Hands of the Bahá'í Faith

Could the world be a better place today?

Yes, the world would be a better place today if Rúhíyyih Khánum and those former Hands of the Cause who followed her had not violated the “Charter of the New World Order”

Shoghi Effendi the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith wrote that the sacred Will and Testament of the Master is “a Will that directs and controls, in its own mysterious way, both the fortunes of the Faith and the destinies of men. Such simultaneous processes of rise and of fall, of integration and of disintegration, of order and chaos, with their continuous and reciprocal reactions on each other, are but aspects of a greater Plan, one and indivisible, whose Source is God, whose author is Bahá'u'lláh, the theater of whose operations is the entire planet, and whose ultimate objectives are the unity of the human race and the peace of all mankind.” (Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 72)

Rúhíyyih Khánum and those former Hands that lost their faith in “God’s immutable Purpose for mankind” ignored the significance of the first Guardian’s Proclamation of 9 January 1951 and the embryonic Universal House of Justice, whose formation it proclaimed and misconceived its character and misrepresented its purpose.

“Let no one, while this System is still in its infancy, misconceive its character, belittle its significance or misrepresent its purpose. The bedrock on which this Administrative Order is founded is God's immutable Purpose for mankind in this day.” (Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 156)

“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 the 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 [Bahá'u'lláh] than from the One Who ultimately conceived it [`Abdu'l-Bahá].”      (Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 144)

The Violating Hands opposed the plan of God after the passing of the first Guardian, and instead of continuing to adhere to the Administrative Order defined in the sacred Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá they laid down a man-made administrative system that included institutions not delineated in the Charter of the New World Order.

It is interesting that Adib Taherzadeh, a former member of the bogus UHJ, in his book titled The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, on page 127 of the first volume, has admitted that:

“When man opposes the plan of God, the course of history changes. Who knows what further blessings would have been vouchsafed to mankind in general, and to Islam in particular, if the followers of Muhammad had remained faithful to Ali. For it was he who was endowed with divine guidance and through his unopposed leadership Islam could have exerted a far greater influence upon the peoples of the world.”

These present-day illegitimate clerics hypocritically criticize actions that were taken by clerics in past Dispensations, similar now to their own, which are far worst, because in past Dispensations these clerics did not possess, at that time, clearly written documents such as the sacred  Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi's Proclamation of 9 January 1951, issued during the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh,

Hand of the Cause Nosrat'u'llah Bahremand

Martha Root: Preeminent teacher

Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, called Martha Root "that archetype of Bahá'í teachers" and "the star-servant".

Joel B. Marangella, the third Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith characterizes Martha Root as “Preeminent Teacher” and names her as one of the 24 elders. (Ridván, 2008)

Martha Root had a very modest beginning. She was born on August 19, 1872 to Timothy and Nancy Root in Richwood, Ohio. Her interest lay in books rather than the usual domestic pursuits, and when she was 14 she earned enough money from writing to pay for a trip to Niagara Falls. She distinguished herself in high school and college, attending Oberlin College (where she designed her own program) and earning her degree from the University of Chicago in 1895.

A career in teaching soon gave way to a career in writing. In 1900 she served as the summer replacement for the society editor of the Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph, then in the fall worked for the Pittsburgh Dispatch.

Martha Root and Bahá’í Faith
The course of her life changed in 1909 when she met Roy C. Wilhelm, who introduced her to the Bahá'í Faith and gave her some literature. Martha researched the young religion for several months, and also met with several members of the Bahá'í community, including Thorton Chase and Arthur Agnew in Chicago. Later that year, she declared her faith in Bahá'u'lláh. In September 1909, Martha wrote a detailed article on the history and teachings of the Bahá'í Faith for the Pittsburgh Post, and in 1911 she participated in the first annual Bahá'í convention in Chicago. But as with so many other American Bahá'ís of that day, the pivotal events in her life came in 1911 and 1912.

During those extraordinary months, 'Abdu'l-Bahá traveled through the U.S. and Canada, personally spreading His Father's teachings and affording the young Bahá'í community a spiritual and practical boost. Martha attended as many of these meetings as possible, and even arranged for the Master to present a talk in Pittsburgh. In that city, she was blessed by two private interviews with Him.

Energized by these meetings, Martha began to plan a world teaching trip. Martha's endurance went beyond overlooking the discomforts of frugal travel. She had developed breast cancer around the time of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit, and although it appeared to go into remission for some years, the cancer eventually spread. By 1921, she was in frequent pain. Moreover, her father's health was failing and she had to care for him. In spite of these trials, she continued to serve, albeit at a reduced tempo. In 1920 she had been named to the "Ideas Committee" of the Bahá'í Temple Unity, the function of which was to find ways to raise money for construction of the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. She also had decided to write a book on the Bahá'í Faith. And, of course, she was teaching. She traveled to Mexico, where there was only one Bahá'í at the time, and from there to Guatemala. She had scheduled a meeting with President Herrera, but instead she found that a political revolution had reduced him to ex-President Herrera.

Martha's father died on November 3, 1922 at the age of eighty-five. Martha herself was now 50, but with an inheritance to help pay the bills and no obligations holding her back, the time of her greatest service had arrived. She left her home town and became, in a very real sense, a citizen of the world, traveling continuously. She taught about Bahá'u'lláh throughout the U.S. and Canada, in Japan and in China. She sent 8,000 copies of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's statement on teaching the Chinese people to Bahá'ís around the world. She then taught in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and Hong Kong. Everywhere she went, Bahá'í pioneers assisted her and benefited from her seemingly inexhaustible energy.

Abdu'l-Bahá's passing on November 28, 1921 must have been a shock for Martha, as indeed it was for most Bahá'ís. Yet she continued to travel and teach, and achieved something not only remarkable but indeed unprecedented.

However the idea came to her, Martha acted on it in characteristic fashion: when she arrived in Bucharest in 1923, she sent the Queen a copy of Esselmont's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. The Queen later said that the book had arrived "at an hour of dire grief." She read it cover to cover, late into the night, and two days later granted Martha an audience in the Controceni Palace. Before long, the Queen embraced the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, becoming the first monarch to do so. Some years later, during another visit, the Queen presented Martha with a silver and gold brooch, a "family treasure." Martha sent it to Wilmette to be sold to raise funds for the House of Worship. It was bought by another Bahá'í, Willard Hatch. It is now in the custody of sans-Guardian organization who have no right to keep these valuable things of the Bahá'í Faith. A day is not far when it will be returned to its TRUE CUSTODIAN, the living Guardian.

In 1925 Martha was able to visit the Holy Land with Effie Baker and Corinne True, where they met Bahíyyih Khánum and Shoghi Effendi. Both made a deep impression on her. Her teaching travels took her to the British Isles, then to Germany, Greece, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia Iran and Japan.

By 1936, with the planet in the grips of a Second World War, Martha was still teaching throughout Europe. But her health was failing, and soon she returned to the U.S. In 1937, she traveled again to Hawaii, China and India, then throughout Australasia, returning to Hawaii in 1939. After a lengthy illness, she passed away in Hawaii on September 28, 1939.

It’s now the right time for those who believe in Bahá'u'lláh to follow in the footsteps of Martha Root and join the TRUE FAITH OF Bahá'u'lláh and help the third Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, Joel.B. Marangella, establish the New World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.

Hand of the Cause Y.H. Taylor

Critique of Ruhi Institute's "The Covenant Unit 2" (Part Four)

Parts 1., 2., and 3., of this Critique of The Covenant, Unit 2 clearly demonstrated that the Heterodox  Bahá'í institution, the Ruhi Institute is utterly unqualified and unworthy to teach the Bahá'í Faith.

The Critique exposes the manner by which the authors of The Pre-publication Edition of The Covenant, Unit 2, The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh have, validated and accepted the replacement of the highest Institutions of the Baha’i Administrative Order in the same
manner as their sans-Guardian leadership, with institutions of their own making, thereby repudiating major provisions enshrined in the Will and Testament of  `Abdu'l-Bahá, that are vital for the establishment of the Divinely-conceived Administration of the New World Order, a repudiation which is nothing less than an illegal attempt to abrogate His sacred Instructions, the Instructions of the One Who is the Center of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and a nefarious attempt that can only be looked upon by faithful Bahá'ís as a clear violation of their Lord's Covenant.

The first three parts of this Critique exposes the manner by which the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 act/write as if they have the capability and legitimate authority to interpret  Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text  and to interpret/explain authoritatively the writings of the first of our Bahá'í Guardians, Shoghi Effendi, which capability and legitimate authority those Ruhi authors and their leadership DO NOT possess.

Parts 1., 2., and 3.,of this Critique of  The Covenant, Unit 2 exposed the fallacious heterodox teaching, extant in the Ruhi Institute manuscript, that only someone who is from the "Aghsan" can be eligible to be chosen as a Guardian's successor.  The first three
parts of this Critique explained the manner by which the Ruhi Institute authors of The Covenant, Unit 2, shamelessly betrayed Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, whose dedicated and faithful ministry of 36 years included the establishment of the
embryonic Institution of the Universal House of Justice, and the Institution of the Hands of the Cause, by their teaching or implying that Shoghi Effendi neglected to fulfill the requirements necessary to ensure the continuation of those embryonic sacred Institutions of our Faith to the extent that one of those sacred Bahá'í Institutions, the embryonic Universal House of Justice, became, in their organization, in violation of Bahá'í Holy Text,  headless and deformed, and the other sacred Bahá'í Institution, the Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God elminated altogether in their organization with the result that, according to the Heterodox claim,  it became necessary for the headless Heterodox UHJ to infringe on the "sacred and prescribed" domain of the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith by developing  a substitute and parallel institution,  their Board of Continental Counsellors, whose members a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith DID NOT "appoint" as instructed infallibly by the Master, and whose members  ARE NOT "submissive" to a living Guardian as instructed by the Master, and whose members a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith DOES NOT "continually urge", as infallibly instructed by the Master in His sacred and immutable Will and Testament.

Not only does The Ruhi manuscript, The Covenant, Unit 2. demonstrate by the erroneous teachings which it contains the unworthiness of its authors as teachers of the Bahá'í Faith, but also  the manner by which  that manuscript displays the inability of its authors to make appropriate comments where necessary, such as their failure, on page 81, when quoting `Abdu'l-Bahá's words from page10 of His Holy Will and Testament, to note that He  conspicuously excluded the “Aghsan” and made mention only of the "Afnán" whom He included in His exhortation for "...all the friends and loved ones, one and all to bestir themselves and arise with heart and soul and in one accord, to diffuse the sweet savors of God, to teach His Cause and to promote His Faith." He (the Master) made no mention of the Aghsan as they had already become unfaithful. Similarly, on page 55, where the Ruhi authors state that "Shoghi Effendi's mother was the daughter of  `Abdu'l-Bahá, making him a direct male descendant of Bahá'u'lláh,..." the Ruhi manuscript authors fail to mention that Shoghi Effendi was not an Aghsan as the Aghsan were the sons of Bahá'u'lláh.

