True Bahá'í

True Bahai unity: disputes are essential for arriving at truth

What first attracted me to the Bahai religion were its teachings on the rule of law as a means of peace and justice between nations, the independent investigation of reality as the basis of unity between individuals, and the idea of consultation.

Unity of nations cannot be achieved without the rule of law and justice between the peoples of the world.  Without justice and the rule of law, war is inevitable.  "An arbitral court of justice shall be established by which international disputes are to be settled. Through this means all possibility of discord and war between the nations will be obviated." Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 317.  This fundamental teaching is so obvious today.  The time is so ripe for justice to reign in the affairs of the world.  However, nations are just assemblies of persons, so if unity and justice is to be achieved, we must look to the teachings of how individuals are to become united.

Baha'u'llah taught that unity of individual persons requires that each of us think for ourselves, investigate reality and truth for ourselves, and that we do not follow traditions or the opinions of clergy members.  Too many Baha'is today, under the yoke of their bogus UHJ (presently residing in Haifa), are unable or unwilling to think for themselves.  Every obscure question of how they should think or behave is presented to their so-called Universal House of Justice.  The dictatorial pronouncements of this body are eagerly anticipated and studied.  The unity that this bogus UHJ enforces is one of single-minded thinking.  According to its formula, the community remains united by agreement with its dictates. Don't think your own thoughts.  Think our thoughts and thus the robotic unity of community will be maintained. It is disagreement that is the source of disunity, according to the bogus UHJ.  Therefore they espouse the belief that no matter how wrong they might be, every community member must accept their dictates as being the divine truth, or else that member must be expelled for the sake of unity.

"[D]isputes are forbidden in the community" says the UHJ's Secretary General, Albert Lincoln (quoted from the documentary film "Bahais in My Backyard), disregarding Baha'u'llah's unique and distinctive method for achieving unity.  The unity envisaged by Baha'u'llah was not one in which all of humanity was required to think the same thoughts and conform its behavior to the dictates of an elite leadership.  To the contrary, Baha'u'llah's vision was for a commonwealth of free people, with no clergy to tell persons what to think or how to behave.  Instead of unity of thinking, Baha'u'llah command His followers to resolve all problems and all disputes by using the principles of consultation.

The central idea of consultation is that each person expresses with absolute freedom his or her own opinion and arguments. Each person remains detached from the views being expressed so that no personal attacks are made nor is anyone injured by a dissenting viewpoint. Every effort is made to arrive at a consensus. "The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions." Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 86.  In this way, problems and disputes are resolved in a manner whereby every participant can get behind the ultimate decision, knowing that every viewpoint was carefully considered and that the truth has emerged.

What a liberating philosophy brought by Baha'u'llah.  It seems that while dispute and contention is built into the human mind, it is precisely that same clash of opinions, when presented using the proper procedures of consultation, that transforms the long-standing practice of humanity to disagree as a means of arriving at the truth.  How else will humanity achieve peace and justice than to transform its very contentiousness into the means for solving all of the world's problems?

Understanding the Bahai Revelation

Very few people in the world today demonstrate an understanding of the Bahai Revelation, the body of teachings revealed by Baha'u'llah that are the divine remedy for the ills that plague mankind today.  Orthodox Baha'is proclaim and teach their Faith, not because they seek to convert people to their religion, but for the higher goal of sharing the truth of the Message of Baha'u'llah for this Day. It is so unfortunate that even amongst most of the Bahais who have accepted Baha'u'llah, true and deep understanding of His teachings is a rare find.

How does one acquire knowledge and understanding of the Baha'i Revelation?  I submit that intense prayer and meditation and devoted study of the Holy Writings is necessary. That is, prayer that goes beyond mere recitation of the Writings at the public meetings, and a study that goes beyond mere intellectual reflection.  To absorb the truth of the Baha'i Revelation, one must undergo an intense search and devoted meditation until a spiritual understanding is achieved.  This is a lifelong process.

Abdu'l-Baha: "How shall we attain the reality of knowledge? By the breaths and promptings of the Holy Spirit which is light and knowledge itself. Through it the human mind is quickened and fortified into true conclusions and perfect knowledge."  Foundations of World Unity, p. 46.  Abdu'l-Baha repeatedly speaks of the breaths and promptings of the Holy Spirit as the secret to obtaining eternal life and true knowledge, the means of true brotherhood, the solution to war and the source of real kindness. 

One approach these breaths of the Holy Spirit by turning to the Manifestation of God in prayerful devotion and reflection:

"Likewise the Holy Spirit is the very cause of the life of man; without the Holy Spirit he would have no intellect, he would be unable to acquire his scientific knowledge by which his great influence over the rest of creation is gained. The illumination of the Holy Spirit gives to man the power of thought, and enables him to make discoveries by which he bends the laws of nature to his will. The Holy Spirit it is which, through the mediation of the Prophets of God, teaches spiritual virtues to man and enables him to attain Eternal Life." Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 58.

