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The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh
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Pages 273-282
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The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh
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The larger implications of this order are explained by Shoghi
Effendi in successive communications addressed to the Bahá'í
community since February, 1929: --
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I cannot refrain from appealing to them who stand
identified with the Faith to disregard the prevailing notions
and the fleeting fashions of the day, and to realize as
never before that the exploded theories and the tottering
institutions of present-day civilization must needs appear
in sharp contrast with those God-given institutions which
are destined to arise upon their ruin. ...
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For Bahá'u'lláh ... has not only imbued mankind with
a new and regenerating Spirit. He has not merely
enunciated certain universal principles, or propounded a
particular philosophy, however potent, sound and universal
these may be. In addition to these He, as well as
`Abdu'l-Bahá after Him, has, unlike the Dispensations of
the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws,
established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials
of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a
pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the
establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one
agency for the unification of the world, and the proclamation
of the reign of righteousness and justice upon the
earth. ...
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Unlike the Dispensation of Christ, unlike the Dispensation
of Muhammad, unlike all the Dispensations of the
past, the apostles of Bahá'u'lláh in every land, wherever
they labor and toil, have before them in clear, in unequivocal
and emphatic language, all the laws, the regulations,
the principles, the institutions, the guidance, they
require for the prosecution and consummation of their
task. ... Therein lies the distinguishing feature of the
Bahá'í Revelation. Therein lies the strength of the unity
of the Faith, of the validity of a Revelation that claims
not to destroy or belittle previous Revelations, but to connect,
unify, and fulfill them. ...
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Feeble though our Faith may now appear in the eyes
of men, who either denounce it as an offshoot of Islam, or
contemptuously ignore it as one more of those obscure
sects that abound in the West, this priceless gem of
Divine Revelation, now still in its embryonic state, shall
evolve within the shell of His law, and shall forge ahead,
undivided and unimpaired, till it embraces the whole of
mankind. Only those who have already recognized the
supreme station of Bahá'u'lláh, only those whose hearts
have been touched by His love, and have become familiar
with the potency of His spirit, can adequately appreciate
the value of this Divine Economy -- His inestimable gift to
mankind. -- March 21, 1930.
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It is towards this goal -- the goal of a new World
Order, Divine in origin, all-embracing in scope, equitable
in principle, challenging in its features -- that a harassed
humanity must strive. ...
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How pathetic indeed are the efforts of those leaders
of human institutions who, in utter disregard of the spirit
of the age, are striving to adjust national processes, suited
to the ancient days of self-contained nations, to an age
which must either achieve the unity of the world, as
adumbrated by Bahá'u'lláh, or perish. At so critical an
hour in the history of civilization it behooves the leaders
of all the nations of the world, great and small, whether
in the East or in the West, whether victors or vanquished,
to give heed to the clarion call of Bahá'u'lláh and, thoroughly
imbued with a sense of world solidarity, the sine
quaa non of loyalty to His Cause, arise manfully to carry
out in its entirety the one remedial scheme He, the Divine
Physician, has prescribed for an ailing humanity. Let
them discard, one for all, every preconceived idea, every
national prejudice, and give heed to the sublime counsel
of `Abdu'l-Bahá, the authorized Expounder of His
teachings. You can best serve your country, was `Abdu'l-Bahá's
rejoinder
[1]
to a high official in the service of the
federal government of the United States of America, who
had questioned Him as to the best manner in which he
could promote the interests of his government and people,
if you strive, in your capacity as a citizen of the world, to
assist in the eventual application of the principles of federalism
underlying the government of your own country to
the relationships now existing between the peoples and
nations of the world. ...
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Some form of a world Super-State must needs be
evolved, in whose favor all the nations of the world will
have willingly ceded every claim to make war, certain
rights to impose taxation and all rights to maintain armaments,
except for purposes of maintaining internal order
within their respective dominions. Such a state will have
to include within its orbit an International Executive
adequate to enforce supreme and unchallengeable authority
on every recalcitrant member of the commonwealth;
a World Parliament whose members shall be
elected by the people in their respective countries and
whose election shall be confirmed by their respective governments;
and a Supreme Tribunal whose judgment will
have a binding effect even in such cases where the parties
concerned did not voluntarily agree to submit their case to
its consideration. A world community in which all economic
barriers will have been permanently demolished
and the interdependence of Capital and Labor definitely
recognized; in which the clamor of religious fanaticism
and strife will have been forever stilled; in which the flame
of racial animosity will have been finally extinguished; in
which a single code of international law -- the product of
the considered judgment of the world's federated representatives --
shall have as its sanction the instant and
coercive intervention of the combined forces of the federated
units; and finally a world community in which the
fury of a capricious and militant nationalism will have
been transmuted into an abiding consciousness of world
citizenship -- such indeed, appears, in its broadest outline,
the Order anticipated by Bahá'u'lláh, an Order that shall
come to be regarded as the fairest fruit of a slowly maturing
age. ...
