A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
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Government |
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The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh contain two different types of
reference to the question of true social order. One type is
exemplified in the tablets revealed to the Kings, which deal
with the problem of government as existing in the world during
Bahá’u’lláh’s life on earth; the other references are to the new
order to be developed within the Bahá’í community itself.
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Hence arises the sharp contrast between such passages as:
“The one true God, exalted be His glory, hath ever regarded,
and will continue to regard, the hearts of men as His own, His
exclusive possession. All else, whether pertaining to land or
sea, whether riches or glory, He hath bequeathed unto the
Kings and rulers of the earth”’ and “It beseemeth all men, in
this Day, to take firm hold on the Most Great Name, and to
establish the unity of all mankind. There is no place to flee to,
no refuge that any one can seek, except Him.”—Gleanings from
the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 206, 203.
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The apparent incompatibility of these two views is removed
when we observe the distinction which Bahá’u’lláh makes between
the “Lesser Peace” and the “Most Great Peace.” In His
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tablets to the Kings Bahá’u’lláh called upon them to assemble
and take measures for the maintenance of political peace, the
reduction of armaments and the removal of the burdens and
insecurity of the poor. But His words make it perfectly clear
that their failure to respond to the needs of the time would
result in wars and revolutions leading to the overthrow of the
old order. Therefore, on the one hand He said: “What mankind
needeth in this day is obedience unto them that are in
authority,” and on the other, “Those men who, having amassed
the vanities and ornaments of the earth, have turned away
disdainfully from God—these have lost both this world and
the world to come. Ere long, will God, with the Hand of
Power, strip them of their possessions, and divest them of the
robe of His bounty.” “We have a fixed time for you, O peoples.
If ye fail, at the appointed hour, to turn towards God, He, verily,
will lay violent hold on you, and will cause grievous
afflictions to assail you from every direction.” “The signs of impending
convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch
as the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective.”
“We have pledged Ourselves to secure Thy triumph upon
earth and to exalt Our Cause above all men, though no king be
found who would turn his face towards Thee.” Gleanings from
the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 207, 209, 214, 216, 248–249.
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The Great Being, wishing to reveal the prerequisites of
the peace and tranquillity of the world and the advancement
of its peoples, hath written: The time must come
when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an
all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized.
The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend
it, and participating in its deliberations, must consider
such ways and means as will lay the foundations of the
world’s Great Peace amongst men. Such a peace demandeth
that the Great Powers should resolve, for the
sake of the tranquillity of the peoples of the earth, to be
fully reconciled among themselves. Should any kind take
up arms against another, all should unitedly arise and prevent
him.—Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh,
p. 249.
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By such counsel, Bahá’u’lláh revealed the conditions under
which public responsibility must be discharged in this Day of
God. Appealing for international solidarity on the one hand,
He no less clearly warned the rulers that continuance of strife
would destroy their power. Now modern history confirms this
warning, in the rise of those coercive movements which in all
civilized nations have attained such destructive energy, and
in the development of warfare to the degree that victory is no
longer attainable by any party. “Now that ye have refused the
Most Great Peace, hold ye fast unto this, the Lesser Peace,
that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition
and that of your dependents.” “That which the Lord hath
ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for
the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one
universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be
achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful
and inspired Physician.”—Gleanings from the Writings of
Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 254, 255.
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