Unity in Diversity
Men and Women are Equal Partners
“And amongst the realms of unity is the unity of rank and station. It redoundeth to the exaltation of the Cause, glorifying it amongst all peoples. Ever since the seeking of preference and distinction came into play, the world hath been laid waste. It hath become desolate. Those who have quaffed from the ocean of divine utterance and fixed their gaze upon the Realm of Glory should regard themselves as being on the same level as the others and in the same station. Were this matter to be definitely established and conclusively demonstrated through the power and might of God, the world would become as the Abha Paradise.
“Indeed, man is noble, inasmuch as each one is a repository of the sign of God. Nevertheless, to regard oneself as superior in knowledge, learning or virtue, or to exalt oneself or seek preference, is a grievous transgression. Great is the blessedness of those who are adorned with the ornament of this unity and have been graciously confirmed by God.”
(Baha’u’llah, quoted in Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963—1986, no. 206.3a-3b, William Hatcher,( Love, Power and Justice, p 24))
Did you know that the English word woman, means man with a womb? Did you notice that he and she both contain the term he? This is why man and he refer to humanity in general, as well as, to the male gender. Its not a conspiracy against women, its a feature of the semantics of the English language.
The issue of bullying has very little to do with race or gender. Its like cancer. Its our self respect, growing out of control. The truth is that in order to have a truly healthy sense of self-respect, we must have an equally healthy sense of respect for all the people around us.
The equality of men and women is an inherent attribute of human nature. There are obviously some physical differences. However, the souls of men and women are identical.
When resources are limited, women should be given first priority in education, because they are the primary educators of children. Other than that, men and women should have exactly equal rights in all human endeavors.
The equality of men and women does not mean that men and women cannot have separate facilities, clubs and activities and stuff like that, or that organizations cannot set their own rules for membership. It doesn’t mean that the social roles that men and women play in our culture are interchangeable. Men and women are different, physiologically, psychologically and socially.
The equality of men and women just means that men and women are in fact, equal partners, and should be treated that way. Unity in diversity means that, equality does not mean uniformity.
Racial Harmony
Its not the racism that’s important today. All races were racist. That’s actually kind of natural. We like our familiar friends and neighbors and are wary of people who look and act differently. “Those strangers don’t have the same cultural values that we have.” Every race has that provincial attitude in their culture. Its natural.
Back in the days, my Celtic ancestors were worried about my Viking or Saxon ancestors coming and wiping out the whole village. Racism is just one particular kind of provincialism. I’m not saying it is right, I’m just saying it is natural. Overcoming that deeply ingrained survival instinct is not easy.
The American Revolution has helped to abolished that attitude. Gradually, not instantly. The United States fought an extremely violent war to force the end of slavery. We practically ordered the Europeans to abandon their colonies after World War II and help us create the global federation of self governing nations that we have now. We all need time to develop honorable traditions, so that we can all have a healthy sense of self esteem.
We’ll need to develop some universally common values. The Baha’i Faith can serve that purpose. Our one common faith will gradually transform all of these diverse cultures and traditions, nations, races and religions into one universal and divine civilization.
It’s the content of our character, not the color of our skin, or our gender, which is important [paraphrasing MLK]. Are we being helpful and harmless in our voluntary actions? Or are we causing trouble, harming people and being selfish and destructive?
This trend of having laws that require us to treat Indians and black people different than other people, are counter productive to our universal human rights. We really need to be treating all people of every nation, race and religion exactly the same.
Patriotism
The issue of national citizenship is another issue that we’ll need to resolve. I figure that if we just open the gates and let anyone who wants to come to America come; at first, America would probably be overwhelmed. Many of our official institutions would probably be swept away. However, the culture of personal responsibility and self-determination, family values and free enterprise will prevail.
Everyone just needs to understand that it is the Constitutional rule of law, which has unleashed the free enterprise of the American people, which has produced all this material progress. We have a right to defend that rule of law and immigrants should respect that rule of law.
I think most people still respect the rule of law. Many people have an attitude of contempt for the rule of law and then complain that they are not prospering. Investigate, understand and follow the rules of this civilization, in order to thrive in this civilization.
It’s not all about selfish competition either. It’s about self-determination and free enterprise. Trade. Americans like to trade and play with everyone. We do not like to fight, but we can if we need to.
Selfish ambition is not a noble attribute of human nature; it’s a pathological disorder of our natural appetite and our self-respect, like cancer is a runaway growth of cells that can kill us. Self-centeredness is a lack of moral education, spiritual blindness, about the true nature of human beings.
We are all inherently precious, noble creatures, honorable citizens of the United Nations. Altruism and teamwork are features of consciousness that are developed to a far greater extent in human nature, than in any other creature on earth.
The lack of moral and spiritual education prevents us from developing our natural and healthy potential. Animal passion and carnal desire are natural instincts that civilized human beings regulate with our moral values and spiritual principles. Allowing our instincts and emotions to run wild is not freedom. It’s anarchy, a dehumanizing, barbaric perversion of human nature. Oppressive mob rules is the inevitable companion of anarchy.
The rule of law is a feature of human consciousness that must be learned and activated by education. Learning the rules of grammar and language enables us to understand each other. These natural laws of language enable us to think, to have abstract ideas and to communicate with each other.