 Thus the Ruhi Institute teachers, like their sans-Guardian leaders, have demonstrated the obvious unreliability of any document which they prepare for publication.  Yes, those Ruhi Institute authors of the Pre-publication manuscript entitled: The Covenant, Unit 2 are presenting a document which is not only replete with openly declared statements which are false teachings, and certainly not true teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, but also replete with false teachings which are implied or insinuated. From the viewpoint of all true Bahá'í teachers, that Ruhi Institute manuscript, The Covenant, Unit 2., unquestionably demonstrates its authors to be the essence of untrustworthiness as teachers of the Bahá'í Faith.

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

Hand of the Cause Ross Campbell

Critique of Ruhi Institute's "The Covenant Unit 2" (Part Three)

Part  1 and Part 2 of this critique of the Ruhi Institute manuscript entitled The Covenant, Unit 2, The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, exposed the manner by which the authors of that Ruhi manuscript neglected and hid the fact that there does not exist the capability and legitimate authority to interpret Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text nor the writings of the Guardians of the Bahá'í Faith apart from the interpretation of a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith on Earth.

Part 1 and Part 2 of this critique also discussed the shameful manner by which the Ruhi Institute authors endorsed and supported their heterodox, sans-Guardian Bahá'í leadership/administration currently located on Mt. Carmel in that administration’s flagrant violation of this vital truth, quoted below, infallibly taught by the first Bahá'í Guardian, Shoghi Effendi concerning the relationship between the “twin” sacred Institutions, the  Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith, and the Universal House of Justice, a relationship which never has existed and never will exist in the san-Guardian/Heterodox
Bahá'í organization of Haifa/Wilmette:

As Shoghi Effendi has asserted: “Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other.”

In Part 3 of this critique of the Ruhi Institute document, The Covenant, Unit 2, we will continue to examine and expose the wickedness and deception perpetrated by the authors of the Ruhi manuscript as they craftily attempted to seal their leadership’s efforts to eliminate the hereditary principle of the Bahá'í Faith and thus to simultaneously eliminate the sacred Institution of the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith which that hereditary principle perpetuates throughout the 1000 years of this Holy Bahá'í Dispensation.

The following insidious expression found on page 54 of The Ruhi manuscript, The Covenant, Unit 2, is a prime example of the wicked intentions of the authors of the Ruhi manuscript, mentioned above:

“The Will and Testament of  `Abdu'l-Bahá establishes the institution of the Guardianship.  It explicitly names Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian, allows for the possibility of other Guardians succeeding him,…”

Would it be any more deceitful for someone to write:

‘Constitutional Law in the United States of America allows for the possibility of democratic elections of Presidents.’?

I doubt that anyone has ever written a more deceptive and inappropriate statement since the founding of the American nation, not even any elementary school student writing an assignment. Constitutional Law in the United States REQUIRES democratic elections of Presidents.

Similarly, all of the sacred instructions and institutions delineated by `Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, and also all of the official statements written by the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi, use imperatives concerning the Guardianship and future Guardians of the Bahá'í Faith, and include prefatory commands such as these:  “It is incumbent,” and  “must”, to the extent that there is no excuse for any woman or man claiming to be Bahá'í to endorse or support the following ridiculous and utterly false statement by the Ruhi manuscript authors that ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Will  allows only for the POSSIBILITY of future Guardians after Shoghi Effendi:“The Will and Testament of  `Abdu'l-Bahá…allows for the possibility of other Guardians succeeding him.…”

Here follow some examples of those infallible, imperative instructions as found in the sacred instructions from `Abdu'l-Bahá:

"It is incumbent upon the guardian of the Cause of God to appoint ...him that shall be his successor . . . "  (From His Will and Testament)

Note: “it is incumbent”

“Should he not attend in person its deliberations, he must appoint one to represent him".

Note: “he must” (From His Will and Testament)

Shoghi Effendi wrote in his spiritual testament, The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh:

 "To the integrity of this cardinal principle of our Faith the words, the deeds 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."

Note that both present and future Guardians: “must abundantly testify”,  “must needs establish” “must transmit unimpeachable evidences”

The hearts of sincere, true Bahá'ís are not impervious to such imperatives transmitted through the infallible pens of those Divinely appointed interpreters of our Holy Writings.

The authors of The Covenant, Unit 2, on page 12 of their manuscript, quote the official words of Shoghi Effendi from “God Passes By” where he identifies the Aghsán to be the sons of Bahá'u'lláh: “Aghsán (His sons).

The Aghsan were solely the sons of Baha’u’llah, and therefore contemporaries of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, and thus none of them would have lived long enough to survive the ministry of Shoghi Effendi and therefore were never even alive to be considered for appointment as his successors. There can be no doubt that Shoghi Effendi was fully aware of that fact, and likewise fully aware that due to the fact that he had no sons, his successor, whom the heredidary principle and the sacred Instructions within the Master’s Will and Testament compelled him to choose and appoint, must be “another branch” (“ghusan”). If Shoghi Effendi, the first Bahá'í Guardian had failed to appoint his successor, that would mean that the hereditary principle of the Bahá'í Faith would have become inoperative even before it became functional, a totally faithless and illogical opinion, which opinion
is, nevertheless held by heterodox Bahá'ís, including the Ruhi Institute authors of The Covenant, Unit 2,  as demonstrated by this inane statement on page 72 of their manuscript:  “Shoghi Effendi had been unable to name a successor…”. What expression could possibly be more faithless and offensive towards the infallible first Guardian of
our Faith than for someone claiming to be a Bahá'í to make such a comment.

