Count what an army costs, and then picture the same treasure and the same inventive minds turned toward the general well-being: that is how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá makes peace concrete before He makes it spiritual. Bahá’u’lláh addresses the rulers of the earth with a sober offer. Having turned away from the Most Great Peace, let them at least hold fast to the Lesser Peace: be reconciled, reduce armaments to what security requires, meet in a vast assemblage, and bind themselves to rise together against any king who takes up arms. That political settlement has real worth, and it will pass through stages and great upheavals before it is won. Beyond it lies a fuller peace in which tyranny becomes justice and poverty becomes wealth, a transformation that human powers alone cannot produce. Isaiah’s vision of nations seeking instruction and beating their swords into ploughshares sets learning, judgment and disarmament in the same sequence [1]. The road continues through the unity of governments and political unity, through the long question of war and peace, and toward the world unity that gives each partial achievement its meaning.
In the first place, therefore, the servants of God--that is to say, all the inhabitants of a state--would be freed from bearing the burden of the tremendous expense of an army; in the second, the many persons who now devote their lives to the invention of fresh instruments of war would no longer waste their time on such work, which but encourages ferocity and bloodthirstiness, and is repugnant to the universal ideal of humanity. On the contrary, they would employ their natural gifts in the cause if the general well-being and would contribute towards the peace and salvation of mankind.
Now that ye have refused the Most Great Peace, hold ye fast unto this, the Lesser Peace, that haply ye may in some degree better your own condition and that of your dependents.
O rulers of the earth! Be reconciled among yourselves, that ye may need no more armaments save in a measure to safeguard your territories and dominions. Beware lest ye disregard the counsel of the All-Knowing, the Faithful.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Malikah Victoria (Tablet to Queen Victoria), 1285 ca. [1868-1869], to Queen Victoria -- BH00662)
03
The Great Being, wishing to reveal the prerequisites of the peace and tranquillity of the world and the advancement of its peoples, hath written: The time must come when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it, and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world's Great Peace amongst men. Such a peace demandeth that the Great Powers should resolve, for the sake of the tranquillity of the peoples of the earth, to be fully reconciled among themselves. Should any king take up arms against another, all should unitedly arise and prevent him. If this be done, the nations of the world will no longer require any armaments, except for the purpose of preserving the security of their realms and of maintaining internal order within their territories.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Maqsud, 1299-02-29 [1882-Jan-20], to Mirza Maqsud -- BH00140)
04
True civilization will unfurl its banner in the midmost heart of the world whenever a certain number of its distinguished and high-minded sovereigns -- the shining exemplars of devotion and determination -- shall, for the good and happiness of all mankind, arise, with firm resolve and clear vision, to establish the Cause of Universal Peace. They must make the Cause of Peace the object of general consultation, and seek by every means in their power to establish a Union of the nations of the world. They must conclude a binding treaty and establish a covenant, the provisions of which shall be sound, inviolable and definite. They must proclaim it to all the world and obtain for it the sanction of all the human race.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Madaniyyih (The Secret of Divine Civilization), 1875, to The People of Iran -- AB00004)
05
Compose your differences and reduce your armaments, that the burden of your expenditures may be lightened, and that your minds and hearts may be tranquillized. Heal the dissensions that divide you, and ye will no longer be in need of any armaments except what the protection of your cities and territories demandeth.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Suriy-i-Muluk (Surih to the Kings) -- BH00021)
06
Now the question of disarmament must be put into practice by all the nations and not only by one or two.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to an army commander, spoken on 1914-May-11 -- ABU0566)
07
The greatest need of Europe is the organization of a European Congress in which the delegates of various Powers may discuss seriously the possibility of immediate, concurrent disarmament but they do not listen to an advice of this nature.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Consul Schwartz and Dr Faber, spoken at Hotel Marquardt on 1913-Apr-29 -- ABU2929)
08
The utterances set forth therein by the Pen of the Lord of creation include the following which constitute the fundamental principles for the administration of the affairs of men:
First: It is incumbent upon the ministers of the House of Justice to promote the Lesser Peace so that the people of the earth may be relieved from the burden of exorbitant expenditures. This matter is imperative and absolutely essential, inasmuch as hostilities and conflict lie at the root of affliction and calamity.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-Dunya (Tablet of the World), 1308 ? [1890-1891], to Mirza Siyyid Muhammad Afnan (known as Aqa Mirza Aqa Nurud-Din) -- BH00238)
