'Abdu'l-Baha: You are always smiling.
Mr. Osborne: Surely our faces should reflect happiness in this presence.
'Abdu'l-Baha: Yes! This is the day of Baha'u'llah, the age of the Blessed
Perfection, the cycle of the Greatest Name. If you do not smile now, for
what time will you await and what greater happiness could you expect? This
is the springtime of manifestation. The vernal shower has descended from
the cloud of divine mercy; the life-giving breeze of the Holy Spirit is
wafting the perfume of blossoms. From field and meadow rises a fragrant
breath of thanksgiving like pure incense ascending to the throne of God.
The world has become a new world; souls are quickened, spirits renewed,
refreshed. Truly it is a time for happiness.
(To people coming in) Welcome! Welcome! You are very welcome! (The church
bells begin to ring)
I was not feeling very well this morning, or I would have gone to church.
Everywhere we hear the call of the spiritual world; in everything we
behold the works of God. The church bells are pealing in memory of Jesus
Christ although more than nineteen hundred years have passed since He
lived upon the earth. This is through the power of the spirit. No material
power could do this. Yet people in their blindness deny Christ, seeking to
perpetuate their names in worldly deeds. Everyone wishes to be remembered.
Through earthly and material accomplishments one will hardly be remembered
nine years, while the memory and glory of Christ continue after nineteen
hundred have passed. For His name is eternal and His glory everlasting.
Therefore, man should hear with attentive ear the call of the spiritual
world, seeking first the Kingdom of God and its perfections. This is
eternal life; this is everlasting remembrance.
How great the difference between the glory of Christ and the glory of an
earthly conqueror! It is related by historians that Napoleon Bonaparte I
embarked secretly by night from Egypt. His destination was France. During
his campaign in Palestine revolution had broken out and grave difficulties
had arisen in the home government. Christian worship had been forbidden by
the revolutionists. The priests of Christianity had fled in terror. France
had become atheistic; anarchy prevailed. The ship sailed out into a night
brilliant with the light of the moon. Napoleon was pacing up and down the
deck. His officers were sitting together, talking. One of them spoke of
the similarity between Bonaparte and Christ. Napoleon stopped and said
grimly, "Do you think I am going back to France to establish religion?"
Jesus Christ established the religion of God through love. His sovereignty
is everlasting. Napoleon overthrew governments in war and bloodshed. His
dominion passed away; he himself was dethroned. Bonaparte destroyed human
life; Christ was a Savior. Bonaparte controlled the physical bodies of
men; Christ was a conqueror of human hearts. None of the Prophets of God
were famous men, but They were unique in spiritual power. Love is the
eternal sovereignty. Love is the divine power. By it all the kings of
earth are overthrown and conquered. What evidence of this could be greater
than the accomplishment of Baha'u'llah? He appeared in the East and was
exiled. He was sent to the prison of Akka in Palestine. Two powerful
despotic kings arose against Him. During His exile and imprisonment He
wrote Tablets of authority to the kings and rulers of the world,
announcing His spiritual sovereignty, establishing the religion of God,
upraising the heavenly banners of the Cause of God. One of these Tablets
was sent to Napoleon III, Emperor of France. He received it with contempt
and cast it behind his back. Baha'u'llah addressed a second Tablet to him,
containing these words, "Hadst thou been sincere in thy words, thou
wouldst have not cast behind thy back the Book of God, when it was sent
unto thee.... We have proved thee through it, and found thee other than
that which thou didst profess. Arise, and make amends for that which
escaped thee. Erelong the world and all that thou possessest will perish,
and the kingdom will remain unto God. ...For what thou hast done, thy
kingdom shall be thrown into confusion, and thine empire shall pass from
thine hands, as a punishment for that which thou hast wrought. Then wilt
thou know how thou hast plainly erred.... Thy pomp ... shall soon pass
away, unless thou holdest fast by this firm Cord. We see abasement
hastening after thee...." All this happened just as announced by
Baha'u'llah. Napoleon III was dethroned and exiled. His empire passed away
and became nonexistent while the dominion and sovereignty of Baha'u'llah,
the Prisoner, has become eternal through the confirmation of God. This is
as evident as the light of the sun at midday except to those who are
spiritually blind. If we are afflicted with a cold, we cannot inhale the
delicate fragrances emanating from the rose garden of the divine Kingdom.
In brief, the nations of the world are becoming united under the
sovereignty of the divine Kingdom. The East and the West are embracing
here in love and affection today. This is not a commercial or political
unity, but unity through the love of God. We have crossed the sea to
spread that love in America, to announce the call of the Kingdom, to
establish the spiritual foundations of international peace. Although men
may arise against the Kingdom, the dominion and sovereignty of God will be
set up. It is an eternal Kingdom, a divine sovereignty. In His day Christ
was called Satan, Beelzebub, but hear the bells now ringing for Him! He
was the Word of God and not Satan. They mocked Him, led Him through the
city upon a donkey, crowned Him with thorns, spat upon His blessed face
and crucified Him, but He is now with God and in God because He was the
Word and not Satan. Fifty years ago no one would touch the Christian Bible
in Persia. Baha'u'llah came and asked, "Why?" They said, "It is not the
Word of God." He said, "You must read it with understanding of its
meanings, not as those who merely recite its words." Now Baha'is all over
the East read the Bible and understand its spiritual teaching. Baha'u'llah
spread the Cause of Christ and opened the book of the Christians and Jews.
He removed the barriers of names. He proved that all the divine Prophets
taught the same reality and that to deny One is to deny the Others, for
all are in perfect oneness with God.
In London some of the Christians said we were deniers of Christ. We say
Christ is the Word of God. We are gathered here this morning for His
mention. The bells have called us together in love and unity. This house
is the temple of God. All are welcome! Very welcome!
Question: How shall we determine the truth or error of certain biblical
interpretation, as, for instance, the higher criticism and other
present-day Christian teachings?
'Abdu'l-Baha: Your question is an abstruse and important one. Complete
answer to it would require a long time. I will reply to it briefly. The
only true Explainer of the Book of God is the Holy Spirit, for no two
minds are alike, no two can comprehend alike, no two can speak alike. That
is to say, from the mere human standpoint of interpretation there could be
neither truth nor agreement.
Question: Do you approve of the new thought in which the control of mind
over matter is the central principle?
'Abdu'l-Baha: Philosophy develops the mind. Christ and the Word of God are
revealed through the Spirit. Plato says, "The mental conclusions are so
and so." Christ says, "Be led of the Spirit."
Question: Should children be allowed to read the higher criticism?
'Abdu'l-Baha: They should first be taught the reality of religion as a
foundation. For instance, in the Catholic Church the child is taught that
through some act of the priest the bread and wine of the sacrament become
the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. The mind cannot accept this. The
child must be taught that this transformation is symbolical of the truth
that Christ is the food from heaven, the eating of which produces eternal
life. The Jews had memorized the Bible but failed to grasp its meanings.
If they had understood the spiritual significances of the scriptures, they
would have been the first believers in Christ. You are among the first
believers in this country. You are the children of the Kingdom.
Baha'u'llah has taught you the reality of religion. There are many of the
Baha'i friends in Persia whom we do not know, but we know you here in
America. Turn your faces to the Sun of Reality. That Sun has always risen
in the East. Find the answer to your questions in your heart. Be as little
children. Until the soil is prepared, it cannot receive the benefit of
planting.
29 June 1912
Talk at Unity Feast, Outdoors
West Englewood, New Jersey