Ridvan
2000
To the Baha'is of the World
Dearly loved Friends,
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We bow our heads in gratitude to the Lord of Hosts, our hearts
brimming with joy, as we witness how marvellous a difference four years
have made since the launching of the global Plan now concluded at this
Festival of Splendours. So
marked was the progress achieved during this period that our world
community attained heights from which bright new horizons for its future
exploits can clearly be discerned.
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The quantitative difference resulted mainly from a more critical
qualitative difference. The
culture of the Baha'i community experienced a change. This change is noticeable in the
expanded capability, the methodical pattern of functioning and the consequent
depth of confidence of the three constituent participants in the Plan--the
individual, the institutions and the local community. That is so because the friends
concerned themselves more consistently with deepening their knowledge of
the divine Teachings and learned much--and this more systematically than
before--about how to apply them to promulgating the Cause, to managing
their individual and collective activities, and to working with their
neighbours. In a word, they
entered into a learning mode from which purposeful action was
pursued. The chief propellant
of this change was the system of training institutes established
throughout the world with great rapidity--an accomplishment which, in the
field of expansion and consolidation, qualifies as the single greatest
legacy of the Four Year Plan.
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In the increased capacity of individuals to teach the Faith, as
shown in the thrust of individual initiatives; in the improved ability of
Spiritual Assemblies, Councils and committees to guide the endeavours of
the friends; in the introduction of new patterns of thought and action
which influenced the collective behaviour of the local community--in all
such respects the system of training institutes demonstrated its
indispensability as an engine of the process of entry by troops. By extending their operation
through local study circles, many institutes magnified their capacity to
cover wide regions with their programmes. Mongolia, for instance, set up 106
study circles and, as a result, recorded a significant rise in the number
of new believers. Concurrent
with these kinds of developments, the members of our worldwide community
also gave more attention to drawing on the power of prayer, to meditating
on the sacred Word, and to deriving the spiritual benefits of
participation in devotional gatherings. It is through the workings of these
elements of an intensified individual and collective transformation that
the size of the community is increasing. Although the number of new
believers has as yet only slightly surpassed those of recent years, it is
immensely gratifying to see that this increase is now geographically
widespread, is engaging ever-larger segments of the community, and is
successful in integrating new declarants into the life of the Cause. So
salutary, so promising a condition of the Faith also owes much, beyond
measure, to the advisory influence, collaborative role and practical work
of the Institution of the Counsellors which were amplified with respect to
the formation and operation of institutes --an amplification that
reflected the timely stimulation imparted by a vibrant and ever alert
International Teaching Centre.
- The central
theme of the Four Year Plan--that of advancing the process of entry by
troops--produced a high degree of integration of thought and action. It focused attention on a major
stage of the evolution of the Baha'i community that must be attained
during the Formative Age; for until entry by troops is more widely
sustained, the conditions will not be ripe for mass conversion, that
breakthrough promised by Shoghi Effendi in his writings. The thematic focus of the Plan bore
implications for all categories of Baha'i activity; it called for a
clarity of understanding which made possible systematic and strategic
planning as a prerequisite of individual and collective action. The members of the community came
gradually to appreciate how systematization would facilitate the processes
of growth and development.
This raising of consciousness was a huge step that led to an
upgrading of teaching activities and a change in the culture of the
community.
