Baha'i Perspectives

nava July 28th, 2009

Two people.  A giant maze filled with splendors and horrors.  The objective: make their way through it learning as much about it and themselves as they can along the way.

Person A walks around this maze with his eyes wide open. He sees the fire and knows to steer away from it. He sees the pot hole and knows to walk around it. He smells the roses but spots the thorns and knows not to lean in too closely. But the maze is also lined with gentle streams and giant waterfalls. Beautiful gardens and delectable delicacies. With all of his senses fully awakened, he partakes of its benefits as he makes his way through its many corridors. Making his way through it isn’t easy. Some bends are harder to come out of. Some elements are harder to easily identify as “splendor” or “horror. Yet, with eyes wide open, he is usually able to steer carefully away from the dangerous elements so often comingling with the beneficent ones.

Person B person walks around the maze with a giant blindfold over her eyes. Encouraged by the warmth she approaches the source; the flames spread too quickly for her to turn around unscathed. She didn’t realize it was fire. She manages to run away, skin raw and throbbing, only to fall directly into the pot hole. She breaks a leg but still manages to climb out. Her olfactory draws her near to the beautiful aroma emanating from the roses; she follows the scent, and before she knows it, her face is covered in thorns. In the meanwhile, the gentle streams and thornless flowers are all lost on her. She hears the roaring of the waterfall but is much too scared to approach it. She spends all her days wandering aimlessly through the maze, completely oblivious to all the beauty it has to offer, accruing little more than scars.

Bahá’u’lláh likens His laws to the lamps of His loving-providence. His laws guide us in this complex world so full of beauty and so follow of sorrow. We know that true freedom comes from submission to His will; obedience to His laws.  It sounds pretty counter-intuitive doesn’t it? That freedom comes from willful obedience. But then you think about life.  The fact that we’ve all been created for the same purpose. The fact that we all live in the same world and we all experience tests, often rather violent tests. Though the specific form of our tests may differ, the underlying purpose of them is the same. The main difference is that some of us live in this world with our eyes wide open. Certainly, we don’t always know which way to go, sometimes we just can’t seem to sidestep those pot holes, (though probably a lot of the time if we’ve landed in a pot hole it’s because we’ve willfully thrown ourselves in it), but still, we know the way out. We have the vision and the tools to navigate through life, able to discern danger from wonder, splendor from depravity, life from death. Others of us go through life approaching fires, falling into potholes, missing out on all the magnificence of the world, simply because we think following our own whims and fancies constitutes freedom, when in reality, it just makes us captives to our own blindness.

In considering the effect of obedience to the laws on individual lives, one must remember that the purpose of this life is to prepare the soul for the next. Here one must learn to control and direct one’s animal impulses, not to be a slave to them. Life in this world is a succession of tests and achievements, of falling short and of making new spiritual advances. Sometimes the course may seem very hard, but one can witness, again and again, that the soul who steadfastly obeys the Law of Bahá’u'lláh, however hard it may seem, grows spiritually, while the one who compromises with the law for the sake of his own apparent happiness is seen to have been following a chimera: he does not attain the happiness he sought, he retards his spiritual advance and often brings new problems upon himself.

(written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)

Tags: laws

• Baha'i Concepts , Inspiration
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shadi July 21st, 2009

No one told me that more often than not, the first three or four months of a typical pregnancy is really not that fun. You’re nauseous, you find most foods repulsive, you can smell cigarette smoke from a mile away, you want to sleep 20 out of 24 hours, and barely anything is happening (or so you think) physically! Is there really a baby in there? You think to yourself: I hope all of this is going somewhere.

Then you hit the second trimester, and pregnancy is finally beautiful or at least WAYYYYYY better than your first trimester. You’re finally showing a nice little belly that you worked hard to build. Now you’re getting excited and starting to feel your baby move. And if you want, you get to find out the gender and begin brainstorming about potential names.

And then the final trimester hits, and here I am. I stare at my belly moving up and down in various spots thanks to baby’s now powerful punches and kicks (and kisses?) and it REALLY hits me that in less than three months, my husband and I and the rest of our family are going to meet this new small human being that we are responsible for nurturing twenty four hours a day for a long, long, long time.

