Consider: Unity is the cause of existence, love is the cause of life; and on the other hand separation is the cause of death. In the world of creation, for instance, all things owe their existence to unity. The elements which compose wood, stone or minerals, are held together by the law of attraction; if the law ceases to hold these elements together, if they are separated, then the object will not exist. The law of attraction has brought together certain elements in the form of this flower, but as soon as the law of attraction is withdrawn from this centre, the flower will decompose.
So it is with humanity. The great law of attraction, harmony and unity forms this wonderful creation. When the law is no longer active on the body of a man, he dies. So it is evident that attraction, unity, harmony and love are the causes of life, whereas repulsion, disunion, inharmony and hatred cause death.
We have seen that whatever causes separation in the world of existence causes death. Therefore, it is the same in the world of the spirit. All who are servants of the one God must be united in the law of attraction. They must, therefore, avoid all hatred, disagreement and discord.
We find, if we look at nature, that the gentler animals group together, the lambs, the deer—and also that the wild animals live apart from civilization in the forest, the tiger, the lion and the wolf. Two wolves can live together, but a thousand lambs can share the same fold and remain at peace. Two eagles can dwell in the same place, while a thousand doves can make their habitation together. Man should at least be numbered among the gentler animals…
The point is this: Baha'u’llah has proclaimed the unity of the world of mankind. All people are of one family, and all should feel to one another as father, mother, sister, daughter. I hope you will spread this teaching of Baha’u’llah.
Baha’u’llah has said that if it were possible one should love one's enemy and act the same towards him as though he were a friend. If all followed this principle, the greatest unity and understanding would be established in the hearts of men.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From discourses given by ‘Abdu’l-Baha in London and Paris’; Star of the West, vol. 3, no. 1, March 21, 1912)