The letter that follows was addressed to the Bahá'í friends
some two months subsequent to the issuance to the Bahá'í world
of Mason Remey's Proclamation as the second Guardian of the Bahá'í
Faith. His Proclamation had been made two and one half years following the
passing of Shoghi Effendi, the first beloved Guardian of the Bahá'í
Faith.
Mason Remey's Proclamation had been sent to the Bahá'í National
Convention of the United States convened at Wilmette, Illinois during the
Ridván period 1960 and to the various Bahá'í National
Spiritual Assemblies through out the world. By this time, the Bahá'í
world had been conditioned by the Hands of the Cause and particularly by
a body of these Hands who had set themselves up in Haifa, Israel after the
passing of Shoghi Effendi as a sort of collegial Guardianship over the Bahá'í
Faith to believe that the Guardianship had terminated. Mason Remey had certainly
hoped that at least some of these bodies would accept his claim to the Guardianship.
Such hopes as he may have had were dashed as the result of a cabled message
from the Hands in Haifa to the National Spiritual Assemblies accusing Mason
Remey of imposture and directing that his claim to the Guardianship of the
Faith be rejected out of hand.
All of the National Spiritual Assemblies with the exception of the National
Assembly of France submitted to this edict and consequently did not reproduce
the Proclamation, translate it where necessary and distribute it to the
believers under their respective administrative jurisdictions thus keeping
these believers in complete ignorance of the claim made by Mason Remey to
the Guardianship, an ignorance which still persists to the present day.
Unlike the other Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies, the
National Spiritual Assembly of France, of which the undersigned was then
privileged to be a member, carefully and prayerfully studied the claims
set forth in Mason Remey's Proclamation and perceived their complete validity.
This body then duly voted its acceptance of Mason Remey as the second Guardian
of the Faith.
From the foregoing brief account it may be seen how the vast majority of
the Bahá'ís in the world were led blindly into the greatest
violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh that the Faith has
known in its history.
The open letter of which this statement is a foreword was but one small
effort to reach some of the misled believers and expose the true facts concerning
the continuity of the Guardianship. This letter, like others that were written
at the time, by those who had rallied to the support of the second Guardian
is considered not only of historical value but of continuing value to both
present and future students of the Bahá'í Faith.
Orleans, France
9 July,1960
Dear Bahá' í friends,
By this time I am sure that most, if not all of you to whom this letter
is addressed will have learned that I, as well as a number of the other
believers in France, have accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian of
the Cause of God.
Not having the time to write all of you individual letters and desiring
particularly to communicate with a large number of you whom I have known
for many years, some since the days of my boyhood, I felt the only way to
do so would be to write this general open letter which could be reproduced.
My reasons for desiring to write you are twofold:
First; I would like to explain for the benefit of all those who have been wondering why I have made this decision (as they may have, for the time being at least, taken an opposing stand) the processes of my own thoughts and research on the question of the Guardianship following the passing of our beloved first Guardian and prior to receipt of the Proclamation of Mason Remey and the clear and undeniable realization which came to me following receipt of this momentous document.
Second; I feel with all the intensity of my being that the only salvation for the continued life of our beloved Faith lies in a close and studied examination of the Proclamation of Mason Remey in a prayerful attitude from an unprejudiced and unbiased viewpoint and in the light of our Sacred Writings and all that our beloved first Guardian wrote on the Institution of the Guardianship. Only in this way can we free ourselves from the influence and viewpoints of others (whatever their position or rank may be) and hope to arrive at the truth and an unfettered decision. Is this not the same process which we have been enjoined to follow in accepting the Faith itself? (i.e., through independent investigation of the truth).
For those of us who have loved and served our first Guardian during his
lifetime and have treasured and held dear his imperishable writings and
instructions, our foremost desire since his passing has been, I am certain
all will agree, to remain faithful and obedient to the instructions he has
given us during his lifetime and left with us as an eternal bequest from
his infallible pen. The present crisis which faces our beloved Cause, it
seems to me, revolves solely around this point coupled with the doubt which
many have permitted to creep into their own minds stemming from a lack of
faith in the inviolability of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh,
"the all-mighty Covenant, the like of which the sacred Dispensations
of the past have never witnessed," "one of the distinctive features
of this most mighty cycle" and the "Ark of Salvation." (See
p.239, "God Passes By.")
