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'Focusing
on taking responsibility for moral leadership in the transformation of
society' was the central topic at the heart of the conference.
Arya Badiyan's humble plenary talk, "Alchemy
of the Soul: Sparking Transformation," was not only
well-researched, but well-received. There were two salient points that I
took away that may be worthy of mention here. First was an interesting,
paradigm-shifting illustration of a circle that represented the monotony
our daily lives. She proceeded to explain that in fact such daily actions
that seem repetitive and inconsequential actually propel us into an upward
pointing spiral that truly charts and appreciates our incremental
growth. Even more significant, was when she announced that she had agreed
with a friend who, upon hearing that she was giving a talk on
transformation, boldly and flatly asserted that humans don't change. She introduced
an elaborate analogy using grungy copper which represented our spiritual
states. Holding up that dirty copper, with full confidence and soundness
of mind, she announced that it was nothing but diseased gold—that purification
and alchemy would allow it to return to solid gold, it's true state. This,
when carried into the realm of humans, suggests that transformation is not
becoming someone else, which is impossible, but becoming our True Selves—the underlying Gold.
...
The catch phrase of the weekend was, without dispute,
Counsellor David Smith's "lamentably
defective," which was taken from Shoghi Effendi's writings on
the state of the present day order of the world. This resonated as much
for its timeliness amidst the present day travails that have gripped the
world as for the frequency and passion in which Counsellor Smith repeated
these poignant words. True to his position, he touted study circles as the
Divine prescription, albeit 'un-glitzy' prescription, for the
transformation of society.
...
Outstanding arts performances adorned the weekend,
reinforcing didactic knowledge with artistic creativity for
multi-dimensional
comprehension. Clearly
not relegated to a mere secondary consideration, the arts played as large a
role as many of the talks in inspiring a whole generation to serve as
moral catalysts for fundamental transformation in their communities. A
semi-formal gala and performance on Saturday night further blended the
mind with the heart and allowed many participants to further mingle and
appreciate the well-planned forum in which they were engulfed.
...
If there was any area in which the conference was
weak it would be the workshops. While I harbor an admitted bias towards
intellectual teasers and treatises, the calibre of presentations left even the most
doltish sorely craving cerebral substance. Instead of an
ABS-style forum it seemed to fit more in an ABC mold. The workshop, "The UN: an
Insider's Perspective" catered to the lowest common denominator giving an
insipid outline of UN functions and activities. As for presenting an
insider's perspective—a more accurate title could have been "UN.com"—since
the introductory and legalistic information they shared is readily available on the public UN website. Notwithstanding, the plenary talks and
rich art performances raised this conference to among the most memorable
for this young adult. The Young Adult Forum Task Force of The Bahá'í
Council of Ontario set the standard for future young adult
conferences.
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