Fundamental Verities of the Baha'i Faith

“Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I give Thee thanks inasmuch as Thou hast called me into being in Thy days, and infused into me Thy love and Thy knowledge. I beseech Thee, by Thy name whereby the goodly pearls of Thy wisdom and Thine utterance were brought forth out of the treasuries of the hearts of such of Thy servants as are nigh unto Thee, and through which the Day-Star of Thy name, the Compassionate, hath shed its radiance upon all that are in Thy heaven and on Thy earth, to supply me, by Thy grace and bounty, with Thy wondrous and hidden bounties. 

These are the earliest days of my life, O my God, which Thou hast linked with Thine own days. Now that Thou hast conferred upon me so great an honor, withhold not from me the things Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones. 

I am, O my God, but a tiny seed which Thou hast sown in the soil of Thy love, and caused to spring forth by the hand of Thy bounty. This seed craveth, therefore, in its inmost being, for the waters of Thy mercy and the living fountain of Thy grace. Send down upon it, from the heaven of Thy loving-kindness, that which will enable it to flourish beneath Thy shadow and within the borders of Thy court. Thou art He Who watereth the hearts of all that have recognized Thee from Thy plenteous stream and the fountain of Thy living waters. 

Praised be God, the Lord of the worlds.”
{Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers Meditations, p. 178}
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 “Consolidation must comprise not only the establishment of Bahá’í administrative institutions, but a true deepening in the fundamental verities of the Cause and in its spiritual principles, understanding of its prime purpose in the establishment of the unity of mankind, instruction in its standards of behavior in all aspects of private and public life, in the particular practice of Bahá’í life in such things as daily prayer, education of children, observance of the laws of Bahá’í marriage, abstention from politics, the obligation to contribute to the Fund, the importance of the Nineteen Day Feast, and opportunity to acquire a sound knowledge of the present-day practice of Bahá’í administration.”
{The Universal House of Justice Ridvan message of 1966}
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 “Systematic attention has to be given by Bahá’í institutions to training a significant number of believers and assisting them in serving the Cause according to their God-given talents and capacities…The purpose of such training is to endow ever-growing contingents of believers with the spiritual insights, the knowledge, and the skills needed to carry out…teaching and deepening of a large number of people - adults, youth and children. This purpose can best be achieved through well-organized, formal programmes consisting of courses that follow appropriately designed curricula.”
{The Universal House of Justice Dec 23, 1995--Message to the Continental Board of Counsellors}

This material was developed by:

Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Ridgewood
675 Eastern Court, Ridgewood New Jersey 07450-3510 
{201}652-6385

This material has been reviewed by:

Ahdieh, Tahereh			Auxillary Board Member
Fisher, Betty				BW, Baha'i Publishing Trust
Johnson, Barbara			National Education Taskforce
Khazamzedeh, Alegra		National Teaching Ccommittee
Penn, Kathy				National Education Taskforce
Smith, Peter				Counselor
Spenner, Dale			Baha'i Publishing Trust
Steinhauer, Helene		Baha'i Publishing Trust

Contents of this Syllabus
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Ridgewood, New Jersey
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Module #1

					page

Topics :			1.1

	  Knowledge, Volition, Action

	 Covenants of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Definitions :		1.3

	  Action, Arc, Ark, Attributes of God, Principles of the Bahá’í Faith, 
		Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh, God, Kingdoms of God, Knowledge
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Module #2

					page

Topics :			2.1

	  Bahá’u’lláh - Introduction to His Writings : 
		Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings, 
		Kitab-i-Aqdas, Hidden Words, Tablets of Tarazat (Ornaments), 
		Kalimat (Words of Paradise), Tajalliyyat (Effulgences), 
		Ishraqat (Splendours), and Bisharat (Glad Tidings)

Additional References :	

	 Authenticity of Some Well-Known Prayers & 'Tablets'	2.5
	
	  Laws not binding on the Western Believers at the present time	2.7
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Module #3

					page

Topics :			3.1

	  Progressive Revelation

	  Station of the Central Figures 

	  Geography Pertinent to Bahá’í History

Definitions :

	 Covenant-breaker, Guardian, Interpretation, Interpreter,	3.2
		Manifestation, Progressive Revelation, Unity of God, 

	 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, The Báb, 	3.7
		Bahá’u’lláh, Bayíyyih Khánum, Khadíjih-Bagum, Mírzá Mihdí, 
		Munírih Khánum, Mulla Husayn-i-Bushrú’í, Navváb, Quddus, 
		Shoghi Effendi, Táhirih

