Susan wrote, regarding Ruhi:
It is much less successful in urban areas among adult Baha'is
Susan, it could be argued that our efforts, in general, have been less
effective in urban areasOne cannot be sure that Ruhi, itself, is less
effective than any other approach in urban areas
Don't confuse Ruhi with Study Circles per se. Ruhi is just the curriculum
which has been adopted in most areas for Study Circles.
Yes I do understand that. But since here we do not have any other form of SC
we mean Ruhi when we talk about SC.
regards,
F
But personally I did not enjoy the SC method of Teaching the
Faith.
Dear Firouz,
Don't confuse Ruhi with Study Circles per se. Ruhi is just the curriculum
which has been adopted in most areas for Study Circles.
"Once when I disagreed about a given comment in one of the Ruhi books,
I would like to add a few of my personal observations about Ruhi in
Thailand. The emphasis during last 5 years or so have been on Ruhi Study
Circles, devotional meetings, and children classes here in Thailand
(specially Ruhi SC). In Yasothan in North East of Thailand where a Baha'i
s
Nor can I imagine that an ITC or House member would
push this for their own personal gain. At most, those who designed the
material might push it because they didn't feel strongly about it, they
wouldn't have developed it in the first place! I wish Ruhi would go into the
public domain for
>In fact, even our NSA seems to have largely been shut out of the process.
It >mostly came down from the ITC, which as you know, is not an elected
>institution.
Yes, this is one of the difficulties I find and that is that one of the
principal publishers of the Ruhi materials i
Dear Scott,
What Abdu'l-Baha was trying to do was make sure that individual Assembly
members did not undermine the authority of the institution as a whole by
opposing the decision that body made. For them not to act in unity under
these circumstances is rather like parents arguing discipline issu
In a message dated 1/17/2005 1:41:24 PM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
If I recall correctly the passage you are alluding to, I think it is onewhich has been misused a lot. Wasn't Abdu'l-Baha talking more about Assemblymembers all getting behind a decision that the majority agr
a matter of energy. There
is only so much of it to go around and right now that energy is being
expended on Ruhi, leaving little time for firesides and deepenings. That
being the case though, I have to question the extent to which Ruhi reaches
its goal of increasing human r
In a message dated 1/17/2005 12:21:51 PM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Maybe it is a good thing that firesides have stopped,
The NSA has made cleaqr over and over in the U.S. that the institute process should NOT make firesides and deepenings stop. If it is, then attitudes ne
fact I was just thinking
about just how visceral my reaction to Ruhi was; that I open the book and
almost feel it shouting at me, "We don't want you to think!" But my
experience of this material is probably shaped, at least in part, by the
anti-intellectualism I've seen in the
Hi, Janine,
At 10:37 AM 1/17/2005, you wrote:
>>Oh dear. This could easily end in a pro-contra ruhi debate.<<
It wouldn't be the first time on this list (and on other lists). ;-)
>>I want to ask you something but I do not want to say this on a public forum.
>>Can
Chuckle!
No Ruhi is not academic. I omitted something there. What I intended was: if you live in a culture whihc has a strong subculture of anti-intellectualism and then a method is introduced which is not appealing to the intellect, it can create a strong bias against that method.
You say it
their
conclusions to critical examination."
Dear Janine,
Actually, I recognize that Ruhi may well be the most appropriate program for
those countries and areas where people have a history of being attracted to
mass teaching efforts but consolidation has been difficult. These are
typically unde
I forgot one thing.
I want to ask you all, both in favour and those not in favour of ruhi, how sure you are you are objective, you follow the tablet of the true seeker in this and how ready you are to throw preconceived ideas and notions overboard. It is a question I invite you to ask yourself
? there is a lot of good in the Irish approach as well. That is what I have discovered.
And I am wondering if this cannot be said of Ruhi. That we are used to do things in a certain way and are thrown and prone to reject it when a new way of doing things is offered to us. Especially if we live in a
In a message dated 1/17/2005 10:37:49 A.M. Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
The same when I hear glorification of things.
how many people OUTSIDE the USA do you know who have gone through the
ruhi books, who have done more than one?
Dear Janine,
If most people
Hi Mark,
Oh dear. This could easily end in a pro-contra ruhi debate. When I hear objections to things I always want to try to assess how much of these objections are based in truth. The same when I hear glorification of things.
how many people OUTSIDE the USA do you know who have gone through
Janine,
At 10:31 PM 1/16/2005, you wrote:
>>and it is too fundamentalistic in approach.<<
You hit on one of my pet peeves. The Ruhi method, as I have seen it conducted
(and as I have heard from most other people), *is*, IMO, fundamentalist, and I
am concerned it is being pro
Dear all,
I read some of the posts on ruhi on this list with
interest.
