HAIllBRARY'OF i*i f* T 1 ! i p i A jn rt i rt Of 'It -WORLD IP '+7, GIFT OF The Peace of the World THE BAHAI LIBRARY OF CONSTRUCTIVE RELIGION The Peace of the World A brief treatise upon the spiritual teaching of the Bahai Religion with particular regard to its application to the great problem, now before the nations, of the establishment of an enduring world peace. BY CHARLES MASON REMEY. 1919 (01 Copyright, 1919. By Charles Mason Remey. Distributed by Bahai Publishing Society, P. O. Box 283, Chicago, 111. OTHER WORKS BY THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOKLET, "The Bahai Movement." "Observations of a Bahai Traveler." "Through Warring Countries to The Moun- tain of God." "Bahai Teaching." "Constructive Principles of the Bahai Move- ment." "The Mashrak-el-Azkar." "The Bahai Revelation and Reconstruction." PREFACE. PREFACE. This booklet, compiled from previously published Bahai writings, presents no teach- ings not already accessible to the reading public. It is merely a synthesis of the Bahai constructive peace propaganda as already approved and set forth in the litera- ture of this movement. C. M. R., Washington, D. C., December 7, 1918. THE PEACE OF THE WORLD. THE PEACE OF THE WORLD. There is now working for the reconstruc- tion of human relations a philosophy, a re- ligious teaching, known as the "Bahai Movement." The object of this movemeriT] is to further the spirit of universal religion among the peoples of the different religions and races, both Oriental and Occidental, and to form a common ground for amicable international relations and the establish- ment of world peace. Many readers will recall the early history of this religion in connection with the rise of The Bab* in Persia three quarters of a century ago. Through the teaching of this remarkable and unique personage a move- ment was inaugurated which has encircled the world, and, though still in its infancy and not vast in numbers, it is already at- tracting the attention of students of com- parative religious history. The Bab her- *Bab is the Persian and Arabic word for door or gate. 14 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD aided the dawn of a new and a liberal age of religious thought which, breaking over the Orient, found there a very warm: response among the people. This enthusiasm was intensified in fervor by the opposition of the Mohammedan priesthood, which waxed hot as the priests saw their own time-hon- ored religious institutions crumbling and giving way before the new doctrines of The Bab. Under the most severe persecution at the hands of the fanatical Moslems in Persia The Bab Himself and twenty or more thousands of His followers died rather than deny their faith a spiritual force and vitality was generated which calls to mind a similar condition during the early days of Christianity, and which gave rise to the proverbial saying: "The blood of the mar- tyrs is the seed of the church." Shortly after the martyrdom of The Bab, the principal teacher of the movement ap- peared in the person of Baha'o'llah, from Whose name the Bahai Cause derives its name. Baha'o'llah taught for forty years, during which time He was subjected to long THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 15 exile, imprisonment and suffering instigated by the Mussulman clergy. Under the in- fluence of His teaching, as with The Bab before Him, these priests saw their power continuing to wane : therefore their decided opposition. The inevitable result was, how- ever, that under this opposition the zealous Bahais spread their propaganda more ef- fectually than before and their cause grew in strength and numbers. During forty years Baha'o'llah stood forth as a spiritual leader and teacher. He was imprisoned, and then sent out from His own country, an exile, to Baghdad in Asiatic Turkey, then to Constantinople, and to Adrianople, and lastly to the prison fortress of Akka in Syria, where He spent the last twenty-four years of His life as a religious exile, guilty, ac- cording to the Moslem law, of heresy. Upon the death of Baha'o'llah in the Spring of 1892, His son Abbas, more widely known as "Abdul Baha," became the central figure of the movement. Abdul Baha was held a prisoner by the Turks for a total of forty years in the prison fortress of Akka. 16 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD These Ottomans considered his teachings treasonable on account of their being more radical in spirit than allowed by their own religious views. However, he was freed from his years of exiled imprisonment when the Young Turks came into power in the Summer of 1908. During the past five years of war Abdul Baha has been in the Holy Land. Recent telegraphic reports from the advancing British army in Palestine announce that he is safe and living in his home on Mount Carmel, surrounded by a group of followers. In a recent letter written to friends in Teheran, Persia, Abdul Baha portrays the present condition in Palestine in the follow- ing terms: "It has been a long time since the thread of correspondence has been en- tirely broken and the hearts (of the people here) have been affected with sorrow