(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Maqsud, 1299-02-29 [1882-Jan-20], to Mirza Maqsud -- BH00140)
Consent and the growth of a world order
principles of the Faith adopted democratically; not imposed
Editorial introduction
A divine farmer sows seed and cannot gather the harvest the same afternoon; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reaches for that image when asked how long Bahá’u’lláh’s vision of a renewed society will take, and reminds the impatient that the Cause of Christ needed three centuries. The pace is not the only constraint. The order Bahá’ís hope for is to come about by voluntary and democratic means or not at all: no imposing of principles through legislation, no violating of a country’s constitution, no forcing of a future minority to adopt the Faith, with the Universal House of Justice charged with safeguarding those limits. Bahá’u’lláh asks religious leaders and rulers to take counsel together over the needs of a sick world, and the Lesser Peace is expected to be built by nations still unaware of His name. Locke grounded political society in the consent of its members and then faced the harder problem of how such a society keeps acting together [1], a question this subject shares. What a person believes about humanity’s destiny is tested by how they treat those who do not share it. The journey continues into the growth of the Cause, into true liberty, and into the meaning of freedom.
Selected passages
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Arthur Cuthbert -- AB00131)
The Kingdom of peace, salvation, uprightness and reconciliation is founded in the Invisible World, and it will by degrees become manifest and apparent through the power of the Word of God!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Robert G Rich -- AB04443)
Now in this world of being, the Hand of Divine Power hath firmly laid the foundations of this all-highest Bounty and this wondrous Gift. Gradually whatsoever is latent in the innermost of this Holy Cycle shall appear and be made manifest, for now is but the beginning of its growth and the dayspring of the revelation of its Signs. Ere the close of this Century and of this Age, it shall be made clear and manifest how wondrous was that Springtide and how heavenly was that Gift!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Rashti, Aqa Mirza Husayn Khan et al -- AB08712)
The point is, that the Cause of Baha'Ullah is inclusive of all perfections and supplies all the needs of the world of humanity. But this cannot be accomplished in a short time. Time is needed. This will gradually be realized.
When a divine farmer sows the seed, the crops cannot be immediately gathered in, but it is certain that the seed will develop into a harvest.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1920-Dec-02, to Alwyn Baker -- AB01223)
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Mirza Hadi -- BH01050)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
What should be stated plainly here is that Baha'is do not believe the transformation thus envisioned will come about exclusively through their own efforts. Nor are they trying to create a movement that would seek to impose on society their vision of the future. Every nation and every group--indeed, every individual--will, to a greater or lesser degree, contribute to the emergence of the world civilization towards which humanity is irresistibly moving.
(2 Mar. 2013 to the Baha'is of Iran)
In light of these facts alone it is evident that the growth of the Baha'i communities to the size where a non-Baha'i state would adopt the Faith as the State Religion, let alone to the point at which the State would accept the Law of God as its own law and the National House of Justice as its legislature, must be a supremely voluntary and democratic process.
(27 Apr. 1995 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
As for the statement made by Shoghi Effendi in his letter of 21 Mar. 1932, the well-established principles of the Faith concerning the relationship of the Baha'i institutions to those of the country in which the Baha'is reside make it unthinkable that they would ever purpose to violate a country's constitution or so to meddle in its political machinery as to attempt to take over the powers of government. This is an integral element of the Baha'i principle of abstention from involvement in politics. However, this does not by any means imply that the country itself may not, by constitutional means, decide to adopt Baha'i laws and practices and modify its constitution or method of government accordingly.
M86-01 201.7 (27 Apr. 1995 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
Let them proclaim that in whatever country they reside, and however advanced their institutions, or profound their desire to enforce the laws, and apply the principles, enunciated by Baha'u'llah, they will, unhesitatingly, subordinate the operation of such laws and the application of such principles to the requirements and legal enactments of their respective governments. Theirs is not the purpose, while endeavoring to conduct and perfect the administrative affairs of their Faith, to violate, under any circumstances, the provisions of their country's constitution, much less to allow the machinery of their administration to supersede the government of their respective countries.
WOB.065-66
It is not our purpose to impose Baha'i teachings upon others by persuading the powers that be to enact laws enforcing Baha'i principles, nor to join movements which have such legislation as their aim. The guidance that Baha'i institutions offer to mankind does not comprise a series of specific answers to current problems, but rather the illumination of an entirely new way of life. Without this way of life the problems are insoluble; with it they will either not arise or, if they arise, can be resolved.
(21 July 1968 from the Universal House of Justice)
As to your question concerning the rights of the minority of non-Baha'i citizens in a Baha'i state, it is clear from the writings of our Faith that under a Baha'i system the rights of the minorities of any type must always be respected and upheld. Just as Baha'is today show obedience and loyalty to the government but refuse to bow to the majority if they are asked to deny their Faith, so in the future, when the majority is represented by the Faith the Baha'is will not force the minority to become followers of Baha'u'llah but they will expect the minority to be similarly obedient and loyal.
(9 Mar. 1977 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, quoted in OBJS vol. 1)
The Baha'is will be called upon to assume the reins of government when they will come to constitute the majority of the population in a given country, and even then their participation in political affairs is bound to be limited in scope unless they obtain a similar majority in some other countries as well.
