been 
 divinely sent as a herald to warn the people of 
 the coming of The Promised One and to exhort 
 them to purify themselves and prepare for His 
 advent. One whom he entitled "He whom God 
 shall manifest," the Latter-Day Messiah, prom- 
 
 *"Bab" is the Arabic and Persian word for door or gate. 
 6
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 7 
 
 ised in all the revealed writings of the past 
 was soon to come and establish The Kingdom of 
 God upon earth. 
 
 These eighteen first disciples of The Bab were 
 known as "The Letters of The Living". They, 
 with himself as "The Point," formed the nu- 
 cleus for the dissemination of the new teach- 
 ing. As soon as The Bab had instructed these 
 disciples in his simple doctrines, he sent them 
 into various parts of Persia with the commis- 
 sion to teach and to proclaim his appearance. 
 He then, with one of his followers, went upon 
 the annual pilgrimage to Mecca where, before 
 a concourse of over one hundred thousand pil- 
 grims assembled from all parts of the Moslem 
 world, he made his first public declaration. 
 When he returned to Bushire, his cause was 
 known in many parts of the country, and was 
 so rapidly gaining adherents that the members 
 of the Mussulman clergy became alarmed lest 
 through the rise of tnis new cult they might 
 lose their hold over the people. Then were The 
 Bab's travels, teachings, and trials increased. 
 
 From Bushire The Bab went to Shiraz where 
 he was roughly treated by the Moslems, placed 
 under guard and ordered to remain within the 
 confines of his house. There, nevertheless, many 
 had access to him, were attracted, and believed 
 in his teaching, men of prominence and learn- 
 ing as well as those of the more humble walks 
 of life. The world about him was against him, 
 yet through the power of Divine Love he over- 
 came all obstacles and won the hearts of the 
 people. 
 
 The Bab next journeyed to Esphahan, where 
 by that time he had many followers. There he 
 was received by the governor of the city, a 
 Christian, who openly acknowledged belief in
 
 8 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 him and befriended him in many ways, giving 
 him facilities for meeting and teaching the 
 people. This aroused the anger of the clergy to 
 such a degree that the priests sought to put The 
 Bab to death. Then it was that the governor 
 concealed him in the official quarters where he 
 remained for some time in safety. 
 
 The friendly governor dying suddenly, and 
 The Bab's whereabouts becoming known, an or- 
 der was issued by the government in Teheran 
 for him to be conveyed thither. Accordingly, 
 under guard he proceeded toward the capital. 
 In the cities and villages along the route of 
 travel his message had preceded him, and 
 wherever he went he found eager listeners and 
 seekers whose souls he won. Even his captors 
 could not resist the spirit which flowed from 
 him, and many of them became his friends and 
 staunch supporters. 
 
 The ministers of state being informed of the 
 rapid growth of the Babi Movement and fearing 
 lest The Bab's presence in Teheran would agi- 
 tate the clergy and possibly produce a religious 
 uprising, another order was issued to the effect 
 that he should not approach the city but tarry in 
 a town not far distant. From there he was soon 
 removed to the fortress of Maku in the extreme 
 northwestern part of Persia. On this long, 
 cross-country journey The Bab passed through 
 many cities and, as always, his fame spread 
 widely, and many believed. and followed in his 
 path. 
 
 Among the most prominent of The Bab's fol- 
 lowers was Kurratu 1'Ayn, poet, orator and 
 heroine of the cause, who, after an eventful ca- 
 reer in which she stood forth as a powerful ex- 
 ponent of the new faith, suffered a martyr's 
 death. As a woman many decades ahead of her
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 9 
 
 time, her life and example are an inspiration to 
 all, and especially to her sisters of the Orient 
 who, through the cause for which she died, are 
 now being lifted from their former condition 
 of ignorance and oppression into one of knowl- 
 edge and freedom. 
 
 As one listens to the accounts of the lives of 
 the early Babis, (The Bab's adherents were 
 known as Babis) of their missions and labors, 
 sufferings and martrydoms, he sees the wonder- 
 ful spirit of the love of God which actuated 
 them as they responded to the call. One is 
 thrilled as he realizes that the days of a vital 
 and a burning faith, such as moved the apostles 
 and fathers of old, have again come to pass, for 
 this latter-day religion is bearing the same man- 
 ner of spiritual fruit as the religions of the past 
 bore in their earlier days. 
 
 The daily increase in the numbers of The 
 Bab's followers caused the Persian authorities 
 to remove him from Maku to a more remote im- 
 prisonment in the castle of Chih-rik, where he 
 could be more closely guarded and would be 
 less likely to communicate with the outside 
 world. At length, his following having attained 
 to great proportions, the clergy became thor- 
 oughly alarmed and instigated a heresy trial or 
 public examination of his doctrines. This in- 
 vestigation was held in Tabriz by the authority 
 of the governor of the province, and before the 
 tribunal The Bab was brought a prisoner. All 
 manner of insults and indignities were heaped 
 upon him, and finally he was flogged, one of the 
 chief mullahs applying the rods with his own 
 hands. After this The Bab was returned to his 
 former prison in the fortress of Chih-rik. 
 
 About this time began the early persecutions 
 and massacres of the Babis in Persia. Aroused
 
 10 THE BAIIAI MOVEMENT 
 
 by their priests, the fanatical Moslems fell upon 
 the believers in many parts of the land, pillaging 
 and burning their homes, and torturing and mur- 
 dering men, women and children. These crimes 
 are too revolting to be mentioned in detail. The 
 heart seems to stand still when listening to the 
 accounts of the marvelous courage and fortitude 
 of even the children, not to mention that of the 
 women and men. These souls with the greatest 
 calmness and joy submitted to the most fiendish 
 tortures and death rather than recant, or deny 
 their faith, when denial would have saved them. 
 One's heart beats rapidly when he realizes that 
 through this suffering these martyrs were light- 
 ing the way that people might be prepared to 
 meet the One promised to appear and establish 
 The Kingdom upon earth. 
 
 Sometimes Babi fugitives banded themselves 
 together to resist the attacks of the Moslems, 
 and in some instances they defended themselves 
 bravely only to be slaughtered in the end by the 
 overwhelming number of their adversaries. 
 That "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the 
 church" is again proven to the world, for with 
 the shedding of each drop of Babi blood the 
 cause gained numbers of adherents. People who 
 knew little or nothing of The Bab and his teach- 
 ings, save that a great prophet's forerunner had 
 come, were confirmed in the faith and went forth 
 to serve, and to die when called upon. 
 
 Islam is the state religion of Persia, therefore 
 that which shakes its power produces a like ef- 
 fect in the workings of the government. At 
 length, seeing the cause to be steadily on the 
 increase, the prime minister of the state ordered 
 that The Bab be killed, hoping thus to put an 
 end to the matter and to place himself in security 
 with the clergy and the people. Accordingly, The
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 11 
 
 Bab was again removed from the prison of Chih- 
 rik and taken to Tabriz, the seat of the local 
 government of the province. Here, on the 9th of 
 July, 1850, he suffered martrydom. 
 
 The Bab, with one of his most devoted fol- 
 lowers, a youth of noble family, was conducted 
 to an open square in the city and there the two 
 were bound and suspended by ropes against a 
 wall. A company of Armenian Christian sol- 
 diers was drawn up and the order to fire given. 
 When the smoke cleared, however, to the aston- 
 ishment of all present it was found that the aim 
 had been too high, and instead of harming the 
 captives the ropes had only been severed and the 
 two captives had dropped to the ground unhurt. 
 So great was the consternation caused by this in- 
 cident that the commander of the executing com- 
 pany refused to take further part in the affair, 
 and another company, of native soldiers, was or- 
 dered out and The Bab and his disciple were 
 again suspended before the wall. The ensuing 
 volleys riddled both bodies with bullets, and 
 death was instantaneous. Later, the remains 
 were cast out into a moat and there exposed to 
 public view as a warning of the fate which 
 awaited those who followed the new faith. 
 
 By night the body of The Bab was removed 
 by some of the faithful, and after being swathed 
 in silk it was disguised as a bale of merchandise 
 and deposited in a place of safety. As condi- 
 tions and wisdom demanded, from time to ti;r<e 
 this hiding place was changed, and finally, on 
 the 21st of March, 1909, in the presence of a 
 notable gathering of pilgrims from various parts 
 of both the Orient and the Occident, the body 
 of The Bab was laid to rest by Abdul-Baha, in 
 a sarcophagus, in the crypt of the shrine of The 
 Bab in the Holy Land.
 
 12 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 Although The Bab was without learning and 
 schooling, save that of a very elementary nature, 
 yet he was so richly endowed with spiritual or 
 inspirational wisdom that he discomfited the 
 learned mullahs until they feared discussion with 
 him, lest the people should see the weakness of 
 their arguments and the strength of his teach- 
 ings. He wrote with the greatest rapidity and 
 fluency, dictating both in public and private his 
 many treatises upon intricate theological ques- 
 tions. 
 
 During the four years of The Bab's imprison- 
 ment his numerous letters and epistles were, 
 with the greatest difficulty, smuggled out of the 
 prison and sent to the followers in various parts 
 of the country. These writings contain his in- 
 junctions to the believers for their guidance and 
 protection until the coming of "Him whom God 
 shall manifest." 
 
 The Bab's ordinances were given for the peo- 
 ple of his time only, and were commensurable 
 with the needs and conditions of the believers 
 during the interim between his manifestation 
 and the manifestation of the greater One to 
 come. The Bab was the "First Point" of this 
 revelation, the precursor of the greater One. 
 In his teachings he reiterated again and 
 again that, when "He whom God shall mani- 
 fest" appeared, all should turn unto Him, and 
 that He would reveal teachings and ordinances 
 which would replace the Babi sacred literature. 
 
 It is a matter of importance to note that the 
 one great event for which the Babi Movement 
 paved the. ^vay, was the manifestation of Baha- 
 'o'llah, treated of in the next chapter. It should 
 not be considered as a later development of the 
 Babi cause, but rather The Bab's mission should 
 be considered as simply introductory to it.
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 13 
 
 Running through The Bab's writings are found 
 countless allusions to the spiritual power, splen- 
 dor and glory of Baha'o'llah, who was then in the 
 world, but unknown to men. He was the inspira- 
 tion of The Bab, to Whom The Bab continually 
 testified in the most eloquent and stirring of his 
 verses, and of Whom he bore witness by a life 
 of suffering and imprisonment, crowned by mar- 
 tyrdom.
 
 HI. 
 
 BAHA 'O' LLAH 
 
 Mirza Hussein AH of Noor, more widely 
 known as Baha'o'llah, was born in Teheran, Per- 
 sia, on the 12th of November, 1817. His family 
 was one of wealth and note, His father as well 
 as other relatives, having been ministers of the 
 government, serving in various official capacities. 
 
 During Baha'o'llah's youth, His father died, 
 leaving Him, the eldest son, as the head of the 
 family. Being of a contemplative disposition, 
 the public life which His father had led had no 
 allurements for Baha'o'llah. He chose instead, 
 one of comparative retirement, managing the 
 family estates and affairs, and supervising the 
 education of His brothers and sisters. Even in 
 His youth the marks of wisdom and distinction 
 were upon Him. 
 
 In His home Baha'o'llah was taught the Per- 
 sian language, and wisdom, knowledge and the 
 deepest of spiritual mysteries were His, through 
 His own studies, meditations and inspirations. 
 Later, these basic principles of being are re- 
 vealed in His writings with power and force. 
 These truths are the foundation of the Bahai 
 cause. They are living, spiritual principles, for 
 they appeal to and satisfy the soul, and meet 
 all of the moral and spiritual needs of life. 
 
 Baha'o'llah never attended any school or in- 
 stitution of learning. His knowledge was inspi- 
 rational. It came from the source of all knowl- 
 edge, and is the source of knowledge for all. 
 
 At the time The Bab made his declaration 
 and sent his disciples forth from Shiraz, Baha- 
 'o'llah, then about twenty-seven years of age, was 
 residing in Teheran. When the glad tidings of 
 The Bab's manifestation reached the capital, 
 14
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 15 
 
 Baha'o'llah was among the first to respond to 
 the call, and He, in turn, proclaimed the cause, 
 upholding it firmly. He visited the city of Noor, 
 the home of his family, and other neighboring 
 cities and towns, where He engaged in expound- 
 ing The Bab's teachings, later returning to Te- 
 heran, there again to take up His work. 
 
 The Bab and Baha'o'llah had no family con- 
 nection whatever, the former being of Arabic- 
 Persian descent, while the latter was of ancient 
 Persian lineage. These tiuo never met in person, 
 yet in spirit they were intimate even in their 
 deepest thoughts and inspirations. Between 
 them a correspondence was established which 
 was carried on up to the last days of The Bab's 
 mission here on earth. 
 
 When, during his imprisonment in Chih-rik, 
 The Bab foresaw the approaching day of his re- 
 moval to Tabriz and his martyrdom, he sent by 
 faithful followers to Baha'o'llah a package con- 
 taining a number of his writings, his pencase 
 and seal ring. At that time, though Baha- 
 'o'llah was known only as his staunch supporter, 
 yet The Bab saw in Him divine signs not yet 
 manifest to others. 
 
 It was not long after The Bab's martyrdom 
 that a great calamity befell the believers. A cer- 
 tain enthusiast, who (though a believer in The 
 Bab) was quite ignorant of the teachings, be- 
 came unbalanced through brooding over the per- 
 secution and slaughter of his brother believers, 
 and in the hope of being able to better their con- 
 dition made an attempt upon the life of the 
 Shah of Persia. The guilty one was imme- 
 diately killed by the royal attendants. Without 
 inquiring further into the matter, his crime was 
 taken, by the Shah and his ministers, as a dem- 
 onstration of the Babis, as a body, against the gov-
 
 ]() THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 eminent. Then the innocent were made to suffer 
 for the guilty. This was the beginning of a sea- 
 son of the most bloody massacres and horrible 
 torture of the believers. Even to be suspected 
 of being a Babi was in many cases sufficient 
 to cause the extinction of a whole family. In 
 Teheran some eighty believers were handed over 
 by the government to the Moslems to be killed, 
 each being subjected to some unique torture be- 
 fore the final slaying. 
 
 It was a time of greatest trial and test for the 
 Babis. Each calamity was followed by one, more 
 terrible; yet through all, the wonderful hope of 
 The Promised One to come and their enthusias- 
 tic love and devotion to the memory of their 
 martyred master, The Bab, upheld and strength- 
 ened them to meet every kind of persecution. 
 
 In the midst of these troubles BahaVllah came 
 boldly to the front. He was placed under ar- 
 rest, and spent four months in chains in the 
 dungeon of one of the Teheran prisons. Later 
 on, it being proved that He was innocent of any 
 plot against the government, He was sertt by the 
 royal order into exile to Baghdad in Asiatic 
 Turkey. There it was thought He would be so 
 far removed from the Babis in Persia as to de- 
 stroy His prestige as leader among them. These 
 events occurred in 1852, the ninth year after the 
 declaration of The Bab. 
 
 Baha'o'llah's exile to Baghdad marks an im- 
 portant epoch in the development of the cause, 
 for from that time He stands preeminent as a 
 power in that persecuted community. 
 
 After the fury of the massacres of 1851-1852, 
 the Babis were in a deplorable condition. 
 Many of the disciples and personal associates of 
 The Bab had been martyred, while, on account 
 of the troubles, the few remaining ones who had
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 17 
 
 personally been taught by him were all but cut 
 off from association with the younger followers. 
 It had not been possible to disseminate, beyond a 
 very limited circle, the writings of The Bab, so 
 that the vast majority of the believers knew little 
 of his real teachings. In addition, they were actu- 
 ated by a powerful spirit of devotion to their 
 cause; a devotion which, because of its very in- 
 tensity, at times led them into difficulties. Here 
 and there arose false claimants for The Bab's 
 successorship, all of which led to confusion and 
 trouble. 
 
 This was the condition that prevailed when 
 Baha'o'llah reached Baghdad. Immediately He 
 directed His attention and energy toward bring- 
 ing knowledge and assurance to the followers. 
 He taught them the real significance of The 
 Bab's teachings and little by little, through un- 
 derstanding, their undirected enthusiasm found 
 power in restraint and strength. Thus He pre- 
 pared them to recognize by their spiritual facul- 
 ties, The One whose coming The Bab had pro- 
 claimed. 
 
 The Babis now increased in firmness and 
 steadfastness, especially those in Baghdad. As 
 the fame of Baha'o'llah spread abroad, men of 
 learning came to converse wi*h Him and listen 
 to His teachings, and of these many believed. 
 As the believers increased in number, the anger 
 of the Moslem clergy was aroused and this, in 
 turn, gave rise to other serious difficulties. Baha- 
 'o'llah was then led to seek a solitary retreat in 
 the mountain fastness of Kurdistan, where He re- 
 mained for two years in spiritual preparation for 
 His coming manifestation and ministry. 
 
 Upon Baha'o'llah's return to Baghdad/ great 
 was the joy of the Babis. By that time they 
 were realizing their spiritual strength, and they
 
 18 THE; BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 welcomed their teacher with all the fervor and 
 enthusiasm of Oriental devotees. 
 
 Believers from various parts of Arabia and 
 Persia now came to Baha'o'llah, seeking knowl- 
 edge from Him. Then they went forth again 
 to teach with a deeper understanding than be- 
 fore, and with a renewed zeal and fervor; and 
 the cause grew in strength. 
 
 These developments were closely watched by 
 the Moslem priests. Fearful of the loss of their 
 own hold upon the people, which they saw wan- 
 ing as the light of the new teachings spread, 
 the priests incited the government against Baha- 
 'o'llah, with the determination to do all they 
 could to curb His power. Accordingly, after 
 some correspondence between the Persian and 
 Turkish governments, an international arrange- 
 ment was formulated, by which Baha'o'llah was 
 ordered to proceed to Constantinople, there to 
 await the pleasure of the Ottoman Sultan, to 
 whom he became temporally subject. 
 
 Upon hearing that their chief was to be re- 
 moved from Baghdad, the believers became wild 
 with grief, the greatest consternation prevailing 
 among them. A number of them prepared to ac- 
 company Him in His further exile. When, in 
 obedience to the summons of the Sultan, Baha- 
 'o'llah left Baghdad previous to starting on His 
 long journey, He encamped a short distance from 
 the city in the Garden of El Rizwan. There He 
 was surrounded by some of His most devoted 
 followers believers in The Bab. 
 
 To the most trusted of these followers Baha- 
 'o'llah, during His twelve days of sojourn in El 
 Rizwan, revealed Himself and His mission: 
 that He was The Promised One foretold by 
 The Bab; that He was the One promised 
 by all the prophets to appear in the latter days
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 19 
 
 and establish GOD'S Kingdom, the great univer- 
 sal brotherhood of nations ; that He was the One 
 through whose inspired guidance the difficulties 
 of the believers would be removed ; by steadfastly 
 and unitedly following Whose injunctions those 
 blessings for which the believers had hoped, suf- 
 fered and prayed would be realized. This hope 
 He extended to the adherents, exhorting them 
 to renew their energies, faith and assurance. 
 
 The Manifestation of Baha'o'llah took place 
 in April, 1863, nineteen years after the declara- 
 tion of The Bab.* This was the goal toward 
 which all the Babis had directed their attention, 
 beyond which no one had seen. Now, having at- 
 tained to the meeting of The Promised One, the 
 believers found themselves upon the threshold 
 of an outlook so vast, and of a work so great, 
 that it was only with the sustaining power of 
 their new teacher that they were able to face the 
 difficulties which confronted them. 
 
 The period of preparation over, the trusted be- 
 lievers found themselves in the full light of the 
 day of GOD, compared with which the prepara- 
 tive light of The Bab had been but as a few rays. 
 
 Traveling overland by caravan, through Irak- 
 Arabi and Asia Minor to Samsaon on the Black 
 Sea, and from there by ship, Baha'o'llah and His 
 band of followers, after a fatiguing journey, 
 reached Constantinople. 
 
 Here the exiles remained for several months 
 under, governmental surveillance, before they 
 were sent under military escort to Adrianople, in 
 the interior of Roumelia. There, it was thought, 
 
 *In the writing's of The Bab are certain verses 
 prophetic of the rise of Baha'o'llah in the ninth year of the Babi 
 cause, and of His manifestation in the nineteenth year of the 
 same. These prophecies wer given symbolically, in snch man- 
 ner as to be understood only by the faithfnl.
 
 20 THE; BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 Baha'o'llah would be so far removed from the 
 world which His cause was agitating as practi- 
 cally to destroy His power as a religious leader, 
 thus striking a fatal blow at the new faith. It is 
 to be noted that each attempt upon the part of 
 the temporal powers to oppose this cause marks 
 an epoch in the demonstration of its spiritual 
 power. 
 