and agitation. Now praise be to God that in these days, through divine favor, the black clouds are dispersed and the light of com- posure and tranquillity has enlightened this region, and the tyrannous (Turkish) gov- THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 17 ernment is done away with and followed by a just (British) administration. All the people have been delivered from the most great hardships and the most difficult af- flictions. In this huge tempest and violent revolution, in which all nations of the world were caught and were involved in dire ca- lamity, cities were destroyed, souls were slaughtered, properties were pillaged and taken as booty, the cries and lamentations of the helpless ones were raised from every prominent spot, and the tears fell from the eyes of the orphans like a flowing torrent in all the oppressed countries. * * * It has meanwhile become evident that the holy teachings of His Holiness Baha'o'llah are the cause of the comfort and illumination of the world of humanity. In the Tablets (letters of BahaVllah) the justice and the administrative sagacity of the government of England have been repeatedly dwelt upon (in the Bahai writings), and now it has be- come clear that in reality the inhabitants of this country after untold sufferings have at- tained to composure and security."* ^Translated from the Persian. 18 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD It will be recalled by some people that after his freedom Abdul Baha in 1912 visited America, where in various cities and towns he delivered addresses explaining the Bahai principles and their application to the pres- ent-day religious, social, and economic needs of humanity. Even up to so short a time as six years ago the universality of the philosophy taught by Abdul Baha was re- garded by many people as far too great a step for them to take from their own well known particular and familiar religious phil- osophies into the unexplored universal realm of religious thinking. But the present general thinking world can, with a quick- ened religious perception, look back and see the potency of Abdul Baha's teaching, now realizing that he with his message was in some ways simply ahead of and beyond the understanding of the general prevailing world of thought of but six years ago. How- ever, that time has passed and humanity is now more awake than ever before to the vital principles of progress and civilization. The natural tendency of man is to remain THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 19 in his own particular groove of religious feeling and thought until compelled to give this up by conditions and forces outside oi himself. These years of war have witnessed great changes in the ideals of the world, and in no phase of life is this change more man- ifest than in religious thought and feeling. Through bloodshed and calamity peoples of different classes, nations, races and creeds have been thrown together into an intimate contact upon so vast a scale as to be quite without parallel in the pages of history, the intense hardships and sufferings freeing multitudes of hearts and minds from many time-honored superstitions and imagina- tions which composed the outer shell or form of religion. While men are thus being torn away from former religious limitations through the destruction of their mental fetiches found to be untenable under the present every-day conditions of life a spirit within the deep religious nature of the masses has been aroused, a something which is causing them to realize a condition of spiritual paucity upon their part, and of 20 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD bewilderment, as they vainly attempt to adjust their religious ideas to the new world psychology into which they have been hurled. It is, therefore, not surprising that people in general should be realizing, and acknowledging, themselves to be facing a new day of religious reality. Only the other day the writer, in conversation with a group of soldiers, heard one say: "Religion will never be the same after the war as it was before," whereupon another soldier respond- ed with a confirmatory remark, while still another man in khaki bore witness to the thought with testimonials from his own ex- perience and that of comrades in the trenches. The influence of religion as a constructive force as well as a destructive force is very clearly seen in past history. Certain funda- mentally true religious doctrines and fra- ternal sentiments have united peoples and have been the foundation movements of pro- gressive civilization, while upon the other hand superstitious religious teachings and prejudices taught by religious leaders and THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 21 preachers have had much to do with the bringing about of wars. Search the pages of history. The student will find that but few wars have been brought about quite independently of the clergy, who exert such an influence upon humanity and direct to so great an extent the destinies of men. In the war now finishing the religious leaders in the various countries have exercised so great an influence