Bahá’í Teachings for a World Faith(2)/Text

BAHIE PUBUSHING TRUST

[Page 3]PRINCIPLES OF THE Bahá’í FAITH

These teachings were given by Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, in the latter half of the nineteenth century (found in His published Writings of that time) and promulgated by His Son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’: throughout North America in 1912*

1. The oneness of mankind. . Independent investigation of truth.

. The common foundation of all religions.

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The essential harmony of science and religion.

Equality of men and women. Elimination of prejudice of all kinds.

Universal compulsory education.

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. A spiritual solution of the economic problem.

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. A universal auxiliary language.

10. Universal peace upheld by a world government.

The explanations of these principles that follow are excerpts from the public talks of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’: in America

in 1912, published in The Promulgation of Universal Peace.

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[Page 4]THE ONENESS OF MANKIND

A fundamental teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is the oneness of the world of humanity. Addressing mankind, He says ”Ye are all leaves of one tree and the fruits of one branch.” By this it is meant that the world of humanity is like a tree, the nations or peoples are the different limbs or branches of that tree and the individual human creatures are as the fruits and blossoms thereof . . . Although in former centuries and times this subject received some measure of mention and consideration, it has now become the paramount issue and question in the religious and political" conditions of the world. History shows that throughout the past there has been continual warfare and strife among the various nations, peoples and sects, but now, in this century of illumination, hearts are inclined toward agreement and fellowship and minds are thoughtful upon the question of the unification of mankind.

What incalculable benefits and blessings would descend upon the great human family if unity and brotherhood were established! In this century when the beneficent results of unity and the ill effects of discord are so clearly apparent, the means for the attainment and accomplishment of human fellowship have appeared in the world.

[Page 5]INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OF TRUTH

God has given man the eye of investigation by which he may see and recognize truth. He has endowed man with ears that he may hear the message of reality and conferred upon him the gift of reason by which he may discover things for himself. This is his endowment and equipment for the investigation of reality. Man is not intended to see through the eyes of another, hear through another’s ears nor comprehend with another’s brain. Each human creature has individual endowment, power and responsibility in the creative plan of God.

THE COMMON FOUNDATION OF ALL RELIGIONS

The foundation of all the divine religions is one. All are based upon reality. Reality does not admit plurality, yet amongst mankind there have arisen differences concerning the manifestations of God. Some have been Zoroastrians, some are Buddhists, some Jews, Christians, Mohammedans, and so on. This has become a source of divergence whereas the teachings of the holy souls who founded the divine religions are one in essence and reality. All these have served the world of humanity . . . All have guided souls to the attainment of perfections, but among the nations certain imitations of ancestral forms of worship have arisen. These imitations are not the foundation and essence of the divine religions. Inasmuch

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[Page 6]as they differ from the reality and the essential teachings of the Manifestations of God dissensions have arisen and prejudice has developed. Religious prejudice thus becomes the cause of warfare and battle.

If we abandon these time-worn imitations and investigate reality all of us will be unified. No discord will remain; antagonism will disappear. All will associate in fellowship. All will enjoy the cordial bonds of friendship. The world of creation will then attain composure. The dark and gloomy clouds of blind imitations and dogmatic variances will be scattered and dispelled; the Sun of Reality will shine most gloriously.

THE ESSENTIAL HARMONY OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION

Religion must conform to science and reason, otherwise it is superstition. God has created man in order that he may perceive the verity of existence and endowed him with mind or reason to discover truth. Therefore scientific knowledge and religious belief must be conformable to the analysis of this divine faculty in man.

EQUALITY OF MEN AND WOMEN

There must be an equality of rights between men and women. Women shall receive an equal privilege of education. This will enable them to qualify and progress in all degrees of occupation and accomplishment. For the world of humanity possesses two wings—man and woman. If one

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[Page 7]wing remains incapable and defective, it will restrict the power of the other, and full flight will be impossible. Therefore the completeness and perfection of the human world is dependent upon the equal development of these two factors.

ELIMINATION OF PREJUDICE OF ALL KINDS

Prejudices of all kinds, whether religious, racial, patriotic or political are destructive of divine foundations in man. All the warfare and bloodshed in human history have been the outcome of prejudice. This earth is one home and nativity. God has created mankind with equal endowment and right to live upon the earth. As a city is the home of all its inhabitants, although each may have his individual place or residence therein, so the earth's surface is one wide native land or home for all races of humankind.

UNIVERSAL COMPULSORY EDUCATION

inasmuch as ignorance and lack of education are barriers of separation among mankind, all must receive training and instruction. Through this provision the lack of mutual understanding will be remedied and the unity of mankind furthered and advanced. Universal education is a universal law. It is therefore incumbent upon every father to teach and instruct his children according to his possibilities. If he is unable to educate them, the body-politic, the representative of the people, must provide the means for their education.

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[Page 8]SPIRITUAL SOLUTION OF THE ECONOMIC PROBLEM

Among the results of the manifestation of

spiritual forces will be that the human world will adapt itself to a new social form, the justice of God will become manifest throughout human affairs and human equality will be universally established. The poor will receive a great bestowal and the rich attain eternal happiness. For although at the present time the rich enjoy the greatest luxury and comfort, they are nevertheless deprived of eternal happiness; for eternal happiness is contingent upon giving and the poor are everywhere in the state of object need. Through the manifestation of God's great equity the poor of the world will be rewarded and assisted fully and there will be a readjustment in the economic conditions of mankind so that in the future there will not be the abnormally rich nor the abject poor. The rich will enjoy the privilege of this new economic condition as well as the poor, for owing to certain provisions and restriction they will not be able to accumulate so much as to be burdened by its management, while the poor will be relieved from the stress of want and misery.

A UNIVERSAL AUXILIARY LANGUAGE

Bahá’u’lláh has proclaimed the adoption of a universal language. A language shall be agreed upon by which unity will be established in the world. Each person will require training in two

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[Page 9]languages, his native tongue and the universal auxiliary form of speech. This will facilitate intercommunication and dispel the misunderstandings which the barriers of language have occasioned in the world.

UNIVERSAL PEACE UPHELD BY A WORLD GOVERNMENT

The world is in greatest need of international peace. Until it is established, mankind will not attain composure and tranquillity. It is necessary that the nations and governments organize an international tribunal to which all their disputes and differences shall be referred. The decision of that tribunal shall be final.

He (Bahá’u’lláh) exhorted them (rulers of the world) to peace and international agreement, making it incumbent upon them to establish a board of international arbitration; that from all nations and governments of the world there should be delegates selected for a congress of nations which should constitute a universal arbitral court of justice to settle international disputes.

Warfare and strife will be uprooted, disagreement and dissension pass away and Universal Peace unite the nations and peoples of the world. All mankind will dwell together as one family, blend as the waves of one sea, shine as stars of one firmament and appear as fruits of the same tree.

[Page 10]WORDS OF BAH!-'\'U'LLAH

Inscribed Over the Nine Entrances of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois

The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens.

The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me.

My love is My stronghold; he that entereth therein is safe and secure.

Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner.

Thy heart is My home; sanctity it for My descent.

I have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?

Make mention of Me on My earth that in My heaven I may remember thee.

0 rich ones on earth! The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust.

The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory.

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[Page 11]BAHA'U'L.LAH’S WORDS OF WISDOM

The source of all good is trust in God, submission unto His command, and contentment in His holy will and pleasure.

The essence of wisdom is the fear of God, the dread of His scourge and the apprehension of His justice and decree.

The essence of religion is to testify unto that which the Lord hath revealed, and follow that which He hath ordained in His mighty Book.

The source of all glory is acceptance of whatsoever the Lord hath bestowed, and contentment with that which God hath ordained.

The essence of love is for man to turn his heart to the Beloved One, and sever himself from all else but God, and desire naught save that which is the desire of his Lord.

True remembrance is to make mention of the Lord, the All-Praised, and forget all else beside Him.

