Account of Montreal Visit (2)

Mahmud's Account of the Master's Visit to Canada (2)

from Mahmud's Diary, The Diary of Mirza Mahmud-i-Zarqani Chronicling `Abdu'l-Baha's Journey to America, Translated by Mohi Sobhani, with the assistance of Shirley Macias, George Ronald, Oxford, England, 1998

Introductory comments by John Taylor; 5 September, 2004

The following address has an alternate translation on page 297 of Promulgation of Universal Peace; it falls under the category of what I call principle talks, where the Master marches through several principles in succession. He did this by my count only thirteen times in North America. Two of these principle talks took place in Montreal, numbers eight and nine, this being the eighth, His address at St. James Methodist (Promulgation 312) being the ninth.

In this talk `Abdu'l-Baha goes through the Baha'i principles in the following order, according to my system of reckoning: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 8, and 12. In other words, He left out principle six, economic readjustment, and 10 and 11, the spiritual principles called Power of the Holy Spirit and Oneness of God (you can judge for yourself whether they come in obliquely or not). Thus, the order of mentioning of the principles in the Church of the Messiah is as follows.

p01 Investigation of Reality

p02 Oneness of Humanity

p03 Oneness of Religion

p04 Science and Religion

p05 Elimination of Prejudice

p07 Promotion of Education

p09 Equality of the Sexes

p08 Universal Language

p12 Universal Peace

My only other introductory point is to reiterate, this talk is not merely "literature of the Faith," as are Paris Talks and AB in London; it is true scripture in that we can refer to the original text. The implications? For one thing this shows that Peter Smith is engaging in needless sophism when he puts "Baha'i principles" into quotation marks in his article on that subject in the "Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith." The principles are authentically and exclusively Baha'i beyond any doubt whatsoever.

Address at the Unitarian Church of the Messiah, Sunday, 1 September, 1912, from Mahmud's Diary, pages 231-6

The Master rose and, pacing the stage, gave the following address:

"God the Almighty has created all humanity from dust, from the same elements. All are descended from one race and all are created to live on the same earth, under the canopy of the same heaven. As members of humanity He created them sharing the same susceptibilities. As created by Him all are one, without discrimination. He provides for all; He trains all; He protects all; He is kind to all. He has left no difference in His bounties and favors to men. He raised prophets and sent divine teachings. These teachings unite all and generate love in human hearts. He has proclaimed the unity of the world of man. He deprecates all obstacles to unity and commends everything that is conducive to harmony and unity. He admonishes all to establish unity at all levels. All the Prophets of God were raised up to deliver the message of love and unity to the sons of men. All the Books of God were revealed to establish fellowship and union. All the Prophets of God were the servants of truth. All their teachings were the essence of truth. Truth is one; it does not accept multiplicity. Therefore, the foundation of truth of all the religions of God is one.

Yet, alas, blind imitations, which have nothing to do with this truth, have crept in. As these vain practices vary,

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contention, warfare and bloodshed became rampant and strife prevailed. These are the destroyers of the divine foundation. Men kill one another like beasts and bring desolation to one another's families. God has created man for love. He made love the illumination of the world of man. Love is the cause of the unity of creation. All the prophets were promulgators of love. Man, however, arose against the decree of God and acted contrary to the divine will. For this reason, since the beginning of present history, man has never experienced harmony. Bloodshed and massacre have been rampant among them. The hearts have been suspicious of one another. Man has acted against God's good pleasure. All the wars and massacres of the past have been induced either by religious or racial prejudices or by political and patriotic bias which have made this world a place of constant agony for the sons of man.

These prejudices were intense in the Orient, for there was no freedom. The gloom of blind imitations had darkened the entire Orient and all the nations and religions were on terms of extreme hostility and at war with each other. At such a time Baha'u'llah appeared and proclaimed the oneness of the world of man, saying that all men are created by God and all the religions are under the shadow of the mercy of God. God is kind to all; He loves all. All the prophets loved one another. The holy books confirm one another. Why then should there be strife and contention among men? When all are the creatures of one God, and like sheep all are under the protection of one shepherd who helps each one, why should not the sheep live in perfect harmony with one another? If one has gone astray, the others must bring it back and guide it. At the most, if a person is ignorant, he must be informed; if he is imperfect, he must be made perfect; if he is sick, he must be cured; if he is blind, he must be healed and not be made a target of enmity and hatred.

Second, Baha'u'llah proclaimed that religion must be the means of love and fellowship. If religion is the cause of hatred, it has no meaning.

Irreligion is preferable to such a religion, for it produces enmity and hatred. That which produces enmity is odious to God and that which

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brings forth love and harmony is acceptable to Him and praised by Him. If religion becomes the cause of bloodshed and rapacity, it is not religion. Irreligion is better than that. Religion is like a remedy. If the remedy produces sickness, it is better not to have it at all. Thus if religion is the cause of warfare and massacre, irreligion is preferable.

Third, religion must be in accord with reason and science. If religion is not consistent with science and reason, it is superstition. God has given us reason so that we may comprehend the realities of things and become lovers of truth. If religion is inconsistent with science and reason, it cannot produce confidence. When confidence is not generated, it is but superstition. Religious issues must therefore conform with reason and science so that hearts may derive assurance, and happiness may prevail.

Fourth, all prejudices - religious, racial, patriotic and political - are destroyers of the human edifice. The religion of God is but one for all. All religions are founded on truth. Abraham summoned the people to reality; Moses proclaimed reality; Christ founded reality; and Muhammad promoted reality. All the prophets were the servants of reality. All were founders and enforcers of reality. Religious prejudice, therefore, is vain and false, for it negates the truth.

As to racial prejudice: all humanity is one progeny. All are servants of one God. All are of one essence. There is no plurality in race because all are the sons of Adam. Plurality in race is an unfounded belief. Before God there is no England, France, Turkey or Persia. All these people are regarded as one before God. God did not make these divisions. They are made by man; hence, they are false and contrary to reality. Everyone has two eyes, two ears, one head and two feet. There is no racial prejudice among animals, no such prejudice among pigeons. A pigeon of the East will mingle with a pigeon of the West harmoniously. A sheep of the West will not say to a sheep of the East: `You are of the East and I am of the West.' Instead they mix together. If a pigeon comes from the East, it will mix with the pigeons of the West. It will not say, `I am of the East while you are of the West.' Is it worthy of man to entertain an attitude which animals do not allow?

