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You already know that, as you advance along your path of service to
the Cause, you will derive immeasurable joy from sharing with others
the Word of God revealed by Baha'u'llah. Opportunities to share the
priceless gems of wisdom enshrined in Baha'u'llah's Revelation come to
you in many ways. You may have a meeting at your home in which you
introduce some of your friends to the Teachings. You may give a talk
about the Faith to a local organization. You may participate in
teaching campaigns in localities near and far. You may visit newly
enrolled believers and study with them selected passages from the
Writings. And if you are inclined towards the education of children,
you may hold classes for them and help them learn to pattern their
lives according to Baha'u'llah's Teachings.
Many of your opportunities to teach will arise in everyday
conversations with friends. As you converse on different topics, you
will be able to share with your friends insights you have gained from
the Writings and help them to see things in the light of the
Revelation of Baha'u'llah. The way you introduce Baja's ideas into a
conversation should never appear unnatural or forced. Sometimes you
may present your insights without mentioning the Faith at all. On most
occasions, you can introduce your ideas by saying, for example,
"Baha'u'llah teaches that. . ." or "'Abdu'1-Bah^ has stated that..."
In making these remarks, you need not feel obliged to explain who
Baha'u'llah is, or what the Baha'i Faith is about. If you
express your ideas freely and mention the source of your insights in a
natural way, the opportunity to speak directly on the Faith will arise
sooner than you expect.
In this unit, you will be presented with a number of passages which,
though not exact quotations, are all based on the talks and Tablets of
'Abdu'1-Bah^ and include many of the phrases He used. You should read
the passages several times, study them carefully, and practice saying
the same ideas in your own words. It is hoped that, in this way, you
will begin to develop the capability of explaining the Teachings to
others accurately, always remaining true to the explicit meaning of
statements made by Baha'u'llah, 'Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi.
You should realize, however, that the study on which you are now to
embark will not be a substitute for memorizing the Creative Word,
which has a special power and penetrates the hearts of men. Therefore,
you will want to be able to quote passages from the Writings often
when you teach. But quoting the Writings excessively can be
counterproductive. As in so many aspects of Baha'i life, what is
needed is moderation—in this case, balance between quoting directly
from the Writings and using your own words to explain the Faith. To
achieve this balance, of course, you need to devote much time and
energy to the
study of the Writings and allow them to shape your thoughts and
feelings. |
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Exercise : Not
all conversations offer you the opportunity to share Baha'u'llah's
Teachings with others. In fact, too much of what people speak about is
trivial, or even harmful. This does not mean that all conversations
should focus on weighty subjects. Some should also be light-hearted.
However, you need to be wary of idle talk and make certain that your
interactions with your friends arc uplifting to your spirit and your
mind. Think of some of the conversations you have had with your
friends over the past few weeks. Make a list of those which focused on
uplifting topics. In which ones could you have introduced the
Teachings of the Faith?
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January 18, 2004