And I find myself not so much anxious about the whole feeding, diaper changing, sleepless nights thing (although I have been assured by recent moms and pops that we are in for a ride) but more the great responsibility of raising our daughter with spiritual values. Honestly, that scares me more than labor.

What if I don’t do it right? What if in my valiant efforts to do it right, I over do it?

Thank God (literally) for the Writings. I want to share three well laid out steps I found in a thin but rich book called A Baha’i Parenting Programme. The section is very conveniently called “How to attract children to spiritual ideals” (it’s like they wrote it for me!) and it says:

(a) By Example:

Take heed, O people, lest ye be of them that give good counsel to others but forget to follow it themselves.
-Baha’u’llah, Gleanings, p277.

(b) By telling them of the lives and teachings of the Prophets, and by precepts, stories and parables:

With the ‘Dawnbreakers’ in your possession you could also arrange interesting stories about the early days of the movement which the children would like to hear. There are also stories about the life of Christ, Muhammad and the other Prophets…
-Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, Baha’i Education, p66

(c) By encouragement:

Whensoever a mother seeth that her child hath done, well, let her praise and applaud him and cheer his heart; and if the slightest undesirable trait should manifest itself, let her counsel the child…
-‘Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i Education, p53.

And now, I want to reach out to the wider Baha’i Perspectives community and ask for your thoughts and advice on this topic.

Are there any inspirational writings or guidance that you can offer regarding raising children with spiritual values, including from other faiths or traditions?

Are there any personal stories you would like to offer in your journey to help promote spiritual values in your family?

Please share your thoughts with us.

Tags: parents, pregnancy

• Baha'i Concepts , General Interest
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iman July 18th, 2009

An excerpt from something I have been reading:

“He remembers his mother telling him doing the right thing will always make him happy.”

Will doing the right thing always make us happy? When we do good, or what we deem to be the right thing, is it done selflessly or is it merely an ego “happiness” boost? We know that merely imitating prevalent societal norms will never lead us to the spiritual heights we aspire to reach, so it becomes necessary to be better informed, educated and spiritually discerning  when making decisions.  Key to this decision-making process is the element of selflessness.  This may be contrary to present ideals where benefit-to-self is highly emphasised. With personal interest always lingering in our thoughts, doing the “right thing” is often most difficult as we grapple with “disconnection” from self in making decisions based on impartiality and using the laws of God as our benchmark:

The second attribute of perfection is justice and impartiality. This means to have no regard for one’s own personal benefits and selfish advantages, and to carry out the laws of God without the slightest concern for anything else. It means to see one’s self as only one of the servants of God, the All-Possessing, and except for aspiring to spiritual distinction, never attempting to be singled out from the others. It means to consider the welfare of the community as one’s own.

Abdu’l-Baha : The Secret of Divine Civilization

What are some of your own reflections on this theme? Your comments are welcome.

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nooshin July 12th, 2009

The world is a mess. Decades of greedy, short-sighted, self-centred behaviour have finally caught up with us, and now we have to try and fix it.  So it would be reasonable to assume that the world’s leaders would focus their every effort on finding a solution.  That the recently-concluded G8 summit would have produced a pragmatic and practical road-map towards rectifying at least some of the world’s challenges.  But no.  From all reports, the summit did little more than provide public photo-opportunities, and backroom squabbles.

I don’t know about you, but I feel let down.  What a waste of an opportunity for leaders of some of the world’s most powerful nations to meet together as peers, and bend their minds and hearts to alleviating the global challenges we all face.  But perhaps, when they sit around the table together at their high-profile gatherings, they are no more successful at holding efficient and effective deliberations than my colleagues and I are in our more humble offices in Johannesburg.  It’s a familiar scenario: a group of like-minded individuals, with a shared vision and goal, who nevertheless mostly talk in circles for hours, repeating arguments and issues without reaching consensus. It’s not a lack of will that hampers us, I think, but rather of us not giving enough importance to the correct process, and spiritual significance, of consultation.

