I just got an interesting email from Baha'i science fiction writer Dana Paxon, whose very informative blog is at:
http://www.innermostbridges.blogspot.ca/
I reproduce his email, along with his corrected text of the interview between a Rabbi and Abdu'l-Baha, and the letter on the Day of the Covenant from Mirza Abu'l Fazl here, after his letter. If he approves of this, I will keep this material up and remove the original posting from 2006. Needless to say, I welcome any corrections, comments, or suggestions.
Dear Mr. Taylor,
I saw a posting on Facebook of the conversation between a rabbi and 'Abdu'l-Bahá that was given us in Star of the West, and I tracked down your transcription of that wonderful exchange at http://badiblog.blogspot.com/2
I traced back to the Star of the West source and marveled at the work you must have done in scanning in and correcting the results to produce the two presentations included in that blog entry. I have since taken your entry and made a reformatted copy of its contents for my own use, and very few typos or other changes were called for. I took out incidental hard line breaks, resized the typeface, corrected two minor scanning errors, tried to replace nonbreaking spaces with normal spaces, and added diacritical marks where I could. I made no other changes. The result is a Word document which I have also produced in PDF form. I'm enclosing a copy of the Word document as my expression of thanks for your work.
I've been a Bahá'í since 1963, and it's taken me a while to reach the point where I can write usefully (I hope!) about my experience of the Writings. I've just started a blog of my own on various aspects of the Writings (http://www.innermostbridges.b
Again, thank you, and I offer my sincere prayers for your work, your progress, and your prosperity,
Dana Paxson
Two
Articles about the Master
COPIED: March 29,
2016
EDITED: Removing
incidental line breaks from source, resizing typeface, correcting
scanning errors, replacing nonbreaking spaces, adding diacritical
marks for Bahá, Abhá, etc.
Two
Articles about the Master
Scanned
and proofed by John Taylor, 2006 August 14
Interview
between a Rabbi and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
In
Praise of the "Greatest Branch" by Abu’l-Fazl
Interview
between a Prominent Rabbi and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
from
Star of the West, Book II, Vol. III, No. 6, p. 6; June 24, 1912
ENTERING
the room the Rabbi saluted, which was answered by ‘Abdu’l Bahá
in like manner.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
"You are most welcome Rabbi."
Rabbi:
"I have long desired to meet you."
Rabbi:
"Your address yesterday was excellent. I have had the pleasure
of hearing you upon two other occasions, but your address of
yesterday had an extraordinary universality. You have very clearly
established the teachings of brotherhood but I am afraid that
although your principles are very lofty they will not be accepted by
all the religionists and the workers for peace."
‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
"Reality will always be victorious. No one can stand before the
onward march of reality. The phenomenal is always conquered by the
eternal. All the contingent beings are defeated by the will of
heaven. One small Arabian boy can lead two thousand camels in the
Sahara. One intelligent Hindu boy can conquer an elephant."
Rabbi:
"It is true. In the Bible we have the statement that ‘A little
child shall lead them.’”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
"Truth will always be victorious; therefore it does not know
defeat but the people of reality must exert great effort, and if the
people of reality neglect to display this effort that is another
matter. The people of reality must demonstrate their willingness in
this direction. They must realize that the greatest reality of this
age is the oneness of the human world. They must forget traditions
and imitations of the past. For instance, if we look upon the
Catholic religion we see that they believe that an important part is
the transubstantiation; that is, the change of the bread and wine
into the body of Christ. If we ponder a little we realize that this
is a nonessential. It is imitation and the reverse of reality.
"Again,
if we look at the Hindus we see that they have made images and
worship them as deities, and they have eight million such deities in
their temples. It is evident that these are superstitions and
imaginations. They worship the cow, the stone, the water and the
forces of nature -- all these are imitations of the past and they
have no foundation whatever."
Rabbi:
"Do you then regard the transubstantiation as being on the same
ground as the worshipping of idols?”
'Abdu’l-Bahá:
“All these are imitations. They have no reality. As these are the
opposite of realities, therefore they have no foundation. Everything
that keeps man away from God, is an idol. Everything which detracts
man's attention from God is an idol, no matter what it is."
Rabbi:
"Then every channel between God and His creature is an idol?”
