e origin has endowed
it. As the century drew to its close, the convergence of these two
historical developments became increasingly apparent.

_Century of Light_, prepared under our supervision, reviews these two
processes and the relationship between them, in the context of the Baha'i
Teachings. We commend it to the thoughtful study of the friends, in the
confidence that the perspectives it opens up will prove both spiritually
enriching and of practical help in sharing with others the challenging
implications of the Revelation brought by Baha'u'llah.

The Universal House of Justice

_Naw-Ruz, 158 b.e._

CENTURY OF LIGHT

The twentieth century, the most turbulent in the history of the human
race, has reached its end. Dismayed by the deepening moral and social
chaos that marked its course, the generality of the world's peoples are
eager to leave behind them the memories of the suffering that these
decades brought with them. No matter how frail the foundations of
confidence in the future may seem, no matter how great the dangers looming
on the horizon, humanity appears desperate to believe that, through some
fortuitous conjunction of circumstances, it will nevertheless be possible
to bend the conditions of human life into conformity with prevailing human
desires.

In the light of the teachings of Baha'u'llah such hopes are not merely
illusory, but miss entirely the nature and meaning of the great turning
point through which our world has passed in these crucial hundred years.
Only as humanity comes to understand the implications of what occurred
during this period of history will it be able to meet the challenges that
lie ahead. The value of the contribution we as Baha'is can make to the
process demands that we ourselves grasp the significance of the historic
transformation wrought by the twentieth century.

What makes this insight possible for us is the light shed by the rising
Sun of Baha'u'llah's Revelation and the influence it has come to exercise
in human affairs. It is this opportunity that the following pages address.

I

Let us acknowledge at the outset the magnitude of the ruin that the human
race has brought upon itself during the period of history under review.
The loss of life alone has been beyond counting. The disintegration of
basic institutions of social order, the violation--indeed, the
abandonment--of standards of decency, the betrayal of the life of the mind
through surr