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"Man and Mankind on the Way of Progress"
By Lydja Zamenhof
The Old Testament says that when Moses, the great Messenger of God,
led his nation from the land of slavery, a great pillar of fire went
before them, showing the way. What that pillar of fire might
symbolize, could be interpreted in different ways, but there is no
doubt but that Moses himself was for his nation such a pillar of
fire, by which, as time passed, all that was dark and unseemly left
from the slavish period, burned away, and by its dazzling light it
showed to the children of Israel the new way, the way to the land
promised to them by God.
Every prophet is such a dazzling pillar of fire. Each one casts a
light on the way of mankind, and each rediscovers the way for those
who had lost it.
But the time comes when the eyes of men turn from the blinding purity of this light,
when this light, though inwardly resplendent as before, seems to become paler in their
eyes, and little by little they turn away from it
. They kindle lamps made by themselves, and by their flickering lights they look for
their way. But those lamps of guidance, made by man, often lead to errors, if a spark
of the divine flame does not fall into them. Only
the light of Him, Who created them all and knows all the ways, shows the direction
without error. And at last, when their own poor lights in their mad dance entice them
towards dangerous marshes, a powerful pillar of fire
reappears between earth and heaven to guide and show the way.
Reappears? No, it is the same fire, from which men had turned away, and which now,
perfumed with myrrh and aloes, comes back in a more perfect form, in a more
resplendent glory. But the Hand that had kindled it is ever th
e same.
Now the question comes, why did so many lights shine, why did so many Messengers come
into the world, why did so many teachings show to men the way to perfection, and often
what was taught by one prophet was not in harmon
y with what another said? How is it possible, if we are to believe, that they all are
rays emanating from the same Sun?
The rays of the material sun illuminate feebly the world in winter but for a few
hours, whilst in the middle of summer they pour living fire on the heads of men. The
rays of the material sun at the equator burn the sands
of the desert and in wildernesses cause wonderful plants to grow, whilst in the
regions of the Pole they shine upon the diamonds of ice and array the frozen sky with
the unique wonder of the Aurora Borealis. Yet they are
the rays of the same sun.
It is not the sun that is capriciously changeable; it is not the sun that now kindly
favors, now coldly turns away; it is but the position and movement of the earth that
are the causes of these diverse changes. Those regi
ons that turn their faces fully towards the life giving star, gain the full bounty of
its rays and clothe themselves with abundant green, and those that are turned away,
gain but a small portion and array themselves not w
ith green, but with cold white.
So does mankind resemble the terrestrial globe. It has degrees and differences too,
and the states may be compared now to the cold of the regions of the Pole, now to the
progress and richness of nature of the torrid zone.
The Spiritual Sun forgets none of the parts, but endows each of them according to its
responsiveness. Would it not be strange to us if palms grew at the North Pole and
white bears roamed over Sahara? Why then should we fa
il to understand that during the early severe months, when the cold of the passed
night was still lying heavily over mankind, the rays of the Spiritual Sun brought to
men the freezing principle of eye for eye, of tooth fo
r tooth? That afterwards, when the spring came and the olive-trees became green, the
rays of the Spiritual Sun brought other words to bloom: Whosoever smiteth thee on thy
right cheek, turn to him the other also? In these
two rules, so extremely unlike each other, there is no essential difference, there is
only progress from one state to another.
For just as in the material world everything is constantly moving, beginning with the
stars and finishing with the particles of an atom, and this movement is what keeps the
whole enormous system in order, so it is in the
spiritual world. There is constant movement, and if the movement onwards stops, a
movement backward would ensue: regress would take the place of progress, and instead
of the Christ's rule we would have another one: a head
for an eye, all teeth for one.
If it is so-one could ask-why is the way of mankind not as an even road, why are there
sometimes stones on it, why at other times do the feet not feel a firm foundation, but
sink in the sand: why is this sand sometimes li
ke moving dunes with hidden dangers beneath them, swallowing up everything in a
terrible cataclysm? Are there black spots on the Spiritual Sun, too?
No. On the Spiritual Sun there are no spots; it radiates always warmth, never cold.
The shadows, that drearily put themselves on the way, are the shadows of earthborn
clouds. For from the earth, from the waters and swamps
vapors appear, sometimes poisonous; heavily they hang above the earth without letting
through one ray of the sun; or gales of earthly passions throw on the way sands and
stones and push into ditches the wayfarers whose s
teps are not firm enough.
Evil are these clouds that hide the sun, evil is this dust that covers the way, and
all that keeps back man in his onward march. If God has created all things, has He
created evil, too, and is He responsible, if mankind l
imps on His way?
The conflict between good and evil has brought difficulties to many. Many because of
it abandoned every belief, for, they thought, if there were the One Most Mighty God,
the God to Whom we attribute all the good qualities
, then there would be no room for evil in the world. So perhaps we should abandon the
monotheist conception of God and return to the ancient myths about Ormuzd, the god of
Good, and Ahriman, the god of Evil? Or should we
perhaps accept the conception, that is nearer to us, about Lucifer, the eternal enemy
of God, ever trying to destroy roses in the garden of God and to plant weeds therein?
To this disturbing question of good and evil, till now apparently unsolvable, the
Baha'i Teachings answer: there is only good in the world. There is no positive evil.
What is evil? We say that light is good and darkness is evil, that sight is good and
blindness is evil, that peace is good and war is evil.
But what brings us the rays of the sun, is light. Darkness is simply lack of light.
What is by nature connected with our eyes, is sight; blindness is only lack of sight.
What is the normal state of the heart is peace; war
comes only when this normal state is changed.
