Baha’i Perspectives

geoffrey August 28th, 2008

I apologize for the delay with this second post — passing moments of confluence and divergence interceded.

I’ve come to realize that my use of the word “poet” can take on a couple of different meanings and connotations. By no means do I wish to be exclusive with my language. There are some who may feel they have no talent with regards to language, there are those that hoard it; and language can be a tricky thing. It requires one person attempting to pass on to another individual her or his perspective of the world (in the broader sense — but in reality, everything we say is an effort to explain how we see reality).

In a book entitled “Minimalism”, in a section concerning matters of knowledge, reality, subjectivity and objectivity, the scientist William Hatcher describes a process of understanding reality. One such approach is to view each person as having an inner model which relates to reality like a map relates to a territory. He states “Ontologically, a map of Canada has nothing in common with Canada. Canada is a geographical territory made up of earth, water, forests, cities, people, and animals, while a map of Canada is a piece of paper…” What generates a sense of meaning, or creates a relation between the two, is the existence of an “appropriate correspondence”. Relating the inner model to reality can be done in the same way, there must exist mediums and specific reference points for the two.

What if we’re all looking at different maps?

This, I feel, naturally leads into the next point I wanted to touch briefly upon, because in essence these posts are in no means exhaustive, but simply probing. The power of words to affect is my next consideration.

If we follow along with the analogy of the map presented earlier, the difficulties, even when a common language is shared, are immense. The question arises, how then, in a world fraught with dichotomies, are we to express ourselves in a way that touches someone’s heart? This is the important point here. The thrust of the question is how to use language, words and expressions so that they become means of generating a change in consciousness as we seek to build an ever increasing sense of unity in the world (for this is underlying principal of the Bahá’í Faith), and thereby transcend and develop language that redefines our “map”. When this happens, when we’re able to begin to reshape our “inner model” so that it resonates in unison with others around us, this is the point at which our words become those means of attraction, binding together others and expressing universalities that have the potential to heal and build.

This is what I also mean by the use of “poet”. We all have the potential to utilize language for this constructive purpose, and when our words and phrases mirror this positive force and attempt to seek truth, that is when we’ve reached the essence of true poetry.

Utterance is another concept in the Bahá’í Faith that stands alone as unique.

Baha’u’llah, the Expounder of the Bahá’í Faith, revealed a prayer that speaks to this:

Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them ho have drawn night unto Him, that the sweetness of the melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of men. Whose reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul. Thus have the mysteries of the Revelation of God been decreed by virtue of the Will of Him Who is the Source of power and wisdom.

In part III, I’ll touch upon the topic of the potential of youth and junior youth, while following this train of thought with regards to the impact of language.

Tags: art, language, poetry

• Arts & Culture , Baha'i Concepts , Inspiration
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nooshin August 25th, 2008

Having started the course in May 2007, and after some unforeseen stops and starts, I have finally finished Ruhi Book 5 (Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth), and am now officially an “animator”. I explained my enthusiasm for the course and its spiritual underpinnings in my previous post. In the collaborative spirit of the Ruhi method, I have asked my classmates to share their views of Book 5. All three are in their twenties, and all three have been raised and brought up in Africa. Two are doctors and one is an international relations consultant. Once you read their insightful responses, you’ll see why I loved going to class: I felt more enriched every time.

Me: Why do you think Book 5 is an important class? Is it different from the other Ruhi books?

Well, truth is I only did the book initially for the sake of doing it. I was a bit curious to see what it was like but never thought I would want to do it myself. By the time the book finished, I was dying to have my own experiences. I think the book gives you a taste of what it could be like but you know that the real exciting part would be to get out and do it. By doing my class, I think I learnt a lot about encouragement it helped me in a lot of aspects of my life to take an individual and be a part of their growth. Here you are helping build a generation that will be better than ours was, one which will have a whole new focus. It is a privilege, I think.

Book 5 is a very specific training manual with a concrete practical component, the formation of junior youth animator groups; a peer group that meets regularly, serves as an environment of mutual support for its members, where youth are systematically guided to listen, speak, reflect, analyze, make decisions and act on their decisions in an atmosphere free from fear of censure or ridicule, and encouraged to enhance those qualities and attitudes that a life of service to humanity requires.

What is important for me is the focus on a previously neglected age group. The series of material that has been developed to accompany Book 5 is great for animators, and provides a consistent and systematic methodology.