09
The sixth Glad-Tidings is the establishment of the Lesser Peace, details of which have formerly been revealed from Our Most Exalted Pen.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Bisharat (Glad-Tidings; =Lawh-i-Nida), 1308-06 ca. [1891-Jan] -- BH00568)
10
The word of God which the Supreme Pen hath recorded on the ninth leaf of the Most Exalted Paradise is this: In all matters moderation is desirable. If a thing is carried to excess, it will prove a source of evil. Consider the civilization of the West, how it hath agitated and alarmed the peoples of the world. An infernal engine hath been devised, and hath proved so cruel a weapon of destruction that its like none hath ever witnessed or heard. The purging of such deeply-rooted and overwhelming corruptions cannot be effected unless the peoples of the world unite in pursuit of one common aim and embrace one universal faith. Incline your ears unto the Call of this Wronged One and adhere firmly to the Lesser Peace.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kalimat-i-Firdawsiyyih (Words of Paradise), 1306-11-26 [1889-Jul-24], to Haji Mirza Haydar Ali Isfahani -- BH00111)
11
I beseech God that what was formerly ordained by the Lord of the Cause may be made manifest--and that is the Most Great Peace. Should the kings attain to this supreme blessing and mighty gift, torment will be transformed into ease, tyranny into justice, poverty into wealth, hardship into bounty, and anxiety into tranquility.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1304 ? [1886-1887], to Siyyid Ali Yazdi Husband of Hubbiyyih -- BH00640)
12
It will reach such a degree that all conventions of the world will become humble and submissive before this Convention, for its foundation is the unity of the human world, universal peace, fellowship and love between all humanity, cooperation and equality between all nations, and the dawning of the light of truth.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jul-16, to Maud E Thompson -- AB06615)
13
Respected President of the Peace Society between Nations and States, esteemed person:
Your benevolent aims are truly worthy of praise, and we too have such aims - that the banner of the Most Great Peace may wave at the pole of the world and the pavilion of the unity of the human race may cast its shade upon East and West, that the divine light may illumine the world and the darkness of enmity and rancor may vanish from the face of the earth.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1912 or <, to Chairman of the Peace Society in New York -- AB07766)
14
Thou hast no desire but to see the banner of universal peace unfurled. This is the first of the teachings of Baha'u'llah.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1920-Oct-00, to Sara Louisa Blomfield -- AB03998)
15
Become the instrument of the Most Great Peace for all people and promote reconciliation between East and West.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Mirza Hidayatullah et al -- AB01971)
16
It must be established so that the world of creation may find rest, and East and West and the five continents of the world may embrace one another, and all may repose beneath the pavilion of the unity of humankind, until the banner of universal peace waves over all horizons. Until this issue becomes the light of the world's assemblies, eternal happiness will not be attained and estrangement will not be transformed into unity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1913 ca., to Dunlop, Chair of Int'l Theosophical Summer School -- AB01146)
17
May this American democracy be the first nation to establish the foundation of international agreement. May it be the first nation to proclaim the unity of mankind. May it be the first to unfurl the Standard of the Most Great Peace.
Strife and conflict will surely be removed from all the nations of the earth. Carnage shall be taken away; fighting, violence and reviling will be changed into universal reconciliation and the hosts of tranquillity will pitch their tents in the midst of the world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1902 ca., to Emma C Gabel -- AB06429)
19
Praise be to God, His lights are shining and His teachings are spreading in East and West. Soon you shall see what influence they have wrought and how the Most Great Peace has spread and the standard of the oneness of mankind has been raised, and what movement and excitement have appeared among the souls of the world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at the Emery home on 1912-Apr-18 -- ABU0223)
20
O God! Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind and establish the Most Great Peace.
This peace will come about after great upheavals and events take place.
[He was asked whether it would occur in this century. He replied:]
Yes, in this very age and century in which we now find ourselves.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken ca. Jan. 1909 -- ABU3463)
22
Today the greatest service to the Kingdom of God is promoting human unity and serving universal peace.
… They are the cause of death while you are the cause of life.
… And among the greatest teachings of Baha'u'llah is universal peace which is the cause of comfort and tranquility for humanity.
