Hands of the Bahá'í Faith

The Guardianship as the Source for the Holy Spirit

In the previous posting, I had provided a most interesting quotation from the second Guardian, Charles Mason Remey, taken from his Daily Observations while he was among the Custodians.  In that posting, Mr. Remey traced the spiritual life and power of the Faith from Bahá'u'lláh to the Center of the Covenant, `Abdu'l-Bahá, and through the Guardianship He created in His Will and Testament.

The second Guardian explained that the divine teachings of `Abdu'l-Bahá state that the Guardianship was an institution that was the only source of divine guidance, the only channel for the Holy Spirit, after the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá:

In `Abdu'l-Bahမs teachings including, of course, those divine teachings contained in his last Will and Spiritual Testament to the Bahá'í­s, He demonstrates to us that in this day and the time of this divine Bahá'í­ Dispensation upon earth that the unique source of the Holy Spirit is Bahá'u'lláh€“ that from Bahá'u'lláh (the Manifestation) this spirit of divine life descends through the Center of His Covenant upon the Guardian of the Cause [who] after Abdu'l-Bahá is the Center of the divine confirmations of the kingdom. Therefore, after Abdu'l-Bahá, the Guardian of the Faith is the only and the unique source of divine guidance for the believers --- the Guardianship being this institution and not the personality of the human Guardian. The Will and Testament provides for a continued line of many succeeding Guardians on through the ages to come, this divine guidance coming through the Institution of the Guardianship and this is the only continued source of confirmation of the Holy Spirit to the world in this Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh!
from http://www.bahai-guardian.com/daily.observe.html

The truth of the matter is that the Guardianship is the spiritual heart of the Faith and without it the Faith cannot be.  With all the talk about their Administration, the sans-Guardian organization cannot be the channel through which the Holy Spirit appears because the channel for this is the Guardianship itself, an Institution that exists in that organization only as an historical artifact. To believe otherwise is to disregard the teachings of the Center of the Covenant.

The living faith is the Orthodox Bahá'í­ Faith, with the Holy Spirit's divine guidance flowing directly through the Guardianship, a divine office presently occupied by Joel B. Marangella, to that small band of faithful believers around the world still loyal to the Guardian.

By Hand of the Cause Jeffrey Goldberg

Guardianship as the Channel for the Holy Spirit

The Guardians as Branches of the "Center of the Covenant"

Bahá’u’lláh was the root and the source of all power and spiritual life of the Faith. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Center of his Covenant, was the tree growing out from that root that was Bahá’u’lláh and the Guardians of the Faith are branched forth from the Center of the Covenant and will thus continue to function and be the source of strength and guidance of the believers on down through the spiritual Bahá’í Ages to come. Therefore the believers are to follow this line of divinely inspired Guardianship – on to victory after spiritual victory. But now there have arisen those in the Faith who claim that we must discard all which our beloved Guardian has done – discard the Will and Testament of the Center of the Covenant and revert to the Book of Aqdas there to find guidance that they claim is for every and anyone to find for himself without the divine source of infallible interpretation as provided by the Will and Testament of the Center of the Covenant in the Guardianship of the Faith.

Guardianship as the Channel for the Holy Spirit

To me, the Hands seem blind to the reality of the principle of the Guardianship, and until this be rectified there is but little hope. The Holy Spirit from on high that flowed to us so plenteously through a living beloved Guardian in our midst is now no more with us as before, but these benighted Hands do not see this!

(above was from Charles Mason Remey, second Guardian, EXTRACTS FROM DAILY OBSERVATIONS OF THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH MADE TO THE HANDS OF THE FAITH IN THE HOLY LAND)

A Giant Leap of Faith

To believe that the present Universal House of Justice is infallible requires a giant leap of faith. To follow the present UHJ in Haifa one must first leap over many clauses in 'Abdu'l-Baha's Will and Testament, and then leap over the prescribed path to the UHJ established by Shoghi Effendi. The establishment of the Baha'i Administrative Order may not be likened to a children's game of leap frog. This is the era of the maturing of the human race, and we are required to act like adults in our activities.

It is necessary to look at Baha'i Holy writ for the basis of authenticity contained in any part of the structure aligned with the name Baha'i. Holy Writ is the only valid test to determine a basis for any Baha'i Institution, and particularly the issue of Holy Infallibility. All Baha'is should understand progressive revelation, but perhaps forget that pattern of study after becoming Baha'i. A progression of writings and events lead from the Infallibility of Baha'u'llah to the eventual birth of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Will and Testament, which passes the mantle of Infallibility and the Center of the Covenant on this earth from 'Abdu'l-Baha to the Institution of the living Guardianship. Concurrently, Shoghi Effendi was appointed as the first Guardian by that instrument. And progressively Shoghi Effendi represented the Institution of Guardianship for 36 years, with its inherently defined facet of Infallibility in those instances of interpreting the Writings. In all other cases, Shoghi Effendi was a mortal in the living of his life. A very elevated mortal, we all know, but not infallible in any respect to situations beyond his dealings with the Writings.

One would think that an organization such as the bogus UHJ would at least base its existence upon something that Shoghi Effendi might have opined while not interpreting the Writings, while wearing his fallible hat, but no, they don't even do that. They have the audacity to proclaim that their existence is founded on the Will and Testament and the other Holy Writings, when nothing could be further from the truth.

