April 28. On this date in 2001,
The original
theme on which the Youth Committee asked me to speak at this seminar was
"teaching". I suggested changing it to "intensive growth programs" in
order to have a specific context within which I could discuss the
subject. Over the past several weeks, a number of events related to the
Five Year Plan have been held at the Baháâí World Centre, and last
evening you heard an inspiring talk on the recent Ridván message as part
of the seminar in which you are now participating. I feel safe to
assume, then, that you are well familiar with the content of the various
documents related to the Plan, particularly with the Ridván message and
the 9 January message of the Universal House of Justice to the
Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors. What I would like
to do today is to help you explore the implications of some of the
guidance contained in these documents for the life of an individual
Bahá'í. I hope to achieve this by asking you to imagine yourself in a
national community in a part of the world that has witnessed a fair
amount of growth in the past and to reflect on the issues I will present
to you in that context. The main question before you is what you should
do in order to respond to the demands that the Five Year Plan makes on
every individual believer.
One's contribution to the progress of a Plan can, of course, take many
forms. Teaching, administration, public information, and social and
economic development — these are all fields of service that require
diligent attention. But since teaching was on the minds of the members
of the Youth Committee when they asked me to speak on this occasion, I
will focus on that aspect of your activity, in which you will
undoubtedly be engaged no matter what other projects you undertake.
The Five Year Plan has a single aim, that of advancing the process of
entry by troops. In fact, this is to be the aim of a series of Plans
that will carry the worldwide Bahá'í community to the end of the first
century of the Formative Age in 2021. The desired acceleration of the
process of entry by troops is to be achieved through systematic activity
on the part of the three participants in the Plan: the individual, the
institutions, and the community. The question I am asking you to
consider, then, is how to contribute to this aim through that area of
your activity that you would categorize as teaching.
Let us define the context of your activities in some detail. We will
assume that the national community to which you belong has already held a
highly fruitful institutional meeting. In this gathering have
participated one or two Counsellors, the Auxiliary Board members serving
the various regions of the country, and the members of the National
Spiritual Assembly, the Regional Councils and National Committees, as
well as the members of the Board of the National Institute and its
regional coordinators. Having studied and discussed fully the message of
9 January, the friends in this meeting have helped the National
Assembly divide each of the regions under the jurisdiction of the
Councils into a number of areas. Large cities by themselves constitute
"areas," while the other clusters each consist of a few towns and
villages, and in some cases a medium size city, the daily lives of whose
inhabitants are naturally connected. These areas have then been placed
into the categories mentioned in the 9 January message: those which are
not yet open to the Faith, those that have a few isolated localities and
groups, those with established communities gaining strength through a
vigorous institute process; and those with strong communities of
deepened believers that are in a position to take on the challenges of
systematic and accelerated expansion and consolidation.
The national plan that the National Assembly has announced to the
community calls for moving forward several areas selected from each
category to their next stage of development. To everyone's surprise,
none of the areas seems to be ready yet for an intensive growth program,
but a few have enough strength that they could soon meet the necessary
conditions if proper attention were devoted to them. In the eyes of the
Counsellors and the National Assembly, preparing these areas for
intensive programs has priority over most other requirements of the
national plan.
Having become familiar with the provisions of the plan in a meeting held
for consultation in your region, you reflect prayerfully on the various
ways you can serve and consult with knowledgeable friends. Let us say
for the sake of this exploration that you finally decide to begin your
services in this fifth epoch of the Formative Age as a homefront
pioneer. You have a few choices before you. You can go to an unopened
area and teach until at least one community is established there. You
can pioneer to an area where a couple of rather weak communities exist
and dedicate your efforts to the expansion and consolidation of the
Faith in those localities. Or you can go to one of the few areas
designated as priority and participate in a focused effort to prepare it
for an intensive growth program. Given the emphasis the National
Assembly has placed on strengthening these areas, you decide to
establish residence in one of them.
Since pioneering for you is something to do and not something to talk
about incessantly, since you have made your decision firmly and not
half-heartedly, and since you have turned to Baháâuâlláh placing all
your affairs in His hands, doors immediately open for you. Perhaps you
are able to enroll in a university located in the area to continue your
studies. Or you might find a job opportunity during an exploratory trip
you make to the area, or you are shown another of the myriad ways
Bahá'u'lláh assists those who long to serve Him. You move quickly, you
organize your affairs in your new place of residence, you receive the
warm welcome of the Bahá'ís of the area, and you are ready to serve.
What do you do?
Please understand that by describing for you a possible set of actions, I
do not intend to offer you a formula for service. Such a formula does
not exist and every believer has to make all kinds of choices at every
step of the way as he or she walks a path of service. But thinking of
oneself in a specific situation, typical although imaginary, does help
one form a vision of the field of service one may wish to enter.
It is not possible, of course, to give an answer, no matter how general,
to the question of "doing" without saying something about "being," to
talk about action without considering thought. So allow me to say a few
words about some of the attributes that I must assume characterize you
in order for the story I am trying to develop to have validity. Actually
I don't think my assumptions are wrong, for I know so many believers
with these characteristics. If you decide that I am exaggerating your
praiseworthy qualities, it will be only because of your own sense of
modesty.
Let me begin by saying that you are a mature Baháâí. This maturity has
several dimensions. Most fundamentally, it is reflected in your sense of
identity. It is natural, of course, that the various aspects of our
background — national, social, ethnic, cultural, educational,
professional, and so on — should influence our patterns of thought and
behavior. But a mature Bahá'í has learned to put these factors in the
right perspective, never losing sight of the truth that the reality of
his or her existence is his or her soul which is passing through this
world to acquire the attributes it needs for the eternal and glorious
journey towards God. Thus you are fully aware that the real source of
your identity is servitude to Bahá'u'lláh. When you are asked "Who are
you?", the first answer that springs to your mind is not "man," "woman,"
"white," "black," "Latin," "Persian," "American," "doctor," "engineer,"
"professor," "artist." Your highest aspiration is to be able to answer
the question, at least within yourself, by such phrases as "The one who
loves Baháâuâlláh," "The one who obeys the commands of Baháâuâlláh,"
"The one who serves Baháâuâlláh." And having the example of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
always before you, you realize that this servitude has to translate
into service to the loved ones of God.
