Who was `Abdu'l-Bahá, and why did He come to the West?

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Program for Day of the Covenant

***CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PRINT - READY  PDF OF THIS PROGRAM***


A MEETING WITH THE MASTER
A Program for the Celebration 
of the Day of the Covenant


This program to celebrate the Day of the Covenant is designed to be uplifting and inspiring, as if providing a glimpse into what it must have been like to be in the presence of the Master. We have included two program outlines for you to choose from. The first is between 30-45 minutes in length and the second is for a 60 minute program. The steps below are meant as a guide and can be modified to meet your community’s needs. With a little effort and a lot of love you can create an experience your community will not soon forget.

PREPARATION:
A. Music to download: (Select the titles you wish to include. Click title to be redirected to website to purchase)
B. Get an audio playback device (boombox, stereo, etc) capable of playing music.
C. Find a projector and connect to your DVD / Blu-Ray Player.  Aim projector at a white wall or screen where everyone will face to watch excerpts from the film. Alternatively, set up seating so that everyone can face a television connected to a DVD / Blu-Ray player.
D. Print out the program with quotations, which will be passed around or read by pre-selected readers.
E. Get a number of candles and place them around the room and dim the lights
F. If desired, get some rose water or oil to offer to guests as they arrive. 
G. Provide refreshments for after the program


The DAY of the COVENANT
30-45 MINUTE PROGRAM:

Just before people arrive, dim lights, light candles, and start background meditational music playing quietly to set the mood. Project a still image of the master onto the screen. Have user welcome them in silently and in a low tone offer to place rosewater on their wrists. (if desired)

MC  Greeting & Welcome

Persian Chant – Please select a community member to offer this prayer or use a  recorded chant of your choice

Prayer:   O compassionate God!  Thanks be to Thee for Thou hast awakened and made me conscious.  Thou hast given me a seeing eye and favored me with a hearing ear, hast led me to Thy kingdom and guided me to Thy path.  Thou hast shown me the right way and caused me to enter the ark of deliverance.  O God!  Keep me steadfast and make me firm and staunch.  Protect me from violent tests and preserve and shelter me in the strongly fortified fortress of Thy Covenant and Testament.  Thou art the Powerful.  Thou art the Seeing.  Thou art the Hearing.   O Thou the Compassionate God.  Bestow upon me a heart which, like unto a glass, may be illumined with the light of Thy love, and confer upon me thoughts which may change this world into a rose garden through the outpourings of heavenly grace.  Thou art the Compassionate, the Merciful.  Thou art the Great Beneficent God.   ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Music  - Choose from the songs you have downloaded above or select your own.

MC:  The Day of the Covenant celebrates the life and station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of the Bahá’í Faith’s founder Bahá’u’lláh—a person unique in religious history.  Referred to as the Master and the Mystery of God, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was born on May 23, 1844, the very day the Báb or Gate announced to His first disciple that a mighty messenger was alive and would soon be manifest. Thus that date is associated with the very beginning of the Baha’i Faith. When the early Bahá’is wished to celebrate the birthday of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, He expressed a preference to minimize His own life, but said that November 26 could be observed as the day of the appointment of the Centre of the Covenant.  In this role, He became the interpreter of His father’s teachings—the one who protected the new Faith from divisions and preserved the unity.

Tonight we will share some readings about the Covenant and then have excerpts from the film, Luminous Journey: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America, 1912.

Readings:     

As to the most great characteristic of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, a specific teaching not given by any of the Prophets of the past: It is the ordination and appointment of the Center of the Covenant. By this appointment and provision He has safeguarded and protected the religion of God against differences and schisms, making it impossible for anyone to create a new sect or faction of belief.    ("The Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 455-56)

A Covenant in the religious sense is a binding agreement between God and man, whereby God
requires of man certain behavior in return for which He guarantees certain blessings, or whereby He gives man certain bounties in return for which He takes from those who accept them an undertaking to behave in a certain way. There is, for example, the Greater Covenant which every Manifestation of God makes with His followers, promising that in the fulness of time a new Manifestation will be sent, and taking from them the undertaking to accept Him when this occurs. There is also the Lesser Covenant that a Manifestation of God makes with His followers that they will accept His appointed successor after Him. If they do so, the Faith can remain united and pure. If not, the Faith becomes divided and its force spent. It is a Covenant of this kind that Bahá'u'lláh made with His followers regarding 'Abdu'l-Bahá and that 'Abdu'l-Bahá perpetuated through the Administrative Order. . . .  (23 March 1975, from a letter written by the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

