Oneness of Humanity and Elimination of Prejudice

      

The Bahá’ís: An exploration of the 
history, beliefs, and practices
 of the Bahá’í Faith
A publication of the 
Bahá’í International Community

The conviction that every individual belongs to one human family is at the heart of the Bahá’í Faith. We are all citizens and co-stewards of one planet. A growing awareness of our common heritage and interdependence allows us to strive for unity in our diversity. 

The Bahá’í writings assert that we are “flowers of one garden, leaves of one tree” and share a common purpose— to carry forward an ever-advancing material and spiritual civilization. Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed the oneness of humanity and called for the removal of any cause of division that would lead people to see themselves as “us” and “them.”

“Humanity may be likened unto the vari-colored flowers of one garden. There is unity in diversity. Each sets off and enhances the other’s beauty.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Oneness of Humanity and Elimination of Prejudice

The principle of the oneness of humankind is the central teaching of the Bahá’í Faith. Recognition and acceptance of this principle necessitates the abandonment of prejudice of every kind—race, class, color, gender, creed, nationality, age, material wealth— everything that people have used to consider themselves superior or inferior to others. Indeed, Bahá’u’lláh’s vision for a new civilization inspires people to see themselves as citizens of one common homeland, which is the planet itself.  

Prejudice—false perception—blinds us to the fact that every person is essentially a spiritual being with unique talents and capacities, a “mine rich in gems of inestimable value.”

Bahá’u’lláh compared the world of humanity to the human body. Healthy functioning of the body depends on cooperation. Millions of cells, diverse in form and function, play their part in maintaining health. The body’s various parts do not compete for resources; rather, each cell plays its role in a continuous process of giving and receiving. So it is with individual humans in an intercon- nected world.

Genuine, universal fellowship is a requisite for realizing human unity. According to the Bahá’í writings, “So intense must be the spirit of love and loving kindness, that the stranger may find himself a friend, the enemy a true brother, no difference whatsoever existing between them.”

Truly putting into practice the principle of the oneness of humankind, however, goes beyond overcoming prejudice and awakening the spirit of brotherhood and goodwill. The Bahá’í writings state that “It implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced. It calls for no less than the reconstruction and demilitarization” of the planet, for a “world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life” and yet infinite in its diversity. The writings affirm that attainment of this stage of human evolution “is not only necessary but inevitable.”

Excerpted from The Bahá’ís 
One Human Family

Every person is essentially a spiritual being with unique talents and capacities, "a mine rich in gems of inestimable value."

Acceptance of the oneness of humanity demands that prejudice—whether racial, religious, or gender-related—must be totally eliminated.

Misconceptions and prejudices that consider one group of people as superior to another are a major contributor to humanity’s present afflictions. 

Prejudice is a false perception, or preconception, of others based on ignorance, blinding us to the fact that every person is essentially a spiritual being with unique talents and capacities, Bahá’u’lláh affirms a “mine rich in gems of inestimable value.”

Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets
What Bahá’ís Believe - Elimination of Prejudice

What's required to cast away the fallacious doctinre of racial superiorty?

Pathway to the Shrine of the Báb

 "A tremendous effort is required by both races if their outlook, their manners, and conduct are to reflect, in this darkened age, the spirit and teachings of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. Casting away once and for all the fallacious doctrine of racial superiority, with all its attendant evils, confusion, and miseries, and welcoming and encouraging the intermixture of races, and tearing down the barriers that now divide them, they should each endeavor, day and night, to fulfill their particular responsibilities in the common task which so urgently faces them."

"... Let the white make a supreme effort in their resolve to contribute their share to the solution of this problem, to abandon once for all their usually inherent and at times subconscious sense of superiority, to correct their tendency towards revealing a patronizing attitude towards the members of the other race, to persuade them through their intimate, spontaneous and informal association with them of the genuineness of their friendship and the sincerity of their intentions, and to master their impatience of any lack of responsiveness on the part of a people who have received, for so long a period, such grievous and slow-healing wounds. Let the Negroes, through a corresponding effort on their part, show by every means in their power the warmth of their response, their readiness to forget the past, and their ability to wipe out every trace of suspicion that may still linger in their hearts and minds." 

"Let neither think that the solution of so vast a problem is a matter that exclusively concerns the other. Let neither think that such a problem can either easily or immediately be resolved. Let neither think that they can wait confidently for the solution of this problem until the initiative has been taken, and the favorable circumstances created, by agencies that stand outside the orbit of their Faith."

"Let neither think that anything short of genuine love, extreme patience, true humility, consummate tact, sound initiative, mature wisdom, and deliberate, persistent, and prayerful effort, can succeed in blotting out the stain which this patent evil has left on the fair name of their common country."

Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, 1938
www.bahai.org/r/351186116

“All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.”

Delegates to the 11th International Convention, Haifa, 2013

Humanity, the Bahá’í writings explain, has passed through the stage of childhood and now stands at the threshold of its collective maturity. The revolutionary and far-reaching changes occurring today are characteristic of this period of transition—a time which can be likened to adolescence. In this period, thoughts, attitudes, and habits from humanity’s earlier stages of development are being swept away and new patterns of thought and action which reflect its approaching maturity are gradually taking root. 

‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains: “That which was applicable to human needs during the early history of the race can neither meet nor satisfy the demands of this day, this period of newness and consummation.” He continues: “Man must now become imbued with new virtues and powers, new moral standards, new capacities…The gifts and blessings of the period of youth, although timely and sufficient during the adolescence of mankind, are now incapable of meeting the requirements of its maturity.”

The hallmark of this approaching age of maturity is the unification of the human race. 

Shoghi Effendi writes that, while unity “of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and fully established” world-encompassing unity is “the goal towards which a harassed humanity is striving.” In another passage, he refers to “the inauguration of a world civilization such as no mortal eye hath ever beheld or human mind conceived.” He asks: “Who is it that can imagine the lofty standard which such a civilization, as it unfolds itself, is destined to attain? Who can measure the heights to which human intelligence, liberated from its shackles, will soar? Who can visualize the realms which the human spirit, vitalized by the outpouring light of Bahá’u’lláh, shining in the plenitude of its glory, will discover?”

The emergence of a global civilization prosperous in both its material and spiritual dimensions implies that the spiritual and practical aspects of life are to advance together. Through faith and reason, it becomes possible to discover the powers and capacities latent in individuals and in humanity as a whole, and to work for the realization of these potentialities. Recognition of the fundamental harmony of science and religion also allows for the generation, application, and diffusion of spiritual and material knowledge among all the world’s inhabitants.

Bahá’u’lláh affirms: “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.”

www.Bahai.org

‘Abdu’l-Bahá The Promulgation of Universal Peace
Shoghi Effendi The Promised Day Is Come
Bahá’u’lláh Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

"O Divine Providence! ...Cause them to become the cause of love and concord in the world of humanity..."

Bahá’í House of Worship, Chile

"O Divine Providence! This assemblage is composed of Thy friends who are attracted to Thy beauty and are set ablaze by the fire of Thy love. Turn these souls into heavenly angels, resuscitate them through the breath of Thy Holy Spirit, grant them eloquent tongues and resolute hearts, bestow upon them heavenly power and merciful susceptibilities, cause them to become the promulgators of the oneness of mankind and the cause of love and concord in the world of humanity, so that the perilous darkness of ignorant prejudice may vanish through the light of the Sun of Truth, this dreary world may become illumined, this material realm may absorb the rays of the world of spirit, these different colors may merge into one color and the melody of praise may rise to the kingdom of Thy sanctity."

Verily, Thou art the Omnipotent and the Almighty!

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í Prayers
www.bahai.org/r/627143657

"The principle of the Oneness of Mankind, the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve...implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society..."

Inner Courtyard of the House of ‘Abdu’lláh Páshá

"Let there be no mistake. The principle of the Oneness of Mankind—the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve—is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope.… Its message is applicable not only to the individual, but concerns itself primarily with the nature of those essential relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members of one human family. 

It does not constitute merely the enunciation of an ideal, but stands inseparably associated with an institution adequate to embody its truth, demonstrate its validity, and perpetuate its influence. It implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced. 

It constitutes a challenge, at once bold and universal, to outworn shibboleths of national creeds—creeds that have had their day and which must, in the ordinary course of events as shaped and controlled by Providence, give way to a new gospel, fundamentally different from, and infinitely superior to, what the world has already conceived. 

It calls for no less than the reconstruction and the demilitarization of the whole civilized world—a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language, and yet infinite in the diversity of the national characteristics of its federated units."

Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh
www.bahai.org/r/596242626

"O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home."

Baháʼí House of Worship
Germany

"O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock. Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household. In Thy Holy Presence they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence.

O God! Thou art kind to all, Thou hast provided for all, dost shelter all, conferrest life upon all. Thou hast endowed each and all with talents and faculties, and all are submerged in the Ocean of Thy Mercy.

O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home. May they all live together in perfect harmony.

O God! Raise aloft the banner of the oneness of mankind.

O God! Establish the Most Great Peace.

Cement Thou, O God, the hearts together.

O Thou kind Father, God! Gladden our hearts through the fragrance of Thy love. Brighten our eyes through the Light of Thy Guidance. Delight our ears with the melody of Thy Word, and shelter us all in the Stronghold of Thy Providence.

Thou art the Mighty and Powerful, Thou art the Forgiving and Thou art the One Who overlooketh the shortcomings of all mankind."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í Prayers
www.bahai.org/r/452254361

"Naught but the celestial potency of the Word of God...is capable of harmonizing the divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas and convictions of the children of men.”

Baháʼí Youth Conference
Boston USA July 2013

“Consider the flowers of a garden. Though differing in kind, color, form and shape, yet, inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm and addeth unto their beauty. How unpleasing to the eye if all the flowers and plants, the leaves and blossoms, the fruit, the branches and the trees of that garden were all of the same shape and color! Diversity of hues, form and shape enricheth and adorneth the garden, and heighteneth the effect thereof. In like manner, when divers shades of thought, temperament and character, are brought together under the power and influence of one central agency, the beauty and glory of human perfection will be revealed and made manifest. Naught but the celestial potency of the Word of God, which ruleth and transcendeth the realities of all things, is capable of harmonizing the divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas and convictions of the children of men.”

Bahá’u’lláh, World Order
www.bahai.org/r/365308127