Peace
Religion is, verily, the chief instrument for the establishment of order in the
world, and of tranquility amongst its peoples. The weakening of the pillars of
religion hath strengthened the foolish, and emboldened them, and made
them more arrogant. Verily I say: The greater the decline of religion, the
more grievous the waywardness of the ungodly. This cannot but lead in the
end to chaos and confusion. Hear Me, O men of insight, and be warned, ye
who are endued with discernment!"
(Baha'u'llah: Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Page: 28)
My object is none other than the betterment of the world and the
tranquillity of its peoples. The well-being of mankind, its peace and security,
are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. This unity
can never be achieved so long as the counsels which the Pen of the Most High
hath revealed are suffered to pass unheeded.
Through the power of the words He hath uttered the whole of the human
race can be illumined with the light of unity, and the remembrance of His
Name is able to set on fire the hearts of all men, and burn away the veils that
intervene between them and His glory. One righteous act is endowed with a
potency that can so elevate the dust as to cause it to pass beyond the heaven
of heavens. It can tear every bond asunder, and hath the power to restore
the force that hath spent itself and vanished....
Be pure, O people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous.... Say: O
people of God! That which can ensure the victory of Him Who is the Eternal
Truth, His hosts and helpers on earth, have been set down in the sacred
Books and Scriptures, and are as clear and manifest as the sun. These hosts
are such righteous deeds, such conduct and character, as are acceptable in
His sight. Whoso ariseth, in this Day, to aid Our Cause, and summoneth to his
assistance the hosts of a praiseworthy character and upright conduct, the
influence flowing from such an action will, most certainly, be diffused
throughout the whole world.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Pages: 286-287)
True civilization will unfurl its banner in the midmost heart of the world
whenever a certain number of its distinguished and high-minded sovereigns
- the shining exemplars of devotion and determination - shall, for the good
and happiness of all mankind, arise, with firm resolve and clear vision, to
establish the Cause of Universal Peace. They must make the Cause of Peace
the object of general consultation, and seek by every means in their power to
establish a Union of the nations of the world. They must conclude a binding
treaty and establish a covenant, the provisions of which shall be sound,
inviolable and definite. They must proclaim it to all the world and obtain for
it the sanction of all the human race. This supreme and noble undertaking the real source of the peace and well-being of all the world - should be
regarded as sacred by all that dwell on earth. All the forces of humanity must
be mobilized to ensure the stability and permanence of this Most Great
Covenant. In this all-embracing Pact the limits and frontiers of each and
every nation should be clearly fixed, the principles underlying the relations
of governments towards one another definitely laid down, and all
international agreements and obligations ascertained. In like manner, the
size of the armaments of every government should be strictly limited, for if
the preparations for war and the military forces of any nation should be
allowed to increase, they will arouse the suspicion of others. The
fundamental principle underlying this solemn Pact should be so fixed that if
any government later violate any one of its provisions, all the governments
on earth should arise to reduce it to utter submission, nay the human race as
a whole should resolve, with every power at its disposal, to destroy that
government. Should this greatest of all remedies be applied to the sick body
of the world, it will assuredly recover from its ills and will remain eternally
safe and secure.
(`Abdu’l-Bahá: Secret of Divine Civilization, Pages: 6465)
This is a new cycle of human power. All the horizons of the world are
luminous, and the world will become indeed as a garden and a paradise. It is
the hour of unity of the sons of men and of the drawing together of all races
and all classes. You are loosed from ancient superstitions which have kept
men ignorant, destroying the foundation of true humanity.
The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of
mankind and of the fundamental oneness of religion. War shall cease
between nations, and by the will of God the Most Great Peace shall come; the
world will be seen as a new world, and all men will live as brothers.
In the days of old an instinct for warfare was developed in the struggle
with wild animals; this is no longer necessary; nay, rather, co-operation and
mutual understanding are seen to produce the greatest welfare of mankind.
Enmity is now the result of prejudice only.
In the Hidden Words Baha'u'llah says, "Justice is to be loved above all."
