A Statement on the Encouragement of Bahá'í Scholarship
Issued by the International Teaching Centre on 9 August 1984
The Importance of Bahá'í Scholarship:
Over 50 years ago, the Guardian emphasised the need for development of the intellectual life of the Bahá'í community, in the statement:
In these days when people are so skeptical about religion
and look with so much contempt towards religious organizations and movements
there seems to be more need than ever for our young Bahá'ís
to be well-equipped intellectually, so that they may be in a position to
present the Message in a befitting way, and in a manner that would convince
every unbiased observer of the effectiveness and power of the Teachings.
(From a letter dated 5 May 1934 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to
an individual believer)
Some years later, he described Bahá'í scholarship as being
an important aid to teaching the Faith to those who do not find the Bahá'í
principles novel in the light of modern thought:
It seems what we need now is a more profound and co-ordinated Bahá'í scholarship in order to attract such men as you are contacting. The world has at least the thinking world caught up by now with all the great and universal principles enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh over 70 years ago, and so of course it does not sound 'new' to them. But we know that the deeper teachings, the capacity of His projected World Order to re-create society, are new and dynamic. It is these we must learn to present intelligently and enticingly to such men. (From a letter dated 3 July 1949 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)
More recently, attention has been directed to the role to be played by
Bahá'í scholarship, in the statement:
The Universal House of Justice regards Bahá'í
scholarship as of great potential importance for the development and consolidation
of the Bahá'í community as it emerges from obscurity. (From
a letter dated 3 January 1979 written on behalf of the Universal House
of Justice to an individual believer)
As the Supreme Body pointed out in the opening sentence of the Ridván
1984 message to the Bahá'ís of the world, the emergence from
obscurity of the Faith has been a marked feature of the past five years.
This directs unprecedented public attention to the Cause of God, and also
necessitates increased emphasis on the development of Bahá'í
scholarship, since in the same message, the House of Justice says:
Persistently greater and greater efforts must be made
to acquaint the leaders of the world, in all departments of life, with
the true nature of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation as the sole hope
for the pacification and unification of the world.
The Nature of Bahá'í Scholarship:
A vital prerequisite to the fostering of Bahá'í scholarship
is the acquisition of a clearer understanding of the meaning of this term.
We can do no better than to offer an illuminating passage from the writings
of the Guardian, which might well be taken as a definition of the attributes
toward which a Bahá'í scholar should aspire:
. . . The Cause needs more Bahá'í scholars,
people who not only are devoted to it and believe in it and are anxious
to tell others about it, but also who have a deep grasp of the Teachings
and their significance, and who can correlate its beliefs with the current
thoughts and problems of the people of the world. (From a letter dated
21 October 1943 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)
This passage calls for distinctive qualities. The description of the kind
of Bahá'í scholar of which the Faith stands in such need
at this time places emphasis upon belief, devotion to the Faith, a profound
understanding of the Teachings and a strong desire to share them with others.
A distinctive feature of such Bahá'í scholarship, which is
also reiterated in other passages of the writings of the Guardian, is that
of relating the Bahá'í teachings to the present-day concerns
and thought of the people around us.
Fostering Bahá'í Scholarship:
The Universal House of Justice specified how the Counsellors can foster
Bahá'í scholarship:
In the field of Bahá'í scholarship . .
. the Boards of Counsellors can render valuable services in this area by
encouraging budding scholars and by promoting within the Bahá'í
community an atmosphere of tolerance for the views of others. At the same
time the fundamental core of the believers' faith should be strengthened
by an increasing awareness of the cardinal truth and vital importance of
the Covenant and an ever-growing love for Bahá'u'lláh. (From
a communication dated 10 February 1981 written by the Universal House of
Justice to the International Teaching Centre)
We consider first the matter of "encouraging budding scholars".
From the passage of the Guardian's writings dealing with the attributes
to which a Bahá'í scholar should aspire, it is evident that
Bahá'í scholarship is an endeavour accessible to all members
of the Bahá'í community, without exception All believers
can aspire to the attributes described by the Guardian, and can strive
to relate the Bahá'í teachings to the thinking and concerns
of the non-Bahá'í population around them. You can perform
a valuable service in bringing this potential role to the attention of
all the believers including those who may lack formal education, and
those who dwell in remote areas, villages and islands and to discourage
any thought that Bahá'í scholarship is an activity open only
to those who are highly educated or who are pursuing an academic career.
As the followers of the Blessed Beauty make efforts to correlate the
Bahá'í teachings, which impinge upon every aspect of human
life, with the thoughts and problems of the people around them, they will
inevitably discover new ways of presenting the teachings convincingly and
will also acquire an ever-increasing understanding of the Revelation of
Bahá'u'lláh.
