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CHAPTER SIX
Religion — Science — Reason
The troubled state of humanity today is world-wide. Obviously there must be a reason for this; and it must be a reason which is common to mankind, rather than being something man feels is beyond his control. Mankind is the component of Man; Yet mankind is blanketed under a cloud of hopelessness which is spreading across the world, smothering vision and choking initiative. And yet — Man remains the controlling factor!
Responsibility rests on each one of us for what we have made of our world. Can we honestly see any Christian charity in the clashes between the white and coloured peoples? Are we demonstrating the Oneness of God in a policy of Aparteid? Are we being kind, just and equitable in allowing starvation to be the lot of countless millions? Are under-educated peoples a fitting testimony to the value of religion?
If pride of race, and the quality of our religion allows such conditions to exist in the world, then it is time we reappraised our fundamental beliefs.
It is quite senseless to keep on reiterating that these troubles have always been and will always be. It is equally false to claim that human nature cannot be changed. To make such a claim is an admission of our lack of knowledge; an indictment of our professed religion and a mockery of God. Bahá’u’lláh goes straight to the point of this issue. He assures us that a man’s faith is conditioned by no one but himself. It is up to you and me!
How can the various religions with their multiplicity of denominations speak with One Voice of Divine Authority? How can opposing beliefs pretend to express The Will of God? They themselves do not accept the Oneness of God, the Oneness of Truth, the Oneness of Man. Neither Church nor State will entrust itself to the Wisdom of God. Behind a cloud of folly, Divine Wisdom is waiting for It’s opportunity to shine forth. We have allowed our Scientific and Technological knowledge to usurp the role of Spiritual Wisdom. Where Science and Technology should have been our true handmaidens, we have, instead, sacrificed spiritual wisdom and left ourselves knowing
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HOW, but not knowing WHY.
One thing Bahá’u’lláh does stress, is that religion must accord with Science and Reason. And Science, whether of the Mind or of the Body, is fast coming to a full acceptance of the truth that: As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. The vast problems of our spacious world depend for their solution on the integrity of thought by the individual.
What can we do? Can an individual do anything? I believe he can. I believe he is the only one who can douanything. Reason asserts the WHOLE can be only as good as it’s PARTS. It assures us that EFFECT is the result of CAUSE. Each one of us is a contributing CAUSE to what Life becomes on this planet. The Eternal Intelligence sees the possibility of an ever advancing civilization being brought to fruition by each creature using his inborn spiritual intelligence.
Not only should we pray: “Remove the veil of sinfulness from our eyes,” we ought also to tear away the veils of superstition, bigotry, and ignorance as a first step in the onward march to World Unity, World Peace, World Prosperity, and World Salvation.
Religious superstitions which blind us to the truth that God is One must go, and in their place be enshrined the knowledge that God and Man are one. Religion is one, just as Education°is one. There are not different Religions, any more that there are not different Educations. What we term different religions, are no more than various interpretations of spiritual truth.
The Veil of Nationalism, too, must be torn aside. If God created the planet and all that goes with it—whether mineral, vegetable, animal or human—it is His creation and we are parts of the one life in God. There is neither race nor nation; only the Creatures of the Creator equal in His sight, equal in His purpose, equally loved by Him.
Perhaps the darkest Veil is Ignorance. Ignorance causes selfishness. No person, no nation can live to itself. For our food, clothes, shelter, and all the multitudinous needs of man, each is dependent on the other. To think or act otherwise, is a refusal to face reality.
Just for a moment, let us try to picture in our minds life with those veils torn away. It would be like awakening after a troubled sleep, to find one’s fears were dreams. The Christian would not be required to deny his Lord; the Muslim would not lose his love for Muhammad; Abraham or Buddha would not be denied by their followers. Not one of us would feel obliged to surrender to the other. Rather each would awaken to the truth—God Is One!
When we remove the Veil of Religious Prejudice, we find our
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Prophets forming a long line of Progressive Revelation from God to
Man. We see each one carrying forward another facet of the One
Truth—that Man must evolve to the state foretold by Christ—the
Kingdom of God on earth. Not the Kingdoms of Gods on earth!
We are awakening to the day when all the nations will assemble in one vast Council to organise the labour of their peoples, the wealth of their nations, and the intelligence and skill of their citizens into one carefully planned world economy. Under this world economy, every one will follow a trade, craft or a profession, contributing his or her abilities in a spirit of service of God and to one’s fellow creatures. This will be a new adventure; society learning the art of just and equitable living.
Each child of the world will receive equal opportunity for a full education designed to equip him spiritually, morally, socially, academically and technically to contribute his best for the good of all.
But, you ask, can it every be accomplished? My answer is: Yes! It is Yes, because the purpose of Life is growth and advancement. Growth and advancement are dependent on Man’s conscious admission of his unity with all Life. And because God is Life, we must therefore live, move and have our beingin God rather than in nations, parties, and conflicting idealogies.
Yes, because it is irrefutable that what humanity becomes is dependent on what the human creature becomes. Humanity is the sum of its humans. Each individual contributes to the whole. Once the individuals become united and aflame with the concept of One People, One Earth, One World House of Justice, One Faith, One God there will blossom forth the luscious fruits of One Tree of Life.
Today, Governments rule and Governments dictate. While it is true that in many countries thepeople elect their own Governments in a more or less democratic manner, this is not true of all countries. Even when a reasonably democratic system of election is in operation, it is not entirely democratic because of the many conflicting parties, with each party dictating which men shall be eligible for election. In the new world order of God, as revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, there will be no parties.
The people, having realised that their earth is one planet, that they are all the rightful citizens of this one planet, and that they are all the creatures of the One Creator, will elect to their Local Assemblies the men and women most obedient to the Laws and Dictates of God, as revealed through His latest Manifestation, His latest Messenger for this Age.
In turn, these Local Assemblies through their communities, will elect
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delegates who will choosevfrom among the citizens of their particular
country, those best fitted to govern as a National Assembly. The test
of fitness will be: Spiritual awareness of God’s plan for mankind;
personal qualification and ability to assess and meet the various human
needs of the people; and a loving concern for the whole of the peoples,
rather than favouring any one section.
Resulting from the combined wisdom and spiritual consciousness of these National Assemblies, there will arise one Universal House of Justice plus a World Parliament. This unique, this august body made up of men chosen from the world at large will pattern the design of a world economy; it will inaugurate a world education system; it will establish world social services; and it will direct world advancement in all its manifold branches. This it will do in order that every creature may be able to fulfill his destiny and make his contribution to an ever advancing civilization.
But— it is up to the individual! We cannot escape that responsibility. Governments are individuals; Commerce consists of individuals, Armies consist of individuals; International Councils consist of individuals; World Finance and Economics are controlled by individuals. And Man, being made in the image and likeness of God, being the Temple of God, must come to know himself in order that he might act as God directs. Bahá’u’lláh wrote: “O Son of Spirit! I created thee rich, why dost thou bringthyself down to poverty? Noble, I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I moulded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful, and self-subsisting.”
This is the world vision for today, handed down to us by God. It comes to us through a long succession of Revelators, culminating in Bahá’u’lláh as the Revelator for this Age. And it holds the promise of succeeding Revelators until the day comes when Man knows himself as a Son of God and—acts like one!
“O Son of Man! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew my love for thee; therefore I createdthee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My
”**
beauty.
- Bahá’u’lláh. Arabic Hidden Words, 13.
- Bahá’u’lláh. Arabic Hidden Words, 3.
