Society builders pave the way,
to a better world, to a better day,

a united approach to building a new society.

Join the conversation. For Social
Transformation. Society Builders.

Society Builders with
your host, Duane Varan.

Welcome to Society Builders and thank
you for joining the conversation

for social transformation.

In our last episode, we celebrated
the victories of the past 25 years

as Baha'i communities worldwide made
significant advances in the process

of community building. And we explored
how this lays a foundation for

the society building yet to come.

I highlighted four specific areas
where such gains have profoundly

changed our community culture.

First, in the cultivation of self
generative systems of learning, empowering

communities to raise the resources they
need from within their own communities.

Second in the rise of the neighborhood
as a focus for community service.

Third in the fusion between believer
and collaborator from wider society,

collaborating together in building
the vision of Baha'u'llah for Humanity.

And finally, in the rise of youth, now
at the vanguard of our community life.

These are truly massive victories and
they are victories that were hard won,

resulting from considerable effort
and sacrifice. And they are victories

which were indispensable to paving the
path to society building. But in the

path to winning these great victories,

mistakes were also made.

And while nothing should overshadow
our great victories, we should

also have the strength of character
to learn from our mistakes.

After all, learning from
mistakes is a central feature of

embracing a culture of learning.

Now we know we've made such mistakes
because the Universal House of Justice

tells us so. In their April, 2021 message,
they say 'A commitment to learning also

meant being prepared to make mistakes.

And sometimes, of course,
mistakes brought discomfort.

Unsurprisingly, new methods and
approaches were handled inexpertly at

first because of a lack of experience.

On occasion, a newly acquired capacity
of one kind was lost as a community

became absorbed in developing another.

Having the best intentions is no
guarantee against making missteps

and moving past them requires
both humility and detachment.

When a community has remained determined
to show forbearance and learn from

mistakes that naturally occur,
progress has never been out of reach.'

Now on a personal level, I'm incredibly
grateful for this guidance from the

Universal House of Justice because it both
recognizes that mistakes WERE made, but

it also positions such mistakes within a
larger context in a culture of learning.

Clearly we need to learn from our
mistakes, but it's hard to learn if we

don't even know what our mistakes were.

I mean, let's pause here for a second.

Looking back at the past 25 years.

Do you know what mistakes were made?

And if we don't know what our
mistakes were, well, it's inherently

impossible for us to learn from them.

And this is why I'm devoting this
episode to exploring this theme.

Coming to terms with our mistakes is not
about bringing us down, disempowering us,

making us feel bad, or guilting us into
apologizing or atoning for our mistakes.

But mistakes do have consequences
in particular, people get hurt.

So it's critical that we learn
from our mistakes so that we don't

continue hurting people going forward.

So today's episode is all about how
we can best learn from our mistakes.

But it's also an invitation for
those who have been hurt or somehow

disillusioned from mistakes that
were made over the past 25 years.

And if you identify with that experience,
my episode today is a special invitation

for you to rejoin the fold; to rise
above whatever it was that scarred you.

Because an exciting new chapter is
unfolding and the Baha'i community

would truly benefit from your
contributions to the society

building initiatives yet to come.

So today we're going to explore
some of the mistakes of our past

with the hope that we can learn
from our past to embrace our future.

Now I wanna start this episode
with a bit of a disclaimer.

The thoughts I share on these podcasts
reflect a purely personal perspective.

I serve on no Baha'i institution.

My views are not the official
view of any Baha'i agency.

We're together, engaged in
a personal conversation,

exploring these themes together.

So please don't confuse my
views, as in any way reflecting

an official representation.

I have absolutely no authority here, so my
views are simply one person's perspective.

They're no more important than yours.

Just keep my disclaimer in mind
as we explore today's theme.

You can agree or disagree with the views
I share, and that's the way it should be.

All I ask is that we together
explore today's theme.

As Baha'is

we often need to feel that our faith is
perfect incapable of making mistakes.

But this confuses the issue.

Although our Faith is perfect,
our communities are not, because

at the end of the day, we're
human and humans make mistakes.

The Baha'i Faith is not
a spiritual art gallery.

It's not a society for
spiritually perfect people.

Instead, it's a workshop.

