care and tillage bestowed upon them by the gardener.
Therefore, it is not intended that the world of humanity should be left to
its natural state. It is in need of the education divinely provided for
it. The holy, heavenly Manifestations of God have been the Teachers. They
are the divine Gardeners Who transform the jungles of human nature into
fruitful orchards and make the thorny places blossom as the rose. It is
evident, then, that the intended and especial function of man is to rescue
and redeem himself from the inherent defects of nature and become
qualified with the ideal virtues of Divinity. Shall he sacrifice these
ideal virtues and destroy these possibilities of advancement? God has
endowed him with a power whereby he can even overcome the laws and
phenomena of nature, wrest the sword from nature's hand and use it against
nature itself. Shall he, then, remain its captive, even failing to qualify
under the natural law which commands the survival of the fittest? That is
to say, shall he continue to live upon the level of the animal kingdom
without distinction between them and himself in natural impulses and
ferocious instincts? There is no lower degree nor greater debasement for
man than this natural condition of animalism. The battlefield is the acme
of human degradation, the cause of the wrath of God, the destruction of
the divine foundation of man.

Praise be to God! I find myself in an assemblage, the members of which are
peace loving and advocates of international unity. The thoughts of all
present are centered upon the oneness of the world of mankind, and every
ambition is to render service in the cause of human uplift and betterment.
I supplicate God that He may confirm and assist you, that each one of you
may become a professor emeritus in the world of scientific knowledge, a
faithful standard-bearer of peace and bonds of agreement between the
hearts of men.

Fifty years ago Baha'u'llah declared the necessity of peace among the
nations and the reality of reconciliation between the religions of the
world. He announced that the fundamental basis of all religion is one,
that the essence of religion is human fellowship and that the differences
in belief which exist are due to dogmatic interpretation and blind
imitations which are at variance with the foundations established by the
Prophets of God. He proclaimed that if the reality underlying religious
teaching be investigated all religions would be unified, a