Loading…
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
Loading…
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
103 stories on this theme.
British guns were trained on Jerusalem, then held by the Turks. Reluctant to fire on the holy city, the British command asked headquarters what to do and was told to pray. Not a gun was fired.
On 13 May 1912, ill with a high fever, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá still went to speak at the New York Peace Society’s meeting at the Hotel Astor, telling Juliet Thompson that He worked by the confirmations of the Holy Spirit.
Unwell with a cold on His chest during His second visit to Stuttgart, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was told by physicians to stay indoors, yet He went to the waiting audience, spoke on world peace, and stopped to comfort a weeping woman.
During the last six thousand years nations have hated one another, it is now time to stop.
The Universal Races Congress was good, for it was intended for the furtherance and progress of unity among all nations and a better international understanding.
Near the end of a long address at Stanford University in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked why anyone would fight and kill over the earth, which is in the end only our grave.
A high official of the United States government asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá how best to serve his country. He was told to work, as a citizen of the world, to apply the principle of federalism to the relations between nations.
O people of the world! The dawn of the Sun of Reality is assuredly for the illumination of the world and for the manifestation of mercy.
Today I am most happy, for I see here a gathering of the servants of God.
If we look with a perceiving eye upon the world of creation, we find that all existing things may be classified as follows: First—Mineral—that is to say matter or substance appearing in various forms of composition.
Organize ye Spiritual Assemblies; lay ye the foundation of union and concord in this world; destroy ye the fabric of strife and war from the face of the earth; construct ye the temple of harmony and agreement …
Today there is no greater glory for man than that of service in the cause of the “Most Great Peace.”
In our solar system, the center of illumination is the sun itself.
In the estimation of historians this radiant century is equivalent to one hundred centuries of the past.
This recent war has proved to the world and the people that war is destruction while Universal Peace is construction; war is death while peace is life; war is rapacity and bloodthirstiness while peace is beneficence and humaneness …
In the Book of Aqdas, revealed in Akká in 1873, Bahá’u’lláh appealed to America as follows:— O Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein ...
Amid these troublous times, however, the Cause of God will prosper.
During the past century scientists have devoted an immense amount of study to the struggle for existence in the plant and animal world, and, amid the perplexities of social life …
The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh contain two different types of reference to the question of true social order.
Bahá’u’lláh’s mission in the world is to bring about Unity—Unity of all mankind in and through God.
Bahá’u’lláh also advocated the establishment of an international court of arbitration, so that differences arising between nations might be settled in accordance with justice and reason, instead of by appeal to the ordeal of battle.
Having in His earlier years of hardship shown how to glorify God in a state of poverty and ignominy, Bahá’u’lláh in His later years at Bahjí showed how to glorify God in a state of honor and affluence.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:— By a general agreement all the governments of the world must disarm simultaneously.
As a religious body, Bahá’ís have, at the express command of Bahá’u’lláh, entirely abandoned the use of armed force in their own interests, even for strictly defensive purposes.
The Bahá’í doctrine of the unity of mankind strikes at the root of another cause of war, namely, racial prejudice.
According to the Bahá’í view, the problems of human life, individual and social, are so inconceivably complex that the ordinary human intellect is incapable of itself of solving them aright.
In order to see clearly how the Most Great Peace may be established, let us first examine the principle causes that have led to war in the past and see how Bahá’u’lláh proposes to deal with each.
Although Bahá’u’lláh, like Christ, counsels His follows as individuals and as a religious body to adopt an attitude of nonresistance and forgiveness toward their enemies, He teaches that it is the duty of the community to prevent injustice and oppression.
Both Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also foretold a period of great social upheaval, conflict and calamity as an inevitable result of the irreligion and prejudices, the ignorance and superstition, prevalent throughout the world.
Many are the wars which have been fought over pieces of territory whose possession has been coveted by two or more rival nations.
In all ages the Prophets of God have foretold the coming of an era of “peace on earth, goodwill among men.”
Another proposal frequently and powerfully advocated by Bahá’u’lláh was that a Universal League of Nations should be formed for the maintenance of international peace.
A Bábí who had taken up arms for revenge fled to Hamadán and was arrested. A writing of Bahá'u'lláh forbidding retaliation fell from his collar, and after reading it the governor let him go.
Sarah Farmer's vision of Green Acre as a place of peace and learning for all races and religions found its true purpose when she met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká in 1900, and He visited Green Acre in 1912.
At ‘Akká in January 1908 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told pilgrims of a king who found a ninety-year-old man planting date trees for the next generation, and whose grateful, witty answers earned him three gifts.
