Irfán Colloquia
Bosch Bahá'í School
Santa Cruz, California · USA
May 30–June 2, 2013
Papers from this session
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The Bábí-Bahá'í Theology of 'Adl (Justice) and the Lawh-i Ridván al-'Adl of Bahá'u'lláh
"This is the Ridwan al `Adl ("Paradise of Justice"). It was indeed made manifest through the Divine Bounty (al-fadl) for God hath ornamented it with His Mighty, Incomparable [Scriptural] Traces (al-athar)." In the Name of God, the Promoter of Justice (al-adil), the All-Wise (al-hakim). .. "This is a Tablet (lawh) in which God raised up His Name, the Promoter of Justice (al-`Ádil). [2] Therefrom did He breathe forth the Spirit of Justice (ruh al-`adl) within the temples of the totality of created things (hayakil al-khala'iq)" (Opening lines, AQA 4:299). "Bestir yourselves, O people, in anticipation of the days of Divine justice (ayyám al-`adl), for the promised hour is now come. Beware lest ye fail to apprehend its import and be accounted among the erring" (AQA 4: 314 =Gleanings XII).
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Carmel Calling Jerusalem: History and Prophesy Related to Carmel, Mount Carmel and the Tablet of Carmel
"It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it" (Isaiah 2:2) "Call out to Zion, O Carmel, and announce the joyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing splendour is revealed" (extract from the Tablet of Carmel)
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Conflict Transformation: A Case Study of the Universal House of Justice Messages to the Bahá'ís in Iran
In the Old Testament, the history of conflict is as old as human history, starting from the Genesis. This talk comprises of two parts: it will first cover the gradual developments of how humans have been dealing with conflicts both on interpersonal and community levels. There are at least five distinct but overlapping stages of facing conflicts. The two more traditional forms of "conflict eradication" and "conflict denial" use power and aggression as the basic modes of operation. The two more recent stages of "conflict management" and "conflict resolution" use modern tools of consultation rather than confrontation. After a brief review of these familiar stages, the newest stage of "Conflict Transformation" will be more fully discussed. This recent concept welcomes social conflicts as effective catalysts to foster constructive changes that reduce violence, increase justice in direct interactions and social structures, and respond to real life problems in human relationship. Clearly, most of these recent ideas have obvious counterparts and examples both in the Bahá'í Sacred Writings and its history. In the second part of the talk, an attempt will be made to detect components of "conflict transformation" in the contents and tone of the letters written by the UHJ to the Bahá'ís in Iran. In the past thirty some years, Bahá'ís of Iran have been subjected to horrendous human rights violation and bravely endured their ghastly conditions. The dynamics of growth and maturation within the community has been, to a great part, due to the continual guidance received from UHJ. It seems that the tone and the content of these letters have themselves gone through a gradual change and more in line with the underlying concepts of "conflict transformation." It seems that the letters from the House are more and more encouraging the Persian Bahá'ís to see the present conflicts and the adversarial role of the government as a propelling force for growth, creating positives from the difficult or negatives.
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The Development of the Baha'i Community: 1963 2013
While the growth of the Bahá'í Community under the guidance of the Universal House of Justice in the 50 years since 1963 expands over a wide range, it could be perceived in terms of two parallel sets of activities. On the one hand we have witnessed the expansion and consolidation of the Bahá'í community to such an extent that it practically covers the entire globe; on the other, the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has increased its influence substantially in the life of society. Having passed the stage of obscurity the Faith has earned the respect and admiration of international & national institutions and many world leaders. On Issues as diverse as human rights, environment, education, peace, race and ethnic issues, and development the views of the Bahá'í community are sought and respected by many at local, national, and international levels. In essence the House of Justice has continued the processes that were started by `Abdu'l-Bahá and expanded by Shoghi Effendi based on the provisions of the three Charters of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: The Tablet of Carmel, The Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, and the Tablets of the Divine Plan. In this period we have observed the expansion of the Bahá'í community, consolidation of Bahá'í institutions as well as the creation of new institutions at various levels, the development of institutions at the Bahá'í World Center, as well as acquisition and development of local and national properties and endowments. Through 11 global plans, ranging from 12 months to 9 years in duration, the House of Justice has nurtured the members of the Bahá'í community while increasing the stature of the Faith in the eyes of the public. The era from 1963 to 2013 could be divided into various periods each with particular set of priorities and emphasis in the unfoldment of the divine Plan. With the introduction of the institute process by the House of Justice in 1996, the community has embarked on a steep learning process to increase the capacity of all its members to arise and serve humanity.
