Ruhi for non bahá'ís

[Steinninn]

I am going trough the ruhi books for the first time. I'm at the later part of book 2. It's a wonderful experience. All of them, I believe, are bahá'ís, but they say that anyone can take part if they want. So now, in the near future, I hope to bring some of my friends into book 1.

But what do you do when there is something in the book, that they don't agree with? Let's say they are strong catholic, and then book one says that one should not make confessions. If you have the book, this is in the first part, chapter 2, question 6. And then question 7 askes, what should we do instead of making confessions, and I wrote "make accountants of your acts every day" (sounds different in Icelandic, but anyway).

So you see, how can we ask a catholic to answer these questions, should they answer them from the baha'i viewpoint even tough they aren't?

 

[arthra]

Well of ocurse the Ruhi books are based on the Baha'i Writings at least the quotes are and if someone wants to take a Ruhi class they are ostensibly studying the Baha'i Faith... Would a Baha'i attend a Catholic confirmation class? Probably not as we wouldn't aim to be good Catholics..at the same time anyone regardless of religion or not is invited to attend Ruhi classes.

Baha'i Faith is not about clerics of course so things like kissing rings and confessing sins before priests would be "verboten"! We do advocate people ask God to forgive them though:

O Thou Provider, O Thou Forgiver! Grant us Thy grace and loving-kindness, Thy gifts and Thy bestowals, and sustain us, that we may attain our goal. Thou art the Powerful, the Able, the Knower, the Seer; and, verily, Thou art the Generous, and, verily, Thou art the All-Merciful, and, verily, Thou art the Ever-Forgiving, He to Whom repentance is due, He Who forgiveth even the most grievous of sins.

'Abdu'l-Bahá

(Compilations, Baha'i Prayers, p. 22)


- Art

 

[Darz]

I think it explicitly says in the beginning of the Ruhi book not to focus too much on personal opinion. To me it just seems like the Ruhi study courses are exactly like courses in school. Both expect the participants to repeat what is being taught, regardless of their own personal views.

For a Ruhi course to be anything meaningful to a non-Baha'i they should at least have a somewhat in-depth knowledge of the main Baha'i beliefs and the main figures of the Baha'i faith. To go to a Ruhi study course with very little understanding of what the Baha'i faith is wouldn't do much good for them.

 

[Steinninn]

Does anyone know what the word Ruhi means?

Anyway, I think here in Iceland we need more non-baha'is to take part in the study surcle. I heard that's what they did in Italy and many other places.

 

[arthra]

Does anyone know what the word Ruhi means?

Anyway, I think here in Iceland we need more non-baha'is to take part in the study surcle. I heard that's what they did in Italy and many other places.

"Ruhi" is a name and you will find many Baha'is named Ruhi it also mean "Spirit" as in the title of Jesus in the Qur'an Ruh'u'llah Spirit of God.

- Art

 

[Varion Zanzibar]

So you see, how can we ask a catholic to answer these questions, should they answer them from the baha'i viewpoint even tough they aren't?

The name "study circle" already tells a lot. It's a circle, where everybody can say their opinion. However, it's different from an open forum, where there is no structure whatsoever. There are two draw-backs of open forums:

- one person might decide to go on and on and on talking about a specific topic/view.

- there is no curriculum to ensure that a wide range of topics are discussed.

I think there are two reasons why everybody is encouraged to reply according to Baha'i views, and not their own views:

- the books show the Baha'i point of view, and it's important for people to know what IS the Baha'i view, and not just what they THINK the Baha'i view is.

- a lot of the questions in the Ruhi books are to do with quotes from the Baha'i writings. The Word of God has a power of its own on people. For example: "Let deeds, not words, be your adorning". If I know and understand that quote, it will affect me in my daily life.

But there are many levels of understanding... You can understand that men and women are equal, but that's just words. What is your understanding of the equality of man and women in daily life? What is it you do, or you could do, to help it happen? A man can vote for a woman. That would be putting the principle into practise. A woman can choose a career that has a reputation of being masculine (it doesn't have to be heavy work, even being a scientist would do!)

So the Ruhi questions are designed to help you achieve higher levels of understanding of Baha'i concepts, many of which are already widely accepted by Western society.

About the particular question of confession, maybe Catholics don't have to agree, but at least, have they questioned this practise? A lot of people just carry out religious practises because that's what they have been brought up with, not because they think it's right.

 

[Cosmos]

Well, concerning Ruhi Book Courses, we here in my local study group have finished Book 1 and 4, and there are several criticisms that need to be addressed. The valid criticism concerning Ruhi is in how it is formatted, for example, in Book 1 many of the quotes, though morally important and profound, come from Star of the West and are not scriptural. Many of the quotes are also taken out of context as compared to reading the entire page in question--often oriented towards covenant-breaking or the expansion of the Faith. Other flaws are that many aspects of the booklets do not allow for free thought with 'Yes/No' only material that leaves no room for interpretation but much room for need of elaboration.

As a Baha'i who has discovered and researched the Baha'i Faith long before ever knowing of Ruhi courses, I also disagree with the Universal House of Justice's (in Haifa) overemphasis on the book courses and not the bedrock of our core activities, which are devotional and firesides. Christians and Jews have the OT/NT Bible to rely on when they seek advice or knowledge, and the Muslims have access to the Qur'an, so why are Baha'is relying on Ruhi rather than the Holy Scriptures? I believe reading from the actual Sacred Writings is far more valuable and informing than any course "inspired" by the writings themselves.

To be fair as a participant in the courses with Books 2 and 3 on the way, what does seem beneficial and positive in these book courses are the things it teaches non-Baha'is about our faith unintrusively or those who are new adherents but may lack religious knowledge or background. For example, we are "collaborators" assisting one another in learning to become teachers, because the Baha'i Faith not having a clergy class or priestcraft are responsible for becoming educated tutors or teachers to others within and without the Baha'i community. In Third World countries these book courses probably go a long way in tutoring illiterate people and who may not have available means to access literature, let alone the holy texts. Here in the West, particularly in America, this process probably will meet with much apathy and indifference, but we must keep in mind the degenerating influence of national public education on the people which we are not attempting by any means to replace, but to introduce a moral and spiritual education that stimulates creative thought through the "creative word" (i.e. Revelation of God).

So keeping in mind that the booklets are "inspired" by the Sacred Writings we must enact the principles of Independent Investigation of the Truth with a new fresh invigoration. I think what will determine the successful progress of the Ruhi book courses or its uneventful failure in "entry by troops" process in the coming generations is whether or not it can adapt to the diverse circumstances of the Baha'i world community. Much of this is directly dependent upon the commitment of the Baha'is regionally to find new ways of implementing the Ruhi method without relying upon it or turning it into a mechanism for a pseudo-intellectual elite to take advantage of the lack of real study.