III
The primary question to be resolved
is how the present world, with its entrenched pattern of conflict, can change to a world
in which harmony and cooperation will prevail.
World order can be founded only on an unshakable
consciousness of the oneness of mankind, a spiritual truth which all the human sciences
confirm. Anthropology, physiology, psychology, recognize only one human species, albeit
infinitely varied in the secondary aspects of life. Recognition of this truth requires
abandonment of prejudice -- prejudice of every kind -- race, class, color, creed, nation,
sex, degree of material civilization, everything which enables people to consider
themselves superior to others.
Acceptance of the oneness of mankind is the
first fundamental prerequisite for reorganization and administration of the world as one
country, the home of humankind. Universal acceptance of this spiritual principle is
essential to any successful attempt to establish world peace. It should therefore be
universally proclaimed, taught in schools, and constantly asserted in every nation as
preparation for the organic change in the structure of society which it implies.
In the Bahá'í view, recognition of the oneness
of mankind "calls for no less than the reconstruction and the
demilitarization of the whole civilized world -- a world organically unified in all the
essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its
trade and finance, its script and language, and yet infinite in the diversity of the
national characteristics of its federated units."
Elaborating the implications of this pivotal
principle, Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian
of the Bahá'í Faith, commented in 1931 that: "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. It insists upon the subordination of
national impulses and interests to the imperative claims of a unified world. It repudiates
excessive centralization on one hand, and disclaims all attempts at uniformity on the
other. Its watchword is unity in diversity".
The achievement of such ends requires several
stages in the adjustment of national political attitudes, which now verge on anarchy in
the absence of clearly defined laws or universally accepted and enforceable principles
regulating the relationships between nations. The League of Nations, the United Nations,
and the many organizations and agreements produced by them have unquestionably been
helpful in attenuating some of the negative effects of international conflicts, but they
have shown themselves incapable of preventing war. Indeed, there have been scores of wars
since the end of the Second World War; many are yet raging.
The predominant aspects of this problem had
already emerged in the nineteenth century when Bahá'u'lláh
first advanced his proposals for the establishment of world peace. The principle of
collective security was propounded by him in statements addressed to the rulers of the
world. Shoghi Effendi commented on his meaning: "What else could these weighty words
signify", he wrote, "if they did not point to the inevitable curtailment of
unfettered national sovereignty as an indispensable preliminary to the formation of the
future Commonwealth of all the nations of the world? 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 judgement 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 judgement 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."
The implementation of these far-reaching
measures was indicated by Bahá'u'lláh: "The time must come
when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an all-embracing assemblage of
men will be universally realized. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it,
and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as will lay the
foundations of the world's Great Peace amongst men."
The courage, the resolution, the pure motive,
the selfless love of one people for another -- all the spiritual and moral qualities
required for effecting this momentous step towards peace are focused on the will to act.
And it is towards arousing the necessary volition that earnest consideration must be given
to the reality of man, namely, his thought. To understand the relevance of this potent
reality is also to appreciate the social necessity of actualizing its unique value through
candid, dispassionate and cordial consultation, and of acting upon the results of this
process. Bahá'u'lláh insistently drew attention to the
virtues and indispensability of consultation for ordering human affairs. He said: "Consultation bestows greater awareness and transmutes conjecture
into certitude. It is a shining light which, in a dark world, leads the way and guides.
For everything there is and will continue to be a station of perfection and maturity. The
maturity of the gift of understanding is made manifest through consultation."
The very attempt to achieve peace through the consultative action he proposed can release
such a salutary spirit among the peoples of the earth that no power could resist the
final, triumphal outcome.
Concerning the proceedings for this world
gathering, `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of Bahá'u'lláh
and authorized interpreter of his teachings, offered these insights: "They
must make the Cause of Peace the object of general consultation, and seek by every means
in their power to establish a Union of the nations of the world. They must conclude a
binding treaty and establish a covenant, the provisions of which shall be sound,
inviolable and definite. They must proclaim it to all the world and obtain for it the
sanction of all the human race. This supreme and noble undertaking -- the real source of
the peace and well-being of all the world -- should be regarded as sacred by all that
dwell on earth. All the forces of humanity must be mobilized to ensure the stability and
permanence of this Most Great Covenant. In this all-embracing Pact the limits and
frontiers of each and every nation should be clearly fixed, the principles underlying the
relations of governments towards one another definitely laid down, and all international
agreements and obligations ascertained. In like manner, the size of the armaments of every
government should be strictly limited, for if the preparations for war and the military
forces of any nation should be allowed to increase, they will arouse the suspicion of
others. The fundamental principle underlying this solemn Pact should be so fixed that if
any government later violate any one of its provisions, all the governments on earth
should arise to reduce it to utter submission, nay the human race as a whole should
resolve, with every power at its disposal, to destroy that government. Should this
greatest of all remedies be applied to the sick body of the world, it will assuredly
recover from its ills and will remain eternally safe and secure."
The holding of this mighty convocation is long
overdue.
With all the ardor of our hearts, we appeal to
the leaders of all nations to seize this opportune moment and take irreversible steps to
convoke this world meeting. All the forces of history impel the human race towards this
act which will mark for all time the dawn of its long-awaited maturity.
Will not the United Nations, with the full
support of its membership, rise to the high purposes of such a crowning event?
Let men and women, youth and children everywhere
recognize the eternal merit of this imperative action for all peoples and lift up their
voices in willing assent. Indeed, let it be this generation that inaugurates this glorious
stage in the evolution of social life on the planet. |
Bahá'u'lláh forbids:
