Divine Programme

Christabel Pankhurst, who lived between 1880 and 1958, was a famous suffragette living in England. She was influential not only in the feminist movement, but also wrote a book entitled "Behold He Cometh", which talks about the second coming of Christ. In that book she writes "My practical political eye saw that the Divine Programme (the return of Christ) is absolutely the only one that can solve the international, social, political and other problems of the world" (Sears, William. Thief in the Night. Oxford: 1961)
Some decades before her, that thought was already uttered by Baha'u'llah in the following words: "That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith" (Baha'u'llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 91).

The more i engage in the study of international relations, and specifically conflict studies, the more i see these words confirmed. Many struggles are dead-locked and cannot be solved with our limited means of conflict resolution. The world is desperate: " Father, Father, Father, help us, Send some guidance from above..." (Black Eyed Peas, Where is the Love), is a cry for help all too familiar in our ears.
How can we solve the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis? What will solve the problem of the Basques in Spain? How can the Irish (North and South) be helped? What about Sri Lanka? Kosovo? Korea? How can contending religions be moved to abandon hatred towards each other? Only with the "union of all [the worlds] people in one universal Cause, one common Faith", with a "Divine Programme" that encompasses the world in its entirety.

There are many fields all over the world where society finds itself in a vicious cycle, out of which it can only break with an external influence that is sufficiently powerful. Baha'u'llah has offered His help to all of mankind, yet thus far, majority is either ignorant of it, or has rejected it. Who is to blame for the lack of knowledge of that ultimate medicine? Sure, those that have rejected it have a good share of the blame, but also those of us who were lucky enough to find out about the greatest tool ever given to us have been selfish with this precious gift.
we need to start sharing this message more with others, so that the atrocities in the world may finally come to an end. ultimately we (Baha'is) can hold ourselves responsible for the bad that is happening in the world at large, because we are not fulfilling our duties to the Covenant.