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Patriotic prejudice prevails although the whole earth is one globe, one country. God has made no divisions in it. He has created all as one. Before Him there are no differences. How can man lay down divisions which God has not created? Europe is one continent. We have created imaginary lines. We fix a boundary and say that on this side of the river is France and on that side Germany, although the river exists for both sides. What idle fancy is this? What ignorance! A thing not purposed by God is made by man, through his own imagination, a cause of bloodshed and strife. Hence, all these prejudices have no valid basis and are odious before God. God has created love, amity and affection which He has desired for His servants. Enmity is reprobated by Him, while love and harmony are accepted in His presence.

Fifth, one of the teachings of Baha'u'llah is that every human being must acquire knowledge, so that misunderstandings which are rampant among the people of different nations may be removed. All differences are begotten of misunderstandings. If these are removed, all humanity will become united. Misunderstandings can be removed only when knowledge is universally diffused. It is incumbent on every father to educate his children. If the father is incapable, the community must help so that knowledge may prevail and misunderstandings disappear.

Sixth, Baha'u'llah proclaimed the equality of the sexes, because women were not free. Men and women belong to the human race and are the servants of the same God. Before God there is no difference of gender. Whosoever has a purer heart and performs a better deed is nearer to God, irrespective of sex. The differences that exist at the present time are due only to the various degrees of education because women have not had the same opportunity as men. If women were given the same education, they would become equal in all degrees because both are human beings and share the same faculties and in this God has created no differences.

Seventh, a universal language is necessary. A language should be adopted which can be acquired by all. Every person will have to learn two languages - one, his own, and the other, universal, so that all persons will have a means of communication. This will cause the removal of

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misunderstandings among the various nations. All worship one God and all are the servants of the one God. Differences occur when people cannot understand one another. When they can talk in the same language, differences due to misunderstandings will melt away, while love and harmony will have their sway. The East and the West will then join hands and unite with each other in bonds of union.

Eighth, the world is in sore need of universal peace. As long as universal peace is not established, the world will find no rest. The nations and powers will be forced to form a Supreme Tribunal to which all differences will be referred for decision. As the differences of individuals are settled in the courts of law, so must the differences of nations and peoples be settled, so that they may not lead to wars as at the present time. Fifty years ago Baha'u'llah sent epistles to the ruling monarchs of the time. All these teachings were recorded in the Tablets to the Kings and Rulers and to others and were printed and published forty years ago in India, so that prejudices between men might vanish. All those who adopted His teachings have lived in perfect harmony and love. If one goes to their meetings, one sees Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and Muslims associated together with utmost love and amity. All their talk and effort are concentrated on the removal of misunderstandings among nations.

When I came to America, I found the people noble and highminded and the government just. I pray to God that this just government and this respected nation may be the cause of proclaiming universal peace and the oneness of humanity. May it become the means of uniting all the nations of the world. May it light a lamp which will give light to the world - the lamp of the oneness of humanity. My hope is that you will all be instrumental in raising aloft the standard of universal peace, that is, that the American nation and government will further the cause of international peace and thus bring security to the whole world. They would win thereby the good-pleasure of God and divine favors would surround the East and the West.

O Thou kind Lord! These people have turned to Thee in prayer. With utmost humility and sincerity they have raised their voices to Thy Kingdom to beg Thy forgiveness.

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O God! Make this assemblage noble and these persons holy. Enkindle the lights of guidance, illumine the hearts, bring joy to the souls, admit them into Thy Kingdom and enable them to attain felicity in both worlds.

0 God! We are abased, glorify us; we are poor, make us rich from the treasury of Thy Kingdom; we are sick, grant us health; we are weak, give us power. 0 God, guide us to Thy good-pleasure and make us free from self and desire. 0 God, make us firm in Thy love and assist us to be kind to all creatures. Help us to render service to humanity so that we may serve all Thy servants, love all Thy creatures, be kind to all mankind. 0 God, verily Thou art the Powerful, the Merciful, the Forgiving and the Omnipotent.

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The Master's address on the unity of humanity and the oneness of the Manifestations of God, together with an explanation of the new teachings, was so enthusiastically received by the audience that it is difficult to describe adequately, especially the effect of the prayer He chanted. As well as the local residents, some Turks and Arabs came to the church to pay their respects to the Master.

A wonderful change came over the hearts of the people of the city and a new excitement was felt in the public meetings. One person asserted that the only religion which was worthy to be acknowledged today was the Baha'i religion while another thanked God that he was granted life to hear the great message.

In the afternoon a number of people of different nationalities, having obtained permission by telephone, came to visit the Master. Some of the Turks became so attracted to Him that they were continually to be found in His presence, both day and night.

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Mahmud's Account of Master in Canada (part 1)

Mahmud's Account of the Master's Visit to Canada

Introductory comments; Originally posted here: 5 September, 2004

Mahmud's Diary, The Diary of Mirza Mahmud-i-Zarqani Chronicling `Abdu'l-Baha's Journey to America, Translated by Mohi Sobhani, with the assistance of Shirley Macias, George Ronald, Oxford, England, 1998

Introductory comments by John Taylor, 5 September, 2004

Friends, the NSA of Canada has asked that we hold events in memory of the Master's visit here, in preparation for the upcoming centennial in 2012. One of the main primary sources for that event was the journal kept by Mahmud, which was recently translated into English. For those who do not have a copy, I have taken a day or two to scan the part of the book relevant to Canada into the computer.

Montreal is my favorite city in the whole world (admittedly, I have only seen a handful of big cities in my time) and now that I have gone through Mahmoud's account in detail I know why, because so many of the sights and attractions there were already visited by the Master. If only I had known when I was a tourist there! I remember visiting that cathedral where He stops in the doorway and talks briefly to the retinue with him about the Disciples of Christ. When I read that He was there, well, I almost fell out of my chair. What a bounty. I had felt a strange spirit in that place, or I would have forgotten it after all these years, and now I know exactly where it was coming from.

