Paris Talks Part 4

Man alone has freedom, and, by his understanding or intellect, has been able to gain control of and adapt some of those natural laws to his own needs. By the power of his intellect he has discovered means by which he not only traverses great continents in express trains and crosses vast oceans in ships, but, like the fish he travels under water in submarines, and, imitating the birds, he flies through the air in airships.

Man has succeeded in using electricity in several ways-for light, for motive power, for sending messages from one end of the earth to the other-and by electricity he can even hear a voice many miles away!

By this gift of understanding or intellect he has also been able to use the rays of the sun to picture people and things, and even to capture the form of distant heavenly bodies.

We perceive in what numerous ways man has been able to bend the powers of nature to his will.

How grievous it is to see how man has used his G.o.d-given gift to frame instruments of war, for breaking the Commandment of G.o.d 'Thou shalt not kill', and for defying Christ's injunction to 'Love one another'.

G.o.d gave this power to man that it might be used for the advancement of civilization, for the good of humanity, to increase love and concord and peace. But man prefers to use this gift to destroy instead of to build, for injustice and oppression, for hatred and discord and devastation, for the destruction of his fellow-creatures, whom Christ has commanded that he should love as himself!

I hope that you will use your understanding to promote the unity and tranquillity of mankind, to give enlightenment and civilization to the people, to produce love in all around you, and to bring about the universal peace.

Study the sciences, acquire more and more knowledge. a.s.suredly one may learn to the end of one's life! Use your knowledge always for the benefit of others; so may war cease on the face of this beautiful earth, and a glorious edifice of peace and concord be raised. Strive that your high ideals may be realized in the Kingdom of G.o.d on earth, as they will be in Heaven.

THE CLOUDS THAT OBSCURE THE SUN OF TRUTH

4 Avenue de Camoens, Morning of Friday, October 27th

The day is fine, the air is pure, the sun shines, no mist nor cloud obscures its radiance.

These brilliant rays penetrate into all parts of the city; so may the Sun of Truth illumine the minds of men.

Christ said, 'They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven'.(2) Baha'u'llah said, 'When Christ came for the first time He came upon the clouds'.(3) Christ said that He had come from the sky, from Heaven-that He came forth from G.o.d-while He was born of Mary, His Mother.

But when He declared that He had come from Heaven, it is clear that He did not mean the blue firmament but that He spoke of the Heaven of the Kingdom of G.o.d, and that from this Heaven He descended upon the clouds. As clouds are obstacles to the shining of the sun, so the clouds of the world of humanity hid from the eyes of men the radiance of the Divinity of Christ.

Men said, 'He is of Nazareth, born of Mary, we know Him and we know his brethren. What can He mean? What is He saying? That He came forth from G.o.d?'

The Body of Christ was born of Mary of Nazareth, but the Spirit was of G.o.d. The capacities of His human body were limited but the strength of His spirit was vast, infinite, immeasurable.

Men asked, 'Why does He say He is of G.o.d?' If they had understood the reality of Christ, they would have known that the body of His humanity was a cloud that hid His Divinity. The world only saw His human form, and therefore wondered how He could have 'come down from Heaven'.

Baha'u'llah said, 'Even as the clouds hide the sun and the sky from our gaze, even so did the humanity of Christ hide from men His real Divine character'.

I hope that you will turn with unclouded eyes towards the Sun of Truth, beholding not the things of earth, lest your hearts be attracted to the worthless and pa.s.sing pleasures of the world; let that Sun give you of His strength, then will not the clouds of prejudice veil His illumination from your eyes! Then will the Sun be without clouds for you.

Breathe the air of purity. May you each and all share in the Divine Bounties of the Kingdom of Heaven. May the world be for you no obstacle hiding the truth from your sight, as the human body of Christ hid His Divinity from the people of His day. May you receive the clear vision of the Holy Spirit, so that your hearts may be illumined and able to recognize the Sun of Truth shining through all material clouds, His splendour flooding the universe.

Let not the things of the body obscure the celestial light of the spirit, so that, by the Divine Bounty, you may enter with the children of G.o.d into His Eternal Kingdom.

This is my prayer for you all.

RELIGIOUS PREJUDICES

October 27th

The basis of the teaching of Baha'u'llah is the Unity of Mankind, and his greatest desire was that love and goodwill should live in the heart of men.

As He exhorted the people to do away with strife and discord, so I wish to explain to you the princ.i.p.al reason of the unrest among nations. The chief cause is the misrepresentation of religion by the religious leaders and teachers. They teach their followers to believe that their own form of religion is the only one pleasing to G.o.d, and that followers of any other persuasion are condemned by the All-Loving Father and deprived of His Mercy and Grace. Hence arise among the peoples, disapproval, contempt, disputes and hatred. If these religious prejudices could be swept away, the nations would soon enjoy peace and concord.