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Ethics and the Bahá'í Writings: A Philosophical Survey
The Bahá'í Writings promise an ethical renewal for all the peoples and cultures in the world and ethical guidance for the future personal, social and spiritual evolution of humankind. This paper pursues a philosophical examination of the Writings' ethical teachings, how they relate to the major ethical systems proposed in the past, and how they deal with some of the difficulties inherent in past systems. Among the topics discussed are virtue ethics, utilitarianism, existentialism, Kant's theories, natural law theory, ethical subjectivism and objectivism, relativism, intuitionism, Nietzschean ethics, and self-realization ethics. Special attention will be paid to Udo Schaefer's magisterial two volume "Bahá'í Ethics in Light of Scripture" which was the first study to undertake a systematic review of Bahá'í ethical teachings.
Published in Lights of Irfán, Vol. 15, pp. 93–198
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Finding a Trace of the Traceless Friend: Reflection on Bahá'í Scholarship as a Journey in the Valley of Search
In this presentation the attempt is made to shed some light at Bahá'í Scholarship from the First Valley of the Seven Valleys of Bahá'u'lláh, the Valley of Search. The combination of finding a "trace" of a "traceless friend" indicates the mysteriousness and complexity of this task, and introduces us into the mystical realm. The introductory section of the Seven Valleys closes with the following words, indicating that the purpose of this Book is "that every man may thereby win his way to the summit of realities, until none shall contemplate anything whatsoever but that he shall see God therein." (SVFV 1) The summit of reality indicates that it is a different and new reality that is presented in the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, which must be the basis of all Bahá'í scholarship. In a letter on behalf of the Universal House of Justice it was stated that "The combination of absolute loyalty to the Manifestation of God and His Teachings, with the searching and intelligent study of the Teachings and history of the Faith which those Teachings themselves enjoin, is a particular strength of this Dispensation." This issue cannot be solved other than by grounding all research and study on this new understanding of reality. These topics will be discussed in following the Valley of Search: Prerequisites of search Independent Investigation and the role of the heart, culture and tradition How to deal with distractions The standard of Majnún, seek her everywhere The exclusivity of search and sacrificing everything for it Seeking the truth in every country, in every mind and in every soul These points and some excursion into closely related topics will be presented and the whole paper is carried by the conviction that scholarship in the Bahá'í Faith, and its assumptions about the reality of this world, is much easier than following the assumptions of modern science about reality from the point of view of any previous religion. Modern science often is based on a reductionistic and mostly materialistic world view. The followers of previous religions are not able to combine their religious understanding of reality with modern science at all. Bahá'í scholars need to discriminate and be selective when comparing the Bahá'í writings with what is taught today in academia. The reality of the new scientific findings, obviously not all of them, but of the most progressive and forward looking scholars and philosophers of today need to be studied and coordinated with the Writings of the Faith. It is the Bahá'í scholar who has not only the ability but the task to sort this out and look forward in his thinking. As a Christian theologian I had to live in two worlds, the world of the Bible and the world of Einstein, the world of the Gospels and the world of modern science. As a Bahá'í scholar the world has been opened up and the most modern thinkers and scientists can be found to be inspired by the new Revelation, even if they had never heard of Bahá'u'lláh. I have presented this understanding in all my previous presentations at the `Irfán Colloquia for many years. As a Bahá'í scholar and seeker we must live in this new World Order (GWB 136) of Bahá'u'lláh. Then Bahá'u'lláh will ... draw thee from the earthly homeland to the first, heavenly abode in the Center of Realities, and lift thee to a plane wherein thou wouldst soar in the air even as thou walkest upon the earth, and move over the water as thou runnest on the land (SVFV 3)
Published in Lights of Irfán, Vol. 15, pp. 41–92
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The Forces of Evolution
"The Forces of Evolution" is related to and a continuation of a previous presentation on "General Theory of Evolution and Human Evolution." While keeping in mind the principle of "Harmony of Science and Religion," we will discuss the important question that always arises when we discuss evolution: "If we assume that the result of evolution is `the survival of the fittest,' then why nature and evolution should lead to a very complex individual like `homo sapiens' who would be at higher risk of annihilation by natural catastrophes. Single cell organisms and insects have a much higher probability of survival than mammals or humans."
