The Unfolding History of Humankind—An Interfaith Perspective
Dr. A. K. Merchant*
Every nation, every community, religious or secular has its own record of what happened in the past, how it is impacting the present and what future could unfold. The recent debate on the 150th anniversary of the composition of the national song Vande Mataram, the recently commemorated 350th Martyrdom Anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, 9th Guru of Sikhism, and celebration of Christmas and New Year, has prompted me to reflect on how the followers of Baha’u’llah, Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, view human history. Although human existence on the planet is reckoned in terms of several hundred years, our record of different civilizations is approximately 10,000 years. As per the Bahá’í Writings: “history, prior to Alexander of Greece, is extremely confused, for it is a fact that only after Alexander did history become an orderly and systematized discipline. One cannot, for this reason, rely upon traditions and reported historical events that have come down from before the days of Alexander… The histories prior to Alexander, which were based on oral accounts current among the people, were put together later on. There are great discrepancies among them,…[this] is an accepted fact among historians … and that prior to his time history was transmitted by word of mouth.”
Many societies have chronicles on and more than one narrative. For, time moves on inexorably, just as the sun and moon pass through the sky day after day, night after night, weeks and months and years roll by and before we know it a fresh historical narrative emerges. “The earliest followers of Jesus did not mark his birth annually; their spiritual focus lay on the Resurrection, commemorated at Easter.” The narrations in the Gospels are varied and appear only in Matthew and Luke, with no mention of 25th December. It was only in 4th century onwards Christmas began to be observed when Christianity emerged from private homes into public churches under imperial patronage. We are still seeking answers for the precise cause of the French Revolution and many others, if one cause there were. Thomas Carlyle, historian and well-known author, saw the force of change in history as deep and inscrutable. The adage “change is the only constant” rings true. True beginning of a new era often goes unnoticed and perhaps even unnoticeable. Therefore, people are apt to go wrong in their reckoning not knowing where they are, and in what course their history runs.
Members of the Bahá’í Faith regard the unfoldment of history as a divinely guided process of spiritual and social evolution of humankind moving toward the ultimate goal of unity and peace. History is a powerful instrument. It provides a perspective on the past and casts a light on the future. Our world is progressing through stages of development, with each religion contributing to this unfolding story. In essence, the history of humankind should be understood in the light of what societies did when God, the supreme Divinity, sent messengers from Age to Age—such as Sri Krishna, Buddha, Mahavir, Guru Nanak Dev, Zoroaster, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad [pbuh], and Bahá’u’lláh for our current Era.
Their Messages to different sections of the human population in different places, at different points of historical time, are not contradictory and were never meant to be a cause of conflict but part of one continuous process, guiding humanity step by step toward greater unity. The prophets, saints, heroes and martyrs, remembered by various religious communities were the cause of a new awakening. In the great body of religious literature and folklore, easily accessible, history’s hand can be seen at work shaping much of the course of civilization, as we know it. In the legends that have inspired the ideals of every people since the dawn of recorded time, as well as in the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, in the exploits celebrated in the Odyssey and the Aeneid, in the Nordic sagas, in the Shahnameh and in much of the Bible, the Qur’an and Sacred Texts of Buddhism, Jainism, Parsi-Zoroastrian, may be discovered the process of the spiritual evolution of humankind analogous to the stages of infancy and childhood in the lives of its individual members, then moving into an adolescence phase of empires and nation-states. Humanity is now culminating towards its long-awaited adulthood. The highly charged and calamitous condition in human affairs should be understood as a natural phase in an organic process leading ultimately and irresistibly to the unification of the human race in a single socio-economic and political order whose boundaries are those of the planet. The historical process must be seen as a series of lessons preparing humanity for building a peaceful, just, and unified world civilization. Wars, divisions, and injustices may be interpreted as growing pains of humanity learning to live together. Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation offers the blueprint for humanity’s current stage—the transition to global unity. His vision includes the abolition of prejudice, equality of men and women, harmony of science and religion, and collective security.
Thus, from an interfaith perspective history should be viewed not as random or chaotic, but as a purposeful journey toward unity, with religion aka dharma acting as the guiding light at each stage in the evolutionary process. Vande Mataram was written in the 1870s and remained unpublished. It was expanded to few more stanzas and made the part of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel Anand Math. As the National Song if it helps to strengthen the bonds of unity among the peoples of India it should be whole-heartedly welcomed. India’s struggle against the British Raj was multi-religious, multilingual and multi-ethnic. Women and men both took part to ensure a united India.
Likewise, whenever some historical event is commemorated or celebrated India should reaffirm its ethos of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam—One Planet, One Family, One Future. Nothing can be gained from acrimonious debates and the resultant polarization? All are urged to unitedly tackle the overarching challenges for a Viksit Bharat by 1947 and beyond for the betterment of the whole world.
Currently, our planet is just 89 seconds away from Dooms Day, let us stay away from contradictions and instead dispassionately examine humankind’s historical predicament. Satisfaction on common topics would enable all the citizens of India to accelerate the process of strengthening the nation against those wishing to create roadblocks. Let all choose to encourage each other and look to the larger good. Our histories should help make sense of the world—and human experience. It should provide inspiration, consolation in times of grief and enlightenment to march forward with a conviction that ultimately, we shall all emerge victorious.
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*The writer is a social worker, independent researcher & member of the Bahá’í Community of India. Views expressed are personal.