From simple conversations to spiritual education sessions

In this interview with Australian Baha’i Horizons, Samin Todd reflects about the new spiritual education sessions initiated alongside families from her children’s school community, and how they are nurturing the inherent moral qualities within every child. 

Over the past four years, Geelong’s Samin Todd has made a conscious effort to meet the families in her local community, particularly those who attend her children’s school. 

But it was at the beginning of this year that she attended a coffee catch up organised by a parent from the school. That’s when the topic of spiritual and moral education was brought up. 

“I started talking about the importance of spiritual and moral education being so important, if not more important, than academic education,” Samin shares. “This sparked a conversation, and every parent at the table agreed, and we had quite a deep conversation regarding all the facets of this topic.” 

From this simple conversation, an idea flourished. Samin was able to speak further about her faith and the Baha’i spiritual education process which centres on the acquisition of attributes such as love, generosity and kindness, and the application of these values to one’s everyday life. 

“As a community our prerogative is the healing of the world stemming from the grassroots,” Samin says. “This got onto the topic of how [the Baha’i community] runs [spiritual education classes] in our own local community every week. 

“The parents were so keen on this type of community meaningful space.” 

Since this catch up, two sessions based on the Ruhi children’s class curriculum have been held at a local park. The first was held during the April holiday period, and the second during the winter break with 28 children in attendance. 

Samin says the sessions have brought children between the ages of five and 12 together in a space where spiritual qualities can be explored in a collective setting and a “stronger sense of self-worth, the nobility in each child, and topics which aren’t necessarily tapped into at school” can be nurtured. 

She says she has learned to use the material from the Ruhi Grade 3 curriculum about teaching children’s classes as a basis for the sessions, focusing on themes such as unity and purity, but being mindful of the reality of her neighbourhood and catering the lessons to suit. 

“Using the children’s class curriculum to teach about spiritual qualities and mending the class to suit the needs and the reality [of my neighbourhood] has helped tremendously,” she says.

Samin says it has been heartening watching how parents from the school community have been helping with the sessions from the very beginning, and how the process has enabled more individuals to raise their capacities to contribute towards the advancement of their neighbourhood in this way. 

“The qualities that animate the process are an eagerness to want the next generation to be much more aligned spiritually and morally and to have the conviction and enthusiasm to be able to serve others in a way that its impact is purposeful,” Samin shares. 

“These friendships now are embedded with much more mutual understanding and respect. The qualities of the Baha’i Faith and its intention of uniting the world, is attracting hearts. It is slow and steady, but it has felt beautiful coming together in a meaningful space.”