adminFlora Teckie Correspondent
Unity is the key to addressing our global challenges — such as wars, disputes and displacement of millions of refugees — to mention a few.
However, the impact of such challenges is not necessarily felt by everyone equally, and they are even ignored by those geographically remote from the actual sites of such occurrences and events.
But the new coronavirus which causes Covid-19 is now spreading throughout the world and it has become a global emergency.
We feel its impact wherever we live.
The need for a collective and united effort to overcome our challenges has become increasingly evident.
It is the Bahá’í view that our well-being, peace and security are dependent on our unity as humanity, as Bahá’u’lláh says: “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established”.
Well-being has several connotations, such as, physical, spiritual, mental and emotional well-being. It also implies individual and collective well-being.
Solutions to the challenges humanity is facing will require a globally-accepted vision for the future, based on unity and willing cooperation among the races, nations, creeds, and classes of the human family.
Unity is our collective strength
According to a recent message from the Universal House of Justice, the governing council of the Bahá’í international community, “Seldom has it been more evident that society’s collective strength is dependent on the unity it can manifest in action, from the international stage to the grassroots . . . ”
They further state that: “The world stands more and more in need of the hope and strength of spirit that faith impart”, and that, “humanity will ultimately pass through this ordeal, and it will emerge on the other side with greater insight and with a deeper appreciation of its inherent oneness and interdependence”.
Unity and collaboration within our families, communities and humanity is dependent on acceptance of our oneness as members of one human family.
Bahá’u’lláh compared the world to the human body, to which we can look as a model. Human society is composed of not only a mass of diverse people, but of associations of individuals, each one of whom is bestowed with intelligence and will.
The main principle operating in the human body is that of unity in diversity.
This diversity of form and function is necessary for the life of any complex, well-developed organic entity, such as a human being.
No cell lives apart from the body, whether in contributing to functioning of the body or benefiting from the well-being of the whole.
The same way that the perfect functioning of the human body is due to the unity of diverse cells and organs, so the well-being and well-functioning of body of mankind is dependent on the unity of its diverse elements — of all races, nationalities, tribes and religions.
To accept the oneness of humanity is to embrace the variations that characterise human society, and to desire for every individual the opportunity to develop and express his or her unique capacities and inherent talents.
The governing council of the Bahá’í International Community states: “ . . . the principle of the oneness of humankind, as proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh, asks not merely for cooperation among people and nations. It calls for a complete reconceptualisation of the relationships that sustain society . . . ”
The achievement of the unity of humanity calls for fundamental changes in all aspects of behaviour: individual, interpersonal, corporate, and international and by overcoming any lingering feelings of prejudice that we may, consciously or unconsciously, harbour.
Need for spiritual awareness and responsibility to deal with challenges
There is need to adhere to spiritual principles as the practical bases for social transformation, in order to deal with global challenges.
The betterment of our communities and their unity, ultimately depends on the pure motives and good deeds of individuals – such as compassion, tolerance, justice, love, humility, sacrifice, trustworthiness, and dedication to the well-being of others.
The coming together of the peoples of the world in a harmonious relationship is the most crucial need of today.
The central task now is to lay the foundations of a global society that can reflect the oneness of humanity.
Creating a universal culture of collaboration requires commitment to seeing all people as members of one human family and a return to spiritual awareness and responsibility.
It is the Bahá’í view that belief in the oneness of humanity provides both a unifying vision and the foundation for a new system of values.
Only when we, as individuals, see ourselves as members of one human family, sharing one common global homeland, will we be able to commit ourselves to the far-reaching changes, on both individual and collective levels, which an increasingly interdependent and rapidly changing world necessitates.
In order to overcome our prejudices and to accept of the oneness of humanity, there is a need for a profound change of heart and a new mind-set. It is the power of the Word of God that can produce such a necessary transformation.
For feedback please contact: [email protected] or [email protected] Website: www.bahai.org
Online Reporter