Messages to America Part 6

To attempt to visualize, even in its barest outline, the glory that must envelop these inst.i.tutions, to essay even a tentative and partial description of their character or the manner of their operation, or to trace however inadequately the course of events leading to their rise and eventual establishment is far beyond my own capacity and power. Suffice it to say that at this troubled stage in world history the a.s.sociation of these three incomparably precious souls who, next to the three Central Figures of our Faith, tower in rank above the vast mult.i.tude of the heroes, Letters, martyrs, hands, teachers and administrators of the Cause of Baha'u'llah, in such a potentially powerful spiritual and administrative Center, is in itself an event which will release forces that are bound to hasten the emergence in a land which, geographically, spiritually and administratively, const.i.tutes the heart of the entire planet, of some of the brightest gems of that World Order now shaping in the womb of this travailing age.

For such as might undertake, in the days to come, the meritorious and highly enviable pilgrimage to these blessed shrines, as well as for the benefit of the less privileged who, aware of the greatness of their virtue and the pre-eminence of their lineage, desire to commune with their spirits, and to strive to acquire an added insight into the glory of their position, and to follow in their footsteps, let these testimonies written by Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha be their inspiration and guidance in their n.o.ble quest:

"At this very moment," Baha'u'llah testifies, "My son is being washed before My face, after Our having sacrificed him in the Most Great Prison.

Thereat have the dwellers of the Abha Tabernacle wept with a great weeping, and such as have suffered imprisonment with this Youth in the path of G.o.d, the Lord of the promised Day, lamented. Under such conditions My Pen hath not been prevented from remembering its Lord, the Lord of all nations. It summoneth the people unto G.o.d, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful. This is the day whereon he that was created by the light of Baha has suffered martyrdom, at a time when he lay imprisoned at the hands of his enemies."

"Upon thee, O Branch of G.o.d!" He solemnly and most touchingly, in that same Tablet, bestows upon him His benediction, "be the remembrance of G.o.d and His praise, and the praise of all that dwell in the Realm of Immortality, and of all the denizens of the Kingdom of Names. Happy art thou in that thou hast been faithful to the Covenant of G.o.d and His Testament, until Thou didst sacrifice thyself before the face of thy Lord, the Almighty, the Unconstrained. Thou, in truth, hast been wronged, and to this testifieth the Beauty of Him, the Self-Subsisting. Thou didst, in the first days of thy life, bear that which hath caused all things to groan, and made every pillar to tremble. Happy is the one that remembereth thee, and draweth nigh, through thee, unto G.o.d, the Creator of the Morn."

"Glorified art Thou, O Lord, my G.o.d!" He, in a prayer, astoundingly proclaims, "Thou seest me in the hands of Mine enemies, and My son bloodstained before Thy face, O Thou in Whose hands is the kingdom of all names. I have, O my Lord, offered up that which Thou hast given Me, that Thy servants may be quickened and all that dwell on earth be united."

"Blessed art thou," He, in another Tablet affirms, "and blessed he that turneth unto thee, and visiteth thy grave, and draweth nigh, through thee, unto G.o.d, the Lord of all that was and shall be.... I testify that thou didst return in meekness unto thine abode. Great is thy blessedness and the blessedness of them that hold fast unto the hem of thy outspread robe.... Thou art, verily, the trust of G.o.d and His treasure in this land.

Erelong will G.o.d reveal through thee that which He hath desired. He, verily, is the Truth, the Knower of things unseen. When thou wast laid to rest in the earth, the earth itself trembled in its longing to meet thee.

Thus hath it been decreed, and yet the people perceive not.... Were We to recount the mysteries of thine ascension, they that are asleep would waken, and all beings would be set ablaze with the fire of the remembrance of My Name, the Mighty, the Loving."

Concerning the Most Exalted Leaf, the mother of 'Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'u'llah has written: "The first Spirit through which all spirits were revealed, and the first Light by which all lights shone forth, rest upon thee, O Most Exalted Leaf, thou who hast been mentioned in the Crimson Book! Thou art the one whom G.o.d created to arise and serve His own Self, and the Manifestation of His Cause, and the Day-Spring of His Revelation, and the Dawning-Place of His signs, and the Source of His commandments; and Who so aided thee that thou didst turn with thy whole being unto Him, at a time when His servants and handmaidens had turned away from His Face. ...Happy art thou, O My handmaiden, and My Leaf, and the one mentioned in My Book, and inscribed by My Pen of Glory in My Scrolls and Tablets. ...Rejoice thou, at this moment, in the most exalted Station and the All-highest Paradise, and the Abha Horizon, inasmuch as He Who is the Lord of Names hath remembered thee. We bear witness that thou didst attain unto all good, and that G.o.d hath so exalted thee, that all honor and glory circled around thee."

