"...do all in your power to be as one, to live in peace, each with the others: for ye are all the drops from but one ocean, the foliage of one tree, the pearls from a single shell, the flowers and sweet herbs from the same one garden." (`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections Abdu'l-Baha, page 80)
THE ENVIRONMENT:
A BAHA'I PERSPECTIVE
Anyone who finds the truth about God will find how to achieve harmony in the environment.
"Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator.
Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment.
Nature is God's Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world." (Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, page 142)
"Every time I lift up mine eyes unto Thy heaven, I call to mind Thy highness and Thy loftiness, and Thine incomparable glory and greatness; and every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, I am made to recognize the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the sea, I find that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might, and of Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur. And at whatever time I contemplate the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards of Thine omnipotence." (Baha'u'llah: Prayers and Meditations, page 272)
Our physical environment needs to reflect our spiritual environment. And in fact it does. At the present time, the spiritual world is just as polluted as the material one. And God wants both of the them cleaned up now.
One True Invisible God is an Indivisible Immutable Essence that pervades all space and time and is closer to us than our own jugular vein. As the Creator of all in Heaven and on Earth, God sends messengers to the human world who manifest the qualities and attributes of God so that humanity may evolve.
The source of everlasting life, unity, and peace on earth is recognition of God's messengers, prophets, or Manifestations of God. As humanity evolves, these manifestations come with a progressive Revelation. The most recent manifestation is Baha'u'llah who brought the true plan for World Peace. This plan is the fulfillment of the of first covenant given from God to man, that all are to be created in the image of God. The plan is a spiritual world government that will bring Peace through justice. This in turn will bring about harmony with the environment making the earth an eternal paradise.
"We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions." (from a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 1933)
"The Lord of all mankind hath fashioned this human realm to be a Garden of Eden, an earthly paradise. If, as it must, it findeth the way to harmony and peace, to love and mutual trust, it will become a true abode of bliss, a place of manifold blessings and unending delights. Therein shall be revealed the excellence of humankind, therein shall the rays of the Sun of Truth shine forth on every hand." ('Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... 'Abdu'l-Baha, page 275)
Without the direction of spiritual devotion to God, civilizations become barbaric and destructive.
"Consequently, when thou lookest at the orderly pattern of kingdoms, cities and villages, with the attractiveness of their adornments, the freshness of their natural resources, the refinement of their appliances, the ease of their means of travel, the extent of knowledge available about the world of nature, the great inventions, the colossal enterprises, the noble discoveries and scientific researches, thou wouldst conclude that civilization conduceth to the happiness and the progress of the human world. Yet shouldst thou turn thine eye to the discovery of destructive and infernal machines, to the development of forces of demolition and the invention of fiery implements, which uproot the tree of life, it would become evident and manifest unto thee that civilization is conjoined with barbarism. Progress and barbarism go hand in hand, unless material civilization be confirmed by Divine Guidance, by the revelations of the All-Merciful and by godly virtues, and be reinforced by spiritual conduct, by the ideals of the Kingdom and by the outpourings of the Realm of Might.
"Consider now, that the most advanced and civilized countries of the world have been turned into arsenals of explosives, that the continents of the globe have been transformed into huge camps and battlefields, that the peoples of the world have formed themselves into armed nations, and that the governments of the world are vying with each other as to who will first step into the field of carnage and bloodshed, thus subjecting mankind to the utmost degree of affliction.
"Therefore, this civilization and material progress should be combined with the Most Great Guidance so that this nether world may become the scene of the appearance of the bestowals of the Kingdom, and physical achievements may be conjoined with the effulgences of the Merciful. This in order that the beauty and perfection of the world of man may be unveiled and be manifested before all in the utmost grace and splendour. Thus everlasting glory and happiness shall be revealed." ('Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... 'Abdu'l-Baha, pages 284-285)
"The violent derangement of the world's equilibrium; the trembling that will seize the limbs of mankind; the radical transformation of human society; the rolling up of the present-day Order; the fundamental changes affecting the structure of government; the weakening of the pillars of religion; the rise of dictatorships; the spread of tyranny; the fall of monarchies; the decline of ecclesiastical institutions; the increase of anarchy and chaos; the extension and consolidation of the Movement of the Left; the fanning into flame of the smouldering fire of racial strife; the development of infernal engines of war; the burning of cities; the contamination of the atmosphere of the earth - these stand out as the signs and portents that must either herald or accompany the retributive calamity which, as decreed by Him Who is the Judge and Redeemer of mankind, must, sooner or later, afflict a society which, for the most part, and for over a century, has turned a deaf ear to the Voice of God's Messenger in this day - a calamity which must purge the human race of the dross of its age-long corruptions, and weld its component parts into a firmly-knit world-embracing Fellowship - a Fellowship destined, in the fullness of time, to be incorporated in the framework, and to be galvanized by the spiritualizing influences, of a mysteriously expanding, divinely appointed Order, and to flower, in the course of future Dispensations, into a Civilization, the like of which mankind has, at no stage in its evolution, witnessed." (Shoghi Effendi: Messages to the Baha'i World, page 103)
This divine civilization which is efflorescing is the Kingdom of God on earth, revealed by Baha'u'llah who is the second coming of Christ. For proofs of this, please refer to the fireside section of this website. Baha'u'llah taught that the world needs to have a tribunal where all the nations and peoples of the world will have equal representation. Where the people of the world can consider and implement the good of all humanity and regulate the use of the world's natural resources. This would allow the planet to be culivated like a beautiful garden that would bring health and well-being to its peoples, animals and the earth itself. Without a world tribunal to regulate the resources of the earth, then the nation with the most weapons will continue to exploit the earth's resources at the expense of the health of our world and the detriment of our people. As long as big business continues to control our governments and environmental organizations, our resources will not be correctly utilized for the betterment of all the peoples of the world. Instead, the rich continue to get richer at the expense of poor nations. Might does not make right. All humanity is one family. All humanity deserves a chance to be healthy, wealthy and spiritual.
Baha'u'llah has brought this Divine Blueprint for this world tribunal. Dr. Leland Jensen has established this tribunal. The way you recognize the true Kingdom of God on Earth, is that it must have the descendant of King David as its president.
