and soul, and educates the thoughts, morals and characters of men. And just as the rays of the natural sun have an influence which penetrates into the darkest and shadiest corners of the world, giving warmth and life even to creatures that have never seen the sun itself, so also, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit through the Manifestation of God influences the lives of all, and inspires receptive minds even in places and among peoples where the name of the Prophet is quite unknown. The advent of the Manifestation is like the coming of the Spring. It is a day of resurrection in which the spiritually dead are raised to new life, in which the Reality of the Divine Religions is renewed and re-established, in which appear ‘new heavens and a new earth.’
“But, in the world of nature, the Spring brings about not only the growth and awakening of new life, but also the destruction and removal of the old and effete; for the same sun, that makes the flowers to spring and the trees to bud, causes also the decay and disintegration of what is dead and useless; it loosens the ice and melts the snow of winter, and sets free the flood and the storm that cleanse and purify the earth. So is it also in the spiritual world. The spiritual sunshine causes similar commotion and change. Thus the Day of Resurrection is also the Day of Judgment, in which corruptions and imitations of the truth and outworn ideas and customs are discarded and destroyed, in which the ice and snow of prejudice and superstition, which accumulated during the season of winter, are melted and transformed, and energies long frozen and pent up are released to flood and renovate the world.”
Religion renews the spirit of faith and confirms the ideals of the previous Prophets and Messengers; but Religion also progresses and in each cycle discloses a new aspect of truth. That which the Bahá’í Cause contains not revealed in any existing religion is the principle of the Oneness of Mankind.
It is in the light of this principle that all the Bahá’í writings are to be viewed and the purpose of this Movement considered. That a spiritual Power has been breathed into the soul of humanity in this age which shall remove all causes of difference, misunderstanding, discord and disagreement—causes resident in customs and institutions as well as in personal opinions and emotions—and establish the means and methods as well as the desire of unity—is of the essence of the Bahá’í teaching and faith. The rapidly altering character of human life throughout the world is one of the proofs of the mission of Bahá’u’lláh.
The principle of oneness involves so many readjustments, mental, social and spiritual, that the wars and strifes of these latter times have been inevitable. In the life and writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá we have the supreme effort to prepare humanity for the understanding of Bahá’u’lláh and the power manifest in Him. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave to Bahá’u’lláh’s message an interpretation directly and immediately applying to the nature of those readjustments. The interpretation is one with the message, as the sunlight is one with the sun. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has revealed the significance of the Bahá’í Cause in setting forth the following Principles:
1. Unfettered search after truth and the abandonment of all superstition and prejudice.
2. The Oneness of Mankind: all are “leaves of one tree, flowers in one garden.”
3. Religion must be a cause of love and harmony, else it is no religion.
4. All religions are one in their fundamental principles.