'Abdu’l-Bahá:
"Consider, let us not bind ourselves with imitations. Let us
study the condition of the Jews for a moment. When they were in Egypt
they were captives; they were poor; they were prisoners in the hand
of Pharaoh; they were ignored; they were a dependent people, they
were surrounded by all kinds of troubles and vicissitudes; the people
looked down upon them; they were considered as outcasts. Then Moses
came. He gathered them together; inspired them with the power of
unity; imparted to them new life; taught them the laws of God
encouraging them in the morals and virtues of humanity; delivered
them from the hand of Pharaoh; freed them from the bondage of
captivity; educated them, trained them and carried them away from the
land of darkness into the holy of holies of light. Their power was
increased; their majesty became refulgent; their fame was spread
throughout the world, until they were enabled to found the Solomonic
sovereignty. In philosophy and art they attained such heights that
the philosophers of Greece and Rome traveled long distances to learn
from them. Now is it possible to say that to revere and respect these
souls is equivalent to the worshipping of idols? We must respect
Moses because he achieved a work which no one else could do. It is an
evident fact that His Holiness Moses was a channel between God and
man. No further proof is required for this. I do not attempt to prove
the validity of Moses by pointing to his turning the rod into a
serpent; instead I give evident proofs.
"Again
you will note that His Highness Christ was a Jew. Ponder well over
this matter: The Jews were captives in the hand of the Romans; they
were their slaves. From every standpoint they were scattered and
impoverished. Nebuchadnezzar carried seventy thousand of them into
captivity at Babylon. Even today the tombs of Esther and Daniel are
there. And afterwards what did Titus, the Roman Emperor, not do! He
entirely destroyed the foundation of the Jewish temple. The effect of
the destruction of Titus is manifest up to this time for we see them
scattered all over the world. His Holiness Christ appeared and
established unity among the Romans, the Greeks, the Chaldeans, the
Assyrians, the Europeans and the Americans. He established a bond of
unity between all the nations. All the great prophets, the kings and
the worthies of the Israelite nation could not make the Persians
believe in Moses. All the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
Nehemiah, et al. could not make one Zoroastrian believe in Moses. But
one Jew came and many millions believe in Him. He spread His name in
the East and in the West. He caused the Bible to be translated in all
the languages of the world, and today nearly every home contains a
Bible. He demonstrated throughout the world to all the nations of the
world that the Israelite people were the chosen people, that the
Israelite prophets were the prophets of God, that their books were
the looks of God, that their words were the words of God. This is
evident. These are not intellectual or traditional evidences but they
are such evidences as permit of no discussion. Look at America. You
see a Bible in almost every house that you enter. See what Christ has
accomplished. Witness what one soul who was crucified has
accomplished.
When
He was living upon the earth He was alone, ridiculed and rejected by
His own people. Almost everybody cursed and ridiculed Him. His own
relatives left Him; even His disciples almost abandoned Him; they
placed upon His head a crown of thorns and paraded Him over the
streets, and finally they crucified Him. He was alone! alone! but the
traces of His work and the signs of His message have filled the
world. Man must be just. After these statements no one can deny the
greatness of Christ. Now is it evident to you that all these
conditions among the nations are on account of injustice? If they had
all been just they would have been united on this principle: that
these prophets were channels for the bounty of God, for they were the
first teachers of mankind.
"The
philosophers are also teachers but all they could do was to teach
themselves and a few other souls. But the prophets of God taught the
whole world. They trained all the children of men in morals and
ethics. Who can say that they failed to accomplish their work, and
who would give the names of the philosophers the first place?
Rabbi:
"Indeed, indeed you are one of the greatest logicians of the
world. Up to this time I have been talking to you as a man; now I
will address you as a Rabbi. Your premises and syllogisms do not
agree. It is not correct to say that Christ has accomplished all
these things for but few of his teachings were accepted until about
three hundred and fifty years after his crucifixion—“
‘Abdu’l
Bahá here exclaimed: “I understand, I understand," and then
continued: "His Highness Moses laid the foundation but the
result of His teachings became apparent during the time of Solomon.
If there had been no Moses there would have been no Solomon. The
sovereignty of Solomon was the outcome of the principles of Moses. If
there had been no Moses the children of Israel would have been
entirely lost, and up to this time they would have been slaves in the
land of Pharaoh. Their very name would have disappeared from the page
of history. Moses laid down a few principles, but the results of
those principles became apparent five hundred years afterward. If an
inquirer is just he will realize that Moses laid with His own hand
Solomonic universality. Likewise if His Highness Christ had not laid
the foundations of Christianity, the evident signs which we see today
would not have been realized.
