FOUNDATIONS OF WORLD UNITY 
     (U.S., Sixth printing, 1979) 
     Filename:       FWU.ZIP (FN) 
     Filedate:     02/19/94 
 
+P9 
                         THE TRUE MODERNISM 
 
     All created things have their degree or stage of maturity.  The 
period of maturity in the life of a tree is the time of its fruit-bearing.  
The maturity of a plant is the time of its blossoming 
and flower.  The animal attains a stage of full growth and completeness, 
and in the human kingdom man reaches his maturity when the lights 
of intelligence have their greatest power and development.  
     From the beginning to the end of his life man passes through 
certain periods or stages each of which is marked by certain conditions 
peculiar to itself.  For instance during the period of childhood his conditions 
and requirements are characteristic of that degree of intelligence 
and capacity.  After a time he enters the period of youth in 
which his former conditions and needs are superseded by new requirements 
applicable to the advance in his degree.  His faculties of observation 
are broadened and deepened, his intelligent capacities are trained 
and awakened, the limitations and environment of childhood no 
longer restrict his energies and accomplishments.  At last he passes out 
of the period of youth and enters the stage or station of maturity 
which necessitates another transformation and corresponding advance 
in his sphere of life-activity.  New powers and perceptions clothe him, 
teaching and training commensurate with his progression occupy his 
mind, special bounties and bestowals descend in proportion to his increased 
capacities and his former period of youth and its conditions 
will no longer satisfy his matured view and vision.  
     Similarly there are periods and stages in the life of the aggregate 
world of humanity which at one time was passing through its degree of 
childhood, at another its time of youth but now has entered its long 
presaged period of maturity, the evidences of which are everywhere 
visible and apparent.  Therefore the requirements and conditions of 
former periods have changed and merged into exigencies which distinctly 
characterize the present age of the world of mankind.  That 
which was applicable to human needs during the early history of the 
race could neither meet nor satisfy the demands of this day and period 
of newness and consummation.  Humanity has emerged from its 
former degrees of limitation and preliminary training.  Man must now 
become imbued with new virtues and powers, new moralities, new 
capacities.  New bounties, bestowals and perfections are awaiting and 
already descending upon him.  The gifts and graces of the period of 
youth although timely and sufficient during the adolescence of the 
 
+P10 
world of mankind, are now incapable of meeting the requirements of 
its maturity.  The playthings of childhood and infancy no longer 
satisfy or interest the adult mind.  
     From every standpoint the world of humanity is undergoing a 
re-formation.  The laws of former governments and civilizations are in 
process of revision, scientific ideas and theories are developing and 
advancing to meet a new range of phenomena, invention and discovery 
are penetrating hitherto unknown fields revealing new wonders and 
hidden secrets of the material universe; industries have vastly wider 
scope and production; everywhere the world of mankind is in the 
throes of evolutionary activity indicating the passing of the old conditions 
and advent of the new age of re-formation.  Old trees yield no 
fruitage; old ideas and methods are obsolete and worthless now.  Old 
standards of ethics, moral codes and methods of living in the past will 
not suffice for the present age of advancement and progress.  
     This is the cycle of maturity and re-formation in religion as well.  
Dogmatic imitations of ancestral beliefs are passing.  They have been 
the axis around which religion revolved but now are no longer fruitful; 
on the contrary, in this day they have become the cause of human 
degradation and hindrance.  Bigotry and dogmatic adherence to 
ancient beliefs have become the central and fundamental source of 
animosity among men, the obstacle to human progress, the cause of 
warfare and strife, the destroyer of peace, composure and welfare in 
the world.  Consider conditions in the Balkans today+F1; fathers, mothers, 
children in grief and lamentation, the foundations of life overturned, 
cities laid waste and fertile lands made desolate by the ravages of war.  
These conditions are the outcome of hostility and hatred between 
nations and peoples of religion who imitate and adhere to the forms 
and violate the spirit and reality of the divine teachings.  
     While this is true and apparent, it is likewise evident that the 
Lord of mankind has bestowed infinite bounties upon the world in 
this century of maturity and consummation.  The ocean of divine 
mercy is surging, the vernal showers are descending, the Sun of 
Reality is shining gloriously.  Heavenly teachings applicable to the 
advancement in human conditions have been revealed in this merciful 
age.  This re-formation and renewal of the fundamental reality of 
religion constitute the true and outworking spirit of modernism, the 
unmistakable light of the world, the manifest effulgence of the Word 
of God, the divine remedy for all human ailment and the bounty of 
eternal life to all mankind.  
 
+F1 1912.  
 
+P11 
                         THE SOURCE OF REALITY 
 
     In our solar system, the center of illumination is the sun itself.  
Through the will of God this central luminary is the one source 
of the existence and development of all phenomenal things.  When 
we observe the organisms of the material kingdoms we find that their 
growth and training are dependent upon the heat and light of the 
sun.  Without this quickening impulse there would be no growth of 
tree or vegetation, neither would the existence of animal or human 
being be possible; in fact no forms of created life would be manifest 
upon the earth.  But if we reflect deeply we will perceive that the great 
bestower and giver of life is God; the sun is the intermediary of His 
will and plan.  Without the bounty of the sun therefore the world 
would be in darkness.  All illumination of our planetary system proceeds 
or emanates from the solar center.  
     Likewise in the spiritual realm of intelligence and idealism there 
must be a center of illumination, and that center is the everlasting, 
ever-shining Sun, the Word of God.  Its lights are the lights of reality 
which have shone upon humanity, illumining the realm of thought and 
morals, conferring the bounties of the divine world upon man.  These 
lights are the cause of the education of souls and the source of the 
enlightenment of hearts, sending forth in effulgent radiance the message 
of the glad-tidings of the Kingdom of God.  In brief, the moral and 
ethical world and the world of spiritual regeneration are dependent 
for their progressive being upon that heavenly center of illumination.  
It gives forth the light of religion and bestows the life of the spirit, 
imbues humanity with archetypal virtues and confers eternal splendors.  
This Sun of Reality, this center of effulgences is the prophet or Manifestation 
of God.  Just as the phenomenal sun shines upon the material 
world producing life and growth, likewise the spiritual or prophetic 
Sun confers illumination upon the human world of thought and intelligence, 
and unless it rose upon the horizon of human existence the 
kingdom of man would become dark and extinguished.  
     The Sun of Reality is one Sun but it has different dawning-places, 
just as the phenomenal sun is one although it appears at various 
points of the horizon.  During the time of spring the luminary of the 
physical world rises far to the north of the equinoctial; in summer it 
dawns midway and in winter it appears in the most southerly point of 
its zodiacal journey.  These day-springs or dawning-points differ widely 
but the sun is ever the same sun whether it be the phenomenal or 
 
+P12 
spiritual luminary.  Souls who focus their vision upon the Sun of 
Reality will be the recipients of light no matter from what point it 
rises, but those who are fettered by adoration of the dawning-point 
are deprived when it appears in a different station upon the spiritual 
horizon.  
     Furthermore, just as the solar cycle has its four seasons, the cycle 
of the Sun of Reality has its distinct and successive periods.  Each 
brings its vernal season or springtime.  When the Sun of Reality returns 
to quicken the world of mankind a divine bounty descends from 
the heaven of generosity.  The realm of thoughts and ideals is set in 
motion and blessed with new life.  Minds are developed, hopes brighten, 
aspirations become spiritual, the virtues of the human world appear 
with freshened power of growth and the image and likeness of God 
become visible in man.  It is the springtime of the inner world.  After 
the spring, summer comes with its fullness and fruitage spiritual; 
autumn follows with its withering winds which chill the soul; the Sun 
seems to be going away until at last the mantle of winter overspreads 
and only faint traces of the effulgence of that divine Sun remain.  Just 
as the surface of the material world becomes dark and dreary, the soil 
dormant, the trees naked and bare and no beauty or freshness remain 
to cheer the darkness and desolation, so the winter of the spiritual 
cycle witnesses the death and disappearance of divine growth and 
extinction of the light and love of God.  But again the cycle begins and 
a new springtime appears.  In it the former springtime has returned, 
the world is resuscitated, illumined and attains spirituality; religion 
is renewed and reorganized, hearts are turned to God, the summons of 
God is heard and life is again bestowed upon man.  For a long time the 
religious world had been weakened and materialism had advanced; 
the spiritual forces of life were waning, moralities were becoming degraded, 
composure and peace had vanished from souls and satanic 
qualities were dominating hearts; strife and hatred overshadowed 
humanity, bloodshed and violence prevailed.  God was neglected; the 
Sun of Reality seemed to have gone completely; deprivation of the 
bounties of heaven was a fact; and so the season of winter fell upon 
mankind.  But in the generosity of God a new springtime dawned, the 
lights of God shone forth, the effulgent Sun of Reality returned and 
became manifest, the realm of thoughts and kingdom of hearts became 
exhilarated, a new spirit of life breathed into the body of the 
world and continuous advancement became apparent.  
     I hope that the lights of the Sun of Reality will illumine the whole 
world so that no strife and warfare, no battles and bloodshed remain.  
May fanaticism and religious bigotry be unknown, all humanity enter 
the bond of brotherhood, souls consort in perfect agreement, the 
 
+P13 
nations of earth at last hoist the banner of truth and the religions of 
the world enter the divine temple of oneness, for the foundations of 
the heavenly religions are one reality.  Reality is not divisible; it does 
not admit multiplicity.  All the holy Manifestations of God have proclaimed 
and promulgated the same reality.  They have summoned 
mankind to reality itself and reality is one.  The clouds and mists of 
imitations have obscured the Sun of Truth.  We must forsake these 
imitations, dispel these clouds and mists and free the Sun from the 
darkness of superstition.  Then will the Sun of Truth shine most 
gloriously; then all the inhabitants of the world will be united, the 
religions will be one, sects and denominations will reconcile, all 
nationalities will flow together in the recognition of one fatherhood and 
all degrees of humankind gather in the shelter of the same tabernacle, 
under the same banner.  
     Until the heavenly civilization is founded, no result will be forthcoming 
from material civilization, even as you observe.  See what 
catastrophes overwhelm mankind.  Consider the wars which disturb 
the world.  Consider the enmity and hatred.  The existence of these 
wars and conditions indicates and proves that the heavenly civilization 
has not yet been established.  If the civilization of the Kingdom 
be spread to all the nations, this dust of disagreement will be dispelled, 
these clouds will pass away and the Sun of Reality in its 
greatest effulgence and glory will shine upon mankind.  
 
+P14 
                         THE DAWN OF PEACE 
 
     The fatherhood of God, His loving-kindness and beneficence 
are apparent to all.  In His mercy he provides fully and amply 
for His creatures and if any soul sins He does not suspend His 
bounty.  All created things are visible manifestations of His fatherhood, 
mercy and heavenly bestowals.  Human brotherhood is likewise 
as clear and evident as the sun, for all are servants of one God, belong 
to one humankind, inhabit the same globe, are sheltered beneath the 
overshadowing dome of heaven and submerged in the sea of divine 
mercy.  Human brotherhood and dependence exist because mutual 
helpfulness and cooperation are the two necessary principles underlying 
human welfare.  This is the physical relationship of mankind.  
There is another brotherhood, the spiritual, which is higher, holier and 
superior to all others.  It is heavenly; it emanates from the breaths of 
the Holy Spirit and the effulgence of merciful attributes; it is founded 
upon spiritual susceptibilities.  This brotherhood is established by the 
Manifestations of the Holy One.  
     The divine Manifestations since the day of Adam have striven 
to unite humanity so that all may be accounted as one soul.  The 
function and purpose of a shepherd is to gather and not disperse his 
flock.  The prophets of God have been divine shepherds of humanity.  
They have established a bond of love and unity among mankind, 
made scattered peoples one nation and wandering tribes a mighty 
kingdom.  They have laid the foundation of the oneness of God and 
summoned all to universal peace.  All these holy, divine Manifestations 
are one.  They have served one God, promulgated the same 
truth, founded the same institutions and reflected the same light.  
Their appearances have been successive and correlated; each one has 
announced and extolled the one who was to follow and all laid the 
foundation of reality.  They summoned and invited the people to love 
and made the human world a mirror of the Word of God.  Therefore 
the divine religions they established have one foundation; their teachings, 
proofs and evidences are one; in name and form they differ but 
in reality they agree and are the same.  These holy Manifestations 
have been as the coming of springtime in the world.  Although the 
springtime of this year is designated by another name according to 
the changing calendar, yet as regards its life and quickening it is the 
same as the springtime of last year.  For each spring is the time of a 
new creation, the effects, bestowals, perfections and life-giving forces 
 
+P15 
of which are the same as those of the former vernal seasons although 
the names are many and various.  This is 1912, last year's was 1911 
and so on, but in fundamental reality no difference is apparent.  The 
sun is one but the dawning-points of the sun are numerous and changing.  
The ocean is one body of water but different parts of it have 
particular designation, Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean, Antarctic, 
etc.  If we consider the names, there is differentiation, but the water, 
the ocean itself is one reality.  
     Likewise the divine religions of the holy Manifestations of God 
are in reality one though in name and nomenclature they differ.  Man 
must be a lover of the light no matter from what day-spring it may 
appear.  He must be a lover of the rose no matter in what soil it may 
be growing.  He must be a seeker of the truth no matter from what 
source it come.  Attachment to the lantern is not loving the light.  
Attachment to the earth is not befitting but enjoyment of the rose 
which develops from the soil is worthy.  Devotion to the tree is profitless 
but partaking of the fruit is beneficial.  Luscious fruits no matter 
upon what tree they grow or where they may be found must be enjoyed.  
The word of truth no matter which tongue utters it must be 
sanctioned.  Absolute verities no matter in what book they be recorded 
must be accepted.  If we harbor prejudice it will be the cause of deprivation 
and ignorance.  The strife between religions, nations and 
races arises from misunderstanding.  If we investigate the religions to 
discover the principles underlying their foundations we will find they 
agree, for the fundamental reality of them is one and not multiple.  
By this means the religionists of the world will reach their point of 
unity and reconciliation.  They will ascertain the truth that the purpose 
of religion is the acquisition of praiseworthy virtues, betterment of 
morals, spiritual development of mankind, the real life and divine 
bestowals.  All the prophets have been the promoters of these principles; 
none of them has been the promoter of corruption, vice or evil.  They 
have summoned mankind to all good.  They have united people in the 
love of God, invited them to the religions of the unity of mankind and 
exhorted them to amity and agreement.  For example, we mention 
Abraham and Moses.  By this mention we do not mean the limitation 
implied in the mere names but intend the virtues which these names 
embody.  When we say "Abraham" we mean thereby a Manifestation 
of divine guidance, a center of human virtues, a source of heavenly 
bestowals to mankind, a dawning-point of divine inspiration and 
perfections.  These perfections and graces are not limited to names 
and boundaries.  When we find these virtues, qualities and attributes 
in any personality, we recognize the same reality shining from within 
and bow in acknowledgment of the Abrahamic perfections.  Similarly 
 
+P16 
we acknowledge and adore the beauty of Moses.  Some souls were 
lovers of the name Abraham, loving the lantern instead of the light 
and when they saw this same light shining from another lantern they 
were so attached to the former lantern that they did not recognize its 
later appearance and illumination.  Therefore those who were attached 
and held tenaciously to the name Abraham were deprived when the 
Abrahamic virtues reappeared in Moses.  Similarly the Jews were believers 
in His Holiness Moses, awaiting the coming of the Messiah.  
The virtues and perfections of Moses became apparent in His Holiness 
Jesus Christ most effulgently but the Jews held to the name Moses, 
not adoring the virtues and perfections manifest in him.  Had they 
been adoring these virtues and seeking these perfections they would 
assuredly have believed in His Holiness Jesus Christ when the same 
virtues and perfections shone in him.  If we are lovers of the light we 
adore it in whatever lamp it may become manifest but if we love the 
lamp itself and the light is transferred to another lamp we will neither 
accept nor sanction it.  Therefore we must follow and adore the virtues 
revealed in the messengers of God whether in Abraham, Moses, Jesus 
or other prophets but we must not adhere to and adore the lamp.  We 
must recognize the sun no matter from what dawning-point it may 
shine forth, be it Mosaic, Abrahamic or any personal point of orientation 
whatever, for we are lovers of sunlight and not of orientation.  
We are lovers of illumination and not of lamps and candles.  We are 
seekers for water no matter from what rock it may gush forth.  We are 
in need of fruit in whatsoever orchard it may be ripened.  We long for 
rain it matters not which cloud pours it down.  We must not be fettered.  
If we renounce these fetters we shall agree, for all are seekers of reality.  
The counterfeit or imitation of true religion has adulterated human 
belief and the foundations have been lost sight of.  The variance of 
these imitations has produced enmity and strife, war and bloodshed.  
Now the glorious and brilliant twentieth century has dawned and the 
divine bounty is radiating universally.  The Sun of Truth is shining 
forth in intense enkindlement.  This is verily the century when these 
imitations must be forsaken, superstitions abandoned and God alone 
worshiped.  We must look at the reality of the prophets and their 
teachings in order that we may agree.  
     Praise be to God! the springtime of God is at hand.  This century 
is verily the spring season.  The world of mind and the kingdom of 
soul have become fresh and verdant by its bestowals.  It has resuscitated 
the whole realm of existence.  On one hand the lights of reality are 
shining; on the other the clouds of divine mercy are pouring down the 
fullness of heavenly bounty.  Wonderful material progress is evident 
and great spiritual discoveries are being made.  Truly this can be called 
 
+P17 
the miracle of centuries for it is replete with manifestations of the 
miraculous.  The time has come when all mankind shall be united, 
when all races shall be loyal to one fatherland, all religions become one 
religion and racial and religious bias pass away.  It is a day in which 
the oneness of humankind shall uplift its standard and international 
peace like the true morning flood the world with its light.  Therefore 
we offer supplications to God, asking him to dispel these gloomy 
clouds and uproot these imitations in order that the East and West 
may become radiant with love and unity; that the nations of the 
world shall embrace each other and the ideal spiritual brotherhood 
illumine the world like the glorious sun of the high heavens.  
 
+P18 
                         THE CAUSE OF STRIFE 
 
     In the estimation of historians this radiant century is equivalent 
to one hundred centuries of the past.  If comparison be made with 
the sum total of all former human achievements it will be found 
that the discoveries, scientific advancement and material civilization 
of this present century have equaled, yea far exceeded the progress 
and outcome of one hundred former centuries.  The production of 
books and compilations of literature alone bear witness that the output 
of the human mind in this century has been greater and more 
enlightening than all the past centuries together.  It is evident therefore 
that this century is of paramount importance.  Reflect upon the 
miracles of accomplishment which have already characterized it, the 
discoveries in every realm of human research, inventions, scientific 
knowledge, ethical reforms and regulations established for the welfare 
of humanity, mysteries of nature explored, invisible forces brought 
into visibility and subjection, a veritable wonder-world of new 
phenomena and conditions heretofore unknown to man now open to 
his uses and further investigation.  The East and West can communicate 
instantly.  A human being can soar in the skies or speed in submarine 
depths.  The power of steam has linked the continents.  Trains cross 
the deserts and pierce the barriers of mountains; ships find unerring 
pathways upon the trackless oceans.  Day by day discoveries are increasing.  
What a wonderful century this is!  It is an age of universal 
re-formation.  Laws and statutes of governments civil and federal are in 
process of change and transformation.  Sciences and arts are being 
moulded anew.  Thoughts are metamorphosed.  The foundations of 
human society are changing and strengthening.  Today sciences of the 
past are useless.  The ptolemaic system of astronomy, numberless other 
systems and theories of scientific and philosophical explanation are 
discarded, known to be false and worthless.  Ethical precedents and 
principles cannot be applied to the needs of the modern world.  
Thoughts and theories of past ages are fruitless now.  Thrones and 
governments are crumbling and falling.  All conditions and requisites 
of the past unfitted and inadequate for the present time, are undergoing 
radical reform.  
     It is evident therefore that counterfeit and spurious religious 
teaching, antiquated forms of belief and ancestral imitations which 
are at variance with the foundations of divine reality must also pass 
away and be re-formed.  They must be abandoned and new conditions 
 
+P19 
be recognized.  The morals of humanity must undergo change.  New 
remedy and solution for human problems must be adopted.  Human 
intellects themselves must change and be subject to the universal reformation.  
Just as the thoughts and hypotheses of past ages are fruitless 
today, likewise dogmas and codes of human invention are obsolete 
and barren of product in religion.  Nay, it is true that they are the 
cause of enmity and conducive to strife in the world of humanity; 
war and bloodshed proceed from them and the oneness of mankind 
finds no recognition in their observance.  Therefore it is our duty in 
this radiant century to investigate the essentials of divine religion, 
seek the realities underlying the oneness of the world of humanity and 
discover the source of fellowship and agreement which will unite mankind 
in the heavenly bond of love.  This unity is the radiance of eternity, 
the divine spirituality, the effulgence of God and the bounty of the 
Kingdom.  We must investigate the divine source of these heavenly 
bestowals and adhere unto them steadfastly.  For if we remain fettered 
and restricted by human inventions and dogmas, day by day the 
world of mankind will be degraded, day by day warfare and strife will 
increase and satanic forces converge toward the destruction of the 
human race. 
     If love and agreement are manifest in a single family, that family 
will advance, become illumined and spiritual; but if enmity and 
hatred exist within it destruction and dispersion are inevitable.  This 
is likewise true of a city.  If those who dwell within it manifest a spirit 
of accord and fellowship it will progress steadily and human conditions 
become brighter whereas through enmity and strife it will be 
degraded and its inhabitants scattered.  In the same way the people 
of a nation develop and advance toward civilization and enlightenment 
through love and accord, and are disintegrated by war and strife.  
Finally, this is true of humanity itself in the aggregate.  When love is 
realized and the ideal spiritual bonds unite the hearts of men, the 
whole human race will be uplifted, the world will continually grow 
more spiritual and radiant and the happiness and tranquillity of mankind 
be immeasurably increased.  Warfare and strife will be uprooted, 
disagreement and dissension pass away and universal peace unite the 
nations and peoples of the world.  All mankind will dwell together as 
one family, blend as the waves of one sea, shine as stars of one firmament 
and appear as fruits of the same tree.  This is the happiness and 
felicity of humankind.  This is the illumination of man, the glory 
eternal and life everlasting; this is the divine bestowal.  I desire this 
station for you and I pray God that the people of America may 
achieve this great end in order that the virtue of this democracy may 
be insured and their names be glorified eternally.  
 
+P20 
                         UNIVERSAL PEACE 
 
     Today there is no greater glory for man than that of service in 
the cause of the "Most Great Peace".  Peace is light whereas 
war is darkness.  Peace is life; war is death.  Peace is guidance; 
war is error.  Peace is the foundation of God; war is satanic institution.  
Peace is the illumination of the world of humanity; war is the destroyer 
of human foundations.  When we consider outcomes in the 
world of existence we find that peace and fellowship are factors of 
upbuilding and betterment whereas war and strife are the causes of 
destruction and disintegration.  All created things are expressions of 
the affinity and cohesion of elementary substances, and non-existence 
is the absence of their attraction and agreement.  Various elements 
unite harmoniously in composition but when these elements become 
discordant, repelling each other, decomposition and non-existence 
result.  Everything partakes of this nature and is subject to this 
principle, for the creative foundation in all its degrees and kingdoms is 
an expression or outcome of love.  Consider the restlessness and 
agitation of the human world today because of war.  Peace is health 
and construction; war is disease and dissolution.  When the banner of 
truth is raised, peace becomes the cause of the welfare and advancement 
of the human world.  In all cycles and ages war has been a factor 
of derangement and discomfort whereas peace and brotherhood have 
brought security and consideration of human interests.  This distinction 
is especially pronounced in the present world conditions, for 
warfare in former centuries had not attained the degree of savagery 
and destructiveness which now characterizes it.  If two nations were 
at war in olden times, ten or twenty thousand would be sacrificed 
but in this century the destruction of one hundred thousand lives in a 
day is quite possible.  So perfected has the science of killing become 
and so efficient the means and instruments of its accomplishment that 
a whole nation can be obliterated in a short time.  Therefore comparison 
with the methods and results of ancient warfare is out of the 
question.  
     According to an intrinsic law, all phenomena of being attain to a 
summit and degree of consummation, after which a new order and 
condition is established.  As the instruments and science of war have 
reached the degree of thoroughness and proficiency, it is hoped that 
the transformation of the human world is at hand and that in the 
coming centuries all the energies and inventions of man will be utilized 
 
+P21 
in promoting the interests of peace and brotherhood.  Therefore may 
this esteemed and worthy society for the establishment of international 
peace+F1 be confirmed in its sincere intentions and empowered 
by God.  Then will it hasten the time when the banner of universal 
agreement will be raised and international welfare will be proclaimed 
and consummated so that the darkness which now encompasses the 
world shall pass away....  
     The powers of earth cannot withstand the privileges and bestowals 
which God has ordained for this great and glorious century.  
It is a need and exigency of the time.  Man can withstand anything 
except that which is divinely intended and indicated for the age and 
its requirements.  Now, Praise be to God! in all countries of the 
world, lovers of peace are to be found and these principles are being 
spread among mankind, especially in this country.  Praise be to God!  
this thought is prevailing and souls are continually arising as defenders 
of the oneness of humanity, endeavoring to assist and establish international 
peace.  There is no doubt that this wonderful democracy will 
be able to realize it and the banner of international agreement will be 
unfurled here to spread onward and outward among all the nations 
of the world.  I give thanks to God that I find you imbued with such 
susceptibilities and lofty aspirations and I hope that you will be the 
means of spreading this light to all men.  Thus may the Sun of Reality 
shine upon the East and West.  The enveloping clouds shall pass away 
and the heat of the divine rays will dispel the mist.  The reality of man 
shall develop and come forth as the image of God his creator.  The 
thoughts of man shall take such upward flight that former accomplishments 
shall appear as the play of children;--for the ideas and 
beliefs of the past and the prejudices regarding race and religion have 
ever been lowering and destructive to human evolution.  I am most 
hopeful that in this century these lofty thoughts shall be conducive 
to human welfare.  Let this century be the sun of previous centuries 
the effulgences of which shall last forever, so that in times to come they 
shall glorify the twentieth century, saying the twentieth century was 
the century of lights, the twentieth century was the century of life, 
the twentieth century was the century of international peace, the 
twentieth century was the century of divine bestowals and the 
twentieth century has left traces which shall last forever.  
 