In a 1995  statement released by the Baha’i International Community (entitled The Prosperity of Humankind, and written after a series of global conferences including the Rio Earth Summit), the vital role of correct consultation is outlined:

Central to the task of reconceptualizing the system of human relationships is the process that Bahá’u’lláh refers to as consultation. “In all things it is necessary to consult,” is His advice. “The maturity of the gift of understanding is made manifest through consultation.”

Next, the statement spells out the problems in the way most deliberations and discussions are held today:

The standard of truth seeking this process demands is far beyond the patterns of negotiation and compromise that tend to characterize the present-day discussion of human affairs. It cannot be achieved—indeed, its attainment is severely handicapped—by the culture of protest that is another widely prevailing feature of contemporary society.  Debate, propaganda, the adversarial method, the entire apparatus of partisanship that have long been such familiar features of collective action are all fundamentally harmful to its purpose: that is, arriving at a consensus about the truth of a given situation and the wisest choice of action among the options open at any given moment.

So, what are the prerequisites in this “standard of truth seeking”?

What Bahá’u’lláh is calling for is a consultative process in which the individual participants strive to transcend their respective points of view, in order to function as members of a body with its own interests and goals. In such an atmosphere, characterized by both candor and courtesy, ideas belong not to the individual to whom they occur during the discussion but to the group as a whole, to take up, discard, or revise as seems to best serve the goal pursued. Consultation succeeds to the extent that all participants support the decisions arrived at, regardless of the individual opinions with which they entered the discussion. Under such circumstances an earlier decision can be readily reconsidered if experience exposes any shortcomings.

Once we “transcend” our point of view, and learn to hold discussions in an atmosphere of “candor and courtesy”, and ensure that we remain detached from our ideas, able to evaluate each idea objectively and on its merits, what results can we expect?

Viewed in such a light, consultation is the operating expression of justice in human affairs. So vital is it to the success of collective endeavor that it must constitute a basic feature of a viable strategy of social and economic development. Indeed, the participation of the people on whose commitment and efforts the success of such a strategy depends becomes effective only as consultation is made the organizing principle of every project. “No man can attain his true station”, is Bahá’u’lláh’s counsel, “except through his justice. No power can exist except through unity. No welfare and no well-being can be attained except through consultation.”

So vital is the spiritual skill of consultation that it is considered to be a fundamental principle of the Baha’i Faith, with Bahá’u’lláh exhorting mankind to “take counsel together in all matters”. He describes consultation as “the lamp of guidance which leadeth the way” and as “the bestower of understanding”.

Tags: consultation, politics

• Baha'i Concepts , News & Current Affairs , Principles in Action
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sam July 9th, 2009

“A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips”, these uncomfortable sayings ominously follow us around like a black cloud. Squeeze our conscience, whether looking at a menu in a restaurant, or visiting the supermarket (feeling the overwhelming draw towards the dessert section) or during a lazy afternoon at home. It is a rude reminder of the dangers of falling victim to our appetites. However, we provide ourselves with excuses: “Just one more”; “It’s a celebration”; “I deserve it” ; ”I need it” ; “It’s a reward”; “If I don’t eat it, it will go to waste”. Occasionally, we use food to fill our spare time, internally claiming we have nothing better to do than find something tasty to eat!

This reality contrasts starkly with the growing obsession to look good and diet. The whole concept has become such a ubiquitous preoccupation in society that it dominates and dictates the thoughts and goals of many peoples’ lives. Everything, all the way up to advertising, is aimed at looking good and eating healthily-with a very unhealthy leaning towards weight loss! Simultaneously, we are bombarded with images of skinny models devouring hidden chocolate, fattening ice cream, fast food or calorie-filled drinks while miraculously looking so slender and toned. Advertising and the media provides us with norms. Images teach us we deserve flavour, should succumb to temptations and are entitled to eat what we like while maintaining desired figures. We are taught that distorted body images are healthy and that was is actually healthy is boring. Society is geared towards tasty fattening fast fixes, and immediate gratification without adequate warning of the effects thereof. This quote from Abdu’l-Bahá perhaps best explains this conundrum we are facing.