True reliance is for the servant to pursue his profession and calling in this world, to hold fast unto the Lord, to seek naught but His grace, inasmuch as in His hands is the destiny of all His servants.

The essence of detachment is for man to turn his face toward the courts of the Lord, to enter His presence, behold His countenance, and stand as witness before Him.

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[Page 12]The essence of understanding is to testify to one’s poverty and submit to the will of the Lord, the Sovereign, the Gracious, the All-Powerful.

The source of courage and power is the promotion of the Word of God, and steadfastness in His Love.

The essence of charity is for the servant to recount the blessings of his Lord, and to render thanks unto Him at all times, and under all conditions.

The essence of wealth is love for Me. Whoso loveth Me is the possessor of all things, and he that loveth Me not is, indeed, of the poor and needy. This is that which the Finger of Glory and Splendor hath revealed. . . .

The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life . . .

The source of all evil is for man to turn away from his Lord and set his heart on things ungodly.

The most burning fire is to question the signs of God, to dispute idly that which He hath revealed, to deny Him and carry one’s self proudly before Him.

The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His Glory, and this cannot be attained save through the knowledge of His Divine Manifestation. The essence of abasement

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[Page 13]is to pass from under the shadow of the Merciful, and seek the shelter of the Evil One.

The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancies and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a searching eye.

EXCERPTS FROM TABLETS OF BAHA'U'LLAH

Suffer not yourselves to be wrapt in the dense veils of your selfish desires, inasmuch as I have perfected in every one of you My creation, so that the excellence of My handiwork may be fully revealed unto men. lt follows, therefore, that every man hath been, and will continue to be able of himself to appreciate the Beauty of God, the Glorified. Had he not been endowed with such a capacity, how could he be called to account for his failure?

Retrace your steps, 0 My servants, and incline your hearts to Him Who is the Source of your creation. Deliver yourselves from your evil and corrupt affections, and hasten to embrace the light of the undying Fire that gloweth on the Sinai of this mysterious and transcendent Revelation. Corrupt not the holy, the all-embracing, and primal Word of God, and seek not to profane its sanctity or to debase its exalted character.

All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization. The Almighty beareth Me witness: To act like the beasts of

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[Page 14]the field is unworthy of man. Those virtues that befit his dignity are forbearance, mercy, compassion and loving-kindness towards all the peoples and kindreds of the earth.

The virtues and attributes pertaining unto God are all evident and manifest, and have been mentioned and described in all the heavenly Books. Among them are trustworthiness, truthfulness, purity of heart while communing with God, forbearance, resignation to whatever the Almighty hath decreed, contentment with the things His Will hath provided, patience, nay thankfulness in the midst of tribulation, and complete reliance, in all circumstances, upon Him. These rank, according to the estimate of God, among the highest and most laudable of all acts. All other acts are, and will ever remain, secondary and subordinate unto them.

0 My servants! Sorrow not if, in these days and on this earthly plane, things contrary to your wishes have been ordained and manifested by God, for days of blissful joy, of heavenly delight, are assuredly in store for you. Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes. You are destined by Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of their benefits, to share in their ioys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining grace. To each and every one of them you will, no doubt, attain.

The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease,

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[Page 15]and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. Every age hath its own problem, and every soul its particular aspiration. The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may require. Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.

We can well perceive how the whole human race is encompassed with great, with incalculable affliction. We see it languishing on its bed of sickness, sore-tired and disillusioned. They that are intoxicated by self-conceit have interposed themselves between it and the Divine and infallible Physician. Witness how they have entangled all men, themselves included, in the mesh of their devices. They can neither discover the cause of the disease, nor have they any knowledge of the remedy. They have conceived the straight to be

crooked, and have imagined their friend an enemy.

Regard men as a flock of sheep that need a shepherd for their protection. This, verily, is the truth, the certain truth. We approve of liberty in certain circumstances, and refuse to sanction it in others. We, verily, are the All-Knowing.

Say: True liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it. Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect

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[Page 16]liberty. Happy is the man that hath apprehended the Purpose of God in whatever He hath revealed from the Heaven of His Will, that pervadeth all created things. Say: The liberty that profiteth you is to be found nowhere except in complete servitude unto God, the Eternal Truth. Whoso hath tasted of its sweetness will refuse to barter it for all the dominion of earth and heaven.

Know thou that the soul of man is exalted above, and is independent of all infirmities of body or mind. That a sick person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose themselves between his soul and his body, for the soul itself remaineth unaffected by any bodily ailments. Consider the light of the lamp. Though an external object may interfere with its radiance, the light itself continueth to shine with undiminished power. ln like manner, every malady afflicting the body of man is an impediment that preventeth the soul from manifesting its inherent might and power. When it leaveth the body, however, it will evince such ascendency, and reveal such influence as no force on earth can equal. Every pure, every refined and sanctified soul will be endowed with tremendous power, and shall rejoice with exceeding gladness.

The vitality of men's belief in God is dying out in every land; nothing short of His wholesome medicine can ever restore it. The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human

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[Page 17]society; what else but the Elixir of His potent Revelation can cleanse and revive it?

’ABDU'L-BAHA ON THE ONENESS OF MANKIND

Each kingdom of creation is endowed with its necessary complement of attributes and powers. The mineral possesses inherent virtues of its own kingdom in the scale of existence. The vegetable possesses the qualities of the mineral plus a virtue augmentative or power of growth. The animal is endowed with the virtues of both the mineral and vegetable plane plus the power of the senses. The human kingdom is replete with the perfections of all the kingdoms below it, with the addition of powers peculiar to man alone. Man is therefore superior to all the creatures below him, the loftiest and most glorious being of creation. . . .

Every man imbued withgdivine qualities, who reflects heavenly moralities and perfe’ctions, who is the expression of ideal and praiseworthy attributes, is verily in the image and likeness of God. It a man possesses wealth can we call him an image and likeness of God? Or is human honor and notoriety the criterion of divine nearness? Can we apply the test of racial color and say that man of a certain hue—white, black, brown, yellow, red—is the true image of his creator? We must conclude that color is not the standard and estimate of judgment and that it is of no importance, for color is accidental in nature. The spirit and intelligence of man is the essential;

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[Page 18]and that is the manifestation of divine virtues, the merciful bestowals of God, the life eternal and baptism through the Holy Spirit. Therefore be it known that color or race is of no importance. He who is the image and likeness of God, who is the manifestation of the bestowals of God, is acceptable at the threshold of God; whether his color be white, black or brown, it matters not.

'ABDU'L-BAHA ON THE DAWN OF UNITY

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.

The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of mankind and 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.

O ye beloved of the Lord! In this sacred Dispensation, conflict and contention are in no wise permitted. Every aggressor deprives himself of God's grace. It is incumbent upon everyone to show the utmost love, rectitude of conduct, straightforwardness and sincere kindliness unto all the peoples and kindreds of the world, be they friends or strangers. So intense must be the spirit of love and loving-kindness that the stranger may

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[Page 19]find himself a friend, the enemy a true brother, no difference whatsoever existing between them. . . .

For universality is of God and all limitations are earthly.

WORDS OF SHOGHI EFFENDI ON WORLD ORDER

The Bahá’í Faith recognizes the unity of God and of His Prophets, upholds the principle of an unfettered search after truth, condemns all forms of superstition and prejudice, teaches that the fundamental purpose of religion is to promote concord and harmony, that it must go hand-inhand with science, and that it constitutes the sole and ultimate basis of a peaceful, an ordered and progressive society. It inculcates the principle of equal opportunity, rights and privileges for both sexes, advocates compulsory education, abolishes extremes of poverty and wealth, exalts work performed in the spirit of service to the rank of worship, recommends the adoption of an auxiliary international language, and provides the necessary agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and universal peace.

For Bahá’u’lláh . . . has not only imbued mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit. He has not merely enunicated certain universal principles, or propounded a particular philosophy, however potent, sound and universal these may be. In addition to these He, as well as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after Him, have unlike the Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of

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[Page 20]Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness and justice upon the earth.

