On Human Rights Day, the writer highlights two other reasons for reflection and celebration, all connected to the vital principle of humanity's oneness.
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The 21st of March is celebrated globally as the Bahá'í New Year – as well as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In our country, it is also celebrated as Human Rights Day.
A question we may want to reflect on is: can humanity eliminate racial discrimination, and implement human rights for all, without the belief in the oneness of human family? Could humanity give up racial, national, religious, ethnic, or gender-based prejudices without the conviction and implementation of the principle of humanity’s oneness?
The principle of the oneness of humanity is the pivot round which all the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith revolve. It is the Bahá’í belief that humanity is one, that the diversity in the human family adds to the beauty and perfection of the whole, and that the day has come for the unification of humanity into one global society.
Belief in the fundamental oneness of the human race is the key to overcoming prejudices that are dividing humanity. To accept the oneness of humanity is to embrace the variations that characterize human society, and to desire for everyone the opportunity to develop and express their unique capacities and inherent talents.
The recognition of the oneness of humanity gives rise to an elevated concept of human rights, one that includes the assurance of dignity for each person and the realization of each individual's potential.
It is indeed befitting then that the Bahá’í New Year coincides with the Human Rights Day, and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
In the Baha'i view, “the foundation of universal understanding and, therefore, for human rights education is the oneness of humanity, a spiritual principle amply confirmed by all the sciences. ... If we see ourselves as members of one human family, interconnected and interdependent, we will be unable to violate the rights of another member of that family without feeling the pain ourselves”.
The Bahá’í New-Year, called Naw-Ruz, is the first day of the first of 19 months in the Bahá’í calendar. Naw-Ruz coincides with the vernal (spring) equinox, the first day of spring. It is the time of freshness and renewal in nature. It is also symbolic of the periodic renewal of the religion of God – the coming of the spiritual spring.
The Bahá’í Writings state: “At the time of the vernal equinox in the material world a wonderful vibrant energy and new life-quickening is observed everywhere in the vegetable kingdom; the animal and human kingdoms are resuscitated and move forward with a new impulse. The whole world is born anew, resurrected. Gentle zephyrs are set in motion, wafting and fragrant; flowers bloom; the trees are in blossom, the air temperate and delightful; how pleasant and beautiful become the mountains, fields and meadows. Likewise, the spiritual bounty and springtime of God quicken the world of humanity with a new animus and vivification. All the virtues which have been deposited and potential in human hearts are being revealed from that Reality as flowers and blossoms from divine gardens. It is a day of joy, a time of happiness, a period of spiritual growth”.
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