A New World Order/Bahá’ís in Society
 | The text below this notice was generated by a computer, it still needs to be checked for errors and corrected. If you would like to help, view the original document by clicking the PDF scans along the right side of the page. Click the edit button at the top of this page (notepad and pencil icon) or press Alt+Shift+E to begin making changes. When you are done press "Save changes" at the bottom of the page. |
BAHA'IS IN SOCIETY:
A tempest,
unprecedented in its violence,
unpredictable in its course,
catastrophic in its immediate effects,
unimaginably glorious in its ultimate consequences, is at present sweeping the face of the earth.
Its driving power is remorselessly gaining in range and momentum. Its cleansing force, however much undetected, is increasing with every passing day. Humanity, gripped in the clutches of its deva- stating power, is smitten by the evidences of its resistless fury. It can neither perceive its origin, nor probe its significance, nor discern its outcome.
Bewildered,
agonized
and
helpless,
it watches this great and mighty wind of God invading the remotest and fairest regions of the earth, rocking its foundations,
deranging its equilibriun,
sundering its nations,
disrupting the homes of its peoples,
wasting its cities,
driving into exile its kings,
pulling down its bulwarks,
uprooting its institutions,
dimming its light,
and harrowing up the souls of its inhabitants.
Shoghi Effendi,
The Promised Day Is Come, p. l
[Page 43]
Thy day of service is now come.
Countless Tablets bear the testimony of the bounties vouchsafed unto thee. Arise for the triumph of My Cause, and, through the power of thine utterance, subdue the hearts of men. Thou must show forth that which will ensure the peace and the well-being of the miserable and the down-trodden. Gird up the loins of thine endeavor, that perchance thou mayest release the captive from his chains, and enable him to attain unto true liberty.
Justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression.
Baha'u'11ah,
Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 92
O ye friends of God!
The world is like the body of man—it hath become
sick, feeble and infirm. Its eye is devoid of sight, its ear hath become destitute of hearing and its faculties of sense are entirely dissolved. The friends of God must become as wise physicians and care for
and heal this sick person, in accord with the divine teachings, in order that—God willing—it may
perchance gain health, find eternal healing and that
its lost powers may be restored. ...
"Abdu'1-Baha, quoted in Baha’i World Faith, p. 356
43
Dearly-beloved friends! A rectitude of conduct which, in all its manifestations, offers a striking contrast to the deceitfulness and corruption that characterize the political life of the nation and of parties and factions that compose it; a holiness and chastity that are diametrically opposed to the moral laxity and licentiousness which defile the character of a not inconsiderable proportion of its citizens; and inter-racial fellow- ship completely purged from the curse of racial prejudice which stig- matizes the vast majority of its people—these are the weapons which the American believers can and must wield in their double crusade, first to regenerate the inward life of their own community, and next to assail the long-standing evils that have entrenched
themselves in the life of their nation.
Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 34
The present condition of the world—its economic instability, social dissensions, political dissatisfaction and international distrust—should awaken the youth from their slumber and make them inquire what the future is going to bring. It is surely they who will suffer the most if some calamity sweep over the world. They should therefore
(1) open their eyes to the existing conditions, (2) study the evil forces that are at work
(3) and then with a concerted effort arise and bring about the necessary reforms
—reforms that shall contain within their scope the spiritual as well as social and political phase of human life.
Written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer-- Baha'f News, no. 68 (November 1932), p. 3 (Numbers added)
[Page 45]
BAHA'IS IN SOCIETY:
How will you, as a Baha'f, insure the peace and well-being of the down-trodden? How will you release the captives from their chains?
If you are really to act as a "wise physician," what are your tools? What is your prescription?
What does it mean to "assail the long-standing evils" of our society? How can we do this?
Are the youth in your locality able to carry out all three of the points made by the Guardian in the last quotation of this section? How?
What is the relationship of Baha&'fs to the rest of society?