Kamál, 19 Asmá’ (Names), 183 B.E.
Quotes for Reflection
In this Cause consultation is of vital importance, but spiritual conference and not the mere voicing of personal views is intended. In France I was present at a session of the senate, but the experience was not impressive. Parliamentary procedure should have for its object the attainment of the light of truth upon questions presented and not furnish a battleground for opposition and self-opinion. Antagonism and contradiction are unfortunate and always destructive to truth. In the parliamentary meeting mentioned, altercation and useless quibbling were frequent; the result, mostly confusion and turmoil; even in one instance a physical encounter took place between two members. It was not consultation but comedy.
The purpose is to emphasize the statement that consultation must have for its object the investigation of truth. He who expresses an opinion should not voice it as correct and right but set it forth as a contribution to the consensus of opinion, for the light of reality becomes apparent when two opinions coincide. A spark is produced when flint and steel come together. Man should weigh his opinions with the utmost serenity, calmness and composure. Before expressing his own views he should carefully consider the views already advanced by others. If he finds that a previously expressed opinion is more true and worthy, he should accept it immediately and not willfully hold to an opinion of his own. By this excellent method he endeavors to arrive at unity and truth. Opposition and division are deplorable. It is better then to have the opinion of a wise, sagacious man; otherwise, contradiction and altercation, in which varied and divergent views are presented, will make it necessary for a judicial body to render decision upon the question. Even a majority opinion or consensus may be incorrect. A thousand people may hold to one view and be mistaken, whereas one sagacious person may be right. Therefore, true consultation is spiritual conference in the attitude and atmosphere of love. Members must love each other in the spirit of fellowship in order that good results may be forthcoming. Love and fellowship are the foundation.
The most memorable instance of spiritual consultation was the meeting of the disciples of Jesus Christ upon the mount after His ascension. They said, “Jesus Christ has been crucified, and we have no longer association and intercourse with Him in His physical body; therefore, we must be loyal and faithful to Him, we must be grateful and appreciate Him, for He has raised us from the dead, He made us wise, He has given us eternal life. What shall we do to be faithful to Him?” And so they held council. One of them said, “We must detach ourselves from the chains and fetters of the world; otherwise, we cannot be faithful.” The others replied, “That is so.” Another said, “Either we must be married and faithful to our wives and children or serve our Lord free from these ties. We cannot be occupied with the care and provision for families and at the same time herald the Kingdom in the wilderness. Therefore, let those who are unmarried remain so, and those who have married provide means of sustenance and comfort for their families and then go forth to spread the message of glad-tidings.” There were no dissenting voices; all agreed, saying, “That is right.” A third disciple said, “To perform worthy deeds in the Kingdom we must be further self-sacrificing. From now on we should forego ease and bodily comfort, accept every difficulty, forget self and teach the Cause of God.” This found acceptance and approval by all the others. Finally a fourth disciple said, “There is still another aspect to our faith and unity. For Jesus’ sake we shall be beaten, imprisoned and exiled. They may kill us. Let us receive this lesson now. Let us realize and resolve that though we are beaten, banished, cursed, spat upon and led forth to be killed, we shall accept all this joyfully, loving those who hate and wound us.” All the disciples replied, “Surely we will—it is agreed; this is right.” Then they descended from the summit of the mountain, and each went forth in a different direction upon his divine mission.
This was true consultation. This was spiritual consultation and not the mere voicing of personal views in parliamentary opposition and debate. — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá [1]
Question for Consideration
Given that the effectiveness of Baháʼí consultation is context sensitive, how do groups apply the results in private, public, and volunteer sectors? What role does facilitation play? [2] [3]
Perplexity Computer Response:
Baháʼí consultation is best understood as a portable discipline of collective inquiry, not a fixed meeting script. Its core practices—purposeful participation, candid but courteous speech, detachment from “my” idea, attention to relevant facts and principles, a decision, unified implementation, and learning from results—can be adapted to private organizations, public bodies, and volunteer groups without requiring those settings to become religious or to copy Baháʼí administrative procedures. [4] [5]
The context-sensitive application
The method should change with the group’s mandate, stakes, legal duties, time available, authority structure, and relationship with those affected. What should remain constant is the consultative ethos: inquiry rather than advocacy, collective ownership of ideas, inclusion of relevant perspectives, and willingness to revise in light of experience.
| Setting | What consultation is chiefly used for | Practical adaptation | What “applying the result” means |
| Private sector | Strategy, operations, innovation, workplace conflict, product and service decisions | Combine participatory discussion with clear executive accountability, customer evidence, financial constraints, and rapid testing | A leader or designated authority makes or ratifies the decision; the team then implements it coherently, monitors indicators, and treats disappointing results as information for the next review |
| Public sector | Policy design, service delivery, interagency coordination, participatory planning, and public problem-solving | Include technical evidence, legal requirements, affected residents, equity considerations, and transparent records; distinguish consultation from formal democratic authority | Elected officials or authorized public servants decide within law and budget; agencies communicate the rationale, execute openly, evaluate effects, and retain channels for correction and public feedback |
| Volunteer/community sector | Identifying needs, setting priorities, organizing service, allocating scarce capacity, and sustaining commitment | Use accessible language and meeting formats; draw out quieter voices; account for uneven availability and lived experience; keep process proportionate to the task | Convert agreement into specific roles, timelines, safeguards, and follow-up. Because volunteers cannot simply be commanded, shared ownership and clarity are especially important for sustained action |
Baháʼí sources describe consultation as a process in which participants offer views freely and consider others’ views fairly, with a preference for consensus. Once an idea enters discussion, it is treated as a resource of the group rather than as the property of the person who proposed it. That distinction is particularly useful across sectors: it helps a business separate critique of an idea from critique of a colleague; helps public deliberation reduce partisan posturing; and helps volunteers avoid treating disagreement as a personal affront. [4] [5]
Private-sector use
In a company, consultation does not mean that every operational decision requires consensus or that a manager gives up responsibility. It means that the organization improves the quality of judgment before authority is exercised.
A sound application might look like this:
- Define the decision owner and the decision scope at the beginning: for example, “The product director will decide the pilot design by Friday after hearing input from engineering, support, finance, and users.”
- Gather evidence beyond the loudest internal constituency—customer complaints, frontline-worker experience, financial data, accessibility implications, and technical risk.
- Invite candid dissent while prohibiting personal attack, factional bargaining, and attempts to “win” through status.
- Separate the exploration stage from the decision stage. The group can seek consensus, but the accountable authority must be able to decide when time, responsibility, or organizational structure requires it.
- After the decision, organize implementation around the agreed course rather than allowing informal resistance or “I told you so” behavior.
- Review outcomes and reopen the question if the evidence warrants it.
This aligns with the Baháʼí emphasis on broad information-gathering, candid yet respectful discussion, group ownership of proposals, and united action after a decision. [6] [7]
Example: A small manufacturer faces rising warranty claims. Rather than asking each department to defend itself, a facilitated consultation frames the issue as, “What combination of design, supplier, assembly, and customer-use factors is producing the failures?” Engineering, service staff, quality control, and finance contribute evidence. The operations director authorizes a limited supplier change and revised inspection step. Everyone supports the trial, tracks return rates and cost, and reconvenes after 60 days. The collective inquiry produces both a decision and an experiment from which the firm can learn.
Public-sector use
In public life, the greatest contribution of this approach is not a substitute for elections, statutory procedure, public records laws, or legitimate political disagreement. Rather, it can make deliberation less adversarial and more oriented toward the public good.
Useful applications include:
- Policy formation: Bring together officials, subject-matter experts, service users, community organizations, and frontline staff before positions harden.
- Community engagement: Create conditions in which residents can name local realities, not merely react to a prewritten proposal.
- Cross-agency work: Use a shared question—such as reducing homelessness, improving transit access, or protecting public health—to move agencies beyond siloed mandates.
- Implementation review: Ask not only “Was the program delivered?” but “Whom did it reach, whom did it miss, and what have we learned?”
Public-sector adaptation requires extra safeguards. A facilitator should ensure that consultation does not become tokenism, a way to blur accountability, or a way to present a predetermined outcome as public agreement. The process needs published scope, accessible participation, careful handling of conflicts of interest, transparent records where appropriate, and a clear statement of who has legal authority to decide.
The Baháʼí International Community characterizes consultation as collective inquiry that aims to be unifying rather than divisive: people express themselves freely and courteously, detach from their initial positions, and consider moral principles relevant to the issue. In public settings, that can mean treating residents’ experience, administrative data, legal obligations, and justice considerations as jointly relevant—not allowing any one of them to end the inquiry prematurely. [5]
Volunteer-sector use
Volunteer and community organizations may benefit most visibly because their effectiveness rests largely on trust, meaning, and willing cooperation rather than hierarchy or pay. Consultation can turn diffuse goodwill into coordinated service.
For volunteer groups, applying a result means translating a broad agreement into a workable commitment:
- Specify the desired outcome rather than merely endorsing an aspiration.
- Decide who will coordinate, who will perform each task, what resources are available, and when the group will check progress.
- Match the decision to actual volunteer capacity; ambitious plans without owners and dates weaken trust.
- Include people with direct knowledge of the community’s needs, especially those normally least heard.
- Conduct short after-action reviews: What occurred? What did we learn? What should change next time?
The approach supports a shift from “whose project is this?” to “what does the group’s shared purpose require?” Baháʼí community practice treats consultation as central to collective undertakings and stresses love, sincerity, unity, free expression, detachment from personal views, and fair consideration of others’ perspectives. Those habits help volunteers sustain relationships even when resources are constrained and choices are difficult. [4]
Facilitation’s role
Facilitation is the stewardship of the process, not control of the outcome. It matters because the stated principles of consultation do not automatically overcome status differences, fear of conflict, hurried agendas, unequal confidence, or entrenched advocacy.
A capable facilitator helps the group:
- Establish a shared purpose. Clarify what question is being decided, what is open for discussion, what constraints apply, and who holds final authority.
- Create psychological and procedural safety. Set norms for candor, listening, respectful challenge, confidentiality where justified, and non-personal treatment of ideas.
- Balance participation. Draw out quieter members, prevent domination, distinguish expertise from rank, and ensure that affected people are heard rather than represented only indirectly.
- Improve the quality of inquiry. Ask for evidence, surface assumptions, summarize points of agreement and uncertainty, and distinguish facts, values, predictions, and preferences.
- Maintain detachment. Redirect “my proposal” or “your department’s failure” toward “the group’s possible course of action.”
- Move from discussion to decision. Test for consensus, identify unresolved concerns, use the group’s legitimate decision rule when consensus is not possible, and state the decision precisely.
- Secure implementation and learning. Record actions, owners, dates, measures of success, and a date to review evidence and revise if necessary.
Facilitation should be particularly neutral in public processes, where the facilitator must protect fairness and transparency, and particularly enabling in volunteer groups, where participation and ownership are central. In private organizations, the facilitator may be an executive, but that person must clearly separate the role of guiding the inquiry from the role of exercising final authority.
Baháʼí consultation ideally seeks unanimity; when that cannot be achieved within its own decision-making arrangements, a majority decision may be used, followed by unified support and action. In non-Baháʼí organizations, the exact decision rule will vary—executive decision, board vote, statutory vote, consent, or delegated authority—but facilitation can preserve the deeper practice: hear the issue fully, make the decision transparently, act together, and learn rather than entrench factions. [7] [8]
Bottom line
The transferable result is not “consensus at all costs.” It is a disciplined cycle:
shared purpose → inclusive inquiry → clear decision → coordinated action → reflection and adaptation
Private organizations use it to improve decisions under managerial accountability; public bodies use it to enrich legitimate, transparent governance; volunteer groups use it to build ownership and dependable service. Facilitation makes that cycle real by protecting inclusion, detachment, clarity, and follow-through—while respecting the authority, constraints, and ethical obligations of each setting.
Be the Voice of…
Therefore, all souls should consider it incumbent upon them to investigate reality. Reality is one; and when found, it will unify all mankind. Reality is the love of God. Reality is the knowledge of God. Reality is justice. Reality is the oneness or solidarity of mankind. Reality is international peace. Reality is the knowledge of verities. Reality unifies humanity. — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. [9]
Footnotes
[1] Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. CONSULTATION: A COMPILATION. February 1978, Revised November 1990. Bahá’í Reference Library. https://www.bahai.org/r/970037852
[2] Perplexity Computer. “Applying results of Baháʼí consultation.” Edited by Steve Bosserman. September 6, 2026. https://www.perplexity.ai/search/bc15d37a-9063-4e28-b8fa-e042dc41d258
[3] Transformative Leadership Education Staff. “Unite, Decide, Thrive: Using Consultation to Improve Decisions” (Free Online Course). Transformative Leadership Education. https://tinyurl.com/courseconsultation
[4] The Bahá’í Faith Staff. “Spaces of Consultation.” Bahá’í International Community. https://www.bahai.org/action/institutional-capacity/spaces-consultation
[5] Bahá’í International Community Staff. “Transforming Collective Deliberation: Valuing Unity and Justice.” Bahá’í International Community, February 3, 2010. https://www.bahai.org/documents/bic/transforming-collective-deliberation-valuing-unity-justice
[6] Uplifting Words Staff. “Baha’i Consultation.” October 11, 2019. Uplifting Words. https://www.upliftingwords.org/post/bahai-consultation
[7] Ohio Baha’i Staff. “Consultation: the Operating Expression of Justice in Human Affairs.” Ohio Baha’i. https://ohiobahai.org/consultation/
[8] The Bahá’í Faith Staff. “Consultation Quotes.” Bahá’í International Community. https://www.bahai.org/beliefs/universal-peace/articles-resources/consultation-quotes
[9] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. THE PROMULGATION OF UNIVERSAL PEACE. Bahá’í Reference Library. https://www.bahai.org/r/628985716
Frameworks for Understanding the World 