Me: Are you a fan of the Ruhi process? Do you think it is successful?

A true fan! It is the core to a systematic sustainable growth and development pattern that the international Baha’i community has embarked on. It is globally recognizable and yet locally adaptable and sensitive. It has been successful in deepening the knowledge of the Baha’i community, growing human resources internally, focusing on a specific plan of action, and mobilizing the global community around this. It is clearly a process that is equipping every community with the next level of building blocks required to support the spiritual needs of the entire human race.

Me: Why do you think it is important to focus on this particular age group?

It is a period of transition. Prior to this, their choices are made for them, their morals are imposed on them rather than being their choice. This is the first time they start to question and be critical and really find out why things are done rather than blindly following what they are told to do. They also often shift their focus of guidance, which makes this a very critical time, because a wrong choice here could have disastrous consequences for the future. But if they choose to adopt a positive world outlook and a sense of spirituality, this will remain with them.

Junior Youth require firm mentoring but with open debate, so that they can develop their own thought processes and opinions but based on important spiritual values that will stay with them their entire life. Youth have often already formed this, and it is challenging to steer their pattern of development towards a positive direction.

Junior youth are in the shadows of the age of maturity and the animator youth group casts a light to guide them in the right direction. Abdu’l-Bahá says of the age of maturity (15 years): “Having arrived at this stage it acquireth the capacity to manifest spiritual and intellectual perfections. The lights of comprehension, intelligence and knowledge become perceptible in it and the POWERS OF ITS SOUL UNFOLD“.

Tags: Ruhi books, youth

• Baha'i Concepts , Principles in Action
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Baha'i Perspectives August 21st, 2008

Congratulations to Portugal’s Nelson Evora, the newly-crowned Olympic triple jump champion. With a stunning leap of 17.67m, he wins Portugal’s first Olympic gold medal since 1996.

Here is a snippet about Evora from the NBC Olympics 2008 site:

Evora is a member of the Bahá’í Faith, which is a religion founded in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind.
[Read the full bio]

Well done, Nelson! We are proud of you!

• General Interest , Inspiration , News & Current Affairs
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nava August 19th, 2008

Adam and Eve. Our progenitors. The Garden of Eden. The birthplace of shame and forbidden fruit, satanic snakes and temptressy women. Possibly one of the most famous Biblical accounts of all time. Certainly the most popular. But, what does it actually mean? What are the inherent values we are supposed to glean and learn from this anecdote?

A literal interpretation of this account proves troublesome as the numbers just don’t add up. From a scientific perspective, it is well-documented and proven that human beings have existed on this planet in some evolutionary form or another long before Sir Adam or Madame Eve ever made an appearance. From a biological point of view, the populating of the planet would seem miraculous if actually initiated by the two—who did their sons marry? And why didn’t all the children end up with severe disabilities (as modern medicine has proven time and again that the odds are way against us as a race when we marry within the bloodline)? From a spiritual stance, couldn’t a God who punishes perpetual generations of His creation for the sins of the first two be considered somewhat childish, if not outright cruel? Clearly, this story is not intended literally.

An early Baha’i believer from a Christian background asked Abdu’l-Baha, the son of the Founder of the Baha’i Faith, what the true significance of this allegory was. He explained that the story of Adam and Eve had many different meanings, one of which he would expound for her. He says the following regarding the symbolism of the main “protagonists” of this story (Adam, Eve, the tree of good and evil, the serpent, and the tree of life):

Adam signifies the heavenly spirit of Adam, and Eve His human soul. For in some passages in the Holy Books where women are mentioned, they represent the soul of man. The tree of good and evil signifies the human world; for the spiritual and divine world is purely good and absolutely luminous, but in the human world light and darkness, good and evil, exist as opposite conditions.

The meaning of the serpent is attachment to the human world. This attachment of the spirit to the human world led the soul and spirit of Adam from the world of freedom to the world of bondage and caused Him to turn from the Kingdom of Unity to the human world. When the soul and spirit of Adam entered the human world, He came out from the paradise of freedom and fell into the world of bondage. From the height of purity and absolute goodness, He entered into the world of good and evil.