"I
scatter the seeds today, six months hence they may become apparent.
In the meantime, can anyone deny the germination of these seeds, and
when they are grown, repudiate the fact that these plants owe the
origin to the seed?”
Rabbi:
"Suppose that Christ was the Promised One of the Jews; how did
the doctrine of divinity creep in among the Christians?”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
"Do not look upon the Christians of today. The Christians are
today submerged in the sea of imitation. It is evident that man is
the highest of God's creatures on the face of the earth. For example,
there are certain attributes which are apparent in the mineral
kingdom. The vegetable kingdom has the attributes existing in the
mineral kingdom but with another attribute, which is the power of
growth. The animal has the attributes of the mineral and the
vegetable kingdoms but with another attribute, which is the power of
instinct. Therefore the animal is a composite of the mineral and
vegetable kingdoms, but man has the virtues of the mineral kingdom,
the virtues of the vegetable kingdom, the virtues of the animal
kingdom and another distinct virtue, which is that of intellect,
consequently man is the highest creation of God. He is the peerless
creature and in him are contained all the virtues of the human world.
"Christ
was the mirror; God was the Sun. The Sun appeared with all its
effulgence and splendor in the mirror; that is, the virtues, the
perfections and the characteristics of God appeared in Christ. This
is what is meant where it is written in the Bible that 'We have
created man in our own image.' The perfect man is the visage and
image of God, just as the mirror reflects the sun. We can not say
that the sun has come down from heaven and has taken a place in the
mirror. The sun is eternal, living in its own station. It had no
ascent or descent entrance or exit; but the rays and the heat of the
sun have become fully reflected in the clear mirror. That is why
Christ said the future is in the sun and the sun is in the future.
The Sun of Truth reflected itself in the mirrors of Moses and
Christ."
Rabbi:
"Most wonderful! We must name this divine philosophy the
philosophy of ‘Abdu’l Bahá. I am extraordinarily delighted to
have had this privilege to talk with you."
‘Abdu’l
Bahá: "I am very happy indeed to meet you.
Rabbi:
"I hope I will have the pleasure of meeting you again."
'Abdu’l-Bahá:
"God willing. May you be under His protection.
In
Praise of the "Greatest Branch"
Written
by MIRZA ABUL FAZL, November 24, and read in Washington, D. C.
November 26, 1902, at the celebration of the anniversary of the Feast of the Appointment of The Center of the Covenant.
November 26, 1902, at the celebration of the anniversary of the Feast of the Appointment of The Center of the Covenant.
from
Star of the West, Book II, Vol. III, No. 14, November 23, 1912
In
the Name of God, the Most Holy, the Abhá!
YE
beloved of God and His friends! Praise and glorification behoove the
holy court of the True One, the Exalted, who has, in this great age
and wonderful cycle, primarily caused the shining star of the Blessed
Being of the First Point (The Báb) to appear like unto the beaming
orb of the morn from the horizon of the world; has rejoiced and
revived the creatures through the glad tidings of the advent of the
new Day, and the Manifestation of the Glorious Lord. Praise be to
God! Who subsequently caused the Sun of the most holy Beauty of El
Abhá (Exalted is His Supreme Name!) to dawn forth in the midst of
the heaven of power and grandeur. After the disappearance of these
two Lights a third Splendor became manifest from the Sinai of
Epiphany, and the Orb of the Covenant shone forth from the firmament
of beatitude, the apex of exaltation and glory, with the most
marvelous effulgence. Through these three shining lights, the
darkness of the nations, superstitions, will be dispelled, the dust
of discord of the people will be subsided by the showers of mercy
descending from the clouds of divine providence; the banner of peace
will be hoisted; the mortal world will be clothed in the excellent
robe of ideal humanity; the bond of perfect love will be strengthened
among contradictory nations and repugnant peoples; and the world,
east and west, will become the Paradise of El Abhá and as a garden
bringing forth fruits of divine grace. We, therefore, praise Him in
such glorification from which the lights of sincerity may gleam forth
and scintillate throughout ages and epochs; and we thank Him in such
sanctification from which the pure fragrances of meekness and
humbleness will be diffused and exhaled with the duration of nights
and days!
