What Ruhi Study Circles Mean to Me

When it was announced in our Baha’i community that we were to start studying the Ruhi institutes, I thought a lot about whether I was in the right condition to study regularly and in-depth. I was quite old and never seemed to have enough free time. Apart from that I had problems with my health – my eye sight was poor and my leg was injured after a bad fall. Altogether I had many reasons as to why I shouldn’t join the Ruhi courses. I shared all this with my friends. They encouraged me and confided in me by telling me stories and previous experiences. So I went back home with courage and hope to start. I then thought about the saying: “In order to accept something, one needs to know it.” And so with faith that I would overcome my problems (health and others), that always lingered, I started the Ruhi sequence.

The first meeting of Ruhi Book 1 was very exciting and ceremonial. There was a cake with 9 candles, representing each person present. Everything was very interesting and enriching for me. Ruhi Book 2 captivated me even more, and at the end I received a diploma, which in the top right corner reads: “Man was created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.” At the bottom of the diploma there is the following quotation from Baha’u’llah: “There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race and religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly source, and are the subjects of one God”.

So this way I continued with the Ruhi study circles, with enthusiasm, interest and love. I couldn’t even wait for the next meeting to come. We did Ruhi Book 4 and learned about the most inspiring histories of the life of the Bab and Baha’u’llah, which I hadn’t known until then. Now we are going through Ruhi Book 6. I can see the change and blessings it has had on my pressured and difficult life. With humility and, at the same time, with confidence and self-esteem, I stand up in front of people, friends and close ones and tell them that I’m a Baha’i. If they show interest in the Faith, I’m ready to tell them about it, and invite them to devotional meetings. The pleasure and understanding that I get from the Holy Writings are indescribable for me.

So the Ruhi study circles are something very special to me that has given to me wisdom, service, courage, joy and inspiration.

With consistency and effort I will reach the depth of the ocean, where the pearls which Baha’u’llah has left us are.

Elena Z.

Plovdiv, Bulgaria