unity of thought and belief
Editorial introduction
In a watchmaker’s shop one person makes the hands, another polishes, another paints, and the watch is perfected because no one tries to do everything. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá used that homely example to show that unity of thought is not sameness but the gathering of different capacities into one purpose. The members of a council must speak their minds with complete freedom, and no one may belittle another’s view; yet once a decision is reached, all must carry it out together, even to the startling point that a united wrong decision is better than a right one held in discord, because in unity the wrong will be corrected. Until minds are united, He says, nothing important, not even peace, can be accomplished. Paul asked the Philippians for the same thing, one accord and one mind joined to humility and care for others [1]. From here the path leads into consultation, the value of diversity of thought and belief, and the love among friends that makes unity in diversity more than a phrase.
Well said. Europe has progressed in this way because their work is not scattered. For instance, in watchmaking, one person makes only the hands, another polishes, another applies paint, and thus they have achieved perfection. Each component of the watch is made by a different person.
Therefore, gather all different thoughts together and unite diverse concerns into a single purpose and aim, that you may fulfill the duties of servitude at the Sacred Threshold.
If they unite on a matter and it is wrong, it is better than if they differ and are right. For this discord leads to the destruction of the divine foundation, even if one of the two sides is right - yet it causes a thousand wrongs. But if they unite and both sides are wrong, because there is unity, eventually the truth will be revealed and wrong will be transformed to right.
The object is: let the meeting be spiritual and productive of unity and harmony, so that when you leave the meeting you may feel much better than when you entered it.
Today, the greatest of all things are love, fellowship, unity, harmony, detachment, freedom, sanctification, purity, sacrifice, and the joy of God's loved ones. If perfect fellowship and pure love are not achieved, all these efforts and hardships will be wasted, and all will ultimately suffer evident loss. The purpose of the manifestation of Truth and the rising of the Sun of Reality is the triumph of the light of God's love, so that the darkness of discord and dissension may vanish from the horizons and spiritual unity may appear. All the friends are as one soul, and all names and attributes are expressions of one person.
O ye friend of Abdu'l-Baha!
The Sun of Truth, that bright Light of the kingdom on high has shone so that we might achieve unity of belief and opinions, oneness of word and deed, singleness of purpose in all circumstances and conditions. Therefore the friends should fix their sights on this underlying oneness of belief, this essential unity in the teachings instead of pursuing their diversity of opinions.
Consequently it is most necessary to bring about such a representative gathering that it may strive with might and main to lay the foundation of the oneness of the world of humanity, to relinquish traditions and dogmas and promulgate the fundamental principles and cardinal doctrines of the great religions of the world.
It is most clear and manifest that national affairs will never revolve around their proper axis until the whole people have received instruction, and public thought has been directed to a single end.
Thereby may every eye be brightened and every heart attain everlasting joy and bliss; thereby may all come together, with tranquil souls and well-assured hearts, beneath the shade of the pavilion of the oneness of humanity; and thereby may eternal peace, har-mony, welfare, and prosperity be realized on earth, for we are all the members of humankind - all the servants of one loving God.
"The Kingdom of God is like a tailor, and nations and sects are like pieces of cloth or materials; each nation or sect is a special material and now the real tailor is relating or connecting these materials to each other. We hope that before long there will be made a Divine robe out of these nations or materials.
Because with one thought and one aim ye are engaging yourselves in the building of this temple, O ye servants and maidservants of the Merciful, know verily that this great project will be conducive to the union and affinity of all the children of man.
The utmost effort must be exerted so that every soul who comes from the Western regions to the East experiences the utmost joy and happiness and becomes grateful and pleased with the divine friends.
The Blessed Perfection came for the purpose of uniting the people, that He might link them together. For this purpose you must prove the means of unity to the inhabitants of the earth. This is His hope for you. If among yourselves there is no love, no unity, how can this become possible? Are you willing that His labors, His sorrows be in vain? All is to bring love to your hearts.
The friends must become the cause of unity among all nations and peoples on earth. They must certainly be united themselves in order to unite others. An extinguished lamp cannot light other lamps.
They must become united and agreed. … It is hoped that the friends may become sanctified and holy above all earthly conditions and in concord and harmony, in unity of identity, unity of quality, unity of opinion and unity of thought, set an example for all the believers of other countries and become the spiritual leaders in this arena.
And truly the fruit of the appearance and manifestation of the signs of unity is fellowship and friendship and love and oneness between the friends. If this is not achieved, the cycle yields no result and the lights of truth do not shine upon the horizons, the lamp of sanctification does not ignite and the veils of vain imaginings do not burn away. The morn of guidance spreads its lights upon the horizons only when unity of hearts is achieved.
This day is the day of unity and this time is the time of harmony. Unity and harmony will lay low the people of malice, and love and fellowship will banish estrangement from the face of the earth. The loved ones of God must be the cause of love, concord and fellowship in the world, that the light of divine unity may dawn forth and shine resplendent in every degree.
They must become united and agreed. They are all the drops of one river, the waves of one sea, the breezes of one garden, the streams flowing from one fountain, the birds wafting toward one apex, the hyacinths adorning one Park, intoxicated with one wine and their hearts ravished with one melody.
The dispersed ones will return to the Center of Gathering and the birds will return from the meadows of the world unto the Nest of Harmony.
The friends of East and West are associating with each other in perfect unity spiritually and communing in their hearts.
In this Most Great Revelation, from the sweet-scented morning breeze this blessed word is heard: The world is illumined through love and fellowship, and laid waste through hatred and enmity. O people of Baha! Hearken unto the call of the One True Counselor and strive that the light of unity may illumine the world and adorn its horizons.
I ask God to adorn your heads with the pearls of His favor, to ignite in your hearts the fire of the love of God, to free your tongues in utterance of eloquent words and excellent meanings and mysteries in the gathering of the pious, to make ye roses of the paradise of El-ABHA, angels of heaven, united in opinions, harmonious in thoughts and to manifest in your faces signs of holiness of the Kingdom among the people.
Many gatherings are held in the world, but they do not have order and design and suffer from disunity of thought. Praised be God that the hearts of those assembled here are united and everyone's purpose is one and the same, with no trace of disunity in thought. I cherish the hope that day by day this gathering will grow and develop considerably, and will excel in every walk of life.
The unity of the friends is very important, and thankfully, the friends in America have achieved unity among themselves. The most important thing is unity. It is good if all the people of the world become one in faith and religion, but it is very important that you should become united among each other - which you have done in America. You must become more and more united so that nothing whatever will separate you, because the Cause is very great, and needs great power and great strength.
In every gathering a group became united in universal peace.
The foundation of all things is the unity of the people upon one Law. Observe ye the Muslim community and its weakness, and ponder its cause. This weakness hath come about solely due to the differences that have appeared therein, as thou canst see how each faction hath chosen its own path and walketh in its own way. And if someone should say "The paths to God are as numerous as the souls of creation" and that these paths have branched from the Most Great Path - even granting this claim, surely if one walketh upon the Most Great and Supreme Path it would be best and ever shall be, and nearest to righteousness. There are countless utterances regarding these matters, but in view of the sorrows that have descended, We have confined Ourselves to this much.
The bait they have placed in this trap is the commonplace unity and the oneness that occurs to the minds of the masses, which remains as an old inheritance from ancient nations - despite the fact that in all divine tablets and scriptures, the explanation of unity exists with the most wonderful meanings.
The believers of America now must endeavor that capacity and ability may be gained in America, because the most important thing is ability and capacity. If there should be no capacity nor ability the abundance and bounties have no effect.
These few days will pass away, but their import shall be remembered by God's friends in all ages and in all lands.
You are a small army and very few in number in comparison to those around you. If dissension is existing among you and your opinions are different, everyone of you wishing to fight with a special sort of arm,s i.e. some with swords, some with rifles, some with spears and some with guns, what will be the result? Defeat! And you will never see victory. But if you will unite together with one heart, one mind, one opinion, and one word, you will be able to fight all the armies of the world, and stand firmly before them. Truly, you have before you all the different armies of the world and you have to fight them. You will overcome them if you unite and receive the confirmation of God. When in Persia we were few in number, but owing to our unity and harmony, and our fighting with one kind of arms, we stood before our numerous enemies, fought and at last defeated them and gained the victory.
At present, praise be unto God, those sons and daughters of the kingdom have like unto blessed trees strengthened their roots are unaffected by the blowing of violent winds and like unto an edifice rest on solid and rocky foundation.
For the sincere believers in God's unity, pure in faith, must have a unifying center, a single unifying word, a mighty fortress, an impregnable shelter, a lofty refuge, a strong wall, and a safe haven. When they take refuge in it and hasten to it, they are protected from the overwhelming calamity, the widespread attack, the great upheaval, and the mighty blow.
The Shining Reality which is the Spirit of the world today is One and not many.
O Ali! Under all conditions, exert your utmost effort to unite hearts and gather them together around the Divine Law of God's Cause.
Unity and concord are beloved in the sight of the Lord of creation. Gather ye together in God's Law and be ye not of them that differ.
Stand firm in the Cause of God, then gather the people unto the law of His love lest they differ in the Cause of God, thy Lord and the Lord of the worlds.
Say: O people! Unite amongst yourselves and gather around the one Law - this indeed is the purpose of this Great Announcement which has appeared in truth and has stunned all who are in the heavens and the earth save a numbered few of Our knowing servants.
May these differing views, God willing, come under the shade of one word.
Your letter has arrived on a single page, thus demonstrating your unity, your orientation, and your agreement in the Cause of God, the Lord of what was and what shall be.
Seek fellowship and love, all enter beneath the shade of the Word of Unity and plunge into the sea of oneness and uniqueness.
However, since understandings of recognition differ, therefore all the friends of God must refer to a single word so that all may be established under the shade of the word of unity, and that word is the statement of this servant.
I hope that the love of God may become the cause of their unity and agreement, and that the power of the Covenant may remove this discord, for today no power can remove discord except the power of the Covenant of the Blessed Beauty.
As much as you can, make souls firm in the Covenant and Testament, and through this firmness Baha'i unity will be established and different thoughts will be gathered at one point.
The news of the unity, harmony and oneness of the friends and their intense endeavor to acquire spiritual and material perfections was a great cause of joy and delight. This news was in the nature of glad-tidings, for it is proof of firmness in the Covenant and Testament.
O faithful servants of Baha'u'llah! In truth, you are members of the Assembly of Purification and receivers of the lights of sanctification, for you are the cause of fellowship among the friends, the gathering of the loved ones, the guidance of the heedless, and the promotion of the unity of the human world. You have no differing thoughts and seek no diverse opinions. You are united and in agreement, and faithful servants of the Sun of Reality.
This news brought happiness and gladness that, praise be to God, the friends in Khurasan - in Bishru'ih, Khayru'l-Qura, Faran, Mashhad and Bajistan - are all attracted to the Beloved of the horizons and are confirmed in unity and accord.
Its sweet contents imparted the utmost of rejoicing, for it contained the good news of the unity and harmony of the believers of God, their association and fellowship in the congregations of the elect, their enkindlement with the Fire of the Love of God, their advancement toward the Kingdom of God and their firmness in the Divine Covenant and Testament.
One must be very careful lest in this Dispensation, as in the Dispensation of the Qur'an, certain souls use such means and vain imaginings to create a breach in God's mighty stronghold and cause division in the sacred community.
His days are numbered and ere long he shall return to the holy threshold of the Lord of all existence. He has had and has no purpose save to preserve the unity of God's Cause and the oneness of God's loved ones.
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
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 friends should therefore not feel discouraged at the differences of opinion that may prevail among the members of an Assembly, for these, as experiences has shown, and as the Master's words attest, fulfil a valuable function in all Assembly deliberations. But once the opinion of the majority has been ascertained, all the members should automatically and unreservedly obey it, and faithfully carry it out.
You are, undoubtedly, well familiar with the various aspects of this approach, which is built on the conviction that the path of unity is the only path that can lead to the civilization envisioned by Baha'u'llah. So strong is the emphasis on unity that, for example, once a decision has been made by an Assembly, everyone is expected to support that decision wholeheartedly, relying confidently on 'Abdu'l-Baha's assurance that, even if the decision is wrong, "as it is in unity the truth will be revealed and the wrong made right".