(19 Nov. 1939 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, in a letter dated 27 Apr. 1995 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, quoted here)
The Baha'is must remain non-partisan in all political affairs. In the distant future, however, when the majority of a country have become Baha'is then it will lead to the establishment of a Baha'i State.
(19 Apr. 1941 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, in a letter dated 27 Apr. 1995 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, quoted here)
As you are no doubt aware, the Guardian indicated that the development of mankind from its present chaotic condition to the stage of Baha'i World Commonwealth would be a long and gradual one. The coming into existence of a World Authority and the initiation of the Lesser peace, is one major transformation in this process, and will be followed by other stages of the development of the Faith as outlined by Shoghi Effendi in his writings.
LG#1428 (19 Jan. 1983 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
Suffice it to say that this consummation will, by its very nature, be a gradual process, and must, as Baha'u'llah has Himself anticipated, lead at first to the establishment of that Lesser Peace which the nations of the earth, as yet unconscious of His Revelation and yet unwittingly enforcing the general principles which He has enunciated, will themselves establish.
PDC#301 p123
We are called upon by our beloved Master in His Will and Testament not only to adopt it [Baha'u'llah's new world order] unreservedly, but to unveil its merit to all the world. To attempt to estimate its full value, and grasp its exact significance after so short a time since its inception would be premature and presumptuous on our part. We must trust to time, and the guidance of God's Universal House of Justice, to obtain a clearer and fuller understanding of its provisions and implications....
BA.062, M63-86 23.22b (23 Feb. 1924)
I consider it my duty to warn every beginner in the Faith that the promised glories of the Sovereignty which the Baha'i teachings foreshadow, can be revealed only in the fullness of time, that the implications of the Aqdas and the Will of 'Abdu'l-Baha, as the twin repositories of the constituent elements of that Sovereignty, are too far-reaching for this generation to grasp and fully appreciate.
WOB.016
As to the order and the management of the spiritual affairs of the friends, that which is very important now is the consolidation of the Spiritual Assemblies in every center, because on these fortified and unshakable foundations, God's Supreme House of justice shall be erected and firmly established in the days to come. When this most great Edifice shall be reared on such an immovable foundation, Gods purpose, wisdom, universal truths, mysteries and realities of the Kingdom, which the mystic revelation of Baha'u'llah has deposited within the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha, shall gradually be revealed and made manifest.
M63-86 23.22c (19 Dec. 1923, translated from the Persian)
It should also be borne in mind that the machinery of the Cause has been so fashioned, that whatever is deemed necessary to incorporate into it in order to keep it in the forefront of all progressive movements, can, according to the provisions made by Baha'u'llah, be safely embodied therein.
WOB.022-023
Both within and outside the Baha'i world the signs and tokens which, in a mysterious manner, are heralding the birth of that World Order, the establishment of which must signalize the Golden Age of the Cause of God, are growing and multiplying day by day. No fair-minded observer can any longer fail to discern them. He cannot be misled by the painful slowness characterizing the unfoldment of the civilization which the followers of Baha'u'llah are laboring to establish.
WOB.161
Already in the space of less than a century the operation of the mysterious processes generated by its creative spirit has provoked a tumult in human society such as no mind can fathom. Itself undergoing a period of incubation during its primitive age, it has, through the emergence of its slowly-crystallizing system, induced a fermentation in the general life of mankind designed to shake the very foundations of a disordered society, to purify its life-blood, to reorientate and reconstruct its institutions, and shape its final destiny. GPB.xi
Source reference not supplied
...it is only when the spirit has thoroughly permeated the world that the people will begin to enter the Faith in large numbers. At the beginning of spring only the few, exceptionally favoured seeds will sprout, but when the season gets in its full sway, and the atmosphere gets permeated with the warmth of true springtime, then masses of flowers will begin to appear, and a whole hillside suddenly blooms. We are still in the state when only isolated souls are awakened, but soon we shall have the full swing of the season and the quickening of whole groups and nations into the spiritual life breathed by Baha'u'llah.
(18 Feb. 1932 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, in the compilation on Promoting Entry by Troops)
It seems what we need now is a more profound and co-ordinated Baha'i scholarship in order to attract such men as you are contacting. The world has -- at least the thinking world -- caught up by now with all the great and universal principles enunciated by Baha'u'llah over 70 years ago, and so of course it does not sound "new" to them. But we know that the deeper teachings, the capacity of His projected World Order to re-create society, are new and dynamic. It is these we must learn to present intelligently and enticingly to such men!
COC#510, COC#1858, COC#1966 (3 Jul. 1949 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi)
The Teachings of our Faith are the mightiest and most powerful instrument created for the advancement of human society. We are now called upon to participate, as and when circumstances permit, collectively, in promoting social and economic aspects of human development and thereby placing the World Baha'i community in the forefront of the progressive movements of the World.
(13 Dec. 1983 from the Office of Social and Economic Development)
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- What would make participation voluntary in practice, especially for people who do not share the majority’s beliefs?
- How do minority rights test the sincerity of a commitment to a common social order?
- What can a clear moral purpose offer when the eventual institutional arrangements remain uncertain?
- How might gradual development call for both patience and action in the present?
- What would it look like to invite every person and group into a shared effort without requiring agreement on its ultimate meaning?