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Humanity's Coming of Age
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The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, 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. The emergence of a
world community, the consciousness of world citizenship, the founding
of a world civilization and culture--all of which must synchronize
with the initial stages in the unfoldment of the Golden Age of
the Bahá'í Era--should, by their very nature, be regarded, as far as
this planetary life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in the
organization of human society, though man, as an individual, will,
nay must indeed as a result of such a consummation, continue indefinitely
to progress and develop.
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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 Bahá'u'lláh, 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.
Such a stage of maturity in the process of human government must,
for all time, if we would faithfully recognize the tremendous claim
advanced by Bahá'u'lláh, remain identified with the Revelation of
which He was the Bearer.
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In one of the most characteristic passages He Himself has revealed,
He testifies in a language that none can mistake to the truth
of this distinguishing principle of Bahá'í belief: "It hath been decreed
by Us that the Word of God and all the potentialities thereof
shall be manifested unto men in strict conformity with such conditions
as have been foreordained by Him Who is the All-Knowing,
the All-Wise... Should the Word be allowed to release suddenly
all the energies latent within it, no man could sustain the weight of
so mighty a revelation... Consider that which hath been sent down
unto Muhammad, the Apostle of God. The measure of the Revelation
of which He was the Bearer had been clearly foreordained by Him
Who is the Almighty, the All-Powerful. They that heard Him, however,
could apprehend His purpose only to the extent of their station
and spiritual capacity. He, in like manner, uncovered the Face
of Wisdom in proportion to their ability to sustain the burden of
His Message. No sooner had mankind attained the stage of maturity,
than the Word revealed to men's eyes the latent energies with
which it had been endowed--energies which manifested themselves
in the plenitude of their glory when the Ancient Beauty appeared,
in the year sixty, in the person of `Alí-Muhammad, the Báb."
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`Abdu'l-Bahá, elucidating this fundamental verity, has written:
"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 animal attains a stage of full growth and completeness,
and in the human kingdom man reaches his maturity when
the light of his intelligence attains its greatest power and development...
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... That which was applicable to human needs during the
early history of the race can neither meet nor satisfy the demands
of this day, this period of newness and consummation. Humanity
has emerged from its former state of limitation and preliminary
training. Man must now become imbued with new virtues and powers,
new moral standards, new capacities. New bounties, perfect
bestowals, are awaiting and already descending upon him. 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."
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