Unfortunately too many Baha'is are existing on the surface and have not delved deeply into the Ocean of Baha'u'llah's Revelation.  Their devotions are limited to parrot-like recitations of the revealed prayers, delivered mechanically and only within the meetings of other Baha'is.  However, for Baha'is devotion is supposed to be a personal matter directly between God and the individual, and not in the form of congregation.  Prayer should be a constant activity from the moment one awakes in the morning until one retires at night.  Prayer and devotion is not divorced from one's life activities and work, but every action should be done in devotion and praise of God.  With this kind of devotion, the breaths of the Holy Spirit descend and one plunges deeply into the ocean of Truth.

Two thumbs up for film "Bahais in My Backyard"

Two thumbs up for Bahais in My Backyard, an Israeli's view of the Bahai Faith that is presently headquartered in Haifa, Israel ("BWF").  This hour long film captures the essence of what is wrong with the BWF and how they have hijacked the true teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, distorted them and are attempting to use them to carry out their plan for world domination.

Of course, when I say "two thumbs up", I am borrowing from the Siskel and Ebert movie reviewers, with no pun intended about the hilarious television commercial for "erection problems" that provided much needed comic relief in a piece that mostly ran chills down my spine at the palpable evil being displayed by the leaders of the BWF.

Throughout the film, the BWF leaders appear as humorless, evasive, cold, calculating, arrogant, dark and paranoid.  They are so scary they almost seem alien as if they were about to blink with more than one set of eyelids.  Everyone else comes across as human, warm and trusting souls, although Frederick Glaysher, a Reform Bahá'í and outspoken critic of the BWF, came across as somewhat paranoid, not that I blame him.  The rank and file members of BWF seemed like nice people but they did not seem to get it, as one woman calls the U.S. National Center in Wilmette and seems mystified that they are so paranoid about releasing information about the members.

The film crew is escorted through the underground pathways, facilities and auditoriums of the Haifa World Center by the BWF's Secretary General, Albert Lincoln (who inexplicably could not open all of the doors with his "master key").  In an attempt to make the BWF appear in a positive light he introduces the BWF by saying: "The Bahai Faith is the first religion in the history of the world as far as I am aware to function without a clergy and on a democratic basis." 

Anyone who knows about how the BWF handles dissent and critcisim knows that the BWF does not function on a democratic basis.  Not only that, but I find it hard to believe that Mr. Lincoln became the Secretary General of the World Centre without being familiar with Shoghi Effendi's teachings on the subject.  This makes Mr. Lincoln a bald-faced liar.

Shoghi Effendi: "Neither in theory nor in practice can the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh be said to conform to any type of democratic government, to any system of autocracy, to any purely aristocratic order, or to any of the various theocracies, whether Jewish, Christian or Islamic which mankind has witnessed in the past. It incorporates within its structure certain elements which are to be found in each of the three recognized forms of secular government, is devoid of the defects which each of them inherently possesses, and blends the salutary truths which each undoubtedly contains without vitiating in any way the integrity of the Divine verities on which it is essentially founded."  God Passes By, p. 326.

Later, in a candid moment, Mr. Lincoln discusses how the BWF treats dissidents. His statements are so precious, I will quote him in full here.  He would make Mussolini proud:

"In every organization, particularly in religious organizations, there is always some form of dealing with harmful dissidents. It certainly exists in the Catholic Church and other religious organizations. Within the context of the Bahai Faith, those who attack the authority of the Institutions, which are there to maintain the unity of the community, are expelled from the community and the community is asked not to speak with them. This is because disputes are forbidden in the community and on such a fundamental issue the best way to avoid a dispute is simply not to have a conversation."

I must say hearing Mr. Lincoln speak so coldly about "dealing with" dissidents and saying that disputes are "forbidden" sent chills down my spine and I had to run to my front door to make sure it was securely locked!  To hear him say these things, as if they were so reasonable, is punctuated by the fact that he is speaking in a palace situated on Mount Carmel that is purported to be the seat of a future world government.  What he is really saying here is that the theocratic global State to be created by the BWF is a fascist organization.  They will "deal with" the dissidents and they won't let them "have a conversation."   Never mind that consultation, that is the clash of opposing viewpoints, is one of the central teachings of the Faith, and the question of the authority of their "Institutions" was never even consulted about.  You don't achieve unity by avoiding the dispute altogether and just impose one view on everyone else, like it or not.

If you don't believe that the BWF intends to set up a world government, just listen to Douglas Moore, Public Information Director, spew his propaganda.  He says that "nations will eventually give up some of their sovereignty and turn it over to a world government."  This sounds all progressive and wonderful until one realizes that this world government he is talking about is THEIR world government, one where dissidents are dealt with.  He is standing, after all, in a shrine to this world government, with the spooky buildings of world government all about him.

The disturbing lack of candor and outright lies of the BWF leaders is highlighted by the visit made by Murray Smith, Deputy Secretary General, who is secretly taped discussing why they BWF won't admit an Israeli to membership.  The guy sits there and tells him that Bahá'u'lláh Himself forbid Israeli citizens from joining their community. Never mind that the Israeli State did not exist in the time of Bahá'u'lláh.  In fact, this rule comes from their bogus UHJ, which attributes it to a policy that supposedly existed from the time of Bahá'u'lláh.  Mr. Smith's lie becomes apparent when he admits this rule will be eliminated in the future, as if the pronouncements of Bahá'u'lláh can simply be cast aside in the future.  This man is a buffoon.

The underground facilities of the BWF's world centre is examined by an architect who concludes that it is an elaborate bomb shelter or bunker to help a council of wise men survive through an anticipated holocaust.  Of course, that is exactly what it is.  The BWF leaders deny an apocalyptic vision in the film (and they elsewhere publicly denounce such a teaching) ignoring the fact that the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi are replete with references to a world embracing calamity.  The deception just never ends.

Probably the most priceless portion of the film is the interview with Nigar Bahai Amsalem, the great grand-daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, a neighbor to the BWF world center and a very nice lady who insists that she exists despite the fact that her existence is officially denied by the BWF leaders.  She says: "We are the family and they cannot say that we are not the family as they tell their people that come from abroad: 'do not talk to them,' but personally I think its very childish because what are they so afraid of us for? What can we do? Against all.... we are not interested. We are the family that are living here. The blood of Bahá'u'lláh runs in all the veins of the family. We are not doing anything against them.  We are just living peacefully and doing exactly what Bahá'u'lláh told us to do. So we are Bahá'ís. We are true Bahá'ís."

She needs to be careful with that "true Bahá'í talk".  It will get her sued.  I know why they are so afraid of her and the rest of the family.  Her existence threatens their authority and power. She does not fear them at all.  She fears only God. I liked her.

It made me laugh out loud to hear Douglas Moore respond by saying that it did not matter that they are part of the Holy family.  He said it was not "something of value in itself of being related to Baha'u'llah."  I fell off my chair and laughed out loud because it was precisely because there was no member of the Holy family for Shoghi Effendi to appoint as his successor that the Institutions of the Guardianship and Hands of the Cause supposedly had to come to an end, and the UHJ had to be permanently disfigured as a headless body. To say that there is no significance is pretty far out there.  The deception never ends.

In conclusion, the film was highly entertaining, revealing, and had a certain gloomy sense of humor about it even as it exposed the shapeshifting BWF leadership as the agents of deception and evil that they are.  I highly recommend it.

The Lost Teachings of the Bahá'í Guardianship

One of the more interesting aspects of the litigation against the Orthodox Bahá'ís brought by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the United States headquartered in Wilmette (hereafter called the "sans-Guardian Bahais"), was the way in which the sans-Guardian Bahais acted as if the principles of the Guardianship were created by Charles Mason Remey and Joel B. Marangella.

Althought the Orthodox Bahá'ís believe that Shoghi Effendi was the first Guardian, Charles Mason Remey was the second Guardian and Joel B. Marangella was the third Guardian, it was not any of the Guardians who created the idea of the Guardianship.  Throughout the litigation, the sans-Guardian Bahais acted as if the principle of the hereditary Guardianship is what distinguishes the Orthodox Bahá'ís from the sans-Guardian Bahais.  This, of course, is untrue. The teachings of both organizations have the idea of the hereditary Guardianship. This is a teaching espoused by `Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, and Shoghi Effendi (who was accepted by the sans-Guardian Bahais) wrote extensively on the subject.  The idea did not originate from the Guardians.  The only difference between the sans-Guardian Bahais and the Orthodox Bahá'ís, is that the sans-Guardian Bahais lost their faith in the Covenant after the death of Shoghi Effendi, falsely believing that the essential Institution of the Guardianship had come to an end.  However, the fundamental teachings of the Faith have become so lost, that the sans-Guardian Bahais act as if the Guardianship is not part of their teachings.

During the deposition taken by Mr. Dolan for the sans-Guardian NSA of Orthodox Bahá'í Hand of the Cause Marilyn Meyer, he questions her about her duties as a Hand, and on the hereditary Guardianship, as if these things were somehow unknown to the Wilmette NSA.  On cross-examination, the Orthodox Bahá'í attorney had to get Ms. Meyer to teach these lost but fundamental teachings of the Faith to the Wilmette NSA:

EXAMINATION
12   BY MR. GOLDBERG:
13       Q.   Okay.  I have a few questions for you just to
14   clarify some of the things that you testified to.
15       A.   Okay.
16       Q.   You said that the goal of the National
17   Spiritual Assembly of the -- under the Remey
18   organization was to teach the guardianship.  Can you
19   tell me what that means, what does it mean, what is
20   the guardianship?
21       A.   The guardianship is the unique feature of the
22   revelation of Baha'u'llah.  It is the guardian -- we
23   should -- that we should never be without a point of
24   guidance.  The guardian's job is to interpret the
25   writings among other things, to elucidate on the
00130
  1   writings.  And he is head of the Universal House of
  2   Justice without which they cannot function.
  3       Q.   Is the guardianship unique to the Remey NSA?
  4       A.   To the Remey NSA?
  5       Q.   Yes.  Did that -- did it arise out of Mason
  6   Remey's teachings or --
  7       A.   No, the guardianship is unique.  And Shoghi
  8   Effendi has written that it's unique to the Baha'i
  9   faith all together.  And Shoghi Effendi stressed that
10   point.
11       Q.   And Shoghi Effendi you testified earlier was
12   the first guardian.  How did he become the guardian?
13       A.   Shoghi Effendi was appointed by Abdu'l Baha,
14   [chosen]shows in by Abdu'l Baha to be the first guardian.
15       Q.   And so the guardianship then is a feature of
16   the heterodox or the Wilmette group as well as the
17   Remey NSA; is that correct?
18       A.   That's correct.
19            MR. DOLAN:  Objection, leading.
20   BY MR. GOLDBERG:
21       Q.   So what is the difference between the
22   Wilmette NSA group and the believers under the
23   guardianship?
24       A.   We hold the same beliefs up until the passing
25   of Shoghi Effendi; that is, we believe Baha'u'llah to
00131
  1   be the manifestation of God.  We believe his eldest
  2   son, Abdu'l Baha, to be the center of the covenant.
  3   We believe that Shoghi Effendi was the first guardian.
  4   The -- what are we calling you?
  5       Q.   Wilmette group, Wilmette NSA.
  6       A.   I forgot, I'm sorry.  Has not acknowledged a
  7   guardian since the passing of Shoghi Effendi.  That's
  8   the point of divergence.