Praise be to God, in this country the standard of justice has been raised; a
great effort is being made to give all souls an equal and a true place. This is
the desire of all noble natures; this is today the teaching for the East and for
the West; therefore the East and the West will understand each other and
reverence each other, and embrace like long-parted lovers who have found
each other.
There is one God; mankind is one; the foundations of religion are one. Let
us worship Him, and give praise for all His great Prophets and Messengers
who have manifested His brightness and glory.
The blessing of the Eternal One be with you in all its richness, that each
soul according to his measure may take freely of Him. Amen.
(`Abdu’l-Bahá: Abdu’l-Bahá in London*, Pages: 19-20)
The Great Being saith: O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose
animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and
promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and
fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and
discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and
immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes
and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the
revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure. Our hope is that
the world's religious leaders and the rulers thereof will unitedly arise for the
reformation of this age and the rehabilitation of its fortunes. Let them, after
meditating on its needs, take counsel together and, through anxious and full
deliberation, administer to a diseased and sorely-afflicted world the remedy
it requireth.... It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise
moderation in all things. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of
moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance
such things as liberty, civilization and the like. However much men of
understanding may favorably regard them, they will, if carried to excess,
exercise a pernicious influence upon men.... Please God, the peoples of the
world may be led, as the result of the high endeavors exerted by their rulers
and the wise and learned amongst men, to recognize their best interests.
How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will injustice
continue? How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men? How
long will discord agitate the face of society?... The winds of despair are, alas,
blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the
human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and
chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to
be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may
graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their
conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish that which
beseemeth their station. (Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Pages: 215-217)
Reading 3
O contending peoples and kindreds of the earth! Set your faces towards
unity, and let the radiance of its light shine upon you. Gather ye together,
and for the sake of God resolve to root out whatever is the source of
contention amongst you. Then will the effulgence of the world's great
Luminary envelop the whole earth, and its inhabitants become the citizens of
one city, and the occupants of one and the same throne. This wronged One
hath, ever since the early days of His life, cherished none other desire but
this, and will continue to entertain no wish except this wish. There can be no
doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion,
derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of
one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide
should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in
which they were revealed. All of them, except a few which are the outcome
of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will
and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the power of faith, shatter to pieces the
gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave
unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you. This, verily, is the
most exalted Word which the Mother Book hath sent down and revealed
unto you. To this beareth witness the Tongue of Grandeur from His
habitation of glory.
(Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings, Pages: 217-218)
The Great Being saith: O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose
animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and
promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and
fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and
discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and
immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes
and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the
revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure. Our hope is that
the world's religious leaders and the rulers thereof will unitedly arise for the
reformation of this age and the rehabilitation of its fortunes. Let them, after
meditating on its needs, take counsel together and, through anxious and full
deliberation, administer to a diseased and sorely-afflicted world the remedy
it requireth.... It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise
moderation in all things. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of
moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance
such things as liberty, civilization and the like. However much men of
understanding may favorably regard them, they will, if carried to excess,
exercise a pernicious influence upon men.... Please God, the peoples of the
world may be led, as the result of the high endeavors exerted by their rulers
and the wise and learned amongst men, to recognize their best interests.
How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will injustice
continue? How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men? How
long will discord agitate the face of society?... The winds of despair are, alas,
blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the
human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and
chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to
be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may
graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their
conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish that which
beseemeth their station.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Pages: 215-217)
Reading 3:
The Great Being saith: O ye children of men! The fundamental purpose
animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and
promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and
fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and
discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and
immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes
and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the
revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure. Our hope is that
the world's religious leaders and the rulers thereof will unitedly arise for the
reformation of this age and the rehabilitation of its fortunes. Let them, after
meditating on its needs, take counsel together and, through anxious and full
deliberation, administer to a diseased and sorely-afflicted world the remedy
it requireth.... It is incumbent upon them who are in authority to exercise
moderation in all things. Whatsoever passeth beyond the limits of
moderation will cease to exert a beneficial influence. Consider for instance
such things as liberty, civilization and the like. However much men of
understanding may favorably regard them, they will, if carried to excess,
exercise a pernicious influence upon men.... Please God, the peoples of the
world may be led, as the result of the high endeavors exerted by their rulers
and the wise and learned amongst men, to recognize their best interests.