Another aspect of our identity emerges from our roots in Baháâí history.
An intimate connection with an eventful past, with the heroes through
whose sacrifice the Cause has advanced, and an acute awareness of the
workings of the cycles of crisis and victory — these help shape your
true identity. Unlike so many souls whose connection with history is
severed and who seek heroes and role models in figures who are
themselves victims of a disintegrating society, you have no doubt that
you are participating in the greatest drama in the history of humankind:
the creation of a new race of men.
A strong sense of Bahá'í identity in turn leads to a strong sense of
purpose. It gives rise to a feeling of urgency with which we all need to
attend to our own spiritual growth. We cannot be passive observers of
our own lives, hapless victims of society, shaped by political and
commercial propaganda. Our lives on this earthly plane are too short,
and the bounties of a pure heart capable of reflecting divine attributes
too many, for us to become distracted by the passing attractions of a
world lost in idle fancies. Thus you bend your energies purposefully
towards acquiring perfections and refining your inner life.
But this is not all. Maturity implies that one is aware of the traps of
self-centeredness. One cannot develop human virtues in isolation. Too
great a focus on oneself, on one's potentials, on one's talents,
distorts the very laudable goals of personal growth. The arena in which
such growth occurs is service to humanity. The idolization of
self-improvement, self-expression and self-satisfaction can easily
create sentiments of either guilt or self-righteousness. Therefore, your
sense of purpose is directed towards personal growth and at the same
time towards service to the Cause and to humanity. Contributing to the
transformation of society and to the advancement of a civilization to be
built according to the teachings of Baháâuâlláh is your life's pursuit.
The forces that impel you in your endeavors are mainly your love for the
Blessed Beauty, your yearning for true understanding, your inner drive
towards excellence, and your deep concern for the well-being of
humankind. Yet, there is an element of fear that also comes into play
and ensures watchfulness. While you look upward and forward, you guard
against the promptings of the lower nature. You fear falling into the
condition that Baháâuâlláh has described in these terms:
Ye are even as the bird which soareth, with the full force
of its mighty wings and with complete and joyous confidence, through the
immensity of the heavens, until, impelled to satisfy its hunger, it
turneth longingly to the water and clay of the earth below it, and,
having been entrapped in the mesh of its desire, findeth itself impotent
to resume its flight to the realms whence it came. Powerless to shake
off the burden weighing on its sullied wings, that bird, hitherto an
inmate of the heavens, is now forced to seek a dwelling-place upon the
dust. Wherefore, O My servants, defile not your wings with the clay of
waywardness and vain desires, and suffer them not to be stained with the
dust of envy and hate, that ye may not be hindered from soaring in the
heavens of My divine knowledge.
As you pursue your twofold purpose, your most cherished moments are
those spent in communion with God, for prayer nourishes one's soul, and
without the strength that only it can generate, it is impossible to
persist in one's high endeavors. Similarly, the study of the Writings is
one of your primary occupations. This is not the mere reading of a few
verses. There is a great deal of meditation on the meaning and
implications of each passage as well as diligent effort to apply the
teachings to achieve personal growth, to contribute to the development
of the community, and in the final analysis to the civilization building
process.
These are, then, the ways in which you define your identity, your purpose and your occupation as you arise to be a pioneer.
Another aspect of the maturity we are considering here is the nature of
the expectations we have as we walk a path of service. Specifically, you
will not have decided to become a homefront pioneer because of the mere
excitement of it. This is not to say that you are not excited and that
you do not derive happiness from the service you are rendering. But your
moments of happiness as well as those of intense pain do not define the
direction of your action. Underlying all your feelings is an inner joy
that is not the result of passing circumstances but the quality of your
soul. It is a fundamental condition of your heart, not an emotion
resulting from outside influences. Being mature, then, implies that the
immediate results of your activities are not what galvanize you, for you
know that sometimes these will be encouraging and other times not. You
are not overly affected by the criticisms of others, nor are you out for
praise. You do not seek recognition for what you do, and do not burden
the institutions by the constant cry: "Here I am, here I am. Why don't
you use my great talent?" You are a humble yet effective participant in
collective endeavor.
The joy you feel comes from having recognized Baháâuâlláh and from the
knowledge that you are enfolded in His mercy. You draw satisfaction from
the very act of sharing the message of Baháâuâlláh with others, from
being engaged in discussion of and reflection on the Word of God, from
partaking of the bounty of guiding souls to the shores of the ocean of
His Revelation. As 'Abduâl-Bahá has stated:
If only thou couldst know what a high station is destined
for those souls who are severed from the world, are powerfully attracted
to the Faith, and are teaching, under the sheltering shadow of
Baháâuâlláh! How thou wouldst rejoice, how thou wouldst, in exultation
and rapture, spread thy wings and soar heavenward — for being a follower
of such a way, and a traveler toward such a Kingdom.
And again:
....ye must in this matter — that is, the serving of humankind — lay down your very lives, and as ye yield yourselves, rejoice.
Note that this rejoicing is not in the self but in yielding oneself.
Indeed the greatest source of joy in the field of service is not one's
own accomplishments but witnessing the accomplishments of one's fellow
believers. One of the statements in the 9 January message that has
captured the imagination of many of the friends speaks of the need for
encouragement. "Training alone," the statement reads, "does not
necessarily lead to an upsurge in teaching activity. In every avenue of
service, the friends need sustained encouragement." The question is then
asked, "How do you encourage others?" Praise seems to be a popular
answer. But praise can have the opposite effect when it is empty,
following a series of steps according to some formula. Here, as in every
other aspect of life, "doing" and "being" cannot be easily separated.
