Spiritual Empowerment

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Baha'i faith is that it provides us, both those who are members of the Faith and those who are not, with many avenues of service. We have a twofold moral purpose in our lives. The first is to improve our own character. Without such a transformation, and that on a continual basis, none of our other activities will bear much fruit. The best way to improve our own character is to spend our time in service to others. The second moral imperative is to contribute to the transformation of the society. By such a transformation we do not mean some minor adjustment to the current structures of the society. What we mean is a thorough and fundamental re-making of social structures and relationships. We also mean complete and wholesale change in the structures that generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge. Additionally we would want to redefine conceptions of power. Now the best way to do all of this is also to personally spend our time in service to others.

Now by service I do not only mean to help others as needed in terms of material or social needs of individuals. The reality of man is not limited to his material condition. Abdu'l-Baha has said that the reality of man is his thoughts. Therefore the greatest service to others can be in the form of helping them think at a higher level. To free our thoughts from oppression is the greatest freedom. To free our thoughts from unwanted influences of the popular media is the greatest freedom. In this category there are the mass media, its pervasive influence on social media, and to a some extent the artistic expressions of ideas in various media.

Today like most Saturdays I spent a few hours in a neighborhood where we meet with a group of junior youth, ages 12 to 14. We first went around to visit several homes in this complex of houses to make sure that we are all present and together. Then we sat outside on a bench attached to a table under a tree in front of one of the homes. The weather was warm, but a comfortable breeze kept us cool. We studied the last lesson of the second book, Walking the Straight Path. The story is about  a teacher in whose class the students argue and bicker with each other, and then instead of forgiving and forgetting they complain of their wrongs and carry grudges for days or weeks. The teacher gives each student an empty sack, and asks them to put a potato in it every time they are hurt, and carry their sack with them for a month. At the end of the month they were going to compare their sacks to see who is most hurt. They were also told that if they forgave anyone they could discard the associated potato. By the end of the first week, the sacks were heavy and rotting giving off an awful smell, but no one was willing to give up their grudges. The story goes on to show that forgiving is not only helpful to others and to the society, but it also lightens the burden of our soul.

We read the story, filled in the blanks, answered questions, and learned several new difficult words, such as rancor, undeterred, and admiration. But above all we had a discussion about hatred, grudges and forgiveness, not at the level of abstract ideas, but at the applied level within the school system. After about an hour of this it was so clear to me that minds had been elevated and consciousness expanded. The sweetest moment was when the junior youth themselves suggested to create a skit based on this story and teach it to their siblings on Wednesday at the children's class. This Program for the Spiritual Empowerment of the Junior Youth is inspired by Baha'i Writings, but it is not in the language of religious instruction. It is hoped to so impact the thoughts of young people that they themselves move away from religious fanaticism and superstition, and embrace unity of thought and vision, which is hidden in the core of all religions.

Baha'u'llah wrote "He whom the grace of Thy mercy aideth, though he be but a drop, shall become the boundless ocean, and the merest atom which the outpouring of Thy loving-kindness assisteth, shall shine even as the radiant star." Some of these junior youth will surely become a boundless ocean, and shine even as a radiant star.

On Regional Councils

The week of June 11^th 2012 is a historic week in the USA. The Bahá’í community has grown in many aspects. Up until now the continental US was divided into six regions. But each region is now so large in the number of members and activities, in the number of active agents of change, and in scope and diversity of activities and circumstances that new arrangements are called for.

Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, had indicated that in future, as the Faith expands in scope and diversity, the Universal House of Justice will bring about new institutions in response to the demands of growth itself. So some 15 years ago, in 1997 the head of the Faith created Regional Bahá’í Councils. These Councils are executive arms of the National Assembly and are normally elected by members of Local Spiritual Assemblies. The main functions of these institutions is related to growth and the process of community building. Now the US National Spiritual Assembly, in consultation with the Continental Board of Counsellors, and with warm encouragement of the Universal House of Justice, has called for the formation of 10 Regional Bahá’í Councils. Members of some 1200 Assemblies, from as many cities, towns or counties across this country will cast their votes this week, in quiet reverence, and in a rarified atmosphere of detachment and service. There will then be some 174 such administrative bodies in the Bahá’í world.