How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will injustice
continue? How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men? How
long will discord agitate the face of society?... The winds of despair are, alas,
blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the
human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and
chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to
be lamentably defective. I beseech God, exalted be His glory, that He may
graciously awaken the peoples of the earth, may grant that the end of their
conduct may be profitable unto them, and aid them to accomplish that which
beseemeth their station.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Pages: 215-217)
O ye lovers of truth, ye servants of humankind! Out of the flowering of your
thoughts and hopes, fragrant emanations have come my way, wherefore an
inner sense of obligation compelleth me to pen these words.
Ye observe how the world is divided against itself, how many a land is red
with blood and its very dust is caked with human gore. The fires of conflict
have blazed so high that never in early times, not in the Middle Ages, not in
recent centuries hath there ever been such a hideous war, a war that is even
as millstones, taking for grain the skulls of men. Nay, even worse, for
flourishing countries have been reduced to rubble, cities have been levelled
with the ground, and many a once prosperous village hath been turned into
ruin. Fathers have lost their sons, and sons their fathers. Mothers have wept
away their hearts over dead children. Children have been orphaned, women
left to wander, vagrants without a home. From every aspect, humankind
hath sunken low. Loud are the piercing cries of fatherless children; loud the
mothers' anguished voices, reaching to the skies.
And the breeding-ground of all these tragedies is prejudice: prejudice of
race and nation, of religion, of political opinion; and the root cause of
prejudice is blind imitation of the past - imitation in religion, in racial
attitudes, in national bias, in politics. So long as this aping of the past
persisteth, just so long will the foundations of the social order be blown to
the four winds, just so long will humanity be continually exposed to direst
peril.
Now, in such an illumined age as ours, when realities previously unknown
to man have been laid bare, and the secrets of created things have been
disclosed, and the Morn of Truth hath broken and lit up the world - is it
admissible that men should be waging a frightful war that is bringing
humanity down to ruin? No, by the Lord God!
Christ Jesus summoned all mankind to amity and peace. Unto Peter He
said: `Put up thy sword into the sheath.'(1) Such was the bidding and
counsel of the Lord Christ; and yet today the Christians one and all have
drawn their swords from out the scabbard. How wide is the discrepancy
between such acts and the clear Gospel text!
Sixty years ago Baha'u'llah rose up, even as the Day-Star, over Persia. He
declared that the skies of the world were dark, that this darkness boded evil,
and that terrible wars would come. From the prison at Akka, He addressed
the German Emperor in the clearest of terms, telling him that a great war
was on the way and that his city of Berlin would break forth in lamentation
and wailing. Likewise did He write to the Turkish sovereign, although He
was that Sultan's victim and a captive in his prison - that is, He was being
held prisoner in the Fortress at Akka - and clearly stated that Constantinople
would be overtaken by a sudden and radical change, so great that the women
and children of that city would mourn and cry aloud. In brief, He addressed
such words to all the monarchs and the presidents, and everything came to
pass, exactly as He had foretold.
There have issued, from His mighty Pen, various teachings for the
prevention of war, and these have been scattered far and wide.
The first is the independent investigation of truth; for blind imitation of
the past will stunt the mind. But once every soul inquireth into truth, society
will be freed from the darkness of continually repeating the past.
His second principle is the oneness of mankind: that all men are the sheep
of God, and God is their loving Shepherd, caring most tenderly for all without
favouring one or another. `No difference canst thou see in the creation of the
God of mercy';(1) all are His servants, all implore His grace.
His third teaching is that religion is a mighty stronghold, but that it must
engender love, not malevolence and hate. Should it lead to malice, spite, and
hate, it is of no value at all. For religion is a remedy, and if the remedy bring
on disease, then put it aside. Again, as to religious, racial, national and
political bias: all these prejudices strike at the very root of human life; one
and all they beget bloodshed, and the ruination of the world. So long as
these prejudices survive, there will be continuous and fearsome wars.