+F1 New York Peace Society.  
 
+P22 
                    THE PROPHETS AND WAR 
 
     When we review history from the beginning down to the 
present day we find that strife and warfare have prevailed 
throughout the human world.  Wars, religious, racial or 
political, have arisen from human ignorance, misunderstanding and 
lack of education.  We will first consider religious strife and conflict.  
     It is evident that the divine prophets have appeared in the world 
to establish love and agreement among mankind.  They have been 
the shepherds and not the wolves.  The shepherd comes forth to gather 
and lead his flock and not to disperse them by creating strife.  Every 
divine shepherd has assembled a flock which had formerly been 
scattered.  Among the shepherds was His Holiness Moses.  At a time 
when the tribes of Israel were wandering and dispersed, he assembled, 
united and educated them to higher degrees of capacity and progress 
until they passed out of the wilderness of discipline into the holy land 
of possession.  He transformed their degradation into glory, changed 
their poverty into wealth and replaced their vices by virtues until 
they rose to such a zenith that the splendor of the sovereignty of 
Solomon was made possible and the fame of their civilization extended 
to the East and the West.  It is evident therefore that His 
Holiness was a divine shepherd for he gathered the tribes of Israel 
together and united them in the power and strength of a great nationhood.  
     When the Messianic star of Jesus Christ dawned, he declared 
he had come to gather together the lost tribes or scattered sheep of 
Moses.  He not only shepherded the flock of Israel, but brought together 
people of Chaldea, Egypt, Syria, ancient Assyria and Phoenicia.  
These people were in a state of utmost hostility, thirsting for the 
blood of each other with the ferocity of animals; but His Holiness 
Jesus Christ brought them together, cemented and united them in 
his cause and established such a bond of love among them that enmity 
and warfare were abandoned.  It is evident therefore that the 
divine teachings are intended to create a bond of unity in the human 
world and establish the foundations of love and fellowship among 
mankind.  Divine religion is not a cause for discord and disagreement.  
If religion becomes the source of antagonism and strife, the absence of 
religion is to be preferred.  Religion is meant to be the quickening life 
of the body politic; if it be the cause of death to humanity, its nonexistence 
would be a blessing and benefit to man.  Therefore in this 
 
+P23 
day the divine teachings must be sought, for they are the remedies 
for the present conditions of the world of humanity.  
     At a time when the Arabian tribes and nomadic peoples were 
widely separated, living in the deserts under lawless conditions, strife 
and bloodshed continual among them, no tribe free from the menace 
of attack and destruction by another,--at such a critical time Mohammed 
appeared.  He gathered these wild tribes of the desert together, 
reconciled, united and caused them to agree so that enmity 
and warfare ceased.  The Arabian nation immediately advanced until 
its dominion extended westward to Spain and Andalusia.  
     From these facts and premises we may conclude that the establishing 
of the divine religions is for peace, not for war and the 
shedding of blood.  Inasmuch as all are founded upon one reality which 
is love and unity, the wars and dissensions which have characterized 
the history of religion have been due to imitations and superstitions 
which arise afterward.  Religion is reality and reality is one.  The 
fundamentals of the religion of God are therefore one in reality.  There 
is neither difference nor change in the fundamentals.  Variance is 
caused by blind imitations, prejudices and adherence to forms which 
appear later, and inasmuch as these differ, discord and strife result.  
If the religions of the world would forsake these causes of difficulty 
and seek the fundamentals, all would agree, and strife and dissension 
would pass away; for religion and reality are one and not multiple.  
     Other wars are caused by purely imaginary racial differences; 
for humanity is one kind, one race and progeny inhabiting the same 
globe.  In the creative plan there is no racial distinction and separation 
such as Frenchman, Englishman, American, German, Italian or 
Spaniard; all belong to one household.  These boundaries and distinctions 
are human and artificial, not natural and original.  All mankind 
are the fruits of one tree, flowers of the same garden, waves of one 
sea.  In the animal kingdom no such distinction and separation are 
observed.  The sheep of the East and the sheep of the West would 
associate peacefully.  The oriental flock would not look surprised as if 
saying, "These are sheep of the Occident; they do not belong to our 
country."  All would gather in harmony and enjoy the same pasture 
without evidence of local or racial distinction.  The birds of different 
countries mingle in friendliness.  We find these virtues in the animal 
kingdom.  Shall man deprive himself of these virtues?  Man is endowed 
with superior reasoning power and the faculty of perception; he is the 
manifestation of divine bestowals.  Shall racial ideas prevail and obscure 
the creative purpose of unity in his kingdom?  Shall he say, "I am 
a German," "I am a Frenchman," or an "Englishman" and declare 
war because of this imaginary and human distinction?  God forbid!  
 
+P24 
This earth is one household and the nativity of all humanity; therefore 
the human race should ignore distinctions and boundaries which 
are artificial and conducive to disagreement and hostility.  We have 
come from the East.  Praise be to God! we find this continent prosperous, 
the climate salubrious and delightful, the inhabitants genial and 
courteous, the government equable and just.  Shall we entertain any 
other thought and feeling than that of love for you?  Shall we say, 
"This is not our native land, therefore everything is objectionable?"  
This would be gross ignorance to which man must not subject himself.  
Man is endowed with powers to investigate reality, and the reality is 
that humanity is one in kind and equal in the creative plan.  Therefore 
false distinctions of race and nativity which are factors and causes of 
warfare must be abandoned.  
     Consider what is happening+F1 in Tripoli; how the poor are being 
killed and the blood of the helpless is being shed upon both sides; 
children made fatherless, fathers lamenting the death of their sons, 
mothers bewailing the loss of dear ones.  And what is the benefit after 
all?  Nothing conceivable.  Is it therefore justifiable?  The domestic 
animals do not manifest hatred and cruelty toward each other; that is 
the attribute of the wild and ferocious beasts.  In a flock of one thousand 
sheep you will witness no bloodshed.  Numberless species of birds are 
peaceful in flocks.  Wolves, lions, tigers are ferocious because it is their 
natural and necessary means for obtaining food.  Man has no need of 
such ferocity; his food is provided in other ways.  Therefore it is 
evident that warfare, cruelty and bloodshed in the kingdom of man 
are caused by human greed, hatred and selfishness.  The kings and 
rulers of nations enjoy luxury and ease in their palaces and send the 
common people to the battlefield; offer them as the food and targets 
of cannon.  Each day they invent new instruments for the more complete 
destruction of the foundations of the human race.  They are 
callous and merciless toward their fellow-creatures.  What shall atone 
for the sufferings and grief of mothers who have so tenderly cared for 
their sons?  What sleepless nights they have spent and what days of 
devotion and love they have given to bring their children to maturity!  
Yet the savagery of these warring rulers causes great numbers of their 
victims to be torn and mutilated in a day.  What ignorance and degradation, 
yea even greater than the ferocious beasts themselves!  For 
a wolf will carry away and devour one sheep at a time whereas an 
ambitious tyrant may cause the death of one hundred thousand men 
in a battle and glory in his military prowess saying, "I am commander-in-chief; 
I have won this mighty victory."  Consider the ignorance and 
inconsistency of the human race.  If a man kills another, no matter 
 
+F1 1912.  
 
+P25 
what the cause may be, he is pronounced a murderer, imprisoned or 
executed; but the brutal oppressor who has slain one hundred thousand 
is idolized as a hero, conqueror or military genius.  A man steals a 
small sum of money; he is called a thief and sent to the penitentiary; 
but the military leader who invades and pillages a whole kingdom is 
acclaimed heroic and a mighty man of valor.  How base and ignorant 
is man!  
     In Persia previous to the middle of the nineteenth century, 
among the various tribes and peoples, sects and denominations there 
existed the greatest animosity, strife and hatred.  At that time too all 
the other nations of the East were in the same condition.  Religionists 
were hostile and bigoted, sects were at enmity, races hated each other, 
tribes were constantly at war; everywhere antagonism and conflict 
prevailed.  Men shunned and were suspicious of each other.  The man 
who could kill a number of his fellow-creatures was glorified for his 
heroism and strength.  Among religionists it was esteemed a praiseworthy 
deed to take the life of one who held an opposite belief.  At this 
time &Baha'u'llah arose and declared his mission.  He founded the oneness 
of the world of humanity, proclaimed that all are servants of the 
loving and merciful God who has created, nourished and provided 
for all, therefore why should men be unjust and unkind to each other, 
showing forth that which is contrary to God?  As He loves us why 
should we entertain animosity and hate?  If God did not love all He 
would not have created, trained and provided for all.  Loving-kindness 
is the divine policy.  Shall we consider human policy and attitude 
superior to the wisdom and policy of God?  This would be inconceivable, 
impossible.  Therefore we must emulate and follow the divine 
policy, dealing with each other in the utmost love and tenderness.  
     &Baha'u'llah declared the "Most Great Peace" and international 
arbitration.  He voiced these principles in numerous epistles which 
were circulated broadcast throughout the East.  He wrote to all the 
kings and rulers encouraging, advising and admonishing them in 
regard to the establishment of peace; making it evident by conclusive 
proofs that the happiness and glory of humanity can only be assured 
through disarmament and arbitration.  This was nearly fifty years ago.  
Because he promulgated the message of Universal Peace and international 
agreement, the kings of the Orient arose against him for they 
did not find their personal and national benefits advanced by his 
admonition and teaching.  They persecuted him bitterly, inflicted 
upon him every torment, imprisoned, bastinadoed, banished him and 
eventually confined him in a fortress.  Then they arose against his 
followers.  For the establishment of international peace the blood of 
twenty thousand &Baha'is was spilt.  Their homes were destroyed, their 
 
+P26 
children made captives and their possessions pillaged yet none of these 
people waxed cold or wavered in devotion.  Even to this day the 
&Baha'is are persecuted and quite recently a number were killed, for 
wherever they are found they put forth the greatest efforts to establish 
the peace of the world.  They not only promulgate principles; they are 
people of action.  
     In Persia today through the teachings of &Baha'u'llah you will 
find people of various religious beliefs and denominations living together 
in the utmost peace and agreement.  The former enmities and 
hatred have passed away and they exercise the utmost love toward all 
mankind for they realize and know that all are the creatures and 
servants of one God.  This is directly due to the divine teachings.  At 
most it is simply this; that the ignorant must be educated, the ailing 
must be healed, those who are as children in the scale of development 
must be helped to reach the age of maturity.  We must not be unfriendly 
to any one because of ignorance, neither must we reject the 
immature or turn away from the sick but administer the remedy for 
each human need until all are united in the providence of God.  Therefore 
it is evident that the essential foundations of the divine religions 
are unity and love.  If religion be productive of discord among mankind 
it is a destroyer and not divine for religion implies unity and 
binding together and not separation.  Mere knowledge of principles 
is not sufficient.  We all know and admit that justice is good but there 
is need of volition and action to carry out and manifest it.  For example, 
we might think it good to build a church but simply thinking 
of it as a good thing will not help its erection.  The ways and means 
must be provided; we must will to build it and then proceed with the 
construction.  All of us know that international peace is good, that it is 
conducive to human welfare and the glory of man but volition and 
action are necessary before it can be established.  Action is the essential.  
Inasmuch as this century is a century of light, capacity for action is 
assured to mankind.  Necessarily the divine principles will be spread 
among men until the time of action arrives.  Surely this has been so and 
truly the time and conditions are ripe for action now.  All men know 
that verily war is the destroyer of human foundations and in every 
country of the world this is admitted and apparent.  I find the United 
States of America an exceedingly progressive nation, the government 
just, the people in a state of readiness and the principle of equality 
established to an extraordinary degree.  Therefore it is my hope that 
inasmuch as the standard of international peace must be upraised it 
may be upraised upon this continent, for this nation is more deserving 
and has greater capacity for such an initial step than any other.  If 
other nations should attempt to do this the motive will be misunderstood.  
 
