A Brief Account of the Baha'i Movement
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Ethel J. Rosenberg, A Brief Account of the Baha'i Movement, Hampstead, London: The Priory Press, 1911, bahai-library.com.
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A Brief Account of
The Bahai Movement

BY ETHEL J. ROSENBERG

Published by
THE PRIORY PRESS, HAMPSTEAD

AND

J. M. WATKINS, 21, CECIL COURT
ST. MARTIN’S LANE, W.C.

For The Bahai Society of London

1911

Price One Penny

A Brief Account of the Bahai Movement.

BY

ETHEL J. ROSENBERG.

Watchman, what of the night? . . .
The morning cometh.
MANY believe that we, in this century, are witnessing the dawn of a new
spiritual epoch or era.
A renewal of the Spirit is making itself felt in the Churches and in the
religious and social life of all lands. This is in harmony with the teachings of
the Bahais, and of their Great Leaders, now represented by Abdul Baha the
‘Servant of God,’ known to the outside world as Abbas Effendi. Once again,
the Light is shining forth from that land which may indeed be called the

[page 4]

Holy Land: for have not its valleys and hills been trodden from the beginning
by the feet of those great Messengers inspired of God — Abraham, Elijah,
and last and greatest, Jesus of Nazareth? Is it strange that once more in this
century of ours, in this ‘the cradle of the race,’ those that were sitting “in
darkness have seen a Great Light,” the light of the Sun of Righteousness that
rises with healing in his wings?
This great teacher, Abdul Baha — by birth a Persian — was, until 1908,
for forty years a prisoner, confined by the order of the Turkish Government
within the walls of Akka (or Acre, to use the name more familiar to the
West) on account of his religious teachings, which were considered
subversive of, and antagonistic to the faith of Islam.
In order to make these statements intelligible to those who have not
before heard of this great religious movement which is flooding the East with
new light and life, it will be necessary to give a slight sketch of its history.
In 1819 A.D., in the city of Shiraz, in Persia, a child was born named
Mirza Ali Mohammad. His Father a wool merchant died while the child was
yet an infant; he was brought up by his maternal uncle, and given the
ordinary education of a Persian youth in his position. From

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childhood Ali Mohammad was renowned for his piety and virtue, his
courteous manner, and the beauty of his person.
When this young man attained the age of twenty-four, he announced to
some of the principal men of learning and virtue of his country that he was
the bearer of a message from God, and from that time assumed the title of
“Bab,” or door, by which name he became generally known. He is now
universally referred to as “the Bab.”
He became the forerunner and founder of a great religious movement,
which is destined to quicken the Western world, as it is now quickening the
East, and to bring the two into unity and harmony.
From the hour of this announcement he obtained a hearing, and in a short
while gained a very large following, both among the cultivated and learned
of his countrymen, and among the common people.
The rapid spread of his teachings began seriously to alarm the more
fanatical of the Persian Mohammedan teachers or Mullahs. Through their
intrigues and at their instigation he was at last seized and thrown into prison,
and finally shot at Tabriz, in July, 1850 A.D., six years after he had declared
his mission.
The Mullahs were determined, if possible, to

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stamp out and destroy what they considered to be a dangerous heresy; they
therefore imprisoned and executed all of the leading Babis, as they were
called, upon whom they could lay hands.
The Bab’s doctrines were simple. He came, he said, not to uproot and
destroy but to urge a more whole-hearted keeping of the grand teachings of
his race. He declared that the Koran was not final. He taught a pure faith in
the One God, inculcated a high morality, and asserted that women were the
equals of men, and had a right to education. He appointed eighteen chief
followers or disciples, one of whom was a woman, the far-famed and
beautiful Kurru-t’ul-Ayn (i.e. Consolation of the Eyes) a poetess, leader, and
teacher, to whom he gave the title of Tahereh, or the Pure One, and who
finally suffered martyrdom about two years after the Bab’s death.
He called these disciples “Letters of the Living,” he himself forming the
nineteenth of this hierachy. Throughout the writings of the Bab the number
nineteen is considered especially sacred, for reasons too long to detail here.1
The greater part of the teachings and writings of the Bab referred to a
Coming Great One, “He whom God would manifest,” who would reveal the
light of Truth in its full splendour, and would declare himself after nineteen
years.1

