Celebrate Differences

Unity is life; its negation is death. Unity is to be achieved through unity of minds. Our mind perceives and creates the world around us. Beauty, love, compassion, benevolence, reason and order help us embrace with equal ease all things great and small. Unity is strength. Bahá’u’lláh, who spoke of the need for Oneness, said that so powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole of earth. Religion is to enhance love and unity, for we are fruits of one tree. Those who make no effort to expand their process of thinking and improve their level of awareness are not receptive to new ideas. Men may seem to get together but they remain divided by difference in perceptions. Unity is best achieved when minds are elevated. At an average level of our consciousness, all our differences get exaggerated and distorted. Higher the consciousness, the better the adaptability to unite. He sees farthest who ascends highest. Unity of mind does not mean we have to eliminate differences. Live with them and achieve unity, not uniformity, for uniformity goes against Creation. Differences are a blessing as long as we respect and accept them; they activate and inspire the mind and accelerate the thinking process that leads to intellectual development. When differences are understood, they enrich us and lead to progress and development. We have no choice but to work with people who are different than us. When we accept that variety is the spice of life, we obtain unity despite differences. Peace can only be achieved by understanding and acceptance.

Source: Economic Times, 25/01/2019