The call of Bahá’u’lláh is primarily directed against all forms of provincialism, all insularities and prejudices. . . . For legal standards, political and economic theories are solely designed to safeguard the interests of humanity as a whole, and not humanity to be crucified for the preservation of the integrity of any particular law or doctrine. . . . The principle of the Oneness of mankind —the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve—is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope. . . . Its implications are deeper, its claims greater than any which the Prophets of old were allowed to advance. lts message is applicable not only to the individual, but concerns itself primarily with the nature of those essential relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members of one human family. . . .

It represents the consummation of human evolution. . . .

Alone of all the Revelations gone before it this Faith has . . . succeeded in raising a structure which the bewildered followers of bankrupt

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[Page 21]and broken creeds might well approach and critically examine, and seek, ere it is too late, the invulnerable security of its world-embracing shelter.

WORDS OF SHOGHI EFFENDI ON PROGRESSIVE REVELATION

The Revelation proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh, His followers believe, is divine in origin, all-embracing in scope, broad in its outlook, scientific in its method, humanitarian in its principles and dynamic in the influence it exerts on the hearts and minds of men. The mission of the Founder of their Faith, they conceive it to be to proclaim that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is continuous and progressive, that the Founders of all past religions, though different in the non-essential aspects of their teachings, ”abide in the same Tabernacle, soar in the same heaven, are seated upon the ‘same throne, utter the same speech and proclaim the same Faith.” His Cause, they have already demonstrated, stands identified with, and revolves around, the principle of the organic unity of mankind as representing the consummation of the whole process of human evolution. This final stage in this stupendous evolution, they assert, is not only necessary but inevitable, that it is gradually approaching, and that nothing short of the celestial potency with which a divinely ordained Mes sage can claim to be endowed can succeed in establishing it.

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[Page 22]Bahá’í HISTORY

More than a century ago, when East and West alike were struggling to emerge from the darkness of materialism and unbelief, the Bahá’í Faith arose with its assurance of a New Day.

On May 23, 1844, a radiant youth of Persia, known as the Bob (”Door of the Spirit”) proclaimed His mission of heralding the coming of a mighty educator who would quicken the souls, illumine the minds, unify the consciences and remold the customs of mankind. His coming signifies the fulfillment of the return of the Prophet of God, as promised in all of the Holy Books of the revealed religions of the world. After six years of heroic steadfastness and ardent teaching, the Bob become a victim of fanatical persecution and was publicly martyred at Tabríz, July 9, 1850.

Upon this preparation the foundation of the Faith was laid by Bahá’u’lláh ("Glory of God”), whose universal principles of personal and social regeneration were revealed under conditions of cruel oppression unequalled in the annuals of religion.

Bahá’u’lláh gave the glad tidings to East and West, that the Holy Spirit had once more come to revivify humanity in its hour of need, that a new and greater cycle had begun—the age of brotherhood, of peace, of knowledge of God. All peoples He summoned to partake of the spiritual teachings uttered through Him.

As the desperate forces of reaction gathered against Him, Bahá’u’lláh and His little band of faithful followers were imprisoned in Ṭihrán, stripped of their property and rights, exiled to Baghdad, to Constantinople, to Adrianople, and at last, as the supreme infliction, in 1868 confined for life in the desolate barracks of ’Akkc'i, a Turkish penal colony, at the foot of Mount Carmel in the Holy Land.

Voluntarily sharing these ordeals from very childhood was the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (”Servant of the Glory”), whose confinement of ’Akká, lasting forty years, was terminated in 1908 by the humanitarian regime initiated by the Young Turks.

Bahá’u’lláh passed on in 1892. From then until His

own ascension in 1921, ’Abdu’|—Bah<fi served the Cause as its appointed leader and interpreter, and through His unique devotion, purity of life, tireless effort and unfailing wisdom, the message slowly but surely penetrated to all parts of the world. \ ln His testament ‘Abdu’l-Bahá named His grandson, Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Faith, with the mission of maintaining the unity of the Bahá’ís and the integrity of the ideals of Bahá’u’lláh.

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