ALL ARE RAYS OF THE SAME SUN
‘Abdu’l-Baha stated the relationships of the believers [in the Covenant of Justice to uphold the Peace Pact] to the Cause of God [the permanent renunciation of war in the settlement of disuptes] are of two kinds: One kind is like the relationship of the flower to the garden. The other relationship is that of the ray of the sun to the sun. “I hope”, the Master says, “that your relationship will be of the second kind”.
[Juliet Thompson said:] May we all be in just such a gathering with you in New York!
[‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:] I have made a pact with the American friends. If they keep the pact I will come.
[Juliet Thompson said:] The believers are much better friends than they were.
[‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:] I shall have to know that! Bahá’u’lláh, the Master continued, was bound with chains no longer than the distance from here to that post. With the sudden terrific agitation he rose and pointed to a column close to the table. He could scarcely move. Then he was exiled to Baghdad, to Adrianople, to Constantinople, to Akká four times! He bore all these hardships that unity [to elect the Supreme Tribunal for all peoples and nations] might be established among you. But if, among themselves, the believers [in the Covenant] cannot unite, how can they hope to unite the world? . . .
[‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:] if I come to America, Juliet, will you invite me to see such waterfalls!
[Juliet Thompson said:] I will invite you to Niagara if you will come to America! But surely, my Lord, your coming doesn’t depend on my invitation.
[‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:] My invitation to America will be the unity of the believers.
[Juliet Thompson said:] Louise Stapfer asked me to give you her love and beg you to come and unite us. Otherwise, she said, we will never be United.
[‘Abdu’l-Bahá said:] No, you must do that yourselves. See in what perfect harmony we are now! You are not complaining of one another. But if I should go to America, they would all be complaining of one another and I would fly away!
Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 20, 22
In 1875 he wrote:
True civilization will unfurl its banner in the midmost heart of the world whenever a certain number [12] of its distinguished and high-minded sovereigns—the shining exemplars of devotion and determination—shall, for the good and happiness of all mankind, arise, with firm resolve and clear vision, to establish the Cause of Universal Peace [uphold the 1928 Justice-Peace Pact] They [the 12 elected, confirmed and ratified representatives of England, France, the United States and Russia: three from each of the four charter nations, at least one woman elected amongst the three from each culture, forming 12 who are knowledge experts in law, human rights, jurisprudence and international relations] must make the Cause of Peace the object of general consultation, and seek by every means in their power to establish a Union of the nations of the world. They must conclude a binding treaty [1928 General Treaty for the Renunciation of War] and establish a covenant [the Special Treaty to Elect the SupremeTribunal] the provisions of which shall be sound, inviolable and definite. They must proclaim it to all the world and obtain for it the sanction of all the human race [already obtained by General Treaty of 1928]. This supreme and noble undertaking—the real source of the peace and well-being of all the world—should be regarded AS SACRED by all that dwell on earth. All the forces of humanity must be mobilized to ensure the stability and permanence of this Most Great Covenant. In this all-embracing PACT [1928 Paris Peace Pact: The General Treaty for the Renunciation of War and the Special Treaty to elect the Court with full powers] the limits and frontiers of each and every nation should be clearly fixed, the principles underlying the relations of governments towards one another definitely laid down, and all international agreements and obligations ascertained. In like manner, the size of the armaments of every government should be strictly limited, for if the preparations for war and the military forces of any nation should be allowed to increase, they will arouse the suspicion [fears and paranoia] of others [like N. Korea, Iran, Israel, Palestine. etc.]The fundamental principle underlying this solemn Pact [1928 Paris Peace Pact] should be so fixed that if any government later violate any one of its provisions, all the governments on earth should arise [in self-defense of upholding the Universal Collective Security Agreement] to reduce it to utter submission, nay the human race as a whole should resolve, with every power at its disposal, to destroy that government. Should this greatest of all remedies be applied to the sick body of the world, it will assuredly recover from its ills and will remain eternally safe and secure.—The Secret of Divine Civilization, pp. 64–65.