We come in as odd shaped material
under the care of a master craftsman,

and little by little, day by day,
a better form gradually emerges.

But let us never confuse who we are.

I've had friends who felt
unworthy of joining the Faith.

They looked to their imperfections and
they felt that they could only join once

they were more perfect.

But this misses the point
entirely because as I said, we're

not a spiritual art gallery.

We're a spiritual work workshop.

We embrace the Faith with all
our imperfections and allow the

teachings of Baha'u'llah to gradually
shape us, little by little,

day by day, into becoming a
better version of ourselves.

So we're a workshop, not an art gallery.

Now, when we read our history, we're
often shocked at some of the mistakes

which our communities once made.

Mistakes, which reflected their lack
of a deeper understanding of our Faith.

For example, in the early days of
the faith in the United States,

you had to go through a nine lesson
course before you were allowed

to discover the word Allah'u'abha.

I mean, that's something we
take for granted today, but

back then it was a secret word.

Now we look back at this today and
we laugh at those early believers.

I mean, they just seem so silly.
But they didn't know any better.

Their knowledge of the Faith was.

Imperfect, but why should
we be any different?

Our command of the
Faith is also imperfect.

Even if we have perfect guidance, future
generations will similarly look back at

us and laugh at some of our imperfections.

Now the plans of the past 25 years
represented a major paradigm shift

for Baha'i community life, and we were
all confronted by massive change.

Change for which we had little experience.

So it's only natural that mistakes would
characterize many of our attempts to

come to terms with the new landscape.

There's no shame in that.

We shouldn't treat our Faith as being so
fragile that it cannot come to terms with

mistakes, which its adherents might make
despite their best and sincerest motives.

And I think this highlights
an important point.

None of the mistakes that might
have been made were made with any

malicious intent or ulterior motive.

They were all a reflection of people's
deepest and sincerest desire to

serve the faith as best they could.
But our imperfect understanding

even with the best motives, can lead us
to make mistakes. And there's nothing

wrong with us now having the strength
to now learn from these mistakes.

Now, before I go any deeper in today's
theme, I'd like to first explore this

idea of coming to terms with our mistakes.

I think for many, perhaps most,
the mere acknowledgement that

mistakes were made is the extent of
their engagement with this issue.

They often say, we made mistakes,
we've acknowledged it, we've moved on.

What's the issue?

I think many would rather ignore mistakes,
sweep them under a rug and move on.

But this misses the point entirely.

Okay.

In preparing for today's episode, I
was talking to a friend about this,

and I was truly surprised to see how
agitated he became at the subject.

He turned to me and said, 'when I meet
people who complain about the past,

I say to them, if I get a Counselor
on his hands and knees begging you

for forgiveness, can you move on?'

Now, his view is clearly extreme, and it's
not a reflection of what most of us feel,

but it highlights a misunderstanding.

Confronting mistakes is
not about confessions.

It's not about judgment.

It's not about criticism.

It's not about demanding an apology.

It's about learning.

It's about reflection.

It's about making sure we
don't continue to make the same

mistakes again going forward.

Yeah, so we need to find a way of
learning from our mistakes without

being threatened by them, and my hope
is that today we can explore just

a few of these to better understand

Baha'u'llah prescribes a few
practices for our daily lives.

For example, we should pray daily.

We should study the Holy
Writings and meditate on them.

And one of these cardinal practices
is the practice of bringing

ourselves to account each day.

In the Hidden Words, Baha'u'llah
writes: 'O Son of Being, bring

thyself to account each day

ere thou art summoned to
a reckoning. For death,

unheralded, shall come upon
thee and thou shall be called

to give account for the deeds.

Now, what does Baha'ullah mean when He tells
us to bring ourselves to account each day?

Does that mean that we should only
look at our victories for the day?

Well, I believe that Baha'u'llah is telling
us that we should reflect on the day,

think about what we did right, but also
what we did wrong and where we erred.

I think we should commit to
doing it differently tomorrow.

Now think about it.

This is a big deal.

It's a cardinal foundation
for our entire belief.

It's a critical part of our path
to cultivating our spirituality.

So this principle of reflection
is a sacred Baha'i principle.

Similarly, we know that at the core
of community building and at the

core of cultivating a culture of
learning is a need for reflection.

But what does that mean?

Is it just to focus on our victories?

Surely reflection is about
both exploring what went right

and what we could do better.

So at the outset, let's
be clear about this.

There is nothing wrong with
coming to terms with our mistakes.

In fact, it's the Baha'i way, but clearly
there is a style of reflection that

we also need to be sensitive to.

We don't want this kind of
reflection to be an invitation

for backbiting, for judgment, for
criticism, or for disempowerment.

This is why I think the Universal
House of Justice highlights two key

virtues, essential to moving past our
mistakes: humility and detachment.

We should reflect on these qualities.

Why humility?

For me, humility is about
recognizing our limitations.

Let's not pretend we're perfect.

Detachment.

Let's look to the mistakes By
disentangling them from ourselves.

It's not about whether we were
right or wrong, it's about fresh and

independent investigation of the issues
in light of experience and guidance.

So to be clear, I believe we do have
license to grapple with our mistakes,

but we need to be careful to not
make it a disunifying experience.

That doesn't mean sweeping the
issues under the rug, but it

also means being sensitive to
the manner in which we raise it.

Here I'm reminded of the
example of Abdul-Baha.

Abdul-Baha.

was always sensitive to the
capacity of the recipient of His advice.

He always interacted with people
gently caring for their soul

to help them see a new truth.

For example, some of the early
Baha'is in the United States didn't

understand the principle of
the equality of men and women.

And in Chicago, for example, the believers
there decided that only men could be

elected to their local spiritual assembly.

Now, clearly this was a mistake.

I mean, there's no question about that.

And clearly that mistake had consequences.

Capable believers,
primarily women, were hurt.

So how did

Abdul-Baha respond?

I mean, He could have written them
a nasty note and chastised them, but

instead He appointed Corinne True,
a woman, to lead the Temple Project -

- the Temple Project, which was
the most important project

for the Chicago community.

He corrected their behavior by
example, and soon the believers got

the point and adjusted their practice.

Likewise, Baha'u'llah tells us that in
helping others understand the truth,

it is critical that we converse in a
spirit of extreme kindness and goodwill

and not position ourselves as superior
or possessed of greater endowment.

And I think there's one more point here.

This kind of reflection works
best when you're reflecting about

the mistakes you made and not
the mistakes that others made.

And at the end of the day, you have the
power to change yourself, but you have

very limited power in changing others.

And at a collective level, let's focus
on what we could do better in our

neighborhoods, in our communities.

Let's reflect with a purpose
to do better tomorrow.

So let's be open to reflection,
but with a kind heart.

And let's be open to exploring what
mistakes we might have made, but do

this so we can improve going forward.

So in our last episode, we focused on four
key achievements of the past 25 years.

So today in this episode, we'll explore
four key mistakes that I believe

were common among many communities.

So fasten your seat belts.

Mistake number one.

With the new focus on community building.

The Universal House of Justice encouraged
communities to have clear focus around

core priorities associated with the
plans, and to not be distracted in this

journey by other community activities.

This kind of focus was not
something that Baha'i community

had ever really encountered.

This idea of this kind of
focus was a new construct.

Now we should appreciate that developing
this capacity to focus was one of the

greatest achievements of the past plans.

A community's resources are
inherently finite, and the

ability to focus is a strength.

But in coming to terms with the
new construct, many communities

made it the almost exclusive limit
to Baha'i community life, which

we now know was a clear mistake.

So we reduced community life
to these four core activities.

We now know that this was a mistake
because we have the benefit of the

guidance of the Universal House
of Justice, which clarifies this.

For example, the Universal
House of Justice says.

To call upon the Baha'i world to
focus its energies on a certain set

of activities at a particular stage
in the unfoldment of the divine

plan, does not in any way diminish
the importance of other endeavors.

So community life should have
never been reduced to just four

activities alone. Of all of the
mistakes made during this period.

I personally believe that this
was the most consequential.

People who had been hosting firesides
for many decades, for example,

felt pressured in many cases to
stop hosting these firesides.

Numerous Baha'i summer schools
around the world came to a

screeching halt. Artistic expression,

at least the kind that requires
more systematic organization

came to a virtual standstill.

Remember that amazing art scene I talked
about in Perth in our last episode?

