This is a picture taken in 1992 of leaders representing nine of the world’s major religions at a gathering in London. They founded the Alliance of Religion and Conservation as a show of harmony and cooperation amongst world religions. These leaders have since gone on to work with the World Bank to work towards an end to poverty.
The best way of arriving at this global vision and achieving commonly-held values across the world is through education. What is needed is a world programme of education that fosters in all the peoples of the world an understanding of the underlying unity and inter-dependence of the world and an appreciation of the rich diversity of its cultures.
~ Dr. Moojan Momen, Baha’i Focus on Development
Education is the answer to many of the world’s problems. By learning not just academic skills, but also about the diversity that is us—humans, we can improve our whole society and learn from each other as we learn how much we rely on each other. So many things we do affect each other, i.e. buying products made in a certain country, supporting a war in another country, the environmental effects of not recycling a product or of burning rain forest to clear it for farm land to raise the beef that will be made into hamburgers for consumption in another part of the world. If we were able to realize how we are related, and that we are all one culture, with the same values, then maybe we could address these issues through a global vision, but the first step is to ensure education for all.
The historic breakthrough in information and communication technology, which represents so potent a means to promote social development and the deepening of people’s sense of their common humanity, can, with equal force, divert and coarsen impulses vital to the service of this very process.
~ Baha’i International Community, 1999 Feb, Who is Writing the Future
I believe this passage is referring to the rise of the internet, e-mail and other related communication methods. There can be no doubt that these technologies have been able to transform our world by hastening the rate at which information can be exchanged. However, it has also served to create more of a divide between the cosmopolitan elite who are able to do things such as read this blog, read news from other parts of the world and contact loved ones. Just like humans themselves, modern technologies have the potential to do great works towards restoring a balance throughout the world and promoting the social development of humanity, but only when used to that end. They also have the power to become destructive forces.
O members of parliaments throughout the world! Select ye a single language for the use of all on earth, and adopt ye likewise a common script.
~ Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, paragraph 189
One of the tenets of the Baha’i Faith is the establishment of what we refer to as a “universal auxiliary language” and in a post of that same title, I mentioned the propensity for Baha’is to be polyglots. There is no direction as to which language should be adopted, but it is made clear that it should be a second language and used in business and education. In this way, it does not have to take away from a person’s native language.
As a student of linguistics and how language affects a person’s culture and thoughts, I would never want to see the removal of languages from our society as they do so much to enhance diversity, but can unfortunately also lead to divisions amongst us as well. Several people have made comments on previous posts regarding the use of Esperanto. What I find to be the most promising aspect of this language came from one of their websites, and it is the idea that because nobody is a native speaker of Esperanto, everybody will be at the same disadvantage. While traveling in India I noticed some elements of this. English was the common language for many Indians who spoke different dialects of other languages.
While I do see the merits of having a second language that was common to all, I have reservations as well. It seems like such an overwhelming task. Some people will resist. Those that begrudgingly accept a second language may only speak it minimally rendering its use to only the most basic functions. If people do not make a whole-hearted attempt at it, they will become frustrated, and feel that it is not working. However, I do wish the world would try. In my experiences, and travels, the first step to forging a true relationship and understanding something about each other was to… understand each other.
Thou pridest thyself in the things thou dost possess, yet no believer in God and in His signs, nor any righteous man would ever deign to regard them.
~ The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 19
I find not being materialistic to be one of the more challenging aspects of leading a life committed to God and serving others. Within the United States, it can be so difficult to not focus on material items. Advertising is everywhere informing us of how our lives will be improved if we just purchase this new product, or more often the same product as what we already have just a few superficial changes. The Báb has told us that we cannot truly be righteous or claim to be a true believer in God, if we still take pride in our material possession and grant them an important place in our lives.
