• earth rise - oneness of humanity reconstruction and demilitarization of Earth

    Oneness of Humanity — Reconstruction and Demilitarisation of the Entire World

      When you say you believe in the oneness of humanity, sometimes people think you are making a “motherhood and apple pie” statement. “Let’s all love each other”. It’s true that in one sense that’s exactly what it means. But it also implies far more. Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’u’lláh’s great-grandson, in the 1930’s and in the lead up to World War II, provided an analysis of the implications of this principle. Let there be no mistake. The principle of the Oneness of Mankind — the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve — is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope…. It calls…

  • good government - detail from new york court house

    Bahá’u’lláh on Good Government

    We live in a time of increasing distrust between citizens and institutions of government. Ordinary people seek solutions for what they experience as failures of government, yet institutions of governance struggle to genuinely connect with affected populations. What light does Bahá’u’lláh’s thought cast on what constitutes good government? Bahá’u’lláh lived under absolute monarchies. His own experience of government was one of oppression, expressed in unjust and successive imprisonments and exiles. Justice as a dimension of good government is a strong theme of Bahá’u’lláh’s writings. O kings of the earth! We see you increasing every year your expenditures, and laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is wholly and grossly unjust…. lay not…