Silvie's World Religion Day Speech
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Today's contribution is the speech that I have been asked to ghostwrite for my 12 year old daughter, Silvie, who will read it as the Baha'i contribution at tomorrow's World Religion Day commemoration. For those who may wish to attend, it will be at
A Badi' list reader just informed me of another event coming up, a deepening called "Exploring the Sacred Nature of Baha'i Elections: A Model for a World in Conflict," put on by Joe Wood and Michael Ladouceur. It will happen next week, Saturday, Jan. 27 from 2 to 5 in the Hatts Off building in
The Right to Convert (Speech)
I am a follower of Baha'u'llah. The most important principle that Baha'u'llah taught is the search for truth. At the core of our faith is a strong belief that there is one God, that He loves all, and that His truth is one. It never contradicts itself. As one piece of Baha'i scripture puts it,
"As reality is one and cannot admit of multiplicity, therefore different opinions must ultimately become fused into one." (SWA 298; Hague 2 of 14)
Baha'u'llah taught that no matter how differently we think, reality is one. The more of truth we know, the closer we will agree. Our main responsibility to truth is not to say I am right and you are wrong, but to be just to one another. For that is justice, seeing with your own eyes and knowing with your own knowledge. God, Baha’u’llah taught, loves this above all. He wrote,
"The essence of all that We have revealed for thee is Justice, is for man to free himself from idle fancy and imitation, discern with the eye of oneness His glorious handiwork, and look into all things with a searching eye." (Tablets, 157)
Justice and the search for truth are not only rights, they are sacred obligations. In the 19th Century Baha'u'llah wrote the kings and world leaders, admonishing them to be just. They should avoid hypocrisy by daily examining and assessing their own hearts, dealing with their own faults and flaws. Only then is anybody ready to judge others fairly,
"It behoveth every ruler to weigh his own being every day in the balance of equity and justice and then to judge between men and counsel them to do that which would direct their steps unto the path of wisdom and understanding." (Tablets, 166-167)
This is not to say that only a few, a small elite of leaders and authority figures, are obliged to be just. Everybody must be! This is what makes us human, this turns us into angels. In an early, mystical work, the Hidden Words, Baha'u'llah wrote,
"O SON OF BEING! Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds." (AHW 31)
Nor is this accounting only a spiritual exercise, important as that is. It is the first step to planning our lives and bettering the world. Baha'u'llah called upon the leaders of the world to convene a "universal gathering of man," a gathering that would be upheld by all and include every important concern of modern life. Politicians would agree to end war; linguists would devise or agree upon an official world language to be taught in every school. Scientists would find ways to protect the environment.
Nor did Baha'u'llah leave out religion. Leaders of religion have a heavy responsibility. They must answer a sacred duty to God to make peace among His faiths and religions by forming a permanent covenant. The result would be a new parliament of religions where chosen representatives of each world faith would come together with a single goal: to iron out differences once and for all and to resolve any disputes and dissensions that may arise on religious grounds. This would give people of faith a vision of a common religion for the human race, rather than what we have, rival, separated, warring sects, each thinking itself superior, each embroiled and clashing in the breast of a single planet.
This was no Utopian dream. In fact, it is the inevitable result of many people in diverse lands learning the elements of justice, living examined lives and seeking out truth for themselves.
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
While we Baha'is welcomed this wonderful declaration, some may have recalled the story that Abdu'l-Baha, the Son of the founder of the Baha'i Faith, told during a moment of relaxation while attending at a similarly high-minded peace conference at
He related that one day the mice got together to find a way to end being eaten by the cat once and for all. After deliberation they all agreed on a simple answer. Just hang a bell on the cat's collar. That way, whenever the cat came near they would hear the bell and hide before they could be caught. It was brilliant! However there was just one small hitch. When the time came to decide who would bell the cat, no volunteer stood up. After a while the mice gave up and went home. Needless to say, cats still have a free hand to catch themselves a mouse whenever they please.
Among humans, the cat has been very active since the UN declared the right to convert in 1947. We are all from different religions in this room. At a World Religion Day celebration we can all tell our own sad story best about how our own brothers and sisters in faith are being persecuted and suppressed somewhere in the world. As a Baha'i I can talk your ear off about how Baha'is in Iran are being killed and deprived of basic rights, such as the right to an education, just because they believe in Baha'u'llah. Most recently, Baha'is in the intellectual center of Sunni Islam,
It is sad and ironic that the founders of all the major religions without exception were persecuted and deprived of the right to convert. “A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country.” Abraham lost his home and was sent out into the desert; Moses was put down by Pharaoh; Jesus was accused of blasphemy and crucified; Muhammad was exiled from his hometown to Medina; the Buddha suffered rejection; the Bab was shot and Baha'u'llah was thrown into prison. As believers we derive meaning from their sacrifice; surely a big part of their message is: Never again! Do not repeat what was done to them! I beg you to remember what happened to the saints and prophets and teachers you revere!
We know that suppressing other beliefs is wrong. But every time we want to deal with it on the world level, that big, scary old question arises, "Who will bell the cat?"
This a simple answer, but it requires action and courage, first by a few, but in the end by all of us. We must have faith that the search of one, even if we do not like where it seems to be going, ultimately helps us all to get a little closer to our goal. This spirit of tolerance helps us all to be more just, compassionate and to search for ourselves a little better. Once we all have direct experience of search, both separate and together, we then can work to uphold the right to convert in society. We can teach the ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in every school; that will assure that the next generation will understand that one faith is harmed, not helped, when its members put down another faith group. Most important, we should see to it that justice is done, that violations of the right to convert are punished in courts of law, and that laws against slander apply to religious leaders as much as they already do to you and me. Please, let us all take it as a sacrament to tolerate the right of others to think and believe as they decide best.
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