As we celebrate the International Day of Peace on September 21, it is timely to reflect on how humanity can achieve true well-being, global peace and collective security.
Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, wrote over a hundred years ago: “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established”.
Therefore, unless unity is attained – a unity that embraces and honours the full diversity of humankind – true peace and security will remain out of reach.
Humanity has now reached a new level of maturity and the unification of the human family and the building of a peaceful global society are now possible. However, for the emerging global order to lead us to peace it must be founded on the principle of the oneness of mankind.
We cannot achieve peace without embracing human diversity and the realization that the physical differences, such as skin colour or hair texture, are superficial and have nothing to do with any supposed superiority of one ethnic group or another. We cannot achieve peace without the belief and practice of equal rights, opportunities and privileges for women and men.
Achievement of world peace requires fundamental changes in our behaviour and by overcoming any lingering prejudices – of race, nationality, religion, gender, class, or ethnic origin – that we may, consciously or unconsciously, harbour.
According to the governing council of the Bahá’í international community, “peace stems from an inner state supported by a spiritual or moral attitude, and it is chiefly in evoking this attitude that the possibility of enduring solutions can be found”.
In addition to the recognition of the oneness of humanity, there is need to acquire spiritual values of love, compassion and justice towards all.
We need to love all humanity and not allow our differences to become a cause of division and dispute. The Bahá’í Writings prescribe: “Love ye all religions and all races with a love that is true and sincere and show that love through deeds and not through the tongue; for the latter hath no importance, as the majority of men are, in speech, well-wishers, while action is the best” and “Do not allow difference of opinion, or diversity of thought to separate you from your fellow-men, or to be the cause of dispute, hatred and strife in your hearts. Rather, search diligently for the truth and make all men your friends”.
The Bahá’í Faith envisions a system of collective security within a framework of a global federation. It foresees the creation of a world federation of nations in which all races, creeds and classes are united and the autonomy of its member states, and the personal freedom and initiative of individuals, safeguarded.
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