INTRODUCTION
The institution of the Hands of the Cause of God within the Orthodox Bahá’í Faith had its beginnings in the nineteenth century during the ministry of Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Faith. Included in the basic functions ascribed to the four Hands of the Cause, whom Bahá’u’lláh named to assist Him in His endeavors, were the diffusion of the divine fragrances of His Teachings and the protection of His Cause. These four devoted individuals were charged with helping others to learn about the principles and laws of the Faith and to encourage the believers to put into practice that which Bahá’u’lláh espoused for the betterment of the world. They performed their services under His direction and guidance.
These same Hands served ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’u’lláh’s chosen successor, during His ministry. About them, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said: “The Hands of the Cause are such blessed souls that the evidences of their sanctity and spirituality will be felt in the hearts of people. Their influence must be such that the souls may be carried away by their goodly character, their pure motives, their justice and fairness, that individuals may be enamoured of their praiseworthy character and their virtuous attributes, and that people may turn their faces toward them for their qualities and resplendent signs. ‘Hand of the Cause’ is not a title which can be given to anybody. Neither is it a position to be handed down to whomsoever may desire it.” (Má’idiy-I-Ásmání, vol. 2, p. 13)
Although during His ministry ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ identified four individuals posthumously as Hands of the Cause, He actually did not appoint any living individuals to serve as Hands. His Will and Testament, however, provided for his successors, the Guardians of the Cause, to have Hands to assist them in their endeavors. He wrote:
“The Hands of the Cause of God must be nominated and appointed by the guardian of the Cause of God. All must be under his shadow and obey his command.”
He subsequently lined out the functions of the Hands:
“The obligations of the Hands of the Cause of God are to diffuse the Divine Fragrances, to edify the souls of men, to promote learning, to improve learning, to improve the character of all men and to be, at all times and under all conditions, sanctified and detached from earthly things. They must manifest the fear of God by their conduct, their manners, their deeds and their words.”
And He also wrote:
“…the Hands of the Cause of God must be ever watchful and so soon as
they find anyone beginning to oppose and protest against the guardian of
the Cause of God [they are to] cast him out from the
congregation of the
people of Bahá and in no wise accept any excuse from him.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá made it essential that the Hands themselves were to be under the shadow of the Guardian of the Faith and were to abide by his directions. Failure on their part to do so would reap grave consequences:
“Should any, within or without the company of the Hands of the Cause of God disobey and seek division,the wrath of God and His vengeance will be upon him, for he will have caused a breach in the true Faithof God.”
"'Abdu’l-Bahá’ clearly established the Guardian of the Faith as the sine qua non for the Hands, saying: “This body of the Hands of the Cause of God is under the direction of the guardian of the Cause of God. He must continually urge them to strive and endeavor to the utmost of their ability to diffuse the sweet savors of God, and to guide all the peoples of the world, for it is the light of Divine Guidance that causeth all the universe to be illumined.”
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá died in 1921, the affairs of the Faith came under the direction and guidance of Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Cause. During the early years of his ministry, Shoghi Effendi posthumously identified Hands of the Cause. It wasn’t until 1951 that he named living individuals as Hands, beginning with a contingent of 12, whom he nominated in a cablegram of December 24, 1951. His later appointments through October, 1957, raised the number of living Hands to “thrice nine the total number of the Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth, who have been invested by the unerring Pen of the Center of His Covenant with the dual function of guarding over the security, and of insuring the propagation, of His Father’s Faith.”
It is the Orthodox Bahá'í position that following the death of Shoghi Effendi in November of 1957, twenty-six of the twenty-seven Hands of the Cause shamefully failed to live up to the high standards of fidelity to the Covenant and loyalty to the Guardian implied by the name "Hands of the Cause of God." They usurped the leadership of the Faith and, for all practical purposes, ignored an institution established by Shoghi Effendi called the International Bahá’í Council, which he had characterized as the embryonic Universal House of Justice, the head of which—according to the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá –must be the Guardian of the Cause. If the Hands had turned to that body, they would have found themselves serving under the direction of the second Guardian of the Cause, for that embryonic body had a head, its President, Charles Mason Remey, who was one of the foremost Hands of the Cause. What ensued, instead, was the beginning of what Mason Remey called the Great Violation of the Faith, the turning away from the institution of the Guardianship, not only by the Hands of the Cause but by the vast majority of Bahá’ís around the world who followed them.
In late 1959, Mason Remey separated himself from the erring Hands’ organization. Then, following his proclamation to the Bahá’í World in April of 1960, he set up the administration for the Bahá’ís under the Hereditary Guardianship. Within that administration the second Guardian oversaw the establishment of National Spiritual Assemblies in several countries, and then, in 1964, he formed the second International Bahá’í Council, naming Joel B. Marangella as its head.
During Mason Remey’s ministry, though, he did not designate any individuals as Hands of the Cause.
For his part, as the third Guardian of the Cause, Joel B. Marangella has named one individual posthumously as a Hand (Madeline Byers) and has identified seven other living believers as Hands. The current Hands of the Cause are Nosrat’u’llah Bahremand (the third Guardian’s chosen successor), Franklin Schlatter, Marilyn Meyer, Ross Campbell, Y.H. Taylor, David Maxwell, and Jeffrey Goldberg. In compliance with the provisions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, they serve the Guardian and are enjoined to teach and protect the Cause.
This website has been established to provide the Hands of the Cause with an outlet for some of their writings and to provide information regarding their activities on behalf of the Guardian and for the Orthodox Bahá’í Faith.
--F.D.S.
