Jalál, 02 Núr (Light), 183 B.E.
Quotes for Reflection
The relationships of the nuclear family are embedded in ever-wider circles of relationships, beginning with the extended family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins extend care and support that help to fulfil the purpose and responsibilities of the family. The characteristics of such familial relationships also extend to fellow Bahá’ís and other friends, who can assist a family in various ways. In the close social network forged in a vibrant community, elders offer deepening, wise counsel, and distinctive example. Others step in as spiritual aunts and uncles to share affection and concern for the progress of young people and provide support that reinforces the labours and lofty aspirations of parents. Youth act as older brothers and sisters who, in numerous ways, assist and inspire those younger than themselves. In this way, the sense of oneness, of love, care, trust, and solidarity that are initially cultivated in the family begin to be woven into the fabric of relationships in the community. — Universal House of Justice [1]
Question for Consideration
How can one apply the general call for Bahá’í s to “render service to the world of humanity” while focusing on the aim of an ongoing series of global plans for “the release of the society-building power of the Faith in ever-greater measures” to social endeavors in eldercare? [2]
Perplexity Pro Response
This is the first in a series of posts on applying the Bahá’í call to service and the society-building aims of the global plans to eldercare work. Collectively, they will cover the theological grounding (the soul’s independence from physical decline; elders as “treasuries of wise counsel”); the framework from the Universal House of Justice’s social action guidance (the spectrum from informal to formal, learning in action, spiritual-material coherence); and a tiered set of practical pathways — from integrating elders into devotional meetings and children’s classes at the grassroots, through caregiver support circles and neighborhood accompaniment networks, to the possibility of pioneering a Bahá’í-inspired organization formally dedicated to eldercare.
A few highlights worth noting directly:
- The Bahá’í International Community has already engaged this discourse at the EU level, arguing for elders as protagonists of community life rather than managed recipients of care — a framing directly applicable to local organizing. [3]
- As of 2022, there are 170 Bahá’í-inspired development organizations worldwide, but none appear to focus specifically on eldercare, making this a genuinely open field for pioneering work under the Nine Year Plan. [4]
- The caution against “paternalism” in the Shared Decision-Making (SDM) [5] [6] framework is especially important in this domain: the goal is mutual, intergenerational community, not a youth-driven service program aimed at elders. [7]
Footnotes
[1] Universal House of Justice. “19 March 2025 – To the Bahá’ís of the World.” Bahá’i Reference Library. https://www.bahai.org/r/203576507
[2] Perplexity Pro. “The Purpose of Human Existence in the Bahá’í Faith.” Edited by Steve Bosserman. June 5, 2026. https://www.perplexity.ai/search/4828eb75-6fa5-4633-a0d7-f37dc341700d?preview=1
[3] Bahá’í International Community News Staff. “BIC Brussels: Reimagining the elderly’s role in society.” Bahá’í International Community, December 6, 2023. https://www.bic.org/news/bic-brussels-reimagining-elderlys-role-society
[4] Bahaipedia. “List of Bahá’í-inspired development organizations.” https://bahaipedia.org/List_of_Bah%C3%A1%E2%80%99%C3%AD-inspired_development_organizations
[5] Vogel, Amyn and Daniel Fürstenau. “Shared decision-making: A vehicle for participation and individualized clinical care pathways? A Scoping review on patients’ and physicians’ perceived facilitators and barriers for shared decision-making for frail and elderly patients in the clinical setting.” International Journal of Integrated Care, Nov 4, 2022. https://ijic.org/articles/10.5334/ijic.ICIC22012
[6] Cribb, Alan and Vikki A Entwistle. “Shared decision making: trade‐offs between narrower and broader conceptions.” National Library of Medicine, May 19, 2011. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5060567/
[7] Shams, Badi. “Building Communities that Encompass Everyone.” BahaiTeachings.org. https://bahaiteachings.org/building-communities-encompass-everyone/
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 The Promulgation of Universal Peace | Bahá’í Reference Library.
Frameworks for Understanding the World 