“We work and pray for the unity of mankind, that all the races of the earth may become one race, all the countries one country, and that all hearts may beat as one heart, working together for perfect unity and brotherhood.” (Abdu’l-Bahá)
At present, the world is very divided. We often talk about “East” and “West”, as political rivals. The economic division has “North” and “South”. We have a permanent struggle between democracy and autocracy. As well as the various divisions between countries, there is a political struggle between “left” and “right” within many countries. At the same time, the world is also divided on the basis of religion. Compared to political divisions, religious divides are more closely related to the perceived culture of each area, and lead directly to conflict in some parts of the world. There is even rivalry inside some of the largest religions, between one group and another. Nationalism can also become a problem when taken to extremes. Gaining advantage for your own country obviously means disadvantaging the rest of mankind. There are other divisions: for example between materialism and spirituality; or between honesty and corrupt practices.
In contrast to all of the above divisions, the Bahá’í Faith declares the need for unity. But it is necessary to explain what the Bahá’í concept of unity really means. For a Bahá’í it means the conviction that all human beings are essentially of one kind, one people. This realisation that we are all related changes the way we perceive everything. This idea – that we all belong to one people, that we are all essentially an extended family – changes the way in which we perceive every situation and every “problem”. This concept of unity necessarily transcends every type of cultural division. It transcends differences of upbringing, of religious affiliation, of nationality, race, language, level of education, disability, gender, economic level, etc. In the case of those divisions that involve moral issues – for example the one involving honesty and dishonesty - the Bahá’í position is that society will need to lift people up in their aspirations, to have noble ideals.
In order to allow this overarching concept of unity to develop in practice, there needs to be a set of widely proclaimed principles adopted by society. Bahá’u’lláh set out just such principles in His writings, for just this purpose. For example, there should be equality of opportunity for women and men. The abandonment of prejudices should become a worldwide goal. A world language and script should be chosen and used alongside people’s mother tongues. There should be a universal peace treaty, incorporating international rules of behaviour. All the major world religions should be recognised as part of the same pattern of divine guidance. There should be a spiritual solution to the economic problem, meaning that all decisions concerning the distribution of wealth should be taken in the light of spiritual principles, such as justice and consideration for others.
The words “unity” and “oneness” describe inter-related concepts. To achieve unity, mankind needs to adopt the idea of oneness – that all human beings are part of an extended family and need to work together. This sort of unity needs to simply accept that there is endless diversity between members of this human family – in temperament, in opinions, in looks, in capacity and in interests. This can be summed up in the watchword “unity in diversity”. We are not – and never will be – all the same, but we can accept one another as equals, and can appreciate that it is the differences between us which make life interesting. Those people who have skills and ambitions which mean that they can create wealth will be able to accept that other people have different skills which are just as useful to society. Those who are blessed with material wealth will feel an obligation to share some of that wealth. Craftsmanship will be recognised for its own sake. Those with scientific and artistic temperaments will be able to recognise one another’s talents and appreciate one another. Spiritual goals will be cherished by everybody, and will help to transcend the differences between people. This is real unity.
Many years ago, Bahá’u’lláh wrote: “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.” We need to turn this light on.
