Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

states, “threw down the precious crown of life for the sake of Him Who is the Incomparable Friend.” But they are repeatedly obliged to disregard their own likes and dislikes, to discipline their conduct, to win a victory over their own selves—a process longer, less spectacular, and perhaps more painful than martyrdom.

It is only through such a process that the planet can be made habitable again: that human beings, motivated by love, will voluntarily begin to act in ways that are worthy of the nature of man. Bahá’u’lláh writes in the Hidden Words, “I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself?”

The thinking world has caught up, by now, with the basic teachings which Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892) enunciated more than seventy years ago. Today no enlightened mind can disagree with such Bahá’í fundamentals as these: “The oneness and wholeness of the human race.” (This is the most vital of them all, the establishment of this principle being the central purpose of the Bahá’í Faith. The unification of mankind is, Bahá’u’lláh says, inevitable, and marks the last stage in the evolution of man toward maturity.) Service to humanity the worthiest of all endeavors. Religion, “the chief instrument of the establishment of order in the world,” to be taught to children in all schools in such a way as not to produce fanaticism or prejudice. All religions are essentially one, differing