To remedy this condition there must be universal peace. To bring this
about, a Supreme Tribunal must be established, representative of all
governments and peoples; questions both national and international must be
referred thereto, and all must carry out the decrees of this Tribunal. Should
any government or people disobey, let the whole world arise against that
government or people.
Yet another of the teachings of Baha'u'llah is the equality of men and
women and their equal sharing in all rights. And there are many similar
principles. It hath now become evident that these teachings are the very life
and soul of the world.
Ye who are servants of the human race, strive ye with all your heart to
deliver mankind out of this darkness and these prejudices that belong to the
human condition and the world of nature, so that humanity may find its way
into the light of the world of God.
Praise be to Him, ye are acquainted with the various laws, institutions and
principles of the world; today nothing short of these divine teachings can
assure peace and tranquillity to mankind. But for these teachings, this
darkness shall never vanish, these chronic diseases shall never be healed;
nay, they shall grow fiercer from day to day. The Balkans will remain
discontented. Its restlessness will increase. The vanquished Powers will
continue to agitate. They will resort to every measure that may rekindle the
flame of war. Movements, newly-born and world-wide in their range, will
exert their utmost effort for the advancement of their designs. The
Movement of the Left will acquire great importance. Its influence will
spread.
Strive ye, therefore, with the help of God, with illumined minds and hearts
and a strength born of heaven, to become a bestowal from God to man, and
to call into being for all humankind, comfort and peace.
203. O thou who art enamoured of the Covenant! The Blessed Beauty hath
promised this servant that souls would be raised up who would be the very
embodiments of guidance, and banners of the Concourse on high, torches of
God's oneness, and stars of His pure truth, shining in the heavens where God
reigneth alone. They would give sight to the blind, and would make the deaf
to hear; they would raise the dead to life. They would confront all the
peoples of the earth, pleading their Cause with proofs of the Lord of the
seven spheres.
It is my hope that in His bounty He will soon raise up these souls, that His
Cause may be exalted. The lodestone which will attract this grace is
staunchness in the Covenant. Render thou thanks unto God that thou art
firmest of the firm.
O my God, aid Thou Thy servant to raise up the Word, and to refute what
is vain and false, to establish the truth, to spread the sacred verses abroad,
reveal the splendours, and make the morning's light to dawn in the hearts of
the righteous.
Thou art verily the Generous, the Forgiving.
(`Abdu’l-Bahá: Selections ... `Abdu’l-Bahá, Pages: 246-250)
My object is none other than the betterment of the world and the tranquillity
of its peoples. The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are
unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. This unity can
never be achieved so long as the counsels which the Pen of the Most High
hath revealed are suffered to pass unheeded.
Through the power of the words He hath uttered the whole of the human
race can be illumined with the light of unity, and the remembrance of His
Name is able to set on fire the hearts of all men, and burn away the veils that
intervene between them and His glory. One righteous act is endowed with a
potency that can so elevate the dust as to cause it to pass beyond the heaven
of heavens. It can tear every bond asunder, and hath the power to restore
the force that hath spent itself and vanished....
Be pure, O people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous.... Say: O
people of God! That which can ensure the victory of Him Who is the Eternal
Truth, His hosts and helpers on earth, have been set down in the sacred
Books and Scriptures, and are as clear and manifest as the sun. These hosts
are such righteous deeds, such conduct and character, as are acceptable in
His sight. Whoso ariseth, in this Day, to aid Our Cause, and summoneth to his
assistance the hosts of a praiseworthy character and upright conduct, the
influence flowing from such an action will, most certainly, be diffused
throughout the whole world.
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Pages: 286-287)
Prayer for America:
O Thou kind Lord! This gathering is turning to Thee. These hearts are
radiant with Thy love. These minds and spirits are exhilarated by the
message of Thy glad tidings. O God! Let this American democracy become
glorious in spiritual degrees even as it has aspired to material degrees, and
render this just government victorious. Confirm this revered nation to
upraise the standard of the oneness of humanity, to promulgate the Most
Great Peace, to become thereby most glorious and praiseworthy among all
the nations of the world. O God! This American nation is worthy of Thy
favors and is deserving of Thy mercy. Make it precious and near to Thee
through Thy bounty and bestowal.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace*, Page: 67)