for the stimulation of the war valor that the power which they held has been recognized by the governments and to a considerable extent has been used to rally the people and to arouse their patri- otism. As religion has played so important a part and exerted such a strong influence in the formation of the policies and ideals of nations, it is timely that the world should now begin to consider what religion may have to offer toward the great international problems which now confront the nations what constructive influence it can exert in establishing more cordial relations and a better understanding and sympathy be- 22 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD tween peoples of the different civilizations and races from which the new great uni- versal world civilization is to arise, and in extending its protecting justice and peace to all the peoples and countries of the world, both large and small. The Bahai Movement is promulgating a series of teachings and principles, economic and social, calculated to form a basis of re- ligious philosophy which will meet this pres- ent demand for a universal religion suited to the needs of all peoples of the world. The natural trend of the thought of the world is now so strong for many of these progressive principles and doctrines that it will be of interest to spiritually-minded people of broad outlook to know something of the constructive international peace pol- icy of this comparatively new religious cause which, coming from the Orient, is now becoming known in the Western world. The universal problem now in the minds of people is this: Is humanity to continue THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 23 indefinitely this struggle between nations, with its seasons of war separated by longer or shorter periods of so-called peace, during which the nations are recuperating and re- newing their engines of destruction in order to again enter into open conflict, destroying that which has taken years of labor to con- struct. Or has the time not come for a change from this archaic system of destruction to one of justice, co-operation, and construc- tion between the nations a system con- ducive to peace? Upon this question the world is now divided. On the one hand are the extreme militarists, who hold that the peace and prosperity of the nations can only be guaranteed by developing and maintain- ing the military strength of the individual nation, that the world progresses through military valor, and that peace is devitalizing to a nation, and that without war a nation becomes effeminate and decadent! Then, upon the other hand, there are those who hold a view quite opposite to that of the militarists; namely, that peace and co-oper- ation not military conflict and destruction 24 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD are the conditions under which the high- est virtues of man appear and develop! World conditions in this twentieth cen- tury are not what they were in past epochs. In the present time, through travel, com- munication, and commerce the interde- pendence of peoples and nations has be- come a recognized factor, heretofore com- paratively insignificant, which now has to be considered by the world. In primitive times in sparsely populated countries, where families were separated by distances, in- dividual feuds, quarrels and warfare were the rule. But as the lands filled up, cities were formed, and families lived in closer con- tact one with another; conditions changed and became so modified that co-operation between individuals became necessary and conducive to the best good of all. When the majority of the people in a land wanted law and order, they established it, and, with an adequate police force, order was forced upon the disorderly members of society. In this way life was made safe for the mass of the people. In other words, conditions THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 25 had changed it no longer being possible for one man to enrich himself at the ex- pense of his neighbor through pillage and theft men had begun to co-operate. In this new state of interdependence each found his horizon of life enlarged and his scope for development increased. From the material standpoint a parallel may here be drawn between the develop- ment of peace between families and peace between nations. In past epochs nations and peoples were separated by geographic boundaries, not easily surmountable. In those days it was possible for the people of one country to invade the territory of an- other nation and enrich themselves by carrying off booty and plunder, often in the form of bullion and slaves, and thus from the material standpoint prosper through war. But in this day those ancient conditions no longer exist. Nations are now so de- pendent upon one another for finances, food- stuffs, and supplies of all kinds, as well as for the output of their own products, that their welfare and prosperity no longer de- 26 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD pend upon war but upon peace, no longer upon conquest, but upon co-operation with neighboring nations. In this present time nations