Did Shoghi Effendi ever discuss that a Universal House of Justice would evolve into an entity that would lack any of the Institutions prescribed by 'Abdu'l-Baha? He did not. Just by that fact alone one should be suspect of any organization claiming lineage to the Will and Testament that lacks every one of the Institutions named by 'Abdu'l-Baha. Oh, they call themselves one of the named Institutions, the Universal House of Justice, but in fact it is not a UHJ as defined by 'Abdu'l-Baha, since it lacks at its head a guardian, the only individual named by 'Abdu'l-Baha to have a mantle of infallibility. So, on what basis do they claim to be infallible? The organization posturing itself as the UHJ has to downplay the words of 'Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi in order to remain in business, for in fact, Shoghi Effendi spent his ministry touting the Will and Testament and promoting its clauses. It can be honestly stated that he reinforced 'Abdu'l-Baha's directions and never once questioned or rescinded any of them. Does not that give one pause?

It should be remembered that the first Guardian's life was dedicated to the Writings, and as a result he was operating within the realm of Infallibility for much of his everyday activities. And we know that he explicitly continued the pattern established by 'Abdu'l-Baha, discussed the future of the Faith, and established the pattern for the continuance of infallibility on this earth through a succession of guardians after his passing. Both he and 'Abdu'l-Baha devoted their lives to ensure that the schisms of past generations would not occur in the Baha'i Faith, and that the center of God's Infallibility would live on this earth continually to guide future generations. The Institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice were both established in the Will and Testament, and the process was further defined and clarified by Shoghi Effendi. As we should know, but usually forget, things don't materialize instantly, but have to evolve. The process of the evolution of the UHJ began with 'Abdu'l-Baha and continued through the writings of Shoghi Effendi. So why did the Hands in the Holy Land leap over the instructions that Shoghi Effendi left, and instead defined a script of their own?

On January 9, 1951 Shoghi Effendi established by proclamation "this first embryonic institution," the formation of the International Baha'i Council. He further identified the International Baha'i Council as the embryonic Universal House of Justice. He went on to state that its evolution into a Baha'i Court was an "essential step" toward the eventuality of it becoming the Universal House of Justice. In March of that year, he appointed the members of the Council and its president Mason Remey. (He never in his lifetime called the Council out of its embryonic state.) He later continued the process in his appointing contemporary Hands of the Cause. Upon his untimely death in 1957, the Hands of the Cause almost immediately declared that the guardianship had ended with his death, as they could  not find a successor in a Will. Had they probed further, they would have realized they were looking in the wrong place and that the Will and Testament states that a guardian is to appoint his successor "in his own lifetime," which Shoghi Effendi had done through the establishment of the embryonic International Baha'i Council, and named its president, which office is synonymous with the Guardianship.

Upon his death, the embryo of the IBC came to life, and Mason Remey became guardian, although he did not realize it at the time. Had the Hands not immediately declared the guardianship ended, they would have probably all realized that progressively and slowly, Shoghi Effendi had developed the pathway for the continuing guardianship. Prior to his death, the guardianship was the only living Institution with a mantle of Infallibility in the Baha'i Faith, and actually was the only means of another Institution, the UHJ, having a claim to infallibility in the future.

The Hands continued the sans-guardian path, and threw out Shoghi Effendi's guidelines by dissolving his International Baha'i Council, deposing its president and appointing one of their own. At this point they had leapt over the bounds of progression as established by Shoghi Effendi in his interpretation of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Will. They continued, without infallibility, and established their Universal House of Justice. As 'Abdu'l-Baha's Will states, the UHJ must have at its head, a living guardian.

Thus, the present Universal House of Justice does not conform to the required elements that deem it Infallible unless you take a giant leap of faith outside the boundaries of many of the clauses in 'Abdu'l-Baha's Will and Testament, and then leap off the pathway established by Shoghi Effendi. With all the leaping around, the element of infallibility remains dashed to the ground in their organization.

By Hand of the Cause David Maxwell

Lets identify the correct station for chief stewards

Incredibly, we are still observing the erroneous concept appearing in recent posts, which states that a ship's chief steward is: "the person who steers the ship safely to harbor when the captain is not able".

Sans-Guardian believers are still quoting that erroneous comment which evidently originated with Hands of the Cause, other than Charles Mason Remey, after the passing of the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.

The First Mate of a ship is the one who must dock a ship if the Captain is not available, and if the First Mate is not available, the duty falls upon the shoulders of the Second Mate. I personally knew a former Second Mate who had to do that once, while he was with the Merchant Marines.

Not any steward.  Stewards on a ship are assigned to "service of provisions and passengers' rooms."

Furthermore, the ship of the true Bahá'í Faith is not headed for a harbor anyway. It is headed towards its prophesied destiny, as delineated in The Charter of the New World Order, the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha'.

And it is currently sailing towards that destiny, all sheets to the wind, as the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith.

The website of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

By Hand of Cause Ross Campbell

It is impossible to accept Shoghi Effendi...without accepting...the Will and Testament...

It is impossible for any woman or man to accept Shoghi Effendi's Guardianship without accepting the Authority of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha', as clearly demonstrated by the first Guardian's written words:

"The Charter which called into being, outlined the features and set in motion the processes of, this Administrative Order is none other than the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, His greatest legacy to posterity, the brightest emanation of His mind and the mightiest instrument forged to insure the continuity of the three ages which constitute the component parts of His Father's Dispensation."

He identified the Master's Will and Testament to be:

"His greatest legacy to posterity"

"the brightest emanation of His mind"

"the mightiest instrument forged to insure the continuity of the three ages which constitute the component parts of His Father's Dispensation."

Those words of the first Guardian of the Baha'i Faith are altogether adequate to support the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha' as authentic and as Baha'i Holy Text, in the hearts and minds of all faithful Baha'is who truly believe that Shoghi Effendi was the Divinely guided head of the Baha'i Faith on Earth, its first legitimate Guardian.

