‘The Ways Of Love And Unity’

‘Ferocity and savagery are natural to animals, but men should show forth the qualities of love and affection. God sent all His Prophets into the world with one aim, to sow in the hearts of men love and goodwill, and for this great purpose they were willing to suffer and to die. All the sacred Books were written to lead and direct man into the ways of love and unity…’  

 Abdu’l-Bahá

 

Fromelles-Echo of the Past or Prediction of the Future?

Maev Kennedy reported yesterday in ‘The Guardian’ that the final resting place of soldiers killed in the battle of Fromelles has been excavated by archaeologists. More than two thousand soldiers lost their lives within a few hours in 1916, as part of what was by all accounts a futile assault. Abdu’l-Bahá said of the First World War that-

‘This recent war has proved to the world and the people that war is destruction while Universal Peace is construction; war is death while peace is life; war is rapacity and bloodthirstiness while peace is beneficence and humaneness; war is an appurtenance of the world of nature while peace is of the foundation of the religion of God; war is darkness upon darkness while peace is heavenly light; war is the destroyer of the edifice of mankind while peace is the everlasting life of the world of humanity; war is like a devouring wolf while peace is like the angels of heaven; war is the struggle for existence while peace is mutual aid and cooperation among the peoples of the world and the cause of the good-pleasure of the True One in the heavenly realm’.
Bahá’í World Faith—Selected Writings of Bahá’u'lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Section Only) US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1976 edition

How much more ‘proof’ does the world need of the futility of war? When will the voice of the peacemakers finally be heard above of the sound of gunfire?