+P27 
For instance, if Great Britain should declare for international 
peace it will be said that it has been done to insure the safety of her 
colonies.  If France should hoist the standard other nations will declare 
some hidden diplomatic policy underlies the action; Russia would be 
suspected of national designs if the first step were taken by that 
people, and so on with all the European and eastern governments.  
But the United States of America could not be accused of any such 
selfish interest.  Your government has, strictly speaking, no colonies to 
protect.  You are not endeavoring to extend your domain nor have you 
need of territorial expansion.  Therefore if America takes the first step 
toward the establishing of world peace it is certain to be ascribed to 
unselfishness and altruism.  The world will say, "There is no other 
motive than altruism and service to humanity in this action by the 
United States."  Therefore it is my hope that you may stand forth as 
the first herald of peace and hoist this banner; for this banner will be 
hoisted.  Raise it aloft, for you are the most qualified and deserving of 
nations.  The other countries await this summons, expect this call to 
the standard of reconciliation, for the whole world is distressed because 
of the excessive burden and irreparable damage of war.  Taxes 
are levied to meet its drain.  Every year the burden increases and the 
people have come to their end.  Just now+F1 Europe is a battlefield of 
ammunition ready for a spark; and one spark will set aflame the whole 
world.  Before these complications and cataclysmic events happen, 
take the step to prevent it.  
     The foundations of all the divine religions are peace and agreement, 
but misunderstandings and ignorance have developed.  If these 
are caused to disappear you will see that all the religious agencies will 
work for peace and promulgate the oneness of humankind.  For the 
foundation of all is reality and reality is not multiple or divisible.  
His Holiness Moses founded it, His Holiness Jesus raised its tent, and 
its brilliant light has shone forth in all the religions.  His Holiness 
&Baha'u'llah proclaimed this one reality and spread the message of the 
"Most Great Peace".  Even in prison he rested not until he lighted 
this lamp in the East.  Praise be to God! all who have accepted his 
teachings are lovers of peace, peacemakers ready to sacrifice their lives 
and expend their possessions for it.  Now let this standard be upraised 
in the West and many will respond to the call.  America has become 
renowned for her discoveries, inventions and artistic skill, famous for 
equity of government and stupendous undertakings; now may she 
also become noted and celebrated as the herald and messenger of 
Universal Peace.  Let this be her mission and undertaking and may its 
blessed impetus spread to all countries.  I pray for all of you that you 
may render this service to the world of humanity.  
 
+F1 1912.  
 
+P28 
                    FOUNDATIONS OF WORLD UNITY 
 
     There is not one soul whose conscience does not testify that 
in this day there is no more important matter in the world 
than that of Universal Peace.  Every just one bears witness 
to this and adores that esteemed Assembly+F1 because its aim is that this 
darkness may be turned into light, this bloodthirstiness into kindness, 
this torment into bliss, this hardship into ease and this enmity and 
hatred into fellowship and love.  Therefore the effort of those esteemed 
souls is worthy of praise and commendation.  
     But the wise souls who are aware of the essential relationships 
emanating from the realities of things consider that one single matter 
cannot, by itself, influence the human reality as it ought and should, 
for until the minds of men become united, no important matter can 
be accomplished.  At present Universal Peace is a matter of great importance, 
but unity of conscience is essential, so that the foundation 
of this matter may become secure, its establishment firm and its edifice 
strong.  
     Therefore His Holiness &Baha'u'llah fifty years ago, expounded 
this question of Universal Peace at a time when he was confined in the 
fortress of Akka and was wronged and imprisoned.  He wrote about 
this matter of Universal Peace to all the great sovereigns of the world, 
and established it among his friends in the Orient.  The horizon of the 
East was in utter darkness, nations displayed the utmost hatred and 
enmity towards each other, religions thirsted for each other's blood, 
and it was darkness upon darkness.  At such a time His Holiness 
&Baha'u'llah shone forth like the sun from the horizon of the East and 
illumined Persia with the light of these teachings.  
     Among his teachings was the declaration of Universal Peace.  
People of different nations, religions and sects, who followed him, 
came together to such an extent that remarkable gatherings were 
instituted, consisting of the various nations and religions of the East.  
Every soul who entered those gatherings saw but one nation, one 
pathway, one teaching, one order; for the teachings of His Holiness 
&Baha'u'llah were not limited to the establishment of Universal Peace.  
They embraced many teachings which supplemented and supported 
that of Universal Peace.  
     Among these teachings is the independent investigation of reality, 
 
+F1 The members of the Central Organization for a Durable Peace, The Hague; to 
+F1 whom this Tablet was sent in reply to several letters.  
 
+P29 
so that the world of humanity might be saved from the darkness of 
imitation and attain to the truth; might tear off and cast away this 
ragged and outworn garment of one thousand years ago and put on 
the robe woven in the utmost purity and holiness in the loom of 
reality.  As reality is one and cannot admit of multiplicity, therefore 
different opinions must ultimately become fused into one.  
     And among the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah is the 
oneness of the world of humanity; that all human beings are the 
sheep of God and He is the kind Shepherd.  This Shepherd is kind to 
all the sheep, because He created them all, trained them, provided for 
them and protected them.  There is no doubt that the Shepherd is 
kind to all the sheep; and should there be among these sheep ignorant 
ones, they must be educated; if there be children, they must be 
trained until they reach maturity; if there be sick ones, they must be 
healed.  There must be no hatred and enmity, for as by a kind physician 
these ignorant, sick ones should be treated.  
     And among the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah is that 
religion must be the cause of fellowship and love.  If it becomes the 
cause of estrangement, then it is not needed, for religion is like a 
remedy:  if it aggravates the disease, then it becomes unnecessary.  
     And among the teachings of &Baha'u'llah is that religious, racial, 
political, economic and patriotic prejudices destroy the edifice of 
humanity.  As long as these prejudices prevail, the world of humanity 
will have no rest.  For a period of six thousand years history informs 
us about the world of humanity.  During these six thousand years the 
world of humanity has not been free from war, strife, murder and 
bloodthirstiness.  In every period war has been waged in one country or 
another, and that war was due to either religious prejudice, racial 
prejudice, political prejudice or patriotic prejudice.  It has, therefore, 
been ascertained and proved that all prejudices are destructive of the 
human edifice.  As long as these prejudices persist, the struggle for 
existence must remain dominant, and bloodthirstiness and rapacity 
continue.  Therefore, even as was the case in the past, the world of 
humanity cannot be saved from the darkness of nature, and cannot 
attain illumination, except through the abandonment of prejudices 
and the acquisition of the morals of the Kingdom....  
     And among the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah is the 
origination of one language that may be spread universally among 
the people.  This teaching was revealed from the pen of &Baha'u'llah 
in order that this universal language may eliminate misunderstandings 
from among mankind.  
     And among the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah is the 
equality of women and men.  The world of humanity has two wings--
 
+P30 
one is woman and the other man.  Not until both wings are equally 
developed can the bird fly.  Should one wing remain weak, flight is 
impossible.  Not until the world of woman becomes equal to the world 
of man in the acquisition of virtues and perfections, can success and 
prosperity be attained as they ought to be.  
     And among the teachings of &Baha'u'llah is voluntary sharing of 
one's property with others among mankind.  This voluntary sharing 
is greater than equality, and consists in this:  that man should not 
prefer himself to others, but rather should sacrifice his life and property 
for others.  But this should not be introduced by coercion so that 
it becomes a law and man is compelled to follow it.  Nay, rather should 
man voluntarily and of his own choice sacrifice his property and life 
for others, and spend willingly for the poor, just as is done in Persia 
among the &Baha'is.  
     And among the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah is man's 
freedom:  that through the Ideal Power he should be emancipated 
and free from the captivity of the world of nature; for as long as man is 
captive to nature he is a ferocious animal, as the struggle for existence 
is one of the exigencies of the world of nature.  This matter of the 
struggle for existence is the fountain-head of all calamities, and is the 
supreme affliction.  
     And among the teachings of &Baha'u'llah is that religion is a 
mighty bulwark.  If the edifice of religion shakes and totters, commotion 
and chaos will ensue and the order of things will be utterly 
upset, for in the world of mankind there are two safeguards that 
protect man from wrongdoing.  One is the law which punishes the 
criminal; but the law prevents only the manifest crime and not the 
concealed sin; whereas the ideal safeguard, namely, the religion of 
God, prevents both the manifest and the concealed crime, trains man, 
educates morals, compels the adoption of virtues and is the all-inclusive 
power which guarantees the felicity of the world of mankind.  
But by religion is meant that which is ascertained by investigation 
and not that which is based on mere imitation, the foundation of 
divine religions and not human imitations.  
     And among the teachings of &Baha'u'llah is that although material 
civilization is one of the means for the progress of the world 
of mankind, yet until it becomes combined with divine civilization 
the desired result, which is the felicity of mankind, will not be attained.  
Consider!  These battleships that reduce a city to ruins within the 
space of an hour are the result of material civilization; likewise the 
Krupp guns, the Mauser rifles, dynamite, submarines, torpedo boats, 
armed aircraft and bombing aeroplanes--all these weapons of war are 
malignant fruits of material civilization.  Had material civilization 
 
+P31 
been combined with divine civilization, these fiery weapons would 
never have been invented.  Nay, rather human energy would have 
been wholly devoted to useful inventions and concentrated on praiseworthy 
discoveries.  Material civilization is like a globe of glass.  
Divine civilization is the light itself, and the glass without the light is 
dark.  Material civilization is like the body.  No matter how infinitely 
graceful, elegant and beautiful it may be, it is dead.  Divine civilization 
is like the spirit, and the body gets its life from the spirit, otherwise it 
becomes a corpse.  It has thus been made evident that the world of 
mankind is in need of the breaths of the Holy Spirit.  Without the 
spirit the world of mankind is lifeless, and without this light the 
world of mankind is in utter darkness.  For the world of nature is an 
animal world.  Until man is born again from the world of nature--that 
is to say, becomes detached from the world of nature, he is essentially 
an animal, and it is the teachings of God which convert this animal 
into a human soul.  
     And among the teachings of &Baha'u'llah is the promotion of 
education.  Every child must be instructed in sciences as much as is 
necessary.  If the parents are able to provide the expenses of this 
education, it is all right; otherwise the community must provide the 
means for the teaching of that child.  
     And among the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah are justice 
and right.  Until these are realized on the plane of existence, all things 
will be in disorder and remain imperfect.  The world of mankind is a 
world of oppression and cruelty, and a realm of aggression and error.  
     In fine, such teachings are numerous.  These manifold principles, 
which constitute the greatest basis for the felicity of mankind and are 
of the bounties of the Merciful, must be added to the matter of 
Universal Peace and combined with it, so that results may accrue.  
Otherwise the realization of Universal Peace in the world of mankind 
is difficult.  As the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah are combined 
with Universal Peace, they are like a table provided with every kind 
of fresh and delicious food.  Every soul can find at that table of infinite 
bounty that which he desires.  If the question is restricted to 
Universal Peace alone, the remarkable results which are expected and 
desired will not be attained.  The scope of Universal Peace must be 
such that all the communities and religions may find their highest 
wish realized in it.  At present the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah 
are such that all the communities of the world, whether religious, 
political or ethical, ancient or modern, find in the teachings of &Baha'u'llah 
the expression of their highest wish.  
     For example, the people of religions find, in the teachings of His 
Holiness &Baha'u'llah, the establishment of Universal Religion--a 
 
+P32 
religion that perfectly conforms with present conditions, which in 
reality effects the immediate cure of the incurable disease, which 
relieves every pain and bestows the infallible antidote for every deadly 
poison.  For if we wish to arrange and organize the world of mankind 
in accordance with the present religious imitations and thereby to 
establish the felicity of mankind, it is impossible and impracticable:  
for example, the enforcement of the laws of the Old Testament and 
also of the other religions in accordance with present imitations.  But 
the essential basis of all the divine religions which pertains to the 
virtues of the world of mankind and is the foundation of the welfare 
of the world of man, is found in the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah 
in the most perfect presentation.  
     Similarly, with regard to the people who clamor for freedom:  the 
moderate freedom which guarantees the welfare of the world of man, 
is found in the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah.  
     So with regard to political parties:  that which is the greatest 
policy directing the world of mankind, nay, rather the divine policy, 
is found in the teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah.  
     Likewise with regard to the party of "equality" which seeks the 
solution of the economic problems:  until now all proposed solutions 
have proved impracticable except the economic proposals in the 
teachings of His Holiness &Baha'u'llah, which are practicable and cause 
no distress to society.  
     So with the other parties:  when ye look deeply into this matter, 
ye will discover that the highest aims of those parties are found in the 
teachings of &Baha'u'llah.  These teachings constitute the all-inclusive 
power among all men, and are practicable....  
     For example, the question of Universal Peace, about which His 
Holiness &Baha'u'llah says that the Supreme Tribunal must be established; 
although the League of Nations has been brought into 
existence, yet it is incapable of establishing Universal Peace.  But the 
Supreme Tribunal which His Holiness &Baha'u'llah has described will 
fulfill this sacred task with the utmost might and power.  And his plan 
is this:  that the national assemblies of each country and nation--that 
is to say, their parliaments--should elect two or three persons who 
are the choicest men of that nation, and are well informed concerning 
international laws and the relations between governments and aware 
of the essential needs of the world of humanity in this day.  The number 
of these representatives should be in proportion to the number of 
inhabitants of that country.  The election of these souls who are 
chosen by the national assembly--that is, the parliament--must be 
confirmed by the upper house, the congress and the cabinet and also 
by the president or monarch so that these persons may be the elected 
 
+P33 
ones of all the nation and the government.  From among these people 
the members of the Supreme Tribunal will be elected, and all mankind 
will thus have a share therein, for every one of these delegates is fully 
representative of his nation.  When the Supreme Tribunal gives a 
ruling on any international question, either unanimously or by majority 
rule, there will no longer be any pretext for the plaintiff or 
ground of objection for the defendant.  In case any of the governments 
or nations, in the execution of the irrefutable decision of the Supreme 
Tribunal, be negligent or dilatory, the rest of the nations will rise up 
against it, because all the governments and nations of the world are 
the supporters of this Supreme Tribunal.  Consider what a firm 
foundation this is!  But by a limited and restricted League the purpose 
will not be realized as it ought and should.  This is the truth about the 
situation which has been stated....  
     Today nothing but the power of the Word of God which encompasses 
the realities of things can bring the thoughts, minds, hearts 
and spirits under the shade of one Tree.  He is the potent in all things, 
the vivifier of souls, the preserver and the controller of the world of 
mankind.  Praise be to God, in this day the light of the Word of God 
has shone forth upon all regions; and from all sects, communities, 
nations, tribes, peoples, religions and denominations, souls have 
gathered together under the shadow of the Word of Oneness, and have 
in the utmost fellowship united and harmonized!  
 
+P34 
                         RACIAL HARMONY 
 
     Today I am most happy, for I see here+F1 a gathering of the 
servants of God.  I see the white and colored people together.  
In the estimation of God there is no distinction of color; all 
are one in the color and beauty of servitude to Him.  Color is not important; 
the heart is all-important.  It matters not what the exterior 
may be if the heart be pure and white within.  God does not behold 
differences of hue and complexion; He looks at the hearts.  He whose 
morals and virtues are praiseworthy is preferred in the presence of 
God; he who is devoted to the Kingdom is most beloved.  In the realm 
of genesis and creation the question of color is of least importance.  
     The mineral kingdom abounds with many-colored substances 
and compositions but we find no strife among them on that account.  
In the kingdom of the plant and vegetable, distinct and variegated 
hues exist but the fruit and flowers are not in conflict for that reason.  
Nay, rather, the very fact that there is difference and variety lends a 
charm to the garden.  If all were of the same color the effect would be 
monotonous and depressing.  When you enter a rose-garden the wealth 
of color and variety of floral forms spread before you a picture of 
wonder and beauty.  The world of humanity is like a garden and the 
various races are the flowers which constitute its adornment and 
decoration.  In the animal kingdom also we find variety of color.  See 
how the doves differ in beauty yet they live together in perfect peace, 
and love each other.  They do not make difference of color a cause of 
discord and strife.  They view each other as the same species and kind.  
They know they are one in kind.  Often a white dove soars aloft with a 
black one.  Throughout the animal kingdom we do not find the 
creatures separated because of color.  They recognize unity of species 
and oneness of kind.  If we do not find color distinction drawn in a 
kingdom of lower intelligence and reason, how can it be justified among 
human beings, especially when we know that all have come from the 
same source and belong to the same household?  In origin and intention 
of creation mankind is one.  Distinctions of race and color have arisen 
afterward.  
     Therefore today I am exceedingly glad that both white and colored 
people have gathered here and I hope the time will come when 
they shall live together in the utmost peace, unity and friendship.  I 
wish to say one thing of importance to both in order that the white 
 
+F1 Howard University.  
 
+P35 
race may be just and kind to the colored and that the colored race 
may in turn be grateful and appreciative toward the white.  The great 
proclamation of liberty and emancipation from slavery was made 
upon this continent.  A long bloody war was fought by white men 
for the sake of colored people.  These white men forfeited their possessions 
and sacrificed their lives by thousands in order that colored 
men might be freed from bondage.  The colored population of the 
United States of America are possibly not fully informed of the wide-reaching 
effect of this freedom and emancipation upon their colored 
brethren in Asia and Africa where even more terrible conditions of 
slavery existed.  Influenced and impelled by the example of the United 
States, the European powers proclaimed universal liberty to the 
colored race and slavery ceased to exist.  This effort and accomplishment 
by the white nations should never be lost sight of.  Both races 
should rejoice in gratitude, for the institution of liberty and equality 
here became the cause of liberating your fellow-beings elsewhere.  The 
colored people of this country are especially fortunate, for, Praise be to 
God! conditions here are so much higher than in the East and comparatively 
few differences exist in the possibility of equal attainments 
with the white race.  May both develop toward the highest degree of 
equality and altruism.  May you be drawn together in friendship and 
may extraordinary development make brotherhood a reality and truth.  
I pray in your behalf that there shall be no name other than that of 
humanity among you.  
     Therefore strive earnestly and put forth your greatest endeavor 
toward the accomplishment of this fellowship and the cementing of 
this bond of brotherhood between you.  Such an attainment is not 
possible without will and effort on the part of each; from one, expressions 
of gratitude and appreciation; from the other kindliness and 
recognition of equality.  Each one should endeavor to develop and 
assist the other toward mutual advancement.  This is possible only 
by conjoining of effort and inclination.  Love and unity will be fostered 
between you, thereby bringing about the oneness of mankind.  For 
the accomplishment of unity between the colored and whites will be 
an assurance of the world's peace.  Then racial prejudice, national prejudice, 
limited patriotism and religious bias will pass away and remain 
no longer.  I am pleased to see you at this gathering, white and dark, and 
I praise God that I have had this opportunity of seeing you loving 
each other, for this is the means of the glory of humanity.  This is the 
means of the good-pleasure of God and of eternal bliss in His Kingdom.  
Therefore I pray in your behalf that you may attain to the 
fullest of love and that the day may come when all differences between 
you may disappear.  
 
+P36 
                    THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE 
 
     What could be better before God than thinking of the poor?  
For the poor are beloved by our heavenly Father.  When His 
Holiness Christ came upon the earth those who believed in 
him and followed him were the poor and lowly, showing the poor 
were near to God.  When a rich man believes and follows the Manifestation 
of God it is a proof that his wealth is not an obstacle and does 
not prevent him from attaining the pathway of salvation.  After he has 
been tested and tried it will be seen whether his possessions are a 
hindrance in his religious life.  But the poor are especially beloved of 
God.  Their lives are full of difficulties, their trials continual, their 
hopes are in God alone.  Therefore you must assist the poor as much 
as possible, even by sacrifice of yourself.  No deed of man is greater 
before God than helping the poor.  Spiritual conditions are not dependent 
upon the possession of worldly treasures or the absence of 
them.  When physically destitute, spiritual thoughts are more likely.  
Poverty is stimulus toward God.  Each one of you must have great 
consideration for the poor and render them assistance.  Organize in an 
effort to help them and prevent increase of poverty.  The greatest 
means for prevention is that whereby the laws of the community will 
be so framed and enacted that it will not be possible for a few to be 
millionaires and many destitute.  One of &Baha'u'llah's teachings is the 
adjustment of means of livelihood in human society.  Under this adjustment 
there can be no extremes in human conditions as regards 
wealth and sustenance.  For the community needs financier, farmer 
merchant and laborer just as an army must be composed of commander, 
officers and privates.  All cannot be commanders; all cannot 
be officers or privates.  Each in his station in the social fabric must be 
competent; each in his function according to ability; but justness of 
opportunity for all.  
     Lycurgus, king of Sparta, who lived long before the day of Christ, 
conceived the idea of absolute equality in government.  He proclaimed 
laws by which all the people of Sparta were classified into certain 
divisions.  Each division had its separate rights and function.  First, 
farmers and tillers of the soil.  Second, artisans and merchants.  Third, 
leaders or grandees.  Under the laws of Lycurgus the latter were not 
required to engage in any labor or vocation but it was incumbent 
upon them to defend the country in case of war and invasion.  Then he 
divided Sparta into nine thousand equal parts or provinces, appointing 
 
+P37 
nine thousand leaders or grandees to protect them.  In this way the 
farmers of each province were assured of protection but each farmer 
was compelled to pay a tax to support the grandee of that province.  
The farmers and merchants were not obliged to defend the country.  
In lieu of labor the grandees received the taxes.  Lycurgus in order to 
establish this forever as a law, brought nine thousand grandees together, 
told them he was going upon a long journey and wished this 
form of government to remain effective until his return.  They swore an 
oath to protect and preserve his law.  He then left his kingdom, went 
into voluntary exile and never came back.  No man ever made such a 
sacrifice to insure equality among his fellowmen.  A few years passed 
and the whole system of government he had founded collapsed, 
although established upon such a just and wise basis.  
     Difference of capacity in human individuals is fundamental.  It is 
impossible for all to be alike, all to be equal, all to be wise.  &Baha'u'llah 
has revealed principles and laws which will accomplish the adjustment 
of varying human capacities.  He has said that whatsoever is 
possible of accomplishment in human government will be effected 
through these principles.  When the laws he has instituted are carried 
out there will be no millionaires possible in the community and likewise 
no extremely poor.  This will be effected and regulated by adjusting 
the different degrees of human capacity.  The fundamental basis 
of the community is agriculture, tillage of the soil.  All must be producers.  
Each person in the community whose income is equal to his 
individual producing capacity shall be exempt from taxation.  But if 
his income is greater than his needs he must pay a tax until an adjustment 
is effected.  That is to say, a man's capacity for production and 
his needs will be equalized and reconciled through taxation.  If his 
production exceeds he will pay no tax; if his necessities exceed his 
production he shall receive an amount sufficient to equalize or adjust.  
Therefore taxation will be proportionate to capacity and production 
and there will be no poor in the community.  
 
+P38 
                         COOPERATION 
 
     It seems as though all creatures can exist singly and alone.  For 
example, a tree can exist solitary and alone on a given prairie 
or in a valley or on the mountainside.  An animal upon a mountain 
or a bird soaring in the air might live a solitary life.  They are not in 
need of cooperation or solidarity.  Such animated beings enjoy the 
greatest comfort and happiness in their respective solitary lives.  
     On the contrary, man cannot live singly and alone.  He is in need 
of continuous cooperation and mutual help.  For example, a man 
living alone in the wilderness will eventually starve.  He can never, 
singly and alone, provide himself with all the necessities of existence.  
Therefore, he is in need of cooperation and reciprocity.  
     The mystery of this phenomenon, the cause thereof is this, that 
mankind has been created from one single origin, has branched off 
from one family.  Thus in reality all mankind represents one family.  
God has not created any difference.  He has created all as one that thus 
this family might live in perfect happiness and well-being.  
     Regarding reciprocity and cooperation:  each member of the body 
politic should live in the utmost comfort and welfare because each 
individual member of humanity is a member of the body politic and if 
one member of the members be in distress or be afflicted with some 
disease all the other members must necessarily suffer.  For example, a 
member of the human organism is the eye.  If the eye should be 
affected that affliction would affect the whole nervous system.  Hence, 
if a member of the body politic becomes afflicted, in reality, from the 
standpoint of sympathetic connection, all will share that affliction 
since this (one afflicted) is a member of the group of members, a part 
of the whole.  Is it possible for one member or part to be in distress and 
the other members to be at ease?  It is impossible!  Hence God has 
desired that in the body politic of humanity each one shall enjoy perfect 
welfare and comfort.  
     Although the body politic is one family yet because of lack of 
harmonious relations some members are comfortable and some in 
direst misery, some members are satisfied and some are hungry, some 
members are clothed in most costly garments and some families are in 
need of food and shelter.  Why?  Because this family lacks the necessary 
reciprocity and symmetry.  This household is not well arranged.  This 
household is not living under a perfect law.  All the laws which are 
legislated do not ensure happiness.  They do not provide comfort.  
 
+P39 
Therefore a law must be given to this family by means of which all 
the members of this family will enjoy equal well-being and happiness.  
     Is it possible for one member of a family to be subjected to the 
utmost misery and to abject poverty and for the rest of the family to 
be comfortable?  It is impossible unless those members of the family 
be senseless, atrophied, inhospitable, unkind.  Then they would say, 
"Though these members do belong to our family--let them alone.  Let 
us look after ourselves.  Let them die.  So long as I am comfortable, I 
am honored, I am happy--this my brother--let him die.  If he be in 
misery let him remain in misery, so long as I am comfortable.  If he is 
hungry let him remain so; I am satisfied.  If he is without clothes, so 
long as I am clothed, let him remain as he is.  If he is shelterless, homeless, 
so long as I have a home, let him remain in the wilderness."  
     Such utter indifference in the human family is due to lack of 
control, to lack of a working law, to lack of kindness in its midst.  If 
kindness had been shown to the members of this family surely all the 
members thereof would have enjoyed comfort and happiness.  
     His Holiness &Baha'u'llah has given instructions regarding every 
one of the questions confronting humanity.  He has given teachings 
and instructions with regard to every one of the problems with which 
man struggles.  Among them are (the teachings) concerning the question 
of economics that all the members of the body politic may enjoy 
through the working out of this solution the greatest happiness, welfare 
and comfort without any harm or injury attacking the general 
order of things.  Thereby no difference or dissension will occur.  No 
sedition or contention will take place.  This solution is this:  
     First and foremost is the principle that to all the members of the 
body politic shall be given the greatest achievements of the world of 
humanity.  Each one shall have the utmost welfare and well-being.  
To solve this problem we must begin with the farmer; there will we 
lay a foundation for system and order because the peasant class and 
the agricultural class exceed other classes in the importance of their 
service.  In every village there must be established a general storehouse 
which will have a number of revenues.  
     The first revenue will be that of the tenth or tithes.  
     The second revenue (will be derived) from the animals.  
     The third revenue, from the minerals, that is to say, every mine 
prospected or discovered, a third thereof will go to this vast storehouse.  
     The fourth is this:  whosoever dies without leaving any heirs all 
his heritage will go to the general storehouse.  
     Fifth, if any treasures shall be found on the land they should be 
devoted to this storehouse.  
 
