BAHA'I INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ISSUES STATEMENT ON POVERTY ERADICATION
NEW YORK, 15 February 2008 (BWNS)
-- A new statement from the Baha'i International Community calls for a coherent, principle-based approach to the eradication of global poverty.BIC representatives introduced the statement, "Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward as One," yesterday at a luncheon held at their offices across from the United Nations. About 40 representatives from various non-governmental organizations and UN agencies gathered for the presentation.Tahirih Naylor, a representative of the BIC to the United Nations, said the statement was released to coincide with the 46th Commission for Social Development at the United Nations, which runs 6-15 February 2008."This year, the Commission is focusing on the themes of promoting full employment and decent work for all," said Ms. Naylor. "These are important aspects of poverty eradication, but we wanted to advocate a more coherent approach, one that looks at the wide range of issues that must be addressed in an integrated way if global poverty is to be eliminated."The statement calls on both institutions and individuals internationally to put essential moral principles, such as unity and justice, first. It recasts the underlying nature of poverty, saying it "can be described as the absence of those ethical, social and material resources needed to develop the moral, intellectual and social capacities of individuals, communities and institutions."The statement also examines a number of specific topical areas where poverty alleviation efforts can be most effectively focused. These include leadership and governance, human rights, gender, sustainable development, agriculture, employment, individual responsibility, education, and religion.Those gathered for the presentation were addressed by Nikhil Seth, from the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and Julia Berger, senior researcher and writer for the Baha'i International Community.
Mr. Seth said the statement's "key message is that solidarity of action is what we need. If we can galvanize that spirit, we'll have won the battle."Mr. Seth, who is director of the Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination at DESA, shared his experience in developing nations, including his native India, and recommended an additional focus on country-specific solutions. "Generic solutions are not sufficient," he said, noting that land issues and culture play strong roles. "A community-specific analysis is needed to tackle poverty."Mr. Seth also stressed the related problem of hunger. "The problem of malnourishment requires a whole different set of interventions," he said, saying that in his country more than 40 percent of children under 5 are malnourished.Mr. Seth also noted that international agencies sometimes place too much emphasis on measuring poverty rather than doing something about it."Macroeconomic aggregates do not really capture the indignities of poverty the way your statement has done so beautifully," he said.Ms. Berger said that the issue of poverty is inextricably linked to other complex factors such as human rights, development, and environmental circumstances. It is a positive indication, she said, that the UN community is beginning to realize the interconnectedness of all these factors and focusing on ways to formulated an integrated approach."Not to overstate the case, but the change in thought required to get to this point is like the Copernican revolution of recognizing that the earth revolves around the sun, and not the other way around," Ms. Berger said.Ms. Naylor said the statement was initially drafted in response to a call from the UN Human Rights Council for a consultation on "draft guiding principles" to help focus the discussion on the link between human rights and extreme poverty.As part of that process, the BIC contacted selected members of the Baha'i community around the world and asked them to organize discussions on poverty and human rights involving individuals from the local level.
"These discussions took place in six countries -- Brazil, Guyana, Haiti, India, Namibia and Turkey -- and the consultations there provided first-hand experiences and impressions from individuals who are most affected by poverty."To read "Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward as One," follow this link: http://bic.org/statements-and-reports/bic-statements/08-0214.htmTo view the photos and additional features click here:http://news.bahai.org--17-bp-080215-1-POVERTYERADICATION-604-S------------------------------------------------------------------------------Advance release: Please check our website for the final version of thisarticle.------------------------------------------------------------------------------Copyright 2008 by the Baha'i World News Service. All stories andphotographs produced by the Baha'i World News Service may be freelyreprinted, re-emailed, re-posted to the World Wide Web and otherwisereproduced by any individual or organization as long as they areattributed to the Baha'i World News Service. For more information, visithttp://news.bahai.org.------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you have questions about this list or wish to unsubscribe, contactsubscribe@bahai.org------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, February 15, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
THE CRITERIONS OF TRUTH by Abdul-Bahá
Foundations of World Unity
http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=abdulbaha_foundations_world_unity&language=All
THE CRITERIONS OF TRUTH
http://www.bahai-library.com/writings/abdulbaha/fwu/sec-11.html
During my visit to London and Paris last year[1911.] 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 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
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.
