Racism is one of the greatest impediments to the unification of mankind and the world
I am not sure who the author of these words is but I am impressed by them:
“Today we have reached a point in human history where, for the first time, the survival of the human species as a whole is being questioned. The world problems that threaten the earthly habitat are mutually exacerbating. They are largely the result of human activities in the past and present. If humanity wants to survive in the future, it must react to this comprehensive threat in the right way. This can only be done in unison and not against each other.
The surest way to achieve this is the political unification of mankind in a federal World Union on the basis of a democratic world legal order”.
The unity of mankind will come
The problems of the future, of which the COVID 19 pandemic is only a foretaste, will force us to do so. As World Citizens, we must recognise that unity does not come automatically. Nor can it be the concern of professional politicians and those in power alone. If the pressure of the problems increases and events turn upside down, there is a real danger of anti-democratic development, even world dictatorship. That would then be the continuation of the history of world wars through world civil wars.
The Unity of Mankind will come
We live in a time in which the absolute necessity of the political unification of mankind is becoming clearer than ever before. Only a united humanity can master the challenges of the future and ensure the survival of the human species. Whoever, for whatever reason, does not want to believe this is from yesterday. Unfortunately, most politicians are still trapped in their national way of thinking. But the number of people who are freeing themselves from it with planetary consciousness is constantly increasing.
(End of quotation)
Though I am impressed with the words in the above article, I do not think a political solution will achieve the objective, only a spiritual solution will achieve this objective, the hearts and minds of the peoples of the world MUST be transformed, this transformation is only possible by humanity adhering to the teachings of God’s Messengers.
In the Kitab-i-Iqan Bahaullah wrote:
“The essence of these words is this: they that tread the path of faith, they that thirst for the wine of certitude, must cleanse themselves of all that is earthly—their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth. They should put their trust in God, and, holding fast unto Him, follow in His way.
Then will they be made worthy of the effulgent glories of the sun of divine knowledge and understanding, and become the recipients of a grace that is infinite and unseen, inasmuch as man can never hope to attain unto the knowledge of the All-Glorious, can never quaff from the stream of divine knowledge and wisdom, can never enter the abode of immortality, nor partake of the cup of divine nearness and favour, unless and until he ceases to regard the words and deeds of mortal men as a standard for the true understanding and recognition of God and His Prophets”
In the context of Progressive Revelation Bahai’s believe that Baha’u’llah is God’s latest Messenger for the age in which we currently live. His Message contains the prescription for, the elimination of all prejudices, and the end of the disparity between wealth and poverty, the equality of men and women, Universal Education.
The teachings of Baha’u’llah are the stepping stones on which humanity can march to the threshold of “World Unity”
“The Prophets of God” He declares “should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity. To none is given the right to question their words or disparage their conduct, for they are the only ones who can claim to have understood the patient and to have correctly diagnosed its ailments”.
Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 80
Howard Colby Ives, in Portals to Freedom, p. 240 wrote
“This complex world is very sick. It is dying from lack of a skilled physician. Its disease is so complicated, so affecting every part and organ, and the attending physicians-the statesman, moralists, and idealists-so ignorant of the underlying causes, that eminent
dissolution is impending. Shall we come to the despairing conclusion that there is no wise Physician? Shall we supinely acquiesce that this dissolution is assured, and stand with watch in hand at the bedside of the dying patient awaiting the inevitable hour? Or shall we, possibly as a last desperate resort, if our faithless souls so wish to call it, turn to One who at least lays claim to ability to diagnose and prescribe? One who declares over and over again in Words of matchless power and eloquence His Divine Power to heal”?
Bahá’u’lláh has proclaimed the oneness of the world of humanity. He has caused various nations and divergent creeds to unite. He has declared that difference of race and color is like the variegated beauty of flowers in a garden. If you enter a garden, you will see yellow, white, blue, red flowers in profusion and beauty — each radiant within itself and although different from the others, lending its own charm to them. Racial difference in the human kingdom is similar. If all the flowers in a garden were of the same color, the effect would be monotonous and wearying to the eye. Therefore, Bahá’u’lláh hath said that the various races of humankind lend a composite harmony and beauty of color to the whole. Let all associate, therefore, in this great human garden even as flowers grow and blend together side by side without discord or disagreement between them.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 68-69
Racism retards the unfoldment 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.
The Universal House of Justice, 1985 Oct, The Promise of World Peace, p. 3
The Harmful effects of racism
From the Bahá’í perspective, racism is one of the most baneful and persistent evils in society. Racial discrimination is baneful because it violates the dignity of human beings. And yet it persists. Racism is poisonous because it cripples its victims, corrupts its perpetrators, and blights human progress. And yet it persists. Why? We believe that racism persists precisely because it is deeply rooted in outdated attitudes and erroneous beliefs. Accordingly, any campaign to eradicate racism must change those attitudes and beliefs.
Bahá’í International Community, 1989 Feb 08, Eliminating Racism
Racism is out of style