At the same time special encouragement should also be given to believers
of unusual capacity, training or accomplishment to consecrate their abilities
to the service of the Cause through the unique and distinctive contribution
they can make to Bahá'í scholarship. The Guardian repeatedly
linked the work of Bahá'í scholars to the expansion and consolidation
of the Faith, as stated in the following:
If the Bahá'ís want to be really effective
in teaching the Cause they need to be much better informed and able to
discuss intelligently, intellectually, the present condition of the world
and its problems. We need Bahá'í scholars, not only people
far, far more deeply aware of what our teachings really are, but also well
read and well educated people, capable of correlating our teachings to
the current thoughts of the leaders of society.
We Bahá'ís should, in
other words, arm our minds with knowledge in order to better demonstrate
to, especially, the educated classes, the truths enshrined in our Faith.
(From a letter dated 5 July 1949 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to
an individual believer)
The Universal House of Justice, in responding to a Bahá'í
who wanted to use logical means to convey and prove spiritual principles,
wrote that:
. . . the House of Justice understands that you desire
to find ways of conveying spiritual truths in logical ways and demonstrating
their validity through scientific proofs. There can be no objection to
such an attitude. 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself used such a method. The danger
Bahá'í scholars must avoid is the distortion of religious
truth, almost forcibly at times, to make it conform to understandings and
perceptions current in the scientific world. True Bahá'í
scholars should guard against this. (From a letter dated 7 June 1983 written
on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
The Supreme Body has also referred to the distinctive role to be played
by Bahá'ís who acquire expertise in various fields of endeavour,
affirming that:
As the Bahá'í community grows it will acquire
experts in numerous fields - both by Bahá'ís becoming experts
and by experts becoming Bahá'ís. As these experts bring their
knowledge and skill to the service of the community and, even more, as
they transform their various disciplines by bringing to bear upon them
the light of the Divine Teachings, problem after problem now disrupting
society will be answered. (From a letter dated 21 August 1977 written on
behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
Closely allied to this role is the call of the House of Justice for:
. . . the promotion of Bahá'í scholarship,
so that an increasing number of believers will be able to analyse the problems
of mankind in every field and to show how the Teachings solve them. (From
a letter dated 19 January 1983 written on behalf of the Universal House
of Justice to an individual believer)
The Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members can do much to assist in the,
response to this call by their stimulation and encouragement of Bahá'ís
of distinctive capacity and promise, especially young Bahá'ís
who are choosing their life work. Since the Bahá'í Teachings
relate to every dimension of human thought and activity, believers who
become eminent in any legitimate field of knowledge are in an enviable
position to make a significant and far-reaching contribution by presenting
the Teachings in a way that demonstrates the profundity and efficacy of
the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh.
The Bahá'í community can already point to the example
of several believers who have become recognised widely for their scholarship,
and whose intellectual pursuits were enriched by their abiding devotion
to the Faith, and their compelling desire to teach the Cause. Within this
company is to be found Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl, who was described
by the Guardian as "very excellent and erudite", as well as the Hands of
the Cause of God George Townshend, whose scholarship was praised by the
Guardian, and Hasan Balyuzi, who was eulogised by the Universal House of
Justice for "his outstanding scholarly pursuits", as well as others who
are presently engaged in like service.
Promoting an Atmosphere of Tolerance:
We now consider "promoting within the Bahá'í community
an atmosphere of tolerance for others" and strengthening "the fundamental
core of the believers' faith". The Universal House of Justice has 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. In past Dispensations the
believers have tended to divide into two mutually antagonistic groups:
those who held blindly to the letter of the Revelation, and those who questioned
and doubted everything. Like all extremes, both these can lead into error.
The beloved Guardian has written that 'The Bahá'í Faith .
. . enjoins upon its followers the primary duty of an unfettered search
after truth . . .' Bahá'ís are called upon to follow the
Faith with intelligence and understanding. Inevitably believers will commit
errors as they strive to rise to this degree of maturity, and this calls
for forbearance and humility on the part of all concerned, so that such
matters do not cause disunity or discord among the friends. (From a letter
dated 7 October 1980 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice
to an individual believer)
The challenge to all believers is to develop the balanced combination prescribed
by the House of Justice to such an extent that they do not fall into one
of the mutually antagonistic groups of which the Supreme Body warns.