	 Máh-Kú, Chihríq, Tabarsí, Síyáh-Chál, Baghdád, 	3.16
		Ridván Garden, Adrianople, Akká, Haifa, Mount Carmel, 
		Mount Carmel Prophesy
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Module #4 

					page

Topics :			4.1

	  Institution of the Learned, Systematic Plans, 
		Tablets of the Divine Plan

	  Institution of the Rulers, Election process, Convention

	  Elements of Bahá’í History

Definitions:

	  Institution of the Learned & Tablets of the Divine Plan: 	4.3
		Assistants to the Auxiliary Board, Auxiliary Board, 
		Continental Board of Counsellors, Guardian, 
		Hand of the Cause of God, Learned, Tablets of the Divine Plan

	  Institution of the Rulers & the Election Process:	4.8
 		Convention, Election, House of Justice, Local Spiritual Assembly, 
		National Spiritual Assembly, Rulers, Universal House of Justice

	  Elements of Bahá’í History:	4.13
		Age, Bahá’í Cycle, Bahá’í Era, Epoch

Additional References :

	  Cycles / Eras / Ages / Epochs of the Bahá’í Faith	4.15

	  Hands of the Cause of God 	4.18

	  Members of the Universal House of Justice	4.20

	  Story of Hand of the Cause of God Ismu'lláhu'l-Asdaq	4.21
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Module #5 

					page

Topics :			5.1

	  Prayer

	  Fasting

	  Standards of Behavior

	  Unity
 
	  Life after Death, the Soul, Heaven and Hell

Definitions:		5.2

	  Alláh-u-Abhá, Backbiting, Burial, Chastity, Clergy, Death, 
		Drugs and Alcohol, Fast, Heaven & Hell, Meditation, Military, 
		Politics, Prayer, Resurrection, Sex, Soul, Unity, Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá
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Module #6 

					page

Topics :			6.1

	  Consultation 

	  Marriage

Definitions :		6.2

	  Chastity, Consultation, Engagement, Marriage, Year of Patience
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Module #7 

					page

Topics :			7.1

	  Bahá’í Calendar

	  Holy Days

	  19 Day Feast

Definitions :		7.3

	  Ascension ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Ascension Bahá’u’lláh, Ayyám-i-Há, 
		Calendar, Declaration of the Báb, Feast ( Nineteen Day Feast) , 
		Martyrdom of the Báb, Naw Rúz, Ridván Festival, Work is Forbidden
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Module #8 

					page

Topics :			8.1

	  Teaching the Faith

	  Pioneering

Definitions :		8.2

	  Consolidation, Declaration, Deepening, Enrollment, Expansion,
		Fireside, Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, Martyrdom, Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, 
		Pilgrimage, Pioneer, Proclamation, Prosletyzing, Teaching, 
		Teaching Institutes, True Seeker, Youth Year of Service
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Module #9 

					page

Topics :			9.1

	  Education of children

Definitions :		9.2

	  Core Curriculum, Nature of Education
		Universal Education, Family

Additional References :

	  Why Age 15 - the Age of Maturity - 	9.6
			an Article in the American Bahá’í 1993

	  Responsibility of Parents, Feast, Spiritual Maturity - 	9.8
			1982 by the Universal House of Justice

	  Youth service on Institutions - 	9.9
			Shoghi Effendi in Directives of the Guardian

	  Letter to Youth 1992 by the Universal House of Justice	9.10
	
	  Letter to Youth 1985 by the Universal House of Justice	9.11
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Module #10 

					page

Topics :			10.1

	  Race Unity

Definitions :		10.2

	  Most Vital and Challenging Issue , Justice, Prejudice, Race, 
		 Racism,Vision of Race Unity

	  Louis Gregory	10.5

Additional References :

	  Timeline of Bahá’í Race Unity Events	10.7
	  100 Title Expanded Reading List On Race Unity	10.9
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Module #11 

					page

Topics :			11.1

	  Equality of Men and Women

Definitions :		11.2

	  Equality of men and women, Women

	  Martha Root
=====================================================================Module #12 

					page

Topics :			12.1

	  The Bahá’í Funds

	  Huqúqu'lláh

	  Universal Participation

Definitions :		12.2

	  Funds, Huqúqu'lláh, Sacrifice, Universal Participation
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Additional Resources

					page

	  Bibliography	13.1

	  Timeline of the Bahá’í Faith	14.1

	  “Spiritual Growth, a 6 Point Plan” 	15.1
			by the Universal House of Justice	

	  “Humanity’s Coming Encounter with Bahá’u’lláh” 	16.1
			by Douglas Martin
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