With each Spring season invariably comes annual graduation time, from pre-school to post graduate levels. Few indeed are those untouched by the transitions. As mankind matures and development of science and technology continues at a (literal) maddening pace, the dire necessity of comparable spiritual education becomes more apparent.
How true the statement, “To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a minis to society!” The increasing nebulous state of our national (and subsequent world) economy can certainly attest to this fact! It is also proof positive that our inability (or refusal) to accept truth will never change truth–only our lives!
In our American nation elementary and secondary education are mandatory. Spiritual and higher education are not. Consequently we invariably inherit the societal results of increasingly sharper minds and duller morals, doomed to self-destruct if not more evenly balanced. The key to a more spiritualized society, however, lies in the spiritual education of children which in turn is not mandatory but contingent upon the attitudes and actions of their teachers. From their first (the parent(s) through secondary education teachers of earliest grades in particular should display an attitude of love or at least patience and tolerance toward all students–especially those requiring or demanding special attention. You never know the reasons for their behavior. It may be the only kindness some receive. As more love and patience replace mere tolerance, students and teachers will become more closely united and special to one another–often for a lifetime.
Among the memorizations for students and facilitators alike in the early Baha’i education process we find: “Regard mankind as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can alone cause it to reveal its treasures and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.”
Through proper spiritual education tutors become more aware of students’ different capacities and strengths and become better able to help direct and encourage development of some to fullest potential.
Whether in specific classroom settings or regular daily routines we each and all are teachers of (or influence in some way) children or other individuals! The fact that we may be totally oblivious of our influence upon others does not mean we have none. Therefore, during this graduation season, as throughout all seasons, may we continue to seek higher levels of knowledge in ever widening arenas, especially in moral standards! May we become more cognizant of the importance of our own actions and reactions that we may better influence the lives of others who so desperately need more models and fewer critics, more beacons of light and fewer judges; and more admirable “…footprints left in the sands of time…that some forlorn and shipwrecked brother seeing, shall take heart again..”
Therefore, let’s beautify our tongues, Oh people, with truthfulness, and adorn our souls with the ornament of honesty as we are charged in the Baha’i Holy Scriptures. “Be fair with yourself and with others that the evidences of justice may be made manifest through your deeds among My faithful servants.”
