New York City, July 5, 1912
You are very welcome,—very welcome, all of you! In the Divine Holy Books there are unmistakable prophecies giving the Glad tidings of a certain Day in which the Promised One of all the Books would appear, a radiant Dispensation be established, the banner of the Most Great Peace and conciliation be hoisted, and the oneness of the world of humanity proclaimed. Among the various nations and peoples of the world no enmity or hatred should remain. All hearts were to be connected one with another. These things are recorded in the Torah or Old Testament, in the Gospel, in the Koran, in the Zend Avesta, in the Books of Buddha and in the Book of Confucius. In brief, all the Holy Books contain these Glad-tidings.
In all of them it is announced that after the world is surrounded by darkness, radiance shall appear. For just as the night, when it becomes excessively dark, precedes the dawn of a new day, so likewise when the darkness of religious apathy and heedlessness overtakes the world, when human souls become negligent of God,—when materialistic ideas overshadow idealism and spirituality,—when nations become submerged in the world of matter and forget God,—at such a time as this shall the Divine Sun shine forth and the Radiant Morn appear.
Consider to what a remarkable extent the spirituality of people has been overcome by materialism, so that spiritual susceptibility seems to have vanished, Divine civilization does not exist, and guidance and knowledge of God no longer remain. All are submerged in the sea of materialism. Although some attend churches and temples for worship and devotion, it is in accordance with the traditions and imitations of their fathers and not for the investigation of Reality. For it is evident they have not found the Reality and are not engaged in Its adoration. They are holding to certain imitations which have descended to them from their fathers and ancestors. They have become accustomed to passing a certain length of time in temple worship and conforming to imitations and ceremonies. The proof of this is that the son of every Jewish father becomes a Jew and not a Christian; the son of every Muhammadan becomes a follower of Islam; the son of every Christian proves to be a Christian; the son of every Zoroastrian is a Zoroastrian, etc., etc. Therefore religious faith and belief is merely a remnant of blind imitations which have descended through fathers and ancestors. Because this man's father was a Jew, he considers himself a Jew; not that he has investigated the Reality and proved satisfactorily to himself that Judaism is right; nay, rather he is aware that his forefathers have followed this course, therefore he has held to it himself.
The purpose of this is to explain that the darkness of imitations encompasses the world. Every nation is holding to its traditional religious forms. The Light of Reality is obscured. Were these various nations to investigate the Reality, there is no doubt they would attain to It. As Reality is One, all nations would then become as one nation. But so long as they adhere to various imitations and are deprived of the Reality, strife and warfare still continue and rancor and sedition prevail. But if they investigate the Reality, neither enmity nor rancor will remain and they will attain to the utmost concord among themselves.
During the years when the darkness of heedlessness was most intense in the Orient and the people were so submerged in imitations that nations were thirsting for the blood of each other, considering each other as contaminated and refusing to associate; at such a time as this His Holiness Baha’u’llah appeared. He arose in the Orient, uprooting the very foundations of imitations and brought the Dawn of the Light of Reality. Various nations became united, because all desired the Reality. In as much as they investigated the Reality in religion they found that all men are the servants of God, all are the posterity of Adam, all are children of one household, and that the foundations of all the Prophets are one. For in as much as the teachings of the Prophets are Reality, their foundations are one. The enmity and strife of nations therefore are due to religious imitations and not to the Reality which underlies the teachings of the Prophets. Through Baha’u’llah the nations and peoples grew to understand and comprehend this. Therefore hearts became united and lives were cemented together. After centuries of hatred and bitterness the Christian, Jew, Zoroastrian, Muhammadan and Buddhist arose for amity; all of them in the utmost love and unity. They became welded and cemented because they had all arrived at Reality.
The Divine Prophets are conjoined in the utmost state of love. Each former one has given the glad tidings of His successor's coming and each successor has sanctioned the one who preceded Him. They were in the utmost unity, but their nations are in strife. For instance, Moses gave the message of the glad tidings of Christ and Christ confirmed the Prophethood of Moses. Therefore between Moses and Jesus there is no variation or conflict. They are in the utmost unity. But between the Jew and the Christian there is conflict. Now therefore if the Christian and Jewish peoples investigate the Reality underlying their Prophets' teachings they will become kind in their attitude toward each other and associate in the utmost love, for Reality is one and not dual or multiple. If this investigation of the Reality becomes universal, all the divergent nations will ratify all the Divine Prophets and all will confirm all the Holy Books. No strife or rancor will remain and all of us will become united. Then will we associate together in the utmost love. We will become as fathers and sons, as brothers and sisters living together in the utmost unity, love and happiness, for this century is the Century of Light. It is not like former centuries. Former centuries were epochs of oppression. Now human intellect has developed and human intelligence has increased. Each soul is investigating the Reality. This is not a time when we shall wage war and be hostile toward each other. We are living at a time when we should enjoy the utmost friendship.
Fifty years ago, His Holiness Baha’u’llah sent epistles to all the kings and nations of the world, at a time when there was no mention of International Peace. One of these epistles was sent by Him to the President of the American Democracy. In these communications He summoned all to International Peace and the oneness of the human world. He summoned all to the fundamentals of the teachings of all the Prophets.