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Forgiveness: Its meaning and merits from religious as well as scientific viewpoint
Forgiveness has been historically the business of religion. Forgiveness is a complex and deeply personal, cultural and religious phenomenon. In recent years science has shown interest to understand the psychological, social and physical benefits of forgiveness. Science and religion both acknowledge the complex question of justice and forgiveness. The presentation will examine: How religious faith, in particular Bahá'í Writings and history, guide and inspire us to forgive? How science provides a secular frame and steps for forgiveness? Is forgiveness a sign of weakness? Can forgiveness be taught? How and why we should choose to forgive? The presentation draws meaning from stories, metaphors, prayers, historical references and examples of forgiveness from both perspectives and its impact on human soul, psyche, body and society.
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Integration of Centralization and Decentralization in the Bahá'í Administrative Order
The Universal House of Justice is a unique institution in the field, and discipline, of Public Administration. It is the only international governing council whose members, every five years, are internationally elected by all the members of its community, namely the Bahá'í s around the world, in a three-stage election, which is free from any kind of electioneering. It is the center of an order that "constitutes the very pattern of that divine civilization which the almighty Law of Bahá'u'lláh is designed to establish upon earth" [WOB 152]. Among its many features, it functions as the nerve center of an unprecedented administrative structure that combines the advantages of both centralized and decentralized systems of administration and management. The Bahá'í Administrative Order is an organic entity, gradually growing and developing under the care and guidance of the Universal House of Justice, which presents a solution to many of the challenges and problems in the field of Public Administration. This study concentrates on one of those issues and problems, i.e. centralized versus decentralized systems of administration, from the perspective of the Bahá'í pattern of administration. It also discusses the role and function of the Universal House of Justice, as well as other Bahá'í senior administrative intuitions, in relation to centralization and decentralization.
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Justice, Rights, Unity: Foundations of a Prosperous Civilization
This presentation examines the relationships between Unity, Justice, and Rights from a Bahá'í perspective compared to the way these themes are conceptualized today. Through an exploratory approach, various assumptions about social formation are reviewed and critiqued. The predominantly accepted conception of society as either a mere sum total of individuals or as social division of labor based on tasks and functions are compared with viewing society as an organic system. The implication of each approach is examined on the modes of relationships formed among individuals forming the society. It is maintained that these underlying assumptions frame various notions of rights, democracy and justice (or lack thereof), which leads to expected and often undesirable and at times disastrous outcomes. The approach primarily relies on current findings in economic philosophy. In particular, theories promoted by Rawls, Sen, and Arrow are examined in contrast with a Bahá'í view on social justice. While these thinkers have made significant contributions to clarifying abstract notions such as justice and have provided operational instruments to define and articulate them, fundamental work remains on relaxing their assumptions on human nature and individualism, and the implications these assumptions have on the impossibility of aggregating individual preferences to reach an overarching social welfare rule. This presentation draws significant inspiration from the statement issued by the Bahá'í World Centre titled "Prosperity of Humankind" whose rich content requires deep examination of pivotal concept forming existing social realities.
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Knowing Self, Knowing God: Discovering One's Own Innermost Divine Reality
How our belief systems and perspectives on Human Nature will impact the political doctrines and governing principles, and various meanings, applications and the implications of "Self-Knowledge" and how such a knowledge is equivalent to the "Knowledge of God"! One of the main objectives of this presentation is to examine some of the writings of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá on some of the universal and the contextual meanings of the statement: "One who knows his own self, shall also know God" uttered by the sages and manifestations throughout the history of humankind. Another major goal of this presentation is to demonstrate the practical relevance of the doctrine of Self-Knowledge on the developments of individual, society (community), and the governing institutions. In another words, how the different belief systems and perspectives on the Nature and the Reality of man (human) could have positive or negative influences- on how we view our own individual self, our attitudes towards others and about the world, and most importantly how the different ideological doctrines on human nature have resulted in the creation of different social and political orders throughout the history.