To master the art of encouragement, it seems to me, one must battle
against one's own self. A sense of accomplishment is a good thing, and
we all need it every once in a while. But it is only when we rejoice in
the accomplishments of others, achievements in which we have not
necessarily played any part, that everything we say and do becomes a
source of encouragement to them.
Yet another sign of your being a mature Baháâí is your understanding of
the mystery of sacrifice. This means that you neither avoid the concept,
nor use the word so often as to trivialize it. Of course, one can use
the word in everyday life: "I sacrificed two hours of sleep in order to
prepare for my exam." "I sacrificed the game this weekend in order to be
with my sick friend." And, naturally, service to the Faith involves
sacrifice in this sense. When we take part in a Baháâí activity, we will
not be doing something else which may be quite enjoyable to us. But how
can we call this a sacrifice when the Baháâí activity in question is
actually a source of joy? How can one say that teaching is the greatest
joy of my life and at the same time believe, for example, that it is a
sacrifice to leave a television show to attend a fireside?
The reality of sacrifice, of course, is to renounce that which is lower
for that which is higher. This applies not only to material things, but
to thoughts, habits, and sentiments. In a life of service, one is
precisely engaged in shedding the less valuable to receive the more
precious. But one is attached to all that one possesses. It is painful
to let go of them even when one is assured that what will be received is
far better. But this pain is the bearer of joy not of sorrow; this
sacrifice is done in gratitude to God for having bestowed on us the
opportunity to serve. In this respect, 'Abdu'l-Bahá tells us that
Until a being setteth his foot in the plane of sacrifice, he
is bereft of every favor and grace; and this plane of sacrifice is the
realm of dying to the self, that the radiance of the living God may then
shine forth.
And He also says:
....nearness to God necessitates sacrifice of self, severance and the giving up of all to Him. Nearness is likeness.
Another aspect of the maturity you have reached is your understanding of
the nature of teaching and your attitudes towards it. In the message of
9 January the Universal House of Justice states:
When training and encouragement are effective, a culture of
growth is nourished in which the believers see their duty to teach as a
natural consequence of having accepted Baháâuâlláh. They "raise high the
sacred torch of faith," as was 'Abdu'l-Bahá'ís wish, "labor
ceaselessly, by day and by night," and "consecrate every fleeting moment
of their lives to the diffusion of the divine fragrance and the
exaltation of God's holy Word." So enkindled do their hearts become with
the fire of the love of God that whoever approaches them feels its
warmth. They strive to be channels of the spirit, pure of heart,
selfless and humble, possessing certitude and the courage that stems
from reliance on God. In such a culture, teaching is the dominating
passion of the lives of the believers. Fear of failure finds no place.
Mutual support, commitment to learning, and appreciation of diversity of
action are the prevailing norms.
You view teaching, then, as essentially spiritual in nature and avoid
being trapped by mere technique. Teaching involves not only the actions
we carry out, but also a state of being we each must attain. Giving is a
requirement of our spiritual existence. We must share with others some
of what we possess. Our most precious possession, of course, is our
recognition of Baháâuâlláh, and it would be unnatural if we did not wish
to share with others the knowledge we receive from His Revelation and
the love and joy with which this Revelation fills our souls.
The enkindlement of which the House of Justice speaks in the passage I
have quoted implies that the fire of love for Baháâuâlláh in your heart
burns brighter and brighter each day, and as it grows it gives
increasingly more warmth and light. This warmth attracts other hearts
and helps create the necessary condition in which the spark of faith can
be ignited in them.
In this state of enkindlement, you consider every opportunity to teach
as a bounty from God. To be sure, you would never imagine that you are
doing Him a favor by obeying His commandment to teach. On the contrary,
you approach teaching with gratitude and reverence, as a sacred act,
"sacred" referring to that which belongs to God. When we teach we are
dealing with two very sacred things. One is the human heart which
essentially belongs to God. Teaching, in fact, can be described as that
spiritual act which results in the opening of the city of the human
heart to Him. The other sacred thing with which teaching is concerned is
the Revelation of Baháâuâlláh.
We teach in order to connect the heart to His Revelation, His greatest
bestowal to humankind. You are surely familiar with these words of
Baháâuâlláh:
That which He hath reserved for Himself are the cities of
men's hearts; and of these the loved ones of Him Who is the Sovereign
Truth are, in this Day, as the keys. Please God they may, one and all,
be enabled to unlock, through the power of the Most Great Name, the
gates of these cities.
In another passage He states:
The things He hath reserved for Himself are the cities of
men's hearts, that He may cleanse them from all earthly defilements, and
enable them to draw nigh unto the hallowed Spot which the hands of the
infidel can never profane. Open, O people, the city of the human heart
with the key of your utterance. Thus have We, according to a
pre-ordained measure, prescribed unto you your duty.
And regarding His Revelation:
Say: This is the sealed and mystic Scroll, the repository of
God's irrevocable Decree, bearing the words which the Finger of
Holiness hath traced, that lay wrapt within the veil of impenetrable
mystery, and hath now been sent down as a token of the grace of Him Who
is the Almighty, the Ancient of Days. In it have We decreed the
destinies of all the dwellers of the earth and the denizens of heaven,
and written down the knowledge of all things from first to last.
The fact that you approach teaching as a spiritual act touches on
another dimension of sacredness. In teaching, the agent that brings
about transformation is the Word of God. Baháâuâlláh uses the image of
the "elixir," believed down the centuries to have the power to change
copper into gold, to help us understand the power of the Word of God:
The vitality of men's belief in God is dying out in every
land; nothing short of His wholesome medicine can ever restore it. The
corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human society;
what else but the Elixir of His potent Revelation can cleanse and revive
it? Is it within human power, O Hakim, to effect in the constituent
elements of any of the minute and indivisible particles of matter so
complete a transformation as to transmute it into purest gold?
