Being an active member of the Baha’i Faith in the United States today means straddling two worlds – the spiritual and the material.

The Baha’i teachings say:

… if material civilization shall become organized in conjunction with divine civilization, if the man of moral integrity and intellectual acumen shall unite for human betterment and uplift with the man of spiritual capacity, the happiness and progress of the human race will be assured. – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace

What does this mean in reality? How can a person stay focused on the intangible values of the spirit – nobility, altruism and peace – while experiencing the human frailties of hatred, greed and violence?

These terrible traits are the antithesis of the Divine Spirit, which the world’s holy books say potentially exists in the spiritual reality of every human being.

Let’s ponder what the Baha’i Writings say is America’s most vital and challenging issue as a prime example. Reflecting on the essential materialism of racism and racial prejudice, we now live in times where humanity witnesses diametrically opposed responses to acts of racial injustice. We see both extreme hatred and extreme love in this regard, with the responses often dependent on the race of the individuals involved or who witnesses, reads about or experiences these acts.

Within American society, virulent race hatred, enmity and intolerance still exist, more than half a century after the passage of the U.S. Civil Rights Acts. Alternatively, we can all see the growing awareness of the evils of racism, the bane of white supremacy, yet there is an increasing interfaith, interracial, intentional collaboration of concerned American citizens towards community building in pursuit of racial healing and harmony.

Can we attribute this racial divide in human behavior to God’s doing? Or does it come from spiritual flaws in an individual human’s character? Does it result from ignorance, a lack of knowledge and awareness of what the Divine teachers – Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Baha’u’llah – state about the nature of being human, of being 99.9% the same as all other members of the human family? Does it reveal an inability to recognize that human existence has two dimensions, spiritual and material, or perhaps denying the challenge of being human as simultaneously developing both those inner and outer realities?

To me, born in the USA as a woman of African descent, these questions and this dual existence has provided me with a source of reflecting and learning all of my adult life.

Unfortunately, my life has overflowed with experiences of racial bias and hatred since childhood, and I expect these experiences will continue to affect me, directly or indirectly, until death. I’ve faced the obvious fact that the racial animus and the systemic racial and social injustice which pervades American society will not significantly abate during my lifetime.

The material reality of that divisive, potentially soul-destroying climate of race relations in the United States of America today challenges my growth as a spiritual being.

In response, developing my spirit by turning to the Creator in prayer and meditation has become as absolutely essential as breathing. With so many social and political ills beyond my personal control, far from my sphere of influence or power to change, I recognize that I do have the individual ability to act in inclusive, loving and peaceful ways towards others.

Reading and reflecting on the Word of God bolsters my spirit, reinforces my inner resistance to the negative drumbeat of racial disparities, and influences my positive inclinations to press onward, to choose love, to act through faith, and to demonstrate race unity within my community. The Baha’i teachings give me hope:

Soon will your swiftly-passing days be over, and the fame and riches, the comforts, the joys provided by this rubbish-heap, the world, will be gone without a trace. Summon ye, then, the people to God, and invite humanity to follow the example of the Company on high. Be ye loving fathers to the orphan, and a refuge to the helpless, and a treasury for the poor, and a cure for the ailing. Be ye the helpers of every victim of oppression, the patrons of the disadvantaged. Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race. Pay ye no heed to aversion and rejection, to disdain, hostility, injustice: act ye in the opposite way. – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha

So the malaise of racism, white supremacy and white privilege may appear as a flourishing pandemic, but the Baha’i writings tell us that we can cure it – if and when we unite.

Yes, that does sound like an impossible goal, given today’s conditions and conflicts. In this series of essays, though, let’s look at the Baha’i prescription for unity, and explore how it could potentially work in a society so fraught with racial animosity, prejudice and hatred.

First and foremost is the principle that to all the members of the body politic shall be given the greatest achievements of the world of humanity. Each one shall have the utmost welfare and well-being. To solve this problem we must begin with the farmer; there will we lay a foundation for system and order… – Abdu’l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 39.

By 2050, we’ll all have a lot more neighbors.

According to recent data, the global population will explode from the world’s current 8+ billion to a hard-to-imagine 9 billion people in the next decade, with the highest rate of growth occurring in developing countries. The world has never seen such a rapid growth in its population. This, along with changing diets resulting from a collective rise in income, will require a significant increase in food production. That will present the Earth’s people with one of the greatest challenges we’ve ever faced, made even harder by the deleterious effects of climate change.

If we want our children and grandchildren to thrive in the 21st century, then we must immediately grapple with the challenge of feeding our growing population—and doing so sustainably. We believe that the solution lies with a demographic that, despite its large constituency, has suffered in the shadows for far too long: the 500 million smallholder farms in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America.