Following the passing of Shoghi Effendi and the disclosure that a traditional
type testamentary document was not found in his papers, we all heard the
following speculations which are not acceptable in the light of the provisions
of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and all that our beloved
first Guardian has written:
As for myself, I perhaps found it easier to embrace the second Guardian
than most of my fellow Bahá'ís because, following the passing
of Shoghi Effendi, I had been unable to shove the all-important question
of successorship to the back of my mind and forget about it but rather I
felt impelled to intensify my studies and review again minutely the Will
and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá and the "Dispensation." This
study coupled with searching meditation during many sleepless nights led
me to come to the following conclusions concerning the Guardianship which,
now as I look back in retrospect, prepared me to approach the Proclamation
of Mason Remey with an open mind:
The Universal House of Justice could not come into existence and function
as an infallible body without the Guardian sitting as its"sacred
head" in view of the following ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS which Shoghi
Effendi had so carefully pointed out in the Dispensation" are performed
by the Guardian as its President:
1. PROVIDES THE INTERPRETATIVE AUTHORITY OF THE SACRED WRITINGS.
2. "INSISTS UPON A RECONSIDERATION BY THEM OF ANY ENACTMENT HE CONSCIENTIOUSLY
BELIEVES TO CONFLICT WITH THE MEANING AND TO DEPART FROM THE SPIRIT OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH'S
REVEALED UTTERANCES" (This clearly indicates that without the guidance
of the Guardian it is possible for this body to pass a law which runs counter
to both the meaning and the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh's Writings
and is therefore fallible without his guidance.)
3. DEFINES THE SPHERE OF ITS LEGISLATIVE ACTION.
4. POSSESSES THE SOLE AUTHORITY TO EXPEL A MEMBER WHO COMMITS A SIN INJURIOUS
TO THE COMMON WEAL.
Mason Remey was the only one who could possibly sit as President of the
Universal House of Justice when it came into existence (provided he were
living) because of his appointment by Shoghi Effendi as President of the
International Bahá'í Council (the Head of its embryo). This
conclusion came to me when in my meditations I recalled a very interesting
and highly significant conversation at table with Shoghi Effendi on the
evening of November 30, 1952 when my wife and I were on pilgrimage. Shoghi
Effendi had been describing the successive stages through which the International
Bahá'í Council would evolve in its development towards maturity
and in speaking about its second stage (Bahá'í Court, cited
by Shoghi Effendi in his message of 25 April, 1951, as an "essential
prelude to the institution of the Universal House of Justice"), these
were his words:
"THE PRESENT PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL BAHÁ'Í
COUNCIL WILL THEN BECOME THE JUDGE." (THE GUARDIAN IN AN ASIDE TO MASON
AND WITH A SMILE ASKED, "MASON, ARE YOU READY TO BECOME A JUDGE").
Note: The above may be verified from hand written notes taken by
me at the table at the time and inscribed in ink in a book of consecutive
unattachable pages.
I remembered being puzzled at the time as to why Shoghi Effendi had singled
out Mason Remey as "the Judge" when all the other members of the
Council were also seated at the table, except one, and I had considered
them all as having co-equal status. Now while meditating on the question
of who could possibly occupy the position of President of the Universal
House of Justice, if it were to be formed, (as obviously someone would have
to fulfill this role) it suddenly dawned on me that Mason Remey by virtue
of his having been appointed by the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, as
President of the International Bahá'í Council (the embryo
of this body) was the only logical one. What now amazes me, since receipt
of the Proclamation, is that, although I had come to this conclusion, I
did not, either then, or at any time prior to the Proclamation, carry this
conclusion one step further and realize, what then should have been obvious,
that as Presidentship of the Universal House of Justice and Guardianship
are synonymous titles, Shoghi Effendi's appointment of Mason Remey as President
of the International Bahá'í Council during his lifetime was,
in effect, identical with naming him his successor. (The embryo with its
appointed head conceived in the infallible mind of Shoghi Effendi was only
awaiting its birth.)
With the receipt of the momentous Proclamation of our second Guardian, the
final veil was lifted from my eyes and I was led to discover and realize
the following additional facts:
Note: For those who may argue that the third stage of the embryonic Institution ("the duly elected body") calls for the election of all 9 members, careful thought should be given to the "principle" involved in the "operation" of this Institution for, unlike the National Houses of Justice, of which the present National Spiritual Assemblies are the embryo, the Universal House of Justice combines "the hereditary authority" symbolized by the Guardian – its President with the democratic element elected by "the representatives of the faithful" (NSA's). We, as fallible beings, are certainly not empowered to alter this principle and destroy "this divinely revealed Order," "this unique Order" which "however long it may endure and however extensive its ramifications, cannot ever degenerate into any form of despotism, of oligarchy, or of demagogy which must sooner or later corrupt the machinery of all man made and essentially defective political institutions". (See p.154, "Dispensation.")
Note: For those who insist that "stewardship"
denotes authority, your attention, is kindly invited to page 143
of "Bahá'í Administration" wherein Shoghi
Effendi has clearly outlined, in writing about the responsibilities of NSA's,
the difference between authority on the one hand and stewardship on the
other.
