the other rapid, sudden and
dramatic. The latter occur at what are called "critical stages" of
development. In the case of minerals we find such critical stages at the
melting and boiling points, for example, when the solid suddenly becomes a
liquid or the liquid becomes a gas. In the case of plants we see such
critical stages when the seed begins to germinate, or the bud bursts into
leaf. In the animal world we see the same on every hand, as when the grub
suddenly changes into a butterfly, the chick emerges from its shell, or
the babe is born from its mother's womb. In the higher life of the soul we
often see a similar transformation, when a man is "born again" and his
whole being becomes radically changes in its aims, its character and
activities. Such critical stages often affect a whole species or multitude
of species simultaneously, as when vegetation of all kinds suddenly bursts
into new life in springtime.

Baha'u'llah declares that just as lesser living things have times of
sudden emergence into new and fuller life, so for mankind also a "critical
stage," a time of "rebirth," is at hand. Then modes of life which have
persisted from the dawn of history up till now will be quickly,
irrevocably, altered, and humanity enter on a new phase of life as
different from the old as the butterfly is different from the caterpillar,
or the bird from the egg. Mankind as a whole, in the light of new
Revelation, will attain to a new vision of truth; as a whole country is
illumined when the sun rises, so that all men see clearly, where but an
hour before everything was dark and dim. "This is a new cycle of human
power," says 'Abdu'l-Baha. "All the horizons of the world are luminous,
and the world will become indeed as a rose garden and a paradise." The
analogies of nature are all in favor of such a view; the Prophets of old
have with one accord foretold the advent of such a glorious day; the signs
of the times show clearly that profound and revolutionary changes in human
ideas and institutions are even now in progress. What could be more futile
and baseless therefore, than the pessimistic argument that, although all
things else change, human nature cannot change?

First Steps Toward Unity

As a means of promoting religious unity Baha'u'llah advocates the utmost
charity and tolerance, and calls on His followers to "consort with the
people of all religions with joy and gladness." In His last Will and
Testament He says:--