>From what I am getting from the USA Bahais at various
places on the internet it seems that in the USA Ruhi
is tutored in quite a strict way, with a lot of
emphasis on 'how it is supposed to be taught'.
In a message dated 12/10/2004 11:38:05 PM Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Dear
Scott, It may be tempting to believe this, but I'm sure it is not what
the editors think they are doing.
I am sure it isn't what they think they are saying, but I think that is
also symptom
support the assertion that the
Writings said something or other, the tutor insisted it must be right because
the House of Justice had approved of these materials. Similarly, when I
suggested to a Board Member that Ruhi be revised by removing pilgrim's notes and
not asking close-ended ques
In a message dated 12/10/2004 11:22:04 PM Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
The problem
is that they appear to make an exception with their own
comments.
Which is precisely what has always perturbed me with reading Ruhi method
material.
Regards,
Scott
ecember 10, 2004 10:12 PM
Subject: RE: Ruhi, Prolonged Discussions
>
>
> That is not true!
> One cannot fail to meditate on the writings after going through the
> sequence.
>
> Dear Michael,
>
> It appears as though Scott has gone through most of the sequence. He
appear
I doubt the House would object to any degree with developing new
material. It is not the House that is pushing Ruhi. It is the Regional
Teaching Institutes who will brook no variance. They say we HAVE Ruhi, so we
should USE Ruhi and not waste time developing other material
That is not true!
One cannot fail to meditate on the writings after going through the
sequence.
Dear Michael,
It appears as though Scott has gone through most of the sequence. He appears
only to be missing the books dealing with children's classes.
warmest, Susan
aith it used to be. But
I'd have a hard time believing they'd get in the
way.
I doubt the House would object to any degree with developing new material.
It is not the House that is pushing Ruhi. It is the Regional Teaching Institutes
who will brook no variance. They say we HAVE Ru
In a message dated 12/10/04 9:42:36 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Seems to be the same question I asked myself, and the conclusion I drew was that the Ruhi editors opinion (personal interpretation) is supposed to supersede what the Writings say about reading the revelations
Scott,
At 11:41 AM 12/10/2004, you wrote:
>>Reading the text and meditating on the text is what the writings TELL us to
>>do. Yet the Ruhi editors seem to think otherwise.<<
As I think about it, I suspect that the problem may relate to the subject I
just raised in my message
That is not true!
One cannot fail to meditate on the writings after going through the
sequence.
- Original Message -
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 5:41 PM
Subject: Re: Ruhi, Prolonged Dis
In a message dated 12/10/04 7:44:47 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
What if an NSA makes homefront pioneering goals contingent on conducting Ruhi classes? That sounds pretty exclusive to me.
Dear Mark,
I'm not sure any NSA has done this. I heard it from a Counsellor
In a message dated 12/10/04 7:15:36 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Anyway, I am a bit surprised at the consistent negativity towards Ruhi even
though the House has over and over made it plain it has no intentions of
forcing exclusivity to any form of deepening/teaching
I said:
Seems a tad hypocritical to me but that is just my take on this whole
exchange.
I just want to say that after I posted I noted that here is someone who has
taken a year long vacation from just about anything Baha'i telling others to
get off their fanny and do something.
Dick "Am I the
and the conclusion I drew was
that the Ruhi editors opinion (personal interpretation) is supposed to supersede
what the Writings say about reading the revelations and meditating upon them.
Reading the text and meditating on the text is what the writings TELL us to do.
Yet the Ruhi editors see
Hi, Dick,
At 09:14 AM 12/10/2004, you wrote:
>>On the one hand you say:
>>I would be interested in the demographics of long-term Ruhi participation and
>>how it correlates with the general Baha'i populations in different areas. My
>>"guess* would is that w
From: "Mark A. Foster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Baha'i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: No "Personal Opinions" in Ruhi
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2004 08:45:32 -0600
On the one hand
particular methodical system being introduced.
>>The study circle brings together a variety of people with a variety of
>>opinions in a harmonious, welcoming atmosphere of learning (IMO).<<
I would be interested in the demographics of long-term Ruhi participation and
how it cor
27;i Studies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 1:53 PM
Subject: Re: No "Personal Opinions" in Ruhi
> In a message dated 12/10/2004 7:04:01 A.M. Central Standard Time,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
> unity of thought refers to keeping one's mind
Hi, Susan,
At 07:53 AM 12/10/2004, you wrote:
>>This is how the term is used by Abdu'l-Baha in the Seven Candles of Unity:
>>"The second candle is unity of thought in world undertakings, the
>>consummation of which will erelong be witnessed"
>>That's seems to refer more to the UN reaching a cons
"Tutor: I don't think any of the ideas you have described is wrong or
undesirable in principle. The problem is .that referring to them as elements of
a "Ruhi method" introduces rigidity into a process that is otherwise simple,
joyful, and sensitive to a diversity of needs.
alist indoctrination process used by Ruhi.
