An overview of the Baha'i Faith, part 3
PART THREE OF THREE PARTS
ADMINISTRATION
The goal of the Baha'i Faith is to foster unity. This is the purpose of the Baha'i administrative system, which is delineated in Baha'i scriptures.
The Baha'i calendar consists of nineteen months of nineteen days (plus several extra days in February to make an even solar year).
Baha'i administration is geographically based: a Baha'i is automatically a member of the Baha'i community in whose area he or she resides.
Baha'is in each community of nine or more annually elect their nine-member administrative body, the local spiritual assembly. The assembly's function is the spiritual well-being and leadership of the community under its jurisdiction.
Baha'i elections are non-political in nature. There is no nomination nor campaigning, and discussion of personalities is forbidden. Each individual, after prayer and meditation, votes by secret ballot for the nine persons he or she believes are best qualified to serve; the nine receiving the most votes are automatically elected. Thus, each person tends to vote for persons he or she personally feels are qualified, and those so considered by the greatest number of persons tend to be elected.
In case of a tie, the position automatically goes to the minority individual (the definition of "minority" varies according to locale). If no minority is represented among those tying, or if there is uncertainty about whether the minority rule applies, a run-off vote takes place among those tying.
Because individuals have neither the right to "run for office," nor--except for reasons of ill health--to refuse to serve once elected, the divisiveness of conventional politics is eliminated. Further, elected individuals have no special status; they are "just Baha'is." It is only the assemblies themselves, meeting officially, that have authority, not the individuals on them.
Also, once elected, assemblies are not answerable to their communities for assembly decisions. This, with the secret ballot and lack of campaigning, eliminates the "I voted for you: now, here's what I want you to do for me" syndrome. (Of course, any assembly member abusing nonanswerability tends not to get reelected.)
On the first day of each month, the Baha'is of each community gather for the Nineteen Day Feast. The feast has three parts: prayers and readings, community business, and refreshments and fellowship. The feast is the primary gathering in Baha'i communities, and is the main opportunity for the assembly and the community to consult together. Baha'is have no rituals nor ceremonies, but the feast is the nearest analogy to the service in Judaeo-Christian faiths.
Like local assemblies, national spiritual assemblies are elected annually. (Local districts elect delegates who in turn vote for the national assembly; any Baha'i in the national area is eligible for election.) National assemblies have jurisdiction over their assigned areas (which sometimes cover less or more than a single country, depending on geography and the number of Baha'is residing in a region).
Every five years, the national assemblies elect the nine-member Universal House of Justice, the supreme administrative body of the Baha'i Faith.
Some countries (the US, Canada, the Philippines, and India are several) also have state or regional Baha'i councils; these are elected by the local spiritual assembles of that area and serve as an intermediary administrative level between local and national assemblies.
As mentioned above, no elected member of an administrative body has any special status. A few especially gifted and learned Baha'is are appointed as members of the Hands of the Cause of God or Continental Counselors. They advise the elected bodies, but have no administrative power. Thus, positions of renown and positions of power are separate.
The Baha'i Faith is funded entirely by voluntary, confidential contributions. Donating is a privilege reserved to members; non-members are not permitted to give to Baha'i funds.
There are currently over six million Baha'is worldwide, in every country on earth plus 49 significant islands and territories, with over 165 national spiritual assemblies; there are about 20,000 local spiritual assemblies. There are over 2,100 tribes and ethnic groups represented in the Faith, and Baha'i literature has been translated into 802 languages.
National spiritual assemblies currently manage over 900 development projects, the majority being grassroots efforts with little or no outside funding. These include activities in health and social services, communications, agriculture and forestry, and community development projects such as medical centers, women's programs, credit unions, building renovation, cooperative fishing, and homes for refugees and for the aged. There are more than 500 tutorial schools and training centers in Africa, Asia, and the Americas; Baha'i communities operate 29 formal primary and secondary schools.
Since 1947, the Baha'i International Community has had consultative status as a non-governmental organization with several agencies of the United Nations. We have seats on the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), UNICEF, UNIFEM (the Women's Development Agency, and UNEP (the U.N. Environmental Program), and work closely with the U.N. information office. Baha'is have played major roles in various UN activities, such as the Earth Summit and the International Conference on Women.
The purpose of humankind--the reason we were created--is twofold:
- as individuals, to acquire the spiritual attributes we'll need both here and in the next world
- and in aggregate, to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.
And the purpose of religion is to show us how to go about this!
In the past, ... spiritual teachings have been concerned primarily with individual actions--or with the harmony of relatively small groups of people. Moral concern has likewise focused mostly on individual behavior: do not steal; do not lie; love your neighbor.
Today, our understanding of spirituality must embrace not only personal and group life, but also the collective progress of humanity as a whole. Indeed, it is only because the human race has at last entered on its age of maturity that the age-old prophecies of an era of peace and justice can now be fulfilled.
from _The Baha'is_,
an overview published by the Baha'i
International Community
From the Baha'i scriptures:
O SON OF MAN!
Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not, wherefore fearest thou thy perishing? Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished, why dost thou dread extinction? Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn. Abide then in thy love for Me, that thou mayest find Me in the realm of glory.
[_The Hidden Words_]
The above is just an overview. For more information, please visit:
www.bahai.org or
www.usbnc.org
or for many linked Baha'i sites:
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1049/ring.html
To see our scriptures and related materials, including our Peace Statement, Race Unity Statement, and Destiny of America statement:
www.bahai-library.org
www.bahaistudy.org
www.reference.bahai.org
For information on how the Baha'i Faith has fulfilled prophecies:
http://bci.org/prophecy-fulfilled/
To download and view Baha'i videos:
http://www.us.bahai.org/media/index.html
For information on the upcoming Baha'i Arts Festival in New York City this June, including a concert by the 550-singer Voices of Baha choir in Carnegie Hall:
www.global-music.org
You may often find "Baha'i Faith" listings in the White Pages of your phone book.
In the USA, you can also phone 1-800-22UNITE for free information and literature, and--if you like--find out where the nearest Baha'is are.
I hope this helped and been of interest.
Regards!
Bruce