On the need for tolerance the Universal House of Justice wrote:
The House of Justice agrees that it is most important
for the believers, and especially those who hold positions of responsibility
in the Administrative Order, to react calmly and with tolerant and enquiring
minds to views which differ from their own, remembering that all Bahá'ís
are but students of the Faith, ever striving to understand the Teachings
more clearly and to apply them more faithfully, and none can claim to have
a perfect understanding of this Revelation. At the same time all believers,
and scholars in particular, should remember the many warnings in the Writings
against the fomenting of discord among the friends. It is the duty of the
institutions of the Faith to guard the community against such dangers.
(From a letter dated 18 July 1979 written on behalf of the Universal House
of Justice to an individual believer)
Promotion of an atmosphere of tolerance thus requires that those holding
positions of administrative authority not over-react, and that those setting
forth their understanding of the Teachings not foster discord and dissension,
deliberately or unwittingly. The warning against the fomenting of discord
highlights one of the hazards facing believers who embark upon the practice
of Bahá'í scholarship. On one occasion the Universal House
of Justice felt moved to comment that:
There have, however, been cases of believers who look
upon themselves as scholars, and may even be such in an academic sense,
who have considerable expertise in certain aspects of the Faith but are
lamentably ignorant or misinformed about other aspects of the Cause and
the Teachings. Others have expressed bitingly critical views with a quite
unscholarly intemperance. (From a letter dated 8 October 1980 written on
behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
By striving to express themselves with courtesy, moderation, tact and wisdom,
Bahá'í scholars will contribute to the maintenance within
the Bahá'í community of an atmosphere of tolerance which
facilitates their limitless exploration of the meaning and implications
of the Bahá'í Revelation.
Strengthening the Core of the Believers' Faith:
This need for Bahá'í scholars to become thoroughly deepened
in the spirit of the Cause, and well versed in its Teachings is emphasised
in the following passage:
In the application of the social laws of the Faith, most
of the difficulties can be seen to arise not only from outright disobedience
but also from the actions of those who, while careful to observe the letter
of the law, try to go as far as it will permit them away from the spirit
which lies at its heart. A similar tendency can be noted among some Bahá'í
scholars. The great advances in knowledge and understanding in the vital
field of Bahá'í scholarship will be made by those who, while
well versed in their subjects and adhering to the principles of research,
are also thoroughly imbued with love for the Faith and the determination
to grow in the comprehension of its teachings. (From a letter dated 27
March 1983 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual
believer)
In the same letter the Supreme Body calls attention to the danger of intellectual
pride, which a Bahá'í scholar must combat within himself,
in these words:
The House of Justice feels that Bahá'í
scholars must beware of the temptations of intellectual pride. 'Abdu'l-Bahá
has warned the friends in the West that they would be subjected to intellectual
tests, and the Guardian reminded them of this warning. There are many aspects
of western thinking which have been exalted to a status of unassailable
principle in the general mind, that time may well show to have been erroneous
or, at least, only partially true. Any Bahá'í who rises to
eminence in academic circles will be exposed to the powerful influence
of such thinking. (From a letter dated 27 March 1983 written on behalf
of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
The provisions of the Covenant stand as our inviolable protection against
distortion of the Teachings and against the subtle temptations of intellectual
pride. Central to the Covenant is the authority of the Manifestation of
God and of the infallible institutions that the Holy Writings ordained.
'Abdu'l-Bahá has specified that:
Unto the Most Holy Book everyone must turn and all that
is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House
of Justice. That which this body, whether unanimously or by a majority
doth carry, that is verily the Truth and Purpose of God Himself. (From
Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Part Two
The Universal House of Justice has clarified that:
In the Bahá'í Faith there are two authoritative
centres appointed to which the believers must turn, for in reality the
Interpreter of the Word is an extension of that centre which is the Word
itself. The Book is the record of the utterance of Bahá'u'lláh,
while the divinely inspired Interpreter is the living Mouth of that Book
- it is thus he and he alone who can authoritatively state what the Book
means. Thus one centre is the Book with its Interpreter, and the Other
is the Universal House of Justice guided by God to decide on whatever is
not explicitly revealed in the Book. (From a letter dated 7 December 1967
written by the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
and it has pointed out that:
While it may often be the part of wisdom to approach
individuals or an audience from a standpoint of current knowledge. It should
never be overlooked that the Revelation of the Manifestation of God is
the standard for all knowledge, and scientific statements and proclaimed
by God's Messenger, are make the Bahá'í Faith relevant to
modern society is to incur the grave risk of compromising the fundamental
verities of our Faith in an effort to make it conform to current theories
and practices. (From a letter dated 21 July 1968 written by the Universal
House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly)
A vital element of Bahá'í scholarship is humility in recognising
the limitations of the human mind in its attempts to encompass the Divine
Message. Bahá'u'lláh addresses the Creator in prayer, using
these terms:
Exalted, immeasurably exalted art Thou, O my Beloved,
above the strivings of any of Thy creatures, however learned, to know Thee;
exalted, immensely exalted art Thou above every human attempt, no matter
how searching, to describe Thee! For the highest thought of men, however
deep their contemplation, can never hope to outsoar the limitations imposed
upon Thy creation, nor ascend beyond the state of the contingent world,
nor break the bounds irrevocably set for it by Thee. (From Prayers and
Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh CLXXXIV
Another vital provision of the Covenant is that concerning interpretation.
