Bahá’í World/Volume 29/Inauguration of the International Teaching Centre Building

The Bahá’í World
Volume 29

Inauguration of 1:118

INTERNATIONAL

TEACHING CENTRE BUILDING

n J anuary 2001, nearly one thousand members of the Continental

Boards of Counsellors and their Auxiliary Boards came from 172 countries to commemorate the inauguration of the newly completed seat of the International Teaching Centre in Haifa, Israel. The event was historic, marking the first time that the entire membership of this institution has ever come together.

The Institution of the Counsellors operates parallel to the system of elected assemblies that govern the Bahá’í Faith at the local, national, and international levels. At the international level, the International Teaching Centre is a nine-member consultative body based at the Bahá’í World Centre, which advises the Universal House of Justice on matters relating to the propagation and protection of the Bahá’í Faith. The Boards of Counsellors, comprising 81 members worldwide, carry on this work at the continental level, and the 990 members of the Auxiliary Boards, working with their assistants, extend the focus of the work to the regional and local arenas. The interaction between the appointed and elected institutions in the Bahá’í Faith is both close and harmonious.

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Travel to the conference on Mount Carmel was not easy for participants from some parts of the world. Take, for example, the case of the Auxiliary Board members from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Because of the social and political upheavals in their country, the 24 members of the Auxiliary Board there had not been able to meet for some time. Nevertheless, 20 of themand all four Counsellors serving that country—managed to make it to Haifa. One Auxiliary Board member who lives deep in the equatorial jungle spent ten days in a canoe on a river traveling from his Village to the closest airport. It was necessary for him to travel in a canoe because the riverboats that usually transport people are barely functioning due to rebels, bandits, and general unrest in the country. Having arrived in the town where the airport is located, he met another Auxiliary Board member who had his plane ticket. They caught the flight with minutes to spare—a good thing, since only one plane every two weeks flies to the country’s capital, Kinshasa. Later, there was a joyous reunion with other Board members from around the country in the Addis Ababa airport before they all caught connecting flights to Tel AViV. Board

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, 5/ Members of the Universal House of Justice, the International Teaching Centre, the Continental Boards Qf'CounsellorS, and the Auxiliary Boards, assembled in front Ofthe new International Teaching Centre Building.

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C Oiztinental

C ounsellors and members of the Auxiliary Boards ascending the terraces leading 10 the Shrine of the Bdb.

members from countries in other parts of the world also faced similar challenges.

Once they arrived at the Bahá’í World Centre, participants took part in a three-day program of Visits to Bahá’í holy places in the Haifa/Acre area. For many, it was their first and perhaps their only opportunity to Visit the site to which they turn in prayer each day.

The conference itself began on 14 J anuary with a devotional program commemorating the completion of the International Teaching Centre building. In the morning, as an act of devotion and reverence, the Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members ascended the nine lower terraces leading from the base of Mount Carmel to the Shrine of the Bab, which stands midway up the mountain. After circumambulating the Shrine, they proceeded along the Arc path to Visit the International Teaching Centre Building itself.

In the afternoon, all participants gathered at the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, where a welcoming message to the conference from the international governing body was read. Emphasizing the deep historical and spiritual significance of the completion of the terraces and Bahá’í administrative buildings on Mount Carmel, the message stated, in part, that “the occupation of the International Teaching Centre of its permanent seat on the Mountain of the Lord. . .marks the beginning of what future generations will regard as a splendid chapter in the annals of our Faith.” The urgency of the tasks lying before the Bahá’í community was

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also underscored in the message. Addressing the conference participants, the House of Justice said,

You hail from far-flung geographic regions and cultural backgrounds that make you truly representative of a oross-section of the human family. The world’s crying need for the divine prescriptions is made plain by the ills afflicting society at every level in all parts of the planet. We must be swift in ministering to this need.

Following the reading of the message, a devotional program consisting of prayers and readings from the Bahá’í sacred writings in various languages took place.

Consultative sessions during the following two days focused on issues germane to the work of the Institution of the Counsellors throughout the world. Topics included the fostering of individual initiative; the progress of training institutes throughout the world; the development of systematic programs of growth for the worldwide community; and issues related to the protection of the Bahá’í Faith. Opportunity was also given to Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members to engage in continental or regional consultations, which promoted discussion of issues as they related to particular conditions in different parts of the world.

The two living Hands of the Cause of God were invited to address the conference on the first day of the consultative sessions. The address prepared by Hand of the Cause of God ‘Ali-Muhammad Varqa, which was read by one of the members of the International

A Choir

, composed Of Auxiliary Board member‘sfi‘om i; Kiribati, peljfbrm in g

at the Counsellors ’ Conference.

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‘ 11:1 1.111.; 1

Members of the Auxiliary Boards in Africa ascendng the 1 terraces of the i Shrine offhe Bdb.

