Every created thing has its hour of ripeness, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá observes: the tree when it bears fruit, the plant when it flowers, the human being when the light of intelligence reaches its full power. The human race, He teaches, has passed through its childhood and its turbulent youth and now stands at the threshold of its own maturity, so that the arrangements adequate to an earlier age no longer fit. Shoghi Effendi calls this idea the central core of the teachings. Yet the same voices insist that maturity is not yet attained: the material civilization of the day must still be infused with a divine one, and the sign of its arrival is universal peace. Augustine, tracing humanity’s education through successive ages, offers a kindred image from another theology [1]. The journey from here leads into the oneness of humanity and world unity, toward the new race of men this age is meant to bring forth, and even into alchemy, whose elixir was promised to a world come of age.
All created things have their degree, or stage, of maturity. The period of maturity in the life of a tree is the time of its fruit bearing. The maturity of a plant is the time of its blossoming and flower.
… Similarly, there are periods and stages in the life of the aggregate world of humanity, which at one time was passing through its degree of childhood, at another its time of youth but now has entered its long presaged period of maturity, the evidences of which are everywhere visible and apparent. Therefore, the requirements and conditions of former periods have changed and merged into exigencies which distinctly characterize the present age of the world of mankind.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Genealogical Hall on 1912-Nov-17 -- ABU0101)
02
The contingent world is like unto man. Man has the stage of the embryo, the period of nursing, the time of development and growth, the age of discernment and maturity, and the time of puberty. In like manner, the contingent world has its degrees. In the age of nursing, man is sensitive; and in the age of adolescence, that is to say, the beginning of comprehension, he has feeling and discernment, though his understanding is weak. But when he reaches the age of maturity, all his spiritual and physical powers manifest themselves with the utmost vigor.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1912-Jul-12 in Brooklyn -- ABU0264)
03
The world of humanity has, heretofore, been in the stage of infancy; now it is approaching maturity. Just as the individual human organism, having attained the period of maturity, reaches its fullest degree of physical strength and ripened intellectual faculties so that in one year of this ripened period there is witnessed an unprecedented measure of development, likewise the world of humanity in this cycle of its completeness and consummation will realize an immeasurable upward progress, and that power of accomplishment whereof each individual human reality is the depository of God -- that outworking Universal Spirit -- like the intellectual faculty, will reveal itself in infinite degrees of perfection.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Address to the Baha'is at Studio Hall in Washington, 1912-Apr-21 -- ABU0373)
04
Consider how a child arrives at maturity. Suddenly the light of intellect will shine upon him and man will then make extraordinary progress. It will be as though he were asleep but was awakened; as though he were heedless but became intelligent; as though he were blind but received his sight. Before arriving at maturity he knew nothing. When he reached maturity and the light of reason shone, then he discovered the realities of the things.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the Baha'is, spoken a 780 West End (Kinney home) on 1912-Nov-26 -- ABU0447)
05
After this war new plans, new thoughts and new sound theories are essential. Old thoughts will be good for the scrapbasket. A new table must be spread, new dishes must be cooked and new appetite must be cultivated.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Ahmad Sohrab, spoken on 1915-Apr-22 -- ABU2265)
06
Similarly there are periods and stages in the collective life of humanity. At one time it was passing through its stage of childhood, at another its period of youth, but now it has entered its long-predicted phase of maturity, the evidences of which are everywhere apparent... … The gifts and blessings of the period of youth, although timely and sufficient during the adolescence of mankind, are now incapable of meeting the requirements of its maturity.
The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.
07
The world of man, however, has not yet reached its maturity. The time will come when this material civilization will be infused with divine civilization. Universal peace will be realized and people will become angelic. That will be the time of the world's maturity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at 227 Riverside Drive on 1912-May-13 -- ABU2862)
08
We have appointed two signs for the coming of age of the human race: the first, which is the most firm foundation, We have set down in other of Our Tablets, while the second hath been revealed in this wondrous Book.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), 1290-05-15 [1873-Jul-11] -- BH00001)
09
As for the sign of the maturity of the world mentioned in the Most Holy Book - one is the achievement of universal peace, and another is the manifestation and appearance of the Sister of Prophethood, divine wisdom, of which the hidden craft is a part....
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Dec-08, to Jalal Zarqani -- AB11349)
The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.
