He said:
Today there is no greater glory for man than that of service in the cause of the Most Great Peace. Peace is light, whereas war is darkness. Peace is life; war is death. Peace is guidance; war is error. Peace is the foundation of God; war is a satanic institution. Peace is the illumination of the world of humanity; war is the destroyer of human foundations. When we consider outcomes in the world of existence, we find that peace and fellowship are factors of upbuilding and betterment, whereas war and strife are the causes of destruction and disintegration. All created things are expressions of the affinity and cohesion of elementary substances, and nonexistence is the absence of their attraction and agreement. Various elements unite harmoniously in composition, but when these elements become discordant, repelling each other, decomposition and nonexistence result. Everything partakes of this nature and is subject to this principle, for the creative foundation in all its degrees and kingdoms is an expression or outcome of love. Consider the restlessness and agitation of the human world today because of war. Peace is health and construction; war is disease and dissolution. When the banner of truth is raised, peace becomes the cause of the welfare and advancement of the human world. In all cycles and ages war has been a factor of derangement and discomfort, whereas peace and brotherhood have brought security and consideration of human interests. This distinction is especially pronounced in the present world conditions, for warfare in former centuries had not attained the degree of savagery and destructiveness which now characterizes it. If two nations were at war in olden times, ten or twenty thousand would be sacrificed, but in this century the destruction of one hundred thousand lives in a day is quite possible. So perfected has the science of killing become and so efficient the means and instruments of its accomplishment that a whole nation can be obliterated in a short time. Therefore, comparison with the methods and results of ancient warfare is out of the question.To read the rest of the talk, see Talk at Reception by New York Peace Society.
How do you think these words of `Abdu'l-Bahá apply to the present day? How might our world be different if we focused our energies on peace and fellowship?
It was almost as if he could see WW I and WW II coming when he spoke of the mass destruction capabilities of modern warfare. And probably even his worst nightmare would have paled in comparison. He sounds as if he was a very wise man.
ReplyDeleteIt is odd and very sad, our species' desire for violence. What human would not rather live peacefully than in the discomfort, pain, and horror of war? Yet somehow, again and again, from the earliest days of civilization until present day, we get involved destruction and warfare. I wonder how many have died or been maimed in wars since he spoke these words?
World peace is so elusive. Maybe peace comes one human at a time, but it does not seem to take much to undo it all.
Hi Art,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reading and commenting. Yes, these words were spoken before World War I.
Yes, war is so destructive and such a horrible waste of human life. It's important to hear these words about re-focusing once again on peace and fellowship.
Anne