Perplexing and difficult as this may appear, the still greater task of
converting satanic strength into heavenly power is one that We have been
empowered to accomplish. The Force capable of such a transformation
transcendeth the potency of the Elixir itself. The Word of God, alone,
can claim the distinction of being endowed with the capacity required
for so great and far-reaching a change.
This is one of the spiritual concepts underlying the statement of the
Universal House of Justice that "fear of failure finds no place" in the
culture of growth that should characterize the Baháâí community. Why
would you fear failure when you are confident that the Word of God is
endowed with the power to transform hearts? It is the divine "Elixir,"
and you are but the channel through which it can flow. That you are
merely a channel, of course, is not an idea that you repeatedly express
because you have heard it so many times. It holds real significance for
you. Every time you teach the Cause and adorn your utterance with the
Words of Baháâuâlláh you witness their effect on the human heart and
catch a glimpse of what it means to be a "channel of the spirit."
Before ending these comments on maturity, let me bring to your attention
one very important related point. I would like to assume that your
in-depth study of the guidance of the Universal House of Justice over
the past few years has helped you move beyond the extreme statements and
perceived dualities that sometimes paralyze Baháâí communities and
stagnate growth. You are not, for instance, given to such pronouncements
as "In teaching, love is enough," or "The only thing that matters in
teaching is one's example," or "If we are spiritual, then things will
just happen; there is too much talk of systematic plans," or
"Baháâuâlláh tells us that we should first teach ourselves, so we should
concentrate on our own perfection; teaching others will come later," or
"The only way to teach is through firesides, teaching the masses in
groups is undignified," or "This is the time for mass teaching; the time
for individual teaching has passed."
A balanced view of teaching is built on the conviction that "being" and
"doing" are intimately connected. Thus, for example, although we need to
strive to increase our love for God and for our fellow human beings,
love by itself is not enough in teaching. Knowledge is needed. The power
of utterance is needed. Convincing explanations are needed that can
lead to adequate knowledge and understanding in the seeker. Although
enkindlement is essential, action is also necessary. One cannot achieve
things without effort. Teaching involves a great deal of activity in
order to find receptive souls, to win their confidence, to help them
understand the fundamental teachings of the Faith, and to accompany them
in the initial stages of their spiritual journey. To be systematic is
not unspiritual.
On the other hand, teaching entails more than just saying and doing the
right things. Without love, little can be accomplished. Without
enkindlement, it is extremely difficult to ignite the spark of faith.
And it is true that, in the name of planning and training, one can
become so preoccupied with technique that the spirit is forgotten. The
message of 9 January of the House of Justice to the Counsellors refers
to planning in these terms:
The nature of the planning process with which you will be
helping the friends is in many ways unique. At its core it is a
spiritual process in which communities and institutions strive to align
their pursuits with the Will of God. The Major Plan of God is at work
and the forces it generates impel humanity towards its destiny. In their
own plans of action, the institutions of the Faith must seek to gain
insight into the operation of these great forces, explore the
potentialities of the people they serve, measure the resources and
strengths of their communities, and take practical steps to enlist the
unreserved participation of the believers. The nurturing of this process
is the sacred mission entrusted to you.
This interconnectedness between "being" and "doing" also implies that we
cannot wait to be perfect before we teach. We all have along way to
walk on the path towards perfection, but we must be convinced that
Bahá'u'lláh will assist every soul who arises to serve Him, no matter
what his or her shortcomings. All we are required to do is to exert our
utmost to fulfill our duty to teach. And, we should not be mistaken to
think that we can teach by our example alone. It is the key of utterance
that according to Bahá'u'lláh will ultimately unlock hearts. This is
not to say that our behavior does not matter. A strong force of
attraction is generated by good deeds and an upright character. We need
to follow in the ways of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who lived a life of such
exemplary deeds, yet used the power of His utterance and spoke about the
Faith whenever an appropriate occasion arose.
The balance that is a sign of maturity also pertains to the attitudes we
adopt when carrying out our duty to teach. You will remember the words
of the beloved Guardian that we should be neither too "provocative," nor
too "supine," neither "fanatical nor excessively liberal" in our
"exposition of the fundamental and distinguishing features" of the
Faith. There are times when we should be "bold" and others when we
should move forward cautiously. Sometimes we must "act swiftly," and on
other occasions we should "mark time." There are instances in which the
direct method is appropriate, and those in which the indirect method
will work best.
As to the question of individual versus collective action, a mature
teacher appreciates that a "diversity of action" is needed if a
community is to grow. Proclamation is a valuable activity, but it cannot
become the sole means of bringing the message of Bahá'u'lláh to the
people of the world. Teaching involves far more than simply informing
people about the Faith. To assist others to recognize Bahá'u'lláh, to
systematically deepen them, to channel their energies into one or
another of the many avenues of service are matters that have to be
addressed both at the individual level and at the level of the community
and its institutions.
With these ideas in mind, most of them related to "state of being," let
us now go back to the question of "doing" and explore the nature of your
activities in the context of the plan of action for the new area in
which you reside. Let me remind you again that I will only be telling
one imaginary story, which should not be taken as a recipe for every
course to be followed.
Remember that, in our story, you have pioneered to an area being
prepared for an intensive program of growth. In describing an area ready
for such a program, the House of Justice has mentioned the following
criteria:
....some basic experience on the part of a few communities
in the cluster in holding classes for the spiritual education of
children, devotional meetings, and the Nineteen Day Feast; the existence
of a reasonable degree of administrative capacity in at least a few
Local Spiritual Assemblies; the active involvement of several assistants
to Auxiliary Board members in promoting community life; a pronounced
spirit of collaboration among the various institutions working in the
area; and above all, the strong presence of the training institute with a
scheme of coordination that supports the systematic multiplication of
study circles.
