Bahá’í World/Volume 3/The Cultural Principles of the Bahá’í Movement
THE CULTURAL PRINCIPLES OF THE BAHA’I MOVEMENT
ADDRESS IN ESPERANTO DELIVERED
AT DANZIG
BY DR. ERNST KLIEMKE
At the first Bahá’í “Faka Kunveno,” July 30, 1927
Translated by Martha Root
Dr. Kliemke is a well-known philosophical and cultural writer of Europe. He is best known in Europe, United States, and Japan under his nom de plume, Heinrich Nienkamp, and one of his most popular books is "Uncrowned Kings.” Dr. Kliemke is President of the Esperanto Society of Germany and arranged the German National Esperanto Congress for Whitsuntide, the week-end of May 27, 1928, in Potsdam.
THE Bahá’í Movement contains the Revelation and the Instructions of the Persian prophets and sages, Bahá’u’lláh (who passed on in 1892) and His son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (who passed from this world in 1921). The Bahá’í Revelation has religious, philosophical and cultural teachings and claims. As the word “culture” has many meanings, I must make clear the sense in which I wish to use it. In its highest and broadest sense the word culture has the same significance as the words in agriculture which we use for garden—culture or forest-culture, only it is applied to the entire life of men in their living together in human society, beginning with the family and extending to the whole of humanity. This culture is the effort for the rational evolution of mankind, for making more noble, more rich and more beautiful the human life upon this earth. In that sense ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “The Manifestations of God are like gardeners; they are sent in order that the trees of humanity may be made more noble and renewed until they grow to perfection and yield perfect fruits.”
One perceives the universality and the height of the spirit of the Founders of the Bahá’í Movement from the facts that They not only taught concerning the conduct of man in relation to God, but They practiced this culture in the highest sense of the word; They worked for the progression of humanity and for the happiness of men on this earth.
Because of their cultural principles alone,
Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are worthy to
be regarded among the highest Lights of all
times, even by those who are not able to
accept the religious part of Their teachings
—in other words, by those who in questions
of mere faith believe differently or have
their own particular doubts. So, this
afternoon, I choose to speak of these cultural
principles quite independently of the religious
base, so that peoples of all faiths and
believers in no religion at all can study these
Teachings without prejudice. Whatever
origin the spirit and ideas in man have,
these ideas are helpful or harmful or useless
for culture. If they are truly cultural
ideas, we ought to endeavor to bring them
into effect, not considering who or what
kind of man presented these ideas to the
world. The more numerous and diverse are
the human, religious, philosophical, scientific
bases of culture-ideas concerning which the
prophets, the sages, the greatest geniuses of
mankind as well as millions of simple,
sane-minded men agree upon, the more evident is
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their truth and rightness,
and the more necessary it is to bring them
into reality.
One of the greatest hindrances to culture, and a cause of unutterable woe to mankind, was and is fanaticism, especially in religion and politics. The Bahá’í teachings condemn it in every form. Concerning religion, the Bahá’í instruction is that the form or the dogmatic contents of any religion does not matter, but it is alone significant how man live: according to his religion. If he lives a good life from the standpoint of morals and culture, if he tries in love and brotherhood to help other men to make more perfect their own and others’ lives, then one ought to let him believe whatever he wishes. No man, no state, has the right to persecute or oppress a man because of his religious belief.
Similarly in the Bahá’í teachings political fanaticism, a too-high opinion of patriotism and nationality, is not approved. It is true that men and nations are not equal, and each ought to live according to his own characteristics, for only in diversity can evolution and wealth come to pass; but all are members of one family and all have the same right to live. All should labor with one another and not against one another. The more harmoniously people live together, the more rich and beautiful is life. The inharmony most to be condemned is war; it is the greatest crime and foolishness of humanity. Neither Christianity nor other great world religions were able to stop war. If the rulers of the states and the masses of the peoples were Bahá’ís, wars could no longer be imagined, for in the Bahá’í Movement—in this religion of deeds—the thoughts concerning the brotherhood of men, concerning the savagery of war, are so forcefully and deeply impressed that a Bahá’í could no more be a friend to war than water could be to fire. Unfortunately, though, history proves that Christians not only fight non-Christians but they battle against those of the same faith as themselves, and excuse their crimes through words from the Bible.
Just as one’s belief should be a private affair, so also should be one’s nationality, whether one acquires it through birth or through his own choice. It is a personal matter which should be respected; no one should be hated or disdained because of his nationality. Not only the religious but also the cultural principles of the Bahá’í teachings forbid governments to oppress minorities of other nations and speaking other languages. These minorities are the same rightful cultural elements as others.
From such principles it is evident, also, that Bahá’ís do not know any enmity on account of differences of race. No man is looked down upon or held under because of the nationality in which he is born. Whether there are cultural differences among the races, whether such differences are biologically or historically understandable, that does not matter. What counts is personality and one’s life. One is respected as a man, as a member of the same human family. This is not only a theory of the Bahá’ís, but as all the world can see, the Bahá’ís live it practically according to the teachings of true brotherhood with peoples of races of all colors.
