It is now time to try Peace

It is now time to try Peace

XXV. It is evident that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is divinely ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God's appointed Day. This Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished from those that have preceded it. The designation "Seal of the Prophets" fully revealeth its high station. The Prophetic Cycle hath, verily, ended. The Eternal Truth is now come. He hath lifted up the Ensign of Power, and is now shedding upon the world the unclouded splendor of His Revelation.

                (Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 60)

 

In the past, prophets  have foretold the coming of a great and glorious age; a day when God would rule the earth. This is the day when God's will is done on Earth as it is in Heaven as promised in the Lord's Prayer. This is the day of the fulfillment of prophesy, and therefore prophesy is no longer necessary.

Thus Mohammad, the Seal of the Prophets, was the last Manifestation of God to prophesy the coming of the Eternal Truth because Baha'u'llah, The Spirit of Truth who will lead us to all truth, has come.

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

                (John16:13)

There is only one God, so therefore there is only one religion of God. That religion has been called by different names during different eras, much like we designate special names for various days, although the same sun rises each day.

Just as the physical Sun sheds light on the world, the Manifestations of God are the rays of the Spiritual Sun who flood the world with Spiritual Light. We cannot approach the sun. We only know it by its rays, and the Spiritual Sun, God, is only known through the Manifestations He sends. He has made knowledge of the messenger equal to knowledge of Himself. Thus Christ stated, "he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." ^{(John 14:9)}

When we are in a forest, all we see is trees. We need to view the forest from a distance to see a forest. We are now living in this glorious age, but is will take historians looking back on it to get a glimmer of its significance. The revelation of God is transforming the World and the evidence of that will be realized in the future.

When a mother gives birth, there is pain and turmoil, but when the baby is placed in her arms it is all forgotten.

LXI. The world is in travail, and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its plight, that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly. Its perversity will long continue. And when the appointed   hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then, and only then, will the Divine Standard be unfurled, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody.

(Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 118, 119)

 

Soon a new world will be born, but the new and old cannot coexist, so the old world order will die. We see evidence now as we watch the decay of the political system. At one time a King ruled and none dared to question his authority. Now the political leaders are questioned and doubted at every turn. The element of trust was at one time taken for granted, now trust is at its lowest level. Bahá'u'lláh teaches us that we must be obedient to those in authority. Without respect and obedience the political system will degrade to a state of anarchy.

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. From the beginning that hath no beginning the ensign proclaiming the words 'He doeth whatsoever He willeth' hath been unfurled in all its splendour before His Manifestation. What mankind needeth in this day is obedience unto them that are in authority, and a faithful adherence to the cord of wisdom. The instruments which are essential to the immediate protection, the security and assurance of the human race have been entrusted to the hands, and lie in the grasp, of the governors of human society. This is the wish of God and His decree....

                (Bahá'u'lláh, The Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 13, 14)

For 6,000 years man has tried to do things his own way, and there have been wars and rumors of war. Each person has an opinion and a belief and each is willing to kill to eliminate those who disagree. Peace by force has not worked. The war to end all wars only led to more war. It is time to try God's way.  It is time to try peace.

I would love to hear your opinion. Please leave a comment.

Think Peace and we will have peace.

Think Peace and we will have peace.  We must not allow thoughts of hatred to enter our minds. War is proceeded by a thought of war. Thoughts of hatred lead to thoughts of war. A peaceful world begins with thoughts of peace, love and unity. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá  puts it this way.

“I charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content.

Thoughts of love are constructive of brotherhood, peace, friendship, and happiness.

When soldiers of the world draw their swords to kill, soldiers of God clasp each other's hands! So may all the savagery of man disappear by the Mercy of God, working through the pure in heart and the sincere of soul. Do not think the peace of the world an ideal impossible to attain!

Nothing is impossible to the Divine Benevolence of God.

If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the minds of all men.”

               (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 29, 30)

Sowing seeds of peace

Sowing seeds of peace

If I can sow a seed of peace in your heart, it may grow and its seed my spread to other hearts. This is my goal. I believe that world peace is best achieved by having peace in the hearts of all mankind. How can we every hope to stop world conflict if there is conflict within families and how can we prevent conflict within families if we are not at peace within ourselves?

This is where I start; in my own soul. I must be at peace within myself. I cannot allow myself to commit any deed or entertain any thought that would cause conflict within my own being. From there I fit myself into my family setting and live at peace with my brothers and sisters, my parents and all my relatives. Now I expand to my community, to those I do business with and those I work with. All my actions, thoughts and speech must exude peace.

As I travel I come in contact with more and more people. I deal with each one in an attitude of peace and in the process I may sow a seed of peace within them or cultivate the peace that is already growing there. As I do this, the peace within me grows and blossoms and produces fruit that I offer to others. If it is accepted and consumed, its seed will begin to grow until it blossoms and produces more fruit to be passed on. Soon peace will envelop the whole earth. We need to first desire peace, and then it will grow in us and spread to others.

The process may be difficult at times. The weeds of envy, hate, greed and lust will have to be uprooted to make room for peace, and sometimes they are well rooted and difficult to dislodge. Yet, as we become the gardeners of our own souls it is up to us what we will allow to grow there. If we are diligent and seek divine guidance we will see this tree of peace grow within us. It will bear fruit and spread to others who, once they taste of its sweetness, will want it in the gardens their own souls.

It is my desire that you will eat of this fruit and pass it on. It is so sweet and desirable to all. Just give it a try, if you don’t like it you can always go back to the old ways of hatred and war, but at least lets at least try it.

'During these six thousand years there has been constant war, strife, bloodshed. We can see at a glance the results. Have we not a sufficient standard of experience in this direction? Let us now try peace for a while. If good results follow, let us adhere to it. If not let us throw it away and fight again. Nothing will be lost by the experiment.'

    (‘Abdu’l-Bahá  quoted by Marzieh Gail, Dawn Over Mount Hira, p. 189)

Man is the supreme Talisman. Lack of a proper education hath, however, deprived him of that which he doth inherently possess. Through a word proceeding out of the mouth of God he was called into being; by one word more he was guided to recognize the Source of his education; by yet another word his station and destiny were safeguarded. The Great Being saith: Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom. If any man were to meditate on that which the Scriptures, sent down from the heaven of God's holy Will, have revealed, he would readily recognize that their purpose is that all men shall be regarded as one soul, so that the seal bearing the words "The Kingdom shall be God's" may be stamped on every heart, and the light of Divine bounty, of grace, and mercy may envelop all mankind.

    (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 259 - 260)