circa 1980s: Some Baha'is from Piegan Reserve, Alberta, Canada

Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum with some Baha'is from the Piegan Reserve, Alberta, Canada, circa 1980s.

December 29, 2015: Eight broad areas of responsibility for Local Spiritual Assemblies with respect to growth…

“For its part, and in response to growing numbers attending activities, the Local Assembly is

• enhancing its capacity to discharge the many responsibilities it carries on behalf of an expanding community.  
• It seeks to create an environment in which all feel encouraged to contribute to the community’s common enterprise.  
• It is eager to see the cluster agencies succeed in their plans, and
• its intimate familiarity with the conditions in its area enables it to foster the development of interacting processes at the local level. With this in mind,
• it urges the wholehearted participation of the friends in
• campaigns and
• meetings for reflection, and
• it provides material resources and other assistance for
• initiatives and
• events being organized in the locality.  
• The Assembly is also attentive to the need for new believers
• to be nurtured sensitively,
• considering when and how various dimensions of community life are to be introduced to them.  
• By encouraging their involvement in institute courses,
• it aims to ensure that from the very beginning they regard themselves as protagonists in a noble endeavour to build the world anew.  
• It sees to it that gatherings
• for the Nineteen Day Feast, Holy Day commemorations, and Bahá’í elections become opportunities
• to reinforce the high ideals of the community,
• strengthen its shared sense of commitment, and
• fortify its spiritual character.  
• As numbers in the community grow larger, the Assembly gives thought to when it could be beneficial to decentralize such meetings so as to facilitate ever-greater participation on these important occasions."

 - The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated 29 December 2015 addressed to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors)

1997: “The blessed Divine Tree… is firmly rooted in the ground, while its branches and offshoots are growing heavenward.”

The tremendous forces latent in the inmost reality of this precious Faith exert daily a fresh influence in the contingent world and shine forth with greater intensity. Through the outpourings of Bahá’u’lláh’s bounties, and as a result of dictates of the time as well as the mighty efforts exerted by the followers of His Beauty, the Faith’s life-giving Teachings are taking root in the world of being, increasing its prestige and manifesting evermore its power to solve the problems confronting humanity. The blessed Divine Tree, we must know, is firmly rooted in the ground, while its branches and offshoots are growing heavenward. All this has been possible through the interaction and cooperation of two mighty, dominant forces which, in compliance with God’s Will, are at work simultaneously, enabling the blessed Tree to grow, put forth its leaves and blossoms and, at the appointed time, offer to humankind its choicest fruits. One of the generating powers of this spiritual springtime is tempestuous and soul-stirring in nature; causing lightning and thunder, high winds, torrential rain, and roaring floods. These in turn cause the orchards and fields to become verdant and fruitful. The other is the inherent capacity for growth latent in the blessed seed. It is this capacity that causes the seed to grow as an essential necessity. The rays of the Sun of Truth and the sprinklings of the cloud of bounty help it to grow and become a mighty and fruit-bearing tree, providing a celestial retreat for the guided birds of the field. The overall divine design which leads humanity to spiritual maturity is not within our control; it is well guarded in God’s hidden treasure house and its realization is dependent on His Will. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated March 158 B.E. addressed to the Iranian believers throughout the World)

Century of Light

The conclusion of the twentieth century provides Bahá’ís with a unique vantage point. During the past hundred years our world underwent changes far more profound than any in its preceding history, changes that are, for the most part, little understood by the present generation. These same hundred years saw the Bahá’í Cause emerge from obscurity, demonstrating on a global scale the unifying power with which its Divine origin has endowed it. As the century drew to its close, the convergence of these two historical developments became increasingly apparent.

Century of Light, prepared under our supervision, reviews these two processes and the relationship between them, in the context of the Bahá’í Teachings. We commend it to the thoughtful study of the friends, in the confidence that the perspectives it opens up will prove both spiritually enriching and of practical help in sharing with others the challenging implications of the Revelation brought by Bahá’u’lláh.

The Universal House of Justice

Naw-Rúz, 158 B.E.

(Foreword to Century of Light document)

1988: Maxwell International Baha'i School

The official dedication ceremony of the Maxwell International Baha'i School in Canada, 1988.