The tree of life is the highest degree of the world of existence: the position of the Word of God, and the supreme Manifestation. Therefore, that position has been preserved; and, at the appearance of the most noble supreme Manifestation, it became apparent and clear. For the position of Adam, with regard to the appearance and manifestation of the divine perfections, was in the embryonic condition; the position of Christ was the condition of maturity and the age of reason; and the rising of the Greatest Luminary[1] was the condition of the perfection of the essence and of the qualities. This is why in the supreme Paradise the tree of life is the expression for the center of absolutely pure sanctity — that is to say, of the divine supreme Manifestation. From the days of Adam until the days of Christ, They spoke little of eternal life and the heavenly universal perfections. This tree of life was the position of the Reality of Christ; through His manifestation it was planted and adorned with everlasting fruits. [1= Baha’u’llah]

(Abdu’l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 123)

In layman’s terms, Adam and Eve are one reality, Adam representing the physical self and Eve his soul. The tree of good and evil is this very world we exist in, a world full of dualities, as opposed to the spiritual worlds of God — the heavenly realms, as some theological language would term them — which are only good. The serpent represents attachment to this material world (maybe things like our looks, our cars, our status, our things) — the true source of evil. The tree of life represents the Manifestation of God (such as Christ and Baha’u’llah). They are the tree of life because They are the source of all spiritual good, and the true nature of man is spiritual. Though he is both a body and a soul, the body is the vehicle for the soul to progress through life acquiring the spiritual attributes he will need in the spiritual worlds of God. So when we forget our true reality, when we become so caught up in the affairs of the flesh that we neglect our souls, we not only succumb to evil, we bind ourselves to it.

Evil is not a seperate entity that exists on its own, stalking us through dark hallways and creepy dreams, waiting to plant itself in our bodies so that only an exorcism can restore us to humanity. Evil is a turning away from good; a daily struggle. A part of our very selves. A lower, animalistic nature which drives us to focus only on our worldly needs and turn away from the tree of life. From the laws of the Manifestation of God which are, in fact, the source of all good, and the only true sustenance of the spiritual reality of man.

Paradise and hell exist within our own selves — rest in the decisions we make every day. To be watchful or to neglect. To be godly or to be satanic. To be obedient or to rebel. To strive or to settle. To be wordly or to be heavenly.

Tags: Bible themes, good & evil

• Baha'i Concepts , General Interest
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nooshin August 15th, 2008

Conventional wisdom regards the teenage years as hellish for everyone concerned: the parents and the teachers as well as the teenagers themselves. It is supposed to be filled with angst and rebellion and a mostly selfish outlook on life. Not unusually, conventional wisdom doesn’t reflect the full picture. What most of us are overlooking is the potential and promise of those formative years.

The education of children and youth is held to be a sacred task in the Baha’i Faith. Our responsibilities to the next generation are clearly defined. In their annual Ridvan message to the Baha’is of the world in 2000, the Universal House of Justice says the following:

Children are the most precious treasure a community can possess, for in them are the promise and guarantee of the future. They bear the seeds of the character of future society which is largely shaped by what the adults constituting the community do or fail to do with respect to children. They are a trust no community can neglect with impunity.

The moral education of children is the focus of Book Three in the sequence of Ruhi books. In Book Five (Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth), the focus shifts to the “junior youth”, those who have outgrown children’s classes, but are still too young to be considered youth. The 2000 Ridvan Message provides this explanation:

Among the young ones in the community are those known as junior youth, who fall between the ages of, say, 12 and 15. They represent a special group with special needs as they are somewhat in between childhood and youth when many changes are occurring within them. Creative attention must be devoted to involving them in programmes of activity that will engage their interests, mold their capacities for teaching and service, and involve them in social interaction with older youth.

All over the world, Baha’i communities are starting to place greater and greater emphasis and attention on the “junior youth”. The characteristics of the youth are described by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as follows:

After a time he enters the period of youth in which his former conditions and needs are superseded by new requirements applicable to the advance in his degree. His faculties of observation are broadened and deepened, his intelligent capacities are trained and awakened, the limitations and environment of childhood no longer restrict his energies and accomplishments.

The Ruhi Book Five course aims for its participants to become “animators” of the junior youth. The text book explanation of an animator is of “an older person who is a true friend to the youth and can assist them in the development of their capacities”, in a peer group setting. The spiritual explanation is given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: “one who traineth them to love“.