It need only be said in conclusion that those who continue to accept the
self-delegated authority and interpretation of the Hands of the Cause in
the Holy Land instead of the explicit provisions of the Will and Testament
of `Abdu'l-Bahá and the instructions and appointment of our first
beloved Guardian, have only the following to look forward to: Whereas, those who accept the second beloved Guardian of the Cause of God:
Joel Bray Marangella P.S. What has shocked and distressed me since the issuance of the Proclamation
is the obviously superficial manner in which some of the friends have read
this document and the first Encyclical letter which followed. Some are saying
that Mason Remey is advocating putting aside the Ten Year Crusade when he
speaks of "this fallacious program for 1963" whereas it is evident
he is speaking about the announced program of the Hands to proceed with
the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963 (which was never
called for under the objectives of the Ten Year Global Crusade given by
Shoghi Effendi), or they are saying that in his First Encyclical letter
he is claiming the Hands have no authority to exist, whereas, if you read
this passage closely, it says: "this organization of the Hands",
which is quite a different matter. The Will and Testament outlines no organization
of the Hands, such has been developed by them since the passing of Shoghi
Effendi. Nor does this Document prescribe that they meet in conclaves or
in consultative meetings to make joint decisions. On the contrary the Will
and Testament prescribes that the Hands work as individuals under the direction
of the living Guardian of the Faith. NOTE:THIS OPEN LETTER HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE SECOND GUARDIAN OF THE BAHÁ'I
FAITH FOR APPROVAL PRIOR TO ITS DISPATCH. HE HAS NOT ONLY GIVEN HIS APPROVAL
BUT HAS URGED ITS WIDE SPREAD CIRCULATION THROUGHOUT THE BAHÁ'I WORLD,
EVEN TO THOSE WHOM I DO NOT KNOW PERSONALLY.
With warm and loving Bahá'í greetings.
Faithfully, in devotion to His Covenant,
21 October l960
Orleans, France
Dear Bahá'í friends, In the face of the above listed handicaps to recognizing the claims put
forth in the Proclamation of the Second Guardian, it would have been surprising
indeed if more than a handful of believers had immediately accepted the
Second Guardian on the morrow of his Proclamation. Why is it that the Bahá'í world should be faced with this
great test? Most of us had assumed that our period of testing in connection
with the Covenant had come to an end following the early years of Shoghi
Effendi's Ministry and the consolidation of the Institution of the Guardianship
accomplished during his ministry. What would have been the affect on the believers throughout the Bahá'í
world had Shoghi Effendi come right out in a clearly announced statement
and named Mason Remey, during his own lifetime, as his successor – a man
some twenty-five years his senior? If such an announcement had been made, would it not have caused utter consternation
and even incredulity amongst the believers? For such an open and clear appointment
would have indicated that Shoghi Effendi would not live to an old age, as
Mason Remey was destined to outlive him. If for no other reason, was there
then not a wisdom in the manner in which Shoghi Effendi chose to accomplish
the appointment of his successor in accordance with the sacred provisions
of the Will and Testament, while at the same time veiling this appointment
and its immediate implications from the believers? It was not the first
time in religious history that a Divine appointment has been veiled even
from those who have been the closest to the one making the appointment.
We need only to call to mind this principle as applied to the appearance
of the Manifestations of God down through the ages. Religious history teaches
us that rivers of blood have flowed and every Manifestation of God has suffered
the direst persecution and drunk from the cup of martyrdom because the followers
of His Predecessor have failed to pierce the veils of love, of pride or
their own preconceived ideas concerning the characteristics of the succeeding
Manifestation and the manner and conditions of His appearance. And both
the Center of the Covenant and the First Guardian were deluged in a sea
of tribulations at the beginning of their Ministries because of this same
failure to understand and to remain steadfast in the Covenant even on the
part of many of those closest to Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá,
including their own families. Does this explain the behaviour and opposition
of the former Hands of the Cause to this Divine appointment; those, who
had been elevated to foremost spiritual rank among the believers by the
First Guardian. Could the very love and admiration they have for Shoghi
Effendi now be the veil interposing itself between them and the recognition
of his appointed successor? If this be so, then, is it not reminiscent and
characteristic of what has happened in past Dispensations and what transpired
following the first two Divine appointments in our own Dispensation? (i.e.,
the appointment of `Abdu'l-Bahá as Center of the Covenant, and his
appointment of Shoghi Effendi as the First Guardian). Both `Abdu'l-Bahá
and Shoghi Effendi were made the target of every abuse and were denied,
repudiated, vilified by the very ones who should have been the first to
accept and support them. In connection with this theme, it is significant
that the Master should have seen fit to quote in His Will and Testament
the Báb's warning to His followers: "Beware, beware, lest the
Nineteen Letters of the Living and that which hath been revealed in the
Bayán veil thee" (pg. 4, 1944 U.S. Edition). Is this, then,
the test that now faces the Bahá'ís the world over, especially
those who loved our first Guardian the most – the test of being able to
overcome their great personal love for him as an individual and recognize
that the Institution which he represented – the Institution of Guardianship
– is eternal in this Dispensation and must be adored above all? In this
test do we not find the true meaning of steadfastness in the Covenant? Must
the history of mankind's violation down through the ages of the Greater
Covenant and the violation of the Lesser Covenant in this Dispensation which
we have already twice witnessed be repeated once more in order that we may
be forever freed from the worship of the human personality and attach ourselves,
instead, to reality? Are we not Bahá'ís followers of the Light?
In pursuance of this theme it is appropriate to call to mind the Báb's
words of warning addressed to Vahid, characterized by Shoghi Effendi as
the "most learned, most eloquent and influential among his followers":
"By the righteousness of Him whose power causeth the seed to germinate
and Who breatheth the spirit of life into all things, were I to be assured
that in the Day of His manifestation thou wilt deny Him I would unhesitatingly
disown thee and repudiate thy faith ....... If, on the other hand, I be
told that a Christian, who beareth no allegiance to my Faith will believe
in Him, the same will I regard as the apple of Mine Eye" (Pg. 101,
Dispensation). "The statement in the Will of `Abdu'l-Bahá (the
passage in the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá which provides
for successor to the Guardian and reference is made to the Hands) does
not imply that the Hands of the Cause of God have been given the authority
to overrule the Guardian. `Abdu'l-Bahá could not have provided for
a conflict of authority in the Faith. This is obvious in view of His own
words, which you will find on Pg. 13 ( Pg. 11, 1944 U.S. edition)
of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. "The mighty stronghold
shall remain impregnable and safe through obedience to Him who is the Guardian
of the Cause of God. It is incumbent upon ......the Hands of the Cause of
God to show their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the guardian
of the Cause of God, to turn unto him and be lowly before him. He that opposeth
him hath opposed the True One...etc." In view of this clear and highly significant statement made by the beloved
First Guardian, it is obvious that the argument cited above is completely
false and without foundation. How could we have permitted ourselves to think
otherwise for the Guardian is infallible in making his appointment. Is he
to be opposed or overruled by his fallible assistant? Then you may ask why
does this provision appear at all in the Will and Testament. In view of
Shoghi Effendi's statement we must search for another significance behind
this provision. Without attempting to interpret what this significance is,
it is certainly obvious that, as all, including the Hands, are enjoined
to be submissive, obedient and lowly before the Guardian of the Cause, any
refusal on the part of these nine elected Hands to give their assent would
constitute disobedience and disloyalty to the Guardian and indicate that
they would not be willing to work under the guidance of his successor (should
they be living at that time). Under these circumstances the Guardian would
have no choice but to expel them. Aside from all this, we know that the
present organization of nine Hands in the Holy Land, designated by them
as the "Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land" or "Hands of
the Faith in Haifa" is not the "nine persons" elected from
the company of the Hands as provided for in the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá.
We further know that Shoghi Effendi did not call for this election during
his lifetime.
I am writing this second open letter to the believers based on a personal
letter which I addressed to a Bahá'í friend some time ago.
I am doing this at the request of our beloved Guardian as he had been furnished
a copy of the aforementioned letter and felt that the arguments set forth
therein would constitute a further document of proof to the believers. In
this letter I should like to discuss certain questions which were not treated
in my former letter – questions which I am sure have been in the minds of
many, if not most, of the believers concerning the reasons behind and the
causes of the present crisis facing the Bahá'í world.
First, before going into these questions, I would like to say that at the
time I took my own stand in support of the Second Guardian I felt that a
majority of the friends throughout the Bahá'í world would
not at the outset accept the Second Guardian for the following reasons:
As subtle a test as the Proclamation proved to be to the mass of the believers,
it was apparent that it would be even a greater test to the Hands of the
Cause because:
For an answer to this question let us go back in time and recall to mind
the confusion, despair and consternation which seized the Bahá'í
world on the eve of the passing of Shoghi Effendi when it was learned that
a testamentary document of the type which most of us had anticipated was
not found. Even those believers who refused to believe that the Guardianship
had ended, instead of retaining their faith that Shoghi Effendi had in some
inexplicable way appointed his successor according to the manner enjoined
upon him in the Will and Testament, deluded themselves into thinking that
the question of successorship would be resolved by the Universal House of
Justice when it was formed. I, too, was guilty of this delusion for a time.
However, when time was found to study and re-study carefully the Will and
Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá and the "Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh",
the complete falsity of holding such a belief and the impossibility of the
Universal House of Justice deliberating upon and resolving such a question
became glaringly obvious. It became clear that the believers would either
have to maintain their faith that the beloved First Guardian had fulfilled
his obligation to name his successor according to the provisions of the
Will and Testament, in some way not as yet clear to us, and despite appearances
to the contrary, or face the only other alternative, namely; that the Guardianship
had ended. Acceptance of this alternative meant that our Divinely conceived,
perfect Administrative Order fashioned by its Master Architect, delineated
in the "immortal Document" representing "His
greatest legacy to posterity" and "the brightest
emanation of His mind" – "the supreme act "
associated with His mission, would be forevermore deprived of its
Guardian and thereby permanently mutilated and rendered imperfect.
