The Sunday Mail
A Bahá’í Perspective
Flora Teckie
Once more the world marked the International Day of Peace on September 21, thus the need to reflect on the progress made, and what role the family has in promoting peace.
The family lays the foundation for both, the individual’s development and happiness, as well as society’s cohesion and advancement. Education required for promoting peace must begin in the family, where children from the earliest age learn about the fundamental oneness of humanity and overcoming prejudices that divide us – whether based on race, religion, gender, class, or nationality.
The Bahá’í community sees the family unit as the nucleus of society, where good morals and attitudes towards peaceful co-existence are to be developed. As stated by the Universal House of Justice, the governing council of the Bahá’í international community, “The family unit, the nucleus of human society, constitutes a space within which praiseworthy morals and essential capacities must be developed, for the habits and patterns of conduct nurtured in the home are carried into the workplace, into the social and political life of the country, and finally into the arena of international relations”.
Families have a profound and far-reaching influence upon human progress and social transformation.
Strengthening families is essential for the advancement of civilisation.
Healthy family relationships are of utmost importance to the well-being of the entire human race. As a microcosm of the human race, the family is a key instrument for establishing peace.
The Universal House of Justice states that, “It is the duty of all parents to exert their utmost to ensure the spiritual education of their children and to provide them with the training needed to live a fruitful life of service to their country and, indeed, to all of humanity. Success in this crucial matter requires fostering a loving and constructive environment at home, based on the love of God and adherence to His laws.
“This entails abandoning all forms of prejudice, rejecting entirely the odious habit of backbiting, stressing the vital importance of the oneness of mankind, and inculcating the spirit of selfless service”.
The social and spiritual values that our children learn at home will apply not only in the context of the family, but outside in the local and national community, as well as in the world community itself.
However, we have to be mindful that excessive attention to family interests would not lead to a narrow social outlook, which could be harmful to the broader community.
Today, many stable and united families, because of intolerance towards one or another segment of society (towards another race, religion, etc), instill in their children prejudices that stifle their love for humanity and hamper their sense of justice. Through such upbringing, our children can become indifferent to the suffering of others or to regard violence and oppression as justified, even to contribute towards it.
According to the governing council of the Bahá’í international community, “Children must be so raised as to regard every soul, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or any other affiliation, as a fellow human being and to hold dear the words that capture the spirit of the age.
“The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch…”
The family unit provides an environment within which such lofty and world-embracing principles can be taught and nurtured. It is the matrix in which generation after generation can be reared in the conviction that the well-being of the individual is inextricably bound to the progress and well-being of others”.
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