The transcendent idea that will save the world
What is the key principle for our survival and flourishing?
Times are tough and even tougher times loom. With problems mounting up, the search for solutions gets more intense. A yearning for some better promise of hope surges and vociferous voices tout options, but many of these are old medicines and no longer effective or never were. Some prescriptions target particular symptoms of social malaise, and these may somewhat pacify one or another situation, at least temporarily, but they can’t overcome the universal trend at this moment towards chaos and confusion, which quickly throws up further menaces. It seems that an acute fever is shaking the body of the world as a whole. No part is going to be safe until we join forces to make everywhere safe.
In the Bahá’í view, the greatest principle underpinning societal progress and happiness is the oneness of humankind. It is because of humanity's fundamental oneness that justice matters, that democracy and freedom matter, and compassion, the rule of law, economic development, and the protection of the environment. The basis of all these values is our intrinsic need for one another; our interconnectedness and interdependence. We can thrive only when we cooperate as members of families, communities and nations in relations of love and reciprocity. In the present day, human interdependence has become global and binds all nations together in a common destiny. Forces that resist this reality are responsible for most of our difficulties. We will be saved by embracing as our highest goal, the unification of the human family.
We see an increasing consciousness that, as Bahá’u’lláh said, “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens”. Sadly, we see on the other hand, increasing outbreaks of opposition to our oneness in the forms of racism, nationalism, religious intolerance and economic exploitation. What drives these reactionary movements? A word that sums it up, I think, is inertia, meaning aversion to change; the unrealistic predilection to carry on as we were before. This mental inertia manifests in holding fast to hoary habits of thought, attachment to inherited privileges, stunted imagination about what is possible for improving our common welfare, and blindness to the fact that our own wellbeing is best assured by improving the welfare of all.
The forces of inertia latch on to ideologies that prioritise the interests of ingroups, sharply dividing humanity into camps, such as workers against capitalists, citizens against foreigners, white against black, believer against nonbeliever, conservative against liberal. Contemporary political discourse strongly focuses on such distinctions and turns up the heat. We hear numerous strident calls to rally to the flag of our ingroup and demonise the other. While the distinctions between groups are real in the sense that humankind is naturally diverse, to bitterly pit ourselves against each other in the name of solidarity with our ingroups is delusory. It results from allowing ourselves to be deceived by false dichotomies. The distinctions between us indicate not separate entities alien to one another and locked into eternal competition, but various specialised elements within the single body of humanity. The way out of our troubles lies in finding ways to erase every kind of artificial hard boundary and increase collaboration between all sectors of society globally.
Yet the outworn dichotomies exert a subtle and pervasive grip on our minds. For instance, many find it farfetched to contemplate the idea of a commonwealth of nations administered by a world federal government. It is widely assumed that the best we can do is continue with the current system of sovereign nations jockeying for position under a loose system of international rules, with resort to war hardly preventable. So much of personal identity is bound to an excessive national pride that represses global consciousness. Many find it unimaginable that the wealthy classes could ever acquire sufficient sense of responsibility to determinedly set about eliminating poverty. There is widespread doubt that racial harmony is achievable and so-called "scientific" racism is rearing its ugly head again. These are just a few examples.
The temptation is to resort to some familiar template as the solution, such as western democracy (or a competing system of government), socialism (or free market capitalism), secularism (or a return to traditional religion). None of these is going to win the day in their present forms, because they are all tied in tightly with entrenched conflicting interests and perspectives. However, aspects of all of humanity's thought systems might eventually be blended into a universally agreed social and moral philosophy. To bring this about, what is needed is an idea that transcends them all, and makes space to incorporate insights from every quarter through rational dialogue, not violence. The central principle of this transcendent idea is the oneness of humankind. Reflection on the oneness of humankind inculcates visionary thinking. It exposes the woeful inadequacy of the present world order and induces confidence that a better world order can, and must, be built. By projecting our minds toward a future united world, we unshackle ourselves from mental limitations about what is possible. We can do much better than imagining merely incremental improvements on things as they are now. This is not to say the world can be changed overnight, but having a grand vision before us enables more energetic daily efforts in a direction that we can be confident is worth pursuing. Vision is the antidote to despair. What could be more supremely meaningful than to contribute to civilisation building efforts that future generations will carry forward in their turn?
The vision of peace among the nations has inspired prophets, poets, philosophers and the popular imagination for thousands of years. In the Bahá’í Sacred Writings it has been elaborated upon more extensively and vividly than ever before. Since the nineteenth century, the Bahá’í community has been putting into practice, and learning how to develop in action, Bahá’u’lláh’s programme for transforming a troubled world into a mature and stable civilisation. There are many movements motivated by love of mankind, marching to the same tune, but for the Bahá’í community, the unification of the planet is its main objective. In my view, the Bahá’í teachings and civilisation-building model provide the clearest and most coherent approach, because Bahá’u’lláh truly had His finger on the pulse of the age, accurately diagnosed its ills and identified the right remedy. I hope that seekers will increasingly turn towards the healing medicine offered by Bahá’u’lláh.
Next essay on this theme: “Stupendous Destination: Joy springs from being spurred by a vision”
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