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Learning to Open Aspects of Bahá’í Community Life to Others

Referring to the development of communities at the level of the cluster, the Universal House of Justice wrote the following at the start of the Five Year Plan: “Among the initial goals for every community should be the establishment of study circles, children’s classes, and devotional meetings, open to all the inhabitants of the locality.”^[1] In its Riḍván 2002 message it commented that significant progress had been made in opening these activities to society at large, citing the training institute as the means for this development:

It is most encouraging to see that the progress of this work is being energized through the training institute process, which was considerably strengthened last year by the campaigns undertaken in many countries to increase the number of trained tutors. Where a training institute is well established and constantly functioning, three core activities—study circles, devotional meetings, and children’s classes—have multiplied with relative ease. Indeed, the increasing participation of seekers in these activities, at the invitation of their Bahá’í friends, has lent a new dimension to their purposes, consequently effecting new enrollments. Here, surely, is a direction of great promise for the teaching work. These core activities, which at the outset were devised principally to benefit the believers themselves, are naturally becoming portals for entry by troops. By combining study circles, devotional meetings and children’s classes within the framework of clusters, a model of coherence in lines of action has been put in place and is already producing welcome results. Worldwide application of this model, we feel confident, holds immense possibilities for the progress of the Cause in the years ahead.^[2]

In the passage above the House of Justice encouraged the friends to fully exploit the possibilities for growth inherent in the three core activities. So successful was the Bahá’í community in doing so that the House of Justice could comment in its message of 17 January 2003 that the orientation of the Bahá’í world to society at large had undergone a significant change:

The coherence thus achieved through the establishment of study circles, devotional meetings and children’s classes provides the initial impulse for growth in a cluster, an impulse that gathers strength as these core activities multiply in number. Campaigns that help a sizeable group of believers advance far enough in the main sequence of courses to perform the necessary acts of service lend impetus to this multiplication of activity.

It is evident, then, that a systematic approach to training has created a way for Bahá’ís to reach out to the surrounding society, share Bahá’u’lláh’s message with friends, family, neighbors and coworkers, and expose them to the richness of His teachings. This outward-looking orientation is one of the finest fruits of the grassroots learning taking place.^[3]

One obstacle believers had to overcome to achieve this change in orientation was the fear of introducing family and friends to educational programs whose content goes beyond the presentation of Bahá’í principles to speak about teachings that are explicitly religious in nature. A letter dated 25 September 2001 to a National Assembly encouraged the Assembly in this regard in the context of children’s classes:

It is possible, of course, to create a program for children which is inspired by the Bahá’í teachings and conveys such topics as moral education, comparative religion, peace, concern for the environment, service to humanity, or world citizenship. Such programs might also convey practical subjects such as literacy, academic tutoring, or vocational training.

In its message dated 9 January 2001, however, the House of Justice refers specifically to Bahá’í children’s classes as also being open to non-Bahá’í children. In the case of these classes, which are intended to address the complete spiritual education of Bahá’ís, it would not be possible to eliminate Bahá’í religious teachings, and topics such as Bahá’í history, Bahá’í laws, and the Covenant would be an integral part of these classes.

While Bahá’í religious teachings are part of the program of child education in Bahá’í classes, the design of the program, particularly the sequencing of content, may make it more attractive to non-Bahá’ís. For example, in the approach taken to child education in Ruhi Institute Book 3, the emphasis is placed initially on character development, and only later are specific aspects related to the life of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb introduced. So too can we see the same principle at work in the main sequence of books in which many non-Bahá’í youth have participated. Book 1 addresses such broad topics as prayer and life and death (from a Bahá’í perspective, of course). It is in Book 4 that history is presented in detail. Thus a non-Bahá’í can feel welcome to participate and is not overwhelmed by new, purely religious teachings. Then, if attracted by the principles and general spiritual teachings, the non-Bahá’ís would not hesitate to engage in the full program; alternatively, they are free to withdraw or not participate in some segments.^[4]