A Baha'i will understand that an upright life is based upon observance of certain principles which stem from Divine Revelation and which he recognizes as essential for the well-being of both the individual and society. In order to uphold such principles, he knows that, in certain cases, the voluntary submission of the promptings of his own personal conscience to the decision of the majority is a conscientious requirement, as in wholeheartedly accepting the majority decision of an Assembly at the outcome of consultation.
The Baha'is everywhere when the administration is first established, find it very difficult to adjust themselves. They have to learn to obey, even when the Assembly may be wrong, for the sake of unity. They have to sacrifice their personalities, to a certain extent, in order that the Community life may grow and develop as a whole. These things are difficult, but we must realize that they will lead us to a very much greater, more perfect, way of life when the Faith is properly established according to the administration.
The Assembly may make a mistake, but, as the Master pointed out, if the Community does not abide by its decisions, or the individual Baha'i, the result is worse, as it undermines the very institution which must be strengthened in order to uphold the principles and laws of the Faith. He tells us God will right the wrongs done. We must have confidence in this and obey our Assemblies. He therefore strongly urges you to work directly under your Baha'i Assembly, to accept your responsibilities as a voting member, and do your utmost to create harmony within the community.
The believers should have confidence in the directions and orders of their Assembly, even though they may not be convinced of their justice or right. Once the Assembly, through a majority vote of its members, comes to a decision the friends should readily obey it. Specially those dissenting members within the Assembly whose opinion is contrary to that of the majority of their fellow-members should set a good example before the community by sacrificing their personal views for the sake of obeying the principle of majority vote that underlies the functioning of all Baha'i Assemblies.
In some cases, it is preferable if one accepts humbly the view of the Assembly in a spirit of sacrifice, and without further dispute. Then, any wrong decision will eventually be set right. When the believers act submissively and in a spirit of self-effacement it attracts the good pleasure of God, which in itself serves as a consolation to their hearts.
What the Master desired to protect the friends against was continual bickering and opinionatedness. A believer can ask the Assembly why they made a certain decision and politely request them to reconsider. But then he must leave it at that, and not go on disrupting local affairs through insisting on his own views. … We all have a right to our opinions, we are bound to think differently; but a Baha'i must accept the majority decision of his Assembly, realizing that acceptance and harmony -- even if a mistake has been made -- are the really important things, and when we serve the Cause properly, in the Baha'i way, God will right any wrongs done in the end.
One of the fundamentals involved in our Administrative Order, which we must remember will become the pattern for our World Order, is that even if an Assembly makes an ill-advised decision it must be upheld in order to preserve the unity of the Community. Appeal can be made from the Local Assembly's decision to the National Assembly.... But the principle of authority invested in our elected bodies must be upheld. This is not something which can be learned without trial and test.
There can and should be no liberals and conservatives, no moderates or extremists in the Cause. For they are all subject to the one and the same law which is the law of God. This law transcends all differences, all personal or local tendencies, moods and aspirations.
We cannot compare, much less identify the Baha'i Commonwealth of the future with any of the existing or known systems of government. The assumption that the Baha'i plan is reformed capitalism is incorrect even though we do uphold private property. For so do the socialists and to a lesser degree the communists. The difference between socialism and capitalism does not rest upon the issue of property, but on the question of the ownership and control of the means of production. Baha'u'llah does not answer this directly therefore it will be settled by the International House of Justice. In the meantime we cannot and should not lean to the right or to the left.
He urges you to exert your utmost to get the ... Baha'is to put aside such obnoxious terms as "radical", "conservative", "progressive", "enemies of the Cause", "squelching the teachings", etc. If they paused for one moment to think for what purpose the Bab and the Martyrs gave their lives, and Baha'u'llah and the Master accepted so much suffering, they would never let such definitions and accusations cross their lips when speaking of each other. As long as the friends quarrel amongst themselves their efforts will not be blessed for they are disobeying God.
The guarantee of well-being and success in all your endeavors to serve the Cause of God can be stated in one word: unity. It is the alpha and omega of all Baha'i objectives.
For thought and discussion