The teaching that every man should see in the other a man of equal rights as himself, that no one should consider himself superior to others, demands logically that the sex difference should neither diminish nor enhance the human quality. As that principle is now more and more known by civilized peoples, I mention it only for the reason that Bahá’u’lláh established it in the middle of the last century and in Persia, where the woman was considered so much lower and was so unequal in rights to man that it was forbidden by law to send girls to school or to permit them to be instructed at home. What kind of a progressive spirit and what kind of courage were required to demand then, and in that kind of country, that the women should have the same rights as men!
Bahá’u’lláh demanded not only that women should have full admittance to all departments of sciences, arts and practical studies just as men had, but generally instruction and education were for Him such important cultural factors that He demanded compulsory education for all children. If the parents were not able to pay for this, the state must pay. No child should grow to maturity without instruction and educa
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Berlin Bahá’í Assembly.
A group of Bahá’ís, Hamburg, Germany.
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tion; each according to
his capacity and strength should learn
some trade or profession. Thus one would
be able to support one’s self through
work and to help the welfare of all.
The wise insight into the diversity of
men as base of all culture reveals itself
also in Bahá’u’lláh’s instruction
regarding education. He said one cannot
turn a shell into a pearl by any polishing
whatsoever. Education cannot change the
human nature, but it can draw out and
evolve valuable capacities.
To Bahá’u’lláh education is so vital that He sets aside for it a great part of the state’s revenues, to be created by special education taxes. Religion should play an important role in the school, but under the cultural principle that religious instruction should be without fanaticism, bigotry, prejudices, and it should be in harmony with reason and science.
I know of no Founder of religion who, so much as Bahá’u’lláh, taught against prejudices. To Him prejudices were the greatest hindrances to cultural progress. Even religion is not an end, but a means for cultural education. Religion which does not advance the progress of culture is not worthy to exist. On the other hand, all religions which promote such progress are equally valuable. Very often one religion or another should not be referred to as being uncultural, but rather the men who wrongly interpret it should bear the accusation. Thoughtlessness, superstition, tradition, blind imitation, habit, lead to prejudices and these lead to enmity and hatred. Because of this, man himself should do his own thinking, and not without any check upon himself repeat what this or that person in authority says. He should search the truth independently and not allow himself to be influenced by prejudices. Where he finds that anything contradicts or belies love, brotherhood and the common interests of humanity, when he finds anything that is not constructive and enriching to life, but destructive and impoverishing, there he ought to doubt the correctness of such instruction and belief. After he searches sufficiently he will find prejudices hiding the Light of Truth.
One of the most necessary means for the doing away of prejudices among the people is an international auxiliary language. I stress the point that Bahá’u’lláh gave that instruction decades before Esperanto or any other auxiliary language was created. He taught the oneness of humanity, the necessity that peoples should work together, one with another, in peace and brotherhood, and that lingual barriers which hinder peoples of different tongues from understanding one another should be removed. The oneness of mankind demands a worldwide language which every one ought to learn in addition to his native speech. . . .
Contrary to the religions which leave justice only to God and to the life after death, the Bahá’í teachings try to bring justice into reality on this earth. In regard to this, Bahá’u’lláh demands a state arrangement whose highest organization shall be "The House of Justice,” composed of men who possess most noble character, rich knowledge and experience, and the highest prudence and wisdom. The members of “The House of Justice” should be elected by the people. Such a superior band of fellow workers of the best and wisest men of the state is a demand of culture which more and more of the spiritual people of highest rank of our time consider necessary for the improvement of the present democracy. . . .
The Bahá’í Revelation is not a religion which preaches poverty and the neglect of all earthly goods. On the contrary, it teaches that the earth can be and ought to be a paradise for all, and that it is the task of culture to create such a paradise through a better ordering of state and economical affairs. Every man should take part in economical labor and in its fruits, but not according to the communistic principles which are against nature and against the diversity of men, but each according to his personal capacity and merit. The state and economical order ought to create opportunities of labor for all, and to protect each individual in his just tasks so that he will not be oppressed and exploited by personal or class egoism.
These are the chief cultural principles of
the Bahá’í teachings. There are many other
culture thoughts found in the Bahá’í writings.
Here I could only give general
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lines, but I think they
are sufficient to show
the profound wisdom, the humanitarian
culture, the progressive essence of the Bahá’í
Revelation. My aim is to arouse all culturally
inclined friends to become acquainted
with the significance of the Bahá’í teachings
for our cultural tasks, and to study them,
and to help the movement which is growing
more and more among people inclined
toward peace and toward love. One will not
find in this movement anything which could
be harmful to humanity, to peoples or to
persons individually, but they will find a
very great good for all. Let us hope that
this Bahá’í Cause will very soon attain its
aim of creating on the earth the reign of
love, of peace, of beauty and of joy for all
humanity.