"O Navvab!" He thus, in another Tablet, addresses her, "O Leaf that hath sprung from My Tree, and been My companion! My glory be upon thee, and My loving-kindness, and My mercy that hath surpa.s.sed all beings. We announce unto thee that which will gladden thine eye, and a.s.sure thy soul, and rejoice thine heart. Verily, thy Lord is the Compa.s.sionate, the All-Bountiful. G.o.d hath been and will be pleased with thee, and hath singled thee out for His own Self, and chosen thee from among His handmaidens to serve Him, and hath made thee the companion of His Person in the day-time and in the night-season."

"Hear thou Me once again," He rea.s.sures her, "G.o.d is well-pleased with thee, as a token of His grace and a sign of His mercy. He hath made thee to be His companion in every one of His worlds, and hath nourished thee with His meeting and presence, so long as His Name, and His Remembrance, and His Kingdom, and His Empire shall endure. Happy is the handmaid that hath mentioned thee, and sought thy good-pleasure, and humbled herself before thee, and held fast unto the cord of thy love. Woe betide him that denieth thy exalted station, and the things ordained for thee from G.o.d, the Lord of all names, and him that hath turned away from thee, and rejected thy station before G.o.d, the Lord of the mighty throne."

"O faithful ones!" Baha'u'llah specifically enjoins, "Should ye visit the resting-place of the Most Exalted Leaf, who hath ascended unto the Glorious Companion, stand ye and say: 'Salutation and blessing and glory upon thee, O Holy Leaf that hath sprung from the Divine Lote-Tree! I bear witness that thou hast believed in G.o.d and in His signs, and answered His Call, and turned unto Him, and held fast unto His cord, and clung to the hem of His grace, and fled thy home in His path, and chosen to live as a stranger, out of love for His presence and in thy longing to serve Him.

May G.o.d have mercy upon him that draweth nigh unto thee, and remembereth thee through the things which My Pen hath voiced in this, the most great station. We pray G.o.d that He may forgive us, and forgive them that have turned unto thee, and grant their desires, and bestow upon them, through His wondrous grace, whatever be their wish. He, verily, is the Bountiful, the Generous. Praise be to G.o.d, He Who is the Desire of all worlds; and the Beloved of all who recognize Him."

And, finally, 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself in one of His remarkably significant Tablets, has borne witness not only to the exalted station of one whose "seed shall inherit the Gentiles," whose Husband is the Lord of Hosts, but also to the sufferings endured by her who was His beloved mother. "As to thy question concerning the 54th chapter of Isaiah," He writes, "This chapter refers to the Most Exalted Leaf, the mother of 'Abdu'l-Baha. As a proof of this it is said: 'For more are the children of the desolate, than the children of the married wife.' Reflect upon this statement, and then upon the following: 'And thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.' And truly the humiliation and reproach which she suffered in the path of G.o.d is a fact which no one can refute.

For the calamities and afflictions mentioned in the whole chapter are such afflictions which she suffered in the path of G.o.d, all of which she endured with patience and thanked G.o.d therefor and praised Him, because He had enabled her to endure afflictions for the sake of Baha. During all this time, the men and women (Covenant-breakers) persecuted her in an incomparable manner, while she was patient, G.o.d-fearing, calm, humble and contented through the favor of her Lord and by the bounty of her Creator."