Over two billion of the world’s people live and work on small-scale farms, and together they produce 80% of the food supply in these regions. The people who work and subsist on these farms have increasingly become critical partners in our food supply chains. Together, these smallholder farmers have the power to not only feed our growing global population, but also reduce rural poverty and usher in an era of more sustainable agricultural practices.

Despite the importance of smallholder farmers to food production and security, they often lack the technology, infrastructure, and market access needed to increase their productivity and incomes. The majority live in poverty and on the margins of society, making them extremely vulnerable to increasing economic and climate variables. These challenges keep smallholder farmers from reaching their full potential—but they also represent a unique opportunity and business investment imperative for global food and beverage companies. By supporting smallholder farmers, we have the ability to improve livelihoods while increasing yields and guaranteeing a reliable source of sustainably grown crops.

Smallholder farmers, then, represent the best possible solution for global sustainability in the face of our coming population boom.

How can those of us who recognize the importance of smallholder farmers to our businesses and to society help remove the constraints that prevent them from running viable and profitable enterprises? The answer must lie in the unity represented by cross-sector partnerships. Whether it’s with other industry players, nonprofits, or local governments, collaboration always precedes success in developing and implementing these programs. Much of what we know has come from our work with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), which pioneered such cross-sector partnerships and moved us beyond philanthropy to putting social and environmental benefit at the very heart of business.

Through CGI, we have each made Commitments to Action, or concrete and measurable plans, to embark on efforts such as empowering Ghana’s smallholder farmers to supply commercial markets with peanuts, and connecting Haitian smallholder farmers to the rapidly growing international market for moringa leaf powder. Others of us have committed $1 billion to bring more small and medium enterprises, especially those owned and operated by women, into our company’s global supply chain. Our experiences informed a recent CGI report that highlights the critical importance of partnerships in enabling investments in smallholder farmers.

The inevitable global population boom makes it crucial that we all continue to work across sectors to enable long-term growth in smallholder businesses and connect large multi-national food companies with small-scale farms.

Now is the time to reignite a conversation about global food production, with nothing less than a transformation of our food system as the goal. To ensure this happens, we must recommit to supporting the smallholder farmers whose destinies directly and inextricably link to our own.
[This essay originally appeared on the Quartz website, and was co-written by Neil Barrett, vice president of sustainable development, North America, at Sodexo; Timote Georges, co-founder and executive director of the Smallholder Farmers Alliance; Blanca Juti, chief corporate relations officer at Heineken; Jeff King, senior director sustainability, CSR, and social innovation at The Hershey Company; Hugh Locke, co-founder and president of the Smallholder Farmers Alliance; and Rebecca Marmot, global vice president, partnerships, at Unilever. It has been modified and adapted for BahaiTeachings.org]

In middle school, I was a social nerd, to put it simply. My life revolved around school, homework, occasional hangouts with friends, and Baha’i activities.

At that time, I never really felt too consumed with anyone else’s problems—instead, I simply focused on getting through the days.

Then, my final year of middle school transformed my life.

I had the opportunity to enroll in a community service class. The structure of the class was very basic. My teacher Amy Bainbridge told our class of 15 on the first day to do three things: one, find a social issue in our community; two, research the issue, and finally, get involved.

Fast-forward six months from that date—I helped to co-found a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless people. Inspired by the teachings of the Baha’i Faith and the support of my teacher, I helped create a foundation while still in middle school. My life began to take shape with an imperative purpose, and I finally started to apply everything that I had learned in school to help others.

Since then, my work in the new organization Helping the Homeless Colorado has impacted my mindset and outlook on the world. In addition, it has completely changed the way that I view what young people can potentially accomplish.

The organization has helped thousands of individuals in Colorado who are experiencing homelessness. Anywhere from distributing over 30,000 basic necessities, the creation of a Scholarship Program, to challenging the stereotypes surrounding homelessness, I am proud of the work that this youth-led charity has accomplished.

The teachings of the Baha’i faith emphasize that “… service to others and to society is a hallmark of the Baha’i life.” – The Universal House of Justice, April 27, 2017. The Baha’i writings urge all of us to do whatever we can to lift the burdens of poor and homeless people—in fact, to consider all people members of one human family, and to extend our kindness to them:

Is it possible for one member of a family to be subjected to the utmost misery and to abject poverty and for the rest of the family to be comfortable? It is impossible unless those members of the family be senseless, atrophied, inhospitable, unkind. Then they would say, “Though these members do belong to our family, let them alone. Let us look after ourselves. Let them die. So long as I am comfortable, I am honored, I am happy—this, my brother—let him die. If he be in misery, let him remain in misery, so long as I am comfortable. If he is hungry, let him remain so; I am satisfied. If he is without clothes, so long as I am clothed, let him remain as he is. If he is shelterless, homeless, so long as I have a home, let him remain in the wilderness.”

