Bahá’í News/Inserts/Issue 212/The Covenant of God/Text

Bahá’í News/Inserts/Issue 212/The Covenant of God

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[Page 1] SPECIAL INSERT—OCTOBER, 1948.

THE COVENANT OF GOD

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Center of the Covenant

“We, verily, have come to unite and weld together all that dwell on earth.” —BAHÁ’U’LLÁH

“So firm and mighty is this Covenant that from the beginning of time until the present day no religious Dispensation hath produced its like.” —‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ

“The lamp of the Covenant is the light of the world, and the words traced by the Pen of the Most High a limitless Ocean.” —‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ [Page 2]

Bahá’u’lláh Sounded the Call to Unity

Before this dark night of fear descended upon the world, Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed the unity of the human race. "Ye are all fruits of one tree and leaves of one branch." He raised the call of God; He declared the unity of mankind.

"The distinguishing feature of this Supreme Revelation," Bahá’u’lláh wrote, "consisteth in that We have blotted out from the pages of God's holy Book whatsoever hath been the cause of strife, of malice and mischief amongst the children of men, and have . . . laid down the essential prerequisites of concord, of understanding, of complete and enduring unity."

What causes of strife and mischief have been forbidden by Bahá’u’lláh? Our minds suggest at once a partial list. Bahá’u’lláh abolished the institution of priesthood and forbade holy war. He declared that no one had the right to form sects and denominations founded on some personal interpretation of the teachings. He condemned racial, religious, economic and political prejudices and the terrible injustices which are rooted in such feelings. He prohibited "slavery, asceticism, mendicany, monasticism, penance." He condemned cruelty, idleness, backbiting and calumny.

What essential means for concord and unity did Bahá’u’lláh lay down? To mankind, Bahá’u’lláh held out the hope of freedom through divine law. He created the House of Justice. He gave us revolutionizing principles for the organization of society. Justice, He said, depends upon "the organization of the world and the tranquility of mankind." Consultation He made a fundamental principle. Bahá’u’lláh left no place in human society for the self-appointed leader. And we could add other principles for the well-being of the human race—such as: universal education, and the equality of men and women.

"The first duty prescribed by God for His servants," Bahá’u’lláh wrote, "is the recognition of Him Who is the Day Spring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws. . . Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good. . . It behoveth everyone who reacheth this most sublime station. . . to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other.

"They whom God hath endued with insight will readily recognize that the precepts laid down by God constitute the highest means for the maintenance of order in the world and the security of its peoples."

The Covenant Is the Basis of Unity

A covenant is a compact, "a solemn agreement of fellowship, faith, and cooperation." Two parties are involved in a Covenant; each has certain obligations and from the keeping of those obligations come certain conditions and results.

Bahá’u’lláh's mission as a Manifestation of God was to produce the unity of the human race. He entered into a covenant with us, His followers. By obedience to His teachings the unity of the human race will be achieved and the promised Kingdom of God will come into being upon the earth. In accepting Bahá’u’lláh, we accept the Covenant in His teachings and thereby our unity is inviolate. "Follow not, therefore," Bahá’u’lláh wrote, "your earthly desires and violate not the Covenant of God, nor break your pledge to Him. With firm determination, with the whole affection of your heart, turn ye unto Him, and walk not in the ways of the foolish."

Bahá’u’lláh Appointed the Center of the Covenant

To assure the unity of His Faith, Bahá’u’lláh appointed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the only interpreter of His teachings. He called ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the Center of the Covenant, for all who would obey the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh would turn to Him.

Bahá’u’lláh wrote: "God's Will and Testament enjoins upon the branches, the twigs, and the kinsfolk, one and all, to gaze unto the most great Branch. Consider what we have revealed in my Book of Aqdas, to wit:

"When the sea of My Presence is exhausted and the Book of Origin hath reached its end, turn ye unto him (‘Abdu’l-Bahá) who is desired by God—he who is issued from this ancient Root.'

"The purpose of this sacred verse is the most great Branch. Thus have we declared the matter as a favor on our part, and we are the gracious, the beneficient!"

