To the Peoples of the World/Introduction

To the Peoples of the World Introduction

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[Page vi]

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

On October 24, 1985, the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá’í Faith, addressed a statement to the peoples of the world on the theme of peace. This historic undertaking represents the most far-reaching effort in the area of peace that has been advanced by the Bahá’í community since its inception in the mid-nineteenth century.

One of the fundamental objectives of the Bahá’í Faith is the establishment of world peace within the framework of a unified, spiritually enlightened new world order. During his own life, Bahá’u’lláh (1817–1892), the prophet-founder of the Bahá’í Faith, addressed a number of letters to the kings, religious leaders and peoples of the world, outlining the main prerequisites for world peace. His voluminous writings stressed, even at that early date, the imperative need for a world order based on justice, the eradication of all forms of prejudice, the equality of the sexes, and recognition of the essential harmony between science and religion. Other principles enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh included the creation of universal institutions designed to foster the unity of mankind, and the search for a solution to world economic problems through consideration of the spiritual dimensions of human life.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1844–1921), the eldest son and immediate appointed successor to Bahá’u’lláh, likewise dedicated his life to these objectives. In a series of remarkable lectures in Europe and North America during the years 1911–1913, and in thousands of letters to Bahá’ís around the world throughout his lifetime, he further elaborated upon Bahá’í teachings in regard to the establishment of peace. These efforts were enhanced and given more specific focus by Shoghi Effendi (1897–1957), the successor to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who guided the Bahá’í community during perhaps the most turbulent decades in the history of mankind and took up the task of developing a united, peaceful Bahá’í world community, enriched and beautified by the diversity of its peoples and cultures.

Now the Universal House of Justice has reissued this call to mankind, and Bahá’í communities around the world have responded with [Page vii]vigour and enthusiasm. Since October 24, 1985, the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations, Bahá’ís have presented the statement on peace to the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as to a large number of states and governments throughout the world. Presentations will continue until all governments and many leaders of humanity in various fields have received the message. It is hoped, too, that in this process a large number of peoples of the world will have become acquainted with the contents of this statement.

OVERVIEW

This weighty and comprehensive document identifies several themes and concepts cardinal to the Bahá’í understanding of human nature and the process of the unfoldment of human civilization. Among these are the concepts of the collective growth of mankind, the spiritual and noble nature of man, the necessity for the unity of mankind as the prerequisite for peace, and the progressive nature of divine revelation.

Recognizing that the establishment of peace has been the quest of many people throughout history, the Universal House of Justice asserts that its achievement has become possible only now, with humanity’s coming of age. Impelled by the forces of growth inherent in all creation, including mankind as a whole, humanity is now traversing its age of adolescence and approaching an era in which world peace will become not only possible but inevitable. However, as humanity nears its age of maturity, approaches to its problems must be modified. One of the most urgent of these problems is the current climate of discord, antagonism and readiness for war existing in the world—a negative factor tempered by the increasing awareness of the grave perils inherent in this current attitude. The choice which faces us now is whether to foster the establishment of world peace through a process characterized by cooperation, collaboration and consultation, or, alternatively, to allow the destructive forces of competition, enmity and mistrust to lead mankind on a path to such destruction that the nations and peoples of the world will, out of desperation, accept peace as their last resort.

The assertion by the Universal House of Justice that peace is inevitable is based on the recognition that with the advent of maturity comes much greater desire and ability for cooperation, harmony, and mutuality. The movement towards unity identified in the statement has a history as old as mankind itself, beginning with the development of the family and the tribe, and progressing through the establishment of the city-state and the nation until the culmination of the process today, with the era of uniting nations into one world commonwealth in the framework of a new world order. World unity, therefore, is the prime prerequisite for peace, and without it the quest for peace, however powerful and sincere, will remain a quest and nothing more.

The advent of the maturity of mankind not only lays the foundations [Page viii]for the establishment of unity and therefore world peace, but also hastens the spiritualization of life. This is a circular process, as greater maturity facilitates more spirituality, and a spiritual lifestyle brings about a greater degree of maturity. This circular relationship will ultimately provide us with an opportunity to demonstrate, for the first time on a collective basis, the human qualities of nobility and spirituality. Thus, the coming of age of mankind is not only the harbinger of the era of unity but also of our freedom from the bondage of instinctual and animalistic forces most powerful during our childhood and adolescence. With this freedom we, at last, shall move from the predominantly materialistic phase of our life and begin the era of our spiritual enlightenment. Thus, the current misconceptions about human nature, perceiving it to be aggressive and violent, are due to the disregard shown for the process of the collective growth of mankind. The aggression, self-centredness, competition and war characterizing the annals of human history are reflections of the behaviour of humanity during its stages of childhood and adolescence. A mature and healthy society will, no doubt, replace aggression with love, self-centredness with service to others, competition with cooperation, and war with peace. The Universal House of Justice’s call is for the affirmation of the noble and spiritual nature of humanity, which is totally interdependent with the cause of unity and peace.

In the statement, two invitations are extended to the leaders and peoples of the world. The specific invitation to the leaders is for the convocation of a world assembly, attended by heads of governments and rulers of humanity. The second invitation, to the peoples of the world, offers for study the experience of the world-wide Bahá’í community as one prototype for the creation of a united and peaceful world. The Bahá’í experience is interesting, not only because of the kind of communities which have evolved, but also for the manner in which they deal with violence. The case of the Bahá’ís of Iran and their response to tyranny and oppression is one excellent contemporary example of the application of the Bahá’í teachings on the nobility of human nature and the ultimate victory of the forces of love and unity over those of hatred and separation.

FORMAT

The book is composed of three parts: the statement by the Universal House of Justice, a glossary of themes, and a number of comments by world-renowned thinkers on the subject of peace, including a foreword by Dr. Ervin Laszlo of the Club of Rome and appreciations by Professor Johan Galtung of Princeton University, and Dr. Rodrigo Carazo of the United Nations University for Peace. In order to facilitate study, all references and quotations found in the text of the peace statement itself have been annotated directly following the text. In addition, some of the major themes and concepts are identified in the margins and are [Page ix]elaborated upon in the glossary section, with quotations from various sources on the same theme. The intention here is not to provide an exhaustive list of sources, but rather to assist and encourage readers to conduct their own research and to provide them with references to the topics identified.

The comments on the statement, by some of the distinguished statesmen and scholars of our time, reflect not only their views about the importance of world peace and the prerequisites for its arrival, but also the urgency of its achievement. The insights, enlightenment and courage of leaders in all spheres will assist humanity to traverse this, its age of adolescence, with as little destruction and as much creativity as possible. For their contributions to this process we are most grateful.

HOSSAIN DANESH Editor