O
ye beloved of God and His friends! This great Day has been assigned
to the blessed name of the Lord of the world, the sign of
pre-existence, the standard of divine victory among nations, the
Light of the heaven and the earth, the point around which the Supreme
Concourse revolves, in the kingdom of Names His Holiness,
‘Abdu’l-Bahá. (May the life of the creatures be a sacrifice to
Him!) Ye are all attracted to his love, united in his servitude,
overshadowed under his banner, and are assembled together in this
excellent meeting, with rejoiced hearts and shining faces, speaking
the praise of the most holy beauty of El Abhá, and uttering the
glorification of the Center of His Covenant, His Holiness,
‘Abdu’l-Bahá (May the life of the creatures be a sacrifice to
Him!)! Ye are all attracted to His love, united in His servitude,
overshadowed under His banner, and are assembled together in this
excellent meeting, with rejoiced hearts and shining faces, speaking
the praise of the Most Holy Beauty of El-Abhá, and uttering the
glorification of the Center of His Covenant, His Holiness,
‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
How
can this servant duly praise and thank God, the Exalted, who hath
enabled him to make his tongue fluent in glorifying the Center of the
Covenant in this wonderful meeting, in the presence of His chosen
ones and friends? Again I praise Him for this wondrous confirmation
and glorious success. Verily, He is the Mighty, the Praiseworthy!
How
can this weak one befittingly glorify and sanctify a most holy
personage with whose name all the ancient and heavenly books are
adorned and who has been announced and prophesied, by the tongue of
the prophets and chosen ones, from the beginning to the end? Every
prophetic page seems like unto a heaven, studded with the beaming
stars and shining pearls of the praises of the Orb of the Universe;
or like unto a rose garden decked and embellished by the verdant
leaves and fragrant flowers of the glorification of the Center of the
Covenant. Again we praise Him with such words whereby hearts are
cheered and breasts are dilated, and we thank Him in such hymns
whereby the light of bliss and beatitude shine forth from the horizon
of the hearts!
O
ye beloved of God and His friends! Consider how in the second Psalm,
David (Peace be upon him!) has announced the appearance of the Son of
God in dominion and judgment, and how he hath warned the kings and
judges of the earth to serve him! Consider in the fourth chapter of
Isaiah how that great prophet has foretold the appearance of the
Exalted Branch of the Lord in the utmost beauty and glory, and how
God hath appointed him a place of refuge for the saved ones. Consider
how Isaiah has spoken in the eleventh chapter of his book that the
lofty "Branch" of the Blessed Tree shall appear from the
root of David, and shall grow out of the Holy Land; how the spirit of
supremacy and power, of counsel and divine wisdom shall rest upon
him; the lights of glory and divine grandeur shall beam forth from
his shining face; how he shall hoist the pavilion of universal peace
and divine equity, and assemble all the various and contradictory
nations, including weak and strong, high and low, under the shadow of
union and harmony.
Reflect
upon the 26th verse of the 30th chapter of the book of Isaiah, how
God, the Almighty, has clearly spoken that in the day when Israel
shall be saved, and the sins and errors of the heirs of Abraham
effaced, the shining moon of the Center of the Covenant shall gleam
forth in the utmost glory and splendor, and the beaming lights
scintillating from the brilliant face of that dawning place of
supremacy and Lordship shall be like unto the Sun of Truth! Consider
how, in the first few verses of the 42nd chapter of Isaiah, it is
clearly shown that in the last day, God, the Exalted, shall elect the
bearer of the banner of His servitude, confer upon him the Holy
Spirit of His divinity, unfurl the standard of the Supreme Covenant
and Testament in His Name, and shall protect him, with His strong
hand, from the deceit of the violators and the devices of the people
of rancor; that Servant of the Lord shall become a banner for the
people's salvation and a light for hearts and souls; shall restore
the blind and deliver the captives; direct those who sit in darkness
unto light; place all the creatures under the standard of universal
peace, security and absolute emancipation, and make the tongues of
all in the East and West fluent in new hymns and wonderful
glorifications!