 Baha'o'llah and His exiled followers remained 
 in Adrianople for five years, during which 
 time the cause grew and the believers at- 
 tained to moral and spiritual virtues, their faith 
 manifesting itself in their daily lives. This was a 
 time of growth and preparation. Through per- 
 sonal contact, those who were with Baha'ollah 
 grew in the shadow of His wisdom, while those 
 at a distance had their souls made strong and 
 steadfast through His written teachings ; for in 
 Him all found the realization of the spiritual 
 power, glory and majesty of "Him whom God 
 shall manifest". 
 
 While in Adrianople Baha'o'llah directed His 
 power to bringing the believers to a realization 
 of His mission. The cause under The Bab's in- 
 spiration was more or less local, being confined 
 to a few Islamic countries. Its character and in- 
 stitutions were commensurable with the condi- 
 tions to which it ministered. It fulfilled its pur- 
 pose and when this was accomplished in the ap- 
 pearance of Baha'o'llah, the Babi Movement, as 
 such, ceased to exist. 
 
 With the manifestation of Baha'o'llah, not 
 only did the followers cease to be known as 
 Babis, becoming Bahais in name, but in the deep- 
 est spiritual sense did they receive from Baha- 
 'o'llah that soul-quickening touch, which created 
 within them the power to go forth to all the 
 world, carrying the message of peace, attracting
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 21 
 
 people of all nations and religions, and fulfilling 
 that which He sent them forth to accomplish. 
 
 Dating from the time of the declaration 
 of Baha'o'llah in the Garden of El Riz- 
 wan, the cause assumes a universal or a world 
 character; for it must be understood that the 
 teachings of Baha'o'llah are not limited to the 
 needs of certain conditions and countries, nor to 
 the oriental peoples. He comes, The One prom- 
 ised by all religions, for all peoples under all con- 
 ditions, both oriental and occidental. His teach- 
 ing is universal ; it is for the whole world. 
 
 Baha'o'llah achieved His work only under the 
 greatest difficulties. Among those followers 
 who accompanied Baha'o'llah in exile was His 
 half-brother, who failed to comprehend Him and 
 the scope and magnitude of His mission. This 
 man resented Baha'o'llah's growing power, and 
 his opposition, together with the spread of the 
 faith, created troubles with the Turkish govern- 
 ment, which increased until an order was issued 
 separating him from the believers, and sending 
 Baha'o'llah a prisoner, to the fortress of Akka 
 on the coast of Syria. 
 
 It was in the summer of 1868 that Baha'o'llah 
 and about seventy of his followers, men, women 
 and children, were taken in captivity ; overland 
 to Gallipoli, where they were embarked in a ship 
 sailing for Egypt. Arriving in the harbor of Al- 
 exandria, the exiles were transferred to another 
 vessel which landed them in Haifa, but a few 
 miles across the bay from Akka, a distance which 
 was covered in small boats. 
 
 Akka is the Acre of the time of the crusaders, 
 more anciently known as Ptolemais. Her anti- 
 quated ramparts and crumbling fortifications, the 
 scenes of some of the bloodiest combats of mili- 
 tary history from the ancient times of the Phoe-
 
 22 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 nicians down to the Napoleonic war in Syria, tes- 
 tify to an earthly power which is of the past; 
 while her name, so intimately connected with the 
 Bahai cause, to-day is most closely associated 
 with that great constructive movement for spir- 
 itual power and peace, the glad tidings of which 
 were first sent forth to all the world from behind 
 her prison gates. 
 
 For some years prior to Baha'o'llah's arrival, 
 the fortress of Akka had been used as a prison 
 and a place of exile to which the Sultan of Tur- 
 key sent his political opponents. The deadly 
 climate of that fever-stricken rock slowly but 
 surely accomplished the desired destruction of 
 many of these unfortunate ones. 
 
 Here Baha'o'llah and His people were thrust 
 into two rooms of the barrack prison. With poor 
 and insufficient food, and water not fit to drink, 
 fever and sickness broke out among the believers. 
 Their sufferings were most intense, yet through 
 all they were spiritually in the greatest joy and 
 peace, for they realized that only by meeting the 
 very worst of this world's conditions, could 
 Baha'o'llah relieve and change those conditions; 
 while, as for themselves, they were only too 
 happy and contented to share His sufferings. 
 
 It was during this close confinement of Baha- 
 'o'llah within the prison of Akka that He made 
 His declaration to the world. This was done by 
 sending a series of epistles, written in Adrianople, 
 to the rulers and potentates of the earth. In these 
 missives He clearly states His mission, and He 
 announces to all this latter-day call of The 
 LORD the call of unity, harmony, and peace. 
 
 Very soon the officials and officers of the city 
 began to realize the greatness of Baha'o'llah. 
 and some among them believed in Him. His 
 fame as a teacher spread, and actuated by that
 
 veneration for wisdom, so peculiar to the Orient, 
 many sought His presence, to be awakened to 
 those truths the existence of which they pre- 
 viously had not realized. 
 
 After two years of close confinement in prison, 
 Baha'o'llah was given the liberty of the city and 
 allowed to live in a house provided for Him and. 
 His family. His followers entered into various 
 occupations in the town and vicinity, and the 
 material condition of the community was greatly 
 improved. 
 
 In the early days of the imprisonment of 
 Baha'o'llah in Akka, when He was most closely 
 guarded and with the greatest difficulty His 
 communications were transmitted to those 
 outside the prison, His followers often journeyed 
 from Persia overland, for months, to obtain but 
 a glimpse of Him standing at His barred window 
 or to gaze at Him from afar as He walked upon 
 the parapet of the prison, and then they returned 
 to their homes with renewed fervor and zeal in 
 promulgating His cause. Later, these pilgrims 
 from various countries had access to Him, and, 
 quickened by His power, went forth to proclaim 
 His Cause in the uttermost parts of the earth. 
 
 Besides those who saw Him personally, Baha- 
 'o'llah reached thousands in distant lands, and 
 satisfied their thirst for knowledge, through His 
 tablets, which were epistles of exhortation, ad- 
 vice and explanation written in response to let- 
 ters from believers and seekers. 
 
 Baha'o'llah wrote also general treatises relat- 
 ing to matters both religious and secular. In 
 these inspired writings are found the basic prin- 
 ciples upon which are built the institutions of the 
 Bahai faith. 
 
 During the latter years of His ministry, Baha- 
 'o'llah was allowed to spend much time in the
 
 24 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 country in the vicinity of Akka, even visiting 
 Haifa and Mt. Carmel. At the villa of Behje 
 (situated on the plain of Akka) He departed this 
 life in the month of May, 1892, after forty years 
 of hardship, imprisonment, and exile, that the 
 soul of the world might be quickened with the 
 life of the spirit. The tomb of Baha'o'llah, at 
 Behje, is greatly venerated by the many pilgrims 
 who yearly visit it from all parts of the world. 
 
 Through Baha'o'llah this great teaching was 
 given to man. His function was that of the re- 
 vealer. Though as a man He lived a life in har- 
 mony with the conventions of His oriental 
 environment, yet as The Revelator, the mouth- 
 piece of The Spirit, His teachings are univer- 
 sally applicable to all peoples under all con- 
 ditions. With the close of His ministry the 
 latter-day revelation was complete as a revela- 
 tion. The next step in the development of the 
 cause was that of explaining, establishing and 
 demonstrating these revealed truths in the world 
 of practicality. For the accomplishment of this, 
 Abdul-Baha, the son of Baha'o'llah, was the 
 chosen instrument.
 
 IV. 
 
 ABDUL- BAHA. 
 
 Abdul-Baha Abbas, also known as Abbas Ef- 
 fendi, the eldest son of Baha'o'llah, was born in 
 Teheran, Persia, on the 23d day of May, 1844, 
 the very day upon which The Bab made his de- 
 claration to the disciples in Shiraz. 
 
 At a very early age Abdul-Baha was called 
 upon to share the sufferings of his father. When 
 Baha'o'llah's persecution began with His impris- 
 onment in Teheran and exile to Baghdad, His 
 property was confiscated, even to personal effects, 
 while the members of His family suffered in- 
 tensely for the bare necessities of life. 
 
 Abdul-Baha's schooling was interrupted in his 
 childhood by these persecutions, and afterward 
 he never attended any school. However, through 
 the constant companionship of his father, from 
 whom his inspiration came, and from his loving 
 service to all people both high and low, an un- 
 derstanding, wisdom and knowledge are his 
 which are of God. 
 
 Abdul-Baha accompanied Baha'o'llah upon His 
 winter journey from Teheran to Baghdad, and 
 during the years of exile there was constantly 
 at his father's right hand, serving and helping 
 Him in His work of teaching the people. 
 
 Abdul-Baha was the first to recognize the di- 
 vine power of Baha'o'llah. He was the first soul 
 quickened by the spirit of Baha'o'llah, and the 
 first to arise in the service of the Kingdom. In 
 Abdul-Baha's life of devotion to the cause and 
 his practice of the precepts of Baha'o'llah, the 
 perfect life of The Spirit is manifest, and in him 
 all things are found to be accomplished. 
 
 In Adrianople Abdul-Baha took upon himself 
 the task of relieving Baha'o'llah of all possible 
 25
 
 26 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 cares of daily life, so that He might devote 
 Himself entirely to His mission. During the im- 
 prisonment in Akka, when hardship and sickness 
 were encompassing the believers on every side, 
 it was Abdul-Baha, who, through his buoyancy 
 of spirit, gave courage to the distressed ones. It 
 was he who nursed the sick and through the 
 touch of his hand imparted strength to the weak, 
 while the light of his great love illumined all and 
 empowered them to overcome their ills. 
 
 In the written testament of Baha'o'llah, as well 
 as in His verbal teachings, which have come 
 down to us through those who were near to Him, 
 He appointed His son Abdul-Baha to succeed 
 Him in His spiritual mission, and designated 
 Him as the one who should complete His work 
 in the world. The father's mantle has fallen upon 
 the shoulders of the son. The staff of Baha'o'llah 
 is now in the hands of Abdul-Baha, and the 
 Spirit of God, which spoke through Baha'o'llah 
 revealing TRUTH to the world, is now mani- 
 festing to the world through Abdul-Baha's life 
 of service to God and to man. 
 
 Abdul-Baha is the center of the Bahai cause. 
 He is the one to be emulated. Through follow- 
 ing him the Believers will attain to the spiritual 
 fullness of the Bahai life. Abdul-Baha is the be- 
 loved son into whose hands has been intrusted 
 the guidance of the people of The Kingdom. 
 
 Abdul-Baha's mission is that of the explainer, 
 the establisher. Through his life of service he 
 is teaching and leading the people to the realiza- 
 tion of the revelation of Baha'o'llah. By his 
 life of example he is teaching the heart of man- 
 kind and infusing spiritual consciousness into 
 humanity. 
 
 Abdul-Baha comes with the power of God to 
 live and manifest the life of The Kingdom. This
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 27 
 
 he is demonstrating to the world, for through 
 his ministry all things as revealed and intended 
 by Baha'o'llah are being accomplished. 
 
 Almost his entire life Abdul-Baha has passed 
 under the temporal law as an exile and a reli- 
 gious prisoner. At times he was only under mili- 
 tary surveillance, and again imprisoned behind 
 barred doors. Yet despite these physical hin- 
 drances his spiritual work has prospered and his 
 message of glad tidings has gone the world 
 round, taking with it the peace of the Spirit to 
 thousands of souls of every race and religion. 
 
 That Abdul-Baha' s mission is a purely spiritual 
 one needs no further demonstration than that 
 which is already visible in the world. With all of 
 the worldly powers against him, but with the 
 power of God with him, he is accomplishing that 
 which he was sent to accomplish, for from him is 
 emanating that power which is uniting men's 
 hearts and drawing into The Kingdom the hun- 
 gering souls from all peoples. Abdul-Baha is 
 harmonizing Christians, Jews, Moslems, Zoroas- 
 trians, Buddhists and Hindus in the one and the 
 true faith, the Fatherhood of God and the Broth- 
 erhood of man. The results of his work prove 
 his cause. 
 
 The name Abdul-Baha signifies the title of its 
 bearer, ''The Servant of God". Abdul-Baha 
 makes but one claim for himself, that of abso- 
 lute servitude in the path of God. The 
 Spirit of Baha'o'llah is the source of Ab- 
 dul-Baha's inspiration and his strength. He 
 seeks no prestige nor prominence for himself. 
 His demonstration to the world is through deeds. 
 His method of teaching is through deeds. His 
 mission is to establish the deeds of The Kingdom 
 in the lives of his followers. 
 
 With the passing of Baha'o'llah (May, 1892)
 
 began Abdul-Baha's divine mission as "The Cen- 
 ter of the Covenant". When he arose invested 
 with the power .of the Spirit, began the third and 
 final period of the establishment of The King- 
 dom here among men. 
 
 Abdul-Baha is an exile from his country and, 
 until the re-establishment of the Turkish Con- 
 stitution in the summer of 1908, he was a reli- 
 gious prisoner, held in the fortress of Akka. 
 With this political change, he with many other 
 prisoners and exiles was freed and is no longer 
 under military surveillance. 
 
 Since his release Abdul-Baha has made but 
 few changes in his daily life. Now it is possible 
 for many more of his followers to visit him than 
 formerly, consequently his duties and labors are 
 increased. He has given up his residence in Akka 
 and, after residing for some months in the neigh- 
 boring town of Haifa, he has gone to Egypt, 
 from whence he is at present carrying on his 
 work.* 
 
 During every phase of the progress of The 
 Cause, Abdul-Baha has done nothing needlessly 
 to agitate the fanatical peoples who surround 
 him. In every way he and his family observe 
 the oriental conventions of life, in order to 
 maintain harmony and amicable relations with 
 the surrounding people. He is changing the 
 world by infusing spiritual wisdom into men's 
 souls. He teaches and reaches the people 
 through leading them rather than by trying to 
 force fhem, through winning souls by the spirit 
 rather than by trying to bring to bear the more 
 objective forces of the outer world. 
 
 As there were a few of The Bab's pro- 
 
 *Since this article was written Abdul-Baha has visited Europe, 
 where he spent some time teaching- in both London and Paris. 
 Now, March, 1912, it is expected that he will soon visit America.
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 29 
 
 fessed followers, who failed in the days of Baha- 
 'o'llah to recognize in Him the divine power by 
 virtue of which He was The Bab's successor, so 
 there are also a few followers of Baha'o'llah, 
 whose eyes have not been opened during the 
 ministry of Abdul-Baha to the spirit manifesting 
 within him, and who have failed to see in him 
 the successor of Baha'o'llah. 
 
 These opposing people have at times made 
 much trouble for Abdul-Baha. During the years 
 of his imprisonment, through false reports 
 concerning his work, made to the government 
 by these people (led by his own half-brother), 
 the Turkish officials imagined the Bahais were 
 plotting against the Ottoman power. Thus, much 
 distress was created. 
 
 Sometimes, on account of the troubles brought 
 on by the opposing people, it has been impossible 
 for the believers to visit Abdul-Baha. Once, 
 some of his followers were cast into prison, and 
 at another time some of the believers were forced 
 to flee from the Holy Land and seek refuge in 
 Egypt. Nevertheless, through all trials and trou- 
 bles Abdul-Baha has gone steadily forward ac- 
 complishing his work, the number of his op- 
 posers decreasing and the number of his sym- 
 pathizers increasing, until now he has clearly 
 shown to all that his cause is not dependent upon 
 earthly prosperity for its growth, nor does oppo- 
 sition hinder its spread. 
 
 The Bahais have the uttermost esteem, love 
 and veneration for Abdul-Baha. To them he is 
 friend, counselor, and spiritual guide. 
 
 In looking toward him as the expounder of 
 divine wisdom his followers are worshipping the 
 Divine Light which is manifesting through his 
 life of service to God and man. They are not
 
 30 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 deifying his human personality, for that he holds 
 in common with all men. 
 
 Abdul-Baha does not wish to call the attention 
 of people to his personality, nor to himself as a 
 man, save to demonstrate to them the principles 
 of the higher life for which he stands. He not 
 only does not seek personal prestige, but even 
 anything suggestive of this is extremely odious 
 to him. For example, he has repeatedly requested 
 the believers not to use in connection with his 
 name the terms "Lord" or "Master", which are 
 so often applied in the Orient to spiritual teach- 
 ers. In fact, any demonstration of personal ado- 
 ration is offensive to him. 
 
 Abdul-Baha stands as the exponent of a spir- 
 itual principle, a great divine power. This, and 
 this only, he desires the world to recognize. 
 
 Many beautiful and touching incidents are re- 
 lated by the people of Akka of the way in 
 which, through long-suffering and kindness, Ab- 
 dul-Baha has won the hearts of those who, be- 
 cause of their prejudice, formerly were his 
 enemies. Caring for the sick and protecting the 
 oppressed form a large part of his daily duties. 
 One of the titles applied to him by the indigent 
 Arabs is "Father of the Poor". 
 
 While Abdul-Baha's method of teaching and 
 moving people is through the heart and is gen- 
 tleness itself, nevertheless, conditions often make 
 it necessary for him to be stern. Some of the 
 native Arabs, and others with whom he has rela- 
 tions need to be dealt with by a loving but firm 
 hand. 
 
 Abdul-Baha administers justice, but with such 
 kindness that the individual realizes it is done 
 in the true spirit of paternal training ; and instead 
 of offending the guilty one the opposite effect is 
 produced, and a lasting good accomplished.
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 31 
 
 Abdul-Baha is married. He has four daugh- 
 ters, three of whom have husbands and families. 
 Abdul-Baha is teaching through his home life as 
 a devoted husband and a loving father, a lesson 
 to both the people of the East and of the West. 
 He is teaching the Oriental, monogamy and that 
 woman should be man's intellectual, moral and 
 spiritual companion as well as the mother of his 
 children; and he is teaching the Occidental, in 
 these days of marital unrest, that marriage 
 should be founded upon a spiritual basis and not 
 alone upon a physical one. 
 
 While imprisoned Abdul-Baha received a sti- 
 pend from the Turkish government. Now that 
 he is freed, this no longer continues. He holds 
 cultivated lands in the vicinity of Akka which 
 render him an income. His personal needs and 
 those of his family are few. In reality, that 
 which he possesses is for the benefit of all, while 
 he is but the guardian of it. No one knows of the 
 many children he is educating ; how many needy 
 and infirm ones he is clothing, housing and feed- 
 ing. Abdul-Baha is demonstrating to the world 
 that there is neither virtue nor disgrace in either 
 riches or poverty; and that man, either in need 
 or in plenty, should utilize his little or his much 
 glorifying God through serving humanity. 
 
 There are many expenses in connection with 
 the carrying on of the work. Those whose souls 
 are in the cause contribute in various ways, of 
 which few, if any, are known. The American Ba- 
 hais can testify that Abdul-Baha very rarely per- 
 mits any of them to share in carrying the burden 
 of the work in the East, though in rare instances 
 he has accepted contributions for this purpose. 
 
 While his personality Abdul-Baha wishes 
 sacrificed, for the cause for which he stands, nev- 
 ertheless the people look at the outer person, and
 
 32 THE; BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 each returning pilgrim from Akka is asked many 
 questions regarding Abdul-Baha, the man. 
 
 Abdul-Baha expresses perfect manhood. The 
 vigor of a fully-developed physical, intellectual, 
 and spiritual power is apparent in his every 
 movement; yet with this is a delicacy, a sensibil- 
 ity and an intuition which denote the inspiration 
 that dominates him. In him is all of the dig- 
 nity and majesty of the king combined with the 
 humbleness of the servant, and upon his brow is 
 the strength and force of the ancient Mosaic type 
 of man, counterbalanced by the gentleness of a 
 child. 
 
 In Abdul-Baha's presence one becomes con- 
 scious of the deepest feeling of respect, venera- 
 tion and even awe, yet not the awe which holds 
 one at a distance, for within Abdul-Baha's soul 
 there burns such a fire of divine love that very 
 few escape its power of attraction. 
 
 The awakened soul realizes that Abdul-Baha 
 understands the spiritual condition of men, and 
 that he is the divine physician who, through the 
 love of God, is healing the souls of men of the 
 disease of ignorance and superstition and inhar- 
 mony. He ministers to each in accordance with 
 the needs of the individual. Often, at the time, 
 one does not understand why Abdul-Baha acts 
 and advises as he does, but later all becomes clear 
 when, through carrying out his instructions, one 
 sees the depth of his understanding and realizes 
 the profoundness of his wisdom. 
 
