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The Vision Of Race Unity
America’s Most Challenging Issue
A Statement by the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá’ís of the United States
The oneness of humanity is the pivot round which revolve all the teachings
of the Bahá’í Faith. It is at once a statement of principle and an assertion
of the ultimate goal of human experience on the planet. More than a century
ago, Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, wrote: “The well-being
of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its
unity is firmly established.” It is a principle that issues naturally from
the genesis and purpose of human existence. The Word of God as presented in
the Bahá’í writings offers compelling insights as in the following examples:
“Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of
My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved
on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.”
“Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should
exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye
were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is
incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat
with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being,
by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment
may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed
ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of
wondrous glory.”
“All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.
The Almighty beareth Me witness: To act like the beasts of the field is
unworthy of man. Those virtues that befit his dignity are forbearance, mercy,
compassion and loving-kindness towards all the peoples and kindreds of the
earth.”
Having gone through the stages of infancy and turbulent adolescence, humanity
is now approaching maturity, a stage that will witness “the reconstruction
and demilitarization of the whole civilized world—a world organically unified
in all the essential aspects of its life.” In no other country is the promise
of organic unity more immediately demonstrable than in the United States because
this country is a microcosm of the diverse populations of the earth. Yet this
promise remains largely unrealized even here because of the endemic racism
that, like a cancer, is corroding the vitals of the nation.
For too much of its history and in so many places the human race has squandered
its energy and resources in futile efforts to prove the unprovable: that one
portion of itself, because of separation by geography, a difference in skin
color, or the diversity of cultural expression, is intrinsically distinct
from another portion. The ignorance and prejudice on which such efforts are
founded have led to endless conflicts in the name of the sanctity of tribe,
race, class, nation, and religion. Paradoxical as it may seem, in the consistency
of these negative efforts across the spectrum of the race, humanity has proved
the exact opposite: it has affirmed its oneness. The proof is in the fact
that, given the same circumstances, all people, regardless of ethnic or cultural
variety, behave essentially the same way. In the futility of its efforts to
classify and separate its diverse elements, humanity has become disoriented
and confused. Unaided by the divine influence of religion, people are incapable
of achieving a proper orientation to their innermost reality and purpose and
are thus unable to achieve a coherent vision of their destiny. It is in this
respect that the Bahá'ís find relevancy, direction, and fulfillment in the
teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of their Faith.
The oneness of humanity is a spiritual truth abundantly confirmed by science.
Recognition of this truth compels the abandonment of all prejudices of race,
color, creed, nation, and class—of “everything which enables people to consider
themselves superior to others.” The principle of the oneness of humankind
“is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and
pious hope.... It does not constitute merely the enunciation of an ideal....
It implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change
such as the world has not yet experienced.”
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| Copyright © 1991 by the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá’ís of the United States— All rights reserved. |
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