inings, the sowers of dissension amongst
you....(61)

The theme of unity runs throughout Baha'u'llah's writings: "The tabernacle
of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers."(62)
"Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness
and fellowship."(63) "Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one
branch."(64)

The process of humanity's coming-of-age has occurred within the evolution
of social organization. Beginning from the family unit and its various
extensions, the human race has developed, with varying degrees of success,
societies based on the clan, the tribe, the city-state, and most recently
the nation. This progressively broader and more complex social milieu
provides human potential with both stimulation and scope for development,
and this development, in turn, has induced ever-new modifications of the
social fabric. Humanity's coming-of-age, therefore, must entail a total
transformation of the social order. The new society must be one capable of
embracing the entire diversity of the race and of benefiting from the full
range of talents and insights which many thousands of years of cultural
experience have refined:

This is the Day in which God's most excellent favors have been poured out
upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into
all created things. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to
reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide
beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness.... Soon
will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its
stead. Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things
unseen.(65)

The chief instrument for the transformation of society and the achievement
of world unity, Baha'u'llah asserts, is the establishment of justice in
the affairs of humankind. The subject has a central place in His
teachings:

The light of men is Justice. Quench it not with the contrary winds of
oppression and tyranny. The purpose of justice is the appearance of unity
among men. The ocean of divine wisdom surgeth within this exalted word,
while the books of the world cannot contain its inner significance....(66)

In His later writings Baha'u'llah made explicit the implications of this
principle for the age of humanity's maturity. "Women and men have been and
will always be equal in the sight of God,"(67) He asserts, and the
advancement