It is so very astonishing for all true Bahá'ís that sans-Guardian/heterodox believers, such as the Ruhi Institute authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 know very well in their hearts that not any woman or man among them anywhere on earth, including the members of their bogus UHJ has the slightest trace of power or authority to interpret the Bahá'í Holy Text which is the Master’s sacred and immutable Will and Testament, and yet those heterodox believers continue to press forward presumptuously, interpreting the word “ghusan” for themselves in such a manner that their nefarious, illegitimate interpretation serves to
nullify for them all of the sacred Instructions enshrined in Part One of the Master’s Will and Testament, serves to nullify/repudiate all of Shoghi Effendi’s countless written official teachings and statements concerning the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith and the relationship of this Institution to a legitimate Universal House of Justice, (which relationship the heterodox Bahá'í organization never has and never will experience), and which faithless interpretation paints a picture of Shoghi Effendi as someone who either was not an infallible Guardian, or else that had been so  unfaithful to his calling,  that
he would carry on for a long period of time without informing the Bahá'í world that he had no intention of fulfilling the duty “incumbent upon him” to appoint a successor  That is a false picture.

It is NOT our Shoghi Effendi, the beloved first Guardian of faithful, true Bahá'ís. And, yes, that is exactly the picture that these faithless disobedient ones are painting when they insist that the term “another branch” (“ghusan”) must be interpreted to mean that he must choose his successor from amongst the “Aghsan”, because they are saying, in effect, that it became necessary for them to make such an interpretation, since Shoghi Effendi failed to do so before his death and was unable to do so afterwards. Those sans-Guardian believers are the ones who have failed, by breaching the boundaries of their own stations to cross over into the sphere of interpretation which does not belong to them, but rather it belongs exclusively to the living Guardians of our Faith. Incidentally, the fact that Shoghi Effendi has not clarified that question for the sans-Guardian believers from his location in the next world puts the lie to the teaching of some heterodox believers that Shoghi Effendi is still the Guardian of the Faith, although he is now in the next world. Many heterodox believers still speak of Shoghi Effendi incorrectly as “the Guardian”, rather than as he truly is, “the first Guardian.”

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

Hand of the Cause Ross Campbell

Critique of Ruhi Institute's "The Covenant Unit 2" (Part Two)

In Part One of this Critique of the Pre-publication Edition of the manuscript entitled: The Covenant, Unit 2, The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, a document developed by the Heterodox Bahá'í organization known as The Ruhi Institute, it was clearly demonstrated that the
authors of that manuscript, The Covenant, Unit 2, throughout that manuscript, deceitfully attempted to obscure the fact that there exist two distinct and separate realms of Divine Guidance in the Bahá'í Faith, first the infallible Divine guidance for interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text and for explanation/interpretation of the writings of Guardians of the Bahá'í Faith, which Divine guidance is provided exclusively to living Guardians of the Bahá'í Faith through operation of the “hereditary principle” of the Bahá'íFaith, and second, the infallible Divine guidance for legislation upon matters NOT explicitly mentioned in Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text, which second realm of Divine guidance belongs to a legitimate Universal House of Justice, which legitimate Universal House of Justice is found on Earth at this time only in embryonic form, and is not to be confused with the bogus entity using that name currently located on Mt. Carmel. In this Part 2. of the Critique of The Covenant, Unit 2, we will focus on the manner by which the authors of the Ruhi manuscript in question have shamelessly and deviously permeated their entire document with a tone and disposition which clearly has the purpose of occulting and/or overriding the following true and critical statement which was officially written in his spiritual testament, The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah, by the first of our Bahá'í Guardians, Shoghi Effendi, concerning the “twin” sacred Bahá'í  Institutions,  the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice:

"Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other."

Take careful note of the infallible first Guardian’s expression: "Neither can, nor will ever, infringe…”

For example,  after quoting paragraph #36, found in PART TWO of the sacred and immutable Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, Who is the Center of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, the authors of the Ruhi manuscript make this insidious comment on page 71 0f their manuscript, in an obvious attempt to nullify/ abrogate the above official
statement written by the first Guardian:

“We know of course that the first part of the Will and Testament makes mention of both the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice and clearly envisages their working together. We read, for instance, the passage which indicates that the Guardian of the Cause of God would be the “sacred head” of the Universal House of Justice and its
“distinguished member for life”. Yet in passages such as the above, the Universal House of Justice is treated independently of the Guardianship.”

By their word “Yet”, in the above statement, the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 are nefariously attempting to persuade all Bahá'í believers that paragraph #36 of the Master’s sacred Will and Testament, found in PART TWO of that Holy Document, and also other
“passages such as” the Master’s paragraph #36, nullifies or overrides PART ONE of the immutable Will and Testament which PART ONE “clearly envisages” “both the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice…working together.”

