Peace on Earth: Let Us All Unite For World Peace

By A K MERCHANT

In the perspective of Baha'u'llah's teachings, the greatest danger of both the moral crisis and the inequities associated with globalisation is an entrenched philosophical attitude that seeks to justify its failures.

Philosophically and politically, the concept of western civilisation presents itself as a kind of liberal relativism, economically and socially, as capitalism - two value systems that have now so adjusted to each other and become so mutually reinforcing as to constitute virtually a single, comprehensive worldview.

Appreciation of the benefits - in terms of personal freedom, social prosperity and scientific progress - cannot withhold a thinking person from recognising that the system is morally and intellectually bankrupt. It has contributed its best to the advancement of civilisation, as did all its predecessors, and, like them, is impotent to deal with the needs of a world never imagined by the eighteenth century prophets. The question then arises: "Why should these, in a world subject to change and decay, be exempt from the deterioration that must overtake every human institution?"

"To build a new world is no easy task," says the Universal House of Justice, supreme governing council of the worldwide Baha"i community. "The road is filled with obstacles, but the journey is infinitely rewarding." Establishment of permanent peace, a hallmark of the emerging global civilisation, will be realised as a tangible expression of the oneness of humankind. This assurance is given in the teachings of Baha"u"llah. His writings speak of two mutually reinforcing processes: one leading to the spiritual unity of the human race that he refers to as the "Most Great Peace"; the other to the political unity of nations described as the "Lesser Peace". The former is a distant goal, requiring a monumental change in human conduct that only faith can ensure; the other is more immediate and can already be detected on the political horizon.

The frequency with which world leaders - particularly with the ending of the Cold War and the rise of international terrorism - have met and debated on global issues; the renewed call for a global order at the Millennium Summits in 2000; the multiplication of organisations of civil society that focus attention on international concerns through the operation of an ever-expanding network of activities; the widespread debates on the need for global governance and numerous organised efforts towards world peace; the emergence of international tribunals; developments in communications technology - these are evidences of an accelerating momentum to wage peace despite ominous signs of war.

Baha"i writings further indicate that world peace is not only possible but inevitable; they do say, however, that social upheavals would mark the transition from a war-like world to a peaceful one, but they do not point to any specific cataclysmic event. Ostensibly, the movement leading to world unity must encounter opposing tendencies rooted in stubborn habits of chauvinism and partisanship that refuse to yield to a new age.

The torturous suffering imposed by poverty, war, violence, fanaticism, disease, and environmental degradation, to which masses of people are subjected, is a consequence of this opposition. Hence, before the peace of nations matures into a comprehensive reality, it must pass through difficult stages, not unlike those experienced by individual nations until their internal consolidation was achieved. "Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in and centre your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements." Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. This was Baha"u"llah'sconfident promise.

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See also: Peace of Mind, Peace on Earth, Life and Beyond, Love and Happiness, Body Mind and Soul)