Such utter indifference in the human family is due to lack of control, to lack of a working law, to lack of kindness in its midst. If kindness had been shown to the members of this family, surely all the members thereof would have enjoyed comfort and happiness. – Abdu’l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, pp. 38.

The world we live in is challenged by various forms of injustice. Economically, America is still one of the richest nations in the world, yet we have a large number of fellow human beings without basic shelter. You can either view facts like these as discouraging, or understand them as a calling to our society to work together to change the world.

So, to all the youth reading this article: if anything, I want my message to reach you. Please understand this: it is our future, and society is calling for your support. Your voice matters. Your opinions matter. Your efforts matter.

You do not need a formal education to create change. You do not need to wait until adulthood to become an active participant in society. When you watch the news and see something that upsets you, find out what you can do to help. We all have something to contribute to our world, and your contribution is needed now more than ever.

Our future asks of us, as young people, to take part in social action.  Seek opportunities to make a difference, big or small. In this manner, the Baha’i teachings also recognize that “A generation of youth is being galvanized into action by a compelling vision of how they can contribute to building a new world.” – The Universal House of Justice, December 29, 2015.  

Let’s create a movement, together, to change the world and help our human family.

In this part of the series of essays on the spiritual qualities exemplified by the names of the Baha’i months, let’s talk about the month of “Grandeur” (‘Aẓamat), from mid-May to early June. Grandeur certainly describes God. But is “grandeur” something that ordinary people, like you and I, can aspire to? If so, what would that look like?

To have grandeur requires being “grand” in some way, shape or form. “Grand”—not “grandiose.” But someone may ask, “If we are supposed to be humble, how then can we be ‘grand’ at the same time?” What about “delusions of grandeur”? Isn’t there a danger of falling into that trap as well?

After a few obsolete definitions, here’s how the Oxford English Dictionary defines “grandeur”:

3. Conscious greatness, imposing dignity. Also: haughtiness, arrogance.

4. a. The quality of being grand or imposing as an object of contemplation; majesty of appearance; sublimity, magnificence. Also: an instance of this quality.

b. The quality of being grand or imposing in style or manner of composition.

5. Magnificence or splendour of appearance, lifestyle, possessions, etc., suggestive of wealth or high social position; an instance of this.

6. Transcendent greatness; intrinsic nobility.

“Intrinsic nobility.” That’s it! That’s the definition that best captures the Baha’i sense of grandeur at the personal level, when we try our best to express the godly quality as a sterling human quality. Now how do we make the “intrinsic” extrinsic?

Let’s see if the Baha’i writings offer any insight on the topic of personal grandeur in day-to-day life. Here’s part of a Baha’i prayer that includes grandeur as one of the fruits of walking the spiritual path of service to humanity:

Shield them [the faithful] within the stronghold of Thy protection and safety, preserve them in Thy watchful care, look upon them with the eyes of Thy providence and mercy, make them the signs of Thy divine unity that are manifest throughout all regions, the standards of Thy might that wave above Thy mansions of grandeur, the shining lamps that burn with the oil of Thy wisdom in the globes of Thy guidance, the birds of the garden of Thy knowledge that warble upon the topmost boughs in Thy sheltering paradise, and the leviathans of the ocean of Thy bounty that plunge by Thy supreme mercy in the fathomless deeps. – Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i Prayers, p. 157.

Where are these “mansions of grandeur”? Truth be told, the visible eye can’t see them. Rather, this is a metaphor. Yes, metaphors are poetic. But they are also real, in the sense that they obliquely describe psychological dynamics and spiritual realities.

Here, “the standards of Thy might” refers to the signs of God’s power in the world of human existence. And what power is that? The power to transform! How? By the power of moral grandeur. Although these “mansions of grandeur” are God’s, you and I can potentially become one of “the standards of Thy might that wave above Thy mansions of grandeur.” Calling to mind medieval castles of old, we can think of these “standards” as imperial flags, as bright banners of guidance and nobility.

Now let’s take a look at another Baha’i text relating to the grandeur of the human soul:

Quaff then, O My brother, from the living waters that We have caused to flow in the oceans of these words. Methinks the seas of grandeur are surging within them, and the gems of divine virtue are shining within and upon them. Divest then thyself of that which debarreth thee from this fathomless crimson sea …. – Baha’u’llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 60.