Education and submission to the rule of law, revealed by Almighty God and His Apostle, is an inherent attribute of human nature and civilization. Anarchy, selfish ambition and competition are not. Competition is natural. It is also uncivilized.
Racial and ethnic harmony and the equality of men and women are central tenets of the divine Rule of Law revealed by Baha’u’llah. They just make sense. They are reasonable and rational observations and explanations about human nature and civilization.
Culture
Everyone wants to be important. Every child cries out for his or her mother’s attention. Asking for help is a very natural and healthy instinct. Insisting on being more or less important than other people is another, pathological corruption of human consciousness.
The cultural diversity of the human race is a great strength of human nature and civilization. We complement each other very well. Today, a diverse assortment of ancient and more recent civilizations are coming together into one global federation of nations.
These civilizations are clashing, because they are coming together. The social and cultural diversity is actually a good thing, however, it is causing conflict and contention as we, the people of earth, fight over social and cultural values.
Peacekeeping is the highest priority of our United Nations. Conflict and contention are strictly forbidden in the Baha’i Faith.
Western civilization needs to return to our moral and spiritual foundation. I also agree with the high regard that western civilization has for democracy and human rights. The rights of individual people, communities and our one universal commonwealth all need to be nurtured and protected.
We, the people of earth, are consulting on many levels about how to create unity in diversity throughout human nature and civilization. The Revelation of Baha’u’llah is the initial impulse, attracting the human race to converge into one universal and divine civilization.
In fact, the Baha’i Faith is the indispensable spiritual foundation of human nature and civilization. While our secular institutions can and are making progress toward developing an honorable human civilization, the Baha’i Faith, and only the Baha’i Faith, can complete the mystical transformation of human nature and civilization, into one holistic super-organism, the universal and divine civilization promised in every religion.
What I mean by that is, before I found out about Baha’u’llah, I had read both the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran. Even though I believe then and now, that both of them are the Word of God, I recognized that same divine Voice in both of them. Before I became a Baha’i, they clashed a little bit. There were a few contradictory ideas. They were like oil and water.
The main contradiction for me is that when I first read The Koran, translated by J.M. Rodwell and published by Everyman, and even though The Koran glorifies Jesus Christ, I remember reading that Jesus Christ was not crucified on the cross. The person who was crucified was an impostor.
Well, I was astonished; considering that Jesus Christ, sacrificing His life on the cross, is the centerpiece of Christianity. He became the ultimate Sacrifice, the divine Substitute for all the sacrificing in the Old Testament. The story in the Koran probably had some meaning that I didn’t understand, and God is greater then I am. I continued to consider myself to be a Christian, while respecting all the other religions I was studying.
After reading Baha’u’llah’s Revelation; all of the religions became dispensations of the one and only, unchanging, eternal Faith of God. They’re like the Old Testament of the Christian religion. Still true and valid and superseded by the New Testament of Jesus Christ. And while Jesus Christ did sacrifice His life to atone for our sins, and He accomplished that once and for all, He did not die on the cross. He lives in the Abha Kingdom and He will always live.
The lesson that the Koran is teaching is that we are rational souls, who temporarily have a body. Our rational soul is created at conception and grows in stages. 9 months or so in our mother’s womb. Then, 75 or so year living life on earth. Then, we are born into the real world, the Abha Kingdom.
Its all about perspective. Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of every human being, past, present and future. Thank God Jesus saved us! The Sovereignty of Jesus Christ will last forever. There is only one Almighty God and Muhammad is His Apostle. Baha’u’llah is the Manifestation of God for today. The Baha’i Faith is the most advanced form of spirituality on earth today.
Many people still choose to remain in a barbaric condition, selfish and materialistic. Many other people choose to improve ourselves and help others. We choose to evolve, intelligently and spiritually.
It’s kind of like the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon Man living together at the same time and place. At first, Cro-Magnon Man was a small minority. Eventually, Neanderthal was selected for extinction and Cro-Magnon Man is our ancestors.
Or that Biblical idea about two people working side by side in a field. One will be taken up into heaven and the other will be left behind. In my opinion, my understanding of the truth, that story is referring to the Baha’is. We work right along side all the other people of earth. We are taken up into heaven by our Faith. The Revelation of Baha’u’llah, the divine education, has caused the mystical transformation of the people of Baha. We’re evolving into a new race of human beings.
Baha’u’llah has unsealed the Seven Seals. The divine education revealed by Baha’u’llah is causing a new race of creatures to evolve. Being taken up is a state of consciousness, not a geographical location.
Like the I Ching (Fu Xi, 300bc) says; we’re in the world, not of the world.
The point is that while we are all inherently equal, we are also free, to choose to improve ourselves, to practice unity in diversity, to cooperate and help each other, or not.
We have instincts that we’ve inherited from our natural history. Civilized human beings regulate the expression of these natural instincts with the moral and spiritual principles, revealed in the Word of God. That divine education and the rule of law contained in it, are the foundation cornerstone of human nature and civilization.
Eliminating religion from our culture will inevitably lead to the end of civilization. There is no substitute for our divine education; it is an inherent and vital feature of sustainable human nature and civilization.
Spiritual reality is not affected by our opinion or our understanding of it. It just is what it is. Just like gravity operates, no matter what we think about it. Investigating various aspects of natural and spiritual reality enables us to learn the rules and follow them to manifest supernatural abilities, like building machines that fly, developing artificial intelligence and cultivating a sustainable, global civilization.