 Friday, April 8, 2005
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Reposted from the Bahá'í NYC website.
A Magnificent Future
Over a century ago, Bahá'u'lláh stated:
"...the
prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective..." "Soon will
the present-day order be rolled up and a new one spread out in its
stead." --Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings, p. 216 and p. 7
Even a cursory glance reveals that the world is in turmoil. The
daily newspaper and television news reports bring us terrible
stories of crime, extreme poverty amidst plenty, the rising incidence
of violence and immorality, the abandonment and neglect of children,
and much more -- things which indicate a breakdown of moral and
ethical responsibilities on the part of individuals as well as
society.
Concurrently, the world is also witnessing the emergence of the
means and conditions that promise a magnificent future for humanity.
Advancements in medicine, food production, communication, transportation
and many other fields are paving the way for a global human community
to begin a new era. A raised consciousness regarding human rights,
the protection of the environment and all aspects of the home-village
earth is replacing the old narrow mentality. The means for achieving
world unity are also rapidly being put in place.
These two simultaneous processes are, in the Bahá'í view, the
death pangs of the old world order and the birth pangs of the
new. Slowly, even while humanity is learning to think of itself
as one entity and laying the foundation for permanent peace, it
is realizing the deep need for a world-wide spiritual regeneration,
a movement toward raising personal moral and ethical standards
of conduct that will enable individuals and societies to function
the way they should.
In spite of the advances in material well-being, people are beginning
to realize that all the technology that science brings us will
not achieve this spiritual regeneration.
The Bahá'ís believe that only the spiritual force and power of
the life-giving Message of a new Manifestation from God, Who calls
us to a higher level of human dignity and moral conduct, can bring
this about. When the energy released by a united and spiritually-regenerated
humanity is combined with the benefits of science, then will the
world witness that which it has never seen before.
The Forthcoming Golden Age
The centerpiece of the Bahá'í vision of the future society is
the unity of the human race. Bahá'u'lláh writes:
"O ye children of men the fundamental purpose animating
the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests
and promote the unity of the human race....The well-being of
mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and
until its unity is firmly established." --Bahá'u'lláh,
Gleanings, p. 286
The achievement of this unity is Bahá'u'lláh's declared mission
and the cherished task of the world-wide Bahá'í community. The
outline and structure of the unity of mankind when it is achieved
are indicated in the following passage from the writings of
Shoghi Effendi, great-grandson of Bahá'u'lláh and Guardian of
the Bahá'í Faith:
"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 adjudicate 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 inter-communication 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 centre 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 the future society:
- Science and religion, the two most potent forces in human
life, will be reconciled, will co-operate, 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 coordinated and developed, and the distribution
of its products will be equitably regulated.
- National rivalries, hatreds and intrigues will cease.
- Racial animosity and prejudice will be replaced by racial
amity, understanding and co-operation.
- 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.
- 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."
--Shoghi Effendi, Letter of March, 1936, World Order of Bahá'u'lláh,
p. 203-204
© 2002 The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New York City