Shoghi Effendi, speaking of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, says:  “He is, and should for all time be regarded,
first and foremost, as the Center and Pivot of Bahá'u'lláh's peerless and all-enfolding Covenant,
His most exalted handiwork, the stainless Mirror of His light, the perfect Exemplar of His
teachings, the unerring Interpreter of His Word, the embodiment of every Bahá'í ideal, the
incarnation of every Bahá'í virtue, the Most Mighty Branch sprung from the Ancient Root,
the Limb of the Law of God, the Being "round Whom all names revolve," the Mainspring
of the Oneness of Humanity, the Ensign of the Most Great Peace, the Moon of the Central Orb
of this most holy Dispensation - styles and titles that are implicit and find their truest, their
highest and fairest expression in the magic name 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He is, above and beyond
these appellations, the "Mystery of God" - an expression by which Bahá'u'lláh Himself has
chosen to designate Him, and which, while it does not by any means justify us to assign
to Him the station of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized.”    (Shoghi Effendi, "The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh -  p. 134)

“Today the pulsating power in the arteries of the body of the world is the spirit of the Covenant –the spirit which is the cause of life. Whosoever is vivified with this spirit, the freshness and
beauty of life become manifest in him, he is baptized with the Holy Spirit, he is born again, is
freed from oppression and tyranny, from heedlessness and harshness which deaden the spirit,
and attains to everlasting life. Praise thou God that thou art firm in the Covenant and the
Testament and art turning thy face to the Luminary of the world, His Highness Bahá'u'lláh.   ('Abdu'l-Bahá, cited in "Star of the West, vol. 14, No. 7 (October 1923), p. 225)

“Walk, therefore, with a sure step and engage with the utmost assurance and confidence in the promulgation of the divine fragrances, the glorification of the Word of God and firmness in the Covenant. Rest ye assured that if a soul ariseth in the utmost perseverance and raiseth the Call of the Kingdom and resolutely promulgateth the Covenant, be he an insignificant ant he shall be enabled to drive away the formidable elephant from the arena. . . . .”    (Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 209)

MC:  Now we will show a short segment from the film, Luminous Journey: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America, 1912.

FILM EXCERPT:   section  1. Prologue through the Covenant section (Total: 11:04)  OR  Just the Covenant section (cue it up just past the America,1912 reference to Swami Vivekananda and Dharmapala)

MC OR STORY TELLER:  In 1912, when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was just about to leave this country after traveling for over 8 months, the Bahá’is held a banquet to honor Him.  Mahmúd, who kept a diary of the journey, writes: "The friends arranged a banquet in commemoration of the Day of the Covenant and the journey of the beloved of all hearts. . . . many came to the Master with bouquets of flowers in their hands. The banquet was held in the ballroom of New York's Grand Northern Hotel. The hall was decorated . . .  with festoons, banners, ornaments . . . exquisite screens . . . and crystal glassware. The electric lighting reflected the glassware . . . caused the whole room to shine brilliantly. More than three hundred guests, formally attired, attended.  When the Master appeared, all rose from their seats and with smiling faces cried out, `Alláh-u-Abhá!'  [a greeting, meaning, God is Most Glorious].  Many of the hotel guests saw the banquet and were astonished to see the grandeur of the Master and the sincerity and enthusiasm of the friends. After the Master took His seat, Mr. Hoar, on behalf of the Bahá'ís, read an address of welcome expressing obedience and firmness in the Covenant. The Master rose and responded with an address about the divine teachings and the oneness of humanity. He then walked around the tables and perfumed . . .  the friends with attar of rose. When He returned to His chair, the friends, accompanied by the piano, sang songs of praise to Him. Later the Master spoke about the wars and massacres of the nations and . . .  encouraged all towards peace, harmony and sincere love for all the people of the world. . . . . Indeed, it was a banquet for a king and a source of awakening to every person of insight.” 

The following excerpt from Luminous Journey includes a section about this banquet and also about the passing and significance of the Master.

FILM EXCERPT:  23. New York, Departure, Epilogue  (Total: 9:45) 

MC:  Though those who were with Him grieved to have Him leave their midst,  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá himself says:  “Whenever an illumined assembly of the friends of God is gathered, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, although bodily absent, is yet present in spirit and in soul. I am always a traveller to America and am assuredly associating with spiritual and illumined friends. Distance is annihilated and prevents not the close and intimate association of two souls that are closely attached in heart even though they may be in two different countries. I am therefore thy close companion, attuned and in harmony with thy soul.”  (SWAB 102)   Hence, we can always connect with Him in our hearts. 

And now, we will end with the Tablet of Visitation for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.  (If there are visitors:  It is customary to stand and face east, though not obligatory.)

TABLET of VISITATION for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—Live or one of the two recorded versions listed in the ‘music to be downloaded’ section above

[MUSIC TO FOLLOW THE PROGRAM — optional, please choose whatever feels appropriate]

MC welcomes the guests to enjoy refreshments and fellowship











The DAY of the COVENANT
60  MINUTE PROGRAM:

Just before people arrive, dim lights, light candles, and start background meditational music playing quietly to set the mood. Project a still image of the master onto the screen. Have user welcome them in silently and in a low tone offer to place rosewater on their wrists. (if desired)

MC  Greeting & Welcome

Persian Chant – Please select a community member to offer this prayer or use a recorded chant of your choice

Prayer:   O compassionate God!  Thanks be to Thee for Thou hast awakened and made me conscious.  Thou hast given me a seeing eye and favored me with a hearing ear, hast led me to Thy kingdom and guided me to Thy path.  Thou hast shown me the right way and caused me to enter the ark of deliverance.  O God!  Keep me steadfast and make me firm and staunch.  Protect me from violent tests and preserve and shelter me in the strongly fortified fortress of Thy Covenant and Testament.  Thou art the Powerful.  Thou art the Seeing.  Thou art the Hearing.   O Thou the Compassionate God.  Bestow upon me a heart which, like unto a glass, may be illumined with the light of Thy love, and confer upon me thoughts which may change this world into a rose garden through the outpourings of heavenly grace.  Thou art the Compassionate, the Merciful.  Thou art the Great Beneficent God.   ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Music  

MC:  The Day of the Covenant celebrates the life and station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, son of the Bahá’í Faith’s founder Bahá’u’lláh—a person unique in religious history.  Referred to as the Master and the Mystery of God, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was born on May 23, 1844, the very day the Báb or Gate announced to His first disciple that a mighty messenger was alive and would soon be manifest. Thus that date is associated with the very beginning of the Baha’i Faith. When the early Bahá’is wished to celebrate the birthday of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, He expressed a preference to minimize His own life, but said that November 26 could be observed as the day of the appointment of the Centre of the Covenant.  In this role, He became the interpreter of His father’s teachings—the one who protected the new Faith from divisions and preserved the unity.

Tonight we will share some readings about the Covenant and then have excerpts from the film, Luminous Journey: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America, 1912.

Readings:     

“Great is thy blessedness inasmuch as thou hast been faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament and for thy being honoured with this Tablet through which thy name is recorded in My Preserved Tablet. Dedicate thyself to the service of the Cause of thy Lord, cherish His remembrance in thy heart and celebrate His praise in such wise that every wayward and heedless soul may thereby be roused from slumber.”    ("Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 262)


 “ . . . ye must conduct yourselves in such a manner that ye may stand out distinguished and brilliant as the sun among other souls. Should any one of you enter a city, he should become a centre of attraction by reason of his sincerity, his faithfulness and love, his honesty and fidelity, his truthfulness and loving-kindness towards all the peoples of the world, so that the people of that city may cry out and say: "This man is unquestionably a Bahá'í, for his manners, his behaviour, his conduct, his morals, his nature, and disposition reflect the attributes of the Bahá'ís." Not until ye attain this station can ye be said to have been faithful to the Covenant and Testament of God. For He hath, through irrefutable Texts, entered into a binding Covenant with us all, requiring us to act in accordance with His sacred instructions and counsels.”    ("Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá" p. 71)

“A Covenant in the religious sense is a binding agreement between God and man, whereby God
requires of man certain behavior in return for which He guarantees certain blessings, or whereby He gives man certain bounties in return for which He takes from those who accept them an undertaking to behave in a certain way. There is, for example, the Greater Covenant which every Manifestation of God makes with His followers, promising that in the fulness of time a new Manifestation will be sent, and taking from them the undertaking to accept Him when this occurs. There is also the Lesser Covenant that a Manifestation of God makes with His followers that they will accept His appointed successor after Him. If they do so, the Faith can remain united and pure. If not, the Faith becomes divided and its force spent. It is a Covenant of this kind that Bahá'u'lláh made with His followers regarding 'Abdu'l-Bahá and that 'Abdu'l-Bahá perpetuated through the Administrative Order…”    (23 March 1975, from a letter written by the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

“As to the most great characteristic of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, a specific teaching not given by any of the Prophets of the past: It is the ordination and appointment of the Center of the Covenant. By this appointment and provision He has safeguarded and protected the religion of God against differences and schisms, making it impossible for anyone to create a new sect or faction of belief.”   ("The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912", pp. 455-56)

Shoghi Effendi, speaking of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, says:  “He is, and should for all time be regarded,
first and foremost, as the Center and Pivot of Bahá'u'lláh's peerless and all-enfolding Covenant,
His most exalted handiwork, the stainless Mirror of His light, the perfect Exemplar of His
teachings, the unerring Interpreter of His Word, the embodiment of every Bahá'í ideal, the
incarnation of every Bahá'í virtue, the Most Mighty Branch sprung from the Ancient Root,
the Limb of the Law of God, the Being "round Whom all names revolve," the Mainspring
of the Oneness of Humanity, the Ensign of the Most Great Peace, the Moon of the Central Orb
of this most holy Dispensation - styles and titles that are implicit and find their truest, their
highest and fairest expression in the magic name 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He is, above and beyond
these appellations, the "Mystery of God" - an expression by which Bahá'u'lláh Himself has
chosen to designate Him, and which, while it does not by any means justify us to assign
to Him the station of Prophethood, indicates how in the person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the incompatible characteristics of a human nature and superhuman knowledge and perfection have been blended and are completely harmonized.”    (Shoghi Effendi, from a letter of 8 February 1934, published in "The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh - Selected Letters", p. 134)

“ . . . the power of the Covenant will protect the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh from the doubts of the
people of error. It is the fortified fortress of the Cause of God and the firm pillar of the religion
of God. Today no power can conserve the oneness of the Bahá'í world save the Covenant of
God; otherwise differences like unto a most great tempest will encompass the Bahá'í world.
It is evident that the axis of the oneness of the world of humanity is the power of the
Covenant and nothing else.... Therefore, in the beginning the believers must make their steps
firm in the Covenant so that the confirmations of Bahá'u'lláh may encircle them from all sides,
the cohorts of the Supreme Concourse may become their supporters and helpers, and the
exhortations and advices of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, like unto the pictures engraved on stone, may remain permanent and ineffaceable in the tablets of all hearts.”    ("Tablets of the Divine Plan
 Revealed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the North American Bahá'ís" rev. ed., p. 49)

“Today the pulsating power in the arteries of the body of the world is the spirit of the Covenant – the spirit which is the cause of life. Whosoever is vivified with this spirit, the freshness and
beauty of life become manifest in him, he is baptized with the Holy Spirit, he is born again, is
freed from oppression and tyranny, from heedlessness and harshness which deaden the spirit,
and attains to everlasting life. Praise thou God that thou art firm in the Covenant and the
Testament and art turning thy face to the Luminary of the world, His Highness Bahá'u'lláh.”   ('Abdu'l-Bahá, cited in "Star of the West, vol. 14, No. 7 (October 1923), p. 225)

“Walk, therefore, with a sure step and engage with the utmost assurance and confidence in the promulgation of the divine fragrances, the glorification of the Word of God and firmness in the Covenant. Rest ye assured that if a soul ariseth in the utmost perseverance and raiseth the Call of the Kingdom and resolutely promulgateth the Covenant, be he an insignificant ant he shall be enabled to drive away the formidable elephant from the arena. . . . .”     ("Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá", p. 209)


MC:  Now we will show a short segment from the film, Luminous Journey: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America, 1912.

FILM EXCERPT:   section  1. Prologue through the Covenant section (Total: 11:04)  OR  Just the Covenant section (cue it up just past the America,1912 reference to Swami Vivekananda and Dharmapala)

[Optional:  Also show section 2:  New York through the first flashbacks (Total: 17:40)]

MC OR STORY TELLER:  Individuals such as Lua Getsinger, Roy Wilhelm, and Juliet Thompson were privileged to have a special connection to the Master. This next film excerpt will take us to New York and New Jersey and includes the Souvenir Picnic and the scene with Juliet painting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá‘s portrait.

FILM EXCEPRT:  Segment 10. New York/New Jersey (Total: 9:47)    
  
MC OR STORY TELLER:  In 1912, when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was just about to leave this country after traveling for over 8 months, the Bahá’is held a banquet to honor Him.  Mahmúd, who kept a diary of the journey, writes: "The friends arranged a banquet in commemoration of the Day of the Covenant and the journey of the beloved of all hearts. . . . many came to the Master with bouquets of flowers in their hands. The banquet was held in the ballroom of New York's Grand Northern Hotel. The hall was decorated . . .  with festoons, banners, ornaments . . . exquisite screens . . . and crystal glassware. The electric lighting reflected the glassware . . . caused the whole room to shine brilliantly. More than three hundred guests, formally attired, attended.  When the Master appeared, all rose from their seats and with smiling faces cried out, `Alláh-u-Abhá!'  [a greeting, meaning, God is Most Glorious].  Many of the hotel guests saw the banquet and were astonished to see the grandeur of the Master and the sincerity and enthusiasm of the friends. After the Master took His seat, Mr. Hoar, on behalf of the Bahá'ís, read an address of welcome expressing obedience and firmness in the Covenant. The Master rose and responded with an address about the divine teachings and the oneness of humanity. He then walked around the tables and perfumed . . .  the friends with attar of rose. When He returned to His chair, the friends, accompanied by the piano, sang songs of praise to Him. Later the Master spoke about the wars and massacres of the nations and . . .  encouraged all towards peace, harmony and sincere love for all the people of the world.  After His talk, the Consul General . . . and others gave short speeches praising `Abdu'l-Bahá. This evening's banquet was so grand that the hotel staff were curious. . . . They came to see the Master to ask about the banquet and why so many distinguished Americans were praising and glorifying a person from the East. Indeed, it was a banquet for a king and a source of awakening to every person of insight.”  What Mahmud does not tell us here is that the African-American guests could not attend the banquet. The hotel proprietor was adamant about excluding them--and the more the Baha'is tried to convince him, the more resistence he expressed.  So, the following night another banquet was held at the Kinney home--and the white friends served the dark friends.  Mahmud reports that this made ‘Abdu’l-Bahá very happy and said it was an example of the "grandeur of the Covenant." 

The following excerpt from Luminous Journey will depict that event, along with describing the Master’s passing and significance.

FILM EXCERPT:  23. New York, Departure, Epilogue   (Total: 9:45) 

MC:  Though those who were with Him grieved to have Him leave their midst,  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá himself says:  “Whenever an illumined assembly of the friends of God is gathered, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, although bodily absent, is yet present in spirit and in soul. I am always a traveller to America and am assuredly associating with spiritual and illumined friends. Distance is annihilated and prevents not the close and intimate association of two souls that are closely attached in heart even though they may be in two different countries. I am therefore thy close companion, attuned and in harmony with thy soul.”  (SWAB 102)   Hence, we can always connect with Him in our hearts. . . .   And now, we will end with the Tablet of Visitation for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.  (If there are visitors:  It is customary to stand and face east, though not obligatory.)

TABLET of VISITATION for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—Live or one of the two recorded versions listed in the ‘music to be downloaded’ section above

[MUSIC TO FOLLOW THE PROGRAM — optional, please choose whatever feels appropriate]

MC welcomes the guests to enjoy refreshments and fellowship

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