Some of the European kings were haughty. Among them was Napoleon Bonaparte III. Baha’u’llah wrote a second epistle to him, which was published thirty years ago. The context is this: "O Napoleon! thou hast become haughty indeed. Thou hast become proud. Thou hast forgotten God. Thou dost imagine that this majesty is permanent for thee,—this dominion is abiding for thee. A letter have we sent unto thee for acceptance with thy greatest love; but instead thou hast shown haughtiness. Therefore God shall uproot this edifice of thy sovereignty; thy country shall flee away from thee. Thou shalt find humiliation hastening after thee because thou didst not arise for that which was enjoined upon thee,—whereas that which was a duty incumbent upon thee was the cause of life to the world. The punishment of God shall soon be dealt out to thee."
This epistle was revealed in the year 1869, and after one year the foundations of the Napoleonic Sovereignty were utterly uprooted.
Among these epistles was a very lengthy one to the Shah of Persia. It was printed and spread broadcast throughout all the countries of the world. This epistle was revealed in the year 1870. In it He admonished the Shah of Persia to be kind to all his subjects,—summoning him to justice,—counselling him to make no distinction among the religions,—with Jew, Christian, Muhammadan, Zoroastrian, to deal equally and the oppressions prevalent in his country were to be removed. The Jews were greatly oppressed in Persia.
Baha’u’llah especially recommended justice for them, saying that all people are the servants of God, and in the eye of the Government they should be equally estimated,—the Government should be just to all. . . . "If justice is not dealt out, if these oppressions are not removed and if thou dost not obey God, the foundations of thy Government will be razed and thou shalt become evanescent — become as nothing. Thou shouldst gather all the learned men, and then summon Me. There I shall be present. I will then advance proofs and evidences as to My validity. I will manifest My proof and anything that you may ask. I am ready. But if no attention is paid to this Book, thou, like unto the kings who became non-existent, shall likewise become non-existent." The Shah did not answer this epistle of the Blessed Perfection. Then God destroyed the foundations of his sovereignty.
Among those to whom He wrote was the Sultan of Turkey. In it He arraigned him, saying: "Verily, thou didst incarcerate and make Me a prisoner. Dost thou imagine that imprisonment is a loss to Me,—that imprisonment is a humiliation for Me? This imprisonment is a glory for Me because it is in the pathway of God. I have not committed a crime. It is for the sake of God that I have received this ordeal. Therefore I am very happy. I am exceedingly joyous. But thou must wait;—God will send thee a punishment;—thou shalt receive retribution. Ere long thou shalt observe how ordeals shall descend upon thee like rain and thou shalt become non-existent." And even so it was.
Likewise He sent messages to the other kings and crowned heads of the earth, summoning all of them to love, equity, international peace and the oneness of mankind in order that all mankind might become unified and agreed; that strife, warfare and sedition should pass away; that bitterness and enmity might cease, and all become united and agreed and arise to serve the One God.
Now I have spoken. If you have anything to say, let it be heard. You have listened most attentively.
[After a pause. Abdu’l-Baha continued]: I will add a little more. In brief,—two kings arose against Baha’u’llah—the Shah of Persia and the Sultan of Turkey. They imprisoned His Holiness in the fortress of Akka in order to extinguish His Light and exterminate His Cause. But Baha’u’llah while in prison wrote severe letters of arraignment to them. He declared that imprisonment was no obstacle to Him. He said: "This imprisonment will prove to be the means of the promotion of My Cause This imprisonment shall be the incentive for the spreading of My Teachings. No harm shall come to Me because I have sacrificed My life, I have sacrificed My blood, I have sacrificed My possessions;—I have sacrificed all and for Me this imprisonment is no loss." And just as He declared, so it came to pass.
In prison He hoisted His banner, and His Cause was spread throughout the world. It has reached America. Now in all parts of the world the Cause of Baha’u’llah is spread broadcast. You go to Asia and wherever you travel you will find Baha’is. You go to Africa, Europe, there you will find the Cause of Baha’u’llah. In America it is just beginning to grow and spread.
These two kings could not do anything to withstand Baha’u’llah, but God, through Him, was capable of destroying both sovereigns. I, too, was in prison. God removed the chains from my neck and placed them around the neck of Abdu’l-Hamid. It was done suddenly,—not a long time,—in a moment as it were. The same hour that the Young Turks declared liberty, the Committee of Union and Progress set me free. They lifted the chains from my neck and threw them around the neck of Abdu’l-Hamid. That which he did to me was inflicted upon him. Now the position is precisely reversed. His days are spent in prison just as I passed the days in prison at Akka,—with this difference,—that I was happy in imprisonment. I was in the utmost elation, because I was not a criminal. They had imprisoned me in the Path of God. Every time I thought of this,—that I was a prisoner in the Pathway of God,—the utmost elation overcame me. Abdu’l-Hamid is now suffering punishment for his deeds. Because of the sins he committed, he is now in prison. This is retribution for his acts. Every hour he is mortified anew and his ignominy revived. He is in the utmost sorrow and disappointment, while I am in the utmost happiness. I was happy that—praise be to God!—I was a prisoner in the Pathway of God; that my life was not wasted; that it was spent in the Divine Pathway. Nobody who saw me imagined that I was in prison. They saw me in the utmost joy, the utmost thankfulness and health,—paying no attention at all to the prison.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, New York city, July 5, 1912; Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 11, September 27, 1912)