Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khanum
Presentations by Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khanum
The people of the world are self-destructive. We harm ourselves and we harm our environment. We may even destroy this home of ours…our planet. The idea of peace is not a vague and impractical dream. The vision of peace is always before us. We Bahá'ís believe peace can and will come to pass. But we have to be active in the cause of peace. Peace is dependent on the consciousness of the oneness of humankind which is the central theme of the Bahá'í Faith.
'Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum begins by reading the message of the Universal House of Justice addressed to the Baha'i International Conference in Montreal in which the exploits of the Master some 70 years earlier are reviewed. Sixteen minutes transpire during the reading of the message. During the next seven minutes Madam Rabbani uses French to describe her parents Baha'i services in Montreal. She then, (in English) reviews her mother's return in Canada from France in 1902 and her early efforts to teach the Cause.
Dr. Hossain Danesh introduces 'Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum who was the keynote speaker for the 6th Annual ABS Conference. Rúhíyyih Khánum addresses the problem of divorce in the Bahá'í Community. She stated that marriage is not a Bahá'í law, and gives the examples of the Greatest Holy Leaf, Martha Root and Agnes Alexander as Bahá'ís who never married. Marriage is the proper place to express the sex impulse. In marriage we should teach our children to pray and restrict the number of activities children participate in outside the home.
Mr. Douglas Martin introduces Hand of the cause of God 'Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum. Rúhíyyih Khánum warned against an elitist attitude that some literate Bahá'ís may hold against teaching illiterate people. She emphasized the importance of teaching illiterate indigenous peoples. Unlike her educated audience she holds that in her experience those village people who lack formal education seem to more easily embrace the truth of Bahá'u'lláh Teachings. They have capacity just as educated people have capacity. Some spiritual giants have come into the Cause from very humble origins.
For the first twelve minutes ‘Amatu’l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum briefly reviews the history of Hands of the Cause of God and recognizes Hand Muhammad Varqa who is present in this meeting. She goes on to describe the elected and appointed institutions and then introduces Mr. ‘Ali Nakhjavani, member of the Universal House of Justice since 1963. Mr. Nakhjavani praises the Association for Bahá’í Studies (ABS) and says “They provide an excellent medium for the study of the teachings of our Faith.