Sometimes a seeming vice is simply misdirected virtue. There are people whose chief
feature is avidity. They wish for more gold, more power, more glory. But avidity in
its essence is the desire to have more than one alrea
dy possesses. The question is only, in which direction this desire goes. If a man
desires to acquire more knowledge and understanding, is it not praiseworthy? But when
instead of some great ideals he chooses the human van
ities for his aim, then he is really miserable, for the glorious impulse bestowed on
him by God has been used for unworthy aims, and the pearls of his sensitiveness thrown
to the pigs of vanity.
All the high human qualities are given to man, not imposed on him. It depends on him
to rise to heaven or to fling himself down into mud, and he himself is responsible for
his lot. He is not being driven will-lessly by ar
bitral fate, as a withered leaf by autumn wind. It is as if Destiny carried him on the
great way of humanness and led him to a spot, whence two proverbial ways come out: one
broad and comfortable, the way to hell, and the
other steep and narrow, the way to heaven. And since now the choice is his: whither
he goes, thither he will come. If there is a way to hell, it is that men may
consciously, by their own will, enter the way to paradise,
however difficult it may be. Therefore freedom is given to man, that he may himself
choose his way and by his own decision reach perfection, that he may not be as a ball,
thrown on the top of a roof, but as a spider, reac
hing bravely and with perseverance the top of a tree by means of a very thin thread.
So man is himself responsible for his own progress. The rays of the Sun of Perfection
shine and are reflected in the mirror of the human
heart. But if instead of an even and polished surface man turns to them a mirror the
surface of which is rough, then in place of a clear picture there appears an ugly
caricature, and thus is born what we call evil.
That man may choose the way to heaven, he must be first of all informed. He must
understand that the comfortable way will lead him lower and lower, and will finally
bring him where only brutes feed, and where he himself w
ill become equal to brutes. He must know, that the steep path will lead him to
heights, where the air is clear like crystal, free of all earthly vapors, where before
his eyes will spread a vast horizon and he himself will
be nearer to the blue heavens than to the gray earth.
Knowledge is necessary. Without knowledge there is no perfect humanity. Intellect is a
great treasure, which should not be kept in a chest, but let out into the world, that
it may bring profit. It is a light, which one sh
ould not hide under the bushel, but illuminate with it dark corners. Intellect is
given to us, that we may from things known conclude about things unkown, and, that
having discovered the secrets of the earth, we may disco
ver those of heaven.
In fact none of the religions was ever against science. If Giordano Bruno was burnt,
it is not Christ, the merciful Lamb of God, who is responsible for that, but the
merciless fanatics, anathematizing all, that in their s
hort-sighted eyes thought Bruno was against the letter of the Books. But Baha'u'llah
was the first, who by the authority of the Word of God exalted the importance of
science and gave religious sanction to the duty of lear
ning and education.
But science alone is not sufficient. Man may understand the beauty and utility of a
principle, and yet remain inert and lack forces to conform his life with it. There
have been in the world many philosophers, who confesse
d beautiful theories, but lacked determination to follow them. On the other hand there
was a stammerer of a race of slaves, known as one who had committed murder, who yet by
the force that no philosophy could inspire, lai
d foundations of a new civilization; there was a modest carpenter; an illiterate
camel-driver- mocked at by sages, crownless kings with crowns of thorns-and compared
with them all the great philosophies grew pale, as do t
he stars when the sun appears.
People who feed on philosophy alone, are often as sickly children. Their bones are not
firm, they bend and grow crooked, and the whole figure gets misshapen. But the rays of
the sun endow them with strength and give them
health. The pale and wavering philosopher of yesterday becomes a hero of his own
convictions.
Mankind, the great child, is often falling ill. Every time when its malady becomes
very serious and dangerous, there comes an inspired physician, the prophet, and brings
remedy. Oh, the patient is not willing to take it,
he struggles, gets angry and excited because of the struggle, pushes the physician
away-but all this is in vain: he must obey the physician, whatever his commands may be.
What makes up the malady of the world of today?
When a man is ill, the symptoms of his disease may be many, while the disease is one.
We see also many symptoms of the disease of mankind, but the disease is one. It is
lack of sympathy and understanding between its diffe
rent members.
Baha'u'llah teaches men, that they are all leaves of the same tree, drops of the same
sea, that they are all created from the same dust, that no one should exalt himself
over the other. He teaches, that among the sheep of
God no one should be considered as a black one, that there are no differences of
races and nations: a rose is beautiful, in whatsoever garden it may bloom, a star has
the same radiance, whether it shines from the east, o
r from the west.
Love and equality! How old these ideals are! In fact there was no prophet, who did not
preach them; there was no spiritual standard without these words written upon it with
golden letters.
Old are the Baha'i ideals, and old is the way they show. It is the same way, upon
which mankind had trodden in the past, when the pillars of fire-the former
prophets-led it onward. It is the same way, which was afterwards
covered with dust, and which now, cleansed again, unrolls before our feet. Yes, it is
the same way, but it is a long way, very long. To reach its end neither generations
nor centuries suffice. Today the pillar of fire is
once more shining on it. But today it is more resplendent than before, and it leads
mankind farther. Let it go on this everlasting way, following the light of the New
Day, for this is the way, worthy of the steps of true
mankind, and the greatest honor of true mankind is to go always on
the way of progress-towards perfection.
(Translation of the address prepared and delivered by Miss L.
Zamenhof at the Baha'i Session of the 23rd Universal Congress of
Esperanto held in Cracow, Poland, August 1st to 8th, 1931. Miss L.
Zamenhof is the youngest daughter of the late Dr. L. Zamenhof,
creator of Esperanto. She was the honorary President of two Baha'i
Esperanto Sessions held at Antwerp, Belgium, in August, 1928.)
Transcribed from The Bah�'� World 4 (1930/1932): 474-76.
End<{{{
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