So many of the friends have asked why it was that Shoghi Effendi did not
leave a clearly written testament naming Mason Remey his successor which
would have left no doubts in the minds of the believers. If we consider
this question carefully in the light of the explicit provisions of the Will
and Testament it is clear that the Will and Testament does not specify that
the Guardian should name his successor in a testamentary document to be
opened after his passing. On the contrary, the Will and Testament makes
it incumbent upon the Guardian to name his successor during his lifetime.
Conceding that this is so, the question then follows, why did not Shoghi
Effendi appoint his successor in such a clear way during his lifetime that
there would not be any doubt as to his rightful successor and the Bahá'í
world would not now be faced with its present crisis? Without presuming
to be able to answer this question, as it is not for the servants of God
to question His inscrutable ways, let us ask ourselves this question:
Can we use preservation of "Divine Unity" as an excuse
to oppose and repudiate the second Guardian of the Cause of God, i.e., join
with the majority who have opposed and repudiated him because they are the
majority and in order to preserve unity? The answer is clear if we but recall
what would have happened if this principle had been followed when the beloved
Master was struggling against the machinations and evil doings of the arch
breaker of the Covenant at that time who was then supported by "almost
the entire family of Bahá'u'lláh" and who had accused `Abdu'l-Bahá
of being an "ambitious, a self-willed, and unprincipled and pitiless
usurper, Who had deliberately disregarded the testamentary instructions
of His Father . . ." – they, together with many who had been the
closest to Bahá'u'lláh, all united in a determined effort
to subvert the foundations of the Covenant which the newly proclaimed Will
had laid" (See pg. 247,"God Passes By" ). And, a second time,
we have the example of what happened to our First beloved Guardian who suffered
the repudiation of his entire family. If unity had been the principle followed
in both of these instances of violation of the Covenant our precious Cause
would have long since been destroyed. We only have to refer to the Will
and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá for the answer. Now it is unmistakably
clear that the principle of unity does not apply when the Covenant is being
violated.(See Pg. 12 W&T).
And are we to be veiled because there was no Aghsán to inherit the Guardianship?
Do we think that the Hand of God was chained up and unable to assure the
continuance of this Divine Institution ordained by Him for the preservation
of His Cause? Does not `Abdu'l-Bahá answer this question for us,
and significantly in His last Tablet to America treating exclusively of
the Covenant, when He says: "The Divine Gardener cuts off the dry or
weak branch from the good tree and grafts to it, a branch from another tree.
He both separates and unites....... (BWF, Pg. 438). What could be clearer
than this statement of the Master pointing out how God – the Divine Gardener
– changes the bad branch for the good? Are we then, in the face of this
statement, prepared to say that the Guardian of the Cause of God, acting
under His infallible guidance, is incapable of changing the bad branch for
the good in appointing his successor?
And, finally, there is the question of approval and endorsement of the nine
Hands elected from their company based on the argument advanced by many
that the provision contained in the Will and Testament requiring these nine
Hands to give their "assent" to the one whom the Guardian has
appointed his successor gives them the authority to overrule the Guardian.
If those who advance this argument would search out the writings of Shoghi
Effendi they would find the following pertinent statement of his appearing
in a letter published in the U.S. Bahá'í News of February
1955:
There are many who are still clinging to the hope that the Universal House
of Justice scheduled to be formed in 1963 under the plan of the Hands (not
being one of the objectives outlined by Shoghi Effendi for the Ten Year
Global Crusade) will find a way to the continuance of the Guardianship.
Aside from the fact that such a body would not be the Divine infallible
Institution described in the Will and Testament without its sacred head
– the Guardian – serving as its President (a point which I discussed in detail
in my general letter), is not such a hope completely unfounded and a delusion
when one considers that the Hands have already definitely made up their
minds that the Guardianship has ended and have announced In their message
of 4 November 1959 to the Bahá'í world that they will sit
in consultation with the Universal House of Justice which they are bringing
into existence (a right not given them by the Will and Testament) and decide
the question of the Guardianship. Does anyone harbour the illusion that
their minds are going to be changed in the meantime and that their view
will not prevail during such consultation and that we shall find any other
decision coming out of this body but that the Guardianship (i.e., the living
Guardianship) has ended forever? When this happens, those who have deluded
themselves into believing that the Universal House of Justice, formed under
the plan of the Hands without its sacred head, is, in fact, the infallible
Institution described in the Will and Testament will then be forced to bow
to the decision made by this body that the Guardianship has ended, under
pain of being labelled a Covenant Breaker. This great deception will have
then run its full course and the mass of the believers who have supported
this decision will find themselves united in a permanent violation of the
Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.