Conditions under which a Baha’i community “can never hope to serve as a pattern for restructuring the whole of society.”

What should be apparent is that, if the Administrative Order is to serve as a pattern for future society, then the community within which it is developing must not only acquire capacity to address increasingly complex material and spiritual requirements but also become larger and larger in size. How could it be otherwise. A small community, whose members are united by their shared beliefs, characterized by their high ideals, proficient in managing their affairs and tending to their needs, and perhaps engaged in several humanitarian projects—a community such as this, prospering but at a comfortable distance from the reality experienced by the masses of humanity, can never hope to serve as a pattern for restructuring the whole of society. That the worldwide Bahá’í community has managed to avert the dangers of complacency is a source of abiding joy to us. Indeed, the community has well in hand its expansion and consolidation. Yet, to administer the affairs of teeming numbers in villages and cities around the globe—to raise aloft the standard of Bahá’u’lláh’s World Order for all to see—is still a distant goal. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 28 December 2010 addressed to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors)

The “’society-building power’ inherent in the Faith”

Referring to the development of the global Bahá’í community, how often did the beloved Guardian encourage the friends to remain resolute in their purpose and persevere in their endeavours. “Conscious of their high calling, confident in the society-building power which their Faith possesses,” he noted with satisfaction, “they press forward, undeterred and undismayed, in their efforts to fashion and perfect the necessary instruments wherein the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh can mature and develop.” “It is this building process, slow and unobtrusive,” he reminded them, that “constitutes the one hope” of a disillusioned humanity. That this process will continue to gain in scope and influence and the Administrative Order demonstrate in time “its capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the New World Order” is clear from his writings. “In a world the structure of whose political and social institutions is impaired, whose vision is befogged, whose conscience is bewildered, whose religious systems have become anaemic and lost their virtue,” he asserted so emphatically, “this healing Agency, this leavening Power, this cementing Force, intensely alive and all-pervasive,” is “taking shape,” is “crystallizing into institutions,” and is “mobilizing its forces”. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 28 December 2010 addressed to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors)

The “divinely propelled process of growth” of the Baha’i Community

What we have described in the preceding paragraphs and in so many messages over the last decade and a half can best be viewed as the latest in a series of approaches to the growth of the Bahá’í community, each suited to specific historical circumstances. This divinely propelled process of growth was set in motion by the fervour generated in the Cradle of the Faith more than one hundred and sixty years ago, as thousands responded to the summons of a New Day, and received impetus through the exertions made by early believers to carry the message of Bahá’u’lláh to neighbouring countries in the East and scattered pockets in the West. It acquired greater structure through the Tablets of the Divine Plan revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and gained momentum as the friends spread out systematically across the globe under the direction of the Guardian to establish small centres of Bahá’í activity and erect the first pillars of the Administrative Order. It gathered force in the rural areas of the world as masses of humanity were moved to embrace the Faith, but slowed considerably as the friends strove to discover strategies for sustaining large-scale expansion and consolidation. And, for fifteen years now, it has been steadily accelerating since we raised the call at the outset of the Four Year Plan for the Bahá’í world to systematize the teaching work on the basis of the experience it had gained through decades of difficult but invaluable learning. That the current approach to growth, effective as it is, must evolve still further in complexity and sophistication once it has taken root in a cluster, demonstrating ever more notably the “society-building power” inherent in the Faith, few would fail to recognize. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 28 December 2010 addressed to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors)

Baha’i education of children & junior youth: - “the glorification of self has to be scrupulously avoided”; Not to dilute “content in a mesmerizing sea of entertainment”

Education is a vast field, and educational theories abound. Surely many have considerable merit, but it should be remembered that none is free of assumptions about the nature of the human being and society. An educational process should, for example, create in a child awareness of his or her potentialities, but the glorification of self has to be scrupulously avoided. So often in the name of building confidence the ego is bolstered. Similarly, play has its place in the education of the young. Children and junior youth, however, have proven time and again their capacity to engage in discussions on abstract subjects, undertaken at a level appropriate to their age, and derive great joy from the serious pursuit of understanding. An educational process that dilutes content in a mesmerizing sea of entertainment does them no service. We trust that, in studying the institute courses, teachers and animators will find themselves increasingly equipped to make judicious decisions in selecting any materials or activities necessary, whether from traditional educational sources or from the wealth of items, such as songs, stories, and games, that are sure to be developed for the young in the Baha'i community in the years to come. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 12 December 2011 addressed to all National Spiritual Assemblies)