- The
integrative aspects of the theme were evident in the efforts at planning,
building institutional capacity, and developing human resources. The threads connecting all these
can be traced from the outset of the Plan to its very end. The December 1995 Conference of the
Continental Boards of Counsellors in the Holy Land marked the
beginning. There the
Counsellors were oriented to the features of the Plan. This was followed by their
consultations with National Spiritual Assemblies in national planning
sessions that moved subsequently to the regional level, involving
Auxiliary Board members, Local Spiritual Assemblies and committees. Thus, at all levels, elements of
the Baha'i administration became involved in the planning process, and
reached beyond this stage to that of implementation, at which the
institutional capacity to cope with entry by troops had to be
created. Two major steps were
taken in this regard: one was
the establishment of training institutes; the other was the formal
establishment and widespread introduction of Regional Baha'i Councils as a
feature of the administration between the local and national levels to
strengthen the administrative capacity of certain communities where the
growing complexity of the issues facing National Spiritual Assemblies
required this development. Equally
of relevance to integrating the essentials of the process were the
strategies defined for the work in social and economic development, which
is a critical part of consolidation, and in external affairs, which is a
vital factor in enabling the Faith to manage the consequences of its
emergence from obscurity. The
combined effect produced resounding results, the enumeration of which
would far exceed the compass of these pages. We are moved, however, to cite
certain highlights that illustrate the scope of the Plan's achievements.
- In the Holy
Land, the construction of the Terraces and the buildings on the Arc forged
ahead with every assurance of meeting the announced deadline for their
completion at the end of this Gregorian year. Moreover, the building in Haifa to
which we referred in our last Ridvan message in connection with the
expanded size of pilgrimage groups is ready for use as of this
Ridvan. In this same
connection, architectural plans were approved for the much-needed facility
to be built at Bahji to accommodate pilgrims and other Baha'i and
non-Baha'i visitors. The translation of
the Texts for the expected new volume of Baha'u'llah's Writings has been
completed and preparations are under way for its publication.
- Strides in
expansion and consolidation were manifest in ways other than those already
mentioned: in pioneering,
proclamation, the publication of literature, the use of the arts, the
formation of Spiritual Assemblies, and advances of Baha'i studies
associations. Some 3,300
believers settled as long- and short-term international pioneers. That many countries usually on the
receiving end had themselves dispatched pioneers abroad was a further
indication of the maturation of national communities. True to the mandate addressed to
their members, the Canadian and United States communities excelled in the
number of pioneers that left their shores and in the much greater number
of travelling teachers, including a significant representation of
youth. Especially noteworthy,
too, was the heartening response of believers of African descent in the
United States to the call that Baha'i teachers travel to Africa.
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Proclamation of
the Cause involved a variety of actions which included the sponsoring of a
wide range of occasions--anniversaries, commemorations, discussion groups,
exhibits, and the like--that made it possible for large numbers of people
to become acquainted with the teachings of the Faith. The Houses of Worship were magnetic
centres for visitors who entered their doors in increasing numbers,
especially in India, where some five million people were received during
the last year. Added to such
activities were the multiple uses of the media to get the Baha'i message
across. In the United States,
some 60,000 inquirers responded to a media campaign designed by the
National Teaching Committee.
Worldwide, knowledge of the Faith was spread through the appearance,
more frequently than before, of unsolicited, sympathetic articles in the
print media. There was a
similar broadening of exposure through readiness on the part of radio and
television stations to include regular Baha'i programmes; this was so in
such countries as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia. Such fortunate developments were
crowned by the independent choice of international media establishments to
use the Shrine of the Bab and the Terraces as the site for the telecast of
the Holy Land's segment of the worldwide media programme celebrating the
arrival of the year 2000.
- The use of
the arts became an important feature in the proclamation, teaching,
deepening and devotional activities of the worldwide community. The arts attracted young people,
who applied them to their teaching and deepening activities principally
through the numerous drama and dance workshops active in many parts of the
world. But the dynamics of the
arts went far beyond singing and dancing to involve a range of imaginative
activities that grounded people in the Cause. Where folk art was used,
particularly in Africa, the teaching work was greatly enhanced. For example, Ghana and Liberia each
mounted a Light of Unity Project for promoting the arts in teaching. In India, the Communal Harmony
Group had a similar purpose.
- Mostly at
the urging of the Counsellors and with the support of the Continental
Fund, a boost was given to the translation and publication of Baha'i
literature especially in Africa and Asia. Moreover, the Kitab-i-Aqdas
appeared in a complete Arabic edition and in other languages.
- While the
restriction of the formation of Local Spiritual Assemblies to the first
day of Ridvan, which took effect in 1997, produced the anticipated decrease
in the number of these institutions, the fall was not drastic. The number has since held its
ground and a sound process of
consolidation is in place.
Eight new pillars of the Universal House of Justice were raised up,
bringing the total of National Spiritual Assemblies to 181.
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Particularly gratifying has been the gathering momentum, during
these four years, of Baha'i scholarly activity, which forged ahead with
the vital task of reinforcing the intellectual foundations of the Faith's
work. Two invaluable results
have been the impressive enrichment of Baha'i literature and the
production of a body of dissertations examining various contemporary
problems in the light of Baha'i principles. The network of Associations of
Baha'i Studies, celebrating this year its twenty-fifth anniversary,
welcomed five new affiliates during the Plan. Reflective of the diversity and
creativity that this field of service is attracting were the holding of
Papua New Guinea's first Baha'i studies conference and the Japanese Association's
ground-breaking focus on the spiritual origins of traditional Japanese
scholarship.
- Progress in
the field of social and economic development was decidedly qualitative,
although figures showing an increase of projects were also impressive. Annually reported activities grew
from some 1,350 at the beginning of the Plan to more than 1,800 nearing
its end. The movement towards
a more systematic approach remained the dominant characteristic of the work
during this period. To promote
consultation and action on the principles of social and economic
development, the Office of Social and Economic Development at the Baha'i
World Centre sponsored 13 regional seminars in which an estimated 700
representatives from 60 countries participated. This Office also attended to the
devising of pilot projects and materials suitable for the mounting of
organized campaigns to foster youth empowerment and literacy, community
health worker training, the advancement of women, and moral education. An example was the programme in
Guyana that trained more than 1,500 literacy facilitators; another was the
completion in Malaysia of eight modules for the advancement of women,
which became the basis for training sessions held in Africa, Asia and
Latin America. A plan to integrate
Baha'i radio stations with the work of training institutes was initiated
in the Guaymi region of Panama.
As institutes have the potential to provide training for social and
economic development, a movement in that direction involved a dozen institutes,
which are currently experimenting with such efforts in areas including
literacy, community health worker training, and vocational training. A number of Baha'i-sponsored and
Baha'i-inspired agencies have devoted their energies to projects, such as
the one which involved collaboration with the World Health Organization in
combating river blindness in Cameroon; more than 30,000 individuals have
received the needed medication through this Baha'i project. Another instance is the private
university in Ethiopia, Unity College, whose student body has risen to
8,000. Another is Landegg
Academy in Switzerland, which, while expanding and consolidating its
academic programme, extended highly appreciated assistance in the ongoing
quest for a remedy to the horrendous social consequences of conflict in
the Balkans. Yet another is
Nur University in Bolivia, which, in a collaborative project with Ecuador,
offered training to more than 1,000 school teachers in its moral leadership
programme. In this field of
social and economic development, such evidences of capacity building were
a great benefit to the purposes of the Plan.
- Guided by
the external affairs strategy communicated to National Spiritual
Assemblies in 1994, the community's capacity in the fields of diplomatic
and public information likewise expanded at an astonishing rate, placing
the Baha'i community in a dynamic relationship with the United Nations,
governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the media. The strategy focused activities at
international and national levels on two key objectives: to influence the processes towards
world peace, and to defend the Faith.
Through the measures adopted for the defence of our dearly loved
co-religionists in Iran, the Baha'i International Community won a new
measure of respect and support that created opportunities for other aims
of the strategy to be pursued.
To meet the challenge of the intractable situation in Iran, our
institutions and external affairs agencies devised new approaches to
activating available instruments of governments and the United
Nations. The case of the
persecutions in Iran occupied the attention of the highest authorities on
the planet. Indeed, the news
that an Iranian court had reaffirmed death sentences for two of the
friends and imposed a similar sentence on a third evoked a sharp response
from the President of the United States, who issued a clear admonition to
Iran. As a consequence of the
interventions of world leaders and the United Nations, the executions of
Iranian Baha'is virtually stopped and the number of those sentenced to
long-term imprisonment was drastically reduced.
- While we
have welcomed these interventions, we acclaim the self-sacrificing spirit,
the fortitude, and the indomitable faith of our brothers and sisters in
Iran that have invested such efforts with potency. These manifest qualities of the
soul baffle their compatriots as to the stamina with which they withstand
the assaults so viciously and so relentlessly unloosed against them. How else could one explain that so
few have been able to stand up to so many for so long? How else could they have aroused
the active concern of the world when even a single one of them faces the
threat of death? Iran's
tragedy is that the assailants have until now failed to see that the
divine principles for which these persecuted ones have sacrificed their
possessions and even their lives contain the very solutions that would
satisfy the yearnings of a population in its hour of discontent. But there can be no doubt whatever
that the systematic tyranny to which our Iranian friends have so cruelly
been subjected will ultimately yield to the Almighty Power guiding the
mysterious proceedings toward their assured destiny in all its promised
glory.
- With regard
to the other objective of the external affairs strategy, the lines of
action were guided by four themes--human rights, the status of women,
global prosperity, and moral development. Our records show a huge step
forward in the work on human rights and the status of women. With regard to the former, the
United Nations Office prosecuted a creative programme of human rights
education which has, so far, served as a means of building the capacity of
no fewer than 99 National Spiritual Assemblies for diplomatic work. Regarding the status of women, the
existence of 52 national offices for the advancement of women, the
contributions of numerous Baha'i women and men to conferences and
workshops at all levels, the selection of Baha'i representatives to
crucial positions on key NGO committees, including the one that serves the
United Nations Development Fund for Women, show how the followers of Baha'u'llah
assiduously promote His principle of the equality of women and men.
- At the same
time an array of initiatives are disseminating information about the
Baha'i Faith to various publics.
These include such innovative undertakings as: the launching of "The Baha'i
World" Web site, which is already averaging 25,000 visits a month;
the issuing of a statement entitled Who is Writing the Future?, which is
helping the friends everywhere talk about contemporary issues; the airing
since last November on the World Wide Web of "Payam-e-Doost",
the Persian-language radio programme broadcast for an hour weekly in the
Washington, D.C., metropolitan area--a programme which is available at all
times throughout the world on the Internet; and the implementation of a
highly original television programme,
applying moral principles to day-to-day problems, which has won the
warm endorsement of government authorities in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia.
- A
phenomenon that has gathered force as the century draws to its end is that
the people of the world have arisen to express their aspirations through
what has come to be known as the "organizations of civil
society". It must be a
source of great satisfaction to Baha'is everywhere that the Baha'i
International Community as an NGO representing a cross-section of humankind
has won such trust as a unifying agent in major discussions shaping the
future of humankind. Our
principal representative at the United Nations was appointed to co-chair a
committee of non-governmental organizations--a position that is giving the
Baha'i International Community a leading role in the organization of the
Millennium Forum. This
gathering, called by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and scheduled to be
held in May, will give organizations of civil society an opportunity to
formulate views and recommendations on global issues which will be taken
up at the subsequent Millennium Summit in September of this year to be
attended by heads of state and government.
- Humanity's
awakening to the spiritual dimensions of the changes occurring in the
world have a special significance for Baha'is. The interfaith dialogue has
intensified. During the Four
Year Plan it increasingly involved the Faith as a recognized
participant. The Parliament of
the World's Religions held in Cape Town last December brought together
some 6,000 attendees, among whom was a strong Baha'i delegation. Baha'is served on both the South
African and International Boards of Directors that planned the event. For Baha'is, interest in the
occasion arose particularly from the fact that the first mention of the
Name of Baha'u'llah at a public gathering in the West had occurred at the
Parliament held in Chicago in 1893.
