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THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, PARIS
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Since my arrival in Paris, I have been told of the
Theosophical Society, and I know that it is composed
of honoured and respected men. You are men of
intellect and thought, men with spiritual ideals, and it
is a great pleasure for me to be among you.
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Let us thank God who has drawn us together this
evening. It gives me great joy, for I see that you are
seekers after truth. You are not held in bondage by
the chains of prejudice, and your greatest longing is to
know the truth. Truth may be likened to the sun!
The sun is the luminous body that disperses all
shadows; in the same way does truth scatter the
shadows of our imagination. As the sun gives life to
the body of humanity so does truth give life to their
souls. Truth is a sun that rises from different points on
the horizon.
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Sometimes the sun rises from the centre of the
horizon, then in summer it rises farther north, in winter
farther south--but it is always the self-same sun,
however different are the points of its rising.
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In like manner truth is one, although its manifestations
may be very different. Some men have eyes and
see. These worship the sun, no matter from which
point on the horizon it may dawn; and when the sun
has left the winter sky to appear in the summer one,
they know how to find it again. Others there are who
worship only the spot from which the sun arose, and
when it arises in its glory from another place they
remain in contemplation before the spot of its former
rising. Alas! these men are deprived of the blessings of
the sun. Those who in truth adore the sun itself will
recognize it from whatsoever dawning-place it may
appear, and will straightway turn their faces towards
its radiance.
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We must adore the sun itself and not merely the
place of its appearance. In the same way men of
enlightened heart worship truth on whatever horizon
it appears. They are not bound by personality, but
they follow the truth, and are able to recognize it no
matter from whence it may come. It is this same truth
which helps humanity to progress, which gives life to
all created beings, for it is the Tree of Life!
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In His teaching Bahá'u'lláh gives us the explanation
of truth, and I wish to speak to you briefly about this,
for I see that you are capable of understanding.
I.--The first principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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The Search for Truth
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Man must cut himself free from all prejudice and
from the result of his own imagination, so that he may
be able to search for truth unhindered. Truth is one in
all religions, and by means of it the unity of the world
can be realized.
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All the peoples have a fundamental belief in common.
Being one, truth cannot be divided, and the differences
that appear to exist among the nations only result
from their attachment to prejudice. If only men would
search out truth, they would find themselves united.
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II.--The second principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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The Unity of Mankind
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The one all-loving God bestows His divine Grace
and Favour on all mankind; one and all are servants
of the Most High, and His Goodness, Mercy and loving
Kindness are showered upon all His creatures. The
glory of humanity is the heritage of each one.
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All men are the leaves and fruit of one same tree,
they are all branches of the tree of Adam, they all have
the same origin. The same rain has fallen upon them
all, the same warm sun makes them grow, they are all
refreshed by the same breeze. The only differences that
exist and that keep them apart are these: there are the
children who need guidance, the ignorant to be
instructed, the sick to be tended and healed; thus, I say
that the whole of humanity is enveloped by the Mercy
and Grace of God. As the Holy Writings tell us: All
men are equal before God. He is no respecter of
persons.
III.--The third principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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Religion should be the Cause of Love and Affection
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Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and
disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth
to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart. If
religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division,
it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from
such a religion would be a truly religious act. For it
is clear that the purpose of a remedy is to cure; but
if the remedy should only aggravate the complaint it
had better be left alone. Any religion which is not a
cause of love and unity is no religion. All the holy
prophets were as doctors to the soul; they gave prescriptions
for the healing of mankind; thus any remedy
that causes disease does not come from the great and
supreme Physician.
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IV.--The fourth principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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The Unity of Religion and Science
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We may think of science as one wing and religion as
the other; a bird needs two wings for flight, one alone
would be useless. Any religion that contradicts science
or that is opposed to it, is only ignorance--for ignorance
is the opposite of knowledge.
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Religion which consists only of rites and ceremonies
of prejudice is not the truth. Let us earnestly endeavour
to be the means of uniting religion and science.
