Lately I've been hearing Baha'is talking about teaching: What's an effective method? What's an appropriate method? Should we do direct teaching or indirect teaching? Is it in keeping with the dignity of the Faith to be door knocking? I'm not familiar with what goes on in Baha'i communities these days, but as I understand it, Baha'is are encouraged to go door knocking when their communities are judged to be sufficiently advanced along the Ruhi Path.
The first thing that hits me about this discussion is how familiar it is to me. The issues and the way that they are framed are the same as when I was a member of the community - only in my day, the administration frowned on door knocking and did not encourage it. It surprises me greatly to see the shift in thinking there.
But now that I have been out of the community for just over eight years, my way of looking at teaching has changed. I no longer think about it in the way that the community does. One thing about being unenrolled that I really like is that it means you go back to what Baha'u'llah says about things and use that to guide you. The community discourse and focus on issues no longer bears on you; it's just you and Baha'u'llah and he's the man you go to for direction. It makes you see how sidetracked the community gets. Discussion takes place within an established framework that has grown up over time from bits here and there. But participants do not say to themselves: what are the principles laid down by Baha'u'llah about teaching? The nearest the discussion seems to get to that is the idea that Baha'u'llah forbids proselytizing. But no one asks: where does Baha'u'llah forbid proselytizing? Perhaps he does make a statement like that somewhere, but I've not come across it. Then the discussion revolves around the meaning of the English word 'proselytizing' and so on it goes.
So, I thought I'd cover here what Baha'u'llah says about teaching, as I understand it from the writings that we have. The relevant passages seem to me to be covered in Tablets of Baha'u'llah and I'll confine myself mostly to the writings in that book.
Deeds and words
As I understand it, Baha'u'llah explains that we influence others with both our deeds and our words. In many places, he says that our deeds will render the Cause victorious; for example:
"The fourth Ishraq: In this Revelation the hosts that can render it victorious are the hosts of praiseworthy deeds and upright character. The leader and commander of these hosts hath ever been the fear of God, a fear that encompasseth all things and reigneth over all things." (Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p126)
He also says that God has ordained that we are to achieve victory by means of our words (presumably, and not by the sword):
"Our loving providence surpasseth all things, We have ordained that complete victory should be achieved through speech and utterance, that Our servants throughout the earth may thereby become the recipients of divine good. This is but a token of God's bounty vouchsafed unto them. Verily thy Lord is the All-Sufficing, the Most Exalted." (Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, pp 197-198)
I want to confine my discussion here to words. In Tablets of Baha'u'llah, a passage about the influence of words appears three times. Baha'u'llah appears to have revealed it and then quoted it again and again. It seems to me to contain the fundamental principles about teaching that he wanted to emphasise. I'll quote the shortest version of the passage first and deal with the other two next. In the two longer versions, Baha'u'llah adds some commentary on the passage, which gives us extra useful information.
Quotation one
"Teach thou the Cause of God with an utterance which will cause the bushes to be enkindled, and the call `Verily, there is no God but Me, the Almighty, the Unconstrained' to be raised therefrom. Say: Human utterance is an essence which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. As to its influence, this is conditional upon refinement which in turn is dependent upon hearts which are detached and pure. As to its moderation, this hath to be combined with tact and wisdom as prescribed in the Holy Scriptures and Tablets. Meditate upon that which hath streamed forth from the heaven of the Will of thy Lord, He Who is the Source of all grace, that thou mayest grasp the intended meaning which is enshrined in the sacred depths of the Holy Writings." (Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p143)
The part that gets repeated starts from "Say: Human utterance is an essence which aspireth to exert an influence…" and stops at "… Holy Scriptures and Tablets".
There's a basic structure to the passage, which Baha'u'llah adheres to in each version. First of all, Baha'u'llah tells us that speech is an essence. In other words, it is a spiritual power that comes from within our spiritual self. Then he tells us two things about that essence:
- That it seeks to exert an influence.
- That it needs moderation.
He then gives a comment on each of these two aspects of the essence of speech:
- About its influence, this is conditional upon refinement and hearts that are pure.
- About its need for moderation, this needs to be combined with tact and wisdom as set out in scripture.
Fortunately, in the next two quotations, Baha'u'llah gives us more information about these things. I'll quote the next passage and add the new details.