Think of the expression, “You are what you eat.” By the same logic, it could also be said, “You are what you drink.” Here, Baha’u’llah invites the reader to “quaff” (i.e. “drink”) “the living waters” of Baha’u’llah’s words, wherein flow “the seas of grandeur.” Like dream logic, spiritual contemplation is associative by nature, enriched by metaphorical visions of true and abiding grandeur.

One more example should suffice to illustrate what spiritual grandeur means. To bring grandeur closer to home, to further personalize it, reflect on this tablet from Abdu’l-Baha addressed to a Baha’i family, who had just hosted a Baha’i Feast in their home:

O ye blessed souls! On the night of the feast ye entertained the beloved and were occupied in the service of the friends of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful One. Service to the sons and the daughters of the Kingdom is the diadem of everlasting glory with which ye have crowned your heads, the garment of eternal sovereignty with which ye have adorned your bodies, and the throne of majesty and grandeur of heaven upon which ye sat. – Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha, Volume 3, p. 533.

Did this Baha’i Nineteen-Day Feast—in an atmosphere described as the “grandeur of heaven”—take place during the Baha’i month of Grandeur? Absent a given date, we simply don’t know. But grandeur of spirit should last all year round. The Baha’i month of Grandeur simply gives us an opportune time to reflect on grandeur and to meditate on how we can invite a sense of grandeur into our spiritual lives.

While many people grew up loving their dogs and cats, I’ve always been drawn to the animals I encounter in nature, like deer and birds.

Ever since I was little, birds have fascinated me. Their ability to fly often enchanted me and their chirping soothed and uplifted me. I remember when I was in early elementary school, I would walk up to the birds in my front yard and say, “Tweet tweet!” and pretend they were responding back to me. Perhaps I was influenced by Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

RELATED: The Sweet Symbolism and Spiritual Meaning of Doves

The older I get, the more I realize how universal and mystical the allure of birds is. One in particular holds a special charm, thanks to its sweet and entrancing song: the nightingale. 

The Charm and Poetic Symbolism of Nightingales

Nightingales are small songbirds native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. The males of this species usually sing at night to serenade their potential mate. The name, “nightingale,” is derived from night and the Old English galan, which means “to sing.” They are literally night singers!

Although most people have not seen a nightingale up close, because they are so shy and often hide in underbrush, their spontaneous songs are considered to be one of the most beautiful sounds in nature. They can generate over 1000 different sounds, with a wide range of whistles and trills, inspiring poets and writers to use these birds as symbols in their works throughout history.

RELATED: The Spiritual Meaning and Symbolism of Sparrows

For example, nightingales are featured in Homer’s “The Odyssey,” John Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale,” and in Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 102.” In the essay, “A Defence of Poetry,” 19^th century poet Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote:

A Poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds; his auditors are as men entranced by the melody of an unseen musician, who feel that they are moved and softened, yet know not whence or why.

The nightingale is also the national bird of Ukraine, Croatia, and Iran. For almost 1,000 years, the nightingale has been a popular motif in Persian literature and often symbolizes the poet, or lover, who longs for the object of their affection. The nightingale’s beloved is usually depicted as a rose in Persian poetry.

The Spiritual Meaning of Nightingales in the Baha’i Faith

The nightingale’s desire for the rose is used as a metaphor in the Baha’i Faith as well. In a talk given by Abdu’l-Baha, one of the central figures of the Baha’i Faith, he said:

Like a moth, one must be a lover of the light, in whatever lamp it may shine; and like a nightingale, one must be enamoured of the rose, in whatever bower it may bloom.

The nightingale symbolizes those who are searching after truth and the rose represents divine teachings and spiritual reality. He explained:

One must seek after the manifold grace of God, search out the divine effulgences, and become enraptured and enthralled with any reality in which they are clearly and plainly found. Consider that, if the Jews had not clung to the horizon of Moses but had fixed their gaze upon the Sun of Truth, they would have undoubtedly beheld that Sun shining in the fullness of its divine splendour in that true dawning point that was Christ.

Baha’is believe that God has never left humanity alone, but has sent divine teachers, or Manifestations of God, to aid in humanity’s spiritual development. These Manifestations include Abraham, Zoroaster, Moses, the Buddha, Krishna, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and the Bab. Baha’is believe that the divine messenger for this age is Baha’u’llah — who came to unite all humanity and founded the Baha’i Faith. In a Baha’i prayer called “Tablet of Ahmad,” Baha’u’llah wrote:

Lo, the Nightingale of Paradise singeth upon the twigs of the Tree of Eternity, with holy and sweet melodies, proclaiming to the sincere ones the glad tidings of the nearness of God, calling the believers in the Divine Unity to the court of the Presence of the Generous One, informing the severed ones of the message which hath been revealed by God, the King, the Glorious, the Peerless, guiding the lovers to the seat of sanctity and to this resplendent Beauty.