It died.

External affairs relationships
that had taken decades to

establish were suddenly relegated.

Now, the assumption in many communities
was that the energy that was going

into such initiatives could be
redirected into these core activities.

But in many cases, such energy simply
dissipated, particularly as many

of those driving such initiatives
simply withdrew from more active

participation in community life.

And many of these were among
our most capable believers.

Fortunately, today, I think it's rare
to see this kind of exclusive focus

on core activities alone, but at the
same time, in some communities, I think

non-core activities are simply tolerated
rather than given their due regard.

Personally, I don't believe that
this approach is consistent with

the guidance we're receiving
from the Baha'i World Center.

The Universal House of Justice tells us
this sense of focus has to accommodate

many lines of action, all of which must
advance without being in competition.

This calls for an expanded vision, a
nuanced understanding of coexisting,

imperatives, added flexibility and
heightened institutional collaboration.

And this will only get more
important as we go forward into

society building initiatives.

So this is the first and perhaps the most
consequential mistake we need to address

mistaking focus for the relegation of all
other aspects of Baha'i community life.

Both have to find their balance.

Okay.

Mistake number two.

There's no question that many
communities tackled the plans

with incredibly high levels of
confidence, and clearly that's a strength.

But as we acknowledged earlier, we
were navigating an uncharted terrain.

We didn't understand the
new plans completely.

So sometimes that confidence was
misplaced and often it got translated

into rigid patterns of behavior.

So for example, imagine a
believer that hadn't completed

a particular book, for example,
prescribed as part of a sequence.

Now, rather than allow that believer to
participate in that course, they'd be told

that they needed to go back and complete
the books in their proper sequence.

And they were denied the ability to
participate in the book they wanted to

do until they had gone back and completed
their books in the proper sequence.

Now, think about it.

What happens in this scenario?

All right.

Maybe the believer goes back and
follows the prescribed sequence,

or maybe he or she simply withdraws
and doesn't do the book at all.

Now, I've seen plenty of that happening.

Has this rigidity really
served its purpose?

In fact, in many communities, attention
to technicalities, overshadowed the

kind of inspiration that should have
motivated believers to participate

more actively in the plans.

People were often completing books
out of obedience with no understanding

of the bigger picture, simply
ticking off boxes to show their

compliance with no understanding
of what this was all really about.

I don't want to paint the wrong
picture here, just as this

kind of rigidity was a problem,

the resistance to any systematic
approach to community building

was equally problematic.

Curricula was developed for a purpose,

a purpose, which proved critical in
winning the victories of the plan.

Now, the Universal House of
Justice cautions against creating a

dichotomy between rigid requirements
on the one hand and limitless

personal preferences on the other.

Clearly balance is needed, but as you
reflect on the past, ask yourself whether

such rigidity is warranted going forward.

All right.

Mistake number three. Another
sacred principle of our Faith.

Is the principle of
universal participation.

We explored this theme in episode
three where we explored the art of

collectively bringing vision to fruition,
and here we explored the idea that our

community's capacity, that capacity, was
a function of our action times our unity.

Remember that was my Einsteinian equation.

C=AU squared.

Now on one level, our community
participation in the plans of the past

25 years is truly without precedent.

I can't think of any other period in
the history of our Faith where we saw

such widespread action around specific
initiatives within our global community.

And for many, there was a hunger and
enthusiasm for action, a desire to build

the new pyramid as fast as possible.

Again, probably without precedent.

But this rush to mobilize often
came at a cost, and that cost

was a certain callousness to the
experience of our fellow believers.

It was like we said, the train
is leaving and you're either

on that train or you're not.

And for those who couldn't get
on the train, we ignored them

entirely and moved on with no
regard for their spiritual journeys.

Again, some of this grew out of the
erroneous interpretation of that

distraction principle I talked about
earlier, but the result in many

communities became two clear and
distinct cohorts in the community:

those deeply engaged and those only
marginally engaged or disengaged

altogether, and the marginalized
were left to fend for themselves.

This mistake manifests
itself in different ways.

For example, in our last episode, we
celebrated the incredible achievements

of our youth who are now more
deeply woven into the fabric of our

community life than ever before.

By the same token, however, I
think it's important for us to

study the circumstances around
our youth more systematically.

Clearly, you see two cohorts,
one engaged, and the other not.

And while the victories of our
youth are unprecedented, It.

I think the scale of youth who
disengaged is also unprecedented.

What we have failed to understand in
communities, I believe, is how youth

need other activities beyond the
core activities to act as tributaries

attracting them to community life.

While it's true, they're better woven
into the fabric of our main activities,

they still need to come together as
cohorts of young people with the dynamic

and energy of youth, and not simply
be limited to the larger community.

And again, I'm shocked
by our callousness here.

We're prepared to sacrifice generations of
our youth only nurturing those who engaged

with no regard for our lost generations.

By the same token, I believe there
was also a certain callousness to

those who weren't young. Cluster
campaigns often focused exclusively

on the contributions of our youth.

And while this is highly commendable, what
role was there for other believers here?

They were often expected to
simply support the youth.

Now that can't be right either, clearly.

All members of our community
should be able to find space to

contribute in substantive ways.

Now, these are all just examples.

My broader theme here is this: Don't
allow your desire to see quick results

cloud what is surely a
sacred principle for us...

the principle of universal participation.
And don't sit by callously with no regard

for the journey of those less engaged.

Every Soul matters.

Okay, now we come to our fourth and
final mistake, at least for this episode.

Remember, it's the culture of
learning that forms the center of

our community building process.

The Universal House of Justice clarifies this.
They say, 'The Baha'i community has adopted

a mode of operation characterized by
action, reflection, consultation, and

study study, which involves not only
constant reference to the Writings

of the Faith, but also the scientific
analysis of patterns unfolding.'

So action, reflection, consultation

and study. And more specifically, the
kind of study that includes scientific

analysis of the patterns unfolding.

Now, let me ask you, what does
scientific analysis look like?

What is scientific analysis?

Now, I believe this is a clear
reference to the kind of scientific

method that emerged in the 17th
century in the Age of Enlightenment.

It has clear and distinguishing features.

One, it's based on empirical
evidence and not opinion.

Two, it's falsifiable.

That means you have to be
able to get negative results

and not just positive ones.

Three, we form hypotheses to test our
research questions often in ways which

are designed to isolate specific variables
so we can understand their effects.

Four, we experiment.

Five, our experiments are replicable.

Six, we can objectively
analyze our results.

Now, these are just some of the main
features of a scientific approach, but

if I'm being honest, this is not the
type of approach I've seen at work in the

communities I've come in contact with.

Yeah, all too often I think
we try to cook the books.

I think part of the problem is that
we don't understand what the purpose

of a scientific approach really is.

It's to discover truth.

All too often, the problem for many of
our communities is that we treat this

data as being motivational in character.

We avoid bad news because we
fear it may be demotivating.

But let's be absolutely clear about this.

Scientific method doesn't
work at any level

if it can't handle bad news.

The minute you do this, you
have extinguished the very

power of scientific method.

A scientific approach must be falsifiable.

It's central to the very
conception of science.

You can't go in with the
results predetermined.

There has to be a genuine
journey of discovery.

You follow the breadcrumbs
and the path to truth.

So when we hear about an initiative
that's worked somewhere else, it's

only natural that we want to see
those results in our community.

But we need the humility to admit that
we don't know which approach will work

best in our particular cultural milieu.

So we experiment.

And this is the concept of replicability.

Maybe we get similar results, maybe we
don't, but we need to be open to allowing

the evidence to answer that question.

We don't paint the data to suit.

Now, I'm sure where people cook the
books, they do this with good motive,

but in so doing, we cloud our capacity
to truly learn from our encounters, and

this means we slow the pace of progress.

Now, I appreciate that bad news
might appear demotivating, but

it's actually quite the opposite.

Ignoring the evidence is
demotivating because it means

that our community participants in
such initiatives will ultimately

have less fulfilling experiences.

They'll see less success, and
that will be far less motivating

for them in the long run.

So let's commit anew to an approach
more in line with the guidance we're

receiving from the Universal Health
of Justice, an approach better

grounded in science, and not geared
in trying to get the outcomes we want.

Now, I know that for some of you today,
today's episode was a hard journey.

I know for others it
was probably liberating.

