A Compilation on Bahai Education Part 9

In this new and wondrous Age, the unshakeable foundation is the teaching of sciences and arts. According to explicit Holy Texts, every child must be taught crafts and arts, to the degree that is needful. Wherefore, in every city and village, schools must be established and every child in that city or village is to engage in study to the necessary degree.

It followeth that whatever soul shall offer his aid to bring this about will a.s.suredly be accepted at the Heavenly Threshold, and extolled by the Company on High.

Since ye have striven hard toward this all important end, it is my hope that ye will reap your reward from the Lord of clear tokens and signs, and that the glances of heavenly grace will turn your way.

("Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha", Sec. 109, pp. 13435) [66]

"67: O ye of high resolve and n.o.ble aims!..."

O ye of high resolve and n.o.ble aims!

Your letter was eloquent, its contents original and sensitively expressed, and it betokened your great and praiseworthy efforts to educate the children, both girls and boys. This is among the most important of all human endeavours. Every possible means of education must be made available to Baha'i children, tender plants of the divine garden, for in this consisteth the illumination of humankind.

Praised be G.o.d, the friends in I_sh_qabad have laid a solid foundation, an una.s.sailable base. It was in the City of Love that the first Baha'i House of Wors.h.i.+p was erected; and today in this city the means for the education of children are also being developed, inasmuch as even during the war years this duty was not neglected, and indeed deficiencies were made up for. Now must ye widen the scope of your endeavours and draw up plans to establish schools for higher education, so that the City of Love will become the Baha'i focal centre for science and the arts. Thanks to the bountiful a.s.sistance of the Blessed Beauty, means for this will be provided.

Devote ye particular attention to the school for girls, for the greatness of this wondrous Age will be manifested as a result of progress in the world of women. This is why ye observe that in every land the world of women is on the march, and this is due to the impact of the Most Great Manifestation, and the power of the teachings of G.o.d.

Instruction in the schools must begin with instruction in religion.

Following religious training, and the binding of the child's heart to the love of G.o.d, proceed with his education in the other branches of knowledge.

(From a Tablet-translated from the Persian) [67]

"68: One of the friends hath sent us a letter regarding the school at..."

One of the friends hath sent us a letter regarding the school at I_sh_qabad, to the effect that, praised be G.o.d, the friends there are now working hard to get the school in order, and have appointed teachers well qualified for their task, and that from this time forward the greatest care will be devoted to the supervision and management of the school.

It is likewise my hope that the favours and bestowals of G.o.d, the bountiful King, will encompa.s.s you, so that the friends may come to excel the others in all things.

One of the most important of undertakings is the education of children, for success and prosperity depend upon service to and wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d, the Holy, the All-Glorified.

Among the greatest of all great services is the education of children, and promotion of the various sciences, crafts and arts. Praised be G.o.d, ye are now exerting strenuous efforts toward this end. The more ye persevere in this most important task, the more will ye witness the confirmations of G.o.d, to such a degree that ye yourselves will be astonished.

This verily is a matter beyond all doubt, a pledge that shall certainly be redeemed.

(From a Tablet-translated from the Persian) [68]

"69: The services ye are rendering in support of the Ta'yid School merit the..."

The services ye are rendering in support of the Ta'yid School merit the highest praise. It is certain that G.o.d in His bounty will send down His manifold, heavenly blessings upon you.

The believers are in duty bound to establish schools where children can acquire knowledge, and since these friends have pledged themselves to make sacrifices in this connection, and are contributing to the support of the Ta'yid School, 'Abdu'l-Baha in all lowliness and submission offereth thanks and praise to the Kingdom of Mysteries. He asketh that bounties will be sent down unto you, and peace of mind, so that ye may succeed in rendering this most laudable service with ease and joy.

O Thou Provider! These souls are doing good. Make them dear to both worlds, make them the recipients of measureless grace. Thou art the Powerful, Thou art the Able, Thou art the Giver, the Bestower, the Incomparable Lord.

(From a Tablet-translated from the Persian) [69]

"70: What thou hadst written as to the school is a cause for great rejoicing,..."

What thou hadst written as to the school is a cause for great rejoicing, and delighteth the heart. The friends one and all were cheered and refreshed by this news.

This school is one of the vital and essential inst.i.tutions which indeed support and bulwark the edifice of humankind. G.o.d willing, it will develop and be perfected along every line. Once this school hath, in every respect, been perfected, once it hath been made to flourish and to surpa.s.s all other schools, then, each following the other, more and more schools must be established.

Our meaning is that the friends must direct their attention toward the education and training of all the children of Persia, so that all of them, having, in the school of true learning, achieved the power of understanding and come to know the inner realities of the universe, will go on to uncover the signs and mysteries of G.o.d, and will find themselves illumined by the lights of the knowledge of the Lord, and by His love.

This truly is the very best way to educate all peoples.

(From a Tablet-translated from the Persian) [70]

"71: Make ye every effort to improve the Tarbiyat School and to develop order..."

Make ye every effort to improve the Tarbiyat School and to develop order and discipline in this inst.i.tution. Utilize every means to make this School a garden of the All-Merciful, from which the lights of learning will cast their beams, and wherein the children, whether Baha'i or other, will be educated to such a degree as to become G.o.d's gifts to man, and the pride of the human race. Let them make the greatest progress in the shortest span of time, let them open wide their eyes and uncover the inner realities of all things, become proficient in every art and skill, and learn to comprehend the secrets of all things even as they are-this faculty being one of the clearly evident effects of servitude to the Holy Threshold.

It is certain that ye will make every effort to bring this about, will also draw up plans for the opening of a number of schools. These schools for academic studies must at the same time be training centres in behaviour and conduct, and they must favour character and conduct above the sciences and arts. Good behaviour and high moral character must come first, for unless the character be trained, acquiring knowledge will only prove injurious. Knowledge is praiseworthy when it is coupled with ethical conduct and virtuous character; otherwise it is a deadly poison, a frightful danger. A physician of evil character, and who betrayeth his trust, can bring on death, and become the source of numerous infirmities and diseases.

Devote ye the utmost attention to this matter, for the basic, the foundation-principle of a school is first and foremost moral training, character and the rectification of conduct.

(From a Tablet-translated from the Persian) [71]

"72: The All-Merciful hath created humankind for the adornment of this..."

The All-Merciful hath created humankind for the adornment of this contingent world, so that men may array the earth with the manifold blessings of Heaven; that the inner reality of the human being may, like unto a lamp of the spirit, cause the community of man to become as a mirror for the a.s.semblage on high.

It is clear that learning is the greatest bestowal of G.o.d; that knowledge and the acquirement thereof is a blessing from Heaven. Thus is it inc.u.mbent upon the friends of G.o.d to exert such an effort and strive with such eagerness to promote divine knowledge, culture and the sciences, that erelong those who are schoolchildren today will become the most erudite of all the fraternity of the wise. This is a service rendered unto G.o.d Himself, and it is one of His inescapable commandments.

Wherefore, O loving friends, strive with heart and soul and strength to make the Tarbiyat School a center of enlightenment, and a well-spring of truth, that the children of G.o.d may s.h.i.+ne with the rays of boundless learning, and that these tender plants of the divine garden may grow and flourish in the grace that showereth down from the clouds of knowledge and true understanding, and advance to such a degree as to astonish the company of those who know.