Need for New Revelation

The unification of the world of humanity, the welding together of the world’s different religions, the reconciliation of Religion and Science, the establishment of Universal Peace, of International Arbitration of an International House of Justice, of an International Language, the Emancipation of Women, Universal Education, the abolition not only of Chattel Slavery, but of Industrial Slavery, the Organization of Humanity as a single whole, with due regard to the rights and liberties of each individual—these are problems of gigantic magnitude and stupendous difficulty in relation to which Christians, Muḥammadans and adherents of other religions have held and still hold the most diverse and often violently opposed views, but Bahá’u’lláh has revealed clearly defined principles, the general adoption of which would obviously make the world a paradise. Truth Is for All

Many are quite ready to admit that the Bahá’í teachings would be a splendid thing for Persia and for the East, but imagine that for the nations of the West they are unnecessary or unsuitable. To one who mentioned such a view, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá replied:—

As to the meaning of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, whatever has to do with the universal good is divine, and whatever is divine is for the universal good. If it be true, it is for all; if not, it is for no one; therefore a divine cause of universal good cannot be limited to either the East or the West, for the radiance of the Sun of Truth illumines both the East and the West, and it makes its heat felt in the South and in the North—there is no difference between one Pole and another. At the time of the Manifestation of Christ, the Romans and Greeks thought His Cause was especially for the Jews. They thought they had a perfect civilization and nothing to learn from Christ’s teachings, and by this false supposition many were deprived of His Grace. Likewise know that the principles of Christianity and the Commandments of Bahá’u’lláh are identical and their paths are the same. Every day there is progress; there was a time when this divine institution (of progressive revelation) was in embryo, then newborn, then a child, then an intellectual youth; but today it is resplendent with beauty and shining with the greatest brilliancy. Happy is he who penetrates the mystery and takes his place in the world of the illumined ones.

Source: J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (1923). Public domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #19241.

Esslemont, J. E.. (1923). *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19241/pg19241-images.html