Abdu’l-Bahá states:

But man hath perversely continued to serve his lustful appetites, and he would not content himself with simple foods. Rather, he prepared for himself food that was compounded of many ingredients, of substances differing one from the other. With this, and with the perpetrating of vile and ignoble acts, his attention was engrossed, and he abandoned the temperance and moderation of a natural way of life. The result was the engendering of diseases both violent and diverse.

When the subject of eating healthily is investigated more thoroughly, moving away from the purely weight loss aspect of the process, the impact our diets have on our wellbeing as individuals as well as on general society becomes apparent.  According to the Báb:

The Báb hath said that the people of Bahá must develop the science of medicine to such a high degree that they will heal illnesses by means of foods. The basic reason for this is that if, in some component substance of the human body, an imbalance should occur, altering its correct, relative proportion to the whole, this fact will inevitably result in the onset of disease.

It is increasingly accepted that overeating or undereating has a huge role in general health. Interestingly, there is now a new focus emerging in the public health sector; namely, the effect our diet has on the overall health of our body and minds as well as a preventative for disease.

Even the meaning of eating healthy has drastically changed over the years. As recently as 2005, the well-known and commonly accepted ideas that were prevalent in society were improved. The Harvard School of Public Health has designed a guide to healthy eating known as the Healthy Eating Pyramid based on 15 years of research. This period has reshaped the definition of healthy eating providing us with a wealth of insight into the matter. As part of the research, it was discovered that through adopting the methods and new diet, stressing on the consumption of whole grains, vegetables and exercise, the risks of falling victim to diseases that have plagued many individuals are considerably reduced. It also offers the very welcome concept of not worrying about the grams consumed but rather the type of food. A delightful idea for those of us that enjoy sizeable portions of food! On the other hand though, not as welcome when you are considering devouring that extra chocolate bar you have stashed away for a better time or thinking of heading to the local fast food joint for an extra large portion of fish and chips!

A lot of encouragement is taken from the guidance offered by these discoveries and from the direction the research in this field is taking us. Through careful consideration of our eating habits as well as the types of food we eat the lives of individuals can and in many cases have been considerably eased as well as improved. The field of healthy eating is indeed vast and still very much in its infancy. Through accepting and adjusting ourselves to the new discoveries a healthier way of life is formed and perhaps one could venture to say, a healthier society can be achieved.

Tags: food, health

• General Interest , Society
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nadim July 7th, 2009

In his book Change and Habit: The Challenge of Our Times, one of the 20th century’s most respected historians, Arnold J. Toynbee, puts his in-depth knowledge of human history and his concerns for its future into focus. He suggests that to avoid self-destruction and move towards unification, humanity must make a radical break from deeply ingrained habits built up over many generations. In his quest to pinpoint these habits, Toynbee examines the would-be world states and would-be world religions that have appeared in human history, considers the impact they have had on our collective identity and then suggests the factors that, once realized, would bring us closer to the dream of a united world. In cross-referencing Toynbee’s findings with the Baha’i writings, we discover a striking harmony between lessons learnt from history and Baha’i guidelines on lasting peace.

3. Federalism as the way forward?

Given Toynbee’s assertion that world governance cannot be imposed by force if it is to succeed, do cases exist where voluntary union between member states has taken place and actually proven a success? Is there a positive model we can refer to and use as a point of reference? Well, peering back into the 1700s we find one such case, where a divided and oft-times hostile community was united under one system:

The stirring of a new national consciousness, and the birth of a new type of civilization, infinitely richer and nobler than any which its component parts could have severally hoped to achieve, may be said to have proclaimed the coming of age of the American people.

By agreeing to the federal system of governance, the member states of the United States of America ensured their own survival while simultaneously yielding to the promise of an “infinitely richer and nobler” civilization than they could alone achieve. Given their evident success against what seemed like impossible odds, there is quite clearly something related to the principle of federalism that holds promise for a global implementation of this model. Abdu’l-Baha, perceiving this potential, went so far as to encourage a high-ranking official in the U.S. government who had questioned Him as to the best manner in which he could promote the interests of his government and people:

You can best serve your country… if you strive, in your capacity as a citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application of the principle of federalism underlying the government of your own country to the relationships now existing between the peoples and nations of the world.

