It is fitting that as the last of the Hands of the Cause of God passed away last year, that tributes to these 50 individuals that were appointed by the Central Figures of the Bahá’í Faith to “diffuse the Divine Fragrances, to edify the souls of men, to promote learning, to improve the character of all men and to be, at all times and under all conditions, sanctified and detached from earthly things,” should begin to appear in print. Such is the book The Unforgettable Hands of the Cause by Ohio-born Michael Woodward, just published by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of India.
It consists almost entirely of first-hand reminiscences and anecdotes of the author’s interactions with 14 of the Hands while living in Hawaii, pioneering in Africa and Taiwan, and on trips to Conferences and the Holy Land. Therefore it is an intimate account, almost too intimate at times, as he details personal the involvement with his family’s life and tribulations of Abu’l-Qásim Faizi (pictured above) and Enoch Olinga. In the early part of the book, Woodward falls into the trap like many before him, of describing minute events with overenthusiasm, making the stories sound lame. The difficulty, of course, is that the events themselves are outwardly unremarkable: a word here, a gesture there, but suffused with spiritual potency and immediacy that makes an impression lasting a lifetime, and these things take no small literary skill to articulate.
However, when he moves on to document conferences and the lessons and talks given by the Hands at these momentous gatherings, we get a good sense of how they taught the friends, encouraged, exhorted and admonished them with illustrative stories, explanations of the Writings and the guidance from the World Centre. We see figures Bahá’ís have come to know so well: Dr. Muhajer, Bill Sears, Ruhiyyih Khanum, Collis Featherstone, and others in the full flower of their glory in accomplishing the Herculean tasks given to them.
While Woodward’s writing is not first-rate, one thing he accomplishes very well is the sense of history, especially the murmur of anguish felt by the Bahá’í community around the world as the number of the Hands -- 27 in 1957 at the passing of the Guardian, inexorably dwindled down to only three well before the turn of the Millenium, and so how every moment with these sublime mentors was so precious.
Surely many more volumes are in the offing, especially as we have full biographies of only a smattering – I almost wrote “handful” – of these seminal figures, without whom it would be impossible to envision the Bahá’í Faith as it has come to exist, flourish, and grow to this day.
It consists almost entirely of first-hand reminiscences and anecdotes of the author’s interactions with 14 of the Hands while living in Hawaii, pioneering in Africa and Taiwan, and on trips to Conferences and the Holy Land. Therefore it is an intimate account, almost too intimate at times, as he details personal the involvement with his family’s life and tribulations of Abu’l-Qásim Faizi (pictured above) and Enoch Olinga. In the early part of the book, Woodward falls into the trap like many before him, of describing minute events with overenthusiasm, making the stories sound lame. The difficulty, of course, is that the events themselves are outwardly unremarkable: a word here, a gesture there, but suffused with spiritual potency and immediacy that makes an impression lasting a lifetime, and these things take no small literary skill to articulate.
However, when he moves on to document conferences and the lessons and talks given by the Hands at these momentous gatherings, we get a good sense of how they taught the friends, encouraged, exhorted and admonished them with illustrative stories, explanations of the Writings and the guidance from the World Centre. We see figures Bahá’ís have come to know so well: Dr. Muhajer, Bill Sears, Ruhiyyih Khanum, Collis Featherstone, and others in the full flower of their glory in accomplishing the Herculean tasks given to them.
While Woodward’s writing is not first-rate, one thing he accomplishes very well is the sense of history, especially the murmur of anguish felt by the Bahá’í community around the world as the number of the Hands -- 27 in 1957 at the passing of the Guardian, inexorably dwindled down to only three well before the turn of the Millenium, and so how every moment with these sublime mentors was so precious.
Surely many more volumes are in the offing, especially as we have full biographies of only a smattering – I almost wrote “handful” – of these seminal figures, without whom it would be impossible to envision the Bahá’í Faith as it has come to exist, flourish, and grow to this day.
1 comment:
Dear Geza
I read with interest this piece about Hands of the Cause and completely agree that it would be wonderful to have many more studies of these remarkable peoples lives.
Perhaps your blog readers would be interested to view other biographies of Hands that are currently available and can visit www.grbooks.com to see books about 'George Townshend', 'Corinne True' and 'Leroy Ioas', plus shorter accounts about other Hands of the Cause in books like 'Lights of Fortitude'. There are also other biographies in the pipe line so keep an eye out online.
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