In what I have scanned in, I included the Buffalo and Niagara Falls visit as well, since for folks around here that city is a lot closer than Montreal. This checking and scanning, scanning and checking is the sort of tedious job that I would gladly hand over to a personal secretary, research assistant or menial grad student but since I have none I had to do it all by myself. Please let me know if any typos have slipped through.

I happened in cyberspace to run across the translator's helper, Shirly Macias a couple of years ago. I asked her if there was an e-text version of the book available on the net (not to her knowledge) and if the new translation of some of the Master's talks found herein is more or less authoritative than those in Promulgation (she did not know).

The talk that the Master gave in the Church of the Messiah in Montreal is an example, a talk that has been re-translated in this edition of Mahmoud's Diary. I compared it with the version in Promulgation and both translations seem to have problems and advantages over the other. For example, the Master in the Mahmud version says "irreligion" is to be preferred over religion that causes disunity. The Promulgation version adds in, "irreligion or the lack of religion" is preferable. There is a pretty big difference in English, in my opinion, between the lack of religion and irreligion. I hope the House mediates this and decides upon an authoritative version, but in the meantime we can be grateful that, unlike many of the talks recorded in Promulgation, we know for certain that this talk is authoritative scripture, in that a record of the original Persian text is extant.

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Montreal, Quebec, 30 Aug - 1 Sept.

p. 226

Friday, August 30, 1912 [Malden to Montreal]

`Abdu'l-Baha left today for Montreal. The only servants He took with Him were Mirza Ahmad Sohrab and myself. Because He had decided to travel to the Western part of America at the pressing invitation of the friends in California, He said, `We have a long distance to go and must therefore leave as soon as possible.' For this reason, He instructed Mirza Valiyu'llah Khan-i-Varqa, Aqa Mirza `Ali Akbar Nakhjavani, Aqa Siyyid Asadu'llah and Dr Getsinger to remain until His return.

As soon as the friends and a group of Arabs saw `Abdu'l-Baha at the railway station in Boston, they surrounded Him, their faces beaming with joy and enthusiasm. At 9:00 a.m. the train left Boston and reached Montreal at 8:00 p.m. On the way, a Canadian was privileged to speak with `Abdul-Baha. The Master pointed out to him the straight path of truth, and even though this individual had known nothing about `Abdu'l-Baha before this encounter, he was attracted to Him. When we arrived at the station, we saw Mr. [Sutherland] Maxwell hurrying forward to greet the Master. He had two carriages to convey the Master and His companions to his home.

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There a group of friends and a newspaper publisher were waiting to see the Master. At the table, Mrs. [May] Maxwell said, `So many people have telephoned and sent letters about your arrival and I have replied to all. I have become very tired but I consider this fatigue the greatest comfort of my life.' A pastor had telephoned to ask the Master to address his congregation the day after tomorrow. The editor of the newspaper said that he would publish the announcement the next day. When Mrs. Maxwell informed `Abdu'l-Baha of this, He said, `Very well. You were tired, having undergone such trouble today. You must rest for the time being.'

Saturday, August 31, 1912

[Montreal]

In the morning, the pastor of the Unitarian Church came with several others to visit `Abdul-Baha. The Master discussed with them the elimination of religious superstitions and prejudices, which are contrary to science and common sense and which are obstacles to the attainment of the foundation of truth of the divine religions.

A newspaper reporter was then announced. He had come to interview the Master about His life and the history of the Cause. `Abdu'l-Baha gave a detailed account, which was recorded by the reporter.

The Master went to the dinner table. Mr. Maxwell had come from the customs house and said that when the inspector opened the first suitcase and saw a picture of the Master, he asked, `Is this the picture of the prophet of Persia?' When he received an affirmative reply, the inspector said, `There is no need to inspect these goods' and released all the luggage.

Some of the newspapers accounts about the visit of the Master are full of reverence and praise.

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In the afternoon, at the invitation of Mr. Maxwell, the Master went for ride in the town. While in the carriage He remarked:

Every city in which the remembrance of God is raised is a divine city. `Akka was a despised city but when it became the center of the mention of God and the dawning place of His Light, it illumined the world.

When He saw some of the college buildings, `Abdu'l-Baha said:

"As only material education is imparted and only natural philosophy is taught, these universities do not produce highly talented scholars. When both the natural and the divine philosophies are expounded, they will bring forth outstanding souls and evince great advancement. The reason for the success of the Greek schools was that they combined both natural and divine philosophies."

As His carriage passed by the Unitarian Church, He said, `Tomorrow we will raise the Call of God in this place.'

The carriage reached the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame. Everything was quiet and no one was in sight. The Master alighted and went in to see the huge building. With rapt attention, He gazed at the vast cathedral, its ornamentation and numerous statues and spoke of its grandeur and embellishments. Standing in an open space at the entrance, He addressed us saying:

Behold what eleven disciples of Christ have accomplished, how they sacrificed themselves! I exhort you to walk in their footsteps. When a person is detached, he is capable of revolutionizing the whole world. The disciples of Christ met together in consultation on top of a mountain. They pledged themselves to undergo all manner of hardships, to accept every affliction as a bounty and to consider all difficulties easy to overcome. `He who is tied to a family, let him arrange to leave it; he who is not should remain

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single. He should forgo his comfort and his life.' Consulting thus, they descended from the mountain and each one went a different way and never returned. It is for this reason that they were able to leave behind such achievements. After Christ, the disciples truly forgot themselves, and not merely in word. Hence, the Blessed Beauty cited:

Either be like women and indulge in adornment and pleasure Or like men, come out and throw down the gauntlet.263

`Abdu'l-Baha took His seat in the carriage again and told us:

"On our way to Baghdad we had to put up with unbearable hardships. At one time a Turkish soldier of the Ottoman army appeared before us. Mirza Yahya, on seeing the soldier sitting on the horse with majesty and dignity, cried out with great grief and despair, `Oh! Where were we? Where are we now going? They say that all heads will bow. When shall it be?' I said to him in reply, `When the divine bounty attains perfection, persons greater than this soldier will bow their heads under the shadow of the Word of God.' Where is Mirza Yahya now? Let him come and see how the power of Baha'u'llah has so inspired humility in these Americans, who consider the Turks as nothing, that a person like Mr. Maxwell, an American, is with deference serving Mirza Ahmad, a Persian."

In the evening there was a well attended meeting at `Abdul-Bahas residence. He spoke, with good effect, about spiritual progress and the manifestation of divine virtues in human realities. Afterwards many requested private interviews. On receiving satisfactory answers to their questions, they expressed their heartfelt gratitude. Among them was the president of a socialist organization who invited the Master to his group. His request was granted. As it grew late in the evening and other people were waiting for

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private interviews, we suggested that since the Master might be weary it would be better if the rest of those waiting came back in the morning. He replied, `No, this is the time to work. We must not think of our fatigue. Everyone is to be met.'

Sunday, September 1, 1912

[Montreal]

This was a momentous day. From the pulpit of the Unitarian Church, the voice of the Center of the Covenant was broadcast afar. As He prepared to leave for the church, He asked me to sit by Him in the carriage. I said that there was room on the other seat. He replied, `Come and sit here. When I see someone who is ambitious and selfish, I observe these formalities merely for his correction. Otherwise, everyone may sit wherever he wishes. These things are entirely unimportant.' When the carriage arrived, the pastor, who had been waiting at the entrance, came forward, took the Master's arm with the utmost reverence and courtesy, led him to the pulpit and offered Him his own chair. After the music, the pastor stood and read verses from the Book of Isaiah which allude to the appearance of a promised one from the East. Everyone listened with rapt attention to these verses and felt that they had been specifically written for this day.

In introducing the Master, the pastor said:

"We are honored today with the presence of the Prophet of Peace whose message is the Message of God. God has raised Him to exterminate war and bloodshed. His presence in this church is the cause of eternal honor and the fulfillment of our long-cherished hopes and desires. He is the sign of love among the people and the promoter of oneness and brotherhood among the sons of men. His object is to free people from the shackles of imitation and

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to unfurl the banner of the oneness of humanity. He is the temple of kindness, the possessor of the greatest news, the inspirer of the new thoughts and the expounder of the happiness of this great cycle. Although He has suffered violence and affliction for many years and has seen persecutions, His spiritual power is still flowing like the water of life. Although His body has felt the cross, yet His spirit, which is life-giving, has not been crucified. He has journeyed by land and sea to come to these western countries. We extend Him a sincere welcome and offer the incense of gratitude for His teachings which are the cause of the recovery of hearts and are the source of eternal blessings and happiness. Now His Holiness `Abdu'l-Baha will speak to you."

The Master rose and, pacing the stage, gave the following address:

(Continued in part 2)

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Ward's Chapter on the Master's Visit to Montreal

Here is the Montreal chapter from Ward's work on the Master's travels, from:

Alan L. Ward, 239 Days: 'Abdu'l-Baha's Journey in America, Baha’i Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Ill., 1979, pp. 132-7

'Abdu'l-Baha left Maiden and caught a train in Boston at 9:00 A.M. on Friday, August 30, for Montreal, Canada, arriving there at midnight. He was met at the station by William Sutherland Maxwell. Reporters and friends packed the Maxwell’s' house waiting for Him, and Mrs. Maxwell said that invitations and inquiries had been pouring in all day.

He remained in Montreal for ten days, living at the Maxwell’s, and, then, despite their entreaties, moving into the Hotel Windsor. The friends and inquirers flocked around Him throughout His stay. He spoke at meeting after meeting at the Maxwell home, and, among other places, at the Unitarian Church, at the St. James Methodist Church, and at the Socialist Club.

On Saturday, August 31, as He rode through town, 'Abdu'l-Baha passed the cathedral. After going in to look at it, He told the friends, "'Behold what eleven disciples have done. How they effaced themselves! I exhort you to walk in their footsteps. When a person is severed, he is capable of revolutionizing the whole world."' That evening, after 'Abdu'l-Baha had granted scores of interviews all day long, another group was waiting for private talks. Because He was so tired, the friends suggested that the remaining people should leave and return the next day. He answered, "'No, this is the time to work. We must not think of exhaustion or anything else. Let every one come to me."'

On Sunday, September I, as He prepared to leave for the Unitarian Church where He was to speak, 'Abdu'l-Baha called one of the Persian friends to sit by Him in the carriage. The friend replied that there was plenty of room on another seat; but 'Abdu'l-Baha insisted, "'Come and sit here. When I see some one selfish and hankering after rank, I observe these formalities for his correction merely. Everyone may sit wherever he wishes. These things are entirely unimportant.'"

At the breakfast on September 2 to which He invited a number of guests 'Abdu'l-Baha said:

Come, we are in Montreal, Canada, in this home eating Persian pilau, which has been cooked by Mirza Ahmad and which has a taste and tale of its own. To be grateful for the blessings of God in time of want and trouble is important. In the abundance of blessings every one can be grateful. It is said that Sultan Mahmud cut a watermelon and gave a portion of it to Iyas. Iyas ate it cheerfully and expressed gratitude. When the Sultan ate a little of the same watermelon, he found it bitter. He asked Iyas, "How did you eat such a bitter watermelon and show no sign of dislike?" He answered, "I had eaten many sweet and palatable things from the hands of the Sultan and I thought it very unworthy of me to express dislike on eating a little bitter thing today."

He concluded:

Man, who is immersed in the blessings of God, should not be grieved if he sees a little trouble. He should not forget the manifold divine bounties that are always pouring on him.

That same day Abdul-Baha moved to the Hotel Windsor. When He prepared to return to the Maxwell home for a meeting, the friends asked if they could call a carriage for Him. 'Abdu'l-Baha took the streetcar, saying, "'Oh, it matters little. It saves expenses. There is a difference of one dollar in the fare."' When He arrived at the Maxwells’, He gave one pound to each of the servants.

