Bahá'u'lláh and the New EraEsslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Religion
Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
Esslemont, J. E. (John Ebenezer)
Bahai Faith; Bahá'u'lláh, 1817-1892
For Bahá’u’lláh ... has not only imbued mankind with a new and
regenerating Spirit. He has not merely enunciated certain
universal principles, or propounded a particular philosophy,
however potent, sound and universal these may be. In addition to
these He, as well as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after Him, has, unlike the
Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a
set of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for
the essentials of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be a
pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the
establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the
unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of
righteousness and justice upon the earth....
Unlike the Dispensation of Christ, unlike the Dispensation of
Muḥammad, unlike all the Dispensations of the past, the apostles
of Bahá’u’lláh in every land, wherever they labor and toil, have
before them in clear, in unequivocal and emphatic language, all
the laws, the regulations, the principles, the institutions, the
guidance, they require for the prosecution and consummation of
their task.... Therein lies the distinguishing feature of the
Bahá’í Revelation. Therein lies the strength of the unity of the
Faith, of the validity of a Revelation that claims not to destroy
or belittle previous Revelations, but to connect, unify, and
fulfill them....
Feeble though our Faith may now appear in the eyes of men, who
either denounce it as an offshoot of Islam, or contemptuously
ignore it as one more of those obscure sects that abound in the
West, this priceless gem of Divine Revelation, now still in its
embryonic state, shall evolve within the shell of His law, and
shall forge ahead, undivided and unimpaired, till it embraces the
whole of mankind. Only those who have already recognized the
supreme station of Bahá’u’lláh, only those whose hearts have been
touched by His love, and have become familiar with the potency of
His spirit, can adequately appreciate the value of this Divine
Economy—His inestimable gift to mankind.—March 21, 1930.
It is towards this goal—the goal of a new World Order, Divine in
origin, all-embracing in scope, equitable in principle,
challenging in its features—that a harassed humanity must
strive....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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