Ruhi Book 1: Reflections on the Life of the Spirit
Course Outline
[course outline from ruhiresources.org]
Reflections on the Life of the Spirit is the first in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Bahá’í Community with efficiency and love. It provides insight into spiritual matters, imparts knowledge of the Faith, and helps develop skills and human resources for Service.
This course has three main purposes for the participants:
- understanding the Bahá’í Writings in order to fulfill the obligation of studying the Writings every day
- developing the required attitudes toward prayer, and acquiring the habit of memorizing them
- understanding that the true significance of life is to be found in the development of the soul
Unit 1: Understanding the Bahá’í Writings
Purpose: To develop the capacity to read the Bahá’í Writings and to meditate on their meaning in order to fulfill the obligation of studying the Writings every day.
Practice: Read daily, in the morning and the evening, some of the Writings of the Faith.
Excerpted from "To the Collaborators": This section's purpose is to develop in the participants the habit of reading the Writings and thinking about them, beginning at first with one-sentence statements. To read the Holy Writings every day, at least in the morning and at night, is one of the very important ordinances of our Faith. But reading the Writings is not the same as reading the thousands of pages that a literate person sees during a lifetime. To read the Sacred Word is to drink from the ocean of Divine Revelation. It leads to true spiritual understanding and generates forces that are necessary for the progress of the soul. In order to reach true understanding, however, one must think deeply about the meaning of each statement and its application in one's own life and in the life of society.
Unit 2: Prayer
Purpose: To understand the importance of daily prayer and to develop the required attitudes of prayer. To memorize five prayers and understand their meaning.
Practice: Visit at least two Bahá’ís and study a prayer with them.
Excerpted from "To the Collaborators": This sections reflects on three principal objectives. The first is to clarify the concept of prayer itself and to help the participants understand its great importance as one of the laws of this Dispensation. In order to achieve this objective, it is sometimes necessary to dissipate doubts and carefully examine ideas that may have their roots in erroneous interpretations of the past. Above all, this objective implies clear understanding of the necessity to observe this law, a need that is no less essential than that of nourishing our bodies every day. Beyond observing the law of prayer, each person must feel a profound desire to pray. Therefore, the second objective of this course is to awaken in participants the desire to "converse with God" and to feel the joy of being near to Him. Moreover, from an early age, everyone should develop spiritual habits; the habit of praying daily is among the most important of these. The third objective of the course concerns the attitudes with which prayer should be approached...the attitudes of heart and mind that help one enter the state of prayer, and to the conditions that should be created in one's surroundings at the time of prayer.
Unit 3: Life and Death
Purpose: To understand that life is not the changes and chances of this world, and its true significance is found in the development of the soul. True life, the life of the soul, occurs in this world for a brief time and continues eternally in other worlds of God.
Excerpted from "To the Collaborators": The theme of life and death has been included in the first book of the Institute's program because it is considered essential for participants' understanding of the paths of service they will choose to follow. Service in this world has to be understood in the fullest context of life which extends beyond our earthy existence and continues forever as our souls progress through the worlds of God.
1. How life begins and what is death.
- The soul is a spiritual entity, created by God
- The soul and the body, together, constitute the human being.
- Death is just a change of condition; afterward the soul progresses eternally.
2. The purpose of our lives.
- The purpose of life is to know God and to attain His presence.
- One who recognizes the Manifestation draws near to God, and one who rejects Him condemns himself to a life of misery and remoteness from God.
- Just as in the womb of the mother one acquires the powers needed for this world, so in this world should we acquire the powers needed for the next world.
3. The nature of the soul.
- The soul is a sign of God.
- A soul which is faithful to God will reflect His light and be drawn to Him.
- Worldly attachments and vain desires impede the soul's flight towards To and finally make it weak and impotent.
- God has bestowed on man the capacity to reflect all His names and attributes.
4. The need for the Manifestation of God as the Universal Educator.
- The capacities of the human being are latent; they can only be developed with the help of the Manifestation of God.
- To know the Manifestation of God is to know God.
- Through spiritual education, the treasures hidden within us can be revealed.
5. The condition of the soul after death.
- The faithful soul will attain a sublime position and eternal happiness, but the unfaithful soul will recognize its loss and be consumed in eternal remorse.
- No one knows his own end; therefore, we should forgive others and not feel superior towards them.
- In the next world, the holy souls become acquainted with all mysteries and behold the beauty of God.
