Why did we step into the realm of being

Why did we step into the realm of being

The condition of our planet and happenings in the country conjure up a range of emotions and call for deep introspection.

Purpose of Life

More than a century ago Baha’u’llah wrote, “The purpose for which mortal men have, from utter nothingness, stepped into the realm of being, is that they may work for the betterment of the world and live together in concord and harmony.”

Today, as we survey the world conditions, it has become clear that, in different nations in different ways, the social consensus around ideals that have traditionally united and bound together a people is increasingly worn and spent. Well-meaning leaders of nations and people of goodwill are left struggling to repair the fractures evident in society and powerless to prevent their spread.

New World Order

When the Bab, Baha’u’llah’s forerunner, declared his mission in 1844 and paid with his life in 1850, he assured his followers of the new world order that would be established on this planet. Baha’u’llah presented a blueprint of this new order in which spiritual principles anchored upon institutions of justice would be responsible for the revitalisation of the three protagonists that constitute society, namely, the individual, institutions and communities.

Material civilisation appears to be dominant everywhere, from the family to institutions and agencies of global governance. Baha’u’llah cautioned that until divine civilisation is combined with socio-economic development agenda, the desired result, which is the prosperity and well-being of all humankind, cannot be achieved. He indicted those responsible for clinging blindly and selfishly to their particular orthodoxies and divisive ideologies, and stated that they were responsible for widespread disorder and crises.

The Baha’is believe that institutions of business as well as organisations of government and education will all gradually be guided by new principles and methods in harmony with the animating spirit of this new world order.

Human capacity is defined not only by one’s potential to achieve goals, but also by one’s determination to take needed actions. There are umpteen opportunities, and vast possibilities. The choices we make are, therefore, an issue of unparalleled importance.

Spiritual Strength

Although financial and other material resources are being mobilised at historic scales to implement the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030, yet these will never be sustainably achieved without recourse to “admonitions and altruistic emotions belonging to the realm of spirituality”. Spiritual masters and founders of the great religions — Abraham, Ram, Krishn, Zoroaster, Mahavir, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Prophet Muhammad, Guru Nanak -- and the social milieus in which they were obliged to carry out their missions, have provided powerful motivation for the creation of new and beneficial patterns of individual and collective life. Before he was publicly executed, the Bab had prophesied: “Well is with him who fixes his gaze upon the Order of Baha’u’llah, for he shall assuredly be made manifest.”