It is important to note that the first of the three units in Book Five focuses on the potentialities of the human soul. This helps to underscore for the participants the potentialities, the latent perfections, in each and every child and youth they come into contact with. Some of the quotations used in the book include the following two from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:

First of all, be ready to sacrifice your lives for one another, to prefer the general well-being to your personal well-being. Create relationships that nothing can shake; form an assembly that nothing can break up; have a mind that never ceases acquiring riches that nothing can destroy. If love did not exist, what of reality would remain? It is the fire of the love of God which renders man superior to the animal. Strengthen this superior force through which is attained all the progress in the world.

And the honor and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world’s multitudes should become a source of social good. Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight.

Tags: Ruhi books, youth

• Principles in Action , Society
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Interview Series August 12th, 2008

The Interview Series aims to reflect the unity in diversity of the Baha’i Faith through a series of informal interviews with people from various cultures and backgrounds, touching on their personal experiences and insights. This week, we chat with Veronica from Australia.

Where are you from?

Wollongong, a city an hour and a half from Sydney, Australia.

How long have you been a Baha’i?

7 years. Since I was 15. It was one year previous that I was first introduced to the Baha’i Faith.

When did you first hear or see the word?

My parents first introduced me to the Baha’i Faith when I was 14. They told me that they had heard about this new religious group and wanted to check it out. They asked me to come along, and to be honest, I was a little skeptical at first, thinking it was probably a hippie group that my alternative parents would be interested in. I went along to a meeting with them anyway, and found it to be nothing like I had expected.

Why does one need faith?

I think people need faith to give their lives meaning, direction and a sense of purpose. For me, the Baha’i Faith provides me with guidance on how to live my life and provides me with inspiration to become the best person I can be, and to use my life to contribute to the betterment of the world. Without faith I think life would not have much of a purpose beyond purely satisfying our material needs and desires.

What about the Baha’i Faith gives you hope?

For me, everything about it gives me hope. The Baha’i Faith assures us that we are part of an ever-advancing civilization that will one day achieve universal peace. Without this, I don’t know how I would make sense of what is happening in the world, in terms of the suffering that exists. Most importantly, the Faith provides a practical blueprint for how we are going to achieve this universal peace in the world and eliminate things such as extremes of poverty and wealth, prejudice, lack of education etc.

While most religions have a notion that we should work towards peace, they were not, because of the circumstances of the time in which they were revealed, able to provide detailed information on how it would be brought about, and the fact that we have this in the Baha’i Faith definitely gives me hope. The Faith also has inspirational teachings about the next world that we will pass to on leaving here, and provides me with hope that I will be reunited with my loved ones, will retain my memory of my life here, and will continue to work towards developing spiritual qualities.

What virtue do you esteem most highly or try to adhere to most often?

There are so many qualities I esteem highly that its difficult to pick one. There are also many that I am striving to develop. I guess that if I had to chose, I would say that the quality of excellence—that is, striving for excellence in everything that I do—is one of the most important to me. By trying to develop excellence, one is also forced to develop the other qualities to the best of ones ability.

What do you consider your greatest achievement in life, to date?

The greatest achievement in my life…again that’s a difficult question. I don’t know, I really don’t think I have done anything that would constitute being that great an achievement. One of my achievements could be recognition of the Baha’i Faith which has provided my life with a wonderful sense of meaning and direction, however I don’t think I can take personal credit for this, but rather think I have been blessed, undeservedly so, by being guided to it.

I really don’t have an answer to this question, perhaps except for saying that I am somewhat proud of the fact that I have been able to be there for my family during the times they needed me most, even when, at times, it wasn’t an easy thing for me to do.

What life lesson do you wish you had known earlier?

I wish I had understood earlier that happiness isn’t really about what is happening in your life, although if things are going well it obviously helps. Its more about finding a sense of contentment within that carries you through whatever you may be experiencing, good or bad.  If we can achieve a state of contentment, I think we can also live more fully in the present, without always looking into the future and waiting for a time when we think things will happen that will make us happy, which I have learnt inevitably don’t, not for the long-term anyway.  So, I guess that I wish I had understood the need to achieve contentment while living in the present.

What is your favourite passage from the Writings?

