Basic precepts on teaching (Taherzadeh)

Reflections on the teaching act worthy of meditation and experimentation/ implementation – excerpts from Adib Taherzadeh’s work ‘The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh’.

Teaching the Cause

In his teaching work a Bahá’í presents the Message of Bahá’u’lláh as one would offer a gift to a king. Since his primary object in teaching is not to increase numbers, but rather to bring a soul to its God, he ought to approach his fellow men with feelings of love and humility, and above all take to them the transforming power of Bahá’u’lláh and nothing of himself. Indeed, if he tries to project himself, by impressing upon the listener his knowledge and accomplishments, and aims to establish the ascendancy of his arguments while teaching the Faith, then the power of Bahá’u’lláh cannot reach him.

Success in teaching depends on one’s ability and readiness to draw from the power of Bahá’u’lláh. There is no alternative. If the believer does not open the way for Bahá’u’lláh through his love for Him, by his life and by teaching His Cause with devotion, His confirmations and assistance cannot reach him, and he will fail in his service to Him. Those who rank foremost among Bahá’í teachers were always conscious of the presence of Bahá’u’lláh at every stage of their teaching activities. It was because of the consciousness of His presence that they were enabled to approach with genuine love and humility those who were seeking the truth, attracting them with the warmth of their faith and the creative power of their words. It was this consciousness which enabled them to radiate the glory of the new-born Faith of God, to demonstrate its truth, to promote its interests, to withstand the onslaught of its enemies and to win imperishable victories for their Lord.

Bahá’u’lláh often counselled His followers how to teach the Faith. For example, He directed Hájí Muhammad-Táhir-i-Málmírí, when he was leaving His presence, to engage in teaching the Cause in his native city of Yazd and gave him some instructions as to how to teach. Foremost among these instructions was to pray for the seeker and urge him also to pray so that the confirmations of God might reach him and open his eyes to the truth of the Cause. Another counsel was to begin teaching with the account of the history of the religions of the past and their Founders, similar to the accounts given in the Kitáb-i-Íqán. This would enable the enquirer to get an insight into his own religion that he might recognize the truth and the reality of the Founder of his own Faith. When this stage was reached, the individual would be ready to appreciate and understand the Cause of God for this day.

To cite another example: there is a Tablet from Bahá’u’lláh in which Fáris (the Christian Syrian who embraced the Faith in Alexandria) is exhorted to teach with wisdom. He counsels him not to disclose to people everything about the Cause at first, but rather to teach them little by little until they are ready to absorb more. He likens this process to feeding infants who need to be given a little milk at a time until they grow in strength and are able to digest other food. This exhortation of Bahá’u’lláh is the basis of teaching the Cause of God. The principles involved are very similar to those which a schoolteacher employs in teaching his pupils little by little and in accordance with their capacity. Before teaching the Cause to any person, it is important to know his background and capacity. The most successful teachers are those who after familiarizing themselves with the beliefs and ideas of an individual, reveal the truths of the Faith gradually to him, but what little they impart is the correct remedy and is so potent as to influence and stimulate the soul and enable it to take a step forward and become ready to absorb more.

Hájí Mírzá Haydar-‘Alí, the celebrated Bahá’í teacher to whose outstanding services we have already referred, has left to posterity the following account of one of his memorable interviews with Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Akká, in the course of which He spoke these words about teaching the Cause of God:

The way to teach is to have a pleasing disposition and to deal with people in a spirit of loving-kindness. One must acknowledge whatever the other person says, even if it is vain imaginings, beliefs which are the result of blind imitation, or absurd talk. One should avoid in engaging in arguments or adducing proofs which bring out stubbornness and contention in the other person. This is because he finds himself defeated, and this will lead to his becoming more veiled from the truth and will add to his waywardness.

The right way is to acknowledge the other person’s statements and then present him with the alternative point of view and invite him to examine it to see whether it is true or false. Of course, when it is presented to him with courtesy, affection and loving-kindness, he will hear and will not be thinking in terms of defence, to find answers and look for proofs. He will acknowledge and admit the points. When the person realizes that the purpose behind discussions is not wrangling or the winning of arguments, but rather to convey the truth and to reveal human qualities and divine perfections, he will of course show fairness. His inner eyes and ears and heart will open and, through the grace of God, he will become a new creation and will possess new eyes and new ears.