As the translations of the newspaper articles concerning His address at the Socialist Club were read to Him on September 4, Abdu'l-Baha said, "'This is all through the confirmations of the Blessed Beauty. Otherwise even if the King of Persia had come here he would not have been able to attract such meetings."'

Mahmud recalled:

In the afternoon He came down . . . for a ride in the automobile. We were in attendance also. The automobile stopped at the foot of a mountain beyond the city limits. An elevator took us up. The mountainside was perpendicular like a wall. The Beloved said, "This hoist is like a balloon which flies in the air." One felt nervous to look below. When we reached the top, the Beloved walked to and fro. It was a magnificent sight. The whole of the city lay stretched before us. . . . It seemed as if a beautifully painted picture were spread before the view.

Here the translation of additional accounts of the meetings published in the evening newspapers was read before Him. Suddenly He cried out, "Baha'u'llah! May I be a sacrifice at Thy feet. 0 Baha'u'llah! May I be offered up in Thy way! What a wonderful Cause you have founded! It satisfies every sect! Every sect testifies to Thy greatness. In the churches it excites a new commotion in the souls. It imparts spirituality to the spiritualists; makes Unitarians informed of the Reality of Unity; makes the socialists contented and grateful and inspires joy and happiness in the breasts of the peace-lovers. There is no sect or denomination which has any cause for sighing! One and all bow spontaneously before Your majesty. It is a miracle. It is the greatest force of the world of existence. It is the assistance of the Blessed Beauty. This is the greatest miracle."

'Abdu'l-Baha also commented, in discussing the warm reception of His address, "'The greatness of the Teachings of Baha'u'llah will be known when they are practiced. 136 239 Days: 'Abdu'l-Baha's Journey in America Not one out of a hundred has as yet come into force. The entire trend of your thoughts should be turned towards bringing these blessed Teachings into practice.'" On September 5 the Bishop in Montreal visited

'Abdu'l-Baha to express his pleasure at the meetings being held and his gratitude for "the address concerning the purpose of the Manifestation of Christ and the other holy Manifestations." 'Abdu'l-Baha said, "'Tonight I shall speak in the Methodist Church. You may come if you wish."' On the evening of September 6 Mrs. Maxwell reminisced with 'Abdu'l-Baha: '"At the time when I was visiting 'Akka I despaired of the blessing of ever possessing children. Praise be to God! My desire and your prayer at the Holy Tomb of Baha'u'llah were accepted and I was blessed with a dear baby [Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum].'"

The Toronto Star Weekly wrote of Him on September 7, in an article headed "ABDUL BAHA'S WORD TO CANADA":

What is it that strikes one most in this remarkable man? Is it his message . . . ? Is it his power of thought, his manner of expression, the privations he has en- dured? No; it is none of these. It is his great sincerity. He is a man with a mission, and he believes in it with all his soul....

There was wonderful breadth and depth of feeling in that sermon [at the Unitarian church in Montreal]. It was not the message of a fanatic or a hermit, or a man unconversant with modern thought and modern life. It was Eastern, yet it was Western. . . . He granted me an interview the following day. . . .

I then inquired if he intended to visit Toronto or any of the Canadian cities in the West, but he was afraid such would be impossible at this time. "But you may tell your people," he said, "that I am very pleased with your country. It is a prosperous and delightful land. . . .Surely, then, you should thank the good God for all his mercies to you."

He then took my hand in both of his and blessed me as a father would bless a son, with the same sincerity, the same depth of feeling, the same lofty purpose. For if this Persian dreamer, preacher, prophet, is anything, he is sincere, and his sincerity springs from a great sense of love and fellowship for man. He is a humanist of a high type; his church is the world.

"I cannot succeed," were his parting words, "without your help and the help of everyone who believes in the cause of universal peace and good fellowship among men; and, that you may not forget me and my cause in the days to come, I will ask you to accept a little gift from me."

So saying, he handed me a small parcel, which, later, I discovered contained a handsome gold ring. It fitted perfectly....

'Abdu'l-Baha had taught and exhorted and given of Himself during ten days of ceaseless activity in Montreal. On September 8, His last full day with the friends, He said, "I have sown the seed. Now water it. You must educate the souls in divine morals, make them spiritual, and lead them to the oneness of humanity and to universal peace.'"

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`Abdu'l-Baha's Visit to Canada

`Abdu'l-Baha's Visit to Canada 

An Address By Hugh Church (2852 words)

n.b. this is a repost of an earlier Badi' Blog entry from about five years ago.

Last night was the evening of 10 September, the very night when in 1912 the Master had just arrived in nearby Buffalo. In remembrance, a busload of Dunnvillites traveled to Niagara-on-the-Lake for an address given by Hugh Church commemorating the visit of the Master to Canada. I have rarely been as impressed by a talk as I was by that of Mr. Church. Mr. Church's talk succeeded in carrying over the spirit of old Montreal in 1912. And better, it conveys a touch of the Master's Spirit as well. Mr. Church consented to give me a printout of this talk, which I have scanned and I hope I have corrected the OCR, formatting and transcription errors that crept in after scanning. Enjoy!

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`Abdu'l-Baha's Visit To Canada, By Hugh Church

 In 1912, Montreal was - by any measure - the most important city in the adolescent Dominion of Canada and its wealthy English-speaking population occupied the peak of Canadian "high society." They lived in the so-called Square Mile, the district west of downtown and between Sherbrooke Street and "the Mountain." Their homes were mock Highland castles, palatial neo-Georgian houses, faux Tuscan villas and massive brownstone mansions. They took their social cues from London. They took tea, rode to the hounds with the Montreal Hunt and gave palatial dinner parties. They were merchant princes (like the Birks and the Ogilvies) or captains of industry and commerce, such as the Molsons, Lord Strathcona, the Holts, Sir Mortimer Davis, the Holts, Lord Shaughnessy, the Van Homes and Lord Atholstan. These plutocrats lived in a neighbourhood which the Canadian humourist, Stephen Leacock (who was himself a Square Miler) called "Plutoria-under-the-Elms."

And on Pine Avenue, at the top of the Square Mile and right across the street from the Birks, lived a very successful architect and his lovely wife May. Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland Maxwell, and their beautiful and adored two-year-old daughter, Mary. The Maxwells, who in their dress and in their residence and in their manner of living so closely resembled their wealthy neighbours were unusual in several significant ways. One was that they both were followers of a new," not-very-well-known religion, which in those days was often known as Bahaism." And on the Labour bay weekend of that year they were about to receive a very honoured, even august, visitor for whom they had entirely redecorated their home. This was `Abdu'l-Baha, the son of the man whom Baha'is recognise as the most recent of God`s manifestations to man, and the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.

In 1912 `Abdu'l-Baha was 68 years old, and his was a "commanding presence," we are told. Time and again we read that people coming into his presence for the first time left describing feelings of awe at the meeting. But at the same time he seemed "intensely approachable." He had, after all, approved an advertisement in The Montreal Star which gave the Maxwell`s telephone number (Uptown 3015) and urged "any Montrealers who want to make an appointment with him" to do so. He had a ready sense of humour. He was not an ascetic. During part of his stay in Montreal, for example, he put up at the Windsor Hotel then the most expensive and luxurious in town. He always sought to avoid religious argument, but was uncompromising on his principles. 

Later on in his travels in North America, he insisted that Louis Gregory, a black Baha'i, be seated next to him at a dinner in the then rigidly-segregated city of Washington, DC. He always wore the clothes he was most comfortable in those of a Persian gentleman of the nineteenth century - and in a day of waxed moustaches wore an unfashionable beard. He enjoyed music. He loved children. He did not speak English or any other European language, and therefore always spoke through an interpreter who accompanied him everywhere. One can only imagine the impression he must have made on passers-by or on members of his various audiences in Montreal in 1912. (In fact, Mrs. Maxwell noted with what must have been some amusement that the upstairs curtains of all her neighbours' homes were ported as `Abdu'l-Baha arrived on Pine Avenue in the evening of August 30th so that the neighbours could glimpse the white-robed "Persian prophet.")

This brief visit was to accomplish exactly what `Abdu'l-Baha had hoped. It gave the few scattered individuals in Canada who called themselves Baha'is an awareness of themselves as a community," and gave them as well a better understanding of the Faith. (At that time, we must remember, most Baha'is in Canada had no Baha'i writings or scripture to read for themselves, and often didn’t even know any other Baha'is. Their beliefs, therefore, were often an amalgam of turn-of -the-century liberal thought, "universalism," and socialism, and many identified their barely-understood religion with `Abdu'l-Baha rather than with Baha'u'llah. It was said that these Baha'is were better described as `Abdu'l-Baha'is.) His visit attracted a lot of attention, particularly in Montreal, where more than 2,500 people heard him or nine days and where all the newspapers English and French reported extensively on his visit and his views. There were seven informal and eight public meetings, including an address to 500 socialists at Coronation Hall on the topic of Economic Happiness." Abdul-Baha met eminent people throughout Canada and elsewhere - religious and political leaders, professors, scientists, etc. In Montreal these included the Roman Catholic archbishop Bruchesi, and Mr. William Paterson, the principal of McGill University. Invariably their subsequent attitudes toward the Baha'i Faith were positive.

Finally, everything that he said - both in private homes, in churches and in other great meetings in Montreal and elsewhere was added to and became an important part of the corpus of Baha'i writings. In Montreal there were two addresses which became almost universally known among Baha'is - his addresses on "The Oneness of Religion" at the Unitarian Church of the Messiah (a building, incidentally, designed by his host, William Sutherland Maxwell,) and on "Baha'i Principles for the Happiness of the Human Race" at St James Church, the so-called "cathedral of Methodism" on Ste-Catharine Street.

 Before turning to those two talks, though, I'd like first to deal with an aspect of `Abdu'l-Baha`s visit to Montreal which became a very minor footnote in Canadian literature, and which, as Stephen Leacock`s biographer wrote many years later, for a while " ... must have given hurt ... to a small number of Baha'is." It interests me as a former literature teacher rather than as a Baha'i.

`Abdul-Baha`s visit had not escaped the notice of Leacock, who two years later published a satirical short story in his famous anthology Arcadian Adventures of the Idle Rich. The story to which I refer is one called "The Yahi-Bahi Society of Mrs Resselyer-Brown." Certainly Leacock was a neighbour of the Maxwells, but it is clear" from the story that he did not know and did not trouble himself to learn anything either about `Abdu'l-Baha - who figures in his story as Mr. Yahi Bahi - or about the Baha'i Faith - which he calls Boohooism. Yahi Bahi spouts an unsettling mishmash of Hindu, Buddhist, ancient Egyptian and Islamic terms, but he seems to have absolutely no religious or ethical principles to impart and is in fact, a scam artist and a thief. It must be remembered that at the time there were a lot of very well-known and very fashionable religious and occult "gurus" about - such as Annie Besant and Theosophy, for example - who were more-or-less the "pets" of society ladies with too much time on their hands and of self-described intellectuals. Leacock and others often scoffed at them and their followers. I don’t think that present-day Baha'is need be offended by this parody because it is so obviously wide of the mark. There is simply nothing of Abdul-Baha or of the Baha'i Faith in it. (And we all must remember that Leacock could be savagely funny in his comments about Anglican priests and Presbyterians as well.)

So let me now turn to matters of greater "gravitas" and of much greater significance.

In the pulpit of the imposing Church of the Messiah, `Abdu'l-Baha essentially offered his audience a summary of the basic tenets of the Baha'i Faith, without announcing that this was what he was about to do. Therefore this address can in no way be construed as an attempt at proselytizing, something which as the Guardian of the Faith he never did, and which Baha'is today are warned against doing as well. Nothing of what he said would surprise Baha'is today, and ninety-two years ago `Abdu'l-Baha apparently understood that in a Unitarian church he was unlikely to be misunderstood or to startle anyone either.

The church’s minister, the Rev. F R Griffin, in fact said in introducing `Abdu'l-Baha that "The strangest part of all about him is that nothing is strange." This is, of course, a reaction that Baha'is often encounter when they have the opportunity to explain their Faith to non-Baha'i friends and acquaintances. The Montreal Gazette reported that `Abdu'l-Baha in his opening sentences said. "God the Almighty has created all humanity from earth, from the same element."

The paper went on to note that the visitor spoke of his father. Baha'u'llah, having proclaimed that "religion must be the means of love and fellowship. If "religion" is the cause of hatred it has no meaning: it is not religion but irreligion. . . ." 

The audience might have been intrigued when `Abdu'l-Baha argued for a universal language "to "help the cause of international peace and goodwill." as this certainly would have been a somewhat novel idea in 1912. In fact, unfortunately, it still is. The Gazette said that "both in matter and in style" the message was "unique ..." On the other hand, The Montreal Daily Witness, a Socialist paper, carried an article by a local clergyman expounding the view that `Abdu’l-Baha’s "oriental doctrines are not new," in what was obviously intended as a criticism of the Baha'i speaker’s ideas. 

Present-day Baha'is should probably be able to see the point of both descriptions, since we see our Faith as both "unique" or "new" and as "not new" at one and the same time. To us this is not only not contradictory but is the only logical way of regarding the history of the spiritual development of all of mankind. Our only quibble would probably be with the use of the adjective "oriental" since we and I believe most of the world’s people today agree with us Baha'is about this - see nothing either "oriental" or "occidental" in the principles which Abdul-Baha spoke of in the pulpit of the Church of the Messiah and everywhere else throughout his life.

At St James Church, `Abdu'l-Baha continued his exposition of his Fathers religious teachings. Here The Gazette mentioned his call for the "independent investigation" of religious truth, and his contention that it is the lack of such independent investigation that leads to rancour and dissension. `Abdul-Baha spoke of the necessity of education, and the folly of racial and patriotic strife. As he had at other venues, he expressed his fear of the arms race in which all the European nations were then engaged, and which would make the soon-to-come Great War such a catastrophe for all those nations and for the rest of the world. He said,

"Europe is a storehouse of explosives awaiting a spark. All the European nations are on edge, and a single flame will set on fire the whole of that continent."

Today we can only regard his words as prescient. His remedy was the establishment of an international tribunal to settle international disputes. At the end of his address, the Recorder of St James, Mr. Weir, paid `Abdu'l-Baha the high compliment of saying that while some people believed the race of prophets had become extinct, . . . it was a pleasure to listen to one who was in the lofty succession of the long line of prophets." Even more moving, perhaps, was an editorial the next day in the usually very sober-sided Gazette, part of which said:

"`Abdu'l-Baha has preached universal peace for fifty years. . . In a word, `Abdu'l-Baha is the great protagonist of Peace in the world today. To bring about its accomplishment is the practical corollary of the two tenets which are the foundation of his creed - the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. For forty years he was persecuted for preaching it, for twenty years imprisoned."

It is, of course, not only ironic but tragic - in every sense of that word - that just two years later The Gazette’s pages would be filled with accounts of terrible battles, of warplanes, of gas attacks, and - worst of all - with lists of hundreds of names of the young Montrealers and Quebeckers killed or maimed in what now seems to many an entirely inexplicable and pointless war.

It is clear from everything that we know about `Abdu'l-Baha that he never wasted time. In fact, he seems to hove been the kind of person who maintains such a constant and rigorous schedule, such an unchanging and unrelenting momentum, that he appears to the casual observer not to be busy at all - rather like the Queen when she is "on tour." May Maxwell described her guest as `serene" and "calm," but during the nine days that `Abdu'l-Baha remained in Montreal, he seems either to have been preparing to speak or speaking, giving interviews, receiving guests, or paying calls upon people whom he felt would understand and should hear his message. While "resting" at the Maxwell residence. he spoke to small groups of guests on such subjects as Immortality" and The Nature of Man." 

When he ran out of time answering questions after his public addresses, he invited people to come to him to continue their discussions. Amine be Mille, an American Baha'i, tells us that early on the first morning of his stay in Montreal `Abdu'l-Baha began to receive a stream of guests, and that gall day, visitors flowed in and out. . . ." He was able to make each person feel as if somehow he or she was the very individual whom `Abdu'l-Baha had come to Montreal in order to see. (But the number of visitors was so great that after four days he felt his presence had become a problem in the Maxwell house, and he insisted upon moving into a suite at the Windsor Hotel. There even larger audiences continued.) He even found time, we know, to visit a sick child at 715 Pine Avenue, across from the Maxwell house. This was Geraldine Birks, the daughter of the "Jewellery store" Birks. (Seventy-nine years later, Geraldine didn’t remember that it was `Abdu'l-Baha who visited her, but did remember the "Indian guru" whom the Maxwell`s had invited to visit them.)

`Abdu’l-Baha’s visit to Montreal was exceptionally well-covered by the city’s newspapers. Some of the headlines seem quite touching to us today, or - sometimes - quite amusing. One paper described him as the head of a "worldwide "Baha'i" peace cult," for example. He was variously described elsewhere as an "apostle of peace," a "Persian teacher in flowing robes," as a "venerable apostle from [the] Orient," and as a "leader of [a] great universalist movement." The Gazette never used the word "cult" in its coverage of `Abdu'l-Baha`s visit, and in fact made the point that his faith was "not a religious cult, but [an] effort for Good which has grown despite Persian persecution." In a city which in 1912 was not noted for its religious and/or linguistic tolerance, or for its lack of class consciousness, both the English and French-language newspapers seemed to understand that this was a man with serious and important ideas and admirable principles. La Presse mentioned his call for religious unity and universal peace. Most of the papers, including The Star, sombrely note his "prophecy of a world war, and of the inadequacies of both socialism and materialism," and Le Devoir emphasized his idea of the necessity "to establish an international tribune to solve the problems among the civilised people of the world."