Again, like the virtues I esteem, there are so many quotes that I love. One of my favourites though is from Abdu’l-Baha:

Know thou of a certainty that Love is the secret of God’s holy Dispensation, the manifestation of the All-Merciful, the fountain of spiritual outpourings. Love is heaven’s kindly light, the Holy Spirit’s eternal breath that vivifieth the human soul. Love is the cause of God’s revelation unto man, the vital bond inherent, in accordance with the divine creation, in the realities of things. Love is the one means that ensureth true felicity both in this world and the next. Love is the light that guideth in darkness, the living link that uniteth God with man, that assureth the progress of every illumined soul. Love is the most great law that ruleth this mighty and heavenly cycle, the unique power that bindeth together the divers elements of this material world, the supreme magnetic force that directeth the movements of the spheres in the celestial realms.”

(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 27)

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geoffrey August 8th, 2008

Where are the poets? Where are the mentors of this age that take us deep, rip us apart, and heal us with those transitional words needed for an unsettled time? How are we to operate successfully in a world where those that speak with universal tongues are left silenced or relegated to a softer side of history?

We seek and sift through the dust waiting for those connections to form between us and generate those golden threads that break the gloomy dusk of lives being built without the strength, the vision - we seek those who speak in tightly packed moments of passion and vivacity.

Why is language lost, and not truly used as that art, that truth? I was emboldened one day when I came across a treasure trove nestled deep within nytimes.com - a multimedia presentation called “Three Poems” – it linked to an article entitled “Young American Indians Find Their Voice in Poetry”.

As I listened and viewed the pictures, completely blown away by the power and substance of their expressions – these high-school students – my heart was uplifted and I truly felt the fire of words that truly galvanize. After reading the article and listening to the three poems presented, I thought of four things: 1) a Baha’i perspective on art and poetry, 2) the power of words to affect, 3) the immense potential of youth and junior youth, and 4) how the native or indigenous populations of a country have such a role to play in the eventual upliftment of their home land.

A poet named Roger White, who was a Bahá’í and has since passed away, once wrote:

Art has a message for us. It says: care, grow, develop, adapt, overcome, nurture, protect, foster, cherish. It says; your reality is spiritual. It says achieve your full humanness. It invites us to laugh, reflect, cry, strive, persevere. It says rejoice! Above all, it says to us: be! We cannot turn our backs on art. Art heals.

Artists…will be a vital force in preventing inflexibility in our [world] community. They will be a source of rejuvenation. They will serve as a bulwark against fundamentalism, stagnation, and administrative sterility. Artists call us away from formulas, caution us against the fake, and accustom us to un-predictability—that trait which so characterizes life. They validate our senses. They link us to our own history. They clothe and give expression to our dreams and aspirations. They teach us impatience with stasis. They aid us to befriend our private experiences and heed our unexamined mechanistic responses to the world…Art conveys information about ourselves and our universe that can be found nowhere else.

Poetry stirs deeply within us because of the nature of its composition. It has the ability to transcend, and can be used as that vehicle for the expression of the divine. It has been recorded that often times, though also due to the cultural conditions of the time, when early believers in the Baha’i Faith wished to express their devotion to its Founder, Baha’u'llah, they would write to him in a poetic fashion. It is true also that the Baha’i Faith first originated in Persia, and the Persian language is in itself quite poetic.

Here is an excerpt from a response from Baha’u'llah:

Every word of thy poetry is indeed like unto a mirror in which the evidences of the devotion and love thou cherishest for God and His chosen ones are reflected.

(Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 175)

Abdu’l-Baha, the son of Baha’u'llah, also says in relation to art:

All Art is a gift of the Holy Spirit. When this light shines through the mind of a musician, it manifests itself in beautiful harmonies. Again, shining through the mind of a poet, it is seen in fine poetry and poetic prose. When the Light of the Sun of Truth inspires the mind of a painter, he produces marvellous pictures. These gifts are fulfilling their highest purpose, when showing forth the praise of God.

(Lady Blomfield, “The Chosen Highway”, p. 167)

A Baha’i perspective on art could be read to mean that art is a release of self. It is a cleansing. It is a way of expressing a sense of openness to reach out and touch some portion of Truth. As Baha’u'llah says in the example above, that individual’s poetry was enough to show Him how strong his sense of devotion was, and how ardently he loved his new found Faith. The key, as noted by Abdu’l-Baha, is that the sole aim of Art must be, if it is to be called Art, to show ‘forth the praise of God”. And this concept is in itself a topic worth exploring (which I may be able to touch upon in the next post).

But before anything else, make sure you listen to “Three Poems”.

Tags: art, poetry

• Arts & Culture , Baha'i Concepts , Inspiration
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