Empowering youth to build a better world

IT IS within the power of the youth to contribute significantly to shaping the societies of the coming decades. They have the potential to channel their energy, capacities and talents towards building a better society and advancement of civilization.

In a world where youth are increasingly left without moral guidance, where the ability to distinguish between right and wrong is being lost, only the power of the word of God can regenerate the spiritual senses, guide our youth to acquire an upright character and to contribute towards the construction of a progressive and peaceful society.

The word of God, as the Bahá’í Writings state, illumines the realm of thought and morals: “In our solar system, the centre of illumination is sun itself. … Likewise in the spiritual realm of intelligence and idealism there must

◆ they will tell you I have been to the highest operating pastors and I have realised there is nothing there.

“And many of them believe there is no God. That’s the challenge. But one person who is discipled is able to change the world. If one chases a thousand, two chases ten thousand,” said Apostle Chiriseri.

He defined discipleship as a process that transformed a person from being a mere adherent to the doctrine of Jesus to a witness who produces evi- be a centre of illumination, and that centre is the everlasting, ever-shining Sun, the Word of God. Its lights are the lights of reality which have shone upon humanity, illumining the realm of thought and morals, conferring the bounties of the divine world upon man”.

The most effective way to prepare the youth for the world they will inherit, and to empower them to build a better world, is by starting early, at the adolescence stage.

It is now becoming increasingly obvious that without proper education and guidance during adolescence, our children could easily go astray, even if throughout childhood they have received spiritual guidance. It is during the few years before the children reach the age of 15 that fundamental concepts about individual and collective life are formulated in their minds. It is during adolescence stages that they apt either to align themselves with positive or negative forces in the society.

Many parents and teachers believe that this is a very difficult age, one of rebelliousness, irrationality and frivol- ity without looking to see whether the causes of such behaviour are inherent to the stage of growth of a child or are imposed by social environments and upbringing.

According to the Bahá’í Writings: “While global trends project an image of this group as problematic, lost in throes of tumultuous physical and emotional change, unresponsive and self-consumed, the Bahá’í community in the language it employs and the approach it adopts is moving decidedly in the opposite direction, seeing in junior youth instead altruism, an acute sense of justice, eagerness to learn about the universe and a desire to contribute to the construction of a better world.”

Teenagers in this age group have special needs. By developing their inherent intellectual and spiritual potential, they will not only become agents of change for their own generation, but will contribute greatly to the transformation of society. It is important that they acquire professions and trades, which are necessary to further progress mankind and spiritual virtues that help foster justice, unity and peace in our societies.

Considering the great potential of the youth and their needs, the Bahá’í communities organise regular programmes for this age group. Such programmes are intended to provide them with spiritual guidance in order to lay the foundations of a noble and upright character, to enable them to live in harmony and peace, and with understanding and respect for others, and to instil in them a commitment to serve the best interests of their community.

These programmes help junior youth analyse the constructive and destructive forces operating in society and recognize the influence these forces have on their thoughts and actions.

In addition to sharpening their spiritual perceptions and enhancing their lives, they also help channel their energy and talents towards the transformation of society, advancement of civilisation and the construction of a better world.

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At that point, the unborn child can hear the sounds produced in the body of the mother.

Of all the sounds that the child hears in the womb of the mother, the most predominant and common one is the continuous rhythmic sound of its mother’s heartbeat - as long as the mother’s heartbeat is normal and regular, the unborn child feels safe.

In the 1940s, scientists discovered that the mother’s heartbeat affects the heartbeat of the unborn child in the womb in many ways.

The unconscious memory of the mother’s heartbeat, while the child was in the womb, remains in the child even after birth and for the rest of his or her life.

Several scientific researches support this view. It was shown that when the heartbeat was played on a tape-recorder in a hospital nursery, it reduced the infant crying in the nursery. Some researchers have mentioned that it is due to unconscious memory of the mother’s heartbeat.

After the birth, a child feels comforted when it is held close to the chest. The mothers’ further sacrifice The sacrifices of the mother for her child not only include the long and painful pregnancy period but the moment of delivery (giving birth to the child), which is equally painful.

Allah says: “We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents, in pain did his mother bear him (during pregnancy), and in pain did she give birth to him.” (Ch 46 : v 15)

Research shows that as compared to all the animals, the human beings are large brained and large skulled. For this reason, giving birth is an intensely painful experience for the