Likewise,
consider the 7th chapter of Daniel. First, in the 9th and 10th
verses, God hath announced the Manifestation of the Great Lord, the
Ancient King, the Most Holy Beauty of Abhá (Glorified is His Supreme
Name!) and hath spoken of the founding of the sound religion and
manifest law and of the rise of the hosts of chosen ones and holy
ones. Then He hath said in the 13th and 14th verses of the same
chapter that the Excellent Branch shall be extended from that Ancient
Root, and the Spirit of God descended from Heaven shall shine forth
from His Beaming Face, and Glory and Kingdom shall be conferred upon
Him from God; His command shall influence all nations and multitudes,
and His Kingdom shall continue forever.
Likewise,
consider the 8th and 9th verses of the chapter of Zechariah, where
the great prophet has clearly prophesied that in the day of the Most
Great Manifestation, the dawning of the Sun of the Ancient Beauty,
God, the Exalted, shall bring about the removal of the nations'
iniquity and the elimination of the people's calamities by the rise
of that Excellent "Branch" extended from the Pre-existent
Root; and He hath made the restoration of the Holy Lands, the
covenanted country of the prophets and chosen ones, dependent upon
the power of that Blessed being.
Likewise,
in the 12th and 13th verses of the 6th chapter of the same book, God,
the Exalted, hath explicitly promised Zechariah that in the Day of
the Lord's Manifestation the Blessed BRANCH shall grow up out of the
Pure Tree of Divinity, shall bear the Glory of the Lord, shall sit
and rule upon His Throne, and shall build the Temple of the Divine
worship; the banner of universal peace and eternal beatitude shall be
hoisted among all mankind through the council of peace held between
the BRANCH and the LORD.
Consider
the New Testament: in every instant in which His Holiness, Christ
(Glory be to Him!) and His eminent disciples have announced the
coming of the Kingdom of God, they have spoken of the rising of the
Excellent Branch and of the dawning of the Orb of the Covenant.
Especially His Holiness, John, has adorned all the prophecies of his
Book of Revelation with this Glorious Name, and has clearly stated
the appearance of the Covenant of God in the Day of the Lord's
Manifestation. He has explicitly said that in that Great Day, the New
Holy City shall be illuminated with Lights shining from the Face of
the Lord and His appointed Branch; the rivers of wonderful
enlightenments, which would impart life to the people of the world
and save nations, shall flow forth from the Throne of the Lord and
that of the Center of His Covenant. Nay, rather, he hath elucidated
that those written in the Book of Life of the Excellent BRANCH shall
be saved, and those overshadowed under His Ancient Standard shall
inherit everlasting glory.
To
resume: the tongues of all the prophets sung the praise of His
Blessed Name, and the hearts of the chosen ones rejoiced at the
announcement of His coming, until that Most Holy Being was born in
the Day (May 23, 1844) of the Manifestation of the "First Point"
(Exalted is His Supreme Name!). The birthday of the "Branch
extended from the Ancient Root;" coincided with the day of the
appearance of the Lord's precursor and the "Mystery of God"
was realized by this coincidence. In His childhood He was nurtured
under the favor of the Most Holy Beauty of El-Abhá, until, at the
age of nine, He escorted the Ancient Beauty (Bahá’u’lláh) from
Teheran to Baghdad. He shared with the Beauty of El-Abhá in every
calamity and affliction during their exile from Baghdad to
Constantinople, Adrianople, and finally to Acca (the prison), and
endured unbearable sufferings. The Tongue of Grandeur was always
uttering the greatness of His station, and appointed His Holiness,
the Excellent Branch, to the position of the "Center of the
Covenant." In a Tablet revealed by the Beauty of El Abhá to
'Abdu’l-Bahá, while the latter was in Beirut, He said: "We
have appointed thee a protection to all the creatures, a guardian to
all in the heaven and the earth, and a fortress to those who believe
in God, the One, the Omniscient!"
O
ye beloved of God! How can I duly praise the Lord of mankind, the
Center of the Covenant (May the life of all the creatures be a
sacrifice to him! and how can I explain the loftiness of his station!
For he is the one whom all the divine Manifestations have praised and
extolled.
Let
us now offer our humble efforts in praising and glorifying God, the
Exalted, who has honored us by serving the Center of His Covenant,
hath made us know in his name, and hath placed us under the shadow of
his glorious banner. We thank Him in such praises whereby the faces
of the steadfast ones are illuminated!
Praise
be to God, the King of the Heaven and the earth!
(signed)
Abul Fazl