I really like the concept of Earth Day, though am a bit disappointed that it is limited to just a single day. Having lived in a variety of places, my home has been in the mountains, near the beach, in an urban jungle, on a 19th-century farm and even in a rain forest. I have seen all of these different ecosystems, and different approaches to treating the environment. In places like Honduras where the motto on the license plates reads “Cuidemos los bosques”—“We care for the forests,” I routinely saw men with machetes cutting down protected trees. Tourists often trample the sea oats that keep the beach from eroding, put the cigarette butts out in the sand, or leave bright lights on at hotels confusing the baby sea turtles trying to head towards the full moon—all three illegal under Florida law. In New York City, not only would people openly litter on the streets, but many people did not recycle in their homes. Friends and associates who run large farms in the Midwest do not always follow crop-rotation practices to keep the soil fertile and rely heavily on artificial fertilizers.
I have seen these things and I wince. I believe strongly that we are to be stewards of this Earth. Everything on this planet has been supplied for our use and to satisfy our needs and desires. But, we must do so responsibly. The Native American proverb, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children,” has much wisdom and is something we should always consider. Although not specifically a Baha’i concept, the duty to prepare a world for our children that is better than the one we were born into is innate to every culture.
Unfortunately, I often see the problems that lead to such recklessness with our planet’s ecology as being driven by self-interest and greed. If we could all learn to treat the entire planet as our home we would be better off. As it is, the peoples of many nations are quite territorial and short-sighted—thinking only of themselves and not considering the destruction their pollution may be causing in other places. If we continue on this route where we cannot see the forest for the trees, there may be not trees to see.
I have heard the comment many times that Baha’is seem to be bilingual. After reflecting for a bit, I came to realize that most of the Baha’is I know have, at minimum, a basic working knowledge of at least one other language than their native tongue. One of the basic beliefs and missions of the Baha’is is to establish a Universal Auxiliary Language that can be used all over the world for education and business.
“In order to facilitate complete understanding between all people, a universal auxiliary language will be adopted and in the schools of the future two languages will be taught — the mother tongue and this international auxiliary tongue.” (quoting Baha’u’llah)
~ Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 84
This would mean that all people of the could communicate with each other. Baha’i doctrine does not mandate which language should be used for this purpose, though there is praise for Esperanto as it attempts to mix vocabulary and grammatical structures from several different languages. In modern times, it would appear that English is becoming the de facto standard as an international language.
The concept of learning to speak in multiple languages is commonplace in many parts of the world—except the United States. As an educator I am fascinated not just with how people learn different languages, but how multilingualism can help us to understand each other not just on the personal, but on the metaphysical one as well.
It would be remiss of me to not comment on today’s G-20 Leaders’ Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy in London. The G-20 was born out of the financial crises of the late-1990’s when the “tech-bubble burst” and their were fears over the Y2K-bug and what it would do to computer systems. 10 years after their founding, the group gathers heads of state and financial ministers from the largest world economies to create a dialog among them regarding matters of concern to the global economy.
The Baha’is believe in the eventual establishment of a unified world government, much the way that organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union already function. Working together, there is much work that can be done to promote unity and world peace. One such idea would be the establishment of a single currency to be used throughout the world. This would connect all of the world’ economy and help to mitigate the effects of inflation and differences in relative values of currencies in international trade.
The need to promote the adoption of a global currency as a vital element in the integration of the global economy is self-evident. Among other benefits, economists believe that a single currency will curb unproductive speculation and unpredictable market swings, promote a leveling of incomes and prices worldwide, and thereby result in significant savings.
~ Baha’i International Community, 1995 Oct, Turning Point For All Nations
Today’s G-20 summit uses the tag line: “Stability, Growth, Jobs”. These are all things that are global economy is crying out for and that could cause every man and woman to become prosperous. Although many are planning to protest the event, many seem to be focusing on other issues such as nuclear proliferation, and climate change. Also, worthy causes of global concern, but not the one for today. The G-20 has an incredible task in front of them, but as a Baha’i I must support any efforts for nations to work together for the betterment of the entire planet.