Principles and History

Overview

SED is Baha’i

Guiding Principles

History – Where we’ve been

History – What we’ve learned

Our ever-advancing Civilization

Our Source of Power

Is it within human power, O Hakim, to effect in the constituent elements of any of the minute and indivisible particles of matter so complete a transformation as to transmute it into purest gold? Perplexing and difficult as this may appear, the still greater task of converting satanic strength into heavenly power is one that We have been empowered to accomplish. …The Word of God, alone, can claim the distinction of being endowed with the capacity required for so great and far-reaching a change.

Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 200

The Concept of SED is Enshrined in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh

All human beings are created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization. The creation of a peaceful global society that fosters both individual and collective well-being is at the heart of the Bahá'í vision of the future. Within the framework of a growing community concerned with moral and spiritual transformation, social and economic development is one expression of the Bahá'í commitment to realizing this vision.

The Concept of SED is Enshrined in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh

“This readjustment of the social economic is of the greatest importance inasmuch as it insures the stability of the world of humanity; and until it is effected, happiness and prosperity are impossible.”

‘Abdu'l-Bahá,Bahá'í World Faith,‘Abdu'l-Bahá Section, p. 240

Principles The fundamentals of the whole economic condition are divine in

nature and are associated with the world of the heart and spirit …without knowledge of [Bahá’í] principles, no improvement in the economic state can be realized. The Bahá’ís will bring about this improvement and betterment but not through sedition and appeal to physical force—not through warfare, but welfare. Hearts must be so cemented together, love must become so dominant that the rich shall most willingly extend assistance to the poor and take steps to establish these economic adjustments permanently. If it is accomplished in this way, it will be most praiseworthy because then it will be for the sake of God and in the pathway of His service.

‘Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 238

Guiding Principles: ServiceNow they (the members) must, in perfect spirit and fragrance, in sincerity of heart, in attraction by the fragrances of God and by the confirmations of the Holy Spirit, engage in service; in the promotion of the Word of God; the diffusion of the fragrances of God; the training of souls; the promulgation of the Most Great Peace. They must raise the Banner of Guidance and become the host of the Supreme Concourse.

‘Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í World Faith, p. 403

Service to the community should be the prime objective for selecting projects and this should be made clear to the local inhabitants.

Universal House of Justice, Office of Social and Economic Development, 12 Dec. 1983, p. 3

Guiding Principles: Consultation

Consultation bestoweth greater awareness and transmuteth conjecture into certitude. It is a shining light which, in a dark world, leadeth the way and guideth. For everything there is and will continue to be a station of perfection and maturity. The maturity of the gift of understanding is made manifest through consultation.

Bahá’u’lláh, Consultation, Compilation of Compilations, p. 93

Guiding Principles: ConsultationFrom the beginning, Bahá'í activities in the development area have emphasized collective decision-making and collective action at the grassroots level. Consultation among all the members of a community is central to the success of every Bahá'í development project. The use of consultative methods often promotes novel solutions to community problems and greater fairness in the distribution of community resources, and serves to uplift those members of a community, such as women and minorities,

who have been historically excluded from decision-making. Experience has shown that consultation is an indispensable tool that enables communities to sustain and modify development initiatives and thereby contributes to self-sufficiency and a higher quality of life.

Guiding Principles: UnityThe first duty of the members is to effect their own unity and harmony, in order to obtain good results. If there be no unity, or the Committee becomes the cause of in-harmony, undoubtedly, it is better that it does not exist… Therefore, when the unity of the members of the Committee is established, their second duty is to read the verses and communes, to be in a state of commemoration and mindfulness, that they may see each other as if in the presence of God.

‘Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. VII. 9, p.114

Guiding Principles: ExampleOur task is to build the Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Undeflected by the desperate expedients of those who seek to subdue the storm convulsing human life by political, economic, social or educational programs, let us, with single-minded devotion and concentrating all our efforts on our objective, raise His Divine System and sheltered within its impregnable stronghold, safe from the darts of doubtfulness, demonstrate the Bahá'í way of life. Wherever a Bahá'í community exists, whether large or small, let it be distinguished for its abiding sense of security and faith, its high standard of rectitude, its complete freedom from all forms of prejudice, the spirit of love among its members and for the closely knit fabric of its social life.

Universal House of Justice, Messages 1963 to 1986, p. 137

Guiding Principles: Transformation

It is not enough to proclaim the Bahá'í message, essential as that is. It is not enough to expand the rolls of Bahá'í membership, vital as that is. Souls must be transformed, communities thereby consolidated, new models of life thus attained. Transformation is the essential purpose of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, but it lies in the will and effort of the individual to achieve it in obedience to the Covenant.

Universal House of Justice,

1989 Ridvan Message

Guiding Principles: BalanceWe must seek a balance between the spiritual and practical requirements of life:

The oneness of mankind, which is at once the operating principal and ultimate goal of Bahá'u'lláh’s Revelation, implies the achievement of a dynamic coherence between the spiritual and practical requirements of life on earth.

Universal House of Justice, 16 Sept. 1993

The eagerness of the friends to serve, often carries them away, and they forget that a sound sense of business management is also much needed, if we are to harbor our resources and accomplish all our goals.

Shoghi Effendi,Lights of Divine Guidance: vol. 1, p. 216

Guiding Principles: Self-Sufficiency

…the long-term conduct of the project should aim at self-sufficiency and not be dependent upon continuing financial support from outside

Universal House of Justice,Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 552

The goal is to cultivate self-sufficiency through community awareness in order to reduce dependency on outside aid and advice.

Bahá‘í International Community, 1994 Aug 17, Human Rights Extreme Poverty

Guiding Principles: Dignity and Happiness

Projects should be seen as means of rendering assistance and help. Through them, the participants should be able to gain in experience and confidence; in self-respect and dignity.

National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the USADeveloping Distinctive Baha'i Communities

No matter how far the material world advances, it cannot establish the happiness of mankind. Only when material and spiritual civilization are linked and coordinated will happiness be assured.

‘Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 109

History

The earliest documented Bahá'í development projects were schools established by the Bahá'ís of Iran at the turn of the century. These were established in response to a stream of letters from `Abdu'l-Bahá extolling the importance of education, especially for women. More than ten schools in urban areas and approximately forty rural schools were operated by the Bahá'ís between 1888 when the first kindergarten opened in Ishqabad, Russia and 1934 when all Bahá'í schools were forced to close because they would suspend classes on Bahá'í Holy Days.

Holly Hansen,Overview of Bahá'í Social and Economic Development

The Reality of Illiteracy

There are no reliable numbers for the early part of the last century, as it wasn’t kept track of, but certainly less than 40% of Iranians could write.

Literary statistics are different for men and women as well, with women’s overall literacy rate consistently being much lower than men’s.

And there was an overall poor level of literacy around the world 100+ years ago.

From the early 1920s to 1963, the Bahá'í community outside of Iran, although few in numbers and with extremely limited resources, a number of Bahá'í schools and student hostels were established around the world. The first of these was the New Era Bahá'í School in Panchgani, India, which began as a student hostel in 1945. It was followed by others in the Pacific, Latin America, and Africa. During this same period, the Bahá'ís of Iran, constrained by religious intolerance and persecution from carrying out any publicly visible projects at that time, virtually eliminated illiteracy within the Bahá'í community and implemented an extensive program of moral education for children and adults.

Processes of Development: The Bahá'í Approach, One Country Magazine

A Bahá'í kindergarten class in Uganda.The two year kindergarten program was established in 1957 and now has 140 students.                                                                      

Springboard to the FutureThe innovative but diffuse efforts of Bahá'ís, up to this point, were transformed by the 20 October 1983 letter of the Universal House of Justice which called on individuals and Bahá'í communities to apply the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh systematically to the problems of their societies. This seminal statement pointed to:

the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh as a source of order in the world,asserted the coherence of the spiritual and material dimensions of human life, praised the social and economic progress achieved by the Bahá'í community of Iran, announced the formation of an Office of Social and Economic Development at the Bahá'í World Centre, and defined the role of various Bahá'í agencies in fostering development.

