I offer thanks to God for this meeting with you. From the outer standpoint
such meetings are inconceivable, for we are orientals whereas you are
occidentals. Between us there is no patriotic, linguistic, racial,
commercial nor political relation. No worldly bond nor connection of any
kind exists between us that would justify such a gathering as this. The
love of God has brought us together, and this is the best of means and
motive. Every other bond of friendship is limited in effectiveness, but
fellowship based upon the love of God is unlimited, everlasting, divine
and radiant. Therefore, we must be thankful to God for uniting us in love
and agreement, praise Him for creating such affinity between us that those
from the faraway Orient may associate with the beloved ones of the West in
the utmost fragrance.
Surely for everything there is an all-comprehending wisdom, especially for
the great and important affairs of life. The supreme and most important
happening in the human world is the Manifestation of God and the descent
of the law of God. The holy, divine Manifestations did not reveal
themselves for the purpose of founding a nation, sect or faction. They did
not appear in order that a certain number might acknowledge Their
Prophethood. They did not declare Their heavenly mission and message in
order to lay the foundation for a religious belief. Even Christ did not
become manifest that we should merely believe in Him as the Christ, follow
Him and adore His mention. All these are limited in scope and requirement,
whereas the reality of Christ is an unlimited essence. The infinite and
unlimited Reality cannot be bounded by any limitation. Nay, rather, Christ
appeared in order to illumine the world of humanity, to render the earthly
world celestial, to make the human kingdom a realm of angels, to unite the
hearts, to enkindle the light of love in human souls, so that such souls
might become independent, attaining complete unity and fellowship, turning
to God, entering into the divine Kingdom, receiving the bounties and
bestowals of God and partaking of the manna from heaven. Through Christ
they were intended to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, attain a new spirit
and realize the everlasting life. All the holy precepts and the
announcements of prophetic laws were for these various and heavenly
purposes. Therefore, we offer thanks to God that although no earthly
relation obtains among us, yet--praise be to God!--ideal and divine bonds
blend us together. We have gathered here in this meeting, eagerly
anticipating the showing forth of the divine bestowals.
In past centuries the nations of the world have imagined that the law of
God demanded blind imitation of ancestral forms of belief and worship. For
example, the Jews were captives of hereditary racial religious
observances. The Muslims, likewise, have been held in the bondage of
traditionary forms and ceremonials. The Christians also have been implicit
followers of ancient tradition and hereditary teaching. At the same time
the basic foundation of the religion of God, which was ever the principle
of love, unity and the fellowship of humanity, has been forsaken and cast
aside, each religious system holding tenaciously to imitations of
ancestral forms as the supreme essential. Therefore, hatred and hostility
have appeared in the world instead of the divine fruitage of unity and
love. By reason of this it has been impossible for the followers of
religion to meet together in fellowship and agreement. Even contact and
communication have been considered contaminating, and the outcome has been
a condition of complete alienation and mutual bigotry. There has been no
investigation of the essential underlying basis of reality. One whose
father was a Jew invariably proved to be a Jew, a Muslim was born of a
Muslim, a Buddhist was a Buddhist because of the faith of his father
before him, and so on. In brief, religion was a heritage descending from
father to son, ancestry to posterity, without investigation of the
fundamental reality; consequently, all religionists were veiled, obscured
and at variance.
Praise be to God! We are living in this most radiant century wherein human
perceptions have developed and investigations of real foundations
characterize mankind. Individually and collectively man is proving and
penetrating into the reality of outer and inner conditions. Therefore, it
has come to pass that we are renouncing all that savors of blind
imitation, and impartially and independently investigating truth. Let us
understand what constitutes the reality of the divine religions. If a
Christian sets aside traditionary forms and blind imitation of ceremonials
and investigates the reality of the Gospels, he will discover that the
foundation principles of the teachings of Christ were mercy, love,
fellowship, benevolence, altruism, the resplendence or radiance of divine
bestowals, acquisition of the breaths of the Holy Spirit and oneness with
God. Furthermore, he will learn that Christ declared that the Father
"maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on
the just and on the unjust." The meaning of this declaration is that the
mercy of God encircles all mankind, that not a single individual is
deprived of the mercy of God, and no soul is denied the resplendent
bestowals of God. The whole human race is submerged in the sea of the
mercy of the Lord, and we are all the sheep of the one divine Shepherd.
Whatever shortcomings exist among us must be remedied. For example, those
who are ignorant must be educated so that they may become wise; the sick
must be treated until they recover; those who are immature must be trained
in order to reach maturity; those asleep must be awakened. All this must
be accomplished through love and not through hatred and hostility.
