Abstract

This chapter explores the unique ability of Bahá’í consultation to promote understanding and progress. It begins by examining prevalent and historical modes of communication, including the use of consultation in the Islamic context. It then discusses the centrality of consultation to the Bahá’í community’s approach to learning in its endeavours to help foster the spiritual and material prosperity of humankind, as well as the significance of consultation as a mode of communication distinctly conducive to decision-making and the collective investigation of reality. The chapter also considers the individual dispositions and qualities that make consultation possible, and concludes with a discussion of how it facilitates the discovery of truth.