Chapter Notes

1

This is one of the most celebrated statements of Bahá'u'lláh, and can be found in a number of his works. See, for example, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. Trans. Shoghi Effendi (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1976), 250.

2

The reader should note that the word ``species'' is used here in its technical biological meaning, and not in any other. The word also appears in provisional English translations of some original Bahá'í documents in Persian, where the intended meaning is possibly very different from the biological one. These texts were not translated into English by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, so it is conceivable that future translations may use a word other than ``species'' to clear the ambiguity. The following comment, taken from Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, clearly supports the view that this word has two very different meanings: The word ``species'' is used here to explain the distinction which has always existed between men and animals, despite outward appearances. It should not be read with its current specialized biological meaning. See J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, 5th rev. ed. (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1987), 206.

3

The Promise of World Peace. A statement of the Universal House of Justice addressed to the peoples of the world, dated October 1985.

4

Foundations of World Unity (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1979), 92.

5

Paris Talks: Addresses given by `Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1911-1912 (London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1972), 138-40.

6

The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi. Ed. R. K. Prabhu and U. R. Rao (Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House, 1967), 8.

7

The Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1978), 67-68

8

The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: Volume Four (the Basic Works). Ed. Shriman Narayan (Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House, 1968), 59-60.

9

The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi, 101.

10

Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1992).

11

The word untouchable refers to people who were considered ritually unclean and who typically cleaned the human waste in ``latrines.'' Gandhi believed that the practice of untouchability was a ``blot on Hinduism'' (Young India, April 27, 1921) and that it had no genuine religious basis. He renamed them harijans (born of God) and worked hard to integrate them into the rest of society.

12

The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita According to Gandhi. Ed. Mahadev Desai (Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House, 1984).

13

Gandhi's translation of the Gita shows that he was not against the caste system in principle. Rather, he upheld its philosophical and religious basis. There are numerous instances of his giving moral support to the caste system, e.g. his views on intermarriage, etc.

14

Jawaharlal Nehru. Discovery of India (London: Meridian Books, 1960).

15

The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita According to Gandhi, 102-3.

16

The Gospel of Selfless Action or The Gita According to Gandhi, 99.

17

Bahá'u'lláh, A statement prepared by the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information New York.

18

Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1991), 41-2.

19

Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1988), 129.

20

The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi, 348.

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