The Baháí Faith, under the
Guardianship, is distinguished by the acceptance of
the Will and Testament of Abdul-Bahá,
the Son of the Founder of the Faith, as a divinely-conceived,
sacred, immutable and immortal Document which delineates
the essential Institutions of an unique Administrative
Order which, together with the application of the Laws
and Principles revealed by
Baháulláh,
constitutes the basis for the establishment of the World
Order of Baháulláh and a future
World
Civilization.
This Order was established in embryonic form by
Shoghi Effendi, the first Guardian of the
Baháí Faith during a 36 year
ministry. He had been appointed by
Abdul-Bahá in His Will
and Testament, a Document which also provided for the
continuity of this Institution as long as the Dispensation of
Baháulláh endured through a
succession of Guardians of the Faith each appointed by his
predecessor
"in his own lifetime." Sole
interpretative authority of Baháí Holy
Writ has been
vested by Abdul-Bahá in the Guardians
who also serve as the "sacred head and the
distinguished member for life" of the Universal
House of Justice, the highest legislative organ of the
Administrative Order and in this capacity provide
"the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the
legislative action" of this institution and
insure that such subsidiary laws as are enacted by this body
are in conformity with the immutable Laws revealed by
Baháulláh in His Most Holy Book.
Shoghi
Effendi stated that the twin institutions of the
Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice
"supplement each others authority and
functions" are inseparable and are "the
twin
pillars that support this mighty Administrative
Structure."
Unlike sans-Guardian Baháís who
believe that the Guardianship ended with the passing of
Shoghi Effendi, the
Baháís under the living Guardian
believe that Shoghi Effendi appointed his successor, Mason
Remey,
in faithful compliance with the sacred provisions of the
Will and Testament of Abdul-Bahá and that
only
complete acceptance of him as the second Guardian and the
"Center of the Cause" and, in turn,
his appointed successor, constitutes fidelity to the
Covenant of Baháulláh.
Membership of the Universal House of Justice and Womens Rights
Message from the
Guardian to all Baháís - The 200th
Anniversary of the Birth of
Baháulláh the designated
Day of Celebration
The"Warning"
commentary by Nosrat Bahremand to the
Baháí World
`ABDUL-BAHÁ THE SEVENTH ANGEL
- Commentary on the Book of Revelation's "Seventh Angel"by
Nosrat Bahremand
Message from the
Guardian to all Baháís - SHOGHI
EFFENDI NEVER WAS SILENT
THE
WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ABDUL-BAHÁ
"His greatest legacy to posterity" and the
"Charter of the New World Order" of
Baháulláh.
EXTRACTS FROM TABLETS OF ABDUL-BAHÁ
EULOGIZING MASON REMEY.
THE DISPENSATION OF
BAHÁULLÁH.
"The Administrative Order" by Shoghi Effendi.
Considered the spiritual
testament of the first Guardian.
THE
DIVINELY-CONCEIVED ORIGIN AND FUNCTIONS OF THE INSTITUTIONS
OF THE WORLD ORDER OF BAHÁULLÁH
AS OUTLINED IN THE WRITINGS OF SHOGHI EFFENDI.
GOD PASSES BY (Chapter XIV) by Shoghi
Effendi.
"The Covenant of
Baháulláh "
GOD PASSES BY (Chapter XXII)
by Shoghi Effendi. "The Rise and Establishment of
the Administrative Order"
ABDUL-BAHÁ "THE CENTER OF THE
COVENANT"
Shoghi Effendis words concerning His rank,
unique station and role in the Dispensation of
Baháulláh.
SHOGHI EFFENDIS
WORDS ON THE DESTINY OF EVERY SOUL
Author: Joel Bray
Marangella.
MESSAGES TO THE BAHÁÍ WORLD 1950-1957
by Shoghi Effendi. PROCLAMATION of 9 January 1951 (in
cablegram form) establishing the International
Baháí Council as the embryonic Universal
House of
Justice.
MESSAGES TO THE
BAHÁÍ WORLD 1950-1957 by Shoghi Effendi.
Extract of cablegram of 2 March 1951, identifying Mason
Remey as the one whom he had appointed as President of the
International Baháí Council.
MESSAGES TO THE BAHÁÍ WORLD 1950-1957
by Shoghi Effendi.
Extracts of cablegrams of 25 April 1951, stating that the
establishment of the International
Baháí Council and the construction of
the superstructure of the Bábs Sepulcher
constituted
"the initial major evidences" of "the rise
and consolidation of the administrative center of the
World Faith of Baháulláh."
MESSAGES TO THE BAHÁÍ
WORLD 1950-1957
by Shoghi Effendi.
Extract of cablegram of 30 November 1951, emphasizing as
the "Great Jubilee" in
1953 approaches, the inauguration of the long anticipated
intercontinental stage in the administrative evolution of
the Faith" the relationship that exists between the
"consolidation of the Faith at its World Center
through recent formation of International
Baháí Council in the Holy Land" and
the initiation of
"highly significant measures further cementing the
Baháí National Assemblies in five
continents
of the globe."
MESSAGES TO THE
BAHÁÍ WORLD 1950-1957 by Shoghi Effendi.
Cablegram of 24 December 1951, reviews "chain of
recent historic events heralding long anticipated rise and
establishment of the World Administrative Center of the
Faith of Baháulláh in the Holy
Land"
including among others the "creation of the
International Baháí Council" and the
acquisition of properties in the vicinity of the
Bábs Sepulcher destined to serve as the site of
future
edifices envisaged by Abdul-Bahá to
house auxiliary agencies revolving around the twin
institutions of
the Guardianship and the House of Justice." This
cablegram also announces the first contingent of twelve Hands
of the Cause, including Mason Remey, which he points out
"paralleled preliminary measure of the formation of
the International Council destined to culminate in the
emergence of the Universal House of Justice."
PROCLAMATION OF MASON REMEY TO THE BAHÁÍ
WORLD AT
RIDVÁN 1960, setting forth his rightful claim to
the Guardianship on the basis of his appointment by Shoghi
Effendi in strict compliance with the terms of the Will
and Testament of Abdul-Bahá.
"EXTRACTS FROM DAILY
OBSERVATIONS OF THE BAHÁÍ FAITH MADE TO
THE HANDS OF THE
FAITH IN THE HOLY LAND" by Mason Remey while serving
as a member of the body of nine Hands at the World Center
following the passing of Shoghi Effendi.
"APPEALS MADE TO THE HANDS OF THE
FAITH" by
Mason Remey following the passing of Shoghi Effendi.
ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE HANDS OF THE FAITH FROM
MASON REMEY, THE SECOND GUARDIAN OF THE
BAHÁÍ FAITH OF HIS APPOINTMENT OF
GUARDIANSHIP BY THE FIRST
GUARDIAN OF THE FAITH.
THREE ENCYCLICAL LETTERS OF MASON REMEY.
"THE QUESTION
OF THE
GUARDIANSHIP OF THE BAHÁÍ FAITH"
compiled by Mason Remey,1960.
FOUR LETTERS TO RÚHIYYÍH
KHÁNUM FROM THE THIRD GUARDIAN
. . . What will be your excuse when, upon your own passing, you should meet Shoghi Effendi in the next world? . . .
He would certainly say to you how greatly shocked, dismayed and saddened he had been, upon his passing, to note that so many of the believers, like yourself, who during his ministry had ostensibly evinced such faithful and steadfast faith in the Covenant of Baháulláh and firm belief in the sacredness and immutability of the divinely-conceived Will and Testament of Abdul-Bahá, in which the Guardian of the Cause of God is named as The Center of the Cause, and the sacred head and distinguished member for life of the Universal House of Justice had then readily accepted, without question, the incredulous conclusion that had been hastily reached and proclaimed to the Baháí World by the Hands of the Cause, gathered in conclave at Akká but a few weeks following his passing, that the Guardianship had come to a premature end based on the transparently fallacious argument that because all of the Aghsán had either died or had been declared violators of the Covenant he had left no will and testament appointing a successor..
JOEL BRAY MARANGELLA, July 2OO8
. . . THE
MOST SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE . . . THE GREATEST EVENT. .
.
. . . POTENTIALLY UNSURPASSED BY ANY ENTERPRISE UNDERTAKEN SINCE INCEPTION OF ADMINSTRATIVE ORDER OF FAITH . . .
. . . RANKING SECOND ONLY TO GLORIOUS IMMORTAL EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH MINISTRIES OF THE THREE CENTRAL FIGURES OF FAITH . . .
SHOGHI EFFENDI, 9 January 1951
"THE
DIABOLICAL SUBVERSION OF THE BAHÁÍ
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
"One may well ask how any clear-thinking and rational believer who is at all conversant with the matchless writings of Shoghi Effendi, such as those found in "The Dispensation of Baháulláh" in which, for example, he quotes the following stirring passage from the Pen of Baháulláh, that emphasizes the impact upon the "worlds equilibrium" and "mankinds ordered life" of His "new World Order" and "this wondrous System" can, in utter disregard for these revealed Words, subscribe to a patently faithless belief perpetrated, following the passing of Shoghi Effendi, that God had changed His mind, for some inexplicable reason, about the establishment of the divinely-conceived and sacred Baháí Administrative Order, bequeathed to us by Abdul-Bahá, in which He designated the living Guardian as both the "Center of the Cause" and the "sacred head," of its supreme legislative Organ and therefore divinely sanctioned the establishment, in its place, of a headless, grossly deformed, defective and fallible substitute, humanly fashioned by the Hands of the Cause.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
BAHÁULLÁH PROMISES AN
UNINTERRUPTED INTERPRETATIVE AUTHORITY IN THE
KITÀB-I-IQÀN
"Those words uttered by the Luminaries of Truth must needs be pondered, and should their significance be not graspe d, enlightenment should be sought from the Trustees of the depositories of Knowledge, that these may expound their meaning, and unravel their mystery. For it behooveth no man to interpret the holy words according to his own imperfect understanding, nor having found them to be contrary to his inclination and desires to reject and repudiate their truth. For such, today, is the manner of the divines and doctors of the age, who occupy the seats of knowledge and learning, and who have named ignorance knowledge, and called oppression justice."(An interpretive role that would be fulfilled first by the Center of the Covenant, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and subsequently by the successive Guardians of the Faith.)
