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.
Ye observe how the world is divided against itself, how many a land is red
with blood and its very dust is caked with human gore. The fires of
conflict have blazed so high that never in early times, not in the Middle
Ages, not in recent centuries hath there ever been such a hideous war, a
war that is even as millstones, taking for grain the skulls of men. Nay,
even worse, for flourishing countries have been reduced to rubble, cities
have been levelled with the ground, and many a once prosperous village
hath been turned into ruin. Fathers have lost their sons, and sons their
fathers. Mothers have wept away their hearts over dead children. Children
have been orphaned, women left to wander, vagrants without a home. From
every aspect, humankind hath sunken low. Loud are the piercing cries of
fatherless children; loud the mothers' anguished voices, reaching to the
skies.
And the breeding-ground of all these tragedies is prejudice: prejudice of
race and nation, of religion, of political opinion; and the root cause of
prejudice is blind imitation of the past--imitation in religion, in racial
attitudes, in national bias, in politics. So long as this aping of the
past persisteth, just so long will the foundations of the social order be
blown to the four winds, just so long will humanity be continually exposed
to direst peril.
Now, in such an illumined age as ours, when realities previously unknown
to man have been laid bare, and the secrets of created things have been
disclosed, and the Morn of Truth hath broken and lit up the world--is it
admissible that men should be waging a frightful war that is bringing
humanity down to ruin? No, by the Lord God!
Christ Jesus summoned all mankind to amity and peace. Unto Peter He said:
'Put up thy sword into the sheath.'(63) Such was the bidding and counsel
of the Lord Christ; and yet today the Christians one and all have drawn
their swords from out the scabbard. How wide is the discrepancy between
such acts and the clear Gospel text!
Sixty years ago Baha'u'llah rose up, even as the Day-Star, over Persia. He
declared that the skies of the world were dark, that this darkness boded
evil, and that terrible wars would come. From the prison at Akka, He
addressed the German Emperor in the clearest of terms, telling him that a
great war was on the way and that his city of Berlin would break forth in
lamentation and wailing. Likewise did He write to the Turkish sovereign,
although He was that Sultan's victim and a captive in his prison--that is,
He was being held prisoner in the Fortress at Akka--and clearly stated that
Constantinople would be overtaken by a sudden and radical change, so great
that the women and children of that city would mourn and cry aloud. In
brief, He addressed such words to all the monarchs and the presidents, and
everything came to pass, exactly as He had foretold.
There have issued, from His mighty Pen, various teachings for the
prevention of war, and these have been scattered far and wide.
The first is the independent investigation of truth; for blind imitation
of the past will stunt the mind. But once every soul inquireth into truth,
society will be freed from the darkness of continually repeating the past.
His second principle is the oneness of mankind: that all men are the sheep
of God, and God is their loving Shepherd, caring most tenderly for all
without favouring one or another. 'No difference canst thou see in the
creation of the God of mercy';(64) all are His servants, all implore His
grace.
His third teaching is that religion is a mighty stronghold, but that it
must engender love, not malevolence and hate. Should it lead to malice,
spite, and hate, it is of no value at all. For religion is a remedy, and
if the remedy bring on disease, then put it aside. Again, as to religious,
racial, national and political bias: all these prejudices strike at the
very root of human life; one and all they beget bloodshed, and the
ruination of the world. So long as these prejudices survive, there will be
continuous and fearsome wars.
To remedy this condition there must be universal peace. To bring this
about, a Supreme Tribunal must be established, representative of all
governments and peoples; questions both national and international must be
referred thereto, and all must carry out the decrees of this Tribunal.
Should any government or people disobey, let the whole world arise against
that government or people.
Yet another of the teachings of Baha'u'llah is the equality of men and
women and their equal sharing in all rights. And there are many similar
principles. It hath now become evident that these teachings are the very
life and soul of the world.
Ye who are servants of the human race, strive ye with all your heart to
deliver mankind out of this darkness and these prejudices that belong to
the human condition and the world of nature, so that humanity may find its
way into the light of the world of God.
Praise be to Him, ye are acquainted with the various laws, institutions
and principles of the world; today nothing short of these divine teachings
can assure peace and tranquillity to mankind. But for these teachings,
this darkness shall never vanish, these chronic diseases shall never be
healed; nay, they shall grow fiercer from day to day. The Balkans will
remain discontented. Its restlessness will increase. The vanquished Powers
will continue to agitate. They will resort to every measure that may
rekindle the flame of war. Movements, newly-born and world-wide in their
range, will exert their utmost effort for the advancement of their
designs. The Movement of the Left will acquire great importance. Its
influence will spread.
Strive ye, therefore, with the help of God, with illumined minds and
hearts and a strength born of heaven, to become a bestowal from God to
man, and to call into being for all humankind, comfort and peace.