Daily Frameworks for 18 August 2023

Istiqlál, 18 Kamál (Perfection), 180 B.E.

One Planet, One Habitation

The World That Beckons

44.0 The gulf between intention and action is one of the central challenges facing humanity today. This gap can be bridged; individuals, communities, and nations are contributing their share toward this goal every day. Yet for action to rise to the scales required, far stronger consensus and collective will among the nations is needed around the values demanded by the current stage of humanity’s development. It also calls for much greater resolve in putting those values into practice, recommitting to that which is beneficial to the common good and discarding whatever stands in the way of answering the moral and practical call of the present hour. This is a high endeavor indeed, and its benefits a priceless legacy that must be left to the generations to come. Let us join together in rising to its demands. ¹

Extract from a Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

… every great Cause in this world of existence findeth visible expression through three means: first, intention; second, confirmation; third, action. Today, on this earth there are many souls who are promoters of peace and reconciliation and are longing for the realization of the oneness and unity of the world of humanity, but this intention needeth a dynamic power so that it may become manifest in the world of being. In this day, the divine instructions and lordly exhortations promulgate this most great aim, and the confirmations of the Kingdom also support and aid the realization of this intention. Therefore, although the combined forces and thoughts of the nations of the world cannot by themselves achieve this exalted purpose, the power of the Word of God penetrateth all things and the assistance of the divine Kingdom is continuous. Erelong it will become evident and clear that the ensign of the Most Great Peace is the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, and the tent of union and harmony among nations is the Tabernacle of the divine Kingdom; for therein the intention, the power, and the action, all three, are brought together. The realization of everything in the world of being dependeth upon these three elements. ²

1. Bahá’í International Community Staff. “One Planet, One Habitation.” International Environment Forum, June 1, 2022. https://www.iefworld.org/2022bic_OPOH. ↩
2. ’Abdu’l-Bahá. Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 2018. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/additional-tablets-extracts-talks/852289782/1#276532460. ↩