Beyond the need for world leaders to rise to unprecedented heights of political maturity and high-mindedness in order to set up global federal structures, Toynbee mentions two mental barriers at the level of each individual that often impede progress towards the sense of world-citizenship spoken of by Abdu’l-Baha.

The first is to do with feelings of psychological discomfort. According to this theory from evolutionary psychology, there is a limit to the number of stable social relationships that we can maintain. This number varies widely depending on a variety of factors, but the upper limit (known as Dunbar’s Number) is about 150 relationships. Granted this number is open to debate with the emergence of online social networking, yet the fact remains that since the neolithic age we have been hard-wired to maintain strong relationships with no more than our family and a handful of close friends. And even though the sizes of our societal units have long since grown beyond our capacity to “connect” with everyone, there remains, according to some psychologists, an inherent fear of feeling dwarfed by the system.

In the end this fear is unfounded, states Toynbee. The price of feeling an extra bit of psychological discomfort for belonging to a slightly larger system is negligible when compared to the guarantee of a more prosperous future for all.

The second barrier which Toynbee mentions, and which is addressed directly by the Baha’i teachings, are physiological factors: cultural differences, racial prejudices, feelings of class superiority (in fact, all forms of blind imitation). In other words, emotions that run counter to the principle of the oneness of the human race — a truth with all the sciences affirm but which, as individuals, we have struggled to embrace. Baha’u'llah, Whose mission was to propel mankind towards the promised age of universal brotherhood, transcendent of man-made limitations, has stated in The Hidden Words:

68. O CHILDREN OF MEN!

Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory.

By consciously acting this lesson out and encouraging others to do the same, we put God’s most recent counsel into practice in our daily lives. We learn to consider all as equals, brothers and sisters of a single human race, and in a very practical sense bring to life the concept of world citizenship. We find also that the pyschological and physiological barriers mentioned by Toynbee are far from insurmountable. And it follows that by our actions we are opening doors to more perfect systems of governance, such as world federalism, which will be greatly superior to the outdated models in our midst.

Tags: federalism, Toynbee, world-citizen

• General Interest , Society
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leila July 2nd, 2009

“So,” my mom asked warily, feigning a casual air, “what kind of people ride the bus with you?”

I’m a regular on the 16th Street bus.  On brisk autumn days, I dash to catch the S2; heave my boots through the February snow to find the S4 whizz by; my sticky flip-flops drag me to the stop at Irving Street on a sweltering August afternoon.

I love the 16th Street bus.  It’s a microcosm of D.C., the Washington that most people don’t know — those who are fed images on the evening news of middle-aged white men in drab suits fillibustering on the floor of Congress, or business-casual wealthy foreign ministers dodging protesters past the IMF.

“I don’t know,” I replied nonchalantly to my mom.  “There are all types.”

That conversation echoed in my mind as I shifted uncomfortably on the blue plastic bench, unable to concentrate on my book.  So I lowered my glasses and gazed through the window, past the girl sharing my seat.  She was a typical of the young professionals that descend upon this city, brown hair tied messily in a bun and stitching purposefully at her needlepoint.  The sun cast a nostalgic glow as I peered past her, its rays descending yawningly and twinkling through the dense trees at Carter Barron Park, where multihued children scurried on its vast lawn.

My roommate calls that stretch of 16th Street “The Avenue of Obscure Religions,” and it’s true—from the Third Church of Christ, Scientist to the Buddhist Vihara Society to the Tifareth Israel Congregation (and the D.C. Bahá’í Center, which is my reason for frequenting that route), it’s a veritable buffet of spiritual offering.  It makes me think, sometimes, of the concept of progressive revelation:

Whenever this robe hath fulfilled its purpose, the Almighty will assuredly renew it. For every age requireth a fresh measure of the light of God. Every Divine Revelation hath been sent down in a manner that befitted the circumstances of the age in which it hath appeared.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 81.)