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Readers are referred to the Beyan.
The Bab constantly exhorted his followers not to reject this Great One
when he appeared, as has been the custom of former religions and peoples
upon the advent of a new prophet.
Two years after the Bab’s death, in 1852 A.D., a young fanatical Babi
whose mind had become somewhat unbalanced through grief — owing to his
master, a Babi, having been martyred for his faith — fired at the Shah with a
fowling-piece. He was seized, and instantly put to death. This unfortunate act
gave the Mullahs a pretext for their reiterated statements that the Bab’s
teachings were not religious, but political, and dangerous to the Government.
All the leading Babis were seized and imprisoned, and many of them put to
death. Then commenced that terrible outburst of persecution, torture, and
martyrdom, for which there is scarcely to be found a parallel in history. The
number of these martyrs is variously estimated at from thirty to fifty
thousand souls — men, women, and children.
Among the Babis imprisoned at this time was a young and wealthy
Persian nobleman, who was considered by the Government to be a prominent
leader of the movement. On account of his benevolence he was called, in
Teheran, the “Father of the Poor.” Afterwards he became universally known
as Baha’u’llah (i.e. “The Glory of God”). Baha’u’llah was con-

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fined in a dungeon with a heavy chain about his neck, attached thus to five
other Babis, for a period of four months.
The Government, however, being quite unable to substantiate any charge
against him, released him, and having confiscated his property, banished him
with his family and a few followers to Baghdad, beyond the borders of Persia
and under the jurisdiction of the Sultan. In that neighbourhood he resided for
about eleven years. It was during this period that he withdrew for two years
to the solitude of the mountains: even his friends did not know the place of
his retreat. It was then that the greatness of his message began to be realized
by the distraught people, and when he returned to them, they gathered around
him as a leader. Men of culture and learning came great distances to consult
with him, until the Mullahs, again becoming alarmed at the amazing spread
of this faith, persuaded the Persian Government through their intrigues and
misrepresentations to demand of the Sultan that Baha’u’llah should be
summoned to Constantinople. He was therefore obliged to set out for that
city with his family and immediate followers in April, 1863 A.D.
Before the journey Baha’u’llah encamped for twelve days in the garden
of Najil Pasha, at a short distance from Baghdad, and there revealed

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to his eldest son Abdul Baha and a few chosen friends that he was the
promised ‘Manifestation,’ the “Coming One” of whom the Bab had spoken.
He made this declaration nineteen years after the Bab had declared his
mission.
After some months’ residence in Constantinople, the Ottoman
Government banished Baha’u’llah and his companions to Adrianople — this
city being selected chiefly on account of its greater remoteness from Persia.
There they lived for three or four years — the faith constantly spreading —
until in 1868 A.D. they were once more exiled, this time to Akka. The
immediate cause of their removal was a disturbance which had been created
by Subh-i-Ezel, a half-brother to Baha’u’llah, who endeavoured to claim the
leadership of the faith, and to displace Baha’u’llah.
Akka was selected because, being the chief fortress and military station
in the north of Palestine, it was the place to which political suspects and
criminals of the worst type were sent. It was extremely unhealthy, and it was
probably thought by the authorities that these poor exiles, about seventy in
number, would not long survive their imprisonment within its walls.
For two years after their arrival they were confined in two rooms in the
barracks, and many fell ill of typhoid and dysentery, but through the

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devoted nursing of Abdul Baha and a few helpers all but six recovered. The
charge to the Governor stated that they were murderers, Nihilists, and
thieves, and that they must be allowed no liberty or concessions of any sort.
After incredible hardships, and the death of a young son caused by a fall
from the roof of the prison-building where he had gone to meditate,
Bahá’u’llah, with his family, was at last permitted to take a house in the
town. Here he was confined in one room for seven years; but through the
nobility of their lives and characters, the prisoners won the increasing respect
and sympathy of the successive Governors of Akka, and were gradually
allowed to become prisoners on parole, and given permission to reside
anywhere within a radius of about eighteen miles. After this Baha’u’llah
lived for the greater part of the time in a house at a short distance from Akka
called Bah-je, also he frequently stayed in Haifa and on Mount Carmel, close
to the renowned Cave of Elijah.
On May 28, 1892 A.D., at the age of seventy-five years, he departed this
life, in full possession of his faculties and powers. Before his death he told
his followers, both by word and in writing, that after his departure they must
“turn their faces” towards his eldest son Abdul Baha, the “Greatest Branch”
who was one with himself.