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Let there be no misgivings as to the animating purpose
of the world-wide Law of Bahá'u'lláh. Far from aiming at
the subversion of the existing foundations of society, it
seeks to broaden its basis, to remold its institutions in a
manner consonant with the needs of an ever-changing
world. It can conflict with no legitimate allegiances, nor
can it undermine essential loyalties. Its purpose is neither
to stifle the flame of a sane and intelligent patriotism in
men's hearts, nor to abolish the system of national autonomy
so essential if the evils of excessive centralization
are to be avoided. It does not ignore, nor does it attempt to
suppress, the diversity of ethnical origins, of climate, of
history, of language and tradition, of thought and habit,
that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world. It
calls for a wider loyalty, for a larger aspiration than any
that has animated the human race. ...
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The call of Bahá'u'lláh is primarily directed against all
forms of provincialism, all insularities and prejudices.
... For legal standards, political and economic theories
are solely designed to safeguard the interests of humanity
as a whole, and not humanity to be crucified for the preservation
of the integrity of any particular law or doctrine. ...
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The principle of the Oneness of Mankind -- the pivot
round which all the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh revolve -- is
no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression
of vague and pious hope. ... Its implications are
deeper, its claims greater than any which the Prophets of
old were allowed to advance. Its message is applicable not
only to the individual, but concerns itself primarily with
the nature of those essential relationships that must bind
all the states and nations as members of one human
family. ...
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It represents the consummation of human
evolution. ...
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That the forces of a world catastrophe can alone precipitate
such a new phase of human thought is, alas, becoming
increasingly apparent. ...
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Nothing but a fiery ordeal, out of which humanity will
emerge, chastened and prepared, can succeed in implanting
that sense of responsibility which the leaders of a
newborn age must arise to shoulder. ...
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Has not `Abdu'l-Bahá Himself asserted in unequivocal
language that "another war, fiercer than the last, will
assuredly break out"? -- November 28, 1931.
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This Administrative Order ... will, as its component
parts, its organic institutions, begin to function with efficiency
and vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate its
capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the
very pattern of the New World Order destined to embrace
in the fullness of time the whole of mankind. ...
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Alone of all the Revelations gone before it this Faith
has ... succeeded in raising a structure which the bewildered
followers of bankrupt and broken creeds might
well approach and critically examine, and seek, ere it is
too late, the invulnerable security of its world-embracing
shelter. ...
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To what else if not the power and majesty which
this Administrative Order -- the rudiments of the future
all-enfolding Bahá'í Commonwealth -- is destined to manifest,
can these utterances of Bahá'u'lláh allude: "The
world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating
influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's
ordered life hath been revolutionized through the
agency of this unique, this wondrous System -- the like of
which mortal eyes have never witnessed." ...
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The Bahá'í Commonwealth of the future of which this
vast Administrative Order is the sole framework, is, both
in theory and practice, not only unique in the entire history
of political institutions, but can find no parallel in the
annals of any of the world's recognized religious systems.
No form of democratic government; no system of autocracy
or of dictatorship, whether monarchical or republican;
no intermediary scheme of a purely aristocratic
order; nor even any of the recognized types of theocracy,
whether it be the Hebrew Commonwealth, or the various
Christian ecclesiastical organizations, or the Imamate or
the Caliphate in Islám -- none of these can be identified
or be said to conform with the Administrative Order
which the master-hand of its perfect Architect has
fashioned. ...
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Let no one, while this System is still in its infancy,
misconceive its character, belittle its significance or misrepresent
its purpose. The bedrock on which this Administrative
Order is founded is God's immutable Purpose
for mankind in this day. The Source from which it derives
its inspiration is no one less than Bahá'u'lláh Himself.
... The central, the underlying aim which animates it
is the establishment of the New World Order as adumbrated
by Bahá'u'lláh. The methods it employs, the
standard it inculcates, incline it to neither East nor West,
neither Jew nor Gentile, neither rich nor poor, neither
white nor colored. Its watchword is the unification of
the human race; its standard the "Most Great Peace." ...
February 8, 1934.
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The contrast between the accumulating evidences of
steady consolidation that accompany the rise of the Administrative
Order of the Faith of God, and the forces of
disintegration which batter at the fabric of a travailing
society, is as clear as it is arresting. Both within and
outside the Bahá'í world the signs and tokens which, in
a mysterious manner, are heralding the birth of that
World Order, the establishment of which must signalize
the Golden Age of the Cause of God, are growing and
multiplying day by day. ...
