# Raising the Tent of Unity

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Alí-Akbar Furútan, Raising the Tent of Unity, New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1970/1972, bahai-library.com.
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> Raioinq
> flue 7204150)‘
> Unify
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> Furufan
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> I       Published by
> Baha'i Publishing Trust
> i       POST BOX: 19
> NEW DELHI, INDIA.
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> Raising the Tent of
> Unity
> The influence exerted by the Revelation
> of Baha’u’llah upon the physical world
> as well as the realm of the heart.
> 
> THE Revelation of the Bab, as testi-
> fied by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, is liked to the
> sun when it enters the Vernal Equinox;
> the station of Baha’u’l1ah, on the other
> hand, is commemorated when the sun
> reaches its highest point at midsummer.
> Thus these two successive Revelations
> which have shed illumination upon the
> earth from the unseen Realm, can be
> regarded as two distinct seasons. The
> Revelation of the Bab is similar to the
> regenerating and life-giving springtime
> which brings freshness and fertility to
> the earth, while the second Revelation
> is likened to the period of fruitfulness
> in the summer.                          i
> >
> The inception of the former, the
> l
> life-giving Revelation of the Bab
> caused the soil of men’s hearts and
> minds to be prepared through the love
> of God, so that the spiritual seeds and
> flowers could be planted therein; while
> the advent of the latter in the “year
> eighty” ushered in the fruit-laden
> summer, when, the sun reaches its
> highest station. This spiritual summer
> adorned the trees of the seeking and
> receptive souls with wondrous fruits
> I
> and delectable bounties.
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> Y]
> 
> Now if we survey the course of
> man’s intellectual development in recent centuries, we shall notice that
> since the advent of the Revelation of
> the Bab in 1844 (1260 A.H.), the world
> of being has entered upon a new phase,
> that intellectual and spiritualpowers of
> man have been quickened enormously
> and that an unprecedented potentiality
> has been infused in man, enabling him
> to perceive spiritual truths, to underl
> stand and discover hidden things and
> to study and formulate the laws of
> science. Thus the year 1844 may be
> said to have marked the termination
> of the phase of man’s childhood and
> signalized the “coming of age” of the
> human race.
> Here is an anology. lf we place the
> water on the fire and heat it, it begins
> to absorb the heat from the moment it
> is put on the fire. lt gradually approaches the boiling point, and if we
> -Q       continue the act of heating, the temperature rises steadily to 100° C. when
> l        the water begins to boil. ln a similar
> nu       manner, the world of humanity has
> advanced gradually throughout ages
> and centuries as a result of the guidance and education bestowed upon it
> by the Divine Manifestations. Then
> in the year 1844, the glorious effulgence
> of the Sun of Truth shone upon the
> world of creation in its utmost splendor
> and brought about mankind’s “coming
> of age”. During the past centuries man
> has been groping along the path of
> material and spiritual progress as a
> caravan trudges along the road in the
> dark with the aid of the stars and the
> rnoon.   Today the Sun of Truth is
> shining in the plenitude of its glory
> and the caravan of human civilization
> j
> 
> is advancing by leaps and bounds in
> the dazzling light of the Sun.
> 
> Those detached and devoted souls
> who turned to the Sun of Truth and
> received divine bounties and confirmations directly from the Manifestation of God, became imbued with
> wondrous powers and displayed many
> amazing deeds. The evidence of their
> spiritual power has caused all men to
> wonder. A careful study of the history
> of the Faith would acquaint us with
> those momentous events which stand
> associated with their prodigious lives.
> 
> It is remarkable that even the rest
> of humanity who showed indifference
> to the Call of God and failed to receive
> illumination from the Day-Star of His
> Revelation should have been also
> affected by the Light of this New Day.
> They have been prompted unconsciously to make wonderful progress in
> various stages of material civilization
> within a brief period. Imagine anewly  -¢_—‘
> 
> born babe flashing past a hundred
> years’ life-span overnight !     g
> 
> It is evident that when the spring
> season comes and the vernal showers
> fall abundantly everywhere, the whole
> earth becomes verdant automatically,
> grass grows everywhere and the trees
> blossom forth in luxuriant beauty. If
> you go to the top ofa rocky mountain
> in springtime, you can find lots of
> green plants growing even out of tiny
> crevices in- the solid rock.
> 
> The Momentons Influence of the Baha’i
> Revelation
> Now let us elaborate the point
> about the momentous influence of the
> _
> 
> Baha’i Revelation. We note that from
> the remote past which goes back to
> 6,000 years B.C. until the year 1844,
> the total number of inventions that
> the men of learning and science succeeded in bringing to light were no more
> than about seventy. Some of these
> inventions are very significant, others
> are secondary. The former comprise
> such inventions as: papyrus, waterclocks, draw-bridge, gunpowder, printing press, telescope, microscope and
> others. This means that during this
> vast stretch of time which runs into
> many centuries only about seventy inventions were given to us by the men
> of learning. On the average it comes
> to only one new invention for every
> 150 years.
