PLURJE: the birth of Turtle Island

The world is convulsed by chaos, crisis, calamity, catastrophe, cacophony right now. A war in Ukraine, ignited by the aging, neoimperialist dictator Vladimir Putin(known throughout the free world as Vladolf Putler), raging day-by-day, threatening the security of Europe. A pandemic that began 3 years ago, claimed millions of lives, consigned billions to staying at home and living under brutal conditions, and continues to rage on, claiming thousands of lives every day and mutating into potentially new, deadly variants. Economic turmoil and chaos is engulfing the world, as supply chain shortages and technological change reshapes society, the way we live, work, and play. Climate change is rearing its ugly head, as drought, hurricanes, wildfires, swarms of locusts and other insects, floods, landslides gain in intensity and threaten lives and livelihoods globally. Political polarization, gridlock and unrest rages in free and unfree countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Peru, Iran, and Pakistan. One country, Myanmar, is in a civil war between the relentless Tatmadaw junta and an equally potent opposition consisting of the National Unity Government and ethnic separatist militias. Another country, Iran, is facing mass protests led by young women, tired of oppression and police brutality directed against them. And yet another country, Libya, has yet to hold elections to elect a new government, being contested between two supposedly “democratic” regimes. AIs are gaining in power and prominence, opening a Pandora’s box of excitement and fear over their ever-scaling powers. And finally, misinformation and drugs flow digitally and physically, contributing to confusion, escapism, and misery.

In the face of all these forces of disintegration, disunity, how is humanity supposed to survive, nay thrive. The answer(s) are not easy; they require global dialogue and cooperation to resolve. They require a solid international order, a United Nations-esque organization with a stronger mandate and more teeth to resolve. They require a shift in consciousness, a transformation from the tribalism and nationalism of a divided humanity to the compassion and camaraderie of a united humanity. They require you to get up off your computer and go out into the world to act in a way with others to make this happen. They require revolution, not reform. They require boldness and courage, love and empathy, masculine and feminine attributes, autonomy and control, individual empowerment and collective coordination. They require some ideology to unite and guide people together, one that not one person can think of, but one that comes from a higher power.

The answer, the organization for all that is the Baha’i Faith, the latest Faith for this Day and Age. The Faith that began in 1844 when the Bab revealed Himself to Mulla Husayn, when the Bab independently organized the first 19 souls to come together and declare faith in Him, as the Letters of Living. The Bab proclaimed that the Messiah, the Promised One of all Religions was coming, and He himself was the Gate to that Revelation, preparing humanity for that even more powerful mission. Their organization spread across Qajar Iran like wildfire, and the clergy and the Shah could only bring it to a halt through mass executions and violence, culminating with the tragic martyrdom of the Bab in 1850. The Light was dimmed considerably, but was not, nay could not be extinguished.

Baha’ull’ah, one of the Bab’s most prominent followers, a nobleman distinguished by His immense love and generosity to the poor, His wisdom and altruistic service to His countrymen, received His mission in the dark depths of the Siyah-Chal in 1852, when He had a vision, and I’ll let Him describe it here:

“While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden — the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord — suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the good-pleasure of God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful.

Betwixt Earth and Heaven she was raising a call which captivated the hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of God’s honoured servants. Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed all who are in Heaven and all who are on Earth saying: “By God! This is the best beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you, could ye but understand. This is the Mystery of God and His Treasure, the Cause of God and His glory unto all who are in the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation, if ye be of them that perceive. This is He Whose Presence is the ardent desire of the denizens of the Realm of eternity, and of them that dwell within the Tabernacle of glory, and yet from His Beauty do ye turn aside. ”- (Baha’ull’ah, Tablet of the Temple)

Baha’ull’ah was exiled with His family and close followers to Baghdad, where He reinvigorated the Babi cause and eventually declared His mission in the Garden of Ridvan, a most splendid, wondrous place, in 1863, to His followers, to the world. He was exiled to Constantinople, where his half-brother Ṣubḥ-i-Azal, a rival claimant to the leadership of the Babis/Baha’is, tried to assassinate him and extinguish the Light. Baha’ull’ah survived two attempts and then announced the excommunication, painfully, of Subh-i-Azal. The small handful of followers of Subh-i-Azal, the Azalis, withered away into obscurity, while the followers of Baha’ull’ah took yet another exile in Akka/Acre, and then gradually established the headquarters of the Faith in the Holy Land. The Faith’s leadership passed to Abdul-Baha, eldest Son of Baha’ull’ah, and the Master began spreading the Faith worldwide and elucidating its Teachings to a global audience. He visited these United States and Canada in 1912, in a visit marked with many meetings and discussions and sermons He gave to all who desired to hear Him, to receive His light. He then returned to the Holy Land, organized a relief effort in 1918/19 to avert a post war famine, and coordinated the infant Baha’i communities in the West and East. He then passed in 1921, handing over the leadership of the Faith to his grandson Shoghi Effendi and proclaiming Him to be the Guardian.

Shoghi Effendi grew into the role and directed the beginning of the international Baha’i administration, directing the establishment of National and Local Spiritual Assemblies and Hands of the Cause to go out and assist the believers where needed. He also maintained the unity of the Faith against Covenant Breakers who could not accept the authority of the Guardian and laid plans for the Baha’i Holy Sites and “Capital” to be formed. He passed away in 1957, but the believers remained united and elected the Universal House of Justice in 1963, in perhaps the first global democratic election. The House continues to run the Faith, and each of its members is not above the others in station; all are equal before God. The Faith is everywhere, in every land except North Korea(we’re working on that one) and the Vatican(the domain of the Pope). So yeah, there’s the answer.

But what does the Baha’i Faith have to say about America, the nation that you and I live on. In brief, we say this: “May this American Democracy be the first nation to establish the foundation of international agreement. May it be the first nation to proclaim the unity of mankind. May it be the first to unfurl the standard of the Most Great Peace.” The Most Great Peace, the ideal utopian state of humanity, must first be established here, in this land, and we must resolve to create a more perfect union. How can we do that though, given the recent chaos, the polarization. We must examine the history of this nation, and weigh the good, the bad, and the ugly, the sins and triumphs of this country, and see that this Nation must be recreated on a more spiritual, enlightened foundation.