"We have seen the enemy, and it is us."

cire perdue · 08-12-2012, 11:39 AM

That is a Pogo quote. However Baha'is in particular have the capacity to realize that evil is not exclusive to certain people, groups of people, or such. We are all capable of evil, there are probably very few people who have not done something that was evil. Everyone has the potential for evil and good. I think it is essential that as the Universal House of Justice has said that we NOT create false dichotomies.

We have a very unhealthy world out there in which it is possible to be a Baha'i vs that world. We cannot set ourselves apart and must accept others where they are without being pious separatists as current religion does generally in the USA. Evil is a choice, and faith is a process that will result in a healthier and truly happier lifestyle.

One need only to watch a current movie or go to the mall and check fashion to see where values are currently fixed. They are going to be here for many decades to come. These mores are dense veils that Baha'is know can be countered. However until those values are found to be not workable for life we can only hold our own ground lovingly with wisdom.

In a general atmosphere when faith has true value and meaning great evil can be eliminated, but we remain partly animal in nature and have choices due to that nature. That will not be eliminated and were it so, free will would not exist. The evil that men often blame God for is the result of our free will not an action by God.

THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY includes a sociological study that concludes that those who embrace a new religion are able not hindered by attachment to family, ideals, institutions, etc. It will be someone who has the privileged position to think for themselves. These are the people that will change the values of society which are in current fashion that fail to bring happiness. That is what is happening in mass, people have become free to persue happiness and the lowest common denominators have the attention of their lower nature. Education will change this, and I hope that commonly held knowledge will accept that happiness is not self gratification, attraction, or exhiliration.

cire perdue · 08-12-2012, 11:56 AM

Despite unprecedented hardships and after enduring years of imprisonment, captivity and woeful trials, We now perceive that veils thicker than the ones We have already torn asunder have intervened, obstructing the vision and causing the light of understanding to be obscured.

(Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 41)

abahai · 08-15-2012, 03:24 PM

Yes I think education is crucial, ultimately until the person of the world experiences the Faith though they will be pretty powerless to really change their ways. I was a passive member of the world until I became a Bahá'i. Since then I have been changed I'm pleased to say inwardly so the things such as media / television / gossip that used to play a large part in my life now are completely insignificant and I have no interest in them.

We need to be in the world in order to change the world.

Adib Taherzadeh, in earlier talks, spoke of a tree and the dirt it grows in but the fact that it continually aspires and grows towards the sun. The soil and dirt are part of it, but it uses them for what they were designed and doesn't for instance decide to completely live in the dirt by growing downwards.

Adib refers to man as being in a similiar situation in God. We are in the world and need the world to live, we need food, shelter, loving relationships. But by keeping God as our focus. Growing in spirit daily, and not growing into the world - we strike the essential union of the two.

I like that image as I think it really represents the need to be in both, but never lose sight of which one is more important, and which realm should have our attention.

08-12-2012, 11:39 AM	#1
cire perdue Senior Member Joined: Sep 2010 From: Louisiana Posts: 1,715	"We have seen the enemy, and it is us." That is a Pogo quote. However Baha'is in particular have the capacity to realize that evil is not exclusive to certain people, groups of people, or such. We are all capable of evil, there are probably very few people who have not done something that was evil. Everyone has the potential for evil and good. I think it is essential that as the Universal House of Justice has said that we NOT create false dichotomies. We have a very unhealthy world out there in which it is possible to be a Baha'i vs that world. We cannot set ourselves apart and must accept others where they are without being pious separatists as current religion does generally in the USA. Evil is a choice, and faith is a process that will result in a healthier and truly happier lifestyle. One need only to watch a current movie or go to the mall and check fashion to see where values are currently fixed. They are going to be here for many decades to come. These mores are dense veils that Baha'is know can be countered. However until those values are found to be not workable for life we can only hold our own ground lovingly with wisdom. In a general atmosphere when faith has true value and meaning great evil can be eliminated, but we remain partly animal in nature and have choices due to that nature. That will not be eliminated and were it so, free will would not exist. The evil that men often blame God for is the result of our free will not an action by God. THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY includes a sociological study that concludes that those who embrace a new religion are able not hindered by attachment to family, ideals, institutions, etc. It will be someone who has the privileged position to think for themselves. These are the people that will change the values of society which are in current fashion that fail to bring happiness. That is what is happening in mass, people have become free to persue happiness and the lowest common denominators have the attention of their lower nature. Education will change this, and I hope that commonly held knowledge will accept that happiness is not self gratification, attraction, or exhiliration.

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08-12-2012, 11:56 AM	#2
cire perdue Senior Member Joined: Sep 2010 From: Louisiana Posts: 1,715	Despite unprecedented hardships and after enduring years of imprisonment, captivity and woeful trials, We now perceive that veils thicker than the ones We have already torn asunder have intervened, obstructing the vision and causing the light of understanding to be obscured. (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 41)

08-15-2012, 03:24 PM	#3
abahai from London, UK. Joined: Aug 2012 From: London, United Kingdom Posts: 14	Yes I think education is crucial, ultimately until the person of the world experiences the Faith though they will be pretty powerless to really change their ways. I was a passive member of the world until I became a Bahá'i. Since then I have been changed I'm pleased to say inwardly so the things such as media / television / gossip that used to play a large part in my life now are completely insignificant and I have no interest in them. We need to be in the world in order to change the world. Adib Taherzadeh, in earlier talks, spoke of a tree and the dirt it grows in but the fact that it continually aspires and grows towards the sun. The soil and dirt are part of it, but it uses them for what they were designed and doesn't for instance decide to completely live in the dirt by growing downwards. Adib refers to man as being in a similiar situation in God. We are in the world and need the world to live, we need food, shelter, loving relationships. But by keeping God as our focus. Growing in spirit daily, and not growing into the world - we strike the essential union of the two. I like that image as I think it really represents the need to be in both, but never lose sight of which one is more important, and which realm should have our attention.