In a sense this represents a new beginning. It is a milestone marking along the path of progress. No one is concerned about who might get elected. No one is anxious about what might happen. There are no winners or losers, because there is no contest. No one is running for anything. And those who will receive a call to inform them of their election, and to ask them if they are able to give the time for such service, will often wonder if they are truly qualified for such a task. This is a new model of governance for human society.

In the Old World Order the person who is elected leaves his mark on the institution. In the New World Order we can say that it is mostly the opposite, it is the institution that leaves its mark on the individuals who are elected. First the person is humbled, then he or she feels overwhelmed. The task is large and complex, and the path for learning is wide. And you have to rise up to this level while carrying on with your normal profession.

Each new member now has to engage more intensely in his or her own neighborhood to accelerate his learning about the dynamics of community building. If previously he has completed his study of a sequence of courses offered by the training institute, and only occasionally he had tutored a course, now he has to engage more and deeper. He will have to personally be involved in a number of core activities at the level of the neighborhood, and in visiting homes of others, and in learning to carry on meaningful and distinctive conversations, and establishing friendships based on shared understanding. He or she will have to definitely animate a group of junior youth, to teach a class for children, and be engaged both in an educational process and in cycles of activity, which are after all two perspectives of the same reality. 

It is such personal experience that sharpens the ability to read reality, to analyze conditions of a larger number of clusters and to serve the needs of the community on a larger scale.

All this will work out well since those who are elected will have to have the humility to recognize that they are not the central ornaments of the Cause, that they did not seek to serve in such a capacity, but that their orientation is one of a posture of learning, and of a temporary assignment and call to service.

With such an orientation towards service the fundamental relationship between individuals and institutions will begin to experience the transformation that is the prerequisite for a divine civilization.

Can you identify and list all those qualities, attitudes, habits and postures that characterize a decaying world order? Can you now identify and list all those qualities, attitudes, habits and postures that characterize a developing new world order? Are you able to find appropriate passages to illuminate your list, from within the Writings, and guidance of the House of Justice? Would such a list, with your appropriate commentary, be useful to those who serve on various institutions serving a community? 

Baha'u'llah wrote: "That seeker must, at all times, put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, must detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords. He must never seek to exalt himself above any one, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vain-glory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endureth a century."

Softening a hardened clay

Recently I participated as a visitor in the annual National Convention in USA, held at the Mother Temple of the West. As it is customary the convention began by reading of, and then reflection upon, the Ridvan message from the Universal House of Justice. But this year there was a particular sense that we were on sacred grounds at a sacred time. The very spot on which we had gathered has been mentioned in this Ridvan message "that the proclamation of the oneness of mankind shall go forth from its open courts of holiness.”

Baha’u’llah in His Tablet of the World wrote a passage, and I think that it links directly with this image that the Universal House of Justice has provided for us in this Ridvan’s message, namely the image of the world as hardened clay, and the Bahá’í message as an instrument to soften the hearts.

These are the words of the Blessed Beauty: “Justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight, and Equity groaneth beneath the yoke of oppression. The thick clouds of tyranny have darkened the face of the earth, and enveloped its peoples. Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of this world-wide regeneration. This is the most great, the most joyful tidings imparted by the Pen of this Wronged One to mankind. Wherefore fear ye, O My well-beloved ones? Who is it that can dismay you? A touch of moisture sufficeth to dissolve the hardened clay out of which this perverse generation is moulded.”

As I understand it, in the imagery used in the Writings, fire stands for love, and water stands for knowledge. So when He says that a touch of moisture sufficeth to dissolve the hardened clay, I understand from this that knowledge will play a central role in capturing the human heart, and in transforming the society. The knowledge that we gain in a practical way from implementing the institute process and the provisions of the Five Year Plan in our neighborhoods and clusters will be the instrument to break the ground. And in the Ridvan message the Universal House of Justice uses the same imagery, opening the message with this same concept: “Abdu'l-Baha, standing before an audience several hundred strong, lifted a workman's axe and pierced the turf covering the Temple site at Grosse Pointe, north of Chicago.”

