The Bahá’í Centenary 1844-1944/The Formation of an Organic Religious Community
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THE FORMATION OF AN ORGANIC RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
IN accepting the message of Bahá’u’lláh, every Bahá’í has opened his mind and heart to the dominion of certain fundamental truths. These truths he recognizes as divine in origin, beyond human capacity to produce. In the realm of spirit he attests that these truths are revealed evidences of a higher reality than man. They are to the soul what natural law is to physical body of animal or plant. Therefore the believer today, as in the Dispensation of Christ or Moses, enters into the condition of faith as a status of relationship to God and not of satisfaction to his own limited human and personal will or awareness. His faith exists as his participation in a heavenly world. It is the essence of his responsibility and not a temporary compromise effected between his conscience or reason and the meaning of truth, society, virtue, or life.
The Bahá’í accepts a quality of existence, a level of being which has been created above the control of his own active power. Because on that plane the truth exists that mankind is one, part of his acceptance of the message of Bahá’u’lláh is capacity to see that truth as existing, as a heavenly reality to be confirmed on earth. Because likewise on that higher level the inmost being of Moses, Christ, Muhammad, the Báb, and Bahá’u’lláh is one being, part of the believer’s acceptance of the Bahá’í message is capacity to realize the eternal continuance of that oneness. so that thereafter never will he again think of those holy and majestic Prophets according to the separateness of their bodies, their countries and their times.
The Bahá’í, moreover, recognizes that the realm of truth is inexhaustible, the creator of truth God Himself. Hence the Bahá’í can identify truth as the eternal flow of life itself in a channel that deepens and broadens as man's capacity for truth enlarges from age to age. For him, that definition of truth which regards truth as tiny fragments of
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experience, to be taken up and laid down, as a shopper handling gems on a counter, to buy if one gem happens to please or seems becoming:—such a definition measures man’s own knowledge, or interest, or loyalty, but truth is a living unity which no man can condition. It is the sun in the heavens of spiritual reality, while self-will denies its dominion because self-will is the shadow of a cloud.
There are times for the revelation of a larger area of the indivisible truth to mankind. The Manifestation of God signalizes the times and He is the revelation. When He appears on earth He moves and speaks with the power of all truth, known and unknown, revealed in the past, revealed in Him, or to be revealed in the future. That realm of heavenly reality is brought again in its power and universality to knock at the closed door of human experience, a divine guest whose entrance will bless the household eternally, or a divine punishment when debarred and forbidden and condemned.
Bahá’u’lláh reveals that area of divine truth which underlies all human association. He enlarges man's capacity to receive truth in the realm of experience where all men have condemned themselves to social chaos by ignorance of truth and readiness to substitute the implacable will of races, classes. nations and creeds for the pure spiritual radiance beneficently shining for all. Spiritual reality today has become the principle of human unity, the law for the nations, the devotion to mankind on which the future civilization can alone repose. As long as men cling to truth as definition. past experience, aspects of self-will, so long must this dire period of chaos continue when the separate fragments of humanity employ life not to unite but to struggle and destroy.
In the world of time, Bahá’u’lláh has created capacity for union and world civilization. His Dispensation is historically new and unique. In the spiritual world it is noth
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ing else than the ancient and timeless reality of Moses. Jesus and Muhammad disclosed to the race in a stage of added growth and development so that men can take a larger measure of that which always existed.
Like the man of faith in former ages, the Bahá’í has been given sacred truths to cherish in his heart as lamps for darkness and medicines for healing, convictions of immortality and evidences of divine love. But in addition to these gifts, the Bahá’í has that bestowal which only the Promised One of all ages could bring: nearness to a process of creation which opens a door of entrance into a world of purified and regenerated human relations. The final element in his recognition of the message of Bahá’u’lláh is that Bahá’u’lláh came to found a civilization of unity, progress and peace.
"O Children of Men! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times how ye were created. Since We have created you all from the same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet. eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being. by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the sea of wondrous glory."
Thus He describes the law of survival revealed for the world today, mystical only in that He addressed these particular words to our deepest inner understanding. Their import is not confined to any subjective realm. The motive and the realization He invokes has become the whole truth of socinlogy in this era.
Or, as we find its expression in another passage: "All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.” And the truth reappears in still another form: "How vast is the tabernacle of the Cause of God! It hath overshadowed all the peoples and ltindreds of the earth, and will, cmlong, gather together the whole of mankind beneath its shelter."
The encompassing reach of the Cause of
God in each cycle means the particular aspect of experience for which men are held respon ‘sible. Not until our day could there be the
creation of the principle of moral cause and effect in terms of mankind itself, in terms of the unifiable world.
