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All religions have the major aim of bringing people together
by activating forces of goodwill that overcome barriers of prejuduce
and selfishness. The teachings of Bahá'u'lláh promote
love and unity amongst the entire human race. He declared:
We, verily, have come to unite
and weld together all that dwell on earth.
Various stages of unity have been created in the past, such
as the unity of the family, of the tribe, of the city, and of the nation. In
our age, unity needs to be achieved on a global scale. Christ stated 2000 years
ago: "Love thy neighbour as thyself." In
our times, the whole world has become a single neighbourhood,
a "global village" — therefore our neighbours
are everyone on the planet.
The principle of the oneness of humanity implies many
things. On a personal level, it calls on us to treat others kindly and without
prejudice, regardless of their skin-colour, gender, creed, nation, degree of material
civilization, or other essentially superficial differences.
Scientifically,
there is only one human species. This fact has been established by
anthropology, physiology, and psychology. Therefore, every distinction that
enables people to consider themselves inherently superior to others is based on
false ideas. Furthermore, an attitude of superiority to other races and nations
is one of the main causes of conflict and disorder between different groups of
people.
In order to build a peaceful world, individual prejudices
need to be overcome. However, this by itself is not enough. The principle of
the oneness of humanity also needs to be applied in an organized way to every
aspect of society, including its laws, its economic life, its political
systems, the education of children, and every other facet of civilisation.
Indeed, the trend towards implementing the oneness of
humanity is gathering momentum in every country in very many ways. To take one
example, through the influence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
the rights of every person to have his or her basic needs met, ranging from the
right to freedom of conscience to the right to adequate shelter, are gradually
being incorporated in the laws of most countries.
Even more significant than these important reforms is the
need to greatly strengthen the relationships between states and nations. The
competing interests of the different countries tend to generate a kind of
international anarchy, so international laws and systems are needed to balance
those interests. For this reason, global institutions such as the United
Nations must be vastly enhanced in their functioning and supported by ample
resources.
An effective structure needs to be established for
preventing war. Peace is not only possible but necessary and even inevitable.
To achieve it requires a universally agreed process for dispute resolution,
with a strong international force to police it. There also needs to be a
determined effort to address the basic underlying causes of war, such as
poverty, lack of education, degradation of the environment, power imbalances
between men and women, and all other forms of injustice. Bahá'u'lláh's
recommendations on this subject are discussed in more detail in the section of
this website headed Vision of Peace.
Bahá'u'lláh foretold a future
golden age when not only will war be abolished and the planet be economically
and politically integrated, but it will also be spiritually united. When that
time comes, everyone will be fully and joyfully aware of being part of one
human family, and will harmoniously join together in worshipping the one God of
all. The ultimate purpose of Bahá'u'lláh's mission is
to bring about this glorious vision of the organic unity of the whole body of
nations — which represents the coming of age of the human race.
The human race has passed through its collective infancy and
childhood. The current turbulent period is akin to its adolescence. We must
soon emerge into adulthood.
To be involved in building world unity, Bahá'u'lláh
said, is the highest aim that anyone can have:
The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is he that ariseth
to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds
of the earth. In another passage He hath proclaimed: 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.
Quotations in context
Click on the links below to search for quotations from
this page, in the Bahá'í reference library.
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