The material world is subject to change and transformation. The Cause of
the Kingdom is eternal; therefore, it is the most important. But, alas,
day by day the power of the Kingdom in human hearts is weakened, and
material forces gain the ascendancy. The divine signs are becoming less
and less, and human evidences grow stronger. They have reached such a
degree that materialists are advancing and aggressive while divine forces
are waning and vanishing. Irreligion has conquered religion. The cause of
the chaotic condition lies in the differences among the religions and
finds its origin in the animosity and hatred existing between sects and
denominations. The materialists have availed themselves of this dissension
amongst the religions and are constantly attacking them, intending to
uproot the tree of divine planting. Owing to strife and contention among
themselves, the religions are being weakened and vanquished. If a
commander is at variance with his army in the execution of military
tactics, there is no doubt he will be defeated by the enemy. Today the
religions are at variance; enmity, strife and recrimination prevail among
them; they refuse to associate; nay, rather, if necessary they shed each
other's blood. Read history and record to see what dreadful events have
happened in the name of religion. For instance, the Hebrew prophets were
sent to announce Christ, but unfortunately the Talmud and its
superstitions veiled Him so completely that they crucified their promised
Messiah. Had they renounced the talmudic traditions and investigated the
reality of the religion of Moses, they would have become believers in
Christ. Blind adherence to forms and imitations of ancestral beliefs
deprived them of their messianic bounty. They were not refreshed by the
downpouring rain of mercy, nor were they illumined by the rays of the Sun
of Truth.
Imitation destroys the foundation of religion, extinguishes the
spirituality of the human world, transforms heavenly illumination into
darkness and deprives man of the knowledge of God. It is the cause of the
victory of materialism and infidelity over religion; it is the denial of
Divinity and the law of revelation; it refuses Prophethood and rejects the
Kingdom of God. When materialists subject imitations to the intellectual
analysis of reason, they find them to be mere superstitions; therefore,
they deny religion. For instance, the Jews have ideas as to the purity and
impurity of religion, but when you subject these ideas to scientific
scrutiny, they are found to be without foundation.
Is it impossible for us to receive the infinite bounties of God? Is it
impossible to attain the virtues of the spiritual world because we are not
living in the time of Moses, the period of the prophets or the era of
Christ? Those were spiritual cycles. Can we not develop spiritually
because we are far from them and are living in a materialistic age? The
God of Moses and Jesus is able to bestow the same favors, nay, greater
favors upon His people in this day. For example, in past ages He bestowed
reason, intelligence and understanding upon His servants. Can we say He is
not able to confer His bounties in this century? Would it be just if He
sent Moses for the guidance of past nations and entirely neglected those
living now? Could it be possible that this present period has been
deprived of divine bounties while past ages of tyranny and barbarism
received an inexhaustible portion of them? The same merciful God Who
bestowed His favors in the past has opened the doors of His Kingdom to us.
The rays of His sun are shining; the breath of the Holy Spirit is
quickening. That omniscient God still assists and confirms us, illumines
our hearts, gladdens our souls and perfumes our nostrils with the
fragrances of holiness. Divine wisdom and providence have encircled all
and spread the heavenly table before us. We must take a bountiful share of
this generous favor.
The work of the shepherd is to bring together the scattered sheep. If he
disperses the united flock, he is not the shepherd. As the Prophets
fulfilled Their mission in this respect, They are the true Shepherds. When
Moses appeared, the Israelitish people were disorganized. Enmity and
discord increased their disunion. With divine power He assembled and
united this scattered flock, placed within their hearts the pearl of love,
freed them from captivity and led them out of Egypt into the Holy Land.
They made wonderful progress in sciences and arts. Bonds of social and
national strength cemented them. Their progress in human virtues was so
rapid and wonderful that they rose to the zenith of the Solomonic
sovereignty. Could it be said that Moses was not a real Shepherd and that
He did not gather these scattered people together?
Christ was a real Shepherd. At the time of His manifestation, the Greeks,
Romans, Assyrians and Egyptians were like so many scattered flocks. Christ
breathed upon them the spirit of unity and harmonized them.
Therefore, it is evident that the Prophets of God have come to unite the
children of men and not to disperse them, to establish the law of love and
not enmity. Consequently, we must lay aside all prejudice--whether it be
religious, racial, political or patriotic; we must become the cause of the
unification of the human race. Strive for universal peace, seek the means
of love, and destroy the basis of disagreement so that this material world
may become divine, the world of matter become the realm of the Kingdom and
humanity attain to the world of perfection.
2 June 1912
Talk at Church of the Ascension
Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street, New York