This “Nightingale of Paradise” is Baha’u’llah, whose sweet and holy words draw us nearer to God. Both nightingales and the Nightingale of Paradise were forced to suffer in the 19th century for their powerful melodies.

Just like bird catchers cruelly trapped large numbers of nightingales to try to “capture” their songs, Baha’u’llah endured 40 years of imprisonment, torture, and exile for announcing a new divine revelation. Although the caged nightingales that survived until the fall often killed themselves by crashing against the cage bars, their melodies could never be forgotten. And, Baha’u’llah’s mystical song continues to spread, as his unifying messages are shared around the world.

In other Baha’i texts, nightingales symbolize spiritual steadfastness and delight. In a prayer for youth, Abdu’l-Baha wrote:

O Thou kind Lord!  Bestow heavenly confirmation upon this daughter of the kingdom, and graciously aid her that she may remain firm and steadfast in Thy Cause and that she may, even as a nightingale of the rose garden of mysteries, warble melodies in the … most wondrous tones, thereby bringing happiness to everyone.

Just like a sweet melody, a kind word and peaceful tone of voice can uplift our spirits. God wants us to be spiritually strong, praise what is godly, and gladden all hearts through the beauty around us — and within us.

In 2016, a leading scientist wrote an essay in a prestigious scientific journal entitled, “What is the Most Astounding Fact About the Universe?”

His answer: “The entire universe, on all scales, in all places, and at all times, obeys the same fundamental laws of nature.”

On the one hand, that is astounding. But, on the other hand, when we think about it, how could we exist any other way? Can you imagine living in a universe that wasn’t held together by the same laws of nature? Would life in a chaotic, random, unpredictable and lawless universe even be possible?

Science now understands that the laws of nature are constant, can be observed, and allow us to identify patterns in all realms of existence. The Baha’i teachings take that knowledge one step further, telling us that the physical and spiritual realms are mirror reflections of the same essential reality.

In 1904, Abdu’l-Baha, son of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith and interpreter of his teachings, explained this “astounding fact:”

… nature is subject to a sound organization, to inviolable laws, to a perfect order, and to a consummate design, from which it never departs. To such an extent is this true that were you to gaze with the eye of insight and discernment, you would observe that all things—from the smallest invisible atom to the largest globes in the world of existence, such as the sun or the other great stars and luminous bodies—are most perfectly organized, be it with regard to their order, their composition, their outward form, or their motion, and that all are subject to one universal law from which they never depart. – Some Answered Questions, newly revised edition, p. 3.

Abdu’l-Baha goes on to say that all aspects of nature, being subject to the one universal law, are “in the grasp of” the one Creator, who determines the ideal laws and organizing principles of the entire creation.

This includes the principles that govern the unfolding of evolution in all realms, where it is evident that patterns like the regular recurrence of seasons, the rise and fall of civilizations, and the sequence of spiritual epochs all share repeating cycles of growth, maturity, decline, and renewal. These cyclical patterns represent a process of transformation that holds the promise of rebirth leading to perpetual progress.

Spiritual epochs have clearly grown and guided humanity’s conscious evolution over the millennia. Spiritual, religious, and social consciousness increases in complexity as our individual and collective development unfolds. Also governed by one universal law, this process of maturation followed by decline and eventual renewal is as evident in the realm of religion as it is in individual development, social development, and the cycles of seasons.

The world’s major prophets—including Krishna, Abraham, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and Baha’u’llah, founder of the Baha’i Faith in the mid-19th century—have each in their own time impacted the development of humanity. Together, they’ve changed the course of human life over the last four thousand years, bringing about a leap of consciousness with each new epoch they initiated.

Evolution in all realms is tied together, as is becoming more evident every day. We’re coming to see that all of Creation is an indivisible oneness, that deep down everything is interconnected, and that all is subject to one law. As 20th-century Jesuit priest and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin put it, “Ultimately, somehow or other there must be only a single energy at play in the world.” This awareness stems from the same spiritual foundation as the Baha’i worldview:

Just as the solar cycle has its four seasons, the cycle of the Sun of Reality has its distinct and successive periods. Each brings its vernal season or springtime. When the Sun of Reality returns to quicken the world of mankind, a divine bounty descends from the heaven of generosity. The realm of thoughts and ideals is set in motion and blessed with new life. Minds are developed, hopes brighten, aspirations become spiritual…It is the springtime of the inner world. – Abdu’l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 12.