The Universal House of Justice states:
. . . individual interpretation is considered the fruit
of man's rational power and conducive to a better understanding of the
teachings, provided that no disputes or arguments arise among the friends
and the individual himself understands and makes it clear that this views
are merely his own. Individual interpretations continually change as one
grows in comprehension of the teachings.
. . . although individual insights
can be enlightening and helpful, they can also be misleading. The friends
must therefore learn to listen to the views of others without being overawed
or allowing their faith to be shaken, and to express their own views without
pressing them on their fellow Bahá'ís. (From a letter dated
27 May 1966 written by the Universal House of Justice to an individual
believer)
The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh gives rise to a Bahá'í
community which will increasingly become known for its fostering of creative
development and for its encouragement of individual expression. The Covenant
also provides guiding principles by which a Bahá'í scholar
can exemplify that harmony of faith and reason which is a hallmark of the
Bahá'í Dispensation.
With the Seven Year Plan calling for the fostering of the intellectual
life of the Bahá'í community, and with the closely-associated
development of Bahá'í scholarship, the world-wide community
of the Greatest Name embarks upon an exciting phase in its development,
which will widen the range of people attracted to its truths, greatly enhance
its prestige and influence, and broaden the foundation of the world civilization
to which the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh will ultimately give
rise.
Comments on Bahá'í Scholarship
On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, dated 3 January, 1979
To the Participants in the Bahá'í Studies Seminar held
in Cambridge on 30 September and 1 October 1978.
Dear Bahá'í Friends,
The Universal House of Justice has read with great interest the report
of your seminar. It regards Bahá'í scholarship as of great
potential importance for the development and consolidation of the Bahá'í
community as it emerges from obscurity. It noted that there are a number
of problems with which you have been grappling, and while it feels that
it should, in general, leave the working out of solutions to Bahá'í
scholars themselves, the House of Justice has the impression that it would
be helpful to provide you, at this relatively early stage of the development
of Bahá'í scholarship, with a few thoughts on matters raised
during your seminar. Reports of your seminar were therefore referred to
the Research Department, and the Universal House of Justice commends to
your study the enclosed memorandum which that Department has prepared.
The House of Justice also urges you not to feel constrained in any way
in consulting it about problems, whether theoretical or practical, that
you meet in your work. It has noted, for example, the difficulties presented
by the current temporary requirement for the review of publications, and
in this connection it asks us to inform you that it has already established
the policy that doctoral theses do not have to be reviewed unless there
is a proposal to publish them in larger quantities than is required by
the examining body.
You are still in the early stages of a very challenging and promising
development in the life of the Bahá'í community, and the
Universal House of Justice is eager to foster and assist your work in whatever
ways it can. We are to assure you of its prayers in the Sacred Shrines
on behalf of you all and of the progress of Bahá'í scholarship.
Ethics and Methodology
Comments by the Research Department at the Bahá'í World Centre
This seminar [The Bahá'í Studies Seminar held in Cambridge,
England on 30 September and 1 October, 1978] seems to have provided a very
valuable forum for the discussion of a number of aspects of Bahá'í
scholarship, and the airing of certain problems which have been worrying
some of the friends in relationship to their work and to their fellow believers.
We believe that many of the problems arise from an attempt by some Bahá'í
scholars to make use of methodologies devised by non-Bahá'ís
without thinking through the implications of such a course and without
working out a methodology which would be in consonance with the spirit
of the Faith. The seminar itself may well prove to be an initial step in
such a working out. The following remarks are intended merely to draw attention
to certain aspects which we believe can help to advance this process.
It has become customary in the West to think of science and religion
as occupying two distinctand even opposedareas of human thought and
activity. This dichotomy can be characterized in the pairs of antitheses
faith and reason; value and fact. It is a dichotomy which is foreign to
Bahá'í thought and should, we feel, be regarded with suspicion
by Bahá'í scholars in every field. The principle of the harmony
of science and religion means not only that religious teachings should
be studied with the light of reason and evidence as well as of faith and
inspiration, but also that everything in this creation, all aspects of
human life and knowledge, should be studied in the light of revelation
as well as in that of purely rational investigation. In other words, a
Bahá'í scholar, when studying a subject, should not lock
out of his mind any aspect of truth that is known to him.