The appointment of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the Center of the Covenant raised a shield of protection to the Faith. It closed the door to division and disunity, and showed the perfection of God's loving purpose for mankind.

New York Became the "City of the Covenant"

In the last decade of the nineteenth century the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh first won adherents in this continent. Various Americans visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá while He was still in prison. Many wrote to Him. Patiently and lovingly, He instructed them, unfolding slowly the great implications of Bahá’u’lláh's Message.

Then in 1912 He visited this country. He landed in New York City and it was there that He first publicly taught the American friends about the protecting power of obedience to the Covenant.

Juliet Thompson recalls vividly the first day the Master discussed the Covenant. From her account we can visualize the impact of this upon the believers.

It all happened so simply—and we, the early believers, were so unprepared in [Page 3] those days to grasp the great Verities of the Faith.

On that epoch-making Day, the 19th of June, 1912, when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá made His Declaration as Center of the Covenant, we were all grouped round Him in the English-basement of His New York house in the afternoon just as on every other afternoon. We never suspected that this was an epoch-making Day. We had known for a long time that one of the titles of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was "The Center of the Covenant." We gave very little thought to His titles and seldom, if ever, analyzed their meaning. To us He was our Beloved Master Whose Presence was the sun in our midst, the life we breathed to really live. He taught us mainly by pouring upon us the wonder of His Divine Love and by the perfection of His life lived before our eyes daily. Our "Teacher" was "the Loved One's beauty. His face our lesson and our only book.".

So, on that 19th of June, when He explained the Covenant to us and His own Station as Its Center, as usual I, for one, basked in His beauty and His outpouring of Love and scarcely followed His words. The walls of the English-basement were dark. The Master was all in white—startlingly white with the sunlight upon Him as He sat by the window in an alcove. The believers filled the room, filled the steps that led upstairs.

He spoke briefly, quietly. Someone, as always, took notes. Afterwards He deleted a few of the things He had told us, since these were only for believers..

I should have been more prepared to listen with understanding because of what had happened in the morning of that day. Then, with Lua (called by the Guardian "Immortal" and "the Mother-Teacher of America") I was alone with the Master. He was so patiently-posing for His portrait when He turned to Lua and said: "This makes me sleepy. What shall I do?"

"Tell the Master in Persian, Lua," I said, "to please go to sleep. I can paint while He sleeps."

But I could not. After the Master closed His eyes, sitting erect and still as a statue while He apparently slept, that stillness was so formidable and His Majesty so awed me that I was helpless before such repose.

Suddenly His eyes flashed open and power seemed to rock the room. To Lua and me the Master appeared transfigured—larger than life, irridescent. In an instant He had ripped the veils of His approachable humanity. We saw His unapproachable Station.

He spoke to Lua. I thought He thundered. "Lord of lightning and thunder" I thought.

"I appoint you, Lua, the Herald of the Covenant..."

"I?" cried Lua, trembling, her hand at her breast, her eyes filled with tears.

"Call one of the Persians. I want you to understand this."

The Persian came and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued.

"I appoint you the Herald of the Covenant. And I AM THE COVENANT, appointed by Bahá’u’lláh and no one can refute His word. You will find this in the Holy Book of Akdas. Go forth and proclaim: "This is the Covenant of God in your midst." "

"Oh, re-create me!" Lua wept.

We were both so shaken by the Glory we had seen, the rushing Power we had felt that we wept violently.

It seems to me very significant that, a little later that day, before He Himself made His Declaration, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent His newly-appointed "Herald," Lua, to anounce to the people assembled downstairs what He had bade her "go forth and proclaim."

‘Abdu’l-Bahá underlined His dynamic explanations of the Covenant by having the Tablet of the Branch translated and read to the believers in New York.10

‘Abdu’l-Bahá Created the Guardianship

In those days the believers luxuriated in the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on earth. The Bahá’ís were few; each one turned to the Master for guidance, even in personal things. The basis of their faith was that they loved the Master—a thing not difficult to do—and that they knew world unity and a House of Justice were to be established. They did not worry very much about all this, because the Master was there.