+P40 
     All these revenues will be assembled in this storehouse.  
     As to the first, the tenths or tithes:  we will consider a farmer, one 
of the peasants.  We will look into his income.  We will find out, for 
instance, what is his annual revenue and also what are his expenditures.  
Now, if his income be equal to his expenditures, from such a farmer 
nothing whatever will be taken.  That is, he will not be subjected to 
taxation of any sort, needing as he does all his income.  Another farmer 
may have expenses running up to one thousand dollars we will say, 
and his income is two thousand dollars.  From such an one a tenth will 
be required, because he has a surplus.  But if his income be ten thousand 
dollars and his expenses one thousand dollars or his income 
twenty thousand dollars, he will have to pay as taxes, one-fourth.  If 
his income be one hundred thousand dollars and his expenses five 
thousand, one-third will he have to pay because he has still a surplus 
since his expenses are five thousand and his income one hundred 
thousand.  If he pays, say, thirty-five thousand dollars, in addition 
to the expenditure of five thousand he still has sixty thousand left.  
But if his expenses be ten thousand and his income two hundred 
thousand then he must give an even half because ninety thousand 
will be in that case the sum remaining.  Such a scale as this will determine 
allotment of taxes.  All the income from such revenues will go 
to this general storehouse.  
     Then there must be considered such emergencies as follows:  a 
certain farmer whose expenses run up to ten thousand dollars and 
whose income is only five thousand, he will receive necessary expenses 
from the storehouse.  Five thousand dollars will be allotted to him so he 
will not be in need.  
     Then the orphans will be looked after, all of whose expenses will 
be taken care of.  The cripples in the village--all their expenses will be 
looked after.  The poor in the village--their necessary expenses will 
be defrayed.  And other members who for valid reasons are incapacitated
--the blind, the old, the deaf--their comfort must be looked 
after.  In the village no one will remain in need or in want.  All will live 
in the utmost comfort and welfare.  Yet no schism will assail the 
general order of the body politic.  
     Hence the expenses or expenditures of the general storehouse are 
now made clear and its activities made manifest.  The income of this 
general storehouse has been shown.  Certain trustees will be elected 
by the people in a given village to look after these transactions.  The 
farmers will be taken care of and if after all these expenses are defrayed 
any surplus is found in the storehouse it must be transferred 
to the national treasury.  
     This system is all thus ordered so that in the village the very 
 
+P41 
poor will be comfortable, the orphans will live happily and well; in a 
word, no one will be left destitute.  All the individual members of the 
body politic will thus live comfortably and well.  
     For larger cities, naturally, there will be a system on a larger 
scale.  Were I to go into that solution the details thereof would be very 
lengthy.  
     The result of this (system) will be that each individual member of 
the body politic will live most comfortably and happily under obligation 
to no one.  Nevertheless, there will be preservation of degree because 
in the world of humanity there must needs be degrees.  The 
body politic may well be likened to an army.  In this army there must 
be a general, there must be a sergeant, there must be a marshal, there 
must be the infantry; but all must enjoy the greatest comfort and 
welfare.  
     God is not partial and is no respecter of persons.  He has made 
provision for all.  The harvest comes forth for everyone.  The rain 
showers upon everybody and the heat of the sun is destined to warm 
everyone.  The verdure of the earth is for everyone.  Therefore there 
should be for all humanity the utmost happiness, the utmost comfort, 
the utmost well-being.  
     But if conditions are such that some are happy and comfortable 
and some in misery; some are accumulating exorbitant wealth and 
others are in dire want--under such a system it is impossible for man 
to be happy and impossible for him to win the good pleasure of God.  
God is kind to all.  The good pleasure of God consists in the welfare 
of all the individual members of mankind.  
     A Persian king was one night in his palace, living in the greatest 
luxury and comfort.  Through excessive joy and gladness he addressed 
a certain man, saying:  "Of all my life this is the happiest moment.  
Praise be to God, from every point prosperity appears and fortune 
smiles!  My treasury is full and the army is well taken care of.  My 
palaces are many; my land unlimited; my family is well off; my 
honor and sovereignty are great.  What more could I want!"  
     The poor man at the gate of his palace spoke out, saying:  "O 
kind king!  Assuming that you are from every point of view so happy, 
free from every worry and sadness--do you not worry for us?  You 
say that on your own account you have no worries--but do you never 
worry about the poor in your land?  Is it becoming or meet that you 
should be so well off and we in such dire want and need?  In view of 
our needs and troubles how can you rest in your palace, how can you 
even say that you are free from worries and sorrows?  As a ruler you 
must not be so egoistic as to think of yourself alone but you must 
think of those who are your subjects.  When we are comfortable then 
 
+P42 
you will be comfortable; when we are in misery how can you, as a king, 
be in happiness?"  
     The purport is this that we are all inhabiting one globe of earth.  
In reality we are one family and each one of us is a member of this 
family.  We must all be in the greatest happiness and comfort, under 
a just rule and regulation which is according to the good pleasure of 
God, thus causing us to be happy, for this life is fleeting.  
     If man were to care for himself only he would be nothing but an 
animal for only the animals are thus egoistic.  If you bring a thousand 
sheep to a well to kill nine hundred and ninety-nine the one remaining 
sheep would go on grazing, not thinking of the others and worrying 
not at all about the lost, never bothering that its own kind had 
passed away, or had perished or been killed.  To look after one's self 
only is therefore an animal propensity.  It is the animal propensity to 
live solitary and alone.  It is the animal proclivity to look after one's 
own comfort.  But man was created to be a man--to be fair, to be just, 
to be merciful, to be kind to all his species, never to be willing that 
he himself be well off while others are in misery and distress--this is an 
attribute of the animal and not of man.  Nay, rather, man should be 
willing to accept hardships for himself in order that others may enjoy 
wealth; he should enjoy trouble for himself that others may enjoy 
happiness and well-being.  This is the attribute of man.  This is becoming 
of man.  Otherwise man is not man--he is less than the animal.  
     The man who thinks only of himself and is thoughtless of others 
is undoubtedly inferior to the animal because the animal is not possessed 
of the reasoning faculty.  The animal is excused; but in man 
there is reason, the faculty of justice, the faculty of mercifulness.  
Possessing all these faculties he must not leave them unused.  He who 
is so hard-hearted as to think only of his own comfort, such an one 
will not be called man.  
     Man is he who forgets his own interests for the sake of others.  
His own comfort he forfeits for the well-being of all.  Nay, rather, his 
own life must he be willing to forfeit for the life of mankind.  Such a 
man is the honor of the world of humanity.  Such a man is the glory 
of the world of mankind.  Such a man is the one who wins eternal bliss.  
Such a man is near to the threshold of God.  Such a man is the very 
manifestation of eternal happiness.  Otherwise, men are like animals, 
exhibiting the same proclivities and propensities as the world of animals.  
What distinction is there?  What prerogatives, what perfections?  
None whatever!  Animals are better even--thinking only of themselves 
and negligent of the needs of others.  
     Consider how the greatest men in the world--whether among 
prophets or philosophers--all have forfeited their own comfort, have 
 
+P43 
sacrificed their own pleasure for the well-being of humanity.  They 
have sacrificed their own lives for the body politic.  They have sacrificed 
their own wealth for that of the general welfare.  They have 
forfeited their own honor for the honor of mankind.  Therefore it 
becomes evident that this is the highest attainment for the world of 
humanity.  
     We ask God to endow human souls with justice so that they may 
be fair, and may strive to provide for the comfort of all, that each 
member of humanity may pass his life in the utmost comfort and 
welfare.  Then this material world will become the very paradise of 
the Kingdom, this elemental earth will be in a heavenly state and all 
the servants of God will live in the utmost joy, happiness and gladness.  
We must all strive and concentrate all our thoughts in order 
that such happiness may accrue to the world of humanity.  
 
                      ------------------- 
 
     The question of socialization is very important.  It will not be 
solved by strikes for wages.  All the governments of the world must be 
united and organize an assembly the members of which should be 
elected from the parliaments and the nobles of the nations.  These 
must plan with utmost wisdom and power so that neither the capitalist 
suffer from enormous losses nor the laborers become needy.  In the 
utmost moderation they should make the law; then announce to the 
public that the rights of the working people are to be strongly preserved.  
Also the rights of the capitalists are to be protected.  When 
such a general plan is adopted by the will of both sides, should a 
strike occur, all the governments of the world collectively should resist 
it.  Otherwise, the labor problem will lead to much destruction, especially 
in Europe.  Terrible things will take place.  
     For instance, the owners of properties, mines and factories should 
share their incomes with their employees and give a fairly certain 
percentage of their products to their workingmen in order that the 
employees may receive, beside their wages, some of the general income 
of the factory so that the employee may strive with his soul in 
the work.  
     No more trusts will remain in the future.  The question of the 
trusts will be wiped away entirely.  Also, every factory that has ten 
thousand shares will give two thousand shares of these ten thousand 
to its employees and will write the shares in their names, so that they 
may have them, and the rest will belong to the capitalists.  Then at 
the end of the month or year whatever they may earn after the expenses 
and wages are paid, according to the number of shares, should 
be divided among both.  In reality, so far great injustice has befallen 
 
+P44 
the common people.  Laws must be made because it is impossible for 
the laborers to be satisfied with the present system.  They will strike 
every month and every year.  Finally, the capitalists will lose.  In 
ancient times a strike occurred among the Turkish soldiers.  They said 
to the government:  "Our wages are very small and they should be 
increased."  The government was forced to give them their demands.  
Shortly afterwards they struck again.  Finally all the incomes went 
to the pockets of the soldiers to the extent that they killed the king, 
saying:  "Why didst thou not increase the income so that we might 
have received more?"  
     It is impossible for a country to live properly without laws.  To 
solve this problem rigorous laws must be made, so that all the governments 
of the world will be the protectors thereof.  
     In the Bolshevistic principles equality is effected through force.  
The masses who are opposed to the people of rank and to the wealthy 
class desire to partake of their advantages.  
     But in the divine teachings equality is brought about through a 
ready willingness to share.  It is commanded as regards wealth that 
the rich among the people, and the aristocrats should, by their own 
free will and for the sake of their own happiness, concern themselves 
with and care for the poor.  This equality is the result of the lofty 
characteristics and noble attributes of mankind.  
 
+P45 
                    THE CRITERIONS OF TRUTH 
 
     During my visit to London and Paris last year+F1 I had many 
talks with the materialistic philosophers of Europe.  The basis 
of all their conclusions is that the acquisition of knowledge 
of phenomena is according to a fixed, invariable law,--a law mathematically 
exact in its operation through the senses.  For instance, 
the eye sees a chair; therefore there is no doubt of the chair's existence.  
The eye looks up into the heavens and beholds the sun; I see flowers 
upon this table; I smell their fragrance; I hear sounds outside, etc., 
etc.  This, they say, is a fixed mathematical law of perception and 
deduction, the operation of which admits of no doubt whatever; for 
inasmuch as the universe is subject to our sensing, the proof is self-evident 
that our knowledge of it must be gained through the avenues 
of the senses.  That is to say, the materialists announce that the 
criterion and standard of human knowledge is sense perception.  Among 
the Greeks and Romans the criterion of knowledge was reason; that 
whatever is provable and acceptable by reason must necessarily be 
admitted as true.  A third standard or criterion is the opinion held by 
theologians that traditions or prophetic statement and interpretations 
constitute the basis of human knowing.  There is still another, a fourth 
criterion upheld by religionists and metaphysicians who say that the 
source and channel of all human penetration into the unknown is 
through inspiration.  Briefly then, these four criterions according to 
the declarations of men are:  First--Sense Perception; Second--Reason; 
Third--Traditions; Fourth--Inspiration.  
     In Europe I told the philosophers and scientists of materialism 
that the criterion of the senses is not reliable.  For instance, consider 
a mirror and the images reflected in it.  These images have no actual 
corporeal existence.  Yet if you had never seen a mirror you would 
firmly insist and believe that they were real.  The eye sees a mirage 
upon the desert as a lake of water but there is no reality in it.  As we 
stand upon the deck of a steamer the shore appears to be moving, yet 
we know the land is stationary and we are moving.  The earth was 
believed to be fixed and the sun revolving about it but although this 
appears to be so, the reverse is now known to be true.  A whirling torch 
makes a circle of fire appear before the eye, yet we realize there is but 
one point of light.  We behold a shadow moving upon the ground but 
 
+F1 1911.  
 
+P46 
it has no material existence, no substance.  In deserts the atmospheric 
effects are particularly productive of illusions which deceive the eye.  
Once I saw a mirage in which a whole caravan appeared traveling upward 
into the sky.  In the far north other deceptive phenomena appear 
and baffle human vision.  Sometimes three or four suns called by 
scientists "mock suns" will be shining at the same time whereas we 
know the great solar orb is one and that it remains fixed and single.  
In brief, the senses are continually deceived and we are unable to 
separate that which is reality from that which is not.  
     As to the second criterion--reason--this likewise is unreliable 
and not to be depended upon.  This human world is an ocean of varying 
opinions.  If reason is the perfect standard and criterion of knowledge, 
why are opinions at variance and why do philosophers disagree 
so completely with each other?  This is a clear proof that human 
reason is not to be relied upon as an infallible criterion.  For instance, 
great discoveries and announcements of former centuries are continually 
upset and discarded by the wise men of today.  Mathematicians, 
astronomers, chemical scientists continually disprove and reject the 
conclusions of the ancients; nothing is fixed, nothing final; everything 
continually changing because human reason is progressing along new 
roads of investigation and arriving at new conclusions every day.  In 
the future much that is announced and accepted as true now will be 
rejected and disproved.  And so it will continue ad infinitum.  
     When we consider the third criterion--traditions--upheld by 
theologians as the avenue and standard of knowledge, we find this 
source equally unreliable and unworthy of dependence.  For religious 
traditions are the report and record of understanding and interpretation 
of the Book.  By what means has this understanding, this interpretation 
been reached?  By the analysis of human reason.  When we 
read the Book of God the faculty of comprehension by which we form 
conclusions is reason.  Reason is mind.  If we are not endowed with 
perfect reason, how can we comprehend the meanings of the Word of 
God?  Therefore human reason, as already pointed out, is by its very 
nature finite and faulty in conclusions.  It cannot surround the Reality 
Itself, the Infinite Word.  Inasmuch as the source of traditions and 
interpretations is human reason, and human reason is faulty, how 
can we depend upon its findings for real knowledge?  
     The fourth criterion I have named is inspiration through which 
it is claimed the reality of knowledge is attainable.  What is inspiration?  
It is the influx of the human heart.  But what are satanic promptings 
which afflict mankind?  They are the influx of the heart also.  How 
shall we differentiate between them?  The question arises, How shall 
we know whether we are following inspiration from God or satanic 
 
+P47 
promptings of the human soul?  Briefly, the point is that in the human 
material world of phenomena these four are the only existing criterions 
or avenues of knowledge, and all of them are faulty and unreliable.  
What then remains?  How shall we attain the reality of knowledge?  
By the breaths and promptings of the Holy Spirit which is light and 
knowledge itself.  Through it the human mind is quickened and 
fortified into true conclusions and perfect knowledge.  This is conclusive 
argument showing that all available human criterions are erroneous 
and defective, but the divine standard of knowledge is infallible.  
Therefore man is not justified in saying "I know because I perceive 
through my senses"; or "I know because it is proved through my 
faculty of reason"; or "I know because it is according to tradition and 
interpretation of the holy book"; or "I know because I am inspired."  
All human standard of judgment is faulty, finite.  
 
+P48 
                         MAN AND NATURE 
 
     If we look with a perceiving eye upon the world of creation, we 
find that all existing things may be classified as follows:  First--
Mineral--that is to say matter or substance appearing in various 
forms of composition.  Second--Vegetable--possessing the virtues of 
the mineral plus the power of augmentation or growth, indicating a 
degree higher and more specialized than the mineral.  Third--Animal
--possessing the attributes of the mineral and vegetable plus the 
power of sense perception.  Fourth--Human--the highest specialized 
organism of visible creation, embodying the qualities of the mineral, 
vegetable and animal plus an ideal endowment absolutely minus and 
absent in the lower kingdoms--the power of intellectual investigation 
into the mysteries of outer phenomena.  The outcome of this intellectual 
endowment is science which is especially characteristic of man.  This 
scientific power investigates and apprehends created objects and the 
laws surrounding them.  It is the discoverer of the hidden and mysterious 
secrets of the material universe and is peculiar to man alone.  
The most noble and praiseworthy accomplishment of man therefore 
is scientific knowledge and attainment.  
     Science may be likened to a mirror wherein the images of the 
mysteries of outer phenomena are reflected.  It brings forth and exhibits 
to us in the arena of knowledge all the product of the past.  
It links together past and present.  The philosophical conclusions of 
bygone centuries, the teachings of the prophets and wisdom of former 
sages are crystallized and reproduced in the scientific advancement of 
today.  Science is the discoverer of the past.  From its premises of past 
and present we deduce conclusions as to the future.  Science is the 
governor of nature and its mysteries, the one agency by which man 
explores the institutions of material creation.  All created things are 
captives of nature and subject to its laws.  They cannot transgress the 
control of these laws in one detail or particular.  The infinite starry 
worlds and heavenly bodies are nature's obedient subjects.  The earth 
and its myriad organisms, all minerals, plants and animals are thralls 
of its dominion.  But man through the exercise of his scientific, intellectual 
power can rise out of this condition, can modify, change and 
control nature according to his own wishes and uses.  Science, so to 
speak, is the "breaker" of the laws of nature.  
      Consider, for example, that man according to natural law should 
dwell upon the surface of the earth.  By overcoming this law and 
 
+P49 
restriction however he sails in ships over the ocean, mounts to the 
zenith in aeroplanes and sinks to the depths of the sea in submarines.  
This is against the fiat of nature and a violation of her sovereignty 
and dominion.  Nature's laws and methods, the hidden secrets and 
mysteries of the universe, human inventions and discoveries, all our 
scientific acquisitions should naturally remain concealed and unknown, 
but man through his intellectual acumen searches them out of the 
plane of the invisible, draws them into the plane of the visible, exposes 
and explains them.  For instance, one of the mysteries of nature is 
electricity.  According to nature this force, this energy should remain 
latent and hidden, but man scientifically breaks through the very 
laws of nature, arrests it and even imprisons it for his use.  
     In brief, man through the possession of this ideal endowment 
of scientific investigation is the most noble product of creation, the 
governor of nature.  He takes the sword from nature's hand and uses 
it upon nature's head.  According to natural law, night is a period of 
darkness and obscurity, but man by utilizing the power of electricity, 
by wielding this electric sword overcomes the darkness and dispels 
the gloom.  Man is superior to nature and makes nature do his bidding.  
Man is a sensitive being; nature is minus sensation.  Man has memory 
and reason; nature lacks them.  Man is nobler than nature.  There are 
powers within him of which nature is devoid.  It may be claimed that 
these powers are from nature itself and that man is a part of nature.  
In answer to this statement we will say that if nature is the whole and 
man is a part of that whole, how could it be possible for a part to 
possess qualities and virtues which are absent in the whole.  Undoubtedly 
the part must be endowed with the same qualities and 
properties as the whole.  For example, the hair is a part of the human 
anatomy.  It cannot contain elements which are not found in other 
parts of the body, for in all cases the component elements of the body 
are the same.  Therefore it is manifest and evident that man, although 
in body a part of nature, nevertheless in spirit possesses a power 
transcending nature; for if he were simply a part of nature and 
limited to material laws he could possess only the things which 
nature embodies.  God has conferred upon and added to man a distinctive 
power, the faculty of intellectual investigation into the 
secrets of creation, the acquisition of higher knowledge, the greatest 
virtue of which is scientific enlightenment.  
     This endowment is the most praiseworthy power of man, for 
through its employment and exercise, the betterment of the human 
race is accomplished, the development of the virtues of mankind is 
made possible and the spirit and mysteries of God become manifest.  
     As material and physical sciences are taught here+F1 and are constantly 
 
+F1 Columbia University, New York City.  
 
+P50 
unfolding in wider vistas of attainment, I am hopeful that 
spiritual development may also follow and keep pace with these outer 
advantages.  As material knowledge is illuminating those within the 
walls of this great temple of learning, so also may the light of the 
spirit, the inner and divine light of the real philosophy glorify this 
institution.  The most important principle of divine philosophy is the 
oneness of the world of humanity, the unity of mankind, the bond 
conjoining East and West, the tie of love which blends human hearts.  
     Therefore it is our duty to put forth our greatest efforts and 
summon all our energies in order that the bonds of unity and accord 
may be established among mankind.  For thousands of years we have 
had bloodshed and strife.  It is enough; it is sufficient.  Now is the time 
to associate together in love and harmony.  For thousands of years we 
have tried the sword and warfare; let mankind for a time at least 
live in peace.  Review history and consider how much savagery, how 
much bloodshed and battle the world has witnessed.  It has been 
either religious warfare, political warfare or some other clash of human 
interests.  The world of humanity has never enjoyed the blessing of 
Universal Peace.  Year by year the implements of warfare have been 
increased and perfected.  Consider the wars of past centuries; only ten, 
fifteen or twenty thousand at the most were killed but now it is 
possible to kill one hundred thousand in a single day.  In ancient 
times warfare was carried on with the sword; today it is the smokeless 
gun.  Formerly battleships were sailing vessels; today they are dreadnoughts.  
Consider the increase and improvement in the weapons of 
war.  God has created us all human and all countries of the world are 
parts of the same globe.  We are all his servants.  He is kind and just 
to all.  Why should we be unkind and unjust to each other?  He provides 
for all.  Why should we deprive one another?  He protects and preserves 
all.  Why should we kill our fellow-creatures?  If this warfare and strife 
be for the sake of religion, it is evident that it violates the spirit and 
basis of all religion.  All the divine Manifestations have proclaimed 
the oneness of God and the unity of mankind.  They have taught that 
men should love and mutually help each other in order that they 
might progress.  Now if this conception of religion be true, its essential 
principle is the oneness of humanity.  The fundamental truth of the 
Manifestations is peace.  This underlies all religion, all justice.  The 
divine purpose is that men should live in unity, concord and agreement 
and should love one another.  Consider the virtues of the human 
world and realize that the oneness of humanity is the primary foundation 
of them all.  Read the gospel and the other holy books.  You will 
find their fundamentals are one and the same.  
 
+P51 
                    THE MICROCOSM AND THE MACROCOSM 
 
     When we ponder over the reality of the microcosm, we 
discover that in the microcosm there are deposited three 
realities.  Man is endowed with an outer or physical reality.  
It belongs to the material realm, the animal kingdom, because it has 
sprung from the material world.  This animalistic reality of man he 
shares in common with the animals.  
     The human body is like animals subject to nature's laws.  But 
man is endowed with a second reality, the rational or intellectual 
reality; and the intellectual reality of man predominates over nature.  
     All these sciences which we enjoy were the hidden and recondite 
secrets of nature, unknowable to nature, but man was enabled to 
discover these mysteries, and out of the plane of the unseen he brought 
them into the plane of the seen.  
     Yet there is a third reality in man, the spiritual reality.  Through 
its medium one discovers spiritual revelations, a celestial faculty 
which is infinite as regards the intellectual as well as physical realms.  
That power is conferred upon man through the breath of the Holy 
Spirit.  It is an eternal reality, an indestructible reality, a reality 
belonging to the divine, supernatural kingdom; a reality whereby the 
world is illumined, a reality which grants unto man eternal life.  This 
third, spiritual reality it is which discovers past events and looks 
along the vistas of the future.  It is the ray of the Sun of Reality.  The 
spiritual world is enlightened through it, the whole of the Kingdom is 
being illumined by it.  It enjoys the world of beatitude, a world which 
had not beginning and which shall have no end.  
     That celestial reality, the third reality of the microcosm, delivers 
man from the material world.  Its power causes man to escape 
from nature's world.  Escaping, he will find an illuminating reality, 
transcending the limited reality of man and causing him to attain to 
the infinitude of God, abstracting him from the world of superstitions 
and imaginations, and submerging him in the sea of the rays of the 
Sun of Reality.  
     This fact is proved from scientific as well as spiritual evidence.  
     When we ponder over the conditions of phenomena, we observe 
that all phenomena are composed of single elements.  This singular 
cell-element travels and has its coursings through all the grades of 
existence.  I wish you to ponder carefully over this.  This cellular 
element has at some time been in the mineral kingdom.  While staying 
 