Transcript of deposition of Marilyn K. Meyer, April 18, 2007 (Exhibit C to OBF Sur-reply)

Later, the OBF attorney has to ask Ms. Meyer to explain the Institution of the Hands, another Institution that has been lost to the sans-Guardian Bahais:

Q.   Okay.  New topic.  You testified about --
  4   well, Hands of the Cause and the purpose of the Hands
  5   of the Cause and things like that.  Do you recall
  6   whether -- well, let me ask you this, is the Hands of
  7   the Cause an institution created exclusively by Joel
  8   Marangella?
  9       A.   It is not.
10       Q.   Where does the Hand of the Cause come from?
11       A.   Again, using the definitive document for the
12   administrative order, it was designed and implemented
13   by -- designed and anticipated by Abdu'l Baha.  And it
14   was implemented by the first guardian Shoghi Effendi.
15       Q.   And did Shoghi Effendi appoint Hands of the
16   Cause then?
17       A.   Shoghi Effendi did appoint Hands of the
18   Cause.
19       Q.   How about Mason Remey?
20       A.   The only relative statement that I could
21   remember was that Mason Remey said that all of the
22   supporters of his organization should be considered
23   Hands of the Cause.  There was no individual
24   appointment.
25       Q.   Okay.  And you -- well, let me ask you this,
00140
  1   is the Hands of the Cause, does it have any
  2   administrative authority or power?
  3       A.   The Hands of the Cause have no administrative
  4   authority or power.
  5       Q.   So --
  6       A.   Per the document of Abdu'l Baha's Will and
  7   Testament.
  8       Q.   So they function on their own or how do --
  9       A.   They -- they serve -- they serve the
10   guardian.
11       Q.   Okay.
12       A.   And they serve them in various ways because
13   under Shoghi Effendi they had different talents.  So
14   the hands serve at the request and bidding of the
15   guardian.

It is unfortunate that the sans-Guardian Bahais have strayed so far away from the original teachings of the Faith that they barely recognize the teachings when they hear it from the mouths of the Orthodox Bahá'ís.  For them, the Guardianship and the Hands of the Cause are relics of history instead of the living and vital Institutions of the Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh that they were intended to be and they truly are.

For more information about the court case against the OBF, go here:
http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html

The Light Side of Bahá'í

Yesterday I wrote about the dark side of Bahá'í, but today I want to talk about the Light side. My criticism of the Bahá'í World Faith, the organization presently headquartered in Haifa and Wilmette ("BWF") and my belief they are dark does not mean that I believe there is anything dark about the Bahá'í Revelation.  To the contrary, it is precisely because the BWF's leaders have strayed far from the original teachings of Bahá'u'lláh that they have fallen so far into the darkness.

The Bahá'í teachings are key to achieving a peaceful and just society.  For example, Bahá'u'lláh taught us of the unity of the human race, elimination of prejudices of all kinds, the rule of law and the establishment of justice between all nations of the world, the need for a universal language, the need for universal education, and a spiritual solution to the economic problem with an emphasis on voluntary equalization of the extremes of poverty and wealth. This is God's teaching for the present day.

`Abdu'l-Bahá:
"White doves and gray doves associate with each other in perfect friendship. Man draws imaginary lines on the planet and says, "This is a Frenchman, a Musselman, an Italian!" Upon these differences wars are waged. Men are fighting for the possession of the earth. They fight for that which becomes their graves, their cemeteries, their tombs.

"In reality all are members of one human family -- children of one Heavenly Father. Humanity may be likened unto the vari-colored flowers of one garden. There is unity in diversity. Each sets off and enhances the other's beauty." Divine Philosophy, pp. 25-26

To achieve unity and the elimination of prejudice, we must become tolerant of the differences of thought of various people.  There is not a single right way to think and behave.  All persons are children of God, and we must view them in a sacred light.  We must celebrate the beauty and diversity of the various cultures, and refrain from imposing Western civilization as some kind of standard for the world. We must not seek to impose our own narrow views and opinions upon others.  Rather, we need to listen to each other, be open to the truth wherever it might be found, allow everyone to express themselves freely and openly, and recognize the perfection of all.

`Abdu'l-Bahá:
How unpleasing to the eye if all the flowers and plants, the leaves and blossoms, the fruits, the branches and the trees of that garden were all of the same shape and colour! Diversity of hues, form and shape, enricheth and adorneth the garden, and heighteneth the effect thereof. In like manner, when divers shades of thought, temperament and character, are brought together under the power and  influence of one central agency, the beauty and glory of human perfection will be revealed and made manifest. Naught but the celestial potency of the Word of God, which ruleth and transcendeth the realities of all things, is capable of harmonizing the divergent thoughts, sentiments, ideas, and convictions of the children of men. Verily, it is the penetrating power in all things, the mover of souls and the binder and regulator in the world of humanity." Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, pp. 291-292.

Those who have a deep and abiding faith in God do not have fear of other's viewpoints and opinions. When people become upset and fearful over the words of others, this reveals that they do not have faith in their own point of view and they feel threatened by an opposing or differing approach.  Instead of holding on to our own perceptions and viewpoints as if they were the truth, we should seek the reality of truth.  This can come only by the clash of different opinions: "The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions." Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 87.

The disagreement between the various denominations of the Bahá'í religion over leadership and authority is most difficult, in the view of the Orthodox Bahá'ís, because those who reject the Guardian are rejecting the central mechanism established in the Faith to keep its unity intact, that is universal obedience to the Guardian.  However, as difficult as this might be, it is not acceptable for any denomination of the Faith to try to crush or oppress the other, or to stifle their right to freely express their views and practice their Faith according to the dictates of their own conscience.  Those Bahá'í organizations which practice censorship, shunning, the stifling of dissenting views, and attacks against persons who disagree with them, are engaged in behavior that is anathema to the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.

The Dark Side of Bahá'í

In approaching members of the Bahá'í World Faith, that organization that is presently headquartered in Haifa and Wilmette ("BWF"), one must exercise great caution.  These are people who are not at all what they seem to be.  On the surface, they appear friendly and loving to the utmost degree.  They espouse wonderfully liberal views of unity and harmony amongst the peoples of the world.  They are so upright and kind, and seemingly open and tolerant.  However, underneath the surface, they display much darker personalities. In my opinion, many of them are very dangerous.

Many people who have not experienced this darker element of the Bahá'ís will not believe it.  I myself would never have believed it had I not witnessed for myself how awful the BWF members can behave when their world view is challenged.  Their tolerance and openness is very robotic, for purposes of show only, in an effort to attract new adherents.  They advocate unity in diversity, but they don't really mean this in the sense of being tolerant of diverse views and practices.  What they really mean is a unity that swallows up diversity, more like the science fiction Borg who wish to bring cultures into unity by assimilation.

If you are considering joining the BWF, some caution would be advised.  It is important to ask the questions that need to be asked.  Do not allow them to sweep any topic under the rug.  Do not join them unless they can answer your concerns fully.  They are under great pressure to win new adherents and to give money to their organization. Many of them are very skilled at deflecting questions and concerns and making their Faith look attractive.  Once you join their organization, their attitude towards you will change suddently.  Once you are no longer a "seeker" they see their mission as completed and they no longer care about responding to your concerns.  In fact, this not so subtle shift in their attitude will be displayed by active discouragement of the slightest criticism or questioning of anything about the BWF.  This questioning attitude, while tolerated to a limited extent with "seekers," is simply not allowed by card carrying members of the BWF.  Once you have joined the BWF, it is not that easy to extricate yourself from the organization unless you are willing to do it on their terms, meaning very quietly and without displaying any desire to remain a Baha'i outside of their organization.

I was a member of the BWF from around mid-1980 until I resigned from their organization in early 1997.  Before joining, I conducted an extensive investigation of the BWF, including reading numerous books and attending "firesides", meetings conducted by ordinary Bahá'ís to teach the Faith and answer questions of seekers.  As part of my investigation, I inquired into the Guardianship since the Writings clearly called for a continuing line of Guardians, but was told that it was impossible for Shoghi Effendi to have appointed a successor and therefore there no longer was a living Guardian, but instead the Universal House of Justice was the sole head of the Faith even though it did not have the Guardian as its "sacred head" as required by the Will & Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. Having been told by members of the BWF that there were no longer any living claimants to the Guardianship, I was satisfied with their explanation and embraced them.

It was not until the Fall of 1996, while surfing the Internet, did I come to the realization that there was a living claimant to the Guardianship (Joel B. Marangella) and that he had a worldwide following of believers who had accepted his Guardianship, the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith ("OBF"), and who were following what I considered to be the true original teachings of the Faith. The BWF considered them to be covenant-breakers. It had been a part of the teachings of the BWF that should any of us ever come across reading materials by covenant-breakers, we must not read them or have any contact with them because one could catch a spiritual disease from contact with them and their irrational ideas.  Prior to 1996, I did not know of any living covenant-breakers and therefore never gave much thought to this teaching believing it was merely an historical reference. Once I came upon the web sites of the OBF and interacted with them on online bulletin boards, the prospect of "catching" irrational thought processes from these allegedly disturbed individuals did cross my mind. My intellectual curiosity compelled me to carefully review and consider their position, and I decided that if I came across any irrational ideas, I would simply stop reading their sites.