There are two authoritative centers in the Baha’i faith – The Universal House of Justice explains

In the Bahá’í Faith there are two authoritative centers appointed to which the believers must turn, for in reality the Interpreter of the Word is an extension of that center which is the Word itself. The Book is the record of the utterance of Bahá’u’lláh, while the divinely inspired Interpreter is the living Mouth of that Book—it is he and he alone who can authoritatively state what the Book means. Thus one center is the Book with its Interpreter, and the other is the Universal House of Justice guided by God to decide on whatever is not explicitly revealed in the Book. This pattern of centers and their relationships is apparent at every stage in the unfoldment of the Cause. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh tells the believers to refer after His passing to the Book, and to “Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.” In the Kitáb-i-‘Ahdí (the Book of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant), He makes it clear that this reference is to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In the Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh also ordains the institution of the Universal House of Justice, and confers upon it the powers necessary for it to discharge its ordained functions. The Master in His Will and Testament explicitly institutes the Guardianship, which Shoghi Effendi states was clearly anticipated in the verses of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, reaffirms and elucidates the authority of the Universal House of Justice, and refers the believers once again to the Book: “Unto the Most Holy Book everyone must turn, and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House of Justice,” and at the very end of the Will He says: “All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause and the House of Justice. And he that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error.” 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 7 December 1969 to an individual believer; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1968-1973)

The “environment” to be “fostered” in each community by the institutions of the Faith – through “encouragement, assistance, counsel, and education”

In this context, then, every individual finds himself or herself immersed in a community that serves increasingly as an environment conducive to the cultivation of those attributes that are to distinguish a Bahá’í life —

• an environment in which a spirit of unity animates one and all;
• in which the ties of fellowship bind them;
• in which mistakes are treated with tolerance and fear of failure is diminished;
•  in which criticism of others is avoided and backbiting and gossip give way to mutual support and encouragement;
• in which young and old work shoulder to shoulder, studying the Creative Word together and accompanying one another in their efforts to serve;
• in which children are reared through an educational process that strives to sharpen their spiritual faculties and imbue them with the spirit of the Faith;
• in which young people are helped to detect the false messages spread by society, recognize its fruitless preoccupations, and resist its pressures, directing their energies instead towards its betterment.

The institutions of the Faith, for their part, strive to ensure that such an environment is fostered. They do not pry into the personal lives of individuals. Nor are they vindictive and judgemental, eager to punish those who fall short of the Bahá’í standard. Except in extreme cases of blatant and flagrant disregard for the law that could potentially harm the Cause and may require them to administer sanctions, their attention is focused on encouragement, assistance, counsel, and education. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 19 April 2013 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)

Benefits of participating in the courses provided by the regional institutes

…the courses of the institute are intended to set the individual on a path in which qualities and attitudes, skills and abilities, are gradually acquired through service—service intended to quell the insistent self, helping to lift the individual out of its confines and placing him or her in a dynamic process of community building. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 19 April 2013 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)

The global Plans of the Faith define “a framework for action” for each community that “promotes the transformation of the individual in conjunction with social transformation” –> “two inseparable processes”

What the friends need to remember… is that, in their efforts to achieve personal growth and to uphold Bahá’í ideals, they are not isolated individuals, withstanding alone the onslaught of the forces of moral decay operating in society. They are members of a purposeful community, global in scope, pursuing a bold spiritual mission—working to establish a pattern of activity and administrative structures suited to a humanity entering its age of maturity. Giving shape to the community’s efforts is a framework for action defined by the global Plans of the Faith. This framework promotes the transformation of the individual in conjunction with social transformation, as two inseparable processes. Specifically, the courses of the institute are intended to set the individual on a path in which qualities and attitudes, skills and abilities, are gradually acquired through service—service intended to quell the insistent self, helping to lift the individual out of its confines and placing him or her in a dynamic process of community building. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 19 April 2013 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)