If the program is to be initiated on a sound footing, it is also
necessary to have, according to the House of Justice, "a high level of
enthusiasm among a sizeable group of devoted and capable believers who
understand the prerequisites for sustainable growth and can take
ownership of the program." We will assume that the area to which you
have pioneered enjoys many of these conditions, but that the operation
of the institute requires further strengthening and that the core group
of active believers needs to reach higher levels of unity of thought and
arrive at a common vision of the program they hope to launch. This,
everyone has agreed, can be achieved in a matter of a few months of
systematic preparation.
Given the centrality of the institute to an area growth program, one of
the principal goals set for this preparatory stage is the training of an
appreciable number of tutors, say fifty, of the first few courses of
the main sequence offered by the institute. The hope is that at least
twenty of them will be able to establish study circles in the various
localities in the cluster. Other activities called for are an initial
survey of the communities in the area, monthly meetings of consultation
among the believers willing to take on the challenges of accelerated
expansion, the consolidation of some twenty children's classes, and the
initiation of a few special study circles for junior youth, an endeavor
never before undertaken in this specific area.
Within this context now, let us pose the crucial question once again: What
are you to do to contribute to this plan of action? We have already
mentioned that personal teaching initiatives and collective endeavors to
ensure the expansion and consolidation of the Faith are complementary, and
that both are necessary for sustained growth. Therefore, we are safe to
assume that one of the first steps you take is to draw up your own
individual teaching plan. Beginning with your university or your workplace,
you become involved in the life of the society around you. You
systematically seek out like-minded people and enter into serious discourse
with them on spiritual subjects and the ideals of a new world order. As you
detect receptivity, you offer them the truths enshrined in the teachings,
attract them to the Faith, help them reach the stage of acceptance, deepen
them, and accompany them in their initial acts of service until they are
ready to walk on their own and teach others.
Experience all over the world is now showing that study circles can be
instruments of expansion as well as consolidation. Numerous individuals,
who sometimes know very little of the Faith, seem to be more than willing
to participate in certain institute courses, especially those dealing with
spiritual subjects, and often by the end of the first course they become
Baháâís. We may assume, then, that the use of such a method
is part of your individual teaching plan.
As to your participation in collective endeavors, let us say that although
you have received some training to be a tutor of a few courses of your
institute, you realize that you have much to learn before becoming truly
effective. So you readily accept to attend the periodic tutor training
sessions offered by the area coordinator for the institute. As your
training as a tutor advances, you begin to visit a nearby village once a
week where you form two study groups: one for the youth and young adults,
and another for the junior youth.
Let me diverge here a little and say a few words about the nature of the
Baháâí population of the kind of cluster to which, in my
story, you have pioneered. During the decades of the sixties, seventies and
the eighties, Bahá'í communities around the world grew
enormously. Unfortunately, consolidation could not keep up with expansion
and the process came to halt. As a result, the institutions of the Faith
lost touch with many, many Baháâís. We can be fairly
confident, then, that the locality you have chosen to visit would be found
in a peculiar condition: There would be a relatively large number of people
who accepted the Faith years ago and a good number of young people who in
their childhood attended occasional Baháâí children's
classes, all of whom have warm feelings towards the Faith but lack the
enthusiasm of those years of large-scale expansion. The experience of
recent years has shown that while trying to reanimate the entire community
may prove difficult, the proposal to establish a study circle with ten or
fifteen youth and young adults usually meets with great success. The work
of earlier decades has not been in vain. A condition has been created that
lends itself well to systematic action. What occurred during those three
decades came to be known as mass teaching, and a penetrating analysis of
that period of time is presented in the recently released document
Century
of Light. So important is that analysis for an understanding of the Five
Year Plan — and the intensive growth programs for which it calls — that I would
like to read a few paragraphs from the document for you:
As believers from urban centers set out on sustained campaigns to reach the
mass of the world's peoples living in villages and rural areas, they
encountered a receptivity to Baháâuâlláh's message far beyond
anything they had imagined possible. While the response usually took forms
very different from the ones with which the teachers had been familiar, the
new declarants were eagerly welcomed....
At the heart of the development, as has been the case in the life of the
Cause from the outset, was the commitment made by the individual believer.
Already, during the ministry of Shoghi Effendi, far-sighted persons had
taken the initiative to reach indigenous populations in such countries as
Uganda, Bolivia and Indonesia. During the Nine Year Plan, ever larger
numbers of such teachers were drawn into the work, particularly in India,
several countries in Africa, and most regions of Latin America, as well as
in islands of the Pacific, Alaska and among the native peoples of Canada
and the rural black population of the southern United States....
Even so, it soon became apparent that individual initiative alone, however
inspired and energetic, could not respond adequately to the opportunities
opening up. The result was to launch Baháâí communities on a
wide range of collective teaching and proclamation projects recalling the
heroic days of the dawn-breakers. Teams of ardent teachers found that it
was now possible to introduce the message of the Faith not merely to a
succession of inquirers, but to entire groups and even whole communities.
The tens of thousands became hundreds of thousands. The Faith's growth
meant that members of Spiritual Assemblies, whose experience had been
limited to confirming the understanding of the Faith of individual
applicants raised in cultures of doubt or religious fanaticism, had to
adjust to expressions of belief on the part of whole groups of people to
whom religious awareness and response were normal features of daily life.
No segment of the community made a more energetic or significant
contribution to this dramatic process of growth than did
Bahá'í youth. In their exploits during these crucial decades
— as, indeed, throughout the entire history of the past one hundred
and fifty years — one is reminded again and again that the great
majority of the band of heroes who launched the Cause on its course in the
middle years of the nineteenth century were all of them young people....
The document goes on to describe how the burst of enrollments brought with
it equally great problems: sustained deepening of the new believers proved
a formidable task and adapting to diverse cultures and new ways of thinking
presented unprecedented challenges.
Initially, such problems proved stimulating as both Baháâí
institutions and individual believers struggled to find new ways of looking
at situations — new ways, indeed, of understanding important passages in the
Baháâí Writings themselves. Determined efforts were made to
respond to the guidance of the World Centre that expansion and
consolidation are twin processes that must go hand in hand. Where hoped for
results did not readily materialize, however, a measure of discouragement
frequently set in. The initial rapid rise in enrollment rates slowed
markedly in many countries, tempting some Bahá'í institutions
and communities to turn back to more familiar activities and more
accessible publics.
