Portal:What Bahá’ís do
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Bahá’ís have responsibility both as individuals and as members of their community. As individuals we are charged with deepening our spiritual understanding, remaining steadfast in our commitments to the Faith and ensuring our conduct is reflective of the Bahá’í teachings. As members of the community we can, depending on the community and culture around us, participate in the activities that are outlined below.
A pivotal concept in the Bahá’í teachings is that the refinement of one’s inner character and service to humanity are inseparable facets of life. In light of this, Bahá’ís have come to appreciate the operation of a two-fold purpose that is fundamental to their lives: to attend to their own spiritual and intellectual growth and to contribute to the transformation of society.
Prayer is integral to Bahá’í life, whether at the level of the individual, the community, or the institutions. Bahá’ís turn their hearts in prayer to God repeatedly throughout the day. In addition, meetings commonly begin and end with prayers. Bahá’ís also host gatherings in which friends, Bahá’ís and others alike, unite together in prayer, often in one another’s homes. Devotional meetings such as these serve to awaken spiritual susceptibilities within the participants, and in concert with the acts of service they perform, lead to a pattern of community life that is infused with the spirit of devotion and focused on the attainment of spiritual and material prosperity. The integration of devotion and service finds expression in the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. The structure comprises a central building that forms the focal point of worship in a geographical area, and dependencies dedicated to the provision of education, healthcare and other services concerned with the social and economic progress of the community.
The family unit is the nucleus of human society. It provides a vital setting for the development of praiseworthy qualities and capacities. Through its harmonious functioning and the development and maintenance of the bonds of love that join together its members, it gives constant expression to the truth that the well-being of the individual is inextricably bound to the progress and well-being of others. A fundamental role of the family is to raise children who can assume responsibility for both their own spiritual growth and their participation in the advancement of civilization.
Youth have played a vital role in Bahá’í history. The Báb Himself declared His mission when He was but twenty-five years old and so many among the band of His followers were in the prime of their youth when they embraced His Revelation. During the ministries of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, young people were at the forefront of efforts to proclaim the message of the new Faith and to share its teachings with others. Following in the path that these and other extraordinary figures had opened, thousands of young Bahá’ís have arisen in each generation to respond to the call of Bahá’u’lláh.
The gradual development of the Bahá’í community’s administrative structures and the refinement of its associated processes are areas that have received significant attention since the inception of the Bahá’í Faith. The energy that Bahá’ís devote to enhancement of institutional capacity is not motivated simply by a wish to increase the efficiency with which the Bahá’í community’s own affairs are managed. They recognize in this development a necessary contribution to the pattern of a new social order envisaged by Bahá’u’lláh, to the new ways that a mature humanity will attend to its political, social, and cultural affairs.
Bahá’u’lláh counselled His followers: “Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and centre your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.” As such, Bahá’ís throughout the world—both individually and collectively—strive to become involved in the life of society, working shoulder to shoulder with divers groups to contribute to the advancement of material and spiritual civilization. |
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