The website of the living Guardian of the Baha'i Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

By Hand of the Cause Ross Campbell

Why would have Shoghi Effendi failed to meet his sacred obligation?

In thinking back of the events following the death of Shoghi Effendi and the actions and decisions of the then Hands of the Cause to look for a Will, only to later declare the end of the Guardianship, the thing that perplexes me the most about the haste of their decision and their stubborn refusal to consider any other possibility was the shameful assumption they made that Shoghi Effendi would have failed to meet the sacred obligation imposed upon him by the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to appoint his successor.

Some of these were the people closest to Shoghi Effendi, who dined with him, and were intimately acquainted with his actions and his views. Certainly they knew that Shoghi Effendi was meticulous in carrying out the duties of the Guardianship during his 36-year ministry. He built the Administrative Order, carried out the provisions of the Tablets of the the Divine Plan, established Mount Carmel as the seat of the international Institutions of the Faith, and presided closely over the various plans to spread the Faith and establish the framework of the Faith around the globe.  How then is it possible to believe that he would neglect to carry out the mandate imposed upon by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to appoint the next Guardian during his lifetime?

In the words of his widow,Rúhíyyih Khánum:

"What the Guardian possesses to an outstanding degree (and no doubt is divinely endowed with) is the vision of the Cause. That which might seem essential to us he would see as a purely secondary issue and what might appear in our eyes as a trivial matter might to him be the pivot of far greater decisions. He is the balance of the Cause; he weighs and classifies the problems, the requirements, the tasks of the hour, and keeps the entire Faith in every part of the world functioning as efficiently and as satisfactorily as our individual frailties and deficiencies will permit." (Twenty Five Years of the Guardianship, p. 8-9)

Considering how deeply he understood and carried out his obligations as Guardian, how then could he have failed to name a successor?  Even if one were to accept the argument proposed by the sans-Guardian Bahá'í s that it was impossible for him to have appointed a successor, then how could he have been silent about this sacred and important consideration, and how could he have misled the Bahá'ís with talk of "future Guardians" and a building to seat future Guardians at the World Center and a building for the Hands (who can only be appointed by the Guardian)?  After carefully rearing the Faith and patiently explaining its principles to the Bahá'ís, why wouldn't he have prepared the Bahá'í world for what was to come?

The answer of course is that he remained faithful to his obligations and did name Mason Remey to the presidency of the embryonic Universal House of Justice (the International Bahá'í Council), an office that is synonymous with the Guardianship since the Guardian is the sacred head for life of the UHJ.

"[T]he Hands obviously never considered or they ignored the import of Shoghi Effendi’s Proclamation of 9 January 1951 and his message of 23 November 1951 and the International Bahá’í Council was never permitted by the Hands to exercise this primary role. If, on the other hand, Shoghi Effendi’s instructions had been faithfully carried, out, his appointed successor would then have become obvious." Joel B. Marangella, the Guardian of the Cause, from an article entitled "Satanic Trinity-- Faithlessness, Disobedience, and Perversion."  Indeed how obvious it would have been if the Bahá’í world had turned to the International Bahá’í Council, the entity established by Shoghi Effendi, instead of the false organization of the Custodian Hands, who led the Bahá’í world to shameful violation.  It would have been obvious that the President of that Body was none other than the second Guardian.

The living third Guardian's web site
http://www.bahai-guardian.com/

By Hand of the Cause Jeffrey Goldberg

The End of Progressive Revelation as Baha’u’llah Understood It

Progressive revelation is a primary element in the understanding of the relationships between the World’s Great Religions and in the progression and advancement of the Bahai Faith as well. Its principles are used in outlining God's plan for mankind throughout the ages, beginning with Adam and Eve, through various revealed Religions, then Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Babism, and finally, the Baha'i Faith. All who profess to be Baha'i understand and use its principles in their teaching efforts. However, once the train of Progressive Revelation is understood in arriving at a belief in Baha’i, the same thought process should be used in determining its forward progress.

Lets use the principles of progressive revelation in determining the background for the current headless Universal House of Justice in Haifa.

Various posts by members of the newsgroup Talk Religion Baha’i seem to narrowly use its principles to give credence to the UHJ, in part based upon a document written by ‘Abdu'l-Baha in 1908, when He felt His life was in great danger. Should His death occur in the then present crisis, He left instructions for the Universal House of Justice to be quickly established. Interestingly, even at that time, Shoghi Effendi was a young child. Reality is that ‘Abdu'l-Baha was protected by God's grace during the 1908 crisis, and He lived many more years, giving of Himself to the world at large in travels throughout Europe and America, and in various Writings. Upon His passing, He left a Will and Testament which was a part of the explicit Holy Text, and therefore of far, far greater stature than the 1908 document. In his Will, His successor was to be the Institution of the Living Guardianship. His Will additionally defined the Institution of the Universal House of Justice, and the Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God. In the reality of history, after the Institution of the Living Guardianship was established following the death of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, none of the three Holy Institutions can exist without the others; all are dependent upon a Living Guardian in order for any of them to exist.

The Guardian is the head of the Universal House of Justice, fulfilling the role of oversight to ensure that a House of Justice always enacts legislation fully in compliance with God's intentions. He additionally has to ensure that he appoints his successor in his own lifetime. The Will additionally mandated that certain spiritual qualities were required of the appointee whether or not he possessed a human hereditary qualification. The guardian is to symbolize the hereditary principle. He is to maintain the Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God, and handle the fixed money offering, the Huququ'llah. The requirements of Progressive Revelation were fully satisfied through the death of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, with His establishment of the Three Institutions of the Faith, and the appointment of Shoghi Effendi as the First Guardian.

