Home of Mademoiselle Gastea
Paris, France
November 24, 1911
All divine prophets are the Manifestations of Truth. His
Highness Moses declared the Truth. His Highness the Christ spread the Truth.
His Highness Muhammad established the Truth. All the elect of God proclaimed the
Truth. His Highness Baha’u’llah unfurled the ensign of Truth. All sanctified
souls who have stepped into the arena of existence have been the lamps of
Truth.
Truth is the oneness of the kingdom of humanity. Truth is
love among the children of men. Truth is the proclamation of Justice. Truth is
divine guidance. Truth is the virtues and perfections of the human world. Truth
is equality between the people of all countries. Truth is the illumination of
the realm of man.
All the prophets of God have been the heralds of Truth. All
have been united and agreed on this principle. Every prophet predicted the
coming of a successor and every successor acknowledged the Truth of the
predecessor.
Moses prophesied the coming of Christ. Christ acknowledged
Moses. His Highness Christ foretold the appearance of Muhammad, and Muhammad
accepted The Christ and Moses. When all these divine prophets were united with
each other, why should we disagree? We are the followers of those holy souls. In
the same manner that the prophets loved each other, we should follow their
example, for we are all the servants of God and the Bounties of the Almighty
are encircling every one.
God is in peace with all His children, why should we be engaged in war? God is kind to everyone, why should we oppress each other? The foundation of divine religion is Love, Affinity and Concord. Praise God, that this cycle is the period of illumination! Minds have made great progress; intelligences have been unfolded; the means of unity and agreement are being brought about and communication between the races of men is rapidly being established. Now is the time that all of us may embrace the law of peace and treat each other with honesty and straightforwardness. Let the religious prejudices be wiped away. Let the law of racial supremacy be discountenanced. Let political expediencies be done away with. Let the love of country be superceded by the love of the world. Let us all deal with each other with infinite kindness. We are all the servants at the one Divine Threshold. We are all receiving the rays of truth from the same Sun of Reality. We must all believe in all the prophets. We must all acknowledge the divine authority of all the heavenly books. We must wash our hearts free of all human prejudices. We must serve God. We must propagate the oneness of the realm of humanity. We must be the cause of the appearance of the perfections in the world of man. We must not be like the beasts of prey. We must not allow carnage and bloodshed. We must regard the blood of men as sacred. We must not shed the holy blood of man for the paltry earth. We must all agree upon one fundamental principle. That principle is the oneness of the kingdom of humanity.
Consider ye! What things are transpiring now in Tripoli! How
many fathers have become without sons! How many little children have become
fatherless! How many kind and affectionate mothers are weeping for the death of
their sons! How many women are lamenting and mourning over the cruel death of
their beloved husbands! This sacred blood of humanity is shed for a piece of
land! The beasts of prey never fight for this aim. Everyone is contented in his
own place. The wolf is satisfied after receiving his share of life. The leopard
will creep into his own lair after partaking of his food. The Lion will crouch
in his own jungle. No one intelligently or on purpose will ever entertain the
desire to oppress another.
Alas! Alas! Although pitiless man brings under his dominion
all the nests of humanity, yet he aspires for more. On the other hand, we
easily realize that God has given to man divine intelligence, but he has become
worse than the beasts of prey. The beasts of prey do not tear in pieces the
members of their own species. No matter how ferocious a wolf may be, he cannot
kill more than ten sheep in one night, but man is becoming the means of
destroying hundreds of thousands of his fellow beings in one day. Now, be just!
How can this agree with reasons? If a man kills his brother he is called a
murderer; if he crimsons the battlefield with the blood of hundreds of thousands
of innocent men, he is hailed as a great conqueror! If a man steals ten dollars
from another he is considered to be a guilty thief, but if he has pillaged a
large country he will be known in history as a patriot. If he destroys with
fire one house he is accused of arson, but if lie bombards a city with the fire
of cannon he is called a victorious being. All these events connote the evils
of human ignorance, the blood thirstiness of the nature of man and the lack of
faith. For if man believes in divine Justice he will not consent to the
suffering of any soul and he will not allow the shedding of one drop of blood;
nay, rather he will exert himself day and night to make one soul happy.