December 21, 1939

THE SEAL OF COMPLETE TRIUMPH

The a.s.sociation of the First Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the West with the hallowed memories of the Purest Branch and of 'Abdu'l-Baha's mother, recently re-interred under the shadow of the Bab's holy Shrine, inaugurates a new, and at long last the final phase of an enterprise which, thirty years ago, was providentially launched on the very day the remains of the Forerunner of our Faith were laid to rest by our beloved Master in the sepulchre specifically erected for that purpose on Mount Carmel. The birth of this holy enterprise, pregnant with such rich, such infinite possibilities, synchronized with, and was consecrated through, this historic event which, as 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself has affirmed, const.i.tutes the most signal act of the triple mission He had been prompted to perform. The site of the Temple itself was honored by the presence of Him Who, ever since this enterprise was initiated, had, through his messages and Tablets, bestowed upon it His special attention and care, and surrounded it with the marks of His unfailing solicitude. Its foundation-stone was laid by His own loving hands, on an occasion so moving that it has come to be regarded as one of the most stirring episodes of His historic visit to the North American continent. Its superstructure was raised as a direct consequence of the pent-up energies which surged from the b.r.e.a.s.t.s of 'Abdu'l-Baha's lovers at a time when His sudden removal from their midst had plunged them into consternation, bewilderment and sorrow. Its external ornamentation was initiated and accelerated through the energizing influences which the rising and continually consolidating inst.i.tutions of a divinely established Administrative Order had released in the midst of a community that had identified its vital interests with that Temple's destiny. The measures devised to hasten its completion were incorporated in a Plan which derives its inspiration from those destiny-shaping Tablets wherein, in bold relief, stands outlined the world mission entrusted by their Author to the American Baha'i community. And finally, the Fund, designed to receive and dispose of the resources ama.s.sed for its prosecution, was linked with the memory and bore the name of her whose ebbing life was brightened and cheered by those tidings that unmistakably revealed to her the depth of devotion and the tenacity of purpose which animate the American believers in the cause of their beloved Temple. And now, while the Baha'i world vibrates with emotion at the news of the transfer of the precious remains of both the Purest Branch and of 'Abdu'l-Baha's mother to a spot which, watched over by the Twin Holy Shrines and in the close neighborhood of the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf, is to become the focus of the administrative inst.i.tutions of the Faith at its world center, the mere act of linking the destiny of so far-reaching an undertaking with so significant an event in the Formative Period of our Faith will a.s.suredly set the seal of complete triumph upon, and enhance the spiritual potentialities of, a work so significantly started and so magnificently executed by the followers of Baha'u'llah in the North American continent.

The Plan which your a.s.sembly has suggested to raise the sum of fifty thousand dollars by next April, which will enable you to place the necessary contracts for the final completion of the entire First Story of the Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar, meets with my unqualified approval. It was specially in order to initiate and encourage the progress of such a plan that I felt impelled to pledge the sum of one thousand pounds in the memory of these two glorious souls who, apart from the Founders of our Faith and its Exemplar, tower together with the Greatest Holy Leaf, above the rank and file of the faithful.

The interval separating us from that date is admittedly short. The explosive forces which lie dormant in the international field may, ere the expiry of these fleeting months, break out in an eruption that may prove the most fateful that mankind has experienced. It is within the power of the organized body of the American believers to further demonstrate the imperturbability of their faith, the serenity of their confidence and the unyielding tenacity of their resolve.

We stand at the threshold of the decade within which the centenary of the birth of our Faith is to be celebrated. Scarcely more than four years stand between us and that glorious consummation. No community, no individual, neither in the East nor in the West, however afflictive the circ.u.mstances that now prevail, can afford to hesitate or falter. The few years immediately ahead are endowed with potencies that we can but dimly appreciate. Ours is the duty and privilege to utilize to the full the opportunities which these fate-laden years offer us. The American Baha'i community, already responsible, over such a long period, for such heroic acts, under such severe handicaps, cannot and will not hesitate or falter.

The past is a witness of their splendid triumphs. The future will be no less a witness of their final victory.

December 30, 1939

DUAL, VITALLY URGENT OBLIGATION

Urge a.s.sembly focus attention at its forthcoming meeting upon the dual, vitally urgent obligation: the conservation of the vigor and spiritual health of the community and the intensification of effort aiming at realization of recently approved Temple Plan. Sleepless vigilance to ward off subtle attacks of enemies is first prerequisite to sound unfoldment of the processes of the enterprise already operating. The fateful forties, pregnant for weal and woe, are ushered in. The American believers enter them firmly rooted in the fertile soil of the administrative order and bountifully nourished by the vital sap of the animation of its inst.i.tutions, spreading its sheltering shadow to the farthest corners of the Western Hemisphere. Centenary of the Birth of the Faith is approaching. Victories unsuspected are within reach of community. The sooner they are achieved, the sharper the contrast offered with distracting miseries afflicting a generation which the Faith alone can and must eventually redeem.

Cablegram January 18, 1940

BELOVED HANDMAID

'Abdu'l-Baha's beloved handmaid, the distinguished disciple, May Maxwell, is gathered into the glory of the Abha Kingdom. Her earthly life, so rich, eventful, incomparably blessed, is worthily ended. To sacred tie her signal services had forged, the priceless honor of a martyr's crown is now added, a double crown deservedly won. The Seven Year Plan, particularly the South American campaign, derive fresh impetus from the example of her glorious sacrifice. Southern outpost of Faith greatly enriched through a.s.sociation with her historic resting place, destined to remain a poignant reminder of the resistless march of the triumphant army of Baha'u'llah.

Advise believers of both Americas to hold befitting memorial gathering.