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`Alí, the son-in-law of Muhammad, said: `That
which is in conformity with science is also in conformity
with religion'. Whatever the intelligence of
man cannot understand, religion ought not to accept.
Religion and science walk hand in hand, and any
religion contrary to science is not the truth.
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V.--The fifth principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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Prejudices of Religion, Race or Sect destroy
the foundation of Humanity
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All the divisions in the world, hatred, war and bloodshed,
are caused by one or other of these prejudices.
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The whole world must be looked upon as one single
country, all the nations as one nation, all men as
belonging to one race. Religions, races, and nations
are all divisions of man's making only, and are necessary
only in his thought; before God there are neither
Persians, Arabs, French nor English; God is God for
all, and to Him all creation is one. We must obey God,
and strive to follow Him by leaving all our prejudices
and bringing about peace on earth.
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VI.--The sixth principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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Equal opportunity of the means of Existence
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Every human being has the right to live; they have a
right to rest, and to a certain amount of well-being. As
a rich man is able to live in his palace surrounded by
luxury and the greatest comfort, so should a poor man
be able to have the necessaries of life. Nobody should
die of hunger; everybody should have sufficient
clothing; one man should not live in excess while
another has no possible means of existence.
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Let us try with all the strength we have to bring
about happier conditions, so that no single soul may
be destitute.
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VII.--The seventh principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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The Equality of Men--equality before the Law
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The Law must reign, and not the individual; thus
will the world become a place of beauty and true
brotherhood will be realized. Having attained solidarity,
men will have found truth.
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VIII.--The eighth principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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Universal Peace
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A Supreme Tribunal shall be elected by the peoples
and governments of every nation, where members
from each country and government shall assemble in
unity. All disputes shall be brought before this Court,
its mission being to prevent war.
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IX.--The ninth principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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That Religion should not concern itself with Political
Questions
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Religion is concerned with things of the spirit,
politics with things of the world. Religion has to work
with the world of thought, whilst the field of politics
lies with the world of external conditions.
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It is the work of the clergy to educate the people, to
instruct them, to give them good advice and teaching
so that they may progress spiritually. With political
questions they have nothing to do.
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X.--The tenth principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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Education and Instruction of Women
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Women have equal rights with men upon earth;
in religion and society they are a very important
element. As long as women are prevented from attaining
their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable
to achieve the greatness which might be theirs.
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XI.--The eleventh principle of Bahá'u'lláh is:
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The Power of the Holy Spirit, by which alone Spiritual
Development is achieved
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It is only by the breath of the Holy Spirit that
spiritual development can come about. No matter
how the material world may progress, no matter how
splendidly it may adorn itself, it can never be anything
but a lifeless body unless the soul is within, for it is the
soul that animates the body; the body alone has no real
significance. Deprived of the blessings of the Holy
Spirit the material body would be inert.
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Here are, very briefly explained, some of the principles
of Bahá'u'lláh.
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In short, it behoves us all to be lovers of truth. Let
us seek her in every season and in every country, being
careful never to attach ourselves to personalities. Let us
see the light wherever it shines, and may we be enabled
to recognize the light of truth no matter where it may
arise. Let us inhale the perfume of the rose from the
midst of thorns which surround it; let us drink the
running water from every pure spring.
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Since I arrived in Paris, it has given me much pleasure
to meet such Parisians as you are, for praise be to God,
you are intelligent, unprejudiced, and you long to
know the truth. You have in your hearts the love
of humanity, and as far as you are able, you exert
yourselves in the cause of charitable work and in
the bringing about of unity; this is especially what
Bahá'u'lláh desired.
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It is for this reason that I am so happy to be among
you, and I pray for you, that you may be receptacles
for the Blessings of God, and that you may be the
means of spreading spirituality throughout this
country.
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You already have a wonderful material civilization
and in like manner shall spiritual civilization be yours.
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Monsieur Bleck thanked `Abdu'l-Bahá, and he
replied:
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`I am very grateful to you for the kind sentiments
which you have just uttered. I hope that these two
movements will ere long be spread all over the earth.
Then will the unity of humanity have pitched its tent
in the centre of the world.'
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