Baha'u'llah
and the New Era
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In
December 1914, through a conversation with friends who had met Abdu'l-Baha, and
the loan of a few pamphlets, I first became acquainted with the Bahá'í teachings.
I was at once struck by their comprehensiveness, power and beauty. They impressed
me as meeting the great needs of the modern world more fully and satisfactorily
than any other presentation of religion which I had come across -- an impression
which subsequent study has only served to deepen and confirm. In
seeking for fuller knowledge about the movement I found considerable difficulty
in obtaining the literature I wanted, and soon conceived the idea of putting
together the gist of what I learned in the form of a book, so that it might be
more easily available for others. When communication with Palestine was reopened
after the war, I wrote to Abdu'l-Baha and enclosed a copy of the first nine chapters
of the book, which was then almost complete in rough draft. I received a very
kind and encouraging reply, and a cordial invitation to visit Him in Haifa and
bring the whole of my manuscript with me. The invitation was gladly accepted,
and I had the great privilege of spending two and a half months as the guest
of Abdu'l-Baha during the winter of 1919-1920. During this visit Abdu'l-Baha
discussed the book with me on various occasions. He gave several valuable suggestions
for its improvement and proposed that, when I had revised the manuscript, He
would have the whole of it translated into Persian so that He could read it through
and amend or correct it where necessary. The revisal and translation were carried
out as suggested, and Abdu'l-Baha found time, amid His busy life, to correct
some three and a half chapters (Chapters I, II, V and part of III) before He
passed away. It is a matter of profound regret to met that Abdu'l-Baha was not
able to complete the correction of the manuscript, as the value of the book would
thereby have been greatly enhanced. The whole of the manuscript has been carefully
revised, however, by a committee
of the National Bahá'í Assembly of England, and its publication
approved by that Assembly. I am greatly indebted to Miss E. J. Rosenberg, Mrs.
Claudia S. Coles, Mirza Lutfu'llah S. Hakim, Messrs. Roy Wilhelm and Mountfort
Mills and many other kind friends for valuable help in the preparation of the
work. As regards the transliteration of Arabic and Persian names and words, the
system adopted in this book is that recently recommended by Shoghi Effendi for
use throughout the Bahá'í World.
J. E. ESSLEMONT
Go on to The
Glad Tidings, Chapter One