Negative Forces Thrive on Stagnation
The tenth session of the 47th term of Congress 60’s morning public educational workshops at Laleh Park Branch began at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Dr. Amin Dezhakam, respected Dideban of Worldview, chaired the session, with respected Agent Traveler Hamed as the session guardian and Traveler Ali as the secretary. The agenda was “Dideban’s Week.”
Summary of the Session Leader’s Remarks:
Hello, friends. I’m Amin, a Traveler. I’m very happy to be here at Laleh Park Branch. I’ve always said that a big part of my life has been and still is at Laleh Park. In the past, the winters here were very cold, and holding our sessions was often very challenging.
In the book “Crossing the Zone of Minus 60 Degrees”, it says, “Roots grow stronger in autumn.” I understood what this meant when we were at Laleh Park in autumn, and the weather was very cold. When we got home, we had to sit by the heater for hours just to warm up a little. But it was this process of being exposed to both cold and heat that built us, just like making a sword. A sword is heated to melt in a furnace, hammered into shape, and then plunged into water to cool. This process is repeated over and over until the sword is forged. In fact, it is facing hardships that makes us stronger.
Some people are willing to endure the hardship of being repeatedly put into the furnace and then plunged into cold water, while others are not willing to go through this pressure. The difference lies in how much they can endure. There is no difference in people's basic nature. They all come from the same source and are shaped in the same workshop. So, they are all the same. The difference is that one person goes through hardships hundreds of times in their lifetime, while another is not even willing to face them once. If they find themselves in a difficult situation, they run away to avoid facing it.
When you move forward in life, you face problems along the way. One of the comforts of staying still, however, is that you don’t face any challenges. When you keep moving, you come across different challenges and obstacles. Someone who is on the move might get into an accident or face all kinds of other problems, while someone sitting at home by the heater is safe from all these things. But of course, they won’t grow or make any progress either.
It took me years to learn how to properly understand and interpret the problems I faced, recognize what was right, and determine what the right action was in the position I was in. Once we know what the right decision is, movement comes in, and we need to take action and move forward. Of course, this will bring challenges and difficulties along the way.
For example, at Shiraz University, my professor and I were not on the same wavelength, and things were not going well. He had spoken badly about me to other students, but I didn’t know about it. Finally, he told me, “I can’t work with you anymore,” and kicked me out of his supervision. I was actually very happy because sometimes, being dismissed can be a blessing. After that, whenever I went to another professor to join their class, no one would accept me because of what my previous professor had said about me. I knew I had to move forward, but how could I do that? How could I change their wrong impression of me? The only way was to go to the university every week so that the professors and others could see me there. So, over two months, I had to travel from Tehran to Shiraz and back about ten times. I had no other choice. If I missed even one week, they would think I was the kind of student who tried to avoid his responsibilities and run away. That was how they saw me.
After a while, I realized that I was a teacher here (at Congress 60), but there, I was just a student. Before that, whenever I attended a class, I acted like a teacher, even though I was only an expert in my own field. I wasn’t supposed to be an expert in every field. It took me a lot of struggles and difficulties to finally understand this.
If you’re a physics or math teacher outside Congress 60, once you join, you’re a drug-abuser and a student here, [learning how to overcome addiction].You may be a teacher, and that’s true, but you’re only an expert in your own field. There are thousands of different fields, and being an expert in one doesn’t mean you’re an expert in everything. Many people fail to understand this, and that’s why the path cannot be opened to them [they can’t move forward]. But I had come to understand it. So, it was time to take the next step and start moving forward. I had to float [in the audio-file “Floating”, Dr. Amin speaks about the three necessary conditions of learning anything including swimming: we have to be in the right place, how to behave there and what to do]. At this stage, you have to be ready to face difficulties, even if you don’t like it. After all, everyone wants to live in peace and comfort. But once you get involved and start moving forward, difficulties will come your way.
