Thought
On the one hand, people of all nations proclaim not only their readiness but their longing for peace and harmony, for an end to the harrowing apprehensions tormenting their daily lives. On the other, uncritical assent is given to the proposition that human beings are incorrigibly selfish and aggressive and thus incapable of erecting a social system at once progressive and peaceful, dynamic and harmonious, a system giving free play to individual creativity and initiative but based on cooperation and reciprocity.
—Bahá’í House of Justice in a Letter to all of Humankind, October 1995
Application
Chances are, you’ve never heard of the Bahá’í faith. I hadn’t until last week when I stumbled across a Bahá’í temple in Northern Chicago while looking for the famous Home Alone house which is only a few blocks away (I’ll share pictures of both below). Apparently there are only 7 of these temples in the world, so naturally I had to stop what I was doing and learn everything about this tradition.
If you care to know more, I’ll go into much more detail in the backstory section below. But for the sake of a short reflection and application, Bahá’í is a relatively new tradition that emerged in the last few centuries in the Middle East. It’s primary tenet is to study the universal truths of all of wisdom, philosophy, and faith traditions as we approach the end of our inevitable journey toward oneness. This oneness, they believe, is the capacity for all of humankind to relate to another peacefully and cooperatively.
The above quote was taken from a letter that the Bahá’í community crafted for all humankind. This letter seeks to ground us collectively in how long we as a species have been working out this process, and how close we are to realizing it.
At its core, the message is that “peace is just around the corner.”
It’s easy to see a letter like this written in mid 90’s and lament at how much scarier our world has become. However, when you consider the human project as an emerging phenomenon that is millions of years in the making, and our species alone being at this life thing for nearly 200,000 years, it’s possible that these things just take time.
Weather this belief is some prophetic knowing or wishful thinking is kind of irrelevant in my opinion.
To consider that the human project is hundreds of thousands of years old, backed my millions of years of evolution and creation, and to hold that against how close we are now to living amongst one another as a global, peaceful species is actually pretty encouraging. We’ve come a long way!
When one approaches peace from this perspective, it suddenly feels not only possible, but perhaps something more like a cosmic destiny for us to work out our differences and become a people of global peace.
And I for one am finding that I like to think of peace as our destiny, our purpose and reason for being. Perhaps such hope can become a self-fulfilling prophecy if enough of us believe it together.
Backstory
The Bahá’í faith emerged in the middle of the 19th century in the most unlikely of environments. Its adherents have spent the majority of their existence experiencing persecution and misunderstanding.
By the mid 20th century they had gained a following and awareness globally even constructing the Bahá’í house of worship outside Chicago to serve the North American Continent.
At its core, the Bahá’í people believe in the oneness of all living things, and the validity of all faith traditions in instructing us toward our ultimate potential. They have crafted a philosophy that combines and exemplifies the overlapping themes from Abraham to Jesus to the Buddha and Mohammed (just to name a few)
Above all, the faith adheres to a belief in, “the oneness of humanity, on the equality of women and men, on the elimination of prejudice, on the harmony of science and religion.”
Their houses of worship, like the one I saw in Chicago, are meant to lead one through spiritual enlightenment via the environment itself. There are no sermons or teachings, and the only thing allowed to be said aloud during times of worship is various ancient scriptures read aloud.
The temples are the message that teach the heart/soul the deepest truths of being.
At the temple in Chicago each side of the 9 sided temple has a short inscription for one to ponder as they meander the external gardens and make their way inward to the sanctuary.
They read:
"The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens."
"The best beloved of all things in My sight is justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me."
"My love is My stronghold; he that entereth therein is safe and secure."
"Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner."
"Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent."
"I have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?"
"Make mention of Me on My earth that in My heaven I may remember thee."
"O rich ones on earth! The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My Trust."
"The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory."
I’ve enjoyed learning about something totally new and I hope you have as well. I love being met with such solidarity from others who seek a world beyond war, division, and hate.
I hope this has added to your daily practice of empathy and compassion, and I’m excited to share more with you tomorrow as we unpack Just and Unjust Wars and examine how we might live together in peace and harmony.
Thursday, we’ll have a special guest post so definitely make sure you keep an eye out for that!
Until tomorrow friends,
Matt
References:
https://www.bahai.org/beliefs/universal-peace/promise-world-peace/opening
https://www.bahai.org/
https://bahai-library.com/christian_chicago_house_worship
Peace