Furthermore, Jesus Christ, referring to the prophecy of Isaiah, spoke of
those who having eyes, see not, having ears, hear not, having hearts,
understand not; yet they were to be healed. Therefore, it is evident that
the bounties of Christ transformed the eye which was blind into a seeing
one, rendered the ear which was formerly deaf, attentive, and made the
hard, callous heart tender and sensitive. In other words, the meaning is
that although the people possess external eyes, yet the insight, or
perception, of the soul is blind; although the outer ear hears, the
spiritual hearing is deaf; although they possess conscious hearts, they
are without illumination; and the bounties of Christ save souls from these
conditions. 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. Therefore, we must investigate the
foundation of divine religion, discover its reality, reestablish it and
spread its message throughout the world so that it may become the source
of illumination and enlightenment to mankind, the spiritually dead become
alive, the spiritually blind receive sight and those who are inattentive
to God become awakened.
The teachings and ordinances of the divine religions are of two kinds. The
first are spiritual and essential in nature--such as faith in God, faith in
Christ, faith in Moses, faith in Abraham, faith in Muhammad, the love of
God and the oneness of the world of humanity. These divine principles
shall be spread throughout the world. Strife and enmity shall disappear,
ignorance, hatred and hostility cease and all the human race be bound
together. The second kind of ordinances and teachings concern the outer
conditions and transactions of the world of mankind. They are the
nonessential, accidental or temporary laws of human affairs which are
subject to change and transformation according to the exigencies of time
and place. For instance, during the time of Moses divorce was permitted,
but in the time of Christ it was made unlawful. In the Torah there are ten
commandments concerning retribution for murder, which would not be
possible to enforce at the present time and under existing conditions of
the world. Therefore, these nonessential, temporary laws are superseded
and abrogated to suit the exigencies and requirements of successive
periods.
But the followers of the divine religions have turned away from the
principles and ordinances which are essential and unchanging in the Word
of God, forsaking those fundamental realities which have to do with the
life of the human world, the eternal life--such as the love of God, faith
in God, philanthropy, knowledge, spiritual perception, divine
guidance--holding these to be contingent and nonessential while wrangling
and disagreeing over such questions as whether divorce is lawful or
unlawful, or whether this or that observance of a minor law is orthodox
and true. The Jews consider divorce lawful; the Catholic Christians deem
it unlawful; the outcome is discord and hostility between them. If they
would investigate the one fundamental reality underlying the laws revealed
by Moses and Christ, this condition of hatred and misunderstanding would
be dispelled and divine unity prevail.
Christ commanded that if we are smitten upon the right cheek, we should
turn the other cheek also. Consider what is happening now in the Balkans.
What conformity with the teachings of Christ do we witness in that
deplorable picture? Has not man absolutely forgotten and forsaken the
divine command of Christ? In fact, such discord and warfare are evidences
of disagreement upon the non-essential precepts and laws of religious
belief. Investigation of the one fundamental reality and allegiance to the
essential unchanging principles of the Word of God can alone establish
unity and love in human hearts.
Throughout the Orient in the nineteenth century spiritual darkness
prevailed, and the religions were submerged in the ocean of blind
imitations and adherence to hereditary forms. There was no trace of the
essential foundation of divine revelation. Because of this, hostility and
hatred surrounded mankind; discord, rancor and warfare afflicted humanity;
blood overspread the horizons of the eastern world. Instead of fellowship
and agreement, religion had become the cause of hatred; instead of unity,
it produced discord, enmity and strife. The conditions were similar to
those existing in the Balkans today, where it might appear as if the basis
of divine religion were war and conflict, the adherents of one religion
seeking to extirpate and destroy another, and the adherents of both imbued
with the fanatical impulse to kill. They consider the pathway to the good
pleasure of God a pathway of blood, and the more a religionist kills, the
nearer he draws to God. These are the results of blind imitations. How
gloomy and destructive to humanity is such an outcome! If this be the
foundation of divine religion, its absence is preferable; for even the
infidels do not shed blood in this way, nor are they hostile toward each
other. The forces of hostility and strife are the religions of the present
day, and that which should have contributed to the illumination and
betterment of the world has become productive of gross darkness and
degradation.
To resume: Consider how similar blind imitations had made the darkness in
the Orient all-encircling. At such a time Baha'u'llah dawned from the
eastern horizon like the glory of the sun. He renewed the basis of the
religions of God, destroyed blind adherence to ancestral forms and
established in their stead love and spiritual fellowship so that no
strife, discord or hostility remained. This reconciliation of divergent
sects is visible and evident. They now live together in love and unity. If
you should enter one of their meetings, you would realize that they have
become as one race, one native land, one religion; that they associate
together in brotherhood and agreement. Praise be to God! These blind
imitations and this darkness have ceased to exist, and the reality of the
oneness of humanity has been practically proven.
I consider the American people a highly civilized and intelligent nation,
a nation investigating truth and reality. It is my hope that through the
efforts of this noble nation the solidarity of humanity may be continually
advanced, that the illumination of the human world may become widespread,
that the banner of universal peace may be held aloft, the lamp of the
oneness of the human world be ignited and the hearts of the East and West
be conjoined. Then the reality of the divine religions shall become
resplendent and refulgent, indicating that they were meant to be the cause
of unity and love and that through them heavenly bestowals have ever been
conferring light upon the human world.
23 November 1912
Talk at Banquet
Great Northern Hotel
118 West Fifty-seventh Street, New York