The mission of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. following Bahá’u’lláh's ascension in 1892. was to raise up a community of believers through whom collectively He might demonstrate the operation of the law of unity. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's mission became fulfilled historically in the experience of the Bahá’ís of North America. In them He developed the administrative order, the organic society. which exemplifies the pattern of justice and order Bahá’í’u'llil\ had creatively ordained. By His wisdom. His tenderness, His justice and His complete consecration to Bahá’u’lláh. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá conveyed to this body of Bahá’ís a sense of partnership in the process of divine creation: that it is for men to re-create, as civilization. a human and earthly replica of the heavenly order existing in the divine will.
The Bahá’í administrative order has been described by the Guardian of the Faith as the pattern of the world order to be gradually attained as the Faith spreads throughout all countries. its authority is Bahá’u’lláh, its sources the teachings He revealed in writing. with the interpretation and amplification made by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The first conveyance of authority by Bahá’u’lláh was to His eldest son. By this conveyance the integrity of the teachings was safeguarded, and the power of action implicit in all true faith directed into channels of unity for the development of the Cause in its universal aspects. No prior Dispensation has ever raised up an instrument like ‘Abdu’l-Balsa through whom the spirit and purpose of the Founder could continue to flow out in its wholeness and purity until His purpose had been achieved. The faith of the Bahá’í thus remains untainted by those elements of self-will which in previous ages have translated revealed truth into creeds, rites and institutions of human origin and limited aim. Those who enter the Bahá’í community subdue themselves and their personal interests to its sovereign standard, for they are unable to alter the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh and exploit its teach
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ings or its community for their own advantage.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s life exemplified the working of the one spirit and the one truth sustaining the body of believers throughout the world. He was the light connecting the sun of truth with the earth, the radiance enabling all Bahá’ís to realize that truth penetrates human affairs, illumines human problems, transcends conventional barriers, changes the climate of life from cold to warm. He infused Himself so completely into the hearts of the Bahá’ís that they associated the administrative institutions of the Faith with His trusted and cherished methods of service. so that the contact between their society and their religion has remained continuous and unimpaired.
The second conveyance of authority made by Bahá’u’lláh was to the institution He termed “House of Justice”:—"The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Bahá (i.e., nine) . . . It behooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly. . . . Those souls who arise to serve the Cause sincerely to please God will be inspired by the divine, invisible inspirations. It is incumbent upon all (i.e., all believers) to obey. . . . Administrative affairs are all in charge of the House of Justice; but acts of worship must be observed according as they are revealed in the Book."
The House of Justice is limited in its legislative capacity to matters not covered by the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh Himself:"It is incumbent upon the Trustees of the House of Justice to take counsel together regarding such laws as have not been expressly revealed in the Book." A high aim is defined for this central administrative organ of the Faiths:—"The men of the House of Justice must. night and day. gaze toward that which hath been revealed from the horizon of the Supreme Pen for the training of the servants, for the upbuilding of
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countrics,'for the preservation of human honor."
In creating this institution for His community, Bahá’u’lláh made it clear that His Dispensation rests upon continuity of divine purpose, and associates human beings directly with the operation of His law. The House of Justice, an elective body. transforms society into an organism reflecting spiritual life. By the just direction of affairs this Faith replaces the institution of the professional clergy developed in all previous Dispensations.
By 1921, when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid down His earthly mission, the American Bahá’í community had been extended to scores of cities and acquired power to undertake tasks of considerable magnitude, but the administrative order remained incomplete. His Will and Testament inaugurated a new era in the Faith, a further conveyance of authority and a clear exposition of the nature of the elective institutions which the Bahá’ís were called upon to form. In Shoghi Effendi, His grandson, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá established the function of Guardianship with sole power to interpret the teachings and with authority to carry out the provisions of the Will. The Guardianship connects the spiritual and social realms of the Faith in that, in addition to the office of interpreter. he is constituted the presiding officer of the international House of Justice when elected: and the Guardianship is made to descend from generation to generation through the male line.
From the Will these excerpts are cited:
"After the passing of this wronged one, it is incumbent upon . . . the loved ones of the ‘Abba Beauty (i.e., Bahá’u’lláh) to turn unto Shoghi Effendi—the youthful branch branched from the two hallowed Lote-Trees (i.e., descended from both the Bib and Bahá’u’lláh) . . . as he is the sign of God, the chosen branch, the guardian of the Cause of God . . . unto whom . . . His loved ones must turn. He is the expounder of the words of God and after him will succeed the firstborn of his lineal descendants.
"The sacred and youthful branch, the guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice, to be universally elected and established. are both under the
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care and protection of the Abhá Beauty. . . . Whatsoevcr they decide is of God. . . . The mighty stronghold shall remain impregnablc and safe through obedience to him who is the guardian of the Cause of God. . . . No doubt every vainglorious one that purposeth disscnsion and discord will not openly declare his evil purposes, nay rather, even as impure gold would he seize upon divers measures and various pretexts that he may separate the gathering of the people of Bahá."
"Wherefore, O my loving friends! Consort with all the peoples, ltindreds and religions of the world with the utmost truthfulness. uprightness, faithfulness, kindliness, good-will and friendliness; that all the world of being may be filled with the holy ecstasy of the grace of Bahá. . . .”
‘'O ye beloved of the Lord! Strive with all your heart to shield the Cause of God from the onslaught of the insincere. for souls such as these cause the straight to become crooked and all benevolent efforts to produce contrary results. . . To none is given the right to put forth his own opinion or express his particular convictions. All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause and the House of Justice."
In each country where Bahá’ís exist, they participate in the world unity of their Faith through the office of the Guardian at this time. and they maintain local and national Bahá’í institutions for conducting their own activities.
In each local civil community, whether city, township or county, the Bahá’ís annually elect nine members .to their local Spiritual Assembly. In America the Bahá’ís of each State or Canadian Province, (a direction of the Guardian having effect for the first time in connection with the Convention of 1944, the one hundredth year of the Faith) join in the election of delegates by proportionate representation and these delegates, to the full number of one hundred and seventy-one, constitute the Annual Convention which elects the members of the National Spiritual Assembly. These national bodies. in turn, will join in the election of .ll1 international Assembly, or House of Justice. when the world Bahá’í community is sufficiently developed.
The inter-relationship of all these admin
istrative bodies provides the world spirit of the Faith with the agencies required for the maintenance of a constitutional society balancing the rights of the individual with the paramount principle of unity preserving the whole structure of the Cause. The Bahá’í as an individual accepts guidance for his conduct and doctrinal beliefs, for not otherwise can he contribute his share to the general unity which is God's supreme blessing to the world today. This general unity is the believer’s moral environment, his social universe, his psychic health and his goal of effort transcending any personal aim. In the Bahá’í order, the individual is the musical note, but the teachings revealed by Bahá’u’lláh are the symphony in which the note finds its real fulfillment; the person attains value by recognizing that truth transcends his capacity and includes him in a relationship which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said endowed the part with the quality of the whole. To receive, we give. In comparison to this divine creation. the traditional claims of individual conscience, of personal judgment, of private freedom, seem nothing more than empty assertions advanced in opposition to the divine will. It cannot be sufficiently emphasized that the Bahá’í’s relationship to this new spiritual society is an expression of faith, and faith alone raises personality out of the pit of self-will and moral isolation into which so much of the world has fallen. There can be no organic society. in fact, without social truth and social law embracing the individual members and evoking a loyalty both voluntary and complete. The political and economic groups which the individual enters with reservations are not true societies but temporary combinations of restless personalities, met in a truce which can not endure. Bahá’u’lláh has for ever solved the artificial dilemma which confuses and betrays the ardent upholder of individual freedom by His categorical statement that human freedom consists in obedience to God's law. The freedom revolving around self-will He declares "must, in the end, lead to sedition. whose flames none can quench. . Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. . . . True liberty consists in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it."
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The Guardian, applying the terms of the Will and Testament to an evolving order, has given the present generation of Bahá’ís a thorough understanding of Bahá’í institutions and administrative principles. Rising to its Vastly increased responsibility resulting from the loss of the beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the Bahá’í community itself has intensified its effort until in America alone the number of believers has been more than doubled since 1921. It has been their destiny to perfect the local and national Bahá’í institutions as models for the believers in other lands. Within the scope of a single lifetime, the American Bahá’í community has developed from a small local group to a national unit of a world society, passing through the successive stages by which a civilization achieves its pristine pattern and seven: itself from the anarchy and confusion of the past. '
In Shoghi Effendi’s letters addressed to this Bahá’í community, we have the statement of the form of the administrative order, its function and purpose, its scope and activity, as well as its significance, which unites the thoughts and inspires the actions of all believers today.
From these letters are selected a number of passages presenting fundamental aspects of the world order initiated by Bahá’u’lláh.
1. On its nature and scope: "I cannot refrain from appealing to them who stand identified with the Faith to disregard the prevailing notions and the fleeting fashions of the day, and to realize as never before that the exploded theories and the tottering institutions of present-day civilization must needs appear in sharp contrast with those God-given institutions which are destined to arise upon their ruin. .
"For Bahá’u’lláh . . . has not only imbued mankind with a new and regenerating Spirit. He has not merely enunciated certain universal principles, or propounded a particular philosophy, however potent, sound and universal these may be. In addition to these He, as well as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after Him, have, unlike the Dispensations of the past, clearly and specifically laid down a set of Laws, established definite institutions, and provided for the essentials of a Divine Economy. These are destined to be
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a pattern for future society, a supreme instrument for the establishment of the Most Great Peace, and the one agency for the unification of the world, and the proclamation of the reign of righteousness and justice upon the earth. . . .
"Unlike the Dispensation of Christ, unlike the Dispensation of Muhammad, unlike all the Dispensations of the past, the apostles of Bahá’u’lláh in every land, wherever they labor and toil, have before them in clear, in unequivocal and emphatic language, _all the laws, the regulations, the principles, the institutions, the guidance, they require for the prosecution of their task. . . . Therein lies the distinguishing feature of the Bahá’í Revelation. Therein lics the strength of the unity of the Faith, of the validity of a Revelation
,that claims not to destroy or belittle previous Revelations, but to connect, unify, and fulfill them. . . .
“Feeble though our Faith may now appear in the eyes of men, who either denounce it as an offshoot of Islam, or conternptuously ignore it as one more of those obscure sects that abound in the West, this priceless gem of Divine Revelation, now still in its embryonic state. shall evolve within the shell of His law, and shall forge ahead, undivided and unimpaired, till it embraces the whole of mankind. Only those who have already recognized the supreme station of Bahá’u’lláh, only those whose hearts have been touched by His love, and have become familiar with the potency of His spirit, can adequately appreciate the value of this Divine Economy—His inestimable gift to mankind. . . .
"This Administrative Order . . . will, as its component parts, its organic institutions, begin to function with efiiciency and vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate its capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the New World Order destined to embrace in the fulness of time the whole of mankind. . . .
"Alone of all the Revelations gone before it this Faith has . . . succeeded in raising a structure which the bewildered followers of bankrupt and broken creeds might well approach and critically examine, and seek, ere it is too late, the invulnerable security of its world-embracing shelter. . . .
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"To what else if not to the power and majesty which this Administrative Orderthe rudiments of the future all-enfolding Bahá’í Commonwealth-—is destined to manifest, can these utterances of Bahá’u’lláh allude: ‘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. . . .’ "
2. On its local and national institutions: "A perusal of some of the words of Bahá’u’lláh and 'Abdu’l-Babel on the duties and functions of the Spiritual Assemblies in every land (later to be designated as the local Houses of Justice), emphatically reveals the sacredness of their nature, the wide scope of their activity, and the grave responsibility which rests upon them.
"Addressing the members of the Spiritual Assembly in Chicago, the Master reveals the following :—‘Whenever ye enter the councilchamber, recite this prayer with a heart throbbing with the love of God and a tongue purified from all but His remembrance. that the All-powerful may graciously aid you to achieve supreme victory:—"O God, my God! We are servants of Thine that have turned with devotion to Thy Holy Face, that have detached ourselves from all beside Thee in this glorious Day. We have gathered in this spiritual assembly, united in our views and thoughts, with our purposes harmonized to exalt Thy Word amidst mankind. O Lord, our God! Make us the signs of Thy Divine Guidance, the Standards of Thy exalted Faith amongst men, servants to Thy mighty Covenant. O Thou our Lord Most High! Manifestations of Thy Divine Unity in Thine Abhá Kingdom, and resplcndent stars shining upon all regions. Lord! Aid us to become seas surging with the billows of Thy wondrous Grace, streams flowing from Thy all-glorious Heights, goodly fniits upon the Tree of Thy heavenly Cause. trees waving through the breezes of Thy Bounty in Thy celestial Vine yard. O God! Make our souls dependent upon the Verses of Thy Divine Unity, our hearts cheered with the outpourings of Thy
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Grace, that we may unite even as the waves of one sea and become merged together as the rays of Thine effulgent Light; that our thoughts. our views, our feelings may become as one reality, manifesting the spirit of union throughout the world. Thou art the Gracious, the Bountiful, the Bestower, the Almighty, the Merciful, the Compassionate."'
“In the Most Holy Book is revealed:‘The Lord hath ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Baha, and should it exceed this number it does not matter. It bebooveth them to be the trusted ones of the Merciful among men and to regard themselves as the guardians appointed of God for all that dwell on earth. It is incumbent upon them to take counsel together and to have regard for the interests of the servants of God, for His sake, even as they regard their own interests, and to choose that which is meet and seemly. Thus hath the Lord your God commanded you. Beware lest ye put away that which is clearly revealed in His Tablet. Fear God, O ye that perceive.’
"Furthermore, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá reveals the following:—'It is incumbent upon every one not to take any step without consulting the Spiritual Assembly, and they must assuredly obey with heart and soul its bidding and be submissive unto it, that things may be properly ordered and well arranged. Otherwise every person will act independently and after his own judgment, will follow his own desire, and do harm to the Cause.’
" ‘The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrances, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and long-suffering in diificulties and servitude to His exalted Threshold. Should they be graciously aided to acquire these attributes, victory from the unseen Kingdom of Bahá shall be vouchsafed to them. In this day, assemblies of consultation are of the greatest importance and a vital necessity. Obedience unto them is essential and obligatory. The members thereof must take counsel together in such wise that no occasion for ill-feeling or discord may arise.
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This can be attained when every member expresseth with absolute freedom his own opinion and setteth forth his argument. Should any one oppose, he must on no account fecl hurt for not until matters are fully discussed can the right way be revealed. The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions. If after discussion, a decision be carried unanimously, well and good; but if, the Lord forbid, differences of opinion should arise, a majority of voices must prevail.’ "Enurnerating the obligations incumbent upon the members of consulting councils, the Beloved reveals the following:—'The first condition is absolute love and hannony amongst the members of the assembly. They must be wholly free from estrangement and must manifest in themselves the Unity of God, for they are the waves of one sea, the drops of one river, the stars of one heaven. the rays of one sun. the trees of one orchard. the flowers of one garden. Should harmony of thought and absolute unity be non-existent, that gathering shall be dispersed and that assembly be brought to naught. The second condition:—Tbey must when coming together turn their faces to the Kingdom on high and ask aid from the Realm of Glory. They must then proceed with the utmost devotion, courtesy, dignity, care and moderation to express their views. They must in every matter search out the truth and not insist upon their own opinion, for stubbornness and persistence in one's views will lead ultimately to discord and wrangling and the truth will remain hidden. The honored members must with all freedom express their own thoughts, and it is in no wise permissible for one to belittle the thought of another, nay, he must with moderation set forth the truth, and should differences of opinion arise a majority of voices must prevail, and all must obey and submit to the majority. It is again not permitted that any one of the honored members object to or censure, whether in or out of the meeting, any decision arrived at previously, though that decision be not right, for such criticism would prevent any decision from being enforced. in short, whatsoever thing is arranged in harmony and with love and purity of motive, its result is light, and should the least trace
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of cstrangement prevail the result shall be darkness upon darkness. . . . If this be so regarded, that assembly shall be of God, but otherwise it shall lead to coolness and alienation that proceed from the Evil One. Discussions must all be confined to spiritual matters that pertain to the training of souls, the instruction of children, the relief of the poor. the help of the feeble throughout all classes in the world, kindness to all peoples, the diffusion of the fragrances of God and the exaltation of His Holy Word. Should they endeavor to fulfill these conditions the Grace of the Holy Spirit shall be vouchsafed unto them, and that assembly shall become the center of the Divine blessings, the hosts of Divine confirmation shall come to their aid, and they shall day by day receive a new effusion of Spirit.’
"So great is the importance and so supreme is the authority of these assemblies that once ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after having Himself and in His own handwriting corrected the translation made into Arabic of the Ishriqit (the Effulgences) by Sheikh Faraj, a Kurdish friend from Cairo, directed him in a Table: to submit the above-named translation to the Spiritual Assembly of Cairo, that he may seek from them before publication their approval and consent. These are His very words in that Tablet:——'His honor, Sheikh Faraju'llah, has here rendered into Arabic with greatest care the Ishraqat and yet I have told him that he must submit his version to the Spiritual Assembly of Egypt. and I have conditioned its publication upon the approval of the above-named Assembly. This is so that things may be arranged in an orderly manner, for should it not be so any one may translate a certain Tablet and print and circulate it on his own account. Even a non-believer might undertake such work. and thus cause confusion and disorder. If it be conditioned, however. upon the approval of the Spiritual Assembly, a translation prepared, printed and circulated by a non-believer will have no recognition whatever.’
"This is indeed a clear indication of the Master's express desire that nothing whatever should be given to the public by any individual among the friends, unless fully considered and approved by the Spiritual
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‘Abdu’l-Bahá at Leland Stanford University, October 8, 1912.
Assembly in his locality; and if this (as is undoubtedly the case) is a matter that pertains to the general interest of the Cause in that land, then it is incumbent upon the Spiritual Assembly to submit it to the consideration and approval of the national body representing all the various local assemblies. Not only with regard to publication, but all matters without any exception whatsoever, regarding the interests of the Cause in that locality, individually or collectively. should be referred exclusively to the Spiritual Assembly in that locality, which shall decide upon it, unless it be a matter of national interest, in which case it shall be referred to the national body. With this national body also will rest the decision whether a given question is of local or national interest. (By national affairs is not meant matters that are political in their character, for the friends of God the world over are strictly forbidden to meddle with political affairs in any way whatever, but rather things that affect the spiritual activities of the body of the friends in that land.)
"Full harmony, however. as well as cooperation among the various local assemblies and the members themselves, and particularly between each assembly and the national body. is of the utmost importance, for upon it depends the unity of the Cause of God. the solidarity of the friends, the full, speedy
and efficient working of the spiritual activities of His loved ones.
"Large issues in such spiritual activities that affect the Cause in general in that land, such as the management of the "Star of the West” and any periodical which the National Body may decide to be a Bahá’í organ, the matter of publication, of reprinting Bahá’í literature and its distribution among the various assemblies, the means whereby the teaching campaign may be stimulated and maintained, the work of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the racial question in relation to the Cause, the matter of receiving Orientals and association with them, the care and maintenance of the precious film exhibiting a phase of the Master's sojourn in the United States of America as well as the original matrix and the records of His voice, and various other national spiritual activities, far from being under the exclusive jurisdiction of any local assembly or group of friends, must each be minutely and fully directed by a special board, elected by the National Body, constituted as a committee thereof, responsible to it and upon which the National Body shall exercise constant and general supervision. . . .
“Regarding the establishment of ‘National Assemblies,‘ it is of vital importance that in every country, where the conditions are favorable and the number of the friends has
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grown and reached a considerable size, such as America, Great _Britain and Germany, that a ‘National Spiritual Assembly’ be immediately established, representative of the friends throughout that country.”
"Its immediate purpose is to stimulate, unify and coordinate by frequent personal consultations, the manifold activities of the friends as well as the local Assemblies; and by keeping in close and constant touch with the Holy Land, initiate measures, and direct in general the affairs of the Cause in that country.
“It serves also another purpose, no less essential than the first, as in the course of time it shall evolve into the National House of Justice (referred to in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Will as the "secondary House of Justice”), which according to the explicit text of the Testament will have, in conjunction with the other National Assemblies throughout the Bahá’í world, to elect directly the members of the International House of Justice, that Supreme Council that will guide, organize and unify the affairs of the Movement throughout the world.
"It is expressly recorded in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Writings that these National Assemblies must be indirectly elected ‘by the friends; that is, the friends in every country must elect a certain number of delegates, who in their turn will elect from among all the friends in that country the members of the National Spiritual Assembly. In such countries, therefore, as America, Great Britain and Germany, a fixed number of secondary electors must first be decided upon. . . . The friends then in every locality where the number of adult declared believers exceeds nine must directly elect its quota of secondary electors assigned to it in direct proportion to its numerical strength. These secondary electors will then, either through correspondence, or preferably by gathering together, and first deliberating upon the affairs of the Cause throughout their country (as the delegates to the Convention), elect from among all the friends in that country nine who will be the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.
"This National Spiritual Assembly, which, pending the establishment of the Universal House of Justice, will have to be re-elected
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once a year, obviously assumes grave responsibilities, for it has to exercise full authority over all the local Assemblies in its province, and will have to direct the activities of the friends, guard vigilantly the Cause of God, and control and supervise the aflairs of the Movement in general.
"Vital issues, affecting the interests of the Cause in that country such as the matter of translation and publication, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, the Teaching Work, and other similar matters that stand distinct from strictly local affairs, must be under the full jurisdiction of the National Assembly.
"It will have to refer each of these questions, even as the local Assemblies, to a special Committee, to be elected by the members of the National Spiritual Assembly, from among all the friends in that country, which will bear to it the same relation as the local committees bear to their respective local Assemblies.
"With it, too, rests the decision whether a certain point at issue is strictly local in its nature, and should be reserved for the consideration and decision of the local Assembly, or whether it should fall under its own province and be regarded as a matter which ought to receive its special attention. The National Spiritual Assembly will also decide upon such matters which in its opinion should be referred to the Holy Land for consultation and decision.
"With these Assemblies, local as well as national, harmoniously. vigorously, and efficiently functioning throughout the Bahá’í world, the only means for the establishment of the Supreme House of Justice will have been secured. And when this Supreme Body will have been properly established, it will have to consider afresh the whole situation. and lay down the principle which shall direct, so long as it deems advisable, the affairs of the Cause. . . .
"The need for the centralization of authority in the National Spiritual Assembly, and the concentration of power in the various local Assemblies, is made manifest when we reflect that the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh is still in its age of tender growth and in a stage of transition; when we remember that the full implications and the exact significance of the Master's world-wide in
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structions. as laid down in His Will, are as yet not fully grasped, and the whole Movement has not sufficiently crystallized in the eyes of the world.
"It is our primary task to keep the most vigilant eye on the manner and character of its growth, to combat effectively the forces of separation and of sectarian tendencies, lest the Spirit of the Cause be obscured, its unity be threatened, its Teachings suffer corruption; lest extreme orthodoxy on one hand, and irresponsible freedom on the other, cause it to deviate from that Straight Path which alone can lead it to success. . . .
"Hitherto the National Convention has been primarily called together for the consideration of the various circumstances attending the election of the National Spiritual Assembly. I feel, however, that in view of the expansion and the growing importance of the administrative sphere of the Cause, the general sentiments and tendencies prevailing among the friends, and the signs of increasing interdependence among the National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world, the assembled accredited representatives of the American believers should exercise not only the vital and responsible right of electing the National Assembly, but should also fulfill the functions of an enlightened, consultative and cooperative body that will enrich the experience, enhance the prestige, support the authority, and assist the deliberations of the National Spiritual Assembly. It is my firm conviction that it is the bounden duty, in the interest of the Cause we all love and serve, of the members of the incoming National Assembly, once elected by the delegates at Convention time, to seek and have the utmost regard, individually as well as collectively, for the advice, the considered opinion and the true sentiments of the assembled delegates. Banishing every vestige of secrecy. of undue reticence, of dictatorial aloofness, from their midst, they should radiantly and abundantly unfold to the eyes of the delegates. by whom they are elected, their plans, their hopes, and their cares. They should familiarize the delegates with the various matters that will have to be considered in the current year. and calmly and conscientiously study and weigh the opinions and judgments of the delegates.
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The newly elected National Assembly. during the few days when the Convention is in session and after the dispersal of the delegates, should seek ‘ways and means to cultivate understanding, facilitate and maintain the exchange of views. deepen confidence, and vindicate by every tangible evidence their one desire to serve and advance the common weal. Not infrequently, nay oftentimes, the most lowly. untutored and inexperienced among the friends will, by the sheer inspiring force of selfless and ardent devotion, contribute a distinct and memorable share to a highly involved discussion in any given Assembly. Great must be the regard paid by those whom the delegates call upon to serve in high position to this all-important though inconspicuous manifestation of the revealing power of sincere and earnest devotion.
“The National Spiritual Assembly, however, in view of the unavoidable limitations imposed upon the convening of frequent and long-standing sessions of the Convention, will have to retain in its hands the final decision on all matters that affect the interests of the Cause in America, such as the right to decide whether any local Assembly is functioning in accordance with the principles laid down for the conduct and advancement of the Cause. It is my earnest prayer that they will utilize their highly responsible position, not only for the wise and cfficient conduct of the affairs of the Cause, but also for the extension and deepening of the spirit of cordiality and wholehcarted and mutual support in their cooperation with the body of their co-workers throughout the land. The seating of delegates to the Convention. i.e., the right to decide upon the validity of the credentials of the delegates at a given Convention. is vested in the outgoing National Assembly, and the right to decide who has the voting privilege is also ultimately placed in the hands of the National Spiritual Assembly. either when a local Spiritual Assembly is being for the first time formed in a given locality, or when differences arise between a new applicant and an already established local Assembly. While the Convention is in session and the accredited delegates have already elected from among the believers throughout the country the meni
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bers of the National Spiritual Assembly for the current year, it is of infinite value and a supreme necessity that as far as possible all matters requiring immediate decision should be fully and publicly considered, and an endeavor be made to obtain after mature deliberation, unanimity in vital decisions. Indeed, it has ever been the cherished desire of our Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, that the friends in their councils, local as well as national, should by their candor, their honesty of purpose, their singleness of mind, and the thoroughness of their discussions, achieve unanimity in all things. Should this in certain cases prove impracticable the verdict of the majority should prevail, to which decision the minority must under all circumstances, gladly, spontaneously and continually, submit.
"Nothing short of the all-encompassing, all-pervading power of His Guidance and Love can enable this newly-cnfolded order to gather strength and flourish amid the storm and stress of a turbulent age, and in the fulness of time vindicate its high claim to be universally recognized as the one Haven of abiding felicity and peace."
3. On its international institutions: "It should be stated, at the very outset, in clear and unambiguous language, that these twin institutions of the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh should be regarded as divine in origin, essential in their functions and complementary in their aim and purpose. Their common, their fundamental object is to insure the continuity of that divinelyappointed authority which flows from the Source of our Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings. Acting in conjunction with each other these two inseparable institutions administer its affairs, coordinate its activities, promote its interests, execute its laws and defend its subsidiary institutions. Severally, each operates within a clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction; each is equipped with its own attendant institutions-—instruments designed for the effective discharge of its particular responsibilities and duties. Each exercises, within the limitations imposed upon it, its powers, its authority, its rights and prerogatives. These are neither contradictory, nor detract in the
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slightest degree from the position which each of these institutions occupies. Far from being incompatible or mutually destructive, they supplement each other’s authority and functions, and are permanently and fundamentally united in their aims.
“Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written. has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. ‘In all the Divine Dispensations,’ He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, ‘the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.’ Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperilled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer. the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.
"Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of justice this same System of the Will of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.
