An Open Response to an Inquiring Heterodox Believer
The following is my response to an inquiry made by a believer in the sans-Guardian organization directed to an Orthodox Baha'i:
Allah-u-Abhá,
I am one of those that you call "heterodox" Bahá'ís. It is strange to
hear this appellation, because we don't call ourselves like that, and
this is misleading to your audience. To be clearly transparent, you
may provide a link to www.bahai.org and let people judge themselves
about the truth. I became curious and visited your profile, because in
our community we heard a lot about you. And, because of that, a series
of deepenings have started on the topic of the Covenant. And we thank
you for that! So, I also saw your reply to A----, and as a Bahá'í
living under the Covenant (under the guidance of the Universal House
of Justice), I am not supposed to communicate with you, because it is
believed that it is spiritually dangerous. However, I am taking the
risk, just to share with you a few points.
Although this letter overall displays the usual spiritual blindness of the followers of the sans-Guardian UHJ, it is refreshing in that this believer has enough light to be curious and to be willing to communicate with the Orthodox Baha'is even though he believes it to be "spiritually dangerous." In reality, this kind of investigation of the truth is not dangerous at all, but it is a necessary part of spiritual growth. What this believer has failed to do is to undertake the basic investigation in the first place of the persons and institutions to whom he has sworn loyalty. His faith is based upon false assumptions and the opinions of others and is not based at all upon an investigation of the truth. Yet this believer is, almost despite himself, actually engaging in an independent investigation and for this I applaud him.
Of course, this believer is naive in believing in the basic goodness and good faith of the leadership of his organization who would expel him if they knew he was corresponding with us.
He objects to the term "heterodox" to describe the sans-Guardian organization, but fails to state why. Its definition is "unorthodox," or in other words contrary to the original established teachings. All one has to do is to crack open the Bahai texts to see that the original established teachings had a living Guardian as the Center of the Cause.
Let me quote your reply to
A-----:
"The main distinction of the Orthodox Bahá'ís from the <<mainstream>> or
heterodox Bahá'ís that we recognize the leadership of the Guardian as
<<head of the Faith>>. The Orthodox Bahá'ís scrupulously follow the
stipulations of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. The heterodox
Bahá'ís pretend that the Guardianship is extinct, thus repudiating the
Will and Testament of the Master."
Bahá'ís throughout the world recognize the spiritual leadership of the
Guardian as Head of the Faith. The Guardian - Shoghi Effendi -
although physically not present, continues to be our source of
guidance, because his writings, letters, and messages constitute a
central source of guidance for the Bahá'í communities and
institutions, including the Universal House of Justice, because thy
shed light and further interpret the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and
'Abdu'l-Bahá. But you know all this. If you are referring to the Will
and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Guardian is "its sacred head for
life", this means that his spirit, writings and letters will always be
guiding the Universal House of Justice. This is also the case with
Bahá'u'lláh, Báb, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá - although they are not physically
with us, their spirit and letters guide us as individuals,
communities, institutions, including the Universal House of Justice.
The Will also provides to having a Universal House of Justice without
the Guardian. We both know that the House was elected in 1963, and
when it was elected, all Hands of the Cause submitted their will and
obedience to this great institution, for which Bahá'u'lláh had
provided in the Most Holy Book. In the paragraph #42, this is clearly
stated, that there will be a time when there will be no Aghsan to
lead, and the House will lead.
This believer is openly espousing one of the most pernicious doctrines of the sans-Guardian organization, and that is that Shoghi Effendi's "spirit" continues to guide their UHJ. He believes that his UHJ is not "headless" because Shoghi Effendi continues to preside over it from the Abha Kingdom. First, if it were true that it is sufficient for the Bahai Administration to be guided by the Writings and "spirit" of Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha, it begs the question of why it was necessary to have a Guardian at all. Why did we need Shoghi Effendi to tell us anything at all if Baha'u'llah was guiding us from on high. Indeed, why did we need Abdu'l-Baha? He goes on to say that the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha provides for a UHJ without a Guardian. Oh, really? Exactly where does it say that? Not in my copy!
Of course, this believer must never have read any of the writings of Shoghi Effendi, who pointed out the many functions of the Guardian (such as insisting upon a reconsideration of any enactment he believes is in conflict with Baha'u'llah's utterances, to interpret the Writings to ensure the continuity of the divinely appointed authority and maintain flexibility, to take a long and uninterrupted view over a series of generations, and to expel a member of the UHJ who commits a sin injurious to the common weal) all of which implicate a living person presiding. Not to mention the numerous references to "present and future Guardians" by Shoghi Effendi or the clear statement in the Will and Testament of Abdul-Baha that there would be future Guardians.