http://www.bahai-library.com/writings/abdulbaha/fwu/sec-11.html
http://bahai-library.com/file
THE CRITERIONS OF TRUTH
http://www.bahai-library.com
During my visit to London and Paris last year[1911.] 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 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
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.
http://www.bahai-library.com
SCIENCE by Abdul-Bahá
Foundations of World Unity
http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=abdulbaha_foundations_world_unity&language=All
SCIENCE
http://www.bahai-library.com/writings/abdulbaha/fwu/sec-17.html
The virtues of humanity are many but science is the most noble of them
all. The distinction which man enjoys above and beyond the station of
the animal is due to this paramount virtue. It is a bestowal of God;
it is not material, it is divine. Science is an effulgence of the Sun
of Reality, the power of investigating and discovering the verities of
the universe, the means by which man finds a pathway to God. All the
powers and attributes of man are human and hereditary in origin,
outcomes of nature's processes, except the intellect, which is
supernatural. Through intellectual and intelligent inquiry science is
the discoverer of all things. It unites present and past, reveals the
history of bygone nations and events, and confers upon man today the
essence of all human knowledge and attainment throughout the ages. By
intellectual processes and logical deductions of reason, this
super-power in man can penetrate the mysteries of the future and
anticipate its happenings.
Science is the first emanation from God toward man. All created beings
embody the potentiality of material perfection, but the power of
intellectual investigation and scientific acquisition is a higher
virtue specialized to man alone. Other beings and organisms are
deprived of this potentiality and attainment. God has created or
deposited this love of reality in man. The development and progress of
a nation is according to the measure and degree of that nation's
scientific attainments. Through this means, its greatness is
continually increased and day by day the welfare and prosperity of its
people are assured.
All blessings are divine in origin but none can be compared with this
power of intellectual investigation and research which is an eternal
gift producing fruits of unending delight. Man is ever partaking of
these fruits. All other blessings are temporary; this is an
everlasting possession. Even sovereignty has its limitations and
overthrow; this is a kingship and dominion which none may usurp or
destroy. Briefly; it is an eternal blessing and divine bestowal, the
supreme gift of God to man. Therefore you should put forward your most
earnest efforts toward the acquisition of sciences and arts. The
greater your attainment, the higher your standard in the divine
purpose. The man of science is perceiving and endowed with vision
whereas he who is ignorant and neglectful of this development is
blind. The investigating mind is attentive, alive; the mind callous
and indifferent is deaf and dead. A scientific man is a true index and
representative of humanity, for through processes of inductive
reasoning and research he is informed of all that appertains to
humanity, its status, conditions and happenings. He studies the human
body politic, understands social problems and weaves the web and
texture of civilization. In fact, science may be likened to a mirror
wherein the infinite forms and images of existing things are revealed
and reflected. It is the very foundation of all individual and
national development. Without this basis of investigation, development
is impossible. Therefore seek with diligent endeavor the knowledge and
attainment of all that lies within the power of this wonderful bestowal.
We have already stated that science or the attribute of scientific
penetration is supernatural and that all other blessings of God are
within the boundary of nature. What is the proof of this? All created
things except man are captives of nature. The stars and suns swinging
through infinite space, all earthly forms of life and existence
whether mineral, vegetable or animal come under the dominion and
control of natural law. Man through scientific knowledge and power
rules nature and utilizes her laws to do his bidding. According to
natural limitations he is a creature of earth restricted to life upon
its surface, but through scientific utilization of material laws he
soars in the sky, sails upon the ocean and dives beneath it. The
products of his invention and discovery so familiar to us in daily
life were once mysteries of nature. For instance, man has brought
electricity out of the plane of the invisible into the plane of the
visible, harnessed and imprisoned that mysterious natural agent and
made it the servant of his needs and wishes. Similar instances are
many but we will not prolong. Man as it were takes the sword out of
nature's hand and with it for his sceptre of authority dominates
nature itself. Nature is without the crown of human faculties and
attributes. Man possesses conscious intelligence and reflection;
nature is minus. This is an established fundamental among
philosophers. Man is endowed with volition and memory; nature has
neither. Man can seek out the mysteries latent in nature whereas
nature is not conscious of her own hidden phenomena. Man is
progressive; nature is stationary, without the power of progression or
retrogression. Man is endowed with ideal virtues, for example
intellection, volition,--among them faith, confession and
acknowledgment of God, while nature is devoid of all these. The ideal
faculties of man, including the capacity of scientific acquisition are
beyond nature's ken. These are powers whereby man is differentiated
and distinguished from all other forms of life. This is the bestowal
of divine idealism, the crown adorning human heads. Notwithstanding
the gift of this supernatural power, it is most amazing that
materialists still consider themselves within the bounds and captivity
of nature. The truth is that God has endowed man with virtues, powers
and ideal faculties of which nature is entirely bereft and by which
man is elevated, distinguished and superior. We must thank God for
these bestowals, for these powers He has given us, for this crown He
has placed upon our heads.
