A New World Order/Consultation

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CONSULTATION:

The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrances, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and long-suffering in difficulties and servitude to His exalted Threshold. Should they be graciously aided to acquire these attributes, victory from the unseen Kingdom of Baha shall be vouchsafed to them. In this day, assemblies of consultation are of the greatest importance and a vital necessity. Obedience unto them is essential and obligatory. The members thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise. This can be attained when every member expresseth with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his argument. Should any one oppose, he must on no account feel hurt for not until matters are fully discussed can the right way be revealed. The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions.

"Abdu'1-Baha,

quoted in Baha'f Administration, p. 21

[Page 35]The first condition is absolute love and harmony amongst the members of the assembly. They must be wholly free from estrangement and must manifest in themselves the Unity of God, for they are the waves of one sea, the drops of one river, the stars of one heaven, the rays of one sun, the trees of one orchard, the flowers of one garden. Should harmony of thought and absolute unity be non-existent, that gathering shall be dispersed and that assembly brought to naught.

The second condition:—They must when coming together turn their faces to the Kingdom on High and ask aid from the Realm of Glory.

They must then proceed with the utmost devotion, courtesy, dignity, care and moderation to express their views. They must in every matter search out the truth and not insist upon their own opinion, for stubbornness and persistence in one's views will lead ultimately to discord and wrangling and the truth will remain hidden. The honored members must with all freedom express their own thoughts, and it is in no wise permissible for one to belittle the thought of another, nay, he must with moderation set forth the truth, and should differences of opinion arise a majority of voices must prevail, and all must obey and submit to the majority. It is again not per- mitted that any one of the honored members object to or censure, whether in or out of the meeting, any decision arrived at previously, though that decision be not right, for such criticism would prevent any decision from being enforced. In short, whatsoever thing is arranged in harmony and with love and purity of motive, its result is light, and should the least trace of estrangement prevail the result shall be darkness upon darkness. .. .

"Abdu'1-Baha,

quoted in Baha’i Administration, p. 22

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Consultation is a testing of the spiritual qualities of the individuals involved. Probably of all parts of community life, here is where we show our best or our worst. Each individual is called upon to practice restraint, that prime quality of a mature and poised individual. We exercise restraint when we refrain from speaking impulsively and saying everything which comes into our heads; when we speak briefly and to the point—not as orators with long introductions and lengthy embellishments of the point; when we listen respectfully to the opinions of others; when we do not speak unless or until we have a definite contribution to make; when we do not make comments aimed at individuals. Such restraint (or self-discipline) helps to build that atmosphere and practice of group thinking which is the mark of true consultation.

Independence of judgment is an important characteristic. Each of us tends to lean somewhat on the opinions of the particular person who first introduced us to the Faith or the one with whom we have studied most. If a Baha'f{ always looks to another person to see how that person is going to vote or what he is going to say, he is fall- ing into the pattern of leader-disciple. This is a false relation- ship for a Baha’i community. Personality is not the basis on which a true Bah&a'f{ community can be built. We do not have any division of people into leaders and followers.

We are all disciples of Bahd'u'1lah and accept 'Abdu'l-Baha as the Center of the Covenant and Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian. Other than that, the only leadership we recognize is that of the assemblies we elect, and in the case of the assemblies, it is not the leadership of one person—not in a healthy Baha’if community. In a healthy Baha'f community, the elected assembly—making its decisions through consultation—provides the leadership. For groups and isolated believers, the National Spiritual Assembly has responsibility for leadership and teaching assistance.

Therefore, inexperienced though we may be, new in the Faith as we may be, in consultation we simply and directly offer our ideas, our opinions, and our judgment as the best we have to offer at the time. Through our continued study of the teachings, freed of depen- dence upon any dominant personality, our [in]experience and lack of knowledge will be replaced by experience and knowledge drawn directly from the teachings.

Your Experience as a Baha'i, pp. 7-8

[Page 37]CONSULTATION:

Why is consultation the key to the smooth functioning of any Assembly or committee?

What part do the following things play in consultation? Why? Why not?

comments directed at individuals disagreement

restraint

repeating what someone else has said lengthy speeches

silence

sarcastic comments

holding on to your point

prayers

a clash of personalities

respect

In what sense is consultation important to the Administrative Order?

Would you say that consultation is relatively easy or relatively difficult to achieve? Why?

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