 Abdul-Baha seeks always to remove the cause 
 of trouble. His vision penetrates into the soul 
 and understands its condition. His balm is sum- 
 med up in the word LOVE. Divine love annihi- 
 lates worry and kills fear, and when it takes pos- 
 session of the soul it is as though another and a
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 33 
 
 new dimension were added to the individual, and 
 old conditions of doubt and uncertainty are re- 
 placed by poise and assurance. Abdul-Baha's 
 mission is to teach men to bring the love of The 
 Kingdom into everyday life, and to manifest it in 
 every thought, word and deed. 
 
 It 'is in the little things and the numerous details 
 of life that the test comes in applying spiritual 
 teachings. In the life of Abdul-Baha it is through 
 the seemingly small things that his great spirit 
 manifests itself, and goes out with a penetrating 
 power to the souls of those who allow them- 
 selves to come within the radius of its activity. 
 In his presence it is as if a refreshing breeze, a 
 spiritual force, proceeded from the heart of Ab- 
 dul-Baha to that of the seeker an indescribable 
 force carrying strength to the weak and guidance 
 to the strong. 
 
 Abdul-Baha's every word, look and gesture be- 
 speaks his spirit, and while his spirit is the most 
 elusive and difficult of all things to express in 
 words, when once perceived it is the most tangi- 
 ble of realities, for it is the very essence of the 
 life of the soul which is proceeding from him 
 who is the center of guidance. 
 
 Often the face of Abdul-Baha in repose, bears 
 an expression as if caused by a great weight of 
 sorrow impossible to describe. No soul can 
 fathom the depths into which he sees, nor the 
 profoundness of his realization of the suffering 
 condition of man. He feels the hungering and 
 the thirsting of the soul of humanity for spiritual 
 rest, and upon his brow is written her silent 
 agony. However, when Abdul-Baha speaks he 
 is fairly charged with the positive life-forces of 
 The Kingdom. In every glance and movement he 
 manifests the joy of the Lord, and as he shows 
 forth this love and joy in his many deeds of
 
 34 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 kindness, his spirit penetrates the hearts of those 
 who come in contact with him, and they in turn 
 go forth filled with the spirit to work and to 
 serve in his path. 
 
 The pilgrim discovers in Abdul-Baha one who 
 impresses his hearers not by projecting his own 
 ideas or personality upon them, but by calling 
 forth a response from within the soul of each 
 individual seeker. The direct influence of the 
 will of one personality upon another is transitory 
 and without lasting benefit. But how different is 
 the message of the spirit speaking through the 
 life and the words of Abdul-Baha, who has sacri- 
 ficed his will to the will of God. He has a mes- 
 sage for every soul, and as the seeker meets spir- 
 itually with the soul of Abdul-Baha, a new force 
 is added to his nature and he goes forth quick- 
 ened, alive and aflame with the love of God. 
 
 Through The Bab the way was made ready and 
 prepared for the coming of the Lord, the Latter- 
 Day Messiah, Baha'o'llah. Through Baha'o'llah, 
 in whom God was Manifest, divine knowledge 
 was revealed to man, the laws of The Kingdom 
 given to the world, and Abdul-Baha was appoint- 
 ed, "The Center of the Covenant". Now through 
 Abdul-Baha's life of service to God and man, the 
 way is made plain for all and the Kingdom of 
 God established upon earth.
 
 V. 
 
 THE MANIFESTATION OF THE WORD 
 OF GOD. 
 
 "That which is the cause of everlasting life, 
 eternal honor, universal enlightenment, real sal- 
 vation and prosperity, is first of all, the knowl- 
 edge of God." Abdul-Baha. 
 
 "The root of all knowledge is the knowledge 
 of God : Glory be to Him ! And this knowledge 
 is impossible save through His Manifestation." 
 Baha'o'llah. 
 
 It is written : "In the beginning was The Word, 
 and The Word was with God, and The Word was 
 God." It is through the Word of God manifested 
 in the temple of man, that men's souls become 
 quickened with the spiritual life, attain divine 
 knowledge, receive spiritual assurance, and are 
 enabled to rise above the condition of ignorance 
 and ascend the scale of advancement and civili- 
 zation. The Word, or the Spirit of God, spoke 
 through all the prophets or manifestations. 
 
 Infinite Deity is beyond the comprehension of 
 man: yet, through the manifestation of The 
 Spirit of The Deity, man is enabled to come into 
 touch with God, to comprehend and to know His 
 characteristics and His attributes, and to obtain 
 Divine Knowledge which is eternal life. By this 
 is not meant that the essence of the Infinite Deity 
 is contained nor confined in the personality of 
 the revelator, but that the soul of the prophet 
 is as a clear mirror which mirrors forth, or mani- 
 fests, all of the divine attributes. Everywhere 
 in the world of nature is seen the result of God's 
 creative power, yet this has never awakened nor 
 brought spiritual quickening, divine joy, nor com- 
 35
 
 36 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 fort to the soul of man. This is because God's 
 creation, though it emanates from Him, yet it 
 does not manifest Him. The heart of man is only 
 divinely quickened, and spiritually satisfied, 
 through the coming to humanity of the Manifes- 
 tation of God or The Word Revealed. 
 
 The Manifestation of "The Word" or of "The 
 Spirit," through the prophets or "Chosen Ones," 
 is the unique source of the spiritual enlighten- 
 ment of men. This source is of God, not of man. 
 Though the prophets and divine teachers were 
 men, their spiritual power and strength was not 
 because of any human virtue or wisdom. Their 
 power to change men's natures, and to create 
 great spiritual awakenings in the world was due 
 to the Spirit of God which spoke through them. 
 The Word of God is a life-giving, a creative 
 power. Through it, slumbering humanity is 
 quickened with spiritual wisdom, and the souls of 
 men are lifted from the condition of ignorance 
 to that of knowledge .and wisdom. The advance- 
 ment of the world of humanity is due to the 
 quickening power of The Word. From it pro- 
 ceeds the very seed of civilization and progress 
 and through it man is divinely quickened and 
 born into The Kingdom of God. 
 
 The great power of the world's divine teach- 
 ers has been due to their divine wisdom and in- 
 spiration. These Manifestations have each 
 arisen as teachers among men. As they found 
 sympathetic souls prepared for the spiritual mes- 
 sages which they brought, they revealed truths, 
 always giving in proportion to the capacity of 
 their disciples to receive. 
 
 In the ministry of each prophet is seen a cer- 
 tain development, and unfoldment of his teach- 
 ing. This is due to the spiritual unfoldment and 
 development of the souls of his followers, for
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 37 
 
 speaking through each prophet was the Perfect 
 Eternal Word, which in itself is above unfold- 
 ment and development. Men can comprehend 
 this only as their souls develop. Therefore each 
 prophet revealed himself little by little, as he pre- 
 pared his followers to receive him in the fullness 
 of his mission. 
 
 The inner spiritual teachings of the Divine 
 Manifestations have been one and the same in 
 substance, differing only in degree. The degree 
 of the spiritual knowledge manifested has been 
 always commensurate with the degree of the spir- 
 itual capacity of the people to whom the prophet 
 ministered. The outer teachings, including the 
 divine laws and ordinances of the divine reve- 
 lators, have differed in every age. These specific 
 instructions have always been given in conform- 
 ity with the material condition peculiar to the 
 various ages. 
 
 Through the harmony of the spiritual law and 
 the material law, as exemplified in the lives and 
 teachings of the Manifestations, humanity has 
 come under divine guidance, the direct result of 
 which has been a higher state of development of 
 morals and all social relations. 
 
 Thus, from the purely spiritual view-point the 
 Bahais regard all the prophets as the same, be- 
 cause of the one eternal, unchangeable truth 
 which they, one and all, manifested ; whereas, 
 viewed from the human standpoint, these spirit- 
 ual teachers are seen to be different personalties, 
 giving different teachings and establishing differ- 
 ent religious systems. 
 
 The laws and ordinances, as given to the world 
 by the prophets, though material have had a 
 deep spiritual effect upon man. They were given 
 through divine wisdom ; and by obedience to 
 them, the living out of the same by men, the
 
 38 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 conditions were created which were necessary 
 for the fuller and unhampered spiritual unfold- 
 ment of humanity. It is for this reason that 
 each revelator has insisted that the people follow 
 his commands. It was for their own good that 
 he commanded this. Their welfare depended 
 upon following his injunctions. 
 
 Supply and demand go hand in hand in spirit- 
 ual matters, as science has proven them to do on 
 the material plane. At the time of the coming of 
 each divine manifestation there was a certain 
 spiritual need among men. With each "Com- 
 ing", the ministering to that need was the unique 
 mission of the prophet. 
 
 The difference in the missions or the fields of 
 work of the prophets, naturally differentiates 
 them into the world manifestations, those 
 whose teachings and ordinances were directly 
 applied to the whole world, such as the Mel- 
 chizadek type, Christ and Baha'o'llah, and the 
 more local manifestations, those whose teach- 
 ings and laws were applicable only to certain 
 people under certain conditions, such as Zoroast- 
 er, Moses, Mohammed and others. Some 
 prophets founded new religious systems which 
 previously had not existed, while there were 
 others who re-established and confirmed the 
 faith of the people in the teachings and institu- 
 tions of a former prophet. Of these latter the 
 Hebrew prophets after Moses are examples. 
 
 As there are cycles of growth, fruition and de- 
 cay in life on the physical plane, there are also 
 the cycles of birth, development, fruition, decay 
 in religious systems or dispensations. 
 
 As the cycles or seasons in the physical world 
 are due to the condition of the material earth, 
 so the cycles or seasons in the religious world 
 are due to the condition of the world of hu-
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 39 
 
 manity. 
 
 Every religion has had its birth in the advent 
 of its divine founder. Through the labors of its 
 early adherents it grew and developed, bringing 
 forth its fruits in the institutions and civilization 
 which grew up and formed about it. This was 
 its golden age. Then followed a period in which 
 the faith of the people grew cold, spirituality 
 waned, morals suffered, and religion losing its 
 spirit became a form. Thus the souls of the peo- 
 ple became starved and their condition needed 
 the ministration of another prophet, who in due 
 time appeared and lifted them a step higher and 
 nearer toward the coming of The Kingdom upon 
 earth. 
 
 In this way each prophet has been a link in the 
 great chain of revelators, completing the work 
 and fulfilling the words of his predecessors and 
 preparing the way for others to come after him. 
 Thus have all manifestations of the past pre- 
 pared the way for the latter-day coming of The 
 Lord, accomplished in the coming of Baha'o'llah, 
 whose mission was to unite those now following 
 many systems, into one brotherhood and one uni- 
 versal faith. 
 
 The prophets have been seers as well as 
 sources of divine life. Through spiritual under- 
 standing they were able to indicate in their teach- 
 ings the material signs and conditions as well as 
 the more spiritual ones, which would character- 
 ize the advent of succeeding manifestations. 
 
 The "return" of the prophets does not refer 
 to the return to this world of a "personality". It 
 refers to the return in another personality, of the 
 impersonal Spirit, the Word or Spirit of God 
 which spoke through the prophets of the past. 
 With the passing of centuries people ceased 
 to differentiate between the personality of
 
 40 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 a manifestation and the Spirit of God which 
 spoke through him, hence, instead of looking for 
 the return of The Spirit manifesting through 
 another personality, in these latter days the peo- 
 ple of each religion are mistakenly looking for 
 the personal, individual return of their own spe- 
 cial prophet. 
 
 The mission of each divine revelator has been 
 to announce and to prepare the way for the 
 brotherhood of The Kingdom among men. Each 
 accomplished his mission, speaking and teaching 
 through symbols and parables commensurable 
 with the conditions of his day; each quickened 
 the souls of the people with divine life and each 
 foretold the coming of the great Latter-Day 
 Messiah who was to establish The Kingdom of 
 Peace upon earth. 
 
 In the coming of The Bab, Baha'o'llah and 
 Abdul-Baha is found the fulfillment of the di- 
 vine promises of God, given to the peoples of the 
 past ages, and in it is the beginning of that age 
 of divine enlightenment and spiritual wisdom 
 for which men have long hoped and prayed. In 
 the light of their inspired teachings all religious 
 teachings of the past are understood and seen 
 to be as parts of one great divine plan for the 
 spiritual enlightenment of the world, and in 
 the Bahai revelation is realized, also, that power 
 which is binding and uniting the peoples of all 
 races and religions in one universal religion, 
 which is The Kingdom of God upon earth. 
 
 Resurrection and judgment pertain to the 
 coming of a manifestation. These terms should 
 be understood spiritually. Through the Word 
 revealed, souls are quickened and the spiritually 
 dead are given divine life. The day of each 
 prophet is the time of judgment for those souls 
 who hear his message, whether they accept the
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 41 
 
 truth or reject it. 
 
 To-day is the time of judgment prophesied in 
 all of the holy books of all peoples. The call of 
 The Lord has gone forth. The people are hear- 
 ing it. Some are awake to it and are arising to 
 serve, while other souls are not yet sufficiently 
 aroused to realize what has come into the world. 
 
 That The Word of God has again been mani- 
 fested to man and that "The One" promised in 
 the holy writings of all religions has come in the 
 flesh and has established the new and the divine 
 order of things, The Kingdom of God on earth, 
 is the message which the Bahais are giving to the 
 world.
 
 VI. 
 
 RELATION OF THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 TO THE RELIGIONS OF THE PAST 
 
 The people of each religion expect the return 
 of the Spirit which shone through their prophet 
 in the past, and the universal establishment of 
 their own religion. The Word of God speaking 
 through all the prophets gave the same message 
 of the coming of the Messiah and the establish- 
 ment of The Kingdom upon earth. 
 
 As time passed, and the spirit of the teachings 
 became weak, the people ceased to regard their 
 prophet as a human being, the medium through 
 whom the Spirit of God manifested and was re- 
 vealed. They began to deify the human person- 
 ality of the prophet and instead of expecting the 
 return of the same Spirit, manifesting through 
 another personality, they began to look for the 
 return in person of their guide or prophet. Thus 
 the Christians believe in the corporeal descent of 
 Jesus from the heavens (interstellar space), in- 
 stead of the appearance of the Christ Spirit, 
 which was the divine power in Jesus that he 
 promised would again manifest upon earth at the 
 end of his dispensation. In the same way the 
 Jews look for the personal return of Elijah 
 "before the coming of the great and dread- 
 ful day of the Lord,!' and the Moslems 
 look for the personal and corporeal return of 
 the Imam Mahdi. 
 
 As the Bahai message is being given to the 
 people of each of these religions, they are being 
 called back to the original teachings of their in- 
 dividual prophet. They realize that the voice of 
 the Spirit spoke through him, and they under- 
 stand all the prophets to be manifestations of the 
 one Spirit of God to the people of their times, 
 42
 
 THE; BAHAI MOVEMENT 43 
 
 and in this day they see the manifestations again 
 of this same Divine Spirit through the founders 
 of the Bahai movement, by which are realized 
 all the promises and prophecies of all the relig- 
 ions regarding the Latter-Day "Coming," and 
 The Kingdom upon earth. 
 
 CHRISTIANITY AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT. 
 
 The Bahais believe that in Jesus appeared 
 "The Word," or The Spirit of God. This dif- 
 ferentiated him from other men. By virtue of 
 the Divine Spirit which spoke through him, he 
 was The Christ, the manifestation of God among 
 men. Through him souls became spiritually 
 quickened, were reborn, and were lifted from 
 the condition of spiritual ignorance (sometimes 
 called sin), into one of spiritual enlightenment 
 (sometimes called salvation). 
 
 Like the mission of every prophet, that of 
 Jesus The Christ was a three-fold one. First, 
 he fulfilled the prophecies of the prophets who 
 preceded him and proclaimed his coming. Thus, 
 in him was the consummation of the former dis- 
 pensations. Second, he was the unique source 
 of divine enlightenment to the people of his dis- 
 pensation, and through the power of his word 
 he founded his cause. Third, he prepared the 
 way for the coming of the great Latter-Day 
 Messiah, Bah'o'llah, God manifesting Himself as 
 The Father, whom he and all prophets foretold 
 would arise in the fullness of time and establish 
 The Kingdom of God upon earth. 
 
 Jesus explains the divine plan for the spirit- 
 ualization of the world in its entirety in the para- 
 ble of the "householder which planted a vine- 
 yard" (St. Matt. XXI, 33-41), in which the 
 householder is symbolic of God, the creator of the 
 world. The "vineyard" symbolizes the people
 
 44 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 of the world, while the "husbandmen" are the 
 leaders of the people. His "servants" represent 
 the prophets sent by the Lord to call the world 
 to righteousness and divine obedience, all of 
 whom the people persecuted and rejected. His 
 "son" is Jesus, The Christ, whose teaching was 
 refused by the world which crucified him. 
 "When the Lord therefore of the vineyard 
 cometh" refers to the coming of the Latter-Day 
 Messiah, Baha'o'llah, while "he will miserably 
 destroy those wicked men and will let out his 
 vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall 
 render him the fruits in their seasons," is proph- 
 etic of the great outpouring of divine grace 
 through this new revelation, which will be so 
 great as to overcome and dispel the great power 
 of evil (spiritual ignorance) which is dominat- 
 ing humanity. This day is the time of the world's 
 turning from humanity to divinity. Baha'o'llah 
 has brought to the world a New Day, for with 
 His coming, old conditions passed away and a 
 new dispensation was ushered into existence. 
 The law of equity, "an eye for an eye and a tooth 
 for a tooth," and the Christ law of mercy and 
 love have for centuries been known to man, but 
 the power to enable the world in general to live 
 according to the Christ law has been given to all 
 humanity only through Baha'o'llah. 
 
 When God came to the world manifesting 
 Himself as the "Son," Jesus Christ, the world 
 rejected him, "but as many as received him, to 
 them gave he power to become the sons of God, 
 even to them that believe on his name". To 
 those individual souls he gave his peace, but not 
 to the world, because the world did not receive 
 him. This he announced when he said: 
 "Think not that I am come to send peace on 
 earth ; I came not to send peace, but a sword."
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 45 
 
 Here again, as well as in other instances, Christ 
 states that his dispensation .was to be a militant 
 one, which would in the end of the age be fol- 
 lowed by another, a triumphant dispensation of 
 divine grace and peace here on earth. Now Ba- 
 ha'o'llah has brought that peace to the world. 
 He is "The Prince of Peace," who has come to 
 the world and has established the foundation of 
 peace on earth. How clearly Isaiah, the prophet, 
 saw this coming of the Lord whdn he wrote, 
 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is 
 given, and the government shall be upon His 
 shoulder and His name shall be called Wonder- 
 ful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, the Everlast- 
 ing Father, The Prince of Peace." 
 
 No one touched by the spirit of Christianity 
 can fail to recognize that the Bahai teaching is 
 only the perfection of Christianity, for to be a 
 real Christian in spirit is to be a Bahai, and to be 
 a real Bahai is to be a Christian. As one 
 reads the words of Christ and the testimony of 
 the apostles, who received from him many teach- 
 ings, there stands out one promise above all other 
 things his second coming among men another 
 appearance of the Christ spirit. The Word of 
 God in the temple of man. This manifestation 
 to be the beginning of the end of the old order 
 of human differences and at the same time to 
 usher in the new order of divine peace here 
 on earth. All is summed up in the promise "The 
 Kingdoms of this world are become the King- 
 doms of Our Lord, and of His Christ and He 
 shall reign forever and ever." 
 
 JUDAISM AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT. 
 
 The Bahai s regard the Hebrew prophets as re- 
 vealers of divine truth. Through these various 
 channels The Word was revealed, souls were
 
 46 THE BAIIAI MOVEMENT 
 
 quickened with divine life and obeyed the divine 
 laws, and the way was prepared for the coming 
 of The Kingdom on earth. These prophets from 
 the earliest, Abraham, down to the last, Malachi, 
 formed a complete chain. Each built upon the 
 foundation of the teachings of his predecessors ; 
 each ministered to the spiritual needs of the peo- 
 ple of his day, and each extended to humanity 
 the promise of the coming of the Messiah, at the 
 end of the days, and of the righting of all things 
 in the establishment of the reign of God among 
 men. 
 
 As one reads the Hebrew Scriptures, the 
 prophecies of the coming Messianic Dispensa- 
 tion are found to be the one great thread running 
 through all. In this promise is heard the one 
 divine voice of The Word of God speaking 
 through the personalities of the many prophets 
 or mouthpieces, or channels of truth. 
 
 In the Jewish holy books are found prophecies 
 pertaining in particular to two manifestations of 
 "The Word," to come. The so-called first and 
 second comings of the Messiah; those relating to 
 the first coming were fulfilled in the coming and 
 mission of Jesus, The Christ, while those regard- 
 ing the second coming are fulfilled in these latter 
 days in the coming of "The Ancient of Days", 
 Baha'o'llah with His precursor, The Bab, in 
 whom was The Spirit of Elijah (Malachi IV :5), 
 and His "Servant, The Branch", (Zech. 111:8), 
 who is Abdul-Baha. 
 
