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....
