No system can abolish the danger of drifting into the very failings that have undone earlier Faiths. In this “long spring”:
- Free will is untouched. The temptations to follow the dictates of the age, to interpret unity or equality as license, or to confuse secular solutions with spiritual standards remain.
- Bahá’u’lláh established the “Most Great Peace,” not “automatic harmony”—the test is vigilance, consultation, reference to the Book.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá is blunt in His warning:
“Take ye good heed lest this calamitous day slacken the flames of your ardor, and quench your tender hopes. Today is the day for steadfastness and constancy. Blessed are they that stand firm and immovable as the rock and brave the storm and stress of this tempestuous hour. They, verily, shall be the recipients of God’s grace; they, verily, shall receive His divine assistance, and shall be truly victorious.”
—Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Safeguards and Responsibility
- Bahá’u’lláh’s blueprint includes unprecedented institutional safeguards—the Covenant, the Universal House of Justice, a consultative system to resolve disputes.
- But none of these abolish spiritual entropy or truly guarantee obedience: Free will, pride, and the temptation to adopt society’s “present exigencies” over revealed guidance never disappear.
The protections Bahá’u’lláh established—especially His written Covenant and the institutions of the Faith—are designed to prevent the division, power-seeking, and schism that destroyed earlier revelations. Yet He is clear: unity and flourishing are not guaranteed by design alone. The choice remains with every soul and every community.
His teachings are clear and direct. Bahá’u’lláh banished racism, nationalism, and sexism but humanity’s tendency to leap from one prejudice to another remains.
- On Gender:
The divine blueprint calls for “equality between man and woman,” and upholds “marriage as a fortress for well-being and salvation” defined as the union of a man and a woman. In the wider world, confusions between equality and sameness or between liberation and unlimited license abound—even among Bahá’ís. There is a tension between upholding revealed boundaries and adapting to rapidly changing societal norms. - On Borders and Nationalism:
Bahá’u’lláh’s vision of the earth as “one country” is not a call for chaos or erasure of all civil order. Instead, He enjoins “unity in diversity,” which includes justice, and order. In the Tablet of Maqsúd He proclaimed:
“The Great Being saith: The structure of world stability and order hath been reared upon, and will continue to be sustained by, the twin pillars of reward and punishment. And in another connection He hath uttered the following in the eloquent tongue:4 Justice hath a mighty force at its command. It is none other than reward and punishment for the deeds of men. By the power of this force the tabernacle of order is established throughout the world, causing the wicked to restrain their natures for fear of punishment.
There is a difference between dismantling toxic nationalism and calling for abolishing borders indiscriminately, or supporting migration in ways that violate laws and existing rights of citizens. - On Race—and the Error of Collective Condemnation:
Racism remains among “the most vital and challenging issues,” and yet - in almost direct opposition to prevailing ideas on how to address this, Abdu’l Baha admonishes us in Foundations of World Unity as follows:
“The great proclamation of liberty and emancipation from slavery was made upon this continent. A long bloody war was fought by white men for the sake of colored people. These white men forfeited their possessions and sacrificed their lives by thousands in order that colored men might be freed from bondage. The colored population of the United States of America are possibly not fully informed of the wide-reaching effect of this freedom and emancipation upon their colored brethren in Asia and Africa where even more terrible conditions of slavery existed. Influenced and impelled by the example of the United States, the European powers proclaimed universal liberty to the colored race and slavery ceased to exist. This effort and accomplishment by the white nations should never be lost sight of. Both races should rejoice in gratitude, for the institution of liberty and equality here became the cause of liberating your fellow-beings elsewhere. The colored people of this country are especially fortunate, for, Praise be to God! conditions here are so much higher than in the East and comparatively few differences exist in the possibility of equal attainments with the white race.”
The responsibility for the continuity of this unexampled springtime rests with us. The blueprint will hold, but only if we invest each step with remembrance, turn again and again to the revealed text, humble our own desires, and remain steadfast. The safeguard is clear: always return to the revealed text, however urgent or fashionable the pressure to innovate.
Questions for Reflection
- When faced with difficult issues—gender, race, migration, morality—do we refer to the explicit guidance of the Writings and institutions, or do we default to prevailing social currents?
- How can we be sure our efforts to eradicate prejudices are not simply introducing new ones?
- In a half-million-year dispensation, how do we keep the roots nourished and guard against the entropy that has overtaken every revelation before?
Next week, we’ll examine the World Order and administrative architecture Bahá’u’lláh designed—how this blueprint enables cycles of expansion and consolidation, and how it addresses these very pitfalls.
With humility and clarity,
—Wade Fransson
No dispensation is drift-proof. We stand at the beginning of an age designed to last half a million years—if we choose obedience, humility, and reference to the divine text, not the passions of our moment. The spring can endure, but only as long as the gardeners are vigilant.
