adminflowers of different colours, charm and beauty and shrubs and trees of different types and sizes.
Similarly, the variety of colour and culture enriches the world of humanity.
According to the Baha’i Writiings: “The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.”
And, emphasising that “If you meet those of different race and colour from yourself, do not mistrust them and withdraw yourself into your shell of conventionality, but rather be glad and show them kindness.
“Think of them as different coloured roses growing in the beautiful garden of humanity, and rejoice to be among them.”
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.
The principle of human oneness is not just another vague hope or slogan. It reflects rather an eternal spiritual, moral and physical reality. However, racism and xenophobia are still persisting in our societies.
The Bahá’í International Community, in its statement issued at the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Xenophobia, held in Durban in 2001, states that: “Racism originates not in the skin, but in the human mind. Remedies to racial prejudice, xenophobia and intolerance must accordingly address first and foremost those mental illusions that have for so many thousands of years given rise to false concepts of superiority and inferiority among human populations.
“At the root of all forms of discrimination and intolerance is the erroneous idea that humankind is somehow composed of separate and distinct races, peoples or castes, and that those sub-groups innately possess varying intellectual, moral, and/or physical capacities, which in turn justify different forms of treatment.
“The reality is that there is only the one human race. We are a single people, inhabiting the planet Earth, one human family bound together in a common destiny, a single entity created from one same substance . . .”
Recognition of our oneness helps us overcome not only racial and ethnic prejudices, and xenophobia, but to go beyond intermediate concepts of tolerance and acceptance of other races and cultures.
Although tolerance is an important stepping-stone to humanity’s long-desired goal of building a peaceful, just and unified world, but it is not sufficient for eliminating such deeply rooted problems as racism and xenophobia.
The Bahá’í concept of the oneness of humanity goes beyond mere tolerance, and advocates a change in our attitudes, and requires that an active effort be made towards establishing genuine unity among the races.
The natural diversity of temperament and talents among individuals as well as humanity’s varied and rich experiences, cultures and viewpoints contributes to the human family’s progress and well-being.
The immense wealth of cultural diversity achieved over thousands of years is vital to the development of the human race which is experiencing its collective coming-of-age.
It represents a heritage that enriches us all and that must be permitted to bear its fruit in a global civilisation.
We should therefore, value our differences and the cultural characteristics of various groups in our society. This is necessary for us to achieve unity in diversity.
Acceptance of the concept of unity in diversity implies the development in the individual of a global consciousness and a love for humanity as a whole.
In this regard, each individual needs to understand that, since the body of humankind is one and indivisible, each member of the human race is born into the world as a trust of the whole and that the advantage of the part in a world society is best served by promoting the advantage of the whole.
Besides, achievement of unity in diversity in our societies and the unification of humanity calls for fundamental changes in all aspects of behaviour – individual, interpersonal, corporate, and international; and by overcoming any lingering feelings of racism or prejudice that we may, consciously or unconsciously, harbor.
Any well-intentioned group can devise practical solutions to the problems facing humanity.
However, good intentions and practical knowledge are usually not enough. It is through the spiritual principles that one can find solutions for social problem.
A spiritual solution induces an attitude, a dynamic, a will, an aspiration, which facilitates the discovery and implementation of practical measures.
Solutions to the problem of racism and xenophobia, overcoming our various prejudices, and accepting the oneness of humanity require profound change of heart and a new mind-set.
Online Reporter