The principal effect of the setbacks, however, was that they brought home
to communities that the high expectations of the early years were in some
respects quite unrealistic. Although the easy successes of the initial
teaching activities were encouraging, they did not, by themselves, build a
Baháâí community life that could meet the needs of its new
members and be self-generating. Rather, pioneers and new believers alike
faced questions for which Baháâí experience in Western lands
— or even Iran — offered few answers. How were Local Spiritual
Assemblies to be established — and once established, how were they to
function — in areas where large numbers of new believers had joined
the Cause overnight, simply on the strength of their spiritual apprehension
of its truth? How, in societies dominated by men since the dawn of time,
were women to be accorded an equal voice? How was the education of large
numbers of children to be systematically addressed in cultural situations
where poverty and illiteracy prevailed? What priorities should guide
Baháâí moral teaching, and how could these objectives best be
related to prevailing indigenous conventions? How could a vibrant community
life be cultivated that would stimulate the spiritual growth of its
members? What priorities, too, should be set with respect to the production
of Baháâí literature, particularly given the sudden explosion
that had taken place in the number of languages represented in the
community? How could the integrity of the Baháâí institution
of the Nineteen Day Feast be maintained, while opening this vital activity
to the enriching influence of diverse cultures? And, in all areas of
concern, how were the necessary resources to be recruited, funded, and
coordinated?
The pressure of these urgent and interlocking challenges launched the
Baháâí world on a learning process that has proved to be as
important as the expansion itself. It is safe to say that during these
years there was virtually no type of teaching activity, no combination of
expansion, consolidation and proclamation, no administrative option, no
effort at cultural adaptation that was not being energetically tried in
some part of the Baháâí world. The net result of the
experience was an intensive education of a great part of the
Baháâí community in the implications of the mass teaching
work, an education that could have occurred in no other way. By its very
nature, the process was largely local and regional in focus, qualitative
rather than quantitative in its gains, and incremental rather than
large-scale in the progress achieved. Had it not been for the painstaking,
always difficult and often frustrating consolidation work pursued during
these years, however, the subsequent strategy of systematizing the
promotion of entry by troops would have had very little with which to work.
As the document explains, the three decades of trial and error and of
learning constituted a significant period in Baháâí history:
The significance of these three decades of struggle, learning
and sacrifice became apparent when the moment arrived to devise a global
Plan that would capitalize on the insights gained and the resources that
had been developed. The Bahá'í community that set out on the
Four Year Plan in 1996 was a very different one from the eager, but new and
still inexperienced body of believers who, in 1964, had ventured out on the
first of such undertakings that were no longer sustained by the guiding
hand of Shoghi Effendi. By 1996, it had become possible to see all of the
distinct strands of the enterprise as integral parts of one coherent
whole.
Taking advantage of the insight gained during the previous decades, as the
document tells us, the Four Year Plan focused the Baháâí
world on the systematization of expansion and consolidation through the
instrumentality of the training institute. The entire period is then put in
historical perspective:
Throughout history, the masses of humanity have been, at best,
spectators at the advance of civilization. Their role has been to serve the
designs of whatever elite had temporarily assumed control of the process.
Even the successive Revelations of the Divine, whose objective was the
liberation of the human spirit, were, in time, taken captive by "the
insistent self", were frozen into man-made dogma, ritual, clerical
privilege and sectarian quarrels, and reached their end with their ultimate
purpose frustrated.
Baháâuâlláh has come to free humanity from this long bondage,
and the closing decades of the twentieth century were devoted by the
community of His followers to creative experimentation with the means by
which His objective can be realized. The prosecution of the Divine Plan
entails no less than the involvement of the entire body of humankind in the
work of its own spiritual, social and intellectual development. The trials
encountered by the Baháâí community in the decades since 1963
are those necessary ones that refine endeavor and purify motivation so as
to render those who would take part worthy of so great a trust. Such tests
are the surest evidences of that process of maturation which
'Abdu'l-Bahá so confidently described:
Some movements appear, manifest a brief period of activity,
then discontinue. Others show forth a greater measure of growth and
strength, but before attaining mature development, weaken, disintegrate and
are lost in oblivion.... There is still another kind of movement or cause
which from a very small, inconspicuous beginning goes forward with sure and
steady progress, gradually broadening and widening until it has assumed
universal dimensions. The Baháâí Movement is of this
nature.
The reason I have read to you so many passages from the document Century of
Light is twofold. One is underscore for you that the Five Year Plan has the
generality of humankind in mind. In the 9 January message, the Universal
House of Justice states:
The friends who participate in these intensive programs of growth should
bear in mind that the purpose is to ensure that the Revelation of
Baháâuâlláh reaches the masses of humanity and enables them
to achieve spiritual and material progress through the application of the
Teachings. Vast numbers among the peoples of the world are ready, indeed
yearn, for the bounties that Baháâuâlláh alone can bestow
upon them once they have committed themselves to building the new society
He has envisioned. In learning to systematize their large-scale teaching
work, Baháâí communities are becoming better equipped to
respond to this longing. They cannot withhold whatever effort, whatever
sacrifice, may be called for.
The second reason is that the ideas set forth in the passages I have quoted
must necessarily form part of a framework within which unity of thought on
sustained growth can be achieved. Going back to our story, we have said
that, along with the strengthening of the institute process, reaching this
unity of thought among those who will initiate the intensive program in
your area is a primary objective of the preparatory stage. Participating in
the regular meetings organized by the Area Teaching Committee, the
institute and the Auxiliary Board members for this purpose will be one of
your highest priorities.
