By Janice Franco
Guest Blogger
Bahíyyih Khánum was `Abdu'l-Bahá's sister. She was recently named by Joel B. Marangella as one of the 24 elders seated before God in heaven. Because of this, it is fitting to take a look at what she has to say. Relevent to Orthodox Bahá'ís is how she explained who the center of the Faith was and how important it was to regard him. At the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá's passing Bahíyyih Khánum wrote some letters that clarify this.
On page 141 in a letter following the passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá, she writes:
"Although to outward seeming the Sun of the Covenant has hidden Himself behind the clouds, and the Orb of the Testament is concealed, and on the holy horizon of glory, He has now set, and is lost to view--still His rays are shining from out His hidden place, and forever will His light shed down its splendours.
"For ever and ever will He, with all that invisible grace, and those bestowals of the spirit, lead the seeker onward, and guide the yearning, and ravish the hearts of the lovers.
"The Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá is His decisive decree; it gathers the believers together; it preserves their unity; it ensures the protection of the Faith of God. It designates a specific Centre irrefutably and in writing establishing Shoghi Efffendi as Guardian of the Faith and Chosen Branch, so that his name is recorded in the Preserved Tablet by the fingers of grace and bounty. How grateful should we be that such a bounty was bestowed and such a favour granted."
After reading this it is clear that not only was `Abdu'l-Bahá the Center, Shoghi Effendi was designated the new Center as the Guardian of the Faith. Bahíyyih Khánum refers to`Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament in glowing terms as a book that was written that would "never be lost nor ever forgotten."
Unfortunately all too soon many of the Heterodox Bahá'ís have already forgotten that book. (It is unbelievable that at one visit to Panama in 1999 not a single copy of the Will and Testament, neither in English nor in Spanish could be found in the House of Worship there.) Bahíyyih Khánum goes on to state that the book contains all "that is essential and obligatory for the upraising of the Thy cause in this world below. It is a book in which all things are explained in minute detail, in such wise that no matters whether small or great have been left out." How can it be that the heterodox organization has declared null and void a large portion of that text? In another letter she states just how important this center is and the idea that it is "one holy being". Those that follow the heterodox Universal House of Justice are taught that their elected body is now the center of the faith. How could one holy being now suddenly be several holy beings?
Bahíyyih Khánum has some very compelling things to say and her letters can shed some light on questions that some of the believers may be pondering regarding the importance of a Guardian or Center.
In another letter (#33 pages 125-139) written to the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'í's of Tabriz, 1922, following the passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá, she states:
"O my kind Lord! Thou didst make a clear compact and a Covenant explicit and firm, not in veiled and allusive language, that all should turn unto the Centre of Thy Covenant and the Protector of Thy Cause--so that no doubts whatever would remain for the hostile and the suspicious to exploit; and then Thy lone Servant rose up to lift Thy banner high, and carry the day for Thy Faith. For thirty years He summoned the people unto Thee, publicly, privately, and spread Thy Teachings and Thy principles to every corner, every country of the earth.....
"Then, O my Lord, Thou didst make Him to ascend unto Thee, to place Him at Thy side and by this the pillars of joy were shaken to their base, and the hearts of the devoted were terrified and the smoke of their sorrow overspread the earth....
"But the Centre of Thy complete and flawless Covenant, He Who occupies the seat of servitude to Thee in Thine exalted and all-glorious Cause, had written by Thy will and Thy power a Book that shall never be lost nor ever forgotten. Within it by Thy predestinating knowledge and might, He had set forth all that is essential and obligatory for the upraising of Thy Cause in this world below. It is a book in which all things are explained in minute detail, in such wise that no matters whether small or great have been left out. And by Thy will and pleasure He designated therein, in place of His own Person, a Branch grown out from the Tree of Thy holiness, one fresh and tender, verdant and flourishing, arising to serve Thee, dwelling in the groves of Thine eternity, and Thine immortal gardens. ....
"Over a span of thirty years the Centre of God's Covenant rested not, nor was His human temple ever tranquil and at peace. By day, by night, He would be teaching and guiding stranger and friend alike, and protecting the Cause, and seeing to its progress, and for these things He sacrificed His life. Now does loyalty to Him require that the beloved should rise up in obedience to His instructions , and devote their efforts to teaching the Faith and to passing around from one to the next this winecup tempered at the camphor fountain, and to protecting God's Cause from the evil suggestions and the mischief of the adversary, and to guarding the structure of the holy Covenant from disruption at the hands of the Covenant-breakers....
"...the divine Beauty had made His Covenant so strong, and appointed its Centre so explicitly, in writing, unmistakably, that He had left no room for any questions or doubts. In the Most Holy Book of Aqdas, which in this most excellent of all ages is the Mother Book, and embraces all, and again in the Kitab-i-Ahdi, the last revealed Tablet by the Tongue of knowledge and wisdom, which contains the final wishes of God--the people of Bahá are directed with perfect clarity to turn their faces toward Him Whom God has purposed, and He is designated as the Interpreter of the Book, the Resolver of all complex and difficult questions, and the Centre of the Faith. Therein as well are the other Branches, the Afnan and the rest of the believers bidden to direct themselves unto that One so that all might face one and the same Centre, and all be bound thereto. Thus would the basic foundation of God's Cause, which is unity, remain unassailable. Thus the root of heresy and rebellion would wither away and just as in the days when He Who is the Truth was made manifest, so too in the day of His Covenant the light of unity would pervade all things, and put to flight the murk of disbelief and dualism and rebellion and opposition--and thus the tree of His holy Cause would grow and flourish, and the rich fruits borne by the holy Teachings would satisfy all needs and be sweet in the mouth of all mankind.
"This fact of there being only one Centre and of turning unto a single holy Being is, in the Kingdom of His Cause, as the shaft or spindle of a millstone, and all the other laws and ordinances must needs revolve around this one. In the temple of God's religion the Centre of the Cause can be likened to the heart, for upon it depends the life of the human body as one entity, as well as the relationships of its organs and their essential growth and vitality. In human society the Centre of the Cause can be compared to the sun, whose magnetic force controls the movements and orbits of the planets. The Centre of the Cause is also like the spine of a book, for by it the pages are all banded together into one book, and without the spine the papers would become loose and scattered."
I am certainly grateful to have found the current Center of the faith, Joel B. Marangella, and am glad to be under the shadow of that blessed tree.
Quotations above from: Bahiyyih Khanum The Greatest Holy Leaf, a compilation from Bahai sacred texts and writings of the Guardian of the Faith and Bahiyyih Khanum's own letters made by the Research Department of the Bahai World Center Haifa 1982.
I know nothing of what the Heterodox group did when they "declared" you a covenant breaker, and I would not be surprised if you reacted in a natural, defensive manner.
I have not as yet been pubically humiliated as you have been by the Heterodox community (matter of time I reckon)
Many of us Baha'is- whether from the Southeastern USA (as myself)or the Southwestern (as yourself), hold dear ties and memberships to churches- for example, Baptist Churches. Remember that Abdu'l Baha was one to visit and befriend churches from one end to the other--- from the Druze to the Unitarians, he befriended all. And when he visited Churches he didn't argue against them. Never read about a shameful debate. But he always welcomed a chance to share, and he did so wondrously across the USA and Europe.
Anyways, It's a great time for us Southern U.S. Orthodox Baha'i s to deepen on Joel's recent statements pertaining to the last 5 elders for inspiration.
In my opinion we have a very high calling- to live up to what is expected of us by Orthodox Baha'i standards is very challenging indeed! I fall very short of the mark myself more often than not.
If there is anything I can do to help serve you in service of the Orthodox Baha'i Faith and the guardian, let me know.
Posted by: John | May 21, 2008 at 12:22 AM
Greetings in the Name of the Most Glorious One!
It is with feelings of pain and regret that I apologize to the Orthodox Baha'i community for the way I reacted when the Heterodox group declared me a Covenant Breaker.
I was immediately seized with fears that I would lose all I held dear. In fact, I lost whatever it was I had...when I rejected the Orthodox faith and the Guardian, Joel Marangella.
While I am not, per say, only a Baha'i; indeed I attend and am member of a baptist church in Houston, I still hold dear my relationship with the True Believers in the Orthodox Baha'i Faith...and am devoted to the idea of the Continuing Guardianship.
Ya'Baha'ul'Abha!
Posted by: Michael Zargarov | May 19, 2008 at 12:05 PM