Two inter-religious events held in Jordan last November included Baha'is
as invited participants: a
conference on conflict and religion in the Middle East, and the annual
meeting of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. Baha'i representatives attended
events in Vatican City and New Delhi sponsored by the Roman Catholic
Church; on the latter occasion, in the presence of Pope John Paul II,
Counsellor Zena Sorabjee was one of the representatives of religions
addressing the gathering. In
the United Kingdom, the Faith was placed in the public arena when Baha'i
representatives joined members of eight other major religions for an
interfaith celebration of the new millennium in the Royal Gallery of
Westminster Palace, where, in the presence of Royalty, the Prime Minister,
the Archbishop of Canterbury and other distinguished persons, reference
was made to the gathering of the "nine major religions of the United
Kingdom." In Germany, for
the first time Baha'is were included in an interfaith dialogue. This reversed a longstanding
attitude of Christian denominations which had avoided contact with the
Faith owing to a book written by a Covenant-breaker and issued by a
Lutheran publishing house in 1981.
The remedy was provided in a 600-page scholarly rebuttal written by
three Baha'is and published in 1995 by a leading non-Baha'i firm,
representing a signal victory for the German Baha'i community. An English translation was
published in the last year of the Plan. Interfaith dialogue took an unusual
form when at Lambeth Palace in 1998 representatives of the World Bank and
of nine major religions held a meeting which led to the formation of the
World Faiths Development Dialogue.
The announced aim of the Dialogue is to try to bridge the gap
between the faith communities and the World Bank in order to enable them
to work together more effectively to overcome world poverty. The frequency and wide embrace of
interfaith gatherings represent
a new phenomenon in the relations among the religions. It is apparent that the various
religious communities are striving to achieve the spirit of friendliness
and fellowship among themselves that Baha'u'llah urged His followers to
show towards the followers of other religions.
- The
concentrated endeavour of the Baha'i community in these four years
occurred at a time when the wider society grappled with a torrent of
conflicting interests. In this
brief but intensely dynamic span, the forces at work in the Baha'i
community and throughout the world proceeded with relentless
acceleration. In their wake
were revealed more conspicuously than before the social phenomena to which
Shoghi Effendi alluded. More
than six decades ago, he had called attention to the "simultaneous
processes of rise and of fall, of integration and of disintegration, of
order and chaos, with their continuous and reciprocal reactions on each
other". These twin
processes did not continue in isolation from those specific to the Baha'i
community but at times proceeded in such a way as to invite, as has already
been shown, the direct involvement of the Faith. They seemed to run at opposite
sides of the same corridor of time.
On one side, wars fomented by religious, political, racial or
tribal conflict raged in some 40 places; sudden, total breakdown of civil
order paralyzed a number of countries; terrorism as a political weapon
became epidemic; a surge of international criminal networks raised
alarm. Yet on the opposite
side, attempts at implementing and elaborating the methods of collective
security were earnestly made, bringing to mind one of Baha'u'llah's
prescriptions for maintaining peace; a call was raised for an
international criminal court to be established, another action that
accords with Baha'i expectations; to focus attention on the imperative
need for an adequate system to deal with global issues, world leaders are
scheduled to meet in a Millennium Summit; new methods of communications
have opened the way for everyone to communicate with anyone on the planet. The economic disintegration in Asia
threatened to destabilize the world economy, but it prompted efforts both
to remedy the immediate situation and to find ways of bringing a sense of
equity to international trade and finance. These are but a few examples of the
two contrasting but interactive tendencies operating at this time,
confirming Shoghi Effendi's inspired summation of the forces at work in
God's greater plan, "whose ultimate objectives are the unity of the
human race and the peace of all mankind."
- At
the conclusion of these four eventful years, we have arrived at a
portentous convergence of ends and beginnings in measures of Gregorian
time and the Baha'i era. In
one instance, this convergence entails the wrapping up of the twentieth
century and, in the other, opens a new stage in the unfolding of the
Formative Age. The perspective
from these two frames of time prompts us to reflect on a vision of
world-shaping trends that have synchronized, and to do so in the context
of the insight so graphically projected by Shoghi Effendi at the inception
of the Arc he conceived.
During the course of the Plan, this vision assumed a brilliant
clarity as the construction projects advanced on Mount Carmel, as world
leaders took bold steps towards fashioning the structures of a global
political peace, and as local and national Baha'i institutions moved to
new levels in their evolution.
We carry with us a sacred and enduring memory of the twentieth
century that stirs our energies even as it sets our path: It is of that seminal moment in the
history of humankind when the Centre of the Covenant of Baha'u'llah,
during an unparalleled ministry, designed the architecture of a new World
Order and when, subsequently during some of the most devastating years,
the Guardian of the Faith devoted his utmost energies to raising up the
structures of an Administrative System that, at the end of the century,
stands before the gaze of the world in the wholeness of its essential
form. We come thus to a bridge
between times. The capacities
developed through a century of struggle and sacrifice by a handful of
intoxicated lovers of Baha'u'llah must now be applied to the inescapable
tasks remaining to the Formative Age, whose many epochs of unremitting
labour will lead to that Golden Age of our Faith when the Most Great Peace
will envelop the earth.
- We
begin at this Ridvan with a Twelve Month Plan. Brief though it is, it must and
will suffice to accomplish certain vital tasks and to lay the ground for
the next twenty-year thrust of the Master's Divine Plan. What was so carefully begun four
years ago--the systematic acquisition of knowledge, qualities and skills
of service--must be augmented.
Wherever they exist, national and regional institutes must activate
to the full the programmes and systems they have adopted. New institutes must be formed where
such needs have been identified.
Greater steps must be taken to systematize the teaching work
undertaken through individual initiative and institutional
sponsorship. It is partly for
this purpose that in several areas of each continent the Counsellors and
the National Assemblies have established "Area Growth
Programmes". The results
will provide a body of experience for the benefit of future Plans. The individual, the institutions
and the local community are urged to focus their attention on these
essential tasks, so as to be fully prepared for the five-year enterprise
to begin at Ridvan 2001--an enterprise that will take the Baha'i world to
the next phase in the advancement of the process of entry by troops.
- But beyond
giving attention to these tasks, there is a pressing challenge to be
faced: Our children need to be
nurtured spiritually and to be integrated into the life of the Cause. They should not be left to drift in
a world so laden with moral dangers.
In the current state of society, children face a cruel fate. Millions and millions in country
after country are dislocated socially. Children find themselves alienated
by parents and other adults whether they live in conditions of wealth or
poverty. This alienation has
its roots in a selfishness that is born of materialism that is at the core
of the godlessness seizing the hearts of people everywhere. The social dislocation of children
in our time is a sure mark of a society in decline; this condition is not,
however, confined to any race, class, nation or economic condition--it
cuts across them all. It grieves
our hearts to realize that in so many parts of the world children are
employed as soldiers, exploited as labourers, sold into virtual slavery,
forced into prostitution, made the objects of pornography, abandoned by
parents centred on their own desires, and subjected to other forms of
victimization too numerous to mention. Many such horrors are inflicted by
the parents themselves upon their own children. The spiritual and psychological
damage defies estimation. Our
worldwide community cannot escape the consequences of these
conditions. This realization
should spur us all to urgent and sustained effort in the interests of
children and the future.
- Even though
children's activities have been a part of past Plans, these have fallen
short of the need. Spiritual
education of children and junior youth are of paramount importance to the
further progress of the community.
It is therefore imperative that this deficiency be remedied. Institutes must be certain to
include in their programmes the training of teachers of children's
classes, who can make their services available to local communities. But although providing spiritual
and academic education for children is essential, this represents only a
part of what must go into developing their characters and shaping their
personalities. The necessity
exists, too, for individuals and the institutions at all levels, which is
to say the community as a whole, to show a proper attitude towards
children and to take a general interest in their welfare. Such an attitude should be far
removed from that of a rapidly declining order.