Holly Hansen, Overview of Bahá'í Social and Economic Development

The response to this letter of the Universal House of Justice resulted in exponential growth in the number of development activities reported to the Bahá'í World Centre--a rise from 127 in 1979 to 1,344 in 1986. More than 1000% growth in activities in just seven years.

Most of these were small-scale, community-initiated activities, but the number of more ambitious projects, with physical infrastructure and full-time staff, also increased dramatically during this period.

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Number of Documented Activities

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What is real Development?The New Era Development Institute (NEDI) in Maharashtra, India has used a simple but revealing exercise to help individuals define what their community needs. All participants are asked to draw a picture of what their villages are like. According to an article in One Country magazine, “The drawings are often done with childish simplicity, showing stick figures and little regard for perspective, and the subjects are usually quite similar: they mostly depict a series of huts along a dirt road, surrounded by garbage and undernourished children.”

The individuals are then asked to draw a picture of what they would like their villages to become. The first time they do this, most of the students will draw straight roads, electric utility poles, and big buildings such as schools or hospitals. Their drawings are also full of vehicles and nice houses with television sets inside. Interestingly enough, the drawings of the “developed villages” often lack people.

The NEDI instructors then ask if the big buildings, electricity and television are what make people happy. After some discussion, the students realize that they have simply drawn what they’ve seen on television and further that these virtually unattainable material gains aren’t necessary for the actual betterment of their community or its happiness. The students are asked if the people on television in the developed areas are happy and the answers soon surface: “No, they are not happy.” There is crime, pollution, corruption, and people are afraid to go out at night in these cities.

A developed village, city-style, big buildings.

Thus, it becomes clear that the changes they’ve drawn for their villages are only changes in the physical environment, and not in the people themselves. It is finally clear that people would almost certainly be happier if these material things were not in the village. At the end of the discussion, the individuals are asked to draw another picture of what a “spiritually developed” village would be like. They then draw a new kind of village with lots of people in it who are all working together and cooperating. The village is also cleaner and more orderly as a significant change to the physical environment.

Bahá'í International Community, “What is Real Development?”, One Country, 9, 3

(October-December 1997)

A developed village where people are the focus.

Balancing Act: Spirit and MindFrom the Bahá'í perspective, then, the set of capacities necessary for building up the social, economic, and moral fabric of collective life must draw upon the resources of both the mind and the heart.

By fully integrating spiritual principles into community development activities, ideas, values, and practical measures will emerge that promote self-reliance and safeguard human dignity. These, in turn, encourage and in fact establish a strong foundation for sustainability. In this way, patterns of dependency are avoided and conditions of inequality are progressively eliminated.

Thus, in steps this idea of the upraising of the standard of living—which is not defined or measured by the contents of one’s pocket book or whether or not one has electricity, but by the condition and the content of their hearts and minds. This is primary.

Ever-advancing Civilization

Bahá'u'lláh refers to the human being "as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value," and states that the purpose of life and society is to generate creative processes which serve to release those "gems" of human potential. As individuals begin to cultivate their innate capacities, so the community around them is transformed, and impetus is given to "an ever-advancing civilization." It is therefore the hope of the Bahá'í community that its current modest efforts in the development field will serve to promote a model of capacity building that results in widespread moral and material advancement.

Overview

SED is Baha’i

Guiding Principles

History – Where we’ve been

History – What we’ve learned

Our ever-advancing Civilization

The Future Is Clear

Even or odd, thou shalt win the wager. The friends of God shall win and profit under all conditions, and shall attain true wealth. In fire they remain cold, and from water they emerge dry. Their affairs are at variance with the affairs of men. Gain is their lot, whatever the deal. To this testifieth every wise one with a discerning eye, and every fair-minded one with a hearing ear.

Baha’u’llahCompilations, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, p. 154