In part I of the healing of the world, I wrote on the need to take care of oneself and to use the spiritual practices of prayer and meditation to remain anchored at the turbulent time, and in part II, the theme was to collaborate with others and the efforts that the Baha’is make to reach the community in the broad sense.
In this last installation, I want to share some of the things that the Baha’i community has done internally and how, perhaps, we can offer a model to others.
In three days, local Baha’is, as well as thousands of Baha’i communities around the world, will eliminate their local guiding bodies or their assemblies. These administrative organizations are made up of nine adults at least 21 years old. At no level, local, national or international-the authority rest in a single individual; It’s still in the group. Local and national assemblies are elected each year and the international director organ, known as Universal House of Justice, is elected every five years.
The Baha’i government, like that of our country, is a democracy. But there, the similarity stops. In the Baha’i community, nobody is nominated, no one presents itself to their functions, there is no selection and none of these irritating political ads! Very simply, if you are a baha’i at least 21 years old, your name is on the ballot for your locality. The electorate is made up of all those in the community who are 18 years old or over. In the case of national assemblies, the electorate is made up of elected delegates of each electoral district, and in the case of the Universal Chamber of Justice, the members of the national assemblies are the voters.
It is not an accident that the Baha’i elections take place at the start of the Holy Lest of the Baha’i year: the twelve-day period called Ridvan (ground floor) which marks the stay of Baha’u’llah in the garden of Ridvan before his last ban on sacred land. Ridvan means “paradise”, by the way. The elections take place at this time to highlight their sacred nature. Indeed, the Baha’i voters are invited to approach this sacred duty with an attitude of prayer. They should “turn completely to God and with a purity of reason, freedom of mind and holiness of heart, participate in the elections”. In addition, they are invited to vote for those who present “… altruistic devotion, a well -formed spirit, a recognized capacity and a mature experience.” These elected members do not hold neither a rank nor special privilege in the community and they only work as the guiding body when they really really be as such. They should consider themselves as humble servants of their community.
One of the basic processes by which these elected assemblies operate is called the consultation. Baha’i consultation, however, is not only discussion. He freely offers his opinion to the group, how it belongs to the group and not to the one who offered it. Thus, once an opinion is offered by someone, this person is not necessary to defend it. The ego must be put aside and everyone must diligently seek the right decision. After a consultation “impartial, anxious and cordial”, and after turning to God in prayer, the assembly arrives at a decision. A unanimous decision is, of course, preferable, but if that does not happen, the majority decision prevails and everything must respect. In this way, if the decision turns out to be defective, it will become apparent and can be revised.
The Baha’i administrative system is still in its infancy and assemblies learn to operate effectively. They are intended to evolve in local and national courts of justice, and to help users in the era of the world unit.
Nancy Flood-Golembeck is a retired teacher and longtime member of the Baha’i faith. In addition to serving in the local director Baha’i, she is currently writing a dissertation.