Eleven Principles

I just read this most excellent talk given by Abdu'l Baha at the Theosophical Society in Paris in 1911. In this talk, he summarizes eleven principles of Baha'u'llah:

I. The Search after Truth.
II. The Unity of Mankind.
III. Religion ought to be the Cause of Love and Affection.
IV. The Unity of Religion and Science.
V. Abolition of Prejudices.
VI. Equalization of Means of Existence.
VII. Equality of Men before the Law.
VIII. Universal Peace.
IX. Non-Interference of Religion and Politics.
X. Equality of Sex—Education of Women.
XI. The Power of the Holy Spirit.

The complete talk can be found here. I highly recommend going through it - I found it very concise, and yet very deep. And oh, each of these principles is further explained in subsequent talks, which can be accessed by clicking the "Next" tab on that webpage.

Here are some of the most striking ideas expressed in this talk:

If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act. For it is clear that the purpose of a remedy is to cure; but if the remedy should only aggravate the complaint it had better be left alone. Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion. All the holy prophets were as doctors to the soul; they gave prescriptions for the healing of mankind; thus any remedy that causes disease does not come from the great and supreme Physician...

We may think of science as one wing and religion as the other; a bird needs two wings for flight, one alone would be useless. Any religion that contradicts science or that is opposed to it, is only ignorance—for ignorance is the opposite of knowledge...

Religion and science walk hand in hand, and any religion contrary to science is not the truth...

Religions, races, and nations are all divisions of man’s making only, and are necessary only in his thought; before God there are neither Persians, Arabs, French nor English; God is God for all, and to Him all creation is one...

Women have equal rights with men upon earth; in religion and society they are a very important element. As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs...