The Bahá’í World
Volume 2 : 1926-1928
humanity. Just as the rich man enjoys his rest and his pleasures surrounded by luxuries, the poor man must likewise have a home, be provided with sustenance, and not be in want. . . . Until this is effected, happiness is impossible. All are equal in the estimation of God; their rights are one and there is no distinction for any soul; all are protected beneath the justice of God.
A Universal Language
“An international auxiliary language shall be adopted which shall be taught by all the schools and academies of the world. A committee appointed by national bodies shall select a suitable language to be used as a means of international communication, and that language shall be taught in all the schools of the world in order that everyone shall need but two languages, his national tongue and the international auxiliary language. All will acquire the international auxiliary language.
An International Tribunal
“A universal tribunal under the power of God, under the protection of all men, shall be established. Each one must obey the decisions of this tribunal, in order to arrange the difficulties of every nation.
“About sixty years ago Bahá’u’lláh commanded the people to establish universal peace and summoned all the nations to the ‘divine banquet of international arbitration’ so that the questions of boundaries, of national honor and property and of vital interests between nations might be decided by an arbitral court of justice.
“Remember, these precepts were given more than half a century ago. At that moment no one spoke of universal peace, nor of any of these principles; but Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed them to all the sovereigns of the world. . . . They are the spirit of this age, the light of this age; they are the well-being of this age.”
APPENDIX TWO
EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS OF BAHÁ’U’LLÁH
TO THE SULṬÁN OF TURKEY AND THE
SHÁH OF PERSIA (Fifty Years Ago)
To the ruler of Persia, Bahá’u’lláh wrote, in part, as follows:
“O King, I conjure thee by thy Lord the Merciful to regard His servants with the gaze of pitiful eyes, and to rule with justice in their midst, that God may award His favor unto thee: verily, thy Lord judgeth as He pleaseth. The world shall perish with whatever of glory and abasement is therein, while dominion remaineth unto God, the Supreme and All-knowing King. Say, verily He hath kindled the lamp of the Bayán, and He will continue it with the oil of ideas and expressions; exalted is thy Lord the Merciful. Verily He will show forth what He pleaseth by His authority, and will guard it with a cohort of the proximate angels. He controlleth His handiwork and compelleth His creation; verily He is the All-knowing, the Wise. . . .
“O King, verily I was as anyone amongst mankind, slumbering upon my couch. The gales of the All-glorious passed by me, and taught me the knowledge of what hath been. This thing is not from me but from One who is Mighty and All-knowing. And He bade me proclaim betwixt the earth and the heaven, and for this there hath befallen me that
