The Reconciliation of Races and ReligionsCheyne, T. K. (Thomas Kelly)
Religion
The Reconciliation of Races and Religions
Cheyne, T. K. (Thomas Kelly)
Bahais
It is, in fact, the outward sign of a new era. If Baha-'ullah be our
guide, all religions are essentially one and the same, and all human
societies are linked By a covenant of brotherhood. Of this the Bahai
temples--be they few, or be they many--are the symbols. No wonder that
Abdul Baha is encouraged and consoled thereby. And yet I, as a member
of a great world-wide historic church, cannot help feeling that our
(mostly) ancient and beautiful abbeys and cathedrals are finer symbols
of union in God than any which our modern builders can provide. Our
London people, without distinction of sect, find a spiritual home in
St. Paul's Cathedral, though this is no part of our ancient
inheritance.
Another comfort was the creation of a mausoleum (on the site of
Mt. Carmel above Haifa) to receive the sacred relics of the Bāb and
of Baha-'ullah, and in the appointed time also of Abdul Baha.
[Footnote: See the description given by Thornton Chase, _In Galilee_,
pp. 63 f.] This too must be not only a comfort to the Master, but an
attestation for all time of the continuous development of the Modern
Social Religion.
It is this sense of historical continuity in which the Bahais appear
to me somewhat deficient. They seem to want a calendar of saints in
the manner of the Positivist calendar. Bahai teaching will then escape
the danger of being not quite conscious enough of its debt to the
past. For we have to reconcile not only divergent races and
religions, but also antiquity and (if I may use the word) modernity. I
may mention that the beloved Master has deigned to call me by a new
name.[Footnote: 'Spiritual Philosopher.'] He will bear with me if I
venture to interpret that name in a sense favourable to the claims of
history.
The day is not far off when the details of Abdul Baha's missionary
journeys will be admitted to be of historical importance. How gentle
and wise he was, hundreds could testify from personal knowledge, and I
too could perhaps say something--I will only, however, give here the
outward framework of Abdul Baha's life, and of his apostolic journeys,
with the help of my friend Lotfullah. I may say that it is with
deference to this friend that in naming the Bahai leaders I use the
capital H (He, His, Him).
Abdul Baha was born on the same night in which His Holiness the Bāb
declared his mission, on May 23, A.D. 1844. The Master, however, eager
for the glory of the forerunner, wishes that that day (i.e. May
23) be kept sacred for the declaration of His Holiness the Bāb, and
has appointed another day to be kept by Bahais as the Feast of
Appointment of the CENTRE OF THE COVENANT--Nov. 26. It should be
mentioned that the great office and dignity of Centre of the Covenant
was conferred on Abdul Baha Abbas Effendi by His father.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account