The OBF web sites contained intelligent, rational, and cogent arguments and explanations as to their version of the Faith's history of how almost all of the Hands of the Cause of God, persons appointed by Shoghi Effendi to protect the Faith, met in a secret conclave after Shoghi Effendi's death.  The Hands decided that Shoghi Effendi did not and could not have appointed a successor. They later expelled Charles Mason Remey and his followers and tried to convince the rank and file believers that no Guardian could be appointed after Shoghi Effendi, but instead to accept the Custodians, a body of their own making from among their own, and a Universal House of Justice elected without a Guardian at its head, contrary to the explicit provisions of the Will & Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. In fact, Charles Mason Remey had been appointed by Shoghi Effendi, during his lifetime, as the President of the embryonic International Baha'i Council ("IBC"), an embryo of the Universal House of Justice ("UHJ"), the supreme body of the Faith.  Since President of the UHJ and the Guardian are synonymous terms under the explicit provisions of the Will & Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, it was clear that upon the birth of the IBC (upon Shoghi Effendi's death), Charles Mason Remey became the second Guardian and the sacred head of the actively functioning IBC. However, the Hands rejected Charles Mason Remey and the IBC, the twin pillars of the Baha'i Administrative Order, and thus perpetrated the greatest violation of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, turning most of the Baha'i world against the true Faith.  No wonder the BWF tries to scare its members from reading the truth on the OBF's web sites!

On February, 18, 1997, I resigned from the BWF and declared and enrolled with the OBF. Although shortly thereafter, I received an acknowledgment of my resignation from the NSA of the BWF, several months later, on May 27, 1997, my wife and I were declared to be covenant-breakers and all of my friends in the Faith were instructed to shun me entirely and never to have any contact with me or face the same expulsion themselves. Although my wife did not join the OBF at that time, she was also expelled and shunned because she refused to take my children and divorce me as they had insisted she must.

The BWF claims that shunning us as covenant-breakers is required to maintain the unity of the Faith.  The OBF believe, on the other hand, that unity in the Faith is achieved and maintained by obedience to the Center of the Cause, the living Guardian, and that a covenant-breaker is and always was defined as one who rejects the authority of the Guardian.  Under the original definition of covenant-breaker, it was the Hands and those who followed them who are the covenant-breakers.

At the present time, the BWF is in court against the OBF in an attempt to prevent the OBF from using Bahá'í in its name and on its web sites and from using the symbol of the Greatest Name.  In their view, if you do not show obedience to their organization, you are not allowed to call yourself a Bahá'í.  For more on this, go to this web page:
http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html

My experience is not at all unique. Many of the OBF members have similar stories.  Many others who have dissented from the BWF can tell you about the strange and cult-like behavior of the members of the BWF in their attempts to silence critics and stop all dissent.

If you are considering joining the BWF, I urge you to question them fully about the Guardianship, as this was supposedly one of the essential verities of their Faith.  Read Shoghi Effendi's Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, and `Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament and ask them why their organization does not comport with the requirements of their own Writings, which expressly state that the Institutions of the Faith (that BWF no longer has) are divine in origin and essential to the Cause of God.  Watch their reaction and judge for yourself whether you really wish to belong to the BWF.

The Orthodox Bahá'í Peace Plan

In this time of war, the world thirsts for the divine remedy of the Message of Bahá'u'lláh.  Almost all of the principles and teachings of the Bahá'í revelation have the unification of the planet and elimination of war and prejudice at their core.  For example, among the principles and teachings of Bahá'u'lláh are the oneness of mankind, elimination of prejudice, the unity of religious truth, the accord of religion with science, equality of men and women, universal education, abolition of extremes of poverty and wealth, and a universal language.  All of these principles, when realized, will be conducive to the elimination of warfare and the creation of a unified spiritual society.

There are a few principles of Bahá'u'lláh that are key to the end of warfare and the establishment of a peaceful civilization.

War will not be eliminated from the earth until justice reigns over it.

"And among the teachings of His Holiness Bahá'u'lláh are justice and right. Until these are realized on the plane of existence, all things will be in disorder and remain imperfect. The world of mankind is a world of oppression and cruelty, and a realm of aggression and error." `Abdu'l-Bahá, Foundations of World Unity, p. 31.

It is obvious that injustice is the reason why peoples of the world war against one another. If it were not for the unjust and oppressive actions of one people against another, if it were not for the grievous attacks and oppressive hostilities back and forth, there would be no need for war.  Until humanity is able to dispense justice in response to the atrocities committed by the peoples of the world against one another, and thereby end forever the cycle of violence and hatred, there is no hope for a peaceful world.  Bahá'u'lláh revealed a specific system of teachings to bring about justice.  Specifically, the wondrous system created by Bahá'u'lláh and his Son, the Center of His Covenant, `Abdu'l-Bahá, for the government of human affairs contains within it an unparalleled divine system of justice, the Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh.  Unfortunately, the sans-Guardian Bahá'ís have devised a perverted system in place of the divinely revealed one, and they have emphasized this system in order to perpetuate the power of their leadership.  The man-made system they devised is nothing but a distorted image of the true system brought by Bahá'u'lláh.

This system involves several levels of houses of justice.  At the basic level is the local house of justice to be created in every city and village on the earth.  This body, following the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, will administer justice on the local level and will let justice and peace reign in every locality on the planet.  If a person is aggrieved by the decision of the local house of justice, he or she may appeal it to the national house of justice, to be created in every nation on earth, and ultimately may appeal the decision to the supreme Universal House of Justice, that will dispense justice and peace around the entire globe, enacting laws to create a just and spiritual global society, the Commonwealth of Bahá'u'lláh.  However, this is not a man-made system but is based upon the divine laws and teachings of Bahá'u'lláh Himself.  At the center of this system is the Center of the Cause, the appointed Guardian and sacred head for life of the Universal House of Justice.  The Guardian protects the Faith from schism and disorder as the ultimate authority in the Cause, the only authorized Interpreter of the Holy Texts.

The first Guardian of the Cause had this to say about the purpose of this system:  "Alike in the claims unequivocally asserted by its author and the general character of the growth of the Bahá'í community in every continent of the globe, it can be regarded in no other light than a world religion, destined to evolve in the course of time into a world-embracing commonwealth, whose advent must signalize the Golden Age of mankind, the age in which the unity of the human race will have been unassailably established, its maturity attained, and its glorious destiny unfolded through the birth and efflorescence of a world-encompassing civilization.... This Administrative Order, unlike the systems evolved after the death of the Founders of the various religions, is divine in origin, rests securely on the laws, the precepts, the ordinances and institutions which the Founder of the Faith has Himself specifically laid down and unequivocally established, and functions in strict accordance with the interpretations of the authorized Interpreters of its holy scriptures." Shoghi Effendi, Summary Statement - 1947, Special UN Committee on Palestine.

Anyone interested in learning more on the functioning of this system is advised to read the first Guardian's spiritual testament and masterpiece, the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, a book that provides the details of the functioning of this wondrous divine system, including a world legislature, executive, and tribunal as the basis for a "world metropolis [that] will act as the nerve center of a world civilization." "A mechanism of world inter-communication," a "world language...invented or chosen from among the existing languages..." and a "world script, a world literature, a uniform and universal system of currency, of weights and measures" and the "economic resources of the world will be organized, its sources of raw materials will be tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be coordinated and developed, and the distribution of its products will be equitably regulated."  In this system, oppression and injustices will be forever eliminated, and the peoples of the world at long last will live together under the banner of a divine civilization.

Shoghi Effendi: "Who can doubt that such a consummation -- the coming of age of the human race -- must signalize, in its turn, the inauguration of a world civilization such as no mortal eye hath ever beheld or human mind conceived? Who is it that can imagine the lofty standard which such a civilization, as it unfolds itself, is destined to attain? Who can measure the heights to which human intelligence, liberated from its shackles, will soar? Who can visualize the realms which the human spirit, vitalized by the outpouring light of Bahá'u'lláh, shining in the plenitude of its glory, will discover?" The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 205.

Bahá'u'lláh: "The world's equilibrium hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind's ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System -- the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed." Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 136.

For more on the peace plan of the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith, follow this link:
http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/world_peace_unity.html

Great Moments in Bahá'í Litigation, Part 2

As part of the court action by the NSA of Wilmette (of the sans-Guardian Bahá'ís) against the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith, the NSA's attorney traveled to Perth Australia to take the deposition of Joel B. Marangella, the OBF's Guardian.

The conclusion of the deposition seemed to sum up very nicely the NSA's case against the OBF:

    [MR. DOLAN, attorney for the NSA] Q.    Earlier you stepped through many of the articles on your web site with Mr Goldberg and you explained what the meaning of those articles were.  Do you recall that?
    [JOEL B. MARANGELLA] A.    Yes.  Yes.
    Q.    All those explanations, were those based on your personal interpretations of the documents and events captured there?
    A.    Not interpretation.  It was mentioning facts, not interpretations.  Off-hand I can't remember was it a question of interpretation;  it was a question of facts.  I mean, if someone does not accept certain conditions of the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha, it's a fact, not an interpretation.  They have no longer any Hands of the Cause, that's a fact.  They no longer have a head of the Universal House of Justice, that's a fact. , it's not an interpretation.
    Q.    And are you entitled to conclude that because you're the Guardian and so interpreter?
    A.    Well, I would tell them to read the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha and there is it.  It says that the Guardians are sacred head "sacred head for life of the Universal of Justice".  I can show that document or Shoghi Effendi has said it, "It's a sacred immutable document" and it should be endure as long as the Dispensation of Balla'u'llah endures.  So what else is it?
    Q.    So that all has to do with your reading of the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha?
    A.    Well, it's evidence, it's evidence.  Well, not my reading, it's Shoghi Effendi's statement, his clear statement, that this document is sacred  - a sacred document, co-equal on status with the Kitab-i-Aqdas which is Baha'u'llah's most sacred book.  He says its equal parts.  See, so it's there, it's his statement, inviolable.
    Q.    But those are your articles, correct, on the web site .....
    A.    Well, they're my articles, yes. 
    Q.    So - - -
    A.    I constantly quote Shoghi Effendi to support whatever I say.
    Q.    But you wrote all of those articles on your web site?
    A.    Yes, yes.  Definitely.
    Q.    I have nothing further. 
MR GOLDBERG: I have nothing else. 
    MR. DOLAN:  Thank you very much.
MR MARANGELLA:    Okay.  Thank you.  Do I say it's my pleasure?
    MR DOLAN:    Maybe a stretch - - -

DEPOSITION CONCLUDED

From Transcript of Deposition of Joel B. Marangella, April 30, 2007 (pp. 201:10 to 203:13). Exhibit A to the OBF's Surreply.

