Tinaye Agere
Flora Teckie
A Bahá’í Perspective
To be of service to others, with pure intentions, immensely enriches our own lives and is instrumental to both personal and social transformation.
Purity of heart, dedication in serving our fellow human beings, obedience to divine commands and willingness to sacrifice for the common good are magnets attracting the grace of God.
According to the Bahá’í Writings: “Service is the magnet which attracts the heavenly strength.”
Serving humanity is one of the tools for spiritual growth and is instrumental in personal transformation.
Aside from the positive results for those helped, serving others with pure intentions also immensely enriches our own lives.
It is an honour to devote our energies to the education, development and well-being of others.
In the Bahá’í view, service gives meaning, purpose and stimulus to life.
The Bahá’í Writings state: “… is there any deed in the world that would be nobler than service to the common good? Is there any greater blessing conceivable for a man than that he should become the cause of the education, the development, the prosperity and honour of his fellow creatures? No, by the Lord God! The highest righteousness of all is for blessed souls to take hold of the hands of the helpless … and with pure motives, and only for the sake of God, to arise and energetically devote themselves to the service of the masses, forgetting their own worldly advantage and working only to serve the general good.”
Promoting the best interests of humanity
Humanity has now reached a new level of maturity.
It is now possible to create societies founded upon cooperation, trust and genuine concern for one another.
The Bahá’í Writings say: “It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action … That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race. The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth.”
One of the basic choices that we must make in life is in changing our lives from being predominately self-interested to one of sharing and service to others.
In order to create a better and peaceful world civilisation, based on principles of justice, prosperity and continuing advancement, individuals need to be empowered to express their God-given talents and capacities in service to humanity.
Cultivating capacity to transform communities
A new paradigm advanced by the Bahá’í Faith focusses on cultivating capacity in individuals to participate in their own spiritual and intellectual development that leads to personal transformation.
In addition, it is intended to empower individuals to bring about constructive social change in their communities.
Acquiring knowledge and insight into the holy writings is used as the first step towards personal transformation, as studying the creative word of God in depth helps the individual to obtain a more adequate understanding of God’s revelation, as well as translate these teachings into reality.
The knowledge acquired is then applied to effect individual and collective transformation.
Such programmes try to build capacity for service by concentrating on the application of the spiritual insights gained through profound study of the holy writings.
Such a study is combined with some form of service to the community.
Combining study and service to others helps greatly in understanding of the holy writings in terms of both individual and social transformation, because in the field of service, knowledge is tested, questions arise out of practice and new levels of understanding are achieved.
New work ethic based on serving humanity
The Bahá’í Writings elevate work done in the spirit of service to humanity to the rank of worship.
According to the Bahá’í Writings: “Work is worship when performed in a spirit of service and can secure the means of existence with dignity and honour.”
There is a need to foster a new work ethic, based on a spirit of service to others, including one’s family, neighbours, community and nation, as well as provide the practical means for its expression in the education process through service-oriented programmes.
A service ethic produces superior workers.
Both the responsibility and the right to work are sacred.
It is important to educate our children in the principle of service to humanity. This will arouse and maintain motivation, and when this is coupled with the acquisition of practical skills and technology, it will open many possibilities for development and advancement in our societies.
The Bahá’í Writings say: “That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race. The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth.”
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