> Let us now consider the space of
> time between 1844 and 1949. In the
> course of one hundred and five years
> no less than 90 important inventions
> have appeared, that is to say roughly
> one new invention per year. To
> enumerate but a few, we have : photography and the many developments
> related to it including motion pictures
> in color; engines powered by various
> fuels which drive trains, automobiles,
> airplanes, ships and       submarines;
> the many devices for recording and
> reproducing sound with ever increasing
> fidelity; theX Ray, radio, television,
> and the host of other inventions made
> possible through the discovery of
> electricity and the harnessing of the
> power in the atom.           '
> 
> This amazing outburst of inventive
> talent which has manifested itself since
> 1844 arrests our attention and is unmistakably attributable to the divine
> 
> creative power released through the
> Revelation of Baha’u’llah.
> The Day that the Sun of Truth Has Shone
> In a Tablet revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Baha
> we read as follows : “O ye the friends
> and handmaids of the Merciful l This
> is the Day that the Sun of Truth has
> shone from the horizon of existence.
> Its dawn is so resplendent and its rays
> are so brilliant that the heavy clouds
> were dispersed and the Sun        shone
> with the utmost brightness from the
> horizon of the world. That is why a
> new regeneration is witnessed in all the
> created things. Consider how much
> the sphere of sciences and arts has been
> expanded in this age. How many wonderful discoveries and innovations have
> appeared ; to what extent the powers of
> thought have progressed and what
> great inventions have been materialized. This century is equal to one
> hundred centuries.   That is to say if     ll
> one were to put together the achievements of a hundred centuries against
> those which have appeared in this
> century, the latter would far exceed
> those of the past hundred centuries.
> For example, if you collected all the
> books that were written and compiled
> throughout the past ages and similarly
> gathered together all the books and
> publications that have appeared in this
> century, the volume of the books published in this age would be many times
> more than the volume of the books
> written in the past ages.
> “Consider what a great influence
> has the Daystar of the world exerted
> upon the realities of all beings. But
> a thousand times alas! that the eyes
> are blind, the ears are deaf and the
> 
> 44¢
> 
> minds and hearts are heedless to this
> sublime Grace. Therefore, strive with
> all your hearts to awaken those who
> slumber.   And upon you be the Glory
> of the Most Glorious !”
> However, it is noteworthy that since
> the appearance of the Bab, as human
> capacity of perception increased and
> enormous strides were made in material
> progress, mankind has been, to a corresponding degree, increasingly tormen-
> I         ted by the devastating fires of its highly
> l         materialistic civilization.
> We Baha’is believe that the sole
> remedy for all the ills and afllictions
> which have assailed humanity today
> lies in following the Teachings of
> Baha’u’llah——a remedy for the application of which His Holiness the Bab
> ofl‘ered up His life and thousands of
> Baha’is have been persecuted to death.
> 
> The fact is that the longer men
> delay in accepting this holy Cause, the
> longer they hesitate to utilize this
> divinely-bestowed healing Remedy,
> l l       the more distant will grow their hour
> il        of deliverance from the ills and suiTerings that afliict them and the farther
> l   ofl‘ will be the Day when the Ark of
> l
> human prosperity and salvation, havii
> ,1        ing weathered grave dangers, would
> 1:
> l‘        reach the haven of security.
> Experience shows that nothing else
> but the priceless Faith of Baha’u’llah,
> nothing short of His world-encircling,
> world-redeeming Order could bring
> salvation to man and release him from
> the fetters of prejudice. This mighty
> Cause is fed by the Power supplied
> from the Kingdom of God, its vigor is
> sustained by heavenly might, its wond-
> .
> 
> '                             9
> 
> rous spirit has flowed into the hearts
> of men and has uprooted age-old superstitions and vain imaginings.
> '--ad!
> 
> To Succeed in Uniting the Heart of
> Men
> History bears witness that none of
> the world’s potentates, kings or emperors, notwithstanding their invincible
> power, their vast armies, their unlimited
> wealth and resources, did ever succeed
> in uniting the hearts of men or in
> creating harmony between two religious
> i sects. This is because only the divine
> >Manifestations have the power to establish fellowship and concord among
> men. In the Quran it is written: “And
> if thou should have given all that is
> on earth, thou could not have brought
> reconciliation and unity among their
> '    hearts, but God verily united them.”
> (Sura 8, verse 63). And that is how
> in this holy Dispensation, through the
> power of the Word of God and the
> outpourings of His exalted Pen, people
> from diverse religions, creeds and
> factions, who previously bore hatred
> against one another; people from every
> race and culture, whether eastern or
> western, are now all united under the
> unfurled banner of the Cause of
> Baha’u’llah with the utmost unity and
> love as the members of a single family.
> One cannot observe the slightest evidence of estrangement or alienation
> amongst them.
> 
> The Meaning of Isaiah’s Prophecy
> “Universal Peace,” ‘Abdu’l-Baha
> affirms, “is a momentous enterprise,
> but it requires unity of conscience
> which is the foundation for this mighty
> enterprise.” Thus the meaning of
> 
> Isaiah’s prophecy becomes       evident,
> where it says :
> 
> “And it shall come to pass in the
> last days that the mountain of the
> Lord’s house shall be established in the
> top of the mountains, and shall be
> exalted above the hills, and all nations
> shall flow unto it;
> 
> “and many people shall go and say,
> come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the
> God of Jacob, and He will teach us
> of His ways, and we will walk in His
> path : for out of Zion shall go forth the
> law, and the word of the Lord from
> Jerusalem.
> “And He shall judge among the
> nations, and shall rebuke many people;
> and they shall beat their swords into
> ploughshares, and their spears into
> pruning hooks; nation shall not raise
> sword against nation, neither shall they
> learn war any more.” (Isaiah II 2 2-4)
> 
> Now the Baha’i world is a fine
> replica of this glorious world to come,
> the advent of which is but the ardent
> desire of all mankind. If the inhabitants of this earth assembled beneath
> the Tent of Unity and drank the
> Water of everlasting life from this
> Fountain, then every trace of enmity,
> strife and discord would disappear and
> all men would abide in perfect freedom
> and security.
> 
> The Word of God Is Able to Unite
> In one of His Tablets ‘Abdu’l-Baha
> says : “Today nothing but the potency
> of the Word of God, which dominates
> the realities of things, is able to unite
> and harmonize the minds, thoughts,
> 
> hearts and souls of the world of humanity under the shade of one tree. This
> power pervades all things and motivates
> all men ; it coordinates and organizes
> the world of humanity.
> 
> “Praise be to God ! In this Day the
> radiant light of the Word of God has
> dawned upon all the horizons, and
> people from every group, tribe, nation,
> race and community have gathered
> beneath the shade of the Word and are
> united and assembled together in
> utmost harmony.
> “How numerous are the meetings
> that are embellished by the presence
> of peoples from different countries,
> races and tribes! Should a soul enter
> this meeting, he would think that those
> present must have come from the same
> fatherland, the same country, the same
> tribe, having a single thought, a single
> opinion, a single object, while in fact
> one comes from America, one from
> Africa, one from Asia, another from
> Europe, from India or from Turkistan;
> one is an Arab, a Turk, a Persian,a
> Greek ; and notwithstanding this, they
> meet together with the utmost harmony, unity, love, freedom, oneness and
> joy. All this is due to the influence of
> the Word. If all the earthly powers
> join together, they cannot establish
> even one such gathering that could
> turn the different nations into a single
> community throug‘ the same love,
> fellowship, joy ant" enthusiasm; and
> by raising a melody in the midmost
> heart of the world, it is able to abolish
> strife, quarrel, war and bloodshed and
> to establish the universal peace, reconciliation and oneness of mankind. Is there
> any power than can withstand the in-
> 
> fluence of the Word of'God ? No, by the
> Almighty God!       The evidences are
> obvious and the proof is conclusive.
> An unbiased observer will be amazed
> and astonished. He would bear witness
> that all the nations, races, tribes and
> governments of the world should be
> very joyous, grateful and contented on
> account of the Teachings and Exhortations of Baha’u’llah, since these divine
> Teachings change the beasts of prey
> into grazing animals and transform the
> creeping creatures into the fowls of
> the air. They change human beings
> into heavenly angels and enable the
> world of humanity to become a repository of the divine perfections.”
> 
> V  The Guardian of the Baha’i Faith,
> /Shoghi Effendi wrote: “These momentous events have all transpired in the
> world during the few years after the
> termination of the first Baha’i Century.
> Therefore it is obvious how great are
> the events that will gradually unfold
> themselves in the course of this stupendous century—the century associated
> with the rise of the divinely-ordained
> New World Order—and in the subsequent centuries of this blessed second
> Age of the Baha’i Era as well as in the
> Golden Age which constitutes the last,
> the crowning Age of the first Era of this
> Holy Cycle.”
> 
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> ,Kn-pal Printing Press, Delhi-7.
>
> — *Raising the Tent of Unity (Used by permission of the curator)*