Theresa cannot go to the party for Bahá'u'lláh's Birthday, so she shares the day with the animals on her family's farm and finds them, for once, all gathered together in peace.
In May 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at the peace conference at Lake Mohonk in New York State. Mahmúd's Diary records His address, His comparison of some peace workers to wine sellers, and His farewell gift of a Persian carpet.
On 13 May 1912 'Abdu'l-Bahá lay ill in New York with a high fever. Asked by Juliet Thompson whether He must still go to the peace meeting at the Hotel Astor, He answered that He worked by the confirmations of the Holy Spirit, and went.
In April 1912 the explosives inventor Hudson Maxim argued the case for modern weapons with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at the Hotel Ansonia; the Master urged him instead to practise the science of peace and invent “guns of love.”
On 14 April 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave His first public address in America at New York's Church of the Ascension. Juliet Thompson recalls how He likened material civilization to a lamp's glass and spiritual civilization to its light.
In San Francisco on 22 October 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá foretold a great war and said the generality of mankind would one day reproach statesmen who send them into war while they themselves live in comfort.
About eighteen hundred students filled a university hall at Stanford to hear 'Abdu'l-Bahá speak about science, peace, and the whole human race as one family.
At Lake Mohonk in 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told some young people the fable of the mice who could not decide who would bell the cat, and likened it to the peace conferences of the day.
When the Cedric reached New York on 11 April 1912, reporters came aboard to ask 'Abdu'l-Bahá why He had come. He told them His object was universal peace and the unity of humankind.
On December 5, 1912, Mahmúd's Diary records, a great crowd of believers from New York and other cities filled the lounge of the SS *Celtic* to bid 'Abdu'l-Bahá farewell. In His parting address He summed up the teaching of His American journey: the whole earth is one globe, and all nations one family.
On October 8, 1912, at the invitation of its president, David Starr Jordan, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to some 1,800 students and 180 professors at Leland Stanford Junior University in Palo Alto.
In December 1919 'Abdu'l-Bahá answered a wartime letter from the Central Organization for a Durable Peace at The Hague. He praised their aim and set out the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh on which a lasting peace must rest.
In Haifa in 1891, after nine days of silence that followed the martyrdom of seven believers in Yazd, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Lawḥ-i-Dunyá, a Tablet that sets out principles for the peace and betterment of the world.
When a salesman came through the train selling school pennants, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá joked that he should bring the banner of universal peace, and other passengers gathered to talk with Him.
Asked what a Bahá’í is, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered that it means to love all the world, to love and serve humanity, and to work for universal peace and brotherhood.
Asked in Paris how a new civilization would come about, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered, “Through solidarity,” and recalled young locusts on Mt. Carmel that flung themselves into a stream so that the others might cross.
November 19th How joyful it is to see such a meeting as this, for it is in truth a gathering together of ‘heavenly men’.
November 24th ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I have just been told that there has been a terrible accident in this country.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris A Supreme Tribunal shall be established by the peoples and Governments of every nation, composed of members elected from each country and Government.
4 Avenue de Camöens, Paris, November 13th All prejudices, whether of religion, race, politics or nation, must be renounced, for these prejudices have caused the world’s sickness.
October 21st ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: I hope you are all happy and well.
November 21st Ferocity and savagery are natural to animals, but men should show forth the qualities of love and affection.
On 5 December 1912, before sailing from New York, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to the believers who crowded aboard the Celtic to say goodbye, telling them that the earth is one native land and asking them to offend no heart.
On the morning of 5 November 1912, at the Grand Hotel in Cincinnati, 'Abdu'l-Bahá dictated a statement for the people of America on peace and on Bahá'u'lláh's call for an international conference of the nations.
At a reception given by the New York Peace Society at the Hotel Astor on 13 May 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told some two thousand people that there is no greater glory than service in the cause of the Most Great Peace.
At the International Peace Forum in New York on May 12, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá expressed the hope that America would be first to raise the banner of peace, since a nation with no colonies to protect could not be suspected of selfish motives.
At the Orient-Occident-Unity Conference in Washington on April 20, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of a bond between Persia and America, recalled that Bahá'u'lláh called all people leaves of one tree, and hoped America would be first to establish international agreement.
At the Hotel Schenley in Pittsburgh on May 7, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá set out six principles of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, from the investigation of truth to the equality of man and woman, and said universal peace must come through spiritual power.
On October 7, 1912, at the Japanese Independent Church in Oakland, California, 'Abdu'l-Bahá told the Japanese Young Men's Christian Association that all war has come from prejudice, recalling a religious war He had seen in Rumelia.