The clear evidence that the above statement by the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2, found at the bottom of page 71 of that document is a villainous attempt to utilize the Master’s words in PART TWO of  His sacred Will and Testament to deprive PART ONE of His sacred Will and Testament of the legal force and efficacy of PART ONE’S sacred
Instructions delineated by Him for the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice, is found in the next two paragraphs of The Covenant, Unit 2, located on page 72, which two paragraphs continue presenting a Universal House of Justice as an institution which can and will operate alone, “independently”, devoid of any relationship with the
Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith, during the era of the future New World Order of the Bahá'í Faith:

“In the Will and Testament, then, `Abdu'l-Bahá provides means for the Bahá'í community to remain protected by the power of the Covenant and continue to benefit from Divine guidance through the Golden Age of the Faith, irrespective of how circumstances would unfold. The followers of Bahá'u'lláh would never find themselves without an authoritative
center to which they could turn.  The unity of the Bahá'í community was safeguarded, ensuring that it would fulfill its sacred task to establish a pattern for a future society, the splendors of which we can but dimly imagine.”

By that first paragraph on page 72, obviously written to expand on their concept of an independent, headless Universal House of Justice devoid of association with the Guardianship, alluded to in the last paragraph on page 71, the Ruhi authors paint a picture of the Administration of The Kingdom of God on Earth with a headless Universal House of Justice as the only authoritative center to which the followers of Bahá'u'lláh would be able to turn, and yet those followers would “continue to benefit from Divine guidance through the Golden Age of the Faith”, as if the Divine guidance for infallible
interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text would not be necessary, and as if PART ONE of the Master’s immutable Will and Testament had become obsolete. If that is not what the authors of The Covenant Unit 2 are saying in that first paragraph on page 72 then exactly what are they saying?

They are certainly painting a picture of a New World Administration devoid of a living Guardian to provide interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text, which interpretation is the exclusive jurisdiction of the Bahá'í Guardianship.  Those authors are saying that Bahá'ís will “continue to benefit from Divine guidance through the Golden Age of the Faith”, very obviously intending to teach that the “Divine guidance” from a headless Universal House of Justice, all alone, by itself, will be complete and adequate. Are the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 saying that their headless/illigitimate Universal House of Justice will even breach the boundaries of the specific authority of a legitimate Universal House of Justice, which is restricted to legislation on matters not expressly mentioned in Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text, and, therefore, that their UHJ
will be able and be permitted to “infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain” of the Guardianship as it illicitly interprets Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text,  the interpretation of which belongs exclusively to the living Guardians of the Faith?

Exactly what are the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 saying/teaching in their nefarious document?

The second paragraph on page 72 betrays their evil designs:

“You know, of course, what came to pass historically.  The Bahá'í world had the bounty of being guided by Shoghi Effendi—that wondrous, unique and priceless pearl—as the guardian of the Cause  from 1921 to 1957, during which time the Universal House of Justice did not exist. [A patently untrue statement, for it did exist, from the moment Shoghi Effendi established that sacred Institution in its embryonic form as the “International Bahá'í Council,” in his only Proclamation, issued in his cablegram, of January 9th, 1951 and in which he significantly referred to it as “this first embryonic International Institution.”] Five and a half years after his passing, on 21 April 1963, that promised institution came into being.  Shoghi Effendi had been unable to name a successor who would fulfill the conditions set so explicitly by `Abdu'l-Bahá in the Will and Testament. Whether or not there were means to appoint another Guardian, and how the Universal House of Justice would organize its work in the absence of a living Guardian, were questions that could only be addressed by the House of Justice itself, since all obscure matters, not explicit in the sacred Text were left for it to decide. And, indeed, soon after its election, the House of Justice advised the Bahá'í world that it found no way “to appoint or to legislate to make it possible to appoint a second Guardian to succeed Shoghi Effendi.”

Thus it is clear that the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 are, in effect, saying that PART ONE  of the Master’s sacred and immutable Will and Testament, “The Child of the Covenant”, “The Charter of the New world Order” is obsolete/invalid. Yes, they are teaching that their headless UHJ will function alone in the New World, devoid of the
sacred Institutions of the Bahá'í Faith delineated by `Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will, namely the Guardianship and the Hands of the Cause of God.

They have further ignored the following facts:

Interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text is a “sacred and prescribed
domain” of the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith.

Appointing and directing the Hands of the Cause of God is a “sacred and prescribed
domain” of the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith: Abdu’l-Baha stated: “O friends!  The Hands of the Cause of God must be nominated and appointed by the guardian of the Cause of God.” (Paragraph 20, Will and Testament)

And He also stated:  “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…” (Paragraph 22, Will and Testament) That Shoghi Effendi had stated with reference to the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice:  "Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other.", is a statement that informs all faithful Bahá'ís that there WILL NOT EXIST  in the New World Order a headless UHJ pretending to provide full and adequate “Divine guidance” for all Bahá'ís which would be infringing on the right of interpretation that belongs exclusively to the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith, and there WILL NOT EXIST,  a substitute institution appointed and directed by a headless UHJ in place of the sacred Institute of The Hands of the Cause of God, infringing thereby on “prescribed domain” of the Guardianship.

Thus the shameless and nefarious teaching of the Ruhi institute manuscript entitled: The Covenant, Unit 2, The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, will rightly be relegated to a certain ignominious destiny, and ultimately become nothing more than an historical footnote pertaining to a rogue institution of the Heterodox Bahá'í Faith that existed during the infamous period of the heterodox Bahá'í administration.

