Oneness of Humanity

Q.  What was the origin of the global expressions of appreciation; service and sacrifice we all saw during this pandemic?  Could it be that we realized on some level our burgeoning understanding of oneness?  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of Bahá’u’lláh, wrote extensively about this teaching of Bahá’u’lláh….

“A  fundamental teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is the oneness of the world of humanity. Addressing mankind, He says, “Ye are all leaves of one tree and the fruits of one branch.” By this it is meant that the world of humanity is like a tree, the nations or peoples are the different limbs or branches of that tree, and the individual human creatures are as the fruits and blossoms thereof.

The oneness of humanity, however, does not imply uniformity. Rather, the Bahá’í writings affirm the principle of unity in diversity. More than the mere tolerance of differences or celebration of superficial aspects of diverse cultures, the diversity of the human family should be the cause of abiding love and harmony, “as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.”

                                                                         (‘Abdu’l-Bahá-Paris Talks )

The fundamental principle of the oneness of humankind requires a profound development in our thinking: “If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the minds of all men.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá)

Ultimately, the power to transform the world is effected by love, love originating from the relationship with the divine, love ablaze among members of a community, love extended without restriction to every human being. This divine love, ignited by the Word of God is disseminated by enkindled souls through intimate conversations that create new susceptibilities in human hearts, open minds to moral persuasion, and loosen the hold of biased norms and social systems so that they can gradually take on a new form of keeping with the requirements of humanity’s age of maturity. You are channels for this divine love; let it flow through you to all who cross your path. Infuse it into every neighbourhood and social space in which you move to build capacity to canalize the society-building power of Baha’u’llah’s Revelation

(Universal House of Justice)

Overcoming Racism

In 1921, as race relations were quickly deteriorating in the United States, Abdu’l-Baha launched a public Bahai initiative to assist America in applying the Baha’i principle of the oneness of humankind to the racial issues confronting it. A series of Race Amity Conferences were undertaken. Abdu’l-Baha demonstrated both in words and deeds throughout His time in America how we should behave towards each other. 

Throughout his U.S. visit, he swept aside the social protocol of segregation by insisting that every place where he spoke be open to people of all races. In New York City at the Great Northern Hotel on 57th Street, where a banquet had been arranged in his honor, the manager vehemently refused to allow any blacks on the property. Abdu’l-Baha remedied the situation by hosting a second banquet the following day at the home of one of his followers, with many whites serving blacks — a subversive, even dangerous notion at the time.  

 “Intense is the hatred, in America, between black and white, but my hope is that the power of the Kingdom will bind these two in friendship, and serve them as a healing balm.”

 For 239 days, from 11 April to 5 December 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Baha traversed the north American continent, continuing an extraordinary journey that had already taken him to Egypt, England, France, and Switzerland. He called on America to become a land of spiritual distinction and leadership and gave a powerful vision of America’s spiritual destiny — to lead the way in establishing the oneness of humanity.

 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá challenged America to go beyond tolerance, to embrace diversity completely, and to demolish racial barriers in law, education and even marriage.

How sad it is that we have still failed to fully understand and realize this vision. Recent events in both the U.S. and Canada have galvanized us to study more deeply the guidance we received.

A meditation on Overcoming Racism has now been added to our website. We encourage you to read and reflect. It can be found in our section on about/main principles.