Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892), the founder of the Bahá'í movement, was known to his contemporaries by different descriptions and qualities: some thought of him as an eminent Persian thinker and a distinguished visionary; others considered him a leader of thought and a social reformer; to yet others, he remains the transformative impulse for a global era, the prophetic figure of the nineteenth century. He was the originator and organizer of a systematic, worldwide movement for social, intellectual and spiritual reform. This movement is, today, recognized as the worldwide Bahá'í community.

The Bahá'í community has worked hard for more than a century to, consistently, apply Bahá'u'lláh's holistic world view into practice and to, systematically, try out the solutions he proposed for fundamental social concerns.

One-and-a-half centuries have now elapsed since Bahá'u'lláh first put forth his vision of a united humanity and this vision has, during that period, been experimented and translated into social action by the globally organized Bahá'í community. It is now possible and appropriate for any concerned spectator to explore the ramifications and validity of his proposals.