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People around the world stretch out their arms in
supplication and from the depths of their hearts
call out to God for guidance and illumination. We
crave true understanding and insight, that our
lives may be transformed and our condition
bettered; then, out of growing love of God, we
seek to learn more clearly what it means to be
His servant, obedient to His Covenant.
God in His infinite mercy and compassion
answers our prayers. He sends His Prophets
and Messengers to give us a greater vision--to
enable us to see through God's eye rather than
our own. Through the Teachings of God's
Chosen Ones, we can learn to see things as they
really are, not as they appear to us or as we idly
imagine them to be.
In His abundant grace, Baha'u'llah (prophet-founder
of the Baha'i Faith) has taught us to pray:
"Open Thou, O my Lord, mine eyes and the
eyes of all them that have sought Thee, that we
may recognize Thee with Thine own eyes. This
is Thy bidding given us in the Book sent down by
Thee . . . " (Baha'u'llah, PM, p.80, BP, p. 253)
If we will but learn to see through his eyes we will
never be the same again.
"Gazing with the eye of God,
he will perceive within every atom a door that
leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude.
He will discover in all things the mysteries of
Divine Revelation and the evidence of an
everlasting manifestation." (Baha'u'llah, KI, p. 196)
For over sixty years the groundwork has been laid
for a "science of reality" based on seeing with the
eye of God through the Sacred Writings of the
Baha'i Faith. More than just a system of
cataloging the Writings, the Worlds of God
Master Index represents a new view of
everything in existence as revealed by
Baha'u'llah. It is, if you will, a map of reality as
described in the Baha'i Writings.
The Index is the focus of the immediate goals of
the Foundation which are to: collect, preserve,
complete and make more accessible the Worlds
of God Master Index and to continually upgrade
the material with more recent translations and
continued research. Funds are required for
microfilming, computer hardware and software,
staff to accomplish the work, appropriate housing
for the materials, and the like.
H. Emogene Hoagg lived and served in the
household of Abdu'l Baha (son of Baha'u'llah
and the Center of His Covenant) months at a
time. She studied with the most prominent
scholars of her age in several languages.
Among her many accomplishments and services
was an outline of the Baha'i Writings organized
according to the three conditions of existence:
Deity, prophethood and servitude. Shortly
before her death, Emogene instructed Marian
Crist Lippitt in her system for classifying the
Baha'i Writings.
Marian was appointed to the National Reference
Library Committee by the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States
(NSA). This Committee was charged with the
responsibility of producing a Master Index to all of
the Baha'i Writings. This proved an impossible
task, until Marian suggested using Emogene's
technique. This proposal was accepted by the
NSA; the work began in the 1950s and continued
actively until 1984 when Marian, the prime mover
of the committee, died.
The Index languished in a basement at Green
Acre Baha'i School until a small group of
individuals petitioned the NSA for its custody in
order to preserve, complete, computerize, and
utilize and apply it to its full advantage.
To quote, in part, a letter dated 27 January 1992
this group received from the NSA:
"The National Assembly feels that the information
compiled in the Worlds of God index is valuable
and agrees that the data should be stored
permanently in computer files. In addition, the
cards themselves are important archival
materials that need to be preserved properly. . . .
We commend your desire to continue working on
the index, thereby rendering a distinctive service
to the Cause of God."
The group formalized its efforts by incorporating
on 30 June 1993 in the State of Maine as the
Foundation for the Science of Reality and by
obtaining its IRC Sec. 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
20 October 1994.
A major outcome of the indexing process for
those fortunate to particpate was spiritual
transformation. While, on one level, a simple,
mechanical process of categorizing quotations,
on another level, indexing proved to be a
powerful tool for the transformation of indexers
because, as they worked, their own egocentric
misconceptions were replaced by the verities
brought to us by Baha'u'llah.
So fulfilling and joyous were the results, that the
Committee and later Marian, single-handedly,
produced many items in an effort to share this
dynamic transforming process. Included in these
products are: the Worlds of God compilation,
short and long deepening courses on the
compilation, indexing courses presented as a
deepening technique, and, finally, an experiential
course without specific references to the Baha'i
Writings called Successful Self Direction which
was tested with a criminologist on juvenile
delinquents. This God's eye perspective was
used in the development of Dr. Daniel C.
Jordan's ANISA model of education and the
production of the Comprehensive Deepening
Program (" . . . and the contributions of Mrs.
Marian Lippitt, general consultant to the project,
who has provided much of the original material
as well.")
The Foundation has already collected many of
these materials which have been used
successfully by individual members for a number
of years. Future goals of the Foundation include
the development and distribution of these and
other applications of the science of reality.
Membership in the Foundation for the Science of
Reality is open to anyone interested in keeping up
with the latest developments while financially
supporting its work.
All members will receive a quarterly
newsletter. Baha'i members are entitled to vote
and hold office on the Board. Every one is
welcome to help and to study.
The Foundation for the Science of Reality is a
non-profit, tax-exempt membership organization.
Any contribution you make would be appreciated
and is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
The suggested annual dues are $35. However,
the investigation of reality is a basic human right
and a lack of funds should not deter you for
joining this effort. Any donation entitles you to
membership. All funds are used to promote the
work of the Foundation.
"In Green Acre you must concentrate your forces
around the one all important fact--the
investigation of reality. Expend your efforts on
this, that the union of opinions and expressions
may be obtained." ( Abdu'l-Baha, The Baha'i Year Book,
Vol I, p. 88; The Baha'i World, Vol. II, p.15)
The main office of the Foundation for the Science
of Reality is adjacent to Green Acre Baha'i
School, Eliot, Maine, U.S.A.
Foundation for the Science of Reality
195 Main Street
Eliot, ME 03903-1825
U.S.A.
207-439-8532
For more information, please contact
Diane Iverson at: DIverson31@aol.com
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