Compassion and the Bahá'í

            Karen Armstorong put together a very powerful video I think she is correct in saying that religions stray to far from each other, sometimes they choose to look at what divides them instead of the themes that unite all religions. Karen’s last idea of building a global community so that “People of all persuasions can live together in peace and harmony” is an idea that the Bahá'í share (3:17).

            The Bahá'í advocate the same principle Karen illustrated. The Bahá'í believe that humanity evolves in stages. They started in tribes and have now evolved into nation states; the baha’u’lla himself believed that the next step is to unify the world. Without unity there is no way to treat the problems of the world.

            The Bahá'í would agree that the world is sick. Environmental pollution, desertification, global warming, and the gap between rich and poor nations plague us as people. The Bahá'í believe that there is no way to deal with these problems except at a global level. Abdul’i- Bahá emphasizes “the family of mankind”, believing that all people need to come together and treat the tragedies of the world with the compassion similar to if they were happening to a close relative.

            Abdul’i- Bahá'í advocated a global consciousness in that “humanity needs to realize that they are independent (64). The Bahá'í believe that if this happens people will wake up to all the problems that are now inconceivable. Karen’s video also advocated a similar philosophy at 1:04 a man said “it doesn’t matter if they are Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, or Islamic. It’s that they’re a fellow human being and they are suffering”.

            The Bahá'í believe that if we wake up to the concept that we are all connected, we can then connect on a spiritual level to promote peace and harmony. I admire the Bahá'í faith because they have steps society must follow in order to attain spiritual connection. It seems like Karen simply thinks that society will wake up to this fact by hearing her say it. She gave no guidance to her viewers other than look for compassion in religion, and tell stories about compassion. I think that is how Karen’s video and the Bahá'í faith are very different. The Bahá'í explain in detail how to be compassionate and how these problems will be addressed. The Bahá'í address all facets of society including economically, socially, and religiously while Karen only addresses one aspect, which is social, unity by putting aside differences in religion.