 It was through the study of the prophecies re- 
 garding the second coming, as recorded by the 
 prophet Daniel, that the Adventists learned that 
 the Messiah was to come in the year 1844. They 
 expected his miraculous appearance in the clouds 
 and were disappointed. The Bab came and Ab- 
 dul-Baha was born at this appointed time, fulfill-
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 47 
 
 ing prophecy, but in a manner not anticipated 
 by men. The country of Carmel and Sharon in 
 the Holy Land, to which Baha'o'llah was sent in 
 exile, and where He lived and taught, was the 
 place designated by the ancient seers of Biblical 
 fame, where the "Ancient of Days" would ap- 
 pear. The glory of the Lord of Hosts to come, 
 and the power and majesty of His spiritual rule 
 upon earth are testified to by prophet and psalm- 
 ist in the most inspiring passages of Hebrew 
 sacred writ, while the peace, prosperity and gen- 
 eral upliftment of humanity resulting therefrom 
 are most vividly depicted. 
 
 The mission of the Jewish people was a relig- 
 ious one. From the seed of the progenitor of 
 this people have come the founders of great re- 
 ligions of the past, as well as the founders of the 
 great religion of the present and future. From 
 Abraham, through the line of Isaac came Moses 
 and Jesus ; through Ishmael came Mohammed 
 and The Bab; while from the line of another 
 son (Abraham had six sons other than Isaac 
 and Ishmael) was descended Jesse,* from whom 
 descended Baha'o'llah. 
 
 ISLAM AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT. 
 
 The prophet Mohammed taught submission to 
 the will of God. Islam means "Submission". 
 Mohammed arose in Arabia at a time of spiritual 
 need when the people were sunken in ignorance 
 and superstition. Through his guidance, idol- 
 atry and immorality were changed into the wor- 
 ship of the one God, and into high moral stand- 
 ards. He brought a code of laws and ordinances 
 perfectly adapted to the spiritual and material 
 
 *Not Jesse, the father of David, but another of the same name. 
 This point was explained to the writer by Abdnl-Baha at Haifa, 
 May, 1910. The same statement is fonnd in ancient oriental 
 records.
 
 48 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 needs of the people of his day. These people, be- 
 cause of their extreme degradation, had been un- 
 touched both by Judaism and Christianity. They 
 needed a teaching and a code of laws suited to 
 their own special condition. 
 
 The rise of the Moslem civilization has had 
 no parallel in history. United under the stand- 
 ard of the belief in one God and the immortality 
 of the soul, the fierce sons of the Arabian desert, 
 in an incredibly short time, evolved into a highly 
 cultured people, their sciences, arts and litera- 
 ture having contributed much toward our pres- 
 ent western civilization. 
 
 As division, superstition and decay crept into 
 the Moslem Church the people retrograded, until 
 in a few centuries after the death of Mohammed 
 the spirit of his teaching was a thing of the past, 
 and Moslem civilization was in a decline. 
 
 Islam, like Christianity and every other re- 
 ligion, can not be judged by its later followers. 
 The student must go to its source in order to as- 
 certain its truths. In Christianity, the history of 
 the divisions and wars between the churches is 
 one thing, and the teaching of Christ is another 
 thing. So it is in Islam. The present condition 
 of its people, and the condition to which the 
 prophet called them are indeed very different. 
 The Moslems look for three manifestations in 
 the latter days (it being literally expressed in 
 their teachings as three trumpet calls). Accord- 
 ing to the traditions of Islam, seven years and 
 forty years, respectively, were to separate these 
 calls or comings. This corresponds to the mis- 
 sions of The Bab and of Baha'o'llah which lasted 
 seven, and forty years. 
 
 Islam teaches of a day (a time or period) of 
 spiritual resurrection and judgment, and of the 
 coming of the Christ, preceded by the Mahdi (di-
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 49 
 
 rector or guide), and of the establishment of 
 The Kingdom upon earth. 
 
 The Moslem believes the latter-day time oi 
 spiritual awakening or resurrection, through the 
 giving forth of the Word of God, to be the time 
 of the world's judgment, the people being their 
 own judges, as they choose to accept or to re- 
 ject the newly revealed truth. This time was to 
 be accompanied by certain signs similar to those 
 mentioned in the Bible, such as : The coming of 
 the spirit of Anti-Christ (which is infidelity), 
 decay of religious faith among men, and the ac- 
 companying demoralization which this must 
 bring with it. 
 
 Many Moslems have come into the Bahai faith, 
 accepting The Bab as the promised Mahdi and 
 Baha'o'llah as the Christ (Spirit), who was to 
 come, for both have fulfilled their prophecies and 
 traditions of which there are many. According 
 to them, The Bab appeared from the East 
 and made his public declaration at Mecca, 
 at the place and time prophesied (1844 
 A. D. or 1260 A. H.), and taught dur- 
 ing the anticipated length of time. Also, Baha'- 
 o'llah arose in Irak and went to Akka and Car- 
 mel in Syria. His mission lasted 40 years. The 
 many details are so clearly traced in tra- 
 dition and prophecy, that it is very easy for 
 the orthodox Moslem to realize the truth of the 
 claims of both, and to see in their missions the 
 fulfillment of the Islamic prophecies. 
 
 ZOROASTRIANISM AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT. 
 
 The present Zoroastrians, or Parsees, are but 
 the remnant of a once powerful people. Dur- 
 ing the many vicissitudes of war and national de- 
 cay their ancient political power has become dis- 
 sipated, and through contact with peoples of
 
 50 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 other religions their original religious teaching 
 has lost its purity, and a lifeless formalism has 
 taken the place of its once vital spiritual force. 
 As for the sacred literature of the Zoroastrians, 
 it, like themselves, is now but fragmentary; the 
 elements necessary to give it complete compre- 
 hensive form are lost. 
 
 Although many connecting links are missing 
 in Zoroastrian holy writ, nevertheless its spirit 
 is clear and apparent. Zoroaster taught a pure 
 monotheism and the future existence and im- 
 mortality of the soul, all of which he explained 
 to the people in familiar terms and parables. 
 The physical sun, which is the source of all phy- 
 sical life, he used as the symbol for the sun of 
 truth, the manifestation of God, the source 
 of all spiritual life, while the stars sym- 
 bolized the lesser prophets. Purity is a funda- 
 mental teaching in Zoroastrianism. Both spir- 
 itual and physical purity are taught in its laws 
 and ordinances, which were given in terms 
 couched to meet the need of mankind in that an- 
 cient day. Fire being the great cleanser, it is 
 the emblem used to denote spiritual purity, for 
 it is through the spiritual fire of the love of God 
 that men's souls are purified and quickened into 
 eternal life. Zoroaster is pictured as bringing 
 down from heaven the divine fire with which to 
 purify mankind. The spiritual meaning of this 
 is apparent, although for centuries the under- 
 standing of these truths was lost and the people 
 ignorantly adhered to the outer forms, worship- 
 ping the sun, the stars and fire, hence the terms 
 applied to them, "Sun and Fire Worshippers". 
 
 The same idea of resurrection or quickening, 
 spiritual judgment and The Kingdom of 
 God on earth, expressed in other religious teach- 
 ings, are found in Zoroastrianism. The end of
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 51 
 
 the Zoroastrian dispensation, it was foretold in 
 their sacred literature, would be characterized 
 by spiritual impurity, therefore the need of an- 
 other manifestation to bring to earth the divine 
 fire of the love of God for the purification of all 
 people. The teaching has a number of prophecies 
 regarding the coming of the great Latter-Day 
 Prophet, spoken of as Shah Bahram, and the 
 purification of the people of the earth by fire 
 the fire of the spirit. 
 
 The expectation of this coming of the prophet 
 is symbolized in the Zoroastrian worship, when 
 the people turn to worship to the rising sun. As 
 the same physical sun rises and sets again and 
 again, giving life to the earth, so does the sun of 
 God's truth rise in each prophetic day and. 
 through the personality of the prophet of that 
 day gives life to the souls which receive the rays 
 of its spiritual warmth and power. 
 
 The Zoroastrians who are now hearing of the 
 message of the Bahai Movement are realizing 
 that it is the fulfillment of the prophecies and 
 the spirit of their own religion, and through this 
 teaching they are coming into touch with kindred 
 spirits in all the world. Thus they are arising 
 to perform their service in this great work of 
 uniting all men in the love of The Kingdom. 
 
 HINDUISM AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT. 
 
 The origin of Hinduism (Brahmanism), on 
 account of the lack of annals and records in its 
 literature, is practically lost to history. As 
 it now is, Hinduism is a most complex sys- 
 tem of philosophical thought, manners and cus- 
 toms. It lacks that unity of spirit and of form 
 which the teaching originally possessed. In all 
 religious systems men's ideas have gradually re- 
 placed the inspired wisdom of the founders. In
 
 52 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 Hinduism this is particularly true, so much so 
 that it is only with the greatest difficulty that the 
 original spirit and teaching can be traced. Even 
 some of the most learned students of Hindu phil- 
 osophy, have doubted that originally Hinduism 
 was a revealed teaching, for since its sacred 
 books contain no chronicles, the personalities of 
 the revealers have been lost. 
 
 Of the truth in the original Hindu teachings, 
 however, there is no doubt, for the voice of the 
 Spirit, the source of all religion, speaks yet to- 
 day through its holy books, the Vedas, despite 
 the lapse of time since they were written. 
 
 According to the teaching in the most ancient 
 of the Hindu sacred books, God the creator, is 
 all in all, beside whom there is none other. Sac- 
 rifice is taught as the means of attaining near- 
 ness to God. Material sacrifice is the symbol for 
 the sacrifice of all worldly desires and pas- 
 sions which separate men's souls from God, the 
 highest attainment being that perfect at-onement 
 with God which the giving up of every desire 
 and passion alone can bring. Since God only is 
 all in all, only the life in Him can be without 
 change or end. This is eternal life. 
 
 The teaching in its original purity was a sim- 
 ple monotheism. The divine spirit spoke to the 
 people through the mediumship of different per- 
 sonalities at different times. These inspired 
 souls arose as the need for their teachings be- 
 came evident among men, to whom they were 
 sent as spiritual guides. 
 
 This thought is most clearly expressed in one 
 of the Hindu sacred books, the "Bhagavad-Gita" 
 or the Lord's Song, in which it is written, 
 "Whenever there is decay of righteousness and 
 there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I 
 Myself come forth. For the protection of the
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 53 
 
 good, for the destruction of evil doers, for the 
 sake of firmly establishing righteousness, I am 
 born from age to age. The foolish disregard Me 
 when clad in human semblance, ignorant of My 
 supreme nature, the great Lord of beings." The 
 Hindus have here the promise of the coming of 
 a great incarnation, Krishna, to occur in this day. 
 He was to arise and establish universal righteous- 
 ness and destroy spiritual ignorance or sin. 
 
 The latter-day Krishna was to lead the people 
 back to the spirt of pure teaching as given by his 
 predecessors, (former manifestations of the 
 spirit of the Lord) and through spiritual wis- 
 dom and power was to overcome all unright- 
 eousness establishing in its place spiritual en- 
 lightenment. Those illumined Hindus whom 
 the Bahai cause is reaching see in Baha'o'llah the 
 incarnation of the spirit of God and they accept 
 him as their promised one, Krishna. 
 
 Thus, the Bahai teaching confirms the Hindu 
 in the fundamental truth of his own religion, and 
 it frees him from the superstition and caste which 
 have for centuries kept his people in a state of 
 both spiritual and physical bondage. Under this 
 influence he attains to the real spirit of sacrifice 
 as given in his ancient teachings, and to the real 
 emancipation of the soul, which is in truth the 
 fundamental tenet of the most ancient Hindus. 
 
 BUDDHISM AND THE, BAHAI MOVEMENT. 
 
 Buddhism stands in the relation to Hinduism 
 very much as Christianity does to Judaism. 
 Chrisitanity sprang from Judaism as the mother 
 religion, in like manner Buddhism came out 
 from Hinduism. As Christianity and Judaism 
 evolved two widely differing systems of philos- 
 ophy, so have Buddhism and Hinduism evolved 
 two theological systems, which not only do not
 
 54 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 resemble each other, but are in direct opposition. 
 Jesus, the Christ, came not to destroy but 
 to fulfill the law and prophets. Guatama, 
 The Buddha, had no intention of depart- 
 ing from the true spiritual and original pre- 
 cepts of the teachings of Hinduism. His mis- 
 sion was to teach the people the divine signifi- 
 cance of the past teachings, which had become 
 to them but an empty form. Through him mil- 
 lions of souls have received God's truth in the 
 measure of their capacity, and according to the 
 degree their condition demanded. 
 
 The Buddha taught of the one God, and of the 
 life eternal. The state of nearness to God is 
 termed nirvana, by the Buddhists. It is syn- 
 onymous with the word heaven as used in the 
 holy writings of other religions. Gautama 
 wrote no books. The events of his life, and his 
 words and teachings were recorded by his dici- 
 ples and have been handed down to the people 
 of succeeding generations. 
 
 Of the original teachings of The Buddha 
 much has been lost, and replaced by the doc- 
 trines and beliefs of men who came after him. 
 In fact the latter-day Buddhist teachings, so rich 
 in the ramifications and speculations of philo- 
 sophical thought, bear about as much resemblance 
 to the original spiritual teachings of The Budd- 
 ha, as the present day multiplicity of creeds of 
 any one of the world religions bears to the real 
 teachings of its founder. 
 
 The Buddhists, like the Bahais, consider all 
 religions to be, from the spiritual standpoint, one 
 religion. They are without religious prejudice. 
 They welcome all high elevating thought and 
 teaching irrespective of its source. They believe 
 Gautama, The Buddha, to have been one of a se- 
 ries of inspired souls sent to the peoples of va-
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 55 
 
 rious ages for divine training and guidance. 
 As there were Buddhas who preceded him, so 
 there would be Buddhas who would succeed him. 
 They expect the coming of Maitreya, or the 
 great Fifth Buddha, whose coming, according to 
 their traditions, is now due. His work is to be 
 with all mankind and through him the earthly 
 conditions of the past are to change and be re- 
 placed by an age of divine wisdom and under- 
 standing. 
 
 The following excerpt from the recorded 
 teachings of Gautama to his disciple Ananda, 
 given just previous to his death, explains in a 
 few words much of his teaching, "I am not the 
 first Buddha who came upon earth, nor shall I be 
 the last. I came to teach you the truth, and I 
 have founded upon earth The Kingdom of Truth. 
 Gautama Siddhartha will die, but Buddha will 
 live, for Buddha is the truth and the truth cannot 
 die. He who believes in the truth and lives in it 
 is my disciple, and I shall teach him. The reli- 
 gion which I have preached to you will flourish 
 so long as my disciples cling to the truth, and lead 
 a life of purity. In due time another Buddha will 
 arise, and he will reveal to you the selfsame eter- 
 nal truth which I have taught you". Ananda 
 said: ''How shall we know him?" Gautama re- 
 plied: "He will be known as Maitreya, which 
 means/He whose name is Kindness'." 
 
 MODERN THOUGHT AND THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 During the past sixty or seventy years so- 
 called "Modern Thought" has entered into the 
 fold of every religion, preparing the people for a 
 broad, universal conception of God's truth, a con- 
 ception unfettered by the mental limitations of 
 past ages. Although it is called "Modern 
 Thought," it is in reality the most ancient
 
 56 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 thought, for it is the resurrection of the spirit 
 which the religions originally possessed, and 
 which during so many centuries was lost to hu- 
 manity. 
 
 Modern Thought has been as a plough, which 
 has prepared the religious ground of the world to 
 receive the spiritual seeds of The Kingdom. Mod- 
 ernism has uprooted ancient creed and dogma, 
 and along with this uprooting, the faith of many 
 has been shaken and much spiritual seeking has 
 resulted. Now the Bahai teaching is sowing the 
 seeds of a live faith in men's souls. It is demon- 
 strating to the world that faith, religion and spir- 
 ituality are vital and necessary forces in the 
 world of humanity, and that they have nothing 
 in common with the superstitions and imagina- 
 tions of the past. The Modern Thoughtists of all 
 races and religions are teaching the same princi- 
 ples as held by the followers of the Bahai cause. 
 They realize that humanity as a whole is now 
 passing through a period of spiritual rebirth, 
 and this is the beginning of the age of spiritual 
 wisdom, which is the millennium. In the great 
 spiritual organism of the universe, the various 
 parts and members are organically united and 
 linked together as are the organs of the body. 
 As there have been great changes and upheavals 
 in the evolution of the material world, due to ma- 
 terial causes, so there have been great phases of 
 change and development in the evolution of the 
 spiritual world, due to the action of spiritual 
 causes. 
 
 The present day awakening, as seen in all of 
 the many branches of Modern Thought, and the 
 coming of another revelation are the direct re- 
 sult of certain great changes taking place in the 
 spiritual realm of existence, which are being pro- 
 duced by spiritual causes. In the early morning
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 57 
 
 when the sun is yet below the horizon, the heav- 
 ens are illumined by its rays and the coming of 
 day is evident to all. As the sun slowly rises, those 
 upon the high places first see it, later those in the 
 valleys see it also; and when it is at its zenith the 
 whole country is receiving its rays and basking in 
 its warmth. 
 
 So it is when the sun of truth manifests here 
 upon earth for the guidance of the people. The 
 manifestation or revelator, is preceded by the 
 signs of spiritual awakening, which show the 
 people that a new spiritual day or era is at hand. 
 Those illumined souls of high spiritual discern- 
 ment first recognize in the revealer or prophet, 
 the source of the light of God; later, the people 
 in general awaken to his spiritual power and 
 wisdom and finally, through his teaching, both 
 material and spiritual bounties are forthcoming 
 to the world. 
 
 This wave of modernism which has swept over 
 the world, dispelling the night of spiritual igno- 
 rance and superstition, is the first twilight of the 
 great day of God upon earth. Already many 
 illumined souls are seeing in the inspired reveal- 
 ers of the Bahai religion the light of the world 
 to be and its point of diffusion. Later on, the 
 whole world will realize that which now only the 
 few see. Then, all humanity will be the recipi- 
 ents in full of the much anticipated bounties of 
 The Kingdom of God upon the earth. 
 
 Resume. 
 
 As the people of the various religions come 
 into the spirit of the Bahai Cause, their faith 
 in the truth of their own religion is augmented 
 rather than lessened, for the spirit of this present 
 day teaching is the same as that which actuated 
 the early fathers of the ancient religions.
 
 58 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 The Bahai Movement teaches severance. In 
 his heart man must be severed from the world 
 and its passions. His dependence must be upon 
 God though outwardly he must live in the world, 
 there fulfilling his material mission in life. 
 
 In the Bahai life, severance is comprised in the 
 rebirth of the Christian, the spirit of obedience 
 of the Jew, the submission of the Moslem, the 
 purification of the Zoroastrian, the sacrifice of 
 the Hindu, the renunciation of the Buddhist, and 
 the "living in harmony with the divine" of the 
 Modern Thoughtist. In the Bahai movement, is 
 summed up all of the spiritual essence of the re- 
 ligions of the past, which is now given in a form 
 most applicable to the present day needs of man, 
 and adequate to cope with the modern universal 
 problems.
 
 VII. 
 
 THE BAHAI SACRED WRITINGS 
 The Bab 
 
 The book of The Bab, or his collective writ- 
 ings, is known as "The Beyan". That the mis- 
 sion of The Bab was introductory to the advent 
 of Baha'o'llah is most clearly stated in this book, 
 in which the coming of "Him whom God shall 
 manifest" is the one great theme. In it The Bab 
 exhorts the people spiritually to prepare them- 
 selves to meet and to recognize and to adhere to, 
 Baha'o'llah when he should appear. He left 
 certain laws and ordinances for the guidance of 
 his followers until the advent of Bala'o'llah, 
 all of which should be abrogated, with the 
 promised coming. These writings, calculated to 
 meet and minister to the local conditions which 
 were chiefly Islamic, have as yet not been trans- 
 lated into English. 
 
 Baha'o'llah. 
 
 The writings of Baha'o'llah are numerous and 
 are in general, comparatively brief treatises. Of 
 these a number have been translated and pub- 
 lished in the Occidental languages, while others 
 still remain in the original Persian and Arabic 
 texts. 
 
 One of the first books translated and published 
 in English was the Kitabu 'l-Ighan (The Book of 
 Assurance). This was written by Baha'o'llah 
 during His exile in Baghdad, and was a reply to 
 certain theological questions asked by a learned 
 Mussulman divine. While the expression is 
 couched in terms peculiar to Islamic thought, 
 yet, deeper than these terms, are revealed uni- 
 versal spiritual teachings the essence of which 
 appeals to the people of any religion. 
 59
 
 60 THE; BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 In the Book of Assurance, Baha'o'llah quotes 
 familiar texts from the Old and New Testaments 
 of the Bible, and from the Koran of Mohammed, 
 and He explains the spiritual truths contained in 
 these three books, relative to the end and passing 
 of the old dispensations, the coming of the Mes- 
 siah, and the ushering into existence of the new 
 dispensation of The Kingdom upon earth. He 
 demonstrates the oneness of the teachings of the 
 Jewish, Christian and Mussulman Holy litera- 
 ture regarding this Latter-Day advent of the 
 Lord. 
 
 In the Suratu'l Hykl (Chapter upon the Tem- 
 ple or Body) Baha'o'llah treats of His calling, 
 His arising in response thereto, and His mission 
 here among men. 
 
 In The Book of the Seven Valleys, Baha'o'llah 
 explains the different stages of the spiritual 
 progress or development of the soul of man. 
 These stages He divides into seven, which He 
 terms "Valleys". This book was written to elu- 
 cidate certain truths from the standpoint of Mys- 
 ticism. In order to appreciate it, one must un- 
 derstand and be in sympathy with the spirit and 
 teachings of the Mystics. 
 
 In the Lawhu'l-Akdas (The Holy Tablet) 
 Baha'o'llah explains His cause to the Christian 
 world. He demonstrates that now is the time of 
 the end spoken of by Jesus, The Christ, and He 
 exhorts the Christians to consider the importance 
 of this day and of its cause. He demonstrates 
 the necessity for relinquishing dependence upon 
 the creeds and customs of the past ages, and ex- 
 horts all to adhere to the pure truth of the words 
 of Jesus which, when understood, will confirm 
 the truth revealed again in this day. 
 
 The Hidden Words (in two parts, one trans- 
 lated from the original Arabic text and the other
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 61 
 
 from the Persian) contain the essence of the 
 spiritual truths revealed by the divine revelators 
 of the past. In these utterances the fundamental 
 divine truths are again revealed to humanity in 
 terms applicable to the exigencies of this age. 
 Each verse is replete with spiritual significances, 
 and in each is hidden a message, or word, for the 
 hungry soul. 
 
 The Tablets of Tarasat, Tajalleyat and Ishrar- 
 kat, contain exhortations regarding the conduct 
 of man. In these books Baha'o'llah dwells upon 
 those virtues, through the practice of which spir- 
 itually awakened man will evolve and attain to 
 the state of nearness to God. 
 
 In the Kitabu'l-Akdas (Book of the Law) Ba- 
 ha'o'llah outlines both the material and spiritual 
 laws for the guidance of the people of the com- 
 ing dispensation. He provides for governmental 
 laws based upon divine laws. These laws are not 
 arbitrary. They are given with divine wisdom 
 and their virtue will become apparent as men 
 live in accordance with their statutes, for 
 through so doing, the source of the ills of the day 
 will disappear. The ordinances of the Bahai 
 cause aim at the eradication of wrong-doing 
 rather than the chastisement of those who perpe- 
 trate wickedness. 
 
 The Kitabu'l-Ahd (Book of the Testament) 
 is the will and testament of Baha'o'llah to His 
 followers. In this document He provides for the 
 guidance of His followers after His passing, by 
 appointing His beloved son, Abdul-Baha, to be 
 the Center of His Covenant, towards whom all 
 of the faithful should turn. 
 
 Baha'o'llah left many other writings to the 
 world. These are, for the greater part, in the 
 form of epistles or "Tablets," written to individ- 
 uals. Noteworthy among these are the ''Epistles
 
 1)2 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 to the Kings", written just previous to His ar- 
 rival at Akka, and sent from this prison to all 
 parts of the world, during His incarceration. 
 
 In these Tablets Baha'o'llah declares His 
 Cause to the kings and potentates of the earth, 
 exhorting them to turn to The Kingdom and to 
 The Promised One whom God had sent to estab- 
 lish peace upon earth, to abolish warfare, and to 
 give their attention to the establishment of those 
 institutions which would benefit their subjects. 
 Abdul-Baha 
 
 The writings of Abdul-Baha are for the 
 greater part epistles ("Tablets") written to indi- 
 viduals, or to assemblies of the followers. These 
 are explanatory of the revealed writings of Baha- 
 'o'llah. A number of Abdul-Baha's lessons upon 
 various spiritual subjects have been collected, 
 translated and published by one of his followers, 
 under the title of "Some Answered Questions". 
 This work is of value to the student who desires 
 an insight into the spirit of the teaching. Abdul- 
 Baha's mission is that of amplifying and apply- 
 ing the truth as revealed by his father. This, 
 Abdul-Baha is accomplishing by his life of serv- 
 ice and example even more than by his words. 
 His Life is his book. From him is proceeding 
 that power of understanding which is enabling 
 his followers to realize and to attain to the spir- 
 itual admonitions of Baha'o'llah. 
 
 In reading the translations of the writings of 
 The Bab, Baha'o'llah and Abdul-Baha, the west- 
 erner should always bear in mind two things : 
 1st, these original writings were in the sym- 
 bolic and florid style of the Persian or Arabic 
 tongues, many of the expressions and similes of 
 which are untranslatable and, perforce, have been 
 rendered literally, consequently much of the rich 
 poetic oriental expression is out of harmony with
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 63 
 
 the more matter-of-fact occidental tongue, 
 through which, in translation, it is forced to ex- 
 press itself ; 2d, many of these writings were 
 sent to people in intellectual conditions foreign 
 to those to which we are accustomed here in the 
 west. The object of these teachers being to make 
 spiritual connection with souls, they sometimes 
 employ one line of thought and terminology, and 
 sometimes another, from an entirely different point 
 of view. For instance, in order to reach a Mussul- 
 man the argument must be Islamic, whereas to 
 reach a Christian, it must be Christian, etc. 
 
 In studying these writings let the reader first 
 familiarize himself with all the conditions under 
 which they were written : the writer, the people 
 to whom he was writing, their previous religious 
 training, the tongue, etc. ; then he will under- 
 stand the spiritual wisdom of the writings, the 
 truth of which will not be obscured by expres- 
 sion, names or terminology.
 
 VIII. 
 
 SOCIAL REFORMS, LAWS, AND ORDI- 
 NANCES 
 
 Not only did Baha'o'llah reveal spiritual laws 
 and principles for the people of the world, but 
 He also outlined social reforms for the more ma- 
 terial guidance and well-being of mankind. 
 
 The spiritual or religious foundation is the es- 
 sential foundation ; social reforms are the fruit 
 of spiritual growth. Up to the present time but 
 few of the proposed institutions of the Bahai 
 faith have been established. Now is the time for 
 spiritual seed sowing, later will come the time of 
 spiritual fruitage and harvest Now the believ- 
 ers are establishing the spiritual institutions of 
 the teachings, spreading the message, enkindling 
 faith and love in men's hearts. The future will 
 see materialized the fruit of the labors of the 
 Bahais of today when, added to the present de- 
 velopment of the movement, will be all the insti- 
 tutions to round out the work, thus accomplish- 
 ing the complete design, as outlined by Baha- 
 'o'llah. 
 
 The Ordinances of the Bahai faith are in ac- 
 cord with the natural laws governing human re- 
 lations and affairs, and are so ordered as to 
 bring forth the highest and most perfect physi- 
 cal, moral and spiritual development of all who 
 place themselves within the sphere of in- 
 fluence. These laws are to be followed by the 
 people from choice, not by compulsion. As peo- 
 ple know and understand the wisdom of the pre- 
 cepts of Baha'o'llah, they will from volition, and 
 for their own welfare and that of those about 
 them, desire to live according to His advice. 
 
 Perfect liberty and freedom in religious 
 thought and belief is to be allowed every one. 
 64
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 65 
 
 The Bahais are exhorted to mingle freely with 
 people of all creeds, and in no way to shut them- 
 selves off from those of other beliefs. Neither 
 should they criticise nor denounce the teachings 
 nor the followers of other religious movements. 
 Through fraternal intercourse, kindness, and lov- 
 ing service to all humanity, the believers in this 
 latter-day revelation will eventually demonstrate 
 its truth to all the world. 
 
 While the Bahais are commanded not to inter- 
 fere with the religion of others, other people are 
 advised to relinquish those creeds and customs 
 which separate them into many divisions, in or- 
 der that all may come into the one great spiritual 
 unity of The Kingdom. All things find their 
 birth in unity. The life of any being or organi- 
 zation of beings is dependent upon this principle. 
 Therefore, how important is unity, and of the 
 various kinds how all-important is spiritual and 
 religious unity, for it is the foundation of all 
 unity and of the progress of the world. 
 
 With the development of the spiritual world- 
 unity, Baha'o'llah anticipated various universal 
 institutions for the great benefit of humanity. He 
 exhorted the rulers and governments of the world 
 to abolish warfare and establish peace; to settle 
 international difficulties by arbitration rather 
 than by bloodshed. In order to facilitate inter- 
 national understanding and unite all people, 
 Baha'o'llah advocated a universal language, 
 which would itself be instrumental in the pro- 
 motion of mutual understanding and sympathy 
 between peoples. 
 
 From Baha'o'llah's writings, it does not seem 
 to have been His idea that the kings of this 
 earth should cease to exist, but rather that all 
 governments should be established upon a system 
 of representation, without which no government
 
 66 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 can uphold the rights of the people. The fol- 
 lowers of Baha should be law-abiding citizens in 
 whatever country they may 4well and they 
 should be loyal supporters of all just and 
 righteous governments. 
 
 One of the institutions of The Bab was the 
 rearrangement of the calendar. This change was 
 confirmed by Baha'o'llah, and the new calendar 
 is beginning to be used by Bahais. Eventually it 
 will supersede the many systems now current. 
 The Bahai Era begins with the year 1844 A. D. 
 or 1260 A. H. The first day of the Bahai year 
 falls on March 21st, the day upon which the sun 
 enters the sign of Aries, and is commonly known 
 as the first day of spring. The year is divided 
 into nineteen months of nineteen days each, mak- 
 ing in all 361 days to which are added four 
 (every fourth year five) intercalary days, to com- 
 plete the 365 or 366 days of the year. 
 
 The Bahais have nothing in their own religion 
 to exclude those holding different views. They 
 have no form of membership, no formulated 
 creed nor institutions to differentiate them 
 outwardly from other people. Their work is 
 ever inward rather than outward, and for the 
 benefit of all rather than a few. In this religion 
 there is no priesthood. Teaching is given with- 
 out money and without price. All are teachers, 
 each in his own sphere of life. Those, able and 
 fitted to do so, go forth as speakers, while others 
 teach quietly by their deeds, and by speaking 
 the message when they find a hearer. While 
 the cause asks only for the hearts of its fol- 
 lowers, nevertheless, when the heart is in the 
 work there comes the desire to give and to do 
 something material for the movement. The giv- 
 ing of tithes for carrying on the Bahai work is 
 a privilege, not an obligation.
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 67 
 
 Baha'o'llah, like all of the world's religious 
 teachers, laid great stress upon prayer and fast- 
 ing. Both are necessary for the development of 
 the soul. Through prayer the soul is brought 
 into communion with God and receives the 
 spiritual sustenance necessary for its life and 
 well-being. Through fasting the soul becomes 
 freed from the materiality of the flesh; it then 
 apprehends higher things, becomes conscious of 
 divine realities, and receives the spiritual life 
 forces to a higher degree than possible under the 
 normal condition of the body. 
 
 Baha'o'llah clearly states that seeking refuge 
 in creed and dogma, and faith without works, are 
 not acceptable. The Bahais have no forms or 
 ceremonials, such as have characterized the reli- 
 gions of the past. Prayer is made individually 
 by the suppliant to God. Prayer, supplemented 
 by a pure and useful life in this world, forms the 
 elements of true worship. Every one should 
 have an occupation, which conduces to the wel- 
 fare of humanity, the diligent pursuance of 
 which is in itself an act of worship. 
 
 The Bahai teaching encourages marriage, 
 while asceticism and celibacy are discouraged. 
 Monogamy is taught, and among the believers in 
 the Orient is gradually replacing the systems of 
 polygamy which have always existed there. The 
 body should be developed, not mortified, because 
 it is the medium through which the spirit works. 
 A good and perfect body is desirable. 
 
 The executive affairs of the Bahai cause will 
 eventually be presided over by a synod, known as 
 the "House of Justice". Its members will be 
 selected by the people. These members are to be 
 qualified by spiritual characteristics and wisdom. 
 They will be the trustees of the people. Their 
 mission will be v to serve the people in the numer-
 
 68 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 ous avenues of Bahai activity, in charitable and 
 philanthropic works, and all the practical insti- 
 tutions which make for the welfare of the people 
 and the cause. The House of Justice will meet 
 at stated times and in various parts of the world, 
 for the performance of its work. In addition to 
 this general or central House of Justice for all 
 the world, there will be assemblages in each com- 
 munity for the carrying on of local service. 
 
 Baha'o'llah strongly denounced the taking of 
 opium and kindred drugs. The Bahais do not 
 use intoxicating liquors as beverages, and among 
 them even the use of tobacco is discouraged. 
 Gambling is forbidden, as having a demoralizing 
 effect upon the people. In fact all excesses, tend- 
 ing to weaken the body and the moral force of 
 man, should be eschewed by him. 
 
 Individual advancement and personal incentive 
 are to be fostered and encouraged, but the general 
 weal of the mass is even more to be considered. 
 The weak and unfortunate ones are to be pro- 
 tected from the greedy ones. Profit in business 
 is to be sought, but one person has no right 
 to enrich himself at the expense of another. 
 When the ordinances of Baha'o'llah are estab- 
 lished there will be fewer extremes of wealth 
 and poverty. The people will be better off than 
 they are now. The Bahai cause is prepared to 
 meet and to reform the many human ills which 
 the humanitarian thinkers and workers of the 
 day are striving to eradicate. This is being ac- 
 complished through the spiritualizing method of 
 changing the natural hardness of men's hearts by 
 infusing into them the Love of God. 
 
 In the Bahai cause woman holds a position 
 equal to that of man. She is not denied any 
 rights. Through the Bahai teaching the women 
 in the oriental countries are already reaping the
 
 THE; BAHAI MOVEMENT 69 
 
 benefits of education and are advancing in many 
 ways, which customs of their former religion 
 would close to them. It is hardly necessary here 
 to mention those laws touching upon hygiene and 
 the education of both sexes, and the admonitions 
 forbidding mendicity, slavery, cruelty to animals 
 and other offences, because, though in the Orient 
 the need for them is yet very great, our western 
 civilization has already accomplished these re- 
 forms. 
 
 While religion and state will never be reunited 
 upon the old lines of creed and dogma, 
 the Bahais look forward to the time when 
 the states, or governments of the nations, will 
 be founded upon a spiritual foundation when 
 the material laws of men will be founded and en- 
 forced according to the principles of the divine 
 laws of God. Religion is necessary to man. Na- 
 tions, as well as individuals, have at times tried to 
 live without religion and the results have always 
 been disastrous. The divine foundation is the 
 only foundation upon which to build any 
 institution that shall endure. The ideal govern- 
 ment rests upon this foundation, which is not a 
 union of church and state, but a union of religion 
 and state. 
 
 Eventually, in every Bahai center there will be 
 a building (temple) set apart for The Lord's 
 use. Grouped about this, as a center, will be va- 
 rious institutions for the benefit of man hos- 
 pitals, homes, hospices, colleges, and other phil- 
 anthropic enterprises. All of these buildings to- 
 gether, will constitute the Mashrak-El-Azcar : 
 (literally "The dawning place of the mentions 
 of God"). 
 
 The central building, or Temple proper, will 
 be a nine-sided structure surmounted by a dome, 
 and surrounded by gardens. The number 9 is
 
 70 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 symbolic of the Spirit of God Manifest. The 
 Temple will be a sanctuary for the reading or 
 chanting of the "Holy Words," for meditation 
 and for prayer, a place of universal worship 
 open to all, in which people of all races and re- 
 ligions can worship God individually, in spirit 
 and in truth, without the intermediary of church, 
 priest or ritual. 
 
 The practical institutions of the Mashrak-El- 
 Azcar will afford the opportunity for the estab- 
 lishment in the world of all branches of those pro- 
 gressive works for which the Bahai cause stands. 
 In this day, religion is to be the direct source of 
 inspiration in all secular affairs. The Bahai faith 
 stands as the promoter of advancement in every 
 line of human activity and development, and 
 therefore every phase of these innumerable ac- 
 tivities will draw its life from, and be an integral 
 part of, the Mashrak-El-Azcar. In the Bahai 
 teaching one finds exhortations to prayer and 
 worship, upon the one hand, and exhortations to 
 work and service to humanity upon the other. 
 "Faith without deeds is not acceptable," there- 
 fore the Bahai religious work includes all work 
 and service needful to man. This faith stands 
 for all material and social progress. This idea is 
 developed in the Mashrak-El-Azcar. 
 
 The Mashrak-El-Azcar is the symbolic expres- 
 sion of the prophet or the manifestation of God. 
 The central building or place of worship may 
 be compared to the heart or the innermost point 
 of illumination, while the surrounding institu- 
 tions may be compared to the fruit of (or serv- 
 ke and good works performed by) the manifes- 
 tation.- Within the house of worship the people 
 will find their inspiration, while through the 
 surrounding institutions they will manifest this 
 inspiration to the world, by loving service to hu- 
 manity.
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 71 
 
 Not long since, in the city of Eshkabad, in Rus- 
 sian Turkestan, such a Mashrak-El-Azcar was 
 built. This work represents the combined efforts 
 of the Bahais throughout the Orient. Its archi- 
 tectural beauty and size testify to the loving of- 
 ferings of those believers, while the idea for 
 which it stands is far above the conception of the 
 surrounding people. 
 
 In this service, of the Mashrak-El-Azcar, as 
 well as many others the Bahais are laying a 
 foundation, of whose existence the world in gen- 
 eral is now not aware, for the alleviation of many 
 human evils. The people of the future will 
 understand the far-sightedness of these people of 
 to-day in their effort to bring all secular affairs 
 under spiritual guidance. 
 
 The Bahais of the west are following in the 
 steps of their oriental brethren. In the city of 
 Chicago a movement has been started for the 
 erection there of the first Mashrak-El-Azcar in 
 the Occident. Already an extensive building site 
 has been purchased, overlooking Lake Michigan, 
 and it is hoped that soon the building will be be- 
 gun. Offerings for this work have been sent 
 from the Bahais in all parts of the world. 
 The Mashrak-El-Azcar represents the sum 
 total of all the Bahai activities. Abdul-Baha has 
 repeatedly written to the believers in America, 
 that of all works the building of the Mashrak- 
 El-Azcar is the most important. It is the foun- 
 dation for the new order of the spiritual King- 
 dom upon earth, therefore its importance cannot 
 be overestimated. When it stands accomplished, 
 it will be as a haven of rest to those who seek 
 communion with God within its sacred pre- 
 cincts; while outwardly, it will be as a banner 
 manifesting to the world the service and the pur- 
 pose of the Bahai cause.
 
 IX. 
 THE NEED OF THE TIMES 
 
 Living, spiritual religion is the cause of social 
 reform. It precedes and is the leader of human 
 progress, and is the basis of civilization. Life- 
 less religion, of theology and form, precedes and 
 is the cause of social and moral degradation. It 
 retards human progress, and is the destroyer of 
 civilization. Live religion produces peace and 
 harmony. Dead religion makes warfare and 
 discord. 
 
 Each of the world's spiritual teachers was in 
 advance of the people of his time. Each was in- 
 dependent of the thought and institutions of his 
 day, and was a creator of thought, morals and so- 
 cial advancement. This progressive spirit char- 
 acterized each of the great religious movements 
 during its earlier days. 
 
 Later, religion ceased to be an independent 
 institution (a leader of the people), and it 
 became a dependent institution, dependent upon 
 and catering to the thought of the people of the 
 day. Its mission as a leader and a creator of 
 thought and morals was at an end, and instead of 
 elevating the people, it retarded their progress 
 and became the cause of stagnation and disinte- 
 gration. Advancing civilization has had no more 
 subtle or persistent enemy to contend with than 
 lifeless religious systems. 
 
 Foremost among the world problems of the 
 day is the abolition of war and the establishment 
 of Peace. National, racial and religious hatred 
 have been the principal causes of warfare. The 
 present different religious teachings or philoso- 
 phies, not only are not working for Peace upon 
 earth, but through their influence upon men are 
 actually holding people at variance, dividing hu- 
 72
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 73 
 
 manity, and in many cases have been the direct 
 cause of war. Since the Bahai teaching is strik- 
 ing a fatal blow at these prejudices, it is not only 
 eliminating the cause of strife, but, in place of 
 this enmity, it is planting a virile and growing 
 unity between all peoples. 
 
