Transcript No Slide Title

Progress as an “unwitting response”
The “new earth”
99% of all
“Between the middle of the eighth and the beginning
scientists are still
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living and 98%
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have developed
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1775… 1844...
Baha’u’llah
in 1863.
Baha’u’llah
United States
475-1453 A.D.
Middle Ages (“Dark Ages”)
1844…1863… 1912
Birth of the Baha’i Era
“Through the movement of Our Pen
of glory We have, at the bidding of the
omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new
life into every human frame, and
instilled into every word a fresh
potency. All created things proclaim
the evidences of this world-wide
regeneration.”
(From the Pen of Baha’u’llah)
There is
Good News
and
Bad News
(press right and left arrow keys to advance)
The Good News
Today the world responds “unconsciously”
“Unbeknownst to the great majority, His influence permeates all
living beings. Indeed, no domain of life remains unaffected. In the
burgeoning energy, the magnified perspectives, the heightened
global consciousness; in the social and political turbulence, the fall
of kingdoms, the emancipation of nations, the intermixture of
cultures, the clamour for development; in the agitation over the
extremes of wealth and poverty, the acute concern over the abuse of
the environment, the leap of consciousness regarding the rights of
women and racial equality; in the growing tendency towards
ecumenism, the increasing call for a new world order; in the
astounding advances in the realms of science, technology, literature
and the arts -- in all this tumult, with its paradoxical
manifestations of chaos and order, integration and
disintegration, are the signs of His [Baha’u’llah’s] power as World
Reformer, the proof of His claim as Divine Physician, the truth of
His Word as the All-Knowing Counselor.” (UHJ)
He suffered that we might prosper
“The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with
chains that mankind may be released from its bondage,
and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this most
mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto
true liberty. He hath drained to its dregs the cup of sorrow,
that all the peoples of the earth may attain unto abiding
joy, and be filled with gladness. This is of the mercy of
your Lord, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. We have
accepted to be abased, O believers in the Unity of God, that
ye may be exalted, and have suffered manifold afflictions,
that ye might prosper and flourish. He Who hath come to
build anew the whole world, behold, how they that have
joined partners with God have forced Him to dwell within
the most desolate of cities!”
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, Pages: 99-100)
“…yet unwittingly enforcing the general
principles which He has enunciated…”
“Suffice it to say that this consummation will, by its very nature, be
a gradual process, and must, as Bahá'u'lláh has Himself anticipated,
lead at first to the establishment of that Lesser Peace which the
nations of the earth, as yet unconscious of His Revelation and yet
unwittingly enforcing the general principles which He has
enunciated, will themselves establish. This momentous and historic
step, involving the reconstruction of mankind, as the result of the
universal recognition of its oneness and wholeness, will bring in its
wake the spiritualization of the masses, consequent to the
recognition of the character, and the acknowledgment of the claims,
of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh -- the essential condition to that ultimate
fusion of all races, creeds, classes, and nations which must
signalize the emergence of His New World Order.
Then will the coming of age of the entire human race be
proclaimed and celebrated by all the peoples and nations of the
earth.” (Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, p. 123)
“… A new heaven and
a new earth…”
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look
for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness.” (2nd Peter 3:13 & Rev. of John 21:1)
The earth will not be destroyed…
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new
earth: and the former shall not be remembered,
nor come into mind….For as the new heavens
and the new earth, which I will make, shall
remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your
seed and your name remain.” (Isaiah 65:17 & 66:22)
A new spirit of life in a new world...
“.
. in the generosity of God a new springtime dawned, the
lights of God shone forth, the effulgent Sun of Reality
returned and became manifest, the realm of thoughts and
kingdom of hearts became exhilarated, a new spirit of life
breathed into the body of the world and continuous
advancement became apparent.” (Abdu'l-Baha, BWF - p. 256 )
“The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge
of the oneness of mankind and of the fundamental oneness of
religion. War shall cease between nations, and by the will of
God the Most Great Peace shall come; the world will be seen
as a new world, and all men will live as brothers.”
(Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 19 )
A new spirit of life in a new world...
“The realm of thoughts and ideals is set in motion and
blessed with new life. Minds are developed, hopes
brighten, aspirations become spiritual, the virtues of
the human world appear with freshened power of
growth and the image and likeness of God become
visible in man. It is the springtime of the inner world.
