Century of Light

n to Mulla ?usayn-and 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself was born-had completed its work. It had been, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, "a period whose splendours no victories in this or any future age, h

ahá'u'lláh's Covenant, the "perfect Exemplar" of the teachings of the Revelation of God for the age of human maturity, and "the Mainspring of the Oneness of Humanity". No phenomenon in any way comparable to His appearance had accompanied any of the Divine Revelations that had given birth to the ot

plete consciousness and awareness of the meaning of this message, and He pledged the human race to respond to the voice of God. ...to me that is the Covenant-that there was on this earth some one who could be a representative of an as yet uncreated race. There were only tribes, famil

n for the world-wide expansion of the Cause, won the respect and admiration of leaders of thought wherever His influence reached, and provided Bahá'u'lláh's followers throughout the world with a vast body of authoritative guidance as to the intent of the Faith's laws and teachings. On the slopes of Mount Carmel He erected with enormous pain and difficulty the Shrine housing the mortal remains of the martyred Báb, the fo

ze its Founder's purpose. For unity to exist among human beings-at even the simplest level-two fundamental conditions must pertain. Those involved must first of all be in some agreement about the nature of reality as it affects their relationship

eative power, whose existence becomes apparent through the effects that collective action produces and whose absence is betrayed by the impotence of such efforts. However handicapped it often has been by ignorance and perversity, this force has been the primary influence driving the advancement

and Testament, which Shoghi Effendi has described as the "Charter" of the Administrative Order, 'Abdu'l-Bahá set out in detail the nature and role of the twin institutions that are His appointed Successors and whose complementary

obeyed God; whoso rebelleth against him and against them hath rebelled against God; whos

ined the significance of

o Prophet before Bahá'u'lláh, it can be confidently asserted,... has established, authoritatively and in writing, anything comparable to the Administrative Order which the authorized Interpr

world. An important fact for present-day Bahá'ís to understand is that prior to this point the concept of Guardianship was unknown to the Bahá'í community. There was widespread rejoicing at the news of the unique distinction that the Master had conferred on Shoghi Effendi and the continuing link with the Founders of the Faith that

transformation in the life of the Cause that the Will of the Master set in motion. "Were ye to know what