Ruhi Party

Bahá’ís and those interested in becoming familiar with Baha’i teachings all over the world are studying a series of books called Ruhi books. Independent investigation of the truth, i.e., reading and thinking for oneself, is a key teaching in the Baha’i Faith, but the Ruhi books allow an introduction to some basic themes because there is a huge amount of literature and it’s often hard for people to know where to start. The first book deals with topics like truthfulness and spiritual qualities, why people pray, and what happens to the soul after death. The method of studying the books is just as important as the content, and it is designed to be an instigator of unity and community building. Thus a group studying together has a facilitator but not a leader, and the people make a point of having fun together as well as working together to do community service. The material in the book is often introduced using music, drama, and games, and it’s generally an overall very enjoyable experience.

In Indonesia, however, people are not used to meeting regularly for anything, so most Ruhi books are studied with just one tutor and one participant, which makes it hard to create a feeling of community. Many people study Ruhi as they would for a class in school, simply reading through the books together and not taking time to do related activities. Obviously, that makes the books, well, not fun. Greg and I and two close friends decided we wanted to help the community to have fun, so we planned a Ruhi party.

About 15 people came – some who had already studied all the Ruhi books, some who had never heard of them - and we started with some ice-breakers and dinner. Then we divided everyone into groups of 3 or 4 and explained that each person would have to take turns tutoring, or explaining the activity to their group. Then we gave out directions for the tutor to use so that they could present activities from the first book including a drama, visual arts, a puzzle, rhythm, and a simple science experiment. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun, though many were hesitant at first, and felt uncomfortable to be the one introducing the new idea. Hopefully some of the participants will use the same activities on their own, and start to have a little more fun!