 The Bahai principle of unity is not merely 
 negative, a suspension of inharmony, it is a posi- 
 tive force for unity, which, as it grows, trans- 
 mutes destructive forces into constructive forces. 
 It stands for, and is a promoter of, all of the 
 universal progressive movements uniting nations, 
 which the world now needs. Through it, the 
 differences between eastern and western thought, 
 manners and customs, and the lack of confidence 
 between all people, are being changed and re- 
 placed by oneness of thought and action and by 
 confidence and fraternity. 
 
 The Bahai Cause stands for: 
 
 The Unity of all Religions. 
 
 The Political Unity of nations. 
 
 The Social Unity of all classes, peoples and 
 races. 
 
 The Unity of Languages in one universal lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Universal Suffrage. 
 
 The Advancement of all Material Institu- 
 tions, conducive to the general welfare of man; 
 his enlightenment and progress. 
 
 World Peace. 
 
 All of which is to be established upon the 
 foundation of spiritual unity between peoples. 
 
 In this day, the peoples of the world are being 
 drawn together by all of the material forces of 
 civilization. Commerce and political relations 
 have brought people of all nations, races and 
 religions together, upon the plane of their outer 
 activities, but as yet they form a hetero-
 
 74 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 genous mixture, having no inner or spiritual 
 ground upon which to build a fundamental unity. 
 Such a spiritual meeting ground of unity is now 
 the most needed thing in the world. The time 
 is at hand for the people of the world to unite 
 in all matters, most of all in religion, since it is 
 the most potent factor in shaping character. 
 The good character of nations has been made by 
 religion and it has been destroyed through the 
 lack of it. 
 
 The theologies of the past have nothing to 
 offer the world today as the solution of this 
 mighty problem. Each of them was evolved 
 under conditions of the past, and has no relation 
 to, power or influence upon, the present univer- 
 sal world-needs. 
 
 The day of dependent religion is at an 
 end, and this world is now ripe for the 
 leadership of a virile religious movement : a 
 religion ahead of the times, one whose teaching 
 is independent of, and not limited by the current 
 thought of man ; that will lead the world onward, 
 infusing into it the spiritual force to reform its 
 institutions, and unite all races and nations, ori- 
 ental and occidental, in faith in God and confi- 
 dence in one another, thus making a firm spirit- 
 ual foundation for the coming great world-civili- 
 zation. 
 
 "The Bahai teaching is not an eclectic philos- 
 ophy, neither is it a sect. It is a living spiritual 
 religion. Because of its soul inspiring qualities, 
 it appeals alike to the unschooled and 
 the learned, to the masses and the few. 
 The Bab, Baha'o'llah and Abdul-Baha stand out 
 as divine teachers and leaders, independent of the 
 world's attitude and thought. They are not 
 building a theological system from intellectual 
 material. Like all world movers they were far
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 75 
 
 ahead of their times. Peace, arbitration and an 
 international language, in fact a universal civili- 
 zation, were unthought of by the world, when 
 these teachers, over a half century ago, announced 
 their spiritual message, in which is incorporated 
 the solution of all the teeming questions which 
 now occupy the minds of some of the greatest 
 thinkers and philanthropists of the age. Upon 
 every hand people are clamoring to understand 
 more clearly the principles of peace to which 
 the Bahai leaders and their followers have borne 
 witness by trials and suffering and death. 
 
 The Bahai cause is ministering to the great 
 spiritual need of the day, by planting in the soul 
 of the world a living religion of brotherhood. 
 Because of this universal need, this cause is des- 
 tined to grow until it envelops the whole world, 
 uniting all men and leading them onward toward 
 the age of spiritual enlightenment, prosperity, 
 and peace.
 
 X. 
 
 ORIENTAL-OCCIDENTAL UNITY. 
 
 The Orient can truly be said to be the mother 
 of the human race. From her heart went forth 
 those great racial wave movements which have 
 peopled the earth. In her mountain fastnesses 
 the prophets communed with God and received 
 His life-giving truth (which has been the inspira- 
 tion of all mankind), and in her valleys and upon 
 her plains civilization had its dawn. 
 
 The Occident can with equal truth be said to be 
 the son, or man-child of the mother Orient. Both 
 materially and spiritually the Occident has re- 
 ceived its physical life and its religious inspira- 
 tion from the Orient, the fruit of which is the 
 present occidental civilization. 
 
 During many centuries the peoples of the East 
 and those of the West have been separated by 
 barriers, racial, religious, geographic and politi- 
 cal. So complete has been this segregation, that 
 these two halves of humanity have developed 
 along different lines of thought, manners and 
 customs, until the very natures and characteris- 
 tics of these peoples have become, in general, 
 distinct and foreign to each other. 
 
 Now, in these latter days, through the breaking 
 down of the former material barriers, the 
 oriental and occidental peoples are being 
 forced one upon the other. Through interna- 
 tional relations, the increase of foreign commerce, 
 and the travel and mingling of people, the 
 Orientals and Occidentals are daily coming into 
 closer relations upon the material plane of life. 
 As yet, however, this is but a superficial ming- 
 ling, void of any basic unity. 
 
 Without any trust, confidence or affinity for 
 one another, the Oriental and Occidental are at 
 76
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 77 
 
 variance in almost every way. That which will 
 destroy this variance is the spiritual confidence, 
 trust, and mutual affinity, which the Bahai faith 
 is creating between the East and the West. 
 Through the establishment of such practical 
 institutions of service as will demonstrate this 
 spiritual unity, the greatest material and spiritual 
 benefit to all humanity will result, for, springing 
 from this spiritual foundation will be all of those 
 religious, political, and social activities, for which 
 the Bahai cause stands, and which will eventu- 
 ally unite in one civilization all the peoples of 
 the world. 
 
 The Bahai cause stands for spiritual unity 
 manifested in every phase and activity of life. 
 The Bab, Baha'o'llah and Abul-Baha stand pre- 
 eminent as lovers and servants of humanity. 
 Their mission was that of spiritual uniting and 
 life giving, therefore their teachings influence 
 every phase and detail of life. With the fruition 
 of this cause, the great Orient-Occident problem 
 will be solved. Through this Bahai spiritual 
 unity encompassing all peoples, oriental and occi- 
 dental characteristics will so blend that a new 
 world type of man will be evolved: one which 
 will embody, not only the present existing vir- 
 tues of the East and the West, but most of all, 
 the highest spiritual possibilities of humanity, 
 which can come to light only as people unite and 
 live according to divine law applied to every 
 phase of life. 
 
 The stages of development through which col- 
 lective man passes are parallel and analogous to 
 those through which he passes as an individual. 
 Until the state of physical maturity is reached, 
 individual men and women are content to live 
 apart from one another. Each is developing his 
 or her own mental and physical characteristics,
 
 78 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 and, normally, two different and distinct types, 
 masculine and feminine, are the result. 
 
 When maturity is reached, the reason for the 
 difference in the characteristics of man and 
 woman becomes apparent. Affinity and union 
 take place between these differing natures and 
 a great change is produced in each. One sup- 
 plies what the other lacks, and two rounded out 
 and more perfect lives is the result, and further, 
 through this love union of man and woman, the 
 way is made for the birth of other human beings. 
 When two parents are united by the bonds of a 
 complete love, their children come into this world 
 under the highest possible auspices for both 
 bodily and soul development, and in their natures 
 are found magnified the combined virtues of 
 both parents. 
 
 In this day, the human race is reaching the 
 stage of maturity, the Orient along her own char- 
 acteristic lines, and the Occident along his own 
 characteristic lines. Now their future develop- 
 ment depends upon their union, both spiritual 
 and physical. These two halves of humanity, 
 eastern and western, must unite and become as 
 one in every respect, spiritual and material, in 
 order that each may reach its highest develop- 
 ment. From this union will come the future 
 universal world-type of man, who will combine 
 in himself all the human virtues and the highest 
 spiritual possibilities. 
 
 Such an union between the East and West can 
 never be accomplished upon any foundation other 
 than a spiritual one. When the Occident and the 
 Orient meet on a common spiritual ground, then 
 an intellectual and social unity in all of its forms 
 with all of its institutions, will result. 
 
 By brute force a man can dominate a woman, 
 while the souls of both are suffering, although
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 79 
 
 neither may be aware of this condition. In the 
 perfect marriage, neither the man nor the woman 
 dominates the other. Through love, they become 
 as one soul in two bodies. So must it be between 
 the Occident and the Orient. Many oriental 
 countries have been held by occidental nations 
 through force. This has not been conducive in 
 any way to the solution of this world problem. 
 Under a regime of force, both peoples, the domi- 
 nant and the dominated, suffer from lack 
 of unity. Each remains within itself, its life 
 forces and possibilities undeveloped, pent up, 
 and suffering for lack of the expression which 
 only the freedom of harmony can give. 
 
 In the coming epoch of religious, racial and 
 national unity, for which the Bahai cause is pav- 
 ing the way, there will be no question of 
 ''supremacy" over one another. All peoples will 
 be members of one harmonious world-family, 
 each working to protect and help the other. 
 Under this order, which is the order of God's 
 Kingdom, the highest civic and national institu- 
 tions will be evolved, and the masses of the peo- 
 ple will attain to a high state of spiritual, 
 moral and physical development. Thus, hu- 
 manity will attain to a state of civilization and 
 advancement, of the greatness of which no one 
 can now form any conception.
 
 XI. 
 
 ETERNAL LIFE 
 
 Eternal life is the condition of the spiritually 
 alive or divinely quickened soul. 
 
 To be merely alive to physical, animal and 
 human things is not life according to religious 
 terminology. To be alive in the spiritual sense is 
 to be conscious of the Spirit of God manifest, to 
 believe in Him, and to do according to His will. 
 The soul is an indestructible entity which exists 
 after its separation or freedom from the material 
 body. Yet mere natural existence, either here 
 or in the life beyond, is not life from the spiritual 
 or divine view-point. 
 
 Through "The Manifestation," the soul of nat- 
 ural man is quickened with divine or eternal life, 
 which is as a new and a higher dimension added 
 to his human nature. By virtue of this divine 
 quickening, the spiritually-born soul comes di- 
 rectly under divine guidance. Though in the 
 world, yet it lives in a higher realm than before 
 the divine realm from which it receives life, 
 and a force that characterizes it with higher 
 qualities. Thus, through the baptism of the 
 spirit or the Word of God revealed, the soul 
 passes from the condition of natural darkness 
 into one of divine light, from the condition of 
 spiritual ignorance or death, into that of spiritual 
 awakeness or eternal life. 
 
 Eternal life is not a condition to which the soul 
 attains through its own virtue or through evolu- 
 tion from the natural plane. It is a gift and a 
 bounty from God bestowed upon natural man 
 through Revelation. It is given through God's 
 mercy and favor, not through His justice. There 
 is evolution upon the natural plane, confined to 
 that plane, and also evolution upon the 
 80
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 81 
 
 spiritual plane, confined to that plane, but 
 there is no evolution from one plane to the 
 other. In the Divine Kingdom, before as well as 
 after death, there is progression towards perfec- 
 tion of the type of perfect spiritual manhood. 
 There is nothing to which the soul may evolve 
 beyond perfect spiritual manhood, for spiritual 
 man is the highest being of God's creation, above 
 which there is no creation. Male and 
 female are conditions of the physical realm 
 and not of the spiritual kingdom. By virtue of 
 the Holy Spirit, manifesting through the re- 
 vealer, the souls of His followers are lifted from 
 the lower to the higher plane, from natural man- 
 hood to spiritual manhood, they become charac- 
 terized with divine qualities, and they show forth 
 in their lives the fruits of the Spirit. 
 
 As metal is heated in the fire and so partakes 
 of the characteristics of the fire until it is like 
 the fire, so the soul, through the revealed word, 
 becomes characterized by divine characteristics. 
 As with the metal, the source of the heat being 
 outside of it, the moment it is removed from the 
 fire it loses the characteristics of the fire, so it is 
 with the human soul, for when it separates itself 
 from God's Word, divine characteristics cease 
 to emanate from it. The source of divine life 
 is not in man but in The Word revealed, and 
 of man's divine enlightenment, in his dependence 
 upon The Word. 
 
 Good actions and good deeds characterize the 
 quickened soul, but good actions and good deeds 
 are not in themselves a proof that a soul is di- 
 vinely quickened. Many souls without faith or 
 spiritual assurance lead exemplary lives from 
 the ethical standard, while, upon the other hand, 
 many souls sunken in crime and depravity be- 
 come touched by the spirit and are born into The
 
 82 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 Kingdom, and bring forth the fruits of the di- 
 vine life. 
 
 Life in its highest and fullest sense, exists in 
 that soul in which all of the life forces, both di- 
 vine and material, reach their highest develop- 
 ment. Neither a physically perfect man nor a 
 highly educated man is upon the highest plane 
 until he is quickened, and alive to the divine 
 realities. The perfect type of manhood has an 
 all-round physical, psychical, intellectual and 
 divinely spiritual development. As souls are ded- 
 icated to God's service and become cleansed and 
 pure from earthly conditions, then the deep- 
 est mysteries of The Kingdom become clear to 
 them. All doubts and fears are dispelled by 
 faith and assurance, while all inharmonious con- 
 ditions are replaced by harmonious ones through 
 the love of God burning in the soul. This is 
 Eternal Life.
 
 XII. 
 
 HEAVEN AND HELL. 
 
 Heaven and hell, salvation and sin, light and 
 darkness, are terms employed to differentiate the 
 two spiritual conditions of the soul of man. 
 
 The spiritually quickened soi\l, alive with the 
 life of the Spirit, is that condition called heaven, 
 while the unawakened soul, not yet conscious of 
 the bounty of God, nor alive in His Spirit, is that 
 state of spiritual lethargy or darkness called hell. 
 These two conditions apply to the life of the sowl 
 in this world, as to the soul in the great beyond. 
 As there are conditions of both spiritual awake- 
 ness and spiritual slumber her in this life, so 
 there are these same conditions in the realm of 
 the immaterial into which the soul passes upon 
 leaving this body. 
 
 God's mercy is never wearied. As for those 
 souls who go out into the great beyond with- 
 out being spiritually awakened here, for their 
 quickening He has ways and means unknown 
 to us. Reward and punishment are of two 
 kinds, natural and spiritual. In the world of 
 nature every good act, in accord with her laws, 
 produces a good effect, and every violation of 
 nature's principles has a harmful, or detrimental 
 effect upon the individual. The reward and pun- 
 ishment, the good or the bad effect following the 
 good or bad action of man, is inevitable; it is 
 according to fixed law. Likewise, according to 
 the divine law he advances spiritually, and when 
 he violates that law he suffers spiritually. Spir- 
 itual conditions, however, are more far reaching 
 than material conditions, for they are not limited 
 to this earthly plane; they are eternal. 
 83
 
 84 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 The greatest blessing which can descend upon 
 man is the knowledge of God. The greatest ca- 
 lamity is to be deprived of this knowledge. 
 Through God's mercy He has given man the 
 blessing of knowing Him. He has also given man 
 free will to accept or reject this blessing as he 
 wills, therefore divine knowledge or ignorance 
 comes to man, as reward or punishment for his 
 choice. 
 
 A soul in this world may reject the light and 
 be spiritually deprived, and at the same time be 
 totally ignorant of its state of deprivation. From 
 the spiritual view-point a soul may be in darkness 
 and in spiritual torment, but because of the lack 
 of spiritual perception this soul may not realize 
 its own condition. 
 
 As darkness is but the absence of light, so ig- 
 norance is but the absence of knowledge, and 
 spiritual death but the absence of spiritual life. 
 Evil has no life nor positive existence. It is neg- 
 ative, it is the absence of positive light. Thus 
 darkness, ignorance and death are negative and 
 have no power within themselves, while light, 
 knowledge and life are positive powers, con- 
 taining those elements which dispel their op- 
 posites. 
 
 As there are many degrees of spiritual enlight- 
 enment for the soul while it inhabits the physi- 
 cal body, so are there many degrees for it in the 
 realms beyond this world. In this world man 
 is endowed with the freedom of choice. When 
 Divine Grace is offered him, he can accept or 
 reject it as he chooses. Thus, his responsibility is 
 great. Choice between light and darkness divine 
 illumination and ignorance exists, however, here 
 in this world only. In the realms beyond, these 
 earthly conditions do not exist There the soul
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 85 
 
 can exercise no free choice, as only the good 
 exists. There, spiritual progress and develop- 
 ment are also possible, but do not depend 
 upon the rvill of the individual, but wholly upon 
 the mercy and bounty of God. It is only in this 
 life that man can voluntarily choose to accept the 
 life of the Spirit and through this choice attain 
 to divine Mesings. 
 
 The Kingdom of Heaven is, both here and 
 hereafter, for those souls who are alive in The 
 Lord. Through revelation the divine promise 
 has been extended to man at various times 
 through the ages, that in the fullness of time the 
 quickening spirit of The Lord, through the 
 Latter-Day Messiah, would be so poured out 
 upon all men of all races, that the vast majority 
 of mankind would be illumined and quick- 
 ened and be in the state called heaven. The 
 past conditions of spiritual ignorance and dark~ 
 ness would pass, and the day of divine wisdom, 
 or great age would come. The "end of the 
 world," "the destruction of the world," and sim- 
 ilar terms used in holy writ, are symbolic of the 
 end of the ages of spiritual darkness and sin, and 
 the ushering into existence of the new epoch of 
 general spiritual illumination. The coming age of 
 peace, prosperity, and divine enlightenment will 
 be The Kingdom of God upon earth. 
 
 The Kingdom hereafter, is that state of life in 
 which the spiritually illumined souls find them- 
 selves after passing from the physical body. 
 Man's objective senses, being of the plane of this 
 natural realm, convey to the mind only concep- 
 tions of conditions peculiar to this material world, 
 therefore, of that immaterial condition of the soul 
 in the existence beyond this world, man can 
 form no mental conception whatever. As the 
 soul attains to a greater and fuller divine life, it
 
 86 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 becomes conscious and is assured of the perpetu- 
 ity and eternalness of the state of awakening, 
 and has no doubt as to the reality of the life 
 eternal, yet can not form a mental conception 
 of that condition because it is beyond the scope 
 of man's imagination. 
 
 Before the physical birth of the child into this 
 world, it is developing its physical organs, the 
 utility of which do not become apparent until 
 birth. During its pre-natal life, through the 
 mother, the child is nourished by life forces from 
 the world into which it is to be born. 
 
 So it is with the spiritual life of the soul. While 
 in this body, the soul is developing spiritual vir- 
 tues and faculties, the need for, and virtue of 
 which do not now appear, but which will be- 
 come apparent when it enters into the life be- 
 yond. Again like the child, the soul, while in 
 this body, is spiritually nourished with force 
 from that realm or condition into which it will 
 be born or enter, upon leaving its prior condition. 
 
 The Bahai believes that, while so-called death 
 in a sense separates souls for a time, there is a 
 spiritual link binding all together. The souls in 
 the realm beyond, retain remembrance of things 
 here, as well as of those near to them. Through 
 intercession there, souls here are helped. All 
 quickened souls are spiritually united. This tie is 
 eternal. It is not dependent upon physical 
 means. All souls, born of the spirit, are different 
 members of one great spiritual body, and whether 
 those members are on this earth or in the realm 
 beyond, there is a connection between them 
 which death does not sever. Natural ties are 
 severed when the soul leaves the body, but spirit- 
 ual ties are eternal. Through the sincere prayers 
 of others a soul is helped while here in this 
 world, and likewise, through the intercession of
 
 THK BAHAI MOVEMENT 87 
 
 others, a soul having passed from this life is 
 helped on his spiritual way in the realm beyond ; 
 for progress is not confined to this earthly exis- 
 tence. The souls, too, who have passed on, are 
 able through their intercessions to help those 
 here on earth. All of this is possible because the 
 pervading spirit of God is uniting the souls of 
 The Kingdom at all times and under all con- 
 ditions.
 
 XIII. 
 
 SCIENCE AND RELIGION. 
 
 Natural or material science is classified knowl- 
 edge of the human, animal, vegetable and 
 mineral kingdoms ; religion, or spiritual science, is 
 classified knowledge of the life of the spiritual, 
 or divine kingdom, and the laws which govern 
 it. There is no inharmony nor conflict between 
 these two realms, for there is perfect accord 
 throughout the whole of God's creation. Nat- 
 ural science teaches men how to live properly 
 upon this human plane. Through observing its 
 laws and living in accord with them, man attains 
 to a high state of material, physical, psychic, and 
 .intellectual development. On the other hand, the 
 prophets have revealed to humanity the laws 
 which govern the spiritual kingdom of souls. As 
 people live in accord with these divine laws, their 
 souls develop spiritually and they attain to a high 
 state of general development, for with the spir- 
 itual development, follows an evolution in the 
 natural or material development of man. When 
 men understand the realities of both the natural 
 and divine realms, they will find no conflict be- 
 tween religion and science. 
 