We live in times of massive change, a necessary element for our inevitable yet precarious progress. Never has there been a greater opportunity–and need–to participate in and take action on behalf of this unfolding process. A renewed commitment to our own spirituality is the only thing that will give us security–personally and collectively–in these changing times.

The brief span of years we have here on Earth makes life a wondrous time of discovery, progress and fulfilment. Life, however, is not just a personal experience; we share it with the rest of humanity. 

Our time here represents not merely an individualistic preparation for the next stage in our personal spiritual development, but a priceless opportunity to assist in the social development of the planet. Our personal and collective responsibility involves leaving this world in a better condition than we found it. 

But we have so many problems to solve in the world today: poverty, war, disease, ignorance, hatred and oppression. Where do we focus our limited efforts? 

The Baha’i teachings say that it requires the concerted effort of everyone to overcome these rampant social ills and replace them with abundance, peace, health, education, love and unity. Baha’is happily and constantly work to achieve these goals. Two distinctive aspects of the Baha’i way of life reflect this work: as individuals, Baha’is pray and meditate on how best to serve humankind; and collectively they consult together towards this same end. Baha’u’llah wrote: “Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth.”

Service to humanity is an integral part of being a Baha’i, reflected in the Baha’i attitude towards concepts such as work, motives, and achievement. Baha’is view work done in the spirit of service as a form of worship. For Baha’is, the purity of one’s motives is more important than the result of one’s actions; and in achievements, the process is just as important as the product. The Baha’i teachings offer humanity a philosophy of deeds which replaces the anarchic belief that the ends justify the means. In the Baha’i Faith, the means are the ends.

Fundamental to this concept of service is the belief that personal morality and ethical social behavior greatly benefit the progress of humankind. No one is powerless to effect beneficial change. Each person should see themselves as an empowered, significant component of the world; we should never feel helpless or insignificant. In fact, everyone has the ability to help the world on many different levels.

We can be productive individuals, responsible consumers, loving husbands and wives, exemplary parents, honorable and caring sons and daughters, considerate neighbors, and good citizens, all at the same time. Basically, we each have the responsibility to be environmentally friendly to the spiritual, social, emotional and physical well-being of the planet. All these elements of service help the condition of the world immensely.

Beyond one’s personal morality and ethical social behavior, though, everyone is endowed with skills and talents useful to humanity on a professional level. Personal capacity is often dependent upon health and opportunity, but fulfilling one’s capacity is everyone’s duty. From a Baha’i perspective, the humble person who has employed all of his few talents for the betterment of the planet and its peoples is of greater value to humankind than the person who has a multiplicity of talents but selfishly uses them solely for his own benefit: 

O son of man! If thine eyes be turned towards mercy, forsake the things that profit thee and cleave unto that which will profit mankind. And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself. Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation.

This concept of service extends beyond the Baha’is themselves. The Baha’i Faith as a religion supports the non-governmental and non-partisan activities of the United Nations and the European Community in their efforts to overcome the political differences which divide us, and organizations like the Worldwide Fund for Nature which work toward understanding the planet’s ecology and improving the environment. Baha’u’llah exhorted his followers to serve humanity in whatever way they could:

Address yourselves to the promotion of the well-being and tranquillity of the children of men. Bend your minds and wills to the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth, that haply the dissensions that divide it may, through the power of the Most Great Name, be blotted out from its face, and all mankind become the upholders of one Order, and the inhabitants of one City.

Ultimately, everyone who becomes a Baha’i brings his or her talents and experience to the global Baha’i community, and contributes to the range of humanitarian services the Baha’i Faith offers the world. You are most welcome to join us.

Malala Yousufzai, a brave 15-year-old Pakistani girl who had already achieved national prominence for her promotion of girls’ education, was targeted and shot in the head (Tribune article on Malala) by members of the Taliban in October 2012.

After being moved to the United Kingdom and undergoing several months of surgery and rehabilitation, she left the hospital in Birmingham, England, in March 2013, more committed than ever to helping every girl go to school. She agreed to the establishment of a non-profit fund in her name — The Malala Fund now supports the education and empowerment of girls in Pakistan and around the world.

“I want every boy and every girl to have access to an education,” Malala Yousufzai said when her Fund began to send poor girls to school. “I want our country—in fact, the whole world—to live in peace and security… We have started the Malala Fund for girl’s education. We want every girl to have access to an education.”