To us Baha'is today, it seems thrilling that so much attention was paid to `Abdu'l-Baha and to what he said in a city which, at the time, was known mainly for its material wealth and economic and political power. It may also, however, strike us as quite sod that so little has changed in our country and in our world since he made that brief visit to Canada ninety-two years ago. But I think we have to remember that `Abdu’l-Baha’s frame of reference was never ours. He spoke, of course, for the ages. It is up to us to take note of progress wherever it has been made in our lifetimes, to build upon that progress wherever it may be found, and to keep on working.

We have an obligation to continue to trust that mankind’s progress toward the future which Baha'u'llah prophesized - and which `Abdu'l-Baha taught in Montreal and everywhere - is unstoppable. That is a very, very important part of what it means to be a Baha'i - just not allowing ourselves ever to feel defeated or to be pessimistic any more than `Abdu'l-Baha ever was. We have to act as if we really believe that those nine days which he spent in Montreal are, for Canada, among the most significant in our country’s life, because we still have the opportunity to act upon what he said then and to build a country and a world worthy of his words and Baha’u’llah’s vision. When `Abdu'l-Baha left Montreal, he said, "The time of the sojourn was limited to a number of days, but the results in the future are inexhaustible." That, of course, is still true, and we must never doubt it.

Modern Political Freedom

Political Liberty in the Pre-Modern Era

By John Taylor; 2009 Aug 24, Asma 05, 166 BE

The English Revolution, with its struggle between religious fanatics and political tyrannies to dominate the hearts and minds of men, caused great revulsion against absolute, unfettered power. In order to defend freedom of conscience, the new American democracy set strict constitutional limits on political power. As we have seen, the French Revolution's Declaration of the Rights of Man set clear bounds on the ability of government to dictate what citizens can think and do.

"Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law." (Declaration of the Rights of Man, Article #4)

In both ancient and pre-modern times, moderation, as opposed to zealotry and extremism, was recognized as the golden path to political success. We must set bounds on everything, even freedom, if our enthusiasms are to benefit the common good. Montesquieu, in his seminal Spirit of the Laws, wrote that,

"... extreme political liberty ought to give uneasiness to those who have only a moderate share of it. ... even the excess of reason is not always desirable, and ... mankind generally find their account better in mediums than in extremes." (Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, vol. 1, trans. Thomas Nugent, London: J. Nourse, 1777), pp. 221-237)

John Amos Comenius argued further that there is no way to find a common middle path without sacrifice. We need to go beyond mere compromise and see accommodation of all sides as a sacred gift. He cites a Carthaginian proverb cited by St. Augustine: `If you wish to enjoy a period of peace, you must sacrifice something.' Having consecrated one's position by giving up, one is ready for the peace that results.

"Therefore let us not insist on our full rights in our dealings with one another. Peace is hardly ever achieved without both sides foregoing their rights to some extent. And why not? It pays to accept a slight loss in order to save the whole from jeopardy. A discreet merchant encountering a storm certainly prefers to lose part of his cargo and reclaim his deposit, rather than to risk losing everything, even his life. In this way profit sometimes involves an element of sacrifice. ... especially if there is hope that men need not take wrongs any more, when a wise settlement is made to cover both the past and the future." (Panorthosia II, Ch. 8, para 7, p. 111)

Notwithstanding this truth, the new American democracy embraced its partisans in hopes that their opposing extremes would somehow cancel themselves out. Thomas Jefferson declared that, "Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it." (First inaugural address, 4 March 1801) Its legal system set competition and advocacy next to its heart, assuming that after the smoke of battle had cleared, right and the common good would step forward unblemished and that the people and their leaders would have common cause. "It is essential to liberty that the government in general should have a common interest with the people." (James Madison, Federalist Papers, LXIII, 1788) However, there was recognition among many liberal thinkers that as long as many nations existed, rivalry among them would be inevitable. While beneficial to a moderate degree, competition drives a wedge between sovereign nations and their people. Immanuel Kant wrote,

"At present, states are in such an artificial relation to each other that none of them can neglect its internal cultural development without losing power and influence among the others. Therefore the preservation of this natural end [culture], if not progress in it, is fairly well assured by the ambitions of states.

Furthermore, civic freedom can hardly be infringed without the evil consequences being felt in all walks of life, especially in commerce, where the effect is loss of power of the state in its foreign relations. But this freedom spreads by degrees. When the citizen is hindered in seeking his own welfare in his own way, so long as it is consistent with the freedom of others, the vitality of the entire enterprise is sapped, and therewith the powers of the whole are diminished. (Kant, Cosmopolitan History, Eighth Thesis, p. 259)

War is the ultimate extreme where the interests of nation and people diverge. In war the very lives of the people are sacrificed En Masse for a supposed national interest, and citizens trained as soldiers gain experience in destroying an entire government. Therefore, Kant deduced, sovereign nations will one day have to submit their freedom to a higher authority, for the same reasons that individuals gain freedom from conflict when they submit their liberty to government in the first place.

"However fantastical this idea (a league of nations) may seem -- and it was laughed at as fantastical by the Abbi de St. Pierre and by Rousseau, perhaps because they believed it was too near to realization -- the necessary outcome of the destitution to which each man is brought by his fellows is to force the states to the same decision (hard though it be for them) that savage man also was reluctantly forced to take, namely, to give up their brutish freedom and to seek quiet and security under a lawful constitution." (Kant, Cosmopolitan History, Seventh Thesis, p. 256)

At the end of his life, Kant drew up a sketch or draft of this "lawful constitution" that banished one of the worst features of modern political freedom among nations: the exploitation by the strong of weak governments and regions. He does this by stipulating that, "The law of world citizenship shall be limited to conditions of universal hospitality." (Third definitive article, Sketch for a Permanent Peace) By choosing the virtue of hospitality, Kant recognized the political value of the religious (particularly Islamic) teaching that to love and serve a guest is next to godliness. Under these conditions, the voluntary sacrifice of one's personal rights is natural and freely given, and this leads to peace, security and prosperity. As long as a people voluntarily invites a foreign entity to come in, for example to mine their mineral resources, the relationship is free and consensual. Otherwise, it is illegal, a violation of the charter and an affront to peace and world citizenship.

John Taylor


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