To see the Court documents go to: http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html

Great Moments in Bahá'í Litigation

As part of the court action by the NSA of Wilmette (of the sans-Guardian Bahá'ís) against the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith, the NSA's attorney traveled to Perth Australia to take the deposition of Joel B. Marangella, the OBF's Guardian.  In the following brilliant exchange, it appears that Mr. Dolan, the NSA's attorney, is slowly beginning to realize what this case is really about:

 [MR. DOLAN] Q. Just below that at the end of that paragraph you refer to a battle against the forces of darkness. Do you know who you're referring to there as the forces of darkness?

     [JOEL B. MARANGELLA] A. It would be those that abandoned the Guardianship, those that believe there's no more guardian. I said they were the forces of darkness.

 Q. Would that include my client?

 A. Yes, it would. Most definitely.

Transcript of Deposition of Joel B. Marangella, April 30, 2007 (p. 89:11-19). Exhibit A to the OBF's Surreply.

To see the Court documents go to: http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html

Don't be an imitator: independent investigation of truth

One of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh is the independent investigation of truth, meaning that we must not be imitators or blind followers.  Instead of relying upon the opinion of any other person, we are enjoined to investigate independently and arrive at our own conclusion.  A true Bahá'í does not accept any teaching merely because it is a tradition but rather he or she always must question dogma and doctrines until truth is ascertained.

The idea here is that truth must be based upon reality rather than opinion: "As reality is one and cannot admit of multiplicity, therefore different opinions must ultimately become fused into one" (Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 298). It was ignorance based upon blind imitation that has caused wars, hatred and animosity to prevail over humanity.  The road to peace involves all persons approaching truth for themselves.

This means that no leaders, whether they be administrative institutions of the Faith, respected members of the learned, or the head of the Faith himself, have the power to tell us how to believe or how to behave.  We are God's creation, with God-given minds and souls, and nobody has the authority over our conscience. In the Bahá'í religion, there is not to be a professional clergy.  There is no need for a clergy because all of humanity is to be educated and all of humanity is responsible for ascertaining the truth independently.

In every religion corruption sets in, when the leadership seeks to control the membership with dogmas and doctrines designed to keep free thinking in check and to cause limits of discussion in certain areas. This is how clergy maintain power and control.  The corrupt practices of the clergy in past religions must be resisted in the Bahá'í religion.  "It seems both strange and pitiful that the Church and clergy should always, in every age, be the most bitter opponents of the very Truth they are continually admonishing their followers to be prepared to receive! They have become so violently attached to the form that the substance itself eludes them!" (Shoghi Effendi, letter of 7 February 1945 to an individual believer).

Investigation of truth and reality is fundamentally a spiritual and mystical endeavor. Although Bahá'ís far too often have immersed themselves in the details of administering their communities, the central focus of the Bahá'í religion is prayer and meditation.  "For the core of religious faith is that mystical feeling which unites man with God. This state of spiritual communion can be brought about and maintained by means of meditation and prayer. And this is the reason why Bahá'u'lláh has so much stressed the importance of worship. It is not sufficient for a believer merely to accept and observe the teachings. He should, in addition, cultivate the sense of spirituality which he can acquire chiefly be means of prayer." (Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, 8 December 1935).  In the Bahá'í religion, prayer and meditation are between the individual and God.  Worship is not a public practice or the fruit of any administration. 

Thus in matters of the apprehension and experience of truth, faith, and worship, the individual Bahá'í is not subject to the dictates of any other person or entity.  This is a matter strictly between God and the individual believer.  This is such a radical approach to religion that it appears most Bahá'ís have failed to live up to the individual responsibility imposed upon them.  Instead of taking this matter of faith and investigation of truth seriously, too many Bahá'ís are content to let their leaders dictate to them every aspect of their lives, belief, and behavior. 

But it is personal conscience and not the dictates of Bahá'í leadership that is most important:

The "conscience of man is sacred and to be respected; and that liberty thereof produces widening of ideas, amendment of morals, improvement of conduct, disclosure of the secrets of creation, and manifestation of the hidden verities of the contingent world" (`Abdu'l-Bahá, A Traveller's Narrative, p. 91) and "when freedom of conscience, liberty of thought and right of speech prevail -- that is to say, when every man according to his own idealization may give expression to his beliefs -- development and growth are inevitable (`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 197).

Until now there has been this dichotomy between religion and spirituality.  Religious people worshiped and thought as a group, while spiritual persons worshiped and thought freely and individual.  In this Faith, each individual is to be free to worship and think for himself, yet the administrative order keeps them united in one common Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá said of Bahá'ís who achieve this, that "... ye have investigated the truth and have been freed from imitations and superstitions, that ye observe with your own eyes and not with those of others, hearken with your own ears and not with the ears of others, and discover mysteries with the help of your own consciences and not with those of others. For the imitator saith that such a man hath seen, such a man hath heard, and such a conscience hath discovered; in other words he dependeth upon the sight, the hearing and the conscience of others and hath no will of his own" (Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 29).

How important it is for all Bahá'ís to study and understand this principle of the independent investigation of truth.  It is the starting point for deepening the in the verities of the Faith.  To not be an imitator is a spiritual duty and obligation of the first order.