lose far more through war than they can possibly gain. A nation now at war, after gaining an over- whelming victory over an adversary, finds it quite impossible to exact sufficient tribute to recompense it for the material outlay, the loss of life, and the jmany terrible after- effects of war which it suffers. Thus war has become a losing proposition, one doomed to loss even before entered upon. This interdependence of nations and peo- ples is a new phase of world progress, which now for the first time needs to be reckoned with in dealing with international and mili- tary matters. The development of national military power and preparedness for war, so fervently advocated by many as a na- tional protection and means for peace, in- stead of making for peace has quite the opposite effect, for it makes for war. A standing army and a large and increasing navy is not only a great economic drain THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 27 upon a people, but such a system in itself keeps alive the spirit of war. It tends to make a people proud and overbearing, and furthers the spirit of fear and hatred be- tween peoples, races, and nations, thus psychologically laying the foundation for strife through the mental and moral de- structive influences. The system of mili- tarism keeps the spirit of war alive, keeps the people in training for war, and places in their hands ready for use at all times the engines and instruments of destruction, thus making war possible at short notice and with little provocation. It is a recog- nized fact that with a large and a growing armament and a standing army in training for war the time comes when the people want to fight, and when a people wants war, like individuals under the power of the same warlike thought, sooner or later a pretext will be found and they will fight. Thus the means of war can be said to have become a cause for war, because these means exert both a conscious and an unconscious influ- ence for conflict, increasing hatred between 28 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD nations and races, all of which must be con- sidered as fundamental elements in the general psychology of war, which psy- chology is the real underlying cause of wars of aggression. The Bahai Religion teaches that in order to abolish the causes of war a blow must be struck at all hatred and enmity between classes, races, nations and religions, and at the greed and avarice inherent in savage man. These disturbing causes are at root in the soul of man. As the actions of peoples as well as of individuals are but the reflection of their thought and ideals, action national as well as individual can be traced jbaqk to the general and personal thought of the people. The power of thought is a greater element in life than material considerations, greater than most people realize, for the actions of people are ruled by the power of their sentiments, thoughts, affections and prejudices more than by their material desires. The causes of this recent world war were national aggrandizement and prejudice, THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 29 pride, hatred and fear, as well as greed, all of which causes have their root in the soul of man and arise through a lack of spiritual assurance, poise and development. Abdul Baha teaches that peace can only be per- manently established by emancipating the world from this obession of war thought, by freeing the people from greed, fear, desire of aggression, and from racial, national and religious prejudice, all of whicli cause strife between the nations. Because of this re- cent war the thinking public is alive to the need of this day, and realizes that the ques- tion of maintaining a lasting peace is by far the most important issue at present before the world. The real inner peace cannot be objectively forced upon a people or peoples. It cannot come from without. It must be born in a people, spiritually and psychologi- cally, before it begins to be manifest in their civic and national life. And now the ques- tion is: How is this inner change to be accomplished? How are prejudice, hate, and materialism to be overcome? The Bahais meet this question with a positive 30 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD teaching in word and deed of the di- vine love principle of true religion. The Bahai Movement heralds the universal re- ligious cause of this new age. It stands for the oneness in spirit and in deed of all peoples of all religions, races and nations. It therefore deals directly and indirectly with the many attending human problems. In the problem of international peace the Bahai teaching holds aloft a high spiritual ideal which must be realized in deeds and actions. "These are the days of faith and deeds, not the days of words and lip ser- vice." "The effects of deeds is in truth more powerful than that of words." "Deeds reveal the station of the man." Such are its maxims. Therefore, the ideal of peace upon earth is advanced not as an ethereal dream never to be realized in this world, but this ideal is made practical by the re- lated international reforms and institutions for