s what emerges is a
recognition of the essential oneness of religion. So it is that the term
"Islam" (literally "submission" to God) designates not merely the
particular dispensation of Providence inaugurated by Muhammad but, as the
words of the Qur'an make unmistakably clear, religion itself. While it is
true to speak of the unity of all religions, understanding of the context
is vital. At the deepest level, as Baha'u'llah emphasizes, there is but
one religion. Religion is religion, as science is science. The one
discerns and articulates the values unfolding progressively through Divine
revelation; the other is the instrumentality through which the human mind
explores and is able to exert its influence ever more precisely over the
phenomenal world. The one defines goals that serve the evolutionary
process; the other assists in their attainment. Together, they constitute
the dual knowledge system impelling the advance of civilization. Each is
hailed by the Master as an "effulgence of the Sun of Truth".(45)

It is, therefore, an inadequate recognition of the unique station of
Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad--or of the succession of Avatars
who inspired the Hindu scriptures--to depict their work as the founding of
distinct religions. Rather are they appreciated when acknowledged as the
spiritual Educators of history, as the animating forces in the rise of the
civilizations through which consciousness has flowered: "He was in the
world," the Gospel declares, "and the world was made by him...."(46) That
their persons have been held in a reverence infinitely above those of any
other historical figures reflects the attempt to articulate otherwise
inexpressible feelings aroused in the hearts of unnumbered millions of
people by the blessings their work has conferred. In loving them humanity
has progressively learned what it means to love God. There is,
realistically, no other way to do so. They are not honoured by fumbling
efforts to capture the essential mystery of their nature in dogmas
invented by human imagination; what honours them is the soul's
unconditioned surrender of its will to the transformative influence they
mediate.

"Confusion about the role of religion in cultivating moral..."

Confusion about the role of religion in cultivating moral consciousness is
equally apparent in popular understanding of its contribution to the
shaping of society. Perhaps the most obvious example is the inferior
soci