Course: Pearls of Bounty (New Course, 2021)
Faculty Mentor: Richard Hollinger
Editor’s Note: This was Niloufar’s first Wilmette Institute course. What follows are comments taken from her Learning Self-Assessment.
I accomplished the goal of keeping up with the readings and posting each week. Some of my ongoing goals will be weaving into my conversations with people concepts from the Tablets and talks of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and to hold a commemoration for the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in my home. A new goal is to do a presentation on the Tablet to the Hague and the historical circumstances around it at the next 19 day feast which I’m hosting.
Through this course I have learned that “reading the Writings” means more than just reading through something once. To gain layers of understanding you must read and meditate on the meaning several times. The attitude in which we read these Holy Words is also important in gaining insight.
I gained an appreciation for how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would logically answer questions asked of Him. He stated the spiritual and or material principles involved and often drew on metaphors to convey a concept.
This course has improved my writing skills, and I have benefited from reading postings from fellow students and the comments and encouragement of the tutors.
I feel more eager and confident to keep reading and studying the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during this year, and I plan to read Light of the World and Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
I will continue to study the Bahá’í Writings in a systematic way, and to incorporate the counsels of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá into my own life by striving to follow ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s example, frequently using the newly translated prayers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—especially the ones for children—and by being bold and having more conversations with people.