All was well, and all Baha’is knew, from the copious writings of Shoghi Effendi that the Covenant would be forever inviolable through the activities of successive guardians that would always be present on Earth. The Faith matured progressively throughout his 36-year ministry. His tenure was punctuated by copious writings and interpretations of Holy Writ, as evidenced in countless books, cablegrams and directives. The primary theme of his activities was a relentless emphasis on the value and the Divine Necessity of the Baha'i Administrative Order, whose existence had been alluded to progressively by the Bab and Baha'u'llah. The next of the Faith's Central Figures, ‘Abdu'l-Baha, cemented the building blocks of His predecessors in His Will and Testament. Shoghi Effendi wrote that the Will and Testament was inseparably connected with Baha'u'llah's Book of Laws, the Aqdas, and was part of the explicit Holy Text. Baha'u'llah had written the Laws, and ‘Abdu'l-Baha outlined the basics of the Administrative Order. Shoghi Effendi erected all the Institutions, at least in embryonic form, for the establishment of that Order, as well as implementing the Tablets of the Divine Plan. He never codified the Aqdas, although he had translated and interpreted portions of it.

Now, put yourself back in time to October 1957. All was well. Baha'is were in tune with their leadership, and accepted the Institution of the Guardianship as being a Divinely Ordained Institution, while understanding that the Laws of the Aqdas would be Infallibly fully codified and executed at some time in the future. I dare say, that in October 1957, all believers would have denied vociferously that there could ever be a Universal House of Justice without a guardian at its head. How could there be? Infallible spokesmen of the Faith had deemed it so, and ensured its continuing existence. But we know what happened next. In spite of 48 years of progressively unfolding directions from the Infallible Founders of the Baha'i Faith; in spite of the admonitions and directions of The Master for a period of 29 years; in spite of the 36 year Ministry of the First Guardian, during which he emphasized and implemented the process leading to the Administrative Order; it was all dashed into bits and pieces over a period of less than six years by a group of Hands who were not in the least infallible, in opposition to the very explicit directions of Shoghi Effendi.

Lets put this into perspective. A group lacking any inkling of infallibility led the believers astray in a period of six years, tossing out the very essence of the Writings of those infallible beings who had labored 113 years in establishing them. The Hands, lacking one individual, thus elevated their station beyond any envisioned for them by their Creator. Is that not the most ultimately audacious act ever perpetrated in the history of the world? In a period of six years, mortals dashed the work of all the Manifestations of God who had predicted for thousands of years, the advent of God's Kingdom on earth.

The Baha'i Faith is that very Kingdom! But only if preserved as directed by its Founders.

For those who can mentally put themselves into the events of the months of October and November 1957, and conclude that there had to have been another choice which would have preserved the 113 years of infallible guidance of the formative years of the Faith, other than that which led to the headless Universal House of Justice, there is and was at the time, another solution. Even now, the true seeker should pray for God's  Assistance, while continuing to read the Writings of the Three Central Figures, and consider the progressively unfolding directions of Shoghi Effendi in his Cablegrams and Messages to the Baha'i World, to develop an understanding that there was another choice in 1957. A choice aligned with the vision of the infallible Originators of the Faith, as yet unheeded by untold thousands of those who call themselves Baha’i. Those untold thousands are girded on by such pronouncements as the November 26, 2007 letter by their bogus Universal House of Justice which lauded the actions of the Hands in the Holy Land, save one, in the waning days of 1957, when they abolished the First International Baha’i Council named by Shoghi Effendi, and created one of their own, which eventually became their UHJ. That UHJ lacked any of the lineage of the hereditary principle discussed by ‘Abdu’l-Baha. On the other hand, The International Baha’i Council established by the First Guardian contained the thread of infallibility that had progressively developed through God’s Manifestations as the prescription for a wayward society.

The letter noted above is the most egregious example of the outcome perpetrated by the Hands in the Holy Land, save one, wherein the UHJ lauds their efforts which had led the activities bringing life to their bogus organization, which contains none of the Three Institutions named by ‘Abdu’l-Baha in his Will. Their letter named the death of the last of the living Hands appointed by Shoghi Effendi, Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa, as the symbolic ending to the Institution of the Hands, not even mentioning the demise of the other two Institutions.

That very letter is the clearest example yet of how far the bogus Universal House of Justice has strayed from the roots of Progressive Revelation into the unknown darkness of a man-made creation of their own, with not the least bit of connection with the Religion of Baha’u’llah, and its glorious unique and foundational element of the Center of the Covenant and its continuous offspring of the Living Guardianship. Thus we have from the pen of the leaders of the misled Baha’is the announcement of the end of progressive revelation and its foundational role in the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth.

By Hand of the Cause of God David Maxwell

Let's examine what Shoghi Effendi wrote...

Let's examine what Shoghi Effendi wrote, using the words "greatest event shedding lustre" to see if we are actually observing what he foretold.

Shoghi Effendi:

"Hail (with) thankful, joyous heart (at) long last (the) constitution (of) International Council which history will acclaim (as the) greatest event shedding lustre (upon) second epoch (of) Formative Age (of) Bahá'í Dispensation potentially unsurpassed (by) any enterprise undertaken since inception (of) Administrative Order (of) Faith (on) morrow (of) 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Ascension, ranking second only (to) glorious immortal events associated (with) Ministries (of the) Three Central Figures (of) Faith..."