The concept of unity of thought requires some comment. It is built on two
other degrees of unity that we can assume exist among the participants in
the meetings you will be attending. The first is unity in love and
fellowship, or, if you may, unity of the hearts. This is the most basic
degree of unity. Without it, every other degree of unity is, at best,
tenuous, if not impossible. It comes about as each of us strives to bring
his or her life into harmony with the principle of the oneness of
humankind, not only in terms of cognition and behavior but also at the
level of spiritual dynamics.
An environment conducive to the cementing of hearts is fundamentally shaped
by the interplay of our spiritual qualities. One quality of special
importance in this respect is humility, a humility that must be matched by
a strong sense of determination and perseverance. We need to look at
ourselves humbly and accept that we are far from possessing the perfections
that will eventually adorn our souls and then walk the path of perfection
with constancy. The humility to which we are referring flows from humility
before God. It is accompanied by fear of God and gives rise to the
understanding that every one of us is indeed insignificant when compared
with the majesty and glory of God's creation. It is through God's blessings
and confirmation that we become worthy of any mention at all. It is the
power of God that turns the gnat into an eagle. Heaven forbid that we
should think our strength is our own. In the twinkling of an eye, the gnat
will return to its original state.
The reason I am emphasizing this quality in the context of the meetings
that will take place in your area is that, without humility, unity of the
hearts, this most basic level of unity, is nearly impossible to achieve.
Humility prevents us from becoming judgmental, from losing sight of our own
faults, and from focusing on the shortcomings of others. Without it, we end
up preaching exalted principles at others — "We should do this," or "This is
the way things should be done" — rather than striving to reach unity of
thought. This humility is a requisite, then, of the posture of learning
that everyone participating in an intensive growth program needs to assume.
You, of course, know well that the love that characterizes this basic
degree of unity is a reflection of our love for Baháâuâlláh.
The foundation on which such a unity is built is the Covenant we have made
with Baháâuâlláh, of which He speaks thus in His Book of the
Covenant:
The aim of this Wronged One in sustaining woes and tribulations, in
revealing the Holy Verses and in demonstrating proofs hath been naught but
to quench the flame of hate and enmity, that the horizon of the hearts of
men may be illumined with the light of concord and attain real peace and
tranquility.
With our eyes fixed on 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Center of
Baháâuâlláh's Covenant, we stand firm in our efforts to live
according to His teachings and to create the civilization He has
envisioned. We are ever conscious of the promise we made to
Baháâuâlláh to love one another, for in 'Abdu'l-Bahá
we see the perfect example of one who loves. By reflecting on His life, we
learn what it means to uphold justice and to be generous and forgiving.
Above all, we remain aware of our covenant with Baháâuâlláh
that we will not allow the unity of His followers to be broken and that we
will work together as a united, worldwide community for the establishment
of the oneness of humankind.
The next degree of unity, built on this love and fellowship, is unity of
purpose. The consultative meetings you will be attending in the area will
serve to strengthen the sense of purpose of the group preparing for an
intensive program of growth. We should always remember that ours is a
purposeful association. We have not come together merely to exist, to live
happily in an environment of love and harmony, important as this may be. We
are workers laboring in a common enterprise: to build a new world order, to
establish a spiritually and materially prosperous world civilization. Our
purpose, however, cannot be left at the level of generality. In the
specific case of the plan of action in which you are taking part, the
purpose is to prepare the area for an intensive program of growth. As for
the program itself, its purpose will not be to create small communities
made up of perfect Baháâís, or to provide charity to the
masses of humanity, or to offer people something akin to a church service.
It will be to foster growth, and all will need to identify themselves with
this purpose.
The unity of thought which the group in your area needs to reach, then, is
on the nature of this growth and on the way it will be brought about. It
implies having a common understanding of the role of various components of
action, of how to integrate diverse endeavors, of the balance to be
maintained between individual initiative and collective action, and of the
style of administration that will bring coherence to a wide range of
activities, but will not control their every detail. In this process of
reaching unity of thought, a common understanding of the characteristics of
an intensive program of growth mentioned by the House of Justice will be
achieved:
- It will "aim at fostering sustainable growth by building the necessary
capacity at the levels of the individual, the institution, and the
community."
- It will not require "grandiose and elaborate plans."
- It will "focus on a few measures that have proven over the years to be
indispensable to large-scale expansion and consolidation."
- Its "success will depend on the manner in which lines of action are
integrated and on the attitude of learning that is adopted."
- Its implementation will "require the close collaboration of the
institute, the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, and an Area
Teaching Committee."
- At its core will "lie a sound and steady process of expansion, matched
by an equally strong process of human resource development."
- It will ensure that ''as the number of believers in the area rises, a
significant percentage" will receive training from the institute, and
their capabilities will be "directed towards the development of local
communities."
Beyond the nature of the growth program, the unity of thought to be reached
will extend to the various lines of action to be pursued by the program:
the order in which they are to be put into place in the area, the manner in
which they will be administered, how they will be integrated. You are of
course well familiar with many of these lines of action, which include:
1. The multiplication of study circles and the implementation of
campaigns to generate and maintain enthusiasm for institute courses.
2. The implementation of teaching campaigns to increase the number of
believers.
3. The deepening of the majority of the friends by those who are
benefiting from the institute's program.
4. The education of children, beginning with Baháâí children's classes
and gradually working towards the establishment of schools where
necessary.
5. The promotion and establishment of the Nineteen Day Feast.
6. The strengthening of the Local Spiritual Assemblies in the area.
7. The establishment of Local Funds and the education of the friends on
its significance.
8. Proclamation to officials and leaders of thought in the area, and so
on, and so on.
