One of the themes of many messages from Universal House of Justice is
for us, the believers, to find our path of service, a way to engage to in
building a neighborhood and become the catalyst of change in society. A similar
divine guidance echoed through the words of Abdu'l-Baha, hundred years ago when he travelled
in North America. He said: through Philanthropic deeds, one can obtain “merciful
gifts and powers.”
A quick study
shows that the human spirit of helping our brothers and sisters is alive and
healthy. Look beyond the headlines and you will find a mighty river of
generosity flowing towards the needy, poor and sick and filling their hearts
with hope. It is happening in places close to home and in the far corners of
the world. The philanthropic movement is
so vast and enduring that it boggles the minds of most pessimists. The wealthy,
poor and educated are all part of this phenomenon. Baha’is can connect with these like-minded
citizens in building a new world order.
Devotion
The fruits of the tree of man have ever been and are goodly deeds and a praiseworthy character. (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 25) |
When asked by an American friend: "Which is the best way to spread the teaching?" he said: "By deeds. This way is open to all, and deeds are understood by all. Join yourselves to those who work for the poor, the weak and the unfortunate; this is greatly to be commended. To teach by words requires the skill of a wise physician. (Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 98) |
Deeper Learning
The carrying out of philanthropic
deeds is the fourth way to obtain “merciful gifts and powers” in our awesome
spiritual journey. Let’s start with deeds. What is a deed? It’s an act of doing
something, like performing a task or achieving a goal in a measurable, concrete
way. Through such actions, whether they are daily chores, service to others,
work or whatever you may decide to do, your character is reflected through the
deeds you perform. If you simply do or say nothing, no one will know, including
yourself, your true capacities. When we do things well, it gives us confidence,
stored in the psyche, thus becoming a treasure house of experience. More
importantly, our deeds can serve as a measurement of our own capacities. And,
if we fail, it is also considered a good thing, as it gives us opportunities to
improve our skills. Just imagine a one-year old learning how to walk. At first
the child may hold an adult’s hand or hang on-to furniture as she tries to
walk. The moment of success is when she achieves balance and strength and is
able to confidently stand on her own. Overall, following this same principal,
this process is the only way to increase our own self-knowledge. Deeds do not happen
in isolation; they are a part of a combination of other inner aspects of our
being, three of which—knowledge, love and faith—we have dealt with in previous
blog posts.
The next example illustrates this
point. Let’s suppose you want to learn how to swim, which I did when I was
forty years old. Let’s first assume that you are in good health with enough
strength in your arms and legs to power your movement in water. You will also
need love for water and an attraction to become a swimmer. Another important
element is faith in yourself that you will be able to learn this new interest
in your life. Armed with desire to learn something new, the next step would be
to educate yourself, such as reading books on the subject and investigating
possible venues and costs for swimming lessons. The crucial step is to get in
the water, and ultimately there is no other way to begin to learn. The first
time you jump into the pool, you will quickly realize that swimming is not
easy. With practice and perseverance, you learn how to float, breath properly
and move your arms and legs such that all work in concert propelling the body
forward for a long period of time. In this simple example, knowledge, love,
faith and action all come together and through them you create a successful
experience in whatever you do.
Let’s look at another example.
Terry Fox, a Canadian suffering from bone cancer, decided to embark upon a
unique challenge. On April 12th, 1980, he, after dipping his artificial foot into the
Atlantic Ocean, started his “Marathon of Hope.” With one strong leg and the
other, a prosthetic, limping along the way, his aim was to cross the vast
continent of North America coast to coast in order to raise about twenty-four
million dollars. On average, he walked about forty-eight kilometers a day. His
brother, who accompanied him, could not believe how he managed. Terry was in
constant pain, yet he kept moving forward. It was his spirit of hope and faith
in finding the cure for cancer that kept him going. After 5373 kilometers, halfway
across his journey, the cancer spread to his lungs, cutting short his life and
his goal. His spirit, however, stayed forever.
Today, his heroic perseverance is commemorated through numerous awards,
research grants, and an annual fund-raising run held in 60 countries in his
name. His short life, filled with sacrifice, courage, and a good attitude was
an inspiration to millions. With love for others and faith in himself, he
started a journey of hope. Terry Fox recreated himself from being doomed to die,
one month short of his twenty-third birthday, to becoming a vision of hope to
others.
Terry Fox is a great example of
how, when moved by the spirit, physical discomfort cannot prevent us from doing
extraordinary things. Actions speak louder than words. In the Bahá’í Faith,
idle talk is very much discouraged. Prayers and meditation alone are not enough
to discover the true self; one has to put oneself in action. Bahá’u’lláh gives
a stern warning about lack of action in one’s life with these words:
“The essence of
faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his
deeds, know verily his death is better than his life.” (Báhá’u’lláh, Tablets of
Báhá’u’lláh, p. 156)
In the Báhá’i Faith, deeds are
elevated to a much higher purpose. One must not only help oneself and ones
immediate family, but have a world consciousness. This means regarding humanity
as a global family and taking responsibility for being a member of this family.
In our planet of billions of people, our good deeds can extend to any
continent, wherever there is a need. This openness is another great phenomena
of the age we live in.
Reflection
Have you noticed that at younger
age we are eager to try new things? But as we grow older the enthusiasm for new
adventure diminishes. What are some of the obstacles? Could it be fear of
failure or lack of skills?
Deeds (path of service)
Since we are dealing with deeds, I
skipped this section.
Previous post links are:
http://3-d-project.blogspot.ca/2013/04/theme-spirit-of-faith-part-ii.htmlhttp://3-d-project.blogspot.ca/2013/03/theme-spirit-of-faith-part-i_28.html
http://3-d-project.blogspot.ca/2013/03/theme-love-of-god-part-iii.html
