This is the day

"Lift up your hearts above the present and look with eyes of faith into the future! Today the seed is sown, the grain falls upon the earth, but behold the day will come when it shall rise a glorious tree and the branches thereof shall be laden with fruit. Rejoice and be glad that this day has dawned, try to realize its power, for it is indeed wonderful! God has crowned you with honor and in your hearts has He set a radiant star; verily the light thereof shall brighten the whole world! "

- Abdu'l Baha

There is much to think about in the above quote, but today I shall talk about just one. The overpowering feeling these words arouse is one of hope, optimism, joy and happiness. The Baha'i faith talks about this day being a great one in the history of mankind which, at first sight, seems rather strange. After all, isn't the world best with problems today, wracked by wars, with millions dying of starvation and disease across the world, while power-hungry capitalists are slavering to make money? Isn't this the day when the threat of nuclear and biological warfare looms large over our heads, when we fight each other on idealogical grounds? And isn't this the Kali Yuga, as defined by the Hindu scriptures, the age when mankind sinks to utter depravity, and all hope is lost? Seems a bit of a far stretch, doesn't it, to expect us to "rejoice and be glad that this day has dawned.."?!

What seems counter-intuitive and paradoxical to the sayings of other faiths, though, becomes clearer when we examine the statement more closely, and in the context of the other Baha'i teachings. This day is said to be the day that humanity has reached maturity. Now again, many would claim that the actions of several millions of the human species - in particular, our leaders - really indicate otherwise. But let us view the concept of maturity from a different perspective - from one of capacity, as opposed to action. Ah, now the mists rise, the murkiness clears! For truly, in terms of what the human race is capable of doing, and our own individual capacities (even if only potential), we are far ahead of where any of recorded history says we ever were. In my eyes, at least, what makes the past century really different from any of the preceding ones is the fact that, for the first time, the entire world is truly interlinked and interdependent. For the first time, we can go anywhere in the world, talk to people anywhere in the world, hear news from anywhere in the world. This really represents a qualitative leap from the condition of the world at any time in the past, making a lot of concepts - such as nationalism, warfare, conquest, trying to get one's nation to do better at the cost of another - questionable, even redundant. It is also a day when, as a species, we can finally address the problems facing this earth as a whole - pollution, global warming and protection of natural life being but a few of these. We have the tools with us to really effect change in this world. We have vast communications networks, scientific prowess that is increasing exponentially, a growing knowledge of different cultures and peoples. No one country today can survive on its own - we all need resources from each other. This shrinking of the world into a global village really requires a paradigmatic shift in thinking.

Of course, though we possess these tools, the question is how we use it. From that perspective mankind today can be likened to the adolescent teenager - a combination of mature capacities and not-so-mature actions. How we use our capacities today is critical, for just as we have the capacity to go great good in the world today, we also have a capability to cause destruction that is unparalleled in history. Currently we don't seem to be doing a very good job of it - and in that sense, it is the Kali Yuga. But even the Kali Yuga comes to an end. Of course, the common interpretation on that is one of annihilation of the entire world and its recreation, but I believe the idea really is metaphoric. The key concept here is one of a renewal of the human spirit, of rejuvenation and rebirth. And that really is what the Baha'i faith says as well - that today we are at the threshold of that golden age of unity and prosperity. For, given where the world stands today, unity and harmony really is the only option. Getting there might involve a lot of hardship and pain - but get there, we will. As my dear friend Michelle pointed out, very penetratingly I thought, it takes a lot of rotting, smelly vegetable skins to form enough compost that can act as fertilizer for something new and pure to grow!