Could there exist any possibility that any Instruction or advice delineated by `Abdu'l-Bahá in His sacred Will and Testament has no application in the true Bahá'í Faith?
All of the sacred Instructions of the Master enshrined in His Will and Testament have application in the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith. Orthodox Bahá'ís believe that His sacred Instructions enshrined in the pages of His Will and Testament are immutable.
In sharp contrast, Heterodox Bahá'ís, both administrators and adherents, must use asterisks and footnotes each time they mention most of the Master's Instructions, such as these Instructions from His sacred Will:
"My object is to show that the Hands of the Cause of God must be ever watchful and so soon as they find anyone beginning to oppose and protest against the Guardian of the Cause of God, cast him out from the congregation of the people of Bahá..."*
*This Instruction delineated by the Master in His Will and Testament has no application in the Heterodox Bahá'í organization.
"O ye beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor..."**
**This Instruction delineated by the Master in His Will and Testament has no application in the Heterodox Bahá'í organization.
"The Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in the important services in the work of the Guardian of the Cause of God."***
***This Instruction delineated by the Master in His Will and Testament has no application in the Heterodox Bahá'í organization.
"O friends! The Hands of the Cause of God must be nominated and appointed by the Guardian of the Cause of God."****
****This Instruction delineated by the Master in His Will and Testament has no application in the Heterodox Bahá'í organization.
"All must be under his shadow and obey his command."*****
*****This Instruction delineated by the Master in His Will and Testament has no application in the Heterodox Bahá'í organization.
"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..."******
******This Instruction delineated by the Master in His Will and Testament has no application in the Heterodox Bahá'í organization.
"By this body all the difficult problems are to be resolved and the Guardian of the Cause of God is its sacred head and the distinguished member for life of that body. Should he not attend in person its deliberations, he must appoint one to represent him."*******
*******This Instruction delineated by the Master in His Will and Testament has no application in the Heterodox Bahá'í organization.
"O ye the faithful loved ones of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá! It is incumbent upon you to take the greatest care of Shoghi Effendi, the twig that hath branched from and the fruit given forth by the two hallowed and Divine Lote-Trees, that no dust of despondency and sorrow may stain his radiant nature, that day by day he may wax greater in happiness, in
joy and spirituality, and may grow to become even as a fruitful tree."********
********This Instruction delineated by the Master in His Will and Testament has no application in the Heterodox Bahá'í organization.
Someone may ask how the last Instruction of `Abdu'l-Bahá quoted above can be obeyed by Orthodox Bahá'ís since it is a specific Instruction concerning Shoghi Effendi. I believe that we can answer such a question by considering another question: What would cause "dust of despondency" to "stain [the] radiant nature" of Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith? I suggest that failure on the part of Bahá'ís to obey his instructions and exhortations as Guardian of the Faith would be the primary cause of any despondency that he would experience.
That Instruction was provided to ensure the spiritual fruitfulness of Shoghi Effendi as Guardian/Head of the Bahá'í Faith and therefore it finds equal forece of application towards all future Guardians of the Faith.
When women and men who have declared their belief and acceptance of Bahá'u'lláh as the Lord of this Age fail to follow the instructions and exhortations/urgings of any Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, such failure could only produce disappointment and despondency for that Guardian as Guardians are all desirous of promoting and witnessing the advancement of the Cause of God on Earth, and the triumph of the Lord's Covenant.
Orthodox Bahá'ís are in a position to be able to cheer their Guardian's heart by quickly responding obediently to his wishes and instructions. True Bahá'ís will always be able to cheer their Guardians' hearts until the appearance of the next Holy Manifestation of God.
Orthodox Bahá'ís are in a position to be able to make application of all of the Master's Instructions in His sacred Will and Testament and to find applications for all of the lessons which He provided in its sacred pages.
Most of `Abdu'l-Bahá's sacred Instructions enshrined in His immutable Will and Testament have no application in the organization of Heterodox Bahá'ís, and for those Heterodox Bahá'ís His Instructions and advices are viewed as mere historical anecdotes, relatively
insignificant and dispensable.
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
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