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Laozi and the Bahá'í Faith (Part II)
Bahá'u'lláh admonishes Bahá'ís (and all human beings) to converse with adherents of all religions in the spirit of understanding and love, because all religions emanate from one source and all human beings are created from the same dust and to reflect the infinity of divine attributes. While Bahá'í Scripture recognizes many of the great religious traditions, Daoism, one of the most ancient efforts to build a peaceful and universal civilization, is barely mentioned. After exploring and situating the two-fold symbol of its becoming, the Laozi (Dao De Jing), its scripture, and Laozi, its sage, two questions will be raised: What are the resonances of early Daoism with the Bahá'í Faith? And how can we understand the station of Laozi from a Bahá'í perspective? This exercise is an attempt in sensibility for the mission of the Bahá'í Faith to facilitate the universal mutual understanding of religions and to reflect their unique contributions to unity in difference.
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The Last Refuge: Fifty Years of the Ministry of the Universal House of Justice
This paper focuses on the emergence of the Universal House of Justice and studies the experience of the Bahá'í world community with its supreme body since its inception. As a corollary, the organizational structure of Bahá'í polity and its special vision of politics and government is also examined highlighting the connection between the institutional and the cultural and how the influence and durability of institutions is a function of the extent to which they are inculcated in political actors at the individual or organizational level. To this end, cognitive scripts, moral templates and personal perceptions are used liberally. The task is made difficult by the limitations imposed by: (a) our intellect which is not fixed but always relative to the culture, ideas, arts and sciences, of the times. It needs aging before it is potable and safe; (b) the absence of precedence which raises the problem of how to move the information we have gathered into any form of conceptual framework a set of concepts that are easy to understand and that can travel' i.e. are truly comparative across systems and can thus be related to the political process in various societies and to which all people may easily connect; and (c) the very contemporary nature of a complex subject so closely rooted to the present with no proper distance that our proximity to the passage of time brings us too close to and perhaps even too much part of the events to make proper historical judgements compounded by how little we know about what is yet to happen in an institution whose provisions and implications are yet to be unveiled. We also underline the importance of how the evolution of any religious community rests on its ability to analyze its institutional set-up and how the constitution of the international governing body of the Bahá'í Faith is necessary to its viability quite apart from the need to maintain a healthy interaction between masses and leaders whose outcome must match, as closely as possible, intended results, assured only by man's willingness or ability to live within the structure of authority.
Published in Lights of Irfán, Vol. 3
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Man's Station in the Universe: A Scientist's Journey
The Universe is very simple: mostly made of hydrogen, helium and energy. However, the earth contains amazing complexity that is nearly unique in the universe. Unique circumstances have made possible organic chemistry and life on earth, leading to the most complex structure in the universe: the human brain. For example, we can show that the energy consumption of the human brain per kilogram is 100,000 times the energy per kilogram that our sun can produce. The purpose of all this miraculous combination of events is human consciousness and spiritual awareness. We will explore this physical-spiritual phenomenon in this talk. This presentation is intended to show the nobility of man and his/her divine purpose. Quotes from Bahá'u'lláh will be referenced to show that this is the central teaching in his Writings. Further, it will be shown that keen observation of the world around us, all the way to the edge of the universe, will enlighten the sensitive observer to the same realization. Thus, we will see that one can progress from "faith" to "certitude", first through the intellect, then through the heart, and finally, through unconditioned consciousness (I bear witness O my God ...). This is what Bahá'u'lláh calls the state of "Absolute Nothingness", where "even love is a barrier between the lover and the Beloved". I will offer scientific and spiritual pointers to how evident, and yet subtle, the notion of Absolute Nothingness, the unity of one with all, is. Although the talk is intended to be simple, it is hoped that it will open a window to our true nature, or our essence. We will start with the notion of simplicity and complexity: how as we travel from the outer universe toward the planet earth and toward the human brain we go from simplicity to complexity. This will show that the human brain is at the apex of the very large pyramid of the manifest universe. The brain realizes human mind and spiritual awareness. All of this is to show how noble and sacred the world around us, and the station of man in it, is. The talk will briefly use the current scientific knowledge to illuminate the nature of the "physical reality". This is to show how mysterious this world really is. In fact, there is no gap between reality and nothingness (this is alluded to in the Book of Certitude). This will show us that what we see as the manifest reality is in fact dependent on our capacity to perceive. The finer and more sensitive our perception, the more we realize the nothingness that manifests itself as the real world and we are part of this dance of nothingness as form. The above talk will be given as the personal journey of this speaker who started as a Bahá'í and after spending a lifetime in search of deeper truths in science and spirituality, arrived at the ancient and simple insight that is "the most manifest of the manifest and the most hidden of the hidden". This insight melted his heart in the love of Bahá'u'lláh and his teachings.
