Philosophy
Palabra Publications is an organization dedicated to the production and dissemination of teaching, deepening, and training institute course materials at low costs. These materials strive to address the spiritual education needs of diverse peoples with a variety of books, such as those described below.
Messages from the Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice lovingly provides the Bahá’í world with guidance that is essential to defining the very nature of Bahá’í community life. This guidance also helps to give individuals and communities a vision of what it means to advance the Cause of God in this day and age. Palabra offers a number of compilations of messages from the House of Justice, on topics ranging from the Five Year Plan, to training institutes, to entry by troops, to social and economic development. It is important for Bahá’ís to study these messages, so that they might gain further insights on how to carry out their personal and community affairs.
Conceptual Framework for Action
Bahá’ís everywhere are striving to understand how best to translate the Creative Word into practice in their daily lives. Palabra has published several books that explore the intellectual and conceptual framework created by Bahá’u’lláh, with relationship to how the individual and community alike can put His ideas into action, and furthermore, what it means for them to function within this new paradigm of learning and growth. Readers are encouraged to approach their study of these materials from a standpoint of learning, meaning that through a careful process of action, reflection and consultation with others, they can gradually begin to discover ways to apply the Writings of the Faith in practical terms.
Training Institute Materials
In response to the direction set by the Universal House of Justice, Bahá’ís are engaging in the work of training institutes, which involves the study of a series of courses that have been designed not only to systematically deepen the knowledge of large numbers of individuals in the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, but also to mobilize them to become active agents of change by providing them with the appropriate skills to participate in community building. A natural result of this is an ever-increasing number of human resources, which, in turn, leads to a culture of growth that, with time and loving guidance from the Institutions of the Faith, will help to advance the material and spiritual progress of society.
Publications for Junior Youth Activities
By the time young people reach the age of 15, many of the patterns of thought that will characterize their endeavors throughout their lives will have been fixed, in one way or another. The years immediately before this age, then, take on special significance. This is the time when fundamental concepts about individual and collective life are formulated in the mind of an adolescent struggling to leave behind the habits of childhood. You can read more about DLP’s materials for junior youth by clicking here. To obtain copies of its items in development on behalf of relevant agencies, visit this page.
Materials in Development
Publications under development by the Ruhi Institute, as well as texts for use among junior youth groups, can also be obtained from Palabra Publications, at the lowest possible cost, as an assistance to training institutes. Such items are made available on a limited scale as part of the process of action, reflection and consultation through which they emerge. You may request copies on behalf of a relevant agency/institution.
Materials for Teaching
More and more Bahá’í communities are now moving to the stage where the believers are ready to take on intensive programs of growth, which include cycles of teaching and consolidation. To help Bahá’ís in their efforts to spread the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, Palabra has put together several compilations of Writings that will help interested individuals become better acquainted with the Bahá’í Revelation.
Deepening and Study Materials
In order to gain further spiritual insights and focus, it is imperative for Bahá’ís to continually study the Writings, to look to them for answers, and to draw upon them for inspiration and guidance. Palabra offers a number of guides on how to approach a study of the Writings, in addition to compilations on various Bahá’í-related topics such as the arts, Huqúqu’lláh, and so on, all of which can be utilized in individual study or in group settings.
Miscellaneous Publications
In addition, Palabra has published a variety of volumes that provide some Bahá’í perspectives on different areas of interest.