The court action in Chicago, brought by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America, under the Bahá'í organization loyal to the sans-Guardian Universal House of Justice (“Bahá'í World Faith” or “BWF”) is now finally concluded in favor of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith (“OBF”). The NSA brought this action on November 16, 2006 against the OBF in the United States but the NSA lost the case both in the trial court and the appeals court. The NSA trapped itself in its own net.
The so-called Universal House of Justice of the BWF, the astray Hands of Cause and the illegitimate reign of the “Custodians” at the Bahá'í World Center were aware about the text of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá that the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith is not only the spiritual Head of the Bahá'í Faith but he is the whole sole Owner of the properties of the Bahá'í World. Thus following the passing of the first Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, they feared that all the properties will go in the hands of Mason Remey, if he had been accepted as the second Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
Therefore, in a resolution signed by all the Hands on 25 November 1957, they stated that “The Custodians shall be deemed to succeed the Guardian of Baha’i Faith.”
Custodian, an illegitimate Body
I invite the attentions of all Bahá'ís of the world that:
The Body of the Custodian is not one of the Institutions delineated in the divinely conceived and sacred Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, it clearly possessed no legitimacy in the divinely conceived ‘Administrative Order’ which the master-hand of its perfect Architect (`Abdu'l-Bahá) has fashioned.
UHJ is a Religious Body or a Trader?
Now, pay attention to the Findings of Fact in the EXHIBIT of court case and judge yourself whether the BWF is a religious body or trader? In fact they are the trader that is why they registered the religious terminology under the “Trademark Registration Act” and claimed that they are the owner of these terminologies.
It is greatly unfortunate that they consider the following terminologies of the Bahá'í Faith as their “trademark” while these truly are sacred religious terms:
- Arabic Symbol of “The Greatest Name”.
- the word “Bahá'í”
- the Bahá'í House of Worship and the images of the buildings
- Universal House of Justice
- Bahá'í Faith.
- Bahá'u'lláh
They also claim the exclusive right to use the terms National Spiritual Assembly, NSA, Local Spiritual Assembly, and LSA because it would cause confusion.
Bahá'í Faith is not a Product that can be trademarked:
The Baha’i Faith is not a product that can be trademarked. It is a religion. An individual or a group cannot be the owner of the religion or religious terminology, and the U.S. Courts cannot decide religious controversies. Thus anybody who follows the teachings of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi and follow the belief and the principles given them can call themselves Bahá'ís.
They claim the exclusive right to the Bahá'í Faith, yet they don’t bother about the distinguishing characteristic of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: The Covenant.
If the members of the NSA, UHJ, and the Hands of the Cause were religious and had the fear of God, definitely they would have cared about the distinguishing characteristic of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh: The Covenant which He made with his followers to preserve and safeguard the Faith from the divisive and baleful effect of varying interpretations following His ascension. Because varying interpretation plagued the religions of the past and destroyed the unity of their followers, this Covenant was embodied in a specific written Testament designated by Him as the Book of His Covenant (Kitáb-i-Ahd) has no parallel in the Scriptures of any previous Dispensation. In this unique Document, Bahá'u'lláh conferred the mantle of authority upon His Ascension on the shoulders of His son, `Abdu'l-Bahá, Whom He designated as the Center of His Covenant and “The Most Great Branch”. Further in the most Holy Book of His Revelation (Kitáb-i-Aqdas), He proclaimed:
“When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your Faces towards Him Whom God hath purposed, Who branched from this Ancient Root.”
The first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi in his work entitled “The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh” describes the station of `Abdu'l-Bahá in the following terms:
“He is, and should for all time be regarded, first foremost, as the Center and Pivot of Bahá'u'lláh’s peerless and all-enfolding Covenant, His most exalted handiwork, the stainless Mirror of His light, the perfect exemplar of His teachings, the unerring Interpreter of His Word, the embodiment of every Bahá'í ideal, the incarnation of every Bahá'í virtue, the most mighty Branch sprung from the Ancient Root, the Limb of the Law of God.”
What did they do with the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá?
`Abdu'l-Bahá’s greatest legacy to posterity and the brightest emanation of His mind was His Will and Testament, the “Child of the Covenant,” and "Charter of the Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh"– “the mightiest instrument forged to insure the continuity of the three ages which constitute the component parts of His Father’s Dispensation.” This immortal Document is considered supplementary to the most Holy Book revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and such constitutes a part of the explicit Holy Text, inviolate and never to be abrogated or altered in any way during the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh..
They overruled everything for the sake of worldly pleasures, to the extent that they actually chose to use the U.S. courts to threaten and stop the true believers from teaching the true Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, but have they forgotten that God is just and that in the end He never disappoints the true believers.
COURT ACTION AND THE DESTINY OF BWF’s “UNIVERSAL HOUSE JUSTICE”
I would like to inform the Bahá'í friends in India that whenever any Bahá'í enquired of the secretaries of the NSA, LSA, or the Auxiliary Board Members about the Guardianship and the court case in the United States, they always replied that that you should not raise any question with regard to the court case. the UHJ is looking after all these matters.
Now let us see where this “infallible UHJ” will take its followers? Is it leading you into hell or to the Abhá Kingdom?
With best wishes.
Hand of the Cause of God Dr. A. Parikh
[To see the court documents in the case brought against the OBF by the National Spiritual Assembly of Wilmette, Illinois, follow this link: http://www.truebahai.com/court_case.html ]