Dear Mark,
This is how the term is used by Abdu'l-Baha in the Seven Candles of Unity:
"The second candle is unity of thought in world undertakings, the
consummation of which will erelong be witnessed"
That's seems to refer more to
of my concerns, as well. IMO, unity of thought refers to keeping one's mind
and heart centered on Baha'u'llah and `Abdu'l-Baha, i.e., the Covenant. It has
nothing directly to do with the fundamentalist indoctrination process used by
Ruhi.
Mark A. Foster * http://markfos
Scott,
Ruhi wrote:
"We believe that the simple habit of thinking about the implications of the
Writings with the minimum of personal interpretation would eliminate a great
share of the disagreements that afflict consultation in many communities,"
You replied to Ruhi:
>>In
In a message dated 12/9/2004 11:22:10 P.M. Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Has it been effective among older, educated believers in urban
areas in Peru, Hasan? Or does it work better among the young and the
semi-literate as I have suggested?
Yes
Huh? Other than that cartoon, Max has been posting nothing but quotations from Ruhi materials.
Sorry Max if so, I don't know those materials.
Has it been effective among older, educated believers in urban areas in Peru, Hasan? Or does it work better among the young and the semi-lit
In a message dated 12/9/2004 11:08:14 P.M. Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Why you
put too messages against Ruhi program?
Huh? Other than that cartoon, Max has been posting nothing but quotations
from Ruhi materials.
The
functions of the tutor are clear
To Max:
Why you put too messages against Ruhi program?
The functions of the tutor are clear and the program is quite good to face the actual problems. If the Ruhi is so bad as you try to say (with you several messages), I don't think the Baháí World adopted it.
Hasan
"...religiou
In a message dated 12/9/2004 10:59:20 P.M. Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
The
normal rules of punctualityand courtesy apply to study circles, as they do
to any other selling
Was this typo a Freudian slip? >;->
__
You are
The reflections in the previous section on the dynamics of a study circle,
dynamics which are generated by its purpose to contribute to the spiritual
and moral empowerment of the participants, must have reaffirmed your
conviction that to become an effective tutor, one must learn to nurture
others.
In a message dated 12/9/2004 10:48:02 P.M. Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
I would
like to invite you to join a study circle we have recentlyestablished in
our community. There are already twelve people in our group,and I am sure
you will like every one of them. We ha
In a message dated 12/9/2004 10:45:16 P.M. Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
The Ruhi
Institute, following the ideas presented in the previousparagraphs,
asserts that effective participation which will not easilydegenerate into
political manipulation requires a
* Participants in the courses of the Ruhi Institute are expected to achieve
three levels of comprehension of the quotations they study: to understand
the meaning of the words and sentences from the Writings, to see how
concepts in the Writings apply to one's daily life, and to grasp some o
Whatever activities a study circle undertakes, it is important that no
feelings of exclusivity ever be allowed to develop among its members. Their
activities should serve to bind the group together in fellowship and at the
same time attract others to their mode of learning. The meetings of the
stud
The above describes one way in which an institute program for the
development of human resources for the expansion and consolidation of the
Faith may unfold. What is important for you to realize is that the program
will not be the same for every institute that has chosen to use the Ruhi
Institute
ought that
was part of the "Ruhi method" and tried to do the same when I started a
study circle and, I must admit, several participants did not like it.
* Tutor: I don't think any of the ideas you have described is wrong or
undesirable in principle. The problem is .that referring to t
If there is one concept that we hope characterizes the approach of the Ruhi
Institute, it is flexibility. However, protecting a system from rigidity is
not an easy task, especially when it becomes widely used in diverse
circumstances around the world. There is a tendency in most of us to
introduce
In a message dated 12/9/2004 10:40:21 P.M. Central Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
The
experience of the Ruhi Institute has shown that we do not suppress the
imagination or the personality of the participants
How have they determined they aren't doing
Now turn to the question of your study circles. It is hard to imagine that
the ugly behavior mentioned above would ever be displayed in that setting.
But you will have to watch for more subtle forms of conduct that could
undermine the atmosphere of loving-kindness. Here are, for example, some
diffi
Your ability to foster and assess understanding will require you to
continually develop such attributes as sensitivity, detachment and
generosity and draw on your powers of perception and intuition. You will
need to listen everyone carefully. Often an individual does not have
sufficient words to ex
d obvious to me
from the start. I realized at that point I was vastly overestimating the ability
of most Baha'is to read a text. My son made that point as well when he voiced
his disagreement with me over Ruhi. "Mom," he says, "the Writings are hard to
read." I was s
unity?