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At the end of January, 1901, it was my great privilege to visit Abdul
Baha Abbas, who was then living in Haifa,2 and superintending the
construction of a building upon Mount Carmel commonly spoken of as the
“Tomb of the Bab,” which is also probably destined to be the resting-place of
the body of Baha’u’llah, as well as, eventually, that of Abdul Baha. It will
also be a House of Praise and meeting place for the Friends from all parts of
the world.
One of the distinct features of this movement is the acceptance of the
great world Teachers or Prophets as ‘Manifestations’ of the one Divine
Light, the one Holy Spirit of God. They are therefore, one in essence, though
their teachings may differ in detail owing to the various conditions and needs
of the peoples and nations to whom they are sent. All through the ages these
Leaders have appeared, in the great Cycles of the world’s sorrow and
difficulty. There have been such in the past, there will be such in the future.
Of this order was the Bab, who, as we have seen, before his martyrdom
prophesied that another and a Greater would come, “He whom

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God would Manifest.” This prophecy was fulfilled in the person of
Baha’u’llah (the Splendour of God) after whom his followers were named
Bahais. The word Baha (the Divine Glory) is the word used in chapter LX.

Some three months after my visit, Abdul-Baha was again confined within the walls
of Akka, by order of the Ottoman Government, and remained there for another
seven years, till the year 1908 saw liberty given to all religious prisoners under
Turkish rule.
verses 1 and 19 and chapter XL. verse 5 of Isaiah, which is translated in the
English Bible, the Glory of the Lord.3
Baha’u’llah, before he departed this life, declared, in his turn, that the
work would be developed and carried on by his eldest son, Abdul Baha,
whose name means ‘the Servant of God.’ To the outside world he has been
generally known as Abbas Effendi. Abdul Baha, who until September 1908
was retained a prisoner under the Turkish Government at Akka, thus
completes this marvellous triad of Prophets.
In order to realize the position occupied in this teaching by the Prophet, it
is necessary to distinguish him from a philosopher or other great type of
teacher. He is essentially one who arises in a crisis of the world’s history to
inaugurate a new cycle of truth, and to declare a Revelation. He is charged
with a special message to the age. The Bahais believe a prophet to be a
perfect vehicle for the manifestation of the Light of the

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Holy Spirit, that ‘Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’
Types of the greatest of these world prophets are Moses, Buddha, and
Jesus the Christ. It has been shown us again and again that what is most
striking in the teachings of these great ones is not so much that they
announced new ideas; but that they, in themselves, gathered up into one clear
whole the various rays of the Sun of Truth, which is ever illuminating the
world; that just as a lens, or burning glass, gathers together the rays of
sunlight into one powerful beam, so they become a focus, an effulgent Centre
for the scattered light of truth. For truth itself is ever one and the same
essence of Reality: though partially and differently apprehended, according
to the various capacities and developments of human beings. The prophets
declare again the source of the One Religion — under their influence a
Renewal takes place. This teaching is founded on that underlying fact of all
existence, the Unity of God. It is a pure and ardent Universalism,
concentering all faiths on what is known in the West as the doctrine of the
Logos. The same Power that anointed Jesus of Nazareth, anointed in their
degree and for their age and work, all the prophets who have spoken the
Word of the Lord.
The Bahais point to four signs by which the

According to the Bahai teaching this Divine Glory is as a Light in every one,
which glory must be made to shine — This is the same as the teaching of Christ.
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Great Prophets may be known. In the first place they come in the time of the
world’s great need — often in direct fulfilment of prophecy; secondly they
are known by their pure and stainless lives, absolutely devoted to the service
of humanity; thirdly, in their mouth God has put his Living Word, a word of
such power that its quality is felt at once and arrests the attention of the most
careless — it is the utterance of the thought of God. Fourthly the Prophet is
known by his power — a power to so transform the minds and souls of those
who seek his help, that it is acknowledged without recourse to proof by
miracles.
The age in which a Prophet lives on earth is an age of enormous change
and progress. His appearance affects all the regions of phenomenal being.
Abdul Baha compares the coming of the Great Prophets into the world (their
‘Day’ as it is called in the Old Testament) to the rising and setting of the sun.
Just as the rising of the sun chases away darkness and floods the earth
with light, so does the rising of the heavenly sun of the prophet above the
horizon of humanity flood the world with light. As long as His teachings in
their purity shine upon mankind, the world is illuminated; but as through the
lapse of time they become forgotten, misunderstood, and obscured,

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the night once more returns, until at its darkest period we may again expect
the coming of the dawn, and once more the sun of truth arises in a special
manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Abdul Baha teaches that the object of the renewed revelation of truth is
that we may attain the truer knowledge of God that the world is ever seeking,
and acquire those virtues which enable us to live a life of complete harmony
and brotherhood with the whole human race. Baha’u’llah wrote : “The
religion of God ... was revealed from the heaven of the will of the King of
Eternity, only for the furtherance of unity and harmony among the people of
the world. Do not make of it the cause of contest and discord. Religion and
the Divine Laws are the greatest cause and means of the appearance and
effulgence of the glorious orb of unity, as well as of the development of the
world, the training of nations, the tranquility of the people, and the peace of
all countries.”
When Baha’u’llah was asked what was his particular mission to the
world, and the necessity for his appearance, he replied, that he had not come
to teach the nations a new ethic, for through their prophets and teachers they
already knew the difference between right and wrong; but that his mission
was to unite all the faiths and peoples of the world into one.

[page 16]

“These ruinous wars, these fruitless strifes must cease: and the Most
Great Peace shall come! Let not a man so glory in this, that he loves his
country: but let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind!”
If only a means could be found to break down the barriers of race, of
creed, of prejudice, what a boon it would be to the world! Bahais declare that
in this revelation all the expectations of various faiths are fulfilled, and that
the way is open to a great mutual recognition that we are, indeed, all children
of the Supreme, and that the world is entering upon an inheritance that has
been foretold by the prophets since the beginning of time. A world-
consciousness is arising, that will cause all the nations to think and to act like
one man.
Many will say Christianity teaches the brotherhood of all mankind, and
love and compassion in the highest degree. But, are these great teachings
being realized to-day? A practical bond of union is needed between East and
West, some common meeting ground for the Christian, the Mohammedan,
the Buddhist, etc.: which will create the sense of ‘brotherhood’ and make of
it a realised experience. To sit at Abdul Baha’s table, in his simple home,
with Christians, Mohammedans, Jews, and those of other faiths, all of them
breathing forth the spirit

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of living brotherhood, is a privilege not readily forgotten.4 To quote the
words of Abdul Baha: — “The Manifestation of Divinity and the dawning of
the Light of the Invisible is for the education of souls ... so that the earthly
may become God-like, the darkened minds illumined, and the uninstructed
familiar with the mystery of the Kingdom: .. that the barbarian may give up

It was my privilege to remain as a guest in the household of Abdul Baha, from
April 21, 1904, until December 24, 1904. During these eight months I received full
and invaluable teachings from him: - E.J.R.
his ferocity, the cruel become forbearing, and that pitiless savages may come
to live in peace. If these divine graces do not appear among men the bounty
of the Divine Manifestation is fruitless, and the splendour of the Sun of Truth
without effect.”
In the book of Akdas and other works, special social teachings were
given by Baha’u’llah to his people. It is commanded by him that every
follower, no matter in what condition of life he may be born, should practice
some trade, art or profession; that he should engage in some employment or
occupation beneficial to society as well as to himself. Begging or mendicity
is strictly forbidden, but it is directed that the community must provide work
for all who need it.
It takes but little reflection to see what a revo-

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lution it would cause in present conditions if this command were followed,
and how many present-day difficulties would be solved by these simple
regulations. It is also commanded that the best education possible to be
obtained shall be given to every child, male and female; for in the words of
Baha’u’llah, “All knowledge is of God, therefore it is incumbent on you to
know.” Again he says “He who takes a child to educate, be it his own son, or
the son of another, it is as though he educated the Son of God.” How entirely
the condition of the East will be changed by this injunction as to universal
education, which will be one means for bringing into effect the Bab’s
teaching of the perfect equality between men and women.
Among the followers of Baha’u’llah there is to be no separate priesthood
or ministry, regarded as a class apart from the general body of the believers:
for Baha’u’llah teaches that most of the errors in former faiths have crept in
through the teachings of the priests, who were considered to possess secret
authoritative knowledge, not shared by the generality of people. Bahais build
Houses of Praise, but all ceremonial rites and forms of worship have been
abrogated, save that of prayer, which being the very heart and essence of
spiritual religion has been made obligatory upon all believers. Nevertheless
Abdul