The education of girls and women is one of the paramount teachings of Baha’u’llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha’i Faith, who proclaimed that men and women are equal in the sight of God. The Baha’i teachings assert that only the lack of education has made women unequal throughout history, and that the education of women is essential for the training of subsequent generations and for the eventual establishment of world peace:

“…the education of woman is more necessary and important than that of man, for woman is the trainer of the child from its infancy. If she be defective and imperfect herself, the child will necessarily be deficient; therefore, imperfection of woman implies a condition of imperfection in all mankind, for it is the mother who rears, nurtures and guides the growth of the child… The mothers are the first educators of mankind; if they be imperfect, alas for the condition and future of the race.

“It has been objected by some that woman is not equally capable with man and that she is deficient by creation. This is pure imagination. The difference in capability between man and woman is due entirely to opportunity and education. Heretofore woman has been denied the right and privilege of equal development. If equal opportunity be granted her, there is no doubt she would be the peer of man….”

The purpose, in brief, is this: that if woman be fully educated and granted her rights, she will attain the capacity for wonderful accomplishments and prove herself the equal of man… Both are human; both are endowed with potentialities of intelligence and embody the virtues of humanity. In all human powers and functions they are partners and coequals. At present in spheres of human activity woman does not manifest her natal prerogatives, owing to lack of education and opportunity. Without doubt education will establish her equality with men…. – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, 1912 pp. 133-37.

Baha’i principles support the equality of men and women and the compulsory education of all children regardless of gender — not only because of justice, but because Baha’is firmly believe that the equality of the sexes will help lead to the abolition of war:

In past ages humanity has been defective and inefficient because it has been incomplete. War and its ravages have blighted the world; the education of woman will be a mighty step toward its abolition and ending, for she will use her whole influence against war. Woman rears the child and educates the youth to maturity. She will refuse to give her sons for sacrifice upon the field of battle. In truth, she will be the greatest factor in establishing universal peace and international arbitration. Assuredly, woman will abolish warfare among mankind. – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, 1912 p. 108.

As Malala Yousufzai returns to school to further her own education, and continues to heal from her wounds, her vision also finds expression in thousands of Baha’i communities around the globe dedicated to the same goal.

How do Baha’is approach the thorny, complex and difficult issue of climate change?

Scientific concepts of ecology, environmental responsibility and evolutionary social change have deep roots in the Baha’i teachings (BWC 1990). The Baha’i International Community has been active on environmental issues at the United Nations and elsewhere for several decades (Dahl 2005). Baha’is all over the world will take part in Earth Day observances this week—but the Baha’i approach to climate change operates from a much wider perspective than merely dedicating a day to remembering our planet. In fact, the global Baha’i community approaches climate change from a revolutionary perspective—one that begins with the human spirit.

For Baha’is, science and religion fundamentally harmonize, providing complementary perspectives on the same basic truths. Just as religion without science and reason can descend into superstition, so does science without religion tend towards materialism and destruction of the natural environment.

That principle of the harmony of science and religion means the Baha’i approach combines a scientific perspective on climate change with solutions that address the resulting ethical and spiritual challenges, as well. It goes beyond advocacy to question the dominant materialist society and consumer culture, by emphasizing the necessary balance of the material and spiritual dimensions of human life. By teaching contentment with little, and the need to eliminate the extremes of wealth and poverty often associated with excessive greenhouse gas emissions (the former through over consumption, the latter through deforestation and soil degradation), the Baha’i teachings encourage a wholesale reconsideration of our lifestyles and consumption patterns:

Take from this world only to the measure of your needs, and forego that which exceedeth them. Observe equity in all your judgements, and transgress not the bounds of justice, nor be of them that stray from its path. – Baha’u’llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 194.

At the social level, the Baha’i approach focuses on the unity of the human race founded on justice and solidarity. It explores the spiritual principles upon which any solution to the climate change problem and the larger challenges facing society must be based, and incites individual reflection, personal responsibility, community action and world citizenship.

For a complex issue such as climate change, where costs and benefits, immediate advantages and long-term risks are so unequally distributed, justice and equity will prove essential in achieving any global collective action. As the Baha’i International Community has put it in the context of development:

Concern for justice protects the task of defining progress from the temptation to sacrifice the well-being of the generality of humankind—and even of the planet itself—to the advantages which technological breakthroughs can make available to privileged minorities …. Above all, only development programmes that are perceived as meeting their needs and as being just and equitable in objective can hope to engage the commitment of the masses of humanity, upon whom implementation depends. The relevant human qualities such as honesty, a willingness to work, and a spirit of co-operation are successfully harnessed to the accomplishment of enormously demanding collective goals when every member of society—indeed every component group within society—can trust that they are protected by standards and assured of benefits that apply equally to all. – The Baha’i International Community, The Prosperity of Humankind, 1995.

