The theme, “Baha’u’llah’s teachings: a response to the challenges of a turbulent world” will be the focus of a forum planned for 26 August at Wollongong Bahá’í Centre of Learning, 7:30 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.
In one of His works written more than 150 years ago,Bahá’u’lláh underlined some of the social challenges faced by humanity through a number of questions: “How long will humanity persist in its waywardness? How long will injustice continue? How long is chaos and confusion to reign amongst men? How long will discord agitate the face of society?” He then warns humanity: “… The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing. The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appeareth to be lamentably defective.”[1]
The questions asked by Bahá’u’lláh at that time are more pertinent now and the convulsions and chaos foreseen by Him are currently the prevalent characteristics of our societies in every corner of the planet. The long-established traditions, values and norms that governed human civilisation for thousands of years are no longer adequate and applicable to a world what has radically shrunk to a global village through mass communication, mass transportation and mass migration. This has brought about a global awareness and consciousness that struggles for its prevalence against old established prejudices, assumptions, and standards.
In response to such crises, Bahá’u’lláh has offered a new order in His teachings to address the challenges faced by humanity. Referring to His revealed paradigm as “new World Order” He states: “The world’s equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind’s ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System — the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.”[2]
In a forum planned for 26 August, 7.30 pm at Wollongong Bahá’í Centre of Learning this topic will be explored in details. Everyone is welcome to attend.
[1] Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 215.
[2] Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 136.
Wollongong Bahá’í Community 