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Baha has said that “every symbol is good that is uniting the heart to God.”
It is forbidden that men and women should live the lives of hermits, or in
secluded brotherhoods, as by so doing they are prevented from their social
duties to the rest of humanity, and from self-development. Marriage when
possible, is enjoined upon all, as being the highest estate for man — in
contradistinction to other faiths which have taught that the celibate state was
the highest.
War or strife of any kind is absolutely prohibited. This is insisted upon
again and again, and repeated in varying forms as being the very foundation
of brotherhood. Abdul Baha says: “One of the most severe of the world’s
diseases is that of contention and strife, the fire of which is burning among
all nations. This cannot be removed except through the Word of God. This
intense fire can only be quenched by heavenly water.” Non-resistance to
violence is enjoined upon all Bahais, but they must regard it as a duty to
protect the weak and helpless — in the words of Baha’u’llah — “If ye be
slain for God’s good pleasure, verily it is better for you than that ye should
slay.”
It is directed that all minor regulations of the faith, the administration of
charitable funds, the provision of education for orphan children, and

[page 20]

such matters, are to be in the hands of elected bodies or councils called
“Houses of Justice,” which are to consist of not less than nine members, men
distinguished for their learning and upright life, chosen by the general body
of believers.
Such teachings as these enlighten not only Eastern countries, but also the
nations of the West. Truth is universal. Abdul Baha says that truth cannot be
partial. Just as it is impossible for the sun to illuminate one country, and
leave the neighbouring one in darkness, so it is impossible for the Sun of
Truth to arise for some nations and not for all.
Abdul Baha further points out that owing to the developed means of
communication, it is now for the first time possible in the history of the
world for the light of the prophet and of his teachings to appeal at once to the
whole earth; flashing as “lightning which appeareth from the East and
shineth unto the West,” to use the prophetic words of the New Testament.
Abdul Baha writes: “Love is the real magnet which attracts the hearts and
souls of men, therefore the purpose of the Manifestations of God is to radiate
the light of Love from their hearts. All the divine Prophets taught this truth ...
We who are servants of the Threshold must exert our utmost power, devote
our lives, and

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offer them up if necessary, giving our time and all that we have to this cause,
until this light be spread all over the world ... the essential thing is love ... All
else save love is merely empty words.”
Fuller particulars of the Literature and work of this movement may be
had from the Hon. Secretary of the Bahai meetings, 10, Cheniston Gardens,
Wright’s Lane, High St. Kensington, London.

The following quotations from the ‘Supreme Pen’ of Baha’u’llah, give an
insight into the power of this teaching. The examples from Abdul Baha are
from letters or Tablets sent by him to followers in all parts of the world, and
from some of his published Discourses. The power of this teaching which is
rather a widening of the basis of our faith than a ‘new religion,’ is seen by the
enormous increase of its adherents year by year, without any organisation
which can be called a proselytising body.

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EXTRACTS FROM BOOKS AND WRITINGS
OF BAHA’U’LLAH AND ABDUL BAHA

1. “Religion is the greatest instrument for the order of the world and the
tranquility of all existing things.”

2. “Religion is the necessary connection which emanates from the reality
of things; and as the Universal Manifestations of God are aware of the
mysteries of beings, therefore they understand this essential connection, and
by their knowledge establish the Law of God.”

3. “In every country or government where any of this community reside,
they must behave towards that government with faithfulness, trustfulness,
and truthfulness. It is obligatory and incumbent on the people of the world in
general to assist this most Great Cause — which has descended from the
heaven of the Will of the King of Pre-existence — so that perchance the fire
of animosity which is ablaze in the hearts of some of the nations may be
quenched through the water of Divine Wisdom and Lordly commands and
exhortations, and that the light of union and accord may irradiate and
illuminate the regions of the world.”

1. From the “Words of Paradise,” Baha’u’llah.
2. From “Some Answered Questions,” by Abdul Baha (publ. Kegan
Paul).
3. From “The Glad Tidings,” Baha’u’llah.