Since the beginning of the Four Year Plan, the House of Justice has envisioned that the educational process set in motion and the activities it would engender would be open to the community at large and serve as a means of teaching the Faith. In this way a letter dated 8 May 1997 written on behalf of the House of Justice encouraged the National Assembly of Bulgaria to open some of its institute courses to those who were not Bahá’ís, saying: “In addition to attracting thoughtful people to the Cause, such courses could also be a means of confirming them in the Faith and increasing the number of Bahá’u’lláh’s faithful followers in your country.”^[5] Indeed, concern for the generality of humankind and its spiritual development has been at the heart of the call of the House of Justice to the Bahá’í world to focus its attention on advancing the process of entry by troops. “The community must become imbued with a sense of mission,” the House of Justice wrote when announcing the Four Year Plan, “and the Assembly grow in awareness of its role as a channel of God’s grace not only for the Bahá’ís but for the entire village, town or city in which it serves.”^[6]

Although significant progress has been made in opening the Bahá’í community to society at large, its orientation towards those who have not yet declared their faith in Bahá’u’lláh will require continued adjustment. There seems to be a natural human tendency to draw a distinction between “us” and “them.” A letter dated 27 April 2004 to an individual warns Bahá’ís not to allow their expectations to create unnecessary barriers for people:

From a careful reading of the messages regarding the Five Year Plan, it should be clear that the House of Justice is not calling on the friends to forgo all activities except devotional meetings, children’s classes and study circles in their efforts to attract people to the Cause. Through a variety of endeavors, including regular firesides, seekers should be helped to reach the point where they eagerly embrace the Faith and join the Bahá’í community. Yet it is equally evident that the core activities of the Plan are proving to be an excellent means for the friends everywhere to widen their circle of influence and share Bahá’u’lláh’s message with a growing number of people from different segments of society. Further, where such an open attitude exists among the believers, the distinction between those who are formally enrolled in the Faith and those who are drawing close to it does not define the level of their involvement in these core activities. Specifically, experience around the world suggests that many seekers, though certainly not all, welcome the opportunity to study the full sequence of institute courses and even engage in acts of service that contribute to Bahá’í community life, for instance hosting devotional meetings and teaching children’s classes. Such participation has often been instrumental in the eventual confirmation of their faith and in their formal declaration. Care should be taken, therefore, that we do not allow our own expectations to set limits on people which, in reality, may not exist.^[7]

Rather than simply categorizing people as “non-Bahá’ís,” believers are encouraged, then, to see “each person who is drawn to explore Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings” somewhere along a “never-ending continuum of spiritual search.”^[8] A letter dated 4 May 2005 written on behalf of the House of Justice to the National Assembly of Kazakhstan shows the extent to which this way of thinking should influence how we approach the question of teaching:

Most heartening to note are the plans to form six teams, some composed of family members, who will reach out to their friends, neighbors and relatives. The teams will work systematically to help an increasing number of seekers advance through the sequence of institute courses, nurturing in them the desire to begin core activities with their own family and friends. The intimate friendship that develops between team members and course participants will foster the resolve and capacity of the latter to reach out to other souls and assist them to arise, in turn, to carry out acts of service. In this way, a handful of believers can significantly extend the spiritual influence of the institute and lay a strong foundation for the accelerated expansion of the community.^[9]

Central to this way of thinking seems to be the attitude Bahá’ís adopt towards the teachings of the Faith. The House of Justice has said that “Bahá’ís should give the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh liberally and unconditionally to humanity so that people may apply them to pressing social issues and uplift themselves materially and spiritually.”^[10] It was this posture of giving to which the Guardian referred when he said,

We must be like the fountain or spring that is continually emptying itself of all that it has and is continually being refilled from an invisible source. To be continually giving out for the good of our fellows undeterred by fear of poverty and reliant on the unfailing bounty of the Source of all wealth and all good—this is the secret of right living.^[11]

A posture of giving, it seems, is an essential attribute of the intensive programs of growth that will continue to be the object of learning during the years to come. At the heart of these programs is the realization that the Faith is not intended for Bahá’ís alone but rather for all of humanity:

The friends who participate in these intensive programs of growth should bear in mind that the purpose is to ensure that the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh 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 Bahá’u’lláh 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, Bahá’í communities are becoming better equipped to respond to this longing. They cannot withhold whatever effort, whatever sacrifice, may be called for.^[12]