which the Bahais stand, and through the founding of which they believe that war and strife will cease and a constructive sys- tem of co-operation will take the place of THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 31 the present and past discord and hatred between nations. The Bahai Cause teaches that brotherly love is the means through which the true civilization of humanity will be realized. Prejudice and hatred, whether between peoples of different classes, nations, races or religions, are destructive factors in the world, and are the cause of the retrogression of the race. Therefore, the followers of the Bahai Movement, in order firmly to lay a foundation for human solidarity, are doing their utmost to destroy these various forms of animosity and prejudice by striving to implant in the hearts of people the princi- ples of the love of humanity. Pure religious truth is in perfect harmony with the reason and the science of the age, before whose light the superstitions and im- aginations which have come down from the past are dispelled. In the Bahai teaching all men are exhorted to investigate, each for himself, the realities of religion, accepting nothing through tradition or hearsay. Thus by a careful search for the reality under- 32 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD lying all religions, through the light of this present-day teaching, the fundamental one- ness of all religions will be understood. This is the foundation of the universal re- ligious ideal, from which is growing the new order of a universal spirit of faith which is the mainspring of the coming great uni- versal civilization of mankind. Along with these high spiritual ideals must com/e their expression in daily life and material mat- ters. Children of both sexes must be edu- cated and trained, women must be given equal rights with men, and means must be devised so that neither individuals nor classes of individuals shall be deprived of their just portion of the fruits and material blessings of the earth. These reforms can only come about, and this millennial state of humanity can only be attained, through establishing in the heart of humanity the true spirit of religion. This is true civiliza- tion, for true civilization follows true re- ligion and is produced by it. True religion, morality, and their accompanying high ideals, have always gone hand in hand with THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 33 human uplift and progress ; and, conversely, in times when irreligion and immorality have prevailed, with their inevitable lower- ing of all ideals, nations have retograded, civilization has fallen and decayed, and the people have been in manifest loss. In reading even this brief sketch of some of the Bahai principles it will be seen that each of the factors is a necessary element and a part of the real peace and prosperity of the world, so that the doctrine of univer- sal peace very properly belongs in the Bahai philosophy and is one of its most important principles. BahaVllah, the principal founder of this cause said : "Let not a man glory that he loves his country, but rather let him glory that he loves his kind," and in speaking of this cause He is reported as saying: "We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations ; that all nations shall become one in faith, and all men as brothers ; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men shall be strengthened; that diversity of religion shall cease, and differences of race be an- 34 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD nulled. So it shall be. These fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the Most Great Peace shall come." In the writings of Baha'o'llah and of His son, Abdul Baha, are numerous treatises re- garding peace and unity, all of which taken together form the teaching and the attitude of the movement toward this subject, nor is the teaching indirect and vague in the meth- ods it advances for the establishment of har- mony between nations. The nations should come together and establish an international court of arbitration, supporting and enforc- ing its international decisions. Besides military forces in each country sufficient to maintain national order, an international police force should be instituted in order to enforce the just decrees of the interna- tional court of arbitration, so that if one nation should threaten the peace and tran- quillity of the world it could be forced into line with the others without the horrors of a prolonged war. Such measures, together with the strict neutrality of those nations not implicated in the international dispute, THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 35 and their refusal to send either munitions of war or lend financial aid to belligerent nations, would very shortly do away with the possibility of war from a material stand- point. The constructive teaching of peace principles and true religion is slowly but surely eradicating the war thought from the minds of men. While the Bahai Religion teaches these peace principles, it also teaches that vicious maruders must be restrained by force, and the weak and innocent must be protected; nevertheless, the power which will bring about a real, fundamental and a lasting peace must be a spiritual power which will strike at and overcome the root or the primal cause of war. About forty years ago a book was written by one who was under the training of Baha'o'llah, one who was prominent in the Bahai Cause as a teacher and a philosopher. This work was published under the title of "The Mysterious Forces of Civilization," and is an exposition of Bahai thought and ideals relative to both national and interna- 36 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD tional affairs. Although at that time the at- tention of the world in general had not been called to arbitration and universal peace, nevertheless, even more than twenty years prior to that date BahaVllah was laying the foundation of His religion for world concila- tion. The following excerpt from the book in question mentions arbitration backed up by a limited military force as an institution through which war may be eliminated : "Yea, the true civilization will raise its banner in the center of the world, when some noble kings of high ambitions, the bright suns of the world of humanitarian enthusiasm shall, for the good and happi- ness of all the human race step forth with firm resolution and keen strength of mind and hold a conference on the question of universal peace ; when, keeping fast hold of the means of enforcing their views they shall establish a union of the states of the world, and conclude a definite treaty and strict alliance between them upon conditions not to be evaded. When the whole human race should have been consulted through THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 37 their representatives and invited to corrobo- rate this treaty, which verily should be a treaty of universal peace and would be ac- counted sacred by all the peoples of the earth, it would be the duty of the united powers of the world to see that this great treaty should be strengthened and should endure. "In such a universal treaty the limits of the borders and boundaries of every state should be fixed, and the customs and laws of every government. All the agreements and the affairs of state, and the arrange- ments between the various governments, should be propounded and settled in due form. The size of the armaments for each government should likewise be definitely agreed upon; because, if in the case of any state there were to be an increase in the preparation forlvar, it would be a cause of alarm to the other states. At any rate, the basis of this powerful alliance should be so fixed that, if any of the states afterward broke any of the articles of it the rest of the nations of the world would rise up and de- 38 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD stroy it. Yea, the whole human race would band its forces together to exterminate it. "If so great a remedy should be applied to the sick body of the world, it would cer- tainly be the means of continually and per- manently healing its illness by the incula- tion of universal moderation. Reflect that, under such conditions of life, no govern- ment or kingdom would need to prepare and accumulate war materials, or would need to pay heed to the invention of new weapons of offense for the vexation and hurt of man- kind. On the contrary, they would require a few soldiers as a means of assuring the safety of the state and punishing the wicked and rebellious and preventing the growth of civil sedition. Not more than these few would be needed. In the first place, there- fore, 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 place, the many persons who now devote their lives to the invention of instruments of war would no longer waste their time upon such THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 39 work, which only encourages ferocity and blood-thirstiness, and is repugnant to the universal ideal of humanty. On the con- trary, they would then employ their natural gifts in the cause of the general well-being, and would contribute towards the peace and salvation of mankind. All the rulers of the world would then be settled on peaceful thrones amid the glory of a perfect civiliza- tion, and all the nations and peoples would rest in the cradle of peace and comfort. "Some persons who are ignorant of the world of true humanity and its high ambi- tions for the general good reckon such a glorious condition of life to be very difficult ; nay, rather impossible to compass, but it is not so. Far from it, for, by the grace of God, and by the testimony of the Beloved (those near to the threshold of the Creator) and by the incomparably high ambitions of the souls that are perfect, and the thoughts and opinions of the wisest men of the age, there never has been and is not now any- thing improbable and impossible in exist- ence. What are required are the most re- 40 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD solved determination and the most ardent enthusiasm. How many things, which in ancient times were regarded as impossibili- ties, of such a kind that the intellect could hardly conceive them, we now