Although I felt indisposed this afternoon, yet because I attach great
importance to this assembly and was longing to see your faces, I have
come. The expression of kindly feelings and the spirit of hospitality
manifested by the former speakers are most grateful. I am thankful for the
susceptibilities of your hearts, for it is an evidence that your greatest
desire is the establishment of international peace. You are lovers of the
oneness of humanity, seekers after the good pleasure of the Lord,
investigators of the foundations of the divine religions.
Today there is no greater glory for man than that of service in the cause
of the Most Great Peace. Peace is light, whereas war is darkness. Peace is
life; war is death. Peace is guidance; war is error. Peace is the
foundation of God; war is a satanic institution. Peace is the illumination
of the world of humanity; war is the destroyer of human foundations. When
we consider outcomes in the world of existence, we find that peace and
fellowship are factors of upbuilding and betterment, whereas war and
strife are the causes of destruction and disintegration. All created
things are expressions of the affinity and cohesion of elementary
substances, and nonexistence is the absence of their attraction and
agreement. Various elements unite harmoniously in composition, but when
these elements become discordant, repelling each other, decomposition and
nonexistence result. Everything partakes of this nature and is subject to
this principle, for the creative foundation in all its degrees and
kingdoms is an expression or outcome of love. Consider the restlessness
and agitation of the human world today because of war. Peace is health and
construction; war is disease and dissolution. When the banner of truth is
raised, peace becomes the cause of the welfare and advancement of the
human world. In all cycles and ages war has been a factor of derangement
and discomfort, whereas peace and brotherhood have brought security and
consideration of human interests. This distinction is especially
pronounced in the present world conditions, for warfare in former
centuries had not attained the degree of savagery and destructiveness
which now characterizes it. If two nations were at war in olden times, ten
or twenty thousand would be sacrificed, but in this century the
destruction of one hundred thousand lives in a day is quite possible. So
perfected has the science of killing become and so efficient the means and
instruments of its accomplishment that a whole nation can be obliterated
in a short time. Therefore, comparison with the methods and results of
ancient warfare is out of the question.
According to an intrinsic law all phenomena of being attain to a summit
and degree of consummation, after which a new order and condition is
established. As the instruments and science of war have reached the degree
of thoroughness and proficiency, it is hoped that the transformation of
the human world is at hand and that in the coming centuries all the
energies and inventions of man will be utilized in promoting the interests
of peace and brotherhood. Therefore, may this esteemed and worthy society
for the establishment of international peace be confirmed in its sincere
intentions and empowered by God. Then will it hasten the time when the
banner of universal agreement will be raised and international welfare
will be proclaimed and consummated so that the darkness which now
encompasses the world shall pass away.
Sixty years ago Baha'u'llah was in Persia. Seventy years ago the Bab
appeared there. These two Blessed Souls devoted Their lives to the
foundation of international peace and love among mankind. They strove with
heart and soul to establish the teachings by which divergent people might
be brought together and no strife, rancor or hatred prevail. Baha'u'llah,
addressing all humanity, said that Adam, the parent of mankind, may be
likened to the tree of nativity upon which you are the leaves and
blossoms. Inasmuch as your origin was one, you must now be united and
agreed; you must consort with each other in joy and fragrance. He
pronounced prejudice--whether religious, racial, patriotic, political--the
destroyer of the body politic. He said that man must recognize the oneness
of humanity, for all in origin belong to the same household, and all are
servants of the same God. Therefore, mankind must continue in the state of
fellowship and love, emulating the institutions of God and turning away
from satanic promptings, for the divine bestowals bring forth unity and
agreement, whereas satanic leadings induce hatred and war.
This remarkable Personage was able by these principles to establish a bond
of unity among the differing sects and divergent people of Persia. Those
who followed His teachings, no matter from what denomination or faction
they came, were conjoined by the ties of love, until now they cooperate
and live together in peace and agreement. They are real brothers and
sisters. No distinctions of class are observed among them, and complete
harmony prevails. Daily this bond of affinity is strengthening, and their
spiritual fellowship continually develops. In order to ensure the progress
of mankind and to establish these principles Baha'u'llah suffered every
ordeal and difficulty. The Bab became a martyr, and over twenty thousand
men and women sacrificed their lives for their faith. Baha'u'llah was
imprisoned and subjected to severe persecutions. Finally, He was exiled
from Persia to Mesopotamia; from Ba_gh_dad He was sent to Constantinople
and Adrianople and from thence to the prison of Akka in Syria. Through all
these ordeals He strove day and night to proclaim the oneness of humanity
and promulgate the message of universal peace. From the prison of Akka He
addressed the kings and rulers of the earth in lengthy letters, summoning
them to international agreement and explicitly stating that the standard
of the Most Great Peace would surely be upraised in the world.
This has come to pass. The powers of earth cannot withstand the privileges
and bestowals which God has ordained for this great and glorious century.
It is a need and exigency of the time. Man can withstand anything except
that which is divinely intended and indicated for the age and its
requirements. Now--praise be to God!--in all countries of the world, lovers
of peace are to be found, and these principles are being spread among
mankind, especially in this country. Praise be to God! This thought is
prevailing, and souls are continually arising as defenders of the oneness
of humanity, endeavoring to assist and establish international peace.
There is no doubt that this wonderful democracy will be able to realize
it, and the banner of international agreement will be unfurled here to
spread onward and outward among all the nations of the world. I give
thanks to God that I find you imbued with such susceptibilities and lofty
aspirations, and I hope that you will be the means of spreading this light
to all men. Thus may the Sun of Reality shine upon the East and West. The
enveloping clouds shall pass away, and the heat of the divine rays will
dispel the mist. The reality of man shall develop and come forth as the
image of God, his Creator. The thoughts of man shall take such upward
flight that former accomplishments shall appear as the play of children,
for the ideas and beliefs of the past and the prejudices regarding race
and religion have ever lowered and been destructive to human evolution. I
am most hopeful that in this century these lofty thoughts shall be
conducive to human welfare. Let this century be the sun of previous
centuries, the effulgences of which shall last forever, so that in times
to come they shall glorify the twentieth century, saying the twentieth
century was the century of lights, the twentieth century was the century
of life, the twentieth century was the century of international peace, the
twentieth century was the century of divine bestowals, and the twentieth
century has left traces which shall last forever.
19 May 1912
Talk at Church of the Divine Paternity
Central Park West, New York