+P52 
in the mineral kingdom it has had its coursings and transformations 
through myriads of images and forms.  Having perfected its journey 
in the mineral kingdom, it has ascended to the vegetable kingdom; 
and in the vegetable kingdom it has again had journeys and transformations 
through myriads of conditions.  Having accomplished its 
functions in the vegetable kingdom, the cellular element ascends to 
the animal kingdom.  
     In the animal kingdom again it goes through the composition of 
myriads of images, and then we have it in the human kingdom.  In 
the human kingdom likewise it has its transformations and coursings 
through multitudes of forms.  In short, this single primordial atom has 
had its great journeys through every stage of life, and in every stage 
it was endowed with a special and particular virtue or characteristic.  
     Consequently, the great divine philosophers have had the following 
epigram:  All things are involved in all things.  For every single 
phenomenon has enjoyed the postulates of God, and in every form of 
these infinite electrons it has had its characteristics of perfection.  
     Thus this flower once upon a time was of the soil.  The animal eats 
the flower or its fruit, and it thereby ascends to the animal kingdom.  
Man eats the meat of the animal, and there you have its ascent into 
the human kingdom, because all phenomena are divided into that 
which eats and that which is eaten.  Therefore, every primordial atom 
of these atoms, singly and indivisible, has had its coursings throughout 
all the sentient creation, going constantly into the aggregation 
of the various elements.  Hence do you have the conservation of energy 
and the infinity of phenomena, the indestructibility of phenomena, 
changeless and immutable, because life cannot suffer annihilation but 
only change.  
     The apparent annihilation is this:  that the form, the outward 
image, goes through all these changes and transformations.  Let us 
again take the example of this flower.  The flower is indestructible.  
The only thing that we can see, this outer form, is indeed destroyed, 
but the elements, the indivisible elements which have gone into the 
composition of this flower are eternal and changeless.  Therefore the 
realities of all phenomena are immutable.  Extinction or mortality is 
nothing but the transformation of pictures and images, so to speak--
the reality back of these images is eternal.  And every reality of the 
realities is one of the bounties of God.  
     Some people believe that the divinity of God had a beginning.  
They say that before this particular beginning man had no knowledge 
of the divinity of God.  With this principle they have limited the 
operation of the influences of God.  
     For example, they think there was a time when man did not exist, 
 
+P53 
and that there will be a time in the future when man will not exist.  
Such a theory circumscribes the power of God, because how can we understand 
the divinity of God except through scientifically understanding 
the manifestations of the attributes of God?  
     How can we understand the nature of fire except from its heat, 
its light?  Were not heat and light in this fire, naturally we could not 
say that the fire existed.  
     Thus, if there was a time when God did not manifest His qualities, 
then there was no God, because the attributes of God presuppose the 
creation of phenomena.  For example, by present consideration we say 
that God is the creator.  Then there must always have been a creation
--since the quality of creator cannot be limited to the moment when 
some man or men realize this attribute.  The attributes that we discover 
one by one--these attributes themselves necessarily anticipated 
our discovery of them.  Therefore, God has no beginning and no ending; 
nor is His creation limited ever as to degree.  Limitations of time 
and degree pertain to things created, never to the creation as a whole.  
They pertain to the forms of things, not to their realities.  The effulgence 
of God cannot be suspended.  The sovereignty of God cannot be 
interrupted.  
     As long as the sovereignty of God is immemorial, therefore the 
creation of our world throughout infinity is presupposed.  When we 
look at the reality of this subject, we see that the bounties of God are 
infinite, without beginning and without end.  
     The greatest bounties of God in this phenomenal world are His 
Manifestations.  This is the greatest postulate.  These Manifestations 
are the Suns of Reality.  For it is through the Manifestation that the 
reality becomes known and established for man.  History proves to us 
that apart from the influence of the Manifestations, man sinks back 
into his animal condition, using even his intellectual power to subserve 
an animal purpose.  Therefore there is no cessation whatsoever in the 
future for the appearance of the Manifestation of God, because God is 
infinite and His purpose cannot be limited in any way.  If we ever dare 
to limit and circumscribe God's purpose within any bounds, then of 
necessity we have dared to set limitations to the omnipotence of God.  
The created has dared to define his Creator!  
     Consequently, the perfect man ever beholds the rays of the Sun 
of Truth.  The perfect man ever awaits and expects the coming of the 
effulgence of God, he ever ponders over the methods and purposes of 
God, knowing that of certainty the realities of the Divine are not finite, 
the Divine names and attributes are not finite.  God's graces and bounties 
are without limit, and the coming of the Manifestations of God are 
not circumscribed by time.  
 
+P54 
                         THE UNIVERSAL CYCLES 
 
     Each one of the luminous bodies in this limitless firmament has 
a cycle of revolution which is of a different duration, and every 
one revolves in its own orbit, and again begins a new cycle.  So 
the earth, every three hundred and sixty-five days, five hours, forty-eight 
minutes and a fraction, completes a revolution; and then it 
begins a new cycle, that is to say, the first cycle is again renewed.  In 
the same way, for the whole universe, whether for the heavens or for 
men, there are cycles of great events, of important facts and occurrences.  
When a cycle is ended, a new cycle begins, and the old one, on account 
of the great events which take place, is completely forgotten, and not a 
trace or record of it will remain.  As you see, we have no records of 
twenty thousand years ago, although we have before proved by argument 
that life on this earth is very ancient.  It is not one hundred 
thousand, or two hundred thousand, or one million or two million 
years old; it is very ancient, and the ancient records and traces are 
entirely obliterated.  
     Each of the Divine Manifestations has likewise a cycle, and during 
the cycle his laws and commandments prevail and are performed.  
When his cycle is completed by the appearance of a new Manifestation, 
a new cycle begins.  In this way cycles begin, end, and are renewed, 
until a universal cycle is completed in the world, when important 
events and great occurrences will take place which entirely efface 
every trace and every record of the past; then a new universal cycle 
begins in the world, for this universe has no beginning.  We have 
before stated proofs and evidences concerning this subject; there is no 
need of repetition.  
     Briefly, we say a universal cycle in the world of existence signifies 
a long duration of time, and innumerable and incalculable periods and 
epochs.  In such a cycle the Manifestations appear with splendor in 
the realm of the visible, until a great and universal Manifestation 
makes the world the center of his radiance.  His appearance causes 
the world to attain to maturity, and the extension of his cycle is very 
great.  Afterwards other Manifestations will arise under his shadow, 
who according to the needs of the time will renew certain commandments 
relating to material questions and affairs, while remaining 
under his shadow.  
     We are in the cycle which began with Adam, and its universal 
Manifestation is &Baha'u'llah.  
 
+P55 
                         EDUCATION 
 
     According to the statement of philosophers the difference 
in degree of humankind from lowest to highest is due to education.  
The proofs they advance are these:  The civilization of 
Europe and America is an evidence and outcome of education whereas 
the semi-civilized and barbarous peoples of Africa bear witness in 
their condition that they have been deprived of its advantages.  
Education makes the ignorant wise, the tyrant just, promotes happiness, 
strengthens the mind, develops the will and makes fruitless 
trees of humanity fruitful.  Therefore in the human world some have 
attained lofty degrees while others grope in the abyss of despair.  
Nevertheless the highest attainment is possible for every member of 
the human race even to the station of the prophets.  This is the statement 
and reasoning of the philosophers.  
     The prophets of God are the first educators.  They bestow universal 
education upon man and cause him to rise from lowest levels 
of savagery to the highest pinnacles of spiritual development.  The 
philosophers too are educators along lines of intellectual training.  At 
most they have only been able to educate themselves and a limited 
number about them, to improve their own morals and, so to speak, 
civilize themselves; but they have been incapable of universal education.  
They have failed to cause an advancement for any given nation 
from savagery to civilization.  
     It is evident that although education improves the morals of 
mankind, confers the advantages of civilization and elevates man 
from lowest degrees to the station of sublimity, there is nevertheless a 
difference in the intrinsic or natal capacity of individuals.  Ten children 
of the same age, with equal station of birth, taught in the same school, 
partaking of the same food, in all respects subject to the same environment, 
their interests equal and in common, will evidence separate and 
distinct degrees of capability and advancement; some exceedingly 
intelligent and progressive, some of mediocre ability, others limited 
and incapable.  One may become a learned professor while another 
under the same course of education proves dull and stupid.  From all 
standpoints the opportunities have been equal but the results and outcomes 
vary from the highest to lowest degree of advancement.  It is 
evident therefore that mankind differs in natal capacity and intrinsic 
 
+P56 
intellectual endowment.  Nevertheless although capacities are not the 
same, every member of the human race is capable of education.  
      His Holiness Jesus Christ was an educator of humanity.  His 
teachings were altruistic; his bestowal universal.  He taught mankind 
by the power of the Holy Spirit and not through human agency, for 
the human power is limited whereas the divine power is illimitable and 
infinite.  The influence and accomplishment of Christ will attest this.  
Galen, the Greek physician and philosopher, who lived in the second 
century A.D., wrote a treatise upon the civilization of nations.  He was 
not a Christian but he has borne testimony that religious beliefs exercise 
an extraordinary effect upon the problems of civilization.  In 
substance he says, "There are certain people among us, followers of 
Jesus the Nazarene who was killed in Jerusalem.  These people are 
truly imbued with moral principles which are the envy of philosophers.  
They believe in God and fear Him.  They have hopes in His favors, therefore 
they shun all unworthy deeds and actions and incline to praiseworthy 
ethics and morals.  Day and night they strive that their deeds 
may be commendable and that they may contribute to the welfare of 
humanity; therefore each one of them is virtually a philosopher, for 
these people have attained unto that which is the essence and purport 
of philosophy.  These people have praiseworthy morals even though 
they may be illiterate."  
     The purpose of this is to show that the holy Manifestations of 
God, the divine prophets, are the first teachers of the human race.  They 
are universal educators and the fundamental principles they have laid 
down are the causes and factors of the advancement of nations.  
 
+P57 
                         THE HOLY SPIRIT 
 
     The elemental atoms which constitute all phenomenal existence 
and being in this illimitable universe are in perpetual 
motion, undergoing continuous degrees of progression.  For instance, 
let us conceive of an atom in the mineral kingdom progressing 
upward to the kingdom of the vegetable by entering into the composition 
and fibre of a tree or plant.  From thence it is assimilated and 
transferred into the kingdom of the animal and finally by the law and 
process of composition becomes a part of the body of man.  That is to 
say, it has traversed the intermediate degrees and stations of phenomenal 
existence, entering into the composition of various organisms in 
its journey.  This motion or transference is progressive and perpetual, 
for after disintegration of the human body into which it has entered, 
it returns to the mineral kingdom whence it came, and will continue to 
traverse the kingdoms of phenomena as before.  This is an illustration 
designed to show that the constituent elemental atoms of phenomena 
undergo progressive transference and motion throughout the material 
kingdoms.  
     In its ceaseless progression and journeyings the atom becomes 
imbued with the virtues and powers of each degree or kingdom it traverses.  
In the degree of the mineral it possessed mineral affinities; in 
the kingdom of the vegetable it manifested the virtue augmentative 
or power of growth; in the animal organism it reflected the intelligence 
of that degree, and in the kingdom of man it was qualified with human 
attributes or virtues.  
     Furthermore, the forms and organisms of phenomenal being and 
existence in each of the kingdoms of the universe are myriad and numberless.  
The vegetable plane or kingdom for instance has its infinite 
variety of types and material structures of plant life, each distinct and 
different within itself, no two exactly alike in composition and detail, 
for there are no repetitions in nature, and the virtue augmentative cannot 
be confined to any given image or shape.  Each leaf has its own particular 
identity, so to speak, its own individuality as a leaf.  Therefore 
each atom of the innumerable elemental atoms, during its ceaseless 
motion through the kingdoms of existence as a constituent of organic 
composition, not only becomes imbued with the powers and virtues of 
the kingdoms it traverses but also reflects the attributes and qualities 
of the forms and organisms of those kingdoms.  As each of these forms 
has its individual and particular virtue, therefore each elemental atom 
 
+P58 
of the universe has the opportunity of expressing an infinite variety 
of those individual virtues.  No atom is bereft or deprived of this opportunity 
or right of expression.  Nor can it be said of any given atom 
that it is denied equal opportunities with other atoms; nay, all are 
privileged to possess the virtues existent in these kingdoms and to reflect 
the attributes of their organisms.  In the various transformations 
or passages from kingdom to kingdom, the virtues expressed by the 
atoms in each degree are peculiar to that degree.  For example, in the 
world of the mineral, the atom does not express the vegetable form and 
organism, and when through the process of transmutation it assumes 
the virtues of the vegetable degree, it does not reflect the attributes of 
animal organisms, and so on.  
     It is evident then that each elemental atom of the universe is 
possessed of a capacity to express all the virtues of the universe.  This 
is a subtle and abstract realization.  Meditate upon it, for within it lies 
the true explanation of pantheism.  From this point of view and perception, 
pantheism is a truth, for every atom in the universe possesses 
or reflects all the virtues of life, the manifestation of which is effected 
through change and transformation.  Therefore the origin and outcome 
of phenomena is verily the omnipresent God for the reality of all phenomenal 
existence is through Him.  There is neither reality nor the manifestation 
of reality without the instrumentality