perceive to have become quite simple and easy. Why then should this great and important matter of universal peace, which is verily the sun amongst the lights of civilization, the cause of honor, freedom, and salvation for all, be considered as something improbable of realization. "It is evident that the honor and great- ness of man have not arisen through blood- thirstiness, the destruction of cities and kingdoms, and the ruining and murdering of armies and peoples. On the contrary, the cause of high-mindedness and prosperity is based upon the cherishing of justice and the sympathy with one's fellow citizens, from the highest to the lowest, upon building up the kingdom, the cities and villages, the su- burbs and the country, and upon the free- dom and quiet of the servants of God in lay- ing down the foundation of the principles THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 41 of progress, and in the extension of the com- mon weal, the increase of wealth and gen- eral prosperity. Reflect how many world- subduing kings have sat on thrones as con- querers. For example, Halakoo Khan, Ameer Taimoor Koorkan, who subjugated the great continent of Asia; Alexander the Macedonian, and Napoleon the First, who stretched the hand of tyranny over three of the five continents of the world. What ad- vantages have resulted from these vast con- quests? Was any kingdom established, or was there any gain of happiness? Was any dynasty permanently settled thereby, or did it mean merely the ending of the reign of one particular dynasty? The only result produced by the world-conquering opera- tions of Halakoo and Jenghiz, provoking war on all sides, was that the continent of Asia became like a heap of ashes beneath the blaze of their terrible conflagration. The only outcome of the great conquest of Alexander the Macedonian was the fall of his sun from his throne as a ruler, and the passing of his dominion into the hands of 42 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD Cassander, Seleucus, Ptolemy, and Lysima- chus. Napoleon the First found no benefit in his victories over the kings of Europe, but he ruined well constituted kingdoms and well cultivated countries. He destroyed hundreds of thousands of mien, terrorized and intimidated the whole continent of Europe, and ended his life in a wretched captivity. Such were the results left be- hind them by these kings and their huge conquests." As one studies deeply into the spirit and philosophy of the Bahai Religion, one is im- pressed with its similarity to the principles of the teachings of Christ. Christ advocated peace, but during these nineteen centuries there has been no peace between men be- cause that spirit of peace has not become a reality between nations, yet we are told that the stone which was rejected by the build- ers would become the chief corner stone of the temple. Many isolated experiences of individuals prove that the Christian philoso- phy of the Sermon on the Mount can be ap- THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 43 plied with success in one's individual rela- tions with others, and yet until now the nations as nations have rejected the actual practice of this philosophy as being unsuited to their methods of solving international problems. At this point attention is directed to the working philosophy of the Bahais, which provides a safe and an adequate con- nection between the spiritual ideals of re- ligion and present day material world con- ditions; a system which offers a practical solution for the peace of nations, and one quite possible of an early attainment if the nations are able to carry out these high ideals and principles and bring them out from the realm of the ideal to be realized in the world. While the mere cessation of open hostili- ties on the fields of battle in Europe has marked one great epoch of peace, the world has not yet attained to the real foundation of a lasting peace. This lasting world peace cannot come until internationl, economic, and social justice is established, and not be- fore the psychological causes of greed, de- 44 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD sire for national aggrandizement at the ex- pense of other nations, hatred and animosity are wiped out from between the different classes, nations, races, and religions. Suffer- ing humanity will surely look with sym- pathy, with broadness, and with far seeing vision upon a religious teaching that is dif- fusing through the world such a positive and constructive philosophy for the rehabili- tation of society as one finds being promul- gated by the followers of this movement. The adherents of the Bahai teachings have no church organization or form of membership. They are composed of people drawn from all denominations, sects and re- ligions who, aroused by the quickening re- ligious spirit of this present age, are banded together and united in their efforts to infuse into all humanity these progressive religious ideals which they believe to be the funda- mental principles of the great world civiliza- tion that is evolving as the spirit of interna- tionalism grows and peoples and nations arise