How shall we utilize these gifts and expend these bounties? By
directing our efforts toward the unification of the human race. We
must use these powers in establishing the oneness of the world of
humanity; appreciate these virtues by accomplishing the unity of the
white and colored races; devote this divine intelligence to the
perfecting of amity and accord among all branches of the human family,
so that under the protection and providence of God, the East and West
may hold each other's hands and become as lovers. Then will mankind be
as one nation, one race and kind; as waves of one ocean. Although
these waves may differ in form and shape, they are waves of the same
sea. Flowers may be variegated in colors but they are all flowers of
one garden. Trees differ though they grow in the same orchard. All are
nourished and quickened into life by the bounty of the same rain; all
grow and develop by the heat and light of the one sun; all are
refreshed and exhilarated by the same breeze; that they may bring
forth varied fruits. This is according to the creative wisdom. If all
trees bore the same kind of fruit it would cease to be delicious. In
their never ending variety man finds enjoyment instead of monotony.
And now as I look into your faces I am reminded of trees varying in
color and form but all bearing luscious and delectable fruits,
fragrant and delightful to the inner and outer senses. The radiance
and spirituality of this meeting is through the favor of God. Our
hearts are uplifted in thankfulness to Him. Praise be to God! you are
living upon the great continent of the West enjoying the perfect
liberty, security and peace of this just government. There is no cause
for sorrow or unhappiness anywhere; every means of happiness and
enjoyment is about you, for in this human world there is no greater
blessing than liberty. You do not know. I who for forty years have
been a prisoner, do know. I do know the value and blessing of liberty.
For you have been and are now living in freedom and you have no fear
of anybody. Is there a greater blessing than this? Freedom! Liberty!
Security! These are the great bestowals of God. Therefore praise God!
http://bahai-library.com/file
SCIENCE
http://www.bahai-library.com
The virtues of humanity are many but science is the most noble of them
all. The distinction which man enjoys above and beyond the station of
the animal is due to this paramount virtue. It is a bestowal of God;
it is not material, it is divine. Science is an effulgence of the Sun
of Reality, the power of investigating and discovering the verities of
the universe, the means by which man finds a pathway to God. All the
powers and attributes of man are human and hereditary in origin,
outcomes of nature's processes, except the intellect, which is
supernatural. Through intellectual and intelligent inquiry science is
the discoverer of all things. It unites present and past, reveals the
history of bygone nations and events, and confers upon man today the
essence of all human knowledge and attainment throughout the ages. By
intellectual processes and logical deductions of reason, this
super-power in man can penetrate the mysteries of the future and
anticipate its happenings.
Science is the first emanation from God toward man. All created beings
embody the potentiality of material perfection, but the power of
intellectual investigation and scientific acquisition is a higher
virtue specialized to man alone. Other beings and organisms are
deprived of this potentiality and attainment. God has created or
deposited this love of reality in man. The development and progress of
a nation is according to the measure and degree of that nation's
scientific attainments. Through this means, its greatness is
continually increased and day by day the welfare and prosperity of its
people are assured.