If some women and men are claiming that their sans-Guardian UHJ currently on Mt. Carmel somehow shares in the fulfillment of the first Guardian's words:  " (the) greatest event shedding lustre (upon) second epoch (of) Formative Age (of) Bahá'í Dispensation..."), let's examine that claim to see if it has any merit.

The sans-Guardian UHJ certainly has no spiritual "lustre", because its members, neither individually nor as a group in session have any trace of power or authority to interpret Bahá'í Holy writ and Holy Text, and therefore that body shines no more spiritual light or lustre than any Christian church or other religious body on Earth.

The sans-Guardian UHJ collects money that it is not entitled to (Huququ'llah), as do many banks (instant electronic fines where no service is provided and no funds released from the bank,) but that shameful activity certainly sheds no "lustre" upon the "second epoch (of) Formative Age (of) Bahá'í Dispensation"

In what sense, then, could the sans-Guardian UHJ on Mt. Carmel be considered to be fulfilling what Shoghi Effendi foretold with the words: "... history will acclaim (as the) greatest event shedding lustre (upon) second epoch (of) Formative Age (of) Bahá'í Dispensation..."?

Spiritually, the heterodox Bahá'í UHJ currently on Mt. Carmel is indistinguishable from the many worldly religious and commercial organizations around the Earth.

Even with respect to humanitarian efforts of the heterodox Bahá'í organization, although such efforts are meritorious, they pale by contrast with the efforts of other organizations, such as the Watchtower (Jehovah's witnesses) whose relief efforts during disasters such as earthquakes (Kobe, Japan, for example) floods and hurricanes, are so fast, efficient and highly organized that they put even the efforts of armies to shame.

Yes, Shoghi Effendi was certainly foretelling something else than the current Heterodox Bahá'í UHJ currently on Mt. Carmel when he wrote "... history will acclaim (as the) greatest event shedding lustre (upon) second epoch (of) Formative Age (of) Bahá'í Dispensation..."?

That body presently on Mt. Carmel is just another church. It has no special lustre, and is certainly devoid of spiritual lustre.

The website of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

By Hand of the Cause of God Ross Campbell

A Delinquent Explanation of a Sacred Relationship

On page 117 of the sans-Guardian publication, THE BAHA'I WORLD 1992-93, the Heterodox Bahá'í administration offers the following explanation of the relationship between the Most Holy Book and the Bahá'í community:

"THE KITAB-I-AQDAS AND THE BAHA'I COMMUNITY
"The earth," Bahá'u'lláh says, "is but one country, and mankind its citizens." Today, His teachings find expression in the life of a united worldwide community representing the entire diversity of humankind and established in every part of the globe. Its achievements in such matters as racial integration, the equality of the sexes, and the promotion of education are particularly noteworthy. The distinguishing feature of the Bahá'í community, however, is the administrative system with which its Founder endowed it. Operating on consultative principles taught by Bahá'u'lláh, the community is administered by democratically elected councils at the local, national, and international levels. It has no clergy. Its activities are supported solely by the financial contributions of its own registered membership. The system is based on explicit provisions of the Kitab-i-Aqdas: "The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established ... It behoveth them [its members] to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth ." To the Faith's international governing body, the Universal House of Justice, Bahá'u'lláh  entrusted the function of deciding on all matters not explicitly revealed in the Text itself. Thus He ensured that, until the advent of the next Manifestation of God a thousand or more years hence, the World Order He founded will be equipped with a legislative authority able to keep it abreast of the needs of a rapidly changing world."

Could anyone imagine an explanation more deceitful than that?

The Heterodox leadership's title offers to explain the relationship between the Most Holy Book and the  Bahá'í community,  and they state concerning the system of administration of that community:

"The system is based on explicit provisions of the Kitab-i-Aqdas"

They additionally state:

"To the Faith's international governing body, the Universal House of Justice, Bahá'u'lláh  entrusted the function of deciding on all matters not explicitly revealed in the Text itself."

Here the sans-Guardian administrators are openly admitting that they are totally impotent to decide upon matters "explicitly revealed in the Text itself", all the very same while confessing that "The system is based on explicit provisions of the Kitab-i-Aqdas", and yet they are deceitfully attempting to convey the thought that they have explained the relationship between the Most Holy book, "the Text itself" and the Bahá'í community, without providing any trace of explanation how the "explicit provisions of the Kitab-i-Aqdas" must be interpreted for the spiritual advancement of the same Bahá'í community, that is by the one exclusively authorized and empowered to interpret Bahá'í Holy Text, namely the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.

Clearly, the sans-Guardian Heterodox Bahá'í administrators are very deceitfully attempting to give the impression that they, alone, are adequately "equipped" and "able" to meet the "needs of a rapidly changing world", although devoid of any authority or power to interpret the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the provisions of which Holy Writ they admit provides the foundation of the Administration of the New World Order.

The website of the living interpreter of all that is "explicitly revealed in the Text itself", the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

By Hand of the Cause of God Ross Campbell

What is the station of Hands of the Bahá'í Faith?

That is a very simple question to answer.  Hands of the Bahá'í Faith are servants of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, appointed by a living Guardian.  Hands of the Cause are part of the Guardianship pillar of the "twin pillars" of the Administration of the New World Order, as defined by Shoghi Effendi, in his Spiritual Testament, The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh.

Hands of the Cause of God well understand and are are constantly aware who it is who has authority over them.  In other words, they understand and obey exactly what Shoghi Effendi meant when he wrote these words concerning the twin Institutions, the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice:

"Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested."

Hands of the Cause believe those words written by the first Guardian. They know and believe that the authority for a living Guardian to appoint the Hands of the Cause is "undoubted" because that specific authority was immutably delineated by  'Abdu'l-Bahá in paragraph # 20 of His sacred Will and Testament, in which paragraph he also delineated concerning the relationship of Hands of the Cause to their Guardian:  "All must be under his shadow and obey his command."

Through the Master's Will and Testament, the Guardians' authority over Hands of the Cause is "divinely invested".

That authority is "specific".

That authority is "undoubted".

No legitimate Universal House of Justice would ever "seek to curtail" that authority.

How do we know?  Because Shoghi Effendi infallibly wrote:  "Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested."

That's how we know.  And all true Bahá'ís believe those words written by the first of our Guardians in his Spiritual Testament on page 61 of my copy.

Now let the reader judge for herself/himself whether or not these following statements recorded in the sans-Guardian Publication, The Bahá'í World 1986-1992,  violate the admonition of the first Guardian: "'Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested":

"Responsibility for decisions on matters of general policy affecting the institution of the Hands of the Cause, which was formerly exercised by the beloved Guardian, now devolves upon the Universal House of Justice as the supreme and central institution of the Faith to which all must turn." (page 627)

"Following the passing of the Guardian of the Cause of God, it fell to the House of Justice to devise a way, within the administrative Order, of developing 'the institution of the Hands of the Cause with a view to extension into the future of its appointed functions of of protection and propagation'..." (page 627)

"In the light of these considerations the Universal House of Justice decided, as announced in its recent cable, to establish Continental Board of Counsellors for the protection and propagation of the Faith."  (page 628)

The sans-Guardian UHJ on Mt. Carmel has attempted to transpose the "specific and undoubted authority" over the Hands of the Cause of God with which the Guardian of the Faith has been "divinely invested" to itself, seeking to completely "curtail" the authority of the living Guardian in direct violation of the official written instructions of the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.

The website of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

By Hand of the Cause of God Ross Campbell

The current fraudulent application of the law of Huquq

If Hands of the Cause were not independently authorized to interpret and apply the Laws in the Most Holy Book, the Kitab-i-Aqdas before the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith passed in 1957,  why would anyone believe that something changed so that they could become legitimately authorized to do so after his death?

Nothing changed.  Both before and after the first Guardian's death, no woman or man on Earth, apart from a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith has had legitimate authority either to interpret or, independent of a living Guardian, to apply Laws specifically recorded in Bahá'í Holy Writ and Holy Text.

It was a violation of  Bahá'í Law that a Hand of the Cause independently called for a Huququ'llah Conference in 1987, and another violation that a group of men called for application of that Law beginning at Ridvan of 1992.  That group of men was devoid of legitimate authority to make that call.

The third Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith has stated that it is not yet time for the application of the Law of Huququ'llah because women and men are already under heavy burden of taxes by National governments. He has stated that the Huququ'llah is for a future time.

Why is the bogus UHJ on Mt. Carmel interpreting Laws specifically mentioned in Bahá'í Holy Writings? The sacred will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and also the Spiritual Testament of Shoghi Effendi, The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, clearly delineate interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ to be exclusively the right of the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.

There are no exceptions, ever.  And it is a living Guardian who must decide whether or not a matter is within his exclusive purview to interpret, not other Bahá'ís, either as a group or as individuals.  The authority by which the sans-Guardian UHJ on Mt. Carmel commenced application of the Law of Huququ'llah in 1992 was a usurped authority.

That application is therefore fraudulent.

The website of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

By Hand of the Cause of God Ross Campbell

The error of independent interpretation of Bahá'í Writings

We have observed many errors in teachings and actions by Muslim Clerics and groups who trust themselves with interpretation of Islamic Writings. Why should we believe that independent interpretation of Bahá'í Writings by individual Bahá'ís and groups of Bahá'ís would produce any better result?

if an Orthodox Bahá'í makes an error in teaching, she/he knows that a living Guardian is able to monitor the mistake and to correct it.  For example, the third Guardian recently sent the American secretary a letter in which he noted that from time to time someone spoke of the Guardian as the Center of the Covenant, and he explained that 'Abdu'l-Baha' is the Center of the Covenant, a permanent station, which He carried with Him into the next world, while the living Guardian on Earth is the Center of the Cause of God.

We all make errors occasionally, and yet Shoghi Effendi Bahá'ís to offer their personal explanations of our writings, provided that they made it very clear that they were only expressing their own personal opinion.

Let's look now at the manner which the attitude of sans-Guardian believers contrasts with that correct attitude taught by our Guardians.

Susan (sans-Guardian Baha'i):
"Bob,

In fact, there was a contingency plan. That plan is found in the Aqdas.

Not only that, but  a scenario such as the one Ross dreamed actually happened at one point in our history. For a time, during WWI, Abdu'l-Baha was completely cut off from Baha'is in the West. During that period Mason Remey himself headed a commission that declared people Covenant-breakers.

Of course, he had been given no authority by Abdu'l-Baha to do this. The Hands, on the other hand, had the authority of the Will and Testament."

If we make an assessment based upon official Bahá'í teachings, what do we find missing in those comments written by Susan,  a well known sans-Guardian believer, who has also posted a multitude of very useful and informative comments over the years?

1.  "In fact, there was a contingency plan. That plan is found in the Aqdas."  --Can Susan explain who is the authoritative interpreter of the Most Holy Book who is able to monitor such a statement as that in
order to correct any possible misunderstanding?  Or  does she find herself in the identical situation as Muslim Clerics who claim personal authority to interpret Islamic Writings?