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A New Approach to Proof of God and Soul Based on Bahá'í Writings
Probably the most ancient and fundamental question of all times on the individual and the collective mind is: "Is there a God?" The answer to this question has profound implications, and indeed direct impact on the life of mankind and how it looks upon the very meaning and purpose of life. It can change what we strive for, how we look at ourselves and others, what goals we set, and how we live. In regards to proof of existence of God, opinions range from "there is no god," to "the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven," to "the existence of God can be proven." `Abdu'l-Bahá was of the latter mind, and this paper follows His lead. The meaning of proof, types of proof, and conditions of the existence of a proof are explored. A few of the classical proofs of the existence of God are briefly examined. Some of the modern reasons believed by some to show why God is not needed to explain the universe are also reviewed. The proof of existence of God is pursued on two levels, which have been the traditional stomping grounds of those examining this question: the phenomenal world and its fundamental laws and properties, and the evolution of species on earth. The approaches chosen are necessarily extra-scientific, that is, beyond the domain of science, but not beyond the domain of rational discourse. More specifically, it is shown that "something cannot result from nothing," or put metaphorically, "there is no free lunch." This pre-existence principle is applied to the physical world itself and the properties embedded therein. The pre-existence principle is also applied to the phenomenon of evolution by examining information contents at various organizational levels of living organisms. A second approach applied to evolution is based on probabilities. A simplified model of DNA permutation is presented and argued that low level organizations cannot spontaneously assemble into higher level organizations by a purely random process. It is concluded that the ultimate source of pre-existence is God, and that the pre-existent properties are attributes of God. It is further concluded that the DNA molecule is endowed with pre-existent potentials and configurations of life gradually triggered to be revealed over the course of time, which is outwardly observed as evolution.
Published in Lights of Irfán, Vol. 15, pp. 229–290
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Religion, Revelation and Peace: Approximations between Whitehead and Bahá'í Thought
A.N. Whitehead is one of the most interesting philosophers of the 20th century. Being a mathematician (writing the Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell, his student and colleague) and a philosopher of science, he became convinced that the scientific materialism underlying 19th century science was not only wrong given the new physical discoveries in Relativity Theory and Quantum Physics, but that it was philosophically insufficient to understand the complexity of the world and to reflect the variety of our experience adequately. Besides reformulating the metaphysical basis for a new understanding of reality through relations, processes and creativity, he was one of the few thinkers to include the divine into this new philosophical endeavor. This presentation will concentrate on Whitehead's view on religion, revelation and peace by which he, later in his life, applied his cosmology to questions of the future of a civilization of peace that does not exclude religion and has found an harmonious understanding of the relationship of philosophical thought and revelatory inspiration on its way to a new level of expressing humanity.
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Shoghi Effendi's Diary Letters
The purpose of this presentation is to provide an introduction and overview of a unique collection of 143 diary letters written by Shoghi Effendi from February to November 1919. This collection of diary letters is written in a critical stage of Shoghi Effendi's life when he was serving as `Abdu'l-Bahá's secretary and interpreter. The contents of these diary letters vividly reflect various aspects of `Abdu'l-Bahá's life in the Holy Land after the end of the First World War (Nov. 1918). The diary letters include numerous translations of `Abdu'l-Bahá's letters along with His talks at the pilgrims gatherings. Shoghi Effendi by describing the details of his Grandfather's life so masterfully invites the readers to join him in a spiritual journey to the Holy Land. His emotional descriptions of the events in the daily life of the Master confer upon every reader a vivid joyous spiritual pilgrimage. He intended for his diary letters to be distributed in the West amongst the believers. A copy of this collection is stored at the National Bahá'í Archives of the United States. Except a few that were printed in the Star of the West Magazine in 1919 and 1920, the rest have remained unpublished.