Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era

Read online at: https://bahai-library.com/esslemont_bahaullah_new_era

Authoritativeness[edit]

From the introduction: "`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."
From the 1937 preface "The present edition therefore represents a revision made by the American National Spiritual Assembly, acting under the advice and approval of Shoghi Effendi."

Need to Read[edit]

"Books such as the Íqán, Some Answered Questions, the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, Nabíl’s Narrative and Dr. Esslemont’s book should be read and read over again by every soul who desires to serve the Movement or considers himself an active member of the group."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith, no. 109)

"He is very eager to have this wonderful book translated well, for it is the best means of grounding those who become interested in the fundamental teachings of the Faith. The Íqán and Dr Esslemont's book will be sufficient to make any seeker a true believer in the divine nature of the Faith."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, quoted in A Companion to the Study of the Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 2)

From a letter to a believer in India: "Even though the book [Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era] was written by a Christian [Dr. Esslemont] and was meant to be for people of that Faith to read, yet it is a very fine presentation of the teachings as a whole and might prove interesting to other people as well. Shoghi Effendi surely hopes that before long the Cause may produce scholars that would write books which would be far deeper and more universal in scope, but for the present this is the best we possess to give a general idea as to the history and teachings of the Faith to new seekers. After reading this they get the necessary introduction to delve more deeply into the fundamental tenets such as are explained in the Íqán. Shoghi Effendi hopes that these books will greatly stimulate the teaching work in India and become the cause of guidance to many sincere souls."

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Messages of Shoghi Effendi to the Indian Subcontinent, October 19, 1932, p. 88)

"I urge you to study the Teachings and particularly `Abdu'l-Bahá's Some Answered Questions and Dr. Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, two of the outstanding books in our Bahá'í Literature."

(Shoghi Effendi, Messages to Canada (1999 version), p. 20)

Abiding impact[edit]

"His book,[+F1 Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, by J. E. Esslemont, London, 1922; Bahá'í Publishing Committee, New York, 1927.] however–an abiding monument to his pure intention–will, alone, inspire generations yet unborn to tread the path of truth and service as steadfastly and as unostentatiously as was trodden by its beloved author."

(Shoghi Effendi, Bahá'í Administration, p. 97)

On the possibility of utilizing other newer introductory works[edit]

See https://bahai-library.com/zamir/salebne.html#intro

By page[edit]

p. 54?: Question on Munírih Khánum's account of her life[edit]

"With regard to Munírih Khánum's account of her life, concerning which certain questions have been raised by one of the believers; what has been written by Munírih Khánum herself in that account, and also the references to the subject made by Nabíl in his Narrative should be taken as the accurate standard and not what has been reported in Dr. Esslemont's book."

(Directives from the Guardian, no. 134, p. 49)

pp. 192-195?: Visions, dreams, etc.[edit]

Clarifies attitude toward visions, dreams[edit]

"...The Guardian would suggest that you study very carefully the statements of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in connection with the question of visions, dreams, etc., as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has very fully explained this delicate subject. You will find references to this in “Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era,” 'Some Answered Questions' and the Books of Tablets. The Guardian likewise has commented on this matter.

"Briefly, there is no question that visions occasionally do come to individuals, which are true and have significance. On the other hand, this comes to an individual through the grace of God, and not through the exercise of any of the human faculties. It is not a thing which a person should try to develop. When a person endeavours to develop faculties so that they might enjoy visions, dreams etc., actually what they are doing is weakening certain of their spiritual capacities; and thus under such circumstances, dreams and visions have no reality, and ultimately lead to the destruction of the character of the person.”

(On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, May 6, 1952, in )

pp. 249-250: Prophecy of Daniel[edit]

"Regarding the Prophecy of Daniel: The passage in Esselmont should be changed to state that this prophecy refers to the one-hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh, in the Garden of Ridvan, Baghdad--reference to this can be found in 'The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá' in quotation from two of His Tablets."

(Directives from the Guardian, no. 49, p. 18)