It has, for example, become commonplace to regard religion as the product
of human striving after truth, as the outcome of certain climates of thought
and conditions of society. This has been taken, by many non-Bahá'í
thinkers, to the extreme of denying altogether the reality or even the
possibility of a specific revelation of the Will of God to mankind through
a human Mouthpiece. A Bahá'í who has studied the Teachings
of Bahá'u'lláh, who has accepted His claim to be the Manifestation
of God for this Age, and who has seen His Teachings at work in his daily
life, knows as the result of rational investigation, confirmed by actual
experience, that true religion, far from being the product solely of human
striving after truth, is the fruit of the creative Word of God which, with
divine power, transforms human thought and action.
A Bahá'í, through this faith in, this "conscious knowledge"
of, the reality of divine Revelation, can distinguish, for instance, between
Christianity, which is the divine message given by Jesus of Nazareth, and
the development of Christendom, which is the history of what men did with
that message in subsequent centuries; a distinction which has become blurred
if not entirely obscured in current Christian theology. A Bahá'í
scholar conscious of this distinction will not make the mistake of regarding
the sayings and beliefs of certain Bahá'ís at any one time
as being the Bahá'í Faith. The Bahá'í Faith
is the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: His Own Words as interpreted
by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian. It is a revelation of such staggering
magnitude that no Bahá'í at this early stage in Bahá'í
history can rightly claim to have more than a partial and imperfect understanding
of it. Thus, Bahá'í historians would see the overcoming of
early misconceptions held by the Bahá'í community, or by
parts of the Bahá'í community, not as "developments of the
Bahá'í Faith" as a non-Bahá'í historian
might well regard them but as growth of that community's understanding
of the Bahá'í revelation.
It has been suggested that the words of Bahá'u'lláh that
a true seeker should "so cleanse his heart that no remnant of either love
or hate may linger therein, lest that love blindly incline him to error
or that hate repel him away from the truth", support the viewpoint of methodological
agnosticism. But we believe that on deeper reflection it will be recognized
that love and hate are emotional attachments or repulsions that can irrationally
influence the seeker; they are not aspects of the truth itself. Moreover,
the whole passage concerns taking "the step of search in the path leading
to the knowledge of the Ancient of Days" and is summarized by Bahá'u'lláh
in the words: "Our purpose in revealing these convincing and weighty utterances
is to impress upon the seeker that he should regard all else beside God
as transient, and count all things save Him, Who is the Object of all adoration,
as utter nothingness." It is in this context that He says, near the beginning
of the passage, that the seeker must, "before all else, cleanse and purify
his heart . . . from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and
the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy." It is similar, we think,
to Bahá'u'lláh's injunction to look upon the Manifestation
with His Own eyes. In scientific investigation when searching after the
facts of any matter a Bahá'í must, of course, be entirely
open-minded, but in his interpretation of the facts and his evaluation
o£ evidence we do not see by what logic he can ignore the truth of
the Bahá'í Revelation which he has already accepted; to do
so would, we feel, be both hypocritical and unscholarly.
Undoubtedly the fact that Bahá'í scholars of the history
and teachings of the Faith believe in the Faith that they are studying
will be a grave flaw in the eyes of many non-Bahá'í academics,
whose own dogmatic materialism passes without comment because it is fashionable;
but this difficulty is one that Bahá'í scholars share with
their fellow believers in many fields of human endeavour.
If Bahá'í scholars will try to avoid this snare of allowing
a divorce between their faith and their reason, we are sure that they will
also avoid many of the occasions for tension arising between themselves
and their fellow believers.
The sundering of science and religion is but one example of the tendency
of the human mind (which is necessarily limited in its capacity) to concentrate
on one virtue, one aspect of truth, one goal, to the exclusion of others.
This leads, in extreme cases, to fanaticism and the utter distortion of
truth, and in all cases to some degree of imbalance and inaccuracy. A scholar
who is imbued with an understanding of the broad teachings of the Faith
will always remember that being a scholar does not exempt him from the
primal duties and purposes for which all human beings are created. All
men, not scholars alone, are exhorted to seek out and uphold the truth,
no matter how uncomfortable it may be. But they are also exhorted to be
wise in their utterance, to be tolerant of the views of others, to be courteous
in their behaviour and speech, not to sow the seeds of doubt in faithful
hearts, to look at the good rather than at the bad, to avoid conflict and
contention, to be reverent, to be faithful to the Covenant of God, to promote
His Faith and safeguard its honour, and to educate their fellow-men, giving
milk to babes and meat to those who are stronger.
