THE TIMES OF INDIA NEW DELHI ATTENTION BAHA'IS EXCERPTS FROM THE PROCLAMATION OF RIDVAN 1960 "BELOVED FRIENDS: Believers have questioned me as to my status
as President of the Baha'i International Council, appointed by the beloved
Guardian Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Baha'i Faith. I take
the means of this proclamation to the coming annual national convention
to tell all Baha'is exactly what my position and status is in the Faith.
"The Baha'i people the world around know that the beloved Guardian
singled me, Mason Remey, out from amongst all the believers upon earth to
occupy the position of President of the Baha'i International Council. This
is the only position suggestive of authority that Shoghi Effendi ever bestowed
upon anyone, the only special and specific appointment of authority to any
man ever made by him."
"The beloved Guardian declared the Baha'i International Council to
be the forerunner of and the first step toward the establishment of The
Universal House of Justice, and furthermore, that the Baha'i International
Council was the embryo of the Universal House of Justice which embryo would
eventually develop into the Universal House of Justice." * * * * * * "I, as President of the International Council was one of those things
that every Baha'i knows but that just never happened to be talked about
nor even mentioned in any of the conclaves or in the conferences of the
Hands of the Faith; therefore, as this subject was never mentioned, I, having
promised the Hands never to divulge any of their discussions, proceedings
or decisions, am not breaking faith with them now by explaining to the believers
about this subject of my Presidentship of the International Council, a subject
that was never even mentioned nor brought up for discussion by the Hands
of the Faith in any conference that I ever attended or know anything about." * * * * * * "The beloved Guardian gave me no authority to do anything about the
Universal Council during his lifetime, for while he was living he was the
Guardian of the Faith, and as infallibility then was vested in him and in
him only, my position was then only that of I myself holding a potential
responsibility. But with the death of Shoghi Effendi... I became the acting
President of the International Council... Therefore, I am now but assuming
the powers that came to me automatically upon the death of Shoghi Effendi
and that have been mine exclusively of all others upon earth..." * * * * * * "The beloved Guardian chose me to be the President of the Baha'i International
Council that is, according to his explanation, the President of the Embryonic
Universal House of Justice." "The line of the Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith is unbroken for I
have been the Guardian of the Faith since the death of the beloved Guardian
Shoghi Effendi." "With much love to you.
Faithfully in El Abha, Mason R., Guardian of the Baha'i Faith" STATEMENT BY THE THIRD GUARDIAN The believers were never given the opportunity to read the full text
of the above Proclamation as it was dispatched to the Bahá'í
World through the NSA of the United States, which did not distribute it
to its sister Assemblies. Had this been done, you would not have remained
in ignorance of its contents to this day and would undoubtedly have recognized
the validity of Mason Remey's appointment as the second Guardian of the
Faith and perceived that his accession to the Guardianship had taken effect
coincident with the passing of Shoghi Effendi. Mason Remey employed the same instrumentality as Shoghi Effendi in appointing
his successor by naming me the President-to-be of the second International
Bahá'í Council upon its activation. Additionally, in a hand-written
letter dated 5 December 1961 he directed me "to tell the Bahá'í
World" that I was appointed the third Guardian of the Faith. As Presidency of the Universal House of Justice and Guardianship are synonymous
terms, it is my fervent hope that the Indian believers will thoroughly
investigate the evidence supporting the continuity of the Guardianship and
in their fidelity to the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh rally to
the support of the third Guardian and assist him to restore the Institutions
of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh as delineated in the sacred
and immortal Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Joel Bray Marangella For the complete text of Mason Remey's Proclamation or for further information:
Provisional National Baha'i Council of India Secretary Dr. A. Parikh
FRIDAY, MARCH 7 1992
OF MASON REMEY, SECOND GUARDIAN OF THE BAHA'I FAITH
Third Guardian of the Faith
P.O. Box 54
Vasai Road
District: Thane: 401207
Maharashtra
INDIA