THE RULERS OF AMERICA
HEARKEN ye, O Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein, unto that which the Dove is warbling on the Branch of Eternity: There is none other God but Me, the Ever-Abiding, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful. Adorn ye the temple of dominion with the ornament of justice and of the fear of God, and its head with the crown of the remembrance of your Lord, the Creator of the heavens. Thus counselleth you He Who is the Dayspring of Names, as bidden by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. The Promised One hath appeared in this glorified Station, whereat all beings, both seen and unseen, have rejoiced. Take ye advantage of the Day of God. Verily, to meet Him is better for you than all that whereon the sun shineth, could ye but know it. O concourse of rulers! Give ear unto that which hath been raised from the Dayspring of Grandeur: Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Lord of Utterance, the All-Knowing. Bind ye the broken with the hands of justice, and crush the oppressor who flourisheth with the rod of the commandments of your Lord, the Ordainer, the All-Wise.
Baha’u’llah-The Proclamation of
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GLOBAL FEDERAL UNION
Question: Is it not a fact that universal peace cannot be accomplished until there is political democracy in all the countries of the world?
Answer: It is very evident that in the future there shall be no centralization in the countries of the world, be they constitutional in government, republican or democratic in form. The United States may be held up as the example of future government—that is to say, each province will be independent in itself, but there will be federal union protecting the interests of the various independent states. It may not be a republican or a democratic form. To cast aside centralization which promotes despotism is the exigency of the time. This will be productive of international peace. Another fact of equal importance in bringing about international peace is woman’s suffrage. That is to say, when perfect equality shall be established between men and women, peace may be realized for the simple reason that womankind in general will never favor warfare. Women will not be willing to allow those whom they have so tenderly cared for to go to the battlefield. When they shall have a vote, they will oppose any cause of warfare. Another factor which will bring about universal peace is the linking together of the Orient and the Occident.
Abdu’l-Baha’, The Promulgation Of Universal Peace-6/2/1912
THOSE ELECTED TO PUBLIC SERVICE
Those persons who are selected to serve the public, or are appointed to administrative positions, should perform their duties in a spirit of true servitude and ready compliance. That is to say, they should be distinguished by their goodly disposition and virtuous character, content themselves with their allotted remuneration, and act with trustworthiness in all their doings. They should keep themselves aloof from unworthy motives, and be far removed above covetous designs; for rectitude, probity and righteousness are among the most potent means for attracting the grace of God and securing both the prosperity of the country and the welfare of the people. Glory and honour for man are not to be found in fortunes and riches, least of all in those which have been unlawfully amassed through extortion, embezzlement and corruption practised at the expense of an exploited populace.
Abdu’l-Baha’
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AMERICA IN PERIL
The American nation…stands, indeed, from whichever angle one observes its immediate fortunes, in grave peril. The woes and tribulations which threaten it are partly avoidable, but mostly inevitable and God-sent, for by reason of them a government and people clinging tenaciously to the obsolescent doctrine of absolute sovereignty and upholding a political system, manifestly at variance with the needs of a world already contracted into a neighborhood and crying out for unity, will find itself purged of its anachronistic conceptions, and prepared to play a preponderating role, as foretold by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in the hoisting of the standard of the Lesser Peace, in the unification of mankind, and in the establishment of a world federal government on this planet. These same fiery tribulations will not only firmly weld the American nation to its sister nations in both hemispheres, but will through their cleansing effect, purge it thoroughly of the accumulated dross which ingrained racial prejudice, rampant materialism, widespread ungodliness and moral laxity have combined, in the course of successive generations, to produce, and which have prevented her thus far from assuming the role of world spiritual leadership forecast by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s unerring pen—a role which she is bound to fulfill through travail and sorrow.
Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith
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The BAHA’I FAITH and the SEPARATION of CHURCH and STATE
The calamities of current events are the forces of God propelling the world closer and closer to the time of the Most Great Justice, and the Most Great Peace that shall be laid down upon that foundation. “Peace on earth without Justice is tyranny”. Therefore the establishment of the Most Great Justice is the paramount forerunner for truly universal, international peace.
Part of the problem regarding this issue is the lack of understanding amongst the people of the key issues involved. These issues are divided into the religious and political realms.
These are the two topics: politics and religion, that are not to be discussed in “polite” society here in the United States. Yet these two issues are the most important fundamental social issues that should be discussed by the people. Thus there exists an oppression upon the American people in particular and the people of the world in general, forbidding them to discuss either politics or religion, and that is, to discuss these things where cool heads prevail and with critical thinking, intellectual investigation and the agreement on the facts. Instead these twin issues have been obfuscated by high emotionality, opinion, speculation, propaganda and antics. Thus the people have been deprived of a Forum for this venue.
The Baha’i Faith is a truly all INCLUSIVE UNORGANIZED RELIGION, and the Kingdom of God is the government from God that is respectful of all the diversity of mankind. This is a difficult and abstruse issue to understand and should be meditated upon profoundly by all the people. This is the subject: that God has revealed an “unorganized religion” for His Kingdom, which in effect separates “spiritual matters” which are NOT to be organized, from matters of State.
UNDER THE PROTECTION OF GOD
Had the Shi’i realized that Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha, during their lifetimes, were seated upon the throne of King David (as did Omar and Ali, the second and fourth Caliphs, recognize the living Davidic King exilarch Bostanai in their day) Persia would be the world leader now instead of America. But the throne of David came into exile here in America. And no matter how inept, foolish or adept American policy may or may not be it is UNDER THE PROTECTION OF GOD. Had the Israelis protected ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s son (an aghsan) Mason Remey from the “Hands”–instead of exiling him from the Holy Land–Israel would be the world leader, instead of the world loser it is today. When Israel under King Saul rejected King David (and exiled him) it was Palestine that took him in, and became the world leader in that time. Whatever people recognizes and protects the throne of King David and the basic human rights of the living one seated upon that throne in that day and age will be exalted, and its nation preserved and its peoples protected both materially and spiritually. Should they violate basic human rights, become an arrogant abomination of worthless consumption, or be hijacked by corrupt leadership God Himself shall depose them–through unforeseen world events–and those who oppose this mighty Covenant of God will be dispersed and degraded–like the Ottoman and Persian Empires that are no more who failed to recognize Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha in their own lifetimes. Like that of Rome which opposed Christ and is gone. Like that of Hitler who sought to kill off all the Jewish people including the heir to the throne of David by exterminating an entire peoples–and now that empire is nothing.
But these worldly affairs mean nothing in the sight of those whose hearts are pure, whose minds are elevated upon the love of God, and whose souls are set free.
Neal Chase, excs.fr. Chinvat
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