__
(Ruhi Book 7)
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theyread from the Holy Writings, we will be
contributing to the achievement ofunity of thought in our communities,
Does this postulate that those in the early stages of the study of the
Faith have no valid opinions or personal interpretations? I like the bias of the
Ruhi editors less and
I would like to invite you to join a study circle we have recently
established in our community. There are already twelve people in our group,
and I am sure you will like every one of them. We have a great deal of fun
together. We study twice a week for a couple of hours but also engage in
other ac
consultation in many communities,
In other words the opinions of the Ruhi editors supersede the Scripture
itself?
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The Ruhi Institute, following the ideas presented in the previous
paragraphs, asserts that effective participation which will not easily
degenerate into political manipulation requires a systematic learning
process within each community and region so that the community itself
experiments with new
s a
set of preâ€'determined objectives, but welcomes whatever additional
insights and realizations the group may reach.
(Ruhi Books, Learning About Growth)
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In general, this course is not complex, and like all Ruhi Institute courses,
it is conducted tutorially. This is best done by dividing the participants
into small groups and allowing each group to move along at its own pace and
according to its own rhythm. This point is extremely important
Many years of experience with the courses of the Ruhi Institute have shown that
examining ideas at these three levels of understanding helps collaborators
create the conscious basis of a life of service to the Cause. But what may
surprise someone who is unfamiliar with this experience is that
In studying any course of the Ruhi Institute, participants are expected to
achieve three levels of comprehension. The first is a basic understanding of
the meaning of words and sentences. Thus, for example, after reading the
quotation, “The betterment of the world can be accomplished through
"My impression of the Ruhi Institute in Colombia which created the Ruhi
materials, is that they excelled at this. I'm not talking about putting much
stock in the random impressions of one person. I'm talking about a methodology
of soliciting feedback and accomplishments on a br
I think the Ruhi method does have some good points:
-It gets people reading the sacred Writings...always a good thing
-It encourages people to memorize passages from the texts.
That's good too.
One of the biggest, most pervasive problems I've seen in the U.S.
communi
Hi, Susan,
At 08:11 PM 12/9/2004, you wrote:
>>Perhaps others can tell us if later books and tutors manage to get away from
>>what we are calling the 'Ruhi method'?<<
As I see it, Ruhi, as a social construction, may have been influenced by its
authors, but it is
"Personally, I don't understand the focus on the term "Ruhi method."
However, the fact that one of the Ruhi books may contain a statement denying
it status as a method is obviously not evidentiary."
Dear Mark,
Notwithstanding my crack about Baha'i-speak, it sounds
" bear in
mind that it is helpful to have a technique for study - in other words, "a
systematic procedure by which a task is accomplished". It should not be
referred to as the "Ruhi method". (Book 1, Ruhi)
So should we call it the 'systematic proceedure utiliz
" When it walks like a duck and it
quacks like a duck, is it not disingenuous to call it a lizard? "
I think it is called Baha'i-speak.
;-}
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Brent,
At 06:50 PM 12/9/2004, you wrote:
>>As far as the criticism that Ruhi does not train people to approach the
>>Writings with "critical thinking". I would appreciate a definition of
>>"critical thinking" here, before I spout off.<<
A focus o
Brent,
At 06:50 PM 12/9/2004, you wrote:
>>Because the feedback process is extremely valuable. It moves a group from
>>theory into actuality. It is an established part of good planning --
>>evaluate how you're doing.<<
Sure, but you are giving me a technical response, while I have been object
would one continue to employ a
technique that can easily become mechanical. Of course, there might be
occasions now and then in other units when the technique is useful, but it
should certainly not be called the "Ruhi method"."
Dear Max,
If there is anything I would have describe
pression of the Ruhi Institute in Colombia which created
the Ruhi materials, is that they excelled at this. I'm not talking about
putting much stock in the random impressions of one person. I'm talking about a
methodology of soliciting feedback and accomplishments on a broad basis. The
Personally, I don't understand the focus on the term "Ruhi method." However,
the fact that one of the Ruhi books may contain a statement denying it status
as a method is obviously not evidentiary.
IMO, it comes down to how one defines "method," but the use of U.S.
study - in other words, "asystematic
procedure by which a task is accomplished". It should not bereferred to as
the "Ruhi method".
Main Entry: meth·odPronunciation:
'me-th&dFunction: nounEtymology:
Middle French or Latin; Middle French methode, from Latin
method
uld not be
referred to as the "Ruhi method".
(Book 1, Ruhi)
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ought that
was part of the "Ruhi method" and tried to do the same when I started a
study circle and, I must admit, several participants did not like it.
* Tutor: I don't think any of the ideas you have described is wrong or
undesirable in principle. The problem is .that referring to
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