2. What we’ll be covering
A Baha’i approach to work
Choosing and mapping a career
Baha’i principles at work
Furthering the Faith

3. In most of contemporary thinking, the concept of work has been largely
reduced to that of gainful employment aimed at acquiring the means for the
consumption of available goods. The system is circular: acquisition and
consumption resulting in the maintenance and expansion of the production
of goods and, in consequence, in supporting paid employment. Taken
individually, all of these activities are essential to the well-being of society.
The inadequacy of the overall conception, however, can be read in both the
apathy that social commentators discern among large numbers of the
employed in every land and the demoralization of the growing armies of the
unemployed.
Not surprisingly, therefore, there is increasing recognition that the world is
in urgent need of a new ‘work ethic’.
The Prosperity Of Humankind, A statement prepared by the
Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information.

5. What’s the point of working?
Earn a living?
Lots of Money?
Power and fame?
Pursue a craft?
To do a good job?
To provide a service?
Contribute to society?

6. Earn a Living
O MY SERVANT!
The best of men are they that earn a livelihood by their calling and
spend upon themselves and upon their kindred for the love of God,
the Lord of all worlds.
The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh

7. Lots of Money
I desire distinction for you. The Bahá'ís must be distinguished from others of humanity. But
this distinction must not depend upon wealth — that they should become more affluent
than other people. I do not desire for you financial distinction. It is not an ordinary
distinction I desire; not scientific, commercial, industrial distinction.
For you I desire spiritual distinction — that is, you must become eminent and distinguished
in morals. In the love of God you must become distinguished from all else. You must
become distinguished for loving humanity, for unity and accord, for love and justice. In
brief, you must become distinguished in all the virtues of the human world — for
faithfulness and sincerity, for justice and fidelity, for firmness and steadfastness, for
philanthropic deeds and service to the human world, for love toward every human being,
for unity and accord with all people, for removing prejudices and promoting international
peace…
'Abdu'l-Bahá, "The Promulgation of Universal Peace"

8. Lots of Money
Wealth is praiseworthy in the highest degree, if it is acquired by an individual's own efforts
and the grace of God, in commerce, agriculture, art and industry, and if it be expended for
philanthropic purposes. Above all, if a judicious and resourceful individual should initiate
measures which would universally enrich the masses of the people, there could be no
undertaking greater than this, and it would rank in the sight of God as the supreme
achievement, for such a benefactor would supply the needs and insure the comfort and
well-being of a great multitude.
Wealth is most commendable, provided the entire population is wealthy. If, however, a few
have inordinate riches while the rest are impoverished, and no fruit or benefit accrues from
that wealth, then it is only a liability to its possessor. If, on the other hand, it is expended
for the promotion of knowledge, the founding of elementary and other schools, the
encouragement of art and industry, the training of orphans and the poor - in brief, if it is
dedicated to the welfare of society - its possessor will stand out before God and man as the
most excellent of stand out before God and man as the most excellent of all who live on
earth and will be accounted as one of the people of paradise.
`Abdu'l-Baha: Secret of Divine Civilization

9. Power and Fame
Indeed, man is noble, inasmuch as each one is a repository of the sign of God. Nevertheless, to
regard oneself as superior in knowledge, learning or virtue, or to exalt oneself or seek
preference, is a grievous transgression.
Baha'u'llah --quoted in Messages of the Universal House of Justice p.376
Encourage the children from their earliest years to master every kind of learning, and make
them eager to become skilled in every art — the aim being that through the favouring grace
of God, the heart of each one may become even as a mirror disclosing the secrets of the
universe, penetrating the innermost reality of all things; and that each may earn
world-wide fame in all branches of knowledge, science and the arts.
Abdu'l-Bahá, from a Tablet-translated from the Persian
Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths
of wretchedness and degradation.
Baha'u'llah -- Epistle to the Son of the Wolf

10. Money, Power and Fame
"Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and not in the
pageantry of wealth and riches... Dissipate not the wealth
of your precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt
affection, nor let your endeavours be spent in promoting
your personal interest.”
Tablet of Wisdom - Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas

11. Pursue a Craft
It behoveth the craftsmen of the world at each moment
to offer a thousand tokens of gratitude at the Sacred
Threshold, and to exert their highest endeavour and
diligently pursue their professions so that their efforts
may produce that which will manifest the greatest beauty
and perfection before the eyes of all men.
Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá

12. To do a good job
In the Bahá'í Cause arts, sciences and all
crafts are counted as worship. The man
who makes a piece of notepaper to the
best of his ability, conscientiously,
concentrating all his forces on
perfecting it, is giving praise to God.
`Abdu'l-Bahá – Paris Talks