10
This is not only the golden age but the age of Diamond. This is the Century of Lights! This is the cycle of Love. This is the glorious Dawn of the Sun of Reality.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to a stranger, spoken on 1914-May-09 -- ABU3503)
11
When man reacheth the stage of maturity, the lights of reason shine forth, and the perfections of the human world become manifest. We may therefore say that all the progress which man hath made from the beginning hath been but the preliminary stages for the manifestation of this mighty reason.
… Reason, in the world of man, is the most great thing.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, From a talk quoted in a Denver newspaper, 1912-Sep-26 -- ABU1375)
12
In the coming of Christ, the divine teachings were given in accordance with the infancy of the human race. The teachings of Baha'u'llah have the same basic principles, but are according to the stage of the maturity of the world and the requirements of this illumined age. O thou seeker of the Kingdom! Make thou an effort so that thou mayest partake from the spiritual Supper of the Lord.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Clara M Partridge -- AB04411)
13
Convey my spiritual greetings to the handmaiden of God, Sungamitta, and say to her that each of the Manifestations in previous Dispensations had a station in existence and a rank in human development. But the Manifestation of the Most Great Name--may my spirit be a sacrifice for His loved ones--represents the maturity and coming of age of human reality in the world of existence.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1902-Dec-23, to Isabella D Brittingham -- AB00305)
14
In one of the Tablets it was revealed that among the signs of the world's maturity is that no one will accept to bear alone the weight of kingship. Sovereignty will remain, but none will be willing to bear alone its burden. Those will be the days when wisdom will be manifest among mankind, save for him who may take on this mighty weight for the sake of propagating God's Cause and spreading His Faith.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Salman II, to Shaykh Salman Hindijani -- BH01403)
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15
His mission is to proclaim that the ages of the infancy and of the childhood of the human race are past, that the convulsions associated with the present stage of its adolescence are slowly and painfully preparing it to attain the stage of manhood, and are heralding the approach of that Age of Ages when swords will be beaten into plowshares, when the Kingdom promised by Jesus Christ will have been established, and the peace of the planet definitely and permanently ensured.
(Shoghi Effendi, Summary Statement, 1947, Special UN Committee on Palestine)
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16
Humanity is now experiencing the commotions invariably associated with the most turbulent stage of its evolution, the stage of adolescence, when the impetuosity of youth and its vehemence reach their climax, and must gradually be superseded by the calmness, the wisdom, and the maturity that characterize the stage of manhood.
WOB.202
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17
A candid acknowledgement that prejudice, war and exploitation have been the expression of immature stages in a vast historical process and that the human race is today experiencing the unavoidable tumult which marks its collective coming of age is not a reason for despair but a prerequisite to undertaking the stupendous enterprise of building a peaceful world. That such an enterprise is possible, that the necessary constructive forces do exist, that unifying social structures can be erected, is the theme we urge you to examine.
("The Promise of World Peace", Oct. 1985)
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18
In a period of history dominated by the surging energy, the rebellious spirit and frenetic activity of adolescence, it is difficult to grasp the distinguishing elements of the mature society to which Baha'u'llah beckons all humanity. The models of the old world order blur vision of that which must be perceived; for these models were, in many instances, conceived in rebellion and retain the characteristics of the revolutions peculiar to an adolescent, albeit necessary, period in the evolution of human society.
M86-01 60.21 (29 Dec. 1988 from the Universal House of Justice)
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19
The great emphasis on the distinctiveness of the Order of Baha'u'llah is not meant to belittle existing systems of government. Indeed, they are to be recognized as the fruit of a vast period of social evolution, representing an advanced stage in the development of social organization. What motivates us is the knowledge that the supreme mission of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah, the Bearer of that Order, is, as Shoghi Effendi pointed out, "none other but the achievement of this organic and spiritual unity of the whole body of nations", indicating the "coming of age of the entire human race".
M86-01 60.10 (29 Dec. 1988 from The Universal House of Justice)
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20
There is also a clear pattern already established in the Sacred Scriptures, in the interpretations made by 'Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi, and in the decisions so far made by the Universal House of Justice, whereby an area of the application of the laws is intentionally left to the conscience of each individual believer. This is the age in which mankind must attain maturity, and one aspect of this is the assumption by individuals of the responsibility for deciding, with the assistance of consultation, their own course of action in areas which are left open by the law of God.