All blessings are divine in origin but none can be compared with this
power of intellectual investigation and research which is an eternal
gift producing fruits of unending delight. Man is ever partaking of
these fruits. All other blessings are temporary; this is an
everlasting possession. Even sovereignty has its limitations and
overthrow; this is a kingship and dominion which none may usurp or
destroy. Briefly; it is an eternal blessing and divine bestowal, the
supreme gift of God to man. Therefore you should put forward your most
earnest efforts toward the acquisition of sciences and arts. The
greater your attainment, the higher your standard in the divine
purpose. The man of science is perceiving and endowed with vision
whereas he who is ignorant and neglectful of this development is
blind. The investigating mind is attentive, alive; the mind callous
and indifferent is deaf and dead. A scientific man is a true index and
representative of humanity, for through processes of inductive
reasoning and research he is informed of all that appertains to
humanity, its status, conditions and happenings. He studies the human
body politic, understands social problems and weaves the web and
texture of civilization. In fact, science may be likened to a mirror
wherein the infinite forms and images of existing things are revealed
and reflected. It is the very foundation of all individual and
national development. Without this basis of investigation, development
is impossible. Therefore seek with diligent endeavor the knowledge and
attainment of all that lies within the power of this wonderful bestowal.
We have already stated that science or the attribute of scientific
penetration is supernatural and that all other blessings of God are
within the boundary of nature. What is the proof of this? All created
things except man are captives of nature. The stars and suns swinging
through infinite space, all earthly forms of life and existence
whether mineral, vegetable or animal come under the dominion and
control of natural law. Man through scientific knowledge and power
rules nature and utilizes her laws to do his bidding. According to
natural limitations he is a creature of earth restricted to life upon
its surface, but through scientific utilization of material laws he
soars in the sky, sails upon the ocean and dives beneath it. The
products of his invention and discovery so familiar to us in daily
life were once mysteries of nature. For instance, man has brought
electricity out of the plane of the invisible into the plane of the
visible, harnessed and imprisoned that mysterious natural agent and
made it the servant of his needs and wishes. Similar instances are
many but we will not prolong. Man as it were takes the sword out of
nature's hand and with it for his sceptre of authority dominates
nature itself. Nature is without the crown of human faculties and
attributes. Man possesses conscious intelligence and reflection;
nature is minus. This is an established fundamental among
philosophers. Man is endowed with volition and memory; nature has
neither. Man can seek out the mysteries latent in nature whereas
nature is not conscious of her own hidden phenomena. Man is
progressive; nature is stationary, without the power of progression or
retrogression. Man is endowed with ideal virtues, for example
intellection, volition,--among them faith, confession and
acknowledgment of God, while nature is devoid of all these. The ideal
faculties of man, including the capacity of scientific acquisition are
beyond nature's ken. These are powers whereby man is differentiated
and distinguished from all other forms of life. This is the bestowal
of divine idealism, the crown adorning human heads. Notwithstanding
the gift of this supernatural power, it is most amazing that
materialists still consider themselves within the bounds and captivity
of nature. The truth is that God has endowed man with virtues, powers
and ideal faculties of which nature is entirely bereft and by which
man is elevated, distinguished and superior. We must thank God for
these bestowals, for these powers He has given us, for this crown He
has placed upon our heads.
How shall we utilize these gifts and expend these bounties? By
directing our efforts toward the unification of the human race. We
must use these powers in establishing the oneness of the world of
humanity; appreciate these virtues by accomplishing the unity of the
white and colored races; devote this divine intelligence to the
perfecting of amity and accord among all branches of the human family,
so that under the protection and providence of God, the East and West
may hold each other's hands and become as lovers. Then will mankind be
as one nation, one race and kind; as waves of one ocean. Although
these waves may differ in form and shape, they are waves of the same
sea. Flowers may be variegated in colors but they are all flowers of
one garden. Trees differ though they grow in the same orchard. All are
nourished and quickened into life by the bounty of the same rain; all
grow and develop by the heat and light of the one sun; all are
refreshed and exhilarated by the same breeze; that they may bring
forth varied fruits. This is according to the creative wisdom. If all
trees bore the same kind of fruit it would cease to be delicious. In
their never ending variety man finds enjoyment instead of monotony.
And now as I look into your faces I am reminded of trees varying in
color and form but all bearing luscious and delectable fruits,
fragrant and delightful to the inner and outer senses. The radiance
and spirituality of this meeting is through the favor of God. Our
hearts are uplifted in thankfulness to Him. Praise be to God! you are
living upon the great continent of the West enjoying the perfect
liberty, security and peace of this just government. There is no cause
for sorrow or unhappiness anywhere; every means of happiness and
enjoyment is about you, for in this human world there is no greater
blessing than liberty. You do not know. I who for forty years have
been a prisoner, do know. I do know the value and blessing of liberty.