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

By Hand of the Cause Ross Campbell

Critique of Ruhi Institute's "The Covenant Unit 2" (Part One)

The Ruhi Institute is a heterodox Bahá'í organization, based in Columbia, and the document under examination, The Covenant, Unit 2, is currently in its pre-publication stage. Therefore, the necessary corrections discussed in this Critique should be accepted by the heterodox Bahá'í leadership and by the leadership of the Ruhi Institute as recommendations for adjustment of their document's content.

Rather than commence this critique at the beginning of the manuscript in question,  I believe that it is more beneficial for readers who are sincere Bahá'ís and for true seekers of Almighty God’s Truth to strike directly at the heart of the main/critical error of the manuscript, The Covenant, Unit 2, and from that point to branch out to focus on its other errors.

The main error of the manuscript is its perfidious occulting of the fact and reality that in the true Bahá'í Faith, there exist two distinct realms of Divine guidance, namely, first, the Divine guidance for infallible interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text and for interpretation of the writings of the Guardians of the Faith, which realm of Divine guidance does NOT belong to a legitimate Universal House of Justice, and second, the Divine guidance for infallibility of legislation on matters which are not specifically mentioned in Bahá'í Holy Writ and Holy Text, which second realm of Divine Guidance DOES belong to a legitimate Universal House of Justice.

The insidious manner by which the authors of the manuscript, The Covenant, Unit 2, have perpetrated the occulting of the above stated truth is evident by the manner by which they routinely in their manuscript quote the very passages from Bahá'í Holy Writings which
clearly separate the two distinct realms of Divine guidance, while at the very same time presenting again and again and again the Universal House of Justice as the only “continuous source of guidance” for humanity without ever once mentioning the vital, absolute necessity of infallible interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Holy Text, the OTHER
realm of Divine guidance, by which Divine guidance the sacred Laws of the Lord of this Age will become accurately applied by the Administration of the New World Order.

Here follow some examples of the treachery of the authors of the manuscript, as mentioned above:

The authors make this quote:

“Those matters of major importance which constitute the foundation of the Law of God are explicitly recorded in the Text, but subsidiary laws are left to the House of Justice. The wisdom of this is that the times never remain the same, for change is a necessary quality and an essential attribute of this world, and of time and place. Therefore
the House of Justice will take action accordingly. . .” `(Abdu'l-Bahá, from the Introduction to the Kitab-i-Aqdas) (Quoted on page 68, The Covenant, Unit 2)

In the quote above, the Master clearly identifies the two realms of Divine guidance:

1.     "Those matters of major importance which constitute the foundation of the Law of God are explicitly recorded in the Text."

2.      "...but subsidiary laws are left to the House of Justice." [note the lower case “l”]

Do the authors of the manuscript, The Covenant, Unit 2, fairly and honestly teach the true sense of the Master’s sacred words? Most certainly, they do not. Cunningly, they totally ignore the first realm of Divine guidance, the interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Holy Text, (the “Law of God”), [note the upper case “L”] which has been Divinely assigned exclusively to Guardians of the Bahá'í Faith, and carry on presenting the Universal House of Justice as the only continuous source of guidance.  Here follows what they wrote on page 68 of The Covenant, Unit 2, the very same page as the quote from the Master’s words above:

“The existence of the Universal House of Justice ensures that humanity will benefit from a continuous source of guidance for the duration of Bahá'u'lláh’s Dispensation. One need only think of the magnitude of the challenge that the Baha’i community is called upon to meet in this Day to appreciate the significance of the unique bounty God has bestowed upon humanity in the institution of the House of Justice. The implications for the unity of the community are clear enough. But, together with the other members of your group, think about how the following processes each connected to the establishment of a world
civilization, are affected by the existence of an authoritative source of guidance.”

“…an authoritative source of guidance” --written as if their headless/bogus UHJ were legitimate, which it is not, and written as if the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith were not delineated by the Master in His sacred Will and Testament to be an authoritative source of guidance, which He did. Can the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 claim that somewhere else in their 95-page manuscript they have presented the other source of Divine guidance to the extent that they are justified to deal exclusively with the guidance of the Universal House of Justice on page 68 of their manuscript? No they cannot make such a claim because nowhere in their manuscript do they present the sacred and immutable teaching of the Master, recorded in His Will and Testament,  that only a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith is "the expounder of the words of God" nor do they present Shoghi Effendi's oft-repeated reminders of that same truth.

Furthermore, the entity currently on Mt. Carmel claiming to be a Universal House of Justice cannot be an "authoritative" source of guidance for true Bahá'ís because the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha grants the following authority to the Guardian with respect to the UHJ, an authority that is totally lacking in his absence from the body currently on Mt.Carmel: "Should any of the members  commit a sin, injurious to the common weal, the guardian of the Cause of God hath at his own discretion the right to expel him."

The authors of the manuscript comment:  “But, together with the other members of your group, think about how the following processes each connected to the establishment of a world civilization, are affected by the existence of an authoritative source of guidance.”

After the above expression, the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 then list nine processes of the Bahá'í Faith, insinuating that the only “authoritative source of guidance” affecting those nine processes is their Universal House of Justice. No mention whatsoever is made of the vital hereditary principle of the Bahá'í Faith which principle provides for continuous, authoritative, infallible interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Bahá'í Holy Text which interpretation is equally vital for the processes related to the establishment of the Divine
civilization on Earth as is the legislation by the other “pillar” of the “twin pillars” of the Administration of the New World Order.