I went back to Shiraz University to see my professor who had some problems with me. But I didn’t have the courage to face him and talk about the problem. I kept looking for a way to justify myself, like someone who goes off track during their recovery journey and waits until they achieve something good before going to their guide and saying, “While I was away, I was doing something much better.” But one day, I told myself, “Even if I haven’t done anything, it’s still better to go and talk to him about the problem.”So, I left my room right away and went to see him. He kicked me out, but at that moment, all the pressure I had been feeling disappeared. In fact, taking that step changed things for me. That’s exactly what we need to do.
First of all, whenever we go somewhere, we should know our role there. Are we there as a guest or as the host? Sometimes, a guest takes over and starts running the show instead of the host. Sometimes, when we go somewhere with other members of Congress 60 or are invited to a gathering, we need to know who the host is or who is leading the session as the instructor or teacher. We should respect that person and not take over or speak more than they do. These are things we need to learn so that our path can open up and situations and problems can be resolved more easily.
After this stage, you become more mature through experience. You realize that you can't do anything on your own. When you talk about your problem and face it, that's when things start to get resolved. It took me a long time to understand these things and many years to accept who I am and what my role is.
But I was never good at facing problems or dealing with difficult situations. I was always slow to act. Recently, I've started to understand this better. I face problems, sometimes things go wrong, but once I know I'm doing the right thing, I keep going. And as I move forward, the way becomes clear.
You should always remember that there will never come a time when you can say, "I've reached a point where I no longer need to move forward." Because negative forces are inherently static. They look for a body that has stopped moving so they can turn it into a swamp.
The choice is yours. If you stand still, you'll become a swamp, where mosquitoes, frogs, and other pests thrive. But if you keep moving, face challenges, learn what needs to be done, and keep taking steps in the right direction, you'll become a flowing river, a stream, or a spring.
Everyone loves the sound of a stream or a river because flowing water has a beautiful sound. In the same way, a person who keeps trying and moving forward is beautiful and inspiring. Someone who works hard, like a gardener, is always worthy of respect and admiration. But a professor who simply sits at their desk, turns on a computer, and quickly goes through a PowerPoint presentation just to get the class over with may think they are teaching. But in reality, they are not teaching; they are just avoiding their responsibility. They have taken the easy way out, using the excuse that science has advanced and everything is now done with computers. No wonder everyone in the class is falling asleep. No one can connect with them because they represent stagnation. These teachers are like a swamp. No one wants to step into a swamp. Yes, you may have worked very hard to become a professor, but in reality, you have become like a stagnant swamp. No student can connect with you or benefit from your knowledge.
Why does everyone enjoy swimming in rivers and lakes? Because a river is always moving. It's true that technology has advanced and computers are now widely used in university classrooms. However, we should not take advantage of this and disguise laziness as the use of technology. A teacher who puts in the effort, spends hours explaining a subject, and even takes a pen and paper to explain things to a student is someone who can truly pass on knowledge. That's because they are all about movement and action.
So, if we want to solve problems, we need to take action. If we want to show others the way, we should take the first step ourselves. And if we want to teach others, we should first put what we teach into practice.
Would students learn better from a music teacher who moves around the classroom, plays music with them, and patiently teaches them, or from one who just sits in a chair, never touches an instrument, and only watches? Would students become better fighters with a martial arts trainer who trains and fights alongside them, or with one who just sits on the sidelines in a suit? Why do students of a trainer who fights alongside them become more successful? Because the trainer himself is constantly practicing, learning, and improving in every session. As he grows, his students grow with him and achieve success. If a trainer simply sits in a chair and tells their students to do sit-ups and push-ups, what will happen? After a few years, he will lose his own strength and physical abilities. Eventually, he might even need someone to help him stand up and walk!
Translated by companion Sepideh, Legion 22, Sheikhbahaei branch of Congress 60, Isfahan, Iran
Revised by Elahe
Source: Laleh Park, Tehran
https://congress60.org/News/408676/%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%85%D9%86%D9%81%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%B3-%D8%B3%DA%A9%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%AF
File received date: 1405/07/22
Submission date: 1405/08/08