A talk at Los Angeles Baha'i Center on October 23, 1948 – by Horace Holley

From: Baha’i Talks, Messages and Articles

(Stenographic notes)

The human race is immersed in the ocean of the spirit. Baha'u'llah is universal, and He has surrounded humanity with all the blessings of the Day of God. You and I are aware of the fact that we are immersed in the ocean of the spirit, but the majority of the people are not yet aware, and when we are not aware of the spirit that surrounds and penetrates us, and tries to act upon a reluctant heart and a mind that is full of the shadows of the past, the individual encased in this unawareness is fearful of the spirit because the spirit, to him, is something that threatens what he thinks is the basis of his human personality. It is as though he were constantly being threatened by death-not physical death-but the extinction of what he considers to be his security. Those who are aware of the spirit, and know it can do nothing but bless those who become aware of it, have laid upon themselves the mission of the ages, to remove the obstacles from human personality which shut people out from the Spirit of Baha'u'llah.

In this great Day of God there is no one way to free all souls. The number of ways which are necessary to learn is exactly the number of the Baha'is themselves, which means that every Baha'i has a mission, and if any of us fail to do our part in the quickening of souls, it means we have left certain people in the prison of their human personality, because we have thrown away the keys that would open the doors and make them Baha'is.

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October 1911: An article in praise of ‘Abdu’l-Baha is published by the editor of Egyptian Arabic newspaper “al-Mu'ayyad”

From: Baha’i Calendar -- this month in history

After a month's stay in Port Said, 'Abdu'l-Bahá once again took ship, without previous intimation. He intended to go to Europe, but it became evident that the state of His health did not permit the strenuous work involved. He landed in Alexandria. It was in that ancient city that a sudden change occurred. Journalists in Egypt, who had hitherto shown open hostility, asked to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá and perceptibly changed their tone. Even more, they wrote in terms of high praise. Shaykh 'Ali Yusuf, the editor of the Arabic paper, al-Mu'ayyad, had previously made harsh attacks on Bahá'ís and the Bahá'í Faith, urging severe counter-measures against them. He visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and in the October 16th issue of his paper he published an article under the heading: 'Al-Mirza 'Abbas Effendi'. These are the opening lines of that remarkable article: 'His Eminence Mirza 'Abbas Effendi, the learned and erudite Head of the Bahá'ís in 'Akká and the Centre of authority for Bahá'ís throughout the world, has reached the shores of Alexandria.' At first, related the writer, 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed in the Victoria Hotel, but after a few days moved to a rented house. Then he went on to say:

He is a venerable person, dignified, possessed of profound knowledge, deeply versed in theology, master of the history of Islam, and of its denominations and developments . . . whosoever has consorted with Him has seen in Him a man exceedingly well-informed, Whose speech is captivating, Who attracts minds and souls, dedicated to belief in the oneness of mankind . . .   His teaching and guidance revolve round the axis of relinquishing prejudices: religious, racial, patriotic. 

- H.M. Balyuzi  ('Abdu'l-Baha - The Centre of the Covenant’)

History of Philosophers Prior to Alexander of Greece

From: Baha’i Historical Facts

As to what thou didst ask regarding the history of the philosophers: history, prior to Alexander of Greece, is extremely confused, for it is a fact that only after Alexander did history become an orderly and systematized discipline. One cannot, for this reason, rely upon traditions and reported historical events that have come down from before the days of Alexander. This is a matter thoroughly established, in the view of all authoritative historians. How many a historical account was taken as fact in the eighteenth century, yet the opposite was proven true in the nineteenth. No reliance, then, can be placed upon the traditions and reports of historians which antedate Alexander, not even with regard to ascertaining the lifetimes of leading individuals. ….. 

The histories prior to Alexander, which were based on oral accounts current among the people, were put together later on. There are great discrepancies among them, and certainly they can never hold their own against the Holy Writ. It is an accepted fact among historians themselves that prior to this time history was transmitted by word of mouth. Note how extremely confused was the history of Greece, so much so that to this day there is no agreement on the dates related to the life of Homer, Greece's far-famed poet. Some even maintain that Homer never existed at all, and that the name is a fabrication.

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Authorized translation of unpublished Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha to Ethel Rosenberg in 1906 in reply to her questions about the Tablet of Wisdom. Research Department, Baha'i World Centre. Published pp 78-81 in Ethel Jenner Rosenberg, the ‘Life and Times of England's Outstanding Baha'i Pioneer Worker’, by Robert Weinberg; George Ronald, Oxford, 1995).

Tarbiat School

From: Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Star of the West

The problem of the School of Tarbiat is of the utmost importance. It is an essential obligation and duty incumbent upon all the friends to serve that school. This is, the first school that the friends have founded in Persia, and all the people know that it belongs to them. Neglect and carelessness in the management of its progressive affairs is a blow to the Cause of God. Therefore everyone must give extraordinary importance to the school of Tarbiat and assist it from some standpoint either through enlightened ideals or the introduction of modern system of education, either by liberal contributions or continual encouragement and assistance. To be brief: It is the hope of this Servant that in the course of time this school become distinguished from among all the schools of the world. Now consider how important is this matter.

(Signed) ‘Abdu’l-Baha Abbas
(Star of the West, Vol. 1, No. 5, June 5, 1910)