 The reason that science and religion have con- 
 tended in the, past, with each other, is because re- 
 ligious teachings have contained so many imag- 
 inations and superstitions as to make them in- 
 possible of acceptance to men of science. To be 
 sure, these superstitions did not exist in the 
 purity of the teachings as given by the prophets 
 themselves. Superstitions are the impediments 
 which religion has gathered as it has been 
 handed down through the ages. Science finds 
 only this dross a contradiction of her knowledge, 
 but the spiritual teachings, though they deal with 
 88
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 89 
 
 a higher realm, are in perfect accord with nat- 
 ural science. 
 
 The Bahai teaching is logical and reasonable. 
 It is free from superstition and is compatible 
 with modern science. There is in it spiritual 
 force, which is its very life and essence. This 
 transcends mere intellect, logic and reason, al- 
 though it is in perfect accord and harmony 
 with them. 
 
 One great work which the Bahai cause is ac- 
 complishing is the harmonizing of science and re- 
 ligion. It shows scientific people that true reli- 
 gion not only is not opposed to science, but that 
 it is itself scientific, and that man needs 
 more than mere intellectual food he needs 
 spiritual knowledge. Not until man adds 
 the spiritual to the intellectual has he that perfect 
 balance, by virtue of which he attains to 
 highest development. The Bahai teaching is 
 bringing a stronger, firmer and more vital faith 
 into the religious world. Through the spirit of 
 this movement, people of the old established re- 
 ligions realize that they have nothing to fear 
 from the world of modern scientific thought. 
 Under this influence, the old superstitions are 
 dropping away, but the pure, untarnished truth' 
 is standing supreme. 
 
 The realization that there is no conflict be- 
 tween the material and divine realms, that mate- 
 rial truth and divine truth are in perfect accord, 
 frees man from superstition and fear, and gives 
 him faith and assurance, opening before him the 
 door to the highest possibilities and development.
 
 XIV. 
 THE SUPERNATURAL 
 
 Miracles form no part of the Bahai teaching. 
 
 The prophets were endowed with powers, 
 both natural and spiritual, through which they 
 accomplished that which was impossible to or- 
 dinary man. The unusual things which they did 
 were for the instruction and education and spir- 
 itual quickening of those about them. The mir- 
 acles ascribed to them have been a great test of 
 faith for the people of after generations, for to 
 many, miracles are not a proof of divinity. 
 
 A material phenomenon seemingly outside the 
 domain of natural law, would not prove to think- 
 ing people that the doer was divine. In these days 
 of physical and psychological experiment and re- 
 search no one would ascribe divine powers to the 
 physicist or the psychologist who astonished the 
 world with discoveries and demonstrations. 
 
 Many wonderful things are recorded by the 
 Bahais, illustrative of the spiritual powers of the 
 founders of their religion, but these form no part 
 of the teaching nor are they ever mentioned as 
 proofs, for, if so, they would prove a stum- 
 bling block rather than an attraction to truth 
 seekers. 
 
 The great and wonderful miracle, performed 
 by the prophets and manifestations of the past 
 and the present, is their power to implant in the 
 souls of men the love of God, to quicken human- 
 ity with divine life and, with all of the earthly 
 forces against them, to accomplish their divine 
 work. This is a real, a spiritual miracle.
 
 XV. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL ASPECT OF THE BAHAI 
 TEACHING. 
 
 In order to produce world unity, the supersti- 
 tions and prejudices of past ages must be re- 
 moved from men's minds. Lack of education, 
 creates narrowness and prejudice; education, 
 brings broadness of view, and sympathy with 
 others. 
 
 The past systems of narrow education hav 
 tended more towards perpetuating than eradicat- 
 ing inharmony between men. . The follow- 
 ers of the different religious systems, being at 
 variance with one another, have in their educa- 
 tional systems handed down to coming gen- 
 erations the prejudice, ignorance and dogmatism 
 of past generations, thus instilling into the 
 children all the soul-retarding elements which 
 encumbered the natures of the parents. The nat- 
 ural tendency of man has been to remain upon 
 the old level of inharmony rather than to arise 
 therefrom by his own will. 
 
 Now, in this enlightened age, there has ap- 
 peared in the world simultaneously with the 
 Hahai revelation, a new order of educational 
 methods. Former dogma and prejudice are no 
 longer taught to children, and the minds of the 
 youths of this generation are not thus limited and 
 handicapped. 
 
 In fact, in this day, in freeing our educational 
 system from the superstition, prejudice and 
 dogma of the past, the mistake has been made 
 of eliminating, also, all spiritual precepts from the 
 general instruction of children. Thinking edu- 
 cators are beginning to see the demoralizing re- 
 sults of the lack of spiritual instruction in the 
 present system ; for in the people of this genera- 
 91
 
 92 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 tion is manifest, to an alarming degree, the in- 
 roads of certain vices against which they are un- 
 able to protect themselves because of the want of 
 moral and spiritual training and poise. 
 
 It is an all-round education, for which the 
 Bahai cause stands. Man is a combination of 
 several natures and his general well-being de- 
 pends upon a balanced training and development. 
 Bodily he must train and develop his physical 
 powers in order to have a good and perfect or- 
 ganism through which to manifest the higher 
 man. Physically and mentally he must train and 
 develop the powers of perception, memory and 
 reason, that he may have mental organism 
 through which to manifest the higher spiritual 
 man. Man's spiritual training and soul develop- 
 ment is the most important of all education. This 
 is the highest and greatest power within his be- 
 ing; therefore its importance cannot be overesti- 
 mated. By religious and spiritual training is not 
 meant the teaching of doctrine or creed, but 
 rather, inculcating into man the knowledge of 
 the Truth. 
 
 When man has attained to the Bahai concep- 
 tion of education, he is indeed educated in every 
 sense of the word. This is the only education 
 which fully fits man for the life here, as well as 
 for the life hereafter. 
 
 The Bahai teaching stands for the higher edu- 
 cation of woman. In some recent instructions 
 sent to the Orient. Abdul-Baha has exhorted the 
 Bahai s to give their daughters every possible ed- 
 ucational advantage, telling them it was even 
 more necessary that their girls should be edu- 
 cated than their boys, because women are the 
 mothers and the natural teachers of men, and it 
 is of the greatest importance to the race that they 
 be highly educated. Already several Bahai
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 93 
 
 women physicians and nurses are working in 
 Persia. Their work is of the greatest importance 
 among the women, because they are able to pene- 
 trate into the seclusion of the family life of the 
 people, in ways not open to men. 
 
 Several other Americans, Bahais, have gone to 
 Persia as teachers, and are associated there with 
 the educational work. Quite recently a girls' 
 school was opened by the Bahais in Teheran, 
 and from the last accounts, there were more 
 scholars than could be accommodated. In addi- 
 tion to this, educational work is being carried 
 on in all of the oriental countries, where there 
 are congregations of Believers. Each year brings 
 Bahai students to Europe and America, who 
 after completing their studies return to their 
 own countries as teachers. 
 
 Through liberal education and the diffusion of 
 knowledge and wisdom, both spiritual and mate- 
 rial, the superstitions and limitations of the past 
 will cease to exist, all people will be in sympathy 
 with humanity as a whole, and each individual 
 will consider himself a citizen of the world 
 rather than exclusively of one country, and one 
 people.
 
 XVI. 
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT AND THE 
 ECONOMIC QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 
 
 With the expansion of civilization and the peo- 
 pling of the world, the field for conquest 
 is so rapidly diminishing that already a 
 great change has been produced in the 
 economic conditions of the world. Owing 
 to the present international conditions, and the 
 nearness of nations, war is assuming an aspect 
 more detrimental to all parties than it has ever 
 had in the past. Arbitration must in the end 
 supplant national conquest and warfare. 
 
 Likewise, the warlike methods upon which the 
 world's commerce has been conducted will ere 
 long become obsolete, because of the passing of 
 the conditions which made those methods pos- 
 sible. Commercial relations are now becoming 
 so intimate between nations, that co-operation must 
 eventually take the place of the present warfare 
 of illegitimate competition, in the business world. 
 
 The Bahai cause teaches co-operation in all af- 
 fairs. Through working together for the good of 
 the mass, rather than for the aggrandizement of 
 the individual, the Bahais anticipate that national 
 and economic affairs will be so regulated that 
 comparatively little misery will exist in the 
 world. There will not be the extremes of wealth 
 and poverty which now exist and all people, both 
 rich and poor, will be better off than now. 
 
 Through the stable financial conditions which 
 co-operation between capital and labor will bring 
 about (co-operation for the best good of all 
 concerned), the laborer will be assured of a live- 
 lihood and will be enabled to get the best out of 
 life, and, upon the other hand, the capitalist will 
 be less on the defensive and less burdened than 
 
 94
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 95 
 
 he is now. Because of the co-operation of all 
 classes, the wealthy will occupy themselves more 
 with matters pertaining to the general wel- 
 fare of the people, rather than seeking mainly 
 their own individual enjoyment. 
 
 As people come into the spirit of the Bahai 
 teaching and see the virtue of co-operation, and 
 act upon this principle, the great economic prob- 
 lems which now threaten the world with dire 
 calamities will disappear and give place to insti- 
 tutions for the highest good of mankind, through 
 which all people will live in harmony, in happi- 
 ness and in plenty. The Bahais believe that 
 eventually the whole world will recognize the 
 power of the spiritual principle of co-operation, 
 and will apply it in matters of every day life, 
 thus solving life's mighty economic problem in 
 all of its details.
 
 XVII. 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN. 
 
 The Bahais teach the existence of five king- 
 doms, planes, divisions or kinds of creation : 
 
 (1) The mineral kingdom, or material plane 
 in which there is no life or spirit, in the ordinary 
 acceptance of the term. 
 
 (2) The vegetable kingdom or physical plane, 
 in which there is the lowest form of spirit or life. 
 This plane is characterized by the principle of 
 growth and fruition, by virtue of which organ- 
 isms develop and propagate their kind. 
 
 (3) The animal kingdom or psychical plane, 
 the organisms of which are differentiated from 
 those of the vegetable plane by the power to ap- 
 prehend conditions outside of themselves. 
 
 (4) The human kingdom, that of man, which 
 is differentiated from the animal condition by 
 the intellectual faculty, by virtue of which man 
 comprehends ideas in the abstract. 
 
 (5) The divine kingdom, or condition of spir- 
 itual illumination, which is differentiated from 
 the human, or natural, or unspiritually quickened 
 state of the soul, by consciousness of God. By 
 virtue of this higher life, the quickened soul ap- 
 prehends spiritual realities, lives in spiritual com- 
 munion with the divine, and is of the order of 
 The Kingdom of God. Unlike the vegetable, an- 
 imal and human kingdoms, which are dependent 
 for existence upon earthly conditions, the 
 spiritual life of the soul is dependent upon 
 those peculiar to the divine realm. These con- 
 ditions are eternal, therefore the life of divinely 
 quickened souls is eternal. The spiritual 
 condition in which those souls live is not con- 
 fined to an earthly realm. 
 
 Beyond and above all created kind is the Holy
 
 BAHAI MOVEMENT 97 
 
 Spirit of God, uncreated and infinite, unknow- 
 able to man save through Its Manifesta- 
 tion, the mediator between God and His 
 children here upon earth. Divinely quickened 
 man is the highest of the creatures, above which 
 there is no creation. From his beginning man 
 was created man a distinct species. In the early 
 days of man upon earth, in many respects he 
 more resembled the animal than he did the man 
 type of today. But from his first appear- 
 ance there was in him that human spirit, 
 apart and of a different kind from the 
 animal, which, though at first hidden, has evolved 
 into the type of man that we now know. In 
 the coming age of divine development, humanity 
 will continue evolving to a far higher state 
 than it now has attained. Man, never 
 having been anything but man, can never evolve 
 out of the kingdom of his own kind and species. 
 He will, however, be approaching nearer and 
 nearer to the perfect type of spiritiial manhood 
 and perfection.
 
 XVIII. 
 
 THE METHOD OF TEACHING AND THE 
 GROWTH OF THE BAHAI MOVEMENT. 
 
 The method of Bahai teaching is constructive, 
 in every sense. In presenting this cause to a soul, 
 the teacher's first step is to confirm the seeker in 
 the truth of his own religion, and upon 
 that, as a foundation, place this latter-day 
 teaching. Argument and dispute have no 
 place in this cause. The teaching is quietly 
 yet fearlessly given, and then the matter is left 
 with the listener and God. People are not urged 
 or enticed, but rather, through love, are attracted 
 to the cause. 
 
 It has been found, when two or more souls 
 come together to discuss religious matters with 
 perfect love in their hearts, the result is always 
 uplifting and conducive to edification. When 
 people meet together for religious discus- 
 sion without this spirit of true charity in their 
 hearts, the result is always distressing, and it 
 would have been better had they not met. This 
 principle of the power of love the Bahais under- 
 stand, and they rely upon it and not upon argu- 
 ments presented from the plane of intellect alone. 
 
 In order to combat evil the soul should be filled 
 with love and truth. Fear, together with all its 
 attending destructive forces, disappears in the 
 presence of faith and assurance. The Bahai 
 teaching is one of joy and gladness. True spirit- 
 uality is profound yet not depressing, and while 
 uplifting, is free from levity. Truth and love are 
 in the world to lift people up from suffering and 
 depression, and should, therefore, be presented 
 as they are, full of joy. The Bahais are taught 
 at all times to manifest in their thoughts, words 
 and actions the joy of the Lord. It is only by 
 98
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 99 
 
 showing forth a joyful and happy spirit, and 
 by loving service to humanity, that suffering and 
 seeking souls are attracted and brought under the 
 power of the quickening spirit of the cause. 
 Through kind and loving service to all humanity, 
 to friend and foe alike, the Bahais have a most 
 powerful weapon with which to combat religious 
 prejudice and spiritual ignorance. Even the most 
 difficult people are won through continued kind- 
 ness. Once attracted, the hungry soul recog- 
 nizes and accepts the Truth. The Bahai teach- 
 ers find that when a soul is reached by their 
 teaching, whether a Christian, Moslem, Jew or 
 Buddhist, the truth at once appeals to his inner 
 nature, and he will usually say, "This is exactly 
 what I have always believed". 
 
 Having no organization, ritual, or priesthood 
 after the manner of other religions, the Bahais 
 are opposing the work of no other religious bod- 
 ies. It is a world-wide movement, the spirit of 
 which is working unhindered and unbound by 
 confines and barriers of sect and ism. The 
 Bahais see and recognize truth and spiritual 
 beauty wherever found, and through this 
 attitude of love and tolerance for all, they find at 
 every hand, among the people of other religious 
 bodies, the opportunity of sharing the spirit of 
 their faith. 
 
 Often people inquire whether affiliation with 
 the Bahai cause necessitates the giving up of 
 church membership. The advice is always that 
 no human or religious relations should be sev- 
 ered, but that these relations should become as 
 avenues for giving forth the message and the 
 spirit of the Bahai faith. People having church 
 relations continue to mingle with church peo- 
 ple. However, they do not remain silent about 
 the new light which has come to them. When
 
 100 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 ever they find prepared souls, they give them the 
 glad tidings of the coming of The Lord in His 
 Kingdom, and thus they diffuse the knowledge 
 and spirit of the Truth. 
 
 Where there are several sympathizers in the 
 work in the same vicinity, regular meetings are 
 established. At these reunions the sacred writ- 
 ings are read, the teachings are explained, and 
 seekers are welcomed. As these groups increase 
 in numbers, they become known as "Assemblies." 
 In the assemblies certain people are usually se- 
 lected to serve. These confer together and ar- 
 range for meetings, publications, and other 
 matters in connection with the carrying on of the 
 work. 
 
 There is no distinction such as teacher or pu- 
 pil. All are teachers and at the same time all are 
 pupils. Contributions are not solicited. The 
 cause must first find root in the hearts of the 
 people, then the people will of themselves arise 
 to serve it. When a soul realizes the greatness 
 of the privilege of aiding the Bahai work, then 
 he assists, in the measure in which he is able, 
 his own heart being his guide. 
 
 The Bahais are working toward the great end 
 of uniting all races and religions in the Love of 
 the Lord. They are impelled by no other motive 
 than the Love of God. They are not looking for 
 results, theirs is the satisfaction of service, and 
 there is no other satisfaction or pleasure which 
 can approach that joy, the joy of serving God. 
 
 One of the questions the Bahais are often 
 asked, is regarding the number of those who pro- 
 fess this faith. The reason for their inability 
 to answer is quite clear to those who realize that 
 the object of this movement is to leaven the 
 whole lump of humanity, with its numerous divi- 
 sions, rather than to precipitate another sect upon
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 101 
 
 the many already existent. Having no form of 
 membership, the Bahais make no attempt to esti- 
 mate their number. Their strength is a spiritual 
 strength, not to be measured numerically. Even 
 were it possible to know the exact number of Ba- 
 hais in the world, this reckoning would be of 
 short duration because the movement is growing 
 continually, interest in it is increasing, and the 
 hearts of people are daily becoming more at- 
 tracted, and more confirmed in the truth. 
 
 The Bahais are widely distributed throughout 
 the world. During the days of The Bab, his 
 cause was confined principally to Persia, though 
 he had adherents also in Turkey and in 
 neighboring countries. With the rise of Baha- 
 'o'llah, this field of work was extended. The 
 Bahai teachers went north into Caucasia, Rus- 
 sia and Turkestan, south into India, east into 
 Burma and later on into China. With Baha- 
 'o'llah's exile in Turkey, Roumelia and Syria, his 
 cause spread in those countries as well as in 
 Egypt and in Arabia. 
 
 The establishment of the Bahai cause in the 
 West has been accomplished under the ministry 
 of Abdul-Baha. In the year 1894, a small group 
 of people in the city of Chicago became interested 
 in the Revelation. Later, similar groups were 
 formed in New York, Washington, and San 
 Francisco. In the winter of 1898-99, the first 
 band of American Bahai pilgrims crossed the 
 seas to visit Abdul-Baha, then in exile in the 
 Holy Land. Up to that time the communication 
 between the American Bahais and Abdul-Baha 
 had been by writing only. Then, with the added 
 impetus of Abdul-Baha's personal touch, these 
 American pilgrims returned to the West with re- 
 newed zeal and desire to spread the cause. 
 
 From the enthusiasm of this first band of tray-
 
 102 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 elers, new centers of the teaching were founded 
 in France, England and America. From these 
 as a nucleus have developed Believers, in all parts 
 of the United States, in Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, 
 Japan and Australia, as well as in various parts 
 of Germany, Switzerland and Italy. During this 
 period of growth, several Bahai teachers from 
 the Orient have traveled through Europe and 
 America, instructing and teaching the people and 
 helping to establish new centers. Likewise, teach- 
 ers from the Occident have traveled and taught 
 in the oriental countries. Quietly and slowly 
 the cause has grown amid all varieties of hu- 
 man conditions, among peoples of every religion, 
 race and clime. In the growth and progress of 
 the Bahai Movement is demonstrated its uni- 
 versal spiritual power. Accepted by people of 
 every condition, it is making inroads into their 
 souls, as leaven; it is uniting these many hetero- 
 geneous elements into one homogeneous world- 
 people.
 
 XIX. 
 
 A PERSONAL TESTIMONY 
 
 In the preceding chapters of this book I have 
 attempted to give a general resume of the his- 
 tory and teaching of the Bahai cause, and the 
 work now being accomplished. Here it is my de- 
 sire to relate to the reader a few of my own ex- 
 periences in connection with this cause. During 
 the past twelve years, it has been my privilege to 
 visit Abdul-Baha several times and to travel ex- 
 tensively among the Bahais in foreign lands. It 
 is with the desire of sharing the inspiration re- 
 ceived from Abdul-Baha and from his follow- 
 ers, that I am presuming to record these personal 
 observations. 
 
 My first visit to Abdul-Baha was in the winter 
 of 1901. At that time the cause in the West was 
 in its infancy and was passing through a critical 
 period of its growth. But few of the words of 
 Baha'o'llah and Abdul-Baha had been translated, 
 and the believers, though fired with faith and a 
 great desire to disseminate the teachings had as 
 yet, learned but little of the spiritual principles 
 of the cause. Consequently there was a general 
 lack of harmony of ideas among the adherents, 
 which caused much confusion. It was against 
 such odds that Abdul-Baha was heroically strug- 
 gling. 
 