13. To provide a service
Briefly, all effort and exertion put forth by man from
the fullness of his heart is worship, if it is prompted
by the highest motives and the will to do service to
humanity. This is worship: to serve mankind and to
minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer.
A physician ministering to the sick, gently, tenderly,
free from prejudice and believing in the solidarity of
the human race, is giving praise.
`Abdu'l-Bahá – Paris Talks

14. Contribute to Society
All men have been created to carry forward an ever-
advancing civilization.
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
Central to your role in the present day is to give new
vigor to the concept of service – being devoted to high
ideals far removed from purely selfish interests, oriented
to advancement of society, and committed to the welfare
of humanity
Message from the Universal House of Justice

16. A coherent life
• Baha’i life, Social life, Work life …
• How can we keep these coherent?
• Average person will change career several
times and change path within careers as
well

17. A coherent career
• Does it incorporate your values?
• Does it give you flexibility for activities?
• Can it further the Faith?
• Can you bring a unique perspective as a
Baha’i?
• Does it benefit mankind? Is it worth
doing?

18. Incorporating Values
• What kinds of careers might inherently
incorporate Baha’i values?
• What if your career doesn’t seem to
naturally incorporate Baha’i values?

19. Baha’i activity
• Can a job help you participate in other
Baha’i activities?
• Work hours
• Time off
• Location

20. Can it further the Faith?
• Professional skills
• Contacts
• Leadership
• Resources

21. A Unique Perspective
There are spiritual principles, or what some call human
values, by which solutions can be found for every social
problem. Any well-intentioned group can in a general sense
devise practical solutions to its problems, but good intentions
and practical knowledge are usually not enough. The essential
merit of spiritual principle is that it not only presents a
perspective which harmonizes with that which is immanent in
human nature, it also induces an attitude, a dynamic, a will,
an aspiration, which facilitate the discovery and
implementation of practical measures.
The Promise of World Peace – Universal House of Justice

22. Benefitting Mankind
Let them share in every new and rare and wondrous craft
and art. Bring them up to work and strive, and accustom
them to hardship. Teach them to dedicate their lives to
matters of great import, and inspire them to undertake
studies that will benefit mankind.
Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá

24. Applying Baha’i Principles
• Pertinent Principles and Tests
• Office life
• Choices and situations
• Conduct
• Excellence
• Priority
• Training and Mentoring
• Wages and Salaries

25. Pertinent Principles
• No prejudice
• Truthfulness and Honesty
• Kindness
• Unity
• No backbiting and gossip
• Justice
• Non-involvement in partisan politics
• Use of the arts and media
• … LOTS!

26. On Tests and Trials
We must always look ahead and seek to
accomplish in the future what we may have
failed to do in the past. Failures, tests, and
trials, if we use them correctly, can become
the means of purifying our spirit,
strengthening our characters, and enable us
to rise to greater heights of service.
From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi-- Lights of Guidance p.601

27. Office Life
• Gossip
• Cliques and groups
• Peer Pressure
• Backroom decisions and office politics

28. Choices and Situations
• Common but dishonest Business Practices
• Work that doesn’t agree with your beliefs
• Choosing on social value not just financial
gain

29. Choices and Situations
Commerce is as a heaven, whose sun is
trustworthiness and whose moon is truthfulness.
The most precious of all things in the estimation of
Him Who is the Sovereign Truth is
trustworthiness: thus hath it been recorded in the
sacred Scroll of God. Entreat ye the one true God
to enable all mankind to attain to this most noble
and lofty station.
Bahá'u'lláh, From a Tablet - translated from the Persian and Arabic

30. Choices and Situations
"I who am your example have been a merchant by
profession. It behoves you in all your transactions
to follow in My way. You must neither defraud
your neighbour nor allow him to defraud you.
Such was the way of your Master. The shrewdest
and ablest of men were unable to deceive Him, nor
did He on His part choose to act ungenerously
towards the meanest and most helpless of
creatures."
the Báb cited in The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation

31. Conduct
Say: Beware, O people of Bahá, lest ye walk in the
ways of them whose words differ from their deeds.
Strive that ye may be enabled to manifest to the
peoples of the earth the signs of God, and to mirror
forth His commandments. Let your acts be a guide
unto all mankind, for the professions of most men,
be they high or low, differ from their conduct.
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh

32. Conduct
Such a rectitude of conduct must manifest
itself, with ever-increasing potency ... in
the business dealings of all its members, in
their domestic lives, in all manner of
employment, and in any service they may,
in the future, render their government or
people.
Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice

33. Conduct
Siyyid‘Alí-Muhammad (known as the Báb) joined in business with His uncle
when He was 15 years old, and shortly after moved to the port town of
Búshihr. At a very early age, He took over the complete management of the
trading-house in Búshihr.
His scrupulous attention to detail and His undeviating fairness in transactions
became widely known in the region. Once, a man who sold some goods to
Him was astonished to find, when he received his money, that it was more
than could be obtained at current prices. The man wanted to return part of
the money. But the Báb told him that it was only fair and just that he
should be given that amount, because his goods would bring in exactly that
much if they had been offered for sale when the market was at its best.
Adapted from The Báb by H.M. Balyuzi