… Today the greatest foundation of the Kingdom of God is promoting universal peace and the unity of the human world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1915-Apr-25, to Andrew Carnegie -- AB00609)
23
Now, praise be to God, signs of awakening have appeared in some people - it is the beginning of the dawn of the Most Great Peace. Our hope is that the unity of mankind will spread abroad, that hatred and enmity between people will be dispelled, that the Most Great Peace will become manifest, so that all nations will associate with one another and all governments will intermingle with each other. A Supreme Tribunal will be established, and difficulties arising between nations and peoples will be resolved in that Supreme Tribunal.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at home of Mrs. Gastea in Paris, 1911-Nov-26 -- ABU0113)
24
Although the representatives of governments have assembled in Paris to establish the foundation of universal peace and bestow comfort and tranquility upon the human world, yet misunderstanding still prevails and self-interest remains. Therefore, universal peace will not easily manifest and new difficulties will arise, for intentions are not in harmony - rather, desires are different. We must supplicate and implore the Kingdom of God and seek comfort and tranquility for the human world, for the Most Great Peace cannot be realized through human powers and will not manifest in the realm of existence.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jan-10, to David Buchanan -- AB04819)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
25
Now is the dawn of universal peace; my hope is that its sun will fully shine, converting the darkness of war, strife and wrangling among men into the light of union, harmony and affection.
1. and 2. The Supreme Tribunal is an aspect of a World Superstate; the exact nature of its relationship to that State we cannot present foresee. 3. Supreme Tribunal is the correct translation; it will be a contributing factor in establishing the Lesser Peace. There is no statement in the teachings indicating that the Lesser Peace will definitely be established by 1957 or 1963.
LG#1074, DG#184 (19 Nov. 1945 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, in Baha'i News, No. 210, Aug. 1948, p. 3, in answer to the questions: 1. Is the Supreme Tribunal the world court or world tribunal referred to in "The Unfoldment of World Civilization", p. 41 and "Goal of a New World Order", p. 203? Is it a part of the world Super-State just as our Supreme Court is part of the federal government at Washington? 2. Will the Supreme Tribunal (a world court) exist apart from the world government? 3. From the Master's letter to The Hague it looks like the Supreme Tribunal might of itself establish the Lesser Peace. Some have suggested that possibly the term "Supreme Tribunal" is not the best translation.)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified
27
As to the Lesser Peace, Shoghi Effendi has explained that this will initially be a political unity arrived at by decision of the governments of various nations; it will not be established by direct action of the Baha'i community. This does not mean, however, that the Baha'is are standing aside and waiting for the Lesser Peace to come before they do something about the peace of mankind. … The Lesser Peace itself will pass through stages; at the initial stage the governments will act entirely on their own without the conscious involvement of the Faith; later on, in God's good time, the Faith will have a direct influence on it in ways indicated by Shoghi Effendi in his "The Goal of a New World Order."
M63-86 442.3-4 (31 Jan. 1985 from the Universal House of Justice)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified
28
With reference to the question you have asked concerning the time and means through which the Lesser and Most Great Peace, referred to by Baha'u'llah, will be established, following the coming World War: Your view that the Lesser Peace will come about through the political efforts of the states and nations of the world, and independently of any direct Baha'i plan or effort, and the Most Great Peace be established through the instrumentality of the believers, and by the direct operation of the laws and principles revealed by Baha'u'llah and the functioning of the Universal House of Justice as the supreme organ of the Baha'i super-state -- your view on this subject is quite correct and in full accord with the pronouncements of the Guardian as embodied in "The Unfoldment of World Civilization."
LG#1412, COC#1625 (14 Mar. 1939 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified
29
We know, however, that peace will come in stages. First, there will come the Lesser Peace, when the unity of nations will be achieved, then gradually the Most Great Peace -- the spiritual as well as social and political unity of mankind, when the Baha'i World Commonwealth, operating in strict accordance with the laws and ordinances of the Most Holy Book of the Baha'i Revelation, will have been established through the efforts of the Baha'is.
M63-86 422.2 (31 Jan. 1985 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified
30
No machinery falling short of the standard inculcated by the Baha'i Revelation, and at variance with the sublime pattern ordained in His teachings, which the collective efforts of mankind may yet devise can ever hope to achieve anything above or beyond that "Lesser Peace" to which the Author of our Faith has Himself alluded in His writings.
WOB.162
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified
31
This generation of Baha'i youth enjoys a unique distinction. You will live your lives in a period when the forces of history are moving to a climax, when mankind will see the establishment of the Lesser Peace, and during which the Cause of God will play an increasingly prominent role in the reconstruction of human society.
(4 Jul 1983 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified
32
Acceptance of the oneness of mankind is the first fundamental prerequisite for reorganization and administration of the world as one country, the home of humankind. Universal acceptance of this spiritual principle is essential to any successful attempt to establish world peace. It should therefore be universally proclaimed, taught in schools, and constantly asserted in every nation as preparation for the organic change in the structure of society which it implies. In the Baha'i view, recognition of the oneness of mankind "calls for no less than the reconstruction and the demilitarization of the whole civilized world -- a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language, and yet infinite in the diversity of the national characteristics of its federated units."
WOB.043
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified