| ←205 | Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1986-2001 Moral Delinquency and Hypocrisy |
207→ |
| 18 OCTOBER 1995 |
To an individual Bahá’í
Dear Bahá’í Friend,
206.1 . . . Turning first to the questions which you raised earlier, regarding the so-called "Tablet on Hypocrisy": At item 39 of the compilation entitled Trustworthiness there appears an English translation of a Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh which includes a reference to hypocrisy.[1] This may be the passage to which you refer. It reads as follows:
- 206.1a Be thou of the people of hell-fire
but be not a hypocrite.
Be thou an unbeliever,
but be not a plotter.
Make thy home in taverns,
but tread not the path
of the mischief-maker.
Fear thou God,
but not the priest.[2]
Give to the executioner thy head,
but not thy heart.
Let thine abode be under the stone,
but seek not the shelter of the cleric.
- 206.1b Thus doth the Holy Reed intone its melodies, and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its song, so that He may infuse life eternal into the mortal frames of men, impart to the temples of dust the essence of the Holy Spirit and the heavenly Light, and draw the transient world, through the potency of a single word, unto the Everlasting Kingdom.[3]
206.2 In this connection we have been asked to make the following comments. There is an important distinction between hypocrisy on the one hand and, on the other, such attitudes as turning a blind eye to the faults of others, or of concealing one's own faults through a feeling of shame. This distinction plays an important role in the attitude of Spiritual Assemblies towards the members of its community, as well as in the relationship between individuals.
206.3 Bahá’í standards of behavior are very high, and it is the task of Spiritual Assemblies to assist the friends in their communities to deepen their understanding of the Teachings and to improve the quality of their lives in obedience to Bahá’í laws and principles. At the same time, it is recognized that individuals are imperfect and that we all fall short, in one way or another, of the exalted standard which Bahá’u’lláh has established. Spiritual Assemblies and individual believers alike are urged to recognize this fact, and to assume that each person is, in his own life, striving to overcome his imperfections. Thus, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá calls upon each individual to look at a person's good qualities rather than the bad, even though there may be only one good one and ten bad ones. Such an attitude is in no way to be equated with hypocrisy.
206.4 A Spiritual Assembly, for its part, is instructed not to pry into the lives of the believers in its community. Before it takes action to caution a Bahá’í about his misconduct, such misconduct should be blatant and thus create a problem not only for the community and the individuals concerned, but also for the good name of the Faith. A Spiritual Assembly may be well aware that one of the members of its community has still not fully overcome the habit of drinking alcohol which he had before accepting the Faith, but chooses to say nothing about it. This is not hypocrisy on its part, it is the exercise of patience and wisdom in dealing with the problem. Nor is the fact that the believer in question drinks secretly necessarily an evidence of hypocrisy on his part, it may simply be a combination of weakness in the face of temptation and of shame at this weakness. If, however, a Bahá’í openly states that he holds the Bahá’í prohibition on drinking alcohol to be an anachronism, and brazenly drinks in public, such an attitude is not the opposite of hypocrisy, it is a blatant disdain for Bahá’í standards which would require the Spiritual Assembly's intervention.
206.5 The same principles apply to other moral delinquencies. In the area of sexual morality, a Bahá’í may occasionally behave in a manner which is contrary to Bahá’í standards, because he does not exercise the strength of will necessary to resist temptation. For individuals to gossip about such a lapse is backbiting, which is itself condemned in the Faith. An Assembly would not normally intervene unless it has reason to believe that such lapses constitute a blatant disregard of Bahá’í law.
206.6 Be assured of the continued prayers of the House of Justice at the Sacred Threshold on your behalf that you may be divinely assisted and guided in serving the Cause we love so well.
- With loving Bahá’í greetings,
- DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARIAT
