praise of Eastern values; culture
Editorial introduction
Persia once gave the world sciences, arts and a model of just kingship; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá hopes it may now give the light of spiritual civilization. That hope sets the tone for a reckoning with inheritance. The ancient kings of Iran prided themselves on justice rather than jewelled crowns; Bukhara was once a wellspring of learning; the Parsis are addressed as a noble people whose crown has been renewed. Beside these appeals stand accounts of desert simplicity, a Bedouin woman who scorns the city’s cage-like houses, and reported contrasts between Eastern devotion and Western detachment that speak in the rhetoric of their moment rather than as verdicts on whole peoples. The Qur’an’s reminder that peoples and tribes were made so that they might know one another, with honour resting in righteousness, keeps the difference between cherishing a heritage and claiming superiority in view [1]. From here the journey widens into the meeting of East and West, into the hopes placed in Japan and China, and into the past, present and future of Iran itself.
It is My hope that the other countries may acquire in this day the light of spiritual civilization from Persia, just as they drew illumination from her material civilization in a bygone age; that they may acquire spiritual perfections from the Persians of this day, even as they took after the knowledge and sciences of the ancient Persians.
O ye helpers of Abdu'l-Baha!
Bukhara was at one time the source of the increase of wisdom and the centre of knowledge and learning. Persons were trained there who indeed became the cause of the dissemination of learning and the sciences and the arts in the human world. The most renowned among the early exponents of learning in Islam studied in Bukhara. Later, however, all that pomp and glory was rolled up entirely and knowledge and learning became reduced to preambles and jurisprudence.
The ancient kings of Iran prided themselves on justice, not on crowns of jewels.
O Faridun! Your namesake became obscure - his name is merely a word on tongues and lips, for his dominion was but the governance of a handful of dust, and his rule was without foundation. But now that the Sun of the celestial realm has risen from the horizon of Iran, the names of those ancient monarchs have been renewed and revived. Faridun has found glory, Jamshid's worth has become manifest, Khusraw has attained sovereignty, and Nushirvan has become sweet-spirited.
Even though it has been sixty years since I left Iran, I am still not content that even a minor Iranian custom be abandoned.
The Baha'is adore Iran - and this is not just talk.
For praise be to God, Iran is the planted field of the Blessed Tree and the dawning-place of the Most Great Light, and the friends are veterans who were raised in the shadow of the Blessed Beauty's training - they are tested and self-sacrificing, each one's ultimate desire being the field of martyrdom.
Otherwise the light of truth shone from the horizon of Iran, the luminary of the horizons rose in that blessed land, and the beloved of love illumined its face in that gathering, and the melody of the Abha Kingdom was raised from that luminous land.
O Zoroastrian friends! Every people among the peoples had their day of triumph, and on that day they held great festivities and established feasts of joy and delight. Today is your day, it is your time of joy and gladness, for the Persian Sun hath shone forth from the horizon of Iran and cast its rays upon all regions. Ere long Iran shall become the envy of the world and the Iranians shall become the object of the world's admiration.
O Parsis! The land of Persia is the Orient, and the people of Persia are precious and beloved. The realm of Iran is the Eastern clime and has been the country of the godly ones from the beginning.
O friends of God! The Lord has once again placed a crown of royal jewels upon the head of the Parsees, hung a bejeweled necklace of divine bounty around their neck, and clothed them in a garment of endless grace, so that the sun of Iran's eternal glory may shine resplendent and the greatness of their ancestors may become manifest.
O Persian servant of God! Praise be to God that the Persians are pilgrims at the threshold and the Zoroastrians are near to the court of the Lord God.
The people of Shiraz are intelligent, vivacious, quick-witted and endowed with a poetic nature.
This city with its suburbs has about half the population of Persia. If Persia had a population and an affluence like this, and had she turned herself to progress, she would have far excelled this country in all respects. There can be no comparison whatsoever between these people and the manners, love, hospitality, intuition and sagacity of the Persians.
The Arab of the desert teaches us a great lesson in the simple life. Living as he does in the waste Sahara he lacks all the means of life except a crude tent, a rug or mat, a caldron, a sword hanging to the inside pole of the tent and a javelin tied to the outside pole. This is all his furniture. Then, if he is wealthy he has a mare, or a horse, a few camels and maybe adjoining his tent a palm grove. It never occurs to his mind that there is anything else in this world. He is happy and has no worries.
The life of the Arabs in the interior is most simple. Their principal food consists of the milk of the camel and a few dates. These Arabs do not like the atmosphere of the city. They revel in the expansiveness of the desert. The other day a few of the Bedouin women taunted our women because they are living in the town, while the Bedouin women were happy to breathe the fresh air of the desert. When, years ago, I traveled from Acca to Tiberias, in our caravan there was a beautiful Bedouin woman riding on a camel. She was listless and thoughtful. In the same caravan there was a young Christian who was struck with the beauty of this Arab girl and her dark eyes. After some futile attempts he succeeded in establishing himself in her favor. As I was near I could hear their conversation. He was telling her:
"Thou art so beautiful! Why dost thou not come to the city?"
"Why?"
"O, thou will be married to a rich man!"
"What will he do for me?"
"He will build for thee a lovely house, thou wilt be served as a queen; servants and maids will wait on thee; thou wilt walk through green gardens, thou wilt sleep on soft beds instead of sand; thy husband will buy for thee many precious jewels with which thou wilt decorate thy body; he will surround thee with wonderful objects the life of which thou hast never seen even in thy dreams!"
The girl straightened herself on her camel and looked at the youth with pity and contempt in her whole demeanor.
"I have my beloved desert, vast, broad, and immeasurable," she said. "What do I want with your cave-like, cage-like and boxlike houses. There the air is stuffy. Here the whole expanse of the Sahara is our avenues and boulevards. Here is my home--the palace of immensity, the residence of God's own children. Fie upon your town and your civilization and your snobbish manners! I hate them! I cannot bear to look at them! They are all cheap tricks sanctioned by your so-called society. You come abroad to display your crafty etiquette of mock modesty and respectability, while in reality you are physically and morally corrupt, afflicted with loathsome diseases. Away from me! Let me stay where I am! My home is the Sahara, my couch is the soft sand, my decorations are God's virtues, my lamps by night the moon and stars."
But Iranians are noble and passionate, unaccustomed to subjugation.
To the Occidental his God is - if he even acknowledges a God above him - a metaphysical Being in a remote, strange and nebulous beyond, to Whom one pays homage on Feasts and Holy Days, and Who does not count in every-day life, in commerce and politics, in general behaviour. But to the Oriental the Godhead is a real personality, present in everything and everywhere. Every-day life, the orders of nature, in brief the whole of human and animal life are the work of God, are subject to the Laws of God.
In the East, mention of homeland has never caused excitement and unity among Easterners, nor has it been a source of great results. Rather, what has kept the people of the East united and been the cause of their triumph and power has been spiritual force and divine religion. They have always been distinguished by this force and so it shall be now.
Who knows what course of nobler and higher civilization is not found for the East, the cradle of spiritual Civilization, the foundation of the moral life of man, the main-spring of divine effulgences and the horizon from which the Day-Star of hope is arising with resplendent beauty.
The Japanese government and people have, in truth, achieved such physical progress in a brief time as to astound minds and consciousness. This progress is due to the unity of government and people, who have combined and united to such a degree that separation has become impossible. From this agreement and unity, such progress has dawned and shone forth.
The Chinese civilization is very old and hoary with age. Once they start on the right path, they shall reach their destination very quickly. Like the Japanese they are industrious and intelligent.
On the other hand, material thoughts are predominant in Europe. Life in the Orient is very simple, very charming, while in the occident it has become very complex and wheels within wheels. In the Eastern countries, the hearts are undisturbed and calm but in these regions the minds of men are engaged with the solution of civilizing problems.
The Blessed Perfection expressed always great love for the Parsee friends.
… The Zoroastrians of India have made great effort and served the Cause of God in the most unselfish manner. … The Parsees have demonstrated very praiseworthy exertions in the promotion of Truth and have lived with utmost joy and fragrance.
Dr. [Finkelstein]: "I hope that the relationship between Iran and Germany will also grow and become stronger. At the time when our ancestors in Europe were like beasts of burden, were naked and covered themselves with sheepskin, Iran enjoyed a tremendous civilization. It has only been in the past few centuries, that Europe has experienced such rapid progress. I pray that Germany will bring Iran material progress, and Iran will teach us culture, humanity and spiritual civilization."
For thought and discussion