This believer incorrectly paraphrases the Most Holy Book which was talking about endowments for charity and not about the functions of the Guardian. The idea being expressed, of course, is one of the interpretations of his UHJ, something that is beyond the sphere of its jurisdiction. The comment that all of the Hands accepted the UHJ is laughable in its ignorance, since the Hands had already expelled one of its own because of his refusal to accept their plan to end the Guardianship and elect a headless UHJ. The violating Hands bullied and expelled anyone who questioned their authority, even though it is clear and obvious they had no authority whatsoever from the Holy Texts of the Faith.
I wonder if this believer is aware that former NSA Secretary and current NSA member, Dr. Robert Henderson, in his sworn testimony on behalf of the Wilmette NSA in the US District Court in Chicago, on January 7, 2008, DENIES that the Institution of the Guardianship is an official institution of the Bahai Faith:
Q. So, the Orthodox Baha'i Faith Web site -- for example,
Joel Marangella's Web site where he claims to be the Guardian
of the Baha'i faith -- was that -- do you consider that an
official institution of the faith?
A. No. The official institutions of the Baha'i faith are the
ones that I mentioned: The Universal House of Justice in
Haifa, Israel; the 183 National Spiritual Assemblies in
countries around the world; and, the 26,000 or so recognized
local spiritual assemblies.
For more information on the court case brought by the Wilmette NSA against the Orthodox Bahais, go here: http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html
My suggestion to this believer is that he go back and carefully examine the writings of his leadership and the Holy Text as interpreted by Shoghi Effendi, and try to reconcile their opposing views. He will see, if he examines this with care and impartiality, that the organization to which he belongs has indeed strayed far from the original teachings of the Faith.
You know very well that Mason Remey, raised the claim to be the next
guardian, but according to the Will, the Hands were invested with the
power to expel from their midst whatever was false. The guy was maybe
moved to raise his claim, because Shoghi Effendi had praised him in
certain tones, and this should be seen as normal on the side of a
loving and caring Guardian, but there is no written statement by the
Guardian about who would be the next guardian to succeed him. You
should remember that Muhammad Ali was called "the Greater Branch" by
Baha'u'llah, and this pumped up his ego and led him break the
Covenant. You also must be ware that Mason Remey was amongst the other
Hands to put down his signature on the document that stated that there
was no way to appoint a future guardian after Shoghi Effendi. Then,
after some time, he came up with the claim of being the guardian.
Could this action not be just a prompting of extreme ego, a great
desire for power and leadership that was devouring his heart and soul,
perhaps initiated by the praising words of Shoghi Effendi? It was a
test my friend, and Mason didn't pass it unfortunately. I hope and
pray that your eyes may be opened regarding this heavy issue. The
Hands were the 'Chief-Stewards', and together they had to lead the
community for six years until the election of the first Universal
House of Justice.
There are so many false statements and assumptions in this one paragraph, I don't know where to begin. First, the Hands were invested with the authority to expel anyone who opposed the GUARDIAN. Look at the actual text and don't make up stuff that is not there. Since they were the ones opposing the Guardian, it is not a surprise that they failed to expel themselves.
As for the claim "the guy" made, it was not because Shoghi Effendi praised him. The claim was clearly that as he was the appointed head of the embryonic UHJ, he was the embryonic Guardian, and upon Shoghi Effendi's death, that Institution was born. Thus, the UHJ with the Guardian as its head came to life upon Shoghi Effendi's death. Shoghi Effendi's proclamation creating the embryonic UHJ and his appointment of Mason Remey to its presidency are the written documents appointing him (not that a written document is required by the Will and Testament). His signature was to a document that said no will could be found naming his successor, but the documents also said that the IBC would be allowed to function! There was no will and that is not the proper vehicle to appoint the next Guardian. Therefore, that false legalistic argument has no bearing. The prompting of extreme ego was not Mason Remey's but instead it was the Hands who did not want to submit to the authority of another Guardian, and especially of Shoghi Effendi's widow who expressly stated that she would not submit to any more Guardians. Read the history!
As for the Chief Stewards, there is no basis for assuming that the name given to the Hands by Shoghi Effendi implies that they had administrative authority even temporarily. A steward is a servant, and the role of the Hands, always has been and will be one of servitude to the Guardian.
In the other side, Mason was not an Aghsan, and according to
Bahá'u'lláh's Writings, his successors had to be Aghsan. Also, as I
mentioned above, both Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá provide for the
House of Justice without a living Head. And when you refer to the
Will, as I already stated above, the station of "its sacred Head" is a
spiritual one. So my brother, see with the eyes of spirit and see what
glorious light is coming on earth, streaming forth from the Holy Land,
under the guidance of the Universal House of Justice, which is
protected and guided by the spirit and letters of the Abhá Beauty, the
Exalted, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi.
I have asked but I have yet to be shown where in Baha'u'llah's Writings it says a successor had to be Aghsan. I think this was something concocted by the Aghsan, because it isn't there.
The one thing I agree with is that the sacred head is a spiritual authority. The Guardian is a spiritual hereditary office. It is incumbent upon all Bahais to obey the one appointed by the Guardian. The one who must overcome spiritual blindness and open his eyes to the light streaming down, is this believer and not the Orthodox Baha'is. You have been grossly misled my brother, and I urge you to investigate the truth independently. READ the WRITINGS and the interpretations of Shoghi Effendi and not the nonsense that you are being told at their so-called "deepenings."
I don't know if you ever had the chance to meet with the Universal
House of Justice, but I can assure you that its members are the
incarnation of humbleness, submissiveness and fear of God, and when
you see them together, you will exclaim: "Yea, verily, Bahá'u'lláh has
perfected his Covenant with us". And I can assure you that none of
them bears easily the burden of being a House member. The House of
Justice is leading the community to victories after victories in
establishing the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. His Covenant will make
this possible, and whoever is trying to violate His Covenant, is just
a dead body that the Ocean will cast out in the shore. Take your
chance, perhaps you're still in time, with a breath of life in your
heart!
Nonsense! The members of the UHJ are violators of the Covenant of Baha'u'llah. They seek their own glory and power. What arrogance they display by saying that they are perfecting the Covenant! And exactly what victories are you referring to? The Bahai Faith has been stagnant for many years.
I do agree that those who violate His Covenant are a dead body to be cast out on the shore. I am afraid that it is your organization that is the dead body! The Covenant is about loyalty to the Center of the Cause. That is, the GUARDIANS.
And that is in clear contrast to whoever "living guardian" is on
earth, who have been fighting for power and leadership amongst one
another, and you are following one of them. Are they divinely guided
in your estimation? I guess not, and you doubt that, too. Thus, be
warned and pray to Bahá'u'lláh, so that He may guide your heart to His
real source of guidance and Center of His Faith., and ask for His
grace and turn back to the real Ocean of His Guidance, and don't stay
any longer to a pool of mud, which you are considering pure water that
is sheer illusion, my brother. The Writings are like a puzzle,
regarding the issue of the Covenant, and you need to put together all
the pieces from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi
Effendi to realize the truth from error. And Bahá'u'lláh has done
this, amongst other reasons, to test the hearts and divide the sincere
from the insincere. Which part will you take?
I have no doubt at all that Mason Remey and Joel B. Marangella were and are divinely guided. Have you read any of their writings to make this determination? I doubt it. I was a member of your organization once but I did not let any person prevent me from investigating and reading the writings with an open mind. I believe that Baha'u'llah has opened up my heart to the truth and for this I have gratitude. I am no longer spiritually blind. Are you?
When you denounce the living Guardians on the earth, you are displaying that you oppose the Guardian. Read the Will and Testament and see what Abdu'l-Baha says about opposing the Guardian:
The mighty stronghold shall remain impregnable and safe through
obedience to him who is the Guardian of the Cause of God. It is
incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice, upon all the
Aghsan, the Afnan, the Hands of the Cause of God to show their
obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the Guardian
of the Cause of God, to turn unto him and be lowly before him. He
that opposeth him hath opposed the True One, will make a breach
in the Cause of God, will subvert His Word and will become a
manifestation of the Center of Sedition.
Nothing could be more clear. But I do agree the writings are a puzzle on the subject of the Covenant and they are a test to divide the sincere from the insincere. Have you read them carefully or are you adopting the opinions that others have spoon fed to you?
I am hoping with my whole being that you may be guided and return to
the real Covenant, and that you will attract others to His Faith and
Covenant under the Universal House of Justice. That will be your
eternal glory, and not what you are doing now. Come and embrace His
community and be faithful to His Covenant. You don't loose anything,
but your "idle fancies and vain imaginations" that the 'guardians'
have disseminated in your heart and hearts of others like you,
orthodox. Break this earthly chain and rise up to the Heaven of His
glorious Kingdom, part of which is being obedient to the institution
appointed in His Most Holy Book, seated on the Most Holy Mountin.
I will pray for your guidance and you pray for my forgiveness, if my
words were too harsh on you.
Likewise, I hope my words were not to harsh on you. Sometimes you have to be harsh to wake people up. Likewise, I hope you will return to the real Covenant, the one of obedience to the living Guardian.
Jeffrey