For you have been and are now living in freedom and you have no fear
of anybody. Is there a greater blessing than this? Freedom! Liberty!
Security! These are the great bestowals of God. Therefore praise God!
THE MICROCOSM AND THE MACROCOSM by Abdul-Bahá
Foundations of World Unity
http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=abdulbaha_foundations_world_unity&language=All
THE MICROCOSM AND THE MACROCOSM
http://www.bahai-library.com/writings/abdulbaha/fwu/sec-13.html
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 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, 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.
http://bahai-library.com/file
THE MICROCOSM AND THE MACROCOSM
http://www.bahai-library.com
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 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, 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.
Louis Gregory: a dedicated promoter of racial harmony
Louis Gregory: a dedicated promoter of racial harmony
Louis Gregory reached more people than any other advocate of racial harmony in the first half of the 20th century, says Gayle Morrison, a Baha'i who has researched the life and contributions of Mr. Gregory, an early U.S. Baha'i.
Louis G. GregoryBorn in 1874 to freed slaves, Mr. Gregory traveled tirelessly throughout the nation, speaking at schools and churches and to civic groups. His travels involved lengthy separations from his white wife, Louisa Mathew. At the time interracial marriages were illegal in many parts of the country and generally not accepted even where they were not prohibited.
Mr. Gregory gave up a successful law practice to devote himself full-time to improving race relations. Inspired by the teachings of the Baha'i Faith, “he saw the larger picture and placed his undiminished concern for the welfare of the oppressed within a universal context,” says Ms. Morrison, the author of "To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America. “
A leader ahead of his time, Mr. Gregory “didn’t see things only in terms of race or ethnicity, but also in terms of the equality of men and women,” Ms. Morrison says. “He was concerned about the well being and advancement of people everywhere.”
Although the name “Louis Gregory” isn’t as well recognized as those of contemporaries George Washington Carver and W.E.B. DuBois, his contributions are significant, Ms. Morrison says.
In acknowledgment of that, the Baha'i community in Charleston, S.C., Mr. Gregory’s hometown, created the Louis G. Gregory Baha'i Museum in 2003. Located in a small, two-story, wood-frame house where Mr. Gregory lived as a child, the museum is the first in the city to honor a specific person.
“This city was the main port of entry for North America’s enslaved Africans, and it witnessed the opening shots of the Civil War,” says Jacquelyn Jones, a Charleston Baha'i.
The Baha’is of the United States also honored Mr. Gregory by creating the Louis G. Gregory Baha'i Institute near Hemingway, S.C. The institute, open to all, offers a variety of programs for children and adults, and is the home of Radio Baha'i (WLGI).
Louis G. GregoryBorn in 1874 to freed slaves, Mr. Gregory traveled tirelessly throughout the nation, speaking at schools and churches and to civic groups. His travels involved lengthy separations from his white wife, Louisa Mathew. At the time interracial marriages were illegal in many parts of the country and generally not accepted even where they were not prohibited.
Mr. Gregory gave up a successful law practice to devote himself full-time to improving race relations. Inspired by the teachings of the Baha'i Faith, “he saw the larger picture and placed his undiminished concern for the welfare of the oppressed within a universal context,” says Ms. Morrison, the author of "To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America. “
A leader ahead of his time, Mr. Gregory “didn’t see things only in terms of race or ethnicity, but also in terms of the equality of men and women,” Ms. Morrison says. “He was concerned about the well being and advancement of people everywhere.”
Although the name “Louis Gregory” isn’t as well recognized as those of contemporaries George Washington Carver and W.E.B. DuBois, his contributions are significant, Ms. Morrison says.
In acknowledgment of that, the Baha'i community in Charleston, S.C., Mr. Gregory’s hometown, created the Louis G. Gregory Baha'i Museum in 2003. Located in a small, two-story, wood-frame house where Mr. Gregory lived as a child, the museum is the first in the city to honor a specific person.
“This city was the main port of entry for North America’s enslaved Africans, and it witnessed the opening shots of the Civil War,” says Jacquelyn Jones, a Charleston Baha'i.
The Baha’is of the United States also honored Mr. Gregory by creating the Louis G. Gregory Baha'i Institute near Hemingway, S.C. The institute, open to all, offers a variety of programs for children and adults, and is the home of Radio Baha'i (WLGI).
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