My contemplation was interrupted when the bus halted to a stop on Alison Street, to let on a gaggle of Ethiopian women heading toward church.  Draped in gauzy white, their gleaming eyes reflected the warm radiance of dusk as they shuffled onto the bus.  It made me remember a warm Saturday evening in Tel Aviv, when I waltzed into a Ethiopian restaurant owned by Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia, gelato in hand, to pick up take-out injera for friends, only to be stopped by the “We Keep Kosher” sign.

When Moses appeared, the tribes of Israel were in a state of disunion as captives of the Pharaohs. Moses gathered them together, and the divine law established fellowship among them. They became as one people, united, consolidated, after which they were rescued from bondage. They passed into the promised land, advanced in all degrees, developed sciences and arts, progressed in material affairs, increased in divine or spiritual civilization until their nation rose to its zenith in the sovereignty of Solomon. It is evident, therefore, that religion is the cause of unity, fellowship and progress among mankind. The function of a shepherd is to gather the sheep together and not to scatter them.

Jumping up to offer my seat to a young woman and her child, I clung tightly to the pole as the bus weaved its way through the early evening traffic, grabbing my bag lest it swing and swipe the elderly Salvadoran gentleman stooped next to me.  His lowered head didn’t hide the creases in his weather-worn cheeks, nor the cross around his neck that he absentmindedly stroked.

Then Christ appeared. He united varying and divergent creeds and warring people of His time. He brought together Greeks and Romans, reconciled Egyptians and Assyrians, Chaldeans and Phoenicians. Christ established unity and agreement among people of these hostile and warring nations. Therefore, it is again evident that the purpose of religion is peace and concord.

A chocolate-skinned man with an overbite cradled his toddler daughter, seated toward the front.  She was curled in his lap, her head resting against his chest, a pink Dora the Explorer backpack engulfing her back.  The bus heaved forward, and his hands tangled past his daughter’s dangling sneakered soles to catch the set of auburn glass prayer beads that slipped out of his pocket.

Likewise, Muhammad appeared at a time when the peoples and tribes of Arabia were divergent and in a state of continual warfare. They killed each other, pillaged and took captive wives and children. Muhammad united these fierce tribes, established a foundation of fellowship among them so that they gave up warring against each other absolutely and established communities. The result was that the Arabian tribes freed themselves from the Persian yoke and Roman control, established an independent sovereignty which rose to a high degree of civilization, advanced in sciences and arts, extended the Saracen dominion as far west as Spain and Andalusia and became famous throughout the world. Therefore, it is proved once more that the religion of God is intended to be the cause of advancement and solidarity and not of enmity and dissolution. If it becomes the cause of hatred and strife, its absence is preferable. Its purpose is unity, and its foundations are one.

I yanked the cord at Madison Street a little too late, and the driver screeched to a halt halfway past the block.  Tucking my book into my bag, I descended into the patch of weeds that separated the asphalt from the sidewalk, the evening dew dampening my leather sandals, acquired ages ago in Brazil and surviving a year’s worth of Friday afternoon paces around the Haram-i-Aqdas.  Stepping reverently toward the Bahá’í Center for the Ninth Day of Ridván celebration, my eyes lit up when little Skyy, multiple braids adorning her head, grabbed my hand and cautioned me not to step on the path of rose petals that welcomed us.

When Bahá’u’lláh appeared in Persia, violent strife and hatred separated the peoples and tribes of that country. They would not come together for any purpose except war; they would not partake of the same food, or drink of the same water; association and intercourse were impossible. Bahá’u’lláh founded the oneness of humanity among these people and bound their hearts together with such ties of love that they were completely united. He reestablished the prophetic foundations, reformed and renewed the principles laid down by the Messengers of God who had preceded Him. And now it is hoped that through His life and teachings the East and West shall become so united that no trace of enmity, strife and discord shall remain.

(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace.  Talk at Church of the Divine Paternity, 19 May 1912.  Central Park West, New York.)

Tags: faith, progressive revelation, religion

• Baha'i Concepts , Society
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