p39bwri On the new online version of the search engine Ocean, with sample on two Great Being statements

 The new online version of the search engine Ocean, specifically version 2.0, gives an unprecedented glimpse into secondary Baha'i literature, that is, books about the Faith. Since we have been studying the "Great Being" statements in the Tablet to Maqsud, I include the following example, from Nader Saiedi, "The Birth of the Human Being: Beyond Religious Traditionalism and Materialist Modernity." The full text (which Ocean 2.0 includes in its results) is available online at: https://bahai-library.com/link/mrWxK/saiedi_birth_human_jbs/

Specifically Saiedi is discussing Great Being statements numbers six and seven, "Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth... It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens." Saiedi proposes that this statement has the following consequences for the baseline from which human ethics will, as a result of this Revelation, operate:

"In this statement Bahá’u’lláh identifies the human being as one who is characterized not by the will to domination but by dedication to the universal interests of the entire human race. Universalistic orientation of service is the defining feature of the human being. In this statement, a social and political interpretation of Darwinism which finds human society a jungle of struggle for existence is replaced by a consciousness of the oneness of humanity, an attitude of service to all human beings, and a morality that is not based upon naturalistic ties of kinship, blood, or habit. That is why Bahá’u’lláh immediately identifies a new sense of morality.

"According to Durkheim, the boundary of morality is the boundary of the social group. Human beings identify themselves collectively in terms of their own group and follow a moral double standard in their behavior towards insiders and outsiders. People outside the group become strangers, objects, and enemies whose domination, enslavement, plunder, and murder are perceived as heroic moral acts. In fact, the premodern definition of human beings was primarily based upon such a conception of humans as members of specific communities and their sense of natural belongingness to the group. However, this “social belongingness” was based upon naturalistic feelings, ties of kinship, and habits of everyday interaction. 

"Such a naturalistic morality was a pact of collective violence against other groups. Rejecting that premodern definition of the human being, Bahá’u’lláh proposes a new sense of morality and honor based upon the universal and rational concept of humanity. We now leave the realm of natural feelings and enter the realm of spirit. Honor is not for the one who loves his own country but rather for the one who loves the entire human race. Such a novel framework requires a new conception of identity, in which human beings are not defined in terms of opposition to others but instead by their mutual interdependence and symbiosis. 

The entire planet Earth becomes the home and neighborhood of a person: the earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens." 

(The Birth of the Human Being: Beyond Religious Traditionalism and Materialist Modernity, by Nader Saiedi, published in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 21:1-4, pages 1-28, Ottawa: Association for Bahá'í Studies North America, 2011)