Attaining Happiness on a Global Scale

We tend to think of happiness as an individual phenomenon—but have you ever contemplated the possibility of global happiness? Baha’is all over the world work toward that goal.

Yes, humanity faces many difficult challenges, and we must resolve them before we attain true and lasting global happiness in its fullness. As we proceed on our life journey, though, the Baha’i teachings remind us that happiness is the birthright of the entire human race:

As for the spiritual perfections they are man’s birthright and belong to him alone of all creation. Man is, in reality, a spiritual being, and only when he lives in the spirit is he truly happy. – Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 72.

Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, promised that we could attain that worldwide happiness if we responded to the new message of his revelation:

In every age and cycle He hath, through the splendorous light shed by the Manifestations of His wondrous Essence, recreated all things, so that whatsoever reflecteth in the heavens and on the earth the signs of His glory may not be deprived of the outpourings of His mercy, nor despair of the showers of His favors. How all-encompassing are the wonders of His boundless grace! Behold how they have pervaded the whole of creation. – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 62.

A new religious revelation impacts us much more than we might imagine. Its influence pervades the entire world and every human soul, recreating us: “A new life is, in this age, stirring within all the peoples of the earth ….” – Ibid., p. 196.

Such a stirring is directly connected with the peoples of the world, who passionately desire to express the vision, will, and purpose that has been infused into their souls as a result of the divine law of re-creation:  

The World Order of Baha’u’llah is the divinely ordained system for which nations and peoples so desperately search. Hailed by the Bab in the Persian Bayan, its foundational features prescribed by Baha’u’llah Himself, this Order is without precedent in human history for its standard of justice and its commitment to the practical realization of the oneness of mankind, as well as for its capacity to promote change and the advancement of world civilization. It provides the means by which the Divine Will illumines the path of human progress and guides the eventual establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. – The Universal House of Justice, 25 March, 2007.

This means that humanity, as a collective, cannot achieve mutual happiness unless and until we fully implement the terms of civilization building as contained within the revelation of the age.

As humankind matures and awareness of the non-material dimension advances—especially as it relates to humanity’s well-being, peace, security and comprehensive development—attaining global happiness will inevitably attract increasing attention. For as humanity advances intellectually and spiritually, we will undoubtedly realize that there is no greater happiness for the human family than to harmonize with the vision, will, and purpose that stirs within its being as a result of the penetrating power of Baha’u’llah’s revelation.

Given the far-reaching implications of this new revelation, especially as it relates to the importance of appreciating our true spiritual nature and the path humanity on a whole is treading towards true and lasting happiness, we may want to meditate on this potent passage from the Baha’i writings:

The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men. The advent of such a Revelation hath been heralded in all the sacred Scriptures. Behold how, notwithstanding such an announcement, mankind hath strayed from its path and shut out itself from its glory.

Say: O ye lovers of the One true God! Strive, that ye may truly recognize and know Him, and observe befittingly His precepts. – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 5.