Dear Baha'i friends,
Among the goals of the Five Year Plan given to certain National Spiritual Assemblies is that of the promotion of the Baha'i education of children. But this subject is of profound interest to Baha'is in every land, not only in those where, as the Plan indicates, specific goals must be attained.
At our request the Research Department at the World Centre has prepared this compilation of Baha'i teachings on the subject of Baha'i education for the friends everywhere to study and to begin to apply as their circumstances permit. In the main part of the compilation all extracts are from Tablets or other authenticated writings. In addition there is a supplement of extracts from talks of 'Abdu'l-Baha recorded in Star of the West and The Promulgation of Universal Peace. It is hoped that in future it will be possible to have such well-known addresses verified against authenticated transcripts of the talks in the original language, but until that time the friends may use them in their present form for their reference and study. You are free to share this compilation, in whole or in part, with the believers under your jurisdiction in whatever way you judge best.
A letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer on 7 June 1939 explained:
“... the Teachings of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha do not present a definite and detailed educational system, but simply offer certain basic principles and set forth a number of teaching ideals that should guide future Baha'i educationalists in their efforts to formulate an adequate teaching curriculum which would be in full harmony with the spirit of the Baha'i Teachings, and would thus meet the requirements and needs of the modern age.
“These basic principles are available in the sacred Writings of the Cause, and should be carefully studied, and gradually incorporated in various college and university programmes. But the task of formulating a system of education which would be officially recognized by the Cause, and enforced as such throughout the Baha'i world, is one which the present-day generation of believers cannot obviously undertake, and which has to be gradually accomplished by Baha'i scholars and educationalists of the future.”
In reading the compilation the friends should bear the above explanation in mind and not interpret as a universal instruction what may, in fact, be simply an example of the sort of course that could advantageously be followed. For example, the quotations from the Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Baha and the letters of Shoghi Effendi written in the early years of his Guardianship were addressed to the Baha'is in Persia when that community, although oppressed, was already large in numbers, and was living in a society where schooling was rudimentary and scarce. At the present time in most countries, compulsory education and state school systems are widespread and meet the general need for material education, so the resources of the Faith in that field have to be concentrated on the spiritual and moral education of our children and on providing primary and tutorial schools in mass-teaching areas where illiteracy is still the rule. Also, the various extracts must be read in the context of the whole.
The proper education of children is of vital importance to the progress of mankind, and the heart and essential foundation of all education is spiritual and moral training. When we teach our fellowmen the truths and way of life of the Baha'i Faith we have to struggle against barriers of indifference, materialism, superstition and a multitude of erroneous preconceptions; but in our new-born children we are presented with pure souls, untarnished by the world. As they grow they will face countless tests and difficulties. From their earliest moments we have the duty to train them, both spiritually and materially, in the way that God has shown, and thus, as they come to adulthood, they can become champions of His Cause and spiritual and moral giants among mankind, equipped to meet all tests, and will be, indeed, "stars of the heaven of understanding," "soft-flowing waters upon which must depend the very life of all men.
It is our prayer at the Sacred Threshold that the provision of the gems of divine guidance contained in this compilation will be a stimulus and a source of inspiration for Baha'i parents, teachers and Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world, and a blessing for the rising generations.
With loving Baha'i greetings,
The Universal House of Justice
(Messages from the Universal House of Justice, ‘1963-1986’)