2.  "Of course, he had been given no authority by Abdu'l-Baha to do this."

I only know what Susan has told us about that circumstance, however this question presents itself:  Did 'Abdu'l-Baha' give a specific Instruction to the contrary?  Shoghi Effendi did.  He specifically, in writing, reserved for Guardians the right to declare an individual to be a Covenant-breaker.

3.  "The Hands, on the other hand, had the authority of the Will and Testament."--Hands of the Cause have no authority to interpret the Master's Writings with independent application of those Writings, unmonitored by a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. Independent interpretations by Hands of the Cause which have not been reviewed by the authoritative interpreter of our Holy writings, a living Guardian cannot legally be put into administrative application in the Faith.

Independently or as a group independently, Hands of the Cause have no more "authority of the Will and Testament" than do Muslims have authority of the Islamic Writings.

Susan errs.

The website of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

Hand of the Cause of God Ross Campbell

Let's take a serious look

Let's take a serious look at what Shoghi Effendi meant when he stated officially in writing that the " chosen ministers" of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh are the Guardians of the Bahá'í Faith.

Shoghi Effendi:

"As I have already stated, in the course of my references to 'Abdu'l-Baha's station, however great the gulf that separates Him from the Author of a Divine Revelation it can never measure with the distance that stands between Him Who is the Center of Baha'u'llah's Covenant and the Guardians who are its chosen ministers."

"...the Guardians who are its chosen ministers."

We have many dictionaries in our home, including the largest dictionaries  of the English language available, and according to the definitions of "minister" I cannot perceive any manner by which Bahá'ís could become "deepened in the Covenant" without guidance and input from the "ministers" of the Covenant.

Even in secular Governments, subordinates in the various ministries, such as fisheries , agriculture, education and health would not attempt to function without any communication with the woman or man who is the appointed  Minister of their particular department. How much less is it possible for anyone to perform the will of Bahá'u'lláh, the Lord of this Age, while totally ignoring and separating herself/himself/themselves from the "chosen ministers" of His Covenant?

To attempt to do such is ludicrous in the extreme. It is absurd.

Yet, it is observed in a recent post by Hand of the Cause Jeffrey Goldberg that the sans-Guardian administration on Mt. Carmel is talking about doing just that, namely attempting to deepen youth in the Covenant while simultaneously rejecting and ignoring the Chosen minister of the Covenant.

The sans-Guardian Bahá'í administrators:

"In this way, those with insincere intentions have the potential to directly contact an increasing  number of Bahá'is, interactions that could pose a threat to the spiritual well-being of youth and other believers who are not deepened in the Covenant."

The above words written by the Heterodox Bahá'í administrators on Mt.
Carmel were written in the context of a letter from them warning their
subordinates to protect Bahá'ís in their areas from Martin Lavallee, a
Canadian Bahá'í believer who acknowledges the current chosen minister
of the Lord's Covenant and accepts his guidance.

Those  Bahá'ís who are cut off from the chosen minister of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, whether by their own choice or because Heterodox Bahá'í administrators have succeeded in isolating them from the minister of His Covenant, can never become deepened in the Covenant.

All true seekers and sincere Bahá'í s need to take to heart what the first of our Guardians, Shoghi Effendi,  wrote about the "chosen ministers" of the Covenant of  Bahá'u'lláh, and to act in harmony with his words rather than rejecting his words.

Don't obey instructions of women or men who advise you to disregard the first Guardians words.

All Bahá'ís who reject Shoghi Effendi's words, regardless of who told them to do so, will never advance spiritually in the Bahá'í Faith, and will be classified as opposers of Truth.

The website of the 'chosen minister' of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, the third Guardian of the  Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com 

By Hand of the Cause of God Ross Campbell

An Open Question

An Open Question for Glenford Mitchell
by Hand of the Cause of God Ross Campbell

On pages 184 and 185 of  The Bahá'í World 1996-97, Glenford E.
Mitchell wrote concerning Shoghi Effendi:

"The buildings designed and erected at his initiative, his direct involvement in in their interior decoration, the extensive gardens he himself designed to provide a proper ambience for the holiest sites of the Faith, have all ensured a legacy of beauty for generations to come.  These efforts, too were avenues of his interpretation of the will of Bahá'u'lláh, Whose "Tablet of Carmel" and specific indication of the spot on Mount Carmel for the tomb of His Forerunner, the Bab, foreshadowed the establishment of the world headquarters of His Faith.

In addition to completing the edifice for the Shrine of the Bab, which 'Abdu'l-Baha' had commenced at the instruction of His Father, Shoghi Effendi traced in the form of an arc the path along which the buildings for the administrative institutions of the Faith would be erected.  He himself approved the design of the first of these, the International Archives Building, the construction of which he supervised.  It set the style for the other buildings, which even at this writing, are being constructed on that historic mountain.

Moreover, in Shoghi Effendi's meticulous attention to the design and beautification of the holy sites there was a means of educating the community; for through it he demonstrated modes by which physical arrangements can reflect reverence for the sacred."

In my opinion, that is a nice piece which Glenford Mitchell wrote.

Who could disagree that Shoghi Effendi "...demonstrated modes by which physical arrangements can reflect reverence for the sacred "...Institutions of the Faith, to be constructed on Mt. Carmel, concerning which Shoghi Effendi wrote:

"herald the construction, in the course of successive epochs of the Formative Age of the Faith, of several other structures, which will serve as the administrative seats of such divinely appointed institutions as the Guardianship, the Hands of the Cause, ..."?