Quotation two
"Should anyone perceive the sweetness of the following passage in the Tablet revealed in honour of Nabil of Qa'in,(1) he would readily comprehend the significance of assistance: Human utterance is an essence which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. As to its influence, this is conditional upon refinement, which in turn is dependent upon hearts which are detached and pure. As to its moderation, this hath to be combined with tact and wisdom as prescribed in the Holy Scriptures and Tablets.
O My Name! Utterance must needs possess penetrating power. For if bereft of this quality it would fail to exert influence. And this penetrating influence dependeth on the spirit being pure and the heart stainless. Likewise it needeth moderation, without which the hearer would be unable to bear it, rather he would manifest opposition from the very outset. And moderation will be obtained by blending utterance with the tokens of divine wisdom which are recorded in the sacred Books and Tablets. Thus when the essence of one's utterance is endowed with these two requisites it will prove highly effective and will be the prime factor in transforming the souls of men. This is the station of supreme victory and celestial dominion. Whoso attaineth thereto is invested with the power to teach the Cause of God and to prevail over the hearts and minds of men." (Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, pp198-199)
Note that in the first paragraph, Baha'u'llah repeats the passage we looked at above. In the second paragraph, he gives us some information about it. He begins commenting on aspect 1 above:
1. Speech seeks to exert an influence. About its influence, this is conditional upon refinement and hearts that are pure.
Baha'u'llah tells us that speech needs to have a penetrating power, otherwise it won't succeed in influencing people. Next, he tells us that this influence depends on a pure spirit and stainless heart.
Then he moves on to aspect 2 above.
2. Speech needs moderation. About its need for moderation, this needs to be combined with tact and wisdom as set out in scripture.
Baha'u'llah gives us quite a bit more information here about the moderation aspect. He tells us first of all why moderation is needed - because otherwise the audience will not be able to hear the message we are delivering, and will oppose us instead. Next, Baha'u'llah tells us how to achieve moderation. This is done by blending our words with small pieces of wisdom from the writings.
Finally, Baha'u'llah tells us that, with the two aspects outlined above under our belts, we will be successful teachers.
Before moving on to the last quotation, I'll put together all that we have learned so far about the two aspects. I'll call them the 'influence aspect' and the 'moderation aspect'.
- Influence aspect: Speech seeks to exert an influence. Speech needs to have a penetrating power, otherwise it won't influence people. About its influence, this is conditional upon refinement and hearts that are pure or, put another way, a pure spirit and stainless heart.
- Moderation aspect: Speech needs moderation. This is because the audience will not be able to hear the message we are delivering, and will oppose us instead. About its need for moderation, this needs to be combined with tact and wisdom as set out in scripture. This is done by blending our words with small pieces of wisdom from the writings.
Quotation three
"The Great Being saith: Human utterance is an essence which aspireth to exert its influence and needeth moderation. As to its influence, this is conditional upon refinement which in turn is dependent upon hearts which are detached and pure. As to its moderation, this hath to be combined with tact and wisdom as prescribed in the Holy Scriptures and Tablets.
Every word is endowed with a spirit, therefore the speaker or expounder should carefully deliver his words at the appropriate time and place, for the impression which each word maketh is clearly evident and perceptible. The Great Being saith: One word may be likened unto fire, another unto light, and the influence which both exert is manifest in the world. Therefore an enlightened man of wisdom should primarily speak with words as mild as milk, that the children of men may be nurtured and edified thereby and may attain the ultimate goal of human existence which is the station of true understanding and nobility. And likewise He saith: One word is like unto springtime causing the tender saplings of the rose-garden of knowledge to become verdant and flourishing, while another word is even as a deadly poison. It behoveth a prudent man of wisdom to speak with utmost leniency and forbearance so that the sweetness of his words may induce everyone to attain that which befitteth man's station.
O friend of mine! The Word of God is the king of words and its pervasive influence is incalculable. It hath ever dominated and will continue to dominate the realm of being. The Great Being saith: The Word is the master key for the whole world, inasmuch as through its potency the doors of the hearts of men, which in reality are the doors of heaven, are unlocked." (Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, pp172-173)
Again, Baha'u'llah begins in the first paragraph with the passage we are now familiar with. The next two paragraphs give us some very useful commentary on it. What does he tell us? Here is a summary of the ideas in paragraph 2:
- Every word is endowed with a spirit. This is linked to the idea that speech is an essence. It is a spiritual power within us.
- Given that speech is a spirit, we have to be careful about how we deliver our words - being mindful of time and place - so that we give the right impression. Then Baha'u'llah gives an example of what he means. A word can be, depending on its delivery, a fire or a light.