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4. “The Ministers (or members) of the House of Justice must promote
‘The most Great Peace’ in order that the world may be freed from onerous
expenditure. This matter is obligatory and indispensable, for warfare and
conflict are the foundation of trouble and distress.”
“All must adhere to the means which are conducive to love and unity.”

5. “We exhort the members of the House of Justice and command them
to guard and protect the servants,5 maid-servants, and children. They must
under all circumstances have regard for the interests of the servants.5 Blessed
is the prince who succours a captive, the rich one who favours the needy, the
just man who assures the right of the wronged one from the oppressor, and
the trustee who performs what he is commanded by the Pre-existent
Commander.”

6. “The light of man is justice, quench it not with the contrary winds of
oppression and tyranny.”

7. “Schools must first train the children in the principles of religion ... but
this in such a measure that it may not injure the children by leading to
fanaticism and bigotry.”

4. From “The Tablet of the World,” Baha’u’llah.
5. The “Words of Paradise,” Baha’u’llah.
6. and 7. From the “Words of Paradise,” Baha’u’llah,

Servants of God, i.e., men and women generally.
[page 24]

8. “Knowledge is like unto wings for the being of man and is as a ladder
for ascending. It is incumbent upon all to acquire knowledge of those
sciences which may profit the people of the earth, but not of such sciences as
begin and end merely in words. The possessors of sciences and arts have a
great claim upon the people of the world.”

9. “The kings — may God assist them — or the counsellors of the world,
must consult together, and appoint one of the existing languages, or a new
language, and instruct the children therein in all the schools of the world, and
the same must be done in respect to writing6 also. In such case the earth will
be as one.”

10. “It is incumbent on every one of you to engage in some employment,
such as arts, trades and the like. We have made this, your occupation,
identical with the worship of God, the True One.”

11. “Charity is beloved and acceptable before God, and is accounted the
chief among all good deeds. Blessed is he who prefers his brother before
himself.”

8. from the” Tajalliyat.”
9. From “The Glad Tidings,” Baha’u’llah.
10. and 12. From the “Glad Tidings,”
11. From the “Words of Paradise,”

[page 25]

12. “Oh people of Baha; Ye are day-springs of love, and dawning-places
of the providence of God. Defile not the tongue with cursing or execrating
any one, and guard your eyes against that which is not worthy. ... Be not the
cause of sorrow, much less of sedition and strife. ... Ye are all leaves of one
tree and drops of one sea.”

i.e., the characters employed must be similar for all languages.
13. “Oh friends, it is the wish of Abdul Baha that the Friends may
establish general unity. ... We are all servants at one Threshold, waves of one
sea, drops of one stream, and plants of one garden. ... The beloved of God
must be friendly even with strangers. To organize assemblies is
praiseworthy, but these must be established for certain objects. For example
assemblies for teaching Truth, gatherings for diffusing the Fragrances of
God, gatherings for the relief of orphans, for the protection of the poor, and
for the spread of learning. In a word there must be gatherings for matters
which concern the well-being of man, such as the organization of societies
for commerce, for the development of arts and industries, and for the
expansion of agriculture. I trust all the Friends from the East and the West
will come to rest in the same assembly, adorn one gathering, and show forth
all heavenly attributes in the world of humanity.”

13. “From an epistle of Abdul Baha, addressed to Believers in Persia,
July 4th, 1906.

[page 26]

COMMUNES AND PRAYERS

COMMUNE1

O my God! Give me Knowledge, Faith and Love.
Adorn my head, O God, with the crown of Thy Providence:
My heart with the light of knowing Thee:
My tongue with the utterance of Thy Greatest Name:
And mine ear with listening to Thy Holy Word:
For Thou art the One whose Action was, is, and ever shall be glorified,
and whose commands shall ever be obeyed.
O God! Help me to be just. Lift me up from the ocean of superstitions
and imaginations, and grant me a penetrating sight to see and realize from
surrounding existence Thy Oneness and Thy Truth.

SUPPLICATION1
O my God! Make Thy Beauty to be my food and let Thy Presence be my
drink: Let my trust be in Thy Will, and my deeds according to Thy
Command: Let my service be acceptable to Thee, and my action a praise to
Thee: Let my help come only from Thee, and ordain my home to be Thy
Mansion, boundless and holy.
Thou art the Precious, the Ever-present, the Loving.