…the world is resuscitated, illumined and attains
spirituality; religion is renewed and reorganized,
hearts are turned to God, the summons of God is heard
and life is again bestowed upon man. . . .”
(Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 255)
“. . .called into being
a new creation…”
“Verily, We have caused every soul to expire
by virtue of Our irresistible and all-subduing
sovereignty. We have, then, called into being a
new creation, as a token of Our grace unto
men. I am, verily, the All-Bountiful, the
Ancient of Days.”
(The Revelation of Baha'u'llah v 2, p. 252 )
“… none hath discovered its cause
or perceived its motive…”
“The world's equilibrium hath been upset
through the vibrating influence of this most great,
this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life
hath been revolutionized through the agency
of this unique, this wondrous System -- the like
of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.”
"A new life is, in this age, stirring within all
the peoples of the earth; and yet none hath
discovered its cause or perceived its motive.”
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 136 & 197)
New Spirit released into the World
“Baha'u'llah found the world in a ‘strange
sleep’. But what a disturbance His coming has
unloosed! The peoples of the earth had been
separated, many parts of the human race
socially and spiritually isolated. But the world
of humanity today bears little resemblance to
that which Baha'u'llah left a century ago.
Unbeknownst to the great majority, His
influence permeates all living beings . . . .”
(Letters of The Universal House of Justice, 1997 Aug 13, Science and Religion)
Infused into the whole creation...
"The Call of God," Abdu'l-Baha has written,
"when raised, breathed a new life into the body of
mankind, and infused a new spirit into the whole
creation. It is for this reason that the world hath
been moved to its depths, and the hearts and
consciences of men been quickened. Erelong the
evidences of this regeneration will be revealed,
and the fast asleep will be awakened.”
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 169)
House of Justice
Baha’i World Center
Haifa, Israel
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain
of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations
shall flow unto it.” (Holy Bible, Isaiah 2:2)
“And many people shall
go and say, Come ye, and
let us go up to the
mountain of the LORD, to
the house of the God of
Jacob; and He will teach
us of his ways, and we will
walk in His paths: for out
of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the
LORD from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among
the nations, and shall
rebuke many people: and
they shall beat their
swords into plowshares. .”
(Holy Bible, Isaiah 2:3-4)
". . . and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruninghooks:
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4)
House of Justice
Baha’i World Center
Haifa, Israel
“… the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it….
and He will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in His paths…”
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall
be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” (Isaiah 2:2)
“…let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God… and he will teach us
His ways, and we will walk in his paths: for shall go forth the law, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem...” (Isaiah 2:3-4) “To Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in
the temple of my God… and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name
of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven
from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” (Rev. 3:12 & 21:2)
“To Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God…
and I will write upon him My new name. . .
. . .which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” (Rev. of St. John 3:12 & 2:17)
“Do ye know in what cycle ye are created
and in what age ye exist?
This is the age of the Blessed Perfection
and this is the time of the Greatest Name!”
( Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 351 )
“Do ye know in what cycle ye are created
and in what age ye exist? …
This is the century of the Manifestation,
the age of the Sun of the Horizons
and the beautiful springtime
of His Holiness the Eternal One!”
( Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 351 )
All did “see” Christ
during the “First” coming…
“And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is
written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet,
saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare
ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill
shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all
flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
(Holy Bible, Luke 3:3-5 -- Luke refers to the Old
Testament prophesy and claims that Jesus has fulfilled the
Old verse in the “First” coming. Every eye DID see Him.)
“Subjective” faith –
all are subjective to the whole
“Thou hast written of a verse in the Gospels, asking if
at the time of Christ all souls did hear His call. Know that
faith is of two kinds. The first is objective faith that is
expressed by the outer man, obedience of the limbs and
senses. The other faith is subjective, and unconscious
obedience to the will of God. There is no doubt that, in
the day of a Manifestation such as Christ, all contingent
beings possessed subjective faith and had unconscious
obedience to His Holiness Christ.
