<P> The idea and related phrase is very old and dates back to ancient times in both Western and Eastern Old World cultures . The concept of unity in diversity was used by both the indigenous peoples of North America and Taoist societies in 400--500 B.C. In premodern Western culture, it has existed in an implicit form in certain organic conceptions of the universe that developed in the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome . </P> <P> "Unity in diversity" is used as a popular slogan or motto by a variety of religious and political groups as an expression of harmony and unity between dissimilar individuals or groups . The phrase is a deliberate oxymoron, the rhetorical combination of two antonyms, unitas "unity, oneness" and varietas "variety, variousness". When used in a political context, it is often used to advocate federalism and multiculturalism . </P> <P> The diversity is a permanent human condition . The concept of unity in diversity can be traced back to Sufi philosopher Ibn al -' Arabi (1165--1240), who advanced the metaphysical concept of the "oneness of being" (wahdat al - wujud), namely, that reality is one, and that God's is the only true existence; all other beings are merely shadows, or reflections of God's qualities . Abd al - Karīm al - Jīlī (1366--1424) expanded on Al -' Arabi's work, using it to describe a holistic view of the universe which reflects "unity in diversity and diversity in unity" (al - wahdah fi'l - kathrah wa'l - kathrah fi'l - wahdah). </P> <P> Leibniz used the phrase as a definition of "harmony" (Harmonia est unitas in varietate) in his Elementa verae pietatis, sive de amore dei super omnia (1677 / 8). </P>

Who had brought the phrase unity in diversity