“‘He is the Interpreter of the Word of God,’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, referring to the functions of the Guardian of the Faith, asserts, using in His Will the very term which He Himself had chosen when refuting the argument of the Covenant-breakers who had challenged His right to interpret the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh. ‘After him,’ He adds, ‘will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants.‘ ‘The mighty stronghold.’ He further explains. ‘shall remain impregnable and safe through obedience to him who is the Guardian of the Cause of God.’ ‘lt is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice, upon all the Agl_1s:in, the Afnan, the Hands of the Cause of God. to show their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the ‘Guardian of the Cause of God.’
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" 'It is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice,’ Bahá’u’lláh, on the other hand, declares in the Eighth Leaf of the Exalted Paradise. ‘to take counsel together regarding those things which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book, and to enforce that which is agreeable to them. God will verily inspire them with whatsoever He willeth. and He verily is the Provider, the Omniscient.’ ‘Unto the Most Holy Book’ (the Kitáb-i-Aqdas), ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states in His Will, ‘every one must turn, and all that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal House of Justice. That which this body, whether unanimously or by a majority doth carry, that is verily the truth and the purpose of God Himself. Whoso doth deviate therefrom is verily of them that love discord, hath shown forth malice. and turned away from the Lord of the Covenant.’
"Not only does ‘Abdu’l-Bahá confirm in His Will Bahá’u’lláh’s above-quoted statement, but invests this body with the additional right and power to abrogate. according to the exigencies of time, its own enactments, as well as those of a preceding House of Justice. ‘Inasmuch as the House of Justice,‘ is His explicit statement in His Will, 'hath power to enact laws that are not expressly recorded in the Book and bear upon daily transactions, so also it hath power to repeal the same . . . This it can do because these laws form no part of the divine explicit text.‘
"Referring to both the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice we read these emphatic words: ‘The sacred and youthful Branch. the Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One (the Báb) (may my life be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is of God.’
"From these statements it is made indubitably clear and evident that the Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter of the Word and that the Universal House of Justice has been invested with the function of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the teachings. The in 107
terpretation of the Guardian. functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá’u’lláh has not expressly revealed. Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested. . . .
"Let no one, while this System is still in its infancy, misconceive its character, belittle its significance or misrepresent its purpose. The bedrock on which this Administrative Order is founded is God's immutable Purpose for mankind in this day. The Source from which it derives its inspiration is no less than Bahá’u’lláh Himself. Its shield and defender are the embattled hosts of the Abhái Kingdom. Its seed is the blood of no less than twenty thousand martyrs who have offered up their lives that it may be born and flourish. The axis round which its institutions revolve are the authentic provisions of the Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’lBahzi. Its guiding principles are the truths which He Who is the unerring Interpreter of the teachings of our Faith has so clearly enunciated in His public addresses throughout the West. The laws that govern its operation and limit its functions are those which have been expressly ordained in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. The seat round which its spiritual, its humanitarian and administrative activities will cluster are the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár and its Dependencies. The pillars that sustain its authority and buttress its structure are the twin institutions of the Guardianship and of the Universal House of Justice. The central, the underlying aim which animates it is the establishment of the New World Order as adumbrated by Bahá’u’lláh. The methods it employs. the standard it inculcates, incline it to neither East nor West, neither Jew nor Gentile, neither rich nor poor, neither white nor colored. Its watchword is the unification of the human race; its standard the ‘Most Great Peace’; its consummation the advent of that golden miIIennium—the Day when the king
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The interior of the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on Mount Carmel.
doms of this world shall have become the Kingdom of God Himself, the Kingdom of Bahá’u’lláh.”
Fifty years have passed since the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh was first brought to North America. Three generations of believers have worked and sacrificed and prayed in order to produce a body of Bahá’ís large enough to demonstrate the principles here summarized in a few pages for the present-day student of these teachings. What ‘Abdu’l-Bahá employed as unifying element for the American community during a period before more than rudimentary local administrative bodies could be established was the construction of the House of Worship, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, in Wilmette. He in fact referred to the House of Worship as the
"inception of the Kingdom." Around its construction devotedly gathered the American friends. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá approved their action in setting up a religious corporation to hold title to the property and provide a basis for collective action. In surveying those days from 1904 to 1921, one realizes how, in every stage of progress, the believers rushed forward in devotion before they could perceive the full results of action or comprehend the full unfoldment of their beloved Master's intention. In their hearts they knew that unity is the key note of their Faith, and they were assured that the new power of unity would augment until it encompassed the whole of mankind. But as to the nature of world order, the foundation of universal peace, the principles of the future
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economy, while the clear picture eluded them, they went forward with enthusiasm to the Light.
In a continent consecrated to the pioneer, the early American Bahá’ís pioneered in the
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world of spirit, striving to participate in a work of supreme importance whose final result was the laying of a foundation on which human society might raise a house of justice and a mansion of peace.
