In a world literally falling apart, I'm frequently struck by things that offer confirmation that we are making headway in the Formative Age. I think of these experiences as 'birth-pang spottings.' When small, they offer me solace and hope that all this crazy tumult has a grand Purpose. When big, they fill me with pure, unadulterated joy that I'm alive to witness - and contribute to - the burgeoning adventure of unity on planet earth. I want to share one such recent big-time spotting with you. A couple of weeks ago I came upon an essay in a back copy of Vanity Fair by everyone's favourite eco-crusading-wasted-in-politics-power-pointer, Mr Al Gore. The article, aptly titled 'The Moment of Truth', really moved me. I was struck not just by Gore's eloquent vision regarding the environmental emergency we face, but by the overwhelming...well, Baha'i-ness of it. Here is the excerpt that most rocked my world:
"This crisis is bringing us an opportunity to experience what few generations in history ever have the privilege of knowing: a generational mission; the exhilaration of a compelling moral purpose; a shared and unifying cause; the thrill of being forced by circumstances to put aside the pettiness and conflict that so often stifle the restless human need for transcendence; the opportunity to rise.
When we do rise, it will fill our spirits and bind us together. Those who are now suffocating in cynicism and despair will be able to breathe freely. Those who are now suffering from a loss of meaning in their lives will find hope.
When we rise, we will experience an epiphany as we discover that this crisis is not really about politics at all. It is a moral and spiritual challenge." (The rest of the essay is well worth reading in its entirety - check it out here.)
If that's not one of the most beautiful descriptions of the rewards humanity will reap when we start joining forces to solve our common problems that you've ever read, I'll gladly eat an electric car. Personally, I was overcome with gratitude because as a Baha'i, I already feel deeply connected to the mission Gore has predicted. I was powerfully reminded of the following statement released by the Universal House of Justice (the administrative centre of the Baha'i Faith) back in 1992:
"It is our conviction that any call to global action for environment and development must be rooted in universally accepted values and principles. Similarly, the search for solutions to the world's grave environmental and developmental problems must go beyond technical-utilitarian proposals and address the underlying causes of the crisis. Genuine solutions, in the Bahá'í view, will require a globally accepted vision for the future, based on unity and willing cooperation among the nations, races, creeds, and classes of the human family. Commitment to a higher moral standard, equality between the sexes, and the development of consultative skills for the effective functioning of groups at all levels of society will be essential." - Baha'i International Community, Earth Charter, 1992
Imagine my delight then, when just last week I found out Al Gore discusses the Baha'i Faith at length in his soon to be re-released book, Earth in the Balance (pictured above.) Naturally I couldn't wait to check it out. Here's what he has to say about my beloved religion's commitment to finding spiritual solutions for environmental challenges :
"One of the newest of the great universalist religions, Baha'i, founded in 1863 in Persia by Mirza Husayn Ali [Baha'u'llah], warns us not only to properly regard the relationship between humankind and nature but also the one between civilization and the environment. Perhaps because its guiding visions were formed during the period of accelerating industrialism, Baha'i [sic] seems to dwell on the spiritual implications of the great transformation to which it bore fresh witness:
"We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life molds the environment and is itself deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions." [from a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Compilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 84]
And, again, from the Baha'i sacred writings comes this:
"Civilization, so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men." [Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 342]" - Al Gore, Earth in the Balance, pp. 261 - 262
And all this from the pen of a Christian Baptist! A-men, brother. I think that when non-Baha'i's embrace the principles of the Faith so openly, it gives me even more pleasure than listening to the most devout Baha'i delivering scholarly theological oration. Perhaps because it testifies to the fact that:
"This is the day whereon every man endued with perception hath discovered the fragrance of the breeze of the All-Merciful in the world of creation, and every man of insight hath hastened unto the living waters of the mercy of his Lord, the King of Kings. This is the day whereon all created things cry out, and announce unto men this Revelation, through which hath appeared what was concealed and preserved in the knowledge of God, the Mighty, the All-Praised." - Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 140
No matter who you are or what spiritual beliefs you adhere to, anyone who's awake can see that the time is at hand for us to put aside our differences, don our thinking caps, roll up our sleeves and get down to the business of building it. It's a necessity that transcends all cultures and religions. This combination of shared needs, unified goals, consultation and elbow-grease is the very heart and soul of the Formative Age.
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