adminFlora Teckie
Bahá’í Perspective
We can each contribute towards harmony and peace, towards freeing the planet from war, by an awareness that we all belong to one human family, created by one almighty God and that physical differences such as skin colour or hair texture are superficial and have nothing to do with any supposed superiority of one ethnic group or another.
In the Bahá’í view, humanity has reached a new level of maturity and the unification of the human family and the building of a peaceful global society are now possible. However, a number of barriers need to be overcome to achieve global peace.
Racism, in the Bahá’í view, is a major barrier to peace.
As the Universal House of Justice — the governing council of the Bahá’í international community — in a statement entitled ‘The Promise of World Peace’, asserts: “Racism, one of the most baneful and persistent evils, is a major barrier to peace. Its practice perpetrates too outrageous a violation of the dignity of human beings to be countenanced under any pretext.
Racism retards the unfolding of the boundless potentialities of its victims, corrupts its perpetrators, and blights human progress. Recognition of the oneness of mankind, implemented by appropriate legal measures, must be universally upheld if this problem is to be overcome”.
Recognition of the oneness of humanity is a necessity.
Racism can be eliminated only when the people worldwide are convinced of the oneness of humanity, and proceed to reconstruct their lives and their societies on that basis.
The principle of human oneness is not just another vague hope or slogan.
It reflects rather an eternal spiritual, moral and physical reality and any new thinking about peace must begin with the belief in the oneness of humanity.
We need to accept that we are one human species and that we all belong to one human family, created by one almighty God.
The reality of human oneness is fully endorsed by science. Anthropology, physiology, psychology, sociology and genetics all confirm that there is only one human species, although infinitely varied in the secondary aspects of life.
In the Bahá’í view, for the emerging global order to lead us to peace, it must be founded on the principle of the oneness of humankind.
This principle, once accepted and affirmed as a common understanding provides the practical basis for the organisation of relationships between nations.
Furthermore, the increasingly apparent interconnectedness of development, security, and human rights on a global scale, confirms that peace and prosperity are indivisible.
The belief and implementation of the principle of the oneness of humanity will not be in conflict with legitimate loyalties, and will not undermine the diversity of ethnic origins that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world.
It is a call for a wider loyalty to the human race and its watchword is “unity in diversity”.
To treat others as we wish to be treated “The principle of the oneness of humankind,” in the Bahá’í view, “lies at the heart of the exhortation that we should treat others as we ourselves would wish to be treated. To establish justice, peace and order in an interdependent world, this principle must guide all interactions . . . “
For global peace to be achieved, there is a need for fundamental changes in individual behaviour and by overcoming the prejudices — of race, nationality, religion, gender, class, or ethnic origin.
According to the governing council of the Bahá’í international community, “peace stems from an inner state supported by a spiritual or moral attitude, and it is chiefly in evoking this attitude that the possibility of enduring solutions can be found”.
There is need to acquire spiritual values of love, compassion and justice towards all.
We need to love all humanity and not allow our differences to become a cause of division and dispute. The Bahá’í Writings prescribe: “Love ye all religions and all races with a love that is true and sincere and show that love through deeds and not through the tongue; for the latter hath no importance, as the majority of men are, in speech, well-wishers, while action is the best”.
The abolition of war is, therefore, not simply a matter of signing treaties and protocols, or banning nuclear weapons, prohibiting the use of poison gases and germ warfare. Achievement of world peace requires fundamental changes in our behaviour, and by overcoming any lingering feelings of racism and other prejudices that we may, consciously or unconsciously, harbour. While recognition of the oneness of mankind, the abandonment of all types of prejudice, and acquisition of spiritual values of love and justice are the first requirements of peace, the Bahá’í Faith envisions a system of collective security within a framework of a global federation.
It foresees the creation of a world federation of nations in which all races, creeds and classes are united and the autonomy of its member states, and the personal freedom and initiative of individuals, safeguarded.
Feedback : [email protected] or [email protected]
Online Reporter