For all parts of the creational world are of one
whole. Christ the Manifestor reflecting the divine Sun
represented the whole. All the parts are subordinate and
obedient to the whole.” (Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 364)
hidden from the sight of unwitting people
“. . . Judge thou from this metaphor how the
world of the Kingdom hath shone down, and how
its laws have been made to work in this nether
realm. Although the spirit is hidden from view,
still its commandments shine out like rays of
light upon the world of the human body.
In the same way, although the Kingdom of
heaven is hidden from the sight of this
unwitting people, still, to him who seeth with the
inner eye, it is plain as day.”
(
Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 192)
“. . . all souls did hear His call.”
“It is evident then that the manifestation of the
Messiah was synonymous with universal
mercy. His providence was universal and his
teachings were for all. His lights were not
restricted to a few. Every ‘Christ’ came to the
world of mankind.”
(Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 106
also found on page 444 of PUP)
Potencies…are.. insensibly shaping
"These same potencies, apart from, yet collateral
with these efforts and accomplishments, are, on
the other hand, insensibly shaping, under the
impact of the world political and economic
forces, the destiny of that nation, and are
influencing the lives and actions of both its
government and its people."
(S.E., The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 86)
New Cycle of Human Power
“The banner of the Holy Spirit is uplifted, and men see it,
and are assured with the knowledge that this is a new day.
This is a new cycle of human power. All the horizons of the
world are luminous, and the world will become indeed as a
garden and a paradise. It is the hour of unity of the sons of
men and of the drawing together of all races and all classes.
You are loosed from ancient superstitions which have kept men
ignorant, destroying the foundation of true humanity.
The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of
the oneness of mankind and of the fundamental oneness of
religion. War shall cease between nations, and by the will of
God the Most Great Peace shall come; the world will be seen
as a new world, and all men will live as brothers.”
(Abdu'l-Baha in London, 1912, p. 19 )
Justice and world-wide regeneration
“Justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity
groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds
of tyranny have darkened the face of the earth, and
enveloped its peoples. Through the movement of Our Pen
of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent
Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame,
and instilled into every word a fresh potency.
All created things proclaim the evidences
of this world-wide regeneration.
This is the most great, the most joyful tidings imparted by
the Pen of this wronged One to mankind.”
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 92)
The Bad news
Death pangs.... Birth pangs...
“Deep as is the gloom that already encircles the world, the
afflictive ordeals which that world is to suffer are still in
preparation, nor can their blackness be as yet imagined.
We stand on the threshold of an age whose convulsions
proclaim alike the death-pangs of the old order and the
birth-pangs of the new. Through the generating influence
of the Faith announced by Baha'u'llah this New World
Order may be said to have been conceived. We can, at the
present moment, experience its stirrings in the womb of a
travailing age -- an age waiting for the appointed hour at
which it can cast its burden and yield its fairest fruit.”
(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 169 )
unwittingly and irresistibly advancing
". . . through experiment and trial, slowly, painfully,
unwittingly and irresistibly advancing towards the goal
destined for it by both Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá.... Indeed
if we would read aright the signs of the times, and appraise
correctly the significances of contemporaneous events that are
impelling forward both the American Bahá'í Community and
the nation of which it forms a part on the road leading them to
their ultimate destiny, we cannot fail to perceive the workings
of two simultaneous processes, generated as far back as the
concluding years of the Heroic Age of our Faith, each clearly
defined, each distinctly separate, yet closely related and
destined to culminate, in the fullness of time, in a single
glorious consummation."
(Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith, p. 31-32)
Death pangs.... Birth pangs...
"Soon," Baha'u'llah Himself has prophesied [in the middle
1800s],
"will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one
spread out in its stead."
And again:
"By Myself! The day is approaching when We will have
rolled up the world and all that is therein, and spread
out a new Order in its stead."
(Shoghi Effendi, in The Promised Day is Come, Pages: 17-18)
[emphasis and brackets added]
We are witnessing a dual phenomena
"We are indeed living in an age which, if we would
correctly appraise it, should be regarded as one which
is witnessing a dual phenomenon [a "titanic
upheaval"]. The first signalizes the death pangs of
an order, effete and godless, that has stubbornly
refused, despite the signs and portents of a century-old
Revelation, to attune its processes to the precepts and
ideals which that Heaven-sent Faith proffered it. The
second proclaims the birth pangs of an Order, divine
and redemptive, that will inevitably supplant the
former, and within Whose administrative structure an
embryonic civilization, incomparable and world-
embracing, is imperceptibly maturing. . .”
(Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, p. 17) [continued next slide]
“Soon will the present day order
be rolled up…”
“. . . The one is being rolled up, and is crashing
in oppression, bloodshed, and ruin. The other
opens up vistas of a justice, a unity, a peace, a
culture, such as no age has ever seen. The
former has spent its force, demonstrated its falsity
and barrenness, lost irretrievably its opportunity,
and is hurrying to its doom. The latter, virile and
unconquerable, is plucking asunder its chains, and
is vindicating its title to be the one refuge within
which a sore-tried humanity, purged from its dross,
can attain its destiny.” [emphasis mine]
(Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come, p. 17)
Prevailing order is lamentably defective
“How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will
injustice continue? How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst
men? How long will discord agitate the face of society?... The winds of
despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that
divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing. The signs of
impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the
prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective. I beseech God,
exalted be His glory, that He may graciously awaken the peoples of the
earth, may grant that the end of their conduct may be profitable unto
them, and aid them to accomplish that which beseemeth their station.”
“. . . Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may be graciously
assisted to fulfil that which is acceptable in Our sight. Soon will the
present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead.
Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things unseen.”
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, page 216 and page 7)
Age of Peace? -- Casualties of War
I C Q A te B r o w s e r V e rs i o n 1 . 0
WWII Soviet Union: 13.6 million military, 7.7 civilian
WWII China: 1.3 million military, 10 million civilians
WWII Germany: 3.2 million military, 3.8 civilians
WWII Poland: .85 million military, 6 million civilian
WWII USA: 295 thousand military, ZERO+ civilians
U.S. Casualties in Vietnam: 56 thousand
U.S. Casualties in U.S. Civil War: 620 thousand
U.S. Casualties in Gulf War: 289 soldiers (+92)
Iraq Casualties in Gulf War: 100-200 thousand
Civilians killed in Africa since WWII:appx 3-5 million
The Judgement of God
"The time for the destruction of the world and its people,"
Baha'u'llah's prophetic pen has proclaimed, "hath arrived.”
"The promised day is come, the day when tormenting
trials will have surged above your heads, and beneath your
feet, saying: 'Taste ye what your hands have wrought!’”
(Baha’u’llah quoted in The Promised Day is Come)
“Humanity... watches this great and mighty wind of God
invading the remotest and fairest regions of the earth,
rocking its foundations, deranging its equilibrium,
sundering its nations, disrupting the homes of its peoples,
wasting its cities, driving into exile its kings, pulling down
its bulwarks, uprooting its institutions, dimming its light,
and harrowing up the souls of its inhabitants.” Shoghi Effendi
“Then and only then...”
“The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth
day by day. Its face is turned towards
waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its
plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet
and seemly. Its perversity will long continue.
And when the appointed hour is come, there shall
suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs
of mankind to quake. Then, and only then, will
the Divine Standard be unfurled, and the
Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody.”
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 118)
The Good News
The Promised One of all Religions
" . . the Promised One of all the world's peoples
hath now been made manifest. For each and every
people, and every religion, await a Promised One,
and Baha'u'llah is that One Who is awaited by
all; and therefore the Cause of Baha'u'llah will
bring about the oneness of mankind . . .”
(Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Baha, Page: 101)
Mysterious process…
“The latter part of Advent of Divine Justice has some of the most
mysterious things the Guardian has ever written. There is a place towards
the end of Advent of Divine Justice where Shoghi Effendi refers to
America and he refers to the American nation being moved by forces it
can neither comprehend nor control, to fulfil its destiny. Ok, take your
[materialist politician] and say to him: ‘you know, your country is being
moved by forces it can neither comprehend nor control.’ He’s not going
to be very happy. He’s not going to be particularly pleased about this. Yet
this is what the Guardian says. What does it mean? What is the spiritual
effect of ‘Abdu’l-Baha having come to the North American continent?
Of Baha’u’llah having addressed the rulers of America in the Aqdas?
Why is it that this nation of all is chosen for the role that he describes in
Advent of Divine Justice?”
(Talk given by Dr. Peter Khan, in Sydney -- 14 August 2002)