If there are any of the believers who may still be unconvinced that the
former Hands have not made up their minds that the Guardianship has ended,
a few of the multiple evidences might be cited. For the American believers,
there was the letter put out by the American Hands in 1958 stating all hope
should be abandoned for a future Guardian. More recently, in France, we
have the statements made by both Mr. Faizi and Mr. Khadem. Mr. Faizi in
meeting with the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of France, who
had accepted the Second Guardian, stated emphatically that the Guardianship
had ended supporting his contention with a perversion of the well-known
passage in the Holy Writings of Bahá'u'lláh wherein Bahá'u'lláh
states there will not be another Manifestation "ere the expiration
of a full thousand years" saying that in the text from which he was
reading (Persian or Arabic) and translating, this statement of Bahá'u'lláh's
also applied to the Guardianship. This was a shocking and amazing statement.
It is significant that the Master in the Will and Testament twice refers
to the use of this same quotation (pgs. 6 and 8, W & T) by those who
violated the Covenant in former times and asks, "can a transgression
be imagined more glaring than this, the interpolation of the Holy Text?"
Mr. Khadem, in a talk given at the Paris Bahá'í Centre, (as
reported in the illegal French Bahá'í Journal of September
1960), had this to say: "The station of the Guardianship of the Faith
is so divine and lofty that one is not even able to conceive it. In order
to give an elementary idea of it, it is necessary to recall this prophecy
of the Koran which says: "In the future Manifestation, the Guardianship
will be for God, Himself, the true Lord of the world . . ." The Báb,
Bahá'u'lláh as well as `Abdu'l-Bahá have spoken of
it" It is interesting to compare this statement of Mr. Khadem with
Shoghi Effendi's own words contained in the "Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh"
which Shoghi Effendi states he has written to lay special stress "upon
certain truths which lie at the basis of our Faith and the integrity of
which it is our first duty to safeguard. In this document Shoghi Effendi
says: "The Guardian of the Faith must not under any circumstances and
whatever his merits or his achievements, be exalted to the rank that will
make him a co-sharer with `Abdu'l-Bahá in the unique position which
the Center of the Covenant occupies – much less to the station exclusively
ordained for the Manifestation of God. So grave a departure from the established
tenets of our Faith is nothing short of open blasphemy. (Starting with last
line on pg. 150) Then, there are the recent addresses of Rúhíyyih
Khánum throughout the United States in which she has reiterated views
expressed publicly at the Kampala Intercontinental Conference that God had
changed His plan with regard to the Guardianship – that is, He has ended
the Guardianship. Also in hand is a copy of a letter addressed by former
Hand, Mr. Alá'i, to a French believer in which we find this curious
statement: "According to the opinion of this impotent one, it is certain
that the House of Justice will designate among its members someone to be
President who in deference to the Blessed Testament will have the title
of deputy director or representative, who will operate in accordance with
the duties designated under the House of Justice; but it is certain that
he will never be the Guardian of the Cause of God."
Dear friends, it should be clear and obvious that the only hope and salvation
for the Bahá'í world in this time of crisis is to closely
study again the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá and all that our
beloved First Guardian wrote on the Guardianship. Then in the light of these
Writings, let us prayerfully read and reflect on the Proclamation issued
by the Second Guardian of the Faith and his Encyclical Letters so that we
may discover for ourselves how Shoghi Effendi did not abandon this precious,
infant Faith of God to the pitfalls of man-made interpretations, plans and
institutions, but on the contrary, has preserved the integrity of our glorious
Faith in the manner he was enjoined to do under the sacred provisions of
the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá for both the present and future
Bahá'í generations.
"O ye spiritual friends Firmness (constancy) must reach a degree that if all the souls (Bahá'ís) be destroyed by the evil wishers and there remain but one, that one singly and alone should be capable of withstanding all who live on earth, and of spreading the fragrance of holiness." (Pg. 25, Vol.1, Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá)
During the 36-year ministry of the first Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi
Effendi, the Bahá'ís proclaimed their undying fidelity to
the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and to the appointed Centre of
that Covenant, `Abdu'l-Bahá. In `Abdu'l-Bahá they recognised
not only the Centre to whom all should, turn, following the Ascension of
Bahá'u'lláh as the sole Interpreter of the Holy Word but the
true Exemplar of their Faith and the "perfect Architect" of a
divinely-conceived Administrative Order – an Order unique in religious history
and the distinguishing feature of their Faith. As Shoghi Effendi has said
"this Order constitutes the very pattern of that divine civilisation
which the almighty Law of Bahá'u'lláh is designed to establish
upon earth". Bahá'u'lláh, Himself, extolled this future
Order as "this unique, this wondrous System – the like of which mortal
eyes have never witnessed".