And again in later paragraphs of this same message we see the same imagery: “Akin to the hard earth struck by the Master a century ago, the prevailing theories of the age may, at first, seem impervious to alteration, but they will undoubtedly fade away, and through the "vernal showers of the bounty of God", the "flowers of true understanding" will spring up fresh and fair.”

And as each cluster moves to the tip of the arrow of learning, as gaining of knowledge accelerates, as we learn how to multiply the core activities in sustainable ways, at the root of which lies an educational process of limitless potentialities, each such cluster will earn the spiritual reward of building a House of Worship. Today five such clusters have reached this level, and two national ones. 

As the head of the Faith has written in the closing sentence:"The ground broken by the hand of 'Abdu'1-Baha a hundred years ago is to be broken again in seven more countries, this being but the prelude to the day when within every city and village, in obedience to the bidding of Baha'u'llah, a building is upraised for the worship of the Lord. From these Dawning-Points of the Remembrance of God will shine the rays of His light and peal out the anthems of His praise."

A framework for understanding

One way to understand the world around us is to think in terms of processes. First there are the twin processes of integration and disintegration. The world at large is undergoing the processes of disintegration of the Old World Order, while at the same time the Bahá’í community, along with a group of like-minded peoples and organizations, are experiencing the process of integration towards the ultimate goal of a New World Order.

And then within each one of these two processes there are other processes. These are complex, and interrelated to each other. We need to better understand them if we want to have any hope of effectively contributing to them. For example the process of integration itself is made up of “interacting processes that, in their totality, engender the expansion and consolidation of the Faith”. If we fail to properly appreciate these processes we cannot be as successful in the execution of the Divine Plan.

To help us better understand the nature and workings of these interacting processes the Universal House of Justice has provided us with a concept as part of a framework for analysis and understanding. This concept is that we recognize the existence of three participants in a global enterprise, which are the three protagonists of change, namely the individual, the institutions, and the community. At first this will sound like a simple concept, involving what appears to be obviously true. But after some reflection we realize that in fact there is a profound truth that appears to be hidden here and it is deceptively simple. 

Humanity’s past, in our collective stage of infancy, and the current disintegrating Old World Order, is characterized by conflict among these three, “with the individual clamouring for freedom, the institution demanding submission, and the community claiming precedence.”

In theory and in practice, in politics and in economics, there is great confusion about the relationships among these three. A famous British prime minister even went so far as to deny the existence of society, reducing it merely to a the existence of a collection of individuals.

Attempts at social and economic development of peoples have given rise to various ideas in political economics that are then variously labeled as conservative or liberal, republican or democratic, capitalist or socialist, business friendly or labor backed. Over a number of decades these thoughts and ideologies have crystallized and polarized leading to an antagonistic stand off that today use every means from propaganda to manipulation of the mass media to achieve partisan ends. Such activities often take the shape of short sound bites and slogans. The struggle for power between individuals, communities and institutions seems to be without end, consuming the vast majority of the resources of the planet. The fog of confusion is so thick that even many of our seemingly sharp minds are trapped in it.

Yet the Universal House of Justice, in its letter of 28 December 2010, the final paragraphs of 40-44, from which all quotes in this post are taken, gives us a tool for analysis in terms of the relationships among these three participants. If we better develop our skills in analyzing the human condition using this tool, we will readily see that what the Bahá’í community is doing in practice is to create a model community within which these three exist in harmony and mutual support.

“The worldwide crisis of authority provides proof enough.  So grievous have been its abuses, and so deep the suspicion and resentment it now arouses, that the world is becoming increasingly ungovernable – a situation made all the more perilous by the weakening of community ties.”

By contrast we are learning about developing new relationships that bind people together. “At a fundamental level these relationships are characterized by cooperation and reciprocity, manifestations of the interconnectedness that governs the universe.” While the legitimate rights of the individuals are inviolable, each individual sees himself or herself as a servant of God, and recognizes that his twin moral purposes can only be fulfilled through service to humanity. And ""wealth of sentiment, abundance of good-will and effort are of little avail when their flow is not directed along proper channels,” so that "the unfettered freedom of the individual should be tempered with mutual consultation and sacrifice," and that "the spirit of initiative and enterprise should be reinforced by a deeper realization of the supreme necessity for concerted action and a fuller devotion to the common weal."" 

Such a realization leads to mutual support of the legitimate institutions of society by and for individuals. “Composed of such individuals and such institutions, the community of the Greatest Name becomes that spiritually charged arena in which powers are multiplied in unified action.”

“It is of this community that 'Abdu'l-Baha writes:  "When any souls grow to be true believers, they will attain a spiritual relationship with one another, and show forth a tenderness which is not of this world.  They will, all of them, become elated from a draught of divine love, and that union of theirs, that connection, will also abide forever.  Souls, that is, who will consign their own selves to oblivion, strip from themselves the defects of humankind, and unchain themselves from human bondage, will beyond any doubt be illumined with the heavenly splendours of oneness, and will all attain unto real union in the world that dieth not."”

Within and Yet Apart

One of the goals of the Baha'i community is to help transform the society around us. This goal applies equally to all societies the world over. Such a goal is rooted in the belief that we humans are capable of creating societies that are significantly better than what we see today. Therefore there are positive and hopeful sentiments that drive this goal.

When we analyze the condition of our societies we may see numerous signs of injustice, of greed, of inhumanity, of heedlessness, and so on. It is easy for us to be driven to a stage of hopelessness and give up. But the power of faith and assurances given in the Baha'i Writings encourage us to keep on going.

Some puritan groups may suggest that to create a just society we must separate ourselves from the current societies, and create a smaller group of people, who live in isolation. We can then implement stricter codes of conduct, and engineer the conditions to bring about greater justice, or greater equality, or greater love and fellowship. We do not subscribe to this view.

We believe that we should "become increasingly involved in the life of society". And it is for this reason that we try to reduce any barriers that may exist between the Baha'i community and the wider society. It is also for this same reason that the core activities of the Baha'i community are designed to be open to all. In our engagement with the society at large, we should benefit "from its educational programmes, excelling in its trades and professions, learning to employ well its tools, and applying themselves to the advancement of its arts and sciences." And indeed where I live, in the US, the Baha'i community is among the most educated, and most accomplished communities. 

At the same time that we are within the society, and operating within its tools, we have to be careful not to be contaminated by its vagaries. If we want to be able to effectively transform the society then we cannot become victims of its forces. We have to be within it and yet apart from it. This represents an interesting challenge. "The magnitude of the challenge facing the friends in this respect is not lost on us", wrote the Universal House of Justice. We "are never to lose sight of the aim of the Faith to effect a transformation of society, remoulding its institutions and processes, on a scale never before witnessed."  We "must remain acutely aware of the inadequacies of current modes of thinking and doing -- this, without feeling the least degree of superiority, without assuming an air of secrecy or aloofness, and without adopting an unnecessarily critical stance towards society."   

This challenge is presented to us in paragraph 36 of the letter of 28 December 2010 from the Universal House of Justice. Within a cluster, a group of friends who are engaged in building communities in neighborhoods can ask ourselves to what extent we are able to overcome this challenge. It is easy to remain dry if you always stay out of the water. But as we need to dive in to help rescue others from the onrushing floods of materialism, it is normal to get wet, and that is understandable, so long as we ourselves are not swept away.

As we think about these principles, does the quote below begin to take on new and added meanings for you?

Baha'u'llah wrote: "O Son of Being! Make mention of Me on My earth, that in My heaven I may remember thee..."

Habits of Thought

The Universal House of Justice in its letter of 28 December 2010 addressed to the Continental Boards of Counsellors laid out a body of inspired guidance for the Friends. In this document there is a section that describes certain ways and habits of thinking. In the words of the House of Justice “Apart from the spiritual requisites of a sanctified Baha'i life, there are habits of thought that affect the unfoldment of the global Plan, and their development has to be encouraged at the level of culture.  There are tendencies, as well, that need to be gradually overcome.  Many of these tendencies are reinforced by approaches prevalent in society at large, which, not altogether unreasonably, enter into Baha'i activity.” As the Friends study this infallible guidance we should ask ourselves what are such tendencies, how do they start, what reinforces them, and how can we free ourselves from them. This subject takes up the four paragraphs numbered 36 to 39 of the current Five Year Plan. Instead of writing one post for each of these four paragraphs and suggesting a few questions for the study of each paragraph, a pattern that characterizes all the previous posts in this blog, I am thinking of doing something a little different and more integrated. Therefore please just see the more extensive paper at this link which describes in some details these salutary habits and analyzes the associated three tendencies to be overcome.


Abdu'l-Baha wrote that "The reality of man is his thought, not his material body. The thought force and the animal force are partners. Although man is part of the animal creation, he possesses a power of thought superior to all other created beings."

Spiritual Qualities

The Bahá’í community has a program for the effective transformation of the individuals and the creation of a new world civilization. This program can be clearly distinguished from ideas, suggestions, proposals, principles, and sentiments held by a large and disparate group of people, all of whom would want to contribute to the betterment of the world. To better appreciate the features of this program we observe that since 1996 the Bahá’í community is engaged in creating, step by step, the elements of this program. To effectively carry out any program, it requires a number of people who are able and willing to implement its provisions. To systematically train a large number and develop in them the knowledge, the spiritual insight, and the skills to carry out the various activities, some 250 training institutes were created throughout the world in 1996. These institutes are organizational structures dedicated to providing formal educational programs that systematically raise the capacity of its participants.

We have studied three spiritual prerequisites, namely rectitude of conduct, a chaste and holy life, and elimination of all forms of prejudice. These spiritual qualities may have been the object of numerous sermons throughout the ages and in various settings. So what is the source of our optimism? The answer lies in the fact that our approach is fundamentally different from expressions of pious hope. It involves a practical and systematic method that raises capacity for action, then accompanies the participants to engage in action. And at each stage these spiritual qualities are studied, then practiced, and their implications and applications in realistic circumstances explored. Rectitude of conduct is woven in the study of the Books, woven in the practices, and woven in reflections on action. It becomes impossible for a person to ignore it as we move from cycle to cycle.

And there are two complimentary principles before us: be absolutely strict on the principles, and completely understanding of the efforts of the individuals. We “recognize the importance of two fundamental, interlocking precepts:  On the one hand, the high standard of conduct inculcated by Baha'u'llah's Revelation can admit no compromise; it can, in no wise, be lowered, and all must fix their gaze on its lofty heights.  On the other, it must be acknowledged that, as human beings, we are far from perfect; what is expected of everyone is sincere daily effort.  Self-righteousness is to be eschewed.”

In the study of this 35^th paragraph of the letter of 28 December 2010 of the Universal House of Justice, the following questions come to mind:

1. How does the educational process associated with the training institute help to foster the spiritual conditions that must distinguish the life of the Bahá’í community?
2. How does the training institute promote the spirit of unity that must animate the friends?
3. How does the training institute engender the ties of love that must bind the collaborators?
4. How does the training institute secure firmness in the Covenant that must sustain the participants?
5. How does the training institute increase reliance and trust the learners must place on the power of divine assistance?

Abdu’l-Baha wrote: “…You should strive day and night so that endowed with heavenly strength, inspired with brilliant motives and aided by His celestial power and heavenly grace and confirmation, you may become the ornaments of the world of humanity, and preeminent among those who are initiated into true learning and the love of God. You must be distinguished amidst men by your sanctity and detachment, loftiness of purpose, magnanimity, determination, noble mindedness, tenacity, the elevation of your aims and your spiritual qualities”. [Bahá’í Prayers and Tablets for the Young, p. 30]