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"Soon," Bahá'u'lláh's own words proclaim it, "will the
present day Order be rolled up, and a new one spread out
in its stead." ...
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The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh ... should ... be regarded
as signalizing through its advent the coming of age
of the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely
as yet another spiritual revival in the ever-changing fortunes
of mankind, not only as a further stage in a chain
of progressive Revelations, nor even as the culmination
of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather
as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous
evolution of man's collective life on this planet. The
emergence of a world community, the consciousness of
world citizenship, the founding of a world civilization and
culture ... should ... be regarded, as far as this planetary
life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in the organization
of human society, though man, as an individual,
will, nay must indeed as a result of such a consummation,
continue indefinitely to progress and
develop. ...
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The unity of the human race, as envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh,
implies the establishment of a world commonwealth
in which all nations, races, creeds and classes are closely
and permanently united, and in which the autonomy of its
state members and the personal freedom and initiative of
the individuals that compose them are definitely and completely
safeguarded. This commonwealth must, as far as
we can visualize it, consist of a world legislature, whose
members will, as the trustees of the whole of mankind,
ultimately control the entire resources of all the component
nations, and will enact such laws as shall be required
to regulate the life, satisfy the needs and adjust the relationships
of all races and peoples. A world executive,
backed by an international Force, will carry out the decisions
arrived at, and apply the laws enacted by, this
world legislature, and will safeguard the organic unity of
the whole commonwealth. A world tribunal will ajudicate
and deliver its compulsory and final verdict in all and
any disputes that may arise between the various elements
constituting this universal system. A mechanism of world
intercommunication will be devised, embracing the whole
planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions,
and functioning with marvelous swiftness and perfect
regularity. A world metropolis will act as the nerve center
of a world civilization, the focus towards which the unifying
forces of life will converge and from which its energizing
influences will radiate. A world language will either
be invented or chosen from among the existing languages
and will be taught in the schools of all the federated
nations as an auxiliary to their mother tongue. A world
script, a world literature, a uniform and universal system
of currency, of weights and measures, will simplify and
facilitate intercourse and understanding among the nations
and races of mankind. In such a world society,
science and religion, the two most potent forces in human
life, will be reconciled, will cöoperate, and will harmoniously
develop. The press will, under such a system, while
giving full scope to the expression of the diversified views
and convictions of mankind, cease to be mischievously
manipulated by vested interests, whether private or public,
and will be liberated from the influence of contending
governments and peoples. The economic resources of the
world will be organized, its sources of raw materials will be
tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be cöordinated
and developed, and the distribution of its products will be
equitably regulated.
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National rivalries, hatred, and intrigues will cease,
and racial animosity and prejudice will be replaced by
racial amity, understanding and cöoperation. The causes
of religious strife will be permanently removed, economic
barriers and restrictions will be completely abolished, and
the inordinate distinction between classes will be obliterated.
Destitution on the one hand, and gross accumulation
of ownership on the other, will disappear. The enormous
energy dissipated and wasted on war, whether economic
or political, will be consecrated to such ends as will extend
the range of human inventions and technical development,
to the increase of the productivity of mankind, to
the extermination of disease, to the extension of scientific
research, to the raising of the standard of physical health,
to the sharpening and refinement of the human brain, to
the exploitation of the unused and unsuspected resources
of the planet, to the prolongation of human life, and to
the furtherance of any other agency that can stimulate
the intellectual, the moral, and spiritual life of the entire
human race.
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A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and
exercising unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably
vast resources, blending and embodying the ideals
of both the East and the West, liberated from the curse
of war and its miseries, and bent on the exploitation of all
the available sources of energy on the surface of the
planet, a system in which Force is made the servant of
Justice, whose life is sustained by its universal recognition
of one God and by its allegiance to one common
Revelation -- such is the goal towards which humanity,
impelled by the unifying forces of life, is moving. ...
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The whole of mankind is groaning, is dying to be led
to unity, and to terminate its age-long martyrdom. And yet
it stubbornly refuses to embrace the light and acknowledge
the sovereign authority of the one Power that can extricate
it from its entanglements, and avert the woeful calamity
that threatens to engulf it. ...
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Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of
the stage which human society is now approaching. Unity
of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively
attempted and fully established. World unity is
the goal towards which a harassed humanity is striving.
Nation-building has come to an end. The anarchy inherent
in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax. A
world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize
the oneness and wholeness of human relationships,
and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate
this fundamental principle of its life. -- March 11,
1936.
[The above letters have been published in one volume entitled
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.]
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Notes
1. [In the year 1912.]
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