Teaching Centre, provided an overview of the International Teaching Centre as one of the Vitalizing agencies of the World Order of Baha’u’llah, operating at the dawning point of a new era in human history. While noting that the unfoldment of human destiny towards the attainment of peace is well under way, he emphasized that, according to the Bahá’í writings, universal peace will only be reached through a long process of transformation of individual hearts and minds. While more strife and conflict will occur as we progress towards this goal, he said, we stand now at the threshold of a new century of challenge and of promise. Hand of the Cause of God ‘AliAkbar Furfitan spoke to the participants about the importance of obeying Baha’u’llah’s injunction to teach His Faith to others and of the importance of educating our children. Children today, he said, are subject to great difficulties because of the generally corrupt atmosphere they face in the world, and so Bahá’í parents and the Bahá’í community must provide strong moral and spiritual education to enable them to flourish and to share their positive outlook in spite of the corruption around them. Mr. Furfitan also met informally with participants in the evenings at the Pilgrim House near the Shn'ne of the Bab.

One major topic of discussion in the consultative sessions was the training institute process. For the previous four years, with the encouragement and guidance of the International Teaching Centre and the members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and their Auxiliaries, the worldwide Bahá’í community had been engaged in the process of systematizing the training of large numbers

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of its members in the spiritual, moral, and social teachings of their Faith. The goal has been to raise up the human resources capable of establishing a distinctive Bahá’í way of life and of contributing to social advancement throughout the planet. By January 2001, the result of these efforts was the establishment of more than three hundred training institutes, which reach even the remotest areas of the planet through a decentralized system of tutors, study circles, and sequences of courses based on the sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith.

Immediately before the conference attended by the Auxiliary Board members, the Counsellors held a series of meetings to consider the best way forward for the Bahá’í community as it was preparing to embark on the upcoming Five Year Plan at Riḍván 2001. Urging the Bahá’í community to build on the strength of what has been accomplished, the House Of Justice addressed a letter t0 the Counsellors, calling for their Institution to assist the community to concentrate its efforts on specific, smaller geographic areas that have the potential to develop the basic elements of community life. These would include the establishment of study

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Hand offhe Cause of God ‘Ali-Akbar F urzitan (ffont row, center) with members of the Universal House QfJuslice, International Teaching Centre members, and Continental Counsellors standing on the stairs in front thhe Seal Ofl/Ié’ Universal House QfJustice.

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circles, children’s classes, and devotional meetings, which should be open to all inhabitants of the locality and should have the goal of producing a positive impact on the well-being and cohesiveness of society at large. As Bahá’í communities develop, they are urged to introduce small social and economic development projects appropriate t0 the needs of the area. These might include projects to promote literacy, the advancement of women, the protection of the environment, or education.

Both during casual informal conversations and in the consultative sessions, Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members from all parts of the world found that, although their experiences necessarily varied, they shared a global breadth and depth of understanding about the activities in which they were involved. Ccntributions from participants from Latin America, who shared their long years of experience in the institute process, particularly enriched the consultations, as did those of the Auxiliary Board members from Africa.

Simultaneous translations into English, French, and Spanish facilitated communication throughout the conference sessions, and Auxiliary Board members showed impressive powers of concentration and restraint as they made their observations briefly so as to allow others to contribute to the consultations. The incorporation of music from every region of the world into the sessions added to the unique atmosphere of the conference, in which both joy and seriousness were evident.

With all of the Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members gathered on the concourse Of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice during the final session, the Universal House of Justice entered. The air was electric with a sense of excitement and anticipation as a message from the institution to the Bahá’ís Of the world was read. The House of Justice spoke of a new stage in the maturation of the Institution of the Counsellors and noted that “by internalizing and integrating the lessons of systematization called for in the Four Year Plan, they have indeed been transformed into channels of unified thought.” Other signs, such as the synchronization of “the internal processes of institutional consolidation and the external processes towards world unity,” coupled with “the

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extraordinary dynamics” of the conference itself, moved the House of Justice to announce: “the Faith Of Baha’u’llah now enters the fifth epoch of its Formative Age.” As soon as these words were read, the conference erupted in a torrent of joy, with participants reveling in the historic moment.l

The message was followed by the reading of a passage from the writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, after which the Universal House of Justice exited and the conference concluded. Farewells echoed along the colonnade Of the Seat and down the path towards the Shrine of the Bab, as participants went to say their final prayers before setting off on their journeys home. Their days on Mount Carmel had equipped them for the tasks ahead by imparting to them a new Vision, inspiring them to renewed commitment to their work, firing them with spiritual energy, and providing a focus for their Vital work in the ongoing process of the consolidation and expansion of their worldwide community.

' Historical eras in the Bahá’í Faith have been divided into three distinct ages: the Historic Age, the Formative Age, and the Golden Age. The Historic Age lasted from the inception of the mission of the Bab in 1844 to the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1921 and encompassed the lives of the Central Figures of the Faith. The F ormative Age began in 1921 and will continue until the commencement of the Golden Age, when universal peace will be established and the institutions of the Bahá’í Faith will function at their full capacity and power. The Formative Age has further been divided into a number of epochs. The first lasted from 1921 to 1944 and saw the beginnings of the development of the Bahá’í administrative order. The second, lasting from 1946 to 1963, witnessed the extension of this development and culminated with the election Of the Faith’s international governing body, the Universal House of Justice. The period encompassed by the third epoch (1963—86) was characterized by rapid growth and the emergence of the Faith from obscurity onto the world stage, which was due, in no small measure, to the renewal of the persecution of the Bahá’í community in Iran, the land of its birth. The fourth epoch (1986—2001) saw further development of the community’s institutional capacity at all levels, its complete emergence from obscurity, and increased involvement in social and economic development work around the world.

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