I was once at Tiberias where the Jews have a Temple. I was staying in a house just opposite the Temple, and there I saw and heard a Rabbi speaking to his congregation of Jews, and he spoke thus:

'O Jews, you are in truth the people of G.o.d! All other races and religions are of the devil. G.o.d has created you the descendants of Abraham, and He has showered His blessings upon you. Unto you G.o.d sent Moses, Jacob and Joseph, and many other great prophets. These prophets, one and all, were of your race.

'It was for you that G.o.d broke the power of Pharaoh and caused the Red Sea to dry up; to you also He sent manna from above to be your food, and out of the stony rock did He give you water to quench your thirst. You are indeed the chosen people of G.o.d, you are above all the races of the earth!

Therefore, all other races are abhorrent to G.o.d, and condemned by Him. In truth you will govern and subdue the world, and all men shall become your slaves.

'Do not profane yourselves by consorting with people who are not of your own religion, make not friends of such men.'

When the Rabbi had finished his eloquent discourse, his hearers were filled with joy and satisfaction. It is impossible to describe to you their happiness!

Alas! It is misguided ones like these who are the cause of division and hatred upon earth. Today there are millions of people who still worship idols, and the great religions of the world are at war among themselves.

For 1,300 years, Christians and Mussulmans have been quarrelling, when with very little effort their differences and disputes could be overcome and peace and harmony could exist between them and the world could be at rest!

In the Qur'an we read that Mu?ammad spoke to his followers, saying:

'Why do you not believe in Christ, and in the Gospel? Why will you not accept Moses and the Prophets, for surely the Bible is the Book of G.o.d? In truth, Moses was a sublime Prophet, and Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. He came to the world through the Power of G.o.d, born of the Holy Spirit and of the blessed Virgin Mary. Mary, His mother, was a saint from Heaven. She pa.s.sed her days in the Temple at prayer and food was sent to her from above. Her father, Zacharias, came to her and asked her from whence the food came, and Mary made answer, "From on high." Surely G.o.d made Mary to be exalted above all other women.'

This is what Mu?ammad taught His people concerning Jesus and Moses, and He reproached them for their lack of faith in these great Teachers, and taught them the lessons of truth and tolerance. Mu?ammad was sent from G.o.d to work among a people as savage and uncivilized as the wild beasts. They were quite devoid of understanding, nor had they any feelings of love, sympathy and pity. Women were so degraded and despised that a man could bury his daughter alive, and he had as many wives to be his slaves as he chose.

Among these half animal people Mu?ammad was sent with His divine Message.

He taught the people that idol worship was wrong, but that they should reverence Christ, Moses and the Prophets. Under His influence they became a more enlightened and civilized people and arose from the degraded state in which He found them. Was not this a good work, and worthy of all praise, respect and love?

Look at the Gospel of the Lord Christ and see how glorious it is! Yet even today men fail to understand its priceless beauty, and misinterpret its words of wisdom.

Christ forbade war! When the disciple Peter, thinking to defend his Lord, cut off the ear of the servant of the High Priest, Christ said to him: 'Put up thy sword into the sheath'.(4) Yet, in spite of the direct command of the Lord they profess to serve-men still dispute, make war, and kill one another, and His counsels and teaching seem quite forgotten.

But do not therefore attribute to the Masters and Prophets the evil deeds of their followers. If the priests, teachers and people, lead lives which are contrary to the religion they profess to follow, is that the fault of Christ or the other Teachers?

The people of Islam were taught to realize how Jesus came from G.o.d and was born of the Spirit, and that He must be glorified of all men. Moses was a prophet of G.o.d, and revealed in His day and for the people to whom He was sent, the Book of G.o.d.

Mu?ammad recognized the sublime grandeur of Christ and the greatness of Moses and the prophets. If only the whole world would acknowledge the greatness of Mu?ammad and all the Heaven-sent Teachers, strife and discord would soon vanish from the face of the earth, and G.o.d's Kingdom would come among men.

The people of Islam who glorify Christ are not humiliated by so doing.

Christ was the Prophet of the Christians, Moses of the Jews-why should not the followers of each prophet recognize and honour the other prophets also? If men could only learn the lesson of mutual tolerance, understanding, and brotherly love, the unity of the world would soon be an established fact.

Baha'u'llah spent His life teaching this lesson of Love and Unity. Let us then put away from us all prejudice and intolerance, and strive with all our hearts and souls to bring about understanding and unity between Christians and Mussulmans.