However, the question for Glenford Mitchell which immediately and forcefully presents itself is this one:

Although Shoghi Effendi certainly "demonstrated modes by which physical arrangements can reflect reverence for the sacred"...institutions of the Faith of which he wrote, namely, The Guardianship and the Hands of the Cause of God, why has your administration desecrated those sacred Institutions, destroying them in your administration, leaving nothing but empty "physical arrangements"?

How can physical buildings and surroundings show "reverence" for Institutions which you have destroyed and do not exist in your organization?

Destroying Institutions, as you have attempted, is the opposite of honoring them as "sacred".

The website of the living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:
http://www.Bahai-Guardian.com

THE DISPENSATION OF BAHA’U’LLAH,

written in Haifa Palestine on February 8. 1934 by the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, has long been one of my favorite manuscripts, extolling as it does the distinctive features of this stupendous Revelation.

Shoghi Effendi has stated that this manuscript is his spiritual Will and Testament. I urge all readers of this page to study the entire Dispensation for themselves.

Shoghi Effendi writes, quoting Baha’u’llah, “The Hand of Omnipotence hath established His Revelation upon an unassailable, an enduring foundation. Storms of human strife are powerless to undermine its basis, nor will men’s fanciful theories succeed in damaging its structure.”

In that section of the DISPENSATION, devoted to The Administrative Order, are so many references to the power and majesty of this ordained instrument for the “very pattern of the new World Order destined to embrace in the fullness of time the whole of mankind”, that I would like to quote them all.

However, I will quote only a few powerful ones and leave it to the courageous seekers to read the entire chapter for themselves.

“It should be noted in this connection that this administrative Order is fundamentally different from anything that any prophet has previously established, inasmuch as Baha’u’llah has Himself revealed its principles, established its institutions, appointed the person to interpret His Word and conferred the necessary authority on the body designed to supplement and apply His legislative ordinances. Therein lies the secret of its strength, its fundamental distinction, and the guarantee against disintegration and schism.”

“Can the Author of the Babi Dispensation however much He may have succeeded through the provisions of the Persian Bayan in averting a schism as permanent and catastrophic as those that afflicted Christianity and Islam--can he be said to have produced instruments for the safeguarding of His Faith as definite and efficacious as those which must for all time preserve the unity of the organized followers of the Faith of Baha’u’llah?”

“Alone of all the revelations gone before it this Faith has, through the explicit directions, the repeated warnings, the authenticated safeguards incorporated and elaborated in its teachings, succeeded in raising a structure which the bewildered followers of bankrupt and broken creeds might well approach and critically examine, and seek, ere it is too late, the invulnerable security of its world-embracing shelter.”

Could anyone reading the powerful words from the above quotes fail to understand that this Administrative Order, authenticated by the Manifestation of God, expanded and carefully designed through His chosen Center of the Covenant and implemented by that Center’s chosen instrument (the Guardian), was destined to preserve for all time the unity of the organized followers of the Faith of Baha’u’llah?

Shoghi Effendi then goes on to write , “in clear and unambiguous language”, of the functions of the TWIN institutions of the Administrative order, the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice.

He writes that they are “divine in origin, essential in their functions and complementary in their aim and purpose."

He states that they are inseparable!

Shoghi Effendi states that divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Baha’u’llah would be mutilated. Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice this same System of the Will of Abdu’l-Baha would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitab-I-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.

 Again, there is much to learn from Shoghi Effendi’s writing on this subject. I urge the seeker to read for himself the description of the duties of the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice which are BOTH required in order for the Administrative order of Baha’u’llah to functioned as envisaged by its Author.

It has always been very interesting to me to read further in this chapter in which Shoghi Effendi further defines the station of the Guardianship, perhaps because it is from a more personal perspective.

He writes: ”There is a far, far greater distance separating the Guardian from the Center of the Covenant than there is between the Center of the Covenant and its Author.

"Though overshadowed by the unfailing, the unerring protection of Baha’u’llah and the Bab, and however much he may share with Abdu’l-Baha the right and obligation to interpret the Baha’I teachings, he remains essentially human and cannot –arrogate to himself –the rights and privileges which Baha’u’llah has chosen to confer upon His Son.”

He then goes on to delineate those things that the believers should not practice in regard to the Guardian. They should not pray to the Guardian. They should not address him as lord or master or designate him as his holiness. They should not seek his benediction or celebrate his birthday or commemorate any event associated with his life.

It seems to me that these admonitions can only apply to a living guardian.

In the next paragraph he makes a statement that I have always found most interesting.

“To the integrity of this cardinal principle of our Faith, the words and the deed of its present and future Guardians must abundantly testify. By their conduct and example they must needs establish its truth upon an unassailable foundation and transmit to future generations unimpeachable evidences of its reality.”

“For my own part to hesitate in recognizing so vital a truth or to vacillate in proclaiming so firm a conviction must constitute a shameless betrayal of the confidence reposed in me by ‘Abdu’l-Baha--.”

In those few words Shoghi Effendi directed and informed the “future guardians” of their status and duties to future generations, thereby confirming that he did indeed envisage “future guardians”.

Shoghi Effendi, chosen to be Guardian by Abdu’l-Baha, who was chosen by Baha’u’llah as the Center of the His Covenant, did indeed know his obligations in regard to “future guardians” and fulfilled them as directed in the Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha.

That line of “future guardians” is alive and functioning today under the auspices of the third Guardian, Joel B. Marangella, who, in turn, has named he who shall succeed him, insuring the continuing Guardianship.

In his service, Marilyn Meyer, Hand of the Cause of God