- In the next world, we will recognize our loved ones and enjoy companionship with the friends of God; we will remember the life we had in this material world.
6. The appropriate attitude towards the present conditions in our lives.
- Nothing should sadden us in this world, because days of blissful joy await us.
Ruhi Book 2: Arising to Serve
Course Outline
[course outline from ruhiresources.org]
Arising to Serve is the second in a course sequence designed to raise up human resources capable of fostering the growth of the Bahá’í Community with efficiency and love. The units of the Ruhi Institute aim, in their entirety, at achieving three overall objectives: providing insights into spiritual matters, imparting knowledge about the Faith, and helping to develop specific acts of service. The units of Book 1 basically seek to help the students gain insights into certain spiritual matters. Book 2 is largely concerned with skills and abilities for specific acts of service.
Unit 1: The Joy of Teaching
Purpose: To understand that the joy of teaching is in the very act of sharing with others the Word of God, independent of immediate results.
Excerpted from "To the Collaborators": The first unit of this book, "The Joy of Teaching", tries to convey the implications of [joy in the act of teaching itself]....The sequence of ideas presented in the unit is as follows:
1. When we teach the Cause we partake of a special blessing -- that of sharing with others the Word of God revealed by Baha'u'llah. This blessing fills us with profound spiritual joy.
2. Baha'u'llah's Revelation can be compared to an ocean in the depths of which lie pearls of divine guidance. We should make every effort to reach the shores of this ocean and to receive its benefits.
3. The ocean of Baha'u'llah's Revelation is astonishingly near to us. If we but wish it, we can reach its shore in the twinkling of an eye.
4. Having received the bounty of recognizing Baha'u'llah, we wish to share the pearls of divine guidance contained in His Revelation with others. In doing so, we use the power of His own Word; it alone can transform the hearts of men.
5. Of all the activities that occupy us in our daily lives, those that involve sharing the Words of God with others are special.
6. The joy that fills our hearts when we teach the Cause comes from the act of teaching itself - sharing with others the Word of God revealed by Bahá’u’lláh. Being concerned with other things, such as praise and recognition, spoils this joy. Detachment is a requirements of joyful teaching.
7. We must also be willing to exert effort and make sacrifices. We should remember that, in doing so, we are gaining spiritual happiness and furthering our spiritual progress. Sacrifice involves renouncing that which is lower for that which is higher. Though it entails pain, it is reality the bearer of joy.
Unit 2: Deepening Themes
Purpose: To develop the capacity of making periodic visits to the homes of newly enrolled believers and sharing with them a number of deepening themes.
Practice: Visit a few families and study with them at least the first three themes presented in this unit.
Excerpted from "To the Collaborators": The first act of service is introduced in the second unit of the book, "Deepening Themes", which is designed to help the students develop the capacity of making periodic visits to the homes of newly enrolled believers and sharing with them a number of themes — the Eternal Covenant of God, the life of Bahá’u’lláh, love and unity in the Bahá’í community, Bahá’í meetings and the Nineteen Day Feast, the significance of contributing to the Fund, and teaching the Cause.... When the Ruhi Institute first began offering the content of what is now the second unit of this book, it was noticed that some of the participants would continue visiting families, sharing deepening themes with them, while others soon lost enthusiasm. Many consultative meetings were held to try to discover the reason. As a result, it was realized that the main difference lied in the believers' relative consciousness of the source of the joy one derives from teaching the Faith. Those who found satisfaction in momentary excitement, or sought recognition or praise for what they did, would usually not persevere in their efforts. The friends who were consistently visiting families found joy in the act of teaching itself.
Unit 3: Introducing Bahá’í Beliefs
Purpose: To acquire the ability to introduce Bahá’í ideas into a conversation.
Excerpted from "To the Collaborators": The third unit of this book, "Introducing Bahá’í Beliefs", is concerned with some of the skills related to teaching the Cause. As one gains experience in teaching the Faith, one acquires a number of skills and abilities. At a first simple level, this unit is concerned with helping the students develop the ability to introduce Bahá’í ideas into a conversation. To do this, the unit presents them with a number of short passages on various subjects, which, though not exact quotations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, are based on His talks and Tablets and contain many of the words and phrases He used.... It is hoped that, by studying these passages, the participants will develop a pattern of thinking in harmony with the Teachings. This unit should help them acquire the habit of looking towards ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's mode of expression as the example of how to teach the Faith. Again, as with the second unit, putting their new skills into practice will be an essential component in the students' learning process.