Kitáb-i-Iqán (p.182)
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
"O ye that are bereft of understanding! A severe trial pursueth you, and will suddenly overtake you. Bestir yourselves, that haply it may pass and inflict no harm upon you."
BAHÁULLÁH
(p.169, Gleanings)Author: Joel Bray Marangella
In July 1947, some three and one half years prior to his appointment of the International Bahá'í Council on 9 January 1951, Shoghi Effendi prepared a statement for submission to the United Nations Special Palestine Committee that has been published in pamphlet form under the title of: "The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh." with the subtitle, "A World Religion."
On page 3 of this document one may note the following significant paragraph which incontestably proves, in Shoghi Effendi's own words, that the one who presides as President of the International Bahá'í Council this "World Council" can be none other than the Guardian of the Faith.
"The passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá marked the termination of the first and Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Faith and signalized the opening of the Formative Age destined to witness the gradual emergence of its Administrative Order, whose establishment had been foretold by the Báb, whose laws were revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, whose outlines were delineated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament, and whose foundations are now being laid by national and local councils which are elected by the professed adherents of the Faith, and which are paving the way for the constitution of the World Council, to be designated as the Universal House of Justice, which in conjunction with me, as its appointed Head and the authorized interpreter of the Bahá'í teachings, must coordinate and direct the affairs of the Bahá'í community, and whose seat will be permanently established in the Holy Land, in close proximity to its world spiritual center, the resting-places of its Founders."
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
SHOGHI EFFENDIS MESSAGE OF NOVEMBER 23, 1951 THAT INDIRECTLY AND UNDENIABLY PORTENDED HIS IMMINENT PASSING AND CONFIRMED THE IDENTITY OF HIS APPOINTED SUCCESSOR
* * * * * * * * *
EXTRACT: "For unlike the first and second Seven Year Plan, inaugurated by the American Baháí Community, the scope of the third Seven Year Plan, the termination of which will mark the conclusion of the first Epoch in the evolution of the Master Plan designed by Abdul-Bahá will embrace all the continents of the earth, and will bring the Central Body directing these widely ramified operations into direct contact with all the National Assemblies of the Baháí world, which, in varying degrees, will have to contribute their share to the world establishment of the Cause of Baháulláh, as prophesied by Abdul-Bahá and envisioned by Daniel,a consummation that, God willing, will be befittingly celebrated on the occasion of the Most Great Jubilee commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the formal assumption by Baháulláh of His Prophetic Office."
* * * * * * * * *
Shoghi Effendi unquestionably indicated that he envisaged an active role for the International Baháí Council before the expiration of the Ten Year Global Crusade (at Ridván 1963) and that the Council, in this role, would be directing the NSAs in achieving the respective goals that had been assigned to them during this Crusade. And, furthermore, Shoghi Effendi had indirectly and in this obscure way, predicted his own passing which would have to take place in order for the Council to become an actively functioning body under the Presidency of Mason Remey but a prediction which none of the believers perceived at the time or afterwards and, most critically, none of the Hands of the Cause, following his passing, with such dire consequences for the Faith.
As Shoghi Effendi had indicated, in the message quoted above, that this "Central Body" the International Baháí Council would be assuming, if not initially, at least some time during the World Crusade starting in 1953, an active role in "directing these widely ramified operations" of the National Assemblies throughout the world as they endeavored to accomplish the respective goals that had been assigned to them by him, it was crystal clear that, upon the assumption of this active role at some time during the Crusade, Mason Remey, as the President of this now active supreme Administrative Body of the Faith would automatically become the second Guardian of the Faith.
Author: Joel Bray Marangella
SHOGHI
EFFENDIS ONLY PROCLAMATION IGNORED
On 9 January 1951, Shoghi Effendi issued the one and only Proclamation of his ministry. As this Proclamation was dispatched in cablegram form and even though it opened with the words: "Proclaim to National Assemblies of East and West weighty epoch-making decision of formation of the first International Baháí Council..." subsequent events would prove that it was never recognized as such, not only by the National Assemblies to which this Proclamation was significantly addressed but by the entire Baháí world as well, in spite of the superlative and unprecedented terms used by Shoghi Effendi to describe this "historic" decision and "the greatest event shedding lustre on the...
Author: Joel Bray Marangella