May 24, 2017

The process of learning: --> Questions that must be addressed through exploration of the Writings of the Faith as well as through scientific analysis of patterns unfolding

Numerous, of course, are the questions that the process of learning, now under way in all regions of the world, must address:
  • how to bring people of different backgrounds together in an environment which, devoid of the constant threat of conflict and distinguished by its devotional character, encourages them to put aside the divisive ways of a partisan mindset, fosters higher degrees of unity of thought and action, and elicits wholehearted participation;
  • how to administer the affairs of a community in which there is no ruling class with priestly functions that can lay claim to distinction or privilege;
  • how to enable contingents of men and women to break free from the confines of passivity and the chains of oppression in order to engage in activities conducive to their spiritual, social and intellectual development;
  • how to help youth navigate through a crucial stage of their lives and become empowered to direct their energies towards the advancement of civilization;
  • how to create dynamics within the family unit that lead to material and spiritual prosperity without instilling in the rising generations feelings of estrangement towards an illusory "other" or nurturing any instinct to exploit those relegated to this category;
  • how to make it possible for decision making to benefit from a diversity of perspectives through a consultative process which, understood as the collective investigation of reality, promotes detachment from personal views, gives due importance to valid empirical information, does not raise mere opinion to the status of fact or define truth as the compromise between opposing interest groups.
To explore questions such as these and the many others certain to arise, the Baha'i community has adopted a mode of operation characterized by action, reflection, consultation and study - study which involves not only constant reference to the writings of the Faith but also the scientific analysis of patterns unfolding. Indeed,
  • how to maintain such a mode of learning in action,
  • how to ensure that growing numbers participate in the generation and application of relevant knowledge, and
  • how to devise structures for the systemization of an expanding worldwide experience and for the equitable distribution of the lessons learned
- these are, themselves, the object of regular examination. 
- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 2 March 2013 to the Baha’is in Iran)