admin
Flora Teckie A Bahai Perspective
The International Day of Peace, on 21st September (today), is an opportune time to reflect on the crucial role our families can play in the achievement of peace on earth.
Families have a profound and far-reaching influence on human progress and social transformation. It is in the family unit where good morals and attitudes towards peaceful co-existence can be taught.
A loving, unified, vital and joyful family can provide the ideal conditions for the well-being of its members in all aspects of life – physical, spiritual, emotional and mental. Family also lays the foundation for the advancement of and cohesion in our communities.
The Universal House of Justice, the governing council of the Bahá’í international community, states: “The family unit, the nucleus of human society, constitutes a space within which praiseworthy morals and essential capacities must be developed, for the habits and patterns of conduct nurtured in the home are carried into the workplace, into the social and political life of the country, and finally into the arena of international relations”.
Strengthening our families is crucial for the advancement of civilization. Healthy family relationships are of utmost importance to the well-being of all humanity. As a microcosm of the human race, the family is a key instrument for establishing peace.
Participating in building of a peaceful world
Raising children who would assume responsibility for their own intellectual and spiritual development and would participate in building better and peaceful communities is a basic role of a family. We need to nurture in our children love for all people and instil tolerance of differences.
Our children should grow up with an acute sense of justice, and empathy for others.
The vision held by a family should be a global one, and one of unity of humanity.
We must be careful that excessive attention to family interests would not lead to a narrow social outlook, which could be harmful to the broader community.
Today many stable and united families, because of intolerance towards one or another segment of society (towards another race, religion etc.), instil in their children prejudices that stifle their love for humanity and hamper their sense of justice.
Through such an upbringing, our children can become indifferent to the suffering of others or to regard violence and oppression as justified, and even to contribute towards it.
The Universal House of Justice says: “Children must be so raised as to regard every soul, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or any other affiliation, as a fellow human being and to hold dear the words [of Bahá’u’lláh] that capture the spirit of the age:
“The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch”. … The family unit provides an environment within which such lofty and world-embracing principles can be taught and nurtured. It is the matrix in which generation after generation can be reared in the conviction that the well-being of the individual is inextricably bound to the progress and well-being of others”.
Educating our children to promote peace
The education required to promote peace must begin in the family, where children from their earliest age learn about the oneness of human family and to overcome the prejudices of race, nationality, religion, class, or gender.
Children must be encouraged to associate with people of diverse backgrounds and to appreciate the different cultures and the contributions different people have the potential to make. They should be taught the concept of the oneness of humanity from a young age.
Nurturing in our children an appreciation for the richness and importance of the world’s diverse cultural, religious, and social systems will help them to free themselves of prejudices that are currently dividing humanity.
The spiritual and social values our children learn at home will apply not only in the context of the family, but outside in the local and national community, as well as in the world community itself.
The Universal House of Justice states that “It is the duty of all parents to exert their utmost to ensure the spiritual education of their children and to provide them with the training needed to live a fruitful life of service to their country and, indeed, to all of humanity. Success in this crucial matter requires fostering a loving and constructive environment at home, based on the love of God and adherence to His laws. This entails abandoning all forms of prejudice, rejecting entirely the odious habit of back-biting, stressing the vital importance of the oneness of mankind, and inculcating the spirit of selfless service”.
It is important that the education and training we provide to our children guide them in their moral empowerment and not just in their intellectual development.
Peace, according to the Bahá’í Writings, “stems from an inner state supported by a spiritual or moral attitude, and it is chiefly in evoking this attitude that the possibility of enduring solutions can be found”.
For feedback please contact: [email protected] [email protected]. or [email protected] Website: www.bahai.org
Online Reporter