This Attainment Target contains four Strands:

a) SPIRITUALITY

b) MORALITY

 c) SACRIFICE

 d) SERVICE

The acquisition of a spiritual nature, the spiritual refinement of a soul, the cultivating of a strong relationship between a soul and its Creator is, in a sense, the essence and primary purpose of a religion. If, in practising one’s Faith, one does not achieve any degree of spiritualisation then that Faith is redundant and one remains on the level of an animal with a will of its own, albeit a clever one.

The cultivation of a spiritual nature, of spirituality, in children and young people, is one of the most difficult tasks a parent or teacher faces. This is inherent in the nature of spirituality itself. It is not easily seen, nor subject to the usual limitations of measurement. Its effects may be observed, though they are subtle. Its potentiality is infinite, but it requires great effort and vigilance.

One particular aspect of behaviour in very young children has an important bearing on their later lives. Deferred gratification is the ability to control the immediate satisfying of one’s desires - to wait and work for greater rewards at a time in the future. This requires great strength of character. This is spirituality triumphing over materiality, the angel over the ape. Recent research has clearly demonstrated that those young children who can exercise delayed gratification, even as young as four years, go on to be successful in all areas of their lives. Those who cannot will have life-long problems in all areas of their lives. The message is clear for Bahá’í parents and teachers.

If we get spirituality right, the rest will follow, for it is what animates the soul, illumines the mind and sensitises the heart of the individual.

Much work needs to be done to generate effective environments, methods and materials for imparting this vital element to our children and young people, but, more than anything else, this aspect of the curriculum relies most heavily on the example of parents and teachers who are, themselves, dedicated to the spiritualisation of their own lives.

The acquisition of a moral character must, according to the sacred text, be one of the primary concerns of all parents and educators when educating their children and young people. It has never been so important nor so difficult as now. This is just as the central figures of our Faith have predicted. Society has lost a commonly accepted moral code, indeed, has collectively abandoned any pretence to a moral way of behaving. This extends upwards into the highest levels of national and international government and downwards into the lowest strata of society. From presidents and prime- ministers to pre-teen youngsters, vice and depravity are the norm. Chernobyl, Tiananmen Square, B.S.E. act as a backdrop to the shocking events nearer home - the brutal murders of James Bulger, Philip Lawrence and Louise Allen. Human life itself has lost its meaning and its value.

In such circumstances the responsibility of Bahá’í parents and educators is weighty indeed, for their task is no less than to build anew a way of thinking and behaving based upon the moral teachings of an emerging world community. While other religions dither and fudge in the face of demands for licence from the most vicious elements of society, the Bahá’ís must stand firm and give clear moral guidance. Their children and youth must be told what is right and what is wrong in the eyes of God, and what is acceptable Bahá’í behaviour and what is not, never mind what the world thinks or does. In the sweeping, surging tides of immorality the new generation of Bahá’ís must not only be immovable rocks but beaming light houses, illuminating a channel of righteousness for a storm-tossed humanity.

Once again, not only must we have inspiring methods and materials to inculcate morality in our children and youth, but we must be prepared to lead the way by example.

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.

Profit-making has supplanted service as the main motive in business, and in human affairs generally. Material reward, especially if it is instant in nature, is seen as the goal of work - whether money, status or power. Attitudes of service are considered as belonging to a bygone era and are considered personally demeaning. These attitudes can affect Bahá’ís, especially the young, in their approach to serving the Faith, in whatever capacity, and in their serving of the community at large, whether in their occupations or their personal lives.

The priceless privilege of serving the Faith, or serving humanity, is often rejected outright or abandoned part way through when circumstances become a little difficult. However, we know as Bahá’ís that those activities and occupations which do not serve others, or advance the world of being, are merely self-indulgence.

We need to rekindle the spirit of service in our children so that they will be willing and faithful servants of the Cause as adults, and devoted servers of humanity. Our lessons and training programmes must enhance the culture of service which is part of our Bahá’í identity. Attention must be given to the development of methods and materials which will accomplish this difficult but necessary task.

An examination of the four Strands in this attainment target shows that they are closely interlinked, that elements appearing in one overlap into one or more of the others. However, it remains vital that each Strand be taught in such a way that they be given more or less equal weight, for a spiritual and moral character is all very well in isolation but it must be directed to the fields of sacrifice and service if it is to be of use in the world.