And for many of you, perhaps most
of you, it's all very confusing

and you're wondering, what's
this discussion all really about?

But none of this should overshadow the
great achievements of the past 25 years.

Today I focused on four key
mistakes I believe we made and,

and you might think of others.

My point was simply to help
get you reflecting on what

those mistakes might have been.

The four mistakes that I focused on were.

1) not allowing our focus to overshadow
other important parts of community life.

2) not being rigid in the manner
in which we pursue the plans.

3) approaching our initiatives with
a view towards universal participation

with regard to the needs of all, and
finally, 4) for adopting a more scientific

approach to our reflection and study.

I believe these will all be important
principles for us moving forward.

Now, I have two final thoughts
I'd like to leave you with first.

While it's only natural that we'll
make mistakes along the way, making

such mistakes should not be our goal.

We still want to minimize our
mistakes, because after all,

mistakes have consequences.

So while change comes with its
own risk of mistakes, we should

still try to minimize them.

And there are approaches which
are better or worse at helping us

navigate through uncharted terrains.

Let me give you an example here.

When the new focus on neighborhoods came
about, Baha'i, communities everywhere

had to grapple with this change.

Many community members were
comfortable with the way things were.

It was hard for them to embrace change.

And one of those changes that was really
hard was this idea of having feasts at

the neighborhood level, for example.

Now many communities around the world
implemented this change immediately,

even if, in some cases, this resulted in
a certain level of alienation within

pockets of their community membership.

But I'd like to tell you the story of
one community and how they responded,

because I think it sets the standard.

The local spiritual assembly there
decided to start with only one feast

per quarter at the neighborhood level.

In other words, they phased the change in,
and more importantly, the members of the

assembly made a truly exceptional effort
to make sure that those neighborhood

feasts were all amazing experiences.

That's the best part of this story.

They 'scaffolded for success'.

As the community came to
appreciate neighborhood feasts,

it became a lot easier for them to
gradually manage the transition.

Personally, I was so impressed
by this assembly's approach.

I think we can learn a lot from it.

So being sensitive and aware is key to
navigating to minimize our mistakes.

By way of contrast, when we're
callous to the spiritual journeys

of our fellow believers, well,
that's a recipe for making mistakes.

Okay, now my final thought, I know
that many of you listening today bear

your owns scars from the mistakes
that were made along the way.

God knows I have my scars too.

We all do.

It's my hope that in sharing
today's episode, you can find

some comfort in being heard.

Study the messages of the
Universal House of Justice.

There are references which clarify some
of the mistakes that have been made.

This should give you confidence moving
forward, but we're at a new juncture now.

Increasingly, the society
around us will need us.

This much is clear. And so I'm making
a personal invitation, a plea, really

look beyond whatever the mistakes were.

Look beyond the hurt.

Engage anew.

Your Faith needs you! Your society
needs you! Reengage and join with

us as we seek to better apply the
teachings to the societies around us.

Whew, that was a tough episode.

Thank you for your forbearance
and for your patience.

And please forgive me if I
offended you today in any way.

And if all of this is new to
you, don't let it discourage you.

Today,

we had to do a little spring cleaning.

We have nothing to hide here.

We're being open, honest,
and authentic in our path.

I hope you'll appreciate that we
really are all part of a spiritual

workshop working together to
discover our better selves.

So thank you for joining the conversation
for Social Transformation, and join

us again next time when we explore our
history of discourse and social action.

It's an exciting episode

you won't wanna miss.

I look forward to joining you
next time on Society Builders.

Society Builders pave the way, to a
better world, to a better day. A united approach to building

a new society. There's a crisis facing humanity.

People suffer from a lack of unity.

It's time for a better
path to new society.

Join the conversation. For social transformation.

Society Builders.

So engage with you local communities
and explore the exciting possibilities.

We can elevate the atmosphere
in which remove. The paradigm is shifting.

It's so very uplift.

It's a new beat, a new song, a brand new groove.

Join the conversation. For social transformation. Society builder.

The Baha'i Faith has a lot to say,

helping people discover a better way, with
discourse and social action framed by unity.

Now the time has come to lift our

game and apply the teachings of the Greatest Name

And seek to meet the glory of our destiny. Join the conversation, for social transformation. Society Builders.