(5 Jun. 1988 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
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21
The Revelation of Baha'u'llah, whose supreme mission is none other but the achievement of this organic and spiritual unity of the whole body of nations, should, if we be faithful to its implications, be regarded as signalizing through its advent the coming of age of the entire human race. It should be viewed not merely as yet another spiritual revival in the ever-changing fortunes of mankind, not only as a further stage in a chain of progressive Revelations, nor even as the culmination of one of a series of recurrent prophetic cycles, but rather as marking the last and highest stage in the stupendous evolution of man's collective life on this planet.
WOB.163
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22
The Revelation entrusted by the Almighty Ordainer to Baha'u'llah, His followers firmly believe, has been endowed with such potentialities as are commensurate with the maturity of the human race -- the crowning and most momentous stage in its evolution from infancy to manhood.
WOB.166
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23
That mystic, all-pervasive, yet indefinable change, which we associate with the stage of maturity inevitable in the life of the individual and the development of the fruit must, if we would correctly apprehend the utterances of Baha'u'llah, have its counterpart in the evolution of the organization of human society. A similar stage must sooner or later be attained in the collective life of mankind, producing an even more striking phenomenon in world relations, and endowing the whole human race with such potentialities of well-being as shall provide, throughout the succeeding ages, the chief incentive required for the eventual fulfillment of its high destiny.
WOB.163-164
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24
The creative energies released at the hour of the birth of His Revelation, endowing mankind with the potentialities of the attainment of maturity are deranging, during the present transitional age, the equilibrium of the entire planet as the inevitable prelude to the consummation in world unity of the coming of age of the human race.
CF.081
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25
He Who in such dramatic circumstances was made to sustain the overpowering weight of so glorious a Mission was none other than the One Whom posterity will acclaim, and Whom innumerable followers already recognize, as the Judge, the Lawgiver and Redeemer of all mankind, as the Organizer of the entire planet, as the Unifier of the children of men, as the Inaugurator of the long-awaited millennium, as the Originator of a new "Universal Cycle," as the Establisher of the Most Great Peace, as the Fountain of the Most Great Justice, as the Proclaimer of the coming of age of the entire human race, as the Creator of a new World Order, and as the Inspirer and Founder of a world civilization.
GPB.093-094
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26
This is the 'Coming of Age' of this planet. Just as America was discovered, so other planets may be discovered and in conjunction with them, we will become a member of a greater entity.
(Pilgrim notes of Agnes Alexander, April 22 - May 12, 1937, p.4)
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27
The second century is destined to witness a tremendous deployment and a notable consolidation of the forces working towards the world-wide development of that Order, as well as the first stirrings of that World Order, of which the present Administrative System is at once the precursor, the nucleus and pattern -- an Order which, as it slowly crystallizes and radiates its benign influence over the entire planet, will proclaim at once the coming of age of the whole human race, as well as the maturity of the Faith itself, the progenitor of that Order.
MA.096-097 (15 Jun. 1946 from Shoghi Effendi)
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28
The Golden Age of the Faith itself that must witness the unification of all the peoples and nations of the world, the establishment of the Most Great Peace, the inauguration of the Kingdom of the Father upon earth, the coming of age of the entire human race and the birth of a world civilization, inspired and directed by the creative energies released by Baha'u'llah's World Order, shining in its meridian splendor, is still unborn and its glories unsuspected.
GPB.411-412
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29
In addition, he wishes you also to emphasize the fact that humanity, taken as a whole, has entered the most critical and momentous stage of its evolution, the stage of maturity. This idea of the coming of age of mankind constitutes the central core of the Baha'i Teachings, and is the most distinguishing feature of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. A proper understanding of this concept gives the key to an adequate appreciation of the tremendous claim made by the Author of the Faith, both with regard to His own station, and to the incomparable greatness of His Dispensation.
COC#1624 (12 Oct. 1936 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi)
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30
Only if humanity's collective childhood has indeed come to an end and the age of its adulthood is dawning does such a prospect represent more than another utopian mirage. To imagine that an effort of the magnitude envisioned here can be summoned up by despondent and mutually antagonistic peoples and nations runs counter to the whole of received wisdom. Only if, as Baha'u'llah asserts to be the case, the course of social evolution has arrived at one of those decisive turning points through which all of the phenomena of existence are impelled suddenly forward into new stages of their development, can such a possibility be conceived.
(3 Mar. 1995, The Prosperity of Humankind)
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