manifestation of the spirit of universality they were seeking. The return of this group of students to America was, however, not the first point of contact between the Bahá’í Cause and the West. Previous to this event, Edward G. Browne, Orientalist of Cambridge University, had already made his memorable journey to Persia and ‘Akká, described in the introduction of his translation of A Traveller's Narrative written to illustrate the Episode of the Báb; still other European scholars who had studied the Cause being Baron Rosen, of Russia, and Comte de Gobineau, of France.
It was directly to the influence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, nevertheless, that the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh owes its acceptance by thousands of people in the West. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself was their first and most valid proof that through Bahá’u’lláh a new spiritual force had been revealed to this age; and it has been through the words and writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that the essential principles of the Cause received their direct application to problems peculiar to Western civilization.
Careful comparison of the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with those of Bahá’u’lláh shows not the slightest divergence of essential principle. One is the Religion; the other the application of the Religion to a new and broader field of life. One is as a sun; the other as the circumferential rays of its light. The statement may be made without reservation that no previous religious teaching ever dealt with the innumerable problems of daily existence with such a degree of purity as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá maintained for the message of Bahá’u’lláh.
What unique claim, one may well ask, has this message upon our attention? What element does it bring not already contained in the older religious systems of the world? How can this new Cause contribute to a solution of those world problems under which humanity staggers today?
“Guidance,” said Bahá’u’lláh, “hath ever been by words, but now it is by deeds.”
True to this counsel, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá first applied to His own life those ordinances and principles He received from the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. What ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave to the world in words He had previously given as established facts. Before He announced to any Western audience the principle that the foundation of all religions is one, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had already created a bond of sympathy and understanding between members of all religions. Before He spoke of the essential harmony of religion and science He had Himself explored the world of spirit and, with inward gaze, found the expression of love imprinted in nature and in man.
Between 1911 and 1913 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, but recently released from two score years constant imprisonment, journeyed through Europe and America, delivering His Father’s message to audiences representing the Western industrial civilization in every aspect and phase. The principles developed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá under such conditions may fairly be considered His characteristic solution of the problems of the age.
Let us attempt a brief summary of these principles, bearing in mind, however, the essential fact that, shorn of the spirit of love with which they were uttered, and lacking the will to unity, to which their appeal was made, they must remain inoperative until further suffering has purified the hearts of men.
Foremost among ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s principles is that of the independent investigation of truth.
A key to this principle may be found in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s use of the word “imitation” where we would use such words as “superstition” or “prejudice” or “ignorance.” Looking upon the minds, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá perceived them as merely imitating one another and the past, like those prisoners who are chained one to another in rows. Few people ever stand apart from their mental and moral environment and test its standards by any universal truth. What most of us consider “thought” is merely an adapting of the common thinking to our personal ad-