-
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. An
all-embracing love of children, the manner of treating them, the quality
of the attention shown them, the spirit of adult behaviour toward
them--these are all among the vital aspects of the requisite
attitude. Love demands
discipline, the courage to accustom children to hardship, not to indulge
their whims or leave them entirely to their own devices. An atmosphere needs to be
maintained in which children feel that they belong to the community and
share in its purpose. They
must lovingly but insistently be guided to live up to Baha'i standards, to
study and teach the Cause in ways that are suited to their circumstances.
- 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. The employment of the arts in
various forms can be of great value in such activity.
- And now we
wish to address a few words to parents, who bear the primary
responsibility for the upbringing of their children. We appeal to them to give constant
attention to the spiritual education of their children. Some parents appear to think that
this is the exclusive responsibility of the community; others believe that
in order to preserve the independence of children to investigate truth,
the Faith should not be taught to them. Still others feel inadequate to
take on such a task. None of
this is correct. The beloved
Master has said that "it is enjoined upon the father and mother, as a
duty, to strive with all effort to train the daughter and the son,"
adding that, "should they neglect this matter, they shall be held
responsible and worthy of reproach in the presence of the stern Lord." Independent of the level of their
education, parents are in a critical position to shape the spiritual
development of their children.
They should not ever underestimate their capacity to mold their
children's moral character.
For they exercise indispensable influence through the home
environment they consciously create by their love of God, their striving
to adhere to His laws, their spirit of service to His Cause, their lack of
fanaticism, and their freedom from the corrosive effects of backbiting. Every parent who is a believer in
the Blessed Beauty has the responsibility to conduct herself or himself in
such a way as to elicit the spontaneous obedience to parents to which the
Teachings attach so high a value.
Of course, in addition to the efforts made at home, the parents
should support Baha'i children's classes provided by the community. It must be borne in mind, too, that
children live in a world that informs them of harsh realities through
direct experience with the horrors already described or through the
unavoidable outpourings of the mass media. Many of them are thereby forced to
mature prematurely, and among these are those who look for standards and
discipline by which to guide their lives. Against this gloomy backdrop of a
decadent society, Baha'i children should shine as the emblems of a better
future.
- Our
expectations are alive with the thought that the Continental Counsellors
will gather in the Holy Land in January 2001 on an occasion that will
celebrate the occupation by the International Teaching Centre of its
permanent seat on the Hill of God.
Auxiliary Board members
The Universal House of Justice
To the Baha'is of the
World
10
Ridvan 2000
from throughout the world will
participate with them in what will undoubtedly turn out to be one of the
historic happenings of the Formative Age.
The coming together of such a constellation of Baha'i officers must by
its very nature produce untold benefits for a community which will again be
close to ending one Plan and embarking on another. As we contemplate the implications, we
turn our hearts in gratitude to the very dear Hands of the Cause of God
'Ali-Akbar Furutan and 'Ali Muhammad Varqa, who by their residence in the Holy
Land hold aloft the torch of service which the beloved Guardian lit in their
hearts.
- With this
Twelve Month Plan, we cross a bridge to which we shall never return. We launch this Plan in the earthly
absence of Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum. She remained with us to the virtual
end of the twentieth century as a beam of the light that had shone during
that incomparable period in the history of the human race. In the Tablets of the Divine Plan,
the Master lamented His inability to travel throughout the world to raise
the Divine call, and in the intensity of His disappointment He penned the
hope: "Please God, ye may
achieve it." Amatu'l-Baha responded with boundless energy, touching
far-flung spots of the earth in the 185 countries that were privileged to
receive her inimitable gifts.
Her example, which will retain forever its splendour, illumines the
hearts of thousands upon thousands throughout the planet. Against the
inadequacy of any other gesture, might we all not dedicate our humble
efforts during this Plan to the memory of one for whom teaching was the
primary purpose, the perfect joy of life?
[SIGNED: THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE
OF JUSTICE]