Even though the world’s nations have now signed a universal agreement to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the worst effects of climate change, we have not put in place any worldwide mechanism to enforce that treaty. The present difficulty in enforcing global standards for greenhouse gas reductions arises in part because governments are still more concerned about defending their short-term economic interests, rather than justly and equitably distributing both the efforts required and the accruing benefits. The Baha’i teachings speak out strongly against world leaders who would frustrate human progress toward the justice, peace and unity that will ensure environmental sustainability.

Baha’is have a strong vision of a future global society, and see climate change as an important force compelling the nations and peoples of the world to give priority to their common interest. The Baha’i writings include scenarios of an ever-advancing global civilization that can result from a principle-based approach to world challenges like climate change, with a federated world government able to maintain collective security, to manage the planet’s vast resources and to distribute its products equitably. These unique, revolutionary perspectives of the long-term future of the human race provide a positive focus to counterbalance the negative concerns for our immediate future that the scientific facts of climate change demonstrate all too clearly.

Given this background, the Baha’i International Community (BIC) has actively engaged in the climate change debate. As just one of many, many examples, at the 15th UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New York in 2007, the BIC organized a popular side event in the UN building on the Ethical Dimensions of Climate Change, in partnership with the Missions of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the UN, the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State University, the International Environment Forum, and other NGOs. An essay on this topic was published in The Baha’i World 2005-2006, the public record of the Baha’i community’s activities.

Baha’i communities in every part of the world have taken up the call to battle climate change at its most basic level, by carrying Baha’u’llah’s message of the essential agreement of science and religion to every part of the planet.

Last winter, as my friend Julia and I enjoyed a rare sunny day, strolling and discussing the important creations of a renowned architect, our discussion led us to consider what sort of person he was.  

Julia recalled that a university professor had told her the architect, despite his talent and vision, was also widely reported to have been arrogant. The professor had turned to Julia and said that the architect was entitled to his arrogance—he had earned it. In fact, the professor continued, anyone who had worked hard to become an expert in a chosen field was entitled to be arrogant.  

Long ago, I worked in an advertising agency where the general manager allowed his creative team a wide margin of behavior—he told the secretaries and other support staff that because of their talent the creative team and the writers were entitled to be demanding, petulant, and arrogant. Predictably, they indulged in fits of anger, churlish behavior, childish tantrums, and treated the support staff with disrespect and dismissiveness. I soon left. 

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That experience made me wonder: who is entitled to arrogance? Is anyone? Does superior talent and expertise entitle us to be demanding or to belittle others? 

I think of the courtesy and kindness with which the renowned astrophysicist Carl Sagan treated the young Neil deGrasse Tyson, answering that young man’s questions, nurturing his curiosity, inspiring his lifelong intellectual inquiry. How different would Dr. deGrasse Tyson’s life have been, indeed would all our lives have been, had Sagan dismissed Tyson as a child unworthy of his respect and consideration. 

Many religious traditions share the view that each person is inherently noble. The Baha’i writings explain how human beings should strive to behave, and Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, wrote:

I admonish you to observe courtesy, for above all else it is the prince of virtues. Well is it with him who is illumined with the light of courtesy and is attired with the vesture of uprightness. Whoso is endued with courtesy hath indeed attained a sublime station.

We learn from the religious texts that our task in life is to acquire virtues, to mirror the attributes of God, and to develop the insight that enables us to see those qualities reflected in others—in fact, to actively look for them. We learn to treat others as we expect to be treated.  

In Hindu scripture, we read, “This is the sum of duty: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.” In Islam, a hadith states, “None of you will have faith until he wishes for his brother what he desires for himself.” Christianity has given us the Golden Rule, “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you,” and in the Baha’i writings we read, “Choose thou for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself.” Believing that we share a common humanity leads us to treat others as we would wish to be treated—a verity in every faith tradition.

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It doesn’t matter how superior our knowledge might be, how original our creations, or how creative our minds—no person, however ingenious, brilliant, or talented, has any right to arrogance. We each have the basic human duty to cultivate humility and courtesy as inner virtues, for the good of all. 

So we must take steps to practice courtesy, to adorn ourselves with this spiritual virtue. Courtesy is conscious behavior. Practicing courtesy may at first feel false, stilted, inauthentic, or even pretentious—but over time, conscious courtesy leads to second-nature courtesy, and courtesy leads to empathy.  Empathy produces acts of compassion, and compassion heals the wounds of society.