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SECTION NINE
ATTAINMENT TARGET ONEA SPIRITUAL & MORAL CHARACTER
c) SACRIFICE
Sacrifice is an alien concept to those who live in a materialistic society where everything is geared toward serving the self with all its needs, toward the instant gratification of the least impulse or desire. Everyone becomes so self-centred, so self-absorbed that the needs of others are forgotten, ignored or overridden. Society in such circumstances begins to disintegrate and the pleasures everyone seeks become ever more transitory in their effects and are undermined by an increasingly profound unhappiness.
Part of the mystery of sacrifice is its subtle and unseen function in keeping society running. Chronic neglect of its transference to the next generation by parents who have not experienced the genuine hardship and deprivation of wartime generations has meant the "spoiling" of the nation - people have become weak-willed, petulantly demanding of their rights and unable to cope with any kind of discomfort, deep emotion, responsibility or long-term relationship. Few seem ready or willing to subordinate their wishes, routines and comforts to the needs of others or for any cause that might elevate, promote or benefit the society of which they are a part. Thus marriages collapse in divorce, families fall apart, and the reciprocity of community life evaporates.
It is the task of Bahá’í parents and teachers to so sensitise our children and youth to the principle of sacrifice, its mysterious and hidden powers, and its far-reaching effects, that they will become sacrificial in their whole attitude to life and the world. By this is not meant a life of miserable self-denial and asceticism, but a rededication of humanity to a principle without which civilisation cannot actually exist. It is also their task to instil in our children a desire to act sacrificially in relation to the Cause - to give sacrificially to the Funds, to support and obey the Divine Institutions in a sacrificial way.
Programme of Study for Sacrifice
i) Aspects of Sacrifice
What is sacrifice?
Sacrifice as a mystery
Examples of sacrifice:
In nature - the seed sacrifices itself to let the plant grow
- the candle burns its substance to give light
In the human realm
Sacrifice as a miracle
Concept of Martyrdom:- Physical and Spiritual Martyrdom
ii) Paths to Sacrifice
Sharing - accepting less of something you like so that others may have some or have more
Letting go - leads to something better, a higher state
Giving - of time, effort, money and life
Willingness - to forgo personal pleasures, physical desires, status, public praise etc. to accomplish task in hand
Forgetting self - pleasing others before yourself, especially in friendships, marital and family relationships
Endurance - of hardship, difficulties, discomfort, pain etc.
Working - to earn the things you want in life
iii) Enhancing Sacrifice
Stories of sacrifice - throughout history
- in the Faith
Stories of Bábi and Bahá’í Martyrs
Personal goals or plans to enhance the spirit of sacrifice
KEY STAGE APPROPRIACY
KS 0, KS 1: Here sacrifice might be approached chiefly through the idea and practice of sharing and giving. The metaphor of the seed could be experienced through growing beans in jars etc.
KS 2: Introduce basic concepts of sacrifice: letting go, pleasing others, etc. Use stories from within and outside the Faith to show examples of people who sacrificed to serve higher purposes
KS 3 Greater sophistication of ideas and practices; forgoing pleasure, endurance, working for desired outcomes, stories of Martyrs, personal goals
KS 4 Enable students to discuss all aspects of sacrifice with confidence, to be confident in their own sacrificial conduct, and to know how to enhance sacrifice in themselves and others.
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