Bahai Faith; Peace -- Religious aspects -- Bahai Faith
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 of which are the same as
those of the former vernal seasons, although the names are many and
various. This is 1912, last year 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 designations—Atlantic, Pacific,
Mediterranean, Antarctic, etc. If we consider the names, there is
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account