Online Reporter
Flora Teckie-Bahá’í Perspective
We celebrated International Youth Day on August 12, an opportune time to reflect on the role of young people in creating a better and brighter future.
It is within the power of youths to contribute significantly to shaping the societies of the coming decades. They can be empowered to draw on their enthusiasm and great potential, which characterise the period of youth, and to make decisive contributions to the advancement of both spiritual and material civilisation.
The Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith, states: “The transformation which is to occur in the functioning of society will certainly depend to a great extent on the effectiveness of the preparations the youth make for the world they will inherit.”
An effective preparation, in the Bahá’í view, involves acquiring useful qualifications and spiritual qualities, and developing a high-minded outlook and an upright character.
Education is the most effective way to harness the power of the values, attitudes, behaviours, and skills of young people towards building a better world, and a brighter future for all.
A proper education would enrich both the mind and the spirit.
An education that enriches both the mind and the spirit
For our youths to realise their full potential as contributing members of socially-and spiritually-advancing communities, they will need to be both spiritual and intellectual.
According to the Bahá’í Writings, “Arts, crafts and sciences uplift the world of being, and are conducive to its exaltation. Knowledge is as wings to man’s life, and a ladder for his ascent”.
However, academic education must be balanced with spiritual education. It is important that education, whether at home or at school, assists our children and youths in their moral empowerment, as well as their intellectual development.
“The proper education of children is of vital importance to the progress of mankind, and the heart and essential foundation of all education is spiritual and moral training . . . ”, state the Bahá’í Writings, which also confirm that: “knowledge is praiseworthy when it is coupled with ethical conduct and virtuous character”.
In our world today, where youths are increasingly left without adequate moral guidance; where the distinction between right and wrong is being lost, only the power of the Word of God can regenerate their spiritual senses, guide them to acquire an upright character and to contribute towards the construction of progressive and peaceful communities.
An effective education would lead our youths to combine science and religion, belief and reason, as this will help free them from fanaticism and superstition. Placing emphasis on learning to think rather than following adults out of fear, to reflect and reason rather than to imitate, will motivate them to apply moral laws and guidance with understanding and conviction.
Young peoples’ contribution to building peaceful communities
To create societies in which people of different backgrounds live in unity and peace and enjoy mutual prosperity, we must consider what kind of educational processes can support such a vision.
Such educational processes would nurture in our children the consciousness of the oneness of the human family, and a desire to promote the common good through serving others.
According to a statement from the Bahá’í International Community, “To serve their communities effectively, young people should strive to understand with growing clarity the implications of the principle of the oneness of humanity.
“For too long, differences among human beings, both real and imagined, have served as obstacles preventing the progress of entire peoples and nations. This planet is our one, common homeland.
“We must all care for it. We must all have the opportunity to thrive in it. Regardless of differences in class, culture, ethnicity, belief, nationality, and gender, at our core, we share a common identity — we are all human.
In those essential aspects of life — in the capacity of every human being to dream, to think, to create; in the longing of every person to find happiness, to grow, to connect with others — we are without distinction”.
An effective education would empower youths to express their God-given talents and capacities in service to humanity. Many approaches to education treat our young people in a passive way, as receptacles of information rather than active members of society.
Bearing in mind the interconnectedness of the different aspects in life, youths should be encouraged to have a coherent rather than a fragmented approach to life. For example, to think that they should first complete their studies and then serve humanity is a fragmented approach.
Such an attitude can continue when the need for them to work and earn their living arises, or when they have to look after their families – perhaps waiting forever for the right conditions to start serving their communities.
While we need to prepare our youths for the future, they are very much present in our communities right now. The question is: how do we use the energy and great talents of our youths now for building better communities, and a better world?
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