Speaking in Sacramento on October 26, 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá warned that Europe was like an arsenal that one spark would set aflame, called international peace the greatest need of the day, and said that divine revelation never ceases.
On October 8, 1912, at the invitation of President David Starr Jordan, 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at Stanford University on the sovereignty of science and the oneness of all things, and asked why man, endowed with mind, should make war on his fellowman.
In Adrianople Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Mulúk, His first address to the kings of the world as a body, calling them to rule with justice, to settle their differences and to reduce their armaments.
From the prison of 'Akká Bahá'u'lláh wrote to Queen Victoria, praising her for forbidding the slave trade and for entrusting counsel to the people's representatives, and calling on the rulers of the earth to hold fast to the Lesser Peace.
In Isaiah, chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, it is said: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and…
O peoples of the world! The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole earth, and to spiritualize the community of man.
O ye illumined loved ones and ye handmaids of the Merciful!
O ye who are the chosen ones of the Abhá Kingdom!
O thou who art carried away by the love of God! The Sun of Truth hath risen above the horizon of this world and cast down its beams of guidance.
O ye lovers of truth, ye servants of humankind! Out of the flowering of your thoughts and hopes, fragrant emanations have come my way, wherefore an inner sense of obligation compelleth me to pen these words.
Praise be to Him Who hath rent the dark asunder, hath blotted out the night, hath drawn aside the coverings and torn away the veils; Whose light thereupon shone out, Whose signs and tokens were spread abroad, and His mysteries laid bare.
The Lord of all mankind hath fashioned this human realm to be a Garden of Eden, an earthly paradise.
O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Your letter was received. From its contents it was known that, praise be to God, your hearts are in the utmost purity and your souls rejoice in the glad tidings of God.
O ye concourse of the Kingdom of Abhá!
O thou servant of God! Thy letter was received, and was the cause of gladness. Thou hast expressed thine ardent wish that I should attend the Peace Congress.
As to President Wilson, the fourteen principles which he hath enunciated are mostly found in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and I therefore hope that he will be confirmed and assisted.
O thou beloved maidservant of God! Thy letter was received and its contents revealed the fact that the friends, in perfect energy and vitality are engaged in the propagation of the heavenly teachings.
Bahíyyih Khánum recalls that strife grieved Bahá’u’lláh because of the unhappiness it brought others, and that He would take the blame upon Himself to restore peace.
Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my heart, my soul and my spirit, saying: O my God!
“It is hoped that wonderful effects will be displayed in the future, that the friends of God may live and act in accord with the heavenly teachings, in order that the region of America may become the Paradise of Abha, that desert and…
O thou dear sister! The letter arrived at a time when—praise be to God! —calamities and sufferings in the path of God have surrounded us from every direction and arrows and darts are flying from every bow.
O thou lover of humanity! Thy letter was received and its contents imparted spiritual significances.
O thou seeker of the Divine Kingdom!
O thou that mirror in which the Light of Guidance is printed!
O thou who art attracted by the Fragrances of God and enkindled with the Fire wherein Moses, the Speaker, found Guidance!
O thou who art calling in the cities, the bearer of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God!
O thou who art commemorating the praises of God!
O thou who art kindled as a lamp with the Fire of the Love of God!
O thou who art set aglow with the Fire burning in the Tree of Sinai!
O thou who art supplicating unto God! Verily I mention thee always and shall never forget thee forever and ever.
O thou who hast approached toward God!
O ye beloved ones of Abdul-Baha! This servant longeth to write a special Tablet to each one of the friends of God—but what can be done!
O ye children of the Kingdom! It is New Year; that is to say, the rounding of the cycle of the year.
O ye my divine friends!
O ye seekers of Truth! Your letter was received and its contents became known. The new Kingdom hath raised its tents in all regions and hath enveloped East and West, but the blind ones cannot see and the deaf ones cannot hear.
O ye servants of God and maid-servants of the Merciful! The letter, which was in reality the congratulation for the entrance of the day of the anniversary of His Highness the Promised One, was received.
Thou hast written concerning the universal peace, that before long the congress of The Hague will be opened and discussion will be made in regard to the universal peace.
At the Lake Mohonk peace conference, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave its president, Albert Smiley, a Persian rug fetched overnight from New York; it replaced one the Smileys had lost in a fire.
A portrait of L. L. Zamenhof, reprinted in Star of the West: an oculist who struggled to support his family, sought neither profit nor power from Esperanto, and worked tirelessly to spare humanity the suffering of dissension and war.