No mention at all is made of that essential hereditary principle.

Here follows another quote presented by the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2:

“And now, concerning the House of Justice which God hath ordained as the source of all good and freed from all error,” (Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá) (Quoted on page 69, The Covenant, Unit 2)

And another:

 “Unto the Most Holy Book every one must turn, and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House of Justice. That which this body, whether unanimously or by a majority doth carry, that is verily the truth and the purpose of God Himself. Whoso doth deviate there from is verily of them that love discord, hath shown forth malice, and turned away from the Lord of the Covenant.” (Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá) (Quoted on page 69, The Covenant, Unit 2).

The authors make no comment about this truth which they quote:

“Unto the Most Holy Book every one must turn,”

 Turning to the Most Holy Book requires learning from the exclusive interpreter of that Most Holy Book, namely a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. Yes, “… all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House of Justice”, yet the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 nefariously neglect to mention that the interpretation of all that IS “expressly recorded therein” belongs exclusively to a living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, NOT to a Universal House of Justice.

 And another quote:

“It is incumbent upon the Trustees of the House of Justice to take counsel together regarding those things which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book, and to enforce that which is agreeable to them. God will verily inspire them with whatsoever He willeth, and He, verily, is the Provider, the Omniscient.”  (Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh)
(Quoted on page 67, The Covenant, Unit 2)

“to take counsel together regarding those things which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book,”

In their comments, the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 make no mention of those things which HAVE BEEN “outwardly...revealed in the Book,”. Treacherously, they continue to neglect the vital station of the interpreter of our sacred Bahá'í Writings, obviously attempting to give the Bahá'í brotherhood worldwide the impression that their bogus
Universal House of Justice receives adequate guidance all by itself with no need of the Divinely ordained and Divinely conceived institution of the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith, which Divinely conceived Institution, alone, is authorized and empowered to interpret those things which HAVE   “outwardly been revealed in the Book,”.  The
so-called UHJ currently on Mt. Carmel does not have the “sacred head” delineated infallibly by `Abdu'l-Bahá in His sacred Will and Testament, therefore it is not a legitimate Bahá'í Institution to begin with, and thus it has no infallibility even for legislation on
matters not expressly recorded in our Bahá'í Writings.

And another quote by the authors of the manuscript:

“It is incumbent upon these members (of the Universal House of Justice) to gather in a certain place and deliberate upon all problems which have caused difference, questions that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book. Whatsoever they decide has the same effect as the Text itself. Inasmuch as the House of Justice hath power to enact laws that are not expressly recorded in the Book and bear upon daily transactions, so also it hath power to repeal the same. Thus for example, the House of Justice enacteth today a certain law and enforceth it, and a hundred years hence,
circumstances having profoundly changed and the conditions having altered, another House of Justice will then have power, according to the exigencies of the time, to alter that law. This it can do because these laws form no part of the divine explicit Text. The House of Justice is both the initiator and the abrogator of its own laws.” (Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá) Quoted on page 67, The Covenant , Unit 2)

“…the House of Justice hath power to enact laws that are not expressly recorded in the Book…”

The authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 have not drawn to the attention of the Bahá'í brotherhood that the above sacred verse teaches that even a legitimate Universal House of Justice can legislate ONLY upon matters NOT "expressly recorded in the Book".  Expounding of the Laws which ARE recorded in the Book is the exclusive, Divinely assigned duty of the Guardians of the Bahá'í Faith. Craftily, the authors of The Covenant, Unit 2, are pointing to the Divine guidance and infallibility provided to a Universal House of Justice, quoting from the Bahá'í Writings often in order to support that concept, and yet
without ever teaching the vital importance of the separate and essential Divine guidance in the Bahá'í Faith which a Universal House of Justice does NOT possess, namely the Divine guidance to interpret Bahá'í Holy Writ and Holy Text. They quote the vital passages, however they do not fully explain those verses, such as the verse quoted above.  They simply ignore those words and phrases which clearly reveal that even a legitimate Universal House of Justice (which theirs is not) is devoid of the critical and vital function of interpretation of Bahá'í Holy Writ and Holy Text.

Following in the footsteps of their heterodox Bahá'í leaders on Mt. Carmel, the Ruhi Institute authors of The Covenant, Unit 2 consistently ignore/neglect the fact that Shoghi Effendi has discussed functions of the Guardian in his Spiritual Testament, the The
Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh’  that indicate the essentiality of the living Guardian as the “sacred head” of the House and the fact of its fallibility without the presence of the Guardian:

            (a)  He "is bound to insist upon a reconsideration by them of any enactment he conscientiously believes to conflict with the meaning and to depart from the spirit of Baha'u'llah's revealed utterances."

            (b) He provides "the necessary guidance to define the sphere of of the legislative action of its elected representatives."

Nothing on this Earth in this Holy Bahá'í Dispensation could be more unjust than that perfidy of the authors of the Ruhi Institute document, The Covenant, Unit 2.