Bahá’u’lláh spoke a great deal about the evils of controversial argument and aiming to become a winner in discussion. He then said, ‘The Most Great Branch* will listen to any absurd talk with such attentiveness that the person concerned believes that He is deriving enlightenment from him. However, little by little, and in a way that the person cannot realize, He bestows upon him a new vision and a new understanding.’

The talks of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the West provide the best example of wisdom in teaching. He addressed audiences who were almost alien to the history and genesis of the Faith and unfamiliar with the claims and the station of its Founder. Yet He disclosed to them with simplicity and brevity only those essential truths which they were capable of understanding and which constituted the first stepping-stones for their eventual recognition of the stupendous Message of Bahá’u’lláh. He clearly avoided at that early stage any elaboration on the many implications of the station of Bahá’u’lláh and His Revelation as well as the unfoldment of His laws and His World Order in the future. Instead, He bestowed upon every one who had the capacity a measure of His all-embracing love, which animated and sustained those few who embraced the Faith in the West.

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‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaking at Plymouth Congregational Church, Chicago, 5 May 1912

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At the inception of the Bahá’í community’s first global Plan, Shoghi Effendi described in compelling language the successive stages by which the divine light had been kindled in the Siyah-Qal, clothed in the lamp of revelation in Baghdad, spread to countries in Asia and Africa even as it shone with added brilliancy in Adrianople and later in ‘Akka, projected across the seas to the remaining continents, and by which it would be progressively diffused over the states and dependencies of the world. The final part of this process he characterized as the “penetration of that light into all the remaining territories of the globe”, referring to it as “the stage at which the light of God’s triumphant Faith shining in all its power and glory will have suffused and enveloped the entire planet.” Though that goal is far from being fulfilled, the light already blazes intensely in many a region. In some countries it shines in every cluster. In the land where that inextinguishable light was first ignited, it burns bright despite those who would snuff it out. In diverse nations it achieves a steady glow across whole neighbourhoods and villages, as candle after candle in heart after heart is lighted by the Hand of Providence; it illuminates thoughtful conversation at every level of human interaction; it casts its beams upon a myriad initiatives taken to promote the well-being of a people. And in every instance it radiates from a faithful believer, a vibrant community, a loving Spiritual Assembly-each a beacon of light against the gloom.

We pray earnestly at the Sacred Threshold that each one of you, bearers of the undying flame, may be surrounded by the potent confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh as you convey to others the spark of faith.

– The Universal House of Justice, Ridván 2011 message, §§ 6-7

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(Source: Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, vol. 3, p. 333-336. Online: http://www.peyman.info/cl/Baha%27i/Others/ROB/V3/p322-342Ch15.html. Emphasis added)

(Photo sources: http://www.bahai-biblio.org/centre-photo/gens/abdul-baha/abd-amerique/chicago/abdach~10m~abd-chicago.htm, http://www.bahai-biblio.org/centre-photo/gens/abdul-baha/abd-amerique/chicago/abdach~11m~abd-chicago.htm#centrer ) (A transcript of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s talk delivered at the Plymouth Congregational Church is available here: http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-40.html)

Build instant rapport and trust with potential seekers before presenting the Faith to them

I came accross this interesting report on an email teaching list (“pilgrim1”):

A brief introduction to Richard Hoff’s Effective Teaching Workshop (which helped three teams find 6 new believers and over a dozen contacts for core activities in one weekend of teaching in Wichita Falls, TX, “C” cluster):

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Richard Hoff is one of the preeminent teachers of the Baha’i Faith in America, having been the instrument, together with his dear wife, Pauline, for the Holy Spirit to bring into the Faith in this country more new believers consistently over a long period of time–over 50 years—-earning him the station of “the Learned of Baha”, as indicated in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. Notwithstanding this fact he is constantly learning to be a more effective teacher by continually refining his teaching skills, methods and process. In his “Effective Teaching Workshop” participants learn from his wealth of experience to effectively:

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• Reach out and make new friends of former “strangers”, sometimes instantly in the first meeting.
• Build instant rapport and trust with potential seekers, before presenting the Faith to them through Anna’s or other presentations.
• Use the tool of “praise” in teaching and life.
• Teach to the heart of the seeker, rather than just to the head,
• Invite receptive souls into the Faith.
• Follow-up new believers and receptive souls with a loving and personal approach, while inviting them to the core activities and other activities.
• Use Anna’s presentation and other approaches to fulfill the needs of the individual seeker.

(Used with the author’s permission)