34. Excellence
Exert every effort to acquire the various branches of
knowledge and true understanding. Strain every
nerve to achieve both material and spiritual
accomplishments.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, from a Tablet-translated from the Persian
As for what the Supreme Pen hath previously set down, the
reason is that in every art and skill, God loveth the
highest perfection.
Bahá’u’lláh, The Compilation of Compilations

35. Priority
One of the most important instructions of Bahá’u’lláh in regard to the economic question is
that all must engage in useful work. There must be no drones in the social hive, no able-
bodied parasites on society. He says:—
It is enjoined on every one of you to engage in some occupation—some art, trade or the like.
We have made this—your occupation—identical with the worship of God, the True One.
Reflect, O people, upon the Mercy of God and upon His Favors, then thank Him in the
mornings and evenings…
…How much of the energy employed in the business world of today is expended simply in
canceling and neutralizing the efforts of other people—in useless strife and competition!
And how much in ways that are still more injurious! Were all to work, and were all work,
whether of brain or hand, of a nature profitable to mankind, as Bahá’u’lláh commands, then
the supplies of everything necessary for a healthy, comfortable and noble life would amply
suffice for all. There need be no slums, no starvation, no destitution, no industrial slavery,
no health-destroying drudgery.
Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era by J. E. Esslemont

36. Training and Mentoring
It is not desirable that a man be left
without knowledge or skills, for he is then
but a barren tree. Then, so much as
capacity and capability allow, ye needs
must deck the tree of being with fruits
such as knowledge, wisdom, spiritual
perception and eloquent speech.
Bahá’u’lláh

37. Wages and Salaries
Shoghi Effendi elucidates the distributive implications of this teaching, writing that "wages should be
unequal…and [men] should receive wages that correspond to their varying capacities and resources.”
The Bahá'í system does not, to use economic jargon, sever the wage-productivity link. Neo-classical
theories of distribution emphasize that efficiency, and thus welfare, is maximized when wages are equated
with the marginal productivity of labour. That is, a wage earner should be paid an amount equal to the
additional contribution he will make to an enterprise. Therefore, wages in the Bahá'í system are earned.
… The severing of the ties between productivity and labour generally occur because the market does not
embody complete and perfect information, or simply because people deliberately usurp its
functioning.Put simply, there are many examples of exploitation in the world; whether it is a senior
executive exploiting corporate shareholders or a local landowner exploiting peasants. To refer to the
passage quoted above: "When we see poverty allowed to reach a condition of starvation it is a sure sign
that somewhere we shall find tyranny."
The Bahá'í Faith and economics: a review and synthesis by Bryan Graham

39. Furthering the Faith
• Organizational Skills
• Professional Skills
• Using Business as a Vehicle
• Using Contacts and Networks

40. Furthering the Faith
In some instances Bahá’ís of a particular profession have come
together in special conferences or organized themselves into an
association for this purpose. This also allows them to support one
another as Bahá’ís and to take advantage of their professional status
to promote the interests of the Faith. Current examples of
professional associations of this type are the Bahá’í Justice Society
and the Bahá’í Medical Association, both in the United States.
Special encouragement should therefore be given to believers of
unusual capacity to consecrate their abilities to the service of the
Cause through the unique contribution they can make to this rapidly
developing field of Bahá’íendeavour.
18 April 1989 on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly

41. Organizational Skills
The eagerness of the friends to serve,
often carries them away, and they forget
that a sound sense of business
management is also much needed, if we
are to harbour our resources and
accomplish all our goals.
ShoghiEffendi, The Light of Divine Guidance

42. Organizational Skills
High aims and pure motives, however laudable in
themselves, will surely not suffice if unsupported
by measures that are practicable and methods that
are sound. Wealth of sentiment, abundance of
goodwill and effort, will prove of little avail if we
should fail to exercise discrimination and restraint
and neglect to direct their flow along the most
profitable channels.
Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’í Administration

43. Professional Skills
• How could you use the skills you develop as a
professional to help the Faith?
• Organizational skills
• Financial skills
• Media skills
• Craftsmanship
• Event organization
• …

44. Professional Skills
…the Cause needs now, and will ever increasingly need,
souls of great ability who can bring it before the public at
large, administer its ever-growing affairs, and contribute
to its advancement in every field.
ShoghiEffendi, Unfolding Destiny

45. Business as a Vehicle
• Provides flexibility
• Using resources to drive projects / services
in line with the Faith’s goals

46. Contacts and Networks
• Media contacts
• Contacts for use on projects
• General networking

47. The End!