Cablegram March 3, 1940

THEIR G.o.d-GIVEN TASK

The fourth year of the Seven Year Plan enters upon its course in circ.u.mstances that are at once critical, challenging, and unprecedented in their significance. The year that has pa.s.sed has in so far as the rise and establishment of the Faith of Baha'u'llah in the Western Hemisphere is concerned, been one of the most eventful since the Plan began to operate and exercise its potent and beneficent influence. Both within and without the Community of the Most Great Name, the events which the last twelve months has unfolded have in some mysterious way, whether directly or indirectly, communicated their force to the Plan's progressive unfoldment, contributed to the orientation of its policy and a.s.sisted in the consolidation of the diversified undertakings, both primary and subsidiary that fall within its...o...b..t. Even the losses which the ranks of its stout-hearted upholders have sustained will, when viewed in their proper perspective, be regarded as gains of incalculable value, affecting both its immediate fortunes as well as its ultimate destiny.

The successive international crises which agitated the opening months of the year that has elapsed, culminating in the outbreak of the war in Europe, far from drowning the enthusiasm or daunting the spirit of the prosecutors of G.o.d's Plan, served by deflecting their gaze from a storm-tossed continent, to focus their minds and resources on ministering to the urgent needs of that hemisphere in which the first honors and the initial successes of the heroes of the Formative Age of the Faith of Baha'u'llah are to be scored and won.

The sudden extinction of the earthly life of that star-servant of the Cause of Baha'u'llah, Martha Root, who, while on the last lap of her fourth journey round the world-journeys that carried her to the humblest homes as well as the palaces of royalty-was hurrying homeward to lend her promised aid to her fellow-countrymen in their divinely-appointed task-such a death, though it frustrated this cherished resolution of her indomitable spirit, steeled the hearts of her bereaved lovers and admirers to carry on, more energetically than ever, the work which she herself had initiated, as far back as the year 1919, in every important city in the South American continent.

The subtle and contemptible machinations by which the puny adversaries of the Faith, jealous of its consolidating power and perturbed by the compelling evidences of its conspicuous victories, have sought to challenge the validity and misrepresent the character of the Administrative Order embedded in its teachings have galvanized the swelling army of its defenders to arise and arraign the usurpers of their sacred rights and to defend the long-standing strongholds of the inst.i.tutions of their Faith in their home country.

And now as this year, so memorable in the annals of the Faith, was drawing to a close, there befell the American Baha'i community, through the dramatic and sudden death of May Maxwell, yet another loss, which viewed in retrospect will come to be regarded as a potent blessing conferred upon the campaign now being so diligently conducted by its members. Laden with the fruits garnered through well-nigh half a century of toilsome service to the Cause she so greatly loved, heedless of the warnings of age and ill-health, and afire with the longing to worthily demonstrate her grat.i.tude in her overwhelming awareness of the bounties of her Lord and Master, she set her face towards the southern outpost of the Faith in the New World, and laid down her life in such a spirit of consecration and self-sacrifice as has truly merited the crown of martyrdom.

To Keith Ransom-Kehler, whose dust sleeps in far-off I?fahan; to Martha Root, fallen in her tracks on an island in the midmost heart of the ocean; to May Maxwell, lying in solitary glory in the southern outpost of the Western Hemisphere-to these three heroines of the Formative Age of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, they who now labor so a.s.siduously for its expansion and establishment, owe a debt of grat.i.tude which future generations will not fail to adequately recognize.

I need not expatiate on other, though less prominent, events that have contributed their share to the furtherance of the Seven Year Plan, or marked its systematic development. The a.s.sociation of the Fund, specifically inaugurated for its prosecution, with the hallowed memories of both the Mother and Brother of 'Abdu'l-Baha; the establishment of at least one pioneer in each of the Republics of Central and South America; the ushering in of the last phase of the external ornamentation of the Temple; the conjunction of the inst.i.tutions of the Haziratu'l-Quds and the Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar in the heart of the North American continent; the founding of yet another inst.i.tution designed as a training school for Inter-America teaching work; the steady rise in the number of groups and a.s.semblies functioning within the Administrative Framework of the Faith of Baha'u'llah-these stand out as further evidences of the animating Force that propels the Plan towards its final consummation.

Varied and abundant as have been the past manifestations of this driving, resistless Force, they cannot but pale before the brilliant victories which its progressive and systematic development must achieve in the future.

The American believers, standing on the threshold of the fourth year of the Seven Year Plan, pursue their G.o.d-given task with a radiance that no earthly gloom can dim, and will continue to shoulder its ever-growing duties and responsibilities with a vigor and loyalty that no earthly power can either sap or diminish.

April 15, 1940