 At that time he was in comparative ease, 
 having been allowed to leave the prison city of 
 Akka with its unhealthy climate, and was spend- 
 ing the winter in the neighboring town of Haifa. 
 Notwithstanding this betterment in the condi- 
 tions of Abdul-Baha's outer life, one felt the 
 weight which was upon his soul and saw how his 
 spirit was taxed in his endeavor to teach and 
 train the people in the way of The Kingdom. 
 103
 
 104 THE: BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 I recall an incident which showed the stress 
 under which he, at that time, was laboring. One 
 night after a busy day of teaching and letter 
 writing he had gathered twenty or more of us at 
 his table for the late evening meal. We were 
 about half through with the repast, when some 
 one made an allusion to some difficulty among 
 the believers in America. Abdul-Baha looked 
 very serious, then in evident distress of both 
 mind and body he arose from the table and left 
 the room. As he went through the door his -aba 
 (cloak) fell from his shoulders to the floor. 
 Gathering it up I hurriedly followed him to 
 the terrace in front of the house. Scarcely touch- 
 ing him I slipped the cloak over his shoulders. 
 He did not notice the incident, so troubled and 
 absorbed was he as he passed out into the night. 
 
 For over a year before I first met Abdul- 
 Baha, I had been a believer in the Bahai cause, 
 so when I went to him it was not to have my 
 faith established but rather to have it confirmed, 
 and to gain knowledge. In the accomplishment 
 of this. Abdul-Baha helped through his un- 
 derstanding of me. From the moment I met 
 him I realized he understood me perfectly, 
 as an old friend. Thus a bond was established, 
 which has always been a source of joy, delight, 
 and help to me, for each visit I have had with 
 him, and every tablet (letter) and message re- 
 ceived from him, has strengthened this un- 
 derstanding and has demonstrated to me again 
 and again, Abdul-Baha's all-penetrating spiritual 
 sight and wisdom. Notwithstanding the distance 
 and circumstances which separate Abdul-Baha 
 from his friends, when they receive his tablets 
 they find advices and admonitions peculiarly ap- 
 plicable to them in their needs of that moment.
 
 THE; BAHAI MOVEMENT 105 
 
 During the eleven days I remained in Haifa, 
 I had this phase of Abdul-Baha's personality 
 deeply engraved on my mind. All was not easy 
 to understand. I had various spiritual ups and 
 downs until shortly before I left him, then 
 everything became very clear and my spiritual 
 rapport with him was established. The moment 
 of our parting was a happy one for me, because 
 I felt that I was carrying away with me some- 
 thing which could never be destroyed, a spiritual 
 friendship which would grow eternally, both 
 here and in the future realm. 
 
 Early in the summer of 1901, shortly after my 
 first visit, an order was issued sending Abdul- 
 Baha back to the prison city of Akka. There he 
 remained for seven years, with the exception of 
 a short period, when upon several occasions he 
 was permitted to visit the tomb of BahaVllah at 
 Behje, a mile or two beyond the city gates. Dur- 
 ing this period of imprisonment, it was at times 
 with the utmost difficulty that pilgrims were able 
 to see Abdul-Baha, nevertheless this was a great 
 period of growth in the cause. Abdul-Baha 
 worked diligently with his pen and the result of 
 his labors became apparent among the Bahais in 
 all parts of the world. 
 
 Six years elapsed between my first and 
 second visits to Abdul-Baha, during which 
 interim he had been confined to the for- 
 tress. Knowing that some recent pilgrims had 
 remained nine days in Akka, I had rather set my 
 mind upon a visit of the same length. On reach- 
 ing Haifa I was told that, on account of the 
 troublous conditions surrounding Abdul-Baha, 
 I would be able to remain with him but a few 
 hours. At first the thought of so short a visit 
 was a keen disappointment. Upon second 
 thought, however, my mental attitude changed
 
 106 
 
 and I realized fully that Abdul-Baha understood 
 and was planning for the best. 
 
 Whether one is benefitted by meeting Abdul- 
 Baha depends upon really meeting him spiritual- 
 ly. It is the open, unprejudiced and seeking souls 
 which unite with the soul of Abdul-Baha. When 
 this spiritual contact is effected, the personal visit 
 to him is not essential for enlightenment, for, 
 with spiritual connection between the souls of 
 Abdul-Baha (the heart of the Bahai movement) 
 and the believers (the members of the body of 
 the movement), these souls are one with him, 
 and through this unity his divine wisdom and 
 love go forth to all his followers. 
 
 Although my second visit with Abdul-Baha 
 was very short, I would not have wished it other- 
 wise. Again I left him in great joy with my 
 soul overflowing with the love of The Kingdom, 
 which he so freely radiates. The one great les- 
 son which he taught me at that time was dispell- 
 ing (negative) fear with (positive) assurance. 
 
 The natural tendency of man is often to fear 
 people and to shut himself away from them. 
 This becomes a habit and one which causes 
 much ill ease, and this condition I was just 
 beginning to realize. Not from anything 
 which Abdul-Baha said to me, but through 
 the way in which he received and treated 
 me I saw clearly that I could not serve him in 
 the cause and continue to remain inwardly aloof 
 from people. I saw that it was because of Ab- 
 dul-Baha's freedom from constraint, and 
 through his fearlessness and his friendly way of 
 approaching people, his frank expression of love, 
 faith and assurance, that he was able to reach 
 the souls of men and impart to them his courage 
 and wisdom.
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 107 
 
 Abdul-Baha throws himself into the lives of 
 all about him. Through this contact he undoubt- 
 edly suffers much, nevertheless, thus he is en- 
 abled to reach the people and to minister to them. 
 His fearlessness, combined with gentleness and 
 humility in approaching people, was a lesson to 
 me, for in his method I saw the way in which 
 Abdul-Baha's followers must live in order to 
 do his work among men. 
 
 My next visit to Abdul-Baha was at the cul- 
 mination of his troubles and difficulties just pre- 
 vious to the fall of the former despotic Ottoman 
 power, and the re-establishment of the consti- 
 tutional government in the midsummer of 1908. 
 Upon arriving in Haifa, I found that some re- 
 cent American pilgrims had not been able to 
 meet Abdul-Baha, but had returned to America 
 happy in having seen him from a distance as he 
 walked upon an elevated balcony on his house 
 within the fortifications of Akka. Four Arabs, 
 recent converts to the faith, on account of their 
 belief had for several months been confined in 
 the prison of the fortress. Others of the Bahais, 
 in order to avoid pending trouble, by Abdul- 
 Baha's advice had sought temporary refuge in 
 Egypt, while those remaining in Syria were all 
 but panic stricken by the trouble and persecu- 
 tions which were daily descending upon the 
 Bahai community from the hands of the un- 
 scrupulous government officials. 
 
 After remaining several days in Haifa, word 
 came from Abdul-Baha for me to go to Akka 
 and proceed to the house of a certain Persian 
 gentleman, one of the oldest and most faithful 
 of the believers. In the guise of a native Syrian 
 and with the assistance of one of the oriental 
 Bahais, I entered the prison city, passing through 
 the various guarded gates without being halted.
 
 108 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 Once established in the privacy of the house of 
 the friend, Abdul-Baha having the freedom of 
 the city within the fortifications, came to see me 
 several times. 
 
 Though under the most severe physical diffi- 
 culties, Abdul-Baha was visibly in the greatest 
 spiritual strength and power. In strong contrast 
 with the fear and terror of his followers, im- 
 possible to describe, Abdul-Baha stood forth in 
 the greatest of joy of soul and tranquility of 
 spirit. He radiated calmness and assurance, and 
 through his strength the community of the 
 friends was saved from despair and from the 
 disaster which would have accompanied the loss 
 of hope at such a moment. This situation was 
 dramatic in the extreme. It was shortly followed 
 by the tragic downfall of the government that for 
 forty years had held Abdul-Baha a prisoner. 
 
 Several months later I was again permitted to 
 travel in Syria and visit Abdul-Baha. Although 
 it had not been long in point of time since my 
 previous visit, yet the conditions surrounding 
 Abdul-Baha had so changed as to make the 
 previous time seem, by comparison, to have been 
 in a former decade. Abdul-Baha was free. The 
 uttermost liberty existed. Akka had ceased to 
 be a penal colony and the gates were no longer 
 guarded. 
 
 The Bahais had not yet recovered from their 
 first ecstasy of joy over the freedom of Abdul- 
 Baha, yet through all this manifest jubilation 
 he was conducting his work as usual. It 
 was then that I realized, to the extent of my 
 capacity, how far above this world's conditions 
 Abdul-Baha stands. Not discouraged by criti- 
 cism, persecution, calamity; not elated by ap- 
 plause, commendation nor good fortune, he 
 stands apart from the world upon a firm rock,
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 109 
 
 the spiritual foundation of The Kingdom. By 
 virtue of this severance from all save God, he is 
 enabled to change the current of the world's 
 thought from materiality to spirituality, and to 
 create in men's souls the fire of God's love. 
 
 Almost two years after the great change in 
 Turkey, I again went to Syria. In coming in 
 contact with Abdul-Baha each soul receives the 
 message, or the lesson, for which it is then ready 
 and prepared to receive. Previously my at- 
 tention had been chiefly called to those principles 
 for which Abdul-Baha stands, which are so 
 clearly manifested in his life, while his person- 
 ality, as a man in the world, had impressed me 
 but little. Now, this which previously I had al- 
 lowed to pass almost unnoticed was to be my 
 chief lesson. 
 
 I saw the exquisite beauty of Abdul-Baha's 
 personality from lines of physical strength and 
 refinement in his face, to his trained thought 
 and judgment. His dignity and carriage, his 
 mental grasp of things both great and small, and 
 the manner in which he dealt with them in pro- 
 portion to their importance, were all of the deep- 
 est interest to me. 
 
 In his person one sees at once the power of the 
 spirit as well as its gentle, refining qual- 
 ities, a combination of strength and delicacy, of 
 masculine and feminine qualities; the balanced 
 combination of dignity, humility, forcefulness 
 and gentleness. 
 
 Whatever may be one's mental conception of 
 Abdul-Baha, one must invariably readjust it 
 from time to time. Under his guidance, his 
 followers are growing in spiritual stature, and 
 as the perceptive powers of the soul increase, 
 one sees more and more clearly Abdul-Baha's 
 spiritual power and divine mission. Were one 
 to visit him many times, each time his former
 
 110 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 idea would be laid aside for a clearer and a more 
 defined conception. 
 
 My last visit with Abdul-Baha was in Septem- 
 ber, 1911, during his sojourn in London, Eng- 
 land. There he was in the vortex of western 
 civilization, sought by many people from various 
 walks of life, both high and low. Under these 
 conditions his spirit shone forth with greater 
 brilliancy than ever before. 
 
 It is natural and easy for the western mind to 
 weave a halo of sentiment and romance about 
 the personality of a persecuted religious leader, 
 exiled and imprisoned for his faith under the 
 corrupt rule of an oriental despot; but, when 
 this same spiritual teacher comes into the lime- 
 light of western thought and customs, the people 
 see him from a different angle; things which 
 they but imagined about him are dispelled, and 
 his real virtues stand out more strikingly visible 
 than ever. 
 
 Abdul-Baha, stripped of his accustomed ori- 
 ental environment, appeared more clearly than 
 ever to be the master of the spiritual situation. 
 I heard him give the first public address that he 
 had ever made, before a vast concourse of about 
 2,000 souls, and I was also with him during a 
 numb6r of personal interviews granted to vari- 
 ous truth seekers. At all times under these un- 
 accustomed conditions he drew unto himself all 
 people, and through his love, wisdom and power, 
 gave them spiritual assurance and satisfaction. 
 
 One afternoon some one asked Abdul-Baha 
 regarding the relation of his mission to that of 
 the great Manifestation, Baha'o'llah. He re- 
 plied by saying, "Baha'o'llah is the root of the 
 tree of The Kingdom, while I am the branch, 
 branched from that pre-existent root. The fruit 
 of the tree appears upon the branches, not upon 
 the roots."
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 111 
 
 The most potent of all factors in moving hu- 
 manity is love: it is at the same time the most 
 elusive and the most difficult of all things to de- 
 fine. We know it only through its characteris- 
 tics, and these we never fail to recognize. So it 
 is with true religion. There is a spiritual force, 
 which is divine love, working in it that is its 
 very life force. When one feels his soul re- 
 sponding to this, he realizes that he has come 
 into contact with a higher realm, and though he 
 cannot describe this awakening in so many 
 words, it is none the less to him the most real 
 of all things. 
 
 In these latter days, when "prophets" and 
 "new religions" are so abundant, one naturally 
 wonders how to distinguish truth from error, 
 and how to recognize the Lord's anointed one 
 from among many men. The difficulty was 
 solved almost two thousand years ago by him 
 who said, "By their fruits ye shall know them". 
 
 To him who has traveled and lived among the 
 Bahais and has seen the effect of this cause upon 
 the lives of peoples of every race and religion, 
 there can be no doubt as to the divine source of 
 its teachings, for in the fruits of the Bahai cause 
 is manifest its truth. 
 
 It has been my privilege to travel among, and 
 to associate with, the Bahais in many foreign 
 countries, and I can testify to the spiritual qual- 
 ities manifested in their lives. Often I have 
 been in a position where I have been obliged to 
 place myself entirely in the hands of strange 
 men, whose language I could not speak, the only 
 thing which we had in common being our faith. 
 I say the only thing was our faith, yet this was 
 everything because that faith was large enough 
 to encompass all things.
 
 112 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 Western travelers whom I have met in 
 the oriental countries have been surprised 
 that I trusted myself in out-of-the-way 
 places and along unfrequented routes of 
 travel, alone with the oriental people as my sole 
 companions and friends. When one is sur- 
 rounded by friends, his personal welfare is sel- 
 dom a subject of worry. I can truthfully state 
 that never have I felt more at ease and free from 
 care than when I have been with the oriental 
 Bahais. Wherever I happened to be with them, 
 I have always had a warmth of hospitality and 
 kindness lavished upon me. This was not be- 
 cause of any other reason than that I was of 
 their faith. 
 
 Between the Bahais of the East and those of 
 the West there exists the strongest tie. Since it 
 was through the suffering, pain, and trials of the 
 Bahais of the Orient that this faith had its first 
 growth and was brought to the West, the west- 
 ern Bahais look toward their eastern brothers 
 and sisters with deepest feelings of love and 
 gratitude. Western Bahais have in their souls a 
 strong love for the eastern Bahais and a burning 
 desire to go to them sharing with them all the 
 practical things of the western civilization. 
 
 Upon the other hand, in the growth of the 
 Bahai cause here in the West the oriental Ba- 
 hais see the result of their labors, for these be- 
 lievers are their spiritual offspring. They 
 see the fruit of their bloody persecution and 
 great sufferings, and with open and joyful hearts 
 they are anxious to receive into their very lives 
 their western brothers and sisters, learning from 
 them and in turn pouring out upon them, all of 
 that wealth of devotion, love, and spiritual as- 
 surance, which the people of the East have and 
 which the people of the West need.
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 113 
 
 Among the Bahais there is a practical demon- 
 stration of a combined religious and secular 
 unity. Good works are not done under the name 
 of "charity" nor "philanthropy". Rather, it is 
 "reciprocation" and "interdependence". Each 
 gives what he has to give, and through the spirit 
 of giving and doing in loving service, ones own 
 nature unfolds and he himself receives abund- 
 antly. 
 
 Particularly in the Orient the contrast between 
 the Bahais and other people is very striking. 
 There, the average Orientals and Occidentals, 
 meet without mingling, each remaining foreign 
 to the other, but the opposite is true with these 
 very same people when they are touched by the 
 Bahai spirit, for then we see them associating 
 with one another as members of one family, hav- 
 ing the same interests and desires, and united in 
 the same works. 
 
 Among the oriental Bahais there is a love and 
 a devotion to this cause and its principles, im- 
 possible to describe. It is beyond comprehension 
 to understand, yet one recognizes it. 
 
 In many countries and among people of every 
 race and of every religion I found such a warm 
 welcome and had such friendship and de- 
 votion showered upon me, simply because I was 
 a Bahai, that I felt and saw the blending process 
 at work, uniting the East and the West. This 
 is a force working independently of material 
 conditions. I saw it working under all condi- 
 tions and amid all surroundings, from those of 
 the half-naked jungleman living in his hut, to 
 those of the cultured man of wealth dwelling in 
 his palace. This spiritual love, which is of God, 
 is the strongest power in creation. In its uniting 
 force is the foundation of accord and harmony 
 upon which the Orient and the Occident are
 
 114 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 meeting. From this movement will appear, as 
 fruits, all of those social institutions between the 
 East and the West, which will materially demon- 
 strate the truths which the Bahais now witness 
 as spiritual realities. 
 
 In Persia T found the Bahais struggling 
 against great opposition upon the part of those 
 surrounding them, in their work of uplifting 
 and educating woman. While in that country, I 
 met Bahai women who are doing great work for 
 their own sex. Until recently this work, for the 
 most part, has been very quietly done, in fact 
 almost in secret, on account of the persecution 
 by the Moslems, whose traditions regarding the 
 seclusion and oppression of women, the Bahais 
 are undermining. 
 
 I found the Persian believers to be most 
 stanch and courageous people. While the great 
 massacres and martyrdoms of the Bahais in that 
 land are probably now a thing of the past, never- 
 theless the Bahais are still under persecution 
 and even in these days it sometimes leads to loss 
 of life. 
 
 Many men whom I met had been eyewitnesses 
 to the massacres of the 80's, in which so many of 
 our people died for their faith, while others with 
 whom I talked had lost both family and prop- 
 erty. One impression which I recall very vividly, 
 was the calm way, free from any trace of rancor, 
 in which the Persian Bahais referred to the losses 
 and afflictions visited upon them by the enemies 
 of the cause. Instead of causing embitterment, 
 these troubles have had a most spiritualizing ef- 
 fect upon the believers, for the persecution has 
 been as a fire which has taken everything from 
 them save the love of God. with which their 
 hearts are ablaze. 
 
 After a visit among these people, one
 
 THE BAHAI MOVEMENT 115 
 
 feels spiritually better and stronger than before, 
 absorbing a force from them which gives cour- 
 age in moments of weakness and guidance in 
 moments of strength. This is the spirit which 
 abides with those who are in reality severed 
 from all save God. It is this spirit which is 
 manifest in the life and teaching of Abdul-Baha, 
 and in the lives of those who in spirit follow the 
 principles for which he stands.
 
 NOTICE 
 
 Copies of this book will be shipped pre-paid to 
 any address, upon the receipt of sixty cents. Ap- 
 ply to one of the following centers : 
 
 The Bahai Publishing Society, 
 Address Miss Mary Lesch, 5205 Jefferson Ave. 
 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 The Bahai Assembly of New York, 
 226 West 58th St. New York City. 
 
 The Bahai Assembly of Washington, 
 P. O. Box 192 Washington, D. C.
 
 PRICE LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BAHAI MOVEMENT 
 
 Hidden Words $.15 
 
 Seven Valleys .25 
 
 Book of Ighan 1.00 
 
 Postage 10 cents 
 Tarazat and Other Tablets In Press 
 
 Tablet of Ishrakat .25 
 
 Surat ul Hykl .25 
 
 Tablets of Abdul-Baha ( Vol. /) . . . 1.00 
 
 Postage 10 cents 
 
 Mysterious Forces of Civilization . . 1.00 
 
 Postage 10 cents 
 
 Bahai Revelation .50 
 
 Postage 10 cents 
 
 Universal Religion 1.00 
 
 Postage 10 cents 
 
 Some Answered Questions .... 1.50 
 
 Postage 10 cents 
 
 School .of the Prophets .... 1.25 
 
 Postage 10 cents 
 
 Unity Through L>ove .10 
 
 In Galilee .25 
 
 A Year with Bahais of India and Burma . .25 
 
 Story of Bahai Movement . . . .05 
 
 Revelation of Baha'o'llah . . . .10 
 
 Dawn of Knowledge .... .15 
 
 Martyrdoms in Persia .... .10 
 
 10 Days in L,t. of Acca .... .25 
 
 Table Talks with Abdul-Baha ... .10 
 
 Daily Lessons Received at Acca . . .20 
 
 My Visit to Acca .10 
 
 Flowers from the Rose Garden of Acca . 10 
 
 Portfolio of Veiws of Holy Land . . 1.00 
 
 PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED BY THE 
 
 BAHAI PUBLISHING SOCIETY 
 
 Address all Orders to 
 MISS MARY LESCH, 5205 Jefferson Avenue . CHICAGO 
 
 NOTE Thi price tilt supersedes all previous litf* 
 Novembet I. 1911.
 
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