Scholarship has a high station in the Bahá'í teachings,
and Bahá'í scholars have a great responsibility. We believe
that they would do well to concentrate upon the ascertainment of truth
- of a fuller understanding of the subject of their scholarship, whatever
its field - not upon exposing and attacking the errors of others, whether
they be of non-Bahá'ís or of their fellow believers. Inevitably
the demonstration of truth exposes the falsity of error, but the emphasis
and motive are important. We refer to these words of Bahá'u'lláh:
Consort with all men, O people of Bahá, in a spirit
of friendliness and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye
possess a jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a
language of utmost kindliness and good-will. If it be accepted, if it fulfil
its purpose, your object is attained. If any one should refuse it, leave
him unto himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye deal unkindly
with him. A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is
the bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the
fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding . . . (Gleanings from
the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh CXXXII)
and again:
Should any one among you be incapable of grasping a certain
truth, or be striving to comprehend it, show forth, when conversing with
him, a spirit of extreme kindliness and good-will. Help him to see and
recognize the truth, without esteeming yourself to be, in the least, superior
to him, or to be possessed of greater endowments. (Gleanings from the
Writings of Bahá'u'lláh V)
In our view there are two particular dangers to which Bahá'í
scholars are exposed, and which they share with those believers who rise
to eminent positions in the administration of the Cause. One danger is
faced by only a few: those whose work requires them to read the writings
of Covenant-breakers. They have to remember that they are by no means immune
to the spiritual poison that such works distil, and that they must approach
this aspect of their work with great caution, alert to the danger that
it presents. The second danger, which may well be as insidious, is that
of spiritual pride and arrogance. Bahá'í scholars, especially
those who are scholars in the teachings and history of the Faith itself,
would be well advised to remember that scholars have often been most wrong
when they have been most certain that they were right. The virtues of moderation,
humility and humour in regard to one's own work and ideas are a potent
protection against this danger.
We feel that by following such avenues of approach as those described
in this memorandum Bahá'í scholars will find that many of
the "fears, doubts and anxieties" which were aired at the seminar, will
be dispelled.
The Policy of Prepublication Review
On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, enclosed to a letter to an individual dated 5 October 1993
With regard to the current policy of advance review, all Bahá'ís,
whatever their professions, are challenged to reflect on the implications
of our common struggle to achieve Bahá'u'lláh's purpose for
the human race, including the use of our intellectual resources to gain
deeper understanding of that Revelation and to apply its principles. In
pursuing this course that has been set for it so explicitly and emphatically
by its Founder, the Bahá'í community acts through the institutions
that He has provided.
Scholarly endeavors are not an activity apart from this organic process
answering to standards and operating on authority outside it. The House
of Justice believes that part of the difficulty that some Bahá'í
academics are having with the question of prepublication review may arise
from the fact that, in their scholarly work, such believers do not see
themselves as full participants in this process, free to act with the spiritual
autonomy they exercise in other aspects of their lives. What the Bahá'í
community is engaged in bringing into visible expression is a new creation.
In this, the Cause has urgent need of the unfettered and wholehearted assistance
of its scholars. The House of Justice has sought to point out that, as
in every other field of Bahá'í endeavor, there are certain
conditions under which this assistance may be rendered, conditions implicit
in the nature of the process and made explicit in the Divine Text.
These requirements are of course not reflected in the standards currently
prevailing in Western academic institutions. Rather, both Bahá'í
institutions and Bahá'í scholars are called on to exert a
very great effort, of heart, mind, and will, in order to forge the new
models of scholarly activity and guidance that Bahá'u'lláh's
work requires. The House of Justice believes that you will serve the interests
of the Faith best if you will direct your thoughts to this end. Merely
to reiterate the conventions and requirements of systems which, whether
academic, political, social, or economic, have been shown not to have adequate
answers to the anarchy now engulfing human society, or any willingness
to come to grips with the implications of their impotence, is of little
practical help. We do a grave disservice to both ourselves and the Faith
when we simply submit to the authority of academic practices that appeal
for their claim of objectivity to theories which themselves are being increasingly
called into question by major thinkers. While non-Bahá'í
academics may slip carelessly into regarding the institutions founded by
Bahá'u'lláh as simply another form of "religious establishment"
and avoid serious examination of the truths of His Revelation in this fashion,
it is clearly impossible for anyone who is a Bahá'í to follow
them down this empty track.
The House of Justice is aware that the continuation of the policy of
review can cast a shadow on the good name of the Faith in the eyes of certain
non-Bahá'í academics. In an environment where publication
is vital to advancement and recognition, any requirement that delays or
inhibits this activity must be a matter of grave consideration, not only
by the individual scholar but by the governing institutions of the community
that eagerly watches his rise and counts anxiously on his effective assistance.
But is that not precisely the kind of spiritual dilemma being faced by
many Bahá'ís in their efforts to serve Bahá'u'lláh
s purpose? On many occasions, in developing lands particularly, believers
of capacity have had to forgo opportunities for promising political careers,
careers whose value they could easily have justified on the basis of public
service, because such a choice was not in conformity with Bahá'u'lláh's
teaching and purpose. There are, likewise, many examples of believers who
have had to set aside both a professional life and legitimate family concerns
in order to pioneer in inhospitable regions of the globe.
It is apparent that the crisis of contemporary civilization is impelling
thinkers in many lands to explore new scholarly methodologies capable of
coming to grips with spiritual, moral, cultural, and social phenomena not
hitherto encountered. No segment of humanity is so well equipped as the
Bahá'í community to take a leading role in this effort. As
a body of people who are being steadily freed by the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh
from the "gravitational pull", so to speak, of the cultures in which their
habits of mind have been formed, the community already has a unique approach
to the exploration of reality. This approach needs to be sharply honed
as an ever more effective instrument of social transformation. The devising
of the new scholarly paradigm called for by this circumstance offers a
priceless opportunity of service and achievement to those Bahá'ís
who enjoy the dual gifts of spiritual faith and intellectual faculties
trained in the best that contemporary society has to offer.
The Universal House of Justice can only invite Bahá'í
scholars, as it invites all other believers, to respond to this historic
challenge, in whatever way and to whatever extent each person considers
possible. It is confident that, in Bahá'í scholarship as
in all other areas of Bahá'í service, the essential resources
will gradually be forthcoming and the required models of research and study
will be refined through the process of consultation. It is this achievement,
the House of Justice believes, that in the long run will best protect the
reputation of the Cause from whatever immediate misunderstandings and criticisms
it may encounter. Indeed it is greatly encouraged by the response that
Bahá'í scholars in many fields are already making.
Further Comments on Bahá'í Scholarship
From a letter on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, dated 19 October 1993
The House of Justice suggests that the issues raised in your letter
might best be considered in light of the statements in the Bahá'í
Writings which disclose the relationship between the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh
and the knowledge which is acquired as a result of scholarly endeavours.
Bahá'u'lláh asserts that:
Unveiled and unconcealed, this Wronged One hath, at all
times, proclaimed before the face of all the peoples of the world that
which will serve as the key for unlocking the doors of sciences, of arts,
of knowledge, of well-being, of prosperity and wealth. . .
It is evident that the Bahá'í Writings illuminate all areas
of human endeavour and all academic disciplines. Those who have been privileged
to recognize the station of Bahá'u'lláh have the bounty of
access to a Revelation which casts light upon all aspects of thought and
inquiry, and are enjoined to use the understanding which they obtain from
their immersion in the Holy Writings to advance the interests of the Faith.
Those believers with the capacity and opportunity to do so have repeatedly
been encouraged in their pursuit of academic studies by which they are
not only equipped to render much needed services to the Faith, but are
also provided with the means to acquire a profound insight into the meaning
and the implications of the Bahá'í Teachings. They discover
also that the perceptions gained from a deeper understanding of the Revelation
of Bahá'u'lláh clarify the subjects of their academic inquiry.
It is useful to review a number of statements written by Shoghi Effendi
on this subject. To a believer who had completed advanced academic studies
in a subject related to the Teachings the Guardian stated, in a letter
written on his behalf:
It is hoped that all the Bahá'í students
will follow the noble example you have set before them and will, henceforth,
be led to investigate and analyse the principles of the Faith and to correlate
them with the modern aspects of philosophy and science. Every intelligent
and thoughtful young Bahá'í should always approach the Cause
in this way, for therein lies the very essence of the principle of independent
investigation of truth.
When he was informed of the enrolment of a scientist in the Faith, the
response set out in the letter written on his behalf was:
We need very much the sound, sane, element of thinking
which a scientifically trained mind has to offer. When such intellectual
powers are linked to deep faith a tremendous teaching potential is created.
. .
His secretary wrote, on another occasion, that:
Shoghi Effendi has for years urged the Bahá'ís
(who asked his advice, and in general also) to study history, economics,
sociology, etc., in order to be au courant with all the progressive movements
and thoughts being put forth today, and so that they could correlate these
to the Bahá'í teachings. What he wants the Bahá'ís
to do is to study more, not to study less. The more general knowledge,
scientific and otherwise, they possess, the better. Likewise he is constantly
urging them to really study the Bahá'í teachings more deeply.
. .
In the simultaneous endeavour to pursue their studies and to delve deeper
into the Bahá'í Teachings, believers are enjoined to maintain
a keen awareness that the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh is the
standard of truth against which all other views and conclusions are to
be measured. They are urged to be modest about their accomplishments, and
to bear in mind always the statement of Bahá'u'lláh that:
The heart must needs therefore be cleansed from the idle
sayings of men, and sanctified from every earthly affection, so that it
may discover the hidden meaning of divine inspiration, and become the treasury
of the mysteries of divine knowledge.
At this early stage in the development of the Faith, it would not be Useful
to propound a highly restrictive definition of the term "Bahá'í
scholarship". In a letter written on behalf of the House of Justice to
an Association for Bahá'í Studies recently, it is stated
that:
The House of Justice advises you not to attempt to define
too narrowly the form that Bahá'í scholarship should take,
or the approach that scholars should adopt. Rather should you strive to
develop within your Association respect for a wide range of approaches
and endeavours. No doubt there will be some Bahá'ís who will
wish to work in isolation, while others will desire consultation and collaboration
with those having similar interests. Your aim should be to promote an atmosphere
of mutual respect and tolerance within which will be included scholars
whose principal interest is in theological issues as well as those scholars
whose interests lie in relating the insights provided by the Bahá'í
teachings to contemporary thought in the arts and sciences.
A similar diversity should characterize
the endeavours pursued by Bahá'í scholars, accommodating
their interests and skills as well as the needs of the Faith. The course
of world events, the development of new trends of thought and the extension
of the teaching work all tend to highlight attractive and beneficial areas
to which Bahá'í scholars might well direct their attention.
Likewise, the expansion of the activities of the Bahá'í International
Community in its relationship with United Nations agencies and other international
bodies creates attractive opportunities for scholars to make a direct and
highly valued contribution to the enhancement of the prestige of the Faith
and to its proclamation within an influential and receptive stratum of
society. As the Bahá'í community continues to emerge inexorably
from obscurity, it will be confronted by enemies, from both within and
without, whose aim will be to malign and misrepresent its principles, so
that its admirers might be disillusioned and the faith of its adherents
might be shaken; Bahá'í scholars have a vital role to play
in the defence of the Faith through their contribution to anticipatory
measures and their response to defamatory accusations levelled against
the Faith.
Thus, there should be room within the scope of Bahá'í scholarship
to accommodate not only those who are interested in theological issues
and in the historical origins of the Faith, but also those who are interested
in relating the Bahá'í Teachings to their field of academic
or professional interest, as well as those believers who may lack formal
academic qualifications but who have, through their perceptive study of
the Teachings, acquired insights which are of interest to others.
Since you have raised the question of whether physics is more than tangentially
related to Bahá'í issues, you might consider the following
comments of a well-known scientific thinker, who is not a Bahá'í,
about the correlation between the Bahá'í Teachings and recent
developments in the physical sciences:
In our times we can only survive, and our civilization
can only flower, if we reorient the conventional wisdom and achieve the
new insights which have been proclaimed by the Bahá'í Faith
and which are now also supported by the latest discoveries of the empirical
sciences.
Bahá'ís proclaim that
the most important condition that can bring about peace is unity
the unity of families, of nations, and of the great currents of thought
and inquiry that we denote science and religion. Maturity, in turn, is
a prerequisite for such unity. This is evolutionary thinking, and its validity
is shown by the new theories which emerge from non-equilibrium thermodynamics,
dynamical systems theory, cybernetics, and the related sciences of complexity.
They are supported by detailed empirical investigations in such fields
as physical cosmology, paleobiological macroevolutionary theory, and new
trends in historiography.
The House of Justice wishes to avoid use of the terms "Bahá'í
scholarship" and "Bahá'í scholars" in an exclusive sense,
which would effectively establish a demarcation between those admitted
into this category and those denied entrance to it. It is clear that such
terms are relative, and that what is a worthy scholarly endeavour by a
Bahá'í, when compared to the activities of those with whom
he is in contact, may well be regarded as of vastly lesser significance
when measured against the accomplishments of the outstanding scholars which
the Faith has produced. The House of Justice seeks the creation of a Bahá'í
community in which the members encourage each other, where there is respect
for accomplishment, and a common realization that every one is, in his
or her own way, seeking to acquire a deeper understanding of the Revelation
of Bahá'u'lláh and to contribute to the advancement of the
Faith.