As every Bahá'í knows, this unique Administrative Order was
delineated by the unerring Pen of `Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament,
a Document acclaimed by Shoghi Effendi as the very "Child of the Covenant"
for as he explained: "The creative energies released by the Law of
Bahá'u'lláh, permeating and evolving within the mind of `Abdu'l-Bahá,
have by their very impact and close interaction given birth to an Instrument
which may be viewed as the Charter of the New World Order which is at once
the glory and promise of this most great Dispensation: The Will may thus
be acclaimed as the inevitable offspring resulting from that mystic intercourse
between Him Who communicated the generating influence of His divine Purpose
and the One Who was its vehicle and chosen recipient. Being the Child of
the Covenant – the Heir of both the Originator and the Interpreter of the
Law of God – the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá can no more be
divorced from Him Who supplied the original and motivating impulse than
from the One Who ultimately conceived it". Hence, as Shoghi Effendi
has stated, this momentous Document should be considered as "Their
Will". Moreover, in expatiating on the sacred character of this divine
Charter, Shoghi Effendi conferred on this Document a rank coequal with The
Most Holy Book revealed by Bahá'u'lláh – the Kitáb-i-Aqdas-stating
that "A study of these sacred documents will reveal the close relationship
that exists between them" and "that they are not only complementary,
but that they mutually confirm one another and are inseparable parts of
one complete unit". And he has said further: "For nothing short
of the ... provisions of their Will could possibly safeguard the Faith for
which They have both so gloriously labored all Their Lives".
As the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá – His "greatest legacy
to posterity" – constitutes a part of the explicit Holy Text, it is
clear that not one jot or tittle of this Document may be annulled, altered
or amended for as long as the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh
endures. Therefore, "This Divine Masterpiece which the hand of the
Master-builder of the world has designed for the unification and the triumph
of the world-wide Faith of Bahá'u'lláh", must remain
immutable and inviolable for no less than a full thousand years.
How then can any Bahá'í claiming to accept the divine origin
and immutability of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Charter and its co-equal
rank with The Most Holy Book reconcile this belief with the insidious doctrine
promulgated by some that God has changed His Mind ("BADA") concerning
the continuity of the guardianship of the Cause? And, consequently, those
provisions of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Charter pertaining to the supreme institutions
of the Bahá'í Administrative Order have become null and void
a mere thirty-six years following the inception of that Order due to the
alleged inability or failure of Shoghi Effendi to appoint a successor under
the terms of that Charter.
It should be clear even to a non-Bahá'í observer that, in
the light of the foregoing, such a conclusion would constitute nothing less
than a flagrant repudiation of the previously professed belief of the Bahá'ís
in the immutability of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Charter. Indeed to believe
that Shoghi Effendi was unable or failed to appoint his successor is to
place him in the position of being a party to the destruction of the World
Order of Bahá'u'lláh. For, to put an end to the guardianship – the
very heart and centre of the Cause – is to also destroy the two remaining
supreme institutions of the Administrative Order which depend on the presence
of a living Guardian of the Faith, namely; the Universal House of Justice
of which the Guardian is "the sacred head and distinguished member
for life" and the Hands of the Cause who are appointed only by him.
Those familiar with the auspicious record of Shoghi Effendi's untiring labors
during his ministry to erect the machinery of the Bahá'í Administrative
Order throughout the world and his copious writings pertaining to the distinguishing
features of that Order will vouch that they bear eloquent testimony to the
depths of his devotion, dedication, and undeviating fidelity to `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Testament and his unwavering resolve to faithfully discharge every mandate
bequeathed to us in that Charter as well as in His other Charter: "The
Tablets of the Divine Plan." One may search his writings and not find
a single phrase in them or in his historic messages to the Bahá'í
world alluding to anything but the indispensability and the continuity of
the guardianship down through the ages to come of the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh.
Indeed, faithful to his sacred trust, Shoghi Effendi carefully provided
for the continuity of the guardianship as prescribed in the Will and Testament
of `Abdu'l-Bahá and publicly announced the appointment of his successor
to the Bahá'í world at the time. This being the case, why
was it that this all-important appointment was not recognised by the Bahá'ís
either then or following the passing of Shoghi Effendi? The answer is to
be found in the erroneous beliefs and notions unfortunately held by most,
if not all, of the Bahá'ís as to the manner in which Shoghi
Effendi would appoint his successor coupled with equally fallacious views
as to the qualifications that his successor was required to possess. As
Shoghi Effendi had been appointed to his supreme Office in the Faith through
the instrumentality of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, they
automatically assumed (without re-examining the phraseology of the Will)
that Shoghi Effendi would employ a similar instrument to appoint his successor
whereas if they had closely re-examined the language of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Testament they would have noted that it is mandatory for the Guardian to
appoint his successor "in his own lifetime ... that differences may
not arise after his passing".
Thus, it may be seen that the guardians of the Faith are barred from using
a testamentary-type document in the appointment of their successors. The
Bahá'ís held an equally false notion as to the qualifications
of the Guardian's successor believing that only the Guardian's son could
inherit, the guardianship (Shoghi Effendi had no offspring) whereas `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Will permits the Guardian to choose another male believer ("branch"–
not Branch) whose fidelity and service to the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh –
the "Tree of the Covenant" – has qualified him to be a spiritual
"branch" of that glorious Tree.
Spiritually blinded, as they were (and still are), by these preconceived
ideas and notions (so reminiscent of religious history), it is little wonder
that the Bahá'ís, as a whole, were ill-prepared to perceive
the significance of the act taken by Shoghi Effendi to assure the continuity
of the guardianship and to recognise the unique and ingenious manner in
which he accomplished the appointment of his successor (a public yet veiled
appointment).
Some five years prior to his passing, Shoghi Effendi issued the only Proclamation
of his ministry on 9 January 1951, using the form of a cablegram significantly
addressed to the "National Assemblies of the East and West". In
this historic Proclamation he proclaimed the "weighty epoch-making
decision of the formation of the first International Bahá'í
Council" hailing this decision to form the "first embryonic International
Institution" as the "most significant milestone in the evolution
of the Administrative Order of the Faith" since the Ascension of `Abdu'l-Bahá
(30 years earlier). Further eulogizing this event, he stated that history
would acclaim the constitution, at long last, of the International Council
"as the greatest event shedding lustre upon the second epoch of the
Formative Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation potentially unsurpassed
by any enterprise undertaken since the inception of the Administrative Order
...". The significance of this "milestone" lay, of course,
in the fact that Shoghi Effendi had established the embryonic Universal
House of Justice. As we know from the Writings, the growth and development
of all beings is gradual and "the embryo possesses from the first all
perfections." (pp. 312-313, BWF).
This divine and universal principle applies equally to the organisms of
the embryonic World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Therefore the Universal
House of Justice established in the embryonic form by Shoghi Effendi was
a complete and whole organism "from the first." Consider, therefore
the significance of Shoghi Effendi's appointment of a head (or President)
of this body-an organism which he stated would evolve through four successive
stages in its development towards maturity.
All Bahá'ís, know that according to the Will and Testament
of `Abdu'l-Bahá only the Guardian of the Faith serves as the "sacred
head and the distinguished member for life of that body". In this undeniable
fact lay the hidden key to recognising Shoghi Effendi's appointed successor.
For he named a Bahá'í of recognised unsurpassed service, devotion
and fidelity to the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh since the earliest
days of `Abdu'l-Bahá to be the head or President of this embryonic
body – one whom he had summoned to take up permanent residence in Haifa but
a short time earlier to assist him in the work at the World Administrative
Centre of the Faith. Significantly, Shoghi Effendi had chosen not to assume
the Presidency of this body, himself, and at the same time he did not permit
its appointed head to activate this embryonic Institution during the remaining
few years of his life, for to have done so would have caused this organism
to emerge from its embryonic state into full and active life – a state that
necessarily had to await his passing. Coincident with his passing the successor-Guardian-President
of the Universal House of Justice (Guardian and President of the UHJ being
synonymous titles) would automatically assume active leadership of the Faith
(with no break, even for a moment, in the continuity of the guardianship).
To choose this method to appoint his successor was indeed ingenious for
while Shoghi Effendi made this appointment, as required, "in his own
life-time" he, at the same time, veiled the appointment in such a way
it did not become obvious to the believers. Had they perceived the significance
of the appointment of a man much older than Shoghi Effendi as his successor
they could not have then escaped the realisation that this appointment portended
the death of Shoghi Effendi in the near future (his passing was some six
years later). Certainly such a realisation unquestionably would have produced
consternation amongst the believers and given rise to chaotic conditions
within the Faith.
Tragically, as it turned out, the veil with which Shoghi Effendi had purposely
enshrouded the appointment of his successor became even more impenetrable
following his passing, for the reasons outlined earlier, with dire consequences
for the future of the Faith. Not finding a will and testament following
the passing of Shoghi Effendi and blinded by their preconceived ideas, as
cited above, the Bahá'ís hastily concluded that Shoghi Effendi
had no successor, thereby renouncing their faith in the divinely-conceived
Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. In place of the "divinely
ordained" institutions delineated in that Holy Charter they erected
an organisation of their own making that was but a poor substitute for the
divine System bequeathed to us by `Abdu'l-Bahá. In their sans-Guardian
organisation:
Such, then, are the frightful implications of a guardianless Faith. The
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh – that "Wondrous System"
extolled by Bahá'u'lláh and delineated by the infallible Pen
of `Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament can never become a reality
when the supreme organs of that divinely-conceived Order have all been destroyed
or replaced by man-made institutions.
The Orthodox Bahá'ís adhere to a Faith that has remained unchanged
since the days of the first Guardian of the Faith. They hope and pray that
those Bahá'ís who have permitted themselves to be led astray
and persuaded to abandon the divine Order bequeathed to us by `Abdu'l-Bahá
will return to the Fold of the Covenant with the realisation that the Covenant
of Bahá'u'lláh and its glorious offspring, the "Child
of the Covenant" – the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá – are
indestructible and inviolable.
Joel Bray Marangella
Third Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith