In the two years since the launching of the Four Year Plan, considerable progress has been made in raising the friends’ awareness of the need for training. As a result, the rigorous and methodical study of the writings, a habit that required reinforcement in many communities, has assumed prominence. This is a welcome development, but more has to be accomplished before the implications of systematic training are fully grasped. The Universal House of Justice explains:
“With the growth in the number of enrollments, it has become apparent that such occasional courses of instruction and the informal activities of community life, though important, are not sufficient as a means of human resource development, for they have resulted in only a relatively small band of active supporters of the Cause. These believers, no matter how dedicated, no matter how willing to make sacrifices, cannot attend to the needs of hundreds, much less thousands, of fledgling local communities. Systematic attention has to be given by Bahá’í institutions to training a significant number of believers and assisting them in serving the Cause according to their God-given talents and capacities.” [1]
In many parts of the world, attention is focused largely on gaining an understanding of the fundamental verities of the Faith. The corresponding institute programs cover a wide range of subjects aimed at deepening the friends’ knowledge of various aspects of the teachings. To be effective in developing human resources, these programs need to impart knowledge, provide spiritual insights, and endow the participants with skills and abilities of service. In the messages on the Four Year Plan, the House of Justice has made a number of statements on the nature of training, and the variations in wording lend perspective on this complex matter:
“The purpose of such training is to endow ever-growing contingents of believers with the spiritual insights, the knowledge, and the skills needed to carry out the many tasks of accelerated expansion and consolidation, including the teaching and deepening of a large number of people—adults, youth and children.” [2]
“It is therefore of paramount importance that systematic attention be given to devising methods for educating large numbers of believers in the fundamental verities of the Faith and for training and assisting them to serve the Cause as their God-given talents allow.” [3]
“They [training institutes] will help to develop in each participant a deep love for Bahá’u’lláh, a good understanding of His essential Teachings and an awareness of the importance of developing the spiritual life of each individual through prayer, meditation and immersion in the Sacred Writings. They will also cover such practical matters as how to teach the Faith, for there are too many who, for lack of confidence in their ability to do so, are hesitant to convey the Message.” [4]
“Your participation in institute programs, through which you will deepen your knowledge of the Faith, cultivate your inner spiritual lives and develop abilities of service, will enable you to intensify your individual and collective exertions in the teaching field and will result in a commensurate acceleration in the expansion of your communities.” [5]
“They [institute programs] should seek to develop in the participants a good understanding of Bahá’u’lláh’s essential Teachings and to help them acquire those skills and abilities that will enable them to serve the Faith effectively. They should also strive to imbue their hearts with a deep love for Bahá’u’lláh—a love from which stems a desire to submit oneself to His Will, to obey His laws, to heed His exhortations and to promote His Faith.” [6]
“These centers of Bahá’í learning will have as their goal one very practical outcome, namely, the raising up of large numbers of believers who are trained to foster and facilitate the process of entry by troops with efficiency and love.” [7]
Passages such as these define a clear purpose for training institutes. The experience of the past two years indicates that when institute programs fulfill this purpose through curricula that properly integrate the various components of training, the number of those who dedicate themselves to the work of the Faith increases dramatically.
Notes
1. Message
dated 26 December 1995 written by the Universal House of Justice to the
Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors.
2. Message
dated 26 December 1995 written by the Universal House of Justice to the
Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors.
3. Ridván
1996 message written by the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the
world.
4. Ridván
1996 message written by the Universal House of Justice to the Followers of
Bahá’u’lláh in Europe.
5. Ridván
1996 message written by the Universal House of Justice to the Followers of
Bahá’u’lláh in Cambodia, Hong Kong, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Macau,
Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
6. Ridván
1996 message written by the Universal House of Justice to the Followers of
Bahá’u’lláh in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and
Sri Lanka.
7. Ridván
1996 message written by the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the
world.
(From “Training Institutes”, a document prepared for and approved by the Universal House of Justice, April 1998; included in “Turning Point”: Selected Messages of the Universal House of Justice and Supplementary Material, 1996–2006; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