The unfoldment of these lines of action will be very much connected to the
learning taking place among the population of the area. As the believers go
through the sequence of courses offered by the institute, they will learn
how to carry out acts of service of increasing complexity, will acquire a
growing sense of responsibility for the progress of their area, and will
assume a greater and greater role in determining the direction in which the
communities will move. As you can imagine, then, unity of thought is not
something achieved once and for all. It is part of a larger, continuous
process of action, reflection on action, and the study of the Writings to
shed light on the issues that arise. The House of Justice tells us:
Throughout the endeavor, periodic meetings of consultation in the area need
to reflect on issues, consider adjustments, and maintain enthusiasm and
unity of thought. The best approach is to formulate plans for a few months
at a time, beginning with one or two lines of action and gradually growing
in complexity. Those who are actively involved in the implementation of
plans, whether members of the institutions or not, should be encouraged to
participate fully in the consultations. Other area-wide gatherings will
also be necessary. Some of these will provide opportunity for the sharing
of experience and further training. Others will focus on the use of the
arts and the enrichment of culture. Together, such gatherings will support
an intense process of action, consultation and learning.
Thus, the meetings in which you will be participating will not end once the
program has been launched. They will continue throughout its implementation
and will help those taking part in it to reach higher and higher levels of
unity of thought.
Let me say a few words now about the most powerful instrument for building
unity of thought: Baháâí consultation. The purpose of
Baháâí consultation is not for us to express our opinions
with the hope of winning others over to our side. Nor is it to negotiate
the truth. Its aim, rather, is the earnest investigation of reality.
Reality is very complex, each one of us seeing some aspect of it. We come
together to consult precisely to see aspects of reality from other people's
perspective. Having done so, we discover a more complete picture of that
facet of reality we are examining and act accordingly. We do not even claim
that our decision after consultation is the correct one. We simply do the
best we can and we are willing to learn. 'Abdu'l-Bahá has described
consultation in this way:
The purpose is to emphasize the statement that consultation must have for
its object the investigation of truth. He who expresses an opinion should
not voice it as correct and right but set it forth as a contribution to the
consensus of opinion, for the light of reality becomes apparent when two
opinions coincide. A spark is produced when flint and steel come together.
Man should weigh his opinions with the utmost serenity, calmness and
composure. Before expressing his own views he should carefully consider the
views already advanced by others. If he finds that a previously expressed
opinion is more true and worthy, he should accept it immediately and not
willfully hold to an opinion of his own. By this excellent method he
endeavors to arrive at unity and truth. Opposition and division are
deplorable. It is better then to have the opinion of a wise, sagacious man;
otherwise, contradiction and altercation, in which varied and divergent
views are presented, will make it necessary for a judicial body to render
decision upon the question. Even a majority opinion or consensus may be
incorrect. A thousand people may hold to one view and be mistaken, whereas
one sagacious person may be right. Therefore, true consultation is
spiritual conference in the attitude and atmosphere of love. Members must
love each other in the spirit of fellowship in order that good results may
be forthcoming. Love and fellowship are the foundation.
The most memorable instance of spiritual consultation was the meeting of
the disciples of Jesus Christ upon the mount after His ascension. They
said, "Jesus Christ has been crucified, and we have no longer association
and intercourse with Him in His physical body; therefore, we must be
loyal and faithful to Him, we must be grateful and appreciate Him, for He
has raised us from the dead, He made us wise, He has given us eternal
life. What shall we do to be faithful to Him?" And so they held council.
One of them said, "We must detach ourselves from the chains and fetters
of the world; otherwise, we cannot be faithful." The others replied,
"That is so." Another said, "Either we must be married and faithful to
our wives and children or serve our Lord free from these ties. We cannot
be occupied with the care and provision for families and at the same time
herald the Kingdom in the wilderness. Therefore, let those who are
unmarried remain so, and those who have married provide means of
sustenance and comfort for their families and then go forth to spread the
message of glad-tidings." There were no dissenting voices; all agreed,
saying, "That is right." A third disciple said, "To perform worthy deeds
in the Kingdom we must be further self-sacrificing. From now on we should
forego ease and bodily comfort, accept every difficulty, forget self and
teach the Cause of God." This found acceptance and approval by all the
others. Finally a fourth disciple said, "There is still another aspect to
our faith and unity. For Jesus' sake we shall be beaten, imprisoned and
exiled. They may kill us. Let us receive this lesson now. Let us realize
and resolve that though we are beaten, banished, cursed, spat upon and
led forth to be killed, we shall accept all this joyfully, loving those
who hate and wound us." All the disciples replied, "Surely we will-it is
agreed; this is right." Then they descended from the summit of the
mountain, and each went forth in a different direction upon his divine
mission.
This was true consultation. This was spiritual consultation and not the
mere voicing of personal views in parliamentary opposition and debate.
There is not much more that I can say about the program of growth in the
area to which you have pioneered. It has to be the fruit of the
consultative process. So I will end our story here. Let me just offer one
final, brief comment. I apologize for the fact that it can be categorized
as an admonition.
There is such a thing as "the good life," built around the concept of
comfort. Any lifestyle chosen by a Baháâí, of course, will
only include behavior that is in accordance with the teachings. But even
so, when comfort is the motivating force, one's lifestyle begins to show
great deficiencies that lead to stagnation. When life is not purposeful
enough, when it is too centered on the idea of fun and entertainment, when
it places too much value on enjoyment, it becomes unproductive. An
intensive growth program in an area is not possible if those who take part
in it are not engaged intensely in service. We are all familiar with these
words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá:
....look at me, follow me, be as I am; take no thought for yourselves or
your lives, whether ye eat or whether ye sleep, whether ye are comfortable,
whether ye are well or ill, whether ye are with friends or foes, whether ye
receive praise or blame; for all of these things ye must care not at all.
Look at me and be as I am; ye must die to yourselves and to the world, so
shall ye be born again and enter the kingdom of heaven. Behold the candle,
how it gives light. It weeps its life away drop by drop in order to give
forth its flame of light.
And in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, He calls upon us:
....rest ye not, seek ye no composure, attach not yourselves to the
luxuries of this ephemeral world, free yourselves from every attachment,
and strive with heart and soul to become fully established in the Kingdom
of God. Gain ye the heavenly treasures. Day by day become ye more
illumined. Draw ye nearer and nearer unto the threshold of oneness....
