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Unity is inseparable from maturity. Unity requires maturity, and the unity of human life on this planet was not possible until now because mankind as a whole had not matured sufficiently to receive a revelation from God that would enable it to realize its God ordained Unity. The Unity of mankind is implied and taught in all the great religions of history, but only in our time, as ordained by God through the Revelation of the Christ Returned, will its unity be realized. The Central Mission and Purpose of the Baha'i Faith is to bring about the Unity of Mankind. When the Baha'i Teachings speak of the Maturity of Humanity and the Realization In our time of the Unity of Mankind, they are speaking of a process, and not of any one sudden event. Do we, as individuals, become mature all at once? Does it happen, suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, so to speak? Do we cease, all at once, one day, to be children, and the next day become adults? Don't we continue to live many years in the twilight between childhood and Maturity, neither children nor adults but something in between, struggling to understand and adjust to the forces of change within us and to see clearly either ourselves or others because we lack the adequate awareness and calm, clear eyed insight of mature wisdom and guidance? This time in History is the twilight of adolescence and troubled youth from which mankind today is trying to awaken into the God ordained Light of Interdependence and mutual love. We must awaken from the sometimes fruitful, but too often deluded, dream of self conceit and aggrandizement that has characterized the ill advised and obsessive quest for pride, power, and prosperity which has hitherto bewitched, seduced, and entranced humanity into forgetfulness of its own proper nobility, its true purpose, and its God. This maturity of humanity and impending Unity of mankind is a consummation which honors, cherishes, and preserves all the positive achievements and contributions of human beings throughout history, and, as a consummation, is inconceivable and impossible without all that has gone before it. The meaning of the Unity of Mankind from a Baha'i perspective has been clarified and explained both by the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith in a communication written in 1931, and again by 'Abdu'l-Baha, through a beautiful analogy, that he related in a public talk : (125:1) Let there be no misgivings as to the animating purpose of the world-wide Law of Baha'u'llah. Far from aiming at the subversion of the existing foundations of society, it seeks to broaden its basis, to remold its institutions in a manner consonant with the needs of an ever-changing world. It can conflict with no legitimate allegiances, nor can it undermine essential loyalties. Its purpose is neither to stifle the flame of a sane and intelligent patriotism in men's hearts, nor to abolish the system of national autonomy so essential if the evils of excessive centralization are to be avoided. It does not ignore, nor does it attempt to suppress, the diversity of ethnical origins, of climate, of history, of language and tradition, of thought and habit, that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world. It calls for a wider loyalty, for a larger aspiration than any that has animated the human race. It insists upon the subordination of national impulses and interests to the imperative claims of a unified world. It repudiates excessive centralization on one hand, and disclaims all attempts at uniformity on the other. Its watchword is unity in diversity such as 'Abdu'l-Baha Himself has explained: (125:2) "Consider the flowers of a garden. Though differing in kind, color, form and shape, yet, inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm and addeth unto their beauty. How unpleasing to the eye if all the flowers and plants, the leaves and blossoms, the fruit, the branches and the trees of that garden were all of the same shape and color! Diversity of hues, form and shape enricheth and adorneth the garden, and heighteneth the effect thereof. In like manner, when divers shades of thought, temperament and character, are brought together under the power and influence of one central agency, the beauty and glory of human perfection will be revealed and made manifest. Naught but the celestial potency of the Word of God, which ruleth and transcendeth the realities of all things, is capable of harmonizing the divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas and convictions of the children of men." World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 41
(125:3)
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