to co-ordinate in all their activities, thus forming an interdependent federation THE PEACE OF THE WORLD 45 encompassing the entire world and its people. Already these Bahai ideals are finding a warm welcome amongst Jews and Christ- ians in various parts of the Orient and Occident, as well as among the more pro- gressive Moslems in many parts of the Eastern world, the Hindus and Zoroastrians in India, and Buddhists in Burmah and Japan. Among the people of these divers religions the Bahai teaching does not seek to destroy their faith in the truths of their prophets; instead, this movement seeks to confirm them in the true principles of the religion which they already hold, while the universal application of these principles of religion as taught by the Bahais comes as a uniting power to draw all of these different religious elements into one great harmon- ious whole. The several testimonies of world travelers who have contacted with the Bahais in foreign lands assure us that this movement is embracing a multitude of heterogeneous religious elements, and that through it already many Christians, Jews, 46 THE PEACE OF THE WORLD Moslems, Zoroastrians, Buddhists and Hindus are united in that spirit of universal religious brotherhood which has been the hope of the prophets and religious seers down through the ages. Distributed by Bahai Publishing Society P. 0. Box 283, Chicago, Illinois These books are sold at a price just sufficient to cover the cost of printing and handling. The Mashrak-El-Azkar By Chas. Mason Remey. Comprising Quotations from Abdul Baha's words An his- torical sketch of the Bahai Movement A general explana- tion of the Mashrak-Kl-Azkar (Bahai Temple) A description of the Mashrak-El-Azkar in Eshkhabad in Russian Turkistan and An account of the pre- paratory work for building the first Mashrak-E 1 - A z k a r in America, with descriptions and illustrations of an exhibit of nine preliminary designs for this building, showing various treatments in different styles of architecture. This book contains a portrait of Abdul Baha and nineteen architectural illustrations. A large volume, bound in cloth, $1.00. Postage additional. This book weighs 2 pounds. For postage, see parcel post rate between your town and Chicago. Bahai Teaching. By Chas. Mason Remey. Containing quotations from the Bahai Sacred Writings and sev- eral previously published articles upon the history and aims of the Teaching. Bound in cloth $ .60 Postage, 5c additional. Constructive Principles of the Bahai Movement. By Chas. Mason Remey. A booklet containing a brief sum- mary of the history, institutions and object of the Cause, with special emphasis upon those uni- versal principles for world prog- ress, religious, social, and eco- nomic which are foremost amongst the burning questions of the day now uppermost in the minds of thinkers. Bound in cloth $ .40 Postage, 5c additional. Through Warring Countries to the Mountain of God. By Chas. Mason Remey. An account of some of the ex- periences of two American Ba- nais in France, England, Ger- many, and other countries, on their way to visit Abdul Baha in the Holy Land, in the year 1914. This book of travel is in the form of a fac-simile of the au- thor's manuscript. It contains a hitherto unpublished portrait of Abdul Baha, with twenty-eight photographic illustrations o f groups of people and places con- nected with the Bahai Cause. A large volume bound in cloth $2.00 Postage additional. This book weighs 2 pounds. For postage, see parcel post rate uetween your town and Chicago. The Bahai Movement. By Chas. Mason Remey. This book describes the principles of the Bahai Movement and out- lines the history of the Cause. Bound in cloth $.50 Postage lOc additional. Observations of a Bahai Traveler. By Chas. Mason Remey. Treats of travels among the Bahais of the Orient and of the Teachings from the viewpoint of the various world religions; also a brief history of the Movement. Has 12 illustrations and one map. Bound in cloth $ .60 Postage lOc additional. The Peace of the World. By Chas. Mason Remey. A presentation of the Constructive Peace Tradings of the Bahai Re- ligion. Bound in cloth $ .75 Postage, lOc additional. The Bahai Revelation and Reconstruction. By Chas. Mason Remey. A brief history of the Bahai Movement and an exposition of some of its most salient principles with special emphaesis upon its peace program and the influence of religion for the harmony and the peace of the nations. Contains Baha. a portrait of Abdul Bound in cloth $1.00 Postage, lOc additional. The New Day. By Chas. Mason Remey. A brief statement of the history and teachings of the Bahai Revel- ation. A booklet bound in paper. Price $ .15 6 copies $ .75 100 copies $12.00 Postage 2c per copy additional and in quantities at parcel post rate. 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. UCLA RUBRARY LOAN 1 "f 1 NOV23 .ftt? o DEC 23 '66 RECEIVED HP 1 27 '66-1 PM LOAN DEPT LD 21A-40m-4/63 (D6471slO)476B General Library University of California Berkeley U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES YB 71627 416434 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Copy No. To