March 24. On this date in 1932, Shoghi Effendi wrote Siyyid Mustafá Rúmí "to have the book of Dr. Esslemont’s translated into as many different languages as possible. He already has had it translated and published into a dozen languages and others are forthcoming...Dr. Esslemont’s book is in many respects the best available. It is comprehensive in its scope and also clear and simple in its rendering. It has also been corrected partly by our beloved Master."
[To Siyyid Mustafá Rúmí]
Dear Bahá’í Brother,
One of the interests of Shoghi Effendi at present is to have the book of Dr. Esslemont’s translated into as many different languages as possible. He already has had it translated and published into a dozen languages and others are forthcoming.
This deep interest is primarily due to the fact that the teachers are in many countries hampered in their work by the lack of proper literature to be handed to an earnest seeker. Neither they have the time nor the beginner has the patience for long discourses on the tenets of the Faith and there is in many countries no book to fill that gap.
Dr. Esslemont’s book is in many respects the best available. It is comprehensive in its scope and also clear and simple in its rendering. It has also been corrected partly by our beloved Master.
In short, Shoghi Effendi would be very thankful if you should arrange for its translation into the Burmese language. It should, however, be done by a person who is well versed in that language and also is thoroughly conversant with English. He also promises to send a contribution when it is ready for publication as he has been doing in the case of the other translations.
He believes very fervently that when that book will be out from the press the teaching work will be stimulated and the task of the teachers infinitely facilitated.
In close may I express his loving greetings and best wishes and also his many thanks in advance for this work which he is sure you will take up immediately and with all your fervour and love.
John Esslemont was a prominent British Bahá'í from Scotland who authored the well-known introductory book on the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, which is still in circulation. He was named posthumously by Shoghi Effendi as the first Hand of the Cause he appointed, and as one of the Disciples of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Born on May 19, 1874, John Esslemont appears repeatedly at key points in Bahá'í history. For example, at the time of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's death in Acre on November 28, 1921, Shoghi Effendi was a twenty-four-year-old student enrolled at Balliol College, Oxford. Upon reading the telegram announcing 'Abdu'l-Bahá's death, in the home of Wellesley Tudor Pole who was Secretary of the London Local Spiritual Assembly, Shoghi Effendi passed out. Only after spending a few days with John Esslemontdid Shoghi Effendi leave England, on December 16, 1921, accompanied by Lady Blomfield and his eldest sister, Ruhangiz, who he would later declare a Covenant-breaker.
John Esslemont's book Bahá'u'lláh and the New Eraremains an important text that has been used in Bahá'í missionary activity. However, from in its initial publication to later editions, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Erahas been significantly edited, with references to Avarihremoved in subsequent editions published after Avarih's apostasy from the Bahá'í Faith.
Other significant edits include...
Perhaps the most important change in Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was made on page 212 of the 1923 edition. Recorded as a Bahá'í prophecy (59) concerning the "Coming of the Kingdom of God," Esslemont cited Abdu'l-Bahá's interpretation of the last two verses of the Book of Daniel from the Bible. He stated that the 1335 days spoken of by Daniel represented 1335 solar years from Muhammad's flight to Medina in 622 A.D., which would equal 1957 A.D.. When asked "'What shall we see at the end of the 1335 days?'," Abdu'l-Bahá's reply was: "'Universal Peace will be firmly established, a Universal language promoted. Misunderstandings will pass away. The Bahá'í Cause will be promulgated in all parts and the oneness of mankind established. It will be most glorious!'" (60) In editions published after his death, Esslemont's words have been changed to say that Abdu'l-Bahá "reckoned the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy from the date of the beginning of the Muhammadan era " (61) and one of Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets is quoted on the same subject in which he writes, "'For according to this calculation a century will have elapsed from the dawn of the Sun of Truth....'" Esslemont appears to conclude that Abdu'l-Bahá was referring to the year 1963 and the one hundredth anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's public claim to be a Manifestation of God. (62) These words, however, were never written by the author, but were added posthumously. And, it should be noted that the phrase "'the dawn of the Sun of Truth'" is not a reference to a particular year, in this case 1863, but to a period of years when the Bab and his followers were preparing the way for the Manifestation of Bahá'u'lláh. Hence, they are commonly referred to as the "Dawn-Breakers." (63) Further, in another quotation which originally appeared on the same page, but was also removed from later editions, Abdu'l-Bahá plainly stated, "' This is the Century of the Sun of Truth. This is the Century of the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the earth.'" (64) Esslemont recorded Abdu'l-Bahá as declaring explicitly that the prophecy was to be computed from the Hijra or 622 A.D. and that specific conditions would exist in the world upon it's fulfillment in 1957. When it became apparent that this Bahá'í prophecy would not be fulfilled, it was replaced with the ambiguous material which has remained in the text to the present. This is evident from the fact that, although Esslemont's other eyewitness accounts were removed in the 1937 revision, the record of Abdu'l-Bahá's prophecy was left intact by the American National Spiritual Assembly and Shoghi Effendi. It was not changed until after 1957. (65) Also, Abdu'l-Bahá's conviction that all of these events would take place in this century have been expressed in other writings and it is evident that Shoghi Effendi shared his optimism as well. (66)
John Esslemont died in Haifa on November 22, 1925.
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