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The Three Onenesses are three core assertions central in the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. They are:
- The Oneness of God
- The Oneness of Religion
- The Oneness of Humanity
They are also referred to as the Unity of God, Unity of religion, and Unity of mankind.
Unity
The principle of unity is very highly emphasized in the Bahá'í writings. One of the most common quotes of Bahá'u'lláh is "So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth." (Gleanings, p. 288)
These three principles of unity reflect a unity between themselves. A single, all powerful God, revealing His message through a series of divine Educators, regarding them as one progressively revealed religion, to one single humanity, who all possess a rational soul and only differ according to colour and culture.
This idea is fundamental not only to explaining Bahá'í beliefs, but explaining the attitude Bahá'ís have towards other religions. Bahá'ís regard other religions as divinely inspired; Bahá'u'lláh in many places states that denying any of the Manifestations of God is equivalent to denying all of them, and God Himself. In other references `Abdu'l-Bahá said that a Bahá’í will choose death over denial of any of the great Prophets, whether Moses, Muhammad or Christ. (`Abdu'l-Bahá in London, p. 56)
This creates a dynamic where Bahá'ís are comfortable studying the Bible and Qur'an, and attending a variety of religious services.
The acceptance of every race and culture in the world has brought Bahá'í demographics an incredible diversity, becoming the second most widespread Faith in the world, and translating its literature into over 800 languages.
The oneness of God
Bahá'ís believe that there is one supernatural being, God, who has created all the creatures and forces in the universe; God is omnipotent, omniscient, and perfect; and that although people have different concepts of God and His nature, and call Him by different names, everyone is speaking of the same one Being. Bahá'u'lláh writes on this subject:
- "All-praise to the unity of God, and all-honour to Him, the sovereign Lord, the incomparable and all-glorious Ruler of the universe, Who, out of utter nothingness, hath created the reality of all things, Who, from naught, hath brought into being the most refined and subtle elements of His creation, and Who, rescuing His creatures from the abasement of remoteness and the perils of ultimate extinction, hath received them into His kingdom of incorruptible glory. Nothing short of His all-encompassing grace, His all-pervading mercy, could have possibly achieved it."
- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 64-65. *
The Bahá'í teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully understand Him or to create an image of Him. Even the attributes that Bahá'ís attribute to Him such as the All-Powerful, and the All-Loving are derived from limited human experiences of power, love, or justice. Bahá'u'lláh teaches that knowledge of God is limited to those attributes and qualities which are perceptible to us, and thus direct knowledge of God is not possible. Furthermore Bahá'u'lláh states that the knowledge of the attributes of God is revealed to humanity through the messengers he sends to humanity.
- "So perfect and comprehensive is His creation that no mind or heart, however keen or pure, can ever grasp the nature of the most insignificant of His creatures; much less fathom the mystery of Him Who is the Day Star of Truth, Who is the invisible and unknowable Essence..."
- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, Pages 60-64. *
- "As our knowledge of things, even of created and limited things, is knowledge of their qualities and not of their essence, how is it possible to comprehend in its essence the Divine Reality, which is unlimited? ... Knowing God, therefore, means the comprehension and the knowledge of His attributes, and not of His Reality. This knowledge of the attributes is also proportioned to the capacity and power of man; it is not absolute."
- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, pp. 220-21. *
At the same time the Bahá'í teachings talk about a personal God who is a personal being with a personality, including the capacity to reason and feel love; the Bahá'í teachings note that the idea of a personal God does not mean that God has a human or physical form. Shoghi Effendi writes:
- "What is meant by personal God is a God Who is conscious of His creation, Who has a Mind, a Will, a Purpose, and not, as many scientists and materialists believe, an unconscious and determined force operating in the universe. Such conception of the Divine Being, as the Supreme and ever present Reality in the world, is not anthropomorphic, for it transcends all human limitations and forms, and does by no means attempt to define the essence of Divinity which is obviously beyond any human comprehension. To say that God is a personal Reality does not mean that He has a physical form, or does in any way resemble a human being. To entertain such belief would be sheer blasphemy."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, April 21, 1939)
The Bahá'í teachings state that one can get closer to God through prayer, meditation, study of the holy writings, and service. `Abdu'l-Bahá writes
- "Therefore, we learn that nearness to God is possible through devotion to Him, through entrance into the Kingdom and service to humanity; it is attained by unity with mankind and through loving-kindness to all; it is dependent upon investigation of truth, acquisition of praiseworthy virtues, service in the cause of universal peace and personal sanctification."
- (`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 148)
The oneness of humanity
- Main article: Bahá'í Faith and the unity of humanity
- "Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship."
- Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 288. *
Regarding biological unity the Bahá'í writings state that differences between various races, nations, and ethnic groups are either superficial (e.g. skin color) or the result of differences in background or "education". A basic Bahá'í teaching is "the elimination of all forms of prejudice," which refers to not only the elimination of racial prejudice but also that of other forms of prejudice such as gender discrimination.
The Bahá'í writings also proclaim a glorious future Golden Age in which the whole earth is united under a world federal government. Bahá'ís state that while ethnic and cultural diversity will continue to exist, humanity's first allegiance will be with the human race rather than any subsidiary group such as race, nation, or ethnic group. There will be an end not only to war, but even to inter-group rivalry.
While the Bahá'í writings talk about the unity of the world and its peoples, unity is not equated to uniformity, but instead the Bahá'í writings affrim the value of cultural, national and individual diversity through the principle of "Unity in diversity," which states that while recognizing the unity of mankind, cultural diversity should be celebrated. Unity in diversity is commonly described in the Bahá'í writings through the analogy of flowers of one garden, where the different colours of the flowers add to the beauty of the garden.
- "It Faith does not ignore, nor does it attempt to suppress, the diversity of ethnic origins, of climate, of history, of language and tradition, of thought and habit, that differentiate the peoples and nations of the world... Its watchword is unity in diversity..."
- Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 41. *
The oneness of religion
- Main article: Bahá'í Faith and the unity of religion
The Bahá'í writings state that the essential nature of the messengers is twofold: they are at once human and divine. They are divine in that they all come from the same God and expound His teachings, and thus they can be seen in the same light, but at the same times they are separate individuals known by a different name, who fulfills a definite mission, and is entrusted with a particular revelation. Regarding the relationships of these Educators, which Bahá'ís refer to as Manifestations of God Bahá'u'lláh writes:
- "God hath ordained the knowledge of these sanctified Beings to be identical with the knowledge of His own Self. Whoso recognizeth them hath recognized God. Whoso hearkeneth to their call, hath hearkened to the Voice of God, and whoso testifieth to the truth of their Revelation, hath testified to the truth of God Himself. Whoso turneth away from them, hath turned away from God, and whoso disbelieveth in them, hath disbelieved in God . . . They are the Manifestations of God amidst men, the evidences of His Truth, and the signs of His glory." *
See also
References
"Three Onenesses"