- Therefore, we should primarily speak with words as mild as milk. This is an important idea about moderation. Why, because the goal is to use words so that they will nurture and edify (that is, inspire a person toward moral or spiritual improvement). Again, Baha'u'llah gives an example. A word can be, depending on its delivery, a springtime or a deadly poison.
- Finally, Baha'u'llah gives more examples of what is meant by moderation. We should speak with leniency and forbearance so that the sweetness of our words inspires our audience to achieve its highest spiritual station.
In the third paragraph, Baha'u'llah focuses on the Word. This tells us why it is important, as we saw from the moderation aspect, to blend our words with the Word in scripture. Summarised, the ideas are: The Word of God is the king of words. Its influence is incalculable; it dominates creation. It's the master key that unlocks the hearts of people (which are the doors of heaven).
Again, on the matter of mixing the word of God with our own, Baha'u'llah explains that we should memorise short passages so that we can recite them when an appropriate time comes up. It is the Word that transforms people:
"The sanctified souls should ponder and meditate in their hearts regarding the methods of teaching. From the texts of the wondrous, heavenly Scriptures they should memorize phrases and passages bearing on various instances, so that in the course of their speech they may recite divine verses whenever the occasion demandeth it, inasmuch as these holy verses are the most potent elixir, the greatest and mightiest talisman. So potent is their influence that the hearer will have no cause for vacillation." (Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p 200)
Summary
I'll now summarise what Baha'u'llah says about effective teaching in the quotations above.
- Speech is an essence. Every word is endowed with a spirit.
- Influence aspect: Speech seeks to exert an influence. It needs to have a penetrating power, otherwise it won't influence people. About its influence, this is conditional upon refinement and hearts that are pure or, put another way, a pure spirit and stainless heart.
- Moderation aspect: Speech needs moderation. This is because the audience will not be able to hear the message we are delivering, and will oppose us instead. About its need for moderation, this needs to be combined with tact and wisdom as set out in scripture. When speaking, we should be mindful of time and place so that we give the right impression. We should primarily speak with words as mild as milk because the goal is to use words so that they will nurture and edify. We should speak with leniency and forbearance so that the sweetness of our words inspires our audience to achieve its highest spiritual station. We should blend our words with small pieces of wisdom from the writings. The Word of God is the king of words. Its influence is incalculable; it dominates creation. It is the master key that unlocks the hearts of people. We should memorise short passages from scripture so that we can recite them when an appropriate time comes up. It is the Word that transforms people.
Proselytizing
I'll finish with a comment about proselytizing. As I said, I'm not aware that Baha'u'llah ever said we should not proselytize. As I understand it, the Guardian said that and he was extrapolating from the principles that Baha'u'llah laid down about teaching.
"Care, however, should, at all times, be exercised, lest in their eagerness to further the international interests of the Faith they frustrate their purpose, and turn away, through any act that might be misconstrued as an attempt to proselytize and bring undue pressure upon them, those whom they wish to win over to their Cause." (Shoghi Effendi: The Advent of Divine Justice, p 66)
In my view, the principle that we should not proselytize can be gleaned from the following passages from Baha'u'llah. As I understand what Baha'u'llah says below, we should only talk to someone about the Faith if they show a genuine interest in hearing about it. Otherwise, we should remain silent. To my mind, this is what's meant by the fact that we should not proselytize and, to my mind, it rules out door knocking.
"O son of dust! The wise are they that speak not unless they obtain a hearing, even as the cup-bearer, who proffereth not his cup till he findeth a seeker, and the lover who crieth not out from the depths of his heart until he gazeth upon the beauty of his beloved. Wherefore sow the seeds of wisdom and knowledge in the pure soil of the heart, and keep them hidden, till the hyacinths of divine wisdom spring from the heart and not from mire and clay." (Baha'u'llah: Persian Hidden Words, no 36)
"Arise thou to serve the Cause of thy Lord; then give the people the joyful tidings concerning this resplendent Light whose revelation hath been announced by God through His Prophets and Messengers. Admonish everyone moreover to observe prudence as ordained by Him, and in the Name of God advise them, saying: It behoveth every one in this Day of God to dedicate himself to the teaching of the Cause with utmost prudence and steadfastness. Should he discover a pure soil, let him sow the seed of the Word of God, otherwise it would be preferable to observe silence." (Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p 242)
