Bahá’í News/Inserts/Issue 342/The Baha’i Way of Living-Part II/Text

Bahá’í News/Inserts/Issue 342/The Baha’i Way of Living-Part II

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[Page 1] Individual Study and Group Discussion

THE BAHA’Í WAY OF LIVING — PART II

“A Guide Unto All Mankind”

A sharp distinction between that community (Bahá’í) and that people (America) must be made, and resolutely and fearlessly upheld, if we wish to give due recognition to the transmuting power of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, in its impact on the lives and standards of those who have chosen to enlist under His Banner. Otherwise, the supreme and distinguishing function of His Revelation, which is none other than the calling into being of a new race of men, will remain wholly unrecognized and completely obscured.

—Shoghi Effendi The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 13

This outline is the second part of the two-part study on The Bahá’í Way of Living. It is a study of the relationship of the Bahá’í to others, in his own Bahá’í community and in the civil community in which he resides.

The answers to most of the questions are found in The Advent of Divine Justice, available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust ($1.50, cloth bound edition). This text will be used for at least one more outline in this series of studies aimed at the spiritual reinforcement of the American Bahá’í community.

—National Spiritual Assembly of the United States [Page 2]

Quotations from Shoghi Effendi

We can prove ourselves worthy of our Cause only if in our individual conduct and corporate life we sedulously imitate the example of our beloved Master, Whom the terrors of tyranny, the storms of incessant abuse, the oppression of humiliation, never caused to deviate a hair’s breadth from the revealed law of Bahá’u’lláh.

Such is the path of certitude, such is the way of holiness He chose to tread to the very end of His life. Nothing short of the strictest adherence to His glorious example can safely steer our course amid the pitfalls of this perilous age, and lead us on to fulfil our high destiny.

— Shoghi Effendi, April 27, 1927 Bahá’í News #319, Sept. 1957

These requirements are none other than a high sense of moral rectitude in their social and administrative activities, absolute chastity in their individual lives, and complete freedom from prejudice in their dealings with peoples of a different race, class, creed, or color.

— Shoghi Effendi The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 18

When a person becomes a Bahá’í, he gives up the past only in the sense that he is a part of this new and living Faith of God, and must seek to pattern himself, in act and thought, along the lines laid down by Bahá’u’lláh. The fact that he is by origin a Jew or a Christian, a black man or a white man, is not important any more, but lends color and charm to the Bahá’í community in that it demonstrates unity in diversity.

— Shoghi Effendi, March 12, 1949 Bahá’í News #251, Jan. 1952

QUESTIONS FOR GROUP DISCUSSION

1. Review question: Why is rectitude of conduct essential for the Bahá’ís?

   (References: Quotations above.

   ADJ p. 19, middle)

1. Where must rectitude of conduct be manifested?

   (Reference: ADJ p. 22)

1. Why is justice referred to as “the crowning distinction” of the Bahá’í Faith, and what is the purpose of its appearance?

   (Reference: ADJ p. 23)

1. What are the two pillars upon which the law of justice rests?

   (Reference: ADJ p. 23)

1. What does ‘Abdu’l-Bahá say about justice versus forgiveness?

   (Reference: ADJ p. 24, top)

1. What is the only permanent foundation on which Bahá’í institutions are to be based?

   (Reference: ADJ p. 24, par. 2)

1. What is the “double crusade” of the American Bahá’ís?

   (Reference: ADJ p. 34)

[Page 3] 8. What are the weapons to be employed in this crusade and why is their perfection so essential at this time?

(Reference: ADJ p. 34)

9. What is the most challenging issue in this double crusade?

(Reference: ADJ p. 28, par. 2)

10. Who must participate in it?

(Reference: ADJ p. 28, par. 2)

11. Why is it imperative to eliminate racial prejudice within the Bahá’í community?

(Reference: ADJ p. 29)

12. What obligation is imposed upon every Bahá’í community with respect to any minority represented in its membership?

(Reference: ADJ p. 29, par. 2 - p. 30)

13. Name some of the minority groups in the United States. In your community.

14. What is the only type of discrimination that can be tolerated in the Bahá’í community and on what basis?

(Reference: ADJ p. 29, par. 2

- p. 30, middle)

15. What effect could the adoption of this course of action have upon the nation and the world?

(Reference: ADJ p. 30, middle)

16. How should the Bahá’ís demonstrate their freedom from racial prejudice?

(Reference: ADJ p. 30)

17. What can the white Bahá’í do to contribute their share to the elimination of racial discrimination and prejudice?

(Reference: ADJ p. 33, bottom)

18. What effort should the negro Bahá’í make to wipe out suspicion against their white fellow believers?

(Reference: ADJ p. 33, bottom to

‎p. 24 p. 34‎, middle)

19. What appeal does Shoghi Effendi make to white and negro believers alike to fulfil the hopes cherished by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for America?

(Reference: ADJ p. 34, par. 1)

20. What points of partnership and agreement do the two races have in common?

(Reference: ADJ p. 32)

21. What warning does ‘Abdu’l-Bahá utter if the union of black and white is not achieved?

(Reference: ADJ p. 33, par. 1)

22. What did Shoghi Effendi say about the effect of efforts on the part of the Bahá’í community to purify its conduct and attitudes?

(Reference: ADJ p. 25, par. 2 -

top p. 36

Trustees of the Merciful, p. 5)

23. Discuss the extent to which Bahá’ís may participate in movements aimed at bringing about better human relations?

(Reference: Trustees of the Merciful,

p. 16, par. 3)