Now, praise be to God, the signs of intelligence are
becoming manifest among the people in some parts of the world. This is the
dawning of the dayspring of the Most Great Peace. This is our hope: to spread
the oneness of the realm of man, to destroy the foundation of hatred and
animosity from among the people, to make manifest the Greatest Peace, so that
the nations of the world may affiliate with each other and all the governments
may strengthen between themselves the bonds of love and unity, the
International Court of Arbitration may be established and all the worldwide
problems and difficulties which arise between the nations may be adjudicated in
that Universal Court.
The solving of these international problems depend upon the
increase of the number of the lovers of Peace, and those who are devoted to the
greater friendship of nations may add their power to the public opinion which
revolves around the Peace of the World. Then, through the powerful
demonstration of the people of peace and reconciliation, all the nations will
be forced to accept the doctrine of Peace.
Love is illumination. Love is the cause of life. Hatred is
conducive to death. Undoubtedly wise men prefer life to death, unity to
discord, and will endeavor with heart and soul that these impenetrable dark
clouds may vanish and the Sun of Reality may shine forth; this world may become
another world; this mound of earth may be changed into a delectable paradise,
the East and the West may embrace each other, the North and the South may clasp
hands of true fellowship, so that the true, divine Love may become unveiled in
the world of man. For to love man is to love God, and to be kind to the people
is to serve God. Pray and exert yourselves with heart and soul so that you may
become the means of creating love among the children of men. We hope that
through your efforts religious, racial and political prejudices may pass away,
and the tired world may receive peace and tranquility.
You who have children know of a fact how beloved they are to
you. Those who are bereaved of the meeting of their children because they are
killed in fighting, are like unto you. Consider, what will be the mental
agitation of a mother and a father when they look upon the body of their son
steeped in blood! Will they have any more desire to live? Will they have any
composure, any comfort? Those who now at war in Tripoli are passing through
agonies and their fathers and mothers are in a desperate mood.
God has created us to be loving and compassionate toward
each other and not draw the sword before each other’s face. We must adorn the
gathering of love and peace, and not drill soldiers for the ranks of the army.
We must organize courts of justice. God has given to us eyes so that we may
look upon each other with the eyes of the Love of God. He has granted us hearts
so that we may become attached to each other and not show enmity and rancour.
Consider how God has been good to man! He has given him
understanding, intelligence and sentiment so that he may exert these divine
faculties in the path of love and not in the way of harm. We must supplicate
God that He may confirm and assist us to become the embodiment of the
perfections of man; not to extinguish the torch lighted by the Hand of Majesty;
not to stop the downpouring of the Rain of Mercy; not to cut His green and verdant
trees; not to prevent the descent of heavenly blessings, but to become
confirmed in such wise as to adorn the realm of humanity, to illumine the East
and the West, to create means of the interdependence of man, to destroy the
basis of war and to become the cause of the affiliation of the hearts.
This is our hope! This is our utmost aspiration! We beg of
God to assist us therein. His Highness Baha’u’llah dawned from the horizon of Persia
and spread to all parts of the world the rays of the Most Great Guidance. He
invited all to the Greatest Peace and gave advice to all, especially to
Napoleon the Third, who was at that time Emperor of France. For fifty years He
suffered everything in life so that by degrees the hearts became attracted to
the Most Great Peace. Now, praise be to God, this light is continually
spreading its benefits and ere long the Banner of the Most Great Peace shall
become unfurled. We will exert ourselves day and night so that the world of man
may become harmonized and the Sun of Truth and the Rays of Reality may
enlighten the East and die West.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (Star of the West, vol. 2, no. 18, February 7, 1912)