They knew about the Covenant, a word which goes back to the Latin "come together," and means pact or agreement. The Master had unforgettably taught them about it, both in His writings and personally, in the city of New York. Again, in Chicago, He said: "Inasmuch as there was no appointed explainer of the Book of Christ everyone made the claim to authority, saying, 'This is the true pathway and others are not.' To ward off such dissensions as these and prevent any person from creating a divison or sect, the Blessed Perfection Bahá’u’lláh appointed a central authoritative personage, declaring him to be the expounder of the Book."11 He referred here, they knew, to His Own function; it did not occur to them that the words would still be true after He had gone.

They knew they must avoid those few who broke the Covenant; the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had so directed them. They avoided them because they did not wish to be like them, since "qualities of spirit and heart are extremely contagious."12 The believers' goal was world unity and they saw that unity could be created only within the Covenant. The Covenant-breakers were not able to create unity; they could not steal the secret and take it outside the Faith. This much the believers understood.

Then one midnight, in one agonizing moment, the Master left them. The Bahá’ís were orphaned; they were terrified; they knew they could neither interpret the Faith, nor build the House of Justice, nor carry out the Tablets of the Divine Plan.. Through a brief period of what might have been chaos, the daughter of Bahá’u’lláh, the Greatest Holy Leaf, guided the Bahá’í world.

Very soon, however they were scattered around the planet, they learned that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had not abandoned them. With His Own hand, He had written down His Will and Testament; He had appointed a center of guidance and power and protection for them: "Well is it" the Master had written of Shoghi Effendi, "with him that seeketh the shelter of his shade that shadoweth all mankind."13

They learned, too, that the Guardian was not the lone successor. There was a double successorship; 14 the hereditary Guardian and the democratically-elected Universal House of Justice. Twin pillars, not one. Another new term came into consciousness: "the Administrative Order." This Order, the world's only guaranty of peace, was the child of the Covenant, 15 born of the impact of the Covenant on the mind of the Master.16

The Guardian is the sole interpreter of the Teachings, and through him is presented a fixed money offering, the Huquq or Right of God decreed by Bahá’u’lláh.17 He never, even temporarily, takes over the right of exclusive legislation, a right which belongs only to the Universal House. Furthermore, he interprets "what has been specifically revealed."18 Visitors to Haifa found that the Guardian's answer to some of their questions was: There is nothing about that in the Teachings. It is up to the House of Justice.

The Guardian legislates only as one member of this House, of which he is the Head. He cannot override a decision reached by the majority of this body of men elected from the mass of believers; he can, however, insist on their reconsidering whatever decision he feels to conflict with [Page 4] the Teachings¹⁹ The two institutions are complementary and inseparable,²⁰ and what they decide is of God: “Whoso obeyeth him not, neither obeyeth them, hath not obeyed God . . .”²¹

Today we live in the Iron Age of the Faith, the time when its world-wide institutions are taking shape. We live between the Heroic and the Golden Age. We are not mere adherents of a creed; we are caught up in a process of history. Humanity’s future was drawn by the Center of the Covenant in His Will and Testament. It is rising today under the guidance of Shoghi Effendi, “the sign of God.”²²

Guardian and Hands of the Cause		International House of Justice
National Assemblies		National Assemblies
National Conventions		National Conventions
Local Assemblies		Local Assemblies
Communities of Believers		Communities of Believers

Structure of the Administrative Order

of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the World

REFERENCES:

1. BWF 199; 2. Gl. 97; 3. GPB 214; 4. Ibid., 214; 5. Ibid., 218; 6. BWF 126, 7. Winston Dictionary; 8. BWF 68; 9. BWF 209; 10. GPB 288; 11. PUP II, 376; 12. SAQ 249; 13. Will and Testament 1; 14. WOB 20; 15. GPB 243; 16. Ibid., 326; 17. W&T 10; 18. WOB 150; 19. Idem.; 20. WOB 148; 21. W&T 7; 22. Ibid., 7.

This special insert has been prepared by the Literature Survey Committee.