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

By Hand of the Cause Ross Campbell

God’s Presence in Our Lives

As you all know, the Tablet of Ahmad begins with this phrase: “He is the King, the All-Knowing, the Wise! Lo, the Nightingale of Paradise singeth upon the twigs of the Trees of Eternity, with holy and sweet melodies, proclaiming to the sincere ones the glad tidings of the nearness of God, calling the believers in the Divine Unity to the court of the Presence of the Generous One…”

When approaching this prayer quietly and meditatively rather than the often hurried and fretful pace derived from our too-crowded lives, one discovers the mention of the Presence of God. We know that this particular prayer is endowed with certain spiritual potencies that the believers may supplicate when perplexing situations seem beyond the means of solution. However, these few words deserve our acknowledgement that we understand that God is signaling us unequivocally where His Presence is at that particular moment. And do we not always expect His Presence at any moment while we pray? We don’t expect to take a number or make an appointment. We just know that He is always there in the Present.

Should not He expect our complete presence there at that moment as well?

Remember `Abdu'l-Bahá’s seemingly simple prayer? “O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being. O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life. O God! Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord.” And finally, His admonishment “…if you are not happy in this Day, when will you be happy…”

`Abdu'l-Bahá devoted His life to giving us examples of how to bridge the distance between our spiritual existence with God, and the practical application of using those principles in our daily lives. Perhaps the only way to rationalize His capacity to be happy in all circumstances, some so dire that we have no comprehension, is to opine that He was always in the present moment?

How easy it is to rationalize an unhappy frame of mind in ourselves when met by almost impossible situations. We can remember `Abdu'l-Bahá’s words that “don’t really apply to us” in the terribly stressful activities of this Day when the protection of the Covenant is primary. Oh really? Our minds race a million miles an hour, speculating on how the past should have been better, or how the future holds great (imagined) promise. The movies that we constantly play and edit in our minds, according to and based upon our own personal scripts, are largely folly. Now, that is not to say that we should not understand the mistakes of the past, and learn from them, nor to fail to make intelligent and realistic plans for the future. Those sorts of things are necessary components in an ordered life. It is the overabundance and continual playing of the past and the future in our head that detracts from the “nowness” of life.

I believe it was Ram Dass who in the 70s told us to “…be here now…” I suppose I sort of understood what he was saying, but apparently found no need to pursue that, nor the capacity to include it within much of my life’s activities. We can all argue that we certainly are here now, just by being wherever we are. Not so; particularly when you continually play the movies in your head of the past and future. But how to get beyond that familiar and comfortable pattern into the “now“ of life seems impossible in a world whose equilibrium has been upset by this New World Order.

The reading of the book “A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” by Eckhart Tolle reached up and got my attention recently, as I have discussed with some of you. I don’t want to belabor this, but I believe Tolle has a solution for how to be…in the present moment…to the benefit of all of us. His ideas seem to closely associate with what `Abdu'l-Bahá understood the benefit of (serving God and) being happy in whatever circumstance of life is unfolding at any given moment of life when He related, “…if you are not happy in this day, when will you be happy…“

The premise of the book unfolds a reasonable and simple process of being in the present moment in order to crowd out the destructive thoughts of the past and future from our lives. When we accomplish this, there remains in our egos a void where the destructive thoughts were, and then the power of the universe may enter that void with positive impulses. To me this is an expanded way of allowing the Holy spirit to work in our lives. Through this means we may really be in the present moment, and provide an avenue to remove anger, jealousy and unhappiness from our lives. Should each of us learn to control our own egos to the elimination of these unhealthy characteristics, there will be an eventual healing effect on the entire Planet, as more and more humans come to realize
the means of goodness.

While I say that the process is simple, it is not a slam dunk situation that you easily conquer by the next Saturday afternoon. Should one follow Tolle’s suggestions, and work diligently toward the goal of a richer life, I opine that one‘s life will become more fulfilling and less stressful than in the past. I recognize that we are all different and in different places at any given time, so there are probably some of you who already practice this format without realizing it. And that is wonderful. It is just that I wasn’t there yet and have found something that is working for me toward improving my life; something that I have to work at every day, but that holds great promise for progress and happiness in the future.

Moreover, and most importantly, I firmly believe that Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá understood the importance of living in the present moment, “the now,” with acceptance, enjoyment and enthusiasm for wherever they found themselves. How else could they have endured the constant vicissitudes of their personal lives?

By Hand of Cause David Maxwell

an office and library for the Guardian?

Whom do the Heterodox Bahá'í leaders plan to place in the administrative seat within the structure to be built for the institution of the Guardianship?

Shoghi Effendi, in a message to the Bahá'í world sent on November 27,1954, while discussing the Archives building, wrote:

"The raising of this Ediface will in turn 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, and the Universal House of Justice."

Does the Heterodox Bahá'í administration intend, for example, to include an office and library for the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith in their plans for the construction of the Ediface for the "divinely appointed" institution, the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith?

Or do they plan to populate that structure with individuals of their own choosing, individuals separate from the Guardianship?

Will they remember these official written statements of the first Guardian, recorded in his Spiritual Testament, The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh concerning the twin sacred Institutions of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice?:

"Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other."

Do they plan to infringe on the "sacred and prescribed domain" of the institution of the Guardianship by filling the Ediface meant to serve as the administrative seat of the Guardianship with individuals who have nothing to do with the Guardianship? That is a legitimate question because that is the only class of individuals which the Heterodox/san-Guardian administration/organization has, namely individuals who have nothing  whatsoever to do with the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith.

Or do the Heterodox Bahá'í leaders intend to simply abrogate the words of Shoghi Effendi, quoted above?

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

By Hand of the Cause Ross Campbell