[page 27]

PRAYER OF REPENTANCE2

O Thou Almighty! I am a sinner, but Thou art the Forgiver. I am full of
shortcomings, but Thou art the Compassionate. I am in the darkness of error,
but Thou art the Light of Pardon.
Therefore, O Thou Benevolent God, forgive Thou my sins, grant Thou
Thy Gift, overlook my faults, bestow Thou a shelter, immerse me in the
Fountain of Thy Patience and heal me of all sickness and disease.
Purify and sanctify me, give me a portion from the outpouring of
holiness, so that sorrow and sadness may vanish, joy and happiness may
descend, despondency and hopelessness may be changed into cheerfulness
and trustfulness, and let courage take the place of fear.
Verily Thou art the Forgiver, the Compassionate, Thou art the Generous,
the Beloved.

COMMUNE OF HEALING1
(repeat nine times)

O my God! Thy Name is my healing: Thy Remembrance is my remedy:
Thy Love is my companion: Thy Mercy is my need and my aid in the world
and in the Day of Judgment. Verily, Thou art the Knower, the Wise.

[page 28]

PRAYER FOR UNITY1
O my God! O my God! Unite the hearts of Thy servants, and reveal to
them Thy Great Purpose. May they follow Thy commandments and abide in
Thy Law. Help them, O God, in their endeavor, and grant them strength to
serve Thee. O God, leave them not to themselves, but guide their steps by the
light of Knowledge, and cheer their hearts by Thy Love. Verily Thou art their
Helper and their Lord.

SUPPLICATION1

Hold Thou my right arm, O God! and dwell continually with me. Guide
me to the Fountain of Thy Knowledge, and encircle me with Thy Glory. Set
thine Angels on my right hand, and open my eyes to Thy Splendour. Let
mine ears hearken to Thy melodious Tone, and comfort me with Thy
Presence. For Thou art the strength of my heart, and the trust of my Soul, and
I desire no one beside Thee.

COMMUNE1

O my God; Thy Nearness is my hope, and to commune with Thee is my
joy: Thy Love is my Comfort: Thy Name is my prayer: Thy Presence is my
Peace: Thy Word is my healing: Thy Mercy is my light: And to serve before
Thee is my utmost desire.

[page 29]

O my God! I ask Thee — by Thy Name, which strengthened those who
learned of Thee to soar in the atmosphere of Thy Knowledge, and which
brought the righteous to Thy Sanctuary — to reveal Thyself to me and to
help me to look ever more to Thy Beauty.
O my Lord! This is he who has severed himself from all save Thee,
hoping to draw near unto Thee. O Thou, my Beloved! Give unto me Thy sign
of assurance to guard me from the doubts of the wandering. Thou art my
Helper, the Powerful, the Mighty.
Written by Baha’u’llah. 2 Written by Abdul Baha.
Printed by The Bahai Press, 47, Vicarage Road,
East Sheen, London, S.W.

To those who wish to learn more of the Bahai Revelation the following
books are to be recommended: —

The Hidden Words, Communes and Prayers
by Baha’u’llah.                                        6d.
The Seven Valleys. A mystical treatise
by Baha’u’llah.                                        1s.
The Tablet of Ishrakat
by Baha’u’llah.                                        1s.
The Tarazat
by Baha’u’llah.                                        2s.
Some Answered Questions
by Abdul Baha. KEGAN PAUL                              4s.
The Story of the Bahai Movement
by Sydney Sprague. PRIORY PRESS.                       1d.
An Address on the Bahai Movement
by Tamadun-ul-Molk. PRIORY PRESS.                      1d.
In Galilee
by Thornton Chase.                                     1s.
A year with the Bahais in India and Burma
by Sydney Sprague. PRIORY PRESS.                       1s
The Splendour of God
by Eric Hammond. MURRAY.                               2s.
The Life of Abbas Effendi
by M. H. Phelps. PUTNAM.                               6s.
God’s Heroes
by Laura Clifford Barney. KEGAN PAUL.                  12s. 6d.
The Bahai Revelation
by Thornton Chase.                                     2s.
Ten Days in the Light of